We Now Have Guardianship of Ariana!!

We are very excited, we were granted guardianship of Ariana today.

Want to Buy a House? GREAT NEWS!

Congress has extended and expanded the homebuyer tax credit. Please click on the link to see the breakdown. You don't have to be a 1st time homebuyer to take advantage of this.
http://www.realtor.org/fedistrk.nsf/files/government_affairs_tax_credit_ext_chart_110409.pdf/$FILE/government_affairs_tax_credit_ext_chart_110409.pdf

Go A Team - Deep Creek 2009

Chris, Ameerah, Trey and Alexa

CLIENT APPRECIATION PARTY

This year for our Client Appreciation party we did an interactive "Sound of Music". It was alot of fun and always great to see past and current clients. I made Cliff get dressed for the occasion... what a good sport! Ariana and Trey were "when the bee stings....when the dog bites"! Cute! :)

Alexa and Ariana in Jackson Hole

Aunts and Uncles at Bowen Reunion

Alexa

Deep Creek 2009

Ariana

Nieces Weekend in Kaysville

Baby Bo

Mom's 70th Birthday

Malad Hot Mamas - Friends from High School

Jeff, Gayle, Cliff and Laurie in Amsterdam - 2009

CATCHING UP

Okay, so I am not doing so good keeping up with what is going on. Here is what has happened since April 1, 2009. Cliff is still traveling a lot for work. Real estate business has been better than last year and I have been very busy keeping up with my clients. Gotta love it!!! We've learned that just when you think things are going smooth in your life, something can come along and change things. One thing I learned along time ago is that "Change is good, change is your friend". Keep reading and you will find out why!!

Cliff and I got to go on another cruise, this time it was the "Tulip Time" cruise. We went to Amsterdam, all through the Netherlands and Belgium. We went with alot of family members and good friends and had a great time. I do love the river cruises!!! Can't wait for the next one.....at least, I hope I can go on another one!

We were blessed with another grandson this year so I took a few trips to Phoenix for baby shower, the birth and went back to help for a little bit and then went back out for the blessing of Thayne Bowen Barker or "Bo" for short. What a blessing he is to all of us. We can't wait to see him again for Thanksgiving!!! I was able to see our granddaughter Alexa while I was there too and she is getting so big and beautiful. They sure grow up fast. Of course our other grandson Trey lives here so we get to see him often and love every minute of it. Being a grandparent is the BEST thing ever!

I went to Idaho a few times too. The Bowen reunion is always over Memorial Weekend and I never miss it. There is always well over 100 relatives that come for that. I love being around family...can you tell!! Then we were back there to have a Hayden Reunion and celebrate my mom's 70th birthday and there were 41 of our immediate family there. It was great to see alot of my mom's friends from high school and all the family. We all went to Island Park, Yellowstone and then Cliff, Ariana and I all went to Jackson. So much FUN!!!! If that wasn't enough, I went back for the Bowens' Nieces Weekend which is always a blast and we had over 31 cousins and aunts there. It is great that all the family loves to get together so often....and oh, what a crazy bunch!! Since I was already out there I called some of my high school girl friends and we had a couple of sleepovers, where we ate,laughed and talked all night long.

In May, we were blessed to have our granddaughter, Ariana, come to live with us. She just turned 2 in July and has certainly livened up our lives. Never a dull moment here. Just when I thought that we were finally empty nesters and enjoying every minute of it, life had a way of surprising us. I am not going to lie and say that it has been easy and fun, it has taken me a while to get use to having a 2 year old around again and I have had to change the way I do things and what I do. I'm finally settling in and enjoying it though. Thank goodness for Emily, who came over the summer to babysit while I worked and tried to get use to all of this. Ariana is the most adorable and smart little girl and is certainly a blessing to everyone she comes in contact with. We have rearranged our house to make a room for her....just finished it and I must say that it is adorable. She absolutely loves her new room and loves playing in it. She loves to go to her babysitters, church and never misses blessing the food and saying her prayers at night. She is a good example to me...who would have thought it!! We just pray that we can keep up with her! :)

We went to Deep Creek, MD with a bunch of our friends. We try to go somewhere together every year. They are wonderful friends and we all get along so well. The weather was great and we had a beautiful home right on the lake and looking at the ski resort. The kids had a great time tubing and boating and we enjoyed just being there, sitting outside watching the activities. It was very relaxing.

