Our Exciting Christmas & Snow in Thatcher

I had been looking forward to Christmas morning for so long. At 19 mo. Luke would old enough to finally get excited about opening presents and getting new toys. Luke had been sick with a fever the few days before Christmas, so his schedule was pretty out of wack. By the time it was after 1o a.m. Ty and I couldn't wait any longer and got Luke out of bed. He was still pretty groggy and didn't know what to think at first, but after a little bit he got really into playing cars with dad on his new car road rug. After that we let him have at his stocking. That was probably his favorite part, because Luke loves candy!!!

After that Ty's parents stopped by, and we opened the rest of the presents with them. We had a nice lunch with Ty's family that afternoon, and later that evening my parents and the 2 kids still at home made the drive from Pinetop to Thatcher to come and see us. My family had to leave the next afternoon, but we still enjoyed their visit even though it was short.

The evening of the 26th it actually started snowing in Thatcher!!! Snow is not unheard of in Thatcher, but with a climate not much cooler than Phoenix, it definitely does not snow every year. This was the first time I've ever seen it snow here. I think I was more excited than anyone else. By morning we accumulated about 1 whole inch!!! The moment Luke woke up that morning I put his snow gear on him and took him outside so he could play in the snow on this momentous occasion. He went pretty unwillingly at first, but after a lot of coaxing he enjoyed it a bit. I was so happy there was enough snow to make Luke a little snowman warrior chief.

Our Christmas Card and Picture

This is for all of you guys whose addresses I may not have. This is the Christmas letter and picture we sent out.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!
This has been an eventful year for our family. Our biggest change was buying a house and moving to Thatcher, AZ from Scottsdale, AZ in March when Ty gladly accepted a job offer to work in the family business, Allen Pump Co. We have been enjoying small town life ever since. Being in Thatcher, Ty has also enjoyed following his high school Alma matter’s sports teams along with watching Arizona State Football. Ty is able to come home for lunch almost every day. This summer Ty was able to realize one of his dreams growing a yard full of beautiful grass.
Spending this year at home with Luke in Thatcher has been very nice. From friends at church I’ve enjoyed learning how to home can different foods. I surprised myself developing a real love of reading. Reaping the benefits of living next to the community college, EAC, this summer I learned to play tennis, and this fall I played violin in the community symphony. Also, we are all greatly anticipating the arrival of a new baby this summer in June.
Luke started this year my little baby, and now at 19 months old he is a little boy. Learning how to walk, talk, and feed himself are only a few of his accomplishments this year. He has been an incredibly happy and healthy kid with simple likes and dislikes. He loves playing Nintendo Wii, reading books, candy, doggies, cars, and being spoiled by grandparents. He does not like Nursery, vegetables, sharing, being told “no”, and having sticky stuff on his hands.
Ty, Rachel, and Luke Allen

Big News!!!

I'm pregnant!!! I am really excited. The baby is due June 16th (the day before my birthday), so that puts me at 11 weeks now. So far everything is going really well. I've been tired and nauseous but about 100x less sick with this baby than I was with Luke. Anyways, that's the big news! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Adventures in Dining

Using absolutely no methods of torture or complicated coercion techniques, my little 1 1/2 year old ate broccoli!!!!! He didn't stop there either. Spinach, tomato, carrot, and cucumber went into his little mouth without being spit out (not very much of them, but still it counts to me). This is my little boy who hates to try new foods. It is usually a such a struggle just to get him to try a bite of the main course, that we're worn out with sweet talking and only half-heartedly encourage him to try his vegetables. Tonight was a miracle. With hardly any effort on our part he ate almost all his food. I am just so overcome with joy that I had to share this great news. This is one small step for Luke, but a giant leap for all of toddlerkind!

Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!! I know it's a little late, but I just wanted to share these cute pictures of my little lion. He actually didn't mind wearing his costume or even the hood and really was very interested in what I was doing when I put the make-up on his nose. Lucky me! The night before Halloween we were down in Gilbert and went to my sister-in-law's ward Trunck or Treat party. That was a lot of fun, but poor little Luke got really tired. On Halloween night we went to the Thatcher Primary School's Halloween party then just hung out with family. I thought about taking him out trick or treating door to door, but he already had way too much candy!!!

Luke with cousin Calder, or should I say Jedi Knight.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I have so much to be thankful for . I just said good bye to my little brother today and won't see him again for 2 more years. He reports to the MTC Wednesday where he'll spend 8 weeks, then he'll be off to Frankfurt, Germany. Even though I haven't lived at home with him for over the last 6 years I'll really miss him. I'm so proud of him and the choices he's made in his life! My little brother is just one of the things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

Merry Christmas!!! This is what I woke up to this morning at my parent's house. The first real snow of the season! I haven't really been feeling like it's the holiday season yet, but now I think I'm ready for it. I know it's early Ty, but I think I'm going to break out the Christmas music! My husband makes fun of me because I hate being cold even though I grew up in the White Mountains. I really love when it's cold outside, when it snows, and the change of seasons though. I just prefer to be all bundeled up inside the house drinking hot chocolate! I love being outside in the snow too as long as I'm bundled up. I just wanted to wish every on an early Merry Christmas, and a special Merry Christmas to all my friends who may be missing Pinetop-Lakeside (or Show Low too Meredith!) every once in a while!


My parent's driveway.

October Update

Well, it's been a while since I've posted what we've been up to lately. We're getting excited for Halloween. Here's some pics of Luke last year as a turtle. He was only 6 months old and soooooo cute! Oh the memories!



About 2 weeks ago we went to the world-famous Graham County Fair. We went to the fair parade on Friday morning and to the Fair on Saturday. I was a lot of fun looking at all the animals, prized vegetables, and art exhibits. Luke's favorite animals were the pigeons.

Luke with his Nana and Great-Grandmother and cousins

That grand champion pigeon really was pretty nice.


I was so proud of myself last week. I made pumpkin pie from scratch, including the crust, from a pumpkin I grew from my own backyard. It was a lot of work, and I don't know if I'll ever do it again, but it was worth it for just this one time.
THE PUMPKIN
THE PIES
ENJOYING WITH FAMILY

