J and J Hall

Pima Air and Space Museum

2012-01-22T21:56:00.001-08:00

On our way home from Carlsbad, way back at Thanksgiving time, we stopped by the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson.

Jeremiah was like a kid in a candy store. We took our time walking around the HUGE indoor and outdoor museum. It made our trip long last way too long but it was totally worth every second!

I don’t know the names of the planes, that’s Jeremiah’s department, so I’ll just post some pretty plane pictures.

Big planes, little planes, and every size in between. The kids got to climb into this teeny plane and play around in it.

We rolled the kids around in a wagon. They were road weary and sleepy but they had fun, almost as much fun as the grown ups.

Air Force One.

My favorite room was the space museum. The tired boys got out of the wagon for just long enough to play around in the little kids area and take pictures as astronauts!

So cool! The Apollo command Module.

Recently Ryan has been so interested in the earth. He gets excited to see maps and globes and I am starting to teach him the names of the continents. And he knows where to find the United States and Arizona! So naturally he loved the giant globe.

Interesting planes were everywhere. This one has double props.

We saw this plane from the road. It was by far the biggest one on the lot. It was a massive bubble plane!

Here’s the back of it.

They call it the Super Guppy, and it is made to carry space stuff.

“Saw here for emergency rescue.”

This picture gives you some perspective on how big these planes are. Ryan looks so small under the giant propellers.

Before we left the museum Ryan was fast asleep in the wagon. We wore them completely out.

We got in the car and drove back to Mesa and stopped 5 more times in that supposed to be 1.5 hour drive home. Bathroom breaks, gas, feed the baby, bathroom breaks again, and one more bathroom break. We couldn’t have been more relieved to finally walk into our own home and sleep in our own beds. We had a fantastic trip and we can’t wait to do it all again!

Carlsbad Trip. Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-27T20:43:00.001-08:00

Be prepared for some pictures! We had a magnificent time driving out to see Melesa and Brett’s family in Carlsbad, NM for Thanksgiving this year. The best part was that we weren’t the only ones making the trip out there. Heidi and Austin, and Jesse and Randi drove out too!

We split the 9+ hour drive there between 2 days. We left Wednesday night and drove to Lordsburg, NM (about 4 hours) and stayed in a hotel Then woke up bright and early Thanksgiving morning and finished the trip there. We drove through Las Cruses, NM and El Paso, TX. The kids were excited about being in 3 different states in 2 days.

Between El Paso and Carlsbad there is a stretch of nothing. No trees, no mountains, and no cell phone service. But we did find what looked like a ship, out in the middle of nowhere. I had to snap a picture because Jeremiah’s dad was talking about buying a houseboat to put on his land, like a mobile home. haha.

Down the road another 45 minutes or so we found a real houseboat on a semi trailer parked on the side of the road. I missed the photo op but we laughed pretty hard.

I have 0 pictures from Thanksgiving day so picture this in your head: TONS of good food, pie coming out of our ears, family everywhere, kids playing, babies, guys at the shooting range, more food, laughing, story telling, and everyone having a great time.

Friday we drove to Carlsbad Caverns, the most anticipated part of the trip for Simon (and me).

Ranger Simon

Coming up to the mouth of the cave. It was massive! Jeremiah was excited too. lol.

Simon was in heaven! He knew all of the names of the different parts of the cave, the stalactites and stalagmites, columns, etc. He spouted out cave trivia through the whole hike.

It really was a hike too. It was 1.5 miles to get into the “Great Room” of the cave and another 1.5ish miles around the Great Room. The hike in was steep and no strollers were allowed (for good reason) so I carried Mason in his Snugglie, and Jeremiah ended up carrying Ryan most of the way in because he was so tired and didn’t want to walk. When Jeremiah’s arms were about to fall off from carrying a 35 pound kid we tried putting him in the Snugglie instead. When that didn’t work Randi, my hero, took him by the hand and somehow convinced him to walk the next 2 miles!!!!

I switched Mason to the baby sling and he instantly fell asleep and stayed asleep until we got to the very end.

Oh, and by the way, I borrowed most of these cave pictures from Melesa. I had some major issues with cameras during this entire trip. About 1/4 of the way into our hike into the Cavern my camera battery died. So thank you Melesa for taking pictures!

Yeah! We’ve been there!

(Ryan was asleep in the car.)

Every night the boys had a sleepover party in Jackson and Kimble’s room. I got to read stories with them every night. I got to see what a great reader Jackson is too. These boys are so fun!

Mason is the happiest baby! He smiled and smiled and hardly cried at all. I’m such a lucky mommy!

More cute baby pictures! We finally got a picture of the two babies together! Mason and Ellery will be buddies for sure! Aren’t they sweet?

The guys stayed occupied by playing Xbox. Modern Warfare 3.

Most everyone left Carlsbad on Sunday but we stuck around an extra day and just enjoyed the company. Carlsbad is a fun little town. We got to drive around a bit and Melesa took our family pictures.

Here are some of my favorites that she took.

On Monday it was time to go back home. We didn’t the chance to go to White Sands with Melesa’s family so we decided to change our route home to include a trip to White Sands.

So we started driving.

I was the navigator and I put my trust in my Blackberry GPS map to get us to White Sands.

I won’t every trust my Blackberry again. We missed our turn and we drove an extra 45 minutes in the wrong direction. AH!

And we ended up on highway 13: a shortcut back to the road we should have been on.

It was just a narrow old paved road for the first 30 minutes until we reached a real road. Jeremiah was getting worried that I had sent him the wrong way, again.

After leaving Carlsbad late, going the wrong way, and stopping for way too many potty breaks, we didn’t make it to White Sands until about 5:00. The park closes at 6 but we went in anyways and the park ranger didn’t even make us pay the fee to get in (yay!).

So even though we didn’t get to spend much time playing in the sand, we go to see what all the fuss is about. It is stinkin’ COOL! It really looks like snow!

It was chilly outside and we grabbed our jackets and hiked out through the dunes.

Ryan thought it was snow. And it really was cold.

And once again I was having camera issues so I don’t have very many pictures of this amazing place.

But luckily we did get a few pics to look back on.

After taking this shot I set my Canon Rebel on the handrail to do a timed shot so I could be in it with my family and when we pushed the button for it to start the timer the vibrations from running to get into the shot knocked my precious camera into the sand! (Yes, I almost cried.)

And the rest of my pictures turned out like this. And the flash wouldn’t work. ugh!

But Jeremiah got some great shots of the sunset with our other camera! (He’s a lifesaver!) Watching the sun go down over the pure white sand was absolutely breathtaking. It was like being in another world.

Sand angels!

Then we got back on the road again and drove through Las Cruses once again,

and to our hotel in Deming, NM.

The boys really enjoyed the hotel since we rarely stay in them. We got to sleep in this time and eat breakfast and watch cartoons.

And Mason was a little angel, of course.

The rest of the trip home felt like an eternity.

After so many hours in the car we were stoked to see this sign!

And we stopped at good ol’ R&R Pizza in Benson, AZ.

Once we reached Tucson we stopped again to see the Pima Air and Space Museum. I have so many pictures that the rest of the trip home will have to be another post.

To be continued. . .

Reading and dancing - Kids being kids.

2011-12-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

I talk a lot about what a smarty Simon is. Well, I finally have some proof! I caught him reading the Disney Christmas Collection book a few days before Christmas. (Please excuse the sniffles, he was battling a cold.)

He was reading a story about Wall-E and Eve. This isn't a simple book either. It's full of big words and there are only a few pictures and a lot of reading!

I am so proud of this kid!

Here's a really fun video of the boys just being themselves. Simon turns into the SimonBot 360.

Hope it made you smile!

Halloween post (now that it’s almost Christmas)

2011-12-15T10:46:00.001-08:00

Once again I am way behind on my posts but what else is new, right?

I just couldn’t resist sharing our fabulous Halloween fun. This is more of a picture montage than a real post.

Sit back and enjoy!

Ryan was bound and determined to be Wall-E. And luckily I had a box in the perfect size just waiting to be turned into a robot costume. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite costume I’ve made yet. I waited until the last minute to make it so he is missing wheels and hands but no big deal, Ryan loved it, and he made the cutest Wall-E ever! Especially when he would get sad or scared and tuck himself into his box, just like the real Wall-E. Did I mention Wall-E is his favorite movie?

Mason was a little owl. I crocheted his hat and sewed “feathers” and wings onto his onesie. I just want to snuggle with that cute little owl. I love this baby sooooo much! He is a little beam of sunshine in our home.

Simon was a robot too. Not just any robot. . . the SimonBot 360! I didn’t get pics of his costume until we were in Round Valley at our Halloween Party. He loved his costume too. A little metallic silver spray paint, a couple of boxes and some dixie cups, easy peasy! And he got “voted” the best costume of the night by our friendly neighbors when we went Trick-or-Treating. Ryan, a.k.a. Wall-E went trick or treating with us too but after about 5 houses he was exhausted from wearing his big ol’ box and his Aunt Karissa took he and Mason home to play.

As I mentioned, we spent Saturday and Sunday in Round Valley. We had a fabulous family Halloween party with spooky food and costumes.

Here are our boys with their cousins during our costume parade! Simon is disappearing into his costume. Now he just looks like the XBox 360 instead of the SimonBot 360. haha.

Being Goofy! (Keaton, Allyson, Ezra, Everett, Simon, and Ryan)

Are you Hungry!?

How about a plate of slimy worms!

This stomach churning dish was our contribution to the party menu. It’s hot dog worms! To make it just just up you hot dog into 6 long pieces and boil until they start to curl a little, then add some BBQ sauce. That’s it!

And what goes better with worms than meat feet?

Grandma Sue made these frightening meatloaf feet! eewww! (they tasted great!)

Here are some more random pictures of our trip.

Cabrena being green.

Pumpkin Rice Crispies!

The kids were fascinated by the witches brew. Dry ice is amazing!

On our way to the mountains we found this souped up Camero with black racing stripes. The license plate says GR4NDMA. From now on I will be proud when someone tells me I drive like a grandma.

Ally loved my butterfly wings and she made a beautiful butterfly!

Where did everyone go?

And the final pose!

Good times! I can’t wait until next Halloween!

I have a camera full of pictures from hiking, Thanksgiving in Carlsbad, and Christmas time. Be prepared for more mega posts in the near future!

I Heart Faces - Let them be little

2011-10-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

Let them be little.

This is I Heart Faces challenge for this week. This photo immediately popped into my head. My tiny 6-day-old baby sleeping in a small suitcase. Those tiny toes, and the delicate fingernails on his tiny little hands resting gently on his tiny chubby cheeks.

Today he turns 5 months old.

I am already miss this tiny curled up baby, fresh from heaven. How he smelled, his delicate soft skin and baby fine hair. The little squeaky noises he made while he slept so peacfully.

All about Ryan

2011-10-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ryan is the most amazing little boy. He brings so much joy and sunshine and happiness into my life. I can honestly say that life would be dull without this little firecracker around. I wanted to make special post all about Ryan so I can look back and remember all the silly and fun things that he does.

1. Ryan's favorite joke: Why did the mouse go to the doctor? (Cuz he was feeling cheesy!)

He tells this joke to me and Simon all the time and I laugh EVERY TIME because he so cute!

2. He LOVES his big brother and always wants to be around him. He gets sad everyday when Simon goes to school. They play together so well (when they aren't fighting, that is.)

3. Ryan is LOUD! He doesn't do it intentionally but his voice carries through the whole house, especially when he is upset. This leads to a lot of "inside voice" lectures and a crying baby Mason who often gets woken up from his naps. I have a feeling that someday this kid will make a fantastic singer, or sports announcer, or TV Commercial voice.

4. He is very, very sensitive. His little 3 year old world can be turned upside down with a single word (typically the word "no".) He doesn't understand the concept that people can tell him that he can't do something or have something. If he hears that dreadful word "no" it often results in a complete and utter breakdown or super tantrum (refer back to number 3.)

5. His favorite foods are Cheez-Its, cheese, oranges, and any type of juice, but mostly orange juice. He could drink juice for every meal. And he also loves green beans, Shepherds pie, chicken nuggets and apples.

6. He is a picky eater. Not picky in the typical sense, he doesn't like to eat anything that may be messy or that requires extra work to get into his mouth. If it requires a fork or a spoon he would much rather have mom or dad feed it to him (which we are forced to do on days that he refuses to eat anything.) Sometimes I wonder how this child survives when he never eats anything I put in front of him. I will have him help me make his own sandwich with everything he wants on it only to find the same sandwich with only one bite out of it sitting on the table 3 hours after lunch time. He does like some sweets but he will even leave them on his plate. He will take one bite of a cookie and leave the rest behind. I don't know if I will ever understand his eating habits but I'm doing my best to keep him healthy. We have found that he will drink smoothies, since they aren't messy and he can drink them from a cup, like juice.

7. His favorite sandwich (which sometimes he actually eats) is: Bread with ketchup, mustard, sweet relish, American cheese and ham. He and Simon invented this concoction that is like a hot dog sandwich with ham instead of a hot dog.

8. Ryan LOVES the color ORANGE! He wears orange shirts just about everyday and he even has 3 pairs of orange plaid shorts to match his orange shirts. He will sift through all of the clothes in his drawers and closet until he finds something orange to wear. Here are his other favorite things that are orange: His "special sippy cup", (which is just a regular take-and-toss sippy cup but it is vibrant orange),our orange IKEA forks and spoons, orange crayons, his orange church tie, and of course oranges and orange juice, and Cheeze-its (see #5).

