The Allen Family

Yo Gabba Gabba!!

2011-05-25T21:19:00.004-06:00

Better late than never! Grey turned 1 on Feb. 20th and we celebrated in style with Yo Gabba Gabba, Grey's favorite TV show. We had so much fun and I still can't believe, 3 months later, that my baby is 1! Happy Late Birthday Bug!

Birthday Boy loving his Pizza!

Cake Before...

Cake After! (tears)

Ethan loved his goody bag.

Grey with Grandma Julie.

Muno Birthday Cake. (Sorry, just bend.)

Cute Decorations.

Just to get you off my back...

2011-02-09T21:23:00.010-07:00

I have been hassled the past couple of weeks due to my lack of posting. My sisters and friends don't buy the "annual Halloween post" idea. Girls, this is for you!!

Life is good! I definately smile more now than any other time in my life. Here are a few reasons why:

The need of tie our cupboard doors shut.

Eating eggs and toast for breakfast with my baby.

Cute "Big Boy" outfits!

Ice skating, or should we say sledding.

Blue eyes!

Finding Grey in the dryer.

Grey's first Ugly Sweater.

My parents (Yes, my dad was Santa this year.)

A new use for laundry baskets.

Messes!!

Time with Grandpa.

Grey's first haircut. Thanks Kacy!!

Bed Head!

Trips to the horses.

My sweet family!!

Check back soon...Grey's first birthday post is on it's way! I can't believe he is going to be one in a couple of weeks!!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T12:35:00.008-06:00

As most of you know, my family loves Halloween!! Here's the proof...

Mr. Milo the Vampire

The Peanuts Crew (Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the Teacher) with GG

Sue Sylvester and Coach Beast (Glee)

Dorothy and Toto

In case you were wondering, this is Grey's Great Grandma Joyce! You wonder where we get it?

Ethan and Krew

Leah (having fun) and Grey

Grey's First Halloween

Loving the Pumpkin Guts (Dad, not so much!)

Mr. Milo

Our trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Hold On!!

How Time Flies

2010-10-31T11:53:00.003-06:00

It has officially been one year since my last post and after much peer pressure, I'm back! Grey Lucas is now 8 months old and the center of our lives. His deep giggle, little front tooth, and big blue eyes make me smile everyday. I am looking forward to sharing funny stories and cute pictures with all of you soon!

Happy Halloween!!

2009-11-01T10:13:00.007-07:00

Halloween is definately one of my favorite holidays. My parents have always dressed up and made it so much fun! This year was a little different!! The U of U Blackout Game claimed our husbands and left us home in our costumes. We had a lot of fun but really missed Kyle, Jamie, and Boston who are still living in L.A. and JR who was at the VHS Harvest Dance. Luke's nieces and nephews were darling as always! It is always fun to have an excuse to spend time with family!! Once again, the costumes were amazing!!

Yummy Spider Web Cupcakes

Baby Boston

Bossy the Duck

Momma Kangaroo with Baby in her pouch

Ethan the Fireman

Michael Jackson (Audra) and The Flapper (Ella)

Things 1,2, and 3 (Andy, Annie, and Baby Baggs)

Krew

Hudson the Pirate

Rachel Zoe, Alfalfa (Jentrie), and Momma Kangaroo

Rachel Zoe (Mom)

"Her costume is bananas!"

Rachel and Brad

Brad, Rachel's Gay Assistant (Dad)

J.R. "Flight Time" Nemelka

BOY,....Does Jaycie have news for you!

2009-10-22T22:06:00.002-06:00

Baby Grant ...

is on his way to the Allen Home!

Hey Everyone, this is Jamie, Jaycie's sister. We are just so excited to have little Baby Grant come into our family that we have to share the news with everyone!

Jaycie is about 6 months along, but scheduled to deliver early! She was first told that she would be having Baby Kate, but oh no at the next appointment we were all proven wrong! Baby Grant was definitely a BOY, if you know what I mean!

She's been a real trooper, and is darling pregnant! We are so excited for her and Luke and can't wait to see the new parents in action, but mostly can't wait to love and squeeze Baby Grant!

