Pumpkin Patch

Last Friday our school district had the day off from school.  Ashlynne and Brinton went on a Youth temple trip with our ward that morning and were gone most of the day.  We had a fieldtrip and went to the Pumpkin Patch with our homeschool group.  It was kind of nice that Jeremiah was off of work that day so he was able to come too!  We've never been on a "school" fieldtrip with the whole family!  The perks of being homeschoolers!!  We took some "School Pictures" and some "Class Photos" with most of our group.  We also went out into the field to pick pumpkins.  Afterward we went over to the Louisburg Cidermill for Apple Cider and apple cider donuts. 

Elise, 5th Grade
2013-2014 School Pic

Julianna, 2nd Grade
2013-2014 School Pic

Lovely family photo.  Stuffing our faces with donuts.

She started walking!!!!!

Bowles Life #1

Alert. Alert.  Lonnnnggggg Blog Post ahead.

 

I'm going to update at least once a week.  My kids just love being able to look back at this blog and see all of our fun memories.  I keep saying I'm going to start a scrapbook, but the truth is I just don't have the time and the days are just slipping by, the years are just going to so fast...I don't want to forget these days.  I have this wonderful blogging friend Diane who has 9 children and every week she writes up a little bit about what went on in their home that last week.  I am going to try this idea (with her permission) and see how it works for our family and our blog.  I'm sure this will be ridiculously boring to most people who read this blog.  Sorry.  It's about to get boring up in here....I promise they won't always be this long every week but I have to do some catching up!!

Dad: There really isn't much to report as far as Jeremiah goes.  Work as usual consumes a lot of his energy.  He is leading and conducting meetings pretty much all day long.  He makes it a point to call or contact me at least once a day just to let me know he is thinking of me.  Actually at the beginning of the year he made it his resolution to make sure to contact me once a day at lunch time.  He even set an alarm on his phone to go off to remind him.  With this newer position he is in he hasn't been able to make as many phone calls but he still will always send a text if nothing else.  He took all the kids (minus Camryn) camping on Friday night and on a bike ride on Saturday morning.  It was nice for me to have a little break for a bit. 

Mom:   I didn't really feel like I ever got a chance to sit down this last week.  There was homeschooling, and chauffeuring kids to school, music lessons, gymnastics, doctor appointments, homeschool coop classes, kindergarten field trip, an Allegro choir concert, a middle school musical, another musical rehearsal, serving in my church calling as activity day leader, cooking, cleaning, nursing, changing diapers.  It was a pretty normal week.  I was so exhausted that I opted not to go camping with the family and just hang out at home with the baby, a large bowl of chips with salsa, the couch and the TV remote.  I did nothing all night and day.  It was bliss....even though I felt a pinch guilty for not cleaning or organizing something while I had the chance.

Ashy:  Ash is almost as busy as I am!  She is involved in a million different things but still has all A's!  She is currently in Allegro con Moto, a KC Youth Choir and they had their first community performance last week.  She was also in the school musical School House Rocks, Jr. which she performed in last Wednesday and Thursday Night, with a matinee on Thursday as well.  On top of that she is also rehearsing for another musical Annie Get Your Gun at Mid-America Nazarene University which she'll perform at the end of October.  Lastly, she is still a cheerleader for her school and continues to take tumbling class.  She attended the trip to the KC Temple last week and she really looks forward to all the Youth Temple trips.  I'm so glad they do one every couple months. 

Brit: Brinton has decided he'd like to be called Britt like his great-grandfather who he was named after, instead of the nickname Brin which I gave him...it's been a hard adjustment on my part.  He is about 8 weeks into homeschooling.  He does k12 virtual school through Lawrence School District.  Basically it's public school at home but it TOTALLY works for him.  He has excelled so much, it's such a blessing!  He finishes his school day around noon, eats lunch, and then he heads up to the middle school for his Art class, Orchestra class and he gets to be an office aide until the end of the school day.  He was really struggling to get work done at school and homework done at home so this new change has been awesome for him.  He is totally excelling.  He attended the temple for the first time last Friday and it was such a wonderful experience for him.  He can't wait to go again.

