O My...Easton's 5!

Today is Eastons birthday and hes so excited to be 5! I personally can not believe how fast he has grown up and I wish that he would slow down a little. Of course everyone loves their kids and say they have the best but if you knew Easton you would know I'm truly blessed with the sweetest most loving boy ever! He is the peacemaker around our home and is very rarely in a bad mood. He loves life and for being 5 is amazingly on track with his priorities and he loves his family above all! Easton is anyone and everyone friend and loves to play with others. I remember when he was born I wondered what he would be like when he was 2, then 3, then 5...and now that's its here I know I couldn't ask for a sweeter lil guy! Happy Birthday Bud...Mom loves you...we all love you...you're just easy to love!

Here are a few random and fun facts about Easton...

Easton came into this world weighing a hefty 9pds 12oz and was 22in long. He was all bruised up because he was stuck in the same position for 2 hours...I'm sorry bud I did such a bad job getting you here!

Easton didn't ever crawl, he would scoot all over on his back and boy was he fast. Bryce used to ask if he knew how to use his arms. He was also a late walker, finally at 15 months he took his first steps!

Easton LOVES his lil sister...he gets more upset then she does when shes in trouble. He has been known to sneak her snacks and drinks if Paisley is in timeout or on her bed. Pais hates to pick up her room but Easton is always quick to help her so she doesn't get her toys thrown away!

Easton is all boy! He loves anything that has 4 wheels especially 4 wheeling! He has successfully rolled his 4 wheeler twice, dented his Uncle Anthons truck driving into it, and been told by a Forest Ranger he drove too fast, that is one of his highlights of life, to a lil 5 year old thats like getting your first ticket. He loves camping with his Grandma and Grandpa and tells me all the time hes gonna get me a trailer for my birthday so we can go campin...no thanks bud.

Eastons middle name is Terry, after my Dad and one of his best friends. He so far is the only grandson and although he claims to want Auntie Moe to have a boy I think he loves all the extra special grandson love he gets since hes the only one. Grandpa is also who is responsible for Eastons long time hat obsession. Hes not as bad as he used to be but it used to be a fight to get him to take a hat off for school, baths, church, or bed...the red one my Dad gave him is still his favorite! My dad calls him Tank, but if I call him that forget it only Grandpa can call him that special nickname. So around here he's Eastaroni and E.

Uncle John has always and will always have a very special place in Eastons heart. Easton loves his Uncle John and still tells me on an almost daily basis how much he misses him. We all miss family but Easton begs to see him and every cool new thing he gets or does he wishes Uncle John was here for it. They really are the coolest friends ever and I love that he is an awe of John.

Easton loves chocolate like I love shoes! This boy is easy to please when it comes to food. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner I was hoping he would want to go out but nope he requested homemade chicken noodle soup and chocolate pie. This kid lives for soup its funny how excited he gets when I make it for him.

Easton loves anything Army and Pirate related. He tells us all the time when he grows up he wants to be in the Army...which quickly I discourage but he has dreams dangit! He loves to learn about the human body and can tell ya all about the lungs and heart and how your blood flows from one to another (yeah thats my boy!) so his new dream is to be a real hero and be a doctor in the Army. O we shall see wont we.

Happy Birthday Easton...I hope 5 is all that you hope for and more!

xoxo!

Ahoy Me Mateys!

Easton celebrated his 5th birthday with friends on Saturday...yup you guessed it...we did it Pirate Style. I'm totally bummed because we didn't take any pics really but we had 12 kids at it plus Easton and Pais so truly it was CHAOS! We did have lots of fun and I was told by Easton that I'm the best mom EVER so really that made all the pain and suffering worth it! We started it off coloring Pirate pictures while we waited for everyone to get here...let me tell you that was the best idea I have ever had bc not a single kid ventured into our bedrooms and destroyed while we waited that weird half hour for everyone to get there. I was excited because we had put on the invites that they needed to dress in their Pirate best and almost every kid did it was so cute! Again I'm sad theres no pics! We played sink the ship and the winner got to be the Captain of one of the Treasure Hunt teams (Birthday boy was the other captn of course!) Then we did a Treasure Hunt outside that I'm weirdly proud of and at the end there was the "loot" aka party bags filled with necessary pirate accessory's. After gifts, cake, and ice cream we were done but everyone lingered and the kids ran a muck outside. It really was so much fun...if any of you ever want to do a Pirate party call me I have ENDLESS ideas now of things to do!

