Allred Fam

Our baby girl...Ainsley

2010-07-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Sugar and spice and everything nice....Pink and bows and everything girly!

I am so excited that all of this has begun.When Mat found out we were having a girl I think he was nervous and his first question was, how am I going to be a Dad to a little girl, I don't know how! I reassured him that it would all come naturally and that she is going to have him wrapped around her little finger. His second question was, are you going to always dress her in pink and have her be super girly....uh, yes! Of course I am!

So fun getting the nursery ready for a girl. It was a lot more work, we had to start over with new furniture and everything because what we had left over from the boys was all hand me downs which we handed down to other family members. It didn't break my heart. It was fun to get to buy new stuff. Her nursery is pink and brown and I think Mat secretly likes all the pink!

I am beyond in love with this amazing little girl already!! It's crazy to have a baby inside of you one moment then holding it in your arms the next. It's fun to see her face for the first time and fall in love with her in that second.

Our birthing story is crazy and I need to condense it...but in a nutshell it was amazing and excrutiatingly painful at the same time. I went natural. That should say it all. Luckily it was a pretty fast labor. My dr. stripped my membranes at my appointment in the afternoon at about 3:30 and that night around six I started having regular painful contractions. Mat's cute mom came to our house to pick up the boys while we headed off to the hospital.

We were admitted at 9:30 p.m.... my contractions got stronger right away and I progressed super fast. She was born at 11:53 that night.

We had hired a doula (labor coach) that was assisting us in our natural birth. Let me just say that she was AMAZING at her job and made the biggest difference with me handling my pain and being able to get through the labor and delivery.

From my perspective I did a lot of screaming and crying and yelling and swearing. Mat and our doula did a lot of massaging and touching and calming. I labored in the tub and on the birthing ball until about the last 20 minutes when I had to get on the bed to push.

We had an awesome team. Our nurse was super cute, we loved our doctor who did a great job, and our doula made all the difference. The whole time I was in labor the thought kept running through my head, why does anyone do this to themselves? That, and the question can someone actually die from so much pain? I guess not... I didn't anyway. I survived, but just barely. I don't know if I could do it again....but if the time comes, I probably would. Recovery after birth is so much better and in the long run I'm glad I did it natural, and felt so great afterwards.

I wasn't sure how welcoming the big brothers would actually be once we brought the baby home and they realized that she was here to stay, but they are so cute and concerned and in love with her. I think having a baby girl is just what this family needed.

So fun to have a baby around again, so tiring, our house is a disaster and it's hard to find time to shower, but I love it all.

I love our cute little family and am so happy.

birthdays and reunions

2010-07-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

We had a family reunion last week that was all Norwegian themed (Mat's grandpa is from Norway). We usually have it in a place called Hannah, but it didn't work out to go there this year, so it was all done in Mat's parents backyard. All the food for the weekend was Norwegian themed, and on this day for family pics everyone dressed for the part.

Here are Mat's grandparents along with 4 of their kids.
Nana and Poppy and all of the Great-Grandkids!
This was all in Mat's parents backyard...they did a great job of making it look super festive, even putting up a maypole and it looked awesome with everyone in their scandanavian garb for the family picture!
Don't judge, I am 9 months pregnant in this picture! Super scary still, I really shouldn't go out of the house in this condition
Thatcher turned 6 last week and he is obsessed with Toy Story. We were still at the family reunion for his birthday so we kind of did everything with the entire family around. I think he loves it...tons of people around to celebrate with him and he gets fireworks...I think he feels pretty lucky!

He got a Woody doll which he has been wanting for a long time, along with some other Toy Story fun stuff.
We made him Alien cupcakes from Toy Story. We thought they were easier and just as cute as making a huge cake, and these were perfect to share with everyone. They turned out awesome!
Thatcher just graduated from K and will be starting first grade in two weeks...I am so hating year round! He gets a total break for the summer of 3 weeks, which I think is so unfair. But on the other hand he needs something to keep him busy. He left K reading at a level N...I guess most K read at a level C....so he was bored and will hopefully be able to be a little more challenged in first grade.

He is so funny about his wardrobe lately. He has to have everything matching and cannot leave the house without changing at least 3 times...I don't know where he gets this from! I guess it's good that he likes to look presentable, but really? He seems way too concerned about it for a 6 year old. Maybe it's just a phase and in a few months all he'll care about is getting dirty and having fun no matter what he is wearing!

Happy 6th birthday little man!
Luke turned 3 last month and he wanted a dragon cake...super fun and easy to make! We went to dinner with the whole fam and then back to Gramme's house to have cake and open presents.
Luke is still as mischievious as ever, but he is so fun to have around. He loves to sing and will go around the house singing to himself all day. He still has his cute little voice, it will be so sad when he grows out of it...I could just listen to him talk all day.

Kids are so funny, he LOVES Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and wants to watch it all day every day....literally! It will get over and he just wants to start it again. He knows all he songs and characters and can't seem to get enough of it. Even though the 2's and 3's are the hardest years, I think they are my favorite! Toddlers are amazing
Happy 3rd Birthday Lukey, we love you!

Luke's funny video

2010-05-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

We are officially on the potty train express...and while Luke is not loving it ( nor am I) it has it's moments. Luke had been sitting on the toilet for a while when Mat heard him talking and caught some of it on his phone. He is reading the Friend magazing and if you can't hear the video well enough, he is saying "talk to me Jesus" over and over. It was soooo funny and cute!

The waiting game

2010-04-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Waiting....I'm impatient and hate waiting and want to know everything right this second! Seems like we are waiting on everything right now....waiting on life, to see what happens. Mat has applied to BYU for the MBA program, and we are waiting to see if he gets in. It's been a long process and we still don't know. So that means we have to wait to move. Wait to find out where we can move, and where our life will continue in the next year.

In the mean time I am pregnant and just waiting....waiting to meet this amazing baby that has been kicking me! Waiting to decorate a nursery because I don't know where we will be when the baby is born...even waiting to buy ONE thing that is girly!

Waiting to be thin again and be able to work out, waiting to register Thatcher for school, waiting to plan our Disneyland trip...

I am at a standstill for at least another month and in the mean time will just have to WAIT!

I have been thinking that blogging, as little as I do it, can be something I can keep like a journal to at least remember some of the things that go on in our lives. I think most people will not care about what I have to write so just keep in mind this is what it will be! I just want to state for the record how amazing my husband is. He made my 32nd birthday amazing and I need to jot it down before I forget.

My 32nd birthday...not expecting anything whatsoever because once you get to a certain age, they seem to just be less exciting. Mat made it awesome and I love him. I had to work half the day, which actually ended up being part of the fun. The girls at work decorated my desk with balloons and streamers and bought me a cake and had the whole office sign a card...no easy feat! I had two dozen roses delivered to work from "my boys" that were absolutely beautiful. When I got out to the car, there were more balloons and birthday cards and a cd that said "put me in and push play". On the cd was a variety of birthday songs and then Thatcher's voice came on saying

"hi mom, it's Thatcher. Happy Birthday and I love you. Your boys would like to take you to lunch at one of the following places..."

Then luke's voice came on and said "hey mom, it's your crazy son Luke, I love you and hope you have a great birthday.

Seriously, it might not sound like much, but it totally made me cry, it was so sweet! So I met my boys for lunch for a birthday celebration at five guys. Then that night my mom watched the boys while Mat and I went to cheesecake factory with some of our favorite people! So fun and I was lucky enough to get an awesome rendition of Happy birthday from our friends loud enough for the surrounding patrons to stand up in their seats to get a glimpse.

It was a perfect day. I love my family and my cute friends. I couldn't have asked for anything more!

Easter festivities

2010-04-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

Easter is always such a fun time for hanging out with family. This year Mat and I had brunch at our house on Easter morning with some family that were still in town. It was fun hosting and we had a good time with some awesome food.
My mom does her big Easter celebration at her house the week after Easter so that all of the kids can be there since so many go out of town the weekend before. She always goes all out and it ends up being so much fun for everyone. All the grandkids got cute Easter baskets with bubbles and flip flops and candy which they were all so excited about! Then we have a BBQ and lots of yummy food in the backyard after which the grandkids get to go on an Easter egg hunt.

Trying to get all five of the grandkids to pose for a picture...

Cute Easter baskets Gramme made for the kids

Luke thought this table was a great place to hang out and observe the fun

We started off the weekend making cake balls that my sister-in-law Brittany found online. They were super messy but so fun to make! They turned out really cute...animals in a fun little basket of cake ball Easter fun.

My mom put together 6 games from minute to win it and we all had so much fun competing! She had a little score board and each married couple was a team competing against all the other couple teams...We ended up coming in second over all...the one that hurt us the most was the string behind the ears pulling up the candy, I was in charge of that one and could not get the candy to stop falling off before it reached my mouth! We all had a blast with the games, we've already scheduled another game day for next month.
Here are a few shots that Thatcher was able to capture amidst the fun and excitement! Thanks mom for putting together such fun Easter activites!

