My Amazing Nieces

Is there ANYTHING that my 4 wonderful nieces CAN'T do?!? I know I am a wee bit biased when it comes to my girls, but I think that I have every right to be proud of these girls! Where to start...

Misti Leighanne- She has beaten the odds when it comes to getting where she is today. She just completed her second year of college with flying colors. She makes great grades... works while in school... plays several instruments (and plays them very well too!) and performs in the University's bands and groups. She recently got married to her high school sweet heart and is still making the grade at school... She is beautiful in every way, inside and out. There is nothing that she could do (well legally at least) that would disappoint me.

Syrina Nicole- My second little angel who has definitely beat the odds. She started life as a teeny tiny baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the first 12 weeks of her life... she has endured multiple surgeries to repair her palate, fix her teeth and now orthodontic surgery to continue the dental process. She is really growing into a beautiful young lady who has many talents of her own. She, like her daddy, loves to draw and sketch. She conquered clogging and this year took on jazz dancing. She is learning to cook and is proud of her creations. She is passing her EOI tests like they were kiddy games... This child never ceases to amaze me!

Ana Rae- Although not my blood niece, she is still one of my girls. She is talented beyond measure. She can dance (tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop), sing (oh my goodness can she sing!), act, play soccer, swim like a fish and excel in school. She is beautiful and has a big heart. She has stolen the heart of everyone in her family and in her life.

McKenzie Ann- My princess. She's been my princess from the beginning and my princess she will be forever. Much to my dad's chagrin, she has been a spitting image of me from the get-go. She has spunk and sass and doesn't take no none-sense from anyone. She can dance like an angel (hip hop and now clogging), calm an animal like no other... make up silly stories and jokes. She is adorable and sweet.

My girls, will always be my little girls... although they are now 21, 17 and 11, they are still my little girls. They are all beautiful, caring, sweet, loving, faithful, loyal, responsible, respectful, smart, focused, determined, special, unique, talented, energetic, crazy, athletic, spunky, sassy, loveable, patient and they all have the most amazing hearts of anyone I know!

Girls, if you ever read this, know this: Aunt Tracey (Meme) loves you with all her heart and there is NOTHING that will ever change the way I feel about you!

Circus...

Cue the circus music... envision the big top... smell the funnel cakes... and hide from the clowns... The SHRINER circus was in town last weekend and Ethan and I were the lucky people who took Ana!!! This was the first time I had been to the circus since I was a little girl with my grandma.

We had a lot of fun at the circus. I think that Ethan and I almost had more fun at the circus than Ana!!! She opted to sit in Ethan's lap throughout the entire performance, and even listened to him and his instructions during intermission!

Here is Ethan and Ana before the circus started. I can't decide who is sillier, Ethan or Ana! Usually she is the one who has her tongue out in pictures!!!

Ana having fun before the performance started...

WOW! What more can one say??? The man is suspended by a hoop around his neck from a bar dangling in the sky while holding a woman using his feet above the ground... without a safety net!!!!

The clowns! I must say that clowns are really amusing... from a distance... I love watching clowns, they make me laugh, really they do... but I am not the biggest fan of clowns being up close and personal with me. These clowns were funny!!!

Ana hugging one of the Shriner clowns. She isn't the biggest of fans of clowns up close, kinda like me! We had a great time watching the circus, Ana was a big fan of the trapeze acts.... and I enjoyed watching Ana with Ethan playing and being silly...

Christmas is here again...

I can't believe that it is already time to celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus!!! It seems like just yesterday I was iced in at my friend Brian's house (see blog from Jan 07) over MLK Jr weekend!!! Alas, it is that time of the year again and we have, in usual family fashion, started the holiday process...

Last weekend I actually got to decorate the tree WITH my family, not a weekend AFTER them... Kenzie was very happy to have me there with them!!! She enjoyed seeing all of the ornaments that were hers and mine and her sissy's...

Here she is hugging her Clifford ornament... this is the ornament that she got her 2nd Christmas. She even picked him out herself!!!

