The Adventures of Gabi & Maya

A Hike Up the Mesa

2012-01-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

I finally remembered to bring my camera on one of our many explorations! We've had such a nice winter so far that we've been able to get out quite a bit. Yesterday, the girls and I headed up the mesa by our house. We can get on the OLD road to town very close to our house (not really a road, but wide dirt trail) and can easily follow it up to the top and look down at our house and the mountains. Joe had taken the girls up the same way last weekend, so Gabi thought she needed to draw me a map so I would know where to go!

A little rest stop along the way...Maya is holding the map.

We built a couple of cairns along the way...and fixed the ones they built last weekend.

Half-way up or so...you can kinda see the "road" in the bottom right of this picture. You can also see Dave's cows as well.

Lots of big rocks along the way.

At the top looking over the edge and our house!

Things around here have been going well. Joe has been extremely busy with work...seems like he comes home at midnight each night and has worked through the weekends as well. We got to spend some quality time together this morning, so that was nice. His big deadline is this Friday, so he should be able to return to "normal" after that. I have survived my first semester of teaching. In fact, I'm posting this instead of grading my final exams...procrastination at its finest. ;)

The girls are doing great! Luckily we have all stayed healthy this year (knock on wood) and they have made lots of friends at daycare and school. They really like to spend Fridays with Papa and Grammy. Papa even lets Gabi drive the feed truck (very slowly of course), so she thinks that is super fun! Gabi is starting to sound out words and is very interested in starting to spell and even read. Maya can write her name with some assistance and still loves to color and do puzzles. She is becoming quite the diva as well...loves to dress up and be....sassy. oh. my.

We hope you all are doing well! Thanks for checking in on us! Tara

Family Vacation in Breckenridge

2012-01-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend a week over Christmas with my family in Breck. Everyone had a great time! My brother brought his girlfriend, Angeline, so it was very nice to get to know her a bit. Tom lives in San Francisco now and she is finishing up her Masters degree at the University of Kentucky.

We were able to ski, hike, shop, relax, play games, eat and eat some more. I just enjoyed everyone being together.

Time for a family picture while on a hike.

My brother, Tom, and his girlfriend, Angeline

My snugglebug

My parents on the slopes...this was the first time my Dad had skiied since his knee replacement surgery over a year ago...he was skiing great and said he felt like he was 18 again! Yay!! :)

My Mom watched the girls one morning so Joe and I could ski together...that doesn't happen very often anymore! It was a beautiful day!

Gabi was able to go to Ski School while we were ther and she LOVED it and did very well!

Maya REALLY liked her hot chocolate at this cafe. :)

Had to get a picture of my brother washing dishes! I don't think I've ever seen him do dishes...ever. So glad Angeline is whipping him into shape! :)

A great time for sure! Of course, whenever we're in Colorado we have to see some old friends! I miss them so much! Maya and I met Dan & Julianne and their new baby, Sullivan, for lunch while Gabi & Joe skiied. We were also able to catch up with the Gomez's as well!

Happy New Year!

Christmas

2012-01-05T21:19:00.002-07:00

Season's Greetings! So sorry this post is late! We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas in Breckenridge with my family! Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera along with us, so all of the pictures were taken by my Mom or on Joe's phone.

Gabi & Maya had a blast on Christmas...I think they are at the perfect ages for that right now. Maya was just so excited for presents to be opened....she kept saying, "What is it?...What is it?..." when someone would be unwraping a present. They definitely must have been on Santa's nice list because they were spoiled!

Before heading to Christmas Eve Mass

Hoping they are on Santa's nice list :)

Three Santas

We opened presents Christmas morning...thankfully waited until 7am (still earlier than normal, but I can't complain) and were patient while everyone gathered to begin the "opening ceremonies"...heee heee. (It is late as I'm writing this and I'm super tired, so you'll have to excuse my corniness.)

Maya in her new sleeping bag...Gabi recieved one too, so we'll have fun camping this summer!

Sock Monkeys from Uncle Tom and Angeline!

Maya feeding cookie monsters cookies....she was really scared of it when she first opened it...she ran away from it and said, "I don't like cookie monster!" Finally, she warmed up to it and it is now one of her favorites.

Say Cheese! I need to learn how to download the pictures from this camera, because the girls take some funny ones!

Family picture after Joe and I had opened the presents the girls had made and wrapped just for us at Evonne's house...pictures of themselves in cute little frames. They did a good job at keeping them a secret!

Joe in his new Carhartt!

The girls helping Uncle Tom open up a present.

We had a very fun time celebrating Christmas with my family! So thankful we were all able to get together.

Picture with Santa

2011-12-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

Picture with Santa...yeah, right. Maya took one look at him and said, "NO WAY!" (Note the tears in her eyes.) I don't blame her...people in costumes kinda freak me out too.

So, we have a cute picture of the girls together in front of a fake fire instead! :) We tried again when Gio, Marco, and Milan came. Holding Gabi's hand must have helped this time. What's up with the tongue though? :) Crazy girl.

Merry Christmas!!

Disney on Ice...Toy Story 3

2011-12-17T15:35:00.003-07:00

Maya...so exited for it to start!

So was Gabi! She was on the edge of her seat the entire show!

The aliens and "THE CLAW......."

The girls' favorites...Woody, Bullseye, and Jessie

We had a blast while we were in Denver! We were able to stay with our good friends, The Delaneys. Their girls, our girls, and Gavin (Joe's co-worker's little boy) all stayed at their house with a babysitter while we attended the KL&A Chrismtas party. I was lucky enough to be in town when my awesome teacher-friends had their annual cookie exchange, so we all got caught-up and ate lots of good treats. We were also able to see Julia, Griffin & Lily, and our former neighbor, Angie. I really miss all of our friends, but that is about all I miss about Denver...definitely not that traffic!

Merry Christmas!!

Ready for Christmas!

2011-12-15T17:02:00.002-07:00

Season's Greetings! We sure are enjoying the Christmas season including the Buffalo Christmas parade and other festivities, a trip to Denver for a couple of Christmas parties, and lots of baking and gift wrapping! We are looking forward to a few more Christmas parties, Gabi's school Christmas program, and our trip to Breckenridge with my family for Christmas.

All dressed in their Christmas dresses ready to go to town to visit Santa (will post a pic of that after I figure out how to get the scanner connected to my new computer - it is quite comical!)

Sweet girls in front of our first real Christmas tree cut! Joe, Dave, and Greer went on a tree cutting expedition in the mountains after Thanksgiving. We actually picked this tree out while hiking last summer. :)

We put our old fake tree in the girls room and decorated it up very girly! They love it (and it makes their room so cozy!)

Sweet Maya

Silly Gabi

The girls and I cut out and decorated Christmas cookies this morning. I then spent the rest of the morning cleaning the kitchen...yikes.

We wish you all a Blessed Holiday Season! Merry Christmas!

Love,
Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Turkey Day Fun!

2011-11-26T11:20:00.001-07:00

Hello! We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It sounded like it was a beautiful day where most of our loved ones were celebrating. It certainly was a great day here in "God's Country!"

Gabi put the bodies on the base, the head (butterscotch chip) on, and the candy corn feathers on.
I assembled the two peices and added the eyes and waddle. :)

Gabi and I made 25 chocolate turkeys (a Grandma Dorothy tradition) on Tuesday night. We planned to take some to Evonne's (our babysitter's) house and have one for all of our guests. The girls thought they were just great and I guess Jackson did as well....he ate all but 8 of them. :( So, we had a do-over on Wednesday night so each of our family members would have one sitting next to their plate. :) Darn dog anyways.

Gabi adding the turkey head. I just realized that she isn't wearing her glasses in this picture...I wonder where they were. Usually she is very good about keeping her glasses on and enjoys having them.

Grandpa Don carving up the turkey!

The kiddos at their table! Yummy turkey!!

Just about ready to sit and enjoy the food. That's butternut squash soup using squash from our garden...it was really good! Dave & Joyce made hurricane drinks for us that they had enjoyed while in New Orleans last week.

After the feast, the guys took all of the kids outside for some sledding behind the 4-wheeler! They had a blast and we have decided this is one of the many reasons we love living in the country!

Ready to go!!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Couldn't wipe the smiles off these faces if you tried!

Joe gets in on the fun. :)

"old-fashioned" sledding too :)

Back inside warming up with those turkeys Gabi made!!

We had our traditional ornament exchange. Sorry blogger is being annoying and won't let me load these pictures the correct orientation...grrr. :)

Gabi received a tinkerbell ornament!!

Maya gave Uncle Greer a trout ornament made locally.

Group Photo time. I wish I had gotten a photo of all of the attendees together. I guess we were having so much fun that we forgot about doing that!

On Friday morning, Amanda & I went to Billings for a power shopping trip. We did really good and had a fun time! That afternoon, "Nona" (Greer's mom) took Gabi & Gio to see Happy Feet 2 (the 3-D version) in Sheridan. These two have quite a good time and really enjoyed the movie and the car ride.

