October

Well, our October has been a month that I never want to repeat in some ways, and in others I wish it could have gone on a lot longer. We started out the month with the news that the cancer Tim's dad had been fighting for the last year was terminal and all we could do was make Mark comfortable. This was incredibly overwhelming do deal with. Add to that the moving. We moved out of the small rental we were in by the 1st and put all of our boxes on that patio, and moved all of our furniture to the new house (next door) patio. Then we packed up our suitcases and stayed at my mom's for 2 weeks. Add to that us traveling to St. George 4 weekends in a row to spend as much time with Mark as we could. This was precious time that I wish we could have had more of. We even had a weekend where Mark had all 6 of his kids together to spend time and get some last council and comforting words from him. Add to that Tim studying for his Professional Engineering exam. He studied 10-15 hours a week on top of working 40-50 hours a week- making me feel like a single mom. Add to that moving into the new house- which has been wonderful! It feels so good to finally be in a home that we can grow into! All of these things added together in one month have put me close to losing my mind at times, but I have managed to pull through. The day after we moved into our house we got the phone call that Mark was going back to Heaven quickly. I had to run over to the Stake Center bawling and pull Tim out of a meeting so that he could call his dad to say goodbye. Mark was not very responsive by this time, but we did find out that he said Tim's name when he got on the phone and said, "I love you." We jumped in the car again and made it to Nephi when we got the call that Mark had taken his last breath. This experience has been so sad for our family, but we have a firm testimony in the Plan of Happiness. There have been far too many spiritual experiences in the last year to be able to deny that Heaven is real, the Savior lives, and we don't just go to sleep when we die. We go back Home and we know that is where Mark is now. We know we will see him again, but we miss him a lot still. After the funeral I realized how lucky I am to be married to man who was raised by Mark Fowers. Tim has so many characteristics like Mark and I am so blessed to have him for a husband and the father of my children. Mark's example has made us want to be better people and has made me be a better wife and mother. A week after the craziness of the funeral, Tim took his 8 hour test. One of the last times we saw Mark he gave Tim a blessing and said that he would be successful with this test. Tim could feel that strength during the test. We know that Mark was aware of what Tim was doing that day and was proud of his son. Mark was only 64 years old- not even old enough to claim Social Security! We know that our Heavenly Father needed him more than we did. That knowledge has brought us comfort that I can't even begin to explain. I posted some pictures here, in no particular order, of what we have been doing the last month.

Halloween. Juliet- ladybug, Emmary-witch, Davis-dragon

Mark's casket. The only picture we took during the funeral. Tim's sister took a lot, so we can get copies later. It was weird how that didn't even cross our minds that day.

St. George at Tim's parents.

7 days before Mark passed. I know it is sideways, but I didn't upload it from Picasa. Oh, and I am brunette now. Davis has a giant piece of candy in his mouth.

The same day as the previous picture. I was trying to get Brinley, Emmary and Juliet, but Juliet just wanted to look at Mark. When you zoom in, they look so cute just the 2 of them. It is hard for me to know that I will have to show this picture to Juliet one day and tell her about her Pappa Mark because she won't remember. But for this one moment they had a special connection.

A great picture one week before Mark passed.

Davis at Grandma Charyl's.

Juliet and Mark the beginning of October.

Davis at Grandma Charyl's pool

Tim, Emmary and I at Tarzan. The show was awesome! But we were emotional already and it was sad when the dad gorilla dies:(

Juliet's first swim- she loved it!!!

The Lion King

Of course, I'm a week late doing this post, but better late than never! We were so lucky to be able to see The Lion King with some great friends last week. We started with dinner at the Blue Iguana-yum!



I think I only have 2 pictures of me and Sarah together, even though I see her everyday and talk to her mulitple times a day!

Me, Sarah, and Christina in front of the theatre. It was beautiful weather.

Our group- minus Greg because he took the photo. We had awesome seats in the orchestra section so we could see the bongo drums and had an awesome view of the stage. We could see all the animals coming down the aisles too. The show was so good. I wasn't super hyped for the show like I was the 4 times I saw Wicked last year, but I was so entertained! The costumes were phenominal-especially the scenery costumes. My favorite was the Mufasa scene in "He lives in you"(if you've seen the show you know what I'm talking about!) Overall, we had a great night out with wonderful friends:)

First day of school!!

Call me crazy if you want, but whenever my kids watch Nemo I skip the first scene where Coral and the babies die because I think it's just sad. So according to the Fowers family, Nemo begins with little Nemo shouting, "First day of school, first day of school!" I have been waiting for years to be able to run into Emmary's room and wake her up saying that- our day arrived on Friday. She was so excited and I was so excited and happy for her. She is so very ready to be learning again and socializing with friends. I knew I was going to miss her, but I didn't feel sad about it at all. When the day finally came we got up and I made Emmary's favorite breakfast of French Toast with Coconut syrup-yum! It is my new goal to make a hot breakfast every school day and I think it has made a big difference already. Because I get up early to make the meal, we are ready to go with no fights and no running late. At the last minute I insisted that Tim go with us to take her to kindergarten and he resisted, but he finally agreed. After giving Em a blessing we were off.



As soon as we got to the school Em found Kiya and Melody so I knew she was not going to be friendless! Watch out Mrs. Selk is all I have to say:) I just need to say that it is the weirdest feeling sending my child to the same room I went to kindergarten in. How did this happen and how in the world do I have a child old enough to be in school?

