Zoo visits and otter obsessions

These cute kids and their mom decided a trip to the zoo would be a fun thing.

So off we went. It has been a long time since any of us visited a zoo and some of these

poor, deprived children you see above never have. Shameful. Actually, not at all.

On the way to the zoo, I asked each of the kids which animal they were most excited

to see. All of the classic answers were given, except for with Matt. Because Matt 

wouldn't give you a classic answer if you paid him. He told me "vultures" in reply 

to my question. Everyone just laughed, because that is our Matt. About ten minutes 

into our zoo visit, I snapped this photo. Who is laughing now? Well, all of us actually.

And the elefantes. Those fellas are big.

Brown bear, brown bear what do you see? A small enclosure with a bunch of crazy

people looking at me. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be okay with visiting the zoo.

And then I remember I'm pretty positive I'm not okay with it. I confuse even myself.

Care to try a caption for this photo? Man, I loveth this picture.

And now the fun begins. See that animal there? The one in the water?

A certain little boy was obsessed with a capital O. Photographic evidence?

Why yes indeed. Even with a sibling head in the way. Nate went cray with a zee whenever that
otter came by. His laugh was a mix between sheer pleasure and maniacal. I've never heard the likes.

 Nor had anyone in the area, who quit watching the otter and all stood around watching Nate boy.

The joy lasted a long time. A very long time.

 If you look closely you can see the joyful hysteria on his face.
This boy can be crazy happy, but this surpassed anything I have seen.

And one last wait for the otter to swim by. Nate probably told us 142 times after we left
the otter enclosure, "Otters make me super happy!" Who knew? Not this mother.

And after asking him if he wanted a picture with the otter statue, this is what he did.
Both sweet and creepy, all at the same time. As you can clearly tell from the otter's face.

And this about sums up the end of our zoo trip. At least for the lady pushing the
occupied, double jogger. Good times for the Allens. Good times for sure.

We are going for a different look

(And if only the photo would show how it really looks.  

Blogger, you are driving me absolutely batty.)

You like? Oh man, I do. For years we had a different version. And it was great.

But I decided this year that I wanted something I could print out each year, write in

the names and not have to set up myself each time. So I created the bracket you see

above. And had Kinko's print and mount it. And then wrote in the teams.

And we are ready. Crazy ready. Bring it on.

March Madness people! The excitement I feel cannot be normal.
 

And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Guatemala and blessings

Jacob was in Guatemala for 10 days earlier in the month. It was a long ten days for us. And a long

ten days for him. But he also loved it. He is doing incredible work. I am ridiculously proud of him.

Even when his travel schedule is crazy cakes. And lest you think I am referring to the above

trip, I am not. I'll share in a few months. When it has calmed down and I can do so without tears.

(Kidding, kidding. I'm getting used to it. Which actually makes me quite sad.)

And yet, whenever I feel overwhelmed by his travel, I remember that I have a husband that works 

extremely hard. Both to take care of his family and to allow me the privilege of being at home.

I'm so very grateful.

Saving daylight, destroying my sanity

Daylight Savings? No, thanks for the

offer though. It has been less than

a week and I am beyond done with it. 

If someone could pass me the petition to

sign to either get rid of it altogether or to

individually skip on it, I would be grateful. Incredibly grateful. Thanks in advance.

7th grade

Our Annie registered for 7th grade earlier today. 

I cannot believe it. How I have two children who will

be attending junior high this fall I cannot figure out. 

She will do amazingly well! She always does.

Ten

Happy, Happy Birthday darling Matt! 

 Your joyful, laughing, brilliant, good self makes our family complete.

We love you like crazy!

Guess who is ready for tomorrow?

Or ready for bedtime? Both work for me.

March 6th

Today this man turns 37 years old. Boy howdy, I am a huge fan of him.

He has given me most everything that matters to me on this earth...

the privilege of being married to him, six amazing kids

and a life I could not have dreamed up no matter how hard

I tried. I am truly a better person because of him and

 am thankful to him and for him every single day.

Happy Birthday Love! I adore you.

District science fair

As mentioned before, this cute girl made it into the district science fair. So this morning,
I drove her to a neighboring town (yes, I know they are cities, but in Massachusetts
everything was a town and I like that better, so I'm altering reality) and we got her all set
up to spend the day telling judges about her project. And sitting. And more sitting. At one
point, Annie, who had borrowed Cam's phone for the day, texted me. She didn't realize that
the six hours she was required to be there meant approximately five hours and thirty-eight
minutes of just sitting. (There are a lot of projects there and the judges have to make it to
everyone.) But she made friends with the kids next to her, played a few games and read a little.

When it was all over and she called to ask me to pick her up, she let me know with a huge amount
of relief in her voice, "Mom, I got an honorable mention." I thought at first she was relieved she got
some kind of prize, but learned after that instead, she was so grateful she wasn't moving on to state.

Apparently, she didn't like the idea of another day of sitting.

