The Rowell Record

Luke's Basketball 2010

2010-12-01T10:42:00.014-07:00

Luke has been begging to play basketball, so we enrolled him in Junior Jazz. This was a learning season for him. He learned, he had fun and he got some exercise. It was a successful season because he enjoyed himself and wanted to do it again the next year.

Here are some pictures of a game that Luke played in during the basketball season.

Football of 2010

2010-08-25T09:50:00.012-06:00

Lucas is playing football again. I really wasn't sure he wanted to play again after his first experience with football last year. All year he said he wanted to play again. I was surprised because he was terrified the whole football season about getting hit and getting hurt. His emotions were really messed up from the beginning of the football season because his first game he got his trash kicked by an "X" man on the other team. The boy weighed over a hundred pounds while Luke weighed about 70 pounds. Each play the "X" man would slam Luke down to the ground. Luke was crying after the first play and had a miserable experience.

After that game, he just couldn't play football very well because he was terrified. So, I was hesitant about signing him up again, but he said he really wanted to play. He did asked if that "X" man is still playing with the 7 and 8 year old teams. I told him "No" and Luke was instantly relieved.

So, here we are a year later and this time Luke is a completely different player. He is bigger and more confident. We weren't sure how he would be but we are amazed at practices how aggressive he is.

I don't know who is more excited about Luke playing football, Luke or Jordan. I think it is probably Jordan. He wants Luke to play well that he is willing to do anything to get him motivated. So, Jordan made a deal with Luke (obviously I wasn't there) that if he tackled the guy with ball 4 times during his first game that Jordan would buy him a cell phone. Why a cell phone? Because for the past year Luke has been begging to get a phone. I basically told him when hell freezes over (O.K. maybe not in those words) that an 8 year old in this household would not have a cell phone. But, he consistently asked again and again. Jordan thought that this was a safe bet but we learned real quickly not to underestimate Luke when it comes to material rewards.

So when Jordan said he would get a cell phone, he had a fire in his eyes that I haven't seen him before. The game begins and within the first quarter he tackles the guy with the ball 4 times. We were both in shock. That punk has been holding out on us the whole time.

I was mad at Jordan. Why did he make this bet anyways? We are just teaching him that he only works hard when he gets something. But, we kept our word and today Luke has a cell phone. It is a go phone. So, it is a pay as you go. We paid $18.00 and now Luke has to earn minutes. The only semi-good thing that came out of this is that Luke has to earn minutes on his phone. The phone came with $5.00 of minutes (which equals about 2 days of calling and texting). He hasn't earned anymore yet, but I am sure he will.

Also, we told him if he played hard during practice we would shave his head into a mohawk. This is another thing he has been asking for. So, the night before his first game, we shaved his head. He has perfect thick hair for this haircut. He look pretty cool. He only had it for one day because he can't have that kind of haircut for school. But we did get a few pictures.

Here they are....

Well, Luke has played three games and they still haven't won a game. They did score a touchdown last week. Even though they didn't win, Luke has played really well. He got a taste of what it is like to do well and I hope he will continue to work his hardest.

Here are some more pictures of Luke playing football.

Staples in the head

2010-08-25T09:30:00.004-06:00

As I said previously, Mason is the most accident prone child (except McKay Brinkerhoff) I know. He literally hurts himself several times a day. It really doesn't even phase me anymore. Well, last week we went to back to school night for Lucas and Dylan.

I was walking down the hallway and turned to go into a classroom. At the same time, Mason was running down the hallway after me and as I was turning into the room, he runs into me and then bounces off my hip and hits his head into the classroom doorknob. Immediately, blood started spurting out of his head.

I couldn't believe it. Not again! So, Jordan picked him up and started running down the hallway. Blood is all over Jordan and running down the side of Mason's head. The administration of the school rush to help out and gave him a towel to cover his head.

Jordan needed to get the car so I took Mason outside and waited for him on the curb of the school. A women who worked at the school stayed by my side and was very concerned for Mason. There was blood everywhere and it looked really gruesome. But, I was calm and I wasn't really concerned. I knew head wounds bleed a lot and I was sure it was just a little cut.

I didn't think it needed stitches but Jordan said we needed to take him to Wee Care because he was sure he needed stitches. We went to the doctor and he took a look at it and said immediately "Yeah, it is a deep cut, he is going to need staples in his head". Dang it! Jordan was right.

I was shocked, I didn't think it was that bad. But after he cleaned up all the blood and I took a look at the wound, I realized it was a deep wound.

But, Mason was a trooper and didn't cry as they put staples in his head. Actually, when they took the staples out of his head a week later he laughed the whole time.

I wish I could say that this would be the last time I am going to report about a head wound from Mason but I am going to be honest and tell you that we will probably have another one in a week or so.

Until then here are the pictures of his staples...

Mason's Bump on Head

2010-07-25T22:24:00.000-06:00

I have a son who literally hurts himself every single day. It always amazes me how he can be doing normal routine activities and he will somehow get hurt.

In this incident, I have to say that he wasn't doing normal routine activities when he got this bump. He was riding on a scooter with Lucas. Of course, he wasn't wearing his helmet like he should have and he went flying off the scooter and his forehead hit the street.

This is what it looked like moments after the accident. It has been a couple of months since this happened and he still has a mark and a small bump on his forehead.

Stay tuned for another blog entry with another head injury from Mason.....

Triatholon

2010-07-23T10:51:00.001-06:00

About 2 years ago, We (the Andersons and ourselves) were sitting around the table playing games and somehow the subject of doing a triathlon came up. Jordan and Mike started talking about how they should do a triathlon. Joy and myself started laughing because we didn't believe they were serious. They didn't exercise very much and to complete a full fledged triathlon, I didn't think they would do it. I think that triggered something inside of them and they made it a goal to do it.

Jordan began training but because of some unfortunate events with Jordan's work schedule he couldn't participate in the triathlon in 2009. But, he wasn't going to let this goal go by the wayside. He was determined to complete the triathlon.

He re-registered in 2010 and he worked really hard to get in shape for it. I was really impressed with his dedication and how hard he worked.

In July 2010, he completed his first triathlon. He participated in the Spudman in Idaho.

Here is Jordan running the last stretch of the race.

He was extremely focused and sprinted the last part of the race.

We were all cheering him on.

Here is Jordan and Mike exhausted after finishing the triathlon.

Nate Anderson giving Jordan a big "I am glad you didn't die" hug.

With sweet on his brow and pride in his heart, Jordan contemplates the goal he just accomplished.

Jordan absolutely loved the entire experience. He was so happy and he felt so good because he overcame something difficult. He loved the experience so much he made it a goal to participate in the Spudman every year.

Stay tuned until summer of 2011, maybe I will join him in the feat.

Treehouse Museum

2010-07-20T22:29:00.020-06:00

I have a wonderful family. Justin, my younger brother, was so sweet and at a moment notice decided to come to visit myself and the boys in Utah while Jordan was gone away on a work trip. I thought he was crazy because he was going to travel from California to Utah with his 3 little girls on a Friday and then turn around and go back on Sunday. But, he wanted to come and see me and the boys and was willing to sacrifice the hellish ride both there and back to spend time with us.

Unfortunately, he had car trouble both trips and went through a lot of crap but he never complained. I felt horrible for all the stuff he had to go through but I loved having him here. We rarely get to see them and I completely enjoyed our time together.

We took the kids to the Treehouse Museum on Saturday and they were in heaven. Justin's girls: Callie, Mariah and Nora have incredible imaginations and made the trip so fun. Because they play so well, they were able to show my boys how to play dress up and use their imaginations at the different areas of the museum. We spend hours there and I really enjoyed myself.

Here are some pictures of the kids:

Luke and Callie riding a bull in a rodeo.

Dylan's turn riding with Callie

All the kids were in a little play at the museum. The employees told a story and the kids acted out the parts. Luke was the dad in the story, Callie was a child, Dylan was a child and Mason, Mariah, and Nora were different farm animals. Here is a picture of Callie and Dylan on the stage acting there part.

Mariah and Dylan racing to the next fire!!!

Luke dressing up as the father in the play. I love this pictures. He looks so sweet and innocent.

Mason playing some instruments and playing the part of a pirate.

Nora trying to play the part of a pirate but the hat was a tad bit big on her.

But, she does make an adorable pirate.

My favorite picture of the day. Mariah putting on some more dress up clothes.

Prince Luke giving his suave pose for the camera.

Callie dressing up like royalty. She really fits the part.

Justin getting into the role play with the kids and dressing up like a court jester.

Queen Mariah in her castle.

Overall it was a great day! My kids loved hanging out with their cousins and using their imagination all day.

Island Park 2010

2010-07-20T10:24:00.000-06:00

This past summer we were invited to go to Island Park with a bunch of couples. We have attended this couples only weekend a few times before.

It is a fun time where we play games, talk, laugh, relax and not have to worry about anything.

This year we had a great time. The guys always think of stupid things they can do to show off to one another. This year the decided to do the strongest man competition in Island Park.

Here are a few pictures of the competition:

One of the competitions they did was bench press log seats.

Jordan was all ready to lift the bench when Mike jumped on the bench without Jordan knowing. After a lot of grunting and pushing and not being able to move the bench one inch, he finally figured out that he had about 200 plus more weight to lift.

One of the other competitions they did was to see how far they could throw a log with one hand. Here is Jordan doing his best to throw the log.

Nate Anderson doing his best to throw his log.

A face only a mother can love! Rod putting all his energy into getting that log in the air.

Can you believe he can throw a log from his fingertips?????

Another challenge is to throw a stone over their heads to see how far it can go.

Mike taking a look at the competition and how far he had to throw.

Jordan trying to keep up with the other boys, but didn't win this competition.

The Anderson boys trying to look suave while throwing their rock.

Jordan giving it a 100%.

Jordan also trying to look Rico Suave.

Rod, Nate and Jordan. The 3 Amigos.

If looks can kill, we would all be dead. Mike getting really serious about the task at hand.

Lifting the log contest.

This is the back view of the cabin we stayed in.

This is the river in the back yard of the cabin.

Mike explaining the games that we would play the first night at the cabin.

Overall, it was a fun trip that allowed us to have a Calgon moment and just get away.

Two thumbs up!

We have a girl in the family!!!!

2010-07-19T22:11:00.004-06:00

Tonight as we were hanging out, somehow the idea came up that Mason wanted to dress up as a girl. He was excited about the idea, so I went to get some props. I don't have much for a little girl but I got my trek bonnet and a dress that I have kept in the boys closet just in case I ever had a girl. Fortunately, it was just his size and this is what we came up with...

Either gender he is a cute kid!!!!

Clearfield's 4th of July Parade

2010-07-03T21:36:00.000-06:00

For the past two years, we have attended the Clearfield's 4th of July Parade. It is fun for the kids and Breanne's (our nanny) grandma house is right on main street so we always have great seats. This year we had both of my parents and my niece and nephew with us because they came for Luke's baptism. It was fun for the kids and they got some candy which always makes any activity a success.

Here are some pictures I took.....

Breanne and Mason

Breanne, Aubrey, Mason and Heather

Elijah and Dylan

Grandma and Julianna

Grandpa and Luke

That night we went over to the Clearfield's Junior High field and watched fireworks. It was a great show and the kids loved it.

Jelly Belly Factory

2010-06-08T10:33:00.000-06:00

This summer we went to visit Grandpa Marvin and Grandma Marcia. As one of the activities that we did together we went to was the Jelly Belly Factory. We were able to go on a tour and see how the jelly bellies are made and the history of the jelly belly. It was entertaining and the boys did pretty well during the tour.

We weren't able to take pictures inside the plant but here are the boys (with their jelly belly hat) outside next to the Jelly Belly van.

As a gift from the factory, each person got a bag of Jelly Bellies. The boys were in heaven and had a good time.

Luke's 8th Birthday

2010-06-01T10:37:00.000-06:00

Luke turned eight. I can't believe it! I have a son who is 8 years old. That seems crazy to me. It seems like yesterday I was holding this little 7 pound boy in my arms at LDS hospital wondering what he would be like when he was 8 years old. Now that time is here and it is all very surreal.

