Merry Belated Christmas!

Christmas for 2010 was great. We stuck with our traditional Christmas Eve at our in laws home with a big dinner and gift exchange. The kids bring a toy that is in good condition they want to exchange. And the adults do a white elephant exchange. One year it was a live lobster! So some of us are a little nervous about what could be lurking in the "gift."

Here are some pictures of our Holiday celebrations:

All the grand kids that live in Texas reenact the Nativity every year. This year Lexie was Joseph and Emily was Mary. This picture is super cute of "Joseph and Mary."

Christmas morning was great with the kids. Spencer had to go to work at noon but I continued the celebrations with a great ham dinner and all the sides.

Our Christmas tree before it was invaded by excited children.

Santa was a good boy and ate his cookies and drank his milk. He left a note for the kids telling them to Always Remember that Jesus is the reason we have Christmas, and to be good. It had been a rough month with lots of teasing and fighting so they almost were put on the naughty list.

I made sure to feed the kiddos before breaking into the stockings and presents. It was also a stall tactic to let Dad sleep a bit more too.

After a waffle I couldn't keep Josh away from his "firetruck" any longer so I told Spencer that it was almost 9 am so he HAD to get up.

We open stockings first and I love how Avery tries to avoid looking at the camera- just like Mom!

Emily going through her stocking gifts and loving her new pink poodle she named Cupcake.

Jake loving his Transformer walkie talkies.

Harley didn't know what to do with his gift from Santa. I think he eventually buried it in the back yard. I never saw him with it for more than 10 minutes and he did some digging outside. I'm looking forward to seeing him chew on it this summer when he decides to dig it back up.

This has been the prized gift. A pop up Firetruck. All four kids get in it and walk it around like they are going to a fire. I have a super cute picture:

I finally found Avery's pink boots. She's been asking for these for two years now and I FINALLY found them. Most of the Academy's were out of them and wouldn't get very many in the next few weeks. A lady had called the day before to put them on a 24 hour hold but she never came to get them and I snatched them up as soon as they were shipped to the closest store. Oh, the things we do for our kids! I am so glad I did- she wears them ALL the time!

It looks like Avery's pushing Emily away but she wasn't. Sisters gotta hug!

Josh got a pair of boots too although his were two sizes too big. It was so funny to watch him walk in them. He had to really stick his legs out.

Josh also got a toy tool set. Yes, he likes to watch Handy Many- I'm telling ya, he's all boy!

Emily got a pair of pink boots also. It was the year of Christmas boots! Spencer already had a pair and mine were the warm soft kind of boots. The boys and girls both got nearly matching boots. It will be a super cute picture of shoes when I get them all together, even if Josh's are too big.

Houston Fire Fest

I should have posted this back in early October when we actually went to the Fire Fest but got "busy" with I don't know what.
Last year Heidi and I went together with the kids. She came to visit from Idaho and we had such a great time!
This year Spencer was again working so I braved it solo. It was a lot of fun and we all wore our matching Jahnke Fire shirts. I must admit I was a bit nervous about going solo. Two years ago, when the kids bounce house was blown over by Lifelight, we lost Jake for about 5 minutes. It was pretty scary but we were making sure our friends were alright since they were almost hit by the blown bounce house and Jake was looking at a Dalmatian he liked. The distractions hit at the same time and I'm glad we were able to find him!
This year we stuck together and no one was lost!

This was Josh almost the whole time. Enjoying the ride in the stroller.

Can you FEEL the heat from this oil rig fire demonstration? These demos get really hot even standing far away from them. Emily was hiding her head in my legs almost in tears to make the fire go away! I felt bad but kept explaining the firemen were there and would put it out. She did NOT like the fire. A month later and she still asks that our house doesn't catch on fire in her prayers.

Jake was so excited to be able "put out the fire" in the house. See the guy standing in the left of the picture? The guy in blue? Jake turned the hose on him while he was setting up the fake flames in the windows. I'm sure he appreciated it a little bit since it was pretty warm and he'd been standing there a while. I think I need to work on patience with Jake. He was just so excited to put out the fire!

And we have Emily waiting patiently for her turn to go into the bounce house. You know those inflatable big bounce things. When she was in there Avery & Jake watched her just stand in there. REALLY?! You asked like 10 times to go in the bounce house and you just stand there? I know she knows HOW to jump she gets in trouble for jumping off her bed occasionally.

I finally got a somewhat normal picture of Avery. I had to sneak this one. In the other picture of her she's acting like an elephant; all hunched over with both arms swinging- What is that? I asked her.

THIS is by FAR my favorite part of the Fire Fest! The Ladder Competition. It's a timed competition and two firetrucks come in from opposite sides and there's a small fire near the trees that whoever puts out first wins! It's so exciting to watch!

