Hales Family Updates

Rachel turns 12...

2009-05-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

Rachel turned 12 on May 22nd. Fun day for her-I sent 4 large pepperoni pizza's to her class to enjoy. Then we went as a family to Olive Garden for dinner- GRUB! The waiters/waitresses all sang to her-she was embarrassed which made it even more fun for Jon and I! We came home she opened up one gift card to Justice (clothes store) and one gift card to Michaels (colored pencils). She also got a cute sewing basket that Aunt Katie put together for her. Gma and Gpa got her a VERY nice gift...a sewing machine complete with a few patterns and material. Rachel loves to sew--she seems to be NOTHING like me! HA She is very much her daddy--
This morning Rachel received her Primary advancement award from the bishopric. She had to walk up to the front and recite an article of faith. She chose to do #10! She nailed it and I was a proud mama--trying not to cry my head off!
Today was her last day in Primary-I had the primary kids sing "Goodbye, Goodbye" instead of Hello, Hello--it was cute...and off to YW's she went. Poor Becca cried for about 10 minutes after Rachel left--soooo cute! Her Beehive leader came over today to introduce her to all that YW is about--
Rachel has grown into such a lovely girl. She LOVES to be creative. You can find her drawing, making origami, creating anything out of EVERYTHING which leads to me saying "rachel can you pick up what you created here!!", she is sweet to becca & anna, she loves to read-and reads BIG BOOKS!, she loves to play the flute and her latest is the mission impossible theme you can hear throughout the house flute style!, she enjoys volleyball and currently the swim team, she has AMAZING confidence in herself, she is good to always include everyone, & continues to always be smiling..just like when she was a baby.
It is great to see her growing up and moving into this next phase of her life!

Trying to keep up!

2008-10-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

SORRRYYY for the lack of postings-Since the beginning of Sept I've started my own company www.ScriptedLiving.com. Jon has worked my website (which he has also made it possible for people to order RIGHT off my website!) We are able to do ANYTHING that a client requests. We have been able to use their own logo's if requested or design something unique for their business. It's been a lot of fun working with people. Im VERY lucky to have Jon in my corner & use his art knowledge & computer skills! I have been CRAZY busy getting new clients & accounts. (Scripted Living is a vinyl lettering business.) I also have lined myself up with a screen printer so I can do any kind of tshirts, hats, jackets, etc. So lots and lotsss of time spent on the computer doing my thing. Its been successful so far! I hope my company continues to grow & help to lighten our burden.

In other Hales family news, Rachel was awarded "most confident" in her class. She was nominated by her classmates at school-so we got to be there for that.

This will be her LAST student of the month award as an elementary student..sniff sniff. They also announced that she was nominated to attend the Pres. Inaguration infront of the 5th/6th grade classes, teachers & parents--the kids were like WOOOOOWWWW!! It was really cool to be there to see her get the award and see the excitment of her classmates.

In the end of Sept was Sarah's 9th bday-all she wanted were "gift cards". So thats essentially what she got! Made shopping SO easy!! When I took her to spend her cards she wanted to spend them ALLLLL ON HER SISTERS!!!!!!!!!!! WHO DOES THAT??????

I had to keep telling her over and over..Sarah these are NOT for your sisters..they are for you--they have xmas coming up!! "we'll they are my cards, so i can spend them how i want!" rhghghhghg if thats my only battle with her-then she rocks. She did get things for herself after MUCH pleading from me but STILL managed to get each of the girls a few things.

she had a 2 dollar movie theatre bday party for sarah with a few friends SOOOO EASY!

The two older girls have started up volleyball and they LOVEEEE IT! They are both quite good -hopefully they have their parents athletic coordination. They go tue/thur nights for 2 hours each time. Its been GREAT for the both of them.

Lastly only a house full of girls will you walk in and see this:

Girls are soooo easy!! (Atleast right now i can say that-right!)

ANNOUNCING NEW BUSINESS!!

2008-09-29T16:43:00.001-07:00

It has FINALLY happened-I used my good ol' Bush Tax Credit Check to start my own company--both Jon & I have had MANY MANY late nights working together to make this
happen.

www.scriptedliving.com

This explains why I havent been blogging or facebooking!!!

Please help spread the word-thank you!

Recovery...

2008-05-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a post wishing Dad a speedy recovery....apparently he had some "clearing my throat-rghghhg" surgery---

I imagine Mom is hoping he comes out looking like this:

Im hoping he comes out looking like this:

Although considering his age...he'll probably come out looking like this:

Honestly ANY of these would be fine by me!!! Hope you're doing well--looking forward to the "reveal"!!

What have I been Up to??

2008-04-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

I work with Albertsons and collect all of their food they would THROW AWAY that day and bring it to my house, I get food from every department, meat, deli, fresh deli, bakery, produce, floral, & dairy--I typically will get 18 banana size boxes of food--my denali is PACKED top to bottom, front to back & thats WITHOUT the 3rd seat in--quite often its overflowing to my 2nd seat even!

I do it every day except wed/sun--i leave my house at 930am to pick up tracy and we drive 12 minutes to get there, load my truck up and get back home by 10am to my driveway lined with friends/families that need the extra help with food-we quickly unload it then tracy & i get to go thru it 1st to pick out what we want for our families then i open it up to everyone else who is there...
THIS WAS TUESDAYS RUN:

I ask them to donate 2 dollars to cover my gas going back & forth--everyone is SO good about paying and often want to donate more--you typically will walk away with ATLEAST 30 dollars worth of groceries EACH PERSON if not more...

