Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our family and friends out there.  We feel lucky to be surrounded by so many great peeps.  Hugs and kisses to all of you and hope your holidays are safe and happy.  Here's a few highlights from our family this year...

Oakley, just 4, our baby, has quite the bulldozer personality, which is not surprising being the youngest of 5 boys.  He’s been our companion on lots of rental repairs jobs this year, and stays busy throwing rocks in the pool, dipping his hand in paint, or stealing Mom’s electronics. Potty training was our focus with O this past winter.

It was during this time, while Wade was helping during baseball evaluations, and 50 kids were on the playground, that Oakley decided it would be great fun to take his pants off just like in potty training and scare everyone with his PEE PEE.  Believe us, the kids were scared.  In one lunch trip to a very busy Chipotle this summer, Oakley grabbed a table next to the line, then stood up on the seat, turned around, pats a gruff, bearded stranger on the shoulder, says, “Hi!”, and laughs.  He then proceeds to introduce himself to everyone in line as they pass.

Trying to catch raindrops

Oakley’s bulldozer side seems to come out when things don’t go his way.  Samples from this year include hopping pool fences, ending arguments with fists and screams, flying body slams, and cooking on his own.  So at the young age of 3 we thought soccer would be appropriate. 

This 3 year old definitely has his own ideas about how soccer should be played, and it involves every one getting the heck out of his way!  If there's a mob of kids, he puts his arms together, pokes both hands into the crowd, then separates the Red Sea so he can go through on dry land.  In one game, he straddled the ball and kept all the other players at bay, even his own teammates, in order to keep the ball away from them.

He loves swimming, Curious George, riding trikes, hanging out with cousins & friends, loves the beach, and loves exploring the house and yard (usually in search of edibles).  Watch out, world – here comes Oakley!

Garth, 6, has really blossomed this year and it’s fun to see him developing.  He started 1st grade this fall, and his reading has really come along.  He is currently writing a book entitled, “Gingerbread Ninja.”  We can’t wait to read that book.  Garth’s a pretty chill kid.

He studies hard and follows the rules, although this spring we got a note from his teacher that he was screaming and playing in the bathroom, which of course is the most ideal place to scream and play.  He and Oakley were great companions during the summer and spring. 

They loved playing with our tortoise, RK, but would consistently make the poor thing poop & pee because they played a little rough at times – who knew tortoises didn’t like to bounce on the trampoline?  Garth’s largest frustrations in life seem to center on #1 chores, and #2 having Oakley as a roommate.  Oakley, as you can imagine, is not the ideal roommate, so Garth and Gavin paired up at the start of school this fall, and that has worked out much better. Garth went snow skiing for the first time last winter, did T-Ball this spring, loved swimming & the beach this summer, played soccer this fall, and was SUPER excited for hoops this winter.  He also finished 2nd in his school’s Turkey Trot mile run.  He has surprised us this fall that while his brothers loaf around the house, Garth will slip out and shoot the basketball or punt the soccer ball over the house.  We hope he keeps it up.  Most of the kids Garth knows are “geels” (girls), but his soccer team this fall was all boys, and he did great.  He scored a few goals and really developed as a footballer.  We’ve never seen him quite so excited this year as when he scored his first goal – it was priceless to see.

However with all this fun activity, we still think his favorite sport is scavenging money at home so his pockets are jangling for the snack shack at his older brother’s games.  Wade counted $6 in his pockets on one occasion.  You go, Gingerbread Ninja!

Gavin, 8, has continued surprising us with his love of running, playing, and his competitiveness.  He loves a race.  In baseball, Gavin thinks he’s #42, Jackie Robinson.

He would intentionally get into pickles just to challenge the defense, giving his coaches a heart attack and somehow managing never to get picked off.  He did great this year and is looking forward to stolen bases and more hardball in the spring.  Gav also did basketball and football, scored some great touchdowns, but soccer is probably Gavin’s favorite.  When he started playing this summer, he really began to surprise us with his “gazelle” abilities in the midfield.