We are so thankful for all God has blessed us with. Much love to you all! Tara

Thanksgiving...a bit early

2011-11-20T15:05:00.001-07:00

Hello! Not much new around here. We are all doing great! Our first snow storm arrived Thursday evening that resulted in a 2 hour school delay (yay!) and about 12" total. We're really looking forward to Thanksgiving with Joe's family, a trip to Denver in a couple of weeks, and our week in Breckenridge over Christmas! Here are some pics:

Curly-Q

These are our lovies.

The life of a cat.

We're training her early.

Gabi loves the snow.

Maya does not like the snow...this is her "I'm cold and want to go inside now" pose.

Gio joined us this morning for a little fun with watercolors.

We have so much to be thankful for...family, friends, health, good jobs, and a beautiful place to call home. Hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Love, Tara

Halloween Fun

2011-11-06T19:45:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our Halloween adventures. The girls had a great time and the weather held out long enough for us to get our fill of treats.

Headed towards downtown Buffalo to the "Monster March"

The crazy candy corn and silly giraffe!

The best part of Maya's giraffe costume is the rear end. I got her shaking her hips (which she is really good at anyways) and about fell over from laughing so hard. You can see for yourself how cute it is here:

Lots of cousins together and Kate & Ella's house before trick-or-treating!

Bombarding the neighbor's front door..better hurry up, Maya!

We headed to Diane & Splint's house after trick-or-treating for some more festive fun. The lefty couldn't quite break the pumpkin pinata, but she sure gave it her best shot.

Joe, Gabi & Maya carving pumpkins the night before Halloween

Maya loved the seeds and goo from the pumpkin...she also loved the roasted pumpkin seeds that it turned into!

Thanks for checking in on us! Lots of love! Tara

Gabi's New Glasses

2011-10-27T20:20:00.002-06:00

Gabi is very excited about her new glasses! She was more than willing to smile for the camera this evening (she usually runs and hides as soon as I pull it out!) I'm just hoping it stays that way.

We are very lucky that a school screening detected an issue and then our eye doctor (who just happens to be our great friend, Chris) confirmed the problem and recommended glasses. She sees just fine, but her eyes aren't "sharing," so the glasses will help them work together better. :)

We are enjoying fall, our new home, and every minute we get to spend together. The girls are looking forward to Halloween...Gabi is going to be a candy corn and Maya will be the infamous giraffe! :)

Love to you all! Tara

Four

2011-09-27T21:14:00.009-06:00

Happy Birthday to our sweet Gabi! We had a little celebration on Sunday evening with cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream (Gabi's favorite!) My parents were here, so it made the day extra special! On Monday, Gabi did "Show and Share" at her Preschool. She insisted on bringing our cat, Rocky, to show her classmates. She did an excellent job of telling everyone about Rocky, including that he eats mice, he purrs a lot, he likes to petted on his chin and ears, and that if you pull his tail, he will whap ya! We were very proud of her.

Gabi has also been playing soccer this fall. She really likes it, but isn't very aggressive and is the littlest one on her team. Nonetheless, she runs around the field after the ball with a huge smile on her face (and that's all that matters).

We were able to attend the Nebraska vs. Wyoming game in Laramie last Saturday. I grew up a huge Nebraska fan (and still am except when they play Wyoming!) My Mom & Dad came out from Iowa and my brother came from San Francisco (where he recently moved to). We had a great time tailgating and watching some good football (well, kind of....)

We called this "The Poke Sandwich"...it isn't too different than what happened on the field!

There were a lot of Nebraska fans in the stadium, but not enough to create the usual Sea of Red.

Maya kept stealing cookies at the tailgate. She is becoming a cookie monster like me!

Grandma Phyllis' 80th Birthday was last Sunday (the 18th). We had a big party for her at Amanda & Greer's home. Everyone had a wonderful time and the kids were excited about helping her blow out her candles.

Silly Maya:

Things have been super busy around here. We will be moving into our new house this weekend!

Lots of Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

End of Summer Happenings...

2011-09-10T21:51:00.007-06:00

It seems like we've been going a mile a minute around here, but thankfully our days are still filled with lots of fun as we enjoy these last days of summer. The ranch kids (and dog) enjoyed a swim outing to the creek. A great time was had by all!

We celebrated Gio's 5th birthday! I can't believe it has been 5 years since I held that cute little bundle of joy shortly after he was born! I'm loving that Gabi & Maya are able to have so much fun with their cousins.

It has definitely been harvest time around here. I've canned 16 wide-mouth jars of greenbeans and 12 of dill pickles. I made 6 pints of bread and butter pickles, 6 pints of zesty zucchini relish, and 8 pints of our favorite so far...sweet yellow tomato chutney. I've also frozen lots and lots of shredded zucchini, chopped green peppers, and swiss chard. Last Wednesday, we had a corn fest where we packaged and froze 55 bags of corn off the cob. It was quite the production with the turkey fryer used to boil the corn, 3 electric knives decobbing the corn, and lots of helpers. We've probably only harvested 1/3 of the corn! The tomatoes will be next...I have my sights set on canning some salsa and bruschetta. The best part of the garden's harvest is the fresh produce! We have been stuffing ourselves with as many fresh veggies as we can take!

Grandma Phyllis with Milan and Gabi:

Grandpa Don with Maya on our newly built fence!

Gabi had her first day of preschool last week. She was soooooooooo excited about going to school. I was able to drop her off and Joe picked her up. She had a permanent smile on her face the rest of the day. We are so proud of her! I was crying as I left her at school, which really surprised me because she has gone to school when we lived in Golden. They were tears of joy because I am thankful that she is such a happy, healthy little girl. She also started playing soccer last week. It seemed like she was more interested in socializing with the other kids than actually playing soccer. It will fun to watch her during her first game next week!

First Day of Preschool:

Maya is doing great as well. She has been singing quite a bit lately (ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle). I'm actually surpised it has taken her this long to start singing since her sister sings (and talks) nonstop. ;) Maya colors like a rock star. Don't tell Gabi, but I think she colors better than her sister! She LOVES to color and would spend hours at it if we let her. She is also able to draw smiley faces, her shapes, and some letters. We're working on her name and it won't be long!

That's all for now! Lots of love to you all! Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Check out our house progress: wyomingishome.blogspot.com

Cabin Time

2011-09-04T14:22:00.006-06:00

We were lucky enough to enjoy some quality time at Joe's parents' cabin this past weekend. We enjoyed a few hikes, making s'mores, playing in the loft, and cuddling by the fire. The girls slept in the same bed, so they pretty much giggled themselves to sleep. :) Enjoy the pics.

Lots of love,
Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Trip to Iowa...

2011-08-23T22:09:00.000-06:00

We made the long voyage to visit my Mom & Dad in Iowa a little over a week ago. The drive went as well as we could have hoped even though it takes about 2 hours longer from Buffalo than it did from Denver. It was great to see my parents and the girls loved every minute.

We were able to attend the Iowa State Fair while in town. The girls really liked riding the bus (park-n-ride), seeing all the animals, and riding a few rides. I have lots of great memories of hanging out at the fair with my friends in high school...especially all of the people watching and eating that we did!

The food at the fair is incredible...everything from your regular corn dogs to deep fried butter (yes, a stick of butter) on a stick. We opted out of the butter novelty items, but had our fair share of artery-clogging delectables. :)

In addition to all of the regular livestock and show animals, there are quite a few novelty critters on display. The girls loved the ostrich!

There are also contests for the biggest (enter name of animal, vegetable, or fruit). The largest bull weighed nearly 3000lbs. and was unbelievably huge. However, I thought the smallest bull was by far cuter:

As we were browsing the FFA and 4-H animals, Sarah Palin's entourage came travelling down the same aisle. I'm not a huge fan, so Joe & I just pushed Maya & our gigantic double stroller out of everyone's way and stood to the side as they passed. My Mom & Dad had Gabi and were able to shake Sarah's hand. She apparently asked Gabi her name and told her she was a beautiful little girl. (Tell us something we don't already know! hee hee!)

The rest of the time we just hung out at the house, including eating lots of yummy food, playing, and doing sparklers! Joe & I were also able to do quite a bit of shopping for the house while Mom & Dad babysat, so that was nice.

On the way back, we stayed the night in Lincoln at my Grandma Dot's house. It was nice to spend some time with her and with my Auntie Virginia, Uncle Gary, and cousin Allie. My Uncle Gary and the girls hit it off for sure and there were lots of giggles throughout the evening. :)

I'm back to school now and wondering how I'm going to survive all of this. It seems like the minute I went back to work, everything else needs my attention (mostly our new house in progress). I should have planned that a little better....:) So far, the girls are doing great with the new schedule and I'm loving my new school. I could go on and on about how much better it is than my old one, but I don't want to make my teacher friends in Denver jealous (just kidding) and I also don't want to jinx it!!

Lots of love to you all, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Fair Week

2011-08-06T20:21:00.017-06:00

The Johnson County Fair & Rodeo took place this week at the fairgrounds in Buffalo. Since agriculture is such a large part of this community, the fair is a big deal and super fun. Most of the livestock shows were during the week and the parade and rodeo were today. Joe was very involved with 4-H and FFA while he was growing up, so he enjoys attending as much as he can. The girls had a blast as well.

