Allen Family

The Hope of the Youth

2017-02-01T15:06:00.001-07:00

Lately I have had to learn how to do nothing. After being extremely busy the last few years, constantly needing to do something for school, I have nothing much to do. I love being home for the kids. I love that's when it's raining I can pick them up from school, I love that I can focus on their homework without worrying about my own, I love that I can focus on their activities. I love that they are my world again. During the day, when they are at school, I have time to do really whatever I want. Figuring out what that is each day is fun. A challenge but a fun challenge. Yesterday I downloaded an app to learn French and brush up on my Spanish. It's been fun.

Kira- Kira auctioned for the Placer County Youth Orchestra. There are 3 different levels of the orchestra and she made the top orchestra, the symphony orchestra! Her orchestra is made up of high school kids and some junior high kids. She is so happy to be doing something with her cello again since for some reason they don't have an orchestra at her school. This week the youth sang in Sacrament meeting. It was a beautiful song that combined As Sisters in Zion and the Armies of Helaman (Watch the official EFY version here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-13tk2uPUo0). The Spirit was very strong for me. I loved seeing my daughter up there, knowing she is a young woman, no longer a child. I'm grateful for the hope and strength of the youth that gives me hope for the future. I hate politics and try to avoid them, its been hard to do lately. They have got me so down worrying about the future and what it means for my children and my future grandchildren. Listening to the youth sing in Sacrament Meeting, calmed my troubled heart and brought me peace. The world is in good hands.

This was a practice before church began.

Josh- Josh is busy with scouts and school. Josh is worked on a reverse engineering STEM project at school, him and two friends took a part an X-Box controller to figure out what each part does. Josh decided he loves projects like this, he also loved his computer programming class earlier in the school year. We need to find another one for him.

Josh exploring the parts of an X-Box controller

Lou- Lou is working as hard as ever. He enjoys his work a lot. So if you have any mortgage needs in California or Utah, make sure to give him a call. He can help you get into a house or refinance your current mortgage :) I am glad he is so happy at work. He also is busy with his church calling. He teaches youth Sunday school. He loves it and the kids love him. I have had several women come up to me in RS and tell me how much their son or daughter loves Lou as a teacher.

Bodega Bay

2017-01-26T18:32:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we took a day trip to Bodega Bay. Lou and the kids went there when I was still in Boise. Lou said, Diana we have to go, you'll love it so much that you'll want to move there. Lou was right. It's a small beach town that reminds us of Portwenn (the town on the show Doc Martin).
The drive to Bodega Bay is beautiful the whole way, driving through fields, wine country, small towns, and then the coast. All so beautiful. It was raining so everything was very green. A two hour drive out of Boise or Utah is usually dry, desert, some beauty but a lot of nothing, it was nice to have beautiful scenery the whole drive. When we arrived in Bodega Bay we went to a small crab stand. We ordered, clam chowder, crab cakes, a crab sandwich, and a loaf of sour dough bread. Everything was delicious.

A pic of the crab stand where we had lunch.

After lunch we walked on a dock around the bay. Water always makes me happy. I told Lou while we were standing on the dock, I don't think I could be happier than at this moment.

Boats on the bay

This seal became our little friend

Our Family

After walking around the bay, we went to the ocean. My heart is happy that we can drive to the ocean in just a few hours from our home. Someday hopefully, we'll be able to walk to the beach. There was no sand to walk the beach because of how big the waves were. Lou and the kids went just a few months earlier and at that time they could walk the beach. So we watched the waves from above and enjoyed hiking along a trail near the water.

We had such a beautiful day together. We are looking to make these Saturday Adventures a regular thing. There are so many places to go near us that we really need to take advantage and begin to explore this area!

Christmas Time

2016-12-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

It's been quite awhile since I have typed in this little corner of the word. I want to get back into writing. I know I write this introductory paragraph every time I write a post now, I do however have a goal in mind, about writing. I enjoy writing, I have more time now, and while Instagram is fun its not the same.

Merry Christmas from the Allens

Two days after Christmas and its 53° we spent Christmas at home which is now Roseville, California. The kids are out playing basketball in the beautiful sunshiny weather. They have 2.5 weeks off from school this year. They don't go back until January 10th! The time will fly by quickly, but I will savor every moment.

On Christmas Eve we went to my sister's Sandi's house and spent time with her and her family. It was fun. We played games and had dinner. While we were driving home we dropped off some gifts for people in our ward. The kids decided to do a secret Santa, we had so much fun, I think we will do it every year. My heart beat fast when the kids and Lou ran to their door and quickly ran back to the car in order to not be spotted. When we first lived in our house in Provo, we had a family do the 12 days of Christmas for us. The family dropped off gifts and notes for 12 days in a row. I'll never forget that kindness, it made us feel welcomed and loved. We wanted someone else to feel the same. Later that night, Lou and I sat by the fire listening to Christmas music. The Christmas spirit was strong. My heart couldn't have been any more at peace.

Lou reading one of our favorite Christmas Eve books "I Believe in Santa"

Christmas morning was beautiful, there was no waking up super early, there was no rush to the tree. We woke up at 7 for church. We went to Sacrament meeting where we enjoyed a beautiful program of music and spoken word. After church we came home, we made a breakfast of pancakes and bacon. We leisurely ate while the presents remained under the tree. The kids did not complain, I think they enjoyed savoring the beautiful morning as much as Lou and I did. When it was time to open the presents there was such a peaceful feeling, I think because we had time to fully appreciate Christmas morning and what it is all about. Later in the day we enjoyed a visit from Lou's good friend. We also talked with family on phone and FaceTime. The rest of the day was spent enjoying our new gifts and enjoying each other.

Josh and cousin Kyler making brownies

The move to Roseville, has not been easy for me. I spent the first 4 months in Boise finishing my student teaching. It was hard having my family starting a new life and me being left behind. I am glad I finished my degree but it was one of the hardest things I have had to do, being separated from my family. I am grateful that this past week has been so special, so full of the spirit of what life is all about that I am slowly being able to adapt to our move. I am going to enjoy our time in our little apartment before we buy a house. I will enjoy being so close near each other. The kids are getting older and who knows for how long they will be happy to spend so much time with mom and dad. It will be nice to have that forced time together in our little place.

Josh matched our stockings this year!

2016 was a crazy year (once again) for our family. Changing jobs, selling our home, changing states, trip to Disneyland, trip to San Fransisco, finishing school. I am excited to see what 2017 will bring, hopefully I will share some of it on this blog 😊

Kira reading like always.

Why We Went to Chicago: Lou and Diana's Fun Adventure

2016-04-25T20:15:00.003-06:00

We have been home for two weeks now. Two weeks of the real world, after the most lovely vacation. Lou and I did something we never do. We went on a trip, just the two of us. No kids, no visiting family, just the two of us, in a beautiful city. How did we decide on Chicago, in April? Well here is our story.

About seven or so months ago, Lou and I saw that our favorite singer David Gilmour (lead singer/guitar player of Pink Floyd) was doing a North American tour. We decided that since he is getting older, only tours maybe every ten years, and since seeing him live has been on both of our bucket lists, we just had to act. Gilmour was only playing in four cities in his North America part of his tour. Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, and Chicago. I thought let's get tickets for one of his Los Angeles concerts, its closest to Boise, we could drive, it would be easy. Lou on the other hand said no I don't want to go California, we have been lots. If we are going to do this, let's really do this. Let's go to Chicago. We can visit your mission and see David Gilmour. So we did it. We bought tickets about a month later, so there was no backing out, no making excuses for why we couldn't go. We waited for over six months for our trip and our concert. I had a countdown on my phone. When Lou was traveling a lot to open their Washington store, or was in Twin Falls, I would send him an update of how many days left. We started out with 164 days when we actually starting counting down. It was so fun to see it get smaller and smaller. And then one day it was down to 1!

Our kind friends offered to watch Kira and Josh for us. How blessed we are to have friends like Lori and David, who we trust like family, and are so nice to even offer to watch the kids. We dropped the kids off to school early on a Tuesday (April 5) morning, and we were off. We chose to fly out of Salt Lake, instead of Boise, because we were able to save a lot of money. We drove the 4 1/2 or so hours to the airport. We got there in plenty of time for our flight. There was practically no line to go through security, we had no bags to check, so we were able to get checked in quickly. We shared some Cafe Rio before the flight and before we knew it, it was time to board. Crazy because our trips are always crazy. The people behind us brought a dog on the flight. I am highly allergic, we talked to the flight attendant, they moved us to the other side of our row and they moved the dog people a few rows back. Other than the dog, our flight was very uneventful, Lou slept, I talked a little to the lady sitting next to us, and read on my phone. We arrived in Chicago about 5:30. Just flying in, I felt like I was coming home. I felt some feelings I hadn't felt since my mission! We decided to take uber to our hotel. Our hotel was near the Magnificent Mile. We opted to be right in the city, so that we could walk everywhere (and we did!). Our uber driver was super nice, him and Lou had fun talking about outdoorsy stuff. It took about 40 minutes but we finally arrived to our hotel.

