Beautiful Dresses!

While I was volunteering at the school yesterday, the teacher gave each the students an opportunity to stand in from of the class and share something exciting that happened over the weekend.

During Carter's turn, he proclaimed the next time he goes to Disneyland he was going to fight all the bad Star Wars guys.  There was a collective "oooooooo" from all the 1st grade boys.

During Abby's turn, she announced that she had to go to the dentist tomorrow and gets to leave 5 MINUTES EARLY! Whew...don't want to miss that 5 minutes!

During Annie's turn, she said that her mom makes really beautiful dresses and she got to wear one to church.  "I was the most beautiful girl there".  I'm glad we are not shy about our beauty!

This could be a whole other post...but I did my first large holiday boutique this past weekend.  Wowzer!  What a fun experience!  It was a long and tiring two days, but I sold lots of my skirts and dresses, lots of Scentsy products and met lots of wonderful ladies!  My girls were hoping these dresses wouldn't sell so they could keep them!

Friendship Braids

My girlies have been trying to grow their hair out (much to their mother's dismay)!  We are finally to the point of pigtails and sometimes ponytails. 

Abby asked me the other day if her hair was long enough for "friendship braids".  "You mean French Braids, right"..."Right Mom...Friendship braids".

So a few nights ago, I "Friendshipped Braided" (is that even a word??) 3 little sets of hair. 

It took me an hour to do (this is definitely not a school-day hair-do).

We were sure excited about our new 'do!

Turkey Troting

Can I say brrrr.... Really..brrrrrr freezing! 

I got out of my car at 7:55am for the start time of 8:00am because it was so flippin' cold! 9 degrees mind you! I had on 4 shirts, 2 pairs of tights/windpants and it took me a 1.5 miles to start to feel my toes!

I really had a fun race. I had NO expectations other than I didn't want to come in last! I know my training isn't at top notch considering my recovering. I wasn't stressed out or psyched out! This whole "I just run what I run" attitude is awesome! I think I run so much better because I don't care as much!

It was a family running event!  Tim (who is really starting to get fast....I need to keep an eye on him), Mandy and Mike!  Everyone ran great times and had fun!

Free Give Away

Ok friends!  Here is a gal that knows how to design darling childrens clothing!  I'm lucky enough to sew a few of her sample for the international quilt market (really.....I SO hit the jack pot!!).  Pink Fig Patterns is giving away a few of her quilts in her NEW fabric line.  Check it out:

http://www.pinkfigdesign.blogspot.com/

Jumping Annie

I think the "rite of passage" into first grade is learning how do to the monkey bars and learning how to jump rope!  Our girl Annie has been a monkeying and jumping queen.

She asked Tim if she could use her hard earned cash to buy her very own jump rope.  She and Tim looked online.

They only sold her style of jump rope in packages of two.  She declared that she only needed one.  She didn't understand why she had to pay for shipping or tax.

So she and Tim made the deal that she would only have to pay $5 for her jump rope and Tim could use the other rope for $5, shipping, and tax.  What a deal!

She hasn't stopped jumping since it came in the mail!

Carter's "Not So" Sports

I'm a bit late at getting around to Carter's soccer  and basketball season.

Soccer was definitely not a sport we will pursue!  Carter was constantly making goals for the opponent and goofing around with team-mates.  He was a good goalie thought!  But he did have fun!

He is playing basketball right now and Tim is his coach.  According to our son, sometimes it is good to have Dad as coach and sometimes it is not.  He had to dribble a basketball everyday down to the stop sign.  Slowly, but surely he is getting the hang of it.  He is more interested in what kind of treats they will be getting after the game!

Pumkin-licious

Halloween definitely went out with a bang this year!

First we decorated cookies and carved pumpkins.  The kids each got to carve their very own pumpkin this year (with help from Dad):

Next we went to Gardner Village to check out all the witches:

Abby chose to get her face painted instead of getting a treat.  MAN ALIVE, this girl was excited:

Trick or treating was damped by big rain showers, so our time was cut short.  But it was still fun!

The candy was promptly thrown into the garbage on Monday night by Mom.  The kids just can't handle the sugar.  Oh well!

