Allie's FHS graduation

Even though Allie decided to graduate in December, we didn't officially celebrate until she walked with her class in the spring.  It was wonderful to have such good church friends graduating with her and to have both sets of grandparents there to help us celebrate.  Allie graduated with honors and ended up with a 3.8.  That's hard to do with AP and honors classes!  And so another of our children put mine and David's high school GPA's to shame :)  She also got to participate in many service clubs, serve as her Sophomore class vice president, play JV basketball and start a girls lacrosse team.  Way to go Allie, Happy graduation :)

Seminary Graduation

Allie's Senior Prom

Allie and her friends planned an awesome alternative to their high school prom this year.  They decided they wanted a prom with clean music, clean dancing and a modest environment.  The night was action packed:  pictures, dinner, dancing, swimming, and a waffle/ice cream bar.  I'm so proud of these amazing youth and the wonderful night they created.... Memories they will never forget.

Allie = Awards

Allie has a knack for winning awards.  It seems she is continually being recognized for one thing or another.  Her senior year, her awesome guidance counselor, called her into her office and told her she thought she should apply for the Prudential service award for all the hoops for hope work she has done.  She filled out the application and ended up making it all the way to just shy of winning a national award.  Way to go Allie.  At FHS they have "signings" when student athletes get awarded sports scholarships to different college.  I didn't realize though that they also have academic signings where they recognize students for things like "perfect ACT score", "national merit finalist".  They invited Allie to be honored as the "State honoree for Prudential Spirit of Community award" as well as the "Presidential community service award" and "FHS outstanding community service award".   They even served cake.  Way to go Allie!

Spring Break 2013 - Bahama Cruise

David and I have always been a little leery of cruises....crowded, not so great food, sea sick....didn't sound all that appealing.  We decided what better time to try a cruise then when Carnival, our cruise line, had a string of mishaps, like being stranded at sea with no water, electricity, etc.  Ha!  We wanted to do a special trip for Allie's senior year and so Langford's joined us and we all had a great time.  Cruises are mainly all about a few things:

Food:

 Room service was the favorite late night past time, it didn't matter if they were hungry or not, food WOULD be ordered!

Towel animals:

AND PORTS:

Thanks for the memories!

Miami in February

One of my favorite types of get-a-ways with David is when we go somewhere tropical in the drab, cold months of January or February.  It's such a lift to the spirit to bask in the sunshine and just enjoy time together.  This year David had a CLE in Miami, a city we had never been to.  I was blown away by the beautiful water and fantastic town of Bal Harbor.  We even got to see the Heat play.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would definitely go back!

 Airboat ride thru the Everglades was amazing!

Our guide's favorite Alligator:  "allie"

 Cute baby alligators

Christmas 2012

We did all the traditional things this holiday season but it still felt very different.  We were missing Trey.  Trey loves family and tradition and he was missed tremendously through all the festivities.  The highlight of our Christmas was our 2 hour skype with Trey, all the way from Darwin Australia.  It was incredible to see his smiling face and hear his contagious laugh.  I did really well to not cry in front of him.  I was so proud!  We were very prepared and had a list of a million questions to throw at him and keep him talking.  I didn't think he had an accent at all, although some of the kids thought so.  He is so happy and that helps parents who miss him like crazy.  Knowing that he was well taken care of by wonderful members in Darwin helped too.  After we finished skyping I felt kind of down for a while.  Like this big build up and thing I had been looking forward to for so long was now over.  Now what?  Wait another 6 months.  Ok I can do that.  David and the kids thought everything was great and were even happier after talking with him.  I found a poem that sums up how I felt this Christmas season entitled "I gave the Savior my son for Christmas this year".  It is a small sacrifice, but harder than I anticipated.  I hope to do better next time.  So on that note.....pictures from Knoxville and Australia.... :)

The angels had on makeup this year :)

 Traditional pose in the hall way waiting to see what Santa brought

Thanksgiving 2012

Yes it's true I never blog anymore.  So, it's time for Thanksgiving in May.

The morning of Thanksgiving, having just come off my high of Ragnar, I decided to run in a 10k, in fact my first 10k ever.  Super fun way to start out the day of indulgent eating!  After that I met Julie and Lori at the gym for our traditional pre-feast elliptical work out.  I think I calculated that I burned around 1000 calories to start the day..... Pie, here I come.

After a quick shower it was off to Perkins with Elder Christiansen and Elder Bakker to meet up with Sexton's for a thanksgiving breakfast!  (having the elders with us made it easier on us with it being our first thanksgiving without Trey):

 After a few hours to digest, we headed over to mom and dad's for the annual basketball shoot-out, talent show and games and another big feast and PIE.  Happy Thanksgiving!