The Allreds

2012-01-20T20:12:00.000-08:00

These first few weeks of January have been a doozy. Elijah and I have been sick, then he got sick again. Just as he was feeling better he got a SUPER high fever after getting his 15 month shots. Michael has been out of town all week but thank goodness he is coming home in an hour. We sure missed him. In an effort to remember the good things about the last few week here are some of them in pictures.

Elijah helping us in the kitchen. He got the apron out and kept trying to put in around his neck.

One day I turned around to see him up on the table eating all our Cuties. (He wouldn't have eaten so many but I decided to stop and enjoy the moment by taking pictures.)

At first he was going at them peel and all.

Then he decided the peel didn't taste that great.

One morning we had Cream of Wheat for breakfast and he refused to let me feed him. So I just gave him the spoon and let him at it. This was the end result. I think he had fun.

A New Pair of Shoes

2012-01-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

Oscar The Cat

2012-01-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

This is what Eli does when he sees our neighbor's cat, Oscar.

Christmas & New Years

2012-01-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas was so wonderful this year. We started the morning off by going to the ward building down the street from my Mom's house. They had their Christmas program and it was amazing. It was such a fantastic way to start Christmas morning. We came home to our traditional Christmas breakfast.

Then "the opening" began. The best part was watching Eli open his presents. He quickly got the idea that there were neat things inside those beautifully wrapped gifts. He growled as he opened each present and LOVED all the toys he got. Our house it a little louder now thanks to all of those noisy toys. But we love it!

Michael had the week after Christmas off from work. Instead of relaxing we hammered out a huge project. It's built and painted now I just need to organize it. Pictures when I'm done with that.

For New Years we put Eli down and hung out with our neighbors the Lunds. We played reverse charades, ate ice cream, saw a few fireworks from the window then went to sleep!

As you can tell, I had such a great time I didn't take any pictures. I took a break from that and just soaked in the moments. However, now I'm mad that I didn't take any. Oh well. I have a goal to help me with that for this year!

Hope your Christmas and New Years was as great as ours!

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Family Photo Shoot

2011-12-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

While we were in Arizona for Thanksgiving we were able to have our good friend and talented photographer Libby Jones take our family pictures. She did an amazing job! My first thought while I was looking through the photos was, "How am I going to choose the ones I want to frame?" Over a week later I still can't decide. I love every photo.

Here is a sampling.

{I don't know if sampling is the best word because lets be honest...there's a lot!}

These next two could be my favorites. I don't have many pictures of me and E.

And just because I love his serious face so much

Libby did a great job with Eli. He was teething and hadn't been sleeping well so he wasn't in the greatest mood. I love how she captured how he truly is. She didn't worry too much about getting a perfect smile. I love that because now I can remember forever just how he is at this stage, so smiley {picture 1}, goofy {picture 2} and sometimes so serious {last picture}

Deck The Halls

2011-12-08T19:57:00.001-08:00

We are enjoying the season.

Eli loves the tree, especially the ornaments.

I am loving the lights, music, cold weather, and the joy that fills the air.

So many people seem just a little happier. It's wonderful.

Hope your holiday season is going great!

Random Phone Pictures

2011-12-05T16:54:00.001-08:00

Eli likes to help with the chores around the house...

Helping Grandma with the dishes

Helping me cook Helping me clean

First snow. He loved it. Except for the cold hands.

Happy Eli... Sad Eli

Walking Eli

Thanksgiving

2011-12-02T13:07:00.001-08:00

We had a great time in Arizona this Thanksgiving. It was fun to spend time with family and meet two new babies that were born since we were down there last. It was also nice to have a few days of sunshine before we prepare for another Utah winter. I didn't take many pictures while we were down there, so I'm just going to do a quick recap.

The night before we left Eli woke up screaming and nothing we did calmed him down. Finally we tried some orajel. Bingo! We noticed a little tooth coming through on the bottom.
Our flight to Arizona was great! It wasn't a full flight so we had a whole row to ourselves. Every family with a baby did. We kept Eli entertained with ice, books, magazine ripping, the window and lots of treats.
Our sleep schedule was pretty disrupted while we were on vacation. (We are still recovering) Our first night there was filled with screams and tears.
Eli learned to walk! He had been taking steps and could walk across our living room but once in Arizona he took off! We thought that was appropriate since he learned to crawl in Arizona and got his first tooth there.
We had lots of time to play with cousins. Eli loves all of his cousins, especially Brightley. She always makes him laugh.
We had some good times playing Just Dance and other games with siblings.
Good food on Thanksgiving!
Eli's second new tooth started poking through the last days of our trip.
The flight home was full and by the way E was acting in the airport I was not excited about boarding the plane. Just after takeoff Eli sat on Michael's lap and fell asleep while Michael read to him from the skymall magazine. Such a blessing.
There were a lot of military personnel on our flight and when we got to baggage claim we were able to watch as they were welcomed home by their families. Such a sweet moment.

We are so grateful for our little family and for the time we had to spend with our extended family. Now our Christmas tree is up and we are enjoying the rest of the holiday season.

Life is good and we are happy.

Happy Birthday To...

2011-11-17T10:26:00.001-08:00

Michael!

Even though Michael's birthday was on Monday, we used the whole weekend to celebrate!

Friday

Date. Dinner @ La Jolla Groves. Lemon cake. Window shopping for Christmas.

Saturday

Relaxing day followed by another night out, this time to the football game. It was cold! But great!

Monday

Brick Oven Pizza. German chocolate cake. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. Friends

Some Things I Don't Want to Forget

2011-11-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

Some things about E that I don't want to forget

1. His new found giggle. Deep and bubbly. The scream laugh only occurs about 70% of the time.

2. He loves to wrap his arms around my neck and give me a big hug. He does this with EVERYONE, even people at church he doesn't know that well.

3. Sometimes he gives us kisses and when he does we always end up with slobber all over our cheeks, noses, and chins.

4. He gets so excited when daddy comes home. He is not a mommas boy anymore.

5. When we are in a new place with new people he gets so quiet and I can tell he is just soaking everything in.

6. He is constantly squirming in church and I feel like we will never hear another sacrament talk or sunday school lesson again.

7. Water - He loves to drink it, splash in it and take a bath in it.

8. He starts dancing, bobbing his head, or waving his hand around like a conductor the second he hears music.

9. Diaper Changes - Still hates them

10. Loves to snuggle into soft blankets or warm clothes just out of the dryer.

11. Determination - So determined it's on the verge of stubborn. He won't stop until he accomplishes his task.

12. Loves the piano

13. Gets so excited to see us every morning. Almost as excited as I am to see him.

I love being a mother. Yes we have hard days (Sundays are the hardest by far) and sometimes I just don't feel like I'm good enough. Every day I try to be better and sometimes I just fail, miserably. Sometimes I can't wait for nap time and bedtime. Sometimes I loose my patience, or feel tired all day.

Even with all of the not so pretty things, I still think this is the best job in the world for me. Every day that little boy teaches me more about love, more about patience and sacrifice, more about myself. I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Halloween

2011-11-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

Our Little Pilot

We put this costume together at the very last minute, but I think it turned out cute.

We celebrated Halloween with a party at Michael's work. Lots of fun.

Then we had dinner with our neighbors. The meal consisted of perfect Halloween foods. Dead man's chest (ribs with a red bell pepper in the middle) mashed potato ghosts, and bones (rolls in the shape of a bone.) It was great!

Carvin' Our Pumpkin

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row {which makes it an official tradition} we got together with the Iversons to carve pumpkins. Michael and I were excited to see how Eli would like it. I personally though he would be a little hesitant of the sticky slimy goop, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Seconds after being being shown the cut open pumpkin he looked like this. Yes that is a pumpkin juice beard.

The finished pumpkins

Pikin' A Pumpkin

2011-10-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch this year. The little patch we found was fabulous. Big selection, big pumpkins, and small prices. Just the way we like it.

Fall Hike

2011-10-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Zoo

2011-10-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

Back in September we went to the zoo and had a blast watching Eli get so excited about all the animals. I think his favorites were the monkeys. That may be because they were the first we saw and he wasn't tired yet. It was a good trip and I'm so glad we went before it got cold.

One of the orangutans was named Eli. We thought it fitting that is was the one with the biggest cheeks!

Michael has always said that he has freakishly long arms.

He calls them gorilla arms.

Well, we got to see if his arms really are "gorilla arms".

I think I win the competition for "gorilla arms".
What do you think?

Well I think I'm done posting about summer.
We sure had a great one.

Now let the Holiday Season begin!

Today Was A Good Day

2011-10-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

We started off with some snuggling in mom's warm bed. Then we moved on to a snack-time picnic, walks, food throwing, book reading, picture taking, fit throwing, tickles, laughing, wrestling, hugs and kisses, bath time, and good night kisses.

There may or may not have been some ~~dress-up~~ torture as well.

Speaking of ~~torture~~ good laughs, here is a video of Eli sucking on a lime. I was cooking the other day and he really wanted to eat what I was holding, so, I let him try it.

Date Night & The Weekend

2011-10-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

Friday night date night was a blast!

