Nick & Janet Wedding Pictures (Finally)

I went to my sister, Janet's, wedding back in October.  I didn't take a single picture.  I had to wait for everyone else's pictures and then when I finally got the pictures, I completely forgot to post them!  So even though most of you have probably seen these on my sisters' blogs and on facebook - here they are again!
It was a beautiful wedding, the bride look lovely, the photographer was great.  It was sad to not have my little family there, but kind of nice to really participate in everything and not have to worry about what my kids were doing, where they were, if they were keeping their clothes clean, if they were in trouble, who was hungry, tired, or making messes, etc.   It was also so nice to see so many extended family members.

 Nick and Janet

 The whole Allen family except my husband and children and one other brother-in-law

 A sister shot -  Back Row:  Stephanie, me, Janet, Nancy, Jana (sister-in-law). Front Row: Trina and Betsy

I love this picture of you guys, Janet!


With my 'big' sister - Trina (even with your extra high heels, I'm still taller =) )

Sleeping Somewhere Fun

The kids always beg to 'sleep somewhere fun'.  I promised the kids they could sleep somewhere fun over Christmas break.  Mike and I built them this fort in the living room and put down a big pad and let them sleep there.  Celeste got to 'sleep' there for about 10 minutes before she was put in her crib.  Lilah made it almost a half hour before she got "cancelled".  The older three kids managed to fall asleep in their fort.  Before we went to bed Mike carried Lilah back to the fort so she could wake up in the morning with the kids, however, she wasn't there in the morning.  As far as we can tell she woke up in the early morning and wasn't sure what was going on, so she went back to her bed!

Merry Christmas

We had a good day!  Everyone was spoiled with presents and surprises and too much food.  We stayed home all day and just played, napped, and ate.  I am so grateful for this time of year to reflect on Christ and the importance of his birth and to take time to be together as a family.

Can you tell what we got for Christmas? 

I found a used one on ebay and I hope we don't wear it out before school starts =)

Christmas Eve

Today we prepared for our party and for Christmas tomorrow!  We went to our friends house for a Christmas Eve party - we kind of crashed their family party and brought our party to their house.  We had a good time combining the two!  We ate appetizers and finger foods for dinner and desert and then had a nice little program where our friends played the piano and sang.  We also sang carols and the kids rang bells.  We then acted out the nativity scene (with 8 girls and only 1 boy the parts got a bit tricky).  We had to rush home and put everyone to bed so I could clean up the house and get everything ready for the morning.

Christmas Eve Eve

Tonight we had a fire and drank hot chocolate.  No, it's not really cold enough here to do that - but it's what you do at Christmas time, right?  We have a book with a scripture, carol, and story for the 12 days before Christmas.  We are a day behind and won't be home to do one tomorrow evening, so we sat by the fire and drank cocoa and read our scriptures and stories and sang a couple of songs.  It wasn't as peaceful as it sounds - we had some fighting and some spills to clean up, but it was still fun for the kids. 

Goodies!

We made our last batch of cookies today.  We started making cookies weeks ago and I'm ready to retire from baking!   We've made goodies for us, our neighbors, the stake and our ward!
Here is one of the goody plates we made to take to our neighbors.  It includes fudge, Lofthouse sugar cookies, chocolate mint sandwich cookies, and maple pecan sandies (Mike's new favorite cookies).  We are devouring the leftovers =).

Happy Birthday To Me!

It's my birthday today!  I turned one year older then last year ;).   I made myself a peppermint/oreo ice cream cake.  We got a babysitter and went out to dinner and a movie.  We don't go out very often and it was nice to get out by ourselves.   We had to go try Texas Roadhouse - it seems to be my families new favorite place to eat (sorry Steph, I didn't try the fried pickles) and went to see the last Twilight movie.

Dress Up

Celeste loves to dress up!  This skirt is way to big for her, her Dad safety pinned it around her chest - she looked so darn cute in it, even after it slid down to her waist.   We couldn't get a picture of her standing up - because she wouldn't hold still!

Body Shaper

Celeste got a new pair of tights.  They fit her feet and legs, but seemed to be a bit big in the 'waist'.  I pulled them up to see how far they would go and Mike said they looked like a body shaper - and what a shape it is =).