He has been so excited for years to turn eight. He knows this is a big year for him. He is going to be baptized and go into 3rd grade.

For his birthday we took him on a date to a Japanese restaurant. He was in pure heaven. Watching food flying though the air and then land on his plate. It was a perfect day.

Here are a couple of pictures of Luke with his birthday cake.

Luke wearing the birthday hat and getting excited to blow out his candles.

Luke putting 100% into blow out each candle and making sure his birthday wish comes true.

Keep going Luke, you are almost there!

Luke we love you so much and are so proud of the young man you are becoming. Thank you for always bringing a smile to our faces and for the sweet spirit you possess.

Happy Birthday Luke!

Skinhead Rowell Boys

2010-05-01T10:18:00.000-06:00

For some reason, Luke got it into his head that he wanted to shave his head. I don't know why he wanted to do it but he kept bugging me about it. So, being the great Mother that I am (ha ha) I told him he could shave his head but not until after we took Easter pictures.

Of course, the minute that Dylan saw Luke's head he wanted to shave his head. Then the domino effect happened and Mason wanted it as well. I had to put my foot down on Mason but I did allow Dylan to do it.

Here is what they look like.

Before

After

Happy Skinhead Day!!!!

Flying Kites with the Koellings

2010-04-28T18:45:00.001-06:00

Lindsay and Pat live in Provo and we get to see them periodically. It is always a good time and my boys LOVE them!!!!

Well, this spring we decided to try the age old tradition of flying kites. It was such a good time. I am always amazed at how high a kite can fly. I am 36 and I still get a huge smile on my face when I see the kite work its way up into the sky.

Of course, we had a couple of kites that did really well in the air and then 1 kite that was a real dud.

We all had a good time and can't wait to do it again next year.

Pat brought his own kite and was having a great time with it. It had some issues but he didn't mind.

Luke trying to kite Pat's kite to fly.

Luke hanging out while his kite is flying in the sky.

Pat got his exercise that day running up and down the field trying to get his kite to fly.

Mason took a break from kite flying to go and visit the horse that lives right next to the field.

Tyler came by to see the exciting action of kite flying on a Sunday afternoon.

Pat and Lindsay have a ferret and they brought him along for the fun.

Dylan showing his skills in kite flying by only holding the handle with one hand.

Kite flying can be an exhausting activity, so Mason decided to lay down to fly his kite.

Dylan holding "Frito" the ferret.

Luke was Pat's side kick during the kite flying session. Here he is getting Pat's kite to fly.

The boys watching their kite fly.

Mason working hard and using some muscle to fly his kite.

The smiles kite flying brings to people's faces. I love it!!!

Mason proud of himself for his skills in kite flying.

You better watch out, he is going to fly this kite no matter what!!!!

Rico Suave!!!

Good times and Great memories!!!!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2010-04-26T09:55:00.000-06:00

As always during Easter time, the good old tradition of coloring Easter eggs happens once again. The kids love it and I have to admit I do too!!

But, it does take on a different meaning as a Mom. I get a bit stressed out that the kids are going to spill all over the place and create a huge mess in the kitchen. Why do I do that??? Instead of enjoying the experience I have to micro manage the event so that I do not have to spend a ton of time cleaning up after the festivities. Oh well! It is just another thing I have to add to my list of personality improvements.

After all is said and done, the kids did have a good time and here are some pictures of them coloring eggs.

A cheezy "I love coloring eggs" smile from Luke.

Mason probably had the best time of all the boys. He loves picking up the eggs and dropping it into the different colors.

The boys and Breanne in the process of coloring eggs.

A simple activity that brings so much joy!!!

Luke waiting patiently for his egg to be done.

Dylan carefully setting his white egg into the cup of color.

A stressed out face as he carefully tries not to crack his egg in the cup.

Overall, a good time and the boys always enjoy themselves. And my goal, to not get to worked up about the mess next year.

Happy Easter!

Easter Pictures 2010

2010-04-24T19:35:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures that I took on Easter Sunday of the boys.

Happy Easter!!!!

Mason's 3rd Birthday!

2010-03-30T09:48:00.000-06:00

Mason is turning the big 03. He figured out this last Christmas how fun opening up presents is and he was very excited to have his birthday so he can have his turn opening up presents.

Here are some pictures of his birthday.

Dylan wearing the birthday hat.

Mason excitedly opening up his presents.

Mason getting his finger into the frosting of his birthday cake. He loved having a birthday cake that was dedicated to him.

I can't believe my baby is turning 3 and is becoming a little guy. He is full of energy, humor and brings so much happiness into our family.

Happy Birthday Mason!!!

Dylan's First School Program

2010-03-26T09:34:00.001-06:00

Dylan is in kindergarten this year. At the end of the year, his school had a kindergarten program. It was a Cowboy and Indian theme and Dylan was a cowboy and did some square dancing. He was really excited to show us his dance and how hard he practice the steps.

I did video the dance but it was to big to download on this blog. But, trust me, it was adorable watching him take his girl partner and performing his dance.

Here is Dylan standing in line for the square dancing program.

This is Dylan when he spotted us for the first time in the audience. I love the expression on his face. He is so excited and happy to see us watching him.

He did a wonderful job and is talking about how excited he is for the 1st grade program.

Stay tuned..........

Dylan's 6th Birthday!

2010-03-21T09:39:00.000-06:00

Dylan has been so excited to turn 6 years old. It is hard for me to believe that in 10 short years he will be driving. On one hand, it seems like he has been a part of our lives forever but then it seems like yesterday, I was sitting in sacrament and going into Labor.

Here are some pictures of Dylan's 6th Birthday....

Dylan wearing the birthday hat!

Dylan participating in his favorite part of his birthday.... OPENING PRESENTS!!!!

A facial expression that says a thousand words.

Mason getting excited about Dylan's presents.

Dylan loves puzzles. Here he is giving a cheezy smile and holding up a Transformers puzzle.

Dylan blowing out candles on his birthday cake and making a wish.

Happy Birthday Dylan! We love you and can't express how you have blessed our lives. I hope you have a great year full of happiness and great memories.

Visiting New Mexico

2010-03-17T09:36:00.001-06:00

As a family, we haven't taken many family vacations. But, we wanted to go somewhere this year. Jordan has a good friend that lives in Texas and we decided that it would be fun to do something together as the two families. We decided to meet in New Mexico where Kevin (Jordan's friend) grew up. There was a lot of out door stuff and activities to do which all the boys would enjoy.

One afternoon, we took everyone out to go shooting. We had a ton of guns and targets and everyone went crazy. Here are some pictures of the activity.

Lucas taking some shots and actually hit some of the targets.

Danny (one of Kevin's girls) taking some shots.

Mason and Breanne (Kevin's sister) watching everyone shooting. I love those neon earplugs in Mason's ear.

This was the highlight of Jordan's year. Nothing can make Jordan happier than when he has a gun in his hand.

Mason and Breanne taking a little walk in the desert.

Kevin shooting his targets.

Trying to hit a target. I tried several times but I didn't hit one thing.

Dylan concentrating on the target.

Dylan spent a lot of time picking up ammo shells. He was excited about how many shells he could pick up.

Kristi (Kevin's wife) taking some shots.

One of the other activities we did on vacation was buy sling shots and have the boys go hit some things. They got pretty good and had a ton of fun.

Here is the Peterson family.

Mason out in the desert.

Mason trying to do the sling shot. He struggled, but if the rock went anywhere he was excited.

Jordan getting serious about his sling shot. One of the fond memories that Jordan has as a boy was getting a sling shot on a vacation and using it the whole time. It really took him back and made him happy.

One of the other things we did was stop at a little outdoor museum. Here is a jeep that was made out of license plates. Jordan thought this was cool.

The boys next to an elephant statue.

Luke on a stone crocodile.

"Four"

The boys next to some animal statues.

Overall, we had a good time in New Mexico and enjoyed ourselves.

Luke's First Diorama

2010-03-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

I remember hating doing homework as a kid. Little did I know that once you have kids you have to do school work all over again, including reports. As a kid and teenager, I remember stressing out about reports and not being able to enjoy myself until the report was over. I always procrastinated doing homework and/or reports until the last minute and having to stay up real late the night before it was due trying to get it done on time. Hopefully, I will be able to get my kids to be a little more proactive but the feeling of stress is still the same today.

Luke came home and showed me that he had a report to do on the profession of a Doctor. He had to write a report, give an oral report and create a diorama.

We got it done and here is the final project. This is a doctor's exam room.

Luke got a good grade and was very proud of what he accomplished. One down and hundreds more to go!!!

Going to Vegas

2010-02-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, I got Jordan a weeks vacation in Las Vegas. To be honest, the only time that I really see Jordan really happy is when he gets a new tool, gets a new gun or is in a casino. So, I thought I would brighten up his world and take him on a trip to Vegas.

At first I thought, what are we going to do for a week in Vegas? But, we did a lot of fun stuff and had a good time.

Some of the things we did were:

Went to the "O" at the Bellagio - very good!

Went to an improv comedy show - really funny!

Saw "The Lion King" - good!

Went to the movie Avatar in 3D - surprisingly good!

Went on a hike in Red Rock Canyon - beautiful!

Went to Hoover Dam - amazing!

Went to a Time Share Presentation - boring but we got a couple of good gifts and money.

Took Naps - wonderful!

Went to Buffets - probably shouldn't have but you can't go to Vegas without going to one.

Went Shopping - got some good deals!

Went to different casinos - won some money and lost some, overall we broke even.

Went to the "Price is Right" live show - not even close to the real thing, but it was fun.

We had a really good time and enjoyed getting away. I really didn't take my camera to several of the places while we were in Vegas. But, I did take it when we went to Hoover Dam and on our hike. Here are some of the pictures that I took.

Jordan under a statue at Hoover Dam. This was a tribute to all the people that died making Hoover Dam a reality.

This is a bridge they are making at Hoover Dam. It is amazing to look at this structure in person.

When we went on a hike, we saw some really cool rocks that I had to take a picture of.

Hoover Dam

Red Rock Canyon

Jordan out in nature

It was a good trip that we both really needed. We both feel blessed to be able to have opportunities to take a vacation and reconnect with each other and take a step out of the daily grind.

Mason loves Deseret Industries

2010-01-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

Periodically we go to Deseret Industries and let the boys pick out a toy if they have done something good during the week. This trip to Deseret Industries, Mason picked out a red car. Mason loves cars, but for whatever reason he played with this car for weeks and wouldn't let it out of his sight. Here are a couple of pictures of Mason playing with his car.

Jordan build a ramp for the boys to use. Mason loved it!!

He kept playing with this ramp and got really excited every time the car went down.

Thank heaven for Deseret Industries!!!

The Best Christmas present ever!!!

2010-01-05T09:11:00.001-07:00

For Christmas we got the boys some electric scooters. They were in heaven! Even though it was cold outside but they were outside riding those scooters all over the place.

Here are some pictures of them riding their scooters.

Dylan was born to ride these things. He doesn't have any fear.

They made a little ramp for the scooters. Here is Luke jumping off the ramp.

Uncle Pat was outside playing with the boys and their scooters.

Riding one scooter isn't enough for Dylan anymore. He is trying to ride two.

The rule is if they want to ride a scooter they have to wear a helmet. Here is Luke playing by the rules.

Murder Mystery Party - The Class of '54

2009-12-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

My sister Lindsay gave me a murder mystery game for my birthday over 7 years ago and I never have done it. Finally, this year my friends and I decided to do it for New Years Eve. I was really excited to do it and tried my best to get Jordan and myself looking the part.

The theme of the party was the Class of "54.

Here is a description of our role:

Jordan:

Calvin Q. Layder:

The son of prominent Roley City insurance salesman, C.U. Layder "Cal" is a certified genius. While at many schools a science wizard would have no chance of joining the "in" crowd. Cal was a social success during high school largely because he was a terrific practical joker. His jokes, often directed at school administration and occasionally at city officials, earned him such high standing among the students at Roley High that he was a welcome member of any group.

