Allen Family Reunion ~ Day 3

The last day was spent sitting under trees and relaxing. Oh I kid. The Allens don't work that way.

But it did involve heading to the park and playing "Minute To Win It" games. 

I was at the house for a good part of it, with a napping Grace, but I hear it was 

absolutely awesome. And the photos the others took seemed to confirm the fact.

 

Bottle rocket launching finished the afternoon off.

Then everyone headed back to the house for dinner before it was time to go home.

But not before a picture of all 22 grandchildren was taken--oldest to youngest.

And one more of the entire family. All 38 of us.

It will be another two years before any kind of picture like this can be taken or any

kind of reunion involving every one of us can be had. With three babies already on

 the way, there are sure to be a lot of changes between now and those two years.

But until then...

Allen Family Reunion ~ Day 2

The second day of the reunion fell on a Sunday, so we kept it relatively calm, but still enjoyed being all together.

The day started with a family talent show. Many of the kids participated and did an incredible job! (I took so few pictures of them, not sure why.) After the voluntary participants, the amusing part of the talent show began--those "volunteered" by the talent show coordinator to participate. The moms had a "Chopped" dessert cook off and then each of the brothers were asked to do an impromptu talent. It was truly hilarious.

The teams of moms cooking like crazy.

And the darling panels of judges. Grandma Cammy being one of the

 judges ensured a tie. She is too sweet and kind to choose a winner.

 Danny and Justin's music skills are off the chart.

 

And I can't remember the exact assignment, but Jonathan and Jacob involved everyone in

some kind of consulting meeting, where they led the whole family in a type of discussion.

Man oh man they were awesome at poking fun (with a serious face) of their own careers.

(I wish I had gotten pictures of the other boys and their awesome talents. 

And Andrew who organized the whole talent show and did such a great job.)

Then we celebrated Adam earning his Master's degree with a mini graduation ceremony.

When he got up front and pretended to be taking a selfie, we were all pretty hysterical.

And sweet Grandma. She will be 90 in August (I know, I know, she does not look ninety) and

Rex and Nancy will be on their mission by then, so we had a little celebration for her as well.

 

 Then dinner and outside playing for the kids and we called it a day.

 Grace summed up how all of us felt by that time. So very tired. But grateful for the time together.

And the next day was just as wonderful...

Allen Family Reunion ~ Day 1

Did I mention Jacob's parents are going on a mission? Well, they are and we are really happy for them! (Post coming soon on that particular topic.) And because they leave soon, the Allen family wanted to get together. So last month, everyone came from their respective homes of abode (the first time in 12+ years we had a short distance to travel) and we spent three days having a lot of fun.

Jacob and I were in charge of the first day. That morning everyone went on a hike, but because our boys were playing in a soccer tournament they had committed to before the reunion was planned, we had to skip out on that one. But later that afternoon, everyone showed up at our house, ready to get this party started.

Waiting for the festivities to start. Luckily, there was a soccer game on to keep everyone distracted.

Just minutes later, Jacob's parents handed out reunion shirts for every member of the family and I
announced the teams that would be competing in a pretty intense, crazy, hilarious scavenger hunt.

I was very hopeful that setting up a scavenger that included the need to drive all around the town
that most of Jacob's family grew up in, completing some awesome/hilarious tasks, would be
something everyone liked, but was pleasantly surprised at how much everyone loved it
and what a big hit it was for every person involved. Our kids still talk about it. And if you
were wondering if the Allens are competitive, the answer would be yes. Very. In a good way.

The rest of the day was spent attending Cam's soccer game that fell right in the middle of
the fun and having dinner together at a nearby park. It was honestly just really, really fun.

The day ended with everyone who could, stopping by the cemetery to talk about
Grandpa and Grandma Allen and how much they meant to us and what a legacy they have
left for their family. It was a good reminder of so many that we love and are grateful for.

It was just a really happy and fun day together.

And the next day wasn't any different...

The temple

The other day, I was able to go to the temple to walk and think for a bit. I had my camera with me,
so I took a few photos. I love this temple. It is where I first attended as an adult and has a very
special place in my heart. I am so blessed to have what I have and know what I know. The temple
means so much to me. How blessed I am to have the power and peace it brings into my life.

Good grief, those blue eyes

My goal in life is to raise nerds

And I'm seriously not kidding.
It appears to be going swimmingly. 