We checked into our room, it was pretty, very European looking. After checking in, we rested for just a bit while we decided where to eat. Eating was one of our favorite things we did while in Chicago. Getting recommendations from friends who use to live in Chicago, we had a list of places to check out. Our first night we went out to Lou Malnati's pizza. I don't know if it was because we were starving, tired from traveling, or what, but they had the best Caesar salad. The pizza was good too, but man was that a good salad. After dinner we walked and walked and walked. We love Chicago, there is so much to see, and the buildings are so beautiful. We walked for hours. It was raining but our walk was lovely. We loved walking, and talking, just enjoying each other.

The next morning, we relaxed, planned out our day and then began to walk again. We walked and walked again.

We ate lunch at a place called the Big Bowl. We shared Thai Hot Pepper Chicken Noodles. It was delicious. We walked along State Street. The kids gave us a challenge (like on Relative Race) to find a bakery and take a picture of us eating a dessert. We found this cute bakery. I got a truffle, Lou got a croissant, and we both enjoyed hot chocolate.

After our dessert we walked some more. (our trip was a lot of walking and eating). We walked along Lake Michigan and to Navy Pier. We then decided it was time to get close to the Auditorium Theater, where our concert was. We found a burger place, Epic Burger, a few blocks from the Theater to have dinner. I had the best strawberry shake there. So so good. I had to take a picture of it and send it it to the kids, it was that good. Finally it was time for our concert. We walked to the theater, we saw a crowd already there. After a short wait, we were allowed to go into the theater. Auditorium Theater is beautiful.

The atmosphere was incredible, there was excitement in the air. It was hard to believe we were actually there, waiting to hear David Gilmour. I loved just taking it all in. The background noises were really cool, they had birds chirping, talking, and other noises from their albums. The people behind us in our little box, were pretty chatty. Talking with them, helped pass the time. Then boom, the lights went out and the concert began. We were close enough that we could see David and his band members. We hardly paid attention to the screen, because we were so enthralled just watching David sing and play his guitar. Wow, was it a good concert. It was a 3 hour concert, he played for 2 1/2 hours. I can't even describe how perfect it was. My favorite songis High Hopes by Pink Floyd. Never in my life, did I ever imagine that I would hear my favorite singer, singing my favorite song, live. He did numbers from his new album and a lot of Pink Floyd. It was a great setlist. Lou and I hardly talked, even during the short intermission, we were just so mesmerized by it all.

After the concert, we walked back to our hotel, on cloud nine. We couldn't stop talking about the different songs, the lights, the lasers, and seeing everything live!

The next day, we wasted no time sleeping in, we walked to rent a car. We rent a car to go out to my areas. In my mission, I was lucky enough to only be in two areas. My second area, is the area that I consider "my area". We went to that area first, as it is only less than 20 minutes from the city. The first thing we did was visit the church in the area. We walked around the outside. I went to the door where we always entered. I tried opening it, and it was open! Luckily missionaries were waiting for a new member. We talked with the elders, and then walked around the church. I walked into the chapel, and sat down at the piano I played the piano for the different wards/branches that I served in. Putting my fingers on the keys brought back a flood of memories. I loved remembering things that I had forgotten.

We then drove out to my apartment in the area, Portillo's for lunch and apartments and parks where I met some of my favorite people. We also went to the mission office. It was fun to talk to the office missionaries and the mission president's wife.

We went to my first area, I couldn't remember where I lived or the name but it was fun to drive around where I had knocked doors, met people etc.

On our way back to the city, we went to a great Mexican restaurant on 26th street. I heard about 26th street a lot from the Elders in my mission, it was fun to finally see it. The restaurant was called Nuevo Leon. The food was so good, so authentic. We got sopes. They also brought us chips and salsa, meatballs and potatoes, and dessert all for free. Our waitress didn't speak any English, it was fun talking Spanish in a setting like that again.

That night, we pretty much just relaxed, we got dessert from the Shake Shack. TBH, it was the only disappointing food that we had. I just got a shake and it wasn't that great. Oh well.

The next day, we walked and walked again. We kind of stuck to the area around our hotel. We went to a vertical mall (Water Tower's Place). It had so many cool stores. We had a lot of fun walking around it and window shopping. We walked to a place called Rockit for lunch. It was again, so delicious. The service was even better than the food. After lunch we went to Eataly, a fun store with Italian food, restaurants etc. Then we went back to the Water Tower's place, and Disney Store and got souvenirs for the kids. We dropped the souvenirs off at the hotel, ate dinner at Cantina Laredo, then walked to Millennium Park.

It was then time to get an uber and get to the United Center for Gilmour's other concert. We did a ride share, it turns out the guy we shared the ride with was also going to the concert. He flew in from Dallas by himself for the concert. He was a young kid only 20. He was fun to talk to. We got to the United Center. It was weird, thinking of all the Jazz/Bulls games I watched on TV over the years at the United Center. The disappointing losses in the Finals. But I decided to not focus on the losses, but think of the concert instead. The atmosphere was so different than the Auditorium Theater. The Auditorium Theater held maybe 3K people. The United Center had over 20 thousand people. It was pretty cool to see the differences between a small "intimate" setting compared to a sports arena. The concert was very cool. He added a song to the setlist without taking one away, so that was awesome. Again its hard to put into words just how amazing the concert was. We didn't want it to end, it was so good.

After the concert, it took a bit to get a ride with Uber but it was fun just waiting around the arena, listening to everyone talk about the concert, and fill the excitement.

The next day, it was time to go home. It was so very hard to leave Chicago. I didn't want to leave. This was the perfect trip. I loved going back to my mission, I loved going to the concerts, and I especially loved being with Louis. We decided that we need to go on a trip, once a year. Maybe not this big every year, but something, once a year.

So Much Happiness with My Family on My Birthday

2016-03-13T20:43:00.000-06:00

Let's pretend that I have blogged in the last year. Life has been so crazy busy that it has been hard to have the time to blog. But I have been reading our blog the last few days, I love reading about what our family was doing when the kids were younger. I know I will really regret not having blogged this past year. I have been good about writing in my journal, so there is some record but that is not the same.

Last weekend was my birthday. I feel so spoiled every year by Lou and the kids, this year was no exception. On Saturday, Kira had an orchestra rehearsal, so Lou took her so I could have the morning to myself. I had a nice long workout, which is my favorite thing to do in the morning. I slowly got ready and enjoyed the quiet. When Lou and the kids got home we went to The Village and met our friends, Lori and David, for lunch. Before lunch we walked around a cute stationary store. It was raining outside and there was the cutest heart umbrella, so Lou bought it for me. We ate at the Yardhouse for lunch. The food was so good but the company was even better. After a leisurely lunch we said goodbye to our friends and then went to Barnes and Noble. Josh had gotten Kira a Pop Hermione for Valentine's Day. When she opened it she noticed the wand was broken, so we exchanged it. When we got home it was present time! Lou was so nice and surprised me with an Apple Watch. It's not something I have ever really wanted but now that I have it, I can't picture my life without it. It's so nice for when I am in the classroom and can't have my phone on me. I love that it tracks my exercise and movement. I love not feeling like I always need my phone right near me. I get calls and texts and most of my apps as long as my phone is in range. I also got a beautiful skirt and some workout clothes. My parents, sisters, and friends also made me feel so loved with gifts, calls, and texts. That night Kira had an Honors Orchestra concert. She did so well. It was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday.

This semester has been so busy but I have enjoyed it a lot. I am doing my professional year internship in a 3rd grade class. I am there 3 days a week. I have two classes at Boise State one day a week. Needless to say its the busiest I have been in a very long time. I love the class I am doing my internship in, 3rd graders are so cute. My mentor teacher is great. I am excited for this semester to end however, and enjoy the nice summer break! I really have a hard time being this busy. I don't feel like I have enough time for Lou and the kids.

Here's to hoping I blog more than once this year!

