Look at what $9.84 can buy you....

....photos of your very own children!
It is not beneath me to bribe my children.  All the stuff i 'never' said i would do in parenting all went out the window once our first child was born.  I realize now, there are times you need to bribe to survive.  I just wanted a few photos at a new location i scoped out and knew my girlies would not be thrilled about my proposition unless i 'dangled a carrot' in front of them.  It's amazing what 3 items each at the Dollar Tree can produce. :-)

I am obsessed with Grace's new smile.  This was my main reason for wanting to get out, plus i had the itch to take some photos.  Our girl is growing up and really....she needs stop. :-)




Stunning and only 10.5 years old....

Look at that gorgeous grin!

Amazing Grace...

A 'tween' in the making....

Simply beautiful!

Yes, those eyes are just that blue!
Lily recently had 3 inches cut off of her hair.  Isn't it adorable?!?!

Doesn't she look like she's up to no good....well, she always is! :-)

I heart you!

I heart you too!

LOVE!

Nice surprise today!

Grace got her braces off!  We knew it would be soon, but had no idea today would be 'the day'.
354 days later of silver, springs and crazy colored bands and vuala......perfectly straight top teeth appeared!  We've got one happy girl who is going to have some seriously chapped lips because all she is doing is rubbing her lips over her new smooth grin.  I remember doing the same exact thing when mine came off.  :-)

When Grace got her braces on, she had over a 7 mm over bite.  7 mm does not seem like a lot but imagine being able to fit your thumb in that kind of a gap.  Yes, that's exactly what she could do.  Her over bite was so severe that she was unable to close her mouth and her top teeth were starting to spread apart because of them resting on her bottom lip all the time.

Her transformation is still amazing to me.  I am certain she is tired of me asking her to smile, over and over and over and over........
Well done Dr. Weller and gang.  Our girl looks and feels fabulous!

After....1/12/12

Before.....1/24/11

Great Wolf Lodge does not disappoint!

Skipped the first day back to school from winter break to experience for ourselves all the constant rave we hear about the Great Wolf Lodge.  It was as A-M-A-Z-I-N-G as everyone had claimed.  Of course being naughty and skipping school, adds to the excitement. :-)

We arrived a little after 2 pm on day of check in.  Our room was not quite ready, so we headed straight for the fun.  84 degrees and 56,000 square feet of water packed excitement was almost overwhelming....NOT!  The girls went crazy and were not afraid of anything.  I on the other hand was a little more apprehensive.  Could it be because i had a broken finger?   Nice try...NOT...i am just a big old of chicken when it comes to big water slides that make me feel like i have no control.  But guess what?  Took that splint off and went on everything and i had grand time.  Not as much fun as Jeff and the girlies, but close. :-)  The only break that was taken the first day, was to sit down and eat dinner.  The girls passed on the bed time story in the lobby and we shut the water park down that evening. 

Got up early for story time the next morning and then started their MajiQuest.  MagiQuest is an interactive live-action, role playing game where players embark on quests and adventures in an enchanted fantasy world using real magic wands to solve the mysteries of the game.  Each of the girls had their own wands but we played only one game as a family because it literally takes hours to complete.  You have to go on different floors either by elevator or run up and down the stairwells to finish each quest.  That alone is more of a workout than the water park itself.  Their Daddy stayed strong with only one 2 hour break to have some more water fun and lunch before accomplishing the level of Master Maji.  They received buttons and certificates and the "Fire Wolf Wizards"(their Maji name) thought they are pretty hot stuff.  This game was so consuming that we did not leave Great Wolf Lodge until 5:30 pm!

We hope to return again soon and hopefully with another screamin' Groupon deal.  We were able to stay in a Grizzly Bear Suite which runs $389 for $219!  We also we received two pizza meal certificates which fed our family for the two days we were there and had a late check out of 2 pm.

These three little piggies were not scared of the big bad Wolf at all. :-)

The wave pool by far was the girlies favorite!

Bella had blisters on her hands from doing the Big Foot Pass over and over.

Cute little posers!

  

This is exactly what the next few pictures are!

Wait for it...wait for it!

This is one of my favorites.  Lily went on these slides a million times by herself but it was much better with
Daddy because they would fly down when he was with her.

Contraption to get the tubes up for the Howlin' Tornado

This is a picture from the website.  Swish and swirl 30 feet up on the sides of the funnel before
making your splash at the bottom.  No joke...plus it's dark!
There was lots of howlin' coming from all of the Allen girls, especially the biggest one.

