Christmas

Christmas was wonderful once again this year! Kris and I were able to split the time between our two families as well as spend some time doing our own gift exchange! Kris got me a jewelry armoire, which I love, as well as the Nike chip that goes in your shoes and sync's to your i-pod!!! And...the cutest North Face beanie ever! I gave him some scriptures, a new dress coat, a Bear Paw Carhartt hoodie, and a few other small things! We really had a great year! We also gave each other a new Video Camera!!!!

Despite all the amazing gifts, the best part was spending time with each other and with our families!! We are so blessed! Thank you to everyone who sent us Holiday wishes! We love you and wish you the best! Next year we look forward to celebrating as the Barnett's!!!!

Utah Trip...the Finale!

So I found that amidst the whole Holiday hussel and bussel, finishing out the saga of the Utah trip was next to impossible. I've decided to do it now...

Day 5 brought a baby blessing and a family party with Aunt Susan and all over kids, grandkids, etc... It was nice getting to see everyone! We then spent the last night of our trip at my grandparents where the kids actually slept really well!!!! Hooray! It was so fun watching Kennedy and Zachary interact with Grandma and Grandpa! They let them play in the "toy closet" (one of my favorite places as a child) and Kennedy got to sleep in the princess bed (my favorite bed at Grandma's)! Gma and Gpa stayed up talking to Kourtney and I for hours and showing us his homemade christmas trees! In the morning we got the kids decked out in snow clothes and built a special apple snowman! Kennedy also had a blast making snow angels while Zach ran around like a wild man! (see below) It was then time to pack up and head home!

Our first flight went well, but our second flight was delayed about 2 hours, meaning we had to entertain the two darlings in an airport for almost 4 hours...yikes! Fortunately we made it the airport safely where a wonderful surprise was waiting for me!!! Kris was sneaky and came to the airport with Kris W. to pick me up! So sweet! Alas, the trip had ended and normal life could commence! I can't wait until the next Utah Trip!

Day 4 of Utah Trip

Day 4 started out with a wonderful surprise! Snow! And lots of it! When we woke up on Saturday morning there was about 6 inches of snow everywhere! Wonderful, gorgeous, white, clean, snow! I felt like this was God's way of cleansing the earth...and maybe our trip...however, I found that I was WRONG! lol

We started our trek north. Our destination, Preston, Idaho. (Yes, that is where Napolien Dynamite was filmed!!!!) We stopped at my cousin Jeremy's house for a little post-baptism party. At his house we were able to see all of my Aunt Cindy's family as well as my grandparents! We visited for a couple hours and then got back on the road. We stayed the night at my Aunt Cindy's house in Preston and also got a chance to see my Aunt Tracee and Uncle Darrin for a few minutes. I wish we'd had more time with them though.

All sounds well, and all was going well, until bedtime! Zach and I cuddled up for a long winter's nap and slept soundly for about 2 hours. Then Zach woke up screaming. I quieted him down and he eventually fell back asleep. An hour later, he did it again. At this point, I could tell something wasn't right. Maybe it was the screaming child or the rank odor in the room...whatever it was, I decided to fetch a towel for Zach to sleep on. About that time the little guy started spewing. So at 5:30 am I had to clean up puke, among other things, run a bath for a the sick cutie, and then get cleaned up myself. Let's just say....it was another LONG night!

My boys...

I'm sorry...but these two boys are the cutest! LOVE THEM! And what's even cuter...they love each other! Zach adores Kris and loves for Kris to 1-2-3 him. (That means count to 3 and throw him up in the air!) And Kris has a soft spot for Zach too! Kris will play with him until his arms ache and he's covered in sweat. They are quite the duo!

Day 3 of Utah Trip

What was going to be a wonderful, fun-filled day of shopping and enjoying the sights of Salt Lake ended up being a little less magical! As I climbed out of Joy's snuggly bed on Day 3 of our adventure, I found myself feeling a little ill. Not wanting to complain, I got ready and called Megan for a quick trip to the BYU campus. It felts like years since I'd been there and all these memories came rushing back to me! Megan, Q, and I went to the new Hinckley building (which I must say is INCREDIBLE!!!!) and over to our old stompin' ground- Cougar Creations. We took a quick look through the bookstore, bought some BYU gear, and then headed over to meet Kourtney. We said our goodbyes and promised to see each other soon!
Time to pick up Uncle Dane! We fetched him from UVSC and headed back for a little Christmas shopping in Provo. About this time my stomach really started to rumble. I had to make a quick stop at the school where Joy teaches to pick up the infamous red suitcase and by the time we made it to the store, I was in pain. Unfortunately, I was left feeling this way for the rest of the day...yuck!
Salt Lake City here we come! I had been looking forward to going to Gateway Shopping Center and Temple Square the whole trip. I just hadn't been looking forward to it in the condition I was in! Resting on a bench for 45 minutes helped a bit, but I didn't get to eat California Pizza Kitchen and I didn't get to do any shopping. However, I was able to convince Zach to go visit Santa. He was a stud!

