Giddy-up, Army!

If you come across a sweet puppy taking a nap in the shade, the best thing to do is to climb on for a ride.

 

 

The puppy will likely wake up. Do not be alarmed. Just hold on.

 

 

The puppy may not want to take you for a ride around the yard. This will probably lead to him standing up and bucking you from your comfortable seated position.

 

 

This is only a minor set back. Just pin the puppy down…

 

 

… and climb right back on. This is not the time to give up and quit. Your backyard riding tour is just moments away.

 

 

Unless this happens. If the puppy rolls over, you must abort your mission immediately. It is impossible to ride an upside down puppy. Just scratch his belly instead. If you’re lucky, he’ll fall back asleep and you can start over.

 

Congrats to Kel-Bel

This weekend one of my bestest and oldest friends got married in Dallas. Brian, Ben & I all made the trip up I-35 to celebrate Kelly & Justin’s big day. The festivities kicked off with a yummy bridesmaids brunch on Friday. Brian dropped me off and then headed to the hotel to check-in. I spent the rest of the day with the girls (we hit up a salon for pedicures) while Bri met up Grammy to drop Ben off with her for the weekend.



Later that evening was the rehearsal dinner, which I have zero pictures of. On Saturday I was able to spend most of the day with Kelly again. We hung out in Janet & Steve’s room for a while, then had our hair & make-up done together with all the other girls, then headed to the church. Here’s pretty Kelly Belly waiting to put her dress on.

 

Pre-wedding pictures – it was a really pretty day.



The beautiful Whiteside sisters – Kristen, Kelly & Kim. Now they ALL have new last names.



Mr. & Mrs. Smith looked pretty smitten during their first dance. :)



I had a ton of fun with these girls. :)



The festivities doubled as a couple’s weekend away with this handsome fella.



We don’t get away much, so we were a bit giddy.



I’m so happy for Kelly & Justin! It was such a fun weekend celebrating one of my favorite people.



Since Ben missed the party, we brought him by to say “hi” before we headed home. Thanks for a great weekend, Kel! Enjoy married life! We love you!

‘Hawk Watch 2008

We let Ben’s Mohawk grow out during the winter months (figuring extra coverage = warmer head), but Spring is here and it’s time to bring it back!

 

A Mohawk can make you look really tough… especially when you pair it with a brush burn on your forehead. Don’t mess with this guy!

 

 

However, if your little guy is a sweetie to begin with, a Mohawk won’t change things. Ben demonstrates that he’ll never be too cool to plant wild flowers with his Daddy…

 

 

… or to share Cheerios with his puppy…

 

 

… or to sit in the lap of a sweet baby-sitter. This is “More Liz”. In our lives we have Liz (Tanner’s Mom) and “More Liz” (one of our wonderful babysitters).

 

Ben likes to keep things clear.

 

 

We also found, this time around, that sometimes you have to take the ‘Hawk up a notch. Sometimes it’s not enough to just have a strip of hair sticking up down the middle of your head.

 

 

Sometimes you need to paint that hair red.

 

Around the house

Life for an almost 2 year old is pretty simple and fun. We try to balance our busy days of pre-school and trips around town with some quality time at home.

 

Sometimes we invite friends over to join us.

 

 

Other days, Ben just needs some time alone to ponder the meaning of life.

 

 

It’s a great idea to end every day with a nice warm bubble bath.

 

 

We’ve found that there’s nothing that freshly spiked hair and a snug terry cloth robe can’t fix.

 

 

Ben at 21 months

I don’t know what it is about Ben’s 21 month picture, but he looks like a little MAN! The past few months haven’t been filled with lots of big milestones. Instead, we’ve witnessed subtle changes in behavior that are moving my little guy right out of babyhood and on to bigger and better things.

 

It has been fun to watch Ben become a play mate – both at school and with friends and neighbors. He is learning to share and take turns and think of others’ feelings. When Ben does play, he is all boy… there are lots of wrestling moves and running and jumping and karate chopping around our house. Ben does not know how to just walk across a room. It always involves a roll or a leap or a crazy gymnastic ninja kick of some sort. Despite his rough and tumble ways, Ben is still SOOOO sweet and snuggly. He is just the most affectionate little guy. He wants to hug and kiss everyone. He does NOT take into account whether or not they want to be hugged and kissed. Hopefully he’ll reign this behavior in as he gets older. I personally do not mind as I cannot get enough of his hugs and kisses!

 

It’s hard to believe that Ben’s 2nd birthday is just around the corner. We are looking forward to planning his party and participating in lots of summer activities over the next few months!

In Bloom

Spring is here, so we got to planting!



I love the little pops of color!

 

 

Happy Spring!

Happy Easter!

We stayed close to home for Easter and just enjoyed some quiet family time. Sweetie spent Easter with us again this year. Although I have no photo evidence, we put on our Sunday best and enjoyed an awesome church service. I love the emotions that are stirred up as we remember all that Jesus was and all that He did. I need to remember to worship Him that way ALL YEAR LONG!

 

The Easter Bunny paid us a visit and Ben was pleasantly surprised by the treats and treasures he found in his basket. His loot included an outfit, new crocs, a bathing suit, a bubble blower, a Wiggles video, and some candy filled eggs.

 

Happy Happy Easter from the Barricks!

The Face

Our new favorite Ben-ism is simply known as “The Face”. Ben likes to walk on his tip toes, and he will do it upon request. Every time he walks on his tip toes, he makes this face.

 

Every. Single. Time.

Don’t mind me, just walking on my toes.

It’s hard work. That’s why I make this face.

Hilarious. Love my boy!

Was the spaghetti worth it?

Ben says “Why, yes. Yes it was.”

This is what happens when Daddy is in charge of dinner clean up.

February Fun

There were plenty of good times to be had around the house this month.

There was some bike riding.

Grandad taught Ben how to play baseball.

Grammy let him use her legs as a race track.

Daddy read some great stories. Noah’s Ark is a favorite.

Ben had a blast with his new bubble gun.

Then he tried to shoot me with it.

All of that fun can tire a little guy OUT!

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo

While Mom, Diane & I attended the Women of Faith conference, Brian and Wayne took Ben to the Rodeo. Bri said there was a lot to see (I’ve never been), but Ben’s favorites were testing out the tractors and visiting the petting zoo.