On a side note.... We are pregnant with a baby GIRL due in July!! We are super excited and that time cannot come soon enough! I got really behind on blogging for a few months because of the extreme sickness in the beginning, but I hope to at least get a good blog in once a month from now on...we'll see how that goes!

last few months

2009-10-12T13:55:00.001-07:00

Last weekend over conference we made Halloween cookies. It's been a tradition that started with last year and I think will continue. For some reason this is the only picture I took with Thatcher in his little helper apron, but didn't get any after pics. FYI, they were delicious
We went to the fair last month and saw some incredible sights. We didn't ride any rides aside from the giant slide because we would have had to take out a loan to do so. We instead relied on the entertainment that people watching provided us, and there was plenty of variety! We did however splurge on a deep fried snickers bar. Who can live the fair experience to the fullest without one? It was our first time, and our last. I have to say it was quite disappointing. But at least now we know, we no longer have to live in constant wonder.
The little farmers experience for the kids is the best part of the fair, and the cheapest.I think maybe Mat should change occupations and we could become farmers. The boys are hard workers now, I can only assume would be better and stronger with years to come. Could be a lucrative business....especially since we are destined to have all boys.The boys enjoying the fruits of their labor. It was hard work milking that cow, and even harder to make it sanitary and flavor it in time to enjoy before the fair closed for the nightI am in hardly any of these pictures because I happen to always be the one taking them, but I think it works out to everyone's advantage. The boys are much more photogenic and fun to look at

The night ended with a free concert starring Bucky Covington!! You can imagine our excitement, we couldn't believe our luck! Oh wait, who is Bucky Covington? We stayed in our seats for about 20 minutes during the opening acts then left....we left the rest to our imagination

The next few pics are just little tidbits of what we've been up to over the last few months. You'd think it would be easier to blog a little bit every now and then than it is to sum up one big blog....and it probably is. But it all comes down to the fact that I suck at blogging and I think it takes too much time. So updates are not very often, but every once and a while there are some amazing pictures posted of our very fun and eventful lives.....
Fall is the best time to get out the bike trailer. Even though I learned that Thatcher is probably too big for this now, I get an enormous workout and only hear their fighting from a short distance and muffled in the breeze
Thatcher stared soccer again and become slightly more aware how the game is played...that there is a ball involved.... a little more even so, that the object is to kick that ballMat coached a couple of the games and was the one in charge during team pictures. He makes a cute coach, I think!

Real Salt Lake game - company party for my office so it was free, plus and additional $40 in concessions. Before going I thought, wow, $40, we'll never spend that for just the four of us.... one tub of popcorn, two drinks, and some ice cream later, problem solved
Mat helped his mom make these cute treats for our nephews 1st birthday. His mom made the little cupcake hamburgers and Mat made the cookie french fries. I had to post this picture because I thought it turned out so cute...Mat sent me a phone pic of the fries after he was done with them and I thought they were real, forgetting he was making cookies. So fun
In September we had one last outdoor movie in my aunt and uncle's backyard. We were all snuggled up with our blankets and chairs watching Earth. Thatcher however, needed a seat right up front. He does seem to be nice and relaxed....
Mat and I went on a fun date to Trolley Square and saw Marcus perform. His stand up is so funny, my stomach hurt from laughing. He remembered me from high school even though I don't think we ever spoke, but we had to get a picture. We need more date nights I think!

BEAR LAKE

2009-09-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

We spent a week in Bear Lake last month.... my favorite week of the summer! Here is a picture of the cabin we stay in, it's right on the lake so it's perfect for playing in the water all day every day.

There is a fun game room that has pool, ping pong, and air hockey.... there is also a slide going from the upstairs to the game room, the boys were always entertained

We decided to do something different one day and went on a tour of this amazing cave close by

There were 888 steps total, some were super steep, but even Luke managed ok. At the end they turned off the little lights and we experienced "total darkness" it was really cool

We were so lucky to have a boat for two of the days thanks to my brother in laws parents

Thatchers first time on a tube and he wasn't loving it

The last night we went to a demolition derby and seriously had a blast, Thatcher was screaming the whole time and couldn't get enough

We were right in the front, so we got sprayed with dirt every time a car came close

Kyle's wife Whitney decided to participate in "musical buckets" during one of the intermissions and totally beat out all of the guys and won $50, you rock Whit!

all about LUKE

2009-08-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

This post is kind of a follow up to a previous one when I mentioned how Luke likes to get into things...get into trouble...be destructive.... These are just a few more pictures I captured on my camera phone within the last few weeks of our Lukey. He is a special, special boy....

We went to the park, and he had to find the one spot in the entire park where there happened to be a big puddle of mud. When he sees mud, or any opportunity really, to get messy and gross, he takes full advantage!

right after a rain storm in our backyard, he somehow was able to run outside and get soaking wet within 2 seconds

This is how he eats EVERY meal! It's either on his head, on the floor, or on Thatcher

Yeah, giving him pudding was a mistake I will not make again!

We were on our way out the door and I ran upstairs for two seconds to grab something, and in the mean time he climbed up on the counter and spilled a 2 liter of soda all over the counter and was swimming in it

This picture is why we call him special

He found a helmet and put it on backwards and rode around Mat's parents yard for like an hour with it like this. I could not stop laughing. It was so Luke, and so funny

He just loves to be silly

And also likes to copy everything Thatcher does....he saw him putting on his underwear and wanted to be a big boy just like his brother. Not quite the same idea

It's just a good thing he's so stinkin cute

If not, he would be in trouble

Who could be mad at this face?!?

It really is quite the adventure living with Luke, we literally can't take our eyes off of him for five seconds....it only takes 2 apparently for him to find trouble. He is an amazing little boy though and says the funniest things, we can't help but think he's hilarious....most of the time

kindergarten....

2009-08-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

Thatcher started kindgergarten last week... really it makes me a little teary eyed just looking at these pictures. I don't know how he went from this,
to going to kindergarten in such a short amount of time!

It was such a fun day for him, and he was ready. But walking around the school with him, he seemed so small, too small for that enormous school. I didn't think I'd be sad, but he kept squeezing my hand and telling me not to let go. But I had to...
He was super excited to get his own tote tray and seating assignment. And couldn't wait to meet his new friends.
This was the last picture I took of him as I was slowly backing out of the classroom. I was one of the last parents to leave, and he kept saying, bye mom.... it's ok, you can leave now. I really never thought I would be that broken up about it....but as I was walking down the hall, the tears just started flowing. I have no control over what happens to him at school, what if he gets hurt? What if he gets lost? What if someone is mean to him? What if he has to use the bathroom that is WAY down the hall?
They had a "boo hoo" brunch for all the moms who were dropping off their kids at kindergarten, and were handing out tissues and hershey's kisses. I needed like three tissues and had more than one person ask me if I needed a hug. BUT, I was not the only one! Really it shouldn't be this hard to send your kid to kindergarten, and I am not the type to cry! But it's a huge milestone and I'm glad it's over with.We had some balloons and a congratulatory cake waiting for him when he got home. It's a big step!! He did awesome of course, and couldn't wait to go back the next day.

We are so proud of you Thatch!!

4th of July fun

2009-07-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats an awesome bbq and fireworks! Our cute friends the Moores had us over to enjoy festivities in their yard.

Luke did awesome, he was able to resist the temptation of grabbing the" sparkly firey" part and avoid getting burned

It was unusually cold that night!

We saw some outstanding fireworks....those packs you buy from the grocery store....yeah, amazing! Ok, they all looked the exact same, we didn't even get a chinese pagoda :(We had great front row seats...the guys let the two older boys light all the fireworks, so they got to just sit back and watch the show

We ended the night with a fury of fire crackers and left unable to hear each others goodbye's, but it was a fun night of patriotic bliss

2009-06-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Thatcher had his preschool graduation last month

It was super short and sweet

It's a momentous event for me, and at the same time I am fully aware that noone else will be fully enthralled by this post....but it's amazing to me that he is done with preschool

And will be starting elementary school...

We are so proud of him

This is his friend Connor who he got to goof off with everyday at school.

Luke is a proud little brother

We took him to the Mayan in celebration of this huge accomplishment

He had a blast...

now on to bigger and better things...

We love you Thatcher!!

They grow up so fast...

2009-04-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

It's crazy how fast kids grow up....people always tell me that, but now I understand that it's really true! This kid especially, he seems like the baby to me still, even though he's almost two! In this picture he looks so cute and innocent...But this kid is a magnet for mischief! If he isn't right by my side literally at all times I know he is doing something naughty....

He had climbed up the stairs and was gone for maybe a minute if that, and I thought, uh oh, it's way too quiet. So I turn the corner on the stairs and find him doing his hair with some vicks....

He really piled it on, it was at least an inch thick on the top of his head....maybe the reflection of the light on his head might be a clue to just HOW greasy he was!

We washed, and washed, and washed again....that stuff was not coming out! For days after he had a permanent hair style.....sticking straight up and super greasy.

Another favorite thing of his is to climb up on the stools in the kitchen. On this particular day, there was some cereal on the counter and he took full advantage of his chance to slip away and have a hayday with that cereal!

He mixed them both together and had a feast for about 5 seconds until I caught him....seriously, he can do a lot of damage in under two minutes!

This one is probably self explanatory....he got into my mascara and wanted to look pretty just like mommy...

Having Thatcher first didn't prepare me at all for all of the fun stuff we've been experiencing with Luke. Thatcher never got into cupboards he wasn't supposed to, or made big messes, or was really mischievious at all. He was the perfect well mannered kid until about 3....that's when we had a whole lot of other fun issues! But maybe since Luke is getting it out of his system early, he'll be super well behaved by the time he turns 3.....but I'm not holding my breath!

Thatcher is turning 5 in a couple of months and is starting to do so many things! He's growing up way too fast...I don't think I'm ready! He is always wanting to play with friends, this is his best friend that he met in preschool. We've had to schedule regular playdates, sometimes once or twice a week. They have had to be separated in school, and this is the only way to get them to be ok with not being able to sit by each other and goof around during class time.

