Hair Cut, Pen Face

A few days ago I cut Troy's hair for the second time. It was the best choice ever to learn how to cut the boys' hair. The haircutting tool that we got from Wal-mart makes it pretty easy. I still am not sure how curly Troy's hair is. I'm interested because Ben had really curly hair as a kid. It's fun to be able to compare our child pictures and pick out what he got from us. It still wigs me out that he grew inside of me. I love it too though. A blessing and miracle in one.

Anyway... here is Ben holding Troy still so that I can cut his hair.

Kind of bad lighting, but he has the cutest face in this picture.

Ben and Troy at the ESPN Gameday event by Lavell Edwards Stadium.

The next thing to report is that I still have not learned to remove everything within a nine foot radius of Troy. I thought I had scanned the area of things I didn't want him grabbing, but I missed a pen! He took advantage of that mistake pretty quickly. I forget how far he can roll!

Doesn't he look so innocent. Luckily he did it right before his bathtime. Just the beginning I guess... He is starting to scoot kind of. It started back in Florida. He will lift his whole body off the ground with his hands, but can't quite figure out to get on his knees. He also tries to stick his bottom up in the air as far as possible. An interesting approach.

I LOVE FALL

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE FALL in Utah? The colors, the smells. The excitement of holidays lurking around the corner. It reminds me of how happy Meg Ryan was in You've Got Mail about fall and "a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils."

I have been wanting to take pictures, but didn't get it done until my friend Liss spoke up of her desire to do it today. We decided to take some family pictures. Check it out.





I think Brock discovered his true calling. To be a photographer. Cameras will probably take a backseat to Med school, but I am telling you he is amazing. Garzas: We have decided we will do this again when you visit in December! Mariannos: you should visit in December too :)

Florida Pictures

Here are some of my favorite pictures of our vacation in Florida!

Troy did pretty well on the plane as you can see. His last straw was about 1/2 hour before we got to Salt Lake on the way back. Poor guy and poor passengers.. I still think he did great though. That was a lot of flying and that was the only time he cried.

There were so many blessings on this trip. I listed them at the bottom.

First day was spent at the beach. This shows how much of an angel Troy was all week.

Atlantic Ocean.

Kennedy Space Center was a definite highlight of the trip. I have never felt so small.

My favorite place at Universal Studios: Dr. Seuss Land.

This is the splash created by the Jurassic Park ride that we went on several times. There were practically no lines the day we went. It was so great.

Epcot was absolutely fascinating. This is Morocco.

Ben is pretending to be an English spy. Pretty good huh?

I love how smiley Troy is. He loved being able to see so many different things at the parks.

This was our last day at the parks. We were EXHAUSTED. Or at least I was. The final day was spent at Tampa Beach. I would have pictures but the wind could have literally blown me over. The sand was still like flour though. Oh this trip was so incredibly fun!!

Blessings: 1. Our family is so incredibly fun to be with. We miss them already. 2. Our car that we rented was supposed to be a full size (it would have been a tight squeeze) but they only had a mini-van left! 3. Our hotel room was upgraded to a suite where Ben and I had our own room upstairs and our own bathroom. The space was needed so Troy could cry to sleep and we could be playing games or talking in their room downstairs. 4. Troy was starting to get sick the day we left, but the sickness paused and didn't start up again until we got home. 5. Troy was so good for the whole trip. What a trooper! 6. Mom is an "Elite or Medallion" airlines member and so we didn't have to pay for any of our bags and bypassed all the lines. Thanks again Mom for making this trip happen!

Florida here we come!!

We (Ben, Troy, Mom Allsop, Brittany, Brayden, and I) leave to Orlando Florida tomorrow!!! It is a 9 day trip. We are spending a couple of days at the beach. Two days at DisneyWorld, two days (maybe more) at Universal Studios (Adventure Land), and going to the Kennedy Space Center. We did not take any vacations during the summer and we are ready for one. Even though I feel like every night is a vacation ever since we graduated. Yay for no homework!

I'm so excited to be with Ben all the time for over a week. We have not done that forever. I am a little worried about Troy on the plane... Does anyone have some wisdom to give me? Please?!

A new way to get Troy to sleep

During the last couple of weeks we have been spending a good amount of time at Ben's families' house. We love it. It was General Conference, Mom's birthday, and for her birthday we decided to clean out her storage room. (Ben is the ultimate organizer and I have come quite fond of it myself.) While we were there we had some hard times getting Troy to nap, but Mom found a new way :)

She drags him around on this blanket and he Loves it. He'll be crying hysterically and then will be completely quiet. However, once you start you can't stop until he falls asleep. (Mom, Troy and Brittany)

I have always been paranoid about blankets around his face, but he will always drag them up to his cheeks. He loves things touching his face while he sleeps.

Here is Ben and Brayden making Oreo shakes for everyone. Yum. I think they made about half of that huge carton, and ate most of it themselves. They both felt pretty sick after.

If only he listened to Elder Bednar

When I login to my e-mail, 4 or 5 news stories are listed to the left of my screen. It keeps me somewhat updated, and helps me keep politically involved as long as I follow through on reading the full story. One of the latest popups today was about David Letterman. He was blackmailed by a fan, now in jail, with photos of him cheating on his wife with coworkers. He apologized, on air, to his wife and coworkers. I immediately thought of Elder Bednar's talk. The story he told about the man confessing his love to his family over the pulpit is very applicable to this situation. Mr. Letterman is saying he is sorry but is being hypocritical unless his apology is practiced in private with those he apologized to.

I guess what I can take away from this is the advice my Young Women's President gave me. To treat my family the same way at home as I would in front of my friends. Even better, treat them as if Jesus were in my home. Whoo, lots to improve on.

I Got to Listen to a Prophet

Did anyone else just sit there in awe during this General Conference? Even with kids playing around me, I was mesmerized by each talk. Ooh I just loved it. I learned how to specifically be a better wife to Ben. I can improve on loving what he loves and respect what he cherishes. I need to be consistent in family home evening, scripture study and prayer. I need to focus on virtues and principles that are Christlike. I also loved the point that when a society is dependent upon its laws to keep civil, it is the least civilized. My grandfather often taught that family, not government, is where civility is learned. Once again, family is so important!

I also loved learning the importance of teaching our children the gospel so that they may recognize its opposite, evil, when they see it later in life and are able to choose with knowledge rather than ignorance. I also learned that member missionary work should not be as scary because 1. The Book of Mormon will never be proven wrong because it is from God and has withstood many enemies, and 2. This life is so short and we are here to prove ourselves loyal to the Lord. Wow, does TV sound like such a waste of time when you think about this life being the amount of time to prove ourselves? Doesn't family seem so much more important than work or status?

I hope that my family can really know how much I love General Conference and depend upon those words to help me change my behaviors to become like Christ.

When Daddy is left alone with Troy...

He laughs and smiles so much more :) Probably because Ben gives him things that I would not give him. Such as...