Valentines Day

At lunch time Daddy drove up and the kids got extremely excited because that meant that they could give him their Valentine gift and that they could finally open theirs from us!

The kids gave him a cute card and bag of Hershey 'kisses' to go along with it. I love the little pictures that they each drew for him by themselves!

Then Wesley also gave Dad one of his pencils and chocolates from his school Valentine's Day party. So thoughtful! Emma decided that she would draw him a picture, cover our house in sparkly glitter, as well as give Daddy two of the chocolates that Uncle Micah had given her the night before! Such great kids, aren't they?

Family Dollar had a 40% off sidewalk sale down the street... so I grabbed the kids a little Valentines gift--- just because we love and appreciate the both of them so very much! They were so excited that we had a secret fun surprise for them.

Aaron and I left the kids in Soda with Grandpa, Grandma, Micah, Andrea, and Josh. I think the kids were very excited to spend some time with all of them, without the presence of their Mom and Dad. Wesley got all of his homework done.... two worksheets done and two fairly long books read. They told me that they went to the store with Grandma and that she wanted to do something special, so she bought each of them a little toy. Also, I was told that Josh did something realllllly special too, he read some books to Emma.

After Aaron and I dropped off the kids, we headed to Pocatello where we got to go straight to the hospital to have a limited follow-up ultrasound. We got to watch as our little guy used his sucking reflex to suck on his tongue. We were able to verify that we were having a boy and were even able to find out that we should still be planning on a healthy little one! We then went to our 35 week appointment and outlined the plan for the next 4-5 weeks! We cannot believe how close we are getting! It is so very exciting to me that the kids will have so much joy brought into their lives. The excitement and anticipation that we have in our hearts is completely real and I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of joy that we will feel once he is safely wrapped in our arms.

Baby Boy Bowman-- 35 weeks.

After our appointment, Aaron and I spent all evening holding hands, giggling, laughing, walking through a couple stores, and talking about our cute kids. We hadn't done that for a long time, so it sure felt nice to have that time to ourselves. Time felt different & it was special. We enjoyed a very fun evening together. It was nice to sit down to a nice dinner together where we could sit on the same side of the booth. I loved seeing him smile and I really enjoyed focusing on him. The majority of my focus goes towards these precious children of ours. However, I found myself falling deeper in love with him ...just in the few hours that we had to share with one another. He truly completes me. On the way back home to Soda Springs, I was listing aloud to Aaron all of the many reasons that I love him. I love those moments where all of your stress seems so far away and as if it has been lifted and seems to just fade away... where you are then left to reflect only upon the many great blessings in your life. Valentine's Day did that for me--- I felt so deeply loved and was able to reflect upon the love that I have for so many others, but especially for this precious F.A.M.I.L.Y. of mine whom I adore and love more than all and any words could possibly say....

Hope, Charity, Personal Sacrifice, and Faith = LOVE.

Through and because of LOVE, our hearts are filled with patience and gratitude.

strive. aspire. and learn to LOVE.

3 reasons our Daddy is so dang cool.

1.) He occasionally surprises us with twisty or circle glazed donuts.

2). He pushes us around in the 'cool' cart that most Daddy's seem to purposely avoid.

3.) Daddy helps get us ready for bed every night by brushing our teeth, reading us books, giving us our vitamins, filling our water bottles, getting our jammies on .... and yes even blow drying our hair.

We sure love our Daddy! He constantly makes certain that we are happy and well taken care of. Thanks Dad.

Family Antelope Hunt.

This last Saturday, we loaded into the car to go antelope hunting. We drove into Wyoming and it wasn't long before we found one and Aaron got a shot. We were thankful to not have to drive around all day. Instead we helped Aaron get the meat and then we headed into Montpelier for some pancakes and eggs. When we got home Aaron cleaned the meat and packaged it all himself, while Emma and I got some much needed sleep. Wesley kept himself company... he usually does a pretty good job!

Note:

Yes, we took the heart home and plan on eating it.

Yes, we were very respectful of the antelope, however the kids did have to touch and feel though.

Yes, we had to climb a mountain side to retrieve the meat.

If you are a vegetarian.... do NOT scroll down.

