A mismash of thoughts

Well I have two bits of good news that I hope my fellow bloggers will get excited for. Or at least act interested in. :-) We are getting wireless internet in January 2008!! Which means I can blog without it being an all-day project. And....we got a new digital camera for Christmas! Which means I can blog AND add pictures AND the pictures will look pretty good! I for one am excited about this.

Our Christmas was.....about like the rest of our holidays this year, meaning, not without a catch! This time the 'catch' was the beloved stomach flu!!! Tanner woke up with it Sunday morning (and as of the current time on Wedneday night he's still got it), and Nathan and I woke up Christmas morning with it. YUCKY!!! We finally started opening gifts around 11am, but after 45 minutes or so we felt so sick and tired that we had to take a break and go visit the potty/lay down/etc. I am so excited for 2008!!!! I just know it will have great and wonderful and healthy things in store for us more-so than 2007! Such as.....a trip to Seattle! We hope all of you had good Christmases.....although if it was too terribly wonderful perhaps you'd best keep it to yourselves and not gloat so much as to make us feel pitiful since we are so very aware that we had a less-than-glorious Christmas. HOWEVER lest I revel in our misery too much, it need be said that my dear husband was home the entire day! He did not get called into work so that meant he was here for a holiday. What a blessed event.

Today we hit the after-Christmas sales. Kind of. All the good stuff was so picked over we soon discovered. Last year we were still finding great after-Christmas stuff 2-5 days after Christmas! Which brings me to our latest "list," it beings "reasons to move back to the NorthWest:"
1. My hair cooperated much better there than it does here.
2. Our skin was supple and moist.
2a. At times we consider risking our "sanitzation" by wanting to wash our hands less since it dries them out they resemble old mud: dry and cracked. very cracked.
3. Mormons are a novelty and occasionally you'll even get an, "I have never met a Mormon before, glory be!"
4. The drivers there.....are good at driving! I told Nathan I am very much considering switching my political views after seeing how the majority of Utahns drive.
5. Sale and clearance items were still available more than 5 hours after the sale began.
6. Did I mention the drivers there as opposed to here?
7. I have decided I'm more into 'green' than 'brown'

OK well that is as much as I can come up with for now. There are things I am learning to like, or at least tolerate about Utah--like the BYU fans. But enough blogging for now. I'm afraid I've probably already said too much for the time being, and should go fold some laundry. With the stomach bug rampant in our household our washer and dryer have not sat idle these past few days. And how thankful I am to having them and the dishwasher working and no pool to take care of--like I did last summer!

Festival of Trees

We decided to go to the Festival of Trees last weekend up in Salt Lake, so I checked online for the times and the address. Not one but two different websites told me that the address for it was at 100 N. Medical Way up in Salt Lake....which I thought was odd since it was held at the SouthTowne expo center, and the SouthTowne Mall is off of 9400S. in Sandy. Nevertheless, we drove up to the address we had gotten online and we ended up at Primary Childrens Medical Center--the beneficiary of the Festival of Trees but definitely not where the Festival of Trees was being held. Grrr! We ended up going to Kathleen and Peter's house, where we enjoyed some popcorn and had a nice time visiting. Oh and we also got directions to the SouthTowne Expo Center.

Saturday night we tried going to the Festival of Trees again...and just prayed that Nathan wouldn't get called to work, since he was on reserve (aka "on call") that day. We found the place without any problems, though finding a parking spot was a different story. Once inside, we were definitely overwhelmed by how many trees surrounded us. There were over 700 different full-size trees, and tons more miniature trees. We made it through maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the full size trees. Tanner just doesn't appreciate gorgeously decorated Christmas trees. We also enjoyed some delicious scones (Tanner refused to eat any so we GRUDGINGLY ate his). We watched a few of the performances, my favorite being the Clogging Grandmothers. Anyway, it was a fun evening. Here are some pictures from our outing:



I thought these stockings were just darling!

Doesn't Tanner just look ecstatic to be here?

Our cute little family in front of a cute little Christmas display. Awwww. How cute.

Christmas Tag

Emily had this on her blog and she tagged me, and for some reason I am totally in the mood to fill one of these out right now. I have no idea why. Probably because SkyWest called us this morning before 5am and woke us up, and now I am deliriously tired!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bag? I would have to say gift bags. You can always re-use the tissue and bag! :-) I like wrapping gifts better with wrapping paper though.

