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.