Hale Storm

Happy Birthday, Sister King!

2010-05-26T20:06:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday was Cherie King's birthday, and I wanted to do something special. I generally do cupcakes for the Young Women, and I try to go with a theme that works with their personality or interests. So here's what I came up with:

For the theme, I went with "She may be a King, but she's our Queen Bee." I made cupcakes for the girls to eat in class, and a cake, topped with a Queen Bee sitting on her throne, for Cherie to take home and enjoy with her family. I also bought a picture frame with a lot of matte space, stamped my "theme" on it, and had all the girls sign it with a birthday message. Happy Birthday, Cherie!

P.S. You should be able to see a close-up of the pictures by clicking (maybe double-clicking) on them. Enjoy!

Earth Day

2010-05-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

The K-1 Classes at Jason's school put on an Earth Day Program this year where they told us in word and song all about the ecological problems that face our world today. In fact, here we are two weeks later, and Jason is still telling us (almost on a daily basis) that over a billion trees a year are used to make disposable diapers. They're turning my boy into a tree-hugger! Not that I'm not for going green, but there is such a thing as overkill. I'm still gonna use those disposable diapers. But, Jason still did a fabulous job in the program. He sang his little heart out, and even had a few speaking parts that he nailed. Hayden was pretty entertaining, too. She liked to walk up and down the aisles making friends with the other kids that were there. She even stole some kid's box of raisins. (I returned them.) She tried to lead everyone in a prayer, but it didn't quite work out, so she settled for loudly applauding after every song.

Cuppycakes!

2010-05-08T23:34:00.000-07:00

When I was called into Young Women's, every time one of the girls had a birthday, I'd volunteer to bake for the occasion. It's now just assumed that when there's a birthday, I'll create something from the oven. I wouldn't have it any other way. Once Cherie said that it should be someone else's burden every once in awhile, but I vehemently shook my head and told her it just wasn't going to happen. I love doing it. It gives me an excuse to try new recipes and different techniques. And I've started trying to fit each new recipe to the girl. So this week, it's Kristianne's birthday. I asked her what kind of cupcakes she'd like. "Vanilla." Vanilla? What on earth could I do with vanilla? So I thought about it. And thought. And then I had an epiphany. For these particular cupcakes, the flavor would be vanilla, but I would decorate it to cater to her interests. She's very into sports, my sweet Kristianne, and she's been involved in swimming lately. So I did swimming cupcakes. I tinted the frosting a very pale blue, spiked the edges to look like waves, then I used food-color spray to paint the tips of the waves a darker blue. Next, I put a gummy ring in the center, inserted a Teddy Graham into his own little intertube, then finished it all with a cocktail umbrella. They turned out super cute. I hope Kristi will like them! (And just so they know I didn't forget them, we're also celebrating Hannah and Julia's birthdays as well, though they were a few weeks ago! I just haven't had the opportunity to talk about cupcakes with them.)

Ever Have That Dream...

2010-05-06T23:11:00.001-07:00

You know the one. The one where you show up at school naked? Well, that didn't exactly happen to me today, but I sure felt like it had. But first, let me rewind to the beginning... My dear, sweet Hayden decided sleep wasn't on the agenda last night. From 10:00 t0 about 12:40, I rocked, I snuggled, I sang, I fed, I did everything I could think of to get this child to sleep. No luck. Jason woke me up around 6:00 or so this morning, just to let me know he'd woken up early. So I had him get dressed for school, made him breakfast, and let him play the Wii until it was time to go to school. Hayden and I got back home after taking Jason to school around 8:45. I sat her up with her breakfast, turned on Baby Einstein, and crashed on the couch. Five minutes later, I had a raspberry-face in mine, with a pudgy little hand tapping my shoulder, "Mommy? Mommy?" She'll do this until you respond, so I got up, got her cleaned up and ready for the day, and puttered around for another hour, telling myself I needed to get in the shower. I finally did sometime around 10:00, and was ready for the day around 11:00. I wasn't feeling too great, so I decided to try and wear something cute to lift my spirits, so I put on a swishy brown skirt, purple top, and a white sweater with sparkly brown espadrilles. It still didn't do the trick. I just felt in a funk. Most likely from the lack of sleep. So I called Jared and asked if we could meet him for lunch. He said he was busy with their month-end close, but if I didn't mind a quick lunch in the cafeteria, he could do it. So, we headed for Milpitas, and a quick lunch it was indeed. On the way home, I decided to stop at Walgreen's as I had a prescription to pick up, among some other things we needed. Hayden refused to get in the shopping cart, and I reasoned that since we were only going in for 2 things, it wouldn't be too big a deal, right? WRONG! If I headed down one aisle, she'd laugh and start running in the opposite direction. And remember, I was wearing espadrilles, not Nike Trainers, so I was having a hard time catching up to her. I finally slung her over my shoulder, and carried her back to the wall of vitamins, where I needed to pick up a bottle of Melatonin. Here, I set her down next to me, and tried to hold her hand. She quickly yanked it back, grabbed two bottles of whatever supplements were right in front of her, and took off running down the nearest aisle. People just watched and laughed. This happened at least 3 times before I finally found the stupid Melatonin, and was able to get in line to pick up my prescription. For this, I slung her over my shoulders again, like a sack of potatoes. A very wiggly sack. When it was my turn, I had to maneuver my hand under this sack to get my wallet out of my purse, which was underneath her, and pay, one-handed, while the pharmacist tried to tell me how to use this particular medication. Glad when it was over, I carried my toddler outside, where I set her down, grabbed her hand, and set out for the car. We did okay for awhile, until she decided she'd had enough, ripped her hand from mine, and streaked for the open parking lot. Luckily, I was close enough and caught her after a few steps. I carried her the rest of the way to the car, but had to put her down to find my keys in my purse. We were parked on one side of an island in the parking lot. On the other side was the driveway, and beyond that was Panera Bread, which had lots of tables full of people on their lunch breaks enjoying their lunches. Hayden darted for the island. I followed, and caught up with her on the cement. I reached down to pick her up, but as I did, she grabbed the hem of my fabulous swishy brown skirt, and yanked it up to my shoulders, exposing my scantily clad lower half to the numerous patrons of Panera bread. I fought to get my skirt back down around my knees where it belonged, but the damage was done. I could hear the laughter, and see the faces of those trying not to. I hauled Hayden off to the now open car, buckled her in, and drove home. Ah, the joys of motherhood. Pppffffttt!

Toga Party!

2010-04-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

I wonder what the Hale's do for Family Home Evening these days? We throw a TOGA PARTY, of course! We figured it was time to make up for all those missed frat parties back in our college days. But sorry everyone, the Jell-O shots here contain nothing but Jell-O. ;)

Easter!

2010-04-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny came early to our house this year because of our crazy travel plans. I was heading off to my parents' house to escape being home alone with the kids while Jared spent a week in Belgium. I know. He went to Belgium. Without me. And he didn't even bring me anything but chocolate, which I specifically asked him not to do. I've only begun to think about forgiving him. But anyway, back to Easter. The Easter Bunny was good to the kids this year, bringing them both a Sesame Street gardening kit so they could both help Mommy & Daddy out in the garden. This may be a good or a bad thing, since both kids love helping, especially when it involves digging in the dirt, and pulling weeds (or if you're Hayden, pulling the carefully transplanted seedlings M & D worked so hard to grow). Hayden's basket also included a Hello Kitty candy lipstick. I don't know if you recall, but she has a certain fascination with lipstick, so this was a big hit. I love how she puckers to put it on, but discreetly sticks her tongue between her teeth and applies it there instead of on her lips.
The Easter Bunny also hid Easter Eggs throughout the house while we were out buying bookshelves at IKEA. That clever bunny. I was surprised that both my kids got so into this. I mean with Jason, it's a given. But I wasn't sure how Hayden would respond. She wasn't very good at the finding, so Daddy helped, but everything else about it excited her: finding the egg, putting it in her basket, throwing them on the floor to disperse their contents... Exhilarating!

