The Mowrey 500

Alone Time

2012-01-15T19:51:00.001-08:00

The kids can never agree on what movie they want to watch on the Netflix app for iPAD. So Caroline snuck off with the iPad where she could watch the movie she wanted.

Caroline sitting in our empty bathtub watching a movie on the iPad

The newest Mowrey

2012-01-08T16:02:00.000-08:00

Last week we adopted Poppy. She is a 1 year old Yellow Lab. She is such a great dog and the kids are having a blast with her.

Touchdown!

2011-11-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

This fall we have been playing a lot of football in our backyard with the neighborhood kids. I haven't been thrilled with the quality of celebrations after touchdowns. I thought it was time to improve in this critical aspect of the game so we took an afternoon and just practiced touchdown celebrations.

Mowrey Pyramid

2011-11-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

For Family Home Evening this week, Caroline was in charge of the activity. She decided it would be cool if we made a family pyramid. After I gave up trying to convince the kids to let me be on the top of the pyramid we attempted to pull it off.

Lily had the job of hitting the timer button on the camera and then hustling over and climbing to the top of the pyramid before the timer went off.

We got the picture in one take - amazing.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

As you can see Caroline went as a Cowgirl this year. Ella was a pirate and Lily was a rock star. You can also see in the background that Ben went as Peyton Manning with a neck brace.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

UFC - Mowrey vs Mowrey

2011-10-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

Just another normal Saturday afternoon at our house.

2011-08-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Caroline's front tooth has been ready to come out for almost 2 weeks now. Yesterday we decided to speed up the process.

Caroline's Birthday gift to me

2011-08-18T19:29:00.001-07:00

Caroline made me these coupons for my birthday today. It wasn't until she told me to lay down and started rubbing my neck that I realized I was not getting an Orange Juice.

Thanks Coco.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Cirque Du Soleil Dralion

2011-08-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

Took the kids to Cirque Du Soleil Dralion tonight. Quote of the night: "It would be cooler if those rings were on on fire" - Ella.

WWE

2011-08-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

Monday was Ben's birthday - turned 11 years old. What better way to celebrate than to introduce some professional wrestling to him and his friends...

Ben, Kaden, McKay, Rocky, Ashton and Xan all came with us.

Ben had no idea what to expect. He had not even watched WWE on TV.

Actually none of the boys had really gotten into WWE.

Ben getting into it

CM Punk and John Cena battling for the WWE title

None of the boys tried any of the moves in the suite. The best was on the way home I made sure all of the boys knew that WWE was fake and that all the moves and story lines are scripted. There was complete silence for about 5 seconds and then Ben says, "Well, you just ruined it for us". They all had a great time though.

Two partners in crime

2011-07-30T16:29:00.000-07:00

Taylor Swift concert at Conseco

2011-07-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures from last night's Taylor Swift concert

Mowrey's McKinley and Jolie

We tried this picture several times. The flash was too bright for the girls

We told them to close their eyes and open them when we said "open". They were a little slow.

When they did open their eyes, this is what we got.

Caroline, Ben and Dad

Caroline loves Taylor Swift

Lily and Dad

Caroline acting crazy and Ben apparently shocked at something.

Ella and Dad

Ben passing time.

Lily couldn't hang

Caroline and Mom

Taylor Swift

2011-07-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

We're at the Taylor Swift along with 18,000 other screaming girls.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

That's what I'm talking about!

2011-07-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Ella mowed the whole yard, front and back, by herself today (with just a little help from Dad). She only has to stop 3 time to go inside and wash her hands because "they were to sweaty".

Great job Ella

Lemonade Stand

2011-07-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago the kids decided to set up a Lemonade stand. Forget that it was 90 degrees, they wanted to make some money.

.25c lemonade and .50c cookies.

Things were slow to start. Starting at 1pm on a weekday had something to do with that.

First customer of the day.

The girls would yell and scream when cars would pass by. They were crushed when cars wouldn't stop

The crew.

They made $37 dollars on the day.

Lily the bike rider

2011-07-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Lily was bugging us to get her bike from the storage room in the basement. She wanted to learn to ride her bike. Last Fall, we took her training wheels off and Lily wanted nothing to do with it.

Lately she has kept asking and asking for us to bring her bike up. She finally went down by herself, hauled the bike up the stairs and took it over to a neighbors house to pump up the tires.

About 10 minutes later, Caroline comes in and casually says, "Lily is riding her bike".

We went outside expecting to she her fumbling around trying to ride, but this is what we saw:

Lily was pedaling away on her own. She was determined to ride her bike and she did.

She only had a few falls.

We need to get Lily a bigger bike.

Disneyland trip 2011

2011-05-22T17:24:00.001-07:00

Last year we participated in Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Day" promotion. We were all set to go to LA and Disneyland last year when Beth was stricken with the Cancer for a 2nd time. All plans cancelled.

Last week while in LA we called up Disneyland to see if there was anything we could do with our expired vouchers that we had gotten for our service. The nice customer service manager listened to our story and helped us out. Disney is hands down the best Amusement park in the world. Top notch people working there. Beth was even able to work her Cancer magic and score us a"Guest Assistance Card" or as our kids called it, "Cut in line passes".

We didn't tell the kids we were going to Disneyland. We just told the kids we were going to get Jamba Juice. Ben figured it out after he remembered that we were driving the way we would normally go to Disneyland.

Happiest Place on Earth

We got Jamba juice before heading in

There's no Jamba Juice in Indiana - too healthy. Just kidding my fellow Hoosiers.

We looked and played the part of tourists for the day. Snapping pictures at every turn. Alan even wore a fanny pack.

Lily got a pin that said "Happy Birthday Lily". Hats off to all the Disneyland employees. Anytime someone saw her pin they wished her a happy birthday. It made her day.

Riding Tea Cups solo

The kids wanted to spin fast, so they got their own cup.

Cutting in line and bypassing all the "cancer free" folk.

Quick pic with Pluto.

Ben trying not to stand too close to "the girl mouse".

Goofy and the kids

Caroline is not a good driver. Takes after Beth.

Ella rode the Autopoia ride by herself for the first time. She had a horrible experience as she couldn't reach the gas pedal and the car would stop in the middle of the track. Poor girl.

Little did she know, she would be crying even harder on the next ride once she saw how much the Nemo ride sucked.

Lily trying out Thunder Mountain Railroad - "the wildest ride in the Wilderness".

Ben and Dad trying to look tough before going on the Alice and Wonderland ride.

"Look at all those people waiting in line - haha"

Princess Tiana signing a $20 autograph book with a $5 pen. Priceless.

Belle and the girls.

Ariel

Teacups for a 2nd time

Lily was so brave she even tackled Space Mountain. She loved it.

Thunder Mountain Railroad at night.

We had a great time despite the fact that we have ruined Disneyland for our kids by getting to cut to the front of the line for almost every ride. We knew the kids were ruined when we had to stand in line for Matterhorn (they don't allow you to use your pass on that ride) and the kids were flipping out that we were actually standing a line (a whole 10 minute wait)

Great Wolf Lodge

2011-01-26T13:35:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of our trip to Great Wolf Lodge with Grandma and Grandpa.

Riding Lessons

2011-01-17T18:32:00.000-08:00

For Christmas all Caroline wanted was horseback riding lessons. Actually, she said, "I want everything horse" for Christmas.

We ended up getting her 4 riding lessons and yesterday was her first lesson. For this first lesson, we also let Ben and Ella join.

The kids checking out the horses in their stall

Hammer

Marie teaching the kids how to get their horse ready to ride

Marie teaching them proper grooming techniques.

Caroline picking out which horse she wanted to ride.

Magic and Bella

Grooming the horses.

Caroline is ready to ride.

She chose Joker.

Caroline loved riding.

Ella and Bella

Ben and Magic

Three Amigos

Lily got to ride Hammer around a few times. She was not old enough for lessons.

Video of Snowboarding at Perfect North

2010-12-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

A little video we put together of our snow boarding trip last week with the Cluffs.

(Song choice is credited to Heidi and Travis)

Snowboarding at Perfect North Slopes

2010-12-26T16:42:00.000-08:00

Last week we took the Cluffs snowboarding at Perfect North Slopes just outside Cincinnati. All of the kids loved it.

The crew getting ready to hit the slopes

Lily couldn't wait to get started.

Ella waiting for her lesson

Truman was a natural on the board.

Lily picked it up really quick as well

Ben loved snowboarding. I barely saw him once we started - he just kept going and going.