9. He can run! I take him with me in the mornings and afternoons to Simon's school and he runs the whole way there and back. It's only about a 10 minute walk/run but for a 3 year old that is some serious cardio!

10. He LOVES TRAINS! Not surprising because of how much Simon loves trains too. He plays trains every waking moment of the day. He always has one or more of his trains with him, his favorite being "wooden Thomas". They come up with funny names for their trains and they build tracks out of anything they can find. Today it was books and letter blocks.

11.One of his favorite things to do is read books with mom and dad, and Simon. And he is beginning to learn how to read too. We work on letters while Simon is at school and we are to the point now that I can spell out some simple words and he can sound them out. The only letter that currently stumps him is letter U. He gets a kick out of letter games like "what does this start with."

12. His favorite game to play is I Spy.We play I spy in the car and at home, or wherever else we may be. He just got a set of I Spy books and he loves them so much he takes them in the car with him, and even to bed.

13. Ryan's catchphrase: "I'm sooooo sad!"

Heartbreaking right? He really does say this about 100 times a day. Not because he is really sad but whenever someone tells him he can't do what he wants to do he takes it very personally and tells us how sad it makes him. (see #4). He says it when he is tired, hungry, thirsty, grumpy, mad, or if he is just looking for some extra attention.

14. What makes him very happy? Movies. He loves watching movies whenever he gets the chance. His favorites being Thomas the Train, Chuggington, and his new favorite: Wall-e.

15. His nicknames are Ry, Ry-guy, and occasionally Ry-man, Ryno, or Ry-Ry.

16. He is a sucker for some good quality attention. He loves to be silly and make people laugh. Jokes, funny faces, silly sounds and jumping around like a monkey. This kid is FUN!

17. He tells me he loves me everyday. He picks me a little flower every day on the walk home from Simon's school. He loves to cuddle and he gives the best hugs. I'm forever thankful that I was blessed with this little guy. I am so proud of what he is today and I can't wait to see how much he will grow tomorrow.

No boredom here.

2011-09-29T09:53:00.001-07:00

When school is out for the day and the boys are getting restless, it’s still to hot to play outside, they need something to do.

That's when a Drive-Thru Theatre makes it’s way into our living room. The boys helped cut, color, and decorate their own cars. Simon had added windshield wipers to his but the pipe cleaner wipers fell off before the movie.
I have so many memories as a kid playing in big cardboard boxes and making them into houses, cars, rocket ships, etc. Once the boys were satisfied with their cars we “parked” them in the living room and watched their new Thomas the Train movie “The Day of the Diesels.” Then they “drove” their cars around (we cut out the bottoms so they could move them around) until they fell apart.

Simon has some new interests these days. I am so happy he is moving outside the world of trains. I love trains too but the world is full of so much cool stuff I am really happy he is discovering new things!

He really likes volcanoes, and other stuff that has to do with dirt, the earth, science, space etc. I just ordered a volcano book for him through his school and he asks me everyday how long until his new book gets here.
Here’s another afternoon activity. Volcano painting!

All you need is a cookie sheet, baking soda (about 1/2 cup), vinegar and food coloring.
Spread the baking soda onto the cookie sheet. Put about 1/4 cup of vinegar in 3 cups or bowls. Add a drop of food coloring to each bowl. Find different ways to drop the vinegar onto the baking soda. We used straws and small spoons but droppers would be fantastic for this project.

And for an even bigger impact, we made a volcano!! KABOOM!

Simon loved it so much he keeps asking if we can do it again! He’s a budding scientist! I can’t wait to try new science projects with him.

Jeremiah and the big 3-0

2011-09-25T22:17:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah is officially 3 decades old!

If you need a reminder, Jeremiah’s birthday falls on September 11th. This year his 30th birthday was also the 10 year anniversary of the Twin Towers tragedy in New York City.
Since his b-day fell on a Sunday this year, we decided to celebrate the day before which happened to be 9-10-11.

This is what me and the boys gave to him for his birthday. We had these pictures framed for him. (I got to test out my new tripod!)

We really really REALLY love Jeremiah! He is the best dad and the best husband! He is a hard worker and after working his tail off at Farnsworth Wholesale Company, he comes home and tucks the boys in bed and always finds ways to make us all smile, even when I’m stressed out.

Isn't he handsome?

I had been anticipating the big 3-0 for some time now but I didn’t know what we would be able to do to celebrate. Since I am nursing Mason I usually don’t leave him with babysitters and when I do he has break-downs. So the closer Jeremiah’s birthday got the more I worried about not being able to do anything fun. Jeremiah earned some extra $ at Farnsworth and was able to buy his ultimate birthday gift: a new AR-15! He wanted to take it out shooting for his birthday, and I wanted to go too, but we decided that since Jeremiah needed more bullets, and we didn't want to leave Mason for that long that we would postpone our plinking outing until another day.

What did we do instead?

I took him to the most manly place: As You Wish. We painted pottery. haha.
Jeremiah painted a “Plinking Pennies” jar, so he can get donations for bullets for his new gun. He painted it to look like a grenade! It’s so clever, and manly.
And I made a yellow plate with black swirls that says “The Halls”. My last platter shows the family in stick figures and Mason isn’t included so it was time for a new one. I’ll have to take some pictures of our projects.

Ok, it’s not shooting up loaded soda cans but we had a lot of fun. The best part is that we get to sit and talk. That doesn’t happened very often when there are 3 kids around.
Later that night we had a bunch of Jeremiah’s family over for dinner and a big ol’ chocolate Costco cake with 30 candles.

On Sunday, the actual day of his B-day, we headed to Thatcher for Ellery’s baby blessing. I was so grateful that Jeremiah was willing to spend his day on the road so we could make it to the special occasion.

I had forgotten that it was Sept. 11th until we got to Globe.

As we drove through downtown Globe we saw this. We pulled over to take a picture because it was stunning! The flag was huge! It was a beautiful, patriotic sight to see!

I had planned a nostalgic picnic at the “duck ponds” in Safford. A place where we used to go when we were dating in college.

I packed our picnic lunch but rushed out the door without snacks for the trip to Safford and the kids were starving. We had to stop halfway there so I could feed Mason and we ate our sandwich rolls and grapes. Then when we got to Safford we hit the Burger King drive through and got burgers and 2 large drinks, one drink for the grown ups and one for the kids.

When we arrived at the fair grounds we grabbed all our stuff and Jeremiah asked Simon to hold the boy’s lemonade. As he was walking down the stairs he tripped and fell down, twisting his ankle and spilling the entire large cup of lemonade. (Did I mention that Ryan LOVES lemonade and he had been waiting so patiently so he could drink it?)

Simon was crying, I had my hands full with a stroller, picnic bag, the other drink, and baby. As the lemonade splashed onto the sidewalk and dripped into the grass I almost joined Simon in a good cry.

The boys didn’t enjoy the rest of our picnic. Their little hearts were broken at the loss of their precious lemonade.

Then there was the ants. Giant ants EVERYWHERE. Simon was scared of them because someone had told him that they are like fire ants and their bites hurt so bad they make you cry. I’m pretty sure these ants don’t bite but we didn’t give them a chance to try. We did have a nice walk around the park, watching for ants and blowing in the wind. Yes, there was wind too.

At least Mason had a pretty good time.

Things got better when the boys got to cross a bridge and play around in the gazebo. They made friends with another little boy playing there and they finally all had smiles on their faces.

Then Mason started to get cranky because of the wind and it was time to get dressed and go find Heidi and Austin’s church.

The baby blessing was beautiful. And Ellery was absolutely adorable in a crocheted dress that Heidi wore when she was blessed as a baby, and a hair bow that Heidi made for her sweet little girl. I wish I had pictures. Ellery is such a doll! I wish Heidi lived close by so I could see her and and Ellery all the time. I just can't get enough of that baby!

On the way home from Thatcher we stopped about 5 times for nursing, potty breaks, and dinner. Once again our “quick trip” home ended up taking almost twice as long as normal.

I think Jeremiah had a birthday to remember.

Happy Birthday to the best husband and daddy to our sweet kids! We love you so much!

More fun at the 40

2011-09-25T20:48:00.001-07:00

The day after Ryan’s Birthday we hopped in our car and drove up to RV for Labor Day weekend. I didn’t get many pics from our trip but trust me, we had a great time. We taught the boys how to play the ABC game in the car, and we played some of our other favorites like I Spy (Ryan’s favorite car game).

We had to stop a few times on the way because Ryan has a small bladder. Our normal 3.5 hour drive now takes us no less than 4 hours. And on the way back it was more like 5 hours.

Anyways, we arrived in RV Saturday afternoon and we soaked up the unbelievable weather. We had been dealing with 110+ degree weather for the two weeks that led up to the weekend. The lovely 75ish degree weather was AMAZING! Then we packed up a picnic and some other supplies and headed out to “The 40”. (40 acres of land outside of Saint Johns.)

The kids found the best place to play: The Dirt!

They dug and dug and dug, and built a dirt slide down the side of a hill for their cars, and for them.

They had dirt from the tops of their heads to their toes. And they had the time of their lives.

The sky was beautiful too.

Jeremiah and Karissa helped set up the new fancy grill. We cooked hamburgers and pigged out. And we all got eaten alive by mosquitoes. Jeremiah had about 20 bites on his legs. I told him it was because he is so sweet.

Mason loves being outside and he enjoyed most of the time out at the 40. Just as the sun started to go down he had a complete melt-down and no one, not even me, could get him to stop crying.

We finally had to grab our dirty little boys and hit the road. Once we got back to the highway Mason calmed down and fell asleep. I think all the crying was caused by him being over stimulated, over tired, and in a new place. I was just relieved that he finally calmed down.

The next day we spent some time at the Udall house and picked green apples in the rain. I got to climb the apple tree in my parents yard, just like old times, only now I am so much bigger, and weaker, and chubbier. haha.

Jeremiah and I took advantage of our available babysitters and left Simon and Ryan with Grandma Udall and Uncle Jason while we went to TrailRiders and had the yummiest deep fried tacos ever! mmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about them. Then we picked up the kiddos and headed back out to the 40 acres to take Jeremiah’s family some water. Jeremiah took the two older boys out to look for cool rocks and he took them for rides on the quads. Me and Mason stayed back at the cars and tried to stay out of the wind. Once again we had to cut our time short because Mason hated the wind and we had to stay inside our car instead of enjoying the lovely outdoors.

As always, the weekend away was much to short. I’m starting to understand a little bit why Jeremiah wants to move up there so badly. There is family, cool summers, a slower life, and you can see the stars at night.

YIPPEE! Ryan’s 3!

2011-09-15T13:59:00.001-07:00

Can it be? 3 years since this little boy joined our family?

After only 3 short years I feel like he has been part of this family, and a part of me, forever.

Ryan’s birthday is September 2nd and falls in the midst of Labor Day weekend celebrations. The last 2 years we made plans to spend the long weekend in the White Mountains. I convinced Jeremiah that we needed spend all of Friday (Ryan’s birthday) in Mesa so we could celebrate.

We opened presents in the morning before Simon went to school He got “Moon Dough” and new paints and markers.

Then we juggled naps and fun. Me, Mason and Ryan went to the Arizona Museum for Youth (AMY for short). It was just perfect for a 3 year old! They had all kinds of hands-on fun activities for little people. Including an exhibit all about Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts.

Of course Ryan doesn’t know anything about Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Schroeder or the rest of the gang but I have a soft spot for Peanuts characters since I worked for a MetLife Insurance company.

They also had tons of art projects and a whole wing of the museum was dedicated to little kids, 4 and under. Ryan played with play food, making me all sorts of yummy concoctions, and his favorite part was building with these gigantic puffy blocks.

He would build them up as high as he could reach then crash into them and knock them over! It was so much fun he got the other kids doing it too.

We didn’t get to stay nearly long enough. Before we knew it, it was lunch time and time to pick up Simon from school.

Ryan didn’t take this news well. I had to drag him away from his blocks and he cried. Yes, I made my son cry on his birthday and it broke my heart.

But once we were in the car and on our way to get his free Krispy Kreme doughnut he was just fine. I bought a few extra to share with our visitors (Grandma and Papa Hall) and we picked up a hamburger kids meal for Ryan, per his special birthday request.

Then we picked up big brother from Kindergarten and Ryan took a much needed siesta.

After Ryan woke up I took the boys to Toys R Us so Ryan could pick out a Thomas train. This was the only thing he wanted for his birthday.

and he enjoyed a pretend ride in Lightning McQueen.

That night we had an impromptu birthday party. We had Grandma and Papa, Karissa, Cabrena, and Talyn, Ezra and Allison (Dana’s kids). And Ry got some great gifts, like a new wooden Thomas train track set, a giant coloring book, and an Iron Man car.

We ate yummy train cake and ice cream.

Ryan picked out all of the candy for his cake. Oreos, bottle caps, and “sweetest fish”.

Then we all went to bed to get ready for our next adventure, Labor Day in the mountains.

We love our sweet little Ryan. He is so smart, funny, and he is very emotionally sensitive. He can always sense when someone is feeling upset or if they need a hug. He is a wonderful brother to Simon and he loves giving both of his brothers hugs and kisses. I really don’t know what I would do without this amazing little boy. He keeps our house lively and fun!

Makin’ stuff

2011-08-26T21:15:00.001-07:00

I’m doing my best to live up to my super hero name: Craft Maiden. (cue cool super hero music.)
I’ve been crafting like crazy in my limited spare time. I’ve been doing a little bit of everything. I figured I really need to post my projects on here so I can look back at them later.

