I knew it would happen sooner or later.  I was just hoping that it would be later than sooner!  Tyler loved to invite me and the kids to join him for school lunch on occasion when he thought they were having something really yummy.  I made sure I went whenever he asked, regardless of what plans I had to change.  I knew that it wouldn't last long.  Anyway, they were having pasta today for lunch (one of his very favorites).  Here's the conversation we had:

Mom:  "Maybe we could come and eat with you today."  

Tyler:  "Mom, you are like the only mom who comes to eat school lunch."

Mom:  "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

Tyler:  "It's OK.  But it's a little bit babyish."

Mom:  Sob, cry, sniff (no, not really). 

Tyler:  "You can come if you want."

We didn't go to school lunch.  I wouldn't want to embarrass him.  I will just cherish the times I did join him and look forward to joining Emily for school lunch.  What am I going to do when they all get too old?  I'll have to join a niece, nephew or neighbor for school lunch.  Or maybe I could become a lunch lady :) HMMM.

Four Months

I can't believe Kate is four months old.  She is actually closer to five months than four, but we have had a bit of a crazy month.  

We had a little scare when we took her to her four month old check up. The doctor noticed a bulge on the back of her head and asked me if it had always been there.  It hasn't always been there.  I actually had noticed it, but didn't think too much about it.  Her doctor recommended we take her to Primary Children's to have a CT scan.  He was worried that the bones in her skull had grown together prematurely.  If that were the case, her brain wouldn't be able to grow and expand, causing the bump on the back of her head.  I felt pretty confident that everything was OK, but we wanted to make sure, just in case.  We took her down on Wednesday, and she did great.  She is such an angel.  She didn't even cry.  The test results came back fine, no abnormalities.  I was relieved.  Like I said, I felt like everything was fine, but it's funny the tricks your mind plays on you... Kate is sure sleeping a lot lately... is that because her brain isn't developing??? Etc....  Anyway, she is fine. Developing and thriving!!! She is an angel!  She is sleeping 11 hours each night and naps really well.  She is smiling and laughing and has rolled over a couple of times, which is pretty remarkable considering that I never put her down.  She is still an avid thumb sucker.  I guess we'll just have to deal with that when she gets a little older.  For now, it's pretty darn cute.  The kids (as well as her parents) adore her and we feel so blessed to have her as part of our family.  

WE LOVE YOU KATE :)

Emily's Pizza Parlor

Emily wanted to play restaurant. She named her restaurant "The Pizza Parlor".  I ordered pepperoni and mushroom pizza, breadsticks, salad and a glass of water.  This is what I got.  She had it organized so professionally.  I'd probably much rather eat this any day of the week. Especially the peep!  What a sweet girl :)

The Joys of Motherhood!

OK.  If you don't like potty training stories... skip this blog.  I am only blogging this because I am sure that in 20 or so years (probably longer), I may find this funny.  

I decided that now that Gavin is three, I am going to get him potty trained. Whether he is ready or not, because I certainly am.  Anyway, he does really good if he has a bare bum.  So most of our days are spent with him half naked.  I was feeding Kate and he somehow snuck outside without me knowing.  He was supposed to be watching Tarzan.  He came in my bedroom and said "Gavin pooped!"  I was soooo excited thinking that he had pooped on the potty!  I started cheering and dancing and hugging and he interrupted me and said "Outside!"  WHAT???  How can that be?  I didn't even know you were outside.  Let alone NAKED outside. The neighbors must think that we are crazy!  Sure enough, I went outside and there was a nice little treat waiting for me on the front steps.  What am I going to do with you kid?

A Day on the Farm

In between Marlin's wedding and the luncheon, we got to spend some time at Uncle Jeff's house in Blackfoot, Idaho.  The kids got to see tractors, horses, cows and even a baby calf.  Needless to say, "Cowboy Gavin" was in heaven and now would like to go live with Jeff or John.

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

We all enjoyed our time with our family.  We love you all and will look forward to seeing you again soon :)

Uncle Jeff and Gavin

Tyler and Grandma Great (any ideas on how to get an eight year old boy to smile for a picture?)

Emily and Grandma Great

Emily and Bailey

So Long Snow Boots :(

It was a sad day at the Barnes house as we retired Gavin's snow boots.  However, they have been replaced by the cowboy boots he got for his birthday.  He wears them just as frequently as the snowboots.  He even sleeps in them.  He is now officially a cowboy.  All he needs now is a hat :)

Easter

We were lucky enough to get THREE egg hunts this year:

1.  Grandma and Grandpa Shorty's:

My parent's were going to be in Mesquite on Easter, so we celebrated with them a week early.  We hunted for eggs, had a yummy dinner and then colored eggs (thanks Jess!).  

Emily and Bree preparing for the hunt!

Tyler... acting silly as usual!

Emily assessing the loot!

Gavin finds an orange one!

Grandma Shorty, Emily, Bree, Tyler, Gavin and Lexie

After dinner, we went for a walk.  Emily found several snail shells that she wasn't afraid to pick up and show everyone.  My nieces were terrified and totally grossed out she would even think of picking up a shell.  

