The Hall Family

November: Thanksgiving at Arne's

2010-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you mix a Thai friend with an Indian friend and then throw in a bunch of white Halls with some mexi DNA?

The most delicious and gut breaking Thanksgiving ever! The Arne family hosted the get together and had us (including Roger and Rozanne) along with the Rajagopal's. We all brought a ridiculous amount of food and also made sure that we each had the "must have" item that makes it "our" Thanksgiving.

The Arne's also had little gift boxes at our plates that had interesting facts about Thanksgiving on them. The dessert table was piled high so after we ate dinner and relaxed, we headed to the theatre and saw the movie Tangled. It was awesome!

Then it was more food, dessert, and giggling, topped off with another helping of dessert.

Then Vicky and I sat at the table going through all of the Black Friday sales adds while our husbands ridiculed us. We decided on the "must haves" and made our route plans for the early hours of the day. Vicky ended up being out in the chaos till late in the evening. Not I, just a couple hours in the morning, just so I could feel the energy out there! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving!

November: Andrew Hall's 10th Birthday

2010-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

For Andrew's 10th birthday he wanted to have 10 friends over. They played soccer which was great because all the noise was outside. Then they watched a movie with lots of goodies and they giggled and giggled.

Afterward he opened presents.

He didn't want cake. He HAD to have brownies!

He was most excited about his party favors for his friends.

Happy birthday Andrew!

November: Lizzy's End of Season Soccer Party

2010-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

I coached Lizzy's U8 soccer team this fall with my friend Vicky Arne. Vicky was driven crazy by Lizzy at soccer practice.

If it wasn't that she arrived at practice in a skirt, it was that she didn't have her hair in a pony tail. Let's just say Lizzy wasn't the conventional team player!

But she sure did have fun with these little darlings!

November: My Little Boy

2010-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Ethan,

When you start dating and find a woman who you want to marry, if I don't approve, I will make sure I let her know that you like to watch TV without your pants on.

Jill

November: Ethan's Preschool Hokie-Pokie

2010-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have loved volunteering at Ethan's preschool this year. He is a gem and certainly a favorite of Mrs. Schmor his teacher. He loves her so much that he actually participates in activities. I snapped these pics of him doing the Hokie-Pokie, so cute!

November: Ethan's Tantrum

2010-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Oh what joy it is to see your little guys turn 4 and still be able to have amazing tantrums just like a 2 year old!

November: Electronics & Babysitting Ava

2010-11-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is sometimes what my children consider bonding with their siblings...

You see they are getting along and not bothering each other....and not talking, playing, or hanging...but for just a brief few minutes I had no fighting, messes, and some needed peace!

Lizzy and Sophie wanted to help me babysit my friend Debbie's little girl Ava. She was at our house for two hours. Their help consisted of 10 minutes. I hope that their tolerance for babysitting increases in minutes by the time our babe arrives.

November: Piano Days

2010-11-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

I hope the kids always enjoy the piano as much as they do right now in their lives. Lizzy was playing a Christmas tune and the others were singing along. She was playing fittingly "Deck the Halls."

November: Preggo Ladies

2010-11-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

A bunch of girls from my ward were pregnant at the same time I was. Regrettably, I look just as big as them and they were all due that month (me in April). One gal is missing (Laurie Leal), otherwise it's a great group of ladies. Between us there will be 4 boys and one girl born. They will all be fighting over Chrissy's little girl.

Oh how sexy!

November: Superhero Ethan

2010-11-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

I am reliving the days when Andrew loved to play superheroes....wait...he still does! Now he just has a sidekick named Ethan Hall!

Watch out for my little superhero!

November: Elizabeth's 2nd Grade Field Trip to Wildlife Images

2010-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

We went to Wildlife Images, an animal sanctuary, in November with the 2nd graders from Hoover. Elizabeth loves the one on one attention. We saw all sorts of amazing animals including bears, wolves, eagles, and some roudy kids that fit int he animal category.

We had a wonderful time!

November: Time Out For Women...and Shopping

2010-11-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for the every other year pilgrammage to Portland to hang with my friends while we attend Time Out For Women...or Shopping as Brian Calls it.

There was definitely some shopping...

Some giggling...

Some "what the?" comments...

Some bonding with new friends...

And old ones too! We had a blast and came home better friends and mothers because of it!

October: Ethan's Last Day in a Carseat

2010-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Prior to Ethan's birthday this was a typical scene if we were arriving home late...

Apparently the only thing that changed on his birthday was the kind of seat.

October: Trunk or Treat & Carnival

2010-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Because Halloween fell on a Sunday our ward decided that it would be important to have a bigger Trunk or Treat event complete with food, a carnival, and trunk or treating. The primary was put in charge and myself and my counselors had a lot of fun preparing for the even. Here are some of the carnival activities...

Halloween Boo-ling...

Pick the candy off the witches cape...

Halloween fish pond...
We also had a pumpkin ball toss, ghoulish golfing, ring toss, and dancing on the stage to Halloween music.

I was expected to be dressed up but Brian really got into the evening appearing as a lovely inmate with the coolest mullet hair ever!

For dinner we had a chili cook off.

Then the games began....

This is Ethan the transformer with his buddies Joe and Rowan.

Vicky was as beautiful as a gypsi as I was ugly as a witch!

Lizzy was a rock star diva and was thrilled to be there with Nyah and Natalie.

And Sophie the High School Musical Gabriella was inseperable from Saydee and Emma.

Harry Potter Andrew could hang with Nic and Gavin indefinitely, never getting bored. It was a wonderful event and evening! We had a huge turnout and the kids felt like they had a Halloween!

October: Elizabeth's "I'm mad mommy!" Look

2010-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, get Lizzy to take a bath, curl her hair, and put on girly clothes and she looks like Taylor Swift! As a mom I would prefer she stop getting taller and keeps her tummy covered.

This is her, "Don't hate me because I am beautiful look!"

October: Ethan's Birthday Pizza

2010-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year we celebrated Halloween with a big Trunk or Treat festivity on the 30th. But this also happened to be Ethan's birthday so on the 29th we celebrated Ethan's birthday feast. He requested Pizza at Bruno's with his Nana, Grandpa, and Rajagopal family.

My "little" guy is now 4 years old. He can eat as much pizza as his 9 year old brother!

Sophie loved the company!

For my blondies, it was all about the pizza and soda!

October: Ethan's Preschool Pumpkin Day

2010-10-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Once again I volunteered in Ethan's classroom. He loves when I help in the classroom. He shows me all of his amazing skills including how good he is at putting together geometric puzzles.

