Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Happy Birthday Tanner!
So, Tanner's 5th Birthday was on the 16th. I planned to make a slideshow for his birthday but hadn't gotten around to it until now. It was fun to reflect and see how little he was and how much he has grown. Enjoy!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Go Tanner Go!
Saturday, Jeremy bravely took Tanner's training wheels off his bike and practiced with him for a while. Not much progress. Monday came and I had to know if we needed to put his training wheels back on so I could go to the trail. (Tuesday's and Wednesday's I go to a trail nearby with friends. We walk or jog with their kids in joggers and Tanner on his bike.) So Tanner and I went to the church parking lot to practice so I could tell Jeremy that he needed to put Tanner's training wheels back on (can you tell, I wasn't ready for him to be ready). Well, Tanner was giving up after trying for about 30 minutes so I asked him to try just one more time and we would go home. He did and as he was falling he corrected himself and took off without me! WHAT? NO WAY! HE CAN'T DO THAT! But he DID! Micheal and Clayton were both 7 when they finally mastered riding a bike and here is Tanner at 4 (turning 5 on Thursday) and he is riding a 2 wheel bike! For family home evening that night we decided to go back to the church so Tanner could show Dad and brothers what he could do, they didn't believe us. I am still shocked but so proud of him.
Go Tanner, go!
Go Tanner, go!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Race Day
Jeremy did his olympic distance triathalon on Aug. 7th. It was an early morning for the famiy but it was worth it to support Jeremy. The lady that wrote Jeremy's numbers on him asked the boys if they wanted Dad's number on them, so all of us got his number written on us, the boys thought that was cool. 
His wave started at 7:03 am in Lake Norman with the water temperature of 84 degrees. He was pretty worried about the swim since he hadn't ever swam 9/10 of a mile before. We couldn't even see the turn buoy since the lake curved a bit, it was a long swim.
We waited 44 minutes to see him come out of the water, Tanner was tired of waiting and asked me, "is Dad dead?" I immediately said, "of course not, it just takes a while."
Jeremy in the transition area preparing for the bike leg.
On his way out of transition starting 24.3 mile bike ride. He finished the bike in 1:18 which was his strongest leg.
Finishing his first lap of the 6.2 mile run. He was really lucky that the weather ended up overcast until the race ended.
The run course was very hilly and took everyone by surprise. At the end of the run they had the runners on a steep gravel path to get to the finish field. Since he broke his knee 2yrs ago, Jeremy gets uneasy on gravel so he slowed way down trying not to fall and tweeked his hamstring in the process. His total time was 3:03. He did awesome and really enjoyed it, now he has so many people asking him if an Ironman is in his future. All he says is, "lets shoot for a half Ironman before we think about a full." Only time will tell...
One scary thing happened and was the talk of the race. About 5 minutes before Jeremy finished the bike leg, a family's unleashed golden retriever ran out in front of one of the riders going 30mph. The biker clipped the back of the dog, knocked it over and somehow didn't crash. Then, the dog ran back thru the path of on coming riders. Thank goodness no one got hurt. That could have been pretty ugly and we watched the whole thing happen.
His wave started at 7:03 am in Lake Norman with the water temperature of 84 degrees. He was pretty worried about the swim since he hadn't ever swam 9/10 of a mile before. We couldn't even see the turn buoy since the lake curved a bit, it was a long swim.
We waited 44 minutes to see him come out of the water, Tanner was tired of waiting and asked me, "is Dad dead?" I immediately said, "of course not, it just takes a while."
Jeremy in the transition area preparing for the bike leg.
On his way out of transition starting 24.3 mile bike ride. He finished the bike in 1:18 which was his strongest leg.
Finishing his first lap of the 6.2 mile run. He was really lucky that the weather ended up overcast until the race ended.The run course was very hilly and took everyone by surprise. At the end of the run they had the runners on a steep gravel path to get to the finish field. Since he broke his knee 2yrs ago, Jeremy gets uneasy on gravel so he slowed way down trying not to fall and tweeked his hamstring in the process. His total time was 3:03. He did awesome and really enjoyed it, now he has so many people asking him if an Ironman is in his future. All he says is, "lets shoot for a half Ironman before we think about a full." Only time will tell...
