It's Been Awhile...

Yep, it's been a few years since I have said anything on this space called my blog.
A lot has happened since the last time I have visited.

We packed up our stuff and we moved to Missouri.
We said goodbye to friends and the boys started a new school.
5 weeks into adjusting to Midwest life the house we were renting caught on fire.
Well technically the garage caught on fire and some plastic things melted and that smoke filled the house, excluding the basement. And plastic smoke is bad for you and gets into everything.
So everything got packed back up in boxes again.
We lived in a few hotels.
The boys and I road tripped to the East Coast to visit family.
Then we stayed with a great family, the kind of family where you enjoy hanging out with everyone.
Cody started middle school, which meant another new school.
We moved back into the house once it was cleared.
We had tackle football and lacrosse practices and games to keep us busy.
Boxes to unpack again. Things to replace, like a surfboard in the Midwest.
Having insurance is great but there is still a lot of work needed to put things back together.
Fall break gave us the time to go camping in the Smokie Mountains to relax and enjoy nature.
The boys had their first winter with some snow in their backyard but no snow days that canceled school.

Summer meant camps and road trips.
We traveled west to explore Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks with friends, And on the way back we stopped by Mt. Rushmore.
We bought a house. A new house, one where we picked out the cabinets and flooring, picked where the light switches were and if we wanted any more electrical outlets than what was in the plan. One with a floor to ceiling stone fireplace that we loved to use.
So we packed things in boxes again and moved, this time just 15 minutes away.
The boys changed schools again.
Cole started middle school, and like that we were done with the elementary years.

Be careful, don't blink, these years will go by before you know it.

More tackle football. More lacrosse. More adjusting. More unpacking.
Hunting happened. And 2 of the 3 men in my home killed deer to feed us and others. 1 has not been hunting since.
We traveled to Romania for a missions trip.
Summer brought camps and camping in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
New school year and another new school for the boys, one with uniforms making laundry easier - who knew!
Still watching tackle football and lacrosse and a spring season of track (which will not be revisited by either again).
Spring break brought an adventure of Cody's choosing to explore the west coast of Ireland, Dublin, Scotland, and London.
Summer camps and returning to Romania for another mission trip.

Saying goodbye to friends who had become like family.
Moving back to California but this time North, on the Peninsula.
New everything again - well except In-N-Out was an option again that my now man-children love having again.
New schools again.
Unpacking again.
Adjusting still.
Cody is a freshman in high school; Cole an 8th grader.
Both are taller than me now.

Time where have you gone?

#my500words

Date Night with the Boys

We look forward to Thursday nights in our home.  It is DATE NIGHT with the boys!  
Since we are a family of 4 the math works out simply.  Danny takes a boy out and I take the other boy out.  We try to go out on a date with each son once a month.  
Just about anything goes for Date Night.  Dinner and movie out, dinner and movie in, mini golf, art projects, science experiments, high school plays, hikes...  
Whatever we end up doing there are a few expectations for our date:

1. The boys have to have at least 1 question for us about life and 1 question about God.
2. Distractions are put away - texts, phone calls, emails, to do lists.  
3. The point of the Date is spending time with each other, getting to know each other and building memories.

Danny and I also try to use the one on one time with the boys to teach them about life, teach them life skills, and teach them how to become a man with integrity and character.

Last month I focused on teaching the boys some cooking skills.  I let each of the boys pick a meal they wanted to learn how to make.  We created a plan, wrote down the ingredients we needed at the store, went shopping, then went to work in the kitchen.

Cody loves Mediterranean flavors, and I had found this Greek Pizza recipe on Pinterest.  We didn't make our own dough (but used our favorite Trader Joes Pizza dough).  Cody made the Homemade Tzatziki sauce, chopped the veggies, and helped assemble the pizza.  
For me to watch my son get excited about feta and avocados and trying cucumbers and tomatoes on his pizza is a big deal for me.  This boy used to be the pickiest eater I knew.  He has come a LONG way in trying new foods and enjoying them.
End result... Cody loved the pizza and wants to learn how to cook more meals.

