My Non-Pious Fankful List

note: This list is dedicated to dear friend Landee :)

Shade shirts
Make-up/hair products
Self tanners
Chunky Highlights
Grape Nuts (my cereal of choice every morning)
Air fresheners that try to cover up the stench in my van
The fact that I have two babysitters in my home
9:00 p.m. when everyone's in bed
Spandex-like garments
Qudoba & Costa Vida salads
Chocolate Chips
Our amazing yet over-priced blender
Trident regular flavor
That the ward party is almost over with
Christmas cards
Paramore and Muse
Vacation days that BWD will use soon
Cyber deals

We're Fankful

Our kids use to say prayers beginning with "we're fankful" when they were tiny. So when I think of things I'm thankful for, I can't help but want to say it like they did.
Here's some things I'm so thankful for (in no particular order of course):
Family--all of them
Our home
Employment
Good health (although I'm kinda sickish right now--but it's nothing)
Security
A caring Father in Heaven
His Son
Amazing friends
Playing Uno with Sydie
Memories
Letters from my kids
Books
Scriptures that help guide me
Movies
Curling up with my kids and reading
BWD
Food
Playing scrabble w/my family at Thanksgiving (a bit awkward when someone spelled out "tits" though!)
Exercising
Pictures
Music (I love my ipod)
Twilight
Hot chocolate
Laughing
Inspiration
School for my kids (especially since they've been home for 5 days :))
Our awesome neighborhood that's right up there with Camelot
Freedom
The all new gas prices
Costco
A clean house (happens once in a while actually)
Medicine
Koda (he's entertaining & lovable when he's not peeing on things)
Last but not least...
Dates

How Do I Love Thee?

Sydie is lying in our bed (too early) the other morning, pink blankie in hand, and tells us who and what she loves...or I should say what and who she loves. First and foremost it's her blankie, then mom and dad.
Me: You mean you love your blankie more than dad or I?
Sydie: (without hesitation) Yes.
Me: WHY?
Sydie: (Holding her blankie out for us examine) Do you smell like this?
Us: No.
Sydie: Can I snap you? (she "snaps" her blanket...hard to explain, not even gonna try)
Us: No.
Sydie: Can I carry you around with me? Take you on vacation?
Us: No.
Enough Said. Case closed.
And then, just to add more salt to our freshly open wound...she turns her back to us, sticks her thumb in her mouth, and falls asleep in utter comfort.

A little update

BWD:
His favorite thing to do when he's not doing anything is watching Storm Chasers on Discovery Channel. He's still in the waiting place (see Dr. Suess's Oh the Places You'll Go). My favorite thing about BWD is that on any given day he'll come home, change out of his work clothes, and come downstairs donning some cool surfer shirt, cargo pants, and a surfer necklace.

Ace:
Great kid most the time, but currently has his cell phone taken away for not being able to control his incessant teasing directed at his sister (something to do with threatening to burn her blankie) and also getting a C in math. He is trying to form a band with some friends, but it's a little rough as to who is doing what. Doesn't want to wear a coat cuz it's just not cool. I don't get it--what's the deal with kids refusing to wear coats when it's 20 degrees outside? (Side note: He has no idea that his AWESOME mom got him the COOLEST present ever. He should be very nice to her btw.)

Coby:
Has a few piano gigs in the next month. He's accompanying for his school choir while they sing at Tagawa Gardens and at their school. He's also accompanying our ward primary on a song. He told us the other day that he still isn't as busy as David Archuleta though. Nope! Not yet Coby! (side note: Archie's CD came out last Tuesday--we love it!) Coby has ambitions and dreams though. He just wrote a paper on his dreams--some of them were to be a millionaire, play on BYU's soccer team and get 10 goals p/season, be on American Idol and become a lead singer/piano player, and invent something. Whoa!

Katrina:
Has the best imagination ever. Can direct a whole pretend classroom of 15 kids with ease. Loves to sneak downstairs after she's been tucked in. She loves to create; artwork, meals, pretend play, outfits, or drama.
We just went to Grandma's house today and Katrina made her first batch of crescent rolls (with some help).

Sydie:
Sweet as can BE! I went with her on her field trip last week and she was so nice to everyone. Especially this girl in her class that "doesn't know any better" (that's how Sydie describes kids that have some mental/physical problems). We sat by her on the bus and Sydie talked to her and held her hand sometimes and was just so nice.

A Sad-Yet-Happy Ending.

Koda has peed one time too many.  I spend waaaay too  much time policing the dog to actually enjoy having the dog so one day I read on the internet something like, "Is your Dog peeing on everything in your house?  Get him neutered!"  Done and Done.  I called around, found the cheapest place possible, and took him in the next day.  I was slightly worried that I was paying 300 dollars less than everywhere else, it was in a bad part of downtown Denver and I could get him in within 12 hours of my phone call but hey, I was desperate, cheap and angry.  So, BWD  took him in at 7 a.m. Friday morning and picked him up at 5 p.m. looking like he got in a fight with a lampshade and lost.  Poor dog.  That's the sad part of my title.  He truly is SAD.  But who wouldn't be sad losing their family jewels?  Chalk it up to Koda's first lesson on not turning my house into a piddle pad.

But now here's the happy part!  BWD and I went out that night with the Downs, the guys had planned this whole "head shoulders knees and toes" evening.  It started with a pedicure (knees and toes) and ended with a "clay" (which turned out to be kitty litter MEOW mixed with water) facial!  The shoulders came later....(teehee!!!)  See?  Happy.

Family Pictures

We just had our pictures taken last Friday.  They actually turned out well (I'll have to somehow get them on this website later) but I have to admit I hate family pictures.  It's not the actual posing and smiling that kills me it's the work one has to go through leading up to the actual pictures.  Finding the right outfits that don't clash and are outside weather appropriate. Making sure everyone tries to stay healthy so one doesn't have to see bright red noses, swollen eyes and chapped lips, or worse.  Doing the hair.  Practicing the smiles so my kids don't look like they're constipated.  And getting everyone ready in time so we're not late.   It's stressful people!  These photos will be on our walls for years to come!  We need to look perfect, right???

If I had a scanner I'd display some Heeeelarious photos, but alas I don't.  Here's a couple pretty scary/funny pictures though.  One where I looked TICKED OFF and so not ready to pose for a picture and one where Jake has allergies beyond belief (poor guy).  Ya just can't take a picture with this kind of a look... Thank goodness they're not being blown up to be hung above our fireplace (just posted on a blog that very few people know about!)

Beaver Dam(n)

I just love it when kids hear a swear word and want to know what it means! It's such an awkward moment to have a chat saying or spelling out words that we would never an any other circumstance ever say.  We were all in the car listening to Taylor Swift and she says the word Damn.  Of course Sydie wants to know what that means, and all my kids fill her in.  Coby immediately pipes up: "Yeah, but you can totally yell out "Beaver Dam" and that's okay to say". BWD thought that was the funniest thing he's heard in a while and immediately starts acting as if he's hit his finger with a hammer, screaming, "BEAVER DAM!  BEAVER DAM!"  It was too funny. Then Coby wants to know if "Beaver DamIT" is still kosher.  Ummmmm, probably not.

Prized Possessions

I was thinking about how each of our kids has something they are completely and utterly attached to. Sometimes the attachment is a little overboard if you ask me.

Let's begin:

The Blankie:

Sydie has been attached to her pink blankie since she was a baby. No other child of ours has ever had a "blankie" so we found it to be kind of cute at first. She would always couple sucking her thumb with holding the blankie, also a kinda cute at the baby stage. Now Sydie is 6 years old and still can't live without this blankie. We tried to talk her into realizing she was too old for this, but it didn't really work. It was as if we were talking her into cutting off her left hand. So needless to say, she got back the blankie. We're suckers for giving into wailing and death cries for hours. When she did get it back she spoke to it (which she often does). "Blankie I will never leave you, you'll always be my blankie". The guilt!!! How could I be so cruel???!!

The Dog:

Katrina's p.p. (prized possession) was a little bit of a toss-up between the dog and Lily, her stuffed cat. The dog was the winner though. She loves the stinky, maggot hosting, run away guy. He's a pretty good playmate I'd have to say. He lets her dance with him, put clothes on him, lets her tease him incessantly and hug and kiss him. She'll spend an hour a day just playing with him, so he's been a better investment than any toy that's for sure. Poor Lily has had to take a back seat.

The Piano:

I think the fact that the piano is not portable is one of the only reasons we don't see that thing going everywhere with us. Coby is always playing that thing to the point of driving us bananas. When he's starting to learn a new song he's constantly playing it over and over until he gets it right. He was born to play I guess. One day I got on him for crying too much and he says, "The reason I cry so easily is because I play the piano and I know how to express my emotions easily." Hmmmm, Ooookaaay. Maybe it's getting in his head a little too much I say.

