The Busy Barney's

I KNOW, IT"S ABOUT TIME!!!

2010-10-27T14:56:00.022-06:00

One of our favorite fall traditions is going to Linder Farmers. Most years we go with our wonderful friends, the Bernards. Last year we had sick kids and ended up having to go seperately but thankfully this year, we all were in good health on the date we had scheduled to go so we had them over for soup and rolls before heading to the pumpkin patch. It had rained earlier in the day but I think with Tyson's mid-day prayer "please let it not rain so we can go to the pumpkin patch tonight" (his cute idea to pray!!), the rain stopped by late afternoon and had dried out enough that it was not a muddy mess. We had a great time!!

Corn kernel sand box-I found several kernels in the washer :)

The train ride- I thought Katelyn would think she was too big for this ride this year but she hopped in and looks to be having a good time.

He thought he was so cool!! But of course he had to ride the "boring normal way" when the ride began.

We always enjoy the petting zoo they have at Linder Farms, especially the kids, since they are so deprived by having NO pets in our family.

I personally love this picture!!

I loved this Walllaby. I put my hand out to feed him and he grabbed ahold of my hand with both of his, which it happens to have decent size claws, and just ate out of my hand until every piece was gone. It's no fast eater like the goats I'll have you know. My arm was so tired by the time he finished :) I decided awhile back, that if Wallaby's were regular pets, I'd have one in a heart beat. They are sooo cute!!

Logan and the fast eaters. He loves the little baby goats and has ever since a baby goat befriended him at the fair a few years ago. He still talks about the goat that loved him and was sad he had to leave :)

I snapped this cute picture of the Bernards while we were on the hayride heading back with our pumpkins.

Ethan, Logan and Tyson.

Another great year at Pumpkin Patch and hopefully many more!!

Wow, I can't get over that I just finished a post to my blog!!!! I'm sure most won't see this since I am a slacker and never post and most have given up on me but hopefully the fall photos were enjoyed by those that visited. More fun photos and news to follow soon :)

UPDATE:

2010-03-09T23:03:00.003-07:00

Even though I have a bazillion pictures to post, this one will be lame and not have any because I have 5 minutes to hurry and update since it has been way too long!!!

So in the fall we did pay off our store loan BUT we are moving to a bigger location in the same shopping center!!!!!!!!!!!! We have completely out-grown our current spot and we were offered an amazing deal on a huge spot (pretty much across the parking lot) and a yummy restaurant is replacing us (I can't say what it is but it is yummy and the 1st to Boise :). Anyways, we had hoped to buy a house this summer but with the relocation, that will be put off another year, which it is completely worth it to be able to get the new store up and going 1st.

Just to give you an idea of why we are so excited about this move: the current selling square footage of our store is 2000 sq. feet, witth 3 computers/ cash registers, 4 dressing rooms and the largest storage unit in our current storage place and it has over 350 decent size storage bins full of backstock clothes- that Justin spends countless hours rotating with the newest stuff and what a pain it has been!! He loads up bins, drives them to the storage unit and unloads them, then loads up the ones to go back to the store (to put out and sell), and drives back to unload them at the store!!! He does this day n and day out (well except Sunday :) and that is on top of the hundreds of other things he has to do.

So our new location (which will be as of the end of April to early May) is over 6500 sq. feet of selling floor (yes over 3 times as big) with 10 dressing rooms, 5 cash registers/computers and no need for a storage since we still have over 3000 sq. feet of storage room in our new spot!!! We are SOOOO excited if you cant tell!!! It has been and will be quite a lot of work but it will be so worth it!!! If you come to Boise, you'll have to stop by and see us (Platos Closet :). After the new location is ready, I will post pictures of our current store and then ones of the new store.

I know that was probably hard to understand and probably even boring but it really is an incredible thing for us!!! Next time I will post pictures and fill ya in on the rest of our crazy life :) Hope everyone is doing great and Happy Spring!!!

Update:

2009-11-06T13:13:00.007-07:00

Happy Fall

I had a little time to sit at the computer today since my kids are home (Parent/Teacher Conf.) and they are actually entertaining eachother pretty well. Anyways, I uploaded a bunch of pictures to my facebook photo album so if you want to see pictures, hop on facebook.

Life is crazy as normal. Dealing with colds, school and just about everything else.

We had a week in Oct. where all 3 of the kids had every symptom of the swine flu: a week of fevers, coughs, sore bodies and sore throats and throw-up!! But at least they've had it and are all better, with the exception of that crummy cough that forever lingers. Besides a month long headcold for me, Justin and I so far have been spared from anything horrible.

You'd think with Tyson in a preschool program that is 4 days a week- it's a special preschool program in our school district that Tyson qualifies for because he is "speech delayed", I'd have all this free time and get more done. But I spend a lot of time volunteering in all 3 kids classes, or volunteer for PTO activities, etc. But it definitely is nice to be able to run errands kid free, most of the time.

Some good news for our store... WE PAID OFF OUR BUSINESS LOAN last month so now the store is debt free!! We are eligible to get a home loan in the spring (we have to have 2 full years of taxes for our business) so we hope to buy/build a house next summer in the subdivision that we both love. But the store is doing great and we are still loving it!!

Hope you are all having a great fall and have a great Thanksgiving!! I know we can't wait to have my family come for Thanksgiving week and to go see New Moon with my sistas!!!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY KATELYN!!!!!

2009-09-10T10:12:00.009-06:00

Our Birthday Girl
My baby girl just isn't a baby anymore. It amazes me to think that 8 years ago I was having my 1st child. We definitely have been blessed with our beautiful little girl. Katelyn is so smart and loves school. All her teachers have loved her cause she is always done with her work right away and then asks what she can do to help them. She loves little kids and always hogs any babies we may be babysitting. We love her so much!!
*As a side note, I wanted to post a baby picture and pictures of her growing up, however, Justin has saved all our pictures older than a year on some thing and I have NO idea where or how to get them on here...

May: Soccer and Mother's Day

2009-08-27T09:36:00.026-06:00

I know, 4 months, pathetic!! But I have tons to post from May to current, so there will be more coming... I have to say I am ready for kids to be back and school and back to a regular schedule and with Tyson in preschool, I just may have time to be a regular, or a more regular blogger!!

Another busy April and May filled with soccer for Katelyn and ME!! I played on occasion with an indoor co-ed team that Justin played on with a bunch of couples in our ward (for the last year). Justin had to take a couple sessions off due to pulled muscles but I decided to play a session with a bunch of friends on an all girls indoor team. It was great exercise and even though I got sick to my stomach before every game, I had so much fun!! Of course we had to take goofy team photos!! Oh and we were the HOT MAMAS so the back of our shirts said HOT!

(I'll have to repost these small ones when I have the reg. photo emailed to me, I just copied them from a friends blog and they are hard to see)

We had 2 friends move (Brianne, I am still mad at you for leaving me) and a couple others are prego but with a few new comers, we hope to have a team for this fall!!

Katelyn's Soccer

Getting ready to do some fancy foot work... Katelyn had the ball at about 3/4ths of the field back and booted the ball over all the girls heads, it landed and rolled right into the goal!! I wish we got it on tape. It was great!!

Mother's Day

Justin got me these pretty roses (I love the vase) but I ended up killing them as I do with all plants. I think Tyson was sleeping and missed this picture.

The kids helped Justin make me my favorite breakfast, french toast.

Then for dessert, we had my favorite, WATERMElON!! They made me hearts "for Mother's Day"!! Even Justin made me one but he told me not to waste the space on his, lol.

Justin trying on his new day pack and filling it to it's maximum weight limit. It was a great day other than the boys wrestling, me telling them to stop since it was Sunday, and as always, both got hurt and both ended up with bloody noses within a few minutes of eachother.

A Lot of Catching Up!!!

2009-05-04T18:58:00.027-06:00

It has been a crazy couple of months!!!

In March, we headed to my parents to welcome my sister Karen home from her mission. That weekend, my mom, my sisters and I drove to Portland and attended the WICKED play. It was SO good and we had so much fun. I am going to make Justin go with me one of these days (which he is already dreading but I know he'll end up liking it). Then we brought my sister home with us, to put her to work at the store for a crazy Spring Break. Karen still lives with us (possibly until school this fall) and is working at the store and in 2 weeks when we head off to Orlando for our Platos Closet Conference, she will be a little nanny for our kiddos.

We had a fun St. Patricks Day and thought we'd share some cute pictures.

Green Eggs and Ham (and Tyson pouting in the background- a typical thing in our house)

This kid loves pirates... HAPPY 3RD B-DAY TYSON (was April 10th)!!!

This pirate cake was really fun to make!!

Ready to blow out the candle!!

(He wanted an umbrella so bad- thanks Bernard Family)
Justin came up with this really cute scavenger hunt. Each time they found a clue, there was a treasure with it (sword, necklace, eye patch, etc.) and then the final clue led to the treasure chest filled with candy. Justin hid the chest up on the high ledge and once the kids figured it out, he let Tyson go up to get it. He was so excited!!!

They found the loot!!

Ok so I am embarrassed to say this but Tyson had a binky until the day he turned 3. He mostly had it at nap and bedtime and times when he got hurt or just need the "comfort" of it. Ok so I needed him to have it sometimes. But we had been telling him a for 3 motnhs before his birthday that when he was 3 he wouldn't need a binky cause he was a big boy. So being into pirates, Justin got the idea to let Tyson sink his binkies like pirates sink things. He found an anchor thing and tied Tyson's binkies to it then before his party, Justin took the kids to the canal and Tyson sunk his binkies. He had a few crying episodes over that next week but did surprisingly well for having had a binky for 3 years. Now that he is potty trained, binky-free and in preschool (he is in a great preschool program through the elementary school where he also gets speech help), my baby is not a baby anymore. However, that does not mean that I am ready for another/final baby quite yet.

Easter Morning

A qiuck family photo

Pretty cute kiddos huh?!?!

In their pj's from the Easter Bunny

Well I am sure you've seen enough pictures to kill a camel. With the craziness of moving, cleaning and unpacking, I am a bit exhausted so in a few more days I'll post cakes contest and field trip pictures, etc. All the fun stuff had to be put on the back burner so I am excited now that life is settling down a bit, to be able to hop on everyones blogs and see what you all are up to.

2009-03-06T00:51:00.026-07:00

Wow it's been awhile. Well, we were out our computer for almost 2 weeks while away getting fixed, then we were in Spokane, got sick while we were gone and for the first few days after we got home, then had all the catch up to do from being away, sick kids, and all the other crazy things we are constanly doing, and so that's my excuse!! So I'm fore-warning, there are a lot of pictures from our little trip and this was posted at 2:30am so sorry for any typo's- I am tired!!

We went to this museum in Yakima, WA with my mom and sister Sarah and it had this fun kids play room. There was a train car, old school room, little store/kitchen, etc. My sister and I had as much fun playing as Katelyn and Tyson did (Logan was geocaching with Justin).

That evening, my dad, who is a currently a bus driver, took Logan and Tyson to see his bus. Tyson had so much fun pulling the airhorn and was excited to get on a bus (since Logan get to ride the bus to school and he doesn't).

My sister Karoline leaving for the school dance...

So we were at my parents for 2 days then headed to Spokane. A few things we did while in Spokane: had a playdate with some of my wonderful friends and their kiddos and then went by the YMCA (where I used to work) and said hi to some friends. We had dinner with Justin's bestfriend Matt and his wife Megan who were so wonderful to let us stay with them for 2 nights, again. Katelyn and Logan had a sleepover with their cousins Taylor and Gavin and then we had a birthday dinner with Justin's family and got to see our new twin niece and nephew, who are so cute. Finally, we headed out to Cheney, where I grew up, and had dinner with my brothers family and my grandparents and then stayed the last night there before heading home. Unfortunately I was sick for 4 of the 5 1/2 days we were gone, so besides feeling miserable, we had a good time and loved seeing everyone!!

