A Great Christmas Break

Now that I am back in Logan and immersed into my life of work, school, friends and snow, I am especially grateful for the opportunity I had to spend 10 wonderful days in Cali with my favorites. Before I left, though, I got a visit from The Grinch:He came to my house for a short visit and tried to convince me to stay, but was not very successful. So I headed home and we got to do lots of fun things whilst there,like go to San Carlos and visit Dad's new store:Take our annual trip to the city to shop with the girls and go to our favorite park to eat and watch the fog roll in:Laura gets really excited when we go and play at this park:
All in all we had a great time just hanging out watching movies and taped TV shows, playing games, shopping, watching football, going to a Boxing Day party to see a bunch of old friends and enjoying the company of a British man named Harvey (although I don't know his last name, he has been totally sloshed every time I have seen him, so in my mind his name is Harvey Wallbanger), seeing the lights at the Temple, and of course playing with the newest addition to our family:Although I had a great time at home, I was still excited to come back to Logan and see my friends and make sure the pile on my desk was not too high. I guess that my co-workers missed me, too, because when I came back to work, here is what I found on my desk:Now for those of you who don't watch The Office, you will not get the humor of the fact that my co-workers froze some of my things in Jell-o...but it was hilarious! I also got to catch up with two of my favorite boys in my world (who don't normally look like this and I am sure they will be excited to know I posted this pic):So really, it was a great break, but with all of this to come back to, who could blame me for wanting to be back in Logan?

Things That Were Great about 2008:

In no particular order:

1) I got to do a few things (well more than a few) that I had never done before:
Go to a Reba McIntyre (first time) and Kelly Clarkson (third time) Concert I also got to explore Utah and visit St George and Park City for the first time

2) For the first time in a long, long time, I did not have any broken bones this year! If you know me well, you will know that for me this is a feat in itself.
3) If you are a red-blooded American like me, there were 2 events last year that kept you glued to the TV:and
I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of the events unfold and didn't even feel bad when I didn't make any plans because I was going to be watching TV...
4) Our Family had a bunch of fun things happen this year: We were all together for the first time in a long time:
Got to introduce another Barlow girl to the world:
And got to add a law enforcement officer to the family: I am sure that there were a lot more things that happened that are newsworthy, I just thought I would condense.
5) I got to go on a few Recruiting trips for USU that I thoroughly enjoyed and I have a great job that makes me love Utah State more every day:
6) I have been blessed with a lot of good friends and roommates who make me happy and I have been able to reconnect with a lot of fun friends I haven't seen in forever (Yes, sometimes I am a little addicted to Facebook).
All in all, I was a little sad to say goodbye to 2008, and I am sure that there were a lot more things that made it great, but now I look forward to the things that 2009 will bring. Imagine the possibilities...

A few of my Favorite things Part 1

I have been absent from the blogging world for a long time due to a lot of things that have been going on-so rather than bore anyone with the crazy details of my everyday life, I figured that I am long overdue for a "Things I am thankful for" post. It will go in phases because as I was thinking, I realized that I have a TON of things to be thankful for. The first thing that I am most thankful for is my family. We are the wonder known as the Barlow family and we started out like this:Steve and Jane:the early years. This is one of my most favorite pictures of my Mom and Dad and they still look at each other like this and make each other laugh. Love it. Over the years, we have grown and grown:We have added two wives and now 4 grandchildren and have expanded to this:
Together we make quite a diverse group too-mostly because we are all so talented:) Anyways, no matter what, through thick and thin, big hair and bad hair days, we are always there and we enjoy each other's company. I have been able to spend quite a bit of time with them over the past couple of months and it has made me appreciate our family that much more. I am going home for 10 days of fun at Christmas and can't wait! This is why I am a lucky girl...