How Blogilates Changed My Life

2015-01-07T17:57:00.001-07:00

I feel like I have been pretty open on this blog about my thyroid problems. For the last few years they have not impacted my life like they had the previous five or so years. I feel like the dosage of medicine that the doctor has me on is just perfect. I am beyond grateful that I have a doctor who listens to me the patient and my symptoms and not just the results of the yearly blood work. I am also grateful that my doctor is still my doctor even though we moved to Boise. Before we moved that was one of my biggest concerns, how will I find another understanding doctor. I talked to my doctor and he said oh yeah I treat people all over the country. It will be no problem to keep you as a patient. Now I just worry about when he retires. Anyway. I haven't been as tired or sick. I haven't been as depressed with my thyroid functioning as it should the last few years. I hadn't however felt like previous thyroid/pre-kids Diana though. That is until this past year.

At the end of May I sent a simple text to our cousin Karli. Karli is an amazing health coach. I said can you help me feel healthy/better. She said of course. We texted about how I felt and what we could do to help. She suggested I eat healthier (her maintaining phase if I were on a diet program). I asked her about exercise also. I asked about something I could do at home. She suggested Blogilates. I had never heard of Blogilates. I looked it up and was instantly interested. I started that very day. (That is the day Lou and I started running also) Cassey Ho started Blogilates.

Over the last seven or so months of doing Blogilates six times a week I feel like Cassey is my personal friend. Blogilates starts with a beginner calendar. All the workouts are from Cassey and they are all on Youtube. The first day I thought wow this is great but maybe too easy. The second day I thought nope not too easy. I have never consistently stuck with an exercise program like I have Blogilates. I have only missed a few days because of the flu. I have missed 4 days total in 7 months. I love it that much. So for 30 days you do the beginners calendar. It gets you used to her workouts. Everyday a workout is focused on a different part of the body but you whole body gets a workout. Its not just old late pilates. It is so much more. After the 30 days you do the regular workouts. She sends out a monthly calendar. You can also find playlists of her daily workouts on youtube. Usually workouts are anywhere between 45 minutes to 75 minutes. I have never had a better workout, not classes at the gym, working out on treadmills/ellipticals, not even that summer I did power yoga (which I still love). Blogilates has changed my life.

Blogilates has given my energy that was lost due to my thyroid. It has given me confidence. It has made me happy with my body. I have muscles on my abs! My legs are stronger. I am stronger. I feel like I am me again. It has made me happy. The healthy eating has helped that too. I have not done as well as I like with that over November and December but I'm okay with that. I still did my Blogilates. I look forward to doing my Blogilates everyday (rest day on Sunday). I am so glad to have found an exercise program (for free!!!) that I love, will actually do and has results.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year: Love the Allens.

2015-01-01T22:30:00.001-07:00

Its hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. Every year the Christmas season seems to go by quicker and quicker. We enjoyed staying here for Christmas. I love doing things how our family wants to do them. I love having the focus be on our kids. It is just so nice. On Christmas Eve Lou had to work in the morning but we were so lucky to have him in the afternoon and evening. We did last minute grocery shopping (food for Christmas eve and Christmas) at Fred Meyers. It was funny to see all the men doing their last minute shopping, wandering down the aisles aimlessly. We came home and had a nice dinner. We had pasta, salad, and rolls. After dinner we started our Christmas Eve program. It was so fun. I think our kids are such the perfect age to celebrate Christmas. We began by singing Christmas songs, I played the piano. We sang and sang for nearly an hour. It was so fun. We read The Night Before Christmas, I Believe in Santa and of course Luke 2.

We decided a few years ago that on Christmas Eve we would open the gifts from my family and friends. As a child we opened all our gifts on Christmas Eve, we figured by opening gifts from the Field family on Christmas Eve we would be sticking with that tradition. We got such lovely gifts from my family. My friends also were sooo thoughtful. Robin got me a Jazz cookbook that was made in 1992-1993. It is seriously like the perfect gift for me! Alyssa got us basketball mugs (it has a hoop where you can shoot your marshmallows in the mug!) Moni got me two bags. I needed a new purse! After opening gifts we put the kids to bed. I love Christmas Eve with Lou after the kids go to bed. It is seriously one of my favorite moments of the entire year! We wrap presents, eat treats and watch cheesy Christmas movies on Netflix.

The kids woke up a little before 7:00 on Christmas. They were so excited to open their gifts. They got a Wii U this year for their big gift. They got Wii U games, spy gear, Star War toys and more :)

We had a fun Christmas! Lou was able to work from home a lot this week,it was so nice after hardly seeing him the last month. Today he however had to work and is working late. Now it's New Year's. Its 2015. Its crazy how fast time flies. I never like the month January. It always seems like such a let down after December. I am trying to have a good attitude though this year. I will appreciate the little things and make January great.

Fabulous Four Months and Christmas

2014-12-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

Has it really been four months since I posted? I just finished reading my friend's Alyssa's most recent post, she felt bad for not posting for five days. I thought I should really post something on my blog since its been much longer than five days, I had no idea it had been four months!

We had a busy four months. It was full of school, homework, piano, dance, basketball, scouts and work for Lou. Its hard to believe I am finished with my first full semester back at school. I absolutely loved it even though it made me so much busier than I prefer to be. I feel like I did well. I got all A's. Only one of my grades has posted and it was an A+. I didn't even know that was possible haha. My other classes I am either averaging 99% or over 100% so yay. I am confident Heavenly Father is lending a helping hand. I know he wants me to become a teacher.

I finished my last final on Tuesday. I have absolutely loved the last five days. I am excited about the next two weeks that the kids will be home from school. I don't start school again until January 14th. I wish Lou had weeks off like we do. We have hardly seen Lou since before Thanksgiving. I honestly think we have seen him (aside from Sundays and sleeping) maybe 20 hours total since Thanksgiving. His work has been crazy, its been hard on all of us.

Some highlights of the last four months:

Lou and I went on a field trip with Josh back in October

We went as a family to see Meet the Mormons. It was incredible. I can't wait till its released on DVD.

My friend Rachelle and her son Daniel came to visit us in October. It was so fun! It definitely wasn't long enough. I love Rachelle and the kids just love Daniel. We are so happy they made it up here.

We went to the BYU football fireside when BYU football played Boise State. The fireside is very popular in Boise. They decided to broadcast it in stake centers throughout Idaho and parts of Oregon because they can't possibly hold all the people who want to attend in a single stake center. It was great! I love to see that side of my favorite football team.

Lou and I went to the BYU/Boise St game. Nana came to watch the kids. Nana bought me that fun BYU scarf and Y stickers to wear to the game. I have been wearing it a lot since then too :) Kira looks tots adorbs in it with my BYU hat.

While Nana was here we went to a pumpkin patch. It was a little farm in Kuna, Idaho. It was a perfect fall activity. I don't even know how to describe how it was just perfect. It was free (lots of pumpkin patches aren't). We got to enjoy a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. After picking pumpkins we got to pick apples. We had so much fun.

Kira had a piano recital when Nana was here. She played Hedwigs Theme from Harry Potter and a song called Spooktacular that Kira wrote. It is a great song. Its impressive that Kira can compose songs!

Kira had a sonatina festival in October and a hymn festival in November. For her sonatina festival she received a Superior ranking and was ranked as an honorable mention for her level. There were probably at least 75 kids that competed at her level. So to be a top 5 is pretty amazing. With her hymn festival there were no rankings (like 1st place or honorable mentions) but she did receive another Superior ranking! Kira is very talented at the piano.

Kira and Josh both did basketball this year. Kira through the school and Josh through the YMCA. They had a lot fun. It kept us super busy with all the practices and games, but it was so worth it. They enjoyed it so much. Josh's basketball finished yesterday.

We spent Thanksgiving in Boise. It was our second Thanksgiving with just our family of four. We had a lovely time. I think our meal turned out even better than last year. Leann and Jeff sent us these lovely flowers letting us know they were missing us.

Thanksgiving brought our second annual Christmas box. It was just as fun this year even though it wasn't a surprise like last Thanksgiving. They received fun shirts, ornaments, movies and candy.

Josh's awesome Yoda Christmas shirt.

Kira's dance studio put on different numbers from the Nutcracker. Kira did so well! It was fun and got us into the Christmas spirit.

Josh and I waiting for her recital to begin. Josh asked if I knew what a photobomb was. He said mom quick take a selfie and let me show you. He is such a funny boy.

We have gone to Boise Towne Square mall a few times this Christmas season. Kira fell in love with these wind things. She especially loved that they had a BYU one. Boise Town Square mall is really nice. It has fun stores and is always clean.