He also makes some amazing play-doh creations such as snakes, pizza's, pies...

At the end of preschool they got to go out on the playground and pick a pumpkin from the many that were hidden on the playground.

He and his classmates were pretty proud of their pumpkins!

October: Elizabeth's Soccer Season

2010-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth surprised me this fall season in soccer. Not only did she fully participate in practice, she loved it and wanted to play as many minutes as possible in games! Since I was pregnant Vicky asked a parent of one of the girls to also help with our soccer practices. Coach Ceasar was loved by all of the girls.

Lizzy's passing skills were significantly improved this season and her conditioning far superior from last year.

Lizzy was defensive minded and she was aggressive to the ball.

Plus she loved hanging out with these friends.

I was a proud mom of my little "Hot Cleat" girl!

October: Annual Rajagopal Halloween Feast

2010-10-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oh it is great to have fun friends. We went to the annual Rajagopal Halloween dinner and were blown away with Raj's fun Halloween themed meal including:

Ribs on the bone:)

Homemade or twice eaten mac n cheese.

Mummies in a blanket.

Spider web 7 layer chip dip.

Chocolate cake cemetery.

White chocolate covered strawberry ghosts.

And this is a cake Raj made for a friends daughter's bday which was a haunted house. It was an amazing feast!

October: Classic Sharon

2010-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Only my friend Sharon Rajagopal could get us to dress up and look absurd during primary. This is obviously to get the children to sing. The victim this week was my friend Tracey parks. She was such a great sport!

October: Andrew & Ethan Sleepover

2010-10-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

The boys wanted to have a sleepover. So they both got their old sleeping bags and stacked them side by side in Ethan's room. Andrew is such a wonderful big brother and loves to let Ethan share in some adventure with him.

I hope they both never grow up!

October: Elizabeth's Harvest Party

2010-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am the room mom in Elizabeth's class this year. This requires me to be in charge of each of Lizzy's school parties. At Lizzy's party we had a dance contest where the children had to dance until the music stopped. I had downloaded a bunch of halloween music which was just perfect!

We also made some very creative bagel snacks that were made to look like pumpkins! Jordan Sollee is Lizzy's friend and in her primary. She made a great pumpkin!

Lizzy's looked good too. She tried to put as many snacks on there as possible.

We also had the kids look at some objects on a cookie tray for 30 seconds and then we took the tray away. The children had to guess what objects were on the tray.

The kids loved our candy corn relay race. We did boys against girls.

The kids had to carry candy corn on a spoon over to a pumpkin bucket. When time was up the bucket with the most corn won!

I was 20 weeks pregnant and still fitting my regular jeans. And of course, Ethan was an honorary 2nd grader.

Lastly we made 3-D Halloween cards. The kids were pretty creative and loved this art project.

Overall it was a fantastic party that the kids really seemed to enjoy. I also ended up having some great additional parent support so it couldn't have been any more perfect!

October: Sophie's 1st Grade Field Trip

2010-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sophie's 1st grade class was able to go to White's Country Farm for their annual harvest field trip. The children first were treated to a giant blow up obstacle course which they loved!

Then they got to feed some of the animals.

After animals and washing hands they were treated to a fresh country apple and some hide-in-go-seek in a corn maze with their teacher.

Lastly, a trip in a wagon out to the pumpkin patch where they each got to choose a pumpkin. The teacher held on to their pumpkins at school for a week and they each got to weigh, measure, and observe their pumpkins for a science project. They even got to smash one open and watch the mold appear.

After many evaluations of pumpkins Sophie finally found her PERFECT ONE!

October: Sophie Advances to Blue Group

2010-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sophie hated soccer and begged me to put her in gymnastics. She overcame a major hurdle in gym and just advanced to the blue group in gymnastics. Now the gymnastics get pretty technical. We are so proud of her! She has really got a wonderful talent for gymnastics!

October: Hoover Fund Run

2010-10-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our elementary school was raising funds for a new track. The children have been running on a hilly dirt path to perform their presidential fitness running award. Each child was asked to find direct donations that would help. Daddy Hall Warbucks ponied up $100 per kid. He is so generous.

Lizzy was the first class we watched. She ran hard for about a lap and then after that it was pure entertainment to walk the track with Grammie.

Andrew was up next and ran his heart out. He was just 2 laps behind the longest lap leader and that was largely because of his asthma which flared up near the end.

Andrew's buddy Nicholas was the lap leader!

Sophie just wanted to hang with Grammie and Papa during her run so we each took turns doing laps with her, even with Ethan on my shoulders and being pregnant!

Otterpops were the reward at the end which couldn't have been a better treat! It was a great event that ended up raising $13,000.00. Not too shabby!

October: Andrew's Flag Football and Martin Visit

2010-10-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

During my parents stay they had the wonderful joy of seeing Lizzy play soccer and Andrew play flag football. I think in general they had validation as to why they didn't have their 8 children all playing sports as they watched me shuttle each child from one thing to the next.

Both kids played well and were thrilled to have their grandparents watching them in the stands.

I don't know how much the other kids were watching though. Debbie was just too entertaining.

October: Grammie Martin's Unbirthday Party

2010-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

My parents came for a visit this month and we loved every minute of it. My mom decided to start a new tradition with her grandkids who live so far away. She is going to celebrate an unbirthday party with them annually. This way she gets to enjoy watching them open their gifts and have a special dinner.

Since it was October the kids made pizza's that looked like pumpkin faces...or not.

Grammie even brought her fancy punch dispenser so the kids could have fun with their punch!

Next each kid got to make their very own birthday cakes. Now, Grammie was a cake decorator in college and that craft has served her well through 7 weddings. Now it's time to give the kids some lessons.

They got pretty good at decorative borders.

Then they all sang happy birthday to one another.

No party is complete without cotton candy so then the kids each got to make their own cotton candy treat. Can you believe my mom brings all this stuff with her 800 miles from Utah?

Then it was birthday present time. The kids each got to go to Toys R Us and pick out a $15 item they desired. The boys were thrilled with their legos.

Everyone had such a wonderful time. This is going to be a fun annual tradition. Next year...a bounce house or giant sumo wrestling Grammie?

October: Ethan Playing with His Nephews

2010-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Now that Anne lives in town the two of us usually monopolize Rozanne for some amount of babysitting each week, especially with the two of us attending O.B. appointments. The cousin's love it and they each have a favorite Nana snack and activity to do.

What would we do without 30 year old puzzles, toys, books, and a talking goose?

We love our Nana!

