Edna Turnblad

Believe it or not, we had a special appearance by Edna Turnblad...also known as...my dad. For those of you who don't know him, these picture will probably disturb you. For those who do, you'll laugh your head off!

Happy Birthday Megan!

All of us call my sister Megan "Teeny" but she isn't so teeny anymore! She got baptized when Lincoln & I were dating, and now she is 12 & in Young Women's! I really can't believe she is so old! I love Megan for lots of reasons, but here are just a few of them: She always tells me she loves me, she is excited when I come over, she is nice to everyone, she has such a strong testimony & tries so hard to do what is right, she is independent, she is so talented-she has an awesome voice & is great at the violin, and so many other things. I love you Meg! Happy Birthday!

61st Ward Reunion

Here we are in action! We had a little 61st ward reunion with some friends from my old ward. First we went to dinner at Red Robin. Congrats to Mike Allred who is ENGAGED! We got to meet his fiance Brittany...she is awesome & we are so excited for them! After dinner we went to Jeff & Candice Arnett's house and played Rock Band & ate pazookies. We had a great time & missed the other kids from 61st ward who weren't there!

Happy New Year!

I know, I know...I am a little late in posting this. I lost my battery charger for my camera & just barely found it. Anyway...Lincoln & I spent New Years this year at the family cabin up in Pine. Linc's parents were there, which was awesome because we didn't get to see them on Christmas. Our good friends, Steve & Erica, also came up with their 2 girls. It was a great New Years!

Katelyn turned 4 on New Years Eve! Happy birthday Katelyn!!!













We love Steve & Erica's girls...and they love Lincoln! It makes me jealous. Kids like him so much more than they like me! :)
We bought TONS of junk to kick off the New Year. We played Rock Band and just hung out. I have to say, Lincoln & I were not the most exciting on New Years Eve. He had gone 36 hours without any sleep so he was exhausted. I was on painkillers because I had been in the ER the day before with a ruptured cyst. Luckily they were understanding! :)
Erica & I were downstairs talking to Linc's parents & heard Steve singing at the top of his lungs. We go upstairs to see what is going on, and Steve has the microphone in his sweatshirt and is playing the guitar at the same time. Linc is jamming out to the drums. I guess you had to be there, but it was quite hilarious!
We played Settlers of Catan...if you haven't played this game, I highly recommend it!!! Oh, & I can't forget Steve's Steven Seagal energy drinks. Only at Walmart!
I told you we were tired & drugged...we definitely look like it! I told Lincoln that he had to stay up until midnight or I would be really mad at him. What a nice husband I have! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE! My New Years Resolutions are #1-No dessert for the whole year! Yes, I know that I am crazy, but just watch...I will do it! I've done a pretty dang good job at it for the last 15 days...& counting! #2- Go to the temple more. Bad things happen to me when I am planning on going to the temple. I hate it! I remember in YW I was going to do baptisms for the dead...I got in a huge fight with my mom, didn't feel well, & then part of the mirror fell off & landed on the bridge of my nose. And I still went, crying and with a bump on my nose. I guess I've just got to go no matter what!

Playing in the Snow!

If you look closely you can see Megan's face!
Lincoln being a nice brother-in-law & helping Megan learn how to board down the hill on our skateboard without wheels.



This picture makes me laugh. Meet our cousin Bobby ERC (a.k.a. Eric). He fell off the board & hit a big log on his way down the hill. It was hilarious!

Fun in Pinetop!!!

On Christmas night we drove up to Pinetop with some of my mom's side of the family. It was SUCH a fun trip. My aunt and cousins can make me laugh harder than anyone else (except for maybe my mom & sisters)...we just all have the same sense of humor. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt and really enjoyed being with everyone.

Yesterday some of the guys went snowboarding while the rest of us stayed at the cabin playing games & watching movies. Here is part of the gang playing my new favorite card game, Quiddler. Linc didn't go snowboarding, so he was really happy that they had an X-Box at the cabin. He disappeared for about 6 hours & finally emerged from the loft when I told him that he needed to talk to my family. I'm sure he is so glad that he has me to keep him in line! :)

This is cute Bailey, my cousin Amy's daughter. She was the only little kid there, and we all had so much fun with her. It was her first time being in the snow & she loved it!

We all had dinner at Pizza Hut that night. Lincoln's cousins & aunt met up with us and Linc went with them to see a movie.

My cousin Amy & I...I love her so much & was so glad that she was there. She is having a baby in February. I think she is the cutest pregnant girl that I have ever seen!

