Easter Weekend!

I was quite brave, I must admit, the Friday before Easter and volunteered to have some friends & kiddos come over to the house for Easter egg dying activity. Ya, what was I thinking? I know.

However, we all were pleasantly surprised and pleasantly proud of our lil' terror children who, by some miracle, did not end up dying my table, by couch, any of the moms clothing, and to Cash's happiness, not him.

Although I give the braveness award to great friend, Shauna, who helped Lily dye all of her eggs...uh, not that Sha had a choice. Lil just sat right up on her lap and wouldn't take no for an answer...she's a bossy lil' thing. Thank you Shauna! (big thanks, cuz that meant more mimosas for me!)

Vaughn especially loves Easter activities!

And who knew I invited Martha Stewart over? Brooke not only baked cookies that morning (what happened to the cheating ways of store bought?!) but she put them in a cute wicker basket with a fashionable striped kitchen towel to keep them warm and of course, presentation, presentation, presentation. What?! Who are you?

And we could tell Gretts was a seasoned "kids activity" mom; hence, just taking Gagey's shirt off right away to avoid stains. Smart lady, she is.

And who brought this hooligan?! Oh 3-year-olds - the discovery of making funny faces for the camera is priceless.

We love that Koa!

And Easter Weekend continues with family fun! A few pics from our Easter Brunch...

Lil 110% hearts her Auntie Laura!

Now here's a motley crew

Our sweet tiny Lydia - love her!

So we have yet another Martha in our lives...check out all the hats the kids are wearing! Melissa made bunny beanies for everyone which were just absolutely adorable...adorable! Thanks Meliss!!

Megan! It's your turn!!

Megan - if you're reading this blog, this is your shout out from the Bartons! It's your turn to visit Utah...you said you were coming!! Have I guilted you enough yet?

Well if not, I'm playing dirty now....I know you hate to be left out, so let me just show you how much fun we had when Sar & James came to visit! (Sarah also straight up slipped this night up in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival...there's always comic relief when Sar's around - love her!)

Much to your surprise, Utah does in fact serve very large beers...

Kenny and I are patiently waiting...

Because tutus are fun

Lily is lucky enough to have awesome Auntie Sydney who sends some dang cute presents...oh uh, and Uncle Branden, too, of course. :) This fancy orange tutu is just one of those to show off! Why should every girl own a tutu? Let's list a few reasons...

First and foremost - they just make a girl smile!

You get to twirl and twirl while staring in the mirror to admire how it floats up!

Because your friends wish they had one...

When you crawl up on a couch, a chair, a bed, etc, all those tulles layers up in the air with a cute tush exposed is just to die for!
And finally, why every girl needs a tutu? Because they can convince even the toughest of dads for just one more piece of candy!

Oh George W...

A girl after my own heart...Ken gave me this birthday card last year and I've kept it because it's one of my absolute favorites. Well, come to find out, Lil finds the humor in it as well.

Full disclosure of the card:

(On the front featuring our former President Bush)

"My fellow Americans, we're at war, the price of gas continues to rise, and social security will run out in a few years, but, don't worry -- I do have some good news...

(open the card and W's voice says...)

"I've save a bunch of money on my car insurance!"

(taken, of course, from the Geico commercials! Now go watch the video again and laugh with Lil some more!)

And why do we swim in the ocean?

Lil and I ventured down to the dinosaur museum awhile ago with our cool mama-kid pals. I'm fine with staring at giant monsters that have been long since extinct, but then much to my surprise and fear, we came upon this...

Apparently, this GIANGANTIC shark (with some name that I could never attempt to spell or remember for that matter) once lived in the ocean, but scientists know little about it. So since they don't know much about it, how the hell do they know it doesn't still live in the ocean? This is why I prefer lakes to the ocean.

Kid Free and Zac Brown Concert Night!

Lucky for Ken & I and Gretts & T-Bone, we have wonderful families who babysit for us so we can enjoy a night out once in awhile! And so we were off to the Zac Brown concert at the newly opened Rail Events Center a couple of weekends ago...Zac - awesome! Venue - sucked!! But that's another story.

Funny, several photos felt like I'd seen them before...similar smiles, similar lighting, similar progression of worsening as the night went on. Kenny Chesney???

Early in the night...

Later in the night...

Early concert

During concert

(yes that is a very pregnant Gretchen dancing on a piano bench! Hey, it was the only way we could see...hence the comment about the venue sucking!)

End concert...

At least someone is resting around here...thanks for watching Lil, boys!!

Bull Riding Anyone?

And by bull, I mean Cash the Black Lab.

Oh Cash, you are the best and most patient and most chill dog in the world!

That is for about 30 seconds....30 seconds of Lily jumping up and down yelling and pulling. About 28 more patient seconds than Ken would have allowed!

Sit Down Family Dinners? Ya right!

Fortunately for all of you this video cuts out; unfortunately, for Ken and I, the video is in fact real life, every night, 7 nights a week, 4 weeks in a month...you get the picture. However, this brief preview gives you an idea as to how our "family" dinners are going these days. So moms and dads out there, when does this stage pass???

Oh we love our lil' Lil...

