BOW FAMILY ADVENTURES

Friday, December 26, 2008

The Happy Toy Maker


The kids received another delivery from The Happy Toy Maker this year. We are excited to be able to haul animals in our trailer and put out hay bales and feed with our pickup. The feed carrier on the pickup really works. The pickup even comes with a spare tire. Notice that the pickup and trailer are personalized. Thanks Sims Crew!!

Christmas Morning




T.S. got his drum set and Sadie got her iPod. There was a little relief because the kids were concerned about receiving a lump of coal. We have some rock stars in our family!

The stockings were hung...




Every year, I take a picture of the kids hanging their stockings on Christmas Eve. Robby thinks this is quite funny because the stockings have been hanging since we decorated for Christmas, but this is what my mom and dad always did, so we do it too. We have quite a list of things to do to prepare for Santa on Christmas Eve. We hung the stockings, set out cookies and milk and went outside and tossed out some magic reindeer feed.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Highlights of Christmas Break, so far

We are officially on Christmas break. Here is what we've enjoyed so far:

  • Games in front of the fire. Our latest favorite is Pictureka!
  • Price is Right at 10am. Need I say more? Sadie and Robby are quite the bidders from the couch.
  • Robby and the kids cleaned our arsenal today. Uncle Cody is coming and that means Robby has someone to go shoot stuff with--must be prepared. I loved over-hearing Robby explaining the process to Sadie and telling her what each gun is for.
  • An incredible Christmas production. Sadie choreographed it and had the boys rehearsing it today. We even had to have a ticket to get in.

Here's wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas! May you be richly blessed!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Christmas Program Pictures




Don't be alarmed, the boy with the orange bell didn't forget to shave, he was already in costume for his next part in the program.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Christmas Joy

Last night was our Sunday school Christmas program at church. T.S. refused to ring his bell in the bell choir--he doesn't like it when people look at him. Sadie did a nice job ringing bells and saying her lines in her class's part. Santa Claus even came to visit. T.S. was hesitant about that but was finally the last kid to tell Santa what he wanted. He said it the loudest of all the kids, "a drum set!!" I think some of the members of our congregation are a little concerned for Robby's and my sanity; T.S. with a drum set--imagine the possibiliities.
Pictures of the program to come; we are having water issues today.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

A Day with T.S.

Yesterday T.S. and I had no obligations except to run some errands. We started the morning with him wanting to go outside to "do some farm work." It was 15 degrees. He was quite upset with me for not letting him go out, but was happy to type on the computer. He made a list of all of the things he needed to do and printed it out. It was very long.

On the way to Amarillo he announced he had a small hole in his pants. I told him not to put his finger in it and make it bigger. Right after we stopped and got gas in Canyon he announced, "Mom, look, how cool, I made the hole really big!" We had to stop at WalMart and get a pair of sweats for the rest of the day. Such joy!

He's been concerned about several things lately. Here are a few he voiced in the last few days.
  • I only know one Christmas song--Jingle Bells.
  • I wonder what locker I'll have next year. Me: Mrs. Osmanski will assign you one. What if I can't reach it? Me: All of the Kindergarten lockers are just your size. (He smiled.)
  • Mom, I just don't know what song I'll play on my drum set if Santa brings it. Me: It doesn't matter, you can play anything. I guess I'll just play Jingle Bells. (remember it is the "only one he knows.")

As always, he was quite concerned in the car when I ventured off of our normal route. He wanted to know if I really knew where I was going and why I kept stopping. "Those are called stop signs, honey."

When we got home, he was happy to play outside and finally get some of the things on his list accomplished. The small amount of snow we had is really helping his crop. We had such a fun day. I could fill pages with all of his thoughts and observations in the car. A trip to town is always interesting with T.S.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Busy Weekend


This has been a busy, but fun, weekend.
  • Saturday we finally put the tree up--the first picture is of the kids in the Christmas tree box. T.S. said he was the "Flying Ace." (who knew he paid that much attention to Charlie Brown?)
  • Saturday afternoon we loaded up the lambs and headed across the canyon to Claude for another jackpot. Sadie showed really well. We learned quite a bit, too. Leonard was once again the smallest lamb in his class and he placed second. (Sorry, Craig, the pictures aren't very good.) Otis was fourth.
  • Sunday we visited Nonnie and put her Christmas tree up. The kids are playing outside--we are so grateful for a day that is warm enough to be out.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Baked Eggs, Please!

This week T.S. discovered that he loves scrambled eggs...for breakfast, lunch and supper. For some reason he calls them "Baked eggs." I don't know if he is combining bacon and eggs and hoping I'll fix bacon, too, or what.

Other news of note: we discovered that the playroom, T.S.'s room and my closet really do have a floor. Amazing!!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanksgiving Turkeys





Aunt Jen found a really cool way to decorate cupcakes to look like turkeys. The kids had a ball and the neat thing was that every turkey in our flock was unique.

