Love Creek Orchard

Last week, we went out to the pumpkin patch at Love Creek Orchard for the second time. (The last time we went was in 2007, and we were really bummed to miss it last year.) Liz, Tanner & Avery rode with us (who's hating the 8 passenger van now? hee hee) and we met the Sullivans there. I think it's a great outing for the kids. There are tons of things to see and do - good clean fall fun! I love dressing up in warm colors and taking pictures - they all came out great! (So this is a very picture-heavy post). We're definitely trying to make this an annual tradition!

Before we could even pay the admission, Ben and Tanner had run off for the hay bale maze. (This was warning #1 to not run away from Mom & Dad). There was a little play area with hay bales for them to climb on (and jump off, if you're Ben).

Grace was too little to really enjoy it this year - next year I'm sure she'll be doing her best to keep up with the big kids!

She is just big enough to sit supported, so we tucked her down in this little pumpkin pile! She was all smiles, having a great time!

This is her "crazy smile" She cracks me up when she does this!

Ben was all smiles, too. He was having fun looking at the baby chicks with his daddy, though we kept having to remind him to sit so that he wouldn't accidentally stomp on a chick. Easy, Lenny!

Trying to get a hug while he was still for a minute! You can tell that he was merely obliging me!

Our next stop was the hay ride. We tried many times, unsuccessfully, to get a picture of the three friends together. This was the best that I got!

Wow - everybody looking and smiling! Enjoying the hay ride through the apple orchard.

This was the result of Ben ignoring yet another warning not to run away from the group. Three strikes and you're out (which is one more than he usually gets at home). The point needed to be made, so Brian found a "time-out corn stalk". He looked so pitiful watching all his friends play in the maze again!

His foul mood was short lived - as soon as his time was up he was off and running again!

Our last attempt to get all the kids lined up (Seth and Brian were ready to kill us)!

Tanner, Avery, Ben, Grace, Emily & Grant


It was fun to compare our pics with the ones from two years ago:

Ben was barely eye level with the hay bales - now he towers over them!

And we have one more little person to sit with us among the pumpkins!

Happy Fall!!!

Louisiana trip

At the beginning of September, Mom flew the four of us down to Louisiana for a visit. I had some very specific goals for the trip:


1. Go to the beach
2. Get a stuffed Strawberry Cheesecake Sno-ball with whip cream on top
3. Eat the crabmeat casserole from Anthony's/Toupsies/Whatever it's called


Well, I'd have to say that we were 1.5/3 on goal accomplishment. Our plane landed in the rain on Thursday morning, and it pretty much didn't stop the entire time we were there. We had planned to go to the beach on Friday, but it rained ALL DAY! Mom's yard flooded, though, and Ben had a blast "fishing" from her porch and in the ditch. (We did worry that if he slipped into the ditch, we might not see him again!)



On Saturday morning, the sun started to peek through the clouds, so we figured this was our big shot. We loaded up the car in a hurry and headed down to Port Fourchon. I'd say we had a good hour of beach play time before the dark clouds and wind started to threaten us again. (Goal #1 - Partial Success)

Gracie had enough pretty quickly (the tent we borrowed to keep her out of the sun was broken and wouldn't stay up) so Dee and Dad took her to the apartment on Grand Isle. Brian, Mom, and I splashed and played with Ben a little more before we decided to pack up and head down to the Island to meet them. We had lunch at the sno-ball stand (Nachos and YUMMY sno-balls - goal #2 = COMPLETE SUCCESS!). Then we headed back to Mom's house for naps and clean-up.


That night we went back to Fourchon to eat dinner. I love the Crabmeat Casserole at Anthony's - so I was SOOO excited! Well, apparently they've switched owners or management or something, because it was NOT the same - not good at all!!! For the price of food there, they should cook it in front of you to your exact specifications while you receive a mani-pedi or shoulder rub. Goal #3 = EPIC FAIL!

Oh well, I guess a 50% success rate isn't so bad, and there were additional perks and bonuses. I was able to spend 4 uninterrupted days with Brian and the kids and experience all of Mom & Dee's great cooking. The kids were, of course, spoiled rotten! These 3 little creatures were the highlight for Ben:


Dad took him out to breakfast and then shopping for beach toys and he came back with these little guys. They are his new BFF's. :)

The rest of these are our pics from the beach - there are none of Mom 'cause she refuses to be photograped :)

Getting ready to go with Dee

Gracie showing off her pretty swimsuit (1 piece per Daddy's specifications) and wiggling her toes in the sand)

Checking out what Bubba was doing - not sure if you can tell, but his face was COVERED in wet sand!