Our little ninjas. Katelyn with Heathers twins (Ava & Connor).

The kids with their Grandma & Grandpa Great (my poor grandma had just had knee surgery that week.

Katelyn with her cousins Kiersten and John, being computer nerds!!!

Computer Problems

2009-02-02T22:17:00.002-07:00

I never really knew how much I relied on the computer until the last 2 weeks of ours not working well. I'll be in the middle of something and it freezes on me and that is just the minor of its problems. Luckily our warrantly doesn't expire for a couple weeks so we're sending it in to get fixed. It will be a long 2 weeks without it but I promise to have a decent post when we're back up and running.

Other than computer problems and a non-stop schedule, we are doing great. The store is doing amazing, which is such a blessing in our current economy. January is typically a slower month for Plato's Closets but we were still up almost 20% from last January. Every year there is a Platos Closet convention and this May it will be in Orlando. We are looking forward to getting away and my sister Karen will be home from her mission in March, so she will be our nanny for the 6 days we are gone.

Next week the kids have a 4 day weekend so we are going to leave to my parents after school on Thursday and then go on to Spokane on Saturday, where we will get to see more family and friends. We are so excited to see our new twin niece and nephew who were born in October. They were born 2 months early (but are doing really well) so they still should be tiny. The kids will only have to miss one day of school and will be well worth it. We are praying that the weather will cooperate so we can make it (since we didn't get to for Christmas).

I hope you all are well and I can't wait to hop on everyones blogs when our computer is back and functioning right.

Dec. Activities/Christmas Pictures

2008-12-30T16:46:00.057-07:00

It has been another crazy month of December and knowing my record, I am actually impressed that this is posted only 5 days after Christmas. It has been a fun-filled month but also included stress, snow, and celebrating the birth of our Savior. For the last 3 or 4 months we'd been planning on going to Spokane for the 5 days before Christmas and then leave from there on Christmas Eve to go to Zillah, WA (where my parents live). Although it was a hard decision, we canceled our plans because of all the snow that had come to Spokane and all the cities we have to travel though to get there. It was a good choice because Spokane was basically closed down. Hospitals canceled all non-life threatening surgeries, half the roads were closed, and tons of businesses where closed. The got 3 feet of snow in 2 days and yesterday my mother-in-law called and told us that they broke a record for the record known to Spokane. 5 feet of snow in less than 2 weeks! Roofs on stores, garages and homes are collapsing and they are running out of room to pile the snow. And more snow is coming on and off all week. Did I mention we made a good choice not to go and after the last 2 winters Spokane has had, we moved away at the right time (even though we miss all our family and friends)!!

So here are a TON of pictures of some of our activities from the month.

This was at our ward Christmas Party: Katelyn was a cow (yes a cow-kinda mean if you ask me lol) but was cute, Logan was one of the shepherds, and the cute donkey was our little friend Paxton. I was sad there was not a visit from Santa this year but we still had a good time.

Our friends, the Bernards, came with us.

Tyson and friends Rilynn and Paxton

Logan with his bud Ethan

This was Katelyn at her school winter program. The kids all had parts from the 12 days of Christmas.

Our school has an award that is given by each teacher each month for a certain character trait. The teacher picks 1 boy and 1 girl from their class that they think shows that trait and then they get to go to the school on the last Friday of the month and have breakfast and get their award. Well it happened that Katelyn and Logan both got chosen for the month of Dec. The trait was compassion and kindness, so of course I was so proud of them but it would be wonderful to see it more from them here at home (lol). Oh famiilies were invited for breakfast so we were up and at school at 8:20am.

Then that afternoon we headed back to school for Katelyn's classroom party since parents and little siblings were invited. It was pajama day so all the kids were in their pjs. We had fun making little gingerbread houses with her class.

The results of our gingerbread house (a great buy from Costco that we put together for FHE)...

Christmas Eve

Since moving to Boise, the kids have taken a liking to the orange and blue pride of BSU, so we got them each a shirt.
Katelyn and Logan got Heeley's (the shoe's with the wheels). We got katelyn's for just $9.00 at the Mervyn's going out of business sale. Regularly $65.00. Just can't beat that!!!

We decorated/ate sugar cookies as part of the evening festivities and then left out a few cookies and some milk for Santa (we didn't forget about the reindeer, we left carrots for them).

This below is crown bread and it is a tradition in my family. My mom made this for Christmas morning(and still does-which we would of had with them if we had been able to go) for as long as I can remember. So the last 2 yrs. I have made it for us and I think it turned out great!! Oh this is what we found from Santa when we woke up (an empty plate and a cute letter).

Christmas Morning

Tyson got the "big choo choo" he'd been wanting for awhile now.

Logan and katelyn got clothes from build-a-bear, which they asked for and Katelyn got her easy bake oven. The picture of Tyson with the camera stand: it was so funny, he kept pretending to take pictures and would say "cheese". A little later, he sat on the floor and would say "hohoho" and tell us to come sit on his lap and then (as best as he can), would ask us what we wanted for Christmas. It was so cute.

Just some fun pictures through out the day.

I love these 2 pictures!!!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a safe and fun New Year's too!! Family, we hope the weather will be better when we attempt to visit in February cause we can't wait to see you all.

Diapers Are Done (at least they better be!)

2008-12-08T10:46:00.015-07:00

For quite sometime now, Tyson has been going peepee on the potty but DEFINITELY not consistantly enough to be in underwear or close to being potty trained. He'd been going at least twice a day in the potty and in the last couple of weeks, he has started telling me "pee'd" EVERY TIME he pees and once in a while he would tell us he has to pee and makes it to the bathroom before he goes in his diaper. I kept hoping that this was a sign that he was getting closer to being ready to really potty train. But I haven't wanted to push him. I just want him to be ready and DO IT.. One of Tyson's little friends just turned 2 in Aug. and she is totally potty trained now. Katelyn was in underwear just barely after she turned 2 and Logan was by 2 1/2. Tyson was 2 1/2 in Oct. and I've been ready even if he hasn't been.

