Sick Day!!

This last Monday, Lauren came down with a little bug. It was so sad. She is usually our crazy, wild kid. With a little fever, she was reduced to a sleeping machine. Anytime she laid down she would just fall asleep. Right after one of her many naps, she wanted to watch a movie on my bed. I took her in, set up the movie and came back about 10 minutes later to this. So cute, but so sad. Fortunately, she was back to herself the next day and no one else has been infected so far....keeping our fingers crossed!

Pre-Holiday, Pre-school Events!

Emily's cute preschool had a couple of fun holiday events. Right before Thanksgiving they put on the cutest program. They had a poem they recited and a couple of songs to sing, complete with costume. It was so fun. I was impressed by how well the kids knew their stuff. The teachers had obviously worked hard with them. And then, the last day of preschool before Christmas break, a special visitor came to see the kids. You should have seen their faces....some sheer joy and some sheer terror...when the man in the red suit came in. They all got a chance to sit on his lap and tell him all their Christmas wished!! Since I got to work that day at school, Lauren got to come with me. She had the most dramatic look of terror when he came in. I wish I had it on camera. Priceless. She had nothing to do with him.

Emily and her friend!
Emily and the cutest Santa ever.

Lauren loved being at preschool!!! Can't wait til next year!

Trimming the Tree!

Ok, so not really "trimming" it since last year we broke down and bought a cute little pre-lit tree, but we did decorate it. It was super fun this year since the girls really could do most of it themselves (it helps that the tree's about their size). I love the girls genuine amazement with every ornament, like they've never seen it before. They are so excited for Christmas this year...such a fun age.

Finished product...with really no help from Jason or I! Thus the clump of ornaments in front!I think Lauren in showing an ornament, which I cut out of the picture! Goofy kids!

Thanksgiving Fun!!!

We had a great Thanksgiving. Again this year, we spent Thanksgiving at my sister's in San Diego. We have gone to her house every Thanksgiving but one since we've been married and we love it!! This year one of my brothers and my other sister and their families joined in on the festivities as well. My girls were is cousin heaven. We always have serious withdrawals when we leave Deb's house, especially with so many cousins there this time!!! We had a pretty low-key weekend which was awesome. The food was the best and the company was perfect!!!

I didn't take great pictures.....too busy playing with family!!

Started out with some good Turkey Bowl fun!!

Ate wonderful food at a beautiful table....thanks to Ally!!

Serious cousin lovin'!!

Happy Halloween!!

So I've decided to just ignore the nearly two month gap of lost information on my blog and forge ahead. This year I wanted to do family costumes again, but October got away from me, thus the girls got to choose their own costumes!!! In the end, they are very happy and I think they're cute.

Last night we attended our ward's annual trunk or treat. I have to admit, in the past we've done a pretty bad job of decorating our trunk. So this year, to make up for the lack of costume by Jason and I, Jason decorated the back of the truck as a cemetary, complete with real grass. The end product was pretty cool and earned Jason the award of "Best decorate trunk!" We're so proud!

Still here, again....

So, I am the worlds worst blogger but we are still here and doing really well. Things have been busy but wonderful. One of these days (hopefully soon), I'll post pics and tell you all about it.

Trained!!!!

So it's official. Lauren in potty trained. Minus the first two days, she has been amazing. We started two weeks ago today and by that Wednesday she was an old pro and hasn't had an accident since. I've been a little reluctant to claim victory only because Lauren has the personality that might decide she prefers diapers and well.... she'll just go back. But so far, so good. I think we're safe. And, I have to say that it is amazing not to be changing diapers!!! Yeah for me and yeah for Lauren!

Playing catch-up!!

I realize that when I post, I usually overload post. Sorry. Eventually I want to download my blog to a book so I don't want to miss things, even if it's late. So after our crazy month, I had to get caught up. It seems we have our first quiet week in a long time, so I though I'd take advantage and get caught up. But lest we get bored, we have decided to potty train Lauren this week. Wish us luck. My niece Liz was potty training her little girl last week and we figured it was about time for Lauren too. Thanks for the inspiration. Plus, I want to get it done before we start into pre-school for Emily. I figure it's best while we're home most of the time. We'll keep you posted, hopefully it's all success from here.

Crazy Lauren!!

The picture says it all!!!!

L.D.S. Night at the Dodgers!