Lisey:  Elise just loves homeschool.  She has a health class and a science class every other week with our homeschool group.  2 weeks ago they dissected a pig heart.  It was very exciting.  She takes gymnastics although it's really not her thing.  She isn't the most athletic kid but she enjoys herself so it makes her happy.  She excels at reading.  She has read Anne of Green Gables and Heidi, she is currently reading A Little Princess.  She is making good strides in math and I feel like she is finally mastering some of the things she was lacking.  She says reading is her favorite subject.  She is also in the musical Annie Get Your Gun and is just loving each and every rehearsal. 

Nanna: Julianna is an artist and dreamer and a socialite and much prefers drawing pictures for book reports over grammar.  Who doesn't?  She enjoys homeschool though and works really hard.  She is starting to learn cursive.  She can write her full name and has learned the letters A, B, C, & D.  She is really good at math.  She loves gymnastics and has gotten really quite good at cartwheels, round offs and is starting back handsprings (with a spot).  She had a girl scout meeting last week and just loves being a Brownie.  She is also in Activity Days now, she feels like such a big girl. 

Liam:  Liam had a field trip to the pumpkin patch last week.  He had so much fun.  He has been slow and steady at learning his letters.  Phonics doesn't come naturally to him but he has really started blossoming the last couple weeks.  I think he is more of a kinesthetic learner because when I make a game of letter learning, or bounce a ball while we learn or have him run and jump to find the letters he seems to retain them better.  I'm just saving that little bit of info for future reference just in case.  He lost his first tooth on Saturday morning, daddy lost the tooth on the way back from their camping trip.  We have notified the Tooth Fairy but our tooth fairy is awful and has been known to take weeks before coming over and leaving a reward....

AidanBug: Aidan is an adorable hurricane.  Is that possible? My goodness he gets into everything!  He still is not potty trained which is no fun for me.  He gets the concept but really doesn't feel like putting it into affect.   We took a family trip to walk around the temple last night.  It's his favorite place in the world.  He told me that the temple was beautiful and it sparkled and then he sang me "I love to see the temple."  It was sweet. 

Cammy:  Camryn points at things, she's finally started to wave (but never on command) and she says Mama and basically yells at me when she wants stuff.  She loves to eat...especially crayons and occasionally markers.  GREATEST NEWS EVER...Camryn can walk!  She has been crawling so funny since she learned how to crawl.  First it was an army crawl where she dragged her body behind her, then it was a crawl where she had one leg out to the side and propelled her self along like it was an oar.  She started taking steps right about a month ago but she would only take about 5-7 steps before falling over.  Never more than that.  So Friday we were out at the pumpkin patch with our homeschool group and one of the dads is a Chiropractor.  He gave her a little adjustment and I promise you that not 30 minutes later she was walking totally normal and she hasn't stopped since!!

So there you have it.  I'm going try to keep these weekly updates short and sweet from here on out....and now for the photo dump.

Insta Pics from this week:

 

 

Eight, Eight, Eight is GREAT!

Julianna turned 8 this year.  She wanted a rabbit, her very own bike (since she's been riding a hand me down), and to be baptized.  

Eight.

I can't believe she's 8.  I still refer to her as 5.  I don't know why but I can't let her grow up. Eight is such an amazing age to be.  So precious.  So lovely.  So important in our faith.  8 is the age of accountability and the time where you can choose to be baptized.  Julianna decided to enter the waters of baptism and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  To make this important day even more special she was baptized on her actual birthday.  She could hardly wait to be baptized, she was so excited! I took some photos and we also had photos taken.  She shared her baptism day with one of her good friends so we had photos are both of the girls taken as well.  It was a beautiful day for a beautiful girl.  (The first two photos of Julianna in her dress and the one above were taken by me, the next 5 were taken by April Kentner, my friend and real photographer)

 

 

Oh...and she got the bike she asked for.  She didn't get the bunny.  

 

Aidan turns 3

This boy.  This boy right here is my heart beat.  He is the music that moves me.  He is life and happiness and sunshine.  He loves to run up to me and hug me and tell me that I am his best friend.  He likes to get into everything and terrorize.  He is so curious, so smart, so happy, so curious, so wonderful.  Such a quirky little thing he loves family, he loves nursery at church, he loves all things Thomas the Train and he loves the temple.  His only birthday request was that I take him to play at the Gym and he wanted a red Thomas the train cake with rings.  His wish is my command.   

Happy THIRD Birthday Aidan Bug!