I also just wanted to post these pictures I took on Saturday of Ian and I working in the den. Before we could start the second coat of mud we had to sand down the first coat so that it was smoother. It was a dust mess!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Swing Set!
I also just wanted to post these pictures I took on Saturday of Ian and I working in the den. Before we could start the second coat of mud we had to sand down the first coat so that it was smoother. It was a dust mess!
Monday, June 28, 2010
The Pool
I mentioned in my last post that we got our pass to the local recreation center on Saturday. It includes unlimited use of the pools. And the pools are really cool. This year is the best so far for taking the kids. They are both fairly independent. Especially Weston. Today he climbed all over the play structures (one of which is shown in the above photo) and did all the slides by himself. I stayed with Davin in the zero entry area and kept an eye on Weston from there. Davin's favorite is the splash pad on the right side of the photo. We set up our chairs under the giant blue and white striped umbrella and took a water/fruit snack break there. Today we had friends join us for the first hour of pool time. After they left we randomly met up with some other friends from Weston's swimming lesson class. We ended up staying at the pool for 2 1/2 hours today. It was so fun! I love the warm weather and being at the pool! I'm debating about going again tomorrow when the temps are supposed to be almost 100. We'll see. I am just so glad that we got a pass so we can go as much as we want!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Visits, Farms, Parades, and More!
On Wednesday our sister-in-law Emilee and baby Ivy flew into town. Their primary purpose was to spend some quality time with Emilee's family in Provo, but we picked them up from the airport in the morning then got to spend the afternoon visiting until Emilee's sister came to pick them up and take them to Provo.
We went straight from the airport to pick up Ian and go to lunch. We ended up at In N Out. It was a warm, breezy day, so we ate outside. The boys got hats and ran around and goofed off with french fries.

Davin and Ivy bonded while watching some Sesame Street.
During Davin's nap Ivy cuddled with her mommy for a little nap, so Weston and I went in his room and did some puzzles. Weston can do every single one of these puzzles all by himself. I only helped a little because otherwise I was bored. He is also very into taking pictures. Every day during Davin's nap he asks if he can take some pictures. His action figures are most frequent subjects, but occasionally he does a self portrait or two.Thursday was Davin's ear tube surgery follow up appointment. The office is downtown, so it's a bit of a drive. The ENT pronounced his ears perfect and the whole appointment only took about 3 minutes. I decided we may as well do something fun while we were downtown, so we drove over to the Gateway and I let the kids play in the fountain again.
Friday I was in a crappy mood. Ian had stayed at work Thursday to work late on this same project. Usually I wake up at some point in the middle of the night to pee and discover he is home. Friday morning I woke up at 6:30 with Davin and Ian wasn't home. I fully expected him to work until about 10ish tying up loose ends then come home and sleep. Nope. He ended up working a full day. Boo.
In the meantime I dragged the kids to free lunch at the park just to get out of the house. It was hot. Like my car said it was 100. The actual high was 97 I think, but still. And it was windy. This did not improve my mood. We didn't stay long. We came home and I put the kids down for naps. Weston didn't go to sleep, of course, but I needed the quiet time.
When everyone woke up we headed to Thanksgiving Point to meet up with some friends. It was still hot, but the kids had a blast playing with the indoor exhibits and having pony rides.
When we got home from the parade Ian was finally home and in bed. Luckily he finished the project, got positive feedback from the client, and has been home enjoying the weekend with us. Yesterday we got the second coat of mud done in the den. It went a lot faster than the first coat. And lucky for us it wasn't quite as hot as it was Friday. When we finished working we ate dinner then we all went to the pool for the first time this summer. It was fabulous. It felt so good to lounge out in the sun. Weston was a fish. He went on all the slides by himself and did not want to leave. Good thing we got a pass because I have a feeling he is going to want to go to the pool every day. :)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Happy Father's Day!
Last week Ian took on a rush project at work, so he worked a lot. He ended up working until about 3am Friday night, but we went and had dinner with him at the park and played. Saturday we lost a day on the den since Ian had to go back to the office. In the late afternoon the boys and I took a pizza to his work and ate dinner with him then kidnapped him to see Toy Story 3. It was so great! We all loved it. Both the boys sat in their seats enthralled the whole time. The last 15 minutes made me cry. I highly recommend you take your kids and see it!
