Thank you, Thank you!

Wow! Thank you so much everyone for making my birthday so great! What a perfect day!

* Jon and I (along with Kate and Hannah) went to breakfast!
* Kate got her cast off - yea!!! She came home and immediately hopped in the bathtub with an armful of toys.
* I got to go to the scrapbook store alone!
* Phone calls from my great friends!
* Birthday greetings on blog (thank you Kirsten!) and Facebook!
* Fun new quilting projects, gift certificates and camera accessories to enjoy!
* An hour or so of sewing!
* Dinner at Sizzler with my great family!

Really - what could be better? I love you all!

Happy Birthday to Jeannette!

Happy Birthday Jeannette!!!!!

Little does she know I am sneaking on her blog her in Ohio.

(I saved her password a whole year to be able to do this!)

I just wanted to let everyone know who checks the Bowen blog that today is Jeannette's birthday. It's a special one but won't tell how old (because I've been told that can be rude) but I wanted her to know that I was thinking about her today and wishing her the happiest birthday ever since I couldn't be there to celebrate with her. I think we can all agree that she is an amazing wife, mother, daugther, sister and to me one the bestest friends that I have ever had. She has been like a sister to me and I love her to death. Everyone in our ward here can attest to the gazzilion acts of service she has rendered, kindness she has done and friendships she has been apart of. She is one of the most loved woman on the earth, of that I am sure.

Please join me in celebrating her birthday today by leaving a comment for her.

Jeannette we love you and are thinking about you here in Ohio!!!!! Have an amazing birthday! And enjoy your evening at Sizzler!!!! ;-)

Love, Ammon, Kirsten and kiddos here in Ohio

Lindsey's baptism

We had a wonderful day yesterday! This beautiful 8 year old was baptized! She was able to be baptized with one of her new friends, Grace. They were both so cute and it was fun to have the baptism together. We had so many family and friends come and support us and Lindsey, and we are so grateful for that. There were those who were at Emily's baptism 2 years ago, that we sorely missed, but we could definitely feel of your love and support!

Lindsey looked so sweet in her white dress and I know it made her feel beautiful. She was baptized and confirmed by her dad and she had a wonderful day. Our family and friends came over to our house afterwards and it was fun to visit with them.

We are so grateful for Lindsey and her sweet spirit. She had a kind heart and is always anxious to help others. We are grateful for her dedication to the gospel and to the Savior and for her pure testimony of His love for her and of His Atonement. Congratulations Lindsey!

Lindsey & Grace

Witches' Brew Party

Last year, Kirsten had the fun idea of having a Witches' Party! She made the most yummy food and had such cute ideas. We decided that even though we couldn't do one together, we'd each still do one. It turned out to be a blast!

I couldn't have done it without the help of my mom or Jon. I called my mom a day or two before asking about root beer extract and chicken soup base and she knew just what to do! She even helped a ton by making soup for the dinner. Then, the day of the party, Jon spent hours making carmel popcorn for me - and cutting down branches (keep reading to see why).

I spent ALL day last Friday getting ready! It was so much fun though! I made broom sticks (thanks to Martha Stewart for the idea) out of brown lunch sacks and a stick. I filled them with Jon's carmel corn. I lined our inside steps and entry way with them and then each witch got to take one home with her.

Then, I made two types of soup. My biggest fear was putting the wrong ingredient in the wrong pot. (I burned a hole in my cookbook earlier in the day, so I knew that it would be a good possibility). When the "witches" arrived, they had each decorated a witches hat. Emily and Lindsey took the hats and then the witches could eat their dinner. We had bread bowls (aka cauldrons) and they could fill it with the soup (the brew). We also had a bubbling cauldron of homemade rootbeer.

After dinner, each witch was to vote on the hats. I had come up with 8 different categories (Cutest Hat, Most Wicked Hat, Most Unique Hat, Scariest Hat, Glinda the Good Witch Hat, Hat You're Most Likely to Steal, Most Creative Hat, and Hat That Would Most Likely Start A New Trend). We all gathered for the results! Each witch had to get up and tell why they decorated their hat the way they did and something about themselves that others didn't know about.

Then, we had dessert and just chatted. It was a lot of fun! It was so much fun to visit with a lot of cousins that I haven't seen very much over the last 7 years and just to be with a fabulous group of women!

I'm already coming up with ideas for next year's party.....

Jon making his carmel popcorn

Table full of hats

Dinner

More dinner

All the witches (minus Kelsi who was taking the picture)

I found these cute bags at Pier One - they lined the stairs outside and had candles burning in them.

Also a find at Pier One (thanks to Kirsten's great advice!)

bubbling brew

These were my favorite - the party favors!