This was a super simple project from this week: flannel diaper wipes. I have been using cloth diapers on Mason for the last couple of weeks with great success. With washable wipes I can just throw them into the diapers and toss everything into the washer. Saves money and reduces the amount of trash we are throwing out.
This is only a few of the 20 wipes I made. They are quick and easy and I already had the fabric sitting in my garage. Cost = $0

Now, rewind back to the end of July. I made a bunch of shirts for Simon to wear to school. This one was my fave. It is a knock-off of one I found at Nordstrom.com. I fell in love with it and wanted one for Simon. I had one of those “I can do that” moments and I taught myself a new printing technique to get the vintage style color printing on a dark tee. I love how it turned out! It is super soft too. The Nordstrom shirt was $28, not including shipping. My shirt = about $5!

This is the original t-shirt I found at Nordstrom.com.

And here are a couple of other shirts I finished for Simon. There are still a couple more that I haven’t taken pictures of yet. Another post, another day.

Frayed applique Captain America shirt. I experimented with using my Pazzles Inspiration craft cutter to cut the circles just right.

Transformers. More than meets the eye.
This shirt used a similar distressed printing technique.

Before and after shots of the processing. This lightning isn’t good but you can see how after it is processed the colors really pop.

I finally made myself a new solar cooker last month. This one folds up very compact so I could stick it in a backpack and take it camping. We cooked chicken and veggies in it one day and brownies the next day. With the temperatures being well into the 110 degrees, I love having the option of cooking outside and not turning on the oven inside.

Speaking of cooking outside, Karissa and I made these rocket stoves out of popcorn tins and vent pipe. They are fueled by small sticks and leaves. They are very efficient outdoor stoves. We finished these at about 11:00 pm that night so the only things we cooked were toasted marshmallows. Since then we have made turkey burgers and campfire eggs and hash browns over our rocket stove. It’s like having a mini campfire in our backyard.
If you want to learn more about these, just look up “rocket stove” on YouTube.

My sewing machine is getting a workout too. I’ve been making shorts and pants for my boys. I made these grey retro style shorts for all 3 of my boys. One day soon I hope to get a picture of all 3 boys wearing their shorts. I have also made a few other styles but I have yet to get them captured on camera. Like I said, another day, another post.

And how about a tie and suspenders onesie for Mason? He wore this to his blessing “party” after we changed him out of his blessing outfit.

A few weeks ago we went thrift store treasure hunting, (looking for popcorn tins for our rocket stoves) and I found this beauty. This chair was 50% off and I paid $15 for it. I wanted it for a photo prop, and to just be a cute chair for our back porch. After scouring the paint section at Wal-Mart I chose to paint it sunny yellow.Now I am in LOVE with this chair. I used it as a prop for baby Ellery’s photos. It is so bright and cheery and, as Jeremiah says, WILD!

Mason was testing it out before we did Ellery’s pictures. The yellow chair is a far cry from the retro black and gold it was before. The original chair did remind me of my mom’s rocking chair though.

We have made a goal in our house to eat healthier as well as stick to our budget. I killed 2 birds with one stone with this homemade “crock-pot” yogurt. The idea of making my own yogurt was scary to me but it was so simple. And it takes just as good, or better, than store bought yogurt. Sweeten with a little honey and add fresh fruit and YUM! I have also experimented with making Greek Yogurt, which is my new favorite.

This was a really fun project. We created a tornado maker using 2-liter soda bottles and tape. I used a little plumbers tape on the inside to prevent it from leaking, and duct tape on the outside. We got hours and hours of entertainment out of this project. I couldn’t help but play with it every time I walked by it. And it was sturdy enough to last through our 2 and 5 year olds. And it’s still going strong!

It’s a science lesson and a toy in one. This was a big hit with the whole family.
And since I’m talking about making stuff, I have to show off this adorable onesie that Randi made for Mason.

I LOVE personalized gifts. Randi is such a talented girl. We are so lucky to have her in our family.

Ok, do I still have your attention? And thats not even everything I’ve been working on. I think I have a problem.

And. . .you may see these and other projects popping up on my Cantaloupe Corner blog in the near future.

Mason’s Blessing

2011-08-25T23:08:00.001-07:00

August 7th was a special day for our new baby. It was his blessing day!

We had a ton of family show up to support Mason including Mason’s Grandma Udall, Uncle Jason, Grandma and Grandpa Hall, and his Great Grandma and Grandpa Udall, Great Uncles Ted and Chris, Jesse and Randi Udall, Karissa and Cabrena Hall, his Great Aunt Marie and her 4 boys, including Bryan, and his girlfriend Whitney. I think that is everyone. We had a housefull!

Just before church started I dressed Mason in his white blessing outfit and shed a tear or two at how amazing he is and how Simon and Ryan wore the same outfit for their blessings.

I dried my eyes and we hurried off to church so we could get there in time to reserve enough seats for our entire entourage. I can’t even describe how good it felt to be sitting there amongst so many of the people I love so dearly. Even Jeremiah’s step-Grandpa Jake showed up and bore his testimony. Jeremiah’s Grandma passed away about 2 weeks before so we were happy to see Jake looking up-beat. (I need to post more about Jeremiah’s Grandma and her funeral, she was an AMAZING person!)

The blessing was beautiful. Jeremiah got to give him his blessing, as he has done with our other kids, and he is always so in tune with what the Lord wants him to say. He spoke about how Mason’s middle name, Henry, is very special because it came from his great-great grandpa William Henry Burk. He was one of the most incredible men I have had the privilege of knowing in my life. Mason was blessed to remember where his name came from and to try to be like his great great grandpa. There were other special promises and blessings given to him also. Jeremiah got up later to bear his testimony and joked about how Mason is a chubby kid and how he got that from his mom’s side of the family. lol.

After Sacrament we all met back at our house for Pulled Pork Tacos, and yummy deserts. We had so many people show up that we ran out of food! All the pork was gone in no time and the deserts disappeared even faster. I made a scrumptious Brownie Trifle. It’s one of my favorite deserts and it is so pretty.

Here are a few pictures from the day. It was special and memorable. Some day I’ll be able to tell Mason about his blessing day and how much love we all have for this sweet little boy.

Before church; Cabrena got some quality cuddle time with Mason.

Jeremiah did NOT want his picture taken. But I had to get him in here since this day was special for him too.

This is the reason we ran out of food. boys.

This shot is blurry but I wanted to post it anyways. I love seeing Grandma Udall with my boys. She loves babies so much and she is the cutest Grandma! She was really enjoying her time holding Mason.

I wish I had more pictures to post. I did all of the cooking and most of the preparation and I didn’t have time to get more pictures. Next time I’m going to hand Jeremiah the camera. I’m so grateful for my Mother-in-Law. She helped me put all of this together! I don’t know what I would have done without her.

I Heart Faces - Beautiful Eyes

2011-08-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

This week on I Heart Faces the challenge is: Beautiful Eyes. How could I resist this photo challenge when my boys have such lovely blue eyes?
This is one of my favorite shots of 4 year old Simon just before he got his hair cut. It's one of the few happy shots I have of him where he isn't making a funny face or cheesy smile.
I love this kid! I get to look into those beautiful blue eyes every day. I'm such a lucky mom!

Baby Ellery Jane

2011-08-15T11:28:00.001-07:00

On August 2nd, Heidi and Austin had their beautiful baby girl. They named her Ellery Jane VanSkoyk. Don’t you just love her name?!
I finally got to meet little miss Ellery on Thursday night! Heidi and Austin stayed at our house Friday night so they could drive to the airport and fly to Utah on Friday morning. Heidi is so much braver than me. Little Ellery was only 9 days old on her first flight. When Heidi arrived late on Thursday I got to hold their baby for a few minutes before we all went to bed. She was SO TINY! I knew Mason was a big chunky baby but he was at least twice as big as Ellery!
On Friday morning, after walking Simon to school, we dolled Ellery up and did her first photo shoot! I even made a tutu for her to wear. Heidi was a dancer in High School and college, she even did ballet. So I thought the baby tutu would be so fitting for Heidi’s daughter.
I had been looking forward to taking her pictures because I had so much fun taking pictures of Mason and I just really wanted to try some newborn girl pictures too! We didn’t have a lot of time since Heidi and Austin had to get to the airport but we made the best of the time we had.
I am completely in love with Ellery. She is the sweetest, prettiest little baby. She stayed awake for our entire photo shoot (about an hour) so I didn’t get to put her in the cute little squishy baby poses I had been hoping for but I got some pictures of her beautiful eyes.
Heidi, thanks for letting me do her pictures. I enjoyed every second!

Monsoon surprise

2011-08-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's monsoon season here in Arizona. We look forward to the rain to cool down our sweltering summer heat. Sometimes the monsoon brings in some amazing storms with impressive lightning shows. On these nights, we sometimes get company in our bed. Our boys are really scared of the thunder.

Sunday night (2 weeks ago) we had just finished dinner at Karissa's house and we glanced out the window and saw a huge dust storm heading into Mesa. We gathered the boys up and rushed home just as the rain started to fall.

I knew the storm was going to be big and scary for our boys so I convinced Jeremiah that we should have a sleep over in the living room.

Just as we got the hide-a-bed out the power went out.

So we broke out the flashlights and watched Chuggington on the laptop. The boys were having so much fun they couldn't sleep.

The power was out for about 2 hours. The boys never fell asleep on the hide-a-bed. They decided they wanted to sleep in their own beds instead.

The next morning they got their flashlights out again and had fun pretending that the power was out. lol.

We found out the next day that a micro-burst storm had knocked down the power lines nearby and we were lucky to only lose power for a couple of hours. There were a lot of other people that didn't have power until the next morning.

Simon is in Kindergarten!

2011-08-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

I knew this day was coming but I had no idea it would be here so soon. Simon just finished his first week of school and he is loving it! He is such a little smarty and he is so excited to learn about everything.
He got to pick out his outfit for the first day of school. His shirt choice: Lego Star Wars!
His first assignment from his teacher was for us to build his name tag to wear on the first day.

I can’t believe how grown up he looks!
I was more nervous than he was before the first day but once we got there and he lined up with his teacher I calmed down and I was really excited to see him start his first day. His teacher's name is Mrs. Dinet and she seems like a fun and creative person. Simon also has a boy from our ward in his class, so not everyone is a stranger.

He came home happy and extremely worn out. The hardest part of going to school is that he gets so tired that his emotions go crazy when he gets home. Another little boy in his class accidentally took home Simon’s lunchbox today and he was in tears about it. He wouldn’t talk about anything else. He missed his “favorite green lunch box.” The little boy’s mom called me and we will get his lunchbox back on Monday. To Simon that is an eternity.
Ryan has been handling the change really well. He tells me often that he misses Simon but I think he is really enjoying the extra attention. He is so much more calm and quiet when he doesn’t have to fight off his older brother.

July adventures

2011-07-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

With a new baby and temperatures in the 110 degree zone, plus the fact that our SUV's A/C is on the fritz, we have been spending a lot of time at home.

One especially sizzling hot day I allowed the boys to wet down the sand in the sandbox to make it tolerable to play in. They made a nice little pond and ended up covered in water and wet sand. (What else would you expect?) They stayed cool and had a great time, even though cleaning up all that sand from my floors was a pain in the you-know-what.
Ryan has figured out how to turn on the hose and he sneaks outside and turns it on all the time. Now it makes sense why our water bill seems extra high this month. ha ha.

These boys had so much fun splashing and playing in their sandbox pond.

Ryan is pant-less once again. This happens often in our house. If you are male, and you live in the Hall household, pants are optional.

Also, Ryan was just potty trained (which he picked up so quickly and with almost no help from me) and sometimes he forgets to put his pants back on once he has visited the bathroom.

Simon was trying to bury his train in the cool wet sand. He has become quite the ham in front of the camera. "Mom, take a picture of me putting sand on my train!!"

Almost as good as a swimming pool right? Ok, not quite. But it sure beats sweating in the Arizona summer heat.

Simon got a belated birthday card and $10 from his Grandma Udall and I took him to Target to pick out his present. He is a super shopper! He got Cootie, one of my favorite preschool games, and a "bubble bug". It's a ladybug that blows bubbles as it skitters around on the sidewalk.

This is what Ryan thought of the bubble bug! I think he likes it.

There was one morning this month that was cool enough to take the boys to the park. I stuck the 2 younger boys in the stroller and Simon rode his new bike. We took a soccer ball, a baseball and mit, and a jump rope. I was ready for some good ol' family play time.
The boys had their own plans.
Simon and I kicked the soccer ball around. As far as I know Simon has never actually played soccer before, but he handled the ball like an old pro! Maybe my kids will have some athletic talent. It definitely didn't come from their mother. There was a reason I was a cheerleader and not out on the field.

Ryan, on the other hand, was not ready to play. He happily sat in the stroller and proceded to repeat over and over that he was ready to go home. We're going to have to work on the family sports time so we can get Ryan involved too.

I let Mason bask in the warm shade while we ran around. Mason LOVES being outside. He has such a sweet temperment and when he does get fussy going outside always calms him down.

He even got to wear his own Cantaloupe Corner onesie. (yay!)

What else has happened in July?

This:

Jeremiah fixed our broken sprinkler in the backyard. My hero!

This is his audience. They wanted to get in on the action too but this is as close as dad would let them get. Somehow Ryan still ended up getting wet.

Last week we played with bubbles some more. I made up a new batch of bubble liquid and I let the boys dig through the kitchen utensils to find anything that would blow bubbles. Then we tried them all out and divided the ones that worked and the duds.

The best kitchen utensil was a pasta measuring tool.
But the boys forgot all about the spatulas and spoons when I got out the real bubble blower.