Sometimes we wake up the kids in the "middle of the night" just for fun, for a few minutes. They are always so funny and go right back to sleep. Usually annoyed that we woke them up. We woke up the kids one at a time to show them the new Star Wars preview. Josh had a hard time waking up for it. The next day he asked if we brought him down to watch Star Wars or if it was a dream haha. We showed him and Kira the preview again. They loved it.

I have been trying to do fun Christmas stuff all month. I haven't wanted the excuse of school to get in the way. This last Saturday (13th) while Lou worked all day, the kids and I made my mom's sugar cookies. We delivered some to a few of our neighbors. We watched Disney's Christmas sing-a-long when baking the cookies. It was a blast. Every night we have been reading scriptures about Christ from this advent calendar. We also watch Christmas videos/clips from these Christmas topic links at lds.org and the Mormon Channel. (Click them for great Christmas videos) It has added a lot to our Christmas season. It has helped us get excited for Christmas but also keep in the true spirit of Christmas.

Now we have just a few days before Christmas. We are so excited to spend it with each other. I love my sweet family.

Good Things This Week

2014-09-07T20:41:00.001-06:00

We had a nice week at the Allen house. Some good things that happened:

Josh's face is looking a ton better

Josh's sunflower that he grew from a seed in a cup the last week of school (June 2014). Josh is very excited how tall it is getting

School is going well for me. I am busy with homework but still have time for Lou and the kids.
I am getting more and more excited at the prospect of becoming a teacher. I seriously get so excited reading my textbooks and attending my classes. I have never been so excited about something relating to a career as I am right now about reading and teaching. I was never this excited during my masters program. Even though I do think my masters opened the door for me making the decision to become a teacher and blessed me with a lot of knowledge that has blessed me as a wife and mother.
I went to a Relief Society activity this week. I had a ton of fun. I am starting to feel more at home in this ward. I am always so grateful for RS. Its nice to have a connection to other women both socially and spiritually.
On Labor Day Lou drove us by the house that he grew up in from the time he was 6 until he was 18. I enjoyed seeing it and picturing little Lou. We had a reception in Boise at his neighbors house. I liked seeing that house again too and remembering that special time of being newlyweds.

Kira is so cute lately. I mean she is always cute. But she is growing up right before our eyes. She is the second oldest girl in primary. Its weird. I remember when she was a cute little Sunbeam, it doesn't seem that long ago. Kira is very excited to be the last speaker in the primary program in a few weeks. Kira came up to the piano in RS (I was playing postlude music) and she told me mom, mom I get to close the program and then eagerly read me her part.

I tried posting the kids ALS videos on here, there was an error. There is also an error when I try to post them on FB. I have no idea what's going on. The kids challenge their Finlinson cousins.

BYU beat Texas so not a good think that happened to our family. But we had a ton of fun watching the game together and it sure has made me in a good mood! Go Cougs!! The kids reenacted this touchdown a ton!

Monkey Bars Are Dangerous

2014-09-02T21:44:00.001-06:00

Anytime Liberty Elementary shows up on my phone, I always get a little nervous. Ever since Kira broke her arms I get a nervous jolt in my heart when I see the name of the school on my phone. Today I saw I had a missed call and a voicemail from the school. Nervously I listened to the message. It was from the school nurse. It made me feel anxious when she said "First off I just want to say everything is okay" Ugh... why wouldn't everything be okay. I listened to the rest of the message to find out that Josh fell off the monkey bars flat on his face. Josh was okay but pretty shakened up, with abrasions along the side of his face. Now I'll be honest I was picturing a little scrapes and scratches so when I was talking to Josh and he sounded so sad and was crying, I wasn't as sympathetic as I could have been. I asked him how he felt, told him to be brave and go back to class.

Josh came home from school and when he walked through the door and saw his face I felt horrible! If I knew how bad it was I would have ran to the school quick as lightning to pick him up!

Poor Josh!! This fall happened on the same exact monkey bars where Kira fell and broke her arms. Apparently monkey bars are dangerous business in our house.

Counting My Blessings as the School Year Begins

2014-08-31T20:18:00.000-06:00

School

School started this week. The kids love their teachers. I always feel more relaxed about sending the kids to school knowing that they are happy with their teachers. We attended back-to-school night last week. I was the only one who attended the second session for Josh's class, so we were able to talk one-on-one. It was super nice. I was impressed by Josh's teacher. Josh's teacher told me how sweet and nice Josh is, how quiet and well behaved he is in class. We talked about Josh's reading and spelling struggles. We have been blessed every year to have thoughtful teachers who work hard to meet my children's individual needs. After I talked with Josh's teacher for about twenty minutes I met Lou at Kira's teacher's classroom. Kira's teacher was just finishing up his presentation to the parents, he seems like a really cool teacher. Kira likes him a lot. I talked with him about Kira being placed in gifted and talented. He said that after only three days its very obvious Kira needs to be in gifted and talented. Again I was so impressed that both Kira and Josh's teachers knew them well after three days of school and both were willing to listen to my views of their needs.

My school also started this week. I was very stressed about going to school full time and still having time and energy to be the mom and wife I desire to be. I had a class every single day and a practicum 3.5 hours a week also. I was so scared and said many prayers. I had an appointment with my academic advisor this week and found out that thanks to a class I took freshman year at BYU I didn't have to take the math class I was enrolled in this semester. It was an answer to a prayer being able to drop that class. As a second degree bachelor student I don't have to take as many classes as the other elementary education majors. I can finish in two years. There are however certain classes they require you to take even if you have a degree already. This math class was one of them. I am so happy that I randomly took a teacher's math class my freshman year at BYU, and that 18 years later it still counts. By dropping this math class I only have to be on campus Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will have more time to do my practicum without having to rush to get to campus and I will have Fridays completely free from class and practicum! I also switched one of my classes to an online class. I had a big break on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I switched the class that was in the late afternoon to online. I feel so much better about my schedule now. Homework and studying will still be crazy busy but at least this schedule feels so much more doable.

Running/Spiritual Well Being

Lou and I have started running. We began back in June. We have gone 3-4 times a week since we started. I absolutely love it. I never thought I would but I do. I really love the way I feel running consistently. I have also made a concerted effort to eat healthy. I feel so much trimmer and healthy. I have energy again, that I haven't had since my thyroid issues. I am doing blogilates in the morning also six days a week, its been nice making more of an effort.

Yesterday while I was running I decided I was going to think about the blessings in my life. It was a beautiful experience feeling the cool breeze, being alone, having it be so quiet, feeling the spirit. I thought of so many blessings, we have a good life.

Today in sacrament meeting we sang "The Lord is My Shepherd for the opening hymn. I love this hymn. I have had a lot of good experiences with this hymn, including one that made it clear to me that I had to serve a mission. Today while singing it the spirit overwhelmed me. I had this strong feeling of peace come over me. It felt like all my worries that I have had lately just disappear. I was so overcome with peace, visually seeing the blessings that Heavenly Father has given to me.

The Lord is good.

Three Months Go By Fast: Spring 2014

2014-05-18T22:14:00.001-06:00

Its crazy how often I think of my little corner of the internet and how I ought to be writing here a few times a week, yet the time passes and whether I've been busy or just lazing it up at home, the writing doesn't get done.

Some quick catch ups with an honest sincere promise (to myself) that I will write way more often.

February/March

Since March I have been substitute teaching for the Boise school district. I have enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I honestly applied to do it back in January because I was bored. I subbed back when Lou and I were first married and I hated it so I don't know why I even thought to apply this time. Then on Fast Sunday in February. I received an answer to a prayer that I have been praying on and off for since I was a Freshman at BYU. I was talking to one of the sisters I visit teach (first time meeting her) and we were talking about Josh. Some thoughts went through my head. When we got home I went to our room and prayed. I got on the internet and starting searching at BSU's majors and graduate programs. I then was hit with what felt was like a ton of bricks and realized what I had to do. I felt impressed that I needed to go to school and get my teaching certificate (get a second bachelors degree in Elementary Education. BSU has a program for people like me working on their second bachelors degree so it will only take just over two years. They also have what I was trying to find, they have a reading endorsement. which means I can become a reading specialist. I can work with kids like Josh where reading doesn't come natural to them and help them learn and discover reading. This is something I wouldn't have known I wanted to do back when I was at BYU for my first undergraduate degree, it is not even something I would have known when I was doing my masters, even though school counseling psychology was close. Back when I was doing my masters I didn't understand why I was doing because honestly I enjoyed it but it wasn't my passion and I couldn't see myself doing it day in and day out. Then when the kids were toddlers and I was once again thinking of doing something as a career I couldn't ever imagine working with kids. Now is the perfect time, Heavenly Father knew that I never ever would have wanted to do this or felt like I could do this before now. I am so grateful to have a loving Heavenly Father to lead and guide me in my life choices.

