March 31, 2012

happy birth jbb.

i cant get over this guy.
thank you dad & mom barlow for still having kids after #6 [i.e. heidi].




"YES! it IS my birthday!"


thank you for letting me celebrate you, mr. barlow.


and for making the best candle blowing face.
i love you. mucho.

and thank you for being healthy again.
i like you better that way.

March 29, 2012

thank you dr.

AND.. happy 5 months of marriage!
we celebrated by going on a date to instacare.
the verdict is .. STREP THROAT.

at least we know why the flu medicine wasnt working.
thank you amoxicillin for coming to our rescue.  
and hopefully mr. barlow feels better to celebrate the day of his birth on saturday.


March 22, 2012

"Happy Hunger Games!"

"And may the odds ever be in your favor."
- Effie Trinket



[this one just makes me giggle.]

thank you mr. barlow for the midnight surprise.
tomorrow we will be tired.


March 17, 2012

happy st. patricks day

we celebrate with pickle juice popsicles!
YUMMY.
i know you are jealous.


March 16, 2012

hello there 27!

welcome melanie to your late 20's.
LATE TWENTIES!!!
wow. seriously, where did my early years go?

at least mr. barlow likes me being older.
even if it is only by 2 weeks.


my birthday morning started out with mr. barlow bringing me breakfast in bed! 
what a nice husband.
those honey nut cheerios hit the spot.
then that sweet man brought me some presents!
he is a good gift giver.

my husband knows i like things related to my camera.
he got me a fancy tripod and a remote control to my camera.
so fun.


he makes me smile.
and doesnt mind me taking photos of him early in the morning.


my family sent me sweet packages.
i am still really interested to see what my big sister laura got me!
all i know is that its from etsy and coming from Israel. should be exciting and/or interesting?!

here is me, the birthday girl.
playing with my fancy camera remote!
i am kinda obsessed.


after mr. barlow left for work my day went as follows ..

fell back asleep for another 1-2 hours.
who am i?!
and what is wrong with me?! i already had a good 8 hours of sleep in me.

brought lunch to mr. barlow at imagine.
birthday lunch date! it was nice.
and we are both grateful for my flexible job and his job which lets me come hang out with him.

a couple days before this day i told mr. barlow that i didnt want to plan my birthday.
i plan a lot and i just didnt want to plan anymore.
so this great husband of mine said, "i got this!"

he told me we would go to trafalga, [its a mini golf place and we have this pass called, 'the pass of all passes', clever right?!] anyways it gets us into trafalga and seven peaks.
he was also planning a thai dinner date for us.
when i left his place of work he said to me, "be ready to go at 7pm when i get home!"
i said, "ay ay captain!"

so i go home and decided since its my birthday i will relax and watch me some netflix.
little did i know there were other plans going on around me ..
here is what happened.

jacobs computer is hooked up to our tv so therefore i was using his computer to watch said netflix.
around 7:15pm i see his computer come to life. 
his mouse is moving on the desktop [mind you, i am on the couch, no where near the mouse.]
google music opens.
my netflix stops.

I START FREAKING OUT!!!

then this song starts blasting ..


then our front door opens and i hear ..
SURPRISE!!!

mr. barlow organized a surprise party to come to me.
that man is good!
i just love him.
and he has skills when it comes to his computer and freaking me out.

some of my favorite people all in our little apartment!
too bad my family & cat couldnt apparate here.
i really was surprised.


and i got to use my new fancy remote again!
can you see me NOT being sneaky about it?!

mr. barlow enlisted some helpers and fb continues to bring everyone together.

kim made my favorite chocolate oreo pudding cake.
whitney made some delish cookie dough cupcakes.
pammy jo made me a pretty sign.
cutest little abby drew me a birthday picture.
and everyone came to celebrate!


i felt very loved and celebrated.
thank you everyone for coming!
and thank you mr. barlow for being the best.


heres to being TWENTY-SEVEN!

