New Years Resolution.....

Well, it's official we have all made it through another January. January is one of those months that is both good and bad. Good for it's a chance to reflect, make changes in your life and make any number of 'resolutions'. You all know the typical, loose weight, stop gossiping, making more meals at home or cleaning the toilets on a more regular basis!! Well, this year I thought it would be meaningful for me to do something that I have never done before, I have decided to read at least 1 book every month.

To some, this probably doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but to me it is.

Having 6 kids keeps me busy - I have decided though, there is a lot of downtime...waiting for kids in the carpool lane at school, dance lessons etc.

Here is where the story gets good....I have officially finished 3, yes 3 books for the month of January. Thanks to a 6 day vacation to give me a head start and a realization that reading is quite enjoyable. It gives me a chance to escape the real world and use my imagination!! What a concept - "The Hunger Games" - "Beautiful Creatures" - "The Lightning Thief"

All of these books I would recommend, I would also love any recommendations, with a side note, I read for enjoyment, not to cry, become depressed or scared...

Caged baby.....

Jiles has only been on the move for a little over a week and this is what it gets him.....

The mom and dad run errands on a Saturday afternoon and leave the baby with 2 teenage girls who are trying to get themselves ready for the day.

Jiles wouldn't stay out of the make-up and hair product today and Morgan came up with the bright idea to put my boy in a make-shift cage...taking 2 laundry baskets and tying them together with ribbon. He didn't complain, didn't cry....I think that he thought it was funny. Both girls wondered why I got him out of it when I came home, two words...Child Abuse.

Crawling and climbing.....

Jiles is now 9 months old - I took him to the doctor for his well child check on Monday and he is weighing in at 21 pounds....he is continuing to grow like a weed and is happy and healthy (if you don't count the 2 ear infections back to back that left him with an extreme case of diaper rash due to the antibiotics!!) All is well now.

While J.D. and I were in Cancun Jiles decided it was time for him to learn to crawl and climb and try to walk around furniture, he also thinks it is really neat to try and stand on his own. What happened? I left and he was TRYING to move and I come home and can't keep him down. He is constantly trying to climb up to the fireplace and the bath tub - both of which are dangerous places to be climbing. I guess it it 'good-bye' to my fireplace for the season, which makes me want to cry, seeing as I have had it on almost constantly for the last 2 months.

He thinks that he is pretty cool, you can see it in his face. He knows that he has learned something new and is excited about showing it off. When I got the camera out last night to try and sneak a picture of him up on the bath tub, he immediately wanted to come and get me.

He is still a very happy little dude, wanting to eat and be a big boy. He screams for my diet Pepsi even though he has no clue how to suck out of a straw. He pretends, and for now that makes him happy:)

Cancun in the wintertime.....

Ahhh....Cancun in the wintertime. Could there be anything better?? We love to go on a couples vacation after Christmas. I am becoming less and less tolerant of the snow each and every year. The cold, the gray, the drab...it is so yucky. Last year we didn't go away, we took our kids on a cruise instead, which was equally as fun, just in a different, less relaxing way. This is a photo of J.D. and I, day one in Cancun - we are a lovely shade of, who knows what due to the spray on tan the night before. I don't know if I am a fan or not. The jury is still out on that.

This is a shot from the pier at the resort that we stayed at....most beautiful. It was especially charming at night with all the lights and the water.

Day two....beach, beach and more beach. We laid on our chairs and read and sunned ourselves all day. No where that we had to be, no time frame, I didn't even bring a watch. When we got hungry we ate, when we got tired we slept. It is so awesome to pull the swim suits out in the middle of winter. J.D. doesn't like to get sunburned, so he keeps pretty covered up. He got called the 'uni-bomber' at one point, thanks Big Wid.

We went to a class to learn how to give a massage, I did learn alot...it was fun. Later on in the week we went back to the spa where we got the full treatment. Starting with water therapy, sitting in the steam room and sauna, and going into FREEZING cold water. We all then had a 50 minute massage followed by a 50 minute facial - so relaxing. I felt very spoiled.

Outdoor lunches of all you can eat guacamole and chips (with loads and loads of other food also) with a mariachi band in the background. The food was unbelievable. We ate until we were sick at most of our meals. Isn't it funny how you starve yourself up until the day of the trip and then throw it all out the window while there, I came home 8 pounds heavier than I left and J.D. gained 5 pounds....luckily it is coming off each and every day. I have just decided you can't worry about it while on vacation, it is a part of the fun.

We took a bike tour one morning and rode into a little town up the beach, don't we all look just stunning in our reflective vests and helmets?? It was a fun way to spend a morning, after all, we had done nothing to exert ourselves in anyway for the entire time we were there. It is always interesting to see the way other people live. We are so blessed her in the United States to have all that we do.

The boys....Wid - Adam - J.D.

The girls.... Becky - Jenn - Suzy

This was the group of us the day we went to the spa....don't we all look lovely!

The view from our balcony. Our resort was amazing!! Waking up in the morning and opening our door to our balcony and having the fresh air was just what we needed in the middle of winter.

Our last morning in our tropical paradise. This vacation really felt like a vacation, sometimes we pack our days so full of activities that when we come home it feels like we just barely left. Luckily this time it felt like 6 days on the beach....I would highly recommend this for anyone who can do it. Leaving the kids is a hard thing to do, it is sad to say good-bye for a week, but then you come home and everything is the same. It is so good for the parents to get away and focus on time together. Remembering just what makes your relationship so special. J.D. is my best friend, I am so grateful for him, he means everything to me. I love you!

