Great-Grandparents Allen

I'm so grateful that my Grandparents Allen (dad's side) are still alive and that my kids get to know them a little. I don't know what memories the boys will keep of them, but I love seeing them together. We went and visited them Monday night at their assisted living home.

Grandpa Allen will turn 90 this year! And Grandma Allen is 85. Grandma is in some stage of Alzheimer's and has trouble seeing anything, but she's so cute about it. Grandpa is so good to her--he has developed so much patience!

When I was a little girl, Grandpa would wrap his legs around us and put us in a "Bear Trap" and we would try to get out. We would laugh and yell as we tried to break free. It was so fun to see him trap my boys (maybe with not as much strength as there used to be), but the boys laughed and teased as they tried to escape.

The boys were looking through all of Grandpa's stuff he keeps next to him while he sits in his chair. Since Grandma can't really see, she asked Grandpa what they were doing. Grandpa replied, "Just exercising their curiosity"! (My favorite quote of the night.)

Grandma has always loved children. I was so happy to see my boys run up and give her big hugs and sit with her. They were so kind to her , even though I think they were asked the same 2 questions over and over again. She even tried to play with them! She would ask them how old they were and then say "Are you 2 years old?" They would laugh and tell her how old they were. Then she started another game. She would cover up her mouth and say "Don't kiss me, don't kiss me!" So then the boys would try to sneak up and give her a kiss on the cheek. They were all laughing. It was so sweet.

I really wish I had pictures to remember those sweet moments that the boys had with their Great-grandparents Allen, but I guess I'll just always have them in my memory. I hope there are many more times with them!

I'll have to post pictures of them when we get home to Utah. I have some cute ones of them there.

Easter Egg Hunt

Happy Easter!

We had a fun Allen-style celebration this morning . . .

I woke up at 4:30 am because I kept dreaming that the boys were up looking at their Easter baskets and I missed the whole surprise and fun of it all. :( So then I went and slept in Kacin's bed with him so I wouldn't miss it when they got up. :) At about 5:30 am, Kyler quickly sat up in bed and shouted "Kacin, I heard a rooster!". The boys were up. Was there really a rooster on Fraser St. in Mesa? I didn't hear it, but Kyler sure bolted out of bed.

We woke Eric up (he was so happy with us). Then we all looked at our Easter baskets at what the Easter Bunny brought us! We filled our bellies with plenty of candy.

Our whole family came to celebrate! And we ate a huge breakfast! Biscuits and gravy--so good.

Then with Easter baskets in hand (or on our heads), we strolled down to Grandpa's old house (where Jacqui and Josh live). The Easter Egg Hunt was on!

At the end of it all, Kacin's plastic eggs held $3.50, Kyler's had $6.10, Laura's had $2.50, and Eric's had $3. Plus, lots more candy!

Happy Easter!

A Little Math

1. The Allred family left for Arizona at 3:15 am and arrived in Mesa at 2:00 pm. How long did it take them to travel?

2. How many bathroom breaks were there along the way?

3. There were 20 hard-boiled eggs. Kacin (and Eric) dyed 7 eggs and Laura decorated 4 eggs. How many eggs did Kyler decorate?

4. Math Facts in the car . . .

Eric: "What is 4 + 2?"
Kyler and Kacin: (after counting on fingers) "6!"
Eric: "What is 1 + 0?"
Kyler: 10
Kacin: 2
Laura: "Hmm. If you have 1 piece of gum and then someone gives you zero pieces, or no gum, how much gum do you have?"
Kacin: "Gum??"
Kyler: 1!! :)
Eric: "Good. What is 6 + 2?"
Kacin: "I would like some gum."

5. How many articles of dress up clothing did Kyler put on Laura?

6. How long did Laura get Eric to swing dance with her?




Answers:
1. 10 hours and 45 min.
2. 4 stops
3. 9 eggs
4. Kacin did not get gum, but he did eat plenty of pretzels and other snacks.
5. 6- 2 aprons, angel wings, 2 different gloves, and a princess tiara
6. 45 seconds (if that)

The Letter S

This week brought to you by the letter S
and the number
7

Sickness, Sleep, Snuggy

Sickness

Still sick. The boys are as full of energy as ever, but it is Eric and I who have been under the weather. We are so ready to be done with it all--the fever, achyness, cough, sore throat. And I'm really ready for the pink eye to be gone for good (it came back on Wed.). I missed 2 days of school this week and doubt if I should've gone the other days, but it's too much of a hassle to find a substitute.

