Golden birthday

 Justin turned 15 on the 15th of this month, aka his "golden" or "special" birthday.  His siblings thought they were pretty funny when they put his gifts in Princess gift bags.

 Naomi painted this cute sign for Justin a couple of weeks ago and was very excited to give it to him.

 This is all Justin has been wanting for months...Aaron is an Android guy, but couldn't talk Justin out of an iPhone.  I don't think he stopped grinning (or using) his new phone all day!

 We planned a little surprise party for Justin at the bowling alley with a bunch of his friends from church.  He was pretty funny and a little in shock with the surprise.

 We're grateful for the good friends Justin has.  We had a lot of fun hanging out with them all afternoon.

After bowling, everyone came back to our house for pizza, ice cream cake, ping pong, and Ender's Game.  While it's not always easy having a teenager who is very independent, I love being his mother.  He is a good student, fulfills his responsibilities at church, and he is the perfect match for Aaron so that I don't have to watch all of his sci fi shows!  Happy Birthday, Justin!  We love you!

Marines graduation

 

We went to Parris Island, South Carolina for Ethan's (Aaron's nephew) graduation from Marine boot camp on January 31st.  It's been a long 13 weeks (especially for his Mom) of hard training and we're so proud of him!  Ethan had over 40 people there supporting him.  Here's most of our group trying to stay warm before the ceremony started.

 We were really excited to go and heard that it would be an amazing experience.  The discipline that all of the Marines had was very impressive and everyone was so friendly around the base.

 Our family (minus Justin) with Ethan

 Some of Ethan's fan club

 Justin left before we took the group and family shots with Ethan so we got a picture of them together at lunch.  Looks like Justin has caught up with Ethan in height!

 Will has always been into anything military and now he is even more.  We bought him this camo outfit on base.  Ethan gave him his canteen and Will was on cloud nine!

The few.  The proud.  The Marines.  Way to go, Ethan!

January Snow Days

 

Okay, we don't have anything in terms of snow on our family and friends in the Midwest this year, but that's what we like about the South.  The snow comes, you get a few inches, everything shuts down, it warms up, and is gone!  This year we have had two snowstorms, each producing about three to four inches of snow.  Perfect!

 It's just breathtaking to see white on all of the trees around us.

 After several hours of sledding, this girl is still all smiles!

It's so hilly here that we don't even have to leave our neighborhood to sled.  There are several open lots the kids play on or sometimes they even sled down the road right in front of our house. 

Turning {5}

 

This little girl has been dying to have her birthday for months.  Turning 5 is a big deal so we decided to take a few photos outside on a beautiful, sunny day.

 Naomi loves it when I curl her hair.  She is amazed that some people have curly hair all the time. :)

 She has been very into The Little Mermaid this year.

 Our cute fairy princess.

 

 Cake compliments of Elizabeth and her cake decorating skills.

 

Along with talking about turning five almost constantly, she was insistent she have a birthday party.  She loved having girl time with her cute friends.

I can't believe Naomi is five.  While it's fun to see all of the kids growing up and doing new things, I can't believe my little buddy will be in Kindergarten next year.  I'm going to miss the hugs and kisses I get from her at least a hundred times a day.

Merry Christmas!

Our little elf friend, Bo came back and visited us again this Christmas season to check up on the kids and make sure they were being good.  He also pulled a few stunts while he was at our house such as wrapping the toilet in Christmas paper.  The kids loved finding what he was up to every morning when they woke up.

 Naomi's preschool had a little Christmas program.  She loved dressing up as an angel, but true to Naomi's personality, she didn't sing at all.  I was able to hear her singing the songs at home plenty she was learning, but she isn't one to participate in front of others.

 Such a sweet angel!

 Visiting Santa at the mall.  Madelyn was full of questions this year and wanted to know all about how Santa gets around to everyone.  This little girl is too smart sometimes!

 

The kids love Christmas traditions such as decorating Christmas cookies and homemade gingerbread houses.  Lots of work for me, but lots of fun for the kids!

 All of the kids on Christmas Eve in the new pajamas

We had a really nice Christmas this year.  The best part of it was the few days we had all together while Aaron was off work.  We didn't go anywhere; just lots of time to be together at home.  This doesn't happen enough.  The boys got bow and arrow sets and our family got a ping pong table.  Elizabeth got a decorating set and is going to take a cake decorating class at Michael's this month.  She is beyond excited!  The missionaries from church came over for dinner and played games with us Christmas night.     

2013 Allen Family Memories

We had so much fun in 2013 and hope you did too.
Happy New Year to all our family and friends.

Look who's 40!

My mom sent Aaron a card for his birthday that says it perfectly.  "You're 40?  Smile...it could be worse.  You could look 40!"  He definitely does not look 40.  Happy birthday to my favorite Buckeye in the world!