The McAllister Family

I'm Not Going to Judge

2012-01-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

I showed Jensyn (half jokingly) this picture of a cat. She looked at it and got quiet and then said, "Oh, it's cute! Mom, I'm not going to judge it because it has wrinkles." What a sweetheart. I am glad that somewhere we are teaching her something!

Santa and Toy via Santa Clause Lane

2011-12-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

Every year we look so forward to having Santa and Toy make their appearance on our street. It was SO cold this year, but it was fun still. Madden was scared and didn't want much to do with him, but he loved Santa's horse, Toy.

Again, I am so grateful living where I live. We have wonderful neighbors and a fantastic neighborhood.

This is the crew who makes this fun event happen.

Matt's Hilarious Nightly Family Prayer Fight

2011-11-12T21:19:00.001-07:00

I've gotten approval from our Relief Society President and the Bishop to have this awesome man come speak at a Relief Society night in January. I love watching him on Studio 5...he's so funny because everything he says is SO true! I only hope that I can get our ward members to come see him. I would be totally embarrassed if only our presidency and the RS committee was there. That would be bad.

2011-11-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

I am 110% positive that I married the most handsome and kind man ever. He is definitely my other 'three-quarters' (because I can only perform a fourth of what he can do...thanks for picking up my slack sweet John!) He adds so much to my life and I am so grateful to have him! I am looking forward to a great winter with him home!

A Full Heart

2011-11-05T11:59:00.000-06:00

I consider myself to be a very blessed person...for many reasons. I have a happy marriage and a handsome husband who happens to be my best friend. He is an extremely hard worker and can provide for me and my family on his own. I have 4 of the most darling children that I think I have ever seen (and I am learning that 'each crow thinks his is the blackest') something that my mom has told me for years. I have a nice home in a nice neighborhood (in a great city, in a nice state, and in the best country). My kids are smart, quick learners (but somehow I can't teach them to clean up after themselves...go figure.) I have been blessed in abundance. We've been blessed with fabulous relationships. I love the family that I have married into: Dave and Aimee Rudd and their family, John and Sue Russell and their family. These families have welcomed us into their families as if that is where we belonged. I am so grateful for extended family on John's side that we have. I admire everything about them, and my kids do too!

I am grateful for my own family...my mom and dad, my sisters and my brother. My family came to my rescue last week when I was completely confined to my bed for an entire week. Holly doubled her load for a whole 24 hours with my 4 kids, added to her 4 kids. She even braved taking them to church! She had nothing but sweet things to say to me about my kids, but then again, Holly only ever says sweet things. Chelsey almost doubled her workload, as well, though she probably even had her hands more full with three babies under three of her own, plus my 2 babies under 4! Casey used her weekend to do the same. It was my parents who took me and sat with me in the emergency room while I rambled...that Morphine does that to me (and it makes my nose and face itch...Chels, that one's for you!). Mind you, I am NOT an emergency room kind of person, but I couldn't even move an inch from laying flat on my back without excruciating pain across my lower back, bum, and leg. I've had 4 Cesarean deliveries and it didn't come close to the pain I was experiencing! John was in Lake Powell with a group of buddies from our ward, and so he couldn't be of any assistance. So many people jumped in to save me that week, without any hesitation. I called my my visiting teacher to come and get my girls to school (thanks Rochelle), and she was so sweet and offered to take the boys while she was getting ready to go out of town! My awesome friend, Kjersti picked up the boys from her and had them for a few hours until my parents picked them up and took them to their house. From there, it just took off. I could not have kept an eye on my kids, or recovered without the help of so many willing people. And, oh how I missed my sweet husband.

When I was down, the kids were so scared because I was crying and I couldn't walk. Jack and Jensyn, with scared smiles on their faces came into the room and Jack said: "Mom, don't worry, I can give you a blessing." That made my cry even more. What a sweet little boy I have. When they realized that wouldn't work, their scared smiles turned into teary eyed kids. They weren't used to seeing me so wrecked. I love my sweet kids!

As of late, I have been brutally aware how grateful I am for mental health for my family and myself. I never knew that mental health is such a trial for many people. It is scary how many people are unstable with their emotional (and physical, haha) life. Mental health...that's a big one.

Oh, wow. There is so much more on my mind right now, so much gratitude in my heart for all that I have been blessed with!

I love counting my blessings.

Bear Lake 2011

2011-09-19T21:38:00.000-06:00

It's been years since we've been to Bear Lake. We decided it was time to do some kind of a mini vacation before school started with Kirt and Leslie. Bear Lake it was. We headed up there on Friday morning and spent the rest of that evening, all day Saturday, and came home on Sunday. I love Bear Lake, although the waters were so high that we couldn't 'beach it' where we were used to. We headed into the Idaho side of the lake...we definitely chose the wrong side as far as weather goes. You could see blue skies on the south end, but the north end, where we were, was stormy and cold-ish. We had fun none-the-less. The kids enjoyed playing in the water, digging sandcastles, and having fun. We spent time in the pool, riding hay rides, and sitting around campfire. I love Kirt and Leslie--we always had such a great time when we lived so close to them, so I am grateful that we can continue their friendship through the years. I'd say any vacation with family is a fabulous one.

2011-09-19T21:16:00.000-06:00

Our season pass to Lagoon is nearing its end. We have had a lot of fun there this year, but I don't think we will renew it next season. We used the pass a lot in April and May, a few times over the hot summer months, and more recently we finally took out the motor home. It was a nice cool day on Saturday, but it was still packed! Grandma and Grandpa JJ also purchased season passes and this was the first time that we were able to join up. The kids had a blast! Jack loves being tall enough to go on BAT. I am certain that is his new favorite ride at Lagoon. Jensyn's favorite has always been Colossus, but this most recent trip, her new favorite was Spider. That is good news since she wouldn't have anything to do with that or Wicked once she rode both of them once. Since we had the motor home, we made all of our food instead of buying the stuff at the park. Lunch was mediocre, but dinner was so yummy! We had shredded pork tacos...one of our favorites. They don't require much, just the taco, pork, and guacamole. So delish. I have been happy to do Lagoon this year and anticipate doing it again in a few years or so...but I think I am Lagoon-ed out for awhile. I do know that we will head out at least one more time for Frightmares. I always like this time of the year there.

Brothers

2011-09-01T22:21:00.000-06:00

These two boys are the light of my life! They get along so well...they truly care about each other! If Jack is riding the Jeep, Madden climbs in and assumes position. Madden holds on and they ride for hours. If Jack is not in the Jeep, you can often find Madden in the drivers seat driving. If this is something that Jack takes notice of, Jack comes over to get into the drivers seat...and then Madden knows the drill. He scoots over to let Jack be the driver once again. They build ramps, they go up mounds of dirt, they drive from spot to spot in the yard with the toy chainsaw in the back and do 'work.' These boys are definitely boys, and I love every minute of watching them be boys together.

Jack's Perception

2011-09-01T22:13:00.000-06:00

The other day after I dropped the girls off at school, the boys and I decided to take John and his crew bagels from Einsteins. I picked up the loot and headed out on my mission to find them. I know their route, but for some reason it always takes me a ton of time driving around to actually find exactly where they are. I found the truck and trailer, but I know that John often goes on ahead to string trim. I went from house to house in Willow Creek looking and listening. I pulled up into a driveway of one of his customers to see if John was in the backyard.

"Mom!", Jack said. "I think he is here. I smell dad's pants."

I about died laughing. What does Jack think his pants smell like, why is Jack sniffing John's pants? I do realize that his pants smell like grass, but I think it's hilarious that is what he thinks about.

The New School Year

2011-09-01T22:06:00.001-06:00

I simply cannot believe that the summer is winding down and the kids are starting school again. To make a very long story short, the girls both started at our neighborhood school last week, but since then, they have changed schools for the opportunity of Spanish Dual Immersion. Both Jensyn and Logan were accepted and we couldn't be more happy. This will be such a great opportunity for them, and a huge benefit for the rest of their lives! It was a little rocky at first...I was a wreck. I was worried about disrupting Logan's fabulous academics at school and rocking that boat. As always, it's hard to make these kinds of decisions. The first day was rough on her, but every day since then, she has come home with a smile and some new knowledge on speaking Spanish. Jensyn is doing great, as well...it is easier the younger kids are. Here's a funny thing though: Jensyn has the same teacher in first grade that I had when I was in the first grade...different school! What a blast from the past. Mrs. Conklin was the single most teacher of my life that I actually remember the way she taught, and the impact she had on me. I couldn't ask for a better teacher for her!

We are excited about Spanish Immersion. We have tried taking family Spanish classes, but they were proving to be costly. The school district offered Rosetta Stone at deep discounted prices, so we purchased that last year. We have learned some, but this immersion will be so much better for them!

Logan is in the 3rd grade, Jensyn is in 1st, and Jack is in his second year of Pre-School. He will go one more year after this before he enters Kindergarten. It's going to be crazy having both girls gone all day! Hopefully, here's to a fabulous, new school year for the kids. It's going to be exciting.

Our Cabin Adventure

2011-07-17T22:13:00.000-06:00

We go to the cabin so often that sometimes it just seems like a chore, or something that we do to pass the time. This weekend, we set out to nail that dang squirrel that has taken up living quarters in the cabin. John doesn't think that he 'gets in' anywhere, but that he actually lives inside. Holly found a 'bed' in my dads helmet, and there are significant signs around the cabin of 'life when we are gone.' What a mess these creatures can make! We never caught the squirrel, but we had fun up there anyway. Our weekend went something like this:

John came home from work Friday afternoon ready to go to the Herriman Rodeo. What the heck? I came up with a better idea. Let's go up to the cabin! He was as shocked as I was, to say the least. We packed up whatever we happened to have in the fridge (or freezer) and loaded the kids up and headed up. We made it to the cabin by 5:30 that evening. We ate some dinner and lounged around...this is easy to do in such a comfortable place!

