1. The other day in the car, Enoch was telling Kate that he has a brother and a sister, but Kate only has brothers. Kate said, "That is okay. I am happy being the only sister." I'm sure she is.
2. Got Gavin new school shoes last night - size 13. Geesh!
3. Gavin finally got a Life (how many Scouts have used that joke?). Gavin was awarded his Life rank at the Court of Honor on Tuesday. He also earned his Scuba Diving, Communications, Pioneering and Wood Carving merit badges and his Snorkeling certification. Gavin also gave a presentation explaining the meaning and requirements of each rank. He did a great job! When he was finished he said, "I'm surprised you couldn't hear my heart beating way back here." He left for a backpacking trip to the Unitahs this morning. He is a great Scout.
4. Enoch is bored to tears, literally. Yesterday he collapsed, dramatically, in the family room and with tears in his eyes, said, "I am so bored!!!!!" We pulled out our castle Legos and that entertained him for a bit. He then picked bugs off our zucchini plant to pass the time. I know, lots of fun. But, he was fascinated by the orange blood on his hands from the bugs. He put the bugs in a baggie and threw them away. Raising an organic gardener is a lot of work!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Neighborhood Pool Party
Since it is now the end of summer, it's time to have a party.
We do this every year - have good intentions of getting together, but put it off until the last possible week. And then, every year, without fail, it is stormy. Weeks of sunny weather and then it storms the night of our party. Every year.
We didn't let the wind stop us. We gathered at the Tuttle's pool for some swimming and ice cream. The kids jumped in the pool and swam until they were too cold.
Our family finally made some homemade ice cream. We picked some blackberries from our garden and made super duper yummy ice cream. WOW! Check out the size of those blackberries!
It was a fun night and we love getting together with our friends.
We do this every year - have good intentions of getting together, but put it off until the last possible week. And then, every year, without fail, it is stormy. Weeks of sunny weather and then it storms the night of our party. Every year.
We didn't let the wind stop us. We gathered at the Tuttle's pool for some swimming and ice cream. The kids jumped in the pool and swam until they were too cold.
Our family finally made some homemade ice cream. We picked some blackberries from our garden and made super duper yummy ice cream. WOW! Check out the size of those blackberries!
It was a fun night and we love getting together with our friends.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Scuba Diving
Today Gavin finished up his Scuba Diving merit badge. This has been by far the most time consuming and expensive merit badge he has done - but also the most fun!
He has spent hours and hours in the American Fork Fitness Center pool in full scuba gear. He has spent hours in the classroom. And he has spent two Saturdays at The Crater in Heber doing open water dives. Good thing he really enjoys it.
Last year Gavin was struggling with swimming. He didn't like it and was convinced he couldn't do it. He not only needed to earn his swimming merit badge, but he needed to pass his swimming test for Scout Camp. He just didn't want to do it (at all!). When I saw the scuba diving merit badge advertised at the AF Fitness Center (where Kate goes to gym class), I wondered if that might be the motivation. In order to take this class you have to have your swimming merit badge. I promised Gavin that if he earned his swimming merit badge, he could take the scuba merit badge class. That did the trick!
We enrolled Gavin in private swimming lessons at the Legacy Center and it took a few months for him to earn his swimming merit badge. His swimming coach was a merit badge counselor and was quite a stickler for passing off every thing exactly, so Gavin really did earn it. I was so proud of him! I know it was a really hard thing for him to do.
He now has his swimming merit badge and his scuba diving merit badge. Quite an accomplishment for a kid who refused to go into the deep end of the pool only a year ago! He is super comfortable in the water. Now Greg has a diving buddy. He kept trying to convince me to become scuba certified, but that scares the spit out of me. Greg and Gavin are now both PADI certified, meaning they can dive anywhere in the world.
Good job, Gavin!
(Gavin at The Crater in Heber - sorry for the bad lighting.)
He has spent hours and hours in the American Fork Fitness Center pool in full scuba gear. He has spent hours in the classroom. And he has spent two Saturdays at The Crater in Heber doing open water dives. Good thing he really enjoys it.
Last year Gavin was struggling with swimming. He didn't like it and was convinced he couldn't do it. He not only needed to earn his swimming merit badge, but he needed to pass his swimming test for Scout Camp. He just didn't want to do it (at all!). When I saw the scuba diving merit badge advertised at the AF Fitness Center (where Kate goes to gym class), I wondered if that might be the motivation. In order to take this class you have to have your swimming merit badge. I promised Gavin that if he earned his swimming merit badge, he could take the scuba merit badge class. That did the trick!
We enrolled Gavin in private swimming lessons at the Legacy Center and it took a few months for him to earn his swimming merit badge. His swimming coach was a merit badge counselor and was quite a stickler for passing off every thing exactly, so Gavin really did earn it. I was so proud of him! I know it was a really hard thing for him to do.
