Barnes Bunch: Joe

Showing posts with label Joe. Show all posts

Friday, August 24, 2012

New Hampshire Day 6

Continuing on with what we did this summer. This was day 6 of our vacation. The weather was a little cooler and not really swimming weather, but it was perfect for Letterboxing. Everyone was skeptical about it, but it was great.

The view of The Saco River

Natalie, CJ, and Kaitlyn

The Saco River

Heading into the woods

Over the bridge

Through the woods

Some stumps along the path

CJ and Natalie posing on a stump

Kaitlyn on the stump

Walking along the river

Got a walking stick

Found a clue, almost there

Found the letter box

It was near an amazing spot with an amazing view

Getting a closer look at the river

Heading back we found this chair tree, Natalie took a rest

CJ in the tree

Joe in the tree

Me and Alyssa in the tree

Kaitlyn in the tree

CJ and Kaitlyn on a stump

Got them both looking

Natalie resting on the stump

Back over the bridge

After Letter Boxing we went to a chocolate factory and got some chocolate and then everyone was thirsty so we got some slurpees and headed back to the house where we decided we needed to explore the old train tracks by the house.


Everyone, even Alyssa walking down the road.

So that was how we spent our 6th day there. With lots of walking and hiking. It was a fun day. So fun we did it all over again our last full day there. Come back tomorrow to see how that went.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

A Tribute To The Fathers In My Life

Father's Day is almost over and I have been giving a lot of thought to the men in my life who are fathers. My own father and my husband, the father of my children.

I was fortunate growing up to have a dad who was there. He was involved. He took me to baseball games and Def Leppard and Tiffany concerts. He put me on his shoulders so I could see the concert better. He pushed his way through a crowd of people to get a baseball signed by Mookie Wilson for me. He spent hours when I was in 4th grade trying to comb the fun tack out of my hair so we didn't have to cut my hair. When I finally wanted to learn a musical instrument that required me to learn how to read music he took the time to teach me. He set the bar pretty high for what a father should be, right? Yup he sure did.

I can happily say I found a man who could give all of that and then some to his children. Joe is there day in and day out with the kids. Right there in the trenches with me. When CJ fell the other day on a walk with our neighbor's dog Joe carried him all the way home and patched him right up. He takes his pain and flushes it right away.

Natalie has discovered an interest in archery. She expressed to Joe that she would like him to teach her how to use a bow and arrow. And Joe happily obliged. Okay, so he has been waiting for one of his children to show some sort of interest in these sort of hunting sports so needless to say he was over the moon that she asked him for this. And he immediately began searching for the internet for just the right bow and arrow for her and he found it. So now they spend a lot of time in the basement practicing their aim.

Kaitlyn had to do her state project on New Hampshire this year. Joe helped her research information on the internet and he even helped her paint her project. And he has been trying to help her with the drop the egg and don't let it break experiment they are going to be doing at school this week, but Kaitlyn has her own ideas.

Alyssa has Daddy wrapped around her little finger. All she has to do is bring him a cup and he gets her a drink. If he's eating something, she's right there next to him getting her share of it. And when she's tired and daddy scoops her up into his arms she cuddles up and lays her head down on his shoulder and snuggles in. It is so sweet watching them together.

So to the fathers in my life I just want to say thank you. Thank you to my dad for always going that extra mile for me and thank you to my husband for giving our children everything they could ever need or want. Setting the bar high for what fatherhood should look like for our children.

Happy Father's Day!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Barne's Bunch update

So I've been really quiet here on this blog. So I thought I would share with you all what the Barnes Bunch has been up to so far in 2012.

Starting with moi: I started a blogger internship recently which has been improving things over on my Monica's Mom Musings blog. Here was my first blog post on the Mom's Talk Network blog though: Teaching Our Daughters About Real Beauty And The Photoshop Effect. Other than my blogging stuff I am doing all the usual mommy stuff too. Cooking, cleaning, refereeing, homework help. Typical mom stuff.

Joe: He's working. Someone is retiring at the end of the month so we are hoping he gets promoted.

Natalie: She's doing pretty good in 7th grade this year. Finally adjusted to middle school and the expectations of her.

