End of the Year 2014

This year, 2014, was quite the year.  Margrethe was still with us through June, when she returned to Norway.  In March, we were able to go to Disneyland for a day.  It was a surprise trip that we took the family on with money from our tax return.  Corey and I also got to go to Hawaii at the end of April, a trip that he earned with In-N-Out.  Along with these fun times came not so good times.  We had a wonderful Fowles family reunion in July, which was followed closely by the sudden and unexpected death of Jenna's oldest brother.  The whole family gathered again only a few weeks later to mourn his passing, both in California for the funeral and Utah for the burial.  And the most interesting and life-changing event was Corey transferring stores from West Jordan to Plano, Texas. 

Corey had his ups and downs as a store manager this year.  Work was hard and he experienced a lot of growth.  The icing on it all was our trip to Hawaii, which was a nice, relaxing trip that we enjoyed.  I hope he can keep up the good work and earn other such opportunities.  He started at his store in Texas in November and we look forward to his growth and experiences in a new division.

Jenna continued her job as a PLC aide at Silver Crest, working only on Fridays.  It was a great job that kept her up to speed with what was happening in the schools and helped keep her teaching skills.  She is enjoying her time with the littlest ones, realizing that this time really does slip away far too quickly.

Westley changed schools from Silver Crest to Providence Hall.  We learned early in the year that the boundaries would be realigned, forcing us to another school, so when Westley got a letter from Providence Hall informing him he'd been accepted (after a two-year stint on the waiting list), he decided to go to junior high rather than stay in elementary school for sixth grade.  He loved Providence Hall and made a lot of great friends.  Westley played baseball this year, and he also earned his Arrow of Light this year. 

Caleb finished third grade with flying colors and started fourth grade.  He had a great run with fencing that he started in February and found he quite enjoyed.  He really does quite well in school and is such a sweet boy and good helper at home. 

Travis turned eight this year and was baptized.  He started cub scouts and has really enjoyed it.  He also played baseball.  Travis has become quite a social butterfly and has tons of friends who always want to play.  He is one smart kid and a good helper around the house as well.


Eliza has continued with dance and we enjoy her sparkly personality.  She is also very smart and loves to read chapter books.  She has finished the Ramona series and likes to read whatever she can find.


Jonah is every bit the three-year-old.  He is the shyest of the kids and very cuddly.  He likes quiet and calm.  His big interests include Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  He can also recognize his name.

Annmarie is just a ball of energy.  She is always getting into everything (drawing on herself with markers, emptying cupboards, etc.).  She is talking up a storm and learning how to open doors.  She keeps me on my toes.

We look forward to new experiences and new people as we move to Texas.  We will miss everyone we have met and grown to love in Utah.  It truly was a great place for us while we were able to be there.  This year was a year that brought a lot of changes and we hope that we can adjust to these changes and really grow.

More Moving Stuff

We left Arizona mid-morning on Saturday December 27th.  My goal was to make it to Van Horn, Texas, the halfway mark.  We drove I-10 the whole way, making only a couple of stops on the way.  The hotel was a dump and we were very glad to be out of there.  We drove on Sunday from Van Horn to Plano, where we met Corey at a La Quinta for a couple days while we got our house cleaned up and waited for the movers to come with our stuff.

Here are a couple of pictures from those days:

Annmarie eating ice cream with her left hand at Chick-Fil-A where we had lunch one of the days.

Eliza lost her first tooth while playing at Aunt Eve's while the truck unloaded our house.

Time in Arizona

I spent a week in Arizona with the kids. On Monday, the 22nd, we drove out to Queen Creek to see the old house and neighborhood. Then we drove up to Prescott to see where Caleb was born and ate lunch at Corey's old In-N-Out there. We also took time to see a few of my friends and visit both the Gilbert and the Mesa temple grounds. We also visited with Corey's brother and Westley was able to spend an afternoon playing with his cousin Toby. It was a nice little vacation in the middle of a stressful move.

Lunch at the Prescott In-N-Out

Westley and Toby

Gilbert Temple

Kids playing with the kids of my friend Lindsey

Mesa Temple Lights with grandparents.  Annmarie had already gone to Texas with Dad.

Christmas 2014

One of the reasons I wanted to spend a week in Arizona was so we could spend Christmas with my parents. That is something we rarely are able to do because Corey can't ever travel over Christmas since he has to work on the 24th and the 26th.