Most of all Boston can't wait to have a cousin to wrestle and hang out with!! Oh, yeah and let's not forget the Granparents, all of which, are thrilled!!

Here's a pic of the cute Mom To Be!

Introducing....Baby Boston!!

2009-01-08T19:32:00.007-07:00

Boston Kyle Nelson

Jamie before delivery...she was a great sport!

Kyle working hard!

Mom and Baby!!!

Sweet Boston...he loves his hands.

My sister Jamie and her husband Kyle had Baby Boston yesterday, January 7th, at 9:27 pm. He was 19" long and weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. Jamie was a trooper and she and Boston are doing very well! We love you Boss!!!

Happy Birthday Honey!!

2009-01-01T23:06:00.002-07:00

I am so late on this and I feel terrible, but I wanted to publicly wish Luke Happy Birthday! His birthday was December 3rd (I know, it's really late) and unfortunately it gets lost between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Luke turned 23 and treated himself to a day off of work. For his birthday and Christmas Luke asked for a Play Station 3. He opened it at 6 a.m. the morining of his birthday and played Call of Duty all day long. Spoiled!! We celebrated with both families and lots of cake. It was a fun day. Luke, I love you more than you will ever know. I feel so lucky to be your wife. Thanks for your constant love and support. You make me smile everyday!! I love you! ...831...

Let's Say Thanks

2008-11-29T16:48:00.001-07:00

I thought that this was so cool! What a special way to show thanks during the holidays. I hope that everyone takes a minute to help brighten the holidays for soldiers that are away from their families.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T12:38:00.006-06:00

The Scarecrow and the Party Pooper

Jamie the Mama Pig

Kyle's amazing costume

(The sign reads: "I survived Anorexia." Too funny!)

Edyta looking rather sexy!

Nice legs J.R.!

The Newlyweds (the Cowboy and Rodeo Queen)

Yes, this is my Grandma (I wonder where we all got it!)

Hudsy and his favorite Uncle Luke

My mom was Edyta from Dancing with the Stars
It was hilarious!

Ethan the Cowboy

My little Devil Hudson

Me with my cute Cowboy and Angel (Ella)

All of the girls dressed up for the football game
(Mom's real costume wasn't appropriate, so she was an annoying football mom.)

Luke and I carved a "classic" pumpkin

J.R. looking studly for the Halloween Dance

This year was another exciting Halloween in my family. We all dress up and have so much fun!! We started that day at the Viewmont football playoff game. It was fun, but not the best showing of the Vikings. Congrats on a fun season J.R.! After the game we rushed up to Luke's sisters house to catch the little niece and nephews in their costumes. They were adorable and as always, so much fun!! After the trick-or-treating we ran to my parent's house for the costume party. Everybody looked amazing and we had a lot of fun laughing at my family's awesome costumes. I love Halloween!!

The Wedding Day--October 17, 2008

2008-10-25T13:50:00.006-06:00

Early Morning Decorating

(looking beautiful ladies!!)

Dad and Jen

Mom and Jen

Jake and Jen coming out of the Temple

The Flowers at the Reception

Jentrie and Jake were married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a neat ceremony and Jentrie looked beautiful. The weather was perfect and everything ran smoothly. Early that morning we all got together to decorate the reception center. The reception was at The Grand Ballroom in Bountiful. It was really pretty. They served pie for dessert and had a picture booth for the guests. Everlyone ha a great time. Good Job Mom!! It was beautiful!! Congrats Jen and Jake! We love you!! Jen and Jake are now vacationing in Mexico. Have fun!

The Wedding Dinner

2008-10-25T13:35:00.004-06:00

The Nemelka Kids

Jaycie, J.R., Jamie (& Boston), and Jentrie (the Bride)

Jen and Jake

The Boys

The night before the wedding all our Jen and Jake's friends and family got together for a dinner at the JSMB to celebrate. It was beautiful and the food was great. Everyone had really nice things to say and I think the bride and groom were a little nervous. It was a late night!! We all went home to finish up prepping the decorations for the reception.

Jen's Crazy Bachelorette Party

2008-10-25T13:22:00.003-06:00

The Girls

Our Cute Dessert

In case you're wondering, we did get that at D.I.!!