The Birthday Boy in his Pirate Best

The croc is gonna get the Pirate hat! Ahhhhh! This cake was such a pain but its my own fault! I tried to take the easy lazy way out and use store bought frosting when I should have made my own so that it would be easier to decorate with and of course waited til way last minute. Ben had a friend he works with and his wife over Fri night for games and they stayed til almost 1 am so I didn't even start the cake til Sat morning. Of course the icing was so soft it was running right off the hat...when I finally wanted to give in and go buy a cake Ben jumped in and saved the day and made the skull and cross bones with marsh mellows...TA DA what a genius! Reason a million thirteen and a half hes a keeper ;)

Chaos! Ben tried one picture and then declared defeat! So sad...but this is the opening presents mess

And I have to post the treasure hunt...we divided into 2 teams both teams had the same clues just in different order and they ran between the front and back yards looking for the clues...we ended up dividing boys against girls and of course bc Ben helped the boys cheat they won...wait we actually just let them who wants weeping boys at a Pirate party;)

Ahoy Me Mateys, the time has come to find the hidden treasure, ye'll sure have fun. Follow the rules along ye trip or walk the plank and sink yer ship. Now mateys listen, here are ye rules. no fighting, no pushing, stay a group and no running ahead. Me Hearties, the hunts to begin, may all ye ships come in to win. Here is ye first clue, the game has begun, lets all be sure to have lots of fun.

Clue 1: A pirates life is the life for me, look for a birdbath under a tree
Clue 2: As any pirate ought to know...this is where the palm tree grows.
Clue 3: To find the next clue, all hands on deck...hurry up, before the ship is wrecked
Clue 4: Shiver me Timbers theres lots of gates but ones a double so take yer ship through it and don’t be late
Clue 5 :Land lubbers Cove is next, sea dog...now look for a caged white dog
Clue 6: Cannon balls wont knock down this tree its limbs are so long it stretches to the sea
Clue 7 :One more clue and the treasure is yers...look for "Capt'n Quarters" on the doors
Clue 8: Sit down and wait for all ye ships to arrive,and then yell get the big surprise

I Heart Edward!

YES Please do Edward!

My friends Sherri, Julia, and I went out with all the teenie bopers Sat night and braved the Twilight craze! I had fun and loved it! I thought Edward was not very cute on the internet when I saw his pics but watching him be Edward made him O SOOOOO TASTY! We were the oldest in the theater but its ok we had fun! We went out to dinner at the BEST and I mean BEST sushi place ever called Tangerine...if you live out here go there! Its a lil spendy and dress a lil nicer but it was o so delish! I'm excited for movie #2 to come out and cant wait to get #1 on DVD and torture Ben with it...payback is H E double hockey sticks babe for all those boy movies you make me suffer through ;)

On a totally different note...

You know your in for it when your 3 year old daughter is sitting on the couch with the Pottery Barn Kids magazine YELLING..."Shut the front door! This is SOOOO CUTE!" If it was pink she wanted it for Christmas, if it was pink with polka dots she NEEDED it, and if it was anything baby doll related she HAD BETTER get it. Uhhhh hello doesnt she get thats Santas on a budget. After about 5 minutes of listening to that I went and got the Toys R Us add to try to persuade that instead but nope she wasnt interested. The complete doll house set with furniture, people, 2 buildings, and a table for it to go on out of Pottery Barn was over a $1000...can I get a HELL NO!

Knock Before Entering!

The dear adorable absolutely delicious Baby Briley and her mama Alisha (aka Auntie Moe or Moesha) were here visiting us for a very very short 5 days. We had so much fun but I was a lil bummed she wasn't able to bring all her girls. I hadn't seen any Barton's since May and she hadn't seen my kids since last Thanksgiving or Ben since Jr High...haha! According to Moe the highlight of the trip was when she walked in on Ben doing push ups naked in the living room...Bens version is that he jumped out of the shower to check on her crying daughter and was casually streaking back to the bathroom when she walked in the front door...I was outside so the truth will never be known! This was also the highlight of the trip for Ben because he seems to think Moe was very impressed with the free "show" he gave. Consider me sharing that story somewhat of a public service announcement...ALWAYS ALWAYS knock before entering the Barbeaus house! We had fun other then just nudity, Alisha and I were able to ditch the kids leaving them with Unka Ben (who Briley LOVED) and do some dining and shopping...really its what the 2 of us excel at thanks to years of teaching from our dear Mom. We went to Paula Deans restaurant Lady and Sons and had us a buffet of fried food and butter...just what my thighs needed! My mom sent Pais and Baby Briley matching church dresses for Christmas so we dolled them up and took them hand in hand to church looking the cutest they ever have! Seriously it was adorable! Thanks for the dresses Mom! Easton looked handsome in his new outfit but he took it off before we got to the pictures and there was no putting it back on him. We had lots of fun and it was a very much needed trip...Ive been missing family so bad and we haven't been able to get anywhere to see any so a trip to see us is greatly appreciated! We love ya Moe and Bri...Thanks for the fun and baby squishes!



Ahhh...so sweet!


Paula Deans! Too bad we didnt get a pic with our cute lil 12 yr old waiter!

I got tagged....

This is a long one and I really had to think about it but here it goes...

5 things I was doing 10 yrs ago
1. I was still in High School
2. Living at my parentals house in Layton
3. Hanging out with friends and being up to no good most the time
4. Working at Gordons Copyprint
5. Planning a very exciting escape from life in Layton to College (didnt happen how planned)

5 things on my To-Do list today
1. Playgroup
2. Make Eastons bday invites
3. Wash bedding for my Sister
4. Make dinner for the Missionaries
5. Find and catch the Lizard I have seen twice in the Living Room but havent caught yet

5 snacks I enjoy
1. chips and salsa
2. Italian Sodas...yummmmmm!
3. Ice cream
4. apples and carmel dip
5. ok who am I kidding Ill call anything a snack and eat it!