He has great speed and endurance and can run down most players and disrupt plays; additionally he’s developed a great touch, and learned how dribble in the open field and control the ball well, doing a great job of moving the ball into position for his strikers and getting a few goals himself.  His team, the “Cheetahs”, his team of 4 years, and who we expected to do OK in the fall soccer league, surprised everyone and won the league championship in November.  

We couldn’t be more proud – he’s part of a great group of kids and families.  Besides play, Gavin has done well in school and reading is becoming more enjoyable for him – his favorites are the Wimpy Kid series, and having Dad read him Uncle Remus stories at night.  Gavin hit the big #8 this year, and chose to get baptized with his buddy Chase and cousin, Suzie.

It was a fun time, and great celebration of the good choices Gavin is making.  Gavin’s coming of age also seems to be apparent in his ability to now see through Dad’s barrage of malarkey – typically raising his eyebrow after some teasing comment, and demanding, “Really, Dad?”   He’s excited to be in Cub Scouts and super excited for his first pinewood derby coming up soon.  Go Go Gavin!

Jasper, 11, has been stealing lunches at school and eating in the middle of the night, because what else can explain how big this kid’s gotten?  Pretty soon he’ll be borrowing Dad’s clothes and shoes.  Jasper loves sports, so like his brothers he’s been busy doing basketball, football, and soccer, loves wakeboarding, wakesurfing, surfing, skateboarding, rollerblading, and competitive pogo-sticking.

However Jasper really took a liking to baseball this year – this spring, Jasper’s baseball team started to come alive, and Jasper’s hitting got stronger.  Wade was hiking with the scouts one Saturday in April when he got enough phone signal to receive a text from the evening before, that Jasper had hit his first home run – the first Eagar to hit a home run (at least that I know of)!  With awesome players around him and great coaches, Jap just started hitting the ball well, and really became a big help for his team – helping them with huge come-from-behind wins in the playoffs.  They lost 4-3 in 3 extra innings in the championship game, with Jap contributing a 2 run homer.

Home run swing and trot

It was a very exciting baseball season.  Jasper got invited to play on an All-Star team through June, then began playing with a club ball team this fall – the competition is much tougher, and Jasper is learning lots.  On the school front, Jasper has had some fun projects, including a family history report this spring.  He loves to read and is a good student.  Jasper “graduated” from his elementary school this year and started middle school.

In scouts, Jasper did great in his final pinewood derby and eek’d out a 1st place finish.  Now, you’re probably thinking that Wade got 1st place again, but Wade backed off and guided Jap with painting, polishing and weighting the car.  It was his last pinewood derby, so what a fun way to go out.  Jasper finished up Cub Scouts this fall working on the Arrow of Light, making A-frames, fires, and doing a few extra hikes.  Keep playing, Jasper.

Jack Attack, 13, is getting so old!  He’s a 7th grader, and doing well with school & his studies.  He loves to read, and routinely avoids trouble and chores by hunkering down with a good book.  He doesn’t mind re-reading good books as well.

Jack loves techie stuff, so for 3 solid months Jack bugged Dad to dust off his old RC car and get it running.  Wade was glad he did and after some repairs, we got the car running and had a lot of fun setting up jumps in the front yard and tearing up the grass.  Jack also was excited to get a new pet, a tarantula he named, “Rosey”. (He always comes up with great names)  

Jack played baseball this fall and summer in a couple rec leagues, always managing to pull 3B duties.  His hitting and defense are much improved, and he had an awesome game winning hit.  Jack continues to play soccer with our local club team, and although he gets tired of the practices, it’s fun and he’s continuing to develop.  Jack has played defensive wing for forever it seems, but last month his coach put him at center midfield, and he really shined.

Jack has stayed busy with Scouts, working on merit badges and having fun with his buddies on campouts.  He wanted to do the Space Exploration merit badge on his own, so he ordered a rocket from Amazon, built it up himself, then we went to the park and managed to launch it so high that we’ve never seen it since.  Hmph.  We also had an entertaining hike up Squaw Peak, where he managed to push it a little too hard and had a “Yack Attack” near the top. Jack is the family commentator, interrogator, and teaser-in-chief these days. During Spring Break, while heading up to Brighton to ski, Wade stopped and got a 6 pack of Snickers for the boys, and Jack commented, “Why do Snickers appeal to you so much? Is it the nuts?”  We think you’re a nut, Jack, and yes, you do appeal to us.

