Our Best Friends

This post was actually written on August 13th, but post-dated so that it would be a part of our history, but also so only a few would read it - as it is so personal.

There are few people that come into your lives that make your life better in every way. Or, who you feel like they know you almost better than you know yourself. Or, who you know will always be a part of your life. For us, that family is the Rasmussen family - Ammon, Kirsten, Ethan, Brynlee, Hailey, Karli & those yet to come!

We LOVED living in Columbus for 7 years and we made several friends who moved away (or who are still there), but nothing compares to the friendship that we had with the Rasmussen's. They moved in 2 years after we did. We started as acquaintances and fellow medical school families. Little did we know the bonds that would form.

Shortly after Kate was born, we started having Sunday dinners together. Pretty regularly for the rest of the time we were in Columbus (3 1/2 years), we had Sunday dinner once a month. The kids loved playing together, we loved trying new recipes, we loved playing games (Settlers of Cataan, Annie-I-Over, etc), and we loved talking. Jon & Ammon were also able to work together at Lifeline of Ohio. One of the greatest honors of Jon's life was when Ammon asked him to "hood" him at his medical school graduation.

Then, we started celebrating holidays and birthdays together. We had Easter dinner at our house (the menu always including ham and Kirsten's yummy bunny cake). We would take turns having Mother's and Father's Day together. We would eat at Hometown Buffet on the Saturdays of General Conference. We'd have a Memorial Day BBQ at our house. The 4th of July was always at the Rasmussen's house. Labor Day was spent at Alum Creek together. We'd trick-or-treat together on Swansea. We'd have a Thanksgiving Day feast at our house and when we were both in town, we'd celebrate Christmas together at the Rasmussen's. For each person's birthday, we'd also have dinner together - so an additional 13 dinners. The Bowen's could seriously never get enough of the Rasmussen's.

Then, we started swapping babysitting. About once a month, Jon and I would go out on a date while Ammon & Kirsten (mostly Kirsten) would watch our kids and then we would watch their kids while they went out on a date. We also took classes together - Mommy & Me, Music and Movement, home preschool, Covenant Preschool, gymnastics & Fun with Jodi. The kids played sports together - soccer, teeball, baseball and basketball. Kirsten & I quilted, scrapbooked, made cards & prepared calendars together. We just did it all - from apple picking and fishing, to eating icecream at Graeter's, to playing at the mall.

And then, we even travelled together!!! We went down to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis a few times and then we went to Hershey, PA & Washington DC together in March of this year. We all had such a great time!! The kids always got along and we just loved every chance & minute we had to be together.

As you can see, our lives were so intertwined and they quickly became our family! We love them as family and can't wait until we live close again!!! Leaving Columbus was hard, but leaving the Rasmussen's was excruciating!!! Our hearts felt heavy and our emotions still run very close to the surface. We think about them all the time and thank Heavenly Father each day for them.

Here are some of the greatest, funnest memories we have of them:

Ammon

Ammon loves life! Even though he works terrible, long hours, he was always willing and ready to have a good time. He loves to laugh and play games (even though he hates to lose!!). He's definitely the game organizer, life of the party, and fun-loving guy. He's such a great example of being a worthy priesthood holder, great husband and incredible dad.

Ethan

Ethan is as great as little boys get! He is always so sweet and cares so much about people around him. Athletics come easy for him and he always gives it his all. He is kind and handsome and has a great laugh. Emily & Lindsey (and Jack too), would always argue about who got to sit next to Ethan at dinner. He's a great kid to be around and we miss his fun personality.

Brynlee

Brynlee has the face of an angel. This little girl also has a great laugh and it so much fun to be around. She is a good little mother and we'll always remember how sweet she was with Hannah. Brynlee is beautiful and we are still hoping that someday she'll be our daughter-in-law!! We'll always remember the little purses she'd carry around (filled with her little treasures) and how willing she always was to help.

Hailey

You have not seen cute, until you have seen Hailey!! I miss her little voice saying "Jeannette?" when she wanted a drink or a snack and how she always had a smile (with darling dimples) to go with it. Hailey was such a great friend to Kate and we'll always remember this little red-head and her blond side kick. Whether it was digging in the sand, or getting lost at the Children's Museum, they were always together). Hailey is so sweet and gorgeous!

