Family......

Our New Home In Utah

2010-04-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

Well we are finally in our own home in Utah. We are loving South Jordan area. It is very close to everything! Kids are doing really well and we love being back with our families. But a BIG part of us will always miss our life in Chicago. We made som wonderful friends there and hope to always keep in touch. I just wanted to show the house. Some of you have been hounding me to send pictures. I will send those on tomorrows blog....so stay tuned. This house has alot of character that we really love. I will show and explaing in more photos to come.

Snow day!

2008-12-19T12:05:00.001-08:00

Today school was cancelled...I was actually happy because it is the PERFECT day to do my Holiday baking. So we started early and are still baking..............One of our favorites(family tradition) Chex mix.

The girls are happy to help make some yummy cookies............

Taylor helped make the pretzel treats, these are yummy and look really cute!

Gracie - writing out her Christmas cards to her teachers.....look at how cute!

My little helper...I love her!

Ellie and Gracie took a break from the kitchen and wanted to go shovel the neighbor lady's driveway...They even thought of it on their own.

I think it has helped to play Christmas music first thing this morning because everyone is so..happy and spreading the cheer!

2008-12-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year! It came so fast. We have loved watching all the Christmas shows that are on EVERYNIGHT. And we have been watching them everynight. It is a great way to get the kids settled down for the night. They bring a fun spirit into the home. I remember always watching them as a small child and getting so excited for Santa to come. The kids are anxiously waiting for our elf Fiddles to come. (he is waiting for them to stop fighting) We are still trying to finish all the decorations, it seems to be taking me so long this year. I do love this time of year. The music, decorations, snow, stories, movies and of course the food! I hope that as we all are busy preparing for Christmas, that we focus on the true meaning and the true spirit of giving. We have talked to the kids and are excited to give more than receive this year. We have so much to be grateful for. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Day At The Foot Doctor............

2008-11-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, many of you know the story of my ankle right? Well for those of you who don't let me tell it to you. While we were in Mexico in August, I was on my was to the spa to get a wonderful leg & foot massage. I was SO excited for this all day. As I was walking to the golf cart for a ride to the spa, I walked down a set a stairs(well I was trying to walk down the stairs) when suddenly I was completely on the ground in total pain. I had fallen down the steps and rolled my ankle while hearing a loud POP! The Hotel bellboys came and got me with wheel chair and took me to the Hotel Dr. She then wanted to send me to the hospital. I said no as I was not wanting to go to a hospital in Mexico. She said at that point that she thought it was broken. She just gave me a shot and I said I would be fine and I was off to enjoy the rest of my trip, trying very hard not to be a baby, but I was in TOTAL pain! Anyway to make a long story short. That was almost three month ago and since we have been home it has really been bothering me, but my sweet husband said oh, it's not broken. I am sure it is a high ankle sprain that is really painful. So my life goes on and I continue to complain. So FINALLY my SWEET husband made me an apt with the Dr. that he just saw about his ankle that has been bothering him.hmmn!(poor guy) I saw the doctor today and he took an x-ray and OH MY GOSH!!!!! I should have listened to myself. It is BROKEN and I have been dealing with this all this time. Kelly, don't ever call me a wimp! so as for now I am in a soft cast for a week and then I have to go back to have an ultrasound done on it next week to look at the tendons and ligaments then we will decide what to do.Note to self- listen to the way YOU feel and not what OTHERS tell you! I love you Kelly...........It is broken on the Fibula just lower than the arrow right above my ankle.

Fall Pictures.............

2008-10-25T20:15:00.001-07:00

I finally got the girls pictures taken after 3 years. I have been wanting to get them done so that I can take the old ones down off my wall, so I don't look so bad because Gracie was just a baby. So I finally got it done! Here are just a few of the 200 that were taken today. I am going to have such a hard time deciding which ones I want blown up. HELP!!!!
This is just a fun one, I don't like the house in the background, but I love the tree.

My sweet little BABY...........she is so big now!

Cute little Ellie ......

Beautiful Taylor.......

I love pictures of my girls. Of course I think that they are the most beautiful girls in the world. Ok, I know it's just because I am the Mom. They are just getting so grown up. What am I going to do when they all start dating?

Tradition or Not.............................

2008-10-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I woke up this cold Sunday morning to start the preparation of our (or should I say MY) conference family tradition. That is HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS! My family looks very forward to these. Well I started out by making sure that I had yeast(in the freezer) and to my surprise I find 2 bags of FROZEN CINNAMON ROLLS! Hmmmm....I think to myself "I have had a crazy week and is my sweet husband trying to let me have some time to SIMPLIFY?" or I think to myself " He doesn't think that I am going to make them and so when the kids ask for them and I say sorry, I have to make them on Wednesday night for ALL the YW/YM for Leadership Training (Rolls as leaders! what did I get myself into) so we will have then that night. He then looks like the good guy who saved the day.(with frozen ones...what!) Anyway, I could take this all different ways couldn't I? My point is............sometime we are to quick to judge others reasons for doing something. I would like to thank my sweet husband for letting me "Simplify" for today and enjoy this day with my family! (but i really want mine!)

No wonder I have always hated CATS

2008-09-28T14:52:00.001-07:00

This is the ugliest picture ever, but really it is how I have felt the last few weeks. Why do we let ourselves get this way? Is it my own fault? What can I do to change it? I am trying to serve......do I stop serving ? NO! because it really does make me happy. I have thought a lot about this today and how I can change this about my crazy feeling life at this time as I have a lot on my plate with my calling and just trying to fulfill my motherly duties. I know that I need to prioritize my time better. Along with a lot of other things. Do you find it so hard, or is it just me? I find that there are so many things that I want to do and get done in a day.And at the end of the day I have done NONE of them. (well maybe a few) Maybe if I would pull my butt out of bed early before my kids get up, but you all know that I am NOT a morning person and that will NEVER happen, so why beat myself up over it. Maybe I am trying to fit in to much in a day. I get in my mind all the things that I want and need to do and then I get so frustrated when they do not get done.Any advice? I know ....SIMPLIFY! I know that I am rambling on and on so I will stop. I look at that picture of that cat and it just makes me feel frazzled!

Do you remember ME?

2008-08-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

I know, it has been FOREVER since I have updated my blog. Well I thought that I better do it really quick before I leave again in a few days. We just got back this morning from visiting my sweet sister and her family in Arizona. We had a great time shopping and laying in the sun at her pool. Thank goodness for her pool! It was SO.......HOT!!!!!!! It was great to see them after a very long time(too long) thanks Tara for having us and making it such a fun trip. I love you so much! We left at 11pm last night and flew all night arriving at 8am this am back home. Caught up on some sleep today and then we will add a few more items to our luggage and off the Mexico on Friday morning at 2:30am. Yes, 2:30 am. Are we crazy? And I wonder why I am tired all the time. It is all worth it though for fun times with family. I hope you all are having a fun Summer and doing some fun things before school starts and all the hustle and bustle begins. Well that's all for now, and as they say in Mexico, Adios!

Time to Blog....................

