A Mayfield 24th

Mayfield may be a sleepy little town, but not on the 24th of July!  Our old home town has a parade, a carnival, a duck race and lots of other fun things on the 24th.  The kids all rode in the Lion's club train driven by our friend Robert.  We gathered candy and went to the carnival.  The kids won tons of prizes and enjoyed the icees.  What a fun day in Mayfield!

Caitlin's 2nd Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday Caitlin!  We had a wonderful little party with cake, ice cream balloons, crowns, confetti, presents, family, and a lot of fun.  Of course Becky's present won the day.  She always gives the best gifts.  The baby alive doll won Caitlin's heart.  She wouldn't let it go even for cake and ice cream!

Josh the wrapping helper

Daddy the hair stylist.

Purse and baby in hand, Caitlin made short work of her candle.

It's not a Barlow party without a good dinner!

Victoria

My dear friend Victoria and her family stopped in at Dads on the 4th for a quick visit.  They live in Ohio, so it is rare for us to get a chance to see each other.  It was wonderful to see them!

July 4th

Due to the firework restrictions all over the state, we were not able to run the firework stand this year.  We missed out on a little revenue, but really it was nice to not have to deal with it.  Plus we were able to go to Provo for the 4th.  Dad always throws a big all-day shebang for the fourth.  friends, family, total strangers, all show up for the parade and a big BBQ afterwards.  This year all 17 grand kids of Dad and Jan's were there so we had to get pictures.

Caitlin the tree hugger.

Dad and Jan with all the grand kids.

all the parents trying to get all the grand kids to cooperate...

Jan supervising the BBQ

Family enjoying good food!

Grandpa was in his element with all his guests.

My brother Jon in all his glory.  I especially love the straw hat.

All of Dad and Jan's kids and spouses except Dennis, James, and Joe.  Plus a few little ones.

Patio

We have grand plans for our yard.  Unfortunately, that means lots of hard work and a lot of hard-earned money.  We finally got our start this last week when we installed our small paver patio in the front along with a two foot swath down the side of the driveway.    I have always loved working alongside Michael. We make a good team.  It was also neat to see his expertise with landscape install.  He really is a professional.

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First we put down about six inches of road base and compacted it, then a scrutinizing leveling, then the edging, and a perfect 1 1/4 inch layer of sand.  Next is the pavers, then the fill sand, and finally the sealer.  I haven't taken a picture with the sealant, and it is so pretty and dark.  Anyway, it turned out beautiful.  Now we just need  plants and grass, and it will start looking like a yard!  Yeah!

My honey.  I love how hard he works and how much pride he takes in his work.  A good guy.

Andrew's Dino

We were driving through Sandy the other day when Andrew spotted this Dinosaur at a Sinclair gas station.  He wanted to stop and see it SOOOOO badly.  So we stopped and let him have a few minutes with the dino.  You would have thought we had taken him to Disney Land!  

Sometimes you just have to chop it...

Pregnancy is a funny thing.  I have been struggling with headaches daily for the last couple weeks.  Tylenol just wasn't cutting it, so I made a snap decision and had my hair whacked off.  Just getting rid of the extra weight already feels better.  We will see if it helps in the long run.

 I know the lock of hair looks green, but it is just wet and under flourescent lighting.  That is the pony tail they chopped off and are donating to "locks for love" which makes wigs for cancer patients.  Cool to know it is going for a good cause.

p.s. I published this post today, but it is out of order.  the next few posts will show me with long hair....don't worry, I was just too excited to wait and show everyone.