Bowsman Family

My Little Prince

2011-09-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

While Aunt Kate was taking pictures of Madigan, little brother got a few snapped of him.
He showed off his jumping skills. That consists of squatting down and then straightening his legs up quickly. Feet never leave the ground. It's even more impressive if you squeal when you do it.

Serious face

Happy Face

Sweet Face

Paxton is a bit obsessed with Toy Story and all of the characters that go with it. Here he is with his best buddy, Woody.

And here he is torturing his sister's baby doll. That went over well.

He's definitely all boy. There is nothing too big to climb or too high to jump off of.

But when he looks up at me with those eyes and that smile, he couldn't be sweeter.

No question about it - he will always be my little prince!

5 Years Old

2011-09-23T09:11:00.001-07:00

That's right, World. My baby turned 5 years old in August. Where does the time go?
Aunt Kate made a visit the week before Madi turned 5, so she took some pictures for us. As always, they turned out amazing!

Aunt Kate kept the kids that day while Ted and I worked, so she and Madi painted nails, of course. Gotta love the rainbow nails.
We had to make it through several outtakes...
before we finally got one of the two kids being sweet at the same time. :)

I love this smile

but this is the look I get the majority of the time. It's usually accompanied by her saying "seriously?!" Ha!
Since Madi is so into dressing up these days, I asked Kate to take some pictures of the little princess.

Her princess pose

I love them all and think Kate did an amazing job of capturing Madi's personality! Thanks Kate!

One Wicked Party

2011-09-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

Wicked as in "cool", of course!

After taking Madi to see Wicked last November, she decided that she wanted her 5 year old party to be "Wicked" themed. Sounded good to me!

First off, a Wicked party had to start out with a room for Glinda and Elphaba. So, we transformed Madi's room. First, a closet...

and then their beds.

The kids had fun dressing up like the characters. Here's Elphaba, Glinda, and... a flying monkey?
We also had a table for Elphaba - a place for her to write on the witch hat notepads with the broom pens that said "Defy Gravity".
And a table for Glinda - with lots of pink and glittery stuff to make wands.
I hate that the only picture I got of the cake had junk in the background. But you can get the idea - Glinda, Elphaba, yellow brick road, and the Emerald City.

The birthday girl blowing out her candles

The girls got to decorate their cupcakes with pink and green icing and sprinkles. Madi's had to be exactly half and half. :)

The sprinkles got a bit out of hand after a while!

After cake, Madi got to open her presents. You know, because we needed a few more girly toys around this house.
And then we went for a swim. See that blue water? Yeah, it was supposed to be green. I bought the tub tablets to make the water green in keeping with the Wicked theme. Didn't exactly work out. Oh well, the girls didn't seem to care!
Did I mention this wicked cool party was also a sleepover?! Madi invited 11 girls to her party. I figured quite a few of them (given their age) wouldn't opt to sleep away from home. Apparently Madi has some brave friends though - 10 of the 11 chose to sleep over! The more, the merrier!!
They actually did amazingly well and no phone calls had to be made home in the middle of the night. It was almost 11:30 before the last girl feel asleep, but whatever! You can see the shape they were in at 7:00 the next morning...
I won't post a picture of what shape I was in the next morning after "sleeping" in the room with them. Apparently 30 year olds are too old for sleepovers. Ha! But Madi had a BLAST and was so grateful to all of her friends who made the party so special. Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

Finally...West Texas!

2011-09-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so it's starting to become apparent that I'm not ever going to catch up from the last few months. So I think I'll just post some quick posts with lots of pictures and then go from there.

In July (yes, July - I told you I was behind), the kids and I flew to West Texas for my dad's family reunion. Paxton was pumped.
Madi was pretty excited too
At the reunion, the kids played with Gee Gee and Pa,
and their 3rd cousins. Paxton figured out how to get the best view.
Thankfully he didn't figure out how to get on the roof.

Love this picture of my granddad and his four kids.

Paxton thought Uncle Steve was a riot,

and used Great Granddad's walker as a jungle gym (which they both thought was great).
I loved watching Granddad play with the kids. Not sure there's a greater feeling.

But by far, this was my favorite picture from the trip.

It was a great trip spent with great people. And I survived my first plane trip with two kids. Happiness all around!

Hello Blog! Remember Me?

2011-08-13T13:39:00.001-07:00

So apparently I decided to go on a little blog vacation. I actually didn't realize it had been so long since I posted. And now that I've noticed it, I really don't have time to catch you up on all that's happened in the last month. But I can assure you, we haven't just been lounging around...
We've actually been very busy and have made lots of new friends.
I'll do my best to get back into a routine of posting and will try to catch up on the rest of our summer. But until then, I'll just leave you with some pictures of the kiddos. Madi with her fishy friend...
And Paxton riding a bucking bronco. He was actually saying "neigh!!" when I took the picture.
Stay tuned for posts about the rest of our summer fun, a trip to West Texas for a wild family reunion, and a wicked fun birthday party (which hasn't actually happened yet but will have by the time I post again).

Camp Pa and Gee Gee 2011

2011-07-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

It's summer and you know what that means - CAMP PA AND GEE GEE!!!

That's right, the 4th annual Camp Pa and Gee Gee took place about 2 weeks ago. Ask any of the kids and they'll say it was the coolest thing EVER. Ask any of the parents that got some time alone and they'll say it was quiet. Ha! I ended up with a TON of pictures and I'll never get them all sorted just right on this blog, so I'm just going to give you a rundown of the week here and then post the pictures for your viewing pleasure.

On Sunday, I met my parents and handed Avery, Ella, and Madi off. They went and spent a night in a cabin on the lake. Madi informed me that it was a "fancy" cabin. Not sure what that means. On Monday, they headed to my parent's house for the remainder of camp. On Tuesday, they visited the "Fish Hatchery" and saw a diving show and some ridiculously huge fish. On Wednesday, Paxton and I joined camp and that evening we all went to the lake for some tubing. On Thursday, I left and met Ted in the metroplex for a little getaway (hence the quiet time) and all four kiddos stayed at camp until we picked them up on Saturday morning. After great weeping and gnashing of teeth, we loaded them up Saturday afternoon and returned home. Whew! What a week!

Now for the pictures...

Madi making a beautiful face

The Girls

Avery with Cody the Coyote, Ella with Rocky the Raccoon, and Madi with Sim the Possum (or posSIM - Ha!)
Riding in the Boat Fishing on the dock
Pa finally got a boy to hang with at Camp!
Tubing with Gee Gee

The Sandbox

A new addition to camp - the golf cart!

Mema, Papa and Auntie were able to come for a quick visit on Saturday. So good to see them all!

Love this picture of Mema with her great granddaughters

Photo session - I bribed them with a Skittle every time they smiled for a picture. Don't judge me. You do what you've gotta do.

Chillin in the camper

Avery's 10th Birthday Party

I think she liked her present...

Eating - shocking, I know

Gee Gee and Pa thought the girls each needed a snake to bring home. Thanks again for that.

Making fish faces at the Fish Hatchery

I told you they were ridiculously big fish!

The girls did some fishing.

Well, Avery did some fishing...

while the other two searched for clam shells!!

Such a cool Gee Gee!

A few random pictures...

Now really, after seeing all of that, who WOULDN'T want to go to Camp Pa and Gee Gee?! Even though I've spent the last week and a half reteaching my kids what the word "no" means, we wouldn't trade the experience and the memories they made for the world. Thanks to Pa and Gee Gee for caring for and loving the kids. Looking forward to next year already!!

More Summer Fun

2011-07-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Still enjoying every moment of summer vacation. Some recent happenings...

We're participating in our church community garden, so we've spent some time up there watering, weeding and socializing. The only bad part has been some rabbits that have helped themselves to most of our vegetables. In an effort to stop them, the guy in charge of the garden has started putting up a rabbit fence. Not sure if it's keeping the rabbits out or not, but it works for Paxton!
We had a garage sale last weekend and Madi and her friend had a lemonade/cookie stand. They did pretty well and Madi is now $13 richer. At one point, she had to leave and left Jenna in charge. When she got back, Jenna wasn't there. Madi yelled, "Where in the world is Jenna?! She's not watching the lemonade!!" This was serious business.
Madi has been playing a lot of dress up lately and wedding is the most common theme. She asked me why brides wear white dresses. I paused and she said, "Because white is pretty, right?" I breathed a sigh of relief and agreed that it was a pretty color. Wasn't quite ready for the purity conversation with the 4 year old.
She's also been dressing up like a cowgirl since attending our western themed VBS last week.
Paxton just like being the cow...
I actually dropped Madi off with Gee Gee and Pa yesterday for their annual "camp". On our way home, Paxton and I stopped for a Mommy/Son date at Baskin Robbins. Couldn't ask for a cuter date!
Needless to say, he liked his clown cone!
It's been VERY dry here the past 6 weeks so when we finally got a rainy day, the kids enjoyed it. Madi insisted that they put their rain boots...
Paxton enjoyed the puddles, but thought they needed just a LITTLE more water...

