Happy Birthday Brandon Dee!!!

Happy Birthday Brandon Dee Bowen!!!

Born in Logan, Cache, Utah, USA on May 31, 1982 at 5:55 pm...

Yep, that makes him 26 years old.

Here he is with his birthday cake and a smile...

His day was busy and he was treated to a new digital camera and a family dinner at the Bluebird~~~

So wish him a happy birthday when you get a chance...

AND>>>

Not to distract from great event... check out the latest edition to June's Journey if you want really see something cool...

Click on Gramma June's Journey under the "Families n' Friends Blogs" Link on the left side!!!

Oh by the way....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!!

Honoring the Vets... Bowen Style

Happy Memorial Day... This is a neat holiday for me and my family because it gives a chance to reflect upon those who went before us...

I am the sexton of the Mendon Cemetery and what a great job (uncompensated) this has been for me... To look at the history and care for both the living and the dead is a humbling responsibility. It is even more important to get it done right for the sake of the family and my sanity.

One of my responsibilities as a sexton is to make sure that the flags are placed on the veterans graves for Memorial Day. In the past, I have had the local Girl Scouts help me out with this but that didn't materialize and so I decided to make it a family affair.

I informed the kids that we were going to get up early Saturday morning and put flags on the 108 veterans in the Mendon Cemetery.

Upon receiving this announcement, there was a combined groan that resembled a pre-historic dinosaur gasping for its last breath, but it turned out to be a great experience because they talked about it a lot after about the things and people they didn't know before.

So we all (Eric, Terri, Brandon, Heidi, Katie, and Erin) loaded up in the the van with clipboards and flags in hand and took to the cemetery... The Bowen Brood insisted that they ride in the back of the van with the door up and that was hilarious to say the least.

After we got out, the assignments were given out and Heidi and Brandon paired up... and Katie and Erin paired up and then Terri and I took the rest. Everybody went straight to work and it was pretty cool to see how their demeanor changed as they respected the dead they were honoring.

Above is Erin placing a flag on a vets grave... Katie was right close by... but didn't show up in the picture. The noted that there was some neat inscriptions on the headstones and that there were some cool things.

Brandon and Heidi had the longest list and I gave it to them on purpose because I knew that they would recognize a lot of the people we were honoring and they had a lot of responses to that... They ran into Dean Maurer and Pete Joe Sanchez... two of our neighbors and they commented on how neat it was to see a vet (Fred Walker) that actually wasn't buried there but only memorialized because he was lost at sea during WW II. There are four vets that are in that same situation in the cemetery. They even mentioned that they didn't know that Melva Kidman was a veteran...

The kids did give me crap about being the last one done... we, by far had the shortest list but again it was important for me to get it done right. We (Terri and I) were in the old part of the cemetery and it was mostly Pioneer Veterans who served their country, Spanish American War Veterans, and even one from the Texas Republic Army... James Jack.

Then I ran into a few people that meant a lot to me growing up... Ned J. Bodily... a WW II vet that was my principal at Mendon Elementary school... and even Joseph B. Richards... the biggest, boastinest, potlicker I ever knew... he was a character.

Terri, not to be outdone and our photographer to boot, evidently snapped a close up of the bottom of the flag sticks or.... well, we just leave it at that... Ha ha...

When all was said and done and we had completed the task, (although this picture only shows one flag), the sight was impressive and it was neat to know that there was that many people in a small town cemetery had served their country with honor... and some gave their all.

This morning, after bishopric meeting, I made my way up to the cemetery with camera in hand and notice that the city had set a row of flags up the road leading to the cemetery and it was a cool site... Don't you think???

This is looking down the road...



Happy Memorial Day to All... and spend some time this weekend about YOUR heritage and the people in you lives that have made a difference in you live... whether dead or alive... because when it comes right down to it... Family is where it is at...



I think our family learned something about that today... I appreciate their efforts and love them a ton.

Tommorrow, I am excited to participate in another one of my sexton duties... getting the colors posted... Memorial Day Style...

Matt Shelton had a great Eagle Project where the Flagpole was replace and it looks wonderful... To ice the cake, I have asked him to lead a flag raising ceremony at dawn tommorrow... 5:58 am.