2. Real tree or artificial? I grew up with an artificial tree, but Nathan grew up with real ones. We have never had a Christmas tree before, and Nathan insisted that we get one this year. And he insisted it be real! So....he won. But we will be out hitting the after-Christmas 75% artificial tree sales!

3. When do you put up your tree? Growing up it was always around December 10th or so. This year I was so excited to start getting Christmas stuff up, we went and got one November 27th, and subsequently put it up that night.

4. When do you take down your tree? Usually a few days after Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog? You know, I used to just guzzle the stuff, but it is just getting to be too rich for me. I may have to get some and try Emily's suggestion of mixing it with skim milk.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmm, I did enjoy my bike I got when I was like 5. And I did get excited about the fancy hamster cage I got when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. I think the favorite part of Christmas for my brothers and I was when we would go spend a night in downtown SLC as a family and go see the lights at Temple Square. Those were such fun times.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? We do actually. It is one my grandma McDonnel got for when I was really little. It is a little plastic one that is pretty break-proof :-). I am excited to have it with me in my own home.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Last year it was definitely Nathan. This year it is probably Nathan's dad, Lynn.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Nathan this year! And Nathan's mom, Calleen. She is fun and pretty easy to buy for!

10. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received? Well it is a toss up. And both are from last year. One was a BILL we received from RoseMark in Idaho Falls the day we got back from Christmas in Idaho....long story there. The other would be a notice we received 10 days after returning from Christmas in Idaho. The notice informed us that we were being kicked out of our apartment in 20 days due to a condo conversion. I know I know, those aren't really Christmas gifts but hello? Do you think I am so ungrateful that I would publicly put an actual gift that someone got me on the "worst Christmas gift" list?

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Probably mail. Then I have hard copies of pictures to display that people usually include, and I like displaying the cards too.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? I really don't know....I haven't seen most Christmas movies that are out there. I vow to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" this year.....it is time I finally watch it. :-)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Ummm like June. I figure if I find stuff that is PERFECT for Christmas in June, might as well buy it then because perfect presents just don't go on sale in December. :-) Plus then I get to spend the month of December dedicating my time to wrapping gifts, lol.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes. It was one Matt & Emily gave Tanner last year. It was too "advanced" for him last year, so we saved it to give him for his 1st birthday. Unfortunately when we moved we didn't have room for it in the car (yes our car was that packed!!), so my dad brought it down in August and we just kind of handed it to him and said, "Oh by the way Tanner, happy birthday. Again!" Good times.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Those fat pretzel sticks dipped in carmel, and then in some white chocolate. Melinda Wikle made some last year that were TO DIE FOR!

16. White or colored lights? I do like white lots. A lot. If they are on the exterior of a home though, they have got to be secured down so they are straight and taut.

17. Favorite Christmas song? "Breath of Heaven." 2nd place would probably have to go to either O Holy Night, Silver Bells, or What Child is This. Least favorite: Feliz Navidad!

18. Traveling for Christmas or stay home? We will be right here in our place in Orem this year, and gosh dang it, I am excited! We have a turkey for Christmas Eve, we've got our Christmas tree, and the thought of not having to haul presents and Tanner and 2 suitcases of Tanner's stuff and Tanner's fan and nighlight and pack and play and everything else we travel with is just such a relaxing thought!!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Of course!

20. Angel or Star on top of tree? Currently we have a star. I have been informed that we have a star that is identical to the one that always adorned the tree that sat in Nathan's house all of growing up (at Christmastime).

21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Christmas day. I wouldn't go so far so as to say Christmas morning because my parents and brothers and I usually don't get up until 10:30 or so, and by the time we mozey on into the living room to open gifts it is nearly noon. Since Nathan goes "on call" Christmas day at 9am this year, I can assure you it will not be noon when we open gifts!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The materialism/commercialism that has taken over such a religous and special event.

23. What I love most about Christmas? Hmmm I love going through scrapbooks and reminiscing about Christmases past, and I love just being with family and friends. I love the snow at Christmas time, and I really love it when I can find or think of the perfect gift for someone, and then hearing or seeing them get so excited about it.

I feel bad tagging people since I just barely tagged ya'll to do my "6 random tidbits about yourself" post, so I will just say, if you're in the mood to do this, consider yourself tagged!

And you thought pilots were rich.....

*Note: Feel free to substitute "SkyWest" for "ComAir" :-)

TAGGED!

So Audra has tagged me this time, and due to the fact that this tag is totally up my alley, I simply cannot shy away from it. Rather than copy and paste the official name and rules of the 'game' I will sum it up in my own words: Simple share with the world six random facts about yourself, that perhaps others might not know......enjoy!