We stayed up late and we all slept well! On Saturday morning, I woke up to the smell of breakfast. John made breakfast! (Okay, he does that a lot, and actually likes it, but I can't remember a time at the cabin where I haven't made cheese waffles!) We cleaned up house and went for a 4-wheeler/Ranger ride. John taught the kids how to ride his 4-wheeler. They were all awesome. I was impressed that a 3 year old could maneuver such a big machine with such ease! I always love these rides.

We came back into the cabin to find no luck with catching the squirrel, so we lounged around some more! We decided to go on a little 'hike' up the hill and see what things in nature we could spot. All of the kids found walking sticks, Madden included. He was not about to be left without one! They loved it! John named Jack 'Old Man of the Mountain', and then Jensyn decided that she wanted to be 'Old Lady of the Mountain.' That one makes me laugh because we always call her 'Grandma Shipp' because of her yellow hair, among other things! The kids even let me take some pictures...Jack was quite the poser. We had so much fun on this hike! We found 'fuzzy-wuzzies', butterflies, and other bugs. Madden has sharp eyes, as we call them. He found on the side of the trail a butterfly on a leaf. When we all gathered around it, Madden started blowing on the butterfly. It made us all laugh.

Finding the fuzzy-wuzzy

My handsome boys!

Walking with the walking sticks.

"Look at the butterfly I found!"

My boyfriend and me

Once we got back from our hike, we headed back to the cabin to load up guns to head over to the shooting range. Jack loves spending time with his dad shooting, and the girls just liked riding the 4-wheeler.

We made the kids up a scavenger hunt where they searched the entire 3 acres for a variety of things. They found them all within about 20 minutes, but they had a blast doing it. We tried to name different flowers and plants, they are quite knowledgeable kids when it comes to plants!

Right before dinner (yep you read it right) we took the kids over to the Bear River Lodge and all indulged in either a soft serve ice cream cone or a root beer float. That was way more fun than I could have imagined! Honestly, I think we will have to add that to every cabin weekend we have! It just added something different to our routine.

We never caught the squirrel, but John and Jack saw him several times. They said he was a fat bugger. But, who wouldn't be, staying in this mountain home and eating anything they could get their teeth on!

Our vacation would not have been complete without a traffic jam on our way home!

I could reach my hand out and pet these 'puppies' as we were driving by...but they scared me!

Another well spent weekend with my family! I am so grateful for each moment that I have with them!

Summertime Fun

2011-07-11T00:28:00.001-06:00

I don't know what I'd do without sweet Logan helping me ALL THE TIME with these kiddos! She is awesome!

Madden...always on the go.

My sweet heart girls.

I love this smile!

Believe it or not, I am not even freaking out about the dead lawn. The kids have been playing on a slip and slide that Jensyn won during the 4th of July Bike Parade. They have had hours of fun playing in the sun! Besides, the lawn grows back, doesn't it? Well, it already has! I am all for the outdoor fun!

Draper Rodeo

2011-07-11T00:15:00.000-06:00

John asked the kids on Friday if they wanted to go to the rodeo. They have no idea what a rodeo is, but they said yes because it meant they were 'going somewhere.' When they 'go somewhere' with dad, that's always a fun time.

Here's a few highlights of our family date night.

Handsome Boys

2011-07-10T23:57:00.000-06:00

These darling boys light up my life. Jack decided the other day that he wanted to change his name. He said that he wants us to call him John Daniel McAllister, Truck.

The last time he changed his name it went from Jack to Jack-Truck. I'm glad that he kept the 'Truck' on there...I'm not sure what his obsession is with that is.

Madden is turning into Jack AND John's mini-me. He LOVES John and asks for him often. His sweet little face lights up when John walks into the room, especially from work. This morning when Madden realized that John was still in my bed, (he leaves by 6:00 every morning) Madden climbed on him and started kissing him all over John's face.

I hope my sweet John knows how much his kids adore him. They look up to him, idolize him, and want to be just like him. I don't blame them. They won't be sorry to grow up to be just like their dad.

Jack got a new pair of boots that he thinks he needs to wear everyday because he wants to be like dad. He is fine wearing long sleeve shirts with jeans-with his boots in 100 degree weather because John does it. I guess there are much worse people in this world for my kids to idolize! Thanks, John, for being the very best dad on the planet.

It's a baby!

2011-06-30T21:58:00.000-06:00

I am getting hungry for a teeny tiny bundle of joy! I can't wait to hold the little beauty.

Oh, no, not mine--this one is for Chelsey. Good luck, Chels.

Lagoon

2011-06-11T22:46:00.000-06:00

Today was another Lagoon day. We leisurely woke this morning at 9:00 a.m. As I was getting myself ready for the day, Logan asked it we could hit Lagoon. For some reason, it clicked. John and his crew were working on 30 yards of mulch for a customer and I thought it would be good for the kids to get out. We got everyone dressed, swimming suit on under their clothes, and made it to Lagoon by 10:15. It was busy in the parking lot, but once we were in, the kids walked on most every ride. At around noon, we went into Lagoon A Beach. It was FUN! I have never been, and obviously neither have the kids. John was able to meet up with us around 2:00. We all had some lunch together, and rode a few more rides before we called it a day. Jensyn is getting more brave as time goes on and that makes it fun for dare-devil Logan. She was so excited when John came because all she wanted to do was go on the Rocket with John. Last time, she did Re-Entry--and loved it. She claims that the Rocket was a lot more scary than Re-Entry. I disagree...but to each, his own! Madden is always a trooper riding around in his stroller...I personally think that is the life!

Once we headed back home, John took Jensyn and Jack in his truck; Logan and Madden rode back home with me. John didn't go home--he went out to work and took them with him! How cute it he! He is always respectful of me and is always worried that I will be overwhelmed with his schedule. I love my kids, and I love being with them, so I am never worried to have them all the time. Truth is, I think, that he loves being around them, too. He is one amazing guy, and I am so glad that I get to be with him forever!

School year is OVER!

2011-06-07T18:46:00.000-06:00

I love summertime, and I love it when the kids get out of school. I love when my little (some bigger than others) sidekicks are home all the time with me. With that being said, I am so glad that since I do send them off to school each day, I am grateful that they have such wonderful teachers to be with. I have enjoyed being able to be in Jensyn's class every single morning to help change out baggy homework. It makes me realize how little time teachers have, and how much they are able to get accomplished in a days time (or 2 1/2 hours time if you are Mrs. Butler in Kindergarten.) I was so impressed today when Jensyn was sent home with book after book that her teacher compiled for her of special work and papers that are 'important.' Additionally, she sent home a slideshow video of the whole year, in order.

Jack will be completing his first year of Challenger Pre-School. It's been 5 years since we have been affiliated with them, and I can't believe how the time flies. We started with Logan, added Jensyn, and now it has been Jack's turn. He loves it. When I went to his Spring Sing, I had a darling mom behind me notice Jack's bag with his name with his last initial on it. She let out a gasp and said, "Are you Jack McAllister's mom...? Oh my word, I am so glad to know you now! He talks about Jack daily and tells me that he is ____'s best friend." (I don't know his name!) Jack had never mentioned the little boy, but I was proud. My little Jack is the sweetest boy on the planet. He cares for everybody, and everybody loves him back! I am so happy to be his mom!

Logan continued this year to excel. She is the top of her class, and I am one proud momma! She must have gotten her reading skills from John, because they sure didn't come from me! (I can certainly read, I just don't like to---I've got WAY better things to do with my time!) I hope that they all continue to do well and that they will always have a love for learning. Once I got into...oh, say 10th grade, I was done wanting to be at school. I only wanted to go for the social part. Fortunately, I finished up--that was never a question.

As always, I feel like I have to sign off with a small 'something' for the teachers who do so well for my kids. I get headaches even being around a group of kids. I don't know how they do it everyday! I finally finished wrapping the gift and the kids can't wait to give them to their teachers.

Jensyn and Julie Butler, her Kindergarten teacher

Jensyn's first day of school

Logan and Katie Salamon, her second grade teacher

Las Vegas

2011-06-05T21:42:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not, John took us to Vegas! We had so much fun. John worked until 9:30 on that Thursday night so that we could be on our way to Vegas at 4:00 a.m. We arrived in Las Vegas at 10:30 that morning and got nestled into our Treasure Island hotel. The room was awesome. Honestly, we didn't do a whole lot but my little family had a nice getaway. We met Steve, Mariann, and their family for one night and spent a few hours with them. It was nice to be able to catch up and see them.

How bad is it that I want to go back...like bad? I guess I need to 'get out more.'

John calls this Madden's morning after picture.

Logan's Baptism

2011-05-14T22:44:00.000-06:00

It was a wonderful day for our family. Long anticipated, and wonderful! I thought she looked like an angel! I know Logan loved being baptized with her cousin Bailey. The party afterwards was so much fun because I think I have the best family and extended family on the planet. I wish I would have taken some pictures of ALL those who supported Logan today. The Russells, the Rudds, the Mertlichs, Kirt and his kids (we missed Leslie, she was out braving a marathon in Moab!), the Stouts, my parents, John's parents, John's Great Aunt Ruth. In addition to MANY friends from our ward who stopped by. We really have a wonderful support system and I thank my Heavenly Father every single day for them!

Logan told me today that she has never felt the urge to bear her testimony in sacrament meeting. That changed this afternoon, when she came up to me and whispered that she felt like she needed to stand and bear her testimony on Sunday (or Fast Sunday). She told me that it must be the Holy Ghost telling her that.

I love the purity of a child. I love their innocence and their love for all things good! I am so glad for the example of Logan to help lead my kids in righteousness! Cheesy, I know. I love my family!

Congratulations, Logan!

May 6, 2011

2011-05-06T16:58:00.000-06:00

I love Spring!

T-Ball

2011-04-23T22:30:00.000-06:00

I am so excited that Jensyn and Jack are both playing T-Ball this spring. They love it! They have a darling team, and it makes if ever more fun since the moms and dads of the team are all my dear friends! It is going to be a fun month!