2008-06-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I have not blogged in such a long time. It is almost July. I have been busy trying to keep the kids busy and not driving me CRAZY with boredom. They have to be doing something ALL the time. Why is that? We have had such crazy weather so far this Summer. Lots of rain and not very hot yet. It has been pretty nice not having to deal with the humidity. Gracie has been learning to ride her bike. She looks way to small to be doing it. Taylor made Cheer and has Cheer camp and girls camp in a few weeks. I am luck y and get to go with her this year, I just got put in YW as the first counselor. I am really excited. Elizabeth was just counting down the hours until Camp Rock was on TV. She just had a little party last night for it. She was running around the house shouting "28 more minutes until Camp Rock, get the popcorn out". We are just getting ready for some fun Summer vacations coming up. They include...Phoenix for a week (the cousins have not seen each other for 2 years) and Mexico 3 days after we get home from Phoenix. It will be lots of fun and then school starts and it back to the hustle and bustle of everything. I will add pictures soon, I just thought I should blog while I had the chance.

How are your Mondays?

2008-04-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Why is it that my Monday mornings are always so CRAZY? I have always hated Mondays and I wonder why, maybe because of this.......The house always seems to be a mess after the weekend, the kids are always crabby, errands need to be run, laundry galore and I never know where to start. So because of all this it just makes me want to go back to bed and cover my head. What are you Mondays like and what can i do to make myself not dread them so bad.......Happy Monday:(

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

2008-04-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

I was up late last night finishing up some email, checking blogs, etc. and looked at the clock and thought to myself "you have got to get to bed" it was 11:30pm. I walked out of the office and saw to my surprise my cute little Gracie sitting on the stairs playing with barbies. She looked up at me with a cute smile and said"Mommy, do you want to play barbies?" How could I get mad at her and send her back to bed. So we played barbies until we both got tired. I put a load of laundry in and came back to this cute picture. This little girl just wanted to have fun!

Spring Cleaning

2008-04-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

I have been in a major Spring cleaning mode this last week. Growing up we ALWAYS did a big Spring clean. I remember dreading it as a child. But, I would now like to thank my Mom for teaching me the importance of this BIG task. Don't think you can Spring clean in one day.....maybe one week! I can't believe all the garbage I have thrown away. What a great feeling it has been. I am still Spring cleaning as we blog:) today has been blinds, windows, until it started to rain. I don't know about you, but rainy weather makes me want to clean even more. Last weekend my dear friend came over and we did my entire kitchen, took everything out of cabinets and cleaned away, then reorganized everything. It is much more fun to do it with a friend. I owe her big time! Let's just say that I don't look at all like this lady when I clean, but I wonder what it would be like to wear heels and a dress. Hmm.....I will have to try that. NOT! Well I hope that this will motivate some of you to Spring clean and get rid of junk like me. It really does make a difference and feels good to get so much accomplished. So happy cleaning!

Blogging? What's that again?

2008-04-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello I know that I have been HORRIBLE at blogging. I really feel like I have had NO time. I promise that I will update this week on what we have been up to. I am going to make my blog private so look for my invite. Email me and let me know if you would like to be on my list. We are all doing well here at the Allred household. We hope all is well for all of you! Happy Blogging!

Happy Birthday Babe!

2008-03-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Babe! I love you so...............much. Thank you for being such a wonderful husband, father, and most of all friend. I love the way you make me smile:) You make me so very happy! I am so blessed to have you as my husband. You always make me feel so special and treat me wonderful. I could not ask for a better husband or father for our children. You are a very hard worker and I appreciate ALL you do for our family. I appreciate your STRONG testimony and your willingness to serve in the gospel. You are an example to me. I appreciate your patience, love, kindness and ability to overlook my weaknesses. You are an AMAZING man! I absolutely adore you, and am proud to call you MINE! Happy Birthday Babe! I love you more today than yesterday.....................

My Birthday Week..........

2008-02-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

Wow! what a week I had. Let me tell you how it started. My sweet friend Diana called me a few days before my Birthday and asked me if i wanted to go to Oprah! Well who doesn't want to go to Oprah. So that is how I started off my Birthday. We were able to go downtown Chicago and stay overnight in a GREAT Hotel. It was awesome! The Oprah show was about the Dr. Suess book Horton Hears a Who! Well the movie is coming out on March 14th and so we were lucky enough to preview it the night before the show. It stars Jim Carrey and Carrol Burnett and Steve Carell. It was AWESOME! your families will love it! Then Those stars were on the Oprah show. We were on the 3rd row center stage. Most of you watched it today.(did you see me?) It was a great show. Thank you so much Diana for such a great time! I love ya! Here is our hotel room. These were the most comfortable beds ever......we slept very well. I love the decor.

I have never seen so....many pillows on a hotel bed..I felt like I was right at home. I LOVE pillows.

This is us waiting in line at Oprah....bright and early...6:30am

Gotta have the Harpo picture!

Now on to the rest of my Birthday celebration. Can I just say that I have the BEST friends EVER! I love you all so much. Ruth was not able to make it last minute, poor little Lili was sick.I missed you Ruth! We went out for some Mexican. None of us were really keen on the place, but they had GREAT guacamole!

We celebrated Taunacy's Birthday as well. Happy birthday T-Ho!I couldn't think of a better person to celebrate with.

I had to talk Jill into letting me have a picture with her. She is pregnant and does NOT like pics of herself....I would kill to look llike her when I am pregnant. she only has like 4 weeks left. What is she talking about!

Now on tho the best part....Desert!
Have you EVER seen a piece of cake this big? No, I did not eat it myself. We all shared one piece. It was YUMMY!

Thanks again everyone for a wonderful birthday! My friends for being so great. I don't know what I would do without you! You are the BEST. To my sister's and sweet Steph for the sweet birthday blogs. I love you!

Look at those EYES!

2008-02-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

Last week was quite the week at the Allred house. Lets just say that I thought the week would NEVER end. Ellie was home most of the week not feeling well and we all know what that did to me! I really do lover her, she just requires ALOT of attention and as my sister Tara says, she is my ticket to Heaven! We still are not sure what is up with her stomach issues. I have to take her back to the doctor by next week if we don't see some changes in her stool. I was called the BUTT doctor last week. I had to keep a diary on Ellie and boy was it FUN!!!! I thought it was frustrating making Ellie take her medicine, well try giving that girl an enema. I thought we were going to kill each other. After about an hour and a half I finally got done with the enema and ellie stopped crying and said, "Mom, I didn't even feel that". That made me want to you know what.......Then Gracie got pink eye and woke up twice in the night because she couldn't open her eyes. This picture is not at her worst. To top everything off. I got a call on Friday about 11am saying that we were having a preview on the house in 1hour. I was FREAKING out! My house was a MESS with a crazy week and all. I frantically started shoving stuff hoping that I would remember where I had put everything. In the dryer, washer, dishwasher, oven. Did I say oven? My friend Stacy came over to get the kids out of the house and helped me run through and pick up so I could clean bathrooms, vac, dust in less than 1 hour. I have never sweat so bad in my life................anyway, I got it done and the next day, Taylor had some friends over and she was pre-heating the OVEN for pizza.....I smelled something and remembered ALL the stuff that was sitting on my counter that I shoved in the oven for the showing......MELTED PLASTC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YUCK!
what a pain to clean out. Moral of the story.....keep up with your house and don't get behind like I did!

