In-laws

I love my in-laws! Especially sweet Stephen, my new brother-in-law who is graduating from high school on Friday! He is a hoot! Kris and I were able to go take some snazzy pictures at his senior prom and I thought I'd share them with you! His girlfriend Shelley is amazing too! (she won prom queen!!) We have a great time talking about how nutty the Barnett boys can be at times! They are both moving to Morehead in the fall, so I'm sure there will be many sibling adventures to come! I also added a silly pictures of Kris and the devil dog Cam. Kourtney let me borrow her camera and I felt like a National Geographic Photographer that day! All in all it was a wonderful evening!

Heavy Equipment

Nothing better than having uncles (like Kenley, pictured) that own really fancy heavy equipment. This aint your typical tonka truck!

Keith Kappes for Mayor!

Yep...you heard correctly! My studly father is running for Mayor! A true politician at heart, Dad has always wanted to do some real, hard core political work, and he thinks Mayor is the perfect starting point! Although he's had YEARS of experience working with the legislature this will be Dad's first go of it for city government and I couldn't be more proud! And I think he has the brains, the background, and the brawn to get the job done! For all of you who live within city limits, please consider this experience, as well as the picture above when you cast your vote for our next mayor:

In April we had some pretty significant flooding take place at the farm. Who showed up to save the day? Mr. VP of MSU himself, Keith Kappes!! No job is too dirty, too tough, too yucky to handle! Nope, not for his old man! I told him to put up this picture on his campaign posters and then say something like, "Keith Kappes for Mayor! He really knows how to dive right in and get his feet wet!" heheehe! I thought it was kinda cute! Heck, if anything, old pops has one thing going for him.... a bunch of kids and offspring that are of age to vote and who live in the city limits! lol! Go Dad Go!

Prom 2008

So I helped two girls from church get ready for Prom and they looked beautiful! Kayla (in the blue) and Erin (in the red) are adorable and we have so much fun together! I think you'll all agree they're two of the cutest Mormon girls in the world! :-) Also pictured is my best friend Kristen's little brother Josh. I guess he's not so little anymore...SOB! Man these kids grow up fast!

House update and more!

So sorry for the long absence in the blog world...the real world has been a bit hectic lately! My back is feeling much better, although it put me out of commission for a bit, and work is going well. Kris is hard at work on our house (see pictures below) and the house he's building for the church in Salyersville (which is coming along quickly!!!!!)!!!! Every night I lie in bed and dream about our house...what color paint we're going to use, how I'm going to decorate, etc... Kris is super excited as well and it's one of our main topics of conversation! As you can tell from the pictures, the work is moving along quickly! In fact, I'll post more tomorrow because the roof is almost finished!!!

Also, I am officially an aunt again! Kody and Hanna had a baby girl, Scout Marie, on May 13th, and she is healthy and gorgeous! That makes 12 nieces and nephews for me now!Zachary turned 3 yesterday, which left me feeling sad about how fast time flies by... We're all looking forward to his birthday party on Sunday! Kristin no longer works at the bank and is officially a stay-at-home mom, much to the delight of Brady. You can already see a very positive change in him! Stake conference was AWESOME cause Elder Marriott spoke, and last but not least, the dreaded Girls Camp is coming sooner than later! ahhhh!

I am also in the process of writing a children's book which I pray will be a "home run" in the literary world, and am having a blast coaching the high school soccer team! I am already attached to the girls and am getting really pumped to have all 30 of them show up for practice! We are participating in the Relay For Life, ( go to: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=9123 to support our team and to support the many cancer victims worldwide!).

Other than that, we are enjoying life! Kris is out with my dad and brother-in-law Kris watching Indiana Jones (he's been dying to see it since he heard the theme song on TV)!!! Kristen and I went on a walk and took random pictures as usual. I am going to post some pictures and then hit the hay! Night!

Back Ache Blues...a poem by me!

I've hurt my back. I've hurt my back. How in the world, did I manage that?
Was it from the kids? Or from the run? Regardless it hurts like a son of a gun!
I need some meds. I need some relief. Anything. Something. Help me please!

Wanna use my toilet?

Well folks...there it is! Our new toilet! You might be wondering why I'm blogging about this, but this toilet is a pretty big deal for me today! You see, this $400 toilet is all mine for the lovely purchase price of $35! You heard right folks...$35!!!

Kris and I are really on the look out for good deals, especially since we're building our home, and my brother Kirby ran across one for us today! He works at Lowes and is normally pretty good about contacting us when something is a sweet deal, but today, he out did himself! Not only was the toilet a great price, but it's ADORABLE! How often can you honestly say you're toilet is adorable? I'll be able to all the time thanks to Kirby!