The food is stuff that is out of code, ie close to the due date, stuff they've ordered too much of or it has a dented box etc--its all GREAT EATABLE food! I tell people to just take what they will eat for dinner that night, what they will have for lunch and anything else like milk, bread, eggs, cheese, yougurt etc..it works really well..I tell everyone to be done by 10:15am so I can go on with my day--

This program is called Fresh Rescue & was started only with Albertsons in 2005..you have to have a NonProfit Organization with at Tax ID # to do it--all of the stores in Cali are taken & they are moving the program eastward--
THIS WAS THURSDAYS RUN:

It really is SUCH an easy thing for me to do everyday--it doesnt take a lot of my time and i LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE helping all these families--i have about 25 families that Im helping--1/2 of them arent LDS--just friends of LDS families that come because they heard about what I was doing--

I havent even gone to the grocery store since i started this--Im not even using the church food program either--that gives you an idea of seriously HOW MUCH food im getting--

i wanted to take a photo of my ALWAYS STOCKED fridge--

EVERYTHING literally was free from albertsons...the food run has just been fabulous!

we drove to lake hemet on saturday to meet up with some friends-here are a few photos from that..the girls didnt catch anything only our friend russell did--the guy with the white hair is our friend named jeff--he taught them how to fish..so he had the girls reel in the SAME fish for each girl--too cute...

jeff bbq'd us some burgers & hot dogs, it was complete with smores too--its about an hour drive from our house and was WAY WAY fun for the girls--

Is it cute or what! Jon wants me to know get a license plate that says "Beauty & The Beast"--

LASTLY --you may remember last year how Rachel was nominated to attend the National Young Scholars Program (a camp like thing that you have to have excellent grades, be a leader at the school & be nominated by a teacher..she was able to go to a LA college for a week & earned a full ride scholarship to go)-she was nominated AGAIN to go this year to Washington d.c!! it will be in June--we tried for a scholarship but she didnt get it this time (probably because she got one last year) so we will have to work on raising money for her to go..its not cheap 1880 for her to go & thats JUST the camp part...
on top of that a few weeks ago she was ALSO nominated to attend a program in which she will get to go to the 2009 Presidential Inaguaration!!!! As an Inaugural Scholar and special guest on the National Mall, Rachel will not only bear witness as the President of the United States is sworn into office, she will also meet a major presidential candidate, White House officials, congressional staff, political experts and special VIPs such as Lance Armstrong. Ive already spoken to a few of our friends here that own their own business to see if they can help sponsor her to go..I've got 1k so far (its 2500 to attend)--again we're hoping we can pull this ONCE in a lifetime opportunity for her--we keep telling her SEE what happens when you work hard at school!!

SO this is what we have been "up to"!

60th Bday Bash!

2008-03-25T21:46:00.001-07:00

Robert (jons dad) had his 60th SURPRISE bday bash last weekend..here are a LOT of photos from that--ENJOY! Mom did a GREAT job putting it on!!!
getting ready to yell

SURPRISE!!

Robert's Reaction

Chad,Kelly & Cameron (the youngest of four boys)

Jon, Christina

Todd, Celene

Kristi & Chris

Scott, Kellie, Esther (their 1st)

Mark, Jennifer

Katie, Seth

Kellie's family The Wilsons (some of them!)

Seth's parents The Goodmans (also the Orange Stake President!)

Brother Christensen

Uncle Mike, Aunt Diane (Robert's sister)

Hal, Colleen Williams -Celene's parents(also in the Orange Stake Presidency)

The Wilburs

Anna/Becca dancing

these were just a FEW of the guests!!

the next day was "family picture day":
Before the BIG photo-do we look THRILLED to be doing this or what!?!??! too funny!

After!

MOST of the grandkids (there are 17 of them and PLENTY more to come-NO THIS IS NOT ANY FORM OF ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ME!!)

Im certainly blessed to be part of this fantastic family!

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Hales

2008-02-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

Okay- Sorry Kim- Had a great weekend with Mom and Dad who drove from Cali to see everyone. We spent the majority of Friday at Grandma Mikkelson's Home-well actually in her basement. Has anyone ever been down there? I never decended the steps into her basement. Scary descent! Dad mentioned that he used to sleep in the room where the furnace is now. There in the window (literally small enough to poke a head out but not to crawl through) hung yellow gingham curtains with brown rick rack. Grandma said she made them a long time ago. We found the coolest stuff down there..... gun powder, food storage with the expiration date of 1972, a dead trantula, boxes and boxes of "stuff." Grandma was great about letting go of things. We all know how clean she keeps her house upstairs and the downstairs was definately Grandpas. There was a "shotgun bullet maker" still housing bullet casings from the last time Grandpa made his own bullets. We filled a HUGE trailer with things to haul away to the dump. I am sure that it helps Grandma to know that it is semi-clean down there. Although we did not clean up all the mouse droppings or sweep the floor. All-in-all it was a great day. Lots of progress. And Grandma looked so beautiful. Her hair freshly styled and smelling of sweet powder like she always does. I love that smell. Next trip we can all help her with the attic and then the back room. I was reminded of the life that our Grandparents led. Very frugle, using what they had. Taking care of things themselves. The life of a farmer could not have been easy but surely had joy and peace and quiet. So different from the busy lives that we all lead. No fast food or restaurants. No gyms, or close gas stations, no internet, no movie theatres. Just simplicity and fine company. One of the things I love about going to Grandmas is the time she takes to talk. She loves to talk. She really loves us all and surely has been a GREAT Mother and Grandmother.
Sunday we spent the day eating and visiting with family. There were the usual wrestling matches and tickling fests with the kids.... and adults. The Goodmans were here too and were so kind and friendly. They are such wonderful people. Mom and Dad and the Goodmans both shared funny stories from their own geneology to which we all laughed. Boy do we have some fun stories to tell! The food was yummy and the company was delightful- I wish no one had to leave. Mom and Dad left to go home this morning. They are stuck in Riverside in traffic- big surprise! But they are almost home. We love when they visit and are SO SAD when they have to leave-but thanks for coming up-we know how incredibly busy you are. Don't have pics just yet-I'll post some when I get some-

