Root Beer Floats

This was the cutest booth at the fair so I couldn't help but buy a root beer float and support the two sweetest people who owned the booth. They even agreed to take a picture with me...somewhat strange I know but I had to get a picture with my two new friends.

My favorite picture of them ALL!!!

This is by far my favorite picture that we took this weekend :) I got the idea to do this "posed" picture after looking through some old pictures of when Ethan was just a baby and Stephen would toss him up into the air over and over again. It is so silly but so appropriate for the family and I think it's a perfect representation of us.

The triumphant battle!

I think it says somewhere in the Bible not to exasperate your nephew...or maybe that was children or wives or something like that, I'll be sure to look that one up! Regardless, I sure did have a lot of fun messing with Ethan and taking control of the couch! I used the finest weapons around a.k.a fingers and tickled my way to victory until the brave-hearted Ethan came back time and time again to reclaim his land and sacred napping place. He repeatedly fell to his defeat and yet bounced right back up and starred at me with all of his cuteness until he made his attack! There was even a time when he called in for back-up from grandpa but still no luck! When it came down to it...he was NO MATCH for my quick tickling fingers, not to mention I out weigh him by at least one hundred and blah blah pounds. You are a brave one little Ethan and I challenge you to another dual the next time you"re in town!!

More Bowman Family pics...

These are a couple of Jon and I and our "immediate" family (gotta love our puppies!) and of course as you can see in the picture of Ethan and Jack....Ethan felt the need to point out that Jack (our modest beagle) was in fact going potty in the yard. hahahaha It was too funny and a perfect picture moment to say the least. Jack has since decided to "relieve" himself in the backyard where there aren't as many spectators watching.

Labor Day weekend Bowman family pics!

Labor Day weekend was an awesome time spent with family at the Bowman B&B. Stephen, Erin and Ethan came into town and Mike is now home for good from overseas-YAY! The whole family was able to be together to celebrate Labor Day and also Judy's birthday and since the Bowman's have an awesome house-we all stayed there which made the weekend that much more memorable. There is a lot of variety in these pics-some formal, some casual but all equally great and I am so thankful for the opportunity to get together with family.

A couple more pics of my new haircut...

....I had to take a pic of my hair all pulled back and bobby pined because as most of you know-I love bobby pins! ha ha

Locks of Love COMPLETE!

I am so excited to announce that after almost two years of patience growing my hair out I have finally cut it and am on my way to donating it to Locks of Love! This has been a goal of mine for a long time and I have now reached my goal! The awesome and talented hairstylist who gave me my new look is a wonderful teenager on my team at church. She is amazing and took so much time making sure my new style was perfect. Thank you soooo much Amy! "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12 You are truly living the life Amy and I am so proud of you!
I've attached some pics of the "haircut" and the new and improved-and perhaps 5 lbs lighter-me :)

Happy Birthday my love!

The oh so respectful age of 28! Happy Birthday to you-Happy Birthday to you-Happy Birthday dear Jo-Nathan!!! Happy Birthday to you! Turning the big 28 on August 28th! This cake was specifically picked out just for you and the many hamburgers you love to eat. Enjoy!

College Textbook Update! Praise the Lord!!

So, thanks to some awesome co-workers and the internet I was able to track down a great company that can supply me with the necessary textbooks for school this year. Total savings: $131.00!!!!! If I would have gone through the college bookstore I would had to pay A TON more so thank you CHEGG.com for allowing me to keep the money in my pocket! Woop Woop Chegg-a, Chegg-a, Chegg-a, Chegg-a, Ca-CHING, Ca-CHING this express money train is leaving the station.....Ca-CHING, Ca-CHING!

August 28th is the date and I can't wait!

10 inches and counting...it is almost time to tackle that goal I had set for 2010 :)
Check out the website to find out more:
http://www.locksoflove.org/

NOTE: There were some scheduling conflicts with the girl cutting my hair so I had to move my appt. back just in case some of you were thinking you imagined the date to say the "21st" a couple days ago and now it says the "28th" ha ha. You are not imagining things! :)

Always the diaper cake maker, never the diaper cake receiver...

....And that's the way I like it right now :)
As you can see in the pictures I make diaper cakes for baby showers to take as the new mom-to-be's gift. Diapers are a practical gift that every new mom needs and there are so many ways to "dress" them up! Kylie's cake was made for a very special mom-to-be who has a sassy yet sophisticated side to her so of course her cake had to have a princess crown and a hot pink boa on it-not to mention she was having a girl and what girl doesn't want to be a princess diva at some point during her lifetime? I am still trying to grow out of that stage :)
The other more subtle yet chic cake was given to a mom who does not know whether she is having a boy or girl (yay! I love surprises!) so I did a gender neutral cake but I added some flowers for decoration since this new mommy-to-be loves to garden.
You can double click on the images to better see the detailing of the cakes but don't look too closely or judge too harshly-I am not a professional!
Congrats new mommies all around me! I am happy to have the opportunity to sow into the lives of your new little ones by simply supplying them (and you) with practical yet oh so cute diapers cleverly disguised as cakes. Enjoy!
PS. A GREAT BIG SHOUT OUT goes to Shawna who made the viewing of these cakes possible. Since I didn't have my camera I had to use my camera phone to take the pics then I sent them to her via a picture message to her phone where she then sent a mobile message and uploaded them to her facebook page and then saved the pics from facebook onto my computer in my pics folder. Ohhh technology how useful and time consuming you are.
NOTE: Shawna also had to endure lots of questions once the diaper cakes ended up on her facebook page from family and friends questioning whether the cakes were for her, in which case, they are not ha ha. Sorry Shawna but love the pics! :)

Sassy co-worker cupcake cake....ohhhh la la!

