Bowman Time

Addy's oldest sister, Ally, and her family came to visit this week. We were lucky enough to have them stay with us. They arrived Monday evening after a long drive from Utah. We enjoyed some chili, corn bread, and veggies while we welcomed them. Grandma Louise, Trever, and AnaLyn also joined us to welcome the Isoms' to Arizona. Troy and the four oldest Bowman kids also came over later to enjoy some cousin time. The older kids (yes that does include some of the adults) had fun playing Rock Band while the younger ones had fun with Ethan's toys. He was a trooper during the invasion... he was feeling a little under the weather, so being on medication may have helped with sharing his toys. He also was distracted by Alyssa. He must have remembered a bond they made early on and was just sitting there talking to her, even when her attention was somewhere else... too cute!


On Tuesday Troy and Trever treated all of us to riding on the quads and the Ranger. Ethan was especially anticipating riding on the Ranger and continually asked about it as we ventured past Saguaro Lake to ride on paths through the desert. We divided into two groups and took turns exploring the beauties of the desert. Unfortunately, Addy left her camera behind and was able to con Jena into taking pictures when they went out. It was a lot of fun, but Kenna seemed to enjoy it the most and has yet another thing to add to her list of interests.

After riding, we headed home for lunch and some down time. Ally and Eric had plans to meet up with some of Ally's friends from High School, so the kids planned on hanging out and the rest of the Arizona Bowman’s (minus Anjie, Daniel & Aidan who are in England) came over to play games and eat pizza. Pizza that originally cost $80, but we paid $16... Yes, $16 for 4 18" pizzas. Troy recently switched jobs and is now working for a company that distributes Amazon gift cards. You buy a $25 Amazon gift card from selected ATM's for $28 and get a $25 coupon to Restaurant.com. We received one of these for Christmas and discovered that ZPizza in Chandler accepts the Restaurant.com coupon. We got lucky... it was Tuesday - buy one get one free at ZPizza, hence the $16 pizza that fed 9 adults and 9 kids. A sweet deal! We all enjoyed the delicious pizza and fun company.


On Wednesday the original plan was to go to a museum, but Ally decided to leave the kiddos at home (Jace and Tate were so sad that they were left behind to play Legos Batman) and take Louise, Alisha, and Addy to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. It was delicious! Thanks for the good food and yummy cheesecake Ally! After lunch, we went bowling at the Brunswick in Gilbert. We fit the entire family on 3 lanes and had fun watching each other bowl. We bowled 2 games and definitely got our fill - especially the younger ones who probably could have just bowled one.

After bowling, Troy, Crystal & kids went to IHOP for dinner, Trever headed home to hang out with Amy who had to work late from home, and the rest of us came back to our house for Chicken Taco Salad. We enjoyed yet another tasty meal, watched Meet the Robinsons, played Spoons, Apples to Apples , and Boxers and Briefs, and played Alisha & Cooper's Nintendo Wii.

Grandma Louise and AnaLyn headed home around 8:00 while the other kids continued to play. Around 10:30, we did a pretend 'New Year' as the kids wore celebratory hats and made some noise outside followed by a little Martinelli's. Everyone who wasn't sleeping at the Heap's headed home and the Isoms cleaned our house... if it only got that clean so quickly every week! Ryan, Addy, Ally, Eric, Alyssa, and Kenna watched the ball drop, tried to find something decent on TV, and played a little Guitar Hero. It was fun... according to Jacob, it was a great party!


Thursday was a little calmer. Most of us were able to sleep in a little... how Jace & Tate rise so early is a mystery. Ryan was kind and let Addy sleep a little longer and made pancakes and eggs for breakfast. The Isoms had plans to go see Eric's ex-step Mom and spent most the morning getting ready. They headed out and gave the Heaps some time to get ready before heading over to Troy & Crystal's for some more Bowman family time. We got there a little later than anticipated, but enjoyed playing outside and visiting. Ethan, who was still sick and had not taken a nap, was extremely clingy... Ryan spent most of his time entertaining Ethan and the cousins. He should probably be made a Saint. After so much fun, Ethan broke and we dashed out the door to get him in bed. Bath time, hugs for our travelers, and bedtime stories; Ethan was tucked snugly in his make shift bed on Ryan and Addy's bedroom floor.


Early Friday morning the Isoms loaded up and headed out. It certainly was a busy week with lots of family, but we had a great time. We are so lucky to have room for family to stay and love to have them. Thanks for making the trek to Arizona Isoms! We love you lots and can't wait to see you again!

P.S... Anjie, we know you're busy and having a great time in England, but we thought that you would still like to know what was going on. Sorry it took us some time to get everything posted. Have a great holiday and go to Nando's for us one more time!