Water Fun

After the parade on Saturday, we went to Ford's and BBQed (Valerie had a lot of food leftover from Carson's party the night before). The kids had a great time playing on the giant inflatable water slide from Carson's party. We played there most of the afternoon.
Gavin had a great time going down the slide and squirting everyone with water cannons. Enoch was more reserved about the water. Enoch loves water on his own conditions; he will not let people try to talk him into water. The more you talk the more he refuses. Kate enjoyed the baby pool. The kids called it the hot tub because the water had warmed up a bit more that in the waterslide. It was a very fun afternoon and we came home exhausted and hot.

Lehi Round-Up

Our family loves Round-Up week in Lehi. Even though Lehi is growing, it's the one week of the year that Lehi still feels like a small town. Our favorite events are the Parade and History Quest (sponsored by Hutching's Musuem).
Our family has done the History Quest all three years it has been held. It's a bit like National Treasure - you receive clues that guide you around Lehi on a treasure hunt. Don't be fooled! This is tricky stuff. They really do make it difficult and it usually takes 1 1/2 - 2 days of searching. This year we did okay. We didn't place in the top three, but still had lots of fun and got some great prizes ($70 gift card to Lehi Arts Council, 4 mini golf passes to Liberty Land, 4 ice cream cones at Arctic Circle, 1 haircut at Cookie Cutters and 1 book from Classic Books). We always look forward to the History Quest every year.
We missed the Miniature Parade on Friday this year, but made an event our of the Grand Parade on Saturday. It is so difficult to find a place big enough to fit everyone chairs at the parade. This year, our family arrived at 9am and finally just put our chairs down in an intersection that would eventually be blocked off by the police. We had great seats and will have to remember this trick for next year. We ate a breakfast of donuts, fruit and milk and visited until the parade started at 10am. The floats and bands were great and of course, there were lots of businesses advertising.


Some year we will make it to the Rodeo. Lehi Round-Up is a great tradition in our family and we love it!

Swine Flu & Star Trek

Guess what Gavin brought home from camp (besides piles of dirty laundry)? Yep, the swine flu. We're not too concerned. Enoch had it last month and he survived. It really isn't that bad. In fact, Gavin is thinking this is okay. Mom and Dad had pretty much let him watch Star Trek all day. He does feel crummy in the morning, but as the day goes on, he feels better. He has been great not to get around the little kids, especially Kate. He is quite content with his blankets and Star Trek. Here's hoping it doesn't last too long and that nobody else gets sick!

Ouch!

I hate it when I do things like this. Stupid, pointless things. If you can believe it - I broke my toe. I'm still mad about it (and it still hurts!).
On Sunday morning, I was walking in the hall behind Gavin and I accidentally jammed my pinkie toe into his heel. It hurt horribly when I did it, but I figured I would get over it quickly. By the time we went to church, I couldn't put on my shoe, I was limping and trying to keep my eyes from watering. I had to do Sharing Time barefooted. By afternoon, my toe was swollen and literally purple and black. The picture doesn't do it justice because of the flash. It was quite disturbing to see my toe look like that. I kept it elevated most of the evening.
Luckily, I have great friends who have given me some great advice: just wrap it and keep off of it. My friend, Winnie, gave me some Chinese medicinal alcohol which she made herself. I'm to rub it on my bruised toe twice a day and then tape it. It stinks (literally and figuratively), but I'm hoping for some quick healing. When I taped my toe tonight, Kate had to have hers taped too. She is so adorable!

Pinching Pennies

I've decided it takes a fair amount of work to be frugal. I have a greater appreciation for the women who came before me - those who scrimped out of necessity. My scrimping is somewhat necessary, but I still greatly admired those women who did this their entire lives without a break. They were amazing. I'm not doing near as much as they did, but I'm trying.

