Then after being manipulated and primped by the girls, came home looking like This..
No one even recognized him
I couldn't take the look so he ended up like this...my favorite!
Such a handsome young man!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Only a girl...
I thought this was really funny. Gabe's curly hair has been a fascination to most of Gabe's girlfriends. They pull the curls and play with it a lot. He left for a party tonight looking like this:
Then after being manipulated and primped by the girls, came home looking like This..
No one even recognized him
I couldn't take the look so he ended up like this...my favorite!
Such a handsome young man!
Then after being manipulated and primped by the girls, came home looking like This..
No one even recognized him
I couldn't take the look so he ended up like this...my favorite!
Such a handsome young man!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Today Was That Day...
28 June 2011
You raise your children hoping and praying that they will arrive at a place in the future that will be full of joy and happiness because of the choices they have made. Today was that day. Hudson went through the Salt Lake Temple and we were joined by Hannah & Will, Grandma & Grandpa Hale, & Aunt Jenny Pulsipher. It was such a lovely and emotional day. You could really see how happy it made Hudson to be in that beautiful place and make covenants. He has lived such a good life and to finally achieve such a sacred goal is a real blessing to him. And what a blessing he has been to our family. He is kind, hard working, an amazing friend, smart and dependable. He is an all around great person. We love you Hudson. Thanks for being such a wonderful son!
You raise your children hoping and praying that they will arrive at a place in the future that will be full of joy and happiness because of the choices they have made. Today was that day. Hudson went through the Salt Lake Temple and we were joined by Hannah & Will, Grandma & Grandpa Hale, & Aunt Jenny Pulsipher. It was such a lovely and emotional day. You could really see how happy it made Hudson to be in that beautiful place and make covenants. He has lived such a good life and to finally achieve such a sacred goal is a real blessing to him. And what a blessing he has been to our family. He is kind, hard working, an amazing friend, smart and dependable. He is an all around great person. We love you Hudson. Thanks for being such a wonderful son!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
It pays to listen to promptings...
This last Week Colton and the BYU Lacrosse team have been in Denver for the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association National Championship Tournament. BYU plays in Division 1 against 213 really great universities.
Chad and I had decided not to go because of all of our commitments at home and we knew we could watch them online and on TV. BYU went in as the #3 seed because of their winning season. They won their first game against UC Santa Barbara. Then they defeated Colorado in the Semifinals. This was particularly enjoyable as we had beat them 8-5 at home, but then they came back to beat us in the conference championships 8-5. The Coach had told them then, "Let them have this trophy...it's the last one they will see this year!" He was right and we're going to the Finals!
Then we got the good news... Friday night after the girls dance recital, we heard that the number one seed Michigan who had defeated BYU last year and this year, lost to Arizona State. That meant that BYU would play Arizona, not Michigan in the Final. When we heard that we thought, "We need to get to the final!" We went back and fourth on it, but finally decided to sleep on it and see how we felt in the morning. Chad woke up still unsure what to do, but the prompting he felt was to "listen to your wife." I am a major homebody and it takes a lot to entice me out. For some reason I woke up feeling excited and happy about the game. I felt so sure about it. I rarely have faced a big game of one of the kids without having a pretty definite feeling. When Colton's Weber team had gone undefeated and were going into the Semi's, I woke up feeling sick about it. I really had a sinking feeling all day and they went on to lose. This was so different. I skipped into the closet and said, "let's drive to Denver!" I told Chad I thought we would regret it if we weren't there. He told me what he had felt inspired to do and knew that was the decision. Within the hour we were driving away. Hudson and Gabe took over and took great care of the home and kids. They fed them, got them to their games and got them ready for church. They even helped Hannah and Emma with their primary talks and did their hair. While driving off we found a note from Hudson in our newly vacuumed car that read, "I love you guys! Drive Safely!" I love my kids! They are such great people. Truly. We are so blessed to live with them and have them as our own.
