Adam & Kandis Barlow

Zoo Day

2012-01-26T16:18:00.001-05:00

We headed to the Phoenix Zoo with friends for a playdate morning out (November 16th)...

Lincoln is VERY protective of his two girls...Millie & Elsie. These three are quite hilarious together :)

Lincoln and his ladies :)

Checking out Mr. Elephant. Perfect weather + child entertainment: Zoo day = success!

November 13, 2011

2012-01-26T16:09:00.001-05:00

November 13, 2011 - the day we put up our FIRST Christmas tree in 9 years of marriage, can you tell we were a bit excited! We've always traveled for two to three weeks at Christmas since we lived across the country. But now that we're closer, it finally makes it worth it to decorate for Christmas and enjoy it for more than two weeks. And if a tree is going up, well then we're going to enjoy it for as long as we can. We found the prettiest 9 foot tree (obviously fake) on Craigslist, purchased, decorated with ornaments I had accumulated thus far, and enjoyed! (a few more decorative pieces were added to the tree but it was presentable at this point)

DISNEYLAND!

2012-01-25T11:22:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, November 1st, we (along with Matt/Kristen/kids) headed to DISNEYLAND! We usually end up going to Disneyland over the Holidays or during the summer and it's always SUPER busy. But the day after Halloween might have been our most mild tourist day there, it was fabulous. No crowds to bust through, no lines to wait in forever, no rides to rush to...just a perfect day at Disney :)

We took Kenedee through the Princess walk-through a few years ago and haven't been back since because the line is always so long. She quite enjoyed herself! (Lincoln would not go say hi which is why our family usually jumped in the picture).

Aurora wanted to meet Lincoln-boy as well but he was not sure about that. He refused to say hi to any of them. Here you can see him trying to escape. Obviously this was for Kenedee, but it was quite hilarious to see how Lincoln reacted with the Princesses.

Ellen & Pierce kicking it while the rest of the crew went on Star Tours.

With it being such a quiet day at Disney, the kids were able to see & meet so many characters. They thought that was pretty cool.

Mr. Mouse!

Kenedee loves Mickey but who's that with Minnie? I bust up laughing everytime I see this picture; Minnie didn't know where her hand was placed apparently. That may or may not be Lincoln!!!

Jacob & Melanie were celebrating their Honeymoon at Disney and decided to come meet up with us for a few hours that evening. We ended our night with Tower of Terror...my all-time favorite! (pictured: Kristen, Melanie, Jacob, & Kandis)

Thank you Disney for one perfect day with the family!!!!!

Halloween

2012-01-25T10:39:00.000-05:00

I have two other Holidays to post about but must start where I left off...Halloween. The Wedding festivities had just ended but most of us stayed in Burbank the following week to enjoy the company. Monday, Halloween, the kids all costumed up before heading to the LA Zoo. (we originally thought we'd be at Disneyland on Halloween but changed our plans last minute, which is why Lincoln wore his 'Peter Pan' costume I made for him last year). They both looked quite darling and Pierce tagged along as our jack-o-lantern...

McKay & Julie's Family (which was announced this day that they are expecting #5 and since I am way behind in blogging, we now know it will be a girl!!!!) along with Amber & Jeff's family (notice Harrison's costume that he came up with himself: Steve Jobs, this kid is a crack-up)

Matt & Kristen's two: Rapunzel & Simba (Sam rocked his lion costume); along with Clark & Holly's two: Aurora & Belle

Kids with their cousins at the Zoo...

This boy continues to spoil us with his smiles. He is just happy to be here! (He just had gotten his first tooth which you can barely see in the pic on the right)

Pierce LOVES his dad. Adam & Pierce have bonded a lot earlier than our other two which we think has to do with the fact that he was in Law School and super busy. He's also bottle fed which has allowed Adam to help out a bit more in the earlier stages. Let's just say he's a big fan of his Dad...

After the Zoo, we all headed over to Bob's Big Boy to check out the snazzy new 'Barlow Booth' (which they gave to Dennis at his retirement the weekend before). There was a wing in the back that had four tables all to itself, which couldn't be more perfect for his ever-growing family...

That evening we decided to take the kids trick-or-treating to downtown Burbank. By the time we got there, most of the shops were out of candy so we headed next door to the mall where they roamed from store to store getting candy...HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

pre-catch up

2012-01-20T16:44:00.000-05:00

It overwhelms me to think of all the catch-up that needs to be done on this little space of ours but my time is just about to open way up. And just maybe our last few months will finally start getting posted next week. A lot has happened in these last three months and a lot of transition is happening now. But that's how life is, it never stops...which is definitely a good thing. As I close my current chapter in Primary this week, the only positive thing I'm looking forward to is more time. (halloween, thanksgiving, december craziness, the curse of the snake, christmas, forever-flu, pierce's skin problems, pierce's eye craziness, church calling switch-ups, and the list goes on) So stay-tuned!

BARLOW BASH, part two

2011-11-21T15:14:00.001-05:00

Saturday, October 29th was another big day for the Barlows. Jacob & Melanie's WEDDING!!!!

But a few weeks before the wedding, something exciting arrived in the mail - their invites! The average person was nowhere as thrilled as I was to open these little beauties... I was asked to design their wedding invites, which was quite exciting.

They were doing a peacock-themed wedding using golds, teals, and purples for their colors, peacock feathers for the groomsmen' lapels, etc. So I used the peacock for inspiration for the invites. It's always rewarding to design something (and love it) and then to have it exceed your expectations once it's in print form. Can you tell I loved this project :)

All of the cards laid out - main invite, reception card, luncheon card, temple sealing card, and peacock wrap...

Onto the main event! (10.29.11) Jacob and Melanie were married & sealed in the LA Temple. It was so exciting to see how happy they both were...they are one cute couple! After the sealing we came outside to find our kids and wait for them to exit out of the Temple. Kenedee was being a stinker and wouldn't smile for me...

Lincoln was looking incredibly handsome this day :) and Pierce looked like a little stud. Love these kids.

And here they are!!!! She had her dress custom-made to create the look she wanted. It was BEAUTIFUL.

Adam's immediate family... (2 parents, 10 children, + melanie)

Jacob & Melanie with their 21 neices & nephews... 20 of these children are from Jacob's side of the family :)

The Girl cousins! Ellen, Kenedee, Haven, Lydia, Abby, & McKenzie...

The boys were walking back over to us after taking some 'groomsmen' pictures so I wanted to snap a picture of them all together. They were totally pictured-out and not having anything to do with the camera...stinkers. Greg (bro-in-law), Jeff (bro-in-law), Matt (brother), Adam, Clark (brother), and Taylor (brother) - McKay and Jacob are missing from this picture.

Again, once Adam has made up his mind being done with pictures, he thinks it's hilarious to ruin them with ridiculous smiles...buster!

After the Temple, we headed back to Burbank for the Wedding Luncheon. At the Luncheon, the in-laws were surprising Melanie with a special song & certificate...becoming an official member of the Barlow-In-Law Club. Jeff started this when I married in (9 years ago). I received an official certificate with Jeff as the President, Julie as Vice President, and I became the Secretary. So with each new addition, a certificate is presented. This year Melanie received a surprise song at the Luncheon (that was rehearsed at 10:30 pm the night before). It was a good time!

Barlow-In-Law Club video (I can't figure how to get this on here so click the link to view)

That evening was the Reception. It was held at a local golf course on the hill and turned out beautiful. Hannah (Adam's youngest sister who is an amazing artist) drew this tree for the sign-in table that everyone finger-printed in coordinating colors and signed. Awesome.

I bought Lincoln his first suit for the wedding. He was looking so handsome like his daddy!

This is where the surprise Flash Mob dance comes in (Annell's idea)! I choreographed some simple moves and sent the video link to the family about a month before the wedding. Adam was supposed to start this out by himself (actually I wanted his parents to start it out but they didn't love that idea :) I laugh while writing this because Adam was having serious anxiety thinking about starting the dance. It was totally stressing him out to where he couldn't enjoy the excitement leading up to the wedding weekend so I told him I'd start it out with him. So we did. The reception started at 6 and the flash mob was scheduled for 7 (a total surprise for Jacob & Melanie). I asked the DJ if the music was going to be loud enough because during the receiving line he was playing quiet music in the background. He told me it would be so loud that no one could talk...awesome! So I gave the DJ the nod and the music started. After Adam and I start it, the brothers join in, followed by the sisters, then in-laws, and grandkids. You can't really see the grandkids but they were all busting a move and looking awesome! Enjoy!!!

The bouquet-toss (Kenedee was standing front row and center :)

The garter-toss (which look closely and you'll see that it is a Lakers garter :)

They then ended the evening with a dance party...

Jacob and Melanie got this party started...love it!

This was the first wedding we've been to where they've pulled off a true dance-party. But I think it's because the bride & groom were rocking out the entire time. It was a fabulous evening!

Kenedee got her groove on with a few of her boy-cousins...

Congrats Jacob & Melanie, you pulled off a perfect wedding!

BARLOW BASH, part one

2011-11-16T22:42:00.001-05:00

End of October was the ultimate Barlow bash...Taylor's return from Guam, Dennis' retirement, and Jacob/Melanie's wedding - all in three days. It was a PARTY!

First up...Friday, October 28th. Taylor (Adam's youngest brother) was returning home from his Micronesia Guam Mission...spent mostly on an island called Palau. He was supposed to arrive at 10:00 am at LAX. With me putting us a little late leaving the hotel - plenty of time anywhere else but with awesome LA traffic and his arrival getting bumped up a half hour - I thought we were going to miss his arrival. We go running into the airport (last ones to arrive) and see that he has yet to walk out those doors...a big phew from my end. We ended up waiting another half hour at least. But the Barlows were enjoying their breakfast burritos so they were content (I'm not a fan but they LOVE these things). Dennis makes these posters for each of his sons when they return home and as a fellow poster-maker myself, I was quite impressed. The grandkids held that proud for at least a half hour waiting for their Uncle Taylor...

Everyone was there...all 39 of us. Dennis & Annell (CA), McKay & Julie's family (ID), Jeff & Amber's family (OR), our family (AZ), Matt & Kristen's family (MI), Clark & Holly's family (UT), Greg & Heidi's family (NJ), Jacob & Melanie (CA), Kim (UT), and Hannah (CA).

Uncle Taylor!!!!! The grandkids had grown so much in 2 years, with 6 new ones he'd never met (Lydia, Brigham, McKenzie, Ellen, Davis & Pierce)

Lincoln had a major meltdown because we wanted him to take a picture with Taylor...he was having a ROUGH morning.

From the airport we went straight to Dennis' retirement luncheon, which was held back in Burbank at Castaway Restaurant that overlooked the entire valley...beautiful. We walked in and instantly felt like VIP...it was a big deal that all 10 of his kids were there that day, spouses, and 20 grandkids. He was a loved man!

The kids checking out the tables before everyone arrived...

Dennis is the biggest candy fan so each of the tables were overflowing with goodies...the grandkids' ultimate lunch feast! They even had these little M&Ms (jack-o-lantern faces on them) that said 'good luck dennis' on the back. The City of Burbank went all out for this man, it was pretty special.

Dennis is also the biggest fan of Bob's Big Boy (he grew up eating there and still loves to go there). So the city had Mr. Big Boy himself show up in person...talk about awesome.

Who has a picture with Bob's Big Boy...we do :)

Lincoln was in candy heaven!

After lunch they had a program with awards and thoughts about Dennis (the City Attorney of Burbank for 14 years). It was pretty neat to hear what everyone had to say about him. There were also a few mormon jokes, big family jokes, no alcohol jokes, kind of funny. One of the funniest parts was when Mr. Big Boy was presenting him with an award and the City Manager was pretending to be speaking for him, making up on the spot the funniest things since Mr. Big Boy couldn't speak.

Adam's sisters prepared this song for their dad and performed it that afternoon...

He is an amazing man with an amazing family...like I said much love for Dennis that afternoon...

Some of the gifts/awards he received...

After the luncheon, we headed back to hotel so the kids/cousins could enjoy some time at the pool. It was a beautiful afternoon.

That evening we went over to the Stake Center so Taylor could get released from his mission as a full-time serving missionary. There was a powerful spirit there as Taylor bore his testimony to us. Another special moment.

After that meeting, we were able to get Adam's parents to take Jacob home while the rest of us stayed in the church parking lot and practiced our surprise flash mob dance that would be performed at Jacob/Melanie's reception the following day. Annell had put me in charge of choreographing a dance so I filmed it and put it on YouTube so the family members could all learn it a month prior to this weekend. Taylor picked it right up, grandkids had it all memorized, adults were looking awesome...get excited!

