More Treasures from the Good Shepherd Vault

Tim was cleaning out his office, found a disk with a bunch of pictures we took at Good Shepherd. If you're part of "The Flock," enjoy..... Know that you are still much in our hearts!

Withrow Nature Preserve, Cincinnati

The Class of 2015

Do you want to feel old? Here are a few interesting facts about the new college freshman class, The Class of 2015:

• Ferris Bueller and Sloane Peterson could be their parents.


• States have required for their entire lives that they wear bike helmets.


• The only significant labor disputes in their lifetimes have been in major league sports.


• They have never known life without cell phones or the internet.


• The expression "Don't touch that dial" doesn't make sense to them: their televisions have never had a dial.


• Amazon has never been just a river in South America to them.


• Refer to LBJ, and they'll assume you're talking about LeBron James.


• Whitney Houston was singing "I'll Always Love You" before they were born.


• We have never asked, and they have never had to tell.

Courtesy of Beloit College.

Me and Big Mable

OK....So I didn't master water skiing Friday evening. But I like to consider myself a tubing professional (ha-ha)! Jeff and Faith had this uber-exciting tube called "Big Mable" that they drug us up and down the Ohio River in. You could either ride Mable sitting down, or backwards like a chariot. The sitting down way was a lot easier, but the chariot way was a bit more exciting.

When Faith was driving the boat, things were a little less intense. When Jeff was driving the boat....well....you felt like you were tubing for your life! It was an awesome time!!! I don't remember the last time I laughed quite so hard or had so much fun.

Lessons in Water Skiing, by Kara Barnette

Friday evening, Jeff and Faith Mahaffey took us out on their boat on the Ohio River. It was awesome! Tim and I had both learned to water ski about 12 years ago, and we were sure we could get right back up and do it again.

We were wrong.

Let me illustrate for you now how NOT to water ski:





Now Jeff will illustrate for you....on one ski, no less....how you actually water ski:




I haven't decided what to blame it on: a broken wrist 6 years ago, having had 3 babies since the last time I skiied (which I will say threw-off my equilibrium), or the fact that my little feet kept slipping out of the skiis. They all sound like such good excuses. But make no mistake about it. I can't water ski!

Kara

A Little Friend

I was hanging laundry on my clothesline in my backyard and a little friend came to say "hi" to me. We measured him: 4 1/2 feet. Thought you'd enjoy....

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

Today is my parents' 40th (ruby) wedding anniversary: how great is that!? On August 17th of 1971, they married each other in Virginia (and if I can get a copy of that wedding picture, I'll put it on my blog, too: it's groovy). Mom and Dad came-up to see us last weekend, and we surprised them with a small little celebration.

We got them 2 cakes from a Cincinnati bakery called The Bonbonerie: a lemon torte and a chocolate opera creme cake. Those cakes were SO rich! And yes, I made my parents feed each other cake and pose for pictures...

We gave my parents some small gifts and cards to remember the occassion. We sure hope they had a good time!

We love you Mom and Dad!!!

Rockin' with my Ever-Cool Niece Lindsay

Last week, my super-cool 13 year old niece Lindsay came to visit me, along with her 7-year old sister Megan and my sister-in-law Nikki. While Megan spent the day visiting cousins John and Christopher at our house, Nikki and I took Lindsay school shopping at the Kenwood Towne Center. Oh, my!!! What a lesson it was for me!!! I consider myself a "hipper" aunt who is more able to "get giggy with it." (Do kids still say that??? If not, insert uproarious laughter here...)

What I Learned from a Day of Shopping with a Teenager

Things that are cool:

Apple

Vera Bradley purses and backpacks

trendy stores like Forever 21

all things 80's, including clothes that look like they were in the movie Flashdance

Toms shoes

Sperry shoes

Miss Me jeans

one-piece jumpers

owls

big, chunky necklaces on long chains

layering several shirts together

Things that are apparently NOT cool:

white Keds

pegging your jeans at the bottom

stonewashed denim

ordering your clothes from Land's End (like I usually do)

Aunt Kara's closet

Thanks for coming to see us Nikki, Megan, and Lindsay!!!

Anna Jean's 4th Birthday

Wednesday, the 10th of August, was Anna's birthday. Looking at the picture above, let me give you the misquote of the century that I used to say: "If I ever have a little girl, I'm not doing that silly princess stuff!" Parents eat alot of their own words, don't they???

My favorite part of Anna's birthday this year was her 3 little cakes: Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. There was a TON of icing on those cakes!!! Anna was allowed to pick anywhere she wanted to eat in Cincinnati. Where did she pick???? McDonald's. My kids are entirely too easy to please...

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!!