The ride was uneventful and fast. We made it to Denver in 7 hours and had an hour before the game. Colton was so happy to see us. The game was close and exciting. We got the first goal, followed by Arizona going up 3-1. We came back 5-3 and then at the half it was BYU 8-6. After the half we went up 9-6 and were feeling so good. The game was a flurry of ground ball fights and great offense and defense. With 3 minutes left Arizona went on a spree and closed the gap to 9-8 with 2 minutes left. In Lacrosse, things go very fast and in 2 minutes you can score many goals. The team tightened up and with a minute to go we got another score! At that point it was a frenzy of activity as they tried to steal it and try to score, but our offense and defense were so amazing and they held them. The buzzer sounded and we all were screaming and jumping up and down!
BYU WINS THE LACROSSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
So amazing! A better group of boys you won't find. Colton said their team motto for the year was Alma 53:20 "And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all- they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted." They were a very disciplined team. Getting up at 4:30 and having their practices at 5 am all year. After the game the coaches brought the trophy into the locker room expecting cheering and yelling and instead they found the team all kneeling in a prayer of thanksgiving. All of the 11 freshmen on the team are going on missions and all have their calls to foreign lands. One of the Stadium workers said how incredible the entire BYU team was. Not using any profanity and thanking them for holding the door open. She had never met a team with cleaner, kinder young men. Clearly acting as emissaries where ever they go. They have a couple of team members who aren't members of our faith, but felt so clearly the difference in atmosphere that they chose to play for BYU. They attend church with the guys and have asked for blessings when they are ill. They have been so united and are all friends and there for one another. They really earned this win and have been blessed to have it.
We celebrated on the field until everyone had left but us. For more than an hour... cheering, clapping, yelling, singing, dancing. Taking pictures and general revelry. Then back to the Hotel where all the players jumped into the pool and hot tubs and yelled and screamed some more and did flips and just celebrated. About 11:30 PM, one player walking down the hall on the third floor saw another player and yelled, WE WON THE NATIONAL LAX CHAMPIONSHIP! Then all the players poured into the hall and all started screaming and celebrating again for another 20 minutes. They wanted everyone to know. Finally about 2 AM they settled down and slept. WOW what a fun event and what a great year. We were so glad to have been able to participate and be there to take pictures and share this once in a lifetime experience with Colton.
Chad and I had decided not to go because of all of our commitments at home and we knew we could watch them online and on TV. BYU went in as the #3 seed because of their winning season. They won their first game against UC Santa Barbara. Then they defeated Colorado in the Semifinals. This was particularly enjoyable as we had beat them 8-5 at home, but then they came back to beat us in the conference championships 8-5. The Coach had told them then, "Let them have this trophy...it's the last one they will see this year!" He was right and we're going to the Finals!
Then we got the good news... Friday night after the girls dance recital, we heard that the number one seed Michigan who had defeated BYU last year and this year, lost to Arizona State. That meant that BYU would play Arizona, not Michigan in the Final. When we heard that we thought, "We need to get to the final!" We went back and fourth on it, but finally decided to sleep on it and see how we felt in the morning. Chad woke up still unsure what to do, but the prompting he felt was to "listen to your wife." I am a major homebody and it takes a lot to entice me out. For some reason I woke up feeling excited and happy about the game. I felt so sure about it. I rarely have faced a big game of one of the kids without having a pretty definite feeling. When Colton's Weber team had gone undefeated and were going into the Semi's, I woke up feeling sick about it. I really had a sinking feeling all day and they went on to lose. This was so different. I skipped into the closet and said, "let's drive to Denver!" I told Chad I thought we would regret it if we weren't there. He told me what he had felt inspired to do and knew that was the decision. Within the hour we were driving away. Hudson and Gabe took over and took great care of the home and kids. They fed them, got them to their games and got them ready for church. They even helped Hannah and Emma with their primary talks and did their hair. While driving off we found a note from Hudson in our newly vacuumed car that read, "I love you guys! Drive Safely!" I love my kids! They are such great people. Truly. We are so blessed to live with them and have them as our own.