Here Comes Santa Clause

We had our ward Christmas Party tonight.  We had dinner, a program by the Primary kids and a special visitor.  The kids had a great time.  

Peek A Boo

I came around the corner and Celeste peeked out from behind the piano and said 'boo'. 

Pony Tails

Yesterday Anna Elise was looking at an old picture of me as a little girl.  She noticed I had ponytails and the holders had beads on them.  She told me that she wanted some too!  So while I was out running errands I found a pack of them for .99!  I brought them home to some very excited girls.  This morning they all had to use the new pony tails!

 

Me when I was around 5 with my beaded ponytails

Laying in the Leaves

This afternoon while we were waiting for the big kids at the bus stop Lilah decided to lay down.  Celeste copied her.  I got my phone out to take pictures - it was really bright and they were having a hard time getting up and down.  Lilah then spied the pile of leaves and they had to try it again in the leaves - I thought the pictures were hilarious!

Gingerbread House

Tonight for Family Home Evening we put together our gingerbread house kit.  Mike gave the lesson and then kept Celeste occupied in the other room while I helped the kids.  They designed the whole thing by themselves, I was just the frosting lady.  They are so excited to eat it.  I think I *might* try to actually make one from scratch next year.  The idea of eating this one is just too gross!

Lilah's First Talk

Lilah gave a talk in primary today.  Sunbeam talks are the best!  I helped her prepare for it, but I had to sub in nursery, so Mike went and helped her give it.  He said she did great.  I recreated it when we got home so we could all see how good she did!  Lilah's First Talk - You Tube link

Book It!

The kids' elementary school does Pizza Hut Book Its.  The teachers aren't very consistent about who hands them out and how they are earned - but the librarian is - she gives out Book Its for AR points.  AR is a reading / comprehension program that they do, unless you can read well enough to take a comprehension test, then it's up to your teacher whether or not you participate.  Anna Elise has earned lots of Book Its over the years - she is an awesome reader and has had teachers that help her and that pass them out.  Calvin has never earned one.  He has never had a teacher help him earn one.  One day while at the library, the librarian introduced him to Henry & Mudge books.  They are perfect.  He can read them in one day, they interest him, and they are part of the AR program.  He is finally a good enough reader that he can take the AR tests on his own and earn points.  Calvin earned an AR Book It for the month of November.  He came home ecstatic!  He is so proud and I am so glad that the librarian helped him find some good books.  Calvin is not the best reader in his class, but he can read - when you give him the time he needs - and nobody does that except me.  I'm glad he has found some books that he can check out and I can sit with him and help him read them at night and he can take the tests at school and get some positive reinforcement!  He gets a new Henry & Mudge book everyday.  On Thursday he asked me if he could get a drawing book instead to read over the weekend.  He came home on Friday with a 'How to Draw' book and has been drawing pictures every spare second all weekend.  I am so glad he is doing better with his reading, that he is getting rewarded for it and I love that he is suddenly taking an interest in something new!  

Calvin drawing and Celeste joining him (nobody can do anything without her!)

Not Again!*

*I found this as a 'draft' in my blog list (I'm working on a blog book so I'm going through old posts).  This is from April of 2009!  I distinctly remember this day.  I'm not sure why I didn't post it then, but I thought I would post it now.  Just as an FYI - Anna Elise would've been 5, but not in school yet, Calvin getting ready to turn 4 in a couple of weeks, Madeline was 2 and Lilah wasn't quite 6 months old.  I'm thankful that I haven't had a day like that in a while and that as my kids get older these kinds of days are just a memory!