So here's the good news. Saturday afternoon Tyson told us he had to "pee!" and he has been telling us and has been dry ever since. He's in underwear!! (pullups when we leave, for now) and he even woke up dry the 1st night and has been dry after naps. I barely have to ask him if he needs to go. He just yells "pee pee!!" and runs for the bathroom. Can I just say that I am so excited and this better be it!! Now that we KNOW he can do it, there is NO going back! Way to go Tyson!!! Oh and that means no more diapers for the Barneys (at least for a couple years)!!!!!

Halloween Festivites '08

2008-11-14T23:48:00.024-07:00

PUMPKIN CARVING

Front

BackWe had so many fun Halloween parties: a big school one, kids classroom parties, a primary Harvest costume party, a playdate lunch party and of course the ward trunk or treat. Luckily, they were mostly spread out through the week. I love seeing the kids all dressed up.

SCHOOL PARTIES

This is Logans teacher this year and she was Katelyn's teacher last year. She is so WONDERFUL!! Katelyn and her teacher at her class party
Logans class watching Charlie Browns: The Great Pumpkin

I have to mention that this witch costume my mom made for my Halloween 21 years ago. It was so fun to have Katelyn wear something that was mine that her grandma made. And isn't she so cute!!

Logan and Ethan both wanted to be Indiana Jones and they both look so great! Poor Tyson had to miss all the fun on Halloween day. He had a fever and was a pretty miserable little guy for 4 days. Even though he is only 2 1/2, he totally knew what he was missing out on. When Justin, Katelyn and Logan left for our ward trunk or treat and dinner, Tyson just bawled. But he helped me hand out candy(we did keep him distant from our trick or treaters though) and Katelyn was a wonderful big sister and brought him home some candy.

We hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-14T09:19:00.028-07:00

It hasn't been until the last few years (probably since motherhood) that I have actually really started to love the fall. September and October have always just been a reminder that winter is quickly approaching, which means: high utility bills, extra time bundling up kids, icy dangerous roads and cold, dark days. Don't get me wrong, I love just about everything to do with the holiday season and drinking lots of hot cocoa but the rest is awful to me. However, although I still dread the winter, I love the fall now. I love the leaves, pumpkin patch adventures, carving/painting pumpkins, funs costumes, parties, etc. This fall has definitely been eventful and busy. With 2 failed attempts to go to the pumpkin patch (we got a nice snow storm for our 1st attempt and I was pretty sick the 2nd attempt) but 3rd time was a charm. There is so much to do: bouncy castle and slide, cow train, corn maze, petting zoo, pumpkin picking and of course yummy food!! We had a great time, with the exception of Tyson constantly taking off in seconds flat, heading back to the cow train.

The cow train

Before

After

The petting zoo had a camal and zebra and many other cool animals, which we had fun feeding but I worried about getting spit on by the camal.

This crazy bird was as tall as Katelyn and he kept pecking his head through the fence at people and it obviously took Katelyn by surprise!!

After Tyson pouted like this for 15 minutes, we finally had to give him what he wanted...

How can you beat that smile??

What a goofball Tyson can be!

My sister in law Nancy was in town overnight in last month and that Saturday was so nice we headed to a downtown park. We had so much fun, especially playing in the leaves since we don't have any trees in our little yard big enough to have enough leaves to play in.

Happy Harvest!!

1st Day of School

2008-10-20T10:15:00.012-06:00

I know, I am a slacker mom. I just remembered that I never posted the kids 1st day of school pictures. Katelyn is in 1st grade now and Logan is in afternoon kindergarten. Logan has Katelyn's teacher from last year and we just love her. I was a bit nervous about sending Logan to school this year. He just turned 5 the end of July and school here in Boise starts the end of Aug. So far he is doing good but I have a feeling I am going to want to have him repeat kindergarten. I'd rather him be the older in the class than the youngest and I'd rather him do kindergarten twice than possibly struggle in a couple years.

Cute Katelyn waiting outside her classroom door.

Logan on the playground while he waits to line up for school.

I was shocked that the boy 2 down from Logan is in kindergarten. He is 6 now and a foof taller than Logan is.

This is Logans 2nd day of school but we drove him on the 1st day. This is of him before leaving to get on the afternoon kindergarten bus. (We live a 1/2 mile from the school which is a walking district but they don't want the afternoon kindergarteners walking alone so they bus them to school. Then we either walk to pick both kids up or on colder days and winter, we drive. Luckily I have a friend to carpool with and it works out great.) The bus picks him up just a house down from us where there is another little boy in Logans class.

What a big kid?! It was crazy enough to know I was old enough to have 1 kiddo in school but now 2. Where does time go??

This last picture I had to post. Tyson looks so silly. He wanted to get on the bus SO bad. I think he cried the first 2 or 3 days when Logan got on the bus and I had to stop hikm from running out in the street to get on the bus. He also put this backpack on for the first 2 weeks of walking Logan out to the bus and still does occassionally. Unfortunately for him, he still has 3 years until his turn, poor kid.

A Belated Birthday Post for Katelyn

2008-10-12T19:44:00.012-06:00

On Sept. 10th Katelyn had her 7th birthday. My Grandpa and Grandma Osterberg were in town for a short visit and with a fun party, it was a great day!! Though, we did have a little incident where Tyson was playing with a Hannah Montana microphone and put the handle end in his mouth, fell and jam it into the back of his mouth. I know I can't control all that happens to them but I sure did feel like a bad mom. The poor kid was in pain and it was gross. Back to Katelyn, she chose to have a Hannah Montana party and we ended up having 14 kids here and it was crazy. Luckily the 2 neighbor girls across the street and the 2 girls their mom babysits had to to leave early. That was a bit more manageable. After the party, Katelyn picked Carls Jr. for dinner (they have a great play area).

