the teen

He's been acting like a teenager for years (in a good way).

And now, as of today, it is official.

Thirteen.

He started his morning with a french toast requested breakfast.

And then sadly, he had to go to school.

He graciously spent his birthday at an event sponsored by the Japanese exchange student program. He ate half cooked hamburgers in a high school cafeteria and then spent 2 hours at a program for the host families with lots of Japanese speaking and dancing. He didn't even complain.

He is the hardest person to buy for. What he really wanted was a Buccaneers jersey. I looked online. It was $150. He didn't get one. But he did get some pretty sweet football gloves.
Close enough, right?


He is just like me and doesn't like cake so he requested 7 layer bars for his birthday treat. I was thrilled to make them for him since they are my favorite too.

He is always on the go. Active. Athletic. Friendly and happy.

This teen is going places.

I will never forget holding him in the hospital. A nurse came in, took one look at him (he was beautiful) and said, "Wow! He's a keeper!"

And so I kept him.

His birthday makes me happy. He makes me happy. It is a privilege to be his mom and to watch all the amazing things he is doing.

He is dependable and organized and smart.

He is still beautiful.

(I think all the girls in the ward and school would agree)

He is a teenager.

At last.

Happy Birthday Brandon.

which witch is which

How have I lived in Utah for so long and never known about the Witch Fest at Gardner Village?!? We went for the first time last year and had a blast. This year was our second time.

I now consider it a true fall tradition for our family.

Gardner Village is the most quaint, festive, whimsical place to visit. Cornstalks and pumpkins and sunflowers and the shops... oh, the shops.

We ate in the restaurant, fried green tomatoes of course, and then set out on our quest to find all of the witches.

Here is the first one we found.

And another doing a cannonball.

Here's the one eating a hot dog.

And the one on her bike flying through the air.

The last one we found was "Witchy Poo."

You just can't leave until you see Witchy Poo.

We always end our evening in the candy shop with a bag full of candy and a box full of fudge. The lights were twinkling, witches were strolling around everywhere, leaves were fluttering to the ground and crunching under our feet as we strolled along.

Yes, my pretty, it was a magical evening indeed.

12 weeks

4 playing soccer

2 playing flag football

1 playing tackle

that equals

56 games

over 100 different practices

multiple carpools

too many half time and after game treats to count

all in a 12 week period.

I am exhausted

and so are they.

Here is a rundown of our fall sports season.

Ethan played on the Cheetahs . He loves soccer. Every day when he woke up he asked me if he had a game that day. He couldn't wait to get out on that field. And when he did, there was no stopping him. Now that it's over he asks me every day how much longer until next season.

It's not soon enough for him.

Alyssa hung up her dance shoes for some cleats this season. She loved it too! She was on the Sparklers and she truly does sparkle when it comes to anything she tries. Soccer was no exception.

She gave it her all whether she was playing goalie or scoring goals on offense. It was a treat to watch her play.

Bryson was on the Vipers. It was a rough season for this first year competition team. They lost every single game. Their last game of the season ended with a score of 0-14.

With that said, I have to say that I have never been more impressed with a group of boys. This little team never gave up; they pushed forward, they showed up to practices, and they worked so hard. And most importantly, they never blamed each other. They were positive and complimentary of their teammates. They were a true team. It is good to win, but it is also important to learn how to lose and to keep going even in adversity. And my Bryce, he never really let it get to him. He kept on kicking and he kept on smiling. I love him.

This goofball managed to successfully play soccer in the midst of football season. The miracle was he only had to miss one soccer game the whole season for football. It seemed he was at practice or a game every single day since August. But he loves it and thrives on it, so we did it. It was a circus picking him up early from soccer with all his football gear in the car and having him frantically change in the backseat before we got to the field. He was so hot and so sweaty and so so stinky... and so was my car.

Brandon was still on the Extreme soccer team but they moved up to triple A this season. They did well. I don't think I will ever get tired of watching him play soccer.

Bryson lucked out with a pretty awesome coach for his flag football team this year. And he also was on a pretty awesome team. This little group of 6 were amazing. They were the smallest team, but each game was filled with touchdowns, pick 6's, and thrilling wins. His love of this game was evident on his face every time he played. It was refreshing to watch.

He also got to play with his cousin Andrew- heaven for Bryce. And with Bryson's speed and Andrew's arm they were unstoppable.

