April Activities

These are a few of my favorite April photos (yes, I am aware that it's August!). I just love these boys!

Potty Training!

Drunk Driver!

He's going to hate this picture one day. Note the position of the right hand!

Lego Building

Daddy time

Reading his favorite book, "Who Loves Keegan"

"No eat play dough, Mom!"

Hanging out with Gavin (who is in time out)

Well, this looks safe.

Space Mountain

I finally got around to sorting through the photos downloaded from our iphones. I think these pictures are so funny...one from my phone and one from Jay's. The boys rode Space Mountain for the first time and this is the photo they take while you're on the ride that you can buy at the end. I think it's hilarious that Jay and I are in separate cars with separate kids and we're both holding them in the exact same way. Holding onto them for dear life and trying to keep them from flying out of their seats! I think I was more afraid than they they were!

A very wet Disney trip

A little bit of rain (ok, SIX inches of rain is not a little bit!) can't stop the Allison's from visiting the Happiest Place on Earth!

Day 2 was so much nicer!

When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true!

Sponge Bob celebrates with Logan

A little late on this post, but I wanted to show you some pictures of our trip to Orlando for Logan's 6th birthday. Jay and I had the opportunity to participate in Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program in which we volunteered for a couple of hours in our local community (in our case, it was at the homeless shelter) and received a free ticket to Disney World in return. My parents were able to volunteer as well, and also had a couple of free Disney tickets they had won (of course they did!). This allowed us to grant Logan's birthday wish on a dime, as is the Allison way. This gave us the opportunity to splurge a little and get a suite at one of our favorite Orlando hotels, the Nick Hotel, where you can celebrate your birthday with Sponge Bob, get slimed, and can even throw a pie in your grandmother's face! Of course, since we are Allison's, Jay and I spent one dreary, rainy morning while we were there to sit through a time share presentation and earn a free gift (and $80 food voucher to use at the hotel's mall). "No, we don't want to buy your time share" we must have said 1,000 times.

Getting slimed (it was COLD, but they insisted!)


Keegan loves Dora

Dessert at Cici's (where the buffet is Buy 1 Get 1 Free with coupon!)

Logan, Justin, and Gavin. We were so pleased to have the Lee family join us. The kids played nicely together and I was happy to have someone to hit the outlets with. Steph makes me look good -- I spent far less than her at the Coach outlet, which I pointed out to Jay as I handed him my receipt so I wouldn't be in quite as much trouble!

Birthday with Sponge Bob

Where the boys play...I mean, sleep.

If you have small children and haven't been to this hotel, you really should give it a try. I'm watching for a good deal this fall and we plan on launching "Operation Allison's and Friends Take Over The Sponge Bob Hotel". Maybe you'll be able to join us?????

Gilchrist, here come the Allison's!

Ready or not, here we come!

heartwarming moment of the day

While wacthing The Cat in the Hat (the movie):

BOY IN THE MOVIE: I wish I had a different mom!
LOGAN: Not me. I just want my mom. I just want you.
GAVIN: Yeah, I just want our mom too.
LOGAN: Cuz you're nice.
GAVIN: Yeah, we just want you....and NANA!

play ball!

Here are a few good shots of the Royals in action.

Papa served as the official "Keegan entertainer", which is not for the faint of heart. Position requires continuous energy, unwavering enthusiasm, and a high level of fitness. The successful candidate must be able to run up and down a hill repeatedly for the duration of the t-ball game while simultaneously keeping Baby Keegan safe and entertained.

Gavin Roy at the plate.

Logan strikes a pose before his hit.

The Royals

MVP's

The Three Stooges

water play

When the weather gets hot, the Allison's make good use of their sprinklers! Photos courtesy of Ashley (while I was at work).

Not happy about something...

Really, REALLY not happy about something!

Spring is in the air

Ok, so yes, we're nearing the end of summer. A fact I am aware of every time I take a look at the calendar, see the back-to-school shopping commercials, and receive emails from my boss regarding my impending return to work. And now you know how far behind I am on my picture editing/posting/filing, but these pictures were just too cute not to post.

Tallahassee puts on an annual Springtime parade/festival downtown. This is truly a highlighted event, and I think it might be a crime to live here and NOT attend this festival. Vendors and businesses spend months putting their floats together and the city actually pays some lucky people full-time salaries year-round to sit in their office and organize this event.

This year, we met up with Logan's BFF, Jonathan, and watched the parade across the street from his father's fire station. It was far less crowded and we had actually had restrooms (at the fire station) that we could use without too much of hassle. Additionally, we were at the START of the parade rather than the end of it, which came in handy in the afternoon when the parade had ended for us (but not for everyone down the street) and we were able to beat the crowds leaving early and making it home in time for naps.

I started off the morning with a rather hilly 10K; my first post-Keegan delivery race. The kids surprised me (shown below) by showing up fully dressed and fed, and bearing gifts of flowers and Gatorade. This was a nice, heartwarming surprised, followed up with another welcome surprise: free beer and Publix coupons at the finish time! Someone sure knows how to make me a happy woman!

practice makes perfect

I have to beg them to take their karate clothes off (in 100 degree heat) just so I can wash them!

something sure is funny

just like everyone else

Don't your kids stand on the coffee table and give Bible School performances?

it's the thought that counts

As we watched the city workers with their construction trucks clean out the ditches in our neighborhood (temperature outside this afternoon is 100 degrees)....

GAVIN: It's so hot. They must be really thirsty.

LOGAN: Yeah, we should give them a drink of water.

GAVIN: Yeah, or we should give them one of my Capri Suns.

LOGAN: That's what God wants us to do.

GAVIN: Yeah, can we do that, Mom?

LOGAN: But God doesn't want us to let them inside our house even though it's so hot. Cause their shoes are dirty and it will get all inside our house and stuff.

The Squint Smile

At least he's willing to have his picture taken now, but this is what I get every time I ask him to smile for the camera.

So every picture looks exactly like these....

earning their keep

Well, at least they know how to make their own PB&J's!

always a scapegoat

Last night, I made my nightly bedtime rounds -- checking on each child, pulling up their covers, and kissing their sleeping foreheads. Logan's a light sleeper (like his mom) and sometimes wakes up when he hears me in his room. Last night he sat up in bed and incoherently stated, "NO! Gavin did it!" Poor Gavin, getting blamed for things he didn't do even while he's sleeping!

yellow tip in the house!

It's belt-testing time at The Dragon's Den next week, so imagine my surprise when Gavin came home with his yellow tip almost two weeks early! He started taking TaeKwonDo in March with Logan and Jay, and this makes him the youngest yellow tip in class! Go Gray!

Here he is on his first day of karate in March. Ready for what's coming.

And now we have a yellow tip in the house!

While I was on my blogging break...

In no particular order....and you'll have to wait for me to get caught up to see the pictures. We are busy having too much summer fun!


1. We went to Disney World.

2. Logan turned 6.

3. We had an early birthday party for Gavin with all his friends from school (summer birthday's are the worst when you're a kid!).


4. We had two whole weekends to ourselves while the kids were at Disney with Nana and Papa.

5. Nana turned 60.

6. In karate, Logan got a "Rising Star" patch (the only one in his school to have one).

7. Gavin got his yellow tip.

8. Gavin fell in love and graduated from pre-k.

9. Logan finished his first year of school with straight "E"s.

10. Ashley graduated and left us for a "real job" :(

11. Jay started a garden and it's going crazy!

12. The Allison's went organic

13. SUMMER IS HERE!