My Christmas Letter

I got about half way through my Christmas card when I decided it was too much of the same old boring stuff. So I switched gears. Before I did, though, I thought I would finish my standard letter and post it here in case you are interested in all the gory details of our past year. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas all! Of course the most exciting news of the year is the new addition to our family. Madeline Elizabeth Allen was born on May 25, 2010. She was 6 days late (we only have babies late in this family), but came about 8 hours before a scheduled induction. She came after all day labor (although not intense enough to bring her here until the evening). It has been a very pleasant adjustment. We just love having her in our family! She is a very happy baby. She loves to reward anyone who will pay attention to her with a smile or a big belly laugh. She loves to sleep and eat, which keeps mom happy. She should begin crawling any day now.

We have been a busy family this year. Logan was baptized in August and started cub scouts. In October he got his purple belt in karate. Also this year he has played soccer, flag football and basketball (all three sports with the same team of friends). Kaylinn had a ballet recital in the spring and played soccer for the first time this fall. We now have Kaylinn and Logan playing the piano. Between their practicing and Jessica’s piano students, it is always very musical at the Allen’s house. We spent the rest of our days swimming at great-grandma’s pool after our weekly lunches in the summertime, celebrating the holidays with family traditions, and visiting fun vacations around town: places like the hot air balloon festival, the canyon, Thanksgiving Point Gardens, a couple of musicals, and more.

With the birth of our new baby, vacations were sidetracked a bit this summer. We went camping a few times, including a memorable trip to Yellowstone over Labor Day weekend where we saw our first snow fall! We went to bear lake for a long weekend with the Allen family just in time to skip the 100 degree weather in Salt Lake City and enjoy the cool mountain air. We also spent a week in Park City this fall, hanging out with the Humphrey side of the family: playing games, swimming, crafting, letterboxing, shopping and riding the alpine slide.

We have been very blessed this year, and look forward to 2011 and the new adventures it brings!

Love, Mike, Jessica, Logan, Kaylinn, and Maddie Allen