Birthday Party

Happy Birthday, David. David's birthday was the day before Thanksgiving. We had a party with my sisters' family. We ate spagetti and played video games. The boys picked out Star Wars Clone Wars for him and I found Family Feud for the Wii. It looked like it would be a fun game we could all play together. NOVEMBER 27th We are all getting excited about Christmas. We usually put up the Christmas tree on Friday, but Shauna and I went to the Toys 'R Us Black Friday event. We stood out in the cold for 2 hours and then stood in the store in a long check-out for 2 more hours, so I was so tired. Then after getting a couple of deals, and feeling cold and tired, I couldn't sleep. I went online, and Walmart actually had just about every in-store deal on their website. So, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we put up the Christmas tree. The boys had so much fun.

Play Ball

Art, Ben's 10 month old dog, and his amazing ball skills.

Family Pictures

We took family pictures on Sunday, here are the results. Also our family in halloween costumes.

Happy Halloween

As with every year, we carved our pumpkins last night for Family Night. The boys used to hate touching the guts, but this year, everyone (except Eli) was elbow deep and having fun. They laughed when Daddy made their pumpkins throw up and they were actually scrapping with their fingers and not whining. After the pumpkins where finished, we started a fire in our fire pit and roasted marshmallows. This morning after breakfast, all the boys wanted to put their costumes on. Ben doesn't have a costume yet, but as soon as we find one, we will get pictures. Happy Halloween!

Zion National Park

We went to Zion National Park in Southern Utah this last weekend. It was so beautiful and surprisingly warm for mid-october. The days were mid -80's and the nights, although windy, were high 50's. We hiked, relaxed, and enjoyed our family vacation with us, my sisters family, and my parents. Here are a few pictures of our adventures, the rest are on two other cameras. The tunnel we went through was 1.1 mile through the mountain.

Clean dishes

I have actual clean dishes for the first time in almost a year!! I switched from Cascade to Finish gel packs combined with Lemi-shine. I am still using Jet-dry as usual. The difference after just one wash was incredible. I have tried to scrub the strainer by hand, but couldn't get the deposits off. I was so excited when the dishes came out of the dishwasher looking like they are supposed to and feeling smooth and clean with no grits. Whoo Hoo, clean dishes!!

My Rant

This post is just me blowing off steam about something that isn't really that big of deal, but with all the other things going on, it just makes me feel better to get some frustrations out by writing about something that has been bugging me. You do not have to read if you don't want to. This post is for me. I am sick of all the restrictions in the parks for people who owe dogs. All the walks that we go on are just me and the boys and we go to a park where the boys can play and have fun with new equipment, rock walls, etc. But my dogs have to stay at home because that park does not allow dogs. And this makes them dig and chew and develop other bad habits because they are not getting enough exercise. I can't bring a part of my family on a walk, when they are the most in need of it, because our destination does not allow dogs. They are on leashes and we clean up after them, so What Is The Problem??? But CATS!!! Cats can roam all over, pee/mark on our $200 tent that we have in our backyard airing out, my stroller, and my cloth-fold-up wagon, and poop in my childs' sandbox!! And the owner is not responsible for the damage done by this "free-spirit". My sister is what I consider a responsible cat owner. Her cat is an indoor cat. I think that it should be a law!! My children could get sick from the cats using our sand box as a litter box, not to mention all the cats who probably have used the parks as litter boxes. Where is a law for that??? They can ruin my property, which if it was a dog or a child, the owners/parents would be called legligent and held responsible. I just think that cats should have the same laws that are applied to all other PETS, because that is what they are, PETS. They are not wild animals, people have domesticated them. If someone wants a cat as a pet, they should be responsible enough to accept that cats should be indoors. If you want to take your cat out, leash-train it, just like dogs and ferrets and other PETS that have RESPONSIBLE owners!!! Is this too much to ask? People domesticated dog and cats, and they should be held to the same rules. I know a Lab that can jump over his owners 6 foot fence. That owner is responsibe for that dogs behavior outside his fence. Just because cats can climb out of yards does not mean that the owner is not responsible for that cats behavior. A cat has food, bathroom, toys, you can get scratching posts and climbing houses. Cats can be perfectly happy living indoors. No one complains that you are taking a birds freedom away by keeping it inside. Thank you. This is just theraputic writing. You don't have to agree or even like what I have said. Now I am going to take my boys and my DOGS on a walk, not to a park where we can have fun, but on boring sidewalks around the neighborhood, and when we come home, I will be tired from juggling two dogs, a stroller, and a 3-year-old that has decided he can't walk anymore after 5 minutes but is full of energy the minute we get home, the dogs will be exercised (the good part, because they are less likely to dig and chew and other bad behavior), BUT my little boys will be ready to run and play and want to go to the cool park that we couldn't go to because DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED. Thank you parks and recreation (said sarcastically).

Dirty Dishes

The past few months, we have had to put up with a white film on our dishes. Some wiped away with a rag, but most of my dishes are permanently etched with this white chalky, gritty gunk. We thought it was our dishwasher (since we didn't know how old it was and it came with our house), so we got a new dishwasher, which the installation of it is a whole other headache of a story. But with my shiny new dishwasher, things did not improve. So we thought it was the hard water build up in our over-15-year-old water heater, which was giving us little hot water at a time. We wound up going out and getting a new water heater, the cost of which made me cry. Our hot water now lasts longer, costs less and looks great, but our dish washing problem not solved. We were seriously debating on whether or not we should invest in a water softener, when my Dad emailed me this article: http://www.deseretnews.com/mobile/article/700069155/Going-green-leaves-gunk-on-dishes.html Thank you, Dad. I was so relieved that it was not just us and it could be solved with a little detergent change and some vinegar. It does amaze me that the detergent change could cause so much heartache and the expensive solutions we tried, that didn't even work. I am just glad we found out about it before we went out and spent more on the problem. P.S. The story of our new dishwasher. My dad came over to put it in while David was at work. Luckily, James was here to help him, because as it turns out the people who re-did the kitchen counters did not do it right (surprise, surprise, since everything else in the house was done WRONG). They had to unscrew the counter top, cut boards, lift the counter almost an inch and slide the boards under the front and back, then screw the thing back in. Then, they were able to slide in the dishwasher. The old dishwasher was a little smaller and they took the insulation off to get it to fit in, and it was not secured so every time I opened it, it would fall forward. I am loving my new dishwasher that is installed correctly.

