Artwork by Jared Barnes

We have a new site up where you can buy religious art prints of Jared's artwork.  Go to jaredbarnes.com to check it out.  Also, join the Artwork by Jared Barnes facebook page to find out about deals, promotions and exciting news about the artwork.  There is a sale running right now where you can get artwork for $1.  All the postcard size images and some larger images as well.  This is the last week.  Go check it out.

One Last Hurrah!!

I'm sure this won't be our last hurrah, but we started school recently and fall is approaching.  Last week, we took the kids to Payson Lakes.  It was great fun!!  I'm ashamed to say that although my kids have been camping, we don't do it often.  They absolutely loved it.  Just last night Aydri told me that she was packing her bags to go camping again.

Despite Jared and I not getting a good nights rest because of the excessively hard ground, the kids slept like logs and woke up like happy little campers on the first morning.  We drove all the way to town the next day to buy an air mattress.  I think the older you get the harder it is to sleep on the ground.  I think my body is aged to about a ninety year old's.

 Kendi took pictures of us trying to cook breakfast over the fire. We had to figure out how to cook over the fire because our camp-stove wouldn't turn on.  Sometimes its easier to revert back to cave man ways rather than figure out new technology.  We were quite proud of ourselves for making an amazing breakfast of pancakes and bacon over the fire.  The only issue with campfire cooking was that the campground was picked clean of any wood that would burn. Not wanting to pay six dollars for one fire's worth of wood we started wearing an empty backpack on our trips to the lake and brought back wood with us.  For some reason we felt like we had to be sneaky about it.

We picked our campsite at random and ended up with what we thought was the nicest camp spot in the whole campground.  It was off the road more than the others and very shaded.  Our tent was back in the trees away from the fire.

Jared insisted on starting the fire like a cave man and I must admit I got a little impatient with him once.  We were HUNGRY!

There was a perfect little hike down the road called The Grotto.  We hiked about three quarters of a mile to a waterfall and then back.  This county is very different from what we are used to in Southern Utah.  It was beautiful and dense.  You could disappear very easily.

There were paths all through the little canyon we hiked up.  The girls always picked the path less taken.

 There were several bridges to cross.

 Aydri was very cautious and chose to crawl across the bridges.  She would say, "I am baby jaguar." And then when she would make it across she would make up a little theme song for herself and sing it at the top of her lungs.  She makes things fun.

 Kendi loved climbing up all the side-hills.  She spent a lot of time climbing from root to root.

We ate really well while camping.  Probably better than we eat at home.  hehe.

The lakes were small and there were lots of fisherman, but there was this little "beach" area for swimmers.  

 Kendi learned how to play Battleship while we were camping.  I don't even know how many times we played this everyday.  

Aydri put herself down for a nap in the tent one afternoon after swimming.

 There were actually paved hiking trails around the lake with old bridges that were fun for taking pictures.

We had lots of giggles over Kendi learning to blow bubbles with bubble gum.  She would grunt when she blew a big one and we would all turn and look just in time to see it pop on her face.  I think she had the skill mastered by the end of the camping trip.

The water was too low to jump off the pier and the pier looked a little rickety so we didn't stay on it very long.

As we were walking along the shore, all of a sudden, Aydri trudged out into the water with her shoes, socks and everything on.  We had a good laugh at that.

We really loved Payson Lakes and getting to know new mountains.  The kids cried the whole time we packed up camp to go home and we had to promise them we'd go camping again.  It was a great place to camp with little kids.

Some of This, Some of That

Kendi lost her first tooth a few weeks ago.  When it started to get wiggly we were all really excited.  Kendi has been wanting a visit from the Tooth Fairy for a long time.  Jared was afraid to pull it too soon so it stayed in her mouth until it started to bother her.  I was ready to pull it for her one night so Jared decided to test it first.  The tooth came right out without us even expecting it to. I surprised myself with my own reaction at seeing my first born's first baby tooth hanging from a string of dental floss.  I wanted to say, "Hey, wait a minute!"  Kendi was so excited that she got emotional about it.  Then she put it in a bag and ran all over the neighborhood showing it to her friends.  That night, on the way home from getting a family night treat and stopping by both Grandma's houses to show off the tooth, I had a feeling that Kendi wouldn't want the tooth fairy to take her little tooth so soon.  She immediately convinced me that she was ready so I let it go.  That night after everyone, except the tooth fairy, had fallen asleep Kendi came into our room sobbing.  She did not want the tooth fairy to take her tooth.  It was so sweet.  We had her write a letter to the tooth fairy and Kendi got to keep her tooth.

