Yeah for Christmas!

So, Christmas only comes once a year. There so much to enjoy. The lights, music, food, company, movies, snow, candy, cookies, presents, trees, cranberries (mmm cranberries) and so much much more. There are some great traditions. In Bryon's family, Becky gets everyone a new ornament every year. She takes a lot of time and care in picking out the perfect ornament - it always signifies something important that happened that year. She always places a little note in the box - detailing why she picked that ornament. It is quite fun to go back and read the past notes year after year. Another tradition, every Christmas eve we get together, eat and visit. Exchange the ornaments, have a family testimony meeting. Its a nice evening.

Now, in my family, we have our traditions - new Christmas PJ's, traditional food and lots of it!!! There's not a Ball Family gathering without mountainous mounds of food. Aunt Betty makes these to die for chocolates that I haven't had in years. But the one tradition that I remember the most and most fondly is Star Wars. Every Christmas we would go downstairs, curl up on the couch and watch the Star Wars trilogy (hence why I have the Star Wars theme on my Christmas Playlist heheh). Since we have all married, we don't get all together to watch them. And now there are 6 movies - imagine sitting and watching all 6 Star Wars in one day! It would be fun to do - something that I would love to do one day. But it would be a very long day. I would need to get a babysitter - although, Taylor does like Star Wars almost as much as I do. Anyways, this is the one tradition that I - the mother - have passed down to my children. It makes people laugh. All I know, is I am anxiously awaiting my Star Wars movies. If you were to look at my Blockbuster Queue it has the 6 movies at the top.

Yeah for Christmas!

YEAH!!!

Very Rebeckahish

The other day, I was busy feeding Ainsley and doing about 100 other things. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rebeckah run into the other room with markers in her hand. At the time, I didn't think too much about it - I did think to myself.....hmm, what is she up to....maybe I should check on her. Of course, I didn't. I kept on doing the things I was doing. A few minutes later she came running back into the dining room and yelled out.."Look Mommy, I'm a witch!" She was very excited about her coloring. After shaking my head and muttering a few words of frustration, I got up and got the camera. After I snapped a couple still shots, she broke out in song and dance. I hestitated for few moments because Rebeckah is usually quite camera shy and if she is doing something that is very "Rebeckahish" she will stop if the camera is anywhere nearby. Well, she hammed it up for me! She is the funniest child I have ever met. This one will definately be used for black mail, embarrassment and/or wedding fun!

Peace out!

All Hallow's Eve

Oh how scary! A princess, a ghost, an 80's person and a witch.

The girls had a great time this Halloween. They got to go trick-or-treating 2 times this year. Once at church and once with Nana and Papa. Well, Bryon and I discussed the candy situation after the ward trunk or treat. We decided that instead of having a month long battle with candy, we would just let them go crazy! Well, they did just that. Taylor and Rebeckah ate most of their candy in one day! Saturday morning they woke up wanting to eat candy. We laid down the ground rules - they could eat all the candy they wanted today - but after today it was gone. They started shortly after 8 am and didn't stop eating candy until 8 pm that same night. They were so sick to their stomach - Taylor even decided that she wasn't going to eat again until next Halloween. In hein sight I don't know if our decision to do this was such a great idea. They were crazy Saturday as we were trying to grocery shop - Rebeckah was running around in circles in Sam's. The cashier asked if she was ok - I simply relayed our decision and she just laughed.

On our way home from church today, Rebeckah announced that she was hungry. I told her when we got home I would make her some lunch. She started scream and kicking "I don't want food. I don't like food. I want CANDY!!!" What did we get ourselves into?!

My Kids Do the Most Embarrassing Things!

Picture this if you may.......It's a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon. The Bowman's, having recently just bought a new house, have a long list of DIY projects they would like to try to finish today. So, they all load up in the van and head to Home Depot. They walked around for a while, looking at vast array of goodies that stocks the shelves. They make their way to the blinds section, looking to find some blinds to fit their kitchen windows. They find a lady, very fashionably dressed, I may add in the bright Home Depot orange. Mom and Dad Bowman are discussing different options they have. They turned their back on the 2 daughters for just a moment. Taylor then shouts out "Rebeckah's taking off her clothes!" Mom Bowman turns around and see Rebeckah completely naked from the waist down - shaking her "naked butt". They ran quickly to Rebeckah to cover her back up and she sings "Look at my naked butt". Needless to say, this Orange Home Depot lady was probably thinking that the Bowman's were awful parents - what child would strip down in the middle of Home Depot and shake their naked butt for all to see - completely shameless may I add. How embarrassing!! Too bad I didn't have my camera!

