Hall Family Update

So because I have been so busy lately and haven't had much time to do real blogging, I just thought I would give a little update on all of us over the past month!

Todd-He has a lot going on as usual, he tends to put lots of irons in the fire, he is working on a new venture to add to his company, heaven help me with this man, he can't stop, he is constantly jumping in to new things! He wants to get his pilots license, so he has been looking at airplanes now (I keep saying how about buying a house first?). I just shake my head & wish sometimes I had as much ambition as he does.

Me-Well what am I not doing right now?! It is the end of the school year so this week is filled with graduation, awards ceremonies, banquets, and all the stuff that comes with it! I have several real estate deals going on right now, (unfortunately none of our own yet!) which is keeping me busy & I love it. I miss the day to day work, but with having kids I do know it isn't something I could do full time yet, will have to wait till they are all in school! I am feeling really good, just getting tired pretty quickly. Last week I woke up to a bump and I told Todd um, I think I grew last night, he said oh you look about the same, however everyone I saw that day mentioned that I finally looked a little pregnant. So that night I mentioned it again to him, he says I was just trying to make you feel good...lol. We find out next Thursday what the baby is going to be, we are all pretty excited about that! I would say for the most part I am just busy being a mom & doing what mom's do, with a little extra thrown in here & there!

Brennen-He will be graduating from 8th grade on Thursday night. In Palo Verde 8th grade graduation is a big deal, they get all formally dressed and make a big night out of it. He is pretty excited. I dropped his suit off at the dry cleaners because he wants it to be perfect. Last week he went on his 8th grade trip to Disneyland, he left at 345am Thursday morning & got back Saturday night around 730. He had a really fun time, but he is a bit of a chicken when it comes to rides, so he hung out with a few girls who didn't like rides either...trying to claim he was waiting with them so they weren't alone, truth to be known he was a bigger chicken than them! On Saturday we went to Amazing Jakes for a bday party, he was playing miniature golf & hit the ball & it hit a rock & came back & hit him in the eye, then he tripped & fell about breaking his wrist, he is still babying it some. A few weeks ago he spent the night at his friends house & they had a fire & threw an Axe Body Spray aerosol bottle in the fire, well after so long it finally blew up & burned his leg, about a foot long burn, I had to end up taking him to the dr to have it checked out. I guess this is the kind of stuff you deal with when you combine being slightly clutsy with a teenager brain! Is hard to believe he will be a freshman already. The time has flown by. He is a good kid and we are proud of him.

Makenna-She spends most of her time hitting a volleyball these days. She takes it to school & plays with it non stop when she is home, I have got to find a volleyball camp for her to go to this summer. She is full of life all the time & helps me keep my sanity with all these boys we have around here. Some days we just can't stand being around them, all the yelling, burping, farting, fighting, drives us crazy. She puts up with a lot of teasing from them, I do remember those days of being the only girl, she does pretty good in holding her own though! She is really in to singing with her friends on the PS2 doing Country Sing Star, they are really good at it. She has been playing the piano and has done so well with it, I have been so impressed with how quickly she has picked up on it and she really loves to play. She is such a big help & I am so glad to have another female around here!

Garret-He is full of it most of the time. He is very strong willed and is fine to speak his mind. Of all the kids so far he has been the most difficult for me parent. He talks back, he yells, he throws fits without caring who is around, he can sometimes be a real pain in the butt! He is done with preschool & he did very well. He turns 5 on the first day of school, but we have decided to hold him back another year because Todd doesn't want him to be a young one. This is going to be a long year with him home, but in the end hopefully it will be worth it. He loves to play with Russ, most of the time he is really good with him, but he has his moments where he is not very nice. I know they will be the best of friends. Yesterday he was walking him across the road to the neighbors house & he was holding his hand and also had his other hand on his back helping him make it across the road without tripping, it was one of those moments where you watch them & get teary eyed because you know they have a connection & even though they might fight they are still brothers and care about each other! Garret is really in to telling stories, he is a big liar & we have to correct him all the time with his stories & remind him that really didn't happen. If you want a big story just talk to Garret for 5 minutes! He is a good kid & keeps me on my toes!

Russ-What can I say about our Russ, he has been a nightmare for the past month. Actually the past 8 months with Russ has been not very fun. He has dealt with getting all his teeth in, and it hasn't gone well, he has been so whiney & fussy that we changed his name to Fussy insteady of Russy! He was getting better until we went to fair in April & then we got home & he had been a nightmare for weeks, well he finally broke out in a rash & we knew he had caught the Fifth's Disease from Lindy's kids, which finally made sense. I had Clint for a few days the week before fair, which was the the time Clint was contagious, however we didnt know he was until well after. Anyway once he broke out in the rash everything made sense. We had a full week of a whiney horrible baby, I was ready to run away! Last week he finally started feeling better & we have had happy Russ, overly happy Russ, thank goodness. He is back laughing & smiling all the time. He is walking really good now, he is also talking pretty good and picking up on how to do everything. He loves to climb up everything & has really good balance. His favorite thing is to be outside, that is all he says all day is outside, we have to keep the doors locked or he gets out & explores. I am just glad that finally after months & months of him being not fun is fun again, thankfully! He doesn't look like any of the kids, he does resemble Mak a little bit when she was a baby, but for the most part he is completely different! Todd looks at him and says this kid doesn't look like anybody! He is awfully cute though & we love him, even during his Fussy Russy times!

The New Baby-according to what I have read the baby is about as big as an avocado this week. I have felt a few fluttering movements when I wake up in the morning & just lay there really still. I can't wait for the ultrasound so we can finally know if it is a boy or girl. We will be happy either way! I just hope for a continued easy pregnancy & a happy healthy baby at delivery!

