Category: Family

In A Nutshell

Posted on by missystowell 8 Comments on In A Nutshell

Here’s a photo journey of some of the more memorable events that have occurred over the past several weeks in our little corner of the world.  Mouse over the photos to see a brief description of each.

Jeff's bone grafting/rod replacement surgery

Sterling's legos gather for general conference

sams-surgery

crazy-hair days at school

father-son-outing

University "Celebration!" - an annual family event

more snake handling

even more

A good way to use up 24 lbs. of strawberries

A better way to use up 24 lbs. of strawberries

weeping-cherry-blossoms

spring-blossoms

Not pictured:  Jeff replacing the radiator in the van, Spencer reading the entire Harry Potter series in 2 weeks, Savannah’s awesome piano recital, Sam’s entertaining Choir concert, Savannah’s clever choir concert/musical, Soren’s cute kindergarten music program, getting rid of ants in the kitchen, finding and fixing the leak that caused our floorboards to buckle, etc…

So Far So Good

Posted on by missystowell 3 Comments on So Far So Good

crazyguySo I’ve been the mother of a teenager for several hours now and so far we’re doing okay.  It hardly seems possible that 13 years have passed since we brought this guy home – and I remember thinking at the time that I couldn’t believe they let us out of the hospital with a baby (as if we knew what we were doing) – but now we can hardly remember life before Sam was a part of it.

So here’s a big Happy Birthday to our Sam with 10 things we love about our favorite teenager.

10. Sam is willing to try new things, especially when that means spending time with Dad.

waterskiingcatchofthedayconstruction

9. Sam is very smart and always does well in school.

8. Sam loves his family and can be very kind to his siblings. Yes, I said “can be”.  We all have our bad days…

with-the-girls

7. Sam has an interesting perspective about many things.

perspective

6. Sam loves to have fun and is as silly as they come!  Never a dull moment when Sam is around!  Do you think maybe that has something to do with being born on April Fool’s Day?

silliness2funnyfacessilliness

5. Sam has always loved to play games. He loves to win, but is a good sport when he doesn’t. I can always count on Sam for a game of Phase 10, Five Crowns, Blokus, Rummikub, Rack-o…

gameplayer

4. Sam is a movie star!  He was an extra in the Joseph Smith movie that came out a couple of years ago.  (It’s shown in the Legacy Theater in Salt Lake and in Visitor’s Centers.)  It was a great experience, but he hated the wig!

nauvoomovie

3.  Sam is becoming quite the accomplished violinist.  He’s been playing for about 6.5 years. He’s not crazy about solo numbers, but loves to play with the University orchestra and is always willing to share his talent at nursing homes to the delight of the residents there.  I love it when he and Sterling play duets, accompanied by Savannah.

violinist

2.  Sam has a tender/spiritual side.  He is honest to a fault (unless he’s sneaking extra time on the wii) and always tries to do what is right. (This is one of my all-time favorite pictures. I love the butterfly net over his shoulder…)

jesus

1.  Sam is just an all-around-great-kid!  He is loved and respected by many.  The conductor of the orchestra commented the other day that to see Sam’s smile each week makes the blood, sweat, and tears seem non-existent.  His teachers have often told me how much they enjoy Sam in their classes.  Sam is one handsome guy and we’re so glad he’s ours.  We love you Sam and hope you had a great 13th birthday!

handsomeguy

Hoppy

Posted on by missystowell 4 Comments on Hoppy

Two years ago, when Spencer was in 2nd grade, he learned about tree frogs.  He would come home from school each day and fill us in on the various facts and details surrounding the fascinating life of frogs.  He decided that this would be the ultimate pet and proceeded to save all his money to get one.  Finally, shortly after school ended for the Summer, we made a trek to the pet store and left with a 10-gallon tank, water dish, wood chips, a couple dozen live crickets, and “Hoppy”.

Hoppy was a female tree frog.  Spencer informed us that you could tell gender by the size of the ear spots next to their eyes.  Hoppy’s were large which meant girl.

We quickly settled into a routine of spraying down her tank two or three times a day, feeding her 3 or 4 live crickets each night (tree frogs are nocturnal), and making sure she had water in her dish.  We put in a few live plants which thrived in the terrarium-like conditions.  In the Winter, we put a heater on the side of the tank and eventually got a heat lamp to keep her warm enough.  The crickets were my least favorite part.  We kept them in our old one-gallon fish tank and they required carrots or apples to keep them hydrated and fed.  And Hoppy would only eat them if they were alive.  This got particularly exciting on those occasions when someone accidentally knocked the cricket cage to the floor and we’d still be finding crickets several days later.

