Our Baby

As a continuation of photos of the family, these are the latest pictures of our baby. Everyone thinks Piko is so cute. We tried for a new name for the baby but it didn't work. We just keep calling her the dirty name that Laura gave her. Thanks LuLu.


This is Piko kickin' it after a hard walk around Laurelglen. She had to charge fences of her dog friends, sniff a thousand bushes and mark the neighborhood for any new friends that might arrive. It is a tough job but she does it faithfully.


Here we have the baby enjoying the popcorn popping on the cherry trees with me in the backyard. We had a full day of planting new flowers and enjoying the Bako Springtime.


All babies need new toys from time to time. We got this teeter-totter plane for all of the kids. Piko likes to be the pilot.

Pictures of the Family

So, everyone shows pictures of their kids, so I thought I should too.


This handsome couple are the parents of the kids. We had a pre-Mormon Formal dinner at our house. Your mom and I were the servants. We had 25 kids that attended. The Petersens took care of preparing the food. We were just eye candy.


I really don't know why this is black and white. We will just call it "artistic photography" for Landon and Sarah's sake. This is NOT Tawna's friend, Tiffany, that is now living with us. This is Hailame Kinikini, Krista's good friend. He is giving us his Poly Scowl.


This is Krista, posing in a new dress. She is showing one of the electronic devices that she is still authorized to use.

For Verification Purposes Only

At times, we find it necessary to verify certain things so we are all on the same page. This picture is verification of three truths.
1. Jessica Allred came home to Bakersfield for a short visit.
2. Piko is adorable.
3. Everyone loves Piko.


There is one unresolved issue outstanding. The name Laura picked for Piko is a dirty word in Chilean, so we are considering a name change. Any suggestions?

Our Trip to the Crystal Palace

No trip to Bakersfield by a New Yorker would be complete without a visit to the Crystal Palace. Since Jessica was passing through, we decided to take her and show her how the right side lives. The photos are grainey because they were taken indoors, with no flash, on a cell phone. If you don't like them, you don't have to look at them.


This is Roger in his new hat and shirt.



Jessica and Krista soaking up the ambiance.



Tawna and the gal that Roger was hitting on.



Laura trying to touch something with her tongue and Sue listening to Mike Dunlap and Brian Lonbeck play. Roger knows them both on a first name basis.

Our Gay Trip to NYC

Ross McClintock just told me that he reads our Blog and that it is gay. So, I would like to tell you about our gay trip to the Big Apple. We had a great time and I would have taken pictures to show you, but when I went to get my camera, it was gone because someone else had been using it and failed to put it away. Who you ask? I wouldn't say. It would not be like me. So, I will just give you a hint>>>>>





Anyway, I took this picture of Jessica in front of her school, MS 326. It has some kind of covering over it for remodeling. As your mom said in the email, it seems to be of the same vintage as BHS. A kind of homey feel to it.


This is your mom in front of the detention facility across the street from the school. A good place, don't ya think?

Those are all the pictures that I took with my phone. We had a great time as we have already told you. It is wonderful to visit, but there is no place like home, especially when it is in BAKO.

Garth

We seem to know Garth Brooks on a first name basis around here. We also know about his family and everything he is doing. So , this post is to memorialize our pilgrimage to honor him. I took a video but it is too long to post and I don't know how to edit it. You will just have to imagine with these photos.


Brian is being rewarded for snagging 6 good tickets to the concert. I don't think he cares much about GB, but he does know how to keep LS happy, for the moment.


This is the only time these folks sat down.


TA-DA


So Garth told us that he just likes to sing Cowboy Songs. I have decided that Cowboy Songs are about drinking and adultery, never about cows.

Baby Tending Day at the Allreds

Every once in a while, Brian, Laura, Davin and Kea go to Disneyland and leave Blake with us, so we celebrate. This happens to be Piko Bath Day. A holiday that should be more frequent.


Blake seems to be very content with one thumb in his mouth and one in his belly button.


This is how we wash the baby.