Cliff's brother, Stan came to visit and they hung out with Ariana all weekend while I was at my Nieces Weekend. They must have had a blast. Ariana keeps talking about Uncle Stan and I think Uncle Stan fell in love with her too!

I think this brings us up to date! Hopefully I will get better at this.

Real Estate Picking Up?

This has been a crazy 3 weeks in the real estate business! Is it just the spring rush or are things really turning around? Who really knows the answer to that....all I know is that I have been extremely busy and loving every minute of it. Interest rates are at an all time low, housing prices have dropped and first-time home buyers or anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last 3 years can receive an $8,000 credit if they purchase before December 1,2009. I'm seeing multiple offers on properties again (nothing like at the peak of the market)....there are great deals out there so if you or someone you know is looking to buy have them contact me (but not until after April 13), they don't want to wait until everyone else is buying.

Phoenix....Here I come!

After our wonderful ski trip, Cliff flew back home and I drove to Phoenix with JD ,Chris and Brandon. I love being with my boys and there is nothing like and 8 hour drive for a great bonding experience! I only got to be in Phoenix for one day so didn't get to see many people but I did get spend some time with my granddaughter, Alexa, who just turned 4 and I got to see Shauna and the little bundle of joy that she is carrying (our 4th grandchild. Alexa is a beautiful little girl and full of energy. JD and Shauna have a very nice home and I fell in love with their dog, Roxy.

Skiing in Pagosa Springs, Colorado

We met my mom and dad; brother, Jeff, and his family Gayle, Olivia, Gabby and Hannah; Gayle's brother and his family; JD and Chris and Chris' friend Brandon in Pagosa Springs for a fun weekend of skiing. It was great company, beautiful scenery, and couldn't ask for better weather, the skies were blue, sun was out, snow on the ground and the temperature was in the 50s and high 60s. Who could ask for more!!! The skiing was GREAT, we all had a wonderful time and no one got injured. The only bad thing was that all good things come to an end!

Visit with The Lewis Family

Cliff and I got to spend a little time (and I mean a very little time) with Cliff's niece, Traci and her beautiful family, Dan, Madi and Jenson. Traci is Cliff's brother (who passed away last year), Glenn's, daughter. It was so good to see them and catch up on what the family was doing. Madi and Jenson were just toddlers the last time we saw them so it was fun to hear what they are up to. We flew in to Albuquerque on our way to Pagosa Springs to go skiing and since we got in so late, we spent the night and got to see them before they left to surprise Phil for his birthday in Phoenix. We hope they come out to visit us sometime soon!!!!

ReMax 100 takes a Ski Trip

A group of co-workers at ReMax 100 decided to take a ski trip to Liberty Mountain in Pennsylvania. To tell you the truth, I've only heard bad things about skiing on the east coast.....ice skiing and short runs! I love skiing but I don't like to fall down so therefore, I'm a cautious skier. Ice skiing was a little scarry for me but, it was a great chance to get to know some of the people in my office that I don't get to see much. I'm all for trying new things and was very glad that I went. It was a cold day but the sun was shining and the skies were blue. Our first run up the mountain I got quite a chuckle looking down (while on the chair lift) and seeing nothing but rocks and grass.....where is the snow? We saw the snow machines working hard and sure enough, on the top there it was....SNOW! It certainly isn't skiing like I know it, because I've only skied out West, but all in all... it wasn't bad. It didn't take long to get down the hill and there wasn't any lines to get on the chair lift. Some of my co-workers were kind enough to hang with me while I tested the snow on the green runs a few times and then we went to the back side of the mountain where the snow and the runs were much better. It was a GREAT day! I hear that the conditions aren't always as good as they were that day... we were lucky not to have too much ice on the slopes. All in all, if I want to go skiing and I can't get out West, I would certainly do it again!

