Allen Reunion

The Allen Reunion ended up being in mid-June this year.  We were worried it might be cold but we had perfect weather all week.  We had a great time and definitely got some sun.  We loved having everyone there this year (although at different times--we just missed having a family picture with everyone by a few hours since JR had to leave early and Matt & family came late).

We spent lots of time at the pool, like always.  It wasn't a very relaxing year for me since I had to be right by Eli the whole time but we had fun.  Eli ended up loving the waterslide.  He even got to the point where he'd go down by himself and I'd catch him.  He could have done that all day.

Lisa took this great picture of the older kids lined up at the waterslide:

We also had two days at the lake this year.  The first day we got to go out on a boat Chris rented.  I skied, Joe wake-boarded and wake-surfed, and the girls had a blast on the tube.  We couldn't convince Nate to try anything but he had fun riding in the boat.  Poor Eli hated the whole boat ride and was scared for the people skiing now matter what we did to try to convince him otherwise.  Maybe next year... :)

Natalie:

Lizzy:

Joe getting a refresher course on wake-boarding.  He didn't have trouble getting up at all!

 

Wake-surfing was tricky but he had fun trying it:

Enjoying the ride on the front of the boat:

Of course there was lots of crawdad hunting and playing on the beach, too:

This guy loves any kind of beach:

 The second time we went to the lake we didn't go on the boat.  We did rent a paddleboard, though, and had a lot of fun trying that out.  It was a lot harder than I was expecting but none of us tipped it.  The girls loved going out on it:

Elizabeth:

Natalie:

I love that clear water.

Joe got some good golfing in with my brothers and my Dad:

He also went out one night with Elizabeth & Nate:

He's trying to make golfers of our kids.  We'll see how successful he is...

One night we had a lot of fun playing soccer golf.  They set up a course on the driving range and it was so much fun!

 

Two of the highlights for me were the FHE that Abby and Andrew did one night and the temple trip to do baptisms that Brad set-up.  They were both so great.  I also made a baby picture guessing game that was a lot of fun:

The temple-goers:

Those nieces and nephews of mine are growing up too fast.  They are all so amazing, though, that it's really fun to watch.  Pretty soon my kids will be old enough to go, too!  Crazy.

 Here are some group pictures we took:

That stinker Nate.... :)

Having some fun after pictures were done:

It was such a great week.

Until next time, Greenwood!