The ride was uneventful and fast. We made it to Denver in 7 hours and had an hour before the game. Colton was so happy to see us. The game was close and exciting. We got the first goal, followed by Arizona going up 3-1. We came back 5-3 and then at the half it was BYU 8-6. After the half we went up 9-6 and were feeling so good. The game was a flurry of ground ball fights and great offense and defense. With 3 minutes left Arizona went on a spree and closed the gap to 9-8 with 2 minutes left. In Lacrosse, things go very fast and in 2 minutes you can score many goals. The team tightened up and with a minute to go we got another score! At that point it was a frenzy of activity as they tried to steal it and try to score, but our offense and defense were so amazing and they held them. The buzzer sounded and we all were screaming and jumping up and down!
BYU WINS THE LACROSSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
So amazing! A better group of boys you won't find. Colton said their team motto for the year was Alma 53:20 "And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all- they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted." They were a very disciplined team. Getting up at 4:30 and having their practices at 5 am all year. After the game the coaches brought the trophy into the locker room expecting cheering and yelling and instead they found the team all kneeling in a prayer of thanksgiving. All of the 11 freshmen on the team are going on missions and all have their calls to foreign lands. One of the Stadium workers said how incredible the entire BYU team was. Not using any profanity and thanking them for holding the door open. She had never met a team with cleaner, kinder young men. Clearly acting as emissaries where ever they go. They have a couple of team members who aren't members of our faith, but felt so clearly the difference in atmosphere that they chose to play for BYU. They attend church with the guys and have asked for blessings when they are ill. They have been so united and are all friends and there for one another. They really earned this win and have been blessed to have it.
We celebrated on the field until everyone had left but us. For more than an hour... cheering, clapping, yelling, singing, dancing. Taking pictures and general revelry. Then back to the Hotel where all the players jumped into the pool and hot tubs and yelled and screamed some more and did flips and just celebrated. About 11:30 PM, one player walking down the hall on the third floor saw another player and yelled, WE WON THE NATIONAL LAX CHAMPIONSHIP! Then all the players poured into the hall and all started screaming and celebrating again for another 20 minutes. They wanted everyone to know. Finally about 2 AM they settled down and slept. WOW what a fun event and what a great year. We were so glad to have been able to participate and be there to take pictures and share this once in a lifetime experience with Colton.
Beautiful Dancers
After having 7 boys in a row I never imagined that one day I would be sitting in the audience at the dance recital of my own daughters. After doing a shoddy job on the Dance Hair & Makeup, I now know why I had boys...I can't really get my fingers to do the complicated french braiding and twist buns. Luckily, Emma only had to have curls. I had envisioned the cute sparkly faces I had seen on my friends daughters faces for dance recitals, but after going to a couple stores and asking for the sparkly stuff for little girls faces, I gave up.
I have never been a really girly girl, always preferring sports to dancing, but I wanted this for my girls. Luckily, while doing their make-up, they didn't mention it so I guess I was off the hook. They were VERY patient with me, especially Hannah after taking out her braid 4 times to redo it. I sat next to a mom whose daughter had perfectly sectioned french braids. Maybe there is a class on it and I missed the memo... Regardless, we made it to the recital on time and the girls were excited. This dance teacher is singularly talented. She has 7 groups, each doing 3 dances and 3 costume changes. She sewed every costume for all 85 kids X 3... 255 costumes including hair decor, socks, belts, flying wing things, etc... I was blown away! Seriously. I sew so I know how long it takes to do things and I was in awe. She only charges $15 a month and the costume costs are minimal.
Every dance was unique and different. Clean fun music and creative ideas and props. An overall great experience! Loved it and I was so proud of Hannah and Emma. They did a great job. After 23 years of Volleyball, Football, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, basketball baseball and track...it was really fun to switch gears and enjoy an all girl night!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Birthdays Galore!
We have had many birthday's since the beginning of the year in our immediate family...
Tanner, Will, Hudson, Hannah Mary and Chad's big 50th! Here are a few of the highlights...
Happy Birthday Tanner... Finally a teenager!! Big 13!!
