Happy 35th Birthday, Barrett!

Barrett turned 35 this Tuesday! We had a party at our house on Monday night for him, Tara that turned 30, and my cousin Dagen that turned 21. Barrett cooked burgers and hotdogs out on the grill.
Both sets of my grandparents were able to come to the big party. It is a real blessing having all of my grandparents living in the Dallas area. From left to right: Grampy, Dad, and Grandy (Dad's Parents) with Mimie and Papa (Mom's Parents).

Mom and Madison having a picnic in the corner.

Camryn, Dylan, Chandler, and Calahan enjoying the cookout in Uncle Barrett and Aunt Tanya's entryway.

The Birthday People!!!

Tara - 30

Barrett - 35

Dagen - 21

We had a large crowd...35-40 people there to celebrate the birthdays!

My birthday boy! Thanks for being born, Barrett! You are the best!!!

Java felt a little left out. She was peeking through the back window while the presents were being opened.

We all made our way up to the Media Room for a showing of Aaron and Alex's movie that they made at the 24 hour video race. Currently they have won the 1st round of competitions and are moving onto the next round. Be on the lookout for upcoming movies produced by my incredibly talented little brothers.

The kids were excited for the upcoming water balloon fight!

They are ready for war!!!!

Even the big boys had fun with the water balloon fight. They got nice and wet! Such big little kids. :-)

They had a lot of fun!

Tara, Oliver and I tried out the new rocking chairs. They are just as comfy as can be! We will enjoy many evenings of girl talk on these rockers.

Memorial Day Weekend

Barrett got the flag hung out for the Memorial Day Weekend. We are thankful to all the brave soldiers that have served our country and that are serving our country right now. Memorial Day 2009

We got 2 new white rocking chairs for our front porch this weekend. Barrett spent the afternoon putting them together. He loves doing projects like this!

Here are our chairs! I told Barrett we are going to be rocking in these chairs for years. We will be sitting on our front porch in these chairs 50 years from now while I am knitting a blanket and he is drinking a cup of coffee while reading the paper...if they still have newspapers...they will probably be on to some new and greater technology by then. :-)

I had a gift card for World Market that I won at school for Christmas (2007). At that time we were still in our apartment and couldn't fit anything else in that tiny little place so I held onto it, then forgot about it. Well, I remembered about it so we made a trip over there this weekend. We were so excited! We have been looking for a cushion for our porch swing that was the right color for a long time and we found the perfect one here. Now we can swing with extra comfort! We also got matching cushions for the rocking chairs. Yay!

Last summer Dylan had helped me peel the husk and hair off the corn cobs. One time this past fall or winter he asked me if he could come over and help me peel the "paper" off that stuff. We were having a group over for dinner on Monday, so I called Dylan and asked if he could help me peel the "paper" off the corn. He is a great corn peeler!

Fishing

On Sunday afternoon we spent the day outdoors. The weather was just too nice to pass up enjoying. After a delicious lunch on the patio of Villa Grande (thanks to all that have recommended it to us) Barrett, Dad, Hannah & I enjoyed a nice long bike ride down the dirt/farm roads behind Savannah. It was so fun, relaxing, energizing, adventurous, and just a great time to spend together building memories. Unfortunately I left the house without my camera so I missed some really good pictures. I am confident that we will take the trip again sometime soon so I will be sure to get pictures then. Next we went to the pond at the end of Mom and Dads street and went fishing. When I say "we" I mean Barrett and Dad fished while Hannah and I watched from the comfort of the lawn chairs. Both Barrett and Dad were successful at catching several catfish. Barrett and my Dad - the two fishermen
This spot has been a successful place to catch the fish. This is also a spot that we have rode our bikes across going from one village in Savannah to another. I'm always a little nervous about ending up in the water but so far, so good.

The sky couldn't have been more clear.

One of the lucky fish!!

After a time of watching the guys fish, Hannah and I went back to my house so that "Hannah the Hair Dresser" could come and play beauty shop with me and my hair. She did a great job! Recently Hannah has really become interested in doing hair - cutting and coloring. As of right now she is the hair lady for many people - parents, siblings, nephews, cousin, neighbors, friends, herself - basically anyone that will let her do it. She has a real talent for it. She learned just by observing her own hair being cut and by watching other peoples hair being cut. Someday I will be able to say, "I was one of Hannah's first customers. She started cutting my hair when she was 13 years old, back before she became the famous hair stylist." So if you need a haircut or color, she is the one to call.

Sisters - Hannah and Tanya

Baseball with Calahan

Calahan (our nephew) has been playing baseball for a few years now. Last Saturday (over a week ago...I have gotten behind) Barrett and I went to one of his games over in Frisco. He did a great job!!! Cal makes an awesome baseball player. It was a very nice field and bleacher section for the fans to enjoy. We really enjoyed our afternoon with the Benkers - a baseball game then a trip to Whataburger for burgers, fries, and milkshakes. Yum! Calahan Benker is up to bat. His dad Jacob is standing in the background as one of the coaches.
Here he is in action, ready to catch a ball.

Cal the catcher

Fire School

We had the fun and very interesting opportunity to go to an Open House for a fire training academy. My cousin Hollen's husband is nearly finished his training to be a fireman and they were having a time to show off all they have learned to the friends and family. We had a GREAT time! All together Joseph had a crowd of 50 people just to watch him - along with all of the other crews guests. We are all very proud of all the hard work he is doing in his training and know he will make a great fireman. Here we are with a big propane tank exploding behind us!
Barrett driving the fire truck

Joseph is the one in the front carrying the ladder.

Here they are putting up the ladder. They use this building for all of their training. Different parts of it are used to simulate fires in different types of buildings - apartments, homes, office buildings, warehouses, etc. Joseph went up into the second story window and pulled out the "victim" from the burning apartment.

The Future Firefighters (Joseph - bottom left)

Joseph and Hollen - the proud firefighters wife

Here they turned an ordinary car into a convertible with no doors. I feel bad for the person who accidentally parked their car here! :-)

Car fire - the heat was so strong from where we were standing. I can't imagine how hot it is that close to the flames.