My So-Called Life

I have been a little crazy busy as of late, but I thought that I would take a minute to let you all know what I have been up to:
1. I got to hang out with the greatest guys from my ward (including the Bishop) when I was the MC of the Mr. 64th Ward Pageant. Here they all are at the end of the pageant in their "Evening Wear" and notice their sashes that have their phone numbers on them: They all did great and competed in the talent, beach wear, evening wear and question portions and I got the best seat in the house. I also got to take a picture with them all, but the girl who took it won't give it to me because, yes, she is like that.
2. I got to attend a few events for my Fine Arts class and especially enjoyed the African Children's Choir. If they come anywhere near you, you should rearrange your schedule to go. Totally worth it.
3. I got to go home last week to do some recruiting for Utah State. We met with some really cool students and school counselors and even got to host an Open House at the Pleasanton Hotel at a room that was right next to the bar. Excellent. But best of all, I got to hang out with the cutest baby in the world:The only bummer is that I came back to Logan with a huge cold, so I am a little under the weather but determined to be healthy by Wednesday when I go back to Cali. Oh, and we also got to see the Twilight movie on Saturday...yummy!
So that's me right now in a nutshell and the combination of working, traveling, group projects and finals in the next couple of weeks makes Anne a tired girl, but it is all totally worth it. Hopefully.

Flashback Friday

There hasn't been a Flashback Friday in my world for a while, so I thought I would dig way back in the archives. I am pretty sure that this picture explains why I don't like the zoo. Enjoy.

There's a CHP in my Family

So, Laura and I just spent a whirlwind weekend at home with the fam and had a blast! First, we saw Chuck Norris in the Salt Lake Airport:
I pretended to be taking a picture of Laura in the decorative cob webs so that Chuck wouldn't get suspicious. Was it really Chuck Norris? Yes-that's our story and we're sticking to it! Then, we got to go see our brother Mike graduate from the California Highway Patrol Academy/look for future husbands. Mike got Tasered with Boatwright here, so he decided to join the family:Apparently once you have been tased with someone, you know him well enough to introduce him to your single sisters. Luckily, he laughed at our jokes so he is in. Besides the fact that Dad got stung by a vengeful bee, it was a great day! And, we got to hang out with the cutest little flower in the world:All in all it was so fun, except for the fact that our flight coming back to SLC was late and we didn't get home til after 2am, you get a bunch of Barlows together and it is a great time! I am so proud of my brother, Officer Barlow, and my parents who worked so hard to campaign for the Yes on Prop 8 effort-which even included Jane standing on the road in a torrential downpour holding signs and being yelled at to, "Go Back to Utah!" Like that would be such a bad thing...

Seriously? It is time to take action. Seriously...

So, it has been a while since I got riled up enough to do another Seriously post, but alas, now I am. There have been some things going on in the news and in the world around me lately that leads me to ask: Seriously?
1. I am very passionate about politics, especially right now when we are in the midst of two very important events in our history: the election of our new President and the Proposition 8 defining families in California. To my fellow Americans: We are very lucky to live in a country where we are able to vote and have a say in who leads our country. We are blessed to live in the land of the free because of our brave soldiers past, present, and future who have volunteered to fight for the freedoms that we enjoy every day. If you think that your vote doesn't count or that an issue does not effect you, it does. If Proposition 8 is defeated in California, mark my words, it will start a wildfire across the other states of this great nation and pretty soon our children will be taught in their schools that it is okay for the Prince to marry the Prince. Seriously. So, my plea to you is this: Educate yourself on the issues and vote what you feel is best for you and your family. Let me repeat. VOTE. It counts. It is a privilege. The future of our country is not decided by the registered voters. It is decided by the registered voters who vote. Seriously.
2. According to Proposition 8 that is on the ballot in California, to vote yes, you are voting yes to define marriage as "between a man and a woman..." and amending the Constitution of California so that the law will never change. You are not voting to have any rights taken away from anyone. If this Proposition is defeated, it will continue to be legal for anyone to marry anyone. It will become legal for any 2 consenting adults to marry anyone or anything. That's right, anything. It will also become mandatory that teachers are required to teach about same sex marriage in the schools. Grade schools. It will become illegal for a church (any church, not just the LDS church) to refuse anyone the right to adopt or get married in their church. This should be a scary thing to anyone who values the definition of a family. Like I said, if this gets defeated in California,I am positive that within the next 5 years it will be on the ballot of many other states with a lot of force behind it. Our Prophet and Priesthood leaders have asked us to take a stand against something that is attacking our morals. There have been many stories on the news that have interviewed "Faithful members of the Church" who state that they do not agree that the church is getting involved in this issue. All I have to say to these members is this: Maybe you should look up the definition of Faithful. Because I am pretty sure you have it wrong. Seriously.

3. On another completely different note: Halloween is coming! I love it. Seriously. I do not love, however, that some people think that Halloween=modesty free day. Just because you are wearing a costume does not mean it is okay to be scantily clad. Enough said. Seriously.