1. I LOVE cilantro. And I mean love. I found a recipe on yahoo! last year that called for it, and being in the trying-new-recipes-frame of mind, I thought, what the heck? So I go to Fred Meyer and had to ask the produce people what the stuff even looked like--I had no clue. Anyway, ever since then I have been hooked, and have been fortunate enough to find a few recipes that call for it--but if any of you have some suggestions I would love more recipes with cilantro. :-) Along those same lines, I cannot ever get enough of anything that calls for limes or lemons (or the juices from either). It all goes back to an incident from our honeymoon when we were in Hollywood, and the obsession continued into pregnancy and now to the current day!

2. I have this strange obsession with Tanner's feet. Ever since he was born, I have been in love with them. I always thought and continue to think that they are absolutely adorable, and I like to rub them and squeeze them and kiss them. Weird, I know.

3. I have never been a fan of marshmallows (yes including PEEPS), mushrooms, or berries. The funny thing is that I unknowingly married a guy who doesn't like marshmallows or mushrooms either. He does love berries though, so if I am eating something that calls for them, it is rather convenient, since I just give them to him.

4. I don't care how old I am--I'm never too old to sleep with my baby blanket! I know Whitney and Nathan are going to roll their eyes, laugh, and then nod when they read this. Yes my blanket has gone just about everywhere with me--including the the hospital when I gave birth to my son!

5. I am a person that loves the whole shopping sales, reading ads, cutting coupons, doing the rebates, the whole nine yards. I totally take after my mom, though I think I have her one-upped only in the area of getting up and going shopping at 4 am the day after Thanksgiving. I actually think it is quite fun and exhilarating! I decided that Nathan and I are both weird, since I love doing the whole finding the cheapest prices on things and he actually enjoys mowing lawns.

6. I have eaten at the Space Needle in Seattle, ridden on the rides on the Stratosphere in Vegas, and been to the Rockefeller Center NYC. I would have gone on the Empire State Building or the top of the Rockefeller Center, but I thought it would be fun to do that stuff (and spend the big bucks) if Nathan were with me. So hopefully I get to go back there WITH him and even more hopefully, WITHOUT Tanner (hint hint to Nathan if you are reading this!).

Well I could go on with random facts about myself, but the tagging only calls for six! Now I tag Sarah, Rachel, Emily, Connie, and Anna!

Tanner's newest cousin

Here we are with Madelyn Grace Spurgeon; daughter of Matt & Emily (aka Nathan's little sis.) They came to visit us last weekend, and we enjoyed a yummy dinner prepared by them, and got to meet Madelyn. Tanner sure enjoyed her. Or at least he enjoyed her when he wasn't screaming and throwing fits....yeah, someone didn't get their nap!

An Exciting Day

Well well, I finally have pictures to post! Sorry--some are not terribly recent but....better than no pictures at all, right?

So.....we have BIG NEWS!! No, we are not having another baby! But, Nathan got transferred!!!!!!!!!! He starts flying out of Salt Lake December 1st!!! I am disappointed that he has to be gone on Halloween, and the whole Thanksgiving weekend, but at least there is an end in sight! We just found out this morning. I would have posted it sooner but today has been hectic and busy and did not include a nap for Tan-Tan which is when I usually go on the computer. So, life is pretty good right now! Hopefully the thought of the transfer will buoy me up while Nathan is gone for another entire week next week!



Tanner is really into "helping" cook lately, so here he is stirring some baked beans. Yum! tonight we made pumpkin chocolate chip bread....Cami inspired me. Hopefully I can track her down before too long and get her recipe; iti s so good! It always made bad days seem better back in college.

Nathan with his brother, Elder Derrick Hall. Derrick was enroute to Lansing, Michigan where he'll spend the next almost 2 years as a missionary.
Nathan and yet another missionary! here he is with Elder Will Taylor,who was headed home from Bolivia. I told Nathan he should feel special since he was the last family member to see Derrick and the first to see Will.

Did I ever mention that Tanner enjoys emptying cupboards so that he can hide in them? On this particular day, I was baffled. I walked in the kitchen and saw the contents of my cupboard on the floor (I had a feeling I knew who to thank for the lovely mess)....but no Tanner in sight, until I saw some wiggling and some eyes in the cupboard! It was pretty funny.

What a Weekend!