A lovely visit with Grandma Mikkelson

2008-01-28T08:34:00.001-08:00

sort of chopped!

2008-01-25T08:57:00.001-08:00

what would it be w/o my signature smooch shot!

i LOVE the side swoop bang!!

so i went to this new guy..i told him i was debating on whether or not to chop my hair to which he replied "women would kill for your hair-leave it long!" RHGHGHHG then he said "you have great hair, so if its short or long it looks good either way"...so i told him right now its just toooo long and toooo heavy..i want it light and bouncy!
he said "lets give you 3 haircuts-its NOT good to just chop all this hair off..thats too drastic and will cause you problems..so instead let me cut it, then you live with it for one week, if you want it shorter you can come back for free to cut it again, then another week, if you want it still shorter i'll cut it again for free"
SOLD!!

so this is what we did--he took 5 inches off and then put in lots of layers to make it bouncy and blend it all together -he was cutting EVERYWHERE i felt like i was on a makeover shower--scary! but it turned out AWESOME!! I SOOO SOOO LOVE IT!! he asked if i wanted it straight or curler..i said lets try curler..so we did--SO SO CUTE! a tip he said is of course to use light hair spray all over head before curling, then use a curling iron to curl the hair, BUT to PIN IT UP so the curl stays hot and cools off IN THE CURL still..so essentially my head looked like i had rollers in it but there were no rollers in it if that makes sense, then after the last curl he did, he took them all out and tousled it a bit..

so what do you think?? im anxious to wash my hair to see what it looks like straight and styled..but so far im loving it!

to chop or not to chop....

2008-01-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

so lately i have been SO done with having long hair!! its too long/too heavy to do much with it...my aunt has been going to this guy who is REALLY good at doing something with your hair that would "work for you"..
SOOOOO i have my appt at 2pm...im totally freaking out as to what he's going to suggest!! YIKES!! ive been wanting to chop it off mid neck forever...maybe i should half my hair and get use to it first..
i'll have to take an after photo to show you what turned out...NERVOUS!

Just for Family and Close Friends Right?

2008-01-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

I think that blogging in general is a way to stay close with especially family when we live so far apart. We write and respond which is fun as long as it stays here on this page. We share events and sweet experiences that happen with our children and families that are somewhat private and geared towards only sharing them with family and really close friends. Please no copying and pasting our words onto any one's blog (No matter who's it is.) This is an attempt to make the distance between us not so far. Lets keep it clean, no gossip, nothing offensive, no slander!

this will be me...

2008-01-16T08:52:00.001-08:00

in a few days or weeks (depending on when i get the appt)...i went to the doctor yesterday who i REALLY actually like---he has ordered me a table tilt test which will have to be done at the hospital most likely..so i have a consult with the cardiologist first, then the actual test--he checked my lab work again and ALL of it looks really good...so they are going to essentially keep probing the heart to see whats going on..
so that is that!

kristi: this has been going on for over 8 weeks now..i can usually tell when its "coming on" and can hold on to something and work my way thru it..but last monday it went really fast and i fell down..i really thought it was my iron because im always low during pregnancy..but he said that my iron levels are actually really good, same with the sugar levels...so that is that!

Blood Work, EKG & a 3D BRAIN scan later

2008-01-11T21:29:00.000-08:00

they still dont know WHY i am passing out..i made an appt to see my dr but i couldnt get in till NEXT tuesday (which really no biggy) i then went to tracy's house and was having a little difficulty (just felt weakish pass outish)so mama tracy MADE me go to the urgent care...
i had my blood drawn, and EKG done and a brain scan (the full on 3D model type)on top of that HELLO!! make a girl ALL BY HERSELF SCARED!!!! i was TRYING to hold it together and not cry..i did okay till i called my dad..why do our parents make us cry and nervous!!
so the dr came in and said my heart is great no problems with the EKG, the blood work is normal too (ie iron, sugar etc)..and the brain scan came back negative so no tumors or bleeding in the brain--UH WHAT?!??!?! we were LOOKING FOR TUMORS OR BLEEDING ON THE BRAIN!?!?!??!?!?!!
so im home now and have kept the tuesday appt with my dr to follow up (seeing how the week goes)& more tests can be made..they are testing my thyroid again and sugar levels again & iron..even though the sugar and iron came back good (which is why he ordered the hairy scary ekg and brain scan)...
so there we have it..

To BE anemica or Not to BE?

