This post is another one for me to remember, but as I am a bad, bad journal writer I am documenting it here for my benefit so I don't forget it. It happened just a month or so after Brenna and Braelynn were born.
To give some background, I like to make Joe's lunch for him before he goes to work. He doesn't expect me to, I just do it as my way to let him know that I love him and appreciate him. If I decide to sleep in, he just does it himself, no big deal. I especially like to do it when he works days, so that we have a few minutes together before he goes to work.
Like I said, it was just after the twins were born. He works the day shift for a month, then works nights for a month. He went to day shift right as he went back to work a week or two after they were born.
Of course, having two newborns is a very time-intensive and sleep-deprived time so I was not getting up to make his lunch but he only had a week left on his month of day shifts and I really wanted to get up with him for a few days before he went back to nights.
The first few mornings after I decided that I would get up, not matter what, came and went with me not getting up. Finally on the last day, I dragged out of bed and "made" his lunch then plopped back into bed. He called me later and we laughed and laughed about what happened. In fact, when we talk about it, we still laugh about it.
He was on the couch eating his breakfast when he hears me shuffling out to the kitchen then hears a few bangs, slams and me shuffling back to our room without a word. I was so tired and sort of remember getting up and making his lunch when all I did in reality was get his lunchbox out, throw a few random bowls from the fridge into the lunchbox and slam it shut.
On a totally unrelated subject, anther story I want to remember is when Tyler was first learning to ride his bike without training wheels. Tyler is like me and is really terrified of going out of his comfort zone and if we try something and don't succeed at first we tend to give up, something I really don't like about myself and am getting better at but still struggle with it.
After I spent a LOT of hours running up and down the street, around parking lots, up and down the bike/walking trails at the park with him, he finally felt somewhat comfortable riding his bike if he had plenty of room around him. Since we live on a busy street I needed him to learn how to ride on the sidewalk. So once again I spent a lot of time working with him. Finally, I got him on the sidewalk and had him take off with strict instructions that he was to stay on the sidewalk and I would be there if he needed help. Off he went yelling at the top of his lungs: "I can't do it, Mom, I can't do it...wait, I'm doing it, I'm doing it". That was a huge turning point for him. After that it was and still is up dirt hills, off jumps, one handed, no hands, wheelies, anything.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Posted by The Haley Family at 3:57 PM 0 comments
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Welcome, Grandma Conners!
We have exciting news for our family. Joe's Grandma Conners (his Dad's Mom) just arrived last night from Grand Junction, Colorado. She is moving here to an assisted living center. We are so excited to have her close to us. She is an amazing lady and we are looking forward to getting to know her even better and having her live just two blocks away from our house.
Another bit of news that just makes me happy--no more 1:00 church!
Posted by The Haley Family at 8:14 PM 1 comments
Saturday, December 27, 2008
White Christmas
We had a wonderful, white, relaxing Christmas. (Except the part that it took us almost thirty minutes to get home from the Haley Christmas party when it should have taken us about fifteen minutes because of the white!)
I got all my baking, etc. done early so I had time to just hang out with the kids, playing games, and just having fun. My favorite part of Christmas is always after we've had breakfast, the presents are opened and the kids are playing with their new things. I love the times that I can be there playing with them and watching them during that time.
Baby dolls, complete with bottles, diaper bag, and all the accessories! Brenna and Braelynn are in heaven.

Tyler with his loot. Our compromise to his drum set want..electronic drum set takes up little space and comes with headphones!!! It was even on sale!

Veronica got her first mp3 player this year, now she can listen to Taylor Swift without hearing her brother complain!

Sam got the present of the year. She is always singing her heart out in front of her mirror, using whatever she can find as a microphone, so Joe and I got her a karaoke machine. We have all had a blast singing along.

