"The most endearing of Christmas symbols"...

If you have been following our blog for the past 4 years you are aware of our annual tradition of cutting down our Christmas Tree. Weston talked about it for years while we were in school as he watched his favorite Christmas flick, Christmas Vacation. Therefore, every year since graduation we have been (as Chevy Chase says) "loading up our rear wheel sleigh to embrace the winter majesty to pick out the most endearing of Christmas Symbols."

Every year Weston has had a just a "wee" bit of trouble cutting down the tree. One year the tree farm gave us a "weak saw" last year he had "pulled" a muscle in his shoulder. Well, this year we made double sure we got a great saw and when it came down to cutting the tree the darn thing kept binding up again! Hmmmm. ;D I was feeling the pressure that my sons really needed to see the tree get cut down so I was forced to take matters into my own hands! 

It was a little tougher than I thought BUT....

I prevailed! 

I have to toot my horn just a little bit. Weston..... he laughed..... but I know he was secretly just as proud as I was. ;D 

Since I cut down the tree, of course I made the boys haul in my kill. 

Trying to get both boys to smile at the same time didn't work all that well. They were both completely distracted by the surroundings....

Warren trying to assist me in my request. 

One out of about 50 pictures where Warren wasn't pulling a goofy face. 

Ben explored EVERYthing. It's times like these when I seriously consider moving out to the country. It really is tempting!

All loaded up now its time to play! 

Tire Rolling Directions: Get a tire and go to the top of the hill. Yell "tire rolling!" and chase your tire out into the woods until it hits a tree but watch out for the rivine! Good old fashioned fun. The boys could do this all day if we'd stay that long.

Our failed Christmas card picture. For some reason Sam's couldn't get this picture to print clearly. Go figure.  

It was very convenient the missionaries were coming over for dinner that night. I think Weston must have planned it! 

The next day the boys spent most of the day working on our exterior illumination. 

A first for Warren this year was his first viewing of Christmas Vacation. It was closely monitored and all "adult content" was skipped but he, as all the Hall men in the family, found much happiness in it. Having just got done helping dad with the lights that day he found it especially funny, belly laughing through the whole thing. This is a clip of the part when Clark is trying to rig up the lights and takes his frustrations out on santa and the reindeer. I have to admit, its pretty funny. I mean who doesn't occasionally snap and have at least one uncle eddie in their family? ;D 

(If you are receiving this via email you will not be able to see the videos here. You will need to click on the blue Halls Rock link below which will take you to our blog and you can view them there.) 

Thanksgiving Fun

Thanksgiving was a very busy day this year! We had two dinner invitations and a play date all in one day so I made sure to make lots of Pie. I started the day before and finished up Thanksgiving morning. Here you see two apple crumble, two lemon chiffon and two pumpkin chiffon. The pumpkin is served with homemade whipped cream and toffee brittle on top. Oh and did I mention in is made with eggnog too?  It was a new recipe I tried this year and it was very delicious! Yum! 

Warren our native Thanksgiving indian. 

Earlier in the day we stopped by Uncle Steve & Aunt Julie's house to say hello and prime our feast appetite on. Cousins Robert & Kristen had their first baby, McKenna, just a few weeks before. We got to hold & snuggle her which is always a bonus! 

After we visited Payette's we joined some good friends the Boss' for Thanksgiving Diner. Lara is known for her cooking and she did not let us down! The food was yummy and we all ate way too much. I couldn't even eat my pie! Can you believe I didn't take any pictures? I know. I forgot my camera and my phone so I have no record of the fancy table or the amazing food but it was impressive! ;D We hung out for a while, played games and watched football. 

 Later, the missionaries came over for pie and our friends the Keifer's also came over for pie and to make gingerbread houses! We made a huge mess but had lots of fun! They are too fun!

Warren & Mom's creation. When I see this picture I just laugh because I was completely exhausted. LOL It's amazing what you can do when you have fun people around to keep you going! :D 

Amy & Wyatt's and as you can see Wyatt ate more than he built! lol 

It was a fun day for us. Even though we don't get to be with all our loved ones every holiday, you were all in our thoughts and know that we are very grateful to have you in our lives! 

