Portland, Oregon

Our family just took a little weekend trip down to Portland Oregon a few weekends ago. We had a great time. This is what we did while we were there...

We went to see the second largest year round running water fall in the US. It's called Multinomah Falls. It was amazing. What a site to see. The kids loved it. We couldn't believe how loud it was. They have is so beautifully presented with stone walk ways, nice paths to hike up to the top of the falls and a wonderful bridge that you can walk across and get an amazing close up view of the falls. Definitely worth seeing if you are in Portland!

Laine got a good look at the falls and liked it! I don't think she could open her eyes any wider even if she wanted to.

Then we took the kids to the Portland Children's Museum. That was a lot of fun. They had a Bob the Builder exhibit and Shane went nuts over that. Here he is driving the tractor.

Wyatt worked on fixing some pipes! Maybe he'll be a plumber some day.

Or, maybe a dentist! He had a lot of fun playing in this alligators mouth! :)

Abigail and Wyatt had fun in the "garage" making things that they could take home with them.

Our hotel was right across the street from the Portland Temple in the Lake Oswego area. The whole area was gorgeous and the Temple was spectacular. It's such a beautiful design and the stone around the outside is incredible! We really enjoyed walking around the grounds and feeling the spirit that is always at the House of the Lord.


Then, the real reason we went down to Portland...A group of friends and I took our daughters to see the Broadway show Wicked! It's such an amazing show. I saw it for the first time in Chicago. I brought home the music and Abigail and I love listening to it. Abigail knows all the songs and asked all the time when I was going to take her to see it. So when we heard it was coming to Portland we got tickets. It was such a fun night. We got to get all dressed up, go out to dinner and then enjoy the show. As I knew she would be, Abigail was completely taken by the show and loved every minute. Then after when we were walking out we got so lucky as to be walking past the back door where the actors were coming out. So Abigail got her programed signed by Glinda, Fierro, Nessa, and Bock! It was so exciting. They are all truly amazing at what they do. We were bummed not to be able to meet Alfaba but I'm sure she was still inside trying to "de-greenify" herself! If you haven't seen this show yet, go see it!! It's coming to Seattle in September!!!!!


The girls had a fun Birthday Party sleep over in celebration of Brynly, Reanan, and Katie's birthdays in March. They painted toes, played games, ate food, and stayed up late. What fun!

We had a fun time as a family. It was a perfect little get away and I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to go. Our hotel was fun and when we weren't site seeing we had a great time at the pool swimming and splashing! Here's a picture of Laine relaxing on the hotel bed. She had fun too!

We are now looking forward to our next family trip which will be in a few weeks. We are taking the kids to Disneyland!!! Can't wait :)

Laine Katharine Allen

Our little Laine was born January 2nd, 2009. Needless to say it's been very busy in our home since she arrived and I haven't taken the time to sit down and do this sooner. Life is getting back to normal now, or a new normal any way, and so I better get back to writing these important events down!

Laine was born at Overlake Hospital. The grandmas were there and couldn't wait to meet there new granddaughter with there names. Laine was named after both of her grandmas, Marlaine and Mary Katharine. Here's a few pictures of us at the hospital that morning before Laine was born.




Here's a picture of my new best friend!! I wish I had had this on all my other births. It's called the Bair Hugger. It's like a giant blow dryer blanket. They lay the blanket part over you after surgery, turn it on, and it blows hot air all around you. It was so nice and really helped reduce the shakes. Normally I lay in the bed for hours sick to my stomach and shaking. The Bair Hugger took care of the shaking. Now if there was a way to make the sickness disappear! :)

Me with the Bair blanket on!

Here she is! She was so beautiful and perfect. Laine was 7lbs. and 18 inches long when she was born. She had dark brown hair and long beautiful fingers, just like her sister had when she was born. In fact she looks so much like Abigail did when she was born. What fun sisters are!


Here she is at home. She looks tired...It's hard work being a baby.

Laine's first bath. She loved it and was very content and calm.

Jeff blessed Laine on Sunday Jan. 25th. It was a special blessing. I am so grateful that her father is a worthy priesthood holder and could give her this blessing from her Heavenly Father.

2009 was a special year for our family. It's the year that our first child was baptized and the year that our last child was born. We are truly blessed as a family and are so grateful for each of our children. Here's a picture of Daddy, Abigail in her baptism dress, and Laine in her blessing dress.




Here's a picture of Laine in her Valentine's outfit. She's an adorable, and chunky little Valentine. In fact she is our fastest growing child yet. At her 2 month check up she weighed 11lbs. 9 0z. and was in the 75% for her age. She's a super eater and a very happy baby. We are thankful every day that she has joined our family. Her brothers and sister love her so much and are always willing to help out and hold her.



Well, there is a brief recap of the last few months and what we've been up to. Baby, Baby, Baby! We are so blessed and I am especially thankful for this time in my life. Thankful that I am able to stay home with my children and enjoy every moment as it comes!

New Years Eve

Another year gone, but we love a good New Years Bash! We had a great time ringing in the New Year with friends and family. Thanks to the Collings for hosting and having all us crazy people over. I am especially grateful that my mother could be here with us to celebrate all the way from Colorado! All the kids were able to stay up and see midnight and beyond, even little Shane. Can't believe the amount of energy they have. I wish I had half of it!

Looking forward to the next New Years celebration!

Christmas 2008

Well, I have to admit, I dropped the ball this year for pictures at Christmas time. Things have been so very busy and I am so very pregnant that I guess the picture taking got put by the way side. :) So, here are the very few pictures that I did take of the kids this Christmas break. The first one is of the kids on Christmas Eve after they opened their new Christmas Jammies. Who doesn't love a new pair of comfy jammies! The next is a picture of Abigail and Katie on one of the many sledding adventures my kids have had this December. We have had so much snow and we definitely tried to take advantage of it all and do lots of sledding. It's been so much fun! And the third picture is a picture of our friends house in the neighborhood. (If this doesn't illustrate my lack of picture taking I don't know what does) They were gone this Christmas visiting family and had asked if we'd snap a quick picture of their home with all this snow. Not sure why I couldn't take a minute to take a picture of our home so I want to thank the Thorpe's for getting me on the ball enough to have some sort of record of all the snow that fell!! :) And last but not least is a picture of our Christmas tree this year. We trek-ed out into the mountains this year to cut our tree down. The kids had a blast and the tree turned out to be beautiful. It was a fun adventure.

We spent Christmas Day with our family and Grandma Cribbins here at home and then traveled to see Jeff's family up North in Mill Creek for Christmas Day dinner.We had a very blessed Christmas and are so thankful for this time of year where we can reflect upon the birth of our Savior and celebrate His gift to us.

Clean and Pure

This has been a busy month for our family and especially for Abigail. After turning eight on December 2nd she made the decision that she wanted to be baptized. We are so proud of her! She was baptized on December 20th at our church building in Maple Valley by her father, Jeffrey. She was surrounded by so many family and friends who love her and support her, despite the incredibly unusual winter weather. Our winters here in Washington are usually pretty mild but this December we received record amounts of snow fall and a whole lot of ice. It's been pretty hard to get around on the roads and we've all been stuck inside quite a bit. But the crazy weather wasn't enough to stop our daughter from taking her first and very important step into the waters of baptism and on her way back to her Heavenly Father. There is no way to properly describe the how I felt that day. I can only imagine how our Heavenly Father feels every time he witnesses one of his children make these important decisions. I am so grateful to have the gospel in our lives, to guide us and teach us. I am even more grateful to have such an amazing husband who is worthy to baptize our children into the church. Below are some pictures from her special day.





We are so grateful to all our family who took time away and traveled to WA to be here for Abigail's baptism. Grandpa Ron came from California to support her and to witness her baptism. Grandma Cribbins came from Colorado to be here and see her granddaughter become a member of the church. Great Grandma and Grandpa Allen came to witness and participate. Great Grandma Opal and Grandma Cribbins gave wonderful talks to Abigail about baptism and the Holy Ghost. Great Grandma and Grandpa O'Dore, Grandma and Grandpa Sligh, and Uncle Derek and Stephanie were all set to come from up north but due to the extremely bad weather and road conditions they were not able to make the baptism. We missed them so much but are glad that they are safe and didn't risk the long drive. We know they were there in spirit. Grandma Sligh and Derek and Stephanie were able to make it later in the day to our home and give Abigail lots of hugs and there love.

It means so much to us to have such a wonderful family and friends surrounding us! Thank you to all who came, who helped out, who sent their best wishes, and who are always there for us. We love you!

Birthday Fun!

Abigail turned 8 this month and this was her year for a friend party. She's always wanted a beach party theme but because her b-day is in December this was as close as we could get! We rented out the Covington Aquatic center and had a swim party. It was a hoot and the kids had a blast. Definitely one of her funnest parties yet! We opened presents and had some super yummy ice cream cake then the kids took to the water. Abigail had so much fun and she, and we, are so blessed to have such wonderful friends to surround us. Here's some pics from the party.





One of the things Abigail asked for for her b-day this year was some items from American Girl to go with her hard eared American Girl doll. So the bed below was our gift to her. She was so excited to receive it and couldn't wait to put Julie to bed! :) Just as a side note...we are so proud of her. She really wanted this doll but we weren't sure if she'd really play with it so we decided to make her earn half the money to pay for it. She worked really hard several months to save up all her money. She did it and she's really loves her doll Julie and takes very good care of her! Way to go Abigail. We love you so much and are proud of the young woman you are becoming! Happy 8th Birthday!!!

Grateful Times!!

Thanksgiving was at our house this year and we had a wonderful time! Here's the whole crew below - Great Grandma and Grandpa O'Dore, Great Grandma and Grandpa Allen, Grandma and Grandpa Sligh, and Uncle Derek and Stephanie. The day was filled with LOTS of good food, visiting, games and relaxing. I made my first Turkey this year and I have to admit I was very nervous but it turned out great. Not like the one from Christmas Vacation like I imagined it might! :) We had all the traditional foods and everyone helped out. It was so nice to have Jeff home for the long weekend and we took advantage of the time and got ready for Christmas. Jeff put up our Christmas lights in the rain (good old Seattle weather!) while the kids and I worked on the inside. We love this time of year and are so glad it's here! But, not to gloss over Thanksgiving - I want to just say how thankful I am for all of my blessings. My family being at the top of the list!! Good health for all of us and the Gospel in our lives are just a few more on the list. Truly there is nothing else I need in this life but what I have!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!