JUST THE TWO OF US

I'M STILL HERE

2008-11-06T13:48:00.005-06:00

I am SO SORRY I haven't been able to blog in forever!!

I started law school in August and life has been CRAZY ever since. I got a message from a friend the other day asking if I was still alive, to which I responded yes, but more in a robot form. Law school has literally taken over my life!
Here is the quick update:
I cut my hair (see above)
We are really settling into the new house :) we now have curtains and are almost done with painting
John shot his first buck of the season
and Itty Bitty is as lazy as ever

I haven't been able to hang out with all of my friends, and I do miss you guys! When Christmas break comes, after I recooperate from finals, we will all have to get together.
I hope everyone is doing well. I'll write more when I get a chance.

WHAT A WEEKEND

2008-07-09T09:44:00.004-05:00

After the lake, we all went home and crashed until 11:00 on Saturday. We totally had the lazy bug and stayed home all day, it was so nice! John did manage to wash the boat, and then the rain came so we watched 3 movies back-to-back with Aaron and Claire.
My mom got me a pair of Sperrys on Saturday!! I have wanted them for so long!!

On Sunday after church, John and I had lunch with my parents (which is when I got the shoes) and then we went to run errands. John got me a TomTom!! He said I had to have one if I was going to lawschool in Houston, so he talked me into it. It has so many safety features (like calling the nearest police station and telling your exact location) and it's so nice because I'm terrible with directions and don't know my way around Houston.

4TH OF JULY

2008-07-09T09:07:00.004-05:00

So, for the 4th we went out on the boat with my parents, Aaron and Claire. Out of all of us, a camera did not end up on the boat, so I cannot prove anything, but it's all true :)

We hadn't been at Pine Island long when we noticed some very dark clouds. By the time we got in the boat (which only took about 5 min) there were huge thunder heads above us and the wind was rocking the boat. We barely made it in the boat and got her started when another boat was almost thrown into us from the wind. We couldn't go anywhere because the water had gotten so choppy so, we had to sit the storm out on the water being tossed around like little rag dolls- or so it seemed. Luckily, John had been in that type of situation before and knew what to do to keep us steady as possible and kept most of the waves from coming onboard.

By the time we made it back to the house, the water on that side of the lake was as smooth as glass. So, we busted out the tube and skies and the wake board. Claire and I had gotten so cold from the storm, and the lack of sunsine, that we were hudled up in towels. But, we all still had so much fun and it was great to get away for the day.

We had matching shirts!!

Carter was so cute!!

Yeah for sparklers!

My camera didn't take pretty pictures of the fireworks, but it was so gorgeous! We could see fireworks going off all around the lake. The boys had fun with their fireworks, and found out that if you throw the artillery shells in the water, they still shoot up and spray over the lake.

IN OTHER NEWS...

CONGRADUALATIONS to my cousin Jennifer, who got engaged on July 4th!! Kenny proposed during a dinner cruise around the bay :) They plan to tie-the-knot on February 7th.

A NIGHT IN THE ALLEN HOUSE

2008-06-25T13:28:00.003-05:00

Last night I was so proud of myself, I haven't had a lot of time to cook since we've been in the new house, and I thought our dinner was pretty, so I took a pic. It was pecan-crusted tilapia, broccoli and new potatoes with a side salad.

I couldn't get my flash off, so it's blury :(

I discovered that Itty Bitty loves salad!

Here is where she was the other night when we couldn't find her! Cuddled up in a blanket on the floor and had her head burried, snoring up a storm :)

CHAIN O LAKES, ROUND TWO

2008-06-25T12:51:00.009-05:00

This past weekend a hole herd of us went to Chain O Lakes and rented the most amazing log cabin. We had so much fun! John and I had gone in March for our anniversary, so we talked everyone else into going back with us.

We had 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms
This is the Master

Me and John had a four poster bed!

