5 favorite things...september 28, 2008

• Women's conference. I hope some of you LDS women listened yesterday b/c it was really wonderful.
  
• Visiting friends. Our friends from medical school, Derek and Emily Ellingson were in San Diego for a conference this past week and I was able to spend a little time with them. It's was so much better to catch up in person. Emily and I didn't stop talking the whole time we were together. Thanks for visiting!!
• Birthdays. I have to say one more time, thank you to Trent for a great 30th birthday...and pie!
• High 5's. This is Carley's latest trick. We are constantly asking her to give high 5's. Every time she gets really excited, smiles and then slaps your outstretched hand. Very cute!
• Good books. I'm reading the 3rd Eragon book, Brisinger. It's pretty good so far.
  

A new baby doll!

Carley and Emry have discovered a fun new game! Carley is the baby doll and Emry is the mama. Trent and I found these two goofy girls trying to get Carley into this doll stroller...so instead of stopping this disaster in the making like normal, rational parents...we helped them out. They've been playing non-stop ever since and we've only had a few 1 roll over and a few minor crashes.

the big 30!

I tried my best to deny that yesterday would come. I busied myself and pretended that the looming deadline didn't matter to me. I don't know why, but turning 30 was really hard. I remember turning 25 and thinking, "WOW, I'm 25...I have a husband and 2 kids aren't I supposed to be feeling mature or something? I still feel like a teen mom who's clueless most of the time."

Since then, the birthdays have been a blur. At any given moment when asked my age, I really had to think and calculate in my head b/c I'd forgotten!! Really, I forgot my age on more than one occasion, who does that?

Anyway, the reality is that yesterday did come and everything is fine, simple as that. I was totally overreacting, as usual. What I have realized is that I am a successful and satisfied wife and mother of 3. I need to work out regularly, go to bed early and stay organized. Those are the key ingredients to my happy self!

So on to the good stuff. Trent really really out did himself this year (if I didn't say thank you enough yesterday, i'm saying it again...thank you!). He always does something really nice for me, but this year he went the extra mile by taking care of 2 details that made all the difference!

• First, he kept his present a surprise! (he NEVER does this, he has trouble keeping his mouth shut if he's excited about something)
• Secondly, he called and arranged for the babysitter! (this is usually my department. he hates to call the sitter.)

You're probably wondering what he got me. He got us tickets for a harbor dinner cruise down in San Diego! It was so wonderful to get dressed up a little and hang out for 5 hours just the two of us. We enjoyed the water, the breeze, some laughs, the sunset, yummy food, the city lights, good company, dessert and even a stroll around the dance floor to Moon River. Does it get any better than that? What a good guy! I heart my TP!

5 favorite things...september 21, 2008

• relaxing on the beach
• having trent home after a very, very busy rotation
• nap time
  
• smiles
• the inquisitive minds of children
  

Neighborhood Pool Party

Our housing company hosted a little pool party for the neighborhood and it was a lot of fun. They had all sorts of carnival style games for the kids, food, sweets and swimming of course.

Emry's little girlfriends. From the left: Grace, Emry, Addy & Bella

This was a fun teamwork game. Luke and Addy are trying it out together. Addy is Emry's best friend and has a big time crush on Luke, it's pretty cute. Addy has a hard time saying Emry's name, she calls her, "Engry" and Emry is learning to deal with it. Sometimes she tries to tell Addy, "My name is Em RY", but Addy doesn't pay any attention. I think it's pretty cute.

Here are the ladies I hang out with and their babies. From the left: Alisa (& Addyson), Lauryn (& Mave), Lisa (& Drake) and Kara (& Jacob)

Emry making herself dizzy.

3 Amigas: Grace, Emry & Addy

A Visit From Grandpa & Grandma Price

Merlin & Joy were in Anaheim a few days this past week, so we joined them at Disneyland for a day of fun! We had a really good time seeing Grandpa & Grandma. They are so good with the kids. The parks weren't very busy so we rode lots of rides and saw more characters than we've ever seen before. We saw the California Adventure Pixar Parade for the first time and it was so much fun. They play loud music, spray water, blow bubbles and dance all around. Luke loved the guys on the stilts and Emry waved at every character that passed by. Carley just laughed and laughed every time she got sprayed with water! It was a very good day.

