A week in the life.....

Trying to play "catch-up" in my blogging/journaling world can be a tough one....you just get a little behind and before you know it a whole month has passed. Here are just a few of the little things that have been happening in my crazy world.

Sunday's are relaxing around here, we really do take full advantage of being able to spend time with just our little family. One of our favorite activities is taking a break and getting in the hot tub. Jiles surprised us all this last week with wanting to get in with the big kids, he loved the warm water and he was perfectly happy floating around on his back with the life jacket on. He didn't care that Ella was doing cannonballs of the side and that the boys were having a water fight around him. The more splashing that was going on it seemed to him the better.

The pose down....I get a kick out of seeing Jensen give me the flex. He is one proud little dude of his own body.

Cutie #3 and Cutie #6 - We are often told how much Jiles looks like Drew, but we are also often told how much Jiles looks like Jensen.....hmmmm I am not sure which is right. I just see them as my kids.

Ella and the cannonball....she loves being in the water. She is getting really brave this year. I think she may actually want to learn how to swim this summer. She is so different from the boys, who took like fish to the water when they were just little tikes.

Mmmmm Good......

Our school's fund raiser for the year is a Jog-a-thon, lovingly called the "Jogapalooza".....each student was asked to raise/donate $25.00. In return, they got this awesome t-shirt and the chance to dunk the principal in the dunking machine. It was a really cold day (we have had way too many of them this last spring) but everyone had a good time. Brenna and a couple of her friends ran the 2 miles that they were asked to do as well.

Thank heaven for great principals who make it fun to be in school.....Mr. Z made our transition to Summit Academy more bearable for Jensen in those first days of the school year. He got dunked quite a bit that day :)

The 3rd graders warming up before their run with a little karate....Jensen felt like he was a pro because of some past experience with trying out karate earlier this spring. Needless to say, we didn't sign up - you wouldn't think it could be as expensive as it was!! Yikes. Thank heaven for the $20.00 2 week trial.

Jensen ran around the track one time and then was so cute and let Ella join him for his run. They continued around for the rest of the 2 miles together, holding hands the whole time. I don't know if the picture does her shoes justice, but they were mini high heels and she was wearing a dress. What a great lady!! She was so proud to have Jensen as her big brother that day. The smile on her face was almost permanent.

Still hanging out with Jensen and his best buddy, Jake. (Pay special attention to the shoes!)

The end of the year is always busy. This year the 3rd graders had what was called a "Portfolio Party", where they showcase their work from the year. Each student got to invite one person to join them, that could be a mom or dad, grandma or grandpa. Jensen was quite concerned with the fact that he could only invite one of his parents. He was so sure that he was going to hurt one of our feelings.
"Mom, I have a really hard decision to make....." was the way the conversation went. Luckily, quick thinking on my part was, "how about take Morgan??" He was thrilled with the idea, and so was she. This is a picture of them on their date together.

The program. They were all told that they should wear nice clothes, the kind you 'wear to church' - is was nice to see him going to a school function wearing something that the standard blue pants and white shirt of his uniform.

Jensen and his first crush, Kate. He once asked her, "do you think you could die your hair blond??" Oh my heavens. Slightly embarrassing, but really funny at the same time. She is a cute girl and they have exchanged both Christmas presents and Valentines Day gifts....starting a little young.

This is a picture of the Fathers and Sons. aka "Freezing Fathers and Sons". This is what I get on my camera when they come home. One picture of dinner. Oh well, at least it is something. They boys called me at 1:30 in the morning letting me know they were coming home. It was way too cold, windy, and rainy to stay. They all got up early Saturday morning and headed back because J.D. was in charge of breakfast.

My question is why don't they have it later in the season?? We have never had much luck with warm Fathers and Sons, and it is something Jensen looks forward to each year. Who do I talk to about that??

Our first trip to Lagoon for the 2010 season!! Yay!! We didn't get passes last year because of the baby, so this year every one was ready to go! Ella loves the 'whale' ride....looks like a couple of pictures that I have of myself in the very same spot.

Jiles did not get out of the stroller for the entire day. It was cold and he was tired, but what a little trooper to stay put for the 5 hours that we were there. He only fell asleep for just a short while, otherwise we just kept of feeding him. He is truly a dream child.

We invited friends for the big kids, Brenna and Ashlyn, and Morgan and Andrew (a boy that she met on the cruise to Cabo, luckily enough he lives here!!)

My kids all love the spinning, make you dizzy, want to throw-up rides. Drew, Jensen and Ella all on the Scrambler. Not the best picture, but really hard to get a decent one when you are going around and around that fast.

Another soccer season came and went for Ella. She stayed with the same team as last year, having "The Pinkies" turn into "Cotton Candy" - the pink shirt and blue shorts are not my favorite outfit. The weather this year has not been great. Monday nights come and so does the rain. We were lucky I think to have 2 games where we all weren't freezing to death. Unfortunately this meant that Ella had very little support and cheering going on from the sidelines. It was usually just me who went to the games and her dad a handful of times. We forced the issue on her last game of the season and it was a requirement for all to go and be her cheering section.
She really hustled this game. She knew that there were people watching and rooting for her. It made all the difference in the world for her.

I love it when I get a good action shot. I love the candid moments of our lives. I love looking at the intensity on her face and the way her body is moving as she is watching the ball. My little girly-girl in shin guards and cleats is something that puts a smile on my face.

I tried to take a picture of J.D. and I at the game. I am a little bit of a dork and did not realize that my zoom was all the way in because I was trying to take pictures of Ella on the field. Needless to say, I thought this picture was funny and a little bit cute. I kept it and blogged about it. :)

J.D., Morgan, Aunt Julie and Tate.....

Janeen, Owen, Brenna, Aliza and Drew.

I informed everyone that they are all required at each and every game that Ella has in the future, because the girl played out of her head. She was really trying to make an impression on all of us.

So, yes, it was cold. Ella did not want to wear the pink jacket that I brought for her, so unfortunately for Jiles it meant that his mom was sticking it on him. I think he looks like E.T. walking around the field.

Pretty, pretty in PINK!!

A week in the lives of the Barnes......sometimes nothing special, but at the same time very special. I love my blogging/journaling. I love being able to remember the simple times.