August

The Allen reunion started at the end of July this year.  It was weird not having Lizzie and Natalie there but we had fun. We kicked it off going to Kings Beach:


Unfortunately it was a bit cold and super crowded so we didn't last too long.
Eve showing off her big stick with Abby at dinner:

We had a super fun game of soccer after church on Sunday. Unfortunately, we played barefoot and it resulted in some serious injuries. I seriously cut up and injured my foot but I was having a blast and didn't notice it until we finished:

I love those games so much.

The next day was boat day:

Nate and Eli both got up and Nate impressed us with throwing and catching a football while wakesurfing:

For Grandma and Grandpa's meal, they ended up taking us out to eat at the Gray's Crossing clubhouse. It was delicious and Eve had fun taking pictures:

We also had lots of fun at the pool of course. Eve especially loved Spoto:

We also had another trip to the Reno temple for baptisms. Joe watched Eve while I went in with the boys:

We had a fun night playing tennis and pickleball too:

Eve got some love in the pool too. She loves being thrown in the air:

It was another great reunion. Nate drove home for us for part of the way:

We got home to find the pool filled up, although not set up yet. The boys decided to get in:

Another cute Natalie selfie:

She worked hard at Dutch Bros. over the summer and prepared for school at CSI.

We love seeing pictures of Lizzie. She loves Portugal and loved her first companion Sis. Neto:

We love Facetiming her, although sometimes Joe gets sleepy:

We'd had never been to a rodeo so we decided to take Eve and go to one at the fair:

I enjoyed it and Eve loved riding a couple rides after:

Another Daddy snuggle pic:

Nate helped Eve make a cool magnatile tower one morning while we enjoyed the Olympics. We loved watching those this year.

Then, it was time for our trip to Colombia for Emily and Pedro's wedding. It was a marathon travel day but the kids were champs:

We got into Barranquilla around 11pm and had to find a taxi to get us to our Airbnb. They only had smaller ones to we had to split into two taxis. We were a little worried but we made it and managed to find our apartment without too much trouble. Eve enjoyed our balcony in the morning:

Joe and I ventured out to find food at a grocery store the next morning. The view from our patio:

The was a park nearby that I took Eve to, although it was quite hot and some of the equipment was too hot:

That day we took an uber to the beach. We ate at a restaurant on the beach:

That food was just OK. We had fun playing in the ocean, though, even though it was warm! It wasn't really refreshing at all with how hot it was outside. It was still fun playing in the water. 

Then a storm came in and it started to rain so we got out and found a nice Uber driver who let us all cram into his car wet.

That night we met all our family at a really good Brazilian steakhouse place:

It was fun to meet Pedro and see he and Emily together.

The next day was wedding day! We took a taxi to the temple with all of our luggage, which we kept at the visitor's center. Then, Joe and I went into the sealing. It was so beautiful! I loved hearing it in Spanish too. Then we waited for the Emily and Pedro to come out:

The cute couple:

After pictures we took a bus to Santa Marta where they live and where the reception was. It was really unique and cool to see all of the countryside while we drove:

We made it to our hotel there which was really nice:

Then it was time for the reception. It was right on the beach, which was beautiful but very hot and we ended up having time to kill. Sadly, the water was still not refreshing but we did have fun looking at all the crabs around:

Then, the ring ceremony on the beach started. They both wrote vows that were so beautiful! I loved it.

More fun pictures while the sun set:

I loved the beautiful place setting:

We had some delicious food there too:

The reception was really fun with dancing and Pedro playing but it was long and some kids were done:

Proof that Eve did like dancing for awhile:

Joe and I even danced for a bit:

She also loved getting to hold a bouquet:

We even stayed until the end when we made a sparkler tunnel for them which was fun.

Sadly, Eve woke up with a fever the next morning which put a damper on our adventure plans but we were pretty tired anyway. I was able to make my way to the grocery store on my own that morning to get her medicine and some orange juice which was fresh and SO delicious. She drank that up so we went to get her more. Luckily it wasn't too bad and she felt better after the medicine. I took Nate swimming at the hotel pool and we tried they're delicious coco fresa drink:

Since she was feeling better, we all swam that afternoon. That night, the kids opted for room service and Joe and I took a walk along a beach and found a place to eat dinner. It was a beautiful night:

Too soon, it was time to leave. We had another long day of travel ahead of us. 

Looking for a souvenir at the airport before we left:

Thankfully, we didn't go through the problems that Chris and Lisa's family did--they got rerouted through all kinds of different countries. We just had problems when we were flying from Bogota into Atlanta and couldn't land there due to storms so we landed in South Carolina. We stayed on the plane for a bit until it was safe to fly to Atlanta but that meant we missed our connection so we had to stay the night at a hotel there. We were all so exhausted and we had to get up early the next day so we didn't get much sleep. Joe was nice and sang songs to Eve until she fell asleep that night even though it was 1am. Natalie, Nate and Eli all got up on time and were knocking on our door to wake us up the next morning so we had to hustle out. We got on our plane with no problems and made it back to SLC the next day. 

Eve loving her Burger King crown as we started:

How we finished--passed out in front of an ipad:

Thankfully she did pretty well, especially since she was recovering from being sick. The other kids did great too. They were self-sufficient in their row since Joe and I always sat with Eve.

Immediately after we got back, Natalie started school. Then it was the boys' turn:

They had to start a day earlier since they both started at new schools--Eli in 6th at the middle school and Natalie as a freshmen at the high school! Big day, but they both seemed to like it and do well.

Eve didn't start for a little bit longer. She had fun drawing pictures and taping them all over the house:

Here is her version of George:

She and I had fun on another hike one day:

Then itw as time for Eve to start preschool again:

She was excited to be back.

They had a fun water play day:

She sure loves her school.

We found a picture Natalie made from preschool and we thought she and Eve look a lot alike:

Eve loved these cute ears: