Joseph

 So, in the last post I mentioned that Joseph was trying out for the football team.  . . .he didn't make it, but there were 100 kids trying out for 30 spots, so he didn't feel too bad about that.  One of his friends that tried out had been playing for 7 years and didn't make it. . . . sports are just really competitive here.  I think he will make the jazz band though.  That's what he's trying out for next.  I talked to the band teacher at the open house last Thursday and he said that Joseph plays beautifully and sounded really positive about it.  I'm sure there won't be 100 kids trying out for trumpet in the jazz band though ;)  I just wanted to post several pictures through the last year of Joseph.  Since this is my scrapbook . . . . . The above picture is at Joseph's ordination to the priesthood when he turned 12.  I know very dignified.  Justin bought him a new suit and it was huge!! but there wasn't time to return it and get a normal size, so he just wore it huge for a few months, and now 10 months later it fits him perfectly.  Don't worry, I've already claimed the rights to take John when he gets his new suit.

 This is a picture of Joseph's first temple trip in Dec. 2011.  It was our ward temple day and Justin and I were both able to go.  We did a babysitting swap with some other families.  It was so neat to see him get baptized for the first time.

 These are the cupcakes from his birthday last year.  They played lots of fun games in the gym at the church.  It was such an easy party to plan which was great!

 Our family + Janae and Tyson and family + Mom and dad Rowberry at Joseph's ordination.

 Poison Ivy on the face.  Joseph got poison ivy 3 times this summer.  Twice on the face.  Ouch!  I still haven't managed to ever get it.  He pretty much always comes home with it after a boy scout hike.

Here he is playing around with a lobster that I cooked.  It was one of our funnest meals this summer. the girls especially had a fun time playinng with the lobsters before I threw them in the pot.  Ity was delicious!

6th grade graduation

Joseph graduated from 6th grade last spring.  It was pretty crazy.  He was asked to speak at the assembly and didn't tell me or Justin until the night before.  I was panicked thinking he hadn't prepared anything, but luckily he had and it was delivered nicely.  He also insisted on wearing a suit.  He looked pretty snazzy.  John was the only drummer playing pomp and circumstance in the 5th grade band while the kids walked in.  He did really well and didn't miss a beat.  

I can't believe I have a middle schooler now.   So far it's fun.  Football tryouts are tomorrow and I really hope Joseph is able to get on the team, though I'm a little doubtful.  There are only 30 spots and 100 people are trying out.  Joey has a great attitude though, and he's prepared to give it his best.  Keep your fingers crossed! 

                                            Jordan, Joseph and Max at the brunch after graduation.

                                                Kids getting up to recieve their awards.

 Robert, Max, Nick, Joey, and John the first few weeks of summer, just before our landlord made us take down the trampoline.  It's been really rough finding fun things to do outside without the tramp, but we're figuring it out.  We recently made a cool skateboard swing that has gotten a lot of use.

                                             Kyra, Samantha, and Kate on the slip n slide.

Can't believe summer is already over and fall is almost here.

The Hill Cumourah Pageant

Here are a few pictures from our family trip to Palmyra this summer.  We went up Friday night, pitched a tent in the dark and spent Saturday and Sunday visiting church history sites and playing.  When we woke up Saturday morning, we realized there was a lake at the campsite and canoes and kayaks we could use.  I hadn't really realized this so only about half of us had swimming suits.  Regardless, we jumped in fully dressed.  The lake was very rocky and the missionaries that ran the park urged us all to wear our shoes in as well so we wouldn't cut our feet.  So most of us had soggy shoes too.  After the kayaking, we cooked our lunch over a fire in searing heat and put on dry clothes. 

