Hall Family

Remember...

2011-09-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

There have been a few things this week that I have told myself 'I want to remember this'. So I figured doing a little blog post would be a great way to look back and remember.
- Ryker had a doctor appointment. Here are his stats (for being almost 4 months): Weight 16 pounds 4 ounces. Height 25 1/2 inches. Head circumference 17.
- I was able to go early morning running twice this week because Ryker has been consistently sleeping GREAT. Can you believe that my almost 4 month old has been sleeping from 7:30pm to 6:30 or 7:30am. It has been AH-maze-ing. Both Madden and Kolten would wake up at least once or twice in the night up until about 6 or 7 months- so this has been a pleasant surprise. I feel very blessed to have such a great baby!
- My little Kolten has been saying the cutest things lately. About a month ago I told the boys that we were going up to Papa T's house and that it isn't very hot up there so they will get to play outside. So this week when we were getting into our extremely hot car to take Madden to pre-school, Kolt told me "Mom- it's SO hot in here, we need go to Papa's house mom". Then later he told me "mom it's so hot, we need go to Papa's house. I wanna pay wis Uncle Trey. But Uncle Trey can't mow lawn." (Kolt is extremely afraid of loud noises such as a lawn mower and blender =). Then finally a couple days later he told me 'mom I wanna go Papa's house and do sneaky snake on da dert road". Man I love that kid.
- I love that every time we go to a grocery store or to Costco where they sell flowers, Madden will go up to almost every flower to smell them. Then he will tell me "Mom those flowers are so pretty and they smell good. I want to buy flowers for you!". Such a sweetie.

Welcome to the Family

2011-09-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

My sister Jesse had boy #2 last week. I am so glad that everything went smooth with her for labor and delivery, and she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! My mom was in town to help her out and lucky for us, Jesse was feeling good enough to have company over on Saturday. So I took the boys over for dinner and to play with cousin Lewis and to see their new cousin Klyde.
There is something about babies that is just an indescribable 'precious' quality. It makes me wonder how anyone could ever do something to hurt one of these little ones. Kids are A LOT of work, but man are they worth it. They are so much fun (at least mine are)! I try to remind myself that these 'stages' won't last long, so I better enjoy it while I can.
Here are some pictures I took of our night:
There are 3 months and 10 days between these two. Man... they grow up so fast!

Grandma with her grandsons!

Madden was so excited to see his new cousin. He loves babies and really is such a big helper:

All my boys LOVE their Aunt Kimi!

The BEAUTIFUL mother:

Family really is what it is all about... don't you think?

Changes

2011-09-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

There are a couple changes going on around here... First of all- I took my blog off private. If something happens to change my mind I can always switch it back to private!
Second change- I'm starting a sort of 'diet' tomorrow. I have about 15 pounds of baby weight left to lose (although mostly I just want to get toned). I am hoping that by sharing with everyone that I am starting a diet, hopefully I will be more accountable and really stick to it. I am going to be doing the 'eat clean diet'. It is a huge change from what I am eating now but I am hoping to do it all out for two weeks. If I think it is worth it (our grocery bill will be way higher than what I'm use to) then I will continue it- otherwise I'll probably just go back to what I am doing now. But I read a book that has really motivated me to change my eating habits and what I put into my body. Hopefully there will be some big improvements with not only the way I look- but the way I feel. I need more energy to keep up with these 3 little boys!
And speaking of changes and 3 little boys, I can't believe how grown up they are getting! You should see my baby... if you could even call him that anymore. He is a little over 3 months old and he is huge. I am very interested to see what his stats are at the doctors this upcoming week.
Other things that we have been up to lately (which is a lot since I have been slacking on the blog):
- Spending some quality family time at the lake. We love being on our boat at the lake and getting to wakeboard. We did a little mini vacation to a resort over by Lake Pleasant this last week and we loved it. We were just 10 minutes from the lake. We bought Madden a wakeboard- off of Craigslist- the week prior and we were excited to get him on it. He has since gotten SO good at it and he just LOVES it. I love seeing the big grin on his face while he is out there. Here are some lake pics and the link to a video of him wakeboarding:
Our lake trip buddies. We LOVE this cute little family!
Hotel family pic:
On the boat:

Here is the video of Madden on his wakeboard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9BGXnbiqls
- Madden started pre-school and he sure does love going. He goes 4 times a week for 3 hours a day. I have enjoyed it also because I am luckily able to get the baby and Kolten to nap at this time so I can workout or clean or take a nsp too. =) Madden's first day of school:
- I am playing in a womens volleyball league again. I just LOVE getting to play volleyball. It sure is great to have a night where I can get out of the house by myself and doing something fun. Plus it helps to have such a fun team!
- David is getting ready to start his FINAL class for his MBA. Woohoo! I'm thinking a little party might be in order once he is done. I am SO proud of him.
- Ryker is sleeping from 7:30pm to 6:30pm. Can you believe it? How amazing is that! He is such a good baby. I got very blessed with this little guy... I just LOVE him!

Well I hope everyone out there is doing great! I don't know about you guys... but I am ready for fall and some cooler weather. =)

I Love to See the Temple

2011-07-25T20:17:00.001-07:00

I think this is so cute. I was surprised at how much he can sing!

Madden's Tricks

2011-07-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

Our little Madden is always amazing us with the things he can do. It makes me excited to see if he will be really athletic/coordinated when he gets older. Here is a video of his latest tricks in the swimming pool.

My boys...

2011-07-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

David and I have been married for about 5 and a half years now. I never would have thought then, that we would have 3 little boys running around our house. Growing up in a house of mostly girls... this is definitely different for me. But... I am loving every minute of it!
I've been slacking when it comes to updating the blog, so I wanted to do a quick update on each of us so I can have a record of what life is like for the Hall family now.
- First off is our newest addition Ryker. He has brought so much joy to our home and his big brothers just love him (mom and dad do too!). He is a pretty chill little guy, but he does like to eat a lot. He is a little over a month old and he likes to eat about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Sometimes at night he will sleep for 4 hour stretches and mom sure does enjoy that break. He is growing like a weed and we all think he looks like Madden right now. We will see how he changes. He has also started to smile and do a little 'babytalk' which is my favorite. I am quite in love with this little guy.
- Next we will go to Kolten. Our little 'Koltees' as we like to call him sometimes. This little man is a tank. He is more on the short and husky side. He loves to eat- not necessarily the meals that are made for him- but any snack/chip/sweet he can get his hands on. He loves to follow around his big brother and copy what anyone says. He talks so good for his age and one of our favorites is when he tries to sing 'I love to see the Temple'. He is just way too cute with his curly blonde hair- which sometimes results in mom and dad (and others) caving in to whatever he wants. Kolten is a lot more whiny/sensitive at this age then what I remember Madden being, but this just goes to show their different personalities.
- Finally there is Madden. Our sweet, super athletic, outgoing 4 year old. We are often surprised by the things he can do physically at such a young age. He learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels quite a while ago, he can do front flips on the tramp and into the swimming pool, he was awesome in his first soccer league, and he can hit a baseball pretty far. He can be a big help when we need it most and can also be a sweety. He is going to start pre-school next month and I really hope he likes it cause we are going to miss him around here!
- Not much new going on with me and David. I am just trying to lose the baby weight and attempting to keep my house in order with 3 kids. David is still working on his Masters (almost done!) and spends most of his free time at the lake on our boat.

Here is the latest pic of the boys- which I LOVE.

Introducing Ryker Dave Hall

2011-06-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

Our precious little boy came into this world on Saturday, June 4th. He weighed in at 7 pounds and 12 ounces- and was 19 1/2 inches long. We are ALL in LOVE with him. Big brothers have been so sweet and are always wanting to hold him and give him kisses. And daddy has been so patient and helpful. It really has been such a joy having him around. I never would have thought I would be so in love with so many boys. =)
Here is a quick recap of the birth story:
My doctor scheduled me to go in to be induced on June 3rd at 10pm due to the fact that she was on call all weekend and because there had previously been a concern with me having low amniotic fluid. Me and David got there right at 10 and filled out our paperwork. We were taken right back where the nurse informed us of my doctors plan. First, I would get three doses of a prostoglandin gel at 11pm 1am and 3am- after which we would start pitocin. They gave me the first dose, which seemed to work pretty well, and then I got the second one at 1:30am. This dose started bringing on painful contractions that were close together. I got up and walked around after a while and they became more painful. I asked the nurse if I would need to get a 3rd dose (because I really didn't want to), and she said she would check me to see. After she checked me she said I didn't need the 3rd dose and we could start pitocin in an hour or so. I laid back in bed to try and sleep for a while and the contractions started to fade. I got hooked up to pitocin at about 5:30 am. Then I got a new nurse who came in to check me at about 6:30 and she said my progress was actually not as good as the previous nurse thought. She called my doctor because she wasn't sure if she would want me to stay on pitocin, or stop and get the third dose of prostoglandin. Thankfully, my doc let me stay on pitocin. At about 8 I could start feeling semi-painful contractions. The doc came in at 10:30am to break my water but when she went to check me, it broke on its own. Immediately the contractions started coming fast and were really painful so I asked for the epi. I had to have 2 IV's put through me before they could do it so I had to wait about 45 min. Finally, I got the epi and things progressed smoothly. When it came time, I pushed for about 10-15 minutes. Ryker was born at 1:56pm. I really can't believe how quickly I fell completely in love with him. I know it will be challenging throughout the years and I will really need to work on my patience, but I know I am going to love raising 3 boys. =)
Here are some pictures:
I was pretty happy after I got the epi. Just waiting to meet my little guy!

Me and my wonderful doctor- right after he was born.

Mommy and baby bonding time.

First family pic

Big brother was SO excited

Mom and Dad and the new addition

Our first visitors

Daddy and his little boy

Going to the doctors

Such a cutie!

The Waiting Game...

2011-05-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well I have officially started the waiting game. I am considered 'full-term' today so I am already feeling anxious and ready for this baby to come. I have a nagging feeling however that this little guy is comfy where he is and doesn't plan on coming soon. I would love to have him sometime in May, but we shall see!

Meanwhile, our time lately has been spent with weekday trips to play at the park before it gets too hot (and to feed the ducks which the boys love), bike rides, doctor's appointments and Madden's weekend soccer games.

I finally took a video on our camera at Madden's last soccer game. He has been doing so good! Here he is scoring a goal!

And here is Kolten cheering his big brother on:

Aren't these boys just soooo cute? I just love them so much and I am SO excited to be having another little boy that I can love on. I can't wait to meet him!

2011-05-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

So my Aunt Tara has been trying to get me to take the boys to 'Ms Carolyn' for swim lessons for a few years now. This year I finally gave in and I am SO glad I did. It was even neater to discover the first week that she was the SAME swim teacher who taught David when he was 5 (talk about small world). Anyway... the boys have LOVED going to swim lessons and we are sad to have finished our first session today. Here are a couple videos from their lessons.

In other news... I am 35 weeks along and I feel I am close to the end. I am trying hard to keep a positive attitude even though I feel so uncomfortable, huge, and very unattractive. Here is one of the only pics I have taken. I am hoping to only have 2-3 more weeks left... we shall see. =)

Fun Things To Do...

2011-04-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

These last couple of weeks we have had many fun things that we have been able to do. And I was finally able to get a new camera from Costco so I have lots of pictures to share!
Lets starts with Grandpa Hall's birthday. We all went out to dinner to celebrate and even though me and David wanted to find a sitter... the boys were surprisingly good. Kolten was especially happy when Grandpa shared his birthday treat. =) I'm really bummed I didn't get more pictures but due to technically difficulties with my camera flash (meaning I didn't know exactly how to work it), I wasn't able to take more pictures. Here is my favorite one of the night:

Last week we were able to go on a family vacation to Sea World. Me and David had tickets from last year that were good for one more day and I had credit card points that I could redeem for a free hotel room so we figured 'Why not?'. It was a short trip, we left on Wednesday and came home Friday night, but it was SO much fun. The boys loved Sea World and we were able to go to the beach twice (the weather was A-MA-ZING). The boys also loved getting to stay in a hotel room. I forgot how exciting that was for a kid. =)
Kolten was excited to see Elmo. And I was surprised that he just walked right up to him, gave him a high five, then stood there for the picture.

Dad and Kolten waiting for the dolphin show (which was great by the way).

Kolten's first 'ride'! He loved it!

Madden liked the shark tank.

The polar bear is my favorite animal to watch. These guys were HUGE.

Brothers playing at the beach

At La Jolla Cove- there were so many sea lions there, it was way cool.

The boys outside the San Diego Temple (which is GORGEOUS).

We had to come home on Friday from California because Madden had his FIRST soccer game Saturday morning. It was SO much fun watching him. Me and David probably just laughed the whole first 10 minutes. Those kids were so cute. I was so proud of Madden for just going out there and getting right into it. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing (he missed the first practice), but he did so good and even scored a goal! He also scored a goal for the other team (but a couple of the other kids did too... I think they just wanted to kick it in the net- no matter which one!). Hopefully I will have better pictures next time. I'm going to have so much fun watching my boys play sports growing up!

We celebrated Madden's 4th birthday yesterday (April 6th). He was so excited all day. It really was so much fun trying to make the day special for him. I really can't believe it was 4 years ago that I became a mom. I can't even imagine what life was like before having children. They bring me such an incredible amount of joy and have taught me so much. My little Madden is such a special little boy. He really is a sweetie and has such a cute personality. He is such a great big brother and I love that he plays so great with Kolten and is so excited for the baby to come. I love that he is so much like his dad. He tries so hard to be good and to obey (even though that is something we sometimes have to work on). I love that he frequently tell me I'm his 'best friend'. I really hope he doesn't change too much as he gets older! Here are some birthday pictures!
When asked what he wanted to do for his bday... his one request was go to 'chuck-e-cheeses'. Him and Kolten has lots of fun running around playing games and eating pizza. However Kolten did not like the monster truck:

Madden blowing out his 4 candles.

Mom and Dad FINALLY got Madden a little kids game that we can play with him. He loves games.

Madden got some sweet sports gear from Aunt Heather and Aunt Jessica. He is sure going to be stylish.

Can't wait to see what fun things we get to do in the coming weeks!

Enjoying Life

2011-03-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

We have just been enjoying life around here lately. We got to spend a few days up north a couple weeks ago, and even got to stay at Grandad and Grandma Hancock's house for a couple nights! The weather up north was GORGEOUS and the boys played outside pretty much the entire time. I was also able to get some food storage going. Big thanks to my Uncle Brandon for meeting me at the cannery and helping me get a start on the basics (and helping me can everything). We also spent a day out at the ranch jarring some chicken (my favorite!) and pinto beans. It was a blast spending time with my mom, sisters, and Aunt Jo. We need to do it more often!