October: Once and Awhile acting like Adults

2010-10-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Once in a awhile we Hall Family members will venture out to a fancy restaurant and have a nice meal together. Now, we are practical, getting there early enough to get the early bird special, which includes an appetizer, salad, and dessert, but would you expect anything less? These events are usually comical as Rozanne, Anne, and Brian keep us in stitches. I am so lucky to have great in-laws.

September: Picking Pumpkins at Nana's

2010-09-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Most families run to Albertson's to get their annual carving pumpkins, or make a special trip to a farm hosting a harvest festival and pick one out of the pumpkin patch.

Not us, we just go to Nana's house and get to pick from a couple dozen pumpkins.

The kids love this annual tradition and so does Nana.

Lizzy wanted a big one. Her dad told her whatever size she wanted she had to carry to the car, hence the medium size pumpkin.

Ethan found 3 he wanted, and carried to the car.

Sophie was picky and looked for just the "right" one.

Which apparently was a little green.

Andrew wanted a white pumpkin which Nana had planted this year. So he found one that was just perfect. What a wonderful experience.

September: 9 Week Baby Hall

2010-09-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's official, apparently when you give up trying to have a baby after 18 months of agony off your arthritic drugs, and resume your medication schedule (toxic to babies), and also go on birth control, THAT'S when you get pregnant!

The kids are so excited, especially my little helper Sophie! I am so going to let her do all the cares she wishes with this baby!

September: Saying Goodbye to the Cattle

2010-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Every fall the cattle leave us for the slaughter house. The kids think they are just going to greener pastures, and we like to keep it that way in their mind:)

Roger has them so tame by the fall that he just pulls some buckets of feed and apples into the corral and all the cows just come trotting up for their snack.

Well, today we said goodbye to the 40 black angus and also the Bill and Bud, our Holsteins.

The new chicken coop is complete. Brian and Roger outfitted the old bunk house into a coop and it has been the perfect deluxe suite for these chickens, complete with a trap door for the birds to exit and roam in their little outdoor arena. We are so lucky to have the ranch as part of our lives.

September: Fall Piano Recital

2010-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

The kids had a fall piano recital held at the beautiful Veranda Park building. As usual, Georgia, their teacher, had a complete band to accompany them on some of their songs and especially on vocal solos. Lizzy played her piece beautifully, but needed her music.

Then my friend Sharon's daughter Paige went next and did a fabulous job, considering she just barely started piano.

Paige's brother Gavin went next and played star wars. Georgia knows how to find music that pleases the children and encourages them to practice.

One of my favorite performers was Mckay who is my friend Melissa's son. He sang a country western favorite and had the crowd completely involved.

But the highlight performance of the night was Lizzy singing follow the prophet in a jewish manner complete with a band and Andrew leading the audience on the chorus. It was a hit!

Andrew was not too shabby on the leading.

Here is the live performance!

September: "City Deer

2010-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

We were going to our friends the Rajagopal's for dinner one Sunday evening and pulled up to their house to a few large bucks. Brian said these were worthy of a picture!

We have dear all over our neighborhood. At dawn and dusk you really have to watch for them or you become another insurance number for car damage related to a deer accident.

I will never forget several years ago Christina and I were painting late into the night. She took a load of trash out after we finished around one a.m. and was startled when she opened our door and there on our front grass was about a dozen deer. She screamed...they scattered!

It is definitely one thing I love living in Medford. Rural living! Brian just wished he had his bow with him.

September: Cub Scout Pack Meeting Bear Advancement

2010-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew received his Bear award this month in cub scouts. This is largely in thanks to his Grammie Martin who not only made sure he was a bear but also he received one gold and 3 silver arrow points. That, in addition to 7 belt clips and 3 pins. He has been working hard and was rewarded at this pack meeting.

Mom received her honorary Bear pin...which she should give to grammy as she has been too nauseous and sick to help him lately.

Afterward they played a balloon game which they all loved.

And even a few parents participated, including a favorite couple of mine!

September:Brian's Biggest Fish

2010-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

While Michelle and Andrew were in town Brian had a short day at work so he and Andrew went for some afternoon salmon fishing on the Rogue.

Brian caught what appeared to be a pretty good sized fish. When it finally was pulled in the boat, the boys were completely surprised, as was their guide, because it was the biggest fish any of them had seen on the Rogue river!

Needless to say, Brian was a little giddy:) It was almost as long and as heavy as he is!

Andrew was not too shabby either! He had caught a fish on the Rogue last year and with the other brother-in-laws wanting to make sure that they outdid his fishing this month, he had something to prove.

So he caught one big fish...

And then another!

Take that Darren and Brett!

September: Andrew and Michelle Visit

2010-09-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

In September we continued to see many visitors. My sister Michelle, her husband Andrew, and their son Andrew came at the end of the month. They were so cute! I asked them what they would like to do while they were in town and Michelle replied, we just want to relax, watch a bunch of movies, and pillage from your soda pop fridge. Done, Done, and Done!

We did get out and about though...like our breakfast at my favorite little place in Ashland called Morning Glory!

September: Legos and Andrew

2010-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew got a star wars lego kit to build a spaceship. After building the spaceship he figured he could make some improvements on the kit and made a second with his other legos. My friend Laurie had her toddler over and he destroyed the two legos within seconds. Laurie was completely stressed to think that this could happen. I reassured her Andrew could rebuild them quite quickly. And sure enough, Andrew rebuilt both legos within 5 minutes! Such a smart kid!

September: Ethan's 1st Day of Preschool

2010-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ethan had his first day of preschool the same day the kids had their first day of school. The preschool had 1/2 of the kids come one day, the other 1/2 come the other so that they could become acquainted with the schedule and not feel overwelmed by the chaos.

This is Ethan with his teacher Mrs. Schmor. He really clicked with her and we have known her for about 5 years since all the Hall kids have gone to this preschool.

Ethan's buddy Ricky is also at his school with him. We do a lot of carpooling with Ricky and playdates.

This is him when I picked him up and he was like, "Another picture?" Yes Brian...er...Ethan.

I also volunteered during that first month in preschool. Because Ethan's mom was the volunteer he got to help with the calendar and the weather.

He felt pretty special! My youngest is in preschool!

September: 1st Day at Hoover Elementary

2010-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's my kids first day of school. Here they are in their new school clothes, compliments of their Nana Hall. They were so excited...despite the fact that it was 7:15 am.

This was Sophie's first year with all day school. I worried about her being tired after that long day but she was a champ!

I can't believe that I am now down to just having Ethan home during the day. What a break! Aren't they so cute! P.S. I love the fact that the bus picks them up right in front of our house!

