Mack's 9th Birthday and other August Fun

Last weekend Mack turned 9. He is obsessed with anything golf, he still LOVES legos and will build for hours if he can't go play golf. He is such a funny kid that always keeps us laughing. We never know what he will ask or tell us. He is full of information and words. He still likes to get up early on Saturday mornings. His favorite foods are still steak, white rice, and tacos. He will tell you that he "reads at a 6th grade level." This fall he is playing football and golf, and so far, he loves the 3rd grade. I say it every year, but I really can't wait to see what Mack will do in life. He brings energy, joy, and excitement everywhere he goes, and I pray that this will continue throughout his life. 

Since he always has a plan for everything, his birthday party was planned back in May. Top Golf with a few friends was his request, and Worth and I delivered. We drove 7 boys plus Emma and one of her friends over to Jacksonville in 2 vehicles for a birthday party at Top Golf. 

The party was the easiest party I've ever done, and if Top Golf was closer we'd do it all the time. However, the drive over to Jacksonville was quite an adventure. I had 6 children in my Suburban and Worth had 3 children in his truck. Worth, in his "get there as fast as possible" self, took off out of the driveway and left us in the dust before I could even get the iPad movies pulled up for the boys. (The movie screens in the Suburban no longer work.) The trip was uneventful until we were about 20 minutes outside of Jacksonville. I heard "Uh oh" from the backseat, quickly followed by, "Ms. Ashley, Luke threw up!" 

By the grace of God, we were right at an exit, which is rare on I10 between Valdosta and Jacksonville. I pulled quickly off the interstate and into the first gas station we came to. As we were pulling in, Emma yells, "They have vacuums!" Sure enough, the gas station had a car cleaning station with vacuums, air freshener, and scrubbers. I got Luke out of the car and checked him over (apparently he gets violently car sick- which I wasn't aware of until that moment.) The boys were all screaming and hanging out of the windows trying to avoid the vomit odor.  I decided to let Emma and her friend be in charge of the 4 boys while I ran inside to get  drinks, clorox wipes, paper towels, etc.  I was able to get to a vacuum station and get the car cleaned out while they played in a dog walking grassy area nearby. I was praying the whole time that no one got kidnapped. 

The crisis was resolved, the car smelled better than before the vomit episode, and we were finally back on the road to Jacksonville. The party was awesome, as mentioned before and everyone seemed to have a great time - including Luke, who pulled it together and made it all the way back home without an issue. He was a trooper. Mack had his closest buddies around him doing his favorite thing, so it made me happy no matter what. 

A few other pictures will show what else we've been up to this month. 

The birthday boy waiting his turn at Top Golf

Lining it up and talking the whole time:)

Mack had friends at the party that were from 3 different schools, but they all got along great!

Cookie Cake again for the win! 

Top Golf even decorated for us. It was an awesome place to throw a very easy party.

After a Saturday party, he woke up Sunday morning (his actual birthday) to some fun surprises.

The 9 year old

Emma had to get in on the picture. 

After church, Mack had a relaxing day of lego building, a 2+ hour game of Dawgopoly with his sisters, and outside playing. We had the dinner he requested - Taco Bell. We finished up our dinner with left over cookie cake for dessert, and Ellie participated in holding the candle for him to blow out. 

To top the weekend off, Mack mastered his front flip on the trampoline. 

On another note, I came home from work Tuesday to this. What used to be our master bedroom. We were having the flooring repaired due to some water damage that happened in the spring when our hot water heater leaked. We thought they would be popping up only the few damaged boards and replacing them. We had no idea that we would be moving out of our bedroom for the unforeseen future. 

For a birthday gift, Worth took Mack to play golf at Sea Island last Wednesday. Mack got to miss a day of school for it, and he was pumped! They played with our friends, the Sheltons - Mike and Brooks. 

Brooks got to miss school too, and I think they  had a blast. 

Sweet beach friends, even though Brooks is a foot taller than Mack. 

Emma took part in a basketball clinic this weekend with middle and high school girls. It's just a skill building clinic but she got to play some varsity girls that were there. She learned some, and sweated a lot. 

She was the youngest and shortest there, but she said she had fun. 

New School Year!!

It's the start of a new school year for the Bowers kids! 2 Fridays ago, August 5th, Ellie started her 8th grade year, Emma her 6th, and Mack his 3rd grade year. 

They were super excited to get back to school. We shopped for school supplies and it was so nice, because they help so much with that now. They can even organize it all in their book bags without me helping. 

They had all of their open houses in 1 day, the Wednesday before school started. Emma's was at 8:00am, Ellie's was at 11:00am, and Mack's was at 1:00pm. I forgot to take any pictures at Emma's, because it was nuts with all of the new 6th grade parents there and several new teachers. Ellie wouldn't allow me to take any pictures. We were at her open house for 7 minutes. We literally walked in, checked in with her homeroom teacher and left. Mack's 3rd grade open house was obviously very different. We took pictures, Ellie and Emma visited with their old teachers, and I didn't feel like I was constantly embarrassing Mack like I was with the girls. 