Here are some pictures from the parade this morning:

Cute little Wrangler butts (and yes, that is a camel walking by):

Patiently waiting for the parade to start:

We went to the Rodeo this afternoon. Even though it was during our usual naptime, the girls were stellar. Gabi loved the horses and Maya loved all the treats. :) It was also fun to listen to Papa Dave announce the rodeo.

Yummm.....cotton candy:

Maya's first experience with cotton candy...she was shoving it in in no time:

Gabi, Gio, Kate, & Ella ran in the kids foot race. They all did great, had fun, and received a $1 coin for their efforts. (The competitor in me thinks we need to work on Gabi's starting skills a little more....but there's lots of time for that!) ;-) The girls also entered some things in the fair. Gabi's radishes won Grand Champion! She was pretty excited about her big purple ribbon! They also entered wildflower arrangments. We spent some time one morning on a wildflower hunt and then they each "arranged" them in their rain boots. Maya's won First Premium and Gabi won Third Premium.

A proud Gabi in front of her arrangment:

Maya's arrangment:Gabi also baked some cookies with Grammy Joyce that won a ribbon (but I can't remember which one). They each made a dried flower arrangement with Grammy as well! This was my first experience with the whole exhibit deal, so I've got lots of ideas brewing for next year! This will be really fun as the girls get older!

Our garden is really starting to go crazy! We've picked radishes, lots of lettuce, swiss chard, cucumbers, zucchinis, beans, and peas so far. I've processed 7 frozen quart bags of swiss chard and 7 of green beans....and we're just getting started! The girls and I enjoy going to the garden most every day to see the changes and pick some goodies. They LOVE peas....especially Maya. She tells about everyone she meets, "I LOVE peas!" Here are some pictures of the girls shelling peas the other night: Gabi had a pretty good effort and about 1/4 cup in her bowl when we were done. Maya's was empty...somehow they ended up in her mouth instead.

Check out the http://www.wyomingishome.blogspot.com/ blog tomorrow evening (hopefully) when I'll have some pictures of the house up. It is coming along quite nicely. :)

Storybook Island

2011-07-18T13:47:00.009-06:00

On our way home from camping, we stopped at Storybook Island in Rapid City. It is pretty much a huge park filled with statues of their favorite storybook characters to climb and ride on.

The girls had a blast!

Riding the train was probably their favorite:

Daddy & His Princesses:

Maya was bouncing up and down saying, "Giddy UP!":

We will definitely make this stop if we go through Rapid City again!

Camping Trip to Devils Tower & the Black Hills

2011-07-18T13:21:00.008-06:00

We took a quick weekend trip to Devils Tower and then did some camping near Deadwood in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Joe and I both have fond memories of spending lots of time there with our parents when we were younger. We had such a fun weekend with Gabi & Maya that I think we'll be spending a lot of time there as they grow up, especially since it is only 2-3 hours away.

Gabi was sleeping as we were driving up to Devils Tower. When we got out of the car, I had her look up and she said, "WHOA....How are we going to get to the top of THAT?" I guess she is used to us saying, "Let's climb to the top!" when we are out hiking. This time, however, we just hiked AROUND the tower (about 1.5 miles).

We were able to see a lot of climbers coming down off the tower. Gabi kept saying she was going to climb it when she was older. I said that was fine as long as she didn't tell me before she did it. (Climbing terrifies me.) This is as high as she got that day:

This was the only picture that I took at our camping spot. There were daisies in bloom everywhere and lots of fun places to explore. The girls loved making s'mores and sleeping out under the stars.
We were also able to take Joe's Grandma Fern out to dinner as we went through Spearfish. :)

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

More Summer Fun

2011-07-18T12:28:00.010-06:00

We've been having lots of fun around here! Most of the days have been in the low 80s, so we've been spending lots of time outside in the water and sunshine! The girls are getting tan and look like little Coppertone babies! :) Here are some of our recent adventures:

Heading out to run through a REALLY BIG sprinkler:

Camping out in the backyard:
On a hike near Mosier Gulch:

Enjoying popsicles by the pool:

Having fun on the Slip N Slide and Kate & Ella's house:

Peek-A-Boo Maya:

Hope you are all having a fun summer too!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Our Wildflowers...

2011-07-04T14:45:00.006-06:00

We spent some time in the mountains today hiking, having a picnic, and enjoying the wildflowers. It was kinda cloudy, but we enjoyed a change from the last couple days of heat.

I love the above picture of Gabi, but leave it to Maya to put a silly spin on it. Maya also managed to get into some poison ivy while we were hiking. I washed her as soon as I could and I'm hoping she has my immunity to it. Time will tell I guess.

Happy Independence Day!

Lots of Love,

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Summer!

2011-07-04T14:30:00.010-06:00

We've been busy enjoying summer around here. It seemed like it took forever to get here, but now it is in full swing. I shot these pictures of Maya last night in the freshly cut hay field by our house. There aren't many of Gabi because she was being uncooperative (imagine that)!

Sliding & Swimming:

Coloring in the Shade:

Funny Lunchtime:

Smoothie Mustache:

Thanks for checking in on us!

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Trip to Denver...

2011-06-27T16:16:00.006-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Denver last week. The girls really enjoyed the zoo!
We were also able to go swimming at The Splash with Char and her girls. We went out to dinner with Chad & Khara and enjoyed a BBQ at Brian & Julia's house. The girls and I enjoyed Golden's parks and even met "Grandma Angie" at our old stomping grounds -- "turtle park." We had so much fun visiting good friends that we miss so much.

Love to you all,

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

I Made It!

2011-06-22T15:02:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday, I ran 50 miles through the beautiful Big Horn Mountains. I enjoyed it tremendously. Immediately after finishing most of my previous long races, I have vowed never to run another. Well....I already want to run another one of these. Yes, my body hurts. Yes, it takes a lot of time and physical toll. Yes, I know I'm crazy.

It's just that I spent so much time (11.5 hours to be exact) by myself (which I don't get very often these days!) doing what I have always loved to do....run. Even though I met and ran with some fun people, I ran most of the race by myself. Just me, the bright blue sky, the smell of pine trees, (the mud), and the wildflowers. It was time for me to count my many blessings and to thank God for all He has given to me....my beautiful family, an incredible place to call home, the courage to undertake this challenge, and the ability to complete it.

It was incredibly muddy and I lost track of how many streams I crossed (it got to the point where I looked forward to them because the cold water felt so good on my feet!) I descended two amazing canyons (and ascended one of them) to see the rivers flowing so wildly. The aid stations were amazing and luckily, since I have a strong stomach, I was able to enjoy most of the goodies they had to offer. Surprisingly, the thing that tasted the best was an icy cold Coors Light! Ha! There were many beautiful and amazing parts of this race, but the absolute best part was seeing my little girls running beside me at the finish line cheering me on. :)

Tara
http://www.bighorntrailrun.com/

Party Time!

2011-06-17T13:45:00.001-06:00

It seems like we've been going to one party after another party for a few weeks now! There have been a couple of retirement parties for Joyce (who retired this year after 32 years working for Johnson County Public Schools!), birthday parties, parties just because it's fun to have a party, etc.! We hosted a party to celebrate Maya and Marco's 2nd birthdays a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, we had a nice evening to let the kids run around and play outside. My Mom and Dad were visiting from Iowa, so they even got to be in on the fun!

Joe and my Dad were able to put together our new playset before the party started, so the kids had a great time breaking it in!

Papa Don takes his turn at swinging Maya....she could swing for hours!

The kids hard at work decorating and planting flower pots:

Maya and Marco blowing out their "2" candles and digging into their extra-large cupcakes:

Maya shares her cupcake with Papa Dave...most of the time it is Papa Dave sharing his treats with Maya. :)

All of Don & Phyllis' Great-Grandchildren were in town this week, so we were able to get a picture of them all together!

My parents were in town for 4 days over Memorial Day weekend. It was so fun to have them here. It was pretty close quarters in the trailer, especially on the days it rained, but Gabi and Maya had a ball anyways! It finally cleared up on the last couple of days they were here, so we were able to get outside and even show them a few sights around Buffalo.

Maya doing the her two favorite things at the same time...swinging and reading! She is really growing up fast and gets sillier everyday. Her new favorite thing to say is "I DO IT!" and her new favorite thing to do is to give cheek kisses...one on each cheek. I swear I didn't teach her to do this! It must be that little bit of French blood she has in her! Maya loves to dress herself and put on her own shoes and I must say, is getting quite good at it! She had her 2 year old well-checkup a couple of weeks ago. She weighed in at 29.8 lbs (81st %ile) and was 33 inches tall (27th %ile). Gabi is our string bean and Maya is our kumquat! Hee hee! She passed all of the developmental questions with flying colors.

Both Gabi and Maya took swim lessons the past two weeks and really enjoyed them! Gabi has been eating like a horse lately and I swear grows an inch every day. She has learned how to pump her legs to swing herself and is becoming quite the nature nerd (wonder where she got that?) She is always finding worms and bugs and noticing interesting things outside. Her favorite thing to do is ride on the 4wheeler with Papa Dave to check on the irrigation systems or to see the cows. She also loves to "help" in the garden. :)

It was finally warm enough one day last week to turn on the sprinkers. Gio and Marco came over to join in the fun! Joyce bought Maya the bikini she is wearing...she looks really cute in it as it really accentuates her figure!! ;)

The big "community garden" is now finally underway. This was quite the project and all of the rain we had the past month definitely hindered the process. We're hoping in a few months that it looks much more colorful than it does here:

Joe is still enjoying his work and has been landing all kinds of jobs. He set some goals with his bosses before he left and so far he is surpassing their expectations! We have both really enjoyed living here so far! Everyone has been so kind and helpful.

