Our Christmas letter (the lazy way to send it)

Dear Friends and Family,

I think that every year as we get older, time moves a little more quickly and I haven’t quite caught up to where I should be. J That is why you all are getting our letter and card in January so HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!
Trent has been keeping himself very busy as a senior billing manager in Logan with a company called Conservice. He has worked there for 4 years now and loves being a part of the growth that comes with this new company. He also gets to let loose with the 11 year-old scouts in our ward in his calling that he shares with my bro-in-law, Eric. He is an amazing dad and is the favored parent in this family.J
I am going on 2.5 years at Wells Fargo part time as a teller and really enjoy the chance to meet so many people in the community. When I am not at work I am home with the boys (until Mak comes home from school) where we keep busy with movies, snacks and cool cars. I also have been doing double duty at church teaching from the Ensign on the 4th Sunday and also doing Activity Days. I recently just got released from both callings and now will be teaching in the Primary. I think that is so I can keep my eyes on Colton.
Makenzie, 6 has entered 1st grade and I feel like I am back in school with her. She has more homework and reading than I can remember having when I was her age. But she is a smart cookie and handles it all with finesse. She loves learning how to spell everything and has turned our dining room into a library, complete with signs, at least once a week. She really loves to color and we sometimes have to remind her to keep her creativity limited to paper.J
Colton, 4 is our sweetheart who wears his heart on his sleeve and has hugs to share with everyone. He is also very much into airplanes, rockets and anything that flies. We often need to remind him to land so he can join us for dinner or family prayer. He is a movie nut and loves to watch Star Wars and Speed Racer. He carries his light saber everywhere (just in case).
Tait, who is 1, is our daily entertainment. We love watching him pick up on new things. Walking came after a long spell because he thought it was a game we were playing. Once he figured it out we see him zooming past rooms at a shaky sprint. He loves to try out new words to and we can’t help but think he has the cutest sayings. He sure is loved a lot by his siblings and he gets a kick out of hanging out with them.
As I write this letter I can’t help but feel blessed for this amazing family that the Lord has given to us. They have been an amazing strength as we have faced trials this past year. My father was diagnosed with bladder cancer that had metastasized in his liver in May. We knew as a family that we would need to work really hard to help Grandma and Grandpa with some extra service so that they could keep up with the day-to-day living. I am so proud of the way the kids pulled together without complaining and pitched in to help or were patient when I dragged them around when doing grandma and grandpas errands. Trent was especially helpful and understanding when I was called away during family time to help where I was needed.
These experiences with my parents have enriched our family and strengthened the bond we have. I think that makes the eternal perspective even more satisfying. I am sad to say that we lost dad before Thanksgiving. It was the most spiritual moment for me as we said goodbye for now knowing that we will see each other again. Prayers were the best healing for our family and are still felt in our home. How much more grateful I am for the spirit of the Christmas season. With the promise from our Heavenly Father of Eternal Life through the birth of His Son, we celebrate his birth with great reverence. I hope that this letter finds you all happy and healthy.
With Holiday Greetings,

Love the Rowley’s


Check us out anytime at our blog www.loganrowleys.blogspot.com

December 5th and 6th.

We got invited by Grandpa and Grandma Rowley to go and eat at Tacanos. It was to be on the 6th and we went down to Ogden the night before so we didn’t have to travel too far in one day. While in Ogden we out to eat with Megan's Family then then we went and saw the lights in Ogden. It was cold but fun. Then next day we headed down to Provo and ate at Tacanos. It was our first time eating then and really enjoyed it. (Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Rowley!) My favorite thing was the garlic roasted sirloin tips along with the roasted pineapple. I will have to have Megan write what she like best.

After eating we actually went and saw some Dinosaurs. Sheri’s friends’ husband is a paleontologist and works on dinosaurs. We went to his garage where he works on them and he told us and showed us a lot of cool stuff. Then we headed to Thanksgiving point where the paleontologist put together a triceratops that is on displayed there at the museum. The kids I think really enjoyed it but the adults were just as intrigued.

We forgot to take our camera and had to use the cell phone for the pictures. They could have been better but here they are. (we also saw two of Santa’s reindeer).

At work fun

The other day I had to watch the kids and I took them to work with me for the last half hour or so. We just got a new phone system were we use headsets and the kids wanted to try them on. They have fun coming to my work and hanging out when they can.

My Humble Thanks!!

