Happy Halloween 2015

Is it a mom fail or mom success when no photos were taken of our Halloween adventure last night? I say a little of both. I figure I did plenty of documenting the first few Halloween festivities, right?? She was still the best looking Owl in the room 😍 

Mckenzie joined me at work on Friday for our Halloween show.

The whole gang at a party last week. We looked the same last night :) 

We made our way to Eagle Mountain to go trick-or-treating with our friends who have a daughter Mckenzie's age. It was so fun to go out with same-age babies. They looked adorable in their costumes. It was a beautiful night- I was so happy it wasn't cold! 

Mckenzie caught on pretty quick to the whole idea. She had her cute little pumpkin bucket that she held in the crook of her elbow as she toddled to every house. She would accept the piece of candy and put it in her bucket, and then turn around and head to the next place. It was pretty adorable every.single.time. Since she doesn't really know what candy is, it didn't even occur to her that the stuff people were giving her was edible. 

It was her second (and probably last)  Halloween where she didn't eat any candy. Bart and I picked through the bucket and tossed the rest of it into the trash. 

I haven't been trick or treating for probably 10 years. It was fun to be back and part of that holiday tradition! It was obviously very different. Going at a snail's pace to each door instead of sprinting to every house, pillowcase in hand. I think we made it to 10-12 houses last night. A far cry from the dozens and dozens of houses we stopped at as kids. No drama, insecurities or worries. No friends being left out or feelings hurt. Just family and friends. Just a first time mom and dad enjoying every moment of their baby's new experience. It didn't really matter what candy ended up in the bucket or if we were back in time for curfew. 

Being a parent is so interesting. It brings back memories of my own childhood as I see my own child begin her memory making. I love being on the other side and be the one to help make those memories. 

Oh, and did I mention that football season is officially over so it was the first Saturday in MONTHS that Bart was FREE to spend the day with us????? It was as amazing as it sounds. We both love having him back. 

To my mom and to my baby

Happy Mother's Day!

To my mom who has loved me every day since I was born. Who taught me how to be kind. Who showed me was selflessness looks like. Who shared her testimony and lives the gospel. Who created a safe and loving place for me to come home to. Who has listened to endless phone calls after a bad days. Who loves my daughter with everything she has. Who is always teaching me and giving me someone to look up to. I love you.

To my baby who made this my first Mother's Day. Who has made me realize I can love something and someone more than I ever thought possible. Who teaches me patience and makes me laugh every day. Who loves me even when I'm whispering how much I'm sick of her. (we've had a few long days...). Who is always happy to see me. Who gives me special treatment and loves me always. Who has become my best buddy. I love you.

A look back of 2014

Warning: If you're sick of my baby- skip this post since 90% of my year review will be about her. you're welcome.

2014! Another awesome year under our belt. I'm happy it's over. It felt like most of the year was spent in anticipation and being pregnant and then in a weird limbo of having a newborn. These last few months have been the best months of the year and I look forward to continuing that awesomeness into 2015

The first pictures I have (that aren't belly pics) are from my graduation in May. Oops! Graduating college 6 months pregnant was pretty awesome. The whole day I just thought of my baby girl and how empowering it is to have an education and a chosen career. I must say I LOVE being a college graduate!

It wouldn't be a year in review without Football! Bart was the Sophomore Head Coach this year for Kearns. I was so proud of him! He really came out of his shell and was a great leader.

And then of course this happened! I've documented those first few months pretty regularly. Since the baby and I both sleep through the night now I don't have nightly updates. Bottom line? She changed our world and it's the best world to be in!

My baby sister got married! It was a beautiful weekend

And this is how our year ended: 

Like I said: not too eventful and yet the most life changing year yet! In my defense I wasn't super interested in documenting my preggo self for posterity. You're welcome.

Happy New Year everyone!