Lily and Ella on the Magic Carpet lift.

Christi and Ashton

London

Caroline and Lily wiping out.

Ashton working on his turns

Time for inter tubing

Everyone had a great time. Can't wait to go back.

Random Christmas pictures - Round 1

2010-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

Here are some random pictures from the other day. More Christmas pictures coming soon.

Ella being silly

Lily peeking into the car

Beth trying to look serious

Lily and Ella posing for the camera.

Lily helping decorate the tree

Decorating the tree

Ella showing off Beth's new dining room compliments of Dustin and Taylor.

Family Pictures 2010

2010-11-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

How many times...

2010-10-29T15:15:00.001-07:00

...do I have to tell Ben to not sit in my Lamborghini?
Sent via BlackBerry

Turkey Run State Park

2010-10-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to Turkey Run State Park with the Smiths. TR is about an hour and half west of Indianapolis. We have have been inter tubing down Turkey River before, but never have hiked the trials. We had a great time and we are planning our next trip.

A little lunch before heading out.

Ben and Lily checking out some caves. (The hiking really called for tennis shoes and not flip flops like Ben and Lily wore).

Ella, Maddy, Caroline, Ben, Kaden, Kalia and Lily.

The trials was a little rugged at times.

Ella

Caroline took a slip. No major injuires on the day though.

Ella's date with Mom and Dad

2010-10-07T15:56:00.001-07:00

We took Ella out to dinner tonight just to tell her how proud we are of her. She is getting straight A's in school, has been working hard in soccer and is so helpful around the house. We love you Ella.

Sent via BlackBerry

Roy Hibbert's Area 55

2010-09-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

Roy Hibbert is the center for the Indiana Pacers. Earlier this summer he came to us and wanted to create his own section this season full of his fans who are loud and crazy, cheering every minute and going wild. To get this idea off the ground, he decided to buy 55 season tickets for his wildest fans. He had people upload audition videos and he even held in person auditions for people to try out and show why they deserve to be one of the 55 people he buys season tickets for. Below is the video Ben, Ella and Caroline made for Roy.

Caroline and Ella posing with Roy.

Justin Bieber Concert

2010-08-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Justin Bieber came to Conseco Fieldhouse. I had said that we were not going to take our girls, but at the last minute we caved. Ella, Caroline, Lily, cousin Holly and friends, McKinley, Kalia and Madison all loved the show.

To clarify, that is NOT me singing in the background. Kellie, Ana and Beth were screaming louder than the kids though.

First Day of School

2010-08-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

All four of our kids are now in school. A few weeks ago, was the first day of school. Everyone was excited for the new school year.

The Mowrey kids, the Cluff kids and the neighbors kids.

Everyone waiting for the bus.

Load 'em up.

School's over - off the bus

Lily's first day was "awesome".

I'm not ready for this

2010-08-21T09:59:00.001-07:00

We were at Caroline's game today and a boy from Ella's class was at the field too. He asked if she wanted to play. I think they like each other. I'm not ready to have to deal with "boys".
Sent via BlackBerry

French Lick, Indiana

2010-07-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, our friends the Hatchs invited us to go to Holiday World with them. Brett had some free tickets from work so we all decided to make a weekend out of it. Holiday World is about 3 hours South of Indianapolis. They have a couple of really good rides there - everyone had a great time despite the torturous heat. I don't have any pictures of HW because I forgot a memory card for the camera - nonetheless it was good times.,

We decided to stay the night in French Lick, Indiana. I was able to work out a deal with a manager that I knew at the West Baden Springs Hotel and she hooked us up with a suite. The hotel was unbelievable - way too fancy for 3 families with a total kid count of 11. If you are ever in French Lick, check out it out.

The next day we went to Big Splash Adventure Water park. I had a contact there as well and he hooked us up with passes for the group. The kids loved it.

So with free tickets to Holiday World, comp suites and some free passes to the water park it made for a very fun and inexpensive trip.

This was the atrium of the hotel. It was massive.

The look on Ben's face when he noticed the packages of cookies on the beds when we checked in.

Lily and Kate

This was the outdoor pool.

Ben cutting it close. He started this jump a little too earl -he made it though.

The indoor pool.

Beth on her Blackberry again - she never gets off that thing.

On our way to Big Splash Adventure

Quick Checkers game in the Atrium.

Lauren, Ella and Caroline

The Fishers 11

Lauren and Ella weren't more than 10 feet apart the whole weekend.

You know the kids are having a good time when even Ben and Caroline are getting along.

Dad and Lily hitting the water slides

Benson, Lily and Dad

Mom, Lily and Caroline

The Life Guard (aka Justin Bieber) was really on top of things. Here he is praying that no one is drowning.

It was great weekend with some great friends. Thanks to the Hatchs for inviting us to Holiday World.

Wiped out

2010-07-24T13:23:00.001-07:00

Lily dozing off on the drive home after long/fun couple of days.

We spent Friday and Saturday in French Lick, Indiana with the Hatchs and Smiths. Holiday World, swimming at the hotel pool and Big Splash Adventures - the kids are beat.

Pictures coming soon.

Sent via BlackBerry

Caroline

2010-07-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

This post is not going to be very interesting unless you are Caroline's parents, grandparents or really think Caroline is cute.

Caroline was sitting at the table the other day after dinner. She was writing something and I noticed that she was concentrating very hard on her writing. It is rare that I get a video or picture of Caroline without her noticing and immediately start making crazy faces or throwing up weird gang-like hand signs. So I grabbed the video camera and got a few seconds of the real Caroline.

Quotes from Benson

2010-07-07T17:58:00.001-07:00

Real quotes from our 9 year old.

"Hey Mom, if I ever see anything the shade of pee, I am NOT going to drink it because it might be beer!!!"

"Mom, you like Lady Gaga?? I don't think her face is very satisfying".

Sent via BlackBerry

Neighbor fireworks

2010-07-03T18:37:00.001-07:00

All the neighbors got together tonight for a cookout and fireworks. At last count Tim spent $900 on fireworks. Should be a good show.

Sent via BlackBerry

Lily's B-day present

2010-07-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

Beth and kids were in Nauvoo visiting Nana and Papa last week. Since they forgot to get something for Lily's birthday (May 13) they gave her a $10 bill. She was so excited to spend it. She finally decided on a make up kit. She is so happy.
Sent via BlackBerry

Sunny Indiana

2010-07-01T16:34:00.001-07:00

The weather in Indiana has been unbelievable the last 3 days. Makes us miss LA.

Tonight was dinner at Houlihans on the patio.

Sent via BlackBerry

Vuvuzela Horns

2010-06-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

As if the South African Horns weren't bad enough listening to them on TV during World Cup, this dude thought it would be cool to bring one to Ella's soccer game. Unbelievable how loud just one single horn makes - can't imagine 60,000 of them.

Sent via BlackBerry

trying out Mobile posting

2010-06-23T10:17:00.001-07:00

Trying to figure out how to send posts from my phone.

This is a picture of us at the St Louis Cardinals game this weekend. We love St Louis. Very underrated city.

Sent via BlackBerry

13.1

2010-06-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Beth and some of her friends started training for the Geist Half Marathon. About two months before the race I jokingly told Beth's friends that I might show up the morning of the race and run with them. They started hammering me saying that even if I started training that day (8 weeks out) I wouldn't be able to finish the race. So, I had make sure they were wrong.

Over the next 8 weeks, my running partner Beth dropped out (injury) and now I was stuck training on my own. I ended running and finishing the race despite injuring my knee pretty bad a few days before. Originally my goal was to just finish the race, but over the 8 weeks of training I began to think I might be able to break 2 hours. I ended up with a disappointing 2:25 time.

Here's a few things i learned from running my first (and maybe last) half marathon.

- I learned that I really have no idea how to train for a half marathon and my body paid the price. My knee (a month later) is still jacked.

- I learned the importance of stretching, warming up, cooling down and icing (including ice baths/showers) - all stuff i never paid much attention to.

- Even though I felt good the first 8 miles, I completely fell apart at mile 10.5. My knee was killing me and both calves were cramping up bad. Everyone told me adrenaline would get me through the last 1 mile or so. Not true! It is a very strange feeling to not be able to get your body to do what you want it to. I couldn't run any faster than a SLOW jog to finish the race. Very humbling.

- I learned the importance of diet. I noticed a remarkable difference when I would eat good foods. A little bit of breakfast in the morning made all the difference in the world for my early morning runs.

