B. M. and A. M.

I realized recently that I have my life mentally divided into Before Marriage (BM) and After Marriage (AM). (BM isn't a great abbreviation, so I considered BS and AS (before and after Stan) and decided to stick with BM and AM). So what happened when Robin became a Hall?

Today I'm starting a list of things I never did BM, besides the obvious of course:)
In no particular order here are a few off the top of my head:

• cook scrambled eggs in the microwave
• use napkins at the table
• wear an apron
• get awakened my someone elbowing my head
• wear pink or purple
• eat English muffins
• drive a convertable
• say Yes, M'am and No, Sir
• be a Mom
• ride a go-cart
• enjoyed Shanandoah's Crossing (an out of the way time-share Stan's parents own)
• own a sports car (our Dodge Grand Caravan)
• write thank you cards
• ride in a limo
• buy kleenex- (TP always worked just fine)
• play video games

So I'm curious- what things do you do now that you didn't before being married?

One more proof that Stan and I were meant for each other

My favorite Starburst is Orange, then yellow, pink, red.
Stan likes Red, pink, yellow, then orange.

What could be more right than that?

Our Surprise Trip

Stan surprised me with an early anniversary trip. I didn't think we'd get to celebrate since all the Halls are coming together the week after Christmas (during our anniversary). He set up baby sitting- Thanks so much Dana and Jason, Jimmy and Mallory, and Kira! We had lots of fun. We stayed in Midway at the Invited Inn run by Bill and Susi. They were very kind and helpful during our stay. We ate at Snake Creek Grill (owned and operated by the chef). It was at Bill's recommendation and located nearby in Heber. We recommend both the Inn and Snake Creek Grill. The only trick with the resturant is that you have to park a bit in front of it in front of other resturants and walk on the boardwalk to the Grill. We were confused about how to get to it at first. Excellent service. We split everything- apetizer (their loaded flatbread), pinenut salad, Sea Bass Special, and Black Bottommed Banana Cream Pie (their signature dessert).
Susi introduced me to Steamers (these so yummy hot milk drinks with flavorings (I of course chose caramel)) Now I want to make them myself. I wonder if you need a special machine? If you've never had one- give them a try. I like it better than hot chocolate and I really like hot chocolate.

We had so much relaxing fun together. Thanks Stan for a great trip!

Maple Canyon just Stan and Me

We had such a fun trip- climbing and camping and eating quick cold food so we could do more climbing. A HUGE thank you to Carrie, Allison, Brie, and Katie for watching our children so we could go. Here's some pictures of our fun. It even rained during the night- I love camping when it rains just a little in the night- hearing the rain tap tap tapping on the tent, knowing you're safe and warm and blessedly dry.



The Zen Garden that we finally found after a bit of an adventurous drive up the canyon. We loved it here and are planning to come back soon!

This is a picture of our serious faces. Don't we look tough.

Week in Review

Where you can commonly find Israel. I'm having to limit his playing time and have no MarioKart days. He is getting good is anybody wants to give it a go. Israel and Eliza's cousin's came down to Provo and we went to the Earth Science Museum to see the dinosaurs, the Bean Museum (for dead animals), the Creamery (for ice cream of course), the library (for their uncle Derrick and the moving bookshelves), the Museum of Art, and then home again. Talk about taking good naps!

Stan's Provo Triathlon- Wow! I'm married to a triathlete. I want a healthy heart for Stan so I'm really glad he's gotten into this sport- even if I have been giving him a hard time.

We tried to skip Eliza's nap and thought we'd just put her down at 7pm. Well, I came out of the bathroom and what did I find . . . out cold on our cement like floor.

AND believe it or not- Stan and I actually went on a real date late last night after all our babies were sleeping (although Israel did get up and brush his teeth while we were out). We saw Get Smart (the first movie we've paid full price for- 8.25 is pretty steep- in 2 years. We enjoy the dollar theatre and netflix) Anyway, it was really fun even if the movie didn't start until 10:15 and we didn't get home until after midnight. We felt young and spontaneous and in love. It was a really good night. We need to get more of them (even if our kids still woke up at 7 am this morning). Thanks Katie and Jason for babysitting.

My Goofy Family

Here I am with 4 of my siblings and their spouses on our very exciting bowling date at All-Star Lanes in Sandy, UT. We're all pretty pathetic, but most of us got a few strikes and Michele and Janeen, 2 of my older siblings bowled their best games. We had lots of laughs at our impressive abilities- Jane's bum wiggling before each turn, Stan's between the legs bowling (that didn't go in the gutter, but then it didn't hit either of the split pins either). Janeen fell in the lane and Bryce showed off his impressive wrist flick. All in all it was a fun night- even if when we got to Fudruckers they had already closed their shake machine.
Thanks for playing--next sibling date night- lazer tag!

Here's Israel's happy face. You can see half of Aiden, his good friends face on the left. They LOVE to place together and have a lot of fun being bad guys, or super heros, or pirates, or playing cars. Israel being goofy this morning with a pair of Julia' pants. They're pretty thick, so it almost looks like bunny ears!
Eliza being a super cutie and actually smiling for me, something you don't see every day. This morning while Israel was saying we were all Spider Boy, Spider Mommy, Spider Daddy, and Spider Girl, Eliza told me she was a Super Princess!