He started soccer again and is so much better this year at the whole concept of chasing the ball. The first two seasons I don't think he knew there was even a ball involved...he would spend the games chasing other kids and doing somersaults on the field and dancing around. He was always fun to watch though!

He is starting kindergarten in August, and I always thought I would be so happy for him to go! I thought, Oh, I won't be sad at all...this kid has so much energy and always needs something to do, it'll be great to have him occupied everyday. Didn't think I'd be sad AT ALL....then I went to orientation....I cried at orientation! Um, this wasn't supposed to happen! They showed a slide show of kids in kindergarten this year and all of the fun things they got to do, and it was all set to music....I was literally crying! He can't be this big, and maybe I'm not ready for him to grow up, maybe he needs to stay home one more year.... kindergarten is for older kids!

Wow, I don't know how I'm going to handle the day I have to drop him off at school. Just writing this makes me sad! He is such an amazing boy! He is so smart and absorbs every little bit of information he sees and hears. He loves playing outside and learning about nature and bugs. He loves reading, he loves to tell jokes and be funny. He loves to dance and be silly. He is the best kid I can imagine. How can I let him go to kindergarten? All by his lonesome little self.... I know he'll love it and won't think twice about making new friends or having a new teacher. He adapts so well.... I can't believe how fast they grow up!!

I want to move to St. George

2009-03-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

I can't even talk about the cold snowy weather.... :{

If only we lived in constant warmth!! Oh what a life that would be.....

Our trip to Sunny and Warm St. George, oh how I miss you already

Hiking with the boys

Thatcher with my Dad

A random girl at the top of the Dixie Rock wanted to show Thatcher a lizard she had caught

Hiking with the fam....my dad and sister Jen shared in the fun times

Is it sad that I once went through these narrow rocks without any stuggle at all??

Luke didn't even know how much fun he was having, but it was a lot!

We found this really cool trail by my grandma's house that we went rollerblading on. It goes along riverside drive and clear out to Bloomington I guess. It was so pretty!

I could barely keep up, Mat is so speedy on those rollerblades!

It was much harder for me to push AND try to rollerblade at the same time

This is the first time we'd been to the sand dunes, it was awesome!

The boys loved it

Thatcher and Luke of course only had enough energy for one way.... they got to be carried on the return trip. Thanks daddy!

We found this fun restaurant called Pirate Island that we ate in the last night. Thatcher was so excited, he loves pirates! (hence the name of our blog address, in case you wondered why we chose that ridiculous one!) It was all pirate themed, the waiters were dressed as pirates, they had a huge arcade to play in..... but the food.....the food was not good!! I think in most themed restaurants this is the case, sometimes you get lucky, but we were not.

This is how we entertained ourselves on the long drive home.... thanks sour gummy worms.

The joy of St. Patricks Day!!

2009-03-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

I think Thatcher has as much anticipation for St. Patricks Day as he does for Christmas morning...What did those crazy Leprechauns do this time?! He even wore his green pajamas to bed so he would be prepared....

They managed to turn our breakfast green....AGAIN! Oh, They're tricky! This time they didn't just get our eggs and milk, but our oatmeal too. I know, nothing looks more appetizing than green oatmeal

Even little Luke enjoyed eating green breakfast....

I'm glad Thatcher was not agitated like he was last year when he didn't appreciate all the effort it took those little Leprechauns to to break into our house and cause such mischief. Nope, this year he loved it and was amazed.

He made sure he and Luke had on plenty of green in celebration of this magical holiday.

He had a treasure hunt at school and managed to find some gold....how lucky is he?

So fun to have a four year old who loves St. Patricks Day

February Fun

2009-03-03T23:44:00.001-08:00

So February was a crazy month! I'm sure January was too, but I'm not good enough at blogging to keep it up to date like I should. I usually hate February, last year it seemed like the boys were sick the whole month. The weather is usually horrible, I feel trapped indoors…. This month I was getting excited for Valentines Day and Thatcher and I decided to do some decorating. . . we got as far as our front door with home made signs and cut out hearts. . . amazingly crafty, I know! He got to hand out fun little valentines to his friends at school that he was so exited about.

We had some friends come over to help make Valentine cookies. The boys had so much fun playing and decorating the cookies

… well mostly playing.

The cookies still turned out delicious and festive.

We were feeling pretty lucky around the 12^th of the month that no one in our family had been sick yet. We had a trip planned for St. George on the 13^th for Presidents weekend, but that day Luke got really sick and had a hard time breathing so we ended up at Primary Children's instead.

We were really lucky to get in right away. He immediately got hooked up to oxygen and was given breathing treatments every two hours. He was also hooked up to an EKG machine, pulse ox, blood pressure…. It was really sad to watch him laying there kind of helpless to do anything.

They ended up admitting him and we spent three days in the hospital with him.

I think the hardest part was trying to keep him in the bed the whole time. He was attached to so many things he wasn't able to really get up and walk around. We took turns sleeping in the bed with him 24/7.

Primary's is such an amazing hospital. They have a lot of things to try and keep the kids entertained. We had a huge movie selection to choose from, toys, books, food… I think he would have actually enjoyed being there under different circumstances.

His nurses were incredible, I really felt like they cared about him. One of them brought him this awesome truck that he got to take home with him.

Being there really made us appreciate the health that our kids have. It's such an amazing hospital, but not one we like spending time at. I really feel for those families that have to spend weeks or months or more up there with a sick child.

Here he is in the cute (by cute I mean scary) hospital p.j.'s they gave him to sleep in

We felt really blessed that Luke was able to improve as much as he did, it was so great to see him with all of his energy back on that last day. He was back to being his happy self and we felt confident he would continue to improve once we got him home in his own bed.

Mat and I had a memorable valentines to say the least. We got to spend it together eating ice cream from the hospital café and watching Nick and Nora's infinite playlist while little Lukey slept by our side.

2008 in retrospect

2009-01-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

2008 was a good year, but I'm looking forward to 2009!

Here are 10 things I learned in 2008

1. Don't look for houses to buy until yours is sold! It's hard to fall in love with a house and then realize you might actually be stuck in yours longer than you think because the market is horrible!

2. Having two little boys can be super crazy but they make life amazing! No matter how much they fight (well Thatch fights with Luke and Luke just stares at him with a hurt look) they always give each other hugs and kisses and say the cutest little I love you's.

3. Turning 30 wasn't as scary as I thought it would be! I need to own up to being older and live life to the fullest!

4. When you have two debilitating surgeries within 4 months it is apparently inevitable that you will gain 15-20 lbs. from lack of movement!!

5. I have the best, most understanding, loving, husband in the world....oh, and funny too! Ok, I didn't just learn that in 2008, I have always known that, but it is still true!

6. 4 year old's still have tantrums like 3 year old's...really?

7. Having good family is so important, and I love my family so much! They have also helped us out a lot this year.

8. Blogging while good in theory, is not easy for me to keep up to date. So check back in another month and I might have gotten back to it!

9. A nice relaxing trip to Mexico IS all its cracked up to be!

10. Some t.v. shows are good for you. I love the Biggest Loser and am totally motivated by it, I have even been known to cry while watching it....only once or twice!

And going along with #8, I am just now getting to posting some Christmas pics. Luke met Santa for the first time at a family party and did not like the big fat man! He screamed and cried until we took him off his lap... he did however stop just long enough to capture the moment!

He was a little happier at this family party because there was no santa!

Christmas morning getting ready to see what Santa brought

This was the first year we decided to stay home on Christmas in order to let the boys play and relax, and we had grandparents come to our house. It was great! Here are Nana and Papa Allred visiting.

We did meet family over at sister Jen's house for dinner....so here we are getting ready to leave, with the aftermath still in the background!

After a long fun day.... giving hugs goodnight.
We went to Zoo lights this year and had so much fun! They had many more lights than I had expected and we still got to see a lot of animals...highly recommended!

This snake was Thatcher's favorite part.

They were all bundled up in the stroller and I think they were having so much fun they didn't even think about the cold.

And yes, these last few pictures are from Thanksgiving, but they were on the same batch of pictures as the Christmas ones and Thatcher wanted me to post these cute turkeys that we made for everyones place setting. 26 of them!

2008-12-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

My little Thatcher...so wise and grown up...Today on the drive home we were stopped at a red light when Thatcher said to me "mom, do you know what kinds of things you can't do at a stop light? You can't go to the bathroom at a stop light, you can't feed your dog at a stop light....you can't put a leash on your dog at a stop light...and you can't put up a sign at a stop light."

Thank you ever so much Thatcher, now I will always be safe at a stop light!!

On the same ride home.... "mom, I'm kind of embarassed about the song 'Jingle Bells'. I said, I don't know if embarassed is the right word... he then said, "ok, then confused?"

He says the funniest things! He is too smart for his own good sometimes, but I learn a lot from this boy and I love him so much! He definitely keeps life interesting!

November Highlights

2008-11-28T19:53:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's almost December....November flew by! Here are some highlights from this month...

The beginning of November always starts out with a week up at Snowbird. Our family (extended as well) has condos up there the same week so it becomes a family reunion of sorts. This year we were trapped up there for a couple of days due to a huge snowstorm. It was fun to be up there watching the snowfall and knowing we didn't have to be anywhere for days. Here are some pictures that captured the momentous event.