We headed out to see the church history sites and ran into Jay and Janece Woods from Basin City at the sacred grove.  After the sites, we grabbed a picnic dinner and went to the hill cumourah pageant.  Surprizingly, Justin's cousins were in the pageant and we had a nice little visit with them and got to see them perform.  It was really good.  After the pageant, it was another late night getting to the tent in the dark and falling right to sleep.  It rained during the night, but our tent kept us relatively dry with only a few leaks.  It dried up just long enough for us to make breakfast in the morning and then the rain began to fall again.  It was really discouraging to try and get all the kids showered and dressed in their church clothes with all of the dirty mud and rain.  I was about ready just to give up and stay in the tent until the rain stopped.  There was thunder and lightening and it was really pouring.  A few minutes in the rain would completely drench us.  Justin found some plastic to use as an umbrella and escorted us all to the van.  I was pretty self concious going to church as we were all a little dirty and smelly and I had accidentally left my church shoes at home and had to wear my stinky, drippy tennis shoes from the lake the day before.  By the time we were all in the car, we were about 20 minutes late for church.  I was feeling pretty embarrassed, but as we walked into the chapel, my feelings completely changed.  The chapel was brimming and the curtains had been opened spilling out into the gym.  IT looked like stake conference there were so many people.  Some were dressed perfectly for Sunday, and others like me, were wearing tennis shoes, or shorts or jeans.  It was really a beautiful sight to see so many people reagardless of their circumstances or dress gathering to worship Jesus Christ.  It really humbled me and reminded me that the Lord looketh on the heart and not at our outward appearance and that he wants us to come to Him even if we aren't perfect.  IT was really the most spiritual part of my weekend. 

After church we went to the David Whitmer farm and saw the Steele's from Mt. Home ID.  THey were volunteering there for 2 weeks.  It was great to talk with them about all the people from our old ward in ID.  after that we struck camp and headed back home.  It was a great weekend. 

cub scouts

I have been cub master in my ward now for over a year.  It's a fun calling, though I don't really like being in charge of everything.  This picture was from a service project we did at camp cedarcrest.  I have a fairly good relationship with the guy who runs the place and we have helped out the last couple of years at their annual clean up day.  So far this year we have gone swimming, sold lots of cookbooks, gone to day camp, earned lots of different requirements, held pine wood derby and blue and gold banquet, helped with a food drive teamed up with another ward's cub program, lost and recruited several new leaders, and had a ton of fun.

It's been fun to get to know these boys and their families and have fun with them.  Cub scouts are great becasue they are usually really easy to please.  As long as you make treats and let them run around at the end, they have a great time. 

Dance recital

 Here are some pictures of Samantha's dance recital back in June.  It was really fun.  Most of the picture are of her ballet piece.  All of the classes did a ballet dance to a beatles song and then they all came together at the end for a really stunning first half finale.  The recital was pretty long, about 3 or 4 hours (no joke!).  Samantha had to leave school early so she could be on stage to rehearse early.  It was pretty crazy, but there were really some great pieces there.  She really loved dancing and the recital.  It was a pretty long weekend though. 

 Here are all of the younger dancers at the dress rehearsal 1st haf finale.  In the real show there were a few other classes that joined.

 Posing in the front yard.

The only picture I have of the dance "vogue/poker face"  It was their jazz dance and was really fun.  Can't believe I didn't take a close up of her.  It was my favorite outfit. 

Samantha with some of her fellow dancers.  She definately wants to do it again!

So  for our Stoker reunion this year we went to Maine!  It was beautiful (but soggy).  The whole family was together.  That was the first time we were all together since Maia was married.  It was pretty crazy.  Usually Danny is the one missing.  He just got back from Egypt and we were able to convince him to come visit for a whole week.  

We began our reunion in Acadia National Park in Maine.  Unfortuantely the day we left it was raining cats and dogs, and Joey had a mysterious rash all over his body.  Justin was pretty sure it was poison ivy, but just to be safe he took him to the doctor and we met up a little later.  After a 7 hour car ride we got out in Acadia and the rain was just pouring.  All of the food was in the car Justin was driving.  We hurriedly put up the tent and decided to go out to eat and get dry.  We went to the Lazy lobster and had pizza and lobster.  The owners were super nice and let us linger until the rain let up a bit.  Justin and Joey and mom met us there.  That night was soooo rainy.  Fortunately some friends had lent us some cots and we had the boys sleep in the van so no one was on the ground because when we woke up there were puddles all over the tent.  We had to take our bedding to the laundromat so we could use it the next day.