He now has his swimming merit badge and his scuba diving merit badge. Quite an accomplishment for a kid who refused to go into the deep end of the pool only a year ago! He is super comfortable in the water. Now Greg has a diving buddy. He kept trying to convince me to become scuba certified, but that scares the spit out of me. Greg and Gavin are now both PADI certified, meaning they can dive anywhere in the world.
Good job, Gavin!
(Gavin at The Crater in Heber - sorry for the bad lighting.)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Kate's Gym Class
Kate loves her gym class. She is so excited to go every time and has never once complained or not participated once we got there. She takes off her Crocs and runs right over to her teacher - okay, bounces over to her teacher might be a better description of Kate. She is always bouncing, walking on her tip toes, flying with her butterfly wings (arms) on at gym class. She just has so much fun.
Courtesy of her great Fowler genes, Kate has amazing balance and incredible strength (especially for her size). Her teachers are always commenting on how strong she is (freaky Fowler strength, I call it). Her only limitation right now is her height. She is by far the shortest girl in her 3-6 year old advanced girl class. It is sometimes hard or impossible for her to do all the things the other girls do. But, she always tries and improvises well. Her teachers love her sweet personality, her willingness to try and her natural ability.
Kate's favorites are the rings and bars. I think her strength makes her a natural at these. She has beautiful casts and can almost do a reverse pullover on the bars. She loves to 'flip over the bar' (as she calls it) and do 'skin the cat'. I'm super impressed!
Kate absolutely loves to swing on the rings. She can hang on forever! She loves to flip around and do inverted hangs.
The one thing that Kate could do without at gym class is the beam. She still struggles with the mental part of it. She has the balance to make it across, but she gets nervous. If her teacher hold her hand, she will whiz across the tall beam. She can do the low beam by herself.
They do a lot of fun things at gym class that build skill, strength, coordination and flexibility.
At the end of every class the girls get to play a fun game with the parachute, hula hoops or the scooters. Kate loves the scooters best of all, so I'm glad I got a picture of that.
Kate goes to gym class twice a week. I thought that both of us would get tired of going that much for a three year old. But, Kate knows exactly when Tuesday and Thursday are and is dressed in her gym clothes before she even has breakfast. I have so much fun watching her and seeing her progress and have a wonderful time. Enoch usually comes with us and brings his big box of Legos.
We love it!
Courtesy of her great Fowler genes, Kate has amazing balance and incredible strength (especially for her size). Her teachers are always commenting on how strong she is (freaky Fowler strength, I call it). Her only limitation right now is her height. She is by far the shortest girl in her 3-6 year old advanced girl class. It is sometimes hard or impossible for her to do all the things the other girls do. But, she always tries and improvises well. Her teachers love her sweet personality, her willingness to try and her natural ability.
Kate's favorites are the rings and bars. I think her strength makes her a natural at these. She has beautiful casts and can almost do a reverse pullover on the bars. She loves to 'flip over the bar' (as she calls it) and do 'skin the cat'. I'm super impressed!
Kate absolutely loves to swing on the rings. She can hang on forever! She loves to flip around and do inverted hangs.
The one thing that Kate could do without at gym class is the beam. She still struggles with the mental part of it. She has the balance to make it across, but she gets nervous. If her teacher hold her hand, she will whiz across the tall beam. She can do the low beam by herself.
They do a lot of fun things at gym class that build skill, strength, coordination and flexibility.
At the end of every class the girls get to play a fun game with the parachute, hula hoops or the scooters. Kate loves the scooters best of all, so I'm glad I got a picture of that.
Kate goes to gym class twice a week. I thought that both of us would get tired of going that much for a three year old. But, Kate knows exactly when Tuesday and Thursday are and is dressed in her gym clothes before she even has breakfast. I have so much fun watching her and seeing her progress and have a wonderful time. Enoch usually comes with us and brings his big box of Legos.
We love it!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Gavin is Wired
What a momentous day for Gavin - BRACES!
He has been waiting for about a year to finally get these things on. Gavin's teeth aren't that crooked, but he has some bite issues. Not that he was excited about braces, but the sooner you get them on, the sooner you can get them off. He has had one tooth that would not break through. He lost the baby tooth about a year ago and has been waiting patiently. X-rays showed a tooth was there, just taking its time to make an appearance. Finally, it poked through and we made his appointment with Dr. Swenson.
Gavin was such a trooper through the whole thing. He didn't act nervous, but I could tell he had a few butterflies. Dr. Swenson and his staff were great and really put Gavin at ease. The procedure took about an hour. I was planning on running to the store to grab some pudding, jello and yogurt, but I was so fascinated with the process, I stayed and watched the whole thing. Gavin watched the movie, Forever Strong during the procedure. (Gavin wasn't thrilled about me taking pictures, but I told him if I'm spending $5,000 on metal in his mouth, I'm getting pictures.)
