Nice

As we were driving our oldest two boys to their grandparent's home so we could take our littlest to his MRI appointment, we stopped at a light and everyone looked to the left expressing some form of being impressed. I had to take a picture when the catalyst of our exclamations became clear.

Our oldest son in the back seat said in a voice full of awe "Wow! How do they make..." We fully thought he was going to say something about the Audi r8 that had caught the eye of the boy driving in the front seat.

Instead, we burst out laughing as his exclamation ended in "...a purple balloon gorilla so big?!"


So maybe the Big Guy Lowe hasn't finished his work when it comes to teaching his sons about cars. Our first nice car was an Audi, so we have a soft spot for those cars, but I'm afraid that I will always think of purple gorillas when looking at those German cars in the future.

Just for the record, I was impressed with the car, so I guess the Big Guy Lowe has at least taught me a thing or two about cars!

MRI

Today was the day for our littlest Lowe's MRI. Gratefully he was fully healthy this time so we could go ahead and get it over with! He really did great--as great as a little guy can that doesn't like being in any kind of doctor's office.

While waiting to go in we were able to talk with another parent who was waiting for their child's scan to finish. This was their fourth child with TSCS, so she was a wealth of information and comfort. Interestingly enough we share the same neurologist and she couldn't say enough about the doctor. That was comforting to hear as our first experience hadn't been very encouraging. We eventually were called back, had everything explained by a nurse as well as the anesthesiologist. A light sedative was given prior to taking our little guy which made it easier for everyone. Somehow it didn't seem as scary handing him over in a calm state as opposed to his tear-stained face of a few minutes earlier. After they left with him it just felt strange. Gratefully, the hour and a half passed semi-fast and we were called in to be with our sweetie before he woke up.

Coming out of the anesthesia was predictably a cranky experience, but after sleeping for a few hours at home our little guy was just fine. Now we wait for a few days until we can get the results. We're glad today's test is over and all our boys are now comfortably asleep in their beds. MRI...check!

What is a date?

Really, what is a date after you've been married for over 10 years? Wow, I love saying that. I was asked recently what The Big Guy Lowe and I do when we go out on dates and it made me stop and think.
I guess there are the very official dates that we've been on--like when we went to Wicked (unfortunately, we didn't end up being great fans of the show even though we had heard so much about it. Not wanting to get on my soapbox, ask in person if wondering why). We did have a great time together though as seen in a shot from our cellphone (cameras weren't allowed).
Another night we went to see the semifinals for State Lacrosse as the team the Big Guy Lowe used to coach was playing. Go Kings Way!!

Rather intent on the game isn't he? This guy loves Lacrosse! Unfortunately our team was eliminated that night, but we had a great time taking with the parents of the players, the team and just being together.

I know, everyone is thinking "So cute--I wonder who the photographer is?"


Really though, we do spend a lot of time together. We get babysitters--or kid-sitters as our oldest has asked us to call them. They are generally used when we go workout together in the evening or on our twice a month temple trip. We love our time together and make sure we get it. Part of that comes on a daily basis though as our boys have a bedtime of 7-7:30pm.

That's as much for us as it is for them. Looking at it that way, we have daily dates, but we choose to use them discretely. ;)
I like the sound of that!

Another day at the creek

Summer is officially here! What will our boys remember about summer during these early years of their lives? Playing at the creek! What could be better? I know, I know--there are so many camps and classes that I could sign them up for so that they might be ahead in a sport or develop other talents that will assist in the next year of school--these are all good things and we participate in some, but I feel like days filled with discovering and playing with brothers, friends and of course Mommy are just what these Lowe boys need. I hope those feelings don't change as they get older (Okay, so I know things will change as time moves on, but I am loving these boys while it's still fun for us to play as long as I can--hoping that when the older days come, these times together will have helped create lasting relationships--with me as well as with their brothers).
This day was a bit different for a few reasons. Our littlest guy was able to play in the water for the first time on his own!! YAHOO!! With some strageic placement of rocks he had a tide pool of sorts. He loved every minute of it and it was exciting for the rest of us to see too!


