Palm Springs

We snuck off to Palm Springs to crash our friend Gina's end-of-the-quarter-decompression vacation! It was sooooo nice there! We spent the days hanging out by the pool, swimming and just relaxing. Oh, and there's a Roy's there that is by far the most kid-friendly Roy's that I've ever been to! Not only did they let Coop pick a treasure from their treasure chest (He grabbed tools, of course!), but the children's menu actually has yummy food options! He picked chicken strips with rice and since his "1st course" comes right away, he was too distracted by fruit, veges and cheese to get bored!

Thanks, GiGi, for letting us join you! :)

Ashley's Graduation

Ashley's summer has officially started!

The day of her graduation started off with quite a busy morning. Ash insisted that her hair be curly so she and Hannah were up before the sun to start the prepping. 45 minutes later and after a quick dab of lip gloss and mascara, the no-longer-a-6th-grader was ready! The ceremony was really nice, and our little Ashley got lots of awards. Our favorite of the day was her Scripture Scholar award that she received for memorizing 36 Bible verses! Go Ash!!!

Check out Justino's facebook for more pictures of her during/after the ceremony, with her teacher and with her friends. If the album isn't up yet, it will be!! :)

For dinner, we went to Corvette Diner and continued celebrating with Team Fletcher!

DisneyAllen fun

Dear Team Allen North,

TAS wants to thank you for letting us crash your AMAZING vacation! Even though we were only there overnight, it was enough fun to last us a lifetime! Maybe we can do it again soon...in Hong Kong or Tokyo Disneyland!! We'll be crossing our fingers and toes....

Love ya!

Team Allen South

Cooper the (not so terrible) Two Year Old

Our little monkey is already two! He still loves to sing and dance, but now he's interested in musical instruments, too! For his birthday he got a new drum set and a baby piano. He likes to sit at one instrument while Ashley sits at the other and together they play & sing. He's gonna miss his big sissy!
His birthday party was a lot of fun! Thank you to all of his friends that came and of course to Grammie, Granny and Team Allen North for coming such a long way to celebrate with us!

Virginia

Our trip to Virginia was soooooo much fun!! While Justino was at his nursing conference, me, Coop, and Momster relaxed in the hotel...but once Lati arrived, it was non-stop sightseeing time! Cooper's highlights would have to be running around Jamestown & Fort Mason and visiting the Air and Space Museum. Justin really loved exploring Colonial Williamsberg. My favorite part was enjoying The Cheese Shop with my mom and BSQ near the College of William and Mary. So fun!!

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Christmas, Christmas Time Is Here!!!

Christmas is our favorite time of year and our radios will only be playing Christmas tunes from now until...Easter?!
We got our tree a few days after Thanksgiving and Justin couldn't wait to put lots of lights up outside! Ashley was in charge of decorating the tree. She picked out the ornaments and dressed up our tree beautifully! We still haven't picked up the wreaths, but we will soon....along with other fun decorations! Yay! It really is the most wonderful time of the year!!!!

A few pictures of the finished "product" will be on the way once i make some more room on our memory card!

Coop's "first" Halloween

Coop is finally at an age where we can really have some fun with the holidays! This year for halloween he dressed up as a Tiger for a birthday party and a Krabby Patty/Whataburger (Mmmmm...) for trick or treating.  Anyway, here are a few pics. This is the first year (since I've known him) that Justin refused to dress up. I was, of course, dressed to cheer on the Giants aka World Series 2010 champs!!!
Enjoy!

Pumpkin hunting

Papa came to visit just in time to accompany Team Allen to the pumpkin patch! Lots of football on TV set us back a few hours so we ended up going to a "parking lot patch" close to our house. Despite the somewhat shabby location, we had a ton of fun picking out pumpkins and snapping lots of pics! Cooper is in heaven anywhere that Ash is so the best shots are of those two together!

Allen boys in San Diego

Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Ash's first musical: School House Rock

Job 1:21b

"...The Lord gives and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the Lord."

Until we meet again, know that mommy and daddy love you very much...

William Allen 

Coop's 1st Bday Party (San Francisco)

It's another boy!

We just couldn't wait to know this time! Our newest baby boy is due in early August!

Mission Bay Park