Just like her Aunt Tracey, Kenzie is carrying on the Barnes tradition of taking pictures of EVERYTHING at all family get togethers... although, I would hope that I am a little more methodical about HOW I take the photos and WHAT I take photos of... thank heavens for digital cameras!!!!

Last weekend I got to decorate the tree with Blake and Ana, another tradition that was started way back when Blake was little... in all of Blake's 20 years on this planet I may have only missed a handful of years decorating the tree with him and his parents! Ana and I have a tradition of putting her first ornament on the tree together. We have a picture of me and her when she was only a few months old looking at the ornament... here (above) we are putting it on the tree in her room.

Blake just came home from working at a TU basketball game... and yes we all had on Santa hats...
Another tradition... the Blake, Ana, Tracey picture in front of the tree... this year Blake had the honor of being Santa, I am an elf and Ana is one of the reindeer...

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season despite being iced in and powerless for the past week!

Birthday Fun

For Ana's 7th birthday we went to Bounce U for a Bouncing good time!!! Here are some pictures of Ana and her cousins in the Spiderweb trampoline thingy...

Here is Hallie Marie poking her head through one layer of the web... yes I was in the web with the girls...



Here is Luke looking down at me daring me to try to catch him.



Here Ellie and I are on the top layer of the web... success was ours!!!



Cousins are the best!



Even with a broken arm Ana managed to have a good time!! Here Ana was stuck in the web!!!
Below this is Ana poking her head through my level of the web!




Cousins are great... they will stick by you through thick or thin!!!! Kami is one of the bestest big sisters ever! I think she learned from the best on how to be a big sister... just look at her mom and her Aunt Kiki! All the kids are great siblings... Kami to Ellie and Luke, Ellie to Luke and Kami, Hallie to Lauren and Maggie, Lauren to Maggie and Hallie... and great to each other!!!



Ana, Hallie and Ellie... the almost triplets... October, January, and September babies!!!



Luke and Lauren... almost twins... born 6 weeks apart!!!!



I am glad that I got to experience the joys of seeing all of my kids grow and play at the party! It has been too long since I had seen Kami, Ellie, and Luke... let alone all together!!!! Fun was had by all, including the adults... Aunt Knit, Kimbo (AKA Aunt Kiki) and I joined in the fun with the kids on the obstacle courses... there are pictures of all of us... just don't have them!!!

Toothless Friends!

What an exciting week we had last week! I watched Ana several days during the week and guess what happened!?!?!?! Her mommy went out of town and she FINALLY lost her tooth!!!! As promised, I took pictures for Ronda and here we see Ana smiling her toothless smile! She was very excited to show me that she lost her tooth while I was gone for the afternoon!!!!

Then a few days later while my nieces were over at the house playing with Ana, Kenzie lost her tooth that had been loose! So of course, Aunt Tracey being the good and wonderful aunt that she is, had to take pictures of the girls goofy grins together!!!

I can remember a time when Kenz was taller than Ana! Now Ana is taller than Kenz! The girls are so cute together! The bond that they have is very special! The two of them will probably always be good friends, kinda like Ana's cousin Jami and me!
Here the girls are posing in their ballet outfits! Yes we are at the age of dress up and dancing!!!

Flashback a few years...

I have been over at Blake and Ana's this week watching my little munchin while her mommy is out of town and her daddy is at work... I have had the fun chance to look at pics on the computer and remember the past few years... My how time has flown by!!!

Here Ana had just turned 2 a few months before... we were taking our own pictures that night while Blake was playing basketball!!!
This is a picture that I will be sure to put in Ana's SR year yearbook!!!! I remember that she got sooooo mad at me and threw the biggest fit ever when we ran out of barrettes and ponytail holders! She wanted more ponytails and barrettes in her hair! She kept signing "more" to me!!! To think, at one time this child didn't like her hair pulled up...
Here is a picture of me and Blake at his Surprise 16th birthday party... how young and innocent we were...

More flashback pictures to come!!! :)