DIY: Mousepad Edition

Yay for pretty mousepads! My mouse was struggling, and until today, I got by with putting some paper under it and it would kind of work. I broke down this afternoon and paid the $2.50 for a mousepad. (I probably could've found a free one somewhere!) The blue wasn't working for me, so I got out some fabric and fusible interfacing and went to work. Five minutes later, I had a pretty new mousepad!

My Lil' Cowgirl & Lonestar!

One of my favorite things to do with Claire is play dress up and for the most part, she's a pretty good sport. I got her little cowboy boots out last night and she looks like a total babe in them! The best is watching her walk around while she's wearing them...her first couple steps are a little wobbly, then she takes off running around! I need to get her a little denim skirt and plaid shirt...maybe for Halloween??
Lonestar was in town on Friday night--it was such a great concert!! It was fun singing and dancing and spending time with good friends. Steve claims that he was "pleasantly surprised" by the concert...I don't think country is his thing! :) Michelle and I went down to the front and lost our hearing for a couple hours...it was so loud! Fave songs from the concert: Amazed, I'm Already There, My Front Porch Looking In, Walking in Memphis, What About Now, and You Walked In. This was definitely the best concert of the summer (the Bee Gees Tribute Band comes in at a close second...)!

DIY: Pinboard Edition

I saw this post on design*sponge a few weeks back and was inspired to make my own pinboard! Katie and I had a successful trip to DI last week and I found the perfect frame for $3.00! As soon as I spotted the frame, another lady had picked it up and put it in her basket...I thought I lost it. She put it back a few minutes later, and I snatched it up before she could change her mind!


A little bit of white paint and some cork board covered in burlap and voila...a new pinboard! Super easy! I love it!

Chocolate For Lunch

This was my lunch today:Ashlee brought in the most delicious chocolate cake today...it was so good! I was close to asking for the recipe, but I'm not so sure that would be a good idea.

Elder Bowerman

Tonight's the night I'll say "good bye" to my little buddy, Marshall! I can hardly believe it's time to see him off! The tears flow when I think about him being gone for two years, but I know he's going to be one amazing missionary for the Church. He will be set apart as a full time missionary tonight and start traveling to Brazil tomorrow and arrive at the Missionary Training Center in Sao Paulo on Wednesday.

I love this little picture of Marsh. I think this was taken when he was in kindergarten or 1st grade. His class had gone on a field trip and they talked about all the things they could be when they grew up. Marshall came home from school with this around his neck..."Marshall wants to be a Missionary!" He's wanted to serve a mission since he was young...what a great example!

Be sure and check out Marshall's blog that we'll be updating throughout his mission, elderbowerman.blogspot.com!

Tuesday.

Yesterday was just one of those days. I went to bed pretty exhausted...I think it was because I exercised so many emotional muscles that hadn't been used in quite some time. It wasn't any one particular thing. More like lots of little things. Ever have days like that?

The day couldn't have ended any better. I picked up my brother in law and niece at the airport and it was so good to see baby Claire again. (Joe...it was good to see you again, too!) When we got home, Katie had picked up my favorite cupcake from the Sweet Tooth Fairy...Va-NIE-lla Squared.
I'm grateful for days like yesterday. I had the lyrics to "More Holiness Give Me" running through my head:

More holiness give me, more strivings within.
More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin.
More faith in my Savior, more sense of His care.
More joy in His service, more purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord.
More zeal for His glory, more hope in His Word.
More tears for His sorrows, more pain at His grief.
More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.

More purity give me, more strength to o’ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains, more longings for home.
More fit for the kingdom, more useful I’d be,
More blessed and holy, more, Savior, like Thee.

...

Yesterday will be a day I always remember.

Ready for the Weekend

Several fun projects on my "To Do" list this weekend...I can't wait to get started! We're (hopefully) going to see this play tonight...keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't get rained out!
Love, love, love these flowers...so beautiful! I'm wishing I had some on my desk right about now!
1. simple + pretty.
2. decor8.
3. a field journal.
4. decor8.

happy weekend!

N.M.B.