Obviously shopping wasn't working out too well, so we decided to take a chance and head on over to Temple Square. It was a nice evening, perfect for looking at the lights and enjoying some hot chocolate! Below will be quite a few pictures! The kids loved the fountains the most! In fact, Zach stuck his whole leg in one! lol! I loved the serene feeling of being on temple square and all the amazing lights! We tried to find the new "I am a child of God" interactive exhibit, but never did happen to stumble across it. I must say, those kiddies were a handful! I was constantly chasing them down, trying to get them to stop crying, wiping noses, etc...all the while feeling like I was going to...well...there I go again with the intimate details! I'll refrain.

We said goodbye to Dane around 7:30 and decided to take a quick stop in Deseret Book. That was disastrous as well. Zach jumped out of the stroller and spilled two gigantic pops EVERYWHERE and Kennedy wanted to touch EVERYTHING! When we got back to the hotel, my old college friend Jeff came to visit. It was great seeing him and catching up on his life.

I know it sounds like the most awful time, but despite all the "flaws" in our day, it was really quite wonderful! One thing I can say for sure, there was nothing better than the sound of two rowdy kids, snoozing soundly! Who knew what the next day would bring!

Day 2 of Utah Trip

Let's see....where did I last leave off? Oh that's right...the night of the never ending puking! I'll try to refrain from spilling such intimate details in the future, but I wanted everyone to share with me in my night of misery!

Day 2 was looking to be much brighter! Me, Kourtney and the kids made it to the airport, were successful in getting through security with all of our "stuff" and settled in for a long trip. Kennedy only used three doggie bags on the plane, and Zach was content as long as he had his DVD player!

After a quick RUN through the Denver airport and a scare during the landing in Salt Lake (we were about to land when all the sudden we took off into the air again...there was a small plane that hadn't cleared the runway....eeks!), we finally set foot on Utah soil!
First stop...rental car madness! To be brief, the woman working at the Budget counter obviously hated her job!!!! However we got an upgrade for free and I got to spend the next four days driving a Dodge Avenger! If anyone is thinking of purchasing this car, I'd give it 3 stars. It was nice, rode well, but it had HORRIBLE blind spots and uncomfortable seats!
We finally headed South on the I-15 after spending 45 minutes trying to get all of our "stuff" into the car! I wanted to see BYU and so we headed that way! I decided to take pictures of all of my old "homes" at the Y. See below!
Now for the good stuff! Costco. Oh dear Costco. Typically considered one of my favorite bulk stores, this Costco trip turned out to be nothing short of a disaster! Let me give you one clue: BLOWOUT. Anyone who has children or who has been around children understands what I mean by this. Out of the top of the shirt, the back of the pants, and the down the pant legs, Zach had the blowout of all blowouts! As I said before, I'll be brief in the intimate details, but let me just say, the kid had to strip down naked in the parking lot and basically get hosed off by baby wipes. Inside the store was left a trail of....yeah...you get my point.
Can you see why I said the puking the night before was a bad omen? Yep. It only gets worse!
Shortly after the Costco blowout, Kourtney and I depart. She ran off to Heber to see her old friends the Websters and I went to see my sweet Megan and her baby boy Quincy! He was thrilled to finally meet Aunt Kally and I must admit, I was pretty darn happy to see him too! I spoiled him with a new outfit and had the luxury of taking a brief nap with the Q-Tea when I did a little kid watching!
Megan and I had a great time reminiscing about good times and I got to see her adorable new place! We then headed to Provo Town Center for some grub! Joy arrived on the scene about this time and the good times continued to roll!
After dinner Joy and I said goodbye to the Tea's and set off on an adventure of our own! I got to see Joy's adorable apartment and meet her fabulous roommates! I also got the chance to talk to Kris, who claims he was missing me like crazy, but I think he was enjoying his freedom! lol!