THAT'S MY GIRL!!!  

My dad painted all the fire hydrants in their little neighborhood.  The kids (OK.... I) thought it was kind of neat, so we took a picture of his fine work!  Way to go dad!

Gavin found this Easter Bonnet from when my mom was a little girl and thought it was cowboy hat.  I don't know if I've ever laughed so hard in my life!!!  It was pretty funny.  He had no idea that everyone was laughing at him :)  Good times... good times!

2.  Grandma Great Barnes:

Grandma great has an annual egg hunt with all of Travis' cousins.  His family is quite large, so it is lots of fun.  We had it at a church because it was supposed to rain.  We had KFC, then hunted for eggs.  There were so many kids there and it was a bit chaotic, so I wasn't able to get many pictures, but the kids got a TON of treats!

3.  Grandma Paulette's:

Paul BBQ'd steaks for all of us (YUMMY!!!  Thanks Paul!).  After dinner, the bunny (AKA... Uncle Dustin) hid a basket of goodies for each of the kids.  The adults got one too, but we didn't have to hunt for ours :)

Tyler's was hidden fairly easy, but he had a difficult time finding it.  This is him saying "DUH!!!"

Sweet Emily

Gavin LOVES his grasshopper!

It is so much fun to have a big family. The kids absolutely love spending time with their cousins.  I never had any close cousins while I was growing up, so it is lots of fun to watch them together.

We miss you Jamie!

This is the kids on Easter morning.  Don't they look great?  Tyler got a tie that matches Gavin's, but it isn't a clip on, and we couldn't figure out how to tie it.  Travis had to do it at church.  "How embarrassing mom!"

We had a great Easter celebration... thanks everyone for making it so fun!

*Where is Kate, you're wondering???  She LOVES to sleep!!!

Spring Break 2009

I decided that we weren't going to stay home this year for spring break.   I have sooo had it with sitting home, looking at the same old walls.  I definitely needed to get out!  Travis had to work in Idaho Falls, so I decided that I would take the kids and go to my parent's place in Mesquite.  He didn't like the idea of us being alone in a city where I didn't know anybody (my mom and dad weren't going to be there), so we joined him in Idaho Falls.  The weather wasn't great, but we found lots to keep us busy and had a good time.  

THE MUSEUM OF IDAHO

The Museum of Idaho had a Titanic exhibit that we went to see.  It was awesome to see actual artifacts that have been recovered from the ship, as well as stories about the Titanic.  Tyler ate it up.  He loves learning/studying new things.  Gavin and Emily did surprisingly well.  Before we began the tour, we received fact cards about the passengers on the ship.  At the end of our tour, we got to look and see whether they survived or not.  Two of them made it, three did not. It was pretty eye opening to realize what a tragedy it truly was.  

SWIMMING, SWIMMING AND MORE SWIMMING!

The kids spent tons of time swimming.  On Thursday afternoon, they swam for three and a half hours straight!!!  Needless to say, they were so worn out by the end of the day, we just watched Bedtime Stories in our hotel room.  It was a great show!  We all loved it.  They also thought it was pretty cool that the room had a microwave so that we could pop some popcorn!

IDAHO FALLS TEMPLE/MARLIN'S WEDDING

The following morning, Travis' cousin, Marlin, got married in the Idaho Falls Temple.  Unfortunately I was in Pocatello when I realized that I had forgotten my recommend, so I wasn't able to attend the ceremony.

This is Tyler and Uncle John.  I can't tell who's enjoying the noogie more.  Tyler or John?

Grandma Paulette, Grandma Great (Trav's mom and grandma), and Kate.

Gavin and Grandma Great

It was really fun to see all the relatives from Idaho that we only get to see a few times a year.  

Thumb Sucker?

Oh no!  She found her thumb.  Kate wouldn't take a binki when she was first born.  I decided I didn't want to force it on her unless she started sucking her thumb.  She has been sucking on her fingers for the last week or so.  I tried again to get her to take a binki, and she still refuses. She just gags on it.  Today she found her thumb.  She has to close her eyes while she sucks her thumb because the rest of her fingers poke her in the eyes.  I have to admit it's pretty cute, but hope that it doesn't become a problem.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Today is my grandma's 99th birthday.  She is an incredible woman and has been such an important part in my life.  She has taught and inspired me probably more than anyone else has.  No one has ever made me feel more important than my grandma.  My life has been truly blessed because of her.  I love you grandma! Here's to another year!!!

She got to meet Kate for the first time today.  I feel so grateful that GG was able to hold her.  It brought tears to my eyes to think about Kate starting her journey here on this earth, while GG is finishing hers up.  

I know that Gavin won't be able to remember much about GG, but I hope I can help him remember how much she loved him.

Tyler and Emily have always loved GG.  We used to spend lots of time with her and enjoyed our weekly visits.  Tyler's favorite thing about going to GG's house was her Rocket game, and Emily loved the treat drawer!  

My Cute Girls

Need I say more?