Sara and Jes

Summer Fun in Kingman

2010-08-18T17:00:00.004-06:00

Here's a taste of what we've been up to this summer.

Cowboys through and through

Mass craziness at the pool

Sam's joint 3rd b-day party cupcakes

Wild West Shootout in Chloride

How my boys enjoyed said Wild West Shootout in Chloride

Swimming on the back patio

Hiking near Bullhead City

Fun with Hyrum in the pool

Helping mommy make treats

Good brothers always share the beater

Traditions Live On

2010-08-18T16:53:00.003-06:00

You would have had to grow up at my house to understand the significance of these pictures....but traditions definately do live on. There's nothing like a summer night wiffle ball game in the backyard!

And - of course - you have to lay your clothes out before your first day of school. It's a must.

Isaac's First Day of Preschool!

2010-08-18T16:39:00.003-06:00

I am so excited and happy about Isaac's first day of preschool! He is so ready and excited to go....and truth be told....he needs more social interaction than I can provide him. So - he's going to a preschool at a member's house in another ward. There are 6 boys in the class.

He wasn't even really nervous the first day. He was just excited! I was so proud of him! It will be so good for him to go to school and it's fun for me to have some alone time with Sam while he's gone.

Here are some of the projects he did on his 1st day.

Does Anyone Still Care?

2010-08-18T16:38:00.001-06:00

I never post to my blog anymore....so I don't know if anyone still checks it anymore. Should I still keep posting????

Grand Canyon

2010-06-11T21:57:00.005-06:00

Back in April we had our first house guests to our home in Arizona!!! Jes' mom and sister's family came to visit us. We went to the Grand Canyon while they were here. It was fun....but also a little scary. We had 5 adults and 5 children under age 5. There are a lot of spots where there is no fence or railing on the edge. It's a little scary to think about a kid falling over the edge. Little did I know that the one I had to worry about was my oldest child....Jes!

Sunny California

2010-06-11T21:29:00.006-06:00

Over Memorial Day Weekend we decided to go visit Jes' sister in California and go to Sea World. We had such a great time there!!! But I kept forgetting my camera, so the only pictures we got were at Sea World. We also went to the beach and had so much fun! The rest of the trip got cut short because Isaac got sick. Here's the recap of the trip to Sea World.

My New Obsession

2010-04-21T10:00:00.004-06:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this vanilla almond granola....on everything! Yogurt, ice cream, strawberries...it doesn't matter....I'm obsessed. Thanks for introducing us Amy. I can tell that this love affair is going to last a while.

The Beans Are Being Spilled!

2010-04-10T23:46:00.002-06:00

So.....in case someone out there who actually reads my blog hasn't heard. We have moved!!! To Arizona!!! Jes got a new job just before Christmas. He is now working for American Woodmark. They manufacture kitchen and bath cabinets, and he is a Value Stream Manager. He left to start the job in the beginning of January, and I stayed behind in Utah to try to sell our house. The reason I haven't said anything online about this before now was because I didn't want any "creepies" to know that I was home alone without a husband!
Needless to say - the last 3 months have been hard on us all. Jes and I were both lonely, the boys missed their daddy, and mommy had a hard time being the "single parent" for so long. Luckily we are blessed with great family and wonderful friends who took pity on us. We had a lot of invitations for dinners, play-dates, and also a lot of listening ears and shoulders to cry on. Thanks everyone!!!
But, thankfully, the separation is over! We are now homeowners in Arizona (and still Utah). We are loving being together as a family again, though some of us, me and Isaac in particular, are missing home a lot. But I'm sure we'll start feeling better soon.
The house we bought needed a little help, so we are in the process of painting right now - so I won't post pictures until it's done - so you'll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime - if anyone knows of someone looking for a home to buy in Utah - I know a great one...and the seller's are willing to deal!

Girl Trip to St. George

2010-03-30T10:21:00.004-06:00

Last year my dad took the boys in the family to Alaska for a week to fish, so this year my mom took the girls to St. George for a weekend. I know what you are thinking....this is so not even close to being fair. Although the boys did spend a lot more time away and a lot more money, we did the best we could with our circumstances.

We stayed at the Inn at Entrada, right near Snow Canyon, which made for amazing scenery, like this off our back patio.

We spent the first day at the spa - we each got to choose 3 treatments. I went with Heavenly Hair (which was exactly like it sounds!), a hot stone massage (A-MAZ-ING), and a pedicure. It was great to be pampered! That night we went out to a fancy dinner at the Country Club. I ordered a $32 steak and thoroughly enjoyed it! Here's all of us after we stuffed ourselves.