Grandma's Pumpkin Patch

Over UEA, my mom called and said that the pumpkins in her garden were ready to be harvested and that the kids could come and each pick one. They are the cutest pumpkins and the kids had a blast picking them. What a fun Grandma!

Spelling Words

Jack does a few pages of homework for Kindergarten each week and today, he was supposed to write down all the words he knew how to spell. This was the start of his list:

Happy

Dad

Mom

Pepsi

All Done

I have just loved watching Hannah's little personality shine more and more brightly over the last several months. Oh, how we love her! I love that she waddles around from room and room and never wants to be left out of anything.

Well, a week ago, her personality again came shining through. She had still been nursing 4 times in a 24 hour period (once before her two naps, going to bed at night and then once during the middle of the night). My other babies were weaned between 13 and 18 months and I was fully planning on nursing her another couple of months. Well, I was nursing her one night last week and she bit me. All of my babies have done that and I pull away and tap them on the mouth and sternly tell them "no." It always makes them cry, but I want them to understand that it's not okay. Well, I did that to Hannah and she cried......and then she refused to nurse again. She was done.

It's been a bitter/sweet experience. I always am a little sad to not be able to have that quiet one-on-one time any more with my babies, but it's also so freeing to not have to worry about it. It's also such a treat to be able to sleep through the night again! She's LOVED the new experience of having a couple of books read to her before bed and she's been great about just laying down and going to sleep - despite not having a belly full of milk. Anyway, what a funny girl!

Treehouse Children's Museum

Last weekend, the kids were out of school on Thursday and Friday, so we did some fun things as a family. On Thursday, we went up to Ogden to the Treehouse Children's Museum. Jon had worked the night before, but was willing to get up and come with us after just a few hours of sleep. The museum was really affordable ($5 per kid and $4 per adult) and the kids had a great time. They enjoyed puzzles, art projects, dressing up, a giant chess board, playing school, visiting different countries and playing with train sets. We went for a couple of hours and then left to eat lunch at the mall and then came back for a couple more. Hannah and Jon even took naps in the van right after lunch. It was a great day and we had a lot of fun together!

Kate riding the horse


Emily and Hannah playing the drums

She'd sure make a great President!




Lindsey & Jack playing checkers

Not surprisingly, Kate enjoyed playing dress-up as a princess. She's informed us recently that she's the only "real" princess in our family because she has blonde hair.


Jack and I worked on this puzzle together. He's really great at doing puzzles - a boy after my own heart!

Whirlwind of a soccer season

Last week, we finished up a GREAT, but busy season of soccer!!! Emily, Lindsey and Jack all played and they all did so great! When I signed up all three, I didn't realize that each child would have a practice and 2 games each week - at different locations. For five weeks, soccer was our life. We had practices on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Thursdays and Saturdays were game days, which meant three games - usually around the same time - but at different elementary schools. Jon missed a lot of the games because of working. Thankfully, I had a great support system of my parents and siblings to help me get each child to the right place at the right time. I would literally give a child, with directions and a bag of necessary soccer items to my mom. And another child, with directions and a bag to Becky. And then, I would take one. What a treat for the kids to have so many family members there to cheer them on!

Jack's Team - the Sharks!

Jack was a blast to watch play! He's so intense about it and would charge the ball like an angry bull. When playing defense, he would especially take his job very seriously. His team was

co-ed and they had fun together. Jack scored three goals over the season (although we think one may have been for the other team!). Way to go Jack!

Jack is #6 - listening to the coach at half time.

Playing defense

Lindsey's Team - the Monkeys!

Lindsey had an amazing soccer season! She played on a 1st/2nd grade team of girls. It was so nice to have it be just a girl's league. She worked really hard and was a good teammate. Amazingly, she scored 8 goals over the season - her firsts ever! Way to go, Lindsey!

Lindsey going after the ball....(I'm not sure where the black player's face went)

In our opinion...the #1 Monkey!



Emily's Team - the Lions!


Emily played soccer several years ago, when she was 4 and 5, but hadn't played since. She decided that she wanted to try it again, and we're so glad she did! She played on a 3rd/4th grade girl's team, and again, we were so glad it was a girl's league. We absolutely LOVED her coach. He is the dad of a girl at school and in the neighborhood and he was so great with the girls. He was always positive and worked them hard at practice to learn how to be good team players. They were all unselfish and a joy to watch. Emily scored 2 goals (including one with her left foot) over the course of the season! Way to go Emily!

Getting instructions from Coach Clint

Emily is #2, dribbling the ball down the field

Grandma and Grandpa cheering on the kids!