The Barney Blog

What do you bring to a white elephant gift exchange?

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:46:00 +0000

That!

The month in review

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:44:00 +0000

Doesn't that title just grab your interest and make you want to read this post? I bet you're on the edge of your seats. Well, I won't let you down!

THE PRICE IS RIGHT

I fulfilled one my lifetime goals (I set reasonable goals for myself) by attending a taping of The Price is Right. I went with my Grandma, my sis, and my friend Sheri who I found out while we were there is my third cousin! Her grandma and my grandma were cousins and grew up picking potatoes together. Crazy mormons are all related, I guess. The day required hours and hours of waiting in lines, but we met a lot of nice people. One elderly couple we waited in line with entertained us with some stand-up comedy that they perform on cruise ships (the wife asks him to nibble on her ear like he used to. He jumps out of bed. She says "where are you going?" Husband replies "To get my teeth!"). We got in the show, and although we didn't get to come on down, we yelled ourselves hoarse saying "One dollar, one dollar!" Overall it was totally exhausting, but I guess that's the "price" you have to pay for fame and fortune! Hee hee...

Grandma hung out with us for a few days. The kids loved having her around, especially Ben. He likes to eat and she likes to feed people. It's a match made in heaven!
What else did we do this month? I'm glad you asked.

THANKSGIVING

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We invited Nellie over and had our own meal. Man oh man, what a great holiday. As my friend Carly said "Good food and being grateful, how much better could a day get?" And it really can get better when my friend Jill, who also has celiac disease, did a pie swap with me. I had four gluten free pies. It was like a little turkey day miracle. And then it got better when Sam wanted to help, so I gave him the ingredients for the cheeseball and he made it! It was the first time that he helped in a way that actually diminished my workload instead of the other way around.

I have so much to be grateful for, so I wrote a poem about it:

Turkey day helps me count all my blessings.

And you also say "please pass the dressing."

I love all my family

I love all my friends

And I promise with you I'm not messing.

The sugar rush begins

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:05:00 +0000

Happy Halloween from the Barneys!

We went to our ward Halloween Hoopla and had loads and loads of fun (almost as much fun as we had candy in our buckets afterward!) Here's Tinkerbell, Usain Bolt the Olympic 100 M dash gold medalist, and a chicken.

This video shows Ben in action as a chicken. Too bad he could only keep the costume on for 15 minutes before he started sweating to death. He made one cute little chicken, though, for as long as it lasted.

The other pics are our recent trips to Disneyland. Amy and I celebrated our birthday there. Birthdays are so cool with a twin. And especially when it's Amy. We had a birthday sleepover the night before. She kept doing nice things for me during the day saying it was in honor of my birthday. Then I had fun making my own birthday cake because, really, it was for Amy. That's what I call a lesson in service! Here's baby Kate with her matching Moms at Disneyland.

Chris has gotten used to me hounding him to take pictures. He has the longer arm and he's gotten pretty good at it, don't you think? Here's us on our date night at Disneyland on tea cups (thank you Sheri for watching the kids!).

3,000 Miles and a book full of pictures later...

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:24:00 +0000

Yeah. We totally drove all the way to Seattle (and all over WA) and back as a family and we're actually alive to tell the tale. And you know what, I'm glad we did it! We had a really good time together. It seems like the traveling part of the trips comprise a lot of my memories of vacationing with the whole family as a child, (wrestling in the back of the blue van/ watching out for our pet iguana as it wandered the van when we moved from CA to CO). Traveling is different now than when I was a kid. Maybe Sam will remember the hour upon hour he watched Scooby Doo, or how it was even cooler in Portuguese once they tired of the English version. Scooby still starts his words with r's, even in Portuguese.

Other possible experiences that indelibly etched upon thier young minds:

Seeing a tree you could drive through if you didn't have a fully loaded mini-van with a storage thing on top. Pulling over to see a "life size" creation of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. We'd seen a special about this place on a Huell Howser show (that guy is the coolest), and couldn't miss a chance to be somewhere Huell had once been. He even talked and waved to us! Camping in the redwoods where we enjoyed skipping rocks and all sleeping soundly in one tent (wonder of wonder, miracles of miracles).We got to see Seattle and ride the ferry to Bainbridge Island.

Here's Chris with the kids and an oh-so picturesque Rainbow settling just over the Space Needle. Beautiful, isn't it? Here's me Reading Harry Potter in the car on the ferry while Sam sleeps off the last remnants of the food poisoning that we all got, but he was the last to get it and the last to recover. But a quiet moment in the car is almost as nice as a rainbow and the space needle sometimes.