We stayed up late that night playing games and talking and laughing. The next day was devoted entirely to shopping, which was fabulous! Then we ordered in Chinese Food and watched a movie.

It was such a great weekend and a wonderful time to spend with my mom, sister, and sister-in-laws. I especially enjoyed getting to be with everyone without having the interruptions that children always bring with them. We actually got to start and finish full conversations! It was especially nice for me to get away, considering what has been happening over the last few months. More on that to come.....stay tuned.

Wish us luck!

2010-01-30T15:52:00.001-07:00

First showing on our home today! Let's all pray that they love it and offer us more than our asking price!!!!! (That's not too much to ask for, is it?)

Better than Black Friday!

2009-11-28T11:20:00.004-07:00

I'm so glad that I found something better to do on Black Friday than go out shopping! (No offense to any of you who were crazy enough to venture out!)

Jes and I spent the morning unloading truckloads of inventory needed to put on the Festival of Trees. If you haven't heard of it.....this is an event that raises money for Primary Children's Hospital. It is a huge display of Christmas Trees, Wreaths, Gingerbread Houses, and all sorts of Christmas fun. All the trees are auctioned off and the money goes to the hospital. In fact, every penny is donated to the hospital, your admission cost, any food you purchase, anything you pick up at the gift shop....it all goes to help the kids at Primary Children's.

I've been so grateful to be a part of Festival this year. I have loved getting to work hard on something so self-less. Primary Children's Hospital does so many great things for so many kids and I'm happy to support this great cause.

If you think you want to try to come to the Festival this year, let me know because I have discounted tickets that I would love to give you! Discount tickets are also available at Zions Bank.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T15:58:00.004-07:00

For Halloween this year we had a Buzz Lightyear and a Sheriff Woody! They looked adorable and had so much fun!

They even managed to persuade a real-live WITCH to take them trick-or-treating!

This picture was taken at the Halloween party my parents threw the week before, but it will go down in history as one of my favorites! This is my Grandma and Grandpa Singleton reading books to Sam! So cute!!! And so meaningful to me!

Unfortunately, I didn't' get any other pictures! I was just too busy rocking out to "Thriller", enjoying watching my sister and her husband eating doughnut off a string, ensuring no little one was bludgeoned during the pinata, making carmel apples, and drinking "spooky juice" (just home-made root beer with dry ice) to be bothered with the camera. It was a great party! Thanks mom and dad!

Witches Night Out!

2009-11-02T15:53:00.003-07:00

This year's Witches Night Out was great!!! Although, I think last year was a little more fun because it was my first time. But the thing that made this year great was that we all got together and crafted our hats a few weeks ahead. It was tons of fun!

On the actual Witches Night Out, we all met at a restaurant for dinner - and this was the scene inside.

Needless to say....everyone in the place was staring at us! Then it was off to Gardner Village. The weather was so nice this year we didn't really even need jackets! It's so much fun to see just how creative some women get with their hats and costumes! Thanks Lundberg Ladies for the fun time!!!!

October Fun

2009-11-02T15:31:00.003-07:00

Here's a few highlights of our month -

The pumpkin walk at the Grist Mill. I didn't think it was nearly as good as in year's past, and it will never be as good as Logan's, but, we went and had fun! They had those picture boards set up, you know, the ones with a cut out so you can stand behind and put your face through so it looks like you're doing whatever's on the picture? (Does that make sense?) Well the face cut-outs were all adult sized, and my boys wanted to do it, so they stuck their heads through the old grist mill thingy. Anyway - confusing story, but the kids were cute!

My sister drove up and went with us to the pumpkin walk and here are the boys with their cousin on the hay ride.

Isaac kept telling me that he wanted to keep his hair long, that he didn't want a haircut, but as you can tell from the mow hawks - it was time for a cut. Who can resist a great tub picture?!?

And finally, yes, this picture was taken in October!!! It snowed about 4 inches one night and it was even cold enough the next day that it didn't melt. So - we trudged out all the snow clothes and had a great time in the backyard! Thank goodness it's melted by now! But they did have a great time!!!

A Few Bits & Pieces

2009-09-27T15:52:00.003-06:00

So it's been forever again....and nothing amazing has happened with our family...but our boys are still fun and cute! So here are some new pictures and videos - for your enjoyment.

In Our Spare Time

2009-07-21T16:52:00.005-06:00

Since I've been blog absent for a while...this is what we've been up to this summer. Traveling...picnics....swim lessons...roommate trip to St. George that was amazing, which I will probably not blog about at this point, but you can read about it here and here ....visiting and playing with Jes' family while his sisters were here from out-of-town...hiking...and hanging out at home.

