Disneyland

In November, we flew from the windy, cold Tri-Cities, Washington to sunny, warm California for a family vacation. We spent five days in Disneyland and California Adventure. My Mom and Dad met us there, 

and my youngest sister, Darci, and her husband and two children drove 

from Las Vegas to spend a few days with us at Disneyland too!

It was an amazing vacation, filled with fun times with my favorite people! 

Disneyland is truly the happiest place on earth!

Princesses!

Cars Land was awesome!

Fantasy Land 

Tiffani and Trent visiting Santa Claus

Pluto was the first character we saw when we entered the park on day #1.
The weather was perfect. We had blue skies and 80 degrees!

This is how I felt about being at Disneyland! I'm totally doing a happy dance in this picture:) Tyler and Tiffani joined me--how cute is that!?! I love the look on Tyler's face in the top picture -- getting ready to dance :)

 One of Trent's favorite things was choosing his souvineer -- a Saber-tooth tiger at the Build-A-Bear Workshop in Downtown Disney. His favorite ride was Tower of Terror. He seriously has no fear! He was riding all the "big" rides like a champ.

Splash Mountain is my favorite ride. Our entire family fit in the log. So fun!

Three beautiful ladies and a very cute baby!

This was my Dad's and David's choice for lunch on one of the days. It was the Ranch BBQ place in Disneyland. We got to enjoy all-you-can-eat ribs, chicken, cornbread, baked beans, etc. Total "man food". Very fun live entertainment too.

We love Minnie Mouse!

I have the BEST parents! 

Mom and I had fun riding the Ferris wheel, but we both felt a little queasy afterward:( haha

My cute Tiffani with Pluto

Our family stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott. We enjoyed the daily breakfast buffet, spacious rooms (awesome two-bedroom suite with kitchen was perfect for our family of six), swimming in the pool and Jacuzzi, and relaxing in the sun. Darci and Niel's family stayed here too.

Todd with Thor, his favorite super-hero.

Darci and Niel, with their cuties, Kensie and Tate. I LOVED being at Disneyland with them!

With my two youngest on our last night in the parks. We watched the new water show, took lots of pictures, and rode on a bunch of rides that we hadn't done yet in California Adventure. We stayed until almost midnight. The parks were so beautiful, all decorated for Christmas. The Main Street parade and the fireworks were magical. There was even snow! lol 

Aside from being crowded on Veteran's Day, and in spite of a couple of kiddos getting sick (oh! and we almost missed our connecting return flight!), it was a pretty near-perfect family vacation. 

Seven long, fun days with my family in Southern California: PRICELESS!!

I cannot wait to go back!

Trent's Baptism

Trent's baptism day was very special! I love my little boy so much. I am proud of the good choices he makes each day. He brings a lot of love and joy into our family. Trent has a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which has been restored in these latter days. He loves the scriptures. Prior to his baptism, Trent read the entire Book of Mormon, page by page. It took him more than a year. He was determined to read every day to reach his goal. What a great example he is to me! I often see Trent kneeling in his room, praying. He prays every morning when he wakes up, and every night before he goes to bed. He is confident and sure in his knowledge that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love him. He understands the doctrines of faith, repentance, and baptism. Trent was so excited to make covenants with the Lord and to become a disciple of Christ on October 12th, 2013, just after his 8th Birthday. He was baptized by immersion by his older brother, Todd, who holds the Aaronic Priesthood. Trent then received the precious gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands through Priesthood authority by his Dad.

Thank you to the many family members and friends who attended Trent's baptism. 

Your love and support mean so much.

The most important things

Sometimes, things don't go as planned.

I am a planner. I make lists. I set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. I love checking things off when I complete them.

This morning, my plan was to go to the gym after seeing my husband off to work and my kids off to school. Going to the gym is therapy for me; I look forward to seeing friends there -- it's my social outlet; and the physical challenge of completing a workout is exhilarating to me. It gives me the energy I need to make it through the day. I love going to the gym.