One thing that I love, and I think is so true...cute Rochelle Collins (my friend on so many different levels), was watching John and Jack. She said to me that she thinks John is one of the best guys. As an example, she mentioned that John had been out working earlier in the day (on a Saturday morning), stopped to watch the kids play their game, and went back to work right after. She loved how he stopped what he was doing to be with his kids. I know that is something John wouldn't want any other way. I love John, and I love it when other people know him the way I do.

Lagoon

2011-04-23T22:13:00.000-06:00

I was a total nerd this year and decided to use Grandma and Grandpa Shipp's Christmas money on Lagoon season passports. They opened April 2nd, weekends only. I braved taking the 4 kids myself last Saturday and we had so much fun! Jensyn was finally brave and took a ride on Wicked, Colossus, and Wild Mouse. She liked the latter the best that go-around. It actually wasn't too bad taking all of them by myself! The lines were short, and Logan was a tremendous help by taking Jensyn on all the rides. Jack loves Dinosaur Drop, LadyBug Bop, Bombora, and The Tidal Wave (or anything else he is tall enough to go on). I'm pretty sure that Logan's favorite ride is Wicked.

This week, a big job that John had scheduled was re-scheduled for another week. We went down to Costco, and at about 2:00, we were eating at the food court there. Out of the blue I asked John if we could all go to Lagoon. (I had also purchased a season parking pass, so it would be free!) He looked at his watch and mumbled a little bit because that would only leave us 4 hours, tops. We headed home to drop of the groceries, picked up Logan from Sophie's, and away we went to Lagoon. John, Logan, and Jensyn started off the day on Colossus. The lines were all very quick and we were ready to leave by 6:00! As always, Madden is a trooper, Jack just wishes that he was tall enough to ride the 'big' rides. Logan even had more courage than she always has...she went on 'Re-entry' with John. I don't know that she really knew what she was getting herself into! She said that she couldn't believe that the ride just kept going up...and up...and up! She was glad to come back down, but by the looks on her face, I think she really liked it!

I am so happy that the kids enjoy Lagoon, and that they are brave to try these big rides. I think we will have a great summer!

The Drive Home

2011-04-03T22:03:00.001-06:00

We spent the last session of General Conference on the road, driving home from the cabin. The snow was falling (yes, in April) and it was dreary. I was so excited once 2 o'clock came and we could turn on the last session. Not only did it help pass the time, but it also made the drive MUCH more pleasant! at almost
2 o'clock, John put his hand over on my leg to hold my hand. I love it when we hold hands...we do it lots in the car. It is such an easy way to show love, and it makes me feel good! Richard G. Scott gave a wonderful talk on Marriage and Family. Isn't this what the gospel is essentially made of? Richard G. Scott told of his wonderful wife who has since passed on. He talked about how she would often slip love notes in places he frequented (his scriptures) and how eventually, he would do the same. Come to find out, she had saved each and every love note he had written to her. I don't think finding the right person to marry for 'time and all eternity' is an easy thing to do. I don't think I could have ever chosen someone so wonderful and perfect as John. Elder Scott went on to tell a story about how he had been away on business for a few weeks...and a few hours later was scheduled to go to a meeting. When he came home from that trip, his wife was washing the clothes by hand, as their washing machine had broken. He was an engineer and naturally went to fix the machine. She asked him what he was doing, and he said 'fixing the washer so you don't have to wash the clothes by hand.' She immediately told him to quit doing that and to go play with the children. He did, and he was glad that he did. He noted that he would have probably forgotten that experience, had the next experience not have happened. At about 4a.m. the following morning, he recounts : "I was awakened as I felt two little arms around my neck, a kiss on the cheek and these words whispered in my ear that I will never forget: 'Dad, I love you; you are my best friend." Richard G. Scott's other son who was terminally sick with heart failure, died a few months later. I just loved that talk, and I cried (surprise, surprise.)

He asked in his talk:

Are you having that kind of experience with your children? If you are not, you are missing one of the supernal joys in life.

"Two of the vital pillars that sustain Father in Heaven's Plan of Happiness are the family and the home," Elder Scott said. "Their lofty significance is underscored by Satan's relentless efforts to splinter family relations and to undermine the significance of the temple ordinances which bind the family together for eternity. He does this by constant encouragement to promote promiscuity and to defile the sacred intimate expression of love between a husband and wife that results in the birth of children."

His talk was definitely food for thought!

General Conference

2011-04-03T20:38:00.002-06:00

I always look forward to General Conference on so many different levels. First, I love that my little family is together, usually at the cabin. Second, I think that it is definitely sent from heaven. The talks are so well presented , clearly with lots of prayer and revelation. This year since Logan is being baptized, I wanted her to listen to conference. All of it. And she did! It helps with the props, but she did. I downloaded lots of General Conference packets, mixed and matched them for the kids, and then made a sort of my own. The kids were way excited.

This was seriously her 'perch' for much of Conference.

Jack didn't bring his tonsils with him this weekend, and relaxing up there seemed to aid in the recovery process.

It just doesn't look like he feels too well!

...but here it does!

Madden brought with him a stuffy nose which Logan was more than willing to remove. Thanks, Logan. He also brought his funny faces and poses for the camera. He slept best by himself upstairs in his crib! I was happy about that.

How funny is it that John is taking a snooze in the background?

Jensyn enjoyed the weekend, too. She got her hair curled, posed, and loved the snow.

It seems like we always take a picture of this pose...on the snowmobile outside the cabin.

As for me, I loved conference. There is so much to learn, to understand, and to apply to my life. I choked up and cried a bit, too. I don't think that I have a favorite, but several that affected me. That is a good thing! Off of the top of my head, I loved Richard Maynes talk and the poem that he repeated. Our stakes is one of 16 stakes in the church that is starting a program about 'Rescuing the Lost.' It talks about the ninety and nine and how we should leave them to find the one sheep who is lost. When he told his poem, I thought how fitting it was for our stake.

Twas a sheep not a lamb that strayed away

In the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong;

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong, it won’t take long

Til the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when sheep are lost, what a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay!

C. C. Miller

As I was 'googling' the poem, I found a lot of people (and their blogs) who felt the exact same that I did! It was definitely a conference favorite. What a powerful thought! As a mom, I learned the POWERFUL influence we have on our children. They DO follow us and they DO what we do. If we stray, chances are, they will too. If we believe, they will too. They follow us. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are disciples of Christ! We can life the heads of those who have their heads hung down. We can teach them happiness. Richard Maynes went on to say that parents must teach their children and that we must believe in the eternal nature of the family. He mentions that Satan is leading an attack on the family, right now. How true that is. He urged us to culture a spirit in our homes so that the Spirit can dwell in our homes. I was glad to have watched conference for this talk!

There are so many more powerful messages delivered this weekend, and I can't wait to read them again in the Ensign.

Kindergarten Nursery Rhyme Program

2011-03-30T19:52:00.000-06:00

What a good job Jensyn did on her program! She remembered her part and repeated it so that everyone could hear. I was proud.

Polly and Sukey

Polly put the kettle on

Let's drink tea

Sukey take it off again

They're all gone away

Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

2011-03-30T19:45:00.000-06:00

The news of Jack needed to get his tonsils removed shocked me. Last October, I took Jack to his well child check-up. He rarely sees the doctor unless it is for well-child and immunizations. When Dr. Lei said that he has huge tonsils, I was floored. He looked over his records to make sure that he hadn't been in for tonsillitis or other throat related problems. He hadn't. He is one healthy little man. I was referred to Dr. Grimmer at PMC in SLC. We waited 3 months for his appointment and finally met him for the first time yesterday. He agreed with Dr. Lei and suggested surgery. I was impressed that they had 1 opening for the following day and then if we didn't take that time, we would wait 3-4 weeks. I jumped on the opening for the following day...less anticipation, less stress, less worry. He was such a sweet big boy!

Here's how our day rolled out...

Alligator ready to have surgery!

Pre-Op appointment with vitals

Checking into the hospital

More vitals

He loved being able to 'toot around' in his truck for the morning.

His jammies for the stay

Getting ready to part ways

Anesthesiologist takes him away, Jack drives to the OR room

One last look

After surgery, being wheeled to recovery

One sad little boy

BUT, a brave little boy! He was so brave that he even got a prize.
He chose a car, who'd have guessed?

A wagon ride to the car with his slushee in tow.

I hope life without your tonsils is great!

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T21:23:00.000-06:00

What would the day be like without the Leprechauns peeing in the toilet and turning the water green, or mischief making in the house? We had a fun day at the McAllister house...food, parties, scavenger hunts, and fun!

The day started off first thing this morning when to our surprise, the Leprechauns turned our house upside down. Shutters were open, the dishwasher was open, chairs and barstools tipped over. They outdid themselves this year!

Logan's trap proved unsuccessful--but she ALMOST got them according to our observations. It looks like they tilted the table chair to climb up and then somehow got the Hershey's Kisses, but somewhere along the way, they must have stepped on the glue dots. We found the paper stuck underneath the front door, half in and half out. I wonder how long it took them to escape! Fortunately for the kids, they did leave a present for them at the door. How cool is that? Logan was about in tears that she didn't catch them, but I reassured her that I don't think anyone has EVER caught them because they are so tricky! Each of them got a green shirt, a pair of green socks, and another small toy of sorts. They were so excited.

Here's MY Lucky Charms!

Once the kids got home from school, we had lots of running around to do to prepare for our first extended family cousins party. Hogan, Hudsen, Sophie, Bailey, Boston, Grace and Fischer all were able to come. Additionally, my mom and dad, Kirt and Leslie, Casey, and Chelsey were there. How fun is that?

Chelsey, Hogan, and Hudsen

These are the kids' table settings and party favors.

In the McAllister family, St. Patty's Day wouldn't be the same without Taco Salad...it's our favorite.

It was the craziest thing...while the kids were playing outside, John found a rainbow paper shamrock with some hints on it for a treasure hunt! The kids were so excited to read them and go from shamrock to shamrock to find different prizes. It only took them 10 minutes, but Logan sure had her arms full with fun things.

Then finally, the kids just played and wore themselves out. Jensyn came up to me tonight and was holding above both temples on her head and said:

"Mom, my head feels really wobbly inside." John took her and laid down by her and 3 minutes later, she was out like a light. It was only 8:00. I hope that she is okay.

