The Barneys

Weather

2016-01-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

We had some pretty wild weather last year.
First, it was so hot and dry that there were some serious fires nearby. The sky was full of smoke.

That's the sun!

Then we had a giant windstorm. Power was out at some places for 10 days. The wind blew over fences and trees. We were safe, and we didn't lose power. We were very blessed!

Fence blown over, and trampoline.

Siding on the house blown off.

Finally we got some snow. This is what an elementary school field looks like after the first snowfall:

Random

2015-12-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

We always need a "Random" post every once in a while, right?

Basil did her own pony tail--and was pretty proud of it

She also put on June's clothes the other day and said, "I'm baby Junie! Now you can change my diaper. That would be great!" (She is potty trained, so she was really pretending she was June here!)

Cute vest at the store she tried on.

After we got our Christmas things out, the girls dressed Pyper up like the tree.

June--BUSTED!

This is what happens at an Elementary school playground the day after it snows:

Love this sweet face!

Pyper and Basil play so well together now that Pyper doesn't go to school and the older two are gone all day. Here is a picture of them making beds in the living room.

I always love seeing things like this:

Pyper reading to Junie.

Pyper and Basil getting set up to play . . .

Basil and June

Summer had a bottom tooth start to come in before her baby tooth came out. Needless to say, we began wiggling that baby tooth extra hard over the next few days before it fell out.

Claire and June

Pip and Basil

Basil and June

Thanksgiving

2015-11-30T06:31:00.000-08:00

We were soooooo lucky to have my sister and her family come join us for Thanksgiving. We had a great time! The girls LOVED playing with their cousins. Poor little Jax had four new mothers to follow him around, try to feed him his bottle (which he is too independent for that!), and even try to carry him around a few times. They loved it--I'm not sure if he did! haha. But it was so fun to have him and Boston here to play with. Boston added a boy energy that the girls don't have around here. It was such a fun few days.

I love these pictures my sister took.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We gave Tanner and Kate a tour of Rhett's work.

We loved the visit from the Wrays and can not wait until they come back!

. . .

The girls got a wig from Grandma Kartchner and we had quite the fun with it . . .

The Great Pumpkin Race

2015-11-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

One of the many things Rhett is involved in is the Spokane Meals on Wheels. He is on the board, and this year, was in charge of their fundraiser: The Great Pumpkin Race.

Yes, it was a little stressful, but it all came together and was such a blast!!!

The Wednesday before the race, us crazy parents got Summer and Claire up at 4 in the morning to go be on the local news. Here's a link to watch the "stars of the world" (as one of Claire's classmates later said): http://www.krem.com/videos/news/local/spokane-county/2015/10/21/pumpkin-race-supports-meals-on-wheels/74322992/

I sent the link to the girls' teachers and they watched them in their classes. The students thought the girls were famous now. It was such a fun thing! (But by 5:00 that night, I vowed to NEVER do it again and the girls were in bed twenty minutes later. haha)

The night before going on the news, Claire said, "Mom, I'm nervous. I've never been on TV before."

I stayed home with the sleeping kiddos and watched the news on the computer, waiting for the Barney Stars. Rhett said that up until it was time for the cameraman, Claire kept saying, "I'm not going to say anything. I'm not going to talk at all." Hahaha. She almost took the mic from the lady in the clip! So funny.

Saturday morning, Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner helped us build our pumpkins.

Cat: Summer's Witch: Basil's

Claire colored her mini pumpkin black

Pyper's is a green pumpkin between the bear and crown

We did a few practice runs in our driveway.

THE EVENT

Since Rhett was in charge of the event, I took pictures for it. I got a few of the girls, but lots of other ones as well. (Click on the pictures to make them larger so you can see everyone's faces. So fun!)

During registration, I turned around and Summer's holding this little guy.

Candy from the goody bags

The Scoop, a local icecream and coffee shop showed up to serve free hot chocolate.

Our chiropractor and good friend Kim White (in the purple hat whose lap Basil is sitting on) and her husband Mike (talking to the news cameraman) came to help with registration.

This is one of the heats. I love this picture. (No Barney girls in this one, but I think the guy in the middle thought I was taking a picture of him! haha)

This was Basil's race. The head rolled off the wheels, so . . .

Rhett kicked it all the rest of the way down.

