Go, Go, Go

I have had several comments from readers that they are sick of looking at tree weed, so I guess it is time to update my blog! But before I do, I know you have all been wondering about tree weed... it has not come back. It has accepted defeat.

Since the last week of June, Chad and I have been going, going, going. We spent a few days at Lake Powell with my family. It was such a great trip and so fun to get away with my parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. We have been going to Lake Powell since before I was born. I still get so excited to go, the kind of excited that makes you not sleep the night before! I love pulling up to the water and just being so happy to be there I can hardly contain it! I am lame and forgot a camera but here are a couple pictures I stole from others, so if you are thinking "Hey, I took that picture" you probably did.

The boys built a water slide on the beach. It is quite the process and a lot of work, and they take their job seriously!

But not too seriously! Here they are ready for the first run!

And here is my niece Rilee taking her turn!

Chad and I floating. I got fried and spent a lot of time in the water trying to stay cool.
This is the last day. Can you tell? :)

Just after getting home, we headed back down to Gunnison to participate in the hometown 4th festivities. The 4th of July is without a doubt my favorite time to be in Gunnison. I love the small town celebrations. This year we heard a Neil Diamond impersonator, got candy at the parade, and followed my nephews around at the carnival. Thank goodness for the little kids in the family that keep us entertained until our own gets here! (Again, no pictures. Chad is not going to let me get a nice big camera until I learn to take more pictures with the one I have. I am failing miserably!)

Later that evening we headed up to Salt Lake to spend some time with our great friends Soren and Ashley. They just welcomed an adorable baby girl into their home and we just had to see her before they move at the end of this month. They are venturing out all the way to Ohio for law school and we will miss them terribly!

The following week we went to Gunnison to go through the temple with my youngest brother Connor and to spend some time with him before he goes on this mission. He leaves the 4th of August and I think I speak for the whole family in saying we will really miss him!

If you can believe it in all the running around, we still missed out on so much. We missed Grandpa Barton's 80th birthday party and felt so bad we could not see Chad's family and all the cousins. We also missed a special day with one of my most cherished friends, Stacy, as she and her husband Jared were sealed in the Manti Temple. So to those we have missed this summer, we apologize, but know that we love you and wish we could have shared these special times with you.

To add a cherry to our summer sundae, we are headed to the Oregon Coast next week with Chad's family. His brother Tyler is leaving on his mission on August 11th. We are excited to spend some time with him, but sad for the time to come to say goodbye. We will miss you Ty! (I promise to get some pictures of this trip!)

Between weekends running around and hours in the car, we have both been in classes. Chad is still working as well. I am now in the last week of my master's classes and could not be more anxious to be done. Sitting 8 hours a day is much more difficult than I could have imagined.

As far as the pregnancy goes...still pregnant. She is kicking and moving all the time. At my last appointment the doctor commented on how high she was sitting. I thought, "That explains a lot cause I can't breathe and I feel like my ribs are being forced in an outward direction." But, only 10 more weeks! It is coming fast and we are soooooo anxious for her to be here!

Tree Weed

This is tree weed. We call it this because it was a weed that somehow grew big enough to be considered a tree. I walked out into our backyard a few days ago, and this weed sprouted out of nowhere. It was non existent one day, and taking over the next. It was as tall as my chin. It had thorns, so I did not want to just pull it out, plus I don't think I would have had the strength! I looked for a shovel in the garage, but to no avail. The only thing I could find to destroy tree weed forever was a small garden shovel. Using it as an ax, I hacked away at tree weed. The stem was about as big as my wrist. Hopefully tree weed is gone for good!

On another note, I am still pregnant and it is taking forever! (It's ok...you can go ahead and laugh cause I am only 25 weeks... I had to add countdown to help me keep track.) Now that school is out, I am just at home waiting. Waiting for Chad to get home and be with me. Waiting for the weeks to pass so I can hold my baby. Waiting for more money to appear in our bank account so I can go buy baby stuff. Just waiting, and I am not a patient girl!

Things to do keep my mind off "baby":

• Paint interior of house. Bedroom and bathrooms done. Baby's room tomorrow.
• Yard work/ battle of the tree weed.
• Cleaning and laundry....snore.
• Online shopping. Is is considered shopping if I just look at all the baby stuff without buying?
• Still teaching Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Drumroll please....part deux

Against all odds... we've got a GIRL!

Everything looked great at the ultrasound, which is such a relief. I don't know if most expecting mothers feel this way, but I was more anxious about them finding something out of the ordinary and telling me bad news, than I was about the gender . It was quite an experience seeing the heart and hearing all the measurements. Amazing. No more words.

The reason I say 'against all odds' is that there seems to be a tradition of boys on both sides of our family. On my side, I have 6 nephews and 1 niece. Rilee will be happy to finally have a girl cousin! On Chad's side, each Barton family only gets one girl, if they get one at all, and the rest are all boys. This goes back for a couple generations I believe (Lisa, you can correct me if I am wrong!) Chad says it is their way of slowly taking over the world! Regardless of the odds, we are so stinkin' excited to have our girl first!

p.s. Our little girl was very modest and extremely concerned about keeping her legs crossed and her hands covering anything we wanted to see! The little stinker! She did not even want us to take her picture, so for her sake, I am not posting it online!

Fun Stuff

The past few weeks have been super busy, but full of fun! The first weekend in May I graduated*! The reason for the * is that I still have some summer classes coming up in July. But, because I have less than 12 credits to take, I was able to go to Cedar City and participate in the graduation commencement. It was awesome! To be hooded by some of my professors, and shake hands with important SUU people was so cool. I was not able to walk when I got my bachelor's, so this was a big experience for me. Senator Bennett spoke on Friday night to all the graduates, and then we had the individual college stuff on Saturday morning. Great weekend!

And of course, Nikki graduated with me! I stole this from her blog cause all my pics are on my mom's camera which means I will get them in about 8 months!

That same weekend was my birthday. The big 25. Chad got me some new DVDs and tickets to a show at the Hale Theater. He also made and appointment for me to get a pregnancy massage. What a sweetheart!

Later that week, we took some time to check out the golf course here in Payson. It was a great time as you can see!

As you can tell, I have awesome form and I am really good ;)

Chad is a lot more serious about it than I am, but we always have a good time when we go.

This past weekend, we spent some time with Tarrin & Tyrell's kids. It was fun and they are such cuties. But when we got home, we were exhausted. We were asleep on the couch by 9! Let's hope our energy builds up before our own little Barton comes!

And last, but not least, Mother's Day! Chad took me shopping for some maternity clothes to celebrate my first Mother's Day. On Sunday when the young women passed out the flowers, I actually got one! I felt more like I should be passing them out than receiving one, but I take what I can get. We also went to Gunnison to have lunch with some of the coolest mom's ever... Cami, Nona, and my own fabulous mom! What a great mother's day weekend it was to think about all the great mom's I am privaledged to be aquaited with. I hope you all know how great you are and what an impact you have had in my life and what great examples you are! One mother I must mention is my own great mother-in-law. Thanks for raising such a great guy :)

Take a Breath

This past week was like one bomb was dropped on me after another.
Bomb 1: With budget cuts in the district, lots of changes are coming for next year. My principal pulled me aside this week and told me I would be teaching 3rd grade next year. I have mixed feelings about this. I have always believed that being stagnant means I am not progressing and not improving myself. I have felt a little stagnant in the 4th grade. Being my 3rd year there, I have my curriculum under control. With the work I have done in my master's classes, I have put a lot of thought and work into what I have taught and the things that used to be difficult for me in the 4th grade have become second nature. Moving to 3rd grade will give me a chance to challenge myself and will keep me from being stagnant. Plus I am going to be working with some awsome teachers who have already been so open and helpful this week. Another plus, my pal Lyndsay is moving with me, so we will still be teaching together. And while a change is exciting and new, it will have it's challenges. The biggest being that I will need to make 6 weeks of maternity leave sub plans in a curriculum I don't know. Lucky for me, I will have Lyndsay and my other friends in the 3rd grade to help me out. They are the nicest ladies and I know they will help me out. In fact, Lyndsay and I are going 3rd grade shopping this afternoon. It also gives me a little boost knowing that my principal has enough faith in me to move me in the first place. At least someone thinks I can tackle this! (Note: There will always be an emtpy place in my hear where my 4th grade team once was. I love you guys!) So, wish me luck!
Bomb 2: Other stuff at school. Teaching other people's kids is stressful. With testing at my heels right now, and other issues in the classroom, I have experienced several sleepless nights the past few weeks. Lets just say I have the most awesome husband in the world who will come home from his long day at work and school to spend his evenings listening to me vent and doing everything he can to comfort me. If he could, he would fight my battles for me.
Bomb 3: Finding a babysitter is proving to be very difficult. Fortunately, I work in a school full of young mothers who have given me phone numbers, information and lots of advice. One piece of advice they gave me was to start looking for a sitter early. Unfortunately, every sitter I have called will not have room for a newborn. The best solace I can take is that if Heavenly Father has given me this baby, he will provide a way. I don't know if I have mentioned this, but Chad and I were not really planning to start our family just yet. But if the Lord will have it be, something will come up. I still have time, I am just not a good waiter!

How Grateful I am for a new week and a fresh start! I know that if I just take a breath and put all this into perspective, none of these things are a big enough deal to put me out or get me down. Besides, I have too many great friends, family, and an awesome husband to let me fall in the first place!

Fiasco in the Kitchen

Sunday dinner. I loved it growing up in my mom's home. I was excited to get married and have someone to cook a good meal for on Sundays. Today, I attempted something not so difficult but still scrumptious, and it turned into a fiasco.

It started with splattering cooking oil, EVERYWHERE. On my hands and up my arms, now blistering. On my kitchen floor, which is where I slipped and ended up on my rear end. Does being pregnant make you more of a klutz? Let's not mention clean up, it will just make me more tired.

Turns out Chad does not really like scones and honeybutter anyway.

Family,Conference and Easter

This past weekend, we had an opportunity to attend the Saturday afternoon session of conference. It was so spiritual and uplifting. What a great way to spend an Easter weekend. Thanks Adam for hooking us up!

Following the session, we met up with Chad's family in SLC to celebrate as his younger brother was set apart as an elder. As I sat there with the family gathered at Grandma and Grandpa Barton's, I could not help but think how lucky I am to have both sides of my family so strong in the gospel. It was cool to see so many men in the Barton family stand in the circle for Tyler. They are a great family and I am so blessed to be a part of them.
Next weekend, my oldest nephew Canyen is being baptised. I cannot believe he is that old! My younger brother Connor is going to be doing the baptism. They have such a special relationship and I am so excited for both Connor and Canyen. Also, next weekend Cody will be blessing my newest nephew Porter. With this generation of grandkids that is coming into my family, it has been difficult at times to narrow down the priesthood holders who will be standing in the circle because we have so many willing and able men who share their preisthoold blessings.

I felt like this conference focused a lot on families and parenting. That could be just because this is the phase Chad and I are entering in life, so that is what caught my attention. Not going to lie, there are a lot of things that scare me about bringing a baby into this world. But I get so much comfort and relief knowing that Chad and I both have strong, awesome families to back us up!

This next week is my spring break. Kind of bad timing, cause chad is so busy getting ready for finals and finishing (and, let's be honest...starting!) projects. I don't really have any plans besides cleaning and housekeeping and maybe some yard work if the sun ever decides to come out this spring. I am going to be one bored and lonely Mandi, so please call me and we can hang out!