Hall Family

Hello and chill - video

2009-09-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE the way this little guy says hello!! Amber taught him to say CHILL while she was here visiting a couple of weeks ago.

And check out my DIY project...

Misc. Pictures from the park

2009-06-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hunter, Zac and Jake(My boys all did their own hair for pictures...including Zac:))

Zac and Jake feeding and trying to catch ducks

Ryder

The beautiful Lawson Family

Last, but not least....sweet Kenzie!

Hunter loses his first tooth

2009-05-20T10:35:00.001-07:00

Hunter FINALLY got his first loose tooth a week or two ago. He told me about it, but it was a day or two before I actually felt for myself how loose it was. I told him we could probably pull it, if he wanted to. He decided that we should tie some dental floss around it and pull it out. He pulled once and then the second time....I heard his little tooth bounce on the wood floor. I couldn't believe it and neither could he.

Favorite Teething Toy

2009-05-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ryder has a new favorite teething toy:) He has all 8 of his front teeth and is now working on some a little further back. Anytime he finds a hanger that one of the kids has left on the floor, it goes STRAIGHT to the mouth.

Well, I'm off to replace the battery in my smoke detector so it will quite chirping at me and to tear apart my oven to see if I can tell if it is the baking element that is out...you can read more about that here.

Can this kid hold still?

2009-04-30T12:21:00.001-07:00

NO....I don't think he can:) I can not seem to get a decent picture of Ryder lately. He is CONSTANTLY on the move!! I am photography challenge, SO that doesn't help. I think I need to adjust my shutter speed? Come on all of you camera masters...let me know the secrets:)

Ryder is beginning to conquer all kinds of fun new things...feeding himself(utensils optional), climbing and descending stairs, walking(only 2-3 steps at a time), and busting out lots of teeth:) He is keeping me running.

Sorry about the blurry images, but don't say I didn't warn you.(see paragraph one)

I am LOVING that my baby is finally learning the stairs. He is doing really well and I am not SO worried about him falling down them now.

The other night we had spaghetti for dinner. This is Ryder's way of entertaining his brothers during dinner. He just kept smashing his plate against his face and then trying to lick the spaghetti off the plate. The more they laughed, the more he did it and the more he laughed.

One of the biggest reasons it is SO hard to get a picture of him is...that he is ALWAYS trying to get the camera.

Pinewood Derby

2009-04-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

I only have a couple of minutes to blog, actually I don't really have a couple of minutes....but I'm doing it anyway:)

Last night was the Pinewood Derby. Jake won 4 of his 6 races and won second place for best of show. We had a great time!!

What am I?

2009-03-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

A short-order cook....I guess!

I love to cook...breakfast and dinner that is. I wish we could just skip lunch all together! Lunch is just such a pain. It seems like I have just finished cleaning up breakfast and it is time for lunch. AND I know dinner will be coming soon. Oh well, my kids think it is important that they eat lunch, so I put aside my feelings and make them lunch.

Yesterday Hunter told me that he would really like some tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. SO..I got busy.

I gave him his sandwich to start on while I put the soup in a bowl. When I handed him his sandwich he said, "Didn't I order soup with this?"

Why yes he did....he ended up eating 1 1/2 sandwiches and 1 entire can of soup.

He was happy and SO I was happy!!

After the shower....

2009-03-02T10:06:00.001-08:00

and ready for church....

Gotta love that face, even if it does have a constant drip from nose or mouth:)

Baby LOVES the Snail Shower

2009-03-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

Ryder loves to crawl up into our shower. Yesterday Jake was showering before church and started yelling, "Mom, Ryder is crawling into the shower."

Ryder's jammies were soaked. Since Ryder hadn't taken his bath yet, I stripped him down and let him shower with Jake. He LOVED it!!

getting ready to crawl in

peek - a - boo

This IS as fun as I thought it would be:)

LittleTeeth

2009-02-17T15:01:00.000-08:00

**PLEASE excuse the messy nose!! We are TEETHING and enduring the NEVER-ENDING winter cold

Ryder got his first tooth on New Year's Eve and the second tooth not too long after that(probably a week or two). I live little baby teeth. Now he is cutting FOUR teeth on the top. He(and we) are loving the teething thing. Makes for a cranky baby:)

MMM...This looks good!! Should I taste it?

Yes, I should!! Just because.... I LOVE to taste EVERYTHING!!

FYI...I promptly removed the eraser from his hand and mouth after taking these pictures. It sure made him happy to have it for the pictures. AND it sure made him MAD when I took it away.

Handsome Hunter

2009-02-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Hunter's class to help out with the Valentine's Day party. I had a great time and the two little boys were pretty good!

One of the girls in Hunter's class told me that everyone likes Hunter.

When we got home I was telling Hunter that it was so nice that the little girl said that everyone like him.

He said, "Mom, everyone DOES like me."

I said, "That is because you are SO nice."

He said, "and I'm handsome. That is why everyone likes me."

bread at church and chores

2009-02-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Ryan's dad invited us over for hamburgers and hot dogs and to watch the Cardinals football game.

Zac only ate 1 or 2 bites of his hot dog so his Aunt Amy asked him why he wasn't eating.

Zac said something like this, "I'm not very hungry, they fed me bread at church."

FYI....I did watch him take the sacrament and he only took ONE piece of bread:) He'd like to take a handful, but I monitor him very carefully:)

A couple of nights ago, I was having a conversation with Zac while Ryan and the older boys were reading Harry Potter. I asked him what kind of chores 3 year olds do.