More from the Gaylord Texan




Monday, December 1, 2008

Gaylord Texan Resort at Christmas

We took the kids over to meander through the atrium at the Gaylord Texan, check out the decorations and have a treat. The kids really liked looking for fish in the "river" that runs through it. They enjoyed the koi and even saw a catfish (we think). T.S. really liked all of the different trains...I didn't seem to get a picture of them.
Robby and Randy took a moment to pose with the "ice girl" directing you to the ICE! exhibit.

The gingerbread house was pretty cool. We were all amazed at the list of ingredients. Beside the gingerbread house was a very large (and fake, but very realistic) oak tree. It was funny listening to people try and decide if it was real. We saw Santa Claus from a distance and also checked in on one of his reindeer. The lights outside were really neat. It was a great afternoon/evening of just hanging out with the family. Thanks Hico Bows for planning the outing! We're ready for our next grand adventure!


Thanksgiving!

We are back from our Thanksgiving trip to see the family in Aledo. After a wonderful lunch in Happy on Thursday we went to see Nonnie then hit the road. Friday we had a relaxing morning doing art projects and singing karaoke with the cousins then enjoyed lunch at Babe's in Granbury. After that we went to Grapevine to the Gaylord Texan Resort to enjoy the Christmas decorations throughout the atrium. (I think Robby and Uncle Randy surprised themselves and actually enjoyed it.) Saturday we decorated cupcakes and all came up with some unique turkeys. Then it was off to Thanksgiving with the Bow family. The kids got to stay and enjoy games with their relatives and Robby and I hit the road again to go to Sherman. We went to Jamy and Joi's wedding that evening at Howe and had a fun time visiting with some of Robby's college pals. Up again on Sunday to head back to Aledo, pick up the kids and head home. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. I'll add pictures and some more details later...right now, a mountain of laundry awaits.

You'll also notice some new links on the side bar. I've been waiting for December to put them on. I'll warn you that the Snowflake site can be addicting. There's even a site to learn the "tricks" of animated snowflakes. The North Pole site is fun--lots to do and some ideas as well.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What We've Been Up To...

I am a little surprised that I haven't posted anything since Friday. Here's a brief synopsis of our latest happenings.
  • Robby and the kids fixed fence Sunday--you should see the cow skull they found. (I think there may be something to our bone business)
  • I have finished nearly all of our Christmas shopping; now I just have to finish all the things I'm making for gifts.
  • Sadie and Robby are finished with school until Monday--they are both very excited.
  • We'll spend today and tomorrow getting ready to go visit the family in Aledo on Thursday evening. This means the cats will go to the garage and won't be allowed back in when we return.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Free Dr. Pepper

I attempted to get my free DP on Sunday--but the computer was really slow. They did have an 800 number to call, but I didn't.
I read a story in the paper (should I say on the paper since I read it online?) today about Dr. Pepper giving everyone a free one. Go to today's post on Laura's Thoughts for more info. (It's actually Thoughts of a Stay-at-Home Mom, but I refer to it as Laura's Thoughts because, well, they're my thoughts.)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Spelling...and some changes

Please bear with me as I once again change my blog. I thought I had it exactly like I wanted it, then I tried to add some "widgets" or whatever those things are called and they didn't fit. I realized that in my attempt to be a little different and not change to "minima" before adding a background, I was limiting my widget capability. I'm working on getting font and colors that are easy to read with the dark background. I realize looking at older posts that T.S.'s blue conversation color may have to change, so bear with me--please feel free to leave nice suggestions.

So, the spelling part. Studying for spelling at our house is a chore. So I found this web site. There is also a widget on the sidebar. I figure it is worth a shot. The plan is to put the words in on Monday and Sadie will want to study them all week (by playing games). We'll let you know how it works. Let us know if this site works for you or is helpful.
I took the widget off of the sidebar--Sadie isn't too interested in this--we'll see if she is as her list gets harder.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

How cute...

I've written before that it is time for the cats to go outside. But, could you send these guys out into the great unknown of the garage? They'll for sure have to go out before we leave at Thanksgiving. If you are wondering, that is Sadie's remote control dog. The cats love to cuddle up with it and sleep.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Bones

Yesterday Robby and the kids fixed fence in the pasture so we could let the calves and donkey out to eat. That translates into Robby fixed fence while the kids had a grand adventure and collected quite a few cow bones. They were so pleased to not only show me their treasure, but to unload it as well. Picking up bones in the pasture is something they do all the time, needless to say, there are quite a few bones around here now--more bones than Petunia could ever use. So, I asked the kids what they planned to do with them.
T.S.: "Sell them."
Me: "To whom?"
T.S.: "Santa Claus."

