Tuacahn

I couple of weeks ago I began to sense that summer was coming to a close.  In one last ditch effort to enjoy the time off, I threw together a super quick girls trip and headed down to St. George.  Included in the adventure were Brynn, cousin Hailey, Catilyn, and yours truly.  We had a lot of fun and it was nice to spend time with Caitlyn, especially before her college year begins.  Here are some of the things we did:

We ate a lot.  What's more fun than that?

Brynn and Hailey are evidently connoisseurs of chocolate milk.  They can tell you who has good chocolate milk and who does not.  For the record, Red Robin does not have good chocolate milk.

We went to see Aladdin at Tuacahn.  It was fabulous.  What more can you ask in a play than a beautiful outdoor setting, music, a cute (male) lead character, a flying carpet, fireworks, water features, 3-D effects, and more?

We got a KICK out of this lady sitting in front of us. She enjoyed it so much and would just laugh when anything funny happened.  She was contagious and reminded us how cute the play was.

Is there an unwritten rule that you have to wear your 3-D glasses the entire next day?  I guess so.  

The girls also swam a lot.  They never got bored of it and it was a nice activity for them to do while Caitlyn and I read, cleaned, or watched the Summer Olympics. 

While it was a quick trip, it was a fun trip as well, and I'm so glad we made the time to go.  I truly love these girls!

Hello, London!

My parents, Keith and Cheryl Allred, are officially missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  They left yesterday to serve in the England, London mission as office specialists, whatever that means (I gather they'll  be helping in the mission home, coordinating supplies, taking pictures for newsletters, scheduling things, etc.).  They are very excited and we are so excited for them.





This was the day of their farewell.  They spoke in church and did wonderful jobs. While I was impressed with them (as I always am), I was equally impressed with the family and friends who showed up to support them.  As my mother found out, preparing for your own farewell is a little odd.

You really don't know who to expect, if anyone. People have busy lives and callings and obligations.  You can imagine our delight when we showed up at church and found many, many family members there, as well as friends and well-wishers.  My dad made me laugh when he got up to speak and reflected that the people in the congregation would most likely be those people who will come to his funeral someday. Not yet, dad! 

I don't have a picture of the night they were set apart as missionaries.  I just want to briefly submit my observations about that evening, however.  We met for dinner (we've met a lot for dinner these past two months) and the stake president came to their house to set them apart.  What a wonderfully spiritual, quiet, tender time that was.  I felt the spirit in such a strong, tangible, loving way that night that I will not soon forget.  The Spirit testified to me that their decision to serve a mission was pleasing to the Lord and that they'll be blessed in doing so.  It was truly a special event. 

My parents were in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo for two weeks.  Because of this, we were able to see them a few times.  Evidently the rules aren't nearly so strict with couple missionaries (what are you going to do, send them home?) and they would venture up to Highland on drives every couple days or so. Our final goodbye was after a family dinner (above photo).  Unfortunately, Brook was out of town and didn't get a last hug.  We all know how much my mom loves hugs (insert sarcasm), so he'll have to torment her when we go visit.

I'm not going to lie and say that it was easy to say goodbye.  Tears were shed, both when saying goodbye and in the lonely hours afterwards.   I'm so infinitely proud of these two.  They are exceptional parents and I am blessed by their love and example.  

Bear Lake...... with friends

I don't know if I've mentioned it before (probably not because my blogging habits have been less than admirable), but Brook works in Colorado now.  Yes, he works and lives in Colorado and the rest of us work and live in Utah. He comes home on the weekends, but you can imagine, it's just not the same.  This all began back in October when the entire company did a complete overhaul (don't you just love corporate America?  They're so, so smart) and sent all their employees back to regional offices.  Because Caitlyn was a senior and I had a job, we finished out the school year here and played the game of wait-and-see (fun game to play with people's lives). We thought we'd have some answers by now of what to do with our situation (whether to move to Colorado or stay in Utah), but no answers have walked up and bonked us in the face,so we're still waiting and still seeing. 

ANYWAY, we knew we'd want to get away this summer but because of the aforementioned situation recognized that money is tight (running two households + Caitlyn starting college = strapped). Soooooo, thank goodness for Keith and Cheryl and Bear Yake (yes, yake, it's not a misspelling; it's what one of the grandchildren called it when they were little and it's just kind of stuck).  