I just love my family!

I think I might hear the Leprechauns!

2011-03-16T23:32:00.000-06:00

Shhh. The kids are sleeping and I think I just heard the Leprechauns! I better hurry and go to bed so that they will stop by our house for some mischief.

One thing I do know, is Logan made a trap and I think she might catch them tonight!

The trap has glue dots around the outside and at the bottom. Hopefully, they will run up the page and get stuck on the glue when they try to eat the Hershey's Kisses.

Good luck, Logan!

Can you even believe this snow?

2011-03-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

Here it is, March...and it's snowing like it SHOULD in January! Nice.

Making Relief Society 'Purse'-onal

2011-03-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for the Relief Society Birthday Party! SO much work goes into the planning and carrying out of this yearly event, and this year is no exception. I don't know why I insist on making the invitations cute (expensive, time consuming, etc.) but I seem to always do that. I have an awesome committee who sees my (and Diane's) visions and has the capacity to carry them out! I spent several hours tracing and cutting out over 110 invitations with 110 of the same shape inserts, plus 110 more inside tabs, just for a splash of color. I handed them over to Evelyn to glue them in and glue in some darling sequin handles. She did wonderfully! I realized once I got them all back that I even needed more! I ended up making from start to finish about 25 more. They took hours, but I hope that it will make someone want to come! If that is the case, they were just worth it. We are going to do Cafe Rio-type salads, a few fun purse themed games, have bundt cakes and purse shaped cakes, lots of balloons, and hopefully lots of fun. If only I can remember to take some pictures of the night! (I sure love having the internet where any fabulous idea is at your fingertips! There are so many incredible ideas out there...I am good at copying!)

I really love my calling and this year, finally, I think I may can gotten into some sort of groove. I am sorry to Diane that it has taken a whole year to accomplish that!

I can't even tell you how much I love the ward that I am in, the people who I rub shoulders with every single day. I also think that part of what makes someone want to be active, to serve, to be a part of the ward (really) has to put something into it, too. I don't think that just by going to church and having it be a routine thing will ever fully get us involved, though I know that is sometimes all people can do--and I understand that. Accepting callings, showing happiness, showing compassion, and really caring about people are all part of the necessary things that we need to do! I feel like when these things are not done, it is lost on us! My life is happy. I am grateful for a husband who supports me and my calling, and now I have the chance to support him in his. He has been called to serve as Secretary in the beloved Young Mens organization. It is amazing to see how he cares about them already (yes, I am talking about my dear, sweet, John.) I love being a part of something so wonderful!

Before John received his calling in the ward, he was invited by the previous YM presidency to attend the 'Kinda Klondike.' It was up at Chris and Susan McCandless' cabin. John brought his snowmobile down from our cabin for the occasion (ok, that's why he was invited in the first place.) The very next day, that presidency was released and John was put in--that honestly was no surprise to me based off the conversation John had with the Bishop (alone, all the way to and from the cabin in Fairview!)

It is my very favorite when people see John 'come out of his shell' and see him not for what he portrays himself to be (I call him a prick!) but the sweetest, most wonderful man in all the planet. I love it when people discover the jewel that I have!

I hope John doesn't kill me for posting these pictures!

Homemade Valentines

2011-03-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

I totally 'cheesed' it this year, but it was so much fun! The girls and I (mostly me) made these darling matchbook valentines for their classes this year. It definitely didn't save me money, but I loved the idea. I will totally make Valentines in the future! Inside of the matchbook, we gave each child a lick-m-aid (or whatever they are called!) I had lots of compliments on them and moms saying they were going to save them for ideas for another year. How nice is that?

Christmas Meadows, again

2011-03-06T00:13:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since we've been able to go up to the cabin. We left right after Logan got out of school on Thursday (no school Friday for a teacher work day). I welcome any school days off the district gives us. I love the time we are able to spend together as a family! We spent 2 nights there and returned Saturday afternoon. It was a nice relaxing trip (except for the part where Madden put a Sequence chip in the Wii, and awesome John fixed it! What a relief.) I am so glad to be able to come up to this beautiful place as often as I'd like. We are really blessed!

What a good place to spend our anniversary too, huh!

12 years is not long enough

2011-03-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

Happy 12 year anniversary to my very best friend. I love you John!

My new kitchen!

2011-03-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

After 6 (too many) years of the horrid white tile on my kitchen countertops and climbing up my wall, I had them replaced. I added the copper-color back splash, which took only a few hours to do. The kitchen gives me the same feel as the cabin, which was not pre-determined! I love the sink and the faucet. It's nice to have new things. Ultimately, I'd like to redo the WHOLE kitchen (cabinets and floor) and blow out the back of the house. This will buy me some time until I can do just that

I am glad to finally be excited to make breadsticks and sugar cookies--I won't have the daunting task of cleaning the tile and grout from the dough once I am done.

During:

After:

Don't pay too much attention to the nasty chair coverings. I have some cute new fabric to recover them...it's just getting to it! It'll pull some new color into the scheme, as well.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

2011-03-02T13:49:00.001-07:00

I am a total dork, but I thought I would start to put more effort into being a good mom. So much of my days consist of Relief Society activity preparations, helping in classrooms, running errands, girls night out, etc. I found on a blog an idea to let the kids take a Dr. Seuss cold lunch to school. It ended up being really fun and I think that Logan got a kick out of it. I really just want to let my kids know I much I love them, and how much they mean to me! Hopefully little things like this might help them remember. As we were making the lunches, Logan was so excited and she said, "I am totally going to do this for my kids when I grow up!" That made me smile.

John is so good, too, to let me spend the money on these projects. He laughs and says to me: "Nerd Alert." I'm okay with that. I am a nerd...I totally admit it.

Yes, I decorated the cards and laminated them, too! I love my laminating machine, I use it all the time.

To top it all off, we braved taking Jensyn, Madden, and Jack to the school to eat with Logan today. They loved it.

My Relief Society Lesson

2011-02-07T15:34:00.001-07:00

" If we will always look for the best in others, in our friends, in our neighbors, in our wife, in our husband, in our children, they will turn out to be the most wonderful people in the world. On the other hand, if we are looking for their weaknesses and faults and enlarge upon them, these same people may become even despicable." (Improvement Era, June 1967, p. 29.)
~N. Eldon Tanner

Happy Birthday, Jensyn-Bird

2011-02-07T01:00:00.001-07:00

What a fun weekend it was for you! We kicked off your birthday weekend with a friend party over at Young Chef's Academy. The owners were awesome and so accommodating! The kids loved every second of it--and so did I since I didn't have to do much. She invited 6 friends from school, Logan and Jack, and cousins Boston and Grace. Jack was also excited when Kit got to come and stay. They are quite the buddies these days. Saturday, I braved taking the (all) the kiddos to the mall. They were SO good and it was fun to be out with them. I cannot believe that 6 years has passed since I had sweet Jensyn. She is a tall girl! She continues to grow that yellow hair, which makes me wonder which mold she came from! She is still my sunshine. Happy Birthday Jensyn. We love you so much!

Jensyn, Boston, Madden, Jack, and Chelsey

The favors.

Madden

Logan

The party in action

Jack

Brothers

Jack and Kit

The Birthday Girl!

Ice Parties

2011-02-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

One of Madden's favorite activities is an 'Ice Party' with Logan and Jensyn. Logan came up with the name and Madden is all-attention when Logan talks about it. Here's the drill: Logan gets a large cup of crushed ice from the freezer. She then sits with the Mister and feeds him small pieces of ice. HE LOVES IT!! Tonight, we had the awesome pleasure of tending cute Hogan and Hudsen. Hudsen was a little miffed for 10 minutes after mom and dad left. Not much would console her. Logan asked if she wanted to have an ice party, and she perked right up! Seriously. Logan sat her on the floor in the hallway and gave her some soft crushed ice from Cafe Rio. It totally worked! She loved it. The whole rest of the night all you would have to say is 'Ice Party' and Hudsen looked around for Logan and the ice. It was hilarious. We had so much fun with them tonight!

Betty, the Dog

2011-02-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Have I gone crazy? What in the heck was I thinking when I searched KSL looking for a dog? What was I thinking when I found the cutest little puppy that reminded me so much of Baxter? I remember thinking that I couldn't pick her up from her Orem house quick enough. I had to 'sleep on it' and then wake up, take the kids to school, and drive that drive to Orem. She has had lots of accidents in the house, is rambunctious, and fights with Madden like brother/sister. Jack's latest game with her, which he taught her, is to jump from one leather couch to the coffee table and across to the other couch...all in the living room. I am not sure what to think still, I was extremely content with not having a dog, but I was completely possessed for a period. I am now back to my rational ways, but realizing now that I have to stick with it because my family absolutely LOVES her!

Carrot Wreaths for the Reindeer

2010-12-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here was our quick family activity for the day! This one was really easy (especially for me) and the kids were SO excited to do this. Instead of leaving carrots out for the deer with the cookies for Santa, we are freezing carrots in water. Tomorrow, we will take it out of the fridge and add some ribbon, then hang it outside for those deer. They will like that while they are waiting for Santa, don't you think? Hey, whatever works!

Sugar Cookies for Santa

2010-12-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

On our second day of our week-long Christmas fun, we made Sugar Cookies (I know, shocking huh!) I did a twist on the old sugar cookie recipe and used this one instead. I thought they looked yummy-and they weren't bad! I loved the color that the frosting turned out to be.

I couldn't figure out where all of the cookies were within of about 5 minutes of putting them on the plate. Jack had 5 cookies with the frosting licked off. He said that he "didn't like the cookie part, only the frosting part." I should have let him lick the bowl!

It was a fun recipe for once-in-a-blue-moon!

2010-12-21T22:18:00.002-07:00

In an effort to make it a meaningful Christmas for my kids, I have a fun activity for them each day before Christmas. Things never quite turn out the way that I expect, but they have had so much fun...and the kids have been SO good so far this week! I am so grateful for my family. For handsome John, and my little babies!