My First Mini Sprint

My attitude going into this race was SO completely different than any other race I've ever done.  I'm usually a stress mess - I let the race get to my head and I psych myself out.  But this is why it was different:

1.  This is my first race since December 31 - Beat the New Year.

2.  I've been battling this stupid stress fracture since January 2010 and consequently haven't run a consecutive 3 miles (I usually have to walk a bit in between each mile to give my ankle a rest).

3.  I've never done a triathlon before.

4.  I felt like I really didn't "train" that hard for this race (these past few weeks I've been so preoccupied with getting a gazillion articles of clothing sewn).

 I had an open house last night for all my children's clothing ans Scentsy, but was able to get to bed by 9:00pm.  Oh....it was so nice to sleep!

I went and picked up the babysitter at 7:00am and Tim and I headed off to the Orem Rec Center.  Though it was warm, there was still a bit of chill in the air.

We dropped off our bikes in the transition area, picked up our race packets, timing chips and got our arms and legs numbered (that by far was the coolest part of doing a triathlon!  I felt totally official).



We went back to our bikes and I started watching all the "PRO'S" hang out by their gear.  I felt like such a fish out of water - I had NO idea what I was doing!



 We went for a quick potty break (having to take off all the layers of clothes over a swim suit was a PAIN).

We took a quick spin on our bikes.  It felt good to warm up, but then I started to think how out of shape I really am!  How slow I am on a bike and what a terrible swimmer I was.

My main goal during the run was to help Tim run a consistent race.  But silly me, I didn't bring my Garmin and they didn't have mile markers.  I felt OK during the run, but I could feel that my lungs were sucking air.  Definitely need to bump up the miles.

As I rounded the corner to the finish...I kept thinking "I still have to bike and SWIM".  But quickly took off my shoes, put on my helmet and swore because Tim was already gone.  So I ran through the transition area and clipped into my peddles.

When I train on my bike, I am SLOW SLOW SLOW!  But today, I was a lot faster.  I consistently passed people.  We had to go up this GIANT hill on 400 south in Orem.  Though it was hard and I was really sucking air, but I didn't die and was able to recover quickly.  That was a real confidence booster.  We had to do the bike loop twice.

 I quickly dismounted from the bike, threw my gear down and headed to the pool.  Running in a swim suit to not fun! That swim was the STINKEST thing I've ever done.  There were so many people in the lanes and I kept getting kicked and hit.  In the shallow end, I ran faster than I swam.  My goggles were constantly foggy and my contacts were getting messed up.  I just kept thinking, 5 more laps to go, 4 more laps to go....But then I was done.

 Tim was at the finish with his parents. He finished 3 minutes ahead of me.  I'm so competitive, who cares if he is my hubby, it made me mad he beat me!  I told him to was "GO TIME" at the next tri!

We dried off and got dressed.  They had posted the results and I had to do a double check.  I placed 6th in my AG - but there were 3 of us that finished at 1:13:00, so if I would have been 2 seconds faster, I could have come in 4th!   Given my training for the past several months, I feel ok about the race (I can definitely run and bike faster).  I definitely want to do another tri!

Run:  25:35
T1:  1:54
Bike: 34:04
T2:  1:17
Swim: 11:03

Total:1:13:55

Hotels

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to stay in a hotel in Salt Lake.  Thankfully, Tim has oodles of hotel points and we are able to do this fun adventure.

The kids had fall break awhile ago, so we headed up on a Friday afternoon.  We took a tour of the Conference Center.  Carter was quite confident in his asking questions to the tour guide (we need to work on our tact though!!).

We had a picnic dinner at the park and even played with one of the Utah Jazz players and his family.

We swam in the pool and fully participated in the hotel's "happy hour" of popcorn and soft drinks.  We rented a Red Box and watched a movie.

An "all-you-can-eat" breakfast is definitely a favorite.  I think Abby ate 5 bowls of Fruit Loops - she kept saying how yummy they were.

I love how we leave all the work behind and 100% focus on being a family.  No dishes to do, no toys to pick up, no taking out the trash, just playing and having fun.

Then it was home to do yard work :)

Order

This post is dedicated to Tim.

I guess you could call Tim and I a bit obsessive about being organized.  Everything has a place and it that place it should be.  Not to say we don't make messes or that there aren't piles in our house (those piles would belong to me and they drive me nuts), but in general there is order flowing through the house.

While I've been sewing, I've let things go.  Breakfast dishes will sit in the sink until dinnertime.  Folded laundry sits on top of the dryer waiting to be put away.  Shoes need to be put up on the shelf in the garage. That little piece of paper on the floor needs to be picked up.  All the bits of thread and fabric need to be vacuumed up.

Though I've been getting a lot of sewing done, my life feels a bit out of order.

I've had to stop several time and just get a few house things done.  I can't concentrate when things aren't where they are suppose to be (I know...just let it go...but I can't).  I love the scripture about having a house of order.  I truly believe that everyone (in the Barlow family) is happier when we have order.

Talents

I knew that raising children would not be an easy task...actually quite difficult.  I knew raising three children of the same age would generate comparison between them.  I knew that there would be emotional sadness when someone would be invited to a birthday party and someone else wasn't.

We had our first "real" comparison meltdown last week.  It has been on my mind constantly.  Worrying and wondering how I can make my children know how individually important they are.

The meltdown was over someone being on a different level reading book at school.  That morning, I had asked that child to give our family prayer before we left to school.  That child specifically ask that they would remember words in their book and be able to move up a reading level.  That was my first sign someone was upset about something.

Oh, the tears that were shed that afternoon.  The "I'm not as smart as" or "why can't I be like that" comments that spilled out at the kitchen table while doing homework.  My heart truly ached for my sweet child that sat on my lap.

We had a long talk about how everyone has God-given talents.  Some are good readers, some are good at arts or sports, some are good at making friends, but we are each different.  Our Heavenly Father designed us that way because if we were all the same, we couldn't learn and grow.  But it is so hard for a 6 year old to understand this concept.

Since then, we've had a few more tears shed.  These sweet spirits that come from heaven are so tender.  They want so much to please and to feel important.  They are aching to be emotionally built up and to shine.  It is my job as a parent to make sure all this happens.  There are days when this task is so overwhelming.  Though they are triplets, they are so different.  Their needs and personalities are so different.

I can only imagine what it will be like when we have teenagers!

A Date for Lunch

I have a friend who checks her kids (one by one) out of school and takes them on a lunch date.  I think that is a FANTASTIC idea, so I swiped it!

Today, this handsome fellow was my date:

When I check him out, the front office lady called on the loud speaker to their classroom that Carter was being checked out (I guess that is REALLY cool to have all the classmates hear you are leaving).

He came charging down the hall with a smile the size of Africa across his face!  How can you not be excited to go out to lunch with such a happy guy?

We went to Subway (they would all choose Mcdonald's, but I can only handle that grossness every so often).  The Subway lady asked if he was in 4th grade!  He kept saying how cool he was now!

He chattered non-stop about school, Junie B Jones books, and mostly Star Wars.  It sure was fun to share a few minutes with him alone.

(Well this faithful sidekick was there too, but she was busy slurping down her orange drink):

Thanks Carter for making my day!

Rain Rain Go Away...

It finally went away in Moab and we had a sweet ride on the Slick Rock trail. 

Pulling into the parking lot of the trail can be a bit intimidating!  There are cyclists (and "dudes") from all over the world with some sweet gear.  Then there was us (I guess we had sweet gear too according to Tim)!

Regardless, we had fun riding, no one got hurt, kids were having fun at home and there was sunshine!

Arches National Park

Slick Rock Trail Head

Tim and Blair ready to ride!

Tim and I enjoying the red rock beauty!

Rain Rain Please Stay...

Life has been a bit "busy".  In the midst of all the craziness, Tim and I had a weekend get-a-way to Moab, Utah to mountain bike Slick Rock (a world famous trail...full of technical tricks).  But it is raining like cats and dogs.  You can't ride a slick rock in the rain....it is too slick.

So we are relaxing in the condo with our good friends watching movies.  Who watches movies on Friday at 3:30pm?  Really....who?

I don't feel cheated of a vacation, because it is the most relaxation I've felt in a long time.  Sleeping in, going for a run, driving through beautiful national parks, and hanging out with good friends.

See, I've been in my sewing room for approximately 3 weeks now sewing like a mad lady.