The weekend that followed the first day of school was a fun golf tournament that Mack and Emma played in. Emma was the only one that played in her age group, so she ended up 1st place, and Mack got attacked by the "putting monster" :) He had fun though, and learned some things. 

Mack's new teacher, Ms. Law, had the cutest photo booth area set up. 

The girls love getting their manis and pedis before the 1st day of school. This year, they both wanted acrylic nails. Ellie's didn't even last 6 days, Emma's are still going strong.

Mack blew off some back to school nerves by blowing off the driveway for us. He loves the blower and as of this weekend, has fallen in love with the pressure washer. 

These 3 are growing so quickly! I can't believe we are already at the start of another school year. This year, Mack and Emma made their own signs, and Emma made Ellie's. 

I was able to get a quick picture of Mack walking into his 1st day of 3rd grade. I'm so glad he shot me a smile. He seemed a little nervous beforehand. 

1st day post school frozen yogurt is always a hit! Mack even ran into one of his best friends, Tate, in the yogurt shop. 

These 2 were ready to play....

and they were being coached up by the best! E.W. was Emma's caddy, and Worth was Mack's. 

Mack started off strong with an awesome drive. 

These goof balls were not bothered by the extreme heat. 

Emma's 2nd day was her best. 

E.W. was very patient with her. 

I may be biased, but I think she wins in the cute girl golfer department for sure! 

Mack's score after 18 holes ( 9 holes each day) was 104. He didn't place, but was happy to be there. 

Emma, as the only competitor in her division, shot  a 95.  I think this was her personal best after 18 holes. 

This morning at church, Mack was presented a new bible with the other new 3rd graders. This was the only picture I could get from where we were sitting. 

June and July 2022 in 20 pictures

 I tried to sum up the summer in 10 pictures, and I just couldn't do it. I felt like I got more covered with 20 pictures even though I left out a ton of stuff! Beach trips, VBS, baseball championship, basketball camps, family time, friend time, dance camp, golf, and so much more got packed into this very short summer. I always feel like we never can quite get it all in before it's time for school to start back again. I will miss the lazy afternoons with nothing to do but hang out in the pool or watch a movie as a family during a thunderstorm. Here are some highlights from the summer: 

Mack's team won the baseball championship again this year! The last game was a tough one that we were not expecting to win, but it happened and this kid was thrilled! 

June brings our annual Ft. Morgan beach trips. The girls spent their mornings with doughnuts, coffee, and card games until time to go to the beach. 

New shirts this year for the crab hunting crew! Will Stuermann is now taller than Worth! 

Low Country Boil night is my favorite

All the kids are getting so big! 

We made it back home from the beach in time to spend a little time with my sweet daddy for Father's Day. 

We clean up well, especially for a big family wedding. Chancey married Maddie and it was such a sweet (yet hot) ceremony! 

We made it to SSI for the 4th week. I'm not sure what Worth was doing in this picture, but he had the serious attention of multiple Bowers and Berryman children. 

Typical day under the tent at SSI this summer. Cousins galore, italian ice, and grandma being the ring leader of the kids. 

            

Worth and I like to run the Sunshine 5K the morning of July 4th. This year we were joined by these 2 precious boys, Jay, and Amos. Mack and Bo ran like champs. I was so proud of them! Bo had forgotten his shoes, so he had to wear Ellie's Nike's with a pink swish :) - just wanted to make sure that got documented in case he looks at this picture later and wonders whose shoes he has on. 

The rest of the crew ran the 1 mile fun run.  They definitely won in the cute competition.  

Great crew representing on the beach for the 4th! 

Our annual patriotic family pic

Bennie's is always a fun night. Mark and Ginger joined us this year. 

One night at Mullet Bay, we let this crew have their own table. They did so good, but for some reason they didn't pay for their own dinner. :)

After returning from the beach, Ellie jumped into a 2 week dance intensive.  Her dance teacher sent me so many good pictures, but I loved the concentration on Ellie's face in this one. 

                                     

These two are so much alike. They are typically butting heads. We were out doing some school supply shopping and stopped for lunch. These 2 were being so sweet I had to document it. 

This picture will not enlarge for some reason. Mack said goodbye to a friend this week. His friend Gibson is moving to North Carolina and came over for an afternoon of fun to say goodbye. 

After making the first cut at the Drive, Chip, and Putt at Sea Island, Emma competed in the 2nd round  in Savannah. She did awesome placing 3rd overall out of 15 girls. Only the top 2 advance, so she won't advance but she was proud of her performance and so were we. It was a TOUGH competition. 

She placed 3rd overall, but was 2nd in Driving and Putting.  She was thrilled to have done so well even if she won't be going to the next round.