A lesson learned

I've had the holiday season on my mind the last few days, especially holidays growing up. I looked through my old journals and found the entry I as looking for. I wrote it 11 years ago when I was 14:

December 23, 2003

Something happened tonight that woke me up to reality. Now I know that I am truly blessed and it doesn't show in the packages under the tree. When this Christmas season started I was really ungrateful and I acted spoiled. I was mad that we weren't going to get a lot this Christmas because we don't have any money. I prayed that we would be able to have a good Christmas. Well the Lord made that a possibility in a different way. Someone came by and brought us 3-4 boxes of food. Our friends brought us something we needed. They probably aren't going to have any turkey for dinner because they gave it to us. I don't know why I'm making such a big deal out of this but I learned something today. We don't need to be rich to be happy. We have great friends and neighbors who really care about us. I don't really care what I get any more. Whatever I get will be more than enough. I'm not going to forget this for a while and I just want to thank those people who have taught me so much by their unselfishness.


I have never forgotten that night. Every season I think of the kindness that was shown to my family and the lesson I learned from it. We didn't have very much money for a lot of the years I was growing up. But we always had each other. We always had our home that was filled with love. It was a safe place to come home to and I always knew there were people there that loved me. Every year I realize more and more just how special of a blessing that was. I will probably never know who brought my family food that night, but I will always be thankful for them. They taught a selfish and spoiled teenage girl the true meaning of the holiday season.

3 Day Christmas Adventures

Hello world! December has been an interesting month and I really haven't had anything to blog about. Since I suck at documenting our adventures with a camera I don't really feel the need to give you a play by play without any visual enjoyment.

That being said, we had a great Christmas. I have been enjoying 5 days off work which is pretty impressive until you talk to my teacher husband who gets 17 days. Double digits people. That lucky SOB.

Christmas Eve was spent at Barts mom's house enjoying lots of food and Christmas jammies! She gets us a new set every year and I love them. I think I have worn the pants everyday and sometimes all day since I got them!

I also made a cheeseball.....FROM SCRATCH!! Believe it. Add gluten free crackers to the mix and BAM I was a pretty happy camper.

Bart didn't think my one amazing cheeseball would be enough so he bought one from the store. Can you tell? Mine looks much tastier right!?!? There was more food than any of us could eat and in the end it was a pretty successful night.
 

Bart woke me up at 6:30 Christmas morning with breakfast. Not just any breakfast but FRENCH TOAST. You guys the fat kid in me just loves this time of year. I havent had French toast for 9 months and it is my favorite breakfast menu item. Bart got gluten free bread and surprised me. It was the bomb.com
 Santa brought us Despicable Me 2 so we watched that/napped before we headed over to my parent's house. 

The Bainum family does Christmas a little differently but it is how I grew up so it's normal for me. We open one present every hour. Then we clean up the wrapping and start the timer for another hour. By 2 or 3pm we get to unwrap the rest and finish everything off with a new book from my dad. This year he gave all the girls "Women and the Priesthood"by Sherri Dew. So far so good. It's much better than my rants about wearing pants and stuff :) 

My parents gave us this beautiful picture of Christ and its my new favorite thing in our home. Isn't it beautiful??? I love spending Christmas at what I still consider "home" with my family. 7 Layer Bean Dip, impossible puzzles, lots of laughs and comfy couches to nap on. It's the best!

Our 3 Day Christmas Adventures continued on the 26th as we headed up to Tremonton to visit Bart's Dad & family. Apparently going shooting is a thing and they are all into it. I tried twice....and cried about my arm...twice. I ended up in the truck with Aggie who was terrified of the gun shots.

My vacation ends tomorrow as I head back to work, but I am feeling refreshed and ready to go. I have spent plenty of time napping and enjoying the couch it's kind of embarrassing..I wasn't feel well yesterday so me and our crappy couch and my Christmas jammies hung out for most of the day.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday we get to celebrate the new year! I love New Years Day and the chance I have to think about the past year's adventures, blessings and life changes. I will do my best to document appropriately.

2 Cents: 4,500 Calories

All week long and especially today I have been hearing all about the calories that are in a Thanksgiving Day meal. After reading THIS article I decided to give you my two cents about it.