We had to take Daddy back to work after the movie, but he got to be home with us all day Sunday. We cooked him eggs and toast for breakfast then let him open his presents. The kids get so excited when there are presents involved for anyone. I let Weston pick out a present for Dad this year and he couldn't wait to watch Dad open his new wallet.
This morning I had a doctor's appointment. I finally got to hear this baby's heartbeat! I always like that. I also got to schedule the 20 week ultrasound. That's always exciting. It's not until next month though, so still a bit of a wait. I'm pretty positive this baby is another boy, but I guess we will know for sure soon enough.
I am doing some Monday cleaning and laundry. It seems like the house is always a wreck by the end of the weekend. Today I actually worked up the motivation to mop the kitchen. It was getting really bad. The motivation probably came at least in part by the fact that my sister in law, Emilee and baby Ivy are coming to visit us on Wednesday. But having the kitchen floor clean makes me feel better about my life in general.
Last but not least I had to post this silly picture of Weston wearing his "bath suit." He is such a goof! Davin tried to put on the same things, but he couldn't manage to keep them on long enough for a picture.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Summer Reading
Last week I ordered a bunch of Roald Dahl paperbacks for Weston and I to start reading. They were on clearance HERE for $1.77 each. When they came Weston was so excited. He put them in the order that he wanted to read them. We started Charlie and the Chocolate Factory first. We have read at least a chapter or two before nap and bed every day since. It is so fun! I love reading a more epic tale. Weston really seems to enjoy the books and remembers what has been happening. Next up on our Roald Dahl reading list is James and the Giant Peach. Then The BFG, and finally The Witches. I might have to save that one for a few years though. I recall it being a little scary.
As for myself . . . I have been reading Suzanne Collins' Underland Chronicles. They are fun, quick, imaginative reads. I think I only have one left after I finish the current one I'm reading. It always makes me laugh that the adult summer reading program through our city only requires you to read 4 books the whole summer. I'm pretty much done with the entire program already. :) I need something to read when I finish the Underland books, so . . .
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Fun in (and out of) the Sun
Last night Ian took the boys to a magic show at the library while I went to a Relief Society activity/dinner. It was nice to get a little break. Ian took on a rush project at work, so he ended up going back to the office after the magic show and he will be working late tonight, but I'm crossing my fingers that the resulting bonus will get us new carpet in the den. We'll see.
I started watching Pride and Prejudice yesterday. It makes me happy. What doesn't make me happy are creepy pregnancy dreams. I had a bizarre and very vivid dream last night. Lets just say in it I had twins (a boy and a girl) and I had them now (at 15 weeks). The rest of the details are even more weird. Also I am tired today. I have finally given up trying to sleep on my stomach. I just don't sleep well on my side though. On the plus side I am feeling much better in this stage of pregnancy and finally have a little more energy. I'm looking forward to a busy, but fun Father's Day weekend!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Lucky
Today I won the Dinners on a Dime cookbook from HERE. I am super excited to try some of their cheap and easy recipes. I even had one of my own recipes featured on the Savings and Stewardship blog HERE. It's one of my most favorite cheap and easy dinners.
I also won this super adorable monster hoodie from HERE. I decided to get it in Weston's size so that Davin can grow into it and they can both benefit. Isn't it fun? This Etsy shop has some seriously cute boy clothes. Check it out!
I sure love winning free stuff! If you want to try your own luck and enter a few giveaways just click on the Blog Giveaways button on my sidebar. Happy Monday!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Weekend Update with the Bowles
1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (you can use a rotisserie chicken)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 quart half and half
1 14 ounce can chicken broth
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
1 cup onion, finely diced
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon parsley
Freshly grated parmesan cheese – optional
1 pound potato gnocchi – can buy this in the gourmet section of many supermarkets
Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter, when the onion becomes translucent, add the flour, and make a roux, let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half.
Cook gnocchi according to package directions.
Into the roux add in the carrots, celery, and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasonings.
MY NOTES about this recipe:
I made this recipe exactly as written. Next time I will add some salt and pepper at the end before letting it simmer for a little bit. I will also make sure I have some fresh grated parmesan cheese on hand to top it with. We used some parmesan from the shaker in the fridge and it was good, but fresh would be better. Also the soup was almost better second day. The gnocchi was a little softer. You could add more chicken if you wanted, but it was pretty thick and hearty as is. Also, when you're looking for the potato gnocchi it will be with the dry pastas. I had to go to 2 grocery stores to find it, so you could call ahead to see if yours carries pre-made potato gnocchi.
