The Novel...

We had a fun/busy/work-filled/spiritual/hilarious/sick/
frustrating/yummy/family-oriented/loud/
happy weekend @ the Allen house!
Saturday morning I went to our Enrichment Day. It was really a nice program, with excellent speakers & I definitely felt uplifted by the end of it. The theme was "Live, Laugh, Love" & it was an enjoyable day, with a DELICIOUS Mexican lunch @ the end...with HOMEADE Horchata to drink-Yummy!

When I got home after lunch, this desk was waiting for Matt & I to work on it.

Kinda ugly, you think?
Go ahead. Enlarge it. YES...those are scratches/dents. in fact MY NAME was etched into the surface. Spelled with a "Y"...or I might have kept it there.
Well...I see POSSIBILITY, CHARACTER, CHARM & SOLID WOOD...not that cheap stuff they try & call wood these days. I bought it on Craigslist, for a very excellent price.

And so we worked....and worked...and sanded...and primed...

Okay....let's be honest...my wonderful husband Matt worked, while I supervised(I'm a bit OCD about things being right) & I tried entertaining Parker indoors...

I DID paint these! That was my BIG contribution!

It is getting there....
And I'm getting REALLY excited...

Waaahlaa! It is done!
I LOVE it. I LOVE it. I LOVE it.
A HUGE Thank You to my WONDERFUL Husband!

And it has made itself very comfortable in our family room next to our couch.
The INITIAL reason for buying the "piece of junk desk...with character" was to find a CUTE, AFFORDABLE desk for our Family Room, so we can STOP using our coffee table as our "office".
We have a laptop, so we NEVER use it in the office, we ALWAYS have it out on the coffee table. Problem is...we have a 1 year old, who LOVES to push buttons, open & close it, ect.
Solution to Problem=Buy a Desk so Parker can't reach computer:)
And a cute painted desk=One HAPPY mom!
I LOVE IT!!!
And as I blog, I can look out my front window & spy on my neighbors...like I am doing right now:)
Speaking of...we will be discussing these neighbors very shortly...

So desk is finished, I am SO HAPPY...and not looking forward to it getting cluttered with bills, the computer & other items. BUT, that IS why I wanted a Roll-top, so I could cover all that up, when company pops in...or when I just don't want to look at it:)

Saturday was ALSO my sister, Kylie's BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLIE!

You can't really see her very well in this pic, because the grandkids are a bit excited to help blow out the candles.
My sister Kylie is INCREDIBLE! She is EXTREMELY talented. She does everything.
Check out her ADORABLE cards that she makes here...every occasion you can think of!
We also teach preschool together on Tuesdays/Thursdays & that has been so fun to do with her all year! She used to be a school teacher & has so many good ideas!
She is a lot of fun to be around, is a wonderful mother to my adorable nephew, Powell & niece, Mia! She is one busy person & is always willing to serve those around her in any way she can! I am grateful for the example she is to me & I hope she has a
WONDERFUL 31st YEAR!!!

We had yummy cheesecake & cupcakes & celebrated with her on Saturday night!
The grandkids had FUN as always, playing/wrestling with eachother:)

After leaving my parents, we decided we better stop by Twilight Pediatrics & make sure Parker doesn't have an ear infection, before another sleepless night(Friday night hadn't been too good). He had been acting kinda sick, with a runny nose & cough...which has ALWAYS resulted in an ear infection for him. My Pediatrician's office has an after hours office, right by my parents...so we thought we'd stop by real QUICK! haha
We waited & waited & waited & waited.
A mom from my ward came in with her sick little girl, so that was fun to visit with her!:)
And waited & waited.
And then we got in & waited a little more. But this time, Parker was very entertained with the paper on the table. He played hide-n-seek with dad until the Dr. came.

