San Antone

The first week of November we drove to San Antonio for a much needed little weekend get away. Weston's sister Misty & husband Larry came for a little tour of Texas. He graduates in May from his pediatric dentistry residency and they are officially looking to set up his practice here! We are very excited to have them closer. Ever since we moved from Ann Arbor we haven't seen them very much because they have been living in Cleveland, OH. We had a short but nice visit while they were in town for the day. 

 At the Alamo in front of this awesome cactus. :) 

Warren Maxwell Hall - stud muffin extraordinaire. ;) 

The boys love staying in hotels and as you can see we don't make our beds.  

We walked the Riverwalk with Larry & Misty. It's always such a great atmosphere. The trees are amazing all along the way. 

Larry & Misty minus four. Enjoying there couples get-away week.  

Thank goodness for Uncle Larry to help us with his highness, The Benjamin's royal chassis. :) 

We found an awesome Mcdonald's that had the best play structure and unlimited air hockey & basketball. It was pretty awesome and I think we spent more time there than at the Riverwalk! LOL 

Misty & Weston are always up for a good challenge. 

It was good to see Larry & Misty! Hopefully we will be seeing a lot more of you in the near future! 

Last but not least. This made me laugh so hard. Weston notice this clip on the underside of our console and decided it would make the perfect road trip chip holder and is completely convinced that is what it was meant for! Boys. lol

UT Bloopers & Outakes

A few weeks ago we got back from a little hiatus to Utah. We primarily came to spend time with Grandpa Hall. There is always lots of running around while we are there. Here are some fun moments we caught, that kept us smilin as we burned tire marks in the blue van up and down I-15.

Every day we spent time with Grandpa and he was in pretty good spirits despite his pain. He kept us laughing. You are such a great example to us! It was fun hanging out with you Grandpa. We love you!

The Man Cave: It wasn't long before Ben figured out where the men of the Faler household hang out. Mark, Charlie.....King Tut....the Bull, etc. etc. Charlie the cat says "Meow".

Meeting our newest nephew Finn. He is SO sweet and so handsome. I didn't have a cold this time so I actually got to snuggle this boy. :)

It snowed 3 times while we were in Utah which brought pure happiness and joy to Warren. He made gloves out of socks and played in the snow everyday. He loved every chance he got to pelt dad with snow balls. Not bad for the last week of April.

Giving my niece Angie and baby Evelyn a little pep talk....."its ok to come a little early....Emmy is here and she wants to meet you!" Angie was 8.5 months along. Isn't her little tum cute?

I even tried bribing her with shoes. Aren't these the cutest shoes EVER?

Don't mess with me....I'm Mrs. T! Esssssay!

Ben's first real haircut......"hey lady....you ain't EVEN gonna stick that buzzing thing on my head now are ya?"

Warren & Ben taking their first train ride on an ELECTRIC train (as Warren deposed). It was exhilarating as you can see.

Ok, this lady at the Zoo had the best hair I have seen in a long time. I couldn't resist....

Clip 1: One of the kids favorite things to do is go to my brother Brian's house. He has big open space, a dog, chickens, a pig and a huge garden. Ben is so cute chasing the chickens and I sound like an idiot trying to be a chicken. Definitely blooper worthy. Clip 2: The boys playing in the tub happily after a LONG day. :)

We got lucky and caught a little spring skiing while we were there. We used to be ski bums but hadn't been in over 10 years! Alta welcomes Emily Vaugh Hall. ;) Waiting patiently....did he fall? Did he break his arm? Did he do a spread eagle off a jump?

On the lift.....fasten your goggles....we don't want anyone losing their cheeks!

I think they call that the SNOW....PLOW honey. He kept up pretty good with me most of the time. ;)

Post run#1 rest stop. Weston made me laugh more this day than he has in a LONG time. We kept getting noodle legs after each run and he'd ski right up to these chairs and say, slightly panting, "wanna rest"? While he was taking "a rest" he always kept his goggles on. I mean it was sunny and like 70 degrees up there that day and I think they were a little too tight. I'm just sayin but doesn't he look cute? I'm tellin ya he scored bucco points this day!

While I really do think this picture of Weston is adorable....this pose is a little dumb & dumber-esque....would you say?

Chillin at the park with my little sister Rachael & her baby Delilah. Hey Rach....park rule number 1 would be......

While we were there the renovations at Grandpa's care home got finished and he got moved to his new fancy room. Weston, of course, had to make sure all the furniture was working correctly before we left. He has been beggin me for one of these chairs ever since.

Last night before we left we whipped out the "Red Mule" for a little cruise around the Bountiful Hills. "You can get 80 miles a tank on that hog."

Bddddddddddt, Bddddddrttt!

Toodles! Until next time!

Austin IS WeIrD. Check.

Each year my dear friends & I (from our Ann Arbor days) reunite for a little girl bonding time. The last week of March was our Girls Weekend (Austin)....30 something style. Our husbands went to Law School together at U of M and while they were buried in books with blood shot eyes, we made no haste for discovering what sisterhood is all about. :) Since graduation we have made it a yearly tradition to get together and visit one of our- neck of the woods. Phoenix. Houston. San Francisco and this year Austin! (Cue music below- Just one of the fantastic Austin Gigs playing around on the streets as you walk around)

There is a saying about Austin and while I have been there several times before visiting Cheri, I had not yet fully experienced Austin's "weirdness" in its true form. Until now...

The first thing that was weird about our GW Trip was that KATIE....was not able to come this year. Boo Hoo. Yes, thats right, our artistic amis was suffering from major back issues and therefore could not make it this year. As I write, she is recovering from back surgery. She was with us in spirit & web chats though. xoxo Katie.

