The Allen Family

Payson City Onion Days

2011-10-30T19:21:00.000-06:00

We met the Keeslers and walked to the Payson City Onion Days Parade. Crystal found her friend Samantha and Karlie hung out with Graycee. Karlie and Graycee even shared a popsicle. Their favorite part of the parade was the Mater Truck.

Spanish Fork Splash Pad

2011-10-30T19:10:00.000-06:00

In August we went with Tiffany and Crystals friend Samantha to the Spanish Fork Splash Pad and Playground. They had so much fun jumping in and out of the water and playing on the playground.

Family Pictures!!

2011-10-30T18:56:00.000-06:00

Summer Family Pictures

Tiffany Hanson took our family pictures this year at one of the Payson Parks. Honestly, it was harder to get Charles to cooperate than the girls.

Tiffany and Lauras Birthday Dinner at Brick Oven

2011-06-25T00:33:00.001-06:00

Crystal and Karlie were so excited about the cake.

Karlie ate everybody's frosting from the cake. She really enjoyed it.

We had so much fun with the Keesler Klan and Charlies family

Summer Dance Recital

2011-06-25T00:20:00.000-06:00

Karlie Danced to 'The Farmer in the Dell'


This was Karlies favorite part. She thought that it was so cool that she was lifted up.

Crystal danced to 'A Star is Born'

This costume really shows how long and thin Crystals legs are.

After the performance

Karlie swiped this flower from one of the older girls.

Thanks for coming: Tiffany Hanson, Shannon Hickman, Kaitlin Hickman, Stephanie Hickman, Grandma Allen, Grumpa Allen, and Daniel Allen.

Living Planet Aquarium

2011-04-12T17:46:00.000-06:00

For fun we went to The Living Planet Aquarium with Tiffany, Graycee, and Timothy. After that we went to Chick-Fil-A.

Hillary's Bridal Shower Invitations

2011-04-12T17:26:00.000-06:00

Tiffany and I made bridal shower invitations for my niece Hillary.

?Bad Hair Day?

2011-04-12T17:02:00.000-06:00

Check out the hair!!!!

Crystal Lost her First Tooth!!!

2011-01-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

Crystal had a tooth that was barely hanging on by a string for about a week. We came over to the Keesler's house to visit them last Sunday. Rachelle then helped us pull it out. She gave us a huge fuss while we were trying to pull it out. Then, once it was out she said, "That didn't even hurt."

THE MESS MONSTER!!!

2011-01-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

Karlie is our little mess monster. No matter what she eats, she makes a huge mess!!!!

Making a Mess with a Chocolate Cupcake.

The Mess on the Floor From the Chocolate Cupcake.

Now She is Making a Mess With Popcorn.

More of the Popcorn Mess!!

More Photos by Tiffany

2011-01-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

Crystal, Karlie, Tiffany, and I went to Payson main street. I love it that Tiffany has a nice camera. Because now if we want we just go out and take pictures at places we want. I love that we are able to catch both of their individual personalities.

Photo Frenzy!!!

2010-10-24T21:39:00.001-06:00

We went to the park with Graycee to play. Tiffany brought her new camera and took some really great pictures of the girls. Here are just a few of my favorites:

(We realized through taking all these pictures that Karlie has a very difficult time with smiling. When you ask her to smile, she TRIES, but typically bites her lip or makes a really funny face...check out the very last picture for a great example....and a good laugh!!!)

Payson Farm Fest

2010-10-24T21:30:00.000-06:00

Over Fall Break, we went with Papa, Pama, Rachelle, Tiffany, and Graycee to the Payson Farm Fest. The girls rode ponies, visited the petting zoo, bounced in the bounce house, rode the hay ride, and got their faces painted. It was a blast.

After the Farm Fest, we went to the Keesler's and made Halloween sugar cookies. Crystal really enjoyed it and decorated several. Karlie did one and had enough!

Karlie quietly says....OOOOOooooo...as she watched the entire container empty onto her cookie!!!

First Days...

2010-10-24T21:17:00.000-06:00

September was both girls first day....Crystal's first day of Kindergarten and Karlie's first day of Preschool!!!

Crystal's teacher is Mrs. Thomas and Crystal THINKS her teacher must be married to Thomas the Train (hahahaha!) Karlie's teacher is Mrs. Amy.