Brook and I are past the point of fooling ourselves into thinking our kids still think of us as fun.  We've moved more into the vacation roles of  chaperons, meal makers, and tour guides.  Jokes on them, though, because Brook and I still have fun.  Brynn brought a friend, Emily.  Zach originally invited two friends, Eric and Hunter, but then last, last, last minute ended up inviting two neighborhood friends, Madison and Riley (best decision).  Because Caitlyn is all adulty now with having a full-time job and all was only able to come up for a day with her friend Chandler.  

It was a GREAT time.  The teenagers entertained themselves and laughed for four days straight.  Brynn and Emily hung out with us and had their own kind of fun.  And it was nice that Caitlyn was able to steal some time away and show up as well.  Obviously, we wish she'd been able to be up there more, but we'll take any time at all.

Here are some things we did:

We began with our traditional stop at Maddox in Perry, UT

We went four-wheeling a lot

We swam at the pool

We got milkshakes on a daily basis.

The girls went through Minnetonka Cave.  Cool!

The weather at the cave reminded the girls of vampires and Twilight.

We did the go-carts.

We did an afternoon at Bloomington Lake for cliff
jumping and the rope swing.  Super fun.

Zach, Eric, and Hunter

Madison and Riley. 

Chandler got highest points for his dives

from the rope swing.  He's crazy athletic.

They're always hungry.

We did a day at the lake.

They loved lying in the warm mud.  Ha.

They just had fun.

We're grateful to the parents who let their kids go with us.  It made for a fantastic getaway for our family.

Cleaning House

I LOVE summer!  We're officially OFF any kind of schedule at our house. Because the kids are older and there aren't things like swimming lessons and such, we stay up late, sleep in late, and kind of do our thing.  It's what summer should be.  I think it's hard for Brook because he's the only one who has to wake up for anything, yet we don't seem to make it bed before midnight or later.

I also love summer because my house stays cleaner for longer.  That goes against  ANY sort of logic, I know, but it's true.  Because I'm not working I can clean any time of the day, there aren't papers and homework bags constantly cluttering things up, and the kids are out and about so much that they really don't make messes.

I know that everybody has their own cleaning routine.  For me, I move from the east side of the house to the west and clean each room completely before I move on.  It seems to work well unless I have a sort of schizophrenic day and lose focus.

Maybe you've had a day like the day I'm about to explain. Here's how my cleaning went yesterday:

It began well as I cleaned the kitchen and laundry room. It was sparkling.  It continued well as I moved to the family room.  I even got those great straight lines in the carpet when I vacuumed (now that says clean).  It kind of fell apart, however, when I got to the hallway which leads to my bedroom.
My mother gave me about 15 purses she wasn't using anymore (she's kind of a purse collector, and I, on the other hand, am a one-purse-kind-of-gal.  I use it until it's in shreds.  I've known I needed to step my game up a little bit in that area, so acquiring all the new purses was exciting).  They were collected  in a huge pile in front of my bedroom.

Looking at the purses it dawned on me that I didn't have room for them all. What the heck was I thinking when I helped myself to such a cache of goodies?  Clearly, I wasn't. Realizing they wouldn't fit in the master closet, I decided to clean out some space in the coat closet.  After moving some things around in the coat closet, I realized the linen closet might work better.  After cleaning out the linen closet I saw the boxes and albums of photos waiting to be scanned.  I'm making  a goal to scan all my photos and upload them on a web album so they won't be lost in case of fire or natural disaster (seems relevant given the frequency of this summer's wildfires and the fact that there's one house that lies between us and miles of dry grass leading up to a canyon).  I've only scanned through 1996.  Um, hello, only 16 more years to go.

Doesn't it seem obvious that I should drop everything and spend the next few hours scanning pictures?  Yes, quite a schizophrenic day.  I scanned 1997 and loved every minute of it.  I love my cute kids and husband.  What is amazing to me is that I still remember every outfit they wore,  the event from the photo, how they smelled when I hugged them, the funny things they said, and how fun it was to be a young mom with a young family.  Time flies!!! It didn't make me sad to scan them, just happy I still have the memories.

Here  are a few of my favorites:

Zach's FAVORITE show was The Wizard of Oz

Easter egg hunt

Caitlyn



I want to just squeeze them.

Easter 1997

Up at the Buhrley farm in Huntsville

Zach with Uncle Nate

Aunt Trisha reading to Caitlyn and cousin Jessica Wahlen

On our front porch in North Ogden

3-wheeling at Bear Lake

With Grandma and Grandpa Allred at Bear Lake

Bear Lake fun

With Breanne at Gardner Village

Dorothy and the lion

Caitlyn as a flower girl

Christmas Village

Christmas Morning

Christmas dinner with Grandma Buhrley