Halloween and Birthday time.....

Our annual Halloween party all started because of my cute Drew. He and I share a birthday...October 24. I had him on the day that I turned 25....I have always told him that I could never have asked for a better birthday present. He is an incredible boy who I am lucky enough to call my own. I love sharing our day together!!

So because of our birthday's and getting together with family anyway, we decided a few years back that it would be awesome to have a costume party, and year after year, my family does not disappoint!! Everyone comes dressed up, and each year I am continually surprised.

Jiles, my little penguin - he hated the hat part of the costume, so I am glad I got a picture of him in it with a smile on!!

My Mom and Dad, the cowboy and cowgirl, with Grandpa and Grandpa Nelson....could you just die laughing at the top she had on!! Look at the cleavage......

My cute family - minus our dad, he got stuck at the office that night. We all missed him, and he loves this party as well, so it was sad not to have him around for the better part of the night. He eventually got to come home, just in time for a bowl of taco soup and cake and ice cream of course!

Mike and Jill, quite the 80's couple - he even had on eyeshadow and lipstick, and Jill can do a mean Madonna - and their kids, Leah, Jake and Lucas

Trent and Jana, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf/Granny and their crew, Brittyn, Robbie and Beau (the one behind the mask) :)

Brad and Julie, NERD ALERT with his Geisha Girl and cutie pie Aliza and Tater-tot

Corey and Janeen and Owen, aaaargh matey!! A family of pirates.

(Best comment of the night, "Janeen and Grandma must have gotten their chests at the same place....") hehehe!!!

Morgan and Andrew with baby Hulk - this was a last minute costume that they pulled off quite amazingly!! Love the pearly white smiles!

Couldn't resist a picture of the 2 nerds of the night!! I couldn't believe it when they walked in and Jensen and Brad looked like they had come from the exact same mold. The rule is, no one tells what they are going to come as each year, so it is always a surprise. This year these two boys were on the same wave length!! Funny, funny.

Brenna with Vern - she is such a funny girl, I think she likes to make people a little crazy, and one of her ways is by calling Grandpa by his first name, Vern, Grandma thinks this is wrong, and I am pretty sure that is why she does it.....Brenna, Brenna, what am I going to do with you??

Last, but not least.....me and all my favorite ladies!! What would I do without all these amazing women in my life?? I adore each and every one of my sisters and my cute mom as well. We are all best friends as well as family which makes it all the better!!

I love you all. Happy Birthday Drew!!
and Happy Halloween!!

Alta Cheer, times two.....

A couple of weeks ago the Alta Cheerleaders put on a mini cheer camp for little girls. Ella of course was over the moon about the possibility of being able to fill the same shoes as her big sister. They went and learned a dance and a couple of cheers and were able to perform at half time during one of the football games with the big girls. "A-L-T-A, Alta Hawks are here to stay" are just a few of the words that Ella repeats several times a day. Cousin Leah also joined in on the fun and I am positive that this is something that Ella will not soon forget.

Brenna had her last football game of the season on J.D's birthday. We went to watch her cute squad cheer on the football team one more time!! I can't believe how Brenna just fits right into the cheerleader mold. She has a confidence up there that is unmatched and I am so proud that she went after that dream. To be honest, I was unsure how it would turn out, but so far so good.

Now, onto Basketball season..... :)

Daughter of Divinity.....

The other night for dinner we got Chinese take out. At the end of the meal we all got our fortune cookies and proceeded to break them open and anxiously read our fortune.

Ella was eager to have me read hers to her, "I hope it says that when I grow up I will be a princess!"

What does a mom do at that point.....of course I read her the fortune.

"When you grow up you will become a princess."

Ella beamed. Jensen argued with me that it really did not say that on Ella's tiny piece of paper. Drew stole it and ran off, and I then followed it up with "I guess Drew wants to be the princess when he grows up".

They all laughed and our night from then on was fairly uneventful.

Sunday our lesson in Relief Society struck a chord with me in our life and in wanting to grow up and be a princess. I was reminded that we are all daughters of our Heavenly Father and we will, in fact grow up to be the princess that we want to be when we are a little girl. Right now, it is the dream of my sweet 5 year old, but on Sunday, I realized that I want it to be the dream of my 15 and 17 year old daughters as well. I want them to remember that they are 'Daughters of Divinity'. This world we live in is hard. There is evil and temptation in every direction. For now, my children are on the right path....they love knowing that they are a part of an eternal family. They choose the right. They go to church and say their prayers. I can only do my best as a mother to help guide and direct them.

I am blessed to have 3 of our Heavenly Fathers princesses in my life, to be their mother is joy that cannot be measured.

Big Daddys, big birthday.....

Well, it is official. I am married to a 40 year old man! On October 21st we celebrated J.D.'s biggest birthday to date.....Together with my cute kids we managed to pull of a surprise open house in honor of our best dad, husband, and friend. Actually, I don't know how much of a surprise it ended up being because as soon as Ella got home from school that day she quickly exclaimed "Dad, when are all yours friends coming over for yours party?" (in Ella's exact words) Oh well, Drew, Morgan and myself just shot her a look and she knew she had uncovered our very well kept secret to that point. She kept apologizing to me, but all in all, what does it matter and who better to spill it than Ella.....
I wanted to make sure that I got a cake with 40 candles on it - although, I didn't realize it at the time, but the candles that I bought we some sort of trick candles and so they kept on spontaneously lighting even after J.D. would blow them out. Can't you just see the frustration on his face? Once the birthday cake and singing were over with he relaxed just a bit and ended up having a really nice time. He does not like the spotlight to be on him, but for this one night I invited family, friends and neighbors over to come and give the birthday boy a big squeeze!! He is an amazing father and husband and I wanted him to realize just how much we all love and appreciate him.

All his favorite goodies were the gift of choice....

Except for his Dad who bought him the funky hat with hair and Adam and Becky Osthed who gave him red neck teeth and glasses with dark black side burns attached....who wouldn't love that face?? Lucky, lucky me!

I have celebrated 22 birthdays with this man. We met when we were just both turning 17 and 18 years old. There have been so many highs with just a few lows and I thank my lucky stars each day for him in my life. He makes me laugh more than anyone can and he has made my dreams become a reality. I pray each day for a long and happy life with J.D., and celebrating at least 22 more birthdays with him!!

Nursery.....

Well, we have made it. I am not sure if I am happy about it or not, but Jiles went to the nursery yesterday...and, unlike my other kids at his age, he didn't even need me. No crying, no tears, no pulling on my leg. He went. And then I went. I felt naked, not sure how to handle myself. I didn't have a diaper bag or a baby and my hands and lap were empty. I guess it is now time to start bringing my scriptures and participating in the lessons. Hmmmmm, not quite sure how to feel about this.

Now, maybe I will actually make it through all 3 hours of church, because, to be quite honest I think it has been nearly 6 months since that has happened....I am sure people thought that we had become inactive. All good, the Barnes have not become devil worshipers.

On a side note, as I am sitting here blogging Ella just came up to me with a Family Home Evening DVD and Ella says to me....."When are we going to do Family- No- Evening?" What a RIOT!! That sums our life up these days.