The boys are growing more each day. I can't believe Madden will be 4 in just a couple weeks! He is getting so big. We just signed him up for his first soccer league and for summer swim lessons so he is going to be a busy boy.

Kolten still has his blonde curly hair (which mom LOVES) and he has the cutest personality. He can repeat pretty much anything you say, and he LOVES to watch Toy Story. He also loves to eat and will beg and beg if he happens to notice a piece of candy or some sweet treat that he wants.

Me and David are doing well. David is staying busy with work, online Master's classes, and a city basketball league. My pregnancy has been going really well and I feel so blessed for this. I think often about my family and friends who are unable to have kids or who have such a hard time during pregnancy and I try to always remember how blessed I am (especially when I start to complain of weight gain or a sore back). I am surprised at how ready I feel to have a baby around again. I really am so excited to have this little boy!

Here are some pictures of our recent happenings!

When a 3 year old is naughty...

2011-02-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

When a 3 year old is naughty... he will throw all the newly folded clothes up to the fan just to see how many he can get stuck up there.
When a 3 year old is naughty... he will ask 'why' at least 3 or 4 times each time you ask him to do something.
When a 3 year old is naughty... he will sneak into the pantry to have a snack and will probably take his little brother with him so that when mom asks "What are you doing?" he will respond with "Brother was hungry".
When a 3 year old is naughty... he will change his clothes 3 or 4 times a day, and when caught, he will tell his mom "I was just changing out of my work clothes", or "I'm getting ready for work".
When a 3 year old is naughty... he will complain when asked to turn off the TV, telling mom that "I just need to relax for another minute".
And today- when a 3 year old was naughty while mom was making lunch... he got the camera out of his mom's dresser (which his KNOWS he shouldn't do)... and he took some pictures. Here is what mom found:
A few self portraits:

A couple of baby brother (aka accomplice):

Our good friend Buzz Lightyear

Messy bunk bed in a messy room

Some PS3 games that little boys ARE NOT suppose to get out of the console OR the case

His money that mom asked him not to take out of his container... but the naughty boy put it in a plastic bag anyway.

Final self portrait

After all this naughtiness... this 3 year old is now taking a nap with baby brother. I wonder what naughty happenings with transpire tomorrow?

My Boys...

2011-02-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

I really think I have the cutest kids ever. I know I know... a lot of you have stinkin cute kids too. There is just something about my 2 little boys though that just melts my heart (and sometimes drives me bonkers). My little boys are getting so big. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but we bought a bunk bed a month or so ago and so now Kolten sleeps in a 'big boy bed' right under his big brother. Most times when I tuck him in I feel like he shouldn't be in the big boy bed yet... he is still my baby. But with the new baby coming, we wanted to get our new arrangements established. Kolten is now talking up a storm- saying most anything you ask him to. Some of the cutest words he says are: 'barklee, toothbrush, thank you, and grandma'. I think my favorite though is that he calls his trains a 'chug-ee' (as in chug-ee chug-ee choo choo). And I can't believe Madden will be 4 soon. He says some of the funniest things- most of which remind me of his father. He is such a great big brother and is usually a big helper. He is really excited to be getting a new baby brother. I'm not so sure about Kolten though, I think he will have a hard time adjusting. Anyway... here are a couple of pics I took this morning of them playing... and then the bottom video is for 'grandma'. =)

Last night Kolten found his play phone and went around the house for about 15 minutes talking to grandma. He was doing it again this morning so I decided to get it on camera. =)

Filling with good...

2011-02-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I realized I wanted to do better at filling my days with more 'good' things. Instead of sitting down and watching a pretty pointless TV show (even though I find shows about cake, wedding dresses, and buying houses to be pretty entertaining), I decided I would try to do something more fulfilling. So we went and got a library membership. In the time I've had this membership I have read 3.5 books. I decided I wanted to rotate reading a fictional, non-fiction, and then inspirational/church book. The first book I read was 'These Is My Words' (thanks for the recommendation from cousin Jamie Cook) and I seriously LOVED this book. I had a hard time putting it down- which I loved. I like to think that if I lived in the 1880's, I would be just like the main character- Sarah. If you haven't read this book- you SHOULD! The second book I read was called 'The Big Short'. I read this books as my non-fiction choice because it was on a bunch of 'bestsellers' lists for 2010. This book was about Wall Street- mainly dealing with the housing market crash and what/who caused it, along with people who saw the crash coming. This book was sometimes a hard read, but it had many interesting facts in it. One of the things I think I learned most from this book, is that money can blind people so that they can't see what is right from wrong. I really can't believe the corrupt and wrong things that people will do to make money. Anyway... the last book I read was from the church series The Great and Terrible. I had read books 1 and 2 last year, so I finally got the 3rd one and read it. I LOVE these books. Right now I am working on a book that Grandpa Dave brought me to read. It's from 1966 and is called 'Ill Fares the Land'. It's a total Gpa Dave book- dealing with corruption in government and the effects on farmers in America. I have learned a lot and enjoyed reading it so far. If you have any book recommendations let me know!
I am also trying to do better and filling mine and my families bodies with more 'good' things. I really have been wanting to eat more healthy- and cut out the sugary cereals and snacks (my boys LOVE lucky charms and fruit snacks). It's going to take work, but I think baby steps are the best for us. We have started going to the Farmers market every week or every other week and that makes a big difference. We love fresh fruits and veggies.
So... what good things do you fill your days with?

A Good Start...

2011-01-21T11:02:00.000-08:00

It's been a pretty good start for us for this new year. However, I was thinking yesterday and this morning how I didn't ever stop to think of any 'new years resolutions'. Granted... I don't usually follow through 100% with these, but I still feel like its a good step to make note of them. So here are just a few of my goals for 2011:

- Do more fun things with my boys. I love making these two smile and seeing them happy, and it's the little things they really enjoy. So we are going to read more books, do more baking, play with play-do (even though I hate the mess it makes), turn on loud music and dance, and do more library trips.

- I want to read more. I read some good books last year, but not near as many as I would have liked. I want to read some non-fiction, fiction, and inspirational books. Any suggestions on a 'must-read'?

- I'm due to have baby #3 in June. I would like to make it a goal to run a 10k in the fall, and a half marathon sometime during the winter. I do so much better with running when I sign up for a race. I'm hoping I can do Ragnar next year since I will miss out on it this year. I'm also debating on whether or not I want to make it a goal to do another triathlon. I had a lot of fun with the little one I did in Casa Grande, but it will all depend on if I can get into swimming again (definitely my weakness).

- Do better with couponing and try some new meals. I have some great cookbooks that have never been used. I plan on putting them to good use this year!

So did anyone else make any new years goals?

A Lot Crazier...

2011-01-14T08:50:00.001-08:00

Well it is going to get a lot crazier in this household this year after I have a THIRD boy! haha... yep... in case you haven't already heard (if you aren't a facebook friend =), we found out yesterday we are having a third boy. I really am so excited, and I wasn't too surprised. Everyone thought we were having a girl, and most everyone I know who is currently pregnant is having a girl... which made me pretty positive we were having a boy. Anyway... we were very relieved that everything looked great. I can't wait to see what this little boy will look like. Madden and Kolten look so different so it will be interesting! When we came home from the appointment and told Madden, he was actually quite upset and exclaimed, "but I want a baby sister!!". After David explained though that he will now have another brother that he can teach to play with cars and trucks and teach how to ride a quad someday- he was fine. =)
Well I just wanted to share the exciting news! Oh, and one of David's first comments was "How on earth are we going afford to feed me and three teenage boys someday". haha. Very true.

A New Year

2011-01-10T08:52:00.001-08:00

Well with this new year, came some new changes for our little family. We have finally gotten settled into our new home. It was a lot of work getting our Queen Creek home ready for renters, and after all was said and done I was really sad to be leaving our nice home. I have faith that it will be well taken care of though. Oh... and BIG BIG thanks to everyone who helped us move and especially to my family who helped us clean. Our new home is now in Mesa, right of the 101 on Guadalupe. David is LOVING that his 2 hour daily commute has gone down to 30-40 minutes tops. I do have to admit, it is pretty nice being so close to EVERYTHING. I'm especially glad to be so close to my sisters. And I actually really do like the new house. The main rooms are very open and have a lot of space, and the bedrooms are nice too. The only downside is the kitchen- it is really small. Oh and I can't wait to use the swimming pool. I am hoping we will have some fun pool parties over the summer and any of you are welcome to come swim anytime (and maybe this will mean my younger brother and sisters will want to come visit more often!). We are also really close to a nice park which has a big lake a lots of ducks. Kolten's new favorite thing is to feed the ducks. I will put some pictures up of the house soon- I need to find the charger to my camera. =)
Here is a brief summary of what is going on with us these days:
David- He turns 25 tomorrow! Geez babe... you are getting old. haha. It's ok though, cause most the time he acts like a teenager. =) He is doing a great job at work and he really does work so hard. He tries to go to the gym a few times a week, is going to be playing in a city basketball league, and he is still working hard for his MBA (which is A LOT of hard work). He is glad that it is currently dune season, but is bummed that he doesn't get to do a big snowboarding trip this year.
Me- Well... my story is pretty much the same. These two little boys keep me really busy. I feel great on most days and I am definitely getting bigger. We find out this Thursday what we are having. Most EVERYONE is saying it will be a girl, which makes me think it is a boy. As for maternal instincts, I don't have them when it comes to knowing the sex of a baby- so I have no idea. I sure would love to bring some pink into this home, but boys sure are lots of fun.
Madden and Kolten- These two sure are the best of buds. They share a room now and have been doing great! We are working on getting them a bunk bed since Kolt is still in his crib. Madden is now a sunbeam in primary and even though he cried his first sunday, he ended up really liking it! Kolten gets to go to nursery now (thank heavens). They are both ALL boy and love playing together with their trucks, cars, and trains. Oh, and they LOVE wrestling with dad.
Anyway... that is us these days, Here are a couple pictures from Christmas. Hope everyone else is doing great and having a great start to the new year!

Hecticness

2010-12-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

I just LOVE the holidays. I love that people seem more cheerful, I love the Christmas lights and tree decorations, I love watching Christmas movies, I love getting yummy goodies from neighbors and not needing an excuse to drink hot chocolate at any time of the day. This year has been especially fun because Madden is older and is able to understand more about Christmas. He has been so excited and is anxious to see if Santa is going to bring him a "Lightning the queen bike" as he calls it. I also love that I can sit with him and explain to him the true meaning of Christmas and he somewhat understands.
Anyway... life has been pretty hectic lately. I have been gone a lot because of the holidays. Which has resulted in my house frequently looking like a tornado has come through. I am also nauseous on a daily basis. It usually starts around lunch time and progressively gets worse until I finally am able to go to sleep at night. We have tried to slowly start the packing process. I HATE moving. I really hope this ends up being a really good move for us. I'm looking forward to my husband not having to spend so much time in the car each day.
I didn't get the chance yet to post about our family Disneyland trip so I definitely want to do that. My brother Chace is leaving for his mission (today actually), and so we made the decision a long time ago to do a Tenney family trip to Cali. Everyone went but the two youngest grandsons- Kolten and Lewis (big thanks to Aunt Jami for watching Kolten for us!). We left early on Sunday the 5th and came home on Wednesday the 8th. The first day we all did California Adventure together then the 2nd day the older kids went to Knottsberry farm while a few of us went to Disneyland. It was the perfect time to go to Disneyland. The Christmas decorations were all up and the longest we had to wait in line was about 15 minutes! I had SO much fun. Mostly because I was with Madden the whole time and he had SO much fun. He loved seeing the characters and riding the rides. Of course his favorite was the buzz ride, but he even did some 'big boy' rides like Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, and the bobsled ride. It was a great trip and it made me realize that I want to do family vacations much more often. I have to say though, one of my most favorite parts of the trip was when my dad had us all get together before we left to come home to have a 'family meeting'. It was the last time we would all be together for 2 years. Each of us were able to share our thoughts and feelings with each other. I am so proud of my little brother who is making the sacrifice to serve a mission for 2 years is Brazil. I know he is going to make a great missionary and will bring happiness to many people by teaching them of Christ. I am going to miss him like crazy, and I hope these 2 years go by fast.
Anyway... here are some pictures of our California trip!
Madden with Aunt Kimi getting ready to ride on the buzz ride.

Mom and Madden went up to see Tarzan's treehouse. Madden thought it was pretty cool.

Our only family pic of the trip.

We got to meet Jesse and one of the army guys.

Sully was super nice.

Madden flexing his muscles with Mr. Incredible.

On the bus from the parking lot to Disneyland... everyone is SO excited!

Waiting around

Me and my beautiful sister Maryssa

Madden and Uncle Trey were very excited for the trip!

In Case You Haven't Heard...

2010-11-30T08:40:00.001-08:00

So we have some new things going on with the Hall family. First of all, we are moving out of our lovely Queen Creek home to rent a house in the Mesa area. The long commute to work has been taking its toll on David, so when the opportunity came for us to move closer to work, we decided to take it. We are renting out our home to a great couple who I know will take good care of it (the girl renting it was the other 3rd grade teacher at the school where I did my student teaching). It is going to be a pretty hectic month of December but hopefully we can get everything situated and get settled in a new place with little worries/stress!
In other news, I am EXTREMELY happy to say that the hall family will be growing to 5 in June 2011! It was quite the surprise to find this out since David and I weren't planning on trying for another baby till January or so, but we are very excited for this. I have been really sick, but it hasn't been much different than with Madden and Kolten (except for this morning when I was on my way to my ultrasound and had to quickly pull over so I could throw up on the side of the road- I just know everyone driving by was staring at me... so embarrassing!). Anyway... of course we would LOVE to bring some pink into this house full of blue, but I just love my little guys and would be very happy to have another boy. I'm trying to convince David we don't need to find out and just keep it a surprise, but so far he is not going for it.
Well.. that is our news! We are feeling very blessed these days!

A Thankful Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We sure did. =) Me and the boys were lucky enough to get to spend almost a week up north at 'Papa and Mama T's' house. Madden had a blast running around and playing with Uncle Trey. They sure are good buds. Kolten liked the attention he got from most everyone who told him what a cutie he was. We had a great Thanksgiving breakfast and my parents house and then went in to Grandma and Granddad's for an AMAZING dinner. I can't even say how much I enjoy this time of year and all the time that is spent with family. I sure do love my family and wish we lived closer to them.
Of course this past Thanksgiving I had a lot of time to reflect on some of the things I am most grateful for. When I begin thinking of my blessing, I become somewhat overwhelmed with just how blessed I am and how much love I have in my life. I know I have many different blessings, but the people in my life are what I have been most grateful for lately. I am so grateful to have been married for over 5 years to an amazing man. I don't remember what life was like before David was in it. He sure is a great husband and daddy. And every day I try to stop and thank my Heavenly Father for two of the greatest blessing in my life- my boys. They are both so sweet and so much fun. I can't believe how fast they are growing up!

