Tuesday, July 10, 2012

hot springs village

manuel, bobbie, taegan, and ethan walking the strip downtown hot springs
boppy, mawmaw, taegan, coop, and manny at the alligator farm
yes, she's getting taller, but rest assured she's standing on a step. though, i do fear she will be as tall as me someday without the step.
alligator pit-approx. 20 years old
it's a darn good thing his mouth is rubber banded shut!
manny wasn't too sure about this...he held the gator for about 10 seconds. i snapped the pic and he passed it on!
ethan was actually the first one brave enough to hold it.
these goats loved ethan. i think they were talking on a first name basis!
fun times at the alligator farm!
coop's first fish of the week.
this canoe trip was quite an adventure. the girls spent the first several minutes going in circles until they finally figured out how to row together. meanwhile the boys zipped right past them...and then the race was on! the girls figured out their rythm and took off. they were only scheduled to be out for an hour. two and a half hours later they returned with some funny tales. apparently they saw lightning (Coop and i were fishing and we never saw it) and freaked out since they were canoeing in metal boats. they paddled as fast a s they could to the beach so they could wait for the storm to pass. at soem point during this excursion, a spider the size of a baseball (or so they say...) was on ethan's knee. he says he screamed like a girl, threw the paddle, and jumped out of the canoe. he nor manny would get back in, so they climpbed in taegan and bobbie's canoe and they pulled the other one behind. as the story goes, some gentleman witnessed the craziness and loaned them his phone so they could call me. as their luck would have it, coop and i were fishing and i didn't have my phone. once the storm passed, they jumped in and paddled as fast as their arms would row. they returned safely to the dock. the story has exagerated the more and more they tell it...and it gets funnier and funnier!!

the race is on!!

i told taegan that she was old enough and didn't have to wear her lifevest. she said, "i'm scared!! i want my mommy!" she is a hoot!

the evening time was generally filled with fun, yet vengeful games of go fish, war, spoons, and speed. the kids had no mercy!
ethan's fearless front flip off the pontoon boat on lake desoto
what a great group of kids!
mom finally caught a fish! i bet it took her an hour. the fish kept stealing her bait. dad was so frustrated with her for yanking the pole up too fast, but he was ecstatic for her when she finally reeled one in. love my mom and dad. they were only able to visit for a couple of days.
coop's back dive!
1, 2, 3, JUMP!
T and Bobbie
two of my favorite guys! my dad loves coop to pieces!
bobbie decidds to "one up" ethan with her sky high front flip!
rode back to the condo in the back of the pick-up. you would have thought they were on a roller coaster.

manny drove the boat with all intentions of flipping the three of them off.

pretty sure we lost manny right after i snapped the picture. ethan was determined to push him off.
taegan and ethan had quite the battle hanging on.
so happy ethan was able to join us this year! he and manny are great friends and play for midsouth together.
my boy! i had taken the kids to lake hamilton to rent a boat so they could tube an ski.
the looks on their faces are priceless!

boutique shopping in downtown hot springs. we bought the dress, but left the boots behind even though they were adorable.
last day...headed down to the pier.
coop and i are a lot alike...we both love the outdoors. hot springs is one of my favorite vacations with him!
last night in hot springs. we had dinner at a mexican restaurant and went to a magic show.
in the theater waiting for the show to start
this is maxwell blade, the magician. crazy guy!
girl bonding in a make-up boutique. had fun pretending to be 13 again.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

summertime soccer and best friends

summertime for the allens continues to include a lot of soccer. taegan is playing 5v5 with center circle. smaller fields and no coach. the girls coach themselves and sub on the fly. her sense of humor really shines when she's playing for fun! she has the sidelines in stitches! she's also preparing for her regional ODP camp. several of the kids have been getting together in collierville to train and acclimate themselves to the heat. again, no coaches. the girls are coming up with drills on their own. guess you can attribute that to having a fabulous coach for 5 years in a row. i think my kids love soccer so much because of the friendships. we are so blessed to be a part of teams with kind and loving families. can't even imagine our life without all the soccer kids over at the house. i love the sound of giggling kids. life can feel so stressful and serious, and the sounds of children talking and laughing makes my heart feel warm.