Last Thursday when Tanner and I took Nathan to the airport so that he could fly "home" to California, we got on an airplane ourselves...and flew to Pasco, WA to spend the weekend with Nathan's parents. While we were there we also saw Darrin and Connie and Matthew (Darrin is Nathan's brother, Connie is Darrin's wife and Matthew is their 4 almost 5 year old little boy). We were able to see their new house and their new dog too! This house of theirs has the most amazing master bedroom and bathroom I must say! We watched Conference at their place on Saturday, and that night us girls (plus 2 little boys named Matthew and Tanner) went shopping. Sunday we watched the morning session with them, then drove out to Walla Walla to see Taylor and Stephanie and their kids, as well as their new dwelling. It was a busy day!

We had tons of fun seeing everyone, and I definitely enjoyed a little R&R with Lynn and Calleen. Tanner absolutely loves his grandma and grandpa, and won't stop talking about Grandpa and keeps"calling" him on the phone!

Connie took a lot of awesome pictures, and I have a link to her blog on here since she posted them all, but since her blog is password protected as well I don't know if people can click on her blog.....let me know if you can/can't, and if I need to, I will try and post some of her pictures on my blog. I tried posting some way cute ones of Tanner at his cousin Beth's bday party but blogger wouldn't let me for some reason. Anyway, we are home (minus Nathan) and back to our busy lives and looking forward to our next visit to Pasco!

Healthy & Happy

I apologize for putting yet another picture-less post, since pictures always make things more interesting. Anyway, I figure if I'm going to tell you all about how sick Tanner is, that it's only fair if I post an update for how he is doing. Friday morning his fever finally starting going down (without the aid of medicine), and we didn't have to give him medicine quite as much, though we still had to give him some. He actually started drinking things volunarily on Friday as well, and did not have to be forced to drink, although he still did not want to eat anything. We all were getting a little cabin fever from being inside all week, so we went down to BYU for a little bit and just walked around campus--which wore Tanner out. He went right to bed when we got home!

Yesterday (Saturday) his improvement continued--immensely!! He was running around and (drumroll please) actually eating food! He is doing great, with the exception of being stir crazy from being around no one other than Nathan and me, so hopefully this week he can play with a friend or two--I think we would both enjoy it! :-) We took Nathan to the airport tonight so that he can go "home" and resume work. Fortunately this week he gets to come back for a day after only being gone for two days, which will be nice. We are still hoping and praying continually that he'll be transferred to SLC soon--and also just praying that we'll be able to make it until then...whenever that day may be.

Well Tanner must not be as tired as his screaming the whole way to and from the airport led me to believe, as he has been talking for the past 45 minutes since I put him to bed, so I think this is a good place to call it quits.

Update on Life...

Well, to say the least this has been an extremely busy week, and it has been full of lots of unexpected things. Tanner and I have had colds for the past week--which are never fun, but I figured that if we survived the stomach flu with no washer and dryer OR dishwasher, that a cold would not dampen our spirits too much. Well...I was wrong. Nathan has begun a schedule of being gone for 5 1/2 days at a time, then home for approx. 24 hours, then off for another 5 1/2 days. He left this past Monday, and Tuesday morning Tanner seemed to be getting worse-NOT better. I checked his temp at it was a mere 102. So...off to the doctor. And how coincidental, neither of our insurance policies start until October 1st. Yay. A doctor's visit a prescription for ammoxicillin and an expensive shopping trip to Target, and we were home and on the road to recovery....until Tanner woke up from his nap just throwing up and with a fever of 105! Oh fun days! This is the end of the month so on top of all this I am putting in 8-hour days at work here, so I can't say I have been bored. However, if you have been trying to call or email us and have not been able to, now you know why!

Wednesday (yesterday? the days are all mooshing together) it was basically a repeat. I put him down for nap, wake up sick to his stomach and fever of 105. Nathan told SkyWest he had a family emergency, and he caught the next flight(s) home, so he got in late last night. What a blessing it is to have him here. No one has slept much tonight. I think we're all averaging about 3 hours and at the moment it is 6am. We have to wake Tanner up every couple hours to give him ibuprofen or tylenol to keep the fever down, and the 3am wake-him-up shift turned into such a screaming and violent tantrum that after an hour we put him in the car at drove around Orem to try and calm him down. It was mostly successful, but he is still not asleep so neither am I (I am on Tanner duty right now). Anyway, that is our update. We had a fun visit with Whitney Wednesday night, she came down and joined us for dinner! As for a SkyWest update, we are told that things are not hopeful. With the seasonal summer flying season past, the need for pilots here in SLC is down, so Nathan will be sitting tight in San Louis Obispo for at LEAST another month (very likely more). Pray for us that a transfer will work out sooner than later! Well, this is a really long post and I think it's time to either go to bed or take care of Tanner since I reckon' he'll start screaming again any minute now...