The real reason for the drive was Chris' sister Becky's wedding. The groom's (Jon's) Dad lives on Bainbridge Island and has a gorgeous backyard where they held the ceremony. Lucy got to be the flower girl and made it most of the way down the aisle before becoming completely terrified and running to me crying. Ben liked playing with the petals, so it all worked out, and I think they got a few good pics of her before she saw the crowd, so all is well.

The bride and groom glowed and we loved being with Becky and the rest of the Barney family whom we definitely don't see often enough. Here's Chris and his brothers (Dean, Jason, and Aaron) with their sis Becky.

The women: Bridesmaid I don't know, Theresa, Becky, and Erica holding Eva.

Becky graced us with her singing/keyboard talents (she is SO amazing!) and her friends from other bands from the Seattle area rocked the reception. They were so good, they even got Grandpa busting a move! Now I know where Chris gets his moves!

Daddy-daughter dancing is the BEST!
Cute cousin Eva found Ben and remember him from their visit this summer. She gave him a little kiss and he stood ever so still. I think it means they'll be friends forever.

Forgive the shoddy camera work. She can really sing.

After the wedding, we spent a few days touring Seattle, Mount Rainier, and Mount St. Helens. Those mountains sure make you understand what it means to be the dust of the earth. They tower over everything. They are some amazing creations!

Grandma Doris and Ben playing dress-up in Ye Olde Curiousity Shoppe. Sam finding butterflies at the Pacific Science Center.

Mount St. Helens lost over 1,000 feet in height when it erupted. The whole area looks desolate compared to the lush forests everywhere else (it's still greener than SoCal!).

Mount Rainier vs. Sam -- who would you bet on?

The Grove of the Patriarchs.

We also spent some time with Grandpa Chris and Grandma Doris, who let the kids ride one of their miniature horses. They LOVED it!
That's it! We are back and glad to be back. I don't think we'll be traveling out of state for quite awhile. Come to sunny so-cal and visit us instead!

Mourning the end of an era

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:53:00 +0000

Up to this point my life as a mother hasn't been controlled much by anything but me. I got used to doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. We had a good schedule of things we were involved in and doing, but nothing we HAD to do, usually. Now school has started and it's all changing. I am officially controlled by the man now. I have to take my child to school every day or they'll throw me in "JL" (that's Jail in Sam's dialect of English). At least I tell Sam he has to go every day or we'll both get in trouble -- I didn't tell him I'd go to jail, promise.

I have to say that three kids at home at once did get a little overwhelming near the end of this summer, though, making me ready for school to start. You can only sing and dance for so long before you just want them to go and clean up their room just because you told them to do it. Can you tell I was ready for a change? But I will miss a few things like:

Lounging around in our pj's all day.

Camping in the backyard -- not caring about bedtimes or routines.
Lounging in the tent.
Boating with the girls.

Making cookies outside so we could recklessy sprinkle the dough with flour (and taking a bath on the grass with the hose afterwards).

Summer ended when I told Sam "Finish your homework first"." And then I realized I'm probably going to say those exact words a lot more for a long time. I can't believe Sam's in school. Gone are the carefree days of summer and here comes structure and schedules. Gone is my baby boy! But he's ready and I'm ready. It's not all bad, but it'll take some getting used to.

He could hardly sleep the night before he was so excited. He woke up early, brought out his carefully planned clothes, dressed, then asked me every few seconds when it was time to go. During breakfast he told me he felt like a teenager. Once the time finally came, he donned his backpack and jumped into my view saying "I'm Kindergarten Boy!"

That's his teacher Mrs. Stephens in the background. She's great!When I picked him up, he looked like they'd been performing China torture on him. He moped over to me and when I asked how it went, he said "Not good!" Day 2 and 3 have gone a little better, I think.

Our day is different without Sam. Lucy and I like doing girly things now like dress-ups and painting our toe nails. Ben jumps right in. He has lovely pink toes right now and he loves it. I don't know if things have changed for the better for sweet little Benny boy. Change is good, though, right?

To make my family jealous

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:11:00 +0000

I got to see my brother today even though he's still on his mission. We have been good his whole mission while he's serving an hour away from where we live and haven't tracked him down once. The mission pres granted us a lunch date before he left and today was the lucky day. He flies home on Wednesday.

I was nervous, and he later said he was nervous, about what the outcome of our little date might be, but it ended up being a great time. Everybody wants to see the newly home elders, but I hated to be the one to remind him the real world is coming. I told him it's good, though. I don't think he believed me.