Guess what!? No Ear Infection!
I am REALLY glad he doesn't have one, BUT I am really sad we waited for the Dr. to tell us that "he has a nasty cough, runny nose & fever"...which I already knew.
Oh well. At least we didn't have to go fill a prescription.
That would have been MORE time & MORE money.

So, we went home to snuggle up & go to sleep.
HaHa...Wishful thinking.
Well, we have BRAND NEW neighbors that moved in last week. Seem nice enough.
Well, I guess they decided to have a house-warming party...or a kegger. Same thing, I guess.
When we got home, tired & READY for bed, around midnight...we pull up to find that someone is in our parking spot. No biggie...we will park in a guest spot. EXCEPT that EVERY SPOT is full in our entire section, the section before ours & the section after ours! I guess we will just be parking down the street & carry our tired, sick child home.
A little frustrated, but what can you do.
LUCKILY, as we were looking for a spot, some kids came out of the PARTY & one of them happened to leave...from OUR spot! Yay!
We get inside & put Parker to bed & fall asleep.
Well, I DID...because I fall asleep AS SOON as I am horizontal.
But, Matt hears Parker crying...THANKS to the loud teenagers outside his window.
Parker, who is already not feeling well & just BARELY fell asleep for the night, is awake & cranky for the next couple of hours. Matt gives me a play-by-play, as he peaks out the window and explains things as these teenagers continue to be annoyingly loud. Luckily a cop car drives up & the kids take off running through our neighborhood. One cop enters the party & the other is off to find the escapees. The teens had busted their front window & I am sure had been drinking underage, so the cops did whatever they were doing & I tried calming Parker down.
Parker finally falls back to sleep, but don't worry...he was up BRIGHT & EARLY @ 7am, so we had NO REASON not to get up & go to church @ 8:30am...despite the couple hours of sleep we had received.

Sunday was a really LONG day for me. Parker was extra cranky all day, because he hadn't been feeling good & was running on practically no sleep. After church, I had meetings, visiting teachers & then we went to our parent's houses to visit. Parker was being SO good, BUT he was SO tired & only took one 1 hour nap ALL DAY...on top of no sleep the night before!

Sunday night was my baby sister's YW Recognition Night.
It was really a nice program & I was so proud of Heidi for accomplishing all that she did. She was the youngest of the 5 girls receiving their award. She is such an AMAZING person & I LOVE having her as my sister! Speaking of my amazing sister...she qualified for STATE this week in the High-Jump for Track! Go Heidi!!!

Last night was good...we went home as SOON as Heidi's program was over & put Parker to bed. He only woke up once @ 10:30pm(which is VERY due-able, since I wasn't asleep yet)...ate a little snack & went right back to sleep & slept til 9am this morning. He was catching up on his lack of sleep the night before, I guess. He is down for a nap right now & is going on 3 hours, so HOPEFULLY that means he is feeling better, which means a HAPPIER Parker...which means a HAPPIER mom!

Well...if you are still reading, CONGRATULATIONS. Take a little break after all that reading! I just needed to vent/journal about my weekend & you were lucky enough to be the recipient of my post:)

Have a HAPPY Monday everyone!
I know I will...since Parker is feeling better & we actually got to sleep last night!!!

AZ Heat

Have you been outside lately?

Yes it is Hot.
Yes it is March.

We had some friends over to play in the sprinkler today.
Thanks for coming Linds & Shar...we had so much fun!

Parker LOVED the sprinkler!!! BUT, when it UNEXPECTEDLY sprayed him in his face...
he was NOT happy:(

Need a CLOSER look at that ADORABLE LIP...Hopefully you can all keep COOL the rest of March!

American Idol

Brooke White is doing FANTASTIC on American Idol...in case you haven't been watching!
I thought some of you might like to watch this independent video she made(before the whole American Idol season began) I think it is cute & it tells her story of being a "Beauty School Dropout----to travel to Hollywood & pursue her singing career"
It is called "Free"
ENJOY.

