Labor Day Weekend - Allred Reunion

Good Monday morning. I'm determined to catch up on my blogging, both my own posts and everyone else's. So much blogging, so little time. I have so many things I want to blog about, I'm just going to slop a bunch of stuff on here... not that it isn't usually slopped on here, but I'll try to be less picky this time about how it turns out, so I can get several posts on here today. I took over 800 pictures during this Bear Lake-vacation/Allred-family-reunion! I finally weeded it down to 400, but still, that's a monkey-load of pictures. I got so sick of looking at them, I was beginning to feel sorry for all the photo editing Sue had to do for weddings, etc., and could see why she got tired of doing it and being the Mom, too. But it was fun, and I got a very nice compliment from Zen's sister, Jan, about how much she enjoyed the "slide show" I gave at the end of the vacation, with all the pictures I took. I'd probably do it anyway, but it was nice to be able to provide a service that other people enjoyed.

All my lovely couch potatoes, on the way to Bear Lake.

On our trip, the kids had their dvd's and I had my camera. I just couldn't resist being naughty and taking all kinds of dorky pictures, including some of Gil blowing his nose. I'll spare him the indignity here, but as you can see, he was not amused by my paparazzi instincts, and tried to get back at me by wiping a booger on the camera. Teenagers are sooooo sensative.

Lovely Wyoming scenery. No, seriously, I really do like its stark beauty. I could fix the little black spots on this picture, but I leave them here as a little tip for those who might find similar things on their pics, but can't solve the problem by just wiping the camera lense: clean the inside of the camera! I kept wiping and wiping the lense, blowing off the mirrors on the inside of the camera, to no avail. After hundreds of photos with annoying black spots, I finally dug out the manual, and found that I had to clean the filter on the image sensor (warning - according to the camera manual, it's easily damaged, so proceed with caution.) That's where the sneaky little bits of dust were hiding! Darn them! Fixing this pic in Photoshop is easy, but on more complex backgrounds, it's a pain to fix. Aaargh, I wish I'd known about this earlier. I could have saved myself so much unnecessary editing. So let this be a lesson to you to read your camera manual!

Sue, this reminds me of something I've been thinking of for a while. You should totally write a camera/photography book of some kind for the amateur photographer. I bet it would be great!

We made a brief stop in Cokeville to see Sue's new digs.

We stayed at a pretty nice resort, with a room that was a cross between a hotel room and a condo. This is the little living room, that also connected to a pretty decent little kitchen. There was one bedroom, and the sofa folded out into a bed. Zen and I slept in the bedroom, with baby under the table one night, and in the closet the other night. Connor and Gil slept on the sofa bed, and Dani took the big stuffed chair with the ottoman. It was a nice place, but we spent most of the time at Zen's parents condo apartment at their time-share resort.

It took eight shots, but I did get a halfway decent pic of the fam in the pool at Zen's parents' resort pool.

Rocks and water. What else do little boys need?

Who says you need a bikini to look good? Dani loves her new suit.

"Sweet!" "Totally!" Name the movie.

Dani loved being out on the water, willing to try just about anything.

Being too little to really ride the water toys, Connor was mostly bored and kept asking to go home. But he did like holding the "man down" flag.

Poor baby was swamped by her life jacket, and didn't like it much.

Insert your own comment.

Gil got to drive the boat. Watch out world! It's only a year and a half until he has a learner's permit.

Hey, I made it into a picture! Of course, I took it myself, thus the odd angle you see here.

Zen, having a great time.

Zen's made the funniest faces out on the water.

It rained cats and dogs Sunday night before Labor Day. The kids just had to go dip their toes in the big puddles out in the parking lot at Zen's parents' resort condo. And yes, the depth of the water is an optical illusion - some of the kids are kneeling in the puddle.

Our group shot had to be an impromptu picture indoors. It's not a great pic, but at least is helps us remember who was there. Zen's parents up front: Rose and Ron. Second row, left to right: Mickie's daughter, Megan, Jan's daughter Annie, Jan (Zen's sister) and her husband Bob, Mickie (Zen's sister) and her husband Steve, Zen, me and Connor. Up the stairs, bottom to top: Mickie's son Jared, Jan's daughter Katie, Mickie's daughter Alexa, Gil, Dani, and Mickie's daughter Erica.

Okay, this is totally random, but Zen and I are getting to a point in our lives where we are only about a year and half away from being out of our credit card debt (hallelujah!!!), and maybe a few years after that we will be in a place where we can start thinking about moving to Star Valley and building our "dream" home on the dry farm in Star Valley. So, I'm going to start collecting ideas for houses, both inside and out. Here is a picture of a barn around Bear Lake that I found appealing. I've always liked the big old barns renovated into houses. Something very old-fashioned and western about them, I think, that strikes a chord in me.

Before & After

Before Anti-Depressants

After Anti-Depressants

Where Has the Time Gone?

Emma is now two months old, so I took her two-month anniversary pictures last night out in our yard. She was very cooperative, all things considered. The basket is one that my Mom gave to me that belonged to Gram. I believe it was one of her knitting baskets. Correct me if I'm wrong. I couldn't decide which picture was the cutest, so you'll have to put up with half a dozen.