Sometimes Spencer would put Hoppy in the tub for a swim.  Or he’d take her outside to play and let her crawl through the grass or he’d just carry her around and let her climb on his hands, quick to grab her when she hopped away.  One day last Summer, the kids found 2 small toads when Jeff was mowing the lawn.  Spencer brought Hoppy out to enjoy some company and the kids had a great time with their amphibious friends.  But since frogs don’t particularly enjoy being handled, Hoppy spent most of her days asleep in her tank.

On Friday, I couldn’t see Hoppy in her tank.  Spencer is great at finding her so I called him down.  He looked for a while and then pointed out that she was crouched behind the flower pot in the back corner where she has hung out before.   But as I looked closer, something was different.  I turned the tank around to get a closer look and she wasn’t suctioned to the glass as she usually was.  I knew there was something wrong when I saw that her neck wasn’t going in and out as it always did.  When the realization that Hoppy was dead sunk in, Spencer melted into tears.  As each of the children were made aware, they also cried and cried.  It was one sad evening in the Stowell home.  Spencer wrote in his journal that he’ll never forget Hoppy and that she was his only true best friend.  (That was the saddest part for me!)

Jeff buried Hoppy in front of our rose bush and Sterling drew this sweet picture for Spencer.

We’ll miss you, Hoppy.  Thanks for being a part of our family.

An Engaging Proposal

Posted on by missystowell 4 Comments on An Engaging Proposal

Fourteen years ago today, in a sealing room in the Manti temple, Jeff proposed.

Still on crutches from his farming accident just 6 months earlier, he got down on his good knee and asked me to marry him.  It dawned on me shortly after I accepted that I actually had a date that night with someone else.  See, Jeff and I had only been dating for 4 weeks.  This might sound alarming to some, but we had actually known each other for 6 1/2 years, having dated some during my first (his 2nd) year of college.  In and out of touch over the next several years, we finally figured out that we really liked being together this time around.  But we never had the “let’s only date each other” discussion.  I figured out pretty quickly that I preferred spending my time with Jeff, but we were only a couple of weeks into our new relationship when my brother’s friend asked me to his community college’s Valentine’s dance.  So when I blurted out, “I have a date tonight!”, Jeff said, “I know.  You can go.”  Yeah, right.  I didn’t go.

My Dad jokes that I finally caught someone because – with his injury – Jeff couldn’t run fast enough.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad Jeff puts up with me.  I think we make a good team.  Love you, babe.

I know this isn’t the best picture of me or the kids, but Jeff looks hot!

(I got the best one.  Wahoo!)

Sunshine

Posted on by missystowell 2 Comments on Sunshine

This morning, Sadie and I were walking to the neighbor’s house.  The sun was shining and reflecting off the snow and Sadie said, “It’s too bright!”

I said, “I love the sunshine.  It makes me happy!”

To that Sadie replied, “When it’s on our shoulder, it makes us happy.  When it’s in our eyes, it makes us cry.”

Can you tell what we’ve been listening to?

Don’t Be Jealous

Posted on by missystowell 4 Comments on Don’t Be Jealous

While I realize that no one would ever be jealous of my feet (no comments directed towards my long toes, please), you just might be envious at the quality pedicure I received over the weekend. It will probably surprise you to hear that this fine job was done by a three year old.  But she’s had lots of practice and is getting quite creative in her nail-painting skills.  If you’re in the area, please stop in.  Sadie is always looking for her next victim customer.

Deodorant for cars?

Posted on by missystowell 2 Comments on Deodorant for cars?

Sadie is really into smells lately.   She is ever aware of the smells around her and, for example, will quickly inform us that we have stinky breath in the morning.

Today, she and I were on our way home from the store when I heard a screeching sound from another car.  Then our car filled with the unmistakable smell of a burning belt.  Sadie, obviously agitated, immediately said, “What is that smell?  Where is that smell coming from?”  After a moment of consideration, she matter of factly said, “I know what that smells like.  Armpits.  Armpit sweat.”

Where does she come up with this stuff?