Saturday, August 13, 2011

Babes and Waterfalls

Biggest and happiest news of the summer - Baby Bailey is here! For details check out my beautiful sister's blog. All I can say is that she is beautiful and she is perfect and I want to hold her so bad! She just had her newborn pictures taken yesterday. Every time I look at them I fall in love with all 7 lbs 11 ounces of her.

Emily has a great photographer for her kiddos. I love Bailey Joyce! I was in the room when Emily had Tanner so it's been hard to be away from home right now. Needless to say, Johnny and I have been trying to keep busy.

Here is what has been occupying our time as of late:

  • A trip to the Jordan River Temple. We recently decided that we want to visit as many temples as we can together. Since there are approximately 1 million of them in Utah, we figured this is a great place to start.
  • Attempting to decorate slash furnish our apartment. Staying true to the newlywed college students that we are, we don't have much money to spend on unnecessary items. That is why we spent $20 on five pieces of furniture. We bought a dresser with drawers that never close correctly upon first attempt, two end tables, a coffee table, and a little entertainment center thing from this apartment complex that was getting rid of all their old furniture. We also received two free couches because we are very lucky people. We decided to paint the end tables red and use them as nightstands by our bed. I forgot to get a before picture, but they were just like oak or something. We even used primer because we're real experienced at painting.
I still need to paint our dresser black, but then I think I'll basically be done with our bedroom. The rest of the house is calling now...

  • Dinner with my cousin Jon, his wife Erin, and their sweet kids Michael, Rachel, and Jacob. they had us over for some delicious hamburgers, and we even had s'mores for dessert! It's always fun to spend time with the cousins.
  • We've been hanging out with Jason! He's back until the end of August and we've had the privilege to spend last Friday night and basically all of Tuesday with him. On Friday we mostly just went out to eat and talked a lot and played Farkle party (feel free to ask who won most of those games) then watched Sgt. Bilko. Oh and Jason modeled one of our new (to us) couches.
Don't they both look so good?

First they were great friends and roommates, then we were all great friends and they were still roommates, and now we're still great friends and Johnny and I are roommates.
  • On Tuesday, I took my Bear Den to Thanksgiving Point to check out farm animals (yes, I am a Cub Scout leader). When I got home, Johnny and Jason were playing college football on the PS3 just like the good ol' days. We had some left over red chili burritos and then headed up Provo Canyon to hike Stewart Falls! It was so beautiful! Here's lots of pictures from that experience.
Does anyone else have kissing under a waterfall on their places to kiss checklist? It's always been pretty high on mine, and on Tuesday, that dream finally came true. Only instead of feeling like a dream it felt like an instant brain freeze to the hundredth power, which I thought was only supposed to happen when you eat cold food too fast. I'm telling you, the mist coming off of that fall alone was enough to get us both shivering. But we didn't let that scare us away. We went under, nearly got our heads pounded off by icy water, closed our eyes and kissed faster than we even know was possible. When we opened our eyes, it was too hard to see anything but we hurried out from under that waterfall like our lives depended on it. When we saw the picture Jason took for us, it looked like we weren't even under the water at all! But every sensation in our bodies told us that we were under that water. Johnny asked if I wanted to do it again, and of course I said yes. He was not expecting that and I think he was actually really disappointed that I said yes because then he couldn't back down. We made the trek again and got a little better picture and it was such a rush! We literally felt like we were going to pass out, like it took years off of our lives. Who would have thought something as simple as kissing under a waterfall would be so difficult?

What a success story. Don't mind my awkward legs or the fact that it looks like Johnny wet himself.

Once we got back from our adventure, we ordered pizza and watched Pearl Harbor, and two of the three of us may or may not have shed a tear at the film.
  • Last Sunday we had Margo, Daren, and Scott over for Sunday dinner. I was a little nervous to cook for them, but with Johnny's help everything turned out fine. They are so complimentary! I think they said something nice about everything they ate. It was really nice because they could probably tell I was nervous about it. So even if the food wasn't great, they definitely made me feel like it was.
  • Kelsey's open house! My dear friend Kelsey Faye Hogge (Ewing) got married last Friday, and she had an open house in Morgan, UT last night. Johnny and I drove up to see the beautiful bride, her cute husband Tyson, and the lovely Hogge family. They are such great people and I hadn't seen them in forever! So that was a fun trip.
That's all for now. But don't even worry, there will be so much more so very soon. We're still trying to have lots of fun before we start our senior year of college!

