Our Christmas Holidays...

This was our first year not traveling for the holidays. We have missed our family of course, but it has been really nice not to have to pack everything up and live out of a suitcase - the nicest part has been that we didn't have to go out and buy winter gear! We started the holiday out with a new camera. This picture of Marshall would never have been so crisp and timed so right with our old camera!

Some really nice people in our ward came upon some snow in Northern AZ on Friday night and decided to pull over and load up their truck with it. They came by Christmas Eve and built us a snowman. The boys were in heaven! They had their first snowball fight and taste of white snow. Eli checked on the snowman about 10 times, just making sure he was still there. (If you haven't read "Snowmen at Night," you really should) I loved that all day long people were driving by very
slowly and taking pictures or doing double takes! We made a lot of new friends in our neighborhood.

Getting ready to open our Christmas Eve pjs. Poor Marshall was blocked in the photo, but doesn't the fire and stockings make it feel like maybe we were in Vermont or somewhere very cold?!

I love these ties!!! My boys wore them every Sunday since Thanksgiving, and I waited until Christmas morning to finally take a picture - not my brightest idea, all they wanted was candy and more presents, not some lame picture! But they sure were cute all matching. By the way, the key to cute Christmas ties is to either make them yourself or buy them at Children's Place in October when you first see them, because they go quick!

Cute Marshall playing in his Christmas present.

The boys received a lot of Legos (and Duplos) for Christmas.

More Legos!

My 12-layer jell-o. Probably the most culinary thing I've done in a long time! Go Me!

Merry Christmas from AZ

Updates to follow, one of these days!

The Scotland Jones: Hot Dogs & Indians & Pancakes

This is us in front of an old steam engine that came through Gilbert last week.

Scottie is definitely an individual with his own agenda in life! We love this two year old! One of the best things about a two year old is their sweet speech. This kid comes up with some of the best lines.

• We were all taking turns discussing our favorite Thanksgiving foods when Scotland piped up with, "My turn, my turn. Hot Dogs!" I don't recall ever having had hot dogs for the best feast of the year, but whatever!


• While reading a Thanksgiving book about pilgrims and Indians, Scotland pointed to "dat neked boy." He continued to point out each 'naked boy' in the book.


• There's a picture at church of Jesus breaking a round piece of bread. Scotland looked at it and said, "Jesus eat pancakes!"

Marshall Boy

He's two months old already! I can't believe it. As I mentioned in a previous post (Scroll down for lots of updates), Marshall is a perfect baby! He's now 9 weeks old and about two weeks ago he started sleeping through the night - that right there is awesome, but he's also super flexible with our schedule, loves to be held, but also loves to just be by himself in the swing. He even graciously puts up with all of the many hands and faces that frequently get up in his business! And my favorite part about him is his laugh! I love it!

Eli's First Day of Preschool

I love this guy! I tried to convince him not to go and leave me, but he would not be convinced. Eli is a bundle of personality. His teacher asked what were his hobbies and all I could think of was: PLAY. He loves to play. Animals, trains, cars, good/bad guys, kitchen, legos, sports, pretty much anything. I have often found him sitting at the table pretending his fingers were different action heroes. It doesn't take much to get his imagination going. He loves his brothers, but has a special attachment to this little Marshall. Eli is the first one on the scene whenever M cries or needs his pacifier. He often lets me know what M's needs are: food, diaper change, etc. Eli gives this baby more kisses than anyone in the family, which is a lot! He's a very creative person and tells good jokes, I know I will miss him while he's gone, just like I do G-man. Why do they grow up way too fast?!

Halloween!

Did Halloween last forever to anyone else?! We went to a birthday dress-up party, a Halloween street carnival, carved our pumpkins (which we did way too early!), attended Joshua's office's trick or treat event, and our ward's trunk or treat party the week before Halloween, so when Monday came around I was tired of all the sugar and dressing up kids! Oh well - what's important is that they all had fun and enjoyed the partying. Marshall just enjoyed the good naps! (He's such a perfect baby)

Two Spontaneous Trips...

The First...

San Diego! -See post below-

The Second...

Spontaneous Pneumothorax!

About a week before our trip Joshua was playing basketball and after a lay-up felt a huge shortness of breath and a lot of pain on his left side. I finally convinced him to take a motrin the next day, which seemed to help, so he just dealt with the pain assuming that it would heal eventually. After our trip (after he walked all over San Diego) he had a doctor's appointment where the x-ray revealed that he had a collapsed lung!

So he spent 4+ days in the hospital with a tube in his chest. It was a crazy 4 days and many thanks to everyone who helped with the boys so I could spend a couple of hours each day with Joshua. Joshua is doing just fine and even played basketball last week - proof that nothing, not even a collapsed lung, can keep this man from playing ball!

Our Spontaneous Trip

We decided to take advantage of German's Fall Break and make a long weekend trip to San Diego. The boys are still playing 'navy guys' after our tour of the USS Midway, which I highly recommend to anyone visiting San Diego, although a pedicab driver tried to convince us that our kids would be bored to tears! We loved SeaWorld! Our boys are really into animals, so it was fun to see so many that you can only read about. I think "Shamu" (of course) and the sharks were the most impressive, but the penguins, otter, and dolphins were a close second. We also enjoyed a pleasant afternoon collecting seashells at the beach.

The boys enjoying dinner on the hotel floor while watching football.

Waiting for the dolphin show. Side note: probably not a great idea to sit in the 'wet zone' with a 5 week old baby!

We toured an old merchant/passenger ship where the boys dressed up like immigrants - I love Eli's face!

Clark soup! (We probably weren't supposed to let them in the huge pots!)

