Gingerbread Houses

Making Gingerbread Houses is always a fun project. It has evolved over the past few years. It started as all of us making one house, to now everyone wanting to create their own. This year I just bought graham crackers and hot glued each house together and then they decorated it. This was a lot better on the budget than buying 4 kits. :) I think they turned out really cute. Kids are creative, it was fun to watch the process take place. Carlee loved that candy would fall on the floor. She turned into our human vacuum and consumed most of it! :) Fun night! Thanks Grandpa Dennis for keeping this tradition alive.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Grandma Reber had a great birthday celebration! Mom went all out fixing a big spread with ribs/chicken and salads. Lex made yummy dutch oven potatoes. It was a fun party with the family. Happy Birthday Grandma! Here is to many more! 

Tub Time

How do you recover from a long weekend of baseball?

 Looks good to me.

Spring Break

Spring Break was low key this year. We enjoyed a few days schedule free, and that was vacation enough!

Here are the highlights:

* Tangled = Darling! (Only took me 5 months to see it! Just in time for me to go buy on DVD, a must own!) 

* Playing with friends.

* Sleeping in.

* A "double sleepover" with Jake.

* Cousin Fun.

* A Haircut.

* The filling of the sandbox! (Another thing that has taken me months and months to complete. Thank you Dad, for getting the dirt and Gav for unloading it.)

* Finding bow material. Now just have to make them! 

* Baseball. (This deserves its own post should be coming soon.) 

It was so nice to have a much needed break, the weather even cooperated the first few days and let us wear our shorts and flip flops. The week off did give me glimpse of what the summer is going to be like and I am not sure if I am ready for that one or not! ;) I will have to make a few more trips to the grocery store that's for sure. :)

Sledding

Santa brought the boys sleds for Christmas, so on New Year's Eve we headed up to Pine Valley to go sledding. The boys had a ton of fun. Landon got to be really good and the sleds worked great. We only had one accident. Preston got plowed from someone coming down the hill while they were walking up the hill the very first time. Gavin thought he was going to have a concussion, but he popped up and was fine. Nothing was stopping him from trying out his new sled!  I stayed in the car most of the time with Carlee, but at the end I even went down once! The weather was beautiful, blue skies and no wind. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Good Times, Good times!

Deer Camp

Deer Camp this year was a complete success! Lots of fun, food, camping and no deer! ;) Grandpa Randy, Uncle Ryon and Uncle Lex took good care of Landon and Preston, while Gavin and the rest of the camp went hiking in the rain. From what I heard, there were lots of bb's shot, many sticks were carved, and a bag of Butterfinger's were consumed. Preston also informed me that Uncle Ryon has everything anyone would ever need while camping. If you need it Ryon has it! (I guess that is a true Eagle Scout for you, right?!)

Gavin brought me back a bouquet of red leaves, it was beautiful. Who needs a dozen roses when you can have red leaves? My favorite. Addie, Carlee and I had a great weekend of shopping with Grandma! I am starting to think that missing Deer Camp might not have been such a bad thing after all.

Swiss Days

 Swiss Days

September 25, 2010

The Reber Family had really been looking forward to Swiss Days this year.  My brother's restored my Grandpa's 10 Wheeler and everyone got to ride on it in the Swiss Days Parade. Such a fun time!

The  best part of this story really isn't the parade. It is the countless hours Lex put into restoring this truck. He was at the shed I can't even imagine how many hours, all I know is almost every time I passed Quail Street (and I pass Quail Street A LOT!) This project gave my Grandpa something good to look forward to, in what has probably been the hardest year of his life. You see, he had knee replacement surgery back in January and then 5 or 6 weeks after the surgery he got infection. After many many months of pain, and agony they finally amputated his leg just above the knee a month before Swiss Days. Thankfully Grandpa made it home before Swiss Days and even rode in the parade, we were all so happy he got to be there.

I am so thankful that my brothers took on this very large project and restored this old truck. I think it made everyone's year better, because it brought our family closer. If it was by visiting at the Shed, or getting texts about the progress, having this common interest drew us together. It also took my Grandpa's mind off of his knee, which was a huge blessing.

