28!

See this guy right here? I love this guy. This guy is the best there is, and I don't care who knows it! He recently grew one year older and wiser too. 28! Sheesh! I still think he doesn't look a day over 24 (when we started dating). Awww memories.....

But now on to the future! Bigger and brighter things! Year 28! Woo!

We started off the day right with a primary program practice. They sang him a very cute and enthusiastic, "You've had a birthday, shout HOORAY!" They congratulated him on turning 25, to which we both looked at each other and shrugged, "eh, sounds good to me"

Then since we were already in our sunday best, we headed over to the temple. We attended the temple last year for Colt's birthday, and I am thinkin that this is a start to a mighty fine tradition. It was simply wonderful.

The week before his birthday, I asked Colt what he wanted to do for his big to-do, and he said that he wanted to try the new indoor skatepark. (these things are a big deal here, since it snows from october til june. Siiiiiigh) We looked it up and watched some videos. Afterwards, I stared wide eyed at my hubby, and asked, "Um, do you really want to go here? It looks a little....Xtreme."

Xtreme is more extreme.

Colt - "hmm, we will just have to go and find out!"

So we called up some skate friends to meet us there, and Colt waited in line to get a helmet.

I was very thankful that they had this rule, birthday ER trips aren't my cup of tea.

We walked into the warehouse and were blown away by the pure chaos of it all. There were kids of every shape and size zooming around everywhere, on scooters, bikes, skateboards, rollerblades, doing backflips, flying over things, scaring the pants off of the motherly instincts.

Wear your helmet! Don't go so fast! You are too little for that! AH! OH! *faints*

(what AM I going to do when I have kids!? Because I know they will want to do crazy things like their crazy father...heavens!)

Anyways, Colt had fun and I got to slide down one of the ramps on ma butt. Yeah I participated!

(afterwards, Colt confided in me that it was really Xtreme, and he was really nervous. Aw.)

Check it out

Just look at it though! Now add like 100 more kids zooming everywhere. I ran across the floor for my life, like I was trying to cross the freeway.

Next on the awesome birthday adventure, we went to Classic Fun Center with our super friends The Packs! We rented some rollerskates, Colt tied his flannel shirt around his waist, the lights dimmed and the disco ball lowered. He held my hand, I blushed. He was like...totally dreamy. Siiiiiigh.....

Huh?

Oh.

Then we played arcade games! While we were still in our rollerskates! I also found out that it is hard to play skeeball when your feet have wheels on them! Gabrielle and Riley were totally fun, and Colt and I won the jackpot on a game! 300 tickets! We then proceeded to buy switch blade combs for the boys, and candy for the girls. Warheads! Wut wut!

Then we went to Buca DeBeppo. Yum yum yum. We asked if we could sit at the table that is inside the kitchen because of the birthday boy, and they obliged. It was great. I highly reccommend it if being loud when you are with your friends is your thing. Its our thing.

Sorry Riley, that waiter took horrible pictures, and this was the best one I could find. Don't worry, I didn't tip him!

(hey don't look at me like that, I tipped our REAL waitress)

Thanks Packs, you know how to rock a party.

Now, I just want to put this out there before you read on. Im totally going to toot my own horn here, because you know. I CAN. But, I rock at cakes. I love baking them and I take pride in how they turn out. Usually I am not disappointed. But this time....this time....

I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.

You guys, I don't know what in crap-ole happened! I made the best frosting. (blackberry cream cheese. Made with REAL blackberries folks.) I made the best cake. (dark chocolate fudge, plus a funfetti layer thrown in for kicks). And I was going to put a divine layer of berry preserves in the middle of the layers. It was going great, I knew it was going to be amazing.

But that cake was all like.

NOPE.

Im gunna fall apart and ruin your day! Because I CAN. Suck it!

It was awful. I was positively P.O.ed at this cake.

STUPID CAKE, I COULD HAVE LET YOU BURN YOU KNOW.

My sweet SIL had to put skewers through it to hold it together long enough for me to frost it. But the frosting just started pulling it towards the left for some reason? and soon it looked like the Leaning Tower of Crapcake.

I put the little flags on it last minute, in my desperate attempt to make it look kind of cute.

ATTEMPT=FAILED.

But you know what. THAT CAKE WAS FREAKING AMAZING. It may have looked like poop, but it darn well didn't taste like it! UH! YEAH! WHAT!

