My brother Ted & his family came & visited us this weekend. We went to the Reid Park Zoo, the movie theater to see Where the Wild Things Are (don't see it-boring, freaky, strange, I could go on & on), church, & to Launs work to see the animals. We had a good time visiting & enjoying Laun's grilling.

This was marlees 1st visit to the zoo & she loved it. She really liked the giraffes, monkeys, & lion.

I love these pictures of these 2 checking eachother out.

Here is Clayton by a snake

Here is Marlee back where she was before, she just couldn't get enough.

The jaguars were so close-this zoo is great because almost all the animals are really easy to see.

Marlee made lots of excited noises when she saw the lion.

Port looking at a bear & holding his map- he was our "tour guide".

Marlee loved being so up close to all the wildlife.

We got a year membership so, we should be going a lot more often.

This was a big weekend for Marlee because not only was it her 1st time to the zoo but, it was also her 1st time to the movie theater & she did great. The boys were very excited to see their cousins for a couple days. We all had a good weekend.

I started babysitting my friends twin boys this week. They are 10 months old & Marlee is 1 so, it is kind of like having triplets. I am going to watch them mon-fri from 8:30-1:30 & so far it is going awesome. It is fun for Marlee to have babies around her age to play with. They are very good babies & I am happy that Marlee will have to learn a little patience(:



Here is Port with his 100 project- to celebrate the 100th day of kindergarden:



We got this new rug for the living room & the kids love it. Marlee will crawl across it & then stop & lay down. The kids like it so much that I think we should just skip presents for the year & give them a rug for their room.

Marlee hearts nutella

Clayton left his spoon with nutella on it a little too close to Marlee. She didn't mind one bit, she was all smiles. If you haven't tried this junk yet, you've got to, it is awesome. It goes fast around our house.

Our garden is growing...

There are peas, onions, 3 types of beets, & 4 kinds of tomatoes.


Here is broccoli, cauliflower, & brussel sprouts.

Party like a One Year Old

We went to this mexican restaraunt-Guadalajara for dinner to celebrate Marlees b-day. She hardly ate a thing (which is rare for her), thankfully Laun brought her a sucker & that entertained her for awhile.

The food was good & they have salsa side-table, where a lady goes around to each table & makes salsa for you however you like. The salsa & fresh tortillas were awesome.

Then we went home for cake & icecream. First b-days are always the funnest because kids don't use utensils yet & I always love to see how they react.

Here is how the cake looked before:

The boys were a little disappointed that I made the cake, they really thought I should have bought her a princess cake.

Here is what the cake looked like afterwards:

It was so fun watching Marlee pick off the m&m's one by one & eat them or just swallow them whole. Then she grabbed off chunks of cake & would eat it & then tried waving the frosting off her hands. She even shared some with her Daddy.

Then she got her presents:

The boys liked helping her unwrap them:

I was suprised at how much she liked her toys.

The best part was that I got all her gifts at thrift stores for dirt cheap.

My baby is 1 today!

I can't believe that just a year ago our sweet little Marlee Cate became part of our eternal family. We all love her so much & she has brought us all such joy. She is a ray of sunshine in our home & we adore her everyday. She has such a fun personality & is a busy bee. We enjoy watching her grow & change daily. We all love you Marlee Cate Hall & think you are the most beautiful baby girl in the whole world- Happy 1st Birthday!

I love the way she sucks her thumb with a finger on her nose


She is starting to stand up more & more

I love this little girl from head to toe

I love how curious she is

This smile melts me every day!

She has 6 teeth now- 2 on the bottom & 4 on the top, 2 of them just barely came in.

She is crawling everywhere & stands holding on to something for support. She loves to be held & has even started to sit on her Daddys lap to watch football with him & the boys. She likes animals, her baby doll, playing with toys & books, laughing at her silly brothers, & is almost always on the move! We love you Marlee!

Ringing in the New Year

We went to the Smarts home for the New Year- we had a big fire, played games, & of course stayed up to welcome the year 2010.
Here is Porter warming himself by the fire.



The next day Laun let Marlee sit on a horse- you would have thought she died & went to heaven. This girl loves animals & makes all these funny & excited noises whenever she sees one in sight.

That is sheer joy right there

When I went to check on her during her nap, I found that she had fallen asleep sitting up.

Here is Clayton looking as handsome as ever:

Here is Porter thinking that he is pretty much the coolest kid ever:

I went on my 1st cattle drive ever & it was freaking awesome. Although I didn't feel fully legit because I didn't even have chaps on. This is the longest I have ridden a horse since my hip replacement & everything went great.

Laun & his brother Ryan:

There was some pretty views- the mountains, my husband:)

Later that day we hiked up to a man made cave/mine

It was a pretty good little hike- I was impressed that the kids made it up

Us girls:

Marlee w/ her Daddy:

The kids had fun riding in the back of the truck on the way to the mine & back: