Allen Reunion

We had a blast at the Allen Reunion in Aptos this year. It was the week before the bar so unfortunately it was just me and the kids (Joe did make it up for a day or two). We had a great time, though.

One night a bunch of us went to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I hadn't been since I was a teenager and the kids had never really been to an amusement park. They were so excited. They loved the rides and were a lot braver than I was expecting. Elizabeth went on the pirate ship ride with her uncles and cousins and Natalie went with me on the big swing ride. They loved all the little rides, too. Even Nate went on a few rides. He would enjoy them for a minute and then say "Ah duh" (all done) over and over. Here's the one picture I have from the night:

My mom wanted me to come back with a shark picture since we have one from when I was young. I was trying to get them to look scared but they just wanted to smile...

Our week was mostly full of swimming at the pool and going to the beach. Oh how I love the beach. Nate loved eating non-stop--consuming large amounts of sand with his snacks and not seeming to care much.

Yum--Cheetos

Here's a bunch of the cousins playing in the water:

We're quite the group these days. There's 16 grandkids now.

Here's Elizabeth with Brayden and Isaac:

Here we are taking over the resort playing a keep-away game with the ball:

That night we had a campfire on the beach. The girls were so excited to fly kites while we were down there. We haven't had much luck with the dollar store kites I've bought in the past so this was their first official time flying a kite. I had to get some pictures...

Of course there were s'mores!

Nate enjoying his next to Aunt Katie

Since I was a single parent there, we had plenty of movie time to rest and recover. One morning Nate and Natalie were sitting so close together watching the show and I had to get a picture:

Another day at the beach:

Burying herself in the sand

Andrew, Elizabeth and Abby getting buried standing up:

We saw a ton of dolphins that day. Can you see the fin?

A brief moment with Nate keeping his hat on.

Isn't he adorable?

It was cute to see Natalie and Ivy hit it off this reunion.

Watching Ivy play her DS after dinner:

Some other highlights of the week were: an FHE tic-tac-toe trivia game that Brad made with family and gospel trivia; shopping with Katie, Kelli and Melissa at the Gilroy outlets; playing with Jacob, Hannah, Emily and others in the waves and getting rocked by a huge one. We had a great time!