Jack and Dad playing a duet in May

Queen Mother Deirdre, has been super busy and wonders where the year went.  She continues her sewing craft and has started doing some alterations for friends. Besides the sewing machine, she stays busy with her flower planters and lots of little home improvements, and she managed to get some good runs and hikes in during the course of the year.  She did the Color Run this spring with friends, and really enjoyed the craziness and knee-high socks.  

Santa did it right last year and got Deirdre a Kindle; so when she gets a spare minute, look for Deirdre curled up reading her latest novel.  You can see where Jack gets it.  She helps run the gardening program at the younger boys’ school, called DIGGS.  She loves helping out, but doesn’t enjoy cleaning out all the weeds that seem to grow unmolested in the summer.  She’s also enjoyed serving with the Young Women, and spent a week at Girls Camp in June.

Deirdre’s sister gave birth to twins in May, so Aunt Deirdre headed up to Seattle for a week to help out where she could.  The boys miss Mom when she’s gone, and even though it’s awesome swapping manly stories, we’re all very relieved for Mom to come home.  It’s fun visiting Seattle – so fun that she accompanied Wade back to Seattle in September for another quick jaunt and to see family and killer whales, ha ha.  We do love the northwest when it’s not raining. 

We also have fallen in love with the San Diego area, and Deirdre dragged the family out for a 2nd week on the beach during fall break in October (besides the standard 4th of July trip).  It’s hard to beat the crashing of the waves as white noise to her reading adventures with the Kindle.  Woot!

Waderick B. Eagar is also wondering how it could be Christmas again so soon?  Right after the holidays last year we were very busy with Mom & Dad’s Golden Anniversary party – 50 years!  Wade worked hard putting together family histories and narratives of Mom and Dad’s lives –Thanks Mom & Dad for that rock-solid foundation you’ve provided to our whole family.  Wade continues to work with Nokia supporting the purchasing organization, but since they shut down the Tempe office, he’s now working from home full-time.  It’s been an adjustment for shizzle, but it does help with family life.  

The kid’s activities continue to keep us hopping with Wade coaching basketball, soccer, and baseball teams and Deirdre providing taxi and nutritional services.  He also continues to serve in Young Men’s,  and had some fun hiking and backpacking trips this year, although our big trip to the Grand Canyon got postponed.  Wade has tried to stay active, playing hockey this spring and softball during the summer and fall, but he definitely hasn’t been able to bike as much as he’d like to or needs to.  

Early morning birthday donut run

However, Wade was able to make up some of that dearth with an outstanding trip up to Whistler in September.  Meeting his friend from Seattle and his 2 brothers, they had an awesome 3 sunny days in the Whistler downhill park doing crazy drops & jumps, flow trails, and other crazy stuff they don’t get to ride very often.  Wade only had 2 major crashes, 1 broken helmet, 1 minor concussion, and tons of smiles – solid trip. Deirdre bought Wade a longboard for his 40th birthday, the first skateboard Wade’s ever owned or tried to ride, and he’s wondering why he waited so long to try skateboarding.   Wade’s other birthday present was to see Jack Johnson in concert at UCSD in La Jolla.  We had a great weekend trip alone to enjoy the beach (again) and see JJ for the first time.  

Merry Christmas, everyone and best wishes for 2015.

Well November has been a blur, hard to believe how quickly it goes by

Thanksgiving was lots of fun - Deirdre's cousin from Murray, Jamie, came to visit for a few days with her family and 4 kids, and it was fun getting to know them.  We don't know the Brown side of Deirdre's family as well, so it was great getting acquainted with the "Rand relatives".  We had Thanksgiving at our place, with Deirdre's family, Grandma Broderick and the Gardeners.  I played football that morning, so could barely move.  We went to our church to play hockey that evening, and to work off some pie.  Deirdre's turkey was yummy - she basted it every 30 minutes, and stuffed it full of sage & rosemary.  Deirdre also had "Pie Day" on the Wed before, and got together with her sisters and cousin to knock out all the pies - pecan, lemon meringue, berry, pumpkin, chocolate pecan, and I forget the rest.