Jodi:

Penelope Lofer

Penolope is the former Penny Roley. Rock N. Roley twin sister. She and Rock grew up in a wealthy family that lived in a big white mansion called "Roley House". During her youth, Penny made sure the house was filled with constant teen-age activity. Today, Penny is a hometown girl who married her high school boyfriend and lives in a pretty house not far from her former home.

It was a fun night playing these characters and getting to find out who killed Rock N Roley. It turns out that Jordan (Cal) was the one who killed Rock N Roley because he was heart broken because the girl he was in love with was killed in High School and Cal felt it was Rock N Roley fault.

We are excited to do another party with a different theme and feel it was a fun activity to play with some good friends.

Christmas with the Rowell Family

2009-12-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to have the Rowell's come to our house in December to exchange gifts and spend some time together before Christmas. We had a good time and enjoyed each others company. We had breakfast, built Christmas gingerbread houses and opened presents. It was a fun day and we enjoyed spending time with each other.

Here are some pictures:

Grandma and Grandpa Rowell

Ryan and Lucas working diligently to build the best gingerbread house.

The finally product. It looks great!!!

The dynamic duo working on beating Ryan and Lucas at having the best gingerbread house.

The proud builders Jared and Dylan showing off their gingerbread house.

Mason and Savannah working on their gingerbread house. Mason was in heaven working with
Savannah on this. He was all smiles!!!

Mason loved building this gingerbread house but I think he likes eating it better!!!

Jodi opening up her gift from the Ryan. She likes gift cards!!!

Ryan getting some studly clothes from the Rowell's.

Jared opening up his gift. A new sweater always brings a smile on Jared's face.

Savannah getting excited about her new clothes. Pink is definitely her color.

Kenny getting the perfect gift... A transformer!!!

Luke died and went to heaven when he opened up his present from Grandma and Grandpa and it was a MP3 player. He couldn't stop smiling.

Dylan opening up some Bakagans from Grandma and Grandpa.

Mason opening up his first present of the Christmas season. It was more fun watching him tear the paper than anything else. He wasn't sure if he was going to get in trouble for tearing the paper. Once he realized it was O.K.,then he went to town. He got a CARS race track and love it.

Dad trying to open up the CARS race track. They make it almost impossible to open up the toy because they have so many ties and straps that it takes 20 minutes just to open the toy.

Overall, it was a fun day and we feel blessed to have family close by to share Christmas with.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T09:13:00.001-06:00

It is Halloween time. My kids always get so excited about Halloween and all the dreams of getting a ton of candy to eat and going out in their costumes. One of the activities that we did last Halloween season which the kids loved was going to a pumpkin patch and picking out a pumpkin. So we bundled everyone up and headed off to the pumpkin farm. Part of the activity is getting on a tractor trailer and riding over to the pumpkin patch and picking the perfect pumpkin for each family member.

Here are a few pictures of them at Days Farm.

Just a little side note. When we came home and started carving out pumpkins, I was shocked by how Luke reacted to the smell of the pumpkin. When he carved into his pumpkin and took off the top of the pumpkin he couldn't handle the aroma of the inside of the pumpkin. You would of thought by how he was reacting, that he was carving into a dead body. He was covering his mouth, gagging and just couldn't handle it. We decided that next year he wasn't going to get a pumpkin or he just needed to paint the outside of the pumpkin instead of carving one out. My kids never cease to amaze me.

The big decision that every kid has to make in October is what are they going to dress up like for Halloween. We decided that since Luke lost both of his front teeth a month or so before Halloween and all you could see was his fangs anyways, then a vampire was the perfect costume for him. Dylan really didn't have much of a choice in his costume. I got his costume last year after Halloween. He was going to dress up like Prince Caspin. But, he was happy that he not only got to wear a costume, but also have a sword and a shield. As for Mason, I had a sheep costume that I had both Luke and Dylan wear when they were 2 years old. But Mason wasn't going to put that costume on for anything. He freaked out about wearing something on his head and body that was white and fury. The only thing he would let us do was color his hair. So, we decided that he would be a punk rocker. His costume turned out really cute and he loved wearing it.

Here are some pictures of the boys in their costumes:

Luke was all about wearing the make up and putting a lot of red blood around his mouth. He really got into the role of Dracula.

Dylan loved wearing his costume and showing everyone how heroic he is.

He is a natural rocker. He has the attitude and the look.

Overall, they had a great Halloween filled with a lot of candy and good memories.

Here comes Batman!!!

2009-10-14T09:36:00.006-06:00

Mason really likes Batman. He always wants to wear his Batman pajamas. One night I found a Batman mask and he just went wild. He started to do some Batman moves and was running around the house trying to save us from the villians. It is nice to have a superhero in our home.

Mason's buddy Emma

2009-09-19T22:16:00.004-06:00

Mason loves playing with Emma Brinkerhoff. He talks about her all the time and how he wants to go play with her. Whenever we drive by their house, he always yells her name and says he wants to go see Emma. She is such a cute girl and they play really well together. I feel really blessed to have such great neighbors who not only help us out a ton but are fun to play with as well.

The year of losing teeth

2009-09-19T22:13:00.005-06:00

This has been a year of losing teeth for both Lucas as well as Dylan. The tooth fairy has had to give up some money this year and will continue to do this in the next. Here is a picture of Lucas with his tooth as well as a toothless smile.

Spending Time with Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Pat

2009-09-19T21:54:00.006-06:00

One of the things the boys love is when Uncle Pat and Aunt Lindsay come and visit. They are a ton of fun and the boys always have a blast. They play with their nephews and always make them smile.

Pat had the pleasure this summer (after a lot of coaxing on my part about how he needs to learn this skill sometime) of bathing Mason and getting them ready for bed for the first time. I have to admit I had a ulterior motive when I asked him. I really did want Pat to learn how to bath a child but I wanted a good laugh too. I knew Pat would be a good sport about it but would make humorous comments along the way. He didn't let me down. It was pure enjoyment watching him put Mason through the night regime of getting ready for bed. He did a great job and I can't wait for him to do it again when he comes back to visit. What is the saying, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and he feeds himself for a lifetime". Just kidding Pat. We love you and appreciate your help!!

Take a look at the pictures Lindsay took of Mason getting ready for bed. Priceless.....

Are you ready for some Football!!!

2009-09-19T21:53:00.003-06:00

I was visiting teaching Amy Sorenson and I brought up the subject that I really want my children to be active in some type of sports so they can have a good time plus be healthy. She suggested that I look into football with Syracuse city. The football league starts kids playing football at age 7. Luke actually brought up wanting to play football several times with me, but I think it was because he really wanted to wear all the gear not because he wanted to actual play the game. Luke is all about the uniform.

When I found out that they actually did have a program that he could play, I asked Luke if he was really interested in playing football. He answered with a resounding "YES". I told him that it would be very hard and that football isn't like all the other sports he had played previously. They were really going to make him work. I tried to scare him a little so he knew that it wasn't going to be easy. But, that didn't deter him and said he was very excited to play.

Honestly, I didn't even know how much of a commitment football was going to be. They had drafts and expected a 100% commitment from the boys once they were on a team. We are the Syracuse Storms. Football has been our life for the past couple of months. They practice Tuesday thru Friday for about 2 hours, and then they play a game on Saturday. We have gone to almost every single practice because we wanted to support Luke and know how he is doing in practice. Jordan has been really committed to football and has even offered to take stats for the games.

Overall, the season has had a lot of ups and downs. We haven't scored a touchdown the entire season. We still have one last game, so I am crossing my fingers.

The first game we played was a rough one. We played against Bear River. They must have been on steroids because they were HUGE. Luke was playing Center and was against the "X" man. He weighed about 105 pounds compared to Luke's 60 pounds. He rammed Luke over every single play. After the first hit, Luke was terrified and was crying saying that he didn't want to play football anymore. I felt really bad because he was getting pummeled the whole game. But he finished the game and was a good sport. After the game, I asked him what he liked about the game he said "Half Time". I just laughed. This poor boys first experience with football is getting tackled by a boy who probably looks like Goliath to Luke.

After that experience, Luke had a lot of head trash. It effected his practices and the coach finally had to switch his position because he was too scared. Since then, he has had some good moments and not so good moments. But, overall I think he will have good memories when he thinks about football. One thing that I have been amazed by is Luke has been doing football for a month and a half and he never once whined or complained about going to practice or going to a game. That is amazing because I have whined and complained several times about how I wish football was over because it has been such a huge time commitment for our entire family.

I don't know if he will want to do football next year. He is really a tender hearted boy and hitting and tackling people is really against his nature. Jordan and I have really tried hard to get him to believe that it is O.K. to hit people hard when you play football. It is the only time he is allowed to tackle someone and he won't get into trouble. But, he still has a problem with it. He wants to be everyone friend, not the guy who tackled and hit them. But, I am really proud of him for completing something that has been hard for him.

Here is a couple of pictures that Lindsay took of Luke playing football. They are amazing!!!

Hanging out in Logan Canyon

2009-09-10T09:19:00.000-06:00

For Labor Day this year we wanted to go outside and enjoy nature. We decided to head up to Logan Canyon and go on a hike. Even though I went to USU, I don't think I realized how beautiful it is up there. I really didn't appreciate the beauty of this area when I was a college student. Logan has a walking trail at the beginning of the canyon that we walked on. I knew the boys were going to last long on the trail, but we took a couple of hours and let them play, climb and skip rocks in the water. They had a good time and enjoyed getting outside and burning off some of there energy.

Here are some pictures of the boys doing a little rock climbing.

The one thing my boys LOVE to do is skip rocks. Luke finally mastered the task of skipping rocks and having them skip at least 3 times on the water. Dylan tried really hard but still couldn't get it. Mason just dumped every rock he could into the water.

Mason is happy as a clam throwing rocks into the water.

Here is glimpse of the trail that we walked on.

The boys had a great time and wants to come back and do it again.

Happy Labor Day!!

What the Rowell Family does on a Saturday

2009-09-09T22:06:00.001-06:00

I really didn't know what I was signing up for when I had my boys play both soccer and football this fall. I was really stupid because I didn't really think it through about how much time it would be to have them go to practice and play games.
So Saturday's for the past month and a half have been all about getting the boys from one game to another. On one Saturday we had 3 games back to back. We went from Dylan's soccer game to Luke's soccer game and finally to Luke's football game. It took most of the day.

The good thing is the boys really enjoy playing sports. Dylan is a natural at playing soccer and gets right in the game and does his thing. He runs the whole time and really goes after the ball.

Luke's first game at soccer after playing football for a month was amazing. He completely transformed as a soccer player. Last year there were times when he stood around the field and just let the ball go right past him and really didn't make an effort to play the game. But, his first game of this season he ran the whole game and scored a goal in the first couple of minutes. I guess all the conditioning for football really had an impact on him. I also think he realized that soccer isn't as aggressive as football and he was so used to feeling the pressure of getting out there and making it happen with football that he jumped right into the game of soccer and made it happen on the soccer field. Jordan couldn't believe his eyes. This wasn't the same soccer player that he used to watch last year. He was phenomenal.

My Dad dropped by for a couple of days and was able to see the boys play sports. The were very excited to have Grandpa Marvin see them do their thing.

Here are some more pictures that my very talented sister Lindsay took of the boys.

This is a picture of Dylan and Grandpa Marvin

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

2009-08-15T09:04:00.001-06:00

I decided that my children needed to go to a temple open house in order to have a better appreciation for the temple and what important covenants are made inside the temple.

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple had an open house this summer and I thought it was a good time to go an visit it.

We tried to prepared the boys for the experience, so the kids were excited to go and see the temple. When we got to the temple, there was a long line and it was hot. The kids got really impatient but they did hang in there.

We finally got to enter the temple. It was a beautiful temple which was so peaceful and calm inside. The boys were good for the first part and I think they were somewhat impressed with the beauty of the temple. Unfortunately, they got really loud after about 15 minutes. People in back of us in line were kind and gave them some Life Savers to make them happy. After they chomped through those candies, they started to get loud again.

My kids are not quiet kids, but having them act out in the temple is not a good situation and quite embarrassing. After we couldn't stand the embarrassment anymore, we left early without going through the entire tour.

