Brista Barrington

Belle's 1st Birthday Party

2018-09-11T15:19:00.000-05:00

One Year...

How we are already celebrating Belle's FIRST Birthday is beyond me!

This was the quickest year ever.

Holy smokes that went super fast!

We are absolutely just so smitten with this girl that we can not even imagine what life would have been like without her!

We love you so much Miss Belle-arina!

I wanted to keep things super intimate and small for her birthday.

We just had immediate family over to our house to celebrate our princess!

Lately, I've been over the whole super cute-let's go all out-birthday parties.

But this was my first girl, y'allll...I HAD to do something special!

It turned out absolutely better than I had imagined!

It was perfect!

Get ready for a picture overload because well...just can't help myself with this little beauty! <3

Decor: Deliciously Ordinary
Cake/Mini Pies: Chayne Goines
Birthday Hat: LoveCrushCrowns
Cake Topper: TenderLoveCardstock

Belle's Birth Story

2017-11-15T11:32:00.001-06:00

I have missed writing and sharing my family stories.

I haven't wrote in a few years but I absolutely LOVE looking back and reading about what was going on in our life years ago.

So...I'm back!

Starting off with Belle's Birth Story.

Boy oh boy was this pregnancy an awful one. I can not even explain how sick I was. I puked and puked and puked some more. My poor boys are probably so scarred. There were many "Justin, pull over NOW!" trips in the car. Lots of side of the road action. Ha. I do not know how I made it through baseball season. But I managed to not miss a single game!

By the end of the pregnancy I was only 5 lbs heavier that what I was when I got pregnant. Yeh. That's how sick I was. It lasted for a long time at the beginning. I thought it was just a horrible case of morning sickness. It went away for a few weeks. Then it came back and never left again. It got even worse towards the end. Like violently sick. I felt so alone. I do not know how some days I made it through work. Lots of time spent in that bathroom as well. I would work, come home, and immediately get in bed and never leave it. I was beginning to feel the guilt of not being the 100% there Mom. But the kids and husband were very sympathetic and understanding during the whole pregnancy. All three boys were always taking care of me. I could hardly eat, but I was ADDICTED to ice water with a straw. Weird. I know. So the kiddos would make me ice waters all the time to bring me in bed without even me asking them to. They were the sweetest.

I tried everything to feel better, but nothing worked. I was completely miserable. If this would have been my first pregnancy, I would have never gotten pregnant again. I thought my body was going to break down.

Towards the end of the pregnancy I also started getting high blood pressure. I had this same issue with Drew 10 years ago, so I was no stranger to how this worked. I do not know if that is what made me even more sick towards the end, all I know is that I felt like I was going to die I felt so bad.

I tried blood pressure meds, didn't work. Sis was measuring a little small so in my mind I did not want to be induced because of the blood pressure. I was set on not being induced. I wanted her to stay in as long as she could so she wouldn't have to go to NICU when she was born. But at 37 weeks the Dr. said induction. I was okay with the decision at this point. Drew was born at 37 weeks and was completely fine. But this little gal was little, so that worried me some. We did another ultrasound I think the Friday before induction and she measured around 5 lbs. So that made me feel even more comfortable. I was so miserable at this point that all the "I am NOT getting induced. I am going into labor on my own!" went out the window.
I knew that my blood pressure getting high during labor was serious and it was the right call and what was best not only for the baby, but for my own health as well.

I had remembered how dangerous it was with Drew, so I was at peace with it.

So, after that appointment I headed home to get the house cleaned and everything situated for the boys while we were at the hospital. And Sunday morning we went in bright and early to begin induction.

Or so we thought...

For some reason everyone decided to go into labor that day. So right as she is about to start the IV, she gets a call bedside next to me saying "hold all inductions," Gahhhh...Really?

So we waited and waited and waited and finally way later in the day we got started.

I was bound and determined to make it as long as I could without an epidural. I REALLY wanted to do it without an epidural, however, I was terrified I would have to have stitches and that I would feel the needles. (I hate needles.) So, I left the epidural option open. But was going to try real hard NOT to get it.

I contracted for a few hours and was really breathing through them good. I just mentally prepared for each one breathing through knowing when it got to the peak then I could start to relax knowing it was almost over. They started to get more and more and more intense. Everyone kept pushing for the epidural. But I was set on not having it. Then the DR came in to check me, I was at a 5 and he said I was VERY thinned out so I would be delivering within the hour. So panic kind of sank in about those dang needles for stitches. So I said yes to epidural.

The nurses wanted me to get up and go to the bathroom before I got epidural. So I did. I labored in the bathroom on the toilet for a good bit because it was hard to stand up. Once I stood up to sit on the bed, the anesthesiologist was there to do epidural. I kept telling them she was low. I kept feeling like she was about to fall out of me. I was feeling very very intense pain in my lower back tailbone region. The nurses kept saying "we just checked you. there is a very unlikely chance she moved that much." So we did the epidural. Such a quick process and I laid down. They went to put the heart monitor on her head and the nurse was like "Yeh, I think it's time to push."

Yeh, duh! I told you I felt like she was going to fall out!!!
*not saying in a mean way..I loved my nurses. :)

So it was time. The epidural was not in for very long at all, so it wasn't in full effect and it was time to push. Mind you, I only pushed for like 5-7 minutes MAYBE with Drew and Dylan. I pushed for about 12 minutes this time. Justin and the nurses and Dr. were laughing at me because I said it was taking too long.

Finally, her head was coming out, sunny side up might I add. (Which I later learned that's why I felt so much tailbone pain and felt that she was going to come out a different...well, you know. ;) ) The Dr. told me to stop pushing so Justin could catch her. I literally felt everything. Holy pain!!! That ring of fire is real, y'all!

But it was ALL worth it because she was born and in Daddy's hands!

I love the new skin to skin rule. She came straight to my chest. I really thought I would know her name when I looked at her, but I didn't. I wanted the decision to be made with the boys in the room too.

Her weight was perfect. 5 lbs 11oz. She was perfect, so no NICU like I was worried about.