In March we celebrated my birthday. Lou and the kids spoiled me. They got me "teacher" clothes. Lou made us a delicious dinner. I received so many nice phone calls, texts, chats, FB messages from my friend and family. I love birthdays. Lou knows that so we celebrated it the whole week before it arrived. Lou surprised me with flowers, smoothies, fondue night, and so many other fun things leading up to my birthday.

At the end of March, Kira and I went to the Women's Meeting. It was the first time in church history that primary-aged girls age 8 and up were able to attend. It also was the first time since the 80s or 90s (sorry can't remember what they said) that the young women and the Relief Society sisters were meeting together. We also get two meetings a year now. It was so so special to go with my Kira Grace. She was excited. We went to dinner with women in our ward and my friend Annie (who is the daughter or a women in our ward and she is also in our stake). Kira felt so grown up! The meeting was beautiful.

April

April was a busy month. Kira and I took a quick quick trip to Utah. Kira won a contest with the Jazz. It was a Women's Chalk Talk. So we drove to Utah, before the chalk talk and game. We met Leann at City Creek for lunch and to walk around. Kira and I went to the ESA at 3:30. We went up to the top floor and heard from different Jazz people. Kira was brave enough to ask questions (she takes after her mom, I of course asked questions too). the assistant coach was impressed by our knowledge. After the meeting, we had dinner. We received gift bags, which included a journal that looked like a basketball. Kira took notes during the talks and drew up plays! We Also received a $25 gift card to Fanzz each. Kira got a fun Jazz jacket (traditional purple) and I got a cute Jazz hoodie. We watched the game in a skybox, where we had free drinks, popcorn and nachos all game! The Jazz even won for us, which was hard for them to do this past season. The next morning we met Alyssa and Kyah for breakfast. It was a fast trip but so fun.

In April I also went to Florida! I spent a glorious week with my sister Sharon! I had such a fun time. We even got to see my parents and my sister Sandi for a day at Universal Studios. We had so much fun all together. Harry Potter world was a blast. I loved it. Kira was quite jealous that 1) I was going to Florida 2) I was seeing Sharon but 3) and I think most of all that I was going to Harry Potter World. There weren't as many rides as I was picturing but we kept busy and had fun all day. Everything was perfect especially the company.

I love being with my family. I loved being with Sharon and her family. Sharon's kids are so cute and fun. I get sad that we don't live closer and don't see each other usually more than once a year. Sharon's kids and my kids would be so close. they already get along so well, even without seeing each other much. With Sharon we kept busy but not too busy, it was the perfect balance. We went to the beach, ate a fun restaurants, went on walks, went to the Fort Lauderdale open house. We had such a good time together.

I'd love to live in Florida someday!

Shortly after I got home it was Easter and then Kira's birthday! Easter was nice, we are getting used to just being us and not being around extended family. Kira's birthday was really fun. I can't believe my baby girl is 10! This year we bought Kira a tablet. Kira is mature and nearly won a Kindle for a read-a-thon at school so we thought it would be good as a birthday present this year. Kira is like me and LOVES birthdays. We got her a cute outfit to wear to school, she brought cupcakes as a treat. When she got home from school, we quickly got homework out of the way. Lou got home early, we went to Powell's Candy Store (its so fun!) and then to dinner at Flatbread Pizza. The food was soooo good. We came home and opened presents. Kira gets so excited about each gift. We had cupcakes and then it was bedtime. Kira also received such nice emails from her friends in Provo, and our family. She received phone calls too. Kira felt so loved by everyone.

That's March and April in a flash!

Tomorrow I start school. I know our life will be different and so much busier. The kids are so excited for me though and Lou is very supportive. I'll update our happenings in May soon and then go back to my normal posts :)

Lets Go Fly a Kite: Finding Happiness

2014-02-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

Growing up Mary Poppins was not one of my favorite Disney movies. I found Mary Poppins character to be cheeky, I didn't understand why everyone loved her so much, because as a child I didn't find her that nice. What I did like about Mary Poppins was the music and I loved Jane and Michael. I loved Jane and Michael so much that I wanted a family like that when I grew up. Luckily for me as a mother, I have been blessed with a daughter and a son and in that order, exactly how I wanted it, a little girl first, followed by a little boy. Kira and Josh are even close not only in age but also close as friends like Jane and Michael are in Mary Poppins.

Why am I writing about Mary Poppins? A few months ago our friends the Uffenordes let us borrow their copy of Mary Poppins. The kids were playing and they decided to watch it, we weren't able to stay long enough for them to finish it. Alyssa kindly let us borrow it. We were in the midst of moving, and it sat in a drawer unwatched. We took it with us to Boise, not on purpose but I had it with me to drop off at their house on our way out but somehow we didn't remember about it till we were a couple hours past their house. They eventually did get it when we went back to Utah for Josh's baptism. Anyways one Sunday after church we ended up watching it with the kids. I liked it a lot more watching it as an adult than I did as a child. I wasn't even afraid of the bird lady, this time around. I liked it because I was able to see that Mary Poppins was actually nicer than I remembered her but she also helped people in the way they needed to be helped, not only Jane and Michael but the adults in the movie too.

Fast forward to last night. My new friend that I met through our stake here in Boise, and I decided to go to a movie this weekend. Annie (my friend) texted me some options. Not wanting to be domineering, I chose between two of them: Saving Mr. Banks and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I was really wanting to see Saving Mr Banks, so I was thrilled when she texted back lets go see Saving Mr Banks.

I didn't really know anything about the movie except that it was about the making of Mary Poppins. I ended up loving every minute of the movie. I am not really a movie person anymore. I joke about it all the time with one of my friends, we say how we just don't have the attention span anymore, they all seem so long compared to 20 minute TV shows. This movie however kept me captivated for the entire two hours. I loved the story, I loved the music, I loved the redemption. I actually cried during a few scenes of the movie. I honestly don't think I have ever cried at a movie before. There was a beautiful scene where the screenwriters share Let's Go Fly a Kite with PL Travers (the author of Mary Poppins). It was a turning point for Travers. It was a beautiful scene, the music, the emotions, everything about it.

That scene was freeing for me. The whole movie was but in particular that scene. Like Travers I was holding onto hurt, not as dramatic or severe hurt like Travers but just things that happen in life that you tend to hold onto. You know things that happen or things that seem unfair. I have been making an effort these last months to let things go. (I know this sounds so dramatic, it is not just weaknesses and past pains). Let's Go Fly a Kite is such a happy song, its so carefree. We all go through trials and I think they of course make us stronger, I think the greatest strength comes when we are finally able to let go, even if its just something small that takes away any of our happiness.

Happiness I believe is something people need to work to have. I know that after the kids were born and I had postpartum depression, happiness did not come easily for me. I had to make an effort every single moment of every single day to find happiness the few months after they were born. There have been times in my life when happiness comes a lot more easily than other times. Finding happiness like watching that scene of Let's Go Fly a Kite is freeing, a freedom I rather have come to enjoy. A freedom I want to experience more and more in my life.

EDIT: Alyssa sent me these cute pics of when our families went kite flying over nine years ago! Look at Kira's cute cheeks!

I think this was during the very short period of time when we had just Kira and I wasn't yet pregnant with Josh.

What I Love About My Three Valentines!

2014-02-14T19:43:00.001-07:00

Things I love about each of my Valentines.

Kira

so tender hearted and considerate
great great friend
very smart
high self esteem
amazing memory

Josh

very nice, always so sweet and kind to everyone
very very funny
hard worker
still loves to cuddle and show affection
very good at math

Lou

always knows how to make people feel comfortable
treats me with kindness always
hard worker
very smart
makes me laugh everyday

Spontaneous Weekend

2014-02-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we did something totally somewhat spontaneous, which is not me. I discovered however that being spontaneous made me really happy. On Monday I called my friend Alyssa to see if by chance if we went to Utah if my kids could spend the night on Friday. Alyssa said they could and that her kids would be very excited. I told her we weren't 100% certain because of Lou's craziness at work but I wanted to make sure it was a possibility. I wanted to go to the Jerry Sloan retirement ceremony at the Jazz game on Friday. That night I talked to Lou and said we should probably decide because every time I looked at tickets they were going up in price. Lou said he couldn't commit 100% because a lot was going on at work but to get the tickets to be safe. I thought the worst that happens is none of us go, the second worse that happens is that I go with the kids and take a friend with me to the game and the best outcome, we all go to Utah together.