2008-01-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

im not exactly sure what happened..i had gotten up & gone downstairs to make sure the girls were getting ready for school...then anna needed some toast so i got up and walking over to the kitchen i felt like i was going to be a goner..so i thought..okay i need to grab onto the counter and take a few breaths...then BAM next thing i know im flat on the wood floor?!?!?! i have a knarly bruise on my chin..i have NO idea how that happened..and my lips are swollen because i bit down on them too...GEESH!!

UPDATE:
okay so im doing better--but this AM felt like i was going to lose it again..but was close enough to a counter to hold on..jons nurse said to take my gold ring and swipe it across my face..if a grey line appears that means im anemic..so i try it and sure enough its practically BLACK! HELLO!!! i said "what a second here..i JUST washed my face and put oil of olay on it and im SURE my ring is TOTALLY DIRTY!!!??" so i cleaned my ring in my chemical cleaner thingy--then tried it again..and sure enough it was grey..i then marked myself up like an indian and showed jon..
SO i GUESS i need to go BACK to the DR's AGAIN and get blood work-geesh!! the last two times i was totally fine in my iron levels..what the heck!!!
SO im asking ALL of you to swipe your ring and leave a post about what happened---i did it to becca--and she had nothing..so now im wondering...so try it and let me know!

Xmas Happenings...

2008-01-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

Xmas eve..

i wrapped during the day so we were set xmas eve night, i got the stockings stuff & gifts under the tree...only to have to unplug TWO toilets with one OVERFLOWING!!! YUCK!!!!!!!!! as im shoving the plunger into it and trying to stop the chaos from spreading further on my tile floor..i couldnt help but think to myself "this is NOT how i imagined spending xmas eve!??!!" happy to report, got both toilets working and a mess cleaned & CLOROXED up..so wrong.

xmas morning the older girls woke at 130AM to upwrap their stockings!?!?! what in the world!??! i thought i heard something..so sent them back to bed..only the older 3 were up..lovely.

here they are xmas morning at a more decent hour..

i bought them all xmas jammies earlier in the month (not sure where becca's was??)

after all the gift opening (we go one at a time by age)--i had 4 gift bags..i gave one to each girl and had them open them at the same time..they were all doggy toys..yes..i have been broken down..ME the "not a pet fan" decided to get a dog after waiting these many years..INTRODUCING ROXY!

(we picked her up from the humane society--she is 1.5 years old and is a shetland/terrier mix) im happy to report its already 2008 and its still living! after all of our pet horror stories..this is good news right!?!?!

my parents gave us money for xmas so i got jon a recliner

(which is now the entire family favorite chair)note to self CLEAN THE CAMERA LENSE-geesh! and yes roxy is inside most of the time..that will change when school starts back up next week--she's a good dog indoors and doesnt come up and bug me (ie sniff my yahoo-if you get my drift-i HATE when dogs do that!!)
and jon bought me a GPS system for my denali

its small and handheld-its FABULOUS!!! you can type in an address, fuel, food etc..or type in a name..dont ya love how i typed in BEN AFFLECKS HOUSE!!!! i have it as one of my "favorites" and bring it up when jons in the car..he just rolls his eyes & laughs...good times!

i prefer the british man telling me when/where to turn...

photo of basically what is going on as we head back & forth to OC almost daily..

the boys playing xbox, or us all watching a movie, girls shopping, lots of fast food, chocolate etc..good times!

thanks for the plaque kristi-i SO love it!

i hung it above the photos of the girls i took..

and lastly is our xmas photo display..

its like our "wall of friends"..ours are STILL ON THE WAY--so keep an eye out for it!!!

Brittany Tackles 9

2007-12-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

Happy 9th Birthday Brittany
Has it really been 9 years. Such a lovely young lady Brittany is turning into. Quite a peacemaker and so fun to be around! Very white and yellow! Okay here are NINE favorite things we love about "Our Britta."
1. Smiling all the time!
2. Giggling all the time!
3. Her tenacity on the soccer field. Watch out!
4. The way she includes every child no matter the age.
5. Her infatuation with Harry Potter and all things pertaining.
6. Her incredible organization.
7. Her sweet hugs and kisses that she gives at just the right times.
8. Her love of her family.
9. Her genuine desire to do what is good and right.
Brittany we love you with all our hearts.

Flawless Family Fun

2007-12-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

Scott, Kellie, Esther Hales, Becca and Madeline (Kellie's sister and niece) came all the way up to the winter wonderland to visit. We had a fabulous time being with eachother and "hanging out." Even when it was time for them to go, I found myself wishing they had just a little more time to stay. Mark, Jennifer, Scott and Kellie all went snow boarding on Wed.-next year I am soooo... there! I think it would be fun to rent a cabin maybe in Big Bear and go boarding for a couple of days.- We'll all have to plan for it. Overall it was so nice to have family here and delightful to get to know Esther so well. (She really is a lovely, bright child!) Miss you guys already! Have a Merry Christmas in warm sunny so cal-

2007-12-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

Christina- rambling through my pics of the year and saw this one-thought you and Jon would like it.

2007-12-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos of my CHEERLEADERS!!

They really do enjoy doing this-especially Rachel (which is why i did it, she doesnt care for sports (afraid she'll get hit by the ball FRUSTRATING FOR ME!!)
We are all heading to Disneyland-the girls will be marching in the parade at 3pm saturday-all of the family with passes are coming-SO FUN! thanks for supporting everyone!!!

