Deep In The Heart - Day 5

Thursday, December 30, 2010

My sister Lauren's Birthday! Farrah made the most delectable stuffed french toast for breakfast in honor of the special day.

It was my cousin, Michelle's funeral that day. Here is a picture at the cemetery with my grandma Tolman.

Michelle's daughter Nevaeh and Aubrey. I've always thought they look so much alike.


After the funeral we decided to look for my Grandpa Snow's grave. I love this picture of Matt and Addy walking together through the cemetery.

It took us a while to find it. Even though we had a map with his grave circled.

Finally! Steve found it. Remember those shoes I wanted so much? I'm about ready to burn them. I don't know how someone is expected to walk upright in such ridiculousness, so I toured the cemetery barefoot style.

My grandpa's grave. This is my dad's dad.

Emily, Addy, Aubrey, Zac, Matt and Gabe by his grave

We also drove back to the Tolman plots so I could take a picture of my grandfather and great grandparents headstones.

My grandpa's headstone. This is my mom's dad.

My sister Lauren spent the day at the Maldonado's house. This is the house on Quadrangle that my parents lived in for 30 years before they moved to Utah. Farrah's in-laws bought it when they moved. My kids were so excited to go back and see the place. Such fun memories there. Here they are out back.

My mom and Lauren in front of the house

We went out to dinner to celebrate Lauren's birthday. The plan was to go to Trail Dust. However, on the way there Farrah called to make a reservation and there was a recording saying that the location we were going to was closed. For forever. We were sad. The kids were excited to go on the slide. I was too. Oh well. We went to Snuffers instead. I finally got to try the cheddar fries I have heard so much about. They were so yummy. I wish I had some now.

The Newlywed's joined us for dinner.

Addy in her usual place. Right between her two favorite people.

After dinner Teresa's parents met us at Farrah's house and we watched Sam and Teresa open their wedding presents.

Why have birthday cake when there's a Sprinkles in town?

Matthew eating his Sprinkles Cupcake

Playing with the Leapster

When we came home from dinner, Bean-O had a huge gash in his leg. We don't know what happened but we think he might have been chasing a squirrel under Farrah's gazebo or something. Bart and Zac took him to get staples. This is the trip that keeps on giving. Since being home in Utah he has pulled out all his staples and had to undergo surgery.

And since it really is the trip that keeps on giving, on Friday I opened my mail and had a ticket from Richardson City in it. It had a picture of my van. Running a red light. I remember running that light. We were on our way to the funeral. We were just approaching the intersection as the light was turning red. There were no other cars around. We were running late. I had to say the opening prayer at the funeral. I was afraid I wouldn't be there on time. The light was changing. Steve took his foot off the gas to prepare to stop. I yelled, "DON'T STOP! WE'LL BE LATE!" That was a $75 mistake. But hey, I made it on time for the prayer.

Deep In The Heart - Day 4

Wednesday, January 29, 2010

The day after. We were all exhausted from the wedding and reception. The kids, who has spent the majority of the day before in dresses and suits, were ready for some action. They wanted out of the house. It was still raining outside. The adults were too tired to do anything that required much effort. After spending about an hour trying to decided what we were going to do, we finally decided that we just needed to make a decision. So the decision was made. Destination: Planet Pizza. Not for the pizza, but for the rides and games. So we loaded up and headed out. As you can see from the picture below, Zac was overjoyed.

Lauren and Kay
Bart was having too much fun
So was Steve
Addy, Emily, Aubrey and Matt on the bumper cars

Tickets!

Allyson and Lauren

On December 21st my cousin, Michelle Tolman Allerkamp, passed away. After we came home and ate dinner, my mom and Farrah and I went to her viewing. It was a sad occasion, but it was good to be in the presence of family and loved ones.

After the viewing we made a grocery store run. Our Blue Bell levels were getting dangerously low. That was the night I discovered Blue Bell Carmel Turtle Cheesecake. What I wouldn't give for a big bowl of that right about now. We put on our PJ's, dished up the ice cream, played some games and hung out at Bart and Farrah's house.

And Emily played with my camera.

Deep In The Heart - Day 3

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The big day! Sam and Teresa's Wedding!

We woke up to a very rainy day. Now, one might expect after reading useless fact #2, that I would be happy to be in Texas and have it raining. But this was just not a good day for rain. However, we decided to make the most of it. There really was no other alternative. We had Bart's famous Breakfast Burritos and we all sat around the table talking until my mom said, "Does anyone think it's strange that we are all sitting here in our pajamas like we have nothing to do and we are about to have to be at the Temple for a wedding?" We took that as our cue to go and ready ourselves.

Sam and Teresa were sealed for time and all eternity in the Dallas Texas Temple. Here they are outside the Temple with the kids.

(click on time and all eternity to find out what we believe about eternal marriage)
The paparazzi, led by Big Lou himself
(click on his name to see his pictures of the wedding)
Teresa, Sam and Kay. My mom is crying, but what's new?

