A year later...

So, it has been almost a year since anything was posted on the family blog. So lets see what all has happened in the last year? Ben graduated from High School and went to college. He wants to be an engineer of some sort, but hasn't decided which sort to be, and is working on an associates to get the generals out of the way. He is planning on going on a mission, but hasn't started on his papers yet. Jake and Zac are in the 6th and 4th grades. Zac is doing winter sports right now, and is going down hill. He tried Snowboarding last year and decided he likes skiing better, so back to skiing he is. Funny duck, he likes the skis, but doesn't like poles. Whatever. Jake will be doing Snowboarding in another few weeks when the middle school starts winter sports. David lives at home still, and makes frequent trips to Poci to visit his girlfriend and friends. Mem lives at home and is working at the Hospital in Driggs again. This time in the Pre and Post OP area. Mom is still working at the hospital in Driggs, and Dad is still farming. Dani and Hal in Texas have a blog to keep you updated, and Sky and Lac in Poci have a blog to keep those who they approve of viewing their blog updated.
Our hamsters have died, Tigger died, and was replaced by mittens, who after repeatedly peeing on mom's leather sofas and not learning that that is not where you pee, has been relegated to outside kitty. Of course that means dad will take pity on her and allow her into the garage, but definitely not into the house. They boys are saving up for a new cage, for dum dum dum duh, a rat. Mom told them they could have a rat if they can get rid of the toads. (bleck) But they have to buy their own materials for the rat, including the cage, and bedding and food. Zac said he really wanted a ferret, but mom said no. (she thinks a rat will smell less, for some reason).
So thats pretty much it for the Allen household.

Allen house update

Welcome to the Allen family Zoo, we have a plethora of animals, lets start with the oldest and work toward the newest. Of course there is the watch dog, Zoro(unavailable for photos at this time).

And we have Ben's bird, Gus.






Then of course we have our cat, Tigger.


















Jake and Zac's hamsters,
and their two toads.


















And for Easter, the Easter Bunny brought us a Bunny rabbit. When we first arrived home and found a bunny in a cage on the living room floor, we were all a bit surprised, as no one at the house was expecing a bunny. Since its origins were at that time unknown to all currently in the house, we named him Dutch, because dad said he was a dutchbelt. He's a cute little bunny, very friendly and he likes to be held an petted. We discovered where he came from later on after mom got home from work. Oops, she forgot to mention to dad that we were getting a bunny. The funniest part about our zoo is that Zoro isn't quite sure what to think of Dutch, but only sniffs at her cage, Tigger won't go near dutch, and Gus thinks Dutch is great because now that Dutch is in the dining room next to her, Tigger doesn't harrass her any more.

Easter was great, the Easter Bunny did a great job at hiding the eggs to challenge the little boys, Memorie came home late Saturday night and and went to church with the family Sunday morning, Mom was called off that morning, but was called in just before the family got to church, so she dropped Memorie, Jake, and Zac off at church and headed to work. She got home at about 8 that night.

Long overdue update

Well the time has flown. Before you know it it will be christmas again. The Allen family has of course been very busy. Last fall some of the pipes were dripping down the wall to the carpet in the hallway in the basement, oh and a while ago the rest of the basement flooded (like Ben's room and the family room) the dripping caused mold to grow down the cement wall in the basement and on the carpet underneath the shelving that was lining the hall. So all who live at home ripped up the carpet down the hall, and Mom has been looking at getting new carpet ever since. She found a carpet style she liked, shopped around and found a reasonably priced company that would come and lay the carpet she wanted. Then she found some paint for the family room because the blue that was down there was "cold". She spent several days painting the family room, and then they spent wednesday, well into the night hauling all the stuff out of the basement (including the rooms). The only rooms that had things in them were the food storage room, the furnace room, the laundry room, and the woodroom. All of which don't have carpet. So the upstairs became overflowin with belongings from the basement, and all the concrete floored rooms in the basement became practically unnavigable because of all the stuff piled in there to get it out of the rooms. I wish I would have taken pictures of the finished basement to post, but lets just say the walls are pained "peanut brittle" which is not far off what they actually look like, its a kinda orangy yellow. the carpet is dark and has pretty much every color in it, and the doors to the closets in the basement are still that dark blue. Dad jokes that mom has been in scouts to long because she turned the basement into the blue and gold banquet. It looks good and is warm, which is what mom was hoping for.
Ben just finished the wrestling season, and durring the course of the season he had his arms torked pretty bad, the arm he dislocated was hyper extended and now he can't reach forward very far with his left arm. Needless to say he made it to state, but couldn't do much because of his injuries. He lost out in his first two matches.
Jake is getting bigger. He is now the same size (or slightly taller, but we'll stick with same size) as Memorie. Not much of an accomplishment, but that's the second little brother to become bigger all around, and he isn't even 12 yet. Zac is also growing, but he still has a head to grow before he'll be the same size as Memorie. They both talk about their teachers and school and seem to be enjoying school.