We also on Sunday will be having Grandma Perry's xmas party at 6pm in Ladera Ranch at the clubhouse near Tim's house--i'll take photo's and post them --looking forward to my fiddle faddle!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

2007-12-08T12:03:00.001-08:00

Brittany (9, this month)

Garrett (3)
Kaylee (10)

Matthew (5)

What a wonderful storm! We got so much snow. The streets are a mess but our kiddies are in heaven! We spent the morning sledding and building a ramp so the kids could go REALLY fast! I think that the adults were having just as much fun as the children.

2007-12-03T22:58:00.000-08:00

Sunday the Hales Crowd met at Robert/Sandra's for some grub (enchiladas, mexican rice, chicken divan, HUGE green salad & and OF COURSE some bread (some sort of hales tradition or maybe neccessity???!! they ALWAYS have bread at every dinner meal-cracks me up!) we then celebrated kellie and grahams bday with chocolate brownies w/ peppermint ice cream on top-SO GRUB!

this is BOO from monsters inc i SWEAR!

and then off to the creche..

(kids got to dress up-celene said graham HAD to be a pirate! sall good-it WAS his bday afterall right!)

i was PATROLLING the kids to make SURE their "hands were behind their backs" as we looked at the creche displays (we loved how every other sign said "please do not touch!") too funny..they were all really good about not touching any of them..or maybe that was because aunt nazi was behind them cracking the whip!??!
It was a fun night for all of us-we love getting together once a month on starving sunday..oh i mean FAST sunday...

Tonite for FHE our family dragged out our xmas decor--rachel was not happy about our "fake" xmas tree..but got into the spirit of things..here are some fun photos..

snowbabies that somebody made me (there are 5 girls..hmmm???-NO THIS IS NOT ANY SORT OF ANNOUNCEMENT!! but it does haunt me-should this worry me???!!)

i LOVE driving by houses and SEEING the xmas tree thru a window..so this year we put our "fake" tree in the dining room for all to see..or maybe just for me to see as i pull into the driveway..the girls loved having it there..and so will i--

2007-11-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

Okey-dokey, Christmas season is here and I need some

good ideas

for new traditions to start with my children. No such thing as too many suggestions. This is my favorite time of the year and I would really like to do some different and fun activities with my children that will help them to understand and appreciate why we celebrate this holiday. Thanks!

2007-11-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

'TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING

Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep.I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.The leftovers beckoned--the dark meat and white,but I fought the temptation with all of my might.Tossing and turning with anticipation,the thought of a snack became infatuation.So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the doorand gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,till all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the skyWith a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees.......happy eating to all---pass the cranberries, please!~~Author Unknown.~~

Grandma Mikkelson wanted me to send this cute poem to everyone-Happy Thanksgiving to all. We are thankful for our wonderful family and friends.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

2007-11-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

Normally, my kids are not allowed in my bed. It usually ends by me being kicked in the tummy or trying to sleep with children literally tangled all over. I don't think it matters how many times you try to place their bodies vertical in the bed, they always end up horizontal! Last night we made an exception. Both my boys somehow made it into my bed and when I woke up this am found them like this-darling!

2007-11-13T12:44:00.001-08:00

Sarah had her baptism satrudayhe turn out was SO GOOD! the room was completely full! we were totally shocked! i had the whole family take part in the baptism..so the bishopric member kept saying "i guess its safe to say thank you bro. or sis. hales" it was funny..we had my parents, heidi's fam, jons parents, chads fam, todds fam, scotts fam and a lot of our ward friend families--it was just so neat..
jon was able to baptize her in the font-it was something special..after the ordinance, they both looked at eachother like "we did it!" it was awesome..then we had everyone come back to our house for some good grub..

this is my parents holding heidi's little girl paige-she's GORGEOUS!

it was so neat to have SUCH huge family & friend support--thanks to everyone!!

Sad News...

2007-11-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Im having a hard time putting this post together, so bare with me...this AM i came downstairs to check my email. My brother in Brazil sent me an email to tell my our father died Oct. 31st at 1:30pm. He was buried later that day in the Lages Cemetary where our mother is buried. It was exactly this day 2 years ago that i made the decision to try to find my father. My initial intent when going to Brazil with jon was to just see where i came from-thinking that there was no way i'd ever find any family. I decided on Nov. 2nd, 2005 to find my father and siblings. I made a few calls and then we left for Brazil Nov. 5th and my life changed forever in a way that i will never be able to explain to anyone. I remember the joy and excitement and really just the shock that i was able to find anyone, let a lone my entire family! I remember the 1st day i met my father, how nervous i was, how many questions i had etc. I thought he'd be a huge german guy-then meeting him and seeing that instead he was just a small & simple quiet man.

He was the one that named me Cristina. My parents wrote names on a paper, crinkled them up and put them into a bowl, then my mother pulled out my 1st name which was Luciana, and my father pulled out my 2nd name which is Cristina. He was so excited that i have been going by the name he picked for me. This man has lived many lives. He married a wonderful woman he was madly in love with and 10 years older then he. He quickly had 4 children with her. She passes suddenly and was heartbroken ever since. His life spiraled down and he ended up losing all of his children and lived his life on alcohol ever since. Towards the end of his life, he got better and worked and lived in a convalescent type home helping all the nuns that worked there, he would clean the kitchen, prepare meals, make everyone happy. He seemed to be a joyful fun loving carefree easygoing kind of man, much like myself.

