A whole lot of smooching going on!

The cast of 2009 preforming in The Nativity-Luke 2. Featuring Kendell as Mary, Peter as Joseph, Gary as the Narrator, Addie as the Shepherd, Thys as the Sheep, Sydney the Angel, Meagan, Madison and Andrew as the Wise-men.
Mary and Joseph kiss'n it up! The two little cousins were having such a good time acting out the parts as Mary and Joseph. Loving and taking care of the little baby Jesus. They started kissing and wouldn't stop. They were very cute!

This is too cute! We hope that all our family and friends had a wonderful and joyful Christmas season. We wish you the very best to come in 2010. And we are sending you all of our luv'nes and kiss'nes your way. Love The Hallen Family

TisThe Season

Merry Christmas! It is such a joyous time of year. Celebrating the birth of our Savior, being with family and friends and giving to those whom we love and care for so much. It would be a Christmas wish from my heart if all my family from Canada were able be together on this Merry Day! It has been too long since my parent and siblings and I were all together for this Holiday. Don't get me wrong I have Gary's amazing family right here for the Holiday but...I miss the moments with my Canadian family greatly. I ponder on the memories of my childhood often and remember how SPECIAL my parents made the season. My mom sewing things night and day, my Dad dressed as Santa handing out things to those in need, baking yummy sweeties to eat, celebrating Christmas Eve with my extended family, sipping Dad's delicious eggnog punch and eating my mom's amazing cabbage rolls, and caroling to all our friends. These memories bring a smile to my face and a sparkle in my eye. They are what makes the season bright for me. The presents that I received are the least important compared to all that I shared and did as a family so long ago.

Now I have my own family and we try to do things to remember the Savior and put him first during this bustling season. Such as Christmas corner, singing Christmas carols, and my favorite is acting out Luke 2 on Christmas Eve with cousins, Aunts, Uncles and Grand-parents. It is entertaining and spiritually enlightening too.
Christ is the greatest gift anytime of year. But it is extraordinary because all faiths come together as believers and followers of Christ and celebrate His birth and His life.
Remember HIM. :)

Say Cheese!

Picture Time! Say "cheese"...and this is what you get from Kendell.She is such a cutie pie. I just love the grin that she has. It kind of reminds me of some childhood photos that I have of myself and makes me laugh.
She is so cute! But the pigtails and bows didn't last long!

Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks
Our adventure was perfect. The weather was cold but no rain or snow to talk of, so we were happy. We enjoyed the view of El Capitan and Half Dome and all the nature walks and gorgeous landscapes, rivers, streams and falls that we saw along the way. We saw a lots of Squirrels, Birds and Deer as well as one hungry Coyote and three cute black Bears. We found a lot of things to be thankful for as we past through this amazing valley and the giant sequoia grove. We are truly blessed to live in this country where we are surrounded by immense beauty. We hope you had a wonderful Thanks Giving and have a chance to visit this beautiful National Park one day.

Yosemite National Park

What a great place to go take the perfect family picture for the Holiday. We spent ThanksGiving in Yosemite National Park. Our first day, we visited Mariposa Grove to see all the amazing Giant Sequoia trees.
This is the GRIZZLY. It is so big! When you finally come around the corner and it comes into view it takes your breath away. The photo will never do it justice. It is just one of those things that you need to see for yourself and experience the awesomeness of it all.
These trees are so big that you need more than three people to wrap around its trunk.

It was a cold morning especially for us but we were prepared with all the gear!
It was so much fun, even though we were freezing!

Family Day!

Mojave National Preserve is in the desert near Las Vegas and Arizona. We visited in November which is a great time to go while the heat is lower. I don't know how anyone could endure it in the summer.
We went to two different sites. Mitchell Caverns and Hole-in-the-wall. The children loved it all. We weren't able to see the Mitchell Cavern Crystal Cave because the tours were full but we plan to go back. We found an abandoned cave though and pretended we were going on a Bear hunt. Thys didn't like that very much. Gary went on a camp out with the Scouts the following weekend and hiked the Mitchell Caverns and said it was amazing. I was very jealous! :)
Everyone loved to climb the rocks at Hole-in-the-wall. The name speaks for it-self! There were tonnes of holes to climb into and play pretend in them.
This was an adventure that the children didn't want to end.
Ellie was having fun too! She was trying to climb the rocks as well.
Sydney and Madison were loving the adventure. They kept finding new things to explore and climb. They found a big rock that they decided was an Elephant and played near it most of the time. I love moments like these that they can be themselves and use their imaginations and have fun.

Snow-Line Field Trip

The month was almost over as the teachers in preschool. Nola and I planned our last field trip to Snow-line Apple Orchard. We had such a fun but full month and this was a great place to end for the term. We needed a break things at home were getting neglected!
This was so cool. We watched the apples get crushed and then pressed into Apple Cider. After the tour we had apple cider mini-donuts and apple cider with apples as a snack. It was so yummy!
Thys and Peter being buddies. They were holding each other so tight that they fell! It was very cute!

Halloween Fun!

I know that I am posting this a little late but the saying goes..."better late than never!"..Halloween was a lot of fun this year. We really had a great weekend. Truck-or-Treating Friday night at the church and then Saturday, Sydney's Birthday, which we spent most of the afternoon at the Crafton School Carnival. Then Trick-or-Treating in Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood.
We reused, borrowed, made and bought our costumes this year. A little bit of everything. The children love to decide what they are going to be up to the last minute!
Happy Halloween Everyone!