We started out with some laundry basket rides.

Can you tell how excited Eli was about this activity?

It doesn't show in these pictures, but he really does love doing this. When we would get ready to start we would go beep, beep, beep, and then take off running. With each beep his smile got a little bigger. :)

After a while we decided to give E a try.

We loaded up his favorite buddies...

Bananas (the Gorilla) and Bronco (the horse)

We tied the rope to his belt loop and he took off. He went strait to his new favorite spot...

The bathroom.

The toilet to be exact.

Yes, he has discovered that there is water inside.

Since then he has thrown a magnet, a binki, and my cellphone into the toilet.

After we put Eli to bed the real fun began. It came in the form of Just Dance.

And let me tell you, it was so much fun. We played for 2 1/2 hours!

Inspired by these little boys... we decided to video ourselves. Ya know, for a good laugh.

Well, laugh we did and now we are passing on the laughter.

DISCLAIMER:

I'm positive we have both had better performances in our very successful dancing careers. ;)

SONG ONE

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

SONG TWO

Hey Ya

To end on a more attractive note...

Our weekend ended with a drive up the canyon to see the fall colors.

They were spectacular. While I was so happy soaking in the beauty around me I couldn't help but notice the dread that was also present. I began to realize that all too quickly the gold, yellows, and reds will give way to white. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.

So, heres to hoping for a few more sunny fall days.

One

2011-10-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know how it happened, but Eli turned ONE!

We had a little party for him at my mom's house on Saturday.

It was supposed to be outside but since Utah decided to throw us for a loop with its crazy "fall weather" we ended up moving everything inside. Some of our details had to be thrown out, but it turned out great. We were so grateful that so many friends and family could come and help us celebrate.

Opening presents

The One-Year-Old Birthday walk. He wasn't really sure about this whole walk thing at first.

But he choose the sippy cup in the end.

We love our little boy and can't wait for another year of fun!

we might be allREDs

2011-09-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

...but we bleed BLUE!

I really hope we win tonight!

Michael and I were really excited to be able to go to the game on Saturday, especially since we were playing Utah. We have never been to a BYU vs. Utah game before. Every year we had tickets we were in Arizona for Thanksgiving.

It was a ~~tad~~ depressing watching our Cougars loose by 44 points but luckily the blow was softened by a special treat. Our good friend works with BYU and was able to get Michael on the field for the second half. I think he had fun! But don't take my word for it, check out his pictures.

Andrew Rich & David Nixon

Hair Cut

2011-09-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

Elijah's hair had gotten so long this summer. I loved it while simultaneously hated it. None of my tricks to make his hair look more 'done' and a little less bed head-ish worked.

It was so cute, but every time I put a collared shirt on him his hair would flow over the back in a mullet like fashion. Not a fan of the mullet.

The hair that had touched the top of his ears a few months ago, making him look like a little surfer boy, was coming past his ears and curving out. Not a fan of "hair wings" either.

Look how long it is behind his ears!

Sunday I decided I'd had enough.

So we decided to give Elijah his first "big boy" hair cut.

The boy you saw above transformed into this...

We are calling this his "big boy" hair cut because we think he looks so much older.
What do you think?

I'm loving the new hair. I'm also a little sad because he looks like a little boy instead of a baby. I'm not ready for him to be a little boy yet. He is growing up way too fast.

Bear Lake

2011-09-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Michael and I decided at the last minute to take a trip to Bear Lake over Labor Day Weekend. We were fortunate enough to be able to stay in my friend Charity's cabin. {Thanks so much Char} It was a magical weekend full of sandy beaches, raspberry shakes, crisp mornings, warm evenings, glowing sunsets, and the last warm rays of summer. We sure enjoyed every minute we had in that beautiful spot. This is a trip that won't soon be forgotten.

Michael and I are already dreaming about which sandy beach we want to build our cabin on.

We could have done with a little less sand and rock eating!

We had a few days with just the three of us and it was wonderful. Wonderful to take a break from work, church callings, and the little household tasks that sometimes prevent us from spending time doing the things we love.

We were lucky enough to have our good friends the Iversons join us for a few days and it was great. We stayed up way too late, talked a lot, laughed, and ate way too much sugar. We are so blessed to have such good friends!

We took some time to drive up to Bloomington Lake. The Iverson's had been snowmobiling up in that area and it was fun to see it in the summer. {Even though there was still snow on the ground.}

A LOT of people were enjoying the lake as well as the the awesome rope swing. Brave little kids and adults were swinging out and dropping into the icy water. Both Michaels were surprised that none of the swimmers were making a sound. No holler when they swung out over the water, not even a gasp of shock when they popped their heads out of the icy cold water.

Julia and I challenged the boys to show the crowd how it's done, since obviously no one was doing it right. It took some convincing, since we hadn't come prepared to swim. In the end the boys decided to take the challenge and conquered the rope swing with howls and yells that captured the attention of the onlookers.

And Michael A's splash. He did a suicide. People thought he belly flopped.

The crowed decided that Michael A. won for style and Michael I. won for distance.

For more great pictures from Bloomington Lake and our stay at Bear Lake go to the Iverson's blog.

Once back at the cabin the boys decided that the long, cold, and wet ride home was well worth it. Each thought the rope swing was the best part of the whole trip.

Julia and I did not jump in the lake since we hadn't come prepared with swimming suits. As soon as we were back in the car I wish I had. Life's too short to worry about wet clothes!

Eleven

2011-09-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

E turned 11 months yesterday. I feel like I say this every month, but it's true, I just can't believe he is getting so big. I have been looking through all of his old pictures lately and my heart aches with how much he has grown up.

In the past month he has been...
hiking
road tripping
camping
eating lots of peaches
running away from diaper changes
learning to throw food etc. off his high chair tray
sleeping much better (12+ hours each night)
loving our friend's cats and dogs

He still has cheeks.

He is growing up so fast. Part of me is so excited for him to grow up; for his little personality to emerge, for him to walk, talk, and to discover the joys in the world around him. But there is another part of me that aches to hold the little newborn I brought home from the hospital 11 months ago. Time goes too fast. I need to slow down and soak in every minute of my little boy.

Snowflake, Arizona

2011-09-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

In July we went down to Snowflake, Arizona for the Ericksen Family Reunion. This year was special because it took place at the home that Michael's Great Grandpa Rogers built. We had a great time catching up with all of the extended family. Michael loved showing me all the places he played as a kid, only for some reason everything was a lot smaller than it used to be. I guess the world is a much bigger place to an 8-year-old.

By dinner the first night Elijah was so tired. It only got worse as the reunion went on. He was a trooper though.

Jumping with grandpa during the concert in the park. Elijah LOVES Grandpa Allred. He can always get a smile out of Eli.

Playing with Brightley on the swing. This girl absolutely adores Eli. She is constantly coming up to him and rubbing all his hair and chubby cheeks. He mostly loves all the attention.

Eli was so tired and fussy when the Pioneer Day Parade started, but the frozen otter-pop we handed him sure cheered him up. The picture on the right is little Lia sitting on grandpa's lap.

Sisters (Michael's mom and Aunt Christine) watching the parade.

They grew up in the house where the reunion was held.

After sufficiently chewing on the otter-pop until it was melted Eli fell asleep in Daddy's arms.

Swinging on the rope swing that Grandpa Allred made.

This Cute Lady was a tour guide at one of the pioneer homes as well as a distant relative. When she made the connection that she was related she grabbed Michael's hand and started walking off with him. Isn't she just the cutest thing!

Michael reading clues to our group during the scavenger hunt.

Family picture in front of the house.

All tuckered out after a good weekend of play.

My only regret is that I didn't get more pictures of the rest of the family. Maybe because the weekend was so relaxed I didn't think to take too many.

In Love With...

2011-08-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

...My Life

Once again I didn't wake up at 6:30 so I could take a shower and get ready before E woke up. (That has been my goal for 3 solid weeks and I have failed miserably each and every day.) So, to get me energized for the day I decided to play some music. Song of choice, Dynamite by Taio Cruz. As I fed E his oatmeal I started busing out some dance moves and was soon joined by Michael.

E looked up at us wide eyed and I could almost hear him thinking... "Wow you guys are my parents? You're crazy!"

As Michael left to finish getting ready for work it hit me, I LOVE MY LIFE.

Even if I don't get dressed until 9:30.

Even if my floors are constantly cluttered with baby toys, cheerios and Tupperware.

(E's favorite toys).

Even if I have forgotten what it's like to have an adult converstation that doesn't revolve around babies, diapers, feedings etc.

Even if I sometimes crave girl time just so I can get out and have some fun.

Even if I don't get enough sleep because my 10 month old has been teething since Easter!

There may be a lot of things about motherhood that aren't picture perfect, but there are so many more things that are even better than picture perfect. Yes it's tough, and I can only imagine how much harder it will become as we add more children to our family. And how much harder still when they become teenagers. But I wouldn't trade this sacred responsibility for anything in the world.

I love being a mother, I love my life.

Pictures

2011-08-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

My sister let me take her senior pictures yesterday. A MUCH longer than anticipated drive out to the Salt Flats was well worth it! To say that I'm happy with the results would be an understatement.