Everything could not have gone any more perfect in labor and delivery. Call me crazy but I am SO glad I toughed it out and made it to the end then got the epidural. It's just an amazing feeling that strong ol' you just birthed a baby without hardly any drugs. It's an indescribable feeling, one that some people don't understand and think I am nutso for.

Justin went and got the boys and it was just our little family of 5 with her for her first hour born. I couldn't imagine the boys not being the first one to meet her, so we decided to keep the birth private this time around and let the boys have their special time with just us before anyone else got to meet her.

Little Miss did not have a name going into delivery. We had a list of 10 names going in. Belle had always been a named I loved, but then too many names similar to that became popular so it honestly was not even on the list again until I was 32 weeks pregnant and saw her in her 4D ultrasound and immediately thought "She's beautiful."

Us 5 never agreed on a name the whole time I was pregnant. But that day, I asked them if Belle Alexandria was her name and literally we.all.agreed. It was like a miracle. It was meant to be.

Our little Baby Belle.

What a wonderful wonderful day 08.27.17 was.

(PS-I called this day would be her birthday from day one. #mamasinstincts)

We all totally fell in love with Miss Belle Alexandria.

Mommy immediately felt better. Like, I knew I felt bad, but holy moly I did not realize just how bad I felt until I felt good. Life was good and we were ready to bring this little angel baby home.

She totally completes us.

Thank you Savannah Kathleen Photography for capturing these sweet moments of Belle's first minutes of life.

Free Fair!

2015-09-22T16:27:00.000-05:00

You know me...I love a good hometown shindig.

And the Free Fair is no exception.

The parade. The fair. The food.

All of it.

We ended up at the fair two nights in a row & ate way too much fair food.

This year Drew was old enough for me to let run around on his own with his friends and ride rides. Talk about e.m.o.t.i.o.n.a.l.

Whew. Was not ready for that one!

Dylan rode "The Scat" a bazillion times. I do not know how that child did not throw up the hot dog he had eaten 2 minutes before boarding this crazy ride.

I rode the Scrambler one time & I could not get off quick enough.

This ol' Mom can not handle fair rides too well. Give me a roller coaster and I am good to go, but fair rides? Noooooo way!

We always look forward to Free Fair weekend.

Great hometown festivities!

Dylan's 6th Birthday Party

2015-09-22T12:47:00.000-05:00

It should not be a surprise that for the THIRD year in a row Dylan wanted a fishing birthday party.

No surprise at all.

His party was such a chill laid back party.

I joked that I used to spend all this money on party decor and making the parties all cute and now I am spending all my money on bait for the party so my baby can fish with his friends. LOL.

My oh my times change! Haha.

My nephew Blake brought his boat so the kiddos could take turns taking fishing boat rides. He also brought a big ol' fish he caught and the little kids thought it was like the coolest thing ever.

Like I said, super chill party with some pizza and cake and fishing.

Hey, if it makes Dylan happy that is all that matters to me!!

After the party we were going to head to the football game, but Dylan decided he wanted to have an impromptu sleepover with this buddies.

It was a WILD night y'all!

We hope everyone had just as much fun as Dylan celebrating his big golden birthday!!

1st Day of School

2015-09-01T16:04:00.001-05:00

Oh I remember how much of a mess I was sending Drew off to Kindergarten. I was a little, okay, A LOT psycho. For real.

I did not really know if I would be worse since my baby was going to Kindergarten, but surprisingly I was very calm.

I only had a slight hesitation whenever I learned that he would not know anyone in his class, but Dylan?? He did not have a care in the world. It was only me who worried. He said "It's okay. I will just find my other friends at recess."

Why did I ever doubt him?

This is a big year for Drew and Dylan. This is the last time they will be at a same school together until they are in High School and Drew is a Senior and Dylan is a Freshman.

Drew made safety patrol this year which was SUCH A BIG DEAL.

He wanted it so bad and I am so happy and proud that he got nominated by his teacher to do so.

We are always so proud of that boy!

1st day of school and we had NO problems waking the kiddos up. Drew was excited for safety patrol and Dylan was excited for Kindergarten. Okay, well I take that back. There were arguments from the new Kindergartner about his school attire. He did not want to wear "fancy pants" so I picked a battle there and let him keep on his bright neon yellow shorts. Uggggghhhhhh..

You know, cause everything else like his crazy bright yellow lunchbox and camo backpack isn't enough, right?? :)

Drew left early with Daddy to get onto his orange vest duties and I stayed back with Dylan to take him a little later. Daddy met us at the school before work so he could see him off and get a picture with him.

I walked him into his classroom and he was so excited. He was such a big boy sitting down in his seat just coloring away.

I was sad to leave, but honestly, felt totally okay to leave at the same time.

I had no anxiety like I did with Drew.

I know my big boy aka my baby would be A-Okay!

They both had a GREAT first day and have the most wonderful teachers!

Disney World Vacation {Day Six}

2015-08-27T20:51:00.002-05:00

Day Six...

Our last day. #sadface

We started the day off with a boat ride to the Polynesian for some breakfast at O'hana. One of my favorite restaurants. Great character meal and the resort is just beautiful.

After breakfast we headed out for our last day at Magic Kingdom! Remember when our shirts got all messed up from the horrible downpour of rain at the beginning of our trip?? Well this time we packed the shirts up to slip them on so we could get a big group picture of us all. I think the shirts turned out so adorable. I am so glad we decided to match it up!

This day was a pretty hot day and we got done with all of our FastPasses early in the day. So we decided to head back to the hotel for a break and start packing up some of our things.

This is our attempt to try and jump in front of the castle. We failed...obviously.

Later that night we returned to Magic Kingdom. The rest of our crew went to eat at Crystal Palace. I despise that place, so me and my family made reservations at Tony's Town Square Restaurant. It is a Lady and Tramp styled restaurant.

Y'all it was sooo good.

Totally not like the normal Disney blah food.

Of course we had to re-create the sharing the noodles...

Look how adorable the cheesecake is!!!

After dinner we raided the candy store for some goodies!

Why he wanted the princess suckers?! I have no idea...

It is always so bittersweet to leave the park. Especially Magic Kingdom. You are sooo exhausted from the trip, but yet you get this burst of energy to do everything!

