I am still alive!

I'm just posting to let you all know (hopefully somebody out there even cares) that I am still alive...I just don't have anything fun and interesting to write about!

Today I wish I was a vampire!

And not because I'm in love with Edward Cullen...but because I am so unbelievably tired from staying out until 3:15am last night! (Everyone knows I like Jacob more than Edward). If I was a vampire, I wouldn't need to sleep! The movie was a lot of fun, I'm glad I went, I'm way happy that I got to go with my roomies (Marie was there in spirit, and literally there...just 300 miles away in St. George). Even now, I'm having to think really hard about typing just to keep my eyes open. I'm having a hard time spelling words. It just reinforces in my mind that I am getting old! In college we used to stay up until 4am and then get up at 6 or 7 not just every once in a while, but every night. Now I can't function without at least 6 hours of sleep. Ohhhhh to be young again!

BTW - I liked the movie - I thought the characters were good. Bella was a little more assertive than I imagined her being in the book, but I liked her that way. My only issues were with Edward. That guy is just not cute enough to play Edward! Plus it bothered me that his accent kept slipping in and out. I know I'm picky, but that's my opinion! Plus - the pale make-up was a little much, especially on Carlisle!

Thanks Keara for getting the tickets! And thanks to Missy and Lane for coming along and making it such a fun night!

Isaac's slice of Heaven

Friday our playgroup went the the Firefighter Museum - and it was great! There are some neat things on display, but mostly the museum consists of a giant warehouse of old firetrucks. They gave the kids their own fire hats and then let them go to town climbing in, on, and around all the fire trucks. Isaac had such a great time! Jes's sister, Sunshine and her kids came to the playgroup, too - which was great because it gave Isaac a friend that could climb all over with him. (Isaac is the oldest in our playgroup by more than a year). Sam even had a great time. Here's a few pictures of the fun.

My Favorite!!!

Besides all the holiday stuff, this is my favorite time of year simply for this reason...

I love clemintines!!!! My friend Tami (she's actually my old boss, but she's more of a friend) turned me on to these while I was still working. I used to take 2 or 3 to work with me every day!!! Now, my family can polish off a whole bag/box in a week!

We bought our first bag at Costco yesterday....and I have fallen in love all over again!

Finally - the Halloween Pictures!

Ok - So I know it's been a while, but I am finally ready to post some pictures from Halloween. I know Janna will be happy that I've stopped neglecting the blog world! I have just been super busy the last few weeks. Young Women in Excellence will finally be over tomorrow! Yeah!!!!

Anyway - here are some highlights from our Halloween Festivities!

We went to the Pumpkin Walk - a community event near our house and the kids got to ride on a hay ride - they loved it! We ended up going back the next day with Jes to do it again!There was also a hay maze that the kids had a great time playing in. Just in case you are wondering...Sam is not wearing capris...he is growing so fast now that it's hard to keep him in clothes that fit!Sam really enjoyed the pumkin carving!

No...I'm serious...he loved it!!!

Here's the finished product - a train and the traditional jack-o-lantern.

We also spent some time at my parent's house for a day or two while Jes had sales meetings in Ogden. The boys have so much fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house! They always spead toys around the WHOLE house. Since my Dad retired, he has been unpacking boxes of stuff that came from his office. Isaac found them and decided they would make a great train!

Sam has started really walking. In this picture, he's still doing the Frankenstein walk, but he's really good and doesn't use his arms to balance so much now! He's loving his new-found independence.

My parent's neighbor up the street grows giant pumpkins, and this year he grew the biggest pumpkin in the state! It's almost as tall as me!!!! A few days before Halloween, he carved it - and I couldn't resist getting a picture of my kids with it! Sam was facinated with it! He just kept looking inside it!And finally, here's some pictures from Halloween night. Isaac dressed as Sully from Monster's Inc. (he calls it Monster's Bink), Sam was a dog, but he hated his costume! Jes supposedly dressed up as obsolete inventory....you have to work at Hoyt to get it...but they were a cute group, and they definately got enough candy to last a while!

After we got home, the boys dove into their candy - and they got a little crazy and wild eyed! Our friends gave these glasses to the kids and they love to wear them!

I have a 3 year old!!!!

So, I've been a little busy lately and I haven't kept up on my blog - so here's the catch-up post. Isaac's birthday was on Oct. 12 - and I can't believe that he's 3!!! He is so excited about it though! Here's a few pictures from the festivities.

On Saturday we went to lunch at Chuck O'Rama (Jes's favorite) where Isaac got candles in a brownie (which he didn't even eat!)

Sam loved his lunch though!

After lunch came the presents - and let me tell you - it was crazy! All the kids were so excited about the presents, Isaac hardly got to see what the gifts were! I tried to get some pictures of him opening presents - but they all turned out like this.

All the kids were so cute - and all the adults were laughing so hard! Birthdays are always exciting to kids, even if it's not their own!