I've Been Tagged!!!

I've been tagged...I usually never do these things, but what the heck! You have to use 3 words to answer each question. No more, no less. It's harder than you think.

1. Where is your cell phone? By the computer
2. Who is your boyfriend/girlfriend or Husband/Wife ? Nathan the Pilot
3. Where is your father? Usually in Utah
4. Cheesecake? Depends, usually spectacular.
5. Your favorite thing to do?Have Nathan home!
6. Your dream last night? About Anniversary Inn.
7. Your favorite drink? Lemon/Lime Water
8. The room you're in? Computer partition area :-)
9. George Bush?Hard to tell
10. What you're good at? Anything involving details.
11. One of your wish list items? Transfer for Nathan
12. Where did you grow up? Idaho Falls, IDAHO
13. The last thing you did? Tanner to bed
14. What are you wearing? Comfy PJ pants
15....is where????
16. Ketchup?I buy lots!
17. Your computer? Nathan's college one.
18. Your life? Busy, sometimes lonely
19. Your mood? Tired, exhausted, nostalgic
20. What are you thinking about right now? I miss Nathan
21. Your car is? Silver Chevy Cavalier
22. Your summer? Cleaning the pool.
23. Your relationship status? Happily ever after.
24. Your favorite color(s)? Gotta love pink!
25. When is the last time you laughed? At Tanner's "games"
Now I tag...Rachel, Tessa, Connie....And anyone else who wants to attempt 3 word answers!

I'm turning into my mother!

So tonight I finally broke down and followed in my mother's footsteps and WASHED ZIPLOCS. I never really thought I would catch myself doing it, but some friends gave us a bunch of extra food in some ziplocs that were just too high-quality to toss, so yes, I washed them, and now they are drying in my kitchen. I know it probably doesn't sound 'blog-worthy' but well, trust me. It is.

Other than that, things here have been crazy/fun/frustrating/funny/learning experiences. It just depends on the day for which adjective I would use. Nathan has been home since Thursday night and it's been wonderful. Saturday was our "big" two year anniversary. It was spent:
with me going to enrichment (I learned awesome knife skills for preparing food!), Nathan inviting his brother over lunch as well as fixing him lunch, cleaning up around the house with Nathan, **scrapbooking**while Nathan took Tanner to the park, and actually fixing a nice and somewhat large meal for the three of us. It was a nice day, and I enjoyed it--especially my knife skills class (despite the fact that I completely bawled through half of it. Call it a case of the potent onions!!) and the scrapbooking. Ahhhhhh!

I have been neglecting the blog a bit due to the fact that all my photo-energies are going towards scrapbooking, as I mentioned. My brother just got home from his mission in Bolivia, and I am using him and the upcoming holidays as an excuse to catch up on the past year of our lives, so that our friends and family can see pictures of what we've been up to (other than on the blog). Yes, for those of you who didn't know, Will is home and is now living it up at BYU-Idaho! I'm so stinking jealous of the kid--I miss the place like crazy sometimes! That's okay. I am the older, oh-so-very knowledgable sister that he calls for advice on college stuff, so for now that works too. :-) Hope you all are doing well. More pics to come....sometime soon!

4 Generations

Here we are with Grandma Taylor and my dear 'ol dad. Grandma Taylor is in her mid 90's and has dementia, so she doesn't know who we are, but she enjoys seeing her great-grandkids, Tanner and his cousin Beth.

Tanner, meet Chloe

This is my dear friend Chelsea's little girl Chloe, and the fun filled time she had with Tanner. I just realized that Chelsea and I never got a picture together--although we each got a lot of our kids together. Chloe was born in November, she is about 4 1/2 months younger than Tanner. The four of us enjoyed shopping at the Park City outlets and some good old fashioned hanging out that evening. Tanner was more than happy to push Chloe around in his old walker, and she was pretty content to let him.

Take me out to the Ballgame!

Friday night we joined Whitney and Jeannine and their company for a night at the ballgame, complete with a pre-game dinner! Tanner hadn't gotten much of a nap during the day, so he was ah, a bit cranky. It was fun though, and it was nice to get out for the evening. It was the Salt Lake Bees vs. the Portland Beavers, so we had a bit of a tough decision debating who to root for, since we have ties to both Salt Lake and Portland. We decided (surprise, surprise) to cheer on the Bees. BUZZ! BUZZ!! And, they ended up winning! I believe the final score was 7-4.