- I learned that you can't run and drink water at the same time. You have to practically slow to a walk in order to get any water down. I learned this after the first water station on race day.

- I learned that the volunteers will give you as many Dixie cups of water and Gatorade as you want. The last water station before the finish line I stopped and drank cup after cup. At that point I was a mess and it was so hot and humid - I just needed hydrate.

- I learned that I really needed 12 or more weeks of training. I think if I train harder and better next time I can break 2 hours.

Home stretch. I knew I was running slow when I barely passed the speed walkers.

Done. Ran straight to first aid for ice for my knee.

Beth, Ella, Caroline, Ashton and London were there to greet me as I finished. Ben and Lily had soccer games.

Caroline's accident

2010-05-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

Caroline loves to be the first one on the bus everyone morning for school. She usually runs outside and stands/sits on the sidewalk a few houses down where the bus picks her up. Last week as I was leaving for work, I saw her sitting in our neighbor's driveway like she normally does. For a split second I had an impression that I should tell her to stand up and not sit in the driveway but I decided against it as she still had 10 minutes until the bus came.

About 10 minutes later Beth called to tell me that Caroline was hit by a car. Our neighbor had forgotten something at home and as he was pulling into his driveway he waved to a neighbor and didn't see Caroline sitting there and ran over her. He didn't realize what had happened until he got out and saw her legs sticking out from underneath his car. He immediately pulled her out from underneath the car. Caroline wasn't crying, in fact she was saying, "I'm okay, I'm okay!". She had a huge scrape on her forehead and two huge ones on her knees. Luckily, this was the extent of her injuries - things could have been much worse as her head came inches from the front tires.

Even though Caroline was not serially inured, our poor neighbor was a wreck the rest of the weekend. He felt so bad and kept coming over to check on her. I think it made him feel better when Caroline proclaimed later that day: "this is the best day ever!!". Once word got out about what had happened, neighbors, friends and family came to check on her bearing balloons, get well cards, candy, stuff animals, silly bands, you name it. When I got home the bed was covered with stuff that she had gotten during the day. It got to the point that I had to tell our other 3 kids that they were not allowed to go throwing themselves in front of cars just to score like Caroline did.

Funny story from the accident. Ben and Ella were standing there waiting with Caroline and saw the whole thing happen. Ben came running up stairs and very calmly and matter of factly said, "Mom, I think you should know that Caroline was just hit by a car and she is bleeding - but I have to go now because the bus is here".

Because Caroline was hit seconds before the bus arrived, Ben and Ella instinctively just got on the bus and went to school - they weren't sure what to do. Later that morning I called the school to have the school nurse check on them to make sure they were doing okay after witnessing what happened - sure enough Ella was a mess. She was worried about her sister and didn't know how bad Caroline was hurt. I reassured both of them that Caroline was okay and they went about their day.

Caroline had a huge scrape on her head and lost some patches of hair.

"This is the best day EVER!!!!"

Disney's Give a Day, Get a Day

2010-05-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

Last month Disney was promoting "Give a Day, Get Day". As a family you volunteer to give a day of service and in turn Disney gives you a day pass to one of their parks.

After looking over the list of volunteer opportunities, we decided to make blankets for the Project Linus Foundation - they donates blankets to children ages 0 – 18 going through a crisis.

The kids got to pick out their fabric from the fabric store and we all sat down one afternoon and made blankets.

Soccer

2010-04-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

All four kids started spring soccer this weekend which means our Saturdays are spent shuttling kids between soccer fields. Usually, its games, all at different times and at different fields.

It's clips like this one that make it all worth it. This clip sums up how Caroline plays soccer: She is not afraid to push, bump and shove in order to score. Here Caroline takes out one of her own teammates in a pregame warm up drill - just imagine what she does to her opponents.

Family pictures 2010

2010-03-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

Grandparents visit

2010-02-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa visited us in January and we did a lot while they were here. Here are some of the things we did.

Caribbean Cove is an indoor water park on the West side of Indianapolis. We went there on a Thursday night and basically had the place to ourselves.

Caroline not waiting for anyone

Even Grandma tried the water slides

Dad and Lily

Ella riding solo

Caroline jumping into the 6 inches of water

Lily and Ella

Right outside Cincinnati is Perfect North Slopes. The kids lift tickets include lessons and free admission to the inter tube park. So we took Ben, Ella and Caroline (and Grandpa) snowboarding for the first time.

Getting ready to hit the slopes

Learning how to skate

Grandpa trying to figure out this snowboarding thing

As usual Caroline picked it up quick and was fearless

Surprisingly Ella picked it up the fastest. She usually is the one to be most conservative and cautious - but not this day.

Ben picked it up pretty fast as well. He definitely had the best form.

Caroline getting some tips from the instructor.

Ella craving it up.

Ben was the first to strap in both feet.

Caroline

The weather was perfect - mid 30's and not much wind at all.

I thought the tubing park would be the kids favorite part, but they kept asking to get back to snowboarding.

Tubing was fun though. They loved it.

One of the days we took up trip up north to Chicago.

Deep dish pizza at Girodano's - some of the best pizza I have ever had.

We walked around for long time in 17 degree weather looking for the Ghiradelli's chocolate store for ice cream. Ironic.

We took a ride on a horse drawn sleigh ride through the woods.

It was cold but worth it.

The ride wasn't that long - which was good cause it was cold.

The girls loved seeing the horses.

Caroline wants to be a "horseback rider" when she grows up.

Checking out the Globetrotters at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Yo Yo Yo!

2010-02-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

Caroline was playing with her stuffed puppy the other day and said, "Dad take my picture". I went to grab the camera and she said, "wait" and promptly turned her hat sideways, put on a scowl and threw up a peace sign. "Okay now".

Caroline is so funny with her little attitude - we are going to have our hands full with her.

We are all witnesses

2010-01-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

There is no one in the NBA, (possibly all of sports) who attracts the attention of an entire arena, stadium or venue like Lebron James does. Not Kobe, not Shaq, not Dwight Howard - no one. Lebron James knows that everyone in the arena is there to see him and he does not let people down.

If you haven't had the chance to see Lebron play, you should. He is special and we haven't even seen him reach his potential yet.

My friend Silas sat courtside for the Pacers-Cavs game - I used some of his picture he took below.

Lebron knows that all eyes are on him every second of the game. He struts, he posses, he performs all night long and the fans eat it up.

It's to believe but when Lebron is on the floor, you almost forget about the 7 foot, 325 pound man standing next to him. Shaq takes a back seats to the King and he seems to be okay with this...not like he has a choice.

Every game, Lebron puts on a mini dunk show during the pregame warm ups . He attempts dunks that have never been seen before - most of the time he misses the dunks, but the couple of dunks he does get to go down leaves you speechless. Standing at half court he threw a ball off the shot clock (which is a good 8 ft above the rim and behind the back board - see above) and attempted to dunk the ball. He missed, but the fact that he got as close as he did was amazing. I personally feel that the 10 minute pregame show he puts on is in someways better than what happens in the game. You just will have to see for yourself - it's hard to describe.

At one point while all the other players are warming up, Lebron announces to his teammates that he is going to attempt one-handed, under hand shots from half court. His teammates stop warming up and stand under the basket to rebound Lebron's half court shots - this goes on for a good 2 minutes. When you have Shaq as your personal ball boy you know you are special.

Lebron doing his "throw the powder in the air" routine before the tip. All the other nine players and the refs were standing around waiting for the King to grace the court so the game can begin. No one seemed to complain about the wait - in fact, all the Pacers players and refs were watching just like all the other 19,000+plus fans.

The Pacers fans went crazy for this.

Lebron James is the best player in the NBA and when you go to see him play in person don't show up just before the tip off because you will have missed half of the show by then. In fact, I am going to suggest that our tickets next year, for what ever team Lebron plays for, says on the ticket:

"Game time is at 7pm - but the 'show' starts at 6pm"

Loaded Questions

2010-01-04T21:24:00.001-08:00

One of our favorite games to play with friends is Loaded Questions. Tonight we decided to try and play it with the kids. We hand picked the questions and gave it a run. The answers that the kids gave were pure gold - they had us cracking up the whole night. Here is an example:

Question: "If no one was watching, what would you do?"

Here are the answers that I was read:

1. Eat Fudge

2. Put a "kick me sign" on someones back

3. Take a bath

4. Cook eggs

5. Take something from Wendy's

It's my turn to guess and I have to figure out who said what between Ben, Ella, Caroline, Lily and Beth. I only got one right - Ben's was "put a 'kick me' sign on someones back".