While this event was going on I found some friends to cut into line with to go up in one of the towers. So the kids were up in a tower watching- with the BEST view- the competition.

So this is Ladder 26. See the water all over? Yeah, the hose wasn't attached properly so I counted them out.

Boy was I wrong! While FF 1 was fixing the hose connection FF 2 was getting the ladder in the air and getting it angled in just the right spot then the next thing I knew......

FF 2 (or was it FF 3) was doing a little dance. So happy with the SUCCESS of winning the ladder competition! He was hooping and hollering and doing a little dance with his arms! Pretty cool- the competition, not the dancing of FF 2.

WAY TO GO Ladder 26! You put the fire out first!

This was the view that I had of my kids in the Tower. Julie Hunt took her two kids and my two kids. What a brave woman! Emily, Josh and I kept our feet planted on the ground. Safe and sound. I'm not one for heights. I always hated the Parachute ride at Knott's Berry Farm!

And down come the brave souls who dared to enter 18s Tower.

And back to the ground our brave children come; "That was so cool Mom! You should have come!"

The last fire of the day was the "house fire demonstration." I was a little worried about how Emily would react again but the kids climbed into a older firetruck that was displayed and watched the blaze from inside.

And the fire begins... Not too hot yet.

The fire got pretty big but was in the end put out by the wonderful Houston Fire Fighters. It was all great until this big smoke cloud came rolling towards us. There was no turning back as I called to the kids, "Let's GO!" It got us from behind and *cough*cough* cough* choke* "Mom! This stinks!" We smelled smokey until we had our showers a few hours later that night.

We had such a great time at the Fire Fest and look forward to going again next year. Hopefully Spencer will be there with us!

Our Halloween Treats!

In all honesty I just want to skip the holidays and be in the beginning of February. I'm just not feeling it this time around. Yup. I'm a Scrooge right now. I suppose Thanksgiving will be great though. Anyways, I've been trying to get into the holiday spirit and the kids had a blast at the annual Trunk or Treat this year. Keep in mind my scrooge-ness, which would explain the undecorated "trunk"; next year!

So on to the Trunk or Treat!

The kids were pretty excited to go. Candy. Fun. Sugar. More Candy. What kid wouldn't be excited?

Big Smiles! Happiness all around.

I LoVe this picture of Josh and Spencer! I put the finishing touches on Josh's costume a couple of days before and I really like how it looks! Just like Dad's real FF uniform. Too cute!

Ok so now on to Emily. My tomboy for the past few years all of a sudden wanting Princess this and pink EVERYTHING. WHAT?!?! Where did this come from? So she wanted to be a fairy. I gave all our dress up away since she NEVER wanted anything to do with it the past three years, and all of a sudden: Princess! Pink! Girly! Princess! Make up! Nails! Pink! Laura to the rescue, sent me home with a few costumes that would pass as a Princess! Thanks Laura!

I absolutely adore my children but when it comes to taking pictures they can't act normal or pose normal for me; but Emily looks so angelic in this picture. I LOVE it! Her sweet personality really comes out in this one. Don't get me wrong she can take on Jake but she can be super sweet!

Avery was a witch. AGAIN. I think this was the third year in a row. I thought she was going to be Wonder Woman until a few hours before we had to leave. And Jake was Flash. Also, AGAIN! Why do my kids do repeat costumes? Nice on the wallet though! I thought he was going to be The Dark Knight. But he too changed his mind. So, no, this is not a picture from a year or two ago. Just my kids wearing the same costumes.

The Allred Crew all ready for Halloween.

I think Josh was practicing his Fireman skills trying to save the kitty that Avery was waving in front of his face. His hands are out ready to catch Fluffy the cat.

I was ushered into the picture as well. I went as a criminal. I know. Scrooge. Just looking at this picture I can hear Josh saying in his very loud voice, "Hiiii!" or was it, "Byyeee!"

This picture is a little scary to me- Jake's eyes are very odd! Emily looking elsewhere- typical. Avery is like a statue and I think looks the same in every picture. I love that girl. Josh is trying to lean in for some sugar as I tell him to hold still and stand here. Silly boy!

There was a DJ playing music and Josh stood there and started to dance. It was pretty cute. This is one of my favorite pictures. Adorable!

The Fire Fighter and criminal. Big Smiles. Happiness all around.

My iron on art. I just need a patch or two to make it look a bit more authentic. And this will be a repeat costume as well. I bought it big and leave it out for him to put on anytime.

Looks like Josh saved Fluffy the cat. And Fireman Josh is happy about that.

Another picture of the criminal and Fireman Josh.

Checking out the loot. Smiles. Candy. Fun. Sugar. More candy. Tired, but Happiness all around.