Sleep

Due to the sickness, sleep was a must--apparently a lot of it. For example, on Tuesday I woke up later than usual, helped with breakfast, went back to sleep, woke up for a half hour to put sub plans together, went back to sleep, woke for a half hour to take the boys to school, went back to sleep, woke to pick the boys up from school. I was absolutely useless! I took lots of naps this week because I was exhausted from doing things like walking from my room down to the basement. Ugh.

Snuggie

So have you ever seen this infomercial advertising the Snuggie?? Well, Kyler has.

Kyler: (in bed reading) "Can I have a snuggie?"

Me: "What??" (Thinking "I know your uncle Tyson gave you a wedgie, but why would ask for this?")

Kyler: "A Snuggie. Blankets are ok, but they can slip. With a snuggy you have the freedom of using yor hands." (no joke, if you watch the commercial he got it almost word for word. Scary.)

I didn't let him get one, so he made his own.

And the number . . . 7

Seven more days until our most exciting trip! We drive down to AZ next Saturday so we can spend Easter with my family. Yeah for Easter Egg hunts! And then on Tuesday. . . OUR SEALING! And then on Wednesday . . . California! And then Thursday . . . our 1st day at Disneyland!! Don't be too jealous, but it'll be the funnest trip!

(Thanks for the cute post idea, Megan)

Buzzing Bees

Kyler's first soccer practice was yesterday! He is soo excited to be playing soccer again. His team is the Buzzing Bees! He wanted the Lightening Bolts, but he's good with the team name now. He has a couple friends on the team this season which makes for fun practices. The first game is Wednesday! Let's hope it isn't snowing . . .

It's Open Again!!!

We are ecstatic! Our favorite place ever, the Thanksgiving Point Gardens, is open again! Yeah for spring! (Even though it was snowing today it was beautiful yesterday).

So we spent some time at the Children's Gardens and had a picnic.

They had these cool t-shirts you could make. You take leaves and flowers and place them on the t-shirt (organic cotton, mind you). You place plastic wrap on top of your design and hammer. The color stays on the shirt. You spray it with vinegar and Viola! An environmentally friendly and beautiful shirt!

Kacin's attention span=very short

So he hid in the puppet shown and made daddy finish hammering. Though, I think hammering was a bit of stress relief for Eric.

I'm sure there will be many more days at the Gardens!!

Chicken Sunday

The chickens moved out of the garage this weekend and into the Cottage!

And then it snowed.

And the wind blew--a lot.

And we began to fear for the chickens lives.

But alas, they are OK.

A little snow came into the cottage through the cracks, but they seem fine. This week is supposed to be pretty cold and snowy so let's hope we still have 4 live chickens at the end of the week. :)

Just Trying to Be Like Daddy

We were getting ready for bed tonight and Kyler went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. A few minutes later, I walked in and wished I had the camera! He was using his toothbrush and toothpaste as a razor and shaving cream and was "shaving" his whole face! At the time I was a little more irritated than I should've been, but now I realize how cute it was! Just trying to be like daddy . . .

So then I went to Target and couldn't resist buying this for him. He "shaves" like twice a day now!

Pinkalicious

"Pink, pink, pink. More than anything Pinkalicious loves pink . . .", except when it's in your eye!


We all have pink eye. Well, except Kyler. This whole let's be sick for a whole week thing bypassed Kyler in every way. Just as long as we're all done with being sick for Disneyland, I'm OK!

Blessings

After church today, we gathered at our house with a few friends and family for the naming and blessing of our two cute boys. We are so grateful to have such sweet boys. Some people have told us that we've been so good for the boys, but I most definately think it's the other way around--they have been so good for us!

Most people recieve their name and blessing as an infant . . . Since our boys are older, we knew they would most likely carry some memories of this day, so we tried to add to the specialness of it all. We wrapped 2 books last night and left them in the hallway for the boys to find. When they woke up in the morning they were so excited to find an unexpected, silvery gift for each of them. I heard someone wake up and went to the stairs and saw Kyler smiling and hugging his gift. He told me he thought he knew what it was--a book. To be specific, his guess was a Curious George book. Partly right he was. They both opened their books and we read and cuddled in the hallway. Kacin's book was "I Am a Child of God" and Kyler's was "Beautiful Savior" (both with artwork by Greg Olsen).

When we got home from church, Kacin asked to take a nap (a sure sign of sickness). He had a fever. We debated canceling, but decided to just go ahead and do it. (We found out later he had an ear infection).

I was a little nervous when it was time to start and Kyler started karate chopping, but he settled down. I peeked at both of their faces during their blessings--so reverent and sweet. They were beautiful blessings. Later, I asked Kacin what he thought about it and he said "I felt really happy inside."

We missed having our families with us, but were grateful to share the day with such great friends. It was a beautiful day!