See ya later, Swagger Wagon!

Matthew had just woken up after a grueling 1 1/2 work out last night. He looks a little worse for wear! ;)
Shortly after Mary Beth was born, I came out to my car and found the bumper dented in. We decided that it was perfect, since Mary Beth had a dimple on her right cheek as well!


After 8 years and 140,000 miles of hard living, we have finally given our minivan the retirement that it deserves! We were so happy with our minivan 8 years ago! Baby Thomas's and Matthew's car seats fit perfectly. It has seen many wonderful places and carried lots of precious cargo. I felt a little sentimental about saying goodbye to my longest lasting family car, but the thought of having a car that didn't smell like 3 month old Arby's and have dents and chipped paint made the sadness go away quickly!

I have been looking at new cars for over a year while trying to squeeze out every last drop of mileage from our van. My favorite part of our van was the seating: two bucket seats in the middle and a bench in the back. Perfect for carpool. I have been looking for non minivan options with this configuration. Several fit the bill, but I kept coming back to the Traverse. I loved the way it drove and I had all the best features of my van.

Last week, Bryon wanted me one last time to test drive a Tahoe, Suburban, and Traverse in the same day to decide what would be best. We immediately ruled out the Tahoe because of cargo space. I think it would be great for 2 kids, but not so much for three. We are friends with the manager of our local Chevy dealership, and he kindly let me take the Suburban home for two days to live it a while. At first, I thought we had found what we were looking for, but I didn't like driving it in town. It was gigantic, and I am terrible about parking in my correct space with a medium sized car, forget a large car! I pulled up to Walgreens and parked. Bryon looked at me, smiled, and said, "Not even close." I decided I wasn't woman enough for the Burb.

After that test drive, the dealer let me borrow a Traverse for a few days. I hadn't traveled a half a mile when I decided it was the car for me. I was the most comfortable car and I felt the most at ease in it.

So there you have it! If we keep our Traverse as long as the van, Matthew will be graduating from high school in it!

A few firsts today...

Since Matthew was a baby, he has always been drawn to yard work. I have pictures of the progression of interest from being held while Bryon mowed, then using the bubble mower next to Bryon, then standing in front of Bryon holding the mower, and now finally weed whacking/edging/blowing off the patio by himself. This has been Matthew's job all summer and he is great at it! For the first time last night, a friend hired him to do the job since her husband was out of town. The friend happens to be a master gardener, and Matthew couldn't believe that she would hire HIM! Bryon was held up in a mediation last night, so Matthew lugged all the equipment into the minivan, and we drove over to Matthew's first job. He did great! I didn't bring the camera to the job as he said that would be embarrassing, but he did let me take a picture of his "man sweat" that he was so proud of after he finished! Boys!

In other breaking Barnhill news...Mary Beth had her first piano lesson! Our piano teacher takes kids when they are 1st graders, so it's Emmy Lou's turn! I thought she would be thrilled about it, but all summer she has been saying that she will NOT take lessons. Mary Beth, at one point, had convinced me to wait another year. She was hesitant to start because she didn't know how to play. Since the boys know how to play piano and take lessons, she just knew that you needed to know what you were doing to take lessons! Our teacher and I decided to give her a trial lesson. She went today and has fallen in love! She is so proud of herself, and I look forward to the beginning of great things for her on the piano! I just can't believe that I have increased my frequency of saying, "Go practice the piano....go practice the piano....go practice the piano" by 1/3! Ahh, the after school fun! ;)

Birthday/Anniversary week

It's been a fun filled week!

Last Thursday was my 35th birthday. The day was a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting phone calls and Facebook birthday wishes. Then at lunch, a dear friend watched the kids so I could go to lunch with my parents. I picked Mom up at work and headed to Baylor to eat at the faculty center. When I was in college, Dad and I ate there every Tuesday, so it is a special place for us! Dad wore his pink shirt on Thursday in honor of my b-day and had the chef at the faculty center make a special meal for us. It was such a treat to be there with my sweet parents.

My birthday night was spent sweating my brains out at select baseball tryouts. It was great to get back into the "swing" of things again! Matthew hit his first over the fence home run in the tryouts! Afterwards, he turned to me and said, "Happy Birthday", in his Mr. Coolguy voice. I guess after spending my birthday at a baseball field, I deserve a home run, right? ;)

We spent the weekend test driving cars. We drove three different cars this weekend and were able to take two home for an extended test drive. We are closing in our our next car purchase and are trying to think about what our family will need in the next 8 years. I have had my minivan for nearly 8 years. It's been the greatest car ever, but I am ready to graduate to something different. More on that to come!

