An Era in Flip Flops

Brandon said, "You need to get new sandals." And I was excited.. I love shopping, I love new shoes, but then I went and saw some new sandals... I don't like those sandals, I like MY sandals.. I've spend a good part of my life in these shoes.

I wore them in the rain, through the snow, and to the beach

They give me tan lines

I wore them on 2 cruises, and in 3 countries

I wore them on the way to them temple to get married

They go with everything

They were the only shoes that fit for a good part of my pregnancy; I wore them home from the hospital

They've been through 3 boyfriends, and 8 roomates

They're cracked, seems are coming out, they're no where near the original color, but I love them

They've been good friends.. and I don't know if I'll actually get rid of them.

Primary presidents..

..are supposed to look like this..
I looked more like a frazzled 22 year old.

I am excited in an anxious kind of way none the less. I keep thinking, "I know the Lord provides a way, he wants me to obey." (do only primary leaders quote primary songs?) Hahaha, it's cheesy, wish me luck!

Today's Chandler's birthday party.. yay!

50 hours later..

Our trip was fabulous! We drove from Portland,to Salt Lake, to Denver, to Page, AZ, to Saint George, to Boise, and back to Portland! (sorry the picture's pretty small) Chandler travels like a champ. He just kind of hung out, and then took good long two hour naps every day. He loved sleeping in the hotel rooms! He wouldn't go to sleep until we did, however, so sometimes he wasn't sleeping until 11. Opps! Sometimes he was a little crank, but he is two :-)
We didn't take any pictures in Denver, but it was wonderful and beautiful. It'll really be something we consider (in another two years). My mom keeps trying to convince us to live in various places that are all inevitably closer to her. Brandon talked to a few Chiropractors, and, like always, they all said different things. None of them said there were too many chiropractors there; not that they aren't. There's a lot of them, but it didn't seem to effect the chiropractors that Brandon talked to.

Okay, now the fun stuff. Lake Powell was awesome this year. It was soooo much cooler than in the past. I had prepared myself for the heat, but it was cloudy and stormy. Not really cold, but pretty perfect. I just didn't get as much of a tan as I would have liked. Anyway, you know you just want to see the pictures. :-) Just ignore the poor quality.
Chandler even took naps on the boat!
This is my brother, Jared, he's generally grumpy. lol, not really.
I learned how to solemn ski, and it is really exhausting. .
My left leg is still sore.
We jumped off big rocks..
Okay, small, to medium sized rocks. Regardless, how many grandpas do you know that do this!
We celebrated Chandler's birthday. We had to keep the cake at a safe distance, because he kept blowing out the candles early.
He got a big TRUCK.
Is this not the cutest picture of Chandler you have ever seen?
He learned to do thumbs up by watching the skiers.

K bye!

Love, sweet love

This sweet girl came into our family when I was a few months pregnant (For security reasons they have changed her name, and I don't think they want it posted on the internet). When Brandon's brother and our sister in law brought her home as a foster baby she was 5 months. She was badly beaten: a broken color bone, a hand print across her forehead, and so much emotional damage she couldn't be around males. She couldn't even lift her head or roll over. It was so sad it seemed that it would be impossible for her to go back to that home. The fight was long none the less.

After a two year battle, they are adopting! The parents have finally relinquished their rights, and she will officially be a Barnette by the end of the month. We are so happy for her, and our whole family.


Chandler just loves his cousin