Queen Creek Preschool

So one of my good friends is starting up an In-Home Preschool this next school year and I wanted to help her get the word out. She is a certified teacher that has taught in the Queen Creek School District for years but has quit to be at home with her 8 month old baby girl. She and I are Visiting Teaching Companions and we were due one day apart. It is fun to both have baby girls. She is one of the sweetest most caring people I know and if you have kids between the ages of 3 and 5, they would be lucky to be part of her pre-school.

Visit her website for more information

www.leapsnboundspreschool.com

Whirlwind Lives!

So our little family has had a very busy last couple of months, and it isn't over yet. We have had quite a few trips that we have taken, along with some super crazy times with work. I will have more posts for all of you in the next few days I hope, but just know that I haven't meant to go MIA, it just happens some time. I have tonz of pictures that I'm wanting to post, it is just a matter of taking the time to put the posts together. I promise, I'll do them, and I'll do them soon!

Luvz, Katie (The absent blogger)

Pampered Chef??

So I am going to be having a Pampered Chef party on Saturday, June 6th, and I want anyone who would want to come to be there :) You don't even have to buy anything, just come and hang out and eat some yummy yummy food! If you would want to come leave a comment with your mailing address or email it to me at kmcallister310@gmail.com

I really would love to have any and all of you there!!

OH MY GOSH!!

One word in response to my previous post. . . "EXPLOSIVE!!!!!" Luckily Mike got home just in time to help :)

What have I gotten myself into??

So Alena had Prunes for the first time today, and while I was feeding her, I just kept thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" Honestly, the prunes looked bad enough before she ate them. We all know what affect prunes are supposed to have on people. I just keep thinking, "What am I going to be taking care of later this afternoon?" Alena really liked them, she ate them really well. I guess the "end" result will really decide whether or not I feed them to her again. My fingers are crossed that it isn't anything too terrible. Mike isn't even here for me to make him take care of it. Looks like I'm on my own :) Wish me luck!

How Blessed Are We??

So 2 of my favorite times of year are the first weekend of April and the first weekend of October. To have to opportunity to watch and listen to the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is such a blessing. The inspiration of the topics is amazing. We are so blessed to have such wonderful men receiving guidance from a loving Heavenly Father. It sure gives comfort in such trying times. I love listening to Conference!!!

WOOHOO!!!

DISNEYLAND HERE WE COME!!! So we leave this afternoon for Disneyland. Can I just say I am way more than ecstatic that we are going. I have been wanting to go with Mike since we got married, so we decided we would make it our trip for our 2nd anniversary which we celebrated earlier this month. The only downfall is that I am leaving my baby :( I'm afraid I'm gunna end up having a total breakdown. How do all you mommies out there do it? I almost cry just thinking about the fact that I'm not going to see her until Monday night. I know my sister Emily and her family are going to take great care of her, but still, a baby needs her mommy. At least I hope that my baby needs me :( She probably won't even notice I'm gone and that makes me sadder than the fact that I'm leaving her. We are going to have a great trip though. We will go to Disneyland Friday and Saturday then drive down to San Diego and spend Sunday and Monday morning, then drive home Monday afternoon. We are going with Mike's cousins Brian and Carrie with their daughter Addie and Brian's mom Gloria. Saturday is Brian's birthday so he gets in free. LUCKY!! It is going to be wonderful. Just cross your fingers that I don't have an emotional breakdown this weekend :) I heart Disneyland!!!

Why Mormons Build Temples

We are so grateful for the opportunity we have to share this video to all those who may wonder about our belief in temples. Going to the temple has been, and continues to be a wonderful blessing to our little family. It is a place that we can go and feel close to our Heavenly Father and to learn and be guided by Him. It is a place where we can feel Heavenly Father's goodness and peace in a world that is chaotic and scary.

We invite all to view this video and we pray that you might better understand "why Mormons build temples".

Crazy Huh??

