Preschool Fun

Last September I joined a co-op preschool group. A bunch of ladies from my church down in Rocklin were doing a Joy School type of thing, but just without the official material. I was happy when I was invited because preschool is just SO ridiculously expensive. I wasn't sure how Rowan was going to go to preschool at all! We take turns teaching each week and I have enjoyed it so much. I always have my mom's old cowboy records from when she was little playing when the kids come in or are working on their projects. For some reason I'll think they'll enjoy it! I love coming up with fun snack ideas and projects that have to do with the letter of the week. I wanted to show a few pictures that I have taken from when it's been my turn to teach.

This was a snack I did around Halloween. I call them mummy mouths and are made with apples and almonds. The kids loved them!

This is back in October when we went to the pumpkin patch. They had such a great time!

This next picture is our Christmas party. They were all wearing Santa beards that they made. Rowan still has his and loves it! LOL

Today we were learning about the letter "R", so I thought it would be fun to do a rainbow theme. My mom and I made jello with all the colours of the rainbow. We went over the colours and learned their signs. Then we got to have a yummy treat. After I was sure that they all had a clear idea of a rainbow we did our fun art project. What kid doesn't love finger painting? I love how these turned out!

We also did really cute turkeys in November. We had got on a walk and collected brightly coloured leaves. Then come home and traced their hand on a piece of paper. We drew the turkey's head where the thumb is a put a googley eye and then pasted the leaves where the rest of the fingers were. I think that was my favourite project, so of course, I don't have a picture for it! We still have the rest of Spring for lots more fun and I for one am super excited! (geek out time!)

I must be blind.

Every morning, very first thing, Rowan has a vitamin. They are all the same shape, they all taste the same, they are all the same size. The only difference are the colours. For about the last year and a half Rowan will only eat the orange vitamins. When those are gone, he'll move to the brown and by the time those are gone I'm hoping that his sister has eaten the rest. Recently, he's begun to change his particularities to wanting "the big one" or "the squishy one", or "that big white one back there"! Of course, there aren't any white ones. When I try to explain to him that they are all exactly the same, he insists that I'm wrong and that there is indeed a larger vitamin in the bottle. This usually ends with him looking in the jar to find just the right one and then proclaiming to me, "See, it's right here!" I mean really, how can I be so stupid?

Can I be shallow in Heaven?

Today I've finally realized that my body's main goal is to become morbidly obese. Unless I'm eating 1200 calories a day on a vegan diet and working out like a crazy person at least 4 days a week, my body will put on massive amounts of weight. This week, I only got to work out twice. I ate like I usually do (which in all honesty really isn't that bad.) and I put on 4 pounds. 4 POUNDS! I work so hard and  then take a few days off and you would think I had some sort of eating spree through Willy Wonka's! I try to think of the goal ahead. I try to think about a body that I would feel wonderful and confident in. Then I start thinking about how nobody has a perfect body until the resurrection... I hope that when I get my perfect body that I actually appreciate it. What if in Heaven, I'm too spiritual to even care about my body and having a perfect body is a total waste?? What I need is my resurrected body now, while I'm still shallow. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, so I guess I had better start cooking more Indian food again.

Rowan turns 4!

I can't believe that my "little prince" is already 4 years old! To say that this child had been anticipated is an understatement. Chandler had been asking for a sibling for at least 3 years. I was going through such bad baby withdrawals that I brought home two chihuahuas to care for! With 8 years between Chandler and the new arrival, everyone was excited to have a baby around again. Rowan was born on January 11th, 2007 and we couldn't have been happier to have him. Now 4 years later I find myself reflecting on how much joy this little boy has brought us!

Rowan was and still is such a great sleeper! He sleeps 10 hours a night and takes 2-3 hour naps during the days. Could you ask for anything better?

A Disney Addict from the beginning like the rest of us; he fit right in.

Rowan had barley turned a year old when his partner in crime arrived! It always seems as though Rowan had been waiting for Ellis to come. They are rarely apart and are always happy to see each other after they have been separated.

Throughout Rowan's 2nd year, you could not find him without his Minnie Mouse doll. It was very sweet and I miss those toys that now sit on the shelf.

As Rowan got older, he grew the most beautiful, lovely locks of hair. It broke my heart when we finally cut it!

Rowan kept my hands full during his 3rd year. He proved to be very smart, loving to read and knowing all his letters and numbers. He likes things to be "just so" and has an incredible sense of direction! He always knows where we are going! He has a special relationship with his Papa Knotts and always wants to be working with him. Whether it's building the chicken coop or working on the car, he definitely a boy's boy.

We had many family and friends around this year for Rowan's birthday. And I think that we can all agree that our lives are that much better with this little guy around. He is a joy! Happy birthday, Rowan!