SPLASH!!!

Like I said, loving the summer and wishing it would just quit speeding by!

Quick Trip to Texas

2011-07-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we made a quick trip to Texas to see my parents. Since the temperature in Texas was 105 degrees, we wasted no time in jumping in their pool!
Paxton loves the water and only got upset when I pulled him out to reapply more sunscreen.
I don't know why, but I think her expression is hilarious in this picture.
At some point, my mom pulled out an inflatable goose that apparently no one can ride. So of course, we had a to give it a try. Ted loved the goose but was only able to ride for a few seconds. But who cares when you get a priceless picture like this!!
And to be fair...and to brag a little... I'll post an embarrassing picture of me as well. And tell you that I rode the goose longer than anyone else. Now that's something to be proud of.
After our pool time, Paxton practiced his poses for his upcoming Calvin Klein ad. Serious face...

And the smiling pose

He added a hat later. Check out those abs!
The kids also tried out the new golf cart with Pa. I'll just say that he drove a little slower than Gee Gee did while chauffeuring Ted and I around later...
We had a great time and the kids got a small taste of Camp Pa and Gee Gee that starts next week. They haven't stopped talking about it since we got home!!

Memorial Day with Grandi & Gramps

2011-06-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ted's parents came to visit us over Memorial Day weekend. Madi decided to show off her Pledge of Allegiance skills to them.
And she insisted that everyone else participate as well...
Ted and David worked their tails off over the weekend making home repairs. They even got rid of my hideous pink toilet and replaced it with a normal white one! While installing a new door in the crawl space, Ted took this picture of his dad. Well, his dad's hand, at least. I threatened David all weekend that if he made me mad, he was going to have to stay in the crawl space. Ha!!
Aunt Kate wasn't able to come this trip, but she sent along my birthday present. In honor of the big 3-0, she sent 30 presents. One was a pair of reading glasses to help me read with my aging eyes. (Ha ha) I never got the chance to try them out though.
And Madi wasn't the only one who like them.
Madi seriously wore them EVERYwhere. She called them her "Aunt Kate glasses" (because Kate has a similar style of glasses).
Since Grandi and Gramps were here, Madigan insisted that we have our traditional tea party.
Gramps willingly obliged. Funny story - last week, a boy from Madi's school came to play at our house. She mentioned wanting to play tea party and I told her that he might not want to since boys didn't usually like having tea parties. She frowned and said, "Well Gramps does!"
Other activities included painting and labeling some garden markers that Grandi and Gramps brought.
Here's Madi's garden with her handwritten signs!
I personally LOVE this picture. Bet you can't guess why...
Paxton loved having Grandi and Gramps around and decided he wanted to be like Gramps when he grows up. He started by wearing his shoes.
And then moved into his socks!
We had a wonderful time with Grandi and Gramps as always. So glad they got to come visit in the new house! Hopefully Gramps will rest up from all of the manual labor soon... :)

Summer Time!

2011-06-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

I'm officially 1 week into my summer break and loving every minute of it. Which is good, since I only have 6 1/2 weeks of summer. But who's counting? So what have we done in week one? Well, we've done a little swimming...
and some more swimming...
and some more swimming.
We've also managed to squeeze in some time for some frozen yogurt,
an outing to the library to sign up for the summer reading program,
and some quality time at the ballpark.
What more could you want?! Here's hoping week 2 is just as fun!

Lovin' Baseball Season!

2011-06-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has spent any time around us knows that we love baseball. We do our best to make it to Texas and cheer on the Rangers as much as possible, but in the meantime we enjoy catching a game or two at the local double A team, the Arkansas Travelers. For my 30th birthday, Ted and the kids surprised me with a night at the ballpark.

Surprise!

And also invited some of our closest friends to join us!

Put me in Coach!

Paxton loved taking in the sights and sounds of the game.
And Madi was even super brave and gave the mascot, Shelly, a hug!
The kids were less interested in the game and more interested in rolling down the hill. Hey, whatever works!

We had a wonderful time with all of our friends!!
Then a few nights ago, we joined my work friends for another ball game. Ted and the kids checked out the bullpen staff...
We actually caught a double header and in between the two games they let the kids (and parents) run the bases. Here's Madi and Ted heading to 3rd base...
Prepare yourself - just 18 years away. :)
Madi's going to have to work on her underhand pitch though...

Rally cap!

We again had a great time cheering on the Travs and can't wait for the next game. Have I mentioned that we love baseball?!

Graduation

2011-06-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Madi graduated from her preschool...that she's going to attend again next year. Confused? The quick answer - they ALL get to "graduate", whether they're finishing the preschool program or the kindergarten program or coming back the following year. Turns out it's a good thing that we get to do it again next year, because we forgot to charge our camera and the battery died half way though the program. The rest of it was documented on my phone camera. I just figure we'll fix her hair the same way next year and piece two years of pictures into one big event!

The Proud Graduate

The part I was the most concerned about was the program (songs and diploma) due to Madi's fear of people looking at her and clapping. But to my surprise, Madi did excellent! I think it helped that they practiced it for 2 weeks before the actual graduation.
After Madi got her diploma, she thought that she had to hold it up in every picture.

Like this...

And this...

It was fun to celebrate the end of a great school year. We're thankful for a wonderful school and the best teachers in the world.

Madi and Ms. Marti

Madi and Ms. Carolyn

Now it's summer break!!! Well, at least for one Bowsman...

Field Day

2011-05-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share some pictures of Madi's preschool's Field Day. We arrived a little early, so we hung out outside (much easier to keep Paxton happy in wide open spaces than in a confined area). The kids came out one group at a time so Paxton took it upon himself to go entertain the first group of kiddos. They were cracking up at him. I probably don't want to know what he was doing.
Madi's group finally came out. As you can see, Paxton was still busy entertaining in the background.
The Field Day had all of the important components... hula hoops,

bubbles,

ball games,

and, Madi's favorite, chalk!

A fun time was definitely had by all and Madi claimed it was "the best day EVER"! In fact, she is already making plans for Field Day 2012. :)

Easter Sunday

2011-05-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know Easter was almost a month ago. Yes, I'm still behind. Now that we've gotten that cleared up...

Both kids got to hunt Easter eggs this year. Since she is now a seasoned pro, Madi took off to find those eggs that were "hidden".

And before long, she had her basket all filled up!
In fact, hunting eggs was so easy, she even moved on to putting flowers in her basket.
For Paxton though, this was his first egg hunting experience. He had to watch the veterans for a while.
But it didn't take long before he caught on.
And he was very proud of his work. "Check this out Mom!"
We tried hard to get pictures of the kiddos. Here's Madi and her buddy Jenna.
Paxton was a bit too into the festivities to stop for pictures. Madi tried to lovingly hold him...
When that didn't work, she just grabbed a hold of his shirt and smiled!
This was about the best we could do.

Still, it was a wonderful Easter spent worshiping God, laughing with friends and having fun. Who could ask for anything more?

Are there really "cool mom points"?

2011-05-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Because if so, I BETTER have loaded up on them for this. A few weeks ago, Madi's friends invited us to go with them to see Disney's Princesses on Ice. The tickets were cheap and the company was great. The only problem? Hello, did you not read the title? Princesses everywhere! But I did the good mother thing and surprised Madi with a Mommy/Daughter evening. Here she is with her buddies Garrett and Addison.

As you can see, I even packed a Princess dress and let her wear it for the show so that she could be like the other 500,000 girls under the age of 8 who were at the show.
Alright, I'll go ahead and admit it. It really wasn't that bad. In fact, it was even pretty cute. My favorite - the Dwarfs. That Dopey cracks me up...
Madi, of course, liked the Princesses the best. She cheered loudly for Belle...

And when Ariel waved at her,

She waved right back!

Ms. Marti was impressed with how buff King Triton was. I'd be jealous if I were you, Matt Welch.
I did learn that although the tickets were cheap, the snowcones were NOT! Took a chunk out of Madi's college fund for that one.

But, it entertained her for the second half plus she got a super cool souvenir cup, so I guess it was worth it.
My favorite part of the evening was watching Madi and Addi dissect the show after it was over. Look at the enthusiasm!
Needless to say, my little Princess enjoyed the show and I enjoyed my time with her. So as much as I hate to admit it, I give Princess Wishes on Ice two thumbs up.

O-HI-O

2011-05-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

As you can see, not much blogging occurred in the month of April. I will attempt to do better in May. First, I've got to try to play catch up. Because even though my blogging stopped, our adventures didn't!