I recently accepted a math/science teaching position at Buffalo High School. I had wanted to stay home with the girls for another year or two, but teaching opportunities don't come open very often in Buffalo, so I had to jump on this one. I am really excited about the position and so far the support that I have received from my fellow teachers and administration has been awesome. Even the custodian was pumped that he could take Joyce's "Mrs. Hall" sign off of her door and move it down the hall to my door! Child care seems to be working out as well. I've talked to a number of in-home providers that would be willing to take the girls and both Amanda and Joyce are going to each watch them one day a week. Gabi will be going to preschool this fall.

My 50 mile trail race is tomorrow! It is going to be a big, muddy mess, but I'll try to just enjoy the beautiful scenery and visit with the amazing people running along beside me. I always meet some really cool people during this race!

Lots of love,

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Happy 2nd Birthday Maya!

2011-05-26T21:46:00.004-06:00

Our sweet little Maya turned 2 today! It is hard for me to believe that she is that old because she is such a cuddle bug and will always be our little baby girl! We had the crew around here over for cake and ice cream this evening. The autofocus on my camera went out, so thankfully Joyce brought hers and took the clear pictures.

She was smiling while everyone was singing "Happy Birthday," but then became a little bashful. :)

Yummy cake!

Presents time! Her big gift from us was a dump truck and front end loader. Yes, I know they are kind of boyish, but she loves picking up rocks and pushing it along. Our playset was delivered yesterday, so my Dad and Joe are going to build it this weekend. It has a big sandbox in the bottom that will be perfect for the trucks.

This birthday stuff is hard work!

"The big kids:"

Happy Birthday Sweatpea! We love you!

Puddles & Lambs (Among Other Things)...

2011-05-26T21:20:00.008-06:00

It has been raining cats and dogs for almost 2 weeks around here. I'm about to petition for puddle jumping to become an Olympic sport....I think my girls would win since they have had so much practice.

The rain has been frustrating mostly because construction of our house has been at a standstill and also because the girls get fiesty when they're cooped up inside all day (as does their mom!) However, I know there is nothing we can do to control Mother Nature, so we try to make the most of it. My washing machine has gotten quite a workout washing all of the muddy puddle jumping clothes! Maya's new thing to sing is, "Rain, Rain, Go Away..." and "Look Mama...blue sky!"

Another thing that has sparked the girls' interest are Grammy Joyce's new lambs ("lambys")! She has 4 little bum lambs that she is feeding and caring for. The girls LOVE them and it is always a treat when we get to go see them and/or feed them. They have already grown so much in a week and it will be fun to watch them grow this summer.

We have a new neice! Milan Grace was born on May 24th and weighed in at 9 lbs. She is a little cutie and has dark hair and eyes! Gabi and Maya are very excited!

Here is our annual Mother's Day picture! I'm so lucky to have two sweet little girls!

We made a trip to Billings on Tuesday for Gabi's appointment with the pediatric cardiologist. He did another EKG and Echo of her heart and everything looks wonderful! We will go back in one year to have it checked again. So thankful and so relieved. Our trip to Billings was definitely not ordinary. Since I-90 was flooded, we had to take the "scenic route" over the mountains. A two hour trip turned into a 5 hour trip...each way. Add to that a 25 mile stretch of highway under construction that at one time was gravel but with so much rain had turned into a potholed muddy mess. It was almost comical how bad it was. We also ran into some rock slides coming down the mountain as it was pouring rain that night. Crazy stuff! I'm supposed to run my 50 mile trail race in 3 weeks in an area that is still covered with 5+ feet of snow. I don't know how that is ever going to happen. We will see...

Thanks for checking in on us!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Hall Ranch Branding 2011

2011-05-05T13:58:00.011-06:00

Today was branding day on the Hall Ranch. The weather was beautiful and everyone was in good spirits. It is a lot of hard work, but also a celebration of a successful calving season.

Joe & Greer run the calf table while Don Hall brands the JH on the calves:

I watched the little guy below and his twin sister being born. He has gotten a lot bigger since then, but just as cute! It was really exciting for me to see a cow have a set of twins.

When they let the calves go, Maya said, "All done!"

The kids did really well. This was the first branding for Gabi & Maya. Of course Gabi had a zillion questions, but we're used to that! :)

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Easter

2011-05-01T14:49:00.005-06:00

Sorry for the delay in posting pictures from Easter! It was a beautiful day to celebrate!

Here are the girls in their Easter dresses and matching necklaces (made by Grammy Mary) after Mass on Sunday morning:

Maya dyeing Easter eggs at Greer & Amanda's house last Saturday:

We all had a part in making the traditional Bunny Cake this year. Gabi helped me make the cake and put the marshmallows and coconut on (minus the few that she sneaked into her mouth!)
Joe painted the faces on the bunnies as Maya offered her help and an occasional request for a marshmallow :)
The finished product! This cake has been a Easter tradition in my family since my Dad was little. His Mom (my Grandma Genie) made it as his birthday cake each year since his birthday usually falls close to Easter. I really enjoy making this cake for my Dad, but since we weren't together for Easter this year, my Mom made him one.

The cousins hunted Easter eggs in Grammy Joyce's yard before our steak dinner. I'm not a huge fan of ham, so I was pumped that we had steak instead!

Hope you all had a great Easter!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Spring Happenings

2011-04-23T14:26:00.012-06:00

Life has been good lately -- Gabi is super healthy again, everything is starting to look a little greener, they finally started our new house, and we were able to make a trip to Golden to see all of our friends!

Just about all of the calves have been born and they are getting bigger! Here are some pictures I took during an evening outing to check on them. Maya rides in the box on the front of Papa's 4 wheeler -- she loves it and does a good job hanging on tight!
We have been getting a lot of moisture and it has been windy. There was one nice day last week that we were able to get outside to make and decorate a playhouse for Maya and Gabi. We bought a new deep freeze and the box that it came in is perfect for a playhouse. After I cut out the door and windows, the girls went to town decorating it! It will be a fun place to eat lunch and play in this summer.
We brought our little slide with us from Golden. It is getting too small for Gabi, so we are thinking about getting something bigger. We also need to find somewhere to hang our swing, since we couldn't move our huge maple tree with us. :) Maya is a little dare devil and scares the crap out of me sometimes. It doesn't help that she tries to do EVERYTHING that Gabi does. So, she has discovered how to go down the slide head first and thinks it is quite fun.
We still go on lots of walks and the girls have enjoyed going to the greenhouse to check on all of the plants. Gabi has also discovered a new way to cross the cattle guard. I guess she no longer needs my assistance!
Jackson is still loving life as a ranch dog. He has slimmed down a lot and just seems a lot happier than he used to be. He runs with me quite a bit, but can't go as far as he used to. Now that it is warmer, he enjoys daily dips in the pond and/or creek. Jackson has had some company lately outside the yard. A large herd of antelope has been happily munching away the green grass that is popping up around here (much to Dave's dismay I'm sure.) We have enjoyed all of the new life that Spring brings especially the meadowlarks and their beautiful songs, mountain bluebirds, ducks, Canadian geese, sand hill cranes, and wild turkeys.

Gabi is definitely back to her old self plus some. Both her and Maya have really opened up since we moved to Buffalo. They seem more comfortable being around new people and are growing more independent. I'm not sure why this is, but both Joe and I have noticed it. Gabi continues to ask questions non-stop, which wears me out but has also made her pretty sharp. She is very observant and notices things that the average person would overlook. She has taken quite an interest in writing and drawing lately. She can write her name, Tara, Joe, Maya, Papa, and Gio without asking for help. She will write many other words as I spell them to her. Her stick figures are hilarious and she never forgets the details (like curly hair when she is drawing Maya). We are working on letter sounds and she has been spelling words in some books.

Maya is still silly and gets spunkier everyday. She is almost potty trained. She will stay dry most of the day and has even gone #2 in the potty lately. She is really good about using public restrooms too. However, she is so independent and will occasionally have an accident when she is hard at work focusing on something away from me. She is very proud of herself, as are we! She is working toward wearing undies all of the time and a big girl bed when she goes all the time! :) This process has reminded us that we have to be extra patient with Maya. (Gabi was totally potty trained in 5 days.) Maya has always done everything in her own time (remember that 41 hour labor???? I do!!) She has been loving books and puzzles lately. She still loves to color as well.

We took a trip to Golden/Denver this week. Joe had a meeting in Casper last Tuesday, so we left that morning and then continued on to Denver once he was done. He worked in the Golden office on Wednesday and Thursday. We came home on Friday via Laramie where he had another meeting. Joe's new branch office has been very successful and they're hoping to send up some help soon. He is getting a lot of smaller jobs around Sheridan and Gillette. He landed a large job in Riverton for the community college there and is hoping to land a couple of other possible large jobs around the state soon. We are very proud of him -- his HARD work is paying off!

