Tradition Tuesday-Autumn is in the Air

Every fall we pile into our car and head up the canyon on our annual leaf drive. We usually do it on Conference weekend, but the last couple of years that has been a little too late and we missed some of the best leaves so this year we did it a little earlier. It was a beautiful Sunday in September. We cranked the church music on the radio and winded our way through the majestic mountains of Utah.

The kids love to point out all the different colors of leaves.

Red, yellow, orange and green.

The views are breathtaking and every time we go we feel blessed to live only

5 minutes away from this canyon and these sights.

We always stop and the kids collect some of their favorite leaves as we breath the fresh mountain air and take in the beauty of Heavenly Father's creations. We love the fall. We love our leaf drive (despite some bouts of car sickness). We love this world we live in.

We'll be back.

We'll definitely be back!

Until next year!

Thoughts on a Sunday

*Kara asked someone to Preference this week. It is not until November. We happened to be at the mall for another reason and we stumbled upon a formal dress for $10! Of coarse, I bought it. We have nicknamed it Banana. And you know what? So far, banana is looking like the number one choice!


*Ashlyn's new word is freaky. "Mom this barbie looks freaky." "Mom it is freaky in here." "Mom, the song 'Thriller' is so freaky!" Where did this come from? She's 3!

* I got a ticket this week. Five of the kids were in the car with me. I think they were scared to death. Ethan was in tears because he thought I was going to jail. I was nearly in tears because I just don't need this right now and it has been a really long time since I have gotten a ticket. It was not a happy morning.

*I am trying the new Avon revitalist anti-aging serum because I am an old lady. It is supposed to make you look ten years younger. So far, nobody has mentioned that I look younger. Actually, one man at church told me I looked like I was 18. Does it count that his wife sold me the magic serum and he was standing right there when I bought it? I didn't think so.

*Brandon made himself a tinfoil yamika. He wore it to Scouts. Is that sac religious?

*Tyler had his first flag football game on Tuesday. I am so happy to say that the fun is back in football , just as it should be. Such a contrast to last year's tackle football experience. He had so much fun and scored 3 out of the 4 touchdowns. It's going to be a great season!

*I went to help in Bryson's class this week. When I walked in, one kid asked, "Whose mom are you?" I told her I was Bryson's mom. She said, "Oh, Bryson sure doesn't talk much." Nope he doesn't! He really just doesn't.

*It's very hard to get anything done around the house when you have soccer games all day on Saturday and soccer and football games every week night. Trevor and I agree that we definitely need one more day of weekend to be able to check anything off our very long to do list.

*I've been reading Little House on the Prairie to the little ones. Sometimes I wish I lived back then. Sometimes. This week I spent a good part of the week dealing with peaches. Canning and making jam and peach pies, I connected a little with "Ma Ingles' this week because I felt very old fashioned as I canned and stuff. I think I might have my kids start calling me "Ma."

And those are my thoughts in a nutshell!

Friday's Favorites -Get a bowl..quick!

Years ago when one of our oldest kids got sick for the first time, we had minutes before the big upheaval. I yelled for Trevor to grab a bowl. To my utter disgust he came running up the stairs with my saucepan in his hand! A big silver pot with a handle was his choice for the barf bowl and he got there with seconds to spare. (He could have at least brought the lid along so we could cover up the vomit!) Sick! Now was I expected to just wash it out and then go cook up some soup or stroganoff or something? I don't think so. Since that sickness we have also had many episodes where we have had more than one kid sick at the same time. I sometimes felt like we were ships passing in the night, each with a full bowl in hand headed to different bathrooms to empty, rinse and return.

One saucepan could not have handled that sickness.

So now, some of my favorite things are my throw up bowls. I got them at the dollar store. I have 6 of them. They are kept upstairs, where all the bedrooms are and hence all the sick kids would be. They are next to the towels which are also a necessity during this type of sickness. The kids have written messages on some of them with sharpies, like 'feel better soon' or 'it stinks to be sick' The best part, we don't have to eat our food out of them when they are not being used! Thank you very much.

And yes, I tidied the closet before I took this picture.

I sure wish it still looked that way.