So if you need an activity to do that is fun and cheap, bubbles is the way to go. Simon has been asking me to play with bubbles every day since then.

On a side note, I have finished a few projects this month. I have been working on t-shirts for Simon. He starts school in 2 weeks! (holy cow!!) I wanted him to have some unique shirts to wear. I'll post pictures later. I also finished my solar oven last week and even cooked a meal and brownies in it. It sure beats heating up the house.

And I figured out how to make the coolest pancakes ever!

Check out my Cantaloupe Corner post here for directions. It's so easy!

I love these boys! We have so many fun adventures together, little and big.

I Heart Faces Challenge - Props

2011-07-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge on I Heart Faces is "props".
What better props for a baby picture than a cute hat and a train trunk that says "Destiny Awaits".

There are some absolutely amazing and adorable photos in this challenge, check them all out Here.

Happy Birthday America!

2011-07-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

Even though it is sweltering hot in Mesa, I still LOVE summer! My favorite day of the year just happens to be the 4th of July (Christmas is a very close second.)
There is something so magical and amazing about the way Springerville and Eagar come alive. The population triples as folks from all over come to enjoy the small town festivities.
We almost didn't make it up there this year. The starter went out in Jeremiah's car and I was having second thoughts about taking our 5 week old baby on his first road trip. Jeremiah made me a deal. He told me that if he could get his starter fixed before that Saturday we would go.
And he did.
So we went.

Our first stop on our journey home was at the little park in Globe with the big steam locomotive. Our little train lovers stared in awe at the massive train and let me snap some pictures. There was also a farmer's market at the park that morning where I picked us up some homemade cookies for a steal. mmm.

My little engineer. :) I don't think this kid will ever out grow his love of trains.

After a few more stops, including Ryan's first time to "water the bushes", we made it to RV.

High School Reunion:
This year just happened to be my 10 year high school reunion! Through the last 10 years I hadn't decided if I even wanted to go to my high school reunion. It may sound selfish but I didn't really care to see most of the people I went to school with. But there were a few amazing people that I was really excited to see. My best friends, and people I looked up to during those important, and often awkward years.
I almost didn't get the choice at all. Our reunion almost didn't get put together at all. Our class presidency didn't plan anything. And the one person who cared enough to plan a reunion ended up with almost no RSVPs. After all of that work only a few people signed up to attend so the whole thing was called off!! Can you believe it? No high school reunion?!

Lucky, a couple of guys from my class reserved the banquet room at the Trail Riders restaurant, just in case a few classmates wanted to get together for some chips and salsa.

I dragged a reluctant Jeremiah down there with me because I knew my old best friend from high school, Tyson, was going to be there with his wife and their new baby (who was born the day before Mason.)
We were expecting only a few couples to show up.

We ended up filling up the entire room! Classmates kept pouring through the doors. Everyone looked the same, just more like their parents, but there were a few that looked completely different. We sat next to Sterling Wiltbank and his adorable wife, Mike Wiltbank and his family, Tyson and Kim, and a bunch of other old friends.
Even Jeremiah had fun catching up with some of his old track buddies.
It ended up being the best, low-key, no commitment high school reunion! Perfect.

The big 4th of July event, the parade, was Monday morning. It was much shorter this year. I'm assuming that this is due to the Wallow Fire and evacuation that happened not long before.

My dad got to ride on the Western Drug float. He and his sharp shootin' cowboy team put on a great show. They stopped right in front of us and the bad guys held us up. My dad, the Marshall, took care of the pesky outlaws and shot them down. Boom!

You won't get this kid of action here in Mesa. No one would lay down on the sizzling hot road.

After Uncle Morgan shot a blank from about 10 feet away from where we were standing Ryan decided to cover his ears for the rest of the parade.

Nice shot Marshall!

Our boys sported their homemade shirts and shorts, and collected hand fulls of candy. They loved the fire engines and horses but not the guns and fireworks.

Even Mason had on his matching plaid shorts. His shirt said "mommy's little firecracker."

We are all so unspeakably grateful to the firefighters who saved our hometown. So much of our majestic forests were burned in the Wallow Fire but every house in Round Valley was saved! Thank you so much to our fire departments! We love you!

How cute are these two? Heidi is about 8 months pregnant in this picture. Her little girl will be here soon :) I can't wait!

After the parade I picked up Jeremiah and we stopped by the annual picnic at Uncle Jeff's. Mason got to spend some snuggle time with Uncle Ted.

My favorite picture of the entire trip. Cowboy Grandpa Udall.

The food was great and the company was even better. Grandma and Grandpa Udall, Jeff and Darla and all of their girls, and a bunch of missionaries where there.

Mykelti, Morgan, and Brogan. Jessica was there too, she must have been hiding from the camera.

And my other favorite picture. I was taking funny face pictures. (Sorry mom, I know you are going to hate me for posting this on my blog but I just have to! It has so much personality!)

So Happy Birthday America! We love our country. God has blessed us with a land of freedom. This is a country unlike any that have come before.

God Bless America!

Has it been a month?

2011-06-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Mason just hit the 1 month mark! I can't believe how fast time is flying by!

He isn't the same tiny boy I brought home a month ago. He is getting chubby cheeks and roly-poly legs.

He has been a really good baby! After Ryan's colic I wasn't sure if I could make it though the first few months with a newborn again. I guess God knows my limits and he sent me a good baby :)

Mason is still showing some signs of jaundice (you may notice a little yellow in his face and eyes.) I am taking him to the doctor today to make sure all is OK. Usually jaundice clears up the first week after birth. Mason's going on 5 weeks but fortunately his symptoms haven't gotten any worse. If you aren't familiar with baby jaundice, it is common in newborn babies. It is a build up of biliruben in the blood. Jaundice is very treatable and it is only serious if the biliruben levels get very high. Jaundice also takes longer to clear in breastfed babies versus formula fed babies.

We are also getting glimpses of Mason's first smiles (it melts my heart every time.) I was lucky to catch one on camera!

I've been having so much fun making little things for our sweet baby when I find some time. This is one of the outfits I made for him. His big brothers have matching cargo shorts too!

This little guy has been a ray of sunshine in our home. He is snuggly and soft and smells so good. But, I am still not brave enough to take him out in public for more than an hour or two. Calming down a newborn while trying to keep track of 2 other little boys (especially Ryan, a.k.a. Mr. Independent) tests my patience. I don't want to be one of those dragon moms that yell and scream at thier kids in public. For now we will deal with cabin fever at our own home.
This last month has flown by, next thing you know our baby will be crawling, or walking! I want to cherish all of these sweet little newborn moments. Every smile and coo brings so much joy to my heart.

I Heart Faces - Let's Hear it for the Boys

2011-06-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

This weeks challenge on I Heart Faces is Let's Hear it for the Boys!

Since I have 3 boys of my own I looked back through my favorite boy pics and I am entering one of my all time favorites!

These are my Super Heroes!

They save my life everyday by fighting off monsters, robbers, bad robots, and other "bad guys"!

See all of the other amazing boy pictures at I Heart Faces.

CELEBRATION TIME!

2011-06-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

So much has happened lately. We have all been busy keeping up with life. I've been enjoying my first few weeks of being a mother of 3 incredible boys!

Mason is our newest little angel, and an angel he is! He has been nothing but pure joy.

I admit that having 3 kids is not easy. Our house gets more cluttered and dirty everyday, as everyday chores seem to slip through the cracks while I'm making sure that diapers are changed, mouths are fed, and hugs are given freely.

Both boys are going through an adjustment period right now. I have noticed changes in their behavior that sometimes screams out "I'm here! Pay attention to me!!!"
Simon and Ryan are fighting more than normal and they are much more mischevious that they were a few weeks ago. I just hope that they adjust quickly. They know how much we love them and they are both very excited to have their new brother.
Until we all get used to this new life with 5 in the family instead of 4 our house remain cluttered and noisy, and for now I'm OK with that.

May and June are HUGE celebrations months around here. I didn't take many pictures of the festivities but here is a run down of what went on.

Mother's Day:
Both boys were sick so I ended up going to sacrament meeting alone, but I got to listen to the sweet primary children sing. I just wish Simon had felt well enough to go and join them. We practiced the songs that morning so he would know the words really well but he got sick and fell asleep just before sacrament. When I got home Jeremiah made us dinner and he "surprised" me with my "gifts". He gave me paper printouts of the gifts he bought for me, since they hadn't arrived yet : Lego Harry Potter for the XBox, and a book by Glenn Beck that I had been wanting to read. I was excited to spend the day with my little boys, even though they were sick. I was only a few of weeks from my due date so a quiet mother's day is just what I needed.

My 28th Birthday:
Jeremiah gave me just what I requested for my birthday. He took me and the boys to lunch and walked (and walked and walked) around the mall with me. It was only 4 days from Mason's Birthday so I was very very pregnant! The night before my birthday my amazing Mother-in-law and sisters-in-law took me to Swan Thai for some yummy curry and they surprised me with cake and ice cream at our house after dinner. I'm immensly grateful for family that makes me feel so special.

Mason's Birthday:
May 25th we welcomed little Mason Henry Hall into our family. I call him my birthday present because he was born only 4 days after my birthday. He is the sweetest little baby and I am so thankful that I get to be his mother.

Memorial Day:(See this post.) We spent the afternoon at Jeremiah's grandpa's grave, then lunch with Karissa and Cabrena.

Visitors:
Along with Aunst and Uncles and cousins stopping by to see little Mason, my mom was able to come stay with me for a few days and help me watch the older kids so I could get used to life with 3 kids before I was left completely alone with them.

We took her out to Olive Garden celebrate her birthday (a couple days late). We also spent some time at the Mall and Wal-Mart. It was so good to get out of the house! Thanks mom for coming down and keeping me sane! We sent her back up to the mountains just days before the entire towns of Eagar and Springerville were evacuated because of the enourmous Wallow fire.

Our 8th Anniversary:
June 5th marked 8 years since me and my handsome, charming husband got married. This was a really hard anniversary because Jeremiah left the night before to go to the White Mountains. He went up there to help his parents, and his aunt prepare for evacuation due to the looming fire. He sent me pictures of the black, choking smoke in and around Round Valley. Luckily he was able to make it back at about 7:30 that night, so we had just enough time to take the family to Chili's for dinner. He showed up at our door with roses, orange daisies, and Lego Pirates of the Carribean (we are on a Lego Xbox kick right now) and smelling like chimney smoke. It was amazing!

Simon's 5th Birthday:
June 11th. I do have a few pictures of this day! We had to make last minute plans since I didn't know what life would be like adding a third child into the picture. The day started by opening presents.

Simon was sweet enough to let Ryan help him open his presents.

Then we packed up the boys and went to Toys R Us where Simon picked out his new bike!!

That's not it. It's the one behind him. He loved this bling-bling gold bike but mom and dad said eh. . . . no.

The one he got is BRIGHT neon yellow so we will never EVER lose him at the park.
(Also, you can almost see his birthday shirt in the picture above. It had a monster truck with a #5 in the bed and his name on the back. I'll post better pics later.)

He also picked out a new lego car set (with money from Great Grandma Udall). After Toys R Us we headed to Tempe Beach Park so the boys could play at the splash pad.

Veronica met us there with Everett and Keaton and since the temperature was only about 93ish degrees (only???) they were all freezing in the water, so we didn't stay as long as we planned.
They we went to Denny's for lunch. It's a good thing we left the water park early because the service at Denny's was terrible!!!!! Our 45 minute lunch took over an hour and a half! sheesh!

We made it back home just in time to frost Simon's monster truck and get ready for his birthday dinner/party.

Thank goodness the cake he chose this year was easy to make. And I mean it was a "peice of cake". A little chocolate frosting, some cookie crumbs and donuts , and some monster trucks and cars, and voila! Although, the donuts were supposed to have tire treads on them and I didn't have time to add them.

Simon had requested chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I added chocolate pudding in the middle and chocolate cookie "dirt" on top. And he picked out rocky road and neopolitan ice cream to go with it. I think the kid likes chocolate. yes?

Jeremiah got to light the candles this year since I was holding Mason.

Happy 5th Birthday to the sweetest boy! We love you so much!

We still have Father's Day coming up, and some family birthdays, then the 4th of July, and a baby blessing. After that we can hang up our dancing shoes for a little while and take a break and recoop from all of the celebrating. It's making me dizzy.

I heart faces - bright and vivid

2011-06-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

I love this blog: I heart faces
They have weekly photo challenges and I am always drooling over all of the amazing photos that people enter. (I've even seen some of Melesa's awesome photos over there.) This week I am breaking out of my comfort zone and I am entering one of my own!

This weeks challenge is "bright and vivid".
I have lots of colorful pictures of my boys and I picked out one of my very favorites of Ryan to enter. He is chillin' on an old park ducky ride that may or may not have been attacked by a Sharpie.
I love that Ryan smile!

3 Brothers (and fire update)

2011-06-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

It has been a rough week. Mine and Jeremiah's hometowns are being threatened by the second biggest wildfire in Arizona history. So many memories are tied to those beautiful mountains,

from our first date (Homecoming 2000), to our mini honeymoon in Greer.

I have spent many many hours this week stalking facebook and glued to the news, waiting for updates on the fire.

Springerville and Eager are evacuated but my dad, Jeremiah's dad, and my Grandparents stayed behind to protect their homes and property from spot fires and looters.

So far everyone is ok, and I just found out that Greer made it out of the fire almost unscathed. They only lost a handful of houses. This is fantastic news because last night we were all convinced that Greer would be a total loss.