Another exciting time today was watching our middle son be more adventureous! While our oldest has no fear when it comes to exploring, our middle son follows, but at a safe distance. Today he was in the water quite a bit more. I guess for not yet being 3 he is as adventuresome as he should be! Yes, after thinking about this more, I am grateful for his level of adventure!!

I love these boys!

The Music Man explanation only works so long

I have a sister-in-law that shared a growing up experience of hers that I loved and we adopted, until the Big Guy Lowe and I were discovered last year. This is how it went...

The ice cream truck comes around our neighborhood often. I don't mean once or twice a week, I'm talking often once a day when the weather is nice. Jaymee shared with me that when she was growing up her parents told her that it was the "music man" coming around for people to enjoy the music. We adopted this practice and were successful at our last home. With the event of moving to our current home and having our oldest recognize pictures and words, everyone in our family now knows that the music man is in fact the ICE CREAM truck!

Last night was pretty funny. First there was the pause in our boys faces and voices. Our oldest (and the Big Guy Lowe if anyone is keeping track) said "The Ice Cream Truck!" Our oldest and middle son had just earned some money helping at Grammy HB's home earlier in the day, and they wanted to use it. As our oldest ran to get his money, our middle son (not yet 3) frantically (or as close to being frantic as a little boy can be) ran upstairs to get his 4 pennies. Oh that ice cream cost 4 pennies!

This was something I never experienced as a child. Five kids (my family growing up)would make this quite an expensive venture, so we were satisfied with our big scoops of ice cream from the gallon containers that my parents bought and always had on hand--in fact, still have on hand! The ice cream truck really is a fun treat for me now though. We don't do it all the time and often the kids use their own money, but it is so fun seeing how excited we all get when we hear that music!

It promotes sharing...

happy, quiet moments...

and great family home evening treats!

We highly recommend it!

Fruits, er, veggies of our labors

This is the second summer we planted a garden at this home. Last summer our garden was planted too late, but made for a good family home evening activity none-the-less. Add in a new little baby and the poor garden just didn't stand a chance!

This year we were poised and ready; our garden was going to work, or at least we were going to be ready to work in our garden! Tonight was our first feast! Our oldest was especially excited about being able to eat from our garden--and that made the Big Guy Lowe and I especially excited!

Aren't these little sugar snap peas beautiful?

Our oldest actually ate this entire peapod--first the peas he found inside, and then the edible shell (after some convincing that he could actually eat it).

Not everyone was as interested as our oldest son though. Our youngest chose to play with the non-edibles. First the frisbee.

Next, flowers. He found these flowers especially fascinating and stayed with them for some time. He would reach out and hit the flowers and then watch them move, wait for them to stop moving, and start over again.

Just a bit of an update on this little guy--we had our MRI scheduled for this morning, but had it rescheduled after finding that he had double ear infections this past friday. We're on for the 30th now!

End-of-the-year Kindergarten Luau

It's hard to believe that our oldest son's first year of school is coming to an end. What a wonderful year it has been. He has had a truly wonderful teacher (Thank you Mrs. Anderson!!) and made many good friends. I have especially loved the recent months as he has started reading--what an exciting time for all of us! We read the scriptures every night as a family and our oldest is able to read on his own without too much help! We're so happy for him and he is pretty happy about it all too.

To celebrate the end of the year, all of the kindergarten classes joined together and had a luau. Lots of fun food and games. It was a great party.
It is hilarious watching boys be friends. Here our oldest is sitting next to one of his "best" friends Sam S., and Logan E. linking his arms over each of them.

This elementary school's mascot is the beaver. When our oldest was "Beaver of the week" he was described as being helpful, energetic, and a good friend.

Who wouldn't love playing with a parachute and multi-colored rubber chickens tossing around?

We're looking forward to having a big First Grader next year, but for now we will just enjoy the time we have before us through the warm summer months. I love this boy so much and feel so grateful that I get to be his mommy.