We'll let you know if the transaction goes through. You might have an opportunity to invest in our bone collection and selling company.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Jackpot

Sadie participated in a lamb clinic and jackpot today in Tulia. Both lambs placed second and showed pretty well. Sadie was excited to get a little prize money. We were really proud of her. The top picture is her showing Leonard (the one of Otis didn't turn out---I don't have a lot of luck taking pictures in barns.) The bottom one was a cute one of Robby and Sadie. It's a little fuzzy because I was far away.
Sadie and Robby had to validate pigs in Randall County after the lamb show--I imagine we have a pretty tired showman headed home right now.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Good Evening!

This is what our beautiful sky looked like this evening. I was going to take a picture of the very large, full moon, but my first few pictures were not great and then my batteries ran out and T.S. had a sticker (yes he was outside with no shoes or coat on). To give you an idea of how large the moon looks, T.S. said the following: "If it gets any bigger it will besplode!" (explode)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

T.S.'s Tall Tale

Every evening we can hear coyotes. I'm sure they are in the pasture, probably in the draw that runs through. It has been a quest for Robby and the kids to shoot one. T.S. was reporting he could hear them tonight. He came in just a minute ago and told me the following "tale."

We got the coyotes to come close enough that dad shot one.
Me: Really? I thought y'all were clipping lambs.
Yeah, it came up close and dad shot it. You should have seen how far he threw it after he got it.

long pause

He fed it to the pigs.
Me: Really? I think I'll go out and ask dad.
No, don't do that.

I wish you could hear him tell stories. He is really quite believable, until he throws in a detail that just doesn't fit. His facial expressions are priceless as well. I was thinking, "well, Robby might have shot one." I hope he keeps telling tales.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Honoring Our Heroes


Our school has a fabulous Veterans' Day program every year. We'll go see Sadie take part in that tomorrow. As part of the program, the 3rd-5th grade is having a poster contest. Here is Sadie with her poster.
Update: Sadie didn't win the contest. I'd like to say that all of the posters we saw were outstanding. The kids really did a nice job and I was impressed. We are hoping they do this again next year--we have some good ideas to use pictures of Sadie's PaPa and Great-Granddads on a poster.

Kitten Update

T.S. requested that I take his picture with Tiger this morning. The cats will soon have to go outside. Sadie and I keep pushing it back, but eventually it is going to have to happen. Three cats in a house with a lot of kids is more than a circus.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Get Your Guns Up!

Sadie has become an avid Tech fan (much to my dismay and Robby's pleasure). When I came home from Amarillo yesterday evening, Sadie had on her "Crabtree" hat and was watching the game. She has taken a great interest in Tech football and even has some knowledge of the AP Top 25. I guess I'll just be glad she is interested in a college and it isn't t.u.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

A Fun Day

We spent most of the day at the youth entrepreneurship fair. T.S. had a ball playing with our friend Wesley's toys. He and his family manufacture these. After a long day of being really good and playing hard--T.S. ended up like this:
(Yes, he is standing up.)
The students from Happy did very well--Maci placed 2nd and Wesley was 3rd. You can see more about The Happy Toy Maker here.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

T.S. Says

This morning, T.S. was sitting with me when I was checking e-mail. He saw a picture of Obama:
"Is that Okabama? Did he win the Tech game?"

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Highlights of the Day

  • T.S., C.W. and I ran errands and we all made it home. (I really contemplated leaving one or both at the dollar store or the bank or the polling place.) We also enjoyed a nice visit with Nonnie.
  • I voted--I don't think I've ever felt the way I did today in my many (we won't count them) years of voting.
  • T.S. has figured out how to get C.W. to do the things I ask him to do. "Look mom, I'm letting him 'help' me."
  • We have cow birds--those white birds that follow cows around. I went out to take a picture, but the kids were in the middle of the hay ring and the birds had mysteriously disappeared. (maybe tomorrow)
  • The boys and I enjoyed a healthy snack this afternoon--strawberry smoothies. (Jennifer, don't faint)
  • It is 7:05 and both kids are fed, bathed and in PJs. I'm definitely in the running for the coveted Mother of the Year Award.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Deflated

You may recall that several Sundays ago, I showed pictures of the fabulous craft project we were doing--paper mache pumpkins. Those pumpkins have been hanging in the bathroom waiting for the next layer of paper and well, they are sort or deflated.

Sometimes things just don't go as planned. Animals, homework and the busyness of our life got in the way of our craft. Oh well, just a reminder that we are normal here in the Bow Kingdom.

However, all is not lost, the kids have been painting everything from trains to Christmas trees the last few days and I've been trying my hand at casting resin.

By the way, the kids thought this was a fitting pose for the picture.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Trick or Treat

The highlight of our evening was going to see Nonnie. You can trick or treat at the nursing home--if you are looking to score a lot of candy in one place, this is the place to do it. It was neat to see so many kids there. We had fun going around town to lots of places that I went to as a kid; Robby and I even got some candy of our own. It sure is nice that the kids can get in and out of the car by themselves.