I am very grateful for my family. I don't know how I got so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents and parents who I just hope I can someday be like them. I am also so grateful for my siblings. I love spending time with them and playing games. I hope we will always stay close and make time for each other. I'm also grateful for the family I married into. I have always felt welcomed and loved with them, and I'm glad to have them close to us.
I'm very grateful for my friends. I have so many amazing friends that I couldn't even start to name them individually. I'm really going to be sad when we move and are further away from our friends here in the queen creek area.
Well I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I have to get working on taking my Arizona online defensive driving course (ugh... something I'm not grateful for).

A little bitter... but a whole lotta sweet.

2010-11-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was my LAST day of student teaching! Can you believe it! There were many times that I felt like that day would never come. I really feel like this experience was one of the hardest of my life and I can honestly say that I am proud of myself for finishing. There were many times that I didn't think I would finish school... but hey- A lot of people go to school for seven years ("I know... they're called doctors). =)
We celebrated this weekend by going out on a double date night with our good pals Joe and Talia. We went to Oreganos (yum) and then to see the movie 'Red'- which I thought was a very good movie. The next day, I requested a celebration lunch with the boys to my FAVORITE place... Crackers. It was delicious! The weekend went by so fast and it was so nice that I didn't have to dread Sunday (knowing that the next day was Monday). The boys even slept in till 7:45! I have loved waking up these last two days, knowing that I get to fill my days with playtime with my boys and other household duties. I know I will miss teaching my 3rd grade class, but I am planning on going back to visit every now and then. My last day there, they all wrote me a letter and some even came to the front of the class to read it to me. It was very bittersweet.
I want to thank you all for your love, support and encouragement to help me get through these last 13 weeks. I am SO GLAD to be done!
Well... since I have been majorly slacking on the blog while student teaching... here are some pictures of things we've done these last 12 weeks:
Me and David celebrated our FIVE year anniversary! I can't believe I didn't get to write a mushy post about how much I love my husband and how I can't believe it has been five years. =) Oh well... he should know how much I love and adore him! (for our anniversary we stayed a night at the Arizona Grand Resort, got massages, and ate at Rustlers Rooste- awesome anniversary).

We went camping one weekend and had lots of fun!

Brotherly Love

Aunt Jesse brought Cousin LewLew over to play. The cousins LOVE to play together!

That Makes Me So Happy...

2010-10-11T11:49:00.001-07:00

We were driving out to four peaks Friday night for a quick little overnight camping trip. My conversation with Madden went like this:
Me: "Madden Guess What? Mommy doesn't have to go to work this next week so I'll get to stay home with you!"
Madden: "I not have to go to Taya's house and I stay home with you?"
Me: "Yep! I don't have to go to school so me and you and brother Kolten get to stay home together."
Madden: "Oh Mom that makes me so happy!!"

I got a little teary eyed right then and there. I feel like I have forgotten what it feels like to be a stay at home mom. And most of the time I think the boys don't even care, but this little conversation shows me that they do care! I'm SO excited to have a week break and to spend some quality time with my little guys! On our agenda for the week:
Lots of park trips
Grocery store trips
Going to try and find a pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin
Making homemade breadsticks, cinnamon rolls and cookies!
Go on lots of bike rides
Exercise
Watch some movies and cuddle
Take some naps! Yay!

I hope everyone has a great fall break! And I will be putting our blog private the end of this week so if you haven't sent me your e-mail address already please leave me a comment!

Privacy... and A Good Excuse.

2010-09-23T19:09:00.001-07:00

Ok first off... I am joining the dark side and making my blog private. I don't really have a great reason other than David really wants me to. He doesn't like that you can google our names and our blog comes up with all that personal info. So... PLEASE comment and leave me your email or send me and email to amanda.hall85@gmail.com with your email address so I can invite you!

Next... I have a good excuse for not having blogged in a LONG LONG time. Can I just share with you a general breakdown of what my days have looked like? Just humor me.
- Wake up at 6:00-6:15am and get ready.
- Get boys up and ready at 7am.
- Drop boys off at 7:30am at Jessica's.
- Get to school at 7:40-7:45
- Leave school at 3:45-4:15pm (depends on the day)
- Pick up boys at 4:00-4:30pm
- Come home, get changed, make dinner, eat dinner, pick up dinner. About 4:30-5:45pm
- Begin working on homework (yes... I have found it RIDICULOUS the amount of homework I have to do WHILE student teaching. I have loved the UOP program so far, but this is redonkulous.) After homework, I plan the next day or two lessons for school. This usually takes me about 2 hours all together. But I take breaks in-between to try and spend time with my family.
- Get boys ready for bed around 8:15-8:30.
- Shower and go to bed 9pm. OR finish the homework and lesson planning I didn't finish previously.

All in all, let me just say I have been SO stressed and SO overwhelmed. A lot of my friends told me student teaching would go by fast and that I would love it. WHAT! Maybe it is partially because I waited so long that I now have 2 kids and a husband to take care of which make it harder. But ya... even my weekends I am swamped and I usually have to catch up on homework and lessons- and cleaning (which you wouldn't think my house would get too dirty since the boys aren't here all day but WRONG). But anyway... that is just me venting. I guess I sometimes throw a pity party with how much I have going on. But in the end, I always have to take a step back and realize I am so blessed to even been in this situation so that I can finish school. I hit the half way mark last week- so just 6 more weeks to go!
Oh and of course... I can't do a post without sharing the latest pic of my 2 boys. I happen to think they are both SO stinkin cute and I just love them so so much. This pic was taken last week before I took them over to Jessica's. It was one of those mornings where I really really just wanted to stay home, build a fort, bake some goodies, and maybe watch some cartoons together.

Counting some blessing...

2010-08-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

I thought I was ready to start my student teaching experience, but lets just say that the first week was a pretty 'emotional' week for me. First I have to say that I LOVE the school I am doing my student teaching at. It's called Ranch Elementary and it is just about 5 miles from our house. I also LOVE my cooperating teacher and the principal at the school. They are both so great and so encouraging. Actually, the entire staff there has been so kind and I really feel so lucky to be there. With that said.... I cried each morning the entire first week after I dropped off my boys at Jessica's and then I also had an emotional night on Tuesday when I felt like I just didn't have enough time in the day to do everything I wanted/needed. It's been over 4 years since I've had to work full-time (which is exactly what student teaching is- work). I really don't know how working moms do it. I try not to think about the fun stuff I am missing out on during the day- I am especially missing the random 'cuddles' from my little Kolten, because surely he will soon be too big to want to do them anymore. =( But with that said, I feel so blessed to have Jessica watching my boys and knowing that they are in great hands. I also feel so blessed to have had the chance to complete my school through UOP and to finally be at the end of my program. And of course... I feel SO blessed knowing that in just 11 more weeks... I will be done with this and will once again be able to be stay at home with my two little guys. So here is to hoping these next 11 weeks go by really really fast!!!

Back to Reality (bummer)

2010-08-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our 4th vacation/trip for the past month. We were so lucky to have had so many fun thing to do this past month. We went to Heber on the 4th, went back to Heber the following weekend for the Tenney family reunion, we went on a roosevelt lake trip with our good friends the weekend after that, and then this past weekend we were able to spend 5 days in beautiful California. It has been so much fun and I really have enjoyed every minute of it. I think part of it has been me knowing that once we got back from this last vacation, I would have a week to get things in order with school, before I pretty much went back to work full-time (doing student teaching). I am so excited for this upcoming experience but yet I am also so sad to think that for the majority of my day- I won't get to be with my boys. I am SO SO grateful though for my good friend and neighbor Jessica who is going to be watching the boys for me. I know they will have a blast there and that Jessica will take good care of them (and make sure they behave too). =) I just hope the next 3 months go by really fast!
Anyway... here are some pics of our family vacation. But first, big thanks to my cousin Brindi who was able to get us a discount at a really nice Marriott hotel where we stayed the first 2 nights. I was also able to get tickets to Sea World for way cheap off of craigslist. In addition, I had already purchased 2 gift certificates for over 50% off from groupon.com for places we could eat- so we saved a lot of money and were still able to have lots of fun! Also... a GREAT BIG thanks to our Aunt Toni who let us stay at her beautiful home in Mission Viejo for 3 nights. We always LOVE going to stay with her and Uncle Michael and Mathew. Thanks so much for a wonderful time!
Here are the pics:
- The boys in the hotel bed- our first night in California!

On the way to Sea World... two excited boys... and one not so excited dad. =) David was a good sport though- despite the fact he is not a huge Sea World fan.

The boys... waiting for the Shamu show to start!

Mom and Madden... still waiting to see Shamu!

Mom and the boys after the Shamu show:

The boys loved looking at all the fish:

Madden was hesitant to ride the rides at first... but then he loved it! His first time on a ride:

Mom and Kolten... waiting for Dad and Madden to finish their ride!

This walrus was so cool... he just swam by the glass the whole time and kept blowing kisses. =) Kolten and Madden both loved watching him!

Me and David while the boys played:

Here are some beach pictures. We were able to go to the beach 3 different days. The boys LOVED it! They had a blast playing in the sand and occassionally getting in the water (the water was really cold).

We went out one night to the Irvine Spectrum hoping to ride the ferris wheel but it was closed. So we opted instead for the merry go round which both boys really liked!

There was a private park right next to Aunt Toni's house which the boys really liked to go play at.
Family pic at the park:

Dad and Madden being silly:

Madden cooking dad and Kolten some dinner in the little playhouse:

Other fun things we did which are not pictured: Madden got to feed the seals and sea lions some fish... he thought it was the coolest thing ever. We also took the boys to a really cool Jump n Jammin place in Mission Viejo that they had a blast playing at.
We had such a great trip! I hope everyone else is having a fun summer!

Tenney Family Reunion

2010-07-13T07:36:00.001-07:00

I was so excited when David said he was willing to once again make the drive up north (for the 2nd weekend in a row) so that we could go to the Tenney Family Reunion. I know we were both very glad that we went. We had an awesome time visiting with family, eating great food, enjoying the weather, and of course the boys LOVED playing with cousins and being outside. For those of you who don't know... I come from a very big family. My dad has 6 brothers and 2 sisters, and I am the oldest grandchild of.... I think 47... give or take a couple. =) Needless to say there was a lot of great company there! Probably my most favorite part of the weekend was the little family church meeting we had Sunday morning. I sometimes forget how blessed I am to have such a great family... full of amazing and good people. Is sure can learn a lot from my grandparents as well as my parents. I sure do love them all!
Here are some pictures of the weekend-
Madden was really excited to be at grandpa's house and to get to sleep on the floor by his bed. He was especially excited when grandpa told him they were waking up at 6 to go fishing.

Kolten really liked going on rides in the Ranger.

How many cousins can you fit in a Ranger?

Cousins on the teeter-totter:

Madden loves to go fishing and was pretty excited each time he caught a fish (with grandpa's help of course):

Kolten just liked to look at the fish- he didn't want to touch it at all:

On the deck at the pond:

The cousins waiting in line to hit the pinata:

Me and Kolten waiting for Madden to get us some candy from the pinata:

Grandpa and Madden worked quick to fill hit shirt full of candy:

Kolten made a new buddy in his cousin Rudger. They are only about 4 months apart. We sure do wish we could see these guys more often!

Grandpa got some new baby chicks and Madden thought it was pretty cool that he could hold them:

Well another great weekend has now passed. Man... summer is going by too fast!

Woohoo!

2010-07-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend was going to be the only weekend this month that we were going to stay at home... BUT I was actually able to talk my hubby into going back up north to Heber for the Tenney family reunion. Yay! It has been a long time since we have been to this reunion and I can't wait to get back to the cool weather. Hopefully I will have some fun pics to post. Now if only David would hurry home so we could leave! Hope everyone has an awesome weekend! I know I will!

Back Where I Come From...

2010-07-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

It is an absolute MUST that the 4th of July holiday be spent in my hometown of Heber. This is something that David has tried to fight me on a couple of times in the past, but quickly learned that he will lose trying to spend it anywhere else. The 4th of July in Heber has always been one of my favorite holidays. You really can't beat the weather, the amazing fireworks show (the echos from the canyons and the blacker than black night sky), and of course the amazing company of family and friends. I love that it has also become a tradition for some of my old high school pals to come over after the fireworks show to hang out. We missed Trace and Taralee this year but it was great to see Dustin and his wife Lindsey, and Banning and his wife Jaime. I'm so glad my high school pals married such cool girls. Wish I would have taken some pictures!
Anyway... here are some pictures from the weekend. I took the boys up on Wednesday and they LOVED it. They got to play outside all day long and Madden loved following his Uncle Trey around.
Here is my parents beautiful home... the place where I got to spend my teenage years.

Here is the backyard where we get to play volleyball. Love it.

Here are my two little men hanging out on grandma's porch.

Family pic before the fireworks.

OUr two best pals that stayed with us for the weekend. We are hoping they will make
being in Heber for the 4th a tradition as well!

Me and my beautiful sister Kim and best pal Lindsey!

Here is the group that ran the 10K in Taylor Saturday morning! Boy I wasn't ready for all those hills as well as the altitude difference. I didn't think I did very well, but I still placed 3rd for women in my age group.

Madden with grandpa and grandma... waiting for the fireworks:

SO stinking CUTE!

Summer Fun

2010-06-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Our summer has been full of fun things so far. Despite the depressing 100+ degree weather, we have been able to spend a lot of time outside in the water and doing other fun thing. Here are a few of the things we've been up to:
- Madden just finished his first session of swim lessons and he is doing so well! He LOVES swimming and has gotten very good at it too. As for Kolten... he loves the water as well- which is why we have to watch him very close around the water otherwise he'll just jump right in!

- Madden was also able to go to a little 'craft and cooking camp' that was put on by a lady in our ward. He has had SO much fun going and I always get an ear-full when I pick him up about all the fun things he did.
- We celebrated our little Kolten's 1st birthday... can you believe it! I could never even begin to try and put into words how much joy this little boy has brought into our lives. We all love him SO much and his sweet little personality has been so fun to have in our home. Him and Madden are such great buddies and I just love watching them grow together. Happy Birthday my sweet little Kolten!

- With Father's Day being this last weekend, my neighbor and bestest Jessica invited us over to make the cutest little 'hamburger and french fry treat' for David. Madden had lots of fun making his dad and grandpa hall some 'lunch'. Here is what we did (the hamburger is yellow cup cakes as the buns, brownie as the patty- with red and yellow frosting for the ketchup and mustard and then sugar cookie french fries!):

- And since I am mentioning father's day... I just have to put a couple of lines on here about what an amazing father we are blessed to have as the head of our family. David is such a great father! He truly does have a special bond with both Madden and Kolten and it is so great to see them light up and get so excited when he gets home from work. They love playing with him and following him around wherever he goes. Thanks David for being such a great daddy!

- I won a family four pack of tickets to go see Sesame Street Live so we went and did that last night at the Mesa Arts Center. I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it was. But even more surprising was the fact that my little Kolten just sat on my lap and was glued to the performance the whole time! I thought me and David were going to have to take turns taking him into the hallway but he loved it. And of course... Madden loved it too. His favorite part was the 'Elmo's world' section. Here are some pics of us waiting to go to our seats:

We have been having a great summer so far and we are WAY excited for July to be here! Here is what we have going in July:
4th of July celebration in Heber
Renting Jet-skis and camping by the lake with friends
Volleyball tournament in St Johns and Hancock Reunion weekend
A Family vacation to San Deigo and Orange County!
Yay! Hopefully it doesn't go by too fast cause come August... I'm going to pretty much be going back to work full-time with my student teaching! Yikes!

My boys...

2010-06-04T10:17:00.001-07:00

I just LOVE my boys! I was going through my pictures and found these:
Madden is SOOOOO much like his dad:

I'm sure Kolten will be a lot like his dad too:

Oh and I don't think I ever posted a picture of the toyhauler that David and his Dad got together. We LOVE it. Camping anyone?

And check this out... I MAY just get lucky enough to have a curly, blonde-haired boy! We'll see!

New Things...

2010-06-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

* I just want to first say CONGRATS to my little brother who graduated high school, my little sister who graduated from the 8th grade, and my cousin Josh who had his farewell and is leaving for his mission to South Carolina. We were able to go up to my parents for the weekend for everything and it was so great to spend time with the family. We played lots of games, laughed A LOT, went to the graduation ceremonies, watched the Suns game (such a bummer), watched the UFC fights, and went to Josh's farewell. I'm so excited for my siblings and my cousin who are all beginning a new stage in their life. I wish them the best in all they do! Here are some pics of graduation:
My brother Chace, Grandpa Tenney, and Cousin JT.

I love this pic of 'Chizzy' walking out of graduation:

All the girls and our beautiful mother:

Maryssa and her good friend Macy... doesn't Maryssa look beautiful? I can't believe how grown up she is now!

- And speaking of new stages... here are some new things we have going around here:
*David got PROMOTED! He has started his new job as manager and really seems to be enjoying it so far. I am so excited for him and SO PROUD of him for all his hard work. I have full confidence that he can do as well as a manager as he did as a counselor and have lots of success.
* Even though David got promoted, we are taking a little cut in pay (hopefully things will even out in the long run). So... our family has started a new budgeting system. I am trying the 'cash envelope' system. I have envelopes labeled for groceries, david's lunches, family eating out/date nights, future student teaching (saving now to pay for babysitting while I do my student teaching in August), etc. I take out cash at each paycheck and put the allotted amount in the envelopes and that money is to last us for 2 weeks. Once the money is gone... you have to wait till next paycheck for more. We'll see how it goes. =)
* Madden started swimming lessons on Tuesday and it has been pretty rough his first two lessons. I am really hoping he will get to where he really likes it and enjoys swimming... right now he cry's whenever it is his turn. =(
* I started a new class... my last class till student teaching! I feel like I get really busy when I'm in school and trying to stay on top of other things. I'm trying to figure out a way to be more organized and productive. Any ideas?
- In other news... my baby is turning 1 in 10 days! Ugh! Is it possible at all to just skip June 13th and then he can just stay my baby for a little longer??

Doing Better...

2010-05-20T11:29:00.001-07:00

I really need to do better at updating my blog. I am determined that for my Christmas present this year I am going to ask that Santa pay for me to get all my previous blog posts made into a book. I have heard of people doing this and loving how it turns out. Besides... what a cool and easy way to keep a journal!
Anyway... here is what we have been up to lately:
- David is getting ready to finish up his second Master's class. He took his first Master's class a while ago and then decided he wasn't quite ready to be back in school. But then he heard that taking classes on at a ground campus were much better so he gave that a try and is really liking it. He is also going to try and start applying for management jobs at UOP- so we'll see how that goes! He really does so well there and works so hard. We are so grateful for him and all he does for us! Oh... and he also got called to be our 'Ward Athletic Director'. Isn't that like the most perfect calling for him? Lucky guy.
- As for me... I just started my last class before Student Teaching! Yay Me! I just received my student teaching assignment and will be doing it at Ranch Elementary with the 3rd grade. I am so anxious, excited, and a little nervous. I feel like I have been working on this for so long and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Truth be told though... I am already saddened by the thought of leaving my little boys to pretty much do a full-time job (without pay). But I am happy to know they will be in GREAT hands... the hands of my good friend Jessica Despain that is. =)
- Madden is quite the energetic and fun little boy. I am LOVING the stage that he is at right now. He is talking so much and says the funniest things. He is such a sweet kid and tells me every day, 'Mom- I love dad... I love brother... and I love you!'.
- Kolten is my little boy who has grown up way to fast. Oh how I wish I could push a pause button to keep him from growing! He just started walking, and loves to jabber. He is also a cuddler (which I love). I call him my 'Tenney boy' cause I think he looks so Tenney. He loves following around Madden and I just know they are going to be such great friends.
Here are some recent pictures. I just LOVE the one of Madden, Kolten and Lewis. We did it for my mom for Mother's day. Aren't they just all so cute!

Well... hopefully I will do better at updating my blog in the future. Especially since we have a lot of fun things planned for the summer! I'm really looking forward to camping trips, graduation in Heber, 4th of July, and hopefully a fun vacation before I start my student teaching!

Slacker...

2010-04-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

I know I have been a total slacker when it comes to updating my blog lately. It seems like the last couple of weeks have been full of days in which I feel like I am busy ALL day and then at the end of the day I look around and wonder 'what on earth have I gotten done all day?'.
Anyway... we have still been having lots of fun and here are some things we've been up to:
* I got to watch one of my best friends kids for a couple of hours. These kids are so cute... the boys had lots of fun playing and I got the desire to have a little baby around again. I guess if I need a baby fix I should just go visit her. =)

* I am an activity days leader in our ward for the 10 and 11 year old girls. We recently had a 'talent show' activity at my house with my group and the 8 and 9 year olds. It was so great! The girls shared their amazing talents and we all had fun!

* We were going up north for a weekend and David decided to take a Friday off so we could go camping on Thursday. So we packed up our stuff in the toy hauler and had a little camping trip. It was so nice to have some intimate family time in the great outdoors. And of course, Madden LOVES getting dirty and riding quads. He even gave his little brother a ride and Kolten seemes to really enjoy it too!

* When we were up north, David and I had the great pleasure of getting to see my cousin Devin sealed to his wife Danielle and their two little boys. It was such a wonderful experience and we are so happy for their beautiful family! I just wish we lived closer so we could hang out together!
* I also got to see my little brother Chace aka: Chizzy, get ready for his last Prom. I can't believe my little bro is a senior and will be leaving on a mission within the next year. When I lived at home... I just remember him being an annoying little brother who always drove me crazy. Now he is HILARIOUS and I just love being around him. I love you bubba Chace! =) Oh and I'm glad you let me spike up your hair cause you look like a stud.

* My cousin Jamilyn took some family pictures for us a couple weeks ago and I think she did a great job! Espcially since little Kolten was being quite the pill and both boys were distracted 90% of the time!

3 years...

2010-04-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

I just love Conference weekend. I love hearing talks that inspire me to be a better person and make me realize how blessed I am. I was especially grateful this past Conference, to hear the different talks on parenthood. They gave me a renewed determination to be a better mom and to make sure my boys grow up learning about Jesus Christ.
Today is Madden's 3rd birthday. I could never put into words how grateful I am to be this little boys mother. He has brought an immeasurable amount of joy and happiness into my life. I really can't believe that it was 3 years ago that I brought him into this world. He is growing up so fast and has turned into such a fun, outgoing, and energetic boy. He is such an amazing big brother and is always looking out for little Kolten. He can't wait until Kolten is big enough to ride bikes and help build sand castles. He is also a total daddy's boy and always tries to do everything that David does. He loves his grandparents and aunt's and uncle's and can really be such a sweetheart when he wants to be. Here are just a few pictures of him these last 3 years:
Daddy and Baby Madden

Madden at 6-9 months:

Madden a little over 1 year-

Madden at 2 years:

Here is the birthday boy-

We had a little birthday bash for him this past Saturday. He had so much fun having his friends over to jump on the trampoline, play in the sandbox, and have an Easter Egg Hunt. Big thanks to everyone who came over! Here are some pictures:
The 'adopted' Uncle Aaron and Aunt Lindsey-

The kids at the party:

Some of the adults at the party- it was a beautiful day outside!

Baby Kolt loves his auntie Heather!

Oh and I got this picture of baby Kolten at the party... and then had to go find the similar picture of Madden at the same age. So here is Kolten at 10 months and Madden at 11 months. They look so different!

Little Monkey

2010-03-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

Madden isn't suppose to get into the dogs fenced area but he has been and I have been wondering how on earth he gets in and out. Well today I found out when I was spying on him through a window. I couldn't believe what he was doing... so I had to go out and video it to share. We are going to have to watch this kid- especially around pools- even if they have a fence:

Odd Places

2010-03-16T15:34:00.001-07:00

There is something cute about a little one falling asleep in an odd place. My favorites have been in the high chair, the bouncer, or on top of toys.

But nothing has been as odd as where Madden fell asleep today. =)

I put him in the shower with me and when I got out he said he wanted to stay in for "5 more minutes". After I got dressed I found him asleep in the shower. Man he must have been tired!

Time Flies...

2010-03-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or does anyone else think that time is flying by? I can't believe that in less than a month... my little Madden will be 3 years old. And my baby is already 9 months!

It is crazy to me that summer is just around the corner and that I will soon have been graduated for 7 years (wow... typing that makes me feel really old). Sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday that I was hanging out with my high school pals and driving my parents crazy. haha.
Anyway... we have been pretty busy lately. We've been spending too much of our tax return and getting some new things around our place. I already showed pics of our backyard... But here are some other things we've done.
We put in new floors and I am in LOVE with them. I no longer have to worry about stains on the carpet (although we did get a nice big rug but I have found it is fairly easy to clean). Here are a couple of pictures:

We also got Madden an early birthday present and he LOVES it. David loves it too and insists that it stay on the court so that they can play basketball while jumping. =)

I am starting my second to last class on Tuesday and taking my final State exam on the 27th. So all I will have left is student teaching in August which I am quite nervous but way excited for! It is just 12 weeks so I'm sure it will go by fast. We've had to put some money aside since the boys will have to be babysatt (which makes me sad to think about). I'm so ready to be done with school though!
Anyway... that is what we have been up to. Oh and I forgot to blog in my last post that I did my first 10K (6.2 miles). Im going to try and keep running as much as i can before the heat gets here. my goal is a half marathon before my next kid. =)

Quick Post...

2010-03-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a quick post because I have so much to do! I decided to sit down, take a break, and do a new post since I have been cleaning all morning. We have been a busy family these last couple of weeks with trying to get our backyard done and putting in new laminate floors. We got the floors done yesterday and I am trying to clean up the dirt, dust, and mess that has accumulated this past week. I will be sure to post pictures of the new floor once I get everything cleaned and back in place.
Here are some pics of the backyard.
This is the fence we bought at home depot so we could do a little dog run on the side of the house. I LOVE having it! You can also see the cute dog house David built. =)

Here is our basketball court with the sandbox that David made right behind the hoop. Madden LOVES playing in the sandbox. And he loves having Taya come over to play in it with him. =)

Here is our grass area.

Here is our garden area. We have yet to plant a garden this year since it has been raining a lot. And we re-painted the fence that David made white which I like a lot more.

In other happenings... Kolten has yet to start crawling. He can get to what he wants though by doing a sort of worm crawl on his belly. He is still such a sweet little mamas boy and I love it!

Madden is becoming such a big boy. He is almost 3! I LOVE that he is fully potty trained now and is very independent, but still likes to cuddle with mom! He has quite the personality and me and David just love him to pieces!

Love, Love, Love

2010-02-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

Well with Valentines being this past weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a post to things we Love (and things we've gotten to do this past week).
* We Love Vacations with Good Friends! David and I have been pretty spoiled this past month with getting to go to Utah to snowboard and then going to Vegas for Super Bowl weekend. We went once again with our best pals Aaron and Lindsey, and with their friend Nick and Lori. It sure was a lot of fun walking around seeing the sights, watching the game, and doing a lot of laughing. Here are some pics from the trip:
The Boys Getting ready to eat at Cabo Wabo (so yummy).

Elevator pic

Me and Lindz... love this girl!

Me and My Man

* As always after a trip away from my two boys, I absolutley LOVE coming home to them and squeezin on them and playing with them. It is nice to have a break every once in a while- it makes you realize just how much you LOVE having them around.
* I LOVE having a handy man for a husband. David built this nice dog house for our big lab Barkley- and I must say... he did a very good job. He also built Madden a little sandbox that he plays in non-stop now when he's outside. Madden LOVES it.
The Doghouse:

* I LOVE getting a tax return. We are currently in the process of using some of this money to spruce up our backyard. I can't wait! (I'll post pictures of the finished project in a couple of weeks). And I also ordered a Dyson vacuum and it should be arriving today! Yay! Is it totally lame that I am excited about a vacuum? =)
* I LOVE Costco. Especially when I can get cute new outfits for my boys. Madden LOVES the Costco hotdog. =)
Love this outfit... it says 'My Big Brother says I'm Super Cool:

* We LOVE park trips with friends. I was so glad to get together with some of my old pals that I don't get to see very often and do a little park day. It was so much fun, the kids LOVED it too. It was great to see them and do a little catching up.
Sharla's Keely, Jessica's Taya, and Madden

Doesn't this look like an engagement pic? So cute:

The Little Ones, Sharla's Lydia, Kolten, and Jessica's Camden. Love it.

* And of course I have to give a shout out to the LOVE of my life, my forever Valentine- David. I sure do LOVE You honey! =)

SOOOOOOOOO Much Fun!

2010-02-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

So last weekend we were able to go on a snowboarding trip up to Utah. This was our first 'vacation' without kids since September of 08- so we were very very excited! It was me and David, our best pals Aaron and Lindsey, and my brother Chace and his friend JR Maner. It was a little snug on the LONG drive there and back... but we had a blast!
We stay at my best friends/cousins Trace and Taralee Porters. If you don't know these two and their little Brody... you are SO missing out. We just LOVE them! (and can't wait for them to move back down to AZ) =)

Anyway... we boarded at The Canyons resort on Thursday and Friday and we really couldn't have picked better days to be there. They had just gotten a lot of snow and the sun was out to make it the perfect weather! I was a little sketchy on my board since it had been so long but it was really so much fun! Big thanks to my mom/dad/sisters and my Aunt Joe/Uncle Pat/kids for watching out two boys!!!
Here are some pics...
This is Aaron Dancing to Miley Circus... Look at the joy... classic.

