Introducing

Carter Brett Barkdull

October 20, 2009

5:15 pm

7 lbs. 4 oz.

21 inches

Catch up

All right, so I decided to do more than just change my blog

background. This is what we have been up to lately:We caught a bat at my parent's house. Actually my dad did. The girls and I watched from a safe distance inside.

The girls made "cow soup" at our house. I am not sure what that is, but I am sure I do not want to eat it and I bet that cows don't want to.
See, it's YUMMY!!!!

The girls were mini cheerleaders at Brett and I's alma mater.

Our house got framed. Yeah we have a roof now!!!!!!!

Sorry more cow soup.
I got made at the HVAC guys. I mean really why would you put that duct work right there?

Brett and his dad finished LOTOJA for the second time.
Grace got another visit from the tooth fairy. This time it was a red fairy that left $1 in nickels and dimes. (Hey you lose your tooth on a Sunday night and your lucky to get anything).

I know what to get somebody for Christmas!!!

Raise the roof. . . . literally

Just a little video and some pictures I thought you might all find interesting.

It's a little weird watching your roof get removed from your house. I don't know if I can explain the feeling of watching something be destroyed that you will be still be paying for in 30 years. Weird.

I think that Ava has a future in Construction Manegment. She already has the pose down.

That is a sexy profile hanging out the window. I can't believe all that weight didn't just throw me out of the window.

Where are their parents? Someone should be supervising those kids, dang it!!!

Oh look, someone is supervising. That's a good idea. Go pick up ALL the rusty nails that you can find. I think I hear the people from Parents of the Year calling. Too bad we don't even have a phone to answer.

What the . . . . . . ?

These pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

The hurricane survivors.
The whole inside of my house looks just like this. Covered in insulation.

This is what my house looks like right now. I really hope this project pans out. Otherwise we might need to come live with you!!!

Happy Birthday Macey!!!!

My little sister's baby turned one year old last month and what kind of Auntie would I be if I didn't take her out to celebrate and give her an ice cream cone all her own? (You have to bribe them when they are little so they like you the most, right?)

Happy 1st Birthday Macey. It's all uphill from here!!!

Home Remodel

So next post in a long line of catch ups. Our little project, we decided to add onto the back of our house. then we thought : ^&*( if we are doing that much, let's just add on a second story. And now the pictures you have all been waiting for!!!!!!This used to be my family room, but Brett got mad and one night and tore the walls off. Is it sad that the last thing to go was the T.V. Not the kitchen table, but the T.V. And yes that is the Tour De France that we are watching. Right now you can see all the way through my house. Only as of a few nights ago there is no ceiling. Just a bunch of cords and wires hanging down. But my flowers still look nice.

This is the back of our house. The girls are pointing to where they think that their new room will be. We shall see if they both want seperate rooms in the upstairs. I mean they have been sharing a bed for over a year and their old room is right across the hall from Brett and I. That might be a big adjustment.

Lake Powell

Sorry Blogger friends. About a month ago we started to remodel our home and things have been crazy. Two weeks ago I moved in with my parents and just after we started we spent a week in Lake Powell with Brett's family. Sooooo, it is now time to play catch up. First up Powell.

We don't get to see alot of Brett now a days and the girls made good use of this week. I think every time he sat down Grace and Ava were begging him to take them on a jet ski ride. They loved it, just go as fast as you can and they are totally happy.
No ifs or buts about it, we all had a great time!!! ( I love this picture. I mean I didn't pose them or anything, just walked out and there they were. You would think at least one of them might have noticed!!!!)

Gracie didn't get in the lake much and Ava would only do it with a death grip on her dad, but it was still really cute.

The two guys on the back are Jake and Josh. I think that they come down mostly to help with the boats and the kids. THEY ARE WONDERFUL!!!!!! We could not go to Lake Powell without them. (I think that they might hire out.)

This is my very most favorite picture of the whole trip. We keep going back for pictures like this!!!

Crazy??????

Look at what these three crazy people did to my house!!!!!!!!!!Just kidding! We have started our little remodel. This is the big hole in my backyard, where I like to grow cucumbers.

This is the cement truck that is poring cement OVER my house. How cool is that? Let's just say it kept me and a half dozen children interested for about an hour.

It is going to be one interesting summer for sure, I am not sure weither to look forward to the fall or dread it. Either way it is coming and so are some more interesting pictures.

Take Me Out To the Ball Game

Tonight we went to the Bees game. Thanks to my Uncle Clark for getting us such awesome seats. We were right behind the visiting team's dugout. We had so much fun. It was $1 hot dog night (but it was still $6 parking night and $4 drink night, so we still managed to spend a lot). We ate hot dogs until we were sick. We pretended we wanted to see the bee until he got close and cried like babies. We rode the train and a did a lot of other stuff too.Ava learned YMCA, or more correctly Y.

Both girls learned to smile at the ball players and get baseballs. I think this might be an inherited trait, both of my sisters were or are still really good at getting baseballs from the ball teams.

