Annie's professional photos

All photos taken by Sara of Skylight Studio.

March photo pics

Grace and I joined Nate for his preschool field trip on this fun day. Afterwards, his teachers
invited Grace to stay for the last hour of school. To say she was in heaven would be an big
time understatement. She might be a little excited for her own preschool experience next fall.

He was on his second bracket in a half hour.
I have no idea where he gets his obsession with the NCAA tournament. 

This girl loves horses almost as much as her sister. 

Just a picture from a morning walk with Miss Hyper. Honestly, Maya is a dream dog and
for a puppy, she is unreal darling and sweet and obedient. Mostly though, she sleeps eight
to nine hours at night (cue loud, glorious singing). But after those lovely nighttime hours,
she is high as a kite for about 30 minutes, needing to burn off a whole lot of energy.
So when you see me with Miss Crazy on an early walk, you'll understand why
I am shaking my head and she is dancing around like a dog on drugs.

Just a little walk in the rain to take something to a neighbor. That became a little
more downpour than I planned on. The kids were rescued by an awesome big brother
who ubered them home (without payment unfortunately). The dog and I are soaked
to the point of pathetic. Great idea Linn Allen. High five on that brilliance. 

I live in such a beautiful area, it doesn't need a filter.

You can call him Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin that is.
At least for the hour he spent participating in the third grade wax museum this week.

Two little darlings

The first few days of March Madness

 I took this picture on Thursday, right as we sat down and things began.

Oh my word, the excitement!

 Ben went with me to the first game.

 Campbell to the second.

 Annie to the third.

 And Matt to the fourth and last game of the day.

 Toward the end of the night, many people left and Matt and I decided
to try some seats that were really close up. It was pretty awesome.

 On Friday, I had a March Madness party with these littles.
We had some treats and watched several games on TV. It was a lot of fun.

Then on Saturday, this handsome guy and I went to two more games.

I loved being with him and experiencing my favorite time of the year.

I'm so grateful for my family and college basketball and my fun life.

SBO election

I really love this child of mine. And love when he goes out of his comfort zone (not much
is out of his comfort zone) and does something that isn't easy. Like running for SBO.
I'm so thankful for his kind peers who voted him into the finals and whatever
happens tomorrow, I'm just so crazy proud of him and the person he chooses to be.

He is truly incredible.

Annie and Shylo

Our beautiful Annie

Annie was asked by a professional photographer in the area to model for a photo
shoot. And include the horse she rode for a couple of years in the pictures. Pretty much a
dream come true for our gorgeous cowgirl. It was so fun to be a part of it tonight. And after
it was over and the light was still amazing, I took a photo or three hundred of my own.
I can't wait to share a few because well, that light. And that beautiful girl of mine.

Little G

March Gladness

Could you just die from excitement? Because I could just die from excitement.

Now time to write in the teams.

Matt's 13th Birthday

Happy Birthday to my incredible Matthew! How he could be a teenager
already, I can't figure out. He is handsome and athletic and hilarious
and brilliant and good. And it is an absolute honor to be his mom.

Jacob's 40th Birthday

Forty years ago this very day, this handsome man was born. And I count it as one of the
greatest blessings of my life. My Heavenly Father knew that I needed to be married to
Jacob Allen, so that my life could be as joyful and wonderful and adventurous as possible.
Jacob makes me laugh harder than anyone else, think deeper than I would ever chose
to on my own and love more than I knew possible. Marriage to him has exceeded
my expectations in every way and I thank the Lord every day that Jacob chose me.

Happy Birthday Love! You mean everything to me.

A whole lot of gratitude

These two lovely people are some of the best humans I have ever known. They are good and
kind and so fun to be around and the fact that I get to be related to them is truly a privilege.

They acted like it was their pleasure to tend our kids this past week and not only made
life fun and wonderful while we were gone, but we came home to an incredibly
clean house and everyone perfectly happy. I'm so grateful for both of them.

 And thank my Heavenly Father everyday for their oldest son and how they raised him
and loved him. And how their incredible goodness and kindness blesses me constantly.

Our Mexico trip ~ Day 6

Spending the last five days (six including today's day of travel) in Mexico
for our 40th birthdays will always be one of my favorite memories ever.
We had an absolutely incredible time and I just feel thankful to the bottom
of my heart for the experience and to my kind in-laws for taking care of our
kids so wonderfully well and making it possible. I have such an amazing life.

I'm so very blessed.

And I love Jacob Allen something fierce.

Our Mexico trip ~ Day 5

Our last full day in Mexico was spent at the ruins of Ek Balam and visiting the fabulous pueblo of
Valladolid. Both were incredibly wonderful. From what we learned about the ancient Mayan people,
to Jacob taking a sweet opportunity to share about the gospel of Jesus Christ with our guide there,
to spending quite a bit of time in such a neat small town...I really loved it all. It was such a good day.