Action shot (Notice Little Tike Cinderella rolling out of her pumpkin coach)

Another action shot

Claire's in the pink coat, Rhett is following behind her

Action shots

One of the funnest things was watching the pumpkins start at the line, and then everyone chase after them as they turned and crashed into the curbs. One giant pumpkin even ran over a smaller one! Huge crash! The whole crowd erupted.

Summer's in the pink jacket in front of Rhett

Finish line

So they took the 1st place winner of each heat and had a final race. This kid in the red sweatshirt won. His brother is in the gray sweatshirt--totally excited that his brother won.

Michael Baumgartner, one of our State Senators, was the emcee for the race.

Here's a link to the followup report on the news regarding the race. And yes, that witch head with a wig rolling down the hill is Basil's!

http://www.khq.com/clip/11948040/pumpkin-races-in-spokane

The race was a great success. They had about 75 participants (twice as many as last year), and earned enough money to feed 500 seniors for the next year. Great job Rhett!

Halloween

2015-11-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween, Summer wanted to be a parrot:
(Claire helping me make the wings)

Claire wanted to be a peacock:

Pyper wanted to be the unicorn:
(This was taken after trick or treating when her tummy hurt from eating so much candy)

Basil wanted to be a cow:

And Junie was just happy to have the candy bag!

It was a little cold and rainy during the trick or treating, so we just made the small loop in our neighborhood and called it quits. The girls were happy with their candy, and it wasn't much, so I was happy too!

My cousin, Jessica, her husband Eric, and their little boy Junior joined us for trick or treating--as well as my aunt and uncle, and Jessica's brother and sister. It was so great to see everyone! Junior was hilarious and entertained us all night. The girls loved having him around. And it was great catching up with family. We had a wonderful time. Wish it could have lasted longer!

Cross Country Meet 3 (District)

2015-10-21T10:24:00.001-07:00

Summer ran in her third meet yesterday. She did AMAZING!

We got there and the kids were all up in the bleachers in their groups. I found Summer and ran up to say hello. She was pretty excited. Later, she told me that when the bus pulled into the school, she got a tickle in her tummy. "Kind of a nervous tickle and an excited tickle," she said.

Here she is at the starting line.

Off they go!

And here she comes!

After the finish line:

She got an orange tshirt and a certificate.

I love these last pictures.

Summer ran this mile in 8.06! That is THIRTEEN seconds faster than her best time! We are so proud of her! She is amazing.

She didn't get first, second, or third, and she's a little disappointed about it. She got 12 out of 37--which is so impressive to me.

She told me that on the bus to the meet, all the kids were chanting LLE! LLE! (Liberty Lake Elementary) She thought it was the coolest thing ever! haha.

The first thing she said after the finish line was "No more cross country!" I think she was a little relieved that it's over. But I'm sure she'll be excited when it starts up again next year.

We are so proud of her for doing it! Good job Summer!

Cross Country Meet 2

2015-10-16T09:54:00.001-07:00

Summer had her second cross country meet.

I think the most impressive thing about cross country is how they run UP HILL! She had to do it twice. And it was a pretty intense hill.

Once again, the girl who got first ran the mile in under 8 minutes. But then . . . . here comes our sweet pink runner!

(I tried snapping photos and doing video so I missed as she ran past me, but you can see her running in the clip. Pink bottoms.)

Summer's time was 8.23; she got second place. She's amazing!

She qualifies for the all city meet, which is Tuesday the 20th. We've looked at the times for the other runners that will be racing--many other girls are racing at under 8 minutes as well. We're not sure where she'll place, but we are sure proud of her for working so hard and doing so well.

Summer's First Day of School Pictures, Junie Smiling, and Pyper's Art Studio

2015-10-07T09:24:00.001-07:00

So Summer's been in school for over a month, now but here are her first day of school pictures:

And June is smiling. ALL THE TIME. We love it! She is so sweet.

So now that Claire and Summer are in school, it's just Pip, Basil, and June. This is a very different dynamic than we've had before. I think Pyper really likes this time where she is the oldest and doesn't have anyone bossing her around.

One day, she set out a whole bunch of pictures and markers for her art studio, and when the girls got home, they were able to request a picture and a marker to color their pictures.

Garden Produce

2015-10-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

We have LOVED having our garden so plentiful this year. It has been so fun seeing the girls go out and eat tomatoes whenever they wanted. We've loved our carrots, cucumbers, and now our peppers. Everything tastes so much better out of your garden!

Our carrots:

Tomatoes

Peppers

Produce (I think I got giant carrots or something!)

