Hallie Turns Four (july)

With every birthday I am amazed at how quickly time is pushing forward. My little baby, Hallie is four years old! She is so sweet and so spunky. And if you want to read "spunky" as "feisty" be my guest--I often do :) I LOVE this little girl--with all of my heart. Hallie, you are so special!

Allen Family Reunion (july)

We did it. Our Tenth Annual Allen Family Reunion. At least I'm pretty sure it was our tenth :) The clan gathered, we laughed, we cried, and then we parted. With, of course, eating being thrown into the mix (and quite a bit).

Apparently I only thought to take pictures of little children, animals, and scenery. I think my biggest photo-op-lost was the fishhook in Adam's hand. He pushed it all the way through his hand (for two hours--it was crazy). I'm getting side-tracked. Back to pictures.

This is what I do have...

This rock was the popular kid hang out...

Our hike. I could either catch up with this crew...

Or hang back with the men in my life...

Hanging with the boys proved to be the better choice. I got to watch Jack run right off the boardwalk and belly flop into the marsh. He got confused when we told him to run. No pics, just a good memory :)

Along the way feeding the ducks was a big hit...

I loved our view...

I loved this one, too--for different reasons...

:) haha. I'm still chuckling. 

Down the road (less than a mile) from where we were staying we saw (much to Luke's excitement) a moose. And a deer...

Later Hallie and I went hiking alone on a remote trail. We came right upon a deer... then I remembered the moose. Yeah, we left. Pronto.

But my favorite picture of the whole trip was this baby right here...

It was taken right after we told them Santa Clause isn't real. They took it hard. Poor souls.

Haha, just kidding. They are just often naturally like this.

Oh, wonderful memories! Good times! Happy Family!

Meet Daffy (july)

My children found a baby duck (well they called it a duck-it was most likely another sort of fowl, but I let them call it what they wished). It was helpless in the middle of the lawn and nearly dead. This is Daffy...

For two days they cared for him (or her), they coaxed him to eat and drink, and they built a home for him (complete with "Portrait of a Duck" decor)...

On the third day he cheeped. He also waddled. And he ate of his own accord. Until this day he was devoid of any sign of recovery. Needless to say the girls were giddy with delight...

At the end of the third day, Gideon, the cat also met Daffy. And thus was the end of Daffy, the fowl we called a duck. 

(I do have to say, though, that I really was heart-broken for my girls. They cried and lamented a good 24 hours over Daffy. Hallie swore off ever petting Gideon again. It was a sad day.)

Trip to St. George (july)

In July (as the title implies) I took a trip to St. George. Me, my mom, my two sisters-in-law, and ten kids. Ca-ray-zee-ness! (But the good kind.) I tried once to take a picture of all of the kiddos. It turned out something like this...

They would not be herded. So I gave up on a photo of the masses. 

Jack enjoying his popsicle in solitude...

I learned something about Jack on our little trip to St. George. He loves to swim. Well, he loves being in the water, anyway--encased in floaties. He took his relaxation time very seriously...

Wrapped in a towel he reminded me of batman. He looks a little dazed in the photo; he was either trying to complete the batman look by staying serious, or he was a little confused as to why we would take him out of the pool....

 He did smile occasionally on the trip though, I just had to throw in proof...

And here are all of my children, soakin' up the St. George pool life...

It was good to be back.

Phelps Family Reunion (july)

Ah, the Phelps Family Reunion. Not enough pictures! And sadly, I only seemed to capture my little family's doings. This was Jack's favorite pass-time--the frisbee. While I was going through the pictures I couldn't decide which was my favorite (and since he played at this game for over an hour here, I had plenty of pictures to take). So I'm putting up a few. I know. I am one of those moms...

While Jack played at frisbee, Taylor and Hallie were up in the trees...

I also captured this sweet moment....

And these silly ones...

But Brecken was doing what was meant to be done. Cultivating relationships with family members too seldomly seen (atta girl, Breck ;) )....

Besides what I captured with my camera, I loved the talent show and the campfire serenading--our tent blowing away and the campfire smores--the auction and the campfire stories--the fireworks and the campfire... but mostly the grand associations. Yes, good, good times!