What a day. I'm almost embarrassed to post - it's that bad. This afternoon both Anna Elise and I had a stomach ache. I figured mine was sleep deprevation and stress related and hers was most likely from self constipation (an issue we deal with that I won't go into detail about!). I was wrong! Anyway, I'd spent most of the afternoon trying to work and not being able to get anything done due to some software problems! So frustrating. I was upstairs working on it while dinner baked in the oven, Lilah took a short nap, and the kids played downstairs. Anna Elise came upstairs asking if she could rest on my bed since the kids were loud and her stomach still hurt. I said sure. Then it all hit at one time. The timer on the oven went off, Lilah woke up crying, and Anna Elise threw up all over my bed, carpet and then in the bathroom in the toilet, on the toilet and all over the floor. I decided to take care of the throw up first since it was my bed and my carpet and I didn't want anything to soak in or stink. I let the dinner in the oven cook longer and Lilah was only fussing, not screaming yet. I tore the bed apart, scrubbed the carpet, wiped up the bathroom, put Anna Elise in my shower, yelled down to Calvin to go get the 'puffs' for Lilah and just feed them to her in her crib while I worked (her fussing had turned to screaming and she was hungry). I listened to the oven timer go off every 30 seconds while I worked. I gathered up a huge pile of sheets and pillows and Anna Elise's clothes and headed down the stairs. Yes, you guessed it, I fell down the stairs again! How embarrassing! The lump on my arm from the last fall isn't healed yet! I think I tripped myself with my large bundle of laundry. I fell from the last or second to last stair and managed to drop the laundry in time to catch myself on all fours, or I would have hit face first! Yes, the laundry bundled rolled and everything fell out and I had yet another throw up mess to clean up at the bottom of the stairs. Sigh. I rescued the dinner and got Lilah out of her crib (I think Calvin ate more puffs then she did!). Luckily Mike came home. During dinner Anna Elise threw up again and I realized that my stomach ache was most likely the same as her stomach ache. Mike put the kids to bed and did dishes and laundry while I hung out in the bathroom. It's not fun when you can't kneel down because your knees are swollen and scraped up from falling off the stairs! 

Slow Down!

 Celeset is growing up too fast!  It startles me when I see her doing something that she shouldn't be old enough to do!  Not that she is advanced for her age, just that her age is too advanced for me! I'm not ready for her to be a big girl!  Here she is relaxing on the couch, doing some coloring with her sister's colored pens.

The Count Down Begins

We've never had an advent calendar.  My kids have been deprived!  I know there are a million and one ways to make your own - but buying this one on clearance after Christmas last year seemed a lot easier (and cheaper, only $3.25!).  So we have an advent calendar this year.  We are counting down how many days are left until Christmas - I think we may be using it backwards, but it made more sense to the kids this way.  I'm hoping that when we start our 12 days of Service we can slip those in the little pockets and make it even more exciting!  Only 24 more days to go! (that is a little wooden star that we move from pocket to pocket)

Pacifier

The dreaded pacifier!  Anna & Madeline both sucked their thumbs - well past the age of three when most kids magically stop on their own.  Both of them needed lots of persuasion, reminding, and nasty nail polish to help them stop.  It was not fun.  By the time Lilah was born I had gotten smart and forced a pacifier on her to stop the thumb sucking - the same for Celeste.  When Lilah was about 12 months old and I was getting ready to throw her pacifier out a dentist told me that there have been studies that show that getting rid of a pacifier too early can sometimes cause thumb/finger sucking.  So Lilah got to keep hers until about 20 months or so.   Now here we are in the same situation with Celeste.  We are doing pretty well limiting it to her crib.  She knows to take it out and leave it with her blankets when we get her out.  The problem is that she leaves it close enough to the edge of her crib that she can sneak back in and get it out.  She'll sit in her room and suck on it until someone catches her.  When she gets tired, bored, or sad she'll find something else to suck on - she has her fingers, toys and this toy lid in her mouth all the time.  I have a feeling that she is going to have her pacifier for a while and that it's not going to be fun when it comes time to take it away!

This is a toy lid for a pot - it has a little knob on the top that she sucks on.  Yes, she wanders around the playroom like that!

Christmas is Coming!