One weekend in April, we flew to the great state of Ohio to go an auction at Ted's great-aunt's farm. It was a bittersweet experience for the family - tough to say goodbye to the family homestead and some wonderful memories, but a blessing to get all of the family together for the first time in a very long time.
The auction itself was quite an experience. Madi was enthralled with the speed with which the auctioneer talked! She hung out with Ted a lot and took it all in.
I got the fun job of keeping up with the other kiddo...
Paxton found some unbelievable treasures on the farm. ROCKS!!!
And flowers! But even as he was getting into something at every turn, who could get mad at this face?!
The family that bought the farm was an Amish family. So there were quite a few horses and buggies there.
Madi asked a lot of questions about the Amish and seemed intrigued by their way of life.

Paxton just liked the horses.
The auction was a success and everyone got a keepsake or two (or more) from the farm. Here's a picture of Gramps at his finest. Doesn't this look like something a man who had knee surgery 2 weeks earlier should be doing?!
Paxton and Madi liked trying out all of the goodies from the auction. Old rusty tools? Coolest things ever!!!
Other highlights from the trip - Paxton found some birds and a squirrel to play with. He seriously LOVED these guys and would walk in the room and start saying "Tweet, tweet?!"
He was not so fond of me giving his pacifier to the squirrel. Ha!
Ted also took the kids on a 4 wheeler ride around the farms. After a little trepidation, Madi climbed on and had a good time. I think she looks WAY too old in this picture.
And Paxton loved it from the first second, of course. "Go faster, slowpoke!"
Before leaving on Sunday, we went back to the farm to get some family pictures. I offered to take the pictures with Kate's fancy camera and zoomed way in on them. This is what I got...
Turns out, Madi made this face in ALL of the 12 pictures I took of them. I couldn't see her because I was too far back and the others couldn't see her because she was in front. Way to go, Madi.

Thankfully, we did get a few other pictures at the farm. Aunt Kate and Madi in front of the barn.

Me and the kiddos

Family Shot

It was a very special trip filled with great family time and memories.

2011-04-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while since I last posted. Since that post, we packed up one house, moved into another, had an awesome visit with a longtime friend, took a trip to Ohio, and hosted a fun Community Day at our church. It's been busy and blogging just hasn't happened. Since there are still lots of boxes sitting in this house begging to be unpacked, I'm not going to post a long one today. But I thought I'd post a few pictures of the kiddos in the BEAUTIFUL flowers that are blooming at the new house. Obviously they were planted by the woman who lived here before us. My goal is simply not to kill them. :)

Madi loves picking the flowers and takes a nightly tour around the house with Daddy to see what has bloomed that day.
Paxton seems to be more interested in the birdbath and "tweet tweets" (birds) than in the flowers. I think he was hoping some would come take a bath with him. They didn't.
Needless to say, we are loving the new house and all the fun it's bringing!

Lions, Tigers and Bears

2011-03-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today Ted took a day off work and joined us in celebrating this wonderful holiday called Spring Break! Since Paxton is now obsessed with animals and Madigan has finally gotten over her oversensitivity to "stinky smells", we decided to take the kids to the zoo.

"Animals? Let me at 'em!"

We went to the monkeys first. Paxton couldn't get enough. If I started to walk away, he yelled at me and pointed back to the monkeys. Then he would just stare at them like he was analyzing their every move. It was pretty funny.
Madi decided to instead analyze the zoo map. She declared herself our guide for the day.
As you can see, Paxton warmed up pretty quickly. Here he was watching the monkeys and some fish (koi). At the beginning of the video, he's doing his fish face.

And this was when he saw the lions. His quiet "roar" cracks me up!

Madi decided that her favorite animal was the flamingo...because they're pink, of course.
And she said Paxton's favorite was the elephant. Since his verbal skills are still limited, he couldn't tell us if that was true or not.
We also spent some time at the childrens' area where they had cutouts that you could stick your face in for pictures.

Farmer Paxton

Ted and the kiddos

And this is for Pa - Madi on a RED tractor. :) (It was a bit bright, in case you can't tell.)

It was a great day at the zoo! On the way to the parking lot, Madi turned to Paxton and said, "Aww, Buddy! We forgot to leave you with the monkeys!" And she was serious...
But thankfully, NO one was left with ANY animal and we all made it home safe and sound. Another great Spring Break day!

Boys vs. Girls

2011-03-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

While playing outside today, Madi brought me this flower arrangement that she created.

Paxton then brought me a rock.

Yes, a rock.

Anyone who thinks that there are no inborn differences between boys and girls need only spend a few minutes at our house.
We'd change their minds in no time!

Grandparent Fun

2011-03-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Pa and Gee Gee came for a very short visit (less than 24 hours...again). But even though it was short, we were excited to see them! Pa and Paxton immediately picked up where they had left off - wrestling!
And Gee Gee and Madi caught up on the gossip while swingin'.
As always, they also came bearing gifts. These two balls light up, vibrate, and play music. Super! Needless to say, Paxton loved them and actually threw a fit when we finally put them away.
Gee Gee took Madigan to the park and after swinging and sliding, they moved on to their favorite activity - throwing rocks in a creek!
They also called Auntie to wish her a Happy 89th Birthday. I thought this picture was cute of both of them giggling.
Don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog or not, but we're in the process of buying a new house right now. It's only a mile from our current house, but will give us more room to spread out. We took Mom and Dad to see it while they were here. When we first made an offer on the house, it had snowed and the yard was covered in several inches of snow. This was the first time the kids and I have seen it without snow. I think they liked the backyard...
Thanks Pa and Gee Gee for coming to see us! Can't wait to see you again soon!

Marathon Weekend

2011-03-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was the Little Rock Marathon. I like running and support those that do. But I personally thing marathoners are crazy. 26.2 miles?! Really?! Needless to say, that's not on my "bucket list". However, my friend and I did decide to run the Little Rock 5K that was on Saturday. We woke up that morning to find this...
Yes, those are storm clouds. And the storm clouds produced rain. And lots of wind. Woo hoo! Great fun! But, we were up and there, so why not!
My favorite shirt of the day was this. Really, isn't that every runners prayer?! Ha!
The 5K went well and I'm glad we ran it. The next day, Madi and I woke up EARLY to go help with a water stop for the marathoners and half-marathoners.
While we were taking care of the set up (filling thousands of cups with water and Gatorade), this is what Madi did...
She finally uncovered and joined the rest of us after all of the work was done.
I didn't get any pictures when the runners came through because things were so crazy. But after the rush, I did try to get Madi to pose like she was handing out water. As you can tell, she was thrilled!

"Take some water - I dare you!"

Even though I have no desire to ever run a marathon, I'm super impressed by those that did. What a fun weekend!

The Faces I Love

2011-03-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

Not much I can say about these pictures...

But I sure do love those kids!

Thanks Mandy for taking the pictures of me and the kids for Ted's Valentine card. We LOVE them!

Happy Retirement!

2011-03-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Ted's dad (Gramps) recently decided to retire. Not wanting to be left out of the celebration, we hopped a plane to North Carolina for the weekend. We weren't there very long before I looked out the window to see this...
Not to be left out, Madigan jumped in the "cool" car.
And the brainwashing started. NCState gear and a Corvette. What more could a boy ask for?
We really didn't take many pictures that weekend, but thankfully a family friend and wonderful photographer took pictures at the (somewhat of a) surprise retirement party.

This was the cake. Yes, that's a Corvette on top. How cool is that?!
Paxton loved the cake so I set him on the table to get a closer look. He immediately lunged for it with both hands. This is me yanking him back. Look at that face. "Who me? Never!"
Sitting at the family table. As you can see, Paxton and I had just stuffed our faces with some of the yummy barbecue when the picture was taken!
Ted started the "program" portion of the evening out with some introductions.
Then it was my turn. For those of you that know mine and David's relationship, you know that I've waited for 10 years to get a microphone and a captive audience and get to talk about David. :) But, believe it or not, I was nice. I just read a poem (see below) I'd written about his life and showed some pictures. Nothing TOO embarrassing. Then we showed some videos the kids had made for Gramps. This was my favorite...

After we were done, some of David's friends got up and talked about him. One gave him a walking stick with a compass so that he didn't lose his way. :)
Another had this to say...

"The Bowsmans have been very important to me over the years. Sandi has been like the older sister I never had, and David has been like a very old, doddering uncle I never wanted. I feel honored to share in the celebration of this milestone.So, David, as you enter this next phase of your life as a retiree, which is really just a synonym for someone who doesn’t want to work, I want to encourage you with some words from scripture:

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief,
and scarcity like an armed man. Prov. 6:9-11 (NIV)"

Ha ha ha!!! As you can see, I'm not the only one David likes to harass. Next, we played a trivia game about David's life and the lucky winner left with an 11x14 photo of David in his "younger years". Gotta love it. :)
Lastly, Ted and Kate both had some sweet things to say about their Daddy. Guess they had to make up for the rest of us...
It was a great party and Sandi did a wonderful job organizing everything. Even though he might not admit it, I think David even had a good time!
Paxton gave it a definite Two Thumbs Up!
And Madi loved every minute of the secret keeping and surprising!

