Havasupai!

Mini vacation to Havasupai starts tomorrow! I'm trying to focus on packing right now, and it's not going so well. Good thing I have the morning to finish everything up. A few of us friends have been planning this trip for several months--I'm excited to just get there! It's going to be a crazy adventure, for sure. Here's to hoping the helicopter out of the Grand Canyon isn't full on Monday morning when it's time to leave...

...wish me luck!

The Slingshot...

After watching the Biggest Loser last night, I couldn't stop thinking about The Slingshot....



375 feet up. 375 feet back down. The best part about the video is that Sarah and I scream at almost the exact same time!

(Mom + Dad + Sarah + Me in Orlando for Christmas in 2009. We found this little boardwalk area and somehow Sarah and I ended up on the Slingshot. Definitely a highlight from that trip!)

Back from the A-ZZZ

And ready for some zzz's! A quick trip outta Provo is just what I needed :) Memories from the trip: lots of good food, good company, a fun hike, sunshine, gorgeous sunsets, a $7.50 sundae (what the...?!), visiting Britt's homestead, shopping, time at the temple, movies (one of the movies *might* have been about a musician who *might* be turning 17 next week...hint, hint), visit to ASU's institute and seeing BYU-Idaho friends, Jermaine picking out a shirt for me at Limited (yikes), misunderstanding/mis-hearing Juliet and saying what I thought she said, UGE snowcones. Way fun. Good times.

Tomorrow will be a new adventure as I fulfill my civic duty and report for jury duty. Never done it before. Tips? Tricks? Stories from the courtroom? Should be fun. (Right?)

Back To Provo

Blogging from 10,000+ feet up! This is a first for me: free wifi on my flight and live TV...currently catching up on news and The Office is up next! Orlando was great, but cold! So much for going to the beach and getting tan, right? :) I don't know that I'm ready to head back to the snow!

Need some help coming up with a New Year's Resolution (or a few resolutions)? Check out this Resolution Generator!
We were talking about resolutions last night in the spa, and one of my goals for 2010 is to go to lunch or dinner with a friend every month just to catch up! I find myself saying too frequently, "let's get together soon," or "let's catch up!" but then never follow through. Now I don't have an excuse! Let me know if you want to do lunch! :)

Distracted.

I should be cleaning, packing, organizing, wrapping, cleaning, packing, cleaning, shopping, filing, cleaning, organizing, folding laundry, and sleeping right now, but I keep finding little things to be distracted by. I leave tomorrow afternoon and I couldn't be more excited to leave this: because I'll soon be enjoying this:I'm done with the snow.

From Sharon's Back Porch

To say that it's been a crazy month would be an understatement!

Mom and I took the most wonderful vacation a couple weeks ago back East to tag along with my Aunt Sharon and her gang to go antiquing in Pennsylvania! We had such a great time and it was so fun getting to know Sharon and her family a little better over the two weeks that we were there! The first week was filled with antiquing--literally all day long! I tried to keep track of all the places we went, but I lost track after the first day!

I've been looking for a hope chest/blanket chest for a few years now, and I finally found one that I fell in love with! It's very simple, but it's exactly what I wanted. The dealer thought that it was built in the 1850's or 1860's. Unfortunately I won't be enjoying it for a while. It's currently still back East; mom and I will be needing to make another trip back there next year to pick up all of our goods that didn't fit in our luggage!

The second week we spent down in Virginia at Sharon's place and visited a handful of historical places--Stratford (Robert E Lee's birthplace), Monticello, the local pizza parlor, the library, the ice cream shop. (Trust me...the last three places were historical places of interest!) I think that my favorite place that we spent time was down at the lake off Sharon's back deck...so quiet and peaceful!


Mom and I went down to the lake one night just as the sun was setting, the moon was coming up over the hills and a flock of noisy geese were coming in to land on the lake. We couldn't stop laughing at these geese...it's as if there was a huge reunion between them all and they were having a huge party! Sharon warned us that there might be snakes down by the lake, and so Mom and I did our fair share of scaring each other as we were walking to and from the lake!

It was such a great break to just take off and try not to worry about anything else. It's such a beautiful time of year. The trees were just starting to turn and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! Thanks Mom and Sharon for letting me tag along this trip! How about next year???

Did you know...

• that members of the mafia have summer homes in New Jersey and drive black Hummers with tinted windows?

• that when gas stations have their lights out, that it means they're being robbed and you should just keep on driving?

• that when you see a good deal at an antique shop, you should just buy it right then? (If you vocalize that it's a good deal, someone *without fail* will have heard you and swipe the said item out from under you.)

• that shopping without a fanny pack isn't essential? (I survived--and spent plenty of money--without using a a fanny pack!)

• that my mom hasn't changed in 35 years (according to her junior high school friend)?

• that sitting in the back seat (where you can't see what's going on up ahead) is the best place to be?

