Kimberlily's Pad

Highlights from the summer

2009-09-24T00:41:00.000-07:00

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.

All the Hall Grandkids

2009-08-10T00:33:00.000-07:00

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!!

Mt. St. Helens!!

2009-06-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

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

WICKED!!

2009-05-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2009-02-20T23:30:00.000-08:00

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!!

Bummed out!

2009-02-09T22:32:00.001-08:00

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!

Snowed In!

2008-12-26T22:19:00.000-08:00

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!

My Own Wizard of Oz

2008-12-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of days before Christmas, we watched the Wizard of Oz (it was on tv). On commercial, the kids disappeared upstairs. This is what they looked like when they returned. They had raided the dress up box and emerged with Paige as Glenda the Good Witch, Macey as The Scarecrow (complete with Indian dress and a grass skirt as her hair--and ski gloves), Brooke as Dorothy (and Toto in her hand), and Isaac as The Lion. I thought it was so creative :)

Brooke's teeth

2008-11-27T01:33:00.000-08:00

Brooke had her teeth cleaned at the dentist the other day. They decided, since two of her top teeth couldn't come in because of the baby teeth blocking them (the two teeth have been gone for a year), that they would pull the baby teeth out. So, Brooke was a trooper and got two baby teeth extracted. She did great, but didn't go back to school that day. The tooth fairy was extra generous, due to pain and suffering. :)

Paige's 3rd Birthday!

2008-11-27T01:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is three! It makes me sad (and want another baby just a tiny bit:)...but at the same time, there are things that are great about her growing up. For one, she is totally potty-trained (believe me, there was a time I wondered if it would ever happen). Paige is such a fun little girl with a personality all her own. She loves to snuggle, play with her baby dolls, sing songs on the radio (her favorite right now is "So What" by Pink :), laugh, EAT, talk on the phone, be treated like a baby, and sleep in. Most of all, I love that she usually has a smile on her face. I love this little girl!

Halloween!

2008-11-27T01:12:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting some Halloween pictures posted (hey...it's technically before Thanksgiving!) Carly was a girl from India, Brooke was a Spanish girl, Macey was someone from Star Wars (sorry--I have no idea which character), Isaac was Anniken from Star Wars--when he was a boy, and Paige was Little Bo Peep. We trick-or-treated downtown, the kids did some door-to-door in the neighborhood, then we had family and friends over for pizza and x-box. I love when Halloween falls on a weekend!

Papa

2008-11-07T12:23:00.001-08:00

On our way home from California, we stopped in Medford and visited Shane's grandpa, aka "Papa". He is 92 years old and as witty and spunky as ever! We had a great visit--all of the kids received a lot of attention from the residents at the retirement home. One little lady was going to kidnap Isaac if we didn't keep an eye on her! :)

WE LOVED SEA WORLD!!

2008-11-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

Our second day at Disneyland/California Adventure

2008-11-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

Universal Studios

2008-10-23T01:12:00.001-07:00

First Day at DISNEYLAND

2008-10-22T01:23:00.001-07:00

Disneyland!!

2008-10-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

We visited Disneyland for the first time! If I could describe our experience in two words, it would be 1. crowded and 2. HOT!! We took two days driving there. The pictures are of everyone excited, just before we hit the road. We spent the first night at Annie & Gary's in Sacramento, then drove the remainder on Sunday. Disneyland was closed to the public Sunday evening, due to Miley Cyrus' birthday party! (Oh how my girls would have loved to have been in the park!) We arrived bright and early Monday morning with high expectations, and left a little low. Lines for the big rides were 45 minutes to an hour, and there were fast passes only available on 3 rides. I think getting autographs from the characters was everyone's favorite part, though we did catch most of the parade, which was fun. Because we spent $40 just on breakfast, we decided to go to the store when we got back to the hotel. We left the kids with a phone and the door locked, and we checked up on them multiple times. When Shane and I got back to the hotel, we knocked on the door, we called the cell phone....and nothing. This went on for an hour! Our kids were so worn out, that they crashed hard, and didn't hear a thing. The hotel security didn't have a key to override the lock from inside. We tried EVERYTHING!! After waking up the guy next door, he pounded on the door as hard as he could (he was a little upset with us) saying, "well, I'll wake them up!! Nothing. They put us up in a room across the hall, until Carly called at 12:40 am, saying "where are you guys?" Needless to say, our first day at Disneyland was far from perfect.