Pedicures

My sister and her husband were here for a week and it was so much fun. Rachel is sweet, kind-hearted and generous. One thing I really wanted to do with her was get a pedicure. She's never had one and I've only had one once, but that was enough for me to know that I LOVE them. So I talked her into going and we had a blast. She kept saying "I never knew..." It was luxurious, to say the least. And the little Korean ladies loved Rachel. They kept commenting on how happy she was. We were watching Wipeout on the tv while we were getting the pedicure, and we couldn't stop laughing. Rachel also got her hands done and we both got our eyebrows waxed. Painful, but necessary :). The Korean lady told Rachel that my eyebrows were "bushy." I guess I should go more often. We were there for two hours and Rachel gave them such a big tip that the owner gave her a hug and told her to come back. Hopefully we will.

Goodbye Borris. You've been great.

Today we took Jonathan's car to the junkyard. They gave us $200 for him. That seems like such a small pitance for what Borris has done for us. Borris, so named by Jonathan, is a '91 Mazda MX6. Jonathan has driven him for 8 years and he runs like a tank. He just runs and runs and runs. But the quality of the runs has been diminshing lately. We would have kept him had it not been for the air conditioning problem. The problem is there is no air conditioning. Jonathan would come home in a complete sweat and I was afraid he was going to get heat stroke while he was stuck in traffic. Not to mention that the starter is going out, among other things. To see a great look at what life is like in Borris, take a look at these funny videos.

Thanks for the good times, Borris. I never thought in a million years that you would be around as long as you have. Thanks for taking good care of my husband as we have moved you from UT, to AZ, to MO, and back to AZ. Borris the Beast, I bid you farewell.

We're Back!

We had a lot of fun with my family these past two weeks. The only sad part was that we missed Jonathan, and it is nice to be home. But it was so great for my family to get to know my little girlies. My mom was the only one in my family who had met Janie previous to this trip. My parents loved having us there and took every opportunity to play with the girls. And they loved all the attention, not to mention the fact that "Grandparents don't have rules."

Janie and my Mom.

Sami enjoyed countless horsey and airplane rides from my dad.

My little brother Danny (who is not very little at all) loves to play chess. He taught me how to play and then whipped me in about 10 minutes, and he even told me moves to take out his men. I definitely need more practice. He loves to play my dad because it's a challenge, and when they play, there's complete silence as they concentrate. This is a very familiar sight in the Hall home:

Sami could do no wrong in her Uncle Danny's eyes. He would get down his chess set and let her play with the pieces and the board. That was true love because he loves his chess set.

Janie loves to give kisses. She grabs your face and gives very open-mouthed, very slobbery, very sweet kissies. Auntie Rachie (my sister Rachel) was a favorite recipient of the kiss.

My Grandma moved to my hometown about three years ago. It was fun for her to play with her great grandchildren and it was good for me to get to know her better since she wasn't around a lot when I was kid. It was fun to realize that there was often four generations of women in the room at the same time: Grandma, Mom, me, Sami, and Janie. And when my sister was around, the group was complete.

We're Off!

Tomorrow morning, the girls and I take off for Nebraska to visit my family for two weeks. I am excited to see all my brothers and sister, but sad to leave Jonathan behind. He has to go to PA to take a test and then he works in family practice clinic for the next month. I will take lots of pictures and have lots to blog about when I get back. But for now, I will leave with some pictures of my beauty queens.

Fun Times

I love watching these cute dancers. I love Janie keeping her own beat in the background. I love Julia's disco moves (a.k.a. wheels on the bus) and I love Sami's laugh.


Here's another great one. We were listening to Jon Schmidt's new song, "Love Story Meets Viva La Vida."

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

My sweetheart, Prince Charming, and very best friend is 29 today! I love you Sweetie!!

Hungry Janie

I can hardly believe that Janie is old enough for cereal, but she is. We decided to wait until she was closer to five months to start her on rice cereal because Jonathan was allergic to everything as a child (wheat, dairy, etc). But we noticed that everytime I took a bite of something while holding her she turned her head to the spoon and opened her mouth. So we knew she was ready. And we (especially Jonathan) were hoping for some really funny faces during those first few bites, but she was so hungry and excited that the spoon was coming for her, that she hardly made any faces at all. She loves her cereal, and will eat as much as I give her.

What would we do without our Janie Banie?!!