Christmas baking...Oh how fun!!

We had a great day today! I took the day off today for my girls. We baked all day long! I also let them each have a friend spend the night Sunday night so we could get an early start Monday. We made cut out cookies, oreo balls, ritz P.B. covered in chocolate, chocolate covered pretzel rods and poop. Let me explain the "poop"...It is broken pretzels and marshmallows covered in chocolate. It looks like it's name. All in all we had a very productive day. I think I ran my dishwasher 3 times to get all of the baking sheets and utensils clean. Enjoy the video! I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!!!

The dogs also want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

**Shelby is 2 1/2 years old and 41 lbs (right)

**Annie is 6 months old and 48 lbs. (left)

Baby Shower for Mike & Mara

This past weekend was another fast one! My sister and I had a couples shower for my brother and sister-in-law. We had a good turn out and we had a lot of fun!! Mara looks so good, doesn't she??!!

Mike and Mara told everyone the baby's name...Rohan Alexander Syring. I was honored to have their permission to put it into the crosssword puzzle that I made up for the "game". The crossword was meant to be a fun/learning game. There were only a few people who found my spelling/typing errors. Thanks guys! :)

Anyway, this was the last time I will probably see them before the baby is born. That hit me when I gave my brother a hug when he was ready to leave. I told him, "The next time I see you you'll be a Daddy". WHOA!!! Who would have guessed my little brother would be a Daddy someday. I think Mike and Mara will be terrific parents!




Mike, the bib is not for you!!! Mara, please help him when little baby Rohan gets here...

I couldn't resist this picture Mike! :)

Thanksgiving Weekend

Where do I begin to Thank my Mom and my sister??? If it weren't for them Thanksgiving would have consisted of some type of carry out. As you may or may not know I have been "babying" Pneumonia for the past 2 weeks and also ended up with dehydration of which landed me in the hospital for a day and a half. I was in the hospital on Tuesday and into Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) so Mom and Shell drove down a day earlier than planned to get my "to-do-list" done for the holiday, including my house.

On Thursday we hosted Thanksgiving at our house. It was a huge success with 11 people in all attending. This includes Tony's parents and younger brother. It was really nice to have them all in one area for the holiday. THANK YOU AGAIN MOM & SHELL!!!

On Friday we celebrated my Grandma's 80th Birthday at my house. Again, Mom and Shell were there to save the day. We decorated the house for her with streamers and decorated a carrot cake (her favorite) complete with numbered candles and awesome cream cheese frosting. If you want a really good frosting recipe just ask Shell or I for the recipe. :)

On Saturday we went to the annual Wenndt Family Christmas held in Clarence, Iowa this year. This was also my Grandma's "real" Birthday. She absolutely loved being around her family on her special day. I think she was in 7th heaven and I don't think she has come down from out of those clouds yet?? The family Christmas was a nice chance to see all of my relatives on my Grandma's side. We always set it for the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it is always a good way to get a few extra calories in. HAHAHA!!! They really know what they are doing in the kitchen....Not sure why I didn't inherit those genes??? :)

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!!

The newest member to the Bowers clan

Please help us welcome our newest member into our family. No, its not Shelby, her name is Annie. Annie will be 4 months old tomorrow and she is an F1B Labradoodle. She came from a breeder in Iowa and the home she originally went to couldn't keep her. So she became a rescue dog. She is very loving, even tempered and just loves to snuggle. We found out about her thru, Kim, the lady who owns Contented Canine (where Shelby goes for obedience classes). We have made an appointment for her to get "cleaned up" on Saturday so I hope to have more pictures then. So far so good, keep in mind it has only been 3 hours since we picked her up, but Shelby and Annie are seeming to get along very well. Well, its off to get to find out where everyone is sleeping...

As the fall Dad's Club Soccer season comes to an end, I thought I'd share with you pictures from this year. Taylor played this year with girls ranging from 6th thru 8th grade. They didn't have a very good scoring year but, they played their best and all in in all, I think she had fun. Kaylee played this year with 1st and 2nd graders. She has much improved from her days of "prancing" along side the soccer ball. She gets right in there now. She still "prances" a little, but she is definately getting more aggresive. She is very good at playing the goaly position. she also had a lot of fun this year.

Now, it is time to move to the next sport, basketball. Kaylee is scheduled to start basketball practice on Tuesday night. We haven't heard from Taylor's coach yet, but I am sure that won't be far behind.

I am looking forward to this weekend as my parents are coming down for a visit. The following weekend my sister and my nephew Jackson (her son) will be here. So...a busy couple of weeks here at the Bowers houshold!!!

I hope to get new batteries for my camera, since they seem to die 5 minutes after charging them and placing them in my camera. UGH!!! I'm not quite sure why this happens since they are fairly new batteries. I hope to keep up this blog a little better once I do that.

I hope summer has treated you well. I look forward to the fall and winter as I have a new nephew coming in February. I can't wait to spoil Baby Syring as much as I do Jackson. Gotta love being an Aunt (a.k.a. Tanta). :)