When it came time to pick elastic colors, Gavin was a bit undecided. He finally went with navy and gray. I think it looks good - I was really hoping he wouldn't choose neon pink or something like that.
We have kept him dosed on Ibuprofen and Tylenol the last few days. He had done remarkably well - not nearly as much whining as I thought. His saxophone lesson on Wednesday was tough, but he made it through.
I sometimes find myself doing a double look at him, forgetting that he has braces. It's just another reminder to me that he is growing up - growing up into a wonderful young man, who will in 18 months have great teeth!
Before:
After:
He has been waiting for about a year to finally get these things on. Gavin's teeth aren't that crooked, but he has some bite issues. Not that he was excited about braces, but the sooner you get them on, the sooner you can get them off. He has had one tooth that would not break through. He lost the baby tooth about a year ago and has been waiting patiently. X-rays showed a tooth was there, just taking its time to make an appearance. Finally, it poked through and we made his appointment with Dr. Swenson.
Gavin was such a trooper through the whole thing. He didn't act nervous, but I could tell he had a few butterflies. Dr. Swenson and his staff were great and really put Gavin at ease. The procedure took about an hour. I was planning on running to the store to grab some pudding, jello and yogurt, but I was so fascinated with the process, I stayed and watched the whole thing. Gavin watched the movie, Forever Strong during the procedure. (Gavin wasn't thrilled about me taking pictures, but I told him if I'm spending $5,000 on metal in his mouth, I'm getting pictures.)
When it came time to pick elastic colors, Gavin was a bit undecided. He finally went with navy and gray. I think it looks good - I was really hoping he wouldn't choose neon pink or something like that.
We have kept him dosed on Ibuprofen and Tylenol the last few days. He had done remarkably well - not nearly as much whining as I thought. His saxophone lesson on Wednesday was tough, but he made it through.
I sometimes find myself doing a double look at him, forgetting that he has braces. It's just another reminder to me that he is growing up - growing up into a wonderful young man, who will in 18 months have great teeth!
Before:
After:
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Randall Camping Trip
We had so much fun at our annual Randall family camping trip this year. We usually drive the 3 1/2 hours to Yellow Pine campground (near Duschene), but this year we decided to stay closer to home. We camped at Diamond Fork in Spanish Fork canyon.
Because we were closer to civilization, we took advantage of it. Even though the weather was iffy, we took the kids to the splash park in Spanish Fork (near the freeway off ramp). It is a really fun, big park. We first explored the playground. Enoch, Carson, Brynnley and Kate had a great time running, laughing and trying all the fun things to do. It started to rain, which wasn't too bad because the kids already had their swimsuits on, but the wind was really blowing. They all wrapped up in their towels and waited the few minutes for the wind to pass.
After that, the sun came out and was quite warm and muggy (typical Utah weather!). We walked next door to the splash park and let the kids really get wet. They, again, had a wonderful time playing together, running through the water and laying on the cement to warm up.
Back at the campground, the kids found all kinds of ways to entertain themselves:
- collecting snail shells. Enoch had quite a collection by the time we left.
- putting on shows for the adults. They are wearing their matching shirts they made with Grandma when they visited her a few weeks ago.
- playing with the wildlife. Enoch became known as the Squirrel Whisperer. He would lay a trail of bread to him and the squirrels would come right up to him as he held very still. These squirrels were not afraid of people, as I'm sure we were their main source of food and entertainment. But, I haven't seen Enoch hold that still for that long.
- be with our cousins. The kids had so much fun together. Gavin loved holding and playing with Marcus. The boys rode their bikes everywhere and made a sidewalk chalk trail to the bathroom so we wouldn't get lost. Brynn and Kate were inseparable. They did everything together. They even had to hold hands while going for walks.
- ate good food. We all took a day cooking and that seemed to work out well. Everything we ate was delicious. On our day we cooked pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs for breakfast, pre-made Cafe Rio pork salads for lunch and roasted hot dogs and s'mores for dinner.
- rode our bikes. The kids discovered some dirt trails around the camp site and had a lot of fun on those (mostly Enoch as Kate's trike is built more for roads).
We went on a great hike on Saturday morning. It was an easy hike, but took us through some woods and down by the stream. The kids favorite part was collecting rocks in their bags I made them and then throwing the rocks in the river. Enoch is wearing his glow-in-the-dark bug mask from the night before if you are wondering.
We followed the trail and the bear paws when we reached the road. I'm pretty sure this bear was intoxicated. Enoch and Kate had a difficult time staying in his path.
Along the way we found a little wigwam. The kids thought it was great fun.
It was a fun little hike - very clean and nice with things to do along the way.