This was in the moring off the balcony of our condo.

This picture was taken later in the day, those lumps to the right are cars... not a hint of them showing from beneath all that snow. They had a news crew come up to interview some of the guests who were trying to dig themselves out.

This picture was taken from our other balcony. The snow kept falling... I think it ended up being taller than Thatcher.

We also had a suprise party for Mat's 30th Birthday up at Snowbird. It was over a week before his actual birthday, so I think he was definitely surprised. It turned out really well, better than I expected! I didn't do a very good job at capturing the event, but here are a few pictures that I did take...

Dan, why do you look so happy in this picture??

Thank you to all of our friends who made the drive up to wish Mat a happy birthday! We have awesome friends, it was so fun to see everyone.

Halloween fun

2008-11-11T13:16:00.001-08:00

Thatcher was a couple of different things for Halloween this year. He dressed up for his school party and wanted to be Dash...

There are only 3 boys in his class and seven girls, he has adopted the expression of always being "girl trapped"

We went to a party at my sisters house where Mat and I dressed up as uh... Rockers? I don't actually know what we were, Mat just wanted to look like he was Bad A-- for a couple of hours!

Mat got there a little before me and my family didn't even recognize him...

We tried to find sleeves for me but they were sold out everywhere...apparently a lot of people wanted that this year

Halloween night Thatch wanted to go as Speed Racer.... Luke of course is Speeds pet monkey

One big happy Speed Racer Family

Boys will be boys

2008-10-10T11:41:00.001-07:00

We had fun just hanging out last weekend for conference. There are so many projects that I think I can get finished while listening to conference, but I never end up being that productive.
Instead we made sugar cookies and decorated them for Halloween. It was cold outside so it was a fun indoor activity and then we had something yummy to eat all weekend. The boys have some mad decorating skills.

Last week Mat helped his Dad and his two brothers re-roof his parents house. It took a while longer than they had anticipated but they learned a lot and I think it made them a little tougher. Thankfully noone got hurt in the process and now the roof looks fantastic! Good job boys.

Thatcher wanted to help out, so Mat gave him an apron from home depot and some gloves and he went up on the roof for a minute to try and contribute. I think Uncle Taylor let him nail a shingle to the roof.... good thing they kept a close eye on him, he returned to the ground level unscathed!

Luke had a slight altercation with the sidewalk... the sidewalk won! :(

This picture was taken a couple of days after he fell, it looked a lot worse right after it happened.

He is still a tad wobbly when he walks, but he is determined to get to where he's going on his feet! He's better now, and it's not quite as scary when we are going for a walk outside.

2008-09-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love FALL?!? It's my absolute favorite time of year. I do however think that summer went by way too fast....how can it possibly be over? One fabulous plus about that though, is the return of Thatcher to school. It makes both of our lives so much easier. He likes being at school and having fun with other kids, and I like having him spend some time away from home for part of the day... its perfect.

Anyway, here are some pics that pertained to summer that I just didn't get around to posting until now.

We finally got a bike trailer for the boys and I gotta say, I love it! With both boys, I am much too big of a wimp to get very far, but usually I take Luke for rides while Thatcher is in school. On this particular occasion however, I did manage to get around the block!

We went to the Brian Reegan concert at Thanksgiving Point with some friends in August. For those of you who have not heard his comedy, you must at some point... he is HI-Larious. That is such a fun venue, outdoor concerts are the best.

We went up to Silver Lake for one of our outings, it was a perfect day. How cute are these two brothers?

Thatcher started soccer again this month and he is a little bit more interested in actually kicking the ball then he was last season.

Here he is in action.... Go Thatcher!!

Thatcher and his Dad are two peas in a pod... Not only do they look exactly like each other, they both think they are so funny! I guess they are for the most part...

Here is some great entertainment from Thatcher... He loves to sing!

2008-09-22T10:54:00.001-07:00

Moving!!

Well, hoping to be! We have officially listed our house and are now just playing the waiting game to see if anyone likes it enough to buy it.

Just getting our house ready to put up for sale was a chore in itself. We bought a storage unit to put some things in to make our house look a little less cluttered and lot more enticing. We thought we'd only have a few things to put in there... now of course its almost full. If you ever want to know how much crap you have, think about moving! It becomes apparent sooner than you'd hope.

I also noticed that I should probably clean our little stove inserts. I debated for a while on how much effort it would actually take to get them to look good and then decided that it wasn't worth it... Do they sell new ones that I can just buy?!?

Moving is definitely not on my top ten favorite things to do, but it is a necessity unfortunately! When we first moved into our house we thought it was huge and had tons of space. Now 2 1/2 years later we are tightly crammed with one additional child and no place to expand.

So... if anyone lives in a cute neighborhood that has any houses for sale by them, let us know! (that would of course entail us living by you though, so think it over!)

BEAR LAKE!!

2008-08-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

BEAR LAKE!!

We had so much fun in Bear Lake with the fam. We stay at an amazing cabin that fits everyone comfortably... its 7 days of nothing but relaxation, games, and fun!
It's great having 6 kids in the family, 5 of which are married so we had plenty of people to get a competitive game of volleyball going. The sand was too hot during the day, so we moved the net into the shallow water so we could also get wet while we played, it was awesome! It also made it a little easier on those who were willing to dive and sacrifice their bodies for the ball.

Mat and Brandon were a good team. Way to go boys...

Oh yeah, we looked this hot the whole week!

Me and Thatch getting ready to ride the 4-wheeler. He likes the fast life and loved the wave runners also... he is quite the dare devil!

Luke loved the water, this is about as far as we let him go in, but he was content to just hang out and sit and splash.

Everyone really got in to the volleyball games, it was on when we had the siblings against the spouses...

The three grandkids hanging with uncle Chad.

He likes it in the nude...

So sad to see the week come to an end. It's hard coming back to reality and responsibilities!

2008-08-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

7 years and counting!!

We had our 7th Anniversary on July 31st! We ended up spending it with the whole family in a cabin in Bear Lake, but it was awesome nontheless!

Mat is the best husband in the world and makes me happy every day. Thanks for putting up with me for seven whole years!

2008-07-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Thatcher turned 4 this month!! I can't believe he is that old. We had a fun party for him in Gramme's backyard and had a spongebob theme. Mat is a genius, he made a spongebob cake and decorated it himself! He is a great cook and seriously so creative. He wanted to go to culinary school at one time... I think he would have been an amazing chef!

Here is the cake along with some Patrick cupcakes

Thanks to everyone for making his birthday so fun!

2008-07-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

So I have a really good friend who just happens to be the most amazing photographer! She has been doing our family pictures for a few years, and just took some of Luke for his birthday. She always does such a great job, we are so lucky to benefit from her talent!!

Here is her website if you want to check out some of her other marvelous work:

http://www.picsbysteph.com/

Thanks Steph!

2008-06-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Thatcher James

I wanted to blog a little about Thatcher because he is turning 4 next week! This kid is one of a kind. He is hilarious, so cute, so smart... I was looking at the videos Mat took of him on his last day of preschool and realized how glad I was that he actually made it to the last day. If I was a good blogger, I would have already written about some of his preschool shenanigans, but alas I am not.

Basically for the last two or three months of school, every time I would pick him up his teacher would have that look on her face and start the conversation with... Thatcher made some not so good choices today. I would of course look shocked, because Thatcher is perfect every minute of every day at home... I had to give the obligatory, Oh no, what happened today? And then she would proceed to rattle off a list a mile long of things like.... well, he hit someone, he stepped on someones toes, he pulled a chair out from someone, he said he didn't like one of the girls, he smashed another kids fingers in the door, he bit someone ... and on and on. What?? Who's child is this??

His teacher is actually really cute and for some reason really loved Thatcher and kept saying how he had a special place in her heart, and it just made her so sad when he does stuff like this. She even welled up with tears a couple of times, and if this had to do with her thinking we beat him at home or that he was a lost cause I have no idea. We talked to Thatcher until we were blue in the face about what kinds of things are allowed at school but nothing seemed to get through to him. We told him that they were not going to let him come back to school if it kept happening, and eventually I think it sunk in because one day his teacher threatened to call me and have me come and pick him up. He said that he was sorry for whatever he was doing at the moment, and was good from then on.

I don't know what got into him at school those last few months, but truly this is not the cute child we have raised to be so loving and kind. All I have to say is that maybe boys will be boys and they just go through phases, not that he didn't get in trouble for these things, but he seems to have grown out of this phase and is once again fun and cute and nice.

One night after my surgery a couple weeks ago, Mat was gone and I was laying on my bed in pain and Thatcher came up and gave me a kiss on my forhead and said, "don't worry mom, I'll take care of you while Daddy's gone". Wow, I love this kid! He has such a big heart and is a great big brother and takes care of everyone. He is too smart for his own good sometimes, but he makes us laugh constantly. We are so happy that he is a part of our family!

2008-06-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been almost a month since our last post, we are just bad bloggers! I do have an excuse though, I had a minor surgery that turned out to be a major pain in the butt and I had to lay in bed for about two weeks! It's funny you think the world stops when you stop being a part of it. I am glad to be a part of society once again. It felt so weird actually going outside yesterday... I forgot how amazing the sun feels!

Anyway, here are some updates

Thatcher had his last day of preschool and had a little sing a long with his class that I wasn't able to go to, but I hear was just amazing... as far as preschool programs go! I was sad that I couldn't make it, but Mat video taped it so I didn't have to miss a thing.