Here goes a week of fun before Christmas!

I found the idea for these here. The snowmen are actually the kids 4 fingers and then embellished with accessories to make it look like a snowman! They had a ton of fun on this, the first of our week-long Christmas fun!

Yay for J!

2010-12-06T20:35:00.001-07:00

I was so excited because Boston (Casey's little one) was 1 of 5 winners for the Sunrise 'Photography' Reflections. I went to support her, and also to help ease the suspicion of Boston. I came horribly unprepared, with no camera or video camera. Boston's name was announced, we cheered, Casey took some pictures, and we were all proud of her!

They ran through a few more categories and finally they came to Visual Arts. Both Jensyn and Logan entered in this category. To my surprise, (because I didn't get a phone call letting me know that neither of my kids were winners) they announced Jensyn as a winner! She, too, was 1 of 5 winners in the whole school in that category. I was shocked, and so excited-and grateful that I was there with her! I snagged Casey's camera and ran up to the front and snapped some pictures of the cute little thing. I was so proud of her! Way to go Jensyn!

GREAT JOB, Jensyn! We love you!

Hansen Family Pictures

2010-11-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

I just love my family! These pictures are LONG overdue. The last ones that were taken, was clear back before Logan was born! My family makes me laugh.

My beautiful mom and dad!

Here's the Hansen family!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-11T16:28:00.001-07:00

What a fun time of year it is! Once October comes, I feel like it is the kick off for 'the Holidays.' I absolutely love this time of year. I don't know if the whole 32 pounds of candy (I am not kidding) was a good idea, but I would say that they did good! With Halloween being on a Sunday, I loved how it was spread over a few days! Friday, Casey invited my family to go down to her law firm that she works at and do trick or treating there. It was down at the 'Copper Top Tester' building (the Wells Fargo Building, downtown). They have like 4 complete floors just for her firm. It was great fun to dress up the kids and be nice and warm, as well! Some of the employees there really went out of their way for some fun office decorating.

These kids are getting ready to go up the elevator to the first floor. They have no idea what awaits them!

From the Law Firm! What a display, and what a darling gift!

Jensyn aka "Jessie" from Toy Story

Jessie and John

My sweetie

A Spider Witch

A Prisoner and her girls.

My family

A yummy hamburger and me.

We finished and dashed quickly back home to 'freshen' up and then jumped back in the car to go to John's dads' ward for Trunk-or-Treating. John decorated Hillbilly Deluxe much to his dad's disapproval.

She takes the best pictures!

I thought this was cute-the way Jack is looking at Jensyn.

Madden and his best buddy, Boston.

Honestly, he is my very best friend!

On Saturday, our own neighborhood had it's first annual Trunk-or-Treat. Before that started, they had a tractor parade. It was definitely rainy, but it was a blast! After that, we delighted ourselves with heading over to the beloved Wright's house for some homemade doughnuts and root beer. That will be a sad day when they abandon that tradition. They are amazing people.

Yes, they are as good as they look!

We had a wonderful Halloween this year!

A Cute Story on Gratitude

2010-11-06T23:56:00.003-06:00

A long time ago in a faraway village lived a man who everyone did their very best to avoid. He was the type of person who believed that there was only one competent person in the world, and that one person was himself. Consequently, he was never satisfied with anything. His shoes never fit right. His shirt never felt comfortable. When his food wasn’t too cold, it was too salty, and when it wasn’t too hot, it was too bland.

If a field wasn’t sowed by himself, it was not sowed well. If he didn’t close the door, the door was not closed properly.

In short, he made a career of frowning, lecturing, criticizing, and mumbling about the incompetencies of every other person in the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, the man was married, which made matters all the worse. No matter what his wife did, in his eyes it was wrong. No matter what the unfortunate woman cooked, sewed, or cleaned—or even when she milked the cow—it was never satisfactory, and he let her know it.

She tried very hard to be a good wife, but it seemed the harder she tried, the less she pleased him. Finally, one evening she could take no more.

“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” she told him. “Tomorrow I will do your chores and you will do mine.”

“But you can’t do my chores,” the man replied. “You don’t know the first thing about sowing, hoeing, and irrigating.”

But the woman was adamant. And on top of that, she was filled with a righteous anger that frankly astonished and frightened the man to the point where he didn’t dare disagree.

So the next morning the wife went off to the fields and the man began the domestic chores. After thinking about it, he had actually convinced himself he was looking forward to it. Once and for all, he would demonstrate to his wife how things should be done.

Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. In fact, nearly everything the man touched turned into disaster. He spilled the milk, let the pig get into the house, lost the cow, burned the dinner, and ultimately set the house on fire, narrowly escaping with his own life.

When his wife returned, she discovered her husband sitting on a pile of ashes, smoke still rising from his clothes. But the woman wasn’t the type to rub things in. She helped him up, wiped the soot from his beard, fixed him a little something to eat, and then prepared a bed of straw for them to sleep on.

From that day forward, the man never complained about anyone or anything else for as long as he lived.

What the Heck?!

2010-10-10T22:21:00.001-06:00

"What the heck" is Jack's new saying. I am not quite sure where he got that one! I do know that a little slip of my tongue, and he picked up the word 'damn it' rather quickly. Quite the sponge, I suppose.

We celebrated Jack's birthday today, and what a great day he had. We began the day with church-and as usual he was quite the gentleman, holding the doors for all to enter and leave. We get more compliments on him on a daily basis, I really am proud. He was in heaven when he saw his present that we got for him. (thanks to Chelsey for this idea--boy, do we love Costco!)

At this point in his life, his favorite things are:
1)Woody from Toy Story

2)Rescue Heroes.

The other day Jack came home from school saying that he spotted 'Rocky Canyon' there. I wonder if 'Rocky Canyon' is the equivalent of Logan's 'Mr. Carson.' (Rocky Canyon is one of the Rescue Heroes on TV.)

Buddy, no matter what face you show us-WE LOVE YOU! Thanks for being our Truck.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jack.

Madden!

2010-10-07T22:53:00.000-06:00

I just can't believe how FAST time goes by. He turns 1 this month! I love him!

Simply put, I just think they are the best!

2010-09-12T18:57:00.003-06:00

School Pictures, plus others for good measure

2010-09-12T18:40:00.004-06:00

Logan, 2nd Grade!

Jensyn, Kindergarten!

Jack, waiting for Pre-school (he's ALMOST potty-trained!)

Madden, don't ever grow up!

Mantua 2010

2010-08-10T23:58:00.000-06:00

Another year in Mantua! Doesn't time go by SO FAST?

Thanks for doing this, John 4!

I seriously have a MAD CRUSH on him!

Isn't he getting SO big?

A Zarbock Family Party!

2010-08-10T23:38:00.000-06:00

We all know that our family LOVES the Russell family...now we get to LOVE the Zarbock family! They were the wonderful hosts of a FUN family home evening at their new condo. My kids have so much fun with this whole family, and so do we! Thank goodness for wonderful family! (and here's another swimming event this summer!)

Two of the beautiful Rudd girls

We sure do miss Zach!

It's no wonder why the kids are so brown!

2010-08-10T23:06:00.000-06:00

It's a good thing we have a HOT TUB in the middle of summer to cool us down!

The gym works like a charm! They love it there!

This isn't even CLOSE to the end of our swimming adventures, so stay tuned!

First and Second Place!

2010-07-04T00:08:00.000-06:00

Logan took first place for her bike decorations in the annual bike parade (for her age group). Jensyn and Jack took second in each of their age groups. They were so excited. The bike parades are always a fun thing to look forward to every year. We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful area, surrounded by such wonderful people.

We spent some time with Jordann and Chris at the Sandy City festival. We ended up spending even more time than that laughing and talking at Chick-Fil-A. I get such a kick out of those two.

Finally tonight, we went over to Rodnia Circle to watch the West's set off fireworks--some legal, and some not so legal. It's good to have great friends!

I am proud to be an American, and I love this time of year. Most importantly, I love my family.
.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-06-29T01:02:00.001-06:00

My dear, dear friend, Lawna, who lives across the street from me told me the funniest story yesterday about my Jack-Truck. I've got to keep this in my memory forever!

So, we all know that John owns his landscape maintenance business. He works for many people within our ward boundaries, as well as many friends. Lawna and Harry are in both of those categories. John has been maintaining their yard for a few years now. Earlier this month, their grown son needed extra money so they offered for him to mow--which he did once. Then Harry covered for him and mowed the lawn, and finally, Lawna mowed the lawn. One afternoon, Jack sees Lawna out mowing her own lawn when Jack races down right to the end of the driveway and stops. When he gets a chance he yells over to her

"Hey, my dad is supposed to mow your lawn!" Lawna said that Jack meant business!

Apparently, Jack is our customer retention specialist. Now, John is back on the job.

Jack cracks me up.

2010-06-29T00:54:00.001-06:00

We are officially total white trash. A few weeks ago, John was practically "given" a 1981 Winnebago! It is so hilarious-and SO something that I would not be caught dead in! Well, hold your pants on, because I have been in it--and LOTS!

It all started a few weekends ago when we went to a camping area in Lehi with John's dad and family. It was a lot of fun, especially for just an overnighter! Jordann, Chris, Angela, Doug, and my cute husband were hilarious. We even had so much fun that we planned another trip with them! (and a trip to the cabin, might I add!) This picture is so funny because with the smoke from the fire, it makes the motor home look as creepy as it sounds!

Honestly, I was just glad to have a bed, not in a tent! The cabin has spoiled me too much, and now I am a snob! Who camps, anyways?

This last weekend, we loaded up again and took the kids to Lagoon. We stayed at the camp sites right next to the park. It was a ball! Logan is just tall enough to ride EVERY big ride, and just the perfect height to still be able to ride most of the kiddie rides. She went with John at the very end of the trip on Wicked (probably my new favorite ride there!) She (and Jensyn) both went on Spider. Logan's favorite ride continues to be Colossus. She is so brave! Jack rode the Tidal Wave and Oddysea. Whenever he rode a ride that got him wet, he would walk over to John and say "No me like getting wet!" They must take after their father. I think getting wet is refreshing on those hot sultry days at amusement parks! (ha ha. I just looked up the definition of sultry--sensual: sexually exciting or gratifying; "sensual excesses"; "a sultry look"; "a sultry dance") I wanted to use a smart word! Here's another definition, which is what came to my mind! hot and humid; very hot and dry; torrid. Sometimes I make myself laugh.