After lunch we all (minus my mom) went to see Wall-E. We had planned to go to the zoo, which is Isaac's favorite thing to do, but the weather was too cold, so we compromised on the movie. No one really enjoyed Wall-E but the short film before it was hilarious! After the movie the party was over and all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents said their good-byes - and our little family decided it was warm enough for the zoo. So we forgot about naps and headed up to the zoo to take a quick trip for as long as the kids would last. I left my camera in the car, and I was so mad about it because it was a great day for the zoo. The kids had a wonderful time, and the animals were a lot of fun. Because the weather forcast for that day had been so terrible, there were only about 30 people at the zoo - so we were able to see everything in a little over an hour!

Sunday was Isaac's actual birthday. It was a little low key because we had done so much the day before, but Isaac thought it was great to get to celebrate again! I made pizza for dinner (Isaac's favorite) and then Grandma & Grandpa Allred came over along with some of our friends for cake and ice cream.

You might be wondering why I would post a picture like this of my son, but he is actually giving his "best smile" here! What a cutie! While he was opening his gifts from mom and dad he starting singing "happy birthday to me". All in all, I think he was sufficiently spoiled! We had a great time celebrating - and thank so much to everyone who came to his parties. It really means a lot us Jes and I to have so much support - and Isaac just loves to see everyone!

Ummm...Where's my wallet?

So I had the most humiliating experience today. We went to the grocery store after lunch - not the best time with kids! - and I did BIG shopping. I finally made my way to the checkout and as they are halfway done scanning my groceries, I realize that I don't have my wallet! This morning I took it out of my purse to get my debit card so I could renew my Ensign subcription, and I must not have returned it to my purse. I was sooooo beyond embarrased - but the checker was so nice and said that they would leave all my groceries in my cart and I could just run home and come back to pay for them. But - I knew my kids were going to fall asleep as soon as we got in the car, and plus, I had frozen food and milk that I worried about leaving in the cart. Luckily for me....my good friend Mary just happened to be going through to pay for her groceries as well, and she volunteered to pay for mine so I didn't have to go home! I feel totally embarrased, but at the same time, totally grateful for having such good friends! I still am mortified by the experience, but Mary is such a great friend, and I know that I'll still be able to look her in the face after this experience and not be wondering if she thinks I'm the biggest flake in the entire world!

It just goes to show you - blessings come from trying to do the right thing! If I had been buying anything else but my Ensign subscription this morning, I know that Mary wouldn't have been there at the exact moment I needed her.

Fall Leaves

We went to our playgroup on Friday and we took a trip up the canyon to see the pretty fall leaves. I couldn't help taking a few pictures because it was so beautiful! Who would have thought that Tooele could be this pretty? Sam fell asleep on the drive, so he's not in very many pictures - but we did manage to get a few good shots.

A very handsome, but grown-up looking Isaac

Me & Isaac

Me & my little men

Do we have a chance?

Ok - so I can't figure out how to flip this video the right way - so if anyone knows - please tell me! But anyway...we went to a Country Fair last week and they had this big slide, which of course Isaac loved! He went down a bunch of times, but luckily this is the only one I got on video. If we send it to America's Funniest Home Videos do you think we would win?

Some of my favorite people

This is something that my roomate posted on her blog. I love it so much that I'm ripping her off and posting it on mine! I love these girls so much, and Marie said it better than I could!

(Alana, Missy, Keara, Me, Marie)

I love them.

We're growing old together.

We'll be 70 soon taking this exact same picture...

...and we'll still be asking each other if we should do bangs or no bangs.

We'll still meet at restaurants...

...and one day we'll all order a soda with our meal.

We'll share our latest heartbreak and we'll try not to cry...

...and we'll secretly vow vengeance where needed.

We'll laugh and pretend like we're still in college...

...we'll flirt with the waiter then flash our rings.

And we'll remember that one time...

...when that one thing happened....

And we'll realize how some of our most compelling experiences...

...were while we were together.

And we'll always stick together...

And we'll always be different...

And we will always have each other.

...

Let me explain...

So - I just want to explain why it has taken 6 months for us to start a blog. I don't want people to think it took me that long to figure out how it worked. I know I'm blond, but c'mon, it's not rocket science. Since before I knew Jes I had inherited a laptop computer from my parents. It was old when I got it, and even though it is still working now, it is a dinosaur. At first when I couln't get the blog to work right I called our internet service provider and explained that I could view other people's blog but I couldn't create my own. He had me do a few things and nothing worked, finally he asked me what version of Windows I had - and when I told him, he started laughing. Basically, our computer was so old that there was no chance of getting it to work. Then about 3 months ago my parents got another new computer, and I again inherited their old one, a nice but big desktop. We set it up downstairs so Jes could use it for school. But - we had no internet access to our basement. That is until last weekend - Jes used his master, manly, home improvement skills to wire our basement. So - now I can blog! Thanks Jes....I love you!

I'm Finally Here

I am so excited that I finally have a blog....I've only been working on it for 6 months. It's so fun to see what is going on with everyone else - so I thought it was about time for me to start keeping up with old friends and other family. This post in boring, I know...but as soon as I get our pictures transferred to the new computer I'll post more.