Big Update

I am so glad to say that the last few months are officially behind us. It has been extremely busy with Football, Volleyball, School concerts, Feiseannas, Cake decorating class, Dance classes, Costume making for dance performance, Dance performances, Trip to Spokane, Christmas tree fundraiser, and every day things. Oh and I took a few (12 credits) college classes.. Umm, I wonder if I missed anything.. Below is only a few of the highlights.. Enjoy!

Feile Samhain - 2009

Halloween weekend Emily had a Feis in Portland and did super. She took home several medals, a trophy and a new wig. Feile Samhain is an An Daire Feis put on by Emilys teachers and has a halloween theme. A Feis is a competition for all the dancers in the area including California, Alaska, Utah and Montana. In order for any dancer to move up in their level of dance they must place;
* A Beginner needs a 1st,2nd, or 3rd to move up to Advanced Beginner
* An Advance Beginner needs a 1st or 2nd to move up into Novice;
* A novice dancer needs a 1st in order to move into Prizewinner
* and then there are two more levels after that.
Emily did a great job! Emily danced 8 dances. She started out as a Beginner and moved into several Advance Beginner dances and 1 Novice dance and brought home 3 first place medals, 4 second place medals and 1 third place trophy. Her teachers say that she has lots of potential to go far. As long as shes having fun I don't mind. We can hardly wait for Seattle in March!! A few pictures from the Feis..

Oh No!!

Poor Angie Pangie. A few weeks back Angela decided that she would hop over the doggie gate. It was more like a hop/jump/leap in slow motion. I herd the gate crash and fall (to pieces I might say) but no crying or yelling. I quickly got over to her to find out what happened. She seemed to be in the worst pain ever. I tried to calm her down and we layed her on the floor. I swear she broke her ankle and Mark thought she just had a sprain. Me being the mom of course insisted that she go in to be checked. The hospital was empty and we got in and out in no time. Mark of course was right, just a severe sprain. The doctor gave her some pain meds, crutches and sent her home with a wrapped ankle. Angie discovered that hurdles were not in her future and that next time she should try pole vaulting.

Lion King

A month or so ago Emily's school (music dept) had announced they were going on a field trip to Spokane to see ~ Disney's Lion King on Broadway. Emily almost didn't bring home the announcement, she thought "oh, mom would never want to go." Its a good thing she brought the slip home, I have always wanted to see Lion King - Broadway. So Emily, Angela and I got all dressed-up and took a little trip to Spokane. We followed the bus so we could have some needed girl time. It was a very nice drive. We ate lunch and went to the theater.
Never in my wildest dreams would I love such a production. It was absoutly amazing. During the opening of the program I was in such awe to the beautiful things that we can do with our voices, our bodies and the talents of those who perform. I looked at the girls and we all had tears in our eyes. Had I known to bring the tissue I would have brought lots. So if you ever get a chance to go, go - even the little ones would sit still.
I love spending time with my girls and am thankful everyday that I was blessed with three. I am excited to spend more time with them before they are off and having their own lives. Time goes so quickly. Love you girls and thanks for letting me be your mom!

Emily Turned "13"

Emily is officially a teenager! WOW "13" ! I can hardly believe it. For her Birthday we took her to "Birthday Dinner" which she chose Red Robins; where she had unlimited Raspberry lemonade splash and a burger. Afterwards they sung to her (I think that's her favorite part). For her birthday I made her her favorite cake ~ Pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, yummy, I forgot the candles so we used two big ones! Happy Birthday Emily! I am so proud of you and the young woman you are becoming. Keep up the Violin and Irish dance. You are awesome! We love you very much!

Cake Decorating Class

It has been a wild ride the last few months and I am starting to get caught up.
This last month Stephanie, Angela and I took a cake deorcating class. Was lots of fun and lots of getting prepared for class work. We learned how to make really good frosting, a few flowers, leaves and roses. I can't wait till the next class and of course until then...I'll keep practicing how to make roses.
Oh, and Mollie loves the frosting.. What a moocher.

MJ Ended the Season

Football season is over and MJ had a great time. The Panthers B team ended the season going to the "SuperBowl" with an 8-0 record. They did a fantastic job working as a team and playing fair. Unfortunately, they lost the superbowl and after reviewing the plays was a great game. Panthers were proud to be there win or loss. Heres a few pics from the 2009 season.

