Meg & Ted

Our Christmas Vacation

2012-01-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas for the cox's started off with a nice quiet trip to the cottage to enjoy a little R&R before this baby comes. It was officially our last time at the cottage without kids. We went for walks with Roxy, read books, magazines and most importantly slept in every morning! Next we headed to my parents for Christmas with my family and had many family nights up late talking/eating way to much. I swear all scales are evil when you are pregnant around christmas. We did the traditional christmas reading of the birth of christ and had all the kids act it out. Boxing day we went skating downtown toronto which was a ton of fun. Yes I did go skating at 7.5 months after some much provided caution by my parents/husband and I had to explain that skating is like walking for me. I did not fall but I can say this now that everything was ok but it was a little harder skating when your center of gravity is changed by a big ball in your front side. For New Years we didn't do anything exciting except go off the the movies and came home to enjoy some bubbly with oranges for me. I can't seem to get enough oranges/grapefruits. Ted says this baby is going to come out looking like an orange. I was bad at taking pictures over christmas but we did get one documented photo of our last New Years as just us. I know, we debated going downtown dressing up nice and going to dinner but it was nice to just relax.

Pregnancy Update: I have gone off work because I had some bleeding and pretty strong cramping/braxton hick contractions. We don't want her coming too soon, better safe than sorry. So now I am starting to feel the nesting setting in and seeing everything in my house I want to de-clutter/organize before the baby comes. Ted calls it Stressting instead of nesting!! He is so supportive of this time in my pregnancy!!! haha Well sleeping is getting more difficult and the pregnancy insomnia usually sets in every day at 4am I wake up wide awake and can't go back to sleep for 2 hours. Ted seems to complain when I have a bad night because that means he is up more because he hears me getting up to pee and toss!!! I say oh I feel so sorry for you!!! I have been bad at taking preg pictures I only have one to show this week even though I'm actually 33 weeks now. I will post pictures of the baby shower I had while I was home later.

Skating in the city at out door rink.

All the boys on the their I-phones waiting to go eat lunch. How could we survive without our i-phones!!!

29 weeks
Ted enjoying reading by fire at the cottage for last time

I swear we aren't drinking alcohol even though I look drunk! This was our New Years celebration

Oranges at midnight on New Years I have to be pregnant!!!

Lately.....

2011-12-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

Well lots has been going on since I last posted. I am now 27 weeks pregnant and still loving every minute of it. I can finally see this little girl move around from the outside of my belly now. She still likes to do her gymnastic moves at night when we are lying in bed. Its funny to see my belly move without me doing anything. She also like to lie on my left side and my belly is often lopsided. It was funny one morning Ted looks at it and asked why it was in his words "all messed up" Meaning the the right side was higher than the left! I have been having lots of braxton hick contractions and the first time I told Ted he said what the heck is a braxton what?? Needless to say my husband has been learning a lot in the last few weeks.

Teds parents came to visit for American thanksgiving and we went to visit his cousin for dinner in Michigan and then onto my parents house that weekend for my brothers little boy "Max" baby blessing. Where my sister informed me that I have that pregnant face now!!! translated as my face now looks fat and chubby!! Great!! Its really easy to keep your self-esteem high in my families house between my sister saying I look fat and my dad calling me tubby everywhere I go!!!
So its onto Christmas now. I will post pictures of our house decorated next.

25weeks
26 weeks

Boy or Girl???

2011-11-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well to keep everyone updated we are having a little baby GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes at 15 weeks my dr scanned me and thought it was a boy but our official 20 week ultrasound showed girl! The lady said I think its a girl and I about died. I said ahhh what?? We thought it was a boy so she said well I will have another person just double check me. So she went to get another tech but by that point unfortunately the baby refused to open her legs back up. So instead of being left in the dark going back and forth the next day at work I had a Dr confirm and there she was bum up showing us all her "lack of bits". There was no denying it we had such a good a shot its really a GIRL!!! Ted will tell you I smiling from ear to ear with tears in my eyes. I had from the moment we got pregnant the maternal instinct that it was a girl. And now I get to go shopping for all that cute girly stuff!!!

I have been feeling the baby move for weeks now and I could feel her move all day everyday. Its a nice little way she tells me everyday she is there and growing stronger. I love the little kicks and punches she makes. It almost feels like someone is tickling me from inside. She goes crazy within minutes of me eating any sort of chocolate, just like a true girl. Her most active time is at night after we have eaten dinner and are relaxing. Ted can't quite feel her move from the outside yet and that is mostly because my placenta is on the anterior wall of my uterus so I can feel her move all over but the placenta is blocking him from feeling anything yet. But this little girl has already got her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Here are some recent belly shots.

23wks

19wks

Baby Bump update

2011-09-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

We had an ultrasound done around 14 weeks and since the tech knew I worked at the hospital she tried to see the gender for us. We got a nice clear view and it looks like its a boy!! We have another ultrasound in a couple weeks to confirm but everyone knows how inpatient I am so I had one of the Dr at work scan me again and this little cox is not afraid to hide his parts. It definitively looked like a boy. Since ted wasn't able to be there I had him come to my work on the weekend and I scanned my self and he got to see this little one jumping all over. He kept moving his arms and legs like he was kicking something. It was so weird to see him move and not feel anything. And at one point I started to laugh and the little one starting jiggling from my laugh. Its so cool to watch I could do it all day. Ted asks me all the time what I would do if I couldn't hear the baby's heart beat at work everyday or see it with the ultrasound and my reply is be even more crazy than I already am!

So everyone keeps bugging me for baby bump photos so here it is now that I have started showing. A girl at work said oh you don't look like there is a bump at all and I responded just wait as the day goes on and eat it gets really big. So by the end of my shift she goes oh you were right I can totally tell now. This baby still loves fruits and veggies but I'm not nauseated anymore which I love, but always very tired. I still don't like to eat meat it just doesn't taste good to me but I am trying to make sure I get my protein. Unfortunately my normal sweets craving is back in full force and I'm not liking my scale results. Even though my Dr. says I'm gaining right on track it feels like a lot to me. I can still wear my regular jeans but my tops are all getting way to tight. Time to go shopping for some more comfortable clothes.