It was great to be in Colorado. While Joe was working, I visited a lot of friends and did a little shopping too! On Wednesday, the girls and I took Joe to work and spent some time visiting Amy and his other co-workers, then we went in to see Dr. Amy (our chiropractor), then picked up lunch to take to Julianne's house. She is pregnant (and will be a mom very soon!) and has been on bedrest since 22 weeks along. We then headed to meet my friend Sandy and her kids at the park (but the girls slept through the park play). Our last stop was to see the girls' old babysitter, Tracy, and her daughter Aunika. Gabi was so excited to see them and it was fun to see Gabi & Aunika playing together again. Maya dove into her old toys and had fun seeing Tracy as well.

We stayed with Jeff, Christie, and their two boys. They cooked us dinner and the girls had a blast playing with all of their toys especially the bouncy house in their basement!! On Thursday, we went to see our old neighbor, Angie, and checked out the old house and neighborhood. Not much has changed and the girls really weren't interested in the old house like I thought they would be. We went to O'Connell Middle School to visit Donna, Lisa, and Laura (friends I used to work with), and then headed to a McDonalds PlayPlace to have lunch and play with Teresa, Kristine, and their kiddos. Octavia and Gabi were so happy to see each other and they had a blast playing in the PlayPlace (even though I was squirming at the thought of how much nasty stuff they were crawling through)! Finally, after a short nap, we returned to Joe's office to celebrate with the KL&A staff at Dan & Julianne's baby shower. It was a great time! Thanks to all of you that took the time to visit with us!

On Tuesday night, we were able to attend a Rockies game. Even though they lost and it was a little chilly and windy, it was fun to be back in the stadium. The girls loved dancing to the music, eating peanuts, hot chocolate, and the footlong hotdog that they shared. They ate it at the same time...from opposite ends. It was quite cute.

Sorry for the long-winded post! Have a joyous Easter!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Return of the Smiles

2011-04-12T21:14:00.003-06:00

Gabi gets more energy each day and her usual high daily quota of smiles is returning as well! Our visit with the pediatric cardiologist in Billings today went great -- so far her heart looks good. Kawasakis usually takes 6 weeks or so to run its course, so we will go back in 6 weeks for another echocardiogram and EKG. She will stay on the aspirin until then, but is free to run and play and be her usual self. If the 6 week tests come back good, she will go back every year for awhile and then every 5 years. Hopefully she will continue to improve and have no long-term effects of this disease. Many thanks for all of your kind words and prayers. We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family! We'll keep you updated! Lots of love, Tara

Prayers Needed for Gabi

2011-04-11T14:33:00.010-06:00

On Friday, Gabi was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease by her pediatrician in Sheridan. We spent Friday afternoon through Sunday in the hospital as she underwent treatment and had recovery time. She is doing much better now, but is still very tired and grumpy. We will not know the long-term effects on her heart until tomorrow when we go see a pediatric cardiologist in Billings for an echocardiogram. We are hopeful that we caught it early enough to prevent any damage to her coronary arteries and heart.

It was very scary for all of us. Gabi doesn't get sick very often and so it was quite stressful, especially when everything happened so quickly from the diagnosis to treatment at the hospital. She was a little trooper and won the hearts of many nurses during her stay. She hated the blood draws and IV, but loved the popsicles, stickers, ice cream and all of the attention. :) Watching your little girl lay in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV is heartbreaking. I hope I never have to see that again.

Here are some pictures of her as we were getting ready to leave. She is looking so much better in these pictures than she did on Friday (but taking pictures then was the last thing on my mind!) Gabi really missed Maya while she was in the hospital and was pretty happy when she came in to visit Sunday morning. We are thankful that we live close to family now and for all of their help watching Maya. Her diagnosis is a long story and one that gets me pretty angry. She came down with a rash all over her body last Saturday (4/2) and a low-grade fever. I called her doctor's office in Golden and they said to watch it and go in to the doctor if the fever didn't go away in 4-5 days. So, Tuesday morning (4/5), I took her to the urgent care clinic in Sheridan because she still had a 100-101 fever and red eyes. She was very irritable. Dr. Finley (don't EVER go to him!) spent less than 1 minute with us, looked in her mouth and ears, didn't listen to anything I told him about the history, and diagnosed her with a sinus infection and pink eye. I knew it was an incorrect diagnosis and feel bad for not standing up to him, but I guess I trusted him for some reason because he was a "doctor". We waited for the antibiotics and eye drops to work over the next couple of days and when they didn't, I called a pediatrician in Sheridan and got her in Friday morning. They took one look at her and knew something major was up! After blood tests, a chest x-ray, lots of examining, phone calls to Children's Hospital in Denver and the pediatric cardiologist in Billings, and 5 hours later, they diagnosed her with Kawasaki Disease. They immediately admitted her to Sheridan hospital to start the treatment of IVIG (gamma globulin) and aspirin. She looked so much better the next morning and has continued to improve (except for her energy level and she has thrown up a couple of times...probably from the aspirin.)

Please keep Gabi in your prayers. We are praying that she returns to her normal, energetic self soon and that her immune system and cardiovascular systems did not suffer any damage. She is such a sweet girl that shouldn't have to go through this! We will update this after our trip to the pediatric cardiologist in Billings tomorrow.

Lots of love, Tara

Gabi's Gotcha Day!

2011-03-25T21:17:00.004-06:00

It has been 3 years since Gabriela officially became our daughter! We celebrated this evening with our traditional Guatemalan dinner (crema de pollo, corn tortillas, Guatemalan black beans, and corn cake). It is always a treat and every year I remind myself to make all of those things more often! It was nice to have Grammy Joyce and Papa Dave over to help us celebrate as well! Unfortunately, we waited a little too long to take the traditional family picture! The girls were pretty wound up and didn't seem to want to sit still and smile. Oh well! Here are the pictures from the actual Gotcha Day, the 1st, and the 2nd. A lot has happened through all those years! :)

The picture above was taken a little earlier in the evening. Gabi & Maya have been really huggy lately (among their quarrels of course). The dress Gabi is wearing came from Antigua -- we bought it when we were there 3 years ago. We couldn't believe at that time that it would actually fit her one day! I'm kicking myself for not getting a better picture of her in it! Maybe tomorrow I will have patience enough to get her back dressed in it! We also gave her a Guatemalan ABC picture book -- every letter represents something about the people or places of Guatemala -- pretty neat!

We are still so thankful that Gabriela is part of our family! She brings us so much joy and we couldn't imagine life without her. God sure knew what He was doing when He made Gabriela part of our lives.

Lots of love!

Joe, Tara, Gabriela, & Maya

Skiing!

2011-03-25T21:07:00.004-06:00

We took Gabi skiing last Saturday at Meadowlark Ski Lodge in the Big Horn Mountains above Buffalo. She had a great time and did well! She has been skiing a couple of times before, but this was the first time she rode a chair lift! She wasn't scared one bit and kept asking me why I was holding on to her so tightly!

We even saw a moose cross the road on our way up that morning!

We were really impressed with Meadowlark. It has changed owners a couple of times and the current owners have really fixed the lodge up. Gabi & I were the first ones on the lift and there were probably less than 30 people total there that day! It was awesome! Granted, it's not as big as the Colorado resorts, but it felt big with so few people. Maya spent the morning with Grammy Joyce and Papa Dave. It won't be too long before they'll both be up on skis and causing all sorts of trouble! :)

Spring is in the Air!

2011-03-17T14:56:00.007-06:00

It has warmed up so nicely around here and it has gotten me so excited for Spring! Phyllis and I planted the first seeds of the season, calves are being born left and right, the days last longer, and we have been playing outside more (in the grass and not snow!!) Now I know I'm jinxing myself because we're probably still a few snowstorms and cold snaps away from Spring...but I have hope! Joe & I became pansies when we lived in Colorado...we forgot how long the winter is in Wyoming. However, if I remember correctly, Spring and Summer in Wyoming definitely makes up for it! The girls' new favorite activity is to go see the cows and calves -- it has been fun being so close to the calving lot. We can see them from our windows and I've even witnessed a few births while sitting here at my computer!

Throwing a snowball at the camera:

Maya really wishes she could reach the pedals...she'll sit up there forever and just run her little legs around and around!

I have no idea what they were doing here...crazy girls!

Cow and her new calf:

Riding with Grandma Phyllis on the 4-wheeler:

Even Rocky ventured outside one day...he made it to the first step. He was king of the neighborhood in Golden, but he has turned into a scaredy cat, a FAT scaredy cat here. ;-)

I watched Kate & Ella (Gabi and Maya's second cousins) 3 days this week and we had lots of fun. The girls enjoyed playing dress-up, playing with the dollhouse, and having picnics with the play food. Here they are with their bouquets of flowers while we were out checking on the cows!

The girls and I went to visit Grammy Mary and Papa Gary in Iowa a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, Gabi caught her first cold (and hopefully last of the season) while we were there and was pretty miserable. Maya was in good spirits. Regardless, it was good to be there and we had a nice visit with my parents and brother.

