Actual Conversation Between Duke and I -OR- Homophones Cause Confusion

Duke: I need to get a pair of gaiters.

Me: Gators? What for?

Duke: Hunting.

Me: What? Why do you need gators for hunting?

Duke: They just make it easier.

Me: ... So... is that like hunting gators instead of hunting dogs or something??

Duke: ... What? No. They go over your pants! *laughing*

Me: Oh. GAITERS. Like G-A-I-T-E-R-S not GATORS G-A-T-O-R-S.

Hysterical laughter ensues. :)

Laundry Soap

A friend of mine from high school blogged a while back about making laundry soap from scratch as a Mother's Day gift for the ladies in her life. It's super cheap and easy to make, and it's good for sensitive skin. As soon as I saw that, I knew I had to try it. Laundry soap is so pricey, and the stuff that's made for sensitive skin still makes me itchy. This stuff is GREAT! It actually cleans, doesn't leave my whites dingy, is CHEAP (4 cents a load!) and it doesn't make me itchy (which is the most important thing to me). I just made another batch today and it took less than half an hour! Last time I made it, I split it with my mom and my grandma, AND gave a few batches worth to a neighbor and it lasted me TWO MONTHS. That's two months of heavy duty laundry- 5 people's clothes, towels, sheets and blankets, plus our sleeping bags. So, without further ado, here is the recipe.

Laundry Soap Recipe

Water

1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap
(If you're in Utah, you can find this at Macey's. If not, you can buy it online at soapsgonebuy.com, or you can use the Dial Corporate website: http://www.dialsoap.com/, to find out where it's sold near you. You should be able to find the soap, soda and borax ALL in the laundry aisle at your local supermarket.)

5 gallon bucket

1 cup washing soda (Arm and Hammer- NOT baking soda.)

1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

4 1/2 gallons water

Put grated Fels Naptha in saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax and mix well. As it cools, it will thicken. If mixture becomes too thick, add hot water to thin it to desired consistency. May be used immediately. Mix well before each use. Use 1/2(normal) to 1 cup per load (heavy). Cost per load .04.

TIP: The above recipes will NOT make suds in your washer so don't be alarmed. Fels Naptha Soap is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water. This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as tradional washers. You will also notice the need to either reduce your laundry softener or in most cases you can even eliminate the use of softener completely.

Tip:

To keep the liquid detergent stirred up, put a few marbles in the storage jug. The marbles will help mix everything and keep it mixed.

Cowboy Party!

Spanish Fork's library, despite being on the small side, never ceases to be AWESOME! :) The last six weeks, Hannah has been attending an "introduction to literacy" workshop/story time on Wednesdays. She's been having such a blast, and I'm quite impressed with what she's been able to learn there. The only thing that seems to top story time, in Hannah's estimation, is a trip to the dentist. Which, I suppose, is quite a recommendation for the dentist! :)
This weekend, the library hosted a Cowboy Party for kids aged 4-8. We went and had a ton of fun! There were (stick)pony races and, and a game of horseshoes, a campfire story, coloring projects, and a dessert of trail mix and Sasparilla. My mom and I made some chaps from felt for Aspen and Spencer and they were the hit of the party! Here's some photos:


We stopped by Dad's store on the way to the party to show him our awesome costumes!

All three of my little cowpokes.

The kids got to make their own Sheriff badges, complete with cowboy-style monikers. Hannah is "Cowboy Cutie".

Here comes Sheriff Spencer, the roughest, toughest lawmaker this side of the Mississippi.

Aspen is the "ABC Wrangler". Isn't she awesome?

Poll!!

There's a poll to the right there. It'll be up all month! Please take the time to vote on it!

New Do's

All the girls in the fam got cute new cuts recently! Here's a couple pics of me, and one of Hannah- Aspen's coming soon. And next week, a First Day of School post!!!

This is my funny face.

(About a Million) Family Portraits!

Jacob

Aspen

Spencer

Hannah

Me and Duke

Mom and Dad

Mom and the boys

Dad and the girls

Goofy Brothers

Silly Sisters

Handsome Brothers

Pretty Sisters

The Boys

The Girls

JAZZ HANDS!