I have been a little neglectful of my blog this past month. We have had lots of things we have been doing in the family that I will need to post but I know that Trent wants to do some so I will let him get us caught up. This post was just to let all our friends, families and coworkers know how much we have appreciated their support when dad died. We have been overwhelmed by the power of your prayers and know that the Lord comforts us in our time of sorrow. I thank all of you for your comments, for the shoulders I've cried on (even in the restaurant). I am grateful for the emails that lifted me on a sad day and for the time that you traveled to offer support and say goodbye to dad.
As we reflect on the season of Christmas I am so grateful for our Savior's birth. He was sent so that through the atonement we could have our families forever. I look forward to that day with great anticipation. Such peace fills my soul as I think of dad. His death was so sad but also the most spiritual times in my life. I will forever treasure the memories and take comfort in the stories I tell my kids. I was so lucky to have dad as a father, his example is priceless and I hope that I can carry on some of those attributes.

Love you, miss you!!

A. Shane Armstrong 13 May 1954- 10 November, 2008

We love you Dad!!

Last week of October

This week we went to the annual North Logan Pumpkin Walk. This is where they put on pumpkin displays of many things. We always have fun going there and taking a look.

He is Finally doing it. Tait has finally gotten brave enough to take his first steps without anything to hold onto. The past couple of weeks he has been pushing a toy around the house but would never try to walk by himself. He finally tried and loved it. Here is some footage of this great achievement.!

Third Time the Charm?

I wanted to share my recovery story with you from when I had my appendix out. I had the surgery about 6 weeks ago. Two of the three incisions healed really well. The incision that was above my belly button however didn’t do so swell. The staples were the first try. After the surgery I had staples to hold the incisions closed. Once they came out the top incision didn’t hold and I tried to let it heal on its own for about 5 weeks. On my check up they looked at it and said it would heal on its own but it would take about 3 more months. The doctor said he could cut some incisions on the top and bottom and then stitch it up with dissolvable stitches. I opted for this option as he said it would only take about 10 days to heal. So I had him stitch it up. It was numb for 8 hours and the medication keep it that way. I woke up on Thursday morning with it hurting. I had a plastic bandage on it and he told me not to take it off until that Saturday. He said it would hurt a little and be bruised so I thought that was it. It hurt all day and I thought it would be better on Friday. It didn’t get any better. It looked like it was getting infected and it was red and sore. That night I eventually took the bandage off and puss and blood came oozing out. The hole had opened back up. The infection pushed open the hole again but because he had cut it more, the hole is bigger than when I had the surgery. I was going to go to the doctor but of course he was closed on Fridays. So it hurt all weekend and I finally went into the doctor Monday morning. They looked at it and said that it was infected. He then asked, “didn’t I give you antibiotics last time you came in?” NO. So he said lets give you some and we can stitch it up again. This was on Monday. He put some gauze on it that was soaked in antibiotics and prescribed me some pills. On Tuesday morning I removed the bandage to find a second belly button sized hole. The infection was being removed but left behind what was actually there. A huge hole. Kind of gross. It is about a half inch deep and ugly. I have added a picture to share with all. Hopefully, tomorrow, he stitches it up right and keeps me on the antibiotics so that it will heal. This will be the third try at it. Wish me luck.

Contest Anyone?

So most of you know that I am creatively challenged but I sure get a lot of ideas from my friend Dianne. She lives for redecorating and is an accomplished quilter. She has a blog that showcases all of her wonderful things and you can even purchase them too. Stop by her blog now to check out her contest and look at her awesome creations.

Fall Cleanup

Where to begin!!

Life has been a little crazy and busy and I could go on with the excuses but bottom line is that I let our blog slide. Trent and I literally are falling into bed at 9 with our eyes immediately shutting on impact. So when I couldn't sleep tonight or this morning I thought that I would get caught up. What we have is a hodge podge of family activity so bear with me.

First we will start with Armstrong vacation!! This was a short weekend filled with fun with parents, sisters, and kids. Oh and husbands too. We kept it close to home so that the old folk wouldn't get worn out so much but it ended up being just as fabulous. Here are a few pics that I will post after work tomorrow. I promise!!

Trent and his companions crashed a mission reunion due to the fact that they haven't had one since coming home. The reunion was hosted by the president who took over after Trent and fellow comps had already left. We appreciate their hospitality for letting Trent and friends catch up!! We also loved reminiscing about the mission and the memories that Pres. Stevensen left behind.




