The M&Ms: 2011

Friday, July 1, 2011

Yellowstone!

One of our favorite trips to take as a family is to Yellowstone National Park. We took a trip there in June. It was a perfect day! The weather was beautiful.

Mike is such a great Daddy! Tired legs? No problem, Daddy to the rescue!

Molly was scared of the stranger taking our picture, so no smile from her.....

I just love the scenery in the Park!

Family picnic in the park. Moments after this picture, a Buffalo came wandering through. Little scary!! We had no where to go if he decided to charge through our little area. But, after a couple tense, prayerful moments, he took the fork in the pathway that steered him away from us. Whew!

Thank you Picnic table for taking our picture!

Waiting for Old Faithful.........

Finally, she erupts!

Crazy kids.

What's a trip to Yellowstone without a Buffalo Picture?

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Wow! How about I jump back onto the blogwagon? Since I last blogged a TON has happened. First thing that comes to mind is my dear great grandma. She was in halfway through her 102nd year of life. She passed away the end of April. It's a mix of emotions I feel about that. It's so strange that she's not here any more, she has been a presence my whole entire life. I think I just felt she would always be there. But, then, she has been on a very long journey here on earth. She outlived her beloved husband by 20 years. Her daughter died 34 years ago. Her sister died when they were small. She lived her life the way she was supposed to. I learned that when she turned 100 she called the bishop to her house. He got there and found that she wanted to renew her temple recommend. She could no longer make the trip to the temple, but wanted to have a current recommend. This is a perfect example of the woman she was (IS!). Many many people came out to her viewing and funeral. She was so loved! I am so honored to come from such a wonderful, amazing woman! My children were able to spend time with her and get to know her. How lucky they are to know their Great Great Grandma! Amazing! One thing we loved to do was to go visit her for Mother's Day. My mom and I (and my brothers when we were little) would sing to her. She loved to hear our music. Mikey went with my mom once to visit her and he sang to her. So sweet. I'm so thankful he will have that memory. Some of my favorite memories are sharing my music with her, her warm welcoming hugs, soothing voice, cool-aid at her house, loving the animals at her house, and her crocheting. The big blanket she crocheted for me when I was young (to save for this stage of life) suddenly takes on a new special-ness. I will miss her so very much as I finish my journey, but my heart smiles thinking of the sweet reunions she is experiencing in Heaven.

Oh so shortly after that, my brother and his girlfriend (who were expecting) got a big surprise. Their baby was due around June 24th. Around May 9 Jade's (Brady's girlfriend) water broke. Not just a leak, it BROKE. She was admitted to the hospital, steroids were given to develop baby's lungs, antibiotics were given to avoid infection, drugs to keep labor at bay. Poor Jade had to stay in the hospital in that state for nearly a week! On May 13,( Friday, the 13th!) late at night, River Inara Lindsay was born by C-section. Poor Jade! What an experience for her first labor! River was born weighing 4 lb 10 oz and 18 inches ling. Pretty good size for being over 6 weeks early! This picture of her is from when I met Jade up at the NICU to give her a ride home. She is so super sweet, she let me hold River. Such a precious baby! I love this picture I just think it's so cute how she is rubbing at her eye! This pic is when she was 10 days old. The docs estimated she might be released around her due date (June 24 ish) But, HappY DaY, she is home as of two days ago! She is such a little Miracle.

Around the time we were waiting for River to come into the world safely, my mom, my kids, and I went to Blackfoot to watch my nephew Carter's baseball game. It was really fun! So cool watching those little guys try and try to hit the ball, then the excitement when they do! It was pretty cool. Here are some pics from the day. I love how my kids and my brother Donnie's kids get along. They pair up just right. Mikey and Blake, Mailei and Carter, Maddy and Haedon, Molly and Nash. Afterward we hit Rupe's (Best Burger joint in Blackfoot!) The kids (OK, and me too) had a little fun at sleepy Molly's expense. She slept right through us putting a fry in her mouth, napkin on her head, balancing a corn dog stick on the fry. When we wiggled the fry, she just started chewing away at it WHILE SLEEPING! It was pretty funny at the time! Then we went to Donnie's house and let the kids pay together a little. I think they had a good time. :)

Also since my last post, Mailei turned 9. NINE! Why does time have to fly so fast! Her birthday was on a Sunday. Mike worked an overnight shift Saturday night, so while we were at 9 O'clock church Sunday morning, he just got home from work. We came home to a freshly baked decorated cake with homemade birthday cards all thanks to him. And the cake was good! What an awesome Dad to bake his girl a cake!