So, it wasn't quite Olive Garden, but it was definitely yummy and I will be saving the recipe to make again in the Fall.
Saturday morning we kind of slept in, which was nice. Around 9 we finally got going on the den. We spent the entire day mudding. The kids were really good about staying out of the den and keeping themselves entertained. They did watch a couple movies though. Oh well. We got all of the first coat of mudding done. It is really starting to look like a room! We still have another coat of mud to do, then mud texturing, then painting, and molding. The goal is to have it all finished by the end of June when Ian's family will be visiting us.
Here's how the room looked by the end of the day.
Saturday night after Ian and I finally showered and we had all eaten dinner we took the kids to play at Arctic Circle. They had been cooped up all day so they had an extra good time running around and playing on the playplace. We came home, put the kids to bed, and curled up to watch New Moon. It was kind of fun watching it again. We were so tired though and I barely managed to stay awake through the whole thing.
Today it is still chilly so I decided to dress the boys in their "suits" for church. In the summer it's just too hot to be wearing so many clothes, but they like getting all dressed up. Aren't they handsome (and goofy)?!?
Friday, June 11, 2010
This Week . . .
-Weston finished swimming lessons and was sad they are over. He didn't pass Tot 2, but I am so proud of him because he had such a good attitude, put his whole face in the water several times, and made a new friend.
-I didn't get the kitchen floor swept. Probably because I was here.
-I took both kids to a movie by myself and didn't have to take anyone out.
-I read Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (Book #2 in the Underland Chronicles) by Suzanne Collins. Even though this series is more geared towards tween/teen boys I really think they are fun books.
-I baked chocolate chip cookies. They turned out flat for some reason. But the dough tasted great!
-Ian finished all the drywall in the den! This weekend we start mudding. If you are in the area and need a service project on Saturday we would welcome the help. :)
-I bought popsicles. It is officially popsicle season. Hooray!
-I bought printer ink. It cost $50. Are you kidding me?!? Have any of you used the ink refill service at Walgreens? Is it cheaper?
-My mommy celebrated her __nd birthday! I'm not sure how she feels about me announcing her age on my blog, so I'll let you guess. I wasn't there, but I think she had a great birthday. I thought about her all day and waited to call because I knew she was busy with assemblies most of the day. Then I forgot to call. Until about 8:30pm. Luckily Weston was still awake and sang to her with me. Happy Birthday Mom!
-The kids played outside for hours with their Buzz Lightyear squirt guns. They mostly tried to wash all the sidewalk chalk off the walls of the house and didn't spend too much time shooting at each other.
-Ian hung the hammock.
-Weston took this picture and wanted me to put it on the blog.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Musings
Despite my narrow window of comfort (Ian teases me that I'm only happy when it's between 70 and 73 degrees) I am prepared for summer. I went shopping for some maternity clothes last night. I have finally gotten to the point where none of my jeans fit. I have never needed maternity clothes in the summer since I've tried to plan it so I'm never pregnant in the heat, so I definitely needed a few pairs of capris and some more short sleeve tops.
I started at Old Navy since my favorite maternity jeans are from there, but alas they had very little and most of it was not that cute anyway. Next I decided to check Kohl's. I hit the motherload there. They had a ton! And it was all on sale or clearance. I felt a little guilty shopping at Kohl's without any coupons, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and buy stuff you need. I ended up getting 2 pairs of denim capris, a smocked cotton dress, and 2 long sleeved tops for Fall/Winter. I spent about $75. I thought that wasn't too bad. Certainly less expensive than shopping at Motherhood.
I'm 14 weeks now and finally feeling less nauseous all the time. Hooray! I still haven't gained any weight. Also hooray! But I look pregnant. How does the weight migrate like that? I'm looking forward to getting some energy back soon too.
Weston is doing fabulous with swimming lessons! Yesterday he put his whole head under the water a few times. He still came up kind of spluttering and wiping his eyes and ears, but there was no crying and I'm hoping he's starting to get used to the idea of putting his face in the water.