Do I think my kids got a lot out of the trip to the temple? I have no idea, but I tried. The one thing I do know is when they hear the name Oquirrh Mountain Temple, they do remember that we went inside. I guess parenting is all about providing spiritual opportunities and then have faith that the spirit will touch their hearts.

Here are some pictures of the boys waiting in line to enter the temple...

I do feel fortunate that we live in an area where their are temples all around us, and that we have an opportunity to attend an open house. Even though this experience wasn't everything that I hoped it would be, but I hope we planted a seed in my boys about the importance of temples.

Hanging out with The Storm Family

2009-08-14T09:40:00.001-06:00

This summer we had the opportunity to have my brother and his family come and visit us. Unfortunately, the day they came Dylan pukes in the car. It always amazes me that whenever they come and visit us someone gets sick and within days we are having a barf-o-rama on our hands. They tried to evade the sickness and stay at a friends house and a hotel but unfortunately, it didn't work. Each member of the family got sick. But, between the vomits we were able to have fun and do a couple of fun things. One of the things we were able to do was go to the Davis County fair.

Here are some pictures of us at the fair....

Luke hanging out with a cow chewing there cuds.

The kids were fascinated with watching Momma pig feeding her babies.

Callie petting a cow and loving every second.

The entire gang having beautiful smiles on their faces. I love this picture!!!

Each of the kids got to ride on the ponies. They were all in heaven.

Go Annie Oakley!!

Luke finally isn't scared of horses and enjoys his pony ride.

Mason riding all by himself.

Dylan couldn't get enough of feeding the animals. He loved it.

This was a sight. Harley is a world's famous pig at the fair. He won several awards for his size.

Read the writing above him to see how big he was. Wow!

Mason riding on the plane ride.

Say cheese!!!!

Even though we had a lot of sick people in our home, we really did enjoy the time we spent with them. Hopefully, next time they come (if they ever dare to enter our home again) we will all say a prayer that no one will vomit and we can have a normal visit with lot of laughs and good memories.

New York, New York

2009-08-02T11:15:00.000-06:00

My sister Lindsay and her husband Pat had an internship in New York City this summer. So, I decided I needed a trip (by myself) to go and visit her in the Big Apple. So, I left at the end of July and headed to the big city.

We did a TON of fun stuff while we were there. I had already visited New York so I didn't do the traditional site seeing stuff but I got to see and do so many other fun things. Some of the things we did were:

Central Park
Blue Man Group
Wendy Williams Show
Mary Poppins
Apollo Theatre
Little Italy
China Town
Shopping
Times Square
Spending time with my sister and brother in law

Here are some pictures of the trip.

Taking a walk through Central Park. I was amazed because I had no idea how big the park was and how shrubbery there was. It is so weird that you could be in the craziness of New York in one minute and then walk into Central Park and feel like you have been transported to some National Park in Idaho or Utah. I really enjoyed it.

The two love birds making out in Central Park.

Pat trying to re-enact the scene from Dirty Dancing on the log.

Lindsay and myself at Central Park

Many times while we were walking around in New York we got caught in a rain storm.

When it rains in New York, it rains!! I actually really liked it because it cooled things

down. It was REALLY hot and when it rained it washed the sweat away from my face.

Here I am waiting for a subway soaked from Rain.

I wrote the boys a post card from New York. Here I am in the post office (drenched) trying to write a message on a post card which was hard to do because I was dripping all over the card. But, they got it and were really excited to get some mail. Mason still carries his post card around the house. Don't under estimate the power of mail.

We saw the Blue Man Group show. It was really good and I really enjoyed myself.

They did a lot of fun acts and I was thoroughly entertained. I give it a thumbs up!

I have never heard of Wendy Williams but she is a black woman who has a new talk show. How she made her mark in the entertainment world was she has a radio talk show host and I guess her and Whitney Houston got into a fight or something like that. Anyways, Pat was able to get us some "VIP" tickets from his work.

It was a really entertaining experience. I loved watching all of the people who attended the show and being a part of the process of putting the show on. I was close to being on the show as an audience member asking Wendy a question, but at the last minute they changed their minds. We decided it was probably because my question was a bit to deep for her to answer on national television. I was going to ask her "Wendy I want to adopt a black baby. But, I am nervous because I am a white woman and live in Utah where there aren't a lot of black people. I don't want to make the child feel uncomfortable. What should I do?" All of the cast members of the show liked my question and was coaching me on how to ask the question but right before she started doing questions, they pulled me off. Oh well, fame comes and goes. It was fun while it lasted.

Here are some pictures of the Wendy Williams experience.

Sitting in the "VIP" section waiting to go into the studio.

Yes, we were "VIP" guests at the Wendy Williams Show.

Pat has connections.

Lindsay and Pat shaking their booty. They have a dancing section with the audience members

right before the show. Lindsay and Pat were one of the few white people who were showing everyone how white people can bust-a-move.

Waiting for the show to start. Lindsay actually got approached from an individual from the Wendy Williams show and asked her if he could take a picture of her as part of their fashion section. Nothing every happened from that. But, I think they will use it for future shows on how to dress as an audience member. She looked so cute that they had to capture her look. I don't blame them.

Here I am in Little Italy. It was a really neat section of New York with AMAZING food. Italian food is my favorite, so I was in Heaven!!

One of the things that I really liked about New York is there is so much diversity from one street to the next. One street is filled with Asians and feels like you are in China, the next street is filled with Italians and the next street is filled with a completely different nationality. Even though we are in the US, many times it felt like we were in different parts of the world. Because of this, we got to experience some really cool things. For example, we ate at some really good authentic restaurants from different countries and cultures.

Here we are in an Indian food restaurant. It was decked out in lights and gaudy decorations. It was really fun and the food was good. You don't see a restaurant like this in Utah.

Feeling very cultured while order food from an Indian restaurant.

We saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. It wasn't my favorite musical but it was a good show that had some really cool special effects.

Lindsay lived in Harlem. One the way home one evening, we saw a car fire. New York is certainly never boring. There is always something going on.

In Harlem right next to the Apollo theatre, they had a HUGE Wall filled with people paying tribute to the King of Pop. Their were flowers and pictures and people writing their feelings about how Michael influenced them. It is amazing how one person can have such an impact on the world.

One night we went to the Apollo Theatre. It was really entertaining. You have a huge theatre filled with mostly black people who give their opinion on people's talents by either clapping or booing. I felt bad for people who were trying their hardest to sing or dance and people would just boo them off the stage. But, that is how they do it. Lindsay had no problem with giving her opinion by booing the contestants. Besides my heart breaking for those individuals who got booed off, it was really fun.

That about sums it up. As you can see, I had a great time. Thanks Lindsay and Pat for showing me how to live large in the Big Apple.

Catching Up.....

2009-07-17T17:40:00.039-06:00

I will admit it, I suck at doing my blog. I really don't enjoy it, but I know I need to have some documentation of my children's lives. I don't scrapbook and I don't write in a journal, so this is my feeble attempt at capturing my children's lives.

Unfortuantely, I don't update my blog as often as I need to. Because of this, I get behind and then I feel overwhelmed because I have too many events to blog that it seems too big of a feat to tackle.

But, I have decided to try to catch up on some of the things we have been doing for the past couple of monthes. I am going to make one entry and post some pictures of what we have been doing with a little description of what the picture is. So, here is my attempt to update my blog.

Here it goes....

5K Race

At Bluff Ridge Elementry, they had a fund raiser. It was a carnival and a 5K Race. Jordan signed up and ran his first race. He ran the whole time (without walking) and made good time. I was very proud of him and I think he was proud of himself. After the run, they had some fun little rides and activites for the kids.

Here are some pictures of carnival.

Here is Jordan with his number in the race. He felt stupid taking a picture of himself in a 5K but I was proud of him and wanted to document the event.

The Stihl Timber Sport Series (as told by Jordan)

I have always had a fascination with the timber sports, from the chainsaws, to the pole climbing, to the log running. I think it is cool!!! Well they finally came to Utah and I told Jodi that I was going to take Luke and Dylan. We had a great time and Dylan actually won a toy chainsaw in a little contest they picked him to enter. Rumor has it, it might even be televised in November on ESPN2. Here are some photos of the day. They had a lot more than just the cutting and chopping events. There was a mechanical bull, petting zoo, and a whole lot more. I will definitley go back if they come again next year.

Here is a picture of Luke and Dylan while we were waiting for the springboard chopping event.

Here is Dylan attempting to lasso, he is a real cowboy at heart.

Luke is a natural at calf ropping, but it's kind of hard to lasso anything with your eyes closed.

This bird would only dance on Luke's shoulder, he absolutely thought he was the coolest kid on the block that day.

Dylan, just before he got bucked off, he gave it his all but his lack of boots, chaps, and a cowboy hat did him in.

Dylan at the petting zoo.

Dylan's second attempt at the lasso was much better, he was grinning ear to ear.

This was Dylan's favorite part of the whole day. All he wanted to do was play with the baby rat. I told him that he'll have to clear it with his mom before he can get one of his own.

Luke with the baby rat at the petting zoo.

Layne Frost, I mean Luke Rowell getting the full 8 seconds in just before he was bucked off.

The 4th of July

We are very lucky to have such a terrific nanny to watch the kids while I work. Her name is Breanne and she is wonderful. She loves the boys and the boys love her. We really didn't have anything planned for this 4th of July, so Breanne invited us to go with her to her Grandma's house and watch the Clearfield Parade. Her grandma lives right next to main street so we had great seats to watch the parade. The boys had a good time watching the parade and collecting tons of candy.

Dylan got a loose tooth the day before the fourth. Out of nowhere he came to me and told me his tooth was loose. When I touched it, it was really loose. I couldn't believe it. I asked him if he did anything to make it loose and he mentioned something about a door, but I didn't quite understand what happened. Anyways, I tried to get him loosing his tooth on video to capture the important moment, but he didn't want to pull it out. We tried a couple of times, but he didn't want to pull it out. So, I let it be. Well, on the 4th he was playing with it and I told him not to play with it because I want it on video.

Dylan loves candy more than anything. He wanted to eat candy from the 4th of July parade, but he couldn't eat it with his tooth. Frustrated that he couldn't eat candy, he yanked his tooth out and stuffed candy into his mouth within the next second. He came to me holding his tooth and saliva from the candy coming out of his mouth. So, Dylan lost his first tooth on the 4th of July.

Later in the day, we had the boys do poppers and sparklers. Obviously the boys loved doing the poppers and lighting sparklers. Mason wanted to hold a sparkler. So I sat with him by the curb and helped him hold a sparkler. The minute he held the sparkler one of the sparks landed on his

foot and burned a hole through his socks and skin within a matter of seconds. I tried to pat it out with my fingers and I got a blister from it. When I took off his sock, his skin had several layers gone and it was pure white. I couldn't believe how bad it was for just a few seconds. It makes you think how horrible and awful it must be to have burns all over your body. Obviously, Mason didn't do any more sparklers after that.

That night we went with Breanne and her family to the Clearfield field and watch the firework show. It was really great and it was Mason's first time at watching fireworks. At first he was a bit scared but after a while he enjoyed himself and had a good time. We all had a great time and are so grateful to live in this country and have the freedom and opportunities we experience on a daily basis.

Breanne and the boys watching the parade.

Breanne and the boys waiting for the parade to start.

The boys throwing down sparkling in the street on the 4th.

God Bless America!!

Swine Flu

Everyone knows that the Swine Flu has hit the world and has created a pandemic. At first, I was really nervous about getting swine flu, because the media has made it into just a huge thing that you think if you get it you will die. So, when Jordan came home from Wee Care (his second job that that he has the Sunday night) and told me that he had the Swine Flu, I couldn't believe it. He had been feeling a bit under the weather and had a hard time breathing because of his asmtha, but he didn't seem really sick. He didn't even stay home from work because he didn't feel that bad to call in sick. But, when he went to Wee Care and told them he had was having a hard time breathing they tested him for the Swine Flu and it came back positive. So, needless to say he didn't go to work for the next couple of days. Actually, it was like a mini vacation because he felt fine and was able to hang out with the family and not go to work. Hurray for the Swine Flu!!!

Here is a picture of him and the boys trying not to spread the Swine Flu.

Mills Montessouri

Dylan have been going to Mills Montessouri since he was 3. He has enjoyed it and has learned a lot. I really enjoyed the school and felt it was worth the drive and money (It took 40 minutes round trip to take him to school each morning and another 40 minutes to pick him up). But, eventually I knew I would have to put him into the public school system because they only go to 3rd grade. So, when Dylan was picked out of the lottery to go into North Davis Preparatory Academy, it was a perfect time to make the transition. He is very excited for his new school but has really loved Mills and will miss them alot.

Here he is with Mr and Mrs. Mills.

Going to California

It has been 3 years since I have been home to California. So, when Luke and Dylan started talking about visiting Grandma and Grandpa at their house, I knew it was time to go. So, when my sister Kim had a baby I knew the time had some. I really don't like road trips, expecailly with 3 kids but they had done so well going to Vegas that I thought it was doable.

Jordan had to work, so I ventured off to California with the boys by myself. The ride down was really good. I couldn't believe how good they were. They watched movies for about 10 hours. I don't know how our parents did road trips without a DVD player. I know their was a lot of fighting and the time went by slow. I am grateful that we have the technology to bring movies into cars. It makes me a much happier mommy.

Anways, the trip was great. We went to the beach, I went to the Sacramento temple to do a session, I went to the American Idol concert, hung out with friends from High School and most importantly we got to hang out with family. Everytime I am around my family, I feel so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life.

It was also good that my boys got to spend time with their cousins. They really don't get to see them very often. Maybe once a year. So, whenever we get an opportunity to spend time with them, they treasure it. They really get along very well and have such a good time with them.

It was a good trip and I was sad to go. But, I am sure I will go back in 6 monthes or so. My parents are renovating their house and I want to come back home to Califonria and see it when it is completed. So, I am sure we will go out next spring.

So, we got into the car and headed home. I should have known that when I took the wrong freeway home (it added about 2 hours to my already 10 hour ride) it wasn't going to go well. I will spare you all the gory details ( I actually don't want to rehash the hell I went through), but I had 3 sick kids in the car. They were crying, screaming and making my life a living hell. I actually think they had the swine flu or some kind of version of the flu. At one time, I had all 3 crying and Mason had dihirrea coming out of his collar around his neck. It took us 2 days and 14 long and grueling hours in the car to make it home. I had to stay in Lake Tahoe because the boys weren't going to make it any longer because they were so miserable. It was a horrible expereince that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. But, I made it. I won't say I am a better person for it, because I wasn't very calm and patient during the whole ordeal. Honestly, I was angry and upset the whole time because I had to endure this by myself while Jordan was in Wyoming working. Come to think about it, the last time the boys were vomiting all over the house, he was on a work assignement. Obviously, Heavenly Father is trying to teach me compassion and patience. We all know that isn't going to be easy to teach me. Oh well.

Well, here are some pictures from the trip...

Some of the gang from High School. Names from Right to left: Rachel, me, Jennifer,Gina, Mandy, Missy and Brittney.

Me with my new niece Lyla. She is adorable and I love her!!

Luke and Lyla. He is baby hungery. He couldn't get enough of her. He wanted to hold her every minute he got. He loved her.

Dylan and Lyla.

My two nieces Julianna and Lyla. Aren't they adorable!

A girls night out!!

Grandpa Marvin and Uncle Tyler with the boys. They loved seeing them. As we drove away from their house, both Luke and Dylan said, "Boy, I am sure going to miss grandma, grandpa and Tyler. We sure do love them!"

My mom and sister waiting for American Idol concert to begin!!

Going to Puerta Vallarta!!

2009-07-01T09:31:00.035-06:00

Jordan and I were finally able to get away by ourselves and visit the beautiful place of Puerta Vallarta. My mom was kind enough to fly in from California and take care of the kids while we got away. We were able to spend 8 glorious days at Puerta Vallarta at a beautiful resort called Villa Del Palmar Flamingos. We didn't know what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised. Puerta Vallarta is a place that has beaches but it also has the mountains. So, we had a lot of time laying out by the pool and go to the beach but were also able to go and take some time to go up into the lush green mountains.

So, we started off our vacation by getting off the plane and being snatched up by a guy wanting us to do a time share presentation. Just a little background about Jordan and I when it comes to time share presentations. We have sat through a ton of them, so going to a time share isn't a big thing for us. So, we went to two time share presentations while we were at Puerta Vallarta and because we went to these presentations we got all of our tours and activities paid for by the time share companies.

Some of those activities we participated in are the following:

Snorkeling

Sierra Madre Tour

Swam with Dolphins

Massages

Dune Buggies

City Tour

All of the activities we went on were fun. Here are a few pictures that we took (I have to admit I didn't take a lot of pictures because I hate pictures of myself)

This is the resort that we stayed at during the week. It was gorgeous and a ton of fun!

We went on a tour called the Sierra Madre. It was a beautiful tour where we explore the mountains as well as go to the beach. This is a picture of what it looked like on the way up the mountain.

Here is the place that we went snorkeling. I haven't really gotten sea sick

before, but the ride to go snorkeling what very choppy and extremely rough.

There was a hurricane coming toward Puerta Vallarta so the water was

extremely rough. After the first 15 minutes on the boat, I started feeling really

sick. The ride lasted about an hour and a half one way but it felt like 10 years. About

20 minutes into the ride the little boy next to me started throwing up. Then another girl across from me started to throw up and then it was like a domino effect. People were very sick and were throwing up. I closed my eyes and tried to make myself feel better, but it didn't work. Once we finally made the destination for snorkeling, I wanted to die. I thought getting into the

water would make me feel better. I was wrong. The water was really rough and I couldn't handle

it any longer. I threw up in the water while everyone was snorkeling. I am sure a few people

caught a glimpse. I was miserable. I couldn't go through this again. I wasn't going to get back on the boat and go for another boat ride that would last another couple of hours. So Jordan used his Spanish and got us to go back to town with a local Mexican guy. We had to take a water taxi and then take some local buses to get back to resort. We really got a glimpse of real Mexican life. It was very informative and actually very interesting. After this snorkeling trip we canceled all of our water tours and rebooked them for activities on land.

Here we are taking a water taxi back to land after I spewed in the water. YEAH!

One of the tours that we also went on while in Mexico was a Dune Buggie tour. We had a tour guide take us though the city and back country on a Dune Buggie. Within 2 seconds of getting into the vehicle we were completely covered with mud. Obviously, I didn't have a clue of what this tour would be like because I wore a white T-Shirt. That T-Shirt was thrown away after the tour because it was stained brown by the time I finished.

Jordan had a fun time driving the dune buggie and considered the experience a good time. I wasn't as thrilled about the experience but I can mark it off things I have done in my life list. One thing I did realize about myself from this experience was that I don't like getting completely dirty. Being clean makes me much happier.

Here we are before we started the tour...

Here we are after the tour. We even washed ourselves

half way through the tour in a river but we still got mud

all over us by the time the tour ended.

Here I am trying to clean off some of the mud and filth that I had

covering my entire body. I felt like a new woman after this little dip in the water.

Jordan and I after our dip in the water.

On the Sierra Madre tour we got to visit a private beach where all the locals go and visit.

It was really beautiful and very quiet.

Here is the vehicle that we took to go on our Sierra Madre tour. Jordan was

totally impressed with the vehicle and wanted to drive it soooo bad. Unfortunately the closest he

got to the steering wheel was when we took this picture.

Here is a picture of a little crab. We ran into several of them at the resort. They are endangered

in Puerta Vallarta so they don't touch them or do anything to get rid of them. I thought they were funny looking and I found it intriguing to watch them walk around and interact with people.

Here is Jordan and I at a little village in Mexico.

Jordan hanging out with the local Mexicans in the little village from above.

He fits right in.

One of the things that we did every night was go to a nice restaurant. Jordan was in heaven.

He got to try a whole bunch of really good food and experience the ambiance of fine dining.

Here we are at one of his favorite restaurants during the trip. We got to eat outside and view

the ocean while eating great food. This was one of the highlights for Jordan.

One of the tours we went on was to get in the water with dolphins. We got to touch them, they

gave us kisses on the check and we were able to watch them do several tricks in the water.

The tour lasted about a half hour but it was fun and we had a great time. The only bad part

was that they wouldn't let you take pictures with your own camera. They had their photographers take pictures of you and then charge a fortune for the pictures (a CD with 8 snapshots was $100.00 dollars). So, we don't have any pictures of us with the dolphins but I did get a quick snapshot of the dolphin.

Overall, we had a great time and it was a just what we needed. I feel so lucky to have had the

opportunity to see a different part of the world and create a ton of great memories.

Big News for Lucas!

2009-06-06T14:49:00.002-06:00

Two days after his birthday, we were sitting down and were about to read scriptures when Luke yells out in excitement "I see a black hair on my leg!"

Just to give you a little background, Lucas wants to be like his dad so badly. He wants to shave, dress and act just like his dad. One of the events that he is really excited for in his life is when he is old enough to have black hair on his arms and legs like his dad. He keeps asking when his arms and legs will have black hair on them. I tell him when he is older. Well, I guess he thinks that since he just turned 7 that means he is older and he should be getting black hair on his legs.

Well, the other night he thought he saw a black hair on his leg. He ran over to me and wanted to show me the hair. I looked at his leg and of course did not see any black hair. I told him I couldn't see it, he quickly responded "You have to look at it in the right light"

"ohh, you must be right" I said.

He smiled and felt proud of himself because he just thought he saw a trace of adulthood on his legs.

Lucas is 7 years old!!!

2009-06-01T12:38:00.000-06:00

Lucas has been sooooo excited to turn 7. He has been counting the days for months. He wanted to be 7 years old so badly because he wants to be a grown up. Even though 7 still isn't a grown up, he is getting closer and closer every year and he knows it.

This year I gave him a choice, he could either have a big birthday present or a birthday party. He decided to choose a birthday party. So, we took him and 12 of his friends and his brothers to the Classic Fun Center.

The Classic Fun Center has Laser Tag, Bouncing activities, Skating, video games and a pirates play area. All the kids had a fun time. I think they were a little over stimulated because they couldn't play in one area for more than 5 minutes without running to another activity. It definitely kept me busy for 3 hours. I was so busy helping with the party that I didn't take a lot of pictures. So, here is the one picture that I have from the birthday party...

I was really surprised, out of all the activities at the center Lucas LOVED skating. He put some skates on and hardly took them off the whole time. He was pretty good. He had such a good time skating that on his actual birthday (which was only 2 days later) he wanted to go again. So we went to Classic Fun Center again to roller skate. The minute we entered the place, he put on the skates and didn't take them off until we left. He had a very good time.

For his birthday his friends, his family and his grandparents gave him some clothes, a swimming pool, a baseball game, rocket, a Jazz jersey, water toys, more toys and a yo-yo. Out of everything thing he received his favorite gift was a $3.00 yo-yo. Go figure!!

Anyways, Luke is growing up right before my eyes. He is a good boy who has so much potential. We love him very much and have been truly blessed to have him in our family. Happy Birthday Lucas! We love you soooo much!!

Luke receiving his swimming pool from Grandma.

Getting some new swimsuits.

Lucas being really excited about opening up presents.

Happy Birthday Lucas!

Dylan is finally playing Soccar!

2009-05-06T09:35:00.016-06:00

Finally, Dylan is old enough to play some organized sports with the city of Syracuse. He has watched Luke play sports for a couple of years and always asked when he can play sports. I always told him that he will be able to play when he is 5 years old. After a long and grueling 2 years, he is finally old enough to play sports. The first sport he participated in was Soccer. He was so excited to go to his first practice. He counted down the days until his first practice.

The big day came and he was SOOO excited to go to Soccer practice. But, the minute we walked on to the soccer field, he started to get nervous and began crying. I couldn't believe it, Dylan was freaking out and saying he didn't want to play soccer and he wanted to go home.

Just a side note: Dylan has a really hard time with change and doing anything new. Even though logically he wants to do something, when he actually confronts the new situation, he emotionally can't handle it. It is very frustrating to me, because I am not like that. But, I don't let him back down and I help him to deal with the new situations.

After walking him over to his team and pushing him to play ball, he finally stopped crying and began to kick the ball. After 15 minutes, he was fine and was having a great time. After the initial freak out, Dylan has been in heaven playing soccer.

He did pretty well. He really does a good job at going after the ball and dribbling it down the field. The problem was he would get the ball all the way down the field and then he would stop right in front of the goalie. I think he thought the goalie was going to stop the ball, so he would stop it for them. But, I am happy to say that after 6 or so games, he overcame that and finally made his first goal. I was so proud of him and he was proud of himself.

I think he did a great job at soccer. I really think this will be a sport he will enjoy and be very good at in the future.

Here are some pictures of him playing at a game.

Here is Dylan with his Soccer coach.

Here is Dylan trying to run after the ball and the other team trying to hold him back.

Below is a small clip of Dylan playing soccer. He does a good job at hustling after the ball, he just has a hard time getting it all the way down the field and into the goal. But considering this is his first time playing, I think he is doing a phenomenal job.

Counting to 20!

2009-05-06T09:12:00.003-06:00

I have been working with Mason on counting to 20 for a long time. Some days he is better than others. Here is the latest attempt of him trying to count to 20. I give him an "A" for effort.

Just a note: Sorry this is sideways, but it was how I filmed him and I can't seem to change it.

Viva Las Vegas!

2009-04-28T11:20:00.023-06:00

I got a call from my parents a week ago, telling me that my dad had a 3 bedroom condo in Vegas which he reserved (not realizing it until a week ago) and wanted to know if we wanted to come down and stay in Vegas for a couple of days. He had a franchise show down there and would stay a couple of days and would love to see his grandchildren.

Obviously, getting out of Utah's spring weather would be a welcome change. Unfortunately, Jordan couldn't get off work so I decided to venture out and go by myself with the boys. So, we packed things up and headed down to Vegas. I was very nervous about the car ride because my boys aren't the best when it comes to doing road trips. So, I said a prayer, bought some new movies and hoped for the best. We got to Salt Lake when Dylan and Luke asked, "Are we there yet?" I had to explain AGAIN, that it would be a long, long, long ,long, long, long, long time before we got to Las Vegas. They were so excited to see Grandpa and go swimming that they asked multiple times if we were close to getting there, but besides this slight annoyance they were amazing. I couldn't believe it! Mason, just sat there with a bink in his mouth and his blanket and watched movies the whole time. It was so nice. I was shocked.

When we finally arrived in Vegas the first thing we did was go swimming. The boys were in heaven. Mason was a little scared, but by the 3rd day he was floating by himself and having a blast. The weather was nice and warm. The first day (Saturday) it was around 85 degrees and it got up to 95 by Tuesday. We went swimming everyday and had a good time in the water. I got a nice sunburn because I am so used to being in cold weather that my skin got nice and red. But, overall it was really nice to be in the sun.

We also went to Circus Circus and the kids played games and watched the circus acts. They were very excited because the first game they played they won a prize. That opened up Pandora's box. They couldn't get enough. We finally put a limit to how many games they could play before we left Circus Circus. Here are some pictures of their time at Circus Circus.

These are toys they won playing games at "Circus Circus"

This is the gang watching the circus acts at "Circus Circus"

The only thing Mason got to do at Circus Circus. He had a good time on the merry- go-round.

We also went to a Gregory Popovich Pet Comedy variety show. They kids loved it. It is a show where a guy has trained house pets to do certain tricks. Mason sat in my lap for about 45 minutes without moving (that has NEVER happened ever!) and the other two boys had a great time. They also did some other tricks and skits. It was a good time and I am glad we went.

Overall, we had a wonderful time hanging out with Grandpa and enjoying Las Vegas "G" rated style. The kids had a great time and want to go back again.

The boys having a good time in Vegas!!

We were going to eat at the Harley Davidson restaurant but unfortunately, it was booked out for a private party. But, we got a couple of good pictures on some motorcycles.

Here is a video of the boys playing a game at Circus Circus.

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-12T16:36:00.000-06:00

Its that wonderful time of year again! I love spring and I really enjoy Easter. It is a great time to enjoy the beautiful flowers and weather and to reflect on the amazing gift of our Savior Jesus Christ. This year Easter was very enjoyable for me because I was able to spend the day with my family which included Jordan and the boys plus Tyler, Lindsay and Pat. It was good to have them with us because they are all moving away and won't be able to come and visit us anymore. Plus, all 3 of my boys were able to participate in the Easter activities and it was really fun to watch.

We started off with the Easter festivities by coloring eggs. I knew this would be a little difficult with Mason but I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. It went pretty well. It got a little messy and their were some tears from Mason because he wasn't able to do everything by himself, but I think they had a good time coloring eggs.

Here are some pictures:

Easter Sunday arrived and I got the boys matching church outfits. I really love doing that and I always think they look adorable dressed in the same outfit. I took some pictures of the boys. Here they are:

We all went to church and reminded ourselves about the true meaning of Easter. That afternoon we came home and had a wonderful dinner prepared by Jordan. After dinner, we had an Easter Egg hunt. The boys were in heaven. Not only did they get to find eggs they got to eat the candy that was in the eggs. Plus, two of the eggs had $1.00 bill in them.

We had about 100 eggs and the boys found every single one of them.

Here they are finding the eggs.

Mason having a blast finding eggs.

Luke being a good big brother and sharing some of the eggs he found with Mason.

He got one!!

Dylan finding eggs and being very happy about that.

After the eggs were found, then the feast of candy began. They had gummy worms, Rolos and Reases Pieces in the eggs. Of course mom bought candy that she would enjoy as well.

Luke counting and eating eggs from his Easter basket.

Dylan looking for the dollar bill in his eggs. Fortunately, he found the dollar and Luke found the other one. Both of them were happy.

Mason stuffing his face with candy.

Luke really happy about the candy and cash in his eggs.

Uncle Pat joining in the festivities.

Uncle Tyler relaxing while the boys find eggs.

Jordan and Dylan looking cute as ever.

After the Easter egg hunt, the Easter bunny had one more gift for them to find. He hid their new basketball hoop in the back of daddy's car. Plus he got them new football jerseys. The Easter Bunny spoils the Rowell boys. The boys were really excited and had a wonderful Easter day.

Mason turned 2!!!

2009-03-30T09:20:00.004-06:00

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...

2009-03-29T21:37:00.006-06:00

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 !!!

2009-03-21T19:52:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-17T11:14:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-14T09:19:00.001-06:00

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

2009-03-11T09:07:00.007-06:00

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!!!

2009-03-01T21:32:00.003-07:00

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.

The Boys are Officially Utahans

2009-02-22T21:13:00.009-07:00

Our Nanny (Breanne) is involved in dancing. She told us that she is dancing at the Jazz and Celtics game in the pre-game show and wanted us to go and see her. I thought it would be a great opportunity to bring the boys to the game and have them become official Utahans and go and watch the Jazz play. So, Thursday night we headed off to the game. The boys were really excited and were counting down the minutess before the game.

I really didn't want to bring Mason because I knew it would be a nightmare, but he got sick a couple of night before, and I didn't feel comfortable leaving him just in case he threw up again. So, we brought him to the game.

The pre-game show started a half hour before the game. Breanne dance team did a little performance and we were able to watch her in the lower bowl of the arena.

Here is a picture of Breanne dancing (she is the one in the middle of the picture)

While we were waiting for the game to start, I thought I would introduce my boys to Cotton Candy. They were very confused about what you did with it. It didn't look like candy, it didn't feel like candy. I told them to eat it. They hesitated for a moment but slowly brought it to their mouth. The minute they put the candy in their mouth a big smile came across their face.

Mason couldn't get enough of it. He kept asking for more. The other two boys weren't very interested after a couple of bites of it. It just wasn't there thing. Dylan is a chocolate man and Luke is more into gum.

Here is a picture of them eating cotton candy...

By the time the game started, Mason was done. He couldn't handle sitting down any longer. But, we tried very hard to keep him entertained. We bribed him with popcorn, hot dogs and root bear but nothing worked. We only made it until half time. Even though we didn't watch the entire game, the boys still had fun.

Here are the boys at the game....

(I swear my kids don't know how to smile normally. When you say "smile" they come up with the funkest faces.)

We were in the "nose bleed" section but they still had fun rooting for the Jazz.

One the way home, Lucas and Dylan fell asleep within 5 minutes. But, not Mason. He doesn't sleep in the car. He was talking and talking and poking Lucas' face. He was non-stop noise for about 35 minutes. Then all of a sudden, he was quiet. I looked back and this is what I found....

I couldn't stop laughing. He just couldn't hang on anymore. His body was done and he konked out.

Jordan and the boys had a good time and they can officially say they went to a Jazz game. Maybe next time, they an watch the entire game....

Who needs a snow blower when you can have the Rowell Boys!

2009-02-15T21:41:00.007-07:00

Growing up in California, I have never had to shovel snow. I honestly didn't know until about 10 years ago why anyone would have to shovel snow. I thought it would just melt away so why would anyone waste their time shoveling. Then I fell on a thick sheet of ice and then it hit me, "That is why you shovel snow, it freezes!"

Well, I have been spoiled because even though I have lived in snow for the past 15 years, I still haven't had to shovel snow. Jordan has always done that. Well, this Saturday we had a big snow storm and we had a ton of snow that needed to be shoveled.

We came home from the gym and this is what happened within minutes of getting out of the car. All my boys got a shovel and started going to town shoveling snow. It was a really cute scene for me. It gave me a glimpse into the future when my boys won't need me to do everything for them, but they will be old enough to do things for themselves and well as for me. It brought a smile to my face. I had to get a couple of pictures of my snow blowers.

Be Mine Valentine

2009-02-14T21:14:00.001-07:00

Valentine's Day is always that holiday where every one builds it up and then many times becomes disappointed because it wasn't anything like they imagine. Well, this Valentine's Day my husband came up with a real cute present that I was thrilled about. For me, the best presents are those that had a lot of thought put into it. Jordan did that.

I came into the kitchen and this is what I found on the counter.

The letter reads:

We have been married for approximately 10 years, 6 months, 7 days, that's a total of:

126.25 - Months

549.29 - Weeks

3,845 - Days

92,280 - Hours

5,536,800 - Minutes

332,208,000 - Seconds

I think we would both agree that every second, minute, and hour have not been pure bliss and happiness. I think we would both go as far as saying that not even every day has been as good as we might like it. We've had some pretty good fights and at times have thought can we really make this work.

What I would say is, I think we have had great weeks together. Sure we've had our difference for a couple of days, but I honestly can't remember a week that went by without us coming to terms and being happy together.
So what I have for you this Valentines Day is one item for every week we have been married thus far to remind you that I love you and I know we've had some bad days, but our weeks together have been really good.
I love you very much and am looking forward to thousands more of good weeks together.
(Since I couldn't fit all 549 in the jar, you still have 134 that didn't make it in. I've decided to give you $134.00 to spend on whatever you want. Have fun!)

Jordan and I don't have a perfect marriage but we do love each other. We struggle with each other because we are so different, but at the same time we balance each other out perfectly. As we celebrate our love this Valentines Day, I want my wonderful husband to know that I love him with all my heart and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for bringing him to me.

The Search Has Finally Come to an End!!! (Thank Goodness)

2009-02-08T20:30:00.007-07:00

Our entire marriage, Jordan has always wanted a truck. We had a couple of trucks for a short period of time through the 10 years we have been together. But, we have always had to sell them (moved to Ohio and money for the business) But, Jordan has never given up on the idea that one day he will have a nice truck for good.

The past 6 monthes, he has really pressed hard for a truck. He ALWAYS looks at trucks on KSL or EBay as well as looks at them at the car dealers lots. I just didn't understand why he would want to torchure himself like that because we didn't have the money to put toward a truck. I have a hard time buying a vehicle that we really don't need because my husband wants one (expecially when we have debt from other ventures we have experienced). But, Jordan is very stubborn. When he wants something, he will stop at nothing until he gets it.