September: Oregon Beach Trip

2010-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

After our trip to the Redwoods we went to the beach. Now, if they were expecting hot weather and relaxing, that just is not Oregon. It was a typical cool, windy day...which didn't stop my kids from getting in their swimsuits and being ready to play!

September: Redwood Forrest Visit

2010-09-04T08:00:00.001-07:00

Day #3 Found us taking a trip to the Redwood Forrest. This was a first time visit to the forrest for Darren and Brett and they were completely amazed by the size of these trees!

We love this place called Stout Grove. It has a great one mile loop that the kids can tolerate and there are plenty of trees for them to explore, climb, and get photographed.

This is definitely my favorite 4 some!

September: Honey Making with the Martins

2010-09-03T08:00:00.001-07:00

Night #2 found us harvesting honey from Brian's beehives. We thought our guests might be curious how you take comb and convert it to honey.

Lizzy showed them what a frame of honey looks like.

Andrew showed them that frames could have different colors based on what the bees were collecting.

Brian showed them how to remove the wax caps to release the honey.

Ethan showed them the best techniques of sampling honey.

Then we put the honey frames in the drum and each took turns spinning the drum!

And out popped honey!

September: The Boys and the Big Fish

2010-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Day #2 found the men fishing on the famous Rogue River. At 6am they were off to fish, by 3pm we still had not heard if they were successful. Then, we received word they had caught some fish and that the men were happy. Darren was the first to land a big fish. A 25 pound salmon. They had a great day and came home with a ridiculous amount of fish. While the men slaved away on the river, we girls went to lunch and for pedicures...such delight!

September: Valdez & Peterson Visit at LOTW

2010-09-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

My sisters Chelsea and Dyana came to Medford for a little retreat from life. We had a wonderful time. We started out by meeting them at Lake of the Woods (LOTW) for some attempted wake boarding, knee boarding, tubing, and island hopping.

We also witnessed the US Forrest Service cutting down trees that were dead to prevent them from falling on houses. Pretty amazing!

The kids did tricks at the dock.

Even Mish came on the boat rides.

Here are the kids with their favorite Nanny in the world! We miss our Chelsea!

Chelsea and Darren

Brett, Dyana, and Bracken

We had a wonderful day complete with sunburns, hotdogs, and tired arms from the boat!

August: Toodie Bee Visit

2010-08-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Toodie's son Kris was married in August. We were unable to make it to the wedding because of Brian's schedule. She was driving out of Monterrey and took a detour north to Medford for an unplanned but loved visit.

While with us Brian took her to the hives to check out the bees. I loved the fact that on the top she was in a full bee suit and on the bottom she was in sandals!

Andrew joined Toodie to check out the bees and they both loved it!

Brian showed them the different colors of pollen, honey frames, and baby bees. It was very educational for Toodie.

I am sure she was saying to herself, "Is this for real? Am I really in a bee suit?"

August: "Lunch & Swim Dates"

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

How could you not love a summer where you get to go to your friend's pool and go swimming, then follow that swim with a scoop of gourmet ice cream!

Yeah, we are pretty lucky. Thank goodness patients pay our friends with monthly gourmet ice cream supplies sometimes instead of cash!

This is the kids getting their exercise "walking" on the water.

This is me enjoying a lunch from my friend Debbie while the kids swim.

Toodie even happened to be in town for this visit and got to sample the good food.

There are two of my favorite people, Sharon and Debbie.

Debbie I will sit down to a meal with you anytime!

August: Sophie's 7th Birthday

2010-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sophie turned 7 this year. I get a phone call from one of my good friends husbands who happens to be a cake boss and he asks what day Sophie's birthday party is so that he can have the cake done in time. One of Sophie's best little friends is his daughter, Paige.

I am shocked and can barely reply. This guy is a very busy Oral Surgeon who didn't have to worry about my daughter. He then explained that Sophie had asked him to do it one day while the girls were playing and he was more than willing. She wanted a dolphin cake just like he had made for his daughters birthday. Since it wasn't a new cake attempt he felt it wouldn't take that much time.

Sophie invited a few of her favorite friends to go to the waterslides. Little did we know a major cold front would move in that very day and make the slides ice cold.

Andrew had a few buddies along too.

This was Ethan's first year on the slides without assistance. He figured it out quite quickly and then wanted his turn over and over, till his lips were blue.

Most of the time the boys were huddled like this on their towels.

So were the girls.

At last, it came time for cake and presents.

The girls loved to look at the gifts.

Sophie was a happy camper.

Then, in a matter of minutes, all of Raj's efforts with Sophie's cake dissappeared into some hungry tummies! Happy Birthday Sophie!

August: Ranch Photo Shoot

2010-08-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Steven and Brianne came into town for a summer visit. While here, Brianne offered to take some pictures of my children for fun. She dressed them in eclectic outfits that were colorful and then added balloons. Then, she placed them in the middle of my father-in-laws fields at the ranch. The cows were even curious what was going on. Here are just the few pics I snapped with my I-phone.

I am sure my kids were saying, "Whatever mom!" in this photo!

In this one they are showing you how well behaved they all are.

Brianne did a fantastic job. The kids loved it too!

Then the sun set and the show was over!

August: Stay-cation Day at LOTW

2010-08-07T08:00:00.001-07:00

Day #3 of our stay-cation found us for an overnighter at Lake of the Woods. Grandpa and Nana joined us and we had a wonderful evening. Brian and Andrew joined us the next morning because Andrew ended up needing some dental work.

Ethan loved looking with the binoculars across the lake.

Sophie and Lizzy lived on the inflatable floaties down at the dock.

Everyone wanted a ride on grandpa's boat.

Lots of inner tube rides!

Such a fun time!

August: Stay-cation Day at the Family Fun Center

2010-08-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Day #2 of our stay-cation found us at the family fun center. Ethan was thrilled to be old enough to ride the miniature go-carts. He raced with all his other siblings and had a blast!

Then we went on the bumper boats where all of the children ganged up on me and soaked me to the bone! Rozanne just giggled from the sideline! After bumper boats we headed to the miniature golf course and Andrew put on a clinic. He loves to golf. Our goal was to make sure we always new where Ethan's ball was as he launched them. He loves golfing! It was a wonderful and fun event. Afterwards, Nana kept the girls at her house for a little R&R time.

August: Stay-cation Bowling Day

2010-08-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Brian had a week off in August and we discussed going on a road trip to Seattle with the kids. We thought it would be fun to go as far as Vancouver, BC and so we even spent a large sum of money on passports for the kids so we could go that far if we wanted. We invited Roger and Rozanne and they were excited to go on the trip.