Since we've lived in L.A., we always try to go to L.D.S. night at the Dodgers. It's a fun (and cheap) way to take the girls to a baseball game. This year was extra special since we got to take Grandma Hall, Steve & Maria, and Liz, Travis & Kaitlyn. We also got to sit by Justin, Kim & Brody! I can't say I saw much of the game but it's great people watching. We left in the seventh inning with tired kids. Turns out the Dodgers won in the 9th with a walkoff homerun. Maybe next year we'll make it all the way through.

Brody and Lauren grubbin' on popcorn.

We ended up with no picture of Liz and Travis. Bummer!!

A Visit from Grandma!!

For the past week, my mom has been here to visit. Although I can't tell you exactly what we did, we had a great time. She was amazing. She played with the girls so I could get a lot of apartment stuff done. The girls loved every minute of it, in fact we are having withdrawals as we speak. We did get down to Deborah's for a day of swimming and jumping. We went to several parks, a birthday party, a Dodger game and of course squeezed in a good chick flick! Thanks mom for all the help. We definately loved having you.

Grandma and the girls overlooking L.A.

A Celebrity!!!!

So, we've lived in Los Angeles for over 4 years now and I've yet to ever see anyone famous. Maybe I don't get out enough. Well, when we went to pick up my mom and the airport, I finally did it. I spotted Maria Sharapova. For those of you who don't know, she's one of the best women's tennis players in the world. I was actually a little excited because I love tennis and watch it whenever I can. Anyway, I wouldn't take my picture with her but Jason took this cute picture of her and the girls.

Go Navy!!!

Last Saturday, right before Grandma Hall came in town, we went down to Seal Beach to go on a naval destroyer. This brings back memories for me, my dad used to always take us to see military displays when they came in town. I was so excited for the girls to get a chance to see one up close. Unfortunatley, it was free, which made it crazy crowded. They did have other military vehicles and the girls got to climb up in some of them. We stood in line for the naval destroyer for about a hour but quickly realized we probably had another 2 to wait before we would get on. We were with Jen & Tyson and Kristy & Tom and with five kids between us, we came to the conclusion that the outside of the boat was all we would see that day. Still, a really fun experience.

Water Fun!!

Right after we got back from Idaho, we went down to Jen's and went to a cute splash pad in Westminster! It was super crowded due to safety day in the park but the kids had a great time. It was really little kid friendly which I loved, plus it was free. Always a bonus. We'll definately visit there again!

La Habra Children's Museum

Saturday the girls and I joined Jen and her kids and went to the Children's Museum of La Habra. Thanks to Target, it was free and free is always good. The girls had a great time. It's a pretty small museum but had some cute hands on exhibits. We followed up the museum with free slurpees from 7-11 and some lunch. Thanks Jen for inviting us and for taking the pictures (since I'm a dork and forgot my camera.>

Big Changes, Again!!

I know this is major post overload from me. But I wanted to get updated on our happenings before things get crazy. For those of you who don't know, we're moving again. I know, "What are we thinking?" Well, we're thinking we got a really good opportunity and we're going with it. We have just started managing an apartment complex and we'll be moving into a new apartment next week. It's a great opportunity for us to really save money in hopes of someday having a house. We are working for some great people so it should be a really good experience for us. Although it's not the most convenient time, we think it's a good change for us. We'll make sure we get out all the pertinent info (phone number, address, etc) soon. Wish us luck!!!!
P.S. I should have added this. We are still in the same ward. Major Bonus!!!!

Soccer, Baby!!

Last night was Emily's first soccer game. She is playing in a little summer league before starting the regular fall season. I was a little nervous that she wasn't going to like it but she had a great time. She even got knocked down and run over a couple of time but jumped up and kept going. She played great defense and even saved a couple of goals!! Although she was by far one of the smallest, she played big and had a great time.

I love that with all her gear on she has no leg showing. Life of a short person!!!

McCall, Idaho 2009!!

We had a wonderful family reunion in McCall, ID. I wish I could put on all of our pictures but that would be crazy pictures overload. We had such a great time. The girls absolutely loved being with all of their cousins. Always makes us sad we don't live closer. The weather was amazing and we spent the entire week in the water. It was so great just to play and get caught up with family. The camp we went to was awesome, so great we already booked it for 2 years from now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!!

Lauren spent most of her week digging holes and filling them with water.