Did I mention that Greer is probably my favorite place in the world?

Anyways, to try and keep my mind off of the fire I got my boys together to get some pictures of all 3 of them. Melesa has been teaching me some photo editing tricks with Photoshop and I have really been enjoying playing around with new pictures.

And I couldn't help but snap some shots of little tiny Mason by himself.

My favorite shot of the day.

Simon really loves his new brother. He has already started "teaching" him things like how to wave and alphabet sounds. He is such a loving brother. Ryan still can't understand why Mason won"t talk to him or play with him. But I have found him giving Mason kisses and rubbing his soft hair. I think they will be best friends someday.

Someone told me this week that having 3 boys is "nirvana".

I completely agree.

Wallow Fire - day 9

2011-06-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

I hate reporting bad news on my blog. I would much rather fill it with happy smiling pictures of my family and friends.

The Wallow Fire is uncontrollably burning up the White Mountains. As of this morning the estimated damage is over 300,000 acres and growing rapidly due to dry, windy conditions.

Details: (updated on 6/7/11)

Date Started: 5/29/2011

Location: south and west of Alpine, Arizona
Number of Personnel: Approximately 2,515 personnel, Including 31 hotshot crews and 25 handcrews
Cause: Human - under investigation
Equipment: 12 dozers, 138 engines, 31 watertenders
Aircraft: 22 helicopters
Percent Contained: 0%
Injuries to Date: none

Website for new information: http://www.wesmcb.com/

Here is a map from this morning to show the extent of the damage.

The fire is currently about 5 miles from Eagar and 3 miles from Greer.

Greer was evacuated yesterday and Springerville and Eagar are on pre-evacuation notice. Evacuations for RV are likely expected within the next day or two.

Here are some pictures my dad took in the last couple days of the heavy smoke plaguing RV.

We are all praying for rain, as well as the safety of the fire fighters, evacuees, and area residents. This fire is in God's hands right now. I pray he will spare our small town home.

10 days old

2011-06-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a lucky girl. I have some very talented friends, including a few good photographers. My friend Erica Horihan is just getting her photography business started and she offered to come take some newborn pictures of Mason. She came over on Saturday when Mason was only 10 days old. It was so amazing to watch her work. Everything from props to poses to photo composition was just fascinating to me.

Mason was a little angel for her and slept through pretty much the entire 2 hour photo shoot.

So if you are in need of newborn photography or family photography I highly recommend Erica. She has a good eye for what makes a great picture.

Thank you again Erica. I can't believe how cute these pictures turned out!

This is just a handful of the pictures she sent to me. Now the hard part is going to be choosing which ones to get printed.

My first photoshoot with Mason!

2011-06-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

I have my very own newborn baby to hold, snuggle, love, and to practice my photography skills on!

I had to take advantage of all his newborn baby cuteness. I set up a mini photo studio in my bedroom and snapped some shots of my sweet little guy.
After taking these shots I have a whole new respect for newborn photographers! It takes time and tons of patience.
After taking these shots I got a crash course in Photoshop. I called up Melesa and got some advice from her on how to use the program as well as some tips for editing newborn pics. I'm really happy with how they turned out for my very first newborn shoot. Now I am hoping I'll be able to snap some photos of Heidi's new baby when she is born in August.

Today my friend Erica came by to take some pictures of Mason. She is a very talented photographer (way better than me)! Mason slept "like a baby" during the entire shoot. Now I am anxiously waiting to see how cute they turned out. I just can't get enough of my little boy, the more pictures the better!

Here are my favorite shots I took of my sweet little Mason:

BTW, The cute little Teddy Bear Hat was made by Melesa. (It's so cute I can hardly stand it! Thanks Melesa!)

6 Days Old

A Real Memorial Day

2011-06-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

We have started a new Memorial Day tradition. Starting this year we took a trip to the cemetery where Jeremiah's grandpa Fred Albert Waite was buried. As you can see on his gravestone he was a WWII veteran. He passed away when Jeremiah's mom was about 12 years old.

This was the first time that Jeremiah and his sisters had been to see Grandpa Waite's grave. It was a very reverencing and sweet experience. There were flags placed on all of the veteran's graves, which made the cemetery a beautiful sight. We are truly grateful for all of our veterans, and especially those we can call our family.

Simon's favorite part of the day was taking pictures of everything. We lent him our camera to document the trip from his point of view. (I will post some pictures when I get our camera back from Karissa. )

We are indebted to our soldiers for sacrificing everything to preserve our freedom here in America. Grandpa Waite was able to come home from the war but it had an irreversible effect on him, physically and mentally. War is not kind.

Fred Albert Waite died on September 10th, 1967 from complications of lung cancer surgery.

Thank you to Grandpa Waite, Grandpa Leverton (Boone's dad), Grandpa Kelly Hall (Renae's Dad), and every soldier who has fought and is fighting for our liberty!

Simon's Preschool Graduation

2011-06-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

So much has been going on here at the Hall house: birthdays, babies, visitors, ect. but I can't forget to mention a momentous occasion for Simon!

On May 19th Simon had his preschool graduation. He has been going to Christie's Cuties Preschool. His teacher is Christie Hatch, and she has been the greatest teacher! She is fun, creative, and she gets genuinely excited about teaching these little people.

Once I got to his graduation ceremony I realized I left my camera at home. Way to go, mom.

Thank goodness for modern technology. I used my cell phone camera to snap some shots of the big event.

Getting his diploma. (Love the graduation caps!)

Simon and his fellow classmates and teachers. Cutest bunch of kids around!

The highlight of the graduation was when the kids got up in small groups and recited the Preamble to the Constitution with sign language!!! (wow!)

I can't even describe just how proud I am of this little guy. He is so excited to learn new things! He has even started reading on his own. He reads simple books to his little brother and I am amazed at how good he is at sounding out words he doesn't know and immediately recognizing "sight words".

His handwriting has vastly improved since he started preschool and he has loved drawing pictures and writing little stories to go along with them.

Simon will be 5 next weekend! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. Now, with Mason here, Simon seems even more grown up. We are so proud of him!

Congrats to our Preschool Grad! We love you Simon!

He's Here!

2011-05-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

Mason Henry Hall

Our sweet little Mason joined our family on May 25th at 11:32am. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 6 oz. and he was 20.5 inches long.
We arrived at the hospital at 10 pm on Tuesday the 24th to be induced. Once they got me settled in my room and the monitors attached my belly we discovered that I was already having labor contractions! I had been having contractions all that day but they weren't painful at all so I didn't think I was in labor. They started me on petocin at about midnight and I had contractions all through the night but they weren't painful so I waited, with almost no sleep, until morning. About 8:00 Dr. Huff showed up and broke my water. It was like the Hoover Dam had burst! And we discovered that this was the reason why my contractions hadn't been painful, there was too much fluid. Mason had his own personal swimming pool. lol.

3.5 hours and one epidural later our baby boy was born!

Simon and Ryan came by to see him with their Aunt Karissa and Simon fell in love with his little brother right away. He gave him kisses and stroked his dark hair, he told me and the baby how much he loved us. It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen.
Ryan, on the other hand, tried his best to avoid his new brother. When we would ask him to come and say hello, or hold his brother, he would say "no" and walk away or hide.
It will take some time for Ryan to warm up to our newest member of our family.

This was the closest Ryan got to the new baby.

Sue and Boone, a.k.a. Grandma Sue and Pappa, dropped by the hospital on Wednesday and Thursday to see Mason.

Simon and Ryan stayed with Karissa on Wednesday and Jeremiah went home Wednesday evening to take care of them. It was so nice to have his parents here to help too. I have the best in laws in the whole world!

We arrived back home on Thursday afternoon and Heidi, Jesse, and Randi all stopped by to see our new baby.

On Friday we packed up Simon and Ryan and sent them up to the mountains for Memorial Day weekend to spend some time with their cousins and grandparents. It has been so quiet and a little lonely here at home without them but it has made the transition of bringing home the new baby so much easier. I just can't wait to get my little boys back.

Welcome to our family Mason!

We are so incredibly happy that you are here with us. We love you so much already, and we will love you every day of the rest of your life and forever.

38 weeks

2011-05-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

I've made it to 38 weeks! Pregnancy gets more uncomfortable every day but I am really looking forward to next week when I get to meet our new little guy.

I finally got some pictures to remember this pregnancy by (thanks Jeremiah).

The boys happily hopped into the pictures too. I love being a mom more than anything in the whole wide world! I can't believe I have been blessed with 2 wonderful boys and I get another one next week! I really am a lucky girl!

No, that's not a basketball under my shirt.

Comparing tummies.

Hopefully our next post will be pictures of Mason, and me with a flatter belly :)

Coming soon. . .

2011-05-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

He'll be here soon!

We are counting down the days until Mason arrives. This Thursday I met with Dr. Huff and he scheduled me to be induced on the night of the 24th. We will be going in to the hospital at 10:00pm so Mason will most likely be born on May 25th!

Only 12 more days and we will get to meet our little guy!

Because our other 2 boys were so big when they were born, I had the amazing oppurtunity to have one more ultrasound to determine this baby's approximate weight. Last week when we had the ultrasound he weighed about 6.5 lbs (at 36 weeks). He isn't as big as Ryan was but he is still a hefty sized baby. (Ryan was about 7 lbs at this age, he was born 2 weeks early and still weighed 8 lbs 2 oz! Simon was born the day after his due date and he weighed 9 lbs 5 oz!)

Our sweet ultrasound tech thought it would be fun to snap some 3D ultrasound shots too so we can see what Mason looks like. Ultasounds are fascinating to me, and the 3D ultrasounds blow my mind! Just the thought of taking real pictures of a baby before he or she is born. . . amazing! I couldn't help but ooo and ahh every time she took a new picture.

Here's our little Mason.
I think he looks a lot like Ryan.
I can't wait to hold him!!!

This picture is of his teeny foot. He is twisted up like a pretzel and his foot is right by his face. I love his chubby little toes. :)

We are so anxious for our baby to arrive. His brothers can't stop talking about him too! Ryan is finally understanding that he gets to be a big brother.
Simon will give my tummy hugs and kisses for Mason. Ryan is excited to read stories and play trains with his brother. They both think Mason is going to come home walking and talking and ready to play "flying trains", or whatever silly games they come up with. I try to tell them that he is going to be tiny and won't be able to do much for a while, but they aren't convinced yet.

12 more days and they will see for themselves.

For now, I look like I swallowed a giant basketball and I frequently get told that wonderful phrase that I hear at the end of every pregnancy : "You look like you are about to pop!!"
Thank you to all of those people that make me feel like a giant balloon.

Hopefully I can get a picture of me and my big ol' belly so you don't have to try and picture that in your head.

I'm just really happy that the pregnancy is almost over and soon I will get to hold our little boy and remember why we decided to do this in the first place.

:)

Hoppy Easter 2011

2011-04-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

We had a hoppin' good time this Easter! We spent the Saturday before Easter at the park near our home with tons of family! The kids hunted Easter eggs, and we all sat around and talked and ate tons of good food.

Ryan loved the Easter egg hunt! Grandma Sue was nice enough to strategically placed some of the eggs little Ryan could get to them.

And he found the Golden Egg!! What was inside? $5!

I want that Easter Bunny to come to all of our parties.

I got lots of pics of Ryan hunting eggs, but this is what I usually saw of Simon. He was having a blast running around with his cousins Ezra and Allison.

Then they all brought their treasures back to show off. I can't believe how many eggs, and how much candy, each of the kids found!

Ryan got thirsy after eating his jelly beans.

Jeremiah brought his HUGE paper airplane. And the wind blew it into a tree! Good thing he's tall.

After lunch/dinner there was an exciting game of sand volleyball. All the grown-ups got into the game (except for me and Boone.) I sat and watched on the sidelines. My big, round, volleyball shaped belly wouldn't let me get in on the action.
After hours and hours in the hot sun our kids were begging to go back home. We went home at about 5:30 and the boys voluntarily went straight to bed. I thought we wore them out (and we did!) but they were also getting sick. Simon woke up with a fever that night and he and Ryan had croupy coughs. Not a fun start to Easter Sunday.

Even though they weren't feeling well, they still got really excited about their Easter baskets, and another Easter Egg hunt. This time with real eggs.

Ryan was pretty rough with his eggs and ended up cracking most of them. They made good deviled eggs.

Simon took his turn being the Easter Bunny and hid the eggs for his little brother to find.
One of them is still missing.

Gotta love the mismatched, too-small pj's.

He's so proud of his loot!

We ended up taking our sick kids to sacrement meeting. Simon slept though most of it. They I took Jeremiah and the boys home so they could get some rest and not spread their germs with their fellow classmates.

After church we had Karissa over for an Easter feast!

My favorite part of Easter was hearing Simon talk about Jesus and the resurrection. He has so many questions. The Atonement is very hard to understand, even for grown-ups, and Simon always asks the questions that make me think. For now he understands that Jesus was resurrected so that when we die we will be able to be resurected too. His sweet little testimony touches my heart.

I am so thankful for Easter and what it represents. Jesus really did live again! And he lives today! And because of him we will also be able to live again!

I hope everyone had a happy, hoppy, Easter!

Just for fun

2011-04-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

Getting their ears lowered

2011-04-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

My dad always referred to getting a haircut as "getting your ears lowered." That's what our boys got to do on Friday.
First, we spent the morning at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale. That happened kind of by mistake. We were going to spend the day at the Children's Museum of Phoenix but on the way there I missed the freeway turnoff and as we got off the freeway to turn around I asked the boys if they would rather keep going and go to the train park. The vote was unanimous.