Great White North Eh?!

Cold eh?

The Canadian Temperature Guide:

(10* C)
Californians shiver uncontrollably, Canadians plant gardens.

(1.6* C)
Italian cars won't start, Canadians drive with the windows down.

(0* C)
American water freezes, Canadian water gets thicker.

(-17.9* C)
New York City landlords finally turn on the heat, Canadians have the last barbecue of the season.

(-51* C)
Mt. St. Helens freezes, Canadians Girl Guides sell cookies door to door.

(-73* C)
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole, Ottawa canal opens for skating.

(-114* C)
Ethyl alcohol freezes, Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.

(-273* C)
Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops, Canadians start saying, "Cold eh?"

(-295* C)
Hell freezes over, Leafs finally win Stanley Cup!

You Know You Grew Up in the 80's if......

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton
3. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom
4. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
5. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
7. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
8. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
9. You played the game "MASH"(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
10. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
11. You know the profound meaning of " WAX ON , WAX OFF"
12. You wanted to be a Goonie.
13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us...head-to-toe)
14. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
15. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
16. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
17. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
18. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
19. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
21. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
22. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?" 23. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
24. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
25. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
26. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
27. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
28. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli were hot.
29. You remember Alf, the wise-crackin' lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
30. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"
31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class.
32. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
33. You just sang those words to yourself.
34. You still sing "We are the World"
35. You tight rolled your jeans.
36. You owned a bannana clip.
37. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
38. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"
39. You're still singing "Shot Through the Heart" in your head, aren't you!

My Epiphane

I don't know if I spelt that right but you know what I mean. My epiphane - I am old. I am sitting here in the semi-dark (only 1 lamp on). It's almost 10 pm and I am totally ready for bed. My mom used to always tell me what a night owl I was, even when I was born. I still love being up late but have found that my body and my children do not. So, I have come to this conclusion. Its 10 and I am going to bed. I must be getting old.

I've Been Tagged - My Five Things

Hmm....What five things could I not live without??? You know, as I am thinking about this, a few of the things that have quickly come to my mind is food - what does that say about me? Ok, well here are my 5 things that I could not live without - in no particular order. P.S. Jana when you tag someone, you need to tell the person they've been tagged otherwise its a month before they find out they have to compile a list of things they can't live without.

Ok here we go in no particular order:

1) Free Long Distance - If I didn't have free long distance, I would have such a huge phone bill.
2) Good Movies - You know, I have never been too big on chick flick movies; however, who could pass up a good nail biting sports movie - you know the kind, based on true events, underdog, against all odds - gotta love 'em!
3) Olive Garden All You can eat soup, salad and breadsticks - self explanatory I would think but when you're a stay at home mom, and the kids are driving you CRAZY, there's nothing much better except for cheesecake.....
4) Cheesecake!!! hehe but really this should be any good desert
5) Outdoors - I have these days where I don't feel like going outside and then the kids start going crazy so I take them to the park or for a walk or something and I remember how much I like being outside. I love the mountains and they are probably one of the things I miss most about home.

Our New House

This is a picture of the outside of our new house!

Baby Ainsley

I wanted to posts some of the recent pictures we have of Ainsley. She can be the happiest baby! She has the biggest smile - but also has the loudest cry I think I have ever heard in my life! I must say though, she is such a mama's girl. She definately loves her daddy - when he walks in the room, she does everything she can to get his attention and she LOVES chewing on his hands. Teething. She is definately adored by her big sisters.