{a cooperative subject that would sit still instead of chasing the camera or eating rocks was quite refreshing.}

TEN

2011-08-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

E is now 10 months old.

To celebrate we went and took some pictures by an orange wall.

*Note: A very active 10 month old is not the best subject to practice photography.*

*So please excuse the not so great pictures.*

He is pointing at everything

Sharing/showing us what he is holding

Talking a lot (every time he points or "shares" he talks)

Scared of standing up

Loves other kids

Loves dogs

Loves being outside

Has 6 1/2 teeth

Likes to pull all of our books of the bookshelf

Loves to be chased around the house and then tickled

Wants to eat whatever I am eating

The cutest kid and I'm so lucky to have him

Larissa & Winslow

2011-08-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

In January, 2008 Larissa, Mallory and I left freezing Utah and flew to New Zealand for a study abroad. (Mallory and I also left our fiances. I don't think they were too happy about that.) All three of us were placed with the Andertons as a host family. We could not have been more blessed. The Andertons not only opened their home but also their hearts to us. We were 5 "free women" living together. We went on little adventures exploring NZ. We laughed A LOT, ate WAY too much ice cream, dried our laundry on the line, shared clothes, stories, and even some tears. I think I speak for all of us when I say that our lives were forever changed for the good by our experience in New Zealand. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to learn from each of these great women and for the lasting impressions they have had on my heart.

At the end of our study abroad Larissa, Mallory, and I packed our bags and headed back to the US. Mallory and I finished planing our weddings and each of us married great guys! :)

Larissa...well here is where her story gets interesting. You see, while we were in NZ she met a boy named Jason, they fell in love, and after much skyping, emailing and months of very long distance dating they got married! After the wedding she left her beloved Arizona to live with him in NZ.

I know, things like that only happen in fairy tales right? Well, it happened to Larissa. And I'm so glad it did.

After living in NZ for 2 years she and her husband have moved back to the US. I was so happy to catch up with her and Jason! They are such a great couple. Perfect for each other!

Miss you Larissa. Thanks for a good time! And for sharing with us the wonderful "treasures" of La Posada.

(and yes...it looks like I'm an amputee in this picture.)

The Lake

2011-08-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

In July we were able to go to the lake with my family.

We camped for two nights and went boating on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. E LOVED the water. He's a little fish!

E playing with grandma while grandpa drives the boat

Enjoying some cheese as part of his dinner

Nine Months

2011-07-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

E turned 9 months on the 8th

I can't believe in less than 3 short months he will be ONE!

He is currently...

crawling at lightning speed

{especially if it's to get to the fridge before we close it}

pulling himself up onto ALL the furniture

{and starting to think about letting go}

trying to STAND in the bath

{this makes for some not so pleasant bath times}

loving water

obsessed with the dishwasher

not a fan of diaper changes

{they take too long}

a mess when he eats

in love with ice

{an ice cube will dry up any bout of tears}

Teething...not just a few teeth but ALL 6 of his front top teeth

{the doctor looked in his mouth, felt his gums and said his molars have started moving too}

{he just decided he wanted to do it all at once}

{no wonder we have been getting less sleep around here}

And here is a collage of bath tub pictures I took just before he turned 9 months old

{Oh and if any of you were wondering about Bruce...well he flew away. We were sad}

New Pet

2011-07-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

We have a new pet.

He sleeps by our front door.

His name is Bruce.

He's a Bat!

The Rest of June

2011-07-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

Croquet with our good friends Michael & Julia

Summerfest Parade

Yep...I'm a nerd and I match the spoon to the bowl when I feed E

E went for some laundry basket rides...

while I worked on a project {I needed my mom's tools}

Finished my project. It's our new shower curtain.

{I'm not really finished though. I have one more ruffle to add.}

Lunch with my old roommates and great friends

E got into the bag of vegetable scraps that I was throwing away.

Before I got to him he had this in his mouth.

I just had to take pictures.

Playing with balls.

This was the day that his "army crawl" disappeared.

He just took off across the room crawling on all fours.

Happy Father's Day!

Michael's gift from me and E was a new suit from...

A company that makes custom suits.

One of their consultants came over to the house and helped Michael customize his entire suit!

And I'm talking EVERYTHING...pockets, vents, fabric, lapel etc!

All that for a FABULOUS price too!

It was great. It should be here any day now and he is so excited.

Yummy FHE treat!

Happy 3rd anniversary to us!

We didn't do much on the day but we took a nice trip the next weekend.

E's first ride on a carousel

E's first experience with bubbles

Playing outside with Dad

Michael & I headed up to Park City to celebrate our anniversary.

I didn't get many pictures except for this one.

We rode the alpine slide and zip lines at the olympic park.

Bath Time

E got really dirty for the first time

He pulled the trash down and had fun playing with the ads.

{I think we might need to make a change with our trash can. He has done this twice since}

E snuggling with Dad because his teeth were hurting

Melts my heart. He doesn't do this much anymore.

Wow, that took forever! Thanks for stopping by.

{Sorry there are so many pics of E, he's just pretty much my life right now! :) }

Baby Feet

2011-07-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

This is what I used to see when we went on walks.

E is getting so big I can't even believe it. (9 months on Friday)

Monthly post of him and so much more coming soon.

(Once I'm a little more motivated to blog)

Eight

2011-06-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Months that is.

E turned 8 months on the 8th. He is getting so big.

At 8 months he:

has two bottom teeth
is getting 4 top teeth
has been crawling for 1 1/2 months (the army crawl only disappeared on Saturday)
stands up on everything and anything
has to have chunks in his food or he sprays it everywhere
loves to be outside, especially if it's windy or he is on a swing
loves to take baths
plays so well all by himself but comes over every few minutes for a little hug and kiss
is NOT sleeping through the night, but I hope when those top teeth finally come in that will change.

E is such an easy going baby most of the time, we just love it. People always ask if he is "that relaxed" all the time. Our answer is, "Yes usually, until he decides to care about something."

He is really intense with his emotions.

But we love it.

Three

2011-06-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

It's been THREE years today...

and I couldn't bee any happier or more in love.

I'm so grateful for the wonderful man Michael is and for how well he takes care of me and Elijah.

I love you babe. I'm glad your mine forever!

June Goal

2011-06-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this month (yes I have to double up because I didn't do my goal AT ALL last month) is to recognize the beauty and happiness that surrounds me. To help me recognize these things I am going to take a picture everyday of something that is beautiful and/or makes me happy. Over my first two weeks I'm finding that most of my pictures are of E. What can I say, he makes me happy. :)

Finally! A warm "summer" day!

Playing outside with mom's sunglasses

E has decided to start spitting out food he doesn't feel like eating.

This makes breakfast (and all other meals) very messy.

This has become our post-breakfast ritual. Bath in the sink.

We went down to Spanish Fork for their Wild West Days.

E LOVED the little petting zoo.

Michael's brother Joe was in town with his wife and 3 little girls.

We went out to dinner with them and Zack and Marissa.

The girls can NEVER get enough of E.

This is a horrible picture, but it shows exactly just how much they love little E.

I'm a slacker and didn't take a picture.

But we were in the car driving to Idaho this day.

Michael had work in Idaho so E and I went with him so we could visit some old friends. We had so much fun catching up, playing games, and going to the park. Don't you just love her little smile?

That's the face she gave me as soon as I pointed the camera her direction.

On our way home from Idaho we stopped in Brigham City for a few minutes to get pictures of E in front of this cool blue wall.

Again, I didn't take a picture. :(

A while ago Michael went to the store and when he came home he had these diapers.

He said he just couldn't resist! :)

One of Those Days

2011-05-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

We had one of those days on Wednesday that makes being a mother so wonderful. E and I had fun lounging around and playing. Those days make the hard ones worth it.

This is me trying to get pictures of his teeth. He switches from happy to sad in a matter of seconds.

Then we had some fun "eating" tags.

A Favorite

2011-05-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my last post, Michael and I have been eating some pretty great dinners around here because of the ladies over at

Seriously EVERY recipe I have made of theirs has turned out FABULOUS! Even better, the new recipes have ignited a new love of cooking. And that's always great because I LOVE to eat good food.

Here are some of our favorite recipes

French Dip Sandwiches

Dressed-Up Sloppy Joes 

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

Candied Walnut Salad

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

{The BEST chocolate chip cookies I have EVER made}

Pizzokies

{Great idea to cook them in ramekins. I made mine in individual silicon cupcake "tins"}

Stove Top Kettle Corn

And a few more from their cookbook that we have tried.

{I got the cookbook from my mother in law for Mother's Day. Thank you!}

Cranberry Orange Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Pork Tacos with Chili Verde

Yes we loved every recipe we have tried. If you haven't checked out their site you should...right now.

Thanks Sara and Kate!

Our Weekend

2011-05-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend! It was warm we did fun stuff and spent lots of time together. It doesn't get much better than that! Friday night we went on a DATE. Michael and I realized last week that we have not been doing a very good job at "dating" each other. Yes we go out to dinner every once in a while and we watch movies together, but it's been a long time since either one of us has planned a date that makes the other feel special because we took just a little time over the week to plan something. This week was my week to take Michael on a date. And I must say it turned out great!