Happy Birthday Diana

2008-01-25T06:14:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Diana! These photos are not in order (dang it) but I thought we would take a trip down memory lane of the last year of knowing each other. I can't believe that I have only known this girl for 1 year! I feel like I have known her FOREVER!!!! I love ya!
Thanksgiving time!
Our AWESOME trip to New York.....
Max and Laura from GREASE.......................
Diana, Me, and Jill at Christmas walk.............

This is actually the first time that I met Diana..Her Birthday last year, a few of us took her out to dinner to get to know her. She had just moved into the ward.............. This was when I REALLY got to know Diana. We knew we were suposed to be friends! We had a blast together and had alot in common. She LOVED my fart machine!
A lunch date...............................
TOFW trip..............this was another great time together!
Last but not least, the TEETH!!!! This picture of Diana will always be in my mind. We have had more laughs over these teeth. She has them with her at all times. And has brought them out many times such as lunch dates, just driving down the road in the car....now that is the funniest thing ever to see people look at her throught the window as she is driving. She just looks at them and smiles with these BIG teeth! Diana, I am so glad that we have become such good friends in such a short amount of time. I look at all the fun things we have done this last year and want to thank you for being such a great friend!!!! You are such an example to me. You are always happy and always have a smile on your face. You are a wonderful mother, a wonderful wife, you are a wonderful friend! I hope you have the best Birthday ever!

I love music....

2008-01-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

I love all kinds of music, but I really love Country Music. I love the lyrics. They always tell such a meaningful story. Music has always been a big part of my life. Starting at a very young age, I remember singing in church with my brothers and sisters. Singing in talent shows and all kinds of things that my Mom could get us into. Then as I got into my teenage years i was even in a band. Growing up my Mom always had music playing and I remember it making me feel happy. I find myself doing that same thing with my children , as we clean the house. The fun music helps us work faster and have fun! While on Sunday mornings the soft music helps us feel a bit calm and have good thoughts. It really is amazing what music can do, and how it can affect us. I see the joy that music brings to my children as I see them singing ALL the time rather it be at the piano or to Hannah Montana. They truely have a love for music. So I would like to thank my Mom for that. Thanks for starting something that has brought so much joy to our lives! What are your thoughts about Music?

Happy Birthday Ellie!

2007-12-27T10:35:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! We love you so very much and hope you have a wonderful day! It is fun to look at the past couple of years and remember all the fun memories with you in our lives...thanks for being you! Love Mom, Dad, Taylor and Gracie.

Christmas Walk

2007-12-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

Oswego has a fun Christmas walk every year. So we went with some friends and had a great time. It was pretty darn cold, but nothing a little hot cocoa couldn't help! The girls LOVED this Elf! He was really fun, he was dancing around with the kids...............
This is my sweet friend and neighbor Sarah. We love hanging out. Her son Matt and Ellie are in the same class and are with each other ALL the time................ I love this picture!

Gracie loved all the animals........we took a trolley ride and sang Christmas songs, drank hot chocolate, ate, and had a great time with friends. Thanks everyone for a great night!

Happy Holidays..........what are your traditions?

2007-12-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

I took a little break from blogging and am happy to be back. What a wonderful time of year! This is my favorite. Not because of all the presents, but its the time for traditions. I think back as I was growing up, and remember some of our family traditons. That is something that I have always wanted to carry on with my own family. So if you don't have any, well its time to start! It is fun to hear the kids talk about them and remind me of them. I'm sure many of you have heard about our little elf at Christmas time, well I will blog about him and take his picture when he comes!!!! This is something that my kids LOVE at Christmas time, they can't wait fot Fiddles to come. They are trying really hard to be good so he will come. Ellie is struggling a little with it! We have a few traditions that I would like to share throughout this month. I would love to hear about yours as well.. So here's to Traditions!

Happy Birthday Kristen!

2007-11-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Sis! I don't have very many pictures of just us, so this will have to do. I just wanted to wish a a happy birthday. I hope you have a great day! I wish I were there to celebrate with you. Do the lunch thing and play all day. Thank you so much for being you, we have come along way and I am so glad that you are my sister. You are a wonderful mother,wife and a great friend. You are very talented in so many ways. Do something special for yourself today and know that your sisters far away love you very much!

Gracie just asked me is we were going to see you today! That makes me sad........ I love you very much and I hope you have a WONDERFUL day!

Happy Birthday Steph!!!!!!

2007-11-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday! I love you so...much and hope you have a WONDERFUL day! You are such an amazing sister-in-law. You are always so happy and

willing to help anyone and everyone. You are a great mother and wonderful wife. Your children are so lucky to have a Mom like you, always playing and doing fun things. I admire you in so many ways Steph. You are so beautiful, loving, kind, compassionate, caring, trustworthy, loyal, funny, I love who "You" are! I miss you and wish that I was there to spend theis day with you! Happy Birthday!

New York Part II

2007-11-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

Despite of the bad weather, we still had a great time!
I usually don't take pictures of "just buildings", but these were so neat.
I took this picture because, the World Trade Center was twice as big as this building. Wow!
All bundled up and ready to go!
This is Central Park, isn't is pretty?

I could not believe how BIG the movie billboards were.
M&M world
Hershey store
This is a little blurry, but it is Matt from the Today Show. He is coming outside.
Another shot of Central Park. I will have Part 3 in a few

days, and that will be the last of New York. I hope these have

been fun to see and if you have not yet been you will make it a

priority to get there!

Fun Times in New York

2007-11-03T20:10:00.001-07:00

Okay, these are not in order and that really bugs me. This is our first night in NY. We were so excited to see GREASE. Diana and I both watched the T.V. show "Your the one that I want" and we voted for Max and Laura. They are the ones who played Danny and Sandy.
The show was great! We had awesome seats and lots of fun! This was the whole reason for the trip to NY. I love Broadway Shows. We wished we would have had time to see more.
This was my first picture coming from the airport. I was amazed at the city.SO much traffic!
This is Max and Laura, the ones who played Danny and Sandy. They came out after the show to sign autographs and take pictures with "the fans". Diana and I were right there. They were really nice.

This is our apartment. Just straight down from "Time Square". It was a great location. We got really lucky, thanks to Mercy. We just arrived and were ready to shower and get dressed up.
Our first day at lunch, going over the "Schedule" of events. Diana was teased about being our travel agent and keeping us on task. Check out her folder. Thanks D, you did a great job!
Of course we had to have a NY hat for out hat day.
Stacy was such a trooper, 6mnths pregnant and walking EVERYWHERE! Her pore feet at night were so swollen and she NEVER complained! I was amazed at her. We had so much fun shopping! Well I have lots more pictures to post so until next time.........

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here is cute Ellie dressed up like Sandy frome Grease. She had so much fun!
Taylor dressed up like Shar pey From High School Musical......
Three cute girls.............
The Porters came over again this year..We love them!
This is Gracie, really tired and dragging her bag home! (these are not in the right order)

Kelly and Gracie carving the pumpkins, Kelly's favorite part of Halloween!
I think he ended up carving about 10 pumkins....The neighbors had him do some for them. He is really good at this and LOVES it! Good job babe!

