Yeah for Dad!

I just have to take a moment to relish in the joy that Aaron is done with school for the summer! It has been a rough couple of years and I think that yesterday was the first day in 2 years that Aaron has come home with not one ounce of stress in him! It was great. He has worked so hard and I am so proud of him. We are excited to share the next two months as a family and just hang out(and have a new baby)! Anyway, I just had to say how happy I am and how proud I am of Aaron. He is such an amazing guy!

Dalmation Party

We decided to have Hallie's birthday a couple of weeks early since Grandma was here visiting and today was the big day! We had a dalmation party and it was so much fun! We had the kids all wear black, white or red and we made little doggie ears for them. They decorated collars when they got there and got to choose a puppy name for the party. We played a few "doggie" games, like fetch and roll the ball with your nose. We tried "Doggie Doggie, where's your bone?", but it was a little slow moving for a group of four year olds, so we scratched that. We got doggie dishes for the kids to eat their snacks out of and had a special visit from Cruella Deville! She came in and stole the basket of puppies and the kids had to go on a scavenger hunt to find them. It was so much fun! Daddy and Grandma, with a little help from Mom, made a really cool Dalmation cake and then Hallie opened her presents! She got lots of fun things and has been playing with her new toys all day! Thank you to everyone who came and for those who stayed and helped. It would have been hard to do on our own! I will do a real birthday post for Hallie on her real birthday! Although I have to mention that last night she was crying, having a complete breakdown, missing all of our family and just crying hysterically for about 30 minutes. This morning when I got her up, I asked her if she remembered that it was her party day. She jumped out of bed and said, "Yes, and do you know why I am not crying anymore?" "Why", I asked. "Because I'm 4!" I don't think she quite understood the early birthday idea! Oh well. "That's right Hallie-- that's exactly why!"

Dance Recital

Hallie had her first dance recital on Saturday, May 17, and I couldn't have been any prouder. She was adorable and did her dance really well! I was backstage, as a helping mom, and just before the girls went onstage, three of the kids started crying and refused to go out and dance. Hallie said, "why is everyone crying"? I told her that they were a little scared and they kind of wanted their moms. She said, " well, I don't really need you here, because I am not scared and so you can go now". I told her that I would just wait until they were ready to dance and then I would go out and watch her, but she insisted, and said, "seriously mom, I can handle this!" She has always been very independant! Anyway, the three criers refused to dance and so Hallie was left without a partner. But it didn't phase her a bit! She just did the partner part all by herself and never missed a beat. (well she missed a few beats, but she is only three!) Anyway, it was really fun to be there and watch her and have her have such a good time! I loved it!

Sharing the spotlight with her sis!

The backwards elephant walk!

These two could not stop bouncing before the dance! They were so excited!

What is a dance recital without flowers?

We were so lucky and happy to have Grandma here for the big day!

My Little Dancer

It is amazing to me how quickly we pass from one phase to another in life. Most of the people who know me now don't really know that I was a dancer all of my life. I wouldn't call myself a ballerina, but definately a dancer. I was a dance major in college and got a Master's in Dance from BYU. I used to teach at BYU and I teach an Irish dance class in Waukee now. (Try to imagine my big prego self dancing!Crazy, but true!). I bring this up because, like I said, most of my friends probably don't know this, but it was all I did for a long time in my life! I met Aaron after I graduated from BYU, so he has never really seen me dance either. It is kind of weird that such a huge part of my life is just really my past now! I guess I was feeling a little nostalgic when I got Hallie's first dance pictures the other day. I was flooded with memories of my dancing days and I am excited to see if she will love it like I did! I love my role as wife and mom now and I would not trade it, but sometimes I miss touring and doing shows and the music and really dancing! Thanks for letting me indulge! And- Hallie is an elephant in this picture, just in case you couldn't tell!

Spring time and Mud Pies!

For all of you who claim that I have "girly girls"-- take a look at this. It was such a beautiful day and so we decided to go outside and play. Hallie immediately went to the pile of disgusting mud and sank her toes right in. As is custom, Maggie followed suit. I was tempted to stop them, but I thought back to my own childhood and how much fun it was to splash in mud puddles and make mud pies, and so I held my tongue. They went nuts! They splashed in the mud and giggled until they couldn't anymore. I absolutely loved watching them have so much fun! I must admit, we had to toss the panties and the white shirt, but those things don't matter one bit. I loved it! We had to bathe three times to get all of the mud off, but it was worth it! What a fun time.

Maggie Moo is Two!!!

I can't believe it, but my little Magoo is two years old! She was so teeny when we moved to Iowa, but has seemed like a two year old for about a year and a half now! She is such a sweet baby and is so much fun to have in our family! She is definitely the comedian in the fam. She idolizes her big sis and loves to be a big girl, but I love that she will still let me hold her and snuggle her whenever I want to. I love her so much and I am so glad that she is mine! These are a few pictures from the earliest days of her life! The sweetness of a new baby is so fun to remember. I feel so lucky to have my little Maggie Kate.






And now she is two! And she is something else.


My grandmother used to recite little random poems all of the time. When I looked at Maggie on this day, I remembered one of my Grandmother's sayings that fit Maggie to a "T".

"There was a little girl, who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead.

And when she was good, she was really really good,

And when she was bad, she was awful!!"

Headed to her birthday party! Mag was so excited!

Trying to remember how to hold up 2 fingers.

The "Elmo" Party.

Props to dad for the awesome cake!

Blowing out the candles.

Classic Maggie!

The highlight of the day was opening her little monkey that she had left Jake's house. He wrapped it up and gave it back to her and she was so happy! Why do we go to such great extremes when these are the things that make them so happy?

This cracked me up. Maggie got a couple of cards for her birthday and she set up the pillows just right (rearranged them like 4 times) and layed down to read her cards. She put them so close to her face that she could hardly see them, but she read them out loud and was as happy as could be!

I love my Maggie! Happy Birthday!

Lots to Catch Up On

So much has happened since the last time I posted, I feel like I have to really fill you all in! I'll apologize for the multiple posts in one day, but the kids are in bed and I have a few minutes, so I am just going to catch up now! We went to Utah a few weeks ago to see Nana and Papa and we had a blast! The girls LOVED being with their grandparents and their cousins. Aaron flew out with us for the weekend and then had to head back for school. While he was there we went to the "Grantsville Sociable". Aaron is from a quaint little town that boasts the longest running "Old Folks Sociable" in the US. It is really fun. The whole town comes out and there is a program and dinner and dancing. There is always a theme and really cool decorations. Aaron's mom was in charge of the decorations this year and she did a great job. It was so fun to be there to see it all! So here are a few pictures from our trip. The Allred Boys at the Sociable
Doing the Chicken Dance at their cousin Brecken's Kindergarten Program
Nana and Papa have a tradition to take the grandkids to Build a Bear for their 2nd Birthday! This was Maggie's big trip to Build a Bear.
She chose a kitty and loves that thing to death!
With Nana and Papa at the Gateway in SLC
Maggie with the Great Grandmas
The girls with Great Grandma Toni
Hallie with Great Grandpa Dick
Maggie at a little Pre-Birthday party. Do you think she was excited?
At the party with Nana