We met in a bit of a sketchy neighborhood at a cool Mexican food joint. His companion gained five pounds worth of burrito during the meal (he's a bean pole, so he could use it). We talked about his mission and how things might be when he gets back. I think he's in for a bit of a shock based on how he reacted to a couple of Chris' slightly off comments, but he's going to do just fine. Just don't make him watch any movies for awhile. He's not ready for that. And he doesn't want to hear Weezer right away, either.

We love Bubba and can't wait to have him back! He has definitely served with honor and is coming home a different, wiser, more mature man (but still as skinny as before, to his chagrin). Hopefully we'll rise up to his level a little bit as he rubs off on us.

MJ's memorial is tomorrow, so LA is covered with murals like this one down the street from where we ate. Bubba was worried he was breaking the rule of looking like a tourist. I thought it was more of a historical picture. It marks the end of an era in so many ways.

What we did on the 4th

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:01:00 +0000

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. My friend pointed out today that it has all the fun of the best holidays without the fuss of gifts (like Christmas) or insane amounts of food prep (like Thanksgiving). Ours was nice. We started with a refreshing pancake breakfast. The flier sent out at church said "Come enjoy a refreshing pancake breakfast." I can't eat pancakes, but it looked like everyone else was very refreshed by it.

I told Sam we celebrate the 4th in honor of those who fought for our freedom and who continue to do that. He said "like Uncle Danny?" who is in Iraq fighting right now. I think it meant more for the kids knowing someone they could relate the meaning of the day to.

That afternoon we swam at Nellie's with the cousins. Sam got stung by a bee as he was about to cannon-ball into the pool about 15 minutes into the festivities. A few popsicles later he still wanted to go home, so we did. We barbecued and ate outside. The kids werekind of jumpy about bugs after Sam's incident, but they forgot all about it once I started filling water balloons for our water balloon toss. It's funny how I spent so long filling balloons and never had more than 10 filled at one time. Ben especially loved grabbing them, giggling, then chucking them on the grass. Chris snuck up on the roof with a hose and sprayed us as we worked so diligently filling and tying (all the kids helped, of course). So then the 10 I had filled were launched at him. We got him pretty good. That counted for the water balloon toss, I think.

Later we had a huge communal bath (it's nice having kids and cousins 7 and under--they don't care yet). Then we enjoyed our first batch of homemade ice cream for the year. We were all totally spent even though we really wanted to watch fireworks. Cousins left, hoping to catch some fireworks on the ride home. We got lucky. As we were putting the kids to bed, we heard the booms of the nearby show. I peeked out the window and there it was! We could see half of the show pretty clearly. Sam was exhausted! He lay in bed and watched for a few minutes before I heard him lightly snoring. Lucy kept saying "Oooh, that's a pitty (pretty) one!" and telling me which ones were her favorite colors. She got tired and jumped in bed, too. Chris wandered off, so I watched the end of the show as my kids fell asleep. It was a perfect way to end the day.

Check out Ben's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:04:00 +0000

I just accidentally posted the blog meant for here on Ben's blog, so follow the link to see it. I'm too lazy to recreate it.....

The Force always Prevails!

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Sam turned five (AAHH!! He's growing up) and chose a Star Wars theme for his first "friends" party (we've always just done family parties). He had been a Jedi for Halloween because he reveres his friend Brayden who let him borrow the costume, but he hadn't seen the movies. I guess a light saber is enough reason to want to have a Star Wars party, right? I tried to talk him into other party ideas, but Star Wars he wanted and Star Wars he got. He asked me as I was explaining some of the activities I had planned what Star Wars' younger brother's name was. Hmmmm.....I decided I'd better let him watch some of the movie, at least, so he would get the games. All of the activities were training to become a Patowan. I learned a lot of vocab as I did my homework to do this right. It's not like anyone knew what was going on, but it's the principal of it, you know? And I had a lot of fun with the details. Here's the sign that greeted them.

That's supposed to be Yoda in case you can't tell--I'm quite artistically challenged and almost had to draw a grid like in middle-school art class to get this right. Then there were the games. We did Pin the X-Wing Starfighter on the Death Star (blindfolded using only the power of the force), Yoda-Vader (red-saber, green saber), and of course an obstacle course involving a meteor shower (one mom throwing rice), ducking under a lava flow (cellophane), and avoiding the dark side (Chris and Lucy with a light saber). If they completed their training, they got a classy homemade light saber (pool noodles and dowels make for a very safe and inexpensive version of the original). Then, thanks to a friend in the ward andy my bro-in-law, there was a disturbance in the force and Darth arrived to take on the newly trained warriors. Only one kid cried when he showed up. Yeah, it was totally intense. When they got over their fear, they went a little postal on him, but luckily only one kid had a real plastic light saber. The rest were pretty soft. Jason was a good sport. The best line happened when he came out and invited each kid to fight him individually using their new moves (I ripped this off from Disneyland's Jedi Training show). He called his son Luke, Sam's cousin, up and said what he'd been trying to find the opportunity to say since he was born "Luke, I am your father!"

