I'm going to Jackson...Hole

When I blog I tend to like to do it in order, it's easier to put into a book that way but I'm impatient and going to just blog the pictures I have-Jackson Hole and the Cul-de-sac of Fire. We're going backwards:) But before I do, have I mentioned we're going to have another baby? Most of you know but we are due with another bundle of joy in January! Next week I'll be 15 weeks and if this pregnancy is anything like the others, next week will be magical and I' ll start feeling good again (fingers crossed.)
moving on...

Every other year we get together with my Dad's family for a reunion. This year we went up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and it was amazing. I'd forgotten how beautiful and relaxing it was up there. The drive up was eventful to say the least. We blew a tire and took some wrong turns, the 5 hour drive turned to almost 10! Luckily that was the end of our bad luck the rest of the trip went smoothly.My uncle designed this shirt for our reunion.

Friday we picked Drew up from the airport, ahhh- we were finally together after 10 days. The boys wanted nothing to do with me and wouldn't leave Drew's side. From there we went to the alpine slide and the boys LOVED it.
Mac was a little nervous about the lift at first but when we got to the top he didn't want to get off.

G laughed and screamed "Again" the whole ride.


Thursday, HOT, Friday HOT, Saturday the day we're going white water rafting, COLD like 63 degrees cold. Perfect if you aren't planning on getting splashed by freezing water. Most the girls broke down and rented wet suits, the best 6 dollars I ever spent.
Check out my cute grandma. such a trooper.

I sat in the middle where it was nice and safe. I hid behind Roo whenever we got hit by a wave. I know I'm a wimp but it was so cold!
Luckily Roo was in front of me cause she ended up in my lap most of the time:)Even though it was cold we had an amazing time!


The RODEO. This is what Mac looked forward to most. He wanted to see a real cowboy and a real bull. Well, while everyone else was disappointed with the lame rodeo (no pros just the locals trying to ride) Mac loved every second of it.

Most of the McAllister Clan. Missing Aunt Marla and Jeff and their 4 boys and Scott and Steve.

Our little McAllister family minus Scotty

Sunday... church, naps, a walk around Jenny Lake and fireworks.

Watching the fireworks. Teton Village put on one of the best shows we've seen.

The weekend was really, really great. I loved spending time with cousins I adore and meeting some of their new spouses. The card games got crazy but what would you expect from the most competitive family in the world! Thanks grandma for the great trip and making sure we get together once in a while!

Monday we dropped Drew off at the airport and headed home:(

The Cul-de-sac of Fire

I grew up in a pretty great place. A cul-de-sac of 12 houses and a million kids, not quite a million more like 50, give or take a few. In the summer the moms would sit out on their porches talking while the kids ran around shoeless and having the time of their lives. There were crazy wars between boys and girls and some of the best baseball and hockey games ever played. It truly was the best place to grow up.

Well, since we were little we have been having the Cul-de-sac of Fire. All the neighbors come together for a BBQ, a flag ceremony, and of course, fire works. Thanks Shaw family for making sure this tradition still happens!

This year was fun, all the "kids" my age came with their kids. It was great seeing all the families growing.

When our kids weren't terrorizing the other children they wrestled with Grandpa. I'm not kidding about the terrorizing. Mac, G and Lucy took over the slide and wouldn't let anyone down. There was pushing and Mac jumped on a couple of kids. Embarrassing, but the funny part is that everyone understood, "Oh look it's a McAllister. " I guess we were a rough bunch when we were little too:)
Lining up for the flag ceremony...
The kids loved the fireworks that were in sync with the Anthem.
Watching the fireworks

We are back

Last Wednesday we got back from a glorious 2 week trip to Utah and Jackson hole, Wyoming. It couldn't have gone better. We got to see friends and family and more family. I had forgotten how great Utah is in the summer. No bugs, no humidity, fresh peas and it cools down in the shade! Bad thing, I have a million pictures and some still coming and I have no idea where to start. So I wont, until I get all the pictures from our lovely family and friends (hint, hint).