See if you can guess the other 4...

Another trip to Ivanhoes and Wizard of Oz

2010-01-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

Saturday we introduced the Hatchs and Smiths to the Ivanhoes. 100 mile round trip for Shakes and Sundaes. (disclaimer: all pictures taken with my Blackberry camera - hence the bad quality).

Hatchs enjoying the Ivanhoes

Saturday night we took the kids to the Indianapolis Civic Theatre to see The Wizard of Oz. They loved it. They even got to meet some of characters afterwards.

Caroline and Lily got their faces painted like the Munchkins. My favorite part was Lily leaning over during the storm and whispering that a "tomato is coming" in the
begining of the play.

The kids with Dorothy.

Tin man posing with the kids.

The Lion was Ben's favorite... the Lion really did a good job.

The Wizard!

Lazy

2009-12-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

I am too lazy to upload pictures to the blog... So visit here instead to check them out.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43897&id=1367934313&l=73aaee7d12

Merry Christmas everyone. Promise to update this thing more often.

Ella's baptism

2009-12-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

Last week was Ella's baptism. She was so excited and nervous. She woke up several times the night before and crawled in bed with us. She would say, "I can't sleep, I am too excited."

We are thankful that the Cluffs and Nana and Papa could be there. We are so proud of you Ella.

Miley Cyrus Concert

2009-11-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

Miley Cyrus and all of her 16 year old swagger rolled though Indianapolis last night. We had decided that we weren't going to tell the kids that she was coming to Indy because we didn't want to deal with telling them that they weren't going - the problem is that they teach kids how to read at school. A few weeks ago at a Pacers game Ella read on the Jumbotron that Miley was coming on Nov 16th and the rest was history.

So, I worked some magic at work and got a suite for the show. Beth went shopping while the kids were at school and bought them some Hannah Montana outfits (for those of you not hip to the whole Miley-Hannah scene, I'll fill you in and tell you that they are the same person).When the girls got home Beth told them that we were going and they freaked out. Ben freaked out but for a completely different reason. Ben was a good sport and endured the "torture". According to Ben, "we owe him".

Time is flying

2009-11-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it's the middle of November already. What happened to October? Here's some stuff that happened during the month of October.

American Idol Concert

Fever Playoff Run

The Indiana Fever made it all the way to the WNBA Finals and were one win away from wining the whole thing. Beth and the kids went to the sold out Game 4 to watch the Fever try and capture the title.

Almost 19,000 people packed the house for game 4.

Even Payton Manning of the Colts jumped on the Fever bandwagon.

Kids Soccer

Lily's last game of the season. She turned into a scoring machine the last 2 weeks of the season.

Backyard Kickball

So You Think You Can Dance

Halloween

Caroline decided to be a "Sick Girl" for Halloween - red nose and everything

Ivanhoes

2009-10-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

Last year we played a game in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On the way back home one of my co-workers said that we had to stop at this hole in the wall restaurant where they have over 100 different sundaes and 100 different shakes. It's in the middle of no-where about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. We rolled up at 11pm on a Friday night and line was out the door on a chilly fall night.

This Saturday we made the 100 mile round trip journey into the sticks of Indiana to the little town called Upland. The ONLY reason you would find yourself in Upland would be either you live there, you're lost or you're going to Ivanhoes.

The trip can best be summed up by Ben, who several hours later that day, out of the blue, proclaimed, "that Cookie Monster Sundae was UNBELIEVABLE".

Ivanhoes has a club for people that have tried all 100 sundaes or all 100 shakes. If you accomplish one of these two feats, you get your name on the wall and they go ahead and open a preemptive file at the Upland emergency room under your name. Two sundaes down 98 to go...

Caroline got the Snow White Sundae - Vanilla ice cream, marshmallows, bananas, marshmallow cream, whip cream and coconut. Ella got a Tropical - Strawberry milkshake with slices of Banana and Kiwi.

Ben's Cookie Monster Sundae - Cookie n Cream ice cream, Heresy bar, Oreo cookies and hot fudge.

All Lily wanted was a scoop of Cotton Candy on a cone.

Beth's Grasshopper Shake - Mint Chip Ice Cream, chocolate cookies wafers with a scoop of Chocolate ice cream (she finished only a 1/3rd of this).

I tried a Vanilla shake and a cookies and Cream cone - living on the edge.

The damage.

It's all about the Washingtons

2009-10-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

We are 7 weeks into the soccer season and Lily has touched the ball less than 10 times the entire season. Most of those touches were by accident. Lily wanted nothing to do with the ball. She would run along side the opposing player but wouldn't even think about trying to take the ball from her. She would run as fast as she could to the ball and then stop dead in her tracks and wait for someone else to kick it. She has skipped, hopped and danced around the field for 7 weeks. So, with 2 weeks left in the season we had to figure something out to get her involved.

This Saturday we told her that if she scores a goal she gets a dollar. She stopped and thought about this for a second and then said, "what if I score two goals?" Now I don't gamble, but if Vegas gave odds on Lily scoring two goals in one game I would empty out my checking account and throw every last dollar at this. We told her that she gets a dollar for every goal she scores. She agreed to this proposition and thus began her transformation into a soccer prodigy. She began running at a speed we have never seen, she began using her shoulders, hips and anything else she could use to take the ball away from the other team. She dribbled the ball towards her goal with such urgency. She had a look on her face like she knew exactly how much time was left in the game and that every minute was a wasted chance at a dollar - a look of panic and pure concentration. She finally scored, swung her head around, gave a huge smile and ran over to us to collect payment. I don't know who had a more surprised look on thier face, us or her coach.

Lily scored 4 goals in the game. Lucky for us, there is only 1 more week left in the season. I have a feeling that next week is going to be a pricey one.

Day in Anderson, IN

2009-09-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we drove up to Anderson, IN to spend the day. Went to the race track to check out the horses - the kids loved it. Other than that, I would NOT recommend spending a day in Anderson, IN.

Caroline riding the mechanical bull - she did well.

Just showing off now...

We didn't let the kids bet on any of the horses.

The horse I would have chosen won this race.

This real-life cowboy spent about 20 minutes with Ben trying to teach him to lasso. It was his personal mission to get him to figure it out.

Ben finally got it.

Lily was not going to let this guy spend 20 minutes with her. She was freaked out by him.

Kids showing off their tats.

Anderson, IN had a pretty nice candy shop.

Swine Flu

2009-09-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday Caroline woke up not feeling well. High fever, sore throat and vomiting. After a trip to the doctor's office they told us that she has the Swine Flu. Luckily, since we took her in as soon as we did, they were able to start her on Tamiflu and less than 24 hours later Caroline was back to being the Hurricane.

Three down, one to go...

2009-08-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

School started last week. That meant that 3 of our 4 kids are in school now. Ben started 3rd grade, Ella 2nd and Caroline started Kindergarten.

Lily was upset that she was the only one not going to school for about 2 minutes until she realized that it would just be her and mom for a few hours. Lily loves to have one on one time with her mom and dad.

We love the kids school, excellent teachers, school is new, so everything is clean and looks great. The one thing that needs to change is the fact that they let the kids go wild with their lunch cards. We pre-load money into each of the kids accounts so that they don't have to carry cash with them for lunch. Except they don't limit what the kids can buy. We noticed that Ben was blowing through his money at twice the rate that Ella was. Come to find out that Ben has been buying the optional cookies and ice cream pretty much everyday at lunch. I think once he even told the lunch lady to buy everyone another round of chocolate milks. How do they let Ben roll through the line with a cheese pizza, 2 cookies and an ice cream?

Waiting for the bus

Caroline was stoked to be started school. She was even more excited that her shirt was a Scratch-n-Sniff shirt that smelled like candy.

Jensen, Ella, Ben, Griffin, Riley and Caroline waiting to load up.

Saints Unified Voices

2009-08-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we drove up to Chicago to see Losa and Whitney perform in the the Saints Unified Voices - a choir grouped founded by Gladys Knight. Whitney and Losa have been traveling with the choir for a few years now. Beth has seen them once in San Diego but this was the first time for me. The show was awesome! Whitney had a solo that was very moving - I mean he killed it!

Saints Unified Voices has become the number one missionary tool throughout the entire church. Check them out if they are ever in your area.

We love the Te'o family. We miss them. Whitney could not be in the picture - he wasn't feeling well and had to perform again in less than a hour.