Things Really are Bigger in TEXAS

I have so many ideas on how I want to do the kids rooms and I have a really good idea on how I want each of the girls rooms to be done. I'm really excited to get going on them but I promised the boys that their room was the first to be done since their walls were the grossest looking. But what to do I had no idea. Until I thought about doing the TX flag on one whole wall. And I just went ahead and did it.

Luckily, it's a simple design with a lot of meaning. The red, white, and blue of the state flag represent, respectively, bravery, purity, and loyalty. I love that! Texas has a lot of pride that I don't quite understand but I love the southern hospitality here!

This is how it all started with me first penciling it all off then with the blue painters tape. The star was a bit more challenging to get it right. It's supposed to be 3/4 the size of the blue stripe. I don't know that it's exact but it looks close enough.

And the Blue and Red. Done. Second Coat. Done.

Blue tape off and I just free handed the star and the white stripe. Second coat. Done.

Two days of painting and the boys have a very large Texas flag in their room. Jake loves it. "Wow! That's so cool!" Josh is too young to care but he has been looking at it and you can see the wheels turning as he tries to figure the words to say but can't get them out so he just points.

I look forward to having that Family Home Evening that will teach them about the constant reminder they have in their room representing bravery, purity, and loyalty. So they will have that instilled in them along with other character traits that are so vital in our lives.

Have I been M.I.A.? Naahhh!

I had a friend ask me recently, "so what have you been up to?"

I didn't know what I'd been doing but I knew I had been busy. Does that mean I've been doing unnecessary things? I don't feel that they are unnecessary when I'm doing them!

It made me think what have I been doing to keep my head up when all I really want to do is go back to bed and pull the covers over my head and just sleep until Spencer gets his job back and a public apology from the city.

Here are a few of those things. And I'm posting this for myself so I know that I have been doing things.

This is my most recent project: painting the TX flag in the boys room. I did a post with more detail & pictures.

I made this nap mat for Emily's Pre-K. My first solo sewing project. Hopefully not my last.

I've been trying to take more pictures of the kids. I've wanted to play around with Photoshop Elements too but haven't yet. But I plan to.

I took the kids to the Fire Fest. We love going to this annual event! So much fun to see the fire demonstrations. I don't think I've posted this yet. I better get on it- maybe tomorrow.

I've also been doing a lot of reading. I read all three books in the Hunger Games series. I read The Help. The Shack. And I am currently trying to catch up on my Ensigns. I'm in August 2010 now.

I've been cooking a lot more too. I've been making our sourdough bread- although Costco's is better. For November I have the whole month planned for dinner. And there are at least two or three new recipes every week in addition to a weekly bread baked.

I'm attempting to keep up with four kids and their school schedules.

I was recently released from the Presidency in Relief Society. I helped plan the RS Meetings. I was only there for about three months.

Three mornings a week I ride my bike with Emily and Josh in a two seater bike trailer. We ride for almost three miles each day. They love it saying, "Good Morning!" to everyone we pass.

I think that about covers it. Like I said this post is more for me, so I know I'm doing something productive.

Preschool for Emily

For a long time I've been wanting to learn how to sew. In YW a few years ago we started a quilt class and I have 25 finished squares to quilt together. I chose three styles: log cabin, a star, and the 9 square. I probably didn't get the names right but oh well. I still need to finish that project.

Emily needed a nap mat for pre k and I thought it would be fun if I made one for her. It seemed easy enough and I found instructions online so I headed out to JoAnn's and picked out some fabric with Emily and started a new sewing project. This is what we chose to use:

I had already started sewing from this picture. It doesn't look terrible but it looks very homemade. Of course I see all the flaws. I left the bottom open, but sewed velcro to close it, to take out the pad so it can be washed. I originally had buttons to keep it closed when rolled up. But I also changed that to velcro because it would be easier for Emily to use herself.

So the finished product. I love the fabric! Emily carried it around most of Conference weekend. It was cute. Avery mentioned that she wanted one with bunnies on it- she LOVES bunnies! So I suppose that's my next project..... but until then here is a few pictures of Emily's first day of school.

She was so super excited to go to school! She'd ask me weeks before, "Mom, when do I start school?" "Not soon enough." I'd tell her. The night before she could hardly sleep she was so excited to go to school. Jake was excited for her also and he loves to watch over his sister- and partner in mischief. We see these two as Calvin and Hobbs.

On the way to school, Emily was telling me to just drop her off and stay in the car. She would walk to the door by herself. I told her since it was her first day of school I had to take a picture. Ok she says but don't walk in the door. I laughed and said I have to because I have to sign you into school. Oh, alright she says. She's so funny!

I had a hard time getting a good picture of her since she was so excited to go to school but this is one by the door. Oh my little Emily! You're growing up! Too quickly!