Look who's 2!

Look who's 2 today!

Happy Birthday Luke!!

You are a pure joy and we thank God that he made you part of our family!

FYI

Just so you know

muffins are yummy!

Especially when

you pulverize them!

Luke thinks~Hmmm good work!

Mommy thinks~yet another mess to clean up but at least I got to take pictures of the little guy without him running off.

Fun on the farm--Simply Amaizin' 2010

Hey! What's in there?

It's the fun we had at the Simply Amaizin' farm and corn maze, that's what! This is the absolute neatest place to take the kids.  Paul and I were looking for something fun to do with the boys today and since Paul had never been, I suggested the corn maze.  Sarah and I discovered it when they first opened 3 years ago and have taken the kids every year --so hopefully she can forgive me for getting out there a bit early in the season without her. There is so much to do!  It really is like visiting Grandma's farm.  There are critters just about everywhere. 

I mean where else within 3 miles of the house can you hang out with the turkeys,

get nose to nose with the pigs,

or love on random yard dogs?

Only at the Simply Amaizin' farm!

After visiting with all the animals for a bit we headed out to the corn maze.

I think this year's maze is pared down a bit from last year.  (Sarah & I got lost in the one last year and had to plow our own path outta there.)  They do give you a map but I must warn you that it helps NONE!  Once you're stuck in there every path looks the same and you wind your way in circles.  Luckily this year Paul, the fearless boy scout, was in charge of the trek.  Thanks honey for having some sense of direction.  

This little kitty followed us the whole way through the maze.  Luke wouldn't walk ahead until she was right there with us.  She is one of 4 new kittens on the farm.

After we found our way out of the maze we sat at one of the picnic tables, had

a quick lunch, then off to the "building in progress" kids area.  The boys loved it!  You can sit in the little chairs cut out of logs and build things with scrap wood.  Quite a hit with the Bowman Boys!

It was such a fun time!  So if you're looking for a getaway to the farm that's close to home I highly recommend the Simply Amaizin' corn maze on Hwy N.  

Luke & Amelia (Part 2)

On Monday my friend Sarah and I got together to practice setting up some different props & poses for pictures with newborns.  We had 4 out of our 6 children in school and thought it would be an easy time with just Luke (22 mos) and Amelia (10 mos) with us.  Since we didn't have a newborn on hand (anyone want to let us borrow yours?)  we used one of Avery's baby dolls as our "model."  Needless to say the easy time we were thinking of having with just Luke and Amelia was no easy time at all.  Those two little people wreaked havoc on our mock photo session ---stealing the props, climbing in and out of them and also gnawing on our newest "client."  I called this blog Luke & Amelia Part 2 because Sarah had the cutest entry about this same event on her blog.  You can see it here.  It was a fun time though and we just had to laugh at the chaos that was our practice session.  Here's a few pics from our day.

Amelia chewing on our newest client.

This gal is much more lively than our other little "model!"

Talk about tipping the scales.  Right after I took this Amelia tipped the scale over.  Luckily we caught her before she bonked her head on the wall.

Luke actually played along for a very short while.

Amelia wanted some attention from Mommy.

Luke's favorite prop was the yellow trunk.

Off to Kindergarten

Well, I knew this day was fast approaching and I really tried to mentally prepare myself for it, but sure enough this Mommy shed quite a few tears while dropping Joshua off at his 1st day of Kindergarten.

He was more than ready though and very excited about starting this "big boy" adventure.  He was so cute dressed in his school uniform and carrying his Iron Man backpack and lunch box. 

I was so thrilled that Paul was able to be there too!  This Daddy is VERY proud of his boys and happy to be able to walk Josh into school on his first day.

I even let someone else take a picture or two!

Josh's good friend Avery is in his class.  She was also just too adorable in her uniform.  Sarah had curled her hair & put it up.  Absolutely precious!

& then just like that----he was off. 

  

Have a great 1st day Josh!  We love you so much and pray for God's richest blessings to you in these school days ahead.

Happy 4th Birthday Connor!

It certainly doesn't seem like four years have passed since we welcomed this handsome little guy to our family.  He has grown & changed so much yet in many ways has stayed the same.  Connor entered the world quite loudly with some very dramatic cries---

and even now can still be quite dramatic.  His father claims that he gets that from me & I guess I have to agree.  I can be a bit dramatic myself at times.   So Connor knows that he has his Mommy's heart in the palm of his hand & could get me to do most anything for him.  He's our very determined, very independent, and very energetic precious middle son.  We are blessed beyond belief by him and his 2 brothers, Joshua & Luke.  

Happy 4th Birthday Connor!  You are a blessing to us all!!

Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day!

What can you say about such a terrific Dad?  

He is always patient & kind.

He is so much fun!

He always has time to read another bedtime story, 

or wrestle,

or give a ride on his shoulders.

Paul is the best Daddy in the world!!  


But it's no coincidence that he is.  The Lord blessed him with an incredible example.

& my sweet Daddy showed me exactly what to look for in a man who would be a great husband & father.

Thank you to all the Dads in our family who have given so much.  The legacy you leave is so powerful and will touch generations as yet unseen. 

Happy Father's Day!!

  

Fun with Photos

Let me introduce you to my beautiful friend Christi.

Not only is Christi beautiful, but she is sweet, talented, extremely smart, well spoken and an absolute delight to be around.  Actually that explains all my best girlfriends (you girls know who you are) but we'll focus on Christi for now.  Let's add to all her great attributes the word PATIENT.  Since Sarah & I are loving this photography thing we are avidly seeking fantastic places for photo shoots (which we found yesterday-YIPPEE)  as well as willing subjects to play all our modeling reindeer games.  

Sarah & I kind of figured out quickly that we are not the best models (okay I'm not the best model---Sarah is a doll!)  I've decided I much prefer being behind the camera- thank you. 

So here are a few of my favorites from our little outing with Christi at our fabulous new location.  Thanks for being such a trooper Christi!! 

Christi & her sweet hubby Josh