Myrtle Beach Marathon - WE DID IT!!!

Ninon, Debra, Lisa and I have all been anxiously awaiting the Myrtle Beach Marathon. This was the first marathon for all but Lisa (who actually runs and has done 4 before). We decided to break into this easy and signed up to walk the half-marathon. We drove 8 hours on Friday to get there....great company and it was a nice drive. Got there just in time to get registered and pick up our packets, have a really late dinner and get to bed.

Just to give you a little background of why this is a big deal for me, Ninon and I were walking last week, the day of the "melting ice" and I somehow hurt my knee only 3 miles into the walk, probably not the smartest thing, but I continued to walk another 6 miles on this hurt knee because I wanted to get that longer walk in before the half-marathon. I let the knee heal the rest of the week and it felt pretty good the day of the marathon. I took my knee brace but felt that I could probably do it without it....big mistake!

The marathon started at 6:30 a.m. on February 14, Valentine's Day, and we were all excited for the race. The crowds were huge, I think I heard around 6,000 people and we all started at the same time, the runners and walkers, the half-marathoners and the marathoners, so it was a bit of a bottle neck at the beginning. We decided that we would at least run across the starting line and the finish line....just to say we ran a little :). We get about 3 miles into it and Lisa and Debra get the itch to pick up the pace. I didn't want to put more stress on my knee so I stayed back and Ninon, being the good friend that she is, decided to stay behind with me. It was soon after that that my knee gave out. I had to walk another 2 miles before I could find a first aid station to wrap my knee. The Dr. told me the wrap probably wouldn't help but I was determined to continue. We walked about 1/2 mile and I had to call Cliff to bring me my knee brace...by the time he found where we were (we didn't stop walking) it was another 2miles. The knee brace helped alot so we continued but not at the fastest pace. It was fun to have everyone on the sidelines cheer us on and I certainly wasn't going to stop after coming all that way. Since we had our cell phones, we found out that Lisa decided to run after about mile 4 and Debra continued her fast pace walk and found a nice family to walk with. Lisa made it in 2:46 hours, Debra in 3:20 and Ninon and I in 3:46 with still around 100 people behind us. I feel pretty good that 1, I finished and 2, I wasn't last!!! YEAH!!!! It started raining the last 3/4 of a mile so we were soaking wet, cold and by the time the race ended, my knee was killing me but I was still smiling and glad I could mark one more thing off my Bucket List.

Our husbands took us out for breakfast, shopping at the outlet mall and to a nice restaurant for dinner then we went back to the condo to play games. We had a wonderful Valentine's Day and one we will never forget! After we all went to church on Sunday, we drove the 8 hours back home. Next time, we will have to go a day or two early so we can see Myrtle Beach!

I can see how people get addicted to the marathons. We are already planning our next one!

Sounds of Ice Melting

Have you ever listened to the sound of ice melting on a lake? Ninon and I were taking our walk around Centennial Lake on Monday, it was around 8:30 a.m., it was really cold but the sun was coming up and getting more intense, the skies were blue, and it was going to be a beautiful day. That's when we heard the strangest noise. At first I thought something fell in the lake but we didn't see anything so we continued to walk. Then we heard another noise, almost like a long screeching sound....I thought maybe it was some kind of bird but we couldn't think of what bird would make that kind of noise. The noises continued, there we were hypnotized by the icy wonder of the lake. The sound was nothing that I have ever heard before....almost like an electrical boing echoing under the water that was followed by strange pulses and crackling. That is when we realized that what we were hearing was the sound of the lake melting. As we watched the shoreline, we could see that it was the sound of the ice breaking up. It was a magical moment and probably one I'll never hear again. Who would have ever thought the sound of ice melting could be magical, but it was! The lake was very crowded that day and we could see people all around the lake stop and try to figure out what the sound was. I hope I have the opportunity to hear that again!

A Whirlwind Trip to Utah!