Happy Retirement Gramps!!! Glad we got to celebrate with you!

The Poem...

The Life and Times of David Bowsman

Once upon a time, a long, long, long, LONG time ago,

A baby was born in a land called “Ohio”

And this was no ordinary boy. No, this boy had a plan!

He was going to change the world when he became a man.

But first, there was some growing to be done.

Time set aside for chores, school, and plenty of fun.

And while I know that this may be shocking to you,

I promise that he found time for mischief too.

The days turned to months and the months turned to years

And suddenly, graduation was here!

The school officials said they had done all they could

And David was released into the world for good.

The grocery industry was calling his name,

But the desire to be educated just couldn’t be tamed

College was cut short by an army in need

But as a medic in Germany, he still found adventure indeed.

After the war, David tried collecting some bills,

But found that phone industry held more thrills.

But what really made him feel nice and dandy

Was marrying his true love, the lovely Sandi.

So they started their life together and were as happy as could be,

And in just a few years, the Bowsman Two became Three.

A baby boy was born and they had joy to share

Ted resembled his father, with just about the same amount of hair!

With a baby around, the days on the road became too much

So a new job was sought, where he could be more in touch

David quit installing central office switch equipment, whatever that is

And instead took a job as a Customer Service Engineer, the best in the biz.

That job was in another state, so the family began to pack

And they moved to Tennessee without looking back.

It was there that the Bowsman Three added one more

And the beautiful Kate made the perfect family of Four.

So time went on and the children grew

They had fun and David did too.

They travelled around and saw some neat sights

And their love for each other soared to new heights.

As the 1980s rolled out and the 90s moved in,

The Bowsmans found themselves moving again.

Even further east was the place to be,

So they loaded up the truck and moved to Raleigh. (North Carolina, that is)

They were very blessed and life was good

And the kids continued to grow like they should.

David was proud as they excelled in life,

And never as happy as when Ted brought home a wife. (Hehehe!)

And what do you know? The best was yet to come

As grandchildren entered the world and brought so much fun.

Some even say they are the reason that today

We are celebrating his retirement and return to a life of play.

But here’s what’s exciting and interesting too

David DID do what he set out to do.

He changed the world in his own little way.

By doing his best, day after day.

Is there a Wocket in your Pocket?

2011-02-26T13:12:00.000-08:00

On Monday, a friend invited the kids and I to join them at the Clinton Library (free admission on President's Day!) to check out the new Dr. Suess exhibits. The kids could barely contain their excitement. Well, Madigan could barely contain Paxton, at least!
We did discover something very important. It turns out that the Cat in the Hat really DOES know a lot about that!
(If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must not have a kid between the ages of 1 and 8 that watches PBS Kids on weekday mornings. That's not necessarily a bad thing.)
There were statues and paintings from nearly all of Dr. Suess' stories. Madi really enjoyed it since we've read a bunch of them.

For those of you that know the story of Yertle the Turtle, you know that the mean turtle (Yertle) made the other turtles stand on top of each other so that he could be up higher. Finally, a little turtle at the bottom burps and they all fall down, including Yertle who lands in the mud. Paxton had another idea of how to knock the turtles down...

"I didn't do anything!"

And what Dr. Suess day would be complete without the Grinch?!
Thanks Joy for inviting us! We had a great time and loved getting our Dr. Suess fix in for a while!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

2011-02-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

Paxton got a teddy bear for Christmas that was dressed as a conductor. He also got an outfit to match the bear. Put them together and you get...

Two cute little bears

"This guy cracks me up!"

Thanks Grandi, Gramps and Aunt Kate for the bear and outfit. It was all a hit!!

The Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-11T10:51:00.001-08:00

I know my northern friends are already laughing at us just from the title of this blog. But in my defense, some parts of Arkansas got 2 feet of snow. Record breaking here. We only got 7 inches, but that's still pretty monumental for our area. So let us live in awe of our experience for now and keep your laughter to yourself. :)

Day 1

As mentioned, we did get 7 inches of snow. The first day, we mainly just hunkered down and stayed warm while enjoying the view out the window. Isn't it pretty?!

We finally got out and surveyed the ground.

Madi immediately started eating the snow. She has a bit of an addiction.
And Paxton went back to just standing in one spot and trying to find out what the white stuff was that was up to his knees.

"What is this stuff on my playset?!"

Madi finally got brave enough to lay down in the snow and make her snow angel.
Alright, these pictures were actually taken the weekend before when we had a "light dusting" of snow. But they fit so well here, they just had to be posted. Here's a picture of Paxton's snowman.
Not as large as Madi's snowperson, but still pretty "stylin".

Day 2

As pretty as the snow was and as much as we enjoyed experiencing a "real" snow, by Day 2 we were getting a little stir crazy. Okay, I was getting stir crazy and the others appeased me by bundling up and getting outside for a while.

We went on a little walk. First time the jogging stroller has braved icy streets. It held up well. :)
Madi rode for a while and then wanted to walk. I thought this was cute of her trekking through the snow.
Paxton was glad she got out of the stroller so he could lounge.
We made it to the gas station where the kids used their "treat" money from Mema and Papa to buy some snack. So I got some exercise and the kids got their candy. Happy Snow Day for Everyone!

Day 3

By Day 3 we had gotten a bit more creative...or crazy. Ever hit a snowball with a baseball bat? If not, you totally should!
We gave Madi the bat to take a turn. She licked the snow off instead. Oh my.
She did take a turn as our hind catcher in our game of snowball. It looked something like this.
Paxton cheered us all on. By this point, he'd lost a mitten, so he had mine on. Pretty funny, if you ask me.
As I mentioned, things got crazier the longer we stayed in. By that third day, this had happened...

Thankfully, Gee Gee and Pa had sent a Valentine's box to the kids that had lots of crafts and activities in it. It arrived on day 1 and was our saving grace. Just a few of those activities - Valentine Rice Krispies!

And a Valentine mailbox

By the 3rd night, we were able to get out again. Hallelujah! But even as stir crazy as we are, we still enjoyed our "snowpocalypse". Now, bring on Spring!!!

Football Fanatic

2011-02-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

In honor of the Super Bowl, here's a video of our little football fan while he was watching the football playoffs a few weeks ago...

What a crazy kid! Sure do love him though.

Winter? Spring? Whatever!

2011-02-04T05:49:00.000-08:00

It's a little ironic that I'm posting this blog on a "Snow Day". But we live in Arkansas where the weather changes as fast as you can blink, so it actually isn't that surprising.

Last weekend, we had a wonderful break in winter weather and got to enjoy some 75 degree days. So, we headed outdoors!
We went up to our church parking lot. Paxton and I jogged around with the jogging stroller,
while Madi got reacquainted with her bike,
and Ted tried out the Princess scooter. :)
Here's a little taste of Madi's mad biking skills.

And Paxton enjoying the jogging stroller and asking for "more" rides.

The next day, I took the kids to the park where Paxton debuted his new sliding skills. Head first, of course.
Here's a video I took of him sliding at our house on Monday. By then, it was cooler and a jacket was needed. He was bummed by that because it slowed him up on the slide. I was a little relieved.

He also tested out the Jeep while we were outside that day. Only a real man can make a Barbie Jeep look this good!
Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end and by Tuesday we had temperatures in the 20s with bitterly cold windchills. But we enjoyed getting out and soaking up the sun while we could. Now bring on the snow! :)

Don't Blink

2011-01-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

I know I spend a lot of this blog lamenting the fact that my kids are growing up too fast. But seriously, this is getting ridiculous!
The story behind the veil - on Sunday morning we talked about Jesus' first miracle in Madi's Bible class. Since the setting was a wedding, we let the girls dress up in a veil and the boys wear a fancy tie.
Since that point, Madi's been a bit obsessed. Surprising, I know.
She's apparently also heard the song, "First comes Love, then comes Marriage. Then comes Baby in a Baby Carriage." Or baby in a stroller, one in a back carrier and one on the hip. :)
Paxton is, of course, also growing fast too fast. He's been working daily to perfect his climbing skills.
One day those skills helped him to break into the candy bowl and score a sucker. Nice...
He's also been growing some hair. Baby mohawk!
Since he's getting so big, we had to start giving him responsibilities around the house. Yes, this is child labor at it's best!
So once again, I'm posting a blog to remind myself not to blink. Because it seems like every time I do, these kiddos grow up!