You know me, I can't resist the goofy pics!

Wyoming Moon

Happy B-Day Bro! Happy Birthday out to Don, who turned 40 today. Great party last night! I really did enjoy it, although I fell asleep for a few minutes on the couch because I only had three hours of sleep the night before. Sue, thanks for the mildly embarrassing photos of that, and for the giggles I heard from the Peanut Gallery (you know who you are). But I was too tired to care. Anyway, I'm really glad I quit grousing about the price of gas (my meds are really mellowing me out, don't you think?), packed up my kids, and drove to Salt Lake for the shindig. Kudos to Lora, who planned the whole thing. To me, this surprise party, because of all the people you rounded up and all the hard work that went into it (huge organizing, keeping the secret from Don, and the incredible "life story" video you put together), just goes to show how lucky Don is. I've been meaning to say that for a long time, and I'm too shy to say it in person. You are the best thing for him. Every time I think about all you do for him, and the sacrifices it takes to juggle his life and his kids, I'm just relieved he has you. Thank you so much for all you contribute to his happiness.


So anyway, driving home tonight, I just couldn't help admiring the full moon, and I thought, "I've got to take some pictures when I get home." So I did! Here's the shot from my back deck. For all you amateur camera buffs, I shot this with my telephoto lens, as close up as I could get, 200 setting on the lens, at a speed of 4000 with the camera set on a tripod. I still had to crop the picture, but it looks great, if I do say so myself. Just goes to show what you can do with a decent camera, and a clear Wyoming sky. Sue, you probably already know this from your many previous visits to Wyoming, but the summer nights are beautiful here, because the air is so clear. You can see a gazillion stars in the clear night sky. Get your camera and tripod ready this fall after you get settled in at your new home!

Brothers Are Jerks!

2 posts today. Connor thought it was funny to spit water on Gil, until Gil got him back by dunking his head under the tap in the bathtub.


"But I didn't deserve this! I'm just a poor, innocent, little kid!"
"Don't pull the tiger's tail, buddy. Gotcha!"

Happy 3rd!! ...so when can we start potty training?!

Thanks for the loot, Grammie!!!

Connor is now officially three years old! He loves cars, and loves, loves, loves water! He'll stand at the kitchen sink, and just play for nearly an hour, pouring water back and forth between containers, spraying things with the little sink water sprayer, and having a grand time. And he actually manages to keep most of the water in the sink! Of course, let's not talk about water conservation. We get black marks for that, but it's non-tv entertainment, so I approve. His Fisher Price Geo Trax train tracks set is one of his favorites, too. And don't forget that he's a monkey acrobat and fearlessly climbs and jumps from great heights. Speaking of fearlessness, if I lose track of him, he'll escape outside, and just go next door to the neighbor's house, walking in like he lives there. I've tried to explain the concept of knocking, but it's going to take a while to catch on. Dani was like that when she was little, too. Remember my post a while ago, when I was talking about how Connor would go potty at church, quite willingly, but he wouldn't go potty in his own house? He said he wanted to go outside to Connor's house to go potty. Where is this mystical place outside called "Connor's House"? Well, turns out that this neighbor's house next door is "Connor's house." Little rascal! He just won't go potty here. I keep thinking I've got to work out some kind of bribing system to get him to go potty in his own house, but I'm not sure. He's just so stubborn!

He is also so much more articulate these days, and is really developing a sense of humor. For example, a month or two ago, he found a way to describe his constipation, "The poopies are hiding in my butt!" I just about died laughing. Today, when he finished his Perler bead project (just a square filled with black beads), he said "I'm a genius!" Apparently, he heard that phrase on the kid tv show, Avatar. Nice use of phrases, Connor.

This is Connor's funny little "Gritting Grin." Maybe you have to see it in person to be amused by it, but he clenches his fists, grits his teeth and smiles while his head tremors. Such a quirky little boy. But we love you!!

Olympic Spirit

Just got done watching the Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay in swimming for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Fantastic! Just when it appeared that the U.S. was going to come in second, Jason Lezak came from behind in the last lap to upset the French in their bid for the gold. It's what I love most about the Olympics, what everyone loves about sports, I think, is the possibility of a loss, or even an almost certainty of loss, but still a team or an individual rises above the odds to come out on top and win!

Doesn't matter what event I'm watching (well, maybe not curling, for crying out loud), but I am so inspired by the Olympics every time I watch it. It makes me want to go out and achieve my personal best in something athletic. I think, "I'm 36 now, and 40's not that far away. What goal can I have, where at the end, I get to feel like those athletes do, who are screaming and jumping up and down, in a perfect moment of victory?" When I started exercising regularly over a year ago, I would listen to energizing music, and feel something close to that, pushing myself to get it done, imagining myself kicking butt (I'm not a violent person, really, ha ha), or some other feat of accomplishment. But I wouldn't mind some actual, real goal rather than a temporary buzz inside my own head. Hmmm...