Birthday #2 for Russ

Russ before the party started, he is wearing Garret's old boots that are huge on him, but he doesn't care, that is all he wants to wear is boots these days!

Sitting with his #2 cake, that's as creative as I seem to get anymore!

His toy from Grandma & Papa a CAT haul truck that makes noise & goes on its own.

His present from Mom & Dad, a push motorcycle

Blowing out his candles. (Notice the slash on his eyebrow?!)

So for Russ's 2nd birthday we didn't do anything to exciting but it was fun. Papa & Grandma came over & brought pizza & wings for dinner. We ate, then opened presents, then we had cake & ice cream. Between the opening of presents & the cake we had a bit of an accident which brings us back to the slash on his eyebrow! He was going down the hallway on that new fancy motorcycle & lost his balance & toppled it over. Of course he can't just land on the tile, that would be to easy, his glasses hit the tile baseboard & the frame slashes his eyebrow open. I am so used to the boys getting hurt & screaming so we hear his scream & I just sit there on the couch like here we go...again. Gma Skeet races to the hallway to check on him & starts yelling there is blood to which me & Todd immediately hop up to the rescue. The poor guy was bleeding pretty good. We get him rested on the counter & are trying to clean him up & get the bleeding to stop, well he is just screaming, not because he is hurt but because we have taken him away from his new toy & now Garret is on it. We finally get him cleaned up & are contemplating whether to take him in for stitches or not, Todd finally decides that he is a boy & it is right in the middle of his eyebrow so he will be fine. In the mean time he is back on the motorcycle & could care less that he just slashed his eyebrow open & we can see white flesh sticking out! So then it is time for cake & ice cream, well we had taken the glasses off because they took a beating on that crash & one of the arms was all jacked up. He goes to blow his candles out & since he is farsighted, what does he do, he gets closer & closer & closer to the flames & finally it is hot enough on his lip that he jumps back & out goes the candle & he is thinking maybe that hurt & he should cry, but he didn't, he just sat there looking at it & Garret blew the other one out. Meanwhile Papa, Grandma, Todd & I, are laughing so hysterically that we can't say a word, Todd finally says are we stupid, poor kid can't see 2 inches in front of him & we put him in front of flames with no glasses & say blow them out! Duh! Anyway it was an eventful birthday night for Russ!

Christmas 2009

This year was a pretty low key Christmas it seemed. At the beginning of the month we got together with my side of the family & had a Christmas party after our family pictures. We did it at Pat & Megan's house, I think it was a great way to start the month off! The kids had drawn names about a month before and they did a gift exchange, probably the cutest & sweetest thing was when Garret opened his present from Sara (they have always been super close & best friends) it was a box full of paper airplane making supplies, he was so excited, he jumped up & grabbed her in a huge hug, seriously it wanted to make me cry seeing them this way. So Garret had picked Sara's name & she opened her present from him & it was the same thing, just great big hugs to each other! I hope they stay this close because it just makes us all smile to watch them together! Us adults did a white elephant give exchange, can I just say I totally suck at buying white elephant gifts!! I didn't have a clue what to buy. The fancy gift I ended up getting was from Pat, just want to give a public thank you to him for the fantastic whoopee cushion. He splurged & got the self inflating one, you didn't even have to blow it up with your mouth it just automatically filled up on it's own, ready to fflllaaaarrrtt over & over. My little boys got the biggest kick out of that. The Snuggie was a big hit too, but the funniest thing was the Cuddlee, I bet nobody even knew there was a knock off of the Snuggie, my mom found it at the dollar store! So Michael & Clarice ended up with a Snuggie & a Cuddlee, the pictures were a crack up (to bad they got deleted!). Anyway it was a great time.

