Soccer Boys

Fall soccer has come and gone! Both Reid and Cade played this fall, and they both had a fantastic season.

Cade played with the Little Kickers Program on Monday nights. They played games, learned some drills and just had fun! What more can a three year old ask for! Lauren and Jake also played which made it even more fun!



Little man with some big skills!



Go, Cade, Go!



Soccer Babes



Always smilin'!



Baker Boys: Seth, Brock and Reid
Seth and Reid are in the same class!



I wish these two liked each other! They had a blast playing together!



This guy scored lots of goals this season! He is a speedy little man!



Focused! Go, Reid, go!

P-Dub Book Signing

Last night, my mom and I headed to the local Wal-Marts to meet one of our favorite bloggers, the Pioneer Woman. I have been reading her blog for a few years! I believe my bff, Meredith sent me to her website on the quest for photography tips. That day and a few afterwards, I trudged through her blog, reading recipes, her love story, listening to her taped conversations with her brother, listening to her girls wail for their grandmother, etc. Needless to say, I've been hooked ever since!!! With the recent release of her cookbook, she has been doing book signings around the country. Well, last night she made it to our neck of the woods, and we couldn't resist the chance to meet her!

Mom and Me



Look who else joined us!
Nancy, Carey, and Me



Pioneer Woman



Mom, Ree, and Me; She was super sweet and very beautiful!



Marlboro Man was also there! He was just moseying down the line visiting with everyone and autographing books. And posing for pictures!



There was a GREAT turnout, several hundred would be my guess. As one lady made her way to the end of the line, she said, "What are all these people doing here? I thought Pioneer Woman was my little secret!" Hilarious!

New York City Marathon

What a trip! Last Friday, Ryan and I headed to NYC in order for him to participate in the NYC Marathon!!! Several months ago, he entered his name in the Lottery (which is how they choose their participants) thinking that he would run it in the next couple of years. For NYCM if you don't get in the first two or three years you enter your name, you are guaranteed a spot the third or fourth year. Ryan knew it was something he would like to do in the next couple of years, and if he was going to do one he wanted it to be the best, which is NYCM. Who would have guessed he would get in the first year he tried????!!!! So he began his training several months ago, sacrificing every Saturday for his long runs, getting up early or giving up his evenings to get his short runs in during the week. He has been so dedicated, and it paid off last Sunday when he finished the marathon at a FANTASTIC time of 4:15:25, which was his goal!!!

Marathon Training is soooooo fun! Haha! Prior to any long runs, the bandaging up of the blisters took as long as the runs.





'Twas the night before the NYC Marathon...



The marathon began on Staten Island and made its way through all five boroughs of NYC. The first glimpse Peyton and I got of Ryan was at mile 16 in Manhattan. The crowds were amazing, especially in Manhattan. There are usually around 2 million spectators along the course to cheer on the 40,000+ participants. You had to inch your way up to the ribbon to see your "loved one". The men of FDNY were on their fire truck behind us encouraging the runners. Soooo many runners stopped to take photos of these guys!




After seeing Ryan at mile 16, we made our way over to Central Park to mile 25. At mile 16 the runners looked great, smiling, good form, acknowledging the crowd. At mile 25, not so much. I could tell that Ryan got a much needed boost when he saw us cheering him on.



My Marathon Man and his cheerleaders!!!



The following day at the Marathon Store...



The following day at the finish line in Central Park.



What an experience! If you ask Ryan, he says just that, "it was an awesome experience!" He was a little sore the next day, but considering what he had accomplished, has been in great shape since the marathon. I could not be prouder of him!

Happy First Birthday, Ridge!!!

Scenes from a party...

A very special gift for Ridge from our dear friends, the McClains. All of the guests signed it for the birthday boy. One day this plate will mean so much to him! In the picture of the cake, you can see the front of this plate in the background. So sweet!



The invitation...



Four generations of Bowman men...Morris, Ryan and Ridge, and Roger



I love this picture of Ryan's mom...can you tell Nana was excited to see the birthday boy???!!!



Pop and Mimi and their boys...



YUMMY! He wasn't so sure about the cake at first. Daddy helped him out by giving him some bites, and of course, Reid and Cade were helping themselves to the cake!!!



"Happy Birthday, dear Ridgey! Happy Birthday to you!!!



Our Family...



Greats and Grands...My mom (Becky), my grandma (Glenda) with Ridge, Ryan's grandma (Belle), Ryan's grandma (Violet), and Ryan's mom (Debbie)...these women are as gorgeous on the inside as they are on the outside!



"The Cake"...isn't it adorable!?! A lady from Newport made it, and it was just as delicious as it was cute! www.sabracake.com



"Yea, it's my birthday!!!"



Where did that year go???



Oh, little Ridge, I will never forget the day we found out you existed. We had no idea the plans God had for us and you. You have been an absolute BLESSING! One that we had never planned on having. Oh, how God must have laughed as he formed you knowing how our lives would change for the better! We could never have imagined the blessing you would be to us. The joy you bring to everyone you meet is immeasurable. You are so loved by every person who has had the pleasure of being in your sweet presence. The first year of your little life has flown by. We have made so many memories, and I just can't imagine life without you. You are our precious little lamb baby, and we can't wait to see what God has in store for you. We love you, Ridgey!

Reid's First Day of First Grade

Still playing catch-up! Reid has got a month of first grade under his belt, and he is doing great. First graders hold a special place in my heart since that is the grade that I taught for five years before Reid came along. He has learned so much already! His teacher is really on the ball. Every Monday he gets a "Weekly Review" in the front of his folder that tells what they are working on for the week. It tells the books his teacher is using for Shared Reading, what concepts will be taught in math, his spelling list, any special announcements, and their homework for the week. His homework consists of reading every day for fifteen minutes and recording it onto a reading log, some type of spelling practice and an occasional math practice page. He is such a good student; Ryan and I are so proud of him! Here are a few pictures from his first day.

Brock, Reid, Alyssa and Claire--we were so happy to see some of our favorite people on the way into school on the first day!



Cade and Ridge were not happy that their big brother was going to be gone all day for the next 9 months! Cade misses him terribly during the day!





My big first grader...so handsome!



Reid and his teacher, Ms. Wheeler...she is a cutie too (and makes me feel REALLY old)!!!

Destin 2009

Why the lack of blogging, you ask???? It is because of this trip right here. I have been so overwhelmed by the thought of sorting through the 300+ pictures of our Destin trip and deciding which ones were blog-worthy that I let it put me in a blog-funk. So here it goes. 5. That's right, I'm just posting 5. On top of that, I picked the 5 out in about 30 seconds. So no this isn't going to be the fantastic PERFECT vacation post that I originally set out for it to be, but holy moly, we've got to move on!!! We've got birthday parties, first day of school, soccer, lizards, and just everyday life to get "on record". So here we go, folks...Destin...

We ate, we played, we caught fish and crabs, we surfed, we dug trenches in the sand, we swam, we jumped, we relaxed, we played games, we read, and we thoroughly enjoyed just being together.

We rode bumper boats and go carts...



Ridge and Daddy chillin' at the swimming pool.



My sweetheart...



My other sweetheart...



My little family...




We had a great time and miss the lazy days at the beach.

Wiggly Good Time

On August 3rd, Reid was in Newport with Pop and Mimi, Ridge stayed home with a sitter, and Cade and I got to go with some friends to see The Wiggles! It was so much fun! He has been a HUGE wiggles fan for a couple of years, so I was excited to take him to see a show that I just knew he would love.

Well, he did not disappoint! He sang and danced from beginning to end! I'm not sure if he ever sat down once the show began. At one point in the show, two of the wiggles came out into the crowd. And lo and behold, Murray came up to our section. Who's Murray, you ask...well, Murray is Cade's VERY favorite wiggle. Murray has two things going for him in Cade's eyes...he wears a red shirt, which happens to be Cade's very favorite color AND he plays the guitar, which is Cade's very favorite instrument.

Murray...



"Toot, toot, chugga, chugga, big red car!"



Cade and Jake clapping and singing!



Cade with his program...



Our wiggly crew...Lucy, Alyssa, Jake, Cade, Lauren and Ava!



I had so much fun getting to spend some time with my little Cade. He is such a little sweetheart and a good brother. I'm so glad he and I got to have an afternoon with just the two of us!