Birthdays!

I'm still in catch up mode. We are almost finished with birthday season at my house. YAY! Joey's was in November and John and Samantha both have February birthdays. Joey had a football party, John a lego star wars one, and Samantha had a high school musical one. I love throwing parties, but have to admit they wear me and my budget out. Each year I keep trying to downsize, but my kids and hubby love the fun so we get caught up again.

I'll start with Samantha's party because hers was the most recent. She wanted a high school musical theme. It's so funny because she is so girly. She insisted on making her own invites. They were really cute. We made little backstage passes with all the info for her party on them and hand delivered them to all of her friends. I made her limit it to 12 and only invite girls. That was hard for her. It was a total girl party. We brought out all of the girl costumes and I borrowed a few from my friend Connie. When the girls arrived they got to pick out a beautiful dress and then came in for hair and makeup. They got to wear makeup and put some temporary streaks in their hair. (which they loved). THen we made picture frames out of foam and took a picture of each girl on the red carpet. Then we hooked up the karaoke machine (thanks again Connie) and sang through the high school musical sound track. Most of the girls sang and danced, but a few ran off to play. It's funny to see all the different personalities in kids. After the singing we ate pizza and corn on the cob, then had a bling hunt and did cake, ice cream and presents. It was actually a pretty low key party (especially compared to John's party a few week s before. Girls just behave so much better than boys). Nathan sporting a blonde wig, purple cape and glasses plays with the high school musical tent and dance pad that one of my friends lent me. Thanks Amber! It was a hit!

Making picture frames. I happened to have a bunch of foam in my craft closet. This was a great project to get rid of a lot of it.

The birthday cake. Samantha had very specific instructions on what it should look like. She really wanted red and purple, but pink was the best I could do. I'm actually very proud of this cake. My decorating jobs usually don't turn out so great, so I was really pleased with this one.

Next, I'll describe John's party. I couldn't find my camera at the time so you'll just have to use your imagination. He had a lego star wars birthday party. We put out our huge pile of legos and gave the kids 15 minutes to build a star cruiser/ racing pod. I set up our folding table to be a ramp so they could race. That was a bad idea because Michelle kept usig it as a slide and broke a part of it. I think it still works, but it's a little less stable than it used to be. The kids made some pretty neat things. Once again, it's always so interesting to see which kids really love that kind of thing and which ones are ready to move on to the next activity after 5 minutes. After the pod racing we made light labers. Each kid got a 3 ft piece of insulating foam for pipes, it looks kind of like a swimming noodle only a little skinnier. They then got to choose red or blue duct tape to cover their light saber with to make it a light saber. I also had metalic or black duct tape for the handle. THose that really got into it made little buttons to put on it as well. They turned out really cool, however anyone who knows 9 year old boys, should know better than to give light sabers to 8 boys and expect them not to hit each other. I expected them to hit each other, but not to hurt each other. I let them run outside and fantasy play, but ended up having to run out and stop and take everyone's light saber away as one of the kids was getting hurt and obviously not having fun anymore. For the next game, Justin dressed up as Darth Vader (thanks again Connie for the costume). Each Jedi was supposed to take a turn being blind folded and trying to hit Darth Vader with his light saber as he ran around and taunted them. Justin was a really good sport. He got hit a lot. I had to hold onto the sabers except the kid whose turn it was, Even so, it seemed like every time I turned around some group of kids had managed to get their light sabers back and were hitting each other with them. Finally we just put them all up high and ate padawan pizza and gungan grapes, kenobi carrots and yoda soda. I made a cool cake that looked like a light saber. I was really proud of it. We ate cake and ice cream did presents, and the boys played football outside until their parents got there. Boys are so rowdy. But, they had a great time. Grandma and Grandpa Stoker had come up for the weekend, so they helped with the party too.

Next we have Joey's party. He had a football/sports party. It was an excellent fit for that group of boys. THey have so much energy. As they came in they each made a jersey with permanent markers and cheap walmart t shirts. Then they played all sorts of different sport games. They did an obstacle course, the dizzy dash, chicken wrestling and shooting bottles with nerf guns. The best was chicken wrestling. We put duct tape on the carpet in the living room to make a ring that everyone had to stay in. Then each person had to grab onto their ankles with their hands and try to knock people over or butt them out of the circle. It was pretty funny and not very violent because you couldn't use your hands or feet. They asked to play that over and over. After food and cake the kids went outside and played football. I bought flags at the dollar store for them to use, but of couse they wouldn't. They are all about playing tackle. I don't allow it, but it seems they are always playing it whenever I turn my back. There's a big field behind my house so there is often a group of boys out there playing football.

Here's my football cake. Yes I'm proud of it! I know all of you cake masters could do better, but I'm happy with it.