The Joys of Boys

2010-03-29T22:06:00.000-07:00

Just another reason we love little boys: the art of the armpit fart. I've become convinced that both the ability and inclination to do this is a standard particle in the make-up of the y chromosome. Jason's so proud that he can now add this time-honored talent to his musical repertoire. Little boys.

Enter Sandman... Please? Pretty Please?

2010-03-06T23:42:00.000-08:00

So, this is how bedtime usually starts at our house. Happy kids, reading books, lots of snuggles. Sounds blissful, right? Then, comes the time for lights-out. At first, all is well. Kids are quiet, so tired as we are, we go back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up dinner, or maybe to the family room to finish folding that last load of laundry. We finish, escape to our bedroom, get pajamas on, teeth brushed, and heave a sigh of relief as we sink into our own bed. As soon as we've found a comfortable spot and sense ourselves drifting off towards dreamland, a little voice pierces the silence. "Mommy? Daddy? I'm having trouble sleeping." Or, "I'm having a nightmare." Or, "I need a drink." And so, up we get, again, to get that drink, or calm those fears, or whatever else might be necessary. Sometimes it's my turn, sometimes it's Jared's turn. It usually turns out to be my turn, and the other night reminded me why. I was out late, almost 11:00 when I returned home. I found Jared and Jason together on the couch playing Super Mario Bros. "Why isn't Jason in bed?" I asked. "I had trouble sleeping," Jason replied. I gave Jared the stink-eye. He's supposed to be the grown-up, and get Jason in bed at a decent hour. Jared looked back at me sheepishly. "Actually," he admitted, "I've kept him up so he could tell me all the secrets of how to pass this level (of Super Mario Bros.)." Priorities, ya know?

Tonight, Jason's actually been sick, so he fell asleep around 6:00, for what we thought would be the rest of the night. No such luck. He woke up at 9:30, still with a fever, but just as chipper as ever. Jared and I were watching a movie in the family room, so Jason came to snuggle with us. But he wouldn't shut up. "Eenie meenie miney moe" is one of his new favorite games, and he will go on and on with this for an hour, at least. Unfortunately, it was interrupting our movie. So Jared, acting the adult this time, asked him to stop with the game and watch the movie. "I can do two things at once, you know, Dad!" Jason quipped back. I laughed.

When the movie was over, Jason didn't want to go back to his bed. So, he ended up where he usually ends up. In my bed.

For What Ails You

2010-03-03T19:43:00.001-08:00

It seems that our family has been plagued with colds and coughs this winter. Hayden only got it once, but it lasted for 4 months. Jason's had it twice, the first time lasting for 2 months, and this time around, it's been 4 weeks so far. I woke up with my third sore throat yesterday morning, and it's only gone downhill from there. So, we do the usual: drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest, rub ourselves down with Vicks. But I have a few of my own cures for the common cold that I wanted to share, in case they work for anyone else.

1. Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks. The heat combined with the gooey nature of the caramel soothes a sore throat instantly!

2. When I'm desperate for relief and don't feel up to heading out to Starbucks, I drink a lot of echinacea tea, sweetened with honey. Same effect as the Caramel Apple Spice. If it's a severe sore throat, I've tried taking Dad's advice to gargle saltwater. All this seems to do for me is send me into dry heaves. So I've tried my own concoction of warm water, salt, and honey. The honey seems to help reduce the gag factor, and it really does seem to help.

3. Spicy Food! I'm not generally too big on this one. I like food with a bit of a kick, but when my lips start burning and my nose is running, it's not a sensation that appeals to me. Unless I have a sore throat. The idea is to burn the heck out of the top layer of your throat. Sure, my lips, my mouth, and my throat burn for awhile, but once it dies down, the pain in my throat is either gone or greatly reduce. Why this works, I haven't a clue. But it does! I did this today with a Volcano Burrito from Taco Bell. I'm feeling much better!

4. Finally, my go-to cure for the common cold: Kentucky Fried Chicken. Seriously. I've never really been a fan of KFC, but every time I get a cold, suddenly I'm craving it. Maybe it's the fact that it's swimming in sodium (along with all other kinds of badness), but something about it is comforting when you're sick, and makes you feel so much better! And as you can see, my kids seem to agree!

The Newest Cover Girl

2010-02-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

Have you heard? Cover Girl has a fresh, new face to encourage you to buy their products! Her name is Hayden Hale. That's right, my daughter is the new spokesmodel for their Outlast Lip Color. Today she proved that stuff simply won't kiss off. It won't kiss off, rub off, wash off, or wear off. It won't come off. Period. I've tried everything I can think of (that I can use safely on her face): baby wipes, soap and water on a washcloth, makeup remover, baby lotion, baby oil.... I even rubbed her face down with ChapStick because that's what I use to remove longwearing lipstick from my lips. Well, it works great on lips. Not so well on baby faces... and necks... and striped sweater dresses. It's now almost 11:00 pm here in the Hale Household. Hayden is thankfully asleep, but she's still sporting her Cover Girl war paint. Maybe that's their new concept: makeup you only have to apply once a week.

Return of the King

2010-02-04T00:40:00.000-08:00

The King of Spelling, that is. Jason took First Place at the Spelling Bee in his new First Grade Class at Sunol Glen School, only two weeks after starting there. Yes, our family gave up on Portland. After being there 4 months, Jared and I both agreed that it doesn't feel like home. For now, at least, Fremont has that title. Once we decided to come back, everything just worked out so perfectly. We were able to rent a house (A real house! With a backyard and everything!), get Jason into a good school, and finally feel at peace.

Funny Face

2010-02-04T00:35:00.000-08:00

Our Sassy Little Girl has a trademark face. She likes to crinkle her nose, squint her eyes, and give you a full-on pout pretty much whenever she feels like it. Of course, it only lasts a second, and then she's busting out laughing at her own cleverness.

Halloween

2010-02-04T00:27:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a very busy day for us. We started out with a trip to the Pumpkin Patch with our cousins, Troy and Bonnie, and their son, Orson. Then we rushed back home to carve our pumpkin. And finally, the trick-or-treating, which Hayden really got into, as you can see. Jason picked the costume theme this year. He's been dying to dress up as Peter Pan ever since he saw the play back in July. He insisted that Hayden be Tinkerbell, though I'm not sure she pulled it off. Stinkerbell is more like it.

Changing Leaves, Changing Lives

2010-02-04T00:20:00.000-08:00

September marked some big changes for our family. First of all, the kids and I moved up to Oregon. It is, after all, where we've hoped to settle, right? So, Jared continued to work in the Bay, and he flew up every weekend, all the while searching for employment in Portland. In the meantime, Jason started the 1st Grade at Stafford Primary School. He was pretty excited about taking the school bus to and from, though neither of us were too keen on being out at the bus stop by 7:15 a.m. Yikes! On the weekends, we liked to hang out at Club Sport, where Mommy and Daddy could get a workout in while Jason attended his rock-climbing class. He was fearless! He made it all the way to the top of the wall (45 feet) on his very first day! Then again, it really came as no surprise to me. I saw him climb up my bedroom wall when he was under 2, using nothing but an outlet for footing. Of course, he was wearing Spiderman jammies at the time...