Karli

This little rascal is easy to love! It was so much fun to see how much Karli grew and how smart she is. She absolutely loved Hannah and would get worried if her binkie fell out or if she was crying. She loved helping take care of her. I laugh when I think of her never leaving her rubberbands in her hair. Karli has such a great smile and is so cute!

Kirsten

I have never had a friend like Kirsten! She is truly the best friend that I've ever had and I am so grateful for that. We each have a Willow Tree figurine called "Unique Harmony" and that describes our friendship perfectly! Kirsten is someone that from the moment I met her, I admired her. She is beautiful, fun, smart, is an incredible wife and mother and is always serving others. I've never had a friend who did so much and gave so much to me. She was always there to help with my kids and love them like her own. She was always there with fun ideas, yummy recipes, family outings to go on and listening ears when I needed to talk. She has a strength within her that I can only hope to have some day. Every time I talk with her, I feel happier and uplifted and ready to face another day.

Saying goodbye and leaving her was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. My heart still aches (and I've come to the conclusion that it just will until we're living close again). I miss her more than I ever imagined I would and know that she'll never be replaced. Sure, I'll have other friends, but no one like her. How grateful I am every day for our unique harmony!

So, we take comfort in the fact, that hopefully the next 4 years will be the only time that we'll be apart again. We have trips already starting to be planned (a Disney Cruise!!!) and memories ahead that we look forward to making.

Thank you Rasmussen family for being so good to us! We love you, miss you, think about you often and pray for the Lord's choicest blessings to always be with you!!

Jack & Brynlee on their last day of Safety Town together

The blonde & the red-head - best buddies!

Memorial Day 2009 - Jack and Ethan getting ready for the 3-legged race and Emily and Brynlee together, getting ready for the race too.

Easter 2009 - decorating the Bunny cake together

The best 9 kids you'll ever meet!

Two quilt lovers!

Me and my best friend!

Baseball season

I'm currently sitting in a hotel room in Denver, CO with a sick Kate. We drove from Independence, MO to Denver today (about 600 miles) and we'll finish our LONG journey tomorrow! Wow - that is a long drive! Everyone else is eating dinner, so I have a few moments to blog!

A week ago, Jack and Lindsey finished up a successful season of teeball and coach-pitch baseball. They played it through UA Bears League and we loved it! It made our May and June very busy, but it was a lot of fun to go and watch them play.

Jack - Tee Ball

Jack had a great year of tee ball. He got to play on a team with several kids from his preschool class (Brynlee, David, Collin, Leah & Paige). Each Saturday, they would have a 45 practice and then a 45 minute game. They played 2 innings and would bat in the order of their jersey number. There were no outs and each player got to run around all the bases. Jack LOVED it and got better and better at hitting and catching the ball. He loves sports and we loved watching him play!

The Tigers Team - all lined up in their batting order (Jack is #8)

Lindsey - Coach Pitch Baseball

Lindsey also had a great baseball season. She played on the Flying Tigers team and had a great experience. She was on the team with friends Ethan Rasmussen & Alex Harston, as well as a couple of kids from her school and preschool. There was only one other girl on her team, but that didn't stop Lindsey. She worked hard and learned a lot. We loved both of the coaches they had!! Way to go Lindsey!!

Residency Graduation

Last Friday night, Jon & I and my parents were lucky enough to attend a graduation dinner for Jon's graduating residency class. Kirsten & Ammon watched the kids (after a long, exhausting day of helping a friend pack and work - thank you so, so much!), so that we could go. They had it at a country club and the food was pretty good. It was great to celebrate all of Jon's hard work in completing residency and being a chief resident this last year.

His fellow residents and residency directors gave him the "Pento-Dad" award at the end of the year. Jon's done an amazing job of balancing both work and family and has continued to be such a great dad and husband through it all.

We've learned a lot and grown a lot in the last seven years of medical school & residency and it's been a great journey! I would do it again in a heartbeat! We are sad to think of this part of our lives coming to a close, but we're also excited about the next phase of life and the adventures that lie ahead. We have fallen in love with Ohio (although for me - since I served an LDS mission here - I was already in love with it!). We will miss it tremendously - and never forget the experiences we've had! (Another post to follow about the amazing friends we've made!).

Jon - you are amazing and we're all so proud of you!

This was a slide about Jon - I love under the "comments" that someone described him as "the Bomb - duh! and a clinical monster."