Now, for the humorous part of the evening. On the drive up to Salt Lake, I realized we'd forgotten to grab Tanner a spare outfit, so we joked that if he messed himself or something similar, we'd have to buy him a little Bees outfit-like our friends Tessa & Cory had to do with their son Macade at the Mariners game (for the complete story + pictures click on the link to their blog). Well, Tanner has been ill with diarhhea all week, and for some reason Friday he had almost NO wet diapers. Until we get to the game. As I sat down with Tanner, I felt like someone was pouring water all over my leg and oh! Suprise! It's Tanner peeing everywhere--his diaper was already filled to capacity so he and I were all wet. And we had no spare outfit. Just moments before this, Whitney and I checked in the Fanzz store for a little outfit, but I wasn't going to pay $12-26 for just a shirt or sweatshirt (no pants!). So...Nathan convinced the parking lot attendant to let us leave for 20 minutes, and we went to the first place we found-Sears! We hurried and found him some clothes; some pajamas actually, then ran back to the game, got our spot back, and were able to watch the last 30 or 40 minutes of the game. What an adventure!

Tanner with Uncle J.R. As you can tell, Tanner was VER into this game (and he is modeling his new pj's here).

The Happy Hall Reunion!

Here are some pictures from the Hall family reunion, down in Hungtington, UT. Yes, THE Hungtington, Utah that has been all over the news with reports of the missings miners. The whole mine incident happened the day after we left. The funny thing is, the whole time I was down there I kept thinking what a tiny town it was, and how no one without family ties probably even knew about the place since there is nothing there! Boy was I shocked when the city was all over the news only a day later!

Friday night we got to Hungtington MUCH later than anticipated (which, for us, is the story of our lives), and ate dinner while Tanner ran around and entertained everyone while they all looked around puzzled, wondering whose baby it was that had an overwhelming amount of energy while all the other kids his age were starting to doze off for the night. We went to Aunt Annette's that night and slept, while everyone else camped in trailers and tents (see picture).

Saturday morning we had breakfast, then Nathan joined the guys for a game of volleyball, while I chased Tanner and tried to keep him out of the firepit, the mud, and everything else that was messy and/or a no-no. Afterwards, Nathan and I and Tanner went for a very short "hike" (if you even want to call it that). I was quite upset at myself for forgetting to camera, so we just took pictures on our new camera phones, and amazingly enough, we were able to transfer them to the computer, and now to the blog. Call me old fashioned, but I am just intrigued that technology these days is high tech enough to do such things. So, all the pics on this post are from our camera phones....neat huh?

Lucky Duck!

So my dear husband called me last week, and began the conversation with, "Guess who I just saw?" I gave up--I had not a clue. "Sanjaya Malakar and Phil Stacey, from American Idol!" Apparently he was in the Salt Lake Airport getting ready for another flight, and saw a couple people going after them wanting autographs. I told him that he should have gotten an autograph or a picture for me, but he said he didn't think I would appreciate it as much as the kids who were already in line for autographs. Hmmmph.

We got back from the Hall family reunion yesterday afternoon and rushed up to the airport so that Nathan could fly to Palm Springs. I believe the drive is approx. 35 miles from our place. I have a feeling it won't be long because I can tell you the exact distance from here to there.

I don't have any big news to report. A lot has been going on, but I don't know if much of it is "newsworthy." My car broke down, but is getting fixed. Tanner was a little sick, but is getting better, and I have now been to booming metropolis of Huntington, UT. I did not camp there mind you. We stayed at Nathan's aunt Annette's house in Cleveland, UT. If any of you have been to Portland or Seattle and want to the the stark opposite, I suggest you take a trip to Cleveland or Huntington. Talk about barren desert, not to mention a SMALL down. I think I would not ever like to live there.

Eden Family Reunion

We were able to get away for a few hours on Saturday and head down to the great and booming city of Levan, UT for the Eden family reunion. Well, I guess I got away physically, but I did end up working on my laptop for a few hours, catching up on end of month business for work. I didn't even realize Nathan took pictures (and especially didn't realize he got one of me), but here I am having a ton of fun on my computer!