It is so hard for to me actually walk out. Ha.

This is most likely our last trip as a big family. All the grand kids are getting older and in sports all the time, plus the oldest grand kid will be off to college before we know it.

It was great that we could all make the time to fit in one more last big family Disney trip!

We all had a great time!

It was definitely a different experience this time around as all the kids were older and not into characters at all, but still so much fun to do all the fun rides that they had never got to before.

It's still magical to me no matter what age you are! :)

Thanks again to Pawee and Ba for a wonderful trip!

Annnnnnddd we made it home with a MUCH better plane ride!!! :)

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Previous Days:

Day Five

Day Four

Day Three

Day Two

Day One

Disney World Vacation {Day Five}

2015-08-23T11:46:00.004-05:00

This day we went back to Hollywood Studios!

We had already done Hollywood Studios once this trip and usually only do it one time while we are there, but we could only FastPass either Rockin' Roller Coaster or Toy Story once a day, so we decided to come back to do Toy Story and Tower of Terror one more time! Lol.

As I said before, Tower of Terror was a big hit with the boys!

Thrill rides are soooo much fun!

I like wanna go back right now. Ha ha ha.

We walked back to Pizza Planet for some lunch. I just really like this quick service restaurant for some reason. It reminds me kind of Toy Story maybe??

It has an arcade inside that the boys played games for a bit.

After some lunch, we met the rest of the family for all of us to do Toy Story together!

This right is totally a must do. Fun for all ages.

And might I add I beat my husband.

We had a best of out of three game going on between Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story and I totally won!!

Do not underestimate me....:)

The last few days of the trip Dylan decided he wanted to pack his little backpack up with snacks and start selling them to our family. Such a little entrepreneur....

After Toy Story we headed back to do Star Wars one more time before we left the park for the day.

We only did a half day at Hollywood Studios since we did a lot the first day we got there.

We had tried to eat at the Sci-Fi Resturant but it was like crazy booked and could not get in.

So we decided this would be our night to go to Downtown Disney and eat at T-Rex and shop a bit.

We kinda had a bad experience at T-Rex so we will not ever go there again, but if you have little boys who are totally into dinosaurs, ya gotta go!

It's just so neat!

Only one more day left....so sad.

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Previous Days:

Day Four

Day Three

Day Two

Day One

Disney World Vacation {Day Four}

2015-08-20T21:50:00.004-05:00

Day Four.

Day Four was chill. Day Four was very rainy. Day Four was also very magical.

We typically like to eat at the Tusker House for breakfast on our Animal Kingdom days! It's a great breakfast buffet with Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy Duck. They have anything and everything you want!

Next up was the safaris! This is Justin's favorite part. He loves Animal Kingdom.

The rest of us? Not so much. Ha.

During this safari trip a giraffe was soooo close to our truck. If you ever questioned whether these animals were fake or not, the giraffes are most definitely not.

Look closely at the above picture for the Lions! You can see the male lion at the top of the rock sleeping and the female lion towards the bottom.

Not gonna lie...I was a little scared because there was definitely no fence or anything separating us. We could not get out of there any quicker in my book!

The safari is located in Africa in the park. Africa is just gorgeous!

I could just sight see there for hours.

So beaut.

Dylan has really been into Jurassic Park lately since the new movie came out.

Before we left for vacation I could not tell you how many times we watched the original Jurassic Park. So we HAD to do the Dinosaur Ride.

I had done this ride previously and it really did scare me. I know it is fake, but my gosh! It is so intense and real!!

Anywho--I sucked it up for one time through. Dylan was so fascinated with all the dinosaurs inside. He was like "Mommy!! Give me your camera! I gotta get a picture of this!"

LOL!

After I rode it once, I remembered why I hated it. I kept my eyes closed pretty much all of the time screaming like a little girl.

Really...I hate that ride.

But not the boys...all three of them walked right back on for round 2.

After finally getting outta that place we went for some more Dino fun!

Drew and I took a ride on the Primawirl which was seriously so scary, but so fun!

Different type of scary than the Dinosaur ride.

This ride was a twirling roller coaster.

The boys played some arcade games until it started raining on us...again.

Once the rain hit, we decided to go and try to catch The Lion King show!

Best show on Disney grounds by the way.

Look at this cute little rainy nugget boy!

I have never loved rain ponchos so much!!

A few little pics from the Lion King Show. I recorded more video than pictures this time around...

After Lion King we left to head back to the hotel. Animal Kingdom is always a 1/2 day thing for us.

And this time we even wasted 45 minutes sitting on a curb waiting for it to stop raining so we could all the Expedition Everest Roller Coaster, but it never happened. Boo rain.

We like to split up our days and take breaks and rest.

We also like to get the Park Hoppers so we can do early morning magic hours and also late magic hours which are always two different parks.

This night we decided to go back to Magic Kingdom.

Ashley and I did a little Cupid Shuffle with the INCREDIBLES.

Got some more teacup time in...

We grabbed some dinner as a quick service with a castle view...

And of course....we watched the fireworks show ONE MORE TIME!

The time previous we kinda walked in right when they started so we did not have a great view, but this time I was determined to be closer!

Seriously, how can you not love this?

It is just so beautiful.

Drew cracks me up. He is so into taking pictures and videos of things.

He videoed the whole time.

At this point we all were getting pretty exhausted so we headed back to the hotel to rest up for yet another FUN FILLED MAGICAL DAY!

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Previous Days:

Day Three

Day Two

Day One

Disney World Vacation {Day Three}

2015-08-19T21:28:00.002-05:00

Ahhhhh...Day Three.

FINALLY I was feeling like I was on the road to recovery!

We were headed to Magic Kingdom!!! My favorite! The most magical place evvvvaaa!!!

I just love everything about this place. It's the Disney Magic...

One of my things I always tell people about Disney is GET THERE WHEN IT OPENS!

I can't express how short the lines are! And totally take advantage of Magic Hours if you stay on grounds!

The older kids rode Space Mountain over and over. We walked on many rides that are usually like hour or more wait. Seriously, y'all. It may suuuuuucccckkk getting up early, but you can get so many rides knocked out in that first hour you are there!

