Logans first Race..

Rob " Logan is this your first race"
Logan " I know I am going to beet those little kids"
Rob :" Yeah... you are a fast runner."



We get all the way downtown and the lady says it is raining...ITS CANCELLED..


Logan: "I got my number on though"
Rob :"It's my brothers first race"

But they got medals for showing up and somehow that made it all better. Not a real great way to start Logans running career... Oh well there is always Logans next first race.

I LOVE THIS GUY

Thanks Easter Bunny.....

Bawk Bawk!!

Signs of spring..

Recently every day when I come home from work this is what I do until it gets dark....

This ones for you ALF feet (and you know who you are)

I cant help thinking about all the fun we used to have together. We used to stay in that back room at Meyers house forever, You me and Daun all holed up in there talking and avoiding our work, or the time the class officers went to Taylor and we sang all the way home. It makes me smile to think of all those highlighters that were thrown at you at night while you were sleeping. And the fun we had in Europe,, the royal flushes and the bridges across beds. I remember how many times you would tell me you are insane but then join in. I always knew you would go far. I always told you " It's your world we just live in it" . I always thought you would be successful business women, running a multimillionar dollar company taking over the world. That was until tonight.....I have never seen you so happy, so at home. With J.P. and Ava. When you were talking about staying home and being her Mom that is your world now. I couldnt help but smile. I was right you did go far. I apologize for the highlighters...but not the spraypainting....... I love you and your ALF feet.....Thanks for letting me live in your world for at least a little bit.


It was good to see you, and your daughters Alf feet.


(photo credit goes to J.P with the camera phone.)

A wonder bread kind of person.

So my brother is here. He is in town for the weekend. I could get use to seeing him this much. He told me his girlfriend said " she thought I bought Wonder bread" and the funny thing is I do. So how do you take that?????What do you think she meant by that? I asked him and he would not commit to an answer something about opposed to whole wheat....Hmmmm...maybe I am that plain. And that got me thinking am I a wonder bread type person really? I guess I am ...I have become a wonder bread type person. Can you tell what kind a person is by the bread they eat? I definetly am not a whole wheat kind of person. I am also not a banana loaf or anything fruit related...Hmmmm... Am I the wholesome middle America, two kids, one minivan one husband Wonder bread Mom......Hmmm..So I ask you Can you tell a person by the bread they buy????? I wonder...

( I couldnt resist ending it that way)

Putting a new spin on accountability......

I often make myself New Years resolutions they usually involve something new I want to learn I am a firm believer if we keep our mind busy we won't get Alzheimer's. I know you are laughing but you haven't seen it the way I have. I have done a lot of reading about this so I really try to keep my mind busy,.anyway...I have learned to knit, to sew sorta and this year I decided to go somewhere different with this whole resolution thing. Ok I am gonna throw it out here..I am going to run a race. I may come in last I may cause such a scene that people think "What is that and WHY?" But I am going to do it. So I have a training program if you will I have to increase mileage each night. The race is in June...Anyway I have a confession to make I really like it. I can now 2 1/2 miles without stopping...in about 40 minutes. I am out of breath and I smell when I am done but it is good for me. It is mine. I can control it. Since my parents thing I have felt out of control of so many things and I guess I don't do well with that. Anyway...I tell you this as a added incentive to myself. I gotta tell you the time I spend less than a hour a day is all mine...My mind is able to process the day ( I usually run at night) and sometimes I talk to God. I also have a theory you never see a fat runner....and I have to say I have lost a few pounds thanks to this resolution. Anyway there now it is out there...Somehow this helps..........Anyone else need some accountability????

I MISS THIS PLACE...............

Heck I miss that person too..................

WWW. SNOWBOARDGUYS.COM

We have been visiting my brother for a couple of days and Rob and Logan spent some time snowboarding. Last week we were trying to potty train Logan this week he is on a snowboard. We had a great visit. The weather on the mountain was great. It was super to be with my little brother and his family. We had a great time with them. The boys were obsessed with Uncle Jeremy. It was neat seeing them have a good time with him. It really was amazing how patient my brother was with the boys. And it was pathetic how much Rob and Logan took to him. Who wouldn't love an uncle who snowboards. Rob cried all the way home, he started saying we could move by him they have a Target there Dad could work there. It was a nice visit. I am sorry we live so far away that drive through Kansas is no joke. I was sad to come home too. I miss uncle Jeremy too. It was good for my soul to be with my little brother. Thanks for a great time. We will have to do it again soon.

SNOW DAY

How cool it is to have not only a snow day but it also to be your Birthday., Robs real birthday is today and as he told me the snow was his birthday present from God. It was not a bad amount of snow enough to let his preschool close and let us still play outside. I love the picture of Rob being sprayed with snow. It cracks me up. I guess if you are five today today is the perfect day....And come to think of it sure beets were I was five years ago today so I guess it was the perfect day...Thanks God for the birthday present to Rob.

Lifes Like A Road that you travel on....