Here's a little clip of Samantha's birthday party. Notice the girl in brown who looks like she's being forced to be there. It cracks me up. She is much more of a tom boy and this party wasn't really her thing, but Samantha loved it. It was exactly what she wanted.

sledding with the young women

Today I'm playing catch up. I use this blog as my journal/scrapbook. I just don't have enough time to do a traditional one and eventually I plan on making a book of this blog. So, here are some photos from our YM/YW combined activity for January. We went sledding up in the mountains towards Fairfield. It was only about 45 minutes away which is amazing because there was absolutely no snow in Mt. Home on this day. We actually really lucked out. The weather in Mt. Home was awful, cold and windy and threatening to rain. I almost cancelled, but luckily the mountains sheilded us from the wind and for the 3 hours we were there, there was no precipitation. It did start snowing just as we left, but that was it.

In addition to the sledding we had chili and hot chocolate thanks to the huge stove the ym brought. They also chopped wood and made a fire for us. It was great. The day was really perfect! I think everyone had a lot of fun.






Joseph, John and Dallin Brown. I konw, they're not ym or yw, but my first counselors husband is deployed so she had to bring her son, and mine just begged to go. I'm glad I took them. They probably had more fun than anyone else there.

Brother Powell tending the fire. As you can tell, we just set up right on the side of the road. We were at Little Camas, a public area for hunting etc. Our ym leaders are avid hunters/outdoorsmen. It's so handy having them around because they know the area and are great fire builders.

A few of the young women eating chili and hot chocolate. MMMM! It was a great day!

Sweet, sweet Samantha

I just have to write a little about Samantha. She is such a good example to me. Yesterday when we were getting ready for church, she kept asking me if she could invite a friend of hers to come with us. This friend's parents are members, but are inactive. I know her mother, but we are not really close. Honestly, I really didn't want to call and invite her because I was pretty sure the answer would be no. It was just a few hours before church, and I kept coming up with other excuses as to why we shouldn't call her. Finally, I decided just to do it to get Samantha off my back. To my suprize her mother was almost glad to have her come. She did great at church today, and when I dropped her off she begged her mom to let her come again next week. I was so tickled that it all worked out. Samantha is a good example to me.

On to other things: We are now the proud owners of an 8 passenger van. How much was it you ask? $155. That's right! O.k. we didn't buy a whole new van, but we bought a new middle seat that seats 3 instead of two. I found it at the auto salvage lot so it was pretty cheap. (a new one from the dealer was over $500.) I'm just pleased as punch that it all worked out so well. The color is the same and everything. YAY me! Now we can save all our money for a house in Connecticut rather than a new car to fit the new baby. YAY!

Nathan and Michelle

Right now I'm home all day with Nathan and Michelle and I always have little things that I notice about them that I tell myself I'm going to write down, but never seem to have the time. This post is dedicated to them and some of the funny things they do.
Right now, Nathan is obsessed with cutting things. Everyday he asks me if he can learn to cut something new. It was so annoying at first, because, really I don't trust him with knives, but he has proven himself to be pretty good at it (supervised of course). One day when I was making stew he wanted to help with everything! He cut up almost all of the vegetables for me. It was pretty awesome. He didn't survive the onion though. He's such a funny boy. When he decides that he wants to do something and that it's worth it to follow all the rules, he will be the most obedient, sweet, charming child. . . . I love Nathan.

Now on to Michelle. She is so different from Samantha, it's mind boggling. When Samantha was 2 she would only wear dresses, even in the winter. I had to beg and bribe her to wear pants. Michelle is just the opposite. She hates dresses. Every Sunday we battle it out so she will go to church in a dress. It just cracks me up, because I really thought they would be more similar. She also really hates having her hair done. So did Samantha, but at least when it was finished she could appreciate they way it looked in the mirror and would keep the bows in. Not Michellle! However, Michelle still loves make up and she loves being told that she's beautiful. Maybe not when she's wearing a dress, but when she picks out a sparkly top and anything with Dora on it she beams when she wears them. I love Michelle.

Christmas 2009

Our Christmas Eve this year was really special. I decided to do a shepherd's dinner since it was just our family. WE all dressed like shepherds and ate dinner on a blanket under the Christmas tree with the lights off and the tree lights on. I made roasted beef kebabs, pita bread and hummus, oranges, and rice. It probably wasn't that authentic, but I was trying to make something that the shepherds might have eaten that evening. During dinner we talked about the shepherds and a little about what their lives were like. After dinner Samantha came dressed as an angel and quoted the bible "for unto you this day . . ." During dinner I had hidden our "manger" (baby cradle) in one of the bedrooms. I put a nightlight above it. The lights were all off and the kids had to find the star and the baby Jesus. It was really neat. Then we went back downstairs and read the rest of the story. It was a really sweet experience. I think the kids had fun too.

Earlier in the day we finally put together the gingerbread house I made. I made the gingerbread from scratch, but I didn't measure very well and one of the roof pieces didn't fit quite right and fell and broke. We had fun eating it anyway, but it wouldn't win any contests.




