Three Times the Fun

This summer I've been lucky to be able to watch my friend's three girls for a few weeks.  These girls are awesome.  Their names are Ella, Nora, and Vivian, and they are not only sisters, but identical triplets (there's a picture of them together, with their mom, Carrie Beth, on the top right of my photo collage).  

I've had one or two of them come per day and they've played with my kids and helped me get more work done around the house.  We've done all sorts of fun things together (see Owen's Birthday for more pictures).  I'm going to miss having them around quite as much once school starts, but we'll still get to see them every week when they come for piano lessons.  Thanks Carrie Beth for sharing your girls with us this summer!!!!

Going to the Zoo

We go to the zoo fairly often here in St. Louis, but this is the first time that MayLynn was old enough to enjoy the zoo because it's the zoo and not just because she gets to be outside.

We got to the zoo early enough that we got to go to the children's zoo.  For MayLynn this was awesome.  They had toys to play on, fish tanks at eye level, a playground, and goats to pet.  She also really liked the insectarium, especially the displays that were at stroller level : ).

Owen really enjoyed the zoo too. This is the first time that we didn't have a stroller for him, so he got to walk like a big boy.  He enjoyed the children's zoo and the insects too.  We've learned a little bit about bugs - specifically caterpillars and spiders - this summer, so he was really interested in seeing them in the insectarium.

Most of all it was fun to be at the zoo as a family.  I enjoyed watching the kids interact with each other and with their daddy.  Our family has a lot of fun together, can't you tell?

In a Nutshell

Time passes and kids grow bigger.  That's the story at our house.  Owen is now a tall (47 1/2 inches) and skinny 5 year old who is over the 95 percentile in height for his age.  He's going to be starting kindergarten next month and he's ready to take on the world.

MayLynn has been growing too.  She's now about 33 inches tall - which puts her at about the 50th percentile for her age, and she finally reached the 20 pound mark (7th percentile for weight, but at least she's on the growth chart :).  She likes music and dancing, looking at books, and chasing anybody around the house.  

As for me, I'm actually shrinking - and I'm only a few pounds away from my first weight loss goal that I set in March.  I've been walking 2-4 miles per day and trying to eat healthier food and smaller portions.  It's made a big difference for both my health and energy levels and there have been a few time when I've actually worn Owen out while going on our walks.

Bryce is keeping busy, as always.  He's working as a carpenter for a couple of weeks at Stages St. Louis, and helped finish up Legally Blonde the Musical and start My Fair Lady.  Next week he's going to start building a set for Max & Louie Productions and working on a sound design for Insight Theatre.  And of course, coming up in August he'll be going back to work at SLU for his 4th year as TD/Sound Designer.

And that, my dear friends and family is the Allen Family in a nutshell.

Northern Utah

What trip to Utah would be complete without a day or two spent in the car to visit our family and friends in the northern part of the state?  That's exactly how we felt, so last Saturday we loaded up the car and headed North to Logan - to attend Logan & Jamie Brand's wedding reception.  The kids were great in the car and we were able to make the trip with minimal stops.  Once we got there, we met up with John & Liz Evans and had a nice visit with them at the reception and afterwards at the Merlin Olsen Park on Center Street in Logan.

After visiting with them, we headed over to Teddy & Brit's place so the kids could take a nap and Bryce could go see how his design for The Flying Dutchman turned out at the Utah Festival Opera.  When Brit got home from work we got to meet her (she and Teddy were married on May 24th, but we weren't able to be there so we were super excited to get to meet her on this trip).  We then had dinner and got to play a game and stay the night at their apartment.

The next morning, we hopped in the car again and drove to Kaysville where we went to church with Mom Allen  then had dinner with the Allen family.  Part of the joy of that evening was that we were able to meet Laurie - Jon's fiance.  They are going to be married on October 18th and we are looking forward to having her as part of our family.  After dinner and games, we drove back up to Brigham City to spend the night with Grandma & Grandpa Christensen.  The next morning we got to visit with them and have a delicious Grandma-made breakfast before we left the relative greenery of Northern Utah to return to Blanding for the rest of the week.

On our way home we stopped in Salt Lake City to see the City Creek park/shopping complex and to see the temple.  The kids tolerated the shopping, but they really enjoyed the temple.  I've seen the Salt Lake Temple many times, but during this visit I came to really appreciate it.  Our trip over the past couple of weeks has been made to see our families and to strengthen our family bonds. The temples and the ordinances that are performed in them are central to the importance of families.  Being sealed as a family makes it possible for us to not only enjoy our families while we are living on this earth, but for all eternity.  

The 4th of July

After my last post in Greeley, we started our epic 4th of July adventure.  We (the four of us in our little family plus Grandma Allen and StacyAnn) got up early on the 3rd, drove to pick up our rental car, then started our trip from Ft. Collins, CO to Blanding, UT.  The drive wasn't too bad, and we arrived in Vail, CO just in time for lunch - where we shared a couple of pizza's and then got back on the road.  Our two car caravan made it to Blanding for dinner where we met up with the Craig & Lindsay Allen family, the Danny & Aleena Royer family, and the Royers in residence.  We all settled in for the night in anticipation for the holiday that we would celebrate the next day.

The next day was quite enjoyable.  We all went to the parade and the games & booths at the park south of town.  We then went home, had naps and lunch, and played games until dinner and then most of us went to see the 29th annual EOTS Melodrama.  After the melodrama we went to see the fireworks.  MayLynn enjoyed dancing to the music and seeing the fireworks.  Owen said that the 4th of July is his favorite holiday because of the fireworks. Then we got the tired kids home and all went to bed.  

The next day we continued to celebrate in a quite Blanding sort of way.  We played games, went boating out at the lake, ate good food and enjoyed spending the time together.  I really enjoyed having both the Allen and Royer families together and appreciate their willingness to travel to spend the holiday with us. The cousins were able to play, the adults were able to get to know each other better, and the teenagers were able to take turns playing with the kids and the adults.  

Living in the midwest for the past 6 years has helped me gain a greater appreciation for the time that we get to spend with our families.  Thanks for helping to make this 4th of July a wonderful, family filled holiday!