As long as I'm blabbing about the house I might as well update you on the current status of our major project... Last week Kris dug and poured the footers, which took quite a bit of effort considering the fact that we're building on a rock slab (or so it seemed to Kris!)! This week the mason is hard at work on our block and next week the framer should be coming to get us under roof! Kris plans on pouring the slab for the garage as well and hooking up the temporary electric, water, etc... It's crazy to think that in just a few months we'll have a home! It's a good thing too because our landlord called today and we have to be out by July 31st! ahhhh!

Other than that, life is normal here...working and enjoying the decent weather! Kris has started on a house he and is father are building for a church in Salyersville and I'm working closely with a bank in Jackson. Yep...I'm going to Jackson... (hehehe! For all of you who got my little joke, congrats!) I also got the first of the three checks my former boss has to pay me...and by July, the legal fluff will all be gone and history! Hooray! Also, Hanna is having her little girl, Scout Marie Kappes, on May 13th. We are all anxiously awaiting her arrival!

Oh...and one more thing! I have to tell a cute story about Zachary! I was on the phone with Kourtney today when Zach informed his mother that he wouldn't be doing whatever it was he was supposed to be doing. After putting him in timeout for his little outburst, he started fiddling with some things he shouldn't have been touching. Kourtney told him to sit still and fold his arms. All of the sudden you could hear his little voice saying, "Dear Heavenly Father...." Zach assumed that if he had to fold his arms, it must be time to pray! We both laughed hysterically and had to admit that even when kids can be devils, they are still little angels! Toodles for now!

Biker Babe

Today I had a grand adventure! Let me give you a little background! Last year Kris and I bought some really nice bikes! We both love to ride and decided we might as well buy something that's going to last. The weather has finally warmed up enough to get the bikes out of storage, and last night Kris broke down and bought me a bike rack for my car...and with both of these hassels out of the way, I knew today would be a biking day! I convinced my brother-in-law Kris to go on a little ride with me, which turned out to be torture and enjoyment all wrapped up in one! We headed down a road called Cranston (lets just say it leads you to the boondocks by way of hills, hills, and more hills) and after the first 1/2 uphill battle, I thought my lungs would collapse! Once I got some wind back in my sails, the rest of the ride was fabulous!!!! We had a great time and I am looking forward to many more, although I might avoid the dreaded "Cranston Road" for some time! I just have to say, I love biking! The minute I climb on my bike, I feel like a kid again! I'm sure Kris, Kris and I will be making many more memories on our bikes this year and I must say, I couldn't be more excited!

Earthquake

Kris left this morning around 5 am and afterwards I fell into a deep sleep. At 5:38 am I woke up to our house shaking, rattling, and rolling like crazy! The dressers were moving, the ceiling fan looked like it wanted to break free, and the amount of noise outside was incredible! Terrified, I lay very still for about 1.5 minutes until it all stopped. I had no idea if I was dreaming or hallucinating, but either way, I was freaked out! I called Kris, who was on his way to work, to ask if he'd felt anything. Of course he said no, so I was even more convinced that I'd gone crazy! I swore it was an earthquake and being as early as it was, there was no one to confirm my suspicions! When I woke up this morning, I logged on to facebook to see Leslie Galema's status say something about an earthquake as well. Now I knew I wasn't nutty! I called Mom and she confirmed! A 5.4 earthquake hit Illinois at 5:37 am...the largest in over 40 years. The quake was felt in many neighboring states and I'm sure scared thousands of people to death, like it did me! Fortunately no one was hurt and the only thing lost here was sleep! I must say, I've felt them before, but that was by far the largest and scariest...especially since I was home alone :-(

Jennilyn's Baby!!!

Just wanted to post a few pictures from my first visit with Mr. Jackson Keith Reynolds! Both Mom and Jackson are doing well! And oh he is such a cutie! I must say, although he isn’t blood, I still feel like a very proud Aunt! Congrats again to Jennilyn and Adam!!!

"Wanna Nuggle?"

I’ve decided to start prepping Kris for life as a Dad…no we aren’t expecting!!! His first training started with a sleepover with Zach and Kennedy (although I can’t say this is his first, since we’ve already experienced one sleepover with Blake) and it all worked out quite well. We got to the house around 8pm and the kids played with Kris while I showered. Afterwards I had to check some work emails, so Kris introduced them to the wonderful world of Scooby Doo, which they LOVED! (It was Kristian’s favorite show as a child!) After that, we set up the futon and had a snuggle fest. Zach said over and over, “Kris, wanna nuggle? I wanna nuggle. Please nuggle.” ADORABLE! After a bit of “nuggling”, prayers, and a few songs, we tucked them in and called it a night! Both slept peacefully through the night and woke up in great moods! I must say, our first sleepover and training session was a screaming success! He’s going to be such a good dad!!