Mason turned 2!!!

I can't believe it has been 2 years since I had Mason. It really does seem like yesterday that I brought him home from the hospital. He has truly enhanced each of our lives and I can't imagine life without him. He is quite a character and has a fun personality. Although, he has shown us that he is entering the terrible twos. He does have a very independent and strong willed personality which he has been sharing it with us on a daily basis.

On his birthday, we did a couple of fun things. We went for a bike ride which he absolutely loves. He is never more content than when he is riding on the back of Jordan's back. He sits back and let's the wind blow through his hair. He smiles and enjoys himself thoroughly. Then we came back from the ride and had cake and opened presents. Unfortunately, my camera wasn't working when he opened presents, but I did get some cute shots of him eating cake. He was VERY happy to eat white cake and chocolate frosting. He does have a sugar tooth.

He loved the presents we gave him and had a fun time ripping the wrapping paper open to find his prize. He got a car, legos, a bubble machine, a leapfrog refrigerator magnet and a grouch t-shirt. He had a great day.

Happy Birthday Mason! I do want Mason to know that we love him with all our hearts and wish him a wonderful year full of happiness and fond memories.

A Bath Gone Bad...

On Sunday nights I am by myself at home with the boys because Jordan is working at Wee Care. So, I try to do some fun things with them while he is gone. Tonight, we played some games and then I told them they could take a bath in my bath. This is a real treat for my boys because I don't let them take a bath in there very often because they ALWAYS make a mess. But, I thought I would be nice and let them take a bath. I got the bath ready (a normal bath with no bubbles) and then left the bathroom. When I came back about 5-7 minutes later, this is what I found..

They had filled the water to the rim of the bathtub and dumped a ton of bubbles in the bath. Thank goodness I came in when I did or the entire bathroom would have been filled with water and bubbles. AAAHHHHH!!!

Well, it took about 30 minutes to clean up. The boys helped clean up some of the mess but I sent them to their room to get ready for bed. When I came to get them out of their bedroom, I ask Dylan to get his clothes out of the bathroom. He follows me and yells back at Luke "Mom is not mad!"

I said, "Yes, I am"

Dylan responds, "You don't have a mad face. When you are mad, you have a mad face"

Well, even though I didn't have a mad face, I wasn't pleased. But, I am sure this won't be the last mess I will catch my boys making.

Boys will be boys, especially my boys.

Dylan's 5th Birthday !!!

Dylan turned 5! He has been waiting for this day for about 364 days. Getting a year older
has been so important to him. He has been so excited to turn 5.

It was also the year that he was going to have his first friend birthday party. He has also been talking about his birthday party with his friends for almost a year. So, I knew that I needed to make this birthday special. I wanted to do a party that was fun but simple. So, I came across a franchise that does science birthday parties. The business is called Mad Science. They come to your home and they do an hour science show. They perform cool experiments with the kids and then explain how the experiment happens. I thought this was a cool idea as well as an educational one.

The birthday party lasted about 2 hours. The kids arrived at 10:30 and played outside for about a half an hour. Then Shockwave Sherry came to the party and did her thing.

Some of the experiments she performed were:

Indoor fireworks

A real light saber display

A light show with cool science glasses

Melting a Styrofoam face

Make some substance glow (aren't I a science genius, NOT)

Make glow in the dark slime

Here are some pictures of the Dylan melting a Styrofoam face .....

We had a total of about 14 kids come to the party. Here is a picture of the gang...

After the science show, the kids had cake and pizza and played some more outside. Then one of the highlights for Dylan was opening up birthday presents. He got a ton of great gifts. Here he is opening some presents.

After 2 hours of fun, the party came to an end. Dylan had a blast and I hope he can remember this 5th birthday party for years to come.

After the birthday party we decided to go to the park and fly kites. The wind was blowing but the sun was shining, so it was a perfect day to fly a kite. The boys got some kites from their Leprechaun O'Malley which came on St. Patrick's Day. So we took Uncle Tyler and went to go fly some kites.

We had such a good time. I can only remember a couple of times in my life where I flew a kite. I probably enjoyed myself more than the boys did. I think it is the coolest thing to take a little kite and see it get so high in the air and then stay in the air and move around from the wind. I loved it and so did the boys.

Here are the pictures of the kite flying...

We had 3 kites. One of the kites string broke and it flew away and landed on the roof of Bluff Ridge Elementary. The other two kites had some great flight time. The boys flew kites for about an hour.

They got tired of looking up in the sky toward the sun without glasses so they borrowed ours.

We had a few incidents where Lucas' kite needed to be repaired. Thank goodness we have some

talented hands to fix the kites and get them up in the air again. Jordan was very proud of his handy work.

Even Mason thought it was cool to fly kites. Mason received an Elmo kite which Dylan flew for an hour. Mason kept pointing in the sky and repeated "Elmo".

Mason gives kite flying a "Thumbs up"

It was such a beautiful day and I thought I was lay down and watch the kites fly in the gorgeous blue sky. Dylan decided to join me while flying his kite.