Tanner, on the other hand, had a total ball. They had a huge blow up castle and he spent a huge chunk of time in there bouncing around with some cousins he knew and a lot that he didn't (and a lot that I didn't know and still don't). I had him the cutest little shoes, but they are size 5 1/2 and he is only in 4 1/2, so the poor guy was walking like a drunken sailor for part of it--still having a great time though. As for Nathan, he had a nice time he said. I think his favorite part wis the BBQ sauce they had witht he chicken. He was ready and willing to drop by CostCo on the way home and pick up some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, surprise surprise. What can I say? We love our BBQ sauce--especially my husband

It was fun to be able to visit with family, and we are looking forward to the Hall family reunion this next weekend.

A trip to the Utah County fair!

We decided that Tanner's first summer here in Utah would not be complete without a trip to the county fair, so we decided to head over there. Plus Nathan and I had had enough of sitting inside unpacking, and I insisted that we had to go do something so that we didn't drive each other more crazy than we already were. It was a pretty quick trip, and we actually had a bit of trouble finding the place, but once there, it was fun.

We snagged a night in Park City complete with dinner for a whopping $25 pricetag for the entire package, and somehow got roped into going to a timeshare presentation (that is going on my list of things to NEVER again do).

On a more positive note, Tanner absolutely loved the horses, and all the other animals he was able to see and touch. It was a fun evening, and afterwards we were able to play games with some new friends in our ward, which was a blast and a half. A little too much excitement for Tanner though, so we finally took off since all the cheering and whooping scared the little man!

Looking back at the past week

I don't have too much news to report, but figured I'd post a quick hello to everyone. Nathan came back last Friday, and from the minute he got in the car it was go-go-go! We've been able to get a lot of things put away and hung up here, though for every box we get emptied and put away, Tanner pulls the equivalent of TWO boxes worth of stuff out, and strews it all over our apartment. SO, to any of you would come visit us (which we look forward to!), please keep this fact in mind and know that we/I DO TRY to keep this place clean, but with Tanner and our other responsibilities, it doesn't always look neat as a pin. Go figure.


Nathan is keeping current on his Spanish, which is kind of ironic, because he used to always complain that he was forgetting a lot because he never used it. As managers here, Spanish comes in so very handy, and often times there are multiple times in a day that Nathan plays translator.



Last night we cut Tanner's hair, which ended up being his 3rd haircut, but it might as well have been his first.....and we might as well have been cutting off his foot for as loudly as he screamed and the amount he squirmed. It was quite the event and all were glad when it was said and done! Today Nathan has him dressed in a muscle shirt with shorts, and to me the whole ensemble coupled with the haircut makes me want to start calling him "Butch." I will work on getting a picture of this.




Our washer finally got fixed last week....then had something majorly go wrong 5 loads of laundry later, and flooded our place, as well as the clubhouse below us. That was no fun, but a day or two later the repair guy came out again and had it fixed in nothing flat. Apparently our washer just always likes to break down after doing 5 loads of laundry at a time, and I think so far we are going on 3 or 4 since this last fix, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.......

What a day.

Today has been super super busy, but it's been fun. My brother in law Derrick was here with me for a few hours, and it was great to spend some time with him before he goes into the MTC...tomorrow! Nathan's parents are down for that and some other things, so it is fun seeing them and chatting with them.

Managing these properties is definitely a full time job sometimes, and I feel like an object lesson I once had in church. A teacher wanted one of us to catch a marshmallow, and she threw one of us like 6 at once, and none were caught. Some days I feel like I'm trying to "catch a marshmallow," and remember/understand part of the training for this job, since so much is being handed to me at once! It is good though, and it gets me out of bed every morning a whole lot earlier than I would get up otherwise, since I have to vacuum the pool!

It is still hot, hot, hot and I am so glad we have air conditioning! It is absolutely wonderful!

The New and "Improved" Blog

Hello everyone. As you have noticed, my blog is now password/invitation only. I once said I would never resort to that because there is such a thing as being "too careful." Well, now I am eating my words and doing it anyway. For some odd reason, this happens in my life quite a bit! :-)

This past week has been a learning experience and an opportunity for growth...to say the least. Over the (last) weekend, the dishwasher here broke, just before Tanner's big birthday bash. Monday I took Nathan to the airport where he flew out for more SkyWest training in various parts of California and Oregon. On the way back from the airport, Tanner got a little sick, so I put him to bed once we got home, where he proceeded to get MORE sick. I wasn't worried--I just threw everything in my washer, which soon after stopped working. I wasn't too worried, since we have a washer and dryer at our complex here that is coin-op, so I hauled my stuff downstairs to IT, only to discover an hour or so later that it TOO was broken! About this time I started to get worried. This was only day 1 of 11 with Nathan gone! Tuesday night I got sick with the same bug that Tanner still had, so to say the least, it was a most miserable and lonely 4th of July. This is the 3rd year in a row that I've been sick on the 4th of July! It was quite sad; by the end of last week, Tanner had really aquired a taste for saltine crackers, and enjoyed them GREATLY.

