A Week Never to be Forgotten

It all started on Monday. I met Kevin and Tenille at the courthouse. It was time to finally finalize this adoption! It was an exciting and, at moments, stressful day! Kambry was so cute. We first were in the courthouse. I snapped a few shots. Unfortunately, once in the judge's chamber, I used Kevin and Tenille's camera. The judge was very kind. It was a wonderful moment when he declared this adoption done and the file closed. The joy on the faces of Kevin and Tenille was priceless!!!

Friday we were again gathered together. This time in the temple. My boss performed their sealing. As they were made a forever family, Kambry stared right into Kevin's eyes. It was wonderful. Kevin was accused of hogging all the attention to which Tenille said, "He always does that." It was funny. Afterwards, we went outside and took pictures. It was a beautiful Spring day!! Here are a few of the pictures. Look at the proud parents and grandparents:

 Quick Bowler family photo (minus a couple of cute boys who were off having fun with someone):

Spencer had a pretty flower when we came out. I wonder...did he find it on the ground or pick it off the plant. I guess we will never know.

 After I took the picture of Janine, Jason, and Lucas, here is where I found Spencer and Lincoln. Brian was having fun tickling Lincoln's neck with his goatee...

 Kevin and Joey have been friends since they were old enough to know what friends are. Behind Joey and Colony is Justin and Tiffany, another one of Kev's friends. Chad and Jenny were also there. Kevin and Tenille had a lot of friends and family there for their special day!!

These are a few pictures I snapped while the photographer was setting up her shots. I think they turned out pretty good. Please ignore if they are a bit blurry. As Kevin often points out, my camera is REALLY old and has since died on me. I guess it's time to get a new camera and one with definite sure shot so that my shaking, which is getting much worse, won't cause the pictures to mess up. Regardless, I think these next few pictures turned out great.

 Aren't they just so cute??

Look at this one. I snapped it on our way back into the temple. Like I said, it was a beautiful day!!

After they were in street clothes, we went up on the COB Plaza and took a few. I like this one a lot. I love the looks on their faces as they look at each other. Do you think they are a little bit happy???

Thought I'd include a few outtakes:

Joni took a lot of amazing pictures on Temple Square while she had my camera. Eventually I will post them. But for now, I'll show you her favorite spot. I snapped this shot right as we were going in to the entrance for parking. I thought I would post it for her.



Perspective Gained

I have heard no end of complaints lately from many people about the weather we have had. And I'm sure what we woke up to this morning didn't help. Here's how my yard looked this morning:

You got it...covered in 4-inches of snow. It was absolutely beautiful. Although being that it is April 30th, I'm sure people were not exactly seeing it as beautiful as I. I always love snow. It's a beautiful blanket of clean over the ground and, as the song states, it becomes a "Marshmallow World." This seemed to be a heavier snow. Look at my poor Japanese Maple struggling under the weight.

My crabapples are getting ready to bloom which, I have often said, is their one redeeming feature. I love these trees in Spring with their bright magenta blossoms. They are absolutely beautiful. Give it a couple of days and they will be blossoming like crazy...that is if the snow didn't harm them.

And as yet, Spring is alive and well.

As I was leaving for my temple shift, I could see how fast it was going to melt. There was a slope to the snow where the sun had already started to melt it. By the time I returned this afternoon it was all gone.

Spring here in Utah has brought snow, sun, wind, and rain all in the same day. We have had many grey days. The tulips and other flowers are later than usual. My plans to put my garden in this last Thursday did not come to pass due to the wet ground making it impossible for me to get out and till.

However, when we look beyond the immediate surroundings, what is a little snow and cold temperatures when others in the Southeast are struggling? The tornadoes that came through a couple of nights ago wiped out homes, neighborhoods, and cities. So many people died. My heart aches for those in the affected areas. Please keep them all in your prayers.

It's official...Spring has sprung!

Well, the first glimpses of spring came a few weeks ago with my flowers starting to bloom. Aren't they pretty?

Spring is full of rebirth of everything...including grass and weeds. Other than fertilizing, I have been successfully ignoring my lawn, but last night I could ignore it no longer. I broke down and got out and mowed my lawn. Doesn't it look so nice? (Don't look too close.)

Next steps...getting serious about getting my garden shaped up. I see the need for a few days off in my near future. Maybe next week I can do that while my boss is away, that is if the ground dries out enough to till. Any thoughts about what I should plant?

