Remembering Kids (Apr 2009)

(Gavin)10 years - Some of Gavin's favorites: Grandpa's 4-wheelers, zip line in the backyard, Pendragon, bacon, Nightside on KSL long, hot showers, friends, spray painting anything, and BYU.
(Enoch) 3 years - Enoch had his first show and tell for Preschool this week. After explaining that show and tell is when you bring something really cool and neat to show your friends, he thought about for a bit and decided to bring himself .
(Kate) 8 months - Kate produces the most interesting sounds. She screams like a banshee, burps like a sailor and occasionally make a 'HUH? you people are nuts' noise in the back of her throat.

Spoons are Messy

I've been thinking for the last few weeks that is it about time that Kate started feeding herself with a spoon. Of course, she eats finger foods, but I've never let her use a spoon (mainly because of the mess). We tried it out today and it went about as well as I expected. She did quite well with her yogurt until the very end. She loved it and was very proud of herself. Enoch keep saying, "Mom, are you sure you want to do this. Look at Kate. She is messy and the floor is messy, too." We'll try it again tomorrow.

More Thanksgiving Point

I know I have already posted about visiting the Tulip Festival, but we have gone to Thanksgiving Point a lot this last week (to use our pass one last time). I wasn't going to post anymore, but the pictures are so cute, so just lots of pictures. Most of my pictures of Enoch these days are from behind, him running away. Enoch and his cousin, Carson, had a great time at the Children's Garden this week.



That night, since Greg and Gavin were at their class, I took the kids to the farm to see the baby animals. They were so cute and the kids loved them (my kids, not the baby goats!) Enoch and Kate both love the ducks, they are the favorite animal at the farm. The piglets, donkey, kids (this time baby goats) and wagon ride are also a hit.

the tree of life

I did this for a family home evening lesson. Once there was a guy named lehi and he had a dream were there was a tree and he ate the fruit and he liked it and he wanted his family to eat it too. so he called to them. but only some came and ate the fruit.

Dad and Enoch

Hello from Greg,

It was my turn to take Enoch out for a fun night. Tresa calls this date night. We decided to go to Kangaroo Zoo. We left just after dinner. Enoch never goes on the same slide twice in a row. We would run from one slide, go down it, then run to the next one. He even went down the big slide, and was not even scared. We ran and ran and ran, till we could run no more. He would take a one minute rest and then take off again. It was very hard keeping up with him. We left for home about 7:30. It was a very successful fun night.

Earth Day

We are not perfect, but we try to do our part to save the environment. We recycle, walk when we can, turn off our lights, watch our paper towel consumption, garden and compost, search for cheap natural gas cars on KSL.com and various other things (I haven't changed over to cloth diapers and that is probably not going to happen!). I feel very strongly about teaching my children to do good by our earth - to take care of it and improve it when possible. I don't understand why so many people get their knickers in a twist over the global warming debate - shouldn't we be doing everything we can anyway to protect our earth regardless if global warming is true or not?
For Earth Day this year our family did two activities. We delivered fliers for our neighborhood garden and picked up trash along the way. I know, nothing big, but it gave us a chance to talk about our world and how little things can add up to big things. Just walking along our cul-de-sac and Quail Drive, Gavin filled a black garbage bag with trash. Enoch is so excited for the garden and corn on the cob and Kate doesn't care what we are doing as long as we are doing it outside! I'd love to get ideas from your family on how you help the earth - I'm always up for new ideas.

Tulip Festival

We had so much fun at this year's Tulip Fesitval (or Tulip Festibal, as Enoch calls it). Our pass to Thanksgiving Point is getting close to expiring, so we are trying to use it as much as we can before next Tuesday. The gardens were so beautiful! We enjoyed looking at the flowers, running around and rolling down the hills. We are so lucky to have such an amazing place so close to our house. I wanted to snap some cute pictures of the kids with all the tulips, but I mostly got action shots. The kids just couldn't hold still - they were having too much fun!


I could see this coming!

I Hate This!

I know those are strong words, but I really hate this. I expect snow in January, even March, and I'll concede that snow in April is fairly common in Utah, but 10 inches in mid April? I hate it. I woke up this morning to go swimming (bright and early at 5am), got dressed, put on my flip flops and then looked outside. Yuck. Being the dedicated swimmer I am (hahaha), I slid my way to the Legacy Center only to find it closed because of a power outage (I'm shocked, Lehi Power is so reliable!).

Of course, the kids thought it was great. They bundled up and went out to shovel and play in the snow. That is another thing I hate about snow. It takes me 20 minutes to get all of the warm gear on and then another 10 minutes to get it off and then I have drippy wet snow clothes all over the house. Can you tell I'm sick of winter. If is snows likes this again before next November, I'm out of here!

