Surprise!

 

Whenever Oliver sees the 25 cent candy machines, he always asks if I have any money so he can get a treat. Usually I do have a quarter reserved in my wallet just for this purpose. There have been times where he has gotten fun little toys like Zombies and Simpson Characters, but most of the time it's a gumball or Mike and Ikes. He knows exactly where the candy machines are, particularty at Smiths, Spaghetti Factory and at the Gateway Mall.

 

The other day while I was working at the Gateway Mall, I got a visit from some of my favorite people. My boss came back to the stock room to tell me that I had visitors and that someone had a surprise for me. I immediately ran out to see who came to see me and a bit curious as to what this surprise might be. When I walked out I saw Luke and Oliver. I just love those two. Oliver ran over to me and gave me the biggest hug (as if he hadn't seen me just a couple hours prior). Oliver held out his squishy little hand where he held a sweaty quarter and with the biggest smile on his face he handed it to me and said "So you can get a treat."

BEST SURPRISE EVER!

Black Friday Shopping

We did it again this year. We hit up the stores. This year I had a small list:

700 thread count sheets $20.00 X's 2-3

HP Wireless Printer $39.95

Blu Ray DVD's $4.00-$9.95

Last year I heard that the sheets were gone in no time so sheets this year was my top priority. When we got there, this was the crowd. Wendy was with me and after hearing that people were going to push when they say "go", I told Wendy to stay back and hold my purse. I didn't want anything to happen to that pregnant sister of mine. When they finally said "go" it was chaos. People were pushing and shoving and trying their hardest to get their dang sheets. I was able to grab a few and we were out of there. Whew!

Next up were the printers and DVD's They weren't opening the printers until 10 and we have about 1.5 hours to go. We parked our cart right next to the printers and we would each take turns running around to find our other items. DVD's were a nightmare. People were pushing and shoving and ripping up boxes all around me. Plus it stunk. I can't believe how many non-deodorant wearers  and non-bathers there are out there. Luckily I came away with a big stack for myself and Wendy. After getting all she needed, Wendy took off and we never got to take a picture with her. Here, Amy and I were waiting for the printers. We still had half an hour to go and were debating whether or not to grab some grub from McDonald's when all of the sudden some yelled "okay open them up!" Again, chaos as people ribbed the wrapping off the stacks and dove in. We grabbed our printers and turned around where the large stack of small TV's were when Amy turned around and said to me "I'm going in!" She too dove right into the large pile of people and was able to grab a TV for herself. I had no idea she wanted one and quite frankly, I don't think she knew she wanted one either. She ended up giving it to a man that was waiting in another line. I'm sure she made his day.

 

Did I mention that in the process, she got a box corner right to the eye. She is now sporting a faint black eye. It's beautiful. 

After Wal-Mart we headed over to Target where we did not plan on staying long after seeing that crazy line. Yikes. We were out of there. Finally at midnight we headed over to Kohls. It was also a long line, but time passed fairly quick when we ran into Bob and Camila and we waited in line for an hour together. 

At 2 in the AM, I finally made it back home with everything that I could have wanted from Black Friday shopping. The following day Luke took back 4 movies that I bought. Luke's favorite kind of shopping isn't shopping at all, it's the returning that he loves so much. 

Thankful for Luke's Side

For the actual Thanksgiving holiday we headed up to Star Valley, Wyoming! The three of us took off at about 2 PM on Wednesday and ventured on up there. It was nice to not have any car problems or snow this year as opposed to 2 years ago when everything that could have gone wrong, did. When everyone finally arrived, we headed to Pizza Hut like we do every time we are visiting up there. It was so nice to go back to Grandma Veigel's house and just relax after dinner. Some of us napped, some of us watched TV, Others read, but Oakley and I hung out next to the heater to warm up and listen to music.

 

 

That morning after sleeping in, we got ready for the 3rd annual Gobble Gallop. It was not as cold this year and I was very happy about that.

Here was our starting group.
We were excited about the turn out this year. It seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year and 3 people were already out on the course when this picture was taken.

 Finishing. I have to say that I was so happy for Luke who ran the entire 3.1 miles without stopping and just came in a few minutes behind me...And he doesn't run. I on the other hand had to walk a little due to some recent knee problems. My finishing picture was "lame" as Amy put it.