Jack  has been busy with school and soccer, and has been reading lots.  He's getting straight A's at Meadows and is a good student.  He also loves to tease and cause trouble with his siblings, a real Eagar forte.  Jack will be playing in a soccer tournament this coming weekend - he has 3 games.  Jack, Jap, and Gav all started piano this month with Amelia Poll, Justin Poll's wife - she comes to our house and knocks them all out on Monday afternoon. 

Gavin's playoff games were postponed due to a big rainstorm that blew through Arizona the weekend before Thanksgiving, so this week they won their semifinal game, and then had their first loss all season in the championship game.  It was a bummer, but we're really pleased with Gavin's team and the group of kids he plays with.  Fun kids.  Gavin also ran the turkey trot earlier in November - he has been talking about this race all year, and when he was at the starting line, he wouldn't even acknowledge ;you because he had his game face one.  He was dead set on winning the race!  LOL.  Well Gavin completely smoked it - I mean he is a fast runner!  He was just flying at the end of the race, and literally there wasn't another kid even close to him.  He doesn't even seem that winded at the end of the race.  Gavin just loves to race and loves to be fast - running, rollerblading, ice skating, whatever - he puts that game face on and defies anyone to beat him!!!

Behind Gavin is the middle school kid (rabbit) who couldn't catch up with Gav!!

Jasper's growing pains have been easing up, and he's doing better running.  He continue in soccer, and also wanted to play basketball, so we capitulated and put him in a 2nd sport.  They needed basketball coaches at the last minute, so guess who's coaching hoops now?  Jasper has enjoyed practices and is getting ready for his first game, and also getting ready for his first soccer tournament.  Jasper also did the Turkey Trot, but because of his achilles and asthma finished 5th or something, which is really good but heartbreaking for this competitive kid.

Jaspers Birthday Donut, 10 YEARS OLD!!

Garth finished up soccer this month and just loved it, and was bummed when his last game got rained out - no makeup.  He's loving kindergarten, and loves to play with his brothers.  He doesn't like sharing a room with Oakley at times - hard to keep up with such a messy roommate.  Garth also ran the Turkey Trot, and was in the lead for the first 200 yards or so, and was even beating the "rabbit", which are middle school kids that come to run the race with the youngsters to keep them on the course.  Well he was running faster than the rabbit, and then he took a wrong turn, and took like 30 kids with him!  So by the time we got all the kids running in the right direction, Garth was at the back of the pack and was downtrodden, so never really got back into it.  Poor guy!  It was very funny though watching him take off in the wrong direction, with dozen of insane parents screaming at the top of their lungs.

Oakley my oh my is our little cranky crazy and domineering 3 year old.  He is a lot of fun.  He is talking like crazy, and sentences are starting to come out, although the words are kind of jumbled at times.  Things like "Planes watch" (I want to watch Planes) or "Hit me Gaaaar" (Garth hit me).  He's getting so big - what happened to all our babies?  We are having no luck with his potty training however - haven't been able to figure him out yet, although I think secretly Deirdre likes changing diapers, or having Wade change diapers.

Deirdre has been busy this month with planning Relief Society parties and  getting the house ready for Thanksgiving.  She's been running a bit more.  She chatted with one of our friend through soccer who's a PT, and he convinced her that she needs to stretch more.  Wade has been saying that for months, but evidently is not an authority figure.  So Wade now stretches smoochy poo every couple days, getting those hammies and glutes all loosened up.  

Wade has been playing in hockey and softball leagues, does lots of coaching, and has been busy with the YM as well.  He's doing President Packer's cake lesson for the YM this Sunday, so is excited about that.  The Tempe rental house had various issues this month, including a leak during the rain, so we just put a new roof on the flats.  Thankfully the other rentals have been pretty calm the last few months.  

We did some black friday shopping and have been getting ready for the holidays - with Target and Wal-mart so close we coudn't resist walking through the mayhem and looking for a couple deals.  We are late on decorating the house but will get to it shortly.  What a great time of year!  

