A New Bike!!!

Ellie got the best surprise today. At about 6:00 tonight the doorbell rang... and guess who it was Papa Leo and Grandma Candice! But that wasn't all. Papa Leo told Ellie to come help him get Tanner's stroller out of the back of his car and when he opened the back door what did Ellie see? A brand new Princess Bike! The same bike she had asked Papa to get her the night before! She was so excited! Papa adjusted the seat and handles and got it all ready for Ellie to ride, who said the bike was perfect!

After Papa and Grandma left our house we took the bike out for a ride. I walked and Tanner rode in his stroller, now we need to get a bike trailer for Tanner so I can ride my bike with Ellie. We were gone for 30 minutes, but Ellie wasn't tired... Thank goodness it was getting dark, or I might have been out there forever!

Go Tanner!

Tanner figured out how to ride the scooter today! It was so cute how he kept trying until he got it. Usually Tanner doesn't stay at one activity for too long, but he was having too much fun!

Scicon Barbecue

Every year we go to the Scicon Barbecue, so we can help digup the meat pit. This year we went up the night before and had dinner at aunt Bea's house. Dinner was delicious and we had a lot of fun visiting with everyone. Jessica came home from school for the weekend and Aunt Julie and Uncle Jim were visiting from Florida. That night we stayed in one of the cabins. Ellie was so excited about staying there and she got to sleep on the top bunk! The next morning we had breakfast at Kevin and Bea's, then we headed off to the pit. Ellie was really interested in digging up the meat. She was confused to why the meat was in the ground, but she thought it was fun. After the meat was all out of the pit we enjoyed the tradition of wrapping it in tortillas and salsa. Every year the man that drives the Hummer bring tortillas, home made salsa, and some store bought salsa for the weaklings. After we are done eating we head down to the Barbecue and look at all the booths, and join in some of the activities they have.

Jessica and Ellie watching Beauty and the Beast.

For some reason Ellie was feeding Uncle Jim bugs. Mmmm.... Yummy. I think Jim likes the bugs!

Bea and Tanner watching Beauty and the Beast.
The whole time we were at Bea and Kevin's Tanner carried around this jar of jelly beans.
Ellie wanted to help dig up the meat. She only dug for a little while because it was too hot. It was hot!!! I was smart enough to just watch all the nasty sweaty people digging in the hot, hot sun!

All the kids enjoyed playing in the dirt.

Uncle Kevin and Uncle Jim taking the meat out.

Aunt Julie and Uncle Jim sawing off a piece of wood. Brian and I cut one too. After you cut it they burn a picture of Smokey the Bear on it. Jim and Julie made theirs for their grandson back home. Ellie wouldn't help Brian saw the wood, so I got to do it instead. Ethan had fun helping his mom saw one off too.

Easter

We spent Easter in Madera this year. We had good food and lots of fun. Everyone was there from the Barnes side. Even Katrina, Danica and Gavin came. We ended the celebration late. We played Balderdash that night after Tanlin was able to come join us. This is one of my family's favorite games.

No Tanner!! Stop stealing Gavin's eggs! Tanner was quick to realize that the eggs had candy in them. Instead of trying to find the eggs himself, he kept trying to steal eggs from everyone else's baskets. Poor Gavin, was Tanner's best Target because he was the youngest.

Breanna and her boys.

Ellie and Kaleigh enjoying their candy.

Zoo Craziness

Over spring break we got to go to the zoo with my mom, sisters, and their kids. It was Tanner's first trip to the Zoo. He absolutely loved it. Ellie had fun too... well, as much as one can have when they are sick. We had just gotten past the Monkey cages when Ellie threw up. I told her that we could go home and she could put on pajamas and watch movies, but she insisted that we stay. Besides Ellie throwing up, the highlight of the trip was stingray bay. Kaleigh touched a shark! Tanner touched a stingray... Caden might have too, but the rest of the kids were chickens.

Tanner on a leash. This boy is crazy! Kaleigh thought it was fun to "walk" Tanner.