One scary thing happened and was the talk of the race. About 5 minutes before Jeremy finished the bike leg, a family's unleashed golden retriever ran out in front of one of the riders going 30mph. The biker clipped the back of the dog, knocked it over and somehow didn't crash. Then, the dog ran back thru the path of on coming riders. Thank goodness no one got hurt. That could have been pretty ugly and we watched the whole thing happen.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Summer catch up
It's been months since my last post and I can hardly believe it. We've had a ton happening and no time to post so I'll try to catch up a little. In May, we had a great garden going. One of my favorite treats this year was our yummy strawberries. We harvested so many berries it was unreal, especially since our little strawberry patch isn't huge. I think we ate half of what we harvested right out of the patch and then we were struggling to keep up so I started hulling them and popping them into the freezer until I figured out what to do with them. I think we must have harvested 3 gallons of strawberries and they were the best strawberries I had ever tasted!
Then in June, we went to Virgina Beach for a couple of days. We met Grandma and Grandpa Fowler there for some fun in the sun.
Our campsite was awesome! We were right off the beach and Grandpa picked a campsite that was full of climbing trees and tons of shade. A boys paradise!
We were able to go to Kitty Hawk while we vacationed at the beach. It was really an amazing place. The boys got to fly kites and we were able to see where the first flight took place.
Then we went to the beach in the outer banks. We saw dolphins, jellyfish and a dead stingray that had a big chomp taken out of it.
We took our bikes with us to the beach so we could cruise and that was fun! Tanner is big enough now to keep up with us if we don't go too fast. We are in a new stage of life being stroller free and having all the kids doing what we are doing. I love being able to do so much more as a family now!
Grandpa Fowler heard that my boys were starting to wear normal size ties to church so he went through his tie collection and passed on some of his old tie's for the boys to use. They were really excited, I got a picture of all my handsome boys showing off their new ties. Aren't they cute?!
When we got back from the beach, I was called to be the new Relief Society President in out ward. I was rather shocked and overwhelmed with the idea of it all. I didn't sleep for 4 nights straight which is very unusual for me. Once I received personal confirmation that I could handle it and was set apart, I have been completely at peace. It was truly amazing! We have had some busy weeks and a steep learning curve but I am learning to handle it. I have had tons of support from my family and from the sisters in the ward so I feel extremely blessed.
Jeremy and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. Sometimes you just have to make time to hold still and enjoy your family. That week was such a busy week that we ended up cancelling our plans to just stay in with the boys and watched a movie. Nice and quiet.
Jeremy has been super busy. His boss ended up in the ICU and now isn't coming back to work. He has taken on some extra responsibilities because of it but has been looking for a new position in the company so he can round out his experience. He has been doing the same job basically for the last 3 years and needs some change. He has a few promising opportunities so we'll see what happens in the next few months. He is also training for his first triathalon. He will be doing the olympic distance which means he has a .9 mile swim, then 24 mile bike, followed by 6.2 mile run. His work is encouraging their employees to participate in a triathalon on August 7th. Those who participate get some free gear just for participating and work pays the registration fees too. So Jeremy gets to do a triathalon for free and gets a new pair of shoes too. He totally scored on that and is really excited. I know he will do awesome! I'll post pictures after race day.
For the 4th of July we shot off a couple of fireworks but our neighbors around us were shooting off fireworks for about an hour and a half so we had the best fireworks show we could have ever asked for. It was great! We promised Micheal that we would shoot off his model rocket on July 5th because Jeremy had the day off and all the sport fields were empty too.
I finally got some video of it shooting off! Hopefully it will work this time.
Then in June, we went to Virgina Beach for a couple of days. We met Grandma and Grandpa Fowler there for some fun in the sun.
Our campsite was awesome! We were right off the beach and Grandpa picked a campsite that was full of climbing trees and tons of shade. A boys paradise!
We were able to go to Kitty Hawk while we vacationed at the beach. It was really an amazing place. The boys got to fly kites and we were able to see where the first flight took place.
Then we went to the beach in the outer banks. We saw dolphins, jellyfish and a dead stingray that had a big chomp taken out of it.
We took our bikes with us to the beach so we could cruise and that was fun! Tanner is big enough now to keep up with us if we don't go too fast. We are in a new stage of life being stroller free and having all the kids doing what we are doing. I love being able to do so much more as a family now!
Grandpa Fowler heard that my boys were starting to wear normal size ties to church so he went through his tie collection and passed on some of his old tie's for the boys to use. They were really excited, I got a picture of all my handsome boys showing off their new ties. Aren't they cute?!
When we got back from the beach, I was called to be the new Relief Society President in out ward. I was rather shocked and overwhelmed with the idea of it all. I didn't sleep for 4 nights straight which is very unusual for me. Once I received personal confirmation that I could handle it and was set apart, I have been completely at peace. It was truly amazing! We have had some busy weeks and a steep learning curve but I am learning to handle it. I have had tons of support from my family and from the sisters in the ward so I feel extremely blessed.