A fellow co-worker of mine just turned __________ years old. She took her birthday off of work but we surprised her when she came back with a super awesome totally rad like for sure sassy cupcake cake. My co-worker calls it her "sassy black girl" cake. Just in case some of you are stuck on being PC about things....the store also makes them in "sassy white girl" cakes as well. She was soo excited and everyone else is really excited for her...and also because there are now 24 cupcakes that need to be eaten asap! Happy Birthday Yolanda!! :)

rEaDiNg-wRiTiNg-aRiThMeTiC..the cost of textbooks makes me sick!

OKay, so as most of you have already guessed-this post is about the cost of college textbooks. I am heading back to school this semester which is a HUGE blessing and I am so excited to be working towards my teaching degree so that I am able to teach preschoolers :)
HOWEVER, I am in the middle of purchasing my textbooks and I cannot believe the ridiculous cost for each one. By the way, did I mention that two out of my four classes are requiring THREE TEXTBOOKS each?!?! They have this new option out where a student can "rent" their textbooks for the semester. It's a great idea and one that I will probably take advantage of. The "catch" to renting your textbooks is of course you don't get to keep them and they are due on or before a set date at the end of the semester. While I don't have a problem with these two stipulations, I do however, have an issue with the renting price being so high. For example, one of my books (used-never buy new) retails for $102 but to rent the book I still have to pay $61! WHAT??? Yes, I understand this is half the cost BUT I don't get the option to sell it back at the end of the semester AND I am RENTING the book! So, where does this leave me now? Well, I have four classes this semester and will need approx. nine books total for said classes bringing my grand total to almost $400 to RENT my textbooks! AHHHHHHHH :-O
Thank you Lord that you provide for ALL OF MY NEEDS and thank you that I am able to earn an education and although I am not pleased with having to spend A LOT of money on my textbooks-thank you Father that the money is there and I am prepared for my first day of school. In Jesus name, Amen.

NOTE from the Editor...

So........
I, the editor of my own blog, would like to recant a statement previously stated (confused yet?) ha ha
My sister, who recently moved to Asheville North Carolina is not "technically" employed at her new location. She is.........

"Serving the organization and local community as a full-time volunteer aka AmeriCorps VISTA. [She has] joined AmeriCorps and will be doing a year of service in Asheville, NC with Lake Eden Arts Festival."

Thank you for your patience in this matter as we (I) always strive to impart truthful knowledge to all of the tens of people who read our blog. My apologies sis! LOL
Love you! :)

McDonalds?!

Behold! The Golden Arches!

Kalyn's new townhouse and amazing views of her new place of employment...love it!

Sideways Rain, trip to Asheville NC, A New Job and a Fancy McDonalds...OH MY!

Hello everyone!
Two weekends ago my mom asked if I would be willing to take a trip to Asheville, North Carolina with her. My sister, Kalyn, is starting a new job there and needed some items brought to her from Gloucester. My mom and I left Saturday morning around 7am and what was supposed to be a 7 hour trip turned into over 9 hours instead. It rained for 6 out of the 9 hours of the trip. Did I mention it was raining sideways? I haven't seen it rain that hard in a long time! I was driving the majority of the trip while it was raining and we had to pull off to the side of the road several times because we couldn't see anything! Oh, by the way, did I mention we were hauling a brand new mattress and boxsprings on top of the bed of the truck? Thankully it was covered in the plastic wrap along with a tarp (just in case it rains, I remember hearing my mom say) lol.
Needless to say, we got there safe and sound and the mattress and boxsprings suffered no permanent damage and is in perfect sleeping condition-thank you LORD!
Once we arrived in Asheville, Kalyn showed us around town and we had the opportunity to eat at some great places. My sister will be living approx. 10 minutes from the Biltmore Estate......SWEEEEEEEEEET! We ventured down to where the estate was and thought we might be able to catch a glimpse of the estate in all of his beauty however, the only thing we were able to see was the building to buy your tickets-bummer! I think the family is planning to go around Christmas so we should see a lot more then :)
Once we left the estate we came out the exit and BEHOLD a sight so lovely it was calling our name.........McDonalds!!
Some of you may not be impressed BUT I will have you know...this was NO ORDINARY McDonalds. This was the big golden arches of them all! Needless to say, we had to travel inside to see the breath taking beauty of what was awaiting us. Lets just say, I have never been so at peace eating a mcflurry. I found myself drifting away on the mini M&Ms that were swirling to and fro in my vanilla ice cream. The soft peaceful sounds of the baby grand piano playing in the background was merely icing on the cake until the words...."can I get a number 5 super-sized" resonated through my ears over the intercom-bringing me back to reality once more.
Aside from the McDonald's made of gold, Kalyn showed us her new place of employment and I must say that I am a little jealous that she gets to pass by green pastures and lakes while driving up through cascading mountains of foliage. I on the other hand get to pass by interstate signs and construction (that I think has been going on since the 80's) and people politely waving (with one finger) as they speed past Jon and I in our super sonic speed civic. Nonetheless, I am so proud of my sister for taking a leap of faith and moving to a new city and job and following her heart. It's not an easy thing to do-especially when you get comfortable in life, but it is something that is necessary in life. Way to go sis!!
There is so much to do in Asheville and I can't wait to explore the new land some more real soon :)
Love you lots sis!

Jon and I losing to Kalyn and Elliot while playing a giant game of chess.

Took in the beautiful view by going horseback riding around the campgrounds over the mountains and through the woods to....

Made a new turkey friend, played mini-golf and enjoyed some ultimate frisbee in the pool.