We had a blast with my cute little family, nonetheless. Casey, Bailey, and Boston as well as Kirt, Leslie, and Grace- graced us with their presence. I think that fun was had by all!

At least he didn't get wet on this ride. I would have heard about it!

At 5 years and 4 months: 46 + inches tall. Tall enough to ride Colossus (but didn't), Spider (did). She was afraid, but she did well for her first time!

Logan will ride anything. She is very even-kill with her personality, but I still think she had a fun time!

My 'chocolate-chip' eyed boy!

I'm just grateful for the experiences and the time that I have with my family!

Fathers Day

2010-06-23T09:48:00.001-06:00

Any man can be a Father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad.

Happy Fathers Day, John! What an amazing Daddy you are! These 4 little babies love you so much! All day, while you are at work, Jack says to me:

"Mom, Dad will pick me up, huh Mom?"

Jack knows that John works, and works, and works. He also knows that at the end of the day, when most dads come home for the night, John goes back out. What is fun, is he takes the kids out with him! This is always an adventure for them, and they love it!

I am so glad for a WONDERFUL husband who would do anything for us, his family. He is so kind-hearted, easy going, and the hardest worker that I have ever met. Nobody can compare!

We love you, John!

Did I Really Forget St. Patricks Day?

2010-06-23T00:30:00.000-06:00

We SO love St. Patty's Day around here. They play such silly tricks on us, but they bring us lots of goodies, too! We celebrated with a dinner and lots of green. The Leprechauns left a huge bouquet of balloons on our front porch to welcome the kids home from school. Any reason to celebrate is good enough for us!

Face Painting

2010-06-23T00:16:00.000-06:00

For the last MANY MANY years, my mom has an end-of-the-month Sunday dinners. They are always so delish! We are lucky enough to have cute Sadie paint the kids' faces almost every time! Check this out! These are no ordinary parties! Not bad for a 6th grader!

Here's my Relief Society lesson tomorrow.

2010-05-02T00:51:00.002-06:00

It's late tonight, and I hope that this will suffice for my Relief Society lesson tomorrow.

It was created by me a few minutes ago, and the lesson is on Testimony.

When is Dad Coming Home?

2010-04-27T17:02:00.003-06:00

"Jensyn, where is Jack?"

"He's in his room."

"What's he doing in his room, he's being so quiet. Will you go check for me?"

(pitter-patter of Jensyn's feet quickly making way to and from Jack's room)

"He said he's waiting for daddy to come home."

I went to check for myself, and this is what I saw.

Sweet little kid. And sweet John who works so hard. We miss you this spring John, but thanks.

Madden is half.

2010-04-22T23:04:00.004-06:00

I've been so busy today, but I never forgot to keep telling Madden that he is now half. (You know, like 1 and a half?--he's just half.) Whenever I said that to him, he just looked at me and laughed. It's true. Mr. Madden is now 6 months old.He is the sweetest baby on the planet. I thought that Loganwas easy, and she was, but this boy has taken the place of being the easiest baby! He takes several naps a day, but he requires his crib. The minute that he lays in it, he's asleep-and asleep for several hours.He sleeps at night from 8:30-ish to 9:00-ish each morning (and so do I, but don't tell John!) I couldn't ask for a better little guy for our last baby! I am loving each minute I have him. I am wondering if his eyes will be brown because almost daily, I see a new color in them. Can't we just have one chocolate chip eyed baby? I haven't taken Mads in for his 6 month check yet, but it does seem that he has mastered all of his 6 month milestones. The kids adore him and take him to explore. Lately, he loves being outside. He loves watching the kids play outside, even if they just leave him in the stroller and ignore him. Boy, is he a chunk though! When he was born, he was so skinny. That skin--has turned into rolls! He has chubby cheeks, legs, and wrists. I wouldn't have him any other way!

Madden, I certainly love you so much and we love having you in our family. You have completed us! I am so happy that you are half now, but I'm just not going to let you get any older-so sorry about that.

Our Family this Easter

2010-04-04T19:59:00.005-06:00

We're Still Here.

2010-03-13T22:57:00.008-07:00

My hottie of a husband doing what he loves most!

Jensyn turns 5!

Madden and Logan

Jack-Truck and me!

Jensyn is reading!

Our lives really are full of fun and busy-ness, but I just can't seem to find a dang thing to write about. John's season has picked up again, and is going FULL FORCE! This we are thankful for since the winter was such a ridiculous one. We are excited to have Norberto return to work with John this year---quite possibly one of the best workers that John has had. Now, if Zach would just come back we would be in great shape! We've had lots of mini-miracles happen recently both with the business and our personal lives. We continue to be blessed with having Casey and her cute girls in our home. Although we love it having her here, I know she would rather be somewhere, anywhere, else!

Chelsey is close to having baby #2, and we are so glad that it's a girl!! She will be here in about 10 days, and we couldn't be more happy for them! I'm just jealous that she gets to spend several days in the hospital. (I wonder if they would let me check in to labor and delivery while she is there?) I don't think Chelsey would appreciate having a roommate.

Time is passing quickly. Madden is now nearly 5 months old and he is a fabulous baby. He sleeps well through the night and doesn't generally fuss. He does love his crib and requires to be set down several times per day to get his rest. This morning he woke up at 5am wanting to "talk." Once John spent 15 minutes talking to him (Madden "cooing" back) John set him back into his crib and he fell asleep for another several hours. I think I am really going to miss babies. I have loved the baby stage and it will definitely be strange not having babies around after Madden. At his 4 month appointment, Madden weighed 15 pounds! He is a chunk! (but a happy chunk at that.)

Logan is doing very well in the 1st grade. She loves her teacher and loves to be at school. Parent-Teacher conferences was last week. Each time, she improves yet! She is now reading to a level T. This, her teacher said, is a mid 5th grade reading level. She must get this from John. Her teacher told her that she has far exceeded any first grader that she has ever had. ---Her teacher does not have any books left, so now she has to bring home novels. I am so proud of her! I hope her brain continues to work and she doesn't get too bored!

Jensyn has received her blending badge at pre-school and has since advanced quickly! She is already on book 6 and is working on number 7. I love the way she lights up when she brings home a book each day. She knows how excited John and I will be for her. I think she will be head to head with Logan in Kindergarten and first grade! Let's hope the 2 boys will get there, too!

Jack is out of control! He is such a sweet little boy--who loves his mom, but idolizes his dad. He will always stop what he is doing to give me a kiss, but he hardly misses a beat getting back to work. He loves to shovel dirt into his wheelbarrow, just like John. He could be kept busy for hours doing whatever John does to work. I am loving that trait in him. He absolutely LOVES monster trucks, he is a broken record! First thing in the morning, it's monster trucks--all through the day, it's monster trucks. He loves to watch Monster Jam videos on You-Tube. His favorite trucks are Grave Digger and Captains Curse. His collection is large and it is tough to keep up with finding the location of each truck since he always says that they are "hiding." I'll find them in corners, nestled along walls, under his bed, in his closet, between my bed and my wall...It's tricky! Having a boy is SO different than my girls, but we love every minute of each of them.

John has been home with me all winter, and it has been a winter of no work. I don't think I will ever look forward to winter again. I do love having him home--I rely so much on him! What is going to happen now that I have to wake up by 7:30 to get Logan to school by 8? I love that John helps so much when he is home. I am going to miss him!

John and I just celebrated our 11 year anniversary. I am so thankful for him and all that he is. I couldn't live a day without him. I can't wait for all the rest of the years to spend with him--I'm not sure that eternity is long enough. Happy anniversary, babe.

I am excited to help John this year more with the business and our own yard! I've been pregnant during the summer twice over the last 3 years. It's been way too hot to even open the back door. I stay inside. This summer is booked! I have a wedding that I am doing where I will need to design and plant about 20 different flower baskets and pots. This will be fun! What would I ever do without Larkin and their amazing flowers? Why go anywhere else when I can purchase HUGE plants at the beginning of the season and then plant them myself to my hearts desire? My problem is, I STUFF them full so they end up being just as expensive, if not more, as if Larkin designed the pots themselves. I won't ever go back!

This about sums up our family for the last few months. Maybe next time I won't take so long to write something.

Christmas

2009-12-29T12:13:00.007-07:00

We sure do love Christmas around here. The whole season just generally makes me happy--though it did take awhile this year.

Of course, Santa brought his horses into our neighborhood again this year. The kids always look forward to him coming down our street. Jensyn was brave enough to even get on one of his horses this year.

We spent Christmas Eve in Logan visiting grandma and grandpa Shipp, who we love dearly. I don't know that I know anyone as kind and generous as them. The little ones love going to visit with them, and John and I enjoy ourselves as well.

The Love of my Life Turned 33.

2009-11-15T17:43:00.006-07:00

During the very, very busy month of October, my sweet John had a birthday. Casey tended ALL of the kids (seriously, WHO leaves a 1 week old home with a baby sitter? Someone who just had their 4th child, I guess.) We went out to dinner to Red Robin and then back home, really no big deal. We about died laughing the whole time though because we sat right across from a table where one lady's pants showed SEVERAL inches of her crack. He was joking the whole time about blowing the straw wrapper into the "hole" between her pants and her body. It was not a cute sight, but we got quite a laugh. Of course, he took a picture with his camera phone--as if he was inconspicuous (HARDLY!) Practically the whole restaurant could hear the sound of the flash alone because it was so dark inside.

I just love John so much and I am so glad that he had a fun day. I remember his "player" years when for like 2 years in a row when we were dating that he stood me up on his birthday. He tried to make up some REALLY GOOD excuses. I am glad now that all is said and done, that he chose to be with me for every birthday for the rest of his life.