Painting (and actually sharing!):

Maya has been talking quite a bit more and is even putting words together now. She says quite often, "Baby cows...moooooo!" I'm trying to motivate myself to start potty training Maya. She is the same age now as Gabi was when I potty trained her. Maya just seems so much younger than Gabi did for some reason?! I think she is ready, but we'll see how it goes.

Three years ago yesterday we flew down to Guatemala to get our Gabi girl! How time flies!! She is growing up so fast and is such a joy!

Construction is scheduled to start on our house sometime next week! We are super excited to get going! Hopefully, I'll update the wyomingishome.blogspot.com with groundbreaking pictures soon!

Love to you all! Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Pucker Up!

2011-02-14T19:57:00.012-07:00

Hello! Hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day!

Some Valentine's Day pictures showing off the necklaces Grammy Mary made for them:
I love this picture of Gabi (and Maya actually has a normal/not cheesy smile):

Gabi wore this outfit on Valentine's Day 2 years ago and Joe had her in the same upside down pose:

Gio & Marco came over last Friday night, so they decorated heart cookies for everyone around here. It was a fun time!

Our friends, Chris & Tracy, had a baby girl named Tessa. Gabi & Maya have really been into playing with babies lately, so it is a special treat for them when we see Tessa. She is a cutie!

I don't know how the swim goggles ended up in the dress-up box, but they are always good for a laugh. I bought Gabi a new swim suit the other day and she wants to wear it all the time! She had it on one day last week when it was a high of -10 or something ridiculous like that! Crazy girl!

Love bugs:

It feels like sledding & snowshoing have become regular pastimes around here. That's Joe making a snow angel after taking Maya for a ride down the hill :).

Maya really likes stacking things, puzzles, putting things through holes, etc. She has very good fine motor skills. She has been talking a little more lately and I even got her to say "I love you" tonight (fitting for Valentine's Day!) However, she is very stubborn and doesn't talk unless she is good and ready. :) Here she is stacking a set of blocks that my Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Larry made for me when I was her age.

Finally, some scenic pictures from the ranch...the first is a Sun Dog from last week when it was really cold. Beautiful!

In other news, we have received all of the bids back from potential contractors and hope to select one to build our house by the end of this week. Sounds like it will get going in March sometime and take anywhere from 4-6 months to complete. It is an exciting process, but also full of hard decisions.

Joe is doing well with his new office. He worked with a great group of people in Golden, so I think he gets kind of lonesome working by himself. He does get fequent visits from friends and family, so that is good! He has been very busy lately on new projects around here and helping/fixing projects from the Golden office.

The girls and I have a routine down pretty good. On Mondays and Wednesdays, they play at the Y for an hour while I do my run. Thursdays is story/craft/treat time at the library, and Gabi has gymnastics on Friday. She loves it (it would be hard not to since it is a huge space filled with trampolines, zip lines, and all kinds of other fun gymnastics equipment.) Her teachers always comment on how strong (and tall) she is for her age. On Tuesdays we hang close to the house and I try to do a lot of baking to keep healthy breakfasts and snacks close at hand. I'm loving being home with my girls.

Lots of love to you all!

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Settling In...

2011-01-17T22:08:00.009-07:00

Hello! It is hard to believe we have been in Buffalo for a month already! We are starting to feel less like visitors and more like residents every day. I've really enjoyed living on the ranch -- it is so beautiful and peaceful. The girls have enjoyed seeing all of the wildlife, including all of the deer, bunnies, and partridge that they see out the windows.

I've enjoyed being home with the girls each day...even more than I thought I would. We find ourselves all kinds of things to do! We get outside at least once a day to go for a "nature walk" and have gone sledding a few times as well. Gabi thinks it is really cool that we can walk across the pond on the ice in the winter. Here are a few pics of our outdoor adventures.

The girls are doing great. Gabi and I have "preschool time" each morning where we work on writing letters, 3-letter words, and singing silly Spanish songs. She can almost write her name (those Bs are hard to write!) and can color in the lines very well now. She is left-handed, so it has been a little challenging for me to show her how to write and draw, but we are getting along fine. She has become more interested in learning Spanish lately, so I have ordered us up some workbooks to help. :)

Maya enjoys "preschool time" too! She loves to color and draw. She holds her pen like an adult and has very good control (even better than Gabi I think!) I can sit her up to the table with a box of crayons and paper and she is content for hours! Maya can identify all of her colors, animals, and most other objects in picture books. She still doesn't talk a whole lot, but her vocabulary is big when she feels like talking...which isn't often and never when other people are around! :) Her newest words are "gahgee" for Grammy and "papa". When you ask her to say cow, she says "mooo." She really likes to see Papa Dave's beef cattle.

Both girls still love to dance and I really like it that our CD player/Ipod is on way more than the TV! We still get in an episode of Sesame Street (Gabi's favorite) each day. Here is a picture of Maya playing dress-up. Her and Gabi are playing together a lot now, so it is fun to see them interact.

It has been fun to be around Joe's family so much! However, I think it makes me miss my family even more! Gabi is really good at talking on the phone with my parents, so that helps. Here is a picture of all of the cousins at Amanda & Greer's pizza party they held last Sunday. All the kids got to make their own personal pizza! :)
Surprisingly, I haven't gone crazy from boredom yet! When the girls are sleeping, I've kept myself busy with some sewing projects, working on getting the house plans/specifications ready to be sent out for bids from contractors, and reading. However, Facebook has sucked me in and I'm fighting desperately for it to not be a time waster of mine! My official training has started for the 50 mile trail race that I plan to run in June. I'm excited and have enjoyed my runs so far (did I mention how beautiful it is here?!) We have joined the YMCA as well. The girls can go play at the little daycare while I run ouside on the trail or on the treadmill when it is too cold (I hate running inside!) They love the Y and have made lots of friends there already, so it is good for all of us!

I'm sure once the house gets started, I will have plenty to do then as well.

Take care and thanks for checking in on us! Tara

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T14:49:00.009-07:00

We hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas! Here are some pictures from all of the festivities we attended! It felt like we were opening presents all day and eating in between! :)

Here are the girls dressed up for Christmas Eve church:

Santa found us at our new house! He brought Gabi & Maya matching personalized reading chairs with a special book for each. They really like the chairs so far!

We ate breakfast at Joe's grandparents' house on Christmas morning:

Marco doing a headstand during gift opening:

After opening presents at Don & Phyllis's house, we ventured down to Dave & Joyce's house for even more presents!!

A new hairbow from Great-Grandma Fern:

Greer & Marco with his new penguin pillow pet:

Gabi received a huge dollhouse from Grammy & Papa! She was super excited about it and after Joe spent 3 hours putting it together during her nap time, she loves it even more than expected!

Papa Dave sharing some whoppers:

We had Christmas dinner at Amanda & Greer's house in the afternoon. Here are all of the cousins by the tree! This was a hard picture to get!

The dinner was outstanding and the company even better! All of the kids had a great time as well.

It was fun to be surrounded by family! They have made us feel very welcome in our new home and we have loved every minute of being here so far. We went for a long walk today and saw lots of wildlife, including a bald eagle, lots of antelope, deer, a huge jackrabbit, and a hawk. Beautiful place.

Merry Christmas to all! Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Christmas Eve Snowshoeing & Sledding

2010-12-24T14:20:00.005-07:00

Season's Greetings! We took the girls up to Pole Creek this morning to go snowshoeing. Maya got to ride in the backpack and Gabi hiked with us and rode on our runner sled when she got tired. Gabi especially loved riding the sled down the hills!

Gabi chasing Jackson through the trees!

Jackson loved our snowshoe adventure as well! Joe and I loved that we only saw one other family out skiing. If this had been Colorado on a day as nice as this, we would have been one of 100 families on the trail! It was a beautiful day in "God's Country."

We are getting settled in. I will write about our move soon at www.wyomingishome.blogspot.com very soon. So far so good! The girls are getting excited for Santa to come tonight and of course all of the present opening that will commence shortly. :)

Have a very Merry Christmas!!
Love,
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T21:15:00.007-07:00

Hello Everyone! We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We made the long journey to Iowa for the week, but it was a great time and well worth the trip! We picked up my Grandma Dot in Lincoln and took her with us. The girls had so much fun playing with Grammy Mary and Papa Gary! They fed us well and it was nice to just relax and hang out with the family. Here are some pictures from our stay.

Grandma Dot made turkeys and pilgrim hats out of candy and cookies. Gabi thought they were pretty cool!

We had an organic, pasturized goose from Grant Family Farms instead of the usual thanksgiving turkey. It was very festive, but didn't taste that great. It was fun to try something new anyways. Joe is always the bird carver in the family. :) My mom made all kinds of tasty other things to go with our Thanksgiving goose!

Papa Gary bought tickets for us to go see Disney On Ice. The girls LOVED it! Our seats were outstanding and Gabi was glued to the skaters the entire time. She kept flashing me smiles of excitement! Her favorite was Tinkerbell. The rest of us enjoyed it as well!

Pumba has been a long time favorite character of mine and he was the best costume of the night! It brought back lots of memories from middle/high school of my best friend, Susie, and I and our love of the Lion King.

