summer time happenings

Holy cow I can't believe it is already half way through June! Where does the time go?
We have had a splendid summer so far. This summer is our first official "married" summer and I am absolutely loving it. Our weekends are pretty much booked up between scout/girls camp, weekend getaways and family reunions-but I wouldn't have it any other way. It is so fun to always have your best friend with you and know they are up for something adventurous. I'm pretty lucky in that department.

we tried watching a movie in the back of Nates truck, we lasted about 15 mins before I thought I would freeze to death.
*the flash was bright*

I met a new friend on our jeep ride

That little brother of mine is pretty fun

Did I mention I have a new nephew named Boston? He melts me. 

very skilled tubers

Is he dancing back there??

we tried for a good photo.. it wasn't happenin'.

cutest baseball player

everyone should have a jeep in the summertime.

We love playing cards outside until the mosquitoes come out.

Saturdays are designated boating days. & I love it.

Kenzie came boating with us and we seriously had  a blast. Love that girl.

So fun to see this ballerina sister of mine shine at her performance.

Now on to the next item of business.. One of my best friends Sophie got married last week & It was such a beautiful day! The pictures Nate took on my phone are HILARIOUS. and when i say hilarious, I mean probably the worst pictures any of us have ever take. Clearly not having a photogenic day. Hopefully the professional photographer did a better job.

looking a little bit like timothy green. it's fine. 

Such a happy couple :)

Me, Mr. Barker, the bride and that's Karen there in the back. HA

& here it begins with the adorable faces :/

I sure do love the new Mrs. Barker

even Mr. B is smiling. It must be a good day.

Nate made fun of the hair piece all day-but he is a pretty good time at weddings.

There's a semi normal one.

Anddd back to the bad. 

One of my personal favs.

HANDS DOWN my favorite picture from the day.HAHA

Next time I ask Nate to take photos of a special day, I am going to give him an extensive lesson on how to be PATIENT for the perfect moment instead of just snapping away. ha ha but at least we have the memories. 

memorial weekend

We had the best memorial day weekend. a perfect start to summer.Here is the weekend in photos. Sometimes I like them more than words. 

Kicked off the weekend with this BRUTAL cross fit workout.

It's a love/hate relationship that pushes me everyday. 

 We headed up to the cabin on Friday night and spent the rest of the weekend there. We never wanted to come home! It was such a blast. I love all the memories we  make there and the fun times we ALWAYS seem to have. We rode the 4 wheelers, played outside, had game night with granny and gramps and had a 1/2 way weeny roast in the pouring rain.

Shan and I ran into town Saturday morning. A whole 5 miles and we were proud. Good thing Dusty came to pick us up because there was no way I would have made it another 5.

Navy and that kool aid mustache

^^He really isn't good at sharing the 4wheeler seat^^

Best photo bomber I've ever known. 

Grandma Jones and I at the fam reunion. She really is the very best. 

He's my favorite. 

Have I mentioned I'm in love with the summertime?

Well, I am.

god bless texas

Last week we set off on a long long road trip all the way to Texas! 

Oh, did I mention we traveled the whole way in a semi? Kinda a weird luxury that Nate can get paid to go where we want to go. 

 I was a little really nervous about riding in a semi because something bad ALWAYS happens.

 Even since I was a little girl. Whenever I would go with my dad something {without fail} would go wrong. Luckily we made it there safe and sound and even had tons of fun the whole way. 

 Some highlights: 

 -Whenever I would get tired, I'd just head on back to the sleeper and take a little nap. Sleeping in the back of a moving truck has to be the most relaxing thing ever. 

-Listening to A Nicholas Sparks Love story on tape. (nate liked it more than I did) HA 

- Everytime we  got out at a truck stop we would race to the door. (Call us children but I had to celebrate the fact that I COULD run after seeing the kind of people we did at the truck stop.) 

-I took my very first truck stop shower and surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all. 

 -Nate's little sister charly rode with us some of the way and kept us very entertained.  We practiced yoga in the sleeper and played plenty of "miss marry mack" 

-We stayed in the nicest hotel once we got to texas because of our bff priceline. (if you're going on a trip do the name your own price option. it seriously has never let us down) 

-We got to stop at a few Indian jewelry shops in new mexico. Yeah, it was right up my alley. 

