Life's Good...when you are leaving on a cruise!

How great is my job??!!!
I own all the stamps and accessories I want, free...
I pay our mortgage and utilities by showing people how to stamp,
My company sends me on a FREE cruise every single year...not just me but John too, and they even pay for our flight, transfers, gratuities on the ship...everything!!!
As we pack to take off for BERMUDA, I just wanted to take a minute to say out loud (or in type, on my blog) how thankful I am that Stampin' Up! came in to my life. It is a great challenge and it does take work...but my work is making stuff like this cute little flip book....Here it is all the way closed and folded up...And here it is all the way open. There are little flaps for journaling and pictures all over. What a fun project. And what a fun job! I made a few of these books for some of my best friends, whom I would never have known if it weren't for Stampin' Up! and who are going cruisin' this week too! We are flying on Friday to NYC, where we will stay a night before the cruise, then we will stay there a night after the cruise too. We plan to see Spamalot, Wicked, and all the highlights of NYC while we are there. I am sure I will post when I am home; but until then...hugs!

Dyeing the Easter Eggs

Have you ever boiled 10 dozen eggs all at once? Well, here is what it looks like....all my windows steamed up!

Dyeing easter eggs is quite the event in our family. While I do enjoy it completely, I must give my mom credit for this little obsession. She buys the gear and comes over, we are all just along for the ride! This is Lily Jane and my sister (Chantia) doing some good work. We didn't even spill any cups of dye this year...Drew gets into the coloring process...Jack just peeled and ate his egg. What else are eggs for, to a 1-year-old who loves all food!Of course, coloring the eggs is only stage 1. Long after the kids were asleep we girls (Chantia, mom, and I) could be found decorating the eggs with a complex combination of glue dots, sticky strip, glitter, rub-ons and crystal effects. Here is a sample of our finished products. We were very proud. Then we hid them, broke them, made some deviled eggs and threw the rest away the very next day. We will outdo ourselves again next year! Thanks, mom, for making this a fun family tradition. I love you!

Andrew Scott Barnard (Drew), 6 1/2 years old

This is a little cameo of each of our kids, starting with Drew. He has always been such a joy! He is contemplative, kind, and serious. In fact, as a baby he did not smile very often, but seemed to be trying to figure out the world around him. The first thing he did when he was born was furrow his brow at me, as if to say, "who in the world are you!?" As a 6-and-a-half year-old, he has developed a good sense of humor now. But for you Friends fans out there, he definitely has the "Chandler smile." He just cannot smile on command! When he tries, he looks all stiff and weird. Funny boy!Drew on his first day as a first grader--he goes to Central Elementary and his teacher is Mrs. Wesley. He enjoys school very much. He talks about the things he is learning all the time. He recently wrote a full report about Abraham Lincoln. When I asked him how he gets 100% every time on his "mad minute" math tests, he said, "It's just because they are so easy, that's why."Drew is very safety-concious and wears his helmet each time he rides his bike. He also keeps a close eye on his sister when they play outside. Drew recently started riding his bike without training wheels. He can start and stop all by himself now, and he's very proud. This picture was taken last year at Kindergarten graduation. When it was his turn to tell about what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said he wanted to be a computer artist. What a good choice, coming form a 5 year old! Well......since then he has added another option to his list. You see, one of Drew's main loves in life is Scooby Doo, and once on an episode they masqueraded as chimney sweeps in order to solve a mystery. It must have seemed pretty awesome because now when he is asked about his future occupation, he says "a chimney sweep...or, a computer artist. Or, a scientist so I can find a cure for diabetes and make my cousin Dean all better." I guess he has already started to realize what a great many options lay before him in life!!Here is Drew at swim lessons. He has taken them for 2 years and we hope he will not be like us (both John and I are kind of lame swimmers.) He is also in a basketball class and we hope to start him in piano lessons soon. There are so many options for kids these days! I could spend all my time and money entertaining the kids.

I just love this picture, taken at Drew's Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party last summer. This is Drew, (and cousin Spencer) dancing with reckless abandon--like only a 6-year-old could. Drew as Captain Hook! He carefully carved this pumpkin and named it "Scary Guy" for the contest at the PG city Halloween Party. The he stood by Scary Guy's side (grinning hugely) the whole time the judges looked over the entries. Drew even rotated the pumpkin as the judges moved, so it could be viewed in full at all times. Obviously the appeal of Scary Guy--and Drew--worked because he was awarded third place in the pumpkin carving contest. Drew treasures the medal he received. And I treasure that memory!

Someone loves his little sister so much, he will even go along with her girly games sometimes! This day Lily Jane orchestrated a fashion show and Drew tried on and modeled each of the dress-ups with her. She had such a blast, and he may have had some unwitting fun as well. I may be able to use the pics against him someday.
Drew playing in the stamp room! Before I sold these monogram letters, he used to play with them occasionally. He would lay them out on the floor in alphabetical order, (they reached almost across the whole stamp room) or spell out words & messages. Drew's Grandpa Carl has a karaoke machine, and we break it out for family parties and such sometimes. Drew is quite good on vocals. He loves to sing Crocadile Rock by Elton John. He learned it from a Bob the Builder movie! Recently we heard a vocal performance by a big-band singer and Drew raised his hand to ask, "Do you know any rock and roll songs?" That's my boy!

