7 foods you should eat daily plus some protein

Spinach, tomatoes, walnuts, blueberries, carrots, oats, yogurt

A few old pics I acquired on FB

My Great Grandmother Chase is the woman on the left.

my mom, must be an old school pic

center in my Uncle Wilburn and his mom, my Granny,

when he got his eagle

my grandfather Richard C Fowler when he was young

my grandfather Richard C Fowler when he was older (my mom's dad), she is the little girl in the bottom right. Wilburn, Granny, Frances, Georgie, Richard Sr, Lessie, Richard Jr.

I am trying to work on my family history. It's kind of hard because it's either overwhelming or underwhelming if you get what I mean. Either I sit at the computer for hours or not at all. I've got to make a to do list and just spend a few minutes each day or so working on the list. It can't be finished anyway. The biggest lesson to me though is to keep good records of your family now so that future generations will have it. It's hard to go back very far in some of my lines. In the Civil War era and before, the census records were not detailed. There is so much that would be so interesting to learn about them if only it had been written and handed down. My relatives were not very good about keeping in touch with those still living much less passing on information about those who had passed. My great grandmother's grave is not marked (actually I think it may be his first wife who was also named Martha). I would like to have a marker put on it. I need to look into that. I don't know much about that part of my family (Fowlers). My mother's father was old and died when she was only 9. The few memories she and my grandmother shared about him were all very bad. I had kind of written him off in my mind, didn't really consider him family. I now feel bad about that. We are all children of God and deserve the same opportunities to be blessed and his ancestors may be waiting for the blessings even if he is not. I don't know anything about them. Maybe I will learn something about them as I research. I think a lady from my ward back in AL is also related to that line. My uncle posted a picture of my grandfather on FB that I had not seen before. I had only seen pics of him as an older man. Facebook has been a great tool for keeping in touch with relatives and even finding ones I had not met before.

Last Sunday Avery walked home from church by himself and without permission. We were at church looking for him. Then we figured he must have walked so we drove home and found him just about to cross the street to our house. I stopped and made him get in and put him in time out once we got in the house and I lectured him about how that's not safe and he has to walk home with his parents. He then told me that bad guys are not real, just pretend. We assured him that they are real and I thought maybe I should be letting my kids watch the news. A few days later Melanie told me that he stopped by her house on his way home from church. She said he knocked on the door and when she and Kenz opened it Avery said that he wanted to meet her dad and that he walked on in and shook Chris's hand and then left. I'm not sure what strange ideas might be going through that silly boy's head. Today I went to find him when church was over and he had papers he had drawn on and he showed me a big red X across the back of the paper. He said that it meant that he would never walk home without a grown up again. I am glad he remembered.

Cory is going to Hong Kong for a couple of months for work this spring. Let's all pray I don't have a breakdown. hee hee... It makes me feel like vomiting when I think about it. I just have to not worry and know it will be fine and take it one day at a time and plan fun things so I will look forward to it instead. I am so grateful for skype. Me and the kids are flying to AL to visit my family for two weeks over our spring break and the week after which is spring break there. We will likely go to the beach for a few days. It will be fun and give me at least a slight distraction to help pass the time while Cory is away. I don't feel bad for pulling the kids out of school for a week. They never miss a day otherwise because they don't really get sick. Maybe the teachers will be glad to have a break from them. ha!

We are heading down to San Diego in two weeks. I don't think the kids will believe it until we go since we have put it off a few times. I hope it's sunny and warm. You would think that mid February would not be a busy time there but there is a physicians conference that week so a room for 6 was kind of hard to find and the price was hiked up. Oh well. It will be worth it right?! At least the parks shouldn't be crowded.

I wonder if my friends that live in Cairo are leaving. I would think so. I saw on the news that those working for the embassy that want to leave are heading out to safe havens in Europe tomorrow. I don't think they would even let them stay though. Of course I have no idea what it's like in the area they live in. Too bad. They like it there. It's very... interesting. Maybe they will get a nice European vacation out of all this. We don't know their status since the government shut down the internet and texting there. Crazy!

We discovered that the other ward that meets in our building has a missionary in Hong Kong right now. We'll have to tell his parents that Cory is headed over there.

Yesterday we went to the Ogden Winterfest. It wasn't as neat as it sounded. They haul in a bunch of snow and shut down the roads downtown to let the kids sled and have snowmobile and horse races. The snow is yucky old parking lot snow so it's more like sand. The kids went down the hill a few times then we went and ate lunch at the Athenian. It was OK but I really like the Greek Garden at the mall. I like the stereotypical Greek family that runs it and love the food. The kids do not appreciate Greek food. I love it. After that we came home and I went to help Carrie move into her new house. It's nice. They are so tired though. Moving is not fun. Building a home can be so stressful and it really has been for them. It's hard to appreciate now but once they are settled and have lived there for a while I think they will love it. It just may be a bit because now they will have to get a yard in... Home ownership always has chores for you. I'd like to paint my ceilings white and put up white crown molding. Well, I mean I'd like it done but don't feel like doing it so it will not get done until I want it bad enough to do it myself.

