Allen 3.0

Our little guy is measuring big so, although the official due date is still 2/2/12, we can reasonably expect a stork visit in January! (=

"He fills my life with good things..." Psalm 103:5

SFO to Narita to Yokosuka!

What could have been a tough trip turned out to be easy schmeazy! I think it has helped that Cooper has flown so much because going thru security and getting on the plane was no big deal for him! He even sat still for take off! The flight was long (10hr 50 Mins), but it really didn't feel too bad. Cooper was well entertained by his new "plane toys" that we picked up, and the movies on his ipad. He was even able to take a 2 hour nap during the flight!

We left our hearts in SF

After leaving San Diego behind, we had just about a week to spend with our families in the Bay Area before our big move. It was the first time that all of the little cousins were together at once so the house was a zoo!! Gina and her lola made the trek up from SoCal to see us off, too. She's used to the Phillips madness so I think a great time was definitely had by all!

The Giant Race

The Allen boys were reunited to run a 5k in San Francisco. The run started at the Embarcadero and ended at AT&T Park. They ran together and finished in 26 minutes!

Our Little Drummer Boy

The Phillips Family Picnic & Going Away Party

We had such a great time seeing most of the family together in one place! Cooper immediately felt at home even though we don't get to see everyone enough. My Aunt Renata's slideshow showcased so many good memories and how much all of us have changed over the years. We were so blessed to surrounded by our amazing and loving family. I haven't laughed so much in ages! It was also pretty fun to hear how all of the older guys (Justino, Chris, Soundi...) tried to keep up with the younger cousins in a game of softball! Haha! Good times!

Good Old Hot & Humid Texas

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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!