Day 26: Facebook

I know this might seem weird but sometimes, Facebook makes me Happy. I love that Facebook provides me with a way to stay connected with people I haven't seen in years. If used the wrong way I can see how Facebook could be bad and a complete time-waster but I feel like it is such a cool tool to have in our lives.

Day 25: Extended Family

So the lesson in Young Women's today was on the importance of our Extended Family. The lesson challenged each of us to reach out to and make a big effort to stay in touch with our extended family. It talked about the importance that our aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. have in our lives.

I really thought about my extended family and how many memories I have of them growing up.  I feel like we were all really good at getting together when I was younger. On my mom's side of the family, we had a few times that we completely suprised my grandma for her birthday and all the cousins and my mom's sisters came to visit all at once - So fun!  My dad's side used to do these wonderful progressive dinners at Christmas and every summer I always counted down to the Allen family campout!  I was so lucky to live close to all my cousins and I remember having sleepovers when all of us were "off-track" at the same time. Talking about this makes me smile and it really seems like it was just yesterday.

It is getting harder and harder to get together now that we are all grown up, but it is still a lot of fun when we do. I hope all my extended family (aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc.) including my newly acquired extended family (Matt's siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc) know how important they are in my life.

If you are reading this, I hope you take this challenge and really think about your extended family and the role they have played in your life. Maybe if we all think this way, it won't be so hard to make plans for that next family reunion or the next little get together. If we can all remember that our "extended families" that seem so distant right now, actually stem from our parents and their parents, maybe we will appreciate them more.  If we cherish the memories we have with these people then maybe they won't seem so "extended" after all.

Okay, there is my little speech. I needed this lesson that is for sure and I am so Happy that I heard it today.
I am so Happy for all of those people in my life that have truly helped shape me into the person I am today. 

Thanks everyone!

Day 24: My Brother Adam

Today we are so lucky to get to see my brother Adam. We haven't seen Adam since this summer before Halle was born. In the past 6 months so much has gone on. I mean we had Halle, Adam went through a full on battle with cancer, he won his battle, and Noelle and Adam welcomed their little girl, Addysen, into the world a little over a month ago.  Until someone has had their family live away from them, they really can't understand what it is like to miss out on all of this stuff. We had Halle two days after Adam and Noelle left town. It was so hard to see him on Skype while he was so sick and it is so hard to know that we have a brand new neice and we haven't even see her yet. 

Well Adam is in town for one day. He flew in to go to Drew's last home game at SUU on his way to a training for work.  So we only get to see him for a few minutes but he got to meet Halle and we got to see him. It is so refreshing to see long-lost family every once in a while.

The kids absolutely loved him and Halle kept staring at him with the biggest smile!

Happy!

Day 23: Happy Birthday Matt!

I am counting Matt's birthday today as my Happy because lets face it, he makes me more Happy than anything or anyone else out there. Today he is offically 28 years old (don't say that to him though...he thinks he's old) but he says he still feels like he's 21. 

Matt is an incredible husband and father. I really truly couldn't ask for someone who is willing to sacrifice more for the welfare of his family. He spends countless hours working and never complains one bit. He adores his kids and they literally light up when he comes home. It is really adorable when Ryan puts Matt's boots on and grabs his little tool case and says, "Bye, I'm going to work!" He idolizes his daddy. As I am writing this he is eating breakfast with Ryan watching Sandlot on TV. So cute!

Not only do the kids look up to their dad, I am amazed at his dedication and love that he shows for all of us.  He is so thoughtful and constantly concerned about all of us before him.  During basketball season in particular, he sacrificed so much of his time and energy in order to let me do what I love. Even on his days off (when I had practice to go to) he would stay home with the kids and I would come home to clean bathrooms, the washing machine running, and the kitchen clean....AMAZING.

Happy Birthday Matt!  We love you so much!

Day 22: Basketball

So after all these years, one might think that I would have grown out of this one...sorry.  For as long as I can remember I have loved basketball. I have never really had a break from basketball since like 7th grade. I mean every fall for the last 15 years basketball season has started and I have either been playing on a team or coaching a team.  It is just a part of life for me.  I have always loved the competition, the excitement, and the enjoyment that comes with being part of a team.  Tonight proved that this has not changed.