San Antone

The first week of November we drove to San Antonio for a much needed little weekend get away. Weston's sister Misty & husband Larry came for a little tour of Texas. He graduates in May from his pediatric dentistry residency and they are officially looking to set up his practice here! We are very excited to have them closer. Ever since we moved from Ann Arbor we haven't seen them very much because they have been living in Cleveland, OH. We had a short but nice visit while they were in town for the day. 

 At the Alamo in front of this awesome cactus. :) 

Warren Maxwell Hall - stud muffin extraordinaire. ;) 

The boys love staying in hotels and as you can see we don't make our beds.  

We walked the Riverwalk with Larry & Misty. It's always such a great atmosphere. The trees are amazing all along the way. 

Larry & Misty minus four. Enjoying there couples get-away week.  

Thank goodness for Uncle Larry to help us with his highness, The Benjamin's royal chassis. :) 

We found an awesome Mcdonald's that had the best play structure and unlimited air hockey & basketball. It was pretty awesome and I think we spent more time there than at the Riverwalk! LOL 

Misty & Weston are always up for a good challenge. 

It was good to see Larry & Misty! Hopefully we will be seeing a lot more of you in the near future! 

Last but not least. This made me laugh so hard. Weston notice this clip on the underside of our console and decided it would make the perfect road trip chip holder and is completely convinced that is what it was meant for! Boys. lol

Soccer Season Finale

I am a little backed up on my posts but late is always better than never. These are Warren's soccer pictures. I just love this one of him. He looks so handsome. :) 

 "The Sharks"
Coaches: Weston Hall, Tim Burningham, Coach Shay

Top: Warren Hall, Slava, ?, Spencer, Trent Burningham, Crystel Rasmussen, Dillon
Bottom: Kenzie, Marshall Burke, Andrew, Tommy, ?

This video is from Warren's last soccer game. He always did well in practice drills and kept up with the pack during games but he was always very anti- ball contact during games. His last game he built up enough confidence that he actually kicked the ball a few times and even dove for a great block kick....even though it did go out of bounds, I was still proud of him. This video was so cute of him giving me the thumbs up after his daring soccer moves. :) 

Warren proudly displaying his soccer medal awarded to the kids at the end of season party. We had lots of fun doing soccer this fall and will most likely continue in the spring. :)

Nativity Angels

Each year our stake hosts a community even called the Nativity. It is a huge event which takes days & CREWS of people to set up.  The entire cultural hall is transformed into a skyline in Bethlehem and members all throughout the stake donate furniture & hundreds of nativity sets from around the world to be displayed. It is open to the public Friday & Saturday.There are musical performances each afternoon & evening ranging from soloist to Jr high & high school orchestra's.

This year was the first that we added a VIP night in which we invited various community heads that we work with throughout the year. To welcome them with proper spirit the Primary Children in the stake ages 8-11 were invited to sing 11 christmas songs for then! We only had 5 weeks to practice as wards, and held only 1 practice as a stake prior to the performance. I was a little worried but it turned out beautiful!  I love being the Primary Chorister. It was wonderful to be part of this. The spirit was so strong! They sounded just like angels! I really hope we get to do it again next year!

I regret I did not get any pictures. I was backstage maintaining the boys side of the choir but my friend Jamie got some great pictures and videos. So, if you care to check it out, click on the link below!

Nativity Footage

What are you thankful for?

This is an oldie but a goodie. It always makes me smile and reflect on the the importance and gift of adversity in our life. It really is how we become close to our Heavenly Father and gain character that hopefully resembles His. :)

‎"We should thank God for our adversities and pray for guidance in meeting them. It is all part of the plan."

"Lord who made the Lion and the Lamb, you decreed I should be what I am, would it spoil some vast eternal plan, if I were a wealthy man?"

"Let us give thanks for what we are and for the circumstances God has given us for our personal journey through mortality."

"When we understand that God offers us opportunities for blessings and blesses us through our own adversities and the adversities of others we can understand why he has commanded us again & again to thank the Lord thy God in all things."