So my sister put this together and I thought it was both crazy and totally cute! This is a picture of my older sister Melissa when she was 3 months old and then one of the pictures of Alena at 6 months old. Now if that isn't a family resemblance, I don't know what is.

Alena Marie - 6 Months Already

My Oh My!!! Where has the time gone!?! Little Alena is 6 months old already. Can you believe it? This week Alena cut her first tooth. Sweet girl. . .she has been so uncomfortable and all she wants is to be held. That is one of the greatest feelings. . .to know that my holding her seems to make everything better! We are so grateful for our sweet baby girl. We love you Teeny!

~ Mommy and Daddy

A Story at 2:00AM

Let me tell you a little story. . .

Once upon a time not so long ago (1:00AM this morning to be precise), I was finally drifted into a much desired sleep. When out of no where I am awoken by the loud sound of an airplane flying over my bedroom.

"What the heck!" (I thought, did I just dream that). A several seconds later, another pass. . .then another, then another, then lights shining in our bedroom window as if this plane is going to land in my "Too-small-for-an-airplane" backyard.

I woke Katie up and asked, "Katie, do you hear that airplane? Do you see it?" (I was honestly thinking and maybe hoping a little, that I was hallucinating).

But no. . .IT WAS REAL. What do you do? I mean seriously? This plane was just circling the neighborhood over and over again.

It was really low, almost as if it was coming in to land and then circling back. So weird.

So we finally decided to call the Sheriff's office (yes, Sheriff's office. We live out in the boonies). . . they told us that they already got a complaint and that they have dispatched a deputy and called the FAA, but they haven't heard anything.

Then. . .now this is the most priceless line of the year. . .the woman told me "Well, Sir, we really can't pull over an airplane."

Did I really sound that stupid to her? I paused for a second and all I could say was " I realize that. . ."

So. . .what the heck do you do?

I am happy to report that the McAllister house is still standing and after an hour of circling, the airplane seems to have . . . gone away. (but I think I still hear it off in the dstance). Anywho, so the end result of this whole experience is me and Katie. . .sitting in bed at 2:15AM, awake from the adrenaline, sharing this stupid story. . .hope you enjoy. . . .

Wait. . .did you hear that?!?!

Alena's Firsts

Well, in the last month and a half Alena has had quite a few "Firsts". It really is so fun to see how fast she is growing. It makes me sad sometimes, but I love it. She has started holding her own bottle but only sometimes. It is so cute because she will just grab on and not want me to hold it but then other times she wants nothing to do with it.


Another thing she is doing now is rolling over. We try and try to show people but she will never do it when other people are watching so we have the video as proof. Mike didn't realize that the camera doesn't self adjust so the beginning of the movie is sideways but it flips the right way before she rolls over :)


The last thing we have video of is her sweet little laugh. In this video it is more of a giggle, but there are times when she really gets going. It is the cutest thing ever! I love my sweet baby girl so much.

We will be starting solid foods next week and I am actually excited for that adventure. Hopefully she does well and I don't have any issues with allergies or anything like that. We will also be moving her out of our room and into her crib in the nursery. I know that most of you are probably thinking "My heck, they haven't put her in her own room yet" but every time I get ready to do it I just can't. I think a large part of it is the hard time I had being in the hospital and not having her with me. It was very hard for me those first few days to not have her right there to be able to check on but I think we are to the point now where I will be okay to move her. Before I know it she will be crawling and talking and walking. Why do they have to grow up so fast? I don't understand it. If only they could be small forever. It is fun to see her personality develop more and more each day. I love that she recognizes me and reacts to my voice. Each day brings something new and I love it. Being a mom is the greatest thing ever!!!

Happy Birthday to US

So, in the last month both Mike and I celebrated our birthdays. Mike's birthday is on the 19th and mine is on the 28th. We really had a great month. It was crazy but a whole lot of fun.

