Fall Fun

FALL BALL

The Sand Springs Stallions came back for a second season this year...and we came back with a bang. We played some seriously good softball! All because we changed our name from Sand Springs to "The Terminators"!

SCHOOL CARNIVAL

Every year the PTA sponsors a school carnival. This year I spent my time sitting at the ticket table. The kids had a great time and made sure that they came to visit me alot. Their visits usually included bringing me something yummy to eat!

FRIGHTMARES

The kids have wanted to go to Lagoon all year long. Frightmares is a great time to go because the weather is cooler, the atmosphere is fun...and spooky and you never know when you are going to meet a new friend!

BYU FOOTBALL

I love the fall for many reasons, but mostly because it means football...particularly BYU football. Although the outcome of the TCU/BYU football game was nothing to brag about, just being in the stadium is enough to get me excited. The smell, the cheering and the sea of blue really makes me happy! GO COUGARS!

I'm back!

Instead of listing lots of lame excuses as to why I haven't done this for so long, I will just say this...I'm back.

Mark and I celebrated my birthday by going on a cruise...heavenly. We left from San Diego, visited Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. It was a fantastic way to close down the summer. We took hundreds of pictures but I won't bore you with them all-here are a few of our favorites.



School is off to a good start and the kids and I seem to be enjoying it so far. I'm just ready for my first paycheck...I've got to have plane (or playing) money again so I can go and visit my mom! I didn't realize this until the first day of school, but when you become a Freshman in High School, you are no longer interested in having your picture taken. Mason is no exception to this, he is apparently too cool to have his picture taken on the first day now....

Mark and I celebrated our 19th anniversary on Sept. 14th. We thought it would be fun to go and visit Spencer and Brittney in Grand Junction. We enjoyed a high school football game from the sidelines (while Spen worked) and a visit to KJCT to see Spen in action as he gave his sports report. We watched the BYU/Tulane game, did a bit of shopping and of course ate more good food than we needed to! It was a great visit...wish we could have stayed longer.

On the funny side of our trip, neither Spencer nor Mark knew what the other person was wearing until they both came out of the bedrooms. On both Saturday and Sunday, they had chosen to wear shirts that were very similar. We got a good laugh over that!

When Mark and I arrived home from Colorado, we were so surprised to find our room decorated in hearts , homemade salsa and a really yummy zuchinni cake. When you have Michelle for a babysitter...the possibilities of what will get done are amazing!

And last but not least, we helped Lindsey celebrate her birthday by having lunch at Rumbi's. The family parties are getting smaller, but certainly not losing their importance. Happy Birthday Lindsey!

Time for a change

My deepest apologies for my hiatus away from blogging. It was not because I lacked the desire to update it, it was purely due to my inadequacies of not finding enough time in my days to get it done. So....it is with a new leash on life(and because school is out, and I'm not working) that I have committed to myself to find the time to get you all acquainted with what is happening in the Lowe Family...past and present. Thank you for your patience!

Here we go..... this is going to be a long one!

Mother's Day was a very special day for me. Avery worked very hard to make sure that I had a great day. She made me a very special apron and plate. She also gave me everything we needed to have the perfect baking session together. Our cupcakes were delicious and it was so fun to cook with her! It was the perfect day!

Avery had an exciting last few weeks of school. She went to the Fire Department and the Layton City Police department on a field trip. We ate lunch at the park and I'm sure that if I took a poll, that's the part that the kids enjoyed the most!

Her class has also been working hard all year long to learn everything that there is to know about Yellowstone National Park. Avery can tell you all about the animals that live there, the geysers, plants and vegetation and if you show her a foot print, she can tell you what animal it belongs to. The last week of school was the big song and dance for her class. She got to dress up as a park ranger and take all the classes on a tour through Yellowstone. Our school library was transformed and we all had a wonderful time learning from our tour guides. The tour wouldn't have been complete with out a viewing of a geyser in the courtyard...it's amazing what you can do with Diet Coke and mentos!

It has become a tradition that we go to a drive-in movie at the end of each school year. We load up on treats, pizza and enjoy playing cards/games and baseball until the movie starts. This year we saw Night of the Museum 2 and Wolverine. Mark and Evan are the only ones that made it all the way through the second movie. The weather held out for us and it was alot of fun.

For Evan's birthday celebrations we went to the Salt Lake Bee's game. Michelle and Jodi treated him to whatever treats he wanted...he was in HOG HEAVEN!