After kite flying we played a game of "Pig" on the blacktop. Dylan got stuck on the bed of the truck while trying to get a basketball out of the truck. He hung there for several minutes. His feet kept kicking and swinging but he couldn't get down and he was to scared to jump. I thought it was pretty funny. I was going to keep him there for a few more minutes but since it was his birthday, I saved him.

After kite flying we came home and played with his new toys. We then had dinner and then Dylan opened up our presents to him. He is one spoiled kid but I love him. I am so proud to have him as my son. It has been a wonderful 5 years and I look forward in spending at least 50 more with him.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Growing up, I didn't have a lot of traditions in our home. So, I guess you can say that I was tradition deprived. Because of the lack of traditions growing up, I might go a little over board with traditions with my kids. One of the things that I wanted to do with my kids is to have a lucky leprechaun come to our home and visit us on St. Patrick's Day. The little leprechaun's name is O'Malley. What O'Malley does is take the kids on a scavenger hunt to find a lucky treasure.

The treasure hunt starts with a clue in their room, so when the kids wake up in the morning they can look for the first clue and begin the hunt. The treasure hunt takes them all around the house and even outside to find the different clues. Finally, they will end the hunt with a treasure.

This year O'Malley's treasure to the boys was a kite and a candy bar for each boy. They found their treasure in the bed of dad's new truck. They thought it was really cool and couldn't wait to fly the kite.

Thanks O'Malley see you next year!

Taking a Bike Ride

I know I am not the only one who is excited for spring to be here. Our kids have been stir crazy for months. The minute it was warm outside, our family was ready for a bike ride. It was the first time that our family could take a "real" bike ride. It is the first time that both Lucas and Dylan can ride a bike (without training wheels) and Mason is old enough to sit on the back of a bike. So, we can finally venture out and try to go on a long bike ride.

Overall, it was a good ride. Don't get me wrong, there was some whining, a couple of falls and tears but overall there were more smiles than anything else. We actually looked like a small version of the "Sound of Music" bike ride. We were all in a straight line riding our bikes. Here is how it looked: Dad and Mason were in the front of the line, then Lucas, Dylan and then me. We rode about 6 miles or so and the boys felt good when we were done.

It was a good time and I am excited for many more bike rides in the future.

Here is a picture of the boys before we started....

Spending Time with Grandpa Marvin

My dad came to visit us in Utah this past weekend. He had some business and a wedding to go to this weekend and we were blessed to spend some time with him.

My boys absolutely love their Grandpa. Each boy since they were a baby just love their Grandpa. I honestly feel the Lord has put a special place in their heart for their Grandpa. I know they were really close before they came to this earth and are just developing their relationship further in this life. For me, it is so fun to watch and see how my dad interacts with my children. It always brings a smile to my face to see the love in my boys eyes when they are around their grandpa.

Whenever you ask why they love Grandpa Marvin they will always say"Because he tickles me and plays with me". My dad is really good at playing around with my kids and making them laugh. Obviously, laughter for a child is a big selling point when it comes to feeling comfortable with someone and wanting to be around them. This weekend was full of playing, tickling. laughing and spending time with Grandpa Marvin.


Here are a couple of pictures of the boys and Grandpa Marvin....





We all love you Grandpa Marvin!!!

A New Experiment in the Rowell Household!!!

Last weekend, I went to a Birthday Party for one of my friend's twin boys and I was talking to their mom Stephanie (who is completely amazing) and she told me of something that has really had a positive impact on their family. She implemented a special day during the week for each of her boys. During their special day they get to have special priviledges and make choices that make them feel important and "special".

What has happened in their household, is her boys act better during their special day and the other kids treat the special "boy" better. They have less fighting and more harmony. So, I thought "I could use some harmony in my house and I will try anything that will make my boys act better", so on Monday during Family Home Evening, I introduced the "special" day program.

We talked about what does "special" mean and what things can we do to make someone feel special or not special. Then I talked about how we are going to have a "special" day for each person in our family. I laid all the rules out:

Rule 1: They need to act special all day. This means they make good choices and be an extra good boy.

Rule 2: Other people in the family need to treat the "special" person, special all day. They are respectful and kind and make them feel good all day long.

Rule 3: They get to choose who says the prayer during the day.

Rule 4: They get to pick what to eat for dinner.

Rule 5: They get to choose what computer game or TV shows they can watch during TV time.

Rule 6: They get a special plate, bowl and cup to use during meal times.

Rule 7: They get to pick other choices that are presented during the day, which mom and dad allow them to pick.

Well, the "special" day schedule is as follows:

Monday: Jodi

Tuesday:Dylan

Wednesday: Mason

Thursday:Lucas

Friday:Jordan

It has been a week since we implemented the "special" day program and I am happy to say that it went pretty well. My house isn't completely harmounious by any means, but there was a little less fighting and more excitement over the priviledge of having a special day. I am really excited to see how this will play out.

I am so grateful for wonderful women in my life whom can share their knowledge and wisdom with me and help me to be a better mom and provide a better home for my kids.