Michael had been talking all week about how there were some two player games he wanted to get so that we could play games, just the two of us. On Friday I picked up two of the games and we borrowed my mom's wii. I printed up a score sheet and bought some "gold medals". Making the score card and grabbing gold medals really made the date. They took it from fun to fabulous. Here's how it worked.... We played each game and the winner of the game or round won a gold medal. It was a lot of fun. Michael and I enjoy a little competition in our relationship.

Meet our "Gold Medal" Date

And I must point out the medal count.

Saturday afternoon we went on a hike. Nothing too intense, just fun. It was nice to get outside and enjoy the sun on our skin. After we walked along the trail for a while we walked down to Rock Canyon Park where we had the most delicious chicken salad sandwiches! They are seriously SO good. (More about the good food we have been enjoying coming later).

Sunday was fabulous, as always. We drove up to West Jordan to hear my sister Jessika give her homecoming talk. She just got back from her 18 month mission to Leeds, England. Afterwards we went to our own ward where E decided not to sleep and was loud through all 3 hours of church. When we got home he found a new chew toy.

Mother's Day

2011-05-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was wonderful this year and was extra special because I have a baby of my own.

Now that I am a mother I really do appreciate my mom, and all mothers, so much more. As mothers we have such an important responsibility to love, nurture, and teach our children. I'm grateful for my mom and the dedication she put into raising her family. I am also grateful for my mother in law and the wonderful job she did in raising Michael. He is perfect for me and I know much of that is because of her firm testimony and unwavering diligence in teaching him truth.

As I listened to the speakers in church on Sunday tell of their sweet mothers I was once again reminded of the new burden I bear of mother. I could literally feel the weight of this new role bearing down upon me as I listened to stories of wonderful women and how they had magnified the calling of mother. As I think of my future as a mother I am filled with anxiety, faith, and joy. I am so new at this "mother" thing that I can't claim to know anything! However, I have faith that my Heavenly Father--who is the perfect parent--will help me. He knows me and my children. He will help me when I fail and strengthen me in my role as a mother. I am grateful that He has blessed me with wonderful examples of great mothers and with tools to help me become a better mother.

One "tool" that I recently discovered is the book Teaching Your Children Joy

By Linda and Richard Eyre.

I started reading this book just before Mother's day and it has filled me with joy. In the introduction the Eyre's explain that the most important thing you can give your children is love, but after that the most important thing we have give them or teach them is to have joy. And they aren't just talking about a happy sort of joy, but joy in work, spiritual joys and much much more. I'm borrowing this book from my mother in law, but I wish I had my own copy because I have been restraining myself from writing all over it and taking notes in the margins!

Another reason I LOVE this book is because it's not one of those parenting books where you read a few chapters and you feel as though you keep reading the same 3 paragraphs that state the author's opinion over and over and over again. The Eyre's are very to-the-point in this book. They give real examples of each joy, ways you can teach them, stories that demonstrate them, and examples of how children have experienced the joys. I can't wait to keep reading! Who knows, maybe I'll become more joyful in the process too!

Easter

2011-05-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

We went down to Arizona for Easter and it was FABULOUS!

The weather was so warm which was a nice break from the cold Spring weather we have been having here in Utah. Our weekend was filled with lots of family, good food, and laughter.

The Easter Pageant was so great.

I'm really happy that I was finally able to see it after hearing Michael talk it up for so long.

E excited to go to the Pageant

On Sunday the boys took some funny pictures. I don't think they are capable of taking a serious picture! :)

Grandpa trying to keep E from crying.

E relaxing on our bed

The Shave

Michael's Dad had grown his beard out for the Easter Pageant and Sunday night was the day to shave it off. It was quite the process with interesting looks emerging. I think the boys had fun.

It was a great Easter and I"m so happy we were able to share it with our Arizona family.

Sick & Tired or Tired & Sick

2011-05-02T18:10:00.001-07:00

Sick Daddy + Sick Mommy + Sick and Teething Baby

=

Not a Fabulous Weekend

But we did enjoy watching some movies and snuggling our little snuggle bug a little more!
Now that we are on the mend I'm ready to clean our house and document all the fun things that have been going on around here! (Before we got sick that is.)

It's The Little Things

2011-04-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

This month I wanted to focus on enjoying (or at least not hating) the little mundane tasks that I do around the house every day. I really enjoy having a clean house but let's be honest...I don't really enjoy actually doing the laundry or the dishes or any of the other odd jobs that contribute to having a clean house. In fact, one of the worst moments of my week is when I get ready for bed Monday night and I place a few dirty clothes in the empty dirty clothes basket. And menu planning, don't even get me started. It's agonizing trying to figure out meals for 2 weeks!

As I thought about this month's goal I realized that it is easier for me to complete tasks when I have a specific time to do them and when I'm organized. So I went through my "chores" and made sure that I had a specific time to complete them. For example I menu plan during E's first nap on Monday mornings.

Here are some little things that have helped me enjoy the mundane a little more.

Menu Planner

We needed something to keep track of what we were eating each week so I made this. I love it and love using it so it helps make menu planning slightly more fun.

Bounce Dryer Bar

(Picture from bounceeverywhere.com)

I can't decide what I like best about this little beauty...

the amazing scent

the super soft clothes

the fact that I NEVER have to remember a dryer sheet

This little saying/Household Motto has been at the front of my mind past month.

If I just do the dishes right away and fold the clothes right away things work out a lot better.

My house ends up being cleaner and there isn't as much to pick up at the end of the day.

Which means I have more time to spend with Michael, and that makes me happy.

6 Months

2011-04-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old!

If feels like yesterday we were soaking him in for the first time in the hospital.

Michael and I are so grateful he has come to our little family. We love him so much and can't imagine life with out our little munchkin man.

So...what have we done this past month...

Tried some rice cereal.

I think he liked it.

He mastered the skill of rolling over.

I think he is MUCH happier now that he can "move around"

Now he is "scooting" all over the place. In fact we find him in crazy positions each morning because he is scooting around all over his bed.

Learned how to laugh.
Previously his "laugh" was more like a scream!
This video is a perfect "in between" stage. Part scream part laugh.

Got a hair cut.

That's right. His hair was getting so long that it wouldn't stick up anymore. It started doing this horrible comb over thing. I wasn't a fan so we trimmed his hair!

see not so cute

I can't find my pictures of the actual hair cut but I'll post them when I do

Our little guy has lots of nick names too:

buddy-boy-ski

elijah treuski

munchkin man

munchkin face
munchkin munch
mr. man
freddy

"E"

Conference Weekend

2011-04-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

We had a WONDERFUL conference weekend! It was so great to hear from the leaders of our church and be uplifted and strengthened. On Saturday we went on a walk between sessions to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather. It was in the mid 70's and we were loving the warm sun on our skin. We even had to turn on the air conditioner when E went to bed because his room had gotten SO HOT from the afternoon sun. (We live on the 3rd floor and have huge West facing windows so our house gets really warm in the afternoon.) It was so nice to get out and it made us so excited for permanent warmer weather.

Then...Sunday morning we woke up to windows that looked like this...

So I decided to go outside and capture the beautiful SPRING weather!

Michael and E decided to stay inside and keep warm!

But later they braved the cold to come take a walk with me.

Then we went inside and enjoyed both sessions of conference. E slept through most of the sessions so it was a lot easier for Michael and I to listen. But when he was awake he had fun enjoying conference in daddy's arms.

Passion in 2011

2011-03-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

This post is overdue, but I really need to record it for me.

To be honest, I was a slacker in the month of February. I don't know what it was... starting the month out by going out of town, the cold weather that hit when I was starting to look forward to Spring, or feeling old after my birthday. I don't know, but I just didn't live with passion like I wanted to. However I did complete some of my goal.

For February I wanted to send letters to people I care about letting them know that I care. This was something I was really good at before I got married. In fact, Michael has a whole BOAT LOAD of cards and letters I wrote him while we were dating and engaged. Sadly I have gotten out of the habit of writing to people and telling them how I care or feel or just saying thank you for their kind words.

I only sent out a few cards, but while I wrote them and thought of the recipients reading them my heart filled with love for them and gratitude for their examples and the wonderful memories we share. Pausing to think about those who have positively influenced my life makes me a happier and more grateful person. I really have been richly blessed with wonderful friends and family. I am so grateful for each and every one of them and the inspiration they are to me.

And for those of you who are such great friends and loved ones...Thank you! I love you!

2011-03-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, March is almost over! Where has the time gone? My baby is 5 1/2 months old and we have been busy.

Busy playing in our new toy. That ball looks SO exciting doesn't it?

Lots of finger sucking. {And giving mommy weird looks.}

We had a fun when some cousins came over. Delanie and Gracie had a lot of fun holding E!

{Worried Eyes}

And I just love this picture because it shows just how chubby my little man is!

Michael...

has been busy at work. He is slowly easing his way into his new position. He is really enjoying being out in the schools and interacting with the teachers who are using Imagine Learning. There is a little more travel involved and we are all getting used to it.

