The Wonder that is Laura

It is Laura's Birthday on the 28th so to honor her, I won't say how old she is, but I will just randomly post 25 things that we all love about her...

1. She has the most beautiful Pantene shiny hair ever. It always looks good and coming from the crazy curly haired girl, there is a lot of jealousy.

2. You can't say anything about a Barlow girl without mentioning the laugh. We come from a long line of great laughers and Laura fits right in.

3. For a little girl, she sure rocks the big car. First it was a Jeep Cherokee, now it is Lois the Montero. If you want to see something funny, watch her try and wash it or scrape off the snow from the windshield. She still makes it look good...

4. She is funny and funny things happen to her. Story time is always good when she is around.

5. There are still people in the world who know her only as Starfish. Not everyone could carry off a name like that with style, but she really does.

6. She would do anything for anyone.

7. She is smart-she graduated fast and with 2 majors: Political Science and History.

8. She is always off on a cool adventure. Check out her blog and you will see recounting of her cruise to the Bahamas and most recent 4-wheeling excursion in Utah.

9. She can throw the best parties ever. There was a Chinese New Year party that people still talk about and I am sure that the mansion will quickly become legendary.

10. She has great taste in music. She is always up on the newest artists but still has a taste for the classic 80's butt rock band.

11. Going to an A's game with her is truly an experience. Most of the time it involves being seen on the jumbotron or clearing out the section around us because people can't handle the fan-atics.

12. She has a great taste in clothes. She always looks put together and ready for anything. She would never wear a wife-beater tank top, suspenders and a hat to go dancing. Never.

13. She sets goals and sticks to them. She has always wanted to run a marathon, so she did. Wanted to work in politics, so she is. Loves to travel, so she does. You get it.

14. Has a job working in her passion, politics. I am pretty sure that the Utah Senate will never be the same.

15. She is honest-especially when you need someone to be honest. Not in a rude way, but in a way that she cares about you so she will let you know what's up.

16. She ALWAYS looks good. Whether she has just woken up or is ready for a night on the town, she has a natural beauty that always shows through.

17. She is fun at a concert. There is no shame to dancing on your chair and I don't think I would ever go to Kelly without her:)

18. She does a great classic gymnastics pose that only a few select people outside of the family have had the opportunity to see.

19. Her love of The Godfather will never be rivaled. She even has a poster of the man himself watching over her while she sleeps. After all, everything in the world can be related to The Godfather.

20. She is faithful.

21. She has naturally straight, white teeth and never had to have braces for a great smile. No fair.

22. Is always up for spending couch time watching a Lifetime "suck-me-in" movie when needed.

23. Will unleash the wrath of Laura on anyone, anytime if needed and never at inappropriate moments.

24. She is very passionate about everything she does and makes me want to learn more about the things that are important to her just so I can keep up. I don't think I have ever been more interested in the upcoming Presidential elections than this year (don't worry, Mom, I have always voted).

25. She is a great friend and sister. Hope that you have a great day too-Love you sista:)

American Idol Mania

I have to say that I still cannot get enough of American Idol and it is almost over! I have known that it would all boil down to the Davids, and the whole state of Utah definitely has Archuleta fever! I am torn between the two but I think that I could definitely buy either album and be happy with it-they will both be recording no matter who wins. That said, guess who my pick is?

The Wonder that is Jane

The other day, one of my guy friends said that if they wanted to know what a girl would look like when she got older, just look at her Mom. I of course said, "Yahoo" and there were a few other people in the room that know the wonder that is Jane, so they also said that I am a very lucky girl. Here is a picture of her pretty-ness and although I am pretty sure that I wasn't feeling very good in this pic, it is a really good one of her. I am giving the Mother's Day talk in church tomorrow, so I have been thinking a lot about what exactly I want to say. I have decided that I want to talk about what kinds of traits that we can take into our own lives that we have learned from our mothers. So, in honor of my mother, here are a few things that I have learned:

1. That no matter what, a mother will always be there when you need her. Whether she is in the car driving you to yet another place or learning how to play catch just so you would have someone to practice with or listening to yet another phone call where you are freaking out about the latest drama from Utah, Moms are always there.


2. No matter how hard you try, you will always laugh just like your mother. To testify to this fact, just get all of the Barlow girls in one room...enough said.


3. She will always come to whatever sporting event that you are playing in, whether she understands the sport or not, she will be there to support and cheer the loudest and take pictures of you in action.


4. No matter how old you are, you still want your mom when you are sick and no one can tuck you in like her. She always knows what the right things are to say and do that will sooth your sickness like nobody else can.


5. The older you get, the more you appreciate all of the things that Mom did for you and still does for you whenever you need her. Luckily, she is just a phone call away so you can talk to her even when she is driving to a random place in the Bay Area:)

Anyways, there are a lot of ways that we can describe our mothers, but as I get older and hopefully wiser, I have found that the most valuable thing that I can call my Mom is FRIEND. Thanks for being such a good Mom and I love you.

A Purse or a 72-hour Kit?

So, I got tagged by Jen a little while ago to reveal the contents of my purse...I have heard that you can tell a lot about a woman by looking at what is in her purse. Mine is one of those throw over the shoulder/run out of the house with everything in one place kind of purses. It is not the prettiest thing in the world, but it is for sure functional. Here is what is in my purse at this very moment:

1. Outside pockets=cell phone, lipstuff, gum, water bottle, keys, mirror and pens
2. Inside pocket=wallet, cell phone charger, notebook, IPOD, IPOD charger, mints, digital camera, lotion, Excedrin/Ibuprofen and sunglasses.
3. There is also a mini-Girl Scout kit in the middle pocket that contains: eye drops, cough drops, first aid kit, tide pen, clorox pen, kleenex, hand sanitizer, safety pins, shout wipes, lighter, hair scrunchies, airborne and moist towelettes.

Pretty much, if you ever get lost in the wilderness you are going to want me with you because we will be able to stay clean, healthy, pain-free, moisturized, make fire, and listen to music whilst taking pictures of our adventure and recording it all for posterity in the notebook. Now, if you were to ask me what is in the Jeep-we could definitely survive for days if we ever get lost in the wilderness with the Jeep and the purse!