Peas

YES!! These are picked from our garden. They are delicious!

Already we are making big plans for our garden for next year!

Claire's Award

2015-10-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

We got an email from Mrs. Ochse, Claire's Kindergarten teacher, last week saying there was going to be an assembly on Monday and Claire was going to get an award. We were super excited about it, but kept it a secret from her. I nonchalantly mentioned seeing a sign about an assembly on Monday and Claire ask what an assembly was. She had no idea what was coming!

We showed up and watched all the kids file in. It's a K-8 school, so when the Kindergarteners were the last to march in, they looked so little and tiny! And there was Claire, folding her arms, walking in so quietly. It was so cute! (She's the one in all black.)

It was an awards assembly, so other students got awards as well. The Fire Department crew was there to give high fives, shake hands, and give the awards.

There she is, giving a high five to a policeman.

Mrs. Ochse had picked four students in her class, and Claire was one of them. She got the Teacher's Choice Award.

For this award, Mrs. Ochse said she was a leader in her class of kindness and friendship. We are very proud of her!

Summer's Cross Country Meet

2015-09-30T20:47:00.002-07:00

Summer had her first cross country meet today. She's been having three practices a week, building up for the meet that's a mile long, but most of those practices were full of long walks socializing with friends. Rhett and I were nervous to see how today would go. We can see a natural running ability in her, and we want to see her recognize it in herself as well.

The first grade girls went first. Then the first grade boys. Then the second grade girls went. Summer was up. She's in a purple jersey on the left. She has white shorts underneath her pink shorts. You see her wave at 10 seconds. The race doesn't actually start until about 58 seconds into the clip.

Of course, when we got there and I started snapping pictures, my camera said the card was full. But I had just deleted all the pictures before we got there! So I was stressed trying to get the camera figured out. We did not want to miss this! Rhett got the beginning of the race on his phone, and while she was out running her mile, we googled how to get my card to work.

They did the loop twice to make a mile and as the girls first started coming around the loop, Claire said, "There's Summer!" There were only about five girls there, way ahead of the rest of the group. We were like, "No, that's not Summer." But then we saw the white shorts under the pink shorts and I knew it was her! I couldn't believe it! I about passed out! I was so excited. We all started yelling and cheering her on. Then waited anxiously for them to come around the loop again (which we couldn't see them doing because of all the people.)

We finally got my camera fixed and just in time, because here they came again. The girl in first place was so fast! Wow. And then another small clump of girls--and Summer was still in third! We cheered and cheered.

I caught a few after-the-race pictures. She doesn't even look tired!

And as we were walking out to the car, she ran another huge loop in another field! I think she was so excited she just had a ton of energy afterward.

Here's the list of girls and their times. Summer's time is 8.19.9. Because she was under 8.30, she qualifies to race in the all city meet as well.

We let her pick out ice cream at Albertson's so we could all celebrate tonight. It was so fun. We are SO proud of her!

Pyper and Junie

2015-08-31T21:08:00.004-07:00

I really should post an actual post, but it's evening and the girls are all sleeping and I'd rather just sit here and watch this cute little lullaby on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiAzcWiwE5Y

But I do want to share this sweet picture of Pyper and Junie I took yesterday. I love it. Pyper was in the middle of saying something, which portrays her perfectly. She is such a talker. And then there's Junie with that rad hair and that sweet face. Love it.

Seattle Trip and First Day of Kindergarten

2015-08-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

We went to Seattle over the weekend as a last get-away before school started. We started our visit with a stop at the Seattle Aquarium. We LOVE the Seattle Aquarium! The girls have watched almost every episode of Octonauts, so every creature they saw, the girls were like, "Oh! There's a spine nosed fish!" Or "There's a (something that I've never heard of)!" They loved it.

These tide pools were our favorite. The girls were able to stick their fingers in and touch the creatures. Pyper loved it the most.

Jellyfish tube:

This was one of the cool things we could touch. Watch what it does!

We also went to the outlet malls and got some great deals on school clothes for the girls. Sorry--no pictures because it was mad chaos with a million people around and our bunch of kids wandering and being independent. But we all made it back safely to the hotel. We even got our own private "room" at the Olive Garden. Rhett and the girls waited in the van until the table was ready, and I think they misunderstood me when I said two adults and five kids. I think they thought one kid and six adults because she brought out six adult glasses of water and one kiddie drink. Haha. But it's okay. We usually get crammed in the middle of the room at a table for four and we all have to squish in and eat over each other's elbows, so this was perfect for us!