Dinner at Chili's

I'm sorry it has taken me so long, but I am finally getting around to posting pictures of Jentrie and Jake's wedding. The Saturday night before the wedding Jamie and I threw Jen a bachelorette party. We had so much fun. All of Jen's friends came and we first went to dinner at Chili's. After dinner the real fun began. All the girls went to our mom's house for dessert and gifts. Our friend Sylvia made darling lingerie cupcakes that complimented Jentrie's gifts perfectly. We had a lot of fun and laughed histarically.

Happy Birthday Buddy!!

2008-09-19T11:45:00.002-06:00

There is another birthday in the Nemelka family today. My little bother J.R. turned 17 today. Happy Birthday!! J.R. is such a sweet, handsome boy. He is so nice to everyone. J.R. loves playing football at Viewmont and is having an awesome year playing defensive end. Happy Birthday Buddy we love you and hope you have a great year.

Happy Birthday Jentrie!!

2008-09-18T22:35:00.003-06:00

Today is my little sister Jentrie's birthday. Jen is now 19 and getting ready for her upcoming wedding. We are so excited for her! Jen is such a fun loving, sassy girl. She is the queen of come-backs!! We love her and we love spending time with her. Jen we hope that you have a fun birthday. We know that you are going to have an awesome 19th year. We love you!!

It's Official!!

2008-08-10T16:21:00.002-06:00

This weekend my little sister Jentrie and her new fiancee' Jake Williams got engaged. It was quite the ordeal, but such a fun night. Jen's friend Carly and her girlfriends were supposed to take Jen to pick up Jake who had "run out of gas" up by the temple. On the way up there Carly and the girls were broadsided in the intersection of Main Street and Parrish Lane in Centerville. No one was hurt, but everyone was quite shaken up. Carly's parents had bought this car for her just last week. Luckily my mom, Jamie, and I were on our way home from WalMart and were right on the corner and watched the accident happened. We jumped out to help them and I had to talk Jen into coming with me to still go get Jake. It took quite a bit of convincing, but I eventually got her in the car. While Jake was waiting for us to finally make our way up to the Stoneridge neighborhood area he had been hiding near the car. He was hiding near some bushes and a family enjoying the evening on their deck noticed him. The husband jumped in his car and came and shined his brights on Jake who came crawling out. I'm sure this man thought Jake was going to rob him or was doing something sketchy. Jake explained that he was waiting to propose to his girlfriend and the man offered to turn on his surround sound music system near by to add to the mood. Jake said no thanks and returned to the bushes. Too funny!! Once we made it to Jake there was just a note waiting on his car. She listened to sweet songs and read notes hidden in the car that eventually led to her setting up a little picnic with candles, sparkling apple cider, and her favorite, chocolate dipped strawberries. (Just have to mention that Jake has really bad luck and while Jen was listening to the music and reading the notes the sprinklers turned on and Jake had to hide under the "foliage" but was still wet.) Jake had a set of really big (Grandma) scriptures engraved with Jentrie Williams and told her that he wanted to grow old with her. It was very exciting and we are thrilled to welcome Jake as a member of our crazy family. (I just hope he realizes what he's in for! HaHa) Congratulations and we love you both!

It's Time To Catch Up!!

2008-08-06T20:45:00.007-06:00

Luke and I have been really busy with work and summer activities lately! In the last month or so we were able to go to celebrate the 4th of July, visit Bear Lake again, celebrate Ethan's 2nd birthday, hang out in a Mustang, and hang out with pregnant people. We'll start from the top.

We had a fun 4th of July with both families. We started the day at the Centerville Parade and park with my family. We had a lot of fun eating yummy food and sitting in the shade. After the Centerville festivities we headed up to Kaysville for a BBQ with the Allen's. It is always fun to spend time with the babies. We love them.

It was time for Bear Lake again. We love to just go relax at the lake. It was really fun to hang out on the boat. Thanks Lance and Nat for letting us borrow the boat and Kallee for all of your hand work. It was a lot of fun!

Happy 2nd Birthday Ethan! We love you and thanks for inviting us to your fun party. Gotta love Lightning McQueen and Cars!

