Good Bye 2007 and Hello 2008

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

We wish each of you a happy and healthy New Year!

Holiday Concerts...

Getting ready for their holiday concert - what cute boys!


Megan's Choral and Band Concert - (she plays the clarinet) she did so good! What a cutie!

Austin's band concert - (back row) Did really well and loves playing the trumpet!

Spencer & Cameron's holiday concert was so cute!

So many things to do - so little time...but we got through it all. Barely. Each of the kids had a Holiday Concert - different days, different times. They all did a wonderful job - it was just a little crazy! But like I said, we got through it, barely. I am glad we have lots of cute pictures and videos to enjoy!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Every year, we get to open one Christmas present on Christmas Eve. It is always the same thing, but the kids never show less that complete excitement every year! We love to get our new PJ's and wear them while we watch a Christmas movie - this year we watched "It's A Wonderful Life" - one of my favorites! Merry Christmas!

Hip Hip Hooray!

No More Cast!!

Cameron got it off just in time for Christmas! He got it off the 14th - but I have been a little slow on the posts - so now I am catching up! He only had to wear this brace for a few days! Luckily, it healed really well and there are no more worries!

He took the brace off for good on the 21st - yeah!!!

uh oh....

"So, Mom, is this what happens when your big sister doesn't have a sister" (quote from Cameron)

Megan was thrilled to have convinced him - Cameron was only slightly less enthusiastic - and asked to only wait until the Christmas break started "in case we have to take our shoes off - I don't want any of my friends to see" was Cameron's only concern (so I blog it - what kind of mean mom am I!?!?!?) This also goes to show that Cameron loves his big sister and is willing to put up with all her crazy ideas of "fun" things to do!

Our Beautiful Tree

We used to be the "go cut down a tree and make a special day of it" family, but I have come to my senses with the whole idea -- and we purchased a beautiful tree last year -- that will last forever -- so now we are the "go get it from the attic, assemble, and plug it in" family -- love it. I bought a pine scented candle so we won't miss the smell -- and I DO NOT miss the mess!! We had so much fun decorating the house and the tree...and I realized how great my kids are - this is one of my most favorite picture this season. Cameron had the perfect spot for one of his decorations, and luckily he had a good big brother to help him reach it.

I've been tagged...

Ok, so here are 7 random things about me...

1) I have finally given up DrPepper, a 15 year friendship (of about 3 or 4 a day) is GONE. DONE. And oddly, I am ok with it!

2) I LOVE girls' night out - my favorite!!! Anyone up for P.S. I Love You this weekend????

3) Christmas is by far my most favorite holiday - and I love to buy (and wrap) gifts for myself - yes, I even put them under the tree - unless it is something I need before - then I just wrap the box! :)

4) I secretly play Christmas music in June.

5) I LOVE to read -- really late at night -- my favorite reading time is midnight to 2 am.

6) I really think I am creative, but not really because usually I have stolen cute ideas from someone else! I love to scrapbook and blog....with my stolen creativity!

7) I love all my friends like they are my sisters!

And I tag -- everyone and anyone who wants to be tagged - I want to hear 7 random things about all of you!

We've Been Elfed...

I love the Christmas Holiday - it is truly my favorite time of year. There are so many wonderful songs, and fun things to do -- the kids and I have had a lot of fun doing this fun little activity ...just click on the link and enjoy!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1464744505

What Happens at Wal-Mart stays at Wal-Mart???

Ok, so you will NEVER believe what happened at Wal-mart today. Allen & I were running a few quick errands, and we were looking at a couple things at Wal-Mart. It isn't anywhere near my top 10 places to shop, but they had what we needed ...anyway ...all the sudden, we started to hear yelling, commotion, and then employees yelling, SECURITY!!! So, since we were right around the corner, we of course, had to go see what in the world was going on!! So, we go around the isle, and oh my gosh, there was this lady screaming and these employees holding this guy back ...well, there apparently was an arguement, and this guy (who just happen to be a Wal-Mart employee) started beating up this lady! Yep, her husband was there and everything ...this "now former" wal-mart employee, was throwin' punches to a customer!!! So, what is the moral of the story? "customer beware - disgruntled employee on duty"

Ok, so back to the story - the lady was bleeding, and the managers tried to get a hold of the situation - the cops were called and the "assaulter" was held while the "assaultee" was excorted to the managers office to wait. This poor lady was bleeding - pretty badly - from an employee!! Then was the "it's all over - nothing more to see" from the managers as everyone left. What a crazy day!