We had such a fun trip. It was wonderful to spend all the time together before the girls head off to school again.

And today was Claire's FIRST day of Kindergarten! She was so excited.

Junie is growing and changing so much! I can't believe it. She also starting to smile. Her smiles are often, and it's almost a guarantee that she'll smile every time that Rhett breaks into singing "Hey June" to the Beetles song "Hey Jude." It's so sweet.

Another big thing about today was Summer got to change her earrings for the first time! (And NO ONE passed out! woohoo!)
She was so excited that she woke up at 5:30 and came busting into our room with the earrings she'd picked out. I made her go back and get her pillow and blanket and lay on our floor. Surprisingly, she fell asleep (she usually doesn't ever fall back asleep once she's awake) and I caught this picture.

After Claire got home, she told us about her day. Everything she said, Summer would say, "Oh! I love the owl chart!" Or "That's my favorite!" (Claire has Mrs. Ochse like Summer did.) It was so cute.

What a big girl! I can't believe it. Sure, she went to preschool since she was like 18 months old. But Kindergarten is different. It's the step everyone takes that says "I'm growing up!" Yes, I got a little teary eyed as I thought of her throughout the day. Our sweet Claire is off to school, getting ready to change the world.

Fishing

2015-08-08T19:49:00.004-07:00

Back in the beginning of June we started talking with the girls about a special summer gift for them, and then we talked about it again, and talked about it some more. It was very exciting for the girls to contemplate all the things they might get! Finally, they decided they wanted to get fishing poles. So last night we loaded everyone up and headed to the store. Summer, Claire and Pyper each picked out the pole they wanted, and then Rhett got some of the gear we'd need for it.

Today, we got up at 4am to go fishing.

Just kidding.

At about 8:30am, everyone was up. We Skyped with their cousins Inara and Alba in Sweden, and then we ate breakfast. After that, we got ready to go . . . which ended up taking a looooong time. Rhett worked on getting the fishing poles all ready--winding the line on it, etc. But the girls were so excited that they'd push the button on the reel and then pop! there goes all the line. He'd have to untangle it all and do it all over again.

We finally had everything ready and we headed out. We actually wanted to try out a lake other than our own, so we went to Newman Lake, which was about 30 minutes away.

(Click on this picture to zoom in. It's my favorite. I love how you can see all the girls and Rhett--minus Junie.)

I think Claire was the most excited out of everyone. Look at her sitting there slightly smiling.

Rhett spent the ENTIRE time doing this:

And he didn't lose his patience once. What a guy.

I just kept praying that we'd get at least one fish to make all his hard work worth it. And guess what???

We actually caught THREE pumpkinseed sunfish! Claire caught the first one, and Summer caught the second two. Claire was actually just holding some string that Rhett had cut because it was tangled. The string had the hook and bobber on it. She was holding it in the water, then all of the sudden, she had a bite and she pulled it right out! Long story short, Claire's fish escaped (luckiest pumpkinseed fish ever, but he/she looks really silly with about 4 feet of fishing line sticking out of its gills and mouth).

The girls really wanted to bring the remaining two home to keep them as pets. Pyper asked Summer, "Summer, since I didn't catch one, can I name them?" So, the girls decided that their names should be Sparkle and Twinkle. Unfortunately for everyone, they died. They are now resting peacefully in our garden next to the peas.

We had such a fun time. It was pretty hot so we cooled off with frozen yogurt in Liberty Lake, and were planning on heading over to our lake after dinner, but we decided to wait for another day. We had such a great time and made great memories.

And a special thanks to Aunt Annie!

Updates of the Girls

2015-07-29T10:59:00.001-07:00

Basil giving Junie loves.

June at about three and half weeks old.

June at two weeks old.

Ready for Summer's birthday party.

Summer had her SEVEN year birthday party. This picture isn't a great one, but I love the look on Summer's face.

She got roller skates from Grandma Searle and was so excited.

And the big thing this year was the offer of a birthday party with friends or getting her ears pierced (she's been begging for the past two years to get her ears pierced). Guess which she chose?

Summer was so brave. I could see here eyes well up with tears. She wanted to cry. She just looked me right in the face, took a big controlled breath, and smiled. WOW! I was so impressed.

Love this picture.

And this one too.