Me...

I have been busy taking care of our little munchkin, cleaning, and crafting. I am enjoying being home and taking care of my family. Life is great and we are happy.

New Toy

2011-02-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

We got a new blender. We are in LOVE with it.

Now that we have it, and it's powerful enough to actually blend stuff,

we are in LOVE with green smoothies.

This recipe is my favorite. You would NEVER know there was spinach in it.

1 cup green grapes

1 large slice of pineapple

1 slice of lime (with peel)

1 large handful of spinach (we put about 3 LARGE ones)

1/4 of an apple

1/2 banana

1 tsp. Agave nectar or honey

1 1/2 cups of ice

Seriously SO good!

4 Months

2011-02-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

I never posted pictures when E turned 3 months, but, the the above phrase has been his motto for the past two months. He really has "woken up" and started to show his personality. He still is a really relaxed baby. He loves to just sit and play in his bouncer or wherever we set him, but if he decides to have an opinion about something he is not afraid to show it. He can be a little intense. :)

Here are some facts about Mr. E

He has become quite the observer. It is hard to get him to sleep at church because he is so busy watching what everyone is doing.
He is laughing more but sometimes we still just get a big grin and a wide open mouth that looks like it's laughing but stays silent. Michael says, "insert laugh here".
Grandpa Allred taught him how to go "brrrrr" with his lips. He does it ALL the time now and even does it after we do. Usually it is accompanied with bubbles and lots of spit.
Weight: 16.3 lbs.
Length: 24.5 inches
Head Circumference: 16 inches

And some more facts, but these come with pictures.

DROOL

That's right...lots and lots of it. See what I mean...

He also discovered the joy of splashing in the bathtub. He LOVES it! In fact, one day when I lifted his leg up to wash it (mid splash) he screamed and started throwing a fit. As soon as I put the leg back down he stopped and went right back to splashing. See what I mean...a little intense. This boy knows what he likes!

FINGERS

Yes, this boy LOVES his fingers. Sometimes I have to pry them out of his mouth to feed him and as soon as he is finished with his meal they pop right back in. What about a pacifier you say? Well he decided fingers taste much better.

HAIR

His hair has gotten so long. But of course the sides thinned out a lot from rubbing. The top has kept on growing though, so now he has hair that is 2 1/2 inches long on top and a bunch of baby fuzz growing on the sides mixed with a few long ones that didn't fall out. Seriously it's out of control! This is what it looks like when I just let it dry. {It doesn't look much better when I try to style it either!} People still stop us wherever we go and comment on how blond it is.

And since I didn't post any pictures from when he was 3 months old here they are. I think he changed so much in just one month!

And the reason I didn't post when he was 3 months old. I didn't get very many pictures. After a while they all started to look like this. :)

Few Things are Better Than...

2011-02-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

I love the way his breathings get slow and how sometimes he sighs.

I love how his body goes limp against mine as he drifts off to sleep.

I LOVE how he nuzzles his nose into me and WILL NOT let me move it so he can breath.

I love it when he makes a sucking motion with his empty mouth.

And, I LOVE when his eyes move and a small smile spreads across his face

as he slips into baby dream land.

Sometimes I wish I could just snuggle with him every time he sleeps.

{excuse the not so good cell phone picture}

Goals

2011-01-25T08:11:00.000-08:00

As Michael and I drove down to Arizona to celebrate Christmas with family we spent some time talking about goals and what we wanted to change, accomplish, and improve during 2011. At some point between Vegas and Mesa, in the middle of no where, this little phrase was born, and is my motto for 2011.

   passion |ˈpa sh ən|(noun) an intense desire or enthusiasm for something

It took some time to hash out my plan for 2011, but it was inspired mostly by my great friend Charity. You see Charity is the epitome of someone who lives life with passion |intense enthusiasm| every minute of every day. She takes the beautiful and the ugly that life has to offer and embraces it. She is excited to be alive and to experience all that this mortal life has to offer. It is her great example that made me realize that I have sometimes taken a "back seat" to life, just letting life pass me by. Yes I enjoy my days and weeks, but I'm not satisfied with that anymore. I want to live life with intense enthusiasm, I want to wake up each morning excited to see what the day will bring, excited to see and participate in the things that the Lord has in store for me and my little family.

To help me cultivate a great enthusiasm for life I choose different aspects of life to focus on each moth. My hope is to share my experiences here and see how my life changes over the course of this year.

For the month of January I decided to make a plan each day. Simply list the tasks I wanted to accomplish in a day and cross them off as I went. Why? Well, after E was born I quickly realized that it was very easy as a new mom to fill my day with "nothing". (Don't get me wrong, I don't consider caring for my little one nothing) So often though, 3:30 would roll around and I would glance up at the clock and be shocked. I would think to myself, "Michael is getting off work in 1/2 an hour and I have done NOTHING all day. I would quickly race around the house and try to straighten up before he came home. I quickly felt very unfulfilled at the end of each day. So now I have been making a plan every day. I have categories and I choose a few tasks for each category every day.

Home/Family:

Dishes, Laundry, Mop,Cook Dinner (an area I have majorly slacked in since E was born!)buy groceries, clean the bathrooms, Do something nice for my husband...

Spiritual:

Read the scriptures, ensign, relief society lesson work on my ward calling, Serve someone...

Self:

Read a book, blog, take pictures, work on a sewing project...

So, how does this help me live with passion? Well...now when I wake up I already know what tasks I would like to complete each day and I can jump right in. No more sitting around thinking about all the thinks I should do. This also helps me get excited for the fun things that I plan! I have not been able to live this goal 100% this month but I have noticed a substantial difference between the days when I do make a list vs. the days that I don't. At the end of a "list day" I feel so much more accomplished. I can look in my planner and see all the tasks I was able to complete. And that feels good! (Even if some of those tasks include cleaning bathrooms!) I love doing this and I hope to make it a life-long habit from now on.

Now I can't wait to start next moths goal...

Christmas

2011-01-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas was really great this year! We went to Arizona for a whole week and enjoyed every minute of family, friends, food, games, and WARM weather (It was 75 on Christmas day)! Here are a few pictures from our trip.

I knew it was going to be a good break from the cold when this is what our drive looked like

These girls made Christmas morning a lot of fun

This is how Eli felt about Christmas morning

And Eli had more love than he knew what to do with. These girls sure do love their cousin.

There were tears when we left. I hope we get to see them soon. So does E!

2 Months

2010-12-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Our little boy is growing so fast. He is doing great and getting SO big.

Stats from his 2 month well visit.

Height: 23.5 inches (68th percentile)

Weight: 13.2 pounds (84th percentile)

Head Circumference: 13.7 inches (14th percentile)

The first thing the doctor said when she walked into the room was,

"Wow, this little boy is growing like a weed!"

Yes she is right, and everyone isn't afraid to tell me just how "chunky" he is.

But we love his thunder thighs, little belly, and chipmunk cheeks!

Elijah started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago (you know the 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.

kind of sleeping through the night) and has slowly started to extend the time. Now we are up to 8 hours! It feels so good to get an uninterrupted nights sleep again. Funny thing is, looking back it doesn't feel like those sleepless nights lasted that long even though while I was enduring them it felt like they would NEVER end.

Elijah's Story

2010-11-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying life as parents. How could you not when you get to look at this sweet face everyday!

HIS STORY

Elijah Treu 

Early in the morning (4 am to be exact) on October 8, 2010 I woke up and realized that my water had broken. We were admitted into the hospital and in our room by 8 am. I was given pitocin since I wasn't contracting. Contractions began and Michael was a WONDERFUL coach. He did his job remembering all of the techniques we had learned in our labor class. The time FLEW by. The next thing I knew it was 3 pm and the doctor was in the room preparing for the delivery. Next the nurse told me they were ready and it was time to start pushing. After just a few pushes Elijah was here. It was such a beautiful moment and I can't even begin to describe the range of emotions that ran through me as I saw my sweet boy for the first time.

We are adjusting to our new life but loving every minute of it. We just sit sometimes and laugh at the faces he makes. The diaper changes are always an adventure that often leave us in tears of laughter.

One big change we have noticed...the amount of laundry. I knew a baby would increase the amount of laundry I had to do each week, but NEVER did I imagine it would increase this much! The first night home Eli went through 3 pairs of pj's due to blowouts and spit up! Luckily things have slowed down. (I think we are getting smarter!)

Here are some of his faces that we have captured. I know you moms out there are probably laughing at our giddiness but we just can't get enough of him!

Here is a collage of the many faces Elijah makes when waking up. He HATES waking up from his beauty sleep. He does what we call the Thriller Stretch where he imitates Michael Jackson's zombie dance moves. He stretches and yawns, then he cries a little bit. Eventually he puts on his happy face letting mommy know that he is ready to be fed.

Changing

2010-10-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

Eli is now 12 days old and he has already changed so much. That "curly" hair of his is now straight. Well at least when it's dry. The second we get it wet it curls right up and then slowly relaxes as it dries. Michael and I just adore him! We feel so blessed to have this little boy join our family. We thank Heavenly Father every day for sending him to us. He are just some pictures we have taken. They aren't great by any means but we were just playing around!

