WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

Wow, where has the time gone? There has been so many things happen since November when Abby put this ridiculous video on. Probably the most exciting for the Allen clan was the return of Griffin from his mission in Brazil Riberao Preto. We put together a great plan and then put it into action! He arrived home on Wednesday, December 19. Much to his surprise we had arranged to have all of the kids home for Christmas. This was extra fun because he hadn't ever seen Brylie or Jonas.

We spent the first night home and then traveled to the coast to stay for 3 days at a friend's beach house. It was so relaxing. There was a tremendous amount of wind and so the waves on the beach were awesome and huge. Brad had brought the "crabbing" equipment but we weren't too successful. We ate, played games, watched movies, ate, went for walks on the beach, and just enjoyed each other's company.
















It was so enjoyable to be all together. On the 21st Paige and Matt had to leave to meet Matt's family and begin their Christmas vacation in Mexico. They had a wonderful time but we missed them tremendously. The rest of the family headed home to Grandma and Grandpas in Aloha where we continued with the Christmas festivities. Cassidy and Brad went to visit Brad's family in Wilsonville for the remainder of the vacation but we had a great Christmas dad with Shay, Chelsea, Jonas, Griffin, McKay, and Abby. It was a vacation that we hated to see end.

A Thanksgiving Dance!

Mom's imagination has been "taking off" with her a lot lately. Here is a good example of how it "took off" on Thanksgiving day. "All I can say is that I have never cried so much from laughing so hard than when she was doing this little dancing session" said Abby.

We thought you would all be amused by this little trip back to the 70's.

He Finally Did It!!

McKay has finally done it. He was sworn in to the United States Marine Corp. on Tuesday, October 16 and is now a recruit. He has signed up to be a combat engineer, which means he will be dealing primarily with construction and demolition. His plans are to go to boot camp next July after graduating from high school. Boot camp will last 3 months along with about 7 more months of formal training. Then he will request to fulfill a religious obligation so he can serve a mission, maybe in Wyoming! Who would have ever thought our "little McKay" would be in the military . . . we thought all of this time that he wanted to be a "wurker" (something he used to say when he was 4-5 yrs old).

It's About Time to Update!

It's been quite a while since we blogged so I guess we better get back in the swing of things. It's been a busy last month or so. It seems like every time we turn around we are taking Abby to a drum line rehearsal or a soccer practice or a performance or a game or to a friends house or to the store for something she can't live without. And then there is Mac. At times we have to go looking for him to make sure he's still alive and breathing. Mac has finally made the ultimate move for independence. He is now driving the old van to school. If I'm not mistaken, everyone of our kids have driven the van to school or somewhere one time or another except for maybe Cass. And of course, Paige wouldn't be caught dead in the van, especially in the driver's seat! Did you ever drive the old van Cass? The only thing that bothers Mac about the van is it's 5 mpg. You can watch the gas gauge go down when you're driving up the hill to our house.


Griffin has been assigned the responsibility of Zone Leader in the mission. This gives him charge over the missionaries of many districts. He has to coordinate interviews for baptisms, weekly meetings and a monthly zone conference. We are very proud of him at his obedience and his testimony that has been strengthened. We got an email from the mission president that said that Griffin is a very devoted, obedient, hard worker and they trust him with the responsibility he has been given. We love you Grif!







Happy Birthday to our Jonas. How incredibly fast this last year has gone. He already has 8 teeth and can navigate quite freely around the house. And talk about language. He has his own but it can be non-stop at times.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!!!!!!

Happy birthday to the best grandma in the world! We are so glad to have such a sweet and fun mother, grandma and great grandma. We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating your special day. WE LOVE YOU!!!

What a busy summer!

Well, it's finally come to an end, the busiest summer in recent memory. We have hiked, trekked, camped, driven for hours, stayed up late, got up early, married off children, had bridal showers, open houses and receptions, sat in traffic, finished eagle requirements, and lived to tell about it. August 22, 2007 is a date we will never forget. Paige and Matt finally tied the knot in the Salt Lake Temple. It was an awesome day and everything went perfectly. We are so excited to have Matt join the family, although we have thought of him as family for about 6 years now! Paige is lucky to be part of the Cahoon family as well. They have a huge family and she will never be short on in-laws.

McKay is Finally An Eagle Scout, Whew!!!

Believe it or not, McKay finally completed all of the requirements necessary to become an Eagle Scout. As always, Mom was the chief motivating factor along the way. Lately she had to become quite firm in her admonitions. Dad only had to take a kitchen knife away from her once during one of her latest motivation sessions. Actually the event went quite well and McKay did a pretty good job organizing and leading the project once Mom got him motivated. He ended up with a smaller group than he wanted but those who attended were pleased with the Sherrif's presentation and the child ID cards that were created for each attendee. Congradulations McKay on a job well done!