Rollin' in the dough! Our last big gift to Will...money for his MCAT course. Good luck hon!
Will's Favorite thing in the whole world...being the center of attention. Yee Hah!
Hudson Celebrates his 19th Birthday. What a wonderful young man!
Hannah got a few celebrations this year... Dinner with Chad and the boys after Colton's freezing Lacrosse game...
Dinner at Tucano's...
And ice cream cake and presents at home... We love you Hannah!
And my 46th Birthday was in there, but low key this year because I celebrated mine with the Birthday boy below...
To celebrate the Big 5-0, I did exactly what my Sweetheart wanted....no big parties, no surprises. He just wanted to go to the Mountain West Conference Championships and watch BYU and Jimmer Fredette play. The Bar association made it possible by coupling some CLE to the event. Not only was there Legal Education credit to be had, but it was at UNLV where the basketball championships were being held. I tried to keep it a surprise, but how do you keep flying out of town a surprise? He loved it! We stayed in the smoke free Signature towers of the MGM Grand. The BYU team also ended up in those towers so that was a treat. It was also fun to run into Hannah's dad, brother Tanner and her uncles and cousins. We texted with them during the games. It was such a delight to see them again. Too bad her mom couldn't come. It would have been fun to have girl time during the conference. As it was I ended up sleeping for several hours. I needed this weekend as much as Chad. The other great thing is that Chad has now been with me longer than he was without me. What a great life we have had together. I love him very much. Happy Birthday honey! Love Jam
Tanner, Will, Hudson, Hannah Mary and Chad's big 50th! Here are a few of the highlights...
Happy Birthday Tanner... Finally a teenager!! Big 13!!
Rollin' in the dough! Our last big gift to Will...money for his MCAT course. Good luck hon!
Will's Favorite thing in the whole world...being the center of attention. Yee Hah!
Hudson Celebrates his 19th Birthday. What a wonderful young man!
Hannah got a few celebrations this year... Dinner with Chad and the boys after Colton's freezing Lacrosse game...
Dinner at Tucano's...
And ice cream cake and presents at home... We love you Hannah!
And my 46th Birthday was in there, but low key this year because I celebrated mine with the Birthday boy below...
To celebrate the Big 5-0, I did exactly what my Sweetheart wanted....no big parties, no surprises. He just wanted to go to the Mountain West Conference Championships and watch BYU and Jimmer Fredette play. The Bar association made it possible by coupling some CLE to the event. Not only was there Legal Education credit to be had, but it was at UNLV where the basketball championships were being held. I tried to keep it a surprise, but how do you keep flying out of town a surprise? He loved it! We stayed in the smoke free Signature towers of the MGM Grand. The BYU team also ended up in those towers so that was a treat. It was also fun to run into Hannah's dad, brother Tanner and her uncles and cousins. We texted with them during the games. It was such a delight to see them again. Too bad her mom couldn't come. It would have been fun to have girl time during the conference. As it was I ended up sleeping for several hours. I needed this weekend as much as Chad. The other great thing is that Chad has now been with me longer than he was without me. What a great life we have had together. I love him very much. Happy Birthday honey! Love Jam
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Dear Elder McKay, You are hereby called to serve...
Yep...Hudson's Mission call came! He must have been a bit nervous during reading as it sounds like he said Tahora instead of Torreon...but it is to the Torreon Mexico Mission and he leaves August 24th for the MTC.
We are so excited for him! Hannah hid his call because she wanted to delay his leaving until after Jacob gets home. Funny little sister. It is always pretty hard on the little girls. They hate to see the brothers go. It is such a great experience for the boys! Hudson will be so missed. He is a go-to, peaceful member of our family. He has such a bright future! Like the other boys, he will be out with another one of his brothers. Jake comes home in January 2012 so they will overlap for 4-5 months. Depending on Gabe's call, we should have our first window with everyone home in between Hudson and Gabe. I have put everyone on alert to look their best in the Fall of 2013 for our first Family picture with everyone in 6.5 years!