When there's one day here an' the next day gone...Today we had Rob's fifth birthday party. I admit I got a little choked up when I was setting up for Robs party. I was amazed that my baby is five years old. I can remember the day we went to the doctor for an apoitment and he walked me over to the hospital to have him.I remember when Rob was sick after he was born and the doctors would not tell us he was ok. He kept saying we are testing this and ruling out this.. And now he is five...He wanted to have a cars party so bad. He also somehow talked us into having his whole preschool class over so I am crazy enough to do it. So we had 18 kids over for a CARS birthday party. It was so much fun ( I might have been more excited than the kids).We played games like hot ToMata and The Piston Cup challenge. In the pictures you can see the medals they won and the kids. It was wild afternoon but Rob told me "I loved the party Mom just like I love you." There's a world outside every darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore.Where brave are free an' lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore .

Boys will be Boys

Start them young around here dont we. What makes it worse it that is the Nintendo 64 they are playing Phil gave me that for our one year anniversary. Need I say more?

(Hey Jay that player you created is still in there...Mandy freakshow Barry)

Dont Worry That It's Not Good Enough For Anyone Else to Hear..

Go ahead finish is you know you want to..I think that is what hit me as I sat and watched the Elmo show. Here is another whole generation of kids that are growing up on Big Bird, Grover and the new guy ELMO... When you think about that circle of life thing it is amazing. A wise( and very attractive) person said " I feel like I'm finally hitting my "sweet spot". Here I come, 2007!" I echo that. This is going to be the 33 year I am on the earth and I may finally be seeing things differently. I am not searching to figure out who I am, I am not worried about where I am going. I am finally able see things where they are. I had a good weekend. We did see Elmo, it was Devins birthday, Two years ago he wasnt even part of our family. It snowed today so the boys and I played outside a long time. We made a presnt for Phil.I think what I realized somewhere between these are the people in your neighborhood and fuzzy and blue is if you spend all this time planning your life and not living it its gone before you get there. SO JUST SING...SING ALONG

I now pronouce you Husband and Wife...

A few pictures of the wedding. The big group is Peters family or my new step brothers and sisters. There are 4 boys and 2 girls the rest are there wives/husbands. ( daughter in front row in black and white, son standing next to my Mom, son on the other side of Peter, daughter in pink sweater, son in yellow shirt in back row and son in blue shirt in front row.) I cant tell you there names because I couldn't remember them all. They were nice but they were not as excited about the wedding as my Mom has lead on. They don't seem as if they plan on seeing us.( when the wedding was over they said It was nice meeting you we will see you some time I assume.) Its over. Now lets see what happens from here.

D Day

Today I have a brother and sister. Tomorrow I will have some combination of the like that equal 9 all together. Let the festivities begin.

Mandy not looking forward to this at all

What kind of world do you want?

A servant heart? When I graduated from those hallowed halls at G.C. we were all told to have a servants heart I don't think I realized that I accomplished that until yesterday. I am humbled by the world that I am a part of everyday at work. It is ironic because I do not feel at all is if my main mission is the obvious one in the old people they are taken care of I am amazed at how I have taken on the staff that works there. I bring them toys before Christmas to give there kids for Christmas. I bring them heaters when the gas is shut off at there house. I lend them money to get to and from work but its not the tangible things that humble me. Yesterday I spend the afternoon at the Children's Hospital my coworkers 6 month old grandson is sick and she needed help filling out some papers and she called me to help her. As I was driving there is hit me I have for now found my niche. This is what I was called to do. As we sat in the hospital room and she cried and I listened to her it was humbling. I feel silly for the things I complain about. This is a baby that has such a rough start and is such a victim of his circumstance.Often people ask me aren't you afraid in the city and I can honestly say no not one bit. I am the minority but I never feel out of place. I never for a minute feel like I don't belong. The city is so different from where I live , so different as I left the hospital my co worker said "Hey Amanda. I love you." and I realized that it really was closer than I ever realized. Thanks for the insight and the opportunity. I am humbled again.

Closer to Heaven in 2007

You try to come up with a motto that rhymes with 2007 its not that easy is it Karla....Well another year has come and gone. I spent New Years at home with Rob and Logan they were so happy and I cant get out of my mind the New Year means it is really going to happen that wedding. I go to my Moms house earlier today and she gives me some towels with a B on them because in her own words "there are no Barry's anymore" she already has some monogrammed towels with a F on them. I had to seriously fight the urge to flush them down the toilet and while that seems wrong it might of made me feel better. Only 13 days left now. I know I really should get over this. I am sure that at the end of 2007 I might not even remember the wedding happened. This is going to be a big year for us. Rob is going to go to kindergarten, Logan hopefully will be potty trained completly. I am sure there will be a lot of great things about the year...and who knows maybe I will flush those towels down the toilet.. One never knows what the year has in store.. Happy New Year.

Christmas 2006

What fun it is to have a three and four year old at Christmas. Before they went downstairs Christmas morning Rob said " I hope Santa got my messages..I hope he did. The magic of Christmas has never been more real to me than seeing through the boys eyes. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Not to be outdone by my little Brother.....

