It's over!

Wahoo! Chris graduated! :) He is so excited to have some time to breathe and I'm excited to have him home more (until he starts the MBA program). :) I am really proud of him! Somehow he has managed to balance work, school and us (which is demanding in itself!). I will post pictures of the graduation later, but here are some pics of lunch afterward.

UPDATE!

Pretty much I stink at blogging now! I will save everyone from the excuses and leave it at that. :) lol Here are some updates and pictures from family vacation... in August.

Grant is wild as ever and keeping me busy! Between potty training and being a 2 1/2 year old, he is a hand full! He is so sweet and says the funniest things. For example, the other day I walked down the stairs after getting ready and he said, "Mom, you look nice!" It was so funny (and sweet). He will tell you how old he is and when his birthday is, and even how old Micheal is! He loves his brother and is such a big helper! He has a new fascination with cars and spends a lot of time playing with them. He has also had this weird thing lately with guns...fake guns...his finger, really. He shoots "naughty guys", which is really against the rules, but he does it anyway. The other day he told me I was a "naughty guy" and pointed his finger at me, so I "took" his gun and put it up and he actually believed that I took his gun. hahaha I thought it was so funny, he didn't, but it was! Mean, I know. His personality keeps us laughing and he's just such a good boy!

Michael is the most pleasant baby ever (most of the time). :) He is always so content and happy. He lets anyone hold him and is a good snuggler! He is crawling around very quickly these days. He follows me everywhere too. :) We think he'll start walking here pretty soon because he walks along side of the couch and will turn and take a step and grab onto the coffee table. He has also been letting go of stuff and standing on his own! What will I do?! hahaha He has figured out how to go up the stairs (which is a little scary) and making sure he's not crawling up them is a full time job on it's own. He says, "Da Da" and a few times has said, "Ma Ma". I just can't believe how fast they grow and how much they learn, especially in the first year. Pretty soon he'll be running around with Grant and won't want to stop to snuggle me. :( haha Such is life!

Enjoy the pics! Hopefully it's not too long before the next update! :)

Grant imitated Michael's picture below (which was not on purpose). :)

Rock star!

hahaha Don't ask me what face that is....

Beck and Grant at Lagoon.

I just love that smile!

Daddy and Grant

A few pics from Newport

My computer isn't recognizing the card from my camera, so I haven't been able to post any really recent pics (sorry). These will have to do for now. :)

Little Update:
Grant is pretty much POTTY TRAINED! He hasn't had any accidents in a while... well, actually, he had one on Saturday...but it had been a little while before that. :) We are super stoked about it! He is such a good boy! Thanks for being so cooperative, Grant! Mommy and Daddy really appreciate it... so does the wallet! :)
Michael is getting so close to CRAWLING! He's doing the army crawl thing right now, and boy is he fast! He gets up on his knees and rocks and has even gone a few... "crawls" lol what would that word be? Not steps... I don't know, you get it though. haha He also has his first two bottom TEETH coming in! Pretty exciting stuff! Nice and cranky... gotta love it!



Just a fun pic of our little clan.

I think this picture is so cool! One morning (after Chris had come back to AZ for work and I was still in CA) Grant woke up way early, so my father-in-law took him down to the beach to let me sleep a little longer (have I mentioned how much I love him?) and they found all kinds of cool things... things that I probably would never touch. :)

I'M ALIVE!!!!!

Okay, so if anyone thought that I fell off the face of the Earth... I pretty much did... well, in Blogger world, at least. So, last time I posted was for Grant's birthday-like 4 months ago! Holy cow, was that a long time ago! I am so sorry I have been such a slacker! I have never done this poorly actually and the more I thought about posting, the more daunting it became because the more I would have to catch up on... so, I'm just going to tell the most recent and add a few pics (when my computer stops being lame) and then I will start fresh. Do you all forgive me? lol

We went on vacation with Chris' family in June to Newport Beach, which was awesome! The weather was great and it was time to get away! We had a lot of fun visiting with the family and had lots of good food! lol Poor Chris was sick almost the whole time though.