Oh, such is life in New York -- right??!?!?!?

Favorite Friday Quote

The Love of Christ Will Never Fail Us
---------------------------------------------------

"We, the Lord's daughters, need to know that He loves us. We need to know that He sees the good in us. Feeling His love encourages us to press forward, reassures us that we are His, and confirms to us that He cherishes us even when we stumble and experience temporary setbacks. Our Heavenly Father loved us before we came to this earth. I know that He loves us, as does His Son, Jesus Christ. That love will never change--it is constant. You can rely on it. We can trust it. Just as the motto of Relief Society reminds us that 'charity never faileth,' we must believe that the love of Christ will never fail us. All that we do should reflect the love of our Savior and the love of our Heavenly Father. This great love should be the source of our motivation to serve others. It must be both our point of origin and our destination!"

Bonnie D. Parkin, "Eternally Encircled in His Love," Ensign, Nov. 2006

It was a good weekend...

So, I feel bad for not posting the fun things we did over Thanksgiving weekend. Especially since there were a lot of fun things! Ok, so first, on Friday morning, the Middle School and High School bands brought in Santa! (They have a parade every year to bring Santa to Port Chester). It was really cold, but they all had a great time!

Next...
On Friday Night, I had a MUCH NEEDED Girls Night Out - we saw Enchanted - super cute! Super Fun Night!!!

Then...
Saturday, while the boys watched the BYU/Utah Football game (yeah BYU-Go Blue) A couple friends and I took our kids to see Enchanted - and yes, I had no shame going 2 days in a row!! Megan loved it - and going with one of her favorite friends was a plus!!

And...
On Sunday, I started playing Christmas music - I had bought my "new favorite" Christmas CD, Josh Groban's new NOEL earlier in the week but was in denial that Christmas was so close ----- non-the-less, I was COMPLETELY thrilled with my new purchase and it is a must have for all Christmas music lovers!

M.I.A.

I know I have been slightly M.I.A from the blogging world

sorry 'bout that my friends.

But these pics should fill you in on my life lately - without need for explanation or excuses. Hopefully things will get back to normal - well normal for the Barney's! Also, I have been doing a lot of reading - my peace - I have finished the entire Twilight series - twice. I loved it by the way! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Have a great weekend - oh, by the way - GO BLUE BYU!!!

Our Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving - Barney Style

Our day was eventful to say the least.

We spent a fun afternoon eating and enjoying hanging out with friends. Then, a cry of pain sent Allen & I running. The older boys were having fun swinging the younger kids by their arms and legs and throwing them onto the couch, harmless enough, right?! Well not this one time...Cameron slipped out of their grasp (he isn't the lightest kid in town) and he slipped, trying to catch his fall - with his hand, breaking his wrist. It isn't a bad break, luckily, it could have been much worse. But, bad enough to now enjoy a neon green cast for 4 weeks. The funniest part was when the Doc was explaining how to care for it - because - knock on wood - I have never broken a bone, nor had any of the kids to this point, therefore, I had never needed to know. Anyway, when he said not to get it wet, to put a plastic sack over it when bathing, Cameron said "I just won't take a bath anymore, first my ears, now my arm, I just won't take a bath because it is too crazy." Which is true, can't get water in his ears, and now his arm can't get wet. It was pretty funny. Anyway - the food was good, the company way good, the events were up for negotiation...Happy Thanksgiving - crazy Barney style. Hope you all had a wonderful day! Happy Thanksgiving - we are grateful for good family and friends!

My Tuesday Brain Teaser

Here is the brain teaser for this week...

There are 5 houses in 5 different colors. In each house lives a person of a different nationality. The 5 owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet. Using the clues below can you determine who owns the fish?

The Brit lives in a red house.

The Swede keeps dogs as pets.

The Dane drinks tea.

The green house is on the immediate left of the white house.

The green house owner drinks coffee.

The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.

The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.

The man living in the house right in the middle drinks milk.

The Norwegian lives in the first house.

The man who smokes Blend lives next door to the one who keeps cats.

The man who keeps horses lives next door to the man who smokes Dunhill.

The owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.

The German smokes Prince.

The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.

The man who smokes Blend has a neighbor who drinks water.

GOOD LUCK - (this one took me a while!!)