For dessert we tried a Nutella Mug cake.  We love Nutella.  The cake was good, a little dry but was more than enough for Cody and me to share.

Colton chose one of his favorite meals to learn how to make, Chicken Enchiladas with rice.  This is a recipe that I just threw together.  Thanks to this pinterest post, shredding chicken for this meal is incredibly simple.  After I shred the chicken I add red enchilada sauce from Trader Joes, nonfat greek yogurt and shredded cheese.  We enjoy fresh baked tortillas (one day I will venture out and make them from scratch).  After the tortillas are baked we added a little sauce then the meat mixture and of course a little more cheese, fold it up and place it in a glass bowl.  Once we made all our enchiladas we baked them till the cheese on top was melted, and enjoyed every bite.  

A special tradition we have created is having dinner picnic style enjoying a movie.  I don't remember what we watched but I remember having a great time with Cole.  He was so proud to make his favorite meal with me.

I am sure we will have more Date Nights making meals together, and I look forward to learning new recipes with my boys, and one day learning from them.

A New Experience Waits Ahead

I just registered for my first 5K.

Yep, and I signed up my whole family too.  They are going to being doing this with me.

I am not a runner and have never liked running unless I was playing soccer or football or some game that gave me a reason to run (like capture the flag).

But this 5K gives me a reason to run -- COLOR!!!  I am going to covered in colors by the end of this race!  How could that not be a reason to run a 5K?

I am also not a morning person but chose to do the morning run!

Who am I becoming?!?

And I am so excited about this 5K Color Run!!!

I discovered the Color Run last year and I was to late to register.  But now I am all ready to go in May to run, probably more like walk my first 5K.  But who cares?  It will be so much FUN!

I am hoping a few friends join us on our team as well, the more we have, the more fun it will be!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Wow a year has pasted since I have updated anything here on my blog.

This past year has been a fun one full of adventures and lessons and growing and memories with friends and family.

It has been a year full of creative meals and projects (thanks to Pinterest).

Even Danny is getting creative building things we find on Pinterest 

God has been teaching me about submission and obedience and waiting on His timing.  It has been good but hard at the same time.

 

As a family, we watched God provide for all 4 of us to travel to Uganda.  We fell in love with the people we met and our hearts broke saying goodbye.

Beautiful friends at Jireh Children's Center

We ventured out on new adventures as a family, like visiting Washington DC for the first time, going on a safari in Africa, discovering a new favorite spot in Yosemite.

We had fun being tourists in DC

On our safari we saw elephants, lions, hippos, crocs and God's creation

First time to Glacier Point in Yosemite and saw the Blue Moon there.

Our family celebrated 12 years of being established with a yummy treat.

7.8.2012 = 12 years married to my best friend

The boys began a new year of school, excited to see their friends and to learn more.

We don't know what lies ahead in this adventure but we know that we will travel it together having fun and trusting God to guide us.

Decorating Tonight!!!

Tonight as a family we are going to decorate for Christmas. Normally we like to do this either the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving but this year we are a little behind.... that is okay. And yes we do get a real tree and yes it lasts that long, Danny is good about keeping it hydrated.

This is the first night that Danny will be home since last Friday night. All of this is part of our new adventures of running a tree lot. Most of the other nights the boys and I have gone down to hang out with Danny and the other people who are there. It has been nice to have time to chat with different people. Danny will return tomorrow night and Saturday after the boys last baseball game and parties and then also a whole day at the church on Sunday. And Monday is the staff Christmas party.

So tonight is really the only night we have to do this together. Our family loves to do this together. Cody is so excited to decorate. He has been planning with me as we have a new home to decorate this year, and it is a bit challenging figuring out where things should go as we have downsized our home from the previous. But it is a fun adventure to take on together.