Well, as things go, I ended up being quite sick with morning sickness from a pregnancy we were not expecting. The last thing I wanted to do was sit in a car day after day. Brian was also not in the mood as he had worked really hard for several days and he wanted to just relax and not spend each day driving.

So, as a compromise we had a "stay-cation" with activities for the kids planned each day. Today's highlight was bowling.

This was the first year Ethan was able to bowl with just the bumper lanes and not a ramp.

The event became a competition between Brian and Andrew as Andrew was dominating the field of Hall's.

But Brian pulled through in the final rounds to go ahead of Andrew.

Nana just came along to watch and laugh at all of us!

Then, out of the blue, Sophie took the lead and beat all of the Hall family members!

Mom just looked ridiculous bowling. Definitely not her sport.

August: Ethan's Hero Summer Camp

2010-08-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

I went out of town for the day and we left Ethan with my friend Debbie. Needless to say, he was ready to be adopted by the Anderson family.

Check out his schedule! So fun!

New battle gear to go with his Buzz uniform.

Even a new plush Buzz to sleep with! Thumbs up!

Trampoline time with Nate.

Mr. and Mrs. Hall,

Thank you for supporting the Anderson Hero summer camp. We enjoyed having your son, Ethan Hall, attend our first annual Hero training. We hope that his time with us was well spent and that his Hero skills were sharpened. We take pride in our Hero training and delight in watching our participants thrive. We believe that your son, Ethan, is a gifted and talented Hero. We are happy to recommend that he be advanced to the ELITE training level. We see promise in his abilities and expect great things from him in the future.

We value your input and strive to improve our services. Any questions, concerns, or comments may be brought to the attention of our social director
Ms. Andria Anderson @ (541) 499-9996.

Thank you for becoming part of our Hero alliance. Working together, we will make the world a better place.

Regards,

Debbie Anderson
Anderson family CEO

August: Cousin Time

2010-08-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Both Blaine and Ethan are very smart, very verbal, and very strong willed. Put them together and you have the best show of arguments you will ever see between two men who aren't lawyers. But then, something snapped with my nephew Blaine and also with Ethan and all of the sudden the constant fights between the two disappeared and "play" appeared.

Today, I marveled at the fact that they both made creations. Both were even commenting on how amazing each of their towers, trains, and structures were.

Baby steps man! We might even let them play together again!

August: Garrison Keillor Summer of Love Concert

2010-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you ever have the opportunity to go to a Garrison Keillor concert, go! It was the best Britt event this summer....well....just as cool as Styx.

Garrison Keillor does the "Prairie Home Companion Show" on NPR and he is absolutely amazing. On this night he gave ramblings about summer love from its infancy to its elderly state. He had us all rolling on the ground!

This night was compliments to us from the Burts. We were blown away with how good the event was.

To top it off Lisa made a homemade peach and cream cheese pie we got to dig into at intermission. What a great night: Peach Pie, Snuggling with my Hubby, and Comedic Love!

August: Andrew's Lego Robotics Camp

2010-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew went to a summer camp at our local university and it was completely on Lego Robotics. Need I say more? Andrew was in heaven and hasn't stopped talking about it since!

What made this experience even better is the fact that two of his buddies went to camp with him!

They were broken into groups and given challenges each day. Whether it was robot combat, speed races or just plain old creativity, there was never a dull moment!

Then, what more could a bunch of 9 year old boys want than a day filled with legos and an afternoon filled with icecream!

July: U7 Girls Soccer Team Party

2010-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

We had an end of the season swim party for our little soccer team in July because so many people were out of town until then. The kids loved the swimming and food. Vicky and I loved working on our tans.

We purchased trophies for each of the girls on the team. We were 17-0 and had lots of reasons to celebrate our soccer season.

I think the girls were more excited to just be with one another. So fun!

July: Twilight at Midnight

2010-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Anne invited me to see the midnight viewing of Twilight. I totally felt like a teenager. Of course, I never did things like this as a teenager and so this was my first experience.

The line to get in the midnight showing for presold tickets stretched around the theatre and down the block. Anne fortunately went and saved us a spot in line. I was waiting for Brian to get home from a late late late case.

The movie was typical tween but we five mom's had a blast!

July: Summer Swim Hopping

2010-07-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have decided that there is no reason to ever purchase a swimming pool. It's much to fun to go to all of our friends. This year I took my kids to at least 3 different pools a week.

They love the Cannon's diving board.

They love Nana's little hot tub and the creamy popsicles that Nana provides.

I love the fact that I bring along Debbie who became our personal chef for lunch at each swim date.

We love building a dam at the Rajagopal's pool flooding the upper terrace.

And of course, Ethan's crack, tan line, and ability to fall asleep anywhere makes my day!

July: Styx Concert

2010-07-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

What's crazier: A suburban full of adults acting like teenagers...

or that same group of teenagers going crazy at a Rock Concert of a band that's 40 years old?

Styx puts on a fabulous show. And when you go with friends you become the show!

July: Sick Sleepy Ethan

2010-07-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ethan hasn't felt well for a couple of days. He told me he thought he was going to throw up. I gave him a metal bowl just in case and when I turned around to check on him, I found him asleep, bent over the sofa, with his head in the vomit basin.

Even when sick and asleep he is so cute!

Mish took sympathy on him and took a nap with Ethan!

July: Elizabeth & Oreo

2010-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my dog/bunny whisperer Lizzy teaching Sophie a few things.

Do you know of any other child who can get a bunny to lay on it's back completely still for an hour?

I almost wondered if Oreo was dead. But, regrettably, not. Lizzy sure loves her animals!

July: Ethan's buddy Christopher

2010-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ethan has a little friend Christopher Faught who he gets along with perfectly. I was taking the kids to the Yogurt Hut recently and had to snap this picture of the two of them as they walked in!
Christopher was recently adopted and sealed by my good friends Bill and Melissa. It has been a special year for them.

July: Jackson County Fair

2010-07-07T08:00:00.001-07:00

This year the kids and I went to the fair and were joined by Nana, Grandpa and Dad. We had to make a pit stop at the mall prior to the fair and were given free sunglasses. We were a bunch of cool cats!

The first event we went to see after viewing all of the cute animals, including some amazing piglets was the dog flying act.

We watched these dogs do amazing things...and their owners look ridiculous!

Speaking of ridiculous, our next event was watching the pig races.

I had the honor of opening the gates to start the races. they are lightning fast!