He said, "kiss Moms."

Sounds like a good chore to me. I make him do several chores everyday. Usually he tells me, "I did my chore to-morning already." (meaning this morning)

I love 3-year olds!! It really is one of my favorite ages(even with all the fits)! They say the funniest things, they are always willing to give you a hug, love to help with EVERYTHING(sometimes not a good thing:)), they sleep through the night(most the time), my 3 year olds have all been potty trained, the good things go on and on:)

Our Family

2009-01-23T10:22:00.001-08:00

Christmas Fat

2009-01-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

The other day I was carrying our rabbit, Peter, from the garage to the backyard(in his cage). I was also carrying Ryder. I told Hunter to run and open the back door for me because the rabbit was HEAVY!! He was taking his time, so I said, "hurry Hunter, Peter is heavy."

I set Peter down outside and came back in. Hunter asked me, "Mom, is Peter really heavy?"

I said, "yes!"

He said, "then you can do that(carry the rabbit around in his cage) to lose your weight."

I said, "what weight Hunter."

And he said, "you know, your Christmas fat."

I guess that Hunter had been hearing A LOT of people saying that they were gaining too much weight eating all of the Christmas food and treats and that they would need to start dieting to lose their 'Christmas fat' after the holidays.

We're in trouble...

2009-01-19T07:45:00.000-08:00

This little guy is into EVERYTHING!! He has started trying to climb the stairs. He tries to climb into anything that is left on the floor. He climbs into cupboards. He has started opening drawers and then closing them with his fingers inside. He is standing up against things, but not quite sure how to get down and has the red marks on the face and head to show it.

I had forgotten how HARD it is to baby proof things where there are older brothers around. I am constantly finding him chewing on the kids homework that they leave on the floor. He usually has a nice piece torn off and is attempting to enjoying a meal full of fiber:)

His favorite place to crawl to is the bathroom. If he sees that the boys have left the door open, he heads there as fast as possible. When he sees me coming after him he goes full speed with a HUGE smile on his face!!

He turned 8 months old last week. I'll try to get a good picture of him today that shows off his new tooth.

Mighty deer hunter

2009-01-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

Jake's Grandpa took him to a National Wild Turkey Federation Conservation Banquet Fundraiser dinner awhile ago. At the dinner Jake got some tickets that he could enter into different drawings for prizes. OH BOY!! He is one lucky kid! He won several COOL prizes. One of the prizes that he won was a guided doe hunt in Texas.

A couple of weeks ago, Jake, his dad, his grandpa, a couple of cousins and a couple of uncles all headed to Texas to enjoy the prize and the hunting experience together. Jake didn't get a deer, but he had the time of his life!! He had a great time spending quality time with family. Here are a couple of pictures of him dressed up warm by his 'hunting blind'. I guess it was SUPER cold in the mornings and evenings, but very nice during the day.

Win a Silhouette craft cutter

2009-01-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

Christie over at Simple Finds is giving away a Silhouette craft cutter. Go check out Simple Finds and leave a comment to be entered to win.

Merry Christmas...LATE!

2008-12-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I printed out several copies of our Christmas card this year and then only mailed out a handful! Christmas (and Thanksgiving) came and went SO fast this year!! Next year, I hope to slow down and enjoy it a little more.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and we hope that you have a wonderful 2009!! Here is the Christmas card that I made and printed....but didn't mail:)

Ryder 'tries' to crawl

2008-12-29T16:38:00.001-08:00

Ryder will be crawling ....SOON!! It is SO fun watching him get up on his knees and 'try' to crawl. Sorry the video is so dark.

ABC gift for the kids

2008-12-18T08:26:00.000-08:00

Every year I try to do a 'homemade' gift for the kids. Something from Mom, made just for them. I have made quilts, pillows....hmmm...maybe that's it:) Anyway, this year I have made an ABC book for them. All four are the same. I love the badge holders that hold the photos. It will be easy to change the pictures later on as we would like.

If anyone is interested in purchasing the badge holders, let me know and I can find the ebayer that I purchased them from. I bought them awhile ago and don't remember the exact cost, but they seemed quite affordable to me. Must have been or I would not have purchased:) You can also buy the badge holders at office supply stores, but we don't have any of those close to us....and I think they were cheaper on ebay anyway:)

Here are a few of my favorite pages. I printed two per 4x6.

Christmas Program

2008-12-17T13:23:00.000-08:00

Every year the elementary school here does a Christmas program. It is always so much fun!! The gym gets packed with standing room only. Here are a couple of video clips of the kids. Hunter is in the green striped shirt in the first video and Jake is in the white shirt on the front row in the second video. I wish I could have gotten a video of their music teacher! She is fun to watch! She does a WONDERFUL job teaching all of the kids their songs and actions!!

Warning...these video clips are long, especially Jake's. They are also pretty shaky, due to the fact that I had a three year old and 7 month old hanging on me:) I will try to get some good pictures tonight. We got to the afternoon program 1/2 hour early and still didn't get close enough.

Santa Baby

2008-12-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

My Santa baby!! All I want for Christmas is happy kiddos. ...and a few less fits from the three year old:) oh...and maybe a few more hours of sleep in a row from this little guy:)

Let's get BBQ'd

2008-12-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, I was in the kitchen doing dishes(an endless task:)), when Zac came in and said, "Mom, watch me get bbq'd." I figured I must have misunderstood what he was saying. I mean, what in the world? So I asked him what he said. He said, "Hunter taught me how to get bbq'd, come watch me."