Wearing out pretty quickly - nap please!

Ben not wearing out at all (of course). He could have splashed and played all day!

One, two, three.... WEEEEEEE!

Lubbock Trip

At the beginning of October, the San Antonio Barricks headed west! Brian's brother Brad and his wife Jessica moved from Waco to Lubbock in August, just a few weeks before our first niece was born. (We are very sad that they are so far away, but really excited for Brad's new job opportunity and that Addison will get to grow up so close to one set of her grandparents). Anyway, enough time had passed and we just HAD to meet that little girl, so we loaded up the van, Brian took an extra day off, and we headed out I-10. The drive took us a little over 6 hours, which included a 1 hour stop in the armpit of the World, I mean, Ballinger, Texas. Where, you ask? EXACTLY.

Anyway, we arrived at Brad and Jessica's new house (VERY NICE, you guys!) on Wednesday afternoon. It actually took us a while to get the two girlies to meet, since they were pretty much on opposite schedules the entire time we were there, but here are some pics from their formal introduction:

Blanket time!

Holding Hands :)

Sitting pretty in our Bumbos and matching dresses

We added bows, which was apparently the last straw for Addison

This is my favorite - the girls trying to "over-snuggle" Brad, though I don't think that's possible!

While it will take me some time to warm up to Lubbock, because of the presence of "they who must not be named" I will say it had one very redeeming quality (not including our family) - this awesome playground. Ben loved it and he wore us out having timed races through the castle and over all the bridges and walk-ways!

Gracie liked it!

Ben sitting still long enough to take a pic with his sister. As soon as the camera flashed, he let go and took off. Luckily, I was close enough to save her from face planting into the cedar chips!

Tire swings! They also had an awesome swing with a back on it that was soooo comfortable - Gracie and I hung out there for a while!

Bridges, bridges, and more bridges!

There was also a little pumpkin patch near their house, so we made our way over there when Brad got off work. The sun was really bright and low, so it was terrible light to take pictures, but we did our best!

Grace spitting up all over herself

Ben trying to convince us to buy a pumpkin.

This pumpkin was on sale for $100!

The whole family squinting in the sun!

Brad, Jess, and Addison

The girls almost have the Barrick men outnumbered now!

Wait, recount, they're totally outnumbered! Girls rule!

A video of Grace's first meeting. I promise Grace is very sweet, she just really wanted to get over to her cousin to see what she tasted like! You know, like when dogs meet and they... well, nevermind.

This picture is random and I just included it here because we took it at Brad & Jessica's house. I find Grace sleeping like this ALL THE TIME - both hands behind her head. It cracks me up!

A little behind...

Ok - so a few people (Joan) have chastised my blog writing delays, so here goes. I am going to attempt to catch up on almost 2 months worth of activities and fun (and funny) Barrick moments. Ben is at MDO, Gracie is sleeping, I'm caught up on work, and the dishes can wait!

Build me a son

I have a book that my mom gave me called "Minute Meditations for Women". I finally made it to the end of it recently, and the last entry was titled "Build Me a Son". The author quotes a prayer that General Douglas MacArthur wrote for his son, but she thought (and I happen to agree with her) that it would be so appropriate for a mom to pray this over her boys. The task of raising a strong, christian man is daunting, to say the least. What an amazing responsibility considering the impact that these little ones can have on future generations. I feel ridiculously inadequate. However, as I read in another book: I cannot be a perfect parent, but I can be a praying parent! The best we can do is to give them over daily to the only perfect parent there is! I really want to be better at this in the future. So, to all the mommies of boys out there, enjoy this sweet prayer. I can't wait to see what God has in store for my sweet boy!

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know thee and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."

Grace's Point of View - 3 Months

Here is Grace's 3 month journal entry from her baby book - where in the world did 3 months go?

