My Little Mermaid

So Maya not only looks like me, but I think we are made quite alike. This girl loves to talk, and she LOVES to sing! Her favorite show is "The Little Mermaid." Yesterday I caught her in her room and she was just singing some of the songs from her favorite show. Today she was watching it on my bed. I was busy cleaning the bathroom and was watching her. She was standing up and playing each role as the movie was playing.

My favorite part she played during my sneak peak (all in her cute 2-year-old style)

Ursela: "What I want from you is your VOICE!"

Ariel: "But without my voice, how can I....."

Ursela: "You'll have your looks, your pretty face, and don't underestimate the importance of body language! HAH!"

She saw me in certain parts and said, "Mommy!! Ariel needs to save Prince Eric! OH NO!"

Anyways, I think she is quite entertaining and love to sing along with her. Ryan was giving her a bath last week and Maya was laying back in the tub for her hairwash and she said, "Look daddy! I'm a mernaid (that's how she says it)! Ahhhh, ahhhh, ahhhh, ahhhh." (To the tune of Ariel, of course.) RYan really got a kick out of it.

Connor and Evan are doing great. Here are some funny happenings with them lately.

Evan: "Mom, do you know why the birds in the song are called Three French Hens?"

Mom: "No, Evan. How do you know?"

Evan: "Duh, mom!! They are hens and they speak french!" (All said as a-matter-of-factly!)

Connor does not enjoy Maya and I's talent of singing so much. He got in trouble this week in school for not singing the Christmas song his class has been learning.

Mom: "Why don't you like to sing? You are such a good singer!"

Connor: "Mom......it's so embarrassing! I don't like everyone staring at me!"

All night we kept teasing him and I kept singing his song he is supposed to be practicing- "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree." Hopefully I don't give him a complex.

Thanksgiving Roll Recipe

So here is a recipe that if might want to try for Thanksgiving.....but give yourself some time. As my life has slown down I have tried to become more domestic. This recipe came from my mother-in-laws Blue Lake Ward Cookbook.

2 c. milk
1c. butter (plus)
2 TBSP Yeast
1 c. plus 2 TB sugar

6 eggs
1 1/2 tsp dalt
8 c. flour

Scald milk, then add 1 cup butter. Cool to lukewarm. Add yeast to 1/2 cup lukewarm water plus 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside. Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup sugar and salt. Add milk and butter mixture and yeast. Add flour and mix well. Dough will be sticky. COVER AND LET RISE 3 TO 4 HOURS! Turn out on WELL FLOURED board and divide into parts. Roll in circle as for pie-rather thin. Spread with butter. Cut in pie shape pieces; roll from large to small end. Put on a greased pan; don't crowd. Let stand till double. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375. Don't overbake.

These rolls are sooooo good, but they do take a long time. I did an experiment this evening. I froze the rolls before letting them rise. (Like Rhoades dough) I took them out this afternoon and they seem to be looking good- starting to puff up nice. We'll see how they taste for dinner, but so far so good!

Halloween Fun!

Okay.....I am sorry for all of you who have been waiting 5 weeks for me to update. SO here are the pic from Halloween. Connor is Batman. Evan is Robin, and Miss Maya is Barney. There is a funny story behind the Barney costume. Connor and Evan decided back in August that Maya had to be Barney for Halloween. Near the end of September we went to Savers in hunt of our costumes. We were digging through the racks and Evan exclaimed ,"Mom!! It's perfect!! I found just the thing for Maya!" He pulled the Barney costume from the hanger and Maya was elated! I loved it because it was only $2.99.

It was a wonderful night trick-or-treating! The weather was very mild and the kids didn't need to wear coats. I stayed at home and handed out candy....not a very fun job if you ask me. There are kids that are polite, and then there are the ones that take a fistfull of candy. Then there are the adults that bring a bag for themselves!!! Who does that? I really got annoyed when it was 5 minutes to 10:00pm and all our lights were off and the doorbell rang. I made Ryan answer the door and he told them we were out of candy and that they needed to head home! Needless to say we weren't happy. Anyways...the kids had 3 days to eat all there candy. Mom and Dad and Uncle Mike helped out a little bit too! :)

Ryan's Obsession at the Zoo

Okay- so we found out that they were feeding the snakes at the zoo. Ryan was dying to see the rattler take down the dead rabbit. No luck today.

Visit from the Switzers

Connor and Ellie at the zoo! (Notice the look on Connor's face.....smooth!)


Dad and Maya!

We had a wonderful visit from our friends the Switzers! They are childhood friends of Ryan....way back from elementary school. We went swimming at the fitness center, played at the zoo on a freezing cold day, and then had a late night dance party to wrap up the fun! Here are some pics from our events.