Added to the thought process of the decorating is taking into account Danny's family coming to join us for the holidays. That will be another 6 adults in this small space. But we are looking forward to the time with family and some time off and time to celebrate the birth of Christ.

My prayer has been that the love of God and His peace is found in our home when friends and family walk through our doors.

Another thing that we have been doing with the boys is Advent. Last week we talked about HOPE. We did that on Monday and a missed this past Monday and Cody noticed and asked when we were going to do it again and he even remembered that we talked about hope. So tonight we are going to continue with our boys celebrating advent in our home. Anticipating the birth of Christ and remembering what this holiday season is all about:

HOPE, PEACE, LOVE AND JOY.

Baseball Saturdays

So I thought that I would try to get at least one post in before October passed me by.

A new family adventure this season is BASEBALL SATURDAYS. The boys are playing baseball and Daddy is coaching, and I am the "Team Mom".

It has been fun. Cole is doing T-ball and we start with his practice first and then his game. Followed right away with Cody's Coach Pitch practice and then his game.

The boys are having a great time and it is nice to be together as a family for the day. Although it has been really HOT the past few games it has been fun. Both of the boys are doing great too.

Here are some Pictures:

Cody's Team the Padres!

And Now for Cole's team the White Sox!

Cody's 1st Day of School

Here are some pictures from Cody's first day of school back on the 4th. He was so excited to go and then was a little nervous when we got there but had a good day. He has a great teacher and is enjoying school.

I am Home....

We are finally home and ready to get settled in our new home. This past weekend we were in Colorado for Tara (Danny's Sister) and Robert's Wedding. It was a quick trip but it was fun and the wedding was beautiful. We got home on Monday and I crashed till today basically. I am so exausted but feel somewhat human today. :)

I will get some pictures going here soon.

1st Date with Cody

Today I took Danny and Cole to the airport for them to go to Colorado for Tara's Wedding this Sunday, Cody and I will be going out there on Thursday after he starts his first day of Kindergarden (I still do not know if he is early or late). But now that we are getting settled and my little boy is growing up we are going out on dates once a month, just Cody and me.

He was really bummed that he did not get to go to Colorado today so I thought we would go hang out, put aside all the things I need to do and just have some fun. So we went to the Irvine Spectrum, the plan was to have lunch and go on the ferris wheel. since it was only 10 am I thought it was a little early for lunch so I thought it would be fun to have dessert first. There is a cupcake shop there so we eash got a yummy cupcake. The ferris wheel was getting repaired so we walked around. He wanted to go in to the video game store so we did and had fun looking at all the DS games and WII games. He is hoping to get both of thoses..... I know he is getting a DS for being in the wedding...shhh don't tell him :)

Then we went into the Vans shop and tried on shoes with out socks, but he found a pair that he really liked, we didn't get them yet. We then checked to see if the ferris wheel was working and it was not so enough time had pasted after visiting a few other stores that he wanted to go into that we had lunch at Red Robin. It was a nice time. He told me he is excited to make new friends and have them come over to play and have sleepovers.

After lunch the ferris wheel was still not working so he did one ride on the merry-go-round by himself, because that was what he wanted to do. It was cute to see my little boy do something different each time he can around to try to impress me.

We had a great time and I am looking forward to the next one we get to go on.

Michele - You ROCK!

Michele is my oldest sister and this past Sunday she completed her first triathlon. We all got up real early for her (we are not a morning family) to cheer her on. We are so proud of you!!!

Here are some pictures of her race. Oh and she completed it in the time she was hoping for!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE!!!

Today Cole turns 4...wow they grow up so fast.

We were going to go play mini golf before Danny had to go to work but it opened to late for Danny. So then we were going to go ice skating - a new experience for both the boys - but when we arrived at the rink Cole did not want to go ice skating and Cody was shivering. So we went to target for Cole to shop with his b-day money and he got a plane, motorcycle and a garbage truck. After that we met Nana and Papa at Chick Fil A for a good lunch.