So...I went outside with him and this is what he did. Hunter shortly joined him so that I could get a picture of both of my bbq'd boys:)

Almost everyday Zac tells me, "Mom, I'm gonna go get bbq'd, I'll be right back."

Oh..the things kids do and say! They put a smile on my face....EVERYDAY!!

More bean bags and a quick THANK YOU!!

2008-12-08T09:23:00.001-08:00

I am such a slacker!! It has been a week since we got home from our Thanksgiving trip to Utah and I am just now posting:) I am SO bad about getting the camera out while we are traveling and visiting!! I guess I just get caught up in the fun. I only took a couple of pictures the day we left. BUT, if you want to see a few more pictures from the Barlow Thanksgiving, check them out at Heather's blog.

We had such a great time in Utah!! Thanks to everyone for all the good food, fun card games, and fabulous accommodations!! I am SO THANKFUL to have such a wonderful family!

This is what I was busy doing the day before the big(10 1/2 hours) drive to Utah. After my boys saw Zac's bean bag, they decided that they needed personalized bean bags and that it would be fun to make some for the cousins that they would be seeing. I don't know if the cousins were quite as excited about them as my boys:) Actually Taylor told me they were so SUPER cool. We had fun making them and the boys had fun giving them, so I guess that is what's important. Right?

Now for the ONLY pictures I took during our Thanksgiving break!! Again, I am such a SLACKER!! I love this picture of sleeping Zac. Jake HATES it when I take his picture while sleeping, or anytime that he is in his pajamas.

Hunter getting ready to leave.

Thanks again Mom and Dad for letting us stay, for the food, fun, and especially the entertainment:)

Who Knew??

2008-11-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

That a bean bag could put such a smile on a little boys face. Zac has been trying to steal Jake's bean bag for awhile now. Of course Jake is NOT too happy about it. I told Zac to leave Jake's alone and we would make him his own! Now he is one HAPPY boy. He takes it with him everywhere...he even sleeps with it:)

OOPS!! I should have finished clipping the stings before I took the pictures:)

All by himself

2008-11-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

Zac is VERY independant these days. He puts on his own shirts(usually backwards), his own socks(usually upside down, with the heels on top), his own shoes(usually on the wrong fee)...and yesterday he put his jacket on by himself to walk to the bus stop. I think he looks adorable!! As long as the clothes get on, I'm not too picky about if they are backwards, inside out or upside down:)

Late Halloween Pictures

2008-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

I just realized that Halloween came and went while our computer was gone(being worked on). Just wanted to post a quick picture of the kids in their costumes. The picture of Hunter on the left is from the Halloween parade a the school. Hunter REALLY wanted to be a vampire for the school parade, but our gel wasn't strong enough to keep his hair slicked down, so he was a little embarrassed. BUT, I think it looks great!!:) I took a picture of Jake but he was in such a hurry, I only got the back of his head, so I left that picture out. The kids got SO much candy at the ward trunk or treat!! Hunter had been wanting to go to a high school football game all year, so instead of trick or treating, Ryan took Jake, Hunter and one friend to the last football game for Hunter's birthday. They had a great time!

6 Months

2008-11-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

Ryder has been six months for a few days now. I can't believe it has already been six months!! It seems that times has gone by faster and faster with each baby!! I took him to the doctor a few days before he turned six months for a diaper rash(yeast infection) that he had and he weighed in at exactly 16 pounds. He goes in for his 'official' 6 month check-up this next Monday.

Gifted?

2008-11-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

Is this kid gifted?

Indeed!! We've always suspected this to be the case and last week we received written proof:) Last week we got a letter from the school district that Jake has qualified for the gifted program based on a test he took last fall. He qualified in on one of the areas. The area is....drum roll please.....Quantitative Battery. What is quantitative battery? That was my question. Guess I am not as gifted as my son, I had no idea what it was. So, if you are like me and have no idea...it is, "...appraises general abstract reasoning skills, particularly inductive reasoning and specific mathematical reasoning skills... and has a positive correlation with reading and mathematics achievement." The lettter that we received said, "Please know that this means that your student represents the upper 3 % of the students in the state whoare academically gifted." He gets to meet with a teacher for the gifted for one hour every month.

So there you go! Good job Jake, now if he only wasn't so 'gifted' when it comes to talking during class!! We are still working on that one!!

From blanket to 'bo'

2008-11-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

When I saw Hunter bringing his 'bo' to our most recent 'photo shoot'(see previous post), I just thought I had to share this:)

**Please note that if you are a friend of Hunter's or a parent of any of his friends, please DO NOT mention that you know about his 'bo'. He is very sensitive and gets embarrassed if anyone besides family knows about it or sees it:)

All of my boys have always had a FAVORITE blanket! Actually, I'm not sure about Ryder yet. Hunter's blanket or 'bo' as he still calls it(you couldn't really call it a blanket anymore anyway) has probably been the most loved!

I don't know when the blanket became known as 'bo'. As far as I can remember that is what it has been known as. It started as 'bo'(his entire blanket). Then it became his big 'b0' and his rope 'bo' when the edging started coming off. He liked to chew on his 'bo' and so it got some nice holes in it and started falling apart. So, we had a big 'bo'(large piece) and lots of small pieces. We had long and short rope 'bo's'. We now have lots of little pieces of his 'bo', one kinda big piece of the 'bo' and his favorite piece of his 'bo'...the '5 knot bo'.