Dad had a fun weekend a few weeks ago. He was able to borrow a brand new Ford Mustang from work at the radio station. He was feeling (and acting) like a teenager again! Lucky for Luke, the Mustang is one of his favorite cars. My dad came and picked him up at the house and after the tires squealed I knew that Luke would have the time of his life. Thanks Dad!!

Last, but not least, "I see pregnant people." I am so excited for Jamie and Kyle and Luke and I can't wait to have another nephew. Our friend Mattie Russell is also expecting very soon. I love monitioring her progress and her belly. I can't wait for my turn! (Hint, Hint Luke!!)

Well, it feels good to catch up and I have promised myself to keep on top of things. We love you all and we're sad that summer is coming to an end. School starts on the 25th and we're bummed that we won't be able to spend as much time with our family and friends.

I can't wait!!

2008-07-06T16:50:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday!!

2008-07-01T21:00:00.006-06:00

June 29th was another exciting day for us. Both my dad and our nephew Hudson celebrated their birthday Sunday. We BBQ'd with both families and had a lot of fun. We love you both!

Happy 1st Birthday Hudsy!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

(Dad is always having fun whether he is ice skating with the fam or beating Luke in a heated leg wrestle match.)

We love you and we are grateful for all that you do for us.

Family Fun!!

2008-07-01T20:24:00.002-06:00

Luke and I have been having a fun summer so far. We have had fun enjoying the beautiful, but hot weather. Last weekend we headed up Mueller Park Canyon with the Nemelka's for a weenie and marshmallow roast. The whole fam, minus JR, he was on a hot date, was there and our friend Mandi and Jen's boyfriend Jake came to join the fun.

Nothing is better the campfire hot dogs

Mom, Jamie, Mandi, and I

Lot's of yummy food. Mom goes big, not home.

The boys! (Luke, Jake, Kyle, and Dad)

The next weekend we traveled to Heber City. Kyle's dad has a housing development with beautiful homes and a fish pond. We first ate dinner at the amazing establishment, The Hub. It was interesting to say the least. My mom Julie has a hard time with The Hub. After literally sticking to the greasy chairs she was blasted by the AC, so she had my dad put his menu over the vent. Our waitress thought we were pretty high-maintenance, oh wait, we are!! After The Hub we fished then we were able to watch a movie in an awesome home theatre in one of the beautiful model homes. Thanks Kyle and Jamie for a fun time.

Great cast Babe!!

What a whopper!

An Infestation at Lone Pine

2008-06-18T13:13:00.003-06:00

Luke and I live in the Lone Pine Apartments in Bountiful. It is in a perfect part of town and it is way cheap for a two bedroom apartment. Apparently a family of raccoons thinks it is perfect too. This all started a couple of weeks ago when our Lone Pine friends Jimmy and Lindsey Wing spotted the momma raccoon. They told us about it and we were a little nervous, but thought nothing of it. About a week later Luke and I were getting out of our car in the little carport and I looked up into the building next to ours and a huge cat (aka raccoon) was staring at us. It wouldn't run away so Luke told me to get back in the car. I hurried into the car and was reluctant to get out as soon as the coast was clear. From then on I have been absolutely terrified to run into this mean, aggressive, and potentially rabid raccoon. This past weekend while in Bear Lake I got a text from Lindsey Wing. I knew it couldn't be good. It read, "Girl there are seven raccoons six are babies! I will tell ya about it later." Well, of course I woke Luke up to share the big news. After returning home we were filled in on the drama. Apparently the landlords had set a trap by the carport and caught a baby. The mom and the other 5 babies were nervous and pacing around the cage. Animal Control is closed on the weekends so they advised our landlords to let the raccoon go because they could be prosecuted if the raccoon happened to die in the trap. Yesterday afternoon I was jumping into the car to go to good ole FP (Farmington Pool) with my mom and Jentrie and I glanced over at the raccoon trap. Another baby was trapped!! It was lured in there by a Twinkie. Needless to say, 1 down and 6 to go. Wish us luck and if you come to visit, be careful!!

