Jason and I have been having lots of fun getting ready for baby for the past few months. The baby is kicking a lot and the second trimester was good to me. We're all happy that tired sick Katie seems to be gone for the time being. (Although I'm still a much pickier eater than I have ever been.) We finally found out after ultrasound number 2 that we are having a girl! (Of course they don't promise 100%, but the technician seemed pretty confident.) We are now working on names. Luckily, Jason and I have pretty similar tastes. I was the type of girl that had names picked out for all of my children by the time I was 14. Now that it's real, though, no one name seems good enough to fit my baby. I'm sure it will come to us. We've also been filling our tiny home up with baby stuff. We've gotten some great hand me downs from some of you and are very grateful. As the weather has been warming up, we've also been enjoying the garage sales. We've made some great deals We got a stroller for 15, a two person camping chair for 10, a nice breadbox that will fit more than two loaves for 5, and a bunch of nostalgic toys. Sometimes Meaghan and Mom will come with us, and it's become a fun little hobby.
I'm actually writing this update from Arizona. My brother, Jacob, got married this weekend. Some of you might remember him from my wedding. He's the baby of the family at 23 years old (13 years younger than my oldest brother.) He was always the most social out of all of us, and the family joke (that we didn't find very funny) was that he would be the first one to get married. I'm really glad that I, at least, managed to beat him. He married a beautiful girl named Heather. They've been dating for almost a year, so I have had a few opportunities to get to know her, and she is lovely. The wedding went well. They were one of 14 sealings being held on Saturday morning in the Mesa Temple. The reception was in my parent's back yard. A huge dust storm hit about an hour before the reception started, making it impossible to do all of the last minute set up that needed to be done. We weren't ready when the guests arrived, so that was a little stressful. After the winds settled down, though, the weather was a little cooler, so that was nice. The decorations and food were wonderful. When all was said and done, it ended up being a great event.
In a few weeks, we are having a big Allen family reunion. This will include all of my Dad's siblings and their children and families. The last time this group got together was during my mission ten years ago. Somehow my cousin and I got delegated to be the co-chairs for this event. It will take place in Berkeley California where my cousin manages a huge sorority house that will be empty for the summer and can accommodate the 84 guests that we are anticipating. I am hard at work on all of the last minute plans. (Jason and I also have plans to go see/meet Brandon and Demarae while we are there, so we are excited about that.) Since I wanted to have some time to hang out with friends and family in Arizona, and I wanted to save money on a plane ticket, I decided to stay here for the weeks in between the wedding and the family reunion. I will travel up to California with my Mom. Jason (who wasn't able to get away from school to make it to the wedding) will meet me for the reunion. It seemed like a good idea when I bought the tickets, but now I'm finding it pretty hard to be away from Jason. We are having to go back to our "long distance relationship" roots, and I'd just rather have him with me. I think Jason is enjoying the extra time that he has to play Diablo 3 online with his brothers, but I know that deep down in his heart, he is missing me, too. :) He's also busy doing his calling, home teaching, and marking finals for the end of the school year grades. In a few weeks, he will be done with school and we are looking forward to a nice relaxing summer. We love all of you and hope you are all doing well.
