mud

He started in the water, but Perry slowly made his way out of the pool and into the mud.

 

 

He is a big fan of the mud. That is for certain.

  

Look at this thick, thick mud piled on his head!

 

Unfinished backyards and summer days are pretty great! All of the kids ended up following suit and played in the mud for awhile. Then we hosed them down to get them all cleaned up. And my kids keep talking about how much they loved playing in their cousins pool.

Perry's Kindergarten graduation

Moving to Arizona has been the right decision for our family if only for Perry. He has thrived since the move. I don't know if it was getting his own room and having more space in our house, E around more because of the flexibility of his work, his teacher and the autism program at his school, or all of the above. But Perry is doing better than he ever has before. We are so happy and proud of him.

On the last day of school, the Kindergarten classes had a big graduation ceremony. They cutely wore their caps and gowns. They sang a series of songs and then received their diplomas.

During the ceremony, he sang along (I could hear his voice nice and loud a few times) and swayed along. I loved to see him up there enjoying the music.

During one of the practices, Perry's teacher told me he was in a mood and kept sticking out his legs trying to trip the kids who walked by him to receive their diploma. That mischievous little stinker. Thank goodness he did not do that at the actual ceremony. When his name was called, he looked so adorable walking acroos the stage to receive his diploma. He is such a great little guy!

We are so grateful for all of the teachers that worked with Perry this year. He has a team of at least six people who work closely with him throughout the school year and they are such wonderful people.

Layla insisted she take a picture of Perry when we were leaving the school.

And then I got to take Perry out by himself on a special lunch date. Of course he picked MOD pizza because he loves the "juice" there.

sealing celebration

Over Memorial Day weekend, we celebrated our forever family. It has been 8 years since Kyler and Kacin were adopted and then sealed to us in the temple and 4 years since Layla and Perry. It is the most amazing, comforting, and purposeful thing for me to know that our family is eternal.

A few days before we celebrated our sealing (which we try to do Memorial day weekend), E and I went to the Gilbert temple and helped with sealings. A couple had brought in some family names and we got to help those couples and children have the opportunity to be sealed together. I loved that we got to hear the words of the sealing spoken many times as we did the work for those families. Though the words don't change, I seem to learn something new every time I do temple work. I loved that what stood out to me this time was exactly what stood out to Eric, too. I guess it was something we both needed to hear.

On sunday, we went to the Mesa temple. We sat outside and E shared a message with our children (it had to do with what we learned when doing sealings). Eric is a pretty great dad.

Perry was in a mood and a half. But he insisted I take his picture here.

And by some miracle, let's call it the miracle of the cheez-it bag found in the car (where it came from and how long it had been there nobody knows. but thank goodness it was there.), we were able to sit in a theater room in the visitor's center and watch one of the new videos about the restoration of the gospel. I really enjoyed it (in between calming someone down and feeding him cheeze-it by cheeze-it).

 

I laughed at Kacin's photo bomb found in this burst of pictures. Not to mention E ad Ky's pose. 

 

We managed to get everyone in this selfie (do you see Perry back there behind Kacin?) before we headed home and ate some cake. I love this family of mine!

my grandpa Allen

After 97 years here on the earth, my grandpa Alvin Allen returned back home to his Heavenly Father. My grandpa lived his life well. The first word I think of to describe him was integrity. He was good to his core. He was also sharp as a whip (smart throughout his whole life) and an amazing storyteller. He was constant and kind. He gave you his full attention when you went to visit him. He was not perfect (impatience runs in our Allen blood, I think), but I saw him change and grow throughout my life, especially when my grandma's health was failing. He never stopped learning and he never stopped helping people. I learned many of life's lessons from him.

The date is actually incorrect on here. He died on May 15, 2017.

After he passed away, some of the family who live nearby gathered for his burial. 

Then the following week family came from all over to be there for his memorial service.

I always wonder why it takes a funeral to gather all of the family together. But I am glad we were able to catch up with each other and spend some time together. We were able to meet at a hotel my uncle does some work at to swim, play games, talk, and eat together.

Grandpa made me proud to be an Allen. I was so absolutely blessed to have him in my life here on earth. I am so grateful that families can be together forever and I know I will see him again.