The day after Thanksgiving we move right into Christmas!  We got up and did a little bit of Black Friday Shopping - nothing too crazy this year.  We take the kids to 5 Below and go shopping for the sibling exchange.  They draw each other's names and find something for $5.  It was so hard for Lilah to be surrounded by so many great things and focus on getting something for Calvin - she didn't even want to look at boy stuff - but she did a good job picking out a gift.  Then we hit Lowes and I got my $.99 poinsettias for me and my VT sisters.  I love poinsettias!  We did go to a couple of other stores, but since Mike had to go to work for a few hours - I didn't stay out long with all the kids by myself! 
We went home and drug out all of the Christmas decorations.  The kids wrapped the gifts they had just bought while we waited for Dad to come home and help us with the hard stuff.  It's hard when Thanksgiving is so early in November - it makes Christmas feel so far away!  This year my kids aren't done with school until December 21st - so 4 full weeks until Christmas even feels close!  They seem to think the anticipation is going to kill them and have decided that if they ask enough times I might let them open one present early - not to worry, I won't give in =)

Giving Thanks

On Thanksgiving the kids watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  It keeps them out of the way while Mike and I cook our dinner.  We really enjoy Thanksgiving as a family - but it is a lot of work to do the whole thing by yourself!  We enjoyed lunch at 2pm and then spend the rest of the afternoon doing Thanksgiving mazes and color sheets.  Mike & Calvin got in some good football playing and watching.  We had pumpkin and apple pie for dinner and then enjoyed our after dinner show by the kids.   They get shy when the camera comes out - but you get the idea.

Lilah

Celeste's video wouldn't download on blogger, so she is on youtube here

The Day Before Thanksgiving

On the day before Thanksgiving the kids always have a half day.  I spend all morning making rolls, pies, and layered rainbow jello.  After the kids get home we go out to a movie and then dinner.  It's a fun tradition that the kids look forward too.  This year we saw Wreck It Ralph and everyone loved it except for Celeste.  But, to be fair, she decided she didn't want to watch before it even started.  She doesn't really like movie theaters - they are probably a close second to the chapel.  Any room where you have to sit still in a seat doesn't really rank very high with our little wiggle worm.  During one of my turns with her we ended up out in the hallway and she kept saying 'go' and pulling toward the exit.  She was done! Everyone else really enjoyed the movie.  After the movie we took the kids to the play place at the mall so they could get out some wiggles and we could kill some time until dinner!  It was crazy to see everyone getting ready for Black Friday (which apparently starts on Thursday now).

Lilah at the play place

Fixed

The camera on my phone has not been working correctly - the settings for the flash have been off (all the weird and 'bright' pictures that I have posted over the last few weeks are from my phone).  Mike was playing with my settings and finally got it fixed.  He also had some fun with some of the other settings on my camera phone. 

Poodle

We have a pink headband with poodle ears in our dress-up box.  Lilah wears them a lot.  Today she thought her Dad should take a turn with them!  The next time the kids ask for a pet - I'll tell them we already have a poodle!

Visitors (Again)!

Nick & Janet came for another visit.  They are moving to Florida next week so it was our last chance to see them.  They came last night (a couple of hours early and surprised us before the kids went to bed).  We had a relaxed morning playing and talking.  After lunch we loaded up into the two cars and went for a quick tour around downtown Richmond and ended at the canal walk.  We walked along the canals, looked at the old locks, saw some art work,  the flood walls and even walked on the pipe bridge so we could stand on the James River bank for a few minutes (we didn't stay long, we did not want wet kids!).  We then drove to Richmond Battle Field park.  It was a great place for the kids to run and play in all the ditches and burms from the fort that used to be there.  They played hide n seek with Mike and Uncle Nick.
That night, after the kids went to the bed we got out the kids Christmas present, hooked it up, and had some fun!  I packed it all up again.  I should probably wrap it so I'm not tempted to get it out again.  I'm going to enjoy it just as much as they do =).
Thanks for driving all the way up to see us Nick & Janet!  We loved having you.  Good luck in Florida.

 Here we all are in front of the 'Richmond' painting at the Canal Walk.

Another 'interesting' painting at the canal walk

New Door!

We decided to redo our stairs door back in July.  When we got our new couch this spring we had to take our old (not so great) door down and decided we may as well make a new one to put back up.  We (well not me) can be kind of slow when it comes to home improvement projects.  We finally hung the door today. It still needs paint and more trim at the top and a handle and more of this and that - but it's hung up =).  We had to get it hung up in time for our company this weekend!

It's suppose to match the wall - it slides on the track up at the top. 

Budding Photographer

I found this picture (among many others) on my camera today.  I'm guessing Anna Elise took the shots, but  I'm not sure.