Justin's Birthday

Justin turned 9 years old yesterday. We had a Video Game Tournament party with his friends. I bought some Silly String for the kids to use outside. They had a blast, but it didn't last very long and it was a lot more cleaning. Then we came in and opened presents. Justin got a shirt, spiderman for the wii, nerf for the wii, nerf guns, bakugan, a hand-shadow game, and sea monkey kit. The kids decorated their own cupcakes with frosting, sprinkles and candies, and toothpick flags. I also made a cake for the adults. Finally we came to the Video Game Tournament (what they were all waiting for). David watched them, while I cleaned up the kitchen and backyard. Justin said it was an awesome birthday and that is all that matters to us, so we are calling this party a success. When the boys came home from school today, I had a surprise in their playroom. I found some wall decorations at Walmart in the Halloween section. So now their playroom is a mid-evil castle with a knight. Happy Birthday, Justin!!

David Wilcox

David and I were able to get away for the weekend and see a David Wilcox concert. My mom and dad watched the boys. We left on Saturday afternoon and stayed at a hotel, thanks to my brothers' christmas gift last year. He got us a Marriot gift card. We went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then to the concert, where David bought a David Wilcox music book. After the concert, David got to meet David Wilcox and got his autograph in his book. My David had a grin on his face bigger than I have ever seen. That night we slept in a bed without kids jumping in every couple hours, however, neither one of us slept very good away from home. The boys were happy to see us when we got back. Even the dogs were excited. Izzy jumped on and licked me like she thought I had abandoned her and Art sat on my lap the whole way home. It is good to get away every once and a while, but there is no place like home. Scott and Eli have been clinging to me all day, and I am loving it. Even Justin and Adam have been giving me extra hugs.

Baby Milestone

Elijah has always been a tiny guy. He has been in the 0% for his weight since he was 9 months old. At his fifteen month well-child, the doctor put him on Pediasure. Now, after a month and a half, and at 16 months, 2 weeks old, he has finally made it to 20lbs, 0 oz. He is still bounding with energy, climbing everything like a monkey and out running everyone. His new favorite thing to do is climb out the doggy door to the backyard and run off to play with Art and Izzy. I now keep the door closed unless he is asleep, in his highchair, or we are actually playing outside.

First Day of School

My boys are back in School. For the most part, they are excited to get back with their friends. Ben is not happy about the work part. Justin is in 3rd grade, Ben is 2nd grade, and Adam is 1st grade. Scott is sad that he could not start school today, but he will be going to preschool at the same elementary school in 2 weeks. His class starts Sept. 8th. He will be going Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for 2 hours a day. He can't wait. He now starts every sentence he says with "I am a preschool and Eli is a Todwer." Here are my little men.

Adam's 6th Birthday

My Adam is 6 years old now. He is growing up so fast, just like his brothers. We had pizza for dinner (which is what Adam chose), presents and cake and ice cream and then we took Eli to Granny's house while David, Justin, Ben, Adam, Scott, James, Willy and I went to Boondocks. We played laser tag, rode bumper boats (with squirt guns that someone kept squirting right at the back of my neck) and go-carts. They had arcade games and a kiddie cove. We were there for over 3 hours. It was 11:00pm before we finally got home, but the boys (big and little) had a blast.

Summer School Carnival

The boys had a blast at the Carnival this morning at summer school. They had a few bouncing huts, and an obstacle course, as well as a climbing wall. They did face paint, snow cones, cotton candy, and treats, fishing games with books for prizes, and each class did a song, poem, or rhyme. Ben, Adam and Scott all climbed the tower, although Scott only made it up half way, everyone was impressed. They said he looks so small to be able to do it. After three fun hours, we ate lunch, then Scott, Eli and I came home to take a nap, and Justin, Ben, and Adam returned to finish class. The boys are getting swimming lessons through the school and today after lunch was Ben's class's day to go. They are having a great time.

Pinewood Derby

Congratulations to Justin for taking 3rd place in the Pinewood Derby!! He and David had a great time making the car and were so excited when he won. There were 16 cars, 4 cars ran at a time and each car ran four races. The best of the overall time won. Justin won 3rd place, 2nd place winner was only 1/10th of a second ahead of him. Hooray!!!

Summer School

Justin, Ben, and Adam have been accepted to the Summer School Program. So after just a week of summer vacation, they will be going back to school this coming Monday. It is 8:30 to 2pm Monday through Thursday. They will be going over concepts they learned this last year and getting ready for the next grade. It goes to the end of July, so they will still get August for a vacation before school starts up again. They have mixed feelings about having to go back to school in the summer, but I think they will have a ton of fun. We went to the library today and picked out one book to read each day for this next week. Adam and Ben picked out their first chapter books. Also, Here are some Graduation Pictures of David.

My little Graduate

Adam Graduated from kindergarten today. My little gentleman. We listen to him sing and watched him get his diploma, then the whole kindergarten did a graduation march. We are so proud of him. He is graduating with a 1.8 grade level in reading and all straight 3's, except a 2.75 in handwriting. He has worked so hard this year.