Trent was on call when we went to Disneyland, so the following day Merlin & Joy came to our house so he wouldn't have to travel and so they could see him. We just threw our feet up and relaxed for the afternoon, ate dinner and then headed to the beach to enjoy the sunset. Well, we missed the sunset by about 5 minutes b/c our kids were spent and crying, but we did enjoy the beach and even found a few treasures along the shore. All in all it was a very nice visit. Thanks for coming down Grandpa & Grandma!

Emry snuggled right in to Tigger.

Group picture with Eeyore, he is so adorable!
Emry had to get her hug in and Carley was petting him!

The kids with Grandpa & Grandma.

Emry tried to hug Minnie,
but she was on a mission to get out of the sun.

Here we are having chips, salsa and root beer floats!

TTFN!

Random Acts of Fun-September

Here are 2 pics of Carol and my kids from this last weekend. We visited with her in La Jolla and ran down to the beach.

I had to post this shot b/c Carol's face reminds me of Erinn here.

Our neighbors have a black lab named Gunner. My kids are in love with her. Carley will stand at the fence and just stare at her. Here she's pointing at Gunner, and Gunner is barking excitedly.

Here we are over at Gunner's fence. When you leave the safety of our yard, Carley's confidence and boldness go out the door. She's a big scaredy cat! This is as close as she'll get without being held. Poor Gunner wants to be pet soooo bad.

Emry obliges her with a quick pet and run.

This is Emry's new daily attire. Dress, Heels, Crown and don't forget the sparkly lip gloss that Aunt Maggie gave her. (she doesn't only put this on her lips, oh no, it goes on her lips, around her eyes and on her cheeks too) I can hardly wash her dresses fast enough!

Project #2...check

This has been a work in progress for quite some time. It took us a while to decide how big we wanted the outside frame and how many frames we wanted on the inside. Then we had to find all the frames (clearance baby clearance) which took awhile. Next we had to decide what family photos we wanted to use, here was the criteria: the photo had to be able to be enlarged to the desired size, the photo couldn't be too damaged, blurry, etc. you get the picture (no pun intended). Then it was off to photoshop for some touch up work and finally into the frame and onto the wall. It's been a long process, and are really happy with the final product!!

Here are some of the photos we used. These are not touched up or cropped, they are the original scans.

Trent's grandpa Kay Allred

This is an old photograph of the Allred Family Farm. We really love the look of the old machinery.

The wedding of Beth Powelson & Kay Allred. They are on the left and Kay's parents are on the right.

4 generations of Powelson's, Trent's mom, Joy, is the infant.

Trent's maternal great grandpa, Samuel Emilton is the baker farthest to the left.

Trent's maternal grandpa, Richard, his younger brother Jerry and their mother Theada Powelson.

My paternal great grandfather, Charlie May

My paternal grandfather, Douglas May

My maternal grandmother Marjorie and her younger sister Priscilla

My maternal grandfather, James Meyer

Trent's parents wedding

My Parent's Wedding

This picture is of Tainter Falls, before they built the dam. It's location is the channel behind Jake's Supper Club.
I posted these next 2 just for Trent!!

My paternal great grandfather Charlie May sitting by the fence with the catch of the day!

My paternal grandmother Ruby May is in the center with her sisters Hazel and Beanie.

Salsa

You gotta try this salsa! Last week at our quarterly enrichment meeting at church we had a mystery dinner. We were served this salsa as an appetizer and it's pretty much all I ate! Everything else was good, but I just loved the taste of this salsa and I don't even like avocados. Saturday night I made a quick pit stop at the grocery store and made the salsa for Trent...he also loved it. In fact, the dinner I made went straight into the fridge for leftovers and our family had chips and salsa for dinner! My kids thought they died and went to heaven, who gets to eat snacks for dinner???? Kathy Bedke was kind enough to share her yummy recipe with me and now I'm sharing it with you! Enjoy!

1 can corn niblets, drained
1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 bunch green onions, chopped (i used my cuisinart)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
4-5 tomatoes, chopped
avocados, to taste

Mix together, put on dressing and then stir in avocados.

Dressing:
3 Tablespoons Vinegar
2 Tablespoons oil, not olive
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoons tabasco sauce

Serve with tortilla chips!