The whole purpose of going to Utah was to attend the Miche Bag Conference... the nice thing about having family there is we always have many more people to see and places to go. Lisa went out on Wednesday and I arrived on Thursday. I got into town and we immediately went to see our Uncle Bob who has been very sick and in the hospital for over a month now. It was great to see both him and my Aunt Ruth and to see for myself that he is doing better. They are very special people and I love to visit them when I can. After we left there, we went to my cousin's(Peggy) house so we could meet up and go to dinner with her, Dixie and my Aunt Kathalee. She lives in a beautiful home that overlooks Bountiful and the valley. The sunset was beautiful as we stood on the back balcony and looked down into the valley. I wish I could have gotten a good picture.....they were all blurry!!! We went to a place called Iggy's for dinner, where they had big screen TV's and I got to see JD on TV at the Sun's game. We got to our hotel late and got up early to head to the conference.

Friday was the first day of the conference. It was a wonderful conference, very informative, they have a lot of new products coming on and have developed systems to make our lives easier. They took us to dinner at "The Roof" restaurant which overlooks the Salt Lake Temple and that was a beautiful site....the dinner was really good too!! The conference finished up early on Saturday afternoon. We were going to go skiing but both Lisa and I got a little stomach bug the night before and didn't dare! Besides that, we had alot of people to see. Lisa's daughter, Emily, is going to school at BYU so we went to Provo to pick her up and then met my other sister, Amber, and her family at the grand opening of a new bakery called "Sweet Tooth Fairy" (it was featured on Rachel Ray's show). I blew my diet and had to taste almost everything they had......very good!!! Another friend, Ruth, met us there too! I think we took up the whole store.

Sunday we went to the blessing of my Nephew's (Kyle) son. Morrison is sooooo cute and such a good baby. The blessing was at a spanish branch and we didn't understand a word they were speaking but it was a very special day. I even sang the hymns in Spanish! I think most of the congregation was family! Amber's parents were very kind to invite us to dinner with all the family and we spent a wonderful afternoon visiting.

The Superbowl came on and we still had alot to do so we saw a little of the first quarter and then headed for the hospital again to see Uncle Bob where we watched until half time. There were more of his family there so we got to visit a little with more family members....I love big families!! As soon as half time came on we left to drive to Springville to see Lisa's brother-in-law and I got to see a little more of the game. Only 8 minutes left when we left. I wish I could have seen the whole thing, it was an exciting game....the Cardinals did GREAT!!!! We took Emily back to Provo and headed back to our hotel in SL. It was an exhausting weekend but tons of fun! Everytime I go out there, I want to move back. The mountains are amazing and were so beautiful with all the snow on them.

Shoveling then shoveling some more!!!

Normally, this wouldn't be any big deal. We only got an inch of snow! Yesterday, before my whole hair fiasco, I shoveled that beautiful dry snow off the sidewalks and the driveway and enjoyed it. The snow was a nice change from the ugly dry cold weather we have been having BUT then came the sleet and rain and then it snowed a little more. I woke up to a half inch of solid ice on my driveway and sidewalks. I took Chica outside and realized that my beautiful snow was frozen solid and we were sliding all over so I decided that I had better get back out there and shovel some more! My back and shoulders already ache from yesterday......great exercise! I managed to get half the driveway cleared and all the sidewalks (don't want anyone falling on my property....ouch!) I ache all over and now would like a good massage. It never fails, when Cliff is gone, the snow and ice comes!!! We are suppose to get more rain this afternoon and then it will freeze again tonight.....tomorrow I may have to pay someone to clear it for me!!

