Our New New Park

Why go to the park, when the park can come to you?! This past week we decided to put up some entertainment in the backyard. The whole week has been gorgeous and we have definitely caught Spring Fever at our house! So we convinced Wes & Trevor to set up the playhouse, the castle, and the swing set. It has been SO much fun to have some things to do outside, and the kids have loved their new toys. Every morning both Brooklyn and Jace have to open the blindes and look out the window at the "new new swing", the "new new slide", the "new new castle", etc.




Here's the boys putting together the swing set. It was a PAIN! But very worth it in the end (right, hun?).




Jace and Brooklyn were a little too much help! It was a full-time job making sure they helped from a distance.





Brooklyn loved the castle! Thank heavens she can climb up on her own and go down the slide. Jace couldn't last year but Brooklyn is a little monkey.





She loves to stand at the top of the slide and say "Hello!" to everyone!

I'm pretty surprised she likes the slide so much because it's quite fast, she flies down it! But she just smiles and runs back to climb up it again!

Meanwhile Jace was helping with the yard work, using his snow shovel to shovel the dirt!

He did enjoy the castle as well, and enjoyed being up high and throwing balls for Mom to play fetch.

By the time the swing set was up it was getting a little chilly and almost time for bed. Here's Brooky jumping on the tramp. Jace is a wild animal on the tramp...but all of the pictures with him were fuzzy. (I need a new camera!!!)

Next it was the swings. I can't believe how big my little girl is getting....riding on the swing like a big girl! They were enjoying themselves so much the wouldn't even think about looking at me while I took their pictures.

Brooklyn was a little scared at first, but quickly fell in love with the swing. Now, if we could only get through to her not to step in front of her brother while he is swinging. Two big bonks so far.

Jace loves the swing and wants to go higher and higher and higher. He better learn to pump pretty quick because I'm getting tired of pushing him already!

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa Barnes for the swing set (it was Jace's birthday present last year) and the play house. And thank you Rylan & Kylee for letting Jace & Brooklyn have the castle that you guys don't use anymore. They have already provided us with hours of entertainment! I must say that I am so happy we finished the yard last year! It's pretty boring with no plants or trees yet, but I don't care! At least we're not playing in the dirt and mud!

New Do.

Lately I've really been struggling with Brooklyn's hair.  It's always in her face, and when I try to put a clip in it to pull her bangs out of her face (I want to grow them out) she yanks it out.  It's hard to get a hairstyle that will stay in!  And she has such an adorable face...I'd love to see it more often!

Here's a picture of Brooklyn first thing in the morning.  This is what I have to work with!  So Tara suggested we try something new.

This is Brooklyn's new do.  (Yes, we do have to give her [which means her and Jace]) some sugary sweets to get her to hold still long enough.

Another angel.

And here's the beautiful face hiding behind all of that crazy hair!  What a doll!  Don't you just want to kiss those lips off?!

I love this hairstyle, because it will last for at least a couple of days, which means hard work one day...and the next couple of days off!  The only thing I hate is all of those rubber bands in her hair.  It can be so damaging!  Any other suggestions of what I can do?

LONG Overdue

I've been a horrible blogger lately! To sum up the past few weeks: I've had sick kids, I got laid-off then rehired at my job, and Trev's been MIA helping Wes with a house in Clearfield (not to worry, Tara's been here to keep me company and help with the kiddos).

On a fun note, two weeks ago, me Tara, and Shelly went to see the Air Supply again for the second year in a row. I haven't blogged about it sooner because we couldn't bring cameras in (even though everyone else did) and I couldn't figure out how to upload my pictures onto the computer. Not to fear, I finally figured it out on my own, mind you. The quality is not the greatest, although I have a Blackberry so they're supposed to be decent, but really not. I haven't figured out how to take the best pictures with it either....so keep that in mind.



Here is Tara, me, and Shelly. The picture is taken by me, and I don't know what the crap I'm doing so I'm the only one you can see. The concert was at the Peppermill Concert Hall in Wendover which is such an awesome venue! It's so small and personal, I LOVE it! (Plus we went to the Seafood Buffet before...delish!)

Here I am, very excited as you can see.

I got to go down to the stage (which I must add that my two sisters sure didn't join me....lame...). Here's one of the lead singers. I don't know either of their names, but I can sing most of the lyrics in their songs. It's kind of embarrassing but I blame Shelly for exposing me to sweet ballads from the 80's at an early age :o).

Yes, he is about to tear open the shirt of the guitarist. And yes, I was that close. I actually hugged the lead singer (towards the left) or maybe he hugged me :o) and he held my hand when I was standing by the stage. It wasn't quite as nice as when I touched Tim McGraw's thigh at the Tim & Faith concert last year, but it was still fun!

Here I am trying to take a picture of myself. Attractive, I know. I was trying to show how close I was to the stage but I didn't do a great job of it. Meanwhile, Tara and Shelly made fun of me from their seats because they were "too cool" (or in Tara's sake pregnant) to join me. Oh well, I had fun, that's all that matters!

We had such a fun night, and I think this is going to be a Barnes Sister Tradition from now on! After the concert (which was only an hour, lame.) we got some treats and vegged out to Titanic (the only decent thing on TV). Thanks girls for such a fun weekend!