We had breakfast with Santa at the nursing home seemed like a good idea but we had 110 kids and old people. Whew it was a lot of work....
For those of you who think they are more computer savy than there big sister all I can say is I may be slow but I always get it in the end,..sorry little brother.....

I am getting quite good at this blog thing Karla are you impressed..

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And I think to myself its a wonderful world

It is at some point in each of our lives we are either the one getting the spanking/giving the spanking...making the mess or cleaning up the mess....and one of my new found favorite riding in front of the sled or riding in back of the sled. The boys cant get enough of the snow. So we have been putting on tons of clothes and sledding every day because in there own words the snow may turn to water tomorrow...So off we go down the "big hill" and I swear I have never been on a sled so much in my life. It reminds me of the Calvin and Hobbes last cartoon where they ride off into the sunset. Calvin says its a wonderful world Hobbes oh buddy ..Lets go exploring...It is a wonderful world. (link to it in case you missed it)http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7879/last.htm

SNOW DAY

We finally got enough snow to sled. The boys thought they were in heaven. I know its not Colorado but pretty good for Missouri.

Trotting with the turkeys

This year we started a new tradition the high school close by built a new track and so I decided we should all go after dinner and run a few laps. It was really fun we called it a turkey trot. The weather was beautiful and the company wasnt so bad either. Even my niece who is 15 said that was pretty cool . Rob was the winner he in his own words "smoked the family". As you can see by the picture we all had to wear turkey pins (yes I am a dork I made them ok) anyway pictures of the big finish and the participants. Happy Thanksgiving....gobble gobble,

Conflicting memories

I have a memory one of my favorite that comes back this time of year it is of my brother and I driving around in my Old little dodge omni looking at Christmas lights it seems we did this a few times maybe it was our way of getting out of the house minus all the chaos that was out family during that time. I just remember being happy looking at those lights maybe even honking at the houses ( I am not sure why we did this but it seemed ok at the time) one house even had music they played in the yard so you could hear it as you drove by..which was good cause the Omni had no radio..I wonder what my memories will be of this year. My moms wedding that is all too close and all she thinks about...I hope not. I wonder why looking at lights with my brother is such a vivid memory in my mind, and I wonder why our whole family didnt go. It almost seems that I have erased most of those years and the holidays other than that.I am really going to try to have a good holiday season this year minus the wedding. Maybe I will drive around and look at a bunch of lights I wonder if the one yard still plays music.......

NO words necessary ...

A picture is worth a thousand words right?

Sometimes it is so good to be from St. Louis!!!!!!!! And yes Phillips player is eating a chicken wing..... What a night.

Saturday at the apple orchard

We went apple picking yesterday it was a great day Phil entered and came in third in a pie eating contest. The boys loved the tractor and the riding the ferry. I cant imagine living somewhere where there wasnt four seasons. Who could resist the beautiful colors on the trees, wearing sweatshirts, the cool temperatures, the smell of leaves burning. It was a great day.

So yesterday Logan threw the fit of all fits at the McDonald's play place he didn't want to go and it was time so he yelled and screamed and yelled some more and hit me yes you read right smacked me right across the arm and oh yea yelled some more I picked him up and said in his ears when you get home you will be in trouble and he let the whole crowded playplace know we were leaving....I hate days like that I hate the fact that my kid is the one being so lound and unruly so we get in the car and Rob says Logan you are taking years off my life..I am not sure where he learned that but it made me laugh. We got home and Logan went to a much needed nap and I thought well they all cant be good days. So today we went on a bike ride after church and it was perfect. Perfect cause it was beautiful weather it was a perfect 70 degrees, I didn't get slapped by my 3 year old perfect because we were the only people at the park we went to so we could play on all the cool things..And perfect because it reminded me that even though this job called parenting is hard the benefits are amazing.

The GOOD stuff..

Not to take anything away from the Kenny chosen song with the same title but what can compare with a crisp fall evening, some marshmallows roasted over a campfire, some chocolate and graham crackers and my family along with sisters family enjoying a improptu bonfire. Maybe Kenny and I should get together and write a sequel to his first song. The boys were so happy and I guess I was too.

The other side of things.

Often on weekends when Philip works which is ever other weekend I get really grumpy. Sometimes the thought of getting of at work on Friday and looking forward to a whole weekend of preschool games really bums me out. Not to mention all the laundry. seven meals to cook and clean up and a bath or two or three and I wonder wouldnt work be easier...I think a lot of the mood comes from that I miss Philip being home with us it has been a year that he has been working out of the home and sometimes I still get angry over it. But today while we were finishing up decorating the house for Halloween I snapped this picture of the boys and I thought what are you complaining about...Some people would give anything to switch with you. Isnt it funny how we always want what we cant have...I am sorry I complained.I think actually the word is more I am humbled. I would never trade all the work in the world for my buddies.

Now I really am a soccer Mom

First came the minivan now both boys are playing soccer this year at the YMCA. So now I am officially a soccer Mom complete with more laundry with the soccer jersey, the knee pads, the cleats and oh yes the snacks for the team...Good thing I got that minivan.

FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL