Kids having too much fun (as always).

Well today I got a late start to my morning, I didn't make my bed right away. I did how ever get the Kids to make theirs (earning money for their piggy banks is going splendidly). I started to make mine this afternoon before Dan could get home. I knew since the Kids weren't right under my feet, or fighting that they must be making a mess someplace. I didn't care I just wanted to hurry and finish placing my pillow just right and cleaning up my hair dryer, makeup, and all that other stuff that spreads across your bathroom counter. After I was finished I located the kiddos, and this is what I found.......

I decided to just let them play in it since the mess was already made, I might as well let them enjoy it. The funny thing was once they saw that I didn't mind, they lost interest. That shed some light on my children's play. The forbidden always seems more fun. I think the more we as Mom's restrict, and say no to our kids, the more they want to cross the boundaries. I've decided to pick my battles with our kids. So a few blankets and pillows out of place isn't the end of the world.

I also took some more pictures of Benjamin. I realized I usually just get his face. His cheeks are a darling, but I've been missing a very key part of his adorableness.....his yummy chubby legs. So here's a picture to capture his cute little fat rolls.

It's saving time

I know, I realize that Kate's shirt does not match her pants. Ha ha ha.

I went with the kids to Tai Pan today. They had these really adorable piggy banks for super cheap. I thought that this was a good opportunity to get the kids more motivated to help out around the house. I always tell Kate she can have a quarter for every time she makes her bed, but often she says that she's too tired. My kids are great, but they are also really good at making excuses when it comes to cleaning. They are super excited to earn money now that they have these really cool piggy banks to save it in. Let's hope they can learn to save their money now. Kate earned $.67 today for cleaning up her toys. Just now she wanted to go to the store tonight to spend her hard earned money. I tried to explain to her that she needed to save her $$ in her bank until it was full. She just responded "but I want a toy now"! She wasn't being spoiled about it, she just doesn't understand price value, and that .67 cents won't buy much. As an update our shower is getting fixed by the company who installed it. Thank goodness!!!! We are so grateful. The plumber was here today and he thinks it should be done by the middle part of this week. Thank goodness we have another shower that works. I don't know what we would have done for the past few weeks. I took some pictures of Benjamin, he is so ticklish. You can make him laugh by tickling his neck and his chubby little cheeks. He is truly heaven sent. He is such a sweet baby, we are so lucky to have him.

P.S. I think I'm loosing my hair. After every baby I have my hair gets thinner and thinner. It's coming out in gobs when I wash it. I'm starting to get really nervous, does anyone have some tips to stop this. I think at this rate I'll be wearing a wig before long.....Just Kidding.

Family reunion at Aspen Grove

The Mower Family Reunion at Aspen Grove

We just returned from Aspen Grove, it's a BYU camp for families. We had the whole entire Mower gang there. The kids loved playing with their cousins. It was so cute to watch them play together. This was my kind of camping. We had showers, bathrooms (I hate out houses), and all the meals were made for you in a huge dinning hall. They also had a kids club were the kids went during the day. They even watched the baby! With the kids being happily entertained, Dan and I were able to do all kinds of fun activities. They had rock climbing, ropes courses, volleyball, and basketball (only Dan played B-ball). We also did a short 4 mile hike to stewart falls. It was a spectacular waterfall. The hike was really enjoyable. Everything was so green, because of the unusual rain fall we had in June. Since it was a BYU camp they also had guest speakers everyday. We went to a few of the lectures. The topics were alot of fun, and helped us focus on our family, and try to improve in a few areas. The whole trip was so fun, and so relaxing. I even got a couple of naps!

Kate posing in front of our lodge.

Benjamin's looking very happy. We were in the dinning hall eating. It was so nice to not worry about cooking at all for an entire week!

Kirk as an "onion chief" at frontier night. When he came from the kids club he was telling Dan all about the "onion chief". I had never heard of an Onion Chief before, but thought perhaps it was story the councilors told the kids. Then when we went to the frontier night that evening, Kirk said "look Grandpa an Onion Chief." He was pointing to someone dressed as an Indian. So we realized he was calling the Indians, onions. We've tried to explain it to him, but he still calls his feather hat an "Onion Chief hat". I think Frontier night was one of my favorite nights of the whole camp. The staff did a great job, everyone was dressed in western wear. They had all kinds of different frontier games. Kirk's face looks blue because he had a snow cone. They also gave out sheriff badges for shooting toy cans, feathers for listening to Indian stories in a tee pee, and all kinds of other cute games and prizes. I only regret that Kate didn't make it there. After dinner she crashed in the room. Dan and I didn't want to wake her, so Dan stayed back at the room. He wanted to rest his foot (he had twisted it playing basketball earlier that day). I think it was good to give Kirk some one on one attention. He had me, and both Grandparents all to himself, since the other grand kids were fishing. Needless to say he got about fifty pictures taken of himself. He was loving it!

Dan getting ready to climb the rock wall, and do the ropes course. It was a really great feeling to accomplish something that your not sure you can actually do. There were a few times I wanted to quite, but when your in the middle of climbing a wall that far off the ground, you really don't have a choice but to press on. It's amazing what we are capable of when we don't have the option to quit. I never thought that I was afraid of heights, but I was definitly nervous while I was up there.

Swimming Lessons

It's swimming lesson time!

Today the kids just finished their swimming lessons. It's been everyday all week long. It was really neat to see how far they have come in just a week. Kate has made huge progress. Kirk, is still warming up to the water. I'm so proud of both of them, they are both a little timid when it comes to swimming. I'd call them "sit on the stairs and splash", kind of kids. You know the kind, when you take them out into the deep end, their giving you the choke hold. Not that I blame them, I actually think a little fear of water is good for kids. I'd be more worried if they weren't afraid of the deep end. Kate can now do the back float, go under the water without plugging her nose, and she's learning the "arrow" swim (I'm not sure if that is the real name of it, it's what her teacher called it). I was especially proud of her today when she went all the way under the water. That was always something she'd vehemently refused to try. Kirk took alot of time warming up to the new pool, and the new teacher. I think he was expecting to go to his grandmother's pool. But I still think that the few minutes he cooperated was really beneficial. I'm hoping that because he got his first set of lessons over with, next year's lessons shouldn't be as intimidating.

This was the typical view of kirk at the beginning of each lesson. It took him several minutes to actually get into the water. I think he was scared of floating on his back. After several bribes didn't work, I told the teacher to just grab him and take him out. Once he was in, he did alright.

Kate learning the back float. She's become very good, it's her favorite and loves practicing it.
Kirk learning to "hummm" under the water. This is how the instructors taught them to blow bubbles. He's gotten pretty good. Kate "hummms" too. Yesterday we were swimming and she accidentally lost her footing and went under for a second. She came up to me crying and so sweetly said "mommy I fell of my noodle and forgot to hum." She got water up her nose which she hates. I thought it was so cute that she had remembered her "humm" lesson that day!

Swim Lessons

We just started swim lessons this week. Kate has done really well. She's willing

It's raining in our family room!

Saturday I got a shower while I was sitting at our computer. Yes we've got water damage! Tons of water damage! A plumber was just here cutting holes into our ceiling to find the leak. What he found was that the pipes were just fine, it's not a leak problem, it's a drain problem. Our home was on the market along time, so the owners decided to remodel the master bathroom to help it sell. Apparently the plumbers didn't install the shower drain properly. Most of the water isn't draining, it's just going straight through the tile, and into the floor and ceiling. This means that we have to tear out the shower, fix the drain, and re-tile it. Plus we've been using the leaky shower for weeks, so there's water damage, and mold in our ceiling. WoW, I'm beginning to wish that the previous owners never remodeled the darn thing at all. I guess we can learn a good life lesson from this experience. "Beauty is only skin deep, it's not what's on the outside that counts, but what's on the inside that really matters." We have a beautiful bathroom, but it's not functional, and now it's going to cause all kinds of problems for us. Oh I wish we had the "old" bathroom now, carpet, and green counter tops and all!

Birthday Central!

Friday was certainly a very special day indeed. It was my Mother's, and Dan's Grandfather's Birthdays. The day kicked off to a FABULOUS start. My Mom, my sister Kristen, my sister in-law Shauntel, and I all went to get pedicures. I was in desperate need of one, and it felt soooo good. Afterwards, we all went to lunch. It was so much fun, and definitely special since I don't see my sister very often. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I was just thinking about all of the wonderful memories I have of my childhood. Mom was amazing, she always had a delicious homemade dinner ready promptly at 5:15 when my Dad got home from work. I can remember her decorating my room pink; I felt like the luckiest girl to have such a cute room. My mom was also so supportive. She always put her kids first, weather it was running us to dance lessons, or volunteering at our school, she was always involved in our lives. My mom was a great example of sacrifice, and service. She always supported my Dad as he served in the church as a bishop, and stake president. Even now that my Dad is finally off the hook, she serves as a relief society president. My mom is also a friend. I'm glad I have someone to call when I need to vent to somebody. I know that she'll never judge me, and that she'll love me no matter what. Thanks alot Mom, your the greatest!

Dan's Grandfather turned 90. That doesn't happen everyday, so we really celebrated BIG. Dan's mother had been planning this for months. She hired a band, catering, and decorating. I know that Dan's grandpa was so excited for it. There was a really great turn out, so many people love him. He is a wonderful dancer, and at 90 he still can really dance across the entire floor. We are so grateful to Dan's grandpa, he is a great Man, and at 90 he's still going strong!

Another first in our new home

Last Sunday we had our first Sunday dinner in our new dinning room. I don't know why but there's something so special about Sunday dinner for me. I think perhaps growing up dinner was always a time for our whole family to be together. I was so excited to "break in the new dinning table" that I had to take a picture. Here is our first photo in this dinning room, and soon to be many more special memories to take place there.

Farewell, to our first home!

We just moved into a new home, and sold our old home in west Layton. There are so many mixed emotions that go through you when you move. I really didn't know what to expect. I thought that since we had been considering moving for a while I'd be well prepared for the final good bye, but I wasn't. It was especially hard going to our last day of church. I realized that all those who had influenced, and served our family for so many years would no longer be apart of our every day lives. It was especially hard for Kate. She would no longer be able to run next door to play with her friends. I've been reminiscing about our old house. It was the first and only place Dan and I had ever lived in together. All of our memories as a married couple, and a young family are there. It was really hard to just drive away. We are now moved in, and just attended our first Sunday in our new ward. I feel much more at home. I know that this is definitely where we are meant to be. We both feel so peaceful about it; the whole process went so smoothly. We couldn't have asked for a better moving experience. Last Sunday we went to our neighborhood walk about. Every month our neighborhood selects three homes to host a little social for two hours. It gets everyone outside, and visiting and meeting each other. Kate and Kirk had a ball, they both met new friends. One of the best parts of our move is that we are so close to family. Saturday we Celebrated the fourth of July. Usually we end up spending alot of time driving between family functions on holidays. Yesterday however, we were able to just walk through our back yard and we were at Dan's parents. We were also very close to my side of the family as well. I'm so excited for the convince of living close to family. The Fourth of July was a blast. Every year we have the tradition of eating breakfast with my family, then heading over to the Layton Parade together. It was the best parade experience we've ever been to, mainly due to that fact that it was cool and cloudy. We usually aren't lucky enough to find a spot in the shade. So often we end up standing in the scorching sun. But Saturday was gorgeous cool weather. Afterwards we went to the fair. The kids were each able to pick out a prize. Kirk got a sword (fittingly), and Kate got a fan (no surprise there). It's funny how Kate is such a girly girl, and Kirk is just all boy. Then we headed to my grandma Woolsey's house for her annual fourth of July BBQ. We always sit under the shade of a huge walnut tree. I was able to visit with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then we headed home got ready for swimming and hit the Mower's pool. We all swam, (except for Benjamin, he severely needed a nap). Then it was time to eat again. The dinner was fabulous terriyaki chicken, hot dogs, salads, and homemade ice cream. We planned to go to the fire works as a family, but I was totally spent. So Dan took Kate and Kirk to his brother's house to light fire works, while I stayed home with the baby and took bath and went to bed. I think I definitely got the better side of the deal on that one. My only regret is that I didn't get any pictures. I need to carry a camera in my van so that I can whip it out at any time.

I was trying to capture Benjamin smiling, and laughing. My camera doesn't snap photos very quickly so it's hard to get that perfect expression. He really is the happiest sweetest baby. He smiles all of the time.

Kirk did such a funny thing today. I've just begun Kate's birthday party preparations. (I feel like birthday parties are beginning to become a hobby of mine. The plans get bigger and more elaborate every year). So he has begun anticipating his birthday party. He said that he wanted a knight party. Our neighbor brought over a delicious chocolate cake to welcome us into the neighborhood. I offered my sister and her children some, and Kirk started to today freak out. He started saying that I shouldn't eat his birthday cake. I told him that it wasn't his birthday cake, but he was way past reasoning. So the only way I could calm him down was to let him stick one of his toy knights on it. We then all sang "Happy Birthday" to him! Afterwards I thought wow, I've really let this whole birthday mania get a little out of hand.