Most Outstanding Improved Student Award

We are  so proud of Brittlyn for receiving this award. She really tried hard and her efforts showed. There was a special award ceremony and a few students were chosen. We love you so much Brittlyn!!

Brittlyn is with her best friend Abby. 

Abby's been such a good friend and a ton of support all year to Brit. 

Spring Break

We had so much fun this Spring Break. We went to Escondido, California. Jennifer, Hadley, Griffin, and Lincoln met us there. We have some more great pictures to post. 

We had such a great time with Chester and katie. I haven't gotten the last night of pictures off our camera but I will post them later It was one one of the best nights ever. It was spent with our friend Evelyne and her dad Jimmy, who is from Ireland. I can't wait to write all about it.

February 18, 2009-March 5, 2009

Our last shindy for a while

Last month we had a little scare with my health. I had a few tests ran and they came back with some troubling results. With out giving to much info, I needed surgery to find out more of what was going on with me. Of course I was worried and started thinking the worst. I don't know how Kade stayed as patient as he did. He was so cute and helpful. 

There were so much love and prayers put out in my behalf. Anyway, the surgery went great and things weren't as the doctor thought. I still remember waking up and hearing the news. I was so happy. My mom, Aunt Jaynie, and Kade were there. That was a wonderful day and I don't want to take things for granted ever again. (right before the surgery)

Kade and I were planning to go on this great trip before we found out there was anything wrong. The trip was obviously put on hold until we found out all was well. 

We decided that this would be our last big get away for awhile. We had so much fun throwing things together last minute. We had some friends meeting us from Utah. We thought they would have to go on with out us. Lucky for us, we all made the trip. It was Awesome!

2-08-2009

February 6-8, 2009

Everyone one went to the ranch to celebrate my Dad's birthday. It was the most beautiful snowfall I've ever seen there.  My Dad was always so excited to get everyone together. I know he would of loved seeing how much fun everyone had. I am so grateful for my family. Each and everyone is amazing. I know I'm blessed to be part of this family.

Super Bowl 2009

Despite the loss, we had a blast at Grandma Barney's watching the Super Bowl. Even though we tend to get rowdy, this is one of our favorite places to be. We are glad Derec survived his weekend with us. We loved spending time with him too.

January 17, 2009

What a great morning. John flew Hunter, Kade, and me to Sedona for breakfast. We had so much fun. Hunter said I am not allowed next time because they couldn't do more daring things with me in the plane. I guess I am a wimp. Sorry Hunter. He loved it though and we can't wait until Kade gets his license. I know Kade is anxious. He'll be an awesome pilot too.

T. Dennis Barney February 8, 1946-January 5, 2008

So much has happened over the past few months. Life has been a whirlwind. I will briefly write about the most important things. I am anxious to get caught up. Most recently was the unexpected passing of my Dad, T. Dennis Barney on January 5, 2009.  My Dad was the most loving and kind person you'd ever meet. He made everyone feel like they were his best friend. He was genuine and kind and would do whatever he could to help anyone in need. I am so grateful for my Dad. He always made me feel like I was important. He'd drop anything just to make sure we were happy. Family was his number one priority and we knew it. My Dad was faithful and loved to serve others. He loved our Savior and he did everything in his life to live righteously. He has been such a great example to me on how to be. We have all been touched by his life and he has left a great legacy to follow.

tdennisbarney.com

Some of our favorite pictures of Grandpa barney

We loved every second with our Grandpa Barney

  October 3, 2008

What a beautiful day this was. Everything went so well. Kade and I were so excited to finally have our families together. 

They all got along great. My family loved Kades family instantly. Being in the temple together with all our loved ones was amazing. I'm so grateful for Kade. I am grateful to him for his testimony and love of the gospel. He is a wonderful husband and I can't wait to spend eternity with him.

I am attaching the link for the wedding pictures. There are tons of great shots of everyone. I only have the ones family members have given me so my selection is small thus far.

Introducing... Mr. & Mrs. Kade Clinger

Hi all its Melinda I promised DeAnn while she was on her honeymoon I would do a little blog updating...

Here are some fun pics from the night before and the wedding... DeAnn looked beautiful and the whole affair went off with out a hitch! The girl knows how to throw a party!
DeAnn at dinner the night before with her new nephew Mason and her darling girls Brit and Hayley
Lisa, DeAnn, and Melinda cheesing out at one in the morning!
Lisa's camera priviledges have been suspended for a while... all the pics have her looking great dead center!

Lisa and DeAnn how cute are they!
This was the first pic of the happy couple on the their wedding day, they were running late and totally unwilling to pose!
Kade's Grandma Ladean caught the first throw of the bouquet (she gave it back), then Brinley caught the second throw (DeAnn decided there was an age limit and took the bouquet back for another toss) On the third throw everyone dodged the bouquet!
And they rode off into the sunset...


DeAnn should have the professional pics soon and I am sure she will have her blog flooded with them in no time!

Our "surprise trip" to the Oregon coast

I was in the Salt Lake airport returning from Arizona thinking Kade would be there to pick me up. Instead, this time he told me to hang tough... He was coming but with Gordon and Debbie. We were jumping on a plane & heading for the Oregon Coast followed by a road trip to Seattle. I was a wee bit surprised. Gordon and Debbie were tons of fun and we had a blast. We visited Astoria, Oregon, then Mt. Vernon, then on to Seattle. One of my favorite stops was on Sunday at Orcas Island. We took a ferry to get there. It was a beautiful place. We got home Monday after a fun afternoon on the Seattle pier. We had the best clam chowder(2nd I mean, My dad's is better) and fish & chips. We are already planning our next adventure with the Boothe's.

