The "Merriest" Place on Earth

I figure I better hurry and blog about our trip before Christmas has come and gone and I am even farther behind.

We took the family to Disneyland for part of their Christmas present...thanks Grandma Wood...a>
We ( read Kara ) have always wanted to go during the holidays and it worked out perfectly this year. We went with some good friends that have never been before. It was fun to see everything throught their eyes.

We had a fantastic tour guide, Julie ( if I do say so myself ). The kids had so much fun going on rides over and over. Screamer was the family favorite, except Travis who wouldn't go near the thing! Yes, we were the ones escorted from the coaster because someone was crying so hard, and yelling he wouldn't do it before even getting buckled in.

We all love Disneyland and had a great time! Thanks Muhlestein crew for coming with us.

Synchro starts again

Kaylee had her first meet of the year on Saturday...sorry no pics...and she did great. This year she has to swim in the 13-15 advanced age group, so she is at the very bottom of the heap. But this certainly didn't stop her. Kaylee placed 10th out of 47 competitors. Since she missed half of November practices, we think this is pretty great. She was thrilled.
Several of my nieces swim too. One got 10th out of 20 in the 9-10 advanced, one got 3rd in 8-under novice, and one got 1st, one got 2nd in 8-under advanced. Must be something in the Nichols blood that makes them swim like fish!! We are all proud of these great girls!!

Amazing Awaits

What a great theme for where I just spent 3 days. I just got back from spending the weekend at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs CO.

The food was wonderful, the weather beautiful, and the fact that it was just us girls, even better.

We were trained by sports psychologists, trainers, nutritioists, and other athlete development experts at a coaches college for Synchronized swimming. It was the best training ever. My favorite part was the sports psychologist who spoke to us. Everything she said about helping athletes could be directly applied to raising a family. It was great.

I may never have had an olympic dream myself, but if this is what Kaylee decides to do...I am all for it!!

Support Synchro!! Eat Krispy Kreme!!

Hey all you fellow blog readers...at least those who like to read my blog. I have a huge favor to ask. Kaylee is doing 2 fundraisers for synchro if you are interested at all.

1. Krispy Kreme Coupons...Buy a coupon/gift certificate. Each certificate gives you a dozen donuts. Pay $6 each, or 2 for $10. This will be on going for the entire year...so before you head down to Krispy Kreme, stop by for a certificate and save $1.50 per dozen.

2. On November 8th she is doing a swim-a-thon and would love your support. You can sponsor her by pledging a set amount per lap (200 lap maximum) or a flat rate donation. The monies earned will help offset the cost of her events this year. Your donations don't have to be a lot, she is just excited to earn even a few bucks. If you are interested in donating drop me an email tbowman14 @ cox.net or leave me a comment and I will get back to you. The team that she swims for is a non-profit...which means this fundraiser is tax deductible.

Kaylee thanks you... hope to hear from you.

Pierced ears

Well the big day arrived. We finally got pierced ears on a boy at our house. Not, as I am sure you all are wondering, Todd...It is our very own Travis!! but not in the way typically imagined.


Sunday evening I spent a few hours at Stake meetings and come home to a hospital ward in my bedroom. Seems that something was thrown by Tyler that hit Travis just right and pierced his upper ear. In fact, it went through his ear into his head. Yeah, I'm glad I missed the gory bloody part. Todd mostly had him cleaned up when I got home.


We had our good friend (the dentist... cause who is better qualified with holes in the head?) check it out to see if he needed stitiches. The cost of some butterfly bandages outweighed the $200 ER visit fee to be told no stitiches necessary.


When we asked Trav if we could put an earring in, he was outraged. "I'm not a gurwul (girl), Mom!" Hopefully, we won't have to deal with earrings on a boy again.

Free Purses

So I am not a crazy purse lady, but the chance to win a free purse appeals to me. Handbag Planet is having a give away of a free handbag, 1 handbag every hour 24 hours before they officially open their doors. There are some really cute bags at not horrible prices. Go here to enter to win http://www.handbagplanet.com/contest3

Best Friends

Some of you know that Travis has a bad case of Idol (hero) worship. No it is not the Nintendo. (That would be Tanner)

Travis idolizes Keith Van Oostendorp.

When the Millers moved, Travis was devastated. His 2 best friends (that he still talks about) were gone. The only thing that softened the blow was Keith. Keith was 18 years old at the time, but he rides motorcycles, Travis' great love!! Travis became his shadow almost instantly.


Two weeks ago, Travis had to write a story at school about his best friend. He did not choose the kids at school, or any family member to write about. He chose Keith. Keith has since left on his mission...yes, many tears were shed at our home, especially once Travis realized Keith would miss his baptism day.

Here is his story...spelled just like he did it.