Drew is a wonderful big brother. He helps and plays with and watches out for his little brother and sister constantly. He has never complained about them, and even loves sharing a room with both of them! When we asked him about getting his own room downstairs he said he was happy to share with them. He is a sweetheart.
This is just one of my favorite Drew pictures. He loves his goggles! It was quite a sad day when they broke last summer. We will have to get new ones for this year, since a lot of pool, sprinkler, and slip-n-slide fun is on our agenda!

Lily Jane Barnard, 4 years old

Our beautiful little girl...all sunshine and spunk. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with, though you might never guess it from her angelic little smile.

L.J., as I often call her, loves to make everyone laugh. She is funny and silly all the time and always takes time to stop by for a hug. She is very loving and adores her brothers. She loves to look at the pictures of John and I on our wedding day. When I said something about her getting married someday, she asked who the boy would be. I told her that when it was time, she could choose the best nicest boy she knew.

She said, "Mommy I think I should choose Drew."Lily is very good with Jack and plays with him every day when Drew is at school. By about 1pm Lily Jane starts asking if we can go pick up Drew from school yet, and if she can call her dad. Her favorite times are definitely when everyone is home together. (So are mine!) This was a fun morning jaunt in the "Thomas the Tank Engine" tent. Jack and Lily are just chillin', enjoying some pancakes.Lily Jane's favotite toys--twin dolls she got for Christmas. They are Dora the Explorer's baby brother and sister. Lily has named hers Cutie Boy and Cutie Girl. We think that's pretty cute.My girl (naturally) enjoys stamping! This is her mass-production of valentines for her friends at dance class. It was quite the undertaking and we had a great time working on it together. I was impressed with her attention span for the project!Our dancer! We enrolled LJ in the community center dance class this year. She has taken very well to it and is one of the best in her class. She talks about her teacher and dance class friends all the time. We also recently got her started in a gymnastics class and she REALLY loves it so far. With her fearless attitude and affinity for acrobatic stunts, gymnastics was a natural fit for her.
(Lily's on the far left)
(That's Lily in the middle)

We sure love our little girl! She was such a handful as a 2-3 year old...it has been fun for her to mature a little and just be our little sweetheart. *sigh* if she could only stay 4 forever...

Jack Madsen Barnard, 15 months old

It is really quite shocking how a baby can go from this........to this in a matter of one short year! It is just not fair. Jack is our little sunshine, always smiling and laughing. He does his best to keep up with his big brother and sister--and they all play together very well. Jack has started walking all over the house in the last 2 weeks, he has 6 teeth (going on 7), and he says quite a few words...thank you, mama, daddy, dog, all gone, num-num, and so on. What a big boy he is now, and bringing us more joy every day! He weighed in at the Doctor's this week at 20 lbs and .2 ounces. He finally hit the 20lb mark! This means he is now in the 5th percentile for his age and he has graduated to a forward-facing car seat! woo-hoo!

Life is good when you are all clean and snuggled!

Jack with my mom and dad--no one ever loved their grandkids more!

Every kid in the house loves the mystery machine! It actually belongs to Drew (his most treasured Christmas present, even over the nintendo DS) but he shares it very well.

Trouble, trouble! Jack is finding more of it every day. His favorites are the toilet, (we paid $80 the other day to have one of his toys removed from the pipes) the toilet paper, (as seen here) the dog food, (more than a few chunks have been ingested) and my stamp stuff (I usually let him play with it as long as he isn't ruining things.) He is a very busy little person, but who could resist his big blue eyes?

Easter Egg Hunt!

Happy Easter!

Jack and Lily Jane had a wonderful time at the toddler egg hunt the other morning at the church.

A little Stampin' fun

I am so excited! I hardly ever create anything on my own these days, I usually copy from other people's blogs...but tonight I have a downline meeting and I wanted to create some special make & takes for them. Here is what I came up with:
This is one of the accents and elements tins. I embossed the outside in silver--added cardstock and ribbon, then one of the sticky cuts hearts with the chunky sprinkles glitter over it. Last, a flower and pearl from the pretties kit.
Here is how it looks when the tin is open...I finished it as a picture frame. But it could hold a set of cards or trinkets, or a gift .

I did get this idea from someone else, but this is my version. It's the old bag-a-lope idea (seal the envelope, cut out the corners...the corners are cut out using the tag punch for this one) done with the awesome new carousel notes.

I hope the meeting tonight goes well, and that my downline will love these projects as much as I do! (PS-This is the first time I tried taking schmancy pics of projects--It was pretty fun and I think they turned out nice!)

what could be better than...

Two beautiful kids, learning to fly their kites!

The last few days have been windy in Pleasant Grove...perfect weather to try out the kids' new kites. We got them for a dollar each at wal-mart, and they have provided a lot of fun for a buck! These kinds of memories are irreplaceable!

Well, well, well! Look what I have done! The Barnards have a blog!
After seeing so many cute blogs out there (and I LOVE seeing what everyone is up to and how their kids are growing) I have been wanting to do this for some time. I need a place to show off my little munchkins too.
So here we are!!