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!

Visits, Farms, Parades, and More!

This has been a busy week for the entire Bowles household. Ian spent the whole entire week working. And I do mean the entire week. I think we had him home for a few waking hours, but that's it. He was gone most of our sleeping hours too. Sheesh.

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.
After lunch we went home and relaxed. Weston did a puppet show for us. The main players were Barnacle Bart and Harrison the frog. They are best friends apparently. Davin joined in for the very end.
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.
We had a very nice visit with Emilee and Ivy. I'm so glad that they could spend the day with us.

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 were done we grabbed some dinner and drove over to my friend Jackie's uncle's house. It is right on the Lehi Round Up Days parade route. They had our spot all staked out. It was so much fun! We were in the shade. We had chairs right on the street. The kids had a spot on the curb in front of us. And my boys were in heaven. Lots of the parade floats and cars threw out candy and we ended up with a bag full. Davin was especially enthusiastic about all the floats, bands, cheerleaders, and, of course, the candy. You'd think my kids had never done anything fun in their lives. Here are a couple videos of the kids enjoying the parade. I think we'll have to make this little parade a tradition.

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. :)

Happy Father's Day!

*I just love this picture of my boys so much! It's perfect for 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.

I baked a Father's Day cake, so we had some dessert after breakfast. Yum. By then we had to get going to make it to 12:30 church on time. :) Church was nice. The kids colored a World's Best Dad certificate for Ian. Weston sang in Sacrament meeting with the primary while I played. Our ward was empty, so there were only about 8 kids. They were still cute though. Sunday afternoon Daddy got to hang out in his hammock and talk ipods with his dad. We had grilled steaks, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob for dinner. It was a pretty great day. I sure hope Ian enjoyed it.

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.

Summer Reading

I have decided that Weston is big enough to start reading chapter books with me. We started with our freebie book from the Borders Summer Reading program, Flat Stanley. At first glance Weston said he didn't want that book because it didn't have pictures, but once I explained that's how big boy books are he thought it was cool. We started and finished it that same day. Since then we have gotten two other Flat Stanley adventure books from the library and have finished them both.

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 . . .

What are you reading this summer?

Fun in (and out of) the Sun

Our weather continues to be bipolar, but on Tuesday it was gorgeous and warm. We drove up to the Gateway to do a little Father's Day shopping and I promised the kids that they could play in the fountain after we shopped. I didn't bring swimsuits or towels or anything because in the past neither of them have gotten more than splashed in this fountain, but alas, Weston decided he is now a big fan of running through the fountain. When I realized they were getting really wet I took off their shirts. Weston got soaked. He had a blast though. It was definitely worth it.
Yesterday we tried to go to the park for lunch. Well we did go to the park for lunch, but it was miserable. It was crazy windy and clouds blew in and made it chilly. That afternoon Weston put together this little project while I was on the phone with my sister.
If you guessed it is a giraffe you would be right! I thought it was pretty cool. He just tore his paper into strips, colored on it, and taped it all together. He made a baby giraffe for Davin and a human. He's very into "projects" these days. :)

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!

Lucky

It must be my lucky day. I woke up this morning to find that I won two more blog giveaways!

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!

Weekend Update with the Bowles

This weekend we kept plenty busy. On Friday it was chilly and rainy. I hadn't planned dinner yet for Friday or Saturday. I really wanted Olive Garden soup, but since we are trying to spend less money I decided to see if I could find a recipe online. I found THIS recipe HERE.
Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

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)?!?