I guess I saved the best picture for last......Little Gracie as Raggedy Ann. Is she cute or what? Now what do I do with all the CANDY? We had so much left...Then the kids added what they got to the bowl. I really wanted to start a diet. (CRAP)

Back To Being A Mother

2007-10-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

I just arrived LATE last night from the most AMAZING trip, with some amazing women(thanks girls). We had such a great time in New York. I have never shopped so much in my life. Today my feet and back hurt so...bad, but it was well worth it! I will be posting pictures all this week about our trip. If you have never been to New York, well you better start planning it, what an experience. The people, the food, the shopping, the traffic.Did I say traffic yet? I have NEVER in my life seen so much traffic. Well I don't want to say anymore until I post pictures, so look forward to seeing much more on New York with 4 crazy gals. I have to say thanks you to my sweet husband for being so great while I was away and making sure that I had a wonderful time. Thanks to my girls for missing me so..much and making me happy to get back to being a Mother.

For those of you who are wondering.........

2007-10-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

I decided that I would blog about this, due to many phone calls made to other people asking about our home for sale. Yes, it is for sale. We have a few options at this time and just thought that we would put the house up and see what happens. We are not really in a hurry, except that we would like to decide which area by June because that is when we need to refinance. So as of right now, there is not much to tell.We are not really sure where and when, but when WE know more ourselves, we will be happy to tell everyone! So if you know anyone that wants a GREAT house, just send them our way. We are trying to sell it on our own first. Then if we HAVE to, we will get an agent. I am not looking forward to having to keep the house SPOTLESS all the time, because that seems impossible with kids and a husband.......Happy cleaning to me!

I Love To See The Temple

2007-10-14T12:20:00.001-07:00

Taylor had the opportunity to go to the Temple for the first time. We cannot believe that She is old enough. We were so excited for her. Kelly was very happy that he was able to go with her her first time. They had a wonderful time and Taylor said it was AWESOME! I am so grateful for her and her wonderful example in our home, she is amazing! I often reflect on my life growing up and think to myself , what would I have done without gospel? And now many years later, our children are faced with so much more than we were faced with. I am simply amazed at the amount of strength, courage and faith that Taylor has at such a young age. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to be her Mother. Thanks you Taylor , for being such a wonderful daughter and example to our family.

Gotta Do What Ya Gotta Do!

2007-10-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend my sweet friend Diana and I decided to do a garage sale! We are going to New York in a few weeks with a few other of our friends and I really wanted LOTS of shopping money. So I thought I would de-junk my house and spend the day hanging out with a friend drinking Diet Coke and listening to Hairpray Soundtrack and make money doing it! Sounds great right? Well it was great! we had a fabulous time and made great $$$$$. I was actually shocked , I myself made over $500 dollars. Can you believe it? So we decided to do it again with the left over stuff this next Friday.So my advice to all you girls, de-junk your house, have a girlfriend over, drink some diet coke and you will get paid for it! Thanks D for a great weekend, you are a GREAT friend, one whom I admire alot!

Girls, Girls, Girls

2007-09-26T07:01:00.001-07:00

Well I may not be a"FOOTBALL MOM" but I am a "CHEERLEADING MOM". And do I have a cute cheerleader. Ellie is loving cheerleading this year, we found a different league this year that does not travel and DOES NOT play on Sunday. It is great. Last night they had a night game under the lights. It was fun! She is so cute. Way to go Ellie!
All the neighborhood boys asked me if they could come watch her cheer! I thought that was cute, and it was fun for me to hang out with some BOYS!!!!!!!
Taylor just had her late birthday party......she had a bunch of friends over to play volleyball and BBQ and play games. I think they had alot of fun, they are a good and fun group of kids.
All the girls..................................
All the boys............................

Girls keep us on our toes and very busy with cheerleading, gymnastics and just running them around. I feel like I LIVE in the car...Taylor made the JH 7&8 cheer squad and will start practice next week everyday after school and then cheer for like 3-4 games (basketball) a week so she decided to take a break on dance for a while because we can't do it all and we are still on the lookout for another dance place with better standards. That has been so........hard. Anyway I just wanted to catch our family and friends who live out of state up of what the kids are doing....Love ya!

HAPPY FALL TIME

2007-09-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

I decided to get into the Fall spirit on my blog and that means HALLOWEEN first.This blog decorating can be addictive......I love Fall, it is my most favorite time of year..I love the smell outside as well as all the colors changing. I love to go on bike rides and walks where lots of trees are to so the many change in colors. Plus I LOVE Fall clothes. They are so much more classy, don't you think? Fun jackets, cute sweaters, jeans, scarves, even fun hats! I love when I am able to buy my pumpkin candle, it makes me happy (me and my "happy candles") I just LOVE everything about Fall. So lets all enjoy this Fall.........................

It's Camera Time

2007-09-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Gracie was playing with a camera (pretend one) and I thought it was so...cute. So I HAD to get the real one out and snap some pictures of this cutie! She is REALLY into posing for pictures.
This one just melts my heart.......She is at such a FUN age. I am really enjoying every minute with her right now. She Loves to go to school and then when she comes home she just keeps saying to me " I Love you Mommy!"

This is her GREEN show and tell for today. Her Stuffed Hippo. She loves to snuggle him, because he is so very soft.
I caught her in her room playing...feeding her hippo and doll lunch...The things she says just crack me up! She got this kitchen set for Christmas last year and I thought she would LOVE it. Well she never really cared to much after a while, but now she is really into it. I love it when they play good with something.............I guess we need to ask Santa for more kitchen stuff.......

I just love you little Gracie................You make me SMILE!

Time to do Salsa

2007-09-17T18:19:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that it is Salsa time again! Where does time go? I feel like I just bottled 100 jars and we have NONE left. I usually do about 4 of these boxes each year. And this year I am so far behind that I only did 1box. I will hopefully get to do 1 more but it just depends on the tomatoes and the weather.
My sweet husband helping me peel the tomoatoes. This is his job everytime! He really does enjoy helping me, because he LOVES the end result. (the salsa) I know that this picture does not do my salsa justice, but those of you that have had it (probably most of you) know it is the BEST!!!!
Here the the final result only 30 jars! That makes me a little sad!We will have to go easy on it this year. This is our Sunday after church tradition..........
As I was taking pictures, Dexter was just sitting and looking at me with that cute face, so I had to take a picture. He is getting so very big, but a great dog! Well a puppy......

My BABY is in Preschool

2007-09-11T18:42:00.001-07:00

What a SAD day! I thought I would be so
happy with some time to myself, but I found myself
looking at the clock just waiting to go pick up my baby.

Once I saw her having so......much fun at school and so..

excited to tell me All about it, it made me very happy for her.
I guess it's not always about US is it? They are just fine without

us. She can't wait to go back and see her teacher. Her teacher told me
not to dress her so cute because they were going to get dirty. That is
REALLY hard for me.

Time Out For Women

2007-09-09T17:28:00.001-07:00

If you have never had the chance to attend this
event, you are really missing out! This was AMAZING!

This was on our way to the event, we decided to stop for dinner at the Cracker Barrel. Diana and I decided to call it the "Crapper Barrel".