Luke's Celebrity Morph

2008-06-17T20:29:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Roots - Free genealogy

My Celebrity Morph

2008-06-17T20:26:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Geneology - Ancestry search

Bear Lake '08

2008-06-16T12:12:00.003-06:00

We spent this weekend in Bear Lake with the whole Allen clan celebrating Grandma Helen's 80th Birthday. We had a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful. We spent a lot of time at the pool while avoiding the freezing lake. Luke was a good sport to sit with my by the pool, but as you can tell, he's not such a fan of the sun! Sweet Hudson discovered that he loves swimming with his Aunt Jaycie. On Saturday night we had a big party for Grandma Helen. Her 7 children and their families were there. Audra and the boys sang her a cute song "Sweet Helen June" to the tune of "Sweet Caroline". It was hilarious, the boys were off tune the whole time. We watched the neatest movie of Grandma and her family through the years. She is such a wonderful woman and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. We love you grandma! We are kind of sad because this is our last Bear Lake family reunion, but we had a great time and loved seeing the fam!

Luke and I "laying out"

Hudson and I swimming

Audra and the boys singing (Take it away John!)

Ella's First Dance Recital

2008-06-16T11:55:00.003-06:00

Our niece Ella just had her first dance recital. She is such a great little dancer. She knew all the right steps. She felt pretty special when she got flowers from her dad, Jaycie and Luke, and Grammy. It is so much fun to have a niece and two sweet nephews. They sure make life fun!

Ella with her beautiful flowers

Proud Aunt Jaycie and Uncle Luke

Congrats Grad!

2008-06-16T11:44:00.006-06:00

Jentrie is my cute sister who graduated from Viewmont High School this year. We just wanted to say congratulations and good luck as you enter the real world and head down to Dixie State College. We love you!!

The fans anxiously awaiting!

Congrats Jen

The Nemelka Kids (Jamie, JR, Jentrie, and Jaycie)

Happy 1st Anniversary

2008-06-16T11:14:00.004-06:00

On May 24th Luke and I celebrated our first anniversary. We have had a crazy year with lots of ups and downs, but we've come to love eachother more and more everyday. For our anniversary we were able to spend the weekend at the Treasure Mountain Inn on Mainstreet in Park City. We went to ride the Alpine Slide and the new Alpine Coaster. The Alpine Coaster was amazing!! It was one of the funnest thing we've done. We would definately recommend it. On Saturday night we headed to Heber City for dinner at the Snake Creek Grill. It is the most amazing restaurant I've ever eaten at. We were so excited for dinner, but when we got there Luke said that he wasnt' going to eat. He'd been feeling a little queezy, but I never would have thought he could pass up Snake Creek Grill. We sat down and I was the only one to order food. While eating a cup of soup I glanced up and Luke was as white as a ghost. I quickly asked our server to get the check and pack my food to go and it's a good thing I did. I was driving and we hadn't even made it out of Heber City and Luke unbuckles his seat belt and tells me to pull over and threw up on the side of the road. Needless to say we spent our romantic first anniversary in the hotel room while Luke continued to throw up. By Monday afternoon we were able to walk up and down Mainstreet and visit the outlets. We had a great time and we will always have a fun story to tell! I love you babe!!

Luke buckling into the Alpine Coaster

The Alpine Slide

Our room at Treasure Mountain Inn (It was really nice!)

Luke following his incident on the side of the road

Our cake we ordered from Backer's Bakery (not a fan of a cake that's been frozen for a year)

Feeding eachother our cake (Luke was a good sport to pose for the picture, but he definately didn't eat any)

Luke in front of Chloe Lane on Mainstreet (It's an inside joke, but one night while watching TV a girl named Chloe came on the screen and he asked if her name was "Shlow".)

Ecuador '08

2008-05-21T22:59:00.010-06:00

This March for Spring Break Luke and I visited Ecuador where he served his mission. It was amazing, but I must say that Luke will have quite a hard time if he tries to talk me into going again. We have decided that we have bad luck. It started with our house in Rose Park when we were robbed. This trip only proved that we have a lot more challenges to overcome. On a bus in Ecuador my purse was stolen. Of course, our camera was in my purse. We resorted to a disposable camera thus the pictures quality is pretty bad, you'll get the idea though. Along with the camera were the credit cards, one hour and about $2,500 credit card charges later we realized the purse was gone. It was a bummer, but we were still able to have a great time and make many memories.