Baby Birthdays

2010-02-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

In August, we celebrated both Hayden's and her cousin Noah's 1st Birthdays (they're 4 days apart). We spent it in SoCal with my family. Noah liked the presents. Hayden preferred the cupcakes.

A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

2009-08-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it wasn't that long ago. It was last night. And it wasn't so far away. It was Lake Elizabeth at the Elders' Quorum annual barbecue. But dark forces were afoot, and the park soon became the site for the latest Jedi vs. Sith battleground. May the force be with you, younglings.

Our brave Jedi Knights, Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi were kind enough to pose for us before the epic battle began.

The strategy of the battle was planned by these experienced members of the Jedi Council: Hannah, Hayden, and Abby.

Count Dooku (Joey Winmill) attempts to seduce our gallant Jedi knights to the Dark Side of the Force.

Excellent form, young Padawans.

I will never turn to the Dark Side! I am a Jedi, like my Father!

"Luke, I AM your father! Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy!"

"You're not my dad. He's over there, chatting with Frank DeVito... Hiya, Dad!"

The princess Rachel nurses the injured Skywalker. Awww. (The Jedi are encouraged to love, you know.)

"When complete your training is, to flip burgers will I teach you." (Master Jedi Ben Hancock)

About Shrimp

2009-08-09T20:27:00.001-07:00

Okay, so here's the random thoughts that entered my head today while I was preparing shrimp for tomorrow's jambalaya:

"Wow, this is really gross. I am pulling off the exoskeleton and legs, and emptying the veins of what is essentially an underwater insect. And we're going to eat this. What is the appeal of shrimp, anyway? We wouldn't do this and eat a bunch of beetles, would we? Well, maybe if we lived in some weird Indiana Jones film location... hmmm. Jambalaya, anyone?"

Milestones & Fashion Faux Pas

2009-07-25T16:04:00.001-07:00

So Sweet!

But even sweeter when covered in chocolate! Since we got home from Nonna and Pappy's house, Hayden has discovered that cabinet doors open, and even better, there are things INSIDE them! So on this particular day, I was folding some laundry when I realized that Hayden was a lot quieter than usual. So I got up to go find her. I didn't have to go far. She had settled herself at the dining room buffet, opened the cabinet where I keep baking supplies, found a bag of chocolate chips, opened it, and eaten at least a quarter of the bag (though a lot of it was smeared over my newly cleaned carpet, too)! I think it's time to baby-proof, honey...

Nothing satisfies like a snack of chocolate chips and Cheerios!

Friday night, just after bathtime, we had to run out to a friend's house. Jason already had his jammies on, but we asked him to put on a jacket because it was a bit chilly outside. This is what he came out wearing: a sports coat, flip-flops, and he'd clipped a tie to the front of his Superman Underoos. Well, maybe it's what Clark Kent would wear if he lived in California...

Today, Hayden mastered the art of drinking from a cup. I had to hold it for her at first, but after a few minutes, she'd figured it out. She's been working on this for awhile, but she's finally figured out to close her mouth around the cup and swallow! A big step for my little beauty!

Nonna & Pappy are SO FUN!

2009-07-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

Whew! July has been a BUSY month! We started it out at Grandma & Papa's in Portland, and then almost as soon as we got back home, we were on the road again, this time to Nonna & Pappy's house in southern California. We stayed there a little over a week. We celebrated Jason's birthday... again (3 times total, what a lucky kid!), I finished my first quilt ever, and we just had a whole lot of fun!

This is a rare moment. Jason and Hayden, both asleep... AT THE SAME TIME!

This fabulous toy kept Noah & Hayden busy for hours. Truly a godsend!

Ooh! When you're sick of playing with toys, there's nothing better than cleaning out someone's purse for them! Aren't we so thoughtful?

Helping Jason open his 3rd round of birthday gifts! Can I have a turn?

Silly Adam! I don't think those knee and elbow pads are quite your size. But that Star Wars helmet is pretty stylin'! Lookin' good, man!

Hayden & Noah just love their Nonna & Pappy!

And their Nonna sure loves them, too!

Sassy Little Girl!

My first quilt! Ain't it cute?

Both Noah & Hayden were sure to teach each other their own fun habits. Here, Hayden's shown Noah how fun it is to play with computer wires! There's nothing better!

Oh, Nonna! I love you!

Bathtime is probably Hayden & Noah's favorite time of day. However, trying to get a picture of all the kids together was complicated. So, here's Haydee...

...and here's Jason & Noah!

When we left Nonna & Pappy's, we brought Nonna home with us, and Pappy drove up a couple days later. Once they were both here, we went to see a production of "Peter Pan" together. We couldn't take pictures of the actual play, but here's Hayden, getting excited about sitting in the dark for 2 hours! She slept through most of it, butJason said he "loved the whole thing." He's been watching the movie and pretending he can fly ever since.

Anniversary in Forks!

2009-07-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

So, at the suggestion of Jared's aunt LaVonne, we spent our 10th wedding anniversary in Forks, Washington this year, the setting for the book Twilight. Can I just say that "podunk" doesn't even begin to cover it, but we had fun anyway. (Heck, two nights away from the kids ANYWHERE is bliss!) We got a kick out of how much this town is capitalizing on Stephenie Meyer's books. Every motel (there aren't any real hotels) in town had something Twilight. The one we stayed in had actual Twilight rooms painted red and black and decorated with Twilight posters. We even had an Edward nightlight! Every restaurant had some kind of Twilight item on their menu. There was Bella Berry Pie (which was actually really good!), Bellasagne, Jacob Blackberry Cobbler, and a whole slew of things I don't remember. A store called "Dazzled by Twilight" has gone up, carrying nothing but Twilight merchandise and offering Twilight tours through town. I can't imagine that lasting more than 10 minutes, but hey, if people are buying... We drove up to town on Friday, spent an hour Saturday morning exploring the town (that was on foot, including stopping for lunch, and shopping in a few stores), then we visited La Push, and drove on to Port Angeles. It was fun, but we were so ready to get back to civilization by Sunday.

We were lucky enough to get in a photo with the Forks High School mascot! Woohoo!

The beach in La Push.

Crescent Lake, between Forks and Port Angeles. So pretty!

Dr. Cullen has his own reserved parking space at Forks Hospital.

They have a replica of Bella's truck in front of the Chamber of Commerce.

May the Force Be With You, Jason!

2009-07-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I can hardly believe it, but my Jason is 6 years old! To celebrate, we had a Star Wars party, complete with Darth Vader party masks and everything. But try as I might, I couldn't track down a Star Wars birthday cake anywhere! So Jason and I did some research on the internet to come up with ideas for making our own cake. It took us 3 days and 3 store's worth of Star Wars toys, but we were pretty pleased with the result. Our cake even had a Dark Side (dark chocolate, that is)! Happy Birthday, Jason!

Stinkin' Cute Kids

2009-02-14T12:44:00.001-08:00

Okay, so it's been rather a while since I've posted much, so I'm just posting a bunch of photos. Enjoy, everyone!