My Mountain Goat

2011-01-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

I've already put this video on facebook and emailed it to some family members, so probably everyone who reads this blog has already seen it. But I wanted to make sure it was documented in the blog as well.

One day, I heard the piano start playing. Paxton often walks up to the piano and bangs on the keys, so I figured that was what was going on. I finished doing the dishes and then walked in to the living room to find Paxton playing the piano... WITH HIS FEET. He was walking along the keys. Oh my. I pulled him down and then watched as he crawled back up to the top in less than 30 seconds. So, I did what any good mom would do. I yelled to Ted and told him to bring the video camera. You'll hear Paxton fussing at the start of the video. That's because he's angry that I kept ruining his fun by setting him back on the ground.

So, I've gone ahead and reserved a room at the local Emergency Room. I figure we're going to need it with this one.

My Girl

2011-01-15T18:08:00.001-08:00

Today, Madi and I had the opportunity to have some Girls Only time and go out for lunch and a movie. Even though we were just eating at Pizza Hut and going to a small, somewhat outdated movie theater to see a Disney princess movie, Madi felt the need to get all dressed up (including the matching sunglasses and stick on earrings, of course). Needless to say, I was not quite as dressed up for our outing. :)
We enjoyed our food and LOVED the movie (Tangled). But more than that, I cherished the time I got to spend with my girl. She's growing up so fast and is such a neat kid. I thank God for her and hope I never forget to make time in what seems to always be a busy schedule to appreciate her. Definitely my idea of a great Girls Day Out.

Snow, How We Love Thee

2011-01-11T17:24:00.001-08:00

On Sunday afternoon, it started to snow and kept it up until early Monday morning. So, we had our first Snow Day of 2011! As you can see, it snowed so much it was up to our knees! Well, up to Paxton's knees at least.
Paxton loved the snow...so long as he could just stand in it and smile. When we tried to get him to walk in it, this is the look we got. "Are you kidding me?!"

Madigan, on the other hand, had no time to just stand and smile. This girl had some things to do!
First she had to dig her scooter out of the snow.
And then she had to move onto her Jeep. Maybe next time she'll remember to put the top on when the weatherman predicts snow!!
Plus, she had to model all of her cool snow clothes. Here she's showing off her new boots from Pa and Gee Gee. They sure came in handy for our snow adventures!
Later that day, we got out and made a snowman. Ted took care of Darth Vader and the Transformer snowmen.
While Madi and I worked on her snow girl, "Hannah". She picked out the matching scarf, hat and sunglasses and declared that Hannah was "stylin'!"
We also did a little sledding. Of course, since we live in Arkansas and get snow maybe once a year, we don't actually have sleds. So out came the laundry basket and bungee cord!
I know I'm going to get in trouble from the grandparents for this video, but it makes me laugh. Here's Paxton sledding (and falling and getting back up again)!

Just to prove that he wasn't traumatized by the fall, this was taken just after the first video (as evidenced by the snow still caked to the left side of his body). Hear the laughter? He LOVED it!

Madi, my very cautious kid, was not too sure about going sledding. And seeing Paxton fall out hadn't helped. But finally, she gave it a try!

She actually liked it better riding with her brother. Paxton was a little less sure about that. :)
And I'll leave you with this. Paxton was again just standing, enjoying the snow so I took a picture. When I uploaded it to the computer though, I started cracking up. For some reason, it looks to me like he's peeing in the snow. I'm counting on some of you (Pa, Lexie, Uncle Matt, etc) to agree with me.
Happy Snow Day! May we meet again soon!

The Finale

2011-01-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

Our final Christmas (#4) was celebrated with my brother's family and my parents at our house the week after Christmas. Unfortunately, Ted and I got sick while they were here, so most of our time was spent on the couch, covered in blankets, with a glazed over expression. Fortunately no one took pictures of that. But Mom did take some pictures of the others that I stole to document the time!

Of course, there were more presents to be opened. That made one little girl very happy.

Matt modeling his super cool new hat

The kiddos with their new toys

The 4 cousins

The girls getting ready for their sleepover

Paxton wanted in on the pajama fun too!

The next day, everyone got dressed in similar colored clothes (even Matt this time!) and we took some pictures of the whole family. Aren't these girls beautiful?

The 4 kiddos

Madigan insisted on bringing her baby to the pictures and was a little upset that the baby doll couldn't be the 11th person in our family picture. So Gee Gee took a special one of the two of them.

The whole crew

We attempted one of the grandparents and grandkids, but, as you can see, Paxton had had enough!
We were so glad everyone could come to our house, even if it was only for one day. Hopefully next time it works out to get together, we won't be sick and can be a bit more sociable! We love you all!

Christmas, Texas Style (#2 and 3)

2010-12-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

We headed to Texas this Christmas and made our first stop at Mema and Papa's. I'm disappointed in myself because I didn't take many pictures while we were there. Truth be told, I've just gotten lazy about taking pictures and steal everyone else's pictures before I leave. Unfortunately this time, no one else was taking pictures either! But, we had a wonderful time and did get a few pictures to capture the fun.

We opened presents again. Paxton got a cactus named Raw Clyde that sings and dances. After he'd opened that, he didn't care about any other gifts! Everyone else, on the other hand, was wishing he'd move onto something else!
I have to share this one. We got Papa a mug with a picture of himself posing in his pajamas. He said he'd drink his coffee out of it every morning... but not in mixed company. :)
Paxton enjoyed wrestling with my cousin Taylor. Actually, he waited until Taylor laid down on the floor to rest and then attacked him!
Before we left on Christmas morning, we did manage to get a few pictures of Mema and Papa and the great grandkids. I thought this was cute... except that Mema is trying to hide!
That's better Mema. :)
We had a wonderful time and were so glad we got to spend several nights there. Before long though, it was time to head East to Pa and Gee Gee's where Santa was leaving some gifts. And what do you know? Madi got what she asked for!
Plus a few extra things from Pa and Gee Gee. Surprising, I know. Here she is with her new doll, Ellie.
She also got a new gown and a matching one for her baby.
Paxton got a new iPhone. Oh wait a minute, that's just him stealing mine again...
He did, however, get lots of toys and some new outfits. This is his gangster ensemble.

"Word up"

And this is his cowboy outfit. Make sure you note the boots. :)
We had a great time in Rusk. Paxton learned how to be a true cowboy and get on and off of his rocking horse by himself.
And Madi just enjoyed getting to do everything she wanted for several days.
On Sunday afternoon, we ventured outside for a little fun.
It was still REALLY cold, so we took advantage of the new fire pit my dad had made and had a campfire!
And what good is a campfire without some smores?!
Ever need a good laugh? Put mittens on a 1 year old and then give him some food. Nothing is going to stop this boy from getting his nourishment. :)
While we were outside, Madigan painted Paxton's name on his board on the playhouse. (The girls had done theirs at Camp Pa and Gee Gee's)
And Paxton left his hand print to make it his own.
As always, we had so much fun at my parents house. In fact, after driving about 5 hours to get home, Madi announced that she didn't want to go home but wanted to turn around and drive back! Ted and I vetoed that idea.
Thanks to all of my family for a wonderful Christmas. We love you!

Christmas Tree and Party Pictures

2010-12-27T18:26:00.001-08:00

We've now celebrated Christmas #2 and #3, but before I post pictures from them, I have several random pictures to post.

A few weeks ago, we headed out to pick out our Christmas tree. Madigan worked with Ted to pick the perfect tree.
Paxton ventured out by himself and had his own opinions of what tree we should get.
We finally agreed and got home with the tree. Madigan worked diligently to decorate it.
Paxton decorated the floor by scattering ornaments everywhere he went.

Showing off the final product

Two crazy kiddos and their Christmas tree!

A few days later, Madigan's school had their Christmas party. Ted and I both got to attend this. The kids started out singing some songs for the parents and then a "special guest" came to see them!Here's Madi with Santa. Just for the record, she did have a clip in her hair to hold back her bangs. Apparently it had come out by this point in the school day. I really wanted to sneak up front to clip it back in, but Ted wouldn't let me.
Since the party was on a Friday, Will got to join us. He really liked the food!
Paxton decided to do a little reading while we were there. I think he was trying to convince Mrs. Marti that he was ready to go to school too!
We did get some cute pictures of Madi with the most wonderful teachers ever.

Madi and Mrs. Marti

Madi and Mrs. Carolyn

So much Christmas fun and still so much to come!!!