Congratulatons Huddy! We love you!
Hudson with his darling girlfriend Ellen Christianson
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Take a Deep Breath!
I've put this off far too long...and the longer I go without blogging, the harder it is to start because I don't want to ignore the big events I have missed. I use to love to blog because I knew that if I blogged once a week with all the events of the family, that our missionaries would get a little taste of home and I would have a nice tidy family history. That worked well while Will and Colton were out, but Jacob's Mission doesn't allow a blog peek. With the weekly deadline gone, my regular blogging went with it.
You know those times when things are so busy that you rush from one thing to the next and can't stop long enough to catch your breath... Here are a few things that have taken my breath away...
Will got engaged to the lovely Hannah Brown on October 3, 2010 in Cafe Le Cave! I should have blogged about it that day because what came next kinda pushed it all back indefinitely.
As previously posted the back wall of our home disintegrated due to a leaking deck. Our regular home insurance had been canceled following the fire and we had to get super expensive interim insurance (until we go claim free for 3 years) so we had to pay for it ourselves...which meant we had to do the work ourselves. Thank heaven's for a super smart and handy dad and brother. The deck had to be enclosed and the beautiful belly-rail railing lost.
Then the roof started to leak in 4 different places and it had to have new crickets built and re-roofed.
That was followed by Colton's eye doctor calling to tell us they had a cornea for him and could he come in next week for a corneal transplant?
The roofers told us that the chimney's were crumbling and that they had to be re-built to prevent them from crashing through the roof.
Then we received a letter from our interim home insurance that asked us to cut down the beautiful large tree that was branching up over our roof. Ok, so it was pushing on our home...Heartbreak!
Tanner's appendix burst.... of course it did. No one has been to Hospital as much as Tanner...Wonder what he is being prepared for.
The family wedding shower.
The impromptu building of the upstairs library, now that I had a beautiful belly railing from the deck.
Sending off Jake's Christmas packages.
The traveling down to Arizona for the amazing wedding in Arizona. Getting to know the wonderful Brown family and witnessing their amazing wedding reception skills was a highlight. What a great family. Seriously.
Will and Hannah were sent off to Honeymoon in New York during the biggest snow storm in years.
Driving home for Christmas. Taking a breather for a day to Celebrate the Savior's Birth. Talking to Jacob was a wonderful treat and highlight of the day.
The day after Christmas we finished mudding and painting the wall downstairs, deep cleaned the home and finished the library. Bless my dear family and friends for all their kind work and stepping in at the last minute to help with anything and everything.
The Wedding Open house in Huntsville on December 30th. Again, Thank you family and friends...You are wonderful!
The last few months were interspersed with a violent flu that put most of us down for 2-3 weeks and put Gabe in the Insta care with a temperature over 107.
January came and we started in on Hudson's Mission preparation, and birthday's.
Then Chad's biggest client decided to give him many more cases so I decided to work part time in his office while the kids are in school, to catch them up and to learn the ropes, so his staff can have a back-up when they go on vacations or get sick.
Colton made the BYU lacrosse team! Again! What a great team to be a part of.
Out of the blue the hardrive on my 7 month old iMac crashed. I lost all the pictures that I would have used to post with. It is sitting in a box here next to my iMac waiting to be sent back to a hardrive doctor. Pictures will have to wait...hopefully not too long.
Now it is March and Chad turned 50! Fifty sounds so old, but looks so young. He has gotten even better with age. He is comfortable like a favorite pair of gloves, but exciting like an unopened gift. He is kind and consistent and I love him. I took him to Las Vegas for his 50th so we could watch BYU in the Mountain West Conference Championships. So fun to watch the games and see Jimmer Fredette in action, see the Browns (Hannah's dad Michael and brother Tanner and Michael's brothers). Seeing Herman and going to his amazing ward, and seeing Ben and Rebekah Hale was a hoot. The Strip is emotionally and spiritually exhausting. Loud noise, smoky air, alcohol everywhere, and garish colors. It was a relief to go to the Nevada Temple and unwind from the tension. Fun trip, but Home is best.
