Tuckered Little Guy

After we unloaded the van and got dinner set, I called everyone to the table and Sarger was not coming. I searched for him and found him laying on the wood floor fast asleep. Poor sleepy little guy.

New Years Day Hike

For New Years Eve Daddy was feeling a little under the weather so we stayed home with the kids and watched to movie "ET". I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The kids really loved it. We had a spread of some great junk food and got out all of the bean bags and blankets. It was fun. The next day on New Years Day we took the kids for a hike at Lake Grapevine. We also took our neighbor friends John and Mike. It was great to get outside. The weather was nice, an all around fun time. On the way home we stopped at Little Ceasers for some hot and ready's. Great day.

Daddy and Sarger

Sarger loves his new train set. It was cute watching him play with his Daddy.

The Barron Circus

We love to take our animals for walks around the block. The neighbors laugh when we walk by with our goats or our donkey. They also think we have so many kids. It must look a little bit funny to see the Barron's on a walk.

Sarger And His New Trucks

Sarger headed out with his new trucks as soon as the weather warmed up Christmas day. He was having so much fun with them. I'm glad that he liked them.

Piper Rides Colonel

Our new donkey is so much fun. He is so sweet, he just melts my heart (not an easy thing for an animal to do.) On Christmas day we let Piper ride him around the yard while Daddy pulled him. I hope that the kids can eventually control him on their own.

One Man Band

I got creative and made my husband a "ONE MAN BAND" this Christmas. It has many different bells and whistles, a wash board, and drum. He loves to play music and perform for our family (and anyone who will listen). (I just noticed that it matched his favorite PJ's! Bonus!)

Cheap Thrills

I love to laugh at my husband. He's just cute. Many years ago when we lived in AZ. Our family hosted a big Christmas Eve party with the extended family. I thought it would be a great idea to have everybody wear pajamas. So I made our family matching PJ's. Tag loves to wear his PJ's that I made. They have footie's in them. I get a little chuckle each time he wears them. By the way, the title "Cheap Thrills" is talking about me.=D

Christmas Morning

More of Christmas

I bought an old doll house for Piper for Christmas at a yard sale over the summer. A few days later I stoped at another one and they had an even more beautiful doll house for sale that came with lots of furniture. I had to get it. I decided to sell the smaller doll house on Craig's list. I would work on Piper's doll house after she was in bed and Quincey would watch me. Soon she was jealous of the beautiful doll house and told me how she wanted one too. Well, lucky enough, I did have another one hidden in my secret spot. I ended up fixing that one up too for Quincey when she was at school. It is fun that she is 13 and still wants a doll house. They both turned out great. I put Piper's house on a little table and made it into a lazy Susan that she can easily turn around. I thought it was a great idea. I got Boston a tether ball, Briggs a bike, Sarger a wooden train set and some old tonka trucks to play with in the dirt outside. I also got the kids new pillows and made them special pillow cases. It was a surprise to realize that we did not get our kids anything electronic this year. Not even anything that needs batteries. We didn't do that on purpose, it just turned out that way. It was just an overall fun year. All of our kids are still kids. These are special times.

Christmas Morning

Is there anything more fun then Christmas morning? (Well, maybe the whole month of December leading up to it!) I just LOVE it! Our favorite thing is to be at home with our kids. I love Christmas so much more as the Mother of the family. I think it is because I get to GIVE so many gifts. I start early and find good deals. We were definitely blessed this year for Christmas.

Daddy Walks Away The Big Winner!

So what else is new. Tag walked away with the BEST prizes of the night! (It was good for his self esteem.) =D

BINGO

This Christmas Eve we went with the Barron tradition of playing BINGO. Mommy goes to the dollar store and gets an array of gifts for the big game. I wrap them and then when "BINGO" is yelled, they get to pick from the pile or steel someone else's prize. Believe it or not, the big prize of the night was a whoopee cushion. I walked away with butter mints. ( I didn't complain.)

Christmas Eve

We had a special dinner for Christmas Eve this year. I made ham, funeral potatoes (in honor of Oliver), green bean casserole, and rolls. We also had sparkling cider SERVED on Great Grandma Dittman's china! It was so much fun and delicious!

Sad News At The Barrons

We are sad to say that our sweet donkey, "Oliver" has gone on to that amazing farm in the sky. Yes, he died. When we got the two donkeys Oliver was already sickly and very sad and weak looking. We tried our best to keep him fed and love him in hopes that he would gain strength. It was too little too late for him and he died in the night out in the barn. He will be missed. Daddy dug a huge hole in our backyard and berried him. The kids were sad. Colonel is doing great though and he has become a quick part of the family. He often comes up to the house and looks for us through the window. He is super sweet and just a joy to have. We feel blessed because donkeys don't always come this way. It's too bad that Oliver didn't survive, but we did love him while he was here.