Monday, August 1, 2011

On a Happier Note...

Now that it's officially August I thought it was time to post about July. July is one of my favorite months of the year. I love the 4th of July and everything associated with it. Growing up, we'd usually have a Drake Family Reunion in Arkanasas over the 4th, which meant boating, fireworks, brisket, watermelon, and my personal favorite summer activity, a canoe trip on the river! It's always so much fun to spend time with the cousins. That being said, I also really enjoyed my first Fourth of July away from home. On Saturday (the 2nd), once we got off work, Johnny and I drove right up to Layton for his brother Scott's birthday party. It was very fun and of course there was lots of delicious food. We spent the night at Johnny's parents' house and went to church with them the next day. After dinner we drove to Copperton, Utah to visit Margo's dad, Grandpa Bodily. It was my first time in Copperton and I absolutely loved it. It's just this cute little mining town that looks like it came straight out of a movie. It was so fun to see Grandpa Bodily, too. I haven't spent a whole lot of time with him, but he's super funny and I really like visiting with him and hearing his stories. On Monday, we watched Daren walk in the Clearfield Parade. He is a principle at an elementary school in Clearfield so he walked with some of his students. Then we got all packed up and drove to Bear Lake! Which would have been completely perfect except almost everyone was feeling pretty sick that weekend. Here's everyone who went: Daren, Margo, Nate, Claire, Norah, Scott, Johnny, and me. Here's everyone who felt sick: Margo, Nate, Scott, and Johnny. Norah was sick a little bit earlier in the week so she was better by the camping trip. Still, all the sickies were such troopers! The stomach flu lasted about 24 hours for most of them, so they just had to take it easy for a while. By Monday night, we were able to go watch a firework show, and by Tuesday morning, everyone was feeling much better. We packed up camp and went to the lake to swim and play all day. It was such a fun trip!
We forgot our camera but luckily Margo is always prepared and willing to share her pictures.

Scott's Party

this is how Norah smiles for the camera - she's very enthusiastic

the star of the parade

watching Johnny's celebrity of a dad

cuddlin' at the freezing cold 4th of July fireworks show

skipping rocks like a champ at Bear Lake

you can't pose for a picture like this and then expect for it to not get posted...

the whole camping crew

I basically love camping, which is perfect because Johnny loves camping too. I'm sure we'll have many years of camping trips to look forward to. We can't wait to take our future children on these trips with us. It will be so much fun!

We missed Jeanette and her family, Sharla and her family, Ryan, and Amy on this trip. Amy has been on Catalina Island all summer long, working at a Boy Scout camp. She comes home in like two weeks and we're so excited to have her back!

Nate, Claire, and Norah moved to Phoenix in the middle of July. We already miss them lots! Norah is just so dang cute!

On the 24th (which also happens to be a big holiday here in Utah), we drove up to Layton to have a birthday party for Jeanette. We had a wonderful dinner and Aaron made my favorite kind of cake - yellow with chocolate frosting. It was delish! After dinner we played some tape ball (an Allred family tradition), a nice game of Horse in which I almost beat Scott (but at least I got Johnny and Aaron out - first time ever!), and did some fireworks for good ol' Pioneer Day.

watching Jeanette open presents. my husband is a goof.

Also in July, Johnny and I got to go visit Sharla and Ben and their twin girls, Gracie and Clara. Sharla made us a yummy dinner and then they went out for a date night while we watched the girls. They are so cute! And so good too! We basically just put them to bed and didn't hear from them for the rest of the night. It was so much fun.

