White Boys Dancing

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!

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!

Boating Anyone?

Boating with the Ostermiller Family

We had the incredible opportunity to go and spend an evening boating with our friends the Ostermiller's at Pineview reservoir. We all had so much fun playing in the water and doing some tubing, skiing and surfing.

The Rowell boys with the Ostermiller girls!

All 3 boys and myself tubing in the water! I can't believe the boat has the power to pull me!
It was some boat!

Mason and Jordan playing in the water. Mason LOVED it!

Luke even tried to waterskii! That's my boy! He tried a couple of times, but couldn't get up. Don't worry Luke, it took me a week to get up on waterskiis when I was 10 years old. I was impressed he even tried. Scott was a great instructor for him.

After many failed attempts, I got my body out of the water. I had a good time but boy was I sore the next day.

Scott took both boys on his surf board and went surfing on the back of the boat. They had a blast!

Here is a video of Dylan surfing!

"Boys are beyond the range of anybody’s sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years.”

Tonight I told Dylan and Lucas that they could play outside, but they had to stay in the front yard. About 15 minutes later, I hear the door bell ring. Being the obedient boys they are, I open up the door and there is Luke completely covered in mud from head to toe. He looks at me and with the most serious look on his face he says, "Mom, can I go and play in the mud?"

Are you kidding? I couldn't believe it! What goes through the minds of my boys, I will never know. What made them think that they could go over to the neighbors backyard and jump into an irrigation ditch get completely covered in mud from head to toe and then think, "I am going to go home and ask my mom if I can play in mud." I just don't understand.

When I went over to get Dylan, he was in the ditch and was rolling in mud and having a grand old time. He couldn't get out of the ditch because he was so muddy and the ditch was high and slippery. He had no shirt on and his pants were so filled with mud that they were falling down.

This muddy incident is days after I walked into their room on a Sunday morning to find a mother's worst nightmare..... Permanent marker all over their window seal. All I told them was to get a coloring book and crayons and color some pictures. That is all they had to do, but instead I get this.....

I don't know how many times both of my boys have gotten into trouble for writing on the walls, couches, clothes, floor and anything else they can get their hands on. Seriously, what made them think that they could pick up a permanent marker and color all over everything and think

"Mom won't mind. I bet she will think this is a masterpiece."

AHHHH, Calgon take me away!

Here is a little poem that sums it up...

Raising Boys

Author: Roberta I. Teague

I scrub the wall of fingerprints, Pick up the mounds of clothes.

I sweep the dirt that shoes track in- Wish I could use a hose!

Meals are served from dawn to dark, Dirty dishes crowd the sink.

Just when they’re washed and put away- Everyone wants a drink!

The washer pulls the dirty grime From pants worn thin and patched.

They look so very neat and clean- Yuck, look what the pockets hatched!

Broken bones and bloody knees, I should have been a nurse.

I take it all in shaky stride- Just grateful it’s not worse!

Screams and shouts and arguments Test the keeping of my cool.

They left the neighbor’s faucet on- See their new front yard pool!

A soothing bath is ecstasy, A reward at the end of my rope.

Raising boys isn’t really bad- But first I must wash the soap!

A rose can say I Love You, Orchids can enthrall;

But a weed bouquet in a chubby fist, Oh my, that says it all!

" I Want 2 Sisters!"

The other day Luke said out of the blue " Mom, I want 2 sisters." I laughed because he has always said that he wanted a sister but now he is saying 2 sisters. I asked him "Why" and he said "the other day I saw a magazine picture of a boy with his 2 sisters kissing him on the cheek. I want 2 sisters so they can kiss me on the cheek like that boy."

I laughed and thought "Boy, I am going to be in trouble when he gets older."

(FYI-I looked all over for a picture of a boy getting kissed by two girls on the cheek and I came up with nothing. So, you'll just have to imagine one more girl)

The First Week of 1st Grade

I can't believe I have a kid that is starting 1st grade! Luke just finished his first week of 1st grade at his new school, Bluff Ridge.