Karlie's Birthday

2010-10-24T21:11:00.000-06:00

For Karlie's birthday, we went to Chuck E Cheese. Papa, Pama, Rachelle, Tiffany, Tim, Graycee, and Clarissa came to help us celebrate. The kids had a blast! They played their little hearts out! Here are a BUNCH of pictures:

August....the Last Days of Summer

2010-10-24T20:56:00.000-06:00

The last day of summer we went to the Keesler's. We planned to go to the Payson Pool, but it was VERY cloudy, so...we opted to play in the water hose. It was a good thing too. The kids played for about 20 minutes before it started to pour and lightning. It was fun anyway!

Fun in July

2010-10-24T20:48:00.000-06:00

Spanish Fork Reservoir

We went with Rachelle, Tiffany, Graycee, and Stephanie (she was staying with us for a week--the girls loved it!) to the Reservoir for the first time ever! It was fun, but we learned VERY quickly that we REALLY need to take floats AND an umbrella next time because the water is freezing and the beach is extremely hot!

Payson Pool

We also ventured to the Payson Pool. It was fun while it lasted, but we always seem to pick windy or rainy days to attend the pool so it didn't last long!

The last 4 months in a nut shell!!!!

2010-06-06T19:55:00.002-06:00

Playin' with Graycee

Helping Shel make Friendship Bread

Crystal's 5th Birthday

Karlie, Crystal, Jade, Graycee

Kevin's Birthday

Visiting Papa

Wilson Elementary's 50th Birthday

Eating lunch with Tiffany at school

Playing at Salem Pond with Graycee and Tiffany

Daniel and Ariel's wedding reception

WOW!!!!

2010-01-24T18:51:00.004-07:00

WOW is the first word that came to my mind. I was on call and the girls had a birthday party to go to. So Charles got them dressed and took them over to the Keeslers for the party. When I got done with work I went over there and this is what I saw. Charles said that Crystal dressed herself and would not take the skirt off. She has her own fashion going on!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

2009-11-01T18:24:00.003-07:00

HalloweenKarlie was a Pirate. She was Miss Independent the whole night. She would not let anyone carry her, and no matter how heavy her bucket got she would not let anyone help her carry it. She thought she was so cool.

Since Crystal found out that her cousin Kaitlin was going to be Batgirl, she had to be the same thing. So, Tiffany and I made her a costume and Tiffany painted her face. She was so excited to be Batgirl.

Karlie and the Squeeky Balls

2009-09-11T22:52:00.002-06:00

We were at my inlaws today and we heard some squeeking in the kitchen. We then found Karlie with two Squeeky balls in her shirt. They were just in that perfect position. She was squeezing them and playing with them the whole time. It was so funny!!

Crystal is getting busy

2009-09-03T21:34:00.004-06:00

Crystal started her Second year of preschool. She was so excited to see Mrs. Amy again. She loves her preschool and all of her new friends there. She learns so much and is getting so smart!

She also started soccer. It has been very nice because she runs aimlessly around the field not really paying attention to the ball, so she goes to sleep easy on those nights. It is so much fun watching all of those kids swarm around the ball.

Crystal has been begging me for the last year to go to dance class. Well, I finally found a really good dance studio and she started dance. She thinks she is so cool, because she gets to go to the kindergarten class. She has so much fun and anxiously waits for each class. She has to show us each time she gets home what she learned.

Fishing at Utah Lake

2009-09-03T21:20:00.003-06:00

Crystal and Karlie had so much fun with Charlie and Uncle Dan. They first went fishing at Springlake and could not get the fish to bite. Then they went to Utah Lake where they finally caught something. Karlie loved holding the fish, but Crystal wouldn't even touch it. Their favorite part of the whole outing was the ducks. They loved them. We will have to take them fishing more often.

Bubbles, Bubbles, and More Bubbles!!!

2009-09-03T19:57:00.002-06:00

This is the girls favorite thing to do. They love taking bubble baths. Usually Karlie gets all of the bubbles on her (with Crystals help, of course)!!!

