Daddy Questionnaire

I saw this on a blog a while back and saved it so I could do it with Kendi when she was old enough. I thought father's day was an appropriate time to use it. I just asked Kendi all kinds of serious questions to see what kind of whimsical answers she would give me. It went like this:

• What is something Daddy always says to you? He says, A doll turns into a ball.
• What makes Daddy happy? A ball.
• What makes Daddy sad? Uh...a monster makes Daddy sad.
• How does Daddy make you laugh? Like...hahahahah.
• What was Daddy like as a child? A sweetheart.
• How old is Daddy? Two.
• How tall is Daddy? Big...really tall.
• What is Daddy's favorite thing to do? To kick a ball.
• What does Daddy do when you're not around? Work.
• If Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for? For Kendi to be gone.
• What is Daddy really good at? To kick a ball.
• What does Daddy do for his job? Work...a computer.
• What is Daddy's favorite food? Grapes and a cow.
• What makes Daddy proud? A fish.
• If Daddy was a cartoon character, what would he be? A dinosaur.
• What do you and Daddy do together? Play hide and seek.
• How are you and Daddy different? Constipated...I don't know how Daddy makes me different...go to another story.
• How do you know Daddy loves you? He says I love you Kendi.

I put this in a card for Jared to have on father's day. He loved it. This was fun for all of us. The interesting thing is that about an hour after I asked her these questions, I went back and asked a few again to see if she would give me better answers. She answered all of them exactly the same, word for word. I was shocked.

All Caught Up

Here is Aydri just a few days old.

Aydri - One Month Old.

Here is Aydri at two months old.
Aydri weighed 10 pounds at her checkup putting her in the 35 percentile. We found out at the checkup that she has a tight muscle in her neck. She holds her head to one side so much that it is causing her to have a flat spot. We are taking her to a pediatric physical therapist to get her help.

Kendi was supposed to be taking a nap. When I went to check on her this is how I found her. She wouldn't answer me unless I called her Pocahontas.

Back at the Ranch

We finally made it to the ranch and it was a beautiful day. Kendi has been begging to ride a horse for a while now. This is one of shellie's named Dandy. Kendi had a smile on her face the whole time.
Kendi waded in the water. She kept slipping and getting wet. She ended up in just her underwear. The leaches didn't bother her.

Kendi and Gpa caught a few fish.

Jared painted the entire time. He got a really nice painting done. One with sentimental value. If he sells it, it will have to be for a great price.

It was strange to think that the last time we were here, Jared painted with Aunt Mary. We had no idea, at the time, that she would get cancer and die exactly one year later.

Gpa took Kendi for a long walk around the lake. They caught frogs, found duck eggs, saw snakes and fish in the stream. I met them on the road and as we were walking back, a rock chuck popped its head out of it's hole. We asked Kendi if she knew what it was and she got really excited and said, "A Bear!" We laughed.

Kendi played so hard and got so tired that she crawled into the car and fell asleep. Aydri slept most of the time. We all really enjoyed getting out.

Catching Up

It was Jared's birthday last week. Kendi and I made him his favorite breakfast, waffles and then he opened his presents. We were planning on going to the ranch for his birthday, but the weather was nasty.

The Summer Games Opening Ceremonies were that same night so we went to watch the fireworks with Gma Barnes, Greg, Jaelyn and Kirra.
Jaelyn showed us how to take pictures of fireworks with our camara. I had no idea you could do this. I should get to know my carama better.

We were right under the fireworks so it was easier to lay down.

They used a tons of really loud fireworks this year. It was almost more than I could handle.

It was chilly so we put Aydri in the bear suit. She slept through the whole thing.

Another Cousin

Kendi and Aydri have a new cousin. Her name is Sydney. This makes 7 girls and 0 boys on the Barnes side. Jaelyn was able to have her completely natural even having been induced. Way to go, Jaelyn!!

Remembering Mary

My Aunt Mary passed away this week. She was my dad's sister. She was 57, only one year older than my dad. The hardest part about this was that Mary and Kendi were very close.



Mary had found out that she had brain tumors back in October. She tried some treatments and tried to get more, but most of the doctors felt like there was nothing they could do for her. I was pregnant when she was diagnosed and I remember wondering if she would make it to see Aydri. She wanted to so bad. Fortunately she did, but she wasn't able to hold her.


Mary was fascinated with being known as an outlaw cowboy. She had definitely made a name for herself as that. She was very gifted with animals. I remember her telling stories about a bull named Oscar. It was so mean that someone was having trouble with it. I don't remember all the details. This bull loved Mary so much that it would follow her around mending fences so closely that she could see its horns on either side of her as she walked.