In Mommy’s opinion, I grew up a lot this month. I’m no longer considered a newborn, and I’m trying to prove it with all the things I’m learning! I am eating 6 times a day, every 3 to 3 ½ hours. Most days I go to sleep around 8pm, wake up for a “dreamfeed” around 10 o’clock, and then go straight to bed and sleep until 7 or 8 am. I do wake up at 5 or 6 am once every 3 or 4 days, but Mommy doesn’t mind since I sleep so well all the other times. Nursing is still going pretty well, though I struggle a lot with being gassy. This leads to me crying and pulling off a lot sometimes. Mommy is trying to figure out if it’s something she’s eating that’s making me so upset. She is going to start with cutting out dairy and see if that helps. We are going through gas drops like crazy ‘cause I get some after EVERY feeding. Also, I am not a fan of the bottle, especially if Daddy tries to give it to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Daddy, but I prefer my food to come from Mommy. Dad’s new trick is to sneak into my room as I’m waking up and reach the bottle over the side of the crib while he hides. It actually worked – silly Daddy! Our house was very quiet and lonely for a week this month ‘cause Bubba went to stay at Grammy’s house. I wanted to go too, but Mommy says I’m not old enough yet. I’ll get to go to Grammy Camp next summer! Oh, well. I did get to go visit her and Granddad when we all went up together, and that was so fun. I met Great Grandma Barrick and many of their friends from church.

Grammy took me shopping and bought me some pretty outfits that I will fit into very soon. As an added bonus, we got to stop at Aunt Kel & Justin's house in Dallas on the way home and I made friends with Lucy the Bulldog. We had lots of fun and I did much better on the car rides than Mommy & Daddy thought I would! The last week of the month was very exciting as we had two things to celebrate: Mommy turned 30 and my new cousin, Addison, was born. I can’t wait to meet Addison (we’ll get to visit her in the beginning of October). I think it is so special that I have a girl cousin so close to me in age. (I love my cousin, Gabriel, but I feel kind of left out 'cause he always plays with Ben!) I had a nurse’s visit on August 12th to catch up on my immunizations, and I weighed 10 pounds, 6 ounces. Another month, another pound! :)

Stay tuned for my 4 month adventures!

Love,

Gracie Belle

Grace's Milestones and Changes from this month:

Started cooing and babbling – 11 weeks
Held head up 90 degrees while on tummy – 12 weeks
Stopped swaddling – 13 weeks
Would wake up in my crib happy (sometimes) – 14 weeks
Started attending church nursery – 15 weeks

And, some pictures to document the month:

Weaning from my swaddle

Goodbye, swaddle.... hello, duck :)

Trying out my Exersaucer

Grammy introducing me to Great Grandma Barrick

Waiting for my dreamfeed

Helping Mommy clean and organize Bubba's room while he was away

Tummy Time!

Jumping for My Love

It was almost time for bed and I asked Ben if he wanted to have a dance party. He was being so cute that I got the video camera out. (See below). However, I very quickly found out that the time between dinner and bed is not neccessarily the best time to crank up the Pointer Sisters and get our groove on.

Here is Ben showing off his moves (so far so good):

When the song was over, he asked to "see". So I plugged the camera into the computer and he crawled up into my chair. He was standing in the chair as I started to play the video and I glanced up at him to see if he liked it. He had the weirdest look on his face. Like he was chewing something. "Ben, what's in your mouth?" Then his eyes get real wide and, wait for it.... he PUKES! All over me... over and over... and all I could do was just sit there! (It was all landing right in my lap, and if I had tried to move him it would have left a trail between the desk and the bathroom!) Dance Party Foul, Ben! Poor form - seriously!

So I had to wait until he was done, then, BRIAN HELLLPPP! Brian came running out of our room, scooped Ben up and put him in his bathroom. Then he brought me a towel and I had to try to wrap the towel around me and waddle to the tub so I wouldn't "spill". Let me tell you, this is not in any parenting book I've ever read! I don't know how I didn't lose my dinner while I was sitting there being used as a waste can. I guess when we become Moms, we are endowed with some sort of super-human high tolerance for the likes of spit-up, poop, etc. Who knew?

Anyway, I'm all cleaned up, I've disinfected the bathroom, and I'm not (much) worse for the wear. Lesson learned - save the 80's Pop/R&B for a time other than after dinner. Was the video worth it? The jury's still out.

Later, as I was putting Ben to bed I asked him if he felt ok... he had recovered quite quickly, was bouncing around his bed getting ready for a story and said "yep!" I said, "Did your tummy hurt before you threw up?" He said, "No, it didn't." So I thought out loud, "Hmmm, that's kind of crazy." Ben replies, "Yep, Siwwy me!" From the mouths of babes - a three year old's perspective of throwing up all over Mommy - siwwy him.