Flash Back to High School

High School: Blue Ridge class of '02
1. Did you date someone from your high school? No. The only boy I ever dated in high school went to our rival high school, Show Low. Living in a small town, guys from other high schools, for the most part, were far more exciting than the boys you'd known your whole life.
2. What kind of car did you drive? A 1984 Chevorlet Cavilier. That is until it broke down in the high school parking lot where it sat for an entire month. So embarrassing!!!
3. What was your most embarrassing moment in high school? It's hard to remember one instance. I think I spent most of my time feeling embarrassing. I do have one dreadfully emberassing moment from j.r. high. One afternoon just after school was out one of the popular cool boys called me over to him. I was so excited that he was even paying attention to me. Then making fun of me he said " Your pants are highwatering!" All his friends laughed, and I had to try my hardest to keep from crying as I walked away. Thinking about this story still makes me want to cry sometimes.
4. Were you a party animal? No way! I was a homebody for sure. I didn't become a party animal til EAC!
5. doesn't have a question...I dont' know what happened to it!
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was an orch-dork through and through. I played the violin and still do. I loved orchestra. All the other orch-dorks and I shared a special kind of comradery. They will always have a special place in my heart.
7. Were you a nerd? Most definitely. I always completed my assignments on time and put all my effort into them.
8. Were you on any varsity teams? I played varsity soccer for four years.
9. Did you get suspended/expelled? Never. The most trouble I ever got in was for having too many tardies when I had to drive my little sister and brother to school too. My parents thought it was my fault for being late until I moved out and went to college. My little brother and sister were tardy almost every day and were in real danger of getting kicked out.
10. Can you still sing the fight song? Yes, of course! "Oh when the Blue Ridge boys all fall in line ..."
11. Who were your favorite teachers? I had so many it would be too hard to choose. First there was Mrs. Stidham who taught American History. She was just a little bit crazy, but she did give me a deeper understanding and respct for our founding fathers and all they did for this country. I also enjoyed my science teachers Mr. Williams and Mr. Gouker. They liked to have fun at my expense sometimes. I remember on day in Physics our class got Mr. Gouker to talk about donkeys for the entire 90 min.
12. Where did you sit during lunch? My last two years of high school Savannah and I spent a lot of lunches going out together. When we got in the car our conversation always began "Where do you want to go?" "I don't care. Where do you want to go?"
13. What was your school mascot? The mighty Yellow Jacket!
14. Did you go to Homecoming and with whom? I went to homecoming my Jr. year with Jack Fillerup and my senior year with Greg Day. Great memories!
15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No way!
16. What do you remember most about graduation? Hugging all my friends afterwards.
17. Where did you go senior skip day? I honestly don't remember if I did anything or not.
18. Were you in any clubs? Yes. I was in Student Council, Physics Club, National Honor Society, Orchestra Club (I was even the treasurer), Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and German Club (I was the president for 2 years).
19. Have you gained weight since then? I'd like to think that I just gained more curves!!!
20. Who was your prom date? My junior year I actually got asked by two different guys. It was so hard turning my friend down who asked me second after he had filled my car with balloons and given me flowers. My senior year the vast majority of my friends and I didn't get asked to the prom, so we decided to all go together as a big group of girls. We had so much fun, we even planned an exciting day date in Heber for us. Two very nice fun guys who graduated the year before, Barton and Jonathan, suprised us with ring pops and took all five of us to the dance with them! I'd venture to say it was my best date in all of high school!
21. Are you planning on going to your ten-year reunion? I've actually been looking forward to it for the last 4 years. I can't wait to see some of the people I've lost touch with.
22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? I was really self conscious, insecure and extreemly shy most of high school. My advice that I would myself would be to not worry about what other people think about you, especially the popular people. Don't let them keep you from being yourself and doing what you want.
23. Looking forward, what advice would you give your future self??? Enjoy life and cherish your friendships!

I am tagging...Everyone!!! this was really fun! I would love to hear from everyone!

Happy Birthday Ty!!!!!!

Ty turned 28 this week. We kept things simple celebrating at home with a nice dinner, a few gifts, and brownies.

My Unexpected Weekend and FHE

I was sooooo looking forward to doing absoluty nothing and just sitting around and watching conference this weekend after being gone everysingle weekend in September. (Not that I'm complaining about being gone, because I loved having fun things to do and places to go.) Things would not work out according to plan though. After Ty woke up this morning, he says to me "I have something I need to show you." I was worried, and then he smilied revealing a chipped front tooth! He chipped the tooth when he was a kid and had it fixed, but somehow last night the plaster had come off. We immediately drove to Tucson for his "cosmetic dentistry emergency". Luckily we called Ty's brother Lan who is a dentist in Tucson and he said he could fix it today. I was really glad we made the quick trip though. I loved spending time with Lan and Sarah and their family, and we even got to meet their newest addition Kate who is now 1 month old. Lan taught his kids to call Ty Uncle Billy Bob. It was a great day, and my only regret is that I didn't get a picture of Ty as Uncle Billy Bob.
Luke adoring his new little cousin Kate.
Aurie playing with Luke in Lan and Sarah's beautiful back yard.

I know I'm such a slacker, but as a family this week for the first time we had a real Family Home Evening. I was so excited when The Church recently came out with the new Nursery Manuel, and thought "that's something we could use for FHE!" I think Luke enjoyed it, and actually paid attention for most of the 5 min. lesson. My goal from now on is to be really consistent with holding FHE every Monday night.

At the end of every lesson there is a coloring page for the kids. Luke loved coloring his page and coloring all over daddy's too!