We had our ugly Christmas Sweater Party again this year. Our turn out was a little lame this year as I guess we were competing with other parties that were much be better than ours?! Like that's possible?! Anyway Todd went all out this year. The day of the party he went to the mexican clothes store in downtown Buckeye which will now become his fav store for his work shirts I am sure. Anyway he managed to find some light blue polyester Wranglers, of course he bought them on the tight side (nerd). His ugly sweater this year was purchased on ebay, it was a lovely royal blue with a Christmas tree on it, presents underneath & a fantastic cat that was batting at the presents. The best part was the shoulder pads, he looked so funny! To top off the outfit he had been growing his hair out for awhile & he shaved the top of his hair & left the sides & the back so it looked like he was bald with a receeding hair line, then he took hair gel & the blow dryer & fluffed it straight out. Holy cow!! Talk about a laugh, I couldn't even look at him without laughing. He also did some fancy shave job on his face, was a little on the creepy side. Before we ate he was thanking everyone for coming over & he is being all serious & we all just start laughing because we couldn't take him seriously. He ended up winning the grand prize, I must say he deserved it. What a crack up! I think Brennen took some pics with his phone, I will find them & add to the post because they are so stinking funny! Anyway the sweater party was a great time.

Christmas Eve we spent with the Hall's. It was so low key & quiet. Todd's sisters Lindy & Mattie decided that they should live across the country & have moved. Lindy to Ohio & Mattie to Missouri. So they weren't able to come. It was just Todd's parents, us, Katie & her boyfriend (hopefully fiance soon!) Brandon. We ate dinner, had Navajo tacos & chicken enchiladas, yummy. Then we opened gifts, they gave us a Wii, which we love & the kids play non stop. Afterwards Skeeter had bought this peppermint pig, can't remember what it is actually called but it comes with a metal hammer & a bag. Everybody takes a turn hitting the pig with the hammer and breaking it. Then everybody takes a piece of the broken candy & tells about their good fortune for the past year. Is supposed to help with bringing good luck for the new year. Everyone went around the room, Katie & Brennen were last & of course they made us all cry with what they had to say. It was a great night, quiet but great! We got home from there & cleaned house & got things ready for Santa's arrival. We had done a gift exchange within our family & decided to open them up before going to bed & saying 1 nice thing about the person they bought a gift for. This is the time when my camera took a dump & it really ruined the moment for me because I was so frustrated. Todd had Laynee & gave her some little toys, I had Mak and got her a new Tachikara Volleyball because she starts her vball league this week, Brennen had Russ & got him some CAT heavy equipment toys, Mak had me & she got me some photo albums (for the lost pictures!), Garret had Brennen & he got him the Micro Smores maker, Russ had Garret & got him Tony Hawk DS game, & Laynee had Todd & got him a male manicure set because he can never find clippers! By the time the kids went to bed it was midnight & we figured Santa was going to fly on over the Hall house!

Christmas Day started at 5am for us. Santa brought some great gifts for the Hall kids this year. Brennen got his first shot gun, Mak got an electric Razor scooter, Garret got a new bike, Russ got a powerwheels Jeep, Laynee got a few more toys. The kids were so excited they wanted to immediately open all the gifts, so we did at 5am. It was all said & done by 5:45 & me & Todd went back to bed until about 7:30. It was a fun morning. Later that day Todd's parents came over to see what the kids got & visit for awhile. Then around 6 my parents came & we had steak for dinner & Christmas again with them. They stayed for a few days afterwards. The kids had a great time & got plenty of stuff. I would have to say it was a fun Christmas having 5 kids! Next year will probably be even better with Laynee being older, I can't wait!

So that is our Christmas 2009 in a nutshell & a half...sadly with no pictures :(

Totally Bummed...

So our camera died on Christmas Eve, how convenient is that?! The greatest part about the camera dieing is that all the pictures I had taken over the past few months...DELETED...I still don't understand how the files got deleted from the memory card, but they did and now my memories of Christmas 2009 are gone, not to mention Laynee's blessing pictures with her dad, our ugly sweater party pictures, pictures from our family party at Pat & Meg's house, Christmas Eve at Todd's parents house, horrible! So until I get a new camera, hopefully this week some time, I don't have any pictures to post :(

Laynee's 2 month check up

Layneebug had her 2 month check up on Tuesday. She was 11 lbs 5 oz & 22 3/4 inches long. Poor thing had to get 3 shots & drink some nasty stuff. She did pretty good though. Saddest part was she was giving the "nice" nurse a huge smile & showing off her cute dimple & then the nurse had to stick her, it was horrible. I just can't handle watching them get shots, it is just so sad, but hopefully it will protect her from something worse, that is the only thing that gets me through!