Of course, we had to have icecream... Tanner and I shared one, but I didn't get much.

After we left the zoo, we had a picnic. And before we could leave the park all together we had to feed the ducks. Check out Ellie's face! She was trying so hard to throw the bread as far as she could.

Thunderstorms.....

Oh how I love Lightning and Thunderstorms. I am sitting here next to my kitchen window... I've decided that this is the best viewing point in my house. Lightning is flashing all around me. It's beautiful! My favorite part is not the Lightning, its actually the thunder. And its putting on quite a show for me right now. It even set my neighbor's car alarm off three times so far! I am having so much fun! But I am wishing that you were here with me. I remember sitting and watching the lightning with you since, well I've always used to watch them with you. My favorite storm we watched together was in Utah. Remember when you took me to that look out point and lightning was lighting up all the mountains in the Valley... It was awesome. Utah has some great storms. I tried to go to bed earlier, but I couldn't. I just had to come make me some hot chocolate so I could sit, watch and listen. So heres to you Meghan, I hope you have had or are going to get this show! I wish you were here, Brian doesn't share the love of Thunderstorms with me!

A Trip to the Coast

On Saturday we took off to the coast. It was nice to get out of the Valley. We played at the beach for awhile, but it was too windy and cold to get in the water. Ellie was very disappointed, I had to assure her that we would come back when it got warmer. I also had to put a leash on Tanner so he couldn't run off to the water, boy am I glad I put that thing in the glove box. We got a lot of looks from people, but it sure beat chasing him. We actually got to sit there and build sand castles. Tanner eventually got over being tied to me, but every once in a while he would try to take off, but he didn't get far. On our way home we stopped in Gilroy and I got the dishes I've been wanting for a couple years. I am so excited to finally have gotten them.

My Beach Babies.

Picinic Season Has Begun

I love Picnics. Last Tuesday we went to the Park and had dinner. I love it when it stays lighter longer. I love having dinner at the park and I am restarting up my Taco Bell Thursdays at the park, so if you are ever bored on a Thursday evening grab some grub and come to the park. It was a beautiful evening, we took a blanket to sit on while we ate our Taco Bell. I was amazed that Tanner actually sat down and ate before he even tried to go to the playground. Usually when we go to the park for a meal I just let him take bites in between going down the slide. After the park we went home and watched Bolt. It was a cute movie and a fun evening.
Ellie's Favorite thing at the park are the Swings. I use to spend most of the time at the Park pushing Ellie on the swings, but those days are close to being over. She is getting good at swinging by herself these days.

Tanner on the other hand likes to swing, but only for a second. He prefers to be free, to run, to climb, and to just go crazy.

I love this picture.

And this one. Ellie Smiling... and in the background Tanner is giving his daddy some love.

Do you remember those days? When someone was spinning you around? I remember begging my dad to spin me around and around. I don't remember what was more fun, the actual spinning or trying to walk after it was over.

Spring Time Fun

Spring brings warm weather and beautiful gardens. It also brings helpful hands that beg to help water the flowers. Ellie loves to help with watering, but mostly she just likes to play in the water. If you give Ellie a hose she will somehow "accidentally" get all wet and so will Tanner. By the time Tanner was finished getting a drink he was completely drenched! Bring on the warm weather and the hours of time spent outside in the sun!

Just for you Mom...

I think it is safe to say.... I do not have a career in computer art.

These first two are recreations of one of my Tree print from printmaking. I had to scan it into the computer and change it. Which one do you think I should turn in?

This is my lovely scanscape. Let's see.... The clouds are cough drops, the sea is a sleeve from my sweater, the boat is seed pods, the mast is pretzels, and the sail is made of leaves.

Um.... I don't think I need to say anything about this one.

