Quick trip to Ohio!

 Last weekend, Emily, Lindsey, Kate and I few to Ohio to spend a few days with the Rasmussen's to and visit one last time before they move out west this summer.   Our family has wanted to go back there ever since we moved 4 years ago, but flights have been so expensive.

A couple of months ago, the flights finally dropped a little bit and Jon was willing to watch Jack, Hannah & Hailey so that I could take the other kids and go.   Emily & Lindsey have vivid memories of Ohio and Kate was so easy to take and she still talks about Hailey Rasmussen every day.

We flew there on a Wednesday afternoon.  Of course, as luck would have it, I woke up that day with a stuffy head and a "frog in my throat."   I took plenty of Sudafed and Ibuprofen with me and tried to keep up on those, especially on the flights.  I actually got motion sick on the first flight and threw up (thank goodness for those little bags) during landing.    We had a layover in Dallas and after eating a little bit, I felt much better. 

We landed, picked up a rental car and headed out into the familiar streets & highways of Columbus!  It was great to be back!  It was really, really late, so we arrived at the Rasmussen's about 11:45 p.m.    It was great to see Ammon & Kirsten and the girls and I had a fun time sleeping in the basement.   The girls were really great travelers and so fun to be with!

On Thursday, we woke up (probably only 15 minutes after the kids left for school - which really disappointed Kate), got ready and then we went to Red Rooster Quilts and to Karli's dance class.  It was the same dance studio that Kate danced at for a year and it was so cute to see Karli in her costume and see her dance. 

Then, after driving Karli home to get picked up by the bus, we drove to Ruby Tuesday to have lunch with Jodi & Carly.

We had a great time visiting and laughing and enjoying each other's company - again!  I miss our lunch dates with Jodi and I miss my kids being in her fun classes and summer camps!   She is a great friend and we miss her terribly!

 Kirsten, Jodi, me & Carly

 

After lunch, Kate wanted to stay at home with Kirsten to wait for Hailey, Brynlee & Karli, and the other girls and I headed over to their Elementary School - Greensview - to visit their teachers.   It was soooo good to see them again and be back in Greensview.   What a great school! 

We loved all these teachers so much!  They are incredible teachers, friends & examples!

 Mrs. MacGregor-Martin - she was Emily & Lindsey's 1st grade teacher

Lindsey still e-mails her quite often.

 

 Emily & Mrs. Kuhman. 

Mrs. Kuhman is Emily's all-time favorite teacher and had her for 2nd grade.  Mrs. Kuhman came to Emily's baptism.   She is retiring in just a few weeks!

 

Mrs. Miller & Emily

Emily had Mrs. Miller for Kindergarten & 3rd grade.  She is the sweetest person!

 Lindsey & Mrs. Holland

We absolutely love Mrs. Holland!  I would have loved all my kids to have her as their Kindergarten teacher!

The quilt behind them is one that I made for her, so it was fun to see that again. 

 

 This is Emily's art work that the school framed and hung in the school.  It's hanging right past the front office.  The little plaque underneath says "Emily Bowen 2009"

 

We came home to Kate in heaven!  They played & played & played!

Kirsten made a yummy dinner and then we drove back to dance to watch Hailey & Brynlee.  It was observation week, so I went with Brynlee and got all the instructions for their show.   So, so cute!
We stopped at Rita's on the way home and enjoyed one of our favorite treats!

On Friday, we woke up (again, right after the kids had already left for school).  We went back to Greensview to see Mrs. Holland (she teaches 1/2 day) and then Kirsten had a wonderful luncheon for us and Sarah & Christy.

It was so fun to laugh, visit, & see them again!  They are such great women!!

Once the kids got home - it was play time again!

The kids didn't want to stop playing - so we actually skipped going out to dinner.   Kirsten let Emily & go to the mall while she fed them and then we met at Al's Popcorn (which I had never been to).   We picked out some fun popcorn to take home and then went to Graeter's to meet some of our friends.

It was incredibly wonderful to see them again!   Since we weren't there for a Sunday to go to Church, it was so kind of everyone to drive there to see us.   I didn't get pictures of everyone, but Heather Parks came by and the Mills family.  The Rieser's came, Susan Welling, Vilo Westwood & Anne Bean.

The icecream was delicious and the company was even sweeter!  Thank you all those that came!

 The Rieser's

 

 Anne (and baby Daniel)

 

Vilo & Susan

 

 

We came home and the kids begged for a sleepover.  I am the mean one and said 'no' since our flight was really, really early.  But, I did let them have a "late night."  Our flight left at 7:15, so we got up early and headed to the airport.   We had a wonderful time!