Shoeless Joe

ONE of the many things we did on our wonderful vacation to Oregon was to visit the beautiful Oregon Zoo with our fabulous hosts Uncle Brian, Aunt Sarah, McKay, and Ellery. We had a great time (so great in fact, that the kids didn't even hesitate when I asked them to do "jazz hands" for this picture.).

We enjoyed the bear exhibit, which coincidentally, was the temporary home for the bears from our own Utah Hogle Zoo. We think they were happy to see some familiar faces and also don't know how they will go back to their boring Hogle Zoo home after living in this lush environment.

We feasted on elephant ears, which were delicious, and thoroughly enjoyed our day until "the shoe incident." We were all admiring the zebras and about to move on the the next animal when Brandon noticed a random little shoe that had fallen into the zebra home. We all laughed and felt sorry for the poor kid who only had one shoe at the zoo. We all decided that not having a shoe at the zoo was quite possibly the grossest thing ever. We then moved on to the giraffe enclosure. After we looked at the elegant giraffes we were ready to move on when Ethan came running up crying that he had dropped his shoe. We assumed he was joking; what a funny kid. Nope, no joke. Ethan had actually dropped his shoe in the giraffe cage RIGHT after we had talked about and laughed about the poor kid who had done it at the zebra cage. We could see the lonely little flip flop way down on the ground, but there was absolutely no way to retrieve it.

Ethan was beside himself.

The rest of us were disgusted!

There was nothing we could do. He kept begging us to get the "zoo keeper", who in Ethan's mind could fix anything at the zoo. We never found a zoo keeper and our poor little Eto walked all over the rest on the zoo with only one shoe. GROSSEST THING EVER! One of the funniest things was one time I saw him trying to hop on one foot. Unfortunately, he was hopping on the shoeless foot while holding his lone flip flop leg up in the air. Hopefully, some other family will get a good laugh when they see that little flip flop at the bottom of the giraffe cage, and feel sorry for the poor boy who had to walk around the zoo with only one shoe!

Tradition Tuesday-The Utah State Fair

I don't think a year has gone by since I married Trevor, that we haven't gone to the State Fair. Every September we make the trek, rain or shine. Last year it was rain. Right as we pulled up it started to pour. Really pour. We were not deterred. We ate our dinner under a very full and dripping tarp, huddled close together for warmth. We sloshed around in the water mixed with hay mixed with I don't want to know what else in all of the animal barns. Our hair, jeans and shoes were all wet. And believe it or not, this trip was the one my kids remember the most, a really great memory.

It also might be because they got to hold an alligator that night too,

in the pouring rain.

This year when we went it was blue skies and perfect temperatures. We did everything we always do. We looked at all the animals including the cows who REALLY needed to be milked, the goats with no ears, the rabbits, chickens and, of course, the pigs with their piglets (the favorite). We admired the giant vegetables, examined all the crafty entries, especially the Lego ones where every year we swear we could make something so much cooler. We marvelled at the giant sculpture made out of butter. We browsed the vendor shops and then we ate.

Actually, we ate the whole time and this year took it to a whole new level. We ate all of the stuff we brought from home, popcorn, licorice, cookies, and soda. Then we purchased the traditional funnel cakes. This year, because Uncle Mark was with us, we added fresh cherry lemonade, huge chicken legs (sick!), and the new favorite- hot, fresh, buttered corn on the cob. We were like Templeton from Charlotte's Web.

It was disgusting and great all at the same time.

And then to end the fun filled evening at the fair, we took the traditional zip down the big yellow slide! It's a must. The only ride our kids know they can go on, or the only one they know we will pay for.

I can never get a good picture of the big yellow slide. By the time I get all situated they are already down and I always forget the flash (How about those eyes on Ashie?). Oh well, maybe next year at the great

UTAH STATE FAIR!