We brought our lunch and enjoyed a picnic in the lovely, (almost cold) weather, as we waved to the train whenever it passed by.

And of course they got to ride the train!

And I took random pictures of my handsome boys.

Then we headed west to Phoenix to see Cabrena at her fancy salon in the heart of the downtown culture/sports district.

Now watch as they magically grow up, right before your very eyes.

Simon before:

Simon After:

Ryan Before:

Look how little he is in the big chair! Cabrena had to sit him on a pile of towels so he would be tall enough.

Ryan After:

Amazing right? They both look a year older and stylish as can be.

I'm suddenly missing my babies. Where did they go? It's a good thing we have a new one joining us soon. These sweet boys are growing up way to fast!

Simon's Super Hero Powers!

2011-04-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Super Hero Simon to the Rescue!
And his faithful sidekick, Zeus!

This little guy is becoming quite a ham for the camera, and I love every second of it!

When it gets too quiet. . .

2011-04-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Any typical mom would be worried when the house gets so quiet you can hear a pin drop.
Especially when Mr. Mischief lives with you.

Ryan snuck off to "brush his teeth and came back looking like this. Mom's makeup makes great face paint!

Simon uses quite moments a little more productively. He built a MONSTER TRAIN, complete with a real boiler filled with water. The bathroom looked like it had been sprayed down with a garden hose but his train looks great!

You just can't stay mad at faces like these. I love these boys and all of thier ~~mischevious~~ creative ways.

Day 30-The grand finalle

2011-03-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

Day 30-Your favorite song

I'm going through my iTunes list in my head right now because I have never chosen a favorite song before. What will it be?

Our wedding song?

A church hymn?

A song I love to sing?

A favorite childhood song?

Something with soul, or rock and roll?

My brain hurts.

Here's a list of some of my faves, since I just can't seem to narrow it down to one without having my brain explode.

I'll be - by Edwin McCain

Hero - Mariah Carey

You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban

Free Fallin' - John Mayer (or Tom Petty. Both versions are great!)

Crazy on You - Heart

I am a Child of God - LDS Hymn Book, Children's Song Book

These are just a few of my favorites. I'm sure I'll come up with 10 more when I am going to sleep tonight.
Music has always been a HUGE part of my life. I have an entire list of songs that I am emotionally attached to.

And with that, this blog challenge comes to a close.

Stay tuned for our next post, guaranteed to contain pictures of cute kids.

Day 29- What I have learned

2011-03-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Day 29-During this challenge, what have you learned?

I think this post goes hand in hand with the "How have you changed" post from day 28.

The more you learn the more you change.

The more you change the more you learn.

I have learned:

1. That I am not as creative in my writing as I once thought I was. (Sorry Mrs. Rider.)

2. I really, really, really love my family (But I already knew that.)

3. I need to be more adventurous.

4. My photography skills are improving!

5. I love blog comments! (thanks Melesa!)

6. I talk way too much about Cantaloupe Corner. I can't seem to stop myself. It's just so much fun!

7. There are almost no pictures of me in the last few years. I must be camera shy.

8. 30 posts in 30 days is practically impossible.

9. I am terribly unorganized. And I'm working on it!

10. I am so happy I started this blog! I love looking back through the years and seeing what amazing changes
have happened. Some of these changes are so small and some are life changing!! It is fascinating to read back through and see what we were doing a year ago and how much we have grown.

11. Whoever invented blogging was a genius.

Day 28 - Then and Now

2011-03-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

Day 28-A picture of you from last year and now. How have you changed?

Last year (May 2010)
Taken at the AZ Rattler's game at US Airways Stadium.

Now (March 2011)
in our Backyard.

Some changes are blatently obvious.

I cut my hair.

oh, and I'm pregnant with our 3rd little boy.

So much has changed between then and now. I am still running my own business but I have learned so much more about who I am as a mom, wife, crafter, business owner, etc.

I sent Simon off to preschool for the first time and it was hard not to get teary eyed as I drove away. He's growing up too fast.

Ryan has grown from being a toddler to a little boy. *sigh*

I have grown too, more than just my expanding waistline. I feel like a better mom, a more confident woman, and I feel like everyday I am slowly becoming the person I really want to be.

We still live in the same house. Our days are pretty much the same as they were a year ago but I believe that with every year we learn a little more about ourselves; our talents, our weaknesses and strengths, our good and bad habits.

I have also learned that I am a lot like my mom, and even more like my dad. :)

That's a lot to take in in just one year.

I hope this next year is just as fantastic!

Trains, strawberries, mischief, and rain.

2011-03-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

With our train loving boys, you would have though we had seen all of the train stuff that the Valley of the Sun has to offer.
We went to a new park last week that I have heard about countless times and I can't believe it took us so long to get there! It really was as great as everyone said! It is called the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, AZ.

As we pulled into the parking lot I was surprised by how much the park looked like the real Grand Canyon Railway Station. You even go to a real station ticket counter to buy your tickets for their little train!

There is tons of stuff to see, like the enormous steam locomotive that greets you at the gate.

Then they have a train to ride on too! It is a scale model of a small diesel train engine with small cars. It even has a cattle car and a red caboose. The boys couldn't get enough of the train! According to Simon we rode it 6 times! (really only 4, but who's counting?)

Simon was nervous the first time riding it. He wasn't scared of the train, just the whistle. After I took this picture Ryan sat on my lap and covered his ears too.

There was also a great little museum with all kinds of unique train stuff.

The museum included 2 full size passenger cars that we walked through, and Ryan tried out the comfy chairs.

When we were going in to the museum I was a sign that said it would cost 2 tickets for each adult to enter, kids are free. I asked the nice lady at the counter if I could buy the tickets from her and she looked around to see if anyone was listening and said, "Here, take these."
She handed me 10 tickets! She said a lady had given them to her as she was leaving the park and asked her to give them to someone who could use them.
What a way to make a fun day even better! I passed on the good karma by donating the money I was going to spend on tickets to the museum.

I'm adding the train park to our list of places we need to go often! My little engineers loved it!

The next day was Christmas, at least that's what it felt like. We got our new baby swing in the mail and I got my new 50mm camera lense! WOO HOO!

I didn't get to try out my lense that day because just as Newton's law would predict, my camera battery was dead. :(
The next day I got to snap my first pictures with it! I am head-over-heels in love with this lense. *sigh*

Simon picked out a strawberry plant to put in our backyard. Our garden isn't quite ready yet but we thought some strawberries in our planter would brighten up the yard.

Cardboard boxes = hours of entertainment!

Ryan is my sweet and michevious little boy. I actually get nervous when he is quiet because he is ALWAYS getting into something. This day it was straws. He wanted his dad to make him a "big straw" by putting 3 little ones together, end to end. He found his 3 straws and left the rest on the floor.

Rain is a great thing when you live in the desert. It only comes a few times a year so we make the most of it. The boys splashed in the puddles before we hopped in the car to go to the library. I didn't realize until we got back home that Simon's shoes are on the wrong feet. lol.

Ry guy and his orange shirts. He picked this one out himself.

Can't you tell I love my new camera lense? Here's Ryan posing like a pro in a too-big t-shirt. We were snapping some pictures for my shop. He makes the sweetest little model. I am so happy he's mine!

Now I think I am almost caught up with our lives. I still don't have any recent preggo pictures of me. Being the girl behind the camera has it's drawbacks. I'll post some when I finally get them! I better hurry, in 9 or 10 weeks little Mason will be here!

We interrupt this challenge for an update.

2011-03-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

We have been up to some fun stuff lately so I wanted to share a little.

I got my hands on a wheat grinder and learned how to make homemade fresh ground wheat for bread! I think I'm in love.

And we canned some yummy blackberry jam. To go with the homemade bread, of course.

And while I've been working inside the house our weeds have been growing like. . . weeds. So me and the boys attacked the garden and said goodbye to the weeds! They were such good helpers and wow did they get dirty. I wish I would have snapped some "after" pictures.

Some of the weeds were almost as tall as the boys. We had to dig about 18 inches underground to pull out all of the Bermuda grass roots. It was gruelling work for 2 little boys and a 7 months pregnant me but we got it done! Woo!

Me and da boys went to Greenfield park for the first time in about a year. It was all brand new to them.

Ryan showed off by climbing up the monkey bars!

Simon makes a good monkey too.

I snapped some shots of a new T-shirt I made for Ryan. I posted a tutorial on my Cantaloupe Corner blog if you want to make one too!

Funny Simon. He got a new t-shirt too. Since he is such a train fanatic, we made him a Trainiac T-shirt. He wore it two days in a row. I had to hide it on the third day so he wouldn't wear it again. :)

I sure love this kid!

And this one too! I love that the duck looks like it was colored with a sharpie. lol.

The boys favorite part of the park was the "shaky shaky bridge". Ryan was so scared of the moving bridge at first but once he built up his courage we couldn't get him off of it! He found his new favorite playground game, running across the shaky shaky bridge.

What else have we been up to?

Simon is still loving preschool and we are currently trying to pick the "perfect" kindergarten for him. I can't believe he is that big already! It is bitter sweet. He has been working hard on his letters and numbers and can easily count to 100 now! He is also getting to be a good reader. He read me "Hop on Pop" last night. I'm such a proud mommy.

Ryan is as mischievous and fun as ever. We get to spend some time together while Simon is at preschool. He goes shopping with me or we will spend time reading books or coloring pictures. He has just discovered Simon's markers. No matter where I put them he finds them and he colors some part of himself, or his clothes, everyday.
His favorite color is orange and he insists that he wears and orange shirt everyday! We have even picked up some orange plaid shorts and orange sandals to match all of his orange shirts.

Our little Mason will be here in about 2 months. May 30th is the due date. We are hoping I can be induced early since our other boys were so big. The earliest the doctor will induce will be May 23rd.
Mason still doesn't have a middle name. I'm sure we won't pick it until the last minute because right now every time we start talking names we start throwing out random middle names like "Danger".

The boys are getting excited for their baby brother to arrive. Simon loves to feel him kick and Ryan is finally starting to understand that he gets to be a big brother soon.

I'm still running Cantaloupe Corner for a little while longer. My shop has been doing well and I am really enjoying it! But. . . pretty soon I have to close it down for a while. boo hoo. But I have more important motherly duties to attend to and I am sooooo excited to meet our sweet little boy. Being a mom is the best thing in the entire world!

Jeremiah is still working the daily grind at Farnsworth Wholesale. We love getting to spend some quality time with him on the weekends and he has been working hard trying to get our yard, and his sister's, back into shape.

That's all that's going on around here. We are having fun, staying busy, and enjoying life!

Day 27-Why am I doing this?

2011-03-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Day 27-Why you are doing this 30 day challenge

This challenge started out as a fun way to stay connected with my sisters and a way to kick myself in the pants and actually start blogging again. I obviously am not finishing this challenge in 30 days but I will finish this challenge!
I have learned so much about myself with each topic that comes up. I don't read them beforehand. I look at the topic right before I start blogging about it so that I can think of the first things that come to my mind. Sometimes it would have helped a lot to take a few days to prepare something more heartfelt or informative, but. . . oh well. That's part of the fun.

I love how this challenge has helped me to think ouside the box and find new things to blog about rather than the typical "This is what my kids did today" posts.

I'm so thankful that Melesa, Aimee, and Heidi have all started this challenge! I am enjoying their blog posts and seeing how they interpret the daily challenge different than me.

I'm already at day 27! I'm almost done! Maybe I'll have to create a challenge of my own so I won't quit blogging.
Maybe. . .

Day 26-What do you think about your friends

2011-03-18T19:53:00.003-07:00

I think my friends are cool, talented, smart, clever, loving, and. . . friendly.

Then end.

Day 25 - Bag lady

2011-03-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Day 25-What I would find in your bag

They say you can tell a lot by a woman by the contents of her purse. If that's the case, then I am a mess! Yikes.

Ok, it's not that bad. I have one bag that I take everywhere with me, it's my purse/diaper bag.

What will you find inside on a typical day?

1. My eel skin coin purse. My grandma gave this to me and it makes a snazzy wallet. It holds my money (plastic and non-plastic), and reciepts.

2. My Blackberry. It goes everywhere with me too.

3. Diapers and wipers.

4. Small snacks for hungry kids, and preggo me.

5. Chap stick or lip gloss.

6. Camera.

7. Neosporin and bandaids. (for small emergencies)

8. Lotion.

9. Pen. For signing autographs.

10. Business Cards

11. Sippy Cups. A must have.

Sometimes I feel like Mary Poppins reaching into her carpet bag pulling out things that you wouldn't think would fit in there. And there is still room for more!

Day 24 - To my little cherubs.

2011-03-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

Day 24-A letter to your children

My dear little angels,

I have waited my whole life to feel the way that I felt the day both of you were born. Nothing in this life compares to the indescribable joy I feel every day when I look into your eyes and realize that God has trusted me to be your mother.

Simon, you are a brilliant, sweet, energetic, and kind-hearted boy. I fell in love with you the day you were born, when I saw you for the first time. I have enjoyed every day of the past 4 1/2 years as I have watched you learn and grow. You are becoming your own person and I am excited to see where life will take you! I love that you are passionate about everything you do. You are fun, and silly, and care free!

Ryan, you are smart, determined, spirited, and loving. I love your hugs and kisses and I can't get enough of your sweet cuddles. You have a great sense of humor and I love hearing you tell jokes and sing songs with your brother and laugh all day long! Every day I am so greatful that Heavenly Father sent you to our family. You add so much life and love to our home!

