Family Reunion at Zions

Last weekend we went to a family reunion for my mom's side of the family; the Allreds. We had a blast. My mom and Grandma picked out this awesome ranch to stay at called Zion Ponderosa Ranch. We got our own cabin with tons of rooms and we all stayed together. It was so much fun to see my cousins and their kids. Unfortunately Garrett and I and my parents were the only ones who made it from my family, but I guess that's how it goes when gas is $4.35 a gallon!

This is my cousin Jenny with her new baby Kaleb. What a cutie!

The first night we were there we had a family line dance. We had an awesome instructor and danced to a lot of songs. I was very impressed with my family's dancing abilities! I luckily got out of dancing because Rylynn wanted to go over to the petting zoo. Any of you who know me well knows that I am not the greatest dancer! Rylynn loved the petting zoo. They had chickens, ducks, goats, pigs, horses, and rabbits.

After the dancing we had a big bonfire and roasted marshmallows. Somehow in the confusion of unpacking all the food we lost the marshmallows though so it was a little hard at first. Luckily our awesome group leader(the dance instructor) had some and gave them to us to use, then my dad found the big bag after all.

The next day was the family olympics which I was in charge of running! It was a daunting task but someone had to do it:) My mom and I came up with the games and it was a lot of fun! We split up into six teams of four for the competition!

We had a watermelon eating contest.

Three-legged race


Tug of war which was by far the most competive! Can ya tell?

And my favorite, a game my mom and I just made up where you have to bob for an orange in a bucket of water and place the orange on a spoon without using your hands, then run down to the opposite line and back without dropping the orange. The catch is if you drop the orange while running you have to pick it up without using your hands. My cousin Paul is the only one who dropped it and he had a mouth full of dirt to show for it. He is a great sport! We all got soaked on this one and then the next two games involved water balloons so in the end it turned into a huge water fight which was nice since it was so hot!


This is what Carter did the entire olympics, eat leftover watermelon, drop it in the dirt, pick it up and eat it some more. He even talked his cousin into joining him. That kid lives for food!

After the olympics we headed off to the pool to cool down. It was a huge pool with two water slides. The kids had a blast, and it was fun for the parents too!

Cute Kaleb hangin out in the sun.

That night we had a patriotic dinner put on by Grandma Allred in honor of my Grandpa.

After dinner, we sang patriotic songs, watched wedding videos from cousins that got married this summer, watched a memorial movie for my cousin that past away this summer, and watched a movie of an internship my cousin had in St. Lucia. Then we had a tribute to my grandpa where all the aunts shared stories of their father and the cousins shared stories of grandpa.

Grandma shared a few stories of her own and gave us each a booklet of stories and pictures from their life as well as a dvd. It was a very special night.

The whole gang on the last day. We had a blast!

I've lost all faith

Before you panic, I mean in movies! I went to the new Batman movie last night and it was so disappointing. I don't know maybe it is just because I am a mother now and cannot handle anything scary or violent, but seriously it was so depressing. I was all excited because the last movie I saw in the theater was Harry Potter last summer and I got a babysitter and everything. Then I swear the last 35 minutes I was just waiting for it to end since it had about 4 different endings. I was also appalled, sorry if you do this, by the parents who thought it would be a good idea to take their 2 and 4 and 6 year olds to this very dark and very violent PG-13 movie!!! Am I the only one who thinks that is terrible?! Anyway, the bottom line is I have really lost all faith in movies. I rent movies on net flicks because I can pay 5 dollars a month and see the movies that I know I will like. When you go to the theater it is always a gamble and it is way too expensive. I know I sound like an old maid, but I really used to love going to movies!! Anyway that is my rant for the week. By the way, if you didn't catch from the subtle comments, I do not recommend the new Batman! I do have to admit however, that I will be seeing Twilight the day it comes out:)

Happy birthday Papa!