Thoughts on a Sunday

Since I started blogging, I haven't written in my kids journals. I am OK with this because blogging is so much more fun and I can put pictures with the stories. But, the one thing I miss is writing down the little things, the day to day occurrences and the funny things that don't necessarily have a picture to go with it. I have nowhere to document those and so I will attempt to start my thoughts on a Sunday like my wonderful sister Sarah. In time, I hope to come up with my own original name for it, but until then, here are my thoughts on a Sunday:


*Tyler went to his first Stake dance last night. He really didn't want to go and has had no interest in dances whatsoever. But, he has good friends and they forced him to go. He almost backed out when he found out it was church dress, but after reluctantly putting on his shirt and tie he shuffled out the door. He came home at about 11 and I think I detected a little spring in his step. He actually enjoyed himself. And after claiming he wasn't going to slow dance at all, he ended up dancing every single slow dance. I am proud of him and so very thankful for his friends who didn't give up on him.

*Kara went to a missionary farewell today for one of her friends. Is she really that old? I so remember the days of going all over the stake to my friends farewells. Those were good times.

*I made my second attempt to potty train Ashlyn this week. It didn't go well. When your daughter holds her pee for 12 hours one day and 18 hours the next you just have to give up. It was either that or have her bladder explode. I chose to give up. She had actually become kind of depressed and lethargic during the process. Today, being back in a diaper, she is happy as a clam, laughing and chatting and running around the house without a care in the world. I put the singing potty chair back up in the closet....again. I don't know when we'll see him again.

*Ethan has scored 3 goals so far this season. He is thrilled. He keeps telling everyone he has scored 3 goals in his whole life! He loves soccer and is enjoying his team, the Lemonheads, very much.

* I have been so busy this week that I haven't had much time to talk to my sisters. I miss them.

*It's caselot time and so my food storage room is overflowing with boxes of cereal and canned goods that need to be put away. I still wish we didn't have to eat, so that I didn't have to go through my food storage and actually rotate it. But we do eat, we eat a lot, so I am grateful for these caselot sales that help keep my pantry stocked.

*Trevor and I went on a date last night. It was the first one in a long time. We needed it. We went out with some friends. We ate and talked and laughed a lot. Just like I am thankful my kids have good friends, I am thankful we have good friends. They uplift and inspire me. I wish we could do it more.

Until next week!

Friday's Favorites-My brain

As I type this I am anxiously awaiting my new planner to arrive in the mail. I can't wait! I am going crazy with a current planner that ends on September 26th. I have little scraps of paper all over the place with things that need to be done or scheduled after September 26th and no where to write them down. This little planner of mine is definitely one of my favorite things because it is personalized AND cheap!

For years I was using a planner from BYU that was almost $20. But, I liked it and so every year made the trek down to BYU to get a new one. Then Trevor's wonderful cousin Ellen showed me her planner. She ordered it from Costco.com. It was exactly the same format as my old one, AND you got to pick the cover, put your own pictures in it AND it was only $5.50! I was sold! On my outgoing planner I had my family stand in the front yard and they were all holding something that I had to help them with or do for the front picture. This year I put a picture of all of us on our fantastic vacation to Oregon.

This planner really is my brain. It is what keeps this family running fairly smoothly. Without it I am lost and therefore my family would be lost. So I am grateful for a new brain that is personalized (I get to look at my cute family each time I open it up and remember why I run like a chicken with my head cut off most days) and is is cheap! Now that's my kind of brain! Thanks Costco!

Tradition Tuesday-The Candy Shop

I can still picture the pool. I can, for sure, still picture my swim teacher, Honey. She had short blond hair and was VERY tan. We took lessons from her for several years. I learned to swim although I never really learned to love to swim. I remember a lot about swimming lessons, but what I remember most is the trip to the candy store on the way home. I bought some sort of candy called oompa loompas or something like that. They were a peanut butter chocolate ball and they were delicious. It made the trip to swimming lessons so worth it.

Every summer I take my little ones out to swimming lessons in Alpine. They love it and are learning to swim. (You should see their 'monkey, airplane, soldier") They enjoy the lessons and teachers, but really look forward to the tradition I have carried on. The tradition of the trip to the candy shop on the last day of swimming lessons.

Conveniently, there is a quaint little candy shop right around the corner from swimming lessons. We drive by it every day to and from the lessons, but they know we can't go in until that last lesson is over. And when that day arrives, what a treat it is. They wander around and very carefully pick out some treats. Because I am a nice mom and a sucker for candy we get several things but we never leave without the grand prize, the traditional last day of swimming lessons.....

....GUMMY EGG!