All the finishers together.

Brittany, Me and Amy.

We were also laughing at my outfit because I looked like I wanted to blend in with the ground.

 Of course after everyone left, Amy and I had a photo shoot. Amy is a pro at the heel click...just look at that cute oopa loopma ;). I on the other hand obviously need to practice more so it doesn't look like I'm just falling from the sky.

We tried to do our own jumping self portrait. I think it worked, don't you?

 After the race we went back to the house to get ready. Holly made a gigantic pot of mashed potatoes, Amy made a pumpkin Trifle and pink salad and Luke and I made devil eggs (my new name for them because peeling eggs may just be the worst cooking chore ever). AT 1:00 PM, we headed over to the church to meet up with all the other families for Thanksgiving dinner. This year, it was pretty good. I don't usually love turkey, but whoever made the turkey changed my mind about liking it. Following dinner, we cleared the floor to play.

We played speed/lightning

 As well as the much anticipated dodge ball

The kids had a go at it too.
We left before getting to play Volleyball, but I'm sure we'll do that in the summer sometime with the Allred clan.

We said good bye to Pom Pom

And headed home.

 Happy Thanksgiving!
 

 

Thankful For...

I love Thanksgiving. I love that we get to be with our families and hang out over a delicious meal and desert. At this time of year, I find so much to be thankful for. I love constantly thinking about the blessings in my life and the fact that I have so much to be grateful for. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for all that he has given me because I truly live a very blessed life.

 

This year I asked Luke to make me a list of the things that stand out the most to him that he is grateful for. I asked Oliver as well. These are our thankful lists.

 

Luke:

Heavenly Father and Jesus

Kimmy

Oliver

Parents

Friends

Health

Home

Job

Education 

 

Oliver:

You and Dad

Playing with cousins

Movies

My blankets

 

 

Kim:

My Family

Gospel

Extended family

Friends

Work/Money

Home
Cars
Health
Laughter

 

 

 

 

 

 



Thankful for Bakers

This year since it's the in laws year, we had our Thanksgiving dinner with the Baker side the Sunday before. The company was better than the dinner, but the desert was pretty dang awesome.

 

The kids table.

The adult table...plus Jack.

I was there too.

 

After dinner the girls gathered around to exchange bags and bags of clothes,

while the boys watched TV and ate desert.

Did I mention the delicious desert?

 

Thanks for a fun night, Baker's. Next years Thanksgiving is going to be the best one yet!

Sisters Trip

Taleesha had a wonderful idea to get the girls together on our side for a girls trip. I thought this was a wonderful idea. We threw our ideas together and came up with going down to St. George. We wanted something totally relaxing where we could hang out together, talk, eat and play. Thanks to my wonderful in-laws, we were able to stay at their house. Mom and Phia weren't able to made it so it was just the three of us went that went down.

 

 

Our plan was to leave by nine Friday morning. Even though the weather was a little questionable, we still headed out on time and were so excited to leave the upcoming snow storm.

 

And then we got a flat tire. We always get flat tires and this was the worst time to get one. It was raining pretty good, I wasn't wearing the proper attire for changing a tire and it was freezing. Because we get so many flat tires, I know how to change one, but unfortunately, I didn't have the strength to get the lug nuts off this time. After about 5 minutes of trying, a very nice guy pulled over to help. He really was heaven sent.

I look way too happy for this... 

 

We found a Big O Tire company and hoped that they could just repair the tire and we'd be on our way...Nope. 4 brand new tires later and we were finally out of there.

After stopping to get our favorite travel snacks, of course.

 

4 long hours later, we made it. The roads were not that great and I was pretty tried. We grabbed dinner which is what we all needed to recharge us before heading out to do some shopping.

 

And shopping we did.

 

 As tired as we were, we still stayed up talking until three in the morning.

The next morning we woke up and got ready for the day. We couldn't believe the news back home that it was snowing like mad. It was beautiful in St. George and we were enjoying every last bit of it.  

Again we did some shopping and eating. 

And worked on some crafts.