My Cute Niece Hannah

Ok, so my super cute niece Hannah (love you, HannahBanana!) absolutely loves Megan and called the other day telling me how much she loves watching videos of "her Megan". (Hannah is 3) - SO CUTE!! So, Hannah, here you go sweetie - you can sing along with Megan! We love and miss you!! (hit pause on the music at the bottom to be able to listen to Megan without the extra tunes!)

My Favorite Friday Quote

"The Lord's sweet assurance . . . can guide you and me in our time, in our day, in our lives. Of course, we will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well."

Thomas S. Monson, "The Call for Courage," Ensign, May 2004

Puzzle for the week

Ok, this weekly idea is inspired by my friend Denise. I love puzzles or brain teasers...helps me feel like I am warding off the inevidable dementia - for real!!

Here is my puzzle for the week...

Below are thirteen 5 lettered words, each of which has had two of its letters removed. In total, these 26 letters are A-Z. The remaining letters in each word are in the correct order. (basically, use all 26 letters of the alphabet - and the letters that are given, are in the correct order for the completed word) There are no words which are spelled differently based upon location (favour/favor, etc). Can you determine the original words?

_AI_E
S_UA_
_E_EL
_O_ED
_NA_E
FOG__
C__MP
B__JO
_R_IT
_RE_T
_AV_N
MU__C
MOU__

Who can be the first (for bragging rights) to figure out all 13 words!?

My Favorite Friday Quote

Stand Steady and True
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"Discipleship does not guarantee freedom from the storms of life. Even as we are wending our way carefully and faithfully along the strait and narrow path, we encounter obstacle and challenge. There are days, perhaps even months and years, when life is just hard. We experience our fair share of adversity, heartache, loneliness, pain, and grief--sometimes it seems more than our fair share. "What to do when adversity strikes? There is only one thing to do. Stand steady and see it through. Stay steadfast, constant, and true. The real tragedy in the whirlwinds of life comes only when we allow them to blow us off our true course."

David S. Baxter, Ensign, Nov. 2006

Welcome November!

Happy November (can you believe it is already November?!)
I love this time of year! I love to reflect on everything I am grateful for.
Here are my top 5 things today...
1. My Savior - Jesus Christ - without him I would not be here today.
2. My family - I have an awesome husband and 4 fantastic kids (and extended family!!)
3. My Friends - I love all of you!! You are the best!!
4. Beautiful Colors - helps me feel refreshed and new
5. Good Books - grateful to have them - to fill our minds with knowledge

I love Halloween

I love Halloween for a few reasons - but my favorite right now is... Trick or Treating with our friends - The Mulligans. They have 2 kids - Jake - who is Austin's age - and Hannah - who is Megan's age - and they are great friends. We have taken the kids trick or treating together every year we have lived here - and love it. We love hanging out with them and love this fun tradition.

The one thing I hate is when I forget to take pics at home - we were so ansy to get out of the house that I forgot to take a picture. So, along the way - I took a couple. Dang it - they all turned out like this - BLURRY!!! I hate that!!!!!! But, at least you can kinda see how cute they all are!!! But hey, it was dark and getting 6 excited kids (ok, just Cam and Spenc) to hold still - ya crazy. Well those are my reasons - ok excuses for the blurry picture - because it is NEVER my fault, right??!!

ahhh, man!!!

Ok, so my favorite show right now is...

Dancing with the Stars...(I know, I know, Lame)

BUT I can't help it. Guilty pleasure.

For those who watch it (or who do but won't admit it) please read on.

I am SO upset that Sabrina is gone! Megan & I have loved watching her every week - she made the show fun for us!! I totally thought that it was time for Jane (even though I love her - nothing personal) it was time for her to go. I can't believe the bottom two this week SHOCKER!!! Next week will be very interesting! Just thought I would share. We loved Sabrina.

Port Chester Halloween Day

I love Port Chester!

As a community - we celebrate most holidays together. It gets a little busy - especially with Austin playing in the band, as they have them play at most of the functions!

Again, Austin marched in the annual Port Chester Halloween Parade! The kids had fun watching the band play, and getting candy from the mayor! What a fun night!