Fackrell Family Reunion

2009-07-28T18:45:00.004-06:00

It's that time of year again!!! Yep, time for the Fackrell Family Reunion. We have so much fun every year. We always go to Mt. View Whyoming, and have lots of fun with family. This year we changed it up a bit and instead of camping in tents, we stayed in a Cabin/Lodge. Here is a short run down of some of the activities.

The first evening we were there we went to the Relay for Life Ceremony. It is done for the American Cancer Society. My Cousin decorated these bags that have little tea lights in them for Sharon Guymon ( my birth mother who died from Breast Cancer) and Gladys Fackrell (My Grandmother that died from Breast Cancer). It made me break down in tears to remember these two beautiful women.

On one of the evenings we went swimming. We always rent out the swimming pool and have lots of fun.

On Saturday a lot of people went tubing. I didn't do it this year. But, it has always been a fun thing to do.

Karlie was Miss Curiosity. She was hard to keep track of. We would take our eyes off of her for a second and she would be gone.

Crystal and Kaitlin had to pose anytime a picture was taken of them. Crystal had so much fun playing with her cousins. She idolizes them.

Karlies favorite part was playing in the dirt. She was so dirty each day!!!!

Crystal just had to pose again!!!!

Kaitlin and I

Swimming Lessons

2009-07-28T18:31:00.002-06:00

Both of the girls did swimming lessons for two weeks at the Payson City Pool. They had so much fun. Charles did the Parent and me with Karlie.

Oh!!! What a few Crazy months!!!! Continued.......

2009-07-06T18:23:00.003-06:00

A week after my surgery, Charlie lost his job. His boss told him that he had lied abou tme being in the hospital and that nothing had actually happened to me. That next weekend my dad was released from the Rehabilitation Unit and we drove to Roosevelt. We went for my nephew Kaden's Baptism. Here are a few pictures while we were there.

A week after that Kaitlin and Stephanie (my nieces) came to stay with us to help with the girls. We pretty much went swimming everyday and had a lot of fun. They were a big help. They went back home and Stephanie came back to our house while the rest of her familly went on Trek. Stephanie and Crystal are so funny together.

Well, a week ago my dad had a surgery on his prostate. Now everything works!!! Sharon came up Sunday to pick him up and they left this morning. Karlie screamed and cried when he left. They have really gotten to enjoy each others company. It is sad to see him go, but he needed to get back home. We love you Grandpa!!!

Oh! What a few Crazy months!!

2009-07-06T17:50:00.004-06:00

So I decided that I should finally update my blog. We have had so much going on that I just have not had the time to post. So, here it all is in a nutshell. Durring Memorial day weekend I had some really severe abdominal pain. I was at Shannon's dropping Crystal off so she could spend time with her cousins. So I just waited until I got home to deal with it. When I got home Charles saw how much pain I was in and we called Charlies sister to watch Karlie, because she was in bed and we went into the ER. We waited in the waiting room for three hours until we finally got in and waited another hour to see the Doctor. By this time it was about 400 AM. I then had a bunch of tests and was found to have a couple of large Hemorrhagic Ovarian Cysts. The Gynecologist was nervous that they were cutting off the blood supply to the Ovaries, so it was decided that I needed to go to surgery. When they got in there they found that one of them had burst and was bleeding out, while the other one was fine. So they drained the blood and cauterized it to get the bleeding stopped. I was in the hospital for another day and then I came home.

A few days after I was home my dad came up to see the orthopedic doctor. He had done something to his knee. When he was done with his appointment he came back to my house and told us that he was getting a knee replacement the next day. So they stayed the night and he went in for surgery. He was kept in the hospital because of problems with his waterworks. On Sunday Shannon came over for dinner and brought a yummy chocolate desert. We all loved it, especially Karlie!!

To be continued................

2009-04-08T21:36:00.002-06:00

In between Payson and Spanish Fork on I-15 there is some construction. As you drive through it the road shifts and you go over the "Rumble strips" a few times. Every time we go over them and they make the loud sound Karlie Giggles uncontrollably. The bad thing about the video is that you can only see the picture shake slightly instead of hearing the noise. She is also a little more shy because she knows she is being videoed. But it is still cute.

Our Cute Girls

2009-03-27T17:46:00.011-06:00

I got the cutest pictures done of the girls. So, here they are, well at least some of them. There are too many to post.

