Tubing/4-Wheeling in the "Backyard"

Here are most of the pictures of our tubing and 4-wheeling activity. I hope everyone had fun. Marianne was beside herself all day just waiting for the fun to begin!

Everyone waiting for their turm to ride.

Most of the kids had a little fun on their own while they waited for a turn. I LOVE Jackson's face as he throws this snowball!

Tyler Arrington (Jeff and Angie) gets pulled by Joann, Lisa and Allison.

Savanna and Luke Gilmore enjoying a turn around the yard.

Nathan Arrington (John and Ann) holds on tight for his ride.

Ann couldn't get shown up by her own son...so here she is holding on for dear life!

I had just as much fun pulling people as they did riding behind me. Here I am with Katelyn (Gus and Sharon) and Allison. She loved riding on the 4-wheeler, too.

I honsestly have no idea who this is. Maybe Justin does. It is just a great picture! A little blurry, but still funny!


These could possibly be my two favorite pictures of the day. My dad's face is priceless as he approaches the jump and then, when he hits it...

Ann and her son Carson getting a ride!

Another one of my favorite pictures. This is one of Breck and Robb's kids, Savanna and Luke. The lighting is gorgeous and their faces are adorable!

Josh (Jim and Aimee) getting pulled behind his dad's 4-wheeler.

Justin pulling Cody (Jay and Liesel) as he screams to go "FASTER!"

Another of my favorites! Katelyn (Gus and Sharon) can harly contain herself!

One of the three little girls. Allison, Marianne and Reagan laugh it up as they hold on.

Justin pulls Robb and his little boy, Luke.

I have to laugh at this one. You might have to enlarge it to see just how funny Reagan is trying her darndest not to fall off!

Here's all the onlookers watching from way up on the deck!

Baylee and Audrey (Jeff and Angie) get a ride as a cute set of sisters.

I love this one, too. Grace (Jeff and Angie), Jeff and Nic, who is the son of one of my really good high school friends, Angie, loved riding on the 4-wheeler more than tubing. I think they rode on the 4-wheeler for almost the full hour and a half we were out there!

Opening Presents!!!

Finally! Marianne kept asking when the party was going to start. I tried to explain to her that it was already going, but she wouldn't believe me. So...here are a few pictures of the "party."

Marianne's fancy pink cowgirl boots from Mom and Dad.

Enjoying having everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her.

Ripping into just one of the many gifts she received.

Just a snapshot of the final cake. Turned out well under the circumstances.

It's pretty blurry, but still cute. Marianne took about four puffs to get all the candles out. Only because she kept blowing OVER them!
***
Thanks to everyone who helped make the party a success. To Jeri and Mom for making soup and to Sharon (and her kids) for the yummy homemade bread. We hope everyone had a blast! We sure did and Marianne enjoyed every second of it!

Marianne Is Turning 4

Marianne's Birthday party is coming up. We'll be taking invitations around this week, but in case you miss it, here it is.

Snow Fun!

Last Saturday, Jim and his boys came over and helped Justin shovel snow off the roof. Then, after all the hard work it was time to play. We built a snowman first (with the help of Austin and Josh) then headed out to the back yard. We hooked up a sled to Jim's 4-wheeler and made a few runs around the yard. Everyone had a blast and we got some great pictures. The pnes of Justin, Austin, Kyle and Josh are of them hitting...or "not-so-hitting" the jump we built. Enjoy!

Our family with a new member...at least until he melts!

Bo catches a ride with Mom on the sled!

Bo loves the snow!

Joann and the kids, watching the boys go off the jump.

Justin "not-so-hitting" the jump!

Austin "not-so-hitting" the jump, too.

Kyle nailed it!

Got the best picture of Josh. He really got some air!

Allison only rode the sled twice...she really didn't like it.

Marianne, however, couldn't get enough. She wanted on every chance she could get!

Marianne loved pulling riders with Jim, too! I love the look on her face!

She was even brave enough to go it alone!
Marianne's favorite part was honking the horn on the 4-wheeler. She laughed her head off whenever she scacred one of us with it! So cute!



We had a blast. We are hoping there is enough snow to do this activity for Marianne's birthday party on the 26th! Pray for snow so you can come celebrate and have some snow fun with us!

St. George at Sunset

I've hiked to the top of the Lizard Head in St. George dozens of times in my life. I can't believe I have never taken a camera up there at sunset until now. It was absolutely beautiful, and I plan on taking a sunset trip up the Lizard Head at least once every time I go down there.

By the way, can you see the face in the rock?

Family Poems

On Christmas morning, we had all of the Barbers over for breakfast. Everyone brought yummy food to eat and we had a great time. After breakfast, before we opened gifts, we played a fun game. I gave everyone the same first line to a poem and the four groups came up with unique poems. Here are the poems everyone wrote, including one that I did on my own just for fun. Hope you enjoy!