Getting ready to catch the shutttle to TOFW

I could NOT believe it! Out of ALL the women at this event, I happen to run into a friend from Utah (she now lives in Michigan) We both yelled out"Amy, is that you?" both our names are Amy. We were really good friends in Utah. It was awesome to see her!
I had the opportunity to take a picture with Jane Clayson Johnson. She use to work for KSL. I have always loved her and it was great to be able to listen to her speak. She was AMAZING. She spoke on "Embracing the Season your In" she focused on being happy in the shoes that we are in at this time in our lives. She shared many great stories about her and her courier. She also focused alot on being a "Mother" and the importance of NEVER downgrading that title. She again shared experiences of when she decided to end her courier and be a "Mother" and what people said to her and how they said it. Her final thought to us was great she said "Slip on the shoes that you've been given and celebrate the season". This is just a taste of the event. It was again Awesome!!!!! Go on-line to see when it will be in your area.
Thanks to all my friends who made it a great overnight, I love you all!

Yes, I need to BLOG

2007-09-06T20:33:00.001-07:00

I am so sorry that I have not been good at blogging lately. I have not even had time to blog about my trip home. Ever since I got back from Utah things have just been CRAZZZZZZY! I had to go have a tooth removed by a Oral Surgeon, that was horrible! So i just recovered from that and off the pain pills and we have had company from Australia visiting us. A friend of Kelly's that he taught on his mission. It has been nice visiting with them, but very busy. I am getting ready to leave tomorrow for" Time out for Women". I am really excited to get away and have a nice spiritual fix. then when I get back I will get back into the blogging routine. I am in need of a trip without children for just a short time, since I was with them on a month long trip by my self. I am looking forward to it. I want to go away and just have a nice time with NO drama and uplifting conversation. Do you ever feel like life is too DRAMATIC? I have been through alot lately with my family (my brother) and have realized alot. Mainly that life is short and we need to live each day as if it were our last. We need to be better examples to one another and kinder and more Christ like. That is my goal anyway! I want to be with people who make me happy and make me feel good about myself and who uplift me. I know that this" Time out for Women" is where I need to be this weekend and I am so excited to spend the day being spiritually fed. Have a great weekend!

A Birthday KISS!!!!!

2007-08-28T16:23:00.001-07:00

I LOVE this picture!!!!! Happy Birthday Amanda, I hope you have had a
great day! I hope that you have gotten a BIG BIRTHDAY KISS!!!! You
always make birthdays so special for everyone! You are a VERY talented
person. I hope to be like you some day. We have had lots of great memories
as i was looking back at all my pictures of the two of us. We have had alot
of FUN!!!! I hope that will continue. Happy Happy Birthday!

What does "Vacation" mean to you?

2007-08-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Here we are supposed to be having a great vacation and lots of rest, fun, seeing everything and everyone. Well it started out that way and now we are asking what does vacation mean? A few days ago Gracie started throwing up and could not keep ANYTHING in her.....we thought and hoped that it would end with her, but NO WAY, that would not be a vacation. Now, a few days later Elizabeth has been up ALL FREAKIN NIGHT throwing up, yes ALL night and is still continuing to do so. So we had to cancel plans for the day and hope that neither Taylor or I will get it! (Please , Please, Please not us) Poor Ellie, I feel so bad for her she looks terrible. I am concerned because she seems worse than Gracie did. So much for a perfect vacation! I guess no one has a perfect vacation.

We are Outta' here

2007-08-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well I will be up all night long packing and finishing up last minute things
for our trip HOME! Why does it take SO LONG to get ready to go out of town? This is when I wish I were a man! All they have to worry about is themselves......Why is that? Anyway, everyone keeps asking me if I am excited to go and I keep saying " I will be once I get on the plane" Until then I have to much on my mind to even be excited! But yes, I am excited to go and be with family and friends! We will have a great time! The kids are so excited that I don't think that they will sleep(shoot I forgot the melatonin). Ellie said that she can't wait to see the mountains. I agree with her. That is the BEST feeling to see the mountains as we are landing..That's when I think "We are home!" Utah mountains are beautiful. I will update my blog and try to download pictures from someones computer. I will miss everyone and will see you when I get home! NO parties without me!!!!!!!! Have a great last few weeks of Summer.

The Yearly Summer BLOCK Party

2007-07-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was our neighborhood block party. It was such
a blast! It started at 12:30pm and ended about 12:00am and we
stayed the entire time. They had so many fun activities planned
not only for the kids but the adults as well. Here is Kelly and our
neighbor's Bob and Rich making snow cones for the kids. This was
a BIG hit!

This is the kids starting the party with the bike parade, they loved
being able to ride in the street because it was blocked off.

Then they went on to the obstacle course for the kids & adults

I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the adults doing all this,

it was so....funny! We all laughed so hard that some had accidents!

The Dunk Tank is ALWAYS the best, first the dads had to do it then

the kids were able to get in, I missed kelly doing this so didn't get a picture.

It was a awesome night! The food was great, they had it catered and then at 11pm they had pizza delivered for the evening snack. We all danced all night to the DJ's great music. Then the kids went in the back yard to a GIANT movie screen and watched High School Musical. Some fell asleep! The adults kept on singing, dancing and laughing! It was great! We have the BEST neighbors ever! Oh, I can't leave this out. We did a 50/50 raffle and we donated to the American Cancer Society because alot of our neighbors have had family members die from this and we wanted to do something. We raised about $800 that night and plan to do something like that every year. It was awesome! Thanks everyone for a great night! We can't wait until next year! Anyone want to move to my neighborhood?????????????

Happy Birthday Tara

2007-07-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet sister! I hope you are having a good
day. I wish I was there to celebrate with you, but we will celebrate
together in a few weeks in Utah.

Here are just a few things about Tara:

1. She is BEAUTIFUL
2. She is a wonderful mother
3. The most patient person I know
4. A great listener
5. Always ready to have fun
6. Has a very strong testimony
7. A leader
8. Has a beautiful voice
9. Takes time for anyone
10. Trustworthy
11. Loyal
12. Loving
13. Has the best hair
14. Has a great complextion
15. Very healthy
16. Darling family
17. Husband who absolutely adores her
18. Looks WAY to young to have a son that's a Senior in HS
19. Loves the color Yellow
20. Went to Ricks College
21. Was a lead Singer in a way cool band
22. With a way cool girl
23. Has really cool sisters
24. Lives in Arizona
25. Loves to live in her pool
26. She is the Primary Chorister
27. She enjoys working out
28. unlike her little sister
29. Loves to play games
30. Still looks like she has never turned this number.
Happy Birthday, I love you!

I've been Tagged..............

2007-07-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

I am only doing this for you Meg! I hate doing stuff like this......

Jobs I've had:
1. Subway
2. Morris Air Service (then changed to Southwest)
3. Discover Card
4. Heritage Festivals (Accounting)

Movies i can watch over and over again:
1. Just like Heaven
2. Sweet home Alabama
3. Miss Congeniality
4. Life is Beautiful

Four favorite TV shows:
1. Lost
2. Days of our lives (thanks to my mother)
3. 24
4. Today show

Four favorite foods:
1. Mexican (Cafe Rio)
2. Seafood
3. Pizza
4. Chocolate

Four websites I visit daily:
1. ask.com
2. Email
3. Blog
4. travelocity

Four places I'd rather be:
1. Mexico
2. Utah
3. spa
4. hanging out with my sisters

Four people I TAG:
1.Kristen
2.Tara
3. Stephanie
4. Taylor
Have fun everyone!

