Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Uncle Josh and Aunt Ellie invited us to go to a Chuckers game with them recently. Our home team didn't win, but we sure had fun cheering for them!

Ice Cream Festival

Jeremy got tickets to the city's Ice Cream Festival and we decided to go check it out. We are so glad we did because it was so much fun! We all got wristbands and those "magical" wristbands allowed us unlimited ice cream! They had all different ice cream places there. Aidan loved the huckleberry flavor, Wyatt wanted anything chocolate, I was quite partial to the nutty coconut and Jeremy liked the carmel praline. But I think the family favorite was mint chocolate chip. We really got our fill of ice cream that afternoon!

Liddy got to have some tastes too-she kept licking her lips for more.
They also had a bunch of those bouncy toys and a band playing. Wyatt loved to dance to the music and all the boys loved the toys.

Even Lydia got into the spirit and had a little tiny flower painted on her cheek. Isn't it cute?
It was such a fun family afternoon, and we were all pooped by the time we got home. We got to also enjoy family nap time! This will be something that we do every year.

Independence Day

We love the Fourth of July at our house! There is so much fun, family, food and fireworks going on, who doesn't love it? We started our personal Freedom Celebration on the Thursday night before. We took the kids to a fireworks stand and let the boys pick out some fireworks. Aidan went crazy with all the selection, and Wyatt only wanted the "bird." After that was done, we took them all for a sno cone. When we got home, we invited our neighbors to come over and watch us light them off. It was the perfect start to our weekend.
Aidan, Ella, and Jackson doing the sparklers.

Wyatt and Brodan watching the "pretty lights."

Jeremy's sister and brother in law invites everyone over to their house every year for a huge fireworks extravaganza. Seriously, it puts the Melaluca Freedom Celebration to shame. It is so much fun! They set out a spread, we all bring blankets and camp chairs and we just chat, eat and watch, while the kids do sparklers and play with each other. I don't have any pictures of the actual fireworks, I get too caught up in the display, but here are some pictures of the cousins playing together with the sparklers.

Wyatt and Conner

Aidan, Dillan and MaKenna

Aidan and Ashley

Ashley, MaKenna and Kayleen

Then, on the Fourth, we started out the day watching Independence Day. We love that movie and watch it every year. Nothing like celebrating your freedom by watch Will Smith kick alien booty! Then we had another swimming party with Grandma and Grandpa (se post below) and a wonderful weenie roast with them. Then we took the kids to Freeman Park for the "big" fireworks show (as Aidan calls them). We always have so much fun sitting there and listening to the music and seeing the fireworks. They always make me cry. I am so thankful that I live in America and have the opportunity to raise my children the way I feel best, and worship what I believe in. Happy Birthday America!

Swimming

My parents have set up a pool and slip n' slide in their backyard. On Saturday's, when it is warm, we head over there with our swimming suits and towels and hang out in the water. Grandpa, Jeremy, and Aidan really love to get each other wet, Grandma, Lydia and I like to catch some rays, and Wyatt likes to play ladder ball. Here are some pictures of a recent day over there.

Aidan loves these days-he is a pro at the slip n' slide.

Wyatt likes to watch mostly. But, when we finally get him in the pool, he realizes it is like a big bathtub and starts to splash.

Even Liddy has her own suit!

The pool! We love these afternoons! We especially like to "shower" each other.Drying off in the sunshine.
These swimmimg days are really becoming one of those favorite summer memories. Thanks for sharing them with us Grandma and Grandpa!

T-Ball

Aidan was on a T-ball team this summer. Also on his team was his cousin Ashley and his neighbor Ella. He said he likes T-ball better than soccer because there is less running. He did really well! He got some really good hits off the T and is good at catching and throwing to base. Wyatt, always wanting to play with the big kids, also tried his hand at the game. Perhaps we have a pair of major leaugers on our hands?

His team-GO TEAM YELLOW!!!!
Run, Aidan, Run!!!
SAFE!
Hey mom! Watch this!
Aidan tries to impart his T-ball wisdom on his brother.

T-ball was fun! It is so neat to see Aidan experience all these new things and find out what he likes to do.

Such a busy summer!

And now I need to catch up! I hope to do this over the next couple of days, each with a seprate post. We have lots of fun things to show you guys!

Daddy, We Love You!

Happy Father's Day! You are a wonderful daddy and we love you so much. Thank you for all that you do for us. We don't know what we would do without you. Love, Rachel, Aidan, Wyatt and Lydia

New Pictures!

A few weeks ago, Jeremy's cousin took pictures of the kids (she did is as a baby present for Lydia-isn't that an awesome present?!). Anyway, they are up and here is the link to see them all:
http://picasaweb.google.com/downeyem/Lydia?feat=embedwebsite#
Thank you so much Emily! I love them!