Then it was time for the main event. The cattle auction. We had a friend who was auctioning her cow. The event was amazing. Her cow was beautiful.

We thought we might bid but the bidding got quite expensive and we all know how infrequently Hall's eat meat!

It was a great event!

July: Children's Festival

2010-07-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

July is not complete without a trip to the annual Children's Festival held at the Britt Grounds in Jacksonville.

We had to make a bee line to the carpentry station to make some weapons.

Andrew showed his mad skills to his buddy Nate with his amazing sword!

We danced on stage with two of my favorite sisters in this world, Vicky & Sharon. They are in charge of the stage shows during the 3 day event and do a fabulous job.

Sophie loved the dancing and shows on stage.

She and Ethan just had to be the one throwing all the trash away!

Lizzy showed us her skills on a potter's wheel.

Could Ethan be the next Van Gogh?

July: Utah Quick Visit

2010-07-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

After our trip to Bear Lake we were back in Orem for 48 hours. I had to deal with a broken crown so the kids got to spend the day with their aunts and uncles. What did they do?

They ate their favorite meal at Costco.

They even splurged on popsicles!

Then it was off to their favorite amusement park in Orem. Chuck-E-Cheese!

Where we all tried to beat fastest finger!

A little skee-ball.

Then the real competition started with basketball.

Where Darren showed us a thing or two.

Then Ethan showed Tina a thing or two. What a great visit!

July: Bear Lake Part II

2010-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are more things I love about Bear Lake:

Watching my Nephew Bracken eat more sand than bottle.

Watching Tina rotate swimsuits to prevent tan lines.

Watching Chelsea continue to play the role of Nanny despite the fact that she doesn't spend summers with us and she is married now!

Watching the brother I was so overprotective about as a big sister become a fantastic father.

Not doing my hair for 7 straight days.

Watching the two craziest sisters on Jet Skis!

Watching Ethan play in the 3 inch pond of mud.

Hangin' with my nephews.

Thinking about how precious life is and how much I love my own mother.

Seeing the same floaties come year after year with new patches each time.

Watching the "lightweight" Woolley clan try to jump on the floating trampoline. And watching my Uncle Rick and Grandpa Woolley just wade 0ut in the waters with their grandchildren.

Watching Grammie play with the grandkids.

Visiting with each of my relatives and stealing their yummy treats.

Bear Lake Shakes....enough said!

Just hangin'

Sometimes with a bunch of nephews.

Or cuddling with just one...

They both are so sleepy and for the first time ever, grandpa looks like he has lots of hair!

I love Grandma's visits with each of her grandchildren, then the chronicling of those visits in her e-journal which we all read!

Mark and Brad huge sand creations!

Andrew and Ethan little creations...

Good friends from Logan who "stop by" to say hi.

"I'd rather eat sand..."

"Look mom I'm surfing!"

"I'm sifting the sand for treasure...seashells. Don't lose them mom. They are going home with us!"

"Reapply sunblock again??? Why mom, you did it this morning?"

And of course, watching my crazing siblings do crazier stunts on roller blades with my kiddos!

I LOVE BEAR LAKE!!!

July: Bear Lake Part I

2010-07-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are many of the reasons why I love Bear Lake.

I love hanging at the pool watching my sisters become paranoid mothers.

I love watching my sisters try to get "amazing tans" which to me look like they are just red tomatoes.

I love staying together as a Martin clan in the same old condo unit with uncomfortable sofas and sticky pine benches and tables we eat on.

I love watching my sister reapply sunblock over and over again for her white baby. Oh, and do I need to mention hand sanitizer.

I love watching the "old folks" watching us play in the water.

I love the fact that my mom never acts her age.

I love getting to know in-laws better.

I love to see Martin features in my siblings kids...or not.

I love listening to Lizzy sing while playing in the sand.

I love how photogenic Sophie is on the beach!

I love the mass of bear lake chairs most likely compliments of Uncle Rick at each of their weddings. I love how we take over 100 yards of the beach.

I love that when I tell Ethan we are going to see the ocean that he says excitedly, "We are going to Bear Lake?"

I love sitting and yapping with my sisters.

July: 4th of July Breakfast & Parade

2010-07-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Each year our ward hosts a pancake breakfast at the church on the 4th of July. We honor our veterans and have a small children's parade around the church parking lot.

This year our kids decorated their scooters.

We had a flag ceremony.

Andrew, as a cub scout, helped with the veteran recognition, which was special because he recognized his Grandpa Hall.

Everyone had plenty of pancakes, sausage and eggs!

July: Grandma & Grandpa Woolley

2010-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Grandma an Grandpa Woolley, I have the blessed opportunity to look forward to my favorite vacation every year at Bear Lake. Grandpa and Grandma make it possible for everyone to come to their special "summer home." Each year, on the Monday after the 4th of July we congregate as "Woolley" relatives and bask in the sun at the beach or the pool, giggle in the hottub, play endless card games, eat nightly shakes, and overall just get to be with each other. It is my slice of heaven and the kids love it too! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

June: Summer Swim

2010-06-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Summer,

Where did you go? All I did is swim with the kids, eat lots of food, and get a great tan.

I guess I did a few other things....like:

I also scolded Ethan for taking off his life vest.

Told Lizzy to get more sun block on.

Told Andrew not to hit me in the face with a squirt gun.

And told Sophie not to break her neck in the pool.

Oh, I hung out with these guys.

Don't leave summer....stay and LONG time!

June: Andrew's Soccer Tournament

2010-06-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew participated in a soccer tournament with his team at the end of the season.

They ended up making it to the championship game where they lost to a really good team in their division that they split with 1-1 in the regular season.

Andrew's coach is a great guy whose son is one of Andrew's best friends. He gave them each awards and Andrew's was the "Best Kicker" award.

He then challenged each of them to practice dribbling skills. He gave them each a little soccer ball and told them that if they could juggle it on their knee 10 times he would replace the ball with a bigger ball.

Let the games begin! You should have seen the excitement in the kids.

Andrew H. and his buddy Andrew M.

June: Trampoline Time

2010-06-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Old Brian: "Jill, we will never own a trampoline they are too dangerous. I have seen way too many accidents come through the O.R."

New Brian?: "Come on kids, let's all jump together on the tramp!"

Jill: As Lizzy exits the tramp with a sprained ankle, "How many times do I have to tell you kids not to be on the tramp together!"

June: Rodeo Queens

2010-06-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lizzy & Sophie's friend Saydee invited them to the Rodeo. Sophie especially was squealing with delight. She is my little cowgirl.

They all got dressed up in cowgirl gear and were quite the site!

