September 2016

September was a full month.  140 Pictures to follow!

Stake Conference:

Abbey and Andi sang in a stake primary choir and performed at Stake Conference.

Watching the girls leave in the morning--The first week or so of school.  Lamenting to see them go as I watch through the door: 

This is what Millie does during our homework routine each school night: 

She is obsessed with our phones and loves to "talk" on them.  She calls them her "jones" instead of "phones."

Harry lookin' good--and very tired--after a nice haircut:

A hilariously cute card from Andi to Ava for Ava's birthday: 

I tend my nephew Bo one day a week and I've been enjoying taking him and Millie for walks together: 

Tucking in our darling and funny Abbey Lynne one night: 

More walks with Bo.  Millie loves having him around: 

One last hurrah swimming at Cherry Hill with Aunt Bethany and children.  From left to right:  Ava, Andi, cousin Gigi, Abbey, and cousin Lizzie 

Eric had some discount tickets to Boondocks so he took the girls one Saturday afternoon: 

Some brand new shoes for this brand new girl: 

It was a little weird for her to walk in them.

Labor Day weekend: 

...camping in the backyard

My nephew Luke after his crash at Cherry Hill.  Several stitches later and a funny story to boot.

More backyard camping fun: 

One of those moments I just had to take a picture of: 

Andi's baptism invitation.  Eric took the pictures and I put the invite together.  Fun project!:

One of Eric's fish.  This one is his favorite because of its cool colors.  

Eric spends a good amount of time taking care of his aquarium and he recently just found more baby fish. 

I thought this was such a well-written article that I had to save it: 

Very good advice.  

Abbey and Lydia had to practice their piano duet that they did for Andi's baptism, so here's Millie hanging out with Lydia's brother Chase while we waited: 

I put together this display for Andi's baptism.  It was a fun and sweet project to do. 

Somebody's stealing crackers from the pantry:

 And she found a partner in crime:

Andi's baptism day: 

From left to right:  Maylee (Andi's Allen cousin), Andi, Eric, Ava, and Millie in front.)

My all-time favorite pic of the day.

Andi was happy to get her own set of scriptures from Grandma Luke.

Uncle Daniel, Michael's brother who is an arborist, brought and planted a tree in our backyard the day of Andi's baptism.  It's a tree with heart-shaped leaves.  It was such a kind and meaningful gesture.  

Grandpa Ron and Grandma Joann (Michael's dad and stepmom) came all the way down from Montana for the big day.  They came a day early to spend time with the girls--They made clam chowder (Andi's favorite), went swimming, and visited Aunt Bethany's family.  Grandma Joann also spoke on the day of the baptism and did a great job.

We had a good crowd at our house after the baptism.

Hunter Draper--one of Michael's Young Men--came as a surprise that day.  He's standing on the far right.

Jim came all the way up from Arizona and Janet came from Payson.  It meant a lot that they would come.  

cousin fun in the backyard

It was such a special day.  Eric did a great job baptizing and confirming Andi.  She was sweet, cute, charming, and beaming that day.  Many wonderful family members and even friends came to support.  It was a day to feed my soul and I was so grateful to feel the spirit of the day.  These big days in our family can come with some bittersweet emotions, but they are also great reminders of how blessed we are.  I wrote more about her baptism on my other "Allen blog."

Hanging out at Grandma Luke's one evening to watch a Utah football game.

This sight made me laugh.  Andi decided Aunt Lori needed a lotion massage.  Aunt Lori was a good sport and put up with my girl who loves her family so very much.

I was not here at this game, but I when I saw it, I knew I wanted to keep it.

My dad with a few of his grandsons at a Utah football game.

Love these guys.

When Jim drove up for the weekend of Andi's baptism, Eric's got in some good fishing with his dad:

Grandma Janet with her newest grandson--Cynthia's 3rd child, "Edmond."

A field trip with Andi's class to the Utah State Botanical Gardens:

Love these quiet times:

Millie likes to find my lipstick and have some fun with it.  In this case, she missed her lips:

Eric took the girls camping up in the Uintahs one weekend in September.

They went to Washington Lake and had a good time catching some fish:

During Andi's baptism, the primary president asked those attending to write notes to Andi on her special day.  When I read them afterwards, I was so touched by every person's thoughtfulness and words.