(Please disregard the no make-up, hair not done look, I was running out to the gym, which doesn't happen as much as I'd like)

Guess What........??????

2011-08-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

I have plotted and planned writing this specific post for a long, long time. At times, I thought I might not ever get to write it. But oh how happy and blessed we are to finally be writing this. As the news has started to spread fast, we are PREGNANT! We got a bit of a late start as this will be grandchild #18 in the Templeman family and #30 in the Cox clan!!! Due March 5, 2012, I am officially into my second trimester and enjoying every moment of this pregnancy.

Ironically, we actually found out while Ted was in Toronto for work. As some of you know, Ted spent most of the summer in Toronto working for a law firm. While staying at my parents house on a visit to see him, I took a test and when it came back positive all I could say for 20 minutes was OH MY GOSH!!! I couldn't believe it!! So we took a picture to document the moment. (Ted's thought at the exact moment of the photo: wait, did you just pee on this??)

We tried to go back to bed and let my parents sleep some more before we told them, but lets face it neither one of us got anymore sleep.

As as side note, Ted has pointed out that this blog post is Phase 3 of telling people. Phase 1 was our parents after the positive test; Phase 2was telling our immediate families after our first ultrasound, and Phase 3 is now telling the world at large after hearing a safe successful heartbeat.

So back to Phase 1 of telling people: to tell Ted's parents we thought of a cute way since we couldn't tell them in person. We sent Barb an email with a picture of both of us holding a BYU baby onesie. We got his parents on the phone and told Barb to go check her email and of course she passes the phone off to Big Ted and goes upstairs to check and leaves us on the phone with his dad. We had obviously hoped to hear her dramatic reaction when she saw the photo in the email--that was the whole plan. So Ted had to improvise quickly and tell his dad to chase her upstairs so we could hear her reaction. With Barb living up to her reputation for hysterical-ness, we were still able to hear her screaming/crying as she opened the email and saw the picture.

"Baby's first picture at about 9 weeks"

For our Phase 2 reveal, we told my family at our annual family cottage week this August. Here is the video of how we told my family while we were on vacation at the cottage. Roxy actually helped us out. We thought that since many people announce their pregnancy by putting their oldest child in a shirt that says "BIG BROTHER/SISTER" we would put Roxy in a little dog shirt that said BIG SISTER since she has been our first and only "child" for so long [btw, if you're wondering, our cat is more like our red-headed step child that we pretend isn't there most of the time and think about all the things we could have done if we didn't have kitty].

Beware, the video is sideways for some reason and I cant seem to rotate it, so Ted says to just turn your monitor/laptop/iPad sidways.

Some pregnancy stats so far:

Everyone keeps asking if I have been sick/ had weird cravings yet and the answer:

- Lots of nausea that is finally going away but no throwing up.

-No weird cravings but many aversions, I use to love chocolate but not anymore (sweets in general which is so not me I usually love desserts), I can't get enough fresh fruit for example -For example, on one day, I ate a plum, apple, banana, peach, and watermelon!!!

-Taking lots of naps whenever I can, never felt so tired before

-Don't like any meat really

-Peeing all the time

- Still able to wear my normal clothes (hope this lasts a lot longer)

We can't wait to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl--mostly because I can't wait to go shopping! My family thinks we are having a boy because we have a girl name picked out but we can't agree on a boy name.

I will post belly pics later when something starts to show.

My Husband!

2011-05-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have to brag about my husband for a minute. So yesterday was my birthday( we aren't going to say what number!) however in the past he has not exactly been the best at celebrating it. So this year he surpassed my expectations. As you see from the videos I had a great day filled with lots of family and helpers to blow out my candles and best part is Ted managed to keep all my presents a secret and the best one is we get to go see Josh Groban in Toronto this summer!!!! I have wanted to see him in concert since before we were married! Anyways just wanted to say thankyou to my wonderful husband and say how much I love and apprecuiate you. I caught a good catch. If you don't know Ted is now officaly working in Toronto all summer at a huge Law firm downtown. He has to live at my brothers while I live in windsor and drive up to see him whenever I get work off! It sucks but its temporary thats what I keep telling myself! The great part is only 1 year left!! I can't beleive it has gone this fast.

2011-03-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

After a 2-year battle with small cell cancer, my brother David's wife, Kaci, passed away this week. She was an example to us all of faith, service, and happiness.

Learn more about Kaci, David, and their family at

www.helpdavidcoxfamily.org

and please help them in this difficult time if you are able. It would mean a lot to us.

-Ted

Cancun

2011-02-27T18:15:00.001-08:00

Well we decided to do our last hora of a vacation before ted starts work this summer and then goes straight back for his last year of school!!! Not that I'm excited or anything for him to be done!! So we planned this trip and then my parents being sick of the snow decided they needed to be de-thawed as well. We stayed in a beautiful all inclusive with amazing food a gorgeous beach and a huge double person jacuzzi tub in our room. It was awesome. We went and saw the mayan ruins, did a cool jungle boat tour and on our last day had a couples massage and a romantic dinner on the beach. Ted will tell you he had to bring me home kicking and screaming. I did not want to leave the 80degree weather to go home to the snow. We came home to a foot and half of snow in our driveway and unable to even park our car. Now we are both studying for midterms and back to reality.

Our romantic dinner on the beach

Mayan temple

ted being one with the columns

Us quickly taking a pic on steps because you are not suppose to climb the ruins! Rulebreakers

One of dinners at the japanese steak house

I made Ted try on the cheap Mexican hats

ted had a hard time relaxing

this is view from balcony of pool and beach and if u see the purple light is where we had our dinner on beach

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

2010-12-15T18:33:00.000-08:00

This was the table I set up for the food and prizes

We had to put Roxy's dog bed up somewhere and we came into the spare room and found this! You can see kitty was hard at work

We are matching ugly sweater couple from the 80's. All i needed was a side pony tail

Everyone

Melissa's homemade sweater with santa coming out of her belly

Well here is the promised pictures of our house decorated for Christmas plus we had a ugly Christmas sweater party for the youth in our church and here are pictures of the best one.