These pictures are from our hike last Sunday where we ran into a rattlesnake! Luckily things turned out ok, but it was a tense few minutes!

And here are a few pictures from the Bees game we went to a while ago. It was so much fun! I love going to the ballpark!!!
And here are the boys with our 1st harvest from our garden this year. Hopefully it's not the last! (The watermelon didn't come from our garden....we only wish it did!)

Youth Conference

2009-07-21T16:15:00.005-06:00

So my life for the last little while has been totally focused on Youth Conference. I stressed and stressed about it because I was the only YW leader going. Everyone else has nursing babies or kids with special needs. Luckily there ended up being 2 moms that came with us so that I was not alone!

We had THE BEST time!!! I really love my calling and I really love all the girls in my ward. This was also a great chance to get to know the young men...and I must say I was thoroughly impressed!

I'll try not to be too long and annoying with details, but here it goes.

We left on Thursday morning and went to the Bountiful Temple to do baptisms for the dead. It was a neat experience to be there with the girls - and for some of them it was even their first time! Then we headed up to Idaho to Lava Hot Springs to swim in the pool. It was so much fun! They have diving platforms that are Olympic regulation height, and if you are a minor, you have to have a permission slip filled out by a parent before you can jump off them! (That right there is a major warning to me that it's not a good idea to do it!) I caught a few pictures of the kids jumping, but this is one of our bishopric members!

After Lava we drove to Alpine Wyoming where we had reserved some campsites in a campground. When we finally got there at about 6:30-7:00pm we found out that there were already people in all of our campsites! After a tense scramble and search we found out the the campground had doubled booked most of their campsites! So, we weren't the only one's without a place to sleep that night! It was a big dilemma for the leaders to try to figure out what to do, but the kids were all laughing and having a great time. I didn't hear one person complain at all!

We ended up finding a much better and much cheaper (i.e. FREE) campsite about 1 mile up the road. This place was gorgeous! The pictures I took don't even do it justice. It was so isolated and peaceful and beautiful! Here is the view from my lonely 1-person tent.

The only issues with the campsite was no running water and no bathrooms! We were able to get by with no running water because we had tons and tons of bottled water...but the bathrooms for the young women were a different story. The girls toughed it out for the first night, and the next morning at 6:15am we had port-o-potties delivered to us in the middle of nowhere (thanks to our YW president's mad skills!) After that it was smooth sailing! I could have stayed there for a few more days...and that's saying a lot because I'm not a huge camper!

On Friday we went rafting on the Snake River...what a blast! The water was freezing, the rapids were great, and all the girls on my boat had a major crush on our guide! You can check us out on the river at http://snakeriver.elevationimaging.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?&category=692037 and https://www.snakeriverphotos.net/findphotos.asp?InfoID=43950

Here's the whole group before we got on the rafts. Friday evening was the big spiritual devotional by the bishopric, which was really great but much to complicated to explain here, followed by an amazing testimony meeting! I had a great time and loved every minute of it!

Sam is 2!!!

2009-07-21T16:06:00.004-06:00

Sam's 2nd birthday was a few weeks ago. We had a great day to celebrate! We met with our family at a park in Bountiful for lunch and cake, then it was on to the pool for swimming. We went to the South Davis rec center, and they have an awesome outdoor kids pool with a splash pad. I highly recommend it. My kids had the best time!

Beautiful Bear Lake!

2009-05-23T11:06:00.005-06:00

Last weekend we were able to go on the annual Allred Spring Vacation. This year we took a break from driving down south and decided to try Bear Lake. I am definitely a fan!!!! We were there just 1 weekend before their big tourist season starts, so we practically had the place to ourselves. The beach was never crowded, we didn't have to wait in line to get raspberry shakes, and we didn't see any other 4-wheelers out on the trails. The weather was perfect, and the family time was great! I didn't take any pictures of the cabin we stayed in, but it was great! This is the first vacation where we have had a place big enough for the whole family to stay together. Usually we are split up in condos, which makes it hard to hang out as adults after the kids go to bed. This time we were able to stay up as late as we wanted playing games, watching movies in the theater room, and talking. The boys loved playing with their cousins, and Isaac especially loved playing with the huge train table they had there!

Here are a few pics.

Here's Sam playing at a park during Jes's work party we went to on our way to Bear Lake.

Isaac at the same park

Digging in the sand at the beach. The water was freezing, but they had a great time!!!

Sam's still smiling even though he just fell in the cold water. Aren't the mountains and water beautiful? Oh yeah, and my baby boy too!!!

