Nancy & Jed's Full Shed

Grandma Allens Christmas House

2008-12-22T12:20:00.000-08:00

Since nobody is comming to Grandma's house for Christmas we'll let you have a look. We also got a good bunch of snow, at least for St. Geo. it was a lot.

Christmas Snow in the back yard. This snow lasted for more than 5 days. It even closed Jared's School for a Day.

Cindy decorated a beautiful tree for Grandma

Have a Merry Christmas Everyone

Grandpa Jed

Pumpkins and more...

2008-11-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Hi - well I keep telling Britt that I will add to this blog and I never have so here goes. Thanks for all of the pictures so far, I've enjoyed seeing everyone!

This is the Geisha and the Ninja - Justin and Kim had a Japanese restaurant for Lee on his birthday this year. They got a little help on the food from Mom but they put their costumes together and decorated. They had a menu and signs. There was Japanese music playing and lots of atmosphere. It was great - Lee loved it!

I will just put up some Fall photos. We had a gorgeous Fall here in the NorthWest this year and had lots of sunshine and warm weather until Halloween. My parents came to the NW to sing with Gladys Knights choir in Seattle and then came and spent a week with us. We visited a pumkin patch and corn maze - it was a beautiful week. We are always looking for visitors to come - this is a beautiful part of the country.

Kimi was the walking dead for Halloween - kind of creepy - huh? This is the first year that I haven't taken any photos of Justin. He was a ninja with a Jason mask on - very creepy but he took off trick or treating with his friends before I snapped a photo. I keep telling them that this is their last year trick or treating and then they end up going again. It's just so much fun and Kim is still so small that she can get away with it. We'll see what next year brings.

What would Fall be without soccer too. Justin always enjoys playing. He had a pretty lousy team but they always had alot of fun and Justin was able to score many of their teams goals.

Well that's all for now - I am really bad at this and I'm going to get some help from my girls when I see them at Thanksgiving. I hope you are all doing well and we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. Love from Ali and Lee

Birthday Shout-Out!

2008-11-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Justin (Nov. 4th), Sheri (Nov. 5th), and Thal (Nov. 7th)!!!

Much love to you three. Hope your day was fan-freaking-tastic and all your wishes came true.

While I didn't get to see my coolest little brother, it was fun to see both Sheri and Thal and have a great dinner at Tepanyaki. Those in attendance were: Thal, Sheri, Grandma, Cindy, Courtney + Bryson, Dillon, Ashley, sweet little Braylee, Megan (Ashley's friend from Vegas), and myself. It was a wonderous celebration.

Our Tepanyaki cook, Tony, was interesting to say the least. He was very enthused about his job, especially when serving the 'mustard.' Sheri thought it would be a good idea to tell Tony to fake me out by spraying 'mustard sauce' on me. And by 'mustard sauce' I mean a clear straw coming out of a yellow bottle. A little scare tactic that didn't exactly work out. Sorry Sher, I just saw it coming from miles away... okay, actually, I didn't see it at all. I was too engrossed in my salad. :) But I think Ashely got enough of a scare out of it for the both of us, haha.

He also pretended to smack me in the face while he was doing the intro part of the evening while banging knives on the stove. Ashley jumped at this portion also. One of my favorite things was when the cook was working his magic/lighting stuff on fire and Braylee would try to blow the fire out. Too cute!

As Tony was cleaning up and getting ready to leave us to eat in peace, he began griping to Thal about how women only go "yak yak yak yak" all the time (he used his hand to more clearly display the nagging that he was talking about)--- apparently his wife has been doing that to him for 18 years now. And that in Utah men are always in charge. Don't you worry--- Grandma reminded him that he better watch what he was saying since 70% of the company that evening were women.

I would definitely say the evening was a blazing success. No pun intended.

P.S. Some of you may be wondering if I typed correctly in saying that both Ashley and Braylee were present at dinner. Yes, I did. Ashley's in town for a little while visiting. She came all the way from Guam by both military and commercial flights while Joe is away in New Jersey for a few weeks. Braylee has picked up a few things since the last time I saw her, including (but not limited to): the itsy bitsy spider song, saying many, many words (like sparkling wiggles), and a great fake laugh. She's a freakin' doll! Ashley still knows how to make me laugh and has a beautious haircut. It was fun to get too see them both after almost a year!

P.P.S. I love you all, Allen family. Lets get going on this blog--- its looking a little lonely these days.

Grandpa and Grandma's fall trip

2008-10-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

Carolyn and Larry McKnight visited us in Washington, so on October 6, 2008, we took them on a little trip to:

1: Silver Reef to the old Wells Fargo bank building which is now an Art Gallery

Kolob Canyon is about 25 miles from Grandma's House. See a few pictures below:

Right to Left

Larry McKnight, his wife Carolyn, and Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jed

Duck Creek Hiway east of Cedar City

a few picture on the way over to Hiway 89

Lights, Camera, Action!

