Summer Catch-Up

Hopefully The Sick has left our lives until the next munchkin comes along (knock on wood), so I think it's about time to get back to our blog! There's a lot to catch up on from this summer, it was a GREAT one. So - are you ready? Take a deep breath and grab a bottle of water...this will be a marathon.

In June, we had the AMAZING chance to attend a family reunion/memorial for my great aunt Joy with my mom's side of the family a few hours north. The large majority of my family came out the week preceding and we all got to hang out, it was SO much fun! (by the way, I cannot for the life of me figure out how NOT to be a total idiot at my new photo editor, so many of my photos inexplicably have Chili Pop Designs in the corner haha).

I spent a really fabulous day with my momma, sister Leah, Haley and Sam out in Pomona where my mom grew up. We had such a great time hiking around the cabin where my mom spent many childhood vacation days
Then we got a grand tour of her old homes, those of our family members, and her schools. So neat! We rounded off the trip with a stop at the cemetary to visit the graves of many of our Bowen loved ones, including my grandparents, their parents, and my uncle Gary.
I loved hearing all of the stories from my mom's childhood and seeing her just come alive being back in those places! It was such a neat opportunity.

The rest of the week was spent a lot like this, just hanging out with the fam.
So great! Then off to our reunion/memorial. At the reunion we spent a day at King's Canyon National Park - freaking awesome. We hiked around and looked at magnificent trees
Climbed through magnificent trees (that sometimes had huge boulders grown right into the roots!)
And had a great time in general with our family
Even baby Brennan got in on the action
That night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our extended family, full of fond memories of Auntie Joy and the wonderful person she is. Unfortunately, Sam was not interested in sitting still, so I only got one picture of the affair.
Next morning, we all gathered at the orange orchard that Auntie Joy and her husband used to own and had a lovely memorial for her in the middle of her beloved orange trees. It was really beautiful.
We buried her ashes amidst the trees and left a beautiful arrangement of flowers over the site.
It was a spectacular weekend and we felt so blessed to be a part of such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Meeting my mom's extended family that I've heard stories of my whole life was amazing, and we all had such a great time.

July brought me & Paul's 4th anniversary, which we spent at Magic Mountain together (thanks for the tickets, Em & Ry!). We had a great time adding narration to all of the teenage couples making out. :)

We spent our second 4th of July with our De Leon friends, hanging out at the carnival & watching the fireworks in Moore Park, it was great!
Sam & Eli spent most of the time teaming up to wheedle out all of the treats in the various bags & wagons
Sammy definitely had a love/hate relationship with the fireworks. He kept pulling the blanket over his head but then yanking it down and yelling "oooooh!" Notice his tightly-closed eyes but ecstatic mouth underneath the pacifier.
July 24th was Sammy's 2nd birthday!! We had a simple monster themed party in the park, with monster party hats,
monster cupcakes
(that were apparently delicious)
and a monster pinata

It was a great time!

In August Paul headed back to work after a wonderful vacation, which he spent razor-free. He had a little fun (inspired by Ted Mosby) shaving it off again after a month.

I convinced him to sport it CHiPpy style for a couple of days, but much to my dismay, it did not last long. You know you want a kiss.

We also had to say good-bye to Christine, the BEST BABYSITTER EVER, as she dumped a promising career in on-call babysitting for a scholarship to BYU. Lame, right? We miss her. Like, painfully. But we are so excited for her to get to pursue her education!

WHEW!!!
There it is, in a (large) nutshell. A fantastic, superb summer full of the folks we love most. Couldn't ask for anything better.

Love, mary