You can kinda see the kitchen and dining room
Looking into the living room

The fish I caught!
Matt Corso's fish
We had a bridge leading to an island with a fire pit

John's bass
Me and Claire

Taylor, John, Me, Claire, Aaron, Carter and that's Adam in the back

We are missing Stefanie, Matt Corso and Matt Farny in the pic
John and Nina Allen, Rowena and Don Hayes, Tom and Debbie Hall
Matt Farny, John and Carter trying to catch a turtle
The swimming pool

A turtle we helped cross the road
Aaron, Claire and I riding in the back of Adam's truck

We had so much fun! We swam, rode bikes (that was interesting because it's been SO long since I've riden a bike), fished, slept late and took naps, ate some good grub and played with Aligators!! We were having so much fun that I forgot to bring my camera to take pics of everything.

WEDDINGS GALORE!

2008-06-17T10:17:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures from Amanda's wedding

Joelle and Ella

She is so precious!!

It took all of us girls to help put lotion on her legs!

The tearful groom
Kiss Kiss
Me and my groomsman

The first dance
Just Married!!

I went to 2 weddings back-to-back. Amanda and Jeremy were married on June 7 in Dallas, and Mark and Lorrie were married n June 14 in Baton Rouge. Congrats to both of the happy couples!

I was Amanda's Matron of Honor, and I have a few pics now, I'll get the rest up later.

For her batchlorette party, we went to eat at Oliver Garden and went to a jazz concert in Downtown Dallas.

Our Tea Party Luncheon

Amanda getting her pedicure the morning of the wedding

SAN ANTONIO

2008-05-21T12:44:00.009-05:00

We had so much fun last week in San Antonio!! We all needed a break so badly. A ton of us went and had a 3 bedroom suite, it was huge! It was great to get caught up on sleep :) The resort had a lazy river, 2 water slides and the coolest pools! I also took daily naps in the hammocks and managed to not get sunburnt the whole trip (thanks to SPF 50!!)
Our last day we went to Sea World, so naturally I came home tired from vacation- how does that always happen??

The lazy river

Mom and Carter

Me and my hunny

In this pic: My mom, Aunt Tammy, Jennifer, Eric, Carter and Uncle Max

John, Megan and Orry on a water ride at Sea World

Shamu!!

Carter was too little to ride, so he took a pic instead

Not a very good pic, but his is the top of one of the resort's water slides

Resting...ahhh

Aren't my parents cute!!

IMPATIENT

2008-05-09T13:13:00.003-05:00

Well, I got impatient and didn't want to wait to cut my hair. I got on yellowbook.com and found someone, and I really liked her. So far the results have been good, John loves it, my mom loves it, even Carter said it's pretty :)

Thanks Niki!

HAIR

2008-05-08T10:52:00.001-05:00

Ok ladies, I need your input. The girl that was cutting my hair has gone to Nursing School now, she was on 1960, and I really don't want to keep driving down there for someone else in her salon.
I need to know if any of you go to someone in The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, or Willis that you are pleased with, and won't charge me an arm & a leg.
Thanks!!

WE ARE HOMEOWNERS!!

2008-04-30T12:05:00.002-05:00

On Monday we closed on our house- we are are finally home owners!!
Thanks to John, My dad, Taylor, and Orry we got all of our furniture out of storage and into the house that night! Once I get the house all cleaned up, we will finish moving the last little bit and get all cozy in our new home.
I can't wait for everyone to come see it! We'll have a shin-dig once I get it all un-boxed and painted.
I'll post pics soon.

POOR ITTY BITTY

2008-04-14T11:06:00.006-05:00

4-30 update in red
4-17 update in purple
4-15 update in green

My poor baby was hurt again. Itty Bitty was attacked by the neighbors dog on Friday morning. Bitty and Abby were playing in the front yard when the dog came and carried her off across the street. My mom and the dog's owner couldn't get Bitty free for a few minutes. She was rushed into surgery; her intestines were punctured as was her abdominal wall. She has stiches all over the back half of her body. It is awful to see her; she is in so much pain. She came home on Saturday afternoon, but she's back at the vet today to get on an IV for the day. We are just so thankful that she's alive. If the dog had gotten her at any other part of her body she wouldn't have made it.