Next Up - Mount Everest

This last Sunday, I was telling my good friend, Winnie, that I've been lucky that Kate hasn't been much of a climber. By now, the boys were climbing out the their crib and creating all types of chaos. Kate has shown no interest of getting out of her crib; usually I find her in there snuggling with her blankie and playing with Fairy and Bunny.
I spoke too soon.
On Monday, she started climbing on the kitchen chairs. On Tuesday, she was climbing on the chairs and then onto the kitchen table. By Tuesday afternoon, she was pushing the chairs over to the table (my brilliant idea of scooting all the chairs away from the table only lasted two hours), hoisting herself onto the chairs and then the table. I'm amazed she can get onto the chairs. She is still quite short, but has the freaky Fowler strength (I always tease that although my boys are all skinny, they are freakishly strong).
I was fine with the kitchen table-climbing phase; all toddlers go through that, right? On Wednesday I couldn't find her. I searched everywhere and was really starting to panic. She was in Enoch's loft! IN ENOCH'S LOFT - which is what, 9, 10 feet up. I was really panicked then. She was having a great time and obviously has no fear of heights. After fighting her, kicking and screaming, to get down I lectured the boys for 10 minutes to now keep Enoch's bedroom door closed (along with all the bathroom doors).
A few hours later, I sent all the kids in the backyard to play in the sun. It only took a few minutes for Enoch to come in and tell me, very casually, that Kate was climbing the ladder to the play tower. By the time I reached her, she was about 8 feet up. Again, kicking and screaming to get her down.
This has been my week, pulling Kate off of high objects. I don't know what to do with her; she is covered in bruises, yet still insists on climbing. I was hoping Kate would be my one child with a healthy amount of fear - not going to happen. I think my only option left is to teach her how to safely climb down once she is up. Do they teach repelling lessons for kids under 20 pounds?

Easter Fesitvities

Easter is one of those great holidays that last for days at our home. By the end of the weekend we are ready to do something different, but we enjoy the once-a-year celebrating.
Easter started on Thursday with the egg hunt at Enoch's preschool. He was so excited to take his 'picnic basket' (we are still working on Easter basket) to school. At 2:45, the hunt began. Each child had eggs with their names written on it and some random candy and bubbles hidden around the room. They also received a book from Miss Dawn. Enoch had a great time and loved finding his special eggs.
On Saturday morning the Easter Bunny visited our home and left some special treats for the kids.
Gavin got a new pink tie (he picked it out), new pants, another set of Harry Potter castle building cards and candy.

Enoch got a new Sunday outfit, the movie Bolt (he was literally jumping up and down), a horn for his bike (what was I thinking?) and candy.

Kate found a new dress and flower bow, a tea set and candy in her Easter basket.

After playing with our new toys for a bit, Uncle Jarom came over and Greg helped him with his Pinewood Derby car. We then headed over to Uncle Bud's ranch for the yearly Evan's Easter party. We roasted hot dogs, hunted for eggs, colored eggs, visited and rode the horses. While searching for eggs, Enoch kept picking up an egg and then putting it back and moving on to the next egg. I couldn't figure out what was going on until he frustratedly said, "None of these eggs have my name on them!" I had to explain that only eggs at Miss Dawn's house has his name on them. We always have a great time even if the weather is cold and rainy. Despite the rain, Grandpa Dee brought his ice cream maker and most everyone had some, even Kate who will never pass up ice cream no matter how cold it is! I never seem to get good pictures of my kids hunting for eggs; every year I'm disappointed in the pictures. Just know they had a good time.



That night the boys got haricuts and then we watched Bolt and went to bed early.
Sunday was a beautiful day with the sun shining. We had a great Family Home Evening about the Atonement which Enoch gave (with Mom's help). We had our Easter meal for brunch and it was delicious (ham, baked potatoes, rolls, corn). The kids looked so cute in their Easter clothes. I have been waiting for months to put Kate in her dress and she looked adorable! Greg was giving me a hard time because I bought matching shoes; I told him to get use to it. I know Kate is getting more screen time, but you have to see the whole dress! Everyone at church loved Gavin's pink tie and Enoch was so excited about his tractor vest (he loves tractors). Church was wonderful and we spent the evening visited with Fowlers.

Wheeeee!

Just a short update on the remodel of our backyard. Greg has been working hard on various projects, one being our yard. This past week our slide arrived from Georgia (finally) and the boys, all the boys, were excited to get it up.
It didn't take too long to install it and then the fun began. It really is a great slide. It has no bumps, so you can gain some speed and almost get thrown off at the end. The kids have had a blast the last few days playing on it. Luckily, we have had no injuries, just lots of grass stains on the knees and bottoms of Gavin's and Enoch's jeans. What great fun! The rock climbing wall is next!

I was just thinking to myself...

I was having a lousy day. Enoch knew it. He sat next to me on the couch and said, "I was just thinking to myself in my head that I love you. I am talking to myself and I am saying I love my mom. That is what I would say if I wasn't thinking in my head and talking to myself that I love you." He then gave me a big smile and walked off. Moments like that make it all worth it (until ten minutes later when he spit in my bed. Seriously. You take the good with the bad, I guess.)

Just one of those days

This is why I love blogs. I would have never dedicated an entire scrapbook page to this one picture, but I want to remember it. Kate had already been bathed and I was cleaning up in the kitchen while Enoch was still playing in the tub. I was positive the bathroom door was closed, but obviously, I was wrong. A fitting ending to a hectic day.