"Super Eli" these are the goggles that he could wear in the bili lights

Sorry about the color on this one...but here is Eli "tanning" in the bili lights.

We hated putting him in there.

Elijah Treu

2010-10-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

He is here!

Our little Elijah joined our family on Friday, October 8, 2010.

3:24 pm

7 lbs. 3 oz

19 1/2 inches

He is a perfect little angel

Conference Weekend

2010-10-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was General Conference and it was AMAZING. I feel so uplifted and ready to make the changes and course corrections counseled by our living prophet and apostles. I'm so grateful for the messages that were shared and the peace that we felt as we listened to those great men testify of the truthfulness of the gospel and of our Savior Jesus Christ. To learn more about General Conference and the messages that were shared, click HERE

OUR WEEKEND
Michael and I watched conference at home on Saturday and then decided to head up to Salt Lake on Sunday. No, we didn't have tickets, but we decided to stand on a corner and try to get tickets. I know that LOADS of people do this so we didn't really think our chances were that great. But, seeing as our new little man will be here soon, future sessions will be slightly harder to attend. So with our BRIGHT ORANGE sign in hand we headed up North hoping to get into at least one session. When we got to Salt Lake we discovered that our "secret" parking lot was full. So we headed to the "free conference parking lot" only to find that that too was full. They directed us to a parking garage that we passed on our way into the city that still had plenty of spaces. By the time we parked we didn't have ANY time to try and make it into the conference center. So we watched the first session in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

After a quick trip back to the car to eat our homemade lunch we started walking toward the conference center holding up our BRIGHT ORANGE sign. Michael made me hold the sign thinking more people would have pity for the pregnant lady. :) On our way I overheard a man say that he had extra tickets and he gave two away. I stopped Michael and asked him to go and see if he had anymore. Guess what...he did! So with tickets in hand we booked it across the street to the conference center. You see, you are supposed to be in your seats 30 minutes before the session begins and at that point it was exactly 30 minutes before the next session. We hopped into the right line and waited for what seemed like FOREVER in the HOT sun. But we made it in. We were the last people in our line to make it in the doors and we made it to our seats with 3 MINUTES to spare! Not too shabby! Then we relaxed and enjoyed a great session of conference!

Life As a Substitute Teacher

2010-09-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks I have been substitute teacher for two reasons: (1) To pass the time until baby boy arrives (only 4 more weeks until my due date and I CAN NOT wait) and (2) To earn some extra cash, that's never a bad thing. Anyway... I haven't had too many jobs, but the ones I have been able to get have taught me some important lessons about children, teaching, and schools. I thought I would share.

LESSON 1: Each grade come with its own challenges and delights.

The other day I subbed for the music teacher at my old school. That day I was able to teach every grade level, K-6. I came away with some great insights into each grade.

KINDERGARTEN- they could possible be the CUTEST kids in the whole school. They are so little. However, they can't to ANYTHING by themselves. They also say the most random things, like, "My mommy is having a baby too and she is naming her Shaniqua" right when we are reading "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." OR "I know why your tummy is so fat. Because you have a baby in there."

FIRST GRADE- They are still so little and again can't really do much on their own. They still say the MOST random things only now they can raise their hand and wait for you to call on them before they share that they went camping 2 weeks ago.

SECOND GRADE- They are getting a little older, but are still capable of having "accidents" in class. Not the most pleasant thing to deal with. They are so cute, but DO NOT think I'm funny. I was teaching and and they would just look at me with a blank stare. I was sitting there thinking to myself, "Hello, I'm funny, laugh already!"

THIRD GRADE- In my opinion possibly the BEST grade EVER. They are getting older, they think I'm funny, they still LOVE their teacher, but they are also getting bigger and are learning more complicated subject matter.

FOURTH GRADE- Also another GREAT grade. And since I was able to teach about half of my old students I might be a little biased, but they could be the SECOND best grade. Again, they think I'm funny but are still young.

FIFTH GRADE- Getting older and a little bit "too cool" for school. But, I can still get them to do what I want them to.

SIXTH GRADE- Here is where I'm just at a loss. They come in with a "way too cool for school" attitude and I don't really know how to change their minds. I admire those that can teach 6th graders when they have this attitude AND when they are starting to smell bad. And I mean REALLY bad!

LESSON 2 - The Principal Makes ALL The Difference

Today I taught 1/2 day for a full day kindergarten teacher. Her class was HARD. If I was the teacher of those students I would have a hard time with some of them. However, her class was COMPLETELY out of control. I did my best to manage them and I felt as though I was failing ... miserably! But ... when the end of my time drew closer 2 of the aids told me I was doing a fabulous job that the morning had gone better than most mornings ever do! I was shocked. Then when I was leaving the school several people in the office asked if I had "SURVIVED" because they knew how hard of a class it was.

I was thinking to myself, if you KNOW that the class is so hard, why don't you DO something about it!

I have personally taught in 2 schools and I have learned that the PRINCIPAL makes all the difference. Now, you might be saying ya ok, but the teacher is really the one who matters. Yes, your child's teacher is the one who will be directly interacting with your child each day ... BUT ... it is the PRINCIPAL that sets the tone for the whole school. Do you want a principal that asks your teacher if they "survived" or one whole helps your teachers succeed and gives them guidance and resources to succeed?

I can honestly say that I had one of the best PRINCIPALS and FACILITATORS at Sunset View. They were strong leaders that set you up for success, who care for EACH and EVERY teacher AND STUDENT. They EXPECTED the VERY BEST from each of us, and because they expected it, we GAVE IT! That school is one of the most well run school I have EVER seen. Thank you Anne-Marie and Michelle for making my teaching experience such a wonderful one. I learned a lot about education and TRUE leadership from both of you.

Now, will you still be around when my kids are in school? Because I don't want to send them anywhere else!

Utah State Fair

2010-09-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

We went to the Utah State Fair this weekend with some family. It was a lot of fun. My favorite part...PIG RACES. It was so funny. They raced 4 different groups and each group had hilarious names. Makayla was the "cheerleader" for our section one time so she won a pig nose and had to get up and dance. It was fun to get out of the house and be with family.

Games

2010-08-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Michael and I looked through the pictures on our computer and we started talking about all the things we have done together. Unfortunately we have been horrible at recording those things so we have a tendancy to FORGET all the fun we have. So in an effort to be better about recording what we do I'm going to do a series of posts that will aid as a reminder of all the fun we've had this summer and all the projects we have completed.

One thing our summer has been filled with is GAMES. And I'm not talking about our usual board games, but rather, lawn games. First Michael made a Lawn Golf game. He had been looking at them online for quite some time and just decided that he could make one better and cheaper. So he did. This game was a BIG family hit! The point of the game is to throw the golf balls toward the PVC pipe tower and hopefully get it to land on a rung. You need to get 21 points before your opponent does. We have had a lot of fun with it.
White = negative 1 point
Red = negative 2 points
Blue = 1 point
Yellow = 2 points
Green = 3 points
Black = 4 points
And I'm so good at this game that the first time we played I got to NEGATIVE 21 before Michael got to Positive 21!

Next came Bocce Ball. If you don't know what that is the best way to describe it is sort of like bowling. Or maybe not...anyway...its fun, you should play. Michael researched Bocce sets online for days and then finally decided on one. He was just like a kid in a candy shop when we brought it home. He wanted to play right away. Since it was pitch black outside we decided we would gently roll the balls inside the house to play. (note: if you have ever played Bocce you know that the balls are heavy, really heavy, and not really meant to be an indoor game.) That didn't last long so since then we have played each other in the common area at our complex, up in the canyon, with some friends, with Makayla, and with the rest of my family. This one was a hit too. And as a side note, I just might add that Michael hasn't beaten me yet! I like this game!

Oh and let's not forget the fact that we have been, and still are, anxiously anticipating the start of our favorite "GAME". Yes, yes, that count down has been up on our wall when it was still 40 days away. We finally made it to single digits. We can't wait. Michael comes home from work everyday and fills me in on the latest news. Today it was the starting quarterback.

And just for the sake of documenting...here is a picture of my growing belly. This was at 29 weeks. I'm 32 today, only 8 more. I can't believe it. Our little guy will be here before we know it.

4th Of July

2010-07-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

We had such a great 4th. It started out with the most fabulous lemon poppy seed pancakes. Found here.

Then we headed down to Provo to watch the parade. Our good friends the Mains saved us
a primo spot by sleeping on the curb all night.
Yes people in Provo take their 4th of July very seriously!

The parade was fun. We got to see our favorite person...Cosmo!

Since the 4th was on Sunday Stadium of Fire was on Saturday night. We LOVE stadium of fire fireworks and we love watching them for free! Michael and I set up for the night west of the conference center at BYU. We grilled up some hamburgers and ate the best peaches, strawberries, and salsa salad!

Another bonus this year...we could hear the whole program from our seats, meaning we got to hear the whole Carrie Underwood concert.

Plans for the rest of the summer...