Sutton and Kimmy

august 12, 2008 Today I got to spend a little time with Kimmy and Sutton. Sutton is still in the hospital, but he's doing good. He is such a beautiful baby and Kim is such an amazing mom. She loves that little guy so much. I'm sure she's anxious to get him home.

Hunter and Brayden's first elk, sorta!

August 1, 2008 This happened to be the first hunt that Hunter & Brayden have been on. They went with Kade's brother Jared. The day they were supposed to be going they couldn't stop talking about it. I thought it would freak them out. It sure did not as you can see. I asked them the best part about it. Apparently the elk didn't die after being shot, so Jared had to cut it's throat. Gag! The elk still got up & was ready to take off. Jared cut it's throat again. Gag! Again that didn't work. So Jared asked the boys, "Do you want to see me tackle that elk?" Of course they said yes. That's when Jared rolled up his sleeves and dived in and quickly put it to the ground. That was their favorite part. Mine of course was going to Jared & Cynthia's home to find the boys cleaning elk off the driveway. By the way, That was not my favorite part. My favorite part was seeing how happy Hunter & Brayden were that night. they had a great experience.

My blog specialist

As you can see I'm terribly behind on my blog. But I'd also have really awful backgrounds if it wasn't for my blog specialist Melinda! So I just want to thank her so much for making my blog so darn cute. She's the one that got me started, and she's the one that won't let me quit, darn it. So thanks again Melinda. I love you!
P.s. That little guy she's holding is her new baby Mason. He's so adorable. We haven't yet met him, and we can't wait.

Newport Beach, California

We've been looking forward to trip to California with my family. We go almost every year but it never gets old, or boring. My parents try so hard to have things planned ahead so we all have a great time together. No matter how hard they try it usually is still a little chaotic. I am amazed how patient they are... Can you imagine hauling around 18 adults & 23 kids and keep things in order. I am so grateful my parents love us enough to sacrifice their lives and sanity on out behalf.

more picts from our trip

We had so much fun in California. Almost everyone was there. We missed Denny, he stayed back to study for the Bar exam. I heard it's pretty tough and I'm sure he's overwhelmed. But I know Denny, he'll get through it and do great. Nichole and the kids were there. It was great spending the time with them we did. I love being around my sisters and sisters in law. They are wonderful moms and they are such good examples to me. I'm so grateful for them. We also missed Sutton, Kimmy, & Drummer. I know they'll feel better once he's home from the hospital. They have a new house & Kim has it looking so cute.
Oh, and of course we miss Justin. August 23 and he's home from Alaska. We can't wait to see him.

Summer vacation in Newport Beach July 18, 2008

Bye to my family...

We all met for lunch before their long drive home. Brittlyn and Hayley went home with my parents. I already miss them so much. We had such a great time together and I can't wait to see them again in a few days.

Fourth of July-Stadium of Fire

We had so much fun! My cousin Candice works with the Stadium of Fire committee and was able to get us tickets. A few family members from Arizona came to be there also.
It was great seeing how much fun the kids were having together. My favorite part of the concert was when Hunter yelled out, "I love you Miley!!!" It was pretty quiet at the time he yelled which made it even better. The fireworks seemed so close, we were covered with ashes by the end of the night.

Our weekend

What a great weekend. We stayed pretty busy. We were lucky to go to The Lagoon with Jared, Cynthia and their girls. It was funny hearing some of the funny ones Jared pulled on Hunter and Brayden.
We also went for a great drive to Snow Basin Ski Resort. We road the gondolas to the top where we ate some yummy food for brunch. The highlight of my day was the sweet gift shop. I found 2 of the cutest coats ever and they were both 1/2 off. I love a good deal... Kade was so cute to buy me a treat that day. I am counting down the days until winter.

The Cuteness

That is the name of our new bird... The Cuteness. Once again Hunter found an animal in need. He brought him home and begged to keep it until we found his owner. It's been two weeks and no one has claimed him yet. We made posters but they were "conveniently" never posted. For a short period of time he was complaining about the clean-up. So I made him this goofy sign

On our way back from Yellowstone, we stopped by Rexburg, Idaho. A few years back(quite a few), I went to school at Rick's College. I lasted one semester. I went my first year out of high school, at age 17 and hardly knew a soul. I was so homesick and freezing. The 10:30 curfew didn't help either. I left and went to Provo the next semester. Anyway, we visited my old apartment. I was disappointed it wasn't pink anymore. We also visited the new Rexburg Temple. It is really pretty.

A couple weeks ago we went to visit the memorial of the founders of Mesa. Two of the four founders are ancestor's to us. I haven't visited since the dedication about 20 years ago. It's across from the temple and only 10 minutes from my parents so I figure I need to visit more. Kade and I have been learning so much about our ancestors. I never imagined it would be so amazing. I've loved learning about my heritage and also Kades. I feel so blessed to be part of this family. It's been fun teaching the kids too. Brayden was so excited when he told his teacher that his great, great, great, great, great (I hope you get the point) grandma was the first school teacher in Mesa. He was even more excited when she told him she was also related to her. He too has been excited to learn more.

We just got back from a quick trip to Yellowstone park. We had never been so it was a first for us all, except Kade. We had fun. It was quite beautiful. We'd never seen a baby buffalo before so I thought I'd post it in case I'm not the only one. Or maybe I've just been out of it a little too long, j.k.