Sunshine

We went to the park on Saturday to enjoy the beautiful sunshine.  Lately Michael and I have been missing our warm and sunny hometowns, so this sunshine has been good for both of us.

Eli loves hanging out with his daddy.

Recently...

There has been a MAJOR lack of posting going on around here.  Hopefully that is about to change.  For now here is a little update on life in the Allred home.


Michael
He has been traveling A LOT.  Like every other week since January a lot.  If he hasn't been gone the whole week then he has been gone from Wednesday - Friday.  We are both hoping and praying for that to come to an end soon.

Besides the traveling he still enjoys working for Imagine Learning.  We both feel blessed to be a part of such a great company that does so much good.

When he is home, he has been helping me on many a project.  I'm sure inside he shakes his head a little when he sees my ever growing "project list" but he is always so supportive.

He is also training for a 1/2 marathon.  I never thought I'd see the day when he would become a runner.  He used to love quoting Elder Holland, saying, "I'll start running when I see runners smile."  I was wrong though, a runner he has become.  The increase in traveling has been really hard on his training schedule, but he is still making great progress.  I'm so proud of him.


12 Things Eli Does That We LOVE

1. He is sleeping like a champ.  12 1/2 hours at night and at least 2 sometimes 3 1/2 hours for naps.  And he happily goes down for the night and his naps.  Sometimes he even sings himself to sleep.

2. The only time he doesn't go down happily is when people are over.  Such a social butterfly.

3. I love how he walks around the house saying "weeee" when he is having a good time.

4. He is constantly looking out the front door for Oscar.

5. He gets really excited when he hears planes or helicopters. 

6. He says, bubble, dada, papa, ball, and baby.

7. He loves babies.  Our neighbor's baby, Alice, gets A LOT of attention whenever we hang out.

8. His favorite song is If You're Happy and You Know It.  He likes to clap and stomp. 

9. When we are at church and we start singing a Hymn he gets out the hymn book and starts leading the music and singing along.  

10. He nods his head or dances to the music that plays inside whatever store we are in.
11. He has the best tiger/lion/bear growl.

And probably my favorite thing, 

12. He is REALLY good at blowing kisses.  So cute.

He is at such a fun age.  He is learning so much and growing so fast.  Sometimes I look at him and wonder where my baby went.  He is becoming such a little boy.

Me
January was a hard month.  I never got that sick with Elijah and I'm grateful that this pregnancy was just about the same.  However, cold gloomy January mixed with January Blues and crazy pregnancy hormones was not a good combination for me.  But, I'm feeling much better.

Like I mentioned earlier, I have been working on a lot of projects.  Some have been in preparation for baby and others just for fun.  Unfortunately, many of them are only part way finished.  When I do get around to finishing them I'll post some pictures.  Mostly to document what I have been spending my "free time" on.  Besides cleaning, laundry, and cooking.  ;)





Here's a quote I thought of recently.  It has helped me get through some rough days.  I might frame it.  After I decide if I like the fonts.  I might play with it a little more.

This is said at the end of the Emma Smith movie that came out a while ago.  I love it.

A New Pair of Shoes

Christmas & New Years

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

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Family Photo Shoot

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}

Fall Hike

Zoo

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!

Bear Lake

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!

Snowflake, Arizona

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.