Church Halloween Party

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

The kids had SO much fun getting ready for the ward Halloween Party this year. The boys decided to all be Army Men - and Megan wanted to be a witch. They all had a great time choosing their costumes - something that takes A LOT of patience and tongue biting on my part at times. So, when the decision was final - we were all VERY happy. Now, making sure they looked exactly the way they have been invisioning for the past 2 months - was another chore. But it all ended well - thankfully no major problems. Megan did her own make-up and Allen handled the boys - totally worked for me! This year Allen & I didn't dress up - what party poopers - I know. Oh well - can't steal the show every year - HA!!

Cameron's favorite was the pumpkin bowling, Spencer's favorite was the gooey eyeballs (from the spook alley), Meg's favorite was the fashion show, Austin's was the spook alley - because he helped prepare and run it with the rest of the YM & YW, Allen's favorite was the chili, and my favorite was seeing all my friends who I hadn't seen in a while from being gone.

It was a great night and we are so glad we went! We all had a "spook-tacular" time! Thanks to the fabulous Activities Committee (major shout out to Amanda) and Primary Presidency - you did such a great job putting it together!!

School Fall Festival

The kids' school has a "Fall Festival" every year - it is pretty much a fundraiser - but the kids love it and always have a good time. This year was fun because all the kids were able to be involved as students - now that Cameron is officially in school. They had a great time doing crafts, finding a needle in a haystack (for the coveted prize - a webkinz), fishing for spider rings, basketball toss, tire football, nail & face painting, cake walk, and lots of other games and activities. Austin was "too cool" (since he is in Middle School now) to play, so after helping prepare the church for the party that night, he came and helped with the games. Good times!

My Favorite Friday Quote...

Bringing the Peace of the Lord into Our Homes
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"Our families need the peace of God in their lives, and if we can't or won't invite the Lord into our lives, then our families become a reflection of our own turmoil. Women are asked to be nurturers to their families, but we must also be firm; we must be the hard rock footings on which our homes can stand. Our families need us to speak peace to them, just as the Lord speaks peace to us. Our homes need to be places where our families and friends want to be, where all who enter our homes can draw strength and courage to face the challenges of living in an increasingly wicked world. Our children need to hear us 'talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and preach of Christ' (2 Nephi 25:26) so that they may know to what source they can look for the peace that 'passeth all understanding' (Philippians 4:7)."

Kathleen H. Hughes, "Remembering the Lord's Love," Ensign, Nov. 2006

I SO was not thinking...

Ok, I know that I should have known this...but, I wasn't thinking (obviously)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my diet DrPepper to be nice and cold. Yesterday, I bought a new case of it and thought that I would just put a cup (glass one) in the freezer full of ice - then in a couple hours, I would be able to have a nice ice cold glass of soda. So, I did that. I put the cup of ice in the freezer. Well, I actually forgot about it until today. This morning was my cleaning day, and I thought, what better way to go about my cleaning, than with a nice, big, COLD glass of my favorite friend, DrPepper? I also decided to take the non-refrigerated soda, as not to waste an already cold one. I was SO wrong. I took out the glass and proceed to pour the soda in it when the cup started to spider out and then proceeded to well, explode. Nice idea, WRONG. Obviously, I also must have failed science. So, what is the moral to this story. Stop drinking soda? No way man, just don't pour a room temperature can into a completely frozen glass cup.

Dinner with the Girls

We had dinner before we went to Witches Night - Camille, Tonii, Cara, Jenny, Crista, Becky (me), Sarah, Aunt Nancy, and Mom - all the girls! We had such a great time at dinner - at the Old Spaghetti Factory - yummy and fun! It was so fun to be all together and enjoy good food and have such a good time. Aahhh, the memories!

Witches Night Out

WITCHES NIGHT OUT!!

It was Witches Night Out at Gardener Village in West Jordan (Utah) -we had SO much fun. Even though it started hailing, then snowing, then raining, then hailing again...crazy weather - but the crazy weather couldn't stop us from having a great time! We took a more calm approach to the dressing up - we just stuck with decorated witches hats and matching boas...super cute and I was totally fine with that idea. The shopping was awesome - and the company was perfect! We have such a great time that it is an annual thing for us girls!! The best part is that it is just the girls!!

(top picture: me, Nancy, Mom, Jen, Sarah & Tonii)

(middle picture: Sarah, Me, Aunt Nancy, Camille, Tonii, Jen - Mom taking photo)

Whahoo!! So Fun!!

Yes, that is hail on our clothes and all throughout the picture and we still managed to smile! It was cold, but we didn't care! This is my sister (in-law) Camille - we all had so much fun that night!!