The next day I bought the tickets for me and Lou. They were the cheapest I could find so not fantabulous seats but I was just so happy to be going to the game. Lou worked very hard all week to be able to take this little trip on Friday. Lou was on the phone as far as his phone had service while we were driving, or had me sending texts to work people, which was a sacrifice on my part because of my motion sickness, but anything to help Lou since was doing all this for me.

We left Boise a little before 11 and arrived at Alyssa's about 4. The kids were so excited to see their friends and I was just as excited to see my friend. Lou and I didn't stay long at Alyssa's, because Lou had to get to the hotel to do some work before dinner and the game. Oh yeah did I mention that we stayed in a hotel. I found an absolutely amazing deal for Little America online so we did it.

Driving into downtown Salt Lake with Lou was a blast, we listened when we could to the Jerry Sloan press conference that featured Jerry, John and Karl. (we could listen when Lou wasn't on the phone, have you noticed Lou is always on the phone?). We checked into the hotel. The room was very pretty, it had english carpet, real glasses instead of plastic cups. a vanity with a chair, where I totally did my hair and makeup sitting down! I couldn't believe how nice it was for how little we paid. Thank goodness for internet deals. Lou did work and I had fun texting my Jazz BFF, Moni. We texted about the press conference, the excitement of the game and ceremony and texted that we wished she could be in Utah for it.

I loved all the details in the hotel, like this soap dish, and that our soap was from London!

Before the game we met some of my SLC Dunk friends for dinner. We took the TRAX to the Gateway where we ate at La Jolla Groves. La Jolla Groves is my absolute most favorite restaurant in Provo, when I saw that they had opened one at the Gateway I knew we had to eat there. Dinner was so great, the food was delicious, the water was amazing and we couldn't have asked for better company.

Our view of the ceremony

We walked over to the ESA and got there in time to say hi to another Jazz friend. We made it to our seats just in time for National Anthem and the player intros. The arena was decked out all honoring Jerry, showing pics and stats on the new screens. The game was pretty fun to watch (for this year's Jazz team). The halftime ceremony was amazing, they did such a good job honoring Jerry. The Jazz unfortunately lost the game but being there with Louis and watching Jerry's ceremony was worth it. After the game we met up with some different Jazz friends and talked for awhile, they are super nice couple. We finally took the TRAX back to the Little America. On the way back to the hotel, Lou said I could get used to commuting like this, I thought the same thing. It was so fun to just be in the city for the night and be like a city person.

When we got to the hotel we decided to walk around the lobby a little bit (our hotel room wasn't in the tower but in one of the smaller buildings). the lobby was so beautiful. They had a nice fire going so Lou and I sat in front of the fire and talked.

The welcoming fire in the lobby

The next morning Lou woke up and did work once again, and I slept. We made it to Alyssa's to pick up the kids around 11:30. We stayed for a few hours. It was great to talk with Alyssa and Jared. They are such good friends, some of our oldest friends.

On our way home we went to Lou's grandparents house. We called them earlier and said we were in Utah and wanted to stop by. We went to a grocery store to pick up a box of chocolates and a flower for Grandma, since she had had surgery earlier in the month. The grocery store is named Dick's. It reminds me of Day's in Provo. Its much larger but has the same feel and everyone is so friendly. Everyone smiled at us, I love that small town feel in not a very small town. When we got to Lou's grandparent's house they had pizza for us, chips, and other yummy foods. They are the best hosts. We always love spending time with Lou's Grandma and Grandpa Allen. They are so kind and loving.

Billboard we saw leaving Bountiful

We finally had to drive back to Boise. It was very hard to leave Utah with all the love we felt from friends and family. On the way home we listened to Primary songs which invited great conversations.

It was such a perfect weekend. I love our family. I love that our kids are old enough to to do fun things like take somewhat spontaneous trip to Salt Lake.

Gratitude Corner:

Maybe I'll have friends soon :)

Yesterday I received an email from a member of the stake Relief Society presidency. She came to visit with a member of the ward relief society a few weeks ago. She was super kind in the email and we are planning a dinner or a movie night.

A few weeks ago BYU played Gonzaga. A family in our ward invited us to watch the game. The same day they invited us we found out we were visiting teaching companions. The game was a ton of fun even though BYU lost.

Getting to Know Myself and 2014 Goals

2014-01-12T17:19:00.002-07:00

This quote from Elder Holland touched me. I read it on my friend Alice's blog.

I miss our life in Provo everyday, I can't be that way. We are here now, for however long we are here I need to enjoy life. I have to trust that Heavenly Father has a plan for us here. Even if we moved back to Provo, tomorrow, our life wouldn't be the same as it was. That life is gone, it was a good era in our family life, like Elder Holland says, I can learn from those experiences but I can't live in it. We had many wonderful experiences that brought us together as a family, and that helped us grow as individuals. Life was not perfect but we were happy. I have learned that there is no going home again. Life moves on and so must I. I must have faith that we are living the life that our Heavenly Father wants us to live. Heavenly Father always has a better plan than I do. I don't know why I constantly need to learn that in my life. Lou is so much better than I imagined my future husband when I was single. My kids came at a better time than I was planning. Friendships have formed with people that I never expected to be friends with, Heavenly Father knows what I need better than I know for myself.

We have been in our house for over a week now. I have hardly been able to enjoy it with this blasted flu that I've had for over two weeks! I called my Dad on Friday, it turns out he has the same flu! With all my down time I have pondered a lot about making the most of our life. I constantly see that quote about how happy people aren't grateful but grateful people are happy. I have written down (typed) on my phone calendar things that I am grateful for everyday this new year. I have once again been writing in my journals. Recognizing my blessings makes me happy.

With all my downtime I have set a few goals for 2014

Do Project Life ( I have been taking pics of the little things we do and writing things down I want to remember till I get a kit)
Write in my journal everyday.
Read everyday.
Make a new friend
Be a better friend and sister.
Show Lou everyday that I love him.
Do not take advantage of this time with the kids. Time is going by way too fast. I feel like I am a midlife parent. At age nine, Kira has an equal amount of time from when she was born till when she will be an adult. I think about that a lot. I feel more and more the need to just the enjoy the moment with the kids.

One thing that has helped me feel happier is spending less time on social media. I haven't tweeted or looked at twitter for a month, that is HUGE for this Jazz fan. I try to limit Facebook and Instagram to maybe once or twice a day. Too much of my communication has been on social media. I need to be better about communicating and bettering friendships in other ways like phone calls, letters and texts. I can't just assume everyone knows what is going with our family because of Facebook and Instagram. I need to make an effort to have real relationships. I struggle greatly with this but I will focus it on this year and try to be so much better at it.

Ending this blog post with an example of my grateful thoughts I record everyday. I think I'll end every post this year with what I'll call Gratitude Corner. I want to share what I am grateful for on this blog.

Gratitude Corner:

Yesterday we ate dinner as a family. I loved sitting in our new kitchen.We talked about where we want to travel this year. We talked about the gospel, we talked about the Jazz. We shared a lot of laughs. I felt so happy to have the family I have.

Scripture of the Year

2014-01-04T11:27:00.001-07:00

On occasion I have chosen a word of this year. Today I decided instead of doing a word of the year I will do a scripture of the year. This morning I was feeling a little down, I have been sick for a week, we moved into our house (which should be happy but change is very hard for me), I just have so much on my mind. I came across this scripture which really spoke to me.

This will be my focus this year, to remember the Lord is with me wherever I may be. The Lord will help me to be strong and to have courage to deal with changes and get through challenges. With the Lord by my side there is no reason to be dismayed.

This scriptures is telling me to be happy and brave. I need that encouragement.

When the School System Fails

2013-12-06T14:04:00.002-07:00

I have the most incredible son, Josh is amazing. Not growing up with brothers, little boys were always a mystery to me, Heavenly Father sent me the exact kind of boy that I needed. Josh is so calm and nice, he is definitely a boy but so well behaved and calm.

Josh is very bright, he is practices common sense remarkably well for an eight year old. Josh is a great problem-solver, he is smart with numbers. Josh thinks of others and shows kindness to his family and friends. Josh can be shy and quiet but is a great listener.

Thanksgiving

2013-11-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

I don't think yesterday could have been more perfect! The kids, Lou and I all had so much fun together. I am glad that we enjoy each other's company so much. First thing we did was watch part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. We don't have TV so we found a stream online. It was so fun to see the kids excitement when Santa Claus came to town in the parade.

It was my first Thanksgiving cooking the meal. I had a lot of fun. It wasn't really stressful. Everything (except the rolls for some reason) came out really good. The turkey was delicious and I am not a turkey person. Lou also only eats turkey on thanksgiving and he said this turkey actually made him really excited about turkey, he loved it!