5 favorite things...september 14, 2008

• Primary programs at church. We didn't have any huge "mishaps", but it's always an entertaining Sunday when the primary children are involved. I love hearing their sweet singing voices, the spirit was so strong, it was really wonderful.
• Good friends. I was able to visit with Carol Springer today and it was so nice. The kids were sooo good and allowed us to just catch up and chit chat. It was a fun day and I really enjoyed myself.
• Carley's squeals. Luke has a way with Carley. He just creeps up on her and when she spies him coming she just squeals with absolute delight. She doesn't squeal that way for anyone but him, and of course he loves this. It's really an endearing interaction that goes on in between them, so cute.
• Family movie night. Usually every Friday we have "family movie night" with popcorn and smoothies/malts, but we've been doing other things the past few weekends and haven't done them...i miss them. We're definitely bringing them back.
• Yummy food. The weather is starting to change, so it's time to change up the menu. Out with summer foods in with fall favorites...soup, squashes, mashed potatoes, turkey, chili, pumpkin anything...uuummmm!
  

Potato Stamping Fun

I first learned how to make potato stamps in Girl Scouts. I really loved attending Girl Scouts and was one all through my elementary school years...good times. Anyhew, one week we learned how to make potato stamps and every now and then I pull this "oldie but goodie" out of my bag of tricks for my kids to enjoy. Both Luke and Emry have birthday parties to go to this weekend, so today we make homemade wrapping paper. They had a lot of fun, and got really messy. Does it get any better than that? Here are the pics, enjoy!

Luke's going to his best friend Kristian's pirate party,
so we made a skull N cross bones and a ship.

Emry's going to a princess party,
so it was a crown and heart for her stamps!
(she got a little crazy with the paint, she ended up painting in undies, a true artist!)

Here they are, all wrapped and looking gorgeous!

I took this photo of Carley earlier today and I love it. She is constantly trying to put on clothes and had been playing with this scarf all day. I finally put it on her and it was so precious I couldn't resist a snap shot! Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Emry!

Emry is 4!! Here are 4 of Emry's favorite things to do:

• She's always game for playing dress up...loves the costumes, loves to have her hair done, (especially if a crown is involved), loves to have make up on and loves to have her nails painted.
• She is often found dancing and singing around the house.
• She loves, loves, loves books! She will sit for hours if you keep the books coming.
  
• She loves to go swimming. This summer she's become quite the little fish and begs to go to the pool everyday.
  

For Emry's birthday this year we decided to get a babysitter for Luke and Carley and take Emry up to Disneyland all by herself. We had a wonderful time. We rode on all the rides she wanted and went to see the princesses. We even learned the proper way to bow and curtsy...just like a real princess!

Emry's birthday dinner.......Spaghetti, garlic bread, green salad, & strawberries

The birthday cake.

Funny birthday story - Emry's actual birthday was on Sunday, and since we just celebrated Carley's birthday they are fresh in her mind. So, she's been talking nonstop about how they were going to sing to her in primary on her birthday. Last week, as they sung to another girl, she announced that her birthday was coming up. We are also practicing for the primary program and last Sunday was the first run through, so I was nervous about them remembering to sing to her. The chorister lives down the street from me, so I mentioned to her that I knew they were going to be pretty busy, but could they please not forget to sing to her b/c she was really looking forward to it. She said she would for sure. We get to primary and Emry is all smiles and they start right into the program....well 30 minutes later Emry was being pretty naughty so I took her out to talk to her. At first I couldn't even understand what she was babbling about, but eventually she started crying and said that they forgot to sing to her. It was so sad. Our ward gives out candy necklaces for birthdays and she's seen hers on the table, but couldn't understand why they hadn't sung to her yet (b/c they always do this first). Anyway, I asked the primary secretary if we could just have the necklace since primary was almost done and it looked like they weren't going to have time to sing to her. She smiled really big and said, "No way, I made that necklace this morning and we are going to sing to her!" I just laughed. Emry seemed pacified by this new information, so we were able to go back to our seats. When they announced that their was a birthday, Emry shot out of her seat and was up by the podium before they said her name. She was grinning from ear to ear the entire time they sang to her. And, she just sat in Sacrament meeting looking at her necklace. What a girl! Long story, but so cute!



I just had to post these last few pictures of Carley. This is what she looked like during Emry's birthday dinner. We weren't paying any attention to her and we all burst out laughing when we saw what she'd done with her dinner. At least she was happy...right?