After the parade everyone met at Grandma's and had a BBQ. It was a good day and I was so glad I was able to be there even if it was for just a little while.  I had Carlee there and she was just 2 1/2 days old, so we left a little early, but not before we had a few pictures taken in front of that beautiful truck!

Well done Bowler Boys, well done.

Bowler Reunion

The Bowler Reunion was yesterday in Gunlock. It was great. Good food, great company and crawdads at the river. The boys were in heaven. Addie had fun in the bounce house and on the swings. We won a few things in the silent auction, next year we will have to monitor the sheets better if we want to win the good stuff! The play guitar we brought home (Thank You Grandma!) plays Old McDonald so loud you almost can't think straight. Addie loves it! The sad news is, we have somehow miss placed it already... we ALL feel really bad about it. ;) It was another successful reunion, thanks to all who put it together. We can't for next year!

Lake on Labor Day

I can't believe we hadn't been to the lake with Grandpa and Grandma Hale all summer. Luckily they called and we went on the last "official" day of summer, Labor Day! We had a ball.

Thank goodness Grandpa Ken is a good sport and rides the tube with all the kids. The pictures are classic! Enjoy! 

Cousin Fun

Candice came to town, so we went to Town Square to play. The kids always have a great time at Town Square. It was nice to visit with Candice, Mel and Mom, they are always good company. 

We had to take one group shot, all the kids are getting so big! 

After looking through all my takes of this one shot in iPhoto, I realized why my computer memory is depleting! To get four kids six and under to look forward at the same time, takes nothing short of a miracle! 

Then there is this girl, who asked me to take this picture and posed all by herself.

 Do you think I have taken to many pictures of her over the course of the last two years?

  Know what? Don't answer that, I don't think I want to know! 

Alpine Slides

We stayed at Park City in a condo during the Tournament of Champions. It was fun, we stayed with the Shipp's and it worked great. The condo was right at the Alpine Slides, after the games on Saturday the boys went for a ride. I was kind of bummed that I couldn't go down because I am pregnant. I guess we will just have to go back next year. Preston rode with Gavin, he told me it was a blast, but from the look on his face, I thought he was a little scared. Landon got stuck behind a slow lady and wished he could have gone faster, but had fun anyway.

4th of July

The Fourth of July Weekend was filled with frogs, chickens, lots of Sno Cones, and Soda Pop at the Gunlock Rodeo. It is a tradition that everyone looks forward to all year. This year Landon, Gavin and Preston missed the first night because Landon went and played baseball in Park City with the Marshall's on Thursday and Friday. They made it home just in time to head to Gunlock for the Friday night performance. Landon got a chicken given to him and Preston caught a bunch of frogs. Those frogs still gross me out and I am 30! One jumped out of the bucket, but I think Grandma Gai and I jumped farther! We finally got home and into bed at 1:30 am. I think the boys were making up from missing the night before. Then Saturday morning Landon was baptized, and we were able to sneak in a nap and then head to Gunlock on last time. It was a great weekend in Gunlock! I don't know how to celebrate the Independence of our Nation any other way!

Lets Go Fly a Kite

Preston received a free kite at the Kite Festival for reading. We went to fly it only to find out our kite skills are not that hot, but we had fun anyway!

Spring In the Desert

The Sliderzz played in a baseball tournament in Las Vegas over Easter weekend. It was held at the Big League Dreams baseball complex. Wow, is all I can say about the fields, they were crazy cool. The fields are replica's of famous baseball parks. We played on Fenway, so fun! The other really cool part was it had a clubhouse, was landscaped with playground, grass and cement. I couldn't believe we had been at baseball games all day when we left because everyone was so clean! Landon included, the fields were turf, so I didn't even have to the red out of his baseball pants. It was great! The Sliderzz played awesome the first 2 days and came back on Saturday as the #1 seed. Unfortunately we lost our first game, but all in all it was a great weekend. Can't wait to go back!

Jazz Game

Wishing You a Very Merry..