Timing is such an interesting thing. I now know that HF certainly had a hand in making my Brazil trip and meeting my family a possibility. Too many things came together that dont normally happen. I will forever be grateful for following the promptings of the Spirit and having faith that "what will happen, will happen" and stepping on that plane that has changed my life for the better. Im grateful especially this day that Jon was healthy and we were in a position financially, emotionally and spiritually to take this journey together. I will forever be grateful for those 17 days of my life. This is harder on me then i thought it would be. I didnt know my father like most children know their father, but im grateful for him and what he did for our family when he was healthy and happy. If it wasnt partly for him, i would have nothing here today. My life, my family, my membership. I know that he is now healthy once again and will be working on making things correct in his next life. Im sure my mother was the 1st in line to greet him. I bet it is just beautiful.

Before Halloween..

2007-11-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

at joanns i picked up a halloween craft (gotta love 70%off sales!) and told the girls to get their homework/chore done for their marbles and then they could all do a craft..it was fun and they had a good time:

why does becca look SO HOMELESS in this photo??? lovely..

after dinner we had FHE which was taping new white pillow cases onto the kitchen table and letting the girls use fabric makers (FABULOUS!!!)to design their "trick or treat" candy bags--i definately earned the mom of the year award for that one!!

and after photos:

then we put together AS A TEAM these cute "ding dong ditch plates":

and off we went..i let the girls ride in the VERY back of the denali w/ no seatbelts which SOMEONE felt the NEED to give me the "this is not safe" drill to which my reply was "you are SO MY PARENTS!!!" quietness soon followed - GEESH! i only stayed in my little neighborhood here and never went over 4 miles..the girls were WAY excited to be back there together planning out their adventure..jon got into it and left his "daddyness" behind and just had fun! we only got "caught" by our last family which was HILARIOUS!!

Halloween Goodness!

2007-11-01T08:43:00.001-07:00

We had fun for halloween--here is a photo of the girls before we left:

rachel (vampire girl w/ pet TINY lizards on her shoulder-she was frustrated that everyone kept thinking she was a PRINCESS and nobody even noticed the TINYYYY lizards), sarah (pirate girl), anna (red robot-she was mad everyone thought she was "just a box" for halloween), becca (purple robot-who was beat after 10 houses-so she hung out with jon and was tickled to death to get to hand out the treats!) I ended up buying some candy to pass out along WITH the toys-the toys were a hit and we must have had a TON of people come because 3 huge bags of candy were gone and almost the ENTIRE HUGE bucket of toys (from places like mcdonalds that my neighbor gave to the girls) are gone!!
it was really fun going thru the "hood" seeing old neighbors, friends etc..our street always has the MOST people on it because its a long street and people do "fun" things to their garages/front doors etc..
here is a photo of the after stash-let the candy goodness begin!

Hogwarts Express

2007-10-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

When I was a child I loved Halloween. Remember the stake center trunk-or-treats? I remember the parking lot and the cars being so huge. There seemed to be so many cars! I remember people decorating their trunks with spider webs, lights and bubbling cauldrons filled with dry ice and spooky music. Inside were all sorts of games. Musical chairs, the fishing pole booth, bobbing for apples and the cupcake walk were some of my favorites. I remember being frightened by some of the costumes which were quite mild compared to what showed up on my doorstep tonight. Funny how I don't remember the candy. Well like any other mother, my children came home with their pillow cases filled with candy. How their faces were beaming with their conquest of getting "as much as they possibly could." Oh the joy and innocence of being a child. If only we all lived close to share our days and moments with each other. We miss you all- Happy Halloween.

Time 'o' time turn back your flight, make me a child again just for the night.

-A River Runs Through It.

Official baptismal Info

2007-10-28T20:43:00.001-07:00

After MANY back and forths her new date is official for Sat. Nov 10th at 630pm. No need to bring food now, we'll be having jose's mexican grub here at the house-whoo hoo!

The New Dew

2007-10-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

My hair stylist cut hair from the back to cover the front-thought she did a good job of "covering" up the bald spots.

A "Hairy" Tale

2007-10-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

So to all you ladies out there, I have some tid bits of advise that I unfortunately have learned from experience. We all get that "itch," wanting to change something. Hoping that a new look will give us that "zing" to capture our husband's eye. (Nothing better than a positive double take from our man!) We tend to do drastic things,... hair color, cut, manicures, pedicures, waxes (ouch!,) facials, micro-derm abrasion, acid peels, botox, lifts and tucks. The list goes on and on. Efforts in attempt to defy gravity and restore youth. Sometimes we kid ourselves into thinking that we enjoy this type of torture but we really just want to keep.

