Bear Lake 2021

This year the Barnes reunion was early in the summer. It was actually really nice that way. It wasn't super busy or too hot. 

Emery was mainly around the little kids. She loves to help with the babies and she is so good at it too. 

Beck saved this tattoo until the reunion. I have to say his hair, shirt and weird tattoo go together really well. 

We were on breakfast one day and with the left overs, Brad tried to make a mega pancake. Needless to say it didn't work. 

Beckham and Kyler wanted to try the Merlonator. A 1 lb burger. While they don't make the same one that Brad did before, they did give them 4 patties and fries to eat. 

They both felt a little sick afterwards, which isn't a surprise. 

But they both finished it and got a sicker and free shake. Beck said it was worth it. 

The water day was nice. The weather was perfect. Made the shallow water warmer but wasn't too hot to be outside. 

We also brought a ton of water balloons for the kids to play with. While no one got too wet, it was still a lot of fun for the kids. 

The people up top were dumping water on the kids on the grass, so Cam threw a balloon up through the deck cracks and got them wet. 

It's Been a Long Time

The dogs love to sit at the windows and look out them. Luna has major FOMO and could spend all day watching outside to make sure she doesn't miss anything. Camden puts the beanbag by his window and opens it so she can watch out. We are okay with this, unless she barks, then it has to be closed. The other day they both started to freak out and I went to see what was up. A squirrel or chipmunk came up to the window to say hi. They wanted to know what the barking noise was. It would have been normal for it to just come up real quick and then leave, but they came and went for about 30 min or more. I put my finger on the window and they put their paw up as well. Not sure how this one became so friendly, or maybe they have FOMO like Luna. 

This happened.... We have tried 3 times to get Beckham into drivers ED and he finally got in the class starting this month. Camden doesn't want to take it yet, which saves us money. We had to go to the DMV to get a permit. He doesn't actually that until he passes the class. But soon Beckham will be behind the wheel...pray for us all. 

This happened to us last week....

The owner of the house is selling. We do still have a little less than a year left on our contract, but this is turning into a major pain. While we are good for a year, they can't kick us out early, we do have to keep the house clean, we have to leave for showings and deal with the realtors. I love a clean house, that isn't a secret, but when it's because others are going to walk through and possibly mess with my things, and not my choice, I am not a fan. More to come on this new unwanted adventure. 

 

For FHE Camden wanted to go climbing. We decided to go during the open house last week. We had to be gone for 3 hours anyways. It's fun to actually see Camden climb; I really think he has missed it. While everyone did try, Jacks made the most progress. I don't think the other 3 are fans of being high up. The wall where they are hooked into they can not fall, the belay will catch them, but we could not get that through their heads. Beck has been before and went a little higher, I just don't think it's something he fully enjoys. 

This wall you are not hooked into anything, but the floor is soft. I loved seeing Camden work so hard with Jackson to get him to climb and finish a rout. 

And Jackson did. He was nervous at the top, but he did get to the top and was excited that he finished it. 

Sweet 16

That is right, Brad and I have been married 16 years now! I know it's lame to say, but looking back, it has gone by so fast. I sometimes still feel like that 18 year old who was excited and nervous at the same time when we got married. I knew Brad was the one for me and maybe we weren't fully prepared for what marriage had to bring, we have worked through all the fun and trials life has brought us so far. We have 4 beautiful kids who are turning out amazingly well.  We are both working from home right now. While it is really nice, there are weeks where we are together 24/7   7+ days a week. He is still my best friend and even with Always being together, he is the one I want to be with and don't like being away for very long. Happy 16th and many more to come. 

 

Memorial Day

Jackson's birthday just happened to be on Memorial Day this year. It didn't really change what we did, just meant a long weekend for Brad and I. We got a big slip 'n slide for the kids to play on. Emery and Jacks did a test slide the night before and then on Monday we had all the Boise families over for a BBQ and water fun. They all played for hours and were dead by the end of it, but it was a lot of fun. 

No More Single Digits

Tomorrow is another transition in our lives, Brad and I will no longer have any kids in the single digits. Jackson will be 10! I know it's in my head, but all week he has seemed older and changing daily. 

We celebrated his birthday this weekend. He wanted Jarom up here so he could spend time with him. Grandma Arrington came down for a girls night and brought Jarom down. All the boys went to "A Quiet Place" while us girls went to dinner and "Cruela". Both movies were good and worth a watch. When we got home, Jackson opened up his gifts. He is still fun to shop for. He got headphones, Stick bots and a big King Kong Pop.

Instead of a birthday dinner ,we did breakfast at Black Bear. It was a good change from dinner food. 

After breakfast the kids went swimming. The pool in our neighborhood opened yesterday and the kids couldn't wait to go. It was only about 70, but it felt nice and they said the water was warm. They were there for about an hour and a half. 

Although Jackson was a hard baby, he is a very easy child (not sure what you call this age). He still spends hours in his room playing with toys alone. And toys don't have to be an actual toy. He plays with paper cut out, pencils, boxes, really whatever he touches is something else in his mind and a toy to play with. It is fun to watch him play. As long as he doesn't see you, he will keep going making sound effects to what he is doing. He got Stick Bots for his birthday, which are used to make stop motion movies. He loves to do that and how us all the movie he made. He is able to make them on a phone or tablet.  He has found a friend Luke here. It is so good to see him have someone he looks forward to seeing at school and can hang out with other times. Luke's mom said Jacks was an answer to a prayer for them, and I told her Luke was ours. Moving isn't easy, moving in a pandemic is harder and making friends when you can only see them 6 feet apart and half their face adds to that. They are funny together and love to hang out. While Jackson is very easy going, he gets offended very easily. He doesn't like to feel like he's being made fun of or doesn't like someone thinking something about him that isn't true. He doesn't cry often, but you can see it in his eyes his feelings. He still will come and lay next to me and give me hugs. Even though they didn't get to hang out face to face very long, he is close to his cousin Jarom and they have a great friendship. Too many nights not talking on hangouts, they both start to show they miss the other. Emery gets mad when Jackson doesn't want to hang out with her. More and more he does this, however the times they do play together, they will for a long time and both have a blast. Usually has something to do with stuffed animal all over the house. He still refuses to ride a bike. He'll do the scooter but has no desire to ride a bike. Not that you have to, I just figured it would pass when he got older. Thankfully he is still an angel and quiet at school, while at home he is loud and all over. I love seeing him like that. Even walking down the stairs is a game to him. While he still loves things like IT, Chucky and all things scary, right now he is really into Godzilla and King Kong. Jackson's favorite subject is Math. His favorite toy/game Roblox and Stick bots and his favorite food are French Fries. 

Cam's Hair

The kids each day have to spend an hour doing something to better themselves. They can draw, read, learn a skill, cook, were pretty open. Camden wants to learn to cut his hair. Brad is teaching him how to cut his hair. His first turned out well, but was a little awkward. He is only 15, so give it time, and he will be a pro. 

One good looking boy.