Parker and Cooly the croc

Parker gets to keep the class pet this weekend. We have lost him once already. (: I think Cooly snuck (sp?) upstairs to rest while Parker was distracted by the TV. Oops. She is loving her new responsibility. Parker and Cooly have enjoyed, laying out by the pool and dressing up. More pictures to follow of Parker and Cooly through the weekend. Enjoy.

The Bowman Family is growing, AGAIN!

Did I get your attention? (: This announcement is way overdue and I apologize in my laziness. Yes, the Bowman family is growing and we are adding another GIRL (my future sister-in-law). Chris is getting married. Yes, you heard me right. Chris is no longer on the market. He is engaged to a great girl, Jessica Jarosz. They got engaged in April in Bonaire. Chris and Jess are planning to get married on Peter Island in May and have a reception here in Wake Forest in June. We are very excited and looking forward to ALL of the festivities. Here are a few pictures of the cute couple that I took over Labor Day weekend.

I think this is it for my blog updating for a while but will try to be better in the future. (:

What a summer!

I finally have had a moment to reflect on Summer "2008." And wanted to add several of my favorite summertime pictures of the girls. Many of them you have probably seen before. I feel like the summer went by so quickly with the backyard/kitchen renovation, the birth of our nephew, weekend vacations to the lake, lots of pool time, along with pool parties, dance camps, and lots of play time. Enjoy a few of my favorites.....

From the mountains to the beach

Okay, so I am officially a "bad blogger." I am sure there is code name out there, but I don't know it. I am that bad. Anyways we have had a busy couple of weeks.

We went to the mountains for two days and one night, while Frank worked at a job up there. He is building an indoor pool up there right now. So we decided to take the girls on their first mountain voyage. We had a BLAST. The first day we drove up, met Frank, ate lunch, and went to a trout farm. Parker caught a Rainbow Trout ( I think she liked its name more than the fish, but she was very excited). Kennedy began to understand by saying "ish" and liked touching it. It is funny because Parker would say "ish" as well at this age. After our fishing adventure we went and bought a bucket of dirt to try "gem stone mining." We actually got some pretty neat rocks. I think I enjoyed it more than Parker... the whole attention span thing..I think. We had a lot of fun and decided Kennedy needed to take a nap, so we drove. She fell asleep almost instantly, when we decided to go try Tweetsie. Kennedy got a power nap and was ready to go as well. We rode the train, immediately (Frank had to go back to the job site, just the girls and me). It was great until the indians charged the cabin. Oh yes, Parker freaked. I had to explain that they are playing dress up just like she dresses up like Cinderella. She calmed down and all was well. We met up with Frank after the train ride and took the girls to "tabletop." That is what we call it, but it was a Japanese Steakhouse where they cook on the table. Our girls enjoyed it greatly and then it was back to the hotel (which I will not go there, just know that I learned guys can live in a lot more filth than I can).

The following day we returned to Tweetsie. Parker rode a lot of rides. Her favorite was the tilt-a-whirl with me. We had a great time just giggling and even rode it twice. Kennedy rode her first ride, the little red boat. She seemed to enjoy it as well. We did MORE gem stone mining, after being unsuccessful panning for gold. And then went to feed the deer and goats. The girls LOVED it. Kennedy was squealing ( I think it was a mixture of excitement and fear). We decided after a whirlwind trip to the mountains we would head home. I thought the girls would sleep in the car. Kennedy slept the first 45 minutes, Parker then slept the remaining 2 and half hours. I was shocked. Kennedy my good sleeper apparently sleeps the best at home in her crib. She still travelled well and I was very proud of both of them.

After our trip to the mountains, we had a quiet week and then headed to the beach for Labor Day. We were busy. Parker caught some 60+ fish the first day, plus crabbing, playing in the beach, and of course eating. We took the girls to see the ocean (Kennedy's first time) and she was FEARLESS. She loved it. Parker has always had a "respect" for the ocean. Kennedy would fall down, let the next wave fall on her get up and do it again (yes, we were holding as best we could) but she was fearless. We had a wonderful time.

Now this past week, we began ALL of our activities. Parker started school and loved it. Kennedy started Kindermusik (a mommy and me class) and she enjoyed it thoroughly as well. It is going to be a busy fall but we are looking forward to it. I hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy the pictures. Sorry they are jumbled...still getting used to this blogging thing, obviously. Take care.

Mission Accomplished

Well, I may be pressing my luck. The pool is finished and much of the outdoor area is complete. We aren't quite able to pull the cars in the garage, but realistically I am wondering if I ever will. Right now the garage is full of "stuff." We still have a few things left to do on Franks office, but he should be moving things on up.... very soon. Now that the pool is complete. We decided to invite our friends over to see what we had been up to. We had a great pool party. We had a Beaufort Boil and Margaritas. Obviously the margaritas were flowing because at the end of the party people were swimming (after being thrown in). It was a great time though.

The girls have been swimming A LOT. Parker has become a little fish. She is now working on trying to swim underwater. She has to wear her goggles, whenever diving under water. She has grown up over night. I often look at her and wonder who this girl is in front of me. And she loves to tell jokes. Her latest was when she asked our neighbor if he wanted to see her stand on one finger. He said, "Sure." So, she bent over, put her finger on the ground and then stepped on her finger. He looked at me and chuckled. She says, "See I can stand on one finger." She has about 3 or 4 jokes she tells over and over. So if anyone has any good jokes. We would love some new ones. (;

Kennedy has been a force to reckon with lately. We are at the stage where she gets frustrated because she can't talk, therefore hitting, throwing, etc. However she also LOVES to tickle and hug. It is very sweet. We took her to the free kids movies the other week and she walked through the aisles waving at people. There were a few that waved back so she hugged them. We have a future politician on her hands. I have loved watching her personality come to life. They are both going to be such interesting girls that I will probably never figure out. She also comes charging at kids her age and our family going, "ticka-ticka." She tries to tickle people but it really feels more like a scratch. The only thing we can figure is that she LOVES to be tickled therefore she wants to tickle others.

This Friday, we are having our pictures taken. I cannot wait. I finally will be in a few pictures in our home. Have a great rest of the week. Oh, and I attached our most recent pictures of the backyard and kitchen renovation.

What a weekend

This week was very busy. Parker had a play date at a community pool, where she and her friend, Georgia swam a whole length (25 yards) without a float or touching the bottom. Frank and I were VERY proud of her. She had such persistence to not give up. It was very impressive. And she did after swimming and playing all morning. Way to go, Parker and Georgia!

We had a couple other play dates at our pool with Georgia. We also had a play date at the Museum of Natural Science with Trent and Tanner. We had a great time. Parker and Trent were all about seeing the dinosaurs and even touched a couple of turtles. I know Parker enjoyed herself. And Kennedy and Tanner enjoyed their stroller ride.

Then yesterday Parker hosted her first pool party and surprisingly I forgot to bring the camera out but it was great fun. Once our friends left, I was getting a lot of whining about her ear hurting and low and behold Parker has swimmers ear. She isn't supposed to swim for SEVEN days. Yikes. Wish me luck on that one. (; When we came home the whole family ate some watermelon and "enjoyed" the summer heat.

Today we played with Cam and Jamie. Parker got to hold Jamie (Jamie wasn't so sure of the "little mommy") and has just been beside herself, ever since. She loves babies and was thrilled to have the opportunity. Thank you Dug and Laura, it meant so much to Parker. We played at Nana's house and EVEN got to eat sprinkle donuts. The girls were in heaven. What a week. This afternoon we are going to rest to prepare for another fun-filled week this week. Until then......