Jr Maner, Chace, and David

Me and Lindsey taking a break at the lodge

This is some crazy guy we decided to let board with us cause we are nice like that. =) Love him.

I am on top of the world! Such a beautiful view!

Me and David. I'm SOOOO glad we share this hobby. It's a blast.

Me and David on our first lift up. Excitement!

Me and my brother Chace... aka 'Chizzy'. Doesn't he look so hardcore?

Aaron and Lindsey- so cute:

Next up... A Vegas trip for SuperBowl Weekend. I could get use to this. =)

Two Boys...

2010-01-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

One of Madden's favorite things to do is to get right up next to his little brother and say, 'mom, mom... two boys!' And he gets pretty excited when I talk about all of the things that him and Kolten will get to do someday- like ride bikes together, play in the sand together, play trucks together, and lots of other boy things. I think he is pretty anxious for his little brother to grow up. As for me... I think my two boys are growing up way too fast. I can't believe I am going to have a 3 year old in less than 3 months. And I can't believe my 'little' Kolt is so BIG. But I try each day to just sit back with my 'two boys' and just enjoy the moment.

On The Go...

2010-01-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

Has everyone else been really busy the last couple of weeks? I feel like we have been on the go non-stop ever since Christmas. It really was such a great holiday season and I can't believe it is 2010!!! Here are the highlights of our last two weeks:

- Had David's mom, grammy, and two little cousins come over. We had a yummy dinner and the kids opened a few presents. Madden sure did seem to enjoy having a little buddy (tyler) around to play. Here is little Trinity reading a book in the Elmo chair:

Madden and Tyler:

- We went to David's dads and had a little Christmas celebration there. We ate some more great food and opened some great presents. Madden was extremely excited about his 'wad' shirt and the helmet that grandpa and grandma got him. He seriously wants to wear this shirt EVERY day. Here he is giving a 'thumbs up':

And here he is on dad's quad... he is SO much like his dad:

- Christmas this year was spent at my parents. It was FREEZING up there. It was so much fun and so exciting to have 'Santa' come. It is always so nice being up there because Madden loves to tag around with his Uncle Trey (who plays with him so good) and there is always someone who wants to hold Kolten. So it is a nice break for mom!

My parents beautiful, and seriously huge christmas tree:

Here is Kolten with Papa T:

Kolten with Aunt Emma Christmas morning:

Kolten in his cute new beanie from Great Grandma Tenney:

- We were lucky enough to have my little sister Emma staying with us on New Years Eve and so David and I got to go out! We went to eat at Texas Roadhouse with our good pals Aaron and Lindsey and then went back to their place and played games for a good 3 hours. Lindsey made sure we all stayed up past midnight (which I can't even remember the last time I stayed up that late). We had a blast! I'm mad I didn't take any pictures.

- This past weekend was the Porter Reunion which was down here in the valley. We were only able to go for part of the day on Saturday but it sure was great to see everyone. We all went to Amazing Jakes for some pizza and games. Madden loves playing the games there and even enjoyed the teacups! Here is me and my happy, good, little baby:

I'm excited to have some fun things to look forward to in the next couple of months. David's birthday is next week and mine is in February. A week from today we will be leaving to go to Utah to snowboard for two days and we will be staying with Trace and Tara and little Brodster. I don't know what I am more excited for... snowboarding or getting to hang out with them for a little bit! And then in February we are planning on going to Vegas for SuperBowl weekend, and I'm training for a 10K the end of February! So I am really looking forward to everything!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years!

Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman...

2009-12-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

Can you believe Christmas is in just a few days! I can't believe it is already here. The holiday months always go by way too fast. But it especially hasn't felt like Christmas with the weather we have had here recently (I actually turned the AC on in my truck this past week people!). I am really looking forward to being at my parents for Christmas this year (and I'm secretly hoping that there will be snow on the ground so that we can possibly do some tubing on Saturday). But anyway... we haven't been up to too much lately. Being a stay at home mom... my life pretty much revolves around my children. I am amazed every day at the new things that Madden does and learns (some good, most bad), and how fast my little Kolten is growing. Maddens favorite things these days are talking to grandpa on his fake phone (good), throwing anything and everything he can get his hands on (bad), playing with his brother (good), getting into the pantry to get himself a snack (bad), talking back to mom and dad (also bad), and singing 'Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman...' (good and SO cute). Kolten is still a laid back and content baby. We are still working on getting him to sleep through the night, but he has recently began eating his cereal like a champ and he loves to watch his big brother run around like a wild man.

I also have to give a quick shout out to my sister, mom, and aunt Lorayne who just this past weekend did a 10K! I am SO proud of them- they are my inspiration! Hopefully I can make a new years resolution to get in better shape and start running again (I haven't done much of anything since I completed that triathlon).

Well I hope you all are doing great and that you have a safe and very Merry Christmas!

boys, boys, boys

2009-12-08T06:42:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to express how deeply in love I am with each of my boys. There is never a dull moment in this house and I just have so much fun being with them. Here they are watching some Cardinals football. Go Cardinals!

Meanwhile... is anyone else ridiculously excited for Christmas? I am SO looking forward to Christmas this year, especially since it will be the first year that Madden will really know what is going on. I hope everyone else is enjoying December like I am!

A Few Things I'm Thankful For...

2009-11-24T14:34:00.001-08:00

I'm grateful for a heathly little baby who has the cutest rolls, the cutest little smile, and is just all around cute! I couldn't have asked for a better baby. He is so mellow and laid back... which helps SO much since most of my time is spent trying to handle a rambunctious and defiant two year old.
I'm grateful for a heathly little boy named Madden. Boy this kid sure does make me laugh a lot these days. He is Mr. Independent and just loves being active. One thing he loves to do is help me cook. He can crack eggs all by himself, he can make brownies, cook his own toast, and just last week he helped me make homemade rolls (he loved rolling out the dough). He is my little buddy and I love him.

I'm grateful for David and for the great husband and father that he is. I love that we still have fun together and that I can honestly say I love him more each day (even if it happens to be a bad day).

I'm grateful for Grandpas. Especially ones that we don't get to see very often but when we do it is always wonderful.
I'm grateful for awesome friends that can liven up any boring night. Friends who enjoy hanging out with us even though we have an out of control toddler and a baby.

I'm grateful for beautiful weather and long days at the park that often result in great nap times. And I'm grateful to have Jessica and Taya a few doors down cause it sure is nice for me and Madden to both have playmates!And I'm also grateful for Costco. =) Where we can buy cute matching pajamas for our boys and do a lot of our christmas shopping. And also where they have amazing 'testers' and Maddens favorite- the Costco hot dog =)

Well I did it...

2009-11-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

So even though I still had a pretty bad headache (I think it was a sinus infection), I went and did the triathlon this past Saturday! I had been training so hard and had already paid/registered so I decided to just suck it up and go. I woke up at 4:45 am Saturday morning and made sure I had everything ready. I didn't sleep well at all that night cause I was so worried about Madden and his fever/cough. I checked his temperature 3 times throughout the night and laid by him with a cool washcloth on his head for a while. I felt bad even leaving when I knew he was sick but I knew I wouldn't be gone long and that he was in good hands (my mom and sisters were here to watch him). Me and David got to Casa Grande about 6:15 am and I hooked up with my triathlon partner- my sister in law Heather. I am SO glad she did it with me cause it wouldn't have been as much fun or exciting if I would have been all by myself! Anyway... the race went as follows: a 400m swim, 10.3 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. The swim was by far the toughest part. I had to teach myself how to swim and I've only been swimming for about 2 months now. David says I swim at a 'snails' pace but I don't care... all that mattered was that I made it through! The bike course was really nice and mostly flat. The run course was slightly uphill for the first mile or so. But anyway it was funny... I got through the finish line and was sure that David would be there to congratulate me and give me a hug but when I looked around I didnt see him at all. I walked around for a little bit, talked to one of my friends that was there, then decided to go back to the bike area to see if he was there. I FINALLY found him as he was about to get in our truck to go look for me. Apparantely he had been waiting at the bike transition area for me to finish the bike course. He had somehow missed me and didn't know I was already done with the race- he thought I was out somewhere on the side of the road. It was pretty funny. Anyway... all in all it was pretty fun and such a big accomplishment for me! My final time for the race was 1hr and 27 minutes. If I ever do one again I am determined to swim faster and will definitely find a road bike to use instead of a mountain bike. Here are some pictures!

After the race:

Now I am trying to figure out what I want my next goal to be... do I want to do another triathlon and try to get a better time or do I want to try for a half marathon? Anyone want to train for something with me? =)

Halloween Low Down

2009-11-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well this is going to be a pretty short post since I am not feeling well. What are the odds that just two days before I'm suppose to be doing a sprint triathlon I would get sick with a cough and massive headache. I hope so much that I get feeling better so I can do it cause I really have been working so hard for it. Anyway... David happened to get sick too and is home from work today and Madden (who has had a cough for about a week now) has gotten more sick as well. So our house is full or sickness right now!

Anyway... we had a fun Halloween weekend. I took the boys up north to my parents and David went on a guys dune trip. We all had a great time. Here are the pics!

Here are the boys before we left home to go up north:

The first night at Grandpa and Grandma Tenneys:Grandpa Tenney with little Lewis: We stayed one night in Taylor with Grandad and Grandma Hancock. We just LOVE staying there! We played cards and had fun visiting. Madden had fun playing with Uncle Trey and cousin Tanner and the babies loved being held by Uncle Pat. This was Halloween Night. Madden did not want to get in his costume and Kolten wasn't liking it either. So I didn't really get any good pictures. =(And while I was up there... I decided I didn't want to have long blonde hair anymore and I had my aunt Tara dye it and cut it short. It sure is different but I am going to enjoy having healthy hair that I don't have to get colored every month and a half!And here are a couple of pictures from Davids weekend. I think it looks fun and I hope I can go with him maybe one time this dune season.

The Hall Family 411...

2009-10-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

So here are a few things that have been going on with each of us lately...

David:

- Started his master's program at UOP and is now in his 2nd class. He is not excited at all about doing more homework and worrying about school again, but he figures it will be worth it in the end.

- Is playing in city league basketball each Wednesday and is doing really well.

- Is excited to go on a boys dune trip Halloween weekend.

Amanda:

- I have just 4 more classes left before my student teaching! I don't want to do student teaching till next fall though so I am spreading my classes out over the next few months. I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

- Trying to stay motivated to work out each day and do the sprint triathlon on November 7th.

- Found that 'The Melting Pot' is my new favorite restaurant when me and David went there on our 4 year anniversary date. Sooooo yummy!

Madden:

- Is excited to be 'Dash' from the incredibles for Halloween.

- Loves riding his new bike and has gotten in trouble multiple times for taking off down the road while his mom was yelling at him to turn around.

- Loves playing with his little brother and helping feed him his bottles.

- Loves to help mom cook in the kitchen. He is always wanting to make "cook cooks" (cookies) and can crack an egg by himself without getting the shells in what we are baking!

Kolten:

- Had his 4 month check up this last week. His height is 26.5" and weight is 17 lbs 10oz. He is a full inch taller and a pound and five ounces bigger than Madden was at 4 months.

- Has developed a love for his bouncer and loves to bounce around and play with the toys on it.

- Will sometimes sleep through the night. Not very often, but the times he does are definitely refreshing for mom!

Oh how I LOVE these rolls...

2009-10-12T16:26:00.001-07:00

Kolten is growing so fast... and since he is a big baby... he has so many rolls! I just love poking and tickling him (he loves being tickled). Now if only I could find a way to make my rolls look cute. =)

Best Friends

2009-10-06T18:20:00.001-07:00

I met Lindsey over 5 years ago when David and I were dating. They had gone to High School together, were both going to ASU, and they had actually dated pretty seriously at one point. Not very many girls can be friends with a boyfriends x-girlfriend, but with Lindsey... it was SO easy. =) I immediately started to love this outgoing, super cute, sweet, fun girl. We even lived together for a while before I got married. After I got married, we still kept in touch but didn't see each other that often. That was until David got her boyfriend Aaron a job at UOP and they started to become good friends. After that, we started hanging out ALMOST every weekend (we still rarely go a week without doing something together). We went on an awesome Vegas trip together, went quading in the great outdoors, they came with us to Heber for the 4th, and we have spent many nights watching movies or playing games. Thankfully they are the type of couple that didn't mind coming over to hang out even though our house has a pretty loud 2 year old running around. Well... this cute couple got married this past weekend and David and I both had the priviledge of being in their wedding party. It was such an amazing wedding- the ceremony was great, the reception was beautiful... and Lindsey looked absolutely gorgeous! Aaron looked pretty handsome too. =) Here are pics from the fun weekend.

The Happy Couple:

At the reception:

Me and Lindsey before the ceremony: Me and two of the bridesmaids- Lindsey's sister Ashley and friend Kelli.

Me and my new friends Kelli and Lori and the beautiful bride at the reception:

Me and my oh so HOT husbandThe Bridal PartyBIG thanks to my parents for watching Madden and my sister Kimi and David's parents for watching Kolten so that we could have a weekend of fun with our Best pals. And big CONGRATULATIONS to Aaron and Lindsey. We love you two!

Love

2009-10-01T11:37:00.001-07:00

Oh how I love these two boys:

Biggest Fan

2009-09-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

We've been able to go to Kim's first two home volleyball games. Madden is SO funny when cheering. You can barely hear... but check out this video of him saying, "Go Mimi- Woo!" and " Go Coyotes- Woo!"

Since last time...

2009-09-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

A lot has gone on since my last post! We have been lucky to have some great trips these last few weeks. We got the chance to go to the cabin in Greer with the Hall family, and it was great to spend time with Reed, Rena, Heather, Jessica, and even Grandpa Dave was able to come! The weather was beautiful and we spent a lot of time playing games and just visiting on the porch. I just love the mountain air and being able to get away from the big city. It was a great weekend. Here are the pics:Little Kolt on the way to the cabin:
Madden... drinking and riding on the porch:
Funny story behind this pic... we had gone on a long quad ride this day, so Madden didn't really get to take a nap. Around 7pm we were sitting around eating and suddenly realized he had disappeared. We discovered that he had slowly slinked out of his chair and had fallen asleep in the praying position! It was so cute. He was so out of it! You can see his half eaten plate of food too. Family pic on the bed!

The Hall boys and Men. What a good lookin bunch!