Kendi got to ride in the 24th of July parade with her primary.  They decorated their bikes like rocket ships because they "shoot for the stars."  Kendi had a great time.

 I have a few random pictures from things we've done this summer.  We took the kids to Sand Hollow after reading a book about the beach.  We have been using the "Five in a Row" homeschool curriculum this summer.  We read the same book for five days in a row and do different learning activities everyday that have to do with things in the book.  It's been so good for Aydri's preschool.   This was our field trip day.  We definitely need to do this more.

 The kids just played and played and played and played.  We had to beg them to leave when it was time to go.  Don't worry we didn't get the Swimmers Itch.

 Grandma had lots of Cherry's to pick this year.  The kids got up in the back hoe bucket with her and Grandpa raised it up and down.  The picture looks way higher that it really was.

 Good times at the Cabin with the Boggs.  They sure know how to create good memories.

 I love how Aydri fell asleep while all the cousins watched a movie on Grandma's iPad.  We sure enjoy Sunday evenings with dinner at the Barnes'.

We are sad that summer vacation is winding down, but excited to start school again soon too.  We have a lot of fun curriculum this year.  I feel like I have a lot better handle on it this year than I did last year at this time.  I'm more aware of the curriculums out there and the ways that my kids enjoy learning.  We can't wait to get started!!

Bittersweet Summertime

I can't believe June completely passed me by without an update on the blog.  That's an indication of how wild it has been around here.  I was looking forward to summer and taking a break from homeschool and all the planning and routines that we have had to maintain, but now I can't wait to get back to the nice steady pace that school brings.  We have been having a lot of fun and have been living up summer to it fullest.  I just don't have the stamina to keep it up for very long.  

When our kids came down with Pertussis (yes, that would be Whooping Cough!!!) it was nice to have an excuse to stay home and not have any visitors come over for a few days.  The kids have handled the sickness as best as could be expected, but Jared honestly thought he was going to die at one point.  He was in so much pain that he thought he was having kidney stones like he did several years ago.  At the time we didn't know that it was Pertussis and I put a bunch of essential oils on him.  They were the same oils that I used on the kids who seemed to only have a little cold.  The kids have been vaccinated and Jared hasn't had a booster in a long time.  The oils may have caused his body to detox very heavily while being overloaded with Pertussis at the same time.  Poor guy.  Does having the actual illness count as having a booster?

On Aunt Cari's birthday we went swimming at the lake.  Despite the wind being crazy we had a good time.

 Aydri loved floating in the the tube.  She floated almost the entire time we were there, which meant I had to spend a lot of time in the cold water with her.  Good thing her smiles are worth it.

 One of Kendi's best friends, Thai came too.  Those two always have a blast together.

 More floating.

 We buried some bodies.

On the same morning of the day we went to the lake, and celebrated Cari's birthday and visited Jared's grandparents and Aunts who had just come to town for a visit, Aunt Stacia got married as well.  It was a beautiful wedding in Kanarra.  We were afraid it was going to be hot and windy, but inside this grove of trees there was a perfect breeze.  Kendi and Aydri were mini bridesmaids, which they absolutely loved.

Congrats Aunt Stacia and Uncle Jed.  We are excited for you and to also be gaining three adorable new cousins.

This post doesn't even come close to telling about all the things we've been doing lately, but it just isn't possible to keep up with it all.  We've had some good times at the Cabin, we've spent an afternoon at Sand Hollow, we've spent lots of time with extended family, the girls danced in the forth of July parade and we have made a lot of memories.  Whew!!  I love having fun, but hate being so busy.  Hopefully the rest of the summer will slow down for me.

Fair Weather Fun

April has been a fun month full of festivities.  We celebrated Aydri's 3rd birthday and Easter this month.  In the last few years we have established the tradition of decorating eggs and then rolling them.  I used to roll Easter eggs with my family when I was a kid.  I know that I loved rolling eggs as a child, but as an adult it seems strange.  The kids still love it and we'll keep doing it.  There is a dirt hill down the street from us.  Very convenient for destroying Easter eggs.