He loves to thread his 'bo' between his fingers of put one end in his ear. He carries it around without even knowing it sometimes. One day we got to the store and he quickly handed it to me to put in my purse before anyone saw it. I have also been known to quickly shove it in my pocket for him when someone knocks on the door or rings the door bell.

We have literally spent hours hunting for his favorite piece of 'bo'. There are many nights that I tell him to go to bed and if I find his 'bo' I'll bring it to him. He rarely lets me forget about looking for it. I hear a small voice coming from the bedroom saying, "Mom, have you found it yet."

When we lived in Gilbert, his Grandpa used to tease him and take it and play keep away with it. After the first couple of times of that, whenever we would go to Grandma and Grandpa's house, Hunter would remember to leave his 'bo' in the truck.

Here are a couple pictures of Hunter and the 'bo'.

November 2008

October 2004

Okay, now seriously...ssshhhhhhhh!!! Don't tell Hunter about this post:)

The perfect picture of 4 small boys?????

2008-11-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I attempted to get a quick picture of my four boys the other day. I should have known that might be a task I could not accomplish!! I took several pictures of the boys and got two with them all looking at the camera! How many shots does it take to get them all looking at the camera at the same time...10, 20, 30? Well, let's just say I took 20 pictures, they are all cute(to me), but none are quite what I was looking for:) Here are just a few of the pictures for your viewing...ENJOY:)

Picture number one.... not too bad, if we can get Ryder to cooperate.

Oh no, now we need Jake and Ryder to look at the camera, at least Zac is ready! Hunter is mostly ready, if he would just sit up straight.

Whoa!! What happened...Zac, we are NOT done yet.

Well...at least they are all MOSTLY looking at the camera. Looks like I am not the only one that was frustrated by this point! Jake looks like he is pretty much DONE trying to get Ryder to cooperate:)

More weekend fun!!

2008-10-27T12:35:00.001-07:00

Brad and Zac had a great time playing at the park while Hunter had soccer practice. We were ALL so sad when Amber, Jesse and Brad left this morning. Zac was perhaps the saddest of all, or at least the most vocal about it. He was crying and saying "come back" for about 10 minutes after they left. We had such a great weekend! We are all going to miss hearing Brad say how old he is and we LOVE how he says, Huntwo for Hunter!!

4 Little Monkeys

2008-10-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

and that is for sure:) I LOVE these monkeys! My boys are having a GREAT time with their cousin Brad!!

Our fifth monkey was still at school when I snapped this picture. These boys are having FUN, FUN, FUN!!

Video - Ryder

2008-10-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Wanted to get a quick clip of his cute little laugh.

Happy Birthday Zac!!

2008-10-10T15:36:00.001-07:00

Our little Zac is now three! October 10th has finally come:) He used to say is birthday is on October tent. Ryan set a tent up with the boys in the backyard one night and Zac asked, "is this my October tent, my birthday tent?" He is such a fun, happy and sweet boy.

Zac is SO happy about his new Dora movies! Thanks Amber!!

Jake made Zac a paper sword and paper shield. He also gave him some paper money and some cool red dried corn on the cob. Zac loved it!! When he opened the present he said, "oh cool, some more new crackers." Jake told him to open the box:)

He also loved the gifts from his grandmas and grandpas:) Thanks!!

Who wants to win a FREE handbag!?!

2008-10-07T10:18:00.001-07:00

I do!!

To launch their new website, HANDBAG PLANET is giving away a handbag an hour. Go to their site and check it out!!. There are many different bags to choose from. Go enter to win!

http://www.handbagplanet.com/

Picking quite tomatoes

2008-10-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

I know...Zac is pretty much the star of this blog! He is just at such a fun, cute stage. Pretty much everything he does and says just cracks me up! The daily temper tantrums aren't too cute though!! He loves to pick tomatoes for me! He used to bring them in calling them "quite red tomatoes", but it has now been shorten to just "quite tomatoes". He really is a big help and he LOVES his new hand-me-down batman jammies.

The first time he wore his "new" jammies. He told me, "mom, now I'm Hunter." Ha ha, Hunter outgrew them awhile ago, but had still been wearing them.

Nap?....No, I didn't nap

2008-10-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Zac quit taking naps around the time he turned 2. Every once in a while he takes a nap. I don't really like it when he naps, because that means a late bedtime for him. I would rather have NO nap, but be in bed by 8. Anyway, one day he wanted to watch a movie. I told him he could watch a movie, if he promised not to fall asleep. He DID sleep. Later when he came downstairs I asked him if he had taken a nap. He said, "NO! I didn't take a nap." I asked him if he was sure, and he said, "I didn't take a nap." BUT....I've got the proof!!

Looks comfy, huh?!

How little boys water the garden plants....

2008-09-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hunter and Zac were supposed to be watering the garden plants, but mostly Hunter just watered Zac. These boys have SO much fun together(usually). Of course Zac was FREEZING when they came in from playing in the water, so Hunter took care of him.

Outstanding Citizenship Award

2008-09-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Yay for Hunter!!

Peter the Lop

2008-09-17T10:49:00.001-07:00

Meet the newest member of the Hall Family. This is Peter the Dwarf Lop Rabbit. One of Ryan's clients gave this to us yesterday. He is full grown and was full grown when Ryan's client got him. We don't know how old he is. They boys LOVE him!! Smokey the cat is not sure yet. He is okay with him as long as he is in his cage, but when he is out the cat will arch his back and tip-toe around him.