(If you are receiving this via email you will need to click on the Halls Rock link to watch the video)

Flash Dance

A few months ago Benjamin decided life was about freedom. It's nearly impossible to keep clothes and a diaper on the kid. As soon as I discover his nakedness he instantly takes off running.......

 Luckily, it seems to be largely due to the fact that he wants to be a big boy....so usually he tries to go potty and actually has a few times. However......

 The other day I caught him out on the driveway naked from the waist down. As soon as he saw me he started running. He ran down the driveway, across our circle and into our neighbors backyard, climbed the swing set ladder and slid down the slide! It seriously looked like it hurt thats all I have to say!

 phone call? 

Here is the kicker. See this hat? I bought it for him for halloween. Warren was a dragon and he was supposed to be chinese man to coordinate with Warren. Well, from the first day I brought it home, he hated it. As soon as I'd put it on, he'd start crying and throw it off. It was like an evil spirit to him or something. Maybe the ponytail freaked him out, I don't know. Then, a few days ago I walked in the room and what do I find? Yea, he was naked alright. What the?

Hall-oween Festive

This year Halloween celebrations were a plenty. We decided not to trick or treat on Sunday so we had fun the Friday & Saturday before. 

We started Friday morning with Warren's costume Parade at school. He was a dragon. 

Here he is with his good friend George. He was a shark. I told them to each give me their costume face. I thought their character interpretations were such a hoot!

I have no idea who these kids are but I thought this scene was hilarious. Ariel fresh out of the water has finally discovered her whole new world. "hhuuuuuhhhhuuuuu hhhuuuuuuuuuuhuuu". 

Warren got out of school at 11:15 so we headed out to "Zoo Boo" at the Houston Zoo. They decorate it really cool and the kids can dress up. Before we left I dressed Ben up in his cowboy costume. He was supposed to be a chinese man to coordinate with Warrens dragon but he wouldn't have that costume what-so-ever. So, I dressed him up as a cowboy cause he loves Woody. He thought it was cool for about 1 minute and then threw his hat off and started ripping his chaps off next. Oh well, at least I got 1 cute picture of him in his costume. lol

 The boys enjoyed the pumpkins carved everywhere, the giant candy corn, playing in the fountain & feeding the fish. 

Downtown Houston is filled with Live Oak trees. They are so gorgeous. They often grow spanish moss which looks beautiful hanging from them. I thought all the pumpkins hanging down looked cool. 

Next stop was the children's museum. It was decked out with spooky decor. They had a scavenger hunt for the kids. At each treasure spot there was trick or treating.This was Warren's first time going and he loved it. 

Decorating Halloween cookies. 

 Ben LOVES playing in the ambulance. Warren approved too.

I think the grocery store can be officially deamed my boys "hot spot". Warren loved it too. 

Ben ran straight to the best part in every grocery store...

"Spoo-ky!" After the children's museum we joined our ward for a trunk or treat of which I took no pictures. I know, can you believe it? ha ha

The past several months have been crazy busy. We usually always get pumpkins and for the past two years we have have created my pumpkin snake (you see above). Weston is the ward mission leader now and the stake is currently doing a big "rescue" initiative and so he has been gone nearly every night the past several weeks doing his visits. Needless to say we waited too long to get our pumpkins. Saturday night before Halloween this is all I could find in Kingwood that even came close to resembling a pumpkin. I managed to convince Warren that the huge green gourd would be an awesome dragon head! 

Sunday night we passed out candy and socialized with our neighbors for a little while. It's a yearly tradition that everyone in our circle comes and sits out together and passes out candy. It's always fun to hang out with everyone. 

We excused ourselves early when the missionaries aka "God's angels" arrived at our house. They arrived in stages by bike, by car & then by truck. Seeing their glowing white shirts in the dark,  our neighbors were like...."who are they...the ghost busters?!" It was funny. 

The boys LOVE to see the missionaries as much as we do. We are so grateful for Weston's calling because we get to see them so often now with all their meetings, etc. They are a wonderful blessing in our lives! 

 My missionary in training. :D 

I hope you all had a great halloween too!