Jeremy and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. Sometimes you just have to make time to hold still and enjoy your family. That week was such a busy week that we ended up cancelling our plans to just stay in with the boys and watched a movie. Nice and quiet.
Jeremy has been super busy. His boss ended up in the ICU and now isn't coming back to work. He has taken on some extra responsibilities because of it but has been looking for a new position in the company so he can round out his experience. He has been doing the same job basically for the last 3 years and needs some change. He has a few promising opportunities so we'll see what happens in the next few months. He is also training for his first triathalon. He will be doing the olympic distance which means he has a .9 mile swim, then 24 mile bike, followed by 6.2 mile run. His work is encouraging their employees to participate in a triathalon on August 7th. Those who participate get some free gear just for participating and work pays the registration fees too. So Jeremy gets to do a triathalon for free and gets a new pair of shoes too. He totally scored on that and is really excited. I know he will do awesome! I'll post pictures after race day.
For the 4th of July we shot off a couple of fireworks but our neighbors around us were shooting off fireworks for about an hour and a half so we had the best fireworks show we could have ever asked for. It was great! We promised Micheal that we would shoot off his model rocket on July 5th because Jeremy had the day off and all the sport fields were empty too.
I finally got some video of it shooting off! Hopefully it will work this time.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Energy Bars
This is my new healthy find. Homemade healthy energy bars. They are so easy to make and they taste REALLY GOOD! You can freeze them for a quick snack on the run but we haven't gotten them to last that long.
Energy Bars by Ellie Krieger (on foodnetwork.com)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 by 13in pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
1 cup of oats (old fashioned or quick oats, it doesn't matter which)
1/2 cup of raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup of whole-wheat pastry flour (I used 3/4 cup of freshly ground whole-wheat flour instead of the wheat germ and pastry flour and that works well)
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of dried dates (dried figs are good too)
1/2 cup of dry milk
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/3 cup of maple syrup (honey or agave also works)
2 large eggs
Place all dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined. It will resemble a coarse paste. Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until just done, about 20 min. Cut into 20 squares. Enjoy!
Energy Bars by Ellie Krieger (on foodnetwork.com)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 by 13in pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
1 cup of oats (old fashioned or quick oats, it doesn't matter which)
1/2 cup of raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup of whole-wheat pastry flour (I used 3/4 cup of freshly ground whole-wheat flour instead of the wheat germ and pastry flour and that works well)
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of dried dates (dried figs are good too)
1/2 cup of dry milk
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/3 cup of maple syrup (honey or agave also works)
2 large eggs
Place all dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined. It will resemble a coarse paste. Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until just done, about 20 min. Cut into 20 squares. Enjoy!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tri-athlete
Micheal was the first in our family to be a triathlete. He did a kids triathalon on Sat. (I say the first because the whole time Jeremy kept saying "I'm jealous!")
Micheal started with a 100 yrd swim. He had to do 4 laps (one way). He hadn't been in a pool since the end of last summer, nor has he had any swimming lessons, so this was his weakest part of the tri. The pool was heated but it was only 74 degrees so it was cold.
Then 2 mile bike. His race started at 7:20pm so it was starting to cool off, there was a cold wind blowing and he was wet. When he finished the bike portion his lips were purple and he was shivering. We gave him a dry shirt so he could continue, but he was struggling because he was so cold. Poor guy!
And last was 3/4 of a mile run.
He was the youngest in his age division (11-12yr olds) so he was at a disadvantage to begin with (there were some serious kid triathletes in his group, they had actual street bikes) but he still tried and he finished! That is the most important part of doing any race, that you don't quit when it gets hard, you keep trying until you cross the finish line. After a race, it is a tradition to reward the racer with a treat so we planned on a trip to Smoothie King, but he decided that he wanted hot chocolate and a warm shower instead. He slept like a rock that night and fell asleep at church too. He gave it everything he had but the cold just zapped him. He said he wants to do another one but only in the summer. We are so proud of him!
Micheal started with a 100 yrd swim. He had to do 4 laps (one way). He hadn't been in a pool since the end of last summer, nor has he had any swimming lessons, so this was his weakest part of the tri. The pool was heated but it was only 74 degrees so it was cold.
Then 2 mile bike. His race started at 7:20pm so it was starting to cool off, there was a cold wind blowing and he was wet. When he finished the bike portion his lips were purple and he was shivering. We gave him a dry shirt so he could continue, but he was struggling because he was so cold. Poor guy!