Christmas #1

2010-12-20T13:17:00.000-08:00

While we were in North Carolina, we celebrated Christmas with the Bowsman side of the family. Paxton saw the tree and the presents and he was sold!
He liked ripping the paper and playing with the toys. In between presents, he bonded a bit with Gramps.
Everyone got some wonderful gifts. Madi immediately fell in love with her unicorn pillow pet and named her Layli. Madi is now incapable of going to sleep at night if Layli is not in the bed with her and when we pass the rack of pillow pets at Walmart, Madi talks to Layli's "sisters". :)
She also got a super cool Princess clock that counts down the days to Christmas and tells how each of the Princesses are spending their holidays. That's good because I've always felt my holiday season was a bit incomplete not knowing how the Princesses were celebrating Christmas...
Paxton got possibly the coolest gift though. Yes, this is a baseball potty seat. When you flush the handle, the crowd cheers for you. Paxton LOVED trying it out. Hopefully he'll love using it when the time is right.
Paxton also got a Gloworm, which he quickly figured out how to work. I think he might run the batteries out in a record amount of time.
The best Christmas gift EVER, however, went to me. I have nothing more to say.
Ted and I were also given a book about how to raise a "lady". Sigh...can't I just let her loose on a softball field and hope she figures it out herself?!
Ted got a great gift. It's a potty snowman. It's supposed to sit on the back of the toilet and when you go in to do your business, it talks to you. It says things like, "Whatcha doin? On second thought, never mind!" and "Are you okay? You're looking a bit FLUSHED!" Great...
As always, Kate tried to help Ted's wardrobe out and bought him some new clothes. This is Ted trying them all on at once... with a mullet wig. Attractive, huh?
As you can tell, we had lots of fun and enjoyed getting to celebrate Christmas with the Bowsmans...even if it was a month early! Thanks for the great gifts and the wonderful memories!

Here Comes Santa Claus!!

2010-12-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus once again made time in his very busy schedule to stop by our church and have pictures made with the kids.
For those of you that remember, Madigan was not so crazy about Santa in 2009. In fact, it took about 2 hours of coaxing from me, Ted, Santa, an elf, the photographers, and every other innocent bystander to even get her in the room.

After the 2 hours of desensitization, she finally sat in his lap and we got a decent picture.

Madi and Santa - 2009

This year was MUCH different. Madigan has been talking about Santa for weeks and even hand wrote him a letter requesting a present and outlining exactly where she would be on Christmas morning. When it came time for her to get her picture made with him, she hopped up on his lap, looked right at the camera and gave her best smile.

Madi & Santa - 2010

Oh, you want me to look cute for the camera while you read my letter? Okay!
As for Paxton, last year was a piece of cake. Pretty sure we could have laid him on a cement block and he would have been content. Put him in the lap of a loving Santa, he was happy to stay all day!

Paxton & Santa - 2009

He even let Santa turn him around so that we could get a picture of the "Little Elf" butt!
This year, he was a little less sure of the jolly man in the red suit. Even with sister sitting beside him, we couldn't get him to smile for the camera. At least he wasn't crying!

Paxton & Santa - 2010

All in all though, it was a very successful Santa sighting. Thanks to Santa for putting our kiddos in your Christmas tour. Now if we can contain the excitement for just one more week!!!

When the Parents are Away...

2010-12-17T07:30:00.001-08:00

Tuesday marked 8 years that Ted and I have been married. Since our anniversary always falls right in the middle of the holiday madness and at a very busy time of year for both of our jobs, we rarely get to spend much time celebrating it. So this year, we celebrated a little early. When we went to North Carolina, we left the kiddos with Grandi, Gramps, and Aunt Kate for a night and went to a Bed and Breakfast. It was amazing! I ate two meals without cutting up food for anyone, enjoyed a night of uninterrupted sleep, and sat and enjoyed that wonderful phenomenon called "peace and quiet". And yet, when our 24 hour getaway was over, all I wanted to do was see those crazy kids again. Funny how that works, huh?!

So what did the kids do while we were away? Well, they...

played with the dog,

cracked some Wheel of Fortune puzzles,

styled Grandi's hair,

had a tea party,

got in touch with their "inner nerd" (note the shirt),

did a little pleasure reading,

painted toe nails (yes, that's Madi painting green toenails - scary!),

made a few new friends,

taught Aunt Kate how to use Gramps' new IPad,

watched a little TV,

made some cookies,

enjoyed the Great Outdoors,

hung out for a while,

and partied until they dropped!

As you can tell, they missed their parents greatly!
Thanks to Grandi, Gramps and Aunt Kate for keeping the kiddos. And Happy Anniversary to my husband. I truly wouldn't change a single minute of the last 8 years and look forward to many (70 or so...) more years of being married to my best friend! :)

The Bowsman Family

2010-12-12T13:18:00.001-08:00

While we were in North Carolina, we took the annual Bowsman Family photos in front of the Christmas tree. The camera's autoshoot works well until you put a 1 year old in the picture who moves CONSTANTLY! This is the only picture where his face wasn't blurry. His hands are still blurry, but at least not his face...
We also took some of the "kids". In case you can't tell, this is Paxton's "Let me down!" face.
We attempted one of the grandparents and kids. Once again, "Let me down!!"
Ted and I decided to try the "pin the kids down by sitting on one of them and putting the other in a death grip" strategy. It was effective for about 5 seconds.
Not sure why, but this picture makes me laugh.
Another attempt at some pictures, this time outdoors...
Isn't this cute?!
In case you're wondering why Madi has on an apron... she was playing "kitchen" when we interrupted and asked her to go outside for pictures. It was a big enough deal for her to stop "cooking" and comply. We didn't even try to fight the battle of getting the apron off. :)
Ah the fun of taking pictures with little kids. :) More Thanksgiving pictures to come!

Overdue

2010-12-10T11:41:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving, we traveled to North Carolina to celebrate with Ted's family. We got back 2 weeks ago and I still haven't posted a single picture of our trip. And unfortunately, the blog is not the only thing I'm behind on! But, here goes post number one of several from that trip.

As always, Sandi fixed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.
What a spread!
They even entrusted the turkey carving to me. We'll see if that ever happens again. Ha!
As is the Bowsman family tradition, we all sported our cool Thanksgiving hats for lunch. The kids thought they were pretty cool!
The adults? Not so much... But we still managed to smile for the pictures!
The little turkey and a big one... :)
The food was delicious and as always, I ate too much. The joys of Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful time and were once again reminded of how much we have to be thankful for.

Family Pictures

2010-11-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

While Kate was visiting last month, she also took some family pictures of us at the Old Mill. Here are a few of my favorites.

Kate also had the brilliant idea that we should wear our Rangers jerseys and take pictures. I didn't object...
Aren't we so photogenic? :)
We attempted to take a little walk while holding hands. You can see how well that worked out for us!

Daddy and his girl

My little man and I

Thanks again Aunt Kate! You're the best!

WICKED!!

2010-11-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Madi and I had a Mommy/Daughter outing to see the most wonderful musical ever - Wicked!!

A cute little witch

Paxton stayed home with Daddy and took a long Sunday afternoon nap, but we had to let him have a little part of the action. Our friend Marti loaned us a onesie for him to wear that said "Green Babies Rule!" :)
But my favorite part was the back - Wicked!

A picture of us in our black and green...
Four and half years ago, Laura and I saw Wicked in Chicago while we were pregnant with Jenna and Madi. This time, we had to pay for the girls to go with us. :)
The fountain in front of the Robinson Center was colored green for the occasion.
The musical was wonderful and Madi knew most of the words to most of the songs. Made me proud. :) She actually lasted longer than I thought and made it to the middle of the 2nd act before saying she was ready to go. She got back into the show during the next song though and finished it out. As the final song ended, she looked at me and said, "That was GOOD!" I agreed. When we left, I took another picture of her in front of the green fountain. As you can see, she was a bit pumped up!
It was a very good day for all of us!

Why do I bother?

2010-11-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder why I bother trying to keep my kids clean. All that effort and this is what happens...

This was the end result that evening.

WHAT?!

Par-tay!

2010-11-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

Two weeks later, I'm finally getting around to posting about Paxton's birthday party. Better late than never.
First of all, we had some VIPs come for the party. I've already mentioned that Aunt Kate flew in to celebrate with us.
Also making a special appearance was Pa,

Gee Gee,

PaPa (my granddad)

and Mema (my grandma).

It was really special to have them all here at one time. Aunt Kate was sweet enough to take some pictures of my family before the party.
The picture above was the best of the 8 of us, but the one below is probably more representative of what we're actually like when we're all together.
The four generations of girls... plus the birthday boy!
Paxton's party just happened to fall during the World Series, so we went with the very fitting theme - TEXAS RANGERS!