Emily had two favorite activities. She loved seeing how long she could balance on this knee board. She turned into an awesome swimmer this week too. She was constantly jumping off the dock and swimming to shore. Here her cousin Kathryn is swimming with her but toward the end of the week she got brave enough to go on her own. She's definately a water girl!!

The camp had these little kayaks and everyone had a great time (and great workout) taking them out!

Here's a view from the dock onto our private beach.
Yes, she is fully clothed. The last night she and Kaitlyn enjoyed an evening in the water in their clothes.

Just one of many beautiful sunsets!!

Special thanks to Diana, Jason, Mike and Jan for all their hard work. And to Rich and Allan for provided the watercrafts that provided hours of fun!!! We love you all and miss everyone already!

Salt Lake City

As we passed through Utah on our way to Idaho we had the wonderful opportunity to visit with some family. We were able to see Jason's aunt and uncle and their two daughters as well as stay with my wonderful cousin. It's always so nice to have a chance to get caught up with those who we don't get to see all that often. Thanks Drapers for letting us just drop in and thanks to the Dowdles for letting us crash with them for a couple days. My cousin was one of my roommates in college and we always have such a great time together. And to make it even better, our kids had a great time too. As we left town to head for Boise, we stopped and let the girls wander around Temple Square in Salt Lake. I love it there. Although there's so much going on around the temple, it's always so peaceful on the grounds. The girls loved it and it was a great way to kick off our vacation!!

A Little Gem

I know I said I was taking a break in June but I just had to share this (mostly so I don't forget it.)
Lauren always wants to sit on my lap at the computer. Super annoying. Today was no different, she wanted up, I was trying to send some emails, I told her no, she threw herself to the ground crying (only lasts about 10 seconds), I told her that was not a good choice.
Emily pipes in "Lauren, the Holy Ghost won't stay with you if you act like that."
I love it.

Still Here, I Swear!

I was noticing it's been a long time since I last posted. Not really sure why. We haven't been terribly busy, just doing our thing I guess. And now that being said the next two weeks are going to be crazy busy. We leave next Friday for the Hall Family Reunion in McCall, Idaho. We are so excited yet have so much to do to get there. I have made a list but it seems that I add 5-6 things a day and only mark off 2-3. The math isn't adding up!! Oh, well, I guess one way or another we'll get there.
Just an update:
*Emily finished her first year of pre-school. She loved it. In fact, she's already asking when she starts again. Could be a long summer!
*Lauren has been awesome without her binkies! She struggled a little at the beginning but she was also teething. I think I will always do the "cold turkey" thing!
*We have had nothing but "June gloom" weather and I LOVE IT! Everyone one complains but I think it's great.
*Jason took a half day last week and we enjoyed our last day at Disneyland for the summer. It was pretty crazy. Not too sad we won't be able to go until September.
*We want to wish our cute friends Rachel, Alyssa and Kayla a very big congrats on graduating this week. We're so proud of you all! They all have big plans post grad and we're excited for them!
*We are super excited for our little vacation and can't wait to see all the Halls. Emily talks about her cousins every day.
You probably won't hear from us until after the reunion. Let's just pretend I'm taking June off!!
Happy Summer to everyone!

Big Steps!

This weekend Lauren traded these......
for this!

We talked about it all week and on Friday she went to Toys R Us and traded her binkies for a new shopping cart. She actually gave her binkies to the lady at the cash register, it was so cute. She loves anything she can push around and collect all her stuff, so the shopping cart was the perfect toy. So far she's done pretty well without her binkies, we're keeping our fingers crossed. The only sad thing is that now with no binkies it really feels like she's growing up so fast. Such a big girl!

All About the Ladybugs!

Emily's birthday party this year was a ladybug themed party. Lately she'd been really into finding ladybugs so we decided it would be fun! We had a great time. We started with a little game of Bean Bug Toss, moved to a game of Pin the Dot on the Ladybug and finished with the Ladybug Crawl race. For their efforts in the games, each of Emily's friends got a terrarium, tweezers and a net for our final event. Jason released real ladybugs and let the kids catch them. It was so cute, the kids were so excited. We ended the party with some "dirt" cake (freaked out a few kids, never really thought of that!) Thanks to all our wonderful friends who helped make Emily's day so super special!

Bean Bug Toss

Results of the Pin the Dot

Lauren with her great Ladybug form

Emily and friend geared up for the releasing of the ladybugs

Our cute birthday girl!