I mentioned a minute ago about posting the colors Memorial Day Style.... Prior to becoming a sexton, i didn't know that there was a protocol for a flag service on that day... Here it is...

Displaying the flag at half staff on MEMORIAL DAY

On Memorial Day the flag is flown at half-staff only until NOON. The proper sequence for displaying the flag on this holiday we have set aside to remember the more than one million men and women who have died in defense of our Nation is:

1. In the morning the flag should be attached to the halyard and raised briskly to the top of the flag pole, then slowly lowered to the mid-way point of the pole.



2. At noon the flag should be raised to the top of the flag pole.



3. At the end of the day the flag should be slowly and ceremoniously lowered and removed.
   
   So think of me at noon tommorrow when I will be raising the flag from half mast to full mast...
   
   
   Hope we all learned something today...
   God Bless!!!
   
   Here's a couple of pictures from this mornings "half mast" raising...
   
   

Grammy's Birthday Bash...

This is our Grammy Pat Price. She is Terri's Mom. She just had a birthday, and we all got to go to the party. Last Sunday (April 20th) all the Prices that live in Utah went to the Chuck-A-Rama in Ogden to celebrate 71 years of our favorite Grammy's life. She probably won't like that I told you how old she is. But I think she looks great.

This is picture of the big table. All the cool people sat at the big table. Don't we all look well fed and happy to be together? It was a lot of fun for everyone to pick their own favorite foods for Grammy's birthday.

This is the teenage table. In order to be allowed to sit here you had to have your hand on a cell phone with unlimited texting and pictures. The cool people didn't qualify. But all the teenagers wished Grammy a happy birthday, and not one of them used their cell phone to do it. I think I even

saw them give a few hugs.

Charlie even came to the party, and he sat at the cool table.

He got to hold a big glass of Sprite and his Nana fed him Jello.

I think he liked it. He just couldn't figure out how to chew it.

We'll have to practice.

Noteworthy of Praise... OK we WON!!!

Well after 12 weeks and competing against 126 teams (teams of 2) in five states... the tabulations are in and... WE ARE THE BIGGEST LOSERS!!!

Terri works at Icon Health & Fitness and they have sponsored a Biggest Loser Contest 3. Before it even started, I really didn't want to be bothered by the whole thing... Terri and Heidi were going to do it originally and that was fine. Then at the last minute (and with a little bit of prodding), I thought that I would give it a try. Much to Heidi's shagrin...

The journey started on January 7th and I weighed a humpback whale size of 270 lbs. Terri weighed... well... you know.... about... none of your damned business... she was overweight...OK ? I thought I was going to die that first weeks... my kids said I was cranky and I find that not to be true... I'm just not that way?!?!? After two weeks, I could have eaten my own arm off... Then the first weigh in day came on Jan. 21st. I will never forget the feeling and only wished I could have seen and captured the look on my face when I had lost 16.2 lbs!!!

That is what tipped the scales, so to speak. It was that day, that I decided that I could lose weight. WOW!!! After that, I committed to get serious about the whole deal... We lost combined weight EVERY week (the only team to do so) after that.

On April 7the we weighed in and we ended up being the ICON BIGGEST LOSERS!!! It sounds like such an insulting title, but we are a wee bit proud of that.

We have eaten like little bunnies and birds and have been noticing that we have sprouted tail feathers and have grown bunny hair on our backs and bellies. There was no sodas, sugar, and at the last few weeks, no fruits. We have been hitting the "stay put" workout... ya know were you get on this stupid machine and walk in the same place? BORING!!! Thank God for Creedence Clearwater Revival CD's for motivation!!!

When it got a little warmer, we took to the streets and found that the side hills of Mendon could be a little steeper that we wanted, but we averaged 2 - 4 miles per walk and it was so much more entertaining.

I climbed on to this other stupid machine that had about 3 inches of dust on it and of which my previous best total time was 40 seconds. You know it was a machine called a Cardio Glide??? I never thought that a body could hurt so bad because of a stupid squat thrust motion!!!

