The old "20$ oil change"

So... we're going to Nebraska tonight and it hits me, "We need to get the car's oil changed before we go." It's one of those things my dad always taught me: you get a tune up before you go on a long trip. After runnings some errands, Kat and I dropped the car off for an oil change. We usually do it ourselves, but my friend who helps me is out of town right now.

About 30 minutes after I get home, the phone rings. "Mr. Jacob, we think you need a new ...."
and my ear starts to hurt. Kat and I had used a good chunk of our savings to go on trips to Baltimore and to Nebraska, plus with her brother deciding to get married in Washington, we've paid for a lot of travel this summer. Maybe too much.

I hate cars. They're money hogs. Money Money Money! But we've been pretty fortunate (blessed) when we look back at it. No accidents, one ticket (going five over???), no major repairs.

All said and done, our little oil change today cost FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you are so tired and lose patience a little easier than usual and then your child looks at you with this look of pure innocence and cuteness and it makes you feel guilty for losing patience? Well that happened to me the other night so I thought I would get a picture of the little cute and innocent face. Thanks for the reminder Jake that life is good. I love you!Also this has never happened in the history of Lily that she would randomly curl up and fall asleep. I don't know what she did that day but it must have been exausting.

The Backpack

Jacob has this backpack that he absolutely LOVES. He has been using it since he found it on his mission roughly 8 years ago and who knows how old it was by the time he found it. This thing is falling apart and he refuses to get rid of it because he likes it so much. The zippers are broken and one pouch just hangs open. He has had his wallet and keys fall out of it (luckily it happened on our driveway and we had honest neighbors). It is dirty,worn and the stitching is falling out all over. I have begged and pleaded for him to get a new one but he insists that it will last two more years till dental school is over. Today I was out walking with my friend and we went to a few garage sales. The last one we came to we were not sure we were going to go because it looked like nobody was there and there wasn't much stuff but we decided to go anyway and guess what I found? Yep you got it. The backpack in it's bright and brand new crisp form. It doesn't look like it has even been used and it was only $5. You never know what you will find at those things.

Baltimore Part 2

Our trip has gotten better. Here's the proof:


Lily and I went to the mother of all playgrounds today. Seriously, this is every little boy and girls' fantasy land come to life. I couldn't believe how amazing this jungle gym was. The pictures don't do it justice, but it's incredible.

And Lily was happy to just play on the rocking horse at first.
Here's the view from one of several towers the kids could climb upon. This is only half the park.
But Lily preferred to try to swing on the tire.
Last shot of this mind-numbingly cool park. I still can't get over how cool this place was. If there hadn't been mothers and kids all over the place... yeah, I would have played on it.
I was very excited to take Lily to her first temple. Kat had never seen the D.C. temple before either. It's my favorite. You can see why.
And.... I got a kiss at the doors. This is Lily rehearsing for her wedding day.
As soon as we walked into the Visitor's Center, Lily said, "Oh, big Jesus." She really enjoyed all the pictures of the Savior. Outside the center is a reflection pool, and if you stand at a certain spot, the temple is reflected on the water's surface. Lily called it the Temple Water.

Fun with Mom (especially being tickled to death)

Plus fun with Dad (being rolled up in lots of blankets)

Equals a very happy and beautiful girl.

Old Friends on the East Coast

Kat and I are in Baltimore right now, the area where I served my mission. It's been quite eventful so far, and we're halfway through the trip. So far we've gone down to D.C. and driven to Frederick, MD, about an hour and a half away. Jake has not been kind to us on these hour+ trips. His favorite activity has been to scream at the top of his lungs, non-stop, the entire time. To be honest, it's been awful. However, we've had a great time once we've gotten to where we want to be.
In D.C., we met up with two very good friends of mine, Nicole and Jennifer Clardy. I used to know them in Louisiana, where I lived 15 years ago. They were basically two of my sisters, as my mom watched them every day after school, and sometimes for one-two weeks at a time when their parents were sent away on military duty. They were a great help with the kids, and Lily particularly enjoyed them.
We're staying with "Grandma Audrey", a great friend of mine who I met while a missionary and baptized. We've kept in touch the last several years and we were both excited when Kat and I finally had a chance to take the family to the east coast. We probably won't go down to D.C. proper anymore, but we'll still try to visit the D.C. temple and Inner Harbor Baltimore before we go home. Enjoy the pictures.
From left to right: Nicole, Kat holding Jake, me holding Lily, Jennifer.
Lily LOVED Nicole, especially when Nicole carried her.
That large thing behind us is the Washington Monument.
We wished we could have spent more time here, but next we'll go not in the summer, and not with little little kids.

Me and Kat with Audrey and the Dumonts. The Dumonts were my mission leaders in the Winter's Run Ward. Great people, great friends!
Lily having fun at the Smithsonian bug exhibit.