Family christmas letter

Merry Christmas from the Allen family! 2008 has flown by so fast even Jake and Zac have felt it. We had a nice snow year. I x-country skied many times with a friend. We went up Pole Canyon probably 20 times. Each day it looked different depending on the light and of course how icy it was which affected the speed of descent and work of ascent. We also went up Moose Creek a couple of times, so quiet and still. The top of Pine Creek pass had a spectacular view also. Memorie and I were up there one day when a big storm was coming in…it was creepy as we tried to get back to the car before the storm overtook us. Nature is so powerful and beautiful. Awe-inspiring every time you take the time to look. For spring break in March we took the family that was at home (David, Mem, Ben, Jake, Zac and Carl and I) and had a boat trip down Hell’s Canyon. What a rush, and also very informative. We learned about river varnish -- it makes those shiny slick rocks. We revisited the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise which has grown up and changed dramatically since our visit years and years ago, and went to the Science Center (Zac enjoyed it so much he wants to go back). We stopped past the City of Rocks National Monument in south central Idaho and were impressed even though we could only see a small portion of it because of the snow. The boys were determined to return sometime in the summer and climb on all those rocks some more. Carl and I took a trip with my sister Barb and her husband Gordon in early April. We went down to the National Parks in southern Utah and stopped to see a lot of other awesome sights. It was really a fun time for us all. We hiked or walked all over the place: Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef national parks and also a fun state park outside of St. George as well as a petrified rock park and an Anasazi museum. Interesting scenery and beautiful views. The geology is so different than anything we have around here, it was way cool. The little boys and I had several camping trips. We went to City of Rocks and Craters of the Moon the first week in June with a friend and one of her sons. We had fun but it rained us out early as we finally had nothing dry left to wear. Mem and I took them camping at Rigby Lake in July where they played in rubber rafts and made sand castles. We went camping at Yellowstone National Park twice (Carl wasn’t done with irrigating the first time and so we had to return because the boys discovered the fun of Firehole River.) Gas was too expensive at $4+/gallon, to return to the ocean like the boys wanted.
Skyler graduated with his master’s degree in civil engineering in May. He has a job in Pocatello which he loves. He and Lacey had their second red-headed baby girl this morning. She is 19 ¼ “ and weighs 6 lb 9 oz. Her name is Emmalyn. I am playing with Abigail while Lacey is in the hospital. We have had lots of fun so far this morning. Hoping it stays lots of fun and she doesn’t become too sad without her Mommy.
David lived with us all year. Worked at MD nursery thru’ the summer, worked some evenings repairing things at an apartment complex in town, and helped on the farm. He is currently in Texas with Dani and Hal doing some repairs on their home. His little brothers have sure enjoyed having him around and getting to know him better.
Dani & Hal are in the process of moving to Houston. Hal got a new job which he hopes to enjoy, and Dani after finally getting a full-time job will have to leave it behind and begin the search anew. They have 3 ferrets, a turtle, and who knows what other wildlife (she’s always collecting something). They are coming up for Christmas and New Years so we are looking forward to seeing them.
Memorie passed her boards and is an RN. She worked at the Driggs hospital for a few months then went back to school full time. She will have her Bachelor’s degree in April. By summer she’ll be settled somewhere and busy working.
Ben cut a tendon in his hand clear through this time and had to have a surgical repair. He was out of commission for the farm from early August thru’ October. He almost has full extension of that right ring finger now. It was the same tendon he cut before, the repair involved removal of some scar tissue on the tendon leaving it a little short. He has worked hard to get range of motion back so he can wrestle. He started the cross-country running season wearing a splint which looked like he was carrying a garden hoe and messed up his rhythm and gait. His wrestling season has begun. He was the baker in the play “Into the Woods” this fall and is busy, busy, busy. He’ll graduate in early June from high school. Currently he is thinking about college, but has only applied to one school and talked to the cross-country coach at another.
Jacob earned his arrow of light in Cub Scouts and graduated to Boy Scouts, he is working on his Citizenship in the Community merit badge. He has completed 6.5 of the 8 hours of service required. He put up the Christmas lights in front of the library and helped set up for the book sale. He is in 5th grade, has braces on his teeth, rode his bike to school each day til the weather got too cold, and is looking forward to snowboarding for winter sports this year. Jake is becoming a pretty good cook & can cook a lot of things for his age.
Zac is in 3rd grade, in the Bear den at Cub Scouts and I think feeling left out of some things. He enjoys going with his Dad and helping. I’m his den leader at scouts which is very fun for me. Zac is planning to downhill ski for winter sports.
Carl is getting pretty thin on top of his head. So now we are both jealous of Memorie’s thick stand of hair. He keeps busy with farm work, his knees creek and are stiff if he doesn’t keep moving. He’s a hoot after sitting through a church meeting as he tries to get his legs moving again. He started growing a beard this fall, boy is he distinguished- looking with all the white in his beard and gray around the head.
Susan is looking wrinkled and gray herself, and is starting to be the source of heat for the cold feet in bed at night. She is still working at the hospital and keeping busy in the community with the Red Cross blood drives and Friends of the Library.
We are hoping this Christmas season brings great joy to you and yours. I love the music, lights and especially the spirit of love found in abundance this time of year. Please remember our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ as you celebrate His birth. We are thankful you are a part of our lives.
God Bless and Merry Christmas, The Allen family: Carl, Susan, and kids