Liddy Lou

I was looking though my blog and I realized that I have no current pictures of Lydia on here, so I thought that I would give everyone an update on the newest member of our family. Miss Lydia Anne is doing fantastic! She is now 3 months old and I do not know where the time went!! She is no longer a bump on the log, but she is grinning and rolling over and starting to show her adorable little personality. She has the biggest blue eyes, and her hair is growing in dark brown. Her new trick this week is holding up her head and looking around. I always say that she has only 3 moods-perfectly content and happy, sleeping or ANGRY! There is no middle ground with her. Luckily for us, she is usually happy, and even when she isn't, she is easily made happy. She is so easy to make smile and she has the most adorable grin. But, I can never ever get her to smile for the camera (she just stares at it like, Mom, what are you doing?), so *if* I ever accomplish that feat, I will post that-you really don't see her personality until she grins at you.

Her brothers love her-sometimes a bit too much. Wyatt always needs to be right next to her-like in her chair or sitting on top of her head. But he does it with no malice-only love. Aidan is already her protector-saving her from Wyatt's loves, the dog's loves, and people in the store who come to coo at her. She is so lucky to have to not 1, but 2 wonderful big brothers. I love to dress her up-she is just my little girly girl. I have even started painting her little tiny toenails! It is so fun having a girl!

I love this next picture because I see her from this angle all the time. This is just after I got done feeding her, with that "milk drunk" look on her face. I also love that she has her fingers in her mouth, imitating the sign language for "I Love You."
Even though Liddy looks angry in this picture, she actually loves being in her swing. As long as it is not too sunny or windy, she likes to be outside-she loves to look at new things. But, if the weather is not exactly to her liking, the princess comes out in her and she gets angry.
We are all so enjoying her-she was definately suppose to be in our family. We love her so much! And speaking of Miss Lydia, she is awake and crying for her bottle. I better go!

Graduation Day!

Aidan graduated from preschool last Friday. It was such a fun day! They had their last lesson on the letter Z at the zoo, did a fun alphabet search to show all of us how well they all know their letters and ended the year with a picnic and graduation ceremony at the park. Here are a bunch of pictures to show off that great day.

Here is his whole class posing at the tiger exhibit. Ella, Lindy, Lindsey, Aidan, Hazel, Kenya, and Mason. Actually, Gabe is missing in this picture.

Gabe is in this picture, in the striped shirt. Missing Hazel.

Aidan and his best-next-door-neighbor friend, Ella.

My little graduate! He will actually be in the class of 2022. Can you believe that?

Preschool has been such a fun experience for both Aidan and me. We got to hang out with a great group of friends and learn all the things he needed to be ready for Kindergarten and experience many new and fun adventures. Aidan says that the thing he liked the very best about this year was his friends. I truly enjoyed teaching these kids and getting to know their mothers. I hope all these new friendships don't fade with the school year ending and they last into the summer and beyond.

Dinner at our house

So, we try and we try to teach our children manners, how to use a fork and a napkin, and not to eat out of the pan, and it falls on deaf ears. Either that, or we have a 1 year old at the table.

And this charming picture of Aidan's blue tongue is his way of saying "Thank you! This meal is great!"
If any of you want an meal and a show, come on over! It's always exciting at dinner time!

A milestone in every boy's life. . .

Aidan's first shiner. Isn't it a beauty? He aquired this lovely black eye by falling off the top bunk-while sleeping. Apparently, he didn't sleep close enough to the wall, and rolled off the top bunk, onto the bottom full bed (where Wyatt was sleeping-his first night in the big bed, now we will never get him back to sleeping there!), and onto the floor. We *think* he hit the laundry basket, which is where he got the nice cut. What is even worse is that we didn't notice the scratch and black eye last night-I saw it this morning when everyone woke up and Aidan asked, "Mommy, what is wrong with my face? It hurts!"

Needless to say, Jeremy is putting up the guardrail as we speak.

Barky's Tribute

Barky is a pain most of the time. He may be cute, but lets face it, he steals food, chews my kids toys and now his new hobby is digging out my flower beds. For some reason, we love him and keep him around. And the reason became clear last night. After a rough bedtime (a whole other post) we were all slumbering peacefully. Barky sleeps at my feet and normally I don't even feel him. But about 3:30 A.M., my usually quiet (and full of crazy dreams) night sleep was distrupted by an unfamilar growl and angry barking. Now, Barky is named such for a reason, but his barking is usually more excited and hyper. This was mean. He jumped off the bed and ran into the kitchen. When he got there, he started clawing at the sliding door frantically trying to get outside. I slid open the door, and freaked out, waking up Jeremy to go see who was out there. Well, no one was, but Barky was upset. He didn't calm down until he surveyed the backyard and was assured that nothing was there. I like to think that he scared away a would-be intruder, protecting the family that he loves so much. More likely, it was some really scared squriell or cat on a late night prowl. After he was sure we were all safe, he curled right back up on my feet. And I realized, this dog is a pain, but I love him. Last night, Barky earned his kibble.