Yoda's green, I know, but I was going to do Darth and it was too hard (see the three Darths in the middle? It looks like a nun with a mouth guard). All of these ideas were online--what did mothers do before the internet?

A birthday tribute--Sam is so grown up. He loves preschool, his new friends there, and looks forward to getting homework in kindergarten (we'll see how long I can milk that one!). He likes fixing things, working on puzzles with Dad, and learning new things. He thinks he could drive if I let him try (thanks Grandpa!). He told me that one day he's going to marry Lucy and they'll have Ben as a baby and I said, "Yep--I can't wait!" I keep thinking I don't want him to grow up, but I love every step of the way. Happy birthday Sam! We love you so much!

Lotsa Turtles

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:03:00 +0000

I'm always trying to take the kids exciting places and to do educational things with them. We've gone to Sea World, museums, zoos, spent hours driving, packed a million PB&J's... And then a few weeks ago I found a gem of a place literally across the street from where I live! We walked through our neighbor and Sam's buddy Logan's backyard (they have access to the gardens) to the coolest little turtle pond in the heart of the UCR Botanic Gardens. We chose the hottest day of the year so far, but that meant all of the turtles were out sunning. The kids counted turtles (19!) and then ooh'ed and aah'ed at the koi and other fish. After the turtles, we wandered through the beautiful foliage trying to get hit with sprinklers and stay in the shade. We've been here for 5 years and only visited the gardens once before, and then without really exploring much. It proves that you don't need to go much further than your own backyard to enjoy the beauty of the earth!

Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:21:00 +0000

I actually updated the kids blogs. Please take a look (the links are on the right)!

Lying to my children and Counting my Blessings

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:48:00 +0000

Sam really wanted to know if the Easter Bunny was human or not. I'm not hugely attached to the idea that my kids need to believe in the Easter Bunny, but at the same time I'm not ready to admit that it's all a hoax. He didn't press that much. In fact, when he found a sippy cup (shown above as my decoy while taking Ben's picture) in his easter basket that he had seen in the closet, he accepted my explanation that some of the stuff in his basket came from me and some of it came from the Easter Bunny. He'll figure it out soon enough, right? Let the children enjoy a bit of fantasy while it lasts. Here's the best shot I got of Easter clothes--I know it's washed out, but I thought it kind of looked like a perfume add or something.

We had magical weather on Easter Sunday, making our traditional dinner with Jason, Beth, and Nellie as perfect as it could be. We are so blessed to have family we love close by! (Don't ever move Jason and Beth! We'd be forced to follow you!).

Otherwise, our family is elbow deep in mulch and compost working on our garden. I worked at a garden center for a few months in college and managed to learn nothing, so Chris takes care of most of it. I figure I'll be in charge of harvesting and cooking/canning (if I get that ambitious). The kids and I help water every afternoon, which usually turns into a big mud-fest, and then a big cry-fest as I hose them off and drag them to the bath. Ben eats dirt like it's keeping him alive. I wonder if that kid's missing some nutrients in his diet or something, which is very unlikely seeing as how he eats more than the other two kids combined. But we love being outdoors right now and plan to enjoy the cool weather while it lasts.

Barney Butter, Wedding Bells, and Birthday Candles

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:35:00 +0000

My friend Sarah and I ran The Great Race of Agoura Hills last weekend. They have a great after-race party and had one vendor called Barney Butter. I told the woman manning it that that was my last name and she thought I was really cool (I've always thought Barney was a winning last name!) and gave me a shirt. It might not have made up for all of Chris' sacrifices for him to allow me to go to the race (we stayed in Agoura Hills the night before), but it is a pretty cool shirt. Check out barneybutter.com for more details. And yes, it's a gluten-free product and tastes great. I had a blast racing--thanks Sarah for the great trip and for always keeping track of me in the crowd!

Chris and I got away without kids for three whole days! Chris' old roommate finally (I'm kidding Pope!) joined the happily wedded masses and we got to attend. It's our second trip to Oakland for a wedding. Last year we went for his other roomate who finally got married (I'm not kidding, Trever). We reminisced, reconnected, and ate a lot of really good food. I felt like an adult eating tapas and traveling with a small purse. Chris and I basked in the quietude of a car without kids in it. If only Chris hadn't gotten the slide whistle from the wedding favor basket (the bride and groom gave out little games because they had gotten to know each other playing games)--it would really have been quiet the whole way home! And upon returning to the homestead, I seriously felt rejuvenated and prepared to better meet the challenges of the day-to-day. I spent the next three days playing a lot, cleaning a lot less, and generally enjoying my 3 blessings a bit more than before the trip. Thank you to Amy and Mom for holding down the fort. The kids had the time of their lives getting spoiled by Grandma. Ben clung to Aunt Amy (who he wouldn't stop clinging to when we got home-we confused him thoroughly about who his mom really is).

