Scenes from a Road Trip

Check out this slideshow to view some photos from our vacation last month. I've only uploaded the photos from our visit in Hartville, Wy. Photographs of our scenic drives through South Dakota coming soon... Until then, enjoy a little bit of the West.

(if the slideshow freezes, hover over it and click on the link in the upper right corner to view the full gallery on Zenfolio [the host site]. The photos are larger and clearer on the Zenfolio site so I encourage you to check it out! You can also order prints and other products if you just have to have a copy for yourself!)

Pre-Turkey Day

Ahh, Thanksgiving. We decided to hit the road and visit both of our families for the holiday. Overall, Logan traveled really well in the car. Seth and I took turns sitting in the backseat when he needed a bottle and then we'd pull over to get him out of the seat and burp him. When we needed to stop for gas or to eat, we'd change his diaper and let him stretch a little bit before strapping him back in. Only towards the end of both trips did Logan get a little fussy and require Seth to shake a rattle non-stop for about 30-minutes. Whatever works, I guess.


We spent the weekend prior to Thanksgiving in Kahoka with Gloria and Charley, as well as Dana's and Travis' families. Taneli, the foreign exchange student who lived with them 12 years ago, was back in the states and staying with them that weekend as well. It was a full house with lots of tasty holiday food (I loved Dana's apple pie) and conviviality among family and friends. Logan was pretty accepting of everyone taking turns holding him and cooing over him. He loves the attention and is pretty alert and responsive. Next year he'll be ready to belly up to his highchair tray and try out some Thanksgiving fixins'.

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Even more baby stuff...and an AWESOME surprise!

We had a great time in Owasso with my family last weekend! It was a short trip but still very fun. Next time we're there, we'll be a family of three!

On Saturday, Mom, Jenna, Rachel, Kate, Sarah and I gathered for lunch at The Marketplace, a large home-decor store with a cafe and ate a wonderful meal of sandwiches, wraps, fruit and desserts while I opened presents. It was perfect place for a ladies luncheon.

GIFTS, GIFTS GALORE...
As always, everyone was so generous with their gift-giving! We received a pack 'n play, homemade quilt, onesies, burp cloths, bowls, sippie cup, bath products, hangers, baby shoes, books, disposable changing cloths and bags for diapers--the list just goes on and on. Thanks to all the ladies for your kindness and generosity!

Mom and Dad are probably going to buy the Bjorn baby carrier for us and bring it with them when they visit for the birth of the baby. We're going to purchase a new mattress for the crib and Gloria and Charley have offered to buy the car seat which will probably be delivered in the next week or so. After that, we'll be set to go with everything we need and a whole lot more! We are so thankful for everyone who has showered us with gifts and advice.

ANTICIPATION...
With 5 1/2 weeks to go, we're getting anxious to meet our little one! We haven't finalized our name choices yes, but we're getting close! We've got an appointment with the obstetric nurse on Friday to discuss our birth plan and then we'll meet with the doctor on the 26th. Then I think we'll meet once a week after that. Now, if I could just put in a special order for the weather to stay below 85 degrees with a cool breeze, that would be perfect!

THE SURPRISE...
And now, it's time to share the most awesome surprise of all from this weekend! Rachel had a special gift for me to open at the shower. In the gift bag was a baby brag book which I immediately loved because I like all things photo-related. Kate encouraged me to open it up and look inside, so I did thinking there was more to it, perhaps it was a scrapbook with stickers and such. But to my surprise, it already contained one photograph--an ultrasound image of Rachel and David's BABY! I had no idea she was pregnant, Rachel wanted to tell me in person that they were expecting and the gift was a perfect way to share the news! I am so excited for them...and the baby is due on Valentine's Day! How cute!

-love, rebecca

A work in progress...

Well, I'm still trying to figure out this blog thing. I've messed around with the last post trying to edit it several times to make the font larger and easier to read. On my computer the text next to the picture looks very tiny compared to the previous post below it. I'll hopefully get it figured out. If someone wants to comment on how it appears on your computer screen, I'd appreciate the feedback.

Tonight we're heading to Kahoka to visit Seth's family. It's for the annual "family gathering" which got it's start in October of 2004 when we invited extended family to join us at the Allen cabin to celebrate our recent nuptials. This year, Dana (Seth's sister), has been so gracious as to plan a baby shower for us to take place at the gathering. She created wonderful customized invitations and has really gone out of her way to make it special for us. Thanks Dana, we're looking foward to it!

- rebecca

The Journey Begins!

So here I am, jumping on the blog bandwagon! The anticipation of the birth of our first child has definitely prompted us to start a blog to keep family and friends up-to-date on how we're doing. I imagine that posts will be pretty brief or just a couple times a week since we currently don't have Internet at home. We'll get Internet service sometime in the near future, but in the meantime I'll be posting from my work computer when I have some free time. I think Seth will get into this, too, and post some of his own messages and images once we have Internet at home. Check back periodically for updates and to see how I've been able to customize our blog. I'm sure it will be a never-ending work-in-progress. This is very exciting!

- rebecca

p.s. Only 10 weeks, 6 days till Baby Allen enters the world (if he/she is on time)! I tried to add some pictures just now but it's not working so I'll try again in the next couple of days. We had a photo shoot at Nifong Park over Memorial Day weekend and Seth made some really nice images of me showcasing my bump!