Sand Volleyball

2011-11-11T23:43:00.001-05:00

A favorite of ours is sand volleyball. Now that the weather has cooled down, we've met up a few times at the park near our house to picnic and play sand volleyball with friends. The kids are entertained for hours in the sand while the adults enjoy an evening of volleyball.

One night in particular (October 21st) we decided to ride our bikes to the park. Pierce was a nice boy and fell asleep, sleeping most of the evening in the bike trailer...

Lincoln decided to dig out a massive hole, big enough to sit in, which kept him busy for the evening...awesome.

Some of the kids playing while the adults took a break...

Big Day!!!!

2011-11-11T23:07:00.001-05:00

October 19th - a big day for Kenedee and Lincoln. It first started off with our last pool day for the season...we're gonna miss our pool days.

But the big news occured that evening when both kids mastered their bikes without training wheels. Kenedee has been riding here and there for the last 6 months without training wheels but she took a fall a few months ago and has been timid ever since. We decided to take off Lincoln's training wheels (the bike he got from Powell when he skiied for the first time). The first time going down the street Adam was able to let go and watch him ride, amazing. By the second time down he was riding by himself, skills. This kid has got skills. Go Lincoln-boy!!!!!

Since Lincoln mastered it so quickly, Kenedee decided it was time she could ride her bike. Here she is riding solo...

Brotherly Love

2011-11-11T22:30:00.001-05:00

Pierce loves Lincoln and Lincoln loves Pierce. I think one of the most rewarding things to watch as a parent is the sibling interaction and love that goes on between one another. Lincoln is the sweetest little thing to Pierce and loves to get right in his face. He can make Pierce laugh, smile, scream, it's pretty fun to watch. Lincoln is going to love having another boy around to rough up with once he gets a little bigger.

I took these pictures one morning (October 17th) of the two boys interacting. Love it!

(6 1/2 months old) Pierce is starting to sit up for a few seconds, still working on that one, but spends most of his day on his belly just happy as can be. He's got killer back muscles from extending himself out (his freefall skydiving move)...

I don't think you'll find a happier baby. Pierce you are one sweet boy!!!

Halloween Costume Party

2011-11-08T15:28:00.000-05:00

We (my Primary presidency) had a Halloween Costume Party for all of the adult leaders in Primary and their 'significant ghoul' (October 15th). We have 50 Primary callings in our Ward (nursery, jr/sr primary, & cub scouts) so it could have been like 100 people...whoa. But it was at the end of Fall Break and so we were planning around 40-60 people. We decided for our Appreciation Gift that we would make caramel apples. We made 50, yes 50 of them, the morning of the party. We put them in clear plastic gift bags, tied with ribbon and had a candy corn 'thank you' tag. I should have taken a picture after but here they are sitting on my counter before we ran them to the church. They turned out awesome and tasted mighty yummy. I was a bit nervous for this one since I was in charge of this part. I experimented with about a dozen apples with a few different caramel recipe variations leading up to the party but we ended up using the caramel wraps (from Walmart) since they were super easy and I thought the caramel worked and looked best. A must try cause you can't really screw those up. And then we drizzled white and semi-sweet chocolate all around in a semi-pumpkin way.

This was our first real costume party we've been too so Adam found us some sweet costumes on Craigslist... 1983 Prom King & Queen (which I thought was even cooler since it was the year I was born :)

We had soups served in pumpkin bread bowls, salads, and desserts for food. We then voted on the best costume which there were many, everyone went all out, played some minute-to-win-it games, and passed out the apples. It was a great night...

I saw these bats on MADE last year and have been wanting to try them out so this was the perfect opportunity. Veva hung them up all around the gym and they turned out awesome...super cheap but sweet decor item.

Karyn & Dave won 'best' costume this year, but how can you not with these costumes. They were a hit. Best part was when we were judging the costumes and Karyn had the 'ghost busters' music playing from her phone and marshmellow-man Dave was busting some moves, hilarious. Thanks for the good laughs!! (I'm a little sad writing this since Karyn & Dave are probably moving in a few weeks. She is my 1st counselor and is awesome. It's been over a year now since we were called in, which is crazy to think about. We all work so good together so I'll be sad to see her leave :(

That morning Lincoln had his last sports class which was baseball as you can see. He might be a left-handed star one day cause he can throw and smack that ball :)

Kenedee and Pierce watching their brother play baseball...

Fall Break

2011-11-07T11:24:00.001-05:00

Fall Break this year was October 10th - 14th. With a child in school now, Fall Break was a total party at home. It was so nice to have Kenedee home for a whole week. She was able to just play, took naps and wasn't grumpy, she got along with Lincoln so well...life was good.

We had a SPOOKY BUDDIES night with the Ahumadas. Ernie & Lauren had us over for dinner in their new place, we brought 'dirt and worms' for dessert, and the kids watched 'Spooky Buddies' in their theater room downstairs while the adults chatted upstairs. It was a fabulous night and the kids had a blast. Here are Caleb & Kenedee enjoying their dirt...

We went swimming that week (Kenedee was excited for this one since she's missed out on swim playdates while being in school). The kids entertained themselves for hours...

Kyron, Lincoln, Adley, Kenedee, Millie, and Dax kicking it pool side. (They were actually dipping their feet in the hot tub - they get spoiled swimming in AZ's weather. They were a little chilly with the cooler water and 90 degree weather.)

Kenedee & Millie in their matching swimsuits...

Adam took work off Friday so we could have a family day around town. We took the kids to the Phoenix Childrens Museum (our first time going). I've heard a lot about how awesome it is and it didn't disappoint. We loved it. As we walked in there was this CD wall...loved it!

Kenedee loved this area. She'd put this piece of fabric in a tube, which is then sucked throughout the tubes and gets shot out somewhere along the way. Pretty sweet...

They contributed to the painting of this castle. It's been painted a different color each day for the last two years or something crazy like that. They showed us a chunk of the castle showing hundreds of layers...insane.

I even enjoyed myself finding the kids in the 'noodle forest'...

The kids rode forever in this 'car wash'. A little boy was too small to ride a tricycle so he hopped on the back of Kenedee's as she went around lap after lap.

Lincoln is very much into seeing 'how things work'. He spent forever in this area...

Ice cream parlor...the kids loved serving each other fake ice cream. Lincoln's face cracks me up in this first picture... 'what flavor do you want???'

That evening we carved pumpkins that we had gotten the week before at the Farm. We let the kids draw out their own face on their pumpkin. They quite enjoyed it this year.

Notice the intense concentration and Lincoln's tongue...he is a total mini-me of his dad :)

Kenedee's pumpkin (left) and Lincoln's pumpkin (right)

Fall YUMMINESS!!!

2011-11-04T13:39:00.003-05:00

We were assigned 'dessert' for Sunday dinner at the uncle/aunt's house (October 9th) so I decided it was time to make my pumpkin cake...DELICIOUS!!!!

I found this cake in a magazine five years ago and make it every October. I love it! Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try...

CAKE

1 ½ cups FLOUR; 2/3 cup COCOA; 2 tsp BAKING POWDER; 1 tsp BAKING SODA; ½ tsp SALT; ½ cup BUTTERMILK; 1 cup CANNED PUMPKIN; 2 tsp VANILLA; ¾ cup BUTTER(1 ½ sticks) softened; 1 cup DARK BROWN SUGAR; 1 cup GRANULATED SUGAR; 3 EGGS plus ONE YOLK

Heat oven to 375ºF. Line the bottoms of two 8-inch roundswith parchment paper and lightly butter. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder,baking soda, and salt together. Stir the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanillaextract together in a small bowl. Beat the butters and sugars together using anelectric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs andyolk, one at a time. Reduce mixer speed to low and alternately beat in theflour and buttermilk mixtures in thirds. Pour the batter into the preparedpans. Bake until a tester, inserted in the center, comes out clean – about 35minutes. Cool layers completely before frosting the cake.

FROSTING

6 ounces CREAM CHEESE; 1 ½ cups POWDERED SUGAR; 2 ¼ tsp COCOA; ¼ tsp CINNAMON; ¾ tsp VANILLA

(separate bowl)

1 ½ cups HEAVY CREAM; ¾ cup POWDERED SUGAR; orange foodcoloring

Beat softened cream cheese using a mixer set onmedium-high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and vanilla and beat on low speed untilwell combined. In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream with powdered sugar and orange food coloring on medium-high to soft peaks. Gentlyfold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until well combined. (mayneed to add more orange food coloring to your liking). Spread 1 cup frostingbetween the two layers and use the remaining frosting to ice the top and sidesof the cake. Makes 3 cups. Chill 30 minutes and proceed to glaze the cake.

GLAZE

4 ounces SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE; 1 tablespoon BUTTER; 3 tablespoons CORN SYRUP; ½ cup HEAVY CREAM

Place semi-sweet chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a medium heatproof bowl.Bring heavy cream to a boil (I heated mine in the microwave for 1minute), pour it over the chocolate, and let sit for 3 minutes. Gently stiruntil smooth. Let sit for 3 to 5 minutes, until the glaze thickens slightly.Pour the glaze onto the center of the frosted cake and smooth out to the edgesto allow the glaze to drip over the sides. Makes 1 cup.

My friend introduced me to these PUMPKIN COOKIES w/CARMEL FROSTING...AMAZING!!!! So I made these as well and have probably made 6 more dozen since then. Love em...a must try!

Farm Fun

2011-11-04T13:18:00.003-05:00

Saturday, October 8th, we spent our morning with friends at a local farm. It was the perfect October outing.

Adam was trying to beat me at the bean bag game (knocking over metal pictures) but never could :)

It still makes me laugh seeing Adam ride this with the kids... (they loved it!)

This might have been the coolest thing I've been on in a long time. It was a giant air balloon bounce thing (like 20' by 40')

Janeen started bouncing the kids and they couldn't stop laughing. They were loving it and kept doing it over and over til they slid off the other side. Then they'd run back up and want to do it all over again.

I was also loving this thing and started to do some standing tucks...til the guy told me there was 'no flipping' which was posted on the sign that we didn't see. :) But I sure enjoyed it while it lasted.

Lincoln and Millie up close and personal with donkey...

We ventured into the corn maze and made it about a 1/2 mile in til we realized that this was 4.5 miles long (posted on a sign along the way). That wasn't going to happen with 10 kids in tow so we turned around hoping the kids would think it was part of the trail and made our way back out :)

Star Student

2011-11-04T12:36:00.001-05:00

On October 7th, Kenedee received the 'Star Student' award at her Elementary School (given quarterly to two students in each class). Her teacher had written the nicest letter about her and sent it home before the Awards Assembly. Love this girl!

(She was two months into school and this was the first day she had worn pants. It's finally cooling down!)

(It was so weird to me that they have their assemblies outside. That could never happen growing up in Idaho.)

Mr. Independent

2011-11-04T12:28:00.002-05:00

Lincoln thinks he is way older then he is. If there is something he thinks he can do, he'll do it without asking permission...simply because he thinks, 'I can do this'. We were headed out one October day so I opened the garage door and went back inside to get Pierce. Lincoln in the meantime wanted to hang out in the garage. When I came back out, Lincoln had turned on the hose, pulled it to the front of the house, and was watering our palm trees. He sees Adam do this all of the time and helps out on most occasions. But it made me laugh that he thought it needed to get done so he did it. Mr. Independent.

Conference

2011-11-04T12:21:00.001-05:00

Crepe Fest was a General Conference tradition in Georgia (spent with my sister and her in-laws). But we've kept it going strong here in Arizona (October 2nd). Yummy! Lincoln was helping me out this year so we decided to make blue crepes and pink whipping cream. The kids thought it was pretty cool to be eating blue and pink crepes this year. And I gotta admit, they were fun to eat. And mighty DELICIOUS!!!!

During the Conference weekend, I made some spiders for an upcoming Halloween party we were having. I made them out of the foam pumpkins from Walmart. Painted those black, bent and stuck in the pipe cleaners, and hot glued eyes on. They turned out pretty cute. I think it would be sweet to make a ton of them and tape them to the walls so they look like they are climbing up the walls or have them coming down stairs...maybe next year.

September

2011-11-04T11:54:00.002-05:00

September flew by. Here's what we were up to...

Lincoln and his friend Clara were playing outside one day. It started to rain so the kids plopped their chairs down and watched the weather together. This is how I found them. Pretty cute.

Lincoln started an 'itty bitty sports' class at the local YMCA which included basketball, soccer, and baseball. He was pretty excited to have something for him. And was for sure the best one out there :) But really, this kid has got some skills.

Our family bike rides have now begun (since the weather is cooling down). We go a few times a week and LOVE our time outside. It looks like Adam is doing all the work with three kids behind him but don't worry, our friend Millie was behind my bike. I'm not a total slacker :)

Pierce was introduced to rice cereal (almost 6 months old). He almost gagged the first feeding but has taken to it quite well.

