Like father like son...

Camden made his basketball debut today with the Upward basketball team. He scored the first time he touched the ball and made a very good showing of his first time on the court. Even though he thinks his dad is too tough on him (he keeps forgetting that he father spent several years pacing up and down a basketball court) he did quite well for a short white boy with half of my genetic composition. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a great season!

Before and after

Since we had a snow day - yes, a snow day in Tifton, Georgia - I thought I would use the time to my advantage. I had two unvoluntary volunteers to help clean since there wasn't actually any snow to capture their attention. We spent 5 hours (yes, 5 hours) cleaning the rooms and closet. I am sure that the small family living in the back of Caelan's closet was not happy about being evicted, but I was thrilled to have order restored. Yes, I realize that this will not last (which is what Camden quickly point out to me) but for a short period of time, there was perfection in the universe...

From before and after

A wish for the new year...

The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions. -Alfred Lord Tennyson

May your year be filled with passionate happiness!

Marshall and Chanon

Happy New Year in the hood!

out with the old and in with the new! We continued the Bowers Springhill tradition of bringing in the new year with friends and fabulous food. Many predictions were made (some true and others great fantastical wishes) but the highlight of the evening was definitely the fellowship. Thanks again to Pendy and Emmet for opening their home (which has had a revolving door since the middle of December) to their so-not-wild-and-crazy neighbors!

An Oklahoma Christmas...

With Marshall maning the camera and I played elf, we celebrated yet another Oklahoma Christmas. No pictures of the Dirty Santa game we played, but I am happy to report that I am currently under the heating throw I stole from my sister and we enjoyed homemade ice cream last night from the Cuisinart ice cream maker. A good time was had by all!

You know you are a big girl when...

your favorite Christmas gift (other than the amazing camera Marshall gave to me) is a 10 quart stock pot! Thanks Mom! I have already put it too good use and made a double batch of taco soup. Only drawback, I am too short to see into the pot so I have to stand on the tips of my toes to see what's cooking!

Snow bunnies...

The day after the blizzard of 2009...

Caelan went to Nana's to help cook and Camden and Mary Mauldin decided to venture out into the snow...a bit was eaten, but mostly they attempted to master the drifts in my grandparents backyard...not too successfully as you can see.

Christmas Eve...

Much thanks to Whitney for hosting this year's Christmas Eve gathering...the presents were slightly damp due to the snow and fire brigade transfer from car to garage to living room, but the children didn't seem to notice. After enjoying chicken nuggets, shrimp, and chips and dip, we dove into the presents to see what we could find. I was not fast enough to get a picture of Diego as he unwrapped his 4,000 piece Lego Star Wars set, but I hope to have a picture of the finished produce soon.

The Blizzard of 2009!

Nothing like a white Christmas! Try 14 inches of white on top of a few inches of sleet...welcome to an Oklahoma winter wonderland! The children enjoyed the weather - managed a few snowball fights, but being from South Georgia, they couldn't take the wind! We had to postpone Christmas because all the highways were closed. You can tell by the roads and those attempting travel, it was rather tricky. We did not even attempt to tackle the roads in the minivan!

Happy Birthday!

Caelan and Camden have done it again! Caelan celebrated her 8th birthday with her bookclub friends and Camden is officially old enough to watch his sisters for at least two hours without adult supervision! His parents are thrilled - he is not. We managed to pull of Camden's favorite Oklahoma meal - hot tamales with beans and rice and had a cake (no thanks to Wal Mart - the bane of my existence!). All-in-all, the birthdays were a success!

From December_2009_birthdays