Of course, you read my other post and know that Michelle was making mischeif later on Christmas eve. Christmas itself was really relaxed. We ate, played with toys and watched movies. Then a few days later we drove to Washington to see my parents and siblings. We only had a few days, but it was a lot of fun. I'm just kicking myself because I forgot to bring my camera. Both Maia and I are pregnant so it would have been fun to get a picture! Too late now! Next time I see her, she will have already had her baby.

Somebody's been naughty

Last night, Christmas Eve, while Santa was busy downstairs filling stockings and putting presents under the tree, someone was stirring upstairs, and she was up to no good! Michelle was upstairs getting into my 24 hour lipstick. You know, the kind that won't come off for 24 hours, that stains your lips until finally your lips have sloughed off the skin that was dyed red. I ran upstairs and found that she had covered her right arm and half of her face with the stuff. Luckily she stopped there. THere was none on the beige carpet, or the white bedspread or even the linoleum. Just skin, but let me tell you, that stuff is impossible to get off. I have given her several baths, but can't get it off at all. We did have a little luck with a foot sander that I have, but couldn't use that on her face. I just hope it's gone by Sunday.

Lucky for her Santa still came. It was actually kind of funny because she was so upset when she realized it wouldn't come off. Kid's are so funny.

Christmas letter

Obviously, I'm going to be very late getting out our Christmas card this year. For those that I don't have recent addresses for and just so I can say I got my christmas card to someone on time, here is our annual Christmas letter:

Dear family and friends,

Is it just me or does each year seem to get busier and busier? I really was going to get this out earlier, but I was waiting to hear where we would be moving in June and that just set me back far enough that this little note won’t get to you before Christmas. Well, hope it was great anyway! We are still in Mountain Home, ID but just learned that we will be moving in June. Justin got word that he was given permission to do a military sponsored civilian fellowship in developmental pediatrics. He is really excited. He was accepted into programs at Boston Medical Center, Yale, and Stanford. So we will be moving to one of these areas. I think we are choosing Yale, so Connecticut here we come! We are all really excited to move. It will put us close to my brother Matt in New York and my sister Maia in New Jersey. Also, a lot of Justin’s family lives in the Washington DC area so it will be nice to visit them also. We also learned this month that we are expecting number 6 in July, so this summer will be really busy.

Here is the run down on what we are all up to:

Justin: He is one of two pediatricians here on base. As if that didn’t keep him busy enough, he finished and turned in a research paper this summer and will be presenting it at a medical conference this spring. He was also just informed that he will be advanced to the rank of major in the next few months. In his spare time he has been taking guitar lessons and is really starting to sound pretty good. In the ward he is both an advisor in the High Priests group leadership and Den leader over the wolves and bears. It has been a fun calling for him and keeps him on his toes.

Megan: I am young women’s president in my ward. It is a super fun calling but a lot of work. I am really enjoying it. Other than that I have been keeping busy canning for the first time, as well as cleaning, babysitting, gardening, sewing, reading, taxi driving, cooking, and cleaning some more. I really enjoy being at home with my kids. It has been a fun year.

Joey: He just turned 10 which according to the handbook they give you when you move into base housing means he can stay “home alone for up to 12 hours”. He’s never been alone for 12 hours, but we have both enjoyed leaving him at home while I run the other kids to sports, girl scouts, etc. He is in 4^th grade and has picked up football as one of his hobbies this year.

John: He will be 9 in Feb. He is just the same zany kid he always has been. He loves music and can be found bouncing to the beat while playing the piano or singing. He loves babies too. When I babysit for friends he is always a good helper and loves to take care of the little guys. He and Joey still play together a bunch. They were on the same soccer team in the fall and are signing up for the same basketball team after Christmas.

Samantha: She’s in 1^st grade and is reading up a storm. It is so fun to see it all click. She is in ballet and girl scouts and has lots of friends. She is just really fun and good.

Nathan: Is still a ball of fire. He will be 5 in April. I can’t believe he will be going to kindergarten next year. I don’t know how he will manage to stay in his seat all day, as I’m sure they have all day kindergarten in Connecticut. It will be a big change for him. He is doing joy school this year and really likes it. There are 6 other boys and one girl in his class. Teaching them is exhausting as they are all high energy boys (except the girl who is super girly). The other moms all say he is great at their houses. He is super sweet and I can definitely see that he is maturing. He plays really well with Michelle.

Michelle: She decided a few weeks ago that she would start potty training. I’ve never had a child do such a good job with that. Usually it takes a full 6 months to a year of blood, sweat and tears to get my kids potty trained, but she is doing great! She has already made it through 2 weeks in underwear with only a handful of accidents. I’m so happy! She is still my animal lover and constantly climbs on the dog. Her speech is getting really clear and it is fun to hear what she has to tell me. She is just really sweet.

Well, that about sums it up about us. You can get more updates on us at my blog megsrowberry.blogspot.com. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. I am so humbled when I think of Mary giving birth in a stable and laying her son in a manger. I am so grateful for her sacrifice and even more for the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May we remember the reason for the season.

Love,

The Rowberry family

Megan, Justin, Joey, John, Samantha, Nathan and Michelle