This day was our matching shirt day! All 13 of us had matching shirts made to wear for a group picture. (Which we didn't get this day. More details to come later in the post.) Matching shirts just make for THE cutest pictures! :)

After Space Mountain we headed off to my favorite: THE TEACUPS. I just love these things!

We had a little bit of time to waste before we did our FastPasses with the whole family so we hopped on Winnie the Pooh. The kids were less than thrilled. "This is for babies, Mommy!"

True children. True. But hey, it was air conditioned.

Next ride?? The new Snow White Dwarf Mine Train. We were so excited about this because we had never done it before.

SUCH an adorable ride! I loved it. A little bit of excitement with a roller coaster feel, but yet also kinda of a show ride too with the dwarfs singing through some areas. Super cute!

But ya know what I did?

I took off and left my camera on the ride!!

YES! My real freaking camera!

Once I realized what I did, I have never ran so fast in my life. Do you know how many pictures I would have lost? Talk about a sick feeling.

But LUCKILY, the person that rode the ride next turned it in.

My father in law kept telling me I needed to go buy a lottery ticket with that kind of luck!

Thank you to the honest person who turned it in!

I love you. Hahaha.

Next up was Dumbo!

Great family ride for all...

Seriously, how cute are the kiddos in their matching shirts and some with Mickey Ears??

TOO adorable!

We lucked out with some pretty good temperature for this time of year in Florida. But this day was definitely one of the hottest days while we were there.

Insert...the Disney water fan...

We hopped on a couple more rides and off to Splash Mountain for our FastPasses.

I decided to not do this ride because I did not want to get wet. Do you know how uncomfortable jean shorts are when you are soaked?? Horrible...

The kids LOVED this ride!

Look at all those smiles!!!! Magical smiles... ;)

Anywho---so next up was Thunder Mountain Railroad. Dylan was tall enough to ride this ride last time but this was when he was going through his puking phase so he had to stay back so he was excited for this one!

We noticed that it was going to be storming soon so we thought we would get on Big Thunder Mountain and go get something to eat or do an inside ride or show while it was raining. According to the radar we had plenty of time!!

So off we all went...onto Big Thunder Mountain. We waited inside so we had no clue what was going on outside.

We got on the ride. Starting going up the hill..Came out of the tunnel to the heaviest rain I had ever experienced. We had NO clue it was raining.

I have it all on video. It was quite hilarious. And remember, I did not want to get wet? Well I should have just rode Splash Mountain because wet was an understatement. We all were completely drenched and soaked. We had to leave the park to go change.
Who needs Splash Mountain when you have Big Thunder Railroad in the rain?
For real.

And remember that group picture we were going to take with all our matching shirts?

Yeh, we could not do that either. Lol.

Oh my gosh---it was so miserable to be that soaked!!!

And then get on a bus blaring air conditioner??

Torture.

Look how soaked the boys are...

That's what we all looked like! Ha ha ha.

Oh we have some great stories from this trip!

We headed back to the room to change and take a break before dinner.

We had dinner at Chef Mickey's. Always a great place to see all the main Disney characters.

I am not a big fan of the food there, but it's a great place for kids!

After dinner, my family was all rested up and went out for a late night at Magic Kingdom!

Magic Kingdom at night??

Oh my gosh. MY FAVORITE!

I say "my favorite" a lot, but really...this truly is my favorite!

We walked in just in time for the fireworks!!

Best.Fireworks.Show.Ever.

End of story.

We rode some more rides with the kiddos and sat down and watched the Electrical Parade. The parades are so awesome at Disney!

We stayed out until about midnight this night. But it's all so worth it.

I get an abundant amount of energy at Disney. I think its the excitement of it all!

Oh and the Disney Magic! ;)

That's a wrap on Day Three!! Super great day!!!!

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Catch up on the other days:

Day Two

Day One

Disney World Vacation {Day Two}

2015-08-17T20:07:00.000-05:00

After a good nights rest I was feeling a tid bit better. Not much better, but when you are a Mommy and in Disney World you just gotta suck it up and go! Even if it means you have to get out of a couple lines because you were going to get sick again. #yehthathappened

Day Two was spent at Epcot!

I love Epcot. I know it is not a favorite of most, but I love love love to walk the countries. Do you know how many picture opportunities there are there? Lol.

But really...the countries are just beautiful.

And Test Track and Soarin..I mean, come on?! Those are easily anyone's favorites!

Dyl had a lot of firsts on this trip! Drew had never ridin' Soarin either!

It was a family favorite. I love that the boys like to ride roller coasters and do adventurous things! It makes it so much more fun when we all get to do it together as a family!

We of course spent f.o.r.e.v.e.r at the aquarium. We kept telling Drew to just be patient that this was bubby's happy place. Ha ha. Drew was like "Well, my happy place is on a basketball court." He was readdddy to go! But Dylan? That child would have sat and stared at the fish forever. We found sharks, sea turtles, all sorts of funky fish...He was in heaven.

We spent the day at Epcot then headed up for an early dinner at Cape May Cafe in the Yacht and Beach Club. We had never eaten dinner here before so it was nice to try a new restaurant. It was a pretty darn good seafood buffet. Probably will not ever eat there again, but definitely one to give a shot if you are looking for a restaurant around those parts.

After dinner we walked back to Epcot to ride a few more rides where I got sick again and had to sit on the curb by my lonesome while Daddy and the boys rode some rides. #sadface

It was a pretty early night getting back to the room. But Disney World is so exhausting y'all that I was not sad one bit that we did not stay out late that night! Ha

(Now keep in mind with these following pictures that I was sick---so don't judge the rough lookin Mom in there, ya herre?)

Previous Days:

Day One

Disney World Vacation {Day one}

2015-08-15T21:11:00.001-05:00

The day we got back from Mexico was the day we left for Disney World...

Talk about being exhausted.

So our flight from Mexico got back into St. Louis about 1:00ish. We officially got home about 5:30. Our flight to Orlando was leaving from Nashville the next morning at 9:30. We originally had a hotel room booked in Nashville for that same night that we got back from Mexico, but right before we left for our first vacation we decided we would be so tired from the vacation and we would just get up that morning early to drive to Nashville and catch our flight. Soooo...we canceled our Nashville hotel room.