I was really excited to find out a few weeks ago that the Cinemark theater near us was doing summer kid movies! They had a deal where you could get a pass for all 10 movies they are showing this summer for $5 per person or $1/person/show. I decided to just pay for the ones we go to since I'm not sure we will go to more than 5 movies. Weston is especially excited about getting to see movies at the theater. Today is the first one. It's Alvin and the Chipmunks. I hope Davin doesn't get too restless. I will be sure to bring him some popcorn. If you live in the area and want to join me one of these weeks let me know!
I think I'm due for a haircut. When my hair ends up in a ponytail by lunch every day that usually means it's time. I'm debating about putting blonde highlights in for the summer. Any thoughts?
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Davin's Ears, among other things.
Bright and early Thursday morning I woke up Davin and took him to the ENT Surgery Center to get his ear tubes placed. He was so adorably cute all morning and was very happy and compliant while they did all the prep on him.Last night we all went to the park after dinner. It was such a nice night. It feels so good to be able to enjoy the long, warm nights. After playing at the park for awhile we drove over to Cold Stone at Jordan Landing. They had a band playing in the middle of the shops, so we got our ice cream and then sat outside to eat it. The kids were so funny dancing and running around and giving high fives to all the other people listening to the band. We just had a really fun night. By the time we got home it was bedtime. Perfect!
Today Ian has some help getting some more drywall up in the den. Tonight is the Elders Quorum BBQ, so that should be fun too. Hooray for weekends and nice weather!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Memorial Day Weekend
When we got to Logan we went to my cousin, Larissa's, wedding reception. It was raining on and off, so we mostly stayed inside. It was fun to see her as a bride and meet her handsome husband, but I didn't get to visit with as much extended family as I was hoping to (where were you Jill?!?). After the reception we headed out to drive the rest of the way to Rexburg to spend the weekend with Mel and Brad. We got there around 10pm. The kids stayed awake the whole time. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player.
That night we visited for a little bit before we set up beds and got some sleep. Saturday was rainy and cold. We decided to go up to campus in the morning just to get out of the house for a little bit. BYUI was pretty deserted and all the fun displays in the buildings were closed, but it was still fun to go check out where Mel and Brad spend their time. The kids were supposed to take awesome naps that afternoon, but Weston was not cooperating. Davin took a short nap, but woke up kind of grouchy.
It finally stopped raining for a little bit, so the kids got to play outside for a few minutes before we all went to see How To Train Your Dragon at the cheap theater. It was such a fun movie! We all loved it. Davin was riveted and didn't really even get restless the whole time. Weston fell asleep towards the end. I told him he needed a nap, but 4 year olds don't listen to Mom. Oh well.
We ran to a couple stores after the movie trying to find The Matrix. Brad had never seen it and Ian wanted to watch it with him. He finally found a combo pack of all three Matrix movies plus the Animatrix movie all for $10. Not bad. We grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner. It was super yummy. Luckily the kids went to bed early and we watched our movie.
Sunday we all went to church. Weston loved visiting a new ward and making new friends. Davin seemed to do great in nursery. I even had to wait a few minutes for him to be ready to leave when I went to pick him up. I sure do envy anyone who lives in a ward with lots of young families. Sigh.
That afternoon we all napped and watched movies. Mel and I took the boys on a walk around her complex to see the horses in the field and get some fresh air. It was windy and cold, but not really raining. Mel made me meatloaf and giant baked potatoes for dinner. It was so incredibly delicious! Thanks Mel!
Monday we planned on going to the zoo in Idaho Falls. Brad wasn't feeling good and didn't end up coming with us. We missed him, but we had a blast at the zoo! I am lame and didn't get my camera out of my bag until Monday, but I have lots of pictures from our zoo outing!
All ready to see some animals!!!
It's good to be back and play some catch up with laundry and getting the house in order. We have no food and I desperately need to meal plan and grocery shop. That's next on the list of things to do. But first, I have to mention that Weston started swimming lessons this morning. He was complaining about it when I mentioned that he was starting this week. He kept saying how he didn't like how all the other kids splashed him in the face and he didn't like going under water. Well, he did just fine. He has a sweet teacher and a small class. He had a lot of fun today, so I'm hoping that bodes well for the rest of the 2 weeks of classes. Davin was very disappointed that he didn't get to swim. He kept trying to take off his shirt and shoes. Poor kid.