Blog Make-Over

2010-12-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

So No I haven't died and I know its been a while but we have been busy. First the obvious, thanks to my amazing cousin Emily she made over our blog and I love it. Thanks so much Em its amazing. And of course we had to add a photo of our first born child Roxy!!! the dog. she really is our child, sleeps in between us in bed and even has a stocking hanging for Christmas. So heres the updates. TEd is done another semester of school and has been studying a ton and never home so I'm glad the end is drawing near. He worked really hard and was blessed to get a job this summer at one of the biggest law firms in Canada and a global 100. So we are extremely grateful for that and if he does well could turn into a job after. I finished my semester of master classes and have one more next semester before I start the NP program. Ted was able to go home for thanksgiving to see all his family. I missed everyone but he had a lot of fun with a lot of people!!! the house was a zoo! I went with my family for my parents 40th anniversary on a mediterian cruise in October and would do it again in heart best. Best trip ever! Saw Greece, Italy and Croatia. I told Ted that for his graduation present we would go. So anyone want to come 2012 we are going!

The Christmas season is upon on us and our house is looking festive. (to post pics later) We are spending Christmas with my family because I get christmas off this year!! Can't wait. there will not be as many grandkids there as past because my brother greg is moving to utah this week because he has gotten a promotion at work to be over the west. We are going to miss all his girls. We will miss all the family we can't spend Christmas with, but know that we are thinking of you. Hope you all have a merry Christmas filled with love and laughter. We are so excited to celebrate the birth of our saviour at this beautiful season and are grateful for all the gifts he has given us.

Love to all!

5 years!

2010-08-30T17:39:00.000-07:00

As I was looking through my pictures I had completely forgotten about these few. For Teds and mine 5 year anniversary I planned a surprise flight just the two of us around Georgian bay during our family cottage week. He was totally surprised and love every minute of it. The pilot even let Ted fly 3/4 of the flight. Ted has been saying for the past couple months before this, that he wants to get his pilots licence one day and own his own plane. I said no prob right after you make thousands of dollars!!!! haha right! The other pictures are of the annual dinner cruise the adults go on with no kids during cottage week. The sunsets are amazing.

School Is Back in Session!

2010-08-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

Our 5K
The Labor for Life Girls!!

The crowd eating at Henrys fish restaurant.
Noah and JAck both love Uncle Justin's Jeep.
Couples Kayak races. Thats mean yelling at Ted to go faster. He already fell out once.
The swim part of the duathalon
the three sisters, my sisters girls!!!!!!!!
Owen

Summer has gone to fast for us. We have done so much it seems like a blur. We had the Templeman annual family cottage week (always crazy but fun). Had the cottage duathalon, I participated in my hospitals Dragon boat team which is a one day race in a big canoe that fits 20 people. There were over 500 teams. Our team shirts read "we labor for life" being as we are all L&D nurses. Ted and I ran a 5K in Detroit in June, visited his family and friends in Utah, took our church youth to palmyra NY to visit all the historic sites and saw my brother Greg and his family. Enjoyed veggies from my first garden (thanks for your help mom). And had Teds parents come up to the cottage to see what I talk about so much.

Next up, Ted has already started his 2nd year of law school and one more to go after that. Wow will I be glad when he is finished!!!!!! And in other news I got into graduate school this fall. I just went and got my books last week. I will be starting soon my Master in Nursing / NP school combined. I will be going to school part-time and working part-time. Its exciting and going to be busy I know but, it will be worth it in the end when I can set my own hours of work and teach at the university level if I want, take summers off! I know I will miss being an L&D nurse and bringing all those cute babies into this world. Its truly a wonderful experience to see all those little miracles take their first breath and be there to witness the joy on the parents faces. I hope to help the new nurses coming in find something they love and can be passionate about like I am about labor and delivery. I love to teach and always have and hope I can be as good as some of the extraordinary professors I had in nursing school.

I hope to be better about posting more but if anyone read my status on facebook Ted and I were on our way to Palmyra with 75 youth trying to cross the boarder when my mom called to say happy anniversary on Aug 20th which was our 5 year. We both turned to each other and laughed. We both forgot and just figured we would celebrate when things calmed down. I can't forget to mention what an amazing man I married. He has done so well in school, renovated almost our entire house, cooked and cleaned while I have worked a lot this summer and last been my emotional support and rock through this hard time. I am more in love today than on the day I married him. Love you babe and happy anniversary.

Kitchen Renovations Are Done

2010-06-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ted spent the month of May off of school renovating our kitchen. He is extremely proud of his work as am I. He did a great job and I had no idea I had such a handy husband. We know if the lawyer thing doesn't work out he can always do construction!!!! (just kidding) Look at older posts for some before pictures. The renovation included:

New countertops (extended 30” with new matching cabinets)

New sink

New faucet

New dishwasher

New Microwave

New window frame

Cabinets painted, including "antiquing" (Meg did this)

New cabinet hardware

Built custom cabinets and fridge enclosure

New custom backsplash

New light fixtures

New ceramic tile floor

New painted walls (Again Meg did this)

New 5” baseboards

New garbage disposal

New light switches/outlets

New York!!!!!! New York!!!!!!!!

2010-06-29T09:43:00.001-07:00

Our carriage ride through central park. And of course mom had to pet the horse

Enjoying our five guys burger and fries after our long day on Ellis island. And also attempting to take of picture of ourselves. We were starved.

Me being patriotic to the US as I am officially a citizen. I literally got my passport 4 days before we were leaving. (This pic is for you barb)

Getting ready to go do some serious damage with our visa shopping in NY
Eating dinner in little Italy on the street corner.

Yes I am a horrible blogger because it has been over a month for me to finally get this pictures up. For my birthday this year my mom and sis went to NY for the weekend. We went shopping in China town ate in little Italy walked around time square and took in the NY spring air. We had gorgeous weather the entire weekend. NY has so many good places to eat and we enjoyed as many as we had time for. We went to Ellis Island on Saturday and on our last day we enjoyed a nice carriage ride through central park. It was the best birthday. I could totally live in NY for a year with Ted working at a big firm or something and enjoy all the city life. Thanks mom and Sarah for a great time we have to go again soon.