Summer Fun

2007-07-15T20:45:00.001-07:00

We spent the ENTIRE day at the baseball field on Saturday watching Kelly play in a tournament. It was fun ! The team needed some players so Troy and Brandon saved the day. The kids had a blast yelling and screaming, playing in the dirt and climbing the bleachers, while the moms were able to visit. It was fun watching the game too! They won and will now go to state. Good job babe! And YES Kelly finally gave into wearing his pitching helmet because I told him that I would not watch him play unless he had it on. Gotta save his face!
The kids had so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gracie and Avery were little buddies!
Like I said, The kids were yelling and screaming!

When the little things "BUG" you

2007-07-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well let me tell you that these LITTLE things have been REALLY bugging ME!!!!!!!!For the past few days I have noticed Fruit Flys in the kitchen and I have not had any fruit out. I have been going CRAZY trying to get rid of the _ _ _ _ things. I finally called some pest control places and asked them what to do. Well they wanted $150 to come out and find the source. Kelly was not paying that so we have been setting little traps and catching some but we STILL have them. My sweet little daughter Ellie told me that she had some in her closet as well. I went to see and just saw a few. Didn't think anything except to tell her that she CANNOT have food in her room. Well to make a blog story short, I get a call today from a company returning my phone call and she asks me if they are gone. I continued to tell her the story. She said that she would be over right away because she was close by us anyway , FREE of charge. She was very, very nice, spent about 30min. looking everywhere and said she didn't underdstand where they were coming from, and that my kitchen was so very clean. She gave me some tips and left.....Well I then had to put some clothes in Ellie's closet and opened the door to MILLIONS of FRUIT FLYS...........I freaked out, ran downstairs and called the lady back , she said she was on her way AGAIN, and as I was waiting for her I began to take things out of her closet and FOUND the source.......I opened her school bag that she had not completely cleaned out and found a rotten banana peel .The flys just flew out and I about threw up! The picture above shows how many dead ones were in the bottom of the bag....Can you believe it! The lady came right in and sprayed the closet and helped wipe down kitchen cabinets with some of her stuff that would kill them and then left me the bottle to keep..I thanked her so...much and asked her what I could pay her and she said no thank you, just refer me to your friends..........OH MY GOSH!!!! that was so...nice of her. So the moral of the story is ..check your kids school bags and when you send a banana with them for snack remind them to THROW THE _ _ _ _ PEEL AWAY! If anyone needs pest control let me know and I have the best person for you to call!

NEVER to old for a little Rock-N-Roll

2007-07-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

Kelly decided to take me on a hot date Saturday night! We went to a concert to hear Foreigner, Styx, and Def Leppard....Yes I went to Def Leppard! I really went for Styx. They were my favorite! We took along with us Taunacy and Patti. It was a BLAST! Taunacy made the whole night. I have NEVER seen someone so excited for something. She was happy to see DEF LEPPARD!!!!!!!!!!
She could hardly wait for them to come out on stage! She kept saying "Are they coming, Are they coming?"
When they finally came out on stage I had my camera ready! this is her reaction, jumping up & down just SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!! Look at her hair! I love her!
Taunacy and Me! (Patti wouldn't let us take ANY pictures of her)
This is my boy ,just in Heaven!!!!!!!!! Thinkin, this is the life! My wife and Rock-N- Roll! Thanks babe for a great date! It was a blast...I love you!

The WEED

2007-06-23T18:31:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is a weed, a GIANT weed. We were out doing some yard work and we had to have Dad help with this one. We get this weed every year in the same spot and it is always HUGE! So this weed has become a tradition for our family. We just thought we better take a picture this time. Everyone getting ready to PULL!!!!
The girls are telling dad to pull a little harder! Poor little Gracie in the back!
And THEY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good bye weed until next year!

What do we do now?

2007-06-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

We have had a houseful of FUN company this last week. Kelly's family left yesterday and now the girls and I don't know what to do! We all went to bed crying last night.Taylor came in after crying for about 1/2 hr and wanted to lay with me because she was so...sad. Thanks Mom & Dad Allred for always making our times together so much fun! We love you so very much and appreciate ALL that you do. I have the BEST in-laws EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mike, Steph and little Kaden we love you too! You are always such a joy to have around. Kaden we miss you already and will buy some otter pops just to remind us of your visit.( I think the boy eats 6-8 a day) What do we do now is the big question? MOVE BACK HOME!!!!!!!!

My new best friend!!!!!!

2007-06-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

I wanted to introduce to you All my new best friend! CLUB SODA! This stuff is great at getting stains out of carpets. We just got our carpets cleaned last month and can I tell you that since then the kids and the DOG have trashed them. Well a friend told me about this Club Soda thing and so I was desperate to get pink marker (hot pink) out of the carpet that the dog got a hold of. Well 3 days later I got some club soda and I just now poured in on the carpet let it sit for about 1 min. Then took a dry rag and blotted it up. I didn't even scrub. Well The pink marker is no longer there! AMAZING!!!!!!! So my tip for the day is treat yourself to some CLUB SODA ( the small bottle's so you can save it and keep the fiz) The best part about it is that it only cost me 69 cents.

What about the BLOG!

2007-06-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

I can't beleive that it has been so ....long since I have last updated my blog.(at least I'm not the only one!) I even have pictures to post. I just have not had 2 seconds to do it. And I am not even doing it now because my camera is in the car and I don't want to go get it at the moment. I just thought that I would take a few minutes and update. My life has been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY the last few weeks. Seems like something every single day and night. And now I am getting ready for company to come in. Which I am so....excited for! So to my family and friends, I am so sorry that I have dropped off the face of the earth. Now that school is out it will be better. I have been working for Kelly's company making phone calls each day and having your husband for your boss really sucks when he is nagging you to get the work done. So that is how I spend the mornings. And then by the time I get my household morning started it is almost noon. The kids have been busy with dance and gymnastic recitals. Thank goodness that is over for the summer, but now we start baseball and cheerleading and still gymnastics camp so it still never ends! I will do better at blogging when life slows down ( will that EVER happen )

Fitness Update.......

