Good enough for a statue?

Have you ever thought about what great things you might accomplish in your life?
Have you ever thought if those things would make your ancestors want to make a statue of you for your greatness? Well, I have just recently asked myself those two questions because my Great, Great, Great Grandfather Israel Barlow had a statue made and dedicated in his honor at This is the Place State Park. There were hundreds of the extended Barlow family who attended this celebration back in September. It was so fun to see so many distant relatives paying tribute to someone we could all call 'grandpa'. Israel was an amazing man with an amazing testimony and I feel blessed to be one of his 100,000 descendants. And just in case you were wondering, here are just a few of the things that made him 'Statue worthy"......

Bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph Smith
Temple Builder
Missionary
Willey Handcart Company Rescuer
Member of Zion's camp
Helped the church purchase land in Nauvoo

Family picnic after the dedication

"The Statue"

Israel is bronzed with one of his wives

The crowd surrounding the dedication.
(You can see 'This is the Place' monument in the background. )

So...the next time you go to This is the Place State Park, make sure you visit Grandpa Israel and tell him "hello" for me.

Double Digits!

Today Connor turns the big 1-0! Double digits. That sounds old. What a blessing Connor is in our lives. From birth he has been happy, happy, happy!

His smile is contagious. His great grandpa Barlow even called him 'grinner' because he is always smiling.

Connor is fun and friendly. Wherever we go he easily makes friends.

He is sensitive and thoughtful.

He is a great example to his younger brother and sister.

He always tries to do what is right.

Of all of my kids he is the lover and the hugger. He will often come to me and say,"I haven't given you a hug today"....followed by a big, long, lingering hug. I love it!

He is the night owl at our house who has trouble going to bed before 10:00. Yet, without fail, he is always the first up in the morning too.

He loves a good joke and loves even more to tell you one. Connor loves to laugh, laugh, laugh, and laugh and laugh some more.

He is without fail, absolutely, positively SPECIAL!

And they're off!!

The first day of school is always a bitter-sweet day for me. After having the kids home with me all summer it is hard to have them gone to school all day. Yet, after having the kids home with me all summer it is a welcome change to have them gone to school all day. I do love the fun, the bonding, the lazy days, the time together all summer long. But the summer does tend to be LONG. I miss the kids terribly that first week of school. Finding myself wandering around the somewhat quiet house (Cody is still home) looking for something to do. Then I start to enjoy the time and fill it with all the things that got left undone over the summer. And then having them gone all day becomes normal. I do miss them though. The hustle and bustle of kids around. But, as they come home from school each day having learned more than I could have taught them at home, I am grateful they go to school.

Lauren, age 7. 2nd grade. Loves her boots!!

Connor, age 9. 4th grade.
Lauren at her seat in Mrs. Fisher's class

Connor was so embarrassed that I even took this picture of him by his locker. He is in Ms. Henderson's class along with all the boys in the neighborhood.

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!