Jon and his fellow 3rd year residents

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Cincinnati Pops

One of the most memorable things we've done in Ohio, is attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing with the Cincinnati Pops. They played together for the first time, two years ago and I swore that if they came back, we would postpone our move until we could see them again. Thankfully, they did come again and it happened before our move.

I was thrilled that my parents were able to be here (mostly to help us get ready to move) but also to come to this. Jon had a graduation event that he had to be at, but my parents and I headed down with the kids. It's about a 2 hour drive and we were delayed because of trying to get our van serviced at Midas. Despite the 2 hour delay and needing to quickly stop and get some dinner, we only missed the first two songs they sang.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is absolutely amazing, as are the Pops. They sang in the Riverbed Pavilion and even though it was super muddy and muggy, it was a wonderful evening. The Choir and Pops are under a pavilion. There are lots of seats you can buy to be under that, but we had tickets for the lawn, so that we could bring snacks, strollers, chairs, etc. They sang patriotic and classical songs, as well as the LDS hymn "Come, Come Ye Saints." They also sang the 2002 Olympic theme that John Williams had written for the Choir for the Olympics in Salt Lake. There was also a great number about Abraham Lincoln that was narrated by Neil Armstrong. It was absolutely, beautiful music. What made it even more touching too was that Eric Kunzel, the director of the Pops, was recently diagnosed with several types of cancer, including pancreatic. But, he was insistent that he would direct the Pops with the Choir.

The kids had a great time and were so good. The Rasmussen's & Beth and her boys were there too (they saved us places). I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures, but there are just a couple.

The kids spent most of the time on the tarp, trying to keep from getting too muddy.

My cute parents - with squirmy Hannah

Kate's way of stopping a runny nose

King's Island

On Monday, we took a little family vacation to King's Island!! King's Island is an amusement park just outside of Cincinnati and we had wanted to go there some time before we moved out of Ohio. Monday was literally the only day over the course of a month that we could go. The weather was threatening thunderstorms with a high of 90 degrees, but we decided to give it a try anyway. It was a great day and we had so much fun!!

The kids were fabulous! We got there as the park opened and started riding rides. They have a great "Nickelodeon Universe" area that is full of rides for kids. We spent most of the day in that area and the kids had a blast! The longest we waited for a ride was about 20 minutes. We rode on rides until lunch time and then ate. Then we went to "Boomerang Bay" which is their water park. The water was kind of cold, but the kids had a good time. Then, it was back to the rides! Lindsey braved "The Beast" (the world's largest & longest wooden roller coaster with Jon and then later with me) and loved it. We ended up staying until 9:00 p.m. By that time, we were all starving and the kid's legs were giving out on them. They had been so good all day and had walked all over the place. It was such a treat to be all together!

We would definitely recommend King's Island to anyone! It was clean, they had great rides for all ages and I was impressed by their Baby Care Station, which had rocking chairs, highchairs, and an airconditioned place to nurse a baby. Definitely a plus in my book!!

Hannah didn't ride that many rides - so she was really excited about riding the merry-go-round

Greensview Elementary

We have loved, loved, loved the elementary school that Emily and Lindsey have attended. The teachers, staff, parents and children of Greensview Elementary have been absolutely amazing! The girls have been blessed with great teachers and great friends. Last week was their last day of school. Unfortunately, Lindsey spent the last day of school at home - sick with a fever. So, the next morning, the girls and I (along with Grandma Bowen) headed over to the school to say goodbye.

Lindsey's 1st grade teacher was Mrs. Sally MacGregor-Martin (but she lets the kids call her Mrs. M&M). Emily had her as a first grade teacher as well, so we were thrilled to have Mrs. M&M for a second time. Lindsey absolutely LOVED being in 1st grade. She was frequently helping other kids in the class and was even able to go and help her Mrs. Holland, her Kindergarten teacher, during recess some times. This makes Lindsey feel so special and appreciated. Great job, Lindsey!! We love you Mrs. M&M!

Emily's 3rd grade teacher was Nancy Miller. Emily had Mrs. Miller for her Kindergarten teacher as well, so she was excited to have her again. Emily also had a GREAT year! She loved learning cursive and multiplication. She had great friends, loved being on Student Council, and did great on all of the National testing that 3rd graders have to do. Great job Em!!! We love you Mrs. Miller!