We finished off the day by having Christmas dinner and games with Joe's family. Everyone was able to come. It was fun to see everyone, play games and chat for a few hours.
Posted by The Haley Family at 12:05 PM 0 comments
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tagged-Scattergories Style
My sister Jeanette tagged me with this tag a while ago but I never got around to doing it but thanks to an idea from my sister Vera, Veronica wanted to do hers. She had so much fun she did everyone's with a little help from the other kids. I was reading it today and she did a good job!
SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things. Nothing made up! You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
Name: Veronica
Boys Name: Victor
Girls Name: Vera
Occupation: Ventriloquist
Color: Violet
Something You Wear: Velcro Shoes
Beverage: Vitamin Water
Food: Vanilla Wafers
Something Found in the Bathroom: Vanity
A Place: Vancouver, Canada
Reason for Being Late: Vomiting
Something You Shout: Victory!
Name: Tyler
Boys Name: Tevan
Girls Name: Tracey
Occupation: Truck Driver
Color: Turquoise
Something You Wear: Tie (Ty, Ha, Ha)
Beverage: Tomato Juice
Food: Top of Roman
Something Found in the Bathroom: TP
A Place: Texas
Reason for Being Late: Tripping in the Shower
Something You Shout: Terrific!
Name: Samantha
Boys Name: Stockton
Girls Name: Suzanne
Occupation: School Teacher
Color: Sage
Something You Wear: Slip
Beverage: Sprite
Food: Spaghetti
Something Found in the Bathroom: Soap
A Place: SLC, UT
Reason for Being Late: Sick
Something You Shout: Sweet!
Names: Brenna and Braelynn
Boys Name: Brian
Girls Name: Brenda
Occupation: Banker
Color: Black
Something You Wear: Bra
Beverage: Bottled Water
Food: Banana
Something Found in the Bathroom: Bathrobe
A Place: Bethlehem
Reason for Being Late: Being Bit by a Dog
Something You Shout: Bam!
Name: Marie
Boys Name: Mark
Girls Name: Matti
Occupation: Mining
Color: Milky White
Something You Wear: Moccasins
Beverage: Milk
Food: Milky Way Chocolate
Something Found in the Bathroom: Mat
A Place: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Reason for Being Late: Missing a Ride
Something You Shout: MOM!!!!!!
Name: Joe
Boys Name: Jeff
Girls Name: Jessica
Occupation: Juggler
Color: Jade
Something You Wear: Jacket
Beverage: Juice
Food: Jalapeno
Something Found in the Bathroom: Johnson and Johnson Lotion
A Place: Johannesburg, Africa
Reason for Being Late: Jumping into the Shower and Slipping
Something You Shout: Just Kidding!
Posted by The Haley Family at 4:36 PM 2 comments
Thursday, December 18, 2008
11 inches...and couting




We received six more inches of snow last night!!! Yea, I love the snow and can't wait to go sledding. After I got done shoveling this morning I decided it would be fun to take Brenna and Braelynn out there this morning to play for a little bit.
I got them all bundled up in their snowsuits and boots (only one little fit over who got which boots-I thought they would fight over boots and snowsuits!. They had fun throwing, eating and playing in the snow.
Posted by The Haley Family at 10:18 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
That's what it's really all about
Brenna and Braelynn, in the last two weeks, have gone from repeating the words after us when they say a prayer to wanting to say it by themselves but only saying the basics to saying a really good prayer remembering who they are supposed to pray for and remembering recent happenings to thank Heavenly Father for.
Last night, while they were saying their own little prayers by themselves, each one expressing what was in their heart and mind in their own words, it just struck me-this is what it is about. If my kids only remember one thing as they go about their lives I would want them to remember this:
"You need His help, and you know that you need His help. You cannot do it alone. You will come to realize that and recognize that more and more as the years pass. So live that in good conscience you can speak with the Lord. Get on your knees and thank Him for His goodness to you and express to Him the righteous desires of your hearts. The miracle of it all is that He hears. He responds. He answers--not always as we might wish He would answer, but there is no question in my mind that He answers."
Gordon B. Hinckley, "A Prophet's Counsel and Prayer for Youth," Ensign, Jan. 2001, 10
Posted by The Haley Family at 2:07 PM 1 comments
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Take my word for it...
Veronica did a beautiful job in her violin recital (private lessons) on Monday and in her orchestra concert (school) tonight.
I sat down tonight to upload the video of her violin solo but apparently I messed up on the recording part and I forgot my camera tonight, so...you will just have to take my word for it.
Posted by The Haley Family at 8:26 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Fun in SLC
We had the opportunity to spend a few days in Salt Lake City with my brother, Alma
his wife, Matti and two year old Bella this past weekend and had a great time.
Joe and the kids had never seen the lights at Temple Square, so on Friday evening we headed downtown to wander around there a little while, which is always a neat experience, and the temple lights and nativities just add to the wonder of it. Afterwards, we enjoyed hot chocolate and doughnuts at Alma and Matti's house.
On Saturday, we strolled around Gardner Village, a little area of shops and eateries made up of old houses. The older kids went on an elf hunt there and the three two year olds followed behind enjoying being outside and even got a free sucker stick afterwards.
That afternoon, Joe and I went back to the Salt Lake Temple to be with our friends who were going through for the first time. The kids had a great time with Alma, Matti and Bella, raking leaves, eating pizza and making gingerbread houses.
My sister, Jeanette and her husband, Jeff came over that night to visit and play games. Joe and I found a new game for our wish list: Sequence. Tons of fun!
To top off the weekend we were able to see a good friend of ours get baptised on Sunday night.
We want to thank Alma, Matti and Bella again for letting us stay with them.
Posted by The Haley Family at 2:07 PM 1 comments
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Christmas Tree