A few things about her at 2 months:

She never cries unless she is hungry & even at that her cries are so small, she never seems to get overly frustrated if I don't get the bottle to her immediately.

She smiles all the time, especially when I call her my pretty girl. She is a very pretty girl and by the time she is 2 I'm sure she will be convinced she is the prettiest thing around because everyone calls her pretty.

She loves her swing, it is so great to have a baby who likes it. The last 2 boys hated it, they freaked out when I put them in it. She would swing 24/7 if everyone didn't love holding & loving on her so much!

She drinks about 5 oz every feeding which is about every 3-4 hours. She is such a calm bottle drinker. I was so used to fat Russ, at 2 months he was already 14 lbs & counting and he could suck down an 8 oz bottle at 2 months like he was never getting another one! She is just sweet & petite & takes her sweet time.

She loves bath time, she has never once cried during her bath, not even when we first brought her home. She just lays there & smiles.

Best of all she is sleeping through the night and has been for about 2 weeks now. She is doing 6-8 hr stretches, it is fantastic.

It is easy to brag on her because so far she has been the perfect baby! I am so glad I convinced her dad we had no choice but to give her life because she makes our life complete & she is so amazing to me!

Family Update

I have been again...such a slacker with my blogging over the past few months! Here is a little of what's going on in our world!

Probably the most exciting news is that we found a house & will FINALLY be moving in to our own place!! We are scheduled to close Jan 11th. We have a few things to do to the place and will plan on moving in the end of Jan. I am so excited! It wasn't our original plan, we wanted to build, but that wasn't going to happen. And with home prices so low we couldn't pass up this house that came along. It is only about a mile south of where we are now, so we are really excited that we get to stay in the same area & be close to our friends and the school & work. I will post pictures of the place once it is finally ours. Probably do some before/after shots!

Todd-Working hard as usual, just started up company #2, Trio Aggregate Haulers, a trucking company, who starts up a new business in this economy...apparently my husband does, wish him luck with that...please!! He is still on school board, is the 11 yr old scout leader, and a dedicated dad to his 5 kids! It is also pig season now, so he will be spending lots of time with the kids at the pig barn.

Me-Busy trying to juggle the 5 kids schedules and doing quite a bit of real estate, trying to get some Christmas shopping done, and keeping up with everything around me that has to be done, I get tired of the never ending cycle of keeping up with the housework & laundry, it is never ending & consumes more of my life than it is worth! I am ready for a maid, I have told Todd I am getting one when we move, he says no way, but he would never know if I was doing the cleaning or someone else, so it looks like someone else will be, anyone know a good maid in Buckeye?! I suppose it is safe to say that being a mom has become my new hobby, some days not by choice, but most of the time it is! I am amazed at how quickly my days pass by & keep wondering where has the time gone & wishing I had more hours in the day to get stuff done.

Brennen-Living that freshman life! Spending time texting really lame things back & forth, student council, FFA, and whatever else he can get involved with that would make me have to drive to town 100 times a week! He had an amazing experience today, he went to stake conference (we did not) he was an usher. We got a new stake presidency today & it just so happened that who they put in as the 2nd counselor is in our ward & we are friends with them & he was the one who took Brennen to stake conference and was also bringing him home. They allowed Brennen to be in the room while they did the setting apart of the presidency! It was Quentin L. Cook that was here, what an awesome experience, he said the spirit was so amazing and he got to shake his hand twice. I was so glad he chose to go & was able to have that opportunity,what an amazing priesthood strengthening experience for him. Anyway he is a great kid who is trying his hardest to follow the straight & narrow!