We celebrated Christmas while we were there since we won't be seeing my family for Christmas this year. Of course we had to get the 4 generations picture! My mom bought the girls these matching outfits...aren't they cute!? Before we opened presents, we went to Mass where the girls were waving at and trying to get Papa Gary's attention while he was playing guitar and singing. It was pretty funny!

My mom bought the girls pillowpets, only these are pillowpets on steroids...they're HUGE! Maya thought her bumblebee was so fun! She hauls that thing around with her everywhere. Gabi received a ladybug. They are very cute and now take up half of the girls' beds while they sleep at night.

Maya LOVES books and has a great time reading to herself...out loud. It is quite comical and I need to figure out how to put videos from my new camera on this blog so you can see for yourself. She is such a silly one...wonder where she gets it...?

Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting us...we had a great time! My dad is having knee replacement surgery on December 7th, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I'm sure all will go well and he'll be back to skiing black diamonds in no time! ;-)

In other news, we are busy getting ready for the big move...less than three weeks away now. Joe raked the leaves for probably the last time, so we had to get some pictures of the girls "helping" him out. We will definitely miss our big maple tree.

Our house is "under contract," but we're trying not to get our hopes up yet. We have had a contract fall through before, so I guess nothing is for certain until they sign on the bottom line at the closing on 12/29. We are getting excited for our move, but are very nervous and overwhelmed with everything, especially saying good-bye to everyone. In addition to the moving to-do list, we have our Christmas parties and our Going Away party to look forward to in the next couple of weeks. They will be fun, but kinda sad as well.

Thanks for checking in on us!

Until next time...
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Thankful

2010-11-22T13:26:00.003-07:00

We hope you all have a safe and joyful Thanksgiving. We are so very thankful for all of our friends and family that make life so beautiful.

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Halloween!

2010-11-03T20:00:00.005-06:00

Hope you all had a fun Halloween! Ours was spent in Buffalo during a very long weekend trip with our first big U-Haul load (third load overall) of stuff. Joe was also able to get a good idea of office space available, we met with the surveyor and loan banker, and checked out our temporary digs. Best of all, we spent lots of time with family! Gabi and Maya had great fun with their cousins and Grammy & Papa.

Here are the pumpkins the kids (actually the adults) carved.

Joe's cousin, Natalie, had a Halloween party before the trick-or-treating got underway. The kids were all very excited to be in their costumes and go get CANDY!

Gabi was a ladybug:

Maya was a bumblebee:

The whole clan:

Off they go!

Gio and Gabi had lots of quality play time! So excited for when we will live closer and this can happen more often! We took Gio and Gabi to the Buffalo vs. Lander play-off football game and they had so much fun singing, listening to the band, eating popcorn, and watching "Auntie Manda" make everyone feel better!! Maya and Marco had fun too! :)

Lots of love,

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Fabulous Fall Festivities

2010-10-18T15:06:00.004-06:00

On Saturday, we stopped by Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Patch to pick out some pumpkins on our way to the Wyoming Homecoming football game. We had a wonderful day!
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

On a Walk...

2010-10-13T14:04:00.002-06:00

For some reason, I haven't taken very many pictures the last couple of weeks. I need to get back in the habit! Joe took these photos of Maya with his phone on one of our many walks/tricycle rides by the high school. On the weekends and evenings, there are miles of sidewalks for Gabi to ride her tricycle as fast as she can! We even spend some time playing on the turf football field.

Not much is new -- we've just been trucking along. Gabi has started preschool and LOVES it. They made applesauce the other day and she was proud that she already knew how (we made a whole batch the weekend before to can). She goes to school Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30-12:30 and has done suprisingly well. She also started swimming lessons two nights a week and she REALLY likes that! Gabi had her 3 year old check-up (the last time she went to the doctor was for her 2 year old check-up so she has stayed healthy!) She was 40.5 inches tall (99%ile) and weighed 34.2lbs (80th %ile). She pretty much talks and sings nonstop. A lot of people don't believe me when I say this, because she won't talk much at all around people she doesn't know well.

Maya is doing great as well. She has gotten into the habit of using expressions instead of words. I've heard her say lots of words, but she usually chooses not to talk. She knows how to say yes, but instead she will just nod her head "yes" instead of actually saying it. It is a little frustrating, but Gabi is more than happy to talk for her. :) Maya is one happy little girl and just a snuggle bug!

Hopefully I will have more pictures soon! Take care! Tara

3

2010-09-26T21:05:00.006-06:00

We celebrated Gabi's 3rd birthday this afternoon with a party at Golden's "Discovery Park." It was a dinosaur-themed party because the park has a fossil dig sandbox, tall grass maze, rock climbing wall, and a play area with a turtle and dinosaur. The park is close to our house, so we frequent it often and Gabi loves it. Here is a picture of the party attendees and their dinosaur friends!

We also had a dinosaur egg hunt!

My first kid's birthday cake! Not bad for a rookie! :-) So glad Auntie Amanda will be able to make the girls' cakes from now on! ;-) She is way better!

Gabi was spoiled, spoiled, spoiled! It seemed like we were opening presents all week! She loves everything! Thank you to all of our wonderful family and friends for the wonderful gifts!

Grocery Cart:

Playing dress-up with her new dress-up box (she especially loves the shoes and gloves!):

Maya was in heaven too with all of Gabi's new toys (when she shares, that is!)

Here are a couple of other pictures from the past week or so. We've been out enjoying beautiful fall weather -- lots of walks to the park and playing Gabi's new favorite games in the backyard -- tag and hide-n-seek.

We've been enjoying produce from Grant Farms this summer. We belong to a CSA, so we get local, organic produce delivered every week. I made applesauce with the apples we received last week and the girls loved it! Here's a picture of them being silly eating it.

Lots of love! Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Two Silly Girls....

2010-09-15T15:35:00.014-06:00

Hello! Quite a bit has happened since the last time I posted, so I'll do my best to get you all up-to-date! :)

My Mom and I took the girls to the Butterfly Pavillion and they both thought it was great! They actually sat still long enough while they were watching all of the butteflies for me to take these pictures! The Buttefly Pavillion has many other insects on display, as well as an interactive aquatic section. The picture below is of Maya watching bees crawl from their hive to the outdoors.

Joe and I had a little getaway last weekend! We headed to Austin, TX to attend the Wyoming vs. Texas football game (rivalry of Joe's alma maters!). Since we left Austin 7 years ago, we had not been back, so it was fun to see where we worked, went to school, our apartment, and where we did most of our running around Town Lake. Most of all, we went for the FOOD! We dined at all of our favorites including Rudy's BBQ, Chuy's Tex-Mex, Amy's Ice Cream, and Fire Bowl.

The Cowboy Joe Club put on a tailgate before the game and we were really surprised to see so many Wyoming fans in attendance! We enjoyed visiting with everyone, seeing some old friends, and showing our Cowboy spirit! Glenn Templeton did a show at the tailgate and was pretty good! Here are some pictures from the tailgate and then our view from the stands. They sure stuck us in some crappy seats, but it was fun to be with all of the other Wyoming fans. The Texans were pretty nice to all of us and the band even played the Wyoming fight song, which surprised everyone. It was so hot and humid! After the game, we headed to 6th Street for some spirits and live music!

My Mom stayed with the girls and everyone had a blast! Thank you so much, Mom! It was really nice to get away and have some quality time with each other, but I really did miss our girls and was excited to get back home!

We went to a home Wyoming game over the Labor Day weekend. Here are some pictures of the girls from the game. Maya was really into it this year -- clapping and watching everyone! Gabi was pretty excited too and loved the band!

We decided to camp out in our backyard one night. Joe and Maya joined us for some stories and then just Gabi and I slept in the tent. Gabi had a great time. We read more stories by headlamp :-) and then listened to and identified all of the sounds we could hear as we fell asleep! She slept all night and awoke around 6:30 with the sun! She even slept through Rocky (our cat) jumping on top of our tent at some point during the night. It woke me up and freaked me out, but didn't even phase her. We're definitely planning another camp out before it gets too cold.

Here are some shots of the girls riding the train at the zoo a few weeks ago. The zoo is always a hit -- Maya is getting more and more into it every time we go!

My Grandma Genie passed away on August 23rd. It was so sad to see her go, but we are all comforted to know that she is now with her beloved husband, dancing the night away once again. We attended her funeral in Alliance. It was nice to see all of my family. Here is a picture that was taken of us after the funeral.

The summer flew by and now fall is upon us. My Earth Boxes and garden did great this year. We have had tomatoes and cucumbers coming out of our ears! I put a canteloupe plant in just for kicks, but it was fairly prolific! Here is a picture of the girls enjoying the first one. There are two more just about ready to pick!

Maya had her 15 month appointment last week. She weighed in at 23.5 pounds and was 30.5 inches tall (both 50th%ile). Her head is still in the 99th%ile (18 inches). Her personality is definitely developing and is very silly. She loves to dance, stack blocks, read books, give hugs and kisses (especially to Gabi), and giggle.

Gabi is almost 3 and is pretty pumped about it! She is going to start preschool 2 days a week after her birthday. Singing is still one of her favorite things to do -- most songs she has memorized, including "Shake Your Grove Thing" and "Hey There Delila." We can't belive how fast she picks things up. She knows most of her books by memory too and will "read" to us.