On Sunday, my dad went out of town, and my mom asked Lauren and me to come spend the night at her house. Since we live in the same town as our parents, Lauren and I probably have spent the night over there 2 times in the last 8 years, so this was such a fun treat! Mom made a wonderful meal then we watched Mama Mia and talked until nearly midnight. I love hanging out with my mom and sister!

Last night, my wonderful friends took me out to dinner for my birthday. I love my friends dearly! I know them through either church, book club, the neighborhood, or supper club. I love that they just make life fun and full of laughter. There is no competition or one-upping with my friends. We had a blast and it was great catching up with everyone after our busy summers!

And finally, today is Bryon's and my 14th wedding anniversary. It has been fun reliving those memories with him. We will be spending our anniversary at Matthew's speed camp, which is designed to get him ready for baseball this fall. That boy is really cramping our birthday/anniversary plans! ;)

Astros evening

We just got home from a fun filled few days with Bryon's parents. On Sunday, we headed to my favorite shopping area in the Houston area and my mother in law took me on a birthday shopping spree at Williams-Sonoma. On Monday, she treated me to an 1 1/2 hour pedicure...heavenly! Then, early Monday afternoon, we headed down to Houston for a fun Astros event. My father in law presented a check to someone before the game on behalf of State Farm. Because of this, we were able to go to batting practice, tour the press box, and meet many of the Astros players. We were happy that the kids' cousin, Ashley, and her dad also got to join us!

Since we are such crazy Rangers fans, I didn't know how enjoyable the event would be. It turned out to be a blast! The players were so sweet to the kids. The Astros star rookie, 3rd baseman, Chris Johnson, met us in the locker room and the kids asked him tons of questions. Thomas wanted to know what it felt like to hit a ball in the Major Leagues and did the ball really seem like it was traveling fast to the plate! Matthew wanted to know about the type of bat he used growing up and if he played in the Cape Cod baseball league. He was a Hyannis Harborhawk!

Also, in a crazy coincidence, I saw my blogger buddy, Jacinda, at the game! Seriously, what are the odds of both of us going to the Astros game and seeing each other there. Crazy! I also ran into my PTA friend's husband and sons who were there to watch the Cubs. Small world! The Astros ended up losing the game, but it was such a fun night!

Mary Beth loves her cousin, Ashley!
The boys enjoying the view from the press box.

The kids at batting practice.
In the press box.

The whole gang!
Michael Bourn at batting practice.
Jeff Bagwell just came back to be a batting coach. I hadn't heard of him which shocked Bryon, who always watched him growing up. Apparently, he was quite the hitter in his day!
Chris Johnson signing balls for the kids.
One of the Cubs coaches struck up a conversation with Matthew. He was such a nice guy!

Hunter Pence. I am never a big fan of his when he is playing the Rangers, but he was so sweet to the kids that maybe my heart has warmed to him! ;)
Mimi and Mary Beth

In the locker room with Chris Johnson. He is their star rookie this year.




Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman
Jim Deshayes with Mary Beth and Ashley. He was a great leftie pitcher for the Astros years ago, and is now their announcer.
We were excited to see Marlon Byrd! He was one of our favorite Rangers for the past few years.

Mary Beth and Ashley. Guess which girl just enjoyed a cherry Icee!
Big Mack is literally BIG MACK in this picture! He presented a check to someone on behalf of State Farm and was on the jumbotron!
Jeff Michaels

It's summertime....

and the livin's easy!! ;)

Well, here we are in the middle of summer, and I can honestly say that I don't ever remember the last time I have felt so content. Life is just really really good right now.

We had a busy start to the summer, then traveled for three weeks, then have been doing next to nothing for the last two weeks. As much as I love to go, go, go, I could really get used to this schedule. We have taken advantage of all the old school movies on Netflix, so the kids have been introduced to Freaky Friday, all the Mighty Ducks movies, Zulu, Forrest Gump, the first Karate Kid, and Escape to Witch Mountain. We have also been staying up late and waking around 9am. The return of the school schedule will be brutal next month!

The kids seem to really be enjoying being together and have had as close to no fighting as I could expect to get. Well, almost....

A few hours after we got Matthew home from camp, we had supper club. This is usually a kid free evening, but once a year, the kids come and swim together. The evening was a blast until I saw Matthew get out of the water holding his head. Apparently, Matthew was tickling Mary Beth, she got tired of it, and whacked him in the head with a water gun. Unfortunately, there was a sharp plastic part of the gun that landed squarely into Matthew's scalp and blood was everywhere. Fortunately, there is a doctor in our supper club who was kind enough to take Matthew to his office and give him three stitches on the top of his head! Yes, it was quite the rude awakening to getting the kids all back together!