So that is what is going on in our lives right now! We are excited for summer & hopefully will have some fun camping trips & reunions & swimming & movies!

My Mothers Day

So I have to post this before it becomes old news and I forget to post it!

My Mothers Day was made pretty special by my husband & kids. They of course let me sleep in, not that it was hard because everyone slept in, if anyone knows me they know I stay up all night and would prefer to sleep in for a bit, but with the kids in school I don't get that opportunity as often as I would like (can't wait for summer & no school!). Anyway after getting up and while I was getting ready for the day they were cooking up breakfast, waffles, bacon, & eggs. It was really good as usual, Todd is our Sunday morning breakfast cooker, he is the best breakfast cooker, the kids just turn their nose up when they see me in the kitchen fixing breakfast! So after eating the kids couldn't handle it anymore they wanted me to open their gifts. I started with Garret & Makenna's, they both picked out a candle for me from Yankee, Garret got me the brown sugar vanilla and Makenna got the honeydew melon, both great choices! Then I opened Brennen's gift, which he could hardly stand having me wait, he had been to Disneyland & just got back the night before & that was all he kept talking about is the gift he got me, so I opened it up and he is such a thoughtful kid, it is a charm link bracelet & he bought mickey mouse birthstones to represent each one of us! Such a great idea, leave it to Brennen, I have always said he will make a great husband because he really puts thought in to his gifts! So then it was on to Todd's gift, this one I already knew because a little birdy named Garret told me a few days before, that's what happens when you take a 4 yr old shopping!! Todd didn't wrap it cuz he knew that I knew what it was. He got me a new Playstation 2...lol! It is a small passion I have when I have time (which anymore doesn't seem to happen) but I have a Guitar Hero problem, I love it, can't stop playing it when I start. Around my birthday we bought Guitar Hero World Tour and we also had Aerosmith and then a few months ago they just quit working. We thought it was something wrong with the games, but found out it wasn't, the PS2 was just worn out after years of playing it & the graphics from GH were just to much I guess. Anyway Todd knew that I was missing out on playing it with my best friend Rach, she comes over walking & we fix & eat dinner then play our Guitar Hero. It is seriously one of the only things I can do that will block out the fighting & yelling & screaming & crying that is going on around me!!! I was totally excited, however I have only gotten to play a few times since getting it, been way to busy to justify sitting down and playing it, I am having a hard time justifying blogging right now!!

And since Mother's Day isn't just about me, I had a wonderful conversation with my mom over the phone, she got to tell me about one of the most amazing experiences that happened to her in the temple the day before. She is such a strong example to me & I only hope I can be half the mom she is, if I can I will feel pretty accomplished with myself. She is always there for me & is the first person I go to with anything because I always know I can rely on her advice & most importantly the comfort I hear in the sound of her voice! I am so thankful to have her as my mom!

It was a fantastic day & I am thankful for my husband & kiddos trying to make it a special day for me!

Mak's Science Project

Makenna and her friend Sierra did a science project together. It was about lung capacity. At first I was a little confused at how it actually worked, so after she took me to the website & explained things I was on board! So they tested things out & took some pictures while doing it, put their board together & then the day of the fair they were excited & ready to set up the project. I wasn't able to go see it the first day but when she got home from school she was so excited because they got 1st place!! So the next day after a dr appt Todd & I went to the school to see the project & took some pictures. On Saturday her project was taken to the West Valley Impact which was a science fair for all West Valley Elementary schools. We went to the high school to pick it up & they were given honorable mention. She was a little bummed that they didn't place, I was just impressed that they made it that far!! Good job Mak!

Zack's Blessing

Last weekend was little Zack's blessing! He is my nephew, Pat & Megan's little guy. He looked so sweet in his little white outfit! He is growing so quickly & has changed so much. He looks just like his daddy! Since the live in Florence which is about as far to the other side of town as you can get we decided it was best to stay the night out their way because it was 9am church and a 2 hr drive for us! We stayed with Lindy & Adam because they only live a few minutes away. We had a fun weekend!

All of us!

Meg, Zack, Pat, Jordyn, & Maddy

Our Morning Visitor

I love Todd's face in this picture, he can't say he isn't afraid!

So last Friday I was talking to my mom on the phone & look out the back window & see a HUGE long snake. It was in the grass so it was hard to tell if it was a rattlesnake or not, however Brennen & his friend Cutter had killed a baby rattler on Tuesday afternoon, so I wasn't taking any chances with this huge thing. I immediately hang up with mom & call Todd, of course no answer, so I keep calling till finally he answers & was like what do you need?! I tell him you have to come home now, he says what's going on, so I inform him of the huge snake sunbathing in our grass and I didn't really care what it was, it had to go. So he hurries home, thankfully only 4 miles away, but it did seem like it took him forever. By the time he got there the snake had moved on from the grass to the rock & was slithering away, I did realize at this point it wasn't a rattlesnake, so I went outside & followed it enough that I could see where it was so he could find it. He finally shows up (of course packing his 9mm ready to blow the snake to smitherins I suppose!) he looks at it & says that is a bull snake, he needs to just stay here, he will eat the rattlesnakes & the ground squirrels. I refuse this idea, I can't have a huge snake slithering around ready to take a bite out of my little boys while they play! Todd gets the broom & picks the snake up & puts it in an ice chest to take back to work to show it off as all little boys would do! He then brings the snake back home later that day to let it go, I was still unhappy with this, so he let it go behind our house quite a ways back. Anyway it was about 6 foot long and pretty fat. In the coiled up picture by the bricks half of its body is on the other side of the brick and it actually doesn't look that big in the ice chest, but you can tell it is huge when Todd is picking it up with the broom.

I suppose this is just how life is when you live in the middle of nowhere and there is farm fields & desert surrounding you!