Hot tub....now this is what i am talking about!

9:15 pm.....hundred of people, gone, just like that!

She had her own bed but look at where she ended up at.

  

Snow after story time....

Magic Maji wands!

This man has earned his wings to heaven.  He is the person who helps you pick your Maji name.  Our girls were so
indecisive.  Finally he somehow had them all come to an agreement that it would be:
Fire Wolf Wizards

Completion of the last quest before trying to slay the dragon.

Not once, but 5 times was what it took to conquer the beast....Jeff was not going to leave until they slayed that silly thing!

Goodbye Great Wolf....we had FUN!

2012 starts out with a broken finger!

Not my girls or my big boy, but me!

Confession from yesterday's race:  I BIT IT BIG TIME before the race even started.  Got out of the car to try and get to what we thought was the potty line and tripped on a parking barrier and nearly fell flat on my face in front of millions  thousands  hundreds lots of people.  Got up as fast as i could, hoping that nobody saw except my running buddy Amy, but it happened...."Are you okay"?,  echoing from lots of strangers and mostly men.  Oh friends, not only were my fingers killing me on my left hand but my pride was hurt even more.  And while those gentlemen were kind to show concern, all i thought was, Dear God, please let me pass all of them sometime during this run.  Yes i know, competitive and sick! 
After i regained composure, i noticed that my ring finger was swelling, i had road rash on left wrist, left knee and right elbow.  I got spooked then.  Even though i kept telling Amy i was fine, i was internally talking myself out of the race.  The start finally happens and i realize i've left my trusty visor in the car.  I never run without a hat or visor!  Then it was icy....as in 30 degrees icy and we had to go straight down this hill that was nothing but a sheet of ice and my nerves got the best of me.  I felt doom and gloom...i injured myself before the race even started, no visor and now ice.  I barely trotted down that hill in fear that i was going to bite it again.  All i kept thinking was, once i get down this hill, i am done and going to wait for my friends at the finish line, but instead my little feet kept going and took me across the finish line under my goal time of 4 hours.

I was on such a high after the race that i had forgotten about my hand hurting until i looked down and noticed it was even more swollen than before.  I could still bend my fingers, so i thought nothing more of it and moved on to the after race celebration with Amy's Mom, Wendy.  She is the person who made me fall in love with running  2 1/2 plus years ago.  I was going for my first experience to the naked lady Olympus Spa.  I received a gift certificate from Jeff  two years ago and it has taken me this long to build up the courage to go.  Yes, it takes your friendship on a whole new level when you can be buck naked in front of each other.  Oh my, it was heaven on earth!  Soak for an hour, get a good Korean scrub down (where the sun doesn't shine) , moisturized and massaged with warm olive oil and milk and then a cucumber facial.  You quickly forget you are naked when you are being so pampered!

Felt great this morning, except for my hand.  Something was just not right and when the warm water from the shower hurt my fingers tips, that was my cue that i needed some intervention, so i headed over to urgent care.  Walked in and thought i saw Marisa, one of bestie's cars out front, so i sent her a text and sure enough she was there as well.  I was taken back and guess who i heard clear as day in the room next to me...Marisa.  So much for HIPA laws. :-)  BTW, for those who know Marisa, she is just fine.  I on the other hand had an xray that revealed a fracture on my ring finger.  I have a splint and a sling because i am supposed to keep my hand elevated and the P.A. didn't think i would be a good girl and do that on my own, so she put me in a sling.  I've only had this stuff on for about 6 hours and i don't have time for this for the next 4 to 6 weeks!  Plus i need to go see an ortho to make sure i didn't damage any tendons.

Let me tell you though, it was all worth it!  I was feeling pretty bad a$$ running 3 marathons in 90 days, but running with a broken finger and not knowing it, makes me feel even more like a bad a$$ marathon MaNiAc! :-)

Enjoy photos from my year of running in 2011!

Yes, my finger was literally black by evening and so is my knee now.

Isn't this a lovely sight?

Think i can run with this thing on? :-)

Tacoma City half marathon in May



Sound to Narrows in June

Seattle Rock n' Roll half marathon in June

Seattle See Jane Run half marathon in July

Portland marathon in October

Seattle Amica marathon in November

Port Orchard Yukon Do It  marathon on 12/31/11
Just like the sign says....finish(ed) for the year!