We got to go back to the cabin for one more week and while we were there we celebrated my Dad's birthday! My mom and I planned a big surprise since we knew he would be alone down in St. George on his actual birthday. My brother was in Utah for his wife's family reunion, so we arranged it so they would drop in on Sunday and surprise him and we could all celebrate together. It was a little hard convincing Papa to hang around until they got there because he wanted to leave that day and get back home before Monday. But my mom and I are good at making up excuses, so he stuck around till they arrived and we all had a great time!

My mom made his favorite enchiladas and I made him a german chocolate cake which is also a fave! The kids had so much fun and all day before my brother got there, Rylynn kept asking if she could sing Happy Birthday yet!

The kids had a great time helping Papa blow out his candles too! Rylynn and Carter had a lot of fun with their cousin Thais. They especially love the new swings Nana put in this year for them. After the kids went to sleep we all stayed up way too late talking. My dad usually goes to sleep at 9:30 at the latest, and he lasted till 12:30am! Way to go Dad! Garrett and my dad were going to leave at 5:30 the next morning and Garrett fell asleep around 2am. It was so much fun to hang out together. I just love my family so much! I am so happy that we got to be here to celebrate with my Dad. We love you Papa!

Happy 4th!

We had a great day this fourth of July! First we drove down to Pleasant Grove and saw Garrett's brother's new house. It was great to see them again. Rylynn and Carter had fun seeing their cousins Brayden and Logan again. Then we headed to Seven Peaks water park for hours of sun and fun!

We loved the tube rides, but Rylynn's favorite was the one without the tubes where the water fills up in a giant tank behind you and then it rushes out and pushes you down the slide. She got so excited about it. I took the kids down the cave tunnel ride which is always fun with the smoke and the flashing lights. Daddy and uncle Clayton were brave enough to go down the straight down drop slides, but I was a wimp and watched the kids in the wave pool. I think that was Carter's favorite part. We stayed there until about 5:30, then headed back to Granny and Grandpa's house for a family bbq. It was great and we had a lot of fun. Rylynn and Carter's favorite part of dinner were the popsicles and the giant costco tub of licorice! After dinner aunt Erika bought some sparklers for Rylynn which was the highlight of the bbq! She had so much fun and was so brave with them. Sadly, on her last two (she held one in each hand), she burned her foot pretty badly and the party was over.

It was sad, and it was all my fault because she was barefoot, I know I am really smart. We were all barefoot and I burned my foot too, not as badly, but I don't recommend playing with sparklers barefoot for any of you that were considering it. After the accident Rylynn was burned out, no pun intended, and she and Carter both crashed for the night before the fireworks could start. I was amazed they lasted as long as they did since the water park really wore us all out. After the kids were asleep we sat on the balcony and watched three different fireworks shows. Garrett's dad lives on 12th Ave, so you can see the whole valley from their balcony. It is the best seat in the county! I wish I had more pics, but I couldn't take my camera on the water slides so these will have to do. I am so grateful to live in this country and for those heros who have given their lives to give us that freedom. I always think of my Grandpa on the 4th. He served in three wars and was a decorated hero. He was the most patriotic person I've ever known. I miss him and wish he was around to meet my kids and my husband. I am happy that I know someday he will meet them and I will see him again. Happy 4th everyone!

Fun at Granny and Grandpa's

This summer we have been bouncing back and forth between the cabin, my parent's house in St. George, and Garrett's dad's house in Salt Lake. It has been so much fun to see everyone. The kids love being at Granny and Grandpa's house because that means they get to see Daddy every night! They also love all the animals in the house. They have a cat named Nala, a big dog named Molly, and a giant goldfish. Garrett's sister is visiting too with her big dog named Dakota. So the house is very full! Carter is usually trying to ride on Molly's back like a horse. So I don't know how much Molly actually likes the kids, but they sure love her. Another fun thing at Granny's is the climbing tree. Every day around 5pm, the kids and I go out to the front yard and watch for daddy's car. The kids get so excited when he gets home and he has to hurry and change so they can climb all over him and run around outside. They love it when Daddy climbs the big tree and I hoist them up to sit with him. Rylynn loves swinging from the branches too!