Eight Things

So, my friend Toni tagged me to do this, and I had time, so here it goes:

The rules: * Mention the person that tagged you* Complete the list of 8 things* Tag 8 of your wonderful bloggy friends* Go tell them you tagged them.

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Bed tonight
2. The pots and pans I am hoping I am getting for Mother's Day tomorrow
3. My flowers coming up and blooming
4. Summer
5. Aidan going to Kindergarten
6. Making our 1st million
7. Wyatt sleeping in a big boy bed
8. Putting together Liddy's room

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Laundry
2. Cleaned the house
3. Bought flowers at the nursery
4. Went grocery shopping
5. Took Aidan to preschool
6. Watched Aidan's friend Tyson
7. Watched Evita
8. Made "real" popcorn

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Go on a Mediterrean cruise-just me and Jeremy
2. Hire a cook
3. Hire a housekeeper
4. Be on Dancing With The Stars
5. Go to the bathroom by myself
6. Have the perfect hair with little effort
7. Go the the Acadamy Awards
8. Meet Patrick Dempsey

Now, I am supposed to "tag" 8 people, but I don't know of 8 people's blogs-or 8 people who come to my blog, so I tag Rachel, Michele, Emily and Abbey for the blogs, and Julia and Amber for Facebook. Maybe I'll get Jeremy to do his another day.

I want to see the sun!

Okay, so I make it a point to not complain too much about the weather. There isn't a thing I can do about it, so what good is it to complain? But I am going to allow myself a little break here and whine. I am tired of the rain, the cold, and the wind. I want to wear my cute new capri pants and dress the kids in their cute summer clothes. I am tired of having to wear jackets everywhere we go. I want to go outside without shivering, getting wet, and blowing away. I want to open up the windows and get rid of the staleness in the house. I want to finish my gardens and play on the new swingset and go on walks. Is that too much to ask? Really?

Maybe I'll move to Florida. They are already swimming in their pools now.

A Brief Update

Yes, I have been seriously slacking on the blogger front, and I apologize, but frankly, nothing interesting has happened. We have all been sick this week and are just barely feeling better. We have done some yard work and our front flowerbeds have been expanded and planted and are colorful and beautiful. I will post about that later this week. I hope to get some good pictures. Other than that, we are just making it through the days. Maybe something fun will happen this week. We'll see.

Lydia's Blessing Day

We blessed Miss Liddy Lou on Easter Sunday. It was a wonderful day (both spiritually and weather-wise). Lydia wore my blessing gown. She was so beautiful in her long white dress and little bonnet! Jeremy gave a sweet and thoughtful blessing. How lucky I am to have such a wonderful and worthy priesthood holder in my home. Anyway, it was a fun day surrounded by family and love. I had a special moment with Lydia as I dressed her for her blessing. I flash forwarded to the other white dresses she will be wearing-her baptism dress, her wedding gown-and feeling awe at the task I have been given to prepare her for these ordinaces. I hope I am up to the task. I also cried a little thinking that my little girl will grow up to be a bride! Here are some pictures.Lydia, in all her finery.
Me and Liddy-doesn't she look just like me?

The Barnes Family-Jeremy, Rachel, Aidan, Wyatt and Lydia
This is my favorite picture. My Grandma and Grandpa Skousen, who came up from St. George, 2 of my very favorite people in the world, with their 3rd great grandchild and 1st great granddaughter, Lydia.

It was also Easter, and we had a huge Easter Egg Hunt with the cousins in our backyard. Seriously, there were hundreds of eggs. Here is Aidan, who definately found a huge pile, and Wyatt, who was very selective in his choice of eggs and immediately ate as he went along. What a fun day!
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Aidan's 1st Soccer Game

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Aidan had his first soccer game tonight! It was all he could talk about from the moment he woke up this morning. Aidan set out his new shorts and shin guards before he even got dressed for the day. He looked so cute in his soccer uniform. He was put on the yellow team-he seems to have a good coach and team.
It was so adorable to see all the little 4 and 5 year olds running around after the ball, really not knowing what they are supposed to do.
But it sure looked like they had fun! I know that Aidan sure did. And of course, we had to celebrate at Aidan's favorite restraunt-McDonald's! It was a very fun evening. Yea Aidan!!!!