Oh, to end that awesome birthday, the most awesome birthday present!

I think he likes it.

Hey husband, thanks for being born.

Heaven only knows who I would be with out you.

Love you forrrrr-evvv-errrrr.

P.S. This is my 28th post! Most appropriate for the celebration of a 28th birthday!

P.S.S. Colt's first call on his phone was to me, from the bathroom, 5 feet away.

Ain't I the luckiest!?

ANOTHER THING. Colt wanted me to tell you that he could have skated more Xtreme if there weren't that many kids there. He just wanted to make that clear. Don't worry hubbz, you are still pretty xtreme in my book.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Love, The Bowdens

What's up Doc?

Hello World, its been a while. A lot has been going on in the Bowden household, mainly a lot of medical hooha. Just warning you now, this is going to be a long post. We will really know how much you care if you read through all of it. ;)

Im going to get my whining, I mean story, out of the way first. A few months ago, I was having some horrible jaw pain, which then linked to awful ear pain. I could barely eat on the right side of my mouth, and I couldn't get through the night without some major Ibuprofen. I was sooooo worried it was my wisdom teeth. I had had some major gum and tooth pain before and a dentist friend said it was because of my wisdom teeth. I hoped and prayed that it wasn't the cause, but as time wore on and the pain worsened, I almost payed my father-in-law to grab the pliers.

I didn't have dental insurance either, so that was a big stress also. No oral surgeon would take payments, and they were charging rates that made me cry a little inside. I concluded that there was no solution and I would have to live with this pain forever. What was I to do!?

My wonderful mother suggested that I call my relief society president and ask her if she knew any solutions. I thought this was a bit silly, but called anyway. I tried to be strong in asking her, but the pain, and pathetic-ness, kicked in and I sobbed like a baby when I called. She told me of this place, that sounded like the exact place I needed. I called and made an appointment and nervously waited.

Thats when I found out, I am terrified as HECK of the dentist. It was like somebody punched me in the face and was like, "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO CALM ABOUT THIS, THEY ARE GOING TO TEAR OPEN YOUR FACE!" Then I started panicking. I couldn't change my mind now, I was in too deep. I made an appointment just five minutes prior. But I couldn't shake this fear that my mouth was going to be hacksawed and I was never going to eat solid foods again, and Colt was going to have to sell me to the circus.

Finally the day came, I shook all the way to the reception desk and weakly gave her my name. She handed me this clipboard of papers, and told me to read all of them and sign them at the bottom. Colt and I sat down and started reading the papers.

Colt--"Ooooh, sometimes you can have more than 4 wisdom teeth! Thats weird!"

Me--"DON'T TELL ME THAT. THEY CHARGE 200$ A TOOTH, WE ARE SHOOTING FOR 4 OR LESS HERE."

Colt--" You can't suck on a straw afterwards because you can dislodge your blot clot and get a really painful condition called "dry socket"

Me--"STOP TALKING."

Colt--"You will have bruising from the pliers for a couple of weeks."

Me--*face in hands* "I want to die.."

Then they called my name and I had to get the X-Rays done. Then they told me to go to Surgery Room 4. It was down this hallway of doors, all of which were surgery rooms. I walked down it imagining horror movie type scenes on the other side of the fogged glass. What was I getting myself into!?

Does anyone else start to freak out more when they are left in a waiting room? When I was sitting in the dentist chair, waiting for the surgeon to come in, my anxiety took over and I was snot faced and puffy eyed when the surgeon finally arrived. He was surprised I was crying already, and I told him straight up that he was scary. Then this conversation happened.

Oral Surgeon--"Sooo, who told you that you needed your wisdom teeth out?"

Me--"Uh, a friend....who is a dentist. A dentist friend."

OS-- "Hmm, because where you told me you are experiencing pain, you don't even have a wisdom tooth there at all."

Me--*dumbfounded look on face*

OS--"And your other wisdom teeth aren't even close to being ready, and I don't think that they will ever need to be pulled."

Me--*feeling even more stupid and pathetic* "But...but....but...it hurts!"

OS--"Thats because your very back top right molar doesn't line up with your bottom right molar, so it is growing in sideways, and that might be the main cause of the pain."

Me--*horrified*

OS--"So I am just going to pull that one out."

Me--"huh....uh...ok...I guess..."

