It's September 26th. School started August 20th. Which means my last post was over a month ago. Just call me the bloggin' queen!! And for someone who makes her living with a camera, aren't the photos on this blog AMAZING?

OK...I'll go a little easier on myself. I read other's cute creative blogs, and while I consider myself creative, when it comes to blogging...I'm NOT! I'm just RANDOM. It's a personal journal of sorts, and anyone who knows me knows I love to write in my journal(s)...this blog is a definate extension of that.

In my last post, I talked about working on becoming a morning person. I'm actually doing OK! I don't make it up at 5:30 every morning, but I do manage to be up and about and really enjoy my mornings with my kids and hub before the madness of the day begins. Not to say I don't HATE morning, and get a case of the Sunday night blues thinking...ugh, another week of this. When I wake up I just dont want to get up. I once heard a wise person say however, that she tells her kids that "the first five minutes (of waking) are the worst." Thats so true! Make it off the pillow and off the potty...and you're pretty much up and at it.


My favorite things about morning:
Karly, in her pink pajamas or nightgown, jumping happily out of bed the minute we wake her. She is all smiles and cuddles and pillow-messed hair...SUCH a morning girl. She thuds around through the house looking for toys or her cup...I love the vision of her in her PJ's.

Zac, in his favorite Sponge Bob PJ's, usually lying sprawled out on our bed (where he ends up every morning) absolutely ignoring all my and Dave's attempts to wake him (Zac is NOT a morning person). Sometimes we finally get him giggling and he'll wake up, sometimes I have to literally lift him off the bed and do the "Zombie Walk" (Me, supporting him from behind, both of us with our arms stretched out in front of us kinda like Frankenstein, and me moving his feet with mine)

We all usually snuggle up on the couch, and catch a little of The Wiggles, or Bob the Builder, if it's Karly's turn to choose, or if it's a Zac morning, Tom & Jerry or Sponge Bob. (I love Sponge Bob. I watch it when the kid's are not around!)

Finally, I end up pausing the TV (love the DVR generation!) and we get dressed. I love dressing Karly. She's getting more and more independent, but still lets me dress her. We play a silly game everytime...I pretend to be in a panic when we pull her shirt over her head "Ahh! Oh no! Where's Karly? Where is she?" then feign relief when her little smiling face pops thru the neck line "Oh!! Whoo! There she is!" Then we repeat with hands, and legs, and she is giggling like crazy...and then to top it off the "sock monster" comes sniffing around, hungry for toes and eats her toes as we put her socks on. Giggles, laughing, wonderful moments I want to remember forever and want my kids to remember! Zac does the same games with her...and gets her laughing! Or, if we're having a "cranky " morning, the kids (and usually the big people) fight a bit.

Some mornings we fight, some mornings we laugh, all mornings we love each other.

I think my favorite times are when we all start out cranky but manage to turn it around through humor. One day we were just all on one and laying into each other, and I just started singing in this really gravelly-low pitched voice (To the tune of the Primary Song 'We are a Happy Family': "I hit Zacky, he hits me, we hit Mommy yes-sir-ree, we all smacked Dad and so you see, we are a CRANKY FAM-ILL-LEE!" Giggles help, when you're ready to beat your kids!

When it's time to leave, if I'm staying behind and working at home I always end up out in the garage giving last second hugs and kisses....heaven forbid, but if something were to ever happen to any one of us, I want the last thing my kids and hub to hear me say to them is "I love you."

We had a tragedy in our community this past week. A beautiful 12 year old boy, star wrestler,(Literally a decorated national wrestling champion) future missionary, the only boy in a family of 4 other girls, all around awesome kid...died in a tragic accident while on a scout trip. I've known him and his family for years, took his picture before he was baptized, and while we are not close to his family, we are aquainted. Good people. I cannot and do not want to understand the pain they must feel. It has shaken me to the core, and reminded me how fragile and precious our lives are. I can honor this boy by loving my own kids more, by appreciating them and hugging them and enjoying their silliness and seriousness and loving every single minute with them. When I'm exasperated with one of them (or both, which happens often) I remind myself to be grateful that I have them around to be exasperated with.

Every night when we're home and we're all in bed, I'm so thankful to have had another day with these people that are my life.

Guess I better go to bed. Soon it will be morning.

New (School-) Year Resolutions....

Zac starts school tomorrow. 2nd grade! Summer is over...sigh. No more lazy mornings...all effeciency and organization now. Yeah, right, as if that were my life!

I'm so not a morning person...but this year I'm determined to become one. Last year I was a slug, rolling out of bed after the kids got up (thanks to a sweet husband who wakes up bright eyed and bushy tailed before the crack of dawn...) This year my plan is to get my bottom outta bed by 5:45 so I can have a little me time to read, etc, shower and be all ready to go before the kids get up at 6:30...then be able to spend time with them in the morning instead of rushing around and swearing because we're all late getting out the door every day. This is my plan. Can I do it? Remains to be seen!

I hear that if you do something for 2 weeks, it becomes habit. Can I make getting up early a habit? Hope so! Never have yet! Well, that's not true, there was that 18 months when I was a missionary, I got up early every day then...and college, I actually did make it to early classes...but that was all pre-kid and pre-old age!!! In those days, sleep was an option...now it's a neccessity.

Now on to my whine of the day:

Am I the only one who HATES that school started this year in mid-August? Hello!!! It's still summer! Fall is WEEKS away, and the fact that I have to cover my son's west-facing window to darken his room so he can go to bed early enough is ridiculous!!!

Ok, enough whining. I am glad Zac will be heading back to school for one reason...no more "Mom, I'm BORED" on a daily basis.

Bye bye!

Bowls full of Bowls!

Hello blogging world...we're here.
It's the Bowles (that's BOWLS as in plates, cups, and bowls, not BOW-ELS, as in internal organs!) blog....me (Marie), husband Dave, Zachary (who turned 7 yesterday) and Karly who is 2.

I've kept a journal for over half my life (since I was 14)....and figure this is just a more visible way to record the who, what, why, when, where and how of my life...and my family.

Family is where it is AT. Jeremiah (Dave's oldest son, and big brother to my kids) and his wife Alida and their Kansas Clan are here this week...we've had so much fun just hanging out together. The house is a wreck (usually is anyway, I hate cleaning) and it's so noisy sometimes I want to lose my mind, but oh how I will miss them when they head back to Kansas tomorrow. Karly will miss Julianna (age 3) so much...I know that her lip that will come out when she finds out "Nana" had to go home. They are just best friends! And it's been so nice having kids around for Zac to play with...life on the farm is pretty isolated in the summertime, and it can be lonely for a kid. I remember as a child wishing for other kids to play with...and Zac feels that way now too.

Life is just good. I'm grateful for my family...I'm grateful to have knowledge and faith through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that my family is eternal. I'm now glad to have this blog (Thanks, Alida!) to share and record feelings and family fun.

Goodbye for now!
Marie