Well, yesterday went well at the vet. She is now eatting (horray!) and looking much better. The vet said she is thru the woods now for an infection, we are just praying that nothing tears in her intenstines now that they are starting to function.
She came to work with me today because she has to be monitored so closely. I have to feed her every few hours, and still having to force water at times. Carter picked her out a dress, and she's wearing it today because she is now aware of her injuries and wanting to lick them.

Bit Bit under my desk in her basket; what a little Princess

Well, we have hit a bump in the road. I had to rush Bitty to the vet this morning because her skin split wide open. He took out her drain tubes, and took out her stiches too (they aren't doing any good at this point).
The vet said that there was so much trauma to parts of her back that the skin is dying. So far, some areas have split open and you can see her muscles and everything. It looks terrible and makes me want to cry looking at it. She is going to have to have another surgery in 1-2 weeks to get rid of the dead skin and replace it.
She has been such a trooper. She is getting around really well, and doesn't seem to be in too much pain. We are calling her the dog with 50 lives; she has been thru so much this past year.
I've liked having her at work with me, she is really being spoiled.

This is what it looked like before the vet took the tube and stiches out

This is what it looks like now :(
Her tummy is doing ok

Bit Bit is doing so well! Her tummy scars are disappearing, and the tissue on her back is starting to grow back. We are hoping we won't have to do the last surgery on her back. She will have a scar, and we aren't sure if the hair will grow back, but the neccrotic tissue has fallen off and the new growth is looking very good, it's has shrunk in half, and hopefully in another week or so the skin will have grown back together.
She is back to being herself, hyper as always, and begging for attention.

CHANGE IN PLANS

2008-04-09T20:15:00.007-05:00

So, the house we were planning on moving into has fallen thru. We don't know if the builder is going out of business or what, but he isn't working on our house, so we've had to get out of that contract and find a new house. Luckily, our prayers were answered; we found this house after it had been on the market 1 day! We are very excited and like the house a lot! We should be closing around May 1st. Now we are praying that our attorney is able to get the money we sunk into the first house back.

Here she is! It's in Westwood, and we get a half acre!! (now we need a riding lawn mower). It has hardwood floors and tile thru the entire house, no carpet! 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a fireplace!

I can't wait to put our front door on that mom gave us for Christmas!

Now I just need to paint the dining area red :)
John wants the TV to stay
Master bedroom
We'll use this room as an office
Guest bedroom
Back yard and and back of the house. The jungle gym stays, so Carter will have fun visiting

RODEO

2008-04-07T18:08:00.008-05:00

We had so much fun during Rodeo this year! We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 3 times! We saw Alan Jackson with Megan and Orry, Brad Paisley with Matt and Stefanie, and Dierks Bently with Christine and Sheldon. We also went to the Montgomery County Rodeo with Aaron and Claire. Can you tell how much we love Rodeo?
Dierks Bently, who did an awesome job!

Me and "Tine"

The Newlywedds
Brad Paisely, the County Guitar King

Me & my hunny
John and Matt
Me and Stef outside the carnival

Barel Racing, my favorite part of rodeo (next to bull riding)

This little guy was only a couple days old!
Boys and their toys
Me and Claire (we didn't match on purpose)
Aaron & John

ONE YEAR

2008-04-04T22:50:00.011-05:00

For mine and John's 1 yr anniversary, John supprised me with a weekend get-away to Chain-O-Lakes Resort. It was one of the few perfect weather weekends we get in Texas, and it was absolutely gorgeous. We had such a relaxing weekend, and it was great to reflect on our first year and to see how much closer we have become. We had our saved wedding cake, which tasted pretty aweful but we put on smiles and laughed, and watched our wedding video, which was nice to relive over again.
We've made some great memories, and can't wait to see what's in our future!

This was our little secluded cabin, it was so cute.

These were our friendly turtles that we could see from our deck.

It wasn't cold, but the fire made it romantic :)
John had even gone to the grocery store (a big WOW for him) and gotten food for us. For our first night he had gotten everything I needed to make shrimp alfredo, yum.

My favorite flowers! He hand-picked these and brought them from home. Literally, he went in my mom's garden at cut them!