 Grandma Barnes has her annual Easter Egg Hunt every year.  It was a good thing they were only allowed to find a predetermined amount of eggs because Kendi ran around as fast as she could and found all hers before anyone else.  I was lucky to get a picture of her.

 Aydri got done pretty quick too with a little help from Kendi.  Aydri's Easter outfit was awesome.

It is strange to think that we only have a few weeks of school left.  Sometimes I wish we could do Kindergarten forever.  I have enjoyed it just as much if not more than Kendi has.  I've already started planning First Grade and finding some Pre-School activities for Aydri.  I'm just as excited about our future plans.  It is fun to see the girls learn and grow.  

Kendi has a sort of love/hate relationship with school right now.  She loves to learn, but her free spirit wants to run wild outside.  We've been taking advantage of the warm weather and going outside and taking lots of field trips.

 I can't believe our little "bug" turned three this year.  When my kids go from two to three, it always feels like a huge number leap.  She isn't little anymore.  She has been doing more and more school with us everyday.  She is beginning to love learning.  Kendi and Aydri are very different learners.  It's going to make things tricky for me.  It will be fun to see them choose their different interests to study.

Whenever Aydri tells me she loves me, I always respond with, "I love you too."  Then she says, "No, say I wuff you."  So I do and then she responds, "I wuff you too,"  in the sweetest little voice.  I need to record it so that I can always remember it.  She is a very cuddly girl and always wants to be in someones lap, hugging and kissing them the whole time she's there.

 Jared is starting some more new "projects".  He loves to stay busy and has a tendency to burn the candle at both ends if he isn't careful.  He is always involved in something exciting and he'll love to tell you all about it if you ask.

I have been a lot less sick lately.  I have noticed that even though I'm always wiped out at the end of the day I have been able to get more things done.  I'm even feeling up to doing some fun adventures this summer.  Sometimes I think I just need to mentally convince myself that I am stronger than I feel.

What a Day!

The plan was to keep Kendi's birthday more low-key this year.  The problem was that it was really hard to decide to who to invite to her party and who not to.  I just couldn't exclude anyone.  There has got to be an easy way to include everyone.  The kids all seemed to have a blast though, but there were a few minutes that it was utter chaos.  The plan was to have a pajama party.  We made pizza's, played The Burglar Alarm Game and had a Pillow-Pet Pinata.  Sounds simple, eh?  All the kids were supposed to be gone before the rest of our families showed up for cake and ice cream.  That's where it got a little crazy and LOUD.  The kids just wanted to play.  In the end, I was glad we planned it they way we did.  Everyone had fun.

 Instead of doing our daily art lessons for home school we worked on the Pillow-Pet pinata for a week.  I thought it was funny that Kendi did not like doing the paper meche.  She can play in the mud, but paper meche was too gross for her.

 Kendi is friends with absolutely everyone on our street.  A few "older" friends showed up on her birthday.  They were so sweet and love Kendi to death.

Our sweet, little six-year-old.  I can't believe she is six.  She has not just grown older lately but has been having major growth spurts.  She is not little anymore.  She also acts a lot older than she is (most of the time).  I feel like I got cheated.  She literally is growing up too fast.  I love her so much.  She is so smart, it makes home school so easy.  I love her enthusiasm and the way she always has to do things her own way, just like her dad.

 Kendi asked for a scientist kit for her birthday.  She could not wait the next morning to start experimenting with it.

As for the rest of our family, Jared is still loving his new job.  They really appreciate him and it makes him feel so good..  I love his flexible work schedule and he loves his "cool" projects he gets to work on.  He was recently voted a county delegate and has enjoyed getting involved in politics.  I have actually found it really interesting too.  It makes me want to learn more about our government like I should have back in school.

I have been having a pretty good couple of weeks.  I had a tissue-sample lab done and got some interesting results.  It showed low levels of sodium and iron and high levels of uranium, but nothing too alarming.  The labs came back with a list of foods to avoid and foods to increase.  I've been using Redmond Clay and Bragg's Apple Cidar Vinegar lately, too.  I'm about to start using DoTerra's vitamins and other products.  I hope to be able to feel up to doing a lot of outdoor adventures by summertime.

Aydri is our sweet, but sometimes loud, little toddler who will only be a toddler for another few weeks.  She is turning three soon.  Our conversations with her are always funny and her attitude is always spunky.  She is a sweetheart that will do anything you ask her to unless it involves leaving Grandma's house.