Alex's Birthday

Alex is turning 10!
Come hang out with us at Skate World
April 3rd
3-6pm.
RSVP so I can have a head count.

Alex Basketball 2009

Go Warriors!

Alex had a great first year of playing basketball. He had a little bit of a rough time transitioning from tackle though and was the second highest fouler on the team. A skill that may serve him well if he ever plays church ball. The Warriors learned a lot and won their last game in a nail biter! You may notice the error on the team photo. The coach's last name was inadvertently printed next to Halsey which was a little irritating but I didn't want to buy a new package.







This is Alex's school and baseball bud Tanner.

The last night of practice the boys recieved particpation medals and pizza! A fun end to a fun season.

Emerald All Star Cheer

Emerald All Star Cheer

After a rock'n year of cheer it is time for a much needed break. Allison gets to take a break until the end of April and then she will be back to a new team and a new routine. She moves up to Youth this year and she is excited.

Camera shy

I did not want my picture taken while I was cleaning out the closet...the family decided this should be on the family blog so I relented.

Emeralds in Action

Emerald Allstars went to Tacoma WA last weekend for their biggest competition this year. This two day event was "great" says Alli. Dad and Alli had a fun weekend while Mom and the boys stayed home to go to Alex's final basketball game. Between hitting the mats and being awesome the team hung out at Hello Cupcake and Rock and Roll Pizza. JJ and Alli had a daddy-daughter date to the movies. Oh I almost forgot the pool. They stayed at the Marriott across from the convention center. Alli called me on the phone and said, "Mom there is a Book of Mormon in the room." I laughed. This weekend is the last competition of the season in Portland. I get to take Alli to the that one. I probably won't be able to compete with her amazing weekend with Dad. We can go looking for more B of Ms at the Portland Temple if she wants to.

Allison's school teacher (above) came to see her at one of the competitions.

Too much fun!!!

Christmas Day 2008

Christmas 2008

As promised here are a few actual Christmas day pictures. I can't find the ones from Christmas morning at our house, they are lurking in one of the hard drives or SD cards somewhere.

Fun in the Snow

Snowfall December 2008

We didn't get a white Christmas but it was close. Aiden came over to play in the snow. Drew and Aiden didn't last too long before they were ready for hot cocoa.

Christmas Lights 2008

Alex and Allison enjoyed the early snow the weeek before Christmas.

sports

Last year I played flag football.I had lots of fun. The picture above shows me at the award ceremony. I remember that during the season I had to, right at the end of games go to boy scouts. I forget what position I played but I know that we didn't have many kids on our team. 8 kids we had and we just made it into every game because you have to have eight kids or you forfeight.

Christmas in Redding

Traveling down to Redding the weekend before Christmas was a little dicey with all the ice and snow but the new suburban did great and we got there safe and sound. We enjoyed seeing the Redding gang and got to hang out with the fam form L.A. and Grandma Lilly who flew in from Texas for the holidays. We opened presents the night we got there because we just couldn't wait a second more.



Mike Hillman found all of the goings on hilarious.


You can spot JJ with our brand new Sony DVD cam that his parents gave us. They want movies of the kids! Alli is ecstatic about her new Hannah Montana bed set.

Alex is excited about all his presents. Grandma Lilly oversees all the unwrapping.

Tiffany shies from the camera but Drew and Jill are ready for their close ups!

More and more presents. Jill discovers she and Mike got a DVD cam as well.

Drew thinks he is playing Alex's DS. He does manage to move the players around the level. He wants to be like his big brother and always is watching Alex play video games.

We had a great time visiting with our family and also those that we hadn't seen for a few years. We'll have to go down to L.A. next and visit them...Maybe we can sneak in a visit to mickey mouse while we are there!

Alex can't wait to play with this electonic circuit thing that Papa and Nana bought for him.

Cousin time. Check out Drew's new haircut. It was my first time braving the clippers but I managed it ok. Thank goodness for candy and SpongeBob to distract him!

Elf Night

Elf Night


This was Andrew's first year with the Elf. He loved it! Sometimes the toddler's are scared of the Elf but he was entranced and wanted to keep hugging her.

JJ's Grandmother has been dressing up as an Elf for their Christmas family night for decades. It started as a small tradition of getting her 3 daughters together with their young children on Christmas Eve to exchange gifts and eat. The Elf would make an appearance while Nanny was mysteriously absent doing some task. When Nanny returned from her chore the grand kids would regale her with the tale of the Elf's visit and show her all the things she had brought. This has expanded to include spouses of the grandchildren and their children now. We don't fit in any one's house anymore so this year we had it at Upper Crust in Redding. When I was dating JJ I was lucky enough to be introduced to the Elf our first Christmas together. That Elf can be brutal and she always gives the new girlfriends and boyfriends a hard time. It is great and we hope the Elf keeps visiting for many years to come. There is talk of a retirement of the Elf but that is too sad to think of so I hope that is not true.



Most of the original grand kids all grown up and most of them with kids of their own.




Then Great grand kids what a a squirrelly bunch they are! This pic was hard to take.





Papa Jim is the twinkle in this Elf's eye...watch out Nanny she may steal your man!




The Halseys posing with the Elf.

Getting Ready for Christmas

We try to get our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and this year we continued that tradition. Having the Christmas tree up is a signal that Christmas time is officially here and it sets the mood in our home. I love walking in from work and smelling that fresh pine smell. Andrew is peeking out from behind the tree before it was decorated. It is fun to watch him experience all of this for the first time. The older two kids have almost as much fun helping Drew and watching him as they do doing all the Christmas stuff themselves. I am so lucky to have such great kids.

Papa is hanging out with the kids. Alli looks distracted, I wonder what she is thinking about.

Here we are all together at the Christmas tree farm earlier in the day.

Christmas Tree Hunting

We returned to the one of the many local Christmas tree farms to get us a Noble! And we looked and looked through acres of trees. Finally we all agreed on one and JJ got busy sawing it down. We happened to pick one with the hugest trunk, it looked like a double trunk for about 6 inches from the ground! JJ and Papa(Rob) finally logged it like mountain men and dragged it to the waiting tractor. Nana (Teri), Carrie Allison and Drew waited in the hay while Alex supervised the cutting of the tree.
The kids and I hold on on the way out to the Noble Fir section.

Drew ran around until he was covered in mud. I think he had the best time of all!

The best part is getting the spiced Apple Cider and Hot Cocoa while we pay for the tree. You can see my maternity pants falling down!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving this year was fantastic! We had 26 of our family and future family stuffing themsevles and watching football! Glorious. I was most thankful that JJ could be here this year to experience the chaos that is Thanksgiving at the Halsey's. He loved every minute of it.


Family that came:
The Halseys:
JJ, Carrie, Alex, Alli, Andrew

The Burners:
Adam, Sarah and Aiden

The Russells:
Spence, Susan and Cassie

The Mankos:
Rob and Teri

The Wilts:
Tia, Mike, Joe and Danny

The Farris'
Dallas and Kathleen

The Farris'
Sam, Annie and new baby Addison

The Borders:
Larry, Cheri and Link

Farris' and Wilts litsten carefully as the Matriarch speaks.




















Sharon and Mitchell mingled with Cassie, Link and the soon to be in-laws.



















Dad looks on as Rob, JJ and Adam talk turkey.
















For a slideshow of Thanksgiving 2008 scroll down to the end of the blog. Pictures of the kids and more family pics are there.