Go Seahawks

Parker wanted to play t-ball so we signed him up and it's all he talked about for weeks.  He couldn't wait to start playing.  We took him to his first game and.....

 he decided he wasn't so excited anymore

 He had a great coach and a patient mom and

we were able to help him be excited again

 Home Run!!

Parker LOVED playing 1st base

Playing the outfield

 Getting in position

 Concentrating on the ball

Watch out Major Leagues!!  

Here comes Parker

Big thumbs up.  We LOVE t-ball

 Team cheer

Our favorite team mate....Ben

Uninvited Guests

It happened.  That phone call that every mother dreads.  I got it and my heart sank, possibly even stopped for a few seconds!  "Hello, Mrs. Allred.  This is the school nurse calling to let you know that everything is fine but your 1st grader has lice."  Um ok, everything IS NOT FINE!!  Are you sure??  CRAP!!  We're supposed to go to Utah for a very important wedding in two weeks.  We can't go if my kids have lice!!  I'll be right there.  I grabbed a big sheet out of the closet and then went to the store to get the necessary supplies I would need to get rid of the bugs.  I walked into the nurses office to find Lauren digging and scratching at her head and the nurse showed me that she was indeed correct.  She gave me a few pointers and sent me on my way.  I wrapped Lauren in the sheet so her head wouldn't touch anything in the van and I took her home.  I immediately put Lauren in the tub and started treatment.  While she was soaking I began stripping my home of every possible thing that needed to be washed.  My washer and dryer went non-stop for days and I am sure I may have gone bit over board but I wanted this done and over and I didn't want anyone else to get it.  Thankfully no one else got it!!  I did tons of research on line and called the lice hot line numerous times.  I can report that I am now a lice expert.  Call me if you ever need know what to do....it isn't pretty!!  The secret weapon...Listerine, a spray bottle, and a shower cap.

This girl can even make a shower cap

look stylish!!

Lauren was such a trooper through the

entire experience.  I found out that it 

was spreading like wild fire around her

classroom.  She wore her hair in braids

the rest of the year.  We weren't about

to take any chances!!  

Run Jeff Run!

Jeff was asked by some friends to join in the Ragnar Relay.  It's an overnight race that covers 200 miles.  He wasn't really a runner but decided this was great motivation to become a runner.  He trained and trained and trained and was really dedicated to getting himself ready.  We live in a community that is full of hills which really helped him out since most of his legs on the run included running up a big hill.  Jeff has become known as the "mountain goat" because he can run the hills with such ease.  Jeff is amazing!!  My favorite remarks are...."Wow, you're a runner?  You don't look like a runner!  You ran it how fast?  Wow, that's fast for a guy your size."  What.....can't big white guys run?

 Their team name was 8 Dudes, 8 Boobs

Hey, nice vinyl.  Who did that for you?

 Running, running, running

Yea!! The finish line :)

 2 of the 3 kids were happy to be

at the finish line.  1 child...not so happy

 Overly excited smiles

 The Allred 5 

Is there any better backdrop for a 

run than the ocean?  I seriously love it!

 Eating celebratory grapes.  Maddie had some

and said they were the best grapes ever.  Now

when we eat grapes she asks for Ragnar grapes

 A quick photo shoot with my stud!

 So proud of Jeff and his dedication

 Jeff's team had a start time of 5:30 am.  The team he

was on was full of seriously athletic runners.  They

were really fast.  They were the first team to cross the

finish line.  Not the fastest overall team, but the first

to cross the line.  It won them a few bragging rights

The entire 8 Dudes and 8 Boobs Team

Mysterious

One night Lauren came to me and told me she had a spot on her back that was itchy.  I saw a small mark on her and put some "stop the itch" cream on it.  That's our special name for anti-itch cream.  She seemed fine and went on her way.  Later that evening she came to me crying and said she couldn't stand it anymore.  I pulled down her night gown to see terrible hives.  We weren't quite sure what to do about them.  We tried all kinds of remedies but nothing seemed to help.

 They were even on the back of her ear lobes

 The next day they spread to her front

and her neck

Eventually they spread to her bum and her

legs.  We did our best to treat the itch and in

the meantime, we tried to figure out the cause.

We tried everything from not eating certain foods,

to changing laundry detergent, to not getting too

hot, to not using certain products.  Nothing!!

Came up empty handed.  Weeks later they

went away. However, every once in

a while they still rear their ugly head.

If only we could figure out WHY!!

What San Diegans Do

When it's Spring Break, beautiful weather outside, and you live in San Diego, you do as any San Diegan would do.....you go to the beach.  Thanks to our wonderful friends for inviting us to a beach we had never been to before.  It was a fantastic day!!

 Digging a large hole

 The new shovels were a hit

 The girls loved them

 Parker preferred his big paws for digging

The hole was perfect for burying 4 dead kids :)

Their faces crack me up!

Easter Fun

Easter morning is so fun for my kids.  Their Easter buckets are always hidden and they aren't allowed to gather any goodies until they find their buckets.  They were hidden extra good this year.  The Easter Bunny is getting smarter.  After the kids all find their buckets, they are free to gather the hundreds of eggs left all around the house.  I am always amazed at how it only takes them a few minutes to gather hundreds of eggs.  After all the eggs are found, we put them in a community pot and divide them up equally.  The good news....mom and dad are included in it.  Hey, we want goodies too!!

Three chipper kids with yummies from Grandma

Candy - She has an in with See's Chocolates

I got a new handy dandy camera and I was trying out

all the special effects.  This one is called vintage.  We

look extra vintage with that old school TV we still have

 This one allows me to capture

only certain colors

 Vividly Bright effect

Fish eye effect

Not a fat Parker

 More vintage...Notice my organizer

had to organize her eggs by color

 Black and white effect

Dad was included in dividing all the eggs

 She's growing up too fast!!

Maddie looks so old in this photo

 Sepia effect

Parker is a bucket head robot

Also growing up too fast.

Words of Wisdom - Don't forget to brush!

Jeff and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

One of the perks about living in San Diego is that Jeff is able to go surfing.  He doesn't get to do it as often as he likes but one particular Friday he was working in an office other than his own that is located just blocks from the beach. He decided to take advantage of his morning and surf before work.  He loaded his car with surf stuff and expensive dental equipment that he would be needing that day and headed out.  He parked, surfed, and came back to a devastating situation.  Bad guys (which I hate) broke his window,  popped open the trunk, and stole the goods.  They took his wallet, office keys, i-phone, computer, most of his clothes, new watch, wedding ring, the back up hard drive, etc.  Thankfully bad guys (which I hate) don't know the value of dental equipment so they left it.  I suppose there's not much of a black market for dental stuff like there is for stolen electronics from bad guys (which I hate)!  We spent the day with a lock smith changing office and home locks, calling banks to cancel debit and credit cards and change account information, and with the claims department.  I have to say, the auto claims department was wonderful and we had a check within a week.  Unfortunately, the cops never recovered the computer or phone from the bad guys (which I hate) and a lot of info was lost.  It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  Thankfully, Jeff was not harmed by the bad guys (which I hate)!  Moral of the story.  Don't surf before work.  Just kidding.  The real moral of the story....Don't leave goods in your car.  Bad guys will get them.  Did I mention that I HATE BAD GUYS?

Grandparents in April

My parents came for a visit in April.  Yes, we did the unthinkable.....we went to the beach while Jeff was at work and the girls were in school.  I have to admit, it was an easy trip without all the beach stuff we usually have to take and I didn't feel bad that we were having fun without them.  Grandpa wanted the kids to have a kite so we stopped by the store and bought one before we went to the ocean.  There was a breeze so it was a good day to fly a kite!  Thanks Grandpa :)

 Parker helping Grandpa get the kite up high

 Success!!  It was way up there

 Parker needed a turn by himself

 The water was chilly so we didn't spend

much time in the waves.  Instead we

buried Parker in the sand,

 Put a giant frog over him,

Watched Parker be strong and get out of

the sand without any help,

 Relaxed in short chairs,

 Washed rocks,

 Brewed a magic potion,

bubble,bubble, toil and trouble-

 Washed our head in a bucket,

 Climbed to the top of the giant sand hill,

and best of all....drank Pepsi on the beach with

Grandpa.   Hey, I saw that.  Parker ONLY 

gets Pepsi when at the beach with Grandpa