Then, POKE, PULL, BAM! I wake up at home with bloody cotton in my mouth, and glazey eyes.

Colt said that it happened so fast, he didn't even have time to really sit down in the waiting room. And evidently Colt and I did this great dance number in the driveway, trying to get into the house. My legs don't work too great when I am medically high I guess. I got plopped down on the lazy boy, and was given a bag of ice.

aint I pretty..

All in all, I am glad that is it over, and I am glad that the guy poking me with the IV covered it with a blanket so I couldn't see it. Colt said that when he put it in, blood spurted out onto my arm. If I would have seen that, I think I would have passed out faster than with drugs.

I still have a big hole in my mouth, but at least Colt didn't have to sell me to the freak show.

Part 2. The Great Thyroid Mystery!

It was the last week in August, and it was the night before I was to hop on a plane to go visit family in the great North West for 10 days. We were laying in bed, when I looked over at Colt, and noticed that his neck looked swollen. I asked him about it, and he said that he didn't know what I was talking about. We looked in the mirror, and noticed that there was an egg sized lump in the lower front of Colt's neck. This concerned me greatly, and I was freaking out a little because I was about to leave him to go on vacation for almost 2 weeks! I made him promise me that he would try to get to a doctor when I was gone. Evidently there is this thing with men, that they won't go to a doctor by themselves, they have to be either nagged, pushed, or dragged to one. Or they have to be an inch from death. Seriously. what is up with that.

So finally he went to the doctors (when I was back home of course) and met Dr. Bloink.

Best. Doctor name.

Anyways, I guess Dr. Bloink is BYU's main "lump guy". He was concerned with the lump on Colt's neck and sent him to get a Thyroid scan. It was all radioactive and what not. We hoped it would give him super powers, but no such luck.

This doctor was kinda weird. He didn't even tell us his name or bothered to learn ours.

This was the picture from the test. As you can see, there is a reasonable sized lump in his thyroid. It is a cold nodule, which in medical terms, means that it is in the thyroid, but it isn't functioning like the rest of the thyroid. Or, it isn't part of the thyroid.

So, after that, Dr. Bloink told us that he needed a ultrasound. Another day, another appointment later, they saw in the ultrasound what they thought was a lot of cysts. A lot. We were feeling better about this, because that meant that it wasn't hurting anything, and that they could dissolve all by themselves, and no one would be the wiser. Dr. Bloink said that it just might be a goiter.

Goiter, man, does that word just gross anyone else out? Goiter...... *shudder*

But. Right after the appointment with Dr. Bloink, we got a call from him saying that, another technician from the ultrasound place looked at Colt's file and said that he would need to come back in for a biopsy. They needed a second opinion.

That is another thing that scares me. When doctors say that they need a second opinion. Scary times all around.

Not stoked for this biopsy thang.

Zombie faces always lighten the mood.

Patching the poor guy up.

Lets just say I wouldn't give the "Greatest bedside manner" award to the doctor who did the biopsy. He was a grump! He injected the numbing meds into Colts neck, only to start the biopsy 2 seconds later! No time to let the lidocane (sp?) start taking effect. My poor husband, my heart broke for him. From what I could tell from looking at Colt when it was happening, it must have been a very, very, painful experience. There were definitely tears going on for the both of us.

:(

I guess if it was a cyst, the fluid that they drew out would have been a yellowish clear color. Colt's was this nasty chunky blood. The doctor said it was the most blood he has seen in one of these biopsies. He then made Colt feel even better by saying that if there was too much blood, they would't be able to get a good reading and they would have to do this whole fun experience again. He then told us, that he doesn't think that it is a cyst, but he is not sure what it would be at this moment. We are still waiting for results.

We are praying for the best, but its this waiting game that is driving us up the wall. All of the "what ifs" are scaring the pants off of us. But we know that what ever it is, we can get through it together.

GO TEAM BOWDEN!

What a trooper.

Love Bites

I have neglected this blog for so long, I don't know were to start.

Yeah.....sooooo..

Anyways...

Here is a recent tale of love, betrayal, and a good dose of "WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING?!".

(a little bit of history before I tell the story. M.C. Hamster is our adorable, loving, Chinese Dwarf Hamster. We affectionally call him just M.C.)

It was late at night, and Colt and I were getting ready for bed.

Me--"You know, M.C. probably doesn't have that much longer to live, we have had him for over a year and a half, and they only live about 2 years."