Besides the rain, Acadia was beautiful.  We had a great time hiking, rock climbing and looking at tidal pools. It's just too bad that it rained so much.  After Acadia, we went to Fort Knox which was about an hour away.  It is an unfinished army fort.  It was really quite extensive and impressive.  The kids spent a good afternoon wandering through the corridors there.  After that we went to Rockland and spent the morning swimming in the hotel pool and the afternoon exploring the museum of transportation which was pretty neat.  Friday night Justin and the kids came home to Connecticut along with Maia and Kendall and Brigham.   I stayed with mom, dad, Matt, Colleen and Danny and spent Saturday on the freedom trail.  It was great, and fun not to have to chase kids around all day.  Justin was a true gem and cooked and cleaned while we were gone.  It was a great trip with the family.

Me, Kate, Justin, Michelle, Samantha, Nathan, Joey and John searching tidal pools and climbing rocks.

Joey, John, Samantha, Nathan, Justin, Kate, Megan and Michelle in the background.  

father/son campout; mother/daughter weekend

So this weekend has been one of my favorites of the year.  Every year our stake has a father/son campout the Friday and Saturday before mother's day.  Although I think it's kind of a weird choice, it's always one of my favorite weekends.  The boys are always so excited to go camping, and the girls usually have a girls night with friends and then we go shopping on Saturday and have fun together.  As the kids get older and older, it's just more and more enjoyable.

Friday, Samantha was in the Bear path talent show as well, so that added a little more craziness to getting everyone out the door.  Justin met us at the show.  She was in the 5th act of the night so they watched her and then took off.  It was really a fun little talent show.  Samantha and 7 other girls in her class did a dance to the song "Keep your Head up".  Although there was quite a bit of drama in practicing for the dance, including one little girl who quit because she couldn't agree on what to wear or which moves to do with the other girls, Samantha always had a great attitude and I think really enjoyed herself.  One of the other moms bought roses for all of the girls and she felt really special.  After the show, we joined some friends for a girls night and enjoyed pizza and food and socializing.  After the party we came home, got in pjs and all fell asleep watching "We bought a zoo."  The next day we slept in, cleaned a little, took Sam to dance, went to lunch at the glenwood diner and used a coupon Samantha earned for being student of the month for ice cream at Kelly's kone connection.  Then we used a bunch of gift cards she had from her birthday to buy a few things at the mall.    It was great!  We all got some fun stuff.  We came home and crashed, so did the boys.  They had a great time too.  Of course they were dirty and smelly, but had fun.  The weather was absolutely perfect so they slept well and camped well.  The boys had a soccer game at 5:00.  Justin took them and they won 4-1.  After they got home and ate, Justin and I slipped out for some sushi at our favorite little japanese restaurant here.  It was nice. Came home and had to clean a little so I could face Sunday.  Then settled down with Justin to watch a Castle.  It was a perfect weekend.

Today I woke up to not 1 but 2 breakfasts in bed.  Samantha made me toast, cereal and milk, and homemade lemonade.   Joseph made an omelette, an orange (quartered) , a glass of milk and two small bites of cheesecake.  I have to admit to being spoiled (and I like it).  Justin and the boys made lunch, BBQ ribs, rice and veggies.  As I type, John is making cookies (that's my kind of dinner).  Kate has been making sure that I know I am her favorite by climbing on my face while I try to nap.  Justin would try to take her and distract her, but she would just scream.  She is quite the baby of the family and a little spoiled, but we love her anyway.

Michelle was pretty funny during sacrament as well.  All the kids went up to sing and she walked right up to the microphone.  All the kids were crowded around her, but she got right up to the podium and started singing right into the microphone.  Luckily the bishopric were onto her and turned off the microphone so she wasn't super loud, but she sure was having fun playing with it and ignoring my pleas for her to stop.  What a little turkey!

I'm really thankful for my family today.  They have been just really fun and I have loved being waited on.

Belated Christmas present

So, last Friday we had Samantha's birthday party and while frantically deep cleaning I pulled out the piano and found a Christmas present trapped between the piano and the wall.  It was a poem from John written at school and made into a refrigerator magnet.  I was really impressed with it so I thought I would share so that his grandma and grandpa can appreciate his genius as well as his mother. 

                                                          Christmas
                My family is Christmas, everyone jolly adn filled with hope (most of the time).
                My father is Santa, big, jolly, and usually brining good news.
                My mother is warm fire, giving warmth and light.
                My brother is the tree, thinking that he is the best and the strongest.
                My sweet sister is the milk and cookies, so sweet that she is sometimes too sweet.
                My younger brother is the colorful lights, easily put out.
                My younger sister is a stocking, with sweets filled to the top.
                My youngest sister is a present that brings surprise and enjoyment.
                And I am the star at the top of the tree, shining bright with creativity and filling my family
                with light.


               By:  John


Just grateful I got to be the fire and not the grinch as I was on a cleaning tirade when I found it ;)

February break

For our February break this year, we  went to Atlanta, Georgia to visit Justin's brothers Micheal and Ryan.  They both recently moved to Atlanta, Ryan in August and Micheal in February.  Mike and Sarah were very gracious in hosting us just weeks after their cross country move from Logan, UT.  It was great to see them and their sweet kids and of course their new home.  It's huge and I think they will come to love it.  It was a foreclosure so has quite a bit of work to do, but I think they will be able to make it a great home. While there we:  hiked stone mountain, went to the zoo, did some geocaching, went to the park, visited the capitol building and olympic park.  It was a lot of fun, and I know the kids especially enjoyed having a little one on one time with their cousins.    

 The kids at the zoo pretending to be just hatched  baby birds.

 We also had the opportunity to visit some of our friends from the Bronx who moved to Atlanta.  Here is Carissa holding Kate and Me holding Addison.  We met up with them for pizza at kid's planet.  The kids had a blast and the adults got to catch up on all that we've been up to.

On the way back we stopped at Justin's parents home and had a nice visit with them.  We were also able to see Tyson and Janae one last time before they move to Las Vegas.  We had some tasty Cafe rio with them. 

I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus. . . .

Halloween??????

ok, so I'm a little behind.  The storm I posted about just before this one actually took our power out for 3 days and we didn't have power for Halloween.  It was cold, but the kids loved it because school was cancelled due to lack of power.  Also, all of our neighbors without kids brought their candy over to us because they knew we had kids.  Samantha and Justin got on the news while they were out shoveling snow the day after the storm.  It was crazy, because there really was a ton of snow especially for October.  We ended up driving to a different neighborhood for trick or treating and it was really nice.  We missed seeing our neighbors and had kind of a tricky time getting in our costumes in the dark, but halloween was a really fun night.  That is until we had to come home to a freezing cold and dark house.  I was afraid to use the fireplace because the night before when we had used it the house filled up with smoke and our carbon monoxide alarm kept going off.

The next day I took all our dirty laundry to the laundromat and vowed to myself that it was too cold and we would definately go stay with some friends that had offered if the power didn't come back on.  Of course when I came back from the laundromat, the power was back on.  Isn't that how life works?  It was a very memorable Halloween.

Sorry, no pictures couldn't find the camera in the dark, but Kate was a chicken, Michelle was a cowperson (not cowgirl), Nathan was captian Rex, Samantha was an angel/devil, John was a zombie, Joseph was a werewolf, Justin was a young high schooler (letterman's jacket), and I was an old woman (cougar).