Its December!

Well as it has been almost a month since this page was last updated, it is high time that something is written, and for added effect perhaps a few pictures.

Dad is working in the barnyard to get chores don in the AM and PM, and in the hours inbetween he is hauling manure to the fields before they freeze. Interestingly enough the sheriff's office called and told dad that they had recieved some complaints that there was manure on the road. (DUH) Dad told the dispatcher that it isn't coming out of the back of the manure spreader, it comes off the tires. She was very understanding and said, I know you are trying as hard as you can to keep it off the roads, but we are obligated to tell you that we have had complaints. Silly city folk, what do you think gives nutrients to all those plants that are growing so greenly in the field that you feed to your animals in the winter?

Mom is of course very busy. She is trying to get all the christmas together, as well as going to meetings, and getting ready to go and help Lac next week. She is going to Poci the night of the 9th and Lac is having that baby on the 10th. It is scheduled of course 'cause it's a c-section. So mom'll be there from the 9th to the 12th to tend Abi while Lac is in the hospital and Sky is at work, then Mem gets out of school and will go to Poci to help Lac so mom can go home and finish getting ready for Christmas.

Ben was in the High School's production of Into the Woods (it's a musical) he was one of the male leads. It went on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before thanksgiving. There were some in the show that had musical talent, and it had some difficult music. They had fun. Quite possibly one of the most impressive parts of the show was Ben's beard. He's 17, and he can grow a full beard. Before he shaved it off Mem got a picture. He started wrestling the monday before Thanksgiving, and after he gave the guy he was practicing with some really bad wisker burn, he decided it was time to shave.

Jake and Zac are looking forward to christmas and have been working hard on their gifts for their family members. I'm pretty impressed. And of course Mom has been harrassing Ben to get to the present he is working on for his family members, but he's hardly ever there. He'll get it done, sometime before christmas. He's really quite good at working under pressure.

David went to Texas to help Hal and Dani work on their house, and all are looking forward to Christmas to see our family. And that's an update on our family.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Memorie Sue!

I wrote you this little poem, in honor of your birthday...
Happy Birthday to You!
I hope you get a new shoe!
Actually, probably two!
Happy birthday to you!

...And even if you don't get new shoes, you should at least have a yummy cake....

Love you Memorie Susie!
We're all hoping you have one of the happiest birthdays ever!