Just the cutest little boy!!!

Lincoln keeps himself busy with projects since his pal, Kenedee, is at school all day. This one in particular made me laugh. I printed out these train cars from 'Dinosaur Train' online so that he could color them and put them together. Well he decided to color each train car and then cut out each and every section (there were about 5-7 sections which made up each train car). I was thinking he'd tape the train cars together but he decided to cut the individual sections and then tape those together...talk about a lot of work but that's what he wanted to do. Here is his train complete (with about 40 or so sections all taped together). This kid is a funny one!

Staycation

2011-10-19T23:36:00.002-05:00

I had never really heard this word til we moved to Arizona. And that's just what everyone does...staycations. Since Phoenix is the Resort hub and the summer heat isn't exactly their prime-time, they give great deals during those hot months. Our Staycation opportunity came at Cibola Vista in Peoria. We stayed Friday and Saturday night (September 9th and 10th) and loved our weekend getaway.

We woke up Saturday for a morning of tennis. Adam bought the kids their first rackets in preparation for this weekend (they've been using our badmitton rackets when we go play tennis :) and they were excited! They've both got some serious skills!!!

We spent our day at the pool, oh how I love the sun and water: my perfect vacation!

Posing away...

Do you see that man standing in the background of Lincoln's picture. Well he so happened to be the man that tuned our piano...talk about SMALL WORLD. We were at the pool and saw a family come out with kids our same age. I told Kenedee and Lincoln to ask if they'd want to play and little by little they finally interacted. So we start chatting with the parents. Find out they recently moved here from the South, husband is a piano tuner, she works at the hospital, etc. I ask them their name cause this was all sounding too familiar. Turns out he was the man Adam found on Craigslist to tune our piano. Once we started looking for pianos, Adam found him on Craigslist and would email him about pianos we'd find, asking if they were a good brand, good price, etc. He even went and checked out a few for us since he knew what to look for. So once we bought, he came and tuned our piano and was the nicest guy (and knows his stuff about pianos). Small World!

We heard (from the piano man :) that there was a Mellow Mushroom nearby...WHAT!!!! We loved this joint in Atlanta and made sure we ate there on Saturday night. It brought back some good memories and was mighty delicious!!!!!

Staycations will now be a yearly thing in this family, it was the perfect weekend getaway!!!!

5 months

2011-10-19T22:59:00.002-05:00

Pierce at 5 months old (September 6th). He is the happiest little boy! He was ready for a swim that day...

His flip flops lasted a whole 2 minutes til he knew something was on his feet and kicked em off...

I decided to try out a door jumper with this baby and he thinks it's pretty cool.

I'm always amazed at the bond siblings have with eachother. Pierce LOVES Kenedee and Lincoln and they show that love right back. Lincoln is home with him more (with Kenedee in school) and is so sweet with Pierce. He is always wanting to make him smile, make him laugh, make sure he's okay, bringing him a toy, laying with him on the ground, giving him hugs, oh he is so sweet to Pierce. And Pierce knows it, he loves his brother!

the Artist

2011-10-18T21:56:00.003-05:00

Kenedee is a Master Artist these days. I'm serious though, I think she's kind of amazing. She loves to draw...LOVES to draw. It had gotten to the point that she was grabbing 10-20 sheets of paper a day from my printer and drawing anything and everything. So I took her to the store and bought her her very first drawing book...she filled it in the first two weeks. So we bought another and that one is mostly full. I love looking at her pictures. She draws from memory but her detail is crazy good. She must have my photographic memory cause she pulls these pictures out of nowhere. Well, the other day she drew a picture of our family and hands it to me with a proud look on her face. WHOA!!!!! What's going on here!

I immediately ask her what is on our shirts and she replies, "we're all wearing Elmo shirts". Alrighty. (But she has never drawn an eye without a complete circle). So I ask her why she didn't complete the top of the eye on our shirts and she replies, "cause they are sticking out mom, like eyes." Oh wow. She is now drawing 3D. I love the innocence of children!

I can't look at this picture without busting up. Seriously busting up!

Busted

2011-10-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

While I was showering one day (September 6th to be exact :) Lincoln broke my hourglass. He and Kenedee are always turning it over so I'm not quite sure what he was doing this particular time to bust the glass. But he did. And instead of coming to tell me, he decided he could fix it himself (which is so Lincoln). And then he hid the evidence by pushing the spilled sand from the entertainment center to the carpet. When Kenedee got home from school she asked why there was tape on the hourglass. I look over. What is tape doing on there. I ask Lincoln if he had put it there and that 'busted' look shows through. He tells me he broke it but that he fixed it with the tape so it's good to go. It was quite a good tape job (he's a master with the tape these days). But sadly my hourglass ended up in the garbage that night :(

Labor Day Weekend

2011-10-18T00:59:00.002-05:00

Kenedee and Pierce enjoying their time together

A tasty breakfast outside...

Followed by haircuts for Adam, Kenedee and Lincoln...

We then headed to the pool with our friends to cool off from the heat. The kids thought the diving board was pretty sweet. Lincoln even dove off the end of the diving board!

Showing off their new haircuts...

Tongue-Tie

2011-10-16T22:48:00.001-05:00

I had never heard of 'tongue-tie' til we had Pierce. Day two of Pierce's life, the Hospital Pediatrician came to check him out in the hospital and tells me my baby is tongue-tied. Come again? What? She points out that the stretchy part of skin that attaches the bottom of Pierce's tongue to the floor of his mouth was so far forward and didn't allow a lot of stretch...tongue tie. She goes on to say that it is not uncommon and that nowadays they usually just leave it alone. Back in the day they clipped most tongue ties but don't anymore cause it's usually not a big deal and will stretch on it's own the bigger they get. But problems arise in breastfeeding (not allowing a proper suck motion with the tongue) and speech (not allowing the tongue to get to the top of the mouth for the 't' sounds). Luckily, Pierce has some stretch to his and has had zero problem feeding.

Of course, when you're told anything is wrong with your child you immediately research it on the web. If you're going to be told anything is wrong with your baby, tongue tie is a pretty great one to have. After a week old I took Pierce into our Pediatrician and asked her about tongue-tie. She checks out his tongue and says 'i would for sure get this clipped'. Come to find out, her son had tongue-tie and had speech problems so he didn't get his clipped til he was about 2 years old. At that point they have to get put under and have the procedure done in the OR. But if you do it before a year old, it's a simple procedure...in and out, no medicine. So at about a month old, I take Pierce into a Specialist to see if we should clip it. The Specialist checks him out and says 'this is not tongue tie!' (total rude voice). I was like 'what! both the Hospital ped and my ped told me he is tongue-tied'. She says 'look at all that stretch, he can stick his tongue outside of his mouth. Tongue tie is when there is only about a millimeter of stretch and they can't move their tongue'. Okay, I get that. But Pierce was clearly tongue tied. He had a bit of stretch but that stretchy piece of skin was attached at the VERY END of his tongue and right at his gums, looking like this... (this is a random pic from the web but it looked just like Pierce's tongue)

The Specialist says in a stern voice 'you need to quite looking at it and quite worrying about it.' Okay fine, I left the office feeling like maybe it's not such a big deal. But after a few weeks, it was still bugging me. Why not clip the tongue if it can only help, not hurt. Why wait to see if Pierce will have speech problems if we can get it clipped now and he can have full movement of his tongue. Win win if you ask me. Another reason people clip them is because they look like a snake tongue, it's kind of crazy (heart shaped). So at his 4 month check-up, I told his Pediatrician I wanted a second-opinion on his tongue. She agreed and completely backed me up about getting it clipped. Since our insurance had changed I was able to get in to see the Specialist she had taken her son to (on the Phoenix Children's Hospital Campus). So I made the appointment for August 22nd and in we went. Here is my happy boy before his appointment. (I wish I had gotten a better shot of his tongue but I didn't)

The Specialist walks in, looks at his tongue and says 'oh nice, we can make this look really good.' What? I say 'so you think he needs it clipped?'...making sure I'm not crazy for wanting it clipped. She agrees that it is so far forward that it's not allowing his tongue to have it's full mobility. The stretchy part was so thin that it would be an easy clip and he'd have no problems. She said the problem with waiting to clip tongue-ties is that if they do have problems down the road, they have to be put under in the OR when right now, it's an easy snip. She tells me that they don't even numb the area because the numbing shot would hurt just as bad as the clip itself. So they just hurry and clip it, no medicine, no nothing. She tells me that I need to step out of the room and go down the hall since it would be a little traumatizing to watch...poor baby. So Lincoln and I walked out and two more nurses walked in. I hear my baby screaming a few minutes later and out they come to get me. Talk about quick. The doctor was holding some gauze in his mouth and handed Pierce over to me so I could calm him down. And off we went. There is not a lot of bleeding usually but I think because they had to have clipped at the end of this tongue and right by his gums, he was kind of a mess that evening. He would start playing with his hands (in his mouth) and bloody drool would come out, he looked like he had gotten in a fight that day. But by day two there was no bleeding and he was good to go. You'd never know his tongue was attached where it was. I am SOOOOOO glad we got it clipped! Pierce was a total champ!

IF - Blacktail

2011-10-10T14:10:00.002-05:00

Saturday, August 20th, we spent our day at Blacktail Lake. Nothing beats a day at the lake, unless it's a day at the lake on Powell :)

Pierce & Ryder all snuggled up together. Like I said, the boat is drug for Pierce. The sound of the engine puts him right out :)

Kenedee has gone kneeboarding with me, at 2 years old in fact. But that consisted of starting off at the beach with us already on the board. So I thought I'd try it with her sitting on the board and me trying to get up behind her...it was a no-go. I could not get myself up. I had no elbow room or space on the board to pull my knees up so I was totally bummed I couldn't make it happen!

So Kate and I went instead. I love me some kneeboarding.

And the kids loved them some tubing!

That evening was spent outside, having a little fun on the tramp...

...and flipping... (kate, me, Kellie)

We flew home on Sunday, August 21st, and were sad to say goodbye. We've seen my family almost every month for the last while so Christmas feels like forever away! Until then!!!!!

IF - day two

2011-10-10T00:57:00.000-05:00

Friday, August 19th, a close family friend was getting married so we were able to attend the Wedding Festivities! At the Wedding breakfast with my fam... (Kellie, Ryder, Mom, Dad, Me, Pierce, and Kate)

After the Temple ceremony, we came home and kicked it outside for a few hours. Grandpa Craig gave everyone a ride on his motorcycle. Lincoln was hesitant at first but enjoyed himself, surprise surprise. And Kenedee loved every minute of it.

While he was taking the kids on rides, I rode around the neighborhood with Kate's gas-powered scooter from forever ago. I convinced Lincoln and Kenedee to ride with me but they didn't enjoy it as much as I did.

And then I got my turn with my dad. This guy IS. THE. BEST!!!

That evening we attended the 'garden' reception for Jeff and Demi, It was quite pretty and the perfect evening.

The little girls were all wearing these beaded footies that were awesome! and vintage-inspired! It was darling...

IF

2011-10-10T00:21:00.004-05:00

(catching back up! story of my life right now with this blog) My sister flew home to Idaho in August and we had yet to meet our newest nephew. So I took the three kids, hopped on the plane, and to Idaho we went! (August 18th) It was SOOOO nice to be with family that weekend. And the new cousins finally got to meet!!! Pierce and Ryder kicking it twinner-style (on purpose)...

Pierce and Ryder are two months apart (Pierce older and not much bigger, actually not bigger at all :)

The babies loving Aunt Kate...

This girl also loves her Aunt Kate!

With 100+ degrees in AZ, it was 80 degrees in Idaho and BEAUTIFUL! We spent every minute of our weekend outside... catching ladybugs

...Eating popsicles, cousin love, sandbox playing and swings of course

Myself with my mom and two sisters | kicking it in the front yard

The kids loved throwing grandma & grandpa's leftover 'pops' on the ground...don't forget those treasured boots!

Grandma Kris & Grandpa Craig with 5 of their grandkids...

We loaded up in the denali (only part of us could fit in this car - three carseats in the middle and myself with two more carseats in the back row, good times!) and headed to Hong Kong for dinner. My family laughs but I HAVE to eat here everytime I'm home, I JUST LOVE IT!!!

Then we made our way down to the Greenbelt (Snake River) to let the kids feed the ducks...

Family pic

Love how we decided to do a crazy picture but everyone decided to look cute and normal but us three girls, nice one.

sooo pretty!

