The new and improved Cordon!!!

Before

AFTER

So I was at work on  Saturday and Katie told me she had shaved Cordon's head because he wouldn't sit still for a haircut.  I laughed as I imagined him with a buzz.  Nothing could prepare me for the hilarity that awaited when I got home.  I laugh every time I see him  now.  It just fits his personality so well.  And Stephanie, if you are worried about your son being a serial killer, I would stop buzzing his head.  Something about it makes every kid look a little crazy...at least it makes Cordon look a little psycho.  It does fit his personality though.  Darren could never pull it off.  

Fun in Oregon

Everything just seems more fun when it is at Grammy and Grandpa's house. Whether it is eating oreo's and pop, or having a birthday party or hanging out in the hot tub, all just seems right in the world when you have someone to spoil you rotten.  

Our Christmas trip to Oregon was cancelled due to weather so we did not want to postpone it too long so we went out for a super quick trip a couple weeks ago and celebrated Darren's 4th birthday out there.  We were only there for a few days but we had  a blast going to Ruth's Chris steakhouse, swimming at the Y, and of course, the Hot Wheels birthday party complete with 1/2 pound burgers (Who said you can't bbq in Jan.), a hot wheels cake and pinata! What a blast.

Thanks Grammy and Grandpa for hosting. I think we are finally recovered and ready for more fun in April.

About the 10th time he jumped off that chair

So Hot!

Sisters

Birthday party

Now that's a burger!

Everything is better with a squirt gun

The boys were perfect gentlemen at Ruth's Chris

The first morning we were there I woke up to find this view out of my parents front window. Oregon is such a visual paradise!

Happy Birthday Darren

My big man, Darren is now 4 years old!  He has accomplished quite a bit in the last year.

His number one accomplishment was right before Cam was born which was potty training.

We worked  with Darren off and on for over a year.  Numerous bribes were given and threatenings and pleadings but then one day he just decided he wanted to go on the toilet and that was that.  Darren is such an individual.  To me he seems like the life of the party and loves

to be around people, any and all people.  If he doesn't know your name he will just refer to you as friend. Darren gets very hyper in group settings and loves to run around and show off.  He is a bit of a dare-devil but mostly, I think, he lacks a bit of common sense. He has had more black eyes than anyone I know. And has had many other injuries as well. I think Darren came to the right parents.

He loves planes, trains, tractors, race cars, and motorcycles. He always begs me to tell him stories made up about him racing any one of these things.  He is a wiz at puzzles and one of the few things he will actually sit down and concentrate on.  He could easily be a parents favorite if parents picked favorites but they don't do they?

Darren has recently perfected his touchdown dance.  Anytime he does something great he breaks out in a celebratory dance.  My family in Oregon got to witness the Michael Jackson version of this dance, which I am glad that I have not seen since.

Anyway, I can't imagine our family without Darren. There is never a dull moment with him around.

Macho Macho Man

In the midst of the storm we call Cordon's temper there is also a very bright spot.  Cordon can be (unitentionally) hilarious.  The other day we went to Willard to listen to Lance's Dad speak in church.  I was careful to bring their church clothes with me for the occasion.  Anyway, I swear

all the buttons were on Cordon's shirt when I got him to church I do however, admit to losing his socks and thankfully it doesn't show in the pic but he is wearing his church shoes with no socks. So long story short, Cordon got to play the poor kid card who was missing 2 socks and 2 buttons.

My new favorite thing that Cord says in the morning is he wants cake and brownies for breakfast. Yeah, me too!  However, what he means is pancakes and berries.  We have started making whole wheat pancakes almost every morning and to top them off we put on the strawberries that my mom brought us from oregon that we have kept frozen. This is soooo

tasty and my kids love it. 

Cordon's new obsession is Kung Fu Panda. He can recite the movie verbatim and is working on the actions though I believe he is still at Level 0.  In addition, he has his "swords" (two narrow plactic poles used to set up his tent) which go with him every where. Some kids have their blanky, Cordon has his swords. If you chance to meet him be prepared to Kung Fu Fight.

