LUCKY!!

Tonight things were crazy around the house. It was the dinnertime hour and I had been painting most of the day and therefore had paint supplies scattered about the kitchen and still had not made any dinner. Weston was working from home as well. Ben started to fuss and I knew he was hungry. I was in the middle of painting the pantry door and couldn't stop until I had finished the area I was a currently working on without totally messing up it up. I continued on for a few more minutes. Weston walked in in the nick of time.... I told him Ben was hungry and asked him to put him in his high chair and give him some dinner. He saved the day, immediately grabbed him and put him in his high chair. Next thing I know Ben is fussing again and I glanced down at his tray. No food. Hmmmmm. Weston had disappeared.

I go into the Bedroom to find him working again. I reminded him that Ben needed some food and asked if he could please take care of it as I was still covered in paint. He stood up and walked back into the kitchen to get his dinner on the tray. I went back to painting. I saw him come over and grab something out of the pantry and just as he was pulling it out I turned to dip my brush and therefore did not see what he got out. Ben became mute instantly. A few minutes later, I turned around and saw Benjamin eating this... for dinner.

LUCKY!!!!

It was his first taste of Lucky Charms and this happy little clam enjoyed every morsel!

Dads! Gotta love em!

And then there was four. Family Pics 2009.

We finally got new family pictures! Here is a preview of my favorites. Which ones are your fav? Let me know and I will do my best to send you what you want! Enjoy!

Color or Sepia?

Lovebugs. ;)

The "shoe" pic. Shoes what shoes?

My happy happy Ben.

I love it when I capture classic Warren expressions and home so I was thrilled she was able to as well. Two of my favorite for sure!

Ham. Turkey. Its all the same.

Ben LOVED playing on the tracks (yes they were inactive). Here he SO proudly displays his treasure.

The brother pictures where a little tougher to capture. Warren was either too lovey or out came the anaconda squeeze! But...she did get some cute ones!

This was a total fluke. We did not purposly pose them this way but it turned out super cute.

My happy and oh so handsome little men.

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. :)

A must see....

Ok...I know I am a junkie but this has to be one of my favorite routines ever on the history of SYTYCD! Travis was one of my favorite dancers on the 2nd season and he choreographed this piece for the show. You must watch it! Phenomenal!

Talkerific.

Last Sunday Warren had the opportunity to give his first primary talk and he did such a great job! He wanted to do it for us again when he got home and even set up his own stage (background), podium and mike. I can't believe he is already a Sunbeam!

P.S. The tie is now part of his "day to day" attire . ;) Enjoy!

Disclaimer:

Participant is not forced to memorize books by his parents. They are NOT Nazi's of the unusual kind. This book was given to Warren at Easter and after reading it about 5 times through he had it memorized. We discovered his unique ability just before he was two years old when he started reciting his "reader" books to us if we paused too long. Slightly crazy, I know BUT we are hoping it will help pay for college. ;)

Haute Dawg!

The last few weeks have been full of milestones & growth for both of my boys. Warren who has always been a very cautious soul and has preferred moms help with most things, has been really stretching his wings. His independence has been gaining by the day and today he cooked & conquered his first meal. Haute Dawg-a-la-king! Mmmmm.....tasty.

A little longer........

As a mother I love to watch my boys grow.........BUT.......I just wish they would do it a little slower! This week was one full of milestones that were bittersweet. If you are a mom, I know you understand. Can't someone out there design a way to keep them little.... just a little longer? Love these little ones.

I could just eat this kid!

I can't believe I actually caught it on tape but I did. Benjamin has become a pretty speedy creeper and thought I'd get his cute caterpillar crawl on tape. Just fired up the camcorder he got up on all fours for the first time and away he went!

The very next day I went to get him out of his crib after his nap and he had pulled himself up to standing in his crib!

Every morning for the last year and a half it has been the same struggle with Warren. "Mom, I don't have time to get dressed!" Warren is our alarm clock which consists of coming down waking us up and making sure one of us gets his breakfast and cartoon going first thing. Getting dressed always usually comes MUCH later. Well, last monday I just about fell out of bed when he greeted my sleepy eyes ......fully dressed! Shirt, Pants, Hat, Socks & Tie! He now dresses himself every morning before leaving his room!

Warren was a wonderful eater until he was about two. Since then, the foods in his repertoire that he will consume have sharply decreased in number. He will eat bread, ham & sometimes cheese but not together. He has NEVER eaten a sandwich. Last Thursday he grabbed a hamburger bun and some turkey and requested a "booger". So there you have it...Warren's first turkey booger. He ate the whole thing too!

(Sniff.....sniff......sniff......snifffffffff)

Hot Tamale Train...

Last night was the first performance of the Top Twenty on So You Think You Can Dance and really they were all phenomenal. I have posted my two favorite routines below Caitlyn & Jason (Bollywood) and Max & Kayla (Samba)! You have to watch the judges at the end of the rountine to get the full effect, especially after the Samba (1st one posted)!