But here's what happened instead of what I had planned:

My youngest son woke up "freezing cold" because I forgot to close his bedroom window before I went to bed last night, as I promised him I would do. I felt so bad for not following through on my commitment to my little guy! I asked him why he didn't close the window himself, or come to get me to help. He said he tried to close it in the middle of the night, but it was "too heavy" for him to close himself, and that he was "too freezing" to get out of bed to come and ask for help. So he didn't sleep well. Talk about a sad Mom moment! I gave him a big bear hug and told him I was so, so sorry. I made a quick decision about how to make restitution for my mistake: I asked him if I could make his very favorite breakfast. He brightened right up and agreed that hot waffles would be "awesome!"

I don't typically choose to make waffles on a weekday morning, because it takes a long time. And it messes up my kitchen. But cheering up my little boy and making him feel loved while showing him I was sorry for my mistake was worth the effort and the mess.

Next, my 7th grade daughter needed help with her hair, and wanted to talk about a challenge she is having at school. My husband and I have been praying for her to feel the love and the strength of the Lord as she faces this challenge. She is being so brave and I am proud of her. But it still hurts my heart to watch her struggle. She knows what she is doing is the right thing, but it is difficult to stand alone and have courage. I'm grateful for the time I was able to spend with her this morning, talking things over and nurturing her. She is a beautiful, strong girl, both inside and out. I am proud of her.

I didn't make it to the gym at the usual time this morning, as I had planned and wanted to do.

Instead, I have a messy kitchen.

And happy kids.

Because I chose to allow the Lord to direct my path through His promptings to do what I needed to do. His plan for me is always the best plan for me.

I feel confident that my efforts were focused on the most important things in the moments that mattered for my children to feel loved and cared for.

I am perfectly thankful and completely happy that things didn't go as I had planned this morning.

Because sometimes, when things don't go as planned, it ends up being a really great thing.

1st Day of School

Todd, a Junior in High School this year

Tiffani, a 7th grader

Trent, 2nd grade

Our New Kitten

The Bowers Family finally has a pet?!? Even Dad has fallen in love with our new kitten! Wow! 

We are all a little in disbelief. If you know anything about David, you know that he has been very adamantly against our family having any furry friends as pets.

How did this happen? 

It all started when Trent, our youngest, spotted a mouse in the garage. At first I thought he was joking. The only time in 12 years of living in this house that I've known of mice inhabiting it was when we heard them scurrying around in the middle of the night, in the attic space above the master bedroom. This led to the subsequent discovery that our attic space was un-insulated, due to an oversight by the builder of our new home. That problem was quickly remedied.  Anyway, when Trent yelled, "I saw a mouse!" I turned to look and saw it too. I called David at work, who promptly went to the hardware store and bought all kinds of mouse traps and poison. 

Then we decided to get a cat.  

We visited our extended family, the Stapletons, on the 4th of July, and they had brand new kittens, which we fell in love with. Within about a week, after shopping around and doing all kinds of research, we decided on a sweet little kitty, the sister of the Stapletons' kitties. She had been well cared for and received lots of love and attention from her first owners. 

 From the moment we met her, we knew this adorable, loving kitten would be a perfect fit for our family. 

She was 9 weeks old when we brought her home on July 15th. 

 The kids made this little house for her out of cardboard boxes, colorful duct tape, and carpet remnants. 

They were so exited to introduce her to it!

Deciding on a name for our kitten was lots of fun! We made a connection right away between her unique markings and the markings of "Penelope" the wharf cat in one of our family's favorite children's books. 

In this book, Penelope is described as having "three black spots" on her back, "of which she was very proud." She also had a long, black tail, just like our kitty! 

In the story, Penelope, who is bored with life on the wharf, signs aboard the S.S. Sweetwater as the ship's cat after convincing Captain Ned that the markings on her fur represent a treasure map. At sea, a pirate crew, whose captain has overheard Penelope's claim, storms the ship and kidnaps Penelope. After the pirates (much to Penelope's surprise) dig up a buried treasure, Captain Ned reappears with a blare of trumpets, saving her from walking the plank in the nick of time. 

In following with the book, our first idea was to name our kitten "Penelope" or "Penny," but the name just didn't seem to fit her personality. We decided Penelope the wharf cat must be one of our kitty's ancestors!