I am loving to eat the red grapefruit I bought at costco. I've never cared for grapefruit before but this is not bitter. Yummy.

ski utah

best ski day ever. cory says park city mtn resort is very nice.

beautiful day too.

Cory and his dad skied from about 10-4:30 yesterday.

Afterwards they stopped at the Columbia outlet and Cory bought a new jacket to replace the one he forgot in MD.

Lidia learning the other day at Wolf Mtn

Aiden learning.

They are getting it, just need more practice.

HappySad

My friend Melanie had her baby last week. She had a little girl, Alexis, weighing 6lbs 2 oz. I went to see them at the hospital. She is so cute and small. They are now home and well.

Brother Kevin Flint, who was our cub master, passed away Saturday night of a massive heart attack while in the ambulance en route to the hospital. He was at his grandson's soccer game. It's so sad.

Brother Lee got married this week. I am happy that he is not living alone anymore. I've felt bad for him since his wife passed.

I am taking Aiden and Avery in for consultation and referral for testing next week. I don't care what they may or may not get labelled with but it seems that if there is an issue I need to know and have documentation. School is so much easier to navigate if you have an IEP. It has made a difference with Lidia having one this year. Her needs are documented and the school gives her the services she needs without me having to force them into it or coming up with all the answers myself. With Aiden it's a guessing game every year to figure out how he is going to thrive in the new surroundings. Perhaps some professional advice will make that easier. Avery has some behavior issues that we are trying to figure out. I think I have avoided any kind of evaluation because I didn't want someone to say there was something wrong with my kids. That is true still, I don't see anything wrong with them. They are wonderfully unique. I would never want to change that. I'm not looking for a prescription. They don't need that. What I'm looking for is more understanding of the way their minds work so that I and their teachers can help them succeed. Avery will probably enjoy this process. He loves people. Aiden will likely worry. I'll have to convince him that it's a good thing.

I won two all day lift passes to Park City Mountain resort for tomorrow on KSL 102.5 fm. They are $90 each if you buy them. The radio station will be there tomorrow so they gave away 102 prizes. I don't ski but Cory does. Thanks to my neighbor Suzy for telling me about it. I think his dad is coming down to go with him. The kids are still learning and they have school so this ski day is not for them. KSL has these ski days 4 times a year. I must remember to enter next year too.

I am beginning to tire of the cold dreary weather. The cold and snow are bearable on the sunny days. It's not sunny today though. I think I'll go soak in a hot bath. We may go to San Diego next month, the kids have a few days off around President's Day. Surely it's warmer there.=)

my thoughts today

Cory came home late Thursday night. We are very happy to have him back. He was not happy when he got home however. He forgot his favorite jacket in the rental car. He has tried to call several times and never gets through, always a recording. He sent them an email. We'll see if that gets through. I'm not sure what the norm is at rental car companies with things they find left in the car. Do the employees just keep it? I wouldn't be surprised. Luckily it wasn't very expensive because we bought it at the Columbia outlet in Park City but he really liked it and is very bummed about it. Today Cory and Aiden are skiing. Cory had to wear his old jacket. They are going to Wolf Mountain which is a small place up Ogden Canyon. It should be good for a beginner I think. We'll see how they like it. It's less expensive since it's small and gets less snow because it's at a lower elevation. Skiing is a very expensive hobby.

Friday morning Avery woke up early for some unknown reason. We usually get up after the alarms start buzzing at 7. He was up a bit before 6 and decided everyone else should be up too. He is usually the last up. He turned on all of the lights in the house and was calling everyone to wake up because he was up. It was so funny. Then he came in my room and saw that Cory was home and gave him a big hug and a kiss and a back rub while telling him he had missed him. Avery and Cory went down stairs and Avery set the table for everyone to have breakfast. He was so cute and full of energy. Then we asked him to get a bath and he ran downstairs saying no he didn't want to get wet and that he took baths only at night. We went downstairs to get him and we couldn't find him. We all start looking at I finally found him hiding under the desk. Silly boy. We decided not to push it and just let him go to school without a bath.

It looks like Cory will be going back to Hong Kong. We don't know exact dates yet but likely before summer because he has requested a class in Hawaii over the summer. He applied to go back to HK because you can save a good bit of money if you live frugally while there. It was my idea for him to look into it. Now it looks like it will happen. I may hate myself for it while he is away for what will likely be a month or more. Well I hope the summer class in Hawaii works out because me and the kids will go too and have a nice time. We just never know for sure about any travel until a month or two before so I have to just wait patiently and have tentative plans as well as alternate plans.

