Mothers Day

My Mothers Day Gifts!

Garret & Russ made me the pink card, if you notice the red hair girl, thats me! Russ & Garret are the flowers. So cute! And Brennen gave me the spanish card, it sings a lovely tune in spanish & I don't know what they are singing, he does though & thinks he is really funny!

This was what Garret made me at school! I love when they write such cute things! He also made me some lillies from his hands, they are in the pot behind the cards.

Makenna gave me a chalkboard jar to write notes to each other on that she made in Activity Days & Todd gave me cash, he couldn't decide what to get me because according to him I already have everything so now I can go buy whatever I want! He has gotten a bit of a hard time over it, but it works for me!!

I was lucky enough to have my mom come & stay for a few days & that was the best gift ever, I love my mom & am so thankful for her & the way she taught me how to be a mom. She is the greatest & I wish she lived closer so we could spend more time together. We did get to go for some watchlett shopping, lunch, & pedicures while she was here.

On Sunday afternoon Todd's parents, Katie & Brandon, & cousin Clay came out for dinner. We had steak, shrimp, potatoes, squash from Skeeters garden, salad, & bread. Dessert was dirt cups made by Katie! Was fun to have everyone over & Im so thankful for a fantastic mother in law! We have a great relationship & I know that can be rare, but so glad it is that way & not the opposite!

I love being a mom and am so thankful for the kids that my Heavenly F ather has blessed me with! They mean everything to me! Some days it can be overwhelming, but then I will get that random hug, or they say or do something funny & that makes all the difference!

And...I'm back!

Can I get a woot woot! Ok so I'm gonna try the blogging again. Its been bothering me for months now that I haven't had time to get on here & post something. So its been almost a year since the last post. Let's just say there is no getting that year back & trying to repeat it, that would take another year. So lets just jump past & I'll give you an update on our life, then maybe we can all understand why I don't have much xtra time these days!

Todd-Since the last post he was put in the YM's presidency, then about 2 months later he was called to be the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric, yes you heard right, Todd in the bishopric! He is still on the school board, running 2 successful businesses, & coaching Garret in baseball. We occassionally see each other here & there & make the most of date nights these days! So proud of the great guy he is & all that he does for our family!

Me-A few changes here & there for me over the past year also! One of the biggest reasons for my lack of blog posts is that I was put in as the Primary President back in June and that took over my world for several months. I am still serving as the Primary President, there was some talk about being released when they put Todd in but I pretty much told the bishopric & Stake pres my thoughts on that, obviously they decided to leave the redhead alone & let her serve! I love every minute of Primary & being able to spend time with the kids in our ward. So other big change in my life that has consumed a large chunk is my obsession with jeans and finding the PERFECT career for myself (like I currently need a career!) Back in July I had a "jean party" for a friend, well my love for denim couldn't let me stop thinking about how awesome it would be to have jeans all the time, so I became a consultant for Vault Denim and I quickly became a Regional Coordinator for the company & now I am also on the Executive Leadership Council. It has been a non stop jean party since August for the Hall family! I love every minute of it & am so happy I decided to turn my passion for jeans in to making some moola! Gets me out of the house a few hours a week & allows me to work from home & still feel successful & like a contributor to our financial needs (aka..wants!). On top of these 2 changes I continue of course to run kids to & from everything imaginable. I got a brand new suburban back in July...it had about 6 miles on it, it already has over 25K on it, safe to say we live in the car these days!

Brennen-He is going to be 16 in June, yes its true, he will be old enough to drive! Over the weekend he did his Eagle Scout project, he taught a CPR class. He got first aid & CPR certified & then he passed the course to become a CPR instructor so he could teach others. He did a great job & we are so proud of him for finally getting it done. Brennen is as fantastic as always. I couldn't ask for a better oldest child (cleaner maybe!). Always a strong example to the younger kids and always keeps us laughing or annoyed (he is good at both!). He has been asked to talk in our Stake Conference in a few weeks, 10-15 minutes on strength of youth. He is involved in everything possible so Im not even gonna try to list everything. Overall he is just an oustanding kid (minus the clean part!).

Makenna-Is going to be 12 in June. She is turning in to quite the little lady these days. Sometimes it makes me happy, sometimes it makes me sad! She is the best big sister you could imagine. Always helping out with the little ones & being their 2nd mom (sometimes she is the 1st mom & I have to remind them all I'm the real mom!) She is a great helper all around! Back in the fall she played volleyball on the school team & did really well, she loves volleyball & you very seldom see her without one. She made the softball team at her school & this is really her first time ever playing, well since tball when she was 4. She has done pretty good so far! She was playing the piano but recently quit because she just doesn't like it. This bums me out, but hopefully someday she will decide to do it again. She will get to go girls camp in June, this doesn't seem like it could happen already, but it is! She is excited & I'm excited for her! Makenna is an amazing daughter!