Let's be honest...none of us wake up on the last Thursday of November thinking "today I am going to rock my diet". We spend the entire week dreaming of buttery mashed potatoes and extra helpings of stuffing and turkey. We plan on mopping up the cup of gravy we put over the entire plate with a few hot rolls. Milk? Yes please! Green bean casserole fills most of the plate and you finally get the salad on there after your first round. Am I right? This is Thanksgiving Dinner. Who freakin' cares if it amounts to 4500 calories?!? You don't eat this every day and your afternoon nap will help you sleep it off.

So go ahead, have an extra piece of pie and YES put the whipped cream on top. Wear stretchy pants and baggy shirts. Eat until you can't eat anymore and be thankful for what you have. If I hear someone mention they are watching what they eat tomorrow I might punch them in the face. You have 364 other days of the year to do that...this 1 day is a chance to fully enjoy yourself and give thanks....and have seconds.

Thanksgiving Eve

To say Thanksgiving crept up on me this year is the ultimate understatement. Wait...Thanksgiving is tomorrow? WHAT? Since when? The holidays seem to change every year. When I think of Thanksgiving I still think of 7ish hour roads trips to Idaho where we get together with my mom's side of the family. More than 50 people and LOTS of pies.

I love being married. I love my in-laws. I love the holidays. Combining all these things together can be difficult.

I'm also not too stoked about the dinner part of Thanksgiving since I'm still not sure what I will be allowed to eat. I read today that the average person eats 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving....I'm going to go ahead and say I will NOT be a part of that average :(

I guess it's time to start creating memories for this new chapter in my life. Bart and I just decided I will attempt to make pie..his mom's recipe. We'll see how it goes!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Chinese Pot Stickers

I wrote this same post a few days ago and then accidentally deleted it. usually i wouldn't be terribly upset by that idea except this post was funny and clever and we all know you can't force that kind of genius! So I will try again, but I apologize in advance for the quality of my cleverness.

Bart is usually the one in the kitchen making something tasty, but I have become quite the kitchen boss myself recently! My boss-ness doesn't have too much to do with this post though since we were BOTH creating magic in the kitchen for New Years. 

We were trying to think of what we wanted to do for New Years Eve and what did the fat kids in us decide?  LETS MAKE STUFF! We didn't have anything specific in mind so we just Googled Appetizers and came upon Pot Stickers, Tempura Veggies, Crab Cakes and a Raspberry Mocktail. Random combination? We know, that was half the fun! So we made a list, and $85 later we were ready to go!

Now the one thing we haven't mastered is portion control. Most specifically changing recipes to accommodate the fact that there is only two of us eating, not a large family. We didn't do that with pot stickers so we ended up with lots. Luckily the fat kids in us handled it and were able to eat everything. It was so delish! I was very proud of us. This is a perfect recipe for any kind of party, but also if you're just wanting to mix up your usual menu!

When the time comes, we are going to be able to throw an awesome dinner party!

Here's the recipe for Chinese Pot Stickers

Ingredients

• 2 cups cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 lb lean pork, ground
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine, sherry or 2 tablespoons white wine -We used sherry, it was in the spice aisle-
• 1 tablespoon green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil - This was like $56 so we just used olive oil instead-
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 64 wonton wrappers ( usually 1 pkg)   - Ended up going to an Oriental Market for these--
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chicken stock

DIPPING SAUCE

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce - this was a bit too vinegar-y for us so we added more soy sauce--
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

Directions

1. Sprinkle salt over the shredded cabbage and let stand for 5 minutes, then squeeze out liquid.
2. Squeeze out any liquid from the shrimp.
3. Mix cabbage, shrimp, pork, soy, wine, onion, oil, ginger and garlic 
   
4. On each wrapper (keep them covered with a damp cloth so they do no dry out) place about 2 tsp of the mix and seal the edges, use a bit of water on the edge, try to press out all the air and ensure they are tightly sealed
5. In 2 large skillets heat 1 tbsp oil, fry 16 dumplings for 1 minute or until golden on one side add 1/4 cup of stock into the pan, reduce heat to low, cover and cook, without turning for about 7 minutes or until the dumpling is translucent and most of the liquid has evaporated Uncover and on higher heat cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the bottoms are dark brown, drain put on a platter and keep warm.
6. Repeat for the remaining 32 dumplings.
7. Mix the dipping sauce and serve with warm or hot dumplings.
   