For me it was oompa loompas. For my kids it is a gummy egg! We can't go in this candy shop without buying one for everyone.

"I'll have 9 gummy eggs please!"

I recommend them. For a gummy thing, they aren't bad. And those gummy eggs, well, I think my kids will remember them as fondly as I do my

oompa loompas!

You gotta have a plan

So, about a year ago, I really started thinking about pornography. I guess I should rephrase that, I really started thinking about pornography prevention. Pornography is everywhere and I know it is a problem because for 1 full month in sacrament meeting that was the topic. And almost every month in the Ensign there is an article about it. And it has just been on my mind, a lot. How could I protect my family? What should I do? I figured it had been on my mind for a reason and I wasn't going to just sit around and wait for something horrible like pornography to invade my family.

I am a firm believer in prevention and early intervention and so after many articles read, many prayers and a lot of research I came up with the

Allred family anti-pornography plan.

We had a Family Home Evening on pornography and how to avoid it, what to do if you see it and ways to protect ourselves from it. We went over scenarios and talked a lot about it. We came up with a list of rules, typed them up, had everyone sign their names to it and then framed it and put it right beside the computer. We review that list every month in family council. Trevor also asks the kids each month in his father's interviews specifically about pornography.

We encouraged the kids to pray for the ability to resist temptation and every morning in my personal prayers I specifically ask that my kids and husband will be able to avoid pornography. Trevor takes a family picture with him when he travels and puts it on the TV in his hotel rooms. We also installed the K9 protection system on our computer. It is free AND from multiple sources I have heard it is one of the best and most reliable ones. Only I know the password.

And finally, we put this picture right above our computer. A final reminder as they sit down at the computer to act appropriately at all times and in all things and in all places.

(about 2 weeks after this FHE we were at a bookstore for Ashlyn's birthday. With panic in his eyes Ethan ran up to me, desperately pulled at my arm and said, "Mom! Come quick, Ashlyn's looking at pornography!" I got over to her and sure enough there was a very innocent drawing of a little bum in the children's book she was looking at. We praised him for his quick thinking and for telling mom right away and we were able to again teach what is right and wrong. I smiled all the way home, this little plan just might work!)

It's Great to be Eight!

What is even greater than being 8 is having a daughter like Alyssa. Everything about her is great! She has such enthusiasm for life. She is always happy. She is so very helpful around the house. Everything she does or tries, she does with a smile on her face and with great excitement. If only everyone had her zest for life!

This great 8 year old can play with anyone who happens to be around, she is no respecter of persons. She gets along with everyone. And everyone, especially little kids, love Alyssa. She loves school and church and parties and anything that sparkles. She is independent and kind and tenderhearted. She is talented and beautiful and so fun to be around. She is ready to be baptized and has a strong testimony which she bears often.

This cute 8 year old wanted a REAL tiara for her birthday. She got three! And she deserves every one of them. She is a true princess in every way shape and form. A great daughter of God and one of the greatest blessings in my life.

I love you princess Alyssa!

Happy Birthday!

Now it's Really here!

Finally the day arrived for Ethan to start school. It had been a long week waiting for this momentous event in this little boys life. He was so excited to be going to the school his brothers and sisters went to. He was so excited to finally be a Lion. He was so excited to walk home with the big kids. He was just plain excited! As we were walking outside to take the traditional first day of school picture he said to me, "Mom, you know how all the kids hold up fingers to show what they are in school? Well, what do you hold up for kindergarten?" I didn't have an answer for him. So he came up with the closed fist to signify you are in kindergarten. I like it! Doesn't it scream

I AM STARTING KINDERGARTEN!

I think so too. I think I am done. Done buying underwear and socks and new school shoes. Done buying notebooks, calculators, pencil sharpeners, index cards, dry erase markers and college ruled paper. Done buying Kleenex and Clorox wipes to donate to each classroom. We are ready and stocked and are now trying to settle into the routine that will shape our lives for the next 9 months, early mornings, late afternoon snacks and homework and early bedtimes (in my dreams)! It's going to be a great year. I can feel it.

I am especially looking forward to some one on one time with this little one.

She needs it.

I need it.
Yep, it's going to be a great year!