When Mary Beth found out what happened, she cried and cried. Matthew quickly forgave her and we have had smooth sailing since. We laughed with Matthew that getting beat up by a not-quite -6 year old girl sort of cancelled out guarding our home against an intruder! ;)

Now a little about the kids...

Matthew has been a dream kid all summer. I can't believe how helpful he is around the house. He and Bryon love bonding over yard work, and he has taken over some of the cooking as well! Matthew loves to cook and has made the kids eggs and toast several mornings this week, as well as shepherd's pie for dinner on Sunday night, and egg drop soup on Monday night! He even will go out and cut phlox from our garden to make a centerpiece for our table!

We have a new allowance system in our home that makes each chore a set amount of money. (Keeping their rooms clean and being nice to each other aren't chores. They are expectations for living in the house and money is taken away when those aren't up to our standard.) Matthew has been a man on a mission and is setting the table, putting dishes in the dishwasher, unloading dishes, and taking out the trash constantly! He definitely has a strong work ethic!

Matthew had his first orthodontic appointment this week. All we have to do is get two teeth pulled and he is good to go for braces! So hard to believe! The orthodontist thinks it will be an easy task getting Matthew's incisors where they should be. As much as Matthew is dying to get braces, we are going to hold off until the beginning of the year to take advantage of the cafeteria plan savings.

Thomas has had a great summer as well. He is enjoying reading, playing with his sister and brother, as well as his friends. He has been his usual funny self and some of his sister and brother's fiestiness seems to be rubbing off on him. The other day, he was annoying Mary Beth. My mother asked him why he was doing that. He smiled and said, "Because that was what I was born to do!"

Also, he got to view pictures of Matthew's teeth at the orthodontist. The tech asked Thomas what he thought of his brother's pictures. Without skipping a beat, he said, "They remind me of Matthew's body: weird and nasty!' The tech laughed and said, "We can get rid of the weird part. Nothing we can do about the nasty!"

He has also been on a mission all summer to convince us to get him a dog. He reads about different breeds on the internet and is trying to find one that he won't be allergic to. Of all the kids, he has the most trouble with pet allergies and we know instantly if a friend's house has a cat by looking at Thomas's eyes, so finding a good dog will be tricky. The jury is still out on this one, although Thomas can be pretty convincing...

Mary Beth is still Mary Beth. We have had a great time together this summer. She has enjoyed going to the library and reading books and hanging out at home. She asks lots of questions about 1st grade and continues to be our sunshine. She has also enjoyed being upstairs during Summer Fun at church, so once a week, she gets to go with her big brothers to mini golf, skate, and the pool. She is loving being a big kid!

Well, that's about it for now. Since I am not a big fan of over 100 degree heat, blazing sunshine, and mosquitos, summer has always been my least favorite time of the year, but this summer, I might have changed my mind!

San Antonio

After getting home from Cape Cod on Monday, we spent Tuesday doing laundry and repacking for the last leg of our Barnhill Summer Vacation! Wednesday, we left home and traveled to the JW Mariott Resort in San Antonio. Bryon had a conference there, and we weren't about to let him enjoy the lazy river and water slides without us! ;)

Bryon was in meetings almost all day, and the kids and I enjoyed the great River Experience at the hotel. The place reminded me of a less crowded, smaller, newer Schlitterbahn. There were wonderful slides and no waits! It was small enough to where the boys could go off on their own and I saw them about every 15 minutes. Mary Beth and I did the slides together and floated the river somewhere around 85 times while we were there. I took next to no pictures while we were here. I just didn't have it in me!

By Saturday, we were all ready to get home. One hotel room for 5 of us was a little cramped! Plus, we had to repack Matthew, yet again, for church camp the next day!

This week has been perhaps the laziest week I have ever spent as a parent! Thomas was supposed to go to tennis camp this week, but we opted to all stay home and veg. Without Matthew here, it has been VERY quiet! Thomas and Mary Beth have played together like peas and carrots. We have slept in until 9 each morning, played games, watched movies, read books, and have rarely ventured outside our house! It has been a blissful change of pace. Now, we are ready to have our Matt man back! He should be pulling into church in about 30 minutes!

Cape Cod 2010

Beware! Long blog!

We had a wonderful week at Cape Cod! What a relaxing and fun way to enjoy our family. Here are the highlights:

After we got home from New Mexico on Sunday evening, we quickly repacked and went to sleep. We woke up at 3:45am on Monday to make our way to the airport! After searching for plane tickets, we managed to save $2,000 by flying early in the morning both coming and going. Totally worth it!