   

My Year in Pictures

Happy New Year! 2012 was a great year and I look forward to what 2013 brings! Last night I was going through pictures and got a little collage happy. Instead of flooding my instagram (which I did anyway) I decided to share them here!

First we have "Imafatkid". These are only a few of the things created at Cafe Bowen this year. I have been experimenting with cooking more and more and Bart is a great cook. We enjoy our time in the kitchen! in 2012 I canned some peaches, learned how to make a few soups, made my first pie and of course holiday candy. Cookies are a staple at Cafe Bowen and Bart perfected his omelets this year too!

Next up is "A.M. Real Job" with just a sneak peek of my past few months at work. I have been at ABC4 since June and have learned so much! I'm lucky to work with patient people who are willing to teach me and put up with my stupid questions and silly mistakes. Having a sloth at work is just a regular day!

This next collage is simply named "Moments". I loved sitting by the Christmas tree this year with some hot cocoa. We went through a few boxes this year and I may or may not have been addicted. My niece Ameri is such a doll and I love any chance I get to spend with her. This picture was taken in the Summer as we played in the grass. The "I love you infinity" note was written one of the many mornings Bart and I were up early eating breakfast together. Sometimes notes are better than words. One of my favorite pics of the year is this cute baby elephant who was jealous of all the attention her mom was getting, so she kept peaking out behind the fence and rock. 

I really love this next collage "Family". Obviously not all of my family is shown, and that simply means I didn't have a photo of them to use! (Jenny, Dad and Jake, we need to fix this!!). 

The one of Bart and I is cut off, but you have probably seen it before. I LOVE this picture of us. 

Next up is one of my fav pics of my BFF Sarah. She is such a beautiful person inside and out and I'm lucky to have her as a friend! 

The pictures of my mom and brother were both taken on the day we flew to Boise for a football game. I was terrified of the plane so my mom was trying to distract me. 

Dallin and I had great seats and it was fun having one-on-one time with him. 

The pictures of my nieces are special to me, and I'm happy I got a chance to see them in December! 

And last but not least, the picture taken with my baby sister Katie! She discovered that SheDaisy was playing in PG and we just HAD to go! It was so much fun hanging out with her. I realized that day it was really the first time her and I ever really hung out as friends AND sisters. I look forward to more days like that :)

I read a lot of books this year. A LOT. "Reading Time" shows a few of those. I went through phases where I would buy a new book every few days after I had finished a different one. Then around book 5 I realized I should probably stop buying so many and took a break....only to resume my habits a month or so later. Bart reminded me that there is a thing called a Library and to be honest that had never crossed my mind! I don't love libraries... I feel like I can't find anything good to read. These are just a few of my favorites from this year. 

My friend Chelsey was so sweet and sent me The Fault in Our Stars and I absolutely loved it. I read it within 24 hours. 

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a very good read, and it gets you thinking. 

Jodi Picoult is my favorite author and I have most of her books. I especially enjoyed her newest book Lone Wolf. 

Born To Run is the book that inspired Bart and I to start running. Even if you aren't a runner you should read this book. 

I discovered So Much For That one day roaming the isles of Barns and Noble. This is the kind of book you can read again and again! 

There were many others that I read in 2012, but these were some of my favs. I am always looking for new things to read, so if you have any suggestions.....suggest away!

I had a lot of fun writing this blog post today! Obviously this is only a sampling of what happened in 2012. Thank goodness for pictures right?? They making telling a story so much easier :)

The Bowen's 2012 Christmas Card

Happy holidays! We just wanted to update everyone we love, and anybody else who cyber stalks us, on how our year went. We meant to finish this earlier and send it out, but Bart has been stricken with Mono and is rendered useless until further notice.