How did it go? I think well. I know it has been a bit of a transition for him. He is so used to going to a school where he didn't have a lot of structured time when it came to learning. At Mills Montessori school, he had more of a hands on approach to learning. They had certain subjects that they would cover but not in the traditional time segments like they do at Bluff Ridge. I know he is doing a lot more sitting at a desk and I think it has been hard for him. He has come home this week from school and he seems worn out. It could be because he gets home around 3:30 and starts school at 8:40.

When I ask him how school was when he gets home, he always has the same answer..."Good". After prodding and prodding, he tells me that he likes his teacher and likes having his friends Taylor, Ammon and Tanner in his class. He also likes eating lunch at school. When I ask him about what else he does during the day, he say " Some reading, math and going over school and classroom rules". That is about all I can get from him. Nothing more! I find out from Wendy Brinkerhoff that Taylor told her that some kid puked all over his desk at school. Now that is news worthy information. But, Luke didn't say a word. I get nothing. So, I guess from the little I know, his first week went well. I am crossing my fingers that he enjoys his teacher Mr. Wheeler and has a positive first grade experience.

Here is Luke on his first day of 1st grade....

Swimming Like A Fish

We have just finished our first round of swim lessons for Lucas and Dylan. They were so excited to go to swim lessons. It is all they talked about for weeks. Every day they would count down how many days it was until their next swim class. We had them attend every Monday and Wednesday for about a month. They both did pretty well. Although, Dylan had a emotional break down 2 weeks ago. He teacher was out of town for a week and had some other instructors come and substitute for her. Dylan did alright with the first substitute but he had Dylan float on his back and he let go of him and I think Dylan freaked out because of this.

The reason why Dylan freaked out is because we have had 2 instances when Dylan was 3 when we went to the Clearfield Aquatic Center and he thought he could walk on water and step right into the pool. Obviously, not being able to swim he went right under. The first time I had to jump in and save him. The second incident happened a couple of months later when I was taking the 2 boys swimming and we were going down the big water slide. I could only take one boy at a time. I told Dylan to sit and wait for me while I take Luke down the slide. Being the great listener he is, he walked right over to the pool and jumped in. This time I didn't jump in because I wasn't near him. The lifeguard had to jump in. This caused a whole big situation. I had to go and talk with the head life guard and he had to create an incident report. I got reprimanded from him. He told me that I need to watch my kid a little better. I felt like Mother of the Year that Day.

The one good and bad thing that occurred from these 2 incidents is that Dylan doesn't jump into the pool anymore but now he is freaked out about going in the pool and swimming. He is alright in the water when the water is around his knees but anything deeper he clings on to you like a leech. So, when the substitute instructor let go of him when he was floating on his back, it must of caused some flash backs of his water episodes. The next swim class he wouldn't get near the pool. He was screaming and crying and wouldn't do his swim lesson. The follow week, he still wouldn't go to his class. Finally after a lot of positive affirmations and some bribery he made his last class and did well.

On the other hand, Luke loves the water and enjoyed every minute. He did well in his class. He learned the basic strokes and did well. Even though he gets really nervous when you put him on his back. With practice I know he will get better. We will sign them up for their next class in another month or two.

Here are some pictures and videos of them....

I Feel Wicked!!!!

It has been over 4 years since Jordan and I had a vacation together. With having kids, moving, going to Law School, moving again and starting a business we just haven't gotten away. A few things you should know about me. I love traveling. My goal is to see the world before I die. It is VERY important to me. For example, I have spent the past 7 years accruing sky miles to finally take a real vacation and use them. A month ago, I told Jordan that I wanted to go on a vacation this year but unfortunately with Jordan's new job that wasn't going to be a possibility either. AHHHH! I was mad. I wanted out! I needed to go away! Think! Think! Think!

Then an idea popped into my head. Hey, Jordan was going to be in Los Angeles in training for Farmers for 2 weeks. Why not go and visit him during the weekend and do a couple of fun things without any kids. My sister Lindsay and her husband Pat needed a little getaway too. Even though it wasn't a real vacation, a little weekend getaway was just what the doctor ordered. LA here we come!