Pierce was happy to be back in Idaho! (I was amazed at how far he could stick his tongue out in this picture...more on that to come)

And a beautiful evening spent outside...on the tramp...and roasting Smores. Feels good to be home!

look-alikes

2011-09-21T11:14:00.002-05:00

I have always thought Pierce has looked like a blonde version of Kenedee & Lincoln...fairer skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. But everything else about him is the same - the shape of his round head, his cheeks, his facial features, his dimple chin, his smile, his ears. So I pulled out some pics of both Kenedee and Lincoln around Pierce's age now. TOTAL LOOK-ALIKES!

Pictures of Kenedee around Pierce's age (5 months)

Pictures of Lincoln (5ish months)

Pierce boy around 5 months.

five years

2011-09-21T10:35:00.003-05:00

I love looking at pictures from when Kenedee was a baby, it's crazy to see how much she's grown over the years. She was the best baby, the SWEETEST little girl, and has always been full of so much personality! Love you little K!!!

0 - 1

1 - 2

2 - 3

3 - 4

4 - 5

FIVE

2011-09-17T10:23:00.001-05:00

August 15th, 2006

August 15th, 2011

Kenedee is getting too big! She is one funny girl. She loved posing for the camera after she got home from school. Lincoln then decided to snap a few more...

This little girl brings so much life to our family. She is smart, kind, goofy, loving, giggly, flirty, silly, motherly, and just plain KENEDEE. We love this girl.

Lincoln also had to pull a crazy face (and in case you think Pierce is falling off the couch - in the background - not to worry, he's laying on Kenedee. She loves her baby brother.)

We told Kenedee that she could pick anywhere for her Birthday dinner and where did she pick...CHUCKEE CHEESE!!!! I guess we'll go there, only cause it's your birthday :)

It ended up being one of those crazy busy days so her cake turned out a little ghetto, but at least she had one.

We came home and unwrapped presents...

The present she's been asking for for a whole year now...TWINKLE TOES. (When these shoes first came out I thought they were so hideous that I told myself I'd never buy them for my child. It's a little too much craziness going on for me. Her friend got a pair last year and Kenedee has been asking for them ever since, I mean asking everytime we went shopping somewhere. So we finally caved in and surprised her for her birthday. She has been in shoe-bliss ever since. She loves these things.)

Barbies and ponies are the playtime favorite these days. She has a few too many now but that's what childhood is for right.

First Day of School

2011-09-07T17:40:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, August 10th was Kenedee's first day of KINDERGARTEN ...full day kindergarten!!! I wasn't excited about the 'full day' part cause she's still an awesome napper and loves playing at home. So it's been a little transition for all of us having her gone ALL day. She loves picking out her clothes each day and laying them out to see what they look like. She loves eating school lunch and having 'chocolate milk'. She loves learning new things and making new friends. She loves chasing Nicholi at recess (apparently this is her new boyfriend). I do not push this! This girl is a flirt and it's been kind of crazy/funny to see this all come natural. I definitely did not teach her to be all giddy and silly with boys and tease them whenever they're around; this girl has got it in her!

She was given a blank giant-sized paper doll that she had to bring all pictured-out on the first day of school...telling a little bit about herself. We had fun doing this and she was excited to take it to school and show her class.

Full day Kindergarten is hard. She has adjusted well and loves it of course but I feel like her 'little girl' childhood is gone. She gets up, gets ready, goes to school for 6 1/2 hours, has two hours of play when she gets home but is so tired that she usually watches a show or colors, dinner-time and then bed-time. Our days have sure changed around here.

A day with MR. MOUSE!!!

2011-09-06T17:49:00.000-05:00

We love our Disney and when it's been awhile since we've gone, Adam & I both get the itch to go back. We usually hit up Disneyland when we're in California visiting Adam's parents and it had been way TOO long since we've been back to California. Kenedee's 5th Birthday was coming up as well (August 15th) so we decided to spend our last weekend before school started in CALIFORNIA with the Barlows!!! We drove over on Thursday, August 4th arriving in time for dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Friday, August 5th, we all went to DISNEYLAND along with Grandma & Grandpa Barlow & Aunt Hannah!!! We just love it there!

Grandma and Hannah took Kenedee & Lincoln on the TEACUPS! They had a blast...

And went on a favorite of ours...Storybook Land. I want this ride in my backyard :)

Had lunch at the Golden Horseshoe, another favorite of ours. This guy is pretty much the greatest! (Adam found a sweet mickey shirt at Nordstrom Rack and was quite excited to break it in for our Disneyland trip :)

These two couldn't get enough of this place...

Pierce just enjoyed himself all day playing with his hands, he's kinda obsessed!

How can you not fall in love with this boy. He hangs out, smiles, plays, and comes along for the ride. Pierce couldn't get any sweeter!

Pierce is also a Drool Master these days... (He loved having twinner shirts with his Dad that day)

Made it over to Bug's Life...

Went to see the Aladdin show at California Adventure and LOVED it!

Lost Lincoln for about five minutes and I about died! THE. WORST. FEELING. IN. THE. WORLD! We came walking out of the Aladdin show, along with the other 500 hundred people. Adam was up ahead of us and we thought he had Lincoln. After we made our way out and over to the stroller area I ask Adam where Lincoln was. He says 'I thought he was with you'...which then put me into crazy panic mode. It had now been about five minutes since we had exited the doors so the worst starts creeping in...is he still walking with the crowd of people down the main street in California Adventure, did someone take off with him, is he scared to death cause he can't find us...Adam's mom I think also switched to that motherly panic mode so we all took off running in different directions. I ran down the street a ways yelling his name. I turn and look and see little Lincoln standing on the corner with a male Disney worker kneeling down beside him looking around. I couldn't have been more grateful for this kind worker who found this lost child. I picked him up and just held him tight for about the next ten minutes. Oh Lincoln boy, you sure keep us on our toes!!!

The kids came across a bubble machine and loved running around like crazies

Pierce enjoyed napping in Grandma's arms...

Adam and his parents took the kids back to Bug's Life land so Hannah & I could ride Tower of Terror - all time favorite ride!

Jacob & Melanie came to Disneyland after work just in time for dinner and spent the rest of evening with us. The kids love these two love birds!

It was right before this that we were waiting for Grandpa Barlow, Grandma Barlow, and Kenedee outside Soarin' when out of nowhere this lady starts screaming 20 feet away. We look over and someone is laying lifeless on the cement where a Disney medical team is circling the body doing CPR. The lady continues to scream and is freaking out, all the while I'm thinking 'what, I'm watching this person die in front of us'. Another icky feeling. But for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off the situation, we sat there waiting for the other half of the group and my eyes stayed glued to it all. Icky feeling continues. Finally the crew gets off the ride and we head to dinner. About this time a stretcher comes in and they load the body on top. After doing chest compressions on this body (I'm pretty sure it was a female) for about fifteen minutes, I think they were able to get a heart beat because they then hooked her up to an IV (all on the cement there at California Adventure - that Medical team saved her life for sure!) So the stretcher came, off they went, and life could get back to it's happy self there at Disneyland! We finish our evening on Star Tours and a few other rides. Annell and I apparently thought something was funny... (when we first got married I thought Adam's humor came from his Dad, but I've realized much of his humor comes from his mom - she is hilarious! Love this lady!)

We left that evening (11:00ish) with two crashed little boys and one wide-eyed Kenedee girl. It was a FABULOUS day!!!

The next day, Saturday August 6th, we headed over to the local Home Depot for their Kid's day.

The kids made pencil boxes AKA treasure boxes. They have been collecting little treasures ever since! We went to see Winnie the Pooh that afternoon and spent the evening playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Thanks for a great weekend getaway!

Ironing overload

2011-09-04T23:54:00.002-05:00

I don't love to iron so I end up stockpiling Adam's dress shirts after I wash them until it's a giant stack so I can iron the whole group at once. It made me laugh one day after seeing the result of my stockpile. I hate to iron but I love seeing them all done. (And two weeks later, it starts all over again :)

Making room...

2011-09-04T23:45:00.006-05:00

When we sold the Pilot, we pretty much knew what our next car was going to be, which meant we needed a bit more room in the garage. So one Saturday we got busy (July 30th) which was about 110 degrees that day: not the best day to build shelves but it was the only spare time we had. The funny thing, kind of annoying though, was that we moved all of the stuff on the driveway so we could build the shelving and have room in the garage. And because it was a Saturday morning, a TON of cars came by thinking we were having a garage sale. A few times when we weren't paying attention, cars would stop, turn off their car, and walk over to the driveway and starting looking at our stuff. We'd peek out of the garage and say 'this is not a garage sale.' So after about 10 cars, I put a sign on my bike saying 'NOT A GARAGE SALE'. Sheesh, it's not like we had that much stuff out there. But after a few hours and about thirty glasses of water, we finished one side of the garage. (Here's a pic of what it looked like from inside the garage, looking at our fake garage sale)

Some of the boards weren't completely on (on the shelves) but we're loving the new shelves which surprisingly store a lot...

Bye Bye Pilot

2011-09-01T17:23:00.009-05:00

We got back from Powell on July 16th. Two days later we casually talked about cars, maybe we should sell our car, etc. It really came out of nowhere but we figured now might be a good time to sell our Pilot while we can get some decent money out of it and while it still runs good (it was up to 123,000 miles). Adam decided to list it on Craigslist (literally a week after we got home from vacation) to see if we'd get any bites on it, and we did! A week after he listed it, it was sold. It all came so quickly!!!

The guy who bought it drove out from South Dakota, since we was coming to see his brother he had looked at our Craigslist, kind of crazy. He came on Friday evening, July 29th, was happy with it and drove it away. While we were outside talking to the guy who just bought it, Lincoln was snapping away with the camera...

Lincoln even documented the new owner :)

New owner was kind enough to snap a family pic with the car before he drove away. I was seriously holding back tears which sounds so funny but we had gotten so attached to that car. It was the car that had saved us from our Acura MDX mess, brought us across the country from Georgia to Arizona, the only car both kids knew and had been one GREAT FAMILY CAR! (I recommend this car to anyone and everyone). I think it's the best SUV in it's size. (Funny story, as the guy got in the car to drive it away we told the kids it was time to go inside. Kenedee looked up and said 'I want to see him drive it away' in the most serious tone. I think they were a little sad to say goodbye. So we all stood there and watched him drive away :) We will miss you Pilot!

Oh crap, now what!

Jambo

2011-09-01T17:19:00.002-05:00

Our friends found a kid place we went to check out one day (July 21st). It wasn't our favorite (us adults) but the kids had a BLAST! JAMOB!

>

Insta-curls

2011-09-01T16:26:00.005-05:00

I saw this blog raving about a tutorial online where you curl your hair with a headband - no heat at all. (You might have seen it). But if you haven't, you gotta try it cause it's been a favorite of mine ever since. Here's the link for the tutorial... Vintage curls Without the Heat. I didn't want to sleep in it so I dried my hair one morning to where it was mostly dry but a little damp on bottom, whipped my hair up in the headband, went about my morning for the next two hours, took out the headband and whala! LOVE IT!
Before...

After...

I took a body shower on day two and put my hair back in the headband while I got ready, took it out and loved it just as much. I didn't want the super tight curls so I was going for the more beachy/wavy curls. Here's Day Two...

Try it!

Until Next Year...

2011-09-01T16:12:00.006-05:00

Since Kate could only come mid-week with school, we went back out on the lake Saturday morning. Kate missed Sand Mountain so we headed back over. But who wouldn't want to go back, the water and sand are AMAZING!!!! I'm not gonna lie, that hike up the mountain is kind of a beast on the legs, so I sat this one out with Pierce while Adam took the kids up :)

Kate, Linocln, and Grandpa Craig at the top...

Showing the kids how to build a favorite of ours...drip castles

After a few hours of sun, we headed over to Antelope Point Marina for some TASTY food. They have the SWEETEST floating restaurant where we enjoyed some yumminess. But it's a given, food on the lake always tastes so much better, why is that?

Kurt and Adam got the buffet, and boy was it good! (I had to sneak a bite or two :)

Until next year...we love you Lake Powell!

LP Day 5: Hole In The Rock

2011-09-01T15:55:00.007-05:00

Friday, July 15th, we decided to find a beach that morning and let the kids play. As we drove into Warm Creek Bay, we realized that good beachs at Powell this year were going to be hard to come by since the water was so much higher. We found a beach that would do for an hour or so and let the kids play with their buckets.

Kurt and Paige tried to get Benson up on skiis (trying it out on the beach first) but Benson was tired and not a fan. Maybe next year...

We packed up and headed up the lake. We found a cool canyon to eat lunch in before our 'Hole in the Rock' hike... Kurt was being a crazy man this trip and getting himself stuck on canyon walls. The worried mother I've become was not a fan. Here's Kurt on the little climb up the crack. Kenedee decided to take a swim...