 

Kirsten is due to have her 6th baby and despite a lot of painful contractions, was the best hostess!  Thank you, thank you!  

We love you Ohio!

Hailey turns 2!

This cute little girl of ours is officially a toddler!   Hailey turned 2 on April 6th!    She is still teeny!   She weighs 21 lbs.  She's not on the growth chart and even adjusting for her prematurity, she still isn't on the chart.   We try to give her calories any way we can.  She's a really good eater, but just tiny.

Hailey is a great sleeper.  She sleeps from 8:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. every night and takes a 2-3 hour nap every day.   She sleeps in a room with Lindsey and makes sounds at Lindsey most mornings to wake her up.

She still has a binkie and a blankie that she loves!   She also loves shoes - she's always trying to walk around in other people's shoes.    She loves nursery at Church!   She loves anything electronic - Ipad, Itouch, Mobigo, etc.   She's better at using my Ipad then I am. 

She now insists on sitting on the big chairs at the table - no more boosters for this girl.  She loves cereal with milk, spaghetti, melted cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fruit snacks, green beans, and rice.

We are a little concerned about her speaking ability.  She says "mom" "dad"  "hello"  "no" "yeah" & "baby."   She tries to say everyone's name in our family, but she's just not very willing to speak.   We have a speech therapy evaluation with her in a week and we'll see if they recommend some speech therapy.  I have a feeling that once this girl starts talking, she won't ever stop.

Hailey loves all of her siblings.  She waits for the kids to get home from school.  She's definitely a mama's girl and is flat out rude to Jon and his loving (yet teasing) attempts to bond with her.

We love having this sweet girl in our family! 

Visiting Union High School - Home of the Bobcats!

On the last day we were in Union, Jon & Jack went and played 9 holes of golf and us girls went to lunch in Cove!

Then, when school got out, we went and visited Jon's high school.    It's a great, old building.  On the 2 sides, there is still a "girls" entrance and a "boys" entrance.  Obviously, those aren't enforced any more, but it's fun to see a school with those still up.    I loved how they had things painted inside the school - lots of red & black school spirit things - very fun!

We saw pictures of Jon, Sarah, Beth & Tom and even Jon's uncle Bryce.   The kids had fun running around in the gym and then we let them play on the playground at the Elementary School, which is right next door.

We had such a great trip to Oregon!

 The picture that Jon is pointing to is his entire graduating class - 29!

 

Hannah wasn't so sure about the steepness of the slide.  Thank goodness for a dad willing to just send you down!

Oregon Trail Museum

On the Monday of our spring break, we went to the Interpretive Center (or the Oregon Trail Museum).   It's in Baker, OR, which is just 1/2 an hour from Jon's mom's house.    It was really, really cool!  They did a great job and even though we didn't get to read everything in it, it was great! 

 The building overlooked land and in certain places, you can still see the ruts from all the wagon wheels that went over the land - amazing!

 

 I thought this quote was great:  "A lazy person should never think of going to Oregon."

 

After we walked through the museum, we found a kid's room with dress-up clothes and a wagon where they could "pack" it like it was real.   We probably spent a full hour in there.

 This cute pioneer boy packed his wagon full - including the orange barrel on the right that says "Whiskey - 40 lbs."

 

 There's that whiskey again :)

 

After the museum, we went and picked up Chrisanne (Jon's aunt) and took her to lunch at a fun train restaurant.   So fun!

A Huntin' We Will Go!

My idea of hunting is hunting for Easter baskets and that's a Bowen family specialty!

Jon has fun, wonderful memories of Easter dinner & basket finding with his cousins in Union.   When we are in Union for Easter, we are thrilled to join in.

After Church, we changed clothes, rested for a few minutes and went over to Don & Joyce's house.   Everyone brought chili, homemade bread, sides or dessert to share and we ate.  Delicious!   Then, the mom's filled the Easter baskets (probably about 35 of them - I should have counted) and the dads hid them.   Hailey happened to be the youngest there this year, so her's was in the middle of the lawn.  The toughest baskets were high, high, high in the tree and under the bridge this year. 

The kids had fun looking for them.   I was in and out of the house with Hailey, but I don't think they even asked for clues this year.   The weather was gorgeous and it's always fun to visit with Jon's family.  His cousins & the girls they have married are so fun and I love visiting with them.