It wouldn't be a trip to Provo without seeing Heidi and Jayson and their beautiful daughter Mae! Wow! She's a keeper! A spitfire, high energy, precious, bundle of love! We chatted about life, parenthood, my new engagement, etc... What's wonderful about Jayson and Heidi is that they are SOOOOO in love! You can tell in everything they do! And...I must say, Heidi is a great mom! I was able to witness the nightly ritual and I can say that Mae will never have cavities! I wish them all the best of luck in the future!
It's now getting late and I was beyond the point of exhaustian, so Joy and I went home to a cozy bed and another 2 hours of chatting! Silence set in around 1 am and I drifted into dreamland, praying that the next day would bring clean diapers and a little less puke....

Day 1 of Utah Trip

Off to Utah! Hooray! Let's just say I was soooo excited to be going! It had been a year and 5 months since I was last there, and I was itching to get back to my mountains! Kourtney decided we would stay the night in Cincy the night before our departure due to an early flight, so I kissed my man and waved goodbye! We brought along some handy-dandy DVD players, which were used right off the bat. Below is Zach, fast asleep with his headphones on!

Once we arrived in Cincy, we did a little shopping at Gap Outlet and then headed to the hotel for a little late night swimming. If we had only known what the night was going to have in store for us.......

Timeline:

1:30am I finally fall asleep. Zach was cuddled next to me, Kourtney and Kris were in the other bed, and Kennedy was asleep on the hide-a-bed.

2:16am Kennedy wakes up to tell Kourtney she doesn't feel well and ends up puking all over Kourtney's shirt.

2:30am I fall back asleep

2:45am More puking, this time, on the beloved blue blankie.

3:00am Kris decides he is going to wash blue blankie in the bathroom sink and dry it on the air conditioner/heater.

3:30am More puking/crying for blue blankie (which at this point is still soaking wet!)

4:00am Kourtney goes in search of clear liquids

4:30am More puking/crying for blue blankie (which isn't drying very fast)

4:45am I doze off finally...

5:00am Kourtney is a great mom and goes in search of dryer to speed up the blue blankie drying process. Success is found at the Country Inn's and Suites!

5:30am More puking/relief at the sight of clean blue blankie

5:45am Sleep. oh Precious sleep.

7:00am Time to get up/get the kids ready/pack the suitcases/load the van/grab puke buckets/go to the airport, etc....

I guess I could summarize by saying this was the longest night in the history of the world. What a way to start the trip! We should have been smart and taken this as a bad omen....

Coming Soon...

Tomorrow I will start posting pictures and stories from my Utah/Idaho trip. Kris wasn't able to go, but no worries, we're planning to take one as husband and wife in the spring! Check in soon to see all the fun pics!

O Christmas Tree

Here I sit, cramped in a small apartment with a whole lot of STUFF and no room for a real Christmas tree. SOB. All I want for Christmas is a Christmas Tree! A Christmas Tree! A Christmas Tree!

I guess the only tree I'm going to get this year is the one I post on my page. So Merry Christmas to me! And Merry Christmas to my tree!

I should have been on the Mayflower!

I am compiling a list of things I am thankful for. Let me begin:

A Heavenly Father who loves me and knows me!
An incredible guy named Kris who is so good to me!
My family! My awesome family! Need I say more?
Porter. Kristen Porter that is. She's nuts, but you gotta love her!
My babies...Samantha, Hannah, Graydon, Alex, Haley, Brady, Blake, Harper, Savannah, Kennedy, Zachary, and one on the way!
Food. Oh I love food. Mmmmmm food! Yogurt, fruit, salads, chicken, etc... I just love food!
Pottery Barn!!! I can't shop there yet, but I can still be thankful for Pottery barn! hehehe!
A cute apartment! I love it here! Even if a big screen TV has taken over my living room, I still have the cutest place ever!
My job. It's flexible so I can play with all those babies! Now I just need to sign some deals! lol!
The earth with all its seasons, beauty, and grace. I know that is SOOOOO cheesy, but it's true! I love spring! I love summer! I love fall! I love winter! I love the sky! I love the trees! I love the mountains! Kris says I'm a tree hugger, and I'm proud of it!
Brenda.

Now it's Kristian's turn:

Boobies, legs, and tree huggers!
Zoey. (the dang dog)
Splenda lemonade...and lots of it!
The new floor at the church! Now I can play ball!
My family!
The fact that fat is the new skinny!
NIGEL BARKER! (hehehehehe! Kally slipped that one in here!)

Mamacita

This is just a shout out to my mother and one of her incredible talents! Below are pictured just a handful of the gorgeous outfits she has made for 81 Gingerbread Lane. Her ability to create masterpieces never ceases to amaze me. To see more (as well as purchase) some of my mothers creations, visit the link 81 Gingerbread under "My Favorite Blogs". Trust me, you won't be disappointed! Keep up the good work Mom!