that I first met Susan when our two towns combined to go to junior high.  We had the same homeroom and our lockers were only a few apart.  Check out the pictures from 7th grade in the 1990-91 yearbook!

Little did we know that 14 years later, we would actually start dating.  16 years later, we would be married.  18.5 years later we would have a beautiful boy!  It has been a fun journey!  Love you babe! 

-Allen

It has been a really long time since I have actually done a blog post.  Some people probably think that I have fallen off the planet.

Since March, we have been living with my in-laws as we have been doing a major renovation to our house.  We are going up, down, and back (new basement, first, and second floors) and gutting the old place.  For the most part everything is done now and we are moving back in soon.

Since my last post (and I plan on filling in/back dating some posts, as I have some written but never finalized them) a lot has happened.

Aidan turned 1 in March and we had a week of celebrations  He is growing up so fast.  I noticed it a lot more because I travelled a lot in April and May.

In May, I spent a week down in Charleston, SC for work.  I stayed downtown in the historic district.  What a great city.  I’d highly recommend staying at the Renaissance Hotel as it is within walking distance of everything.

I went to TechEd in New Orleans to work in the Windows Home Server booth.  This was first time going to TechEd and second time in New Orleans.  What a great experience!  Good food and good people.

Susan and I had a great trip out to Seattle and Mt. Rainier National Park.  Susan got to meet a few friends of mine out there and get some much needed R&R.

Recently we’ve been taking Aidan on a lot of hikes through the local wildlife center and the Ramapo Mountains.

There are several pictures of adventures on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanandallen/

Remember that you need to be a member and my contact to view all of the photos.  For the steps to do this check out my other blog post at:
http://blog.susanandallen.com/blog/2009/04/01/how-to-use-flickr-to-view-our-photos/

As Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

-Allen

Every year the fire department rides around town with Santa to meet the kids.  It was a cool setting this year coming the day after a major snow storm. 

It appears that both companies in town were out.  Susan caught them for the first appearance and I was there for the second one.

This is Aidan’s first snow storm as well.  He was very curious this morning when he woke up and it was completely white outside.

Check out the rest of the pictures on flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanandallen/sets/72157622915090729/

Remember that you need to be a member and my contact to view all of the photos.  For the steps to do this check out my other blog post at:
http://blog.susanandallen.com/blog/2009/04/01/how-to-use-flickr-to-view-our-photos/

-Allen

The landscapers came today to remove the leaves from our property.  After almost 3 hours, there was a huge pile at the curb.  The neighbors and Aidan had a good time playing in the pile.

Check out all the photos and a video on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanandallen/sets/72157622808652420/

-Allen

Our day started off slow with a morning nap.  After Aidan woke up we made our way down our street to show off our little Giraffe to all of the neighbors.  Then it was off to Omi and Opa’s house.  Aidan got a Halloween bear and mommy and daddy got lots of candy. 

We then dropped Daddy off (he went to a moe. show) and we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  We visited some neighbors and then took another nap while mommy ate some dinner.  It was a great day although the rain left us with LOTS of candy.

Check out all of the pictures on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanandallen/sets/72157622678972135/

-Susan