Lastly, we celebrated some birthdays this month. Lucy turned 3, Ben turned 1, his cousin Tommy turned 1 also, and my brothe Jaeson came out and had a birthday too! Look at the kids' personal blogs for more birthday party pictures soon, but I did want to include a couple of pictures from when my brother's family visited. We loved getting to know cousins Carter and Simon and having a house full of boys! And Sarah cooked some delicious mexican food. We miss you guys already! The picture of Carter demonstrates my favorite habit of his--if you ask him something he's unsure about, he'll decline respectfully with his hands forward saying "No thanks,"...and then some excuse. In this picture, I said "Smile Carter and Lucy!" And he said "No thanks, I can't really smile right now." The other two are pictures of Lucy and Ben on their birthdays.

Indulgent Grandmotherly Post

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:42:00 +0000

I'll preface this post by admitting that this will contain nothing but silly stories, cute pictures, and possibly boring information unless you think my kids are as cute as I do, and I'm not so close-minded as to think that that includes everyone (or even more than like 5 people). My kids are amazing, but you know what I mean. So here goes:

Lucy is SO independent. Whenever I try to help her with something, she shuts me down with an emphatic "I do it mysels!" I told her I'd paint her fingernails, but of course she had to do it herself. I figured I could just remove it after, right? I hovered while she painted her fingers. I tried to have her show it off, but this pic is the best I could get of her beautiful very berry manicure. Funny story: One night at the dinner table we heard a weird noise. Chris turned into ninja mode and got real intense listening and looking around. "What is that sound?" He kept saying. I heard it too, but wasn't as interested as him. "It's me, Dad!" Says Lucy. We just ignored her. "It sounds like a cat, but it sounds like it's in this room!" Sam was getting scared now. Chris kept investigating. He opened the window, walked into the next room, had us all pause and listen for awhile. This whole time, Lucy keeps saying "It's me, Dad, it's me!" Finally I look at her and notice the sound happens whenever she took a deep breath. She had been sick and was wheezing through her nose in the most cat-like way imaginable. So she had been telling the truth all along! And we didn't have a cat hiding in the kitchen after all.
We got TWO inches of rain over the last couple of days. I love it! The kids think holding an umbrella is a special privelege since it only happens once every couple of months. Ben splatted around aimlessly in the rain and loved it.

Ben likes combing his hair, wiping his head with baby wipes, and putting glasses on. I think he just discovered that he has hair, and it's all he thinks about. That and how he can get his hands on anything edible. Sam started preschool a few weeks ago. He goes every day and it's weird having him be a real pre-student and that means I've had to be a real pre-responsible mom! It's preparing both of us for the real deal when he starts kindergarten this fall. Did I just say that? Is he really going to kindergarten? Oi--he's growing up so fast! But he has made lots of friends at preschool and seems to like it. Only once so far has he tried to goldbrick it. He kept saying he had a headache as we were trying to get out the door. I reminded him that his good friend Carter had invited him over after school and if he felt sick he couldn't go. "Oh, it feels better already!" One more cute Sam story: We were eating a lemon meringue pie together. He started eating and said "Wow, this sure is rich!" I took a bite and agreed, "You're right Sam. This is rich!" Sam-"I don't think I can even eat it all!" Pause.....Sam-"This pie isn't even poor!" "Yeah, Sam, it's not poor at all!" Sam-"How did it get so much richness in it?" I didn't have an answer for that one.

Chris organized a little wrestlemania Barney style. It's a bit long. You get a good shot of Ben's tubby belly about second 42. Man, that kid can eat! And Nellie--there's some good moments of Lucy laughing from her toes, as you say.

Supermom can't even open the mac n cheese box

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 04:22:00 +0000

This week I thought about the expectations I, and moms in general, set for themselves. I had trained for months to run a race that happened last week, but I got sick and, although I had hopes of kicking it in time, I couldn't race. I learned some things about myself. 1) I don't always listen to my body. 2) My body will shut down if I don't listen to it. 3) Optimism helps healing much better than wallowing about being sick.