Garret-He is back to playing baseball. His first year with a pitching machine. He is playing catcher on & off & so far doing well with it! Garret is an interesting little boy! He is full of it & can be very moody, we really have to tiptoe around the boy sometimes! He is 6 & in kindergarten. We held him back because he turned 5 on the first day of school last year. So he is the oldest in his class & I think he likes that! He is super smart & is doing amazing in school. His teacher is always pushing him to learn more & he is eating it all up. He likes to ride his quad that Gpa Terry fixed for him & he likes to ride his bike. He is a great big brother 80% of the time! Garret is a fun boy & Im so glad he is part of our family!

Russ-Oh my little Russy! What can I say about him?? Depends on what day it is, we have a LOVE/HATE relationship! Russ has a mind of his own & is very hard to change. We typically go a few battle rounds every day! He is super smart & loves more than anything to go to work with dad. He loves work, I can take him to Todd & his Papa & he just wants to work all day. But it is probably lots of kids dream to have bigger than life loaders & dump trucks running around! He loves anything to do with loaders & haul trucks. He is at that age that he doesn't shut up, constantly talking talking talking! I love most every minute with Russ!

My little Laynee Bug-she is almost 19th months old & is now in nursery with Russ. She jibber jabbers all day long, however we don't understand anything she says! Occassionally she throws out a real word, her dad thinks she has a speech problem..I think she is a 19th month old who is sassy & just wants to talk all the time & be heard! Laynee & Russ like to fight, but I can also tell they are probably going to be really close. They are finally starting to play & she follows him everywhere. She is still a sweet girl & fills my heart with joy every time I get to rock her. It is safe to say with the little attitude she is growing lately, she will run the Hall household!

Razzy-yes an update on the dog. Sadly our boxer Razz has a mass tumor. She is 9 yrs old now which is pretty old for a boxer. We have chosen to just give her pain meds when we can tell she is having a bad day. Overall she is in great health for now, so we will just keep spending time with her & let her finish out her life and when we notice she isn't doing so great we will have to make a decision. She is the best boxer you could imagine!

So there's a little update on the Halls. Im going to TRY to do better with updates, even if they are small & simple.

Laynee Jo @ 7 months old

It has come to my attention that I haven't really posted any pictures of my sweet Laynee! So I took her outside & snapped a few pictures of her today. She is going for a well check on Friday so I will post her standings then! She is probably at least 18 lbs if not more. She is sitting up all by herself & has been for about 2 weeks. She also has 4 teeth now! She still has dark brown hair, I thought it would turn blonde or lighten up but so far she is pretty dark with dark eyebrows & eyelashes & pretty brown eyes! She loves to sit & play with toys already & she just laughs & smiles at everything & everyone. Her favorite person is Garret, she just thinks he is fabulous, in fact he is the reason for most of her great smiles in the pictures. She has several nicknames, Layneebug, Naneebug, Nanee Jo, LJ, and the favorite is Pretty, she will always respond to a huge smile when she hears Pretty! She sleeps 10-12 hours every night (I know...I'm so lucky!) and usually takes a good 2-3 hr nap during the day. She loves rice cereal and pears, so far she isn't a fan of any other baby food but she does love cereal puffs and crackers and of course her bottle! She loves to kick & yell in the bath tub, we always come out soaking wet! There really isn't anything she doesn't like, she is always content as long as someone is around her. Heavenly Father truely blessed us with a perfect last baby! I couldn't possibly love her any more than I do!

School is OUT!!

I'm so excited that school is out & summer can begin! I think we got our summer off to the right start today! Mak & her friends got home we picked Brennen up & went to Peter Piper for lunch & to hang out with friends (me @ Peter Piper with 8 kids...lol!). Then it was back home for a water balloon fight & playing in the water. They had so much fun. I must say that to watch Brennen & his friend Cutter (they will both be 15 this summer) still "play" with their younger siblings was pretty awesome. It was almost as if they were all in grade school again. Is amazing to think my oldest child will be 15 in a month. I'm hoping our summer is filled with more fun & exciting things. I feel like I have been a slacker since we have moved to Buckeye with taking them to do anything, so that is my goal, to try & make some fun memories this summer! We are super excited for our trip that we will be taking in July back to Ohio to see Aunt Lindy & Uncle Adam, Lexi, Nan, & Clint! We leave on July 4th & come home on the 14th! We can't wait! That will be the highlight of our summer I'm sure! So here's to a fantastic 2010 Summer!

