All ready for 1st grade

Lindsey described today (as of 10:45 this morning) as "the best day of my life." The reason being...getting to practice eating school lunch like a 1st grader. All the Kindergarteners got to either bring a lunch or practice buying it. Lindsey chose to buy and loved the pizza, french fries and chocolate milk. It was cute to see her so excited about getting bigger and more grown up. She's definitely ready to be at school all day, so it will be fun to get her the rest of the way ready.

On another note...I had a doctor's appointment this week and things are going really great! We're getting really excited - just working on choosing a name!

Memorial Day weekend

We had a great weekend and fun start to the summer! With my mom and Becky here, there was a lot of fun attention for the kids and the weather ended up being perfect! We had a ward BBQ in the morning which is always a highlight for the Riverside Ward. Jon worked the night shift and then went straight to the flag football game before the picnic, so he had fun. The kids loved the relay race and scavenger hunt for the Primary kids and I loved sitting and visiting with peope. Later that night, we had a few friends over for another BBQ and had a great time there too!

We finished the weekend by going to a couple of quilt stores and lunch - just me, Becky and my mom. It was great! We had to take my mom to the airport today and we're sad to see her leave, but are so, so grateful for all that she does. I feel like she comes and helps me clean up my messes (usually unfinished quilting projects!). Thanks mom!

Kate and Grandma playing with PlayDoh

Kate with Froyline Becky - the best governess ever!

Lindsey

Jack

Emily, Ethan Rasmussen & Kate

The arrival of Aunt Becky & Grandma

We are happy to report that my sister and mom arrived to Columbus safely yesterday afternoon - 1725 miles later!!! They came so that Becky can stay the summer with us to help while I'm on bedrest (starting in 2 weeks). They drove in Becky's car and made it in great time, despite a day full of rain. My mom will be here until Tuesday and then come back in August. They are so wonderful - talk about service for family members! The kids are so happy and excited to have all the extra attention and love. Thank you so much mom and Becky!

Snap to it!

We all know that husbands put up with a lot from us and my poor husband is no exception. He's had another busy month and in his few spare moments has been working in a presentation (which thankfully will be overwith tomorrow). When his head hits the pillow at all hours of the night, he's ready for some good, restful sleep. Well, apparently last night, shortly after he dozed off, I started snapping my fingers. It was the kind of snap that you do when you need your child's attention and you can't raise your voice at the moment. I woke up right after doing it and asked Jon about it today. He said that I did it a couple of times and it kept scaring him. Poor guy! Jon - you're such a good sport!

A nice little boy

There are so many things that we love about Jack! He is such a sweet little boy. He sure loves to rough house with Jon but he's also always willing to come give me a hug and kiss. One of the things that I love about him too are his hands. When he's waiting for something (like in a line, for a drink of wather, or while the DVD previews are playing), he puts his hands in his pockets. And while he sleeps, he interlocks his fingers together (like in this picture). We're so grateful to have this little boy in our family!

Mother's Day coupons

The cute Primary leaders in our ward had the kid's make a coupon for their mother's on Sunday.

Here are the results:

"This coupon is good for...."

Emily - "one hour of babysitting."

Jack - "I'm going to weed the garden!"

Lindsey - "pizza hut."

I asked Lindsey if this meant that she was going to use her money to take me to Pizza Hut and she said "No, it means that you can take me to Pizza Hut."

To Our Wonderful Mothers....

I'm sure that like all families, the Bowen family woke up this morning with thoughts about our wonderful mothers. They are both thousands of miles away, but the influence they have on us makes them always feel close.

Jon's mom, Diane, is the mother of 10 kids - 6 boys and 4 girls. Jon is the 8th. She raised children in her home for 45 years! That is a long time to be caring for children on a daily basis. Plus, Diane has been known to always have other's children in her home too. She is loving, kind, tender, giving, selfless, and beautiful. She makes beautiful quilts and lovingly gives them away to all those around her. She has 21 (almost 22) grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. We are proud that Lindsey's middle name is Diane! We love you Grandma Bowen!

My mom, Corinne, is the mother of 5 kids - 2 girls and 3 boys. She has 4 (almost 5) grandchildren. She is a great example of motherhood and has always given so much time and service for her kids. She is also a beautiful quilter and master Halloween-costume-maker. She is thoughtful, generous, beautiful, strong and fun. We are proud that Emily's middle name is Corinne! We love you Grandma Sorenson!

We are so blessed to have 2 wonderful mothers who continue to set such great examples for us! We love you and miss you and can't wait to see you again (we hope soon)! We all hope to be more like you!

Hat's Off to Mom

Today in Emily's 2nd grade class, they had "Hat's Off to Mom." The moms were invited to come and we were treated to some poems, reader's theater, lemonade and cookies. It was really fun to see all the cute kids and see Emily perform. She has had a great year of 2nd grade and her teacher, Mrs. Kuhman, has been absolutely wonderful.

She gave me the following poem:

Mom

Kind

Alert

Happy

Who Loves her family

Dreams of her children being safe

Likes to sew

Is proud of her husband

Who plans to be a grandma

Love, Emily

(I especially love that she views me as "alert" and that I plan on being a grandma). Thank you Emily for the super, fun day at your class. I'm sure proud of you!

Emily performing as "The Little Red Hen"

Emily & her proud (with lots of rolls) mom!

Birthday & Goodbye parties

We've had a busy, fun weekend with family & friends! On Saturday night, we had a BBQ for our friends who moved to Las Vegas for his ER residency. We had a house full and the weather was not very good that day. But, everyone was a good sport about being crowded into the house and we had a good time.

On Sunday, we celebrated Ethan's birthday! (Ethan is the Rasmussen's oldest little boy). We went to their house for a BBQ and then we went back to their house again last night to celebrate Beth's 30th birthday! (Beth is Jon's sister who lives here in Columbus too). The kids love to swing and jump on their trampoline and the weather was beautiful to be outside. Thank you Rasmussen's & Johnston's for a super fun weekend!