Last night Cory and I went to see The King's Speech. It was so good. I'd like to watch it again. It's a great story and true at that. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter are wonderful in it. It's one of those rated R movies that are really PG with a stupid rating system. There is nothing bad in the movie at all. When he is in therapy he has a rant of curse words as a way to relieve stress. The therapist asks him if he knows any bad words and he says bloody or something and he asks him if he knows the F word and he says fornication? and then he says the real f word over and over. It's actually quite funny. The words are not directed at anyone, it's like he's just saying a list of bad words. Anyway, it's a really good movie. I'd let my older kids who already know those words and know not to say them watch it if they wanted to. It's a kind loving humble story. You should go see it and I hope it wins Oscars instead of the trash filled Black Swan which I will never watch. Just reading about what's in it online disgusts me.

Yesterday Cory and I met with our insurance agent because we need more life insurance on Cory. The policy we got when first married is not enough to even come close to paying off the house. We also discussed financial planning and retirement and such. We are doing pretty good luckily. We don't want to be wealthy, just comfortable. The agent laughed and was surprised when I said I don't want to be rich. The more you have, the more there is to worry about. Of course if you are poor there is a lot to worry about too. I just want to be in the less worrisome middle class. I also don't want to die with a ton of money in the bank, we should enjoy it while here, not pass it down to our kids. Let them earn their own like we do. Like anything else, it's all a balancing act. I hope and pray we will not ever need the life insurance. It is my wish to grow old with my spouse and go to our Father's presence together.

Report cards come home this week. Last week was the end of 2nd term. Lidia is doing better in school. Her IEP and services are helping and I think she is acting more mature about school in general. Aiden and Tristan are getting better about turning in assignments but still have a lot of bad grades. I think they just don't try their best on tests or were not paying close attention in class and miss a lot. I try not to stress if they come home with some bad grades. They need to take responsibility for their grades. I can not learn for them. I can not even tell them what it is that they should have learned in class. I am not there. I know they are smart and are learning something so I try not to worry and just let them suffer the consequences of their actions. Better now than when they are in college. I am trying to just encourage responsibility and doing their best and when they make bad grades I assure them that they can do better. I hope they do. These boys of mine have to grow up and support a family. That's kind of hard to imagine right now. Avery is doing well in school and enjoys school a lot. He will enjoy being there all day next year. He comes home and sits at the table and draws pictures all afternoon. His only issue is getting along with Asha. I'm not sure why they butt heads but they do.

Tuesday the kids were out of school and we decided to go get another parakeet so Bubbles would have a friend. Then Lidia and Aiden decided to put their money together and buy hamsters. They bought the cage, food, bedding and all. They got two robo dwarf hamsters. They are both girls and are so cute. They are the smallest and fastest of hamster breeds. They practically live in the wheel. We have not taken them out of the cage. I am afraid they will get away and we will not be able to catch them. Bubbles has grown to like his new green friend Peeps. At first he pecked at him a bit but now he seems to like him. Cory is working on taming Peeps. So we have a little zoo in the corner of our kitchen with the dog crate in the corner and the bird cage on top of that and the hamster cage of top of that. It's easiest to have it all there with the vacuum nearby to clean up the mess they make. Duke is adjusting. Right now he'd like to eat all of the new friends. He wined a bit the first night. Luckily he is outside a lot during the day. The rabbit is still living in his cage outside. He doesn't like to come out or even be petted much so he is basically a white poop machine.

It's MLK day...

...and we are not up to much. Cory and Aiden were going to go ski today but the prices are hiked up b/c it's a holiday so they will wait until Saturday. It has also warmed up a little and rained a lot so the ski resorts have not gotten much snow this week and all of ours has been washed away. It's nice to see the road again though. We got a good deal on some skis and boots for Aiden, $60 and in good condition. Cory and I did a few things around the house and ran errands. One of the errands was to get ski poles for Aiden, they were $50 but are adjustable so hopefully he can use them for a long time. The kids did a few chores and have been playing and watching cartoons. Tomorrow the kids are out of school and Cory flies to MD for a couple of days for work.

Last Saturday Lidia got to have Shannon come over and spend the day with her. Shannon gave her some pet shop toys for her birthday. They played and we went to lunch and to the pet store and back home and they played more. It's good for Lidia to have a girl to play with. Thanks Shannon!

Papa sent Lidia some Sketchers Twinkle Toes shoes for her birthday and she loves them! I told him to send her a size 5 so they are a little big but she put insoles in them and wears them lots.

Thanks Papa!

Friday I finished Lidia's blanket that I started like a year ago. I'm so bad. If I don't finish something right away, it is a while before I get back to it, if ever.

