The Klein/Allen Clan: August 2015

It was a busy last month of the summer.

At Grandma Luke's for Aunt Leslie's 41st birthday celebration

My sister Leslie with her sons Carter and Bowen, a.k.a. "Bo"

This summer, the girls had fun decorating their doll houses and collecting more doll furniture for their birthdays. I always like seeing how they each take care of their houses and how they decorate them--All an expression of their individual selves.

Ava cleaned hers up a lot and made it cute!

Abbey puts a lot of thought into her house. Very cute.

/At the first of August, we had torrential rains here. It caused a lot of flooding, but luckily our house didn't do so. I was a bit worried about this rain gutter in our front yard. It doesn't look like a lot of water from the picture, but it was definitely enough to get me nervous!

This girl is getting better and better at sitting up on her own.

Handsome Harry after a haircut

Another attempt at dog-sitting. Luckily this was just an afternoon so Eric couldn't get too mad at me for it. :)
These are my mom's dogs and they wouldn't leave my side.

Summertime = Lots of company at the grocery store

Each week my mom picks up our friend Kylie for an afternoon. Kylie and her family live in my parent's neighborhood and they have become good family friends. I used to baby-sit Kylie and her family a lot when I was younger. As a matter of fact, Kylie was my bridesmaid at my wedding when I married Michael. It's a little harder for me to stay in touch with her these days, so on the days I know my mom has her, I often ask them to come along with me so I can have help and company while I run my errands. It's a win-win: Kylie gets an out, my mom has something to keep her busy with, and I get much needed help as I try to accomplish things with kids and babies in tow.

Sucking on her thumb in the grocery cart.

At the beginning of Auugst, I signed the girls up for a city-sponsored activity called "Super Sport." They spent three days playing all sorts of sports: Volleyball, soccer, cricket, lacrosse, etc. It was so good for them and I think they even enjoyed it. Love my town!
Here they are eating lunch during one of their days at Super Sport.

On our way home from Super Sport one day, we got stuck at the bottom of our hill because we couldn't cross Main Street due to a bike race being held that day. So we made the most of it and waited on the sidelines so we could see the bikers, along with all the other on-lookers.

Great athletes and fun thing to see! It was almost like the whole town closed down during that half an hour that they rode through. So fun.

Seven months came quickly.

She's so funny. She loves to laugh, loves her sisters, loves being around people.

You can't tell from this picture, but this girl's a real bleeder when it comes to losing her teeth. For one thing, her teeth are big and beautiful, so when they come out, you'd better watch out! She has been losing a lot of teeth this summer.

Enjoying our Lagoon passes

She goes through phases with her thumb--Sometimes I think she's over it, and then other times it seems she's totally hooked!

These guys have their selfie skills down!

Going to Lagoon with the Luke cousins has been the most fun part of it all.
Ava and Chloe

This girl and I spent a lot of time reading this summer. I am proud of her...We have had to work hard at it, but she's showing some serious progress! I love the excuse to sit down and be with her.

Grandma Luke doing her darndest to instill some strong work ethic into the girls! Here she is showing Andi all about piano and that you can get good at it with lots of work.

My parents got granite countertops and us girls were cheering on their new purchase.

Grandma Joann came to town for a little while in August. She had a family wedding so she stopped by on her way back up to Montana. It was a short visit, but appreciated. We haven't seen them all that much this year...Life is busy and they are far away. We love them always, though, and were so glad to see her. Sure do love her.

I am Abbey's primary teacher this year and I have enjoyed it. I was taken out of the RS Presidency so I could come to primary and be a teacher. I wasn't quite sure why it was so necessary until I started getting into it. Then I realized how much I love primary and how glad I am to have another opportunity to be with Abs.

What a girl! Love this little roly-poly so dang much! Here we are trying to battle ourselves through the last hour of church.

Big new: Her feet are now big enough for shoes! Cute red ones, no less.

On Sunday afternoons I've been trying to read a chapter book to them. Fun and funny.

Ava did her first talk in primary this month. here is the talk and the pictures she used. She pulled through and did a nice job!