So much more to post, but it will have to wait. Summer break is FINALLY here! Hopefully I can post a little more often to get caught up. I'm so thankful for my sweet little family. My children amaze me everyday, and my husband makes me smile all the time. Life is good!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Those Barlows and their road trips!

I was busy doing something (can't remember what now) And Mike came home from work. Went back into our bathroom and came out saying, did somebody cut their hair? He found some hair lying on the floor. Our first thought was Molly, so hollered down the stairs to her, "Molly! Did you cut your hair?" At this time I was in our living room which is actually a great room with our kitchen and dining room. Maddy was sitting at the table. I saw her perk up at Mike's question to Molly. She had this look on her face like "Uh-Oh! Don't look at me. Don'tlookatme don'tlookatme....." Yep, it was Maddy! Our easy kid, the one who never gets "into" things. I look closer at her and notice a big chunk gone from her just barely finished growing out bangs. Then a chunk gone from one side and then the other of her head. AAGH! I ran back to look in my bathroom, and didn't see enough hair. So I wondered out loud where it was. Molly led me to this on my CLOSET floor:

Talk about a mom's worst nightmare! And poor Maddy, she was SO embarrassed!

I think I did a pretty good job of salvaging her hair, though! I layered her hair the way I watched my hair get layered last time I got a haircut. And then I gave her some feathery bangs to "hide" her chop job. Why oh why do little girls who cut their hair go for the BANGS!?!?!

Whew~! On to other adventures! We took yet another road trip last weekend. We found a cheap hotel room with a pool and headed up to Jackson Hole. We used to be able to do that more often, when we lived in Idaho Falls. We've really missed it. We don't ski, but we enjoy the scenery and the unique shops. And the kids really enjoy staying in a hotel and swimming!

We even made a new friend!

(OK, so he's stuffed....)

I really really don't like this pic of me, but here's the one family shot we got. (I really should invest in a good tripod. The camera is balanced on a drinking fountain here. )

This past week, my kids' school had their annual Music Festival. Each year every grade level puts together a number highlighting what they are learning. Our school has what they call "expeditions" each semester. All of their learning is focused on a certain subject. For example, right now the 3-4 graders are learning about Wolves. So, their Science and reading and geography have to do with wolves. The 1-2 graders are learning about Potatoes, so they put on a Potato Opera. It was so cute! Also at this festival the choirs sing. This is my second year playing for the school choirs. Along with that, I was asked to play for the Potato Opera. It was so fun! And to make it even more exciting, we held it in the Stephen's Performing Arts Center. If you don't know, this is a newer place in Pocatello that is top of the line. (It's where David Archuleta performed! Squeal!!) The acoustics are some of the best in the world right now. I'm so spoiled I've been able to play the piano on that stage twice now! It's too exciting to me to be scared of it. This year the school had a new music teacher. I worried how the Music Festival would go without our beloved teacher from before. I mean it was her "baby"! But, although I loved her and her music festivals, I'd have to say this year was the best so far. This new teacher implemented a few new ideas that made it so nice! For one thing, in between class numbers, while they were changing the staging around, they featured talents from Students. Some sang, some played instruments. It was so neat! It was such a good night! Although things sound amazing in this place, it is difficult to take good pictures without an amazing camera. (It's a BIG place!) So I just snapped this of the kids after. Maddy is holding the flowers that I was given by the school for playing. I almost forgot...one of the new things the new teacher tried this year was having the 3-4 graders (Mikey and Mailei) play the recorder. They performed some Beatles songs. It was cute. A LOT of work went into learning those songs, BUT I think the kids were a little disappointed. They were the only grade that didn't get to perform ABOUT their expedition. We'll see what he decides to do next year.