Here's my niece Maja getting our cool kite in the air

Here's the kite flying high. It was shaped like a Macaw (parrot)

Here is the pool that Jes helped the kids build. They had a great time building and demolishing it. Isaac is in the back with the blue shirt. The other kids are my brother, Mark's kids. They're all so cute!

Our last day there my dad and my oldest brother decided it would be so fun to dress the same!!! Just kidding, it just so happened that they wore the exact same thing. Like father, like son....except when it comes to the choice in schools. Dave is definitely the black sheep in the family not only for attending BYU, but for wearing their hats!

What a great vacation!!! I love Bear Lake, it's just so beautiful there and peaceful. Thanks so much for mom and dad for putting it all together, and thanks so much to my awesome family. We all get along so well and really enjoy being together!!!

I hope my husband will still love me!

2009-05-20T16:42:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago our ward did a talent show and the Elder's Quorum presidency did this cute lip sync to the Wiggles. Jes and I both thought it was so funny - so we voted for it to move onto our Stake's talent show. Little did we know that one of the guys wasn't going to be there that day...and guess who they asked to fill in???? Yes! Jes became a wiggle for one night only. They did the "Hot Potato" song, for those of you who know. They did it complete with the hot potato, the cold spaghetti, and the mashed banana! My only regret is that my camera is not that great, and I am not that great at using it - so the video I have does not do it justice!

Jes is the green one on the end.

I love you Jes!!! Thanks for being a good sport!

The Potty!

2009-04-16T08:07:00.002-06:00

So - the before mentioned reason that I have been unable to catch up on my blogging (or cleaning my house, or anything else really) is that we are offically in full potty training mode at our house. Isaac's been wearning big boy underwear for going on 4 days now. He's doing really well, but it still is no fun at all. I hate cleaning up the "accidents" and it's really hard because I know that I'm not giving enough attention to Sam, but I don't know what else to do! So - my life now consists of watching Isaac like a hawk for the "signs" that it's time to sit on the potty, and cleaning up after the misses. Sounds like fun, huh!

I know he's going to get the hang of this soon though, and then it will be one more parental rite of passage that we have made it through!

The California Leftovers

2009-04-15T16:21:00.004-06:00

For soon to be stated reasons....I have slacked on the rest of the California stuff. Sorry everyone...I know you've been waiting on the edge of your seats...right???? Anyway - I'm still too busy to do everything but here are two videos of my babies talking about California.

Thanks again Amy and James for everything!!!! Our kids had a great time at your house, and they still play with the animals you gave them. And most importantly - they remember who gave them the animals!!!

We love California....just not the drive

2009-04-10T15:33:00.011-06:00

We went on a family road trip to California last week (somewhat different than college road trips!) We had such a great time though - and here are some of the highlights.

We stopped in St. George to see Marie and her new house. So much fun, but we didn't stay long. Her house is beautiful though, and I really want to make a roomie trip down there to see her (hint, hint girls!)

We pulled in to Jes's sister, Amy's house at about 12:30 in the morning and just crashed. The next day we went to Newport Beach and let the boys dig in the sand and we also looked around in the tide pools for crabs and star fish. It was a little cold that day, but the beach was still fun. It took the boys a while to warm up to the idea of the ocean, but once they did, they had a great time!

Here's Sam walking on the beach with Grandpa Lundberg

Isaac getting out the digging toys with Grandma Lundberg

Isaac & Jes in this cool cave at the beach

Sam and Grandma Lundberg at the beach

Isaac, Jes, Grandpa, and Aunt Amy searching the tide pools

The boys finally warmed up to the beach and we buried their legs in the sand

Here we are being the best parents in the world! Letting our kids play on the lifeguard stand that has no railings and a sharp 5 foot drop

The next day we took the kids to Disneyland with all their cousins (minus a few). It was their first time and they both LOVED it! I thought that I took a million pictures...but these are all there is.

Isaac was so excited to ride on the Flying Dumbo's because he saw that ride on the Disneyland commercials on TV. He also really wanted to ride in a green one, and even though we were the last ones to get on the ride...we got green!

This was Sam's favorite ride, Casey Jones, the Circus Train. We are riding in the Wild Animals car. The ride was really cute - as you went around the track, the Casey Jones song played on the speakers. Both the boys had a lot of fun!

This is after It's a Small World. Isaac was a little weirded out by all the singing puppets, and Sam fell asleep

Both kids were a little scared on the Finding Nemo submarine ride

Here they are meeting Mickey at his house!

Such a great moment!

This was the Jungle Cruise ride. Isaac really loved this ride, naturally because of all the animals you see!

The boys had a blast playing in Toon Town! We could have spent a lot more time there!