We had two weekly successes during our journey... Every week the contest organizers would give out a $100 gift certificate for Sam's Club for the team that lost the greatest amount of averaged weight percentage... We won that once on Jan. 28th and then again, on March 24th. We also took 2nd place, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th, one time each. So we were always up there...

But were noticing things. Our waistlines and other body parts started disappearing. Our faces and necks started getting skinnier. I could now see my feet! WE were getting skinnier and after all was said and done, we felt better!!! It was getting easier to eat better although it wasn't always popular.

We are proud of what we have accomplished... and we lived happlily ever after!!! End of blog entry...

Oh... you want to know the results??? How silly of me!!! How could I have put that off 'til the last? I apologize for being so insensitive...

When all was said and done, the final figures were as follows:

1. Terri lost a total of 50.8 lbs.


2. Eric lost a total of 60.8 lbs.


3. Terri lost a total of 18.81% of her body weight.


4. Eric lost a total of 22.52% of his body weight.


5. Eric and Terri lost a total of 111.6 lbs.


6. Eric and Terri lost an combined weight percentage of 25.762%.


7. 25.762% was the winning number for the Biggest Loser 3 Contest.


8. Second place was 21.631%. Yep, we smoked 'em!!!


9. My blood pressure was 100 / 68 at the doctor yesterday. Cholesterol to follow.


10. Eric and Terri won $1000 for their efforts...
    

Now it is necessary that we tell you that this wasn't easy and over the past twelve weeks, my language has been described as being a little too colorful.

Listed below is a Top Ten New Swear Words Used by Uncle Eric... Here it goes...

#10 - Cardio Glide

#9 - Water

#8 - Points

#7 - Carbohydrates

#6 - Protein Diet

#5 - NO!

#4 - Treadmill

#3 - Weight Watchers

#2 - Salads

And the #1 New Swear Words Used by Uncle Eric is:

SOUTH BEACH!!!

It is important that I acknowledge at this time, the driving force behind the whole idea, the regimine, the meals, and the exercise incentive... that is my sweet wife, Terri. She was always pushing, prodding and stern with me and her... She was great!!! Thank you, Terri... I love you!!!

Great Grampa Fred has a great day

Yesterday was not only a great day for an inspiring General Conference (don't you just love President Monson???), but it was even better when a liitle red headed boy, Charlie Bradshaw, and a old crippled man, Great Grampa Fred Bowen, met for the first time. Dad's excitement was something I haven't seen for many years.

Dad was in full "trying to whistle" mode most of the time, but it was so cool to see him hoot and holler, try to whistle, yodel, let out a laugh, and he even gave out a Tarzan yell or two.

Charlie and dad would look at each other and Charlie would respond with a GOOO. while GG Fred would respond right back. He would reach out to touch him and ask, "whacha been doing?" or "where ya been" repeatedly. That is what he used to always say to my kids when they were babies.

We even had him yelling out "Charlie"!!! He would reach out and touch his feet. He yelled out, "Buddy, Buddy, Buddy" a couple of times too. Then out of nowhere, he would go, "BOO! it was really funny to listen to him.

He was so excited!!! Like I said before, I haven't seen him so responsive in years. I was so proud of him and it was so great to see (although I seemed to have horribly blurry vision... OK I was bawling) but to see him respond to the presence of of a babe was inspiring. I really think that they were communicating spirit to spirit. There was a light in both of their eyes today. It was joy defined...

We got several four generation and family pictures while we were there. (Betsy was having a little cat nap here but I'm told that we have better pictures) I will add them as I get more.

I even took some precious video of his reactions to Charlie that will be forever cherished but they are too big to publish on this blog... perhaps I can solicite Dave's help to get a "photoshopped" edited version to publish in the future.

All in all, it was a great, proud, happily tear-stained cheek day. I just shake my head in wonderment as I watched his excitement.

I don't think that Great Gramma June was excited by any means either. She must have thanked us a thousand times after... (ya know... that halvziemer's stuff...)



She (they) were one happy couple today!!!

The only sad part is that we could get the old man to sing "Big Black Dog". I know it's in there dad!!! I can still hear it in my heart.

We'll close for the time but thought that we would leave just a couple more pictures just to show you that we were all happy that day... I even wore my tape measure so I feel like I could measure up!!! A real Kodak moment... eh?