2008-09-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

September 13, 2008

Bountiful High Homecoming

September 12, 2008
FOX 13

Nicole and Cathy's News Day:

I had been at home snapping beans with Grandma Allen and realized it was time to go check Nicole out of school Friday morning. So, I just threw myself together (no make-up and pulled my hair off my face) thinking this would be quick. Well, as I pulled up in front of the school I could see that Fox 13 News was interviewing the principal. As I was walking up the front steps the principal and vice principal waved and called me over saying they needed my help. This was not too alarming to me because I am involved with a lot of things at the school and it's not uncommon for them to ask for my help. Not realizing what I was getting myself into I reluctantly agreed. This led to the reporter placing a microphone on me and the camera turned towards me. I laughed and said "You don't understand I am not looking so good this morning!". They all assured me that I looked great and the interview went on. As we chatted after my interview, the reporter decided that it would be a great idea to interview my daughter. I totally agreed! Nicole did need to be a part of this! So, we went into the school and as Nicole came to the attendance office to check out, we surprised her with cameras and her own personal interview on FOX 13 News. She was so embarrassed!! She really did a great job though. CHECK IT OUT:

Summer 2008

2008-08-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we are attempting to post our first blog entry. Summer went by so fast for us. We were happy to get a visit from Lee and Ali and family while they were in town. Also, it was so fun to have Jared stay with us for a few days. We love all of you!!
Jerry and Cathy

Kamas, Washington
At the start of summer Cathy and Nicole went to watch Kim perform in a play at her school. It was so much fun to watch Kim doing what she loves- Singing and Acting. You were AWESOME Kimi!! We loved the scenery on our hike around the lake as Alison swam across the lake to train for a mini triathalon. Congrats Alison!
It was a short stay, but we are so glad that we went.

Pioneer Trek
In June we went on our Stake Pioneer Trek. Cathy and Jerry were ma and pa to 11 children. Our 1st day we pulled handcarts all day and experienced an amazing women's pull. After 13 miles we arrived at our first camp at 12:30am in the dark. The 2nd day we pulled handcarts for 3 miles to our next camp. We played pioneer games and had a hoe down. The 3rd day we pulled handcarts 6 miles to our camp. It was a spiritual day with solo time and amazing trek family testimony meetings. The last day we pulled handcarts 4 miles to complete our trek. Our family was amazing. They didn't complain once and were so willing to do their best. It was hard, it was hot, we walked and walked and pulled handcarts up and down steep trails, but we never felt like we couldn’t do it. Heavenly Father was watching over us and helped us through our journey on trek. The youth came home with a greater appreciation for our pioneer ancestors and learned some great life lessons. Nicole wanted to stay longer. She loved it!!!!!!!!!! Her favorite day was the 1st day which was the hardest day!! It’s amazing what we can do when we have faith in the Lord and put forth the effort required. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each of us and are there to help us along the way.

Lake Powell
In July, Paul and Nadine Craig invited us to Lake Powell once again. All of their children except Matt went this year. Matt is serving in the Mesa Arizona Mission. This year felt a little different because Brayden and Nicole weren't with us. Nicole was at EFY that week and as you know Brayden is serving in the Washington DC North Mission. Nicole was a little sad but loved her experience at EFY. Camron and Whitney were able to come with us and we were so happy to have them there. It was a perfect week. The nights were nice and cool for sleeping and the days weren't too hot.

Jerry surfing

Cam on the sky ski

We had the perfect spot to spend the week

Jerry w/Puff the Dragon

Cathy learning to surf

Cam's catch of the day

Whitney going off the slide

10K Run and Texas
Jerry and Whitney ran the 10K in Salt Lake on July 24th so Jerry joined us in Texas a few days later. They started at Research Park by the UofU and ended at Liberty Park in SLC. Jerry ran the 10K in 57 minutes and Whitney ran it in 51 minutes. We are so proud of them.

Jerry and Whitney

What a fun week in Texas with Jay and Tracy and family! It was warm and sunny all week and we swam every day. Since it was the 24th of July week their ward had a Handcart Days celebration at one of the member's home so we went and enjoyed a picnic and visited with their ward members. The week went way too fast! Thanks Jay and Tracy for letting us come and play with you for the week. We had so much fun. Here are some pic's at their pool:

Jayme and Uncle Jerry playing around

Andie, Bryan, Jerry, and Jay jumping off the rocks

Bryan, Jayme, and Andie playing with Uncle Jerry

Andie is explaining her swimming skills to Nicole.

Hawaii
A few days after we got home from Texas we packed our suitcases and headed to Waikiki Beach for a few days. Jerry had work to do so Cathy and Nicole decided we needed to relax at the beach and do a little shopping. We stayed in downtown Waikiki. The beach was across the street and shopping all around us. The weather was perfect as always.

