Lazy Days of Summer

Oh, what do you do in the summer time
when all the world is green?

Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream
on the banks as the clouds go by?
Is that what you do? So do I!

This is what Lauren and her best cousin Kaitlyn did one lazy summer day.........

An 'official' cut

In all of Lauren's 7 years I have cut her hair. Now, keep in mind that I am not a hairdresser. I just pretend to be one. Before school started this year I thought it might be good to have a professional give her a hair cut. Lauren decided she wanted her hair cut 'shorter' and I felt my skills were not up to the task. So.....Sheer Envy Salon here we come!

7 inches and $10 later......

Barlow Reunion #1

This summer we had our first annual Barlow Family Reunion! Now that Grandma and Grandpa are both gone, we decided that we need to continue to stay close as an extended family. So.... thanks to some awesome planning cousins, we had our first reunion at the Heber Valley Girls Camp. We stayed overnight in the cabins and had a great time. The highlight was definitely the challenge course. The high wire and zip line were the best!!! It was a great test of strength and courage. We all did it and survived to tell. It was fun to get re-acquainted with cousins and more cousins. The fun did come to an end, however. The rain started and it just kept coming. Rain when you are outdoors equals nothing to do but try to stay dry. Unfortunately the trip got cut short because of the rain, but we still managed to have a good time and played lots of cards!

A few snap shots to share........

Cody Barlow Allred has sooooooo much Barlow in him

The boys in their bunk

best cousins!

This was super hard, but we won!

Tony and I were the only ones who could complete this challenge. You had to balance your bodies together with your hands while standing on wires that gradually separated you.
A great bonding experience!

So sexy in our climbing gear!

This was really high and scary!

(The loud thunder crash while I was up there didn't help either.)

Me on the zip line....SO AWESOME!

Connor being brave after we talked him into doing it.

Even Lauren did the high climb and zip line. What a brave girl!!

My cute boys!

The girls loved their bunks together

Connor quickly made friends with his new cousins

And then the rains came :(.

Dad trying to cheer us up

The whole gang!
(before the hail)

After the hail :)

...And then we came home.

Entrepreneurs

One benefit to living on a g0lf course is the opportunity for your kids to take advantage of the golfers. From collecting stray golf balls to selling drinks and such. To bust their boredom the kids decided to set up shop one day between the 17th and 18th holes by our house. They were met with financial success. They sold ice cold soda and water and managed to make $11. With the economy how it is, I just might take up shop myself one of these days........

Take me out to the ball game....

We took the kids to their first baseball game this summer. We had free tickets to an Ogden Raptors game at Lindquist Field in Ogden. This sounded like a good idea, plus the tickets were free. Well, we only lasted 3 innings. Let's just say that baseball is not too entertaining for a 9, 7, and 3 year old. To make the night more eventful, however, Connor ripped a big hole in the backside of his shorts (yep, showing underwear and all), Lauren's flip-flop fell down under the bleachers, and all Cody could do was cry about how thirsty he was. Maybe we'll try another baseball game in a few years.....or NEVER.

The tradition continues....

Imagine this......it's 6:00 am on Bountiful's Main Street. My dad is literally fighting people in the dark for a 6 foot by 6 foot piece of grass for our family to sit on for the parade. He won, and put his crime scene tape up to protect it! Thanks Dad!! Hence, the Bountiful parade tradition continues!

Friends

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.
Walk beside me and be my friend."
- Albert Camus

Believe it or not, I still get together with my High School friends. Several times a year we meet for dinner, lunch or to talk. This summer we met at Heidi and Derek's parents house for a nice evening together. The kids swam, the parents talked. I have been blessed with great friends! And after all these years we still feel close when we get together. Almost like time hasn't even passed.
Love you guys!!

Bear Lake 2009

Our Jensen family reunion to Bear Lake was awesome this year! Beach, sand and sun - I love it. The kids got DIRTY, the adults talked and we all ate drank and were merry (thanks to Milt's fountain drinks on tap). What a great family I feel blessed to be a part of.

The whole family

"The cousins"
(minus Trish, Adam & Aaron)

the endless drinks.......

grandpa and his grandkids

Dirty! (it was all Anna's fault :))

gotta love the diry sand at the beach

Beach stud-muffin

Ron's boat. He let the kids each take turns driving it. Cody kept telling each of the kids, "go right, go left."

the famous tree swing

this is how much Tony loves my family reunions

The kids loved these trikes at the KOA

4 fun years!!

What was life like without Cody? It was definitely boring! Cody turns 4 years old today!! I can't believe my baby is 4 already. It is hard to remember what our family was like without Cody. He adds so much fun, excitement, energy and love to our home. You can't help but smile or laugh when you're around Cody. He loves to clown around, jump around and run around. He never stops moving except when he is sleeping. He's everybody's 'little buddy' and loves to have all the attention on him. While the kids in primary sang Happy Birthday to him today, he stood there with his fingers up his nose. Everyone laughed and he loved it! So.....here's to my beautiful boy......Happy Birthday!!! We love you!