After lunch we hiked up Hole in the Rock. This is where 250 pioneers, 80 wagons and 1,000 cattle came down to cross the Colorado River (to eventually settle Bluff).

Once you reach the top (totally sweating) you get to sign your name saying you made it! It's crazy to be up on top and have it be so flat.

Here we are before heading back down...

LP Day 4: Rainbow Bridge & Lincoln's slip

2011-08-15T01:22:00.012-05:00

(I am WAY behind in blogging so it is serious catch-up time. Makes me laugh that I'm still blogging Powell when we've been to California since then, Kenedee started Kindergarten, sold our Pilot, and Kenedee turns 5. But I'll get there!)

Day 4 at Powell was our day at Rainbow Bridge. Even though we go pretty much every year to see this beauty, it still amazes me EVERY time! With the water being so high the hike was crazy short...

The little insert was taken two years ago showing that where we usually had to hike before was now completely covered in water...

The FAM!

Our Barlow family under the bridge!

Kate & I; Kurt, Paige & Benson (Paige was 18 weeks along with their second and you couldn't even tell!); Kate, Mom & Dad

Back to the boat...

Pierce-boy, a serious champ!

It was after I took this picture when things got a little crazy. We had made it back to the boat. Knowing there was a floating bathroom on the dock, I wanted Kenedee & Lincoln to go before we left. So we headed over, did the deed, and walked out. (Keep in mind the floating dock that the bathroom was one was about 3 feet higher then the water, and the water is super deep at this point.) We walk out of the bathroom and I'm directing the kids around the corner back to Grandpa's boat, holding Kenedee's hand and telling Lincoln to keep up. Lincoln was so into the Ranger boat that he saw as we walked out and couldn't take his eyes off of it. He asks me 'mom, what are those two things?' I reply, 'the engines. Come on, Linc, we gotta go!' and turn to keep walking. A few steps later I turn around to make sure Lincoln is with me and he is not. He is about seven feet away, still staring at the Ranger boat, and walking backwards about a foot from the edge of the dock - about to step off the dock and into the super deep water. (it still makes me sick thinking about all this!) I see it coming, panic and yell 'LINCOLN!' knowing I can't reach him in time and hoping he'd realize where he was before he stepped off the dock. Too late. He turns around, realizes he just stepped on the edge of the dock, gets the most scared-look in his eyes, tries to correct himself but he's still moving back at this point and goes straight in the water. I run straight for the water, can't see his body but keep my eyes straight on where he fell in, jump in the water, grab around for his body, feel his arm, and pull him into me while swimming back to the surface (I don't think he was too far in the water but definitely not on the surface). I think me yelling his name at the top of my lungs startled everyone on the dock cause when I pulled him out and swam him to the edge of the dock, my family and bystanders were right there to pull him out. They lift him out, me next, and I remember standing there just shaking and wanting to bawl. (I don't think my body stopped shaking and heart didn't stop racing for the next half hour). When they pulled me out of the water my flip flops were floating a ways from the dock so Kurt jumped in to rescue my flip flops. I then reach for my sunglasses that were hooked on the top of my swimsuit but they were long gone, now sitting on the bottom of Lake Powell. Bummer deal but how can you get upset about nice sunglasses when you've got your child. I can't even describe the awful feeling that came to my mind thinking that I could have lost him, but I just thank my Father in Heaven that I saw it happen, reacted so quickly and was able to find him in the water. I swear this little boy has angels protecting him! The kids are in lifejackets 90% of the day at Powell so I never really have to worry. But apparently Lincoln needs one 100% of his day because this kid gets so distracted when he's walking. ugghhhh! It could have been so much worse but it wasn't, a HUGE BLESSING in our lives that day. The rest of our trip went as smoothly as could be.

Pierce with his Aunt Kate...

LP Day 3: West Canyon

2011-08-09T22:51:00.012-05:00

Wednesday, day three, we headed up West Canyon. This is one of the prettiest canyons and even better if you can make it to the Slots. The water has been so low the last few years that the hike to the slots would take hours. Luckily with the water being so much higher this year, we were destined to reach the slots...and we did! The only bummer thing was that it took us over an hour hike to reach the Slots and knowing we still had another hour back to the boat we didn't hike too far up the slots. The whole clan came along for this 3 hour hike in the heat. But it was beautiful and filled with many many many FROGS that the kids couldn't stop trying to catch.

Boating to the end of West Canyon...

Kenedee & Lincoln LOVED catching the frogs. And this hike included hundreds of little frogs hopping around every corner as well as hundreds of tadpoles in the running stream.

Hiking through the super tall grass...

Along the way...

We stumbled upon this little or should I say 'big' gem...a BEAVER DAM! Impressive...

This year versus last year... (last year we hiked this canyon after a rainstorm so there were waterfalls everywhere: pic on the left)

TIME-OUT! Lincoln got in trouble and was sent to stand by the wall. We couldn't stop laughing to ourselves watching him stand there like this for the next few minutes cause we did not tell him to stand like that :)

The beginnings of the Slots. Growing up we were able to hike the slots for quite a ways, too bad the hike to get there was longer than we'd hoped cause it's a beauty!

SOOOO PRETTY!!!

LP Day 2: Adam's Rock & SKIING!!!!

2011-08-08T16:03:00.014-05:00

Day 2 on the Lake started out with Adam's Rock!!! You'll find this little treasure up Face Canyon after you hike out of the slots a little ways. Adam (& Kurt) discovered this arch a few years ago and it will forever be known as "Adam's Rock" in this fam.

It is the most delicate looking arch and I wouldn't be surprised if one of these years we hike up to find a pile of rocks.

My mom and I stayed back with Benson and Pierce. Here's our little hikers looking down on their way back to the boat...

Looking back up...

Kenedee & her Barbie were twinners this day...

Benson-boy driving Grandpa's boat...

Along for the ride...

We decided this year that Kenedee was old enough to ski and wanted her to try it out. Adam told her that if she skiied then he would take her to Walmart that night to buy her any toy she wanted. SCORE! It was a done deal. Grandpa did a test run on the beach to show her what it would be like...

Now it was time to ski behind Grandpa's boat. SHE DID AWESOME!!!!

We casually asked Lincoln if he would want to ski and go pick out a toy at Walmart as well. After seeing his big sis do it, he decided to give it a try. To be honest, Adam & I were both shocked since he chickens out on many adventurous things. So we jumped at it when he agreed. Here's the test run on the beach...

And he's off!!!! (at just over three years old. GO LINCOLN!!!)

Check out that smile!!!!!

I don't think you could have found two more proud parents that day!!! After they both got done they asked to ski again. What! So they both went two times behind Grandpa's boat. Once they finished the second time, Kenedee says with the biggest grin on her face 'now we get two toys since we did it two times!' Little smarty pants.

Uncle Kurt decided to wakeboard and had a sweet run jumping the wake...

Adam getting his wakeboard on...

It was after both kids skiied that Adam was convinced we should get a boat. Talk about one happy day!!!

We took them to Walmart that night in Page to pick out their toys. Kenedee picked out a Barbie combo with two dogs and Lincoln scored a new bike! (Kenedee already has a bike and Lincoln has been wanting one of his own. We thought he deserved it after his big day!) Way to go Kenedee & Lincoln!!!!!

LP Day 1: Sand Mtn, Surfing & Wahweap Window

2011-08-03T16:48:00.017-05:00

We headed out on the lake on Monday, July 11th. As you can see, Kenedee claimed her spot in the boat (which was my favorite spot growing up). The weather wasn't looking so good this day so we stayed pretty close to Page in case the storms got bad. Our first stop was Sand Mountain: always a favorite. It might not look so intense from this view but it's STRAIGHT UP and a killer on the legs.

Our LP crew this year... (minus Kate who joined us mid-week)

Grandma Kris & Grandpa Craig with their grandkids...

The rewarding part is running down the mountain.

Paige and me bringing up the rear...

Swimming back to Grandpa's boat (best part of this picture is my dad chilling on the back of the boat :)

Play time in the water...

Pierce-boy took a swim as well and quite enjoyed the water...

Back on the boat...

Surfing time for the ladies... (Paige was a pro, I finally figured it out with the opposite foot since I wakeboard opposite of everyone, and my mom sported her sweet hands)

Pierce was a little champ on the boat. Here's what this boy looked like the ENTIRE week long...snug as a bug and sacked out (the boat was like a drug for him, the second the boat turned on and took off, he was out)

We hiked over to Wahweap Window...

The storm came in late afternoon as we were checking out Wahweap Window so we packed up, hiked back to the boat, and called it a day.

LAKE POWELL ARRIVAL!!!

2011-08-03T16:36:00.007-05:00

Lake Powell brings a smile to my face. We've been going as a family my entire life and it's the one vacation each summer that we would all look forward to growing up. It's so fun to now see my kids LOVE it as much as I do. (I wouldn't say Adam loves it as much as I do but I see his love growing for LP stronger and stronger each year :)

We drove down part way on Saturday and then finished our drive on Sunday, July 10th. We were all excited to finally arrive at our hotel!

It's a tradition now that grandma & grandpa give the grandkids new pjs at Lake Powell. Here are 4 of the 9 grandkids - the other 5 couldn't make it this year (Benson and Pierce look like brothers in this picture with the round heads and blonde hair)...

Kenedee & Lincoln attached to Benson right away. These three were little buddies all week long. Each night at the hotel was crazy time with these kids...

Kenedee & Lincoln doing what they do best: being a little mother to pierce; and putting on some entertainment by flexing his muscles...

Our Week in Idaho...

2011-08-03T01:02:00.022-05:00

The week following the 4th of July we spent hanging out in Idaho. It was beautiful, the kids loved playing out in backyard, Pierce was MUCH loved, could it be any better.

Our week included some playing in the sandbox...

Much of this cuteness... (Pierce is discovering his hands and clasps them together all day it seems. He then tries to check them out and makes himself cross-eyed. Funny kid)

Hours spent outside playing and on the trampoline...in their snow boots! :)

Lots of swinging; little bit of attitude...

Some master building went on...

A morning spent at Rigby Lake... (this boy is a little trooper. He just goes with the flow of our crazy lives. LOVE THIS KID!)

Time spent with this lady, she's the bomb!

How cute is this, Kenedee on the beach with Lincoln & Grandma Kris in the background...

A bald eagle sighting at Rigby Lake...

A morning spent at the IF Zoo, we love this little zoo. Perfect to get through before the kids are worn out...

An evening out to Buffalo Wild Wings...

Followed by a visit to the Snake River to feed the ducks. They were crazy this time and kind of scared us all with how close they got. They seemed like they were STARVING...

Love my fam...and love how Kate decided to pull a fast one in this pic, this girl is a funny one!

The kids with Aunt Kate in front of the Temple...

Walked down to the falls... (which were quite small since the River is so high this year)

And got to take in this beauty, the Idaho Falls Temple where Adam & I were married. It's a pretty one...

Adam flew back into Idaho Falls on Friday, July 8th, and made it just in time for my 10 Year High School Reunion. Unfortunately not too many people made it with the big weekend before but it was fun to catch up with those that came. Some of my girlfriends from high school...

We all packed up on Saturday, July 9th, and headed south. LAKE POWELL here we come!!!

Idaho Fall's 4th

2011-08-02T11:13:00.009-05:00

The 4th of July in Idaho is the best, I know I said this before but it is. The weather is perfect, family traditions are the best, and the fireworks can't be beat!

Our morning started out at the Parade. Clark & Holly were visiting friends in Rexburg so they met up with us at the parade. It was fun to see the 4 little cousins together...

Some of the crew...

My fabulous parents...

Waiting for the parade to begin...

My mom gave Lincoln an American Flag to wave for the day. He made sure he left the house with his flag in hand and didn't put it down all day pretty much. He loved his flag!

Check out these painted rides...

After the Parade, we grabbed some lunch and met our family friends at the Park. It's so nice to catch up with everyone, let the kids run around, and play some volleyball!

(Thanks Camie, I stole your pic :)

After many hours of fun at the Park, we headed home to get Adam off to the airport. Allegiant only flies on Fridays/Mondays so we put him on the plane that evening so he could go back and work for the week. We were sad to see him go but his parents were visiting in Arizona so he was going home to family. (You can't beat a 2 hour flight for $100 from IF to Mesa; cheaper than gas). We had a bbq after we got back and headed over to the River to make sure our saved spot was still there (it can get intense :). The kids enjoyed the glow sticks from Grandma and the balloons from Clark & Holly. The fireworks that night didn't disappoint. HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!

