The Bowens in Washington D.C.

This summer my parents and my family went on a road trip to Michigan and Maryland! My dad's family lives in Michigan and my in-laws live in Maryland. I was going to post the trip as one but saw there was so much to share that I would post them seperately.

I am starting at the end of the trip which makes no sense other than that is how I downloaded the pictures. DD and YaYa live in Maryland which is very close to Washington D.C. We decided to take a day and spend it in Washington D.C. DD broke out with poision oak the day before we got there so he was not able to go with us. The first stop was Arlington Cemetary. I know the girls are way too young to understand what it is and why it is there but knowing why it is there is breathtaking. Alexandra was interested and asking a lot of questions. When she gets older and understands it, it will be neat to share these pictures with her. After we saw all of the very important monuments at the cemetary we moved on to the landmarks around Washington D.C. The girls were troopers in the heat! Our last stop was the Smithsonian of history which had lots of dinosaurs and much much more. The girls really enjoyed that museum and were very interested in everything they saw. Maryland and the surrounding states hit a record high when we were there visitng. I guess we took the heat with us. We all had a wonderful time visititing DD and YaYa in Maryland. The day before we left we all went to the beach and enjoyed our time together there.

Having fun in the sun!

I love summer! I am so glad my girls love it, too!! We have a fun daily schedule for the summer. The day starts with a wagon walk (ya'll know my girls get up at 6) followed by walking Taz around the block. They are so good in the wagon while mommy gets her excerise. They sing, play with playdough, eat a snack, or watch for bunnies. We even catch some sprinklers sometimes so we run through them! We have seen so many bunnies lately! On Taz's walk they pick yellow flowers (weeds), look for rolly pollies (doodlebugs), worms, crystals (rocks), run, and take turns holding Taz's leash. Then, we play outside in the driveway or backyard until the sun hits us and then we go inside. Since my daughters have such fair skin I don't take a chance with the sun!

3D glasses with chalk

On your mark...get set...GO!!

So proud Avery can reach the pedals. This was a proud moment for her!

The girls picking flowers.

The girls with rolly pollies.

The girls have also been busy giving Taz a bath....

I love having fun neighbors....we just take our water hose over to their house and have lots of fun wet stuff to do......I remember the slip and slide. Here is today's version. All the kids had so much fun on it. They kept running back and forth to all the different water activities! We look forward to having several of these playdates this summer. I think we will even throw in a cookout with it every now and then!! I am so glad the girls have neighbor kids to grow up with.

Alexandra, Tucker, Avery, and Macy

Preschool Graduation

Alexandra had her preschool graduation on May 13th. She lead the preschoolers in the graduation march and did a wonderful job! It was a sweet graduation and just one more reminder that she is growing up way to fast for me. The class sang several songs, received a bible, and there was a slide show of all the kids. It was fun to see baby and toddler pictures of all the preschoolers. The kids laughed hard and had a fun time seeing their friends when they were babies. After the graduation, we went back to the room for a party and off to Culver's for lunch with friends. What a bitter sweet day for the kids. Alexandra will be going to school with a few friends she went to preschool with and continue playdates with the ones she will not go to Kindergarden with. I made sure my video camera was charged and assummed that my camera was. I found out it was out of battery when I went to take a picture of Alexandra at graduation. I did not get pictures of the special day but do have it recorded. So thanks to friends I was able to share a few pictures of her special day!











































Alexandra's preschool class

The Dominican Republic

This year Toby and I went to The Dominican Repubic and stayed at Punta Cana. It was beautiful and our only mission for the day was to read a book on the beach! Wow, how relaxing. The beach was breathtaking and it was amazing to wake up to that part of God's creation every morning. The people were really nice and we met quiet a few people since Toby played volleyball. I, on the other hand, layed on the beach and socialized in the evening. Each night there was a different type of themed music and skit for us to enjoy. It was nice to go lay on the beach after the music and hear the waves. We went with another couple and enjoyed their company. It is nice to go with someone you know. Dianne and I tried our hand at snorkling just off the beach. We were quiet the entertainment for our husbands. I was having a hard time breathing through the snorkle because the mask was not tight to my face. Dianne and I laughed so hard that we were tired and it looked like we were struggling. There was a much older man snorkling by us who even offered to take our snorkle equipment so that we could swim back to the shore. Boy, we must have really looked pathetic. Anyway, we made it back to shore and continued our reading. I look forward to our annual trip because it is good just to have some adult time! Not to mention, that is our anniversary gift to each other. Happy 13th anniversary, honey!! Thank you for 13 wonderful years !!



























Our first glimps of the resort as we get out of the van.















flamingos















our view everyday









































Our living quarters for the stay at the resort.

snorkling buddies