One of their favorite things to do with Grandpa is to eat popcorn at night and watch Grandpa through pieces to the dogs. Carter gets so excited to see the dogs jump up and catch it in their mouths.

We are close to some of my cousins too so we have been able to visit them and hang out with their kids Mason and Max. We went to a place called Kangaroo Zoo with them that the kids loved! It is a huge place with tons of blow up bouncy castles and slides. I didn't get tons of pictures because we were too busy running around and sliding down giant slides. I did get a couple of Carter playing in the kid areas. We all had a blast!

There was a big concession stand at the kangaroo zoo so all the kids were quite hopped up on sugar. Carter a few times ran off for a couple minutes and everytime I would find him eating some kids food. One time, I came around a corner looking for him and I saw a mom handing out skittles to her kids and Carter was right there with all the other kids with his hand out to her waiting for his skittles. It was a little embarrassing and I was worried the other mother's didn't think I ever fed him! So I gave in and bought them some candy. Then they went missing for a minute again and I found them in a little room that they use for birthday parties enjoying their candy. I think they liked the room so much because they had teeny tables and chairs. They were from IKEA and so cute!

It was a great day!

The Cabin

As you will notice with my new picture of the week, the cabin truly is my favorite place on earth.

This cabin was built by my grandpa's bare hands when my mom was a little girl. She always tells us stories of how he would let her help hammer in the nails and he was so particular about building every inch correctly. My grandpa was an architect and as a child I remember thinking he could build or fix anything with a hammer and nails. When I was really little my parents had to move a lot but no matter where we lived, every summer we would drive out and spend a couple weeks at the cabin. It is high up in the Uinta mountains in Utah, you have to drive up a ten mile dirt road to get there, and the water is from the river so you can't drink it. It is a little rustic, but the most beautiful place on earth. I have so many memories as a child of wandering around our property and the woods surrounding it and coming face to face with deer and moose. I loved fishing in the ponds, tubing down the river, and picking wild flower bouquets for my mom. But most of all I just loved being there surrounded by the beauties of the earth and feeling close to my Father in Heaven who created it all for me. Something about this amazing place just makes me feel like Heaven is so close. I am so grateful that now I get to bring my children to this wonderful place each summer and watch as they experience the wonders of discovering it for themselves. I took the kids there last week and had a blast. It is run-off right now (when the snow all melts from the mountains and comes down the rivers) so the river is raging. That made me very nervous with Carter around since there is a river that goes right in front of the cabin and one that goes right in back. I have never seen the river as wide or as deep as this year. So of course Carter has no fear and his favorite activity was to throw rocks in the river from the little bridge in front. Every time he would throw a rock into the river he would say Booyah! (he was taught this little phrase by his father in case you were wondering) This made me so nervous because he would find the biggest rocks his little hands could carry and jump as he threw them off the bridge. So one morning around 8am, I took Carter outside and was sitting on the porch with my mom when he fell into the raging river. It was freezing so he started to scream immediately. I jumped in the river at the bottom of the bridge because I was worried he would be dragged under the bridge and get stuck there. My mom ran to the top of the bridge where he had fallen in and all she saw was these tiny white fingers holding on for dear life. So she grabbed in the river and got him out before he could lose his grip and fall under the bridge. We both nearly had heart attacks, but we were so grateful he was alive. All my mom kept saying was, "this baby is so strong!!", "you are so lucky he is so strong!" I reached into the river just to see how strong the current was and I was amazed that he had held on as long as he did. So that was a little traumatic, but the rest of the week was spent spotting wildlife, making mud pies by the pond, having snacks in the tree house that Nana built, and roasting marshmallows by the fire pit. Daddy helped chop down some trees and we all helped cut fire wood and haul it to the wood shed. Rylynn loved this part and praised us for our Teamwork! Another amazing thing about the cabin is the stars at night. You can see the entire milky way and the stars are just endless. Another great story from the week was when Carter was taking a nap, we spotted a huge mother moose and her tiny new baby cross right in front of our property and we followed them around to the back river. We were so nervous that the little baby wouldn't make it across, but they both made it safely to the other side. We just love this place and feel so lucky to have it!