Blacktail Beauty

2011-07-27T18:05:00.012-05:00

Some of my favorite childhood memories were Saturdays at Blacktail Lake which is just what we did! Being back on the boat is awesome (I think our trip this summer in Idaho and Powell convinced Adam that we'll be buying a boat in the near future :) Saturday, July 2nd, we spent our day at the lake...doesn't get much better than that!

Adam enjoyed himself wakeboarding and mastered the surfing...

Lunch on the lake (another favorite of mine)

Grandpa Craig blew up his tube for the kids to ride on. Lincoln didn't so much love it but Kenedee had a blast. This girl couldn't stop smiling and laughing the entire time on the tube. She just kept saying over and over to Adam...'this is the best day of my life!'

That evening we roasted some marshmellows and enjoyed ourselves some smores...

Pierce-boy at almost 3 months old...

I sure love this guy!

Kenedee & Lincoln on the swing...in their snow boots. They put them on the second we got home and wouldn't take them off til bedtime, you thought I was joking huh :)

Idaho Falls Arrival

2011-07-27T17:30:00.007-05:00

We left for our 2 1/2 week vacation on Thursday, June 30th, staying the night in St. George with our friends (Thanks Dave & Tiff!). Pierce came down with a cold that very day...not cool! We finished the rest of our drive on Friday and arrived in Idaho Falls that evening, July 1st. It is always so nice to go home, and a total refresher since their weather was in the 70/80s while we were there. We made it in time for dinner out on Grandma/Grandpa's patio (a summer-must) and then hit up our favorite ice cream place...Reeds Dairy! After two days in the car, Kenedee & Lincoln were sooo happy to have arrived...

Lincoln & Grandpa Craig

Kenedee & Aunt Kate

Kenedee & Lincoln have not stopped talking about and asking for their snow boots which we left in Idaho last November. You'd have thought they just scored a new toy cause they were in heaven sporting their snow boots. Not joking. They were seen wearing them every day we were there...apparently they've been missed.

Father's Day 2011

2011-07-27T17:11:00.009-05:00

On Saturday, June 18th, Adam and I celebrated Father's Day by going to Charlestons...YUMMO! That evening it was our turn to babysit the kids (a babysitting group we're a part of) so I had them color and decorate some Father's Day cards. They turned out pretty cute...

Father's Day (June 19th) was a relaxing day at home. Our Church is from 9-12 so we had the rest of the day to kick it together...I love those days! I made a little tie banner for Adam and we had his presents all wrapped and ready to go...

Kenedee's drawing for Dad (Lincoln & Dad camping together in the forest) and Kenedee/Lincoln's cards for Dad...

After some delicious bbq ribs & potatoes, Adam opened his presents from each of us. He got a new grill the day before so that was his big item this year.

I'm sure you all saw these books at Walmart, but I thought it would be fun to make one for Adam this year. I asked each of the kids a question (according to the page) and we recorded what they said (prior to Father's Day). So when Adam opened his book, he was able to read and listen to Kenedee & Lincoln's responses. It was awesome, I'm pretty sure he loved it and so did the kids! It will be funny to pull it out a few years down the road and listen to what they said.

That evening we did what we do most Sunday evenings...movie night with popcorn.

Happy Father's Day to one amazing guy!!! (And to two amazing grandpas - Grandpa Craig and Grandpa Barlow). WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Pool Days!!!

2011-07-27T16:54:00.005-05:00

Kenedee & Lincoln did two weeks of Swim Lessons with Miss Emily from June 13th - 23rd.

Kenedee is a little swimmer but it was good to get her learning proper technique to help her swim better and further. She loved swim lessons and did great. She can now swim the length of the pool (shorter side) coming up for a breath or two and going back under to finish.

Lincoln hated swim lessons but decided that he like them the second to last day...nice one buddy. I took them swimming with a friend on that last day of swim class and it all clicked for him...amazing! He started swimming 10 feet underwater to me, would come up, I'd turn him around and he'd swim back to stairs another 10 or so feet. I was amazed! He did that another 30 times that day and was so proud of himself. He's officially a little fish in the water. He loves to put his goggles on, push off from the stairs, and just glide underwater. So when it's this hot here in the summers, we spend many days a week swimming which has helped them keep up what they've learned. I love our hot days here at the pool!

Kenedee & Dax (She decided that she now has two boyfriends...Dax being her second boyfriend. These two could play in pretend-mode all day long)

The kids kicking it on the floor together one afternoon...

Our friends invited us to go swimming at the Country Club Pool with them one Saturday in June. It was a hot day, we had the kiddie pool & big pool all to ourselves which made for one FABULOUS day. I love our pool days!

Serious Skin Issues

2011-07-27T00:19:00.007-05:00

Pierce-boy. Poor baby Pierce's skin. It all started around one month old (I kind of posted about how bad his skin was and didn't know if it was just eczema or something more). At his one-month check-up the Pediatrician told me to switch up his detergent and see if his skin cleared up. It helped clear up some of the red blotchiness but in other areas, it only got worse...his cheeks and left arm were the worst! Lincoln had eczema as a toddler so I somewhat knew how to keep it under control. Pierce's sensitive skin was soooo high maintenance and if I slipped at all it got BAD. I switched up to bathing him every day instead of every other (which helped). After his bath I would lather him up with Cetaphil Cream (the best) and I would put Aquaphor on the way bad parts (cheeks, arms, head, etc). I mean OUT-OF-CONTROL. Some days were just so bad that I would have to re-apply at night which would somewhat help. His poor cheeks were so ROUGH and I was sad that my baby would never have those soft baby cheeks again. But this was our new life and I accepted that he had crazy skin that I had to stay on top off (kind of stressed me out, not gonna lie). During that week while my mom was here (middle of June) I had her try and give Pierce a formula bottle to see if he would take it because I would be leaving him that weekend with Adam's Aunt (so we could go see Les Mis). After we fed him the bottle we went to Walmart to pick up a few things. He got pretty fussy so we finally took him out of his carseat and noticed that his skin was on fire! (it looked like he had a crazy sunburn and felt like that). His entire body was bright red, his skin was on fire, and he was covered in Hives. Pretty much freaked us all out. This happened at 9:00 at night so either we take him into a Pediatric urgent care or see if it clears up. The good thing was that his breathing seemed fine so I asked the Walmart pharmacist what dosage of Benadryl I could give my 2 month old baby. After a tiny dose of benadryl and about two hours later, it started to go down and we all calmed down a bit. So I started to google milk allergies, eczema related to milk allergies, etc. I now believed his horrible skin was related to a milk allergy. I was able to get him into our Pediatrician two days later and she said he probably has a for-sure milk/dairy allergy...uggghhh (please grow out of this little man!). She told me to try and take dairy out of my diet and see if that helps his skin problems. She also sent me home with a soy-based formula to try out. As soon as I got home, we tried another bottle with this new formula. He took it down fine and within 3 hours his skin looked amazing. It was kind of crazy but my mom can account for this. His cheeks cleared up, his red blotchiness went down, his arm looked better, it was crazy! So I was bound to take dairy out of my diet to help this little man. (My poor baby's body had been fighting this allergy from my breastmilk for the last months and his skin was showing it). So frusturating that it's all trial and error with new babies. For the next four days I took dairy out of my diet and these were four awful days. I didn't realize how much dairy I actually ate. My milk supply totally dropped off, I felt like crap since I don't think my calorie count was as high as it was supposed to be (I felt like I couldn't eat anything), and his skin looked semi-better but not awesome. I was frusturated. I felt like I couldn't eat anything, I know breastfeeding moms do this all of the time for their milk-allergy babies and keep breastfeeding but I was struggling with what to eat for food, no more milk, and feeling like crap. His skin was all I could think about, stress, drama, worrying...after a week of this I decided it would be best for myself and him if I stopped breastfeeding and switched to soy-based formula to see if we could get his skin under control. So at 2 1/2 months old I switched him over. I called my mom that day in tears asking her if I was a bad mom for putting him on the bottle, I was having serious mother's guilt but didn't feel like I could keep up my milk supply. After two days on this new formula he still wasn't looking great and I started to question my decision. More stress. So I took him in to the Pediatrician to see if I should keep on my plan before my milk completely dried up. She told me to quite having mother's guilt (not being able to feed my baby anymore) but that I had nursed him for the first 2 1/2 months of his life when he needed it most. She assured me that it would be best for Pierce to stop breastfeeding. We needed to figure out his skin problems and my milk was no longer the best thing for him. She told me that it would take about 72 hours for it to completely get out of his system so don't stress too much about his skin not looking instantly better. I left feeling better but sad about the whole situation. Drying-up cold turkey like that is SERIOUSLY PAINFUL - not fun! I thought I was going to die on day 3 and 4. I could barely hold Pierce (the joys of being a woman). His skin started to look better day by day but it took about a week for it to make a difference. I finally started to feel good about my decision. My baby was getting soft cheeks again! (kind of sad that I found myself celebrating over stuff like this). I wouldn't say that his skin is perfect now because it's not, I think he'll still have some eczema but it's 80% better than it was. He still gets flare-ups on his left cheek and left arm which I have to stay on top of but life is so much better. For such a little thing, it sure caused stress in my life because I didn't know what to do to help him. I for sure think this all had to do with him getting 3 colds in his first 3 months of life - his poor body was fighting this allergy which had to have caused his immune system to be running on low. But life's good now that it's all figured out, I'm just crossing my fingers that he grows out of this allergy...we'll see. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to document it all.

Little boy loves to smile at anyone who talks to him.

And gets so much love from his siblings. PIERCE IS MUCH LOVED!!!!

Photos of Pierce

2011-07-26T23:53:00.008-05:00

On Sunday, June 12th we were invited over to lunch with the Barlow's at Jacob's fiance's sister's house (did that make sense). Melanie (our soon to be sister-in-law) is a photographer and was kind of enough to throw together a last-minute random photo shoot of Pierce. I've been wanting to get pictures of him taken but hadn't gotten around to it. He ended up sleeping through it all which I was happy since I've always wanted some sleeping baby shots (didn't get any of the Kenedee & Lincoln like this). He is one SWEET boy!!!! Thanks Melanie for capturing some cuteness of this 2 month old baby!

Big sister loves her brother...

He finally woke up and was not a happy boy...

He calmed down and just wanted to be held. My little blonde hair blue-eyed boy!

I used that first photo for his birth announcement to introduce Pierce Jenson Barlow (which didn't get out til 3 months after he was born. But they got out :)

Les Mis

2011-07-26T23:30:00.003-05:00

Grandma Kris flew back to Idaho on Friday, June 10th. We were sad to see her go but excited to welcome our next round of visitors - Grandpa & Grandma Barlow, Uncle Jacob, and Aunt Hannah! They came for the weekend to join us in seeing Les Mis. We bought our tickets a few weeks before and wanted us all together so we ended up with the LAST row in the balcony. It was my first time seeing Les Mis so I was kind of bummed we didn't have killer seats going into it, but they ended up being great. We could see and hear it all...well maybe not see it all (to our benefit)...apparently the company that put on this latest Les Mis added in a few scandalous parts which we heard all about over the next few days (close family that sat 7th row and were appalled at what they saw and emails going around from people to sign petitions to not let them come back to Gammage, etc). So I guess sitting in the last row benefited us this time :)

(And thanks to Uncle Mark & Aunt Kay for watching our kids. This was the first time leaving Pierce and he did great!)

Grandma Kris for the week...

2011-07-26T22:40:00.008-05:00

(SERIOUS BLOG CATCHUP - bear with me while I catch ourselves back up over the last two months)

After Pierce's blessing weekend (June 5th), our visitors all left except for Grandma Kris...she got to stay for another 5 days!!! The kids loved having her around.

When it's in the 100s, you spend your days at the pool which is just what we did (bonus since Grandma loves the sun and hadn't gotten any in Idaho yet). Since Kenedee was feeling sick after her Dance Recital (June 4th) she would not let us take ANY pictures that day. So we convinced Kenedee to put her costume on again the following week so we could document her cuteness. She loves to pose in her shy, reserved way, I just love this girl...

Lincoln and Kenedee with their bird houses...

Showing off their new chairs from Grandpa Craig and Grandma Kris...

Lincoln and his corn! (He was so proud of the corn that he and Dad planted back in March)

Off to the pool we went... (Pierce at 2 months old)

(Sorry to blind you with that giant white leg. Let the pool days begin!) Thanks for staying to play with us Grandma Kris...WE LOVE YOU!

4th of July Fireworks

2011-07-04T23:00:00.004-05:00

According to this site, the fireworks I just watched are #2 in the country and "known as the largest display west of the Mississippi River." Give it up for IDAHO FALLS!!! Everyone should pretty much come visit this place for the 4th.

The 10 Best 4th of July Fireworks Shows in America

Coming home for the 4th is the best and makes it even better when we escaped Arizona's 115 degree heat :) Hope you all had a great one!!!