State

So Friday evening after the Halloween carnival and trunk or treating mom and dad packed Jake and Zac into the car and headed to Rexburg and picked up Mem. Then they headed to Pocatello where they all spent the night in Sky and Lac's basement. The next moring, early, Mom, Dad and Mem got up and headed out toward Boise to cheer Ben on at state. Jake and Zac stayed at Sky and Lac's and played with Sky, Lac and Abi. Mom, Dad, and Mem finally found Eagle Island State Park and were there in time to cheer on the girls team, and then help Ben prepare for his race. Then they cheered on the boys. Ben came in 19th, and their team got first place. The only Teton sport that made it to state, and the Boys took 1st and the girls took 3rd (eat that football that didn't win a single game this year). After the awards mom, dad and Mem got back into the car and headed back to Pocatello to pick up the boys. Mom, Lac and Mem went shopping for a little while then they returned and packed up the car and headed back to Rexburg to return Mem. They arrived in Rexburg at about 11pm and after dropping Mem off, they headed home.

On another note. This morning in Victor it started sleeting, then it switched to snow, but it wasn't sticking, and then it switched again and started sticking. So everything is turning white in Victor this morning.

FALL!!!!

Over the weekend the men worked on putting plastic on the stacks. It is getting colder and snow will fall any day now(alright so we already had snow once, but it will fall and stay any day now) crops are in, which is good. Cross country season ends in two more weeks. Friday is district, and chances are excellent that both teams will go to state, which is next Saturday, November 1st. And in fact seeing as there is about a minute and a half difference between 1st man and 7th man the chances are good that they will do well at state. Ben is very busy doing XC and the play. The school is doing into the woods and he has the role of the baker. The play is the weekend before thanksgiving. Then sometime after the end of XC wrestling starts up. That boy really needs to decide what he wants to do. He is just having so much fun and he is definately busy. He is scheduled to take the ACT this Sat in Rexburg, and then will hopefully be able to get a ride home with someone after he does baptisms with our ward that evening.
For more XC info like records and race results and race times a great web site, which is way fun to look at just to see the stats. www.athletic.net

Pray for sun

The gloomy sky is preventing dad from being able to get the dew off the grain so it can be cut, once the sun comes out, the heat should dry the grain right out and he'll be able to cut grain. Sky came home this weekend to drive equipment. You can take the boy away from the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy. Ben is in Boise this weekend. He has a race today. He is currently working on registering for the ACT, but he forgot his username and password, and his e-mail account is inactive. We all hope he'll be able to get the information in time to sign up for the ACTs. Jake and Zac had fun birthdays. Jake's was monday, and he got to pick out his own gift after the race last friday. He chose a BB gun. Zac got to pick a new bike. The farm owed him one, so he picked out his new bike, and then for his birthday he decided he wanted a hamster. He should get it this weekend.
The story about Zac's bike, he left his bike parked leaning against the gate post of the field he moved pipe. No one ever used the gate, and that got it off the road. Well that day they decided they needed to come and get a cow, so they drove the trailer to the field and when they drove it through the gate, his bike tipped over and the bike got run over. So the farm owed him a new bike.
Oh, pray for sun at least on the south end of the valley so dad can get his crops in.

Update!

Dad is well into harvesting hay and is a little short handed, as Ben is only able to operate the baler because everything else is controlled with the right hand. : ( School has of course been in full swing for several weeks and cros country has had several races. Ben is doing pretty well though he is getting side stitches on the right side, and he can't squeeze his right thumb to distract himself. Jake doesn't like school. No surprise. But Zac at least liked his teacher when he had her before so he could have an enjoyable year, though Jake's gloomy attitude seems to be rubbing of on him a little bit. Mom is still working at the hospital and is taking vacation every time she can manage to squeeze it into her schedule.
Of course lets not forget to mention that Ben had a race yesterday, and he finished pretty well, though he did have a side stitch and he rolled his ankle in the first mile. The cross country teams are pretty big this year. Ben said the girls and boys both have a full varsity and JV team.
Mem is back in school. She started back the first of this week. This semester could be a little more daunting than the semester before.
Zac's birthday is today, and Jake's is Monday. Yay one year older and wiser too. Happy Birthday to you!!!!