And last was 3/4 of a mile run.
He was the youngest in his age division (11-12yr olds) so he was at a disadvantage to begin with (there were some serious kid triathletes in his group, they had actual street bikes) but he still tried and he finished! That is the most important part of doing any race, that you don't quit when it gets hard, you keep trying until you cross the finish line. After a race, it is a tradition to reward the racer with a treat so we planned on a trip to Smoothie King, but he decided that he wanted hot chocolate and a warm shower instead. He slept like a rock that night and fell asleep at church too. He gave it everything he had but the cold just zapped him. He said he wants to do another one but only in the summer. We are so proud of him!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Hullabaloo
I can't believe it has been so long since the last post. We have been pretty busy living life. Here is a quick recap of the last 2 months.
I celebrated my 31st birthday. I made some healthy fudgy brownies and topped it with pudding. Our home teachers showed up unexpectedly with store made cupcakes that had 3lbs. of frosting on top (yes, I weighed it after I scraped it off) and a couple of gifts to make me feel like a princess, they thought I was out numbered or something:).
Micheal turned 11! He is getting so grown up. Scary but exciting too.
Micheal had a homemade carrot cake with vanilla pudding.
He got a model rocket for his birthday. We set it off one morning and I have it on video but.. I recorded it with the camera turned so the video is sideways. I'll get it next time.
Clayton had his birthday a week later. Clayton chose to have a hot fudge pudding cake with ice cream.
Then we had the pinewood derby. Clayton's car was a hammerhead shark.
Micheal's was a tank. Jeremy had to hollow out the inside of the car to make it's weight legal for the derby.
Notice that Tanner had to be accounted for so he added his "Mack" to the picture.
Fun times!
I celebrated my 31st birthday. I made some healthy fudgy brownies and topped it with pudding. Our home teachers showed up unexpectedly with store made cupcakes that had 3lbs. of frosting on top (yes, I weighed it after I scraped it off) and a couple of gifts to make me feel like a princess, they thought I was out numbered or something:).
Micheal turned 11! He is getting so grown up. Scary but exciting too.
Micheal had a homemade carrot cake with vanilla pudding.
He got a model rocket for his birthday. We set it off one morning and I have it on video but.. I recorded it with the camera turned so the video is sideways. I'll get it next time.
Clayton had his birthday a week later. Clayton chose to have a hot fudge pudding cake with ice cream.
Then we had the pinewood derby. Clayton's car was a hammerhead shark.
Micheal's was a tank. Jeremy had to hollow out the inside of the car to make it's weight legal for the derby.
Notice that Tanner had to be accounted for so he added his "Mack" to the picture.
Fun times!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Let it Snow!
We are really blessed to live somewhere where it snows but only a couple of times each winter. Just enough to still like it. This past weekend we had 5" of frozen precipitation fall, some snow then some sleet then more snow.
It didn't pack well for snowballs or snowmen so we picked up chunks and were throwing them at each other.
We had to make it a rule that we threw it at each others backs or we had to be prepared to catch it so you didn't have the breath knocked out of you.
Tanner was convinced that it was a big snowcone so he just ate it.
Micheal and Clayton realized that if you threw a snowblock and someone tried to block it, the icy block would explode all over the victim.
I happened to be the victim once, and boy was that a cold awakening, like having someone throw snow right in your face. It was fun though! Especially when I got them back:)!
Then Saturday night it got down to 13 degrees and all the roads were a solid sheet of ice so the Stake cancelled church to protect us. So we took the opportunity to make a big pot of Gumbo and then finished it off with some King Cake. That was the perfect meal for a cold day in the snow.
It didn't pack well for snowballs or snowmen so we picked up chunks and were throwing them at each other.
We had to make it a rule that we threw it at each others backs or we had to be prepared to catch it so you didn't have the breath knocked out of you.
Tanner was convinced that it was a big snowcone so he just ate it.
Micheal and Clayton realized that if you threw a snowblock and someone tried to block it, the icy block would explode all over the victim.
I happened to be the victim once, and boy was that a cold awakening, like having someone throw snow right in your face. It was fun though! Especially when I got them back:)!
Then Saturday night it got down to 13 degrees and all the roads were a solid sheet of ice so the Stake cancelled church to protect us. So we took the opportunity to make a big pot of Gumbo and then finished it off with some King Cake. That was the perfect meal for a cold day in the snow.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Christmas in Arizona
We went to Arizona for Christmas and had a blast! We saw all 11 of our cousins/nieces or nephews (including our boys that is a total of 14) and played with all of them. The boys got to meet 3 new cousins this visit, one of which (Elise, Jason's little girl) was only a month old when we got there.
