Zoo friends

Today is technically the first day of "Spring Break" for our school system. This makes me laugh a bit. We are obviously still so new to the "school thing" that having a week off from school is more of a bummer for our oldest than something to be excited about. I was not going to let this "vacation" begin on a sour note though. I feel like Super Mom, but without a cape, because I am determined that we are going to have fun this week no matter what!! That said, I am open to any suggestions of things to do in the frigid wetness that is a part of our environment!!

So to start our week, we got out and went to the ZOO!! We even planned to do this with some of our good friends and that made it even more exciting! Thank you friends!!!

We finally saw the baby elephant without having to fight crowds and long lines!

The boys were especially impressed with the Elephant Tricycle. I had to smile as our oldest exclaimed while trying to pedal "whatever elephant rode this bike had to be strong!" The bike is secured to the ground and the chain isn't attached so it can't be moved at all, but's it's fun to observe what a kindergartener thinks he's capable of. That makes me happy. I hope he always believes he can do huge things.
To make this trip to the zoo different from the rest (remember that we are going to have fun no matter what?!) we chose to ride on the train!! YAHOO!


I thought this picture captured their bubbling enthusiasm!! Okay, so it wasn't the best shot, but my heart was grateful as both the older boys thanked me for going to the zoo and riding on the train. That alone made this a good trip for me.

Just before we left the zoo, we decided to get some quarter candy and take a picture by the two funny zoo bears. Two of our boys were excited about the bears, but one wasn't too sure about the whole thing. Can you tell who?

This wasn't our youngest's first trip to the zoo, but this trip was the first time that he was really showing interest in the fish and close-up exibits. It was pretty cold out today, so I didn't take him out of the stroller much, but what he did see he enjoyed. Ohhh, these little cuties of ours! We sure love each of them!

Grammy's (not so) Secret Garden

I love the springtime. I know that there is still a great deal of rain ahead before the summer gets here with those wonderfully sunny, hot days, but it's these springtime days that start that excited anticipation. We had a great time yesterday over in our Grammy's back yard gardens. There is always work to do there, and I love how hard our boys know how to work with their Grammy. I'm also grateful that Grammy is so good at providing opportunities for them to work with her. They love time in the gardens with Grammy, and I love that they love it.
While our oldest has worked hard in years past, this is our middle son's first real time helping out. Grammy always has the right sized tools for whoever is helping, and that made it even more fun as he worked like a pro!

Our youngest did his part holding down the gardening tools. That wheel barrow looked like it was ready to take off until he decided to sit in it!
Our oldest knows how to work on the more difficult jobs. Here he was given instructions and then given the opportunity to finish the project on his own. He's working hard repairing a stone wall.

Now he's working hard carrying out part of a tree that didn't make it through the winter.While there is always work to do, there are always things to investigate. Our oldest is a master bug catcher. He found a great beetle and wanted to put it in a plastic bag with some dirt.
After a conversation regarding how we all breathe, he decided to find a better home for the beetle in another part of the garden--a decision that resulted in everyone's sigh of relief!

Just to show that he could, our oldest climbed to the top of one of Grammy's fruit trees. Our middle son isn't quite there yet, but he wants to be!!

After about two hours of work, with everyone feeling good about what had been accomplished, Grammy brought out fun drinks for the boys and even some money as payment! The day had a poignantly sublime affect on me. My boys can work hard and have fun. My boys can get along with eachother and they love being outside. My boys love and are loved by my mom--someone that I love dearly and am eternally grateful for.

Thank you mom for all you have done for me and all you continue to do. You have given me a wonderful example of how to be a mom and I think you are wonderful.

The Littlest Lowe Longingly Looks on at the Legendary League of Leading Lowes

I'm sure our littlest Lowe wonders if he will ever be able to do what the big boys do! Some days they just seem to have all the fun! Today was one of those days.

While I was cleaning, I couldn't help but take a few pictures of our littlest Lowe as he longingly looked outside at the older boys having all kinds of adventures!


When he realized that I was taking pictures, he decided to come after me--or maybe obtaining that shiny object his mommy was pointing at him was his goal...



To help assuage his grief at being the only brother inside, I set him up for lunch and a show. Ham, cheese and bread never tasted so good, and as always, the entertainment was perfect! Maybe being the littlest Lowe isn't so bad after all.

Happy Birthday Chantelle!