The Barnes Family
Established February, 1983

Barnes Kids

My Crazy Monkeys

Duke and Heidi Jones Family

The Whole Clan

We had a wonderful oppotunity to have some pictures taken before Jake left for his dad's, and here's just SOME of what we ended up with. :) I think they turned out pretty darn great! :)

Props to Triana Ord Photography for doing these for us. It was threatening rain the entire time, and of course, when we got there, there was a couple shooting engagement photos, and then the sprinkers came on and we had to dodge them left and right. She was so great to work with all of us and make sure that everyone got the photos they wanted. Thanks Triana!!

Oh for CUTE!!

You guys have seen my button for the NieNie book, right? It's down there on the right. Keep scrolling. :) Cute, huh? Well I just found out that the gal who created it has a little online store for LDS clip art and handouts and stuff; it's called Green Jello with Carrots. Check out how cute this is (you can click on the photos to go to the site, because I'm cool like that)!


Armor of God File Folder Game


Young Women's Value Girls Poster (this comes as a T SHIRT, TOO!!!)


Jesus said "Love Everyone" Poster (you can get this one as a t-shirt, as well)

Aren't they adorable? I'm totally drooling over that Love Everyone poster! And they have Freebie Fridays!!!

Hallelujah!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Guess what Little Miss Hannah is doing next Thursday!!

Yep. She's getting those honkin' big tonsils OUT! Thank goodness! She'll do so much better when she's all healed up. This poor kid has HUMONGOUS tonsils. They almost touch, even when she's healthy, and she seriously stops breathing at night because of the blockage. I mean, you KNOW they're big when the doctor looks in her throat, when she's not even SICK, and says "Whoa. Those are some whoppers." Yeah. That's my girl.
I'm just so glad that they didn't make me jump through a bunch of hoops to do it. The doctor we had before wanted us to do a sleep study and all kinds of nonsense before he'd even refer us to an ENT. Now that we finally have insurance again, we got a new doctor- an actual pediatrician, instead of a family doc, and they sent us right over to Dr. Robbins, who immediately said "Well. Let's take them out." *BIG SIGH OF RELIEF*
I had my tonsils out when I was 13 and it was AWFUL. The older you are, the harder it is, or so I've been told. When we had Jake's out at 3, he bounced right back and was up eating popsicles and playing around the very same day. So here's hoping it's easy-ish on her.
I'm SO looking forward to her sleeping though the WHOLE night. Seriously.

Nanna and Papa's Backyard

Nanna and Papa's backyard has sure been the place to be lately. :) My dad is growing this awesome square-foot garden, and my brothers hung up their hammocks. Ah, bliss. There is nothing like swinging in a hammock in the sunshine. So peaceful. I love it. And check out my silly monkeys. Hannah simply cannot take a picture without posing. She's such a cutie.

In other news, Jake left for Las Vegas on Sunday. He'll spend a week down there with his grandparents and then fly to Alaska. The next time we see him will be Christmas. This has been really hard on all of us- Duke, the kids and me. They miss him so much. And so do I. I've never gone more than 6 weeks without seeing him his whole life- and only that long the last few summers when he's spent half of them in Vegas. My brain knows that we'll make it through, and everyone will be fine. But my heart hardly listens to my brain. To have to give him up twice now has been almost more than I can handle. There's a big empty place in our home, and in my heart, with him gone. I can only pray that it will get easier, for all of us, in time.

*Insert Chuckle Here*

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Shelf Reliance Giveaway!

Shelf Reliance is going to start giving away the Harvest 72″ (below) twice a month. It's perfect for year-supply of food storage. Go to their blog to find out more information on how you can try and win one.

http://www.shelfreliance.com/blog/

My baby bro is a Graduate! (And Spinach Strawberry Salad... okay, mostly the salad)

First off, a tribute to the grad, just the way he'd like it, short and sweet.

Way to go, bro. You're the man. :)

And now on to the good stuff! lol (Just kidding, Enoch! You know I love you more than this salad! I think... )

Oh my goodness gracious sakes alive! My dad made this salad for my little brother Enoch's graduation party a couple weeks ago, and it is SO good. Sweet and fresh and delicious!! It's like Summer on a little plate. Honestly, I went back for seconds, which I never do with salad, even when it's got my favorite dressing on it. Here's the recipe, via FarmersAlmanac.com:


Strawberry Spinach Salad

1 package fresh spinach
1 pint strawberries

Dressing:
1⁄2 cup sugar
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
11⁄2 tsp. onion, chopped
1⁄4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1⁄2 tsp. paprika
1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
1⁄4 cup cider vinegar

Wash spinach and chop into bite-sized pieces. Wash and hull strawberries. Place both in a bowl. Dressing: Mix together sugar, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, vegetable oil and cider vinegar. Toss with spinach and strawberries, then serve. Raspberries can also be used.

