Oh hi.

Other options for the title of this post were, "It's been 2 years and I'm back!", or "Where in the world are the Barlows?", or "Do blogs even still exist?".

I think blogs are still a "thing"? I'm just gonna dust off this old thing here.

I got out of the habit of writing when we moved to the Bay Area. I had tons of free time but put my blog on the back burner. It was a hard move for me so I just didn't write. I still miss Provo at times but life is good, really good. A lot has happened in 2 years for this Barlow crew!

A short recap is: 

>>> we moved to the East Bay of Northern California

>>> Mr. Barlow temped at Google[x] working on the Google Glass Project

>>> Mr. Barlow commuted 3-4 hours a day to work

>>> I started nannying and teaching Seminary, doing Faith in God for the Activity Day Girls and taught youth Sunday School

>>> we got pregnant, found out our addition was a little boy, long live the Barlow name!

>>> we moved to a house in Oakland, right down the hill from the Oakland LDS Temple

>>> Mr. Barlow's car was broken in to 3 times in 2 weeks, everything was stolen on the 1st break-in 

>>> Seth Jacob Barlow joined our family July 10th, 2014

>>> Seth J. cried a lot, pooped a lot, did not sleep a lot, was kissed a lot and cuddled a lot

>>> Mr. Barlow's contract ended on the the Glass team suddenly 

>>> moved home to LA and lived with the Barlow Parental units while we job searched

>>> Mr. Barlow got a job at a tech start up in San Mateo, the peninsula side of the Bay

>>> I got a job as Resident Manager for the apartments we live in [Beth & Adler, if you are reading this we owe you our 2nd born child]

>>> now we live in San Mateo and Mr. Barlow's commute is a 7 minute walk from our apartments

>>> Seth J. finally learned how to nap and is still working on sleeping through the night

We really have been taken care of by the Lord, family and friends. It feels like it has been a long 2 years and a lot of moving. I told Mr. Barlow we are not moving for at least 2-3 years! I hate packing. So much.

I want to write more. I think Cat wants me to write more. At least I found 2-3 old comments on this dusty blog asking me to. Here you go Cat, because I love you and China is so far. Thank goodness for your VPN and Google Hangouts.

ALSO I HAVE BEEN HOME FROM THE WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE MISSION FOR 5 YEARS TODAY?! WHA??? I remember not taking my tag off until I went to bed even though I was released from being a missionary several hours before. I miss my Wisconsinites. I get so excited when someone brings up Wisconsin or I see something Wisconsin related. Or someone mentions cheese. Sconnies, I love you. I miss you.

And here is Seth J.'s newest trick as of today! Standing in his crib! The little stinker finally figured out how to get up. [Taylor, this video monitor has been a lifesaver, thank you!]

"Sittin on the dock of the Bay..."

good news minute.

mr. barlow and i are packing our bags and moving to the Bay area!

it is a sudden change and came out of left field. 

but we are excited for the adventure and here is the tale...

mr. barlow got an email from a Google recruiter on a Friday afternoon saying they matched his resume up with a job and wanted to interview him that coming Monday [Presidents Day].

[side note: jacob applied for a Google Fiber position months prior just for the fun of it but never heard anything back from it.]

Monday came and he interviewed via Google Hangout and then had 3 more Google hangout interviews later that week. one was a group one where they had to sell each other on Gmail, Android or a Chromebook so they could test all their knowledge and skills about Google products.

they called him back the next week and offered him a position!

for what you ask? we have no idea!

he had to sign a non disclosure form and we still haven't been told the product he'll be working on.

here's what we do know...

he has to be in Mountain View, Ca to train on Google Campus for about 3 weeks and then he'll be working out of the San Francisco office.

oh ya, at the end of this month. in 3 weeks.

that is all.

we are taking a huge leap of faith [not much info to go off of!] but it feels right to the both of us and an adventure will be fun.

especially where it is warmer then we are currently. 

we are definitely going to miss our family and friends in the Utah Valley. 

it has been a blessing to call this place our home for the past 1.5 years. 

any guidance for the Bay area would be greatly appreciated!

also in my last welcome back post i realized how ungrateful i sounded for my former job.

i want it to be known i was very grateful for a good paying job where i learned a lot.

it also helped me to push my Photoshop skills!