Home for the Holidays!

We had a very blessed and fulfilling holiday season in 2010! In November fall was upon us and we began to get hungry... The first Thanksgiving meal I made was for my bunco group. I wanted to spoil them and it was delicious and very much enjoyed!

My Dad and Gail were out in California the weekend before Thanksgiving, so Bre and I met up with them for a wonderful weekend of catching up at Aunt Terry's!

Upon returning home, I thought I might spice it up a bit for the holiday's and cut some bangs for the first time in 22 years!

Brooke and her family came up to visit for the holiday and we took a family picture for the first time since my wedding. We were all very please with the results!

On my birthday the whole family went bowling, we weren't sure how the little kids were going to do, but they loved it!

On Thanksgiving night we started our Christmas shopping! I left at 7pm and arrived home at 7am! I got most of the Christmas presents, birthday presents, and winter shopping done, I was so happy! The line outside of Toys R Us was crazy. I was number 41 out of 2500!!

The first weekend of December brought us to Red Feather Christmas Tree Farm for our annual tradition of cutting down the tree. This year in lieu of a Silver tip, we went with a Douglas Fir.

Every year, the City of Auburn puts on The Festival of Lights parade. It's a time for the whole community to come together and say, "Merry Christmas!" to each other. 

For our Christmas presents to each other, Bobby and I took a weekend together in Las Vegas. We ate like kings and took two days in the spa. It was a wonderful, relaxing get away!

When we got home from our trip, it was time for me to get busy! I had baskets full of homemade yummies that I had made as presents for my family. La Maison du Cluck was in full swing! My friend, Kiernan and I made apple butter, lemon jelly, mandarin marmalade, Italian pasta soup, and scented rice bags to heat up for sore muscles. Wrapped in a festive basket, I think these gifts were a hit! I also made lots of yummy pies this year, lemon meringue being the prettiest.

On Monday, the 20th, we took the kids to the mall to go see Santa. On that night was also scheduled a "flash mob" that was to surprise mall patrons and burst into the Hallelujah Chorus near the food court. The problem was that no one had kept it a secret. Over 5000 people showed up to hear this Christmas song. It was truly amazing to see how many people came because they wanted to feel that Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, the mall was quickly over capacity and the fire department came in and had to evacuate the place. What could have become a scary place to be remained calm and orderly. Everyone left, but what were we to do? The kids were all dressed and Rowan was dying to see Santa. We didn't have much time at this point so we hurried to Sunrise Mall and saw the Santa there. The experience was so much better! The mall had hardly any people in it, with only 10 people in line to see Santa. Ellis wouldn't go near Santa this year, so the picture is only of the boys. Afterward, instead of going to our usual Christmas light tour on Strand in Rocklin, we went to the Walnut St. Christmas light display that was down the street. We enjoyed the Christmas lights there so much more than usual! The boys stood on the center console and put their heads up through the sunroof to see all the lights. We had our Christmas music blaring and the boys were shouting Merry Christmas! I think that this is one of my favourite traditions!

Soon, it was Christmas Eve and we took our traditional trip up to Papa Ernie's and Nana Nannette's house. We had dinner with the whole family and the cousins had fun running around the house together. Our tree was decorated and waiting for Santa to come!

The next morning, we found that Santa had arrived at our house! He had left presents, filled the stockings, and left a note for the kids as always. My parents and brother, Bryce came up to enjoy watching the kids opening their presents. We took a long time just opening stockings, ate a very yummy breakfast and then slowly opened our presents under the tree. It was nice to take our time and have the magic last. Later in the afternoon we went down to my parents house for game playing a delicious meal! It was a very merry Christmas!

All the kids received fun things for Christmas. Some of the favourites were an Air Hog Helicopter with a spy camera, a large moving dino, a tool bench, and Ellis got her first Barbie dolls!

On the week between Christmas and New Year's we took the kids up to the snow to play and do some sledding. We went up to Cisco Grove, which is really just a gas station with a big play area next to it. It's not a snow park and there are signs everywhere saying, "Sled at your own risk." Comforting. It was 24 degrees outside, but the kids had a blast! I realized too late that I had left the memory card for the camera at home and so i took a few photos with my phone.

We spent New Year's Eve at Bobby's sister, Jodi's house. We stayed up playing games and eating yummy snacks. The cousins all played so well together and then next morning we had a fantastic breakfast at The Purple Place. On New Year's Day we had the missionaries over for dinner with our last traditional meal of the season. Roast duck and oyster dressing. It was so good and we had a wonderful time reflecting back on the last few weeks. We feel truly blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. We hope that everyone else had a memorable holiday as well!