Family photo in front of the cabin:

I also had the chance to go up to Heber last wednesday and stay there for almost a week. I was busy almost the whole time. On Thursday, with the help of my amazing Aunt Tiff and Uncle Brandon I was able to can some chicken, pinto beans, and green beans (I felt so domesticated!). On saturday David and I went with my mom and some other ladies on an 18 mile bike ride (it was pretty tough but lots of fun). On Sunday we blessed our little Kolten George. And then on Monday we bagged a ton of corn and then came home.

What I have to show for a lot of hard work:

My Aunt Tiff also took family pics of us. Here are the pics that I absolutely LOVE! She did such a great job!

So now that I am home my days are consisting of trying to catch up on school work and getting back on top of the laundry and housework that needs done. Oh... and I have started to train for a triathlon that is going to be in November. I have actually really enjoyed these last few weeks and all the time I've spent swimming, biking and running. Swimming is DEFINITELY my weak point. But I'm not doing this race to get a good time, I'm simply doing it just to show myself I can!

Anyway... what has everyone else been up to recently?

2 months & a look back

2009-08-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Kolten had his 2 month check up this week. The doc says he looks healthy and strong which is what I LOVE to hear. Here are my little guy's stats... weighing in at 13 pounds 11 ounces (he gained 7 pounds since birth) and he is 24 1/4" long. He's getting so big so fast!

So I thought I would compare him to his big brother when he was 2 months... Madden was 13 pounds 5 ounces and was 24" long. Not much of a difference.

Do you think they look different... or alike:

Kolten:

Madden:

California Fun

2009-08-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

We left for California last Wednesday and got back Sunday evening. It was such a great trip and the weekend went by WAY too fast. We went to the San Diego zoo on Thursday and then Laguna Beach Friday and Saturday. The weather was absolutely wonderful! It was such a wonderful vacation... we didn't want to come home!

Madden had such a great time at the zoo. I couldn't believe how big the San Diego zoo is. It was a great zoo trip cause a lot of the animals were out and we were able to get really close. The only thing we didn't get to see at the zoo were the panda bears. The line to see them was so long and there was no way Madden would have stood in that line for an hour. So we didn't get to see the panda bear. "I tried to get an interview with him, but they said no, you can't do that he's a live bear, he will literally rip your face off." (name that movie). We saw lots of other bears though and this one posed for me. =)

David's little cousin Matthew came with us. He's such a cute kid.

Lots of walking... Kolten slept the whole time, and MAdden occassionally would sit in the stroller. David had a blast pushing the stroller around. =) haha. Here are some other animals we got to get really close to.

My favorite animal... the polar bear!

Our last two days there were spent at the beach. Madden LOVED playing in the sand and Kolten was such a good baby. David loves the beach and would have spent the entire trip there if possible.

This was our family pic right before the ride home. Thanks California for such a great time. And big thanks to David's aunt and uncle for letting us crash at their place and spoiling us! Can't wait till we get to go back!

Two boys...

2009-08-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE my two little boys. Madden is getting so big and surprises me each day with the new things he can do. He can be such a little fart sometimes, but for the most part he is just a sweet little boy. It has been tough this summer with it being so hot that we can't play outside, luckily he has been able to spend some fun time up north with papa & mama T and his aunts and uncles. The other day he helped me load the dishwasher. I rinsed off the dishes and he loaded them all... I thought he did a pretty good job... maybe even better than David. =)
My little Kolten is growing WAY too fast. Where did my newborn go! He has gotten SO chubby and I just love all his little rolls. I love that he is starting to smile too.

Being a mom is seriously the best job in the world. =)

Because of a Toddler...

2009-07-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

EVERY time I have left the kitchen/family room area in the last couple of days, I have come back in to find my little Madden sitting on the couch with either some ice cream and a spoon, or an otter pop in his hand. Yep, he has learned to open the fridge and get himself any snack he pleases. So this morning I rigged it with an old shoelace. I hope it holds up.

A Brief Look..

2009-07-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'm finding it a little harder to have time to sit down and do detailed posts now-a-days. With the busy schedule of taking care of a 2 year old, a newbon and trying to stay on top of housework, usually when I get time to sit at the computer it has to be spent doing homework, and by the time I am done with that, I am sick of looking at the screen. So here is another brief post to update on the last couple of weeks.

We went camping for the Hancock reunion and had SO much fun. I LOVE camping! We rented a toy hauler (cause I wasn't about to sleep in a tent with a newborn) and we are so glad that we did (except for now David wants one of his own). The weather was beautiful, the scenery was beautiful, the food was AMAZING, and the company couldn't have been better!

Here are some pics:

The inside of our toy hauler:

This past Tuesday I had the priviledge of doing a girls night with my mom, sisters, and some of my aunts and cousins. We went to dinner at Olive Garden and then to see the musical WICKED! It was such a great night... Wicked is such an amazing show... I loved it! Oh and it was my little sister Maryssa's birthday. I can't believe my baby sister is turning into such a beautiful young woman!

Here are the pics:

This past weekend I had the rare chance of going to dinner with some of my great friends. It was my pal Dustin's birthday and our friend Hunter and his wife Jessica were in town so we all went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. With David, HUnter, Dustin, and our pal Aaron together... there is never a dull moment. Here is Dustin on the birthday saddle at Texas Roadhouse. =) He's such a trooper.

Top Three...

2009-07-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last post and we have had a lot going on. Here are my top three highlights of the last couple weeks:

*Watching Kolten continue to grow. I just love his chubby little cheeks now. These pics were taken a couple of weeks ago- he has probably gained 3 pounds since then. I love watching Madden interact with him too. He gives him probably about 20 kisses each day.

*The 4th of July celebration in Heber. Playing volleyball and 'redneck horseshoes' in the backyard. Seeing Taralee, Trace, and Brody. Watching Madden play with aunt/uncles and cousins. The food. The fireworks. The weather. Time with family.

*Joined the gym and started working out again. It seems like I can only find a couple of times a week to get away but it is nice to start feeling somewhat normal again!

What's on my mind...

2009-06-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't been getting much of this lately:So it is a good thing I have moments like this to keep my happy!:

I am really looking forward to being here this next weekend:And seeing some of these:I'm actually looking forward to starting this again:
And hopefully not feeling like this anymore:

The First Week and a Half

2009-06-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well it has been almost a week and a half since Kolten has joined our little family. It has been such a joy having him here! I forgot what a sweet spirit a newborn can bring into the home. The adjustment has been pretty good. Aside from me not getting any sleep at night (last night he was up every hour!). At least I know he shouldn't have any trouble gaining weight- the kid eats like crazy!

Madden just loves his little brother. All day he will go up to him and give him kisses and say 'baby tute' and 'baby ties' (his C's are T's right now). And he is constantly wanting to hold his little brother.

Here are some more pics from this past week.

Well I'm off right now to take little Kolten to get that blasted PKU test done. I HATE when they have to poke my baby! =(

Our New Bundle of Joy

2009-06-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well I was sure last week that I was going to have to get induced sometime this week, but Kolten surprised us by coming Saturday 6/13 at 5:22 am. He was 6 pounds 13 ounces and 20 1/4" long. He is just so cute and we are LOVING having a new baby around!

So here is a quick birth story... Friday I woke up feeling a little frustrated cause I was ready for the baby to be here but didn't think anything was going to happen. I cleaned most all morning then took the afternoon pretty easy. Later that night we went on a family walk and then came home to watch a movie we rented. I came in to check some school work on the computer while David started the movie. When I went to stand up to go watch the movie I felt a little gush of water come out. I knew that sometimes your water can break and leak slowly so I told David and we got ready to go to the hospital. We got to the hospital at about 9:30 and when the nurse came in to check to see if my water really had broken and to see if I was dialted she ended up completely breaking my water. I was dialted to a 4 and not having any contractions. By the time they got me into a labor and delivery room it was about midnight and I was barely getting some contractions. They started pitocin around 2 am and I was at a 5. The contractions got way worse so I got the epidural. Around 4:30 a nurse came in to check me and said I was still just at a 5. They had me turn on my left side to see if it would help. 20 minutes later ANOTHER nurse came in to check me and said I was a 9! She left and then about 15 minutes after that I told David to go get someone cause I felt like I needed to push. The doc came in and that was that- Kolten came at 5:22 after about just 5 minutes of pushing.

Here are just a couple of pictures. I did really bad at taking pics at the hospital. =( This is David in the waiting room... He was being so funny. He gets all nervous and excited. Man I love this crazy guy.

Quick Update on My Waiting Game...

2009-06-08T17:11:00.001-07:00

So I had my 38 week appointment this morning. Last week I was dialated to a 2 and just 50% effaced. This week I am dialated to a 3 but still just 50% effaced. I haven't had any contractions or anything yet. I am thinking this kid is just too comfy in there and doesn't want to come out. I've been doing all the things that people say to try to help bring on labor and nothing is working. So I've decided I'm just going to be patient, take it easy and enjoy the end of it. I will be setting up an induction date next Monday at my appointment so at least I know that no matter what I will have my little boy by next week! I am so excited!

Oh Baby

2009-06-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well I am approaching the 38 week mark and I am getting more and more anxious for this baby to come. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow to see if I have made any progress and I am crossing my fingers that I have. I feel SO ready to have this baby here, but for some reason I have a feeling that this kid is quite comfy where he is and isn't planning on coming soon. I don't know how I will survive another 2-3 weeks pregnant! I had Madden a week early so hopefully this one will follow suit. So I think just for the fun of it... you should all comment and guess when you think I will have this baby!

Today has been a very productive day as I'm trying to get the house really clean and ready for a baby. My parents were kind enough to take Madden for a couple of days so he has been up in Heber since yesterday- I'm sure he is having a blast playing outside and hanging out with his aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Before he left for the trip up north, his dad caught him playing with some of my fingernail polish. David was laughing when he saw what he was trying to do with it- I don't know how he knows where it goes, cause I haven't been able to paint my toes for a while now. He did a pretty good job for a first timer. =)

Well I'm going to get back to cleaning. I hope everyone has a great week!

Loads of Fun lately...

2009-05-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since I've updated my blog and we have been up to SO much these last couple of weeks. Here are some things we've done (in no particular order):

*Me and Madden went to the Phx Childrens Museum with Jami and Stratton. The boys LOVED it and had a blast running around for a few hours. It was a really neat place. After the museum we went to Peter Piper Pizza where the boys continued having a blast.

*I've been trying to find things to keep Madden entertained during the day since it is so hot outside. Usually it consists of him helping me bake. Whether its brownies, bread, cookies, or dinner- he is always such a big helper. Plus when we make something sweet he likes to lick the mixer. *We stayed at Legacy resort for the weekend and went swimming and just relaxed.

*I went to watch my brother Chace at State track. Even though he was pretty sick he still did really well and placed in almost all of his events.

*Me and Madden met up with my mom and sister Emma at the Phoenix zoo. Luckily it was a pretty nice day and Madden loved seeing all the animals and playing in their little water park.

*We've gotten to go swimming at Grandpa and Grandma Hall's house a few times. Madden LOVES swimming and could stay in the pool all day!

*Me and Madden spent almost a full week in Heber. Jesse was up there too with baby Lewis. It was so much fun and so nice to get out of the heat! Madden got to hold a baby chick and pet some baby pigs. He was loving it up there! So many aunts and uncles to entertain him and he got to play outside A LOT!*I went to my 36 week doc appointment and even though I'm not making much progress yet, the babies head is down so that is good news!

*David started the Masters program at UOP. Hopefully he can stick with it!

*I'm still working on potty training Madden. I'm taking it really slow and I'm probably not sticking with it like I should. Madden on the other hand is doing really well. He will go in the toilet whenever we put him on it, and has gotten to where he will tell me when he needs to go #2. We just need to work on him letting me know when he needs to go pee. He's getting so big!

Good Friends

2009-05-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

For the last few months I have had the privilege of watching my neighbor (and best friend) Jessica Despain's little girl Taya. I usually would have her 2 or 3 times a week. Madden and her have become such great friends and it was really a joy to have her around. Last week was my last week to watch her so that I could take this last month before the baby comes to concentrate on doing fun things and spending time with my little Madden. I took some pictures of her last day here while her and Madden played outside. I absolutely LOVE this picture! My little boy was being such a gentleman and letting the girl drive the quad while he waited patiently on the back for his turn. =)After a fun time outside, we love to come inside for a popsicle and cartoons. Anyway... in other news... I am 34 weeks along and find myself wondering daily if I could really get any bigger. I feel so big and I am wondering how I am going to be patient for the next 3-6 weeks. I just hope everything will continue to go smoothly and worry free. I really can't wait to bring another boy into our family! Here's the 34 week pic:I just want to give a quick shout out to my husband who has qualified for University of Phoenix's top performers again. He really does work so hard and is so good at what he does. UOP will be flying him and the other top performers to vegas the end of this month and putting him in a room for 2 nights. I'm bummed I won't get to go, but I'm sure he'll have lots of fun without me. Congratulations honey and thank you for working so hard for us!

Backyard Fun and Latest Cravings...

2009-04-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned in a previous post about the cool quad Madden got from his MeMe for his birthday... well we are so happy it still works even after being taken for a swim at his bday party. Madden has gotten really good at driving it. This weekend David took out the screw that keeps it in low gear so he was cruising around the yard in high gear. I know David can't wait till he is old enough to go on quading trips with him. (don't mind my annoying laugh).

With this pregnancy I have had pretty random cravings. A month ago I was craving hot wings (??), then it was pineapple and mango, and this week... zucchini bread and chocolate chip cookies. So I spent an hour or so in the kitchen making me my recent cravings. Yummy!

Shoe Fetish & Other News

2009-04-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

So... I was cleaning the other day and after I moved 3 pairs of David's shoes from the family room into our closet I realized my husband has a problem... a serious shoe fetish. (the top 3 shelves are his shoes, including the ones on the tote at the bottom... don't pay attention to the disorganization of our messy closet!). Once he got home I explained to him that he needed to get rid of a few pairs. He told me that he had 3 more in the car. It is a little ridiculous. (he has like 5 pair of DC shoes).

In other news... the summer weather has begun- much to my disappointment. We had some beautiful days last week, and now we can't go outside past 10 and I already want to blast the AC. I hate the summer months down here. To make the heat somewhat bearable, we got a blow up pool from Costco. Madden loves it.

And as for baby news... I am almost 32 weeks... I am hoping he will come just a couple of weeks early so hopefully in about 6 weeks I will be close! I just finished painting the nursery yesterday and put up the new bedding. We have the rainforest collection in a swing, bouncer, high chair, jumper and playmat, so when I found the rainforest bedding I had to have it. The green is a little bright but I kind of like how it brightens the room. Having this room done makes me more anxious!

(In between the two wall hangings above the crib I will hang his name... once we decide on it!)