Check two more of my fav's at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWvSc3m_oKQ

(jeanin & Phillip - Hip Hop)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_AB9u-vnmc

(Randi & Evan - Jazz Contemporary)

Yes, call me crazy but I LOVE this show!

Kayla and Max- Samba

THE HOT Tamale Train baby! Weeeeeeeew!

Caitlin and Jason Bollywood

Hot Hot Hot! Awesome!

Pony. Pone. Poni.

A few years ago life was crazy stressful and I was having a pretty hard time. One day I was talking with one of my friends on the phone who happened to be dealing with almost identical problems and worries. Our conversation turned spiritual and we were both trying to buoy one another up. Life had not taken the course that either of us thought it should have. Sound familiar? I don't mean to minimize this because the trials we were both experiencing were very significant and we were both completely exhausted. At times, it seemed there was no light to be seen. No hope. We were both striving to be faithful and remained close to the Lord. We talked often. Each time we spoke, we supported and laughed with each other and tried our best to press forward with faith but the trials remained.

In all that another constant remained, phone call after phone call. Both of us, although we wanted more than anything for these trials to be removed, could feel our Saviors love stronger than we ever had before in our lives. His tender mercies were abundant and we both felt a strong sense of peace and spiritual alignment with what God wanted for us. The bitter truly was made sweet. Not after the trial but in the midst of it.

Even though I could see the tender mercies and was full of gratitude overflowing for His love , from time to time, I still found myself questioning and even whining again for my will to be fulfilled. My faith would slip for a moment and therefore so did my perspective. I knew right when it happened because I didn't feel as close to the Savior and peace would vanish.

A few days later, I was in Hallmark looking for a fun pick me up for another friend when I spotted it. At first it caught my eye because it reminded me of a strikingly similar picture of myself when I was little. Cute little girl, brown hair and round sunglasses. A little less dramatic as my glasses were not quite as oversized and I definitely did not have a convertible with white leather seats to roll around town in (EVER in my life). I pulled the card out to read the caption and instantly started laughing. Yes. Out Loud. In the store.

I thought....so this is how Heavenly Father sends an "instant message" to me on earth! Just like my friend and I would laugh at ourselves.... I really felt like Heavenly Father gave me the humorous nudge I needed that day to remind me what I actually look like when I start to be less grateful for all that he has already given me.

Suprisingly, I have not mastered this concept yet (cue sarcasm) as the "heavenly messenger" has chimed once again.

The Heckler....

Since we have lived in our new house we have maintained our yard as normal folks do but there have been a few problem areas that we have needed to tackle but haven't yet for various reasons. We have these Sego Palms that are planted between our house and driveway that the previous owners had not taken care of and therefore had become SO overgrown that they really were too big to keep in their current habitat because the palm leaves were scratching the cars as we drove past. We love the palms but they looked horrible and I had no idea what could be done. Weston tried to remedy it his way and cut the leaves hanging over the drive off straight down. It solved the scratching the cars problem but then they looked even worse. I had pretty much accepted that they would have to come out and plant something else but then....the vision came (cue angels) and I went to work.

Meet Curly (before): He was the biggest of the two palms by far and had about 10 times the bugs.

This is moe (before): A bit smaller but equally stubborn and infested with creepies of unusual size.

Meet the Heckler: He came home from the gas station just in time to witness his "beautiful" palms being "hacked and destroyed". Not only did he lack the faith and vision, he set up his observation chairs equipt with palm fanning super heros to back his position and charge. (Cue Nacho Accent) ...Those of little faith....if they shall believe....

....the master gardneress.....will bring you peace.... and groomed Sego Palms....

(tools used: hedge sheerz, pruners, garden hand rake, hoe & pick axe.)

Curly After.

Moe After.

It took most of the day but the good news is Curly and Moe get to stay putt and they look beautimus wouldn't you say? Not too shabby for my first tropical grooming job.... if I do say so myself.

Finally! 15+ years and...

Last night was such a special night. It has been about 15 years in the works but I finally received my Young Women Personal Progress Medallion! I know it may seem silly but I always carried some disappointment not having earned it as a young woman. Its a long story.... but as a youth I completed about 3/4 the requirements, lost my book, started over, completed about 1/2 the book the second time, then lost my book again at girls camp. I think it is probably still floating around the Uintah's somewhere. Anyways, I started again several years ago as a YW Leader and I finally completed it! For the second year in a row, all of our seniors received their medallions! (Although they are all not pictured here.)

Me and my girl Cleo. When she saw my old school personal progress book she fell in love with the old medallion (the gold one with the woman on it). We pulled some strings and were able to find one for her! I got the newest version.

I had to put up this picture because Warren took it. He is becoming quite the photographer. He LOVED my necklace and kept telling me how pretty I looked and how special I was to get it. He insisted on taking a picture of me wearing it. LOVE that boy.