I have been coaching a Mountain View High School for 3 years now and I have really loved it. This year we have had a really great season and up until tonight we had only lost one game. One game. That is amazing to go an entire season with one loss. I have been coaching this same group of girls since they were sophomores and tonight they were playing in the state tournament as seniors.  There is something so different about being a coach.  It isn't the same rush that you get as a player, but there is definitely an excitement about coaching in a highly competitive game.  We lost tonight and I am disappointed. We only lost by 1 point to the team that was ranked #1 in the state.  I couldn't have been more proud of our girls.

I have realized the past few weeks that although coaching takes a ridiculous amount of time and I really don't make any money doing it (seriously if I did the math it is probably like $2/hour if I am lucky), it makes me Happy.

Basketball is something that really truly makes me Happy. 

I am not quite sure what is going to happen in the future; if I will continue coaching or not, but I know that someway and somehow basketball will always be a part of my life.

My support group-- Don't you love the matching shirts they all had on?
Thanks to Matt I am able to keep coaching and have basketball part of my life!

Day 21: Mmmmmmm

Mmmmmm...

.

Sonic Strawberry Limeade = HAPPY

Day 20: Two Jacks Pizza

Sometimes food makes me so Happy. There is something about a wonderful piece of pizza that I absolutely love!   We have a little pizza place in Spanish Fork that is so good. We didn't have it for dinner tonight but it sounds so much better than the sandwiches we settled for. If you are ever in South Utah County you really should try this place. It is nothing too special or gourmet by any means, rather just good old homestyle pizza. They also have these cheese sticks that are probably enough calories for an entire meal on their own. So good!  My mouth is watering just thinking about this. Top it all off with an ice cold Dr. Pepper...in my dad's words, this will be one of the first meals served in Heaven!!!!

Day 19: Great Deals

I love finding good deals on baby clothes! Love it! Today my mom and I went to Smiths Marketplace in Lehi and found some killer deals. All their clearance stuff was 70% off.  Their clearance isn't the weird, of the wall, mis-matced outfits you often see on clearance racks either. I found some awesome stuff for Ryan and Halle for sooo cheap.  For example, I got name brand shorts for $2.50, hoodies for $4.50, onesies for $2, and jeans for $5! 

Saving this much money definitely makes me Happy!

Happiness Day 18: Sunday Mornings

Nothing makes me more Happy and is more relaxing than Sunday mornings.  We have 1 o'clock church right now so we have all morning to enjoy eachother's company and just relax. (I don't like 1 o'clock church for any other reason but this) Most Sunday mornings are filled with laughing, pancakes, playing with toys, the four of us cuddling in bed, and sometimes even a movie. I know movies aren't the best way to really "keep the sabbath" but I figure disney movies or movies such as "The Man From Snowy River," or "Where the Red Fern Grows" can be uplifting.  That was always our rule growing up we could only watch uplifting things on TV before church.

Ryan is in heaven on Sunday mornings as well because it is one of the few days each week he gets to play with his dad. He loves this so much and is so excited when he wakes up and daddy is actually at home instead of at work. 

So simple yet so Happy!

Happiness Days 16 & 17

I screwed up and missed day 16 yesterday. I had every intention of posting but it never happened. The day just got away from me. 

Day 16:   I am Happy that Matt and I are together. Many things had to happen for this to be possible but one significant thing happened exactly 8 years ago today. If you have heard the story of how Matt and I met, you have also heard about this event. 8 years ago Matt was serving his mission in Ecuador and fell off of a roof. He was severely injured and sent home.  The song "Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts describes this perfectly as it says, "God Bless the broken road that led me straight to you."  Matt and I both believe that this one event in Ecuador literally led him straight to me as he finished his mission in Texas and served in my parents' ward.  We are both so Happy  that we have each other and recognize how much that day changed both of our lives.

Day 17:   Halle is 6 months today and I am so Happy to have this little girl in my life.  We love her so much and I am ridiculously Happy when I look at her and the impact she has on my life. I know I used the picture the other day but it is the most recent one we have and she is asleep right now.

We also had her 6 month check up yesterday and she is growing fast!

Height: 28 1/2 inches (99%)

Weight: 17 pounds (76%)

Head Circ.: 95%

She is so much fun and loves her brother, she literally laughs out loud when he talks to her.

Her favorite toys are her giraffe, her fish, her exersauser, and really anything that she can put in her mouth. 

She is wearing 9 month clothes (some of which are getting too small on her)

She loves food  (I think her favorites are Sweet Potatoes and Bananas) and sleeps pretty well at night.

She just got her second tooth last night.

She can sit up by herself until she turns too fast to look at something.  

Halle = Happy!