Well, probably the most exciting thing that happened this summer was that WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! We love it! It is in a good area in Mesa and close to both family's, which is most important. We're still getting stuff all moved around and when we're done we'll have to throw a party! :)

We just got back a couple of weeks ago from the vacation with my side. We went to St. George and visited my grandparents, then to Boise to see my sister, Jamie, and her family (so so so much fun to see Beck!). Michael got a double ear infection, which wasn't cool at all! We then went down to visit our grandpa in Basalt, ID (about 20 minutes from Idaho Falls). After that we stayed a couple of days in Salt Lake and went to Lagoon, and then made our way back to St. George... and then home! It was a long two weeks, but so great to see everyone!

Grant is active as ever and keeping me busy (hence, the no blogging for 4 months)! haha He loves his playroom and loves to destroy it even more! He has come very close (many times) to hitting us in the head with golf balls, but he's has to practice if he's going to be better than Tiger, right?

Michael is getting so close to crawling! He's doing the army crawl thing right now, but getting ready to take off! His personality is shining through and we love it! We cannot believe how fast he's growing- he's already 7 months old! :( He says, "Da Da" and "Ba Ba" and loves spitting bubbles. His new trick this week is when we say, "Michael, are you so sick?" he fake coughs- hilarious!

Happy Birthday Grant!

Grant's Diego bike! Our neighbors have these bikes and Grant always tried to steal them, so I thought it would be a good idea to get him his own. :) He loves it (even though he can't reach them pedal yet). haha

Swimming with Daddy.

Go Grant! He loves to jump in the pool. :)

The Thomas the Train cake that I made! Turned out pretty well! My sister did help with the face, I won't lie. :)

David Archuleta Concert!

My sister and I went to the David Archuleta concert last month (sorry I am just now posting the pictures) and it was so great! He performed really well and we were right up in the front... it was awesome! Peanut and I even made cute shirts to wear at the concert. Chris thinks I'm silly, but that's okay. He told me to leave my ring home because I would be embarrassed to be the only married women there.... ya right! Do you know how many women were there (and not just the ones there with their teenage daughters)? ha ha ha Anyway, we had a blast and it was a nice night out with my sister! Enjoy the pics!

My amazing sister-in-law....

So, Charmaine is one of the most creative and "crafty" people I know. She knows how to do everything... no lie! She has been doing announcements and cards and stuff for a while now and is finally starting to listen to all of us who have told her to make a business of it. :) You tell her what you want and she can do it (whether it's fixing photos, a wedding announcement, a birthday invitation... anything)! The best thing is that she is better than a lot of the places out there and she's much cheaper! So, go check out her Etsy Shop!!! The button is over to the right. :)

Bedtime at the Hales'

The other night we were getting ready to put Grant down to bed and while we were reading him a story he climbed on his bed to lay with Michael. He got so cuddly and sweet with him and I just had to take some pictures. He wanted Michael to lay in his arm-the way he (Grant) lays with Daddy. :)

Random Happenings

Well, since I have been a MAJOR slacker lately, there's too much to post about...so, I will just give a little update of us.

Going to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale. (Such a cool park!)

Michael smiles like a pro!

Grant jumps in the pool like a pro! :)

We played outside and saw a great big butterfly. Grant enjoyed watching it fly around from one flower to the other.

Grant made pancakes (with Mom's help).

Michael learned to box! :) Watch out Ali!

Celebrated Kenady's 1st birthday and played on the swings.

Chris got me some flowers just for fun. Always nice!

Michael's Baby Blessing

Chris actually blessed Michael on March 1st, but I am just now getting around to posting the pictures. The blessing was so beautiful and the spirit was really strong! Chris did a great job. The grandpas, fathers, brothers, and brothers-in-law were able to stand in the circle, which made it quite large (9 people). It's a pretty neat sight! Thank you all for coming and supporting our family. We love you!

Sorry to those who left before we could get a picture with you!

Hale boys!

Our friend Dray is absolutely amazing (for so many reasons)! Not only does she take great pictures, but she loves it and the kids love her! I'm sure she would be more than willing to do pictures for anyone who is interested. http://dietrichdiaries.blogspot.com/
Here are some of the great shots she got of the boys. Enjoy!!!

Of couse Chris loves the basketball ones. :)

We can't get over what a stud he is in this picture. Love it!

Praying like Enos.... ha ha (He copies Enos from his Book of Mormon storybook)

I really love this one of Michael!

Grant's "school" picture. ha ha