Here is Thatcher with his cute teacher Miss Michelle.

Luke turned the big number one last week! I can't believe he has gotten so big, it really feels like yesterday that he was a brand new baby.

He has such an awesome personality, he is so smiley and cuddley and fun.

He was a little sick during his party, so he wasn't too interested in eating his yummy cake, but he was able to get in a few mouthfuls. He got some really cute toys that he absolutely loves and Thatch loved being the one to help him open them all.

May is the month for Birthdays!!

2008-05-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

May 25

Today is my Grandpa Hutchings birthday and I wanted to give him a little birthday tribute. He would be 77 today! He died almost 4 years ago in a car accident driving from St. George to Salt Lake to visit the family and we all miss him so much.

He was such an amazing person. He was completely selfless and his family always came first. He lived to make his family happy and he was such a huge part of all of our lives.

I think this is my favorite picture of me and my grandpa. I remember him always taking us for rides in the car and buying us ice cream. He was always singing and a couple of the songs I remember him singing were 'Who is That Doggy in the Window' and 'Take Me Out to The Ballgame'.

He was there for graduations, weddings, sporting events, good times, bad times, almost every memory I have growing up involves my grandpa.

I love you Grandpa and miss your cute smile and warm hugs.

MAY 24
Happy Birthday to my big sister Jen! I found this just today while looking through some other pictures and thought it was so funny! I have no idea when it was taken, but I remember making those scary faces... actually, don't you still make those all the time?

Ten things I love about Jen:

She is the most generous person I know
She is very selfless

She knows how to make me laugh until I cry

She knows everything anyone could possibly want to know about Jewelry
She is an expert with make up as well
She is always there when you need her
She makes the best chocolate chip cookies
She tries to make everyone happy
She loves my kids and is a great aunt

She is an amazing big sister

MAY 31

Happy Birthday to my step-dad Pat. He doesn't get a lot of recognition, and doesn't like to be in pictures, so I had a hard time finding one of him. He is also very generous and would do anything for anyone. He has done so much for us and is so cute with the grandkids. He always wants the whole family to be together and is so great at making that happen. We love you and appreciate you very much!

And finally I want to give a big happy birthday to four of my best buddies, all of whom I have known since Jr. High... going on 17 years!! These girls all have birthdays in May, within 9 nine days of each other, so it makes them easy to remember :)

This fun picture was taken in 9th grade at Lagoon.

May 23

Katie who could forget those awesome prom dresses! We always had so much fun together and no matter how much time has gone by we can pick up right where we left off! We will accomplish our goal of running a marathon together, if it takes us until we are 50!

May 31

Kris we have had some awesome times! We could always be silly together and I'm so glad we live so close and can still hang out all the time.

May 28

Rachel has always been the crazy one! She is hilarious and now lives in Colorado so far away! But don't forget we are planning to celebrate the big 3-0 with everyone when you come to visit in June!

May 22
Sadie I love that we still see each other often and can reminisce about the good old days. You are still as spunky as ever!

This last one is from my wedding shower with the girls

I love you guys and hope you all have a great 30th Birthday! We are now officially old but still have the best years ahead!

2008-05-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Luke is sick today and threw up all over me and the bench at church and has thrown up numerous times since... poor little guy! It's funny though, that when kids are sick they are extra cuddley... I guess that is the reward you get for having to clean up vomit all day, at least you get some cuddle time!

I was just thinking how crazy it is to be a mom and the hard times you have to go through with sickness and tantrums and countless other things, but how I wouldn't trade those things for anything! I love being a mom and am so happy I have two cute boys.

I was looking through some pictures today and found a funny video of Thatcher. This was taken in April of 2006, about two months before he turned two. This kid was always a riot and had so many amazing little quirks. This is also for my mom... we had to teach him to hold up his hands and say "no cookies and no candy" because she loved to give him sugar when she babysat, so we were trying to teach him to decline her offers of sweets... I forgot about that, so funny! Mom, I think this still pertains!!

Mat gave me one of these for Mother's Day and I totally love it!!

I'm excited to finally have an ipod of my own to load up with my favorite songs... which are vastly different from those of my husband, so sharing one was just not working out!

I wanted to add a picture of Luke just because he is so cute!

2008-05-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

We are back from our vacation to Mexico... and am happy to say that all the worrying and nightmares were for nothing, it was paradise! And we returned to find the kids alive and well nourished... I think we will just have to do this more often!

Before we left I had had countless nightmares about getting to the hotel and it being a roach infested shack, or it not existing at all or having bed bugs and being totally disgusting. But lucky for us it was beautiful AND clean!

We went diving in Cozumel one day and saw amazing things.... huge nurse sharks, sea turtles, two lobsters the size of me, parrot fish, barracudas, a sting ray... It was so AWESOME!

We went horse back riding another day and got to ride the horses into the ocean bare back.That was a really cool experience. Other than that we just laid on the beach or by the pool and relaxed.

We went with our good friends Kristina and Jaron and had a blast with them. Jaron and Mat seem to have the same sense of humor and were amused at how funny they could be. I was thoroughly entertained by them both and had stomach aches from laughing so hard.

I would definitely do an all-inclusive hotel again. It was nice to be in a little tropical city of its own and feel like I never had to leave if I didn't want to. They had food, entertainment, relaxation, and fun all at our fingertips. What more could we possibly want in a vacation?

Most of all it was fun to have Mat all to myself for an entire week!!

2008-04-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

So Thatcher survived his first soccer game on Saturday, just barely though! He started out really pumped and got right out there and started running around. He made sure to stop and wave to us about every 5 seconds, it was pretty funny. I don't think he was at all aware of the ball he was supposed to be chasing, let alone the other players on the field. He lasted about 2 minutes and that was all he could muster. He decided that was all the soccer playing he had bargained for, and spent the remainder of the game on the side lines.

Here is Mat trying to coax him into getting back onto the field.

I also attempted to bribe him into playing some more, but there was nothing we could say to make him change his mind.

After the game he explained that the wind was to blame and how could we expect him to play in those conditions? He said he will try harder next week... if the weather permits

It was fun to find out that I went to high school with his coach. He was really cute with him, for the couple minutes he was in the game at the very end, he let Thatcher hold his hand while he ran around and gave instructions on the field.

Thatcher is such a fun boy, I feel really lucky to be his mom!

This is the scene Mat and I will be looking at for the next seven days...

We are off to Mexico as a present to ourselves for turning 30! That was hard work! Well, Mat isn't 30 yet, but will be soon. This will help ease the aging process. A little bit of relaxation is all we need...

I feel really anxious all of the sudden about leaving my boys for that long! Will they be fine for that long without me? I know they will be in good loving hands... Thanks to those of you who are taking turns with them! They will probably have a lot of fun and never even think of us for that week we're gone. We are so lucky to have such a great family who is willing to help!

We will surely post an update when we return to describe all the fun that was had...

2008-04-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

HOORAY for warmth, bottles, and of course the Office!!

I was so excited to finally see some good weather this weekend! It's about freakin time! It was a long, long, long winter! But we took full advantage of the sunny skies and played outside all weekend.

I know noone ever thinks your kid is as cute as you do, but he is such a stud! I have to post some pics of Thatch in his soccer gear that we put him in for the first time yesterday. I played soccer for a long time and wanted to show him some mad skills. He is totally a natural! His first game is next Saturday and he is so excited, he is going to rock the soccer field. (I'm fully aware that once the game starts none of them will have any idea what they're doing and it will be a fun 45 minutes of kids falling and running into each other) But I think it's worth the money to get him to run around for two hours a week and drain his energy.

No this is not an illusion, Luke is weaned and taking a bottle!! Oh happy day! I never thought it would happen after trying for weeks and weeks and getting nothing but resistance. He is one stubborn boy. But Tuesday morning, it finally happened. He gave in after just a couple hours of starvation. He actually caved a lot sooner than I thought he would!

A whole new world has opened up! I no longer have to take hours out of my day nursing. I can fix him a bottle and he can feed himself. I decided that bottles are the best thing ever! Why it has taken me so long to realize this I will never know. All I know is that I am a changed person because of them.

Who wasn't excited about the new episode of the Office?!? Mat and I have been lovingly referring to each other as "Babe" ever since that episode... oh the crazy antics of Michael and Jan.

I wait with great anticipation for the following shows each week... American Idol, Biggest Loser, The Office, and LOST. I don't even feel so pathetic now with the blessed invention of the Tivo! My life doesn't have to revolve around tv schedules anymore, I can watch them all at my leisure. This probably doesn't make me less pathetic... just pathetic with a little more time.

There is a really funny show on FX that my brother in law alerted us to called 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.' Its hilarious, but offends everyone. So if you are offended easily I wouldn't recommend it...

Sunny California

2008-03-30T12:59:00.001-07:00

Over Easter weekend we drove to California for a wedding for some friends of Mat's family.

It was amazing and definitely worth the drive, we had a lot of fun! Both the brides family and the grooms are Samoan and they know how to throw a party! Here is a pic of us enjoying the festivities and eating dinner.

I wasn't sure what the majority of the food was on my plate, but it was all really good and interesting!

Here is an overhead view of what the room looked like. There were a ton of people. It was decorated with a lot of bright and happy colors. They had a program planned for 3 hours of the reception and this is where all of the entertainment began!

They had people perform from both sides of the family... singing, dancing, it was amazing. Here is Thatcher enjoying watching some of the girls dancing while sitting on his Nana's lap.