Life is Busy.... by Wade

Deirdre's folks arrived last night from their mission in Uganda, and they looked really good - healthy as ever and Rand shed a few tears, the old softy. We're happy to see them home and look forward to the holidays with them.  Wade missed Rand's scrambled eggs on Christmas morning last year.

RK our pet tortoise we were afraid was lost to us - the gate was propped open one Saturday a month ago, and we hadn't seen him since.  But it was very exciting to see RK walking up the driveway one day when the kids were playing out front.  We missed our favorite reptile and are glad to have him back.  Guess we'll have to start buying more romaine lettuce again. 

Halloween was great fun.  Since last year all the kids were dressed up as superheroes, this year they dress up as heroes - Jack was a fighter pilot, Jasper was an army ranger, Gavin was a navy sailor, Garth was on the SWAT team, and Oakley was a firefighter.  Deirdre piece the costumes together from Costco and hitting the army surplus store, and then made the sailor outfit for Gavin.  We had a church party on Saturday, then on Halloween night we headed to Chipotle for $3 burritos, went to Eric's to take pics and say high, then back to our neighborhood to pass out candy and go trick or treat.  Wade really enjoys the holiday and getting to visit and say hi to our neighbors and friends.  There is a lot of bussing of kids into our neighborhood which is a little lame - we need to start having 2 candy buckets on halloween evening.  We love Halloween - it's a great holiday to be with neighbors, family & friends.

Oakley, Oak, Oaker, Oakey or as Deirdre likes to call him, Dammit, has been loving life and loves to ride his bike into the street whenever we're not looking.  He loves playing with Owen or with the Udall kids, Porter & Peyton.  He had fun learning how to ride an escalator last night as we were waiting for Grandma & Grandpa Brown at the airport.  Preschool is going well.  No potty training yet.  He is non-stop into Halloween candy and we can't figure out where it's all coming from.

Garth loves his soccer games and practice, and asks about them all week.  Garth scored 2 goals last week and 1 this pastSaturday, so Wade buys him a donut for every goal to "sweeten" the deal.  Garth likes that.  K is going well.  His reading is coming along.  Garth has also loved his steady diet of sugar these past few days.

Gavin did awesome in football.  He finally figured out how to be a bit more aggressive and started "tackling" or pulling the flag off the guy with the ball.  His team played in the championship game (won 2 playoff games), but lost 13-0.  He was so aggressive on his tackling that he also managed to hit his knee and bruise it pretty good, so his little bony knee is all puffed up and swollen, poor guy.  Gavin got selected as an All-Star and he got to play in the All Star game.  Gavin's soccer team continues to do really well as well, and is undefeated through 8 games.  The competition is pretty tight so we're excited to see how they do in the playoffs.  School is going well and he continues to work on his reading.  Gavin also loves to rollerblade!  I'll try to send a video out some time - he loves to jump, race down the street in front of our house, and is learning to skate backwards.  It's fun to watch.  He loves to play tag and fight Jasper while they're on blades in the driveway.

Jack celebrated his 12 birthday this month, and received the Priesthood and became a Deacon on his birthday.  After all the years with Wade in young mens, it will be fun to be there with our own kid a bit more.  Jack finished up on his school soccer team, and continues work with his club team.  He's got almost-straight A's, and has 1 B in LA, which is funny considering how much he loves to read.  He talked Wade into reading Ender's Game with him in anticipation of the movie, and for his birthday we took him and 4 of his friends to the drive-in to see the film - lawn chairs, pizza, and hot chocolate..

Jasper is doing good in school and is also doing his chores quite a bit better, although there's still lots of room for improvement.  Wade finally took him into a PT to check out his achilles trouble, and we think it's just because he's been shooting up so fast - his bones have outgrown his muscles so all that stress on his achilles is what's the problem.  Basically just growing pains.  Anyways the PT is a friend of Wade's, and showed  him how to do some massage and stretching to keep him loose.  So Wade will do that for the boys (Jack has some similiar pain) a few nights a week - part of the massaging is right on the inflamed portion of the ankle, so Wade chuckles a little bit that he gets to inflict pain on his children.  Ha ha ha, it's payback time!  Anyways, he's back to practicing & playing, and wants to play basketball again this winter.

