Family Pics

We had our family pictures taken last month...or was it in April? Either way, it was a while ago and I'm just barely getting around to posting them. My good friend, Malissa, took our pictures for us. You can see more of our photos, as well as more of her work, on her website. Thanks again, Malissa!

Kyri girl

4 1/2 years old

SOOO grown up -

and has since had her hair cut short, which makes her look even older :( 

Graysen snug bug

3 years old

handsome little guy, isn't he?

BEST FRIENDS!!

Tanzi, Little Miss, Missy, Little Miss Naughty

1 year old

How can you ever get too mad at a face such as this?

The 3 little monkeys, each showing off their own personality

The family

My personal favorite

Allen Family Reunion

Every other year my family does a reunion with my parents and siblings.  This is our 3rd time doing it and it was held at my sister's in Spanish Fork.  We all had a super fun time and like always, I didn't take nearly enough pictures.  We spent one day at Seven Peaks as we all used our Pass of all Passes.  It was extremely crowded, but fun to spend time with family.  We also went to the Provo Temple and did an early morning session.  It is always a neat experience to go to the temple with the family.  We had a family Olympics at the high school track.  We also had a dessert cook-off which was a lot of fun!  The rest of the time was spent relaxing, chatting, playing games, and eating.  Here are a few pictures to highlight the reunion:

Kids getting their swimming attire on to go to the waterpark.

Relaxing in the kiddie pool.  We had a cabana right next to it which made it super nice!

Nice moves to the WII's Just Dance, especially the one in the blue ;)

The older kids raced and it was a close one between Cameron and Cooper....Rylee girl is the line judge!

The little kids raced as well!

At the finish line Grandpa and Tammy had prizes and medals for all of the kids.

Each family had a different color with shirts and a flag to represent each other.

We all really had a fun time and can't wait for the next reunion in a couple of years.  

Trip to Virginia

I spent 3 weeks in Virginia for work and while I was there I was able to get away and go to D.C. and Virginia Beach while I was there.  Work was great, but my adventures to D.C. and the coast were awesome as I had never been to either before.  

The day started off amazingly with a session in the Washington D.C. Temple.  It was absolutely beautiful.

 After the Temple, it was off to all the monuments, memorials, and museums.  

Jefferson Memorial

The Air and Space Museum was probably my favorite.  So may awesome planes and aviation history.  

A little disappointed with all the construction they had going on.  Wasn't able to get a very good picture of the Capitol.

The Natural History Museum was also spectacular with a lot of neat exhibits. 

The White House was cool to see.  

Washington Monument was closed to go in because of the earthquake last year.  

Lincoln Memorial was packed as was everything else.  It was expected though as I went over Memorial Day weekend.  

The Vietnam Memorial was awesome and the human statues were huge.  

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was really new and cool to see. 

I was on my way back to the car when I took this shot of the Jefferson Memorial with him shadowed through the pillars.  

I was exhausted after spending most of the day walking around.  I also went to the Art and Light Museum, American History Museum, and the Holocaust Museum.  I would have spent more time at the Holocaust Museum, but after serving a mission in Poland and actually being at Auschwitz, Birkenau, and a number of other concentration camps where the devastation actually took place, the museum didn't have as much of an impact.  

Virginia Beach

I spent a day at Virginia Beach, which was really cool.  It is a huge tourist and local destination to soak up some sun on some nice sandy beaches.  While I was there, the naval base had and air show with the Blue Angels and everything.  It was pretty cool to see them fly slow low over the water.  The battery on my camera died and I didn't have a charger so I didn't get any shots of of the planes :( 

The beach in the morning before all the people showed up.

There were a lot of nice hotels and a cool boardwalk along the beach that stretched for about 5 miles.  

My trip was great, but I missed the family and was super glad when I was able to finally see them again when I got home.