My Little Helper

Two posts in one day! Wow....this is a record. After dinner I was trying to think of something to pass the time before I could put the kids to bed. Ryan would be working late, so I thought "let's go play in the front yard." The yard is made of rocks and some flower beds that desperately need to be hacked down. Connor and Evan helped for awhile, but their enthusiasm was short lived. Maya stayed out there with me for about an hour or more. She would encourage me with, "Thanks momma, this looks so great!" or "Good job mom, you're such a good helper!" I thought is was a perfect moment for a picture and a blog post. So we got one flower bed done, and I gave Ryan the assignment for tomorrow to work on the front yard some more. Good luck!

Evan's back in school

Connor went off track this week, but Evan started his new year of preschool. I guess I don't get a break of being a Taxi driver, but it comes with the job, right?

Just an update for those of you who ocassionally check out our blog. I was released 3 weeks ago as the Young Womens President in our ward. With no delay they called me into the primary. I am now teaching the Sunbeams. I wish I could have gone to Releif Society for at least 1 week, but I do love the Primary!

Our other big news is that we are expecting another baby in April. Yep- #4 is on it's way. I have actually thrown up a handful of times and have been very tired. We are excited for our last little addition to the Lowder family.

Okay...so that is about it. I'll do better at posting more regularly!

Rock Climbing

Evan trying it out!

I will be sad the day when we move away from this home (whenever that is) because of the fitness center right out our back gate. We have come to take advantage of the many amenities it provides. For less than $30/month we get swimming, full workout station, climbing wall and a 8,000 sqft kiddie playland. Anyways...the other bonus is that have kids camp which on the days that I work they pick up Connor from Kindergarten and he eats lunch, plays games, takes field trips to the ice rink, rollar rink, movies, the zoo, goes swimming in the pool and as I learned today they do a session of kiddie yoga. All this for $10/day. You can't beat that deal. Today we decided to go Rock Climbing as a family. Connor goes climbing every Tuesday as well. He is getting better and better each week. If you ever come and visit- we'll take you inside!

More pics

He's still got it! I love ya, honey!

I've been working with Connor on which finger is your "pointer finger". He still needs a little more practice.

Grandpa is always driving the boat.

Maya loved the beach and all the sand. I think she could have played there all day long.

Okay-not the greatest shot, but here are the aunties (minus Estelle).

Fun Summer Memories

Grandma came down to watch the kids while I went on Trek with the youth in our ward. Here is Evan assisting Grandma in the kitchen. Yummy!



For our family reunion this year we went up to the "Mudhole" campground by Priest River. Connor is my daredevil and is always seeking a thrill. Here he is with Brianna getting ready to tube. Evan tried the tube too, but he is my more cautious child. He didn't want to go again after he and dad flipped. He loves a good boat ride and is a great flag holder. Go Evan!

Connor starts Kindergarten

Okay- so this post is a few weeks late, but here it is none the less. Connor has started his school years, and he is loving it! The only hard thing is getting him up at 7:00 to get him to school before the tardy bell rings at 8:15. He is my "night owl" and does not like to wake up early, and by the end of the day his tiredness really shows. Anyway, he does really well on his homework, and he is also learning to speak spanish. He told me "Mom, there are only 4 kids in my class that don't speak Spanish!" Wow! I am trying to be a good sport, and look at the positive aspects- he is learning diversity and may learn a second language, however, educationally minded I worry about the progress in his class. I also worry because there are 27 kids!!! Yikes. I went in as the parent helper last Wednesday and I ended up staying the entire day to help the poor sub. We will continue to help Connor at home and his reading skills are getting better each week. We are so proud of him and his behavior!!! Way to go Connor!

Busy July

I thought I better give you an update for many of you who thought this blog was extinct. At the begining of the month I was at Girls Camp with my ward. It was lots of fun and I didn't get much sleep. It makes me realize how much my leaders did for me as a youth. NO PICTURES because I didn't bring my camera.

About a week later we traveled up to CDA for a family reunion. We got to stay our first night in Rexburg with Robyn's family and that night we ate dinner at Craigos with the kids and it was oh so yummy! The kids did well on the road trip and Maya didn't even barf!! We got to CDA and had a blast at "The Mudhole" campground up by Priest River. The kids loved tubing with Grandpa and playing with their cousins, and eating good food. Everyone packed up on Sunday and then we stayed the rest of the week at my parents house. We had a busy schedule, but it was nice just to relax too. Ryan and my highlight was biking the Hiawatha trail.....again no pictures (I forgot the camera.) We enjoyed our week and then it was back on the road. We circled back thru Washington and stayed with Angie, and then stayed another night in Boise with our friends the Reeds. They had just moved in to their new place earlier this week, so it was nice of them to let us crash.

Last weekend we celebrated Ryan's 31st birthday! We went to see The Dark Night (very good but very dark) and then out to some asian food. Yum! I do have a picture of this. Happy Birthday Ry Guy!!! I love you! Sorry the picture is a bit blurry.