This was definitely a memorable trip! From my mom & Aunt Tricia running around the cabin at midnight acting like the creatures on "I Am Legend" & trying to scare people, to us sliding down the snowy hill out back on our makeshift snowboard & me falling on my butt every time, I don't think that I will ever forget it! :)

Santa Came!!!

We spent the night at my family's house on Christmas Eve so that we could be there in the morning when everyone woke up. My parents gave us a tent, sleeping bags, part of our emergency preparedness kit, movie tickets, etc. It was SO nice of them! We were so excited about all of the camping stuff we got. I told my mom last year that if Lincoln opens his present & starts using it right after he gets it, that means he REALLY likes it. (He isn't one to really show how much he likes something. :) ) When Lincoln opened the sleeping bag & climbed right in before we were done opening gifts, I think my parents knew that he loved what they had gotten us. The highlight of our day was talking to my brother & sister who are on missions! They sounded great. We had a wonderful Christmas this year! P.S.-If you are wondering why Aaron got a Clorox wipe in his stocking....you'll have to ask him. I'm not at liberty to share the story! Ha ha!

Christmas Eve Dinner

It is a tradition to eat this DELICIOUS cauliflower soup in bread bowls at my family's house every Christmas Eve (on the years that we stay in Mesa). It really is the best soup EVER! I drool just thinking about it! :) My Grandma Cooper comes as well as my Uncle Richard. This year he had his kids Austin & Kira...it was so fun spending Christmas Eve with all of them! It's sad that the only picture I took that night was a picture of the food! Oops! :)

Christmas Eve Breakfast

Our friends Brandon & Christa invited us over to have a big breakfast with them on Christmas Eve. It was so good & we had a really fun time with them. They are such good friends! Their kids are adorable! After breakfast they gave us a few Christmas gifts...as you can see we were pretty excited about the "swimsuits" that we got. (That's what we told McKenzie they were.) Actually, they gave us a gift card to eat out as our "real" present. It was so nice of them. They are great friends. Thank you Moak Family!!!!!

Allen Family Christmas Party

Every year we get together with my dad's side of the family to have a Christmas dinner & program the Sunday before Christmas. We had yummy Mexican food & each family performed a few musical numbers. My little sister Megan played the violin for everyone. She is so talented! I don't really sing at Allen parties...my cousins have the most amazing voices it isn't even funny! So I will sing to myself in the shower for now. :) My cousin Rachel got home from her mission last week & it was so fun to have her home for Christmas!
Nana & Grandad make such a great looking couple! I am so thankful to have them for my grandparents. Nana is so thoughtful & always asks me how I am feeling. Grandad is so fun to be around. I love them both so much!
My parents...they are amazing! What more can I say?!

If Lincoln looks tired in this picture it is because he was! My parents had a leak in their pipes so Lincoln worked all night Friday night, fixed my parents' pipes & went to the Hiatt Xmas Party, then worked all over again the next night with ZERO sleep! He is a crazy man. He was still recovering in this picture. :)

Hiatt Family Christmas Party

The Saturday before Christmas we have a big party with all of Lincoln's dad's side of the family. His family is HUGE & it is so fun to all get together. Lincoln's immediate family drove from Snowflake, Sanders, & Flagstaff to be there. We had yummy soup & then a pinata. The kids re-enacted the nativity story while Grandpa read from the scriptures & we sang songs. Then Santa came to visit the kids & gave each of them a present.

Our nephews Marcus & Jayten played the part of shepherds.

I think Alyssa is so pretty and I love spending time with her. She is so smart & sweet.

Do you think Claire liked the gift that Santa brought her???

It is 2am (don't ask!) & I am up thinking about what else...Primary! I LOVE Primary. I love all of the kids in our ward & am so thankful for the special spirit that they bring into my life. They are such great examples to me! Last week I gave sharing time & asked some of the senior primary children to get up & bear their testimonies about Jesus Christ. It was AMAZING!!! These kids know SO much about the gospel & they aren't afraid to share it! Of course I bawl like a baby every time they do. :) I think this holiday season I am most thankful for my calling as a counselor in the Primary Presidency. I missed Jackson SO much last Christmas. I still miss him this holiday season (like I always do) but being around children has really helped me. I am still able to teach children, interact with them, learn from them, etc. Every day that I was pregnant with Jackson, I thought about the things I would be privileged to do with my sweet little boy. I feel so blessed to be able to do at least a few of these things with other children. I know that we are all precious children of God & we each have a divine mission to fulfill. I LOVE PRIMARY!!!