Deirdre stays busy with running the house, more sewing projects, and finished up the craft day for her relief society this past month.  She is running and hiking Squaw Peak a couple times a week to stay in shape.

Wade is doing same old same old, work, coaching, prop mangement, young mens, and trying to stay in shape - more like grasping.  Wade signed up for hockey again this winter, and has been skating to get polished up.  He about had a heart attack his 1st game - very winded.

Happy Second!

Our little Oakley turned two!!

I must admit Oakley is first and foremost a stinker. But he is a pretty talented kid.  Here is a list!!
 
- He can unload the dishes, although sometime he might sit in them first or poke you with a knife or put them in the wrong place....
- He can usually talk his brothers or parents into whatever he wants, and by talk I mean scream & grunt.
- He gives the best hugs and kisses, you just have to ask!
- Saying Thank You, he doesn't actually say the words, he does a wave.
- Yelling for Mom, "ma ma Ma Ma MA MA MA MA", you get the idea!
- Saying yes and no, but both are pronounced no, you just have to be able to decipher the intonation to know which is which (pretty much only mom can)
- He is our most adventurous, he will climb onto anything and wont give up till he is up where his brothers are or gets what he wants.
- He is our youngest to pedal a bike. Probably by a whole year. Which is why he got this ridiculous trike.
- He has the best run, especially when he is barefoot and his huge ol feet slap the ground at a fast pace.
- He has recently become a biter, Gavin and Garth better watch out cause Oakley knows how to beat them!
- He is a great sleeper, and loves his blankie & thumb. He likes to sneak in with Mom and Dad and seeing how he's the last, they always let him!
- He has the best faces - he puckers to try to keep himself from smiling.
- If you ask he will always share, but if you try to take it away you are scorned.
- He is always good for a cuddle.

We love you Oakie!!

Halloween Night!

We started off the evening with $2 burros at Chipotle. The last time we ate there for such an event the lines were out the door and the wait was too long to hang out.  This time we got there right at 4, when the special started. We were first in line and got our burritos and had a nice cheap dinner!! We had so much extra time, we went back home and got the camera which I had forgotten. Thats when we took these wonderful action shots and put another layer of green paint on the Hulk!!

 Then off to our cousins to trick or treat. We meet up with Colton, Shelby, Owen & Tessa (who is actually a cousin of a cousin and not really related :)

We did a couple streets with the cousins (although even Oakley left them in the dust cause they were so slow) and then left to do our own neighborhood. Garth and Gavin got the most loot as the others all got too tired.  Oakley was hilarious, we pulled him in a wagon and would stop at each driveway, he would haul himself out run to the door or person with the candy and then hold out his bag or in some instances just grab it straight out of the bowl. And then run back and jump back in the wagon. He turfed it a couple times on the curb, but would just get back up and keep running. He definitely caught on to the faster you go the more candy you get!! Garth touched a cactus early on that he thought was fake. It was not! We got out most of the thorns but he was still careful about how he handled his bag of candy.  We had a great Halloween and enjoyed the awesome weather and eating treats with family and friends!!

Eagar Avengers!!

 at our Ward Trunk or Treat!!

Wade- Nick Fury (we did have the paint to make him "Black" but he decided it wasn't PC)
Deirdre- Black Widow
Jack- Hawkeye
Jasper- Thor
Gavin- Iron Man
Garth- Capt. America
Oakley- The Hulk!!

October 20th

happened to be Jacks 11th Birthday.  It was also our Ward Campout.  Jack was good with skipping most of the birthday stuff, so we went a little early to Sedona and explored West Fork.  There is a great hike, and the creek of course makes it way better!! It was way too cold to enjoy the water, but we made the kids treck down it and Garth, Gavin & Jasper slid down a little fall into some freezing water and had a little fun.  I took pictures and Wade kept trying to find some blackberries, but they were all tiny and not ripe. We did find some currants and ate those. 

   

About 5 days after we got home, I discovered I have Poison Oak on my shin, luckily it hasn't spread and I've been able to avoid scratching it!!