Jason arranged for all the kids to go to a fire station on Christmas Eve for a tour. The firefighters were so kind to spend an hour and a half showing the kids everything and answering questions. They let the kids climb all over the ladder truck, try on equipment, opened up every box on the truck, and even showed them all the gear they had to wear. It was funny to watch some of the little kids get a little worried when a firefighter came out all geared up, but when he took off all of the gear they weren't afraid anymore. It was a great day, one that all of us will remember that we were together to experience. I'm not sure if the kids had more fun or the adults...hmmm...it's a toss up!
We were able to carry on Chapman tradition of doing a LIVE Nativity. All the kids were dressed up to play the parts. It was really cute to see them all together. We even had some impromptu "sheep" that were allowed to disrupt (Rylie and Paxton), they were very fun to watch crawl around.
Diana went through the temple for the first time on Dec 26th and that was an incredible experience. For me, it is always a very special experience to go through with family since I live so far away from all family but to go through with Diana was AWESOME!
Mom wanted to get some family pictures taken since it had been 4 years since our last one and the number of grandkids doubled. We did that on the temple grounds and most of us thought we were smart and only packed short sleeve shirts for Arizona weather. It ended up being 43 degrees while we took the pictures. Some of us froze! But it was all good.
My mom, sisters and I, except for Sarah, went out to "surprise" Mark. He actually lives in Surprise, AZ which makes that funny. Anyway, he wasn't able to make it out due to his work schedule so we went to see him. He was very shocked when we jumped out at him, he totally didn't have a clue we were there. He thought for sure that I wasn't going to get to see him and I couldn't have that! We didn't have much time to visit but it was better than not seeing him.
I had lots of late night chats with my sisters, which I love to do. I value my sleep but I'll stay up late just to spend time with them. It is always worth it!
Monday night we went to Nate's for a bonfire as our last get together. We played as long as we could before we had to say our see ya laters. That is always the hard part. I cried more in Arizona than I had in almost an entire year. I just don't cry, it gives me a headache. Then we went to see Jason, he was on call so he showed us around the ambulance. He even cut a penny to show my boys how strong their special scissors are. As Micheal put it, "Cool!"
Lots of fun memories! I had so many pictures to share I had to do a slide show.
Enjoy!
Jason arranged for all the kids to go to a fire station on Christmas Eve for a tour. The firefighters were so kind to spend an hour and a half showing the kids everything and answering questions. They let the kids climb all over the ladder truck, try on equipment, opened up every box on the truck, and even showed them all the gear they had to wear. It was funny to watch some of the little kids get a little worried when a firefighter came out all geared up, but when he took off all of the gear they weren't afraid anymore. It was a great day, one that all of us will remember that we were together to experience. I'm not sure if the kids had more fun or the adults...hmmm...it's a toss up!
We were able to carry on Chapman tradition of doing a LIVE Nativity. All the kids were dressed up to play the parts. It was really cute to see them all together. We even had some impromptu "sheep" that were allowed to disrupt (Rylie and Paxton), they were very fun to watch crawl around.
Diana went through the temple for the first time on Dec 26th and that was an incredible experience. For me, it is always a very special experience to go through with family since I live so far away from all family but to go through with Diana was AWESOME!
Mom wanted to get some family pictures taken since it had been 4 years since our last one and the number of grandkids doubled. We did that on the temple grounds and most of us thought we were smart and only packed short sleeve shirts for Arizona weather. It ended up being 43 degrees while we took the pictures. Some of us froze! But it was all good.
My mom, sisters and I, except for Sarah, went out to "surprise" Mark. He actually lives in Surprise, AZ which makes that funny. Anyway, he wasn't able to make it out due to his work schedule so we went to see him. He was very shocked when we jumped out at him, he totally didn't have a clue we were there. He thought for sure that I wasn't going to get to see him and I couldn't have that! We didn't have much time to visit but it was better than not seeing him.
I had lots of late night chats with my sisters, which I love to do. I value my sleep but I'll stay up late just to spend time with them. It is always worth it!
Monday night we went to Nate's for a bonfire as our last get together. We played as long as we could before we had to say our see ya laters. That is always the hard part. I cried more in Arizona than I had in almost an entire year. I just don't cry, it gives me a headache. Then we went to see Jason, he was on call so he showed us around the ambulance. He even cut a penny to show my boys how strong their special scissors are. As Micheal put it, "Cool!"
Lots of fun memories! I had so many pictures to share I had to do a slide show.
Enjoy!
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