March 15, 2012

Branson, Missouri .. we finally meet!

for my mother in laws birthday last month we surprised her with a Barlow girls trip! 
to where?
to none other then BRANSON, MISSOURI! 

i made sure to pack my cowboy boots and i felt right at home.
we had a blast of a weekend!
all of us are scattered across the U.S.A so it was nice to come to one place and play/relax/laugh till we cry.


i like sitting next to the window on planes. 
pretty. pretty.


when we landed in missouri we sure were hungry. 
a college kid told us to try this chinese place but holly and i felt a little unsure about it.
so steak and shake it was! and it was so good.


we then finally met up with all the barlow girls.
this was our pretty cabin we stayed in.
7 rooms. 5 bathrooms. and a great big round table for us!


kristen is clever and i am sure she did this without pinterest!
in honor of annell!


 our pretty log cabin.
the weather was perfect!


oh hey branson!


yes, they really bought these.
that is why i love them.


the barlow sisters/in laws + little lucy!


they had this fancy water show.
like a mix of bellagio/world of color minus the cool disney parts. 
lovely!


that night we went to our first show. 
the twelve irish tenors.
before we go on here is a news interruption!

the interesting thing about our trip is that 2 days after we got home a tornado hit that part of the midwest.
it tore the roof off this theater we were in and damaged different parts of downtown branson we were in.
CRAZY!

here are the stories ..



i was kinda obsessed with this theater because it was covered in murals!
see ..?!




this is the one that got really damaged.
we are lucky.

those twelve tenors though, they had some moves!
after the show one of the tenors got word that it was annells birthday!
they sang her a pretty tune.


they also asked us to tag them on fb!


the next day we explored branson and found this little minure golf place.
we made a bet.
top 5 would choose what the bottom 5 losers would have to do.
something embarrassing  obvi.


well the losers were heidi, amber, ME, kristen, and julie!
we planked in the hughes brothers theater!
i think kristens planking was the best.

btw the hughes brothers was this HUGE LDS family variety show.
they had newborns to older parents.
hannah even became friends with one of the younger boys! go you!


when we werent seeing the shows or walking around branson our time was filled with ..

*girl talk until 3am
*yoga! me, kim and hannah missed out on that one bc we like sleeping in
* delicious crepes, breakfast burritos, pesto & chicken ravioli, hot coco, and ice cream sundaes  
*annell, julie and holly driving to the arkansas border at 1am
*pranking on those who left to arkansas!
[lets just say annell is a good sport and doesnt mind her bed getting short sheeted!]
[or hangers in her pillow!]
[or green onions in her toothbrush holder!]

did i mention there was A LOT of laughter that weekend?

till next time barlow girls! till next time.

March 11, 2012

oh california, how your sun shines on me

last month i had the wonderful opportunity to go to california to see my marmie, spend a day at disneyland, be there for cats special day, take some engagement photos, eat some legit sushi & visit with my in laws.

it was a wonderful weekend.
mr. barlow you were missed.
and thank you Jet Blue for making it all possible.
[who would pass up a $100 roundtrip ticket?!]


disneyland is a place of magic!
even under construction.
thank you imagineers for finally redoing the matterhorn! 

my pass is officially expired.
i am mourning my loss.
i pray we will be reunited soon.


on saturday, the 11th of february cat entered the Los Angeles Temple to receive her endowment.
the Spirit was strong and her smile so bright.
the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is true and full of happiness.


i spent time with my marmie, i just love her.
she is not pictured but she sure is a beautiful lady!

i forced cat and peyton to be models.
jk.jk.jk.
they are pros! hello engagement time!

we went to the Los Angeles Arboretum which is pretty much her backyard.
also these pretty guys own the place!
and yes, they do not mind getting close to you.


peyton & catherine
to be sealed for time and all eternity ..
may 19, 2012








thank you for a wonderful weekend.
thank you for some sunshine.
and a special thank you to ichima sushi.
you are divine.
see you soon LA!

March 10, 2012

getting caught up ..

i was editing photos that i took of the Su'a wedding and i found these gems.

the Su'as were married 2 weeks after us barlows.
you can judge me that i am just finishing their wedding photos.
i know its march. [judge. judge. judge.] [i am judging myself as well.]

the dashing mr. barlow.
his dancing makes my heart pitter patter.
dance party at our place tonight!


the 2 week old newlyweds!
how long do we get newlywed status for anyway?


my 3 little sillies!


and my husband.
mr. barlow at his finest.


and to the Su'as,
thank you for your patience in waiting for your wedding photos.
i love you.