Kids opening stockings.  Our tradition is to have them open their stockings first before we do the tree.  Their breakfast (mini cereal boxes) is in their stockings.  So we also eat before seeing the tree and presents.

Grandma and Grandpa enjoying a Christmas with grandkids.

Eating the mini cereals

Corey making mashed potatoes.  We had turkey, mashed potatoes and all that good stuff for Christmas dinner.

Annmarie tired from all the activity.

Eliza playing with a rubber band gun she got from Nana.

Moving Day

On December 18th, the movers came and packed our house.  Corey flew back to Utah from Texas to sign the papers on the house in Utah.  My friend Rachel kept all the kids at her house while the movers packed everything.  Corey, Westley and Snoopy stayed that last night in the house in Utah, sleeping on the couches.  I took the other kids down to John and Allison's in Provo.  The truck came early on the 19th and Corey and Westley were there to oversee it all.  I came back to Riverton with the kids after the truck was loaded to get them.  We drove around Riverton, Herriman, South Jordan and West Jordan one last time, stopping at Dunford Donuts to get some donuts that you can't find in Texas.  Then we drove down to Provo to stay that last night with John and Allison.

We left Provo around 8:30 a.m. to drive to Arizona.  It was a gorgeous drive on Highway 89, but so sad to leave Utah.

Last look at South Mountain.  So beautiful.

Kids in the car

These are pictures of some scenery as we drove through Southern Utah:

Mt. Nebo

The last of the Northern Utah mountains in the rear view mirror as we drove away.  So sad.

We drove from Provo to Mesa all in one day.  I then spent the next week in Mesa with the kids.  Corey flew back to Texas, then back to Mesa for Christmas, then back to Texas.  I drove with the five oldest kids by myself to Texas in two days.  Corey had Annmarie with him and my sister-in-law babysat while Corey worked those days.

Up House

Not far from our house in Riverton was this house built after the manner of the house in the Disney/Pixar movie "Up".  We passed it every time we drove to the library or to Silver Crest, when the kids went there.  This was the first time I ever stopped for a picture...on our last day in Riverton.

Fun Family Friends

At the beginning of the summer, a new family moved into our ward.  They happened to have the same number of kids as we do with all the right ages, or pretty close.  The oldest boy was eleven, same as Westley, and if the kids were in public school (they homeschool), they would have been in the same grade.  The second oldest would have been in Caleb's grade, the third oldest would have been in Travis' grade.  The three older kids were all boys, just like in our family, with the fourth a girl, just like in our family.  Their girl was a little younger than Eliza, so they would not have been in the same grade, but they were close enough in age to play and be friends.  Then they had a boy Jonah's age and another boy the same age as Annmarie. 

The best part was how well they all got along.  Probably the only one of all the kids who didn't get along was Jonah.  Anyway, over the summer and in the fall, we became pretty good friends.  We spent much of the last several weeks doing things with them and they were the last people we said goodbye to before rolling out to Provo and heading to Mesa.

Travis and Luke

Westley and Isaac

Eliza and Hannah

Jenna and Rachel

The kids making gingerbread houses (graham crackers)

The girls playing (Annmarie in the background in black sweats)

The two babies--only a month apart

Annmarie's Quiet Book

I decided to make Annmarie a quiet book for Christmas for her "Something to read".  It was a lot of work.  I used fabric I already had and put together this book.  I got a few ideas for pages from Pinterest (just the theme for the page, not the design) and came up with a few on my own.  I worked on it every night for about a month after the kids were in bed. 

Cover

First Page: Noah's Ark with a pocket to store the animals

Second Page: Counting beads

Third Page: Letter match-up

Fourth Page: Color match

Fifth Page: Shape match

Sixth Page: Mr. Potato Head

Last Page: Dress up Girl

Last Days of School in Utah

I took pictures of the kids with their teachers and at their schools on their last day of school in Utah. They are really sad to leave Utah and have loved their schools they have been at. Even with changing schools this year, they have loved it all.

Travis wit his 2nd grade teacher, who just adored him

Eliza had team teachers this year--one that taught in the mornings and one in the afternoons.

Caleb and his teacher, who also loved him

These three in front of their school.

Westley changed schools and went to a charter school--junior high.  If he had stayed in the regular public schools, he would have been in elementary with the other kids  He loved being in junior high.  It was a truly great school.

My Girl is Seven!

Eliza turned seven on December 6th. She was so excited for her birthday. I made her a snowflake cake for Frozen, her favorite movie. She is just getting so big!