The Tree Huggers banded together for another unforgettable season. They had so much fun. This year they entered the big league where they played against some teams that were all Seniors. Oh, and they had no coach. They were flying solo.

But Tyler and his team team of all Sophmores held their own. They practiced in our backyard almost daily. Tyler had some great catches, touchdowns, and interceptions. He is in his element when he is out there with his friends playing the game he loves so much. I cannot wait to see them next year-watch out Seniors!

This was Brandon's first year playing tackle football. He started practicing in July, early mornings and hot afternoons filled with running, tackling, and drills. He was a little unsure that this was for him....until he played in his first game. And the rest is history. He was in his glory and all the practicing was worth it. This is where he belongs.

He was a starter on defense and the Cavemen made it to the semi-final game. You really have just got to see this little small fry tackle these big ole kids running by. He did, time and time again. I think it's the socks. (at least they made it easy to spot him on the field)

And now it is over.

Finally.

Until basketball season at least.

the patch

Most years we don't have the time to browse through an actual pumpkin patch to choose our pumpkins. Since I have to buy 9 I usually wait to buy them from the grocery store when they go out for 10 cents a pound.

That's why I always volunteer for the preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch. After all, how can you pass up a trip to the patch? And, this is my last time with a child in preschool.

And so, Ashlyn and I and her entire class headed off to Pumpkin land.

She was very excited.

There are animals and play places and corn fields and, of course, acres and acres of pumpkins.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to pick from the actual patch. We were herded into the barn where we could choose from the pile of $1 pumpkins (So, I'm not the only cheap one.). Ashlyn didn't know the difference, and she took her pumpkin picking very seriously. And then, from across the pile, she spotted it.

The perfect pumpkin.
For my little pumpkin princess.

Let the carving begin!

walking with pumpkins

Here we are at the entrance to the annual pumpkin walk. This year we had great weather and great pumpkins.

See for yourself.

Ethan's class


Ethan's pumpkin (how about that pickle nose?)

Alyssa's class

Alyssa's pumpkin

Bryson's class

Bryson's pumpkin. (By far my most favorite pumpkin of the entire pumpkin walk)

A few of our favorites: The chocolate chip cookies.

The eyeballs

And how about some angry birds?

Oh what you can do with a few hundred pumpkins and a whole lotta paint!

just call me green thumb

This year's garden harvest.....in the palm of my hand.

I think next year we should invest in some miracle grow.

state fair

Another year

Another September

Another trip to the Utah State Fair

We are creatures of habit, us Allred's. We go to the State Fair every year. We park in the same place and we follow the same route. We start at the horses and then we always enjoy a little snack while we watch the contest (is that what you call it, obviously I am not a cowboy) where 3 people on horses have to round up 3 calves that have a certain number on them that is randomly called out by the announcer. And although we always do the same thing, this years trip threw us a few curve balls. In other words, we saw a few things we haven't ever seen before at the fair. It started with an argument at the calf round up contest that got pretty heated between the announcer and one of the horse riders. We scurried out of the grandstand pretty fast after that.




This was not new. We always enjoy the little working farm for the kids. They get to put on aprons, milk cows, gather eggs, brush sheep, ride a tractor, pick apples, plant a seed, get paid for their work and then buy a treat. It is always a highlight.

This was something new. A strange man with very little teeth wearing overalls and a floppy hat was walking around doing some sort of ferret show. My kids were captivated. They even got to hold the ferret. Can you say hand sanitizer? I wish I got a picture of the ferret man himself, he was quite a sight. But I didn't, I think I was distracted (and horrified) by his toothless smile.

The vegetable room. Another must see. Nothing new this year, just the usual enormous pumpkins, brown eggs, shriveled zucchini, tiny grapes, giant sunflowers, garden anomalies, and a working bee hive.

We always make a stop by the giant sculpture made entirely of butter. This year it was cows posing as the Royal couple at the Royal wedding.

An unexpected but very pleasant new surprise was me running into my boyfriend Orlando. I had no idea he frequented the Utah State Fair, but I'm glad he does. It was good to see him.

For the first time we tried real candy apples. Kara thought she had died and gone to heaven, a party in her mouth. The others weren't so blown away by the candy apples.

We took our traditional zip down the big yellow slide, but not before we encountered a gaggle of geese wearing tiny clothes (new), watched a comedic magic show (new), and entered and survived an earthquake simulator (my kids favorite new thing this year)

Pumpkins, apples, ferrets, geese and so much more.

Where else can you see all that but at the Utah State Fair.