Then what Trent has looked forward to all year... the DEER HUNT. We had a great time in Richfield especially the kids with their cousins. Trent found a deer that was good and brought it home for us to look at :) I got caught up on some sewing (who only puts 3 belt loops on jeans :( ) along with some coupon clipping. But then spent the rest of the time being followed by our cautious little puppy dog who didn't want to be left behind by his mommy. Thanks fam for watching out for him so I could have a small break. We almost have him walking. But like I said he is so careful!!

On an ending note. I am looking for a Spanish class textbook on a high school or college level that someone will give me or that I can buy for under $25. I am trying to learn a bit more for my job!!

**this is Trent...my deer is actually the one below. I just like to dream a little bigger than what I usually get. Thanks Daniel for letting me Dream!

Another Tag the '8's

Trents are in orange

8 TV shows I love to watch
1- Heroes - The Unit
2- Chuck - Chuck
3- CSI but not Miami (anyone else love Horatio Caine?:-( ) - Heroes
4- The Office - Same
5- NCIS -I like this one too
6- Smallville (but it is time to end it) - Amazing Race
7- Criminal Minds - College Football...BYU
8- Ghost Whisperer (I cry in every episode) - Baseball...Redsox

8 Favorite Restaurants
1- Café Sabor in Logan - Wok on Wheels
2- Iron Gate Grill in Logan - Olive Garden
3- Olive Garden - Golden Corral
4- Market Street Grill - Fire House Pizza
5- Costa Vida - Copper Mill (seafood Pasta)
6- Papa Johns Pizza - Old Gris Mill
7- Wok on Wheels - Pizza Hut
8- Village Inn - Chili's

8 Things That Happened Yesterday
1- Got Makenzie ready for school - Took Makenzie to school
2- Cleaned the kitchen then the bathroom - changed the bandage on my stomach
3- Clipped coupons (grocerysmarts.com) - Went to work
4 - Blog Hopped - Beat Ryan Johns in our Table tennis tourneyment at work (at lunch)
5- Balanced the checkbook - Got Dinner for Family Night
6- Made lunch for me and the boys - Watch Heroes, Chuck
7- Helped Makenzie with homework - Helped kids brush teeth and put them to bed.
8- Stayed up late with Trent - Watched Redsox on internet but missed the last inning when they won, Kevin called me and told me they had won.

8 Things I am Looking Forward To
1- Deer Hunt - Deer Hunt!!
2- Christmas - Thanksgiving
3- Next time Melinda comes for a sleep over - Not having to mow lawn anymore
4- Fantasy Football being over - ALCS (American League Championship Series...Go Sox!)
5- Getting into shape - Yup, getting into shape (for the deer hunt)
6- My next meal - Playing with the kids
7- Crawling into bed - Spending time with Megan after kids are in bed.
8- Every day off I have - Deer Hunt!!! (Rusty's Stories about hunting)

8 Things On My Wish List
1- New Deck - Lose weight
2- Gardens in tip top shape - Get Bathroom and Storage area completed downstairs
3- Finished Bathroom - New flooring in our dinning and living area.
4- My kids would learn to clean up - Kids to listen and not whine. (do you want cheese with that)
5- Dad to get his health back- Fishing in Alaska for King Salmon
6- Awesome food storage - Taking Megan on a cool vacation
7- New Carpet - Back yard fixed up
8- Melinda would move closer to me - Kids turn out right when they are older.

8 People I tag
1- Jenny
2- Melinda
3- Ardis
4- Kanoe
5- Marianne
6- Dianne
7- Janelle
8- Whoever else wants to

Tait Update!!

We just have to include some fun facts about our little guy Tait. He has been such an entertainer to us... maybe it's because he has such big blue eyes! After some grouchy teething days he has been crawling (yep that is what I said, they assure me that he can enter the nursery still crawling though :-) ) around the house like a happy bulldog. We are learning animal sounds but he only wants to repeat the lion, dog and the kitten. Though sometimes Mak can get him to sound like a jaguar. Here are some videos of him crawling up on a bench at the end of our bed. We can get him to say "ta da" but not in the same video. Notice his grunts as he pulls himself up on the bench. As you can see he is also like Colton in that he easily gets distracted by driving cars.