Don't mind the cinnamon sugar Zac is saving near his bottom lip:) He ate some homemade leftover oatmeal bread for breakfast and decided to save some of the sweet goodness for later:)

I just love this picture. Don't they just look SO sweet and comfy?!! Also, the cinnamon sugar is not so noticeable.

My Baby....

2008-09-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

Could this really be my baby? He is getting SO big, SO fast!! He started rolling over from his back to his tummy 3 weeks ago today. Usually he gets so mad as soon as he rolls over, but today when I checked on him he was holding himself up and looking around. All I have to say is that I am SO glad that the birth control(depot shot) I was using was NOT effective when I got pregnant with him. I can't imagine our family without our little guy!!

Dirty Knees!!

2008-09-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Zac just came downstairs and said, "Mom, can I take a bath? My knees are dirty." He is SO funny. He actually took a LONG soak in the tub last night. His knees aren't really dirty.....he just always says that when he REALLY wants to take a bath:)

Aren't these the dirtiest little knees you've ever seen?

The language of 2

2008-09-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Today Zac told me, "Mom, I pushed my leg sleeve up so it won't get dirty." He had his pant leg of his jammies pushed up while he played with the train set on the playroom floor. I LOVE his leg sleeves:)

Labor Day Camping Trip

2008-09-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

We love to camp and Labor Day weekend is always a good time for us to get up on the mountain! We had a blast last weekend and none of us wanted to come home:) We had so much fun riding quads, playing cards and hearing family stories from Ryan's 85 year old grandfather. Ryan's grandpa is AMAZING!! He pulled his own trailer up on the mountain, rode quads with us and even hiked down to check out a prime hunting spot. Jake especially had a great time playing war with Grandpa. I wish I would have gotten a picture of them:) I only got a couple of pictures, but Ryan's aunt got some great ones and is going to get us a cd. I'll post more pictures when I get that.

We got a lot of rain Saturday night and most of the day Sunday. This little creek had no water when we got to camp, but after all the rain it was still flowing when we left Monday.

Ryder wasn't too excited to get his picture taken. haha...no pictures of Zac:( He was riding the 4-wheeler when I took the only pictures that I took of camp.

Three months old

2008-08-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is already 3 months old!! Time flies! He is such a good baby. He sleeps 8-9 hours during his longest sleep time at night, then back down for a few more hours. I wish I could get him to stay up a little later, but by 8, he is READY for bed. That's okay. It is nice to have a couple hours with all of the kiddos in bed so that I can relax:)

Another new friend

2008-08-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

Found this on our front porch when I went out to check the watermelon plant and water the potted flowers. Zac, Ryder and I were the only ones home and none of us wanted to catch it:) If Jake or Hunter had been home, then you would see a picture of them holding it. I'm such a chicken:)

This is called fun...

2008-08-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

When Hunter got home from school he was all excited to play with play dough, after playing with it at school. We pulled some out of the fridge that we made awhile ago for him and Zac to play with. Awhile later Zac says, "Mom, this is called fun:)" Please don't mind the mess in the background, I'm working on it:)

....I'm thinking...this was fun, until I am now finding pieces of play dough all over my house:(

A new friend

2008-08-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

Zac found a new little friend when we were leaving the house to go pick Hunter up from the bus stop. He carried this toad all the way to the bus stop to show Hunter. Then they brought it home to play with for awhile:)

First day of school

2008-08-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

A sad and happy day....I'm sad and going to miss my helpers, but the kids were so excited for school to start. Zac really wanted to be in all of the pictures....doesn't he look great:) Zac and Ryder cam with me to drop the kids off at school. When we were leaving to come home, Zac was throwing a fit because he wanted to stay at school with Hunter or he wanted Hunter to come home with us:)

Just too sweet

2008-08-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. We went up on the mountain to meet Ryan's uncle and family to ride quads and just hang out at their camp for the day. I took the camera, but never even broke it out of the truck...just had too much fun to remember. I wish I had taken some pictures though. It was SO pretty up there!!

Anyway...as we were loading up the truck I laid Ryder on the rug to chill for a few minutes until we were ready to go. When I went to load him up in his car seat, this is what I found.

Power out

2008-08-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a nice monsoon storm. Not the kind that produces any rain though:( The power went out just as the boys were going to bed(came right back on), so Jake pulled out his lanterns, flashlights and headlamps to share with his brothers just in case the power went out again. Of course the power never goes out when we have the lights ready:) When we went to bed that night this is how we found Zac sleeping:) I had to get a picture before we took it off. Such a sweet sleeper:)

Hunter's friend

2008-08-06T14:11:00.001-07:00

Hunter came running in the other night while I was fixing dinner and was telling me to grad the cameral FAST!! He wanted me to get his picture with his new friend:)

SLEEP!!!

2008-08-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Ryder slept from 8 last night until 5:30 this morning....that's right 9 1/2 hours straight!! It was wonderful!! I am just hoping that it will happen again tonight!! The other three boys slept all night too.

Ryder's first 4-wheeler ride

2008-08-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Actually he has ridden on the 4-wheeler before, this was his first long ride(over an hour). We were going to ride to the 'secret spot', but as we were riding out we could see a storm blowing in. We had to cut our fun a little short. We rode over to check out Shone's dam, took some picture, then headed to Grandpa Hall's house for a visit then back to home. We had a great time though. Ryder was great as long as we were moving, but didn't really like to stop.

SO WINDY!!