Also, he has always been a big eater. With the exception of fruit he will eat about anything.

I had some starbursts to use as bribes to get them in the car when I need to go somewhere. I gave him two starbursts and, of course he ate them. When I got him out of the car I noticed there were no wrappers. I assumed they were in his pocket since I always tell them that garbage either goes in the garbage or your pocket.  Anyway, When I gave him another one

today and I actually witnessed him eat it wrapper and all. I figured out that is where the other wrappers went to. He didn't even seem to notice.

Cordon truly is a great kid and like most macho men he is just a teddy bear at heart.

I married up

So I'm on call right now at the hospital and was just trying to find a pic on the world wide web that I could use to spice up this post.
It has been awhile since I posted. 2 ugly BYU losses to be exact. Anyway just sitting here thinking how good my wife is. She is home by herself trying to take care of 3 boys.
Yesterday she went to a baptism and of course our kids were the only ones running around the chapel. During the confirmation, Cordon gets his head stuck in a chair and keeps yelling "my head is stuck!" This isn't much worse than a few months ago at our niece's baptism when Darren started laughing hysterically and yelling "do it again" after she got put under the water.
So today Katie had sharing time, which she stayed up until midnight finishing, and Darren decides to run away. She frantically searches for him and finds him out in the parking lot. Then she is quickly trying to get her stuff ready. I'm sure she did a great job as she always does. Where was I during all of this? Why am I not in any of these stories?...I was at the hospital. Or as Darren calls it "daddy's home". Katie does put up with a lot. I have this insatiable desire to get out of debt as soon as possible. I'm not sure Katie always feels the same excitement for me working so much but she is supportive and keeps things going at home.
She rarely complains, and then only when I didn't tell her I was working again tonight until it actually is tonight. She works hard with the boys. She is very patient with them and very loving towards them. She tries hard to work with them, even though Cordon is a heckuva lot happier when Kung Fu Panda is playing. She makes dinner most every night and it is always a gourmet meal. She keeps the house as clean as possible given the circumstances. And she does it all cheerfully, except maybe when I am working for the 4th night in a row and she has to control the boys at church alone again, and she was up late trying to finish sharing time. Then she understandably gets a little tired.
Oh yes. And lets not forget the creme de la creme when she was pregant last year during our carpet installation and all our worldly belongings were in our living room for a weekend while our accidentally wet carpet dried out. Oh yeah and she had morning sickness, both kids had the stomach flu, I worked 2 12 hour days in a row, getting home about 11 each night and we all got to sleep, eat, and puke on our mattresses that were crammed in the living room. She didn't complain at all.
So here's to you Katie. The 15% tithing I paid all those years, hoping the Lord would see fit to bless me with a beautiful wife did actually pay off. I'll see you in the morning.

6 Months

My babe is now 6 months old. And to celebrate he got his first taste of semi-solid fool.

Rice cereal with bananas was the food of choice and he couldn't gobble it down fast enough.

Cameron has been such a great baby. He has had a bit of a cold lately and hasn't slept very well but he is still in great spirits during the day.  He loves to watch his bothers play and starts to laugh when they jump up and down. He grabs at everything now and has to hold the spoon when I feed him. I can't wait for the next 6 months.

Merry Christmas to all

The Sunday before Christmas is traditionally the day of the Barker Family Christmas Party. I know we were missing some people even though it was a packed house. It has been held at the city hall ever since the numbers made it impossible to fit in Grandma Barkers house.  I was not around in those days but every year I hear it just isn't the same now that the party is at Willard city hall. Nonetheless, it was a blast and Darren was the only one injured the whole evening.

Pretty much the whole Barker clan

Cordon and Santa

Christmas Eve (who's been naughty and who's been nice?)

Holiday Spirit

It was an unexpected houseful.  I have to give it up to Debbie for housing 22 people(9 of which were unexpected) overnight on Christmas eve without even breaking a sweat.  Becky and Aaron drove in from Nebraska and surprised everyone and since our flight was cancelled it resulted in a Christmas with the entire family. 12 adults. 10 kids and babies and 1 moose. All together for a Very Merry Christmas.