On the way home from all of that Cole says:

"Mom you want to know why I am happy?"

"Why"

"Because it is my birthday!" (said with a big smile)

It's not much but it is what he wanted for his special day. Tomorrow the boys and I fly out to Colorado to visit with Danny's family. I think there will be another party for Cole and some tractor riding, maybe horse riding, some field time with football players, and a lot of fun!

Pictures from the Beach

Wonderful Weekend!!!

We had a wonderful weekend together. We beach hopped on Friday and had dinner at A's Burger place. Then we watched Beauty and the Beast (my favorite princess movie). Saturday we relaxed at Salt Creek Beach and had a great time playing in the water. Hopefully I can get some more pictures up soon but for now here is the 4 of us.

We Have Moved!!!

We have finally made it down to my parents and had a wonderful weekend at our new church. We moved on Thursday with Danny making 2 trips but are starting to get settled in here. Friday my parents watched the boys so Danny and I could go out on a much needed date. We enjoyed a nice night out, dinner at Wahoo's (so yummy), checked into our hotel and then went to the church for a night of entertainment by a comedian magician. We had a fun time. On Saturday we slept in and then drove around and looked at some houses enjoyed a late lunch at Claim Jumper then came home to my parents.

Sunday was a long good day. Danny left really early to get to church to help set up. The boys and I were late it took me 1.5 hours to get there due to a detour on the 91 and the rain, but we made it just fine. For the second service I was with Danny in the Underground (where the students meet) and I think he did a great job. There were lots of students, boy am I going to have a hard time remembering names.... not to mention all the adults that we met too.

We went out to a nice lunch at Chipotle with some new friends, Doug and Rose and their girls, Amber and Tim, Joel and Collene and there son, and Joel's parents Carol and (see I already forgot a name - sorry) Joel's Dad and younger brother.

We got Danny's office together just in time for Danny to go to a meeting and the boys and I to start home.

I got Cody registered for school (speech) and of course it is right in the middle of kindergarten registration for next school year so they were busy. :)

We are doing good, everyone is feeling much better from the flu the past couple of weeks. The boys enjoy seeing Nana and Papa every day. We are really excited for what is to come and thank God for this amazing opportunity to be apart of this new church.

Tonight is our first High School night, I am really excited to go and start meeting some more girls.

yesterday

...is a day that I am glad is done. Our day started out with a garage sale and we did good getting rid of majority of things that we don't want to move with us. There are a few large things that we have left sell. But I hate garage sales, so I am glad it is over.

Danny and I were both really tired, we did dinner with the boys and then I decided to cut their hair. Cody just needed a trim since he had his cut at Christmas time. So after I trimmed Cody's hair I did Cole's hair (He really needed it). While cutting Cole's long mop Cody lost his tooth. It had been loose this past week and last night Danny popped it right out. Danny gave Cody a dollar for his tooth and Cody told me all about it and then asked "Mom when I loose my second tooth do I get two dollars?" That is one smart kid.

We are Moving

Just a quick update for those of you who are following the adventures of the Bowers, we are moving in February. God has been stirring in us a change for awhile and now is the time for that to happen. There are a lot of things that don't make sense but there are more things that do that tell Danny and I that this is where God is moving us.

Danny is going to be a youth pastor at Mission Hills Church in Mission Viejo, Ca. We are really excited for this new chapter in our lives at the same time it is hard to say goodbye.

We are trusting God in all the little details that need to come together here and there.

So if I start slacking in posting it is because we are busy with the move, but I will try to keep things updated as well as I can.

"The Lord will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace."

Psalm 29:11

My Little Photographer!!

So for Christmas Cole and Cody each got a camera and here are some that were taken with Cole's camera the night we celebrated Christmas at our home.

and those are the beautiful pearls that Danny got me - I love them!!