my men

Can Jared really be 12?  Can he really be a deacon?  Can he look any cuter in a suit?  Answers:  yes, yes and no

Allen helped him tie his tie.  OK, not outside, but it makes a cute picture, right?

my men

mud run

The boys did the Marine Mud Run (5k plus obstacles plus mud). Some of their best buds joined them. They had a blast. Take a look...

Christmas 2009, part 1

Jared announced that this was "the best Christmas ever", Carter agreed, here's why:

airsoft guns for the whole family (and a few friends)

don't worry, we don't let Claire really play, just pose for pictures

the gift to all three...

another dream come true-massaging and heat

the long awaited i-pod touches

now there is alot of this around the house

a halloween memory

During our school's Halloween carnival this year, I remembered last year's carnival, and I want to write a memory down so my boys can read it and remember. Last year I was standing alone for a minute waiting on the Mimi to arrive. The kid's spanish teacher, Senora Cindy, came up to me and said, "I am so glad I caught you alone, I have been wanting to talk to you about your boys". She went on to say that in all her years of teaching she had never met such polite, kind, smart, friendly kids. At this time she had been teaching Carter for 5 years and Jared for 3. She complimented them and me for raising such wonderful boys. She said she had always wanted to tell me this, but when I was around her, other moms were always with me. She then said that the year before, when her daughter needed braces, she thought to herself, "well, if Allen can raise such fine young men, I know I can trust him with my daughter's smile" and she went to Allen's office. She told me how they talked about Claire all the time and she couldln't wait to have her the next year. I was use to their homeroom teacher's singing their praises, but this was extra special. She made my night. And I think I let the boys have an extra treat that night.

swim bike run

This past Saturday Carter and Jared did their first kid triathlon. The lucky kids got to slide down this cool slide to start it off. The boys agreed that the biking was lots of fun and the running was a lot harder then they thought it would be. Is this the first or last triathlon they participate in? That is yet to be determined. I hope it is just their first. I am again so proud of my boys.

separation anxiety

Last weekend (Easter weekend) Carter and Jared had the privilege of going on a long weekend trip (4 days) with their grandparents, Grammy and Grandpa Barber. Also on the trip were their older cousins, Trey and Allie Sexton. They had a blast and traveled all the way up to Niagara Falls and stopped to see some church history sites along the way. Allen and I have left our children on several occasions and have missed them. But it is something completely different to have them leave you...for four days. I felt like I was on pause while they were gone. I was just waiting the whole weekend. Waiting for my life to go back to normal. And it really wasn't that we went from three children to one. It was just not having their presence and knowing they weren't coming home at the end of the day. I just missed them. Poor Allen was worse than I was. My mom sent pictures after they returned and this is why I knew I needed to feel off for a few days. So my boys could have memories like this. With their grandparents. I am grateful that both sets of grandparents have wonderful relationships with my children and are making memories with them.

MASH

Do you remember this game? Probably played at a slumber party. M-mansion, A-apartment, S-shack, H-house. You name four boy/girl names=future spouse, 3 numbers=number of kids you will have, etc. You stick one bad thing in each category. You do that circle thing until you say stop and then count the lines to see how to count and figure out your future. Well, last Saturday night my boys reintroduced me to this. I had almost forgotten. And so, as we watched the final four games, we figured out our futures. I added lots of other categories, which pleased them and notched me up a little on the cool-mom scale. It was fun to relive the excitement of finding out what car they would drive and if they got a mansion or shack. Carter was truly elated that he was going to have a Hummer limo. And Jared was equally distraught that he was going to be driving a box. I was sad that I will no longer be married to Allen in my future, but to Nick Jonas. I don't even know which one he is. Which I'm sure dropped me a little on the cool-mom scale.

swim team

This summer marks Carter and Jared's third year on a local swim team. I was on a swim team when I grew up and going to my kids meets has brought back many found memories. The boy don't love swimming, but they like it and they do love being with tons of friends and cousins from church. My main reason for having them join the team was so that they could learn all the stokes which they never would if they weren't on it. I feel that this is a great thing to have for the rest of your life. It comes in handy later on, like when you get to show off to your husband that you can swim better than him. And then later show off to your kids that you are better than dad at one sport at least. (well, that's if you don't count bowling and putt-putt, but those aren't real sports right? That's what Allen keeps telling me when I beat him)

The boys favorite thing about swim meets: food. I try to get them to spread it out over the meet so they don't sink to the bottom of the pool. Mine and Allen's least favorite thing about the meets: the heat and the length of time. If you look closely to the picture of them you can see their events written in permanent marker on their leg and arm-this is so they can keep track of their events for the evening and for the next few days as it slowly wears off. Carter and Jared have done IM's and though they don't win, I am so proud of them because I know how hard it is. Carter's favorite stroke is freestyle and breaststroke. Jared likes free, breast and fly. Neither of them like backstroke but both improved in it alot this year. We had 4 meets this year and now it's over. It was a great season. Maybe Claire can be on the team next year.

creative kids

After Carter and Jared heard about the "boys only" cousin sleep over at their Grammy's, they decided they MUST make a dessert of their own design. Jared, the leader of this idea, decided to take oreos and put some icing on them(because there just isn't enough to begin with) and then decorate with a variety of goodies. Carter is in a cookie dough phase, which led him to take cookie dough and "hide" some candy in each one so it would be a surprise. I was so proud of their creativity, as were they. Needless to say, the desserts were a hit at the sleep over.