Santa Monica Vacation

In April I was able to go on a girls only trip to Santa Monica! It was so much fun, I had a blast & wish I could do that once a month! I went with 3 other girls. Trisha, who I have been friends with since 8th grade, Amy I have known all my life, I remember going to her house when I was in kindergarten, and Kellie who I only met a few weeks before the trip & honestly it felt like I have known her my entire life! Our trip started on a Wednesday night, Todd dropped me off at the freeway to see me off with them! We arrived in Burbank around 1:30am and was off to bed because we needed our beauty sleep for a big day at the Ellen show! We got up the next morning, visited, then got ready, drove for some lunch (it was about noon by this time) we ate at a restaurant near the WB Studios then headed over to check in for the show! After we got our tickets squared away we were told that Jennifer Lopez would be on the show!! We were so excited that it would be someone we liked. I have to say I don't regularly watch Ellen but I was fully aware of the dancing, and let me tell you what...that is all we did for what seemed like hours! Once they finally seated us in the audience it was time to dance and dance and dance some more. By the time she comes out & it is time to really dance you are exhausted! Anyway we totally got lucky because Kellie just happened to be like 8 months pregnant & they told her to sit in the aisle seat, I was next to her, & of course Ellen immediately comes to our row & dances with Kellie & rubs her belly! So yes, I was on tv, for a split second! Jennifer Lopez was just as beautiful in person (well as in person as I will ever get with her!) as she is on the movies & tv. She was fun to watch. The other people on the show that day were Norah Jones, a guy who was voted off American Idol, and a little girl that was on a new movie, can't remember her name. Anyway it was a great show & an awesome time, I would totally do it again! So after the show it was off to Santa Monica to find our hotel. We took a nice long drive down Santa Monica Blvd and enjoyed all the interesting scenery! We stayed at the Sheraton Del Fina, we were in walking distance to the beach. We got settled in then took a walk down to the Santa Monica Pier. We at at the Mexican Food place at the end of the pier, I don't recommend the salad (poor Kellie), anyway it was freezing cold when we came out so we got hot cocoa & walked back to our hotel where we stayed up half the night talking & laughing like a bunch of school girls. The next day we went to the spa for a day of pampering. It was so nice just to go & relax & do what I wanted for a change instead of tending to everyone else's needs! That night we went for sushi and sat on the patio & got to see David & Victoria Beckham! They walked right past us in to the restaurant next door! So that was fun. Then we went & walked around the outdoor mall area & watched the street performers beg for money, then went to the movie & seen Date Night & laughed so hard I cried! Saturday we went to Malibu beach & ate lunch & hung out on the beach for awhile, then we went shopping for the rest of the afternoon. We ended up in some cupcake shop for like 3 hours talking, they probably thought we were nuts, I just think it was amazing I only ate 1 cupcake! Our last night we ate at The Lobster, I had some super yummy salmon & we just enjoyed our last night together. Next morning we had to get ready to head back home, always a bummer to have to leave a fun time, but our families were missing us & I think we were all starting to miss them...a little anyway! All in all it was an amazing trip & I'm so glad to have great friends & especially glad to have a husband who was more than willing to do whatever so I could go & enjoy myself for a few days & have some time off from being mom!

The Rattlesnake

So a few Sundays ago we were driving home from feeding pigs & came upon a rattlesnake in the road. Todd deals with them pretty regularly so he decides to run it over a few times. We randomly had a mop bucket in the back of my yukon so they decide to take it home because it is pretty good size & has 11 buttons on it & that is like a trophy & needed to be cut off. So he gets some tire changing tool & picks the snake up & puts it in the mop bucket, the kids all gather around & he starts stabbing it just to make sure it is dead. I stayed in the car giving my mom a play by play because I happened to be talking to her when we came upon the snake. Todd puts the snake in the back of the car & we drive home. We get home & he dumps the snake out & much to his surprise the stupid thing was still alive and starts striking at him!! (For the record Todd kills rattlesnakes all the time, he isn't a total idiot & doesn't know anything about rattlesnakes, he really thought it was dead!) I'm a little freaked out that we drove home with a rattlesnake alive in the mop bucket, stupid! So he chops its head off & get it to do its last strike & throw the head away. In the meantime he lets the kids handle the snake because it is still moving all over the place headless, it was pretty nasty. All the kids held it including Russ. Garret wasn't going to but they finally talked him in to it. Makenna had the camera & took a bazillion pictures of the nasty thing. After playing with it forever they took it over the fence in to our bishops hay field & coiled it up by a fence post to look like it was alive. Was an eventful Sunday afternoon! The joys of living in the desert farm lands!

Gila Valley Temple Open House

Over the weekend we were able to take the kids to Pima to go to the Gila Valley Temple Open House. It worked out nice that my brother Michael lives there & that we were able to make it a family gathering for the weekend! My parents and brother Pat & his family were all there. So the whole Powers family got to tour the temple together. It was such a neat experience. I had been hoping that my kids would be able to feel the spirit & know the importance of temples. They really enjoyed it, looking around at all the pictures, and the main thing they will probably always remember is the beautiful chandeliers, they just couldn't get over how huge they were & sparkly. I think it was neat for Mak to go in the brides room to see what it looks like. My brothers were teasing Brennen that this would be his only time to go in the brides room. They let just our family go in to the small sealing room & we were able to all look in the never ending mirrors as a family, it was pretty awesome! I'm glad that we were able to take our kids & share the experience & importance of temples with them, I hope it is something they will always remember! And no...I didn't get any pictures, bummer!