Ted's pumpkin of Captain made a very nice centerpiece.
This picture was taken of Madi as she said, "Yankees BOO!" I was so proud. :)
Finally it was party time. We left the grilling up to the boys. I think Ted's face is hilarious here.
The burgers turned out great though and finally it was time for the big moment - the cake!
There was no hesitation when Paxton got his cupcake. This isn't surprising considering the fact that he's never been hesitant to eat anything we've put in front of him...whether it's supposed to be eaten or not.
He quickly decided that sticking his finger in the icing and then licking it off was taking WAY too long. So he picked the whole thing up and took a giant bite.
The only problem was that he couldn't cram it in fast enough.
So he tried the two handed shovel.
Needless to say, the boy liked his cupcake and was only upset when it was gone!
But I'd be lying if I said he was the only one enjoying the sugar-high.
It was a great birthday party and we are grateful to everyone who came out and helped us celebrate.

My mom and grandparents were able to stay the next night too, so we ventured out to the park on Sunday. These are just a few pictures that I thought were cute.

What a wonderful weekend celebrating a wonderful little boy. And trust me, he partied until he dropped!

Birthday Boy!

2010-11-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened. Time did NOT stand still and my little boy turned 1 year old today. As you can see, he is quite happy about it! Watch out!
Aunt Kate also took Paxton's 1 Year photos while she was here. And, as you'll see, she did an amazing job again!

We went to Old Mill to take the pictures and were rushing to try to get them taken before it got dark. The sunset ended up providing some wonderful lighting for the pictures.

Make sure you note what it says on the shirt - "I didn't do it". That sums up so much of our daily life right now...

I'm out of here!

This is probably my favorite picture out of all of them. So sweet!

My little Rangers fan!

The next day, Kate continued the photo session with some pictures in our backyard.

Can you tell he was having fun?!
There is no telling what she is whispering to him right now. I'm probably better off not knowing.
Happy Birthday to my sweet baby boy! You have brought us more joy than I thought was possible in this first year and I'm going to work hard to treasure every single minute of the coming years.

Madigan's 4 Year Photo Shoot

2010-11-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

While Aunt Kate was in town, we asked her to take pictures for Madi's 4 year photos. Yes, we're a few months late but at least she's still four!! As you'll see, Kate far exceeded our expectations and took some amazing pictures.

Pretty sure these were Madi's favorite pictures. Anyone want to take a guess as to why?

Can we say sassy?!!

No telling what she was scheming in this picture...

The serious pose

My precious little (big) girl
Thank you so much Kate for taking these pictures and helping us capture all that Madigan is at the fun age of four!

Halloween Extravaganza!

2010-11-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

So Halloween weekend came and went. With it, we managed to cram in a visit from Aunt Kate, multiple photo shoots, pumpkin carving, a visit from GeeGee, Pa, Mema, and Papa, a birthday party, and some Trick or Treating. I'm exhausted. The kids are having withdrawals from all of the attention! I'll do my best to get LOTS and LOTS of pictures from the weekend posted soon, but tonight we'll start with the Halloween themed pics!

Impromptu Halloween Photo Shoot

Kate came prepared to take pictures of both kiddos for their birthday shoots (upcoming post), but we added a few bonus sessions in. On Friday, all 4 of the kiddos at the house had Halloween shirts on, so how could we resist?!

Paxton loved the pumpkin and especially the fact that I was letting him play with it with minimal adult supervision.
The older girls loved modeling and giggling. And Lindsey was content to just hang out and go with the flow!
All in all, a great time for everyone involved!

Pumpkin Carving

As always, I turned the pumpkin carving fun over to the creative one in our house.

This year, he had some help from his sister. I'd like to title this one, "No, you need to do it this way!" :)
As always, Ted and Madi had aimed high when deciding what to carve and decided on Captain, the Texas Rangers' mascot. Needless to say, I did not disagree!
It turned out FANTASTIC and made a great centerpiece for Paxton's World Series party (another upcoming post).

The Princess and The Frog

A few months ago I asked Madigan what she wanted to be for Halloween and she said "a princess". Not much of a surprise. Then I asked her what Paxton should be. She thought for a minute and then said "a frog!" I liked it, so we went with it...

Have you ever seen a cuter princess or frog? I didn't think so.
We were excited that GeeGee, Mema and Papa were able to celebrate Halloween with us this year.

We went Trunk or Treating at our church, where Madigan and Paxton racked up the candy. Sadly, Paxton can't eat all of the candy so Mommy and Daddy are having to help him. :)
Madigan loved the candy. But she enjoyed seeing her friends even more. Here she is with her (boy)friend, Garrett.

The Huff kiddos

Madi and Jenna

Paxton also met up with some of his buddies. He's actually been betrothed to this sweet Tinkerbell.

Paxton and Will

Paxton and Lindsey

We had a great time and are still running on a sugar high 3 days later! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we loaded up and headed to the pumpkin patch for a little fun.
I love this pumpkin patch (Motley's Pumpkin Patch in Little Rock). How can you not love a place that posts signs like this?
They do a great job of catering the activities to little kids. Paxton enjoyed hanging out with the animals at the petting zoo,
while Madigan tested out her new daring side by jumping off of hay bales.

By far, my favorite part was still the pig races. This year, Jimmy Dean beat out Wilbur for the title. So stinkin funny! Really, stinking AND funny.
A new attraction this year was a cow train. Madi rode "Maggie".
Paxton and I settled for "Gertie". Paxton's excitement was overwhelming.
Madi also liked riding on the horse swing.
And Paxton chilled in his car swing.
I don't know where the idea that trips to pumpkin patches have to result in informal photo shoots came from, but I didn't want to be a bad mom and not do my part. So, here goes... :)

Paxton with the pumpkins

Paxton in the hay

Madigan with the pumpkins
Serious pose
My little pumpkins
Mommy and the kids
Daddy and the kids
The best we could do

I have to admit though, that of ALL of the pictures I took, this one is probably going to be my favorite. Does that make me a bad mom?

I just think the look of sheer terror on both of their faces is hilarious. Since the grandmas are going to read this and be upset at me, I should go on record for saying that Madi thought the "man" was cool and wanted her picture made with him. However, once I put her up there, she thought she was going to fall off of the wagon and panicked. And Paxton was fine when I first set him up there. But when Madi freaked, he started to cry as well. Hence, the picture. :)

Despite that picture, I promise we really did have a good time. Paxton especially liked when we gave him his own little pumpkin to hold...

or to smoke. Whatever works. :)
A great trip to the pumpkin patch was had by all. One thing we can check off of our fall to-do list!

Fun and Friends

2010-10-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, our friends invited us to join them at their school's Fall Carnival. Let's see... dress up like a princess, hang out with friends, and play games that result in someone giving you candy? Madigan was in!
Once again, face painting was a must.
Paxton was excited to hang out with his good buddy Mac. They did a little people watching.
Ted thought they had a good idea and joined them.
This picture makes me a little sad because I know it will only be a matter of time before my little girl is sitting at a cafeteria table at her own school. Once again, where has the time gone?!
We had a great time at the carnival. Thanks to Joy and the kids for the invitation!

As I was looking through pictures, I realized I'd never posted these next ones. They make me laugh, so I hate to not share them with the world. :)
We help with the children's program for the 1st-5th graders at our church ("Kingdom Express"). That means that we spend quite a bit of time up there on Wednesday evenings getting everything ready for the classes. The kids do a good job of entertaining themselves while we work and their favorite room to play in is the Theater/Puppet Room. One night, I went to check on them and discovered that they'd found a new toy to play with....

We've laughed and said that this is how we keep kids in time out during Kingdom Express. No wonder we haven't had many behavior problems! Ha!

Go Rangers!!!

2010-10-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

After only 11 short years, my Rangers finally made it to the playoffs! My wonderful husband knew what a big deal this would be for me, so he managed to get us tickets to the first home game of the ALDS.
For those of you that know me and my baseball obsession, you'll understand when I say I was like a kid at a candy store. I've never been to a more exciting sporting event and I was quite hyped up. Even the "It's Time!" sign made me giggle like a little girl.
I tried hard to get a picture of the 2010 West Division Champions flag, but the wind didn't cooperate. This was the best I could do.
Two hardcore Rangers' fans and one convert
And just when you think this trip couldn't get any better, our fourth ticket went to none other than my mom! Yay for Gee Gee!
We really did ask my mom to come because she loves baseball and is a big Rangers' fan (if they aren't playing the Yankees...which is a whole other story). But we discovered an added bonus to having her at the game. She provided Madigan with constant attention. At one point, they disappeared for 3 full innings. Apparently they explored the fine cuisine offered at the ballpark,
And returned with treats galore!
Pizza anyone?
Madi really did a great job and seemed to love all of the excitement.
She even got good about knowing when to give the "antlers" and the "claw"! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go watch some playoff games.)
It also helped that Madi made a new friend who was sitting in front of her. Isn't this cute?
They talked, drew in a notepad, played "I Spy", and played games on the girls' mom's phone. When we were leaving, the little girl asked if she could give Madi a hug and on the way back to the hotel, Madi asked if she could come over to our house sometime! Gotta love it.
Unfortunately, the Rangers did not manage to win that game. We were actually up 2-1 and I took Madi to the bathroom. When I got back, we were losing 2-3. As you can see, I was less than thrilled.
But despite that, it was an amazing experience that I got to share with 51, 745 wonderful Rangers fans!
You might be wondering where Paxton and Pa were during this time. Well, they chose to stay at the hotel and bond. Apparently, Paxton thrived on the 1 on 1 attention. Pa reported that he laughed the whole time. They played, wrestled, and enjoyed a McDonald's burger and Diet Coke. Yes, you read that right. Pa fed him a BURGER and let him drink DIET COKE. Needless to say, Paxton was nice and wired by the time we got back (and until almost 11:00pm...)