I can't believe I even took a picture of our Christmas tree, let alone doing a post on my blog about it, but I worked really hard on it this year and am really happy with how it turned out.
Every year after we decorate our tree, I spend the rest of the holiday thinking eeeh... We finally got a pre-lit fake tree which helped a little. We decorate as a family, which means hodgepodge ornaments scattered everywhere.
This year I decided to make ornaments to go with all of the other ones we have acquired over the years and we got a new-to-us hand me down tree that is a lot prettier than our old one.
I made stars made out of cinnamon, Elmer's glue and water, sliced oranges and baked them until they dried out and little balls made out of hemp dipped in glue and wrapped around balloons until they dried, then popped the balloons and hung them on the tree--all with stuff I had laying around the house!
Of course the pictures don't do it justice, but now I can say I love my Christmas tree!
Posted by The Haley Family at 8:36 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Mind Your Manners
A conversation I had with my 2 year old this morning after she saw me wearing an apron my mom had given me this weekend:
Brennna: Mom, that's Grandma thing.
Me: Yes, Grandma gave it to me.
Brenna: You say thank you?
Me: Yea, I said thank you.
Brenna: Grandma say your welcome.
Posted by The Haley Family at 12:55 PM 1 comments
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tyler is climbing the walls


Tyler learned about two years ago that he could "walk" up the wall in our hallway. And, yes, I let him do it and he does on a regular basis. I am sure some of you have seen him do it because he loves to show people and when he does, I usually get embarrassed and self conscious because what kind of a mother actually lets her kid do that?
The last time Tyler was climbing the walls I got to thinking about it wondering why it didn't bother me until other people saw him do it. I resolved then to acknowledge the fact that yes, my kid climbs walls and it is okay because he is just being a kid.
So in an effort to not become uncomfortable next time someone sees him climb our walls, here it is for the world to see.
In the summertime when he does it with dirty hands and feet after being outside I even send him up there with a wash cloth to wipe up after himself!
Posted by The Haley Family at 7:34 PM 0 comments
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!

This is what you get after two fun days of playing with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa.
We had a great Thanksgiving at my parents house this year. All of my siblings were there with spouses and kids.
It is so nice to live close and only have to drive an hour and a half instead of anywhere from 6 to 10 hours like most of my siblings. A big thanks to those that make the sacrifice so that we can enjoy time together.
Posted by The Haley Family at 8:39 PM 0 comments
Monday, November 17, 2008
Have a seat

Yesterday as we were sitting down in Tyler's, Brenna's and Braelynn's room to read scriptures, the door to my pantry (which is their closet) was open. Somehow they decided that the cereal boxes on the floor made a perfect seat.
Posted by The Haley Family at 3:50 PM 0 comments
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Happy Birthday Tyler!!!
Tyler turns nine years old today! He celebrated yesterday with having eight of his friends over for lunch and a party. Can you believe we cooked 32 hot dogs, two bags of chips, two containers of koolaid and a birthday cake all gone with only one hot dog and very little of the rest of the stuff left over. And they aren't even teenagers yet!
He didn't want any games or anything, just to have his friends over and hang out, but I figured we needed to do something to channel some of their energy so I came up with this cool treasure hunt. We had five clues, each one they had to figure out. The favorites were a clue written on white paper with white crayon that they had to color over with a marker to figure out and another one that they had to pop balloons and put the papers together to figure out the clue. The treasure was a can of candy buried in the garden.
Here are a few things about Tyler:
1. His favorite sports to play are football and wrestling
2. He makes friends very easily and has a ton of them
3. But he is actually very shy when it comes to doing new things
4. He is very afraid of heights, even diving boards
5. He loves to do manly-man things like hunting, shooting, etc. with his dad
6. He is very into scouting
7. He is the very best brother ever to Brenna and Braelynn
The first thing they do every time...wrestle.

Look at that cake!
Posted by The Haley Family at 9:42 AM 4 comments
Friday, November 14, 2008
A Possible Bargain
I haven't had time to try this yet but hopefully during nap time... It was posted on a coupon site that I checked. She posted it on Wednesday so you would have to hurry, it is a great deal for a good Christmas present!
http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20081029_tows_messyhouse/7
She is giving away free 20 page 8x11 photo books for 48 hours. I just created and ordered mine, all i paid was 7 bucks for shipping. Not bad when the normal price is $29.99 !
On the main page of oprah.com the first thing that comes up "peter's clutter crew" in the blue section there is a link to "get your free gift from snapfish" it will show as full price until you actualy go and pay then the 29.99 discount is taken at the very end :)
Posted by The Haley Family at 12:49 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Time In The Sky
Joe had the opportunity to go flying for a few hours yesterday. Our friend Jess is going to pilot school and just got his private pilots licence and offered to take Joe up with him. They were only able to spend an hour or so in the air, instead of four like they wanted to because of the weather, but they seemed to have a great time.
Here is a picture of Joe, Jess, and the plane they flew in.