Gabe went on his first Junior Prom while we were gone.
Now, Chad's office is all caught up, I have finally been released as Young Women's President after 3 years, everyone is well, and the stress is finally starting to ease up... It feels good to breathe again!
You know those times when things are so busy that you rush from one thing to the next and can't stop long enough to catch your breath... Here are a few things that have taken my breath away...
Will got engaged to the lovely Hannah Brown on October 3, 2010 in Cafe Le Cave! I should have blogged about it that day because what came next kinda pushed it all back indefinitely.
As previously posted the back wall of our home disintegrated due to a leaking deck. Our regular home insurance had been canceled following the fire and we had to get super expensive interim insurance (until we go claim free for 3 years) so we had to pay for it ourselves...which meant we had to do the work ourselves. Thank heaven's for a super smart and handy dad and brother. The deck had to be enclosed and the beautiful belly-rail railing lost.
Then the roof started to leak in 4 different places and it had to have new crickets built and re-roofed.
That was followed by Colton's eye doctor calling to tell us they had a cornea for him and could he come in next week for a corneal transplant?
The roofers told us that the chimney's were crumbling and that they had to be re-built to prevent them from crashing through the roof.
Then we received a letter from our interim home insurance that asked us to cut down the beautiful large tree that was branching up over our roof. Ok, so it was pushing on our home...Heartbreak!
Tanner's appendix burst.... of course it did. No one has been to Hospital as much as Tanner...Wonder what he is being prepared for.
The family wedding shower.
The impromptu building of the upstairs library, now that I had a beautiful belly railing from the deck.
Sending off Jake's Christmas packages.
The traveling down to Arizona for the amazing wedding in Arizona. Getting to know the wonderful Brown family and witnessing their amazing wedding reception skills was a highlight. What a great family. Seriously.
Will and Hannah were sent off to Honeymoon in New York during the biggest snow storm in years.
Driving home for Christmas. Taking a breather for a day to Celebrate the Savior's Birth. Talking to Jacob was a wonderful treat and highlight of the day.
The day after Christmas we finished mudding and painting the wall downstairs, deep cleaned the home and finished the library. Bless my dear family and friends for all their kind work and stepping in at the last minute to help with anything and everything.
The Wedding Open house in Huntsville on December 30th. Again, Thank you family and friends...You are wonderful!
The last few months were interspersed with a violent flu that put most of us down for 2-3 weeks and put Gabe in the Insta care with a temperature over 107.
January came and we started in on Hudson's Mission preparation, and birthday's.
Then Chad's biggest client decided to give him many more cases so I decided to work part time in his office while the kids are in school, to catch them up and to learn the ropes, so his staff can have a back-up when they go on vacations or get sick.
Colton made the BYU lacrosse team! Again! What a great team to be a part of.
Out of the blue the hardrive on my 7 month old iMac crashed. I lost all the pictures that I would have used to post with. It is sitting in a box here next to my iMac waiting to be sent back to a hardrive doctor. Pictures will have to wait...hopefully not too long.
Now it is March and Chad turned 50! Fifty sounds so old, but looks so young. He has gotten even better with age. He is comfortable like a favorite pair of gloves, but exciting like an unopened gift. He is kind and consistent and I love him. I took him to Las Vegas for his 50th so we could watch BYU in the Mountain West Conference Championships. So fun to watch the games and see Jimmer Fredette in action, see the Browns (Hannah's dad Michael and brother Tanner and Michael's brothers). Seeing Herman and going to his amazing ward, and seeing Ben and Rebekah Hale was a hoot. The Strip is emotionally and spiritually exhausting. Loud noise, smoky air, alcohol everywhere, and garish colors. It was a relief to go to the Nevada Temple and unwind from the tension. Fun trip, but Home is best.
Gabe went on his first Junior Prom while we were gone.
Now, Chad's office is all caught up, I have finally been released as Young Women's President after 3 years, everyone is well, and the stress is finally starting to ease up... It feels good to breathe again!
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