The food was amazing! Katie was SO there with us every step of the way. It was almost like you could see her watching over us! ;)

The Boutiques there are great but BE careful..... you just might get flashed. Lets just say that nursing is a VERY open sport in Austin and this particular mom was lacking a brazier as well. Whoopsie! lol People there are friendly too....like this passer by who wanted to be in our picture. I had to get a picture of this Boutique because my maiden name was Luther and in my entire life I have never met anyon

e with my same last name. Austin is cool though...so of course there is a Boutique "Luther's".

There are artisans of all kinds in Austin and the the kind man that offered to take our picture overlooking Lake Austin was no exception. He had a real eye for the nat-ur-al! 1....2....3.....CHEESE!

Happy Birthday to me! Birthday Margaritas- Mormon chic style.

This "baby girl" is pretty much the weirdest... yet cutest I have ever seen. ;) I wanted to take her home.

Never knew one could play the saw.....this girl was seriously so kind and sweet.

The Food was AMAZING. Did I say that yet? Me taking a picture of Ronna, taking a picture of the Amazing Food.

Katie is that you?

In our adventures we stumbled accross this sweet candy shop. While succombing to candy store ecstasy, Ronna defeated a beastly stool while harnessing her inner core strength.

They have all these vintage-y antinque shops around. Wait a minute....is that Al Gore!?

Apparently, Austin is the home of the largest bat colony in the US. They live under this bridge. At dusk they fly out and its supposed to be really cool. We don't know cause they didn't fly the night we went. It was too windy. There are approximately 750,000. I stole this pic from the internet.

For Katie. Cupcake hocker stall. :D

Swimming in natural springs in Zilker Park. Ronna & Cheri dove right in. I took a little more convincing for me to get in the 68 degree water. Brrrr. It was dang cold but after a while it wasn't so bad. SPRING WARNING: "Topless welcome. If you don't have a suit, your underwear will do just fine!" We, of course, came prepared!

Last night with the girls. Having dinner at a yummy restaurant overlooking Lake Travis. The band & atmosphere were great. We always have such fun. Thanks to our sweet hubbies who year after year encourage and support us! It is always hard to leave fam but it is SO refreshing to go. I always come back feeling so energized and reborn as a woman, wife and mom. :D

(Tip: If you are getting this post via email click on the underlined hyperlink HallsRock at the bottom of the post. It will direct you to the blog where you can watch the videos that are missing in the email.)

Benjamin's 1st Birthday!

I can hardly believe it has been a year but last Saturday we celebrated Benjamin's 1st Birthday! Words cannot express how much joy this happy little boy brings into our lives. We love him so!

You must watch the birthday cake video below to get the full effect but this little guy gave this cake quite the run for its icing! He licked, then sucked, the picked the entire piece up and tried to swallow it entirely and then squished it and continued to scarf it and smash it all over his face. Afterwards, he exhibited signs of a serious chocolate buzz! It was hilarious!

Can you feel the buzz?

The kids waiting for the birthday cake to arrive and to serenade the birthday boy!

Simultaneously, we had a mini reunion with some of our favorite Michigan friends. The Anderson's, Fowles, Millwards & Us all met in Austin. The Fowles were so kind to host the party consisting of 8 adults and 17 kids! It was so wonderful to see everyone!

I just love these ladies! Andrea Fowles, moi, April Millward & Cheri Anderson.

Thanks for celebrating with us my friends and Happy Birthday Ben! :)

Best of Utah

We just got back from another trip to visit the fam in Utah. Here are some pictures from our adventures. We were very busy as always but this time we went in the summer which was SO much fun. We don't get many vacations so we were determined to have fun and we did!

Second day there my little sister Rach and my nephews treated me to some good old fashioned fun and took me to their best kept secret. A GREAT swimming hole tucked away in a hillside....equipt with a super fun rope swing! Yes.....I did it too! About 9 times! My arms started giving way after that! ;) (Video at the bottom of this post)

My brother Brian has a mini farm at his house and Warren loves going there. Here he and Marshall are in the chicken coop collecting the eggs for the day. They found about 14. He also has a pig & the hugest garden you have ever seen!

Weston & his brother Dustin at temple square. It's all love there.

This one just makes me feel good. :)

Playing in the reflection pond at temple sqaure with Auntie Natalie & Cousin Henry.

Ben's first Ute hat! Wa wa wa wa wa!

A trip to Utah would not be complete without a visit to our favorite....The Pie. THE BEST PIZZA..........EVER.

Me, Ben and my girls Angie (neice) and Rach (sister).

Swimming and BBQ at uncle Blake's house!

Another Hall Family Tradition.....Nielsen's frozen custard at 10pm. YUM.

Weston's mom & step dad threw a HUGE summer party which they entitled Fiesta Grande. Over 300 people attended! The rented a bouncy house for kids, carnival games, mini golf, pinata, fajitas, mariachi band & door prizes! It was great!

Weston in a cage in the dinosaur park in Ogden. I still can't believe I got him to do this picture!

Riding the carosel with Ya Ya at Liberty Park.

Four generations of the Hall Family Line.

We planned a little family reunion for my family and we held it up at Pine View. We had a really fun time hanging out in the beautiful mountains. Warren's best of Utah would most definately have to include this sprinkle cookie. He ate four of them. :)

Fourth of July kisses from "my kids" Tyler & Braden (nephews).

This is a video of Tyler on the rope swing. Good times. :)