PIERCE'S BIG DAY!!!

2011-06-20T12:46:00.016-05:00

Sunday, June 5th, Pierce was given a name & a very special blessing by his dad at church. It was also Fast&Testimony mtg which meant Kenedee would bear her testimony on Pierce's special day. We had an FHE on 'testimonies' about two months prior to this so Kenedee had been practicing her testimony so that she would be able to get up and bear it in front of everyone. She went up originally with me when I bore mine but she would not do it. So we walked back down. When Adam went up to bear his he took Kenedee with him and got her to do it. I was so proud of her! She looked up at Dad for help when she got nervous but he just looked back down at her and nodded his head to keep going. It was a special day for our new family of five!

Lincoln and Pierce had coordinating outfits so knowing me, I had to color coordinate everyone's outfits. Here's our cute kids and one hot husband!

Pierce Jenson Barlow: 2 months old.

Is this not the sweetest little face...

After church we had some family and friends over for a lunch at our house. It was so nice that family could come share in this special day.

Adam's parents/sister headed back to LA after lunch. We were sad to see them go but knew we'd be seeing them the following weekend.

My dad & sister were flying out Monday afternoon and my mom was spending the week with us. So we had a nice relaxing Sunday eve. Last time they came to visit we went and checked out Saguaro Lake. We've been wanting to see another lake as well so we drove to Canyon Lake that afternoon. Since it was Sunday we obviously didn't swim but the water looked SOOOO refreshing on that hot day. It got us all pretty excited for our Lake Powell trip (just a few weeks away now!)

Grandpa Craig cooled Pierce down by dipping his feet in the water. Pierce wasn't too sure how he felt about that...

Thanks to everyone who came to share in his special day. Pierce, you are much loved!!!

The First of many...

2011-06-20T12:10:00.012-05:00

DANCE RECITALS!!! We got lucky to have Kenedee's Dance Recital (Saturday, June 4th) the same weekend that we blessed Pierce...so FAMILY got to come watch!!! I think I was probably more excited than Kenedee for her first Dance Recital. Grandma Barlow, Grandpa Barlow, Aunt Hannah, Grandma Kris, Grandpa Craig, Aunt Kate, Dad, Mom, Lincoln & Pierce all came to watch. Here's part of her fan club...

One of the few smiles up on stage :) She was pretty much serious-face up there. I was just proud she was out performing since she can get a little shy in front of a crowd.

Showing her moves!

'Jungle Safari'...

One thing about Kenedee is she is a petite little thing with killer defined legs...she looked so cute up there on stage in her costume. I can't wait for the many dance years ahead!

After the recital ended, Kenedee started crying on stage because she couldn't find us. This was a big thing for a 4 year old. Once Daddy got to her she just let it all out, poor thing. She was so sad and kept saying 'my belly hurts. It hurt the whole time Mom. It just hurts!' Ooohhh poor girl. I think the nerves had gotten to her and gave her an upset stomach. I remember those days :) So she wouldn't let us take any pictures of her in her costume. Here she is with Dad giving her kiss...

Our little dancer trying to look happy!

Memorial Day Fun

2011-06-19T16:52:00.005-05:00

Monday, May 30th, we went over to our friends house for lunch who introduced us to the yummiest 'fontina' burgers, truly delicious. We might have to make them again and post a picture. That afternoon we headed over to Adam's aunt/uncle's house for some pool/bbq fun. Kenedee was LOVING the slide...

And a little bit of stunting with dad...

Later that evening we took the kids to see 'Rango' at the dollar theater. Kenedee liked it but it wasn't my favorite kids' movie. Overall, one busy and fun-filled day!

Rawhide

2011-06-19T16:27:00.013-05:00

Saturday, May 28th, our friends invited us to check out Rawhide, a true cowboy town located on the outskirts of Chandler. We grabbed some dinner at Chipotle before heading in. Here's some of the crazies: Lincoln, Caleb, Kenedee, & Iris.

It was pretty hot that day (total dry heat) accompanied by a hot breeze which felt like we were kicking it in some Wild West town back in the day.

Meet Li'l Sebastian: Pawnee's favorite miniature horse. Not really but I couldn't stop laughing to myself when the kids were petting this miniature horse (if you don't watch 'Parks & Rec' this means nothing to you).

The pigs in the petting zoo had quite the color patches on their bodies

Kid pic: Iris, Caleb, Weston, Lincoln & Kenedee

Weston, Caleb, & Kenedee enjoyed themselves on a burro ride...

Kenedee with her burro-pal Sharon. She loved it!

No outing is complete without ice cream. Lincoln was grubbing on his chocolate cone...

Lauren and the kids rode on a stagecoach pulled by two HUGE horses. It was dark by this time so we didn't get the best picture but this might have been their favorite thing...

And little-man Pierce, looking so big in the stroller!

Backyard Projects

2011-06-18T18:55:00.003-05:00

Family was coming into town the beginning of June for Pierce's Blessing Day so a few weeks leading up to that, we got busy in the backyard: Cement. Shade. & Furniture. It's not complete but little by little it's coming together.

This beast of a truck kicked it in our driveway for a few hours that morning (May 26th)...

Here's what it replaced: those red and gray stones as well as the rock that reaches the wall. Here's the BEFORE:

Ahhhhh. A bit more room for the kids to ride around, somewhere to put our garbage cans, and simply a cleaner look. Here's the AFTER:

We had this great idea to put the kids hands in the cement to leave our permanent mark on this house but by the time the cement guy had us come do it, it was pretty much dry. I was kind of bummed. There's only so much pushing you can do on your child's hand before you start wondering if you're breaking some bones. They barely made a dent but we know they're there!

We also had a sidewalk put in that leads from our backyard to the driveway...no more dragging that heavy garbage can across the rocks!!!! (a total pain. more for Adam than for me)

We get a lot of sun on the back side of our house so Adam installed a roller shade to block out some sun. Here it is all rolled up:

And new backyard furniture. A big upgrade from the metal chairs that we've back there rusting away. I've looked and looked for the perfect backyard furniture but to be honest, it's not worth spending a lot of money on this stuff when you live in Arizona...the sun and heat just bake it. If I had an unlimited amount of money I'd for sure buy me some West Elm or CB2 furniture (their outdoor furniture is pretty sweet this year) but I don't so I finally settled on some wood furniture from TJ Maxx Homegoods. I went for wood over iron thinking I could just re-paint each year to give it a fresh look. I painted a round table and bench lime green, surprise surprise. It's pretty refreshing to walk outside and see this burst of color from the bench which pulls from the grass and palm trees. I love it!

sunny arizona

2011-06-13T17:37:00.004-05:00

I have a lot to catch up on but for now...how's this 10-day forecast for ya. We'll be spending our summer at the pool!!!

Preschool Grad

2011-05-29T22:38:00.009-05:00

Kenedee had Preschool Graduation on May 23rd. Here's my little girl on her big day (I'm not ready for her to go to Kindergarten yet, especially full-day)...

We walk in to see her and Brennen standing next to eachother (her Preschool crush) and the rest of her class all ready to go! Audree, Olivia, Brennen, Kenedee, Brynlee, Taisae, & Mckenna.

They each had a Nursery Rhyme that they memorized and shared. Kenedee's was 'Little Miss Muffet'...

Following their Nursery Rhymes they performed some songs they had learned throughout the year. It was fun to see her so excited. Adam was holding Pierce, I was filming with the video cam, so who's left to snap some pics...Lincoln-man! (here's some pics courtesy of Linc)

They gathered in the hallway and came out one by one. My little Preschool Grad with Miss Katie!

A proud little brother with his big sis!

Sacked Out

2011-05-29T22:35:00.002-05:00

Adam thought he was a funny man and snapped this pic with his phone last Sunday. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. Some Sundays just do that to ya, huh. Pierce quite enjoyed a snooze on his belly (tummy time didn't last long).

Preschool Fieldtrip

2011-05-25T22:48:00.006-05:00

Kenedee went on a fieldtrip to the Farm (May 17th) for Preschool. (Pics courtesy of my friend Leah)...

(About two weeks ago, I picked up the girls from Preschool - Kenedee and her twin friends Olivia & Audree. Olivia says 'Kenedee kissed Brennen today at Preschool'...I was like 'what!' I ask Kenedee if she kissed Brennen at school and she got all giddy and says 'yeah!' with the biggest grin on her face. Oh dear! Since then she has talked a lot about Brennen, how they sit by each other, how she's going to marry him when they grow up. So I asked her teacher about it this week and she says that they both have tried kissing each other and that it all just started about two weeks ago. Adam told Kenedee she can't kiss any boys til she's 18 :)

7 weeks old

2011-05-25T14:03:00.008-05:00

Pierce is 7 weeks old and growing too quickly...

Check out that double-chin!!! Kenedee says to me the other day 'it's funny mom that Pierce has two chins, huh'. Yep, it's pretty funny. We love our chunky monkey!

I've mentioned previously that Kenedee is starting to pick Pierce up and carry him everywhere! A help sometimes, but also a little wearisome. He woke up from his nap last weekend and was crying. Kenedee runs upstairs to soothe him (she loves to calm him down and is quite amazing at it actually. Pierce loves her :). She yells back down to me, 'mom, do you want to see how I can carry Pierce downstairs?!' ummm, no! (Pierce was on our bed which by itself is a scary thing for her to attempt to get off with him since it's super high off the ground, Kenedee even has to jump down from it.) So I yell back up 'no, I'll be right up there.' And next thing I know, she is three steps from the bottom of the stairs and says 'look mom, I can do it!' I still don't know how she got him off my bed. This girl is keeping me on my toes with how much she wants to handle Pierce. But he sure loves her...

Tummy time...

Last week a package arrived in the mail from my sister Kellie. I open it to find the sweetest little necklace that brought tears to my eyes. I've been wanting one of these forever actually (which she didn't know). 'K' for Kenedee, 'L' for Lincoln, and 'P' for Pierce (plus a lime green charm for me). I LOVE IT!

Sunday photo-fun

2011-05-20T17:03:00.011-05:00

Sunday, May 15th, I pulled out the camera after church to take pictures of the kids together (since they looked so cute all semi-coordinating) and ended up taking tons of pictures that day.

Pierce is just over 5 weeks old in these...and looking sooo much cuter. Shortly after I posted about his not-so-cute stage things started to turn around for him :) At his month checkup the doctor told me that she thought our detergent was irritating his cheeks on top of the acne. So I went and bought Dreft (special baby detergent), re-washed ALL of his clothes, and it started to clear up! I also was done with his crazy looking hair so at just 5 weeks old, Pierce got a haircut and looks soooo much better. He also started doing a super long stretch at night for me. He first treated me to some amazing sleep on my birthday (how thoughtful, right) but that was at 4 weeks old and not too consistent. But last week he started to be more consistent, eating at 9:30/10 at night and sleeping til 4/5 in the morning (followed by another 3-4 hour stretch)...HEAVENLY. It's amazing what a solid 7 hours of sleep feels like and getting up just one time a night. Thank you little Pierce!!! (the last two nights, not so good, but overall this kid is sleeping great). He's getting so big!

Both kids love this little man! Whenever Lincoln talks to him, he has to be right in his face (like four inches away). I'm constantly saying 'Lincoln, don't talk to him so closely!' But what to do you do when he just loves his little brother...

Kenedee also has nothing but love for her brother. She is becoming more brave with picking him up and carrying him. She treats him like her little baby and loves to pick him up, put him back down, re-situate him, pick him up, burp him, etc. I have to keep a close eye on her cause she has now started walking while holding him. But she's a good big sister...

Kids were having fun taking pictures...

We picked up 'OPERATION' at a garage sale over the weekend. Kenedee & Lincoln love trying to get the bones out but Lincoln freaks out if he touches the edge. He doesn't love loud things (fireworks, cap guns, etc) so he if he touches the edge and the buzzer goes off, he drops the tool and takes off running...pretty funny to watch. Here he is in action -

He had the goofiest smile while he played it - a scared but excited look. This kid is a crack up! (we were in the process of putting pajamas on so he was sporting nothing but underwear. So I photoshopped in some shorts as to give him some privacy in case you're wondering what's going on :)

After a full day of fun, Pierce was ready to sleep!

ALL ABOUT ME

2011-05-10T16:08:00.011-05:00

That sounds super selfish but this last weekend really was a weekend all about me! My birthday happened to fall on the day before Mother's Day, so Saturday (May 7th) & Sunday (May 8th) were my special days :)

Our weekend first started off with our Fathers & Sons outing. This was Adam & Lincoln's first year going so they were both super excited - not joking. I packed up Lincoln's backpack with his clothes and he wore it on his back practically the whole morning until Adam came home. Adam was also super excited, borrowed his Uncle's fishing poles, got his fishing license, and had the car all packed up the night before. Here are the boys packed up and all ready to go at lunch (Friday May 6th)...