June: First Cut Hay 2010 (FINALLY!)

2010-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

The June rains lasted much longer this year, translating into a delayed cut for the hay crops in the valley. Everyone's hay was getting so long it was starting to bend over. It wasn't really until 2 weeks into June that Roger was able to make his first cut. We were excited by that point. After our chores of feeding the calves it was off to the fields to gather what amounted to over 2200 bales of hey. All but a few hundred were put in the barn which meant A LOT OF WORK!

But isn't this work cute?

We each took turns loading hay and driving the tractor. Roger hired a local teenager Mckay to come help and his arms were greatly needed.

We would end up doing approximately 3 loads each time we went out. Which was approximately 250 bales of hay.

This translated into lots of trips. But Roger staggered the cutting, raking and baling such that we kept humming along.

We loaded the horse barn up to the ceiling for the first time ever. It was quite the site. Fortunately, their is an entrance up top.

Pretty amazing!

June:Bee & Cow Visits at the Ranch

2010-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Recently we had some friends for dinner and then we went to the ranch to feed the baby calves and Brian needed to do a bee check.

The kids got a kick out of bucket and bottle feeding these little ones.

They were amazed that these calves could suck down a 2 litter bottle of milk in less than 3 minutes.

Oh, Andrew and Gavin are so cute! They will be so embarrassed by this picture when they are 16.

Sophie and Paige make their mommies envious with those legs!

Brian checked the bees and his buddies Raj and Shawn got in the mix.

He had them eating bee larvae and all sorts of gooey stuff on each frame.

It was loads of fun though!

June: Andrew's photo ops for when he gets the NFL

2010-06-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of our football star in action.

Superstar Andrew!

June: New Fountain

2010-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Brian purchased a new fountain for our front yard. Our old fountain was toppled by a 5 year old and broke into multiple pieces. Brian was thrilled as he had hated it from the very beginning. He tolerated it for my benefit, calling it a "mafia" fountain. Sorry mom....who just purchased her own "mafia" fountain.

Brian found a company that will cut a hole in a rock for you and you can create your own fountain. It required a huge crane to transfer the rock.

We did a great deal of prep work, digging a 4 ft square, 12 inch deep hole to hold the basin for the water.

That's the basin in the air and the pile of rocks that would surround the fountain to cover the pump after.

Brian stayed and helped them move everything just where he wanted it.

The end result is beautiful!

June: Best Buddies

2010-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

These kids are always together. They are all best of friends. Maybe one day this will one day lead to a marriage by one of the sets, so our friends can become in-laws!

June: Oreo

2010-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lizzy told her dad she wanted a bunny. Those are magical words to a guy who raised bunnies for income in the teenage years selling bunnies for meat....yes.....thumper was sold over and over and over again....bunnies at the Hall's bit the dust.

Mish gave her welcome kisses.

The two of them will play tag with each other, taking turns playing tag, literally.

Ethan's like, "Ooh, another animal to torture!"

Lizzy in her black and white sunday best with her black and white bunny...which she named Oreo.

Hall family photo with the animals and a few friends.

June: Summer is Here!

2010-06-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, I am just that cool. Car seat, shades, and a nerf gun.

June: Fast Food and Summer Fun

2010-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is why I don't lose weight in the summer.

Fast food with friends and their kids!

June: Daisy Maisy

2010-06-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Dear sister Dysie-May,

I took these pics are for you of your favorite flower and favorite Hall nieces and nephews!

June: Cub Scout Day Camp

2010-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Every year Andrew has had the opportunity to go to cub scout day camp. Every year I have the opportunity of volunteering an entire day at day camp. Every year I have sent my sister Chelsea in my place. This year I was not so lucky. I had to go myself. It was a great day, long, but good, and I can see why Andrew loves going to it.

June: VIM Thankyou

2010-06-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you volunteer anywhere in the Medford School District you are designated a VIM (Volunteer in Medford). Today they had a VIM thank you and had the kindergartners come sing thank you. This was great because Sophie is a Kindergartner this year so she was glowing to see me in the audience.

I love this age! Here she is with her buddy Adam and Lenah.

June: Kindergarten End of Year Party

2010-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sophie's end of the year party was held at Holmes Park. The kids were divided into groups and they each took turns at different stations doing relay races or other games.

Sophie's favorite was the face painting station.

She wasn't too shabby with the tug-o-war though either!

After wards they all sat down at the picnic tables and had a popsicle.

Ethan had a fun time too as his buddies were all there for their older siblings. I think he declared this his party.

Here are some pics of Sophie's friends

Victoria & Becky
Isaac & Emily

Abby & Laura
Ronan & Sandy

Liliana & Natalie

Laurie & Molli

Emily & Jen

Lenah

Addie & Liliana

June: Kindergarten Graduation 2010

2010-06-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here we are again at the end of a long year to celebrate Sophie's graduation from Kindergarten. This event is so for the parents and not for the kids! There were people a full hour early to save seats! First the graduates came in.

Then each child came up and received their memory book from the best kindergarten teacher ever. Sophie just loved her and she was the loving teacher that Sophie so desperately needed.

I love that toothless grin!

After wards there was cake and pictures. Even Nana Hall came tot he even.

This is Sophie with her best buddy Molli, another toothless lady. It was a special and happy day!

June: Elizabeth's End of School Party

2010-06-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

Lizzy's end of the school party was held at Holmes park. She was thrilled I was there. We ate grilled hotdogs with her buddies and another 100 kids.

Then it was off to play field games. I brought Sophie, Molli, and Ethan to enjoy another "party."

They played a really cool version of kickball where 10 kids kick at the same time and run the bases at the same time. There were plenty of outs and scores made!

Afterward a delicious popsicle waited for each and every child, especially all the Hall kids!

June: Andrew's End Of The Year Activities

2010-06-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew's class went on a field trip to hike one of the Table Rock mountains. I went as a parent volunteer. I had never done this hike before and knew it was close by. I wondered if it was worth taking the family on.

Andrew enjoyed the ranger and the hike. She enjoyed stopping (litterally) every 100 yards to spew facts about the nature around us. This made even the slow kids able to make the trek without much complaint.

We arrived at the top of the plateau and were able to see the whole Rogue Valley. It is quite beautiful.

Andrew even acknowledged his mom was on the trip.

We had a nice time on top eating lunch and listening to Indian lore from ranger Bucky (her real name).