We had a fun horse back ride around the facility

This was our aligator! He was about 30 feet from our balcony.

A horse carriage picked us up and took us to breakfast!

We fished and John caught two lil' guys, I on the other hand caught zero

There was a hot tub (that we weren't prepared for, funny story on its own). It was built like a cave and had a waterfall coming down.
We had a "white linen "candlelight dinner in our cabin (prepared and set up by the resort)

That's all!

Michael Buble'

2008-03-31T21:32:00.004-05:00

Aaron, Claire, My parents, John and myself went to see Michael Buble' in concert on March 1st at the Toyota Center.
It was a sold-out venue and words cannot describe how AMAZING he was!
I absolutely love M.B.'s music stlye! He is a modern day Frank Sinatra with the moves of Elvis. He was a fabulous entertainer and I can't wait to see him again!

That little bit of light is him!! We were high up and it was very dark, so I couldn't get good pics

Us after the show

Catching up

2008-03-31T21:30:00.001-05:00

Sorry, I have been so busy at work and home I haven't had time to catch up on anything (laundry included)!!

We moved into a new office at work, at the same time John and I were moving out of our apartment and my life has been crazy!!

I will be playing catch-up for a while.

Thanks for your patience!

CHRISTINE AND SHELDON'S WEDDING

2008-03-18T12:20:00.007-05:00

Christine and Sheldon were married on Sunday, March 7, 2008.
Congrats to you both, I love you very much!

Her Bridesmaids were: Sabrina, Rendy, Lauren, Candy, Kari and Rachel (sorry I don't have a pic of all of us)

To view photos taken by the photographer, go to
http://www.barclayphotography.com
Event Code: 12457Wchristine

GREAT FRIENDS

2008-02-25T13:06:00.003-06:00

This past weekend was crazy!

Saturday morning John and Orry were supposed to start moving our furniture into a storage unit. I had just finished giving Bitty her medicine when Orry came in. Two seconds later, there was a loud knock at the door. Orry said he brought me a suprise. When I opened the door, there was Matt Farny!! I was so shocked I started to cry! (He goes to school in Kansas and we only get to see him on long breaks) So, the boys worked hard for the afternoon and we got just about the whole apartment packed away. I couldn't believe Matt came down for us! We have the BEST friends!!

Later that night, we all went to diner and had so much fun catching up. Thanks to Orry, Megan, Matt, Charlie, Aaron & Claire! You guys are awesome!!

So, now John & I are living in our apartment with our clothes in boxes and our bed- that's about all we have left. We can't move in with my parents until Bitty is feeling better. She's at the vet today because she was sick all weekend long. It seemed like John & I were turning around every 10 minutes to clean her up. She didn't eat or drink all weekend...
We are praying for a speedy recovery!

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous! We went to the park with Aaron & Claire and Paisley, Orry & Megan, and the boys threw the football around while we ladies soaked up the sun...very relaxing for the short time we spent there.

Our lives are crazy right now, and I am so looking forward to things slowing down! My back and neck have hurt all weekend, I'm exhausted and stressed out with law school, finances, the house, the dog...the list goes on.

LIFE

2008-02-22T13:46:00.003-06:00

Well, I have some good news.
I received an acceptance letter to the Thurgood Marshall Law School at Texas Southern. They are my fall back plan if I don't get into South Texas or U of H. So, at least come August I WILL be in law school somewhere.
I'm still waiting to hear from South Texas and U of H. Nervously, anxiously, stressfuly waiting...
I hear from an inside source that I am looking good at South Texas, so we'll see!

In other news, Bitty had surgery on Wednesday and she is home now. She's in pain, but hopefully she'll have a rapid recovery. She had surgery on her booty and it looks so bad; hurts me to see it. She has to wear a cone and I feel so very sorry for her.

We are moving out of our apartment this weekend and staying with my parents until the house is finished. We have been told we should close on April 18th.

Thats all for now folks!

CONGRATS!!

2008-02-18T09:22:00.002-06:00

Aaron proposed to Claire on Saturday at Harbor Town Light House.

He took her to diner, blind folded her, drove her to the light house and proposed!