A little Sunday afternoon Minecraft with Dad....an almost weekly tradition

Having fun in the exersaucer

My niece Chloe with Millie

My nephews Bo and Luke

Here's Andi with her friend Eva. Super cute watching those two reunite once again :)

The birthday girl showing off her birthday sash

For Andi's birthday party, she chose to go to Lagoon with all her Luke cousins.

The crowd!

I liked this one--My nephew Chase with Eric

Evening time with Dad. This is how they roll.

We went swimming at Isaac's place one evening. A fun opportunity to gather with the Allen family.

Andi with Grandma Cathi. Cathi and Bethany did a little thing for Andi's birthday because it was coming up in the next week. I was super grateful and it meant a lot to Andi.

One thing I love about the Allen side of the family is that they are great at throwing a killer swim party. And the best part is that every person is in the pool, adults and grandparents included. I love that and so do our girls.

Enjoying an early birthday gift that was a fun craft for her to work on. Thanks Grandma Cathi!

Abbey's latest drawing. She loves to draw girls in fancy outfits--Kind of like her dolls.

A pretty cute daddy right there

The birthday cake party--Seven years old!!!

From Grandma Luke, of course

Love this picture. They went shopping and here they are walking to my car.

The annual Andi birthday tradition: Clam chowder for dinner!

Come to find out, we have a baby that loves herself some clam chowder. I had to make more the next week and boy did she love it. :)

Modeling her birthday outfit from Grandpa Ron and Grandma Joann.
This is the night of her birthday. That night before bed, she cried to me because she was so grateful that everyone made such a big deal over her big day. I won't forget it.

Andi's new dining room table for her dolls. I still love this stuff.

Each girl got a new comforter this year for their birthdays. Here is Andi's.

It was a special occasion when we got to have Gigi all to ourselves for one whole evening! Gigi is Michael's sister Bethany's daughter. Gigi used to come over to our house a lot more than she does now, so we were super excited to have her once again. We had pizza for dinner and then took her to Lagoon with us....

Another moment I just had to capture. Love seeing these two hang out.

The week before school starts, we've had a tradition of going to the school to see where their classes are. Grandma Luke goes with us. A fun tradition that I look forward to each year.
This is Ava in front of her first grade classroom--Mrs. Cochran.

Andi in front of her second grade classroom--Mrs. Soelberg.

Abbey in front of her fourth grade classroom--Mrs. Gundry.

Another annual affair--The ward party at the Farmington pool.

A cool shot of Ava jumping in the water. She's the one in the neon pink suit.

Abbey and Andi playing in the pool. Andi was so excited to be in the deep end.

Millie getting lots of attention from her cousins and sisters at Grandma Luke's

The first day of school! "Back to School Morning" instead of "Back to School Night." A crazy but fun morning each year. I was glad to have Eric's help this year since I couldn't make it to all the classrooms at once.

Another first day of school picture.

Andi in her new classroom. Her good friend Macey is standing to the right of her. Andi's teacher, Mrs. Soelberg, is in the back.

I love this picture. It was the morning of the second day of school after the girls shut the front door and headed off. This is what Harry did for the first few minutes after their departure. He just kept staring up at the stairs, wondering where they all went. This cute little gesture of his turned into an emotional moment for me as I realized that Harry and I were going to be alone with a baby all day....once again....six or seven years later after our first baby. I say "our" baby because Harry has been right with me as I''ve been on this unique motherhood journey of mine. It has been quite a ride ever since Andi was born. And he's been by my side through the whole thing. So if anyone wonders why I'm so crazy about my dog, just remember that he's been my companion through all the wonderful ups and terrible downs. He's been a consistent source of love and loyalty. He follows me everywhere, he licks my tears, he lays by me as I've fed my babies, he's been there through the late night feedings clear 'til the days of all-day school. So grateful we can share the experience of another baby again together. :)

First project after the girls left for school: Make jam.

Experiencing grocery shopping with just one baby once again

A great shot of a pretty typical hungry and tired face. Loves to suck her thumb during those taxing moments.

Another party at the city pool! This time it was the school's annual PTA welcome-back swim party

Abbey is getting so big and is getting to be a great swimmer.

Another birthday, but this time for the newly-turned six year old!
Ava Lily

Her new comforter and room accessories

Enjoying some attention at Grandma Luke's for her birthday.
More shots coming of her birthday--Eric has those pictures on his camera and I'm waiting for them.