And with the lessons comes some changes, hopefully. I hope to 1) Listen to my body and know when to take it easy (like running 5 miles before going to the doctor should have triggered that something was wrong with me). 2) Face unexpected trials with a more positive attitude, and 3)There will always be another race.

I thought about the unexpected trials others have gone through and feel embarrassed to say that this qualified as a trial for me--maybe it's better labeled a disappointment. I suppose I'm used to my kids causing changes to my plans all the time. I expect that. This was different. This time it was all me and I didn't like that. I thought I could will myself to overcome my weakness. But the flesh is weak, and believe it or not, that's all us moms are (although we must have an extra tough gene somewhere--just not a superhuman gene).

On a lighter note, how about those mac and cheese boxes? I have never successfully opened a box of mac and cheese by pushing in that half circle on the corner. It just hurts my thumb and dents the cardboard. Sometimes it rips a little hole in it, but it's so small it would take you all day to shake the noodles out. I usually just rip the whole top off the box. Please share any techniques that work for you. Maybe I'll make that Sam's first science experiment--inventing an easy to open mac and cheese box. I guess I've had more time to ponder these mysteries of the universe since I haven't been running the last few weeks.

So I admit my failures in this post. Failure to meet a trial with greater optimism. Failure to patiently open the noodles. Not failures altogether, but learning experiences. Chances to grow and be humbled. They are all around us.

Merry New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:43:00 +0000

What a whirlwind of a Christmas! This year, we had the luck of scoring Mom and Dad and Courtney for the holiday. They came out of the snow of Colorado and into the cold cold rain! What was that all about anyway? We had our coldest week since we've lived here the week they were here. I think the weather gods followed them out because within hours after they left, the sun shone again like the beautiful SoCal I know and love! My kids didn't know what to think wearing all of those different clothes (what are these called mom? Oh yeah, socks!).

We tried to keep it real and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. We had our cousins over to do the nativity scene on Christmas day, and of all the activities of the week, that lined up at the top! The kids requested singing "Picture a Christmas" (a great primary song about Jesus' birth) at the end. My Dad didn't want Lucy to feel lonely as the only barn animal, so he joined her as a cow and doubled as the narrator, adding only minimal commentary to the Bible verses that guided our story.

Otherwise, we spent most of time swinging, dancing

and eating--three of my very favorite pastimes.

And for all of you who might not have received our Christmas card yet (oh wait, no one got a card from us!), I'll just say we love our dear friends and family. We wish we were better at keeping in touch, but we appreciate how everyone enriches our lives in different ways. I love this special time of year and hope to keep the spirit of Christmas, or the spirit of Christ, with me in to this new year.

note on picture to your left: Sam was in an angry picture mood. He was happy and jolly otherwise, but thought it was cool to mad-dog the camera anytime he had the chance.

Underappreciated Crayons

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:55:00 +0000

I don't have any cool pictures, so I guess this post will be a monologue. You'll have to close your eyes and visualize with me what I'm about to share.....

Doodle di doo, doodle di doo (picture Wayne's world with the wavy lines going right now)

Ever since we were young, Amy and I have had this problem of cracking each other up in the worst possible places. Church, for instance, or Mr. Andrjewski's freshman chem class. I even remember having to walk out of Spanish 101 at BYU because something set us off and there was no stopping us. We don't do it on purpose. It's just some weird twin phenomenon where we both see something or hear something and we know exactly what the other is thinking and all of a sudden we're rolling on the floor. We turn into 10 year olds all over again!

Last week Amy and I are sitting in sacrament and Lucy is absorbed in her coloring book. We're absorbed in the testimonies. Lucy pulls out a crayon and starts coloring. All of a sudden she stands straight up, raises her crayon and says (in her not-so-primary-voice) "Hey, this not working!" I looked down and saw her holding the white crayon. That's all it took! We are better at controlling ourselves and didn't actually have to leave the meeting, but we couldn't look at each other for a few minutes. It's not even that funny, is it? Lucy moved on and still thinks they put a faulty crayon in the box. I couldn't chance explaining it to her for fear I would start laughing.

Keeping up with the Kiddos

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:35:00 +0000

Aah, the challenges and joys of motherhood. In reference to trying to clean up after toddlers, I heard someone say it's like shoveling snow during a blizard. Do I hear any amens out there? I'm a bit frazzled as I try to get my work done, enjoy time with the kids, teach them all that stuff they're supposed to know so that kindergarten is obsolete, and the list continues. But such is life. And the simple joys bring me back to a moment of clarity enough that I don't self-destruct in a whirlwind of Glass-plus and crayon bits. Here are a few simple joys recently:

I swear I didn't do this to them. They were only quiet a few minutes. At first, I didn't notice and continued doing dishes. Then I remembered the truth that all mothers learn early on: although intuition would dictate screaming or crying as a bad thing, silence is really far worse! The result of this silent spell didn't require much clean up. In fact, I didn't "clean up" this mess for a little while.