(And as one of the worst sitters in the universe, I can hardly blame her. I can barely sit
through a movie without having to get up several times. Just ask Jacob. He loves it.)

We think you are amazing Annie girl! And sure love you.

February phone pics

Nate got his first haircut by someone other than his mom. He was so excited.

But when he got into the chair, he was all business. Man, I love this boy.

I already mentioned this a few weeks ago, when it happened. But when I downloaded my

phone pics I saw that I had the official  first photo of Cam without braces. It still makes me

happy for him to see this picture. And my happiness for our finances isn't small either.

On the rare days that Annie doesn't do her own hair, she asks me to do something fancy

with it. (Okay, if you know me and hair, you know she doesn't use the word "fancy" when

she requests a hairdo. Because she would be sorely disappointed for sure.) And here is

one of  my attempts. I don't post this to impress you all (because impressive it is not), but to

 remember that I often snap a photo of her hair after I finish so that she can see how it looks.

This month I gave two organization seminars for Relief Society groups. I had forgotten

how much I enjoy giving those. Anyway, a few women at each one asked if my house was

always clean. (Oh you kind people, you obviously don't know me very well. But I'll take the

 flattery for sure.) So the other day, when I took out Nate's car seat to clean underneath,

I decided to take photographic evidence of how we are always clean. I'm pretty crazy when it

comes to making sure our cars are free of anything that doesn't belong in it. Or so I thought.

And speaking of cuteness. (What? We weren't?) This boy decided to put on my glasses

while we were sitting in the car waiting for Annie's horseback riding lesson to begin.

Now this may look like just a regular third car garage to you, but you would be wrong.

(Okay, you would be right. But that is not the point of the photo.) In the several weeks since

we moved it, I had been collecting a pile of garbage that included many things that were no

longer needed at our home. And it sat there for weeks, being added to. Until a few days ago.

Jacob was out of town on a business trip and I decided I couldn't look at it one more second.

The kids joined the party and although it took several loads, we got it out. Oh happy day for sure!

For my birthday, Jacob gave me a trip to St. George to spend some time with my grandma.

I was there for two nights and almost three days. On this particular night my grandma needed

her hair done and her usual family hairdressers were not around. Guess who she settled for?

Um, yeah. But when I finished doing her hair, I had to admit I was pretty proud of how it looked. 

Proud enough to snap this photo while she was talking to a family member on the phone.

You didn't know I was a hairdresser did you? Yeah, no one did. And they would be right.

This girl could give our sky photos (what, no sky photos in February...what was I thinking?)

a run for their money. I can't help it. She makes me so happy and is so stinkin' darling.

Love

The degree to which I love this photo definitely cannot be described in words.

Not a single title seemed worthy of this photo

Good thing he is cute

I'm sure we are the only ones that have children who cry for no reason at all.
Especially small children. (Well, and their mother. But that is a separate post.)

In fact, there are honestly times when each of our little ones have appeared to be
searching out a reason to be in tears. Which is exactly what happened the other day.

Nate was fussing about something and being the fabulous mother that I am,
I was ignoring him until he could talk even remotely like a small child.

I walked into my master bathroom to finish getting ready for the day and he
followed me, hoping I would see his tears and give in to his inaudible requests.

I finally realized he didn't even have a request, just a need to be whiny,
when the following conversation took place. (Please just make sure your read
Nathan's part with a devastated, distraught voice. Thanks in advance.)

N: "I want my blanket. I can't find my blanket."

L: "It's on your bed."

Nate looks terribly frustrated that his issue has been resolved so quickly and appears
to be looking around him in case inspiration strikes for another reason to be upset. Apparently
it came quickly to him, because he stops, points to the toilet and says through his sobs...

N: "I just want to swim in there."

L: ............

Ours

This afternoon we had the carpets in the entire house cleaned. And when I walked into the

house after the carpet cleaners were finished, it finally felt completely and totally like our home.

I'm so grateful for a home that is just perfect for us. And that feels 100% ours. I am so blessed.

Our girls

These sisters melt my heart. Love them both so much.

Sardines and reminders

Tonight we played sardines as a family. In our pajamas. For a very long time. The joy on the kids' faces, to have everyone involved, made me want to make sure "family time" happens much more often.

There is nothing, as a child, that I loved more than time with the whole family, including my parents. Why would my children be any different?

I love my kids and Jacob like crazy. And often cannot believe that they are mine. Forever.

Life is good. I am so very blessed.

Better

This little girl is completely better. As evidenced by her darling little smile.
And her curlhawk. No one sports a curlhawk who isn't feeling fabulous. It's a rule.

Apples, falling, trees

I've never verbalized my obsession with the sky, but I do point out its constant beauty to the kids. 

I found these two photos on my camera, taken by two different children, at two different times.
Apparently sky-obsession is a gene. Since I recently found out I that I inherited it from my mom,
I should have known. Pretty soon we are going to have to change the name of this blog...