Happy Birthday, Johnny 5.

Tight-Rolled Peg Leg Pants, Straight out of the 80's.

2009-11-15T13:00:00.006-07:00

Logan and John were driving to school one morning when out of the blue, Logan said, "Dad, when I am on the safety patrol at school, I will not wear mismatched clothes, and I will not wear peg leg pants. (Apparently, one of the safety patrol students had mismatched clothes on with pants like the photo above.) How does she know what peg leg pants are? They came out of the 80's! (Might I add was the coolest thing, because I did in when I was in the 6th grade with my Girbauds.) So hilarious these trends that we have. I am glad they are NOT a trend now.

But, most importantly, WHERE IN THE WORLD, did Logan get this attitude? Shoot, I am thinking that it came from me! I have been accused of being a snot on several occasions.

2009-11-15T12:27:00.004-07:00

"Mom," Jensyn said. " When I grow up and get married, will me and my husband live with you and dad, in your house?"

"Nope, Jensyn." Your husband better buy you your own house when you get married. You will live in your own house.

"Oh good mom! Does that mean he will even buy us our own bunk bed to share?"

"Yep, J, you two will be able to sleep in bunk beds if you want!"

I just love her!

Just Being Thankful

2009-11-14T19:59:00.004-07:00

I am not quite sure whether or not I have said how much I LOVE my little family! Every single day is a blessing for me. I don't think that I could have chosen a better husband or hand-picked better kids. We all really have a good time together, and I could not ask for more.

We Sure Love Madden!

2009-11-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Madden Cole McAllister

2009-10-27T11:51:00.006-06:00

I went in for my routine NST at the hospital on Thursday. The monitoring went great and baby looked great. After that, I went upstairs to Dr. Smith. The nurse checked my blood pressure, and shocker, it was high. Dr. Smith came in after awhile and said very bluntly that it was too high, was going to be out of town for a week, this baby is coming today. He left the room and came back. He said that the hospital is scheduled for 5:30, cut time. I would need to go back downstairs and get my blood drawn for labs, go home, get my bags and return. I did just that.

Madden was born at 5:55 pm on October 22. He weighed 8lbs 2oz and is 20 inches long. He was born healthy and beautiful, identical to Jack. I stayed in the hospital for 4 days and really enjoyed every minute of it! I just love being taken care of! John was fabulous, the only downfall of the whole stay was that I REALLY missed my kids! It just broke my heart that the only way they could see me was through the exterior window to my hospital room. I don't think that memory will ever go away!

I am home now and baby is doing great. I am so glad to be done having kids-and am glad that my family is complete!

I Have Been a Slacker!

2009-09-17T22:21:00.003-06:00

It has definitely been awhile since I have posted much of anything! I have had so much going on in the past several months that it almost seems hard to put into words! The season is rounding down for John which means another LONG winter, but also means one of my favorite times of the year to be able to spend the days with my sweet John. We love to be together, and are never very far apart. John has had a great season, despite the economy around us. For that, I would say, we have been extremely lucky. We owe much of that though, to our awesome customers. They have really got it together!

Baby (Madden?) is getting closer to making his appearance, though not a very fun pregnancy for me! During much of my first and second trimester, I had extremely high blood pressure where I had to monitor my activities and then measure my blood pressure. If an activity caused my blood pressure to soar then I had to lay down-and stay down! I had these 3 little kids during much of the summer who had to spend countless hours in my room with me because I was "down." Once that started to diminish, I took the awesome Glucola test at the doctors office. I failed the first test and had to go take the 3 hour test. I failed again. I felt like a failure! It took its toll on me definitely. I was told by the Diabetic Clinic that it is not my fault, and that there was not one thing that I could have done differently to have it be any different (besides not be born to my dad as it is genetic.) I was put on a pretty strict nutritional diet where I have to consume 30 grams of carbs per meal, along with 15 grams of protein-exactly. 2 hours later, I have to test my blood sugar to make sure that it is within reasonable range. It worked well for like...a day...and then my body almost quit making insulin. I had to be put on a medication to help my body to do just that. Several days later, it still wasn't enough. Dr. Smith had to increase my dosage to twice a day where I would take it both morning and night. This FINALLY has seemed to do the trick. The beauty of it is that I have lost almost 8 pounds total during the final weeks of pregnancy, bringing my total weight gain for my whole pregnancy, in my 9th month to 10 1/2 pounds. I think I can handle that okay. It really just makes me wonder what the size of this baby is really going to be! Logan was 9.5 lbs, Jensyn was 7lbs 14 oz, and Jack was 9 lbs 3 oz. Now that with gestational diabetes, the likelihood of having a large baby is almost inevitable if it is untreated. Well, I would say I do keep it treated, but my normal size baby is large! I am now 33 weeks today, and if all goes as planned, I will have a new baby on Thursday October 29 (John's birthday), so just over 5 weeks. We are really getting excited. All of the kids are excited as well to have this new addition. It does seem so weird to be having a 4th! We were married when I was 19 and had Logan when I was almost 25--and then boom, boom, boom (...and boom)! Now in December I will be 30 and I can focus on losing the weight and raising my family!

I have been keeping busy with the PTA. I am the Historian again this year and also I am on the Executive Board doing Membership. This has definitely been interesting with ALL that has been going on with my health. I also received a new calling at church--the 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society. I am pretty excited and hope that I can bring to the table a new perspective. I love my Enrichment Leader and I think it will be awesome!

Cute Chelsey and Tony will be adding to their family as well and I cannot wait to see what they are having. Will Madden have a friend? I hope so! How fun.

Well, I think that about sums up what I have been dealing with the last few months. This too shall pass and things will be back to normal in no time.

Bird

2009-08-05T21:57:00.003-06:00

John and I decided to go out to dinner tonight without the kids. We were lucky enough to be able to leave them home with Zach, Johns cute cousin. We went to an early-bird dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Once we were done, we decided that we would drive down to the University Hospital to see Johns other cute cousin, Mandie, who is in the hospital to get her lung function levels up. She has battled Cystic Fibrosis during her life. FINALLY, we get to go see her. We made it all the way up to the U, parked, walked in, attempted to find her room, but ended up in the maternity ward. As we were searching signs for room 24(?)East, we received a phone call from Casey wondering where she should take Jensyn to repair her face. Zach and the kids were spinning around, playing when apparently, Zach started feeling dizzy and somehow let go of Jensyn during a spin. She fell and banged her face up pretty good. (I called Mandie to tell her we were there, but couldn't stay to see her. So sad...) But, about 30 minutes later, we finally made in to the InstaScare in Sandy. She was asleep, curled up, and her face under an icepack. I really had to hold back the tears once I saw her. We signed the consent to treat and the doctor got busy stitching up her mouth. She received 5 stitches. Her whole left side of her face was bloody and swollen. I still am not quite sure what would have hit her, but it was quite the traumatic fall! Luckily, the cartilage has not formed on her nose, but if it had, she would have also suffered a broken nose. She was quite lethargic until they were able to administer her some pain medication. She did not make a single sound while they injected her with the shot to numb her mouth, nor the 5 stitches they put in her mouth. She did say that it hurt though, when we tried to blow her nose out. I was so proud of her!

Driving from what I thought was the furthest place possible that we could be away from her, I did have time to think. I was nervous, but I felt like I did need to keep optimistic about her condition. Somehow I did know that she would be okay. I also felt so helpless to a little girl who had a fabulous aunt to take her for help, but I knew that she would be so happy to see her mom and dad. It seemed so surreal--this is the first accident that we have encountered as parents (unless a bee sting at the cabin counts.) I was afraid, I was unsure, it was definitely a feeling that I hope to never experience again! Would my little 4 year old have a broken nose, would her face be scarred, is she going to be okay? None of these answers would I know until I saw her myself.

I don't remember saying "a little prayer", which seems weird that I wouldn't do that. I did feel a sense of comfort, though, knowing that she was going to be okay. It is interesting how life can be fine one moment, and then during another fleeting moment it is possible that it is not okay. I am so grateful that the moment that I left her, she was okay. I am grateful that she is going to be okay. I only pray that in the future my children can be as safe and healthy as they have been. I don't think I could last a minute without any of my family right by me.

Mantua

2009-07-29T23:01:00.000-06:00

We spent Saturday morning with John and Janice in Mantua. We had an enjoyable time. Wherever there is water, Logan is a fish, and Jensyn and Jack play around the water but usually not IN it. We had a fun time, and they talk about it a lot. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa JJ for inviting us, and for the great hospitality.

So picture this...

2009-07-29T22:49:00.000-06:00

(John is wearing his board shorts and a t-shirt--normal boating attire. This boating attire also includes his legs. If you have ever seen them, which chances are, you haven't, he has long bird legs which never see sun-- since he never wears shorts.)

John went into the Neighborhood Walmart to pick up some drinks to bring boating. When he came back out, he said to me,

"See that guy right there?"

"Ya," I said.

"He said to me, 'nice legs.' "

In reply and immediatly, John said, "Nice mullet."

The mullet guy just looked at John, surprised that he had such a comeback, and slightly offended.

Leave it to John for his quick wit and funny comments.

Hilarious. Who wears a mullet anyways?

Where has all the time gone?

2009-07-29T21:30:00.000-06:00

Oh my word! The fabulous summer is drawing to and end, and we are so lucky to have had such a fun one! I really hate to see it go, however, it does mean that we are closer to a new baby. (This in itself I can't believe, either! Our family will be complete.)

We have spent many weekends at the cabin, one weekend in the Logan/Cache Valley/Sardine Canyon area, boating with Chelsey, Tony, Hogan, and baby. We really are grateful to have such wonderful people to surround ourselves with. Here is a little photo re-cap of the fun things that we do. I can't complain!

My Little GQ

2009-07-28T20:51:00.000-06:00

I just love him! We were getting ready to leave for church and I decided that I wanted to take a picture of him. When I told him that I wanted to do this, he ran to the door, turned around and shot me this "cool dude" pose. I'm thinking he's gonna steal some hearts!

Oh, and about Father's Day...