                The year started out great. Megan was in her second semester at the University of Utah and Bart was halfway through his first year of teaching, contemplating his life choices. He soon realized teaching is about 15% inspiring young minds and 85% punishing the little &%$@ who disrupt the class. We regularly argue who is to blame for the bad behavior of these kids. Bart says it’s the parents while Megan says it’s the children.

Our upstairs neighbors and their small yapping dog finally moved out…followed quickly by an even larger more annoying dog. Our apartment adventures have been memorable to say the least. We live in a place invested with dog owners who have no time for their dogs, and so these dogs bark and cry all day long. We regularly dream about giving a bacon sponge to the dog downstairs, but have had self-control so far. This has further encouraged us to start thinking about buying a house, which will hopefully be in next year’s Christmas letter.

We decided to take a vacation in the early spring to California. On our way we discovered a little town where the people are literally outnumbered by livestock 7:1. At this point we were lost on our journey. Bart was willing to stop for directions but there was not a soul to be found and let’s be honest, cows aren’t that friendly.

Angel’s Camp, CA was a great place to vacation….if you’re collecting social security and have a subscription to AARP. We stayed for 4 days. Our trip later took us to San Francisco but we only stayed one day because come on, what would a young couple like us have to do in the “Paris of the West?” After biking from the pier across the Golden Gate bridge and back (which only took us 2 hours), we decided not to stop for lunch to save us money on the rental fees…but Bart was quickly reminded  how Megan gets when she’s hungry, and looking back he would have gladly paid the extra fees. After fighting a herd of retirees for a table at the local chowder shop, we decided to head back to our hotel for a nap (because remember, we’re 80 years old).  We were pleasantly surprised by the location and classiness until we got to our “room” which was really just a bed squeezed into a 5x5 closet and yes, that included the bathroom. We decided to tour the city at night, which left us incredibly lost for a few hours…but we got to see the side of San Fran that few tourists ever get to see.

The summer was an exciting time for us this year. Bart was a coach for Kearns High School Football which meant Megan became very familiar with the bleachers and Bart was socially absent for most of the season. Megan also got her first grown up job as a morning producer for ABC4. We are both feeling very blessed that we have jobs we love. The rest of the summer was spent running. Bart started training for a half marathon and Megan started watching Bart train for a half marathon. He completed it under his goal time and lost 30 pounds in the training process.  

     

We really do live in a great location. We love the area. It’s close to work and more importantly, close to the mall! In an unrelated note we will be pushing back the purchase of a house.

Since Megan is now working full time she’s napping a lot more, but the naps kind of suck since she really hates the couch. Bart however still enjoys taking naps as often as possible.

Many things happened in the political world and Bart was so happy to announce that this was “our first election in love”. A very exciting time in the Bowen household! In other social news….Megan thinks it’s stupid that women are wearing pants to church to send a message. Bart was all for supporting it except his disability prevented him from realizing his “purple” tie was blue.

Megan is still a student and finds joy in going to class (HA!) She finally learned how to spell available and resturaunt….resturant…restarount? Moving on…        

    

                During this season of giving Bart wants an iPad for Christmas and Megan wants new couches. But hey, we don’t always get what we want right? Just two days into Bart’s Christmas break he finds out he has mono and should be resting for the next 3 weeks. Bart is keeping busy by taking pictures of his nasty infected tonsils and sending them to random family members. On the plus side we have plenty of pudding, applesauce and soup in the house.

                All jokes aside, Merry Christmas everyone! We have missed our friends who have moved away, and enjoy living so close to our families. We are truly blessed and during this time of year we are grateful for our happy and fulfilling lives. We wish all of you the best and a Happy New Year!

On the 7th 6th and 5th day of Christmas

on the 7th day of Christmas

we saw Savoir of the World at the Conference Center.

