Snow in Snowflake

We drove to Snowflake on Friday for Jenny and Matthew's Arizona reception and got to stay the night with Grandma and Grandpa Shelton in a condo in Pinetop, AZ. This is only about three hours away from where we live, but waaaaay colder! Brrrrrr! It was a quick trip, but it's always fun to be with family even if it's just for a few hours.This is what the condos looked like. Look at all that snow!

The kids went tromping around in the snow with Grandma and Grandpa Saturday morning. Since we were only going to be there overnight we packed light and some of them didn't even have their winter coats. It would be fun to go back sometime with all of our snow gear.
Cooking breakfast with Matt, Nikki and Grandpa.

Sewing day

My kids are out of school until the 10th we had some time to kill this week. The girls have been asking me to teach them to sew for a long time so we did our first sewing project: a blanket and pillow for their new dolls. They were thrilled to get to use the sewing machine and we had a fun day!Brigham was feeling left out so we (quickly) made a rocket ship pillow for Buzz. (Please excuse the horribly dirty shirt. We weren't caring about what we looked like that day.)

Holiday letter for 2010

I was going to send out this holiday letter (which I wrote after Christmas), but I've kind of lost the motivation to do so. No family picture this year either. It's been one of those years...

Dear Friends and Family,

This has been a busy year full of changes for our family. Here’s what happened in the Barfus household in 2010:

January: Eliza had her first piano recital. Brigham said good-bye to diapers. Ben went on his first and last winter campout with the deacons and interviewed for jobs (much to Mistie’s dismay) in AZ and TX due to lots of lay-offs at ATK.

February: Ben received two job offers—one in Plano, TX working for JC Penney’s and the other in Wilcox, AZ working for EuroFresh Farms. Mistie wanted to chance it and stay in Utah, BUT after lots of fasting and prayer, Ben accepted AZ and we put our house up for sale…AGAIN!!!!!

March: Ben left for AZ leaving behind Mistie and the kids until we could sell the house (again). Mistie and the kids take a road trip with Aunt Jenny to Boise to visit Marcus and Colleen. Due to a leaky fridge, did some unexpected remodeling on our kitchen.

April: Got to have Ben home for a fun Easter/Conference weekend and spent time with Jenny, Marcus and Colleen and Grandma and Grandpa Shelton. Shocked and saddened when Mistie’s brother, Marcus, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Celebrated Eliza’s 7^th birthday (sadly, without daddy).

May: Ben’s work was nice enough to send Ben home for Brigham’s 3^rd birthday/Mother’s day/Mistie’s birthday weekend. Sold the house (Yay!). Suffered a BIG loss (Boo!). Kids finished up the school year. Moved to Safford, AZ over Memorial Day weekend along with my brother Matt (also going to work for EuroFresh) and his wife Nikki. Just missed the dedication of the new Gila Valley temple.

June: Rented a big old house with Matt and Nikki living in a studio above the garage. Made some wonderful new friends in our new ward and had fun exploring the Gila Valley. Ben flew back to Utah to run in the Wasatch Back for the third year in a row. Beat the heat by going to the library and playing in the water—a lot!

July: Ben took Brigham on his first Fathers and Sons Campout. Had fun walking to the middle school for free summer lunches. Enjoyed a visit from Aunt Jenny and her boyfriend, Matthew. Got drenched at our first Gila Valley Pioneer Day celebration. Celebrated Ben’s birthday and he received his first pair of cowboy boots. Celebrated Hazel’s first birthday!

August: Ben and Mistie’s 10 year anniversary!!! Emma turned 9 years old. Mistie started homeschooling the kids through Arizona Virtual Academy.

September: Rachel and Eliza started their first season of soccer. Brigham and Mistie joined a Joy School group with some families from our ward. A month into homeschooling, Mistie decided to avoid a nervous breakdown and enrolled the kids in public school.

October: Bought a home in a great neighborhood. Painted the girls’ new room bright green. Moved—again.

November: Beloved brother and uncle, Marcus, passed away on November 5, 2010. “Quick” 40 hour trip to Boise for the funeral. Mistie enjoyed singing in “Women at the Well” program in our ward. Our family received a call to attend and serve in the Spanish branch in our stake. Had Grandma and Grandpa Shelton, Jenny and her now fiancé, Matthew, to our new home for Thanksgiving. Ben and Mistie kicked off Thanksgiving Day by running a 5K with Matt and Nikki.

December: Rachel celebrated her 6^th birthday. Enjoyed the beautiful December weather in AZ. Mistie received a call to serve in the YW presidency. Travelled to Utah for the Christmas holiday. Attended Jenny’s wedding in the Mt. Timpanogas temple (yay!).

Whew! We survived and are hoping for a little bit less excitement in the coming year. Through it all we are so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the guidance we receive from our Heavenly Father daily. We love you all and are grateful for your continual love and support. Best wishes for 2011!

Ben, Mistie, Emma, Eliza, Rachel, Brigham and Hazel Barfus

My Best Friend's Wedding

My sister, Jenny, got married on December 29, 2010. It was such a joyous day and I couldn't be happier for my her. Jenny is my one and only sister and truly one of my best friends and I'm thrilled that she has found Matthew, who appreciates her for the wonderful and amazing person that she is. Jen, I love you so much and I'm so happy that this day has finally come. Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day!

Christmas 2010

We spent Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Shelton's house this year. We had a long way to go this year, but it was so nice to be with family on Christmas!

Here's the traditional (at least it was a tradition when I was growing up) picture on the stairs before heading up to see what Santa left for us.Here's the girls before the traditional picture on the stairs. Is there anything more exciting than Christmas morning for a kid?The three older girls each got a doll from Santa. They were all wondering how I knew to make matching doll nightgowns for their dolls. I told them that Santa and moms are tight like that.Brigham with his Buzz Lightyear.Stick horses for Brigham and Rachel.Hazel playing with her new tea set.Running gloves and a Spanish hymn book for Ben!Merry Christmas!

Barfus Family Party!

We had a fun party with the Barfus side of our family. My kids had really been giving me a hard time because with everything else that we had going on this year we didn't have time to decorate graham cracker houses. They were thrilled when we got to Ben's parents house and saw what we would be doing.Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Barfus (and Uncle Josh) for getting me off the hook! We also did the traditional white elephant gift exchange and had lots of fun playing with our Barfus cousins.

Snow!

Surprisingly, there wasn't any snow when we arrived in Utah. It did snow a little the second day and the kids jumped on the opportunity to build a snowman with their cousins and Uncle Nathan.Well, actually, they made three: a mama, a daddy and a baby.