The Barnes Family

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Zoo Day with Mimi

Fielder's school was closed one day in October so Mimi had a special day with just him. (Extra special to not have to share Mimi's attention with Claire!) She took him to the zoo and they had fun - even with a little rain and cold temps. Thanks Mimi so much!

Love this picture!

Fun Run

I'm pretty sure I'm all out of order here, but that's just what happens when I don't update the blog for 2 months.

Claire's school had a Fun Run for a fundraiser this year. I found out at the last minute that parents were invited to come and watch, but it was too late to make arrangements for one of us or Mimi to attend. I went to facebook and asked for any friends there to get a picture for me, and boy did my friends come through for me! They made me feel like I was actually there and fully documented the run for me!

This might be one of my all-time favorite pictures of Claire.

A big thanks to the grandparents for donating and supporting our school!

Fall has arrived

Fall is here and it was time for our annual trip to Grandma's to pick out a pumpkin.

It was way colder than we were expecting so we didn't last very long! Pumpkin, playground, candy, done!

Claire picked out our family pumpkin and Fielder picked his "best ever" pumpkin which was a little yellow gourd. He was not interested in taking a picture with it that day, but he loves that little guy.

Barbie Party

This year we gave our girl a Barbie party at our house. She invited all the girls from her class, plus a couple others. I didn't imagine so many would say yes...but we ended up with 14 girls!!! It was a packed house and the girls all had a great time.

Rob and Fielder were our pizza delivery boys, but otherwise they disappeared. Mimi and one of my friends helped me, although at times we were totally outnumbered and out of control - it was a wild and LOUD group of girls! They were all very good, just excited and loud :-)

As the girls arrived, they played and took turns in the Barbie photo booth. We had jewelry and feather boas for them to try on. I got some awesome pictures of all the girls posing in the Barbie box, but I guess without permission I won't post them here.
Then we had a pizza lunch. (A few moments of relative peace and quiet!) Yep, I managed to fit all 14 in my tiny little dining area!

After lunch we played a fashion show game where they divided up into teams and designed dresses out of toilet paper and foil. They had a great time and all wanted turns being the model. My house was completely covered in every single room with toilet paper and bits of foil!

Then we had Barbie cake and ice cream. She turned out so cute - I was pretty proud of myself, although it was quite the disaster making her the day before. She was really leaning and all the girls took votes if they thought Barbie was going to topple over. She made it though!

And of course presents! Claire was one spoiled little girl that day. All of her friends gave such awesome gifts and she had a blast playing with her new things.

Claire had her best birthday ever and we are so thankful for a great group of girls in her 2nd grade class this year! Thanks to everyone!!

When the World came to Richmond

The UCI World Cycling Championship was held in Richmond this year - this was a major big deal for our city and very exciting! The event is held all over the world each year (next year in Qatar) and it's hard to believe Richmond was chosen. Of course, there was plenty of negativity leading up to it and concern over parking, road closures, etc. and I'll admit I was so worried about parking and getting to work, but it all ended up being just fine and really quite an awesome experience.

We met up with Andy, Tara, and Samara to watch the team time trials the first weekend. We had a little picnic in the median and watched the teams fly by. When Claire first spotted them, she said "Now I know what I want to be when I grow up!" (At the time, she had not even attempted her bike without training wheels!) They had fun ringing their cowbells and cheering for the teams - or any person that happened to be on a bike.

We took the kids to play on the playground nearby. They LOVE playing with their cousin!! Everything was fine until Samara had a bloody lip and Fielder took off running away from us, so we called it a day!

The whole week was filled with cycling events and people from all over the world coming to visit our city. I had a blast being at work and in the middle of it all. (work a little, go outside and watch, work a little, etc.)

Monday I volunteered at the convention center and "guarded" a door. I also directed the riders when they came through - the winners go to sit at the podium until they either win or someone knocks them out of the winners circle. It was so fun to watch them all come through.

This is Kristin Armstrong who sat in 1st place for the longest time, but unfortunately was beat by someone at the last minute. I really knew nothing of cycling prior to the races, but had a great time being a "new fan." I just thought it was so weird that they sit there waiting to find out if they won while everyone is just staring and taking pictures!

The 2nd weekend of the races was the BIG weekend to watch. Saturday was busy (Barbie birthday party...blog post to follow) so we went to watch on Sunday for the big mens race. We found a perfect spot to cheer on Monument.

After 27 trips to the bathroom, 1 long walk to find the free popcorn, and some more whining and complaining about snacks, we decided the kids had had enough and went home to watch the rest on tv!

It was such a great week and I am now an official "wannbe" fan of cycling and especially Peter Sagan!

Claire is 8!

Happy 8th birthday to my sweet, smart, and beautiful Claire! Saturday birthdays are awesome! Claire and I got up super early and hit the neighborhood yard sales- we found some great treasures - a few little toys, a bed for Molly, and a 3 wheel scooter for Fielder. Then back at home, sprinkle pancakes and a present from Mommy, Daddy, and Fielder.

Later in the afternoon, we met the Masons at a park for a little birthday celebration. They ran around and played, had a little treat, and opened presents.

Mimi and Papa gave her a Diary of a Wimpy kid book which she has read at least 15 times now.

Here she is trying to look surprised...a Barbie fairy house from Andy, Tara, and Samara which Samara had spilled the beans the day before!! She admitted that she knew after opening it, but that she had been SO excited about it!!