Gray Hair

It is a total wonder my head is not completely covered in gray hair.

I'm pretty sure Byron and I each lost five years off our lives this morning.

We found Kean awake in his crib but completely lethargic, listless and crumpled into a ball.

He was extremely floppy when we got him up.

Well, more so than usual.  Down's kids are all pretty floppy.

He's done this twice before and trust me, it was till just as scary.
Luckily, he perked up a bit after drinking some milk mixed with Pediasure.
I went ahead and took the girls to church while Byron stayed home.
I'll admit, it was pretty hard to concentrate I was so worried-- that is, until
Byron texted me this little gem:
"Cycle ride, cycle ride, cycle ride need I say more?  He's doing fine."
Big Phew!  
I talked at length o an E.R. doctor who happens to go to our church-- he thinks maybe
he got some Botulism from the honey flavored yogurt he ate yesterday.
I guess Botulism makes them have these same symptoms.  Hmmmm, maybe
and guess we will get rid of that flavor of yogurt just to be safe.
Byron and I did get out last night for a Valentine's party with some friends.
There were 24 couples and we were told to bring 24 "creative" Valentines to share.
We had such a fun time.
We first had to decorate a goody bag... I don't know if you can read what
Byron suggested we write on our bag-- "Ain't nothing therapy can't fix".
(Yep, I certainly married Mister Romantic).

We then went around the room and passed out our Valentines goodies.

It was crazy how creative some people were (and how much time they spent)!

One couple (okay, let's be realistic, the wife) made the cutest little

tea cups and saucers out of decorative papers and then had a homemade

chocolate you melt in milk to make hot cocoa!

Another friend made a 'gumball' machine out of terra cotta pots and filled it with candy.

I seriously felt like I was in a room with the much nicer versions of Martha Stewart.

We then played a version of Concentration (the men vs. the women)

and the Newlywed Game.

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time-- but I also felt

like I learned a little too much about everyone there.

It was quite fun and the perfect outlet for de-stressing (in time to get stressed out again this morning)!

Let It Snow...

Well, it has finally happened.

A snow day for the girls.

Personally, I think the school district administrators around here just wanted a Friday off--

the roads were fine and we only had a few inches of snow.

In fact, Reese went over to a friend's house while

my mom, Holland, Greer and I went shopping for fancy dresses.

(We've been invited to the formal "Share Your Heart Ball" to raise

money for Camp Rainbow Gold up in Sun Valley in a few weeks.

When we got back to my parents house, Kean was awake and

Grandma the Great (my 95 year old grandmother) showed the girls

how to make yummy old fashioned ice cream out of snow,

vanilla and cream.

Kean was in heaven.

He tells me he wants ice mmmmmm for ice cream.

(Not to be confused with just ice for crushed ice).

Now it is really snowing.

In fact, Greer has been snowboarding in our yard and

Byron broke out the ol' snowmobile to give all the kids rides.

Day three of Kean feeling good

which means the rest of us all feel good!!!

Teamwork

Unfortunately, it's not always like this at our house

but when it is, it is heaven.

I'm talking about the girls getting along and truly enjoying each other.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Greer will be trying out to represent her school in the 5th grade

Valley-wide speed jumping competition.

 She's started training in earnest

with Holland coaching her and Reese

serving as official time keeper.

I swear, you should hear the stuff Holland is telling her--

probably about the same exact stuff as those Olympians

in Sochi are hearing from their coaches.

They are s.e.r.i.o.u.s.

Holland wants the Barker name redeemed.

She should have won or placed in the top three when she

was in fifth grade but unfortunately came down with the flu

the day of the competition.

 My role in the grueling training sessions?

To keep Kean from crawling into the jump zone.

(Full time job).

I solved that problem by making Kean's new obsession,

Blackberry smoothies.

Not that I'm counting or anything but we've had two good days

with Kean!!!  Whoo Hoo!

I Heart Today

I'd like to announce that we had a GREAT day with Kean!

No diaper issues, no pain issues, no eating issues, no walking issues...

well, you get the idea.

He was happy to see Maureen, his therapist.

He even said "Mo, Mo" when she walked in!

And if that's not enough to sing about, guess what came in the mail?

A package from the Texas cousins to get us excited for February and Valentine's Day.

We got yummy chocolates and decorative hearts to hang around the house.

Now we have to come up with something fun and creative to send them!

Shoes for Sale...

Well, the ol' Steroids have kicked Kean into power eating mode.

He snacked all day long (and his diapers sure showed that he's eating

and the Miralax is working just fine)!

At Grammy and Grandpa's today he powered through nearly an entire

container of guacamole.

He sure takes after his mother!  I couldn't believe how much he kept stuffing in his mouth.

 Meanwhile, our sweet Greer can hardly walk today.

She (unasked) went down and helped our neighbor, Grandpa Bodily

shovel his driveway and walk yesterday and is really quite sore!

Greer was little Miss Crafter this evening... she made these "Bobs"

out of duct tape.

 And then she made these for her sister.

At this rate, Byron and I are gonna just stay home and put her to work

bringing home the bacon.

In Living Color

Lucky me... I got to go to the dentist today.
I cracked a crown (pretty sure from stress clenching at night)!
Kean went to therapy school and was just "okay" according to 
the therapists who worked with him today.
They said they can sure tell when he's on Steroids.
Thankfully, the "roid rage" is only a week out of each month.
I'm off to bed but wanted to share a little bright spot.
Our friends at Camp Rainbow Gold sent us a copy of an article
on our wonderful Winter Retreat in December- complete with
a few pictures of our family and a quote from Greer about 
bacon maple donuts.
I have no idea how to put a pdf into this blog but if you want 
to see the write up in this Sun Valley magazine go to the link
below and scroll to pages 110 through 112.
It's captures how magical those days were for us up in the mountains.
http://www.flipsnack.com/AF5A6886AED/ftkad0sf

The Barkette's Weekend Adventure

Poor Kean.

He's back on Steroids (almost done) and boy has the boy

been grouchy.  

We watched the lopsided Super Bowl at my parents house tonight.

Not the most exciting evening.

But it was a nice to have a relaxing one after this fun packed weekend.

Mary K sent me some pictures from the girls' sleepover Friday night.

They are so funny, one of their favorite things was cracking open coconuts.

 Of course, Miss Creative, Greer has great plans for the hollowed out shells.

 They stayed up until midnight, watching a movie,

putting together puzzles and playing games.

and if that wasn't fun enough... they got to go get in Mary K's jacuzzi

in mid winter.  They thought that was quite the treat.

Oh, that, and of course, being with someone they adore.

Fun time is over.  It's back to the grind tomorrow

with the girls going to school and Kean going to

therapy school.  Heaven help his teachers!

Let's hope Steroid boy behaves.