2010-05-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

More pictures

Florida

2010-05-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

Well to celebrate Ted being done his first year of law school we went to Florida with my family. It was a much needed vacation for both of us and since we have been back it has been nothing but chaotic, that is why it has taken me this long to post. We got home and the next few days teds parents came for a week and it was so much fun. We went out to eat and to the temple in Detroit and they are coming again in august so we can take them to the cottage. We have had extremely hot weather like 80's every day which is very rare for this time of the year. Anyways while his parents were here TEd started on renovating the kitchen. And thank goodness for Teds dad he helped a ton. It is finally finished and here are a few pictures during ! Barb you are not going to believe how good it looks. And my favorite part is a DISH WASHER!!!!!!!! I have never been so excited to load a dish washer. I still have to pick a paint color for the walls and when I do I will put finished pictures up. Next weekend was time out for women so ther a fewpictures of us all out to eat the friday night. Work has been getting really busy which is good because I am finally picking up full time hours. Lets hope it keeps up. Last weekend me my mom and sister went to NY city for the weekend to celebrate my birthday and I am waiting for pictures from my mom to post about that. It was am awesome weekend and one the my best birthdays ever I wish it didn't have to end. Pictures from that soon to come.

P.S. I almost forgot since this was a big deal for Ted to celebrate being done his first year I let him rent a new camaro to drive around florida!!! It was a hit with every guy on the trip. They all wanted to drive it. Oh and my sister got a golden retriever puppy and he is so cute. I really wanted to steal him.

Happy Early Birthday

2010-04-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

To start off this post I know my brithday is not until May but we decided to celebrate impromptu last week. As some of you know I love Carrier underwood and have always wanted to see her in concert. So ted heard on the radio last week that she was in Michigan and so he looked it up and saw that last wednesday was her last day here. So he called me up at work and said "so do you want your birthday present early" I was very confused as it was more than a month away and that is not like Ted to ACTUALLY plan and think of things earlier than he absolutely has to!!!! So I had no idea what he was thinking and then he explained. She was in town playing at MSU campus where he served part of his mission and he found tickets on ebay for that night 10th row for a great price. I was only working a half day at the Oral Surgeons office (which as side note I am quiting because he is crazy) so I was set to leave at 1pm. We got the tickets ran home and were off to lansing MI to enjoy a fun dinner at Five guys and sight see some of the places ted lived and served on his mission. He was so excited to see his old apartment and walk around MSU campus telling me stories about walking up and down just talking to people about the church.

We got into the concert and had to get "cool special people" bracelets as our seats were so close!!! It was amazing how close we were. I could see all the veins in her arms!! She was amazing. She sounds identical if not better live than on her CD's. Ted made sure he got some pictures of her in one of her skimmpy dresses "for his dad" he said! Ya right! Anyways best birthday present ever and it was so much fun enjoying it with my hubby. We also got to go see Ted's old mission home after the concert where he spent his first night as a missionary! Thanks babe it was a night to remember.

Easter

2010-04-11T18:00:00.001-07:00

So I am having everyone on my back for not updating my blog more.The thing is we haven't had much going on in our lives as we don't have any kids to put pictures up so things kind of get redundant. Ted is still in school about to write finals almost one year down and I continue to work at the hospital. I have only 2 pictures from easter as I forgot my camera and had to borrow from my mom's. And we all know my moms camera always has a dead battery just when she needs it so we only have 2 pictures of the event. There were loads of kids running around my parents property hunting for easter eggs and Roxy join in and found one and started eating it to. I have a new calling at church I am now 1st counselor in Young Womens which I am so excited about because I haven't been in there since I was one. We are planning girls camp right now and getting ready for a youth leadership trip to Palmyra NY with the stake. It should be fun. Ted and I are planning on borrow my parents motor home and drive it down for the weekend. A nice place to escape from the kids if we need to. Thats my kind of camping. Well the weather is getting nice here and I am trying to find a nice patio set for our deck so we can actually eat outside and have a place to entertain our guests. I am also in the process of applying for Nurse practitioner school for the fall but I am late applying so I am not sure if I will get it so keep your fingers crossed. Thats all for now.

Figure Skating Nationals

2010-01-31T17:25:00.001-08:00

Well its taken me forever to post because we have been extremely busy. First off to let you know I recently got a second job working at an oral surgeons office Monday-Friday because the hospital hasn't been giving me enough hours. Needless to say I have been working both places and its very busy but I like to stay busy because Ted is gone a lot for school and when he is home he is studying and reading a ton.

The first couple pictures are from Utah at my cousin Britty's surprise bridal shower. Ted and I were there a week ago for my immigration stuff where I passed my citizenship interview and can officially become a US citizen! All that is left is for me to get sworn in next month. I am so glad the process is almost over for the rest of my life and I hope I never have to deal with US immigration again. The whole process has taken 5 years and thousands of dollars, so we are happy to be done!

Anyways moving on to better things, My mom and I got to go to the Canadian National skating championships which was so much fun. We stayed in a hotel and for 2 straight days watched figure skating from early morning till late in the night. We had amazing seats thanks DAD and loved every minute of it. We were both extremely sad when it was over. I was very grateful to have my mom so close that I can go an enjoy things like this with her because lets face it Ted would rather slit his wrist than watch skating for 2 days straight. We also ran into my old skating friend Cara while we were there and spent time going out with her and catching up. It made me feel like a teenager again back at the rink.

Me and my cousin Katrine at Brittany's shower

ME and my cousin Caroline and Britty

Corise and ME

Britty opening gifts.

Our old friend Lesley(who skated with us in little our tiny town of Alliston) went very far in the skating world. She was 4th in all of Canada 2 years ago but has since moved on and is having a baby this summer. So random we ran into her there!

Mom and me outside at the outdoor skating rink. There is almost one in every Canadian City.

Cara and me. My best bud, so many years of skating together.

Mom and Me at the ladies free skate event. It was amazing.

The entire skating Gang back together after how many years.

Mom and Me at the first event the pairs dance. We had amazing seats 10 rows up.

Christmas! picture overload!!