Here are a few that were particularly special:

And my very favorite that makes me cry every time I read it:

Another item from Andi's baptism--the program that I spent a lot of time on:

Even though this is just one of those random, dumb things you find on Pinterest, it spoke truth to me:

Andi has been taking some tennis this Fall:

This little munchkin is getting harder and harder to have accompany me while grocery shopping.  This day I rewarded her ridiculous behavior with some applesauce.  And then I took a picture of her just because she's cute.  Not the smartest parenting moment, especially after a whole lotta' whining:

A fun annual tradition at our school is "Walk to School Day" during Safety Week.  The parents can walk their kids to school and then everyone has breakfast on the basketball courts.  Love these memory making times:

Sometimes they don't always look a ton alike, but in this picture, it seems clear:  They are definitely sisters!

We have some next-door neighbors who have been in need.  So one thing we've had the chance to do is walk their three dogs.  It's so darling and I adore the little babies.  

The girls do too:

From left to right:  "Shasta" and Ava, "Bob" and Abbey, and Andi and "Keesha."

The fact that I took the time to take a picture of this very large insect is a sign that I spend a lot of time with Abbey and Ava.  Their bug fetish is not something I share with them, but I knew they'd appreciate this large bug making a home on our window late one evening.

Eric captured this girl very well one night while doing homework with us:

Love that laugh.

One Friday night I got to take these two crazy kids to a Utah football game.  It was a downpour, and they lost!  Still fun!

Enjoying some time at Grandma and Grandpa Luke's for Sunday dinner:

Enjoying some alone time with Millie one school day:

More fun at Grandma Luke's for cousin Spencer's birthday (my nephew):

Shopping at Target with Grandma Luke.

Yes, that is Millie with a leash.  As I mentioned earlier, she's becoming more difficult to manage while shopping.  I thought the leash might help:

Watching General Conference with the girls.

Here they are playing with my wet shower hair:

Two things to keep her occupied on a rainy Monday:  Her necklace and her favorite toy dog, "Cooper."

That same rainy Monday I got a phone call from Andi, claiming she needed new pants after going down the slide in the pouring rain.  That's my girl!  Always up for a party, even in the rain!

The girls talked me into pulling out of storage my old collection of collectable Barbies.  Brings back many memories.  I loved Barbies!

Another doll I found in storage:  A doll my brother bought me while he was on his mission in Norway.  Will always be a reminder of his care and love:

One cool Sunday evening late in September, we enjoyed a night at home together.  We made zucchini bread and watched my all-time favorite:  "I Love Lucy."  I enjoyed that evening so much with the girls.  So glad to have daughters!

A new favorite quote:

After finding myself getting into a good routine and finally starting to get some of my own stuff done, LICE happened.  Yes, lice.

Six lice treatments and an entire deep cleaning of the house later, I find myself still busy with garbage bags full of lice-infested laundry:

Going to lunch with Grandma Luke and sitting like such a "big girl" in our booth:

Millie helping me "tuck in" Ava.  Or, I think a better description would be that Millie wanted to be tucked in too:

I got out of the shower and found this:

I don't even wear that dark of lipstick, but while I was showering, she still managed to find the most dramatic makeup she could.

Enjoying playtime with cousin Bo at Grandma Luke's:

I took the girls down to Station Park one Friday afternoon after school.  We got some Fiiz drinks, watched the fountains, and played at their playground.  Loving the fall weather!:

This was Eric's work, not mine:

She looks like Eric here!

More Utah football game fun with Eric, Grandpa Luke, cousin Chloe, and more!:

Last Sunday evening, Eric took the girls on a hike on the mountains above our house:

Having these trails so close is getting more and more fun.

Eric took the day off on Monday, so Millie got to have breakfast in bed with him:

Here we are enjoying having Dad home.  Another hike on the hills above our house.  Just Millie and Eric and I while the girls were at school.  A sweet memory and rare time for Eric and I to spend somewhat alone.  It was a nice way to end a previously crazy and tumultous weekend for us.  We needed that time:

A few thoughts for the month:

I was sitting in church this last month when a lady got up and talked about a memory she had when she was little:  She would sit in church and make all sorts of doodles and sketches as she tried to listen to the speakers.  Her mom would make a game out of it and try to make a picture out of some of her silly doodles.  She said that each time her mom was able to make a beautiful picture out of these sometimes meaningless or perhaps ugly scratches.  

As this lady spoke, she then used this story as an analogy for the way God can oftentimes make our sometimes less-than-perfect choices--or circumstances--into something meaningful, and perhaps even beautiful.

Her metaphor resonated so much with me.  I feel that to be the case, even though I often find myself in the middle of my journeys, barely muddling along.  I sometimes forget that God can help me make all the bad into something positive and good.  

But I do feel and know that God can help us make our sometimes difficult journeys turn into something incredibly worthwhile and perhaps even wonderful.  I have seen that--especially throughout the most recent years in my life.  "Have faith in the middle" seems like a wise phrase to keep in mind, I suppose.