The kids were so good and helpful all day long. Lou took them outside and played basketball for a little in the afternoon. I enjoyed cooking and listening to music when they were playing outside.

My friend Alyssa called, it was such a fun surprise. It made me realize how much I miss her! We also received calls from our parents.

We started our new tradition of our Christmas Season box. The kids were so surprised and so excited. We watched one of the videos I bought (a Mickey sing-a-long... it was one like we had growing up but with new songs also) and ate pie. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day!

Odds and Ends

2013-11-27T15:38:00.001-07:00

Its been nearly two months since I've written. I think there a lot of reasons for missing on writing.

Not really happy living here- so its hard to write.
Busy- well kind of not always
Feeling like there isn't anything to write about.

I have tried to be happy, I really have. I am happy just not about living in Boise. It doesn't feel like home. I don't see us being here long term so its hard to be fully invested ™. I miss my friends a lot. I wasn't one to see friends or talk to friends everyday but I miss knowing that I can go to lunch or dinner with Robin or Rachelle. I miss going to Alyssa's house for playdates and marathon talking sessions. I miss my hot chick nights with Bridget and Robin. I miss walking to Days and ALWAYS seeing someone from my ward. I miss my Edgemont ward and neighborhood so much. I loved going to church and having so many friends.

Okay that is enough of what I miss. Lets get onto what's been going on.

Last week we attended our THIRD ward in the FOUR months that we have been here. When we first came to Boise we were faced with the decision of attending the ward that our apartment belongs to or just go to the ward where we are building our house. I opted for the apartment ward, Lou wanted the house ward. I was wrong. We went to the apartment ward for a few Sundays, we knew it wasn't where we we were suppose to be.We started to attend our ward within our house boundaries. We both felt at home. Last week we found out that our Stake was changing ward boundaries and we would be attending a new ward once again. We went this past Sunday to our new ward. It seems nice enough, its quite large,(apparently it was very small before the changes) it was really loud during Sacrament meeting but maybe that was just the excitement of changes. Lou and I were lucky enough to talk in our ward the last week we attended. It was funny it was like a welcome talk and a farewell talk (even though we didn't find out until that night that we would be part of the ward that was changing) . Its so funny when we were looking at houses one of the reasons I wanted Southeast Boise and not a growing place like Meridian is because I didn't want changes in our ward!! Silly me.

The kids have had this entire week off. I LOVE it. In Utah they always just had the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Friday after Thanksgiving off. Its been so fun to get ready for Thanksgiving and have the kids around.

Speaking of Thanksgiving. We will be spending Thanksgiving in Boise this year. It will be the first year I'll make the meal. I am so so excited. We'll miss Lou's family but it will be so fun to be just us too. I have been planning for a few weeks the menu and the day. I have some fun ideas, that I'm really excited about it. We'll have turkey (I found a copycat recipe for the Honeybaked Ham turkey recipe... that we love) , ham, homemade Lionhouse rolls, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing (lou and josh like it, me and kira don't), stuffed mushrooms, a cranberry- apple pie relish, salad and of course pie. I bought my family's traditional snacking food to eat throughout the day too.

Beautiful flowers Leann and Jeff sent me for Thanksgiving, saying they are going to miss us but wishing us luck :)

We are starting a new tradition on Thanksgiving. After dinner and pie we'll open our Christmas season box. I thought it would be fun to put a box together to welcome us to the Christmas season. I bought a few Christmas movies, books and candies to put in the box. I am sooo excited about his box, like beyond excited. I think the kids will love it. It will be fun to think of new things to do every year with it. I almost bought Christmas shirts for the kids to put in but the movies and books were adding up :)

So I was going to take a mediation class this fall. I was pretty excited about it. But as I looked more and more into the training. Every training class is held on Sundays. You have to take quite a few courses before you are certified. I didn't feel right about that at all. So I won't be doing the mediation training anymore.

Our house is delayed again but that's okay. We need things to be done right, there were a few major things that the inspector and Lou didn't like when we had the inspection. So hopefully CBH will agree to fix those things, the way we want them fixed.

That's our update for now. Hopefully I'll write more than every two months!!

Le Cafe de Paris

2013-09-30T22:07:00.000-06:00

I recapped how Kira broke her arm in my last blog post. What I didn't know when I wrote that post is that Kira actually has two broken arms. The night before we took Kira to the doctor to get her cast on Lou touched her left arm and Kira winced. I asked Kira if it hurt she said only when she puts pressure on her hand. When we were at the doctors I asked the doctor to check Kira's left arm. Before the doctor put Kira's cast on her right arm she checked her left arm, Kira hardly complained but the doctor said she'd order an x-ray just in case and we could do it after we get the right cast on Kira. Kira was very brave getting her cast on, being positive throughout the experience. When Kira got her x-ray she did really well she said it only hurt a little. After the x-ray we were sent back to the procedure's room. The doctor came in shortly afterwards, looking very very sad and said she had some bad news. The doctor felt horrible that she didn't catch Kira's other broken arm when she came in the first time. Lou also felt bad as he was the one that took her to the doctor the first night it happened. Kira was okay, she was really positive about the situation.

Kira has been amazingly brave and happy throughout this whole traumatic experience. Kira has learned to write with just her fingers, get dressed, eat among other daily tasks. We still have a lot to do for Kira but its not bad because she tries so hard to do everything for herself.

Kira's Nana was sweet enough to send her this Piglet. Kira LOVES Piglet. Kira's Nana broke her arm a few years ago, she went to the doctor who put on her cast to get the casts put on Piglet. At first the doctor was reluctant and thought it was crazy but Nana showed a pic of Kira and he soon liked the idea. Kira loves her new Piglet.

Besides dealing with a daughter with two broken arms, Lou and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. Like every anniversary or birthday, its hard to believe we've been married 12 years but at the same time I have a hard time remembering what life was like before Lou. Our anniversary is on September 29th. The 29th fell on a Sunday this year so we celebrated on Saturday.

We had a fun date. We walked around downtown Boise. We saw tons of people in orange and blue. So many Boise State fans. (yes I know I'm in Boise but it still weird to get used to seeing it). We went to a cathedral and the state capitol building. We looked at all sorts of restaurants, asking to see menus before being seated. (I'm pretty picky). We finally decided on a small French restaurant, called Le Cafe de Paris.

The food was absolutely amazing. I had a delicious salad, chicken with linguine that came with this creamy mustard sauce and lastly I had a triple chocolate mousse dessert. The chicken was probably the best chicken I've ever had, it was so flavorful. Lou had muscles, the rack of lamb and blackberry cheesecake. Lou loved his food. It was fun to do something different. We had never gone to a French restaurant before.

I'm looking forward to trying many new things with Louis. This last year has been quite adventurous for us, probably the most peculiar of our marriage. Life is happy when you are married to your best friend. Lou gets me in a way that no one else does. I love that I'd rather spend time with him than anyone else. I feel closer to Lou now than I ever have in our marriage. We don't have friends in Boise (yet) so we spend all our time with each other. (We do have Lou's cousins Zac and Karli who we love dearly and see frequently but they live an hour away). We don't have cable/satellite so we spend a lot of time talking in the evenings. We have developed a habit that after we put the kids to bed. We tell each other about our day, what we did, what we learned. We then read our scriptures together say our prayer and then we can watch whatever show on Netflix/Amazon. We don't do it in this order every night but most. Our Boise evenings have been very nice.

Boise hasn't been my favorite but I do love how close I am to Lou and how close we are to the kids. We play games a lot and have little traditions like Sunday afternoon movie and smoothies. So if anything Boise while not where I want to live as made me love my family even more than I thought was possible.

Kira's Broken Arm

2013-09-18T14:04:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I get an email from Louis saying

Liberty called. Call me please.

My heart immediately started pounding. I just knew something bad happened. I quickly grabbed my phone and called Louis. The first thing Lou says to me is, you should answer your phone. Apparently Liberty and Louis tried calling me (for whatever reason my phone didn't ring either time but thats another story) Lou follows that up with Kira broke her wrist, no small talk, no story or background. I hold back the tears to say how. Lou then says he's just kidding but that she did get hurt.

Lou tells me that the school nurse called because Kira was in her office crying. Kira gets on the phone and tells Lou that while at recess she fell off the monkey bars, that her right wrist really hurt and her left hand hurt. Kira said that she didn't want to hurt her bum when falling so she put her hands straight down to break her fall. By talking to Lou Kira is able to calm down. The nurse wrapped Kira's wrist/arm, gave her some ibuprofen, let her lie down and then sent her back to class.