I think that about covers last month. July was kind of a roller coaster of emotions, with lots of ups and downs. I'm grateful to start up August. School starts at the end of the month, and that means Laura and Becca and Christian get back to Provo! I miss my family mucho, so I can't wait to have them back. And Emily has her baby girl this month! Probably at least by the 10th! I'm so sad I can't be there - it's gonna be killer to not get to meet that little girl until Christmas, but I guess that's what happens when we live 1361 miles apart. Oh, and our dear friend Jason Dale Lane is taking a little vacation from dental school in Minnesota and returning to Utah for August! We can't wait to spend some quality time with him. It's going to be a great month:)

Friday, July 22, 2011

Remembering Grams

I suppose now is as good a time as any to post about the passing of Grams. Around 3:30 Saturday morning (July 9th), Johnny and I got a call from back home. My family told me that Grams probably wouldn't make it through the night. By 4:30 am, she was gone. I miss her terribly each day, but I'm happy that she's with Grandpa again after 15 years and that she is no longer suffering.

With a little help from the fam, I was able to fly home the following Tuesday - Sunday for the funeral. It was so good to be with them. Johnny was scheduled to fly out Thursday morning, to make it in time for the viewing that night, but because his plane was damaged in a Denver hail storm, and since he was scheduled to fly back to Utah the next day, his flight was cancelled completely. We all wanted him there, but apparently it just wasn't in the cards.

Still, I'm so grateful I got to go home. Even though it was hard, I needed to say goodbye to Grams.

Grams was without a doubt one of the most influential people in my life. She was the best listener and sympathizer in the world. She always made me feel better when I was sad. She was such a supportive grandma. She taught me how to make pies and fudge and dinner rolls and caramels. She made me laugh anytime I was around her. She gave me fashion tips. She was always there for me, right across the street.

She loved me enough to come to my wedding even though she felt so weak and could hardly hold her head up. She never missed a grandchild's wedding.

I miss Grams so much. But I'm so thankful to have had her in my life these past 21 years.

Here are some pictures of my most recent memories of Grams.

Chris and Emily's Wedding in Oregon, June 2007

Joseph and Julieta's Wedding in Utah, April 2008

My High School Graduation, May 2008

Grams' Surprise 75th Birthday Party, August 2008

Trevor's High School Graduation, May 2009

Fourth of July, 2009

Emily's Baby Shower for Tanner, July 2009 (Grams hosted so many showers at her beautiful home!)

With me, Laura, and Becca (her adopted granddaughter), July 2009

At the Hospital for Tanner's Birth, August 2009

Thanksgiving in Utah, 2009

Christmas in Arkansas, 2009

Sushi with the Fam, August 2010

Julieta's Baby Shower for Clark, August 2010

Christmas in Arkansas, 2010

My Wedding in Utah, April 2011

She will surely be missed by anyone who had the privilege of knowing her.

Here's some pictures from the family gathering for the funeral that I'm stealing from Emily who I believe stole them from either my cousin Maren. (Seriously, if you read Emily's blog you've already seen every one of these pictures. Thanks Emily and Maren!)

Thursday night after the viewing, all the girls in the family got together at Grams' house. We laid out all of her jewelry on her bed and then we picked out things we wanted to keep. It was so much fun to look at all of her stuff! She had accumulated quite the collection over the years. And now we can each carry a little piece of her with us whenever we wear her jewelry.

After the funeral on Friday, we all came home and changed into casual clothes for lots of family pictures. Here's all of the grandkids. We came from Alabama, Colorado, California, Utah, and (most impressively) China! I think that covers everyone..

For this shot we threw in some spouses, too. I think we're just missing one wife and four husbands.

This is everybody!

Just the immediate family here (minus a very missed Johnny).

I love my family. I love how everyone came together for a sad and hard thing, but we still managed to laugh and remember Grams with such love. That's the only way anyone can remember Grams. I think we're planning a reunion next summer, so I really hope to see everyone again then and to continue this legacy that Grams left us!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Brittnye's Beautiful Wedding

Here's a few pictures from my trip to California for Brittnye's wedding! I had so much fun staying with my cousin Shannon and her cute family. And it was amazing to be able to see Brittnye and Dave get married. They were basically MFEO. She made such a beautiful bride!





Shannon's kids (Crew and Graham) are so ridiculously cute!



Southern California treated me well once again.