Necia's Married!!!

Yeah! Necia got married on Friday at the Snowflake Temple. I now have a new brother-in-law, Tyson. The wedding was so nice and special for them. So many family members from out of town and out of state came to support them. I loved getting to see everyone again.

My dad taking a break after rushing around all morning.


My little sister Emily and I with Necia and Tyson.


My brother Jeffrey and Ty.


Luke and my little cousins getting into trouble in the flowerbed at the luncheon.

The reception was that night in Tyson's parent's back yard and it was so beautiful. My mom got Luke a suit for the occassion and he looked SOOOOOO CUTE!!!! I couldn't help taking a billion pictures of him in it. I'm so glad everything turned out so perfect for Necia. Now she's off in Cancun somewhere having a blast, I'm sure.


Definitely has the potential to be a baby supermodel. Well, at least that's what mom thinks!


My brother Devin and Luke.


My sister Emily and I in our matching outfits that we loved!



Luke was the only other person out on the dancefloor dancing away during the newlywed's first dance.

Missions and Marriage

For all of you that know him, my little brother Jeffrey got his mission call a couple of weeks ago to Frankfurt, Germany. I'm so excited for him. He'll be my first sibling to serve a mission. I think we were all hoping that he would get to go to Germany, but didn't dare say it out loud. Our family has had numerous German exchange students over the years, some for only a couple of weeks and 2 stayed the whole year. In 2006 Ty and I chaperoned Jeffrey's high school German Club trip to Europe for 1 month.
My little sister Necia is getting married on Friday, and she'll be my first sibling to get married. I've been the lone married sibling for 4 years and I am more than ready for her to join me! This past weekend I went up to Snowflake to be there with Necia and Jeffrey as they went to the temple for the first time. I am so proud of both of them. On Saturday we also threw Necia one of the best bridal showers ever.

Necia and Jeffrey at the Snowflake Temple

Jeffrey, Ty and one of our exchange students Heidi at the Frankfurt, Germany Temple in 2006

Ty, Jeffrey, and Heidi in Frankfurt watching a world cup game on the river.

Ahoy Matey!

Ty and I have been meaning to do something special just the two of us for quite some time now, and we finally did it. On Thursday we set sail from San Diego on the Carnival Elation cruise ship for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We left Luke with my mom. I cried when I left him, and I was really worried that he would have a really hard time being away from us and make things really hard for my mom. Turns out he had a great time being spoiled rotten by his grandparents and aunts and uncles. Ty and I had a great time.
The view from our room. We were quite pleasently suprised when we got aboard that we got a room with two port hole windows. We had signed up for an inside room with no windows, because they are a lot cheaper. It was so cool being on this gigantic ship with ocean being the only thing you can see from all sides. We saw a lot of great shows and just relaxed and ate (they had good food all you can eat 24/7)a lot. Can I just say that all the drunk people were really entertaining too! The best part though was the day we spent on shore in Cabo. Ty and I signed up for an excursion that took us on a boat ride for 45 min. to this place called Chinleo Bay where we went snorkeling. The water was perfect and the fish were amazing. To quote my husband: "This is one of the coolest things I've ever done in my whole life!" Later we went by boat to see Lover's Beach. On one side of the beach is the Pacific Ocean and on the other is the Sea of Cortez. The beaches were just so perfect. Definitely a vacation to remember!

Every evening the housekeepers left us these towel animal creations on our bed. Cool!

Ty mini glofing on the ship in the middle of the ocean.

Every evening we went to a nice dining room where we got to order as many of the deliscious apitizers, entrees, and desserts as we wanted!



The seals basking on the rocks. We got a kick out of hearing them bark, and they sure are smelly creatures!

Us in front of the Lover's Beach.

Two very good looking snorkelers! j/k
Below- Ty snorkeling at Chinleo Bay


A seagul on our ship in the San Diego Bay with the U.S.S. Midway in the background.