Bathing beauty

2008-08-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

haha...this is what Zac did while Ryan stained the door....he probably sat in this bucket of water for over half an hour. The water was pretty cold at first, but Jake kept adding smaller buckets of warm water.

FYI....those are seed pods from our daylillies and pieces of bark from the flower beds floating in the water:)

Before and After

2008-08-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

We did it, or I should say Ryan did it:) We finally stained our front door and trim this past weekend. We have been here for over a year and we can finally mark that project off of our LONG list of projects that need to be done around the house. Actually, it is not quite finished. Ryan will be putting on the clear coat this week sometime. I love it and SO HAPPY to finally have it done!! Now I just need to get a bigger mat for the front door. When I look at these pictures I see that the one I have looks itty bitty:) haha...someday:)

Work In Progress

Finished!! I guess I willl have to add another picture when it it totally finished so that you can see it without the tape on the side windows.

Start them early

2008-07-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

Zac loves to walk on the treadmill. I got this picture of him walking on it this morning. He only walks at 1.1 miles per hour. This morning the boys were watching him and they got so excited and told me that Zac had burned 14 calories.

The treadmill is not usually in the middle of our main living area, but Ryan had wheeled it in so that he could watch the news while he jogged this morning:)

More Archery

2008-07-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is Hunter shooting Jake's toy bow at Ryan's target. Jake's bow string was broken when we lived in Gilbert so the boys have used another small rope. They love shooting it. Maybe someday we will get them another bow that will work a little better.

Archery practice in action

2008-07-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

Ryder

2008-07-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Ryder went in for his two month appointment and shot this past a week ago. We weighed in at 12'2" and was 24 1/2 long.

Lettuce, lettuce, lettuce

2008-07-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Sydney packs in the lettuce picked from their garden....Jake said, "I wish I was a rabbit."

You've got to try these!

2008-07-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

You can get the recipe here. The boys and I made these yesterday and they are SO yummy and easy! The boys unwrapped all of the chocolate for me and then had fun pressing them into the cookies fresh out of the oven. Loved using my silicone muffin pans that Amber gave me again! They seriously are SO great:)

2 months

2008-07-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you are having fun...and sleep deprived!!

Jake with Cake

2008-07-14T13:29:00.001-07:00

Jake loves strawberry shortcake and requested it for after his baptism lunch. My battery was low on the camera and my flash didn't go off. I really need to learn to use my photo-editing software better so that I can fix it:)

Ryder's Blessing Day

2008-07-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures from Ryder's blessing day. We were a little rushed to get a couple pics and still get to church by 9:) Glad that I got at least one picture with Amber in it:)!!

Jake's baptism

2008-07-14T13:06:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Jake's baptism. Unfortunetly, I didn't many. The sprinkler problem and the newborn and kind of thrown me off. I am feeling SO unorganized and unfortunetly Jake will suffer with only a couple pictures from this special day! It was a wonderful day anyway and we appreciate everyone that was able to come and be with us!!

Fun weekend?

2008-07-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

I don't know! Unfortunetly this is how my dad spent 1 1/2 days of his visit. Big bummer, but THANKS Dad!! You rock!! Sprinklers are no fun! Thanks to dad our grass won't die:)

'nuffins'

2008-07-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

Zac loves to eat 'nuffins'. It is SO funny when he says, "I want nuffin." I made some banana bread and made some of it into muffins. Amber sent me the most wonderful silicone mini-muffin pans. I have been telling her for a long time that I wanted a mini-muffin pan and these are wonderful. I've never baked with silicone bake ware before. I made these and they popped right out even without cooking spray! I am SOLD on the silicone bake ware.

Birthday boy

2008-07-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Jake celebrated his 8th birthday yesterday. Acually most of the celebrating will happen this weekend. I told him I would cook anything he wanted for breakfast and he chose blueberry muffins. We put his candles in them since we will be waiting for cake and ice cream unti this weekend. Jake got a fishing pole, fishing supplies, a 22...just his size with a carrying case! He is so excited and can't wait until dad can take him shooting. Until then it resides in the gun case.

first 'real' bath

2008-07-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

This is my last post today:) Ryder finally got to take his first 'real' bath today. He FINALLY lost his cord this morning, 2 days short of 8 weeks old. I can't believe that it took SO long. The other boys were the average 1-2 weeks. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures.

4th of July - Fun Run

2008-07-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

We had a great time running the Taylor 4th of July fun run this year. I don't have many good pictures yet. My camera ran out of memory, so my mother-in-law took some with her camera. When/if I get around to downloading them from her, I will post them. Me, Ryan, Jake and Hunter all ran the 2-mile race. Ryan pushed Zac in the stroller and Ryder got to hang out with Grandma Hall. The boys were both so excited to race. They actually got up at 5:30 on Friday, thinking the race was on the 4th. The race was actually Saturday the 5th. Jake took 1st in his age group and Hunter took 4th. I told Hunter he could have my 3rd place medal since he just missed getting a medal by 1 place. I'll post the pictures that I have for now and when I get some more I'll add them...unless I don't get around to it before next 4th of July run:) I only have pictures of Jake, me and Grandpa Hall. ...forgot to mention...Grandpa Hall took 2nd place in his age group!!