• that eating ice cream (especially from McDonald's) every day is essential to a well-balanced diet? And that when you pour hot fudge on ice cream, it'll melt a little?

• that change (according to some people) is NOT a good thing?

• that "keep it on the double-nickels" means keep your speed under 55 -OR- keep at least two wheels of the car on the ground at all times?

• that I love my Aunt Sharon and Uncle (Leo!) Cliff and have loved spending the last week and a half with them?

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!

Change o'Plans

Crazy-fun weekend! We ended up at Arches National Park/Moab instead of Goblin Valley which was totally fun because I'd never been to Arches! Cast of characters for the weekend:
Before heading out of town, Brittany was determined to get a copy of Twilight so we could watch it on Saturday night. We stopped at a few every redbox in Provo with no luck and finally found a copy of it at Blockbuster--their last copy! 

After driving through all of Moab trying to find a campsite (spring break = tons of people = not too many open campsites) and a 4 wheeling excursion in the Sonata, we found a site we all liked and set up camp. First things first: tents. Second: fire. Brittany loved gathering all the wood!

Saturday we headed over to Arches for the day. The weather could not have been more perfect--not too hot, not too cold. First hike was up to Delicate Arch where we got our picture taken with the park ranger...we think he had a little thing for Carly...

Carly and Rachel made their own Delicate Arch...it's really only about 3" tall. Isn't it cute? We ended up going on a couple other small "hikes" around the park. Last hike was to Broken Arch where Carly inspired all of us to do a little yoga.
Saturday night, we found ourselves in front of a huge sheet-screen that Rachel rigged (held together by duct tape) watching Twilight. I don't think Brittany could've been any happier! Twilight is kind of an odd movie, but it was fun to watch a movie on a big screen while camping! I'm sure all of our neighbors loved it...

After photo:We survived! No makeup (except Carly!), puffy faces, tired eyes, stinky girls. Sunday morning we woke up to a wind storm at about 4 a.m...our tent was going crazy and there was no way any of us could sleep through it. We all just laughed about the craziness of the situation. We got up when the sun started to come up, packed as quickly as possible and were headed back to Provo by 7:45. 

Memories from the trip:

• "Everyone blow your nose--I don't want to hear any snoring!" -Carly

• "That looks really bad." (About the Rachel's marshmallows) -Me

• Brittany: "There are some foreign people over there." Carly: "What?! Some deformed people??"

• "Linds! Come quick! There was a cougar here last night! Look at the tracks!" -Carly (They were just dog tracks)

• Man at the info desk telling Carly and Rachel that the camping ground he was recommending was very primitive, meaning no hot water and no showers.

• Guy on his mountain bike flipping off his bike right in front of us (*slightly* embarassing) and an older man riding by telling him that it happens to the best of us

• Rachel and Brittany vs Carly and Lindsay...Survivor Man debate

• Conducting surveys

• While we were at Delicate Arch, a mom was taking a photo of her husband and two little kids. I asked her if she'd like me to take a picture of the whole family together and she was super happy that I had offered. She handed me her camera, and the little boy was so confused and said, "Hey! That's not your camera! That's my mom's...give it back!"

• Wondering if the petroglyphs were real or not

• "We checked out the campground and we decided that we'd like to camp!" -Carly

• Rachel laying on the ground in the dirt while watching Twilight until a spider crawled on her

• Brittany deciding to run the last part of the Broken Arch trail

• "Sausage fingers"

• Hair getting stuck in the zipper in the tent

• Saggy,  "camping jeans" 

Next trip: Goblin Valley.

Book Love...

I got back from Idaho yesterday afternoon...such a fun trip! Good friends, good times! I'm trying to catch up on a few things today, but I wanted to post some of my favorite pattern/inspiration/color books up... I find myself looking through these books quite often! Happy reading!


Tricia Guild has such a beautiful style...simply beautiful!




These Print + Pattern books are excellent reference books!

Back from New York City!

We're back from the Big Apple! What a fun trip! I learned soo much while we were there. It was a good experience to attend both Surtex and The Stationery Show and be around so many talented people! I learned a lot from walking the floor...it was slightly overwhelming the first day we attended! We went to the shows three different days and still didn't see all the booths!


Mom and I got a little bit of sight-seeing in while we were there! One of the mornings that we were there, we went to the taping of Good Morning America, which was a lot of fun! We were able to meet Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion...fun times!


We didn't go anywhere without our subway maps...we would have been lost without them!

Pattern A Day!

I've been inspired by one of my professors from school, Scott Franson, to do a "pattern-a-day" on my blog! Feel free to leave feedback, give suggestions, etc.

We leave for New York in three days...I can't wait to go!

The Countdown Begins!

The countdown begins! Less than two weeks til we're in New York City for Surtex and the Stationery Show! I'm excited to be going back to New York...such a fun city!