The festivities continued into the next day (which was his actual birthday). Because I had a double header softball game, his birthday party was at the ball park. Most of the 5th graders in his class came over and enjoyed playing soccer, watching a little softball and of course...eating snowcones! Ms. Adamson knows how to throw a great party!!!!!!

Avery has been bugging me for several months to cut her hair. So right after school got out we did it! She is so much happier now when I come through it. I think it makes her look a little older too!

While Mark and Mason were on the High Adventure in Moab...I (along with Michelle and Jodi)took the kids to St. George. I know... probably not as much fun as the boys were having, but we did and saw some pretty cool stuff!

We went and hiked through Snow Canyon and I discovered that Avery is quite the climber! FEARLESS is a good way to describe her climbing ability. She had no trouble keeping up. I think that her legs gave out before her desire to stop climbing did! Now that Evan is officially a Boy Scout we wasted no time in starting his hiking merit badge. He completed his first 5 mile hike....we are on our way!

Tuachuan has got to be one of the coolest places to see a show. With it's red rock backdrops and it's enjoyable outdoor atmosphere, it is a joy to be there! We saw the show Annie and I think much to Evan's surprise, he really liked it!

Just when you think that your lawn looks better than it ever has and this will be the summer that everyone will drive by and be in total envy of it....you come back down to reality when the main water line has a leak and you have to dig it all up. The problem was more than Mark wanted to tackle so we called in the big guns...and their back hoe. We are happy to have no leaks and running water in our house again. We are hoping that this is the last time that we will have to deal with this problem. 3rd time is the charm?

Well, if you made it all the way through this, then I thank you for taking the time to read it. We are really enjoying the summer so far and are looking forward to keeping ourselves busy with more fun activities. We haven't even been camping yet....there is so much to do and so little time! We'll keep you posted! I promise. :)

A Sunny Florida Spring Break

It seems like I was just doing a blog update about vacationing in Florida…this time around, the trip included all of the family.

The trip started early for Evan, Avery and I. We actually left the Thursday before Spring Break actually started. It was the longest day of travel I have ever had! We left our house at 8:15 in the morning, and didn’t get to Florida until 11:30 pm, 2 hours later than we had anticipated. We had a layover in Denver for a few hours that was planned, but when we stopped in St. Louis to pick up passengers and they told us to get off the plane, well, that kind of threw us for a loop. The airport was so crowded that we didn’t have anywhere to sit. Avery was so tired that she put her backpack on the ground and laid down. It was a very long day, but we were so happy to be visiting Grandpa and Grandma!
Because Mason had a State Band Festival on Friday, Mark and Mason joined us on Saturday…they luckily didn’t have a bad traveling experience.

The area where my parents live is beautiful. We spent as much time outside as we could. The kids had a great time going to the park.....

touring the Kennedy Space Center.....

and going to the beach...twice!

We were so glad that we were able to spend some time seeing the sights of Florida, but the best part about the vacation was spending time with Grandpa and Grandma. They make everything more fun! We have alot of great memories that will help us be happy until we can see them again...thanks for a wonderful vacation!

WE LOVE YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!

Yeah it worked!

Catching up....

So I've been getting a lot of flack for taking so long to update this blog. I would like to say that I have been out of the country, or so consumed with my "exciting" daily life that I haven't had time to write...but of course, I can't. What it boils down to is this: There just aren't enough hours in the day to get done everything that I would like to. Unfortunately, the blog is always at the end of my list.

But, today I have some extra time. YEAH! The kids are off school(because of end of the term) and that means that I don't have to work either. (At least, not at the school...who are we kidding, I always am working on something or another) So, I hope to be able to catch you up on the last month, or so, that has come and gone for the Lowes.


Avery celebrated her 7th birthday on Feb. 26th. She wanted to go out to dinner at Red Robin and open her presents there. She got to have 2 days of birthday fun because the next night we had a party for her at home too.


Mason also celebrated a birthday. 14 years! Red Robin seems to be the restaraunt of choice for birthday celebrations. I think that Mason was happy that he had chosen to go there because they gave him the yummiest piece of strawberry cheesecake that he had ever tasted.


This picture warrants a little explanation. Those who know Evan should not be surprised to see him in a costume. But as costumes go, this one is a special one. Evan's 5th/6th grade class has been working very hard on an opera. The kids wrote the words, the music and constructed the scenery. This past Friday they were able to take all that hard work and show it off to the school and the parents. I must say that the caveman...although a man of few words, was very impressive.

Well, that about sums it up...I have been trying to get the rest of the pictures in a slideshow and post it, but it's not working too well. I will do my best to get it on here soon. Thanks for your patience...(Lindsey) Love to you all.