Golden Gate Bridge

2009-02-14T10:43:00.001-08:00

Our first family outing in... forever! We took the kids to see the Golden Gate Bridge. I first told Jason about it a few weeks ago while we were crossing the Dumbarton Bridge on our way to Palo Alto. He was making such a big deal about the bridge that I asked him if he wanted to see a really big bridge. Of course, that made him even more excited, and he'd been asking to see Golden Gate ever since. So we made a day of it, and Jason was not disappointed. He was thrilled by the size of the bridge, and would have liked to stand all day looking at it. He called Pappy as we were driving over the bridge, just to tell him where he was. We bought him a map of San Francisco at the gift shop, and he studied it all the way home, telling us about everything there was in San Francisco. It was a fun day.

Risky Business

2009-02-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

These are the joys of being a mom. I never know when Jason will surprise me with something that I can't help but laugh at, no matter what kind of mood I'm in. After entertaining me with a silly little dance routine worthy of Tom Cruise, Jason continued to give me a private rock concert. He sang "Living on a Prayer."

October Rocks!

2008-11-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been awhile since I've updated, but it has just been CA-razy at the Hale home. October was a fun month. Jared took our very own Spiderman (aka Jason) on his first rock-climbing adventure. To everyone's surprise, Jason freaked out once he was all harnessed in and ready to go. So Jared did the first climb, and afterwards Jason loosened up and hit the wall. After that, he was hooked. They went again the following weekend, and every Saturday since, Jason has announced that it's time to go rock-climbing.

Our ward had their Halloween Party the night before Halloween this year, so Jason got 2 nights worth of candy (which he still hasn't made a dent in). He had an absolute blast at the party, going trick-or-treating, having his face painted, and listening to fun Halloween stories around a faux campfire. Then, to complete the Halloween mood, the power went out in the whole church, leaving it totally dark. The only light we had to help us finish cleaning up and get out were some battery-operated tea lights I had brought, which wasn't very helpful. It only illuminated a 2-inch radius.

On Halloween itself, Jason pretty much partied all day. First, they had the Halloween party at school, where the kids paraded around the campus in their costumes, sang Halloween songs, and played games all afternoon long. Jason dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow, although his teachers thought he was Paul Revere. I guess the costume could work both ways. As for Hayden, she was a polar bear. It actually ended up being too warm for her to wear her costume, though. We were still able to get some cute pictures of her with her cousin Noah, who dressed up as a brown bear, a few days before Halloween. Anyway, after school on Halloween, we met Jared at the mall for more trick-or-treating. It was PACKED! It's just another reason I need a house - so I can have an actual neighborhood to take the kids trick-or-treating in.

Discovery Weekend

2008-10-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, my dad gets a teaching gig up here in San Jose. We love being able to see him and hang out whenever he's here. Lucky for us, Dad got 2 in a row, so he's been here the last two weeks! Making things even better, my mom came up for the weekend in between, and we had all kinds of fun. We discovered a fantastic new restaurant just a few blocks from our house. It's called Strizzi's, for all my Fremont friends. Me, Dad, and Mom also took Jason to the Children's Discovery Museum on Saturday afternoon. It was a blast. Jason kept running back and forth, unable to decide what to do next because it all was so cool. He really liked this moving bridge that they had. Of course, it took a lot of effort to move it, but between Jason, his Nonna, & Pappy, they got it going. Nonna even got some air. I think I got a pretty good picture of that. Jason also loved their water area, where he spent a good amount of time shooting plastic balls into whirlpools and other cool gadgets. We'll definitely have to go there again.

Big Brother

2008-09-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

So, I finally got a night out by myself to go to a baby shower, and Jared stayed home to watch the kids. It was about time for Hayden to eat when I left, so as I walked out the door, Jared was preparing a bottle. A few minutes after I left, I realized I'd forgotten something and turned back. When I walked in, I found Jared on the couch, doing something on his computer. Next to him was Jason, holding Hayden, propped up with a pillow, and feeding her. Way to delegate, Jared! It was so cute, and Jason is just loving being a big brother. Now, every time I sit down with Hayden and a bottle, Jason's right on top of me, begging to do it himself. He even remembers to burp her afterwards. Jared's other favorite trick is to lay Hayden down and prop the bottle between her tiny hands on top of a blanket or burp cloth. Nice, Jared.

Also this week, Jason came home from school with a big star sticker on his chest announcing that he was the "Student of the Day." He was so proud and excited, and told me at least 17 times that he was the Student of the Day! Congratulations, Jason! Awesome job!

New Arrival

2008-09-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

Well, she's finally here. Hayden Felicity Hale arrived on Sunday, August 31 at 8:55 pm after 26 hours of labor. Yeah, it was long, but compared to my labor with Jason, which lasted 47 hours, it was a vast improvement. She weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 inches long. And did I mention that she is SO CUTE! We were especially thrilled that my family was able to come up on the spur of the moment. As soon as my mom and my sister Tracy (who had given birth to a baby boy 3 days earlier) found out I was in labor, they piled everyone in the car and drove the 6 hours from So Cal. They made it to the hospital about 7 hours before Hayden was born, so my mom was able to be in the delivery room with me, which was great because as much as I love him, Jared wasn't much help in that area. Dad, Jenn, Jason, Tracy, & her new baby Noah joined us just moments after Hayden was born to celebrate. I wish they could have stayed longer. They had to go back home just hours after Hayden and I arrived home from the hospital.
Hayden is an incredibly sweet little baby. She loves to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy and to watch wide-eyed as her big brother gazes back at her. She's just the most precious thing, and we feel so lucky to have her in our family. Jason is also loving being a big brother, and tells everyone just how cute his baby sister is. We did have a few days when he seemed to be tired of her. He insisted a few times that it was time to take her back to Dr. Weber. He also announced one day that "Hayden is not beautiful. She has no teeth. She has no hair. I think she looks like a chipmunk." Of course, I think he got that from a book he'd been reading. We also had a laugh the other night when Hayden was making some cute noises while we were eating dinner. Jared suggested to Jason that she was talking to him. But Jason couldn't be fooled. "Babies don't talk," he said matter-of-factly, "they only cry and poop!" I guess he told Jared!

End of the Summer

2008-08-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody! Well, the summer has officially ended for the Hale Family. Jason started kindergarten on Monday, and has been so excited about it. It sounds like he's already making friends (he keeps talking about DJ, his friend from school), and he's already had 2 nights of homework. I know! Homework for a kindergartener, and on the first day of school, no less.

We said goodbye to the summer over the weekend with an almost all-expenses paid visit to the circus, care of Jared's work. Jason wasn't so sure about it at first, and as we approached the HP Pavillion, kept insisting that he didn't want to see any elephants, that they scared him. But once things were rolling, he really got into it. He clapped and shouted along with everything, laughed at the clowns, woohoo'd for the stunt devils, and even LAUGHED at the elephants. It was kinda hard not to. I don't know what they're feeding those things, but it didn't seem to be agreeing with them during the performance. There were 7 elephants, and each one of them dropped a load at least twice. We didn't know whether to watch the elephants, or the men in uniform frantically chasing after the animals with snow-shovels, trying to catch each pile as it dropped. As for me, after the circus, I haven't been able to watch a Verizon commercial without laughing. It may not have been THAT funny, but remember, I am pregnant. One of the clowns lured a spectator out into the arena by stealing her cell phone. Just as she approached to retrieve it, he threw it into his voluminous trousers, then hollered into them: "Can you hear me now?" I thought it was pretty funny, anyway.

My Little Mozart

2008-08-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

So, Jared's been starting to teach Jason to play the piano. They've been at it for about a week and a half now. Jason's totally into it. He practices all day long, and when he gets bored with what Jared's taught him so far, he reads ahead in his piano book and teaches himself the next lesson. What can I say? Jason never ceases to exceed my expectations. This clip is one of his favorite little songs to play this week. Enjoy!