I have to say the boys did SO good! I wasn't sure how Hunter would do since it was his first time racing or even running 2 miles. Ryan stayed back with him and said he did great! He had to stop a few times to rest/walk but had a blast. It is so funny though...yesterday every time he would walk down the stairs you could here him saying, "ouch, ouch, ouch"

Hunter rides

2008-07-07T09:34:00.001-07:00

Hunter FINALLY got his first ride in on the PW50. The motorcycle is too small for Jake now and Hunter is finally getting to ride it. We had him ride it with some training wheels that Ryan made for it until he gets used to the gas and brake. He has ridden it a couple different times now and will be without the training wheels next time.

another picture

2008-06-26T12:06:00.001-07:00

Jake really wants you all to see this picture too:)

Blaze

2008-06-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well....my boys have been begging and begging us to let them have a kitten and we finally gave in. We had to return a tarp from scout camp last night and what do you know....they had kittens they were giving away. Now we have a cute little outdoor kitten. The boys decided they like the name that the other family had given him, so we will call him Blaze. He will be sleeping in a box in Jake's room for the first few nights until he gets used to being away from his mom and siblings:) The kids are really loving him on his first day here....lets hope the excitement lasts awhile.

Ryder update

2008-06-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention the one month stats...9 pounds 8 ounces and 22 inches. He is now 6 weeks old. I can't believe how fast it has gone. Last night he slept from 9-3 before his first feeding. Unfortunetly the two year old was up at midnight needing to go potty.

CUZ

2008-06-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Zac's new favorite word is...cuz.

The other night after dinner I was eating some potatoe chips and he asked if he could have some. I said, "no, you haven't finished your dinner." He said, "Cuz, their my favorite."

Today after I mowed the lawn, I turned the sprinklers on for the boys to play in. Zac came upstairs awhile later naked. He had taken off his wet clothes and brought me a dry shirt to put on him. I told him a minute later that he needed to go get a pair of underwear and put them on. He said, "Cuz, I don't want to."

He tells me cuz...all the time and it is never in the context it should be...it is usually when I tell him no he can't have or do something...he says....cuz, not why, cuz!

fort building

2008-06-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Jake and Zac spent many hours working on and playing in their fort that they built in the playroom. Ryan had to go to scout camp for a couple of days so he took Hunter with him. The other boys spent almost every waking minute working on the fort that got much more elaborate than the one in the picture:) They really wanted to sleep in it one night, but Jake changed his mind when I told him he would probably be kicked all night by the crazy sleeper Zac(I was speaking from experience).

Brotherly Love

2008-06-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

My boys LOVE their baby brother. Zac always tells me, "Mom, I love my baby." Last night when I was tucking the boys in they wanted to give Ryder a hug goodnight.

4-wheelin fun

2008-06-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Zac wants to ride SO bad:)....

Smile

2008-06-19T15:49:00.001-07:00

Weekend camping

2008-06-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

Friday morning we headed to the mountains for our first camping trip of the season. We had SO much fun! The weather was beautiful and the boys did NOT want to come home on Sunday. Zac has been asking me all morning if we can go back to camp. This was Ryder's 1st camping trip and at 4 weeks he was VERY good!! It is very nice to have a nice trailer to camp in:) , especially with the baby:) The boys especially loved the fire. Zac liked roasting the marshmellows, but didn't want to get too close to the fire:)

My Cub Scout

2008-06-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Today was Jake's first day going to scouts. They had a bike rodeo today. He had a blast!! I had a hard time getting Hunter to leave, he wanted to stay too. Jake has been so excited. We bought his patches and stuff yesterday and last night he kept reminding me to get them sewn on before scouts this morning.

We LOVE irrigation

2008-06-03T15:11:00.001-07:00

The boys LOVE it when Grandpa Hall gets his irrigation water in the afternoon when it is warm enough to play in. Zac loves to wear his "slip 'n slide costume" to play in the water. That is what he calls his swim suit....silly boy:)

Summer fun

2008-06-03T15:05:00.001-07:00

We are SO glad that summer is finally here....just wish the wind wasn't:)

The boys found a lizard in our backyard this morning. Hunter loves to pull Zac in the wagon with it attached to the tractor.

More pictures of Ryder

2008-06-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

I can't wait until he stops scratching up his face so that I can take the socks off of his hands:)

The first picture was taken Sunday after church. The second and third were taken yesterday.

Ryder

2008-05-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Gregory Ryder Hall

2008-05-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

Gregory Ryder Hall

Born 5/14 @ 8:34pm

7 lb. 14 oz.

20 1/2 inches

Labor and delivery were fast and furious. Here is the short version. Contractions started around 6-6:30pm. We left for the hospital about an hour later arriving at 8:00 and he was born at 8:34. My doctor wasn't able to make it to the hospital on time, but the on-call doctor was wonderful!! I have actually met with him a couple of times because I had my ultrasounds done at his office. It was wonderful to have such a speedy labor, but it was hard going with NO pain meds AGAIN!! Ryder and I came home from the hospital on Friday and we are doing great!! The first picture below is right before we left for the hospital, second is Ryder soon after birth and then Hunter, me and Ryder the next morning. These aren't the best pictures...I'll try to post more soon. He is looking better already now that the bumps and bruises of delivery are going away:) Guess that wasn't such a short version after all:)

A day of fish....

2008-05-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

The boys had a GREAT day with dad yesterday. Ryan went with Jake's class to the fish hatchery for their field trip. Ryan especially enjoyed the bus ride...haha. As soon as they got home, they picked up Hunter and were off to the fishing hole. They had a great time and caught lots of fish. We grilled them up when they got home and they were SO yummy!!