The "House of Lowe" loves good food. So when our wonderful friends Tami and Chantelle asked if they could make us dinner on Chantelle's birthday, we felt extra loved and excited!! Everyone knows friends and food are a perfect combination!

They began by putting the boys to work.
(I didn't hear any complaining about the job they were given!)

The head cooks then got to work, so the Big Guy Lowe and I tried to stay out of their way while still catching up on news of the day!


Because Chantelle's birthday is the day after St. Patrick's day we had a green themed meal--green Kool aid, green rice, green salad, green frosting on cupcakes. They did refrain from coloring the sweet and sour chicken green though...maybe next year we'll try that??

To top off the scrumptious meal we sang to our wonderful Chantelle after which she asked the boys to help her blow out her candles. Again, no complaining about that job!

We are grateful for and thoroughly enjoyed our wonderful evening together.
Tami and Chantelle~ We love you and are so glad we get to be your friends!

Life Lessons; a follow up

We are so grateful for the life lessons our oldest son has learned this weekend.

It was scary and hard. There were many tears, some family prayers, holding hands and sincere encouragement. In the end, growth and progress was achieved...by parents and son.

I guess we each can add a notch to our life lessons board and give a collective sigh of relief.

Life Lessons

There are many times as a parent that I find myself unsure with the actions and decisions that need to be made because of one of our children's choices. I want to handle things the best way possible, but that isn't always a clear line from A to B. Then throw in the differences between children and one good choice we've made in the past for helping one child grow doesn't always work with the next! I know that many people don't have the opportunity to parent with a spouse, and that must add so much more pressure to these times when life lessons need to be taught. Gratefully, the Big Guy Lowe and I get to tackle these challenges together. I find reasons on a daily basis to be more and more grateful for my wonderful Big Guy Lowe. He is truly one of the greatest blessings in my entire life. We make a pretty good team, if I say so myself.

Pokemon.


Did you ever think that Pokemon would be the instigator of life lessons in honesty? I can't say that I have ever been tempted by these cards, but for a six year old, I've found their allure is pretty strong. So strong that some of these little cards were hidden from a friend's collection the other day while he was visiting our home. Now, smiles do creep into the corners of my mouth as I think that our oldest didn't think of trying to hide them in a better spot than under the ottoman in our playroom where they were promptly found as we were all involved in Saturday morning cleaning.

That pleases me. Maybe that means that he will be able to learn about the importance of honesty before he is able to develop those more complex thoughts that come the older we get.

Well, gratefully (for us parents at least) the cards were found, and an emotional morning has ensued. After talking in depth about honesty and stealing, how it makes us feel inside, how it makes others feel, saying a prayer asking Heavenly Father for forgiveness and the courage to do what is right, we contacted the other family and have arranged a time to go over to their home so apologies can be made in person and stray Pokemon cards can be returned with twice as many of our son's own cards given as retribution. As parents, we are hoping for this to be a pretty memorable experience for our oldest son.

I don't think we'll be forgetting it any time soon either.

I used to be tough. Now I'm...well...not

Some people know of my past as a survival skills instructor. I used to hike, guide, explore, and live off the BLM land surrounding Capitol Reef National Park.
To this day, Windgate Sandstone walls--those beautiful red walls of sandstone are high on my list of things that make me happy. While doing the survival thing, I obviously spent a multitude of nights out in the desert.
I was one tough chick.
(Don't all girls think that about themselves when they are in their early 20s?)

I'll admit though, there were some experiences that caused me alarm while I was out there. And I might have even been overly cautious much more than once during that time in my life. Overall though, I wasn't intimidated by noises in the dark.

So time has elapsed and it has been quite awhile since those desert days. I now sleep in a very comfortable bed, in a home that I love, next to the man of my dreams (sigh) far away from the desertscape of the American Southwest.
And somehow, I've misplaced my toughness in the transition!

Now, instead of pointing out varieties of spiders--which to avoid and which are harmless, I ask the Big Guy Lowe to squish them for me. And the nights when he is traveling--I miss him so much. I hear those noises in the dark.

Somehow my toughness has become elusive, but nothing shows that more than my packing a,wait for it,
oh yea, a heavy-duty spatula as night-time protection!

(From what, you ask? Obviously overcooked steaks! The Horror! The Horror!)

Since my boys won't read this for many years most likely, let's keep this quiet. Because I think they still think I'm still tough.
:)