babysitter

I got to babysit my little niece 3 days last week! She was sick and so was her babysitter. So I got to take care of her. She was so cuddley since she wasn't feeling good. Shhh... don't tell Jenn that I let her fall asleep in my arms... and I never laid her down, just kept her in my arms asleep. So fun. I love babies!

We had a little photo shoot on Friday...

She wasn't sure about the grass...

Tanner LOVES her...

We got lots of smiles when dad got home...

It's fun being the only Aunt around!

catch up...

I wonder how many posts I have titled "catch-up"???

Things have been so crazy, I haven't had a minute to blog... I have been busy with my stacyjulian.com work, organizing some filing cabinets, organizing digital photo's, feeding kids and everything else that goes along with being a mom.

These are a few things that I have been wanting to blog about...

1. Mitchell answered Megan's Sadies invitation with this cute cow...(remember she asked him with a cow heart??) we cut open the cow and placed a few chocolate hearts in there and one big one had "yes" on it. Do you know how hard it is to find a stuffed cow?? 10 stores later... The big date is tomorrow... should be fun.




2. Ashley came home 2 weekends in a row... We loved it! The first weekend in February she came down with my niece Angela and her husband Shawn and my nephew Kevin. It was so fun to have them all here. They played a lot of games on the Wii, did some shopping, the boys jammed on the guitar, Shawn played some soccer in the rain and we watched some good movies. Kevin just returned from his mission to Chile, so he is catching up on all the movies he missed out on... It was so nice to spend some time with Kevin since he just got home.

3. Last Wednesday we wer getting the boys out the door for mutual and there was a knock on the door... it was my cousin Brent McAllister! He was here on business staying at the Red Rock and he googled our address and jogged down! It was great to catch-up! He lives in Spokane... he moved there right as we moved away! bummer.


4. Ashley came home again last weekend. We had a good visit with her! We played some games, ate some good food and just hung out. She applied to be an RA next year and she just found out that she got it. She is so excited! So are we, they pay her room and board! All she will have to pay is tuition and books next year. Good job Ashley!!
this is the only picture we took all weekend... oops

5. Valentines day was wonderful! I LOVE my valentine so much!! We went to dinner at Kona Grill and Saturday night and saw the movie Valentines day on Friday night... so it was a great weekend! I forgot how much I loved Kona Grill! We haven't been there in a long time. They have the best salmon salad. yum.

6. I'm sure I am forgetting something... speaking of forgetting... Wednesday was a bad day... I had a visiting teaching interview at 10:30am. I got a reminder call the night before, it was on my calendar AND I got an email that morning reminding me... after checking my email I went walking with Kaleen. On my way home I drove past the church, saw a bunch of cars there and thought to myself... "I wonder what's going on at the church... hmm..." no recollection of my interview at the church... go home, take my time showering, get dressed, then get on my computer and see my email! ugh... it was 11:00. I rushed to the church and had my interview... I'm loosing my mind. Then, that night I went to El Camino wards New Beginnings and when I was changing my clothes when i got home I took off my skirt and I had 2 slips on! How does someone put 2 slips on without seeing the first one?? I guess I was in hurry... I'm getting old!

So different

I've been thinking a lot lately about how different each of my kids are. Isn't it strange that they all came from John and I and they have been raised in the same home, but they each have their own personality! I know it's nothing new, but i have been noticing the differences lately... here are a few...

1. If I wasn't home the minute Ashley walked through the door she called me and asked where I was... Mitchell on the other hand, comes home and could care less if I'm not home. Never calls me.

2. Wake up... We would have to go into Ashley's room and wake her up at least 3 separate times to get up for seminary. I think I've had to wake Mitchell up 3 times all year... he gets up on his own everyday. Tanner is much more like Ashley.

3. On film... Tanner has been spending his spare time making silly video's on the computer. He loves to take pictures of himself and loves to sing to the computer. He will then post these video's to facebook for the world to see. (you should really go look at a few, they are SO funny.) Mitchell on the other hand, likes to sing in private. He goes to his room, shuts the door and jams on his guitar and sings along. He stops if he hears anyone upstairs... He and my nephew Kevin we jamming together last weekend when he was in town and we wanted to hear some of the songs they were practicing... Kevin was game, but I had to pay Mitchell to sing a few of the songs. I think Jenn and Angela video taped it without him knowing... I need to get a copy. So different!

These are just a few of the many differences that I have noticed lately... I love each one of them and their differences!

Grandma Barnes is 75!

We had Grandma Barnes here all last week for her birthday. She had mentioned to John last year that she wanted all of her 6 kids together for her 75th birthday and she wanted to see The Phantom of the Opera. We were able to get her part of her wish. Two of her daughters surprised her on Friday night, Cathi came from Mesa and Edie came from Wyoming. We were SO HAPPY that they made the effort to come. It meant SO much to Grandma. I wish the others would have tried harder to be here.

We played games Friday night... Saturday we picked up Edie's best friend who was visiting her mom across town. Then we went shopping and had lunch at Cafe Rio.

Saturday night we went to see The Phantom tickets and got a backstage tour after the show!! It was AMAZING! If you haven't seen Phantom in Vegas, you need to. The theater is beautiful and it was built just for this show.

The big surprise!

Cathi and Edie

Cafe Rio...

Edie was craving Cafe Rio... they don't have those in Wyoming!
Cathi, Mandy and Edie

Edie and Tanner...
(don't ask why Tanner wasn't at a scout merit badge clinic...)

Dessert at the Grand Luxe before the show! Me and my honey!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

The show!

On Stage!

It was a birthday that she will never forget! Happy Birthday Gram B!

CHA

I went down to Anaheim 2 weekends ago for the Craft and Hobby Association trade show. It's where all the craft manufactures show all their new product to store vendors. Think of everything you would find at Michaels... it was there. Pretty fun. They have a huge section for scrapbooking products. So, I stayed with my friend Stacy and got to walk the show with her and her co-workers at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I loved seeing all the cute new products and dream about being able to buy it all! It was a treat to see some old friends from my days working at the Simple Scrapbooks magazine. Great ladies!!

It was strange to see Disneyland, hear people screaming, see the fireworks and not go into the park... next time for sure!

we took a break and had lunch at Downtown Disney..

Stacy taught a class and Wendy was there! I loved working with her at Simple! It was so fun to catch-up with her. Wendy is one of those people I just love to talk to.

Wendy and I at lunch..

Some of the booths had the cutest displays!! All made with scrapbooking paper!