Karlie's 1st Haircut

2009-03-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

Karlies First Haircut

Well, Karlie's hair was finally driving me nuts, so I broke down and got it cut. Our next door neighboor cuts hair and did it for us. Karlie was so good and did everything that she asked her too.

Bowling and Coldstone

2009-02-22T20:00:00.014-07:00

'Real Bowling' and Cold Stone
Since Crystal learned how to bowl on the Wii she has been begging to go 'Real Bowling.' So, we finally went. She was so excited to go. We went to Miracle Bowl in Orem. She is Miss Independent and tried to do it herself, but the ball was going so slow that it got stuck. So, Tiffany or I had to help her. Karlie had to join in. Crystal and Karlie would stick the ball between their legs while sitting on the floor and roll it. They both had so much fun. But, next time we will only do one game instead of two. Karlie started to get really bored and cranky after the first one.

Our Scores

Game #1

Game #2

Cold Stone
After 'Real Bowling' we went to get ice cream at Cold Stone. We all loved it.

Super Bowl

2009-02-01T19:03:00.003-07:00

Dance, Dance, Dance!!!

Crystal and Karlie had so much fun tonight dancing to the Super Bowl Halftime show. They were so excited to hear the music. It was so cute.

Winter Wonderland

2009-01-27T18:05:00.008-07:00

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

Crystal has wanted to go out and build a snow man for a couple of days. So today we finally did. The only problem was that the snow was too powdery. So, we were unable to make a snowman. But, we had fun trying. We jumped around and we made snow angels. They both had a lot of fun.

Crystal making a snow angel

Crystal's Snow Angel

Karlie's snow angel

Cheese!!!

Aren't they cute!!!

Karlie was so excited to be out in the snow.

Sunday Dinner

2009-01-26T18:19:00.005-07:00

What a MESS!!!!

For Sunday dinner we had Lasagna. Luckily, I was smart enough to take Karlie's clothes off before she started eating. Because, Oh what a mess she had at the end!! She ended up straight in the bathtub. Which she loved.

2009-01-25T20:39:00.007-07:00

The New Allen Family Adventure...
Bowling on the Nintendo Wii

We were at the Keesler's on Sunday, January 18th and Crystal really wanted to bowl on the Wii...so we pulled it out and everyone participated. Tiffany helped Crystal while Laura helped Karlie. Crystal had a final score of 95...for her first time bowling...EVER...now we have to take her for real!

The best part of the above picture is Karlie!

This picture is just adorable all the way around. What a bunch of smiles!

Crystal's Hates and Loves

2008-12-30T18:53:00.003-07:00

HATE/FEARCrystal absolutely HATES snakes. In fact, she doesn't just hate them...she is terrified of them...real or fake! Karlie thoroughly LOVES to chase her around with the fake snake at the Keesler's. Crystal will stop whatever she is doing (except the mic...her love) and RUN for her life while SCREAMING bloody murder. It is the funniest, most entertaining sight ever. Rachelle swears we are going to give a 3 year old a massive heart attack. You might ask why we don't make Karlie stop...well...quite frankly...Crystal probably deserves the torture after how mean she can be to Karlie.

LOVE/WANT

On the opposite hand, Crystal absolutely LOVES to sing and play the drums for Wesley's Guitar Hero for the XBox 360. We might even have ourselves a star one day at the rate she is going. She can sing and memorize EVERY song she hears...appropriate for a 3 year old or not!

Christmas Eve & Day

2008-12-30T18:13:00.017-07:00

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we went to see the Hickman's (Laura's sisters family). Crystal and Karlie love spending time with Hillary, Kaitlin, and Stephanie. Crystal decorated cookies for Santa. We played a lot of games and just had fun.

Crystal's top present she has been asking for is a "Butterscotch Pony". She got it Christmas eve from "Santa Dave". She was so excited to see it. It acts so life like.

Then they opened up their presents that consisted of Pajamas and Christmas books. Their cousins got pajamas too.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day the girls woke up at 815. They were so excited to see everything, especially Crystal. Crystal got a new car seat, an ipod, a Sleeping Beauty, and a whole bunch of random toys and books. Karlie got a Tricycle, Doll, a boat, and some other small things. Charlies family came over and we had a lot of fun.