The highlight of the trip for me was seeing the musical "Wicked". OH MY GOSH! It was the most incredible performance I have ever seen! My sister Lindsay has dreamed about going to the musical "Wicked" for the last couple of years. I really hadn't heard much about it, but I am always up for a musical. I had no idea what the story was about. I downloaded the CD a week before we left and listened to the music a couple of times before the performance but I was not prepared for what I experienced. The only word that sums up that performance was PHENOMENAL! It took my breath away. I loved it! It made me laugh, cry and speechless with the talent Heavenly Father has blessed some people with. I can't imagine being able to sing like some of these performers do. I could watch it over and over again and still love it. Hopefully, I will be able to see "Wicked" again sometime.

We also went to a "Farmer's Family Day". Farmers insurance was having their annual family day that weekend and we stopped by. It was a blast! We played games, got sprayed on tattoos, had our fortune read and ate food. The best part was everything was FREE.

Here is a picture of Jordan and I and the fortune teller.

This is what our future holds.......We will have 2 more boys (Heaven Help Us!), we will be moving real soon because something bad will happen to our home, I will be changing my job by the end of the year, Jordan's brother has a hard time managing money and he is in real trouble and Jordan has to learn that he can't bail (literally and figuratively) him out of trouble all the time, Jordan is going to be successful at new job because he is good at what he does and I had a previous boyfriend/fiance before Jordan that I was serious about marrying.

Later on in the day, we went to the beach, had dinner at a fabulous restaurant and walked on the boardwalk. The next day we slepted in, played at the pool and played a board game, had lunch and took off to the airport. The time flew by but we had a great time with great company. Overall, it was a perfect weekend with some great memories! Take a look at a few! (Okay, I know that I have a really cute and skinny sister and yes we are blood related. I got all the crap genes!)

Be Careful What You Wish For!

Okay, let me vent for just a moment. I have always wanted a girl. I love girly things and makeup and playing dolls but for whatever reason, the Lord has blessed me with 3 boys. I love my boys but I always thought having a girl would be fun. Well, unfortunately as the years go by I am realizing that I have a girl, it just happens to be my oldest son.

What do I mean? Well, Lucas is a very emotional boy with a lot of characteristics that you would think of when it comes to a girl. For example, his feelings get hurt really easily, he can spend about a half hour doing his hair, he primps through out the day (if his hair doesn't look right when he looks in the mirror, he will do it again), he is VERY particular about what he wears and how he looks and he is constantly asking me if he looks good. Now, I am not saying that there aren't boys out there who have these same characteristics, I just don't know how many 6 year old boys do.

Let me share a few stories for you:

Story #1

About 2 years ago, I was in his bedroom cleaning up and I looked up and saw Luke looking at a picture of himself and Santa Claus. Out of nowhere he starts bawling. In amazement, I ask "What are you crying about?" In the most pathetic weepy voice, he responds " I just miss Santa soooo much!" DUDE! You are worse that I am when I am 8 months pregnant!

Story #2

Six weeks ago, I went to Walmart to get Luke's haircut. I usually go to Great Clips where they input in their computer what haircut the client received on the previous visit. So, I hadn't verbally told a stylist how to cut Luke's hair for a while. But, I was already in Walmart and I thought it would be more convenient to get his hair cut there because I had shopping to do anyways. BIG MISTAKE! So, when the stylist asked me how I should cut his hair, I told her a "1" on the sides and a "2" up top. Well, she did what I said and Luke left Walmart with a buzzed head.

Now, as you recall, Luke spends a lot of time on his hair. He puts gel in it, takes a comb and making sure each hair is in the right place and then finishes the beauty regime with hairspray to keep everything in place. With a buzzed head, he couldn't do any of that. His identity was lost. He started crying the minute we left Walmart. He was so concerned that people at school were going to make fun of him. Every day for the next few weeks I had to reassure him that his hair would grow back and no one would make fun of him. I am pleased to announce that his hair did grow back and we are back in front of the mirror around 4 times a day!

