Caden's New Room

So we have lived in our house for 6 months now, but just recently I found the energy to change Caden's room. When we moved in his room was this bright baby blue color. I hated it, but was too lazy to change. Yesterday I decided that I had waited long enough. I took the kids to Home Depot with me and we got the paint we needed. I then spent the rest of the afternoon transforming his room. I love the way it turned out. This was my mom's idea. I love her ideas because they are always spectacular. Caden even helped a little bit. Here is a little plug for the FROG TAPE. It is the green painting tape that you can buy at any home improvement store. It is fabulous. Usually I use the blue take and is still bleeds. The green tape gives you a perfect crisp line. I used it when I did the stripes in Kadrie's room. You will never go back to the blue tape again. It is a little more expensive, but well worth the extra money.

My Very First Thanksgiving

So this year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, Nolan and I have decided to stay in Green River and start our own traditions. Plus his work doesn't give him much time off. So this Thanksgiving was my first one that I had to cook. I had never cooked a Turkey before but it all turned out better than I could have hoped. We invited our friends, Toni and Nathan Southam to have Thanksgiving with us. Toni helped me cook and Nathan and Nolan played Xbox (surprising, right). Later that evening, the missionaries stopped by and had pie with us. One of our missionaries is Tongan, but from Oregon. His mom has had a new baby since he has been on him mission, so he loved seeing Kadrie. She definitely look like she could be polynesian. They are both great missionaries and we enjoyed our visit with them. This Thanksgiving felt kinda weird not being with my family, but it was still a lot of fun.

Fishing at the Gorge

Nolan has made a lot of good friends at work. One friend in particuar, Carl, has been getting Nolan out a lot these last few weeks. We went out a couple of weeks ago, when both Nolan and I had a day off together. It was FREEZING, but a lot of fun. We caught two fish that time. Then the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Nolan took Caden out of school and went fishing with him all day. The fish tasted great, which is a lot coming from me because I am not much of a fish eater. We have been grilling them which is great because it keeps the stink out of my house. Actually, these fish really don't have a fishy smell. It has been a lot of fun and I think we will be doing a lot more fishing this winter.

Caden's Wrestling Camp

For the last couple of weeks, Caden has been going to a wrestling camp that is put on by the high school wrestlers. He has had a lot of fun. He did pretty good. He met a lot of kids. Fortunately, Caden is just a sweet kid with not a mean bone in his body. He was so fun to watch. Even when he was trying to bring someone down, he couldn't help but have a huge smile on his face. He is such a sweet kid. I don't think wrestling is going to be the sport for him, but he can do whatever he wants to do. In January we are looking forward to starting indoor soccer. This is more of his kind of sport. Then this spring/summer we are excited to see him play baseball. Caden can throw farther than any kid his age that I have seen. The second picture on this blog is to show you what Kadrie did the whole time during practice. She loves to do somersaults and so she did. Over and Over.

CU Buffs vs. Iowa State

At the beginning of November we finall made it out to Colorado to see my brother Jameson play football. It was such a cool day. The CU campus is gorgeous and historic. The mountains close by just accentuate how pretty it is. It was really cool to go to a college game and know someone on the field. Nolan, Tia, Lauren and I all went down to cheer on the Buffs. It was a great game. The Buffs were behind and then in the fourth quarter they came back and scored 3 touchdown and then kept Iowa from scoring at the very end to finally win it. It was intense, but all really good games are. Afterward we met Jamers and we all went out to eat at PF Changs. It was a great day. I look forward to going to more games next year.

Halloween 2008

Halloween is definitely so much fun now that we have kids. This year Caden wanted to be a policeman. He loves the typical little boy stuff, policeman, fireman, soldiers, etc.... He was a very cute policeman. I found a bat girl outfit at Walmart that I just couldn't pass up. Kadrie loves to watch batman and when I showed her the outfit she was very excited. Nolan had to work Halloween night so he didn't get to come with us. Instead I drug my single friend who has no kids, named Lauren(inside joke). We had so much fun and of course the kids scored on the candy. After we finished going door to door we went to a haunted house specifically for little kids at the Civic Center. It was a really fun night, and it was 60 degrees. Can you believe that? 60 degrees in Wyoming at Halloween time. Yeah, that probably won't happen again for another hundred years. ;)

Auntie Spring and Uncle Chris' wedding!

Aunt Spring and now Uncle Chris got married on October 18, 2008. It really was a gorgeous wedding. Chris' mom did a wonderful job helping make this wedding spectacular. I wish I had better pictures of Spring. She was fabulously gorgeous (if that is even a word). The two are definitely in love and perfect for eachother. Kadrie got to be the flower girl and she sure was cute. Unfortunately, she was too shy so she just frowned down the aisle and booked it toward me. Still, she was cute anyway. Nolan was able to walk Spring down the aisle. Spring's parents, my inlaws, didn't agree with the wedding so they opted not to come. It was so cute to see them walk down the aisle. Nolan sure loves his sister. I even got tears in my eyes. Spring also asked me to take a few minutes and talk about marriage during the ceremony. It was a very special day and I am so glad we got to be a part of it. Congrats you two!

Grandma and Grandpa Barlow

So Nolan and I have been married now for 5 years and I had still never met his grandparents that lived in Tennessee. Fortunately, the just moved to Laramie, WY and so on our way to Spring's wedding we got to stop off and finally meet them. They were all so sweet and great to talk and catch up with. Our kids loved them and attached quickly. We hope to see more of them now that they live so close.

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Move Over Tyra Banks!

Kadrie can be very tomboyish. She loves to shoot the gun, go camping, and get dirty, but she can also be very girly. She loves to get into my make up and so I like to indulge her sometimes. She is really good at sitting very still and lets me straighten her hair and apply all the make up. I thought it would be fun to dress her up and take a few modeling pictures, so here they are. For those of you who are right now saying, "Oh I can't believe she would put make up on her 2 year old", don't worry we didn't leave the house all day. It's unbelieveable how much older Kadrie looks in these pictures. Far from that of a 2 year old. Nolan and I both realize that we are going to have to keep her locked up or we are going to be in a lot of trouble down the road ;).

View Of Green River

I have a great neighbor, Charlotte, who is a real trooper. The other day around 4 in the afternoon I decided to take the kids on a hike up a hill to see the view of Green River from it. Charlotte's boys wanted to come and so she agreed to it as well. Let me prep this a little by telling you that Charlotte is from Louisiana, and so when I told her a hill she thought something a lot smaller. Wyoming hills are bigger that Louisiana hills, or at least what you call a hill. The boys practically ran up the hill and we were way behind them. Kadrie made me carry her up the hill, so I had an extra 30 pounds on my hip. We finally made it up and it was worth it these are the shots we got from up there. If you double click on the third picture you can actually see our neighborhood really well. Look for a really big mustard color house. It's not ours but that is our neighborhood. We are actually just across the street from that house. Green River definitely has it's own unique beauty. I love living here.

GO WOLVES!

One of our favorite things about living in Green River are the high school football games. I love the feel of a small town football game. We always see so many people we know.

We do more talking than watching sometimes. The Green River Wolves have been great this season which is an extra bonus to watching them, (unlike those dang CU Buffs). Caden and his friend, Kameron, had a lot of fun during this game. However, when those two get together they think they can do whatever they want. The ran off and we couldn't find them for 15 minutes. When we finally did we had Kameron's dad, Josh, who is a police that works the games talk to them about getting lost. I don't know if it affected Kameron all that much, being that it was his dad and all, but Caden was sobbing. I wanted him to know how serious that was. Kadrie loves going to the football games, and I think it is because she like to dance to the band. Whenever the band is playing she has to stand on a bleacher and shake it. It is so funny and very entertaining for all those around us. You can hear people all around us comment on her. This weekend Green River plays Rock Springs in the big Trona Bowl rival game. GO WOLVES!

Homecoming Parade

During the Green River Wolves Homecoming parade, the elementary kids get to walk and wear school t-shirts. When Caden's school came by we kept looking and looking for Caden, but still hadn't seen him. I was getting a little worried. Finally at the very end I saw Caden, holding hands with our neighbor, Tyler. All the kindergardners had to hold hands with the fourth graders. Later on when I was talking to a friend she said the principal was talking to her and had mentioned what a long walk that was and how she had to even hold one of the kindergardners. Remembering that Caden was at the very end of the group we asked him, "Caden, did the principal have to carry you during the parade?". He told us, "Oh yeah that walk was too long and my legs got too tired so I asked her to carry me." I later found out that she carried him 3/4 of the way. That is so Caden. That cute face of his can get him anything. I guess we are going to have to start making Caden run a mile every day to get him into better shape! (I'm kidding for all those who don't really know me;))

Beauty Queen or Raccoon?

Anytime Kadrie is home and it gets really quiet you can bet something bad is happening. This is just one example. For some reason Kadrie is obsessed with getting into my make up, even though she has been told a hundred times not to touch it. This happened one day while Nolan was home with her. She decided to put on mascara like mommy, but ended up looking like a raccoon. We have learned that, yes, our kids do need to be disciplined when they disobey us, but they also need to have as many pictures taken as possible. In a few months, or even days sometimes, you won't be mad and you need to pictures to remember the humor of it. I'm laughing right now:)

My "FREAKING" Cute Kids!!!

I know I am biased, but aren't my kids just the most cutest kids you have ever seen. I love these two so much. Every day I realize how lucky I am to have been given these kids. These pictures were taken before church one Sunday. I just thought they looked so good and had to catch a few snapshots. Caden and Kadrie, I want you two to know that I love being your mommy and I thank Heavenly Father every day for giving you to me. I LOVE YOU!

Indoor Camping

The other day I was remembering how fun it was when we were kids and we would make a tent with blankets. I actually still think it is fun. Nolan was on graves so the kids and I put blankets up all around my bedroom to make a giant tent. We had it incorporate the entertainment center too, and we watched, "The Bridge to Terebithia"(ah... tear jerker) and ate popcorn. Then we were all going to sleep in the tent with sleeping bags, but my back is not what it used to be and with my own bed so close by. I ended up in my bed and Kadrie followed, as usual, but Caden was a trooper and stuck it out all night. Then next morning we folded all of the blankets up and that was that. It was so much fun and I still wonder why my mom would have a fit whenever we would make tents.