Losa and Lily

It was a 8 hour round trip and we were only in Chicago for 2 hours but it was totally worth it.

Is it really over?

2009-08-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

The kids start school tomorrow? Really? It feels like the summer has just started. Nevertheless, we have had a great summer. Here are some things that went on:

Caroline loves insects, animals, birds, you name it. Indiana has a little more wildlife than LA does.

The summer started off HOT. We thought we were in for a long hot summer spent at the pool and on the slip-n-slide. But the heat didn't last long. Only a few days over 90 degrees, rest of the summer was in the low 80's. Not bad, but not stay at the pool all day weather. The slip -n-slide was put to good use this summer nonetheless. Slip-n-Slides need to have a

"not for adult use" warning label on it. My neck is still not the same.

The mild weather lent for some great outdoor time. Here we set up the tent, brought out the DVD player and TV and camped out.

The spring/summer time is great in Indiana. We hang outside all day long with our neighbors while our kids play. The best part of the day is in the evenings when all the moms and dads are home from work and all the neighbors talk, throw the football around, hit some wiffle balls while the kids run wild in the streets (literally).

I think Beth made these treats on back to back nights. Nice work Beth.

Up North is the Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan. It is an easy 3 hour drive towards Chicago. It's the closest thing to a beach we are going to get living out here. Above Finn is learning how to swim - our kids didn't like learning this way and neither did Finn.

Lily and Kate

Lauren and Ella

McKinley and Caroline

Lily's main man, Beckham

We have a couple of good friends from Church that live real close to us and our kids play quite often together.

Summer time means Fever Basketball - the kids could do without the basketball just as long as Freddy Fever was around. Hey Brandons - it's about time we get some money for promoting Amanzi. Every other picture we post, one of our kids is wearing your t-shirts. Lily is so Hollywood in this picture.

Trip Home to LA

In July, we went home for Chad and Tiffany's wedding. We got to see a bunch of friends and family.

"Hello Indiana Mowrey's it's nice to see you again"

Lily and Ari had a great time together. In this picture they don't look so much alike but they could pass for twins most of the time.

Chad, Tiffany and Baby Eli

Pure butter

Johnathan and Mackenzie are awesome hosts for an afternoon BBQ. This is becoming a tradition when we visit LA. Man, we miss us some Brandons...

Poor Blanchards. We kept them up late on several occasions just hanging out. Sorry Brian for keeping you up.

Chad played in the Manhattan Open. I missed the tournament but my assistant took some pictures. Too bad Boom Boom Pow came out too late Mr. Boom Boom Mow...

Caroline, Lily and Ella B riding ponies up at Griffith Park. One of the best deals in LA. $3 for a pony ride - the girls loved it - and no one got the swine flu.

Our favorite local pizza place in LA. It's a little place called Pizza Hut - no really it's Lampost Pizza up in Palos Verdes. Awesome pizza.

Taking a boat ride with Grandpa and the Osborne boys. Ben and Ella even got to feed the fish on this trip - if you look closely you can see the sea-sickness kickin in with Ella.

Ella getting ready for a trip around the block on Uncle Chad's new bike

Ella reminds me of the little girl in the Incredibles in the picture. Don't know why.

Safe to say Chad is the only one in Lawndale with this bike...it's impossible to put spinners on something like that.

Beth and friends grabbing some Martha's on the Strand with Caroline O, Rachel B, and Heidi S. before hitting the beach.

All the cousins on the Campbell side were able to get together for the first time in a long time. They all met up at the Indiana Dunes. I can't wait to see what Nana does with these pictures...

Ben and Xan playing at the Cluff's property. We spent a good amount of time out in Navuoo this summer with the Cluffs and Beth's parents. The drive sucks though.

The Norris-Smith-Hatch-Mowrey clan before hitting the river up at Turkey Run State Park. 8 adults and 13 kids under the age of 9 floating down a river? There should be a law against that.

Beth's hair is almost to point where she can comb it. The best put your foot in your mouth moment of the summer:

Me: "Beth you need do something with your hair, it's sticking up all over the place"

Beth: "I did this on purpose! I wanted it like this"

Well, that's it. It's over. Summer vacation for the kids is done. Now we get to spend the next 8 Saturdays watching our 4 kids play soccer. 4 games, 4 times, 4 different fields? Actually, Saturday 3 kids practice at 1:30pm on 3 different fields - all at different schools.

Finn

2009-07-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when a puppy doesn't get his daily walk. He has to burn off all that stored up energy somehow. Since Beth and the kids are still in LA, Finn is alone all day and when I get home from work he flips out and starts running around in circles though the house and yard. Today he did this for a solid 20 minutes and then passed out on my kitchen floor.

This video was from a few weeks ago. That is Lily that he takes out at the end.

Move over regular Costco

2009-07-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

I love Costco. I often sit around wondering how long I could survive inside a Costco without any connection to the outside world. I think 3 years. Depending how long canned veggies last. I think this could be a reality TV show - think Survivorman.

Anyways, during our trip home, I found out that there is a new Costco on El Segundo Blvd and Prairie. It's not your normal Costco though, it is a Costco Business Center. It's basically a Super Costco for businesses and restaurants. It is awesome - way better food selection. They even sell individual items, like a pack of Twinkies for .79c or a small bottle of Mayo (Beth hates when I buy the 5 gallon jugs of Mayo).

Want more? They have a huge walk-in freezer the size of a normal Costco. Inside is everything you could want including a 24 pack of frozen churros for $6.99. This walk-in freezer is so big that they provide these bright Orange jackets for the members to wear while they shop in the frozen section wing of the store - in case you get lost and can't find your way out.

Someone walked up to me while I was wearing my jacket and asked me where something was. I informed her that I didn't work there. Even if I was wearing a bright Orange Costco jacket, the shorts and flip flops should have been a clue I didn't work there.

Ben tagging along on a road trip

2009-07-05T11:56:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, I took some of my staff to Cincinnati for a day trip. Planned was lunch in Cinci, tour of Paul Brown Stadium where the Bengals play, and a Reds game. I had a extra ticket for the Reds game so I decided to take Ben with us on the trip. He loved driving into work with me and hanging out with all the people from my work. While we were driving out to Cincinnati, I started to think about what Ben (actually all my kids) thinks I do at work on a daily basis. I am sure that they think all I do is either sit around and watch basketball, play basketball, watch shows like the Circus and Disney on Ice or take trips like this one. Plus my girls are convinced that I have unlimited supply of chocolate milk, bubble gum and Blow Pops. The chocolate milk thing started when I was working for the Clippers. The Clippers had a trade out deal with a milk vendor. They would keep the fridge in the employee break room stocked with milk and orange juice in exchange for season tickets. Anytime the kids would visit me at work they would each get their own chocolate milk. The Blow Pop and bubble gum thing started because at the Pacers one of my co-workers has a huge tub of Double Bubble bubble gum and a tub of blow pops in his office. They are allowed to grab a handful anytime they visit.

So, Ben getting to drive into work with me, pile into a bus with my co-workers and drive out to Cincinnati only further warped his perception of what he thinks I do at work.

Ben going out for a pass

Touchdown!

We got to go on the field before the game. Ben and I standing in the dugout.

Pacers crew

Great American Ballpark is a really cool stadium

Our friends at the Reds got us great seats.

Lunch in the Machine Room

Shooting some hoops at Conseco

2009-06-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we stopped by Conseco Fieldhouse to shoot some hoops. The kids love to go to dad's work. They have NO idea what dad does everyday at work. They must think this is what he does everyday.

Lily Lu

2009-06-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

Lily is full of personality and she says at least one thing a day that makes us laugh and wonder what we have gotten ourselves into with this little girl. Here are some of the things she has said this week.

1. "I not going to kill him, I just going to poke him in the eye"

Lily's response when Ella told her she shouldn't talk to her dad that way.

2. "Make it pink or I'll make it stink"

Lily has pink skunk pajamas that say, "Make it Pink or I'll raise a Stink" She can't quite repeat the saying correctly.

3. "Dad, I have to sing on a stage tomorrow, okay?"

What Lily tells us anytime she listens or watches Hannah Montana.

4. "I need a scratch back"

What Lily says when she wants someone to scratch her back.

5. "It's my lucky day"

Lily telling her dad about her mom taking her to Taco Bell and then Wendy's for a Frosty.