It was beautiful. When the little children angels went on stage I thought of those children in Connecticut. It was nice to participate in something that reminds everyone the true meaning of Christmas 

on the 6th day of Christmas

I made treats! See post HERE. it was so much fun and even Bart asked the questions "since when did you become domesticated?" baby steps I say! baby steps

on the 5th day of Christmas

Bart is sick again. He's back to having a fever and being a crazy person. Last night he was my insta-heater which was nice, but I hate that he's sick. Tomorrow is his first day of Christmas break so hopefully he'll be able to rest and get feeling better for the weekend festivities.

on the 10th & 9th day of Christmas

I know I know the idea of this "12 days of Christmas" thing is so there is a daily post, but it's been a busy weekend!

on the 10th day of Christmas

The Aggies won the Potato Bowl! 41-15

we headed up to Boise Friday night to spend the weekend with the rest of Aggie Nation. It was a beautiful weekend and we had a great time! We were able to watch the game with family in one of the suites at Bronco Stadium. Hanging out with my grandpa was one of my favorite parts of the day!

NCAA All American Phil Olsen (Merlin Olsen's Younger Bro)

bad exposure, but my G-pa is smiling so I couldn't leave it out :)

On the 9th day of Christmas

we headed home from Boise, but not before visiting my nieces!

on another note...I have officially become a road-trippin master. We only made one break each the entire way to and from Boise, and it was for gas, not because I needed a bathroom break! Bart was so proud. Also, jam sessions happen on the regular in the Bowen car--we're kind of fun.

on the 12th day of Christmas

*i'm such a great blogger..i started this yesterday but never got a chance to finish it. i'm already behind! maybe this wasn't such a good idea....*

Hey everyone! I am getting more and more excited for Christmas! Have I mentioned I love this time of year?? I wanted to do some blogging over the next 12 days to celebrate. I will be making the "themed" posts as I go along so they may or may not be lame...

we'll start off nice and generic this morning to get things going "12 things I love about Christmas"

(not in any particular order)

1. R&B and Pop Holiday Pandora station (dont judge)
2. Christmas themed boxes of chocolate..as if the red sleeve makes it more okay to eat your heart out
3. my days off (this is a first for me...i'll let you know how it goes)
4. getting in the spirit of giving and finding that perfect gift for someone
5. wrapping said gifts with my skills that improve every year
6. Christmas lights 
7. family parties
8. cuddling up next to the tree with some hot cocoa
9. hot cocoa in general (not just a Christmas thing, but that's usually when i drink it)
10. it's a time that makes it that much easier to remember Christ
11. making cookies, gingerbread houses and Christmas candies
12. Spending time with the people I love the most!

Bart and I have also decided to write a Christmas Newsletter (Bowen style) so stay tuned for that! :)

Holiday Update

So my blog told me I have to start paying for more space if I want to post more pictures. Luckily I FB stalked enough to find out that I just had to add another "author" (aka Gmail account) to my list and I'm back in action. It's really annoying the hoops we have to jump through to stay cheap....amiright????

Anywho.....because of said photo-problem I am a little late putting these pics up but that's okay because it's not even December yet so I am still technically ahead of schedule.

On Thanksgiving we ran the Utah Human Race. It was really fun and really cold. Bart had his best time and I....finished! Go me.

 
Thanksgiving was great as usual. We spent the day at my parents house bonding with the fam damily...later that night we had dessert at Bart's mom's house. I love Thanksgiving and have so many blessings to be Thankful for!

Can I just say that I love creating new traditions with Bart and our future family?! We decorate the house on Black Friday while watching "Christmas Vacation". This year we even got fancy and put Christmas lights on our front windows. For now it's not much, but the few decorations we have make our apartment so cozy!

Year two of tree decorating...I think I'm getting better!

Our new ornament (B for Bowen....Get it???!)

This was our first family ornament from last year, go Aggies!

and that's my cute Husband getting cheeky

As Bart would say, this is our 2nd Christmas married, 3rd Christmas in love and 4th Christmas together 

Another tradition is that Bart reads A Christmas Carol every night. Let me just tell you that Charles Dickens really knows how to confuse your tired little brain if you read this too late at night. Bart's a great reader though so I enjoy this little part of our Christmas nights :)

Can't Afford Christmas

I was reading THIS article about Americans saying they can't afford Christmas, or Christmas puts too much financial stress on them because they go into debt.

Well here's a crazy idea. IF YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY FOR CHRISTMAS, THAN DON'T HAVE ONE.