So then we got home from Mexico. I did a couple loads of laundry and looked at Justin and said "Let's just go to Nashville tonight." Lol. Yeh, I am. THE. most.indecisive.person.ever.

SOOOOO...we changed out our luggage from Mexico things to Disney and off we went to Nashville literally the same night we got back from Mexico. We re-booked a room on the way up & we are so glad we ended up taking off because a good night's sleep was just what we needed!

Let me just tell ya, we all know I hate to fly. BUT the flight TO Orlando??

Worst.Flight.Ever.

40 Junior High kids were on their way to Orlando. With us. In the same plane. FORTY!!!

It was THE most loud plane I have ever been on!

We could not hear the captain speaking. At one point all I knew was that the flight attendants were to sit down and buckle up. Which to me means "we are going to crash." LOL.

So I am in full panic mode. I can't hear anything. I am sweating. I think I am going to die. I think my whole family is going to die. And not much help from the seat of junior high kids behind me saying "We are going to crash! We are spiraling down! We are going to blow up in a big ball of fire!"

Yeh, I totally stopped the flight attendant and asked how much longer it would be before we got on land. He could tell I was having a panic attack so he blew the air straight on my face, put some ice on my back, and got my some ginger ale. Like a little child I tell ya.

Obviously, we made it....Hahaha. But I was SOOOO thankful to be off that plane!

Oh yeh--did I mention this was Dylan's first flight ever? He absolutely loved it! And Drew did too. He doesn't remember flying when he was little. I am glad they both are old enough to remember flying because that sure ain't happening again anytime soon! #mommyisascaredycat

THEN....I get my stroller to realize Southwest broke it.

So once we land I have to try to find the Southwest Customer Service for them to only tell me that they cannot do anything about my stroller and they are only responsible for it if they lose it. Say what??? So, you can break my stroller and not be responsible for it?

I was fuming. I just had a horrible plane ride & I may have said a few choice words that typically do not come out of my mouth.

I was livid.

But then we finally get on the bus and head to our resort...

It could only get better for me at this point...I mean, I was headed to the most happy and magical place on Earth, right???

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. It was really a gorgeous resort. It was nice to try something different. I ended up not getting any pictures of the resort. (Oopsie--totally forgot.)

We left the room for Hollywood Studios with our luggage not even having arrived in our room yet. I just knew it was not going to make it. (It did!)

We had FastPasse'd some big rides at Hollywood Studios that the boys had never done yet. Tower of Terror was a big hit with the boys! And Drew was tall enough this time to do Rockin' Roller Coaster with us! He LOVED it.

We had also never seen the Indiana Jones show, so we watched that as well.

But then the bad luck struck again and down I went...sick.

We ended up having to leave the park before everyone else because I just could not make it any longer. I was so sick. We went back to the hotel room and Justin took the boys to swim so I could rest a bit.

So, yeh, that's a Day One wrap up. Things only got better from here let me assure you. Ha.

Fiesta Like There is No Manana {Mexico 2015}

2015-08-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

Well I did it...I finally went to Mexico.

If ya don't know--Justin and I had our honeymoon booked to Mexico annnnnnnnd I canceled it. I got too terrified to fly and to leave Drew. (He was only a year and a half at the time.) So we ended up never even taking a honeymoon at all. (Eeeek..) #anxiety

Let's see, how many years later and I still don't want to leave my kids! Ha. BUT I sucked it up and I did it and glad I did. It was such a relaxing time. We did absolutely nothing but lay by the pool and eat. That's it. We slept in however long we wanted. We went to bed when we wanted.

It was soooo relaxing!

We went with six other couples. It was nice to have my girlfriends there with me who all also have kids and understood the experience of leaving the kiddos at home. I only broke down one time while I was gone about missing them. But also great to have them to chat and have plenty of girl time!

Our trip was for five nights, but we ended up staying in the hotel the night before our plane left so we were gone for six nights total. I would have never ever imagined myself being gone that long away from my boys. I have only ever left them one other time for a long period of time and that was for three nights. I rarely ever ever ever even leave them overnight. It's just not my thing and I enjoy being home at night with them.

But I did it, I made it. I am alive. They are alive. All was good!

Thank goodness for Facetime & that my boys know how to text me! Ha.

And also a big thanks to my in-laws for keeping our boys while we were away!

Like I said, all we did was lay by the pool all day--errrrday. The seaweed was absolutely horrible. Like, I have never seen seaweed so bad. So we did not get hardly any beach time in at all. We went down for a couple of pictures, but most of our time was spent in the pool.

Our schedule was as follows:

Wake up whenever.

Breakfast.

Pool time.

Lunch on the beach.

Pool time.

Dinner.

Nightlife.

Bed.

Repeat.

For FIVE FULL Days!

Some of the couples did jet skis and snorkeling for the day, but Ju and I decided to stay back by the pool. I mean, I do not ever get to just lay in the pool to relax ever, so I was soaking these moments up! Even though I got so sunburned it looked like I came home with lip injections my lips were so swollen. Lol.

Overall I am so glad that I ended up going. I mean, it wasn't easy getting me there. I wanted to cancel many many times. Thank goodness my husband can help me when I drug myself up completely to even get on the airplane. I was so knocked out I do not even remember getting ON the plane to get to Mexico. I was passed out before we even took off. Hahaha.

Oh my--y'all--I am such a mess to travel with!

Here are some pictures from the trip. I did not even really take that many and I wish I had.

But we still made many memories that we will cherish forever with wonderful friends!!!

Love is in the Air people. Love is in the air.

I'll be here all week.

#mexicoholiday2015

Life Lately

2015-07-21T18:27:00.004-05:00

Once baseball ended a few weeks ago, it was like we all of a sudden had nothing going on.

It was quite bizarre.

We had so much free time to relax and enjoy each other at home.

It has been nice little break!

We had our annual Mommy-Kiddo Holiday World trip, Daddy-Drew trip, & we are losing teeth up in herre. Lots has still been going down in the Barrington household despite not being busy with sports!