Group 1
'Twas 4 am on Christmas Day
And John was leaving for Costco.
He started on his merry way
Because his boss said he must go.

The storm was raging the snow was deep,
When Santa tried to land.
But his approach was way too steep
So he needed a helping hand.

John pulled over and said to him,
"Hey Santa, need some help?"
But Donner's antler had impaled him
And all he could do was "Yelp!"

So John hooked up the sleigh
To good ole Blue.
And delivered the toys
To the old and the new.

Group 2
'Twas 4 am on Christmas Day
Mike's out plowing
And Santa's on his way.

Mike almost hit a reindeer
And killed a little duck.
While driving on the Boulevard
In his great big ugly truck.

The family was waiting
In total despair.
In hopes that Mike and Aubry
Soon would be there.

They got there in time
To go to Joann's.
And write this poem
For all of their fans.

Group 3
'Twas 4 am on Christmas Day.
Where is Mike? We want to play!
He's been out plowing all night long.
We're sure glad that Mike is strong.

I ran out of tape
And wrapping paper, too.
Maybe I
Should just use glue.

All the kids' glowing faces we can't wait to see.
Oh, wait! I mean Jim 'cause he got the Wii.
Poor Jay, he wanted one, too.
But, Jim says he can come play, too.

Group 4
'Twas 4 am on Christmas Day
And I decided I wanted to play.
The gifts upstairs were gleaming and bright.
For Santa brought them all in the night.
So, up I went as quiet as I could.
The thing I was doing was not very good.
I knew that Santa would be so sad.
He would take me off the nice list and put me on the bad.
But I didn't care. I just wanted a peek.
These toys would all be ruined in a week!
I stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked;
And in just on moment, I was instantly hooked!
I ran to the gifts, the paper did fly.
I was having such fun that time flew by.
I found such great stuff and I was so glad.
Except for the pajamas, because they were plaid.
Taking my time, I quite enjoyed myself.
I thought, "I would make one great elf!"
When I was all done, I went back to my room.
I knew that my family would be up soon.
They would all be so glad for the help that I gave.
This was the Christmas that I had saved!

This is the one I wrote ahead of time just for fun...
'Twas 4 am on Christmas Day,
And in our beds we finally lay.
The gifts are wrapped, the stocking filled.
The children will be oh, so thrilled.

It's been a long night
And we try to drift off.
But, what do we hear?
It's a faint little cough.

The kids are awake!
But, we try to be sneaky.
We both lay in bed
As if we were sleeping.

Well, that doesn't work.
And soon there's a struggle.
Both of us want to
Just lay there and snuggle.

Who has to get up
And put the kids back to bed?
And who gets to stay
Under the nice, warm bedspread?

Joann wins because
She has the best present.
And that gift is the knowledge
That she's 3 months pregnant!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We had all the Barbers over for Breakfast and presents on Christmas. It was a lot of fun. The girls are riding their bikes around the house and Bo is chillin with his new trick...sitting up by himself. I love the picture of our two girls with Sadie and Aubry who had their names for Christmas. It was a long and evenyful day! We love our families!

Sitting on Santa's Lap

Here are pictures of the kids sitting on Santa's lap. Allison actually only whined when she got up there. That's the best she did with any Santa this year. Normally, she screams and cries just long enough to get a picture and take the treat Santa has for her. But this time, she actually stayed long enough to ring Santa's jingle bells. Way to got Alli!

Aaron's Blanket

This is a blanket the Joann made for Aaron Jr. after his daddy died. She was so happy to do something for him and Leslie that could be of a little comfort when they need it. We love you Leslie!

Aaron Harkness

I'm so sad to say that a very close friend of mine passed away a few weeks ago. Aaron was such a great person. When you were with Aaron, there was never a dull moment. The pictures above are from a trip Joann and I took with Aaron and his wife Leslie to Moab. One year when Aaron and I were living in St. George, we took another unforgettable trip to Moab. Aaron had a big Ford truck, and thanks to a mechanic who was in a hurry to get to Moab himself, we had all sorts of problems. But since it was Aaron, no mechanical problems stopped him from taking every obstacle Moab had to offer. However, it was on the way back to St. George that the truck problems came back to bite us. It took us about 12 to 14 hours to finally make it back to St. George, with stops in almost every small town along the way to buy a new part. There were times when the only thing the truck could do was idle in reverse, and we would creep along the freeway backwards for miles until we came to the next city. Fortunately there wasn't anything Aaron couldn't fix, and we eventually made it home. Everytime I hear the Red Hot Chili Peppers, it reminds me of creeping down the freeway in that truck.

We have a link to Aaron and Leslie's blog in the "Places to visit" section. I recommend to everybody that you go to their blog to read the beautiful tribute Leslie wrote for her husband.

Joann and I are going to miss Aaron very much. Our hearts and our love go out to Leslie and Aaron Jr. We love them so much.