I've baked bread on and off since Greg and I were married. Lately, I've been doing four loaves a week. My family loves it! We have breakfast for dinner at least one night a week and have been eating more vegetarian lately. Let me know your favorite bean and lentil recipes; we are using our food storage!
Rather than buying new shorts for Enoch, I cut off his holey jeans and made shorts. They look pretty good and are perfect for playing in the backyard. We broke out Gavin's hand-me-downs and Enoch found some new favorite shirts. Of course, what we saved on clothes, we are spending on Band-Aids!
Kate has decided to hit her summer growth spurt. I've been sewing some cute sundresses for her. I'm having a lot of fun. Since I'm just starting, I didn't want to spent a lot of fabric. I saw this fabric for sale at Wal-mart and loved it. I have always been a sucker for eyelet and I love this color on Kate. I figured I spent a whole 75 cents on this simple, wrap dress. I love it on her. I can't wait to make her some more clothes. At her size, I can make some fun things pretty inexpensively. I'll keep you posted on her new outfits.
I know I'm biased, but I think my daughter is beautiful; she reminds me of a fairy!

Let me know your favorite money-saving tip; I'm open to all ideas.

Clear Creek Camper

Check out Gavin's blog soon for his report on Clear Creek. If is doesn't appear soon, please nag him so I don't have to - again!
Gavin's great picture of a potgut. Don't know what a potgut is? Stay tuned to Gavin's blog!

Artist Enoch

Enoch loves to draw. I see a promising talent! He draws almost every morning after he does his homework page. Enoch usually prefers to draw free-hand rather than use a coloring book. Kate colors with him; she prefers the kitchen table as her canvas. Enoch told me this person has eyelashes around his entire eyes and hair on his ear. He is also looking for the sun (aren't we all these days)!

Enoch's Imagination Fun Camp

I was thrilled when Enoch's preschool teacher announced she was doing summer camps for her kids. I immediately signed Enoch up for three throughout the summer. Enoch was very sad when preschool was over, but he had his camps to look forward to in a few weeks (we have to gently ween ourselves away from Miss Dawn!).
Enoch's first camp was Imagination Fun. He had such a great time! The kids did activities and wrote in their journals every day and came home with some great costumes.

Monday: Beach Day

Of course, it was rainy and cold today. Enoch took his swimming suit and towel with hopes that the sun would come out, but no luck. The kids still had fun inside making hats, lais and drinking smoothies with tiny umbrellas.

Tuesday: Pirate Day

All Monday afternoon, Enoch kept saying Arrrgh! Matey! He was so excited for pirate day. Enoch came home with a pirate map, telescope, eye patch and hat.

Wednesday: Cowboy Day

Enoch was convinced he needed to wear his Cowboy Halloween costume, but we settled on wearing his hat. He made a very cute paper bag vest, a painted bandana and a Wanted poster. I think Enoch is worth more than $25!

Thursday: Space Day

Enoch loved this day. He came home with a extra cool jet pack. He has worn it every day since.
We can't wait until July when we have Art Camp and Mad Scientist Camp.

It's What Fun Is....Lagoon!

It had been years (15 to be exact) since Greg and I had been to Lagoon. The last time either of us had been was when we were dating. We thought it would be a great get-away for our family. My brother-in-law, Dave, acquired some discount tickets through his uncle. Dave was kind enough to share with us. So, our family, Dave, Michelle and Jarom went to Lagoon.
It was great weather. We were very nervous about thunderstorms considering the weather lately, but the weather was perfect. It never rained and the temperature hovered in the low 70s.
We spent the first part of the day in Kiddleland. Enoch loved all the rides.
Kate could only go on the Carousel, Ferris Wheel and the Wild Animal Kingdom, so we spent a lot of time on those rides. Kate loved them. She was so frustrated that she couldn't go on the big rides with the boys.
Enoch was very brave and went on many of the big rides. He rode Tidal Wave, The Bat and Rattlesnake Rapids. He loved it. Gavin went on every ride the big boys did. I was so impressed. His favorite was the Old White Roller Coaster, but he also rode Colasses, Samuri, JetStar 2, and Wild Mouse. So brave! I rode JetStar 2 and that was scary enough for me.
While the boys were waiting in line for Samuri, Michelle, Enoch, Kate and I rode the Ferris Wheel. I didn't think much about it while waiting in line, but once we got on and got moving I remembered I'm scared of heights. Stupid, I know! I just kept thinking this is one ride Kate can go on, so let's do it. I really don't like heights, but being on a Ferris Wheel with my kids (Enoch is scared of heights and Kate has no fear at all) was terrifying! I kept singing songs with Enoch to calm him (and myself) down. Michelle was great to hang onto Kate, but I was still extremely nervous. What a wimp! I was so glad to get off.
We all enjoyed riding Rattlesnake Rapids (expect Greg, who watched with Kate). Of course, we got wet, but it was all fun.
We spent a lot of time standing in line (although the lines weren't as bad as they could have been). We had fun talking and Dave, Michelle and Jarom were great to trade off with Greg and I watching Kate and sometimes Enoch.
We ate a late lunch in the parking lot (we brought sandwich fixings). Jarom won a stuffed animal for Kate. She loved it.
It was such a fun day and I'm so glad we could go with family!