We had a great time camping. It was so fun to be away from real life, to be with family and enjoy the great outdoors.
Because we were closer to civilization, we took advantage of it. Even though the weather was iffy, we took the kids to the splash park in Spanish Fork (near the freeway off ramp). It is a really fun, big park. We first explored the playground. Enoch, Carson, Brynnley and Kate had a great time running, laughing and trying all the fun things to do. It started to rain, which wasn't too bad because the kids already had their swimsuits on, but the wind was really blowing. They all wrapped up in their towels and waited the few minutes for the wind to pass.
After that, the sun came out and was quite warm and muggy (typical Utah weather!). We walked next door to the splash park and let the kids really get wet. They, again, had a wonderful time playing together, running through the water and laying on the cement to warm up.
Back at the campground, the kids found all kinds of ways to entertain themselves:
- collecting snail shells. Enoch had quite a collection by the time we left.
- putting on shows for the adults. They are wearing their matching shirts they made with Grandma when they visited her a few weeks ago.
- playing with the wildlife. Enoch became known as the Squirrel Whisperer. He would lay a trail of bread to him and the squirrels would come right up to him as he held very still. These squirrels were not afraid of people, as I'm sure we were their main source of food and entertainment. But, I haven't seen Enoch hold that still for that long.
- be with our cousins. The kids had so much fun together. Gavin loved holding and playing with Marcus. The boys rode their bikes everywhere and made a sidewalk chalk trail to the bathroom so we wouldn't get lost. Brynn and Kate were inseparable. They did everything together. They even had to hold hands while going for walks.
- ate good food. We all took a day cooking and that seemed to work out well. Everything we ate was delicious. On our day we cooked pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs for breakfast, pre-made Cafe Rio pork salads for lunch and roasted hot dogs and s'mores for dinner.
- rode our bikes. The kids discovered some dirt trails around the camp site and had a lot of fun on those (mostly Enoch as Kate's trike is built more for roads).
We went on a great hike on Saturday morning. It was an easy hike, but took us through some woods and down by the stream. The kids favorite part was collecting rocks in their bags I made them and then throwing the rocks in the river. Enoch is wearing his glow-in-the-dark bug mask from the night before if you are wondering.
We followed the trail and the bear paws when we reached the road. I'm pretty sure this bear was intoxicated. Enoch and Kate had a difficult time staying in his path.
Along the way we found a little wigwam. The kids thought it was great fun.
It was a fun little hike - very clean and nice with things to do along the way.
We had a great time camping. It was so fun to be away from real life, to be with family and enjoy the great outdoors.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Talking
Every day after lunch Mom, Enoch and Kate have quiet time. Mom either takes a quick power nap or decides to try and get something done while Enoch and Kate spend some time in their rooms resting, reading, playing Legos or dolls.
It is a battle to keep them in their rooms. They try to sneak into each other rooms because they have so much more fun together than alone. I've become quite strict about them staying in their own room. They solved this problem by yelling out their doors to each other. I put a stop to that too - nothing quiet about that. Then they discovered the coolest thing of all.
If they both lay down on the floors next to their heater vents they can have a conversation with each other without yelling and making Mom mad. They are actually excited now for quiet time.
Speaking of talking - today we put together a fun craft. We made can phones. Remember doing that when you were little? The kids were so confused while we were spray painting the cans, making holes in the bottom and then tying the string. Even when they were done, the kids didn't know what they were.
After me showing them, they were so excited. They played, talked, giggled, experimented. They thought they were way cool. Enoch even tried throwing one can over the neighbor's fence to hear what they were saying. Trust me, we can hear the pool conversations just fine from our backyard. And yes, the string has to be pulled taunt for the phones to work.
So much fun from such simple things. Pull a few cans out of your recycling bin and give it a go!
It is a battle to keep them in their rooms. They try to sneak into each other rooms because they have so much more fun together than alone. I've become quite strict about them staying in their own room. They solved this problem by yelling out their doors to each other. I put a stop to that too - nothing quiet about that. Then they discovered the coolest thing of all.
If they both lay down on the floors next to their heater vents they can have a conversation with each other without yelling and making Mom mad. They are actually excited now for quiet time.
Speaking of talking - today we put together a fun craft. We made can phones. Remember doing that when you were little? The kids were so confused while we were spray painting the cans, making holes in the bottom and then tying the string. Even when they were done, the kids didn't know what they were.
After me showing them, they were so excited. They played, talked, giggled, experimented. They thought they were way cool. Enoch even tried throwing one can over the neighbor's fence to hear what they were saying. Trust me, we can hear the pool conversations just fine from our backyard. And yes, the string has to be pulled taunt for the phones to work.
So much fun from such simple things. Pull a few cans out of your recycling bin and give it a go!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