Growing up, I was never very close to Mary, but one summer she took us up on the Fifty Mile Bench (the top of the Grand Staircase) where she ranched. This was an extraordinary trip, one I will always remember. It took pack mules and horses to get there. I actually walked the whole way because the ledges made it dangerous to ride the horses. There was no way to get a four wheeler up the trail. This was very rough country. When we got on top, I remember walking in a single file line with my uncle in front and my dad in back with their rifles. The bulls were too mean to just walk past. We camped by her little cabin. I remember her telling stories and reminiscing. We went for horseback rides. I rode a mule named Lovey that was actually half Zebra. It was a pretty buckskin color with a short black mane and a few black stripes on its knees. It also wasn't very tame. The other horses were Rex, Tinker, Bunny, Smurf, and Barnabus (Beux). She showed us things that most people in their lifetime will never get to see.


Kendi had gotten to know Mary a few years ago when they started to take walks with my mom every night. Mary really took to Kendi and her love for life. As Mary got sicker and sicker Kendi would go visit her. She would color with Mary and play with toys and just talk to her a lot. After Mary had taken a turn for the worst, for some reason Kendi wanted to go see her really bad. Mary hadn't been in good spirits so I told her I'd take her the next day. I took a camera with me to get a picture of the two of them. I wanted Kendi to remember her, but Mary was not well enough for a picture. She was really struggling so I took Kendi outside. I didn't want her to see Mary suffer. While she was out there she started to play with Mary's dog, Renie. A crowd gathered at the window because Renie was thought to be a one person dog. Mary had spoiled it to point where it didn't take to anyone else. For some reason it listened to Kendi. I tried to get a picture, but I wasn't fast enough. Everyone thought the moment was lost, but I went out and told Kendi to play with Renie. She asked her to roll over and she did. Kendi even rubbed her tummy.

The next morning we got the phone call that Mary had passed in the night. It was a little unexpected. We had to tell Kendi that Mary had died. It made her cry. We tried to explain that Mary was living with Heavenly Father now. Kendi said that she didn't want her to. So we told her that Mary wasn't sick anymore. That she was happy and able to do things she wants to now. She seemed to except that and be glad. I think kids understand the plan of salvation better than adults do sometimes.

The memorial service was nice. I was surprised at how many people were able to come with such short notice. My mom had Kendi get Mary some flowers.

Her casket was simple. It was just what she wanted.

My dad told some good stories and Zhailee Rei (their cousin) sang a beautiful song. I had Kendi take a flower and put it on her casket.

It is a little bit of a relief that Mary was finally able to pass. Its sad that she got cancer and passed so young. We know that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us and I'm sure that Mary will be able to find the happiness that she was never able to find here.

Aydri's Blessing

We gave Aydri a name and a blessing today. Jared did a great job. We had all my sisters here this weekend so it's been fun. Here is Stacia, Jana, and Tammy with Aydri. Cari is missing.

Yes, I'm sunburned!! Jared played Ultimate Frisbee in the Summer Games yesterday. His team got bronze.

Aydri smiled and smiled at Grandpa Wayne.

Grandma Koami and Grandpa Wayne with Aydri.

My grandparents brought a tricycle over from my cousins in Monroe. Kendi couldn't wait to ride it. She cruises around so fast it scares me.

Thanks to all our family and friends who have helped us out this week. It has been very bittersweet.

Our Two Girls

For some reason Aydri prefers to sleep on her side. I usually roll her on to her back, but I had to take a picture first. Even when she's on her back she cocks her head to the side. I know she doesn't look very comfortable, but she was actually asleep in this picture.

Kendi was sitting next to me talking to Aydri. Kendi usually gets the most smiles out of her.
Kendi got a little pool for her birthday. She absolutely loves it. Now she doesn't get tempted to play in the ditch anymore.

She still hasn't figured out the slide. She is having way too much fun with the just the water.

We took Aydri to church for the first time this week. It was actually really fun! I was able to SIT through all the meetings. She only fussed when we first took her in. I think because we woke her up to get there. Everyone wanted to help hold her while she slept. This is very different from when Kendi was a baby. Kendi didn't let us sit or even just stand with her. She had to be held facing out so she could see and we had to be moving. As soon as we would stop she would cry. Then when Kendi got tired, sleepiness would bring on the spasms so we would be in the hall trying to calm her most of the time. Sometimes I wondered why I even bothered making the effort to go to church because I spent the whole 3 hours in the hall. It was exhausting. These two girls might look a lot alike, but their personalities are night and day.