Mason, I know you aren't here with us yet but I love you already. I am thrilled to see how much love and excitement you will bring with you as you join our growing family. And I am awed that God would be so giving to trust me with a third son! I have always dreamed about raising boys and now I get to raise 3! I will do everything I can to raise you in righteousness and to give you a good life, full of love.

I love you boys more than anything in the world! Life wouldn't be complete without the joy I have from being with you. I want to be a good mother for all of you, and a good wife to your dad. I will always do everything in my power to give you the best life possible.

As you grow up, I'm sure that I will make mistakes. I am not a perfect mom but I will always love you and I will always do what I feel is best for you.
Always remember that you are children of a God who loves you. Be grateful for the things in your life that make you happy.

I am eternally grateful for you.
Love,
mom

Day 23- I crave

2011-03-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

Day 23-Something you crave for a lot

The first thing that comes to mind is chocolate,
and fruit.

I'm pregnant so I crave different foods every day. Today's cravings were green grapes, lemons, salad, and ice.
Yes, ice. I crush it up in my amazing Ninja blender until it looks like snow. mmm.

I also crave attention,

and love,

and sunshine,

and success,

and chocolate.

Day 22 - Different

2011-03-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

Day 22-What makes you different from everyone else

You spend your whole childhood trying to fit in and be like everyone else. Then when you are grown up the world expects you to be unique. Make up your minds people!

Ok, but seriously, I am just a normal girl, living a semi-normal life.
But there really is no such thing as normal.

So,
I am different from the rest of the world because:

1. I have waaay to much ambition when it comes to taking on projects. (Which is why most of them never get finished.)
2. I don't have the ability to relax. And when I do it is usually long enough to take a shower or eat some oreos and milk, then I'm back to my projects or whatever else needs to be done.
3. I am Simon and Ryan's mommy! And I'm Jeremiah's wife!
4. I'm an ink-free screenprinter.
5. I love being able to make things from scratch. Whether it is making bread, sewing a dress, or gardening. I'm not always good at it but it is fun to try.
6. I play the piano.
7. I have big, curly hair.
8. I really love my in-laws.
9. I don't have a middle name. My parents named all of their girls without middle names so that when we got married Udall would become our middle name. Then I married a Hall. I wasn't excited to be Jenifer U. Hall, so I opted out of taking on a middle name.
10. I'm a hopeless optimist. I believe that there is a positive side to just about everything, but sometimes you have to dig to find it. Sometimes this trait gets me in trouble because I never expect anything bad to happen.

Day 21 - What makes me smile?

2011-03-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

Day 21-A picture of something that makes you happy

Sunny day picnics in the park.

Baby #3

Finished orders, ready to ship.

Paint!

Day 20 - My other half

2011-03-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

Day 20-Something interesting about your spouse

Jeremiah's your average guy. He likes cars, Vanilla Coke, and video games.

That's about it.

haha, just kidding. I know you better than that Jabers.

First of all, Jeremiah is the youngest of 6 kids, and the only boy! He was raised by a bunch of girls (poor guy). But all that drama he went through as a child has made him an incredible, understanding husband.

Jeremiah also has very intersting hobbies. He loves remote control cars! I had seen the cheap RC cars that my brothers always got for Christmas (and destroyed a week later) but I never knew that there was a whole world of RC Car hobbiests. After we got married he even got me my own electric car to drive. I haven't driven it much though because I'm too scared I'll break it. Those babies aren't cheap.

He has also been working on restoring a real car, an old VW Baja Bug. He still has a long way to go on it but he works on it whenever time and money allow. He even gets Simon out there to help him "fix the bug".

Jeremiah also enjoys learning about survival and being prepared in case of emergencies. We have been told so much in our church to get our year supply of food and be prepared for what ever may come. Jeremiah enjoys researching about how he can help protect and care for our family, in case a natural disaster or anything else might happen. There is so much to learn, so many situations that we need to be prepared for. I'm so happy I have him with me. . . just in case.

Another intersting fact about Jeremiah that you might not know is that he is extremely clever and he can make up a song about anything. yes, anything! Our life is a musical. I've even tapped into his clever wit and gotten some really good t-shirt ideas out of him for my shop. Tough Cookie was his idea. Clever, eh?

Yep, he's awesome, and he's mine! I love you Jeremiah!

Day 19 - What do they call me?

2011-03-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Day 19-Nicknames you have and why you have them

Jeni - what my family calls me. When my parents named me Jenifer they intended on my going by Jeni. I usually go by Jenifer but my family will always call me Jeni and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Jen - what most of my friends call me

Jenny Penny - because not that many words rhyme with Jeni. Melesa calls me this one the most.

Pumpkin - My nickname from my dad when I was a little girl.

I have also been given names because of how big/fluffy my hair is was: Mush-head (for my mushroom shaped hair in middle school, courtesy of Chubbz), Jeni-fluff, Jeni-furry-head, goldie locks, Curly.

I was nicknamed Topanga in high school and college because my friends thought I looked like the Boy Meets World actress.

refinej : Jenifer spelled backwards. This one was given to me by my best friend in high school, Tyson.

After his mission, Jeremiah would call me "gooby" because it means lips in Russian. lol.

Day 18 - I have a dream. . .

2011-02-27T20:15:00.000-08:00

Day 18-Plans/dreams/goals you have

A Sunday evening is the perfect day to think about goals, plans, and dreams.
At church I spend a lot of time reflecting on my life and who I want to be. I get to think outside of myself and put my life back into true perspective.

-My first goal is to be a better mom. With the addition of our new baby coming this May, I am ~~terrified~~ a little bit afraid of how crazy life is going to get with 3 kids. I know it is going to be hard on both of my boys when the new baby comes, but especially life-changing for Ryan. I am praying that I can help him understand the changes that come with his new brother's arrival. I will be taking a break from my business for a while so I can devote my undevided attention to all 3 of my children when little Mason is born.
Along with being a better mom to my children I want to be a better wife to Jeremiah. He puts up with so much from me. I am grateful everyday for his companionship, friendship, and love.

-My long list of personal goals/dreams also includes becoming a better cook. Occasionally I really enjoy finding a new recipe and trying new ingredients, but when I'm pregnant I would usually rather make mac and cheese or frozen pizzas. When life comes back down to a semi-normal level, I really want to start cooking great meals for my family!
-Also on that list, is becoming a better photographer. I want to have beautiful memories to look back on. Plus it sure will come in handy when taking pictures for Cantaloupe Corner.

And,

-I have a dream.

My dreams looks like this:

-I want to take my handsome hubby on a getaway to a tropical island. Sit in the sun, swim in the clear blue water, smell the salty air, and just enjoy the view.

-I also want for Jeremiah and I to own our own home someday. We are in a verry blessed situation right now. We have the privelidge of renting for the best landlords, Jeremiah's parents. But someday I would love to have a place we can truly call our own.

-Some other goals include: Going back to school to get my bachelors degree, writing a children's book, becoming a food storage expert, running a marathon, and organizing my house.

-But above anything else, I want to be happy with me. I want to love who I am.

All these things will happen. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, or next year, but they will happen!!

That is my dream.

Day 17 - A day in her shoes.

2011-02-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

Day 17-Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

First I have to say that I am a grass-is-greener-on-our-side type of girl and I wouldn't want to trade anyone places for more than a day.

But, I would love to be miss Taylor Swift, just for a day. She is young, beautiful, and famous.
I dreamed for so long of being a professional singer when I was younger.
If only. . . *sigh*

I would love to rock out on a stage in a packed arena and sing to all of my adoring fans, wearing glamorous clothes, having my own personal stylist, and looking this darn cute . . .

Only for a day.

Then I would want my life back.
It may not be glamorous but I can't imagine life getting much better than this!

Nice Caboose! (And Day 16)

2011-02-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

We went up north to RV for President's Day weekend and didn't touch the laptop once while we were there. Hence the reason why I am so far behind on the blog challenge, and why I have brand new pictures to share!

This works out perfectly because the next blog day says:

Day 16-Another picture of yourself

I'm sure there is a picture of me somewhere. . .

yep, here's one!

Wait! That is a nice caboose, but it's not mine (thank goodness!)

Here we are.

I'm glad I'm sitting down because that belly is much bigger in real life. I've only got 3 more months to go and our little guy will be here!

Jeremiah convinced me to ride up north with him so we could help Veronica move her spa to a bigger place. I told him I would go if it wasn't going to snow. He assured me that the storm had passed and it wouldn't snow. So me and the boys tagged along.

And it snowed.

Just a little bit. But it was freezing cold!

On our way up we stopped for a bathroom break at the park in Superior, you know, the one with the caboose.

They also had some old rusty mining train equipment that we hadn't seen before.

And some HUGE tractor tires.

And an old steam engine boiler! Simon's favorite!

I chased Ryan around trying to get some shots of him and the caboose. Come back!

Gotcha Ry!

He was hitching a ride on the back of the caboose.

We detoured through St. Johns to visit our friends Nic and Shelly Finch and their cute little daughters. Shelly got me excited to start canning again so hopefully I will get going on that before the baby comes.

We also stopped by the St. Johns Court House to see Jeremiah's mom , a.k.a. Grandma Sue.

It was my first time to see the inside of this historic building, and my first time seeing the inside of a court room in real life.

On Sunday night we attempted to drive back to Mesa from Springerville and we got hit by a HUGE snowstorm. About 20 minutes out it was white-out conditions and we thought it best to turn around and go back. Jeremiah is a brave driver and he usually doesn't mind the snow, unlike me. But he even felt uneasy, like we needed to go back.

So we spent part of Presidents Day with family, waiting for the roads to thaw.

I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Day 15 - Do the shuffle!

2011-02-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

Day 15-Put your ipod on shuffle and list first 5 songs that play

1. Wish You Were Here -by Incubus

2. Love Alive - by Heart

3. So She Dances - by Josh groban

4. The Ocean - by Led Zeppelin

5. Last Kiss - by Taylor Swift

A little of this, a little of that. All of these songs are so good!
-I love Incubus and I will never ever get tired of their music.
-I used to sing at the top of my lungs along to Heart every time I drove home to Eagar. Love Alive is one of my favorite Heart songs!
-I have a soft spot for Josh Groban. He has a beautiful voice. I think Jeremiah may be a little jealous of how much I love Josh's voice.
-Zeppelin is probably my favorite band of all time.
- I just got the new Taylor Swift album and I listen to it more than anything else right now. It is just chill enough that I can listen to it with the kids and they like it too. :)

Day 14- Me and my family

2011-02-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

Day 14-A picture of you and your family

Day 13-Dear Sue,

2011-02-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

Day 13-A letter to someone who has influenced you recently

Dear Sue,

Thank you for being such a beautiful, happy, loving, and strong person. I could never have asked for a better mother-in-law. I am thankful every day that you have come into my life and that you raised such an amazing son to be my husband.

As long as I have known you, I have been lifted up by your glowing positive attitude. Your optimism is contagious! You always bring sunshine with you wherever you go. Our boys love you so much and they get so excited to go see "Grandma Sue", especially when we get to visit you in the mountains.

Thank you for instilling good morals and values into your son. He has been such a great husband and I see a lot of your good traits in him.

Thank you for your patience. You have been so patient with us, your family, and the sweet boys that live with you. You have made a huge difference in all of our lives and we will be forever grateful.

This simple thank you can never stretch as far as my feelings of respect for you.

Thank you for influencing our lives for the better!

Love,
Jeni

Day 12-How and why

2011-02-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

Day 12-How you found out about blogger and why you have one

Blogs have been around for a while. I remember hearing about blogs on the news and thinking "what in the world is that?" It sounds like some you find in a tissue. Blog.

Then I started hearing about my friends and families blogs, namely my sister Melesa. She had just started hers and she was telling me how great it is that she can have an online journal that the family can follow so we always know what is going on.

What a great idea!!! I thought.

So I started my own. I chose Blogger because it was free and easy to use.

Now my parents and grandparents can just click on a link and read all about what's happening with our fam.

And now I have a way of looking back through the last couple of years to see where we were and how far we have come. I can't believe how much our family has changed since the first day I blogged, June 10th 2008. Simon was turning 2, and Ryan was on his way. Now we are onto baby #3 and have had so many adventures along the way.

i heart blogging.

Day 11-A picture of you and. . .

2011-02-11T18:15:00.000-08:00

Day 11-A picture of you and your friends

So . . .
I almost skipped day 11 and went straight to day 12.
I checked all over my computer and, sadly, I have no pictures of me with my friends.
Usually we spend most of our weekends with our family, who are the best friends we could have. Karissa and Cabrena, Jesse and Randi, Heidi and Austin. . .

But unfortunately our family friends are camera shy, or maybe it's just me. I'm either behind a camera or hiding from one. lol.

So, here is a picture of me and my bestest friends in the whole world.

PS. Jeremiah, don't hate me for posting this picture. I LOVE it!

Day 10- What I listen to when I'm . . .

2011-02-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

Day 10-Songs you listen to when you're bored, happy, sad, mad, hyped

When I'm bored I turn on my ipod dock to shuffle and jam out to whatever comes next. We have quite the array of music so it's always fun to see if the next song will be Led Zepplin, Garth Brooks, or the Imagination Movers.

When I'm feeling happy I usually turn up silly songs to dance to with my boys. I also love some Taylor Swift, Jack Johnson or Josh Groban. They make me happy too.

I don't usually listen to music when I'm sad, except for maybe church hymns or classical music.