After dinner, we saw an Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile and stopped for pictures.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!!

2008-10-12T19:11:00.007-06:00

I will start out by saying that I have missed the blogging world so I welcome myself back. Three month since my last post. That's pathetic but life doesn't seem to slow down!! Ok so a 20% chance of snow turned into a 100%. Friday evening it went from a little rain drizzle to wet snow that melted as soon as it hit the ground and then we ended up with huge flakes that covered every surface. I will also mention that just a week before the snow, we had a day that hit 90 degrees and the rest of the week was in the 80's. I am so mad!! I am not ready for the cold weather and especially snow!! The kids had soccer Saturday morning and when Katelyn's game started at 9am, the temperature was 32 degrees but according to the news, with the wind, it felt like 21. It was SO cold. They had to wear there winter coat under there uniforms. Luckily, by noon when Logan played, the snow had melted and the temperature had raised to 44 but it was still stinkin cold with the wind. Katelyn scored with this kick (bottom picture)!!! Justin's mom came to visit from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. We had planned on going to the pumpkin patch but with the cold weather we changed plans. She had to use a plane ticket before it expired so even though it was a very quick trip it was so nice to have her for a day. Well, it looks like our temperatures are suppose to be in the low 60's this week. As long as there is no snow, I can handle that!!

Back to Spokane for a Visit

2008-07-22T18:16:00.032-06:00

Right after the kids were out of school the beginning of June, we went back to Spokane for a short visit. Our1st full day there, we met at a McDonalds for a playdate. It was so nice to see everyone. I miss my Girls Nite group so much. They are all such wonderful friends whom I truly miss. It was also nice for the kids to see their little friends. I apologize for all the pictures being a bit blurry. I dont know what was up with my camera.
That Friday the 6th was also Justins birthday. I had planned a surprise BBQ at a park (that I even paid to reserve it) for his 30th birthday. However, the whole time we were in Spokane, it was cold, windy, and rainy, and I needed to find a alternative location. So thank goodness for our good friends, the Stephensons, not only for housing us and feeding us while we were in town but offering her house for the birthday event since it was way to cold and rainy to do it outside. The party did not end up as a surprise but still was wonderful and it was great to have most of our family there.

The next day was Justins little brother Michaels high school graduation but 1st that morning, Katelyn and I attended the local childrens theater, where my niece Kiersten was in the play Anne. She was an orphan. It was so cute!!

Justin picked us up, we grabbed a quick bite to eat before rushing over to the Spokane arena for Michaels graduation.

Justins family waiting for it to start. Grandma Barney with Tyson. Still waiting...
Me and my cute nephew (Heathers son) Braden. And waiting...

Well, then the graduation happened but none of my inside pictures of Michael walking turned out cause it was to dark.

Sunday we went to 2 sacraments, the 12th Ward and Pines Ward, then we enjoyed a fun
evening at Heather and Bretts house, where we had dinner and played games.
Grandma Barney with Tyson and his cousin Braden.We found out during this trip that Braden is going to be the big brother to twins in December. Now we are waiting to find out their sex!!

Our friends, Matt and Megan, who we stayed with, have a son Ryan who is 2 months older than Katelyn. Meg and I were pregnant together so they have known eachother since birth but have only seen eachother a few times in the last couple years due to several moves. But they hit it off right away and became inseperable. They were almost immediately holding hands, hugging, say "I love you", etc. It was cute but we sure had to keep an eye on them. We'll be staying with them again next month when we go back to Spokane for my sisters wedding (in Cheney) so we'll see if they take over where they left off?????

Sorry for so many pictures. I could have done 10 times as many but it takes so long, I'd bore ya to death and they are blurry ????? But we had a great time and excited to see everyone in Aug.

If only they were this quiet all the time or even a 1/4 of the way to or from Spokane!!

Our Plato's Closet Conference in Vegas

2008-07-22T17:16:00.014-06:00

Well, I can't get over the fact that we waited so long for it, it happened (in May) and that we have already been home for 2 months. It was my 1st time in Vegas, and although is was beyond fabulous to eat so wonderfully and just have a fun, quiet (none of our children arguing and talking non stop, etc) time with Justin, it was not my ideal place for a vacation. We saw alot of cool things and we saw alot of NOT so cool things!!! We felt like we were surrounded by the "great and spacious build/s". Our conference was good and we learned alot. The best part was seeing the other owners that we were in training with, who opened their stores around the same time as us, and talking about the similars and differences between them. We have a competition going between us and 4 other stores. The store that sells the most for the year of 2008 has to buy all the other stores a big, fancy dinner next May at our conference, which is going to be in Orlando Florida. We hope to take 2nd. That means we get out of buying a very expensive dinner but that our store still did really well.

In front of Ceasars Palace

Both us us having fun in a kid store.

The view from our very high hotel room. It was beautiful at night to see the srtip all lit up.

The last night at our conference, while most others were drunk, we drank our delicious virgin pina claudias (no clue how to spell it), but they were good!!!! (I'd have to say that both our faces look so much fatter in this picture than normal :)

This is us at 3:00 AM wating for the shuttle to take us to the airport. I'd say we look pretty good for getting 3 hrs. of sleep.

Cute, but oh so poopy, Chics

2008-07-22T16:52:00.005-06:00

Through the month of May, Katelyn's kindergarten class watched baby chics and ducklings from eggs in the incubator, to hatching and then watching them grow the last few days of school. Any kindergarteners that could, got to take a chic or duck home and since only a couple of parents let their child take one home, and me being the nice mom that I am , hehehe funny huh, let Katelyn take two. Well, to say the least, they are so cute but boy do they poop like crazy!!! I was cleaning it up all the time so my kids wouldn't reach in their bin and get it all over themselves. But they grew so fast, we only got to keep them about a week and a half and 5 of those days, my wonderful friend Wendy and her son Ethan watched them for us, since we went to Spokane. They were fun while it lasted.

OK OK OK!!!!!!!

2008-07-16T01:23:00.004-06:00

Yes, I have lots of things to blog about and that is why I haven't had time to blog cause I have been busy doing those things. I loved getting on my blog for the 1st time in a VERY long time and seeing so many friends have missed me and the fun bantering I received. It made me laugh!! I have to admit I have completely missed checking in on everyone and I hope to get back to it soon. Like, hopefully I'll have a little time to post a few things tonight or tomorrow. See you soon.

Quick Trip to Utah

2008-05-09T13:22:00.013-06:00

As normal, I am posting this a month late but why would I shock everyone and change now. My parents and little sisters came to visit for a few days over their spring break and during that time, we went to Utah for 2 days. My sister Karen is seving a mission at the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission and just loving it. She got permission to meet us and give us a tour of Temple Square, the Beehive Home, and go to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It has been 8 years since I have been there, and more like 15 years for my parents. I just love the spirit that you can feel there and knowing that apostles and disciples of Christ dwell all around you, thinking of the work the early saint put into building such an amazing Temple, and feeling so blessed to have the knowledge that we do! My sister Karen is the missionary with her hand on Logan (for those of you who don't know her). It was funny, so many other sister missionaries would see us and freak out about how much her and I look alike (although I have a good 20 lbs on her and at least 3 inches shorter-in this picture, I happen to have tall shoes on and hers are flats, so our height looks closer).Justin and I personally think this picture of our kids all looking at Christ, is so cute! We listened to the audio thing you listen to while in this rooom and then my sister and her companion both bore their testimonies.This was the morning we were leaving and saying our goodbyes which was happy and sad at the same time. We left SLC and ran to Provo to the BYU campus, so my sister Sarah, who graduates next year, could see it and then we found the Provo Plato's Closet that our co-owners brother owns. We did a little shopping, ate lunch, and got back to Boise about 9:30 pm. My family left the next day and I had to work at the store, come home to clean house, go to Girls Nite, and then the next morning Justins dad and brother Michael flew in for 4 days. It was a busy 10 days but overall, very fun and wonderful to be with our family. This last picture is just for fun: Mike and the kids wearing a little BLING BLING on their teeth??!!!

Better Late Than Never: Easter Pictures

2008-05-04T23:58:00.013-06:00

We had another holiday with just our little family but it was a nice Easter. Tyson beat the other kids awake and then Katelyn and Logan got to their baskets before I could get the camera back out.

The kids had fun coloring eggs and luckily no magor spills!!I love watching the kids hunt eggs and this year the "Easter Bunny" hid a Golden egg for each of them.

Our Little Soccer Star

2008-05-04T20:56:00.007-06:00

Katelyn played soccer last spring and loved it but didn't get to play this last fall with the move. So we got her back in it this spring and on the team with her friend Kalee. They are the oldest 2 on the team and biggest on the team. They are all over the field and scoring the most but do a good job of trying to pass to the younger girls. We love watching her play and see how excited she is when she scores (although wins and loses aren't kept track at this age, so of course it is just for fun). At her game last week, she made 3 goals! Her and her friend Kalee

Katelyn's Tooth Extraction

2008-05-04T20:33:00.006-06:00

Katelyn's tooth has been loose for a while now and she kept bugging Justin to tie a string to it and the door and YANK it out...watch the video below. Listen carefully to Logan's great idea of removing the tooth!

p.s. I was against this idea, but they did it behind my back. I couldn't believe they did it!! I wanted her teeth in as long as possible. I don't like when little kids have their cute, tiny, perfectly straight little teeth, loose them and then need braces because they don't have room for the permenant ones. She has already lost her bottom 2 but they can't be seen when she smiles.

This Post Has Pictures!

2008-03-11T20:21:00.010-06:00

There is a grocery store just down the street from our subdivision that I run to occassionally (Walmart is where we usually go but it is 10 mins. away and I almost always have at least 2-3 of my children and it's so stinkin busy!!!!!) Anyways, I run there if I only need a couple things or I only have a short time to get there and back. But they have these cute carts for the kids to use. They love them but when we are done, I want to rip my hair out. It is impossible. Tyson has to have one too, and 3 carts going in a million directions, running into my ankles, etc. But they sure look cute with them.

We want to get a trampoline and a playset but we dont want to have to move it this fall/winter or whenever we move to our own house so we found this fun airplane at Costco for the kids. The problem is, they want to be out on it all the time!!!! It is windy here and they can deal with the cold better than me. I would just let them out as long as they want but our fence is a privacy fence (not completely enclosed) and Tyson can disappear in seconds. But they sure do have fun on it and love being outside.

I know the Super Bowl was over a month ago but here's a few cute pictures:

The Long Awaited Post

2008-03-11T19:09:00.004-06:00

I know it has been FOREVER since I posted last but in my behalf, I have heard many people say that a blog is like journal keeping, which I NEVER have been good at. Therefore, I no expectations of being good at blogs either, hahaha!!! We are just busy in our busy but non-exciting lives.

News Going on in Our Lives: Justin trained a 2nd employees to close (we have a member gal who closes 2 nights a week and a Sat. once or twice a month but is a fulltime BSU student and can only handle so many hours) and so it was great cause this 2nd gal wanted to work nights and Saturdays, which is hard to find. So after having so much hope of seeing Justin alot more, we were very upset to hear that she was completeingly being dishonest after only her 2nd night in charge. After reviewing our cameras and being filled in by other uncomfortable employees, her and another gal were fired. So, I guess we should be content having him home the 2 nights a week for now. It is nice to still work with him most Thursdays (10-3:15) though.