More Laughs

Jake thinks Lily is hilarious and I finally got it on camera. After watching it I realized that I really need to work out a system for this whole laundry thing. I swear I do laundry every day. It controls my life. Looking back at all my pictures and videos I found that in almost all of them there is laundry on the floor or couch or just somewhere in the background. Anyway I'll work on that but meanwhile here is a cute video of my kids.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My sweet Children

On Sundays I like to take random pictures of my kids just for fun. I wish I had a good camera and a photoshop program or something to get rid of red eye but oh well. My favorite pictures are the ones when they don't know I'm doing it so it shows their cute little personalities. Lily spent a good part of the afternoon in a laundry basket trying on daddy's socks.
Then laughing at her silly feet.
She is learning to say prayers by herself and I just love hearing what she has to say. She is pretty good at saying what she is grateful for. Last night was one of my favorites so I thought I should write it down before I forget.

"Dear Heavenly Father and Jesus.

Thank you for my day and for my Jesus.

Thank you for my snack and for my Jack

and my Cece (Lucy)

and my Nuke (Luke)"

I was suprised she didn't mention ice cream this time but she did get her nursury snack in there.

This little guy is such a sweetheart. Yesterday he played on the floor for over an hour and was just as happy as could be. He rolls all over now and makes the cutest little noises all the time. I love his little/big ears and his cute smile.

Here he is trying to get in on some of that Toy Story action.

Just for you, Becca:

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The Donkey Laugh

My sister Becca and I have the same laugh that we have been made fun of before because it sounds like a donkey I guess. I have found that my kids have inherited the same laugh. Poor souls. The first video is Jake and then Lily's is after.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This is Jake who fell asleep on the floor during his tummy time. I just like this picture because I think sleeping children are so dang precious and I like the fact that it shows he does have some hair. Most pictures I take look like he has none.

Sadly enough there is a system that rewards woman for going to all their prenatal visits and the 6 week checkup post delivery. I was a good girl and went to them so my insurance company rewarded me with a free Jeep Cherokee Sport stroller. It's a pretty nice stroller and the best part about it is that it stands a little taller than most strollers so that I don't have to hunch over to push it. People who go on walks with me will never have to hear me complain about that again.

Harry Potter and the Possibly Good Film

Harry Potter Movie Six comes out in a week, and I thought it's important to make sure that everyone who reads this blog knows that THERE HASN'T BEEN A DECENT MOVIE YET!!! And this is very sad, considering the popularity of the books. My only hope is that SOMEDAY, before I die, they will all be redone and made to be the great movies they should have been (and done in CGI). Well, just for fun, I wanted to rank these films from best to worst. As always, my opinion is correct and immutable, but you're welcome to share your thoughts in the comments.

1. Order of the Phoenix-
Unfortunately, this isn't saying much. It's a decent film because it followed the book and dared to be imaginative in its interpretation, but it was still at times too loose with the canon and too dry.
2. Prisoner of Azkaban
I would have named this film first if it weren't for Daniel Radcliffe's terrible performance as Harry and the utter lack of continuity surrounding the Marauder's Map and an entirely missing Quidditch Final. Those three things were just unforgivable, I don't care how badly Alfonso Cuaron wanted to trim down the movie length. In my humble opinion, the greatest moment in the third book (which is my least favorite) is the Quidditch Final.
3. Sorcerer's Stone
This just edges out Chamber of Secrets. Stone was extremely faithful to the book, perhaps too much, but there was a magic here that was in seeing the books come to life. The movie is well done and the lack of acting talent was well hidden in quick cuts and a glossy finish to the film.
4. Chamber of Secrets
One of the great tragedies of this film is the scenes that were deleted. I don't know if there are any better than Malfoy bartering in Borgin and Burkes and Lockhart's pop quiz. These two characters really steal the show, so it's no wonder that shaving their screen time hurt the film's performance. I will never EVER forgive Chris Columbus (the director) for making the basilisk into a legless dinosaur. I don't care that it was less scary or whatever, it is inexcusable.
5. Goblet of Fire
A TERRIBLE FILM. When I try to think of what I like about this film... still... nothing really comes to mind. Mad Eye was over the top, the three tasks were HORRIFIC, the editing was GAWFUL. The shredding of the story of the Crouch's was a waste of great characterization. Instead Barty Jr is a one dimensional snot nosed brat, and his father is a bore. This film chose to enhance the lamest scenes, and cut some of the most important from the book: Dobby's role in the tournament, Harry almost being caught with the egg out of bed, mastering summoning charms, visiting Sirius at Hogsmeade... anyways, what a terrible film!

Your thoughts?

Is this turquoise?

Sad Facts of Life

Today I am reliving the sad fact of life that we can't always do everything we want to do. A couple weeks ago I missed my all growing up best friend Courtney's wedding. I miss her so much and I wish so bad that I could have been there. She is now moving to Hawaii (lucky girl) and who knows when I will get to see her next. I have not seen the sun for a long time around here and finding this pictures on facebook made me a little homesick I guess. Anyway, heres to Courtney and Garrett.

Logitech Quickcam 9000!

Since Kat saved over 150 bucks on her flight to SLC with Lily in August, I decided to take a pinch of that and buy a webcam. If you ever want to video chat with us, we're on google chat and Skype. Feel free to look us up and schedule a video conference ;-) Anyway, this is me and Lily playing around with some of the fun features we downloaded for it. I highly recommend it!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here's the Gowans Family summer picture:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com