I Guess I've Seen It All

A few days ago Chris and I saw something amazing and gross and hysterical all rolled into one event.  We went to McDonald's, (Yes we eat at McDonald's.  And yes, we enjoy it.), and saw the greatest thing.  We were in the drive-thru line waiting patiently for our turn to pay.  I looked in the rear-view mirror, and you'll never guess what I saw.  First, a minivan.  That's expected.  Second, overweight people in the minivan.  Again, nothing too out of the ordinary for McDonald's.  But the last part of the equation is the best. . .  Once I looked a little closer I noticed something very unusual.  Something that I would have never imagined.  They were both eating a burrito.  Yes, you read that right.  They were both EATING A BURRITO while they were in the McDonald's drive-thru line ordering themselves some more food.  I didn't know what to think of it.  I wasn't sure how to react.  But, I think that that is the most incredible thing that I have seen in a long time.  Chris and I were laughing really hard and couldn't believe what we had just witnessed.  I guess when it comes to food, some people don't have limits.

Birthday Weekend in Oceanside

This last weekend Chris and I went to Oceanside to visit my sister-in-law Liz and her husband Michael.  And let me tell you, it was so much fun!  We left early Friday morning.  Our flight was scheduled for 7:15 in the morning.  We were actually too late to check in for the flight, and we thought that we were going to have a Venice airport experience all over again.  (Delta is the worst.  Because of our Italy experience we will never fly Delta again.)  Anyway, our flight to and from San Diego was with U.S. Airways.  They were so nice and accommodating with us.  We missed our flight out of Salt Lake, and they just automatically scheduled another flight for us and didn't ask any questions.  It was amazing.  So thank you U.S. Airways for treating us great.  We got to San Diego about noon on Friday.  Liz and Michael were great and drove us to and from the airport, and everywhere else we needed to go.

Once we got to their cute little apartment in Oceanside, we sat and talked for hours.  We all helped out and made dinner together.  Friday night we had Indian food.  It was delicious.  Later on that night we went for a fun little night swim.  We had so much fun doing that.  Chris and I hadn't been in a swimming pool in over 3 years, so that was a great thing to get back in and swim away.  We tried to watch a scary movie that night, but Chris was so tired from traveling, and not sleeping the night before that he fell asleep about 10 o'clock that night.  Liz and Michael took us to our hotel and we decided to meet up again the next morning after everyone was well rested.

Saturday was a lot of fun.  That is the day that we went to Legoland.  That's right, every couple in their 20's should visit Legoland.  We are setting an example for you all.

The entrance of Legoland.

We actually had a blast while we were there.  There were obviously a ton of families with children, but we didn't care.  We loved it.  It was really fun for Chris and Michael.  Legos are easily Chris's favorite thing to play with to pass the time.  Liz and I loved to watch our husband go into a child-like state.  It was really cute of them.  We started out the Lego adventure going to the Build and Race Center.  It is an area where you can build your own car, out of Legos of course, and race them against other people.  Chris and Michael were all over that.  They love that idea.  They raced 2 times.  The first time the cars ran into each other, so no one won.  The second time it was really close the whole way, then Chris' car pulled out ahead at the last second and beat Michael.  But just barely beat him.

The final products.

There were also rides that we went on.  One of the best ones though I didn't even go on.  Only Liz and Michael went on this one.  But Liz was so funny on it that it was probably my favorite part of the day.  Here is a link to my Facebook page where I have posted the video.   http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150843345200855&set=vb.622610854&type=2&theater  I promise you are going to want to watch it.  It won't be a waste of your time.  We spent about 4 hours in Legoland.  After that we went over to the Aquarium that they have right next to Legoland.  That was Michael's favorite part of the day.  He thought that it was pretty cool.  We all did.  After the Aquarium we went to Trader Joe's.  That place was magical.  I am so glad that we are finally going to get one here in Utah.  It is going to be in Salt Lake, so a little bit of a drive, but it'll be worth it.  For dinner that night we went to Chipotle.  That was also an amazing place.  Come to Utah please!  After dinner Liz and I had a dance party in her living room.  The boys did not want to join us, which seemed odd to me.  All boys love to dance around their homes to random music. . . Right?