Behind the Couch

Celeste decided she wanted to get into that little space underneath the window and behind the couch.  I was curious as to what she wanted to do back there - so I helped her in.  She sat down and read a book!

Moving 'Forward'

You'll have to excuse me, I'm going to depart from my usual family happenings to talk about some personal feelings.  I was so sure that this election would bring about a much needed leadership change and get our country back on the right track.  On Tuesday night as Mike and I sat in our hotel room watching the election results come in I felt so angry.  I was upset and felt physically ill.  I knew that the anger that overwhelmed me was not what I wanted be feeling.  I struggled to find peace.  As I prayed and read and thought I was able to push it down some, but it was still there and I still felt fear and anxiety and just helplessness.  This morning I was driving to the park with my little girls and listened to the radio for just a few minutes.  Glenn Beck was talking about the disappointment of the election and he related it to the book of Jeremiah.  The discussion I listened to brought the much needed peace that I have been looking for and the anger and fear are completely gone.  I still feel disappointment and I still feel anxiety for the future, but I am in a much better place emotionally now.  I wanted to share some of scriptures and discussion with you.  In Jeremiah chapter 29  it says


"4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;   5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant ^agardens, and eat the fruit of them;   6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.   7 And seek the ^apeace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace."

The Israelites were in captivity for 70 years.  They were told to build houses, plant gardens, have families, and to participate in the city they lived in.  Some of us are in a type of captivity in our own country, we are stuck with the consequences of other people's decisions, and we need to just move 'forward' and keep on living, building homes, planting gardens, having families, and serving in our communities to find our peace.  This is the Lord's plan.  This wasn't some mistake or misunderstanding, it's part of the plan.  I don't know if I really like the plan right now, but considering who's plan it is, he knows better then I.  I hope this brings peace to you as well. 


Here's a picture of Lilah at the park. 

Great Wolf Lodge

There is an indoor water park/hotel, Great Wolf Lodge, just 45 minutes from us.  We've been wanting to go for years but felt like the kids weren't old/tall enough, I was always pregnant or had a newborn and it just wouldn't work.   After going to Busch Gardens this summer we felt like it might be time to try Great Wolf Lodge and when I got a Groupon for it - we had to go!  Yesterday the kids got the day off (their school is our polling place) so after we voted he loaded up the car and headed to Williamsburg! We checked in, put on our bathing suits and hit the water park.  It was amazing and just perfect for our family.  They had a kiddie pool with baby slides that even Celeste could go on.  She loved the water and the slides!  It was the perfect depth for her.  She even go to the point where she would run and jump in (it was only 18 inches deep).  She had a ball.  Lilah is fearless and not too picky so she had fun doing whatever.  She liked everything - she was able to go on the next level up all by herself and she did!  She would say "Mom I'm going on the slides". She climbed up the large 'play house' and went through the obstacles and spraying water, got in line, and came down the huge slides - all by herself.  She had a lot of fun playing in the wave pool as well and was usually pretty good about wearing a life jacket in that pool.  Madeline claims her favorite was the family hot tub, but she spent most of her time (by choice) in the wave pool.  I'm so glad she has had swimming lessons.  She spent a lot of time either jumping waves, diving into them or riding them on a tube. They had some really fun tube slides that she could do on her own, she liked going on them with Anna Elise and Calvin and being one of the big kids.  Calvin and Anna Elise's favorite slide was the Howlin' Tornado.  It was not my favorite ride.  It dropped you straight down (as in your stomach falls out and you feel like you are on a roller coaster but don't have the safety or added reassurance of a seat belt!) into a type of funnel that is lying on it's side.  You swirl around in there for a bit and then continue on the slide.  It was intense and the older 2 kids did it over and over - with Mom, with Dad, with each other, Calvin even went with strangers.  There were other slides and pools as well.  The kids loved their little 'cabin' in our hotel room.  Nobody got much sleep, but that's too be expected.  We could've stayed all day today, but Celeste hit the end of her rope so we headed home this afternoon.  We all had a great time.  We got a great deal.  I think as the kids get older and more independent it makes vacations a lot more fun and little bit easier!  We'll definitely be going back sometime.