We spent the first day at the Cape relaxing on my uncle's property. My aunt and uncle have a fabulous place at the Cape that includes, a big house, guest cottage, small beach (sand box), and boat house right on the Herring River. They are the most hospitable people I know and always enjoy having guests.

We all enjoyed swimming in the river, which is right by the ocean. The river is salt water and experiences high and low tides and a current that makes for great swimming exercise! Matthew and I also had fun kayaking!

Mary Beth enjoyed sipping lemonade and observing the boating activities.
We all love jumping from the beach area into the river. This was Mary Beth's first time to ever do so. No fear!


The first night we were there, we went to a Cape Cod baseball game. The league is full of gifted college baseball players and it is an honor to play in the league. The boys spent the first day looking to find all the Baylor players who were participating in summer ball. The Wareham team had two. After the game, the boys ran to the field to meet our Baylor players. You could tell that they were happy to see a boy wearing a Baylor hat, shirt, and shorts! The boys ended up going to two games while we were at the Cape, but I was only there for one to take pictures.
The kids got to hold the radar guns to see how fast the pitchers were pitching.
Cape Cod baseball is always a highlight of our trip. Here the boys are with Josh Loudy and Max Muncy from Baylor.
After the game, we headed to one of our favorite Cape hangouts, Sundae School.
Here is Mary Beth and I sporting our Cape Cod hair. Soft curls abound in this humid climate!
My first cousin has an only child, Matty, who spends most of the summer at the Cape with his grandparents, my aunt and uncle. Matty and Matthew are 18 months apart and inseparable while at the Cape. He was our honorary 4th child all week!
I get major hydrangea envy at the Cape. You can see why!
One of the nights there, my aunt and uncle graciously volunteered to watch our kids so we could see a play and eat a great dinner. We ate at a wonderful place right on the ocean and enjoyed raw clams, oysters, and other favorite seafood fare. Then, we saw 39 Steps at the Cape Cod Summer Stock theatre, the oldest summer stock theatre in the country. It was wonderful!

Here is a picture of the loft in the guest cottage. My mother slept up here when she was in high school visiting her soon to be sister-in-law, my aunt.
On the second full day on the Cape, we went whale watching. I adore humpback whales and always love a whale watching adventure. This day wound up being perfect whale watching conditions. Not a cloud to speak of and the water was as still as glass. This ended up being the best whale watching trip I have ever taken!

Heading out to Stellwagon Bank, where the humpback whales spend their summer.


A mother and baby whale swam over to give us a once over!
I spent the majority of the trip with my camera ready for action. It got very quiet and I asked Bryon to exchange the binoculars with the camera. No sooner than the exchange began when two huge humpbacks breached, twirled around, then splashed into the ocean maybe 20-30 feet from my face! I have never seen anything so awe inspiring! The whales (45-50 feet long, 25-40 tons) lift their entire bodies out of the water. Bryon, thankfully, caught the tail end (no pun intended) of the breach.

Hello!

Another whale watching tour.




I had to take a picture of this handsome devil. His hair was almost as awe inspiring as the breaching whales! ;)
The third full day was the day that Mary Beth and I went on an ancestory tour of Pawtucket, RI. I will blog about that one later.

On our 4th full day, we walked to the beach, about a mile from my uncle's home. I enjoyed reading while watching the crew swim in the ocean.



Here is a picture of the guest cottage. You might also see the black Cadillac Escalade that we drove all week. We had signed up for an Impala ($25 per day). When we got to Alamo rental, they asked us if we wanted to upgrade to an Escalade ($75 per day) free of charge! What a fun ride!
Mary Beth running from the boat house to the big house. The guest cottage is to the right.
At the boathouse on the 4th of July. From here, we got to see 3 different fireworks displays going on at once! When things got quiet, Mary Beth yelled, "Do some more!" What a fun way to spend one of my favorite holidays!



Matty took Matthew out sailing on his sail boat one day. Guess who can hardly wait to take sailing lessons next summer....

We loved spending the 4th with the family. Our plane boarded in Boston at, gulp, 4:45am on the 5th. Remember the great deal we got? ;) We left the Cape around midnight on the 4th/5th, turned in our rental car around 2am, and got to the airport around 2:30am. The kids did lots of sleeping. Me, not so much, but it was an adventure! I had never seen Logan Airport so deserted!

We had a wonderful week. Lots of quality family time and time to relax. We can't wait to go back!