Volleyball 2009

Emily this year played Volleyball. Her team did not do so well but they had a lot of fun and she made some good friends. She is excited for VB this next year and wants to take a few VB training camps. Personally, half the problem with the team is that there is a no-cut policy which allows anyone and everyone who wants to play, play. Well I don't like that. That is not how life is. You work hard and then you can play hard. Some of the girls just stood around which makes mom like me scream from the bleachers.. Yes, I did..If you want to play, be aggressive and play.. Don't just let the ball land in front of you, you've got to move your feet, and get that ball!! The coach was terrible. She just sat on the sideline while the team got behind 10 points. OH how I wanted to step in and pull players. Anyway, enough of my rant..
Emily will play again next year, She is very excited to keep playing. She learned and lot and has a lot to learn. I am very proud of her trying something new. Keep up the good work Emily!!

MJ Playing Football

This last few months MJ has been playing and Loving football. Day in and day out he goes to practice and never whined about going, whether it was hot at 104 degrees or cold at 32 degrees, MJ always gives it his all. This season has been good to the Panthers B team and are 7-0 ranked 2nd with only 13 PA (points against) in their league after the # 1 Prosser Stallions who are 6-0 with 6 PA.
MJ has been playing many positions; safety, nose guard, right tight end, left tackle, running back, front line return team, kick-off line, punter and kicker. As you can see he is pretty much on the field most of the game. Even when he dislocated his thumb at the beginning of the season he still wanted to continue and play hard. Coach says hes really good for never playing organized football and I know his dad is proud of him. We are excited to see what he will do next year on whether he plays school or Grid football. I vote he plays grid one more year - and we will feed him lots of fruits, veggies and protein so he can grow big!!
Great Job MJ and Good Luck in the Playoffs!!

Big Daddy turns "24"

I know this is a little late but it was Mark's birthday last week. Yes 24 not 42. With so many things going on and all of us running different directions we opted out for a simple birthday. While I was with Emily at dance and Mark was with MJ at Football practice Angela was at home baking a cake. She went all out and her efforts were 150%. This is a picture of the cake Angela was making, and almost turned out perfectly, till..

The cupcakes fell on the floor.

I got a call and Angie, was in tears. "Can't you just buy a cake?" , she asked. I said, "No, it will be fine. Dad will understand, its the effort that counts and no one will know it fell on the floor except us (lol)". She was very much upset. In the end we all got a good laugh and the cake was moist and yummy. I was actually amazed at how well she did, I know I probablly couldn't make a cake that well. The Colors were almost perfectly matching. What they probablly didn't say in the instructions that there were toothpicks keeping those cupcakes together.

So we had a good time together as a family and went to Tony Romas for dinner.

Ahh.. Fall

I just love the Fall season. I love the colors and the fresh crisp air in the morning. The smells of fires burning and the blue blue sky. Fall brings a sense of renewal for me.
I love the peace and quiet that I have some alone time which includes having time to quietly fold my laundry and pick up around the house. Its amazing how much extra time we have when we are not bickering and complaining about just getting it done.
I love the burst of energy I have to get things done like the yard and cleaning the garage (as soon as Mark is off hunting), putting up TP and Towel holders.. doing the little touch-ups..
I love to sew and finish up my UFO's (unfinished objects). My quilt needs to get done this year, I hope. and I get to sew Angela a Homecoming dress with my new surger and Sewing maching that a wonderful person let me borrow.
I love going back to school, all the kids are in school now and we are down to just 2 schools and no more elementary.. YEAH.. Im a Big Kid now! Its been fun getting up early and taking care of the kids lunches and making sure they have enough kisses to get them through the day.
I love excitement of watching our kids play sports. MJ loves Football and has practice almost everyday for a couple hours (even in the 100 degree weather). Emily is doing Volleyball and Irish Dance. Between the two she is going, going and going. And Dad Loves Watching Football on TV.
I love General Conference and being spiritually recharged. This is my most favorite. I love listening to the Prophet speak the words we need to hear. The messages the counselors and Apostles give us. Conference fills my heart with love and graditude for what I have to be thankful for, which is so very much.

A Camping we will go...

