Two grateful people..

Yesterday all day as I was cleaning and putting things away from our showers I kept thinking over and over how grateful I was. When we first found out we were going to have a new little Allen in the fam we were so excited-but nervous! It was overwhelming thinking about all that a baby needs, and all that we had to accomplish before he came! We had a list of things that were happening "before baby" comes, including Shawn taking the MCAT and applying to med schools, which was a big financial and stressful event in itself. However, thanks to good family and friends, we officially have pretty much everything we need for baby, and little by little our long list of "before baby" chores have been crossed off. I wish I had more pictures and more time, but here is a few from both of my showers, one thrown by my most favorite sister-in-laws, and one thrown by my sister and some good friends..I didn't get very many good pictures from my shower here but my sisters made it soo cute, as usual..





We have stayed busy the past few months and they have gone by way too fast! We went to California with Shawn's family, Shawn took the MCAT, I went to Arizona for a quick day for my shower, we have been to Idaho for Emily's wedding, and this week Shawn is the birthday boy..


Speaking of the birthday boy..on our drive home from California I was in heaven with my feet up on the dash..(swollen feet this time I might add). Some people think we are crazy for the time we spend in the car-while we were driving we realized plane tickets half the time in the end would have been cheaper anyways. Since we have been married we have been up and down the west coast and spent I don't know how many hours in the car.

We have driven to Seattle, we took a detour on the way home and laid on the grass in a beautiful national forest in Oregon, we have driven to Idaho and Arizona to visit our families, we have driven to the beach in California to celebrate our anniversary, to St. George, Vegas and Lake Havasu-and every time we pull the car back into the driveway of our tiny little house I am amazed that after 12 or more hours in the car I can still be wanting more time, just to look out the window and chit chat with my best boy. Just one more thing I am very grateful for..


It is very exciting to walk around the house and know that everything is prepared for our new little arrival. It is extremely humbling to think about all the help we have had to get everything done, and gather all that we need. It is bittersweet to know that we are hanging up our car keys, and our spontaneous road trips are over for the time being..we are settling in, kicking off our shoes, and enjoying the last few weeks we have just the TWO of us. Thanks to everyone who has been excited for us, given us advice, came to showers, and helped us out..we love our friends, and even more our families!

Little Sister's Wedding

Today we came home from a fun weekend in Idaho. We have loads of laundry to catch up on. we had blueberry muffins and turkey sandwiches for dinner because we have had no time for groceries. Shawn has been studying for hours for the MCAT which he takes this week (with a few seconds of sneaking in and checking the score of the NBA finals) and I am just sitting here looking at what a beautiful night it is on my front steps. Of course there are a thousand things I could be doing with my time.. Instead I came to one of my favorite places, my blog world.

We went home this weekend for Emily's wedding, it was so adorable! I love my Emily. I love the memories I have of her growing up, and I can't believe she is married. She looked so pretty yesterday, and I couldn't help but think about how grateful I am to have her in my family. She is always up for anything that has to do with sports or the great outdoors. She has definitely had her days when we wished we could strangle her, she has a lot of nerve, and isn't afraid to do or say what she wants. To be honest, sometimes I actually wish she would share a little of the nerve she has with her more chicken sisters like Abby and I.

Before Emily got married we had a quick group hug in the bridal room..I loved having all my favorite girls around me at the same time. I had for a second a weird feeling of pride, that these sisters were mine. They are all so cute and so fun in their totally unique ways. It's hard to believe that little Abby (who is taller then me actually) is the only one left to get married!

We definitely have our moments sometimes-we get momentarily annoyed about make up and clothes, or bathroom time, or conflicting schedules, but really it is short lived. We love each other,and we will still always be there for each other no matter what. We will be there when Ab gets a softball trophy that isn't even important to her, we will roll out of bed and watch her play volleyball, we will be there when Soph turns one, and when she learns to crawl and walk, we will be there when someone has a hard day or the best day of their lives. At the end of the day there is nowhere I would rather go home to then a place where all of them are, with no work schedule, or school schedule, or obligations to fulfill.



Until that happens we will live for the moments like this weekend, when we have a few whole days to enjoy each other's company. I was so tired at night, and still found myself awake until 1 or 2 am, just to listen to the details of the wedding plans, and of Emily's new life. I am so happy that Bronson loves her so much, to me that's all that matters. Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Mott. You guys are adorable, and we can't wait for a whole future lifetime ahead with both of you in it!


I had to put this pic up. Shawn and Tyler loved the after party, and they will be so happy to have another boy around to join in on their boy fun. They already have plans with bronson of shooting rabbits and catching crawdads..good luck with that guys.


And on an even better note, Josh came home from Iraq this month! He almost made it to the wedding but they haven't released him officially yet. We can't wait to see him this summer eventually, we never feel quite complete without him..love ya sgt Allen..Welcome home! We couldnt be more proud.