disneyland with friends

Lincoln, Wells and Bryson

Bryson took our picture...we look how we felt at this point...

Olive, Lincoln, Bodie, Wells and Bryson

All 10 of us!!!

we met up with our friends the Marcus' earlier this week at Disneyland. having an annual pass makes you kind of a snob when it comes to waiting in lines, and doing certain things and staying longer than a couple hours...but somehow we managed to stay for 7 hours during a summer day with 6 kids under 6 years old at a super crowded Disneyland and still manage to have fun and *somehow* no tantrums or raised voices...impossible! you say...and i would be one of you chanting also...but then i also know the Marcus' and they are amazing...

jessie was my freshman roommate in college - she was from a small town in Missouri called Joplin and stared at me like i was from a different planet...i was...i was from Orange County...and Todd and Bryan knew each other from their freshman year (they are a year older than us) and hit it off right away. so we all knew each other from before each other...we got married within 3 weeks of each other and when T&J moved to Pasadena we made it a point to hang out once a week...and then kids happened and then a move to Kansas City happened (a couple weeks after we had bryson)

so here we all are...that picture of the boys hanging on the railing and of olive in the stroller makes me so happy! T&J are amazing parents...which is not surprising one bit since they have always been such amazing people. we hope to vacation with them in the future when traveling doesnt feel like a punishment...i am so glad that todd has family out here and that we get to see them as often as we do...although its not nearly often enough, we are so thankful for their friendship and family!

beach day!

we are so lucky to live on the coast...i am aware of this whenever i drive more inland and the weather raises 10 degrees...we have this lovely cross-breeze and of course this down the street...

it is somewhat funny to me because i am not a "beach person"...my favorite memories of the beach growing up are bonfires...all i remember of the daytime at the beach is sunburns...lots of sunburns...and luckily i found a man who also didnt care for laying out :) but then we had these kids...these kids who LOVE the beach...they get to the beach and all of the sudden they are happy and love each other and dont fight and play around without complaining for hours and hours and all of the sudden, this not-a-beach-type mama is now very much a beach type mama. i just need to remember to bring my umbrella...which i wont forget, but the problem is these boys dont like to sit under the shade with me....harumph...

as you can see in the pictures that this is not a normal beach...it is in fact the beach to the canals, which is a part of venice in long beach - its perfect for us - free parking, not crowded - no waves and a looooong shallow wade-in to the water...makes it easier to let them go and run around in the water knowing i have a good minute or so before i have to dive in...but there is also a lifeguard, so maybe they would want to do that part anyway - the only downsides to this beach are lack of bathrooms and sticky sand...man...that stuff is everywhere! one time we took our fishing rods out here and let the boys run around while we fished...we didnt catch anything, but we hear its a good spot...

i did leave the comfort of my shade and even though i was wearing spf 30 i still managed to burn a part of my back...but the sandcastle and moat we built was worth it...even if it was almost impossible trying to keep the bobby dragon from destroying it...or eating it i should say...i kept waiting for it to get old - all that sand eating...maybe his diet is low in iron? 

my date with bryson

i finally did it! i got a babysitter and had her watch bodie and bobby and took my big man to his favorite place- the santa ana discovery center for a date! he loves going here and i do not like taking all 3 - it gets too crowded with all the field trips...bodie does not ever stay still...he is the one kid who can break the exhibits no matter how much they test them...(last time bryan discovered he stole balls from one of the exhibit...oops!) and bobby is not a fan of being in the ergo for long periods of time. so i have to turn him down all the time, so how fun was it for me to take him out and get to do all the things he wanted!

we got there right when they opened, which was awesome! we got to do everything we wanted and he sped through everything because he didnt have to wait for anything to open up!

we had so much fun and he was so happy to have me all to myself. he told me, "mom...its good that you only have me today. three kids is a lot of work" serious...he knows...he is 1/3 of that work!

we did this special outing because he graduated pre-school. i would love to make this a more regular thing! i want to take him to Disneyland by himself so bad...poor kid has been wanting to go on Haunted Mansion for over a year now...i keep telling him, "maybe next time!" 

of course he never played with his own Mr. Potato Head! 

oh and i must take my little mountain goat to a rock wall where he gets strapped in...we would both love it!