"My Best Friend by Travis Bowman. My best friend is Keith. Keith is alot oder then me. Keith has a dirtbike. It is red. I like to go over to his howes to help him change his tiers and wosh it. Keith is fun. Keith is going on his mishin for to yers. Im going to mis him. I am going to write him leters. Keith is 19 and I am 7. Keith and me like to tolk abaot ploying water footboll and basketball to. I like Keith because he makes me laugh."

We like Keith too. We are so grateful to him for being such a wonderful example of a righteous young man. We hope Travis turns out just like him. The case of hero worship is surely justified!

My baby girl...

Happy birthday to my baby girl. Okay, she's my only girl. I love here deeply. We don't always get along, but I know she loves me too. She is my best friend. I can't believe she is 12 years old. The years have gone so fast. I am so very proud of Kaylee, and all she has accomplished in the few years she has been in our family.

She is a wonderful student, so self motivated. Her grades are nearly perfect, and she doesn't even struggle in school. She is an incredible swimmer, both in speed swimming, and in her new love, Synchro. She has had to make some hard decisions when it comes to synchro, and has gotten flack from some people about those choices. She made these decisions after much prayer. We are proud of her determination to excel at a sport, and keep her standards high and testimony strong, even if others don't agree with her decisions. She is a good example and missionary to her teammates and other swimmers. The choices she has made in the sport, and opportunities she has sacrificed show what a stong testimony she truly does have .

She is a great example to those around her. I constantly hear from others how great she is. (Even though I sometimes wonder which child they are really talking about). She is a loyal friend, kind and compassionate. She is also a pleaser, always wanting others to be happy with her. She has a few very close friends, but not one best friend.

We think Kaylee is wonderful and we are very proud of her and the choices she makes each day, (when she is not tormenting her brothers).

Happy birthday to our princess Kaylee!!

Frustration!!

You know what ticks me off? I drive all the way across town to take Kaylee to Swim team practice...not synchro... only to sit in the parking lot for 20 minutes and then find out practice is cancelled. Someone needs to tell that swim team we are working with about notifying swimmers about changes!!! I feel better now, and probably won't yell at that coach now!!

Viva Las Vegas!

Mike and Kristie hosted us for a mini family reunion in Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend. We had the best time hanging out at their new house, and seeing some (censored) things on the strip.

Mike and Kristie: The best hosts ever
Mike and Kristie got the adults tickets to see the Cirque de Soleil show Mystere. It was AWESOME. I can't believe the incredible strength the performers have. Sure made me want to hit the gym more, and get Todd there too. I would have never imagined people could do those things, or that I would be so entralled the entire time!
The 3 brothers, yep, Todd is oldest and smallest
The Bowman Grandkids Our family
Chris, Rachael, Lexie. Emileigh is home sleeping with Grandma

We went to the Mandalay Bay Aquarium, to see the MGM Lions, the M&M World, the Venetian gondolas, and the Bellagio water show. We tried to see the Treasure Island pirate show, but it was cancelled. We later heard that it was a good thing we missed it, because it would not have passed the censor for our kids. I think the Bellagio was the biggest hit. The kids just wanted to stay and watch more and more.
We spent lots of time in the pool, and eating. We took the kids to church on Sunday, trying to explain that the church is the same no matter where you go, but some of the kids had a hard time understanding why their building was so small. (Yeah, we usually attend at the Stake Center, this was a regular size building)
Thanks for a great weekend. We can't wait to come see you again. It was great!

Hallelujah!! and you want me to drive where???

Well it was back to school for the Bowman's. It is amazing to read friend's blogs and hear how excited their kids are to pick out school clothes, supplies, etc. My kids pretty much did not care about anything this year. Basically, I was lucky to get them dressed in clean clothes with no holes. Even Kaylee wasn't too interested in planning an outfit. And Ty, well he's just too cool for school anyway. But I sent them off, glad for another 9 months of somewhat peaceful days.
Little did I know what was in store...I went to work full time for Todd doing Real Estate. I am working with 4 separate clients, who are having trouble finding exactly what they want. Numerous 5 -6 hour trips to the 3 other corners of the Valley... Goodyear, Surprise, and Queen Creek, have filled my days for the past 6 weeks. And hours searching properties, making offers, and searching again have filled my evenings. Hopefully this will all pay off soon!
Not to mention the coaching I am doing for swimming and synchro this year, and Oh yeah, preschool 3 days a week. I have a feeling I will be busier than ever this school year. Who said when all your kids are in school it gets easier???

Okay, I'm a slacker, I get it!

So it's been 2 months since I last wrote. In fact, if it weren't for the many comments I hear about what a slacker I am, I probably still wouldn't be writing. Now you all know why I don't keep a journal. There is no one prodding me along. So here is a quick recap of our end of summer...
Kaylee did great at Nationals...5th in Solo, 10th in team. Since they have all swam 3 years or less, (mostly less) this is awesome.



