why do people take things that don't belong to them?

so here's a weird story. jeffrey ordered a package that ups said they delivered, but we never got it. so he had the company mail him another one, and again ups said they delivered it, but we never got it either. so jeffrey knocked on our neighbor's door, just to check to see if they might have picked up the packages on accident. how it would be an accident i don't know because the packages both have his name on the front.

anyway, about a 1/2 hour later both packages were sitting on our door step, one of them opened, but all the contents were inside. so yeah, you can draw your own conclusion but it seems pretty obvious to me. at least we got them back. lame though.

really though, it makes me sad. sad that we can't trust everyone. sad that everything has to have a lock on it. sad that someone would decide that your possessions are now theirs. still, i thought this was a story worth sharing.

oh and if you ever mail us a package, please give us the heads up to we can keep an eye out for it.

life is good.

elliot just got his first skateboard this week. jeffrey was pretty excited. now we just need to get jeff a new skateboard. he's doing good so far and he loves it.



i just love this smile. he is so proud of himself. i still can't believe i have a 5 year old. i love it!!
as an early birthday date i surprised jeffrey and took him to the newest harry potter movie. we really liked it. it was so great to be out on a date again too. i'm still so in love with this guy.

our friends, jen, steve, and madelyn, invited us over to dinner the other day and i actually got a picture. i have realized that i take pictures every time we go out of town, but not when we hang out here in ny. so my goal is to get shots of all our friends here. the kids had a blast. you'll see in the next pictures what entertained them for about 1/2 hour while we sat and talked.


they climbed and jumped off this wall and had so much fun.

we had the luck of having ashley and mike stop by for a quick visit. alex, ashley's sister, was with them too. it was good to see them again and i hope they had a great time in nyc. p.s. thanks for the map!


summer is rushing by. we still go swimming a few times a week. elliot is doing swimming lessons and loving it. jeffreyallenphoto.com is getting a great start. i'm looking forward to a vacation to utah for my cousin rachel's wedding, then up to hebgen for a week, and then hanging out in utah for a few days. yw's is going great and i just love getting to know the girls here better all the time. life is hard in between, but it sure feels good to take a look at how great life really is. i appreciate those in my life that help me see all the good that is around me.

i am especially grateful right now for the challenge that our bishop from our church gave to the youth and the youth leaders. the challenge was to start reading the Book of Mormon in the middle of june and finish by the end of august. i am in alma 30 and loving it. the Book of Mormon has come alive for me again. the stories of faith in Jesus Christ, the way our Heavenly Father continually blesses the people every time they turn to Him, the reminders that when we lose sight of God our world falls apart, and the feelings i get when i know what i am reading is true, all these things have been such a strenth to me for the past month. i hope that everyone someday has a chance to read the Book of Mormon and to pray to know for themselves that what they are reading is true. it will truly bless your life.

go here and click on "free media" to request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

maryirene

weekend sale!!

jeffrey is having a 10% off sale on 8x10 up to 16x24 prints. the sale goes through this weekend. check it out. jeffreyallenphoto.com and upsidedownbackwards.blogspot.com

it is beautiful work. see for yourself and enjoy.

wedding, friends, family, and birthdays

i never did document my trip to utah last month. i was going to put a few highlights but ended up posting LOTS of pictures. so enjoy :)

grandma homer picked us up from the airport. the boys were sooo excited!
hanging out with karie and her kids. look how cute they are. notice elliot and lillie holding hands.
girls night out. it is always so good to see friends. hard to say goodbye.
my sister, my cousin, and i threw a wedding shower for becky and brian. it was really fun.

my grandma is turning 94 this year. isn't she beautiful!! loa you are an amazing woman. i look up to you in so many ways.
my sweet mother-in-law threw a joint birthday party for my boys while we were in town. elliot turned 5 on july 3rd and sam turned 3 on june 6th. it was so fun. thanks sheryl!!
the cousins lined up.
siblings.
both grandparents.
this is when karie and i took the 5 kids shopping with us to old navy. crazy but fun!
swimming with cousins.
sam's superman cape that jeffrey and i made for his birthday. he wore it almost everyday while we were in utah.
the oquirrh mountain temple.
marseille and me!
elliot, christopher, and sam.
melissa and me at her new house.
becky and brian's wedding dinner at the place where brian proposed.
and . . .





the wedding!!!!
kissing as husband and wife.

my entire family with becky and brian in front of the salt lake temple.
together for eternity.
my neices and sarah's sister. they were so sweet to help watch the kids while we were in the temple for the wedding.
some of becky's good friends.
daddy and sam.
sweet elliot.
amy, amelia, and me. (my cousins)
some of brian's family.
laura and lily.
sarah and will.
grandpa richards performed the wedding ceremony. it was so sweet. we miss grandma richards so much. today it has been a year since she passed away. we find peace knowing the she is in heaven and we will see her again. at times i feel her close. we miss her so much. she was such an amazing woman. we love you grandma.
david and ben.
sammy.
darling sala.
now the wedding reception.


isn't he a hottie! i'm so lucky he married me 6 years ago. i am still so in love with this man!
check out that face. haha.
sweet loa.
eric and me.
the girls.
i love you sis! i am so happy for you!
cutting the cake.


the boys decorated the car.
leaving!
running to their car in the pouring rain. we hope you had tons of fun in hawaii!!!


after the wedding we hung out for a couple of days before having to head back to utah.
we hit the farmer's market with grandma homer, scott, and kate.
played lots of legos.
hung out with uncle brian!
and aunt laura.
we had a dinner with the allens. fuzz leaves on his mission to oregon in 4 days! wow. good luck fuzz!!! we love you.
saying goodbye. miss you karie!
one last shot of the cute friends.
phew. i made it. i hope you liked the pictures. sorry if i left anyone out. we love you all. we love utah. it will always be our home. we can't wait to see you again.