America's Best Dance Crew

As many have seen or heard, our lil' dancin' diva starts shaking her booty anytime the music comes on! And this night proved to be no different as she and I kicked on American's Best Dance Crew while Ken was out of town. A girl's night out! However, it came to an abrupt end...watch closely to see why... (if you can put this in slow motion, do it on the 2nd go around!)

(and it's ok if you giggle or just straight up laugh out loud because her caring and loving mother couldn't wait to play it back...so much so, I was laughing before I hit play! BUT only after I knew it was just her pride that was hurt!!!!! I swear!!!!!)

New Trends Just In

The do's and dont's of this season's fashion trends...

Do: Shades are always in, no matter the year, the era, the season!

Don't: You can accessorize with a hair clip or two; more than that and it gets a little...crowded.

Do: Wear polka dots at age 1.

Don't: Not if you're carrying a 1-year-old. Never.

Do: Layer! Always in fashion,while also practical in the Winter season

Don't: Put too many layers on with mismatching patterns and colors, even Lil knows this fashion basic!

And the hot, new trend for hair styling this season...get ready...

Orange Juice!

You want that mane to stay put when you're out on the town? Just peel an orange and rub it in and watch the style begin...

And as always, DO have your best Zoolander pose ready for those cameras!

Happy Dressing!

Welcome to the World Miss Lydia Barton!

Ken's brother, Rick and our sis-in-law Melissa, recently welcomed the oh-so-cute, oh-so-tiny and yeah another girl to the Barton Family...Lydia! She joined us on January 4th and has already given her mom and dad and the rest of the fam a big scare! Lydia had RSV at only 2 weeks old but thank goodness is totally healthy now, totally smiling, and totally bringing joy to our lives!

And Lydia has one big fan already! Lily just loves her and is always so curious about what she's doing...totally cute. In fact, the other day, Lil kept "lovin" Lydia's feet as she slept in her bouncy chair. We were working really hard to convince Lil of just lovin' her feet and not her face and such...it worked - pretty well!

A Day At the Farm

So some of us mamas decided to start getting together on Fridays with the kiddos, so the little ones can all play together...that's the cover story. The real story, so us moms can get together and have some girl gab time and not go kid crazy!

This was our first get together...Wheeler Farm...5 crazy kids...a gazillion crazier geese or ducks or some sort of psycho cross breed! These things are scary!

More weird birds...this time, chickens and roosters and why the hell do our kids all love them? They are kinda' gross...and yet, we eat them. Same with the pigs! Maybe I should stop going to the Farm??

K, this is just too cute of a photo! And that is our friend Shauna way down the road chasing all these rugrats down!

We decided to cage up all the animals! :)

More scary goose time...

Lil was just trying to be like the multi-colored horse w/ her outfit!

There's No Place Like Home...and PJs

Thanks to good friends, the Amideis, Lily wakes up every morning and has her dreams come true! She gets to put on her fancy red squeaky shoes...pajamas and all! Ken and I "get" to be awakened by Lily yelling out to us...when we walk in, she's standing in the crib with a big smile and then, we either see her signing "eat" (this kid is a garbage disposal!) or pointing to her closet "eh-eh-eh"'ing for none other than her red shoes. We oblige and help her put them on...and the rest of the morning consists of loud squeaks (more of a honk at this hour!) and dancing...could be loudly annoying in the a.m., however, then when you see that smile, somehow the squeaking becomes hilarious and almost welcomed!

Squeaking in the kitchen!

This particular morning, her shoes needed an accessory...her red Christmas coat given by Auntie Sydney

At her best, dancing in the kitchen!

I Got My 2 Front Teeffff

Finally! Lily has two more teeth! Her two front teeth broke through last week and Ken is nervous that she will have his same middle gap. I told him there is time for those to push together, however, if they don't, and his fake little piece of tooth should fall out...oh the jokes that will fly in this house. (I'm secretly hoping it all happens...but then for Lil's sake and our pocket book, hers will push together and somehow Kenny can pop his piece back in!)

A quick look back at Winter '09

Watching the tube with Grandpa Jim...some really educational kids cartoon, I'm sure! Or, my money is on a duck hunting show...well at least we know Lily will be able to shoot a duck 500 yards away!

So much fun with Auntie Laura!

Cohen has no idea why his Cousin Lily is so loud??? Just sit there and smile like me & Grammie, he says!
Of course Grandma Linda spoiled the grandkids (and kids for that matter) way, way too much! Thank you Grandma Linda and Grandpa Bill!
Christmas time ='s Christmas outfit! provided by Auntie Sydney and the squeaky shoes from great friends Brooke, Tom, and Vaughn Amidei! Way, way too cute!

"I got your nose!" A great game Great Grandma Jay taught Lil who still plays this with Ken and I...in fact, when we look at photos of Great Grandma Jay Lily starts leaning into my hand to grab her nose! Ahhh the trickery we play on kids...whatever, if it keeps them entertained, go for it!

I turned one! Here's Lil at her one-year-old doctor's appointment...holy big girl! I cannot even believe it!

Chillin' with Cousin T (Tristan)...before the weather went cold for winter, we were able to have brunch at our house for (if my memory serves me right, yes yes I know I should keep up on this blog stuff better - i hear ya Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sheryl!) Laura and Bob's birthdays in November. Lil absolutely adores her cousins!!