School Pics in 2 Weeks :((

So here is Makenzie after losing her teeth at school. We have been waiting about a month for these suckers to come out hoping that it would be after school pictures. Oh well we have it for her history. She lost them at school while biting into a rope (don't know where or why she had it) needless to say when she opened her mouth the teeth stayed with the rope. she couldn't find them but she knows that the tooth fairy went back and looked (not) so she could get her gold dollars.

Kids do Care

I just had to quickly write this before I forgot. I got home yesterday (Wednesday, Sept, 17th) and had dinner with the kids as Megan was at a baby shower. I was helping Makenzie say the prayer (which she doesn't need my help) but I was trying to get her to finish after she had blessed the food and I tried to get her to say, in the name of...and she stopped and looked at me and shook her head no, like she wasn't finished. Sure enough she wasn't and she said on her own, "and please bless Dad that he will feel better". THANKS Makenzie. Kids are really sweet. Colton then goes into the bathroom and gets me the throwup bucket and says, "Dad I am sorry you are feeling sick and here is the throwup bucket if you need it". THANKS Colton for caring too. I would aslo like to say THANKS Megan for taken care of me!

Appendix any one?

Tuesday was an ordinary day until about three o’clock. I was at my desk at work when I started getting a stomachache. I thought it was just gas and went to the rest room with no avail. The pain started hurting worse as time went on. I was getting a ride home with a co-worker at 5:30 but ended up calling Megan to come and pick me up at 5. I lost my lunch on the way home and I thought that might relieve some of the pain but it didn’t. We got home and I went and laid down to see if that would help. Nope. The pain just kept getting worse and slowly the pain was moving down into where you appendix was.

I had a feeling that I should go into the doctors. We headed to instant care because it is cheaper than the emergency room and was still open. I was sweating bullets when we got there but I felt cold. They took me in and took x-rays and blood samples. They came back and said that my white blood cell count was around 18000 when normal is around 11000 and the x-ray show inflammation around my appendix. The doctor came back and said you better get yourself to the ER. Megan ambulanced me over to the ER and was very nice to have her with me. In the ER they hooked me up to and IV and fed me some pain medication. This was a nice relieve from the pain. Then I had more x-rays and a CT scan to make sure the Doctors knew where they needed to go I guess. They had another patient in the ER that was more critical than myself so we had to wait until that surgery was done. We got to the ER about 8:30 and my surgery started at about 12:30 that night. I was done by 2 am and I don’t remember much around that time except that I was talked to for a little bit while I was wheeled to my room. I remember Megan there at the room and then I was left a lone to sleep. The surgery went really well and the surgeon said that it was a good thing that we got it out because it was pretty grey looking. I guess that means it was bad. They did it laparoscopy, which is really nice because I just have three holes in my stomach area and the recovery time is a lot faster. I was able to eat and drink with out having it come out again and I haven’t had to have any pain medication since the surgery. I thank all of those who thought of me during this time and I am sure that is why I didn’t feel to worried about the surgery.

I had a lot of tags on me and here is a picture of all the things I had. I had a bracelet from the ER, another one for the Hospital and a third one for, well I don’t know what that one was for but I had three. I also have a bandage where my IV was.

Party anyone?

Hey all!!

I have a neighbor who does Lia Sophia and I told her I would host a party to help get the word out. I know that budgets are tight but if you are interested in either going to a party or ordering jewelery go to this website at site . The special is buy two items at regular price (they can be the cheapest ones) and get 4 items at half price (these can be the expensive ones). If you want to give me your emails and I will give you my address through email. The party is tomorrow at 7pm at my house, open house style. Hope to hear from you.

Fall Update!

So I have really slacked on the blog this month. We had the Olympics and seasons 1-3 of The Office that took up our late nights and then we had the start of school and with that a new routine that gets the kids to bed early. I have been cooking in the kitchen (I know shocking huh) and cleaning out clothes in the closet. I also have put in some more hours at work to cover vacations. All I can say is that our household has been super busy so the blog went out the window.

The most important change is Makenzie going to 1st grade!! We were so excited for her to meet some more friends and eat lunch in the cafeteria. She gets to walk home with the neighbor kids. We are so proud of her and love hearing about her day. Recess is the fav because she gets to be a jaguar. That's our Makenzie :)

Trent ended his summer softball and started fall softball. Hopefully they will come out better this season ;) His work also started up their annual flag football season which I think they are really going to do great in this year! Does anyone else who reads this blog hate Fantasy Football like me? Trent is on two teams and I think that is self explanatory!