(Yes, Mailei IS taller than Mikey, but NOT this much taller. He's sort of sitting on the little ledge thingy behind him)

Soccer season has started for Mikey. This year we finally remembered to request a coach. I debated between two who I really wanted. The funny thing is, those two combined and are BOTH his coaches! YAY
(The coaches got their team sponsored and were able to get these too cool uniforms)

Is it spring yet?!?! I want to get these babies in the ground soon!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

A week off and things get a little Random

So, I inadvertently took a week off from blogging. That put me behind to the point of having too much to choose from for this post. So, I'm going for random. Once again, I've chosen some random pictures from the past 2 weeks, and I'll tell a little about them. First, is Molly's plant. She got to plant a flower in primary with her teacher about 3 weeks ago. We wondered if anything would grow, when one day we peeked in the cup and found this: (See the little sprout hiding at the edge of the cup?)

Then, it started growing like crazy! This next picture is just 3 days later! It may be true that plants grow better with love. :)

We had a scare this past two weeks. Mike's grandma, our beloved Grandma Davis, nearly left us. She was so close to dying, we were so sad! She was very very very sick. With lots of love and prayers offered in her behalf, she actually pulled through! Enough that she is in a rehab facility now, just recuperating. This picture is of me and the kids in the waiting room the day things started to turn around.

Mikey and Mailei's art teacher decided to put up her students' art in an art show. Every year we have the First Friday Art walk that runs through the spring and summer. It is held in the Old Town area. This is where their art was on display. Here's my oldest M&Ms pointing out their work. Doesn't Mikey look SO excited?

Fred Meyer had a big sale the other day. I've been waiting and waiting for the best deal I could get on Sketchers Shape-ups. I was so excited, they were part of the big sale. I got a steal on them and to top it off, I found a pair in my favorite tennis shoe color---White!!!! They are pretty comfy, and put a lot of bounce in my step. We'll see if anything actually gets toned from wearing them.........

We had a crazy urge to take a drive to see the Twin Falls Temple the other day. We do that sometimes. We just take off and drive and enjoy each other's company as a family. It was a beautiful day (in Twin, anyway).

You gotta love pictures taken from the vantage point of a kid. So flattering...(shaking my head NO).

Well, that's all for now. Off to another crazy week at the M&M factory. :)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

I'm 3 days late!!!

NO! Not THAT kind of late. Sheesh! I'm 3 days late (because it's after midnight) from my Sunday blog. Oh well, better late than never. It was an eventful week. We had the Pinewood Derby. Mikey's car looked SO cool! His is the one with the red wheels. This year he got 2nd place.

He was so close on this race! But the kid racing him is the kid his car beat last year and the year before. We are happy he (the other kiddo) won, and even that he won Pack Champion. This was their last year at the Pinewood Derby, so how cool is it that they both got to be Pack Champions in their Cub scout careers!?! Having said that, it was a pretty rough night for Mikey. Right when he walked in he was accused by friends of buying his car, and even called a cheater. This is a pretty big deal to Mikey. Honesty is something he takes pretty serious. And to have friends basically call you dishonest is quite crushing. So take that and add to it a likely cracked rib and the pain that brings (oh! the pain he was in....). Not starting off on a good note. Then the racing starts and Mikey's car isn't doing as well as last year. Of course that's a bit disheartening. So add that in to the mix. Then another friend says "You're going DOWN" Which in itself isn't exactly bad, but added in to everything else......he had a rough night. But I have to give him Kudos..although he cried a little (who wouldn't with all that?) he didn't lash out at any other scouts. Poor guy. I asked him what was the worst thing about the night and he said it was the comments that were made. He's looking on the bright side though, his friend gets to go to Districts, which he's never done. And Mikey has been there twice. It will be a good learning experience in the long run, that's for sure.

A little birdy told me that my friend was in a production of "Oliver" in Aberdeen. So I called my other friend (We were quite a threesome in our day!) And we secretly zipped over to watch her. We walked in to this teeny auditorium at Aberdeen High School, wondering what kind of production it would be. The kids started in with the "Food! Glorious food!" Song, and I was already in awe! The kids were so CUTE! And the kid playing Oliver was pretty darn good. The adult actors were kind of blah at first. But then....THEN my amazing friend Amanda comes out on stage as Nancy (One of THE main characters) and totally livened up the show. I was so impressed! She had this accent going on, and this presence. Wow! I will definitely try to go see another Aberdeen production. If you are in the area, you should consider it. It was worth my time, for sure! The only thing I'd change is I'd take a picture of me and my friends! I'm such a dork! I didn't even take a pic of us three. But here is a picture of Amanda and her awesome stage presence.