Zac, Lauren, Aubrey, Emily, Addy and Kay

The Groomsmen with Zac as Best Man

Bart and Farrah

Zac and Steve

After leaving the temple we all went to Amigos for lunch.

That night was the reception. It was beautiful. Here's Coren and Gordon and a few of my kiddos.

Addy and Emily with their Great Grandma

The cleanup

Allyson, Zac and Farrah

Can you tell she's excited for this day to be done and over? Poor Bart and Farrah. Their anniversary was kinda skipped over as they were hosting the lot of us at their house and making wedding decorations and such.

It was a great day. A beautiful reception. A happy new Bride and Groom. I am glad we were able to be there. The only sad part was that we had 2 people missing that day. My dad, although I'm sure he was there. And my sister Kristy and her family. Kristy was supposed to come but she was snowed in at the Moscow airport for a few days and couldn't make it. We missed her terribly.

Deep In The Heart - Day 2

Monday, December 27, 2010

The Mission? Take this:

And turn it into this:

Thankfully we had some good help. This is Big Lou (it's always been a mystery to me where that nickname came from). He is my dad's best friend. And he and my parents grew up together their whole lives. He was there at the church to help before any of the rest of us even showed up.

Farrah has the BEST friends. Aside from the many late and early hours they spent at her house helping her get ready for the wedding, Coren and Tonia spent this entire day doing the flowers. They turned out beautiful!


Forget Krispy Kreme. Dallas has the best Doughnuts. Just another thing to miss about Texas. They didn't even have doughnut shops in Utah until Krispy Kreme came along. Like, what's up with that? I remember when I first moved up here and I couldn't find a place to buy doughnuts. I asked someone where they bought their doughnuts and they said the grocery store. Uhmmm, nasty. Needless to say, I stopped eating doughnuts. Which really is probably a good thing.

Addy had fun helping

We found the manliest job for Steve and Big Lou to do. Hang the pom poms. Don't forget to fluff them boys!

Josh and Gabe

This is why we gave the job to Steve. Because his brain could figure out arranging them with a broom when ours couldn't.

That night Bart, Steve and Sam went out to dinner. Then they brought home more Blue Bell and we all sat around and talked. About how glad we would be when tomorrow was over. Just kidding! Kind of.

Deep In The Heart - Day 1

Sunday, December 26, 2010

We woke up in a hotel room in St. Louis early the morning of December 26th. We loaded ourselves up and hit the road. Jack. Destination: Dallas Texas. My hometown. Originally we were planning on going to St. Louis for Thanksgiving because, frankly, I'm sick and tired of being there in the dead of winter. Do you know how much fun it is to travel with 4 kids in the dead of winter? Coats everywhere. Boots. Potty Breaks. In and out of the dirty slushy snow of the gas station parking lot. The last few times we went to St. L, it was at Christmas. I thought if we went in November, it would be a little warmer. But then my brother Sam had to go off and get engaged and plan the wedding in Dallas 3 days after Christmas. I figured, heck, if we're doin' a road trip, we might as well do it all at once. So plans changed. Christmas in St. Louis it was.

It's about 12 hours from St. Louis to the Big D. So we drove all day long. It cost us a fortune to make it through Oklahoma. Who knew, toll road the whole dang way? That evening, the calls started coming in. Not calls of, "Allyson! We are so excited to see you and your cute little family! When will you be here?". Um, mm. No. They were more like this, "When in the heck are you going to get here so you can help us with these wedding decorations?" Feels so good to be loved. We pulled in around 9:30 pm and I was immediately put to work making silver and purple pom poms. I don't even think they let me potty first.

Farrah's house was wedding central
She did let the kids open their Christmas presents from her. I think she might have yelled at me to get back to work when I stopped to take this picture.
Yep. There I am after 12 hours in a car with four kids who wouldn't let me sleep. And that's my sister Farrah, the creative mastermind who pulled off a beautiful wedding reception.
Teresa and Emily. Emily who has decided we will be decorating her room in pom poms. They were pretty dang cute. Just wait.
Bart who as soon as we walked in the door began preparing us a super delicious feast from his new smoker he got for Christmas.

Aubrey, wasting no time getting started on the Blue Bell. That's my girl!

Bart, Sam and Steve, wasting no time getting started on the air soft guns. Until I yelled this, "SAM! THIS IS YOUR WEDDING! GET OVER HERE AND HELP US MAKE THESE DANG POM POMS!!!!" It's our family's language of love, what can I say?

Gabe and Emily checking out Uncle Sam's Christmas present. An X Box Kinect. Hello. Can I just tell you how much I want one of these? We played the dance game on New Years Eve. It was so much fun. Only problem is I live in a fishbowl. Lots of windows, no window coverings. A heavily traveled jogging trail right down the side of my house that has a perfect view right through my huge picture window into the room the Kinect would be in. And I look extra super stupid trying to play this.

