Boys, boys and boys!

We tended Taylor, Sydney and Gracie for an hour or so while Kristy helped at the school for Valentine's Day and when they got back Isaac surprised us by asking for a sleepover--his bag was packed in the car! Well, who can say no to that? And, Joshy really wanted to stay so we had them over for the night. They played games with grandpa and then the 3 of them watched Star Wars. I had to give up after awhile cause it got so late. Next morning grandpa made them pancakes and then he had a great time telling them the story of "Little Black Sambo" It was quite the production but way fun. After breakfast the three of them went to Home Depot to get a few things and while there, Justyn called to see if we could pick them up. Reed and Allyson had gone on a Valentine's getaway and the girls were with her mom. The boys had spent the night at a friends but then wanted to come over. So they joined the group. Liz had brought me the baby to watch while she went to the store and they got back about the same time. So, we sent them home and the boys stayed to play. The activity of choice was the Monopoly game and those of you who have played against dad know that he gets into that game and likes to win. So it was war. They had lots of fun anyway and Justyn was the undisputed winner. Part way into the game, John came over and he stirred things up a bit. Bren and Isaac got to be dog piled! After the game and lunch and snacks, dad put on an old, really old, Western and I started telling him there was no way that those boys would watch that. Imagine my surprise when all of them--young ones included were soon glued to the TV and watched it to the end. It was pretty funny. I could hardly watch it--must be something about a western??? We took the boys home before heading to Mapleton with Colton and Logan and felt bad that Zack wasn't part of it all. Had we known, we would have had him come as well. We will have to do it again--and for the girls as well. So that was our Valentine's day adventure--lots of boys. After helping a few minutes with Jer and Liz we headed home and dad and I cooked dinner and watched an old movie. Now that is my kind of Valentines--chilling at home. Hope yours was great! (In the next post about Issie, Sydney and Taylor's name should read Elizabelle)

Beautiful baby!

Little Isabelle Elizabeth Hall made her grand entrance on February 10th. She passed her brothers in birth weight--7 plus lbs but still so tiny. She has some hair, little chubby legs, big wide eyes and is very cute! I am glad she finally has a name. Sidney and Taylor were so excited to tell me about her and insisted that her name is Eizabelle. There is such blessing with a renewal of life. I just hold her and feel the miracle of it all. We are so grateful she is here and that mother, baby and family are doing great.

Happy Birthday John!

Happy birthday, John. What a blessing you have been to our family, and such a great son to be our caboose. We couldn't have ended our family with any one better! I remember when John was born. It seems we were in a rut of contention about silly things. After John was born, there was such a feeling of love in the home again, and that was the one thing every body could really agree on and get along with. John has continued to bring love in. Thanks, John for being who you are and for bringing our family together!

Temple excursion

We were excited to go to the Draper temple open house on Friday. It is so beautiful! When we got to the church we watched a video, then we got on a bus to go to the temple. After we went into another church. They had refreshments there before we got back on the bus. I love this temple and can't wait to go there after it is dedicated. After we went to Training Table for dinner. It was so fun and brought back memories of the last time we went as a family. The little girls had such fun being a train and went up and down the aisles.I think the restaurant was so thankful when we left! What can we say, though. It is a memory!

Triple decker

Jan 31, 1969. Such a significant day for our family! It was just 40 years ago that we started such. Can you believe that we were ever this young? Good times. It has been an adventure and we are thankful that we have had each day. We couldn't have guessed 40 years ago the direction our lives would go, complete with all the joys, sorrows, challenges and triumphs--and that is good. Life has taught us so much. I guess the biggest blessing has been our marriage and our children and in turn their families. We are hoping for many more years. Our day was made so special by a wonderful dinner date as special guests of the Pratt family. When we got there, we were entertained by dancers. Addie made us laugh with her duck dance. We were seated by our host where we found great, colorful menus, compliments of Lucy. Don't you think we have the cutest waitress? Too bad she didn't get any tips! After dinner we had our own stand up comedians! And, we had such fun with our little guy giving us hugs! We had a chocolate fountain for dessert. Every one loved it! And, we had a great clean up crew! Thanks Christie and Darren and family for a very special 40th year anniversary memory! It was on our 6th anniversary that Trav decided to make his appearance. It truly has been fun to share this day with him! He was such a fun and unpredictable child and teenager who kept us young. He is such a great adult now, still fun but with a good head about his priorities and knows what is important. I love watching him as a husband and father. Thanks for being such a great son, Trav! I couldn't find a picture, Trav, so this will have to do! Our day was made triple special when Tom and Kristy got married 12 years ago. We are so very thankful they found each other! They celebrated by going to the temple. The girls and I made eclairs while they were gone--their favorite part was the frosting. Congratulations to a beautiful couple and here's to many more anniversaries! What a great day!