Tonight after Mailei took her bath, she wanted her hair braided. Man! Does this girl have some thick hair! I almost can't even braid it! Look at how wide her braid is---and it's braided as tight as I could get it--compared to her neck. Wowzers!

And now, after all that randomness, it is time to visit my pillow. Good night!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Babies, a Returned Missionary, and Ice Cream

What a fast week this was! Monday and Friday I got to babysit my friend's granddaughter. Yes! I said Granddaughter! Actually, technically she is my mom's very good friend, but I claim her too. And, technically, I'm friends with her daughter too (The mother of the baby) But, I'm closer to the grandma and plus that's more fun to say! Anyway, little Kalli is just one month old. So tiny! And talk about kicking the baby hunger into full gear! She's so precious. Nothing makes you realize how big your kids are getting like seeing them holding a baby. Look at my sweet Mailei! She's so good with babies, I just know she'll make a great baby sitter.

I've been wanting to make a yummy multi grain bread for a long time. I can never find a recipe I quite want to try, so finally I took a very basic whole wheat recipe and tweaked it. I was nervous, I don't like to tweak baking recipes. Stove top recipes, that's a different story, I'm all about tweaking those puppies. ( So, how many more times can I type tweaking?) So, I *tweaked* this basic recipe by throwing in extra butter and sugar, OK, OK, that part was on accident, but it worked. I also threw in a handful of oats, a handful of flax seed, and a handful of those little white ball seed things (that's the official name, I swear!) I let it rise, the first time. So far so good. Then, I realized I didn't have the time I thought I did to let it rise fully a second time. So after a short rising time I HAD to get it baked. I must have a dough thumb (I just made that up, I think it could work as the equivalent of a green thumb, don't ya think?) Because it turned out DELISH! I'm going to make it again, but with not so much sugar (it was really sweet, too sweet for sandwiches). If you happen to be around I might let you try some (If there's any left, it was a big hit with the kids!)

It's Pinewood Derby time. And from the sounds of it, there is a whole Pack of Cub Scouts getting ready to knock Mikey off his "Pack Champion" pedestal. Yikes! He better be on his best game! Truthfully, our Pack is awesome. There's some friendly competitiveness, but over all, the sportsmanship at our Derbies is amazing. Love this Pack. The derby is this Wednesday, so Mikey and Mike have been busy at work getting the car ready. (If you notice a reddish hue around Mikey's mouth, he had just eaten spaghetti....) I love the way these two work together each year to come up with a really great car!

Can't show too many pics, don't want to reveal any trade secrets! (wink wink)

Maddy and Molly have lots of matching jammies. They looked so cute this night, fresh from their bath, I wanted to snap a cute photo. Oh no! Not with these two Monkeys! We tried standing on the piano bench.

...not quite. We tried sitting on the couch.........

....closer, but still not quite......

We tried.........oh never mind. I did get a great shot of the couch, though!

My nephew Walker got home from his mission in November. He lives in Hawaii, so we didn't get to see him until this week. He will be attending BYU Idaho and came up a little early to spend some time with all of us. To welcome him "home" we had a family dinner at Mike's parents' house. I've been so busy just enjoying family, I haven't taken any great pics yet. But here are a few snapshots of the evening.

We also surprised Shelley with a cake and a bee-you-ti-ful rendition of Happy Birthday.

Look! There's Walker in the back ground. (Can't believe I haven't made him pose for a picture yet......urgh)

. Love the things babies will do with plastic bottles. Callie was having a blast here! (snuggled up to Mailei)

As for tonight, Mike had to work until 11, so the kids and I had a low key family home evening. Watched some Living Scripture stories and bonded around a container of ice cream. It was so cute listening to them talk to each other about the stories and how they related to each other. I love it that they have a love for those stories.

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