Colt--"Well thats depressing, go get him, and lets let him run around for a little bit"

I go and grab the little guy, and we corral him on our bed. I am laying on my stomach, with my chin on my hands. Front row seats to the adorable scurrying.

Me--"Isn't he the cutest!? Aw man I hope he never dies.."

Colt--"Me too.."

Then he scampers over to me, and starts tickling my face with his dainty whiskers. I wasn't wearing my glasses at the time, which I chalk up to poor decision making on my part, because next thing I knew, my eye lid was gettin chomped on.

Nibbled? (I don't know what a good word would be for the tiniest of bites)

I threw back my head and was like, WHAT THE CRAP IS HAPPENING. It was like the movies people! Horror!

He wasn't letting go either. Poor little MC was trying to find a foot hold on my face. His little limbs were flailing every which way, and were scratching up my nose and my cheek. I don't blame him for freaking out a little bit. If I bit on to something and it moved and took me with it, I would be flailing like crazy too.

Meanwhile, Colt was just staring at me. I am going to say it was shock. (Do people laugh hysterically when they are in shock? Hmm..) But then he did come to my rescue and got the little

twit off my eye. He then promptly took him and plopped him into his cage.

Colt--"M.C. in your eulogy it will say, "The day that we talked about MC dying, was the closest we ever came to killing him."

But you know what...

He still my one and only MC.

Guilt

Dear Blog,

Im so sorry I have neglected you. I promise to repent and change my ways. I don't want you to think that any of this was your fault. Mom and Dad still love you!

Please don't talk too badly about us to your future therapist.

Love,

Us

Wedding Bliss!

I love weddings. Some times I wish I were a wedding planner, but then I scare my self out of it by watching those Bridezilla shows. Sheesh, drama queens! Anyways. I have been really getting into the wedding "bliss" lately because Colt and I have been printing a lot of wedding invites recently. I love meeting the couple and hearing all about their wedding plans, and just watching them be so cute together. I love designing wedding invitations, because its fun designing something so beautiful and meaningful to the couple. I am trying to remember to take a picture of the Bride and Groom and their wedding invite design for the blog.

Our cousin is getting married on Friday, and our house is where the reception is being held, so we are smack dab in the middle of Wedding Planner central. There are so many decorations and different odds and ends all over the house, and there has been some landscaping done to make it all look beautiful. It defiantly been busy, but it has been a fun experience to see it all come together. Lauren and her fiancee and just so cute! I can't wait for their happy day!

Another thing I love about weddings is a GREAT wedding proposal. I love when the guy makes it a totally amazing moment, and really puts a lot of time and thought into it. I recently saw these proposals and I caught myself saying "awwwwww" countless times. I bet you will do the same.

My favorite is the first one, it is defiantly super produced and professionally done, but who cares, they are happy and she said yes, so that is all that matters right? PLUS ITS SUPER CUTE.

Next is a Disney one! And who doesn't love Disney!?

Some people say that this one was staged, but I don't care, its super adorable!

I know this one isn't a wedding proposal, but I love it! How awesome is that couple! I hope their marriage lasts forever!

Again I say. I LOVE WEDDINGS. And I love MY husband, who made my wedding the best wedding there ever was! I LOVE YOU COLT BOWDEN!

Bikes, Ice Cream, and Beautiful People.

So last weekend, Colt and I were asked to do a photo-shoot for a brother sister band from Michigan. Of course we accepted and we were super excited to do a real photo shoot! I loved setting them up for the shot, and playing with the lighting and such. We shot the photos in Colt's home town, Magna Utah. They wanted a rundown rural look, and that was definitely Magna! They were the cutest people. We kept making fun of them because it looked like we were taking their engagement photos. We kept saying things like "Now look deeply into each others eyes, and smile! Come on! You're getting married, be excited!" They would just glare at us and say, GROSS. Oh siblings.

They were also SOOOOO photogenic. I mean talk about beautiful people. I felt suuuuuuper self-conscience with my lame clothes, and ponytail. Sheesh. So basically because they were so beautiful, this photo-shoot was a piece of cake! I mean they could make any picture look good!

Here are some of my favorite shots that we got that day. What do you think?

I loved taking these photos, and Colt had fun too! Rachel and Adam were amazing, and we hope for the best for them and their band! Now I want to do more photoshoots! Bring 'em on!

p.s. Those bikes are Colt's and mine. They are ancient and super heavy, and these poor guys had to ride them for like an hour! Ahh the price of the "perfect shot".

