Madelynn is a Put On

I've never met a bigger ham than Madelynn.  I don't know where she gets it from.

Sunday Dinners

The paternal side of our family growing up always got together nearly every Sunday to have Popcorn and Pizza.  Even with families moving away, and the cousins becoming married and starting families it is amazing to see how many of us carry on the tradition.

Geocaching with the Joneses

I wish I had been smarter about planning our Geocaching adventure with Mom and John.  I forgot to download the caches locations.  I knew my GPS would work in the mountains, but forgot to find if caches exist I would need the internet.  So instead of finding the ten or twelve hidden along our route we found one at the beginning and one at the end.

The first required some billy goating so Mom was a trouper and stayed at the bottom with Madelynn so John, Jeremy and I could go and find it.

Penguin's Point

The end cache we all looked for.  This was Mom's first cache and she should be proud of herself.

Alpine Scenic Highway

[Some] Flower Girl Pictures

Ms. Madelynn was asked by her aunt Amanda to be one of the flower girls in the wedding.   These are a few of the photos Grandma Myker was able to capture.

Play Ball!

I thought as much as my OCD wants me to put all the events in chronological order, it will take me forever and I will forget about the things happening in the now.

It has been hot in Utah.  Miserably hot during the days, but during twilight the air starts to cool and lends itself to BBQs and family games.

Dad and Angie have a hammock swing in the back yard.  It is one of Madelynn's favorite things about Poppa's house.  She wanted Jeremy to sit with her this time.

Madelynn is quite the little softball player...well T-Ball player...well I'm not sure.  She can throw a ball and [sometimes] hit the ball pretty far.  All I know is she loves it, and is athletic for a preschooler.  Poppa, Jeremy and I all got into the action at some point during the night.

Madelynn playing with Daddy and Poppa.

Easter Weekend

We spent Easter weekend on the Whidbey.  We went up on Friday night, and stayed with the Reeds through Sunday.

Saturday was such a beautiful day we decided to take the kids to the park.  While at the park I decided to  go geocaching.  I found the first one by the swing set, but the second required a little hike.  The whole family went on the back trials behind Fort Nugent park to find a clever cache by following the reflective dots on trees.

On Sunday morning the nuggets did the whole Easter basket thing, which in years past we had not done, but this year Madelynn had one because we were at the Reeds.

Finally the little ones found eggs out in the yard.

March

March is a hard month to summarize.  There were some moments when one would look around and think "Life is truly beautiful".  Other moments brought heartache for someone we love dearly, and brought the extended Bowden family closer.

The first week of March came with little rain.  It was the first opportunity Madelynn had to play in the backyard, and use her trampoline.  We got a lot of energy out in our yard that week, and Kimber spent it sunning herself.

  

In the middle of March my father's girlfriend, and my dear friend lost her mother after a short battle with cancer.  Madelynn and I drove to Utah for a few days to attend services, and to be with the family during this time.  Vicky's service was beautiful.  The monseigneur of her church came from Canada to officiate.  Though I had never met Vicky, one could tell the impact she had on so many lives.  

While there we had the opportunity to visit with my brother's family, during which time I witnessed my niece battle a rogue penguin.

The following weekend we went geocaching as a family.  This was the "Life is Beautiful" moment I was referring to.  

March 23, 2013 at Howarth Park

March 24, 2013 Geocaching at  McCollum Park

And with that so ends March 2013.  

Catching Up: February

There is no efficient way to catch up everything that went on over the last few months.  I will be going through my camera, and throwing stuff up in the most chronological way I can.

In February Tammy and Suzanne came up from California to make a quick weekend visit.  Always one to love playing tour guide I set up our weekend to tour Leavenworth, and Whidbey Island (and grab some caches)!

Leavenworth

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The thing I love about Leavenworth is the town mandates all the businesses look the same.  After a bunch of shopping, and eating some local cuisine I couldn't wait any longer to find my caches.  I found three that day.  One in a rock wall on Main, one under a boulder in an alley, and the final one in a rock wall in a park.

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We had some random pictures taken outside of the stores.

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The next day we went to Whidbey Island.  Suzanne had never been, and Tammy only briefly.  We went to Fort Casey first.
While we were there a random seal was playing in the water.  It startled us when we were throwing rocks into the ocean.

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Tammy on the Left. Suzanne on the Right.

We found a geocache at Casey.

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 Next we went to Coupeville for lunch.  We ate at the Front Street Grill.  This is when I learned you can take  the girl out of Utah, but not Utah out of the girl as Madelynn, without any provocation  mixed her mayonnaise and ketchup into fry sauce.  It is a nice restaurant, and there my child is channeling Arctic Circle.

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Jeremy and I found a cache at the pier with the help of some of the merchants.

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After Coupeville we went on a hike to Goose Rock.  Madelynn was a trooper.  She hiked the vertical climb all by herself.  At the top of Goose Rock there was a cache.  It required some billy goating, but every hide is worth the terrain.

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A Conversation with Madelynn

While Madelynn is still struggling with her language, last night's conversation with Poppa was pretty understandable.  It is a long video, enjoy!

Yikes!

What I neglectful blogger I have turned into.  2013 has been a whirlwind thus far with the changes in jobs, homes, daycares, and states.

After a long thought out decision process the family come to the conclusion we should move back to Utah...
The decision did not come easy for all, but if we wanted Madelynn to have the same experience I had growing up it was a necessary thing to do.  I was fortunate to grow up with a tribe of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins...relationships cultivated at a young age that as an adult I still have.

So here I sit, looking out the window at Timpanogos, drinking my coffee, and contemplating about what the last 13 days have been like.

I still hate Utah drivers.  I have never been around more careless people in my life.  God is not in the passenger seat people!

Madelynn is loving being around her cousins again.  Every day it is when do I get to see Bella & Matthew?  Not to mention she is so happy to have her Poppa back.  My dad and Madelynn are connected at the hip. Madelynn asks about her Grandma Myker and Grandpa Rick.  Now that she is older the familial ties are becoming more understandable to her.  

Jeremy is back with Intsel Steel.  He is their Quality Control Specialist.  Jeremy is happy to be back with more experience under his belt, and to see all his friends on a daily basis.

Before I left Washington I had e-mailed one of my old criminal defense attorneys asking what the best way was to disseminate my resumes as I did not want to be on the other side anymore. With  Glen being in Ogden, he told me I was too far away from him, but to send in my resume, and he will send it to the members of Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.  I had four inquiries within three days.  Much to my surprise one of them was from Schatz, Anderson and Associates.

The Firm

 The partners offered me a paralegal position without much thought.  So here I am, paralegal to one of the partners, Jason, and employment wise I have never been happier or more satisfied with a job.  Finally I am a part of the criminal defense world.  I enroll in school in the fall to further my education, and to see how far I can go in this world.

Here's what I've come up with this morning:  I still hate being in Utah, but feel maybe, if given some time, my resentment will become less and less; Jeremy is like a fat kid at a candy shop - the happiest he's been the last few months; and Madelynn will get to grow up with a tribe.