school

No outside pictures because it rained the first day of school. That seemed appropriate. That was about how we were feeling. "We" being everyone in the family except Claire.

showing off her new dress

saying good-bye to Max

excited to be back at school!

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

olympics 2020?

We all enjoyed staying up too late and watching the Olympics this year.  Claire especially loved the gymnastics.  After a few days of watching them, she made her own balance beam in the bonus room and did her own routines.  She even wore her leotard, but left her little skirt off because, "mom, they don't wear skirts...I wish they wore skirts, but they don't."  She announced to the family that she was going to do gymnastics in the Olympics some day...and do swimming.  

kid's day

So, I was trying to think of something fun for the kids to do this summer and I thought about how their favorite thing about a cruise is the endless food.  So I decided to give them a "kid's day".  A day that they could eat whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.  I would not say a word.  And they could not say a word if they got a stomach ache.  Then I added that we would go to the store and let them each pick 5 things to have on hand for that day.  From left to right: Jared, Carter and Claire.  It was funny to see what they picked.  Cheetos Puffs-I never buy them because they are so messy-Claire loves them.  Lucky Charms-I don't buy sugary cereal, or pop tarts for that matter.  I buy Yorks, but they are mine and I'm stingy about sharing.  They really enjoyed going to the store, they got their own cart and shopped by themselves while I bought real food.  I would cross their path and they would show me their finds, so excited!  They enjoyed their day of feasting.  No stomach aches.  They were pretty controlled actually. 

summer purchases

This summer we have made a few purchases.  We got this basket ball goal for the pool.  It has been a great addition to our pool and all the kids have loved it.

Allen talked me into this jet ski.  We are calling it his birthday present.

And my heart talked me into this dog.  Yes, a dog.  Allen and I had stood pretty firm that we would not be getting a dog.  Our kids have asked off and on through the years and it was always easy to say no.  Then Jared started to really love dogs and talk about them quite a bit.  After about a year of this a few things happened all at the same time that changed my mind about the whole dog thing.  First, I was reading my mom's history and read about my cat.  She called him my security blanket. Then I thought about my Jared, and how he is shy and how he has such a loving, nurturing personality.  How he would love to come home to a dog and play with him and cuddle with him and take care of him.  The next thing that happened is Trey went to college and made me start thinking about how little time I have with my kids.  Then I read a blog and it talked about how many summers we have left with our kids before they leave home and to make the most of them.  I have 5 with Carter, 7 with Jared and 10 with Claire.  And then I started having the thought--Jared is going to leave my house some day and I am going to regret not giving him a dog.  The one thing he has asked for and really wanted.  I am going to feel awful and wish I could go back in time--.  And I knew it was true.

 So, we have a dog.  And guess what?  We all love having a dog.  We are dog people after all.  His name is Max, he is an 18 month old Cockapoo (cocker spaniel and poodle mix=no shedding!)

reunion

 The Barber clan gathered in San Francisco for a reunion.  I had been trying to get my family out there to see Troy and Dan for a while now, so it was the perfect place for us to go!

 We enjoyed eating and shopping in China town

 We got to see them make fortune cookies

 We all played at Golden Gate Park

 The Piers, Ghiradelli Square, the Farmers Market and Alcatraz were a hit

moving on up

 Jared made us proud at his 5th grade graduation.  He actually sang some of the song they sang for us.  He won several awards:  Most Avid Reader (read the most books), States and Capital Whiz (did the best on the states and capitals tests), X-man Algebra award (along with many), and Most Creative Artist (he was a bit surprised by this one, I was not).  His peers voted him most likely to be on Survivor (choices were all reality TV shows). 

On the last day of school, as we were driving home, Jared said, "this is the first time I'm not excited for school to be out".  He has fully enjoyed his elementary school years and loved the small enviornment and close friends.  He will have a hard time next year, but hopefully for not too long.  He says he can't imagine not going outside all day (they go out constantly) and will miss racing his friends up the big hill to Spanish class. 

The older Jared gets, the more I see myself in him.  I was as quiet/shy as he is, I liked small groups, I didn't like change, and I was good at basketball.  Oh no, wait, that came from Allen.

making it official

we all color coordinated for the occasion

Jared and his two best buds

the best bud's dads...they are pretty tight too