The Guitar:

Now I use to think the piano was played too much until Ace started getting into his guitar. He plays ALL the time. If he sees, he'll play it. It's like some strange magnetic force draws him to it, even if he knows he needs to be doing something else. He is totally late for something and yet he'll walk over to his guitar, sit down and play with this dazed looked on his face like the guitar has possession of him. It's kinda weird if ya ask me. His friends even get on his case for playing it too much. He was going to a friends house one night and grabbed his guitar to take with him. I had to make him take it back into the house before we left. He wants an electric guitar for Christmas and I know my sanity would not be able to handle it so we're going to have to go for something else. Note: The picture of Ace is awful b/c he refuses to take any pictures. I tried all kinds of sneaky things but that's the best I could get!!

Koda--Master Escape Artist

He looks innocent enough, right?  We seem to think we're pretty good dog owners too, but apparently not.

Here's a run-down of his successful attempts to leave our loving home this week:

9/18:  The Escape:  Ran through side gate that "no-one" left open.  Found by:  A teenage boy named Mitch during the homecoming parade who actually scored quite a few girls holding the run-away.  

9/19:  The Escape:   Ran again through side gate at 6:30 a.m.. Didn't learn our lesson the first time.  Found by: BWD as he almost ran over him leaving for work.  Phew!

9/20:  The Escape:  Garage door left open in the morning.

Found by:   Brian our neighbor who swiftly stuck him in his own backyard.  Good move.

9/20:  The Escape:  Ran through the gate as a neighbor was entering.  Found by:  Neighbor kids long-boarding down our street.  They were probably worried he'd pee on their boards so they grabbed him.

9/22:  The Escape:  Side Gate.  Lesson still not learned by the Fowlers.  I really don't think unconsciously we are trying to get rid of this dog!  Seriously.    Found by:  BWD, who jumped out of bed and ran him down at 6:45 a.m.

9/22:  The Escape:  Back gate--wind blew it open while I was working out.  Found by:  A lady named Janelle who saw him peeing on things in the park behind our house.  

I'm buying two locks today and doing some research on how to prevent your dog from running the minute he sees an opportunity.  

9/22:  The Escape:  At this point it's embarrassing to even note that this is the 3rd time TODAY.  We have no idea how he got out this time.  We didn't even know he was gone to tell the truth.     Found by:  Cody, on his way home from our house.  Now it's time to consider the invisible fence that zaps the bejeebers out of him each time he crosses the line.  The gloves are on Koda.

Tripping Out in UT

So, we haven't really gone on any road trips or vacations all summer.  Labor Day was going to be our big vacation of the year, and who wouldn't want to spend the long weekend in UTAH? There's no place like it, right?  Coby was especially excited to find and buy some peaches after hearing how heavenly they were.  

We arrived in good time and I might add with NO puking, in Alpine.  Home (temporarily) of our friends the Wheatleys and the Robbins.   After getting settled we went out as couples (cuz the thought being with our kids any more that day was going to put me into a straight jacket) to Magleby's and kind of caught up.  

The next day we headed up the Y.  And just wondering.... Y the Y?  Y not the B? or the BY? Anyway,  checked out the campus, walked wayyyyy too much, and ended the night in the mountains around a firepit with the Wheatleys.  Fun day, really exhausted.

The next morning the Wheatleys suggested we go to sliding rock.  A natural waterslide in which you slide down, yes, a rock!  And IT rocked, let me tell you.  That was my family's favorite part of the trip, just b/c it was so different.  When everyone ('cept me and Sydie) took a plunge into the ice cold water we headed to BYU for the BIG opening game.  We ate at one of our fav. places, Brick Oven with the Wheatleys once again.  The line of the day was from James who turned to the waitress when asked if there was anything else she could do.  James:  "Yeah, how 'bout a rootbeer that is NOT flat and warm?"  I love his tact.

Grandma Victor was next on our list of visits.  She's 97 years old, mostly blind, two hip replacements, but has an amazing mind.  She doesn't even introduce herself using the last name of the girl sitting next to her! (I need to splain that one later).  She's got it together though.

Good ol' Aunt Sheila was the last stop before we headed out.  My kids describe her as having "lots of energy".  I asked them if they thought of me like that and I got a unanimous "NO".  GREAT!  I'm going to have to start taking shots of redbull now.  One of the highlights of the visit at Sheila's was the peaches that she gave us.  We weren't able to find any peach-selling shacks off the side of the roads so it was an answer to Coby's prayer!  

On the way home we stopped at Little America and had a horrible night's sleep thanx to Ktrina.  She yells in her sleep every 30 minutes all night long.  Yeesh! 

Right off of 1-80 there's this place called Arlington.  We stopped there and tried fishing for bit but NO luck.  It's BWD's favorite place cuz we're usually the only one's there.  

That's it for our 2008 Trip.  Next year we're going to do something big.  Stay tuned!