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!