Washington DC

Ok, so while we were in Virginia, Tropical Storm Hannah was making herself known and things were being shutdown due to bad weather. So, we decided that we would head north into Maryland instead. We left early and arrived in Washington DC by afternoon only to find that the lovely storm was visiting Washington as well. We decided we would only see the things that we would be able to stay dry doing. Our first stop was the National Archives. This is where the Declaration of Indepence, Bill of Rights, US Constitution etc are kept. Geneology buffs - this is the place for you! One thing about DC is the buildings there are absolutely amazing. The architecture is beautiful. We saw all the documents that were displayed. Although, the Declaration of Independance is so old that the ink has almost completely disappeared. Its amazing though the documents are still in tact. The oldest document that was there was the Magna Carta - circa 1297 - surprisingly this was in better condition than the Declaration of Indepence which was written in 1776.

After we went to the National Archives, we tried to see the White House but Washington is not the easiest city to park, or drive around. We decided that we would try to go to the Capitol Building. Bryon dropped me off to try to find a place to park. While walking up to the bulding, I got soaking wet! I don't know if you have ever been in a Tropical Storm, but the rain is different. It soaks everything! We decided to go back to the hotel and try again in the morning before we left for home. Sunday morning we hit the road back into DC. First stop...the White house. We walked up to the viewing area but was unable to get much closer because the SWAT team was there guarding and not letting people close. As you can see from the picture (which is zoomed out all the way), we were not very close at all but this is as close as we were allowed to go - the SWAT guys were quite serious! We then went to see all the monuments: Washington Monument, WWII Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial. They were amazing!! Our last stop on our tour of Washington was the DC Temple. It wasn't anything like I thought it would be. Its wierd how taking a picture from a certain angle can change the look of the building. It was a beatiful temple.

Revolutionary War - Yorktown

Have you ever seen the movie "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson? Well, this movie was based on this piece of American history. Just like Jamestown, Yorktown was cool! We took the Yorktown Battlefield tour. Initially we thought it would be something that we walked around but it ended up being a couple hour tour that you drove around. It worked out though because the beginnings of Tropical Storm Hannah had arrived and it was very wet. As you drive around, you get out of the car and walk around different areas. Now, during the war, the soldiers had to dig trenches. They dug day and night. Many of the original trenches are still there and were used during both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. In the Park services building, they have oringinal cannons, desks of General George Washington, tents that George Washington used while planning his next advances. Very interesting stuff. At the end of the tour and after walking around different battle fields you end at Surrender Field where General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington. There are two very interesting quotes on the walls there. From Cornwallis: " I have the mortification to inform your Excellency that I have been forced to give up the posts of York and Gloucester, and to surrender the troops under my command, by capitulation on the 19th instant, as prisoners of war to the combined forces of America and France." Quite in contrast from Cornwallis is George Washington: "I have the honor to inform Congress, that reduction of the British Army under the command of Lord Cornwallis, is most happily effected."

Jamestown

Early in September, Bryon and I went on a little trip for our 4th Anniversary. We drove to Virginia! We stayed at a time-share resort in Williamsburg, VA. We didn't go around Williamsburg because there was a hurricane coming(more on that in my Washington DC post). We did get to go to Jamestown and Yorktown. Now, for those of you that don't know too much about American History - these are important places. First, I will tell you about Jamestown. Jamestown is the first British colony in the USA. Remember, Pocahontas? Yes, this is the place and yes, she was real.

Captain John Smith and others arrived in America in 1607. They built the colony of Jamestown. Pocahontas was a Native Princess - daughter to the Chief. She later married one of the British colonists and moved to England where she died. It is told that she saved John Smith's life many times, mostly by stepping in for him. Jamestown isn't really there anymore - there are a few old - VERY old buildings but mostly its under excavation by archaeologists who are undigging and piecing together the history. I thought it was amazing. They have a museum there where they have artifacts and they also to forensic recreations of bodies they had found buried in the area. I could just imagine the indians and early colonists walking around, living there. It was cool. You know, when I was a kid, we went to a dinosaur excavation site - I so badly wanted to be an archaeologist. This ignited my youthful wish - how fun would it be to play in the dirt all day!! Not to mention finding the cool stuff!