Posted by The Haley Family at 12:47 PM 0 comments
Saturday, November 1, 2008
trick-or-treat
Time to post the Halloween pictures!
Every year we head out to Joe's Mom and Dad's house for their neighborhoods annual trunk-or-treat. The kids love to show off their costumes to Grandma and Grandpa. We always try to round up the grandkids to take a picture which is always entertaining. This year Grandma and Grandpa decorated their truck really cute so we put all the kids in the back of the truck. It was much less entertaining but we got a picture with all the grandkids (minus Veronica) without having to chase one child or another back into the picture!

Veronica as a cat. She ditched us this year to go with her friends. We missed not having her with us but it is fun to see her old enough to go out on her own and are so glad that she has good, responsible friends to hang out with.
This picture does not do Braelynn's hair justice. I was really proud of the way it turned out. I wasn't sure how to do Snow White hair with not a lot of hair, but I put a red ribbon and made it into a headband, then curled her hair. Very cute!
Brenna as Cinderella.
Samantha as a painter.
Very cool-looking pirate. I should have taken a close-up of his face, I did a scar and everything. I was really happy (and surprised) at how good it turned out.
Posted by The Haley Family at 10:36 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
A good ending to a bad beginning




This actually happened on Monday and I typed this on Tuesday and then got too busy to attach pictures, then decided not to post it but I am posting it just as a reminder for me to be less of a task-oriented person and focus more on the needs of others. We still accomplished the "important" things like homework and reading but we all felt more united and closer as a family and made memories, which when it all come down to it is the important things! I am so lucky to have Joe to remind me of that on a regular basis!
Yesterday morning was bad. Start with no naps for Brenna and Braelynn the day before + bad night for Brenna (What is with the bad dreams all of a sudden?)= Tired and cranky 2 year old. Samantha + drama over her clothes to wear to school = Samantha in tears and mom loosing her temper and yelling. Multiply that by other various other incidents with various other children. Factor in the fact that Joe has been working nights for the last month with not a lot of days off.
We were in desperate need for some family time.
Joe being the amazing father that he is suggested a quick after-school fishing trip to a lake only 8 miles away and a picnic dinner. It was just fun. Fun and relaxing. The picnic was different but yummy. We are trying to make every penny stretch, so that means making a picnic dinner with only the items we had on hand.
Chicken sandwiches with leftover chicken from Sunday's dinner. Jello-Cottage Cheese salad with cottage cheese my mom had given me that needed to be used up and berries we still had in the freezer that we picked in Idaho. Carrots for nutrition (which I forgot). Finish it up with homemade chocolate cream cheese cupcakes and Capri-Suns that were left over from a summer trip!
Posted by The Haley Family at 12:31 PM 0 comments
Saturday, October 25, 2008
You don't see this everyday...
Just once a year in Cedar City Utah!

A bunch of sheep being herded down Main Street is part of this weekends festivities as part of the Livestock and Heritage Festival.
The older kids were practicing for their primary program tomorrow so they weren't able to see the parade and I got too busy talking to my friend Melanie (in the picture with Brenna) to take more pictures, but I am throwing in a picture of Brenna and Braelynn just for fun.

Brenna was really intent on the sheep, if you couldn't tell from the picture!
Posted by The Haley Family at 8:51 PM 0 comments
Happy 12 Years
Today marks our 12th wedding anniversary! What more in life do you need than to be be married to your best friend for time and eternity?
Posted by The Haley Family at 8:43 PM 2 comments
Friday, October 24, 2008
Not Babies Anymore
You know the moment when you look at your child and realize that they aren't little anymore? I had one of those moments last week so I thought I would document some of the little personality traits of Brenna and Braelynn that I don't want to forget.
Brenna likes everything to be in a straight line, the magnets on the fridge, any toys she is playing with, even her balls she made out of play dough need to go in a straight line.

Braelynn is very much an imitator. She now holds story time on a regular basis in our living room. She sets up books and then picks them up one at a time and reads them to whoever might be in the room just like the ladies do at the library story time.
She in the last week and a half has become really sensitive to the fact that she is Braelynn, not Brenna and will correct you. Even if you are really talking to Brenna and she thinks that you are talking to her, she will tell you "I Nanyn.".


They talk all the time! Anyone that has a two year old will understand what I am saying. The down side is that there are two of them and that means two mouths with words coming our all the time, the up side is that they also talk to each other, not just to me.
Posted by The Haley Family at 8:55 PM 1 comments