Kaitlyn: She's been playing her clarinet. She had a concert this past week and it was very impressive. For a group of kids who have only been playing an instrument for a few months they did great. She's also doing well in 4th grade and making lots of friends. She just went on a sleepover last week at a friends house and wanted to stay the whole weekend.

CJ: We have been buckling down on the potty training with CJ. He has been dry and poopy free during the day for over a week now. So proud of him. I am hoping once we fully get him trained during the day that night time training will be super easy and we can be done with diapers, at least for him. He's loving preschool this year. He's always talking about the kids in his class and makes up the funniest stories too. He has quite the imagination on him.

Alyssa: Well, she has been doing what babies do. She still has her gimpy crawl, but she gets from one point to the other pretty fast. She is cruising the furniture and she can stand up. No walking yet. She loves to eat and we have introduced coconut milk to her diet as well which she loves. That was supposed to be for CJ, but he won't drink it and Alyssa loves it. In less than 2 weeks Alyssa will be 1! Hard to believe.

So that's what's going on around here. I'll try to get some recent pictures up soon.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

This dad does not need to wake the hell up

A friend of mine had directed me to this article last night. Written by a dad who is very much awake. A dad who doesn't understand many fathers who think their job is done once the seed is planted. A type of dad which I'm fortunate enough to say does not live in our house.

As I write this, my husband, the father of our four children, is laying down with Alyssa. So sweet seeing him cuddled up with our baby girl. Here it is, Father's Day and he's getting her to go to sleep. My husband got up with CJ this morning while I stayed in bed with Alyssa for a few more. He then went off to work for a little while. When he came home he played with Natalie and Kaitlyn. He helped me cook dinner. Even though I urged him to go sit down he preferred to help me out. Even though it's father's day.

My husband brings our 3 year old to school and picks him up whenever he has a day off or is in work late. He brings Kaitlyn to the bus stop on mornings when he's here. He rough houses with all of the kids. He lets his daughters put barrettes and ribbons in his hair. He takes all of them fishing. He cooks dinner. He helps out around the house. He goes to the kids school events. He knows their teachers. He wipes boogers and poop. He changes poopy and peepee underwear. He rocks babies to sleep.

He is a father who gets it. He prefers to be home with his children. He doesn't go out much with friends. He doesn't golf or go to sporting events. He is a wonderful father and I hope my children realize how lucky they are to have him. I know I'm proud to say that man is the father of my children!

Friday, March 4, 2011

11 Things for 11 Years

Today is mine and Joe's 11 year wedding anniversary. So in honor of this special day I thought I would share 11 things you may or may not already know about us as a couple...

1. We met working together at Dunkin Donuts when I had come home my first summer from college.

2. We dated long distance and then broke up after a couple of months, but then got back together the following summer and have been together ever since.

3. There is a seven year age difference between us (Joe being the one who is older).

4. The number 4 is pretty significant in our relationship. The first time we began dating was on the 4th, then when we began dating again it was on May 4th, obviously we were married on the 4th, two of our children were born in the 4th month of the year, and now we have four children.

5. We grew up in the same town not too far from each other, went to all of the same schools and knew a lot of the same people. As a matter of fact we believe it is very possible that we had met each other before we began working together at Dunkin Donuts.

6. In our 11 years of marriage we have lived in 5 different places together.

7. Joe's mother and I share the same Zodiac sign (scorpian) and my mother and Joe share the same Zodiac sign (cancer).

8. For our 1st anniversary we gave each other the gift of ink in the form of a tattoo. We had each of our Zodiac signs tattooed on us (a crab and a scorpian).

9. Joe's mother and my grandmother could have gone to school together and known each other. Sadly we'll only ever suspect this since Joe's mother and my grandmother are no longer with us.

10. Joe and I didn't like each other much at first. He kind of frightened me with his bad boy persona and he thought I was preppy and stuck up. Good thing we took the chance to get to know each other and find out who we really were.

11. Joe is my first love! And they say 1st loves don't last. 11 years of marriage and going on 13 years together I think I'm proving everyone who ever said that wrong.

So there are 11 things you may or may not have known about me and Joe, the couple. Did anything surprise you? Did you know it all already? Find anything interesting about us as a couple?

Joe, if you're reading, Happy Anniversary! I love you!