We were thoroughly entertained!

We woke up the next morning to a beautiful Easter morning. Thatcher was quite impressed that the Easter Bunny could deliver to our hotel room!

After the wedding instead of driving home we decided to go to Seaworld for a day. I have never been and was really excited about it! Here are some pics from our fun adventure.

HAPPY ST. PATIRICKS DAY !

2008-03-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

ST. PATRICKS DAY

Thatcher woke up this morning to find that a leprechaun had turned his breakfast green...

I thought he would be excited, but he was quite perturbed. He didn't appreciate that a leprechaun would break into our house and turn his eggs green, apparently he doesn't like green eggs!

He's funny because he has been so excited about St. Patricks day for a couple of weeks after learing all about it in school... painting shamrocks and looking for gold at the end of the rainbow.

After I explained to him that the eggs still taste the same, they are just green for St. Patricks Day, he decided to try them and said, Hey! I like green eggs! Now he is happy again and insisted that we all wear green for this special holiday.

So here are the boys decked out in green

We will be keeping a lookout for leprechauns while on our excursions today

2008-02-25T15:24:00.000-08:00

I have forgotten what life feels like in the world outside of our house and the illness that it contains. Out of the past 7 days, I have been out of the house twice, and both times it was to take a sick kid to the doctor.

This is what my dresser looks like with all of the medications piled up that I have had use for over the week to try and alleviate some of the symptoms of my sick boys.

Sad little Luke after going to the doctor on Saturday, having caught the eye infection from Thatcher as well as an ear infection and cough... it was hearbreaking.

We had to keep track of all the medications we were giving and the different dosing schedules, so here is how my week went...

We went through a TON of this!!

I was able to get out for a run on Saturday afternoon thanks to my mom watching the kids for a little while. Thanks mom. That helped relieve some stress.

Thankfully today both boys have a regular temperature and Thatcher will probably be going to school tomorrow.

I am looking forward to getting out more these next few days!

Hope you all had a better week...

100 things about me

2008-02-19T15:32:00.000-08:00

Thatcher is such a sad little sick person. We took him to the doctor yesterday and found out he has conjunctivitis. Which is just an eye infection, but he was up all night with coughing and fevers as well. Today I will be occupied with having to put three drops of medicine in each of his eyes every two hours. Needless to say we are stuck at home today.

Since I have time on my hands while nursing a sick boy, I decided it was a good time to do my list of 100 random facts. I enjoyed all the other lists I read on my friends blogs and found out some interesting things.

So here goes mine...

1) I HATE when my kids are sick, it breaks my heart
2) I am not a morning person
3) I do not like to be the center of attention
4) I have absolutely no musical talent
5) I always have to have my toenails painted
6) It takes me forever to eat a piece of meat or chicken because I have to cut off every little piece of fat or any veins
7) I wish I was better organized
8) I love to run but need to be more consistent before I can consider myself a "runner"
9) I lived in Taiwan for six months with the cutest Chinese family
10) I think whoever invented Oxyclean is a genious
11) I love NYC and will always be grateful we were able to experience so much of it while Mat worked in Manhattan
12) I want to own a boat some day so I can wakeboard whenever I want
13) I am afraid of sharks even though I am never any place I could run into one
14) I loved my wedding day, it was perfect
15) I used to be good at basketball, I think when I played on the ninth grade team for Butler, but now I suck and didn't realize it until the first game for the womens ward team. oops
16) I feel like I talk too fast and would probably benefit from taking an elocution class
17) I never want to drive a minivan but probably will someday because I will have to be practical
18) I pluck my eyebrows almost everyday
19) I do not love shopping
20) I think I am not "wifey" enough sometimes
21) I want to learn to salsa dance
22) I am not good at expressing my feelings
23) I love to be around blunt people who just say what they think
24) I don't love being pregnant
25) I am not good at keeping a journal
26) I still have nightmares sometimes and wake up Mat in the middle of the night to comfort me
27) My husband is a better cook than I am
28) I like to read, but lose interest fast if it doesn't keep my attention
29) I still miss my grandpa so much
30) I always want to be a better mom
31) I love to travel
32) I would live in China in a heartbeat if the situation ever presented itself
33) I have ridden on an elephant
34) I love Halloween
35) I wish I knew how to decorate
36) I hate the color we painted on our living room wall
37) I have yet to find that perfect pair of jeans
38) I love clothes to smell like fabric softener
39) I could eat chocolate cake any time, any place
40) I love to see broadways
41) I have been to eight different coutries outside the U.S.
42) I loved my job as a Medical Assistant
43) Being a stay at home mom is harder than I thought it would be, but I wouldn't want it any other way
44) I love American Idol and will always watch it
45) I am always cold and hog the covers
46) I pick my eyelashes
47) I love ice cream
48) I love my kids and would do anything to make them happy
49) I love water parks
50) I think it would be fun to drive across the country on a harley with Mat when we are old
51) I used to floss obsessively and now don't do it enough
52) I like to play tennis but have yet to win a match
53) I like to eat avacado sandwiches
54) I have a birth mark above my belly button
55) I had natural child birth with Luke
56) I tend to think things through too much instead of just doing them
57) I love being around people that make me laugh
58) I am part Hawaiian
59) I want my husband to be more spontaneous
60) I love to chew gum
61) I like to stay busy but have a hard time finishing projects I start
62) Referring to # 61, I have yet to finish Thatchers scrapbook of his first year
63) I never go to bed before midnight
64) I nursed Thatcher until he was 13 months
65) I already want to be done nursing Luke
66) I have a lot of freckles
67) I play on a co-ed softball team with my husband
68) I have seen every episode of 'Sex and the City'
69) I love to rollerblade
70) Neither of my kids took a bottle or a pacifier, much to my dismay
71) I am scared of someone close to me dying
72) I love catching up with old friends
73) I love taking hot baths
74) I love my husband and think he is amazing
75) I am certified in scuba diving and would go all the time if I could
76) I love chocolate chip cookies
77) I don't love or even like oatmeal raisin cookies
78) I don't like anything with raisins in it
79) I have a pink fluffy robe that I put on after I take a shower
80) I wear contacts but I like how I look in glasses
81) I wonder why people don't recycle more, so much waste
82) My sisters are my best friends
83) I still want to learn to play the piano
84) I have never mowed a lawn
85) I love asparagus even though it makes your pee stink
86) This is the first year I've ever voted
87) I don't like my teeth
88) I find it impossible to diet
89) I would rather eat anything I want and then exercise like crazy
90) I love Disneyland
91) I am at my pre-pregnancy weight but still not my pre-pregnancy size, it is very frustrating
92) I like Fergie and have Clumsy as my ringtone on my cell phone
93) I don't like to wear a lot of jewelry
94) I hate winter and being cooped up in the house
95) My favorite book is the Alchemist
96) I have the best chicken tortilla soup recipe thanks to my mother-in-law
97) I don't like cleaning bathrooms so Mat will do them a lot of the time
98) I love potatoes of any variety
99) I am very easily amused
100) Mat has seen twice as many movies as I have because I always fall asleep during them

Phew! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to come up with 100... it would be interesting to learn about those of you who haven't done this yet!

BOO for Winter!!

2008-02-14T22:04:00.000-08:00

This is the scene outside of our house. We couldn't open our front door this morning because of all the snow piled up against it. I am done with winter! This winter has been hard for me and I don't know if it's because I am now a stay at home mom and find it hard to be cooped up inside the house for reasons beyond my control. I used to be an avid snowboarder and would welcome the winter and the powder it brought to the mountains for my enjoyment. Now it is more of a hinderance than anything else, its a big task to get the kids all bundled up just to go for a ride to the store or the library. We stay indoors most days and I think doing so may be hazardous to your health, at least it should be for your sanity. You can only do so many puzzles, play so many games of trouble, read so many books. I am anxiously awaiting warmth and sunshine and going back to the activities I have been longing for. I love rollerblading with my jogging stroller along the Jordan Parkway, pushing Thatcher in the swings at the playground, going out for a run in shorts!! I hope the dreariness ends soon...

I wish this was me...

I have decided to train for the half marathon that is coming up in April and Mat, with just a tiny bit of pleading from me, decided to train as well. He hates to run but is actually really good at it. So I just can't wait to start training outside instead of on the dreaded treadmills.

Carrot Top opens for Blondie

2008-02-10T21:03:00.001-08:00

Well here we are ladies and gents...photographic proof that my blonde genes are not THAT dominant. It looks like the miniscule fraction of Scottish that Luke is (1/32nd) has taken hold and is not letting go.

I took this picture last week before church. I had just put gunk into Thatcher’s locks, and then decided to work my magic on little Johnny Whittaker here, and voila!... Carrot Top!

The best part about Luke's red hair are his little orange eyebrows.
Who knows if he will grow out of it though, remember that Thatcher was a brunette
until he was six months old.

Just thought you all would enjoy a cute picture.

Mat

I love my Hubby!

2008-02-09T22:03:00.000-08:00

I have the greatest husband in the world. I think anyone that knows Mat will agree that he is amazing. He is a life saver. I was sick in bed for four days straight earlier this week, and it was the worst four days of my life. I was pretty much incapacitated and helpless to do anything. Mat came to the rescue and worked from home as much as he could. He was the dad, the mom, the chauffer driving Thatch to and from preschool, he cooked dinner, did dishes, vacuumed, changed poopy diapers...He did all that I could have asked of him and much more. And of course he did all of this, for four days straight mind you, with a smile on his face. Not a hint of frustration, not an unhappy word spoken. I am constantly in awe of this man and think every day how I got so lucky to be able to spend the rest of my life with him. He is such a hard worker, he is the best Daddy in the world, of course he is my best friend and knows me better than I know myself, it's scary sometimes. He is so funny, he has made me laugh so hard I've peed my pants (I'm pretty sure on more than one occasion), smartest person I know... I could go on and on! I am just glad he chose to marry me and make me happier than I could ever imagine possible. I love you baby!!

