Day 3

 Day 3...

A picture of me with my friends...

Ummmmm....

I don't really have any of those...

But I do have a picture of me with my family from the Pumpkin Walk tonight...

and they are sorta my friends...

Day 2

Day 2...The meaning behind my blog name...

Well...since my blog name is "The best of the Bartons"...I can only assume that it means that you will be reading all about the best of us...

30 days...

 I saw this fun post on my SIL's blog and I thought I would give it a try...every day for the next 30 days you are supposed to blog from the list below...we'll see how good I do!

And don't you just love that picture of me...it was the only one I could find that was decent for the blog...

1.  I hate mornings
2.  I love to bake and cook
3.  I have really weird toes...they curl up and make wearing tennis shoes and other closed toe shoes sorta painful
4.  I love to listen to my kids when they are talking to each other just before bed
5.  I love to take baths
6.  I have the most beautiful wedding ring EVAH!
7.  I love to get pedicures
8.  I love it when my babies mush their faces all over my shirt when they are snuggling
9.  I love my scentsy warmer
10.  I feel like my house and garage always smell like poopy diaper...hence why I love my scentsy warmer
11.  For my anniversary/birthday this year I begged Chris to start wearing his wedding ring again...and he did...he hasn't worn it for more than 6 months since we were married 13 years ago
12.  I can still do the splits without stretching
13.  I love the word 'whilst'...say it...it's fun
14.  I am loving my new found hobby of photography...and I am torn as to whether I should do it for a business or not...so torn...
15.  I am addicted to Diet Coke


day 1- recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2- the meaning behind your blog name
day 3- a picture of you and your friends
day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have
day 5- a picture of somewhere you've been to
day 6- favorite super hero and why
day 7- a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
day 8- short term goals for this month and why
day 9- something you're proud of in the past few days
day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
day 11- another picture of you and your friends
day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one
day 13- a letter to someone who has hurt you recently
day 14- a picture of you and your family
day 15- put you ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16- another picture of yourself
day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19- nicknames you have and why you have them
day 20- someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future
day 21- a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22- what makes you different from everyone else
day 23- something you crave for a lot
day 24- a letter to your parents
day 25- what I would find in your bag
day 26- what do you think about your friends
day 27- why are you doing this 30 day challenge
day 28- a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?
day 29- in this past month, what have you learned
day 30- you favorite song

And...she walks...

Bummer for me...

my baby has taken her first steps...

and she likes it~

Drat!

Baby Brogan...

Little Brogan is so adorable and so hard to photograph...

he was wide awake when I went over to take his pictures and he didn't like me very well...

being naked is definitely not his thing...

I was afraid I didn't get anything good...

but when I came home to edit them I was pleasantly surprised!

Yummy Pulled Pork sandwiches...Cake Mix Cookies

So my phlebotomy teacher is pretty awesome...

and, yes I am brown-nosing right now...

hopefully he reads this...

 hahaha...

Any who, this recipe comes courtesy of him...

apparently it's like his favorite thing ever...

and I must admit that they are super tasty!!!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches:

1 3-5 pound pork roast (any kind)

1 2 liter bottle Mug Root beer

1-2 bottles Sweet Baby Ray's original BBQ sauce

In a large crock pot place the roast and cover completely with root beer.  I set my crock pot on low and let this baby cook for about 24 hours.  Drain the root beer off of the roast and shred the meat.  Pour the sauce over the meat and incorporate so that the meat is completely saturated in the sauce.  Leave the crock pot on a warm setting for about 1-2 hours until ready to serve.  If you don't have a warm setting, just turn it off and don't remove the lid.  Serve inside your favorite rolls...I like those diamond shaped ones from Wal-Mart...I think they are called boullilo or something like that!  Enjoy!

Oh and Mark...can I totally use you as a reference whilst applying for jobs?...just checking (hahaha...)

 Have you ever had cake mix cookies?...

Well I had them years ago and wrote them off totally because I thought they were so bad...

until I came across these little beauties...

so simple and Oh So Good!!!

 Cake Mix Cookies:

1 box cake mix
1 cube butter, softened
1 egg

Mix the cake mix, butter and egg together until well combined.  Drop by rounded tablespoon (medium scoop) onto a cookie sheet.  (about 15 cookies per sheet)  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-11 minutes.  Do not over bake.  These puppies are so delish and the possibilities for cake mixes are endless...yellow is my favorite...my kids liked the lemon ones (probably cuz I drizzled them with a lemon glaze) and the funfetti ones are so dang cute!

The only downfall to these little gems is that it only makes about 20 cookies...total bummer!

New Baby...

So this is a bittersweet moment for me...

Little Brogan was born yesterday to my beautiful sister...

and this was the first of her four children that I wasn't present at their birth...

so sad for me...

but I guess having five kids of my own proves to keep me a bit too busy to just head down to R-Field any time I want...

not to mention it's a mere 200 miles away...

Bittersweet...

and isn't he ADORABLE!!!

More fun with Editing...

My little dude's friend Trey got this Gnarley shiner...

and I just had to take a picure of it...

Editing photos is probably my favorite thing!

Thanks Trey for being my muse for the day!!

Remember this beauty...

Well, she is in labor right now as we speak...

Yay...

Can't wait to hear the news...

We went camping a few weeks ago...
I know...
Me camping?
But really, it was pretty fun!



This girl has her daddy's passion for fire...



This little one was pretty hard to camp with...

you can't just put a baby down in the dirt and be okay with it!



Off track boredom can get the best of ya!



This little one loves her bath time...

and this bath was exceptionally fun for her...

in the kitchen sink!



My beautiful sista...

My beautiful sista is pregnant for her final time...

I thought it would be fun to do some photos for her...

I think they turned out awesome...

if I do say so myself...

She's absolutely gorgeous and so easy to find a good shot...

She was such a good sport for doing these...

she only has a few weeks left so to say that she is miserable is an understatement!



A new signature...

Look at my fun signature...so cute!

A bit Snobbish...

So I have decided that I am a snob...

not like 'snobby' to people...

but 'snobbish' towards certain things...

Like...

Swimming pools...I like my water warm and clean...

Fruit...I like it right off of the vine/tree/bush or whatever it grows on, super juicy and still warm from the sun...

Diet Coke...I like it from a fountain and that's it!

Camping...if it don't flush...forget it!  Nuff said!

Fireworks...I only enjoy the illegals

I only eat All Beef Hot Dogs...

I like restaurant ranch dressing...

I like my sheets to be straight and flat...

I only sleep on a certain pillow and I take it with me when we travel...

I only eat Malt o Meal Tooty Frootys for breakfast...

I only ever use Huggies diapers...

I hate bottled water...

I have to have lettuce on my sandwich...

I only ever buy one kind of bread...and it's always white...

I like my cookies slightly under-cooked...

And many more I'm sure...

Addy has a birthday!

My baby turned 1...

when exactly did THAT happen...

she is growing up right before my eyes...

and I sorta don't like it!

I wanted to get some cute pictures of her with her balloons...

Brown and Blue were the colors of the day...

Look how big she is!

Addison is our first child of the five to actually like her cake...

wait till you see the rest of the pictures!

This one is my ABSOLUTE favorite!

She is such a joy to all of us and we are so excited to watch her continue to grow and learn!

Also...

6 months ago today we lost our sweet Sage...

My heart was torn in two...

and I will never be the same...

I miss her so much!

Love you baby girl!

auntie amy