Quito is a huge city. Luke and I were able to ride a tram to the top of a mountain and see all of Quito at sunset. It was amazing. Just behind me is a huge crater from a volcano. Volcanoes are all over the country.
My favorite place in Ecuador is a small mountain city called Otavalo. I met some of the most kind hearted people there, especially Bishop Garson's family. We also did a few crazy things in Otavalo. Above you can see a statue that shows the traditonal dress of Otavalanos. There is a picture of our hotel. It was beautiful, but our room had crazy masks hanging on the walls and it was owned by two Americans that knew nothing about Ecuador. They drove us crazy. How do you like Ecuadorian security systems? People have these huge walls in front of their homes and to keep people out the break glass bottles and put it on top of the wall. (You can imagine how Luke and I stood out because we are so tall. I could reach over their "huge" security walls.) Finally, there was a man on the street selling coconuts, so we decided to buy a couple. The coconut milk was disgusting. We each took a picture and left our cocnuts under a tree.

Otavalo is such a beautiful place. We were able to go to a crater lake called Cuicocha. It is a huge hole that was shot out of the side of the mountain when the volcano Cotacachi erupted. The craziest thing about this lake is how deep it is. American scientists have brougt over the most sophisticated equipment and they still haven't been able to find the bottom. How do you like our means of transportation? We hired this guy with a truck to drive us up the mountain. He was hauling up these tiny roads. It was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. My absoulte favorite part of our trip was the Peguche Waterfall. We hiked about a mile up to this amazing waterfall. When we were standing on the bridge we were being drilled with water and mist. This waterfall is especially meaningful to Luke. He was able to baptize a lady in the bottom of the waterfall while he was serving his mission.

The final day of our trip, my birthday, we hung out at the Otavalo market. It was so much fun!! I got to shop all day and everything was so cheap. Can you notice how short everyone is compared to us? It was pretty funny. They had everything from food, can you believe that roasted pig? I about died. They were just scooping things out of the pig on top of a bowl of rice and eating it. I could barely look at it. The little girls in the picture with me are wearing traditional Otavalan clothes. They were so nervous to take a picture with me. I had to buy some of their bracelets. The last picture was my birthday party at Bishop Garson's house. They invited all of their kids and some friends over. We had my favorite Ecuadorian dish, Secco do Pollo and had birthday cake. They were so kind to think of me. The cake looks amazing, but it wasn't that good. All of the cakes in Ecuador are really dry. Well, that was a little bit of our trip. We had a great time!!

Work

2008-05-08T12:57:00.003-06:00

I thought that I would introduce you all to my girls. I am the nanny for two sweet girls Scout (13) and Sara (10). Scout loves to play tennis, text, and spend time with her friends. Sara is on the Rowmark Ski Team and loves soccer, dogs, horses, and is quite the artist. They love to travel and this is a picture of them in the Galapagos Islands. I love you girlies!!

Chocolate Cake and Basketball

2008-05-07T21:05:00.004-06:00

For Luke and I nothing is better than a Jazz game and chocolate cake waffles. We are excited about the playoffs and we hope that Boozer can pull it together. Chocolate cake waffles are amazing! All you need is a chocolate cake mix and a waffle iron. Make the batter according to the directions on the box and pour it in the waffle iron. They're quick and easy, but it looks like you spent all evening making dessert. Perfect!!

Our Favorite Girl

2008-05-07T20:00:00.003-06:00

This is Ella June. She is our sweet niece who has just celebrated her 4th birthday. We love to have sleepovers, shop at the dollar store, and eat Cafe Rio together. I love being an aunt to sweet Ella, Ethan, and our little Hudson.

Hello Blogging World!!

2008-05-07T16:59:00.001-06:00

Hi Guys! I have finally given in to the pressure and Luke and I are now part of the blogging world. I have enjoyed reading everyone else's blogs, so I hope we can add some entertainment to your day too. More will come soon.