You Might Be a Red Neck If:

The family car looks like this:
And sounds like this:

How do you like those tracks the previous owner left for us? I told Clint that for this Ogden girl this is like one of my worst nightmares coming true. I went to the prom my sophomore year and my date's truck was so big I had to practically stand on his shoulder to get in. Then he had to stuff my dress in after me! And Ogden has Washington Boulevard, probably the longest and most dragged boulevard in the state. I lost a bet with my best friend once and had to go cruise the vard with her to pick up guys--I'm still scarred. But with all those reservations, I have to admit, I really like this truck. It's so good looking. Even my mom says it's cute! Some have indicated that maybe this is Clint having a mid-life crisis. But what it actually is, is Clint making a commitment to enjoy Utah. We've both had a bit of a culture shock here. As we see it there are really only two cultures in the world. Utah and everything outside Utah. I've been outside Utah for 2 decades and Clint has never lived in Utah till now. But as different as this state is, we also see there are a lot of fabulous things about Utah, some really great people and the outdoors! So this is us suiting up and getting ready to explore Utah. Every time I look at that truck I see that Clint's priority is to have fun with me and the boys--it does seat six. By the way, the truck's name is Appa after the giant cloud bison in Avatar: the Last Airbender.

Conference Report in Huntsville

A Hale tradition, little known to those of us out-of-staters, is getting together at Grandma and Grandpa Hale's House after conference to share our favorite conference quotes. Grandma gives out 50 cents and it's a very nice incentive to get our kids to listen they can have something to share. The cousin positive peer-pressure is even more of an incentive. I loved hearing what all my cute nieces and nephews had to say.
In-laws looking captivated.
Don't I have beautiful nieces? And note Merri's pink get-up, which I think she wore for three months straight. The phase has passed, but it's recorded here on the Snolly. Here, sharp-eyed Leo is giving a head's up--there's a fox in the back yard.

Can you see it? Click on the photo to enlarge it, and look between the clay-pidgeon thrower and the old jungle-gym.

10 Years of Tal

Cole Earns His Wolf Badge

Chasing these boys around this year has been a blast! What good boys! What fabulous parents! Such a strange experience for me--I e-mail the parents the night before, "Be sure to have the boys bring their books." The next day: all 15 boys are there, 14 have their books and the 15th boy's Dad shows up mid-meeting with the book! How wonderful to be in a community of like-minded parents where Mom and Dad come through for their kids on a regular basis. I never speak to these boys parents when I don't get a "Thank you for all you do!" In all the years of volunteer service for the church and community, I can't recall ever hearing "Thank You" before. These people humble me and I wonder, have I been saying thank you enough for all the service other people have given my children? It's good to be surrounded by good people.

Oh yeah, you might want to know what this picture is about. This is when we took the boys on the TRAX to the Gateway mall to get a $1 cone from McDs. Many times people say that I and Karly, my co-leader, look alike! Such a compliment to me--thank you! And honestly I've never worked with someone so easily. We both have a can-do attitude and have dove-tailed perfectly.
We had the boys buddy or triple up to keep them together for the train. Here Cole and his buddies, Carter and Rex are practicing their three-man walking technique.
Here is Cole receiving his hard-earned Bear badge. He doesn't like attention, can you tell? He's a super kid. He used to be a bit silly in our meetings, but after I talked to him, he straightened right up. I'm so happy for Cole that he's so smart, friendly, capable and he always makes me laugh. I love you, Cole!

Tal and Trace in March

Crossfit

The boys and I did crossfit for a couple of months. It was good, it was bad, it was ugly. I sprained my ankle right off and it still hasn't fully healed. Then I pulled so many muscles I was in continual pain. I finally gave myself permission to quit and I was so thrilled when, three days later, I found I could go up and down stairs without pain. Yeah for mobility. Boo, for crossfit. I'm back on my treadmill walking/running and doing situps, pushups and squats--which I learned at crossfit--I'll give them that! I do think the boys got a lot out of it--their instructor was fabulous. But for now, we're giving it a break.

Logistical Heaven

This is what I'd call a perfect morning. I plugged the boys into the back of my bike at about 9 a.m. and trekked them up the hill to the zoo about 1.5 steep miles away. We hung out at the zoo for an hour. It was deserted. We even had the carousel to ourselves. And then we glided back home for lunch before Jack had to go to Kindergarten. A workout and an outing all rolled together. I was loving my little hood. (Sometime in March)