My hair has been long forever. I don't think that I have had bangs since I was 11. Long and straight, boring but I loved it. Whip it into a ponytail and I was off. Perfect for being a mommy, cleaning, nursing, working, playing soccer, everything, A-Z! Being in my 30's and feeling like I needed to look a little more than ready to play a soccer game, a friend suggested that I cut it short so I had a style. Thinking that I would give short hair a try, I grew it out unusually long and cut it to donate it to a charity. Romantic notion but not very practical since I have never really ever had a "Real" hair style. Short hair was fun at first, but boy did I miss those "whip it back' days. And one thing that people don't tell you is that short hair needs to be trimmed all the time. So you go in to have a "trim" and you come out even shorter than the short hair was before. So this last week I had a trim and a color. Something went drastically wrong with the strength of the chemicals and slowly I am loosing all my bangs. I mean the whole "Sha-bangs!"I noticed it because it looked as though I had a bald spot right were my hair was parted. There they were, literally, thousands of little itty-bitty hairs that were starting to grow back out after being burned off. So after this terribly story what is my point? Lets recognize a good thing when we have it. Aside from what media or peers or neighbors or whomever says, it is okay to be the same. It is okay to age. It is fine to keep doing what works for you. I think that it is important to look good but it doesn't mean that we have to change to societies pressures or influences. I am no expert on men but I think that instead of being drastic with our appearance, being kind, gentle, attentive, caring and considerate with our man will give us more "double takes" then being consumed with our appearance. Getting older can be beautiful and graceful if we embraced the experiences along the way.

Read the Script!

2007-10-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

Jon has created a website for our ward roadshow-i KNOW we are SOOO cool arent we!! hahah so feel free to download the script-then read it and email him at jphales@gmail.com between him being creative and me funny and NEVER afraid to delegate-we make an awesome pair!
www.roadshow.biggamenews.com

On thursday's i have signed my girls up in cheerleading-i THOUGHT i'd have a houseful of atheletes--i guess it will be cheerleaders...im kind of concerned?!?!? i didnt play sports till HS so im not too worried--

speaking of sports-me and 2 other moms from my ward play volleyball on thursday nights 9-11pm with the singles ward...SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUN! and suprisingly i STILL GOT GAME! OH YA!! we play with the "swearing samoans" we call them--lets just call them the "less actives"?!?! they are fun people and keep things going!!

Also for those moms potty training-becca went to "potty training camp" yesterday-she did SOOO GOOD! the camp is at my friends house and she would just ask becca if she "needed to go" to which she'd say yes and GO or no im good..i think she was ready this whole time--i just didnt make any effort..she came home and did good too..she was also DRY thru the night and got up and went HERSELF this AM--so lots of "potty parties" going on over here--she's going back to camp to just follow up..so ROCK ON i say! -kim i know you're jealous!! hahah

Fall is Here!

2007-10-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

I love the Fall weather, semi-warm days and cool nights. The hills are filled with bright orange, red, yellow and shades of green. Winter is definately on its way. The only bad thing about fall time is how long it lasts. We usually are in winter atire by Halloween. Soccer season ended this last week for all the children. They really had a great year. I enjoyed being their coach and am looking forward to coaching a competitive team for them next year. I have recently started playing on an indoor team for women. Had to stop playing outdoor due to a neck injury-scary! A group of women from my last neighborhood started the team so I get to play with a whole bunch of my friends. It is so much fun-besides, Katie plays on the same team and it is a total blast playing with her. We all had a great time with mom and dad who came up for conference and mission reunions. They seemed to have a great time and enjoyed a great turnout,(Something like 60 people.) Conference was amazing! Really felt uplifted and renewed after hearing revelation of the Lord's servants. Katie- breakfast was fabulous! -love to all and hope to see you soon-

Holy "Mac"anolie

2007-10-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Family! Just returned from our "Blitz" trip up to Flaming Gourge, Utah. The weather looked bleak on the news but ended up being pristine. As most of you know, Chris entertains clients from all around by taking them places for them to relax, (Shmoozing as Jon would say.) This is one of the guides that he uses up in Northern Utah/Wyoming. Since Chris has done so... much business with him this year, the guide gave Chris a freebee and took us up to go fishing. We stayed in a cabin, made a fire in the fire ring while deer literally stood about 20 feet away. (The deer seemed to be more interested in us then we were in them.) The kids loved it. We awoke very early and set out for the boat on the Gourge. The guide served us warm cinnamon bread and hot chocolate and we caught alot of fish. It was a great vacation.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-03T19:37:00.001-07:00

Sarah's Baptism

2007-10-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

is set for Nov. 3rd at 5pm at the Jackson Stake Center in Riverside. It is the SAME DAY as our MAJOR roadshow rehearsal so i will be stressed to the limit! We'll be having food back at our house after catered from Jose's Mexican (our family FAVORITE)because its cheap and ohhh sooo good!

RoadShow? For Reals??

2007-09-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

So we were asked last Sunday to be in CHARGE of the roadshow-we managed to pull a script together complete with original song lyrics-good thing im funny and jons creative! we make a good pair!
Today we have worked on it HARD and have it completely organized-because jon is a microsoft excel sheet JUNKIE!! We are presenting the skit to the youth tomorrow night for the first time-hopefully they are excited about it--we will record the final version live and post it on the blog here--which will be somewhere around Nov. 9th--
Its been REALLY fun to work with Jon in this capacity together--we hardly get to do much of anything for fun so this has been great! we have a cute sister in our ward that will come each wed night to stay with the girls so we can fulfill this calling--

Girls Night Out!

2007-09-21T00:06:00.000-07:00

Our ward had a R/S function to Celebrate Sisters so ALL ages were invited 0-100!

We had a good time and made magnets using daddy's elementary school photos--SO CUTE!

2007-09-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

A Long Day- Garrett falling asleep while watching me make dinner-darling! This gene comes from Mom.

What a Great Family!