School is going fine for me. I have it pretty easy this year with only 2 small classes of AP Environmental Science. My students have been awesome so far and it has been nice getting off work at 10am. Joe has been busy with jobs and getting ready to open his office in Buffalo. He's headed to Jackson to meet with some Wyoming architects soon, so that should provide some good networking.

I decided to start a new blog: wyomingishome.blogspot.com. It won't replace this one, but will mostly be used to document our move to Wyoming, eventually building our house, and some of the lifestyle changes and goals that will occur as a result. Mostly, I am using it to force myself to see the "big picture." I've been getting pretty bummed lately because our house isn't selling, I don't want to say goodbye to friends, I don't want to leave my students in the middle of the year, not knowing how the move will affect all of us, etc., etc., etc.... So, I'm trying to focus on the positive and long-term! Hopefully it isn't too corny!

Take care! Thanks for checking up on us!

Tara

It's Been Awhile...

2010-08-20T13:53:00.008-06:00

Hello! We hope this finds you all doing well. Here are some pictures from the last month or so.

Maya is now officially a walker. She just decided on my birthday (July 28) that it was time. She is soooo proud of herself and her new favorite thing to do is chase the cat! Gabi likes to ride her scooter or tricycle around the block and the neighbors get such a kick out of Maya toodling along behind her!

Maya is doing great -- almost 15 months old now! She can point to all of her body parts, including her "curly hair" and she especially loves to point out her "beebo!" She is saying more and more words everyday, but mostly just babbles to herself. We had to take the spices out of the spice drawer because she can already untwist the lids and proceed to dump out the contents. In fact, she is a little obsessed with lids and bottles -- trying to put the lid on and take it off. It keeps her busy forever! She likes to put beads on shoestrings as well. Both Joe and my brother Tom were this detail oriented as little kids -- do we have a little engineer in our future??

Joe & I celebrated our 8th Anniversary by attending a Colorado Rockies game. We had a great time just relaxing in the stadium. We don't realize how much work two little girls are until we go somewhere by ourselves. Ahhhhh..... Joe especially has had a fun time following the Rockies this year.

Our friends, Jason & Char Delaney had a new baby girl on August 4th. Her name is Quinn and she's a cutie! Gabi was so excited about the new baby and loved holding her. Thankfully she has not asked for a new baby brother or sister yet! ;-)

We went to Alliance, NE a couple of weekends ago to visit my Grandma Genie. My parents were there as well. It was great to see Grandma, but hard to realize that she is really struggling. We are keeping her in our prayers and hope you will do the same. I'm sure my Grandpa Joe is eagerly waiting in Heaven for her. She is such a great lady and still has her sense of humor! She loved seeing our girls play and be silly with each other!

My mom & I took the girls swimming in Alliance. It was a hot day, so it felt really good. Both girls take to water like little fishes! We've been swimming quite a bit this summer and Gabi even goes down the big slide at the rec center by herself!

My parents brought Gabi her birthday present a little early -- a little scooter that she LOVES!

Joe's parents came to visit last weekend! They even brought their horse trailer, so they could take a load of our stuff back to Buffalo with them! How nice is that!? We took in a really great Rockies game -- they won 6-5. It was pretty hot, but the girls did fine with all the cold treats we bought them! Of course, Gabi had her usual footlong hotdog as well. :)

Being the "nature nerd" that I am, I always seek out little things for the girls to study while we're outside. For over a week, we had a resident caterpillar on our deck. Every time we went outside, we would search for him and almost always Gabi would find him! He is gone now (in his cocoon according to Gabi), and hopefully we'll see him appear as a butterfly one day. Gabi named him Wilbur. We've had a resident elk harem in our neighborhood -- a great big bull with a few cows. It has been fun seeing them around. The beautiful rainbow was quite the sight as well!

Unfortunately, we're not having much luck selling our house. I'm getting really tired of keeping our house "show clean." A neighbor told me to start saying prayers to St. Joseph -- I'll try anything at this point!!

I started school last week. I'm only part-time this year, so I'll be done by 10am each day. It will be great to keep spending time with my girls. We're getting excited for football season -- fall is right around the corner!

Take care! Thanks for checking in on us!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Hall Family Reunion

2010-07-29T14:12:00.010-06:00

We made a quick trip to Buffalo last weekend to attend the Hall Family Reunion. Every 3-5 years Joe's Grandpa Don's family gets together. Cousins came from Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, & Texas this year. We always have lots of fun and eat way too much!

The t-shirts were a new addition this - each individual family within the larger had their own color.

The next generation of cousins.

These 3 "yearlings" are all about 3 weeks apart, with Maya in the middle.

Joe took this picture of Gio and I thought it was cute! Gabi always enjoys playing with him and we all get a kick out of his silly personality.

We had breakfast at the cabin and took a walk up to the pond. Gabi got a piggy back ride thanks to Grammy Joyce!

Playing with Kate & Ella at Tie Hack Reservoir

One of Joe's 2nd cousins, Channa, took the picture below and I stole it from her blog (thanks Channa!) Every time we visit Buffalo we get more and more excited to move there. I'm not sure how long this mailbox has been there, but it has been there since I first started dating Joe (12 years ago) How they knew then to build it to fit exactly 5 mailboxes is pretty crazy -- there is one more space for ours!!!! ;-)

Lots of Love,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Oregon...Hood to Coast

2010-07-22T22:04:00.017-06:00

Hello everyone! We recently returned from a trip to Oregon, so I thought I would share some pictures with you! It was a fun trip, but we quickly learned how difficult it is to travel with 2 kids 2 and under. We made the most of it and really enjoyed time together as a family. I flew out a few days early to attend a Sustainable Forestry Conference in Corvallis. I really learned a lot and definitely appreciate wood products a lot more now (Buy SFI certified wood!!!!) Joe flew out with the girls later and we met in Portland to begin our adventure around northern Oregon.

PORTLAND

Children's Museum

Playing in the water area...loved the aprons so she didn't get soaked...she loves water!

Our little lefty

Maya is all about taking things out and putting things away and stacking things! Her fine motor skills are really good! Now if she would just walk more.....;-)

The mini-grocery store was Gabi's ultimate favorite. She filled up her basket, ran everything over the scanner, and put the items in her bag.

World Forestry Center
Trying our turn at Smokejumping!

Downtown Portland We also took a hike around Forest Park and walked around the downtown area, stopping for ice cream at Ben & Jerry's! The girls enjoyed riding the lightrail around town.

OREGON COAST
Oregon Coast Aquarium

Watching the sharks in the walk-thru aquarium

Touching a starfish and sea anemone

This puffin was crazy and did get this close (no zoom here). It was prime mating season or something because they were doing all kinds of water dances and feather fluffing!

Beach!
This was probably our favorite part...just playing on the beach!!! Yes, the water was cold, but that didn't stop us from getting wet!

Sand Dunes
Sea Lion Caves

COLUMBIA GORGE/MT. HOOD/HOOD RIVER
Lost Lake Hike

Gabi hiked almost the entire 3 mile loop around the lake...Maya got a ride thanks to daddy!

Multnomah Falls

Horsetail Falls/Ponytail Falls
We got to walk behind this waterfall....pretty cool!

Thanks for checking in on us!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

New Camera = Lots of Pictures!

2010-07-12T14:48:00.007-06:00

Hello!
In celebration of our birthdays and anniversary this month, Joe & I decided to invest in a new camera -- a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. I have had a great time trying to figure it all out the past few days and I thought I would share some of the pictures I took! I am not by any means a great photographer, but this camera makes it easier and is motivating me to read up, practice more, and get better! Guess what -- that means more pictures for you all to see! ;-) We are very excited to use it on our upcoming family vacation to Oregon!

Hope this finds you doing well!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Maya's 1st Steps & The 4th of July!

2010-07-07T14:52:00.003-06:00

We hope that you all had a Happy 4th of July! We ventured to Urbandale, Iowa for a vacation with my family. Urbandale always is a fun place to be on the 4th of July -- huge parade, fireworks, and lots of other festivities. Gabi had lots of fun with Grammy Mary and Papa Gary. Papa and her did sparklers on the night of the 4th -- she loved them!

Here are a few pictures from the parade! Gabi took home a ton of candy!

We spent a lot of time just playing around the house. Some of my parents neighbors let Gabi borrow this car and a little scooter that she enjoyed driving around.

My parents were able to watch Maya take her first meaningful steps! She was sooooo proud of herself! Here are a couple of videos of her walking between Joe & I.

On the way to Iowa, we stopped and stayed with my Grandma Dorothy. Aunt Virginia, Uncle Gary, Allie, & Brad were able to come over to visit. They threw a birthday party for all of us! It was so fun to see them and be lavished with gifts, cake, ice cream and party favors! Thanks you guys!!
The girls did great in the car! Gabi never got tired of Joe saying, "Look at the corn!" Trust me, he said it a lot! It was nice just to relax and spend time with my family! I miss them so much!

We put our house on the market last Friday. The sign went up while we were gone, so it was quite a shock to see the "For Sale" sign in our yard. I still don't know what to think. I love this house, but I'm excited for our future as well! Cross your fingers that it sells fast!!