Of course, he fit right in with his sister (who was still giving the "antlers"!)
It was a wonderful trip and we were all sad to head home early the next day. But we've still been cheering loud and proud for our Rangers here in Arkansas!

Go Rangers!!!

Can he really be 11 months old?!

2010-10-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

According to the calendar, yes. Time has flown and Mr. Paxton will soon be turning 1. In the meantime, he's making an effort to get into everything possible and play the "Hey, I'm a cute baby who doesn't know better" card frequently! Especially when it comes to tormenting his big sister. :)
Paxton has started walking in the last few weeks and desperately wants to be on the move at ALL times. So that made our photo session quite entertaining this time.

But as you can see, he's still as happy as can be and brings a smile to our faces every day.
I found his tickle spot one night. How can you not love this laugh?!

I'm behind on several posts from a crazy week, so prepare yourself. I plan on setting a personal record by posting at least 2 more blogs weekend. ;)

Fire Fest

2010-10-08T08:01:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night, all of the fire departments around our area hosted "Fire Fest". We'd heard about this for years but never attended it. I was surprised by what a big deal it was. There were countless firetrucks, the smokehouse, "firefighter training" activities for the kids, face painting, and Ted's favorite - free hot dogs and chips! We had a great time. Madi was most impressed with the PINK fire engine. She even got a souvenir from that station - a pink helmet!

Madigan got her face painted
And enjoyed showing off the end result!
She met up with her big buddy Emma, who helped her through all of the training activities.
I don't really remember what the point of this activity was, but you had to hit a metal block with a sledge hammer. Madi pounded it like a pro. I was very proud!
Here she is spraying the water hose with a fireman.
Paxton enjoyed the entertainment but was a bit miffed at me for not letting him out to join the fun.
Just before we left, Madi decided to test drive an antique fire truck. Ready to roll!
Paxton finally talked us into freeing him and letting him have a piece of the action.
All in all, a great time! Thanks to the fire departments for a fun evening!

I Scream, You Scream

2010-10-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

We all scream for ice cream! Well, no screaming but Paxton did have a funny reaction to his first taste of ice cream. How can something so good be so cold?!!

Tanks and Teddy Bears

2010-09-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

We met our small group at the park last night. Paxton agreed to humor me by posing in front of the tank that's on display at the park. Blends right in, doesn't he?
He was soon joined by his good buddy Will.
I thought this was cute of them waving their arms so fast that it made them blurry in the picture. Then Will's mom reminded me that they weren't really waving, they were throwing rocks. Oh well. Still cute, right?!
Madigan wasn't so interested in playing on tanks, but sure liked the Teddy Bear Picnic that our library hosted on Saturday.
They had a very cute program that included some storytelling, songs, and a bear parade. Here Madi is putting her bear to sleep in the "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" song.
At the end of the program, they gave little teddy bears out to all of the kids. It was decided that these three were "triplets"!
After the organized portion was over, the kids were released to take their bears to the doctor for bandaids and prescriptions (to give 8 bear hugs a day),
crawl through the bear cave,
and to eat some bear cake. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't Madigan's favorite part.
Even the new bear (which Madigan named Paxton Bear) enjoyed a little cake!
It's been another weekend of fun for everyone! Thankfully, it was also relaxing for the adults. :)

Two Little Monkeys

2010-09-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

As Madigan gets past some of her fearfulness and Paxton gets more mobile, I find myself singing the 5 Little Monkey song on a daily basis. Mainly the part that goes "Momma called the doctor and the doctor said, 'NO MORE MONKEYS jumping on the bed!"

Madi's teacher texted me this picture a few days ago. Yes that's my daughter hanging precariously over some rocks.
And then there's Paxton. I'll just let this video speak for itself...

And when we put these two together, here's what we get.
It's gonna be a fun ride, but I'm anticipating a lot of bumps and bruises along the way!

Our Weekend Captured by the Phone

2010-09-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

I recently got a new phone. It probably has way more capabilities than I'll ever appreciate, but I'm learning to love it. I especially like that it has a camera and video camera so that I can capture moments while we're "out and about" and without the "real" camera (which is often). The quality of the pictures aren't quite as good, but it's nice to catch those fun moments. Here are a few that I took this past weekend.

Friday night we went to Larry's Pizza and Paxton got his first taste of the greatest pizza ever made - Bavarian Creme. He thought it was pretty stinkin' good. :)

Then on Saturday we went to a Razorback watch party at one of my co-worker's house. The food was great, the company was wonderful and the Razorback's won! But without a doubt, Madi and Paxton's favorite part was the outside entertainment, particularly the trampoline. Paxton LOVED the bigger kids jumping so that he bounced high. My friend was concerned that he might end up with Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Paxton also enjoyed playing Baggo. Well, he enjoyed crawling on the board...
Saturday evening we got to go visit the very beautiful and sweet Miss Rory. Rory's granddad has already worked out an arranged marriage for Rory and Paxton. Madigan definitely approved of her and that night her prayer included a thank you to God for Baby Rory. :)
Then last night, we went to small group at the Noel's house and Madigan played with her buddies. Such sweet girls!
Paxton, on the other hand, chose to just chill. After such an eventful weekend, the boy deserved to lounge, right?
And even though this didn't really occur over the weekend, I wanted to include it. This morning I had to do some grocery shopping so Paxton and Lindsey got to "drive" the buggy. I thought this was cute... until I realized that in only 15 short years it will be a reality. Then I got a little nauseous. :)
Okay, I think I've finally emptied the pictures off of the phone now! It was a busy but fun weekend. Looking forward to another one in 5 short days. :)

Catching Up

2010-09-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm combining several posts into one here. First of all, Paxton is now 10 months old...and has been for about 2 weeks. Oops! Once again, better late than never!

10 months old
22 lbs

He's still as happy as ever and now has 8 teeth to put to work on his favorite task - eating!
I'm definitely in denial that my baby will be turning a year old in about 7 weeks. And I plan to stay there until I'm forced to admit it. :)

As for Madigan, school is still going great. Last Friday, her school had a Fall Potluck and the kiddos got up and sang songs for the parents. My hope was that Madigan would at least stand with her classmates and not start crying when the parents clapped for them. Thankfully, she stood up there...and sang EVERY word, smiled, made the hand motions, etc. Where did this kid come from?!

In addition to what she's learning at school, she and Daddy take time every night and read her BOB books. I'm impressed - she's really learning to sound words out and is so proud of herself when she finishes a book.
A few other happenings...
The weather has stayed nice, so we've been able to get out and jog to the park more often. One day we got home and I unbuckled Paxton from his seat. He immediately crawled into the floor of the jogging stroller and started eating the goldfish crackers he'd dropped during the run. Don't want to waste a single cracker!
Paxton's also become quite the ladies' man. He's not too sure what to do when Lindsey reaches for his hand...
but I think he likes it!
These are just a few pictures I took before church one morning. When did she get so big?!!
Make sure you note Paxton's shoes. He thinks he's pretty cool in his new kicks.
Madi loves holding her brother. Paxton's a little less thrilled with the experience!
So those are a few things that have been going on around here. Busy times, but so much fun!

Funny Stuff

2010-09-06T07:54:00.001-07:00

We spend the large majority of our time laughing at things Madi does or says. But lately, Paxton has pulled out some funny stuff.

For starters, here's a video of him laughing. You'll notice some of the laughs toward the end are "courtesy laughs". You can almost see him thinking, "Okay, this isn't so funny anymore. But poor Mommy thinks it is, so I'll give her one more laugh."

Along with Paxton's new mobility has come some destructive tendencies. A few days ago, he got his hands on Madi's Ken doll. Paxton vs. Ken... Paxton wins!

One night, I tried to get a picture of Paxton's crazy hair.
But every time I pulled the camera out, this is what he did. What a ham!
Last but not least, I'll leave you with a video of us feeding Paxton some sour foods. Not very nice, but pretty funny!

I think we have another funny kid on our hands!