4th of july

cookout at mama kay and pop's house with andy, natalie, quentin, and evy
she's looking so grown up. starting 7th grade this year.
cooper's first roman candles
two sparklers at once...this is about as risky as we, allens, get.
chris and his brother, andy
cooper used to be too scared to hold sparklers. he has a fear of fire...good boy. but this year he got much braver.

silver dunes in destin, fl

life doesn't get much better than waking up to the pacific ocean in mexico one day and the gulf of mexico the next. i flew straight into pensacola from cabo to spend the week with my parents, my kids, and lots of other family and friends. unfortunately, chris had to return home to work...couldn't justify two weeks in a row.
taegan and manny played beach volley with clint brown (cbu men's soccer coach).
cooper and billy "muffin man" pass out cupcakes to all the little kids at the condos. this has been a tradition for many years.
manny found the tennis ball at george's traditional "beer dig".
me and manny
me with T
me and coop
me and the three best kids i know
taegan and kalin halbach
manuel, jackie, taegan, cooper, haley, jarrett, and austin after playing putt-putt at big kahuna's
push-ups in the sand
lauren, cooper, kalin, taegan, jackie, ellie, and haley
1st place winners in the sand castle contest
taegan and jackie woitesek
heading home...until next year!

cabo, san lucas

chris an i took a much needed and long overdue trip this summer...no kids!! this past winter some great friends of ours called and asked if we'd be interested in going to cabo with three other couples (carlocks, chapmans, and linders). at first we turned down the offer (which was quite inexpensive) knowing we should focus our time and money on fundraising efforts for manuel and education. but after much thought, we decided it was finaly time to focus on ourselves. as selfish as it felt, we knew it was what we needed!

as the time got closer, we realized we'd probably never do something like it again, so we packed our itinerary with all we could...sightseeing, scuba diving, swimming with dolphins, snorkling, and sailing.

it was a trip i'll always cherish!

this was the view from our casa cascadas.
somebody pinch me. is this real?
the house was decorated beautifully.
dinner at "mi casa" with the carlocks, chapmans, and linders.
2 for 1 margharitas with holly and tammy!!
"come on! jump in and snorkel with me!!"
lunch with the girls, serenaded by the mariachi band.
sunset cruise with "cabo sailing". may be the most romantic evening of my life.
i thought i was going to fall off this sailboat! i may be smiling, but i was freaking out!
lunch on the beach at "the office"
dinner at "sunset pointe"
sailing into the sunset past lover's beach in the sea of cortez
ready for a night out in the town!
swimming with the dolphins! this was chris's favorite!