I caught this darling boy enthralled with the National Spelling Bee. Awesome I say.

And I'll add that within 10 minutes, every one of us was watching with him. And sat 

through the bitter end. Or in this case, the awesome end. Seriously, this stuff is riveting.

And there is zero sarcasm there. For real. I love watching kids do hard/amazing things.

Outdoor fun

On Saturday night we hosted a Sunday School party for our cute class of 13-year old kids. We had
pizza and treats and played outdoor games. These are good kids and it was fun to be with them.

The other couple that team teaches with us just got a new puppy.

And brought him along for the fun. I think Nate is smitten.

May phone pics

At the beginning of the month, we headed to my sister's house to roast

hot dogs and s'mores. We had such a fun time! And her sweet kids are so

 kind to our kids. Darling Lucy loves Grace. And the feeling is mutual.

They have the cutest goats ever. Seriously. Nate was a bit obsessed.

Matt's soccer team meeting after his last spring season game. About 42 seconds

after this photo was taken, a water fight erupted (see that white cooler on the right?).

Matt has amazing coaches and great teammates. All of our boys do. We are so grateful.

Annie girl washing down her horse after her lesson. This girl loves horses 

like crazy. I don't blame her. I've always been obsessed with them. 

Add our sweet Annie riding one and I can't stand how much I love it.

My May sky picture. Beautiful yes?

I took Ben out to breakfast after his end-of-year Kindergarten program.

It was so fun just the two of us. This boy truly melts my heart.

Club soccer tryouts. We have three kids playing competition soccer this year. Yikes!

Summer has officially begun!

 The first day of school.

 

The last day of school.

 Do you think they have changed? I do. In looks and brilliance and goodness and

what they are capable of handling. I love these kids so much I can hardly stand it.

Bring on the summer!

Unexpected, but definitely deserved, awards

Yesterday afternoon, Annie brought home a note from school. It said that there would be an awards ceremony the following day (the last day of school) and that Annie would be receiving something. I asked Annie what was going on and she had no idea. Okay then. So the next morning, we headed to the school to sit in the auditorium and find out.

We sat watching while many, many awards were given out. Awards for not missing a day of school (um yeah, my kids will likely never be receiving that award), awards for never being late (we could probably swing that one if we tried harder those couple of days a year we are late) and many other fun awards for students from each of the grades.

And then, right at the end of the assembly, the principal announced just three more awards would be given. And Annie received two of those last awards--the President's Gold Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence and the Citizenship Award. She was one of about 25 kids who received the President's Gold Award and one out of eight or so kids who received the Citizenship Award (for being an outstanding student, friend and person). To say we were proud of her would be a huge understatement. The look of surprise on her face made me a little teary. That girl is good to the core and works hard. What a wonderful mom moment it was to see her recognized for that.

All of the 6th grade right after the younger kids had gone back to their classes.

I spy Annie Allen. Anyone else see her? Hint: just look for a whole lot of cuteness.

 

And an up close shot of Annie and her certificates. We are so pleased

with this darling girl of ours. She is incredible. In every way.

Kindergarten graduate

Oh this boy. 

We love him so much. And truly cannot believe he will be finished with

Kindergarten in a couple of days. He loved his teacher, loved his friends,
absolutely loved school and succeeded beyond what we could ever have imagined.

Way to go Benjamin boy! We love you like crazy.

Sweet baby girl

District Math and Science Olympiad

Yesterday, our awesome Matt participated in the district math and science Olympiad. It was at a
local high school and there were hundreds of kids there from many different schools. It was a
big deal for him to be there, as his elementary school currently has more than 1000 students,
so being a part of it was pretty awesome. He participated in two events: Krypto and KenKen.

I honestly know nothing about either of these games until Matt started practicing to compete in the
school competition to determine if he would be chosen to go to district. They are pretty cool though
and I love how much Matt not only loves math, but how brilliant his mind is when it comes to it.

Competing in Krypto.

And flying through his KenKen puzzles.

That afternoon, there was an awards ceremony at the school for those receiving 

special awards and our Matt received his for participating in the Olympiad. 

(He loves attention a lot, especially from the whole school, as you can see above.)

We sure love this boy and are so thankful for his amazing mind and his incredible heart!

A little too small for the job

But not in his mind. And when you think about it, that really is all that matters.