Happier and Braggy News: They do this testing with the kindergarteners on their letters, sounds and segmenting words and Katelyn scored the highest in her class. They will do the same testing in May and when they sent home their scores, they included scores of where they hope all the children will be then. Well Katelyn's scores were almost double what they expect for the spring!! She is doing so good in school and loves it! When she is mad at me she says "I wish I were at school right now so I didn't have to see you cause I love it and my teacher is nicer than you!" If she were as sweet as she is smart? Just kidding, I love her to pieces.

One More Thing: This will be rather boring to the reader but to me this was big. When we moved here the end of July, we found out that we had 90 days to take the Idaho written test to get new licenses. As most of you may know, I stress over EVERYTHING. Well, after 7 1/2 months of stressing, I finally took the stupid test. Justin took it the day before me to give me a heads up (how many questions, how many can I miss w/out failing, where do I go, etc). I was just so worried that if I didn't pass on my 1st try, they would keep my WA license since I was past 90 days. Well, as it turns out, once again, I worried for nothing, got a 40/40 and have my official Idaho drivers license and my picture is even GOOD!!!!! Oh and Justin passed too!

Children Are Too Honest Sometimes

2008-01-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

So as many of you know, I am on another weightloss venture. Two years ago, to the month, I also started hardcore workouts and Weight Watchers and lost 34 lbs. in about 3 months. So after another child, a drop in workouts, due to our move and the crazy schedule that has come with it, I am about 25 lbs heavier than I want to be. I started almost 2 weeks ago, doing my workouts and counting Weight Watcher points. I have lost almost 6 lbs. and feeling happy with that but of course not anywhere near satisfied with my body. So here comes the far too honest part...The other night I had gotten done working out and showering, when Logan walks into my room as I am gettimg dressed. He stops and looks at me with a puzzled face and asks, "Someday is dad going to get fat (than hesitates for a second)... like you're kinda fat?" I had to laugh and call and tell Justin. Although, I didn't take it too personal, sometimes my children are a little too honest.

We Are Hoping For A Safer New years!

2008-01-03T01:36:00.000-07:00

So we ended up having a few unexpected injuries or incidents happen in the last 3 months but we are all alive and well. It all started in October when Justin had to get 6 stiches in his foot from an eliptical injury (but not from when he was working out on it). I won't mention which one of our children stepped on the pedal, not knowing his feet were on the floor by it, and it came down, hit his foot which knocked it off it's track and sliced into his foot. Sorry for the gruesome picture but most of you have given birth and I thought you could probably handle it. It was very painful for quite awhile but was in the best place it could have been on his foot and was able to keep up at the store, but with some limping. Thankfully, he's just fine now though!!

November was my lovely car accident in Spokane, which could have been MUCH worse. I was just left with a sore neck and bad headache and Tyson was just fine.

December brought both boys ear infections. Logan was put on amoxicilan and after using it for a full week, broke out into a rash. I took him back in and they said he had a "non allergic reaction" since it happened after a week. They had me stop the last 3 days and put him on something new, including benedryl, which he lived on for a week. This top picture was within a few hours of the rash starting. The bottom picture was the next morning.

This is how bad it got all over his entire body. His ears, hands and feet were so swollen and red. I had to drowned the poor boy in calimine lotion. He was so itchy and sore that he didn't sleep well and felt miserable. It was really bad for 3 days but lasted about a week total. I will be a bit hesitant when a doctor mentions amoxicilan for him in the future, although they said he should be fine trying it again someday.

Katelyn's last day of the year accident...On New Years Eve, we had to stop by the store so Justin could print out some end of the year reports, which should have taken like 20 minutes. Well the kids started running around and I kept telling them to stop, settle down, and we'd be on our way soon. They were anxious to get to our friends, the Bernards, where we were going to spend the evening for some New Years Eve celebrations. But of course my wild kids didn't obey and Katelyn tripped on the tile and fell, hitting a metal rack. It split her eye brow open quit deep. After a couple hours in the ER, and Katelyn being so brave, she luckily only needed 2 stiches. I hope she learned her lesson about running and messing around in our store. Despite the extra stop, we did end up enjoying the rest of our New Years Eve!

So our family has had a few bad things happen to us this last year but I am totally aware that all our situations could have been much worse. But for the fact that they weren't, we were greatly blessed and thankful.

Another Christmas Come And Gone

2008-01-03T00:26:00.000-07:00

The pictures are in no particular order. Just some that I thought were cute and showed how we spent some of our Christmas season. We hope your Christmas was great and have a wonderful New Year 2008!!
Tyson got this from us and loved it everytime he saw it at the store. I was excited for him to open it and he was too when he saw it. Too bad a week later, he could care less. But it sings 3 songs and is pretty fun.

If all the sugar they have had over the last month wasn't enough, but I gave into getting "vanilla snow cotton candy" and Katelyn and Logan had fun acting as Santa.

Christmas Eve, after stuffing ourselves with Chinese take-out (a new tradition we are starting when we celebrate Christmas alone), acting out the nativity and opening a few gifts, and just before bed so Santa could come!!

All I can say is that my kids love to get their pictures taken (most of the time). This is Christmas morning, after they spent nearly an hour in the bath. santa brought each of them a new bath toy.

We acted out the nativity and although I had to take pitures, I was the donkey Mary rode on and then I was the angel.

We were so glad the store was closed and Justin got to be home with us for Christmas Day!! This was our 1st Christmas with out all our family. With the store only being open a couple months now, Justin had to be here to open the day after Christmas, so we couldn't leave the area. It was sad but we still had a great Christmas!!

I love this picture of Tyson. He is just so happy! He loves to pose for the camera.

The kids at our ward Christmas Party! I love that Tyson is not afraid of santa. We saw Santa at 3 or 4 different places and he always tried to cut in line to get to Santa.

We used this picture on our Christmas cards and these were their outfits for Christmas Sunday. I think Logan especially, looks so handsome.