Can you imagine living in such tight quarters? I think I would like to have been the admiral - his quarters were cush!

Fun Fishing

Our town offered a morning of family fishing in which they provided all of the poles, tackle, and bait and no licenses were needed. Joshua's been trying to find a way to take the boys fishing, but it just hasn't worked out yet and this was the perfect opportunity. By the time we got there the 'lake' was pretty much out of stock of fish. The boys were bummed, but all the more excited for their next adventure.

You might wonder where Scotland was. Just after I took the first pictures of Marshall we decided it would be best for me and Scotie to go exploring away from the water and wait another year for his fishing explorations to begin. Apparently, the thought of eating a soggy Cheez-it after dipping it into the nasty water wasn't disgusting to him (Joshua stopped him just in time) and he kept insisting upon taking his shoes off! We love this guy, he sure keeps us on our toes!

The Crane

Our neighbor came over really early a couple of weeks ago and asked if the boys wanted to see the crane that was putting a new A/C unit on their roof. Of course they all ran outside! As we were standing there watching, the crane driver asked German if he wanted to guide the crane. G-man jumped up there and the man told him which levers and pedals to push. At first the man helped him a bit, but then he got out of the seat and German maneuvered the crane by himself! It was awesome - he was helping the guy for like 20 minutes! We felt this was a good excuse for him to be late for school. Eli also wanted to try, so he took a stab at it. Scotland wasn't as excited to be so high up!

Some Awesome Saturdays

We've been enjoying our easy-going Saturdays of late: we start out with one of German's football games, then we do any necessary jobs, and then we top it off with family fun like swimming, bike riding, fort building, and of course college football.

Just to Clarify...

I've received multiple questions/guesses as to the name of our newest boy. I thought I'd explain.

Marshall - Marshall Islands - We wanted to name this guy after his uncles Joel, Chad, and James - our brothers that we've grown up with and watched become men who we admire. But we were at a total loss for some kind of letter combination representing their names or LDS missions. This was quite stressful for me and occupied many of my thoughts during those restless nights. The day before I went into labor a genius idea struck: Go to a map and find the midpoint (or thereabouts) of their three different missions. With a little stretch, you'll land on the Marshall Islands. (Adam- after you go on a mission, we'll change his name if the midpoint moves!)

Erich - This is after a man we both knew in Germany who was always true to what he believed in and stood up for his faith, even though it went against popular thought and despite a lack of family support. He also had a great sense of humor!

He's Here... Marshall Erich

September 02, 2011

2:08 a.m.

8 lbs. 4 oz.

20 in.

Everyone is doing well.

Just in Case You Were Wondering...

Little man #4 is still not here and I have at least 2 weeks to go - that is, unless he decides to do things differently than his brothers did and come early! I wouldn't be opposed to that, but not until next Saturday night when Joshua's basketball coaching debut comes to an end. (He was asked to coach the young men at church and he really enjoys their camaraderie.)

German's First Day of Kindergarten

I know it's early, but German started school today!

(Once it gets hot, there's nothing else to do, but go to school! Plus, he gets extra long fall, winter, and spring breaks - when it's not 117 degrees outside.)

Some of the first day highlights:

• The Fish Tank - contains cat sharks, zebra eels, and a puffer fish


• Playing on the playground


• A mouse game and sitting on the rug

Happy Birthday Scotie-Boy!

Scotland, Scotland, Scotland! What can I say except that we love this little boy! He is definitely different than his brothers and adds a whole new dimension to our family, which I wouldn't change for anything. Thanks for coming to our family! Scotland is good at:

• Asking, "Are you okay?" after any incident, like sneezing


• Knowing that exact point when one should say something darling to escape a negative consequence


• Throwing a ball with his left hand and always making sure it's his turn


• Making silly faces with squinty eyes


• Jumping in the swimming pool


• Making friends with adults, especially any who have candy


• Playing with his brothers and dad - he loves to be one of the fellas!

Friends at his Zoo Birthday Party. We played animal games and had homemade pizza. (N's and W's - we missed you!)

Yes, I know I should go into cake decorating - it's one of my hidden talents - NOT! But the boys sure had fun putting on all of the animals.

Scotland opening his 'big' birthday present from his family. We kept telling him all day that it was his birthday and that he was now 2 and every time he gave a us a resolute "NO." He's definitely determined and learning how to express himself. He brings so much joy to my life!

The Idaho Portion of our UT/ID Trip

We were stopped for a little while on our drive by a police escorted cattle drive - probably the coolest thing we've ever seen on that wonderful drive to Utah/Idaho.

We spent a fun day at Eagle Island State Park with all of the Hallbergs. The boys really enjoyed their cousins and constantly having lots of friends to play with.

Uncle Adam!

S'mores and a backyard movie at Grandma & Grandpa Hallberg's.

We spent one last morning at the MK Nature Center with everyone before they all had to hit the road home.

These cousins are all 5 years old (or almost) and will be going to Kindergarten this year.

These cousins are all 3 years old!

Funny Owls!

Scotland loves his Aunt Melanie!

We were able to stay a few extra days in Idaho and have some one-on-one time with Dennis & Annie and Grandpa & Grandma Hallberg. We visited the Boise Zoo.

The boys played their first real game of bowling at the SUB of BSU. (It was kind of a shock to them how difficult real bowling was compared to Wii bowling!)

We got a tour of BSU campus from grandpa - this is a picture of the boys sitting in the desks where grandpa sat in one of his classes.

We also got to spend an evening with many of my aunts/uncles and cousins. It was fun to catch up with them and share good memories. Scotland found his replacement for Aunt Melanie: Cousin Keri. He led her all around that night!