There was around 40 people there to celebrate afterwards. It was so fun watching my best friend be proposed to and their engagement party was awesome!

Congrats Aaron and Claire! I am so happy for y'all!!

NEW HAIR

2008-02-14T12:40:00.004-06:00

So what is it with us girls and always wanting something different with out hair. Then, once we change it, we wish we hadn't!!

Well, here is the closest pic I could find before

and here is my after pic

I'm not regretting it though; I cut around 4 inches off and highlighted it.

IT'S COMING ALONG

2008-02-14T09:43:00.005-06:00

Well, our long awaited house is finally making progress!

I also want to wish everyone a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

My WONDERFUL husband suprised me last night with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, the short roses and daisys! He also gave me chocolates that I am fighting very hard to not devour in one day.
I LOVE YOU JOHN!!

MONTGOMERY COUNTY DA

2008-02-12T10:35:00.000-06:00

I wanted to inform the citizens of Montgomery County about the practices of our current DA, Michael McDougal.

The following link is an investigation that aired last night on KHOU.

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080211_ac_drugforfeituremoney.b10aa82b.html

Working for an attorney I have lots of political opinions on our current office holders in Montgomery County, so feel free to ask if you are undecided on the upcoming election for the positions of Judges, DA, and more.

SHE'S THROUGH THE WOODS

2008-02-11T15:30:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to say that Abby came home on Saturday. She still has the virus, but the vet says she can finish fighting it off on her own. She gained a whole pound during her 48 hr stay at the vet and is extremely playful now. She and Carter have bonded so well.
Bitty also got her booster and the vet said she would be fine.
YEAH!! I am such an animal lover and it was really killing me to be woried about the girls. (If I'm this way over dogs, I hate to see what I will be like with my kids!!)

PRAY FOR ABBY

2008-02-07T10:37:00.000-06:00

Well, we just heard from the vet that Abby has Parvo. It is a very lethal virus that is the leading cause of death in puppies.
She is at the vet and we are praying she makes it. The vet can't give us any promises, because there is no cure for Parvo. He is keeping her on fluids and hoping she comes through.
Bitty is now likely to come down with Parvo as well. She has an appointment today to get vaccinated.
Please pray for our puppies!

TURNING 22

2008-02-06T13:27:00.001-06:00

For my 22nd Birthday we went to eat at Red Robin and then to a hockey game.
I am a total hockey fan now!
Thanks to all everyone for making it such a wonderful day!

WELCOME ABBY!

2008-02-05T16:53:00.000-06:00

For Carter's 5th birthday he got a Miniture Beagle. Her name is Abby and she is so precious!

Just look at that sad puppy face! If that doesn't melt your heart, nothing will!

Bitty is so glad to have another dog in the family. Well, she is actually jealous, but she likes to play with Abby.

OUR WEDDING

2008-01-30T17:36:00.001-06:00

Here are a few wedding pics

We released doves- they only have 1 mate for their entire life. How sweet!
The Gerber Daisy is my favorite flower, so I wanted them EVERYWHERE
There were horses grazing in the back, but they were camera shy

From left to right: Amanda Robertson, Samantha Walker, Jennifer Trapp, The Bride, Christine Nichols, Dwanna Chrisoulis and Claire Williams

Aren't they lovely!!

From Left to Right: Jake Crawford, Matthew Corso, Sean Summerlin, Taylor Allen, The Groom, Carter Hall (infront of John), Matthew Farny, Clint Martin, Kyle Yates and Aaron Hayes

My how handsome they can be!

What a good looking wedding party we chose!
Bling!

Our first dance to "At Last"

And the best for last....gotta love those duck decoys!

THE RUNDOWN

2008-01-29T21:35:00.000-06:00

About John and Lauren Allen:
We were married in Magnolia, Texas on March 11, 2007.
We are in the process of buying a house.
We have a precious dog, Itty Bitty, and a chubby bunny, Chewy.
Lauren works as a legal assistant, and is trying to get into lawschool.
John found his calling as a dental lab technician and has been promoted to VP!!
We are a poor, broke, newlywed couple living on love and loving our lives together!!