Bozeman

The Zetterquists

Jon and I with our seven kids.

Little Rebecca
She is the newest addition to the Bowden family.


Keith, what a happy little guy!

The girls just love Jon.

I was in heaven holding Rebecca.

I need a baby of my own.

Since we were so close to Bozeman, we decided to drive up after Jon's family reunion and see some of our good friends for a couple of days. We had a great time. We went to dinner at SantaFe Reds and I had my favorite fish tacos. We just don't have good Mexican in Mankato, so we had to take advantage of it while we were on vacation. We played lots of games, played with the kids, floated the river, had a BBQ and just enjoyed visiting with friends. Thanks Zetterquists and Bowdens for making our two days in Bozeman so much fun. It was so good to be in Bozeman again, but I told Jon, this time I really felt like a visitor. A year ago May, when we went back for Jon's graduation, it felt like we hadn't even left, and Bozeman felt like home, but not anymore. The longer we are in Mankato, the more this seems like home. We have been so blessed to have made so many wonderful friends everywhere we have lived. We love getting together with each of you whenever possible.

Sweet Angel Madalyn

Sweet little angel Madalyn

Mom & Dad saying goodbye

Her loving family saying goodbye

While our trip to Utah was filled with lots of fun and laughter, there was one event that caused us to shed a tear. Last summer while we were in Utah, my cousin's little girl, Madalyn was diagnosed with a rare type of brain cancer. She has been fighting this disease for the past year with monthly stays in the hospital for chemo and radiation. She has been such a brave little girl through all of her treatments. In June she had an MRI that showed the tumor was completely gone, and everyone was so happy. A week later, things just didn't seem to be going well and Madalyn ended up having a shunt put in. Unfortunately the shunt didn't make much of a difference and some tests showed that the cancer cells were all throughout her spinal fluid and brain. Madalyn was given a week to two weeks to live. On July 14th, Madalyn passed away in the arms of her mother surrounded by her loving family. The funeral was beautiful and there wasn't a dry eye in the chapel. Trish, Madalyn's mother gave a beautiful tribute to her sweet little girl. I was so grateful that I was able to attend the funeral. I had to leave Jon's family reunion and drive 3 1/2 hours each way to attend, but it was well worth it. The streets from their home to the church and then to the cemetary were lined with pink, purple and white balloons. Our hearts and prayers go out to Trish and Terell and their family during this tough time. They are at peace knowing that Madalyn is no longer in pain or suffering and with their knowledge of the gospel they know they will be with Madalyn again someday. I am truly grateful for the blessing of the gospel in my life, without it experiences like this would be so hard to accept and understand. I know that Madalyn will be with her family someday and until then, she is in heaven with her great grandparents watching over her family. She's their guardian angel now.

Tolman Reuinion

While in Utah, we also got to attend Jon's family reunion in Ashton Idaho. It was at Rock Creek girls camp. The area we were in was so pretty. I loved being in the mountains and being there really made me miss living near the mountains. The scenery in Mankato is pretty, and it's very green but it just doesn't compare to the mountains. We spent three days at the reunion playing games, visiting, relaxing and just having fun. The kids had a great time swimming in the pool, while others floated the river. On Sunday we drove down the road a ways to the waterfall. I can't remember the name of the falls, but they were beautiful. We took some pictures down by the falls and we could feel the mist coming from the falls. It was quite refreshing. I think everyone had a wonderful time, and it was great to see Jon's extended family, especially Grandma Tolman. It was so good to see her and see that she is doing so well since her fall in May. We love you Grandma! We had a wonderful time. Thanks to Tammy and Richard for all the prep, the reunion was great!

4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July. I drove to my parents house on the 3rd and went to the North Salt Lake fireworks with my family. Jon stayed at his parents home and played games with his siblings. The firework show was really nice, other than the obnoxious drunk people sitting right behind us. They were almost sitting on top of us they were so close. We even tried to move away from them and they just moved with us. How annoying! Because the fireworks went so late, I stayed at my parent's house and we had our traditional 4th of July waffle breakfast. Nick and Scott ran a 5k that morning and when Nick got home, we had yummy waffles. My mom bought fresh strawberries, blueberries and whip cream, so we could have red, white and blue waffles. They were very tasty! I headed down to Eagle Mountain after breakfast and met the ladies in Jon's family for a movie. We went and saw The Proposal, which was very funny. I would highly recommend seeing it, if you are in the mood for a comedy. After the movie, we had a huge BBQ at Jon's parent's home and then we headed to Josh and Amber's (Jon's brother) home for ice cream sundaes and fireworks. They live close to Thanksgiving Point, so we got to watch the Thanksgiving Point firework show from the comfort of their home and we didn't have to fight the crowds. We also bought quite a few fireworks which the kids seemed to enjoy more than the Thanksgiving Point fireworks. Silly kids! They just don't know how to appreciate the larger fireworks, because they aren't right in front of them. They had fun racing to see who could be the first to kick the old firework out of the way, to make room for the next amazing firework. I must say, Jeff did a pretty good job with the fireworks he bought. Thanks Jeff!

Reed Reunion

I've gotten a little behind on my blogging. We have had a fun time while we've been here in Utah. June 25th through the 27th we went to my family reunion at Willow Flats campground in Idaho. My family has had reunions at Willow Flats in the past, but it has been several years since we were last there, so it was a lot of fun to be in a familiar place. Being there, really made me miss my Grandpa Reed, who passed away seven years ago. He was sure missed! We did a lot of relaxing and eating, and we did go on a small hike up to the spring. The water was so cold and refreshing. Yes, you can drink the water, but I was still a little nervous about drinking it, so I didn't drink too much. I really enjoyed seeing my cousins and aunts and uncles. We don't get to see them very often now that we live soooooo far away. I love family reunions! It was good to see all of you, and we missed those of you who couldn't be there.