We watched somebody hit a home run. Not this guy (he struck out) but the guy that batted before him did.

The girls had ring pops until their moths turned blue or red. Macey was not going to be left out of this and she had one too.

We mullet spotted. Oh yeah, ain't nothing better than a mullet and a tank top on a hot summer day.

Basically we had so much fun we puked our guts out. Well, at least Ava did.

It's A Boy!!!

Holy Crap!!! We are having a boy. I am not sure what we are going to do with a little boy, (I sure hope he likes tea parties and dress ups!!!) but we are excited to give it a shot. Any advice from you moms of boys?

Love Ya, Sis

Who says two kids can't share a bed? Come on look at the love!!!!

Connections

I have to admit I have some pretty good connections in my life. Brett's dad is a plumber, my uncle works for a car dealership, both of my parents are retired, my daughters paint my toes. (No, I don't mean toenails. I mean toes.) But now I have a wonderful new hook-up. My little sister has been taking one-on-one photo sessions with her father in law and has inherited some pretty jazzy equipment from him (he is a photographer for the Deseret News- talk about connections). She wants to start doing photography on the side and asked if my girls could be her first trial run. I was THRILLED because I have never had their pictures taken by anyplace other than Target. Which basically means I have always posed the kids, got them to smile, worked the camera, brought my own film, and developed it after. I thought that she would do a really good job, but I was wrong. She did an amazing job. It was like being at the spa. I just enjoyed the moment and she did it all. Here are just a few pictures that I robbed off her blog. I will post more when I get them.

I love the way that she let each girl just be herself in the picture. They had so much fun with her. Anyway if you, or someone you know, are looking for a photographer give her a call. I don't know what kind of deals she would offer, as I mentioned earlier I have a total connection. (I got a screaming deal. Maybe she will give you one too!!!)

What a Weekend!!!

Where to start? Well, I guess Friday would be the logical spot. Friday morning I had a doctors appointment so needless to say we were a bit rushed. When I went to curl Ava's hair, it melted onto the curling iron. &*(-, I hate hair emergencies, so Ava got a hair cut and I think she looks adorable. However, as soon as she was finished she looked at me and cried, "Mommy fix it." My heart totally went out to her. We stopped to show my parents. My dad had just gotten a new buzz cut and told Ava short hair was the best. When he asked her how you knew you had a good hair cut, she answered, "When your hair is still long." Poor thing, who hasn't had a hair cut that they hate?
We spent the rest of the weekend up at my Uncle Clark's cabin in Bear Lake. The kids had arts and craft time to make a paper flower bouqet for Bammy. It was supposed to be a "Do-It-Yourself" Craft, that must of meant that you, the mother, were supposed to do it yourself with no children even in the vicinity. My sister-in-law and I were not impressed with the level of difficulty with the craft. Oh well, Bammy and the kids loved it.

Brett, Kevin, and Kris all participated in the Bear Lake Classic. This was the third year in a row. The first year Brett finished almost dead last on a mountain bike wearing basketball shorts and a white t-shirt. This year he finished second out of all the competitive citizen cyclists. That is him on the left. What a difference two years, a nice bike and some spandex makes!!!! This is my father-in-law finishing. He was so fast you can't even see him. (And to think, they call him Big Dot.)
The kids loved watching the race. Ava called every man in Spandex her Daddy. I am not really sure what to think about that. Because let's be honest, men do NOT all look the same in spandex. By the way if there is anyone out there considering converting over to cycling I only have one piece of advice: white spandex=BAD IDEA. If you think Victoria's Secret is a little risque, white spandex leaves NO secrets, and I mean NO secrets. I really hope that it's true what they say about the color white, you know that it makes you look "smaller", just for the sake of the poor guy dressed as the Celestial Cyclist. (Brett wants everyone to know his spandex are black by the way, assume what you will about that.)

On Sunday the guys took the kids Geocaching. This is a marked improvment over the first year when, after completing the event, they passed out and couldn't even identify their own children. For those of you who don't know what geocaching, is you can google it, because I still don't get it. Basically you get a set of coordinates from somewhere and wander around with a GPS unit until you find a tupperware box full of random stuff. Then you take something and leave some of your random stuff there. The kids LOVED this. They all thought they were real life pirates. Here they are with some of their booty.
Scenic picture. Ahhhhhh.While we were packing we thought that we would water the lawn, and Ava thought that she would water herself. She was the only kid to run through the sprinklers this year. You can't tell, but she is drenched!!! (Brett hopes this is her last wet t-shirt picture ever.)
What is a trip to Bear Lake without a trip to see the Bear Lake Monster? Gracie thought that would make a great trip. She wouldn't even get in the picture. The rest of the kids wanted to sit on his head and were mad they couldn't climb higher.
How can you tell it's been a good vacation?

No one fights the whole way home. Yeah!!!!!!! Those are the faces of a happy vacationers.