For starters with Mike's birthday we had a bunch of people over to our house for pizza and games on the 17th. We had a great time. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family. The loser I am I totally didn't take any pictures :(

Well, then on Mike's actual birthday the 19th we went out to dinner with his mom at Carrabba's. It really is a fabulous restaurant for any of you that have never been. Talk about good quality Italian. I definitely recommend.

Then on the 25th we had family dinner at my parents house where we celebrated all of the January birthday's. Everyone gets to blow out their own candles but Mike and I decided to do ours together. It is always a fun time. The grandkids all love singing Happy Birthday over and over and over again.

Then it was my birthday on the 28th. All I wanted was a night out with Mike. We haven't had a date night since Alena was born 5 months ago and we really needed some time on our own. It was so wonderful and loser me again no pictures! We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner which was fabulous as always and my wonderful husband didn't tell them it was my birthday so I didn't have to sit on that stupid saddle. I was very grateful for that. Then we went around and did a little shopping and then got ice cream at Coldstone. It really was so great to be out just the two of us. I was worrying about Alena the whole time, but it was still a wonderful night. Thanks Holly for babysitting for us.

Then last of all we on the 31st we got together with some people for a night out bowling for my birthday. I have been wanting to go for months and we finally got to go. Let me just say that I really am the WORST bowler ever, but I still have a really good time. We bowled a couple games and then went and got something to eat at Denny's with Carrie and Brian. It was another fun night. Thanks to everyone that was able to share in all of our birthday fun. We love all of you!! Can't wait for next year :)

New Years Eve and New Years Day

Well, New Years is always a fun time for Mike and I because we got engaged on New Years Eve. That is a fun day that will always be remembered. The last two years we have spent New Years Eve at my brother Scott's house. They have a bunch of friends over and we eat and play all sorts of fun games. This year we played Mad Gab, the Sign Game, and Dippity Dippity Dip. We always have such a great time.

Here is a shot of everyone just hanging out

This is what Alena thought of all the games and craziness :)


At midnight we did the count down thing, the kissing thing :) and the sparkling cider thing. Can you tell we are tired and ready for bed?


We then went home and went to bed rather quickly. On New Years Day we decide to meet up with Mike's cousins Brian and Carrie and their daughter Addie. We always have so much fun with them. We went to the new San Tan Mall for a little shopping and looking around. We had a great time. It was so beautiful outside we loved it.

Carrie and I were happy because we hit up some awesome sales at Bath and Body Works.

Alena didn't mind the shopping either.
She was such a good girl the whole time. Isn't that a sweet face :)

All in all it was a really fun day. Happy New Year from the McAllisters. We love you all!

Yay for Christmas!!!

So I will start by warning you that this is going to be a very long post :) The Christmas festivities started on Christmas Eve. We went in to my parents house for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Dad reads Luke 2, we have a little bit of a program from the grand kids that have stuff to share, Emily sang Breath of Heaven and that was beautiful and then we have a song that we sing every year as a family. Loser me, I forgot our camera :( After dinner we came home and got into our Christmas PJ's. It is a fun tradition from Mike's family that we have decided to continue.


We then went to bed, anxious for Christmas morning. I love Christmas, I don't think I will ever sleep through the night on Christmas Eve. 7:00 finally came so I started waking Mike up. He came around at about 7:30 and we headed in to open up our Christmas presents. Mike and I opened our presents before we got Alena up. She sleeps till about 8 so we wanted to let her sleep for a while longer.

I think we made out pretty good, what about you?

My wonderful husband got me a sewing machine :) I was so excited!!!


Then it was time to get Alena out of bed. She was not very happy with us for waking her up, but I couldn't wait any longer. We took a quick picture and then I feed her while Mike opened up her presents. I'm sure she loved every second of it :) At least it was fun for Mom and Dad.


After the fun of opening presents we headed back in to my parents for Christmas Breakfast. All while I was growing up, we always had Christmas Breakfast, which was always Waffles, at Grandma and Grandpa Hall's house. The family has gotten to large to continue doing that so it has down sized to just our family at my parents house. The waffle tradition has continued though. It is still a task to make waffles, bacon, sausage, and eggs for nearly 40 people. We split up all the food assignments and went to work.