Freddy Fever's Birthday

2009-06-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

The girls (especially Lily) are obsessed with Freddy Fever. Freddy Fever is the mascot for our WNBA team, the Indiana Fever. On Tuesday, the Fever played the Seattle Storm and we decided to take the kids because it was Freddy Fever's birthday. Mascots from other teams all came to celebrate Freddy's b-day and we thought the kids would have fun.

Lily asked me, "Daddy what is Freddy Fever? A chicken?"

I told her I wasn't sure.

During the game 8 other mascots from other teams were running around the arena. They were all there to celebrate Freddy Fever's b-day.

During Fever games, all Lily does is scream: "Fever!!!, Fever!!!" trying to get Freddy Fever's attention. She is crazy about the guy. She doesn't take her eyes off of him from the moment we walk in into the arena.

The seats I got for this game were great if you were there to watch a basketball game - 2nd row courtside.

Even better if you where there to get visits from all the mascots.

Because our seats were right by the tunnel to the mascot's dressing rooms, all the mascots would hang out around our seats and they all spent a good amount of time with the kids.

Freddy couldn't take Lily screaming his name anymore so he came to get her to pipe down.

Ben was trying to act like he was too cool for Freddy Fever. Ben mocked Freddy every time he walked by. Freddy finally put Ben in his place. He grabbed Ben, pulled his sweaty shirt over Ben's head and pulled his arms through like Ben was a puppet.

Freddy took him out on the court, grabbed a hold of Ben's hands and started making him dance around. He thought it was great at first and then we could tell he didn't like the fact that the entire crowd was laughing at him.

Freddy, danced Ben around for a good while before letting him go. Ben was a good sport about the whole thing.

None of the kids watched 1 minute of the game. The Fever beat the Storm and the kids had a great time. The only problem is the next game they go to they are going to be very disappointed when they don't get 8 mascots coming to entertain them the entire game. They'll actually have to watch a little basketball.

Billy Keller's Basketball Camp

2009-06-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ben and Ella are going through the Billy Keller's Basketball Camp. Billy Keller is the Pacers shooting coach. Here are some pictures from the first day.

Lily's Birthday

2009-05-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Lily had her 4th birthday party this month. After months of deciding what kind of party she wanted she finally decided on a Mermaid party.

Beth made this cake for Lily. Lily loved it.

We had a treasure hunt with clues leading to a chest filled with treasures

On the hunt for the hidden treasure chest

Lily opening her presents

Time for cake

Happy B-day Lily Lu!

Chi-Town, Mall of America and the Dells

2009-04-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

Wrigley Field, Mall of America, Wisconsin Dells... What more do you need in a vacation?

We hit up the Shedd Aquarium before heading over to the Cubs game.

Chilly morning but it warmed up by game time.

Enjoying the downtown view.

We had two set of seats. These 3 seats were given to me by a co-worker. They were about 11 rows from home plate. Unbelievable view. Wrigley is amazing.

Our other seats were behind home plate about 20 or so rows back. Great seats.

The game was sold out. How do 40,000 people have a Thursday afternoon off to go a game?

Ben and Ashton
Uncle Mike, Ashton and Rocky were able to drive up to go to the game with us.

Ella and Rocky

Great afternoon at Wrigley.

Don't know who this guy was but the kids liked him.

Mall of America for a little shopping.

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Good to see a bunch of familiar faces.

Volcano!!!!

Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells is awesome. We highly recommended it.

We went on a Monday and there was almost no one there - perfect.

They had a body boarding and surfing area. The kids loved this.

Ben showing off. Wait for it...

Wait for it...

WIPE OUT!

Ella picked this up really quick.

A natural?

Caroline, Ben and Ella waiting to ride the waves. We almost talked Lily into trying it.

No Fear Caroline even hit the waves...

THE END!

Minneapolis/Chicago/Wisconsin Dells Trip

2009-04-20T19:52:00.001-07:00

One of the great things about working for the Clippers for 4 years was that I was able to plan our off -season vacations way in advance because I knew we would not be playing games in late April/May. Games played in late April/May are reserved for playoff teams only. So every year I knew that around the last week of April we were free to take some time off after a long season. This year with the Pacers was different - our playoffs hopes were still alive well into the 1st week of April. However, now that we are officially in the off season it is time to get away.

Here's what we have planned:

Chicago - Shedd Aquarium and Cubs day game on Thursday.

Minneapolis - Rainforest Cafe grubbing, Mall of America, games of Hand and Foot with the Chryslers Children's Museum with the kids, some Lake Calhoun bike riding and overall just hanging out with friends.

Wisconsin Dells - Kalahari Resort for some indoor water park action

Next May, I will be working. Pacers are going to make some noise next year.

Caroline's 5th Birthday

2009-04-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

We knew it was only a matter of time but our girls have entered the Hannah Montana/Jonas Brothers/High School Musical phase. Caroline is obsessed with Hanna Montana and for her birthday party on Saturday she wanted everything HM.

One of the girls even managed to figure out how to buy some HM songs on ITUNES. I noticed the 7 new Hannah Montana songs purchased the other day and none of the girls admitted to clicking the "buy" button, so now I turn my investigation to Beth and Ben - I'm not sure which one would be worse.

Caroline getting ready for her friends to arrive and her party to start

Caroline wearing her Hannah Montana outfit

"I might even be a rock star!"

Caroline can hula-hoop with the best of em...

Freeze Dance

Caroline and Mckinley playing Sing-It on the Wii

Time for some cake!

Guess what all her presents were?

More Hannah Montana

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Playoffs? I just hope we can win another game!

2009-04-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

The magic number for the Pacers to be eliminated from this season's playoff race is 1. That means if Chicago wins 1 more game we are out. If we lose 1 more game we are out. So for us to make the playoffs, the following things must happen: (updated)

Pacers must win last 5 games (Raptors, Hawks, Pistons, Cavs and Bucks)
Detriot must lose last 5 games (Knicks, Nets, Pacers, Bulls and Heat)

Not entirely impossible right? I have the same attitude on our chances as Lloyd Christmas does in this scene:

One good thing about being eliminated from the playoffs is that Beth will stop cheering against the Pacers. To Beth, all the playoffs mean is more basketball, more home games, more time away for Alan and more time where she gets to be a single mom of four. I'm telling you if Beth had had a Bulls jersey last Tuesday she would have been wearing it. I think I even saw a fist pump from her as the Bulls went up by 10 points with 2 minutes left.

At least my kids are loyal Pacers fans (we won this game - Beth was not happy).

It has been a crazy year at the Pacers. The end of this month will make it a full year in Indiana. With the exception of a few crappy winter drives into work and press room dinners not quite matching up to the press room dinners at the Clippers, I would say that is has been a good year. I know one thing is for sure, if you were a Pacers Season Ticket Holder this year, you saw some unbelievable games at Conseco. You saw victories over the Celtics, Lakers, Cavs and Magic at home. I would say of the 43 home games this year only 5 of them weren't decided in the last 2 minutes. Good stuff...

Bowser stops up to say hi

Lily apparently sees something interesting on the ceiling

It looks like Ben, Ella and McKay are really into the game but really they were just trying to get on the jumbo tron.

Lily's Daddy-Daughter Date

2009-03-25T21:43:00.001-07:00

Last week dad took Lily on her first daddy-daughter date. She was very excited to spend the afternoon with dad.

1st stop was to get Lily a new outfit. She picked it out all by herself.

Next was off to The Build-a-Bear Workshop. She didn't quite get what the deal was with all the un-stuffed animals.

She figured it out pretty quick.

She named her puppy Rainbow. Later that night she gave her puppy the middle name of "I love". So her puppy's name is Rainbow I love.

Time to give the puppy an air bath.

Rainbow needed a place to sleep, so she picked out this dog bed. Our "real" puppy chewed this bed up.

After lunch, they stopped at Cold Stone to get some ice cream.

Lily is already planning her next Daddy-Daughter date.

Hurricane on Wheels

2009-03-16T13:58:00.001-07:00

Caroline has been asking us to take off her training wheels for almost a year now. So, Saturday I took off the training wheels and decided to take the time to teach Caroline how to ride a 2 wheeler. Here is a timeline of her learning to ride her bike

12:30 pm - Training wheels are off

12:31 pm - I go in to tell Caroline to come outside and that I need her help. (I wanted her to be surprised when she saw her bike.) She promptly began to lecture me that I should have asked for her help before she took off her shoes. Now she had to get her shoes back on and apparently this was a huge deal to her. The chic has VANS for crying out loud!