Annie flew back to KY with me and is flying home tonight:( It's been great having her here again. We really missed her. This week we've laid around recouping from our vacation. Saturday we went to Mammoth cave, the longest cave in the world. 367 miles have been explored and they still haven't found an end. Crazy!!!
We went on 2 tours cause we didn't realize that the cave was in central time and not Eatsern like Lexington, so we had some time to deal with.

Tour #1 (took 1/2 hour)Boys ran around screaming "HI HO!" Thanks cousin Lucy!
This is what happens when you come out of a freezing cave into hot temps.
Tour #2 (took 2 hours)

going down the long, steap, sink hole.

Both boys were troopers. Mac walked the whole time and G was a little tired.

walking down to the drappery room
Bus ride to our car.

Change

One thing that I've learned a lot about while living in Kentucky is change. We have started our family out here and watched it grow. We have moved 4 times. We have been students and now professionals. But what changes the most is our friends. We have been blessed to meet so many great people and become good friends with many but there is a time when we have to say goodbye to them. Lexington for most, is a pit stop, a place of education but not professionalism and that's ok. I just hope all our kids meet up at BYU and reunite these friendships. Wouldn't that be great?!

Last night we said goodbye to our good friends the Rosenhans. Luckily they are moving to Utah to finish up Branden's medical residency at the U so we will be able to see them when we visit.

The night was filled with laughter and awkward moments created by Mac and Savannah or how Mac pronounces her name, Fanana. This was their idea of a train...

Tiff, thanks for the fun night! We'll miss you guys!

Not Fun

The good news is, I finally found out what was causing me so much pain. Last week I went to the doctor to figure out what was going on. Me and the doctor were pretty sure it was a UTI but the test said otherwise. They came up clear every time. Frustrated, she put me on medication for a UTI and said that this should help and we'll send the urine sample for more tests. Well, Wednesday I got the letter saying, no bacteria was found but keep taking your medicine. Frustrated I called Drew, "What if it's all mental, and I'm making up all the pain." After Drew assured me that everything would be ok, I hung up the phone and went on with my day. Well, an hour later, while painfully going to the bathroom the stone emerged!!! I was shocked to see how big it was and just plain happy that the pain was gone and that the mystery was over!

Gray is 2!!!

CRAZY my baby turned 2 on the 15th! Crazy he once was this little...
We love our little G, he has definitely spiced up our lives. Always laughing, can throw some of the best tantrums but is still the sweetest boy! I love that he's talking more. He repeats everything we say and because of his amazing tantrums, has been in time out a lot lately, so he now can count to 20 with little to no help. I think my favorite thing Gray does is instead of saying "Yes" he says "What" it's confusing at times but super funny. I took Gray in for his 2 year check up. He's 37.5 inches tall (above 95%) and weighs 30 lbs (75%).

Onto to the festivities...

We all weren't feeling great Tuesday, G was GRUMPY. We went into his room singing "Happy Birthday" and he just sat there, yelling "No! Stop it!"
But cheered up when he saw all the balloons and presents...

He got a tool bench and all the tools to go with it. Both boys loved it!

Showing us the card Grandma Davis sent him!

We ended the morning party by eating bacon and toast for breakfast, G's favorite.


Later we had a little birthday party with one other family. Gray opened Grandpa and Grandma Mom's present (a new trike, pictures to come) and had cake and Ice cream.
G loves cars so I attempted to make a race car cake. Same as last year, not the best looking cake but pretty tasty.

Nat sent Gray a present on Saturday, he slept with the present every night until I finally let him open it the day before his birthday. Thanks for the shirt!
Scotty sent G a present too. The package was filled with sweet little Italian chocolate eggs with toys inside of them, little Nutella jars and Shrek chocolates. They were a huge hit!
Thanks to all the family and friends who sent presents, called and sent texts to wish Gray a happy birthday! It turned out to be a great day!