Christmas in July

Today I bought an artificial Christmas tree on Ebay. Since there is not much demand for Christmas trees in July, I got a pretty good deal. Why? Because it seems to be the one thing Allie really wants for her birthday next month. She wants to make sure that she has plenty of time to plan the decorations before Christmas. I think that 4 1/2 months should be adequate. Although it is a strange request, I am certain that she will be all smiles when she opens her gift. In the end that's all that really matters to me.

Lesson Learned (the hard way)

Allie has a small lamp that she uses as a night light. Lately she has been sneaking it into bed with her. I think it's probably so that she can read when she's supposed to be snoozing. Whenever I've seen it on her bed I've mentioned to her that it is not a good idea to place it there because it could be very dangerous. She is usually such a cautious girl that I can't believe she didn't take my warnings seriously. This morning she awoke to a terrible smell and this mess:

She handed the lamp to Eric and suggested that we take it away from her forever. I think it's safe to say that she learned this lesson the hard way. I'm thankful that she didn't end up torching her bed and getting seriously hurt. Thank goodness for flame resistant bedding! That little night light burned through a throw blanket, comforter, mattress pad, vinyl mattress cover and about an inch and a half of her mattress. The major casualty was the stuffed animal that came in her Easter basket. That was resolved by a quick trip to the store to replace it. I found a nice collection of stuffed Easter animals at Kohl's on clearance. It was the best $2 I've spent in a long time!

Family Night on the Farm

Last night we took advantage of the Spring-like weather and headed to Thanksgiving Point Farm Country. It was so nice to be outside in the beautiful weather. We hope that there is a lot more enjoyable weather to come!

Allie-isms

On Saturday Allie went to the UVU Women's Basketball game with our friends, the Boettchers. Chris is one of the coaches. When she got home she came in and showed me a rose that she had gotten at the game. She was grinning ear to ear and the first words out of her mouth were: "Mom, I know what you are thinking and I did NOT get this from him." She had gotten a rose from one of the players, but was horrified that we might assume it came from her friend Ethan (who she admits to having a huge crush on).

On Sunday I was sustained as the Camp Director for our ward. I am excited and looking forward to a fun week. Thankfully we have a great group of YW! Allie doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. She couldn't imagine why people kept commenting on my new calling. Because, after all, it is an easy calling in Allie's opinion. She said: "Don't people realize that you do Activity Days twice every single month? Camp isn't a big deal, it only happens once a year."

Concentration

We know that Landon is seriously concentrating on something when he sticks his tongue out. He often does this when he is sorting things, building towers of blocks, and coloring. Tonight for FHE we had a picture for the kids to color. Landon was totally focused on the task at hand!

Allie's look of concentration is a little less intense.

It's Been a While

What can I say? We've been busy. First of all, I would like to start by thanking those who have helped my family for the last couple of weeks while I have been recovering from pneumonia. Who gets pneumonia in 90 degree weather anyways?!?

Moving on to more exciting things...Allie has her new glasses thanks to very generous grandparents. Thanks Mom & Dad! She has loved being able to see in class. The best part of all is that she has been very responsible with them.

Landon has become quite a thief in the last little while. While I was sick he would sneak into my bedroom and take things and I was too sick to chase him. Eventually Allie or Eric would intercept him and return the stolen goods to me. Now he thinks it's a fun game. One of his favorite things to steal is shoes which he will either wear or hide in his drawer under the stove. When he gets more creative with where he hides things we could be in real trouble!

When did he get so blond?

Landon has also invented a new game for himself. He likes to take his sippy cups and roll them all over the dining room floor. He will roll and chase a cup for a good 30 minutes. It's pretty funny to watch him in action.

On Labor Day we went to Thanksgiving Point to the Museum of Ancient Life. It was a lot of fun and because we got there as they were opening, it wasn't too crowded. We had a 5-year-old neighbor friend with us while his lucky parents were vacationing in Hawaii. We tried to get a picture with all 3 kids looking at us and failed miserably...

The water table and sand box are always favorites with the kids!

It's Great to be Eight

On Saturday Allie was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are proud of you Allie for making this important decision! We were reminded over and over again this weekend how lucky we are to have this choice little spirit in our family. Thanks to all of our friends and family for their support...we are truly blessed!

Happy, Happy Birthday Allie!

Today is Allison's 8th Birthday! Allie and her Dad are busy having fun on an overnighter at the Big Horn Ranch. They took Grandpa Swain and cousin Larkin along with them. I really hope that they don't come home with any terrifying bear stories this year. A mother's heart can only take one of those in a lifetime. I am going to ask Eric to do the blogging about this weekend's trip sometime in the next few days so keep checking back for the scoop--it's sure to be interesting.

Allie is growing into a young woman right before my very eyes. She has changed so much in the last couple of years. She is maturing and becoming more and more sophisticated and independent. It is so amazing to watch her as she continues to develop and learn and grow.

About a week and a half ago Allie was called to meet with the Bishop for her baptismal interview. The whole family got to tag along. The Bishop greeted us outside his office by saying "Allie, I hear that you have been waiting for this day for four years". Apparently this was something Allie confessed to the Bishop's daughter a few nights earlier when she went next door to help her weed a neighbor's yard. It made me laugh and it also made me think. Allie has been anxiously anticipating this day for as long as I can remember (and to be honest, I'm certain it's been longer than 4 years). She has such a tender spirit and a testimony and understanding of the gospel that humbles me. We are lucky parents to have been entrusted with this precious child!

I can't wait for her to return home so that the celebrating (with Landon and I) can begin! We are going to dinner with some friends and then over to another friends house to play games and have delicious gluten-free cake and ice cream. Really. It's tasty. Allie put in a special request a year ago for a gluten-free cake and today she's going to get her wish.

Happy Birthday, Allie. I love you!