Baseball and Ballroom

Do you ever think, if I can just get through this month things will slow down????

Don't do it! It's a trap!!!

Porter finished up his baseball season with the Rec league. They played well. They won a few and lost a lot! But their improvement through the season was so much fun to watch!!!

I received a message from a traveling club coach inviting Porter to practice with their team. He would have to earn a spot on the team, to play in tournaments, but they would like him to practice with them if he wanted to. He went to his first practice yesterday and today The Babe received a phone call from the coach. He said they want Porter to play, and they want him to be in their tournament in Beaver on Friday and Saturday and then they play Memorial weekend in Nephi. He's not going to play in Beaver, it's too soon and The Babe and I aren't able to get him up there this weekend. He willI was blown away! The kid only went to one practice! What happened to earning a spot on the team??? Anyway, they also want to teach him how to pitch. He pitched a few innings during the season, but he really hasn't had any training in pitching. So, there you go...I guess he really is athletic and I'm not just making that up because I'm his mom!!

Also....Most....Exciting....News!!!

Porter tried out for the Freshman Ballroom Dance Team and he made the team!!!

I'm so excited for this!!!

I LOVE ballroom dancing! 

Marie and I used to always watch Dancing with the Stars when she lived across the street from me and I still love watching it! I go watch the High School kids whenever I can, and now I'll really have some one to watch! A lot of Porter's friends made the team too, so he's going to have a really great time! 

And so am I! 😉

(I think I have you up to date on the Allred family happenings, but who knows I probably missed a thousand things!!) 

Scholarship Night

 Adelah was honored at Senior Scholarship Night. She was offered 3 different scholarships, but she chose to accept a scholarship from Snow College! She is so excited to go to school there!

We're so proud of her and all of her hard work! 

She checked out of school today! She's officially done with High School. 

She and her friends are staying out at Gunlock for the rest of the week to celebrate! 

I can't believe she's done! This year feels like it was a dream. 

Toothless

Wilbur pulled out another tooth! He's so funny. He insists on doing it himself! He went to the bathroom and we could hear him moaning and groaning and occasionally a little yelp, as he tried to get that tooth to budge! He finally got it! All the other kids, you were lucky if you got one try. With Will, I don't get to try (which, I really don't mind...I think it's nasty!) but once he decides it's coming out, he doesn't quit until it comes out! And good riddance those dang baby teeth are the softest teeth on the planet and they give us nothing but grief! I hope his adult teeth are a lot stronger! (fingers crossed!)

 That toothless smile is priceless!!

 

Mother's Day

The Babe gave me this picture for Mother's Day, along with a very sweet letter. As soon as I opened it I started crying, it touched my heart so much! It is a sweet blessing to be a mother, my heart knows the longing and the heartache and the joy. It's the hardest job I've ever done, but it is also the most rewarding. I'm grateful for all of my precious babies. Each one of them have molded me into the woman I am. 

I'm so grateful for my Mom and for my other Mom! They are wonderful women that I look up to and admire! They too, have molded me into the woman that I am.

 I was so sick on Mother's Day. I was supposed to teach the lesson in Relief Society, but I just couldn't go. The Babe had to work, Adelah had to work, and Leighna went to Jack's sister's homecoming, so the boys did whatever they wanted while I moved from my bed to the couch and back to the bed all day.   After church Brother Jordan came by and gave me this beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was very thoughtful of him to bring it to me. My house was a disaster and so was I, so I was a little embarrassed, but it's okay. I hope he didn't think anything of it. 

Ty's Birthday Party

"Mom, I invited some friends over on Friday for my birthday party, I just forgot to tell you!" 

(Bugged out eyes right here!)

At least he gave me more notice than Will did!

I told Ty we needed to make real invitations, so their moms would know it was legit. 

Later that day when I got home, I told Ty we needed to make the invitations, to which he pulled out a small stack of papers and replied, "I already did!" 

He had what looked like 10-ish invitations, so I said, great!

Ty wanted a mystery dinner of course, but it was an odd time to have dinner, 2 pm, so we decided to do a chocolate fountain mystery snack! We bought a whole bunch of fruits and veggies and marshmellows and pretzels, and then they could dip whatever they wanted in the chocolate! It actually turned out pretty fun! Ty's friends loved it! 

Here's the thing...

Since it was a mystery dinner, Ty just waited outside with his friends while we finished getting ready. When I opened the door and told them to come in, there was an endless flow of children!!!!!

👆This is one side of the room...

👆This is the other side of the room!!!!!!

There were 20 kids there! The Babe and I looked at each other with ginormous eyes because we did not buy enough food!! 

It worked out though. It always seems to be like the loaves and the fishes and no one left hungry! 

After eating, we took them all to the park for some kickball. My house is just not built for this many people, but somehow, we just keep stuffing people in here!!

I love it...I think!!!

Leighna Bug

Just a little shout out to my Leighna Bug!! She's still here, seems like I'm always posting about Adelah or the boys because they have such big things going on. Leighna does too! She has had a lot of tough classes this year. AP History and Chemistry have almost done her in! Leighna is very studious and takes school very seriously. She hates missing school and she works really hard to get good grades. 

She's doing amazing in her art class. I can't wait to post some pictures but they're hanging up in the school. 

And she always keeps us laughing!

We'll be glad when she finishes up all these classes!

Love ya Leighna Bug!

Lupe the Calming Goat!

Fun Fact...

My brother Jon has a calming goat named Lupe!

Have you ever seen the movie Ferdinand?? 

It's about a bull and one of the side characters is a goat named Lupe! I found it very funny! 

Lupe is doing his job well! 

Jon has Lupe to help keep his horses calm. He just follows the horses wherever they go. 

Lupe got out of the pasture and I helped Jon round him up. I basically just stood there and let him smell me while Jon snuck up behind him. I was afraid he was going to head but me, so I was ready to run. However, I got lucky and he just liked the way I smelled I guess! I had a good time with my brother this weekend. He took us for a drive to see the new temple sight in Heber and we got lost in a gated community there, with multi-million dollar homes (those houses are CR-A-ZY)...we were afraid security was going to hunt us down and kick us out, but we found our way out! We got in in the first place because Jon is the grounds keeper for one of the houses. The view is amazing. Heber really is a beautiful place. (Don't tell Jon I said that, we have a little war thing going on! I tell him it is Hell frozen over since it's always cold and they get so much snow in the winters. He thinks I live in Hell since it's so hot!) The Babe and Adelah and Leighna were with us. We also went on a tour of Jon's shop. After we got all the animals back where they belonged, we went and got ice cream cones! It was nice to have some time with my brother! I admire my only big brother, a lot! He probably doesn't even realize it, because I'm just not that great at expressing that to him, but I do. He's a great guy and a super hard worker. I love and miss him! 

Family Fun

The Babe miraculously took this weekend off. Weekends with The Babe while waterfalls are running are few and far between! It was Taya's homecoming this Sunday, so we turned it into a mini vacation! We stayed in the Ski Chalet at Wasatch State Park. (Jon's job has some great perks sometimes!) It was a beautiful place to stay! It's still a little chilly up there though. The Hunt's made dinner for us, we had tacos in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Then we played some games with them. Jon and Ruth came over for a minute and it was fun to visit with them! 

Saturday, The Babe had a mission reuion! It was at President McDonald's home. He really loves President and Sister McDonald! They have an elevator in their home, and Will had a great time playing in it while we were there. I'm grateful The Babe got to go and reconnect with some of his old missionary pals! It really is true though, they look old!! I don't think we look nearly as old as his companions did! Ha ha. Wink wink! 

Every mother likes to have all of her children home in the nest!! The Eagle's nest at the Hogle Zoo. Yep, after the reunion, we took the kiddos over to the zoo! We haven't been since Porter was a little guy. So the 2 littles have never been. It was really fun! I'm glad we got to see the elephants, they are sending them to a different zoo in a month or two so they won't be there much longer! Will loved the giraffes and the tiger! 

It was a perfect day for the zoo! The animals were all really active. Every time I've been there, they have all been sleeping! It was cool to see them up and moving around! I'm always amazed at the creativity and variety of animals on this planet! It just amazes me so much! 

 

Leighna and Porter's Choir Concert

Choir Concert for these munchkins! They both did a great job. Mrs. Stackhouse wanted the concert to be a big show, and it was! It was fun to hear them sing! Their choirs are really sounding good!

However, this is the end of choir for both of them. Neither of them really like the teacher, which is too bad. Leighna wanted to quit in the middle of the year, but she stuck it out. I'm glad she didn't quit. I think it's important to end something a good note, and not a bad one. She finished the year, and she can pursue other interests next year.

Someone call the fashion police! Porter couldn't find any pants that were not high waters, so he settled for Adelah's pants! I don't know what's happening with the shirt! He told me he was looking so fly, then when he saw the picture, he was a little shocked! 

It's great cheering on my kiddos! This time of year is so crazy! But we're trying to soak it all in and enjoy the ride! 

 

Beginnings and Endings

This was Ty's first year of orchestra! He chose to play the cello and he did really good learning a new instrument. He has a pretty good knack for music. I'm excited to see how far he takes it! 

He's considering switching to violin next year so he has a smaller instrument to carry around! He wants to try it out and see which he likes better. Early morning orchestra was tough. He didn't love getting up in the mornings and some mornings were downright horrid! But, he stuck it out, and I'm proud of him for it! I would be proud of him anyway, but I'm glad he stuck with it! 

Ty's beginning and Adelah's ending...

Adelah's final concert! 

You know I cried. I'm still crying writing about it! 

I can't help it. I'm so so proud of her! She has grown into such an amazing young woman! She is a real sweetheart! Always so delightful to be around and just a really kind human being! She's ready to conquer the world! 

So in love with my people. They bring me so much joy! 

Grandma Baker came to cheer Addie on... She was supposed to be working in the Temple that night, but she switched shifts so she could be there. Grandpa really wanted to come to, he was planning to all week, but his supervisor had an emergency, so Grandpa had to fill in. He was sad he had to miss it. 

 Aunt Mandy and her kiddos and Aunt Sarah came to cheer Addie on also. It was nice to have them come. I'm grateful for their efforts to be there. It really does mean a lot. We celebrated with rootbeer floats afterward! 

The Seniors! There's quite a pack of them! This really pulls at my heartstrings! I know 11 out of the 15 of them! Most of them have spent a lot of time in my home and the others were in my group when I chaperoned. They're good kids! I'm excited for them to blossom into adults!! I'm sad because I will probably never see most of them after graduation. My house will feel empty again. And Mrs. Brooks is delightful! I love her. I will miss not seeing her. She does amazing things with these kids! I hope she's still teaching here when Ty gets to Middle School!

Addie worked really hard this year to earn her "letter" in orchestra. She did it!!! She also earned honor chords for orchestra for graduation day! 

My little 3rd grader who couldn't read well and was so far behind has come a long, long way and I'm seriously so proud of the hard work she has put in to get here!!! 

She's AMAZING! 

Hartley

I watched Hartley today, and we did all the things!!!! It was fun. She's a busy little girl, but so much fun! She's so cute!