N.M.B. = No More Blocks.First, you need to understand that our office is in the basement of Pebbles in my Pocket. (I recommend stopping by the store if you've never been...it's great! Anyway...) Directly above our office is (unfortunately) the play area for children. Sometimes the parents are responsible and keep their children under control, but more often than not, the kids are let loose to roam the store at their pleasure. (Sometimes kids make their way down to the offices. Then they kindly get escorted back upstairs and handed back over to the parental unit.)

Until today, these blocks were part of the play area. After an hour of kids stacking the blocks and then making their towers crash this afternoon, it was unanimously decided that the blocks were no longer suitable toys for the play area. Everyone at Pebbles is hoping that this will help with the noise factor. We'll see. I'm sure these monster kids will find something else that makes loud noise!

and ps...I think I feel a cold coming on. It's was 95º today, and I wore jeans and a long sleeve hoodie. Something is really wrong with this. Or maybe I'm just getting ready for fall? It's hard to believe school is starting in these parts of the country next week. Crazy.

Dang it.

Strawberry Jam Showdown update: no win for me. Boo! It was close, but Ash pulled ahead at the last second and won the SJS. We had 7 people testing the two jams which were mysteriously marked with a heart and a star, so that no one would know which jam belonged to who. Ash won, 4 votes to 3. (I like to think that if we had two more people, the votes would've gone in my favor--ha!)

We also had rolls from Shirley's Bakery and the Lion House Pantry...just for the record, Shirley's dinner rolls are waaay better! (Lion House is good, but you can't beat Shirley's!)

Family Time

Just a few (or maybe more than a few) pictures from this weekend! It was so great to be home together as a family and to spend time together. It's hard to believe that it'll be two years til I see my buddy again -- I know that he's ready to go, but I'm just not sure that I'm ready for him to go!

Marshall, Claire and I flew out Wednesday morning. For all intents and purposes, Claire was my child for the flight out to St. Louis. Katie flew home later Wednesday afternoon, but was very trusting of us to take her baby girl on our flight.
First things first: set up the swimming pool. Second: apply sunscreen. Apply again. Third: Swim. Claire loved the pool and couldn't get enough of it!
Katie and I shared this bed growing up for a few years and shared the bed this weekend! It was my mom's bed when she was growing up. It's old and it squeaks (a lot) so I used to have socks tied on the hinges to control the squeak factor. I love this bed! We have many funny memories from sharing this bed and it was fun staying up and chatting the night away!
We had a wedding reception at the homestead on Friday evening, and Claire had to get in on the cleaning action. She could not get enough of the broom! Claire loved looking at and inspecting all of the grunge that was swept up...eww.
We kicked off Saturday morning by going for a fun bike ride! We borrowed a bike trailer for Claire and she loved it -- so much so, that she passed out about half way through! Along the way, we were able to see some of Dad's work project in progress...a huge pipeline that originates in Alberta, Canada and makes it's way down to the refinery and eventually reach the Gulf Coast.
Bowerman kiddos: Marshall, Sarah, Chris, Katie, me.
Last pictures with my Buddy. (Can you tell we love each other?)
Group hugs!
Marshall and his girls! (Note Mom's hair...so cute!)
Last family pics for two years!
At the last few family get-togethers, Marshall and I have been the single ones...and so instead of bringing a 'significant other,' I decided that Marshall was going to be my 'significant brother...' He tolerates me! :) We've been able to spend a lot of time together this summer and I'm going to miss having him around! I'm so proud of Marsh for deciding to serve a mission. Marshall has such a good heart and has wanted to serve a mission since he was young. I can't wait until he's in Brazil and hear about all of his experiences!

Heading here...

...in the morning! Second trip home for the summer and I couldn't be more excited! It will be our last time together as a family for two years--the time has come for my brother, Marshall, to leave on his mission! It's hard to believe that it's Marshall's turn to serve...it doesn't seem possible that he's old enough to go! I probably should be doing some laundry or packing or something more important than blogging, but I'm really good at putting important things (like packing!) off 'til the last minute!

It seems I get asked on a fairly regular basis where I'm from, and the easiest answer to that question is, "St Louis." I've never really lived at this house (just for a summer), but for some reason it's home to me. Having lived all over, I don't really claim one specific place. Home is where my family is, and this weekend home will be in Edwardsville.

I couldn't be more excited to be home.