UMM, Fishing, Campfires, Smores, Swimming, Relaxing & visiting family.. What more could we ask for? The last week was great. I forget how much we love to camp and realized that we must go more. Saturday, Mark and the kids woke up early for the Perch tournament. Out of 13 boats Mark, Angela and MJ came in 5th place. That morning while Mark was getting ready to go he found $28.00 in his pocket pants that he hasn't worn in over 3 years. So we bought our raffle tickets because we knew that we would be lucky, and we were. Mark won - a coffee maker (that we gave away), an Eagle statue, A microwave and a really nice electric boat motor for trolling. It was like Christmas. He put that motor on the boat and went a fishin'. He has wanted one forever!
Was nice to have the family all together.

By the Campfire.. My children's many talents...

Here are a few pictures. Unfortunately not many, my battery was low.

Will add later.

MJ Football Tryouts

Saturday morning was football tryouts for MJ. The Tri-Cities has great programs for the kids. They really like to keep them busy. Dad is very excited for MJ to play real football and will be volunteering. I am happy it will keep them both busy and off the computer games.
Heres a few picks from tryouts.

WARM-UPS

READY- SET

TACKLE

HIKE

I am super excited to watch MJ play this year. He starts practice today 5-7 every day till school starts and then practices 4 days a week during school and games on Saturday. Great Job MJ for making the team!!

Our very neglected Blog..

It has been a very busy month. The recap....

Week of June 1st ~
A busy week with Dr.s Appointments and allergy shots. Angela had her braces off but the retainers had a problems so we had to go in and get refitted. We both had allergy shots and I was lucky enough to get my boobs smashed into the x-ray machine. Yes I had a mammogram. I have had a lump for a while but luckily enough it is just a swollen lymph node. Not a big deal unless it starts growing larger.
As the school year came to an end Mark and Emily had lots of fun carnivals at school. Emily went on a field trip to Moses Lake Aquatic park with her orchestra/band classes. Its a fun trip they do at the end of each year. Emily has been taking extra lessons this week to prepare for her first Feis. She did very well for her first competition in Portland ~ Oregon state Championship Feis 2009 ~ First Feis, Reel ~ 2nd Place ; First Feis, Light Jig ~ 2nd Place; First Feis, Single Jig ~ 2nd Pace; First Feis Special, Reel Special ~ 1st Place; Beginner Figure, 2 Hand Reel ~ 1st Place. We found out that this is going to be lot of fun and can't wait till the next Feis in July.
Week of June 8th ~ The last week of school. With the excitement still fresh in my mind I went to the dance board meeting and was elected the "costume coordinator" and "Feis coordinator" , so I have been extra busy with cleaning and organizing the costumes that were handed over to me. I love doing this type of work and this is a small scale compared to working on the "Fiddler on the roof" performance for the Oregon City Stake, which consisted of about 130 performers. So I am excited to be involved with at project again and I have lots of plans.
Again this week we had shots and Emily had several dance practices again.
Week of June 15th ~ Again lots of Dr's appts and lots of Dance practices. Saturday, The AnDaire Irish dancers performed at the Prosser Scottish Festival. It was fun to see the different dance groups. This week we also started packing for girls camp, ExCitInG!!
Week of June 22 ~ Again Lots of Dr's appts.. I think they are all done picking on me, except for my shots of course. Monday, Angela left for girls camp, She is excited to be a YCL this year. I cant believe that she only has 1 more year left, how sad. We all love girls camp. Hopefully they will be some of the best memories the girls will have. Emily left for girls camp on Tuesday. She has been waiting for girls camp for years!! I asked her for fun .. How long have you been waiting to go to girls camp, she said " oh, for about 12 years now". Seriously this girl has been excited for camp. Thursday I kicked the boys out of the house for TWO DAYS. MJ was so excited to go on a trip motorcycle riding and camping. He only had a few crashes and can't wait to go again, so that's a good sign. Friday the girls came home from camp, exhausted. Saturday, the girls and I, took a trip down to Molalla for a family reunion on my moms side. Was a nice time, we spent lots of time visiting with my Aunts, Uncles and cousins whom we haven't seen for a few years.
Week of June 29th ~ Shots this week of course.. Dance practice at my house for 6 girls learning the 3 hand Reel for the Feis coming up in Seattle in a couple of weeks.
And in between all of this we have the Yard to work on. I think its coming around, not as fast as I would like, but we have all been very busy. Mark bought a boat that we are going to resale after he cleans it up a little.
So that is it in a nutshell. Hope everyone has a safe 4th of July.