The Hair Dilema

Last week I had an appointment to get my hair done but got so busy at work (yea!!!) that I had to cancel it. No worry, I can get another appointment for next week... right!!! Well, as my life goes, I have decided at the last minute to go to SLC on Thursday and called to get that appointment. The receptionist set it for today (so I thought).....the weather was bad so I called to confirm and they said to come in. I go in and they tell me my appointment is for tomorrow......I can't go tomorrow because I have meetings all day. So I ask, what is a girl to do? I remember some of my friends telling me to try their hairdresser so I call to try to get an appointment and that shop is closing early because of the weather.....hmmmmm. I stop by Ulta hoping they will take a walk in but they let all their people go home early. I decide to go to good ole JC Penneys Hair Salon in the mall because they have to stay open until the mall closes (rain, shine, snow, sleet).....brave huh!!! There was one hairdresser left in the salon and she said she would be glad to do my hair. I was getting a little nervous after sitting in the chair and we were having a hard time communicating but I let her go ahead. A lesson learned........I saved myself $50 and I really like both the color and the cut. I guess I have found a new hairdresser!!!!

Cardinals to the Superbowl!!!

It was an exciting evening to watch football. We were really hoping that the Cardinals would be playing the Ravens at the Superbowl. It would have made for an interesting game! We are very glad that the Cardinals are finally going and we won't even have to decide who we want to win, it's the CARDINALS all the way.

When I was in economic development in Phoenix, I got to work with the group that brought the Cardinals to Phoenix and then was one of the volunteer leaders to help with the first Superbowl in Phoenix. It was very exciting to be part of all that and now we get to see them actually play in the Superbowl!!!! GO CARDINALS!

We were watching the Ravens game with great anticipation....also hoping that they would pull it off and we would have two teams going. Oh well, you can't have it all!

President-Elect Obama in Baltimore!!

Being part of history!!!! Saturday President-Elect Obama took a train from Philadelphia to Washington DC with stops in Delaware (to pick up Vice President-Elect Biden) and Baltimore. It was one of the coldest days we have had since we have lived here and there were huge crowds all along the train route. Great up close and personal pictures.....don't you think!!! And to think that I was able to stay warm, watch all the great events and take these wonderful pictures all from the warmth of my own home!

She's showing!!!!

Shauna and Roxy

Shauna and JD are expecting their first child in June!! You couldn't tell she was pregnant when she was here at Christmas but the proof is here......they are hoping to find out the sex on Monday. That will make 3 grandchildren in Phoenix and us clear back here in Maryland!!

Ryan On Special Assignment!!

Ryan is on special assignment to the Grand Canyon. His company is removing an iron ore mine from the side of the canyon and he is one of the guys that repels down to remove it. This is the type of thing that makes parents go gray before their time!!! Apparently, there is sacred Indian ground below, where this mine is, and they can't let anything (including screws, nuts etc.) fall on this sacred ground. There is snow on the ground and is very cold......it's dangerous work but we hear that Ryan is really enjoying it.

We are looking forward to hearing from him and all about his adventure!

Brrrrrrrr!!

WINTERS IN PAGOSA SPRINGS!!!


Now this is what winter should look like!!!!! There is nothing worse than having bitter cold weather and have NO snow. At least if there is snow on the ground, it looks nice and for some reason, I feel warmer. We enjoy going outside and playing in the snow or driving around and seeing how beautiful the trees and ground look with the snow glistening. As it is now, I'm cold and don't want to go outside for any reason. Oh to be back in Pagosa Springs right now!!!! These pictures are taken from previous winters in Pagosa...we sure miss it.


To top off the cold weather, we had a power outage in our neighborhood today. I came home from having a nice lunch with Karen all ready to settle in to a nice warm house, drink hot chocolate (sugar free, of course) and get some work done but walk in to a cold house and no electricity to fix hot chocolate! I cleaned for a while and then felt sorry for Chica so decided we would go for a ride to get warm. The power was out for about 4 hours and the temp in the house got down to 45! It's all good now though, Chica and I are doing well and settling in for nice warm evening!!

As I was talking to Cliff this morning, he informed me that he woke up to NO hot water in his hotel. He had meetings to get to and had to have a COLD shower.....that'll get you going in the morning!


I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day for both of us even though the weather says it is only going to be in the single digits...BRRRRRRRR. Hopefully all you in the warmer climate enjoy your warmth and those of you in the snow are appreciating its beauty. I'll be thinking of you! :)