A Fabulous February

FEBRUARY.........

We love the month of February at our house. We celebrate 2 birthdays, Ground Hogs Day, Valentines Day, and the President's Day holiday-(yeah! no school). It is the shortest month of the year, but it seems to be one of the busiest for our family. Along with all the regular happenings this year...a trip to Florida was thrown in the mix as well.

Mark shares his birthday with Abraham Lincoln on the 12th. We had a birthday party for him where he was spoiled with lots of great presents. It is always tradition that we have pie for dessert...thank you Marie Callenders for always having a pie sale in February! Yes Dad...you can have a little of both!


Cupids arrow found it's way into everyone's heart at our house this year. Ken and Barbie were no exception! Don't they look like they are in love? Avery always makes sure that they are well taken care of...

Another family tradition is held on Valentines night. We have heart shaped pizza, with heart shaped ice cubes in our drinks, and of course mood lighting with candles. SO ROMANTIC! The kids get their Valentines cards and treats on their plates...it is something that we all look forward to.
The kids eat fast, take their candy and usually disappear to the basement to enjoy their goodies where they can't hear mom say "Don't eat too much chocolate...you'll get a tummy ache!"
Good times are had by all.

A Day at the beach.....or two.

On President's Day we had great plans to spend some time at the beach. We packed up the chairs, the books and were ready to enjoy the sun, sand and scenery. Unfortunately...the wind was not our friend that day. After a few minutes of trying to enjoy our surroundings, we were tired of being pelted with the sand and we ventured out to do some shopping instead. We did however take time to snap this photo..

Our second attempt at the beach came a few days later....Wednesday was official beach day. Mom and I had a great time walking along the water collecting sea shells. When we thought we could get a bigger shell without getting too wet, we would try and out smart the waves to get to them. Only got surprised a couple of times. We spend an enjoyable amount of time wading in the water and sitting on the sand digging for more shells. You know, you can never have enough sea shells. It was a wonderful day! I don't miss the snow at all!

Big Accomplishments

ARROW OF LIGHT

On Sunday, January 25th, Evan received the highest award that a Cub Scout can earn. He was honored in a special ceremony that night along with two of his friends, Porter McNeely and Colby Neville. We set up a display table with some of Evan's favorite things that describe him best and had a great time celebrating his BIG accomplishment. The night wouldn't have been complete without some face painting and a brag session!

Each one of the rays of light on the arrow represents aspects of the Cub Scouting program. As a story was read, Mark took a colored feather and painted each color that correlated with the Arrow's values on Evan's face.
By the time Mark was done, Evan looked like a real Indian Chief!

*Wisdom - Blue
*Courage - Black
*Self Control - Orange
*Justice - Green
*Faith - White
*Hope - Yellow
*Love - Red

Evan is a fine young man and he tries very hard to live each of these values...he's been a very good example to those that are in the Cub Scouting program with him!

SOLO AND ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL

Mason had his first opportunity to perform in the Jr. High Solo and Ensemble Festival. He played "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" on the french horn while I accompanied him.

He did fantastic! I say this not just because I am his mother, but because I think I know a little about music and I was very impressed. The judge was the Syracuse High Band teacher and he gave Mason some great compliments when he was finished. We couldn't record it during the actual performance, so when we got home, we made a video of it instead.

Later on this month, Mason will have another fun opportunity. The Syracuse Junior High Symphonic Band is 1 of 12 bands that was chosen to participate in the State wide Jr. High Band Festival. He will get to spend the day at the University of Utah listening to other bands and then he will have the chance to perform later on that night. Hopefully we will be able to record some of what he plays.

Tanner Takes a Two-year Trip

I, along with all of my brothers and sisters, had the opportunity of accompanying Tanner to the MTC on Wed. January 14th. We were able to spend some time with him the night before eating pizza, taking pictures, and playing Rockband. It was as close to heaven on earth as you can get!
Wednesday was such a special day being able to have this experience together as siblings. Lindsey, Trevor and I thought we would be the only ones that would be going. But as luck would have it, Liz was able to make arrangements for her kids, Laurie was able to come from Vegas, and Spencer drove all night from Grand Junction. It really was picture perfect!

Here are a few pictures from the evening of fun and then from the MTC. Thank goodness for cameras! They are so valuable when trying to capture the moments that you want to remember forever.
These were a few days that I will want to hold on to for a very long time. Good Luck Tanner! We miss you already!

Elder Linton


Pizza Party

The Missionary Training Center