Sunday we went to the beach and Liz and I went shopping.  That was wonderful.  I love both of those things so much.  Liz was really nice and helped me my personal shopper.  She went around every store and just pulled things that she thought had potential to be cute on.  She did a good job because I bought a lot of stuff.  So thank you Liz.  I need to hire you full time to do that for me.

Liz and I at the beach.  What a great day.

Monday. . .  Monday was a bitter-sweet day.  Bitter because that is the day that we had to go home.  And sweet because it was my birthday!!  And anyone that knows me knows that my birthday is a way big deal to me.  That day Liz took Chris and I to Hodads for my birthday lunch.  (Michael wasn't there sadly.  He was the only adult and had to work.)  Hodads was so good though.  The burgers were amazing. . .  The fries were amazing. . .  The atmosphere was amazing as well.  I would give my 25th birthday a 11 out of 10.  Thanks to my wonderful sister, Liz.

Hodads for my birthday lunch.

The trip was a huge success.  We are already trying to figure out the next time that we can go to the wonderful city of Oceanside and see 2 of our favorite people again.  Thanks for showing us around Liz and Michael.  We will be back very soon.

Memorial Day Fun

On Memorial Day my family and I went to The Hogle Zoo.  I hadn't been in a really long time, so I thought that it would be a lot of fun for us to do together.  Plus, Kenlee and Tyson are at an age where they would enjoy all of the animals that are there.  We made it to the zoo, and boy was it crowded.  There were SO many people there that day.  For some reason it didn't occur to me that that would be an issue.  It was still a lot of fun though.  The rest of the post will be some pictures that I took while we were there.

I love to take pictures of me and Chris.  He is a good sport.

The Donio family with the elephants.

Grandpa and Tyson looking in the waiting for the tigers to go into the water.

Kenlee thought that the giant ball was pretty cool.

The giraffes are my favorite.

This is the wild side of the Allan children.  Jake is the gorilla.  Zach is the snow lepord.  I am the giraffe.  And Ami is the elephant.  It was fun to have all 4 kids together again.

He Has Returned With Honor

Tuesday was a very special day for me and my family.  That was the day that Zach came home from his mission.  This is also the first time in 3 1/2 years that everyone in the family has been here in Utah.  It is so great!

His plane landed around 11:45a.m.  Of course everyone was so anxious to see him again and be able to hug him.  Once we saw the missionaries coming down the escalators on the other side of security we all started cheering.  (Us and the other families that were there waiting for their missionaries.)  And of course we were all in tears.  Tears of joy naturally.  Even Zach was crying from happiness.  He got to see Kenlee, who was beyond excited about him coming home.  She wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks.  And Zach got to meet Tyson too.  Tyson was a little unsure of him at first, but he warmed up to Zach very quickly.  Once we said our Hellos and Welcome Homes we were off to Clinton to continue the rest of our very exciting day.  Chris and I were lucky enough to have him ride in our car on the way back to my mom's house.  It was like he was never gone.  We laughed, filled him in on life, and he told us things about Argentina.  When we got to my mom's house he started to unpack some things and we had some lunch.  For the next few hours it was just a time for people to stop by and see him and welcome him home. 

She loves her Uncle Zachy

And then. . .

Later on that night Ami, Ryan, Kenlee, and I made a little trip to the doctor.  Kenlee was outside playing basketball with Jake and next thing I know he is carrying her inside as blood is running down her face.  The amazing thing though is that she wasn't crying.  She was mostly annoyed that Jake brought her inside and ruined her fun.  What had happened is the latch on the gate came down on her head.  Doesn't sound too severe, but I think the 2 staples in her head would prove different.  Kenlee is a very brave and tough little squirt.  At the doctor's office she didn't cry once.  I was very proud of her because she is stronger than I would have been in that situation.