5th Anniversary

2008-12-21T20:17:00.009-07:00

Body Worlds 3

For our 5th anniversary we dropped our kids off at Shannon's (Laura's sister) and then on Saturday we went up to Salt Lake City with Tiffany, Kevin, and Tim. First we went to Body Worlds 3 at The Leonardo. I have been begging Charles forever to go. It was really cool to learn some of the different facts about the body and to see different cross-sections of the bodies. It was very fascinating to see how quickly a fetus develops. By the 8th week you could see all of the limbs and each individual finger/toe.

Lights at Temple Square

After Body Worlds we went to Texas Roadhouse to eat. Charlie and I had never been there. The food was so good and we had a lot of fun. Then we went to Temple Square to see the lights. It was so beautiful and very cold.

Charles and Laura

Tiffany and Laura

Kevin and Tiffany, Laura and Charles

Hanging out at our House

Tiffany and I wrapped all of the girls' Christmas presents while they were still gone. The guys watched the BYU Vs. Arizona football game. BYU just couldn't pull it together and lost 24-34.

Karlie's First Blackeye

2008-12-21T19:00:00.003-07:00

What a Spill?.!

Thursday Karlie was walking next to our bed. I was washing my hands in the bathroom. All of a sudden Karlie fell and hit the bridge of her nose on the frame of our bed. It immediately swelled up and bruised. I was so nervous that it was broken, but it wasn't. The cartilage was just swollen and bruised. It sure looks a lot worse than it is.

The beautiful fall colors

2008-10-20T18:38:00.008-06:00

So, we went out yesterday on part of the nebo loop. It was so pretty we decided to take some pictures. It was so pretty and the girls had so much fun. We decided we would use a couple ones of Karlie for her one year pictures. The only bad part is I can't decide. We got some really cute pictures of Crystal also.

A week full of trials

2008-10-01T10:45:00.002-06:00

Well, a lot has happened since last Friday. I have been having gallbladder problems, so on Friday after I was dealing with all of the pain and vomiting. The doctor that I work with sent me down to the ER. I got down to the ER and was checking in when I got a call from my sister that my brother David had stopped breathing and they were trying to resusitate him in the ambulance on the way to the ER in Jordan Valley. So, I called Charlie, since he was already on his way up to help me in Provo and we went up to Jordan Valley Hospital. He was in a coma and had the ventilator totally breathing for him. They were cooling him down and the chances were not very good. After they got him up to the ER, Charlie and I went to Provo and checked in at the ER there. I was so dehydrated that they couldn't get an IV in me. They tried more than 15 times with numerous nurses and finally got an IV in my neck. They then admitted me to ghte hopital at 100 AM on Saturday. They were very busy that day with surgeries, so they didn't take me for mine until 700 PM. That got done and I was released on Sunday evening. Then with David on Monday they did an EEG to see if he had any brain function. I got a call early Monday afternoon to find out that the only brain function he had was seizure activity. So I immediately called Charles and we drove up there. After I had a chance to talk to him they unplugged all of the machines. He passed away about 15 minutes after that. He is now in a much better place with our mother. We are going to have his funeral on Friday in Salt Lake City.

Karlies 1st Birthday

2008-09-25T16:58:00.003-06:00

Karlie turned one on September 11th. We had a birthday party on the 13th with family and friends. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. She is such a funny girl. She is not afraid to stand up to her big sister and always lets her know when she disagrees with someting. We thought she would go more hog wild with the cake. But, oh well. We all had a lot of fun.

Crystals First Day at Preschool

2008-09-25T16:49:00.002-06:00

Ya, I know it's been a while. We have just been very busy. Crystal started Preschool two days after labor day. She is loving it. She picked out a princess backpack and was so excited to go on her first day. She especially loves Weds. when she can take show and tell.

Oh what a year!!

2008-08-09T22:05:00.001-06:00

2008-08-08T18:48:00.002-06:00

Crystal and Karlie are such great girls. Crystal turned 3 in April and Karlie will be 11 months on the 11th. Crystal loves too sing, dance, and help her sister. Karlie loves to crawl around, dance, and wave hi. We took this picture of them in April.

2008-08-03T18:36:00.000-06:00

Yea!! We finally have a blog!! We thought with so many family and friends living so far away that this would make it easier to keep up. We will add pictures and more later.