Colton is doing preschool at his babysitters and loves it. His days at home are a little boring to him especially if Tait is napping. He misses Makenzie and the neighbor kids and watches out the window for our neighbor Jordan to come home from Kindergarten.

Tait is learning to walk and cope with new molars. He is such a happy kid and will drive cars all over the house. He is also learning animal sounds, his favorite being a dog. Especially when he can hear the neighbors dog barking in the morning.

We were able to go down to Richfield for Labor Day weekend. We shucked corn and Trent went dove hunting and fishing with the boys. We also started the Biggest Loser Rowley version so wish us luck to win the pot!!

Vegas Baby

We did it!! We finally went on a couples only trip for the first time in a couple of years. Thanks Steve and Colleen for taking our kiddos and giving them a great trip of their own.

Our vaca to Vegas was actually of a result of a presentation to get us to buy timeshare. We said no to the timeshare and yes to the trip to Vegas which included airfare. My sister Melinda also had a trip from a previous presentation so we decided to go together. We left SLC at 6:25 wed morning (thanks Janell for playing hostess and chauffeur) Landing in Vegas at 6:45 am Vegas time. We quickly got the rental car and left the airport grounds at shortly after 7:30. We had a lot of time on our hands before we could meet at my sister Melinda's hotel for showers (she and hubby Scott arrived the prior night) so we found the closest McDonald's for a quick breakfast and to waste some time. After finding out we couldn't check in until 11, We finally called Melinda at 8:30, they were awake. We converged at the hotel for planning and showering. Then after getting caught up in a movie on TV we left the hotel for a shopping trip in Primm. Our original plan was to go to the temple but it happened to be close the week we were there. Following Primm we went to get tickets for Cirque du Soleil but the cheap tickets were sold out and so we bought tickets for the next night and headed to dinner at the rainforest cafe. Everything was yummy! After dinner we headed over to the lion habitat there at the hotel and we saw them feed the lions, that was pretty cool, a good kids exhibit :) We thought about a movie that night but were too pooped so it was off to bed.

The next day was another presentation for the timeshare and some freebies for our time spent. after that it was lunch at the Sahara buffet (ugh blah) Don't go even if your lunch is free. Trent and I stayed at the Sahara and it was a dive. Threadbare carpet and mold in the shower. Melinda and Scott stayed at the Stratosphere and it was nice, deep tubs and air conditioning you can control. We then hit the strip. Wow it was hot and the walk was fairly long but getting the monorail tickets was worth the extra money and gave a great view of the strip. Our favorite highlight was Monterey Bay and the Shark Reef. We hit a free dinner that night at Planet Hollywood thanks to our presentation and then it was off to the MGM Grand for Cirque Du Soleil. Amazing is all I can say about that.

The next day was our last day at the strip so we headed for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory then we went to the mirage to see the baby tigers. We didn't want to pay the $15 apiece for tickets to see those so we bagged it and decided that we needed to get Melinda and Scott to the airport to catch their flight. Trent and I had 5 more hours ahead of us and rather than go back to Vegas (we saw enough:)we decided to catch a movie at the theater south of the strip. That put us about 2 hours from our flight so we returned the car and got our boarding pass. Our flight was delayed for about a half hour so some passengers from another flight could make it to our flight. Then it was home to SLC.

We have pics but it will take some time to put it together so check back for the fun photos!!

Memory Lane!

I am so copying your blog Jenny R I hope that is okay!

Everyone seems to have one of these on their blog these days. And since I'm such a crowd-follower, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. PLEASE PARTICIPATE! This could be interesting! :) Here is the challenge:

The Memory Post

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! If we're only blogging friends, write about a post that is the most memorable for you.

2. Next, if you feel so inclined, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you...!

3. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. ☺ And please do this on your page, too, so we can all share in the fun times together. :)

Mamma Mia!!

It was girl's night out on Tuesday so we decided to go to a chic flick. Jenny, my mom, Angela my sis, her friend Jen and Jenny's friend and daughter met at the theater and settled in for a fabulous time. ( With a warning that we were not to sing along. ) This movie was great!! The stars did a great job though they could have gotten better male actor singers, sorry Pierce. The music was so good that immediately after the movie we had to go out and buy some ABBA. We really had a super fun time and will have to check out the next chick flick. Yea!!

It's My Birthday!!

