It's always fun when Grandpa comes...to the resuce

In the middle of May, Jeff went to Virginia to watch his younger brother graduate from Dental School.  Jeff was very excited about the trip because it's where he also graduated from Dental School 4 years ago.  Jeff really wanted me to go with him but unfortunately, I need to tend to matters at home.  I stayed behind in order to get us ready for a very jam packed week of events in Utah a few days after Jeff left.  In order to be financially smart, Jeff flew straight to Utah and did not come back to San Diego.  This meant that I was going to make the 12 hour drive to Utah alone.....just me and my 3 kids.  Well, my parents got wind of this and decided that was NOT the plan.  Grandpa swooped in and came to the rescue.  He booked himself a one way flight to California.  He landed on Thursday, worked liked crazy on Friday to help me get all the last minute things done, and we left bright and early on Saturday morning.  I am not so sure he was looking forward to the 12 hours in the car with my kids, but my kids were beyond thrilled that Grandpa was making the long voyage with us.  Thanks Dad!!  You're my hero.  

Parker was set on feeding the ducks so we took time

out of our busy day on Friday and went on an adventure

The ducks were happy to see us

 Adventures are always better with a buddy so

we picked up our friend Ben

 The fountain came on when we were leaving

and the kids didn't have their suits so we 

agreed to just get our feet a little wet

 They had to get a close look at the

waterfall at the edge of the rocks

 The boys failed!!  They got more than

their feet wet.  It sure was fun

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!