We had a great trip to Holiday World with friends! It was a beautiful day and had so much fun riding all the rides. I have never been a big fan of water slides, but the kiddos have me loving them now!

A few days before Holiday World, Dylan was talking to me and I noticed his tooth was sticking out a little bit. Then I realized that he indeed had a loose tooth! Already?!?! I could not believe it!!!

I just knew that baby would be coming out in the middle of Holiday World that morning we woke up. It was just hanging out. Sure enough, in the middle of the water park Dylan is walking in front of me and it looks like he is gagging and about to get sick, but nope, the tooth came out on its own and he said "It landed on my tongue and I thought I was going to swallow it. But I saved it."

LOL.

It was quite funny because last year Drew lost his tooth (not the first) but a tooth in the exact same spot in Holiday World. Dylan was so excited! He immediately looked different and not like my little precious baby anymore! :(

Time seriously needs to slow its roll...

Speaking of time needing to slow down, my oldest is now old enough to be WANTING to go on long weekend basketball trips with Dad.

So off he went to Louisville, Kentucky with Daddy on their first little basketball trip together. They had a blast. Justin took him to the Louisville Slugger Museum where he got a new wooden bat.

He was in heaven. That boy sure does love him some baseball!

Now, we are just gearing up and getting packed for our vacations!

We can not wait to spend time with our family and friends the next few weeks!

4th of July

2015-07-07T11:17:00.001-05:00

4th of July...

Hanging out with family and friends, cooking out, swimming, good weather, fireworks, sparklers...

It really does not get much better. How can you not be happy on the 4th of July???

So blessed for our freedom. For the men and women fighting to protect our country.

Such a great day of celebration!

We had a relaxing 4th of July weekend. We just hung out at a friends house by the pool all day while the kiddos swam their little hearts out. Listened to live music by Chris Slone. Something so peaceful about sitting and watching your children have so much fun with their friends.

Ended the night with some fireworks and a late night pool swim for the boys in which Dylan puked in the pool and totally cleared it out. Lol. Way to go Dyl. Hahaha.

End to a great BUCS Season...

2015-07-05T15:09:00.001-05:00

This year was our first year as a real travel team for Drew.

It was such a great season! The boys grew so much and learned so much. We had ups and downs and wins and losses, but it was all so worth it!

We ended with a record of 28-6.

(I think. Ha. The husband needs to quote me on this, but I know we only lost 6.)

Hey, I'm not big on the statistics! Lol.

Most importantly Drew had a blast playing. That is what it is about. Having fun whether you win or lose and trying your hardest! This child really enjoys playing baseball. He was excited before each game to play and played his little heart out. Even when he made mistakes he just kept on keeping on!

He impressed me with his positive attitude and great sportsmanship and cheering on for all the his teammates! I just seriously LOVED watching him in all aspects of the game from being on the field, batting, and cheering on his teammates from the bench.

While I am all ooey gooey for Drew, the whole team was wonderful! They really learned how to work together as a team and learned so much about the ball game this year. They are all great kids and show great sportsmanship and have fun playing!

It was bittersweet to end the season. I love sitting on the sidelines cheering him and the whole team on! But on the other hand it is kind of nice to have a free schedule! Ha.

We ended the season with a BBQ and pool party!

Can't wait for another year of baseball!!

Next year is a whole other ball game (literally) and I can.not.wait to cheer on the 9U BUCS!

Adventure Bound

2015-06-30T18:24:00.000-05:00

I think I have said all I could say about this boy and fishing.

The other day I asked if he was going to play sports when he was in High School and he said:

"Basketball and Fishing."

Mark my words. This child will be on the Carterville High School Fishing Team.

He is still bound and determined he wants to be a fisherman when he grows up. Drew keeps telling him that he can not make much money doing that and he needs to pick something else to do and fish for fun. Hahaha.

But I tell Dylan to do whatever your little heart desires!!!

Someone else also asked Dylan what his Mommy does when he fishes he says "She takes pictures."

Yep, that is sure right buddy and I'll never stop! ;)

Dylan's T-Ball Season

2015-06-30T17:05:00.000-05:00

Oh Dylan, AKA, Dilly Bar.

Such a cute little fella to watch play t-ball this year.

He really enjoyed playing, but you could still just see his orneriness out on the field. He would stick his tongue out at you from the field. Run in funny ways. Make the "I am watching you" signs with people in the stands. He would be on deck spinning the baseball bat on top of his head.

He is such a mess.

Surprisingly with all he does to try and make people laugh he is quite shy. He caught a fly ball at 1st base one game and everyone in the stands yelled and screamed in excitement. He was so embarrassed and covered his face with his hat. Hahaha.

Oh my Dylan boy...the stories we are going to tell you when you are older! :)

I told him if he hit a home run this season we would buy him a nerf gun.

He hit two home runs to finish off his season!!!

Great Season Dylan---we are so proud of you!!!

iPhone Dump Life Lately

2015-06-20T14:35:00.000-05:00

To get caught up on life via pictures I am dumping on these pictures into one iPhone dump post.

Ya know, since I do have a nice camera you would think I would get this out more so I can have better quality pictures than the iPhone. But nope...I tend to always leave that fancy thing at home.

I still realllly need to work on this bad habit!

The boys wrapped up their last days of school. I now officially no longer have pre-school children and am the mother of TWO elementary kids.

Wahhhhhhhhhh....How is this possible?!?!

We have been spending 90% of our time at the ball fields for both Drew and Dylan.

I love it.

It is so much fun to watch them play!

Dylan is just so cute to watch in t-ball.

But, Drew? It is a whole other ball game. Literally!

We spent the weekend in Nashville for his first out of town baseball tournament. We had a team party at Dave and Busters, lots of hotel swimming, and three baseball games. Unfortunately, we did not have any more than three games. :(

We had a Mommy-Kiddo day while the Daddy's were away at Herrin Fest.

Besides all that business...we just do baseball and fishing.

Soaking up all these moments with my kiddos while they are out of school!