Babies!

I know I am late with this Mothers Day post....but I don't think any mother would be offended if I complimented her on her mothering skills on a day other than Mothers day. So I think Im ok with posting this.

First of all I want to say that my mother is THE BEST. She is the coolest mom I know. She would love and support me through some of my dumbest ideas, and stupid teenage angst. She knew what would make me feel better. She is so thoughtful and creative, which makes having her as a mom so fun. She would go to punk rock concerts with me, and she would be in the mosh pit right by my side. How cool is that!? She loves my husband which I am grateful for. Even though I know she gets a little lost on how to deal with a big boy in her house full of ladies. She has been there for me though a lot of bad times, and even more good ones. She is the best mom and I love her to death, and I wouldn't be who I am today with out her.

I LOVE YOU MOMMY!

Second of all, our best friends just invited their first child into the world on May 10th. We are so happy for them! They are going to be the best parents, and their kids are going to be too cute to handle. Plus they named her Heidi which is my mom's name, so you know, I fell in love with her instantly! She cause a little commotion though, when she decided to arrive almost 2 weeks late! Sheesh! If she was in there any longer, they should have started charging rent! But she is beautiful and healthy. We haven't been able to see her in person yet, since they live about 2 hours away, and their families have been visiting too see their little blessing. We are hoping to see her soon though, before she gets too big! Congratulations Anna and Darrin, I know you guys are going to be absolutely amazing parents, and your children are going to love you, maybe even more than we do. :)

Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to all those mommas of the aviary variety. You momma birds are the examples of true mothering. You build up a home filled with warmth and love, and you slave night and day to make it perfect. Then you spend most of your day, when you could be doing a lot of other fun things, keeping your children warm and safe, and away from predators that could do harm. You sacrifice your meal time to feed your little ones first. You teach them all they need to know on how to survive in the scary outside world. And then when they get too big for their little home (literally) You kick them out and hope that they remembered what you taught them, and see if they can fly on their own.

The reason I am talking about birds, is because this past month, we have been watching 2 birds nests that are on our property. One nest is in our light fixture next to our front door. We think its a finch nest, and there are 4 babies in it. Then when in the back yard one day, we noticed a robin's next, on top of one of the ladders by the shed. There were 5 babies in that one!

I went to go look at the baby finches nest yesterday, and when I got up face to face with the nest, this is what I got staring right back at me.

Look at those little faces! Don't they look like grumpy old men with really bushy eyebrows frowning at you!? SO ADORABLE! There were those two and then there was annoying big brother sitting right on top of them! Ha! They don't look too happy about that. But seriously, so darling huh? We want to take more pictures when the robins get a little bigger, right now they are just little pink things. Still cute.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL YOU RADICAL MOMMAS OUT THERE!

Cake Pops!

So our AMAZING cousin Lauren is getting married very soon! YAY! So exciting! Eric (her fiance) and Lauren have to be one of the cutest couples ever! So sweet and sincere. Anyways, last saturday was her bridal shower, and I was asked to make cake pops! I was sooooo excited because I have always wanted to try and make these adorable desserts ever since I read cookbook for them. They are soooo cute! And very tasty ( they are very rich, which sometimes is too much for me), but I LOVE decorating cakes and cookies, and baking any kind of dessert in general. So I was way excited to make these!

Sorry there aren't any pictures of the whole process, but I got up before Colt that morning, and he started taking pictures after he got upstairs, and by then, I was almost done. But I hope you like them!

Look at those handsome guys! I loved doing the tuxes. Purple is one of her wedding colors, so that is what we decided to have the little guys wear. I would like to try them someday with the regal black tuxes though. Someday!

These are the ones that I did for the "brides". Let me tell you, piping with liquid chocolate is A LOT harder than with frosting, the consistency was so different that it would run like liquid instead of being more solid like frosting. I had to do that line work super fast so it wouldn't drip everywhere. It was kind of wearing on my nerves, but I think they turned out ok! :)

The beautiful couple!

I had a BLAST making these, and I want to make more in the future. I want to make some different themed ones, with different flavors of cake and frosting and colors. Oh the possibilities! I can't wait!

To learn how to make your own cake pops, visit

http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-pops/

Have fun with it!