Happy Anniversary! Number 6!!

It's only been 6 years!! These years have given us 2 sweet little boys, 3 God-children, new views on life, and re-organization on priorities, among other things. I can't wait to look back on this sixth year in 19 years and think how new our marriage still was! If we only knew then what we know now!! Thank you God for blessing our marriage, may we continue to build a strong foundation. Here's to the rest of our lives!!

Happy New Year!

Dinner in the lounge, listening to live Jazz music!

Well I hope everyone rang in the New Year safely! Here in the Allen household the festivities continue. After a wonderful Christmas day spent with 30 of our family, we had a little bit of relaxing time. It took me about a week to recover from Christmas day! Thank goodness Tom had the week off! Victor has now started back at school, Jonas and I have signed up for a mommy and me preschool class, and Tom has gone back to the grind!

This year Tom's company decided to move their holiday party to January. This works out well for us, as it is our anniversary month also! So we took advantage of the killer deal provided to employees and spent 2 blissful evenings at the Four Seasons Aviara. I LOVE this place!! I wish I could stay there ALL the time!! Too bad their everyday price is CRAZY! But for a weekend, we were spoiled. Fati and Heath and my mom and dad took turns watching the boys for us.

View from our room: Batiquitos Lagoon and Ocean (too much fog to see the ocean in this pic)

When we arrived at the Four Seasons they opened our doors, grabbed our luggage and showed us to the check-in desk. I let them know we were celebrating our anniversary there. So they provided us with a room that had an ocean view!! They also had champagne sent to our room!! They treated us so great there!! The beds are wonderful, so soft and cushy. We slept in and enjoyed our views from our room. Saturday evening we attended the company party and I had a blast dancing the night away, while Tom had a blast drinking the night away. Hmmm, sounds just like our wedding night!! LOL

This is how you get your paper at the Four Seasons!

Our champagne!!

Well now we are back home, and I can't wait to be provided with an opportunity like this again! It was great to spend time with my husband and feel as if we were on a long date! I am trying to convince him that we need to renew our vows and have a reception at the Four Seasons. So far he is not going for it!! But I will continue to dream!! After all, next year we will celebrate 15 years of being together!!

Before the company party, on our balcony!

View of our cocktail hour, err I mean the company's cocktail hour!

Sunset!

Not sure that Tom remembers this last drink!

Merry Christmas 2009

We hope your Christmas was merry and bright. We pray for a 2010 filled with love, joy, and the ability to help others. Love you all! Sorry I didn't get my Christmas cards out in time! Not sure if they will make it this year!

Thanksgiving 2009

Halloween 2009

Sick

I don't ever worry about the kids get sick, they are pretty healthy boys. So when Victor got sick, my first thought never was "swine flu". No, no, don't freak out, I'm not saying he has swine flu. But everyone else always seems to be asking, "Oh he didn't get swine flu, did he?", or "I hope it's not swine flu". Stop scaring me people! I am going to be taking Victor to the doctor in a few minutes. He has had a fever for 3 days (today is the 3rd) and just developed a cough. So I am sure that it is some virus or a bacteria that can be helped with antibiotics. NO SWINE FLU! Believe me if it was swine flu, he would not have been able to get out of bed the last few days! And he has been, other than the fever and cough you would never know he was sick. He is as full of energy as ever! But please keep him in your prayers that he may hurry up and get better, so he doesn't miss anymore school! And pray that the rest of us stay healthy!! Here's to a healthy winter!

Happy Birthday Victor!

Victor recently celebrated his 5th birthday with 40 of his closest friends and grandparents! That boy has tons of friends. This year we decided to hold the celebration in our community park. Not sure why I hadn't done this before?! It was really easy! The park is closed in, so the kids were able to run around and the parents were able to relax (well as much as you can relax with your kids around!). He insisted on a Spiderman theme this year, despite never having seen a Spiderman movie or cartoon. His abuelos found a Spiderman pinata that the kids had a hard time busting open. But after 2 rounds of kids beating on it, it finally gave up and released the loot!

On his actual birthday, Tom and I gave in and took him to Chuck E Cheese. Victor has been asking to go there forever!! The Disney Channel does a great job of advertising!! This was the first time we had ever taken the boys there ourselves. Victor had been twice before, once for a birthday party and once with his "Ma" and "Da". I must say that the experience was surprisingly enjoyable. Tom and I both remember when we were kids, the pizza tasting like cardboard and the place being dark. This time around, the pizza was actually tasty, the place was well lit, and it was not crowded. With a coupon we were all able to eat and play tons of games for a reasonable prize! I decided I would definitely take the boys there again when Tom is out of town and I don't feel like cooking! After spending all our tokens, the boys chose their prizes and then we headed to Ma and Da's house. That evening Ma and Da treated Victor to a birthday dinner. Victor exclaimed, "This is the best birthday ever!" I am so glad he had a wonderful 5th birthday!

So here are a few pics of Victor's celebrations!

Dropping you off

Victor,

We just got back from dropping you off on your 1st day. Daddy worked from home this morning, so he could be here to take you to school too. You were so happy and excited. I made you a hamburger for lunch, hoping that you will have lots of energy for the day (to learn, not jump off the walls!). You found Matthew and you guys sat together on the mat inside the class. All the parents went in to take pictures, so I, of course, had to follow. I took your picture and you said, "Bye Momma!", with a big smile and wave. No tears! Good job! You can't wait to play on the playground! I did pretty good too, I felt the tears want to pour out when I gave you a kiss and told you to have a good day. But they didn't! I hope your 1st day is going great! It's so hot today, I am glad that I remember to freeze your water! Since it was so hot, Jonas enjoyed a popsicle when we got home, his cheeks were soo red! See you in a few! Love you my Victor!