Emily with Principal Wulf. He's holding the artwork that Emily did that will permanently be hanging in the halls of Greensview.

A couple weeks ago, we presented these two teachers with a quilt as a thank you for a great year. I saw this apple quilt in Utah at Christmas time and after I got home, I called my mom and sister and made them go back to the store (twice!) to get the fabric for each teacher's quilt. Becky, being the amazing sister that she is, offered to make one of the quilts. Then, I made the other one. I stitched each of the children's names and information about that year, in the border of the quilt. I wasn't quite finished when I needed to ship them to Utah to be quilted, so my mom, being the amazing mom that she is, finished the stitching and then sewed all the binding on the quilts after they had been quilted. (Mom & Becky - thank you, thank you, thank you!) The other parents in the classes contributed money for the quilting and we gave the quilts to each teacher during openhouses they had in their classrooms. Both teachers loved them and I'm so grateful they have something to remember us by.

Kate's End of the Year Activities

Kate's been a busy girl finishing up her activities...

She's been able to be in a preschool swap with four other little girls from our ward and has loved it! They have been the funnest little girls and it was fun to focus on "girly" things for the themes. We did a fairy hunt, kitty day, teddy bear picnic, "x" marks the spot - finding princess treasure and holiday celebrations - just to name a few. Most days of the week, Kate would ask if it was "home preschool" day. (Thank you to Kirsten, Becky, Sarah & Lisa for such a fun year!)

A couple of weeks ago, we met at Graeter's where Becky had prepared a little "graduation" for them. She had made cute little bags with their names on them. There were 2 new little books inside. The girls all LOVED them! We ate yummy icecream together and had a fun morning.
Emily Larson, Calder Hymas, Eliza Burt, Hailey Rasmussen & Kate

Becky giving the girls their bags

Kate also finished up her year of dance. She had a great time and was always so happy to go. The year was a little rough for some of the other little girls in the class. There were 2 that dropped out because they would not stop crying. There were 2 or 3 others that were also cryers, but they finally decided that dance was something that wasn't worth crying over. I think Kate was the only dancer in the group that didn't once shed a tear. Miss Tricia was such a great teacher (she was pregnant at the beginning and had a baby in December)! The only thing that I wish was different was that the dance company puts on a big show every May and all the classes get to have a part in it - including the 2 & 3 year old class. But, the show is on Sunday. So, we didn't do the show, but Kate still loved learning their little butterfly dance.

Great job Kate!!! Thanks for always being such a good girl and so fun to take to activities!

(I feel bad that Ms. Tricia's eyes are closed, but it was the best picture I got of the girls)
Megan, Kate, Ataleah, Carson, Lexie & Jordan

The start of packing...

...if no other packing happens around here, at least we've got our most precious items ready to go!

Memorial Day Fun

We had a great Memorial Day last week! We love holidays in Ohio - each has their own fun traditions and fun memories. We started the weekend with the addition of family coming to town - Diane (Jon's mom), Rebecca (Jon's sister) & Anne (Jon's sister) arrived Thursday night. They came just in time to welcome a new nephew - Tyler Johnston (son of Beth and Jeff) - early Friday morning. Tyler is absolutely darling and we've loved having a new little baby to kiss and hold!

On Monday, our ward had the traditional Memorial Day BBQ from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. They do it at High Banks Park. We didn't get the usual pavilion, but thankfully, there was another one close by and it was great! The Primary provided really fun games & activities for the kids and the Activities Committee provided delicious food. It's always fun to sit around and visit with all of our dear friends!

Kate making a cereal necklace - she spent a ton of time working on it!

Lindsey & Ethan getting ready for a relay race

Lindsey helping Karli with a game

Lindsey & Win McCarter in the wheelbarrow race (Lindsey loves playing tag and Win was so nice to chase her around - she loved it!!

Jack & Ethan doing the 3-legged race

After attacking herself with face paint, Kate was wiped out!

Then that night, we had several families from our ward over for another BBQ. We love doing this on Memorial Day night. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time! Ammon was our tournament organizer and put together a corn hole & ladder ball tournament. We had delicious food and yummy homemade icecream and lots and lots of great fun!

Lindsey made this sign so that people would know where to go

Rebecca, Diane & Anne enjoying the BBQ

Emily holding her new cousin, Tyler Johnston (3 days old)

Sarah Burt (our corn hole champion) & Lisa Nelson having a good time.