-We saw more cowboy boots the 3 days we were in texas than I've probably ever seen. 

 -Nate's sister taleas graduated college so that was a big deal and very fun to watch 

-All of us girls layed by the pool all day and got FRIED. holy cow I've missed that feeling. 

 -My parents were kind enough to let me stay with them on the night we got back because nate had to go strait to vernal. I'm lucky. 

 -oh and last but not least. These two songs were our GO-TO's. We sang as loud as we could and listened to them over and over and... over. They are both so good. give em a listen. 

 All in all we had a wonderful time and I'm ready to go on another road trip! But this trip definitely made me realize I'm more of a hotel girl than a truck girl. I like my clean white sheets and a hot shower every night way too much.

so many dream catchers to choose from

It's okay to get a tattoo in Texas. (as long as it comes off in the shower...duh!)

a little babe was trying to photo bomb us. nbd.

lotsa bonding time with these 2 QTS

talk about pride state

this is how excited we were to start a 20 hour trek back home. 

this pic is from last week but it makes me laugh so hard. Lowell loved me but you would never be able to tell by that face. Ha ha 

the perfect date

"The perfect date? I'd have to say April 25th. It's not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket!"

If you don't know what that is from.. shame. 
April 25th has started out pretty great.
Woke up at the crack of dawn to tell Nate goodbye. Half the time I don't even remember him leaving.
Worked my [you know what] off at cross fit.
I really wanted a video of my 3 pull ups I can barely do but just felt a little embarrassed asking anyone.
HA HA  I am going to need a LOT of practice on those.
Did i mention the cross fit trainer is named Gary? How can you NOT be happy when you hear the name Gary? It's next to impossible. And That's exactly why I've wanted to name by first born son Gary since.. a long long time. It's so ugly that it's adorable. If that makes any sense.
I was expecting a package in the mail today so when the mailman showed up with only a few bills, I began to sulk. Nothing ever gets to our house because our address is all screwy. I laid on the floor in my sweat drenched clothes UNTIL.... I heard a car pull up. I jumped up and guess who it was?!!
The Mailman!
Carrying one single package that I knew had my name on it.
I ran out to meet him (kinda scared him a bit) Grabbed my package. Thanked him. Ran inside and tore it open. April 25 is a good date. 

all that hassle for this single shirt.

Too real.

weekend scenes & comfort zones

Such a fun Easter weekend, I hated to see it end! Saturday I went to a way fun bridal shower for my African sister Taylor. It was so fun to catch up with everyone and talk about wedding deets. But may I just say that I am SO glad we've already had our turn planning a wedding?? Phew. 

After that, Nate's fam had a big ole' Easter party with all the cousins/aunts/uncles etc. We had so much fun playing outside ALL day. I can't get enough of this warm weather!!

& yesterday was a perfect Sunday. Way good day at church,  nap time, and a big dinner with my whole family. Nate and I were BOTH pretty dang blessed in the family department.  

cutest little sister award.

pretty much sums it up

we call it synchronized dancing

Black dress bridal lunch. Such a cute idea.

So great to see Rhonda and laugh our heads off together. some things never change.

It had been wayyy too long since we jammed out with the windows down.

As I've mentioned in previous posts. I have been wanting to do Cross Fit since like.. ever. When Nate gave me a membership for my birthday I couldn't even contain my excitement. Well after being sick and tired all last week, I decided I would start today. I got so nervous. Last night it was all I dreamed about. What if it's too hard? What if I couldn't do it? What if I made a complete fool out of myself?

I woke up this morning half tempted to fake sick. But I knew I couldn't. I had to do this.

and guess what??? I AM SO GLAD I DID. 

I loved it. Loved it. It was so hard. Totally kicked my butt and I thought I would die. 

But I never did! (Thank heavens)

It felt so good to PUSH myself. I haven't had that feeling in a while and I absolutely love it.

I'm still scared for what is to come tomorrow but I KNOW I can do it. 

I know I am going to have to work HARD and continue to go out of my comfort zone but I'm excited. 

Let's just hope that excitement a LOT stays longer than the sore muscles. yikes!