Saturday we went to the German Winterfest in Ogden after sledding that morning. It was kind of pricey in my opinion but the food and entertainment were good. I liked this local group from Sandy called the Salzberger Echo. They were very fun and played folk music on old alp instruments like alp horns, cow bells, washboard, accordion, mouth harp, etc . There was even a chicken dance contest. We just watched. lol The apple strudel was yummy and rummy. The chocolate raspberry cake was fine. The bavarian cream torte was delicious! The bratwurst was really good. I didn't care for spaetzle. The breads were good as were the apple turnover and meringue cookies. I like the lederhosen and alpine hats. I want some.

Tristan and Aiden are Ooompa Loompas in the elementary school play this spring. They practice after school every Friday. I am getting busy organizing and making costumes. I am kind of excited about making the Willy Wonka costume. I think I will not have the school reimburse me for the supplies and just keep it for my boys after the play is over.

Lidia's 13!

We used the cricut to make stencils with contact paper and etched these mugs.

Lidia and her Littlest Pet Shop collection

Happy Birthday to my sweet daughter, Lidia, today. It's hard to believe that she is 13. Boy how the time flies. Lidia does not care much about clothes, make up, purses, accessories, etc. She just loves animals and loves to collect little animal figures like Littlest Pet Shop, Schleich, Pets in My Pocket, and Calico Critters. So she has a collection of over 200 now. She has been collecting them for years. Lidia has never liked dolls or anything else very much. She also has lots of plush animals. I support the collecting of the figures, they occupy much less space. She still plays with her toys. She doesn't act very teen like and I am glad. She can grow up as slow as she likes.

Lidia doesn't long for possessions the way her brothers sometimes do so she is pleased with anything she gets. She does like to make crafts and such. For her birthday I ordered two cricut cartridges she wants and bought the sure cuts a lot software so you can create your own cuts via the computer without having to buy cartridges. By the way, the cartridges cost 1/4 of full store price on amazon.com. We are figuring all the cricut stuff out. I bought glass mugs and glass etching creme. We are going to etch our names on them.

Yesterday we asked Lidia what she wanted to do to celebrate her birthday and she wanted to go to the Extreme Trampoline at the local family fun center and she wanted to eat at Outback. We did both. Lidia and Aiden were old enough for the extreme trampoline but they got tired and bored of it after about 30 minutes. I kind of had to force them to finish the hour I paid for. It's basically six huge tramps connected and then tramp walls all around at angles so you can jump all over a big trampoline room. Some big guys were being a bit crazy and crashed into people a few times. Tristan and Avery got to do the younger age group bounce pass which included a large trampoline, a bounce castle, and a bounce obstacle course with slides. The younger two had more fun and their pass cost less. Tristan was mad he couldn't go on the extreme trampoline though. If he had I'm sure he would have been back on the little kid stuff in just a few minutes. Outback was yummy as usual, we had not been for a while, pricey with all 6 of us. I told Lidia that it's a good thing that she likes a place that we all like so much. We had an early dinner at 4 but ate so much that none of us ate any more that night. We had a late breakfast and kind of skipped lunch.

Next Saturday Lidia gets to hang out with Shannon. It's rough having a birthday right after Christmas. People are out of town, your birthday presents are under the Christmas tree, it's freezing outside, you're kind of pooped from all the other holidays just celebrated. Well she doesn't complain, that's just what I'm thinking. After church today we had cake, ice cream, soda pop and presents. We won't discuss how the cake just crumbled when I frosted it, we'll just remember that it tasted good even if it wasn't pretty. Avery was right, she needed the one with roses on it from the Target bakery. hee hee. Cory used the bake even strips but didn't wet them so they didn't work and I didn't cut the tops off to make it flat so that's why it crumbled when I stacked up the layers and frosted it. Anyway, I think she enjoyed her birthday today.

We didn't do anything special for New Years. We were home and got the kids to bed and then Cory and I were on the computers when I looked at the time and it was exactly midnight. I told him happy new year and we went back to our computers. How exciting huh? I was on the laptop downloading free fonts to use with the cricut software and he was looking up family history and learned that his McLellan ancestors from Prince Edward Island used to run the lighthouse there. We are working on our family history again. We bought and downloaded Ancestral Quest this weekend and loaded our PAF into it. Now we can load that into the new family search online. We both have a lot of names so we are going to work on perfecting and sourcing the names we have and adding information to it. There are so many duplicates on new family search. I have spent a lot of time merging names that are obviously all the same person and also correcting other people's wrong information.

I will add some pictures to this post tomorrow or sometime this week. I should go to bed and try to get up at 7 tomorrow so I can get the kids to school on time. Can't we just stay home when it's so cold out? We have all been staying up late and not getting up until 9 or after.