Jerry and Nicole on our balcony

Cheescake Factory was right across the street from our hotel so we enjoyed a few meals there. Yummy!

Cathy and Nicole at Waikiki Beach. By the way, Nicole meant to close her eyes for the picture! Really!

Girls Camp
So the week after we got home from Hawaii it was time for Girls Camp. We went to Piuta. Nicole was a YCL this year so she stayed up at the Lodge with the Stake Leaders. Our ward had 15 girls go this year which is doubled from last year. The weather was cooler than normal and it rained off an on, but we still were able to do everything as planned. We had some neat experiences during the week with the young women. They are so amazing! I learn so much from each of them. The last night was testimony meeting and Jerry came up and stayed that night. After testimony meeting we played a game called "The Adams Family." The girls haven't stopped talking about Bishop Allen's contribution to the game. Yes, Jerry was one of the HIGHLIGHTS of girls camp. You will have to ask Jerry about his dance moves.

This is a picture of our our cabin beautifully decorated on the outside!

San Francisco
After a week long recovery from Girl's Camp we headed to San Francisco for a couple of days. Jerry had to go for work so of course Cathy and Nicole thought it would be a great place to do some school shopping. We flew into Sacramento Airport because all the flights were full everywhere else. We rented a car and drove down to San Francisco. Jerry worked all day so Cathy and Nicole took the rental car and went shopping. Good thing we had our trusty GPS with us or we would have been lost for sure. Marshall's is one of our favorite stores to shop at so we found just about every Marshall's in the the San Francisco area. We also found an outlet mall along the way. We shopped until we dropped. After dinner at Chili's we came back to the Hotel to take inventory of our bargain shopping treasures, then we relaxed and watched the Olympics. This was a short trip but was worth it!!

Take luck!

2008-08-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

So, I'm pretty sure that this is one of the lamest blogs in all of blogdom. Come on people, lets make this thing legit and keep each other posted like a good blogging family would! If you know of any family members who need an invite, send me their email addresses--- I'll get them the hook up.

Anywho, Linds came down to Provo with cousin Jessica (most of you have met her- my mom's sister Steph's daughter) this last weekend for the sole purpose of going to the Brian Regan comedy show at Thanksgiving Point. It was really fun/funny/the best. He had three shows that week on wednesday, thursday, and friday. They all sold out--- 4,000 people at each show! You know how us Mormons like our good clean fun!

The best part of the night was when we got to go backstage and meet Mr. Regan himself! Long story short: Jessie's dad is his insurance agent. It was AWESOME. I'm telling you, I've never done the whole VIP thing before, but I like it. We were worried about getting seats because the venue was an outdoor amphitheatre (the kind where you bring blankets to sit on). We got there later than we planned on and tons of people were already seated an hour and a half before the show started. But lo and behold, the passes saved us with a taped off section of lawn specifically reserved for VIPs. Very exclusive, if you know what I mean. Haha! Before the start, we were driven to a 'remote area' of the venue and got to mingle with Brian and others. He is a nice guy- and funny of course. It was a great girls night out. We were laughing the whole time. So, shout out to Jess and her dad for a great weekend! If you haven't heard of Brian Regan, check him out! He's really funny--- I know there are tons of clips on YouTube you can watch for free.

Here's a picture of Linds, Mr. Regan, myself, and Jessica backstage before the show:

Well family, love you all! Hope to hear from you soon. I check this baby regularly.

Check Us Out

2008-08-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

Cam and I have started our own blog. I think this is a great way to keep in touch and stay up to date with everyone! I am constantly adding to our personal blog so go ahead and click on our name and check out our blog! It will be great to hear from all of you. Here is the link:
http://whitneyandcamronallen.blogspot.com/

2008-08-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my beautiful grandbaby!! Guam is tooooooooo far away!!

Sendin' some love via the NEW BLOG!

2008-08-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

Alright everyone. Here's how this is going to work:

This is the start of the Allen Family blog! Several of us thought that it would be nice to keep track of our ever-growing family (shout-out to Jay and Tracy--- baby #4 coming in Feb--- woohoo!). The intention behind this blog is to allow each of us access to post messages, news, thoughts, announcements of any kind, love stories, pictures, funny stories, and anything else you want to post. You will each receive an email inviting you to be authors of this blog. This will simply require you to set up a google account, or blogger.com account. It is free. I think you're all savvy enough to set up an account and accept the invitation. Anyway, this will allow us to keep up on each other's lives as we're currently spread throughout the country from Washington to Texas to Utah to Guam!

Good luck! Let me know if you need some blogging help.
Love to all.

P.S. The blog title is thanks to Linds, Gramps, and Nicole.
P.P.S. Happy birthday to Jay (today) and to Linds (last friday)!