2008-01-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

So I just finished with the Twilight series last week... I know, I know, I'm like the last person on the planet to read these books. Seriously the only way for me to sum up what I thought of the books is to compare them to part of a stand up routine by Brian Regan (who is hilarious by the way). He talks about going to a charity dinner where he has to pay $1,000 a plate. While digging into his dinner, the waiter comes by and asks him how his meal is. He responds by saying "oh its good... but it's not a thousand dollars good". Because seriously, what meal could attain the kind of culinary deliciousness to be worth $1,000? That's kind of the way I feel about the books. They had such a build up, everyone I talked to (literally EVERYONE) for months mentioned how amazing these books are and how they are addicting and nothing can compare to the literary ingeniousness of these books. So I thought, Hmm, maybe I should read them. After everything was read and done :) , the only thing I could think was , they're good, just not $1,000 good. Nothing could be as good as I had heard and built up in my mind that they would be. I'm sure that had I read them at the same time as everyone else and not known much about them then I would have the same opinion. But nothing can measure up to that kind of expectation. So all that is left for me to say is that they are good! I liked them, and I will admit to them being slightly addictive. Of course I am excited for the next one to come out and will for sure read that one and others that follow. Who wouldn't be curious to follow the saga of Bella and her twisted love for a vampire and a werewolf?

I have also checked out the Stephenie Meyer website to see who they have cast as Edward, and I'm not quite sure what to think of him. When I saw the picture before I found out that he played Cedric Diggory on Harry Potter I thought he could work, that could be Edward. But now I'm not so sure. The movie will be interesting to say the least! What do you think?

They Take After Their Mom

2008-01-17T21:27:00.000-08:00

I bet that by reading our blog, you probably don't know how cool we think our kids are. Is it just me? Or is every parent like this? I have two of the coolest little boys in the world.

We were very glad to have Thatcher back in school after the break. Not that we didn't enjoy having him at home, but he really needed the social interaction. He loves his teachers in school, and always has fun stories to tell about the kids in his class. Each week he has a different letter of the day. Everything that they do for the day, has something to do with that letter. This week was "K". And because Thatcher was the "Special Leader" for the day, we had to bring treats for the class. Kit Kats had already been done this week, and I thought kiwis would be too messy, so we bought a bag of bite-size Chips Ahoy, and renamed them to be "Kid Size Cookies". Lame...I know...but what else could I have done?

Luke is really starting to get a personality. He has a hard time being left alone for more than about 3.2 seconds, and likes to be breast-fed every 30 minutes at night, but other than that...way low maintenance!!! This kid is always smiling. He smiles and laughs at just about anything. Still not crawling...not sitting up, but he'll get there soon.

In any case, I am proud to be the dad of two smart, cool, beautiful (they get this from April) boys. I am blessed!

UPDATE: The cute shirt that Luke is wearing in the picture of our December 14th blog...is no more *sniff* *sniff*. One day a few weeks ago, he dumped like a super-sized earth mover, and Luke had to be cut away from the wreckage. That makes three or four onesies gone the way of the shears. Keep poopin' boy!

Amazing Race...

2008-01-01T21:44:00.001-08:00

Does anyone else love this show? Mat and I watch it religiously and love it more and more each season. I was so mad this week (this is a spoiler if you have tivo'd it and have yet to watch it) when Kynt and Vixen U-turned the wrong team! What?! They were interesting to watch and I really wanted them to make it to the final three... so sad.

Anyway, I think more than anything else we both love to travel and every time we watch it we add one more destination to our long list of places we want to go. After watching it the last few times I have added Croatia and Lithuania, they look amazing! We want to apply for the show and would do so in a heart beat if we didn't have to leave our two cute boys for an entire month! Hopefully someday we'll get to cross off the majority of our list. We have been lucky enough to see some of the world outside of the U.S. already, these destinations include:

Mat: France, Russia,Taiwan, Hong Kong, England, China, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Mexico

April: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, Thailand, Hawaii (not outside the U.S. but still cool)

We are trying to plan a fun trip for our 30th birthdays this year so maybe we can add one more to the list :)

He Almost Left Coal...

2007-12-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well Ladies and Gents...he came! The Big Man Came! And let me tell you, he was one 3-year-old tantrum away from heating our home with coal for the next few months... But Thatcher pulled it together for the last week before Christmas, and behaved like the "big boy" he thinks he should be treated like.

All-in-all, we had a nice Christmas. Both Luke and Thatcher were spoiled (mainly Thatcher, since Luke could have cared less that it was Christmas) and now we are shopping for another home with an extra bedroom just for Thatcher's new toys. Not really, but the space would be nice. Needing the space in his room, we decided to have Thatcher go through his toys and give away those that he could do without. He was very generous when we told him that these toys would go to boys who probably didn't have many toys to play with. He filled an entire box...

Luke is getting huge. It was fun for Thatcher to open Luke's gifts for him, and show him how to play with them. I think these two will be good buds as they get older....they love each other so much right now.

Here is a little video of Thatcher singing to Luke. This is his own version of "Hush Little Baby", so if you don't remember the specific verses that Thatcher is singing, don't worry.

Back it up Folks...this baby's dumpin'

2007-12-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

Uncle JT made this onesie for Thatcher when he was born and it's as true for Luke as it was for Thatcher. Both of our boys love to poop! We have had to cut off many a onesies that were unsalvagable after a number from this kid. I don't know if anyone else experiences this or if my boys are just extra special, but it is an incredible feat each and every time, not unusual for it to reach clear up to his shoulder blades.... it is quite amazing!

Luke is such a happy and smiley baby, it's so fun to have him around. My favorite part of the day is going in to get him out of his crib in the morning. He looks up at me with a huge grin on his face and starts giggling until I pick him up and get the best littlest hug in the world.

The Season Begins

2007-12-14T22:06:00.000-08:00

Ahhh Christmas time. Here are Thatcher and Luke sitting on Santa's lap for the first time this year... Luke of course is too young for any kind of request and will get the mundane baby stuff like rattles and sippy cups and a new toy to drool on. Thatcher on the other hand knows exactly what he wants - a Light Sketcher! This is the one thing he has been talking about non-stop for the past two months. I don't think he knows what it is or does, but he sure enjoys mimicking the "light sketcher" robot voice on the commercial. I hope he's not disappointed! (In a few years we'll get him this http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=22207)

It's fun around this time of year with a three year old around. He sings all the Christmas songs from Jolly Old St. Nicholas to Frosty the Snowman, and on tune too! He's so cute and so enthusiastic about everything. We sadly use Santa Claus as a parenting tool to help discipline our child. He is always on his best behavior when he knows an elf is watching and will report his findings to Santa whether or not Thatcher has been a good boy on a daily basis. I don't know what we are gonna do when we can't use that as leverage after he has already come to our house on Christmas. It's been a fun month so far with both boys! Thatcher is a good older brother and makes sure Luke is never short of entertainment.

Disneyland Baby!

2007-12-06T22:13:00.001-08:00

So this is the third time we've been to Disneyland in the past 18 months, but I gotta say... WE LOVE IT! I think the saying rings true that it really is the happiest place on earth.(that we've found anyway... aside from our own loving home of course)

Last November my parents took everyone to Disneyland for an early Christmas present and we decided to go the week before Thanksgiving. It was such a perfect week with short lines if any, great weather, and the beginning of Christmas decorations and parades in Disneyland. So after having such a good experience last year, we all kind of decided to make it a tradition, hence our trip there last month.

Thatcher was just one inch short of being able to go on some of the faster rides like space mountain and star tours. Mat tried the old putting lifts in his shoes trick (folded up newspapers), but that didn't work out as planned and he will have to wait yet another year to ride the big boy rides with his Dad.

Thatcher did get the chance to drive the car in Autopia...quite an experience. We wonder if it will be a similar experience in another 13 years when he's really driving for the first time.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA

2007-12-06T21:51:00.000-08:00

We were on our way to Disneyland, and we decided to get to California a day or two early so we could spend some time on the beach. Luckily, Newport Beach is only a few miles away from Anaheim.

This was the first time that Thatcher and Luke had seen the ocean... Luke just hung out in the Baby Bjorn (he couldn't do much else), while Thatcher spent time chasing seagulls around, and getting sand down his underpants. I don't know how he got sand down his underpants, but he did...when we put him in the bath that night, the bathtub had a good cup and a half of sand in it. Yeah, fun stuff.

Anyway, there are a few pictures below of our Newport Beach experience.

Snowbird Mountain Resort

2007-12-06T21:06:00.001-08:00

We started off the month doing what we do every first week of November... SNOWBIRD! My family has had time shares at Snowbird for the past thirty years and this was the first year we ponied up the dough and actually bought one of our own.

Above is a picture we took on the deck of our newly aquired condo.

Its a fun week to just relax, play games, swim in the pool and eat way too much. So starts the first week of Holiday pigging out. Just seven more to go...

