Barnes Reunion 2012

This year's reunion was really special because we got to visit the estate, along the river, that Grandma and Grandpa Barnes lived. They raised the kids here, while Grandpa was the caretaker of this gigantic manor.

Pizza making with the Scouts

Blake got to go to Stefanina's with his cub scout den to make pizzas.  This was an awesome opportunity!  Blake loves to help out in the kitchen. He cooks his own breakfast and makes Vi shakes for himself and his little sis.  He thought this would be a great way to find out what it's like to do it professionally!

my bear cub!

The owner had set the scouts up on the line and helped them along the way!

whewwww...that was HOT!!!

This was one of Blake's favorite summer events and we learned a ton about Stefanina's Pizza...the food was awesome!  I'm craving pizza again, now!

2nd grade...here Blake comes!

Family Zoo Day

We love visiting the zoo and with the new Sea Lion display, it made it even more exciting!  We had a great day.

the seal lions were amazing!

1st time we saw the sea lion show!  We
absolutely loved it!



Touching the sting rays were another fave of the day, Tay is still talking
about it!

The weather was super hot, but still enjoyable.  We took our time, didn't try to fit "everything" in, and really enjoyed the parts we got to see!

Taylor goes under!!!

I remember the day that Blake took off his water wings and "jumped in"...he has been a fish ever since.  Tay did the exact same thing!  She tried on Bubby's goggles and went underwater to "see" what she could see...well, that was the last day that this little gal would stay ABOVE water!!!  She wants to be under all the time...she even jumps off and goes under!  Yesterday, happy to just swim around with her little swim jacket...hating to even get splashed in the face...Today, a little fish!!  It seems to all happen in just one day!



Swimming!!



learning to "not breathe" underwater...thumbs up!

That's Tay underwater after jumping!!!

Tay spent the day, going under...her big Bro has sure
taught her a bunch!!!

Vacation Week

Summer vacation week for us is our favorite part of summer because Daddy gets to take time off work for us to hang together as a family!!  He works so much that this is HUGE for us!!  Even though we can't go "away" on a vacation, we make this week special by filling it with events that we plan together, as a family.  Some of our plans were changed by the record-breaking heat wave and drought...we didn't think Six Flags would be very enjoyable.

We started off by spending a day at the house to clean and organize...doesn't sound like much of a vacation, but since we got the whole basement redone, we can now enjoy that space and have a clean house to enjoy for the rest of the week, felt awesome!

We went to Indian Camp Creek.  It has a large creek that you can swim and explore.  It has several play areas, a big lake with a boardwalk, and an overlook tower to climb.  One of my favorite parks!

Blake soaked himself in the fountain

Daddy too!

We spent much of our "at home" time in the pool, grilling, and just spending quality time playing with the kids.  Another fave was our fort night!

Sophie loved being part of it!  It made us think that she would do good
camping with us...

We turned it into "movie" fort night...we watched Indiana Jones and ate pizza
and popcorn for dinner.

 Swimming was something that we did every single day, when it's over 100 degrees, it's the best thing to be doing!  Taylor learned to go under and now jumps in by herself.  We relaxed...

Our favorite, most memorable time of the week was our camp trip to Huzzah Valley.  I had to devote a separate blog post for it, but here are a couple pics...you can see that these kids LOVE camping!  They were both, literally, face down in the river, the entire time!  The river was cool, refreshing, sparkling and clear...perfect for snorkeling and fishing! 

We had a fantastic, much needed vacation week...our goal is to have MORE days to spend together as a family!

Nicki Minaj Concert

My niece lives in Kentucky and I just love that girl!  She is 18 years old now...how can she be 18 already?!?!  Anyways, her and her friend wanted to go to the Nicki Minaj concert here in STL. Her Mom was awesome enough to buy tickets and drive them all the way here!  They asked Diana and I to take them.  Whether it be for protection, guidance, or just cuz we are sooo flippin' cool, we were excited!  I will admit, I was a bit worried about going downtown to see Nicki...she is very explicit and while, in my past,  she would have been my absolute HERO...I am a bit older now...enough said! lol! 

Isn't she the best?!?!?

The girls got to the house just a couple hours before the show...we headed for downtown and then hopped on the metro.  (which, b/c I am a total dork...we could've been beat up or at least, robbed a few times) Safely, we arrived at Union Station, ate at Hard Rock Cafe, and then walked to the Peabody for the concert....the entire time, we were cracking up laughing and having a blast...I love times like that!!  We got to the opera house, found our seats, let the girls go get t-shirts, and then witnessed "exactly what a concert should be like"...

First act was 2Chainz... hard core gangster-style rap is the only explanation I can come up with.  It was awesome and they put on a great show...honestly just watching everything going on around us was pure entertainment...totally took me back.

When Nicki finally made her grand appearance, it was a show just in itself!!!  She was an awesome rapper and performer too!  We all danced and jammed right along with them...this was the loudest most energy-filled concert I have ever been to!  I absolutely loved being there with those girls, it's a bit scary that we are so much alike, especially for her parents, the main difference b/t us is that she is a great girl, she just likes this rap music...I think she inherited it from me! lol!

Nicki reminded me of Little Kim, back in my day...naughty girl style rap, but I have to say....at the end of the concert, she made a huge point to tell all those young girls to "STAY IN SCHOOL...because knowledge is something that NOBODY can ever take from you".  She also told them to "NOT give up your bodies to every Tom, Dick, and Harry"  just those few words of wisdom, spoken to her crowd of admiring young girls that are absolutely obsessed with her, gained me tons of respect for her!  Somebody needs to tell them this stuff!

After the concert, walking back to the metro, we were talking...This night just really "took me back"...I have always loved rap and hip hop music...I love the city, the love the energy, I love the whole scene, however...I love the place in my life that I am at...Billy leads worship with the band at our church, and the most hard-core rap I've heard lately is from our youth at church...which is awesome...by the way! This night reminded me of "the me I used to be"...I loved getting to hang out with my sis and the girls.  This was an awesome night (even getting lost on the metro) that I will never forget...thank you Regina, Amanda, and Jesssica for letting us be part of it!!!