So much to post.....so little time......

K-- so the pictures posted in reverse order but I don't have to energy or desire to fix it..... Here are some of my favorite photos and/moments from Christmas!!! It was such a wonderful Holiday!

Her favorite gift.....her American Girl Doll!! She loves her so much!!

His favorite gift......his Nintendo DS......oh mama!!

Notice the tears on Joann...she is not crying she is laughing after she thought my brother (her husband) tooted on cue during a game we were playing.....it was a whoopie cushion but none us knew he had it.....one of the best moments.....

The yearly....unreligious.....reading of the Christmas Story!!

Making cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve!!!

Family Dancing at our annual Barlow Family Fancy Dinner....it's just the 4 of us in our Best Christmas Clothes and we had so much fun this year....we dance for like an hour!!!

My handsome boy......love him!!

I seriously love this picture of her.... I think she is so beautiful!!

Christmas Festivities...

Here are some phone photos of our Christmas Festivities the past week. This is my craziest week in December and I am ready for the next three weeks to be able to really enjoy Christmas this year!! Remember these are phone photos but at least they are something....remember crappy camera mom!!!

I started a new showchoir group with my work and we took them and my little performers to the Festival of Trees to perform. They did a great job (I did actually take the camera it just had a dead battery)

Hayden Favorite Star Wars Tree
The Chocolate Tree (everyone's Favorite)
Anna loved this fun bright Tree!!

Anna in the bubble!!
Hayden in the bubble!!

We also went to see the lights at Temple Square and play at the Gateway. My brother and his kids were up from Las Vegas and they went with us. It was such a fun night.......

Aren't we cute...can you say cheese???
Not a great quality but I love this view!!
Hayden, Tanner, Kenady, Anna, Jaxon, Mia
(I think Landen is the big blurb in the front!)
I am committing myself to taking my camera to all the rest of December event so they are better quality.......so stay tuned!!!

BYU Game!!

My Hayden LOVES BYU......I am not sure where it came from. Sure I like BYU and watch a football game every now and then but I don't talk about it. His Grandpa likes BYU and Hayden likes anything Grandpa likes.....anyway.....wherever it came from he loves his Cougars. So, my Dad got us tickets to go to the Air Force game on Saturday. It was a blast. My brother Kyle came with us (who is a hard core Cougar fan) and we really had so much fun. Those college games keep the crowd so interacted that it was so much for Hayden.....and it was a great game to watch too. I, of course, forgot my camera because I am a crappy mom but I did have my phone and thank goodness it takes decent pictures. Here are a few.....

See the girls behind us---they were smiling for our picture and the man next to her was my dad's football commentary buddy. They had the whole game planned out if those dang coaches and ref's would have just listened to them......

Halloween Festivities......

Halloween 2009 was great fun....Anna had been sick for 3 days and was ready to get out of the house (and so was I). We went to my Grandma's Retirement Care Center and enjoyed Tricker Treating with my nieces and nephews. Chad's kids were up for the weekend and it was so much fun to see them!! Here are a couple of picture....

Kenady and Hayden

All the kids enjoying a cookie and a root beer snack (at least I got some faces :)


I was the cheap mom this year and I took my kids down to my costume storage unit and said they could pick out whatever they wanted to be from all the costumes I have down there. It was actually kind of fun (and way cheap)!! Hayden decided on a cowboy (mostly because he could have a gun) and Anna was an East High Cheerleader (High School Musical).....then she added the devil horns on Halloween and became a Vampire Cheerleader...she is too cute. I love that the camera made the horns glow and with that look she does look like a little devil (and she is!!)


That "man" standing next to the kids is Norman the Doorman. One of our employees got him as a gift and didn't want him so we took him and way too much fun with him. He talks and so does the skull on his plate. He was a hit on Halloween night. We even had a few people come back to take pictures with him....it was a fun night. My kids went trick or treating with Tracy and the neighbor kids for almost 2 hours. I could not believe it. You should see the load of candy they have between Grandma's and the neighborhood.......we are swimming in sugar. Looks like we will be donating some to our troops this year!!

Ok so it's been a while.....Sorry.....

My dear dear friend is an amazing photographer and came from Boston and took pictures of my kids. I love her for doing this and I love these photos. Here are my favorites:

This picture pretty much sums up my daughter--- she was singing a song from Millie while she had her picture taken and this is the big finish.......








Thank You Macy!!

Another Funny Story..............

Apparently it is funny story week............last night Anna went the a soccer game of the brother of one of her friends and played at the park for like almost 2 hours. By time she came home it was almost 9:00pm and Tracy had already gone back to work. She was a little upset by this because she now had not seen him all day. I quickly put her to bed because the tiredness was creating all sorts of unnecessary tears.......about 20 minutes later she came upstairs needing a tissue (allergies) and she started to cry so I asked her what was the matter and she said she missed her Dad. I was getting a little annoyed at this point so I said, "he is not here so just go back to bed." To which she responds, "Well is he in Jail?" WHAT....................... Is he in Jail? what kind of a question is that? So-- I gently explained that he was at work and not in Jail and she asked me if I was sure and with that she went to bed. Now...........first of all.....Tracy is NOT in jail and I am not sure where that came from. Maybe she fell a sleep for a few minutes and was having a dream about her dad being in jail I don't know. She has not watched anything on TV, at least that I know of, that deals with people being jail. I have no idea but I laughed so hard after she went back to bed.......Is he is Jail? Oh my too funny.............

FHE

So----we did one of those working Family Home Evenings and started the yard work (I always HATED these as a kid but now I love them). I realize we are about 2 weeks too late but whatever..........anyway we are mowing, edging, picking up the one million sticks and cleaning out flower beds. At one point our kids job was to pick up all the weeds and stuff we were pulling out of the beds and put them in buckets and go dump them in the garbage. All was going well.....not too much whining and then Tracy and I realized it had been like 5 min since they went 30 yards to dump their buckets. So....we hollered and they came running. We asked where they were and Hayden's said, "Nowhere" and Anna (knowing she better not lie) said, "Eating the big cookie that is in the garbage can." WHAT!!!!!! (side note: for Tracy's birthday 2 weeks ago his employees bought him one of those enormous chocolate him cookies that is decorated from the grocery store). We did not eat much of it because the really was not good. So I threw it in the garbage a few days ago. My kids were eating it out of the garbage. OH MY GOSH!! It had been in the OUTSIDE garbage for at least 3 days. So......I started using the mother tone and asking why they would do something so dumb and Hayden goes, "Mom I didn't eat any...that is gross." Just as he finishes the sentence I look up at him and he looks at me and he has frosting all over his face. Seriously----if you are going to lie to your mom about eating a frosted cookie---wipe the frosting off your face. So I ask him, very calmly, "then what is that on your face?" He looks at me and goes, "Uh Oh...I'll go to my room for telling a lie." He punished himself. I was like oh no mister man. You get to stay out her and do more work.....not go lie on your cushy little bed and get out of this yard work. HEE HEE HEE..........they walked away and Tracy and I could not stop laughing, gagging, but laughing so hard. Where did I go wrong?????????????