One night this past month Drew came and grabbed me from the living room and had me close my eyes. He walked me into my bedroom and told me to open my eyes. He left a note on my pillow telling me how much he loves me and then he says "And I turned on the Real Houswives for you." LoL. This kid knows the way to my heart! Ha.

Later on, he did the same thing for Daddy but left Daddy a chocolate pop-tart in his card so they could have a late night snack together.

That kid...such a charmer!

Dylan is still fishing every.single.second he gets. At this moment in life, when I threaten to ground him from something it's:

"If you do not listen to me, I am going to ground you from your fishing pole."

This is my life people. Ha.

My nephew Blake took us out on his boat the other day so Dylan could spend some time fishing. He was in hog heaven. Mommy just sat back and relaxed on the boat while I just watched him do what he loves...

Our life is simple and busy, but I sure do love it. I wouldn't want it any other way I tell ya. We are so blessed and lucky to have our healthy children and family!

Hard to think that their summer vacation is almost 1/2 way over already!!

This week we are wrapping up Drew's baseball season and a few more ball games for Dylan.

Then we have a pretty easy going July with two vacations on the books! A little vacay for Mommy & Daddy and then Disney World with the family!

So much to look forward to with these awesome dudes...

WWE Smackdown

2015-06-20T13:54:00.002-05:00

One of the greatest lessons I have learned as a Mother is:

Never say never.

Never. Never say it y'all. Because Motherhood throws some crazy things at ya...

One of those things for me?? The love my boys have for WWE. :)

Never in a million years would I have ever thought I would enjoy wrestling as much as I do. Seeing my boys love it so much has made me really get into it as well. Plus, when you had another Reality Show to the mix (Total Divas) then you know I am game.

Drew's birthday present this year was tickets to WWE Smackdown in Evansville. It was just a few days after his birthday. With it being in a smaller town like Evansville, we splurged a little more than usual to get floor seats since they technically were still cheaper than if we were to buy floor seats in St. Louis.

We were so close y'all. So close. We were right on the catwalk where all the WWE Stars walk in. We were just 3 rows from the ring. It was soooo much fun!

The boys had a blast!!!

We just love taking the kids to these events! They seriously have THE best time!

I just love that they have a love for something like this that they both can bond over not only with each other but Daddy as well!

Concerts with Friends

2015-06-20T12:48:00.002-05:00

A few years ago I attended my first Kenny Chesney concert with my girlfriends and since then we have been to his concert each year since together!

They are so fun! I was surprised the first year how much I loved it because I was not a huge Kenny fan to start out. Not that I did not like him or anything. But the concert was FAB! He makes his concerts so fun and full of energy!

It's definetely one of our favorite things to do yearly!

We always have such a good time together! Never a dull moment!

Kenny is usually the only concert I go to each year..but this year??

My man. My favorite. My #1...NELLY was in concert with TLC and NKOTB.

I mean how could I miss this??? He was in St. Louis at the Pageant a few years ago but we were on vacation and I missed it. I was sooooo bummed.

Listen, we all have that ONE celebrity who we are obsessed with, right? Maybe I am not right. But hey, I have been a Nelly fan forever. He is my fave. We all know this.

And I know, I know...he was previously arrested. Believe me I was totally bummed and disappointed and did not want to hear anything from anyone about it. But I have...

I, of course, watch Nellyville (his reality show on BET) and it is planning on showing when he got arrested and the aftermath so I am curious to see this!

Despite the arrest, I still love his music and seeing him in concert!

I was so happy my girlfriends were willing to hit up another concert with me for my love. We spent the day shopping! It was a great girls day!

My little sister had gotten 3rd row seats for this concert like days before. Our cousin went with her and she was sooooo nice to switch me seats for a bit so I could be close during his performance.

Oh. My. Gosh. I could never repay her for the experience. One of the best times of my life!

It was seriously so fabulous.

I took tons of video, however, they are all so shaky because I was dancing and rapping like no other!

I mean, I was wild and in the air most of the time! Ha! And I loved every minute of it!!!

And...of course I themed it up with a "Hot in Herre" shirt...Thank you TENIKA for this! :)

Oh yeh--TLC and NKOTB were there too. TLC was good. NKOTB--not so much..we left early to head to Nelly's afterparty. Ha! BUT...we were all so exhausted we headed back to the hotel and did not make it to see his appearance! :(

Do you SEE how many times he looked at me???? Gahhhhh!!! <3 <3 <3

Drew's 8th Birthday Recap

2015-06-02T14:24:00.001-05:00

Parties get easier and easier as the kids get older!

I thought last year was easy with cupcakes and inflatables, but this year was by far the easiest!

Drew decided to have a sleepover with all his closest buddies which totaled 9 rambunctious boys and one ornery little brother.

It was quite...interesting.

It's easy to entertain boys.... SPORTS.

They played outside. Played lots of wiffle ball. Rode bikes....

We ordered sandwiches and had cake and ice cream. {See below for video.}

Very chill night.

OK, well it wasn't "chill", it was wild, but much less stressful for me with no party planning. :)

I wanted to do something fun so while at Party City picking up supplies I grabbed bottles and bottles of silly string and decided that I would let him have a silly string fight.

They had a blast doing so!!!

They stayed up quite late. Three kids were out before midnight, but the rest were up talking and talking and talking. I heard Drew say a little after midnight: "Guys. It is past 12:00. We made it!"

Then they were all out by 1:00 a.m. Hahaha.

But have no fear...somehow they were all up bright and early and back outside playing wiffle ball at 7:00am!!!

Drew had a such a good time. He smiled the whole time. It was one of his favorite birthday parties yet!

Oh--forgot to mention that since of his best buds moved away I asked his Mom if it was okay if we Facetimed him during the party to include him! The kids all loved catching up with Keegan & of course we captured a picture to include him! We miss Keegan so much! :)

The next day was his actual birthday which was also Mother's Day, so we decided to get together with both sides of our family for his birthday dinner/Mother's Day dinner. This way he wouldn't be running crazy all day on his birthday.

I do not think our family has been together like that since our wedding, so it was nice for us to have everyone there together.

Before we hit up some Giant City Lodge (Drew's pick & favorite) he wanted to spend some time at Castle Park.