My mom gave us a cd for Christmas with Primary songs on it. The girls love it and listen to it often. They have even memorized quite a few songs on it. One of them was a song written to the scripture "Alma 37:6-7." Summer asked Lilli Brunt (12 years old) to sing it with her in Sacrament meeting. So they did! I was so proud of Summer. She did excellent. She smiled through the whole thing. She was so excited to do it. The whole first verse was a solo by Summer. The second verse was half a solo by Lilli, then they joined together on the second half. It was beautiful.

Produce from our garden . . . We've eaten a few not-yet-ripe vegetables because we are just too excited to wait. It's been so fun to see the girls get so excited over the fruits of our labors.

And our tomatoes are out of control. Our first red cherry tomato had to split five ways--I was not going to pass it up! It was totally worth it.

Summer made a seek and find picture for Claire.

And Claire made a maze for Summer.

Pippy talking to baby Junie.

We got some hand-me-down dress-ups from a neighbor. The girls have spent hours getting dressed up--or dressing Basil up and sending her upstairs--to model them for me.

Little Junie sportin' the zebra print

This hair is out of control. We love it! We actually went to Claire's jewelry shop and tried different bows on her hair, but nothing tamed it.

June--5 weeks old

Claire's been wearing Summer's fake glasses for the past few days. They actually look pretty great on her!

Love all these girls!

Priest Lake

2015-07-29T10:30:00.002-07:00

After Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner left, we packed an overnight bag and our swim suits, and then loaded the van and headed out. We didn't have any plans of anywhere we were going, we just started driving! On the road, we decided to head up to Priest Lake and check it out. When we got there, we found these little cabins to rent and stay in. The girls thought it was so fun--just like a little playhouse for them. Haha. They got out the brooms and vacuums and started sweeping and cleaning. It was funny.

This was our two bedroom cabin--which meant Rhett, June (in her carseat), and I slept in one room, Summer and Claire slept in another in two twin beds, and Pyper and Basil got the couch bed. Well, that's how we hoped it would work out. In reality, it was just me and June in the one room, Summer and Claire in the other, and Pyper, Basil and Rhett on the couch. Those girls had such a hard time going to sleep! It was just too much fun.

We swam in the lake a little, but it was actually a bit colder than our lake, so it didn't last long. We had a nice breakfast at the resort. Then headed home. We love our mini exploring trips!

Kayaking

2015-07-29T10:25:00.001-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner came up over the fourth of July weekend and brought their kayaks. We had so much fun!

This year, Liberty Lake shot fireworks from the dirt field next to the school--which just happens to be between our house and the school. So we sat back in our lawn chairs and enjoyed the fireworks in our back yard. It was so fun!

Pictures of Girls

2015-07-11T08:23:00.002-07:00

Baby June--a little over a week old

Summer--almost 7 years

Pyper--3 years old

Claire--5 years old

Basil--2 years old

School Pictures from East Central

2015-07-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting the pictures on my camera onto the computer. . .

Here are the last-day-of-school photos:

Zoey and Claire. These two were best friends. They were in the same class for the past four years. The teachers always thought these two were so funny together. The teachers told me Zoey would talk about zombies while Claire would talk about prophets. These girls sat by each other, played together, and were best friends.

This is Teacher Jackie--Claire's main teacher. The kids were assigned into three groups of eight. Each group had one teacher. This one was Claire's teacher (and Summer's too, when she was in the class.)

This is Teacher Laura. She is the head teacher.

Cook Alla and Teacher Janet. Claire loved Cook Alla's food and would often ask her for recipes.

This is Valerie. She was the Family Services Coordinator. She helped with paper work, assisted with the kids, and became such a good friend to me.

Teacher Janet--She was another teacher in the classroom.

Teacher Paige in Pyper's classroom. Pyper's class had only 8 kids and two teachers. These teachers are amazing!

Teacher Mary, the head teacher.

We love all these women. They have been part of our lives for the past five years. We are so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this great program and are sad that this was our last year. But we have made great memories and have learned so much from our experiences here.

Random phone pics

2015-07-01T10:31:00.001-07:00

A while ago, when the girls were still in school, Basil and I were playing hide and seek. I was in Basil's room counting. I heard her footsteps run across the kitchen floor, then all went quiet. When I walked into my room, this is what I saw.

We've had a little bunny run around our yard for a while. We saw it last year a few times (if it's the same one), and this time, we snagged a photo.

Claire got her hair trimmed. This was the length before. I didn't even take an after photo. But it goes to about her lower ribs now. Still as beautiful as ever.