This is what I was working on for my Art Theory class.... What do you think it means? Haha

I know what you are thinking.... "I'm sure glad I'm not the one paying for this"

Ellie as a Monet

For one of my assignments at school I had to bring in a picture and recreate it using another artist's style. I chose to try and recreate a photo of Ellie in Monet's style. It is not completely done, but I really like the way it is turning out and wanted to share it. I will re-post it when I have finished it, but for now... enjoy this sneak preview.

Ellie's favorite food is....

BROWNIES!

This morning as I was getting ready for school Ellie brought me a brownie mix and asked if we could make them. I told her that maybe we could make them after I got home from school. She was disappointed with my answer and asked if I could stay home. Unfortunately that was not an option, so off to school I went leaving a sad Ellie holding a brownie mix in her arms. It made me wish that I could ditch out on school that day. When I went to pick her up from grandma's house the first thing she said to me was, "Can we make brownies?" Of course I told her yes, but we had to wait until after dinner.

After dinner Ellie ran into the kitchen and put on the apron aunt Eileen made her and exclaimed, "Get me a chair mom, I want to help!" I let her do all the mixing, just look at that concentration!

Of course you can't make brownies and not lick the spoon.

Farewell to Libby Lu

Lindsey, Dylan, Kaleigh, Christina, Jordan, and Ellie at Libby Lu... The before shot. This was Ellie's first and last trip to Libby Lu. For those of you that don't know, Libby Lu was a store in the mall that did makeup and hair for girls and sold lots of fun girlie girl items. Unfortunately the store is owned by Sacs, which due to the bad economy is closing down. Therefore... Goodbye Libby Lu! Ellie's cousin Kaleigh has always wanted to take Ellie to get makeovers done together, but I thought we would wait until maybe Ellie was old enough to remember the experience. Then we found out that they would be closing and we just had to go. Meghan set up a fairwell to Libby Lu party and asked two of Kaleigh's friends to come and bring their little sisters who are friends with Ellie. This is the before photo of the girls... Ellie dosen't get whats going on yet.... she doesn't look very amused, does she?

Ellie's frown has miraculously turned upside down! She's starting to get whats going on. They let the girls dress up. They chose to be sparkly.

Here the girls are picking out their hairdo.

Ellie loves to get here nails painted.

Here goes the makeup....

Now the hair... Look at that Smile. She is in heaven.

Ellie kept making these really funny faces.... I like to call them her "I feel so pretty" face.

After finishing their hair the girls got fairy dust sprinkled in their hair so that they could make a wish.

This is how the finished do looked. Dosen't Kaleigh's hair look beautiful?

Kaleigh and her friend Lindsey admiring their new look.

Ellie and Kaleigh... The joy in their faces... This is what made the whole trip worth it.

My little Superstar!

The finished look. It is so much fun to have a girlie girl who loves to dressup and paint her nails. They got to take the makeup they put on home with them. Ellie loves it, plus I don't have to chase her away from mine anymore. Ellie also got fairy wings, a wand, and her very own fairy dust. She loves it all. I had so much fun watching the girls... they were all just so happy.

Too Much Fun, Not Enough Sleep

Yes, that is a purse on her head. I guess this is what happens when you are sleep deprived and only four years old.

New Year's Eve

What makes celebrating the New Year so fun? Playing a good game with family and eating yummy food. This year we went to my Parent's house to bring in the New Year. We had lots of fun things to eat, such as, pizza, meatballs, spinach dip, taquitos, guacamole, and root beer floats. The adults enjoyed a couple rounds of Carcassonne. My cousin Katrina and I were a team and successfully kicked everyone's booty the first time around. However, Brian made it in time for the second game and well.... he ended up the winner.

This is the board during our second game. My people are the green ones. Carcassonne is a really fun game to play. It got pretty cutthroat at times. Who knew my family could play so dirty! It was tons of fun. Yay for Meghan and Danny for owning such a cool game!

Yes... I let Tanner stay up the whole time. He is very wired. No evidence of tiredness is there?

Ellie enjoyed taking pictures of everyone. She loves camera's.

This is one of Ellie's photos... Looks kind of artsy to me. Maybe she has a future in photography?