About 4 monthes ago, he had me look at a truck that some guy was selling. I humored him and went and looked at the truck. It was an old truck but it was in good shape and he was selling it for a good price. This was when gas was almost $5.00 a gallon and people couldn't give away trucks. Jordan absolutely loved it and he started hounding me on what he could do to get a truck. I felt bad for him because he wanted it so badly but I couldn't in good conscious buy it when we should spend that money on things we need. Well, to make a long story short, I basically told him that he could have the truck as long as the money didn't come out of our budget. So, the wheels started turning in his head and he decided that if he got a second job he could get a truck. I agreed with the idea and the job hunt began.

Well, someone else bought that truck before he could get the money to him. He was extremely disappointed but his determination didn't faulter. He finally found a part time job at Wee-Care in Layton one night a week and got approved for a loan. Now all he needed to do was find a truck.

Well, he found another truck and bought it for a good low price. It was an old truck and had a lot of character (is that how you describe a beater truck). He liked it but after having it for a month or so, he decided that if he is working and sacrificing for a truck, the truck should be much nicer. So, he sold the truck and made a $700.00 profit and began the search for his new truck.

Let me just take a minute and tell you how much time he spent in looking at trucks. Every moment that he wasn't working, he was looking at trucks. It drove me nuts!! We actually got into a fight about it. I was so tired of him coming home from work and sitting in front of the computer and looking at trucks all night. When all the kids are in bed and everything is cleaned up, THEN he could look at trucks. (I know I am a horrible wife)

I am extremely happy to announce that yesterday, he bought a truck. FINALLY!!!! The search is over!!!! Maybe now, he can focus on truely important things. (Can you tell I was getting a little bitter)

He found a very nice truck and is extremely happy. He keeps saying every time he looks at HIS truck "That is a good looking truck". He loves it and now he feels complete. The phrase "You complete me" from Jerry McGuire is a perfect saying for Jordan and his new man truck.

Here is a picture of the new beauty:

Thumbs up for Date Night with the Boys

2009-01-25T21:02:00.006-07:00

One of the new year's resolutions that I have is to take each boy on a date with either Jordan or myself once a month. The reason for this goal is because I really don't spend as much one on one time with my kids and neither does Jordan. So, I thought if I scheduled it on my work calendar and make it a priority it would get done.

I do SO many things wrong as a mom. I hope these date nights will have a positive impact on my children. Maybe when they think of their childhood they won't always remember all the yelling and screaming I do, but the good times we spent playing together and getting to know each other on these dates.

We started the dates this month. I took Dylan on a date and Jordan took Luke. Then next month we will swap.

Dylan's Date Night

When I told Dylan that we were going on a date, his face just lit up. He was so excited. When we were about to leave he took my hand and said "Let's go Mom". He never holds my hand. At that moment, I realized this date idea was wonderful.

I wouldn't tell Dylan what we were doing. It was a surprise. We have a budget of $10.00 to spend on our dates, so we have to get a little creative. First, I took Dylan to Chuck-E-Cheese to play on the games. He was REALLY excited when we pulled up into the parking lot of Chuck-E-Cheese. He has wanted to go there for such a long time. He kept telling me "Thanks Mom, I love Chuck -E-Cheese". He got $5.00 to spend on games. He held his tokens and ran from game to game. I just followed him and enjoyed watching him have so much fun.

(Let me tell you how much easier it is to manage your kids when their is just one of them. It was really enjoyable and I didn't have to break up fights or hear whining or crying and their wasn't any drama. Dylan was very good the whole time and we both enjoyed each other)

We then went to Krispy Kreme to get a FREE donut. Dylan loves donuts and was happy to get a treat. We then headed off to the dollar theatre (which is now $2.00 a person) to watch "Madagascar II" We got some popcorn and a drink for a 1.00 each (O.K I went over a dollar but I used all my change for the drink) and we then watched the movie.

Dylan really enjoyed spending time with just me, but he was also really excited to tell Luke about his night. He kept saying that he can't wait to tell Luke about this or that. It showed me that my boys really like some alone time with us but life is not complete unless they can share it with each other. Overall, the night turned out really well and I truly enjoyed myself with Dylan.

Luke's Night Out

Just a side note, I took Dylan on his date on a Tuesday night and Luke's date was on Thursday night. When Dylan and I went on our date, Luke FREAKED out. He wanted to go sooooo badly. He cried and threw a fit for about 20 minutes before we left and the tantrum continued for about an hour and a half after we left. Jordan was so fed up with his tantrum that he told Luke he had lost his date for Thursday night. The only way he would even consider taking him on a date is if he for good for 2 days. He had to clean and not whine and be a perfect angel. Guess what? Luke was REALLY good the next two days. It shows you that my kids can do anything they put their minds to if they feel it is worth it.

Luke also wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese because Dylan did. So, they went there and Luke was so overwhelmed with all the games that he didn't know what to do with himself. He would put a token into the machine and if the machine didn't start immediately he would leave and go to the next game. Jordan literally had to calm Luke down and tell him to breathe and relax. He just couldn't handle all the stimulation. After 15 minutes, he had burned through all his tokens. (Dylan played games for about an hour whereas Luke lasted 15 minutes) Jordan gave him a couple more tokens and then they left. They also went over to Krispy Kreme, but decided to go to DI instead of a movie. Luke got the rest of the money and got to buy a toy. (We do this Deseret Industries run quite often as a family. We go to DI and give the boys a dollar and they can pick out any toy that is a dollar or less)

Luke found ANOTHER ball (like he doesn't have a million already) at DI and came home really happy and excited. He couldn't wait to tell me and Dylan about his night.

I truly love my boys and am excited for our date nights each month.

Dylan's Funny Sayings

2009-01-04T21:43:00.005-07:00

I know I might be a bit prejudice but I think Dylan is a real funny kid. He has some of the funniest little sayings. I thought I would record just a few quotes he has said in the past couple of days.

Luke was talking to Dylan and said "Dylan you toot (this is what we call passing gas) all the time. Why do you toot so much?"

In a very sincere and non-apologetic way Dylan replies, "Because that is the way Heavenly Father made me Luke.

Luke had nothing to say after that response.

We have caller ID on our phone that speaks the name of the person calling. The other morning I missed a meeting at the Bishop's office (yeah I felt like a real winner when they called) and the Primary President called me to see if I was coming. When the caller ID registered who was calling it said "The Church of Jesus Christ" but the first part of the name was really muffled but the words JESUS CHRIST was very loud and clear. When Dylan heard who was calling, he yells in the most shocked and excited way, "Jesus is calling! Jesus is calling!

He was disappointed to find out that it wasn't Jesus but Stephanie calling to see if his forgetful mom was going to make their appointment with the Bishop.

We should all be that excited to talk to Jesus.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T21:41:00.001-07:00

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I absolutely love it. I love the music, the feelings and the time I get to spend with my family. This year I was blessed to be able to have my family (my parents, sister and brother in law and brother) spend Christmas at my house. We had a lot of fun. It is always great to be able to get together with family and create memories.

Some of the traditions that we have is to have a nice meal (Jordan ALWAYS cooks the dinners because he is REALLY good at it), open a present (pajamas), play games and remember the true meaning of Christmas. This year we had a wonderful dinner of Pasta Carbonera, played a couple of Christmas games and watched the "Joy to the World" and wrote letters to Jesus.

Some of the games we played are the Christmas unwrapping game. The object of the game is to unwrap a present that has been wrapped 15 to 16 times (thanks Lindsay for wrapping the prize). The catch is that you have to roll dice and whenever you get doubles of any number you get a chance to unwrap the gift. But, you don't get to use just your hands, you have to put on a winter hat, a scarf and gloves before taking on the task of unwrapping the present. But, when the next person gets doubles, you have to take of the gear and hand it to the next person. It is a lot of fun and the kids LOVE it. Lucas was the winner of this game. He got a $10 gift certificate to Walmart. He was REALLY excited to put the card in his wallet and go into the store and pick out a football and pay for it like a grown up. It was all he talked about for days.

Here some photos of the game...

Luke trying to get on the gloves, hat and scarf before he can try to open up the present.

Grandpa Marvin trying his best to be the winner.

Grandma Marcia moving as fast as she can to put on the gear and unwrap.

The next game we played was the Santa Beard game. You divide into 2 teams. The object of this game is to put Vaseline on your face (where a beard would be) and then a run up to a bowl of cotton balls and stick your face in the bowl and see how many cotton balls you can stick on your face. You can't use any hands to help you and you have to run back to the starting point trying not to let any cotton balls fall. The team that has the most cotton balls wins.

Here are pictures of the game....

Aunt Lindsay with a beard of cotton balls

Grandpa Marvin and Dylan dueling for the most cotton balls on their face

Uncle Tyler running to the finish line

Jordan really going for it... He doesn't mess around when he plays a game.

Dylan doing a fabulous job and walking very carefully to the finish line.

Luke with a white 5 o'clock shadow

Luke and Jordan counting up their cotton balls. Their team won the game!!!

We also played the LEFT and RIGHT Christmas game. I read a story that had a lot of LEFTS and RIGHTs words it in and the players will pass the wrapped present whatever direction the story tells them to go. By the end of the story whoever has the wrapped present in their hand wins. Dylan won this game. (With a little help from Mom who read the story)

We then watched the video "Joy to the World" to remind myself as well as my children why we celebrate Christmas. It is a great video that really testifies of the amazing story of our Savior's birth and the essential mission he had here on earth.

We all then wrote a letter to Jesus telling him what gift we are going to give him this year. This is the 2nd time we have done this and we were able to read our previous letter (this is all confidential) and see how we did on our previous commitments to Christ. I wish I could say that I gave Christ everything that I told I would give him in 2008, but I didn't. So, I wrote a new letter with new hopes and goals for this year. I pray that I will do better in 2009.

We ended the night by putting the boys to bed and getting Christmas set up. It was a great Christmas Eve and I am blessed to have such wonderful family to share it with.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day started out with everyone waking up and seeing what Santa brought them. Santa brought Luke some Heely's , Dylan some transformers and Mason a Tonka truck. Santa also blessed with a brand new fish tank with 3 goldfish. (On a side note, those fish lasted about 2 days and they all died. We then proceeded to buy 3 more and they died the next day. We haven't had a lot of luck with fish)

They also received some fun stocking stuffers and played with them for a half hour or so. We then proceeded to have Christmas breakfast. After breakfast we started to open up the presents. The boys were spoiled again and received way to much stuff.

I always tell myself that I am not going to get them a ton of stuff but it always turns out we do. We gave ourselves a budget for each boy and we stayed close to that budget but still it was way to much stuff. They would have been absolutely content on 2 to 3 presents, but we feel we have to get them more. I don't know why we do it but we do. It is just more junk that sits in their toy bins that they don't play with. I swear next year will be different!!!

Jordan really spoiled me. He gave me Oprah tickets. Jordan and my dad spent a lot of time figuring out how they could send us to Oprah. They figured out a way for my mom and I to go to Chicago in September. They told us by giving us a letter and in the letter were some clues.

These were the clues:

A picture of a harp + O = (Harpo)
A picture of a bowl of stew + My grandfather's name (Dee) + O = (Studio)
A picture of a chic + A + a picture of a green light = (Chicago)

It took my mom and I a couple of minutes to put the clues together. When we got it, we screamed and were very excited. It will be a once in a lifetime experience. To be honest, I am not a real fan of Oprah herself. She kind of bugs me but I really do like her show. I hope the show we go to is a good one. Even if it isn't, I know we will have a great time. Harpo Studios here we come!!!!

Jordan got a truck for Christmas. Before you start to assume anything, let me just clarify. I gave him some money to go towards a truck. He has wanted a truck for such a long time. I finally told him if he could pay for the payments on a truck, he could get one. So, he found himself a part time job. He works at Wee Care Pediatrics in Layton one night a week. He found a truck that was well used and thought he would fix it up. He had it for about 2 months and he just sold it. He figures if he is going to work, he might as well get a nicer truck. So, he is in the market again for a truck. Stay tuned I am sure he will have another truck in a month or so.