One day, Pip got all sneaky and cleaned our room for us. It was really sweet. Later that night, I noticed this little underwear stashed on Rhett's bookshelf.

We went to Summer's walk-a-thon and cheered her on. Claire was sitting like this so I got a picture.

One day, the girls came running into the house telling me they found a baby bird in the corner of our garden box. We watched it for a while. The girls were very concerned, but I wouldn't let them try to feed it or give it water. We weren't sure what to do about it. We saw the mother bird come occasionally to feed it and check on it. The next day, it was gone. Rhett looked it up and found out that it was a baby robin. He learned that the babies go off on their own for about a week and the mother watches over them. They learn how to fly and hunt and protect themselves while their mother keeps an eye on them. Then they are ready to go out into the world on their own. When Rhett told me about it, we both got a little teary-eyed at the symbolism. Haha.

Before baby June was born, the girls begged and begged for a pet. We talked about it a lot--how it was a lot of work and we needed to have our baby first, then we could re-evaluate our position for pet-keeping. Then we had the idea that we could pet sit. So Summer came up with this list of all the animals we could pet sit over the summer.

New pet ideas babysitting dogs, parrots, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, sheep dog, black dog, macaw, blue bird, hedge hog, lizard, snakes, turtle, monkey, fish, ~~alligator~~, rabbit.

This was when we got the soil for our garden beds. They delivered and dumped it right on our driveway. The girls thought it was awesome! They played in it all day, while Rhett shoveled and wheelbarrowed it to the back. I wasn't much help because I was so pregnant. And poor Rhett--this was like a few days after he broke two ribs, so shoveling was painful for him--and probably not great for his ribs. But we had to get it in the beds.

That night, since Rhett had worked so hard, I booked the Coeur d'Alene cruise and dinner for us. It was a nice relaxing evening and fun get-away for us.

Claire doing a look and find book.

Pyper riding on her tricycle.

The girls love rolling golf balls down the driveway "hill." But it's scary that the balls roll out into the road. So I had the idea to block the balls at the end--and then I thought, maybe we could do a maze type course. So we got our leftover cedar wood from the garden beds and made these.

This was Summer's design.

All of the the girls minus Pippy.

June Adelaide and a car-ful . . .

2015-06-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

Our first car ride as a family of SEVEN!

This is what I woke up to this morning. :)

Notes

2015-06-23T15:37:00.002-07:00

A few things I want to remember . . .

The night baby June was born, when Rhett was helping Summer back to bed, she asked him, "Dad, when she came out, did you recognize her? Did she look like me?" I thought that was so sweet.

Before we had decided on a name, Claire called her "Baby Sucie." (Not Suzie, Sucie. Not sure where she got it!)

Pyper likes to call her "Little One" even though we have a name now. She used the term before we had a name, and even uses it now. "Hi Little One. Don't cry Little One."

And one more note:

We've decided on a middle name.

June Adelaide Barney

New Baby #5!

2015-06-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

The newest addition to the Barney family:

June (middle name yet to be decided) Barney--baby girl #5!
She came early Sunday morning. (Which made Sunday a big celebration because of Father's Day, the first lost tooth of the Barney kids, and of course, the new baby.)

I'll write her birth story later, but for now, we'll just share pictures. (Of the baby, not the lost tooth. I'll post a picture of a toothless smile soon.)

This picture is about ten minutes after she was born. She got her thumb in her mouth and started sucking away.

Love this picture.

After June was born, I got in the bathtub with her. The only bathtub we have is in the girls' bathroom. Well, Summer woke up to use the toilet, came walking in and smiled at me to say hello. Then she looked in the bathtub at the swimming baby (doing a back float in my hands) and her eyes grew so wide! It was so fun to see her reaction. She was so excited! She went running out to tell Rhett and my mom when I called her back to go to the bathroom first. It was so funny. So after June got out of the tub, Summer got to hold her for her first time. It was too exciting for Summer and she actually didn't go back to sleep for about 2-3 more hours. Poor thing. I thought she'd be exhausted on Sunday, but she made it through the day very pleasantly. (Thanks to the lost tooth!)

Here's Pyper's reaction to waking up and having a new little sister.

And Basil's:

I didn't get Claire's first reaction. But she just kept saying, "She's so adorable! She's so cute!" Here she is--holding her after church.