Here we are on the deck again playing games. The hoodies are just for effect, it was unusually warm this week and we spent most of the time outside! It was beautiful...

Mat and the boys kickin it watching a movie...

Fun times to be had by all

I Think I Love My Wife

2007-11-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

OK, well, I know I love my wife! She is amazing! What other woman would go out in public without shaving first?

In case you haven't figured it out already, this is a picture of the wonderful April at a Halloween Party last week. Since Thatcher had a clown costume, and we found a cute hot dog costume for Luke, that we would make it a circus/carnival themed Halloween. April went as the beautiful bearded lady, and I was "The Great Matini", a magician of sorts. We have some fun pictures, so check it out below.

Being a dad is awesome. I was at the Jazz game tonight, working for the Jazz PR department, and my seats were near a Dad who had brought his 6-year-old daughter to the game. It was cool to see him explaining everything to her, and to see her excitement to be with her dad at the game. Then I looked around the arena and saw quite a few dads with their young kids...what a cool thing for these kids to hang out with their dads at a Jazz Game. It made me want to take Thatcher to the game sometime...anyways, I truly love being a dad!

The month of November is typically becoming a good month for the Allred family.

We recently bought timeshare condo at Snowbird, which is always the first week of November...it's a good chance to get away for a break, without really getting away. The drive is only about 20 minutes from my office, so we sleep up there, and April and the boys get to hang out with April's dad and his family.
We are going to Disneyland next week. We went last year at this time (the week before Thanksgiving) and never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes to ride a ride. It was great last year for Thatcher, but I am really excited for him this year. I think we will have a ball.
I turn 29 on the 18th.
THANKSGIVING...this is one of my favorite holidays. We love the fall, and this is a great time to just hang out with family and relax.

Anyway...things are good for the Allred clan. Luke and Thatcher are healthy boys who make us smile...April is still at home with the boys, which is good for all three of them, and life is coasting along without a hitch.

Check back often. I will do a few Disneyland posts next week.

Just Clowning Around

2007-10-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well here we are again...two months has passed, and again I have done nothing to improve the frequency of my blogging. I guess it doesn't matter though, when you only have two readers (Hi Mom and Dad). But to keep the general public satisfied, and my German blog reader (Wie Ghets Josef?) happy, I will post more often. SCOUTS HONOR!

From the age of 14 on, Halloween kind of lost it's magic. No more trick-or-treating, you were "too old" to dress up, and until you moved out of your parent's house, you were usually the one assigned to answer the door and hand out candy to cute kids in costumes, and a handful full of teenagers who had no sense of decency, and were out knocking doors, sans costume. (However, I learned a good trick from my mom on how to deal with those type of kids...if they were older than I thought they should be, I would make them trade me a piece of candy in their bag for one in my bowl. This was cool because it made them mad, and at the end of the night, there was always a nice variety of candy in the bowl at home...no need to go out when I could do this at home.) Anyway, where was I? Oh Yeah...so Halloween started to suck around 14 until now! Now I have a three-year-old and it has become exciting again!

Thatcher had his Halloween Party today at his preschool. We dressed him as a clown, and he wore the same clown costume I wore when I was his age, 26 years ago. Same wig and everything. I think Thatcher would have been anything we decided, but back in August, my brother Taylor thought it would be fun to dress Thatcher up in full Clown Make-up, and the idea stuck in Thatcher's head. Sure he has varied in his opinion every once and a while (a ghost, a ninja, a pirate, a pumpkin), but he always came back to wanting to be a clown.

So, I have attached a few pre-Halloween pix below, and a cute movie of the boy-child singing for your enjoyment (let it load for a minute after you click on it before you start to watch).

Check back after Halloween to see more fun pictures of the whole Allred Clan dressed to impress.

Cheers! Mat

The Holy Day of Blessing

2007-08-19T15:17:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since my last post, too long in fact. Seeing that the last time I updated this site was three weeks after Luke was born, and now he is shaving and just finished the last Harry Potter book, I figured it was about time.

We blessed Luke in church on the 5th of August. We had all of our family there in support as I had the opportunity to bless our second boy. It is not an easy thing to give a blessing to your little boy in front of a congregation of 300+ people, but I managed to stumble through it, sans tears, and got the job done. I'll tell you...this was a far cry from when I blessed Thatcher in church three years ago. The second I started, someone turned the waterworks, and I proceeded to give the blessing, crying and in a voice that sounded something like Simon from Alvin and the Chipmunks.

July was a pretty good month for the Allred family. Luke hit the 10lbs mark (now at about 11.5 lbs), Thatcher finished his first round of swimming lessons and then started Pre-School on the 9th of August. We are happy that he has the opportunity to hang out with kids his own age. He has only ever hung out with adults, and needed the social interaction.

I really think that he is too smart for his own good. He is an Allred to the Nth degree...and has been given the gift of fabrication...the other day when April picked him up from his first day of school, she said "Thatcher, how was your first day of school?" to which he replied "I ripped the school apart, and then the teacher threw me out on the street!" This was the story he was sticking to, and April had to give him a talk on telling the truth. He later gave up that story, and told us that he sang songs, and learned the other kids names.

We are also learning that you really have to be careful with what you say around a 3-year-old sponge. We were driving down the street the other day, when all of the sudden we heard "MORON" come from the back seat. In complete shock, but trying so hard not to laugh, we turned around and April asked Thatcher why he said that. He said "Because that guy stopped his car in the middle of the road." Oops! Then again, I first learned the word "DIPWAD" while driving in the car with my sweet mother.

Yo Ho Yo Ho a 3-Year-Olds Life For Me!

2007-07-03T13:15:00.001-07:00

Well ladies and gentelmen...we have officially crossed over the threshhold and entered into "Toddlerville". Thatcher turned Three yesterday in style. We threw him a huge pirate party and all of the family was there to celebrate it with him. He is such a good boy and we had the best time with him all day long. He woke up with a smile, and had it until he fell asleep in his new Spiderman jammies at 10:30pm.

There is no greater joy in life to have a son that you love, and who you know loves you! I am lucky to have two! I was told "Daddy, I love you!" about 20 times yesterday, and I know April was told the same (with "mommy" substituted where applicable) all day long. How cool is that! We are blessed.

Check out the pictures! We had a good time. April and I made a Treasure Chest cake for the party, and we order pizza. Pretty low-key for everyone involved (except for me).

Thank you to all involved who made Thatcher have the best birthday.

Dramatic Squirrel

2007-06-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

Pretty Cool Video

2007-06-29T15:32:00.000-07:00

Somebody Sent this to me in an email. Kind of worth watching!

Geez...Okay, I'll do another post...settle down folks!

2007-06-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

At the request of a great majority of the two people who have actually logged on to read this, I have decided to post another blog about the "on-goings" and "happinings" at the newly renovated Allred Household.

So, it's not like I have never been a new father before, but I find myself completely befuddled when it comes to takeing care of a new little baby. I find myself asking stupid questions that I should know the answers to... "how long does it take for the belly button to heal?", "do all newborns sleep this much?", "why can he have just a little peice of my pizza?" You know, simple questions I should know the answer to, but forgot.

But we love having Luke around. He is so fun (when he's awake) and he has such a light that is felt by everyone who holds him. Thatcher has taken on the role of big brother with ease, and only has occasional issues with not being top dog in the pen right now. One such "issue" happened on Wednesday, when April put him in the Playland at Smiths while she went shopping. About minutes later, she heard her name over the intercom at the store, paging her back to Playland. Our son, our perfect little angel had been kicked out of Playland at Smith's for picking on the other kids. I guess he needs to find dominance somewhere, caring not that he embarasses his parents in the process.

But we're having fun with the boys. April is happy being home, and I am back at work trying to make a buck. We're happy and healthy though, and life is good!

The Newest Allred

2007-06-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

So, I am sitting here in a hospital room, looking at my new son. In my desire to share him with the world, I have decided to start a blog. That way I can post pictures, stories, or just give my random opinion on things that probably don't matter.

Yesterday was a crazy day. We knew that we would be going into the hospital to have a baby. They told us to call in at 6:30 am, and they would let us know when to come in. We called at 6:30...they told us to call back at 7:00. We called back at 7:00...they told us they would call us back and let us know when to come in, but that it would probably be before 9:00. Well, they called us at 8:45 and told us to come right in.

We got here at 9:45 and they admitted April right away. They started to induce her around 11:00 am and by 11:05, April was having contractions. 12:30 was the epidural and at 1:30 they broke her water. The epidural was working great until about 2:20 when it just went away. April was feeling her contractions and was in tears from the pain. The crappy part was, that I couldn't do anything to remedy the situation.

Our nurse Wendy came in around 2:35, and saw how much pain April was in, and then went immediately to get the anesthesiologist. He came in and gave April a direct injection (which didn't work), then another one that was supposed to work quicker (it didn't.) April was feeling everything, and by this time the baby had dropped. April was screaming bloody murder by this point, and her Doctor was not at the hospital yet, so the resident OB doctor got ready to get this kid out. Dr. Johnson came in right at about 2:55 pm, by this time April was about ready to pass out from the pain, and he delivered the baby with one push from April.

I will tell you right now, this had to be the scariest 25 minutes of my life. My wife was dying (or so she kept screaming at me) and I couldn't do anything about it...nobody could. But the amazing thing is that as soon Luke came out, the pain went away immediately.

Our boy came into this world with a blast. He is a cute little man, with blonde/red hair, 7 lbs 6 oz and has made us very very happy.