5 things I would do if I was a Millionaire
1. Pay of any student loans for family
2. take a super nice vacation
3. go back to school
4. invest it
5. redo my house...o think of the fun in all new furniture!

5 places I have lived
1. Belleville, IL (thats where I met Ben...ahhh)
2. Layton, UT
3. Kaysville, UT
4. Phoenix, AZ
5. Savannah, GA

5 jobs I have had
1. Gordons
2. Dick Kearsley
3. MDSI
4. Clinicals (trust me it was just like a job, full time hrs, crazy busy, but no paycheck)
5. a mom (my favorite one!)

4 things Im passionate about
1. Ben
2. my kiddos
3. family
4. my home

4 things I say often
1. ya know
2. O sh*&% (yeah its still a problem)
3. because mom said so!
4. dont make me take your birthday away (this one works!)

4 things I want to do before I die
1. Have all my scrapbooks current
2. take a photography class
3. go back to school (again)
4. go somewhere super exotic and lay on the beach and actually look good in my swimming suit

4 things I want/need
1. new dishes
2. a new blow dryer (I keep forgetting to get one)
3. new boobs!
4. my GA state RT license so I can work out here

4 places I want to see/visit
1. Australia
2. Hawaii
3. I have a dream of going antiquing in an Amish town
4. Italy

4 TV shows I cant live without
1. House Hunters
2. Any thing on Food Network
3. Mickey Mouse Club House (its the only thing Puff sits still for)
4. Biggest Loser

4 things you dont know about me
1. I cant swim (pathetic!)
2. Im married to my Jr High "boyfriend" (some of you knew that but its funny to me)
3. I have a major fear of parking garages and bridges...forget it they dont make sense
4. I cant have my feet covered when I sleep or they cant "breath"

Tag 5 people
1. Victoria
2. Lisa
3. Marla
4. MariJo
5. Anyone else who wants to go for it and fill it out!

Friday Cancelled

Im not going to be having the get together at my house Friday...Ill have to let you know when its rescheduled for. Im taking custom vinyl orders all the time though so let me know if theres anything you need.

I'm just bored...

The kids and I went with our friend Sherri and her cute lil girl Chloe today and saw Madagascar 2...super cute! Both the kiddos walked around singing "I like to move it move it..." the rest of the day. The movie kept saying butt and Pais in her o so loud voice blurted out "don't say that its a bad word!" Ahh thats my girl...its a hiney! Anyway it was fun take all your kids to see it.
Ben has a friend visiting from Belleville soooo the boys are out tonight, but since there was no Ben distraction hanging around I FINALLY got the extra room off the kitchen (scrapbook/office) a lil more organized and pictures hung...hopefully now I can be inspired instead of looking at blank walls. My seester Moe and the luscious baby Briley are coming in less then a week to visit...YAY I'm sooo excited! I miss family big time lately so this will help. If anyone has some suggestions of fun Savannah things to take her to let me know I'm still a newbie and hardly venture out of Richmond Hill. Last but not least...next Friday at 10:30 I'm having a fun little get together at my house. All is invited so bring a friend and come shop, chat, and eat some delicious goodies with us girls. I'm going to be selling boards with Holiday vinyl sayings and taking custom vinyl orders, Jill will be doing Pampered Chef, my sis is bringing Scentsy candles, and Julia will be there with Premier Design Jewelry. So come on over the more the merrier and Easton and Pais are happily excepting playmates.

Stray Puppies!

We have come across 2 stray puppies that we need to get rid of...STAT! Although they are adorable we cant justify making Bella share a "cave" and plus they foam at the mouth which clearly cant be healthy for us to be around. Any takers?

Halloween Fun and Traditions

We started our Halloween night off with dinner in a pumpkin. Pais chopped the veggies for it, Easton gutted the pumpkin and then we all enjoyed our festive dinner!

Then the Army Guy (minus the "itchy" face paint this time) and Cheerleader got their costumes on and off they went, dragged by Ben kicking and screaming to collect him some candy

The "loot" was combined and feasting was unsupervised for one night because then the Snitch Witch (AKA Ben...hence the reason he wanted them to get lots of candy) flew in on a broom, took the candy, and replaced it with a much loved Transformer and Ballerina Barbie.

Halloween was fun this year and the kids loved being a part of the traditions!

Here's Pais cheering about her brother being an Army Guy and Bella wanting to be in on the Cheerleader fun...

Block Party

The school that Easton goes to had a Block Party this last Wednesday so off we went and fun was had by all!

Easton and Mrs. Fowler (his teacher)


E got to hold a baby Alligator


It felt just like a FABULOUS pair of shoes!


Ryan, Mrs Andersen (Asst teacher), and E

The line for this slide was long but Pais cut right to the front and boy was she proud and not the least bit guilty

Easton and Pais both got stuck to the wall