Story #3

4th of July started off really bad. We had planned a fun morning where we were going to go to the Centerville 4th of July parade. But, Luke was having one of his frantic mornings where his outfit was not coming together the way he wanted. He didn't like his shirt with his shorts and he couldn't find footy socks to wear. Well, after 30 minutes of him hemming and hawing, I had enough! We were going to be late and I was emotionally tired of him freaking out about his outfit. So, I made the executive decision that we didn't have time for him to do his hair, he was going to keep the outfit he had on and he was going to wear flip flops. OH BOY! That didn't go over well. His previous whining turned into hysterical crying. He was upset about everything I just said, but the one thing that hit home was him wearing flip flops. He didn't want to wear flip flops! In anger, I stomped into his room and graped the first pair of shoes I could find that didn't require socks. Now mind you, the shoes I grabed he has only worn 2 times because it just doesn't fit his idea of what he should be wearing on his feet. So, when I pulled those shoes out of his closet, he lost it! He couldn't bear the idea of putting those shoes on his feet. I took the shoes and Luke and threw them both in the car. Of course, he freaked out the whole way to the parade.

When we got to Centerville and started to get our stuff out of the car, he wouldn't budge. He was not going to leave the car with those shoes on. I couldn't believe it! He would rather stay in the car than go to a parade where there was going to be candy, friends and fun. But, he was TOO embarrassed to leave the car and have people see him in those shoes. So, Jordan stayed in the car with him. He cried and complained the whole time. After 45 minutes, he realized that he was being ridiculous. He apologized profusely and wanted to go to the parade. After much thought, Jordan made a deal with him. He could go to the last 10 minutes of the parade but when he got home he would have to go to his room for 3 hours. He thought about it and decided that 10 minutes at the parade was worth it. So, he saw a few floats, caught a few pieces of candy and enjoyed 3 hours in his room.

This is a picture of him pouting in the car on the way to the parade.

The infamous shoes!

With all of this said, I do love Luke and I think he is adorable. He is extremely handsome and will be a lady killer when he gets older. He has such a tender side to him that I absolutely love. He is really sensitive to other people's feelings and is always looking out for his little brothers. He is smart, kind and an outgoing person. I love him with all my heart and feel fortunate to be his mother. I wouldn't trade him for the world!

It's Alive! The Toddler Monster Has Awaken!

It is official, I have another toddler! AHHHHHHHHHHH! I knew it would happen, but it still hurts. Mason this week has officially turned into a toddler. He has thrown about 5 temper tandrums, he hits me when he is mad, I tell him "no" and he repeats "no" and then does it anyways and he screams bloody murder at the top of his lungs when he doesn't get his way.

For example, today, I had to take him out of sacrament meeting because he was starting to pitch a fit. By the time I had him in the foyer of the chapel he was balistic. I couldn't control him. He was possessed! After many sympathetic looks from other members of the church, I finally had to take him outside before the Bishop came out to see what the he_ _ was going on. I couldnt' believe it. Where did my sweet loving baby go?

When he performed his first temper tantrum this week by throwing himself down on the ground and kicking his feet while screaming and screaming and screaming, I knew that one chapter of motherhood has closed and a really hard one has begun.

Let's be honest, I don't do well with toddlers. I don't like the screaming, talking back and oh what do phychologist call it"expressing themselves" part of toddlerhood. I prefer the cooing, babbling and sleeping part of having a baby. But, unfortunatley, they have to grow up and mine sweet innocent baby is now the "toddler monster".

This is the face that I am seeing a lot of lately!

This is just a tiny tiny taste of what we are talking about....

Ready for Summer!

Saturdays are always a big "To Do" list day for the Rowell household. We have been spending a lot of time working in the yard. Let me tell you how hard it is to keep our yard looking alive. For the past month, we have been working dilligently to get our flower beds filled with plants and mulch. And for the past month we have been killing ourselves trying to keep them alive. We couldn't figure out why we would water and water them and they would slowly die. Not only were our plants dying but our grass was starting to die as well. So, we checked and rechecked the sprinkler heads and tested the sprinkler system and everything seemed. fine. Then one night we went outside for something and we realized the sprinklers weren't on when they were supposed to be. We weren't getting any pressure from the city water to water our plants and lawn. No wonder why our plants and lawn were dying!

I called Syracuse City to come and fix my problem. In Syracuse, we get secondary water to water our lawns. So when the employees of Syracuse City came out and tested our sprinkling system, they agreed something wasn't right. So they dug up our water filter and discovered that the cause of our problem......FRESH WATER CLAMS were clogging our pipes. EWWWW Gross!!!!! We have clams in our pipes, that is gross and wrong. But, after they killed the clams and crushed their shells we finally had pressure to water our yard. Hallejuhiah!

(This is what was in our pipes...YUCK!)

After 2 years, here is our house with landscaping! YEAH!

Yesterday we got a lot of stuff completed (yard work, working on the sprinklers, cleaning the house) including getting our patio ready for summer. We got a Gazebo so we can have lunch and dinner outside when it isn't 100 + degrees. I really like it and I think we will have a lot of fun relaxing under it.

Here is a picture of it.

This is what Dylan spends his time doing when we are working in the yard...

The Rowell Household is officially ready for Summer!

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. ~Marc Brown

Lucas and Dylan have a love hate relationship. They fight all the time, but if the other person isn't around they don't know what to do with themselves. They could be yelling and screaming at each other one minute and the next minute they are laughing and playing with each other. I can truly say they are best friends. They play (or fight) with each other all day long and at night they can't be apart either.

Luke and Dylan share a room. One time, I separated them because they wouldn't go to sleep. I put Luke downstairs to sleep in the guess room and Dylan stayed up in their room. In the morning, I went to wake up Dylan and he wasn't in his room. I started to freak out. I looked all up stairs and he wasn't anywhere. I ran downstairs to check on Luke and their was Dylan peacefully sleeping next to Luke. He obviously couldn't sleep with out his brother so he snuck downstairs and crawled into bed with Luke.

The other night, I went into their room to check up on them to see if they FINALLY went to sleep and this is what I saw....

"My brother is a friend God gave me; my friend is my brother my heart chose for me."

Gingerbread houses in Spring????

The Rowell household gets bored quite often. So, we decided that we wanted to build Gingerbread houses. We got all of the goodies from the store and started building. Dylan and Luke's faces were smiling the whole time. Our sugar addict (Dylan) would pop as much candy as he could into his mouth when he thought I wasn't looking. They had fun piling and piling as much candy and frosting as they could on that little gingerbread house. It would fall down every so often, because it couldn't bear the weight. But, in the end, it stood and it looked great!

We Love Our Daddy

We love our Daddy! I am finally getting to write an entry on Father's Day. I think Jordan had a really good day. He woke up and got a couple of gifts from his family. The boys gave him a gift they made from school. It was a big Hershey bar (mind you Jordan doesn't like chocolate) with a nice poem and a picture on it. Then he had a wonderful surprise. He got an IPOD. Yes, it is true. The Rowell family has finally joined the 21st century and got an IPOD. We have been wanting to get one for a while now and I finally decided to spend the money on my wonderful husband and give it to him for Father's Day. He was really excited. He has spent the last 2 weeks downloading music on it. We finally got to the 2,000 song mark and we still have room left for 18,000 more. Who knows $20,000 songs anyways?

You should see the look on Jordan's face when he plays with his new favorite toy. It is almost as good as when I bought him his first set of tools. We were newlyweds and we decided to go and look at the tool section at Sears. Jordan saw a set that he REALLY wanted. I figured it was a good investment, since I always have a "Honey To-Do List" that needs to be checked-off. So, we bought him a set and he wanted to sit in the back of the car on the way home from Sears and look and touch his new tools. I couldn't believe it. I think he was more excited to get tools than he was to get a new bride a couple of monthes previous.

Anyways, he loves his new IPOD. Here is a picture of what it looks like......

The rest of Father's Day went well. We went to church and he was excited to see what the ward would give the dads on Father's Day. The mothers on Mother's Day got a flower to plant in their flower beds. So, Jordan was wondering what special treat they had in store for him. To his dismay, all he got from the ward that day was the opportunity to teach Elders Quorum.

After church, we went up to Odgen Canyon. We had Uncle Tyler join us. It really is beautiful up there and we had a good time getting out of the house. We saw the water and a nice water fall. Jordan was holding Mason in front of the waterfall when Mason gave him his father day present...Some vomit with cheese crackers in it. "Happy Father's Day Daddy!"

We love Jordan very much. He is a really good man that wants more than anything to make his family happy. He has so many wonderful qualities..He is funny, a hard worker, loving, talented and is always thinking about others before himself. We are all blessed to have him in our lives. Happy Father's Day Jordan!

Here are some pictures of the ride...