Anyway, during this whole wonderful week I have hit the ground running with learning my manager responsibilities here, which include taking care of the pool every morning. Fun fun fun! Friday the dishwasher got fixed though, and by Saturday Tanner and I were feeling better, so hopefully the washer will get fixed today or tomorrow (the part was on order), and later this week Nathan comes home and can finally watch Tanner so I can do something indulgent like take a bath or go shopping. I have not yet learned how to post fun images/graphics like cousin Rach, so there's no pics today...sorry!

Happy Birthday to Tanner!

Tanner enjoying his cupcake. Yes, this is yellow frosting, NOT mustard!


Mom and Dad "helping" Tanner blow out his candle! Sunday was Tanner's first birthday! I can't believe he is already a year old! Saturday we had Dave & Alicia and their kids over, as well as Matt & Emily for a swim party, since we have the joy of having our own pool here (and which we have the joy of taking care of!). Matt & Emily's friends from BYU came too, and Grandma and Grandpa Hall were even here Saturday morning. What a day!

Matt and Emily frosted all of the cupcakes, so I had to get a picture of the artists with their magnificent creations!

Life is a Highway

A lot has

happened in the last two weeks. Bonnie and I packed up and moved. We drove 22 hours in one week. We went from Tacoma to Pasco to IF to Salt Lake to IF. Tanner has been a good traveller. We had to get a new battery for Bonnie's car because it went out the day before we moved - A typical story for us moving. I drove back to Salt Lake and started training on Monday. It has been busy, but do-able. We found out that we got an apartment manager job that we were wishing for. That will give us a little more stability and security. Bonnie is staying with her parents while I am in training. Tanner is near walking. If he could he would chase Macie all day. Bonnie will have to write more, that is all I have to say.

- Nathan

Kodak Moments

I just love these little sandals!! And they actually stayed on his feet for a little while!

Tanner and I just hanging out in our matching outfits

Family picture! We are all ready for the next Hall family reunion, we even have our matching outfits ready!

So, I got Tanner dressed today, then got myself dressed. I wasn't even thinking about what I had just put Tanner in, but when I picked him up, I realized we were totally matching! So, of course I had to get a picture. Nathan jokingly asked if he had a similar shirt that he could wear, and we found him one. It is actually one that we just stole from Cory this past weekend (ok, ok it was in their D.I. pile, so it wasn't technically stealing...right?) Anyway,then we had to get a picture of all of us in our "matching" outfits. For any of you who know me pretty well, this shouldn't surprise you a bit. :-)

Fun filled weekend

Tanner's surrogate brother, Macade. Macade is the son of our good friends, Tessa and Cory. They are actually former BYU-Idaho-ites, just like us (though we didn't know them while we were in Rexburg....although Tessa and I had the same internship only at different times, and Nathan and Cory actually worked together. Oh what a small world!) Anyway, we often swap kids, which is great. Free babysitting on both sides. Anyway, we have been watching Macade quite a bit as they have been getting ready to move, and yesterday was the big move. It was great practice to remind us what we ourselves are in for next weekend.

This pic is especially for Natalie, since I told her I would get a picture of Macade with the lion she gave Tanner. I just realized that he is wearing the sleeper than my mom got Tanner, so this picture can be especially for her too. When she bought it I thought, "That thing is huge, it will be years before he fits into it!!" Well lo and behold, 9 months later, he is actually too big for it now!

I wanted to get a picture of Tanner next to Macade, showing how ginormous Tanner looks compared to him, but as you can see, Tanner did not feel like being his happy self. And Macade just looks on.....
PONY RIDE!!! Our little guy can now say he's ridden a horse! There are tons of kids at our apt complex, and it was the birthday for one little girl, whose mom knows a guy with horses. The mom arranged to have him bring out some (2 ponies and a good sized horse), and all the kids here were invited, including Tanner. The guy agreed to let us put Tanner on the horse only if Nathan and I were on either side of him. When we first put him on the horse, he screamed--he wanted nothing to do with this horsin' around. But once the pony began trotting, Tanner just loved it! He's a natural cowboy I tell ya.
Our 'lil cowpoke. What a 'stud' ly little guy!