Our trip to Haigler Creek

2008-04-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went on a mini-vacation to Haigler Creek. Ryan's grandma has a very nice cabin/lodge there. We were planning to stay overnight, but Ryan's uncle didn't end up going and we didn't have a key. We still had a great day trip. We fished, walked around the property and had a fun little picnic by the gate. Hunter is in his pajamas in the pictures because he decided it would be fun to take a swim in the creek. It was a cold swim:) On our way home we got chocolate dipped cones at Dairy Queen in Heber. Zac usually eats a couple bites of the chocolate and then is done, so we always share. Here are a few pictures from the trip, unfortunetly I didn't get any pictures of the boys fishing. Even more unfortunetly, we didn't catch any fish:(

Spiderman

2008-04-26T11:40:00.001-07:00

Haircut

2008-04-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

I was giving Hunter a haircut this morning, Zac said that he wanted to cut Hunter's hair. I asked him if he knows how to cut hair as he was trying to grab the scissors from my hand. He said yes. When I asked him where he went to barber school, he said McDonald's. I don't think I will let him cut my hair anytime soon:)

A few pics from Utah

2008-04-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

I didn't take very many pictures while we were in Utah for Grandma Schumtz's funeral. I am such a slacker!! Most of the time I forgot, and the rest of the time I told Amber to take pictures and burn me a cd:) As a big sister I still love to delegate to my younger sister:) Here are a couple of the pictures that I did take.

4 best buddies!! The boys had a great time playing with Brad and seeing Uncle 'Buddy'

A picture at Zion's National Park on our way back to AZ. This is while we were waiting to go through the LONG tunnel that the boys LOVED!!

Jake and Hunter check out the buffalo, also on our way home to AZ.

I have a pretty great picture of my dad too....but I want to stay on his good side, so I will only post those with permission:)

Fun on Easter

2008-03-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

The boys had a great time playing outside yesterday afternoon. It was such a nice day. Ryan even went down the slide.

Master Blasters

2008-03-12T19:47:00.001-07:00

My boys LOVE to watch 'Master Blasters' on the science channel. It is their new favorite show!! They were watching it earlier tonight when the power went out. While they were waiting for the satellite to re-boot I hear Jake say, "hey Hunter, let's play Master Blasters while we wait." I look in the playroom and they are all building rockets with blocks, including Zac. We are big rocketeers in this family. One of our favorite things is building and launching rockets. We lost our last one when the boys launched it camping last summer and it got caught too high in a tree. They are working on a new one for this summer's camping trips. I'll post a picture when they get it finished. Don't mind the paint color as the play room is one of the many rooms still on the to-be-painted list.

Laundry room - in progress

2008-03-12T19:42:00.001-07:00

I have SO much painting that I need to do in this house. When we moved in there were 19 different colors and not many to my liking. Anyway, I am in progress of painting the laundry room. I am now waiting on some strong men to re-locate a cabinet and get my big ladder down for me. The ladder is hanging in the garage. Normally, I would stand on the top of the step-ladder to get it down, but am afraid I might hurt myself being so pregnant. Just so you know the pink color is being painted over by the very light subtle green color. I finally couldn't stand the pink anymore!!

OUCH!!

2008-03-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Zac had a run in with his scooter yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful day, so when we got home from picking Jake up from school the boys wanted to ride their bikes around in the cul-de-sac. Zac was walking Hunter's scooter up and down the drive-way, one foot on each side. Well.....he lost his balance and fell over and hurt his eye on the handle bar. It was very sad. He didn't want me to clean it up or put ice on it. He wanted to keep playing outside. Don't mind the messy face. Seems like he ALWAYS has a messy face somehow. I can wash it and the next time I see him it is messy again.

Best Friends

2008-03-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

I was laying on the couch with Zac, trying to catch some zzz's while he watched a cartoon. I don't usually get any sleep though, he likes to talk. He said, "mom, is your name mom?" I said, "yes." He said, "Are you my best friend?" Again I said, "yes." He said, "okay." I did get in about a 5 minute cat nap when he finally got distracted by what was on tv.

Progress Report

2008-03-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

Potty training is going very well, in fact better than expected. Zac did have one accident yesterday, but I had a house full of girls here making tortillas and salsa...so I didn't hear him calling in time. So far today, no accidents. He even went potty in the big toilet at my dr.'s office. I am trying not to get my hopes up too high. I remember with the other boys, just when I thought we were finished potty training, I would learn we were not.

Ryan got his stitches out on Tuesday and now has a walking boot. He can walk without crutches! He is slowly getting more movement in his foot, don't know when he will actually be able to put weight on it without the boot. Tax season is now in full-swing. With the long hours I am feeling like the CPA's widow....good thing it is only another month and a half. I have a lot of projects around the house that I should be working on while he is putting in the long hours, if only I had the energy:)

Potty time = Party time

2008-03-05T08:34:00.001-08:00

I am working on getting Zac potty trained BEFORE the baby comes. Yesterday was pretty good. He had three accidents, but went in the potty 4 or 5 times. So far today no accidents, and has gone potty twice already! We all get so excited everytime he goes in the potty so that he will think it is a fun thing. It was so funny, last night after he took a bath I was putting a pair of underwear on him that had a football helmet on the back. He got so mad when I started putting the helmet in the back he said, "no mom, let me see the helmet. You are doing it backwards." SO....at least until he accepts the fact that sometimes underwear have pictures on the back not always front....he will be wearing his underwear backwards. Whatever it takes:)