2007-09-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

Okay... So I realize that Christina and I are the only ones posting but I have to tell you about how GREAT Jennifer's family is! They are here to visit Jennifer and Mark from Venezuela. They leave in the morning after a 3 week trip to California, Las Vegas and Utah. They are such wonderful friendly people. It is amazing how I don't even speak their language and yet felt like I spoke with them the whole night. Katie and Seth came over and we ate lots of food, played soccer, volleyball, laughed and enjoyed eachothers company. I absolutely love them! Here are some pics in front of our home- love to all-kristi

plus- threw in a pic of Britta today at her soccer game... She is an awesome player!( And I love being her coach!)

Braithwaites Buzz Through Utah

2007-09-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

Katie and I had a great time with Shara and her 4 girls. We all hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls and the kids splashed in the water. She is living in Yorba Linda, CA. and is happy and says hello to everyone. Isn't it amazing how the gospel can impact peoples lives? It was a beautiful day!

Are YOU Prepared?

2007-09-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

So this AM at 430 there was ANOTHER small earthquake near Rancho Santa Margarita in OC then AGAIN at 730 ANOTHER small earthquake in the SAME PLACE! what the heck! this makes 4 earthquakes in that SAME EXACT PLACE!! im telling you-all you OC peeps are going to be in the ocean one day and we'll end up with ocean front property! just kidding!
This AM after scriptures i asked the girls what they do at school if there is an earthquake-they did the cover face/head under desk drill-then they said they walk outside when its safe WITH their teacher to the blacktop-i told them should anything happen-STAY THERE and I WILL COME RUN AND GET YOU! i told them that the prophet has asked us MANY times to "be prepared" -so i told them we now have lots of food

Vons had their going out of business sale-so my parents & heidi STOCKED US UP!

we have plenty of water (THANKS TO CELESTA!)

(the blue tubs are EMPTY THOUGH!??!

but atleast we have the pool!, i put together our "rolling trash can" with food, water, blankets, ALL kinds of safety/emergency stuff

-so we are prepared and everything will be okay should anything major happen. I told them that i would need their help in carrying their own packpack

and helping me to push dad in his wheelchair-that we'll need to work as a team to stay safe-but again i reassured them our family would be taken care of because we listened to the prophet and are prepared so we will not have to be afraid or scared--
so WHEW!!!!
THanks dad for getting those folders FULL of information for us!! When you fall into the ocean-swim our way and we'll take care of you!

2007-09-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hi. this is mostly a test to make sure I know how to do this. Today was my second day at Seminary. I have 39 kids on my class list and the last two days I have had 27 in attendance. It fills the room. Not sure how to handle that many in one class, but they are well behaved and listen well. Participation is presently in need of help, but that will improve as time goes on.
Love you all. And I look forward to seing your input on this site. Thanks Christina. By the way (not a name) how do I get to this if I am not being emailed a notice by Christina as to its existence. and P.S. Thanks for the pictures, Kristi. They are great!!

A Great Football Game

2007-09-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

Thought you all might want to see our fun day at the BYU Football Game. Todd, Celene, Taylor, Anika, Graham, Maxwell, Micheal and Chelsea Christensen and their little one, all the Anderton Gang and Mark went on Sept. 1 vs Arizona- Had a blast. (Was about 102 degrees outside.) So great to see Todd and his family!- We miss you guys!

Schools In Session

2007-09-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

Great idea Christina! All in the Anderton crew are doin' great. Summer is over and we have started off another school year with happy kids."The Routine" has begun again but with Matthew in school, it is very quiet in our home during school hours.
I have been reading two very interesting books to fill time. If any one wants to borrow them let me know and I will send them to you. One is Change Your Brain Change Your Life, by Daniel G Amen, M.D, it is a study on the power of the brain as it relates to behavior. I have been fascinated by the physical functions that they can map in studying certain personalities and behavioral issues. Basically, it has helped me to understand what some of my weaknesses are, and then address them with basic principles like diet, excersize, attitude (a biggy!,)avoiding tendencies, control/acknowlege depression. All info. is based on psychological studies but emphasises physical findings and charactaristics of the brain. VERY interesting! A good read! The other book was given to me by a friend, Getting Past No, Negotiating Your Way From Confrontation To Cooperation by William Ury. Since I am like 90% RED personality, I really need this book! I really enjoy the way it helps you to premeditate appropriate behavior for different situations. Probably a good read for any Hales since we are not lacking in confidence and can sometimes be overbearing in our oppinions. (Right? or is it just me?)
Chris is doing well. Since his recent release from his YM Pres. calling, we have been seeing him a little more often. He is doing well in his job. He has recommited himself to his education and is taking 9 credits this semester in hopes to FINALLY graduate with Mark, Katie, and Seth next fall. We are all grateful to announce that after 15 lbs. and almost 3 weeks of being deathly ill, Chris is finally parasite free! (As an FHE activity, we swam at the Lehi Legacy Center where there was a horrific outbreak of this nasty parasite... we got it of course!) So FYI- no swimming activities in Utah for a really long time! The great part is Chris is lookin HOT! (Wish I could loose 15 lbs in 3 wks....... just not the way he did!)
We love you all. Look forward to the holidays so we might be able to see you again-Kristi

Welcome!

2007-09-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a place where we can all share our family happenings with eachother. If you need help figuring out how to post-feel free to email me.