Okay okay, that might seem a little extreme, and maybe it is. but if people are going to complain about not having enough money for Christmas the solution isn't to get a new credit card or payday loan.

"Think Finance CEO Ken Rees said the fact that consumers of all income levels are using layaway shows there is a demand for financial options beyond just credit cards."


Hey I have a financial option for you besides credit cards...it's called SAVING MONEY

Christmas happens at the same time every year right? It's not like November comes and BAM the date for Christmas is announced and everyone is surprised so no one has saved money. No. We all know it's coming and we have all had 11 months to save for it. I think it's really sad that 45% of Americans would prefer to skip Christmas because they are focusing on the financial side of it.

Maybe it's because I grew up with parents who didn't get into debt  for stuff like that and some years that meant we didn't have very much for Christmas. but I survived, my childhood wasn't ruined, and I grew up to understand what Christmas SHOULD be about.

This holiday isn't here to stress everyone out and make people fight over budgets and money. It's supposed to be about family, faith and service.

October-esk

First thing's first. I found a runny buddy! That's right. Someone who isn't annoying to listen/talk to AND that can run at my pace (aka not that fast) I'm so happy! I went to a relief society thing and made a new friend and it turns out she runs! We went for the first time tonight and it was perfect. It's going to be great to have someone who will make it so I have to go. Today I was just waking up from a nap when she called and if that didn't happen I wouldn't have gone out tonight.... so I'm pretty excited about this whole set up.

(You might not know this, but making a friend is a pretty big darn deal for me so I'm still happy about it. )

Next thing next. OCTOBER IS OVER??? WHAT? How the heck did that happen? We didn't do anything October-esk this year! Never even got a pumpkin. I even got VIP passes to pretty much every haunted place in the state because they came on my show at one point and we never used them. The only thing slightly October-esk were the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies I made that were DELICIOUS and gone within days, and the Haunted 5K  we ran a few weekends ago. No scary movies were watched, no parties were attended and no costumes were created. LAME

The good news to all of this is that my birthday is in two weeks! Hello 23 years of age.

October is over, and we missed out on all the fun beginnings of Fall, but November will be better! (including, but not limited to, a visit to my bff's place in St. George)

Spring Break with the Bowens

ahh. home sweet home. Our vacation was great, but I don't think anyone would argue the beauty of one's own bed.

 Our vacation consisted of windy roads, rolling hills and lots of green. it was beautiful in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's and I think I would be okay living in some of the places we passed. (But only if the population is more than 32)The whole first day driving around I was obsessed with the scenery, but I did eventually get sick of the windy roads. We went for a run the first morning we were there (that's right, we exercised on this vacation) and I could have gone for miles just enjoying the view. I did get lost though and freaked Bart out a little bit so we didn't go running again for his peace of mind. 

We first stopped at a cute little gold mining town going through all the old shops and buildings. It was a beautiful day and some awesome color everywhere.

We also stopped at Mercer's Cavern and Moaning Cavern, getting to see some pretty great stuff underground. Since there was no natural lighting down there our depth perception was WAY off so this place was much bigger than what we were seeing. Our pictures didn't do these places justice, but we still had to attempt to document them.

After Angel's Camp, we headed to San Fransisco for the next 1.5 days. The city was awesome, but I was happy to leave. I don't love cities. I can only handle so much traffic and people and confusing street signs with no numbers :)

We decided to rent bikes and ride to the Golden Gate Bridge and it was the perfect way to see the bridge and the piers. The last few miles heading back were pretty miserable. We were going off of a bowl of cereal from 6 hours before and had already gone 11 miles on bikes (and we don't ride bikes usually) so I was kind of grumpy until we got some food, then we were okay.

The next morning before we headed out, we went up to the Muir Woods to see some Redwoods. We have been to the Redwood Forest on the Oregon/California border, so we weren't totally fascinated with the park, but it was still a lot of fun. Bart went crazy with the camera and we walked out of there with 200 new photos.

After the park we drove to Oakland and went to the temple. It was a beautiful temple overlooking the city.