We Met One of the Twelve Apostles Today

Andy was singing in the choir at stake conference today, so we arrived an hour before the meeting started. Corinne was in the baby bjorn and Allana was holding my hand walking through the crowded hallway with me. A familiar face was making his way through the crowd. It was Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Even though I had never met him before personally, we made eye contact and greeted each other. I was just going to continue passing by, but he stopped and offered his hand for a handshake. Then he bent down, patted Allana on the back and said hello to her.

It is always hard to describe feelings in words, but in that brief moment greeting Elder Oaks, I could see how he is a disciple of Christ. He was so genuine in his greeting and conveyed that he cared for us. It made me think of how our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know each of us individually. When we see them, we will recognize them and we will see how much they love us. They know our needs and empathize with us in our sorrows. I want to be more caring to people that I meet. I have a hard time forgetting myself and doing things for others, but that is something that I want to be better at... I guess I'll take it a day at a time and see if I can be a little kinder and a little more loving...

A few cute things Allana said this past week...

It is always cuter when you actually hear these words from Allana's mouth, but try to imagine her cute little voice and expressions when she said:

Jenelle: "Allana, you're growing up so fast!"

Allana: (with an astonished look on her face and hands throw out to both sides)

"No! Garret said don't grow up too fast! So I'm going to grow up slowly."

We just got back from a road trip yesterday. I didn't put a pull-up on Allana while we drove and we must have been in the car a little too long. When I went to unbuckle her, I jerked back my hand because I was not expecting to touch anything wet:

Jenelle: "Allana, you peed your pants!"

Allana: "No, that's not pee!"

Jenelle: "If it's not pee, then what is it?"

Allana: Looking down and examining her wet bottom..."um... it's other stuff."

Now today I took apart Allana's car seat so that we can wash it before we go anywhere. Allana went into the living room and began playing with the parts of the car seat that are not in the washer and yelled to me:

Allana: "Mother! I'm fixing my car seat because you broke it!"

Jenelle:  I didn't actually say much. I just smiled and decided to write about it in my blog.

Heavenly Father Please...

Allana was looking for her dance leotard (the one Baylee handed down that Allana must wear to dance at least 3 times a week) and the leotard was not on the hanger where it usually is.

"Where are my dance clothes?" Allana asked seriously.

"I don't know, Allana. Where did you put it after you wore it last?"

I went back to getting Corinne dressed for the day. Then I realized what a traumatic dilemma this was to Allana as I saw her throw herself onto the ground, kneeling and grasping her hands together. She squinted her eyes shut and said an urgent prayer. "Heavenly Father, I can't find my dance clothes. Heavenly Father will you please find my dance clothes for me? In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I guess she just needed Heavenly Father's help to get me to realize that this was super important to her. I dug her leotard out of her hamper and gave it to her to wear. She was really excited to have found it. I suggested that she say a prayer to thank Heavenly Father for his help. She got right down on her knees and prayed, "Heavenly Father thanks for finding my dance clothes for me! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Happy New Year!

Corinne's FAVORITE thing to do during december was to climb into the drawer with all the kid dishes and throw them out onto the floor. What a cutie! She has started to sign as well. She consistently signs "milk", "more", "food", "water", "snow", "up" and "my turn". 

This is how Corinne and Allana spent part of their New Year's Day. It was pretty cute to watch them attempt to drink water out of the pitcher Andy was pouring from. They giggle together a lot now

Allana has said some pretty funny things lately but I always forget them before I write them down. A few days ago we were reading a book about Dinosaurs and I told her that "Dinosaurs are Extinct." Allana's response was, "Why do they stink, mom?"

I've also been a bad influence on Allana... yesterday Allana kept saying "Dad, my foot hurts really bad. I need a massage!"

Merry Christmas!

On Christmas we went to Grandma & Grandpa Young's house for dinner. Andy, Allana, and I played in the snow. It was fun! We built 2 snowmen. Andy was diving through the snow. I did flips across the yard.

Disneyland!!!

Toon Town had to be my favorite stop of the whole day. It was so much fun to see Allana meeting the characters and playing on the cars there. She even got to play with Goofy at his house! Kristie got a couple kisses from Goofy too. Corinne was super the entire day and both Allana and Corinne just took naps in the Bjorn when they needed them.

Our Favorite Spot in Vegas

We've always loved visiting the Bellagio Conservatory and watching the fountain shows. We took the whole group there to share our favorite spot on the Strip.... It looks like Garrett and his friend that is a girl (not girl-friend) liked it too :)

MVHS Dance Tour

We just got back from a trip with the Ballroom Dance Company (Directed by Andy) and the Orchesis Dance Company. We did a show in Las Vegas at Step by Step and then took a Tango lesson from Ron and a Samba lesson from Josie. It was so much fun being there in the studio again. I have fond memories there. I am glad we had the experience of being Las Vegans for a couple years. I must say when we visit I can still remember Vegas feeling like "home".

Thanksgiving in Rexburg

We spent Thanksgiving in Rexburg at Grandma & Grandpa Anderton's. Bonnie & Tim were there too for the Thanksgiving fesitivites. After lunch we played disc golf in their yard. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. 

Hay Play

Corinne and Allana playing on the hay stack before Thanksgiving.  They thought it was such fun... even though they nearly froze in the process! 

Their favorite part about going to Burtenshaw's is seeing the cows.... oh and they like the Burtenshaws as well. Kaylene and Lynn are so good to the little ones!