Monkey Puzzle

ThanksgivingDay!

2010-04-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

We are thankful for another day!

And, of course, that Paige is making dinner.

Halloween

2009-11-01T15:15:00.001-08:00

Jeesh. I'm glad he doesn't look like this full time.

My friend says only cute kids can pull off being a nerd for Halloween.

I think he is a pretty darling nerd.

Steve Urkel....Live and in Person

2009-11-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-01T14:34:00.001-08:00

We were thrilled when we got to the pumpkin patch the day before the "snow" and the farmer said we could take as many pumpkins as we wanted.

Ian carved his own pumpkins. He's getting very good. We didn't see any blood at all.

The Great Doughnut Dance-off

2009-10-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

On Monday night, as F.H.E. was coming to an end, Ian and I decided to have a dance-off. We turned up the music and started to dance. The one who quit dancing first had to buy the doughnuts. (The doughnuts are 1/2 price after 7:00 and we thought it would make a tasty family home evening treat.) We danced, and danced and danced. Ian was getting sweaty and my side hurt a little, but we were still dancing.
Then, Ian shouted, "Hey mom! Watch how high I can kick!"
With that, he did a tremendous kick and fell right on his side! He hit his ribs and hip super hard and knocked the wind clean out of him. I kept on dancing!!!!
Just kidding. I helped him and I gave him some medicine for the pain, oh....and I paid for the doughnuts. He probably would have won anyway.

Fútbol

2009-10-24T16:27:00.001-07:00

Soccer has ended for the fall season.

Ian had a great time.

We can't wait until spring!Of course, Ian had bunches of really great shots, and a lot of goals. But, when I bring the camera.....well, you know how it goes.

The Christmas List

2009-10-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

I asked Ian to prepare a Christmas list. Ha. You should have seen it. I couldn't afford to buy one single thing on the list. He told me Santa could take care of the big things. Unfortunately, they were all big things. I gave him a Grandpa Fowler type lecture on fiscal responsibility, greed, and the sorrow of poverty. Then I told him to start his list again with that in mind. The second version was much better. At least I saw a few things I could afford and deemed appropriate. One of the things on his list was a unicycle. He's talked about one for years. Now seems about the right time. While were looking through a "wish" magazine, I saw a wheelchair.
I said, "Wouldn't you just rather have a wheelchair?"
He said, "Sure. First I'll have the unicycle and then I'll need the wheelchair."
What a guy. Ready for everything.

not true
by ian.

Very true.
By me.

Blogging

2009-10-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

This blog business is really annoying me. I think I should be blogging, but I don't have anything to blog about. My life is very busy with the same old boring as always. Let's see. What could I talk about....?

I made hot fudge for the R.S. service auction. The sad part was that I also drank the left over hot fudge straight from the pan. I'd do it again too. It was delicious!
My kids in Sunday school asked me today if I was getting them a present for Christmas (all 16 of them). I asked them if they thought I looked like Santa Clause. There was no real answer. Maybe I do look like Santa Clause.
I keep hacking at my own bangs. Sometimes with actual scissors, sometimes with fingernail clippers. I keep thinking I need a hair cut, but if I cut my hair, then I'll have to dye it....and that takes so long. Plus, if I get rid of my bangs my wrinkles will show.
I still have piles of clean and dirty laundry stacked in laundry baskets. (Separate baskets...but still...both stacked. Remember that old post? I should post it again since it is funny and sadly...still appropriate.)
I managed to clean out part of my flower garden in preparation for winter. I didn't ever even get into the backyard for the spring prep....so I guess I don't have to bother with the fall clean up either.
Junior high kids are sort of dorky. Every day this girl came in complaining that my room smelled and asking why. Finally I said, "200 Jr. high kids keep coming in here every day. How do you expect it to smell?" She glared at me. I continued, "If you think I'm smelling up this room you are mistaken. It wouldn't smell like this at all if you and all your classmates would stop coming in here." Was that rude?
I hate baseball. It is ruining my October by pushing my one and only show off the air.
I have a crush on Glenn Beck. I don't care how fat he gets....I still think he's cute, but better than that he's funny....and who wants a dull man around?
I think that Ian can talk more than me. I know it sounds impossible, but it seems strangely true. That kid never stops talking. Ever.
I'm a little behind on my journal writing. I don't think I've written since last November...maybe October. Maybe I should worry a little more about that and less about this blog?
The car is running and the fridge is clean. Those are two good things to report.

Okay. So that's it. See. I knew there was nothing to blog about. I'll try again in a month, or maybe after Christmas. :)

And now. The unfortunate reality of regular life....

2009-08-30T18:30:00.001-07:00

We came back just in time for Ian to sing his solo in church. At first I was bothered by the timing of the entire thing. I mean, he was singing the very week we got home. However, in the end it worked out fine. Because we were going to Chile, we decided to sing I am a Child of God in both English and Spanish. As a result, we had to practice during our vacation. So, Ian sang, in Spanish to our family and friends and even sometimes on the subway. It was really nice to bring a little bit of the spirit into their homes. I was glad it worked out that way. The day of the solo it worked out great too. Ian was in perfect pitch and he was a major cutie pants.

Here is the soloist!!!

Of course, being back in regular life means returning to school as well. Here is Ian on the first day of school. If you think the picture looks like it was taken in the middle of the night, well....you are almost right. It was 6:30 in the morning. That is what time we have to leave for school. Major bummer.

But, Ian is in 2nd grade this year and so far is doing great! He was worried about his teacher until he found out she gives out "money" for good behavior and then they can actually "buy" stuff. If you know Ian you know he is all about that, so he decided he quite liked his teacher.

And, finally....soccer again. Ian is looking dashing in his new soccer duds. The team is yet nameless....baby blue isn't inspiring I guess. The first game was Saturday and Ian scored 4 goals. One of my sisters said, "Great! His team scored 4!" But that was just Ian. He is quite a player.

You may have noticed that all of these photos are taken in the same general area. That is because it is the only place in my entire yard that looks nice. I hate yard work. But, that is an unfortunate part of regular life too. Boo. Hiss. At least Ian is now mowing the lawn. That is reason to cheer!

Our Summer in Chile

2009-08-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful summer in Chile! These are some of my favorite photos of our trip. I tried to think of something important to say....something about the power of the city or the beauty and strength of the Andes. It was in that setting, as glorious as it is, where I remembered something that Elder Packer said, "love is never wasted." That is what all these pictures say to me---that love is never wasted.

See. Love is worth it.

Si Vas Para Chile

2009-07-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

This was our first family trip to Chile when Ian was 4 years old. It was his first day ever at a beach! I smile every time I see this video because he just seems so happy. I love Chile. It is always going to be a part of our family and I am glad! We are excited to go again tomorrow and we just might do this same old happy dance when we arrive. Si vas para Chile.

The 4th of July

2009-07-05T21:30:00.001-07:00

We had a fun holiday this year.....doing the usual.

First, the parade. It was long and crowded. Martin said next year he'd throw full sized candy bars in the yard. I must say.....it's a tempting idea.

After the parade we went swimming at Uncle Dave's pool.
Waiting patiently, sort of, for the fireworks.
And of course, my favorite moment of the night. This is the way Blake enjoyed the fireworks....hiding behind Aunt Kaila! He he.

More S'mores

2009-06-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the sun finally came out, but I still don't have a fire pit. We decided to build a solar oven and try s'mores this way. Our oven turned out very nice. Check it out!

The kids got the s'mores set up just right, they cooked up fine, and were delicious. Note the chocolate covered faces.

Summer!

2009-06-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to make s'mores the day school got out to welcome in summer with a smash. However, we quickly ran into 2 problems.

1st: The bottom fell out of my terracotta fire pit, thus making it impossible to roast marshmallows over an open fire and,

2nd: IT WON'T STOP RAINING!!!

It has rained every stinkin' day since school got out. How is a person supposed to make s'mores with all this constant rain?

(I feel like I'm in Chile for the love of Pete!)

The s'more ingredients just kept calling to us from the kitchen counter, and we finally had to make them----in the microwave and then...for some extra exciting fun....over Kaila's stove!
Yum! Yum!

¡Viva Fútbol!

2009-05-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

Ian suffered an injury to his kicking foot at 6:30 in the morning on the day of his last game. (See his blog for the gory details.) At 9:00 he had his final game. He decided he could be the goalie, even with his injured foot. I wrapped it up and he was fantastic as a goalie!

Of course, his team actually needed some points. So, even with his good foot missing several layers of skin, Ian scored the only 2 goals of the match.

See that blur? That is Ian planning on scoring....and then the actual goal!

In typical kid fashion, after the game his foot hurt WAY to much to do any of his chores, including practicing the piano.

Ian's Low Rider

2009-05-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

Summer isn't officially here yet, but it might as well be!

Okay, so it really isn't Ian's low rider, but he is still sharing in the fun!