Fun Family Outing

2009-04-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

David had a half day this past Friday and decided he would just take the whole day off so we could go camping Thursday night. I absolutely love being outdoors and doing things like camping and such but I was pretty hesitant since I wasn't sure how cold it would be at night. Nevertheless, we decided we would drive up to four peaks and find a nice place to camp. The spot we camped at I had actually camped at before (Taralee... does it look familiar at all? =). Anyway... we got there around 5:30 and immediately set up the tent. Then we got everything else set up and cooked up some hamburgers and hotdogs on our little grill and ate while we sat around the fire. It definitely didn't take long for Madden to get SO dirty and to get ketchip and mustard all over his face! We roasted shmores (a camping must), David took Madden on a quick quad ride, then went to bed a little before 9. I was surprised that I didn't get cold at all (thanks to david's dad's heavy duty sleeping bags). My only complaint of the night was that it wasn't too comfortable being 7 months pregnant and sleeping on the ground- since we didn't have an air mattress.

Anyway... in the morning we cooked up some eggs and bacon. Then we went on about an hour and a half family quad ride up the mountain. The weather and scenery was beautiful. Overall... It was a great camping trip!

Projects, A Shower, Fun With Family & A Birthday!

2009-04-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have been busy busy this last week and a half. I am definitely in a 'nesting' mood and I am constantly adding things to my 'thing to do before the baby gets here' list. Things on this list include: clean all the blinds in the house (our house gets SO dusty), scrub all the baseboards, clean out and organize every closet in the house... and so on. =) One thing I was able to finish this last week was Madden's new room. We have 4 bedrooms in our house and he is moving from the 'nursery' room to his own 'big boy' room. I finished painting last Thursday (the painting took me forever) and David was my handyman fixed the twin bed up for me on Saturday. I moved all Madden's clothes and books in there so he is set to move in. Here is where Madden will start sleeping this week:His rag quilt comforter that I LOVE. Aunt Tiff was amazing to help me do this!
Another project I was working on this last week was preparing for my sister's baby shower. Jami and I made invitations together and planned the food and everything. I made some yummy monkey bread and quiche, and a cute easter centerpiece. The shower turned out great. I just LOVE my sister!

After the baby shower me, my mom and two sisters went back to Jesse's place and I was FINALLY able to hold my precious little nephew. I just love this little guy! I told him he had to get big and strong so he could come have sleepovers at Aunt Amanda's with his cousins and he can eat lots of junk food and stay up late. I think he liked the idea. =)

My family stayed with us for the weekend and we did a little birthday celebration with them on Saturday night for Madden and my little brother Trey (madden's bday is the 6th and Trey's is the 7th). Madden LOVED his lion bubble blower from Aunt Jesse, and the Wagon from Grandpa and Grandma Tenney. Trey got a pretty cool ipod. Here are the bday boys:

On Sunday we had a little lunch BBQ with David's side of the family for Madden's birthday. Big thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Hall hosting the occassion. We always love hanging out in their beautiful backyard (and the weather was perfect!). Highlights of this occassion were Madden getting a big quad from MeMe Teri; Madden riding the quad into the pool and MeMe and Grandpa Hall jumping in after him; the boys having fun playing in the jacuzzi; the Tigger and Pooh cake I made for Madden (it took me forever!); and Madden playing with bubbles. Overall it was a great day and lots of fun!

I really can't believe that it was 2 years ago today that I was at the hospital to have my little Madden. I couldn't even begin to tell about all th joy and happiness this little boy has brought into our lives. He is so special and I am so so so grateful to be his mother! I LOVE you Madden!

Two years ago today:

The birthday boy:

Fun Weekend

2009-03-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend together this past week. It had been a while since David and I had gone on a date and since Grandpa and Grandma Hall were kind enough to babysitt for us on Friday we took advantage of it and went out. We went out to eat then met up with our good friends Aaron and Lindsey. We went to Golfland to play arcade games (something we actually do pretty often with them). The boys had fun playing basketball and I just enjoy hanging out with Lindz. We always use our tickets to get a cheap toy for Madden and then some candy for us. It was a fun night.

Here I am before our date night... and at 28 weeks I am definitely getting wider! I went to the doc last thursday and had to have my blood drawn for my glucose test and got the rhogam shot. Everything is looking good and they say I am measuring right on for my due date.

On saturday we met up with David's mom, grammy and his two little cousins Tyler and Trinity at Amazing Jakes. We took advantage of the good pizza buffet and then had fun playing with the kids for an hour or so. The boys loved the carousel and the snapping alligator game. I really like amazing jakes and since I take advantage of coupons I get and using boxtops for arcade points it was a fun and fairly cheap afternoon!

Here is tyler on the truck... he loved pretending like he was driving:

The two boys had fun playing in the race cars. You should see madden move the 'stick shift' like his dad. He thinks he knows exactly what he is doing.

Little Trinity giving me a cute smile! She is such a well behaved baby!The boys on the carousel. They loved it! I loved watching Madden wave to me each time he came around. =)

The Kids on the train with Aunt Teri/Meme.

The kids playing in 'toddler town'.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend!

Favorite pics of the last few weeks...

2009-03-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I haven't done a new post in a while and I just wanted to share some of my favorite pics of the last couple of weeks.

We went to sycamore creek to ride the 'wad' (as Madden calls it). It is so nice to get out of the

city for a while. Madden loves going for rides and playing in the creek. I just loves these pics of him and his daddy:

We spent a few days up in Heber this last week. Aside from both me and Madden getting sick... it was a fun trip! Big thanks to my Aunt Tiff for helping (well pretty much doing), the rag quilt for Madden's new bed. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get Madden's room done. Anyway... here is a pic of Madden holding his cousin Rudger (Ben and Tara's new baby) and a pic of him with his pal Brody (I'm SO glad I got to see Taralee for a little while!)

Also while in Heber... we bought Madden some 'big boy' underwear. We are going to attempt to potty train here in a couple of weeks. Any tips on potty training boys is greatly appreciated! Madden looks so cute in big boy underwear!We went to Uncle Garrett and Aunt Amy's for a Sunday dinner. Madden and Porter had fun playing and David even held little Preston for a while. I wonder if David is ready for a little baby again. David let Madden keep my shoes on just long enough for me to take a picture. The kid is pretty good at walking in high heels!I just love my cute little man! I can't believe he is almost 2!

Reality check...

2009-03-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

This was the conversation at my doctors appointment last Friday:

Doc: "So, you have gained 9 pounds since your last visit"

Me: "Yikes, that is a lot"

Doc: "Um... ya... we like it if that number stays under 5"

Me: "haha... ok"

Doc: "Just make sure you're eating lots of fruits and veggies and good proteins, try to stay away from the sweet foods"

Me: "Ok... I'll try"

With this baby I made a goal to not gain as much weight as I did with Madden. I gained 40 with Madden. I'm trying to exericise more and watch what I eat so that I can keep this goal. But man... why do I have to crave chocolate chip cookies all the time!

What I've Come To Realize...

2009-03-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

I've been praying a lot for my little nephew and for Jesse and Alvin ever since we found out he had a heart defect. I have spent a lot of time on my knees this past week and a half- especially yesterday (the surgery day). Here our some things I've come to realize through all this:

1- There is no doubt in my mind that there is a loving Heavenly Father who hears our prayers. He may not always answer them in the way we would like, but he is there, he listens, and he truly cares. And even though I don't know why he allows people to go through such amazingly hard trials, he does everything for a reason and he is LOVING.
2- The support of family and friends for my sister and little Lewis has really been amazing. I have received messages from people who hardly know us who tell me that we are in their prayers and that if there is anything they can do to help to let them know. I know that Jesse and Alvin have benefited from all these thoughts and prayers.
3- I have come to realize that I too often take my blessings for granted. Yesterday morning I came and got online to do a little blog searching. Ever since we found out about Lewis's heart defect I have been looking at random blogs of other 'heart babies'. I was reading one blog in particular yesterday in which a family just this week had to make the impossible decision to take their baby off of life support. I started crying as I read about the last day at the hospital and how the parents had to say goodbye and watch their 3 kids tell their baby sister goodbye for the last time. After reading this I found myself on my knees once again, praying for this family that I didn't know and praying again for little Lewis. After I prayed I quickly called to my little Madden and just held him in my arms for a few minutes. Just about 15 minutes earlier than this I had been yelling and scolding him. I had left Madden alone in the family room for about 5 minutes while I went to the bathroom and checked my email. When I came out, I realized that he had gotten to a spray bottle of cleaner that had bleach in it (that his dad had accidentally left out) and had sprayed it all over our brown carpet and on the TV. After further inspection, I saw that we had 2 big spots and several smaller spots of discolored carpet, and that the bottom left corner of our TV was all black (so that when you turned the TV on, you couldn't see whatever was in that corner). As I held Madden after this prayer, I felt incredibly blessed to have this healthy, full of energy little guy in my life- even if he did just ruin the carpet and TV- that didn't matter anymore. What mattered is that he is here, he is healthy and he is mine.
4- I have come to realize that no matter how big I may think my problems are, there is always someone out there who has it worse than I do. This has made me really try to look at the positive side of things and to 'count my many blessings'. After the said bleach incident I later found myself thinking... I'm so grateful he didn't get it on the couch. I think you can most always find good in any bad situation.

A lot on my mind...

2009-02-27T11:35:00.001-08:00

I've had a lot on my mind this past week. Mostly my sister and new little nephew. I was really glad I got the chance to see her and Lewis for a little while. He is so cute! Now we're just waiting (trying to be patient) for when his surgery will be.

Here are a couple pics from the hospital. My sister looks so beautiful!

In other news... my good pal Sharla invited me and Madden to go to the zoo with her and our friend Courtney. I use to get to hang out with these girls a lot when we all lived in Mesa but I hardly ever see them now. It was so good to spend time with them and get our kids together again. Madden loved the zoo and all the animals.

Me and Madden on our way out for a fun day:
Madden loved the giraffes:
The 3 kiddos- Keely, Jaxon, and Madden. Jaxon's cheese' face is so cute!

Thanks again for the invite Sharla. It was SO great to see you and Courtney!

I'm an Aunt!

2009-02-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

I hope Jesse and Alvin don't mind me posting this... I am just so darn excited to finally be an aunt! I love my sister so much and I'm so glad that her and the baby are doing well. We're still waiting to find out about when his surgery's will be. But look at how cute he is! (this is a pic my dad sent from his phone). I can't wait to see him! He is 6 pounds 4 ounces and 19" long!

Like father like son...

2009-02-23T07:33:00.000-08:00

I am discovering more and more each day that my little Madden is more like his daddy in more ways than one. It is so great to see how much fun he has just hanging out with David- whether it's in the garage or in the backyard. I was hoping he would be a mommas boy... but dad evidently does more fun stuff. =)My sister Jesse is on my thoughts today... she goes to the hospital tonight and will have her little guy sometime tonight or tomorrow. I am hoping and praying that all goes well. I am so excited to be an aunt! Please say a little prayer for her and her baby if you have a chance! The baby will go in for heart surgery sometime this week after they get a better look at everything.

Meanwhile... I am getting bigger and gaining weight like crazy... ugh! We're still thinking of baby names so be sure to take the poll and let us know what you think about the names we picked out. Have a great week!

Valentines and Holiday Weekend

2009-02-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

I really love long weekends. Anytime I get an extra day to have David home is always great! We've had a great last week. David decided last Tuesday that he wanted to go snowboarding at Sunrise so we made a quick trip up to Heber Tuesday night and came back home Wednesday after he got done. I brought my little sister Emma home with me and it sure was great to have her here for a few days. Madden just loves her and loves playing with her. On Saturday me and Emma had some girl time and went to the mall to find her some clothes and then went and watched Pink Panther 2. It was great to spend quality time with her. Then she was sweet enough to babysitt that night so me and David could go out. We just went out to eat the went to the mall to get me some much needed maternity shorts. And he gave me the sweetest letter for valentines day... I really had such a great Valentines day!

David sold his quad on Sunday... only to turn around and get another one that same day (sold and found one on craigslist). He really is enjoying his 'raptor' and got to go riding on Monday. Here is Madden on the new 'wad' as he calls it.

My family came down on Sunday and we were able to hang out a little on Monday. Me, my mom and sisters kim and jesse were able to get pedicures monday morning- I love pedicures! Then we went to Chuck e cheese that afternoon. Madden had such a blast going around from game to game and it is always great to spend time with the family- even if it isn't for very long.

Meanwhile... I feel like I have so much that I want to do in the next few months. Here are some things I am looking forward to and some things that are on my to-do list:

*Becoming an aunt. Jesse will have her baby soon and I can't wait. I just hope everything goes ok!

*Painting and re-decorating the nursery

*Getting baby clothes out of the attic and washing and organizing everything

*Decide on a name for the baby

*Painting the room Madden will be moved into- and making a rag quilt for Madden's room with my Aunt Tiff

*Try to start potty training and see how that goes

*Planning a 2nd birthday party for my little man

*Hopefully getting something done with our backyard

*Move Madden into a 'big boy' bed

Latest Happenings

2009-02-12T06:42:00.000-08:00

We've had a pretty good last week and a half. Here's what we've been up to:

* I celebrated my 24th birthday last Thursday- the 5th. I feel like I am getting really old! I woke up to Madden shouting, "Mom, mom!" and when I went in his room to get him up there were 2 dozen red roses for me. Such a great way to start out the day! Also, as a birthday present for both David and I and an early tax refund gift to ourselves, we went out and bought Schwinn mountain bikes and a bike trailer for Madden. This has been one of the best buys we've ever made. We love going on family bike rides and Madden loves it.

My flowers:

Madden is ready for his first bike ride:

My bike:
David on his bike:

* Last Saturday I had a 'girls night out' with some of my great gal pals. We went to Cracker Barrel to eat and then went to Jesterz comedy club after dinner. It was so much fun! The comedy club was hilarious and it was great to laugh for about 90 minutes straight. I can't even begin to say how much I love these girls and what great friends they are. I have grown up with all of them except Talia and Lindsey, and I'm SO SO glad to have Talia and Lindsey in my life now. I love you girls! Here are some pics from the night:

The girls at dinner- Lindsey, Caroline, Jami, Jessica, Sharla, Talia and Me!

At the Comedy Club: Me, Jami, Caroline, and JessicaAt the Comedy Club: Jami, Talia, Caroline, and Jessica
Me and my beautiful cousin Jami!
Me and my pal Talia:
* Talia and I have also started a sort of dinner exchange which has been great. 2 nights a week she cooks for us and 2 nights a week I cook for them. It is wonderful to have 2 nights in which I can get a homecooked meal as take out and not have to worry about dishes. I don't know what I'd do without her. =)

Time flies...

