State Band Competition

A few weeks ago, Greg and I made the decision to attend the State Band Competition in St. George.  We asked my parents to babysit, cleared our schedules and made some plans.

We wanted to surprise Gavin when we got there, so we had to be sneaky the last few weeks.  Needless to say, Gavin was quite surprised when we tracked him down before his show.  After reassuring him that he didn't need to entertain us or be with us, we were just here to watch and support him, he was very happy we were there.

On Friday, we watched most of the bands in the state of Utah compete.  There is some great talent in this state!  Lehi was competing 4A this year.  Their show, Through the Eyes of the Wolf,  is incredible!  It was beautiful to watch.  The judges thought so too.  Lehi High School Marching Band took state!  First place!  The best!
We are so proud of the entire band, but, of course, especially Gavin!  He has worked so hard and put his heart, soul, achy feet, bad back, sunburned nose, endless time and dedication into marching band.  This year he was the horn sergeant and overall bossy kid of the band.  He did a good job!

 The next afternoon, we watched LHS compete in Bands of America.  They did a great job, but just missed the finals (some lazy mistakes, unfortunately).

It was such a fun weekend!  Greg and I really needed a break, the sun was amazing, and we were so happy to be there with Gavin on his big weekend.
Great job and Congratulations Lehi High School Marching Band!!!

Sego Lily Fun Run

 

 We are trying out best to be good members of our kid's new school, so we found ourselves at the Fun Run early Saturday morning.  It really isn't our thing, but we decided to try it out.
We all started out together, but slowly the kids edged ahead, probably because they were on scooters.  I told Greg to go ahead with them.  Guard and I took it easy and ended up taking a short cut, mainly because my feet were killing me.  Bleh!
Because of our short cut, Guard and I were able to be at the finish line when everyone came in.  They had smiles on their faces, so that was a good thing.  They all had a good time, and Kate beat her teacher, so she was very excited about that!

After the race, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast of bagels fruit and water.  They had a drawing for all the participants after breakfast.  The kids were sure they would win something (because there really weren't too many people there).  The kids didn't win anything, but I did!  I actually felt guilty because I didn't even finish the race, but Greg claimed it for me.  We won a $20 gift card to Megaplex.  What fun!



 After the race, we took the kids to the park for more exercise and fresh air.  We are really enjoying our warm fall.  They had a great time getting stuck in the spider web!  It was a great morning.

 

Scattered Thoughts

1.  Enoch got into the car today after school.  I knew he was upset.  When I asked him what was up, he scowled at me.  About half way home he said, "I'm as angry as a hippo who ate his anger management therapist."  His anger management therapist!?  Where did that come from?  Maybe we need one of those.  Never did found out what was going on.

2.  On our way to Family Band Night, I asked the kids to stay close to us since we would be walking through a dark parking lot.  Enoch and Kate agreed, but Guard wouldn't.  He finally relented and said, "Mom, when I hide, I'll made sure you can find me."  Thanks, I appreciate that.

3.  This week was Red Ribbon Week at Sego Lily.  Kate was so excited to dress up everyday, but Enoch only picked a few days to participate.  Tuesday was wear your favorite cartoon character shirt.  Unfortunately, my kids have a not-very-fun mom who won't buy them cheesy t-shirts, so we didn't have any of those, but Kate came up with a unicorn shirt that she was happy with.  Wednesday was crazy hair day.  Kate ended up looking more cute than crazy, but it still worked.



Thursday was wear camo day.  Again, no camo in his house.  Enoch didn't care about today, but Kate was determined to find something that would work.  She wore her pink shirt that is covered with tiny zebras.  She told me that zebras run around in big groups and all the stripes confuse their predators, so it's a lot like camo.  Thank you, Wild Kratts!  Her teacher loved it!

Friday was wear your favorite sports team shirt.  Luckily for Kate and Enoch, they both have a lot of BYU gear to chose from.  Wish I had pictures of every day, but mornings are crazy around here.  They both had a lot of fun with it and I'm hoping they also get the message of Red Ribbon Week.

Grandma Fowler's birthday party

We were able to attend Grandma Fowler's birthday party tonight.   She turned 80!  Along with her husband, Dee, she is the most active, spry 80-year-old I know.  She is still as amazing as ever!  She is very involved with her six kids, 25 grandkids and 12 great-grandkids.  She happily serves in her church calling of organizing Sacrament Meeting at Abbington Manor (a retirement home).  She serves on the board of The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.  Her and Dee travel a great deal.  And, she still has her close circle of friends for the last 60 years.  What a lady!
At her party, we had a yummy dinner of roast, red potatoes, green beans and rolls.  Enoch ate five pieces of roast!  After dinner, we had cake and ice cream.  Guard filled up on frosting and we paid for it later.  (Bad lighting, but you get the idea.  Just wait until Aunt Annette started handing out the helium balloons used for decorations.  Our kid is out of control!)

We had a great night.  We are so happy to celebrate Grandma and her incredible life!

