Amber this is for you.

So it has been a long time since we last posted, but for everyone but Amber it is better late than never right? We love you Amber.

Our summer/fall has been very eventful and we have been blessed in many ways. We want to thank Tiff and Jeff for their generosity as they let us live in their basement while we saved for a down payment. We moved into our own house and are trying to make it our home.
Benjamin is learning and growing so fast. We have gone to many football games and baseball games and he is already showing his love for sports. (As if he had a choice with a Dad like Alan!)
For Halloween he even dressed up as a golfer. Baby Tiger!
We watched Peanut; Tiff and Jeff's dog for a couple of months and Benjamin loved watching her and copying her every move. I think he drove her crazy a lot of the time.

We want to give a shout out to the strongest boy that we know. Trent DuVal our nephew passed away Tuesday, November 4th, 2008. Trent fought Leukemia valiantly for 16 months and never gave up but was called to serve in a different capacity. Trent was an example to each of us and we love him dearly. Trent we will miss you!!

Happy 1st Birthday Ben!

Yesterday Ben Turned one and had a great day. It was filled with family and friends. We are grateful to have him in our lives and look forward to many birthdays ahead.
Ben's 1st cake. Allison spent a lot of time and did a great job with his cake.

Ben has learned to love balloons. He used to scream when he saw them but now he can't get enough of them.

He got some tractors and lots of toys. Thanks to everyone who made this day a great one.

Cake and more cake. Ben couldn't get enough

He's Walking

Ben started to walk within the past couple of weeks and sure enough he has
taken his share of spills.

Graduation

I just wanted to give a shout out to my little sister, Annalee! She graduated from the University of Utah yesterday, Suma Cum Laude (with a 4.0 GPA!). It was so fun to go and see her walk, and to celebrate this accomplishment with her. I love her so much. We wish Annie the best as she now begins life after school. Love you, Annie!

Here's Ben enjoying an OREO he is starting to enjoy more and more foods.

Here's Ben and Trent. He is bud's with all of his cousins but is forming a great bond with Brad, Trent, and Nate, since he sees them everyday. He gets so excited and just screams when they come downstairs to see him.

Here we are at Alan's mission reunion. We are with the Onleu's the current Mission President in the Ivory Coast. At conference President Onleu was called as an Area Authority 70 so we were pretty excited. He was a Stake President while Alan was serving.

Mesa Verde

Two weeks ago we went on a little vacation to Cortez/Mesa Verde, Colorado. We got to see some of the awesome cliff dwelling ruins (as seen below), as well as visit the Four Corners monument. It is incredible that these have been preserved for so long! We hope you enjoy the pictures! Oh yeah, and we thought it was going to be warm down there...not a chance. It was still cold and snowy. Oh well, we still enjoyed it!

Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde

Benjamin and Alan having fun!

Whoa! He was in four states at once! (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona)

Benjamin and Allison at the ruins.

cheese and baptisms

This picture is great! Sometimes our little guy--who is zooming (crawling) all over now and getting bumps on his head--is such a little cheeser for the camera. So fun!









On Saturday we were able to go to the baptism of our niece, Madison. She looked so pretty and it was such a good experience! It was a great reminder to us of the priceless gift Heavenly Father has given us, even the Holy Ghost. We are so grateful for the Holy Ghost, for the guidance he gives, and for the testimony of truth that he brings to us. Wonderful! We also got to see Alan's sister Amber and her two children, Payton and Xoie, who are visiting from out of town. It was wonderful to see them all!!!

This picture is of the three little babies, from left to right (and oldest to youngest): Benjamin, Xoie, and Spencer. Amber is the lovely lady in the picture. It was fun to see the three little ones together!

texting = bad customer service

So the other day we were in the mall shopping when Alan went into a store to look at hats. It was a slow night at the mall, and he was the only customer in the shop. There were two employees in there: one was sitting backwards on the counter (facing the wall), texting on his phone. The other was leaning against the counter texting on his phone. The one leaning glanced up at Alan when he walked in, and that was the only acknowledgement either of them gave at all. Does the obsession with texting--especially when on the job--drive anyone else nuts?! We were so annoyed. Allison is in the young women's organization in our ward and sometimes (although they are getting much better!) the youth are texting during church or activities instead of really participating in what's going on around them. I think it's time we get involved in the things and people who are with us rather than spend our time texting--not even really talking--with the people who are not with us. Oh, and definitely never text while you're driving...please!

It has been quite awhile since we last posted, so here goes. Life has been great for us these past two months. Last week we had a great Valentine's Day together. We went out to dinner on Monday to avoid the crowds and it was perfect. And, because I (Allison) am posting this time, I want to tell Alan how much I love him! He is an incredible man in so many ways, and I am totally blessed to have him as my husband. He is a great daddy to our little guy, too. Thanks Alan!!! We love you!!!!!

Speaking of our little guy, Benjamin has finally figured out how to crawl this past week--just in time for his 9 month birthday! Now he's zooming all over. Just like his fascination with remotes and cell phones, he now loves electrical outlets, any electronics he can find, and all the cords that go with them. Needless to say, we have to watch him very closely. Now that he's crawling, though, he might be able to keep up with his cousin Xoie when she visits this week. ;)

Here are a few pictures of the past little while:

Alan was asked to be Swoop again for a day. He had fun doing it because he's so good!

With Daddy's help, Benjamin made Mommy a deliciously wonderful chocolate Valentine. She loved it!

One of Benjamin's favorite places to play is inside his diaper boxes. Alan put him in it one day as a joke, and Benjamin just played happily. We love our cute little boy!

This is our little guy at his first U of U basketball game. He loved it, and Utah pulled off a win against San Diego. Go Utes!

Benjamin is still trying to figure out if he likes the snow or not. Here he is having fun with Alan after helping the neighbors shovel.