Dear Kids,
          Dad and I are heading south in the Sienna. We’re going to pick up Donna and Bevan and their kids and camping gear in Midway, and then we’re all going down to Goblin Valley for two days. Of course Dad and I didn’t think this up. We aren’t that adventurous. Donna planned it all and invited us to come. They’ve fixed all the food, and all we need to do is drive. What a deal! The weather is beautiful and I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful trip.
          We’re still trying to settle into the new house, and we’re still up to our ears in projects. The challenge for this week was trying to fit a rug under the three legs of my grand piano. We discovered that you can’t do it by lifting one leg at a time. At least you can’t get the rug in the right place. We even had the help of one of our bishop’s sons, and we still didn’t do it very well. But by then I had discovered that the rug had a warp along one side, and I decided we’d be taking it back. About five years ago President Uchtdorf gave a talk called "Lift Where you Stand," and it started with a story about moving a grand piano. They couldn’t figure out how to do it, until Hanno Luschin, who was just a punk teenager when I was on my mission there, said "Everybody stand where you are and lift." It worked. So when we get the new rug, I’m going to invite the young men in the ward to move the piano off the spot. Then we’ll lay out the rug, and put the piano back. I love how President Uchtdorf always gives such practical advice!
      Here’s the latest from Andy. He wanted me to forward it to you: Today we finished editing the book for Dad/Grandpa Allen and sent it off to be printed. He should receive the book in about a week. The book is 56 pages long, and I think that he will be thrilled with it, and can enjoy looking at it often. First let me express my deepest gratitude to every family in the clan. Every single family group responded in a timely manner, and allowed us to put the book together in just over a week’s time. Given we have over 50 families that contributed to the project, I think this kind of quick 100% response is amazing! I believe that the biggest factor to this success is everyone’s deep respect for Dad/grandpa. Also, thanks to Bonnie and Nancy for help in editing.  From my perspective, it was an incredible experience to witness the coming together of this project. As the photos and descriptions came piling in, it was overwhelming to witness the sheer volume of wonderful families, all doing incredible things. It just blew me away to see page after page after page of beautiful families. Truly, the book is a reflection of Lester and Marilyn’s righteous heritage.  We have created a share site on-line so that anyone who wants to can go and look at the book. Here is how you access it:
1) Go to LesterMarilynAllen.shutterfly.com (no password is needed)
2) There is a green banner across the top, click on the tab labeled "Pictures & Videos"
3) On the next screen you will see a photo album on the right side, click on that.
4) After the book opens, there is a "full screen" option above the pages that you can click on for better viewing. You can also select the "View Single Page" option to make it even larger.
This book will remain on-line indefinitely. If anyone wants to make any changes, corrections, or additions, please e-mail those to me and I will update the book (you cannot edit it from this site). Over the next week I will periodically update the book with the changes/corrections that I receive.
You can also order printed copies of the book from this site. I would recommend that you wait for the changes/additions that may come in this next week before you do that. Also, Shutterfly usually offers a 50% discount on photo books about once a month. When this happens, I will send out an e-mail alert to let everyone know who want to order printed copies. My experience with Shutterfly is that the printed books are of high quality and very professional looking. After I entered the Free shipping code and the 40% off code, the price was $65 for dad’s book. So at 50% off it should be between $55 and $60 per book. If/when you order, make sure you input all promo codes. Thanks again, Andy
          There. That was a long message, but I couldn’t figure out how to edit it.  Lots of love, Mom