Fall Break

We decided to have a staycation for Fall Break this year.  We had a really fun time and it was nice to have things low-stress and sleep in our own beds.
A few of our activities included:

1.  The zoo on Thursday.
Plain and simple, my kids love the zoo.  Elephants, rhinos, giraffes, wolves, polar bears, seals, bats, tigers are all favorites.  And, we can't make a trip to the zoo without a ride on the train and carousel.  We have that place memorized - and it's all good.

2.  Cascade Springs on Friday.

It has been so unseasonably warm this fall, we decided to take advantage of the last days of the Indian Summer and spend some time in the canyon.  Even though the drive to Cascade Springs is windy and long - it is so worth it.  We had such an amazing time!  (I took so many pictures, I did a separate post.)

3.  Thanksgiving Point on Saturday.

We are still going strong in the Design Challenge.  This month we built devices that would snag a puff ball out of a mason jar.  The kids did a great job and both the Fowler teams earned full points.  Enoch used Legos, a PVC pipe and some string to create his grabber.  Kate, Guard and Greg used a stick, some wire and a spoon.

 4.  Harry Potter on Sunday.

We thought it would be fun to watch a Halloween movie Sunday night.  Then we realized we don't have any Halloween movies - so we settled on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkahban.  We fast-forwarded through the scary werewolf parts and the kids loved it. We made the perfect fall treat - caramel popcorn.

5.  USU and Games on Monday.

Gavin and Greg spent the day on the campus of Utah State University taking a tour, talking to a financial advisor and an engineering advisor.  They had a good time and Gavin got a lot of great information.  Mom and the kids stayed home, watched movies and played games.  Our favorite was Halloween Bingo.

We had a great weekend!  It was a nice break from homework, stressed mornings and early bedtimes.  It was a much needed break!





So Nice!

Today I received an unsolicited compliment from each of my children.  It was so nice, thoughtful and really made my day.  I'm writing them down so I can remember when I feel unappreciated!

Gavin - "Dinner was really good tonight, Mom."  We had biscuits and gravy - one of his favorites.

Enoch - "Thanks for making vacation books, Mom.  I really like looking at them and remembering how much fun we had."  He read our South Dakota book for bedtime reading.

Kate - "That was a really fun Family Home Evening.  Thanks for doing that."  We talked about Abinadi and how making good choices is really hard sometimes.  I made some Choose your Own Choices books (like choose your own adventures) and they were a big hit - except for Gavin who got stuck in the one endless loop I didn't catch.

Guard - "Mom, you look really pretty today."  Aww!  He's so sweet!

I really do have great kids!

Cascade Springs

One of our family's activities over Fall Break was to visit Cascade Springs in American Fork Canyon.  It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and the canyon was beautiful.  We drove past seas of yellow and orange leaves.  It made me remember how blessed we are to live so close to the mountains.
My kids love Cascade Springs.  They love the boardwalk,

the water,

the views

and especially playing in the springs.

When their feet were red and ice cold, the kids finally rock-hopped back to shore.  Enoch had the brilliant idea of using lamb's wool leaves to dry off their feet.

We had a great afternoon!  It was so fun to be outside, enjoy the sun and be with each other!

Scattered Thoughts

 

1.  By Sunday afternoon of General Conference, the weekend can feel really long being couped up in the house all day.  During a slight drizzle, Kate and Guard thought it would be fun to play in the rain.  By the time they got their swimming suits on, the rain had stopped, but they had fun jumping on the wet trampoline.  They only lasted a few minutes before they were cold, but it was a good break for them.

2.  A few days ago, we met John and Dale at our lot to go over some things.  When we got there, John pointed to the port-a-potty on our lot and said, "That's it, that's  all we can do for you."   Haha! Maybe that is all we can afford!  (The port-a-potty is their for our neighbor's construction.)

3.  Yesterday morning, Guard and I made cookies.  He wanted to do 'cutter cookies', but I wasn't up for the project of sugar cookies, so we settled on gingerbread cookies.  They are Enoch's favorites.  Guard picked out our animal cookie cutters and had a great time helping me roll and cut dough.  He is also a fan of gingerbread.  It was a fun time, just the two of us.

Go Cougars!

We were lucky enough to snag some tickets from Grandma and Grandpa Randall to a few BYU football games this year.  Greg and Gavin went last week and this game was Kate's and Enoch's turn with Mom and Dad.
My family has had the same seats for probably close to 30 years.  We know a lot of the people around us who have held onto their seats too.  It is fun to see them a few times a year and cheer on our Cougs.
Tonight was Homecoming.  Usually for this game, the team and fans wear the throwback royal blue.  I will admit, the uniforms look very sharp and it is good to see the stadium in so much color.  Enoch and Kate looked great as well.

The kids enjoyed cheering, doing the wave, eating brownies, watching the replays on the big screen and playing games with each other.  Mom and Dad enjoyed the extra bench space when you sit with two skinny kids!  The weather was also enjoyable, especially for October.
It was a close game against East Carolina, but we pulled it out in the last minute by a touchdown.  It was a great game and we had a great time!