Snow Fun

We are fully enjoying winter at the Barnard house!What could be better than.... A snow fort in the front yard!? They worked for hours on it...

And made good use of it for a couple weeks!

Silly kids!

Jack's 2-year-old picture

We went to Kiddie Kandids for Jack's 2-year-old picture... For each birthday you get a free 8 X 10

It took about 2 minutes to get all these shots, and more!

But we only wanted the free one...

Which one should we pick? He is just such a happy little guy! What a great kid.

Pre-school Christmas Party

Lily Jane really has been loving her pre-school.

On the last day before the break they had a fun Christmas program. Here she is between one of her cute friends and the boy whom she insists is her "boyfriend". Oy vey. They sang tons of songs! All complete with actions, of course.

More one-on-one time with Santa. This time she said. "Well I do still want the Ariel doll I told you about. But...if you have room in your sack, you could also bring a dolly who opens and shuts her eyes too..." (she may have been influenced by the songs from the program...)

I WISH!

Alas, he is only playing...

TWO YEARS OLD!

Jack Madsen Barnard, my 2-year old boy!!He is such an angel and we had a wonderful birthday with him. My parents and sister were here for dinner and we had Taco Soup! It's a family favorite.Jack loves it too! And look at him demonstrating his awesome utensil skills. He always requests a fork or spoon, even if we give him finger food. He will take great care to get food situated and carefully bring it to his mouth. Yum!!Daddy made the yummy dinner! Thanks Dad!

Taco Soup

1-1.5 lbs ground beef, chopped chicken or cubed sirloin

1 medium chopped onion

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cans pinto beans-drained and rinsed (15 oz each)

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies (14.5 oz each)

2 cups water

1 can black beans-drained and rinsed (15 oz)

1 can cream-style corn (14.5 oz)

1 envelope ranch dressing mix

1 envelope taco seasoning

sour cream, chips, and grated cheese

In a large pot or dutch oven, brown meat and onion in oil. Add the beans, tomatoes, water, corn, ranch mix and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve with chips, sour cream and grated cheese.

After dinner it was...present time!Jack knew exactly what to do, and had plenty of help from Drew and Lily Jane.A favorite present was the story reader from Grandpa Carl and Grandma Kristie.

Our oven is broken, so we had to have a store-bought cake. I really miss baking cakes for the kids! Of course Jack loved it all the same.I hope all of Jack's wishes will come true!Jack knows just how to tackle a blue-frosting cake.And it is official! Our little one is two.

Happy Birthday Jack!

Hey Santa!

Here are a few more pics taken at the Ward Christmas Party. We were in charge of the party and had fun planning all of it. There was great food and a really nice program--Drew actually was part of the program. He did a duet-"When Christmas Comes to Town" from Polar Express-with an older little girl in the ward, Megan Bullock. They were so cute together. I was so busy taking care of everything at the party I did not get a picture of that. But they were darling and sounded really great. At the end, Santa visited us from the North Pole! We were so happy he could drop in. Our cute family-if I do say so myself.
Drew tells Santa about how he wants a Wii or a sticky hand for Christmas...

Lily Jane wishes for an Ariel doll...

Jack is not so sure about this big jolly man!

Every kid feels this way for a year or two!

Here is the song Drew and Megan did:

"When Christmas Comes to Town"

Drew: I'm wishing on a star

And trying to believe

That even though it's far

He'll find me Christmas Eve

I guess that Santa's busy

Cause he's never come around

I think of him

When Christmas Comes to Town

Megan: The best time of the year

When everyone comes home

With all this Christmas cheer

It's hard to be alone

Putting up the Christmas tree

With friends who come around

It's so much fun

When Christmas Comes to Town

Megan: Presents for the children

Wrapped in red and green

Drew: All the things I've heard about

But never really seen

Megan: No one will be sleeping on

The night of Christmas Eve

Both: Hoping Santa's on his way

Megan: When Santa's sleigh bells ring

Drew: I listen all around

Megan: The herald angels sing

Drew: I never hear a sound

Megan: When all the dreams of children

Once lost will all be found

Drew: That's all I want

When Christmas Comes to Town

Both: That's all I want

When Christmas Comes to Town

Barnard Girls' Weekend

Even though I don't have a ton of pictures from it, I just had to write a bit about our Barnard Girls' weekend. This year was the 2nd annual BGW, I hope there will be many more. Erin booked us a condo in quaint Midway, UT and we (John's 3 sisters, John's mom, and me) stayed there Thursday-Sunday. We talked, shopped, ate, watched movies, talked some more, shopped more, made a stampin' project, and just had a really fun time together. We even went to Pleasant Grove and popped in on my ward party (which I was in charge of) and got this nice photo to commemorate the weekend. I really have great in-laws. I am so lucky! Clockwise from left: Krista, Leslie, Erin, me, Joan and Santa. :)

Trimming the Tree

The big kids took over the decorating of our 4-foot tabletop tree, and they did a fantastic job! We made sure to start the holiday season right, getting out every bit of decor on the first day of December!

Let the Christmas Season begin!! Look at my awesome handmade poinsettia tree skirt! Leslie made it for me and gave it to me for Christmas last year, so this is the first time I have used it. I just love it! I almost hate to cover it up with presents. Thank you Leslie!!

Finished Product!