Here we are busily preparing the food.

Isn't Brad a great Waffle maker?

See here is the proof!!

The kids sure do love Christmas Waffles


Now it was just time to hang out. Alena loves being with the family. There is always someone willing to hold her :)


Alena had to have a fun Christmas Outfit. I'm a dork and she has had an outfit for every holiday so far. I'm sure she will end up with one for every holiday till she turns 1 :)

Isn't that a funny smooshy face? She sure can pull a face.


The rest of the day was spent playing games, hanging out, eating lots more food and just creating great memories.

Here is the fam just sitting around. Do the parents look tired to you?


I told you we like food :)

So Preston is the king of goofy presents and this is what he got my dad for Christmas. The kids were having so much fun playing with it.



It was a wonderful Christmas, and I was sad when it was over. I am even more excited for next year when Alena will be a little older and we will be able to make even more memories as a family.

Alena's Baby Blessing

Alena was blessed the Sunday after Thanksgiving (November 30) and we were so happy that we were able to have so many family members present for it. Mike gave the sweetest most special blessing and it is a day that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was so great to feel the support and the love from both sides of our family.

Alena with Mom and Dad and her Grandparents

Alena with Great Grandma Hall

4 Generations of lovely ladies :)

Afterward we went over my sister Emily's house for a luncheon. Thank you so much Emily for letting us invade your house like that. Thanks also to my sisters and to Holly for helping with the meal. It was so fun to be able to sit around and eat and visit. There is nothing better than food and loved ones, it sure does make for some wonderful memories.


Preston was pretty sleepy :)

Thanksgiving

So I know this is way late but I figured I would catch up on the Blog :) Thanksgiving was very exciting this year to say the least. It was our first Thanksgiving in our house, and crazy us we decided to host. Mike's family came to town and we managed to pull off a wonderful dinner cooking in our little kitchen. We started the day by going in to my parents for Dunkin Donuts. That is a family tradition for us, and I wasn't about to miss it. Thank heaven for Bavarian Cream Donuts!!!! We then went and saw Mike's Aunt Gloria so that she could meet Alena. She was only in town from San Diego for the day and we really wanted to see her. I'm glad we were able to have a nice little visit with her and Donna and Amanda. Then we went home and the craziness of preparing a large Thanksgiving meal ensued. We pit roasted a turkey that was amazing and we furnished all of the other Thanksgiving necessities. I love food, what else can I say. It was funny, because of course we made way too much food and ended up eating Thanksgiving left overs for the next 5 days. It was great to have all of the family here and to be able to spend some time with everyone.

A Pickle In Central Park

So when I was in New York, we had dessert at the Stage Deli in Manhattan. As I was ordering my massive slice of cheese cake, I noticed that all the other tables (the ones that ordered entrees) had a plate of pickles. I couldn't resist. . .yeah I think everyone in the restaurant (including my table) thought I was crazy!!

Better Late Than Never

So you will probably think we are crazy, but yesterday, 2 days after Halloween, Mike and I carved our pumpkin :) The plan was to carve it Halloween night, but we were much too busy. We had bought the pumpkin and we didn't want it to go to waste. We had never carved a pumpkin together before which is another reason we wanted to do it. We have been together the last 3 Halloweens and this is the first year we ended up doing. The funny thing is we have bought a pumpkin every year, we just didn't ever do it the other two years :) Here are some pictures of our endeavors:

Here is Mike cutting off the top


Here we are cleaning it out. I'm sorry, but pumpkin insides REAK!!!




And the carving begins :)




Alena had to get in on the action too. You may be thinking, "Wow, that is one big pumpkin" but it's not. Our sweet little Alena is just still really small :)


So here is the finished product. We had so much fun :) We were very proud of the end result.