We are grateful to have put a small amount of meat into our freezer.

Aaron cooked up some of the antelope that evening and it was very delicious!

The kids had an absolute blast.

Oh, and Emma cried after Aaron shot the antelope because for some reason she was under the impression that she was the one that was supposed to shoot it.

Who is playing soccer now?

So, this last Thursday the adult soccer league got together and guess who played?

Not me. (remember I'm pregnant?)

AARON.

It was so fun to watch him play. It was reallllly cold, so the kids and I watched from the back of the car... so the pictures are taken through the back windshield. I didn't think they turned out too bad, considering...

I must admit that it is very hard to just sit back and watch, when you so desperately want to play. Especially when there are no offside penalties and no referees. Seriously!

I've been given permission to wear an I'm pregnant, so watch out shirt and play anyways, but I just don't feel good about it. So instead, I'll watch some suck it up real bad and others, like Aaron--- play well. We finally got out of the car for a bit and we cheered real loud, the kids were hogging the blanket and while I was sorting out where I could fit... Aaron scored a goal (of course). Although I'm not playing, I am so very excited that Aaron gets the opportunity! After all, the opportunity to play soccer only lasts until the 8th grade in Soda Springs--- city league only. So in my opinion he was definitely deprived. If anyone wants to play... or be my bud on the sidelines, the games are on Thursday at 6 pm. I'm impressed with the amount of people that came out for the first game this last Thursday. I'm hoping for a bit warmer weather though--- especially considering I'm coaching Wesley's soccer team again this season, which starts in just a couple of days. Looking forward to both boys playing soccer!

Go get em' Aaron and Wes!

Parachutes!

Apparently Wesley dreamed that they made parachutes and told Aaron about this dream. Next thing I know... Aaron and the kids are making parachutes! Emma chose sleeping beauty to parachute and Wesley chose a meerkat. It was super creative and super duper fun too! The kids loved them while they lasted! Daddy even put the kids on the roof of their clubhouse so that their characters could parachute farther.

Isn't he just the best Daddy EVER?.... yep!

Birthday Cards and Birthday Cake!

The kids and I made birthday cards for Aaron while he was at his church meetings Sunday morning. I think he sort of loved them. I particularly loved the picture that Wesley drew of the two of them playing at Bear Lake under the sun. He even drew a heart that was "floating" in the sky, representing the love that he has for his Daddy. I also loved that Emma wanted the front of her card to say, "Happy Birthday Daddy Dad." That alone--- represented to me, the special kind of love that Emma has for her Daddy. It's knowing and understanding who she is and then recognizing her unique way of showing her love for YOU. I know that Aaron recognized her love in her card. These cards were for him and each of them were super special. I know that Aaron loves his family more than anything... even more than cake, but the kids realllllly wanted to bake him a cake. When Emma and I went shopping, she wanted a "vanilla miked with chocolate cake" for Daddy. After we didn't find any swirl cakes, we went for lemon because we knew that he would like a lemon cake with lemon frosting. Emma knows Daddy loves DOVE chocolates, so she thought we should cover the top with the individually wrapped chocolates. Instead, I talked her into doing sprinkles on top and ONE chocolate in the center. She agreed, but as soon as I unwrapped Daddy's chocolate and handed it to Emma to put on the top..... she ATE it, not even thinking twice. So I then reminded her what we were doing and that's when she put the chocolate where it was supposed to go. She liked the idea of one chocolate because she soon discovered that she could eat the rest. Silly Girl. Wesley and Emma did a great job frosting the cake. They enjoyed licking their frosting knives and eating lots of sprinkles! The cake was delicious and made with lots of love! Aaron's Mom cooked dinner for Aaron. We had pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, and dutch oven potatoes! We also had a fresh salad from our garden! Lemonade and .....of course, the lemon cake for dessert! Thanks Liana!!! We sure love you Aaron. Hope you had a great birthday weekend! My favorite thing that you told Wesley today as you were leaving to work was... "remember--- yesterday was my birthday!"

Did Daddy make a wish????...... Did he even get the opportunity????

Watch the video below to find out! {reminder--- pause the blog music}.