The shopping was so much fun - we got some really fun things. So worth braving the storm!

Totally planning on next year ladies!!

My Funny Hunny....

Ok, so funny story.

Being gone for 8 days, required Allen to do a few typical "Mom" chores - dishes, laundry, cleaning (bathrooms, yuck) and other such daily activities - which I was so lucky to have mostly avoided while I was gone. Even though Allen is really helpful, he isn't used to doing all those things on a regular basis, which leads me to his story (personally, I would have kept the secret to myself, if nobody was around to witness it!!)

Allen went down to do some laundry. He took the clean clothes out of the dryer, put them in a basket, took the clothes from the washer, put them in the dryer, grabbed clothes, put them in the washer, started the washer, went to grab the clean clothes to take them upstairs, and where did they go???? He quickly realized he had grabbed the clean clothes and put them back in the washer!! I had to laugh because after he told me, he said "I felt like a hamster on the hamster wheel - just goin' in circles" hahaha

I know he would NEVER have done that on a normal day, right?!?!?!?

I love you babe!

A Nice Break

Ok, so I know it has been a while - but Megan and I went to Utah for 8 days. A much needed break from Westchester County. I have been telling Allen that I have Westchester County fever because I haven't been anywhere (besides one day in Philadelphia) since April. That is a really long time for me. Especially since we take a nice long family vaca every summer - and my Mom works for JetBlue which allows me to fly with some nice benefits - which I totally take advantage of!! This summer was a no-go for a plethera of reasons - unfortunately. So, I decided to "abandon" my boys (according to Spencer) and have a nice little break from reality. But, we are back and refreshed. Yeah!

She Made It!!

On Tuesday, Megan auditioned for All County Choir. All County is where they take a group of four students from elementary schools around the county and perform at Suny Purchase College in the All County Competition. And, Megan was one of them!! Her and 3 other students will be performing in December!!

We are so proud of you!!

GO MEGAN!!

Highlights of the year - so far...

Since I have just started this new chapter in our life - blogging - and since it is already October, I feel like I should highlight a few moments from this year that definitely deserve (and would have had) a spot on our new blog....

February 2007

Austin turns 12 - and is ordained a deacon - yikes - could I possibly be old enough to have a deacon? Both sets of Grandparents came for this special occassion - as well as one of Austin's most favorite people in the whole world - his Uncle Michael.

March 2007

Megan helps represent her school at the Science Math Olympiad.

It is a county wide competition of Math Science & Technology.

Her team did really well. Good Job Megan!

April 2007

Our family heads to Utah for Sarah & Josh's wedding - it was a great week! We loved seeing Sarah get married (still can't believe it) - and we loved visiting with the family! Sarah looked so beautiful and everyone had a wonderful time being together. We took so many cute cute pictures of everyone, we couldn't possibly post them all - sorry! Cameron turns 5 - already???

May 2007

Megan turns 10 - double digits!! Cameron plays the part of the "dog" in his pre-school play "Are You My Mother" - he was so happy because Grandpa Mark was there! His line was - "I am not your Mother, I am a dog - ruff ruff" - he did such a good job - go Cameron! Austin & Megan march in the Memorial Day Parade.

June 2007

Cameron graduates from Pre-School. He is so excited to become a kindergartener!!! YIKES!! Uncle Tyler, Aunt Jenny & the Brock-ster come visit. We do so many fun things while they are here - the kids favorite was our trip to Phili to the Ben Franklin Museum (a must see for all) where we also saw the King Tut Exhibit - way cool. They also loved the Beach, the Bronx Zoo - ok everything is much more fun with family!!

July 2007

Spencer turns 7 - and looses a couple more teeth!!

August 2007

nothing eventful - really - just spending practically every day at the pool or the beach trying to keep cool - luckily we had lots of friends with us!!

I hope I didn't leave anything important out!! After that last picture, I couldn't post any more pics - so I will have to leave it at that!! Sorry!

The First Day of School

There are certain times in ones life where you have a moment of crazy clarity. This was one of those times. These are pictures of Megan (her last year in Elementary) and Cameron (a new kindergartener) - and yes, I am freaking out - next year we will have 2 kids in Middle School - and this is the first year that all our kids are in school - all day!! The crazy clarity....boy I am getting old. Dang it! I wonder how many times I can turn 25?????

They both look so cute and they are both getting so big - growing up way too fast!!