 We stayed up again until three in the morning crafting and watching three movies back to back. My favorite was Dan in Real life. Taleesha and Wendy can attest to that. It was such a nice weekend to hang out with these girls. We laughed and certainly cried together and enjoyed some much needed time together. Thanks girls for such a great weekend.

4 year check-up

Oliver was a little emotional when he had to go in to get his 4 year check-up yesterday....as you can see. He was especially mad when he had to get his height and weight measure and he did not like when the nurse mentioned that he could get his shots today. The first half of his appointment was terrible. I couldn't believe how crazy he was acting with his screaming and crying and thrashing about. After the nurse left, I talked to him and tried to calm him down a little. I got him to stop crying, but he was still hating life at the moment. What did work was when his Dr. came in. He sat and talked to Oliver for a few minutes and then little by little checked him. He was so great and by the end of the appointment, Oliver was back to his normal lovable self. Best part, no shots!

 

 

The Dr. said that Oliver is doing great and that he looks good. He said that he is a little on the heavier side for his age and that he needs to stay active and eat healthy. He is slightly taller than average and his head remains big, but he is certainly growing into it.

After his flu vaccine (up the nose), he jumped off the table and we took off. I have a year to prep him for next year when he does get his shots. 

The {sad} Election

While Oliver was at Grandma Holly night. Luke and I took advantage of being alone and went to Arellas for some dinner while we watched the electoral count on the TV. It was sad...very sad.

 

 

*sitting on the same side peaking our heads over the tall tops of the booth to watch the TV

 



At the end of the night, I was disapointed. I felt like we were cheated out of having a great/better president. I was disapointed in America and the outcome of this race. Oh well, life goes on. I just hope it goes on better than the last 4 years with Obama in office and that things get done instead of accusations being tossed around. 

 

Here's to better days.

St. George Couples Trip

This past weekend we headed down to St. George...KID LESS. I know it's not much coming from us since we only have 1 kid, but it's a pretty big deal for both couples to find sitters and head down together.

 

We headed down for a race. Amy and I opted out of the 1/2 Marathon and ran the 5K...first one I've ever paid for. And Trent and his dad ran the 1/2 marathon.

 

It was nice to get to St. George and not worry about what I was going to eat for dinner before a big race or stress about getting enough sleep. Amy and I were pretty excited about our easy run that morning.  

 

 The race itself was pretty awesome. It was a hilly course and a harder race than I thought, but Amy and I did pretty good. She even placed first in her age division. She's good like that. I ran at a 9.23 pace.

 

We also had the best fans there. I know how much Luke hates to go to these things so it means a lot when he goes and doesn't even complain. Teri was also fun to have there. She has always been a great cheerleader. I'm just lucky to tag along with her people and have her cheer for me too. 

Here is the group of runners. Like I said, I'm a tag-along



Trent and Amy are amazing runners. They both won a bunch of stuff like extra medals for placing 1st and 2nd in their age divisions and also won gift certificates. That's just how they do.



 

The rest of the weekend we lounged around, ate really good food, watched movies at the house and went out to see a movie. We took naps turning the day and sat around talking at night. We played games on our phones, read books and trashy magazines and watched Friends. It was a pretty amazing weekend.

 

*All pictures stolen from Amy's blog being that I didn't take a single photo the entire weekend.

Halloween 2012

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

We had a great time passing out candy and hanging out with Friends.

 

"Cause this is THRILLER!"

 

Luke and I have been wanting to go to see Thriller for a while. We have had friends invite us in years past, but for some reason, we have never been able to go. This year, I told Luke that we needed to take advantage of his UofU student ID and get some discounted tickets. So he bought tickets that day, I found a sitter at the last minute, and we made a date out of it.

 

First stop. Dinner. We were planning on going to The Cheesecake Factory, but didn't because Luke forgot to do his Friends of Scouting route that was due that night. He drove back before we got on the freeway and finished it up. We ended up eating a 10 pound greasy bag of 5 Guys food instead.

 

We got up to the U where we were surrounded by Zombies. They looked pretty awesome and moved just like real Zombies do ;)

 

The show itself was pretty good. Our favorites were Frankenstein and his Bride, The dancing skeletons, the dance recital, and the children of the corn. My all time favorite though, were the Steppenwolves. They seriously were awesome! 

 

We will for sure have to go to this again.