Monday Morning Musings - Sweet Home Alabama

HOME AT LAST!

We have been gone from home for 17 days. SEVENTEEN DAYS! Do you hear me?! That is a long dang time to be away! We had a fabulous trip! We were so blessed to be able to go to St. Louis and spend time with Steve's family, and then to Dallas to spend time with mine. Minus my sister Kristy who was not able to get a flight out of the Moscow airport :( We made so many fun memories that we will cherish forever. I finally finished my St. Louis posts, now I gotta get the Dallas ones done.

We pulled in last night around 10:30 PM exhausted. But alas, there is no rest for the weary. Steve being gone for 17 days from his business, he has a lot of catching up to do. And a lot of money collecting to do, 'cause I'm tellin' you right now, we are FLAT BROKE! And it's almost time for him to pay his guys again. I wouldn't mind a little cash comin' my way either, you know what I'm sayin'?

The kids begged me to let them stay home from school today and let them rest. Yeah. Right. I am sending them TO school so I can rest. Not really. Like I said before, no rest for the weary. I have 17 days of mail to open. Bills to pay (oh wait, there is no money for that, never mind). Toilets to clean (toilets sitting for 17 days, not so pretty). Suitcases to unpack. Clothes to wash. A nasty disgusting van to clean out. Groceries to buy. Food to make (please no fast food for the next 2 months. At least!) . Christmas decorations to take down. A house to clean. A wedding reception. In my house. In 5 days. Holy smokers, what was I thinking!?! I gotta figure out where we left off with everything. I know we have dentist appointments and ortho appointments and Ski Club starting this week. Homework to figure out. We literally stuck the kids in the car on Friday the 17th of Dec. when they got out of school and started driving and got home just in time for them to go right on back.

I have come to the realization that I love being able to go to Steve's hometown and my hometown to visit, but I could never ever live in either one of those places. I love where I live and I wouldn't change it for anything. For one thing, I could never drive in either one of those places. Especially Dallas. Steve did have fun driving in Dallas. He said it was like driving in a video game. A bunch of people in cars traveling at high speeds with no particual rhyme or reason to what they are doing. And the roads there. Really. I don't know how you people do it. I just looked at Steve and said, "Now does my driving make sense to you? This is where I learned to drive!" Thank you Salt Lake City for you nice big wide clean orderly streets, your turn lanes, and I will never complain about your drivers again! I don't know what I was complaining about in the first place. My eyes have been opened.

Out of the whole 17 days we were gone, 5 entire days were spent driving. Some more pleasant driving memories?

Addy kept wanting to get to our hotel when we were driving. Only she called it a Show-n-Tell. Not a hotel. Are we almost at the show-n-tell?

Realizing I am raising full fledged Utahans when we stop for dinner the first night and my kids are complaining because they don't have fry sauce. And they complained at every place we went thereafter. I remember when I first moved to Utah, how weird I thought Utahan's were about their fry sauce. And now, here I am, 19 years later, raising weirdos.

We were sitting at the dang longest red light when we were in Nebraska. I'm serious. We sat there for at least 10 minutes. I said, "Why is this light so long?" And Zac said, "Because we are in Nebraska, the place where people have nothing better to do. Oh wait, that's Kansas."

On the way out we were singing Christmas songs, trying to keep the troops entertained. We were singing the 12 Days of Christmas. This is how Addy sang it: Two turtle butts, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Why can't a four year old go into a stinky bathroom without announcing to everyone how it smells? I was like, "Addy! Shhhh! The people who made it smell this way are probably still in here!" We walked into one really stinky bathroom and she said, "OH GROSS! IT STINKS IN HERE! MOM! A BOY WENT INTO THE GIRLS BATHROOM! THAT'S NOT COOL!" Apparently boys are the only ones who can be stinky in a bathroom.

Why is it that when mom decides to sleep in the car, that is the time everyone decides they need to talk to her? Seriously! I fall asleep and every two seconds it's mom this, and mom that. I finally give up on sleep and then all of the sudden, no one needs me anymore.

Steve and I read The Book Thief on our drive. Or more like I read The Book Thief to Steve. It was fabulous. An absolutely gorgeously written book. If you haven't read it, you should. We finished it Saturday night and started The Hunger Games. Not so beautifully written, but a book you can't put down never the less. We are almost done with it. All day yesterday while I was reading it, the kids were listening too. They never wanted me to stop reading. Yes kids, why don't you listen to mom read a book about a bunch of kids being forced to fight each other to the death. Really, it is a juvenile book, made for kids. And even though they are being forced to fight to the death, it's not as bad as it sounds. I can't wait to finish it. And then read the other two in the series.

OK, enough babble. Like I said, I have work to do. Happy back to the grindstone day everyone!