12:35 pm - She takes one look at her bike and says "Finally!!!"

12:36 pm - I grab hold of the back of her sweater and tell her to start pedaling. She started pedaling really fast and began screaming, "let go dad, let go". I told her I wouldn't let go until she slowed down.

12:38 - She slowed down, I let go and she took off. It was like she's been riding a bike for years.

12:43 - "Dad, watch this", she says as she begin swerving her front wheel back and forth rapidly. Now she is showing off.

12:45 - She riding on the neighbor's grass and riding off the curbs.

12:50 pm - 1st major crash - happens because she was trying to ride on the edge of the curb. She pops right back up and tries again.

1:00 pm - "Dad, watch this" she says as she briefly lets go of the handle bars with both hands.

Caroline is by far our most athletic child, she is naturally coordinated. She has no fear and is extremely tough. We are preparing ourselves for the inevitable biking accident she is bound to happen. She is crazy!

Caroline's 1st run at no training wheels

It took her about 2 minutes to figure it out.

She must have been practicing at one of her friends house

I had to make sure she didn't plow over the camera lady.

She loves to ride her bike

A gift from Caroline to Beth - Happy Birthday!

2009-03-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

Due to the economic downturn, Mowrey Inc decided to go low budge on birthdays this year. So here is Caroline's present to Beth.

All answers are exactly the way our Caroline (4 years old) answered them.

1. What is something your mom always says to you?
I love you.

2. What makes your mom happy?
When I tickle her.

3. What makes your mom sad?
When I take things.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
By tickling me really hard.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
She went on a lot of trips and stuff.

6. How old is your mom?
28 (without hesitation - sounded rehearsed)

7. How tall is your mom?
That large (gesturing with her hands).

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Kiss me.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Go to the YMCA and run.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Going on the movies and being like something.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Running.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Taking the dog potty.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
she doesn’t have a job.

14. What is your mom favorite food?
Quesadillas .

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Doing lots of stuff.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Bugs bunny.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Play games.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Every time she lets me cook, I grab the stuff and make something else. Then she is very proud.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Our faces.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because she is really proud of me.

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
Soup Plantation.

One thing we don't miss about Manhattan Beach

2009-02-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

One of the few things we had an issue with while living in Manhattan Beach was that despite the fact we lived only 6 houses away from Pennekamp Elementary our kids were forced to go all the way across town to Grand View. Pennekamp was over enrolled and we were on the "waiting list". While Grand View was only 4 miles away, it still meant crossing busy Sepulveda Blvd during morning rush hour. It would take Beth 40 minutes round trip some mornings - Beth hated it. There is much much more to this story and if you ever have a spare 3 hours, go ahead and call Beth so she can fill you in.

One of the great things about living in Indiana is that our kids are bussed to and from school. The bus picks them up right in front our our house. Ben and Ella love riding the bus. I never get to see them get on or get off the bus. So this past Friday, I was home early after spending the afternoon with Beth and her Chemo pals and I got to see them getting off the bus...

Thanks a lot Arnold!

2009-02-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month I did my taxes and found that I would be getting some money back on my California State Taxes. As of this morning I still hadn't received the refund, so I decided to log on to the website and check my refund status. Here is what Franchise Tax Board's website said:

Your return has been received and processed, however, your refund cannot be issued at this time. Due to the state’s persistent cash and budget problems, the State Controller has directed FTB to stop sending refund requests to the State Controller’s Office for payment. Refund payments will resume when the State Controller indicates there is enough cash available to make refund payments.

This is a great idea! I am going to start sending this same message out whenever I get a bill in the mail.

"Your bill has been received and looked at, however, your payment cannot be issued at this time. Due to my persistent cash and budget problems, the wife has directed me to stop sending payments. Payments will resume when the wife indicates there is enough cash available.

Seriously, how is this acceptable?

Meet Finn

2009-02-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

Last night, I got text from our friends Silas and Ana. They said that the breeder from whom they got their puppy from had told them that they still had one puppy left (apparently someone backed out of a deposit). So in the middle of Cirque Du Soleil (which was awesome by the way) I texted back that we wanted him. I sent that text without really checking with Beth first - I didn't want to disturb the man attempting to climb a pole using only his ankles.

So tonight we have an 8 week old Beagle. It was the kid's Valentine's day present and they are all so excited. Caroline was walking around all night singing, "we have a puppy, we have a puppy".

Beth came up with the name Finn however, we are still taking suggestions. We are no strangers to changing kid's/dog's names after we name them. Ben was Samuel for the first 3 days of his life before we decided to change his name. Lily was Catherine for about 3 months before we gave up trying to force the name Catherine to stick. So if you have a name idea, send it over. Lily says she is going to call the dog Sara. It's a boy dog, but Lily doesn't care.

Ella and Finn meeting for the 1st time

The breeders lived on a farm - Caroline and Lily love them some horses

Lily was excited for the puppy until she found out they had horses too.

The ride home was an hour of coming up with names

Finn checking out his new home

Cirque Du Soleil

2009-02-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

We have tickets for Cirque Du Soleil tomorrow.
Never been and we are looking forward to it.

Beth M.I.A

2009-02-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Over the last few weeks Beth has been absolutely obsessed with 2 things: Facebook and Brick Breaker (some lame game on her Blackberry). I get the Facebook thing, but Brick Breaker?

We are sitting in the Chemo office getting her Chemo treatment and she keeps waking me up to show me what level she got to or that Josh Imai just friended her (classmate from the 5th grade). Stop the madness!

If Facebook had Brick Breaker on it I think I would never see her at all.

Hey Beth, the 1980's called and they want their video game back.

Fun in the snow

2009-02-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

Weather was in the 40's today - made for great snowball making conditions.

Lily trying to tag dad

Dad couldn't find his gloves, so he was rocking some spare kids gloves

Ella's "perfect snowball"

Dad and Ben were teammates

Ben going in for the kill

The kids made a snowman

Lily attacking dad again

The life of an 8 year old

2009-01-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

Ben wrote this letter to Beth earlier this week...

California is overrated...

2009-01-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

Too much sun is not good for you (Beth's bald head sunburns easily).
The big one is going to hit any day now.
Traffic is horrible out here.
Really good Mexican food gives you heartburn.
When there is no traffic, the "flow of traffic" is 85 mph - way too dangerous.
When you hang out with great friends all day it leaves no time for TV.
The Blanchards need their space.
The kids need to get back on their routine. They are totally back on West Coast time.
-5 degrees is not that cold - it's all about layering.
Californians don't have the same state pride as our "Hoosiers" do. Just ask Jake Manley.

We will continue to add to this list until we board our plane today, the captain has turned on the seat belt sign and we have no choice but to head home to Indiana.

...It's good for the kids to learn to walk on ice.
The beach is way too sandy anyway. Huge mess when you get home...

Something you don't see everyday in Indiana...

2009-01-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

... A 50 year old man, with a ponytail, on a Tuesday morning at 11:00am at the beach, swinging on a swing set by himself, singing "Highway to the Danger Zone" as he pumps his legs back and forth trying to get higher and higher...

The beach is rich man-poor man kinda place. If you are over the age of 23 and you hang out at the beach all day, everyday, you are either very very rich or very very poor. There is no in between. Judging from the Casio tape player strapped to this guy's hip, I am going to venture a guess that this guy is not rich.

If you voted me for change is on the way, know it...

2009-01-21T18:13:00.000-08:00

This is song is has been stuck in my head since I watched the video on Youtube last night...

LA trip day 5 included stops at Tito's Taco, Diddy Rieces and ball at the Staples Center.

Day 3 in LA

2009-01-19T20:11:00.001-08:00

What horrible weather we had here today. Partly cloudy and low 70's. I don't know if we can handle this.

Today, our friends at the Clippers got us a suite for the game so we invited some friends to come out. It was great to see everyone at the Clippers. It was so nice to let the kids run around while we visited with friends and watched the Clippers collapse at the end of the game - just like the good old days.

The guy who took this picture cut off heads and left about 3 people out of the picture

We met up with Mars, Lizzy and baby Jane for dinner at Islands. They seriously have some of the best Cheddar Cheese fries.

We are off to Pinkberry with Rachel. I will withhold comments about Pinkberry until a later post. Let's just say, not a fan.

Afterwards we are going to swing by the hospital to see Chad, Tiffany and Eli. He was born this evening weighing in at 7lbs, 13ozs and 20 inches long. Pictures to come.