This Made My Day

2008-08-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I learned some news yesterday that totally made my day. The release date for the sixth Harry Potter movie has been pushed back to next summer, which is sad, but it opened up that spot in November for an earlier release of Twilight! I can hardly wait!

Specs and Speeches

2008-08-20T09:44:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm officially a Ticking Time Bomb. I've got about 2 1/2 weeks to go until my due date, and I get more and more uncomfortable by the instant. We had our last doctor's visit on Friday, so here's the latest ultrasound photo. Look! Hayden's doing her Angelina Jolie impression! It looks like she's inherited Jared's rubber lips. We also discovered that she's a thumb-sucker, or at least a finger sucker. We could tell she was sucking one of her digits, but it was a bit difficult to determine which one it was.

This weekend, Jason also had his first primary appearance. He was assigned to give the scripture and prayer this Sunday. He was so excited, and just about every 15 seconds from the time we entered the primary room he'd ask, "Is it my turn yet?" Well, it was finally his turn, and he got up and read his scripture (very loudly, I might add), and said his prayer. He looked so grown up! He loved it so much that we found out after church that he's volunteered to give a talk next Sunday. Maybe we should get this kid into politics.

4th of July

2008-08-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th of July this year at Papa & Grandma's (aka Jared's parents) in Oregon. Jason had a great time playing with his cousins playing Wii, jumping on the trampoline, the swingset, or just hanging out in the hammock. And then there were the fireworks. Jason & Ryan Haymore thought it'd be fun to see how high they could swing in the hammock. Careful, boys!
Michael Whiteley-Ross, Jason, & Ryan chow down on some good old-fashioned grub!
Jared couldn't get enough of the most recent Hale grandbabies, Harrison and Addison. Who can blame him? They're SO cute!
My little pyro in the making.

Jason's Bedroom

2008-08-07T17:21:00.001-07:00

As a few of you know, before we left Sunnyvale, I'd been working on a Thomas the Train mural in Jason's bedroom. Well, it was finally finished... the day before we moved. Oh well, at least we can enjoy the pictures!

Playing with Pappy

2008-08-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Jason just loves his Pappy. He had so much fun going out in the backyard to pick plums using Pappy's homemade plum-knocking tool.
It was also EXTREMELY hot down at Pappy's house, so we got a very cool pool playground for Jason to play with. Of course, he only got to use it for a day and a half because on the second day, Jason was running through the garage soaking wet when he fell and slid into a shovel. Two stitches later, the doctor said, "No more playing in the pool!" So much for cooling off!

One Hale of a Summer

2008-08-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

Jason and I spent a lot of time at Nonna and Pappy's (aka my mom and dad) this summer. Jason was especially looking forward to his birthday, which we spent in Hollywood. We went to the El Capitan Theatre to see Wall-E, which was very cool.

Then we went to Grauman's Chinese Theatre to look at the famous handprints in the cement. Jason was really excited to find Harry Potter's prints.

We opened presents when we got home, one of his favorites being the Home Depot tool set from Nonna and Pappy. He still hasn't stopped playing with it.

My little tool man!

Even Adam and Aunt Vicki couldn't resist!

Easter Eggs & Soccer Balls

2008-05-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm still running way behind on this blog. Someday we'll get on top of things. Anyway, this was the first year that Jason was really old to enough to get the whole Easter thing, so it was actually the first year we've ever dyed Easter eggs. He thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Leaving a note and a carrot for the Easter Bunny. Jason wrote it himself.

My son, the King of Cheesy Grins, with his Easter spoils. Good haul this year!

We put Jason in soccer this year, and were surprised by how much he LOVES it. He was always the first one on the field for practice, and the last to leave afterwards. He loves to practice at home with Daddy, too. He's very good about working on his dribbling, passing, trapping, and shooting. As he told his coach, he's a SOCCER MONSTER!

Christmas... and Halloween

2008-01-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm quite a bit behind with my blog. What can I say? Things have been C-R-A-Z-Y since, well, pretty much all year. I haven't even been home for 8 months. But despite the fact that we miss our San Jose home, we sure have been having fun in the meantime. We've gotten to do a lot of traveling, visited a lot of family, and seen more of the world than we intended this year. We are glad that things finally seem to be winding down to a more normal pace, and we'll FINALLY be going back home later this week.

Jason was crazy about the pirate ship and Captain Jack Sparrow costume he got for Christmas. All day we heard the clank of swords, the swish of the waves, and a whole lot of "Arrr.."

Jason really looked forward to seeing his cousin Sean at our family Christmas party. They had a great time playing together.

Jason's Christmas picture. He was so funny at the photographer's. He pretty much ran the show, telling the photographer exactly when to shoot, and what color the background should be.

Jason's been really into Star Wars since we were in Japan. Darth Vader is his all-time favorite character, though. You think I should be worried? Anyway, this was his costume. The mask had buttons on it that would mimic Darth Vader's breathing, and it would also quote lines from the movie, like, "Don't make me destroy you." Another button would make Jason's voice sound like Darth Vader's, or Darth Vader on helium, anyway. Jason loves to walk down the halls singing the Imperial March at the top of his lungs, just to warn everyone of his approach. Oh, the drama.
Jason's really been into musical instruments lately, so Jared's started teaching him a few songs. Here's the first little bit he learned.

Career Choices

2007-08-25T01:43:00.001-07:00

Lately, Jason seems to be exploring his options for his later career. Here's what he's come up with so far: President of the Thomas the Tank Engine Fan Club. I'm sure this one comes as a surprise to very few.

Architect. Jason's been having lots of fun building out of Legos. After building this grand structure, he hauled me into his room and proudly announced that he had built the temple. Awww.

Artist. I think it runs in the family.

Pirate. He's been running through the house wearing an eyepatch, carrying a sword, and growling, "Arrrgh!" ever since his buddy Jake's 5th birthday party. (They had a pirate theme, and Jason was ALL over it.)

Cowboy. He loves riding his bouncing horse off into the sunset... or at least down the hall.

Other careers he seems to be considering are: Jedi Knight (though he also talks about going to the Dark Side), and stunt double (he's been falling down the stairs on purpose thinking it's hilarious). It'll certainly be an adventure to see what he does next!

Pool? Party!

2007-07-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Getting Jason to take a bath is not one of the easiest things to do, but he has quite the pool party once he's in the tub. Thanks to some cool Japanese bath salts we discovered, he always has colored bath water (usually purple). Then he'll play for an hour or more if we let him, and he insists on filling the tub completely to the top. He won't get out until he's good and wrinkled. I think he's really going to miss the Japanese bathtubs when we come home in 2 weeks.
This weekend, we had Peter and Miki Withers over for dinner. At Peter's request, we prepared a Mexican feast. As you can imagine, you don't get much Mexican food in Japan. It was quite a challenge tracking down all the ingredients, and I had to get creative with some of the recipes. But everything turned out really well. We had enchiladas, Mexican rice, sweet corn cake, and fried ice cream. Almost everything was made from scratch, which I've never done before with a meal like this. But Peter and Miki seemed to really enjoy it.
After dinner, Miki kept eyeing a puzzle we'd started on our coffee table, so we all gathered to complete it. I've never attempted a more complicated puzzle. It was 500 pieces, and the picture was of a very detailed stained-glass window. It took forever. It was nearly 10:00 before we'd finished. But finish we did! Hail the conquering heroes!