Andrew's 3rd grade class. So cute. On the way down from top, the ranger had each child spew a fact to the class as they passed by. Some kids said things like, "A plateau is flat." or "That is poison oak." As I passed by my own son, he spewed this fact out, that was not taught to him by ranger Bucky but by his teacher the week before. "The 4 plank communities on Table Rock in order are: 1. Oak Savannah, 2. Chapparal, 3. Mixed Woodlands, 4. Mounded Prairie and Vernal Pools." He's a freakin' genius.

At the last awards ceremony of the year Andrew received the prestigious "Classic Reader" award. This award was given to only 16 kids in the entire elementary this year. Andrew along with 3 of his closest buddies received it. It meant he read a certain amount of hard level books in a certain window of time.

I was a proud mom! It was a beautiful medallion that he has declared will be stored in his quart jar of valuables that also holds cool rocks, dead bugs, and some coins from a distant trip Brian and I took to Spain. Glad he is stayin' real.

Andrew's end of the year party was held at a local park. They had pizza and goodies for kids to eat, then they let them play on the playground, and last but not least, they had a water balloon fight of which I helped fill over 300 balloons (I get a pat on the back).

Some of us parents pocketed a few of these balloons. Little did I know how much trouble this would get me in. They started out with balloon toss and then the big war.

Just an FYI-never hit a dysfunctional, difficult, defiant, bully, who weighs more than you. He will cry like a baby and tell the principal.

May: Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mother's day was special. The Relief Society prepared Box Lunches for all the women. We were also able to hear a beautiful message from Kathy Waggener. She is really amazing. Then, that evening, Rozanne treated her two daughters (me and Anne) to a yummy meal without any work from us.

The kids gave us all sorts of cute notes, flower pots, and boondoggle and then at dinner stated why they love their mom. They made me feel good. I love my mom because she is my biggest cheerleader. I am a lucky girl.

May: OSU Baseball

2010-05-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

We have a good friend whose son Rob plays for OSU on their baseball team. We kept telling ourselves we would go see a few baseball games while he was there. Well, the final weekend of his senior campaign came and we still had not seen him play. He is the guy in center field.

Brian contacted Rob to see if he could get us some tickets. He got us three and we took Roger along with us. Truthfully, I was missing a Y chromosome for this trip.

The whole Folsom clan was there for his final series, including his brother Ryan who just had returned home from Korea on a mission the night before. It was a special game.

They ended up beating the University of Arizona which placed them in a good enough position to enter the NCAA baseball tournament.

Here is Rob hitting. He had quite the crowd of family cheering him on. It was a great day to spend with Brian and Roger!

May: Birthday Party

2010-05-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Brian and I threw a party for our friend Lou. It was the first "friends" party in our new kitchen.

Anne & Tay did a fab job catering the event and everyone had such a blast and went away with some uncomfortably full stomachs.

No, that isn't beer but Henry Wienhards root beer....yummy....vanilla cream...

Anyways, Lou got some pretty funny gifts including a toolbox full of "Manly" supplies: cologne, pedicure set, hand lotions, etc. It was a riot.

My friend Susan made a collage of hot models from magazines as a display when you walked into the house. I sure wish I had a pic of it. The party was a blast!

May: Grammie Toodie Gifts

2010-05-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

The girls love packages in the mail because they are primarily from Grammie Toodie. Here they are displaying their new shoes that arrived today thanks to Toodie. FYI, the dresses they have on are also from other packages from Toodie. Everyone needs a Toodie in their lives.

May: Cubscout Religious Knot

2010-05-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew's Bear troop made a goal to all get their Religious Knot. It is one of the only badges that is so important that you transfer it to your Boy Scout uniform. Nearly every boy received the award. We dedicate ours to our Grammie Martin who helped him get it! Thank goodness Grammie is a Bear leader in Utah and keeps us caught up!

May: Beekeeping

2010-05-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Brian's bee hobby has been something very fun for both he and Andrew to do together. Frequently Brian has to check the hives to identify if the Queen bee is laying an adequate supply of eggs, to check to see the volume of honey being made, and also to identify if additional frames and boxes to the hive are needed.

Andrew wanted to go do the chores with his dad. Brian had a Mormon Missionary Elder Broadbent tag along.

While they worked, a very curious Lizzy got closer and closer to the hives. I wish you could appreciate how many bees were in the air.

I think the first time she get's stung her habit of being so fearless will go away. But apparently not today.

May: Science Fair Project

2010-05-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

This year's science fair was an optional assignment for Hoover Elementary kids. Most parents chose not to have their kids do a science project. Andrew really wanted to do this so he went to the library and found a science project book and identified a project he liked.

First he measured varying amounts of liquid in cups.

Then he put one drop of soap in each cup.

Then he mixed each solution.

Here are his solutions. 1:1, 1:5, 1:10, 1:15, 1:20, 1:30, 1:50

Then he poured a solution onto a tray and blew bubbles, measuring the largest in each solution.

Some of the solutions were pretty big.

He ended up identifying the 1:15 solution made the best bubbles.

He then put a poster presentation together showing his results and he was pretty proud! I was proud of him for doing a project on his own! Great job Andrew!

April: Finished Kitchen

2010-04-23T08:00:00.001-07:00

The kitchen is finally finished. Our first meal in it was Easter dinner. We are so thrilled with how it turned out. There was not a single thing that we would change, which is a good feeling.

This is my desk area, right in the heart of the kitchen.

The black area is Brian's man station, complete with a filing system, charging station, and junk hider. My favorite part!

The view coming around the corner of the front entryway.

I like our black/wood combo. I think it turned out great. I also liked the farmhouse sink in stainless, makes it feel slightly modern.

The kids were glad to be able to chill once again in the family room.

The area below the microwave is the appliance garage. It hides everything so there is nothing sitting on my counter-tops. Bliss! Also behind the left door is the fridge and below handle the freezer....sneaky!

I did floor to ceiling cabinets to utilize space and decrease the amount of house lint I put above my cabinets. All the things in the glass cabinets are items I use.

I used a mosaic tile that has metal and glass in it.

The island is loaded with cabinet space. There are hidden cabinets and pocket doors. The stove has a vent that come up from the island and is hidden after use.

The table is our original table from the early days of our marriage. We had it refinished and stained. Then I purchased new chairs since our other ones were kindling.

It turned out beautiful!

April: He Can Sleep Anywhere

2010-04-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is cute little Ethan asleep at the foot of the bed.

He transfers so well out of the car.
I am sitting there in the bathroom letting Ethan take a bath and yep, he can even fall asleep in the tub. Scary!

April: Silly Faces

2010-04-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Don't hate me because I am beautiful!

The result of 1$ Target slurpees.

"Yeah mom, we love our noodles!"