Easter Weekend

Our weekend kicked off with our first dog training session on Friday evening. We spent two and a half very productive hours with Katie, our trainer, getting the low-down on how to be better puppy parents. So far we love Katie’s suggestions! We worked on walking nicer on-leash {yes, mother, with loads of treats!}, jumping …

A New Approach to Meal Planning

After realizing that I spend too much time, money and energy in the meals we have been eating I decided that a change was in order. I love to cook and I love to sit on Pinterest trying to find the next best meal. Oh, and I don’t have kids. That combination is kind of …

This Week’s Happenings

Not a whole lot is going on right now – well, not enough to warrant its own blog post, anyway. In any case, I’ve compiled what’s been happening lately over in our neck of the woods. Today Jackson turned 10 months! He weighs about 70 pounds. He definitely has some growing to do still – …

This Week’s Happenings

It hasn’t felt like a particularly busy last few weeks but I guess things are happening and making time fly by, as per usual. Here are the happenings around the Allen household this week: Alex enjoyed a ski tour with Carrie and Patrick last weekend. They skinned up a trail somewhere near Stevens Pass, took …

Bryan & Sarah’s Trip to Seattle

Alex’s cousin Bryan and his bride to-be, Sarah, just came out to Seattle for a long weekend visit us. Alex and I went to college with Bryan at Iowa State, so I know him quite well. It was a treat to get a chance to spend some time with Sarah since the two of them …

Thanksgiving in Breckenridge

One of the perks of having family scattered across the country is that sometimes you get to pick a random place in the middle to meet for holidays. This year, our “central” Thanksgiving location happened to be Breckenridge, Colorado. It has been really fun to watch Alex’s family get into skiing more and more each …

Second Annual Leavenworth Octoberfest Trip

It has become an annual tradition with one of our groups of friends to make a pilgrimage to Leavenworth, Washington to partake in Oktoberfest shenanigans. This year marked our second trip together. Our group included the newlyweds {Carrie & Patrick}, Mary, Ryan, Sara and Carsten, and three dogs {Berkeley, Emma and Jackson}. The Millers found …

Whirlwind Visit from my Dad

Days after Alex’s parents departed from their Seattle visit my dad arrived for his brief stay with us. I just saw my dad a few weeks ago and we will be seeing him again shortly, so he decided to sneak in a quick visit out here to enjoy some Seattle sun and meet Mr. Jackson. …

Dreaming of Autumn

Now that Labor Day has come and gone, signs of fall are all around us. The leaves have started to get that light yellow hue, signaling that they’re getting ready to turn. There’s a lovely crisp feeling in the evenings after the sun sets, reminding me that jacket weather is just around the corner. My …