Happiness Day 15: Naptime

Call me selfish but sometimes I am most Happy when both of my cute, innocent, perfect little children are sleeping. It rarely occurs at the same time so when it does....HAPPY! 

 Two little angels...so peaceful!!!

Its not like I really take advantage of this and nap myself but there is nothing better than being able to eat lunch in peace, watch an episode of my favorite tv show on DVR, or simply waste some time on the computer, all without my two kiddos climbing all over me and begging for my attention. 

Happiness Day 14: Parenthood

Being a parent makes me Happy but my Happy for today is actually the TV show, Parenthood. 

My sister-in-law started watching this show and told me about it. I love it!  It is much cleaner (after posting this I feel somewhat guilty. Just as a small disclosure, it is a sitcom so there is typical sitcom humor/issues...just incase you are wanting to start watching...FYI)  than some of the other stuff on TV but it still has an edgy feel to it. I love watching a good episode on DVR (of course).

Happiness Day 13: My Valentine (a day late)

I should have done this yesterday but kind of spaced it since we celebrated on Saturday. 

This guy definitely makes me Happy!

Love You Matt!

Happiness Day 12: Wonderful Weather

I am so sick of the snow and freezing weather so today I am HAPPY about the wonderful "Spring-like" weather we had today. We all had a fun afternoon riding bikes and enjoying a little warmth. Clear, blue skies and the sun is shining! Check out the views we have from our house too.  The views alone deserve a post...so pretty!

Ryan showing me his teeth ;)

One of my favorite pictures of Halle:
So happy and excited to be outside!

Dad and Halle after work

Beautiful views (sorry my camera doesn't do it justice!

View from our living room window

Happiness Day 11: Good Nursery Leaders

I am so tired and it is late so this one is going to be quick. Today I am happy that Ryan has good nursery leaders. It makes such a difference to have teachers that are excited to see him.  He has always had this and Ryan LOVES nursery because of it. 

I so appreciate their patience with our little guy. Just last week his teacher told me, "Umm, Ryan is a hugger."  It was kind of funny because I didn't realize he hugged everyone, I just thought he hugged his family. I guess not. His teacher also told me that last week (in honor of the Super Bowl I guess) he did a touchdown in class. I guess he grabbed a toy and slammed it down like it was a football and yelled, "Touchdown Baby!"  Oh I can only imagine what else he says/does.

Thank goodness for good patient teachers, you make my Sundays much more Happy!

Happiness Day 10: Flowers...not typically, but today, Happy!

Typically I am not a flower lover but today is different.  I have told Matt in the past that flowers are not my most favorite thing but what girl truly hates getting flowers.  I came home this afternoon to a vase filled with flowers; but not just any flower, gerber daisies which were our flowers from our wedding. I love gerber daisies and Matt remembered this and even got the same colors as a Valentines treat (we are celebrating today instead of Monday). 

This definitely made me smile...Happy!

Thanks Matt, I love you!

Happiness Day 9: ROCKY

Anyone who knows the Allen family really well has probably heard about our obsession with the Rocky movies.  I don't know why but we have always watched these as a family. My dad started having Rocky marathons with us when we were little.

I haven't watched Rocky in really long time and last night it was on! It was Ryan's bed time and I took this opportunity to keep him up with me in order to watch the end of Rocky IV.  This seriously made me happy.  We had Ryan saying, "Go Rocky Go" and "Boo Drago. You stink Drago." (Drago is the big Russian that Rocky fights-- just in case you aren't an avid Rocky fan) 

Kind of pathetic I know but I think it goes much deeper than the actual movie, I think of my family when I watch this. I have used the end of Rocky IV when motivating my teams. I used to say that if I could be in any movie I would be one of the kids running with Rocky.  I have a Rocky bobble-head doll for goodness sake. I even have a picture of Rocky hanging in Ryan's room right now and the other day I was at a total loss for nap-time stories and guess what, I told him about Rocky.

This is the picture that is hanging in Ryan's room right now :)

I am realizing how sad this all sounds but trust me when I say, Rocky is a fantastic series and it is definitely something to be happy about!

Happiness Day 8: A CLEAN house

DODO this one is for you;)

I have discovered that a clean house is a happy house.  I've actually always known this but it doesn't happen often enough. When I get super busy (like I am during basketball season) I tend to get a little lazy and our house gets cluttery. Ryan can absolutely destroy a room in minutes. One of his favorite past times is dumping all of his toys on the floor and making a HUGE mess. If I am not on top of this you can imagine how fast the house can get messy.  