Finding JOY in a ridiculous number of photos taken of the sky

Pig tails and burp cloths

Gracie's hair is getting quite long on top and tonight, Annie decided she needed a pig tail.
(Is it called a pig tail if there is only one and it comes out of the top of her head?)

And when Annie had put in the clip, she decided she needed to take pictures of the cuteness.
So she set Grace up in the chair in her room and started clicking away. Unfortunately, the chair
is a darker color and Grace's hair was hard to see. So Annie solved the problem brilliantly.

Doesn't Grace looked thrilled about her new hairdo?

 Oh well, at least the photo shoot ended well.

Incredible kindness

Remember when we were going to build a house? And then we didn't. But we didn't know we were not supposed to for many months. And so, when we moved to Utah and we had signed papers to build our home, we started attending the ward where our home would be. And it was a wonderful ward and we really enjoyed being a part of it. I was sad to leave, as I had met many fabulous friends in the few months we were there.

One of them being my cute friend, Chelsea.

I wish I could convey in words how amazing Chelsea is. She is darling and happy and positive and creative and just fun. I admire her in a whole lot of ways. And will always be grateful we attended that ward, so that we could become friends. We have stayed in touch even after our family moved and I am so glad.

Yesterday afternoon, Chelsea texted and asked if she could bring by a small birthday gift sometime later in the day. I replied that I would love to see her. A few hours later, she showed up. And this is what she brought me:

I'm not sure what kind of friend spends the time it would take to make something this beautiful; or what kind of a friend remembers a passing comment I made during church about this being my favorite scripture; or what kind of friend recalls the birthday of someone she has not known very long; but I know I want to be more like her. And the second Chelsea left, with my thanks that did not feel adequate, I walked around the house trying to find the perfect place to put this gift. And I found it. Right where I will see it dozens of times a day.

To remind me of an amazing and sweet friend that I will forever be grateful for. And to remind me of God's protection and His promises and His love.

Discovery Fair

Last night, the kids' elementary school hosted a Discovery Fair.

Every grade was assigned some kind of big project and last night was a chance

for parents to walk around and see all of the hard work by the students.

In Kindergarten, they created a 100 day display. They had to find a way to display 100 items

of their choice. (If you have children in public school, you have done this. Multiple times.)

Ben wanted to put 100 Skittles in a cool bottle we had. I love how carefully he placed them.

Matt had a big Utah history project. He worked really hard on it and especially took a lot of time 

creating his board. (I don't know where he got the personality that caused him to make every single 

paper he put on his board perfectly straight.) He and one other student in the class chose someone 

from Utah history that was a bit out of the box. That sure is Matt. As is his colorful board. I love that
about him. Only the kids that entered a special history contest were in the running for their boards

to be chosen to go to district. You had to sign up at the beginning of the year. We were new and

didn't know about it. Matt wasn't especially devastated. He loves just doing things to do them.

And Annie girl was chosen, one of four in her entire grade and the only one in her class, to take
her science project to district. Honestly, how I felt when we walked into the room that night and
saw she was the one with the blue ribbon...I was so proud of her and so grateful. They didn't
know until that evening who had won, because they had just presented their projects to the
judges during school that day. And while I know Annie is amazing and capable of a lot, I also
 knew she had chosen a project that was somewhat common (it had to be done during the end
of last year and that was crazyville time for us, so we kept it simple for everyone's sanity) and
I just didn't know how that would factor into things. But between her board that she spent a
great deal of time on and her presentation which she practiced and did with confidence, it looked
to definitely be enough. It was such a happy moment for all of us. Boy were we excited for Annie!

And one more picture with our girl and her blue ribbon.

The day he thought would never come

 A quick 'before' as he was running in to his appointment.

I honestly didn't think it was possible for this boy to be more handsome.

I was wrong.

Blessed

A couple of days ago, Grace was laying on the floor and Nate was sitting down next to her, just talking away. Suddenly, Grace turned toward Nate and sneezed. Nate looked down at his arm, which had been right in the line of fire, looked up and me and said,

"Grace blessed me."

Cold

Our ward had a father and sons camp out last night. In a heated lodge about an hour away. Fun times, I heard. Unless you were the Allens at bedtime.

Campbell is getting close to earning his Eagle. He has a bit to go, but he is getting there. One of the things he needs more of is camp outs. And sleeping in a tent in your backyard or even having a camp out with your family doesn't count. It has to be an official camp out with the church.

Do you see where this is going?

Jacob is the ultimate scout dad. I'm so grateful. And decided that he would be glad to camp out in the snow last night in order for Cam to get another camp out on his list. (You'd better believe I was so thankful all night that I get to be the mom.) So that is exactly what they did.

It was cold. Really, really cold apparently. (According to Jacob's phone, it hit 10 degrees in the middle of the night.) They thought seriously of hightailing it to the lodge a time or two, but they stuck it out. I don't know if I should be impressed or worried.I guess as long as I don't have to be a part of it, I'll be impressed.

Just for the record, my bed was warm and lovely that night.