So this post comes a couple of weeks late. Sorry still trying to play catch up.

During our visit to Richfield over the 4th my sister-in-laws suggested we throw Colton a party to celebrate his birthday. We though that was a great idea since he never gets to celebrate it with the Rowley cousins. Trent's family was great and went all out. Sheri and my Mom-in-law, Colleen, made the cake. It was perfect for Colton. He is a pilot through and through. The morning of the 4th during the parade Colton spread out his arms and said "this is my party" with a big grin. I would think it was a party too if people threw me candy and prizes. He loves his presents and still plays with them everyday. A big thanks to my fabulous inlaws for making Colton's day special. We sure love hanging with you all.

4th of July FUN!!

What a fabulous holiday this has been. Course we are always glad to get out of town for a few days. I love 4th of July in Richfield. There is so much tradition and we love being a part of it. It is totally geared for kids and family. First off there is the parade where tons and tons of candy is thrown. Following the parade it is over to the city park where food and booths are set up for everyone. Following lunch you head to the foot races where all the kids get a chance to race and everyone gets a 50 cent coin for their efforts. Later in the afternoon there is a fish grab where a mob (that is the only way to describe it) of kids descends on three large temporary ponds full of fish to grab and take home. That is kind of crazy due to the amount of kids and crowd control issues. Following the fish grab we go to the pool where it is free swim day and a coin toss in the pool to grab as many as you can. Adults are invited to this one. Once dinner is done we get to do fireworks on the street and then align our chairs for the fireworks off the mountain. It is a busy fun day and we enjoy going every year!!

Interior Designer, I'm not

So I am a no longer a newlywed, with newlywed furniture and a newlywed budget. I have some great pieces of furniture that need an update to make our living room not so hodge podge anymore. My solution is to stain/paint these items to give the room a more homey and complete feel. I just don't know what to do or what to pick. My first instinct is black but then once I go black I can't go back. This is where you all come in. My sis in laws suggested blogging to find the answer so here are the pics of my furniture. Keep in mind that I have dark blue carpet (I know, I can't change that) and dark green sofas. Please help me decide what I should do with these. And what colors should I use.

Seven kids? Ya we could swing it!!

So our favorite thing about having friends is to give them a break from their kids for a little while. Believe it or not we LOVE your kids. We had a free evening this past week and so I called my friend Ardis knowing that her husband was home for a rare weekend during his internship and asked if I could take her kids that evening. She has been so good to help me out with my kids on more than one occasion so I wanted to return the favor. I'm so glad she took me up on my offer. Little did I know that Trent was offering our services for the night with our grand friends the Smiths. He asked what I thought and I said the more the merrier. Our friends have great kids and we always have a good time. There were no mishaps or fights (except between our own) We had a fabulous time with this gang but came to the conclusion we will never have seven of our own. We will leave that up to the Smiths. :)


We have Brayker, Makenzie, Hannah, Bubba and Colton (Henry is upstairs and Tait is in bed)

Hey Colton, Tag Your It...

So thanks Todd for tagging Colton. It helped us remember all the things we love about him after a week of wanting to forget :)(long multiple stories) So here it goes:
Some things you may or may not know about Colton.
1. He loves rockets and airplanes, or anything that has flying potential.
1.5. Because of his love of flying his fav movies are Jimmy Neutron and Buzz Lightyear.
2. He is a candy sweet addict.
3. He loves meat his favorite being sausage, he would eat it morn, noon, and night.
4. He doesn't like to try new things so we usually have to bribe him.
5. He is a BIG tease.
6. He is a snuggle bug and will give anyone a hug and kiss. We have to watch that when adolescence comes.
7. He is usually very polite.
8. He will sneak up and sleep on our bedroom floor. We notice it come morning time.
9. He is a giggler like his mom.
10. He looks like Grandpa Armstrong when comparing childhood photos.
11. He is a button pusher and doesn't care if is a button on a phone or the car (watch out on that one guys)

We love you Colton and think that you are a fabulous kid!! Keep flying.

We tag Hayley, Paige, Brayker, and Steven.

Catch up with the Rowleys

Sorry we have been slacking on the posting. Life is really busy, improvised and we fly by the seat of our pants these days.

Since school has been out I have been filling in at work until they hire someone to cover a shift. So needless to say our nights have been a little chaotic. My kids also don't believe that its bedtime cause it is still day outside. This summer experience will take some getting used to.