Last night I hit my whits end and went on a cleaning/organizing spree. It is so nice to have a clean organzined house....let's just hope it stays that way:)

I hope this post doesn't give all of you the idea that I am a bad house keeper. I promise it really isn't that bad all the time.

Happiness Day 7

WINNING!

I love winning! Winning makes me so Happy. I forget how much fun it is to win until I have a game like last night.  If you aren't aware I am the JV basketball coach at Mt. View High School and the varsity assistant.  My JV team is very inexperienced and young and we have struggled this season, to say the least.  Well last night we played a team who had beat us earlier this season by 2 points.   

I was a little anxious before our game because two of our starters were hurt this past week and could not play. In addition, our third starting guard turned her ankle in the sophomore game right before we were supposed to play so I didn't know if I would have her either.

Well my team did a great job under the circumstances and we were tied with 10 seconds left in the game. We had called a timeout and were taking the ball out on the sideline. I drew up a play for our best player, they executed beautifully and she made a shot with four seconds left to win!  It was such a rush and all I could do as the buzzer went of is smile. 

When we got home last night Matt even said, "Well you have your Happy for your blog now!"  He was so right....

So happy!

Sorry I don't really have a picture for this one but trust me, it was exciting!

Happiness Day 6: American Idol

This time of year I absolutely love watching American Idol. I have always enjoyed it but for some reason I really like the new judges this year. It is kind of nice to have some new faces. I am super excited for the rest of the season but this is my Happy for today.

How can you not be happy after listening to this:

(Skip to about 2 minutes to get straight to the music)

or this:

Ahhhhh...so funny! 

So happy!

Happiness Day 5: Carrots?

So this morning I asked Ryan, "What makes you happy?"  His response was so quick and he said, "Carrots."  As much as I love carrots I don't think that I can waste one of my 100 happies on carrots.

My Happy for today is music. I love to find new artists and listen to good music.  A few months ago one of my friends had this link on her Blog and I loved it. This guys voice is amazing and I seriously went straight to iTunes and downloaded a couple of his songs.  This first one is such a great version of the song Use Somebody.

This second one is such a great song as well. I just love his voice for some reason. 

Thanks Ashley!

Yesterday I mentioned a concert from my sister-in-law Chelsea and her sister Hailey.  They just posted this to facebook. They are so talented!!!!  Chelsea has the darker hair.

Happiness Day 4: Family on Sunday Afternoons

I love love love seeing family on Sunday afternoons.  Today was great because Drew and Chelsea came up from Cedar City so we got to watch the Super Bowl with them as well as my mom and dad and Chelsea's sisters Hailey and Cassie.  We even got a personal concert from Chelsea and Hailey....so good! This is such an easy Happy for me! 

HAPPY!

Happiness Day 3: Cold Stone

So I am not going to keep this trend of Happy foods but we went to Cold Stone last night as a family and Cold Stone ice cream definitely makes me Happy!  My favorite creation is the Cheesecake Fantasy:  Cheesecake ice cream, strawberries, blue berries, and graham crackers...SO GOOD!

Happiness Day 2: Pancakes

Pancakes are one of the most happy foods. I am not quite sure why I love pancakes so much, maybe it is the excitement in Ryan's face when we have them. 

Nothing makes a day start more happy than pancakes in the morning. Such a simple food but oh soooo good. Smother these little guys in peanut butter and syrup....Yumm!

I don't mean to be a copier but...

So I love to follow the blogs of all my long lost friends and cousins that I rarely see. I was so excited to see one of my cousins had updated her blog after like 9 months....seriously so glad to hear from you again Tara.  Well she had seen my other cousins blog and thank you Natalie because I love your idea. The idea is to recognize things in your life that make you happy for 100 days straight.  You are supposed to write these 100 things down, one each day. I love to blog and love an excuse to be on the computer "using my time wisely."  So I have decided that I am actually going to copy my two cousins and their wonderful idea. It actually reminds me of an experiment that my mom told me about a long time ago. In her experiment you were supposed to write down three things you are grateful for each day. I was really bad at this and have sooo much to be grateful for and happy about. So here it goes...

DAY 1 of 100

(If you completely stop following my blog I completely understand ;) I will give updates on our little family as I go through this process...should be FUN!)

Nothing makes me more happy than this "one-toothed" smile! There is no way to avoid happiness when I see this perfect Halle smile!