2009-02-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about how quickly time goes by. Most of the time I don't even know what day it is. It's hard for me to think that in just two months, my baby will be 2, and then 2 months after that I will have a new baby! Crazy! He's growing up so fast!
Anyway... here are a few things we've been up to lately.
Since Madden is going to have to share time and attention soon, I wanted to do something with just me and him, so I signed us up for a 'messy me and mommy too' class. Its just once a week for 5 weeks and we've gone twice now. The first time he wasn't really sure about it cause I think he thought I was going to drop him off and leave, but this last class he was loving it. They have clay, stamps, finger paints, stickers, crayons, and a bunch of other stuff too. He has had a lot of fun getting messy while making his art pieces and then showing off his work to dad when he gets home. Here is his first week's work:
As I posted earlier... we had our ultrasound last week and are definitely having another boy. He was moving around like crazy during it, I don't think he liked the tech poking at him. We are so glad he looked healthy, but now we have started to think about names... and we don't have anything! Any suggestions are welcome! We want something original (kind of like Madden). Here is Madden at the doc office waiting to find out if he's having a baby brother or sister:
And here is my 20 week pic. I feel so much bigger than what I was with Madden. I've already gained about 10 pounds!
I hope you all are having a great week! Oh and ps... we are thinking about putting in concrete in the backyard with a basketball hoop... if anyone knows any good deals on someone who does concrete let us know!

We're Having....

2009-01-31T10:44:00.001-08:00

ANOTHER BOY!
The ultrasound tech said everything is looking good so we are so happy to have a healthy baby. I really thought it was a girl since this pregnancy so far has been a lot different than what it was with Madden but I am so excited to be having another energetic boy. I'm sure him and Madden will be best of pals!

Ultrasound

2009-01-27T15:03:00.000-08:00

So I've had a lot of people ask me if we know what we are having yet... and the answer is not yet!I had an ultrasound scheduled for Thursday but it had to get re-scheduled for Saturday since the tech couldn't come in on Thursday. So... I'll be sure to post how the u/s went on saturday or sunday. Hopefully the baby will cooperate so we can get a clear look at what we're having. I'm so excited! I admire all the adorable girls clothes in every store I go into, but I would also love another little boy cause boys are so much fun! We'll see!

Wonderful moments...

2009-01-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Even though I have my bad days like everyone else... I have really been blessed to have some wonderful moments recently. Here are a few:

Watching my son and his best friend Taya enjoy an afternoon snack while sharing a seat on his skateboard and watching cartoons:
Laughing at the big smile on Madden's face as he enjoys a ride around with Uncle Trey on the scooter:

Getting to witness my best guy pal Dustin Johnson and his wife Lindsey be sealed for eternity in the Snowflake Temple.
Not caring about the mess Madden makes while he enjoys some of mom's freshly made cookie dough:
Enjoying a day out of the city with some good friends and fun quad rides:Madden loves sitting in his chair
The dogs love going on quading trips too!
Our Awesome friends Lindsey and Aaron. We LOVE hanging out with them!

The group at Sycamore Creek:
And last... getting to watch the Arizona Cardinals win the NFC championship and make it to the SuperBowl. Go Cards!

Welcome 2009!

2009-01-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

Well I can't believe it's already almost a week into January of 2009! The holiday months sure did fly by and we've done a lot of fun stuff the past few weeks. Here are some of our highlights of the last month.

*Since Christmas this year was with David's family- my parents and siblings all came down the week before Christmas so that we could have our own little family celebration. We went and saw the Temple lights, we had a yummy dinner together (our family favorite of chicken fettucini), played some fun Christmas games, then did our sibling gift exchange. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we were able get together!

Here are some pictures from our night looking at the Temple lights:

Kim, Mom and Emma:

Our little family:
Madden LOVES his Uncle Trey:
My mom and pop:

*Christmas morning we woke up and had some breakfast. We made hot cocoa and went in to open presents. I think I got the most exciting present from David- an ipod!

David sitting and drinking hit hot cocoa while watching the 'yule log burn' on TV and listening to Christmas music. haha.
*We went to David's dads a couple of hours after we woke up and had brunch and exchanged gifts there. Rena made some awesome brunch food that was delicious! David got some nice tool stuff and I got some great decorations for the house. Madden got a batman bike that he loves. He is constantly getting on it and saying 'mom mom mom mom'... and then pushing one of the buttons that make noise.

Madden on his bat-mobile:

*In the afternoon we came back home to start getting ready for Christmas dinner. David's mom, grammy and cousin (and her two kids) came over to spend the afternoon. This was the first time I've ever had to worry about cooking on Christmas and if I say so myself... it turned out pretty good! It was so great to spend time with David's mom and grammy since we don't get to see them very often. And I'm mad that I didn't take hardly any pictures!

Here is David cutting our ham. He is using grill utensils. He's got that crazy look in his eye:

*Once our Christmas celebrations were over we decided to make the trip up to Heber so David could go snowboarding. Since the weather was too bad on Friday, David opted to board on Saturday and we went on a little date on Friday. We watched 'Marley and Me' (which is such a cute movie but made me cry at the end) and went to eat at our favorite place in ShowLow 'Grumpy Jakes'.

*David got to attend a Cardinals football game with my dad and the Mogollon High School football team. The team was being honored at the game since they took state. David enjoyed getting to see the stadium and of course getting to watch his favorite team play.

David and Cameron at the game:

Go Cards!

*My pregnancy is going good so far. I am 16 weeks along and go to the doctor on Friday- and I'll probably set up my ultrasound appointment then. I was expecting my sickness to be long gone by now but I still have some days that I get really nauseous at night. I'm hoping it won't last the whole time!

Here's my little baby bump at 15 weeks:

*We've been enjoying the family time we've been able to spend together since David took off a few extra days of work. We spent a Saturday at sycamore doing a picnic and riding quads. And David took a day and made a shelf in our garage- which prompted us to re-organize our attic and gave us a renewed determination to get going on our year supply since we have room to store it. I'm SO glad for the extra space and the shelf turned out great. So glad to have such a handy-man!

Here is our adorable and energetic little guy. He is making us laugh more and more these days. He loves to help around the house and copy what mom and dad do.

The wonderful shelf David made:
I Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I'm looking forward to the New Year!

Funny Video

2008-12-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

David just forwarded me this video from work and Madden and I have been sitting here laughing for the last 5 minutes watching it. Just thought we would share! (It really makes me want to play in the snow)
http://www.dogwork.com/dogsnow/
-The funniest part is at the end so you have to watch the whole thing

'Can't see the lines can you Russ?'

2008-12-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

I can't even begin to say how much I love the holidays. The Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons are my favorite part of the year. Mainly because I usually get to spend a lot of time with my family, random people generally seem to be more friendly, and I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am. Not to mention I LOVE the Christmas lights, the music, the movies (I just watched Christmas vacation- hence the blog title), the cards, the goodies... and everything else!

Here are some blessings we've received recently:

My parents took Madden up to Heber with them for a few days so David and I were able to spend some quality time together. I really feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who works so hard for his family. And I love that I still find him as attractive, fun, and interesting as the first day I met him. And with Madden gone for a few days, I was even more grateful to get him back. I freakin love this kid.

We were able to sell our trailblazer to some friends of ours. We had been thinking about selling it for a long time now since we wanted to get a four wheel drive truck. Well it worked out perfectly that we were able to sell it to them and now we have a pretty much brand new 4x4 chevy truck. David and I both love it. Of course David has lots of plans for rims, tires, exhaust, bla bla... but I like it just the way it is.

David passed the physical and written tests to be a cop, so now he has an interview on Tuesday. It's going to be pretty tough cause there were A LOT of men who passed everything and they only have a few openings. The way we see it though is if it's meant to be, he'll get the job, if not- that's ok too!

Everything has been going well with the pregnancy thus far and for that I am very grateful. Despite the constant feeling of nauseousness and exhaustion, I am almost out of this phase and will hopefully be feeling great and energized soon.
Well I hope you all are doing wonderful and having a great holiday season also!

Wonderful Thanksgiving & (Drumroll please...)

2008-11-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Thanksgiving holiday up north. The weekend was full of different activities and we were definitely never bored!
We got to my parent on Wednesday night. Thursday morning was a huge Thanksgiving breakfast with the Tenney Grandparents. Here are the Tenney girls before getting stuffed on grandma's amazing pancakes:

Thursday afternoon we went into Taylor to have dinner with the Hancock Grandparents. We had a delicious meal and then played a bunch of card games (one of the hancock families favorite things to do).
On Friday we made the long drive to get Christmas trees. This is a tradition that I love. My grandpa Tenney told us they had been doing this now for 41 years! We got a beautiful tree and had a blast playing in the snow! Here is Madden with Uncle Trey and aunt Emma on the drive to get the tree: Here is Madden having fun with his dad in the snow:

Madden loved hanging out with Papa T:

Me with my two awesome sisters: Family pic: I LOVE all my aunts and uncles and cute little cousins:Friday night I went with my sister Jesse back into Taylor to do some cute Christmas crafts. I love how they turned out and I'll post pics soon.
On Saturday we did woke up early to get some family pictures done by my amazing Aunt Tiff. She takes such great photos! Our family photos turned out cute. Here is one I loved of just the Tenney girls. Oh and we are wearing mogollon football jerseys to tie in with my mom's theme of our family being a 'team'. I had Tiff take one family pic of me David and Madden and I love it. Madden is actually smiling in it!

Then after pictures it was out to the ranch for the annual gingerbread houses with my Grandma Tenney. It was so fun hanging out with all my little cousins. They are so cute. I made a gingerbread train- it turned out cute and I LOVE the smell! (I'll post pics soon)
We came home late Saturday night and now I am tired from the long eventful weekend. Oh and I guess I can announce to everyone that the David, Amanda and Madden Hall family is expecting Baby #2 on June 17! We have been keeping it a secret for about 2 1/2 months now and were wanting to wait till Christmas to announce it but we just couldn't wait any longer to tell our families. We are so excited! I wasn't wanting to find out what we are having but I have since decided that I just have to know. We are hoping for a girl but will be thrilled either way!I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

I LOVE the holidays...

2008-11-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

I'm in the middle of packing and getting things loaded up for our trip up north this weekend. David and I switch off holidays each year with our families and this year my family gets Thanksgiving. I am really looking forward to a yummy Thanksgiving feast, getting a real Christmas tree, and doing gingerbread houses at my Grandma Tenneys. These are some of my favorite holiday traditions! I'll be sure to post pics when we get back and I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!
Anyway... I also wanted to post some pics from this past weekend. On Saturday we packed up the quad and the dogs and made the trip to Sycamore Creek to have a picnic and do some riding. The dogs loved playing in the water and so did Madden- he would have thrown rocks in the water all day if we let him. It was so much fun getting to spend time as a family in the great outdoors. Here are our pics:

On Sunday... we went over to my cousin Chris & Laurens for a cousin 'fiesta'. Thanks so much to Lauren and Jami for planning it and getting all us cousins together. There was me, david & madden, Chris & lauren, Jesse & Alvin, Jami, Brad & Stratton, Devin, Danielle & Deagan, Riley & her boyfriend, & Kim. The food was great, and they even had a pinata for the little boys. It was a great time.

Well till next time... have a great week!

Called out...

2008-11-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

So I got called out again by my little sister for not bloggin for a couple weeks. I really don't know where the time is going! I have had a great past two weeks. Two weekends ago was time out for women and I got to enjoy a whole weekend of girls time with my mom and sisters Jesse and Kim. And of course the other awesome mother daughter duos of our group: Lori & Alexis and Patti & Alyssa. The talks and music were amazing- I love this yearly tradition!

This past weekend was also great cause I got to again spend time with my family. My mom and little sisters and brother and my sister Jesse came over Friday night to stay over and we watched Kung Fu Panda (such a cute movie). On Saturday we went out and did a little Christmas shopping and then Saturday night we went to support my dad (the coach) and little brother Chace and cousins JT and Nolan in the Mogollon High School state championship football game. They won 66-34! It was such a great game! And guess who had a touchdown? My stud muffin little bro! I know the team has worked so hard and my dad works just as hard as their coach. Way to go Mustangs! And I also got a special treat cause Trace and Taralee came down from Utah for the game so it was awesome to get to see them and little Brody man. We miss you guys!

And check out this pic that was posted on azcentral.com of the sign I made:

Anyway... other than that we haven't been up to too much. David is still working on getting the paperwork done to apply to be a cop. We're not sure how many departments are hiring though. I am still working hard to get as much schooling done before David leaves UOP (cause without his discount it's about $1500 a class!). Madden is getting so big. I took him to the doctor last week and he is right in the 50 percentile for his weight and head but is in the 97 percentile for his heighth. His favorite things are playing with his girlfriend Taya, climbling on everything, helping dad in the garage, getting to see his grandpas/grandmas/aunts/uncles and taking baths.

Well until next time!

Blog slackin

2008-11-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

Has it really been two weeks since my last post? I have good excuses for my blog slackin! Lately I have been spending a lot of time on the computer, but this time is spent writing papers and doing schoolwork- so usually by the time I am done with that I am sick of being on the computer. Also... for the last few days the Hall household has been full of sickness. We all have coughs, sore throats, and we're all congested. I am hoping this will soon pass!
Anyway... this is what we have been up to recently:
We went up north last weekend to go to my cousin Carly's wedding. The wedding ceremony was so incredible. My grandpa Tenney did it as his first one as Temple president. It was so wonderful being there with every one of my aunt's and uncle's on my dad's side. I have such an amazing family. Carly looked beautiful! You should check out my Aunt Tiff's blogs to see her GORGEOUS wedding pics (that my oh so talented Auntie took). Oh and while we were up there- I dyed my hair back dark. It's becoming a yearly tradition- I gotta have dark hair for the winter. Here our the pics:
Outside the Temple:

Before the reception:

At the reception- MAdden with cousin Quinn Benjamin:

HALLOWEEN! I remember enjoying Halloween when I was a young kid, but boy it sure is a lot more fun getting to dress your own kid up and take them out. Madden was a bumble bee this year (and for those of you who remember... this is what he was last year... the outfit still fit so I didn't see the need to get a new one). Oh and we looked for a bumble bee costume for Barkley- but we couldn't find one near big enough. Here are our Halloween pictures:
Madden and Belle- our two little bumble bees:

Madden and his cousin Stratton:

Dad and Madden walking down our street:

I love this picture:

Madden after a rough 15 minutes of trick-or-treating:

Other than that we haven't been up to too much. I just finished my first class back at UOP and got an A. David is considering going into the Police Force and went on a 'ride a long' this last weekend. He really enjoyed it and is considering applying soon. I am so excited for Time Out For Women this weekend and to get to have some girls time with my mom and sisters. Oh and the Mogollon Mustangs play this Saturday at Apache Junction high school so I will for sure be there to cheer on my dad (the coach) and my brother Chace. Go Mustangs!!!