[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

Click to Enlarge

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.

Click to Enlarge

We had some random pictures taken outside of the stores.

Click to Enlarge

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.

Click to Enlarge
Tammy on the Left. Suzanne on the Right.

We found a geocache at Casey.

Click to Enlarge

 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.

Click to Enlarge

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

Click to Enlarge

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.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

 

Click to Enlarge

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.

Visiting the Utah Cousins - October

From October 19th to October 23rd Madelynn and I were in Utah for her follow ups with TSH and the Neonatal Clinic.

TSH gave us the option to stay the whole weekend in Utah giving us the opportunity to visit all the cousins.

On Saturday, October 20th, after Madelynn's testing we headed over to my mom's to see Bella and Matthew.  Later Darren and Elly joined us for some pumpkin patch fun.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Bella because of her upper lip.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

On Sunday we visited with Poppa Hurst and Grandma Myker.  Evan and MaKayla came over to play and paint pumpkins.

Click to Enlarge

Carving the Pumpkins

Okay, so we didn't actually have Madelynn carve anything.  We attempted to have her clean out her own pumpkin to which she replied "Ew".  

Madelynn instead painted her pumpkin, I cleaned mine out, and Jeremy shaved his. 

The finished products: one black pumpkin, a ghost, and a hollowed out pumpkin.

Pumpkins!

Saturday was a bit rainy, but being the Washingtonians we are, we all went to the pumpkin patch.  It was your typical Hurst/Reed outing with Madelynn and Andrew calling out for each other making sure they were never too far away from one another.

Finding the Perfect Pumpkin

 They had lots of little sights for the children.  Andrew drove him and Maddie on their first illegal date (or is second cousins legal?  Ew either way :) ) They found the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.

Click to Enlarge

Craven Farms had a face painting area set up for the kids.  Madelynn and Mikhaila got their faces painted.  It was decided Andrew was too much of a boy, and would not sit still for such frivolous things.  Instead he ate a big old chili bowl.  (Have we ever mentioned how much we love that kid?)

My Little Kitty Cat

Mikhaila got Optimus Prime

Andrew After the Pickin' was Done