The bell finally rang and the kids lined up and refused to open their eyes in the bright sun for any more pictures. It was at this point that I thought, "Hey, I might get out of this without crying!" until I made eye contact with Pam who was tearing up. I lost it. I practically had to run to my car holding my breath. Once safely inside I exhaled and let myself have a good strong cry for a minute. It's not a cry of sadness, it is just an emotional transition in life that i have entered. For the next 25+ years I will have a child in school and will be involved in PTA's and homework, bakc to school night, and helping out in classrooms. Fieldtrips and school programs. Our lives will revolve around
summer vacation and spring break. I cried it out and felt much better:)


After school Shona and I took Emary to lunch at her favorite- and mine- Red Lobster! It's so fun having such a big girl around. I love this girl so much and couldn't be happier that she is my daughter.

Juliet 4 months

Juliet just hit her 4 month mark and we took another trip to the doctor to get her checked out. Luckily her pneumonia is all cleared up and the dr. said she sounds healthy as can be again- whew! Juliet is 16 lb. 1 oz. (93%) and 25 1/2 in. (90%)- basically she is thriving and growing like a weed! She is gettting so strong at sitting up and holding her body up.

Yes, I know the hair is wacko- she just had a bath but it was in a pony the day before and it didn't want to do anything else! She doesn't love tummy time, but she does love chewing on her fingers constantly!


This picture is a little blurry because she obviously isn't interested in sitting still while in the jump-r-roo. I was hessitant putting her in it this young, but she just loves it and is ready to be playing instead of laying and watching the big kids play.

I just love this girl:)

Some Firsts

We've had some exciting firsts around here this week. Juliet got her first pony tail. She looks so big with her hair done up, but she looked so cute!

She just wants to sit up so bad. She is just holding onto one of my fingers and is holding herself up.

Worn out after the photo shoot.

Our next exciting thing is that Emmary lost her first tooth! She is only 5, but her tooth started feeling loose a couple weeks ago and she would not let us touch it. This last weekend it was just hanging on by a thread. Sat morning she came in and said she pulled it out and put it under her pillow and wondered why the tooth fairy didn't come. OOps!

What's weird is that Em's tooth started growing in already where the baby tooth fell out. Also, we can see the tooth next to it coming up, even though that tooth hasn't fallen out yet, but it's a little loose. I hope she gets my teeth and not her fathers!

Pioneer Day

Check me out- this just happened yesterday and I am already blogging it! I am fighting a summer cold, so I spent most of the day laying down on the couch reading, but in the evening we did fireworks with the awesome people in our circle. I'm telling you, living in a cirle is the way to be. This was the first time we have done fireworks and our kids didn't cry or get sad. We didn't get the kids in bed until almost 11:00 last night, but it was worth it.



This is how we found Davis napping yesterday

This is our neighbor Katie. She and Davis have a special relationship and they just love eachother. This is great for me because Davis is so difficult right now and it is great to know that someone loves him and is happy to play with him when I have reached my limit!

The first time we have taken a picture with our family of 5 since the hospital. Although I asked one neighbor if she would take a picture of all 4 of us. She looked at me like I was missing something before I realized that we are 5 now!

The Great Outdoorsman

Here are some pictures from Tim's backpacking trip with 2 of his brothers. He had a great time- male bonding and all of that good stuff:) It was hard with 3 little kids by myself at home, but I have awesome neighbors and parents who kept me company and helped quite a bit. Needless to say, I was so happy to have him back. Yesterday Emmary said, "Hey dad, remember when you were gone camping? I really missed you." That pretty much sums it up! If you look closely in these pictures you will see goats. Yes they are real, and no they weren't worth the money. They got them to carry their gear, but the goats kept sitting down and wouldn't carry their stuff. Anyway, I guess it was a funny memory.

Juliet- 3 months

My sweet girl is 3 months old now. It doesn't sound like a very long time, but I feel like I have known her forever. She has just fit perfectly into our family. She is such a sweet, easy going baby. She cries only if she's hungry or tired and even then it is more of a wimper. She really has to warm up to full on screaming these days. She is getting bigger by the day and it is fun to watch her grow. Her hair is still wacko and sometimes it has a red tint to it and somedays it looks like it's turning blonde, but either way, none has fallen out and it is just getting longer and thicker. She is smiling all the time now and she has started giggling- which is super entertaining!

Strong girl. Tim put her on the chair the other day and she just stood there by herself for awhile. Check out those thighs!


Before church today. I can now have clips stay in her hair-it's getting her to keep her head still long enough for me to get it in that's the problem!

Juliet- 2 months

Juliet just went in for her 2 month checkup. She is 12lb.12oz. and 23 inches. She is growing so fast, I feel like she flew through the newborn stage and it makes me sort of sad, but I love watching her grow and interact with us more.

Juliet's first stroller ride, next to Ginormica Emmary!

Trying to smile ( I actually have one with a cute smile, but it's blurry:()


This one is a bit blurry too, but it shows her cute smile and chubby cheeks. This is also the first time I managed to get a bow in her hair!

What a Dad!

My kids are so lucky to have Tim for a dad. He is so involved with the kids and loves them unconditionally. He is not one of those dad's that comes home from work and watches tv. He walks in the door and is playing with the kids until I make him stop so they can go to sleep! They love him so much and it shows:)

Juliet just loves her daddy and falls asleep on him all the time like this.

Fathers day- Tim +3

Juliet Birth Pics

These are a little late, but better late than never right? My goal is to keep our blog updated-it's always good to have a goal :)