Ben crawls and climbs all over everything. Sam can't wait for Ben to actually play with him. I found them like this with Ben laughing like crazy! Anytime he gets attention from the big kids, he loves it. I love it, too.

And a little early for Thanksgiving, but always something we love to hear, a little video with some words of grattitude from Sam, Lucy, and cousin Luke. And yes, it's November, but it's still swimsuit weather (kind of).

Who cares about B.O. and J.M., what's happening with the Barney's?

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:55:00 +0000

You know those days when life is so busy that you feel certain that things must slow down soon or something will explode? And then you realize that they'll never really ever slow down? Well, I've had a lot of those lately, so I'm putting other seemingly pressing responsibilities aside (you know, like mopping the floor and organizing my shoe closet) to do something even more important: BLOG! I hardly know where to begin so I just chose some of my favorite recent pictures to elaborate on...

Headline #1: Sam and Lucy get a bunk bed!

Lucy graduates from the crib and Sam can touch the ceiling with his toes! And best of all...

they can keep each other company when the bed bugs bite. Lucy snuck up to Sam's bed after we put them down one night. I went to tuck her in only to find her missing! Luckily, she was just a few feet higher than usual, fast asleep. I cringe at the thought of her dragging blankies and Ariel up the ladder in the dark, but she made it unscathed!

Headline #2: My son is smarter than I am!

We got a new bookcase. I asked Sam to help me put it together expecting less help than hindrance. To my dismay, as I sat trying to absorb the directions and figure out what hardware fit in what hole, Sam picked up the pieces and told me exactly what to do! And he was right! Once the directions actually made sense (several minutes later), I could see that what he was telling me was correct. You're probably saying to yourself "Come on, Amber. Any four-year-old should be able to put together a bookcase!" In my defense, I've never claimed to be tool-savvy and I've never really assembled anything out of a box. I leave that stuff to Chris for the most part. I feel capable, but I just know he could do it in half the time. Well, now I know that Sam could also do it in half the time. I think he takes after his tool-belt wearin', drill-gun lovin' Daddy.

Headline #3: Benjamin skips months 4-8 in development in an attempt to keep up with the sibs and stay on top of Dad.

The other kids were content following the normal trend of growth, enjoying each milestone for awhile before attempting the next developmental leap. Ben, impatient and precocious as he is, thinks he can have his rice cereal and eat it too. In the last week he started marine crawling (in honor of Uncle Danny), pulling himself up on sturdy objects (like Dad), and jabbering in real baby language (which Lucy frequently interprets in really broken toddler language). He eats his weight in mushed up gerber nastiness every two days or so and just can't seem to get enough of the world in general. I was hoping for more of a lump on a log with the third child. A little inanimacy (I think I made that word up) would have made my life a lot easier. All the time, though, he laughs and smiles at every accomplishment. I just don't want him to grow up too fast! He's 7 months and 11 days going on 18 months!Other Barney snippets: Chris is busy with a stake assignment helping for Yes on Prop 8. Anyone with ideas on how to prevent people from stealing our Yes on 8 signs, please share. Otherwise, the mew house(that's what Lucy calls it) is sucking up all of our free time with painting, wall-paper removal, yard work, and tile laying. We love it. It's ours.

The Blessing of our Toddler and Spoilage at its Best

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:59:00 +0000

You know your kid is a little older than the average blessed baby when you're saying "Suck it in, Ben--you've got to fit into this thing!" He did fit into his blessing outfit with only a slightly strained seam and two snaps left undone (covered by a vest that made me want to sing "Fat guy in a little coat"). I forgot to take pictures that day and I'm afraid in just a week he made it impossible to humanely fit it on him. But the blessing day was wonderful! Not only is it awesome to feel that special spirit of blessing a newborn, but to have so much family around made it even better. I felt really blessed to see the circle of priesthood holders holding Ben including Chris, my Dad, two uncles, Jason (bro in law), Josh Ontko (a friend), and my cousin. My Dad said they almost got a chair for Ben he weighed so much. Here are some pics of the weekend with family including such highlights as 1)going to see Wicked with my parents, sister, and aunt and uncle and it was way cooler than I could have imagined, 2)Balboa Beach with family and 3)dinner at Aunt Shara's who is a good cook AND cooks good stuff.