2007-05-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

Come on girls! Where are all your posts? Are we ALL still in this together? I have lost a total of 12 pounds and am VERY excited! I feel great. I have even bumped up the exercise from just walking to now step aerobics. Wow does that kick your butt! Keep up the good work everyone. We can do this. Summer is almost here! Have a great week and Go BLAKE LEWIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on Blake Lewis

2007-05-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Come on everyone! It is TIME TO VOTE!!!!!!!!
Blake is so awesome and so fun to watch. I would LOVE
to see him in concert. Okay, so we ALL have to VOTE
next week. Party at my house, anyone that wants to
come and vote for Blake may come! Just kidding, you
can still come, I just may give you a hard time if you are
NOT voting for Blake. He's the man!!!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day Mom

2007-05-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

I just want to wish my sweet mother a "Happy Mother's Day". I wish we lived closer to spend this day together. I have been thinking about her alot the past few days and thought that I would blog about her and all of her wonderful qualities. I will list a few of the MANY things that make her so wonderful:

1. She is BEAUTIFUL
2. ALWAYS has cute hair
3 She loves jewelry
4.Has the BIGGEST jewelry box (if you can call it a box) ever
5.She always has on cute clothes
6. Even when she's working in the yard
7. She has a TON of clothes
8. She has about 25 white t-shirts (I saw all of them)
9. She irons her jeans
10. She even irons her sheets everytime before putting them on her bed
11. She has the most beautiful beds ever seen
12. With lots of pillows and lace
13. She does Interior Design
14. And is AMAZING at it
15. Always has a CLEAN house
16. That smells really good all the time (even my husband says so)
17. Always has a candle lit
18. And nice music playing
19. Loves to plant flowers
20. And do window boxes
21. Loves to watch movies
22.Loves Days of our Lives
23. That's how I got hooked on it (thanks mom)
24. Loves to watch the news, even though it makes her mad
25. Loves to be with her daughters
26. She is a very generous person
27. She loves to go snow mobiling
28. Loves to spend time in Victor Idaho with her Aunt
29. Who is her BEST friend
30. Loves to pick huckleberries
31. Loves Chokecherry syrup on her pancakes
32. She LOVES waffles and a big glass of cold milk in a freezer mug
33. She loves music and loves to sing
34. Also loves to play her baby grand piano
35. Has a wonderful husband (Bud)
36. Who simply adores her
37. She is a very good listener
38. Loves to play games (but very, very competative)
39. Is the oldest of 8
40. Has 18 grandchildren just from her own 5 children
41. Loves to have fun
42. Loves to read books
43. Doesn't really love to cook anymore
44. Loves a really good hamburger
45. She just quit drinking diet coke
46.Always very thoughtful when giving gifts
47. And wraps them so......BEAUTIFUL
48. Loves Christmas time from the time we were small children
49. Hates her birthday
50. Has 5 children who love her dearly
51. She is thoughtful, kind, loving, generous, sensative, forgiving, loyal

Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love you so........much and wish I was there with you today. Just know that no matter how far away we are that you are in my heart always and especially today!

MONDAY fitness update

2007-05-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

Well this week was going great until I got on the scale and saw that I had lost NONE! I was feeling VERY discouraged because I did great with my eating, NO cheating, and lost no weight. But I do notice that I have lost inches because I bought a shirt and I went a size down. I was happy about that. After counceling with Meg about the whole scale issue, I do feel alot better, but it is still discouraging when you don't see that number move at all! I WILL continue on and hopefully this week I will see some numbers drop along with the inches. I am happy to say that I made it through the 2 week phase. Man that is HARD!!!! I am excited to add fruit to my diet and whole grains to one of my meals each day. Today it will be a sandwich for lunch! YUM!!!!!!!!! Keep up the good work everyone !

I'm feeling a little "LOST"

2007-05-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow! Let's talk Lost! I have so many questions.Is Juliette on our side or the "others"? The girl that fell from the chute, is she really there to help? or is she with the others? Whats up with John Lock? What does Jack and Juliette need to tell Kate but can't yet? Oh my gosh this is killing me! Tell me what you think! I can't believe that we only get to see 3 more episodes and then we are really LOST!

Fitness Challenge Update...............

2007-04-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone! And what a good morning it is. The sun is shining, the kids got off to school without a fight and Gracie got up and got her self dressed and even put her pajamas in her drawer. And the BEST part of the morning is I lost 5lbs. this last week, the first week of the challenge and I feel GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This diet is AWESOME!!!!!I am really proud of myself. I have NOT cheated ONCE!!! I feel like I have been eating very healthy and alot. That makes it even better. This week I start my exercise routine. I'm actually looking forward to it. Let's keep up the good work eveyone!!!!!!

I Have The Best Family........

2007-04-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Matt, I love you so..........much! I am so proud of you and am so glad we were able to spend time together. You are a wonderful Father to your sweet little girls. keep up the good work! Your a Awesome Brother as well, I love you with all my heart! Have a great week!

Well Let's start it off with my FAVORITE place to eat!
Matt's Sweet little girls Amelia(3) Lucy(2)
Morning of our all girl slumber party with the little girls snuggling with Aunt Tara. All my Brothers and Sisters, I love you all so....much.

Salt Lake City Treasures...

2007-04-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

I went to my favorite store Taipan Trading.
It is HUGE and filled with awesome home
decor that's CHEAP. Here are a few pictures
of what I bought. Kelly is going to KILL me!

HA!! HA!!! Had you fooled, didn't I?

Here is a FHE plaque that my sister Kristen has.

I love it. I want to order one and thought some

of you may want to get one too. Then we can

split the shipping. They are $35 each. If you

want one let me know.

Happy Birthday Chelsea

2007-04-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Happy, Happy Birthday Chelsea dear, happy days will come to you all year. If I had a wish then it would be...........That I could hear you say (Freakin Retarded) to me! Those 2 word will ALWAYS remind me of you! I love it! I am so grateful for our friendship. You are a wonderful person with so many great qualities. I hope you enjoy your Birthday in a Box! Love & Miss ya TONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's FREAKIN snowing

2007-04-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

I come on a short vacation to be with my family and it is FREAKIN snowing! What the heck! (I'm totally in Utah) Well just wanted to update all my friends and say that I miss you all, but I am having a BLAST with my sister Kristen. We were with my whole family yesterday, it was great to all be together. I love my family so ....much and am so grateful for each of them. I have taken alot of pictures, but will have to wait until I get home to download them to my computer. Oh! and my battery is dead on my camera so I can't take anymore(sucks). Did you all watch Bachelor? I watched it with my mom and sisters. Oh my gosh, I am so..........excited. I set my sister Kristen up a BLOG! check it out. She is happy to be apart of the blog life. I will see you all soon! Does anyone want anything from SLC?

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

I received these beautiful flowers from my sweet sister-in-law Cheryl. I absolutely LOVE tulips. It is nice to have a little bit of Spring in the house since there is NO sign of it outside. Happy Easter everyone, we love you! Thank you Grandma & Papa for the fun gifts and treats. .............As the girls get older (Taylor & Ellie) it is not as fun to buy Easter dresses. They are getting PICKY!!!!!!! They still looked very cute! I love my girls!
I had so much fun with the girls Easter baskets this year. I wanted to use something practical, something that they can use. (I don't have baskets) I try to be creative every year. This year I found these cute tins at IKEA and then added the ribbon on them to match the girls room's. They turned out so...cute and the girls LOVED them! We set these out the night before so the "Easter Bunny" could fill them and then hide them.
Wow!the "Easter Bunny" was so...nice this year! The girls had fun looking for them, and then of course eating ALL the candy for breakfast!
We hope everyone had a great Easter and enjoyed this special day. It was wonderful to take time and reflect on all of our blessings and how blessed we are to know the TRUE meaning of Easter!

Getting ready for Easter!