 We tried out other names, but finally arrived at one we could all agree on, and it suited her perfectly. We decided to name her "Sophronia," the unique name belonging to one of the sisters of Joseph Smith, Jr., our prophet of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

We call her "Sophia" or "Sophie."

What a precious little bundle she is! A great addition to our family :) 

I've been pondering on the blessings in my life...  

Here are a few of the great men in my life:  My Dad, my Husband, and my three Sons.  

I took this photo at my Daughter's soccer game last Saturday.  They were all there to support her, which is just one of the many reasons I love and appreciate them.

On Sunday, our family went on a walk in the desert behind our house after dinner.

It was one of those times I wanted to capture the feelings, the sounds, the smells, and the love I felt.  

This is the view our children had as we returned home from our walk in the desert.

Yesterday, I picked up my youngest son from school at lunch time.  

We came home and had a picnic in the back yard.   

After we ate our lunch, we laid on our backs and watched the clouds.  

We listened to the sounds of spring.  

We were joined by our neighbor's talkative cat, Loquacious.  

We giggled.  

It was a precious time with my little boy.

I love Spring!

 JOY:  Being a wife and mother

Tyler came home from Provo for the weekend, so all of us were together on Easter Sunday!

A quick photo on the golf course on our way home from church provided me with a precious, tangible reminder of how much I love to be with my family.

And how cute they are when they are all dressed up! :)

One of the things that makes me happy in the spring time is that I get to celebrate two of my favorite special days:  

1. Easter

2. My middle son's Birthday

  

I made carrot cake for each of these celebrations this year.    

The Easter carrot cake was just sooooo yummy, that Todd requested I make another carrot cake for his Birthday, which was two weeks after Easter. Encore!  

About this carrot cake.... 

It has divine cream cheese frosting.  Lots of it.

First of all, I could eat cream cheese frosting every. day.  

I could eat just about anything if it were smothered in cream cheese frosting. Including maybe even a tumbleweed.  

This particular cake recipe came from the American Classics cookbook that I have mentioned in a previous blog post.  

The frosting recipe I used is my favorite.  

It is absolutely delish.  

Because it includes not only cream cheese, but also melted white chocolate. And almond extract.  

Wow.

Todd's 16th Birthday was a special milestone, so I wanted to make sure he felt really spoiled and loved by his family and friends.  

David and I took a Super Heroes lunchbox to the Seminary building at the high school during lunch hour on his special day.  

The lunchbox was tied with balloons, and filled with his favorite fast food: Taco Bell. 

I spent the afternoon in the kitchen (my pleasure!) 

preparing Todd's birthday dinner:

Lasagna 

 Parmesan and garlic breadsticks

Fresh garden salad with homemade croutons and homemade dressing

Carrot cake and vanilla ice cream for dessert

Our house was filled with 16 happy, hungry teenagers on Saturday night as we celebrated Todd's Birthday some more!  

I made 5 large pizzas, using my bread dough recipe (tweaked just a little for pizza crust), and lots of cheese, sausage, pepperoni, 

and veggies for toppings.

I was so proud of Todd for his awesome "party host skills."

David and I prepped him beforehand by telling him that we would be around and in and out to supervise, but that we weren't going to "run" the party like we did when he was younger.  

Together, we came up with several ideas for fun group games, helped him gather supplies, and provided the food (lots of it!)

Besides lots of good food and conversation, the party included team Charades, another group game without a known name, and then Frisbee outside in the park/our backyard.

It was a super successful, super fun party, judging by the comments, laughter, and no-casualties or "issues."  

I love my 16-year-old!!!

Happy Birthday Todd!

My view in April from my front living room window includes my pink Cherokee Princess Dogwood tree, which David planted for me on Mother's Day a few years ago; Vinca (Periwinkle), pansies, and tulips.  Also the lovely green lawn that my hubby does an amazing job with.  

This spring-time view makes me soooo happy!

 Birdsnest evergreen shrubs, Japanese Maple, tulips, and pansies 

in my flowerbeds.  

My daughter has a knack with photography.  

She captured these beautiful close-up images of some of the spring-time flowers in our yard: