Sophia's 1st Party

We hosted an All-American BBQ, bouncy castle and chocolate fountain to share this special day with close friends. Abe and Peyton were so excited for Sophia. Abe took special care of her in the inflatable and wanted her to like it as much as he does. She sat on all four trying to bounce herself.

I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning finishing her cake and I loved doing it because I knew that she would have fun smearing it everywhere. In the end, all she wanted to do was share it with an outreached arm. It was funny. And then... it didn't settle well. Even Papa's ice cream bars hadn't quite prepared her for the mother load of sugar.

As I sit here flipping through these photos and thinking about the last year, I am overcome with gratitude. My life is full of so many rich blessings, but nothing more important and humbling than my children. I am thankful for this time that I have with them. They are my greatest blessing.

She's One!

It is so cliche, but it is so hard to believe that our baby is 1! With each child, time has passed more quickly and this time I had hoped to drag it on as long as possible.

I have said it time and time again in every form of media, but seriously, Sophia is such an angel. She is so full of love and adventure. She is always exploring, yet is so content and happy. She makes my life so bright. Her smile is electric and she is genuinely elated to see everyone. She will smile, reach out to you and then lay her head on your shoulder. And when I say you, I mean family, friends, neighbors and strangers alike. Really, she is one of the sweetest natured babies that I have ever met.

For her actual birthday, we celebrated as a family. It was perfect.






Apparently, we have our very own live Bedtime Dora... nothing like "bangs a la 3-year-old".

We Are Going on a Picnic

The kids performed in the cutest little production. The Kindergarten put this on for the parents. Abe carried the flag and had a small line. In an Argentine-British accent, he pronounced, "We are Eensects." It was adorable. They danced and sang and I loved it!

And we spent some time in Corvallis too...

Steve's oldest brother's family lives in Corvallis, just 1.5 hours south of my family. This is a great setup because it allows us some "cousin time" when we are in Oregon and frankly, we wouldn't be able to see them more than our Barlow Reunions every two years. We went down twice, and they came up twice. In Portland (sadly there are not photos), we swam, visited OMSI and swam some more. The day that Robyn came up with Sage to tend my kids, they spend 5 hours (?) in the pool.

Even though our kids only see each other a couple of days a year, it is amazing to see the bond that they have. They know that they are family and that is special.


In no particular order, we went to the "Penny Carnival" in 100+ degrees,


Played in the fountains and had lunch at a local bakery,


Had a last-minute pizza picnic in the front yard with Jamba Juice and the slip 'n slide,

And goodbyes are always the worst part...

R&R in Oregon

Our trip to Portland was all about family. The first few days were just for the siblings. My brother, Arne, who lives with his mom in Ottawa, Canada was at the house for our entire trip. :) My sister, Cristi, had two weeks off and her boyfriend, "Nate the Great" works nights. Steve was also with us for this part of the trip.

The first day, we headed to the Portland Zoo:


My mom and Steve only overlapped for two days. We spent the first day at Saturday Market, Downtown Portland and then we took family portraits (I will post them in a later post).


It was 100+ degrees for 2 weeks, which is rare. We spent A LOT of time in the pool. It was just too hot to do much of anything else. :) My mom found this great slide, but the kids kept pulling it into the pool. We finally figured out how to take the slide apart so they could use the tube!

Papa also treated everyone (Sophia too!) to the ice cream man... twice.


Thanks for Robyn and Sage (who came up to the house in Portland), I was able to go to see my sister during BlazerDancer tryouts! It was 6 hours long and the kids would never have been able to sit quietly the entire time. I hadn't seen her dance professionally.

And after weeks of diets getting ready for these tryouts, this was right after she made the team!

We spent an afternoon at the park. Sophia wanted to eat the grass and Peyton found the only 2 spanish-speaking (out of at least 25) 3 year olds to play with.

And just before we left, we spent the day on the river in the boat. We set up camp on the beach and anchored the boat to enjoy the sun! It was one of the best days of the vacation! The kids had a blast!

R&R in Colorado

We had a great time in the States. We spent the first part of the trip in Colorado helping Steve's parents prepare for a very emotional move. They have now closed on the family home (they have lived there since Steve was 6 months old) and are headed to Arizona to the sun and more permanent grandkids. :)

While we were there, we celebrated the birth of the greatest country on Earth,


took the kids to Casa Bonita,



spent a day at the aquarium,




and took an overnight trip to Colorado Springs which included, Garden of the gods, Manitou Springs, Cave of the Winds and the Summit of Pikes Peak.





We concluded our trip with a visit to the Alpine slides, Slurpees from 7-11 for a "Slide well-done" and emptying out our portion of stored memorabilia. Some of it made it's way to the suitcase, but the majority will be remembered through photos and great memories.

Jos. A. Bank

There is a GREAT SUIT SALE at Jos. A. Banks through Wednesday.

Buy 1, Get 2 free!

Updated Link - The sale is for full-price suits.

She's 11 months old!

I wrote this a few weeks ago, but as her 1st bday is quickly approaching, it is time to post this.

She is the funniest, liveliest, most well-natured baby that we could have been blessed with. She laughs on a dime, is genuinely full of love for each or her siblings and loves the outdoors. She took a few steps of her own last night for the first time. A little gift for Steve in the limited time that he has with her.

She loves to give you a big toothy grin with squinty eyes when you say cheese. There are 7 for now.


She doesn't always sit still or behave during Sacrament, but her smile lights up the room and she'll laugh with anyone who gives her the slightest reason. She is pure joy.

P.S. And just maybe when the rest of her teeth are done breaking through, she'll sleep all night again. :) Update: She has returned to her old ways. If I could get myself to bed earlier, I would be well-rested.