FHE Farm Style

The first Monday in November we had the Nowatzki family meet us at the farm. It was a fun night full of feeding cows, chasing chickens, roping, and best of all riding on the tractor. After it got dark we headed to our house for dinner and a lesson. It was a great night, spent with a great family!

Deer Camp

Deer Camp was this last weekend, it was great. We stayed in a tent at Cougar pass and had loads of fun! Thankfully Addie stayed home with Grandma Gai (and Bradi too) and was treated like the Princess that she thinks she is! I missed her, but was glad she was where I knew she was clean. As for the rest of us clean was not even in our vocabulary this weekend!

Here are a few memories:

• The drive out was beautiful. I loved the all fall colors, the bright read oak and the golden Quaking Aspen were my favorite.
• Gavin and his A+ driving skills. He drove us to our camp without a hitch, even when it was narrow switchbacks with a cliff on one side. Augh! I just closed my eyes and prayed, then after I noticed my palms were sweating. I am not much for heights.
• We passed all this beautiful "Deer Country" as Dennis would call it. Only to camp in the middle of burned down Cedar Trees. Still wondering about that one....
• Our tent, it was great! First time we have used it since we purchased it 7 1/2 years ago. The little boys are already planing our next camping trip for the spring, it really was fun!
• Garrett's Dutch Oven Potatoes and the Squirrel Pi$* Sagebrush Steaks (excuse the language had to be completely accurate!) It is a long story but the pan to cook with was left home. We found a grate left from previous campers on the ground and used it. It's amazing what you'll eat when your hungry! They tasted pretty good too, Outback might want to check into this new idea, and put it on the menu!
• The wind on the first night was fierce. We didn't get to have a fire, so everyone was in their tents by 8:30. Because it was so early, Preston put on a little dance show complete with flashlight strobe lights! Have I ever said how much I love that kid?!
• The lack of Deer and the unbelievable amount of hunters.
• Dad, Ryon and Lex showing up! It made my day!
• Puzzles, books, pretzels, jerky and good visits with Aubrey.
• Jake and his Boy Scout fire building. Dennis and his throw fuel on it way to build a fire.
• Stories and marshmallows.
• Dr. Pepper
• Dirt in my nails.
• Ryon fixing the flat. Glad the mechanics showed up!
• Dad and his many stories, we decided he really loves to hunt and that alone made it so fun!
• Shooting the twenty two.
• And best of all, the shower I took when I got home!

Good Times, Good Times!

Bowler Reunion

Ingredients to make a great family reunion:

• Meet in Gunlock at the park.
• Have LOTS of Good Food.
• Must have a Fun Family!
• Silent auction's are always an added bonus.
• Have a chart of every family member. It is a great way for all to feel connected. :)
• Keep things, short and sweet.
• You will also need a few "visitor's." (Kind of like in Wedding Crashers, they will keep everybody on their toes!)

Thanks Josh and JC for being our "visitor's" we will adopt you as family anytime! Can't wait until the next Francis and Anne Bowler family reunion. It is always a treat to attend!

Gone Fishin'

Going to Sand Hollow in the summer time is always a treat. We go with Grandpa and Grandma Hale and have a great time.  The first night we went out with all the fam.  Landon had baseball practice and couldn't go, so the next day Grandpa and Grandma took us (Landon, Preston, Brooklyn, Kason and myself) back out so Landon could get in on the action. We caught some "lunkers" and laughed a lot! Especially when Grandma Katie fell in the lake! She had on a "big dog" and had just got it reeled in when Landon went to cast his pole and threw it in the lake. Grandma being a hero, tried to reach out and grab it, but missed and fell in, white pants and all. The only problem was, I had my video camera in hand, Grandpa Ken was on the phone, Preston was holding the fish in the net. Landon was scared cause he just watched the fishing pole sink to the bottom of the lake, Kason was casting, recasting and recasting trying to catch the big one, and I am not sure where Brooklyn was. (I promise Bradi we all were watching both of them!) Needless to say it was a 3 ring circus there for a minute. We did get a picture of the fish and the drowned Grandma. (see above)  The fish survived the whole ordeal and made it back in the lake after the photo op.  Oh man, Good Times!