Here I am teaching Rylynn the traditional art of mudpie making!

Daddy and Carter scouting out rocks to throw in the river

Rylynn working very hard on her mudpie

A family snack in the tree house

Carter precariously close to the edge!

Did I mention that we get dirty at the cabin?

The back white river rapids

Nana working hard with the chainsaw!

Fun at Nana and Papa's house!

We have been having one adventure after the other this summer and unfortunately, because of that I have been neglecting my blog! So here is the update. Rylynn and Carter have been having a blast visiting all the people they love and doing all the fun activities at each house they visit. First we stayed at Nana and Papa's pool house in St. George. The kids call it that because they have a pool in their backyard that they get to swim in everyday. Some other things they have loved doing at Nana and Papa's house are playing in the playroom with the awesome play kitchen that used to be mine when I was a little girl, playing with the beautiful dress ups, and riding around in the Jeep power wheel. All I can say is stay off the sidewalks, because Rylynn is a crazy driver!! Carter doesn't seem to mind though, he is always along for the ride. There are some really cool parks in St. George too that they have loved playing at. The new park in the center of town has this huge river type of thing with waterfalls, and steps to walk through the river. It is all chlorinated, so it is basically a swimming pool. There are tons of kids there and it is lots of fun. There is also one of those fountains that squirt out of the ground that the kids can run through. Every time we go, they each get a little braver about the fountains.




Rylynn loved wearing the fancy dresses and kept saying she was a princess. The funny thing is that half the dress-ups were my old fancy Easter dresses and Halloween costumes, so it was fun for me to reminisce about my childhood as my daughter played dress-up. Carter's idea of playing dress-ups is diving in the dress-ups bin and making a mess!


When I first showed Rylynn the jeep she was so scared of it because it kind of makes a loud sound. Then after a couple days she decided she wasn't scared of it anymore and she and Carter hopped in and drove around the neighborhood for hours. Carter never got sick of being the passenger even though Rylynn often drove up on curbs and onto lawns. He just sat there smiling as she drove him around.

Another fun activity was building block cities with Papa in the garage and then knocking them down, clearly a man's game! My parent's saved all of the wooden blocks from when we were growing up, the nice ones that are natural wood. So my Dad made up a game where you build a tall tower and then chuck blocks at it until it falls down. Rylynn thought it was so much fun and Carter really enjoyed the destruction part. Anytime he gets to throw something he is happy.

Floral Design and weddings

So as I mentioned earlier, while we were in St. George my cousin got married and we got to go to her sealing and receptions. I didn't get to post pictures before so here they are. Also I wanted to brag for my amazing mother for a moment. She has been doing wedding flowers for my cousins and for my sister in law for about a year now. She just picked it up as a hobby and she is totally amazing as with everything she decides to try. So for my cousin's wedding my mom did all her flowers as a wedding present. I got to help her since I was there and it was so much fun. My mother's list of talents never seems to end and she is inspiring to me because she doesn't shy away from trying anything. It was a lot of fun to help her and learn a new little craft.


This is the bridal bouquet. Her colors were turquoise, black and white.

This is the boutonniere for the groom.

These were the bridesmaid bouquets.


These were the corsages for the mothers and grandmothers.

I love this picture of Rylynn and my cousin's kids with their faces pressed up against the glass doors of the temple looking for Emily and Michael. They could hardly wait for them to come out. Rylynn even tried to sneak in through the baptism door when a couple teenagers were going in.

This is a picture of Rylynn hugging Emily. She was so excited!!

They are such a cute couple!

I'm so glad we got to be there. I just love weddings!