2009-07-04T15:22:00.001-06:00

I came across a book today given to John last year from our ward. It was a tribute to Fathers written by Vaughn J. Featherstone entitled In Honor of Fathers. (Extra special since Vaughn is in our ward.) I opened it and read a little out of it today, then skipped all the way to the end. This is what is said:

"...to each of you I leave this heartfelt tribute: your wife and your children have put you on a towering pedestal---and even when you don't achieve what you think you should, you deserve to be there."

John deserves to be there! I love you, John.

Russell Family Summer Barbeque

2009-07-04T14:36:00.001-06:00

We had such a fun-filled night last night. The Russell family came over to our home for an evening of 4th of July festivities. We started out barbecuing the meat, then we started digging into all of the yummy food that everyone brought. I made some traveling taco dip, Aimee made her famous poppy seed salad, Sue made her fabulous frog-eye salad. We had chips, homemade ice cream, raspberry lemonade with real raspberries, the list goes on and on! The night was full of fun and a variety of events that really seemed to streamline the evening.

Dr. Smith has asked me to monitor my activities with a blood pressure monitor. My blood pressure has been consistently high, indicating toxemia. About 45 minutes prior to the party arriving, I tested myself. It was through the roof (again.) I had to immediately lay down and try to lower it. A few minutes later, John and Becca arrived to help get the party started. Once Sue showed up, she helped with the finishing touches on getting my home cleaned. THANK YOU to this amazing family, always willing to help, and always concerned with my family. I don't think I could ever ask for a better family to be married into. I was able to stabilize a lower blood pressure through the night because of them...and it sure made it more enjoyable!

4th of July

2009-07-04T12:48:00.001-06:00

Happy Fathers Day!

2009-06-21T18:46:00.001-06:00

I love you, John, for being the most amazing father to my babies. They adore you and love you to pieces. I couldn't ask for a better dad for them than you.

Thank you!

Is it a Split or a Sprout?

2009-05-15T21:29:00.000-06:00

On March 4, John and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. He worked that day and came home. What he didn't know is I was out buying a pregnancy test earlier that day. So this was Johns adversity present from me! I knew that I was preggo, but find it hilariously funny HOW FAST it happened. I had my IUD removed on January 19, which gave me--oh, approximately 18 days to conceive. It happened right away and we are delighted!! I always told John that I did not want to be preggers beyond my 30th birthday, and this new little one will be born about a month before my 30th. AND I'M DONE!

It also appears that we are having another little BOY (SPROUT, as Grandpa Shipp would put it.) I am shocked. I really was placing my bets on a third girl, but obviously it didn't work out this way. We are excited for Jack to have a little buddy around. Jack and the baby will be just over 2 years apart, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I guess if things are "planned," it couldn't have been planned any better!

We are throwing around the name Madden Cole, and I think we are 90% sure of it. I guess I have a few months to determine that. We expect him around October 30. (I am actually due on November 6, but Dr. Smith cuts me open a week early.)

Mothers Day

2009-05-10T22:35:00.000-06:00

Life seems to be passing me by! I (still) cannot believe that it is me being celebrated on this holiday! I am SO thankful to be a mom to the greatest children on the planet. Each of them were so sweet to me today. While we were getting ready to go to Logan to see my grandparents, Jensyn kept asking me what she could do to help me clean...and then she completed these tasks! I held Logan for a long time this evening, she kept reaching for my hands and was laying near me for a few hours. (I have moved Jack to a "big" bed, out of his crib) Tonight was his first night going right to sleep and not getting out of it! I was so proud of him. It made for a perfect day with my little family. I am so THANKFUL that I was blessed with these perfect children.

On top of all this, I HAVE THE MOST AMAZING MOTHER ON THE PLANET! Growing up I knew that I had a fun mom, an out of control shopper, and a friend. Now that I am older I have REALLY been able to develop a fabulous friendship with her. I love going to lunch with her, and do so very often during the summer. I am glad that she is willing to put up with me and the little ones.

2009-05-09T11:40:00.000-06:00

Well, today was much harder of a day than I had originally anticipated. John put Baxter "down" and the kids and I are taking it quite hard. John and I bought Baxter from the pound almost 10 years ago. He has been part of our family for many years. He was quite small when we got him, maybe almost a year old. He was my baby for 5 years until we actually had babies of our own. I always feel so bad for him because he reminds me of...I think...Eyore on Winnie the Pooh. (Those reasons I'll keep with me forever.) He has been a loyal friend, has always listened to instructions and always obeyed. He has been fabulous with each of the kids and it will definitely be interesting to see how life is without him. He loves my kids, and he loves being a part of our family.

We're gonna miss you, Baxter!

Easter

2009-04-21T18:59:00.000-06:00

And finally...Easter!

The Easter Bunny did indeed make a stop to the McAllister home. He left all of his eggs outside! John tried again unsuccessfully to catch the Easter Bunny, but all that he caught was a little bit of his fur which was stuck in the door! What a fast bunny! The kids had a ball searching for all of the 150 eggs that were left for them, and plus, they even got some pretty cute clothes! Jack loved searching and putting the eggs in his bucket. I love the excitement of a child.

We had a very nice Easter which we spent with my family in Logan. We ate lots of yummy food and spent the afternoon in the sun! It really was fabulous. We were able to talk to my awesome Grandparents. They really are the most wonderful people that I know!! I am so glad that I still have them in my life!

Right after we got home from Logan we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa JJ's for some Sunday dinner. We had an enjoyable time as always. Janice made a yummy chicken with potatoes dish. I always like to go to others' homes to eat because it means that I don't have to come up with something! The kids along with Anna frosted some cupcakes and even got to bring them home! It is always fun to go eat with them.

We had a very busy Easter weekend, but it was a lot of fun...not a moment to spare. I love it, and I love spending these fleeting moments with John, Logan, Jensyn, and Jack. I love them with all of my heart and there is no place that I would rather be. I am so grateful!

Logan's Birthday Festivities

2009-04-21T18:36:00.000-06:00

I just have not been in much of a mood to post anything lately! There has been so much going on in our home, and most of them have a lot to do with this fabulous weather! John has started full-swing again, so hopefully now we can play catch-up from the lousy winter we had. I find myself constantly in the car either helping John with errands, plant pick-ups, and bids or taking Logan and Jensyn to and from school. I open the sunroof and enjoy that sun! I guess now it is time to write all the fun things that we have been up to!

Easter weekend obviously was Logan's birthday. First thing Saturday morning (her birthday) John woke Logan up to ride out to the dump for mulch for a customer. When they got home, we all got ready and went to Lowes and let the kids each pick out a few flowers, bought Logan a kid size wheel barrow, rake and shovel. (The kids really love being outside in our yard helping John.) When we got home, we took the kids over to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. I felt so bad for them when they got trampled over and didn't end up getting a single egg. My kids are so even-tempered and are shy around events like this. I promised them that the Easter Bunny knew that they didn't get anything and that they would get something extra special because of it. Jack on the other hand was in the baby egg hunt, he and John got several eggs and he loved searching for them.

Our next intention was to head over for Logan's family activity for her birthday: Fat Cats. She loves to bowl and then eat pizza there. On our way there, we noticed a lot of cars parked at Wheeler Farm. We found a spot and hurried and took it since Logan was really interested in what was going on there. We spun the Chick-Fil-A wheel and won several free kids meals (too bad they are only redeemable at the Fashion Place mall location.--I would rather eat at theNordstrom Cafe if I was at the mall...) We walked around for a minute longer then loaded back in the car to go over to Fat Cats.

Once we were done there, Logan decided that she wanted to go see Bedtime Stories. We called up Casey and asked her if she could tend Jack--we would not make it through a movie! She was wonderful to take him, so thanks Case! Logan and Jensyn loved the movie, and quite possibly loved the popcorn more--but then again, don't we all?

By the end of the day, we were ALL beat!! Logan told us that we really didn't need to do all of these things for her this is what she said...

"Mom, I just want you to know that I don't need anything else from you for my birthday. All I need is your love and dads love... you give that to me every day."

Seriously, she said that? Seriously. She is my sweetheart!

The McAllister Family

I'm Not Going to Judge

Santa and Toy via Santa Clause Lane

Matt's Hilarious Nightly Family Prayer Fight

A Full Heart

Bear Lake 2011

Brothers

Jack's Perception

The New School Year

Our Cabin Adventure

Summertime Fun

Draper Rodeo

Handsome Boys

It's a baby!

Lagoon

School year is OVER!

Las Vegas

Logan's Baptism

May 6, 2011

T-Ball

Lagoon

The Drive Home

General Conference

Kindergarten Nursery Rhyme Program

Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

St. Patrick's Day

I think I might hear the Leprechauns!

Can you even believe this snow?

Making Relief Society 'Purse'-onal

Homemade Valentines

Christmas Meadows, again

12 years is not long enough

My new kitchen!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

My Relief Society Lesson

Happy Birthday, Jensyn-Bird

Ice Parties

Betty, the Dog

More Stories of Jack

Carrot Wreaths for the Reindeer

Sugar Cookies for Santa

Yay for J!

Hansen Family Pictures

Halloween 2010

A Cute Story on Gratitude

What the Heck?!

Madden!

Simply put, I just think they are the best!

School Pictures, plus others for good measure

Mantua 2010

A Zarbock Family Party!

It's no wonder why the kids are so brown!

First and Second Place!

Fathers Day

Did I Really Forget St. Patricks Day?

Face Painting

Here's my Relief Society lesson tomorrow.

When is Dad Coming Home?

Madden is half.

Our Family this Easter

We're Still Here.

Christmas

The Love of my Life Turned 33.

Tight-Rolled Peg Leg Pants, Straight out of the 80's.

Just Being Thankful

We Sure Love Madden!

Madden Cole McAllister

I Have Been a Slacker!

Bird

Mantua

So picture this...

Where has all the time gone?

My Little GQ

Oh, and about Father's Day...

Russell Family Summer Barbeque

4th of July

Happy Fathers Day!

Is it a Split or a Sprout?

Mothers Day

Easter