The Barnes Boys - Where They At

we like to goof around in the backyard after our naps...and by "our" i mean bodie (sometimes) and bobby...getting them to nap at the same time is a very complicated series of events...in which everything must align perfectly...and if there is a chance where i can somehow get them to nap together and lay down myself...i tend to get woken up 10 minutes after the fact by bobby. his naps when there is ever a chance of me napping are ALWAYS 30 minutes long. yesterday he took a 2 hour nap...whatever...not bitter...not at all...

so here are the barnes boys...very different and all very fun in their own ways. bryson's last day of pre-school is wednesday. so sad about it...i was kinda hoping he would never have to start "real" school. bobby is still a sweetheart, he has got some teethers growing in and has not been over the moon about it, but still has a good disposition despite his obvious discomfort...i say its obvious since he grabs my hand and sticks it in his mouth and bites about 10 times a day...and if not my hand, then my arm, leg...whatever he can get. today i watched him gnaw on a rock for 2 minutes.

bodie has been a challenge to me. i love this boy to death, but holy moly is he a handful...he is our little tornado and yesterday he found his limits with me...i thought i could leave a stack of folded towels...wrong...i thought i could leave the detergent on top of the dryer and it would be safe...wrong...i thought he couldnt open the door to the office and get into the permanent marker drawer...wrong (you can see the red stain by his left eye as proof - everywhere on his face)...i thought he would listen after punishing him 30 times not to sit on the cat...wrong...i thought he would be so tired from wreaking havoc all day that he would fall straight to sleep...WRONG...so wrong...2 spanks and 6 times walking into his room wrong. the problem...the biggest problem of them all...is that he is an absolute doll when he is getting into trouble and he makes you laugh...you can't even be mad...he just smiles and hugs you...and manipulates you into not being mad...just like his stinking cute dad! argggghhhhh....so frustrating to want to be mad and then you find yourself laughing...its not funny to have to re-fold towels and spend 3 hours cleaning up spilled laundry detergent all over the garage....but to him he is hilarious...

....breathe carlee and repeat after me....this too shall pass....this too shall pass....this too shall pass...this too shall pass....oh yeah???? then i have to do it all over again with bobby!!! i have a feeling that one is going to be just as bad as his brothers...worse because he will have COACHES! oh man...what did we do?

Slime and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

that should be the title of this blog! by the way...i never understood the whole puppy dog tail reference in that rhyme...after having boys i get it...that incessant wagging...that un-containable ENERGY...that is what little boys are made of...or my boys at least...so here is bryson - his new "job" is to de-snail and slug my garden. he gets a penny for every one he finds.

he is very money motivated these days so we are starting to implement more "chores" and "extra jobs". we are going to have jobs that are expected as well as jobs that earn money and jobs that earn prizes. his money jobs are the snail and slugs...taking the garbage bins in from the curb and putting them back where they belong...collecting golf balls from around the yard (also a penny for every ball)...wiping down kitchen chairs and cleaning my walls with the magic eraser. he is expected to pick up his room, help me with diapers, get my newspaper every day (he and bodie actually fight to do this), clean up any mess he makes and pick up the backyard.

i also plan on going to the dollar store and picking out some "prizes" for big jobs where money isn't bribery enough...it is so nice to think that one day all of these boys making all of these messes will actually come in handy and be productive...such a far off notion right now, but every time i bring in groceries i think about it :)

So Long T-Ball

bryson's season is over...and next year he will be on the "farm" team, so no more t-ball...but man did he have fun! he loves baseball - we definitely need to take him to a game soon! bryan captured this darling pic...

one of bryson's favorite parts of the game is the line-up at the end where the teams give each other high 5's...at the end of this particular game, bryson grabbed bodie and made him come with him - bodie was overjoyed!! so cute!

Bobby at 9 Months

bobby...at 9 months you are so ahead of your game. you are pulling yourself up and standing without assistance...you are teething, which means you are quite the fussy child at times, but that is only peppered through out your sweet temperament! 

this month we got to take you to a wedding of a dear friend and you did amazing. should i tell you here that you slept in a closet? should i tell you that it wasn't the first time? you love to be held, but more than that you love to know that we are near for when you want to explore in your crazy crawl on all fours. 

your mor mor got to watch you while we were at the wedding and had so much fun just being a mor mor to you alone...what a treat! you bring joy to everyone around you...when you aren't concerned about your teeth and we couldn't ask for a better baby boy!

Bryson's Swing

bryson is still taking lessons...he is not over the moon about golf and for now prefers t-ball, but he is improving quite a bit...as you can see!