Busy, Busy, Busy Barkleys

Its been very busy around here. Getting yard work done, having company, doing yardwork with company, Getting ready for Emilys first Feis, Emilys last Band and orchestra concerts. I am looking forward to this weekend ~ more yard work.
It is coming together, so thats good and the grass is starting to be green on our side of the fence now!!
Someday when I get my camera fixed I will post some pics.
Have a great week.. TTFN

Emily

Yesterday Emily stayed home from school. It is not like Emme to miss school even when she is sick. Igot up early to take her to orchestra and she was asleep. Angie said she tried to wake her several times so I knew she needed some extra sleep so I let her sleep in till 10:00 hich is very unusual. Anyways, What she did was so cute. mark and I took MJ to get his scout shirt and when we came home she cleaned up our room and gave us cute little cards. She said " you should have seen how it put a smile on your face" . And it did. She is so thoughtful and I thank her for the example she is to me. Boy do I need to become more child like in Christ teachings.
Thank you Emme.

Tis the Season..

To do yard work, fa la la la la, la la la la
Scrub the windows and the tile work, fa la la la la, la la la la.
Now we start our day with gladness, fala la la la la lala la la la la.
No more lawn with yucky brownness
Soon well have the most glorious greeness, fa la la, lalala, la la la.

I once thought we would never have a yard. We rented this thing-a-ma-jigger from West Richland Rentals that tilled the top layer of the dirt, (eating all our dead weeds of course) and smoothed it back out into a wonderful layer of dirt (weeds and grass excluded). It was amazing!! We worked all day Saturday through the rain and into the night. Was soo much fun. The kids and I pulled weeds as Dad used the magic tool. We started to have some showers, ok rain, And wouldn't you know it ~ The kids started singing and dancing in the rain, got very muddy and then insisted to give everyone hugs to eachother, even dad and I. Luckily the washer has a super duty, extra soiled cycle for washing. Unfortunately, the next day neither Mark or I could move. My arms were numb and my body so sore that it hurt to even walk. That will teach me to get out of shape, HA! Its a good thing we have sun for the next week cuz theres more stuff to do. I sense a never ending project coming soon..

I can't stand it any longer!

Its 3:00 and time is SOOOOOO dragging on today. I am to be at the airport in 45 min. to pick my hubby up from the airport. I am SOOOOOO excited to see him. He has been gone to South Carolina for almost 2 long weeks. It is nice to have a small break from each other once in awhile but 2 weeks is way too long. I SOOOOOO love my Husband.

Today I found Joy in....

...The wonders of Gods beautiful Gifts, finding a Pink Dogwood tree that is full of color and life.
...Angelas beautiful smile when shes told that she gets her braces off at the next visit.
...The chilled air that freezes my tootsies to let me know that I am alive.
...The beautiful deep blue sky that invites me outside.
...that I miss my Husband.
...Seeing Stephanie Smile again and having her be at home.
...Knowing my children are becoming strong, independant and responsible.
...Having Angela drive me around to Dr.s appts. She gets allergy tested today.
...Having more energy today than I've had in the last week.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

I am total miserable with a cold and allergies, yuck, YuCk, YUCK!!! My am so stuffy and my face is soo itchy and red its awful. But I am determined to find the joy, so here it goes.....

~ My allergy shots start on Tuesday.

~ The sun is out and it is going to be a great weekend and no rain in site for the next 10 days!!

~ We will be home this weekend. After the last two weekends traveling it will be great to be home.

~ A big hip, Hip, Hooray the irrigation system is finally on. That means that we have a ton of yardwork to do which is exciting. Weeds and dirt are no fun to look at.

~ Angela's last day of driving school is today! Great job Angie!

~ My Heavenly Father loves and watches out for us!

~ Realizing that finding joy is not always about the material things in life. Finding joy is a state of spiritual well-being. A comfort in putting your worries in the Lords hand and knowing it will work out. Trusting Him and Surrendering control scares me and that is something I need to work on.

~ Starting a list of joys and realizing what needs to be done to find that joy.