It was and all-in-one kind of day

WARNING: This is going to be a long post. Too many things happened in one day.

So, April 10th was what I would term an "All-in-One" day. Lucas was blessed. There was a luncheon afterwards which was great. Then we had our monthly get-together with an Easter Egg Hunt. It was crazy. People coming and going. Brian and Brett both surprised us and were there at the festivities. It was wonderful!!

Here's the group after the blessing. Too many people to list and some faces are hiding (not on purpose...I think).

I caught this cute picture of Neens with Lucas. She kept him in his whites for awhile afterwards. Gutsy to say the least but there were not any mishaps so it all worked out.

Look that furrow. She's looking at the camera as if to say, "What  you looking at fool?" Still cute though. You just have to smile!

 It was a cold day. Joni (our little St. Georgian) was not prepared for it. She had left her coat at her place in St. George. Somehow she conned Cory's suit coat off of him. She wrapped up in it and was good. Joni's friend Beth came up with her for a weekend away. Look at Brittney. She looks like she is freezing as well.

Spencer was showing me his little flower he found. Really, there is one there. Isn't he such a handsome little man?

Look at this other handsome man. He kept hiding from everyone by going around this little pillar. Both Lincoln and Spencer are such great big brothers.

This was right as we returned from Church. Micah, Spencer, and Sam were all out playing on the rocks in front of Mom's house. Micah is wearing her "Tangled" dress.

 Lincoln loves to talk on the phone now...real or play. I think during this call he was talking to Joni, even though Joni was sitting right there.

 Little Lucas asleep in his white blessing outfit.

 Check out beautiful Becky! Kambry really was having a good time. I must have caught her mid-blinking.

Look at this handsome couple. Brett had surprised us all by coming for the party. He had just flown in from Florida where he had been for training. It was unbelievable to have them all with us.

Janine had planned an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. She had a ton of eggs all filled with various candies, toys, and other items. To distract them while we set up the hunt (i.e. throwing the eggs around the backyard), I put "Tangled" on my iPad and gave it to Micah and Spencer to watch in the other room. It was so cute to watch them cuddle up on the sofa. One thing was certain: Micah knows "Tangled" by heart. She was saying the lines right before they were said in the movie. It was so cute.

Here's Bri with his new toy. He has bought a new camera. He was poised and ready to get a picture of the kids coming out. I decided to get a picture of that. He ended up turning the tables on me. Drat my slow camera.

The next few pics are of the hunt. There were a ton of eggs all over the backyard.

I took a ton of pictures while we were out there. It's hard to really describe but these kids were going crazy! They were running all over sometimes passing eggs just in the frenzy of it all. Look at Spencer's basket. It was full and not all the eggs were up yet. I think Janine went in and grabbed him another bag.

Even Zachary got into it. Joni had put a few eggs together that sounded like baby rattles. They were filled with loose Nerd candies.

Lincoln saw others shaking their eggs and started to check it out for himself. I love this photo. At least my camera caught it. I would have been sad if I had missed it. He walked around the backyard crouching down, picking up eggs, and shaking them.

Look at the haul!!

A good time was had by all, including the adults who snitched some of the candy as the eggs were being opened and emptied. Thanks Neens for the fun time.

March Party

Since Kevin and Tenille were in charge of dinner, Kevin did what Kevin does best...BBQ! We all headed over to their place to party it up! We played a fun game called, "What's Yours Like?" It was a lot of fun!! We sure missed Brian and his family, Brett and his family, and Joni though. 

Lincoln was so sick but it didn't get him down. Look at those eyes...

Cute family photo. We don't usually get them all together because usually Neens has a camera in her hands. But I caught them. Wahoo!!!

Here's Kev and Tenille. I promise, they really were having a good time...although looking that this picture it looks like someone just gave them shocking news off camera.

Kevin got a new awesome camera last fall!!! He seems to love it. We decided to take a picture of each other.

Here's cute little Kambry. She's 4.5 months here. Look at those beautiful eyes. She has the best smile!!

 Since I was holding Kambry, I told Spencer that he could take a couple of pictures with my camera. Here is one that he snapped of Mom. 

OK, so no...Kambry does not have a big head. It's just her shadow on the wall behind us. She loves to be held standing up which suits me fine since I am good to stand.

Little Lucas! He's changing so fast. I always forget how fast they change!