We have really enjoyed the moments of nice weather we have had. We have been working out in the yard and have gotten some bare patches of lawn planted. I have also put together my flower beds. I am now making sure that they last a long time and I get my moneys worth out of the flowers.

Trent and I have felt so happy for the amazing life we have, we keep hoping that things will last and that life will continue on that way for us. Unfortunately, our Heavenly Father has a broader picture of things and knows that we will face a few trials along the way. This past month has been a difficult one as we have adjusted to changes in our family life. I don't have an eloquent way of telling this so I have borrowed the words from my sister's blog. I hope Melinda that is okay. You say it much better than I could.

The last big thing I have been going through involves my great dad. Three weeks ago, he was have such severe nausea and vomitting that I got him to come down here and see Dr. Lowe to try to find out the problem he's been having. He had an upper endoscopy with no findings so next on the list was an ultrasound to check for gall stones. Sure enough, some gall stones were there but so were some spots on the liver. Dr. Lowe sent dad right over to the hospital to have a ct. guided liver biopsy so they could get just the right spot. Sure enough, his bladder cancer had returned and was now metastasized to the liver. Never a good thing. In the space of one week and still a tone of vomitting, he was sent to a surgeon to have the gall bladder removed, to the oncologist to see what could be done for his cancer, and then off to surgery to take out the gall bladder and put in a port-a-cath for chemotherapy. As many of you know, my dad almost died on his first treatments of chemo by developing ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Disorder) which caused him to be life flighted to Ogden and spent two weeks in their ICU. You can imagine how he's feeling about repeating the chemo. Right now we wait for two months to see how the chemo is working and then we go from there. The prognosis for this kind of cancer is never good so we ask everyone out there for your prayers of quality time for my dad on this earth. Pray also for comfort to my mom because she needs it immensely.

Trent and the kids have been so supportive of the time I have spent helping mom and dad. I just wanted him to know that I so appreciate him and love him +++. I'm grateful that my kids have an opportunity to learn about service and that you can't expect something in return for helping others. Though grandma does give them a laffy taffy for being good on errands. I sure enjoy helping my mom and dad as well. I hope that she reads this so that she can know how proud of her I am. She faces a lot and she keeps her chin up and tries to on my dad as well. I know that our Father in Heaven loves us and has a purpose for everything so I will keep praying for faith and know that He will bless our family no matter the outcome.

Back to Picture taking

So, here is the most recent update on Colton and my Cell phone pictures. Looks like instead of taking pictures of everything, he has now starting taking self portraits

End of the Season

Yesterday was Makenzie's last Soccer game of the season. It was mine as Coach as well. It was pretty fun to see how some kids like to actually play "the game" and how many like to play "flap my arms and look at me, I am a bird" game. Makenzie did a pretty good job for her first time playing soccer. We had a couple of boys who were quite funny to watch. If they kicked the ball it was either the wrong way or after the whistle was blown. All in all it was a fun time. For the middle of May it was quite cool.Makenzie and some teammates waiting for the other team to kick off.

I am going to get it!!Oh no you don't !!

Makenzie throwing the ball in. Good form Makenzie!

Watch me kick this!

Makenzie's teammates left to right: Max, Saxton, Allison, Brynlee, Hunter, Daniel, Makenzie, Anthony, Jordan.

Beach Time

During our trip we took a break from Disneyland and headed to the beach. It was cloudy but not too cold however, the water was freezing. Still, that didn't damper our fun as we played in the sand and had a good time getting our feet wet. As you can see also, there were some family members who braved the cold water and got into their swimming suits and got total wet.

Disney Characters

We saw a lot of Disney characters throughout our three days in Disneyland. We did see more but never got pictures with them or they were in the parades or performing. Since we took almost 400 pictures we decided that we can't show them all but we will be showing some throughout the week. Colton's Favorite character, of course, was Buzz Lightyear. He rode the Buzz Lightyear ride 5 or 6 times and loved it. Makenzie’s Favorite Character was Snow White. Of course they loved Mickey Mouse and the picture where they are sitting with him is kind of funny. We waited in line at Mickey’s house and when it was our turn Colton went up to Mickey who was standing and buckled his right leg at the same time Makenzie was scooting up close on his left side to get a picture and bang, down went Mickey with the kids. No one was hurt but they ended up taking the picture sitting down. Hee Hee. They now joke about knocking Mickey Mouse down.