While in New York, I got to spend a few hours in Palymra and the Sacred Grove. What a wonderful experience. Todd flew out on a free ticket to watch Kaylee swim. What a surprise for her. She was thrilled. Not such a great trip for Todd...He came down with MONO and the rest of the month was awful. (for me too).

In July, Mom left for girl's camp, and Dad had to be in charge. He had to take the kids to the City Finals swim meet by himself. Whil all of our kids did great this summer, Tanner was our City Champ. He won 2 golds and a silver, clinching the High Point trophy.
We got to spend a week in Carlsbad CA at the beach. This is exactly what the DR ordered for Todd and for the rest of us too. What a great relaxing vacation of doing a whole lot of nothing. The boys all learned to surf too. Here are some pics we took while there.

New York and then some

Our trip to NY was quite the event. The short story is like this... When we arrived at Sky Harbor Thurs. eve, our red eye flight was delayed. This made us miss our connections the next morning. US Airways tried to rebook us getting us into Binghamton at 12:18 Sat. morning. Unfortunately, Kaylee needed to be at the pool Fri. evening at the latest. After much searching, and frankly, demanding on my part, half of our team got rebooked to fly to JFK in NY City arriving at 7:30 am. Binghamton is only 200 or so miles away, so we could rent a car a drive there by noon. We left JFK by 9 am and by 9:30, we had a flat tire...while in the BRONX.
Not necessarily where you want to be with 6 pale skinned females by themselves!! Luckily, this super nice guy helped us change the tire, and we were off to get it fixed.
The tire repair guy tried to fix it, but said "it probably won't hold for long, and besides, have you noticed the other 3 tires are bald?" So off we went to the "nearest" rental car stop, LaGuardia airport, to exchange the mini van for a new car. All they had was a Lincoln Navigator. Now this would not be bad, but with gas... (okay no social or political commentary here). Finally we were back on the road. Thank goodness for GPS units in the cars, or we would not have known where we were going. Pretty soon, we crossed into NJ. And then, possibly into Penn. We stopped for lunch, now noon, and had to ask the waitress what state we were in. You should have seen her face!! But yes, it was Penn. When we were just out of Scranton, PA., 67 miles from the pool, I was caught saying, only 1 more Hour or so. Famous last words. 2 miles out of town, we hit major road construction. There was no off ramps to get off the highway, even had we known where to go. We went 4 miles in 2 hours. Finally, we got to the pool in Binghamton at about 7pm. Only 7 hours late. Kaylee missed her pool practice time, and workout time. As for the other half of the team... suffice it to say, 4 different flights to 4 different cities, only to have to drive the final hour and a half to get to the pool. And the original flights we were rebooked on...either overbooked...or cancelled. We found out that had we stayed with US Airways original plan for us, we would not have arrived until Sat. afternoon...if at all!!. We stayed in this awesome Victorian home built in 1902. It had 7 bedrooms, and 4 bathrooms. It was wonderful.

Our national Champ!!

Wow, what a trip!!! More details to follow when I have a few minutes to spend time on the computer...
Kaylee placed 5th in her solo and 10th in her 13-15 team event.

Can you believe Tanner is NINE??

Tanner's birthday finally arrived on Monday. He has been counting down for about 3 weeks, every day telling us how many more days until his birthday. Since his mom is so mean, and stops doing big friend parties when the kids turn 7, Tanner only got a "late night" with 1 friend. But if you ask him, it was still pretty cool. He chose to go to Golden Spoon instead of having a cake for his birthday. It wasn't hard to convince mom not to bake!! We love our Tanzanita and are so glad he is part of our family. He brings such joy and silliness to us every day.

Lounge Duet

For those of you who have asked about what Kaylee really does, here is a video from her last meet. She is the taller swimmer, towards the back or top usually.

Summertime...

I have always made a lot of family fun plans for summer. However, they often get pushed aside by the vast amount of Swim Lessons I end up teaching. Since swim lessons pay for our family vacations, I have always justified the amount of time I am gone as necessary for our family to do fun things without pulling from the budget. It became easier to justify once I stopped paying a babysitter.

It feels like a great compliment when people call and want me to teach lessons to their kids, either because they know me, or are referred to me from others. I must be doing something right, because I quit advertising lessons 10 years ago, and still have more swimmers than I can handle.

When people call me and my lessons are full, I feel so bad about dissapointing them that I end up scheduling more lessons. Pretty soon I am teaching 5 or 6 days a week, 6-8+ hours, and my family gets the shaft. I am so tired by the end of the day that the kids get sandwiches and cereal for meals, and tv for an activity.

After having to cancel 2 family vacations last summer, I decided to cut way back on lessons this year. However, this year people started calling in January to set up lessons. CRAZY!! By the beginning of April, I was booked. I had to say no to a heck of a lot of people. (if you were one of them I am really sorry.)