I can not believe my child is 8 years old. It's so crazy how time flies. It really is.

He has grown up to be such an amazing kid and I couldn't be anymore proud of him!

The most scattered post I probably will ever write...

2015-05-25T20:38:00.000-05:00

I need to get back on track. I am so OCD and like things in order chronologically including my blog posts which I know I am missing some things and it is just going to drive me bonkers.

So instead I am going to try to play a little catch up real quick and vow to try to keep this up to date. (chronologically..for my insanity.)

This year has just flown by so quickly. I can not believe it is 1/2 way over. We have just been so crazy crazy with life. Going here and there, everywhere. I have been horrible about taking pictures of our life. Something that I totally regret.

So..without further ado---here are some photo dumps...

We celebrated Justin's 30th with some friends uptown...

Still just trying to keep up with this rascal who always keep me busy.

Scheduled the boys eye exams. How cute is this? For realz.

Dylan's soccer season came and went oh so quickly...

I took my camera to two games of his. One of them being the wettest-rainiest game ever.

Drew's travel baseball has started. Luckily, we do not have to travel too far. It is so fun to watch and he just LOVES to play!

Drew also had his FIRST ever school presentation. It was one of the cutest things ever. I just melted listening to him speak. It was Great Americans Day and each child picked a Great American to do a report on. Drew chose Babe Ruth. They dressed up like their person. He was so stinking cute!

One of the highlights of his 2nd grade year by far!

After soccer was over for Dylan we headed straight into baseball...

And how could I ever leave out turkey hunting with Grandpa?

The boys annual turkey hunting trip with Grandpa was an awesome one this year because they actually got a turkey!

It has been such a busy last few months, but I would not change it for anything!

Okay, well--I wish I would have taken more pictures! LOL. ;)

Easter 2015 Recap

2015-05-08T20:48:00.001-05:00

500 years later I am re-capping Easter.

When I say our life has been crazy, that is an understatement!

Gahh....so busy, yet I love it.

Can't complain one bit!

This Easter was pretty simple. We stayed in town all day so it was nice not having to go a bazillion places. The Easter Bunny brought some good stuff for the boys and we had a nice relaxing day...

A bittersweet goodbye...

2015-03-26T21:19:00.000-05:00

A bittersweet goodbye...

How do I even start this? I already have tears in my eyes.

My dear sweet friend Brittnie is moving...far away from me.

We may have only been friends for about four years, but this girl has grown to be one of my closest friends ever. We just clicked immediately and I feel like I have known her all my life.

I actually met her through my sister who went to school and cheered at Murray where Brittnie also went to school and danced.

I remember the first time I met this girl. I went with my sister to visit her in the hospital of her first born. Kind of random, but when I met her, I knew I really liked her.

A few years later? Her and her family made the move to our town and I kinda took her in. Our oldest kids were in the same grade so we started out at the soccer fields together. I invited her to join our group of friends and of course they all loved The Wells. (Who wouldn't?!)

Our relationship just grew stronger and stronger from there. Like I said, we just clicked.

Not only did we just click our kids became best friends as well. Our husbands became good friends. We just all around were great friends with this family.

So when I knew they were looking into moving, I do not know if it was denial or I did not want to believe it until it was true. Then...

As her and I were headed to the movies..she told me.

I think I sat there in shock. I immediately cried.

Selfishly, I am so sad. But on the other hand I could not be any more proud of Adam, Brittnie, and their family. They deserve nothing but the best. They both received such amazing job opportunities that they just can not pass this up. There is a reason they are supposed to live in Dallas.
All signs point to it....

While we will be miles and miles apart, our daily 1289043 group texts about the most random-silly things will not stop. We will still email each other like all the time when we should really be working. We will send each other stupid videos through Facebook. We will send our daily selfies. That's not going to change.

But I am sooo used to seeing this girl more than I see my family. I mean, we are partners. She is my partner. We are always together. She knows everything about me. She knows everything about my family. We have cried together. We have laughed together. We have done it all....together...

I trust her. She is my girl.
She is my best friend.

How am I going to make it until July without seeing this girl???

I am so thankful that I still have plenty of friends here with me! I told one of them the other day that she absolutely can not leave me and I am making her sign that in blood. Hahaha.

Last weekend, we threw them a going away party. All Texas style and LOTS of dancing. Britt's FAV.

So, here's a recap of the party that was an absolute BLAST!

And a quick little video I just drummed up of some old pictures of B Wells and myself. AND a few dancing videos from the party. As I recorded those videos at the party I got tears in my eyes thinking things just will NOT be the same without her.

And ya know what else the party made me realize?? How many close friends this family has. All their friends joined...old and new to show them support and send them off with a great party!
The amount of friends they had there should show how loved they are. I am so lucky I get to be one of those friends.

Good luck to ya Wells Family!! I wish y'all nothing but the absolute BEST and am really soooo happy for you even though I am a crying mess! Haha.

See you in MEXICO!!!!

Bye Y'all!

Basketball Life-Wife-Mom

2015-03-04T19:26:00.001-06:00

Basketball...

Such a huge part of our life. It's my husband's passion, his world, his second-third-fourth job.

We basketball it up all year long!

People always ask me if it gets old and it's quite weird because this year I fell in love with it more than I ever have. I was genuinely into the games and I even caught myself jumping up and down, screaming in some games toward the end of my husband's Jr. High season.

Never ever would have thought that coming from me.

I used to hate sports. (Well, I still don't get why people get so caught up in them and I think it can really turn nasty and break up good friendships and such.)

However, watching my kids play and watching my husband coach is something else.

I love it.

Of course, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to watch Drew play, but this year I grew a whole new love of watching someone other than my child play a game! Hahaha.

Seeing the basketball seasons all come to an end is kind of bittersweet. I am glad our schedule has calmed down for a few weeks, but I loved watching them play. Drew had such a good time playing too. He was so into the games. You could hear him yelling/coaching from the bench when he wasn't playing.

Justin's Jr. High season was such a fun one this year. They got 2nd place in the State Tournament!

They had some awesome games!

So to wrap up the season I shall share some basketball pictures from these past few months...

Until next year my basketball friends!