Besides that, we all were very blessed this Christmas. I can't express how grateful for everything that I have. I feel guilty many times because I have been given so much and I know there are so many people out there that don't have much. I don't understand why I have been given so much, but I am deeply humble and grateful for everything in my life.

Here are just a few pictures of my family on Christmas morning...

The boys got new skateboards

Grandpa Marvin got Seinfeld Scene It game. We played it and my brother Tyler kicked our butts!

The boys got some costumes for Christmas

You can't have a Christmas without some new light sabers

Uncle Pat sporting his new hoodie

Can I Shave Yet?

2008-11-13T11:38:00.005-07:00

Lucas has always wanted to be older than he is. He has wanted to wear cologne, wear deodarant, be completely responsible for his hair and clothes, and shave by age 2. Being 6 years old, he thinks he is entitled to do many of the things an adult would do. One of those things is shaving.

For example, last Saturday we were getting ready to go to a baptism. Luke was all dressed up and went to the bathroom to perform his favorite ritual, doing this hair. Ten to fifteen minutes later, he came out of the bathroom with his hair done and looking suspicious. I looked at him and he immediately looked away. I didn't think anything about it at the time. that but it kept happening. I would look at Luke and he would look away. It finally got to the point where I knew something wasn't right. He was hiding something from me and I wanted to know what it was.

So I asked him to look at me. With great hesitation, he slowly turned his head and gave me a very guilty look. At first, I could quite place what looked wrong. His expression was a little different but I couldn't figure out why. Then I saw it. He had shaved off one of his eyebrows. O.K. not the entire thing, but about 80% of one and 30% of the other.

With horror, I said "Lucas Tyler Rowell what have you done?" He looked at me and just started bawling. He knew that he made a stupid decision and he was going to live with it for a while. To make a bigger impact on him, I took pictures of his eyebrow and had him show people what he had done. He was embarrased to show people and talk about his shaving experience but I still think he would do it again.

Here is the best picture that I could get of his eyebrow. The biggest chunk was taken off of his right eyebrow.

Halloween!!

2008-10-31T09:24:00.000-06:00

This year the Halloween season was a little different in the Rowell household. Jordan was out of town on business for 23 days. He left on the 16th of October and gets back on November 7th. So, we were fatherless during the Halloween season. It was not only hard for me, but very hard for the boys. So, I tried to do a couple of fun things the boys would enjoy. Here are some pictures of what we did for the past couple of weeks.

To kick off the Halloween season, we went on a hayride and picked out some pumpkins. We have a local farm that plants hundreds of pumpkins and you get to go and pick out your pumpkin from their fields. The boys had such a great time. They tried to pick out the biggest pumpkin that they could find. Dylan couldn't even pick his up and Luke struggled to bring his to the trailer which was pulled by a tractor.

Here are some pictures.

This is a picture of us before we went to the field of pumpkins.

This is a small section of the pumpkin patch we went to.

Luke and Dylan with the 3 pumpkins we picked out.

Dylan and Luke with one of the pumpkins that they carved.

"Witches Night Out"

Another activity we did was attend Gardner Village's "Witches night out". We went with Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Pat (whom the boys ADORE). Honestly, it really wasn't too kid friendly (it was more of a girls night out), but I think it was cool for my boys to see 400 plus women dressed up as witches. At this event, their was a petting zoo. That was the biggest hit with the boys. Mason thought the little goats were pretty cool. Luke was scared to death of all the animals and Dylan was hugging and petting every animal he could get his hands on.

Mason was laughing and smiling as he got to pet the little goats. He kept saying "nice" as he pet them. We are trying to teach him the different between being nice and hitting someone. He did a great job and being "nice" to the goats. There were a few goats that were larger than him and that did make him nervous, but the billy goats were his friends.

Dylan loves all animals. Unfortunately, he is allergic to their hair. So, he left the petting zoo with red eyes and was all congested. But, in his eyes, it was worth the sacrifice.

The only animal that Luke wasn't scared of at the petting zoo... DUCKS!

Uncle Pat at "Witches Night Out" carrying Dylan through the sea of witches and warlocks.

Here are their Halloween costumes for 2008

Lucas is Iron Man and Dylan is Bumblebee transformer. They couldn't wear their masks to the Halloween carnival or trunk or treat so we colored their hair instead.

Superheros looking intimidating!!

Mason was a crocodile. He usually doesn't have chubby cheeks but in this costume he was all cheek!

Happy Halloween!!!

Learning how to use a spoon!

2008-10-17T20:04:00.011-06:00

I know that many people give their kids utensils to use while eating before 18 months, but I guess I am a little slow or a little scared. I hate cleaning up big messes. When I think of my baby using a spoon, I picture food splattered everywhere and a big mess for me to clean up. But, I decided that Mason is old enough to start learning how to use a spoon.

So, I decided to give it a try. The minute I put a spoon in Mason's hand he thought he was Hot Stuff and started talking (of course gibberish) and laughing. He held the spoon for a moment and then he looked down at the pudding container. He studied it for a minute and then put 2 and 2 together. He slowly lowered the spoon into the pudding and scooped out a big blob of pudding. With a big smile on his face, he raised it to his mouth and did the best he could to put it in his mouth. He got most of it in his mouth but of course some didn't make it. But, he thought the whole process was cool and for the next 15 minutes he went to town eating his pudding.

Here are some pictures...

A SnowMan in October????

2008-10-12T21:08:00.001-06:00

I wasn't expecting snow in October, but when it came it was cool! The minute the boys saw the snow outside, they had their snow clothes on and were heading out the door. They played outside in the snow for over an hour (which never happens, even when it is sunny outside). While they were outside, Luke started rolling the snow and making the body of their snowman. Jordan and Dylan jumped into the action and with 10 minutes they had a snowman.

Here is their masterpiece...

Here are some pictures of the boys playing in the snow...

Enough with the MotorCycles!!!

2008-10-11T20:53:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, Jordan's good friend Kevin came from Texas to visit us. The real reason for his visit is because he bought a chopper motorcycle from Ebay and had to pick it up in Boise. His plan was that he was going to drive it from Boise to Texas. The one thing he didn't plan was a snow storm in October. Because it was blizzarding, he had to rent a UHAUL and drive to our house for a pit stop.

Well, the minute Jordan saw the bike he eyes were glazed over and the drool couldn't be contained. He loved it! He took it for a spin and was VERY impressed. But, again we will NOT be getting a motorcycle for a long time. Thank goodness he has friends with bikes who can satisfy his craving until he gets his own.

Here are some pictures of the boys and the chopper...

Motherhood on one foot!

2008-10-09T16:30:00.009-06:00

We all know that motherhood is one of the most challenging roles in life. For me, it is the most difficult thing I have ever done. I struggle on a daily basis with motherhood and try every moment not to let it overwhelm me. But motherhood with one foot is completely different. I know I have taken having two functional feet for granted. Only having one foot makes everything much more difficult. I have to let some things slide (like doing a lot of cleaning, chasing after Mason, going up and down the stairs for different reasons, taking showers and doing errands) because it either hurts to much or is to difficult to do. Now, motherhood and running a household is harder than ever. But, I am so blessed because I know that in a matter of weeks it will all be over. For others, they have to deal with physical limitations for the rest of their lives. My respect and admiration goes out to those people.

What did I do? Well, it has been 6 weeks since my stupid incident. It was a Sunday evening on the Labor Day weekend and my sister and her husband were stopping by our house on their way home from Yellow Stone. We were all in our garage and Mason needed to go to bed. So I ran into the house to put Mason down for the evening. After I put him in bed, I turned around and started walking toward the garage. I opened the door from the house to the garage and quickly come down the cement stairs. My left food hit the ground to the garage when I heard a crack inside my body and then felt a flood of the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my life. Somehow I landed wrong on my foot and I fractured my foot and sprained my ankle.

I have never felt that kind of pain before. I am such a wuss when it comes to pain. I have never broken a bone or sprained an ankle, received stitches, or have had really anything bad happen to me physically. The worst thing I have every experienced occurred in January when I hit the door frame with my head (it hasn’t been a banner year for me).
The minute I hit the ground and felt the pain I was screaming and crying and carrying on like I had been shot in the leg. As I said, I don’t handle pain very well. I started going into shock because I was freaking out because it hurt so much. About an hour later (and 1000 mg of ibuprofen) I calmed down. Don’t get me wrong, it still hurt, but not the sharp, horrible pain that it had previously been.

Unfortunately, Insta Care was closed so I waited until the next day to go. They took some X-Rays and a CT-Scan to determine that I fractured my foot and sprained my ankle. They gave me a medical boot to wear first and then when I came back for my 2 week check-up, I got a hard cast on. The reason why I got a hard cast was because I wasn’t wearing my removable medical boot as often as I should. I thought it felt very uncomfortable. I didn’t realize how comfortable it was until I got a permanent cast on. I wore the permanent cast for a week when I came to the conclusion that the cast had to go. It hurt, it stinks (literally) and it is creating blisters and sores on my toes and leg. So, I asked Jordan to cut it off. He was a little hesitant at first, but being the handyman he is, he agreed to my proposal. To be honest, I think he thought it would be cool to do because he has never cut off someone’s cast before. So, he got out his Die Grinder and started grinding away. It took about 20 minutes to remove the beast, but I am happy to report that I am cast free or their wasn’t any blood shed. I am now wearing my hard boot and will for the next 3 weeks. I haven’t told my doctor but it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Here is a picture of the mangled cast..

Here is what I am wearing today and probably will for the next month or so...

Who is that Half-Naked Doggy in the Window?

2008-09-28T11:20:00.012-06:00

Mason loves taking baths. After I give him a bath, he always wants me to wrap him up in a towel and then he prancing around the house with his towel. Honestly, if I would let him, he would walk around all day with nothing on but a towel. I think he is adorable, so I took some pictures.

Here is a pictue of him in with his doggy towel....

White Boys Dancing

2008-09-28T10:51:00.004-06:00

I have 3 white boys who LOVE to dance. I stress the word "White" because they just don't have the beat like some other people do. Whenever music plays Lucas does some form of break dancing and ends up on the floor doing some interesting movements. Dylan tries really hard to dance to the beat but he ends up shaking his body in many unique ways and Mason has some fast moving feet action. Out of all three boys Mason loves dancing the most. Whenever he is near the stereo, he turns it on and starts dancing. Or whenever he hears any music he starts moving his body to the beat.

Here is a short video of the boys dancing to High School Musical "Get Your Head in the Game".

My Harley Babe!

2008-08-25T21:47:00.019-06:00

Last year for our 9th year anniversary, I got Jordan the best gift. I got him a gift certificate to rent a Harley Davidson for a day. He loves Harley's and he has never rode one before. So, being the incredible wife that I am, I decided to splurge and get him one for a day. (I will admit that I am not nice enough to get him one for real) Well a year later (Jordan had to get a motorcycle's license and we didn't want to ride it in the winter), we finally decided to cash in on our gift certificate.

Well, Jordan had the time of his life. He was beaming from ear to ear for a full 24 hours. He had to restrain himself from sleeping in the garage with the bike. Lindsay and Pat came up from Provo and rode with Jordan through Ogden canyon and up to Park City. The ride was beautiful.

The boys and I met up with them later in the day and I became a Harley girl and rode on the back of the back with Jordan up in Park City. It was fun, a little scary on the freeway but fun. Unfortunately, the day had to come to an end and we had to return the bike. A few tears were shed by Jordan but he said goodbye to his friend and honestly he hasn't been the same since. It is like a part of him is missing. He sits in front of the computer and looks and looks at pictures of Harley's and dreams of a day when he can get one for good. (By the way, I am not exaggerating when I say this about Jordan. Okay he didn't cry when we drove away but he hasn't been the same and does look at pictures of bikes on the computer quite often) Anyways, he had a wonderful time and hopes to have another experience like this again in the near future.

You are witnessing one of the greatest moments of his life!

My 3 oldest boys and their uncle having a testosterone moment!