This summer, by June 26th, I will be mostly done. July and the first part of August is going to be all about us. (If you can count scout camp, girls camp, swim team and meets, and Synchro Nationals as family time.) We are going to be schedule -less, and do tons of fun things. No more neglecting my kids for the promoting of public water safety, enjoyment of teaching, and the all mighty dollar.

I love this quote, and it helps me remember what it is all about...

"…but the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three on them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4, and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in a hurry to get on to the next things: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."
{Anna Quindlen}

and back to Kaylee...

Now for Kaylee's big news. She has worked hard all year, and sacrificed a lot of different things including birthday parties, ELP Field trips, and play time for Synchro. It all paid off this weekend. Kaylee had a big Regional synchro meet Friday and Saturday. Kaylee qualified in her solo and her team routine to go to Age Group Nationals in New York this summer. Her duet barely missed qualifying by 0.05 points. (In my opinion, she and her partner Olivia were robbed!! Those stinking judges!!) So when you get hit up for tax deductible donations or fundraising attempts in the next month from Kaylee, remember it is for a good cause. Krispy Kreme coupons anyone???

League Champs!!

Tanner has been playing baseball for the Minors Angels team. After a season of 13 wins and 2 losses, he played in the Championship game on Friday night. The Angels were actually ranked number 2 for the season, but after a nail biting 4 inning game, they prevailed over the Tigers in a 5-0 victory to clinch the league Championship. Way to go Tanner!!

Cooperstown, here we come

Spring means baseball at our house. All 3 boys play, but I only have pics of Tanner and Travis. Ty plays on a major league sized field which makes it hard to get a good shot. (Unless Todd buys me the Canon camera I want with the zoom lens...hint hint.) They all love playing and are getting really good. Baseball keep us busy about 5 nights a week. Someday, you may head to Chase Field to watch our MLB player score the game winning run!

Spring for the Bowman Family

Spring has come and gone, (yeah, it only lasts about 2 weeks here) and the Bowmans have been busy. Besides all of Kaylee's swim meets, we had the Annual Bow-Stein Family Olympics, and a ski trip for Ty's 13th birthday. These pics are a month old, but still fun to see.

Birthday Boy

Travis celebrated his 7th birthday last week. We had a family party, and then a party with friends. When I asked Travis what kind of party he wanted, pirate, cowboy, etc... he said all he wanted was a party with games. We had a lot of fun playing all of the old fashioned games.




Pin the tail on the donkey, 3 legged race, obstacle course, duck duck goose, etc. Travis had one specific person who was a must invite, so we planned his party around her availability. (My first child with a serious crush at 7, thanks for coming Kalley!!)

Wow, my baby is getting big, does this mean I am old??

All about Me?

Yeah, so this blog really isn't all about Kaylee. We all know it's all about me. All the time. No, Seriously. Okay, whatever. But it does seem my life has been consumed by Kaylee these past few weeks. Synchro has taken over our lives, and will continue for at least another month. On the other hand, so has baseball, I just don't have any pictures of the boys yet. This week, I promise.

Kaylee had her AZ state meet conference weekend. She did great. Kaylee placed 2nd out of 86 in her figures, 2nd of 13 in her duet, 3rd of 8 in her solo, and 3rd in her team. With all the metal around her neck, it was good that we didn't fly home. She qualified in all events to go to regionals which is in May. From there, we hope she makes it to Nationals in New York.

Then this past weekend was her big watershow/fundraiser (like a dance recital). What a huge event, and tons of work to pull it off. Thanks to those who came to support Kaylee.

**PS If you did not know, Vanessa Bodrero swims with Kaylee. She did great. Vanessa has learned tons this year. There is always a daddy/daughter, or older brother/sister routine in the show. You will have to ask Spencer how he likes swimming Synchro, and ask Marie if she has any pictures. Spencer was great!

Justification??

A good piece of chocolate has about 200 calories. As I enjoy two servings per night, and a few more on weekends, I consume 3,500 calories of chocolate in a week, which equals one pound of weight per week.Therefore...In the last 3 1/2 years, I have had a chocolate caloric intake of about 180 pounds. I weigh much less than that, so without chocolate, I would have wasted away to nothing about three months ago! I owe my life to chocolate.

Million Dollar Mermaid

She's not Esther Williams, but Kaylee is our own little million dollar mermaid. She is so accomplished at Synchronized swimming, and she's only been doing it for 18 months. Kaylee swims with the 13-15 year old team, and also does a trio and a solo. She had a great meet this weekend placing 4th, 6th and 7th. Not being allowed to go to practice is the best threat we have to make sure she gets her work done!! Ask Kaylee to tell you all about synchro and she can talk your ear off. She absolutely loves it. And yes, that really is jello in her hair!!