Happy Birthday, Jason!

2007-06-24T03:18:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe it! My baby is 4 years old! To celebrate, Jared and I took Jason to Tokyo Disneyland for the day. We didn't even cover half the park, but we had a blast. Jason really loved Toontown, where he got to bounce at Goofy's house, ride the Jolly Trolley, climb through Chip and Dale's Treehouse, and frolick through the post office, fire station, and more. He was also crazy about the carousel in Fantasyland. We rode it twice in a row. He showed us how brave he was riding Splash Mountain and the Haunted Mansion. He's becoming such a big boy! Here we are, at the end of Main Street, in front of Cinderella's Castle. I have to admit, it puts the castle in Anaheim to shame. It was spectacular.

Bouncing off the walls at Goofy's house.

Aboard the Jolly Trolley. Jason absolutely insists on riding on anything that goes on tracks.

Jason had a minor fit when it was time to get off the carousel. He loved riding that white charger up and down and all around. So, we had to stand in line again, so he could do it one more time!

By about 6:00, Jason was exhausted, and fell fast asleep in his stroller while we waited in line for The Haunted Mansion. Unfortunately, once you get to a certain point in line, they take away your stroller. So Jared and I took turns holding him. The kid weighs a ton!

We didn't get home until about 11:00, but by then, Jason had his second wind. Lucky us. So, we let him open his present. We gave him a battery-powered Disney train set, complete with its own track. He was very excited by it, and stayed up until almost 1:00 in the morning playing with it.

On Sunday, Jason continued playing nonstop with his new train set. He was down on the floor so long that he fell fast asleep, with the train still running!

It was not easy providing Jason with a birthday cake this year. First of all, we don't have an oven. Second, finding the ingredients is quite a challenge. I spent all day Friday searching Yokohama for everything I needed. Four stores and four train rides later, we lugged it all back home. I baked the cake in the microwave, then had to get creative with how to make frosting. It all turned out pretty good, though. And as you can see, Jason certainly enjoyed it!

Kids Say The Darnedest Things!

2007-06-18T17:37:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this past weekend we went out to dinner with two of Jared's coworkers, Peter and Tim, and their families. Peter thought it was really funny that we went to a Brazilian restaurant in Chinatown in Japan. We had to agree. Anyway, we had a great time. Jason charmed all the waiters into playing peek-a-boo with him, and ended up being given a toy car and this funky shaggy dog hat, which you see here.

On Saturday, we took our pumpkin to the zoo, which he absolutely loved. I thought it was funny when we showed him the giant anteater, and he insisted that it was a squirrel. He was very eager to see the giraffes. Unfortunately, they didn't have animals from the African savannahs at the Yokohama Zoo. He'll tell you, though, that he did get to see elephants, lions, a tiger, a polar bear, otters, seals, and a kangaroo. And he loves them all. Since Saturday he runs down the list on an almost hourly basis. "I love the elephants. I love the lions. I love the tiger..." and so on.
Jason's become addicted to yet another movie over the past month, Disney's "The Wild." He knows it so well that he acts it out, whether or not it's on. I had to laugh when he declared the other day that he needed to go find his son, Ryan. He also gallops up and down the apartment on all fours, and he does it pretty quickly, too. I've decided this has to be a Hale family trait. I've never seen kids do that except on Jared's side of the family.
Finally, we just bought Jason a set of flash cards called "Spell-ominoes," which basically have a few letters on them that you can match up to make all kinds of words. We're trying to get Jason to practice blending sounds and reading. Yesterday, though, I realized he may need supervision as he's putting some of the cards together. I was washing dishes in the kitchen, and he was building words in the living room, calling out each time he had figured out a word. "Dog!" he would shout, "dog starts with a letter D!" And of course, then I'd praise him, and he'd move on to the next word. However, I just about peed my pants when he hollered out "F#@K! F#@k starts with the letter F!" Oh, dear.

The Joy of Mail Order

2007-06-09T23:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe a picture of Jason holding a box of Lucky Charms seems insignificant, but it marks the highlight of my week. He sure was excited about it, too. He did a little happy dance on top of his chair just after we snapped this picture, then devoured a couple bowls of Luchky charms. This event was so signifiicant to us, because in Japan, it's hard to find any kind of cereal other than Frosted Flakes or Cocoa Krispies. So this week, we had a box full of goodies from the States (things we can't get here) delivered to us. It included cereal, Splenda, pudding mix, and Kool-Aid! I only wish I'd discovered mail order weeks ago. I found a fabulous company based in Utah that will buy whatever items you want, and send them to you anywhere in the world. It was surprisingly cheap, too. Some of the Japan-based companies we found that offer similar services have outrageous prices (try $87 for a box of Captain Crunch). So if you're ever out of the country for an extended period of time, I highly recommend expatexpress.com.

Another highlight of this week, Jared sent me t o a Japanese Day Spa, where I had a detox treatment. Basically, it's a sauna, but they blast you with infrared while you're in it. You spend 15 minutes on a hot stone bed, then 5 minutes in a cooling room drinking water, then go back into the sauna. You do this for about an hour and a half. The idea is that you sweat out all the toxins in your body. It was pretty intense, but afterwards, I felt very refreshed. However, maybe I'll opt for a massage next time!

2007-06-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

It's June Already?

2007-06-04T00:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks for us here in the Hale Household. Last weekend we took the bullet train up to Nishinasuno, one of the areas Jared served in as a missionary. We stayed with Sister Nogami, a sweet lady that Jared met while he lived there. This first picture is of Jason with Sister Nogami's youngest son, and her grandson, Tasku. She kept us quite busy all weekend long, first taking us to a field day at the local school, where her grandson was competing in a race. Then we went to a nearby park, where Jason enjoyed jumping on all the rocks and examining the water wheels. Along with another friend, whose name escapes me, we visited the Nakagawa Water Park, which was an aquarium, fish farm, water park, and playground combined. We spent HOURS there, mostly at the water park. It was very hot, and Jason stripped down to his skivvies to play in the shallow pools. Later, we also enjoyed feeding the fish in the lake, and checking out the variety of fish at the aquarium. I'm still amazed when I think about the Amazonian catfish we saw. They were bigger than me!
We also visited a lot of Jared's old contacts while we were in town. We had dinner with the Namatame family, and they just loved Jason. Jason loved them, too, especially because Brother Namatame gave him rides on his back.
Back at Sister Nogami's house, she keeps a wall of all the missionaries that came through their area. We were interested by this picture. Apparently the guy in the middle's name is Elder Heder. I wonder if it was Elder Jon Heder, aka Napoleon Dynamite. After all, Jared looked it up and found out that he did actually serve his mission in Japan around the same time as Jared. Hmm.

Jason had an especially hard time saying goodbye to Sister Nogami. She didn't speak much Engish, but she showered Jason with both affection and new toys, and she was an incredibly hospitable hostess.
This past weekend, we stayed in Yokohama, but hiked up the hill to spend the day with Peter Withers (Jared's boss), and his family. We shopped in Motomachi, an outdoor mall, which I'm going to be visiting again as often as possible, and then went to their house for lunch. We had a gyoza party, teaming up to put together the gyoza before devouring it. It was delicious.
Jason also had a great time. Just a few days before our visit, he told me that he "needed a girlfriend." I told him he was too young, but he seemed to have found someone to his liking: Sophia, Peter's 12-year-old daughter! I guess he likes older women. Should I be worried?