[i hate sounding so rude, i apologize.]

Provo City Center Temple Groundbreaking

have you heard of Portal?!

"Fast thing goes in fast thing comes out." - GLaDOS

i would not call myself a video game player in the least.

ask my sisters. then ask my husband. 

BUT..

mr. barlow would call himself a video game man.

he teaches all about the types of games, the different systems and how to use a controller.

AND i didnt ever know a video game had a story. they do. its cool.

my little sister in law hannah was trying to get us to play Portal with her right after our wedding but i sadly turned her down.

mr. barlow cannot pass up a deal and he got Portal 1 & 2 for like $10!

a steal one would say.

it is the funnest and funniest game!

i am kinda obsessed.

and this come from the girl that doesnt play video games.

love her mother

this is sweet.

cinco de mayo!

we celebrated our cinco de mayo outside in the sun watching BYU Rugby!

very fitting for the holiday i know.

but seriously, rugby is so interesting to watch!

we went with the Lowrys from our ward and Matt played rugby in high school.

he did an excellent job at explaining all the rules to us!

BYU is pretty bomb at rugby. 

they played against UCLA on saturday and dominated.

BYU [103] - UCLA [27]

it was a beautifully fun day.

we gave Mountain West Burrito a try that night to commemorate the holiday.

it was delish.

6 months. half a year. 182.5 days.

here we are.

happy newlyweds!

half way to one year.

we celebrated by going to church, mr. barlow doing his home teaching, and me taking a 3 hour nap!

we also made a delicious dinner and watched modern family all night.

we are pretty romantic huh?!

oh hi husband.

i love you.

we celebrate in style!

obvi that means some Martinellis.

i love me some marriage.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

[no we are not pregnant.] 

even though the knot.com is trying to get us to join thebump.com [see below!]

we have a calling at church!!!

mr. barlow and i are teaching the CTR 5 class!

they are so cute. and rambunctious.

they are ages 5 & 6. and we have 12 of them.

wow.

this sunday was our first time with them and i would say we survived!

we taught about the healing power of the Priesthood and we asked the class if they had ever gotten sick..

one little girl raised her hand and said, "i take medicine that makes my poops really big!" 

what can we say.. we love our class!

for moms & dads!

this first video is a tribute to mothers.

warning: it will make you cry.

at least mr. barlow and i did.

its for the Olympics and not only am i now excited for them but i am excited to one day be a mother.

and this video will give you some giggles.

heres to you, mr. barlow in about 10 years!

FIND .. film is not dead.

FILM IS NOT DEAD!
it really isn't.
i am obsessed with film.

i wish i still had access to a darkroom.
that would be lovely.
but at least i have my analog cameras to play with.

so why am i talking about film?

because of this guy >>> jonathan canlas

he started FIND. [film is not dead]
he holds workshops everywhere to teach anyone how to shoot film.
want his book?! i have it. and love it >>> FIND

one day i will go to his workshop.
and i already know i will love it.
but until that happens i will just look at these photos everyday.

about 2 months or so ago jonathan posted on FB that he needed some couples for models.
[i follow him all over FB. i know kinda creepy. he prob gets tired of all my "liking"]
a mutual friend of ours recommended me and mr. barlow.

i immediately asked mr. barlow if he wouldn't mind going into work a little late so we could be a part of this.
luckily he knows how obsessed i am with jonathans style and film.
he said yes right away! thank you mr. barlow.

now let your eyes feast on the beauties of film and jonathans greatness.

he is the bomb.

we were almost frozen by the time it was over.

but i did not mind one bit.

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.

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.

happy st. patricks day

we celebrate with pickle juice popsicles!

YUMMY.

i know you are jealous.

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!

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 ..

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/29/10536654-13-killed-as-tornadoes-rake-midwest-states

http://fox2now.com/2012/02/29/branson-takes-direct-hit-from-tornado/

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.