I Am So Boring, Busy, But Boring

2007-12-02T00:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know I haven't posted for a while, and it is not because I am still recovering from my accident, because I am totally fine (at least I am until we get a bill -although our insurance should cover it all, I hope). I have been doing plenty of things to share, I just don't know how to load/post pictures yet, and blogs are so much more fun with pictures. As I had to wait to start our blog, for Justin to have time to help me, I also have to wait for him to have time to teach me how to do the whole picture thing (he's the one that posted the other pictures for me). So hopefully I'll get something more exciting posted soon. In the meantime, I am just enjoying visiting everybody elses blogs. Thanks for all the wonderful crafts, ideas, and stories that people share.

My First Car Accident

2007-11-20T23:43:00.000-07:00

So I can't actually believe that I am writing about this subject because I still can't believe it actually happened. I was in Spokane for a night, a full day on Friday the 16th and flew out the next morning. My friend Arah's baby passed away and I went back for the memorial service of Olivia Kamille Kunz. Although a very quick trip, I was happy to go, not for the circumstance but glad to be there to support Arah and Matt and to see some great friends and some family. I guess the shock of an accident isn't what's so shocking to me but the crazy things surrounding it. After the service, I went to one sister-in-laws house and then was on my way to anothers, in my rental car (for which I didn't purchase the insurance on-Justin always says it's a rip off and our own insurane covers rentals). I was on Mission and stopped at a red light and was waiting to turn right onto Ruby. The light had just turned green and I was taking my foot off the gas when all of a sudden the car coming up behind me slams into me and forces my car into the car infront of me. My intial thoughts were: oh my gosh, a car just hit me, I didn't purchase the rental insurance, what if my car blows up, I have to get Tyson out, and oh my gosh, does my head hurt. I didn't hit the steering wheel and my air bags didn't deploy (the guy who hit me, his bags did deploy and his windshield was smashed somehow) but the slamming into my car jolted my upper body pretty hard. So the guy comes up and asks if I am okay, kneels down by my door and says "this sucks but my license is suspended". Are you kidding me!!! I am just bawling at this point, my head and neck hurt, I am worried about Tyson, I didn't get the rental insurance, this idiot's license is suspended which means his insurance is void!!! I called Justin in hysterics and explain the situation. The guy doesn't want to go to jail so he is trying to convince me not to call the police and wants to make a run. Justin calls the Sports Outlet, where he used to work and knows all the guys, which happens to be just down the road. Two of his wonderful ex-co-workers come to my rescue. They occupied the guy while I called the police and they played with Tyson and kept him entertained. I have to mention that this guy "Shawn" who hit me was using the F word everyother word and saying that by calling the police it would ruin his life, he has a 5 month old, his wife would kill him and he'd go to jail, etc. So what, by not calling the police, he wants me to leave my 3 kids and husband and go to jail, no thanks!!!! So, the police arrive and they ask Shawn to sit in his car while I and the gal my car hit (which luckily was almost no damage to her car) gave all our info. At this point, Justin had called his 3 wonderful sisters, who none were too far away, and all started showing up. While the police were filling out the reports, we see a tow truck pull up. A second cop car arrives and ARREST the guy and they tow his car. I am so lucky that he totally admitted fault but it is still horrible that he has no insurance because his license is suspended. So I know this blog is long enough but I have to say that Tyson and I are blessed that we had no injuries. My headache finally left late Sunday night, I am thankful that the Sports Outet was so close and the guys were willing to help me, that my sisters in laws were so sweet to arrive at the scene to check on me (which was great to see them all in one stop), and that the police thanked me for calling regardless to his angry pleads because they said he has a bad record and they told the guys from the Outlet that he had warrants out for his arrest anyways. I feel sorry for his baby and wife but he made a decision to drive with out a license. I am just blessed that the outcome wasn't any worse.

Oh, I would have attached pictures but I din't even get to take any (not that the damages were massive or anything but come on, my 1st accident) but all my 3 sets of batteries were dead, so I din't get to take any pictures the entire weekend.

I Am Finally a Blogger

2007-11-15T00:37:00.000-07:00

Well, after finding out about blogs from my friend Arah's blog, the begining of October, I became hooked to viewing so many friends blogs. It is the best way to know what is going on in friends and families lives, no matter where you are. I wanted to create one right away but I needed a bit of help from Justin and with opening the store, he just hasn't had much free time to sit down and help me. But I wanted to be able to stay in contact with everyone. Having moved to Boise the last week of July, I was forced to start emailing, which is so impressive to many (or anyone who knows I never spent time on the computer) but now I am also a blogger. You can share stories, pictures, and so much more! It's wonderful!!

Trick or Treat...

2007-11-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

Mmmm...pumpkin guts!

I know Halloween has come and gone but since I just started my blog, I wanted to share a couple cute Halloween pictures. A family we have gotten to know 3 doors down, ivited us and a few other neighbors over for pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, chili, and withces brew. We had alot of fun but Tyson had the most fun. He seemed to have enjoyed tasting the pumpkin guts and during apple bobbing, he took a bite out of almost every apple. After taking the bite, he'd hold it above his head and slam it into the big bucket of water, completely soaking himself everytime. And then laugh histerically at himself. Another little girl joined in. I tried to put a stop to it. It was 5ish and getting a bit chilly and concerned about all the apples he was biting. Everyone told me it was fine and to let him do it. Finally, he started turning purple in the face and shivering so Justin brought him home and put him in a nice warm bath. I ended up being sent home with 28 apples with 1 bite out of each. I made apple crisp the next night for FHE!! Halloween was great. I volunteered in Katelyn's class and then came home to start dinner. Justin was able to close the store at 5pm (none of the girls wanted to work and I wanted him to go with us, so it worked great! I was a bit worried about taking all 3 kids by myself). The kids loked so cute and everyone asked if I made Tyson's pirate costume. Oh if I could only sew a tenth that good. All credit had to be given to Old Navy. We hit a few houses in the neighborhood before heading to the trunk or treat. It was a happy day indeed.