The Anniversary Re-do

This year our anniversary was on Mother's Day. Yeah- way to plan ahead on that one, right? Anyhow- It was honestly the worst Mother's Day I've ever had. lol I had an abscessed tooth and was on Tylenol-3's (which always make me nauseous and dizzy), Duke was working open-to-close at his store, and the kids had colds. It was pretty sad.
This last weekend Duke had both Saturday AND Sunday off of work, so we figured we'd try again. My mom took the kids ALL weekend, and we had two whole days just to ourselves. :)
Except, as usual, we missed the kids after the first night. We're so pitiful. :)
Since the weather was so great, we decided to take the kids up to try that hike again. This time it wasn't covered by 6 feet of snow! It was so beautiful and green. The temp stayed right around 70 degrees and there was a breeze and cloud cover. We couldn't have picked a better day for a hike.
Stewart's Falls trail is 2 miles, one way, through a bunch of aspen and pine trees, over a ridge and down a rocky path. It's a pretty easy hike (when you're not lugging a full frame back pack, just to see if you can handle it) and most people make it to the falls in 40 minutes to an hour. I think it took us at least two hours. :) We are SAD. But it was so worth it. Here's a picture of the falls at the end of the trail:























It's just a stock photo, because the kids broke my camera (again!!), and we didn't have one with us- but that's exactly what it looked like last weekend. Very full with spring run-off!
The kids had a blast, and we'll definitely do it again- sans backpacks. :)

So, in honor of the attempted romantical weekend, I've made a (partial) list of reasons I love my hubs (warning: much smooshiness ahead):

*He loves me, too. :)
*He works hard to support his family.
*He comes home to me every single night.
*He gave me beautiful, smart, funny, empathetic children.
*He actually wants to spend time with me.
*He cleans out the fridge, including the dishes containing the-leftovers-that-time-forgot.
*He's forgiving.
*After 15 years of being friends, and 4 kids, he still finds me attractive. I honestly can't figure that one out.
*He has a beautiful, simple, strong testimony.
*He blesses his family
*He loves being active.
*He's passionate about things that matter to him.
*He gets up with the kids the morning after I've had to take a Benadryl for my allergies and wouldn't be able to wake up to a freight train running through my bedroom.
*He teaches me things about the gospel that I never knew.
*He encourages me.
*He took me to the temple.
*He loves to play with the kids.
*He doesn't think so, but he sets a good example to me.
*He doesn't actually LIKE to fish, but he's willing to go, just for me and the kids. :)
*We read some of the same books, and he loves to talk with me about them.
*He's gentle with me, and loves to cuddle (I hope that doesn't embarrass him...)
*He's still manly. :)
*He really wants to slay all my dragons and make all my dreams come true.
*He LISTENS.
*He loves to sit and talk with the kids.
*He never judges.
*He backs me up and always gives me the support I need.
*He's a good man.
*He's my FRIEND.
*He takes me "the way I am".
*He gets my blood pumpin'.
*He knows who he is and what he stands for. He's not changeable or flighty.
*He loves the temple and honors his preisthood.
*He loved me, even when I was at my lowest point in life.
*He sweeps the carpet before he vacuums. :) That's cute.
*He reads to the kids, a lot.
*He loves everything I cook/bake.
*He likes to tease me and joke around.

I could go on and on and on. I'm so blessed to have him in my life- I owe everything I am to him. Duke pulled me back from the brink of disaster when I had hit rock bottom. He loved me even then and held my hand the whole path back. He encouraged me and helped me to grow and flourish. I know it's only because of him and the Lord that I was ever able to be the person I am now and be sealed to an eternal family. He puts up with all my quirks, and he always makes sure I have everything I need. I am so happy and so blessed because of him.

Thank you, honey, for always being there for me. I love you!