Cape Cod Rentals | Denver Relocation | mp3

Also...HOPEFULLY you can VOTE for her Tuesday night!!! That is TOMORROW! Mark your calendars & kick back on your couch & watch her sing her heart out! Every vote helps!

Easter

Did you have a good Easter?

We Did!

Spring Break Camping!

Every year during Spring Break my mom's side of the family goes Camping together!

Matt & I have never been since we've been married, because we were always working/going to school, so we were excited to be able to go this year!

We had SO MUCH FUN together, with all of our cousins/aunts/uncles!!!

Parker LOVED our tent...until bedtime...then he got a little COLD!
We had fun going on the Golf Cart!
Parker loved the wind blowing in his face:)

"Look at me, standing up on the camping chair!"

These boys played non-stop together!

It is so fun to have cousins your age!

My mom & my nephew Mason

My mom was AMAZING!!! She packed EVERYTHING(my dad couldn't go until the next day) and cooked ALL OUR MEALS & they were delicious! THANK YOU MOM!

At the Campfire with Mason & Parker

My uncle set up a projector screen & we watched the The Bee Movie Thursday night, as we sat around the fire. Parker just laid there & relaxed during the whole thing!

I thought Parker had grown out of the whole "Eating Dirt Stage"-but he tried some the 1st day & this was his reaction...

Finding rocks & sticks to play with...a TRUE boy!

During Parker's naps...this is what the 2 of us did. The trails were really pretty & Matt had fun driving a little crazy, so I would be scared.

COUSINS!!! My nephews Mason & Powell:)

Decorating Bags for the BIG EASTER EGG HUNT!

My sister Heidi helped Parker find some eggs

Each kid was allowed to find a dozen eggs, but Parker found ONE & was HAPPY as could be, eating the candy out of it:) All the kids had SO MUCH FUN on the EGG HUNT! Easter is never the week of Spring Break, so this was a NEW part of the camping experience, but I'm glad everyone decided to do it...it was so much fun! Even the horses joined in on the Egg Hunt:)

My CUTE little niece, Mia

Me & my little sister Heidi

He spent MOST OF HIS TIME digging in the dirt:)

Time to go home:(

One night was PLENTY for us...it was SO COLD at night!!!

Parker doesn't want to leave...can you tell by his face!

We were going to leave after dinner Friday night, but talked my mom & dad into going into Miami & eating at the Burger House. We had never been there, but heard it had Great Mexican Food & comparable to El Rey Cafe(Matt's favorite).

It was DELICIOUS! Thanks Mom & Dad!!!

Most everyone got Mexican food...YUMMY...but a few got hamburgers & said they were AMAZING...so you can't go wrong!

We had such a FUN time camping...but now I have some serious LAUNDRY to do!

Easter & Birthday FUN!

We had a FUN Easter/Birthday Party @ my parent's house yesterday.
The grandkids had SO much FUN going on an Easter Egg Hunt!(Parker even got the concept & carried his little basket around & put his eggs inside when he found them!-Watch a video clip of him HERE-so cute!)
Then we all colored Easter Eggs together(my mom hard boiled a dozen for each grandkid & they were loving it!)
Then we had a Picnic Lunch, because the weather was TOO BEAUTIFUL to go inside. It was my sister-in-law, Julie's birthday, so we ended the party by singing Happy Birthday & eating her delicious cake(orange rolls...mmmm...my favorite!)
We even got a picture of all 8 grandkids...aren't they CUTE!?!

My sister-in-law Julie is absolutely INCREDIBLE! She has the 3 CUTEST kids AND has taken in her little brother & sister to live with them. She has a house full, but is always so happy & never seems stressed! I don't know how she does it! We bought their old house a couple of years ago & they moved a mile down the road, so it has been SO FUN living so CLOSE to each other! We swap kids all the time & she invites us over for dinner ALL the time...SO NICE! It was so fun to have an EASTER Birthday party for her this year...I hope you had a GREAT DAY...you DESERVE it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!!!