Smokin' hot.....

Ella says funny things alot, but today was one of those days that she had me giggling a couple of times....

We were walking out the door to go and get her haircut and run a few errands when she

matter-of-factly says

"Mom, I look smokin hot today."

There was no embarrassment or shame in how she felt, I don't know what provoked the thought that she looked extra good on this particular morning, but whatever it was I hope she can keep the positive attitude towards herself.

Later on, on the way to dance she then announces -

"I wish my name was Austin."

What in the world?? What is my daughter thinking? I wish I knew what was going on in that 5 year old head of hers.

Taco Night at the Barnes.....

As we have done in years past we had our annual "Taco Night" for New Years Eve...and might I add that it was a smashing success. J.D. loves to make tacos for as many people are willing to come and eat them. This year he figures we served somewhere in the range of 270-300 tacos, not bad. My brother Brad was so nice when he said, 'you know, I think that they get better every year' -

My cute Jensen is always willing to pose for a photo and we got Grandma in with him - sorry your eyes are closed mom, you still look beautiful!!

I gave Morgan the camera for the night and asked her to take pictures, I get too busy trying to make sure people are fed, and that the cheese, salsa, chips and sour cream dishes stay filled for eager taco eaters. This is just a shot from the kitchen with people all milling about - cousins, nieces, nephews, sisters and brothers, neighbors, high school friends, etc.- like I said, all are invited.

Morgan again with one of her crazy faces -

Notice the cups, I kindof feel a little a little strange that I make everyone use lids and straws with their soda, but whatever works to keep the spills and the mess at a minimum. Thank heaven for Costco.

Cute sister Janeen ready to fill her plate, right before we all start our News Years diet -

All the Hackwell women, plus new little Tater-bug.

Jiles was absolutely amazed with the balloons, it was fun to see him get so excited. He did so good and actually made it to the New Year (with an small nap earlier in the night).

We only ended up with a handful of people at the end of the night to ring in the New Year. All my kids had cousins and friends sleep over. All the little girls along with Brad and Julie and Mike and Jill ended up in our bedroom watching Dick Clark - wow, that dude is old!! We opened our shutters at midnight and we were able to see fireworks going off all over the valley. From Draper clear up to Salt Lake, it was pretty cool to see and we were nice and warm in the house.

Looking forward to a happy and healthy 2010!!

It's Christmas!.....

Christmas Eve at our house always consists of opening up new jammies - I believe it is what almost every family does. This year was a little different for us because J.D. and I finally got smart and gave our kids money to go and 'fill' our stockings....it was good for 2 reasons. It was especially fun to see what they would pick out for their mom and dad and it was great because while they were gone shopping J.D. and I were able to get nearly all our wrapping done with an empty house. Not worrying about who might try to bust down the door at any given moment.

We always spend Christmas Eve with J.D.'s mom. This year it was our turn to host and we invited his grandma and his aunt and uncle. Our kids are always a little bored because there are no other kids to be with, so this year we tried to add a few extra people. It was fun to spend time with them and J.D. wanted to make them a nice dinner. We went around the table trying to think of our 3 favorite things....they couldn't be the obvious, house, family, etc. We wanted some thinking to go into it. Drew mentioned a fresh haircut and contacts....also football. Jensen loves his dads cooking and learning to wrestle this year. Ella hid under the table and didn't want to talk about things she enjoyed, oh well. Morgan said that Brenna was one of her favorites, spending time with her watching movies and staying up late, gum, and her love for reading good books. She also loves freshly shaved legs and rubbing them on clean sheets. Brenna loves chapstick, Dr. Pepper and of all things sleep (on the cold side of the pillow). What funny kids I have. J.D. loves the fireplace in our bedroom and I love tevo....hmmmm. We both love spending time with each other after the kids have gone to bed watching all the shows we have recorded (I love reality television, sad but true.) and staying warm in our bedroom.

All of us in our new P.J.'s on Christmas morning before the big reveal of what Santa had brought.

Ella has been wanting the "Touch and Brush" for months now. She would see the infomercial on T.V. and would say every time - "I want that...."
I wasn't able to find it for her birthday and boy did she notice. "What about the toothbrush thing??" So luckily, on one of my Walmart runs look what I found at the checkout. I am so glad I found it, because on Christmas night as I was putting the kids in bed I asked Ella what her favorite gift was, expecting to hear that it was the new build-a-bear, or her DS, but if fact it was her new toothbrush thing. Isn't it funny how sometimes the simplest things bring you the most pleasure. Like the shaved legs, the contacts, the fireplace, daddy's cooking, and Dr. Pepper.

Ji's first Christmas. Having a baby in the house is one of the things that brings me great happiness. It was fun to watch him try to open the gifts, he was more interested in eating each piece of paper that he ripped off - typical baby. Santa brought him some toys, all of which make noise and some new clothes because he is growing so so fast.

Christmas day at Grandma and Grandpa Hackwells consists of 13 adults (not including mom and dad) and 18 grand kids. So once we all get in one room to open gifts it is chaos. 33 people all trying to sit in a circle to see what we all get and give. It is loud and crazy, but we love it. The benefits of large families are all the great times that we have together.

Merry Christmas to all of you. I love you and am so glad that we are all apart of each others life.