So Trek is coming up and I'll have an update for you then....maybe something else worthy of blogging will happen between now and then.

Relaxing in the Summer Sun

Here is the update on the middle child. The boys love to go outside and jump on the tramp with the sprinkler on. Connor came inside and was busy with something. Maya was taking a nap, and then I panicked! WHERE IS EVAN!!! For I brief moment I thought he may have been kidnapped or something, but then I remember he told me he was going to go warm up on the deck. So here he lies. Luckily I think he had only been out there for 10-15 minutes or else he might have had a pretty nice sunburn.

My friend that watches the kids for me took them on a little outing on Monday here is a video and some pics from Silver Lake.

80's Rocker!!! Ohhhh yeahhh!

So this is all Connors creation. He asked me to spike his hair and then I decided to take his picture. He did the pose all on his own. I about died laughing!!! His dad would be proud....they could listen to 80's music and butt rock all day long, baby!

2 years old!

So many of you have been thru this before. (Cassie I think you had a post a few months back) Today Maya discovered she could take off her diaper. She was supposed to be taking a nap with dad while I was outside planting some flowers. I got stopped by the missionaries trying to help them find some people to teach, when I ran inside to get the ward directory. Maya was crying and I picked her up and felt that she had no diaper. "Mommy, I'm poopy!" She had poop on her bottom (of course) on her feet, and all over her hands. Sick! I ran out to the elders and said- "I've got a poopy mess inside, and I could use a little service, but I understand if you decline." So I found the pile upstairs and the little poop trail down the stairs into the kitchen and then the family room. Sorry no pictures. Luckily I just bought a carpet shampooer attachment for our Kirby on Monday, so I went to work.

Other than that, Maya is officially 2yrs old. She had her birthday of Friday the 13th. We got her a cute little kitchen and panties (hopefully she'll be trained soon) and she loved blowing out the candles on her cake. We did it 3 times in fact.

Evan got his staples out and Connor went to his Kindergarten orientation. He starts school July 28th. Good luck Connor- you'll do great!

Ninja fighting.....and staples

So I actually have an event to blog about. I came home early from work because I had a few patients cancel. I thought, "This will be great- I can get some more laundry done and do a few things around the house." I called my mother-in-law to check in with her while I was folding some clothes and all the sudden I hear Evan screaming and then the breath hold. "I gotta go!" I shouted to my mother-in-law because the breath hold means serious business. I ran upstairs to my room with Connor hiding and Evan covered in blood. It was down his entire face all over his hands- completely everywhere!!!! Luckily I had a clean load of towels and slapped one on his head. I made a few phone calls. One to work, and the sweet ladies there canceled my afternoon appts, and the other to a friend to take Connor and Maya.

Evan is screaming and I finally get everyone loaded up and dropped off. On the 5 min car ride to the Urgent Care, Evan began to calm down. He said, "Mom, I am sure glad that I'm not dead!" as he trying to gain his composure.

We walked in and the front office gal told the Medical Assistant to get us right back. (I don't know if it was the saturated bloody towel or the dried blood over the entire face and hands that gave her the idea that this was urgent). They had to clean off Evans hand so that they could put the pulse monitor on his finger. He was brave and they washed him up, irrigated the wound and then threw a few staples in his head. They didn't even give him any anesthetic. The doctor actually said "whoops" when he was doing the 2nd staple. Then he said, "I guess us doctors aren't supposed to say whoops in the middle of something." (Ha, ha doctor- I am glad you are just doing staples and not surgery.)

So we went and got a Happy Meal and now Evan is resting on the bed headed for a nice nap. No more playing ninja with the vacuum hose any more.

LAGOON!!!

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. I lost the charger for our digital camera, so the blog has been put to the bottom of the list in priorities. I snagged my brother-in-laws so we can capture some moment from our trip to Lagoon.
Maya follows in her brother Connor's footsteps and loves the rides. Evan not so much! He enjoys the putt-putt boat ride, but anything too fast and jerky he gives a thumbs down. I talked him into going on The Bat with me. Connor was all laughs and screams, however, Evan said there was no way he would do that again. Poor guy. I have come to discover that I don't enjoy the rides as much as I used to. I went on the Dragonfly (a little kiddie ride with swings) and I felt myself going to hurl by the end. I also did not like the ferris wheel. After having kids I guess I am paranoid because we are up so high and the kids want to climb around and spin (BARF!), and I have a fear that someone is going to fall out! Yikes! I like to feel strapped in like a newborn in a carseat.
We ended our trip by stopping to help a lady with a flat tire on I-215. The Eagle Scout showed off his skills and kindly helped the nice lady. She didn't speak much english but called Ryan an angel. Thanks babe!