Did I mention that my parents officially spoiled my kids rotten? I mean it. My Dad gave Sam licorice and chocolate as soon as he woke up the first day they were there. That combined with 2 cups of juice and a strawberry jam crepe equals a big hurl all over the carpet. Everyone loves being the kids' favorites, but who gets to clean up the puke? Yeah, yours truly. My dad said that Carter (my nephew) wouldn't have even batted an eyelash at that much junk in the morning. I'll give him that, but I think they both learned a lesson.

Me and the rents at Wicked.

Chris LOVES digging holes at the beach. Even more than the kids.

My dad love soaking up the sun at the beach.

Me and Amy at Aunt Shara's.

Here's my Aunt Kathi. She's awesome.

Our new backyard!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:32:00 +0000

We got a backyard...and there's even a house attached to it (pics soon to come)! Could we possibly ask for more? We are so excited to be moving into our new house this weekend. But we're more excited about being able to go outside and play whenever we want! And I can even send the kids without me sometimes! I don't think they'll know what to do with themselves, but there's a lot of dirt digging and bug catching to be done out there, I think.

Some Tags

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:05:00 +0000

I checked out some of my friends' blogs and found three different versions of a version of blog-tag. I like them all, so I'm posting them all. Please choose one and participate. It's a bit of fun, as Nigel Lithgoe says.

Option A:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Option B:

Take pictures of the following things just as they are right now - no stopping to clean, straighten, or to wipe a child's nose: The kitchen sink, the fridge, the toilet, the closet, the laundry room, your favorite shoes, your favorite room, and your kiddies. No cheating! Post them on your blog OR email me so I can see your true self! (I did half of this one and never finished, so I'll let someone else do that one).

Option C:

Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Joys:
1) My kids
2) Water skiing on glass at 6am (I found a sitter!)
3) My husband

Fears:
1) Anything bad happening to my kids.
2) My teeth falling out.
3) Never sleeping through the night again.

Goals:
1) Spiritual: Food storage! Go to the temple monthly!
2) Paint my house.
3) Run a half marathon again.

Obsessions/collections:
1) Blogging
2) Running
3) Coupons

3 Surprising Facts:
1) I competed in the first ever High School Ultimate Frisbee National Championship Games in New Jersey as a senior in high school.
2) I didn't have a declared major in college until I was a senior.
3) I shot the sheriff (but I did not shoot the deputy).

A Day in Barneyville

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:06:00 +0000

I don't have much excitement to share, so I thought I'd show a photo log of a typical day in the life of the Barney children and Mom. It starts with PJ's and TV, of course (some days I actually wake up coherent enough to go straight to breakfast, but usually I need Bunnytown's help in the morning). But don't worry--they watch Noggin and that's "Like Preschool on TV" so really it's a learning experience.

Next we usually do some morning exercises, which I'm not ashamed to say could be to the music of the all inspiring Greek God Yanni.

Then it's time for dress ups:

Or saving Ben's life (which usually happens a few times a day):

The kids love to take the baby for a walk. Of course they both have to push a stroller and I just make sure at least the one pushing Ben doesn't run into anything.

A few times a day the kids pause to refuel. It actually seems like they eat all day long, so I don't know when they have time to tear the house apart, but they seem to be able to accomplish both pretty effectively. On this particular day, Sam wasn't playing with his food, he was organizing his food.

Lastly, we wash the day away and get ready for bed. This is one of my favorite parts of the day.

Then it's books, brushing, and bed! It might seem monotonous, but somehow every day is very different. I have found that motherhood is anything but boring!

Family Camping Experiment

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:35:00 +0000

I never posted this--whoops!

We stimulated the ecomony by buying a really big tent and then driving to Leo Carillo for one night of beach camping. We packed our van full of s'more ingredients and hoped for the best. It actually turned out well! We had to fight off some very persistent squirrel scavengers (they apparently like GF bread) and played on the beach for awhile even though it was cold. The kids slept great! The best part: after the kids were in bed when Chris and I got to sit by the fire with no distractions, a sky full of stars (rare to see in the city), and time to shoot the breeze. I think we might even do it again next year! The worst part: The 4 hour drive home during which Sam threw up his s'mores. Not pretty...

He's an early laugher

noreply@blogger.com (Mercer Lane Frames) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 05:54:00 +0000

Ben started laughing at about 2 months. My sister-in-law found an article that said most kids don't start laughing until 3-6 months old. So I guess that makes Ben an early laugher. That doesn't surprise me since my other kids were all ahead in things, too. Like Lucy, for instance, knows approximately 20 percent more than the average 2 year old about anything to do with Ariel. Sam excelled in his own way, too. He can spin 40 percent longer than most kids his age before falling over. I guess I'm just blessed. But really, they are great kids and I can't get enough of this little guy's giggles!