Hyped? hmmm. I always have my kids around so my "hyped" music is much different than it was in college. (I just don't feel like my 2 and 4 year old are ready for Linkin Park and P!nk.) So, I guess my "hyped" music is the same as my "happy" music: kid songs. But sometimes I turn up some classic rock, I think the kids can appreciate the classics.

Day 9-Something I'm proud of

2011-02-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

Day 9-Something you're proud of in the past few days

Proud mommy moments come along every now and then. I had one yesterday.

I was busy finishing some Cantaloupe Corner shirts. Printing, packing, or something like that. I had been working in my office for at least 30 min while the kids were watching PBS.

Then Simon turned the TV off and it was quiet for a while. A little too quiet.

So I stopped what I was doing and went to check on my boys.

Simon was in the kitchen carrying a bag of snap peas and a bag of grapes and he was grabbing a bag of carrots from the fridge.
Then he sweetly asked me if he could put his nice quilt on the lawn, or if the grass would poke through it. lol.

He had planned a picnic for him and his little brother. And the best part was that he was very proud of himself for choosing healthy snacks!

So I got them out a picnic blanket and 2 juice boxes and I let big brother Simon do the rest. He and Ryan had the best backyard picnic ever! (On the patio, since the grass was wet.)

I was so proud of him for thinking of his little brother and taking care of him while I was working. And most of all I was proud that he knew what foods would be best for them to eat. It was such a simple thing but it was definately a proud mommy moment!

Day 8-This months goals

2011-02-08T12:14:00.000-08:00

Day 8-Short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them

January is the month for New Years Resolutions and this is the first year in a while that I haven't had my yearly goals written up in January. This year, with a new baby coming and so many things changing I am taking it month by month.

Goals for February 2011:
1. Spend quality time with my adorable boys. (More park days!!!)
2. Get Cantaloupe Corner up and running again. (it will be open through April 30th).
3. Now that I have an appetite again, I want to start cooking healthier meals. Goodbye Digiorno pizzas!
4. Make space in our house for our new baby.
5. Finally choose a name for the new baby. We talk about names every day but still haven't decided on what we are going to name little boy #3. Right now his name is baby.
6. Continue my goal to simplify and organize my home. a.k.a. de-junking the house.
7. Try one new recipe a week.
8. Finish "baby's" quilt. I really want to add his name to it so I have been waiting to finish it.
Most of these goals will start in February and I don't have a date I will accomplish them by. I just want to ban some bad habits and add some good habits to my life.

Day 7-What makes the biggest impact on me

2011-02-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

Who/What has impacted my life more than anything else?
This is the hardest question yet.

I have to list a few because I just can't narrow it down.

This little book has made a huge impact on my life:

I love this book. It teaches about hope.

I also love the church that goes hand in hand with this book. I love it's teachings of righteousness and goodness. Most of all I love knowing where I come from, why I'm here, and where I will go after I die. It really is a gospel of love and peace.

Next is my Family: These little boys have turned my life upside down and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for that! They are silly, mischevious, fun, adventurous, smart, and loving. I am so indescribibly happy to have them in my life, and I can't wait until this May when we will have another little boy to join us!

Another member of my family that has had a tremendous amount of influence on my life is this lady right here:

My lovely Grandma Udall. She is everything that I want to be.

And last of all I have this:

Cantaloupe Corner started out as a way to earn a few extra dollars while I am at home with my kids and grew to become a creative playground for me and my boys! It has been a lot of work but it has taught me so much about myself and what I am capable of doing when I put my mind and heart into it. Most of all, it is so FUN!

Day 6-Favorite super hero and why

2011-02-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

I was never one for comics books or super hero cartoons. But there is one hero that was always my favorite. He's the all American hero. None other than . . . Superman!

I loved watching the Superman movies as a kid and I remember tying a blanket around my neck for a cape and trying to fly. Over and over again I would jump off the living room coffee table and I would never get discouraged when gravity would always win.

I promised my sisters that when I learned to fly I would fly them to school the next day.

Today I have some new Superheros in my life.

Day 5-A picture of somewhere you've been

2011-02-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

We aren't exactly world travelers. Far from it.

We have only been on a few real "vacations" since we have been married. When I was 5 1/2 months pregnant with Simon we went to New York City. I loved every second of it, except that I was pregnant and still sick and the February weather was chill-you-to-the-bone cold. My favorite parts of this trip were riding around the city on the double decker bus and taking the ferry to see this lady:

Our first family trip we have been on since we have had our 2 kids has been right here in AZ. We took a trip up to Williams AZ to take the boys on the Grand Canyon Railroad. If you know Simon you know that it was the best trip EVER!

And we detoured through Sedona on the way back home and spent a day there. It was breathtaking.

Day 4-A habit that you wish you didn't have

2011-02-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

There are so many. . .

The bad habit I have that bugs me the most is not finishing what I start.

I get really really excited to start a new super cool project, get halfway through it and set it aside, never to be touched again.

For example: I painted a lovely landscape painting soon after I had Simon (4 1/2 years ago) and I still have not finished the painting. I hung it up in my house unfinished, unsigned, and unframed.

When I cook, I get out all of the ingredients, make a yummy something-or-other, and then leave most of the ingredients out on the counter when I'm done. It makes for a messy kitchen.

I have painting projects, sewing projects, knitting projects, home and yard projects, that all get started and never get finished.

I'm going to make a goal for this year (and the rest of forever) to do my best to finish everything that I start.

The end.

Day 3-A picture of you and your extended family

2011-02-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

If it weren't for weddings we would have no family pictures of our family. Thank goodness there were 3 weddings this year. I just yoinked this pic from Melesa's blog because I didn't have any others. lol. Thanks Melesa!

We have one member of the family missing: our newst bro-in-law Josh Nicholsen, Marie's new hubby. Besides that, we have the whole gang together!

Simon must think the camera can't see him, he's digging for gold. lol.

I love this group!

Day 2- Meaning of my blog name

2011-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hmmmmm

I am just now realizing my lack of creativity when it came to naming my blog.

J and J Hall Family

I just thought it sounded cool.

Also, when Jeremiah and I were dating way back in high school I used to sign notes to him with a J connected with a backwards J. Together they made an upside down heart.
This makes me feel old. Kids don't write love notes to each other anymore, they send love texts. i heart u.

So I guess "J and J Hall" started waaaaay back then.

Day 1 - Recent picture and 15 things about me

2011-01-31T19:36:00.000-08:00

Day 1-Recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

These are the most recent pictures I have of little ol' me. They aren't very good but it's all I've got. They are from Marie's wedding which was December 18th. I'm usually the one behind the camera so I don't make it into very many pictures. I guess I should work on that. Since these pictures were taken I have chopped my hair to chin length and my baby belly has grown too.

15 interesting things about me:

1. I own my very own business. It's called Cantaloupe Corner and it is my favorite thing in the world, besides my family.
2. Instead of a sweet tooth, I have a sour tooth. I crave lemons, pickles, salt and vinegar chips, sour patch kids, and it gets a zillion times stronger when I'm pregnant.
3. I'm pregnant!!!!! We are expecting little boy #3 in May.
4. I get extremely obsessive about things that I really want to do. I have to learn everything I can about it and immerse myself into my current project. It drives Jeremiah crazy. It drives me crazy sometimes too.
5. I was a cheerleader for 7 years! Junior high through college.
6. I love to sing. I sing to my kids. I sing in the car and in the shower. I still have withdrawals from my high school and college show choir groups. Good times.
7. My hands are as big as Jeremiah's. They come in handy when I play piano or guitar.
8. I am attracted to very bright colors. I recently painted my boys' room lime green, blue and brown, and my office is orange! (I LOVE IT!)
9. I really really really want to go on an island vacation. Preferably to the Bahamas or Hawaii.
10. I have a phobia of deep water.
11. I am absolutely, positively, without a doubt, in LOVE with my boys. All of them!
12. Me and Jeremiah stay up really late at night playing Lego Indiana Jones on Xbox.
13. If I ever have free time, I love doing crossword puzzles or playing sudoku. They make me feel smart.
14. My super hero name is the Craft Maiden, (courtesy of Jeremiah and Karissa.) I fight crime with knitting needles, scissors, and the dreaded bedazzler.
15. My greatest hero in my life right now is my Grandma Udall. I want to be like her someday.

Now you know all about me. Lucky you. :)

30 Day Challenge

2011-01-31T18:39:00.000-08:00

Since it has been about a month since my last blog and I really want to be a better blogger I am jumping on the bandwagon with my sisters and doing a 30 day blog challenge.
Jump in and blog along with us if you would like! It's going to be a ton of fun.

Day 1-Recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

Day 2-The meaning behind your Blog name

Day 3-A picture of you and your extended family

Day 4-A habit that you wish you didn't have

Day 5-A picture of somewhere you've been

Day 6-Favorite super hero and why

Day 7-A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

Day 8-Short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them

Day 9-Something you're proud of in the past few days

Day 10-Songs you listen to when you're bored, happy, sad, mad, hyped

Day 11-A picture of you and your friends

Day 12-How you found out about blogger and why you have one

Day 13-A letter to someone who has influenced you recently

Day 14-A picture of you and your family

Day 15-Put your ipod on shuffle and list first 5 songs that play

Day 16-Another picture of yourself

Day 17-Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

Day 18-Plans/dreams/goals you have

Day 19-Nicknames you have and why you have them

Day 20-Something interesting about your spouse

Day 21-A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 22-What makes you different from everyone else

Day 23-Something you crave for a lot

Day 24-A letter to your children

Day 25-What I would find in your bag

Day 26-What do you think about your friends

Day 27-Why you are doing this 30 day challenge

Day 28-A picture of you from last year and now-how have you changed?

Day 29-In this past month, what have you learned?

Day 30-Your favorite song

The results are in:

2011-01-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

We are having a . . . .

Yes! Baby Boy #3 will be joining our family in May!

I went to our ultrasound appointment today completely expecting to find out our baby was a girl. We brought our 2 boys with us and the ultrasound technitian first asked Simon if he thought the baby was a boy or a girl. Simon has been convinced for a while now that we are having a boy, so that is what he told her.

Simon was right!

She said that 4-year-olds are as accurate as the ultrasound machine! They can always call it!

After all of the wishing for a little girl, I am actually sooooo happy that we have another little boy on the way. I was in complete shock for most of the day but now that it is sinking in I am so excited!!

Oh boy! We are going to have a house full of boys!

Santa Claus is coming to town

2010-12-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

This Christmas season was more fun than I could have hoped for! Simon, now 4 years old, was old enough to understand Santa, and to really enjoy what Christmas is all about.
Here are a few random shots from the beginning of December:

We got out our Christmas decorations, and the boys tucked our little owl friends under our red Christmas blanket. It was so sweet, I had to share.

The boys also got to try dippin' dots style ice cream for the first time. It was a hit! They sell this stuff at the grocery stores now and I have a feeling this will be a new family favorite.

mmmmmm.

I let the boys paint Christmas bird houses. I felt especially brave and let Simon free with my acrylic paints, no more washables for him! He loves lots of color in his pictures and paintings and he added as much color as he could to his cute house.

We chose the washable paints for Ryan. He went at it like a pro. His house turned out so cute!

We added some ice and jingle bells to the boys' houses and mine was covered in glitter! I can't wait to get them out next year to show the boys what a great job they did!

Our tree. Every year Jeremiah have a ~~fight~~ discussion about what color of lights to put on our tree. I vote white lights, he votes for colored. Once again, Jeremiah won. (I couldn't find the white lights)
We have had this tree since the year we got married. I think we paid $20 for it at Wal-Mart. It has served us well.

The boys were excited to put up the tree but they were even more excited for this:

The Christmas TRAIN!!! They played with it non-stop until the batteries were dead.

I threw in some homemade gifts this year. Somewhere between shopping, decorating and preparing for Marie's wedding and company, I found some time to make some stuff.

This apron was for my neice, Allison. She loves helping her mom bake.

For my sis-in-law Dana and her girls, I made a box of hair clips, pins, and headbands.

My favorite project this year were the cookie jars. I made one for Randi, and one for Dana. I designed the monograms and cut them with my vinyl cutter. My mom loved them too so we made some for her give as gifts. We made one for my Grandma Udall and one for Aunt Darla.
I also made some shirts for Talyn, a couple of printed tote bags, and big FAT elf shelf-sitter for Sue. I forgot to snap pictures of him, We call him PJ, Prince Jingles. Hopefully I can get some pictures later.

On Chrismas Eve Eve (Dec 23rd) We headed up to RV! We were hoping for a white Christmas but all we got was a couple of inches of snow outside of Show Low. On Christmas Eve we got a flat tire. :(
Jeremiah, my hero, changed it in no time but the tire was blown and can't be patched so we have to buy a new one.

Christmas Eve night we went to my Grandma Udall's house for the annual party. We had some spicy, delicious, mexican food and lots of dessert. We listened to the family missionaries talk about what Christmas was like in the mission field. When it was Jeremiah's turn, Simon decided to stuff a huge green olive in his mouth and it made him throw up! ewwww!

After the clean up, we had a white elephant gift exchange. Then we headed home to wait for Santa.

I didn't get many pictures on Chrismas so here's what we've got.

Simon was sick on Christmas Eve and Christmas and I had to drag him out of bed to open presents. He was happy once we started.

My favorite reaction of the day. This is the elf, PJ, for my MIL. I think she liked it. lol.

We had to pack up most of the toys after they were opened so when we got home we opened everything and our house looked like Christmas all over again.

I think it wore Simon out. He snuggled behind our big leather chair for a snooze.

The gifts were great but the best part about the whole trip was being with our family. My favorite memories always spur from family game nights and just shooting the breeze with the people we love the most.