Adam was stoked about taking Lincoln fishing (Adam wishes he was a pro fisherman :) They unfortunately didn't catch any fish but a boy they were with caught two trout. The boy and his dad don't like fish so they gave them to Adam to eat that night. So Adam learned how to gut them, cooked em up and fed them to he and Lincoln. Adam was raving about how yummy they were. I joked with Adam that he came home a new man (learning all these new outdoor skills).

The boys packed up and came home on Saturday morning smelling all camped out (that's the only negative about camping, I'm not a fan of the dirty, smoke smell). They showered up and we took off for a day of me! We first stopped at IKEA to look for some outdoor furniture. We didn't find exactly what we had in mind but we did find a chair for the computer desk! I've had my eye on this chair for a few months now but didn't want to spend $140 on it. Someone had returned one so they had it in their 'as is' section for $70...SCORE!!! After IKEA we headed over to Nordstrom Rack where I got my first nice pair of sunglasses. They are pretty much awesome! We might hit up the outlets this next weekend cause I didn't have any other ideas really for my birthday. After shopping we came home, Adam ran to the grocery store to get our Sunday meal, babysitters came over, and we were off to dinner. We ended up going to the Olive Garden for dinner where Adam had surprised me with some friends waiting for us in the back. It was a grand time and we enjoyed some yummy food. He had also pre-ordered my most favorite cake (really an ice cream pie but I've had this every year on my birthday since I can remember. It's the BOMB!). So a friend had picked it up, Olive Garden put it in their freezer and they surprised me after dinner with a birthday song and my special cake!!!! (These pics are from Adam's phone and not the greatest but the only ones we have from that night.)

After dinner, we came home and opened the presents from the kids. They had wrapped them all by themselves and couldn't wait for me to open them. I scored a sticky hand from Lincoln, growing alligator from Kenedee (the ones you put in the water and watch grow), and a whoopie cushion from Pierce! (and a pic of my new chair. who knew a chair could make me so happy :)

Flowers from Adam: pink for my birthday and red for Mother's Day...

MOTHER'S DAY was pretty much a perfect day as well. It was my first Sunday back in Primary and it was so nice to be back with the kids. I had Sharing Time which turned out to be a lot of fun having the kids guess some mystery moms that I had come in. After naps that day I checked Kenedee's throat and found white sores on the back of her throat so I took her in to the Pediatric Urgent Care where she was diagnosed with Strep throat. Bummer. But we arrived back home to a perfectly cooked dinner by Adam: steaks, mushrooms, baked potatoes, and artichokes. YUMMO. Adam and the kids did a mighty good job of making me feel extra special this weekend.

And Happy Mother's Day to my momma and my mother-in-law. They are some amazing women and we were lucky enough to be sent to them. WE LOVE YA BOTH!!!!!!

Randomness

2011-05-10T14:21:00.007-05:00

I need to blog about our fantastic weekend (birthday celebration and Mother's Day) but in the meantime, I've got a few things on my mind.

First of all, FRUSTRATION! Pierce is now 5 weeks old and our family has been sick 4 of those 5 weeks. What is up with that. We were super healthy the 9 months I was pregnant and then the second I have my baby, we get every horrible sickness. And we're out and about LESS then we were before. First the FLU for Kenedee and I, COLDS for Pierce & Lincoln (that lasted two weeks), and now STREP. I took Kenedee in on Sunday night and she was diagnosed with Strep Throat & put on antibiotics. Oh great! I took Pierce in for his one month check up today and the Doctor so kindly looked at Lincoln's ears and throat for me. She swabbed his throat and it came back positive for STREP!!! Not cool! Luckily we're catching it super early so she said it shouldn't even affect him since he's now on antibiotics. But that is another 24 hours of no contact with people. I'M SO SICK of our family BEING SICK!!!!! (and now we get to see if Adam or I come down with it, lucky us :)

Next up, my first JURY SUMMONS arrived in the mail. What are the chances with just having a baby! But hopefully I can get out of it since I have a one month old baby who is breastfeeding, we'll see.

And lastly, Pierce is chubbing up. This boy has gained 3 POUNDS in one month, that is a record for our kids. I just checked Lincoln's stats...he was also 6 lbs 8 oz at birth but weighed 8 lbs 12 oz at one month. Pierce was 6 lbs 8 oz at birth is now 9 lbs 7 oz at one month. He's 50% for height, weight, and head...our biggest baby so far. But I'm pretty sure his genes will take over in the next few months and his growth will slow way down. But for now, go PIERCE!

(Jazz hands for Grandma Kris)

(Adam took this picture of Lincoln with his phone last week. This boy is just like his dad, he loves to be all snuggled up in his covers!!!)

ONE MONTH OLD

2011-05-06T15:57:00.004-05:00

Pierce is one month old today! I haven't posted anything since Easter because not much has been going on besides trying to get Pierce better. He caught a cold at 3 weeks old. I was quite nervous the day he came down with it since we are at the end of our RSV season (Lincoln also caught a cold that same day) and both boys are still sick. Pierce luckily didn't get too bad but definite congestion, goopy eye and crappy sleep :) He's been sleeping in his car seat for a week and a half now with the humidifier running constantly. It takes so long for their little bodies to get better!

At three weeks old he started doing a 5 hour stretch for me: 10 pm - 3 am...and it felt amazing to sleep that long at once. It hasn't been all that bad with him sick but I think it will get better once he's completely healthy and isn't gasping for air when his nose gets clogged.

He's going through a 'not so cute' stage right now :) Is that bad of me to say??? But don't they all go through that stage. He lost most of his hair on top (why do my kids do that). They lose it on top and keep it on the sides...looking like an old man. Pierce lost most of his hair on top until about half way back and you can see super blonde fuzz coming in where his original hair line was. His facial features look like my other two but his hair and eyes are definitely different. Kenedee & Lincoln both have super dark brown eyes (which didn't come from Adam or I since we both have green eyes, well Adam's are more hazel). And Pierce has blue eyes so far, we'll see how they end up. So other than the awesome hair going on, he also got the teenage acne on his two cheeks. He got it at about 3 weeks old and it's still pretty red and blotchy. I don't remember if my other two had it like this and maybe it's normal. But I'm also wondering if something is irritating it (milk, detergent, etc). He has his one month check up next week so we'll see what the doc says. But other than that, he's still a little champ and one precious little baby boy!!!

EASTER SUNDAY

2011-04-26T11:11:00.014-05:00

Easter Sunday (April 24th): The Easter Bunny made a visit to the Barlow home leaving way too many goodies. He left a toy for the Kenedee & Lincoln on the piano but hid their Easter baskets for them to find..

Here they are after just getting ready. They came downstairs to find their baskets but I made them take a picture first cause they were looking mighty cute! (Kenedee wasn't so happy in the first pic)

Some attempts with all three kids together. I couldn't get over how cute the two boys looked in their coordinating outfits. Pierce has gotta be the cutest little 2 1/2 week old in his Easter outfit!

Pierce with his big sis! (who like I said LOVES to hold him)

We went to church that morning (I felt so accomplished getting our family out the door and on time to 9 o'clock church!). I couldn't resist bringing Pierce to Sacrament mtg on Easter Sunday. He looked adorable. It was nice to be there and feel the Easter spirit. I brought Pierce home after Sacrament mtg and took a few more pictures in his Easter gear...

An attempt at a family pic after Church (with the timer :)

Kenedee and her new Pony playhouse...

Lincoln & Dad building his new pirate ship!

After naps, we headed over to Mark & Kay's for a delicious Easter dinner. The kids enjoyed two more Egg hunts over there. It was a great day!

Saturday before Easter

2011-04-25T19:41:00.004-05:00

We had a super windy day on Saturday so Adam took the kids out to fly kites. They thought it was pretty cool for about ten minutes and then were ready to come home, stinkers.

That night we dyed eggs in preparation for Easter Sunday...

Playgroup EGG HUNT

2011-04-24T17:16:00.006-05:00

I hosted a Playgroup Egg Hunt at our house last year and wanted to do it again this year...just not at my house since Pierce was only two weeks old. So on Friday (April 22nd) we all met at the Park and had a great time. Each kid brought 10 eggs to contribute and us Moms hid them all while they played on the playground. I brought some yummy cupcakes for everyone to get them that more hyped up on sugar :) It was a great morning!

Kenedee & Lincoln filling their eggs the day before the Hunt...

Here's a pic of the participants (missing about 5 or 6 kids)

GO TIME!!!

Enjoying their goodies...

That night we went over to our friends house to watch the Lakers Game. We were all decked out in our Lakers gear/shirts. It was a great night!!! (Picture after the game. Lincoln was being a stinker and refused to take a picture with us.)

LINCOLN

2011-04-24T17:15:00.003-05:00

Adam took these pictures with his phone a few days ago...a little glimpse at Lincoln's personality!

Loving on Pierce

2011-04-22T15:52:00.006-05:00

We all can't get enough of Pierce. He's such a little angel baby! (Two weeks old already!)

Kenedee LOVES the new addition to our family. She asks if she can hold him the second she wakes up, after she gets home from Preschool, after I feed him (she loves to try and burp him), and just about any other time of the day. She is a great big sister...

How cute is this! Pierce smiled right as she kissed his forehead...

Lincoln turns THREE

2011-04-19T17:37:00.013-05:00

Lincoln turned THREE on Thursday, April 14th. My parents were in town so we were able to celebrate his birthday with family (which is also the day my mom came down with the flu :( I was dreading Lincoln waking up on his birthday with the Flu but luckily he escaped it. Our day started off with Swim Lessons for he and Kenedee. This is only their second week now of lessons and both times he has cried the entire time. So I don't think he thought that was such a fun thing on his birthday. Following lessons I took him in for his 3 year old checkup. I forgot his shot record so he was a lucky guy and didn't get any shots on his birthday (probably for the better that day). He's still in the 10% for weight coming in at 27 lbs and 25% for height.

We took the kids to Chuck E Cheese that night and they thought that was pretty much the coolest thing...

We came home to open presents that night. Lincoln was more than excited!

When my mom was out a few weeks ago, she saw that my kids both love to play Kenedee's Leapster (and also witnessed a few fights over playing it :) so they were super nice and got him one as well for his birthday. He thought that was pretty cool!

A sweet race-car track from his cousin Cooper. This was a major hit since he is obsessed with his cars right now...

This kid scored!

He's been asking for a 'How To Train Your Dragon' Birthday for the last several months now. So with just having a baby the week before, we ordered his cake from Walmart this year...which turned out pretty sweet and made him one happy boy!

He just finished downing the BIGGEST bite of frosting ever! It was a proud moment for him...

Lincoln saw our neighbor riding his skateboard a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty sweet...so he's been asking for one ever since. We weren't going to buy our three-year old a skateboard but Adam found one at DI for $5 and couldn't resist.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!!! You bring so much laughter, craziness, and joy into our home!

The FLU strikes again, and again, and again...

2011-04-18T16:42:00.006-05:00

This is where our week started to turn a take for the worse. My dad started feeling achy on Monday (April 11th), none of us thought much of it. Well Tuesday he came down with my FLU! Oh was I frusturated even more that I had gotten sick and now I passed it on to my Dad (I might have had a meltdown that night, overwhelmed with him getting sick, Pierce maybe catching it, and now everyone getting sick because of my stupid flu, uuuggghhhh). Wednesday it struck Kenedee. And Thursday...my mom. We had a few plans for the week so instead we just all took it easy.

We had the outside of our house painted last week while my parents were here. It was an ugly pinkish tan and was in serious need of a paint job. So it FINALLY happened and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Most of the homes in our neighborhood just blend together, tan...tan...tan and not a lot of contrast. We went for a 'Spanish Villa' look and LOVE it!

Before & After

Easter came early for our kiddos while my parents were here. They brought them the cutest Easter bags filled with PLENTY of goodies. My kids were in candy-heaven!

Blanket from Grandma

2011-04-18T16:31:00.005-05:00

My mom has made each of my kids a blanket/quilt when they were born. So we had to bust out the camera to take some pics. Pierce is so itty bitty with it all laid out. (This quilt is the softest/coziest thing, I told her I wanted one in my size!)

On Sunday (April 10th) we decided to take my parents on a scenic drive to go check out Saguaro Lake...(where we could go boating if they ever moved here :) I can dream, right).

Adam bought me some beautiful flowers when I had Pierce and my parents bought some me some tulips (which ended up growing about 8 inches after we put them in water!). I LOVE fresh flowers around the house!