I was invited to sell some handmade children's clothing at a Christmas boutique.  While buying fabric for this boutique (I had 20 bolts of fabric at the cut counter...that poor employee), some lady asked me what I was planning on doing with so much fabric.  "Sew lots and lots of clothes", I replied.  She mentioned that she owned a consignment store just down the street from my house and would I bring some samples by.  Sure thing!

Meanwhile, I received a package from a children's pattern designer to sew her samples for the Houston quilt show.  Her new patterns and fabric line are amazing and it has been a treat to see the latest and greatest fashion!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE to sew.  It is amazing to take a bolt of fabric and turn it into an garment of clothing.  It hasn't been stressful at all.  I've been sewing clothing that has expanded my sewing skills.  Stretched my limits.

Plus, I decided to become an independent Scentsy consultant.  Their scented waxes are delish!  So my bi-annual open house is coming up and I've been trying to get ready for.

So many tender mercies and blessing!

Can you spell F-U-N?

We had our annual "B-M-W" friend campout and it was very fun 24 hours.

These are all our good "B-M-W" friends!  Man, we have a lot of kids!

We are practicing our "snipe" call.  A campout isn't complete without a snipe hunt!  We look for snipe tracks in the trees, make the snipe call and the snipes magically appear (aka Oreo Cookies).  Amazing!

Yummy, nummy JUMBO sized smores!

Cozy by the campfire and listening to the country band at the amphitheater on the other side of the campground.

Yummy hot chocolate and breakfast (Abby had forgotten by then that a bear was trying to get in our tent at 3:30am).

Fun times by all!  Can't wait for next year!

Don't want to forget

There are few things that I just don't want to forget (nobody else probably cares, but I want them written down).

1.  My sweet Annie was taunting her youngest sister with hair bows.  Consequently, Annie got the wrath of her mother that morning (mom was trying to get everyone out the door for school and was rushing).  After some calming down, we all knelt down for family prayer.  I asked Annie to say it.  It was the most heart-felt prayer - she asked that everyone would be safe at school, be kind to their classmates,  and make new friends.


After the amen, everyone rushed out the door.  I gave my oldest daughter a big hug and expressed my love for her and told her I was sorry.  I told her that Heavenly Father heard her prayer and He knows who she is.  She started to cry.  I asked her if she was feeling the spirit and she just smiled.  There is so much to learn from these little spirits.


2.  For anyone who has been around us, knows we are LOUD.  LOUD - LOUD - LOUD!  I know that everyone needs to be heard, has an opinion, and has something to say, but we don't need to be as loud as we are.


So we had a Family Home Evening last week on reverence.  We asked the kids what it means to be reverent...and this is the part I don't want to forget....Carter answered that we need to be reverent in our hands, feet and body.  Peachy told us that we need to fold our arm when we pray.  We talked about having reverent voices and actions.  We reminded that kids about being reverent in school.


At dinner tonight, I asked the kids how they were reverent at school today.  They all gave me "text book" answers.  Then they proceeded to tell me how "somebody in our family" got their name written on the board.  Someone else pushed in the line.


I'm glad they were honest and we challenged them to try again tomorrow.  They have to report at dinner.  One step at a time.

Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffett, sat on her tuffet....

Trying potty train.  Mom painted two bathrooms, while Miss played video games and drank Kool-Aid (it was the first time I've ever bought that stuff).

But we still are not wearing panties and I'm still buying diapers.  Sigh....

R-o-d-e-o....

At the end of every summer, our church has a rodeo.  Yep, mutton bustin', chicken chasing, cash cow, etc.  Cow boys through and through!

We went to the hoedown Friday night, but didn't participate in the square dancing (my partner wouldn't dance :)   ) .  The kids had fun doing the chicken dance though and we all tasted the yummy dutch oven desserts!

Tim represented the Barlows in the 5K run and ran a great time!

We played games, ate cotton candy and popcorn, rode in the parade, and watch a good rodeo!  We came home tired and dirty....hence the fun time we had!

Abby at the bobbing for apples game

The girls before the parade

Some of us were not excited to have our picture taken in the parade line up!

Georgia is a pro at riding her scooter.  She was passing kids left and right!