Sanjo Stompin' Grounds

2007-05-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a trip up to Sanjo, which is about 3 hours (by train) northwest of Yokohama. We visited with the Nakagawa family. Emiko Nakagawa was one of the people that Jared baptized while he was on his mission here in Japan ten years ago. Since then, she's been married and has 4 beautiful children. Jason really loved playing with them all.

Chiho was gracious enough to let Jason ride on the back of her bike with her. These two really hit it off, and Jared liked to joke that Jason had a girlfriend.

Obviously, Chiho adored Jason as much as he adored her. In fact, when the Nakagawa family dropped us off at the train station when it was time to go home, Jason tried to kiss Chiho. I guess she thought he was too young for her. (She's 5.)

Here's a picture of me and Tatsu. Both Jared and I loved playing with him. He's about 18 months old, and so cute! He was a very happy baby, and he warmed up to us both very quickly.

Here's a picture of me & Jared with Emiko and her husband, Hiroshi. They were very welcoming, and we really enjoyed the time we were able to share with their family. Jared was almost giddy being back in his old missionary stomping ground, and was welcomed back by a large percentage of the small branch of the church there. The Nakagawa family especially inspired us with the strength of their faith.

On Saturday night, Emiko's parents and sister, Tomoko, also came by to visit. They were all very nice, and brought Jason a traditional matsuri costume. In all, we had a great time in Sanjo, and were sad to leave our friends.

Good (and not so good) Eating in Japan

2007-05-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

Well, Jason and I were absolutely thrilled when we found chocolate-frosted donuts at the bakery down the street. It wasn't quite Krispy Kreme's, but it did the trick. Jason gave us a laugh with his technique for eating his donut. He started at the top, eating every bit that had frosting on it, leaving the rest on his plate.

At least once a week, Jared comes home craving some serious American food. The closest we've found is at TGI Friday's. We've been there three times in the past three weeks. Jason loves it because they always give him balloons, crayons, and coloring pages. The staff there knows us (and our order) quite well now. In fact, I wish we had gone there the other night. Jared thought it might be fun to try this little restaurant on the corner by our apartment. Big mistake. First of all, the menu was all in Japanese, so I had no idea what any of it said. But it turned out to be a Korean restaurant, so Jared wasn't familiar with anything on the menu, either. So he talked with the waitress a bit, and we ended up ordering pork and crab. Both dishes came cold. The pork was nothing but chunks of skin, fat, and bone. Ew. The crab was uncooked, though covered in a spicy red sauce. We tried really hard, but just couldn't get any of it down.

Back home, Jason's typical lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. However, both peanut butter and bread are expensive and hard to find here, so we've been having a lot of ramen lunches. Jason especially loves it because it gives him a chance to test out his new Thomas the Train chopsticks.

It would seem we aren't the only ones that feast daily in our apartment. Jason's been devoured by mosquitoes this week. He's got three HUGH bites on his cheek, and another two on his right arm. We've had to cover them with bandaids to keep him from picking and scratching at them. Jared's also gotten quite a few bites, but I only had one. It would seem they don't like me as much. Not that I'm complaining!

Out & About in Japan

2007-04-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so in the past 2 weeks that we've been in Japan, we've started to do a little exploring. One of the first things Jason and I found was a park just around the corner from our downtown apartment. And a pretty cool park, at that. It's got a whole play structure with slides and bridges, etc. Then it has a swingset, and a HUGE jungle gym, which was Jason's favorite. One day while we were there, there was a little Japanese girl, who couldn't have been more than a year and a half old, who followed Jason around everywhere, trying to do everything he did. She couldn't quite keep up, but they both had a great time with her trying.

On our first Saturday in Japan, Jared decided to get us out of our little neighborhood and show us what lay just a few subway stops away. So we headed down to Sakuragicho Station, where there's lots of shopping, and a little amusement park. Of course, Jason quickly found the Thomas the Train ride. Now every time we head in the general direction of Sakuragicho, he starts talking about going to ride on Thomas. "I NEED to ride Thomas, Mommy!" Whatever.

In the same little park as Thomas the Train, is this colossal ferris wheel. It's over 100 meters high. They call it the Cosmo Clock (it has an enormous clock on one side of it). Jared insisted that we go on it. Bad idea. First of all, I'm terrified of heights. Second, it's INCREDIBLY s l o w - m o v i n g! Third, it got really windy at the top. Let's just say I all but had a panic attack. Jason didn't seem to mind though. In fact, we couldn't get him to look at the camera because he was so occupied with looking down at the view. Every time he sees the Cosmo Clock, he wants another ride on it as well.

This is a picture of the Cosmo Clock at night. We thought it was pretty cool.

After 2 weeks of Japanese food, I was ecstatic when we discovered a TGI Friday's. We ate there two days in a row. The ladies that worked there absolutely adored Jason. In fact, the second time we came, when they saw him coming, one of them knelt down on the floor, her arms wide. Jason ran to her and jumped in her arms. She carried him all the way while she led us to our table. Then they brought him sodas, and crayons, and coloring pages, and balloons, and other treats. He seems to have that effect on all the people here. I don't think we've gone on a single elevator ride that didn't end with all the occupants waving and saying, "Bye-bye, Jason!" It's hilarious. As soon as someone looks at him, he starts telling them his life story, despite the fact that most of them can't understand a word of English.

On our way home from TGI Friday's the other night, it was a bit windy, and Jason absolutely refused to let it take his balloon. So he walked all the way from the restaurant to the subway station very carefully, concentrating all the while on holding onto his balloon. Jared and I thought it was pretty funny, especially since he already had another balloon at home from our first trip to Friday's!

Needless to say, our little Thomas the Train fanatic is extremely fond of the subway. According to him, they're fantastic, because not only do you get to ride a train, but they also have monkey bars to play on! Since he discovered the hand-bars for the passengers who stand up, he's insisted on Jared holding him up so that he can hang and climb on them. These subway people are geniuses!

London Vacation

2007-04-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I haven't exactly been keeping up with my blog. Life has been crazy, to say the least. But I'm hoping to have a lot more time, at least for the next 3 months. I'll explain later.

Anyway, so last week I took a much needed break from the whole mommy-wife-gig, and flew across the Atlantic to visit my darling sister, Tracy in LONDON! It was fantastic!

I arrived late Saturday night, so pretty much all we did was struggle to haul my luggage (I brought 3 months worth, I'll explain later) through the airport, the train, and finally the streets of London until we arrived at her flat. Then we had a very late supper at this little Persian restaurant where they made fresh hummus and naan right in front of you. So good.

Sunday morning, Tracy thought it'd be a great idea to walk to church through Hyde Park. My feet disagreed. By the time we got in the neighborhood of the church, I had at least 7 blisters.

On Monday, we went with a group of her friends to the beach in Brighton. It was cold and rocky, but we still had a good time. We picnicked on the beach, browsed through the little shops in town, and cruised the pier.

We went to Windsor Castle on Tuesday, which was AMAZING. Apparently, it's where the Queen lives most of the time. I can see why. It's beautiful. We got to tour through a number of the state rooms, the Queen's Doll House and Portrait Collection, and St. George's Abbey, where Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, and several others are buried. Charles and Camilla were also married there.

We also saw a few plays during the week, including Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, and Les Miserables. They were all incredible, but I think my favorite was "Wicked." Maybe because I didn't know the story yet, so it was new and exciting to me. Not to say the others weren't fabulous, because they were.

On Thursday, we did the tourist thing. We visited Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, and the National Gallery. Lots of walking. But all very cool.

