Bucket List Items

Winter 2014

So I kind of have this running bucket list in my head.  I have written some of the items down, but mostly I just have this mental list I keep and then when the opportunity arises, I check some of them off.

This winter, I have checked off 3 of my bucket list items which are the following:

1) Be a fitness instructor.  Last semester I started going to cycling classes a lot.  I tried out in January to be a teacher on campus and so I have been teaching a Cycling class at BYU-Idaho on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  I have found out that it is a new passion of mine!  So sad that it is almost over. I think I will definitely keep it up throughout my life.  Cycling is such a fun way to workout!

2) Cut my hair off to my chin.  For the past ten years, every time I am on the way to get my haircut I think to myself, "Is this the haircut where my hair will be to my chin?"  And then, I, or the hairstylist usually talks myself out of it.  I have been so scared to do it.  Not sure where I found the courage, but I just realized that hair indeed will grow back, and if I hated short hair, I never had to have it again.  I decided to get it out of my system. But it has been a fun change.  Not sure I will always have short hair, but definitely think I will do it again.

3) Do a mini-triathlon.  In February, they hosted a mini-triathlon on campus.  Blaine and I both participated in different rounds so that we could still take care of our kids.  We swam 300 meters, biked 6 miles, and ran 1.5 miles.  It was fun to have the variety in a race, and overall it definitely wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I wasn't as sore as I usually get after other races, and I think it is because it was an all-around body workout, working many different muscle groups.  We will definitely do it again!

 

I was so happy to have a number on my arm!  The race felt legit!

 One of my cycling buddies did the race with me!

 Blaine has become so much better at swimming this semester, thanks to a swim class and lots of hard work!  I was so proud of him when I saw him swimming in the pool!  Way to go Blaine!

 

Doing these things, I have recently thought about all the things I might be missing out on in life that I just don't even know about yet.  I feel the "adventure bug" starting to bite me!  I am excited to try a lot of other new things!

Sweet Afton Girl is 1!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

 One year ago, our little Afton girl joined our family!  Sweet and Sassy, this little Afton girl has really brought a lot of joy and spunk to our house!

 To celebrate her birthday, we had a breakfast of oatmeal pancakes, (the girl's favorite).

 We just played and hung out doing her favorite things during the day such as snuggling, playing with toys and toddling around the house.

She opened a few small gifts.

 

Then we had a "Sweet Afton" dinner.  This was really more for me than for her, but it was fun to think of a menu consisting of so many "Sweet" things in honor of Afton.

We got to have some family members over for a little while.

 

 Then we had "Sweet Rolls" in place of cake for her birthday dessert.  It was funny to watch her try to grab the candles instead of blow them out.  Watching her eat the sweet rolls was a funny experience because she quickly found that her favorite part about them was the frosting...and so she would gobble up that cream cheese goodness then quickly discard the roll on the floor.  This is a common occurrence lately!  We love seeing her develop her little personality and show her likes and dislikes!

Happy Birthday Afton Girl! We are so glad you are in our family!

Happy Birthday Hyrum Boy!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Could it be that my little baby boy Hyrum is 3 years old?  I know that people always say that time flies, but IT REALLY DOES!  Especially when it comes to how fast this little ones grow up!

We had "H" cupcakes at Grandma Munns' house the night before his birthday and had the grandparents celebrate with us.

 Hyrum woke up on his birthday find 4 quarters in his birthday shoe (one to grow an inch-both the extra quarter and the quarters in the shoe are a King tradition).  He had a happy dance when he saw the streamers and posters and balloons.

 

The day was low-key and fun, including a trip to the fire station...this little boy is in love with firetrucks lately!  He got a big chalk board/marker board for his birthday!  (Because I am a King girl I have to tell you that I got it for $8 at D.I.!)  He got a few small gifts including goldfish crackers...his favorite.

 The Goldfish held the balloons from flying away! :)

 Hyrum by his chalk board/marker board

We had brownies with Thomas the Train and a Fire Engine on top, (Hyrum's idea) and ice cream.

We are so grateful for this little Hyrum boy in our life!  Happy Birthday!

Snowshoe Adventure

Saturday, January 4, 2014

 There was a free day at Harriman State Park.  We felt brave enough to pack up the snowshoes and the kids and go for the day.  Thank goodness for handwarmers...we used them for our hands and feet.  Even though the adventure took most the day, and we were ready to get home by the end, the great outdoors and fresh air were just what we needed to remind us about how beautiful Idaho winters are! We would definitely do an adventure like this again...even with the littles.  I think next time we would make our hike a little shorter, but overall, it was such a fun day and our kids were troopers.

Happy New Year 2014!

To bring in the New Year we decided to have our own little celebration at home.

We started out the evening of New Year's eve by eating some fun appetizers for dinner.  Appetizers included pizza bites (so fun for little kids), firecracker chicken (a new favorite recipe), chips and salsa, veggies and dip, M&M cookies, and of course a bowl M&M's in honor of my mom.

We made lots of noise and played fun games together including the matching game.  Hyrum is so good at getting matches.  Definitely has the Allen memory!  Afton wasn't sure if she she play with or eat the noise makers!

 At around 8pm, we pretended it was midnight and went outside to bang pots and pans up and down the street.  This is one of my favorite memories from growing up!

Happy New Year 2014!

Christmas 2013

Christmas Eve this year started out with reading the Nativity and using Blaine's Nativity characters to act it out.  Then we gave each put a present to Jesus under the tree.  During the day, we tried out cross country skiing around our apartment complex and spending time together.  We had a candlelight dinner, (a King tradition), and the kiddos opened up new pjs from the grandparents.  What a great way to bring in Christmas!