2007-04-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

All the neighbor kids getting ready for the Easter Egg Hunt! Where is the Spring weather? Everyone is all bundled up like it is Winter or something!

Gracie found her first yellow Egg!

Gracie was so.......cold that she came and told me that she was ready to go home! I think that she just wanted to go eat her candy!She is so dang cute!

Gotta Love Happy Mail

2007-04-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

I received this cute , fun package on my front porch the day before my sweet friend Chelsea moved to Utah. As happy as I was to get a package, I found myself crying as I looked at the return address. A Utah address! The last few days have been very sad, I miss her already! I had to walk into her empty house to pick up some things after they left and It was so.....SAD! Anyway Chelsea, thank you so much for the fun Spring package, I will enjoy it very much!

Locks of Love

2007-03-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Taylor, after her hair cut of 7inches off. She looks so cute and it is so fun and easy for summer! It took me a while to talk her into this ! With the help of her Aunt Steph being the one in charge of the scissors, well I guess that made it a little easier. And of course she was on my side!Are we mean or what! Really, Taylor loved it!
Ellie after her hair cut of 9inches off. WOW!!!!!!She was all excited to donate to Locks of Love. Well then we heard after the fact that it had to be 10in.We were originally told 8in.She was sad! I told her that I would call and check with Locks of Love. Well in the meantime our SWEET little peanut Gracie found that bag with a ponytail in it very, very interesting and pulled it out and strung it all acrossed the kitchen floor! I about died, and so did Ellie! I felt really bad. So now the hair was donated to the local garbage man.

WOW!!!!!! 9 inches ............

HOW IN THE HECK DO YOU READ ORIENTAL WRITING

2007-03-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

OKAY SO I FREAKIN FINALLY HAVE A MINUTE BEFORE I GO OFF TO THE DOCTOR BECAUSE I AM YES SICK AGAIN WITH THIS CHEST COUGH, TO UPDATE MY BLOG. WHICH I HAVE FELT VERY, VERY GUILTY ABOUT. AND THE WHOLE THING IS IN ORIENTAL WRITING SO I CAN'T READ ANYTHING AS I AM TRYING TO POST A NEW BLOG. SO I HAD TO CALL AMANDA AND ASK FOR HER ASSISTANCE TO LET ME KNOW WHERE THINGS WERE. WE STILL CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET IT IN ENGLISH. SO IF ANY ONE CAN HELP PLEASE DO SO! SORRY IF I SEEM SO IRRITATED BUT I AM! GOSH I AM IN A BADDDDDDDDDDDD MOOD. RUNNING A HIGH TEMP, COUGHING SO HARD MY CHEST IS GOING TO CAVE IN AND WORST OF ALL MY DOG IS IN HIS KENNEL NEXT TO ME AND HAS THE WORST GASSSSSSSSSSSSS EVER AND i AM STUCK IN THIS ROOM WITH HIM BECAUSE I LOVE YOU ALL ENOUGH TO UPDATE MY FREAKIN BLOG!!!! OKAY NOW I AM LAUGHING! REALLY LIFE IS NOT THAT BAD I JUST NEEDED TO VENT A LITTLE. WISH ME LUCK AT THE DOCTOR!

GYMNASTICS

2007-03-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is Gracies Coach Kyle . She simply adores him.

She absolutely LOVES being in gymnastics. And it is so.....fun watching her because she is so.......much smaller than everyone else. My "Little Peanut". Her favorite thing to do it hang from the trapize bar and drop into the pit. The first time she did it I about died! She is a little dare devil.

I'M SO........SORRY

2007-03-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

I know that I am such a dork because I have not updated my blog for so...long. I have lots to post and I will soon. Ellie and Gracie got sick last week and I am still trying to catch up. Why does it seem to take so long to get back on track? Or is it just me? I will update soon, I promise!

Taylor's first Boy/Girl Party

2007-03-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Taylor asked us if she could have a Party with her friend Tori. We of course said yes. We have always said that we want our house to be the house that the kids want to come to so we can be apart of what is going on. Well when she gave us the list of who she was inviting we were surprised to see that over half were BOYS!!!! I think Kelly was a little shocked! We talked about this and Taylor's response was"Boys are more fun because they are WAY less DRAMATIC! I had to agree with her on that.Kelly and I had to reflect on the days back when we were that age and realized that we were friends with boys and girls as well. So to make a LONG story short, we decided to go ahead with the party. Well it was so much fun! Really, we were able to be involved with the kids and they were a great group of kids. We had so much fun! And Taylor was right the boy's are SO........funny and girls are SO........dramatic! She had a great time and we are proud of her and want her to know how much we love her! Here are some pictures of the night. Enjoy!
Everyone trying to make a pyramid!
What a fun and cute group of kids!
Taylor's friend Hodges playing Guitar Hero Taylor and her best Friend Tori

Thank You So................Much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-02-28T12:09:00.000-08:00

I know this is TOTALLY late, but I wanted to thank everyone for making my Birthday SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have wonderful friends. I appreciate you all so much. I learn so much from each of you and want to be just like you "when I grow up". You all have touched my life in so many different ways. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!This was a great weekend. And those of you who were not able to make it, we missed you VERY much! Girlfriends are the best. What would we do without them?

2007-02-21T20:01:00.000-08:00

Gracie & Lili.....

Are they cute or what? I watch Lili 3 times a week and absoluty love it and her. She is so very sweet. She even calls me "Mommy Amy" I love it! Gracie and Lili are like little sister's they have that love/hate relationship, but most of the time love. I am happy that Gracie has someone to play with a few times a week. And she is happy that she has someone to boss around and actually puts up with it. Lili will do whatever Gracie asks. Gracie is only 1 year older but Lili thinks she is so......................big. I can't seem to figure that out since Gracie is half her size....I love them both so much and enjoy seeing them grow up together.

2007-02-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

"Dexter The Dog"

I know what most of you are thinking. "What are they thinking, another DOG!" Well we do have another dog. His name is Dexter and the best part is, he is a BOY! Kelly finally got his Boxer that he has always wanted. We have had him for 1 week and he is doing really well. We really love him. This time it WILL work! We PROMISE!!!!! He is the most loveable dog ever. Of course he loves me the most! Maybe because I am home with him all day! If this is the only way to get a Boy in the family well we you've gotta do what you gotta do right?

2007-02-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

I wanted to introduce the Allred Family. Here are our 3 "BEAUTIFUL" daughters. Taylor, Elizabeth and our little sweet Gracie. We just can't seem to get BOYS in this house. They are so lucky to have such a wonderful dad who simply adores them even if they are ALL GIRL!!!! HE loves to spend time with them on daddy daughter dates and makes that a priority. He is so wonderful! This is a latest family picture of us after Elizabeth's Baptism. We are so proud of her. She keeps us on our toes and has LOTS of energy, but we love her sweet spirit in our home. Taylor, our oldest is amazing! She is so very helpful and always happy and wants everyone else to be happy. Loves life and always wanting to have fun. What would we do without her! Now Gracie, I love her to pieces. She always says this phrase to me. Everything is so cute about her. Girls, Girls, Girls! I love them all so very much and they all are so very different . I am so excited about this blog. Just remember that I am so brand new!