Thank you Betsy and David! And thank you little Charlie for making all of our days... you were our joy today!!!

And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
And when he had done this he wept again;
And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.

(Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 17:21 - 23)

A Long Saturday in Mendon town...

Whew... It has been a busy day...
ITEM ONE... Terri looks out the window and what did she see???

• Popcorn popping on the apricot tree?


• No... we don't have an apricot tree!!!


• A rainbow with a pot of gold at the end??


• No... we plain ain't that lucky!!!


• A spring snow storm???


• Well... you are getting warmer (or should I say colder?) but what else was she seeing?

Why... there is something strange out in the garden spot!!!
Good night... it's a big black 4 legged beast...
No... a beast wouldn't be that stupid to sit out there in a snowstorm...

Unbelievable!!! She had to take a picture... and this is what she saw...

Eric is... looking for night crawlers??? No...

Digging a premature grave???

No... it ain't dead yet.

What is he doing???

Is he out of his mind???

Quick came the reply...

"I'm planting my peas and my radishes and my green onions and my spinach and my lettuce and my Walla Walla onions... What the hell does it look like I am doing???"

Personally, me things that the lad is a little bit nuts... must have spring fever!!!

Anyway, he got the early

veggies in the ground and it

looked like winter was

starting over again...

Later in the day, the snow all melted and the crazy fool went down and planted Junie's early veggies too...

The gods must be crazy... Eric is!!! Certifiable!!!

ITEM TWO...

After several weeks of worry warts and late phone calls we FINALLY got Gramma June's taxes done... Ah yes... there is a God!!! I [Eric] thought she was going to drive us up a wall!!! She hasn't had to file taxes for several years because she is so blasted old, but one of her "friends" told her that she had to hurry up and get it done so she can collect a check from Uncle Sam for the "stimulus package" that is being advertized nowadays. She was blown away by the Turbo Tax software and could figure out how she could e-file with out a signature or even a fingerprint... We told her that it was done by collecting a fee and sending it in... She still is wondering what is going on... Anyway, she ended up getting $600 after all the craziness...

After the tax monster was chased away, Mom pulled out a picture frame and showed us a really cool thing. If you didn't already know, June was named "Angel of the Month" for March for her volunteer work at the Sunshine Terrace, which is the rest home that Dad is currently residing. Somebody at the Terrace made her a cross stich of an "Angel of the Garden" and it was absolutely beautiful... Don't you think so. She was very moved by the whole deal and was very thrilled by it all and so I took a picture of it and shared it with you all.

ITEM THREE...

Today was also a Dance competition for Katie and Erin at Utah State University. There are tons of dancers in an all day competition and Terri videoed their dances so I could see them... I was in the cabinet shop getting some much need projects worked on... So as I come to a close with the blog for tonite, may I just leave you with the dances performed by both Erin and Katie at the Utah Dance Fest held in the Spectrum at USU... They are performing in Salt Lake City at the Energy Solutions Center (formerly the Delta Center) in a even bigger competion next Saturday, April 5th... Get you tickets now... We are certainly proud of them both.

Good Night and Sweet Dreams!!!

The journey begins

Well, here we are... the Bowen's!!!

Wished we knew what we were doing with this blog stuff but at least we will give it at try...

The Bowen Bunch from Mendon, Utah is composed of:

• Eric... the Dad


• Terri... the Mom
  
• Brandon... the lone son, no say, and the thespian


• Heidi... the instigator, the softball player / coach and "controller"


• Katie... the sophomore, the dancer, and the softball player and...


• Erin... the freshman, the dancer, and youngest.

We seem to be missing one... Hmmm...

Oh yeah... our oldest daughter... how foolish of us... so sorry...

• Betsy... singer, piano player, married to David Bradshaw, and a new mother to our first and new grandson, Charlie.
  

Cute ain't he... we are hardly proud. We are affectionately known as "Papa" and "Nana"... and again... hardly proud!!!

This is our first installment... future postings will be coming but for now we need to take a breath and hope or better quality...

So here we are and we are glad to become acquainted with ya'll!!!