Kenlee's staples

All around it was a great day full of happiness and family.  I can't wait for more time spent with Zach and the many many memories we will make together.  

I will have more pictures up and posted about this great day soon. 

Documenting Success

I made a decision last week to what I thought was going to be a good idea and the start of some serious motivation.  I decided to start taking pictures of myself every week to document the my weight loss.  I thought it was a good idea at least until I saw the picture.  It was bleak and very discouraging.  But I am going to try it out for a month or so.  I think that if I can see the progress in a picture then I will continue to stay motivated to lose weight.  Plus, I look really bad in the pictures, so not wanting to look like that anymore is good motivation as well.  To protect you and your beautiful eyes, I will not be posting my progress for you to see.  Not yet anyway.  I will post the first picture and the final picture when I have reached my goal.  Wish me luck!

The Best {Almost} 4 Years of my Life

I went on my first date with Chris on September 19, 2008.  He drove all the way from Provo to go on a date with me.  He was funny, nice, and charming.  He wasn't trying to win me over, (mostly because he already did that), that is just who he is.  I never felt like he was pretending to like the same things as me or over compensating for other parts of his life.  We had a really good time together and laughed almost the entire night.  There was an instant connection. I knew the after that night that he was the person I was going to spend forever with.  We just hit it off and never looked back.  The first date went so well that we went on our second date the next night.  Our third date I drove to Provo.  We went to dinner and then just drove around and Chris took me on a tour of his life.  After the tour we parked on a street kind of close to his house and looked at the stars, listened to music, and just talked.  We did nothing, and I loved it.  He told me later that it was after that date that he knew he wanted to marry me.  The distance was hard to deal with sometimes, but we made it work and we saw each other 3 or 4 times a week.

We had an incredible time dating each other.  We laughed and smiled all of the time.  We loved being in each other's company, and I was always so sad when I wasn't with him.  I know that everyone probably says this, but I feel like we have a perfect relationship.  

We had our first kiss October 7, 2008.  (I don't have a picture of that obviously, but here is one from around that time.)   

He told me that he loved me January 1, 2009

We were engaged March 13, 2009  

And married for time and all eternity in the Timpanogos temple on June 27, 2009 

The last {almost} 4 years of my life have been amazing.  There is not one thing that I would change about them.  Chris is the best thing that has happened to me in my life.  I don't know what I would have done without him.  Things have never been better between the two of us.

Here's to the next {4 years + FOREVER}.  May each day be as amazing as the last!

The Start of an Amazing Summer.

May is going to start off with a bang.  This Saturday my nephew is getting baptized.  I can't believe that he is already 8.  Time has flown by with that kid.  The 10th - 14th Chris and I get to spend time with Scott (That is Chris' brother.)  That is going to be a really fun weekend.  We always enjoy our time with Scott.  The 14th is my sisters birthday.  On the 15th, Zachy gets home from his mission.  2 years down and only 13 days to go.  On the 17th , I get everything cemented in my mouth for my braces.  Let the 2 years begin for that adventure.  And on the 27th , is Zach's homecoming talk.  We are just busy little bees in May.

The we have June.  So far there is not a ton happening that month, but I get the feeling that it is not going to be open for very long.  We have my other nephews birthday on the 1st and one on the 14th .  Our friends Bret and Kendra are moving to Alaska the 2nd week in June.  Chris and I are going to go to California the 8th-11th.  We are going to go and visit Liz and Michael and spend an amazing 4 days with them.  We cannot wait for that super fun trip.  The 11th is my birthday!!  The 23rd is my mom's birthday.  The 27th is our 3 year Anniversary.  So I guess after listing everything, it is pretty packed.  We'll see how it all turns out.

We are just busy busy the next two months.  I am looking forward to all of the fun things that are making up this wonderful year of 2012.  I think the rest of the year is going to be pretty amazing.

P.S. If anyone wants to spend anytime with us, it looks like you'll have to call us and schedule something in advance.