And, this is how we dry the baby.

WE LOVE PIKO and Blake.

THE BLUE MAN GROUP

Your mother and I partied like rock stars at the Blue Man Group.


This is the finale to a great evening.

My observations of the night:
1. THANK YOU to the Buchanans and Hughes for such a wonderful Christmas gift.
2. I only wish that your mom had been awake for it.
3. We went to a very nice dinner before the concert.
4. The Blue Man Group is very entertaining and most of all, creative.
5. It reminded me of a '60s acid rock concert.
6. I never went to an acid rock concert, so I am only guessing.
7. We went to Wal-Mart and Albertsons after the concert. My real life.
8. I think I was the only one at the concert not in jeans or a short skirt.
9. I love percussion and this was a percussion extravaganza.
10. I only saw 3 blue people. It was not like the Smurfs.

A White Christmas

I believe that this is your mom's and my first white Christmas. We lived in Utah for 6 years and we either came home to CA or there was no snow. That is what we get for living right (both on and off the field).
Notice your mom in the photo. She loves the snow and spent the day shoveling the sidewalks. Crazy, no?
Anyway, for those who don't bother reading my emails, I will try again.
My holiday highlights:
1. Seeing and talking to our children and grandbabies.
2. Your thoughtful gifts and love.
3. Leaving the snow.
4. More weight to lose because of good food and a lack of self-control.
5. Being back in Bako with Piko.
6. Lots of projects to do around the house.
7. Being able to buy Christmas presents for your mom that aren't being returned.
8. Having a son on a mission
9. Having children and a wife that are serving others as they provide for themselves.
10. One more year with you.

December in Bakersfield

Christmas time is coming and so I wanted to share a Bakersfield Christmas with you, since no one is coming home for the holidays.


This is your mom next to the tree that she decorated all by herself. It is beautiful. We decided to get another big tree this year. Notice how it dwarfs the animals and people by the manger.


Thanks to my contribution to global warming, this is what it looks like on 12/14/07 in heaven. Compare this to the photo on Alicia's blog.


Piko is making a somewhat blatant appeal for new toys. She brought these into the family room to show how much she is in need.


This is the Christmas present for your mom that I told you about. It is a new watering system for our trees that your mom has been wanting. I try to never disappoint her, even thought it cost thousands of dollars.


Finally, this is the Christmas tree that Sarah planted when she, Landon & Aiden lived with us this summer. I was going to cut it down and move it into the house but it had a very pungent odor.

The Buchanan Bash

We were very fortunate to be at the Scott & Alicia's house for Thanksgiving. They were wonderful hosts for all of the herd and even provided a water attraction on our last night. If you want to see pictures of Brielle, you will have to go to their blog, where you will find a plethora.


Scott & Alicia in their kitchen, as hosts of the meal.


Ava Elizabeth is the newest addition. She was blessed while we were there.


Two lovely ladies.

Brian Skinner

Most of you know our son-in-law, Brian Skinner. He married, and took full responsibilty for Laura. Ponder that undertaking for a minute.
I have noticed that he doesn't get much play on the Blogs. When we visit the Hughes, or the Buchanans or Landon & Sarah, the in-laws get equal recognition. Since the Skinners live so close, you don't see many pictures of him.
Today, it is Brian Skinner's day in the sun...


Now, I am not really sure what he did, but at Thanksgiving, he was seated at the little kids table with Kea. That is a celebration of its own.



We all know how much Brian likes to play with his kids. Here he is playing football with Blake.


Brian had the opportunity of being entertained by my baby brother, Tracy. Laura isn't really sure how much fun it is.

Picture Taking at the Allred's

Russ is printing our Family Business book with a new title and additions by his current partner. I had such an awful experience trying to get the photo studio at JC Penneys to take a picture of me for the new book, I decided to have your mom take the picture in the backyard. So, this is me.
Your mom took about 6 pictures but there were only two on the camera. I asked her to give me the camera to see if I could make it work. So, I took a picture of her to test it out.





This is one of my favorite pictures, ever. Your mom wasn't happy but she gave me permission to post it. Please click on it to enlarge the image. She is beautiful, even when she is frustrated with me. Maybe that is the reason I provoke this reaction.






This the picture we settled on. It seems to capture my inner essence perfectly.

San Diego

This is the tribute to Bob Hope in San Diego, in front of an aircraft carrier museum. We ate at a nice restaurant overlooking the harbor and could see two more aircraft carriers.

This is a statue that commemorates a famous photo taken at the end of WWII. I was going to reinact the statue with your mom for you all, but all of the tourists spoke Japanese. And, I don't. And, some of you would say, "Gross!" And, I am not sure I could convince your mother to do it.

We asked the mechanic about fixing the Mystique to see if it will last until Tawna launches. He said, "Do you mean the Mistake?"
Anyway, I thought this would be an appropriate vehicle to buy for Krista.
I took all of these pictures on my cell phone.

CHRISTMAS EXCHANGE 2007

Scott-----Bryce
Alicia-----Steve
Steve-----Tawna
Teresa----Sarah
Brian-----Jessica
Laura-----Landon
Jessica----Scott
Landon---Krista
Sarah-----Alicia
Bryce-----Laura
Tawna----Brian
Krista-----Teresa

Limit: $25
***Important Note** Jessica will be in UT for Thanksgiving. She said she would take gifts with her to Germany for Christmas. SOOO, Alicia and Krista and Brian, get your gifts by Thanksgiving and pass them over to our little Santa.

Happy Shopping!

I thought you guys would like to find out what has been keeping me so busy lately, so....

this one is for the allred's, because I took it and thought they migth like having it.


we went to moab, and I fell off my bike. I flew about 15 ft, and my bike made it another 10 ft after me, I was impressed. Basically, there were 4 -2ft drops of rock, and so I was going about 10-15 mph and bunny-hopping off these ledges, and I made the first 3, and then my front tire hit a rock, and so I flew off the last drop and my bike rolled end over end, it was pretty cool. And then I had 5 miles to go after that. I have the same type scars on my back and arms. Basically, we arrived fri night and hiked the delicate arch in the dark, which was cool, and then the next morning we went rock climbing and did about 15 miles of biking, it was awesome. my car on the way up, the other car had 4 guys, that is just how I roll....

the rock climbing, we came up a crevasse like this for about 200 ft
the pinnacle of the bike ride, this is after 4 miles of uphill, and then we went the rest down hill, it was awesome.
these are my roommates, we had a halloween party friday night, and I was the phantom, it was way fun but the party was not all that impressive.

In other news, I have joined a research group. Right now we are shooting lasers into a vacuum at a sample of metal and heating it to plasma state, and then taking readings of the radiation emitted as the metal cools. This week we are getting a professor from russia to come help us develop 3-dimensional x-ray technology, which is really exciting for me because that is what I will be doing for the rest of my life. Other than that, i have too many classes and am learning a lot, but oddly I am doing much better than expected in all of my classes, so that should be good sometime.

Things on display at our house

Now that you are awake...This is a self-portrait of Tawna when she is awake. She took this picture of herself sometime after 6 pm. That is the reason she is smiling. It is really dicey before that time.

This is the BEAUTIFUL plaque that Tracy made for our house. Things of note:
1. Tracy routered all of the lettering.
2. The plaque is oak.
3. The words are your mother's version of something we heard at a testimony meeting in Alicia's old ward (I think). The person who shared this was a visitor.
4. Since Evan and Brielle were not there for the family picture, I used something like Photoshop. I call it CPA Shop (Cut, Paste & Assemble)
5. I got mostly the face of the new additions. The pictures were big and the circle was 3".
6. Thanks to Jessica for the family picture.

This one shows where we put it on the wall. I wanted it somewhere that it would be noticed. I am very happy with how it turned out. Now, all we have to do is find a photographer that is willing to sell us a family portrait.