Lou told me that the nurse was going to call him back in a half hour to let him know how Kira was doing. The nurse never called Lou back so I decided to call the nurse to see how things were and to let her know I am an involved mother. The nurse was very kind and said Kira hadn't come back to her office. We figured all was ok since there were no more tears.

I have to pick up the kids everyday since right now we are living out of the school boundaries. When I picked the kids up yesterday and see Kira and Josh walking to the car I notice that Kira is not quite herself. Kira was still smiling and I could see her chatting with Josh but something was not the same. In the car on the way home, I ask her how she was doing. Kira always trying to be happy, never ever admitting anything is wrong, tells me everything is fine. Kira had Activity Days yesterday so I know she did not want to admit anything hurt at all in case I told her she couldn't go. I assured her that even if she was in pain I would let her go to Activity Days. Kira says so quietly that her wrist kind of hurt but only if she moved it. I tell her okay well lets leave it wrapped up, don't move it, if there is running around at Activity Days, don't do it, just watch. So we get home, do reading and then I take Kira to Activity Days.

When we thought it was just a sore wrist

After Activity Days, I once again ask Kira how she is feeling she says oh mom, I am just fine. I hold her little fingers that are sticking out of the bandage wrap, ask her if it hurts, she says no, I noticed they look swollen but Kira kind of has cute little chubby fingers so I didn't think much of it. I touch about the bandage and ask if it hurts she says no, I touch on her wrist and she says that it hurts and asks me not to do it again. I am so weak with injuries and hearing people (especially my kids) cry that I don't touch it again. Kira pretty much just reads until dinner, only doing things such as eating with her left hand. Lou gets home and being much braver than me, suggest we unwrap her bandage to see how she is doing. Kira gets very scared at that prospect and starts crying. Lou does it anyways, we notice her hand and her wrist are swollen. We have her prop her arm on a pillow with the bandage off to see if the swelling goes down, we wait about an hour and it doesn't.

Not wanting her to sleep on her wrist in case there is something wrong with her Lou takes her to the doctor while I stay home and put Josh to bed. About an hour after they left, my phone rings and its Louis and Kira. I hear Kira's tiny voice saying "its broken" I thought maybe they were joking because thats something Louis would do and she sounded pretty happy but nope they were being serious. I ask if its her wrist and she says no my arm, both bones in my arm are broken. I try really hard not to sound scared or sad, I don't want to upset her but its really hard.

After Kira goes to bed Lou tells me about their doctor visit. Lou said Kira was very brave and quiet at the doctors, making her shy face. Kira did not cry when they were examining her or when they took the x-ray. the x-ray was difficult because she could not twist her arm how they needed it to be. Though she struggled she still didn't cry. When the doctor came in to tell her the results of the x-ray she casually says well you broke it. Kira bursts into tears. Kira when they were waiting for the results kept asking Lou what a broken arm meant, if it meant that it would always be broken, if it would be paralyzed, would it ever look the same etc. Kira also doesn't like to do things that she deems as wrong and clearly being responsible for breaking her arm would not sit well with Kira. Lou said the doctor felt horrible and told Kira its alright, and explained how it would heal and it was an accident.

So what we thought was just a sore wrist or possibly a strained wrist is a broken arm.

Kira is in a half-cast and sling until Friday when she'll get her real cast. They want to wait until the swelling is down. Kira does like that her friends and classmates will be able to sign her cast.

This is the first broken bone with either of our kids. Josh had stitches in his tongue when he was barely three but other than that we've never really had any big accidents.

Kira is a brave girl though and she doesn't want to miss school or receive too much help with things at home so I think we'll get through this just fine.

Parenthood

2013-09-15T20:48:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been rewatching the show Parenthood. I was initially attracted to the show because it has Lauren Graham in it. I absolutely LOVED the show Gilmore Girls. I discovered it when Kira was a baby. As I'd feed her lunch whether it was when she had a bottle or moved on to baby food, I would watch the reruns on ABC Family as I fed her. Having just had a daughter I was captivated by the relationship that Lorelai had with her daughter Rory. Rewatching Parenthood I am once again drawn in by the different mother-daughter relationships. In Parenthood there are quite a few different mother-daughter relationships, they are all different but they are all interesting and all loving.

When watching the show I think about the relationship I have with my sweet Kira. I know its easy to have a good relationship with a nine year old, but everyday I give thanks for the friendship that I have with her. In so many ways Kira and I are very different but in so many ways we are the same. I am trying not to wield Kira in certain directions due to my past. I know that her successes and failures will be her own. I do try to guide her though, with a loving heart and with the spirit. That can be difficult at times and sometimes I just want to live her life for her having my 30+ years experience on this earth compared to her nine. Kira however makes good decisions so its easier letting go of that control and I hope I will always be proud of her decisions.

As I watch Parenthood I sometimes long to be a Braverman. I know its a TV show I however am envious of the tight knit family that they are. My family lives in Florida its hard to be tight knit. I am grateful that I talk to Sharon a couple times of week and really I could talk to her everyday and never tire of her. I would do anything to live near Sharon and Rich. My parents, we don't talk as much. I think about when my sister Sandi was first married and we all lived in Utah. Sharon and I were young and still at home. Sandi and Matt came over all the time. I loved it. I loved Sunday dinners, I loved when they had Devin and all having a baby added to our family, it was so nice. Then they moved to Florida (for the first time). Lou and I have never lived near my family the entire time we've been married. Its hard. How I wish that it could be like when Sandi and Matt were first married. Seeing them all the time at our house growing up.

Lou's family is spread out, however most of them in Utah now. Jeff and Leann were always busy. I feel like our relationship grew closer to them over the years they lived in Utah but I don't think we had the consistency to build the daily relationships I grave with our families. Lou is working on becoming closer to his brothers. I am trying hard to get closer to his sisters.

Watching Parenthood has made me think a lot about my families. By watching and thinking about our families I have learned a lot about the kind of relationships I want with Kira and Josh when they are adults. I hope we all live near each other. I hope that the relationship I have with Kira and Josh now can continue to grow and be strong when they are older.

Hello, Tuesday

2013-09-03T13:56:00.001-06:00

Hello, Tuesday.

Hello to the real first day of the week, holiday Mondays don't count.
Hello to the first week of September, one of the best months of the year.
Hello to the first Activity Days for Kira in our new ward.

Hello to a rainy and cloudy day, full of reading Catching Fire and watching Parenthood.
Hello to Lou coming home for lunch.
Hello to catching up on journal writing.

Hello to the second week of school.
Hello to a temple date with Lou this week.
And hello to hopefully many new Boise adventures.

First Day at Liberty: STAR Binders

2013-08-27T22:52:00.000-06:00

Kira and Josh started school today. Its a new school for the kids. A school where we know none of the teachers, parents or kids. Its kind of a weird feeling after feeling such at home at Edgemont.

Kira's teacher Mrs. B (sad I can't remember right now her last night) grew up in Utah and her husband graduated from BYU :) Kira said she really likes her teacher. Her teacher arranged a special lunch for all the new 4th grade students and each new student had a buddy. Kira said her buddy was really nice and they had fun playing together at recess. There is another Kira in her class. This is the first time we've had another Kira in her same class. Kira's teacher put them right next to each other. I asked Kira if the other Kira was nice. Kira said yes, I asked if they talked at all and she said Mom, you are not allowed to talk in class! (Very surprising to hear from my Miss. Chatterbox.)

Josh's teacher, Mrs. Anderson also seems very nice. Josh said his favorite part of the day was when his teacher baked his class a cake. Mrs Anderson baked them a cake, talking about the importance of each ingredient and how each ingredient is special but how all together they are even better than alone. I thought that was a great lesson. Josh was very happy that he was in English all day, he didn't miss French at all.

Both kids came home with a binder called their STAR Binders. STAR stands for Students That Are Responsible.

Its a binder that has a planner in it. Each day they write their homework assignment on the calendar date, I have to sign it when they show me their finished homework. there is also a communication folder in the binder, where notes/permission slips come home. I love this idea. Joshy especially had a hard time keeping track of notes from school and bringing them home.

Liberty does not have an early out day. I'm kind of excited about that. The school day is a little shorter but not by much the kids go to school from 8:45 till 3:15 compared to I think Edgemont was 8:40 until 3:20. I think I'll take the ten mins less a day and not have an early out :)

The kids both were super happy after school, I hope that continues. I will put away all my motherly worries about the kids starting a new school and just focus on the happiness I saw on their faces this afternoon.