Running out of time!

2009-01-18T21:30:00.001-08:00

We only have 6 days left and so many places to eat still. If I had it my way we would eat Mexican food the rest of the trip.

Here's a picture of our lunch from El Tarasco. Can't say it's our favorite Mexican place, but for sure in the top 5.

It was 80+ degrees and sunny today. Doesn't get much better than this for January.

Tomorrow's plan: Music class with the Blanchards, Clippers game in a suite, pony ride at Griffith Park, dinner at Islands and over to the hospital to meet Eli White Mowrey. Chad and Tiffany checked into the hospital tonight to get induced. The newest Mowrey should be here tomorrow! Good luck Tiff...

House for Sale

2009-01-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

4 Bedroom, 3.5 bath home in Fishers, IN for sale. Owners are currently in Los Angeles and looking to sell before Jan 25th.

Home comes completely furnished, including clothing and all items needed for a family of six. Needs a good vacuuming and someone to take out the trash, otherwise ready to move in.

Send check to:

Alan and Beth
The Beach
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Summary of 1st day in CA...

Off plane, In-n-out, beach, bbq with friends.

Alan and Beth

I miss LA traffic...

2009-01-14T13:11:00.000-08:00

This thought crept into my head this morning on my way to work, stuck in a snow storm, sitting on Interstate 69 (the worst 10 mile stretch of Interstate in the US), and looking at my clock to see I was 45 minutes into my drive and only 5 miles from my house. A normal 45 minute drive turned into a 2 hour slip and slide.

Only a short 3 days from now we'll be sitting on an LA freeway, inhaling smog, worrying about freeway shootings and complaining how bad LA traffic is. At least it won't be snowing.

A friend of mine from the Clippers took this picture to show me "what 76 and sunny looks like". Thanks Lester!

Jack is back!

2009-01-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

Jack Bauer is back in action! 2 night, 4 hour preimere of 24, Season 7 starts tonight at 8pm on Fox.

Wanna get away?

2009-01-06T12:15:00.000-08:00

Yes we do! Thanks to some Southwest travel funds from a cancelled Hawaii trip back in April 08 and a nice SWA sale we are coming home for 9 days. Before we booked our trip though we heard rumors that Allegiant Air had flights from Peoria, IL (2 hours away) to Vegas for $29. So, I hopped on and sure enough there were some tickets listed for $29 each way. As I went to select the airfare a little pop up note states that Taxes and Fees for this flight ranged from $53.10 to $363.10. WOW! Ummm, no thanks.

Things we are looking forward to doing when we are home:

Hanging out at the beach with our friends, In-N-Out, catching a Clippers game (they have won a total of 8 games since I gave my notice back in April, Disneyland, meeting the newest Mowrey (Chad and Tiffany are due on the 17th), bike ride on the strand, checking out the parents new house, not driving in ice storms or having to deal with the wind chill factor...

Speaking of the cold and wind chill... As I was getting gas today it reminded me - what's the deal with pumps at the gas stations? It's 6 degrees, wind is blowing and I have to stand there in the freezing cold and answer a laundry list of questions before I get any gas to start pumping.

Please insert your card. Credit or debit? Enter your zip code. Are you a Kroger Rewards Member? Do you want to use your .10 cent per gallon discount? Do you want a car wash? Do you want a receipt? NO!!!!!! I JUST WANT TO PUMP MY GAS AND GET BACK IN THE CAR!!!!!

A car wash?? The first question those machines should ask is, "what is the temp outside?" Any answer below 32 degrees and all other questions are bypassed.

I would love to hear Beth's take on this one. Oh wait, she doesn't have a take on this subject because she NEVER FILLS UP HER OWN TANK!. In the 10 years we have been married I can count on one hand the number of times she has stopped at a gas station on her own pumped her own gas. She says its my job.

Anyways, we are coming home and we can't wait to see everyone.

Alan and Beth

Happy New Year?

2009-01-01T08:37:00.001-08:00

Here's the deal. For the first time we let the kids stay up until midnight to celebrate New Years with a group of friends. We all had a great time. The result? The first official day of 2009 is filled with whiny, cranky, exhausted kids that have spent most of the morning in time out or calling each other "cry berries" (ok, that was just Caroline) . Happy New Year, everybody!

Alan and Beth

p.s. Next year we have a new plan. We learned a trick from our friends Ana and Silas. They set all of their clocks two hours ahead, celebrate an early new year and then put the kids to bed by 10:15. Now that is a happy new year.

Disney on Ice and putting up the tree

2008-12-15T19:53:00.000-08:00

Last week Disney on Ice was at Conseco Fieldhouse. We took the kids and Tori who was visiting from LA to check it out.

You know something? Disney puts on a good show.

If you haven't been to Conseco Fieldhouse, you're missing out on the best arena in the country. We even have Internet connections in the building!

I was able to score the Owner's Suite for the night. We were supposed to be sharing the suite with another family, but they were a no show. So we had full run of the place.

Beth sporting her Wednesday night wig and enjoying the show with Caroline.

Beth and Tori debating whose hair is darker.

With Christmas only 12 days away we decided it was time to get the tree up. . We ventured down to our local Ace Hardware. We love Ace. Have we blogged about this place? The ACE Hardware on 116th and Olio is unbelievable with their customer service. Blows Lowes and Home Depot out of the water. Caroline was excited about this tree I guess...

Beth sporting her Saturday wig. These 2 pictures of Caroline sum up the rollercoaster of emotions that is Caroline Grace Mowrey. The picture above and picture below were taken seconds apart from each other.

When Beth gets serious, she ditches the wig. It's similar to Stallone's move in Over the Top, when he would turn his hat backwards before opening a can on his opponent - when Beth's wig comes off all bets are off.

The hardest part of Beth wearing multiple wigs is trying to remember what wig she is wearing that day as I am looking for her in department stores. I spent about 15 minutes the other day looking for a blond before I realized I was supposed to be looking for a brunette.

Our little Thespian Ben asked me to take this picture. He said, "Dad take my picture, I am going to act like I just opened this present and I got a really cool present".

Speaking of Ben, I have a funny story from the other night.

Ben runs into our bedroom and with a very concerned look on his face and says, "Dad, I need to talk to you right now. It's important." Usually, when Ben says something like this he is about to ask one of three things, 1. Can I play my Playstation? 2. Can I watch TV? 3. Can I play on the computer? But the look on his face made me think this was something more important. So I follow him into his room and he shuts the door.

"Dad, Issac said that he doesn't believe Santa is real. He saw his parents bringing presents down last year that were supposed to be from Santa. He said Santa is fake. Dad? Is this true? Is this true? Because if it is, I want you to know that I want a Lego Star Wars 7676 Republic Gunship and the Manga Guard Starfighter. Okay? You got it?"

Apparently, Ben wasn't concerned if Santa was real or not, he was more concerned that he told Santa what he wanted and that he was unsure if he had ever told us. If there was ANY possibility that Santa was not real he wanted to make sure we knew what he wanted. He was just covering all his bases.

It doesn't feel like Christmas until these get sent out...

2008-12-11T17:04:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Flashback seven months

2008-12-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

The other day I decided to clear out the pictures on Ella's camera. I found these pictures from right before we moved to Indiana. We took my parents, Ben, Ella and Caroline to see Wicked at the Pantages Theatre. My parents haven't seen these, so really this post is for them. Enjoy mom and dad...

Ring Ring

2008-12-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

For those of you that have tried to call Beth on her cell phone in the past few weeks and have been kicked straight to voicemail only to find her mailbox full, I sympathize with you. However, those days are in the past. Beth has upgraded to the Blackberry world.

Also, since she lost her cell phone, don't expect a call anytime soon. She lost all her numbers. Give her a call and help a girl out.

Come on ITUNES!!

2008-12-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

Quick rant:

I love ITUNES but this has happended on several occasions and it is starting to really piss me off. So Beth has this rule that I can't download any songs with "explict lyrics" (a rant for another day). Anyways, when you are downloading songs from Itunes you usually have the option of downloading the "clean" verison or the "explict lyric" verison. If the song doesn't indicate either then I assume that there is no vulgar language in the song - other wise Itunes would have put an "explict lyrics" tag on the song. Right? Wrong!

The other day I downloaded a Jason Mraz song and 17 seconds into the song an F-Bomb gets dropped. Are you serious? I feel like I should get a refund. If I was going to pay for a song with foul language in it it would NOT have been a Jason Mraz song - trust me.