While everyone was getting a chance to hold June, Summer turned to Rhett with her loose tooth and asked him to pull it out. He twisted it just a little and out it came! Boy was everyone so excited! The girls thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was still a little grossed out, but it was fun to see all their enjoyment from it.

My mom took all the girls to church so Rhett and I could rest. We tied pink ribbons in their hair so everyone would know it was a girl. It was a fun way for the girls to share the news. When they walked in to Sacrament meeting, Pyper with her hands in the air said, "We are having a celebration! It's Father's Day, Summer lost her tooth, and we have a new baby! We are having a celebration!"

This is her hair after we washed it. Love the curl!

Big News!

2015-06-16T14:21:00.001-07:00

Nooooo, we haven't had our baby yet.
But
Yesssss! Summer has a loose tooth! This morning when she climbed into bed with me and Rhett, Rhett looked at her tooth, wiggled it, and said, "You have a loose tooth!" She was so surprised. She hadn't even noticed it! But boy were we all excited. She has gone all through first grade watching her friends lose teeth, and she has waited so patiently for her turn. She skipped around the house this morning singing, "Who wants to wiggle my tooth?" And of course, everyone did (except me because it totally grosses me out). It's been a very exciting day.

On another note, I am still pregnant--which I am okay with. Although I'm due today/tomorrow, I feel great! I think this is the best I've ever felt this late in my pregnancy. I took a few pictures just to document what I look like with this baby. Of course the angles were difficult--it was either this one below that makes my legs look giant (maybe they really are that big???? haha), or it was another one showing an awful double chin that I don't think I really have, but then again, maybe I do???

(Like my shirt? Rhett brought it back for me on one of his business trips.)

And here's a side view:

(I just washed the shirt, so it's a little tight. Or maybe that's just because of my giant belly.)

I did have Summer take some pictures, but they were all blurry. We might try another photo shoot in a few days if the baby hasn't come yet.

The girls are split on who wants what. Two want a boy; two want a girl. I'm not sure who wants which, but I think tonight we'll write down everyone's guesses and make a game of it.

The girls all finished their last week of school last week. Summer is now done with first grade. Claire is done with preschool. And Pyper is done at Head Start. Next year, Summer will go on to second grade, Claire will do kindergarten at CCS, and Pip will stay home with me and get to be the oldest child during the day. It will be a very different dynamic! But it will be good to have the time with her. I'm looking forward to it.

Rhett is doing so well at Lee & Hayes. It's hard for me not to boast about him on here--I think he gets a little uncomfortable when I share all the accomplishments he's made and doing, so I try not to share too much. But he is constantly getting compliments at work about what's he's doing and who he is. I'm proud of him for all he does.

Plus, I love that he built our raised garden beds.

This is a picture right after we got the soil in (yes, he shoveled all that dirt with two broken ribs from playing soccer), but now, we have flourishing tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries, as well some carrots, onions, beets, and peas just poking their heads out.

And this is just a funny little story--one day, Summer came home from school and told me she was supposed to meet Kayson (a school friend) that night at midnight at the school. She told me it was a top secret why they were meeting--but she also told me what the secret was. Something about catching ghosts at the school. He sent this note with her:

"Were darck clos."

I thought it was hilarious.

Memorial Day Weekend

2015-05-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ever since we went to Lewiston/Clarkston, I've been itching to go out again and explore our area. I'm realizing I love our short little day trips where we don't have to unpack suitcases of dirty clothes or clean the car out because we've lived in it for a week on our travels. These little day trips have been so fun for us. So on Friday, Rhett got work off a little early, and we headed out again. This time, we went to the Cataldo Mission in Idaho. Just an hour away from us. It is one of the oldest buildings in Idaho. We walked around the land for a bit--saw this hummingbird that hovered over us for about three minutes, and explored other beautiful scenery.

This is the old wheat grinder.

(As we were walking, Basil pulled out her play phone and made a phone call. This kid cracks me up.)

Summer found some moss and was very excited.

This was the old church bell.

A pretty view from the hill.

This is the church that was built to help bridge the gap between the white settlers and the Native Americans living in the area. Both peoples would gather and talk about God and religion.

Entering the church.

Claire feeling better after confession.

Pyper saying, "Guess what Claire just told me!!!"

This blue house was right next to the church. It was the office where they would host guests, meet, eat, etc.

Claire running to catch up with the other girls.

Another view from the top of the hill.

We drove with the windows rolled down for a bit on the way home. I love her face in this picture!