Thursday, September 24, 2009

Highlights from the summer

I ran a half marathon with some awesome ladies!





My cute Carly's 12th birthday!

Carly is....


fun
spunky
full of energy
talented
smart
confident
responsible
entertaining
athletic
spiritual



We love you CarCar!




My beautiful Brooke's 10th birthday

Brooke is....

a gentle soul
happy
mellow
a morning person
clever
humorous
silly
confident
smart
social


We love you Cookie!







A fabulous, fun-filled 4th of July with family!




Freezing in the Ape Caves when it was over 100 degrees outside.


Monday, August 10, 2009

All the Hall Grandkids


The Boys



Just the girls....






It was a rare occasion to have all of the grandchildren on the Hall side of the family, together at the same time....so, of course we had to take pictures!!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Mt. St. Helens!!
















On June 5th, I hiked/climbed to the top of Mt. St. Helens! Some people have asked me why I did this....I guess, just because a friend asked if I wanted to. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! We started the climb at 8 am. It was overcast, foggy, and misty.

A lady in the stake put the hike together, and there ended up being 25 of us girls. It took us 7 hours to reach the top (yep, 7 hours!) We went six miles us, and six miles down. It was SO foggy, you couldn't see the mountain (or markers) and when you looked below, you couldn't see past the fog either. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but there was a great feeling of accomplishment reaching the top! We sat right on the edge and looked down into the crater.

Then came the best part...sledding/sliding down the mountain on garbage bags. It was a blast--and SO much better than the climb up!! I know I didn't want to that night....but I will consider going again, with Shane.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Sunday, May 31, 2009

WICKED!!







I know it's been a while since I've posted....I'm going to start catching up by posting some pictures of Wicked. We went to see Wicked in March. My brother Jevonn, his wife, Heather, and their four girls (Madison, Mandy, Jessica, and Bailey) all came from Spokane to see it too. They came a day early, which was great, it gave the girls lots of bonding time. They really loved spending time with their cousins--Isaac was a little outnumbered, but I don't think he minded (especially if Madison gave him some attention). Mom and Dad came the day of the show and we all headed to Portland. I went having never heard the music....I LOVED IT!! It was so entertaining--I would love to see it again! We also went with a bunch of friends from the ward, even some who have moved away, and Shane's family too. Can't wait for next time!

Friday, February 20, 2009

It's Official--no more thumb-sucking!!





I think I can officially declare that Paige no longer sucks her thumb--or any other finger!! It's been a long time coming!! Ever since Paige was a couple of months old, she has sucked her thumb. She was just a baby that needed that comfort, and along with her special soft blankie, would go to sleep so easy! I thought it was so cute as a baby--that wore off a little, the older she got, and the thought of trying to break her of the habit was always in the back of my mind. Once she was approaching two, we decided it was time (her teeth were proof of that). I bought "Thum" at the store and started applying it at bedtime. It helped for a while, then she started sucking her pointer finger. So we put it on both, then she started sucking her middle finger, etc, etc. We were putting "Thum" on all five fingers on BOTH hands. We were going through bottles of the stuff, and I was giving up. Then, my sister Jodi told me about Mavala STOP. Her dentist gave it to her for biting her nails, but it's great for thumb-sucking too. I ordered some online--and I am a BELIEVER!! Anyone with a thumbsucker needs to use this stuff. You only have to apply it once, and it stays on for two days--even with handwashing. I felt like a meanie, and I expected whining or staying up at night, but it never happened. It didn't even seem to phase her. It's been over a month now--and not once has she put a finger near her mouth!! If you have a thumb-sucker or nail biter, just call me--I have a whole bottle of Mavala STOP left!!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Bummed out!

Just thought I would fill those in who haven't heard....I broke my tailbone a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I have a broken butt :) I couldn't find an appropriate picture to post either. I wish I had a really cool story as to how it happened--but, I don't. I was carrying a basket of laundry down the stairs. As I was going down, I had to step over Isaac, who was sitting on the stairs. I really don't remember what happened exactly, but I think he raised an arm, or moved, I lost my footing, the basket went flying, and I landed on the edge of the stairs and continued to slide down a couple more. I started yelling/crying. The kids came running. Shane was at work, so Carly came over to me with the phone and said, "who do you want me to call? Should I call 911 or should I call dad?" (I must've really scared her if she thought I needed an ambulance) I had her try to call Shane, who's cell phone was dead. In the meantime, I called my friend's husband, who's a doctor, and asked him what I should do, because I thought I may have broken my tailbone. He told me to take 4 Ibuprofen, ice it, and get an x-ray in the morning (this all happened about 8 pm). So I layed on the couch (I don't have a memory of getting there), Carly brought me ice, Brooke rubbed my back, and Paige offered me her quesadilla. Shane got home about 10:30--still no idea what had happened. He started telling me about his day, etc., until I said, "guess what happened to me?" I got an x-ray the next day, and sure enough, I have a fractured tailbone. As Leah put it, "it gives new meaning to the phrase butt crack". I have had numerous jokes made at my expense :) It has been nice, though. Carly and Brooke brought me breakfast in bed the next morning with toast, juice, flowers, and ibuprofen. lol. They have all had to step things up and pick up everything I need them to, so I may just have to milk this as long as possible. Every day is a little better, and I can't wait to play soccer and volleyball again. This really is a pain in the rear!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Snowed In!




If you haven't heard....we have been hit by an arctic blast!! We have lived in Battle Ground for over five years, and it usually only snows once or twice, one or two inches, that lasts for a day or two. The kids basically didn't have school the last week before Christmas break--which means they will probably be going to school until the end of June--and we still have over a foot of snow on the ground! We barely made it out of our driveway to go to a friend's house a couple of blocks away. Church has been cancelled the last two weeks, and we'll find out if we get to go this week in a couple of days. The Portland area basically shuts down, which made preparing for Christmas extremely difficult. I hate to admit it....it's been ten years since we've lived somewhere where it snows, and I was a chicken to leave the house!