Annie and Carter playing a game

All the kids took full advantage of the cotton candy and popcorn (maybe that is why we got a case of the pukes....)

The Last One to Go

Somebody started school this past week and thinks she is BIG stuff! Too bad her mom thinks she still her baby girl (after all she is still in diapers...potty training story coming....and sleeps in a crib....sigh).  But she marched right up to the front door of the school and waved goodbye. 

I'm still trying to compile my feelings with this .... all to nothing.... concept.  For so long, I had so many kids at home.  Mom mojo all the time.  Intensity.  Now, I've got 3 kids in school all day and 1 in twice a week.  I'm needing to find my role in this "new" path my family is heading down.

But alas, she had a wonderful time at school.  Recess, snacks, the letter A....it was everything a preschool should be.  I do miss my little buddy though!

A Weekend of Labors.....

I love Labor Day.  It means fall is coming, the leaves will be turning color, cooler temperatures and Swiss Days.

I love going to Swiss Days.  There are so many talented crafters out there, yummy food, a gazillion people and it is usually hotter than hot!  Tim loves to go too (not so much)!  So when I told him I was going with his sister Mandy, he breathed a sigh of relief!

As soon as I dropped the big kids off at school, we headed to the quaint little town of Midway.  We did lots of looking, eating, and window shopping!

These two cousins were rockstars and had fun enjoying the madness together!

This weekend, we also went on our first "official" hike.  We took the kids up to Battle Creek Canyon - a good starter trail.  We borrowed a back pack to carry Georgia.  The weather was really chilly, but the kids charged up that mountain like Billy Goats.  We had so much fun looking at spider webs, caves, bugs and throwing rocks (everything that encompasses a good hike).

Carter also had his Super Saturday with Dad and wanted to go hiking (with just boys) with two of his best buddies.  From what I heard, they found ancient ruins, crocodile tracks and all other sorts of silly 6 year old boy stuff!

Birdies

I recently made a new messenger style bag.  I found this cute bird fabric and decided tried to make my own  applique bird pattern.  My four birds...each with their initial on it!  It was fun to make!

Glitter Feet

A few weeks, I was going through the big girls' old clothes to find some fall stuff for Georgia for the upcoming cooler weather.  She found these pink, glittery shoes of Annie's and would not take them off.  How can you say no to pink glitter?

Jobs

When the kids turned 6, they entered into the "doing specific jobs around the house" rite of passage.  Of course they have done jobs, but now we felt they were ready to do bigger jobs.

And WOW has this lightened my cleaning load (maybe we should have started sooner)!  Some jobs are more preferable than others....cleaning windows is a favorite, but wiping off light switches is not.  I also have a list of jobs they can do to earn money.  One of the highest dollar job is to clean out the drawers.

3 drawers = $.25

They have to empty the drawer, vacuum it out, wipe it out and put everything back into it.  Now one of my children ( no naming names) is an exceptional cleaner.  Perfectionist!  This kid finished all her regular jobs first and wanted to earn some extra cash.  PLUS she wanted to do drawers.  The angels started singing and I was willing to fork out the cash (plus a little tip).

She did all my kitchen drawers and my bathroom.  I felt so much happiness with my drawer cleans and she earned a lot of money!

Fishy-Fishy-Fishy

I'm finally getting on the ball with all our summer fun!  That is what happens when the kids go to school....

I'm one of those mean, mean moms who makes her kids take swimming lessons every summer.  Kids need to learn how to swim.  End of story.

We usually take swim lessons at the local rec center, but this year we struck gold when it comes to swimming teachers.  I found a lady who teaches at a private home for the same price as I paid last summer.  These instructors were magical to watch.  My kids were under their spell!

Every night during dinner when we asked them what their favorite part of the day was, they would proclaim "SWIMMING"!  They swam in a salt water pool - I guess the water doesn't sting their eyes.  We made leaps and bounds of progress.  Next summer, we are taking lessons all summer long!

The house where the pool was located was amazing!  I should really call it a compound!  In addition to the pool, they had a large swing set, an enormous garden and a chicken coup.  But Georgia's favorite part of swim lessons was playing with the owner's dog.  She followed that puppy around every day. 

The dog's name was "Happy" - it certainly made her happy!

Peachy would also sit and read!