2010-01-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

Ted pulling the kids with the snowmobile. (...and no, thats not Ted's butt crack, its the shirt tucked in -- inserted by Ted)

And playing battle tube--so much fun. This is where everyone tries to stay on the sled/innertube being pulled by the snowmobile while pushing and pulling each other off!

Some of us were lucky enough to see the Olympic Torch coming through town on its way to Vancouver 2010.

Me, mom, and Sarah waiting for the torch.

ME and Noah!!

Ted pulling Nadia. Yes he's wearing shoes on the ice--what did you think, he'd be skating?

Suzanne and Haddie.

Drew and Noah

Kelly and Baby Owen.

Noah

Suzanne and Mel in the kitchen

Everyone talking into the wee hours of the night.

Ted with the twin sisters as we call them--Roxy and Ivy

My friend Sarah and her littler girl Brea.

I love this face of Brea

Can I steal her???!!!!!

Christmas has come and gone which I am always sad after...but its fun to look back and remember all the fun. Our Christmas this year started off with me working Christmas Eve night and Christmas night so we went up to my parents late on Boxing Day(December 26 in the US!) and spent a fun filled week with everyone. We were able to see the Olympic Torch go through our local town on its way to Vancouver which was very cool. We had many fun days playing in the field with the snowmobile pulling kids and playing the traditional battle tube which with any templemans can get rough. At one point we had a pile of 4 people being pulled at once because no one would let go. We also ate way to much and talked into the wee hours of the night. And of course Ted's favorite thing: we had the annunal family skate day at the arena with just our immediate family which is 12 adults and 15 kids. People don't believe its just our family they think its open skate for the hour because there are so many of us. Lastly I had to go to Utah in early december so I went and visited with my friend Sarah and her little girl Brea (who I secretly wish I could steal) just kidding sarah. Well its time to start the New Years Diet except this year we are doing a biggest loser competition in my family so we shall see who wins. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, we love and miss you all.

Christmas Is Coming!

2009-12-07T12:07:00.001-08:00

Since its already december even though we haven't seen any snow here yet (which I am very bummed about) I decided to put up our christmas decorations. I hope its not a green christmas I hate that. But I wanted to post some pictures of our tree which is real and Ted helped decorate which is a big thing since he loves to "decorate". Ted did put up christmas lights outside our place but I didn't take any pictures sorry. As you can see kitty and roxy looked on as I decorated the house with all the lights and greenery. The other picture is of this really yummy salad I made from a magazine picture. I was so proud of it because I tried to make it look like it did in the magazine and it was all spinach no other lettuce and Ted actually ate it!!! and like IT. Do you know how hard it is to get him to eat different vegetables. Its worse than pulling teeth. So I had to take picture of the moment to remember it and realize I wasn't dreaming. We also went to my parents this weekend and I will have to post pictures of that later but I wanted to say how blessed Ted and I are right now in our life together. I love having 2 loving families that are growing so quickly but we love spending any chance we get with them. I love christmas time because it always makes me think of all the things I am grateful for in my life and above everything I love celebrating the birth of our savior and remember all he has done for me in my life. I love spending everyday with my best friend who I am so in love with and treats me so well and knows when to just give me a big bear hug. We just wanted to say to everyone how thankful we are for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf and how much you all mean to us.I hope everyone has a merry christmas and takes a moment to enjoy the birth of our savior.

Fall is here and Teds birthday

2009-11-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

Well I can't believe it but my husband celebrated his 27th birthday today. All I can say is if he is 27 that means I'm getting older and I don't like it. Since his birthday was on a sunday this year we celebrated friday night with my parents who were visiting by going out to diner and we came home to cake and ice cream. Ted has been extremely busy with school lately and I am finally in my last week of orientation at the hospital. Ted was gone one night this week until 2 am at the library editing a paper so he can try and get on the school law review board. Its like a legal paper that students write and it looks really good to have on your resume so hopefully he gets it. In the midst of all his school and my work we have be making many visits to Lowes for renovating things around the house. We have almost finished the upstairs bathroom we painted the walls and cabinets instead of buying new cabinets and we are pleasantly surprised at how nice they turned out. Ted just has to lay the tile floor in both bathrooms for them to be finished. We still have many other projects to do around the house which is good to keep us busy. It was fun handing out candy to all the trick or treaters we got this year even though Roxy had to bark every time one came to the door. hope every day a happy Halloween.

Still Here

2009-09-22T16:47:00.002-07:00

Well sorry everyone I know it has been forever since I last posted and this is going to be a boring post because there are no pictures but everyone has been telling me I need to update my blog. So here is the latest on us. Life had been busy. Ted is getting right into school and is busy reading reading and doing more reading. I guess this is what I have to look forward to for 3 years! Ted actually flew home last weekend to see his dad after he had bypass surgery which was a really big surprise to all of us because he is so healthy. His dad is recovering well and is making a fast recovery. Ofcourse while he was home he also was conviently able to attend the first BYU home game which was to hard for him to even talk about.

As for me while Ted was gone I went and babysitted for my sister all of her 5 kids for the weekend while her husband planned a surprise trip to NEw York for them. I even took all 5 kids the youngest 15 months up to 9 yrs to all 3 hours of church and did my best to keep them quite during sacrement. I must say it brought on an entire new understanding and appreciation for mother as I struggled to keep Jack the youngest quite and in the row and everyone else happy and not fighting. It was the longest hour of my life! I must say after the exhausting weekend I would rather go work a 12 hour shift and make money than stay at home with all the kids!!!!! It is not easier but I;m sure when its my own it will be different.

In other news I did get that job that I posted about the interview last time. I am a LD and Postpartum nurse. They do it all here. I started last week and have been doing tons of orientation classes and other things. Its very different and tons of different cultures here with language barriers that it can be very difficult. One thing I am excited for and very nervous is I assist here with c-sections which I love surgery but can be very stressful as well. I found out I am very lucky to have this job in this area because it is hard to get a job here as nurse let a lone a coveted area like LD. So I;m very grateful for that but as it is only part-time for now I may have to find a second job if I can't get enough hours. Well thats all from our neck of the woods hope everyone is well.