Family Camp Out

A couple of weeks ago we went for a family camping trip to Hocking Hills. It was a bit of a spur of the moment trip but we sure did have fun. We decided for this family trip that we would stay for longer than just one night. It was a good thing too! We loaded up the van and started the 2 hour drive. Only it didn’t end up being only 2 hours. We mapped out our route using Bryon’s GPS. We got part way there and lost all signals. So here we are, in the middle of nowhere Ohio, with no idea of where are supposed to go. We stopped, asked for directions, and stopped on a few convenient hill tops seeking even the slightest of signals. We eventually arrived at our camp site and we were then faced with a new challenge for the night. Setting the tent up in the dark! Bryon had fun. I got supper ready – it was a culinary masterpiece – roasted hot dogs. Yummy! While cooking we realized that we

weren’t the only ones staying in our campsite. We were joined by some of the weirdest, ugliest, biggest bugs I have ever seen in my entire life. When you have a family of 4 girls, bugs aren’t necessarily the best guests. They didn’t enjoy the bugs. Dark, bugs and all – we had a great time. The first stop after conquering our 3 minute shower mess (that’s a whole other story) and having our dance off (I’ll post those videos later) was Ash Cave. It was really neat to see how these giant caves have been formed. We know that much of the earth was under water at some point and being here, you can totally see that. All it was missing was the fish and a shipwrecked boat. Our next stop was at Old Man’s Cave. This was a pretty neat place but was a bit more dry than I think it was supposed to. It was a hot day, so when we got to the end and saw water, the girls thought it would be fun to walk in it. A small water fight pursued – Taylor and Rebeckah got wet and we got some great pictures and videos. Now, Keleigh wasn’t too excited about the water. But when it came time for Chubby Bunny…..she was all over that like melted chocolate on a smore(which we had right after!)

Just a funny

I found this in my email just now - I remember getting this email and laughing. For those of you who know, I am sure you will laugh as well. Nothing like a visual reminder.

The One Thing That's Better Than Chocolate!

So what on this earth could possibley be better than chocolate, I hear you asking yourself. I too, at times, ask myself the exact same question. The one thing I come up with each time unequivocally is 80's music. I hear you saying WHAT!!!! 80's music! YES, I declare - 80's music.

I recall in high school, my friends telling me that I should have been a teenager during the 80's so that I could have fully appreciated the styles and music. I must admit that the clothing and hair styles of the 80's left something to be desired - to say the least. But the music.........how could you ever turn off Def Lepard, Bon Jovi (Jana, that's for you!), GnR, Bangles, Michael Jackson (classic Michael....gottta love it). Don't forget Milli Vanilli, a-Ha, Cindy Lauper, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Foreigner. I could go on forever. If I could have satellite radio - it would be all 80's station all day long. I have one person to whom I can thank for my ........ taste in music. I will give all the credit to my big brother, Mitch. He would rock out to his Def Lepard, GnR, ACDC. That's where it all began.

Anyways, tribute to the 80's is my playlist. I will make my own 80's radio! Of course, there will be some early 90's as well. What is sad is, while listening to this, I remember the dances we made up, or the dances we memorized from watching the music videos. Oh, and I do remember my hair. Nothing like a little New Kids on the Block obsession. We will just hide those pictures! I think I have a story for each song. The soundtrack to my life. My playlist will be a work in progress. So check back often for more classic 80's tunes.

Fun at the Pool

We went for a family fun day at the pool today. The YMCA near our house has an amazing outdoor pool area. The kids had a great time; although, I am not sure who had more fun. Bryon or the kids. He seemed to really enjoy himself today. As we were leaving he said "I got exercise, got sun, played with the kids and had fun." Mr Multitasker. It was some much needed R&R.

We did have a good time. There was a lot of things for the kids to play with. If you are wondering where Ainsley and I are ..... well, we took the pictures this time.

We have come to this pool a few times this summer, this is the first time that Rebeckah would go in the spray pool. She had a great time.

Taylor put on my sun glasses and had her High School Musical moment - Fabulous. What a cheese ball.

The Big Yellow School Bus

Taylor is officially a kindergartner! For over a year now she has been anticipating this day ..... the first day of kindergarten. She finally gets to ride the school bus to school! Bryon had thought he would take her to school for the first day but she had absolutely no part in that. Her teacher this year is Mrs. Griffiths and her animal is a frog. Taylor thought it was very interesting that the frog for her classroom was purple. How interesting!

Welcome Modern Times!

This seems to be the in thing to do right now and since we bought a camera not too long ago and actually have pictures of our children - why not. I'm hip, I'm happenin' - we'll give it shot. We'll join the 21st Century.