Saturday we spent the morning and afternoon at Laguna Beach. It was much warmer and sunnier (is that a word?) that day. The boys had a ton of fun digging and playing with cousins.

If you look close you can see my awesome, gorgeous, beach bum, hubby body surfing! It was fun to watch him! The water was FREEZING!

Uncle Eben and Aunt Amy spent a lot of time making this cute little pool for the kids to play in. They all loved it!

Sam loves to dig!

Finally, Saturday evening was the event that brought us to California in the first place. Jes's brother, Lucas was getting married! It was a beautiful ceremony in a gazebo overlooking the ocean at sunset. It was so magical and romantic! We all totally love his new bride! Samantha is so cool, and nice, and cute, and fun.....and the list could go on. She makes Lucas so happy and that is so nice to see. Somehow, I didn't take any pictures of them though, but here are the boys at their wedding.

Thanks so much Lucas and Samantha for choosing to get married in California. We never would have taken this trip this year without you providing us the reason to. We love you both and are so happy for you!

Monster Bear

2009-02-23T13:14:00.002-07:00

Jes took the boys a few weekends ago the the hunting expo downtown. I luckily, got an afternoon of freedom to go shopping and spend my birthday money! But, there was a huge bear there and Jes got this funny picture.

If you think about it, Jes is 6'4" and he's holding Sam up as far as his arms can stretch - so that bear is huge! But Sam just loved being up there right by his face!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

2009-02-04T10:32:00.003-07:00

Jes suprised me with my favorite treat last night! And now I know that the world is right again!

I normally don't like Wal-mart - but - thank goodness they have already put out their easter candy! I may have to make a few more trips there in the coming weeks!

Is this weird?

2009-02-01T17:29:00.003-07:00

So today is the Super Bowl - and I really couldn't care less - the game is on right now, and I'm in my basement on the computer. But...I really love party food, so for dinner today I served my family 7 layer bean dip, little smokies, and fruit. Does that make me a bad mom or a cool mom? I'm not sure!

It's finally coming!!!!

2009-01-20T08:50:00.002-07:00

Yes!!!! The new U2 album will be here shortly (March 3) - but you can now listen to the first single online. While I'm not a super fan of the song, I am really excited for some new U2 music, and I'm especially excited for a new tour (hopefully with a stop in Salt Lake)!

If you're interested, you can listen to the song here

Randomness

2009-01-15T15:31:00.004-07:00

Here are some more pictures to sum up what has been going on around here for the last little while.

I know that Christmas is long gone, but Sam's face is so funny in this picture.

Here's Isaac and our cute neighbor, Taylor, out sledding in the back yard.

Have you ever seen that movie "A Christmas Story" where the kid is so bundled up in his snow clothes that when he falls down he can't get back up? Well, that's Sam, except this picture is pre-Christmas, before he had any mittens to keep his hands warm. Even though he can hardly move in his snow clothes, he loves to play outside!We went to the Living Planet Aquarium and this is Isaac and his friend, Payton, driving the boat. Isn't Isaac so handsome!!!

Here's all the boys loving the fish tank.

This is my new favorite picture of the boys! They are getting to be best friends...and best enemies, but they are so much fun and I love being their mom!

2 Supermen!

2009-01-15T15:20:00.005-07:00

So this picture sums up some of why I have been absent from my blog for so long. I tried to do a lot of home-made christmas gifts this year. It was fun, but it was just as stressful if not more stressful than shopping. I spent a lot of time working on gifts, and even more time feeling guilty because I knew I should be working on them.

Long story short...here are the boys in their superman capes I made them. I got the design from some capes that my mom had made for her kids 30 years ago. It is fun because they are a little bit of a nostalgic item for me, because I had a pink one just like these growing up. I even personalized them for the boys. If you look hard you can see the "I" on Isaac's belt.

Here's a video of Isaac flying, complete with sound effects.

And for those of you who have known me in the past....yes...I do crafts and sew now. It just goes to show...never say never!

I am still alive!

2008-12-19T14:21:00.002-07:00

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!

2008-11-21T13:42:00.003-07:00

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

2008-11-16T14:09:00.003-07:00

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!!!

2008-11-16T14:02:00.004-07:00

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!

2008-11-11T12:56:00.005-07:00

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!!!!

2008-10-22T13:55:00.006-06:00

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?

2008-10-21T16:34:00.003-06:00

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

2008-10-07T11:55:00.006-06:00

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?

2008-10-02T15:23:00.002-06:00

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

2008-10-01T16:18:00.005-06:00

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...

2008-10-01T15:56:00.002-06:00

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

2008-09-29T20:58:00.002-06:00

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.