The Birds

2009-05-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is a story about the birds. Not the good kind of Birds, you know, those cute little Birds who live in Milwaukee, but some actual birds that have been giving us a bit of trouble. First of all, I found a decapitated bird on my driveway. I was pretty sure a cat had gotten him/her. This is very bothersome because I don't have a cat. So, why he decided to leave his dead bird lifeless on my driveway is beyond me. We also have some cute little baby birds in our tree. (See Ian's blog for a picture.) The nest is just a little too high for me to see into. I lifted Ian up to report on what was going on in the nest. Unfortunately, the mother bird, not the good Mother Bird, you know, who currently lives in Madagascar, but the actual mother bird, was watching from the fence. She made direct aim for my head. I threw Ian out of the tree and ran for dear life. It was terrifying. A couple of days later we found a dead baby bird in the grass....all skinny and featherless. It was disgusting. As you can see, birds are really giving us trouble. However, the big trouble started on Wednesday night. Kaila called and said that there was something alive in the water heater closet. She wanted me to come down and check it out. I didn't want to find anything alive or dead in the closet. I enlisted the MacArthur boys to check it out. Ian was thrilled. Nothing would please him more than something alive in Mimi's basement. We all went downstairs and listened. We didn't hear anything. After the boys left, I stuck around, and sure enough, soon I heard some flapping and scratching in the vents of the water heater. My job was through. We called Martin. We listened again. For a long while we didn't hear anything. Then I heard some scratching. Martin moved closer to listen. There we were, Martin, Kaila and I standing silently in a row waiting to hear something. It was completely quiet. We were all leaning toward the vent, listening with all our might. Minutes ticked by and we still listened intently. Suddenly....the phone rang!!!! We all three jumped out of our skin. I nearly wet my pants it scared me so much. However, the terrifying ring of the phone must have woke the bird up because it started flapping around in the vent. The dumb thing even flew down to the opening of the vent and the water heater and kept poking it's beak out.....like a little call for help. Martin decided the best thing to do would be to unhook the vent, wait with a net, and capture the little darling when it flew to the light. Ian and Martin were locked in the bathroom with the net in hand. Of course, the bird didn't want any of the net business, climbed right out of it and flew back up into the ceiling before Martin even realized it was in the net. Before I could scream properly, that dang bird came flying out of the laundry room ceiling, buzzed over my head and flew away. I screamed then and ran into the food room where Kaila was, slamming the door behind me. We both screamed there for a second before I saw the gaping holes in the walls in the food room. Imagining myself stuck in that room with a bird flapping around was terrifying so I went screaming out of there too. I yelled at Ian to go get help and he went barreling up the street for the MacArthurs. I ran upstairs shutting all the doors in the house and Kaila stood holding the front door open. All of the boys went downstairs and found that stupid bird in the spare bedroom. They chased it out of there and right out the front door; accompanied by shrieks and screams that I think came out of both my mouth and Kaila's. A girl was walking by the yard right at that moment and that bird came ripping out of the house flying right over her head. That was when we started laughing. I was so wired up I couldn't sleep for hours. Now, everywhere I turn around I see some creepy bird looking at me. It's giving me the heebie jeebies.

P.S. One funny part of this story really illustrates how Ian is related to me. The first time he told the story, the bird flew out over his head. The second time he had to tilt his head as the bird raced by. The third time he had to lean his entire body over to avoid being hit by the bird. And by the fourth time through, that darn bird pecked him on the forehead as he flew out. See? He is my kid. He takes a good story and makes it better by adding some interesting and exciting details. Life's not boring at our house.

The Grown Up Kid

2009-05-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

So, you'll notice that the kid has grown up a bit. I know so because of the following five reasons:
1) He gets himself dressed every Sunday in a suit and tie. I don't even have to ask.
2) Apparently, I embarrass him and my jokes aren't funny. (Isn't that supposed to happen at about 12 or so?)
3) He mows the lawn......all by himself. Hallelujah!!!
4) He scrapes up dead animals from the yard with a shovel.....mumbling about how his mother is a whimp and/or a baby.
5) He wants to listen to "his" music in the car, cheers about the Jonas Brothers
and Taylor Swift (whoever they are), and then sings along to every word.

It's the moment you've all been waiting for....

2009-05-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

I'm back!!! I have not posted a blog for over a year and boy did that feel great!!! However, my son, who thinks he's all grown up, won't let me post anything on his blog. So, in an attempt to keep up with Mimi and Pops, here I am blogging again. Of course, blogging seems so much more manageable now that I only have 9 more days of school! Yeah!!!

The Monkey Puzzle

2008-05-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

I was going to close this blog completely out, but I just couldn't do it. I may want to come back to it at some future date. (Although I can't imagine when....it is so freeing not thinking about it!!!! But, you never know!) Anyway, you can catch up with my hula hooping phenom on Ian's blog, so maybe we'll see you there. Of course, we may not. I can't really get to that either. Have a nice day and again....thanks for reading!!!

The Hula Hoop Macarena.....Ian Style

2008-03-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

If you missed the Ward talent show....or the Fowler Christmas Party, then today is your lucky day.

Here it is!!!! (Thanks to Aunt Pepper!)

the monkey puzzle

2006-11-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

These are monkey puzzle trees; native of Chile. They remind me of my life. I'm the puzzle and Ian is the monkey!!!!