Makenna-We just got her signed up for a volleyball team & the games start in a month. She is pretty excited. The girl is completely obsessed with volleyball, it is attached to her wherever she goes. You hardly recognize her if she isn't bumping a ball! I'm excited for her to start playing, I will be an assistant coach, it has been so long since I played, but I loved it almost as much as she does! It is pig season, so she goes to the pig barn several times a week to feed, and muck out the pens and she loves every minute of it, cracks me up! She scoops that pig poop into the wheel barrow & walks it out to the dump like nobodies business! She puts the boys to shame when it comes to hard work, she has a touch of her dad in her when it comes to that! She is doing super good in school, all A's. She is the biggest helper I have around here, without her my life would be 100 times harder! She is amazing with the boys & with Laynee, I can always count on her to get things done for me.

Garret-Tball is over and he is now obsessed with baseball and can't wait for Little League to start now that he will be old enough in the spring. He is in preschool & is doing great. I think it has been a little hard for him because he is already 5 & some of the kids are barely 4 so he feels like they are babies, his dad keeps trying to convince me holding him back will be the best for him. He loves to play his Nintendo DS & is really good at it. His new thing is riding bikes, his is just to small so he has been riding Mak's bike everywhere. I told him he should ask Santa for a new bike, he says, mom, I just can't do that to my bike, it would make him feel bad. So I try explaining the bike has no feelings, it will be fine. He wasn't convinced, so I told him it will be ok because Russ can have the bike, that made things ok, so now he wants a big bike! He is a crack up, we never know what the kid is going to say, not to mention he talks with a hick accent that people are always asking us about. Todd says it is a Hatch thing, I dunno bout that!

Russ- He finally got his glasses, talk about a pain, we keep losing them. We had to use the warranty in the first week of him wearing them. On the 2nd pair in a month! He is now doing really good with them & has learned to give them to someone if he doesn't want them on anymore. He looks so stinking cute with them on. He is talking so good now. I asked him if he wanted a hamburger to eat, he says no, chicken nugget. It was pretty funny cuz we weren't expecting anything but a yes or no. He is doing really good putting words together and figuring things out. He is obsessed with going on rides, you can't say the word ride or go, he freaks out & is to the door because he can't be left out. He loves to be on the go, if we are in the car going somewhere he is happy. He is a lot of fun and has adjusted to Nanee Jo (as he calls her) pretty good. He is almost 2 but it seems like he is 4 because he is pretty good size for his age & he just thinks he can do everything Garret does. He keeps me busy and on my toes all day, terrible 2's have arrived!

Laynee- Lately we call her Laynee Bug (like ladybug), she is the sweetest baby you could ever have! She hardly cries and sleeps through the night for the most part and she is the prettiest baby! I also call her mamma's pretty, and she always smiles when I call her that! She is growing so fast it makes me sad, since she is the last I just want her to stay little forever! We have her 2 month check up on Tuesday, I am guessing she is around 11 lbs or so. Her eyes keep changing, one day they look dark blue, the next they look brown, her hair is still dark dark & she hasn't lost any of it, not sure if she will or not! She is fabulous & I am so so thankful that we had her!

Well now we are semi up to date on our happenings! I still have so many other things I want to post, but just haven't had the time, it is 1:45am, this is the only time I have to accomplish anything in a quiet house, who needs sleep anyway, it is over rated!

Family Pictures

It was a little chilly & Russ had to borrow Todd's coat, darn kid wouldn't smile,

but he sure is handsome isn't he!
The Powers Family 2009

My parents with the grandkids

Me & an "old gray haired guy" I picked up

This is us, complete! I love to look at pictures with all of us & know that

this is our finished family!

This is a photo shoot from last weekend. Again, my cousin Rinna, she is amazing, call her if you need pictures, she does such a great job, I love them all!

Laynee's Baby Blessing

Our Laynee Jo on her special day! She was like a little angel in her blessing dress, she was so sweet! Is hard to believe today she is 8 weeks old already, where has the time gone?! She is smiling so much for us & has been our best baby so far. Her blessing dress is actually the same dress that I wore for my blessing & Makenna wore for hers, so it is 31 years old! Todd did a great job giving her a blessing. It was a perfect day! I will have more photos soon! (thanks Rinna!)