A Very Wet Enoch at Lagoon

To start, a huge, special thanks to Aunt Michelle for these pictures. I think these cute pictures deserved their own post.
She watched the kids while the rest of us were riding roller coasters. She apologized for letting Enoch get so wet, but after seeing the pictures I'm so glad she did. He had so much fun playing in the fountains. He was drenched afterward, but the fun was worth it. We left the park right after so we stripped him down to his underwear and wrapped him up in a blanket for the drive home.

Enoch's Pet Worm

Enoch's eyes are red and swollen from crying. It took me 1/2 hour to calm him down. He is still on the verge of tears. The reason: his pet worm. He found a new friend today in the backyard. They played and played. They rolled in the dirt together and played in the grass. Enoch even sent his worm down the slide. Yippee! Dad finally told Enoch he needed to come in to get ready for bed and his pet worm needed to stay outside. Oh my! such tears. I have finally convinced him that his worm went home to his family and he is also getting ready for bed.
Enoch is my animal and creature lover. He has such a soft spot for them. I kept thinking we should get him a pet, but we are not ready for a dog or cat again. I'm thinking a fish. I keep putting it off because I know that we will probably kill it and I can't stand seeing my Enoch hurting. Any suggestions on hardy, very low maintance pets? If not, I'm seeing more worms in our future.

Fowler House Cup

I think I have blogged about our Fowler House Cup before. Just a refresher course: members of our family get house points for doing good (being kind, not whining, reading family scriptures and saying family prayer, etc). We have marked off our house cup with levels of rewards. Mom is very stingy about making sure we are level with the top of the label before we can reap our rewards. Well, we have finally filled up our entire house cup. It took longer than we all thought, but we did it. Hooray!
This morning, we set our new rewards:
1. Picnic and Biking at Jordan River
2. Movie
3. Hiking Timp Cave
4. Rock Hunting in West Desert
5. Goblin Valley

We are excited to get going. We already have 14 house point in there for today! Wish us luck!

Peanut Butter Bars

The other day, I made a batch of peanut butter bars (in the ward cookbook). My family was in heaven. If I knew all I had to do was make peanut butter bars and my family would be so agreeable, I'd had done it a long time ago. This is one treat to remember for future grumpy times.
Kate, being a true chocoholic, would only pick off the chocolate frosting from the top. She would only get a peanut butter bar before her tub, for obvious reasons. What a messy little girl!

Kate's Measles

Yes, you read right - Kate has the measles. Who gets measles these days? Apparently 5% of children throughout the world get a case of the measles after their MMR vaccination. Isn't Kate lucky to be included in that group? Truthfully, she is doing okay. She is covered in red bumps, has a low-grade fever and a runny nose, but is feeling fine. She only occasionally scratches her bumps and doesn't seem to be too bothered by the whole thing. Don't worry, she is not contagious. The doctor told us she should be clear in a few days. I'm hoping so! I'm so thankful that it is only her allergic reaction to the vaccination. I can't imagine going through this a century ago and knowing that she could die from this. We are so lucky to have modern medicine!