So that's last week. I flew home to Sunnyvale on Friday, and was there long enough to get a few hours sleep before heading back to the airport, this time with Jared and Jason, for our move to JAPAN! (That's why I had 3 months worth of luggage in London.) We're supposed to be here for 3 months, but we'll see how things go. So we've been here a couple days. Jared's company got us an apartment here. It's small, but it'll do. It's about 600 square feet (and that's 2 bedrooms). But it has a washer (no dryer), a vacuum (no carpet), and something I'll bet none of you have - a heated toilet seat!

How Do You Spell POTTY?

2006-09-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well, the past few weeks have been exciting at the Hale house. Jason started Joy School, which he absolutely loves (though he hates waking up for it - it starts at 8:30 AM! Yikes!). There are four other adorable little boys in his class: Jake, Alex, Elijah, and Braeden. He's really enjoying making new friends. I enjoy having a couple hours alone every Tuesday and Thursday. It's amazing the things you can get done when you're NOT chasing a 3-year-old. Jason's also all about SPELLING these days. He wants to know how to spell just about everything. Every other sentence out of his mouth is "How do you spell THOMAS?" or "How do you spell WHISTLE?", etc. He CAN spell a few words on his own now, including his name, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Papa (what he calls Jared's dad), Nonna (what he calls my mom), Pappy (what he calls my dad), Doug (my brother), Tracy (my sister), and Jenn (my sister). We've also been working real hard on potty-training the last few days, and I think he's finally getting the hang of it. We've been having him run around in his "Big Boy Pants" all day, and setting a timer, so that every 30 minutes, he has to sit on the toilet. It's gotten to the point where I don't even have to go in the bathroom with him anymore. When that timer goes off, I say, "Jason, it's time to go potty!" And away he goes. I'm just hoping that he'll start telling me when he NEEDS to go. We've definitely had more than our share of accidents, some more unpleasant than others.

Jared's been a barrel of fun since starting his MBA program a couple of weeks ago. That is, when he's around. His latest was while preparing for a quiz this weekend. The brand new computer he was given by the school CRASHED. Lovely. And poor Jared, the boy has no head for crisis. But eventually he realized that we still had TWO other computers in the house, and that yes, he'd have to start over, but at least he could get his work done. I have no idea whatsoever how he came to this conclusion! :)

My brother, Doug, moved in with us a few weeks ago as well. He just graduated high school in June, so he decided to try being away from home for awhile. So, he's started school at West Valley, and has gotten himself a low-paying job. Wow. I do NOT miss those days at all! But it's been great to have him around. I doubt I've helped diminish any of his homesickness, but he sure has helped to ease mine. And we'll be heading down to Mom & Dad's this weekend, so we're both looking forward to that. We both wanted to visit the family, especially Tracy, who is heading back to London at the end of the month. We'll miss you, Tracy! Doug's also been very helpful with taking care of Jason. He even got my little monster to eat dinner with us a few nights in a row! That's something I haven't accomplished since... um... never. Thanks, Doug!

As for me, I've been channeling Martha Stewart, apparently. After finding the instructions for the bread machine my mother gave me years ago, I've been baking my own bread nearly every day (it's amazing the rate at which Jared goes through a loaf!). I've also been learning how to quilt. This past week, my friend Ruth came over to help me work on my first quilt. We were both excited to use my brand new sewing machine Jared bought me, only to discover IT DIDN'T WORK! Luckily, Ruth knows just about everything about quilting, sewing, and where to go for all things of that nature. So she took me to a spot where we could have the machine repaired. It sure puts a damper on all my sewing aspirations for the next month. I'd been hoping to be able to sew all of our Halloween costumes this year. Jared's got his heart set on being Dumbledore, so we were going with a whole Harry Potter theme. So hopefully I'll get my machine back in time to finish them all.

Well, just for fun, I thought I'd start adding a Jared story of the week/month/whatever. So here's today's tidbit:
The missionaries from church were coming to dinner on Sunday night, so I went to the store on Saturday to get everything I'd need to make enchiladas. Sunday arrived, and as I'm doing my thing in the kitchen, I realize I have no cheese. Frantic, I approach Jared and tell him of my predicament, begging him to just this once, run and pick some up. He looks at me, shakes his head and says, "Why don't you just make some?" Right, Jared. I'll get right on that.

Fun in Oregon

2006-09-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a trip up to West Linn, Oregon to visit Jared's family. We had a great time. Jason especially loved visiting with all his cousins (he's got seventeen of them)! It was the first time in a long time he's gotten to see all of them because the Whiteley-Ross family live far, far away in Chicago. So it was great to get to play with Michael, Cassandra, Alex, and Katie. For Alex's birthday, Aunt Sherry took all the kids for a horseback riding lesson. I didn't really expect Jason to participate, since he's just barely three. I thought he'd be a little afraid of the horses. Boy, was I wrong. As soon as Jason saw the horses, he wanted in that arena with them. He just loved them to death. He patted them, and kissed them, and praised them. With Mommy's help, he walked them around the arena while his cousins rode, and then he got a few turns to ride the horses himself. He was so sad when the lesson was over and it was time to say goodbye to the horses. Ever since, he asks every day when we'll get to go see the horses again.

While in Oregon, we stayed with the Haymore family. When we arrived, we found a great big set-up of train tracks all around the living room, and Ethan asleep in a chair. Aunt Lisa told us that Ethan had stayed up late to create the tracks for Jason, because he knew how much Jason loves trains. Thanks, Ethan! Jason played with that track for hours every day we were there. He also had fun playing outside on the Haymore's play structure with Zach, Ethan, and Ryan. He really loved the swings.

Another fun thing we did a lot of in Oregon was KARAOKE! Jared is addicted to this PlayStation game called Karaoke Revolutions, so he brought it with him to Oregon. Well, it was a huge hit with everyone. The grandkids really loved it. Cassandra and Kristen became experts at singing "Fame," while Uncle Lant favored "Material Girl." (Go figure.) Jason's old favorite of course, was "I Love Rock & Roll."

We also celebrated Grandma Hale's 65th birthday while we were there. Jason kept singing "Happy Birthday," all week. He's such a spirited little thing! He sure loves his Grandma. He dazzled her by spelling her name for her countless t

Day Out with Thomas

2006-08-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Jared and I took Jason to Roaring Camp to spend a Day Out with Thomas the Train. He had such a blast. He got to see Thomas and take a ride on him through the mountains, and even take a picture with Thomas. There was also a gift shop there, and we of course ended up coming home with plenty of Thomas souvenirs. Jason also really enjoyed looking at all the cool train track set-ups that were on display. There was even a life-size Thomas built entirely out of Legos!

This week, my brother Doug and my sister Tracy came to visit us. Jason just loves them to death. He especially loves his Tracy, who he just couldn't seem to give enough kisses to. He really enjoyed introducing them to his favorite Playstation game, "Karaoke Revolutions." He loves to sing Joan Jett's "I Love Rock & Roll." And he'll tell anyone who'll listen that he likes foxy ladies and ROCK AND ROLL! Jason also learned how to spell his name this week. He can also spell Dad, Mom, and Papa (that's what he calls Jared's dad).

Today was a sad day, however, our best friends, the DeLange family, moved to Chicago. Jason is going to miss his buddy, Tyler, so much! They're such good friends! But we're hoping we'll get to go out and visit them soon! And just so she knows, I did this blog just to get Kristen off my back! Only kidding, Kristen! You know I love you!

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