Still

2009-09-22T16:47:00.001-07:00

We have arrived & cottage week 2009!

2009-08-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

Tug of WAR. the kids were surprisingly strong

Me in one of the relays

ted
melanie
the kids loved it. they laughed the entire time
water balloon toss
this was roxy majority of the time. She loved diggin in the beach and she even went swimming.
the kids playing
zoie being zoie
my borther brads family. ever year we do one big group picture and then individual family ones.
me and zoie on the dock
here is our family photo. i wanted to put roxy in it bu Ted said no.
my sisterss family

this is roxy in the moving truck where she had a nice spot next to ted on a pillow. spoiled much
documenting ted driving our huge moving truck oh im glad that is over.

Yes Yes I promise we are still alive. I know its been forever since I last posted well I have been a little busy!! Ya know moving to a different country requires a lot of work. Along our cross country drive (with the help from teds parents we could have never done it without you guys. thanks a ton) we stopped at winter quaters temple and saw the historic site. It was so sad to see all the names of children that died there. It truly is a special place. Oh ya for those who haven't heard Ted and I are living in Windsor Canada because Ted is attending law school in Windsor and Detroit. He is getting a US and Canadian law degree in 3 years attending these two schools. He started school this week and is getting to know everyone in his program. As for me I had to leave my amazing job at AF (shout out to all my AF girls I miss ya tons!!) but I had an interview this week at the windsor hospital to be a LD, postpartum and NICU nurse!! Can you believe it they do it all there. All the nurses are crosstrained to be able to do every area. I'm a little nervous and intimated as the hospital is huge! The Womens floor covers an entire city block from end to end. So I am waiting for my liscence to come through and hopefully I will get a job. We are almost finished moving in but I havent taken any pictures yet so I will have to post some later (after the overhaul of painting that desperately needs to be done).

On to the vacation we had last week. So we went up to the cottage for the annunal Templeman cottage week minus a few Templemans and kids. Although it felt like they were all there. Two of my sister inlaws had their babies a week before our cottage week and so all their kids and them were not able to come, however there were still 8 adults and 11 kids. Above are some pictures I captured of the week. We went boating, wakeboarding, cliff jumping and grandma templeman provided a plethera of events for the family olympics (tug of war, balloon toss etc. I must tell everyone that Ted lost to all the grandkids in the tug of war, it was hilarious) We also had the annual biathalon which involves all the neighbours and templeman clan but because I was in it I didn't get any pictures, sorry. We miss all our family and friends in Utah but don't worry I promise we will visit a ton.

Yosemite 2009!

2009-07-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

So I am finally getting around to posting our annual Cox family vaction to Yosmeite National Park. I think it took me 2 showers and hours of scrubing to get off all the dirt but it was all worth it. We ended up going a little early and spent a day at Magic Mountain--a huge amusment park in CA (which was all for Ted) as I am not so into the rollercoasters as he is. I went on as many rides as my weak stomach would allow. I think I did pretty well considering I went on all of them except 3 and even blacked out on one. I would call that sacrifice for my spouse! Ted was very grateful that we got to go. So after that and another 4 hours on the road we got to Yosemite Sunday afternoon.

Monday morning we awoke to Ted and Kenny (the grill chefs for the week basically) cooking up a mean breakfest of bacon and eggs for 30+ people. After that we hiked to Vernal falls with all the kids and adults and had fun looking at the pretty scenery and feeding the squirels. They wil eat things right out of your hands--its amazing, they aren't afraid of anything. We were excited to have David and Kaci come up that afternoon with all the kids. While they arrived safely, they did have some car trouble and unfortunately Kaci got sick with a temperature on Tuesday and had to leave Wednesday to go back to the hospital. We are grateful she is doing much better now and that they had fun while they were there.

On Friday was the Panorama Trail hike (8.2 miles) for the adults which as many of you can remeber was not my favorite things last time in Yosemite a few years ago!!!! But I am happy to say that I think I did very good this year as I knew what to expect (vigorous hiking, unstable ground, thousand foot drop-offs, cliffs, etc.). Ted was very proud of my camping/hiking improvements and can attest that I didn't complain once and even, dare I say, had fun. So we took some beautiful pictures and had a great time even though we were all vey sore afterwards. It took us only 3 1/2 hours to hike the 8 miles up and down the moutain. I think thats probably a little better than our last time which was closer to 5 hours probably. See I have improved so much! (I didn't even give Ted any "I hate you/I hate this hike/I hate camping/I hope you die" looks like last time!

All in all we had amazing time, got very dirty, and were very gratful to everyone who helped plan and carry out the trip. Special thanks to Barbara for doing some crazy planning and cooking to feed 40 people almost everyday. We wouldn't have been able to do it with out you. I'm sure we will all forget the craziness and do it again soon! Until then...

My 1st Triathlon!

2009-06-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I did my first triathlon with my friend Sarah from work and it was amazing. I had so much fun testing myself to see how far you can push yourself. To start the morning off Ted and Roxy came with me early in the morning at 5:30am and gave up sleeping in on their saturady morning to head to the race start. They were there to cheer me on through each event. Roxy also had some spectators herself, which consisted of a few children! We got there and it was windy and cold for a June morning in Utah. After I set up my bike and got my race packet we headed over to the pool shivering. Thank goodness the pool was heated. As we jumped in to start the race is started to spinkle rain. I jmped in the pool to do the 300m swim around the 7 minute mark crowd but I should have gone a little bit before that time as I wanted to pass like4 people as soon as I got in. Aparently I didn't know I'm a pretty fast swimmer. Ted says its from all his coaching skills he gave me on how to make my stroke better. I will admit I think it helped a lot training with his tips. Next year I think he should do one with me because he could fly through the swim and bike. So I ended getting out of the pool at 6minutes 30 seconds. I was pretty impressed as that was faster than any other training time I had. When I got back out to transition I was happy to see over half the bikes still there awaiting riders. I thought oh good I won't be last. (That was probably my biggest fear)

Next was the bike. I am terribly slow through the transition zones but I guess that will come with practise. I was too stressed to make sure I had everything I needed before taking off. The bike was extremely hilly and measured 12 miles total. Em's bike that she let me borrow saved me life. It was so easy to go up the hills with it instead of my heavy moutain bike. (Although I still ingested a few flys, just a little protein right!) I was just happy to get back to the transition zone without having fallen off the bike or gotten a flat tire. I started the run around 1:01 and ran the 5K trail in 28minutes which I was also pleased with as that was faster than my training time too. So my total time was 1:29minutes. I was just happy I did it in less than 2 hours.

Well it was a fun day and I'm glad I was able to do it with my friend Sarah. We will have to do another one together soon so I can try to improve my time now that I know what I'm doing, sort of. Hopefully I can convince my husband to do one with me!!!!

24 Years!

2009-05-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

My Roses from my wonderrful hubby! just like the ones when he proposed!
Flowers from my mom and dad
Ted savorying the moment
Me savorying every bite!
outside cheesecake factory

Well this past friday was my 24th birthday and I must say it was probably the best birthday I have had together with Ted. He did an amazing job! I had to work all day that day so when I woke at 5am and came down stairs a cute Happy Birthday Banner was there along with 2 dozen white Roses and one of my presents! He spoiled me rotten this year! My mom and dad also sent me this goregous boquet that was sitting on my door step before I left for work. It was the best way to start off my birthday except for haivng to go to work! Its a good thing I work with some amazing people that made up the difference! Thanks girls! Anyways so we decided to really celebrate on Saturday by going to be favorite restaurant The Cheesecake Factory! I swear everything I order there is amazing. And ofcourse Ted enjoyed the choice aswell. I got pictures of us both savorying every moment of the chocolate Godiva cheesecake(it is amazing if you have never tried it) Then we headed over to eh movie theater to see Angels and Deamons which was ok I still like the first better but whatever. And to top it all off listen up ladies my amazing hubby got me ballroom dance lessons for my birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know your all saying how did you get him to do that well it comes with lots of hints and pleading. So we are going to our first offical lesson this friday night I can't wait. I just want to say what amazing man I married. He is the love of my life and I don't know where or what I would be without him. You keep me falling in love you more and more each day. You given me the hope and strength I need when when I;m having a bad day. You know when I just need a good hug and a kiss and I love you more today then when we first got married. I love you hun forever and always. Thanks for all the work you do.

Camping in Zions

2009-05-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

Well this last weekend we went camping at Zion's National Park with Ted's parents, his brother Kenny--Jane, his wife--(sung to the tune of "the Jetson's"), and his sister Susi and her family. The boys cooked breakfast on Sunday morning for us all since it was Mother's day. On Saturday, we went on some nice little hikes and enjoyed the very sunny--if not a little too sunny--weather. It was nice but still nothing compared to Yosemite! The two phrases most oft repeated throughout the weekend were calls for the RV and "Yosemite is better!" Roxy enjoyed the numerous plants and bugs to sniff, and especially loved chasing all the little white fluffs that blew off the trees. Roxy exhausted herself so much, she has not moved from the couch since we got home! Anyways, thanks to Barbara for planning and cooking all those meals! I know how much work that must have been.

P.S. Poor Susi and Adam didn't really get to enjoy any of the trip as the twins were sick and it was just a little too crazy for the big group. We are glad we got to at least spend a little time with you guys. Thanks for making the trip even though I know how hard it was for you guys. Hope the girls are getting better. We're still hoping you make it to Yosemite!

Looking forward to spending some quality time with everyone at the real camping spot, Yosemite!

This is Roxy ready to leave Zion's hanging her head out the window!!!!!!!

Kenny and Jane packing up!

Susi holding Ella (I'm pretty sure thats Ella?!)
All the kids watching Roxy
The boys cooking breakfast!

Happy Mothers Day Mom!

2009-05-10T15:49:00.001-07:00

My Mom is on the right if you can't tell we look identical!

For my Mom:

So in honor of mothers day I thought I would post a blog dedicated to my mother. I wasn't able to spend mothers day this year with my wonderful mom so I thought I would share with her and everyone what an amazing mother I have. She is the most caring and loving person I have ever known. She knows how to make a hug make everything better no matter how hard things seem. She is the person I admire and look up to and I hope that I can be as good as a mother to my kids as she has been to me. She is the only person I want to care for me when I'm sick and I wish I lived closer so that she could sometimes! She inspires me everyday to have more hope and faith that everything will work out in life. I heard a quote sometime ago that you don't really understand how much your parents love you and sacrifice for their children until you become a parent yourself. I am so thankful for everything my parents have done for me. I am so truly blessed beyond measure. I have everything I could ever want because I know my parents love me more than I know. Well mom I hope you had a good mothers day and I wish I could be there to give you a big hug and kiss. You are the best mother in the world and my best friend. Love always your little rabbie! (and the best kid!)

Love always Meg!

Sorry mom this is the only picture on my computer of me and you! We need to take more.

A New Home Decor!

2009-03-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

Well, many of you don't know this but I have wanted a black high square kitchen table for about 4 years now and last weekend I finally got it. This was the first kitchen table we actually bought after being married for 4 years. While we lived in the condo we had this old plywood table that had been there for about 10 years and then when we moved to our house we used the table that came with the house which was impossible for entertaining as it had only 2 chairs. Anyways I never thought the day would come so as this may seem stupid to others it's a glorious day for me. I thought I would post a few pics of the new table and I am proud to say I went out and bought all the decorations for the table (or as Ted calls it foufou) for under 15 dollars! Not to mention we got the table for a steal of deal with 25 % off and a extra 10% off as an add in the paper. So basically it cost us under 200 bucks! I'm always looking for a great deal and I'm quite proud of this one. Who doesn't love a good deal. So here are some pictures to document the amazing find!

Mexican Cruise!

2009-02-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

Well we just got back from a beautiful week cruise to the Mexican Riveria. We spent the first 2 days at sea and soaked up the sun. Our first stop was Peurta Vellarta where we went off-road dunebugying!!!!!!! It was so much fun. We road in this little dunebugy down the streets of Mexico while following our tour guide to the off road mountain trails. We crossed a river and got absolutely soaked but I didn't get a picture to capture the adventure. By the time we were back at the boat we were covered in dust mud and dripping wet. People were starring at us like where have you been and what have you done to get that dirty. I wiped my face off with a nice white moist towel they give u as u get back on the boat and it was covered in dirt. It was one of the most fun and dirty things I have ever done. Well worth the adventure. Next was Mazatlan where we did a city tour and shopping( which means meg bartaring with the street vendors something she loves to do! Takes after her dad.) The last stop was Beautiful Cabo San Lucas where we actually went on our honeymoon 3 and a half years ago. The beaches were absolutely gorgeous and we had amazing weather all week. We soaked up as much sun as we could to hopefully last us till we get spring in utah! hopefully thats sooner rather than later. Ofcourse we had two formal diner nights on the boat where we dressed up and ate amazing food. It was a sad day walking off the boat back into reality. I turned to Ted in the taxi ride to airport home and said " Ok whens our next vacation and where?" He just shook his head.

I finally Did it!

2009-01-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

Well I finally did it!

Tami would be proud of me because I finally had the courage to die my hair dark! Its almost back to my natural color. I really like it. Its a nice change from constantly highlighting it. Ted didn't even noticed when he came home. I was shocked. He said it was darker but because I didn't change the style he said he didn't notice!(Such a boy anwser) Anyways here are some pics of the new hair and a few of roxy lounging with her dad.

Christmas 2008!

2009-01-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

Avery hanging on to Mom for dear life!
Sara and Jack

Jayden hitting a few pucks

All the girls eating ice cream!
Zoie is such a cute kid!

Well for christmas this year Ted and I spent a quiet night at home just the two of us. This was the first year we weren't with our family for christmas. It was a very uneventful christmas morning not having any kids excited and eager to open gifts. I can't wait for the day when we have kids old enough to understand the excitement of christmas morning, I think it makes us all think of christmas when we were young. I cooked my first christmas dinner this year and I think it went pretty well considering I didn't burn anything. In my eyes thats a job well done! After christmas day I worked and then left to go home to Canada for the rest of the holiday without my hubby who couldn't get the time off work. While home I played with the grandkids went shopping and ofcourse the annual family skating day!(which Ted was not sad he missed) Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

2008-12-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Well I am at work on christmas eve (I'm not sure I like this growing up thing and being responsible but oh well!! And don't get me wrong I love my job, who else gets to help bring miracles into the world.) missing all my family friends while hepling bring babies into the world. I must say even though I am at work and probably a little old to get excited about christmas presents I alway seems to get that childlike excitement waiting to open presents on christmas morning even if it is with just my hubby! It makes me remember all the fun presentsI have gotten over the years from "santa clause" especially the twin dolls which I asked for 4 years in row before I actually got them. Mom you will appreciate that!!!! But the most important thing I miss this year is not being able to be with my family and see my cute little nephews and nieces open their presents from santa. I will miss going sledding down the back hill and being pulled by the skidoo aruond the front field. Reflecting back on my many christmases and the presents I have recieved over the years I have learned that the best presents I have ever been given is the gift of a loving family who cares for me and a husband who wants nothing but to make my every wish come true. I love my family and husband very much and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Wish we were there to spend it with you.

Oh the Weather Outside Is Frightful!

2008-12-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well We had one heck of a winter wonderland storm here today. It was blowing and snowing all day. Thank goodness I didn't have to go to work because it would not be fun diriving in that weather. After Ted got home from work we went outside to play in the snow and shovel the driveway. We are definately going to have a white Chirstmas which I am so excited about. Roxy absolutely loves the snow. She sticks her head all the way in it and sniffs all around. We would throw snowballs at her and she would chase them and eat the snow. Its hilarious to see her bounding through the snow that is past her belly.

2008-12-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas is Here!

I finally decorated our house for the christmas season. We finally were able to get a nice big tree this year because our front has vaulted ceilings. Its 9 feet tall! We also have a place to hang our stockings this year for Santa to fill them (although we are saving for Teds schooling so Santa is going to be cutting back this year). Roxy and Kitty watched on as we decorated the tree and house. Roxy sat on the front window for hours watching Ted hang all the lights outside the house. Teds work is going well and we have his work christmas party tonight at his bosses house. And I have finally gotten a fulltime position at American Fork hospital starting in January. My offical count of babies I have delivery all by myself is 2 and the count contiunues to grow. I love my job it is such and exhiliarting feeling. Hope you are all doing well and we miss ya tons.

Las Vegas BABY!

2008-12-08T21:37:00.000-08:00

The annual Las Vegas Dental convention was this past November and the whole fam went to have some fun bathing in the sun and warm weather. The girls went shopping while the boys were "supposed to be at the convention" but we all know they were at the tables! Here are a few pics of Ted and I at the Venetian Hotel where we went and saw Phantom of the Opera as my gift to Ted for his birthday. We had a romantic dinner before the show at one of the many amazing restaurants in the Hotel. It was a fun trip and is now becoming a yearly event eventhough ted and I have nothing to do with dentistry. Can't wait for next year.

My Trip to Canada!

2008-05-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well this is the start of Ted's and mine blog which Ted set up for me. We thought we would finally join the blogging world. So to give you all a quick update on our lives. Ted is working in SLC for a commmercial real estate company called Marcus & Millichap. I am working as a nurse finally after 5 years of school at American Fork Hospital as a labor and delivery nurse and I love it. Its so fun taking care of the cute babies but it makes me a little baby hungry! So this past week I got to go home for a visit and be there for the birth of Drew and Kelly's baby. It was so fun to share the stressful but exciting moment. Kelly had to have an emergency C section because the baby's heart rate droped while she was pushing and didn't come back up. I was happy to help keep all the many worried parents informed of how safe and quick a C section is after seeing many myself. Kelly;s parents were so cute and thanked me for being there to make sure Kelly was getting the best care. So the had a beautiful baby boy named Noah and he is adorable. I will post some pictures of baby Noah finally at home after a long hard 3 days in the NICU but doing well now. I was sad to leave home because I didn't really get to see baby Noah without being hooked up to many tubes and wires but hopefully I will see him soon. Hope you all enjoy our new blog.