1 quick trip to Arizona
1 baby room to get ready for the arrival of our little man
3 weddings to go to (yes they are ALL siblings)

This and That

2010-07-17T11:12:00.001-07:00

This summer has gotten off to a good start and Michael and I have
done so many fun things!

The day school got out (May 28th) Michael and I got the keys to our new condo.
We moved out of our cold dark newlywed apartment and into a much newer 3rd floor condo.
The 3rd floor part is important to mention because this means that we have loads more
sunlight streaming into our home, and being from Arizona and Californai...we LOVE it!

Anyway, we moved in that Friday and Saturday
(many thanks to all those that helped in the process!)
Then the next day we hopped on a plane and headed to Nauvoo!

Neither of us had ever been there and since Michael's youngest brother Caleb (pictured below)
is serving as a Young Performing Missionary there we thought it was the best time to go.

Here are some other pictures from the vacation.

After spending 4 days in Nauvoo we had a day to spend here...

St. Louis. It was fun...very different from home but we had a good time.

Then we went to this lovely girl's wedding.

And then we headed home. All in all, the trip consisted of 6 take offs and 6 landings (got to love Southwest) , lots of road kill, (none that we hit) and plenty of laughs and good times.
It was a great way to start the summer!

And The Verdict Is...

2010-06-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

It's a BOY! Michael and I are so excited.

I have so much to post about but since we just moved we don't have internet. I'll post more when we get it all hooked up.

Happenings

2010-04-20T21:11:00.001-07:00

Even if we haven't posted anything in a long time we HAVE been busy.

I was able to hang out with these beautiful girls the other night.
I had the best roommates while at BYU. I miss them!

Michael is still working here

He really likes working for Imagine Learning and just
had the opportunity to go here on business.

He did a little of this while he was there

I'm still working here

But I won't be working there next year because...

we will be having one of these!

2009-11-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

Hello Blogging world! I'm sure many of you have looked at our blog for a long time and have been thinking something like, "Ok, California was great, but what else is going on." Or maybe you have just given up on even checking for something new. Well... because of that, I have made a decision to temporarily leave to blogging world!

If your are curious as to why here is an explanation.

I love looking at all of you beautiful people and the things that you do.

I love looking at all of the wonderful creations that you make.

Photographs, bows, cakes, and so much more!

I crave the ability to create such things right now, and it kills me to look at your ideas

and become so inspired to create something of my own when I don't have the time.

Its just not the season for me to do that right now.

So for now ... I will just create a great classroom, 26 happy 3rd graders

that absolutely mean the world to me, little minds that are thirsting for knowledge,

and a home full of love.

Michael and I still want to be friends with you!

So call us!

Email us!

We would love to hear from you!

So ... until things change happy blogging and I'll be back one day!

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

California

2009-07-22T14:56:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago Michael and I went to California with my family. To start our vacation Michael and I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house on the way to the airport. It was beautiful! My Grandmother works in the office there so we were able to walk through with her. It was great!

Once in California we had a blast. We went to the beach and to Magic Mountain. It was great to be with the family again and back in my home town!

Death in the Family

2009-06-28T10:45:00.001-07:00

Last week Michael and I decided to take a trip to Arches National Park for our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY. It seemed like a great place to get away from the capstone paper and enjoy the Summer. It proved to be just that . . . with a few extra surprises in store.

Arches is beautiful! We drove down Wednesday evening and woke up bright and early Thursday to fit in a whole day of hiking. We saw the beautiful arches pictured below and had a lot of fun.

The place where Wall Arch once stood

Thursday evening it rained a little, so Michael and I took cover under our tent's awesome rain fly and ate our delicious peach cobbler. Despite Michael's face he did enjoy it.

However, there was a tragedy while we were in Moab. If you know Michael you should know that the 1996 Chevy Lumina he bought after his mission was named "Grandpa". After hiking all day Thursday we decided to head back to our camp. On the drive back, Grandpa overheated. We had to pull over to let him cool down and once he did we were able to make it back to our campsite. However, just as we pulled in to the campsite, he overheated again and died. We had him towed the next morning to a local mechanic, whose number we got from the kind ladies that were camping in the site next to ours. While the mechanic took a look at Grandpa we walked the entire length of down town Moab (only 2 miles long) looking at all the cute shops. After killing time for two hours, we returned to hear the diagnosis on our beloved family member. We were very hopeful when we walked up to the shop and saw Grandpa backed out of the garage and parked outside. Michael and I both thought we would be driving home in him that night. However, the mechanic, with a grim face, (like a doctor telling someone their family member had just passed away) informed us that Grandpa's engine was completely fried! We decided that Grandpa had finally come to the end of his road, seeing as it would cost more to fix him up than Michael originally paid for him.

Having come to grips with the passing of Grandpa, the only problem that faced us now was figuring out how to get home with all our camping gear. The only rental car agency had pulled out of Moab exactly one week earlier, so that option wasn't going work. We even contemplated buying a brand new car at one of the two little dealerships there in Moab (not really though). After getting in touch with my mom she told us she could pick us up but it wouldn't be until the next morning so . . . we needed to find a place to stay for the night. There were plenty of little motels and hostels in town, but we called up our friends from the neighboring campsite Terri and Deb and they offered to let us camp with them at their site for a night! They were so generous. They came and picked us up at the auto shop, with all our gear, feed us dinner and breakfast and even shared their S'mores! Michael and I will never forget their generosity. This world is filled with some absolutely amazing people. All in all it was a memorable trip and we will not soon forget the experiences and the people we met during our adventure in Moab, Utah.

Grandpa in his final resting place: Moab, Utah.

Someday Soon

2009-06-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Michael is finishing his capstone paper (35 pages of research and analysis. Michael is sick of typing and thinking about Eisenhower and the Pact of Madrid). So I'm waiting patiently with all of our camping gear in the front room so we can take off to Arches as soon as the paper is turned in. Pictures will come as soon as we get back!

Summer Days

2009-06-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well, Summer is here! This last weekend we went up to our friend's cabin. We had lots of fun laughing eating and eating LOTS of good food. Thanks guys for a great time.

Blessings

2009-05-19T19:54:00.001-07:00

Yes... that is the grade that I will be teaching next year! And...I could not be happier. I have enjoyed 5th grade, but now I know that lower grades are a much better fit for me! I'm not going to be at Canyon Crest anymore, I will be moving to Sunset View Elementary.

For a while we were wondering if I would even find a job in Utah, so we feel so blessed that this opportunity presented itself and that it is at such a wonderful school.

I'm already antsy for summer so I can start planning for the new year.
Michael is doing well, he is slaving away writing a CRAZY paper for his Capstone Course. He is busy but is doing a great job. We both can't wait for the rest that summer will bring!

Priceless

2009-04-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Dealing with a class that talks, and talks, and talks... hard.

Dealing with off task students for 6.5 hours a day... SUPER hard.
Having students talk back to you and be disrespectful...CRAZY hard.
Walking into class and seeing this on the front board...PRICELESS!

Or having a student bring me this after I had to email his mom because of his behavior...another PRICELESS moment.

My student Elisabeth made the graduation poster and then had the class sign it. When I walked into my room Monday morning I just smiled. It was so nice to know that my students were thinking of me when I was gone. I may not get to see that they like me everyday and that is one thing that can make teaching hard, but moments like that make it all worth it. As far as Ty's letter...the only reason I post it is because he came to school sorry, but so happy to do better the next day. And he was!!! He still had his adorable personality and little quirks that only Ty has, but he was so much better and because of that I know he learned a lot more. I love my job.

Graduation

2009-04-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

We finally made it. Its hard to believe that for now our BYU careers are over. We had a great time and are excited for the new adventures that life brings, but we will never forget our time at BYU.

Thank You Spring Break!

2009-04-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed with work and applying for jobs. I never really have time to do things around the house. All I ever get to do is clean (and trust me, some weeks its hard to do that.) But this week was different... I had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off because of spring break. So I did some projects that I have been DYING to do! It feels great to finaly finish these projects and let the creativity flow! Thank you Spring Break!

I repainted this coffee table and added some foam to the top to make it a bench. (There isn't much space in our front room for furniture so this is perfect!) I got the pillows for free so I just paid for the fabric. It has a great green print. (You can't really see the green in the picture)

I was also able to hang these pictures in our bedroom. The frame with the 6 openings was originally $19.95 but I got it for $3.00! Only because there is a tiny nick in one cornner.
Thank you Walmart.

And thanks Mom for your help!

All Things Cellular

2009-02-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

For the last little while I have been teaching a cell unit to my 5th graders. Its been interesting and I think they have liked it. The best part of the whole thing was the cell models. They were supposed to create a 3D model of a cell and present it to the class. They had NO clue what to do when I first explained the assignment, so I took Michael's suggestion and made one out of Jell-o and candy. {he made one like that in school} My students thought it was great. So on the day it was due what did I have... 15 cells made out of Jell-o. I guess they are still learning how to be creative. These are a few of my favorite. {They are also some of the most original} They all did a really great job!

Be Mine

2009-02-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

First i have to start with my "school valentines day". At the beginning of the week my students started asking if we were doing Valentine Boxes this year. I asked what they were and they explained that they were boxes that you create in order to collect all of your Valentines. So I said, "Yes go ahead and make them then bring them on Friday." I never gave it a second thought until my students started coming to class with these creations.

A robot as tall as me

A cash register

A hippo with a tutu

Once again my students were so sweet and gave me plenty of treats. When I finally went to my desk at the end of the day this is what I found.

The next day {on the actual day} Michael and I decided to go out to breakfast instead of dinner. That way we miss all the crowds! We went to Maglebys, it was delicious!

We woke up to this.

We exchanged cards in Target.

I could not have asked for a better day! Hope you all had a great Valentines day!

Birthday

2009-02-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

My birthday was forever ago, but Michael made it such a great day that I had to post something about it. Michael made me breakfast and sent me on a treasure hunt to find the gifts that his parents had mailed. After that... he said, "So do you want my present for you?" I told him that I wanted to wait until that night but he was so excited to give it to me that he just couldn't wait! So he snuck into our closet and came out with a nice winter jacket. The whole time I have lived in Utah I have not had a nice winter jacket. I was so surprised and excited! He is so sweet.

That night we went out to dinner at Red Robin {yum} Later that night the door bell rang and in walks two of Michael's old roommates. I looked at him and he said, "I invited a few people over. I forgot to tell you." Well the few people turned into everyone I know in Provo, old roommates and friends, and a lot of couples from our ward. It was so crazy. We stayed up really late talking with all of our friends, but it was WONDERFUL! Thank you Michael!

2009-01-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Yes we are alive! I know we are lame for not updating more. I'm sure you don't want to hear my excuses about how busy I have been so I will just skip that part and make us all feel better.

So for the good things... Michael was invited to teach seminary this semester!

He is teaching one 9th grade class in Payson at Mt. Nebo Jr. High. Except for a few rough days at the start of the semester (where the students were testing him out) he is enjoying every minute. One student even gave him peanut m&m's after class one day! (I knew the students would love him.)

Teaching is going well for me. I can't believe I only have 4 more months until I am done with my FIRST year of teaching! It has been a hard year, but I already can't wait to start over again and do all of the things I messed up on a litte better the next time around. But oh man that SUMMER break is looking pretty good right now.

Speaking of SUMMER our weather has been crazy! It snowed flakes the size of grapes Sunday morning and then rained all day after that. There is nothing worse than rain on top of snow. Especially when it freezes in the middle of the night! Luckily it snowed last night so when I drove to work this morning all of the trees were dusted with snow. That is one of my favorite things about winter. Snow covered trees! Now for a funny story that happened a while ago. So I have heard of "not microwave safe" and "not dishwasher safe" but I have never heard of "not refrigerator safe"! And yet, I woke up one morning, opened the fridge to get some milk for my cereal and this is what I found...

Yes, the mixing bowl cracked in the refrigerator. And without thinking we put a smaller matching bowl into the fridge a few days later and ended up with the same result!

Teaching, Halloween, and Pumpkins

2008-11-02T17:13:00.001-08:00

Once again it has been such a long time since we have posted. We will try to be better and find chances to post between all the homework and grading that we are buried in.

Teaching is going well. I find myself at school, or should I say work, by 7:40 in the morning and staying until 5:00 each night. I always go home with a big stack of papers to grade or something else, like placing book orders. Lately I have been extremely overwhelmed with all the demands that are placed on me as a classroom teacher. I have a few students that seem to find new ways to try my patience each day. Dealing with these students was starting to wear on me. However, two weeks ago I had a great experience that helped me realize that I really do love doing this. I was standing in the hallway on duty, greeting students as they came in the front door when I was overcome with a great feeling that made me say to myself, "You know, I like this. I want to be here and I love what I'm doing." I was happy once again to by around students and watch their eyes light up when they learn something new. Although difficult, I'm happy to report that I love teaching again.

I got a free book from Scholastic this past week titled, Woe is I Jr. The Younger Grammarphobe's Guide To better English. I read part of one chapter and it explains exactly what has been going on in my classroom for the past two weeks.

"With grammar, it's always something. If it's not one thing, it's two (or four, or eight), and that's where plurals come in. The rules.

The S rule. To make most thing (including names) plural add s to the end.
The es Rule, if the thing (it mught be a name) ends in s, sh, ch, x or z, add es to the end.
The ies Rule, If a thing ends in y, drop the y and add ies.
However Rules, Add just s to a name that ends in y (like Jenny or Tommy) Add just s to a word like boy or key if the y comes after a, e, i, o, u.

Its been funny to teach this to 10 year olds who have a hard time keeping it all straight. This week we reviewed how to make plurals and we learned how to add -ing and -ed. By Friday I started getting confused with all of the CRAZY rules.

Michael is busy with school. He will be in the Springville Jr. seminary next week to begin teaching for his pre-service training class. He will teach everyday for two weeks. I know he will do a great job! He really is such a great teacher. Michael is so sweet, for the last few weeks when I have come home from work I have found a love note left for me. After a long day at school that is just what I need. Michael will graduate soon only one more semester. I know we are both excited for that. Then its on to the next step!

Halloween was fun. The 5th grade team of teachers decided to dress up like dolls. Like Raggedy Anne or something. Well, none of us looked like Raggedy Anne but we did look like dolls. It was a fun!

Halloween was such a crazy day. The students came to school acting as though they had already eaten all of their Halloween candy. They were bouncing off the walls. I must admit that not much teaching went on in the classroom that day. We did take our spelling test and vocabulary quiz. After that is was just Halloween stuff. We had all the kids changing into their costumes at lunch, a pumpkin carving contest, a school parade, and a class party.

The best part of the whole day... parents were invited to sit in they gym and watch as the students paraded by. As we walked through the gym I was amazed to see that more than half of the parents were dressed up! One was even in a big Sully costume from Monsters Inc.

It was hilarious. I have never seen so many people dressed up in one place. My students had some great costumes too. We had a Mormon missionary, Batman, a football player and a fruit of the loom grape guy. I had a lot of fun, but I'm glad that day is over.

Michael and I had a fun Halloween night! We ate my homemade Chili, which Michael loves, rented a movie from Blockbuster and just relaxed! I made a jack-o-lantern out of our tiny little pumpkin. The pumpkin was so small that we didn't even have room to carve a mouth...just eyes and a nose.

Our little house is doing great. Our heater doesn't always come on when we want it to, but when it does it works well. We are in the process of refinishing some furniture. Its been fun decorating. I will post some pictures of our house soon.

Fall Colors!

2008-10-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its here already!

I am sad to see summer leave, I'm going to miss relaxing and enjoying the carefree feeling that comes with the summer months. However, now that fall has finally arrived in Utah I could not be happier. I love the colors that come with fall and the crisp clean feeling of the cool air. There is a feeling of excitement that comes when fall arrives. Excitement for the holidays, snow, bundling up in your favorite sweater or jacket, drinking hot chocolate and so much more!

The hills have been dotted with color for a few weeks and Michael and I have been talking about driving up into the mountains just to get away and enjoy the change in season. Between General Conference sessions on Sunday we finally did it. We had been cooped up inside for two days and decided to take a quick break. We headed up Provo Canyon and drove the Alpine Loop.

It was so beautiful! We had a lot of fun, it was the perfect break between sessions of conference.

We are still alive!

2008-09-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

I know its been forever and those of you that do read our blog have probably started saying to yourself, "Allred's wow nothing new!" But in our defense we have been REALLY busy. I know... you all are not busy either right? Anyway a little update.

We have each now had our first days of school. Mine as a teacher almost 3 weeks ago today and Michael's back at BYU last week. Now we have started on our schedules and Michael already has gone to bed later than me and I have been up before him a few times. I fear that soon we will barely be seeing each other. But I guess that just the nature of things right now and it will get better soon.

School is going great. There are still a few things I need to get the hang of but I'm learning fast. I just had my first parent teacher conferences today! They went really well. I have some super sweet students that really just make my day. They remind me why I went into teaching every time they are busy working, learning and actually enjoying the lesson I have put together for them.

Michael seems to be doing well in school so far. He of course has a lot of reading being a History major. So I need to leave him alone so he can keep up! :)

Well I will put up some pictures soon hopefully. Both of our computers crashed with in a month of each other so we have lost a lot of our most recent pictures. I guess we have learned our lesson. We are now looking to buy an external hard drive. :) Well I'll update more soon hopefully.

Long Overdue... Larissa, this ones for YOU

2008-08-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

This summer Michael and I have been on so many trips. Since May we have driven to Arizona 3 times and we are now about to make our second trip to Zion National Park, after which, we will go to St. George for my sister's wedding. Wow, what a summer! Good thing gas prices aren't too expensive or anything. Anyway... one of the best things we did this summer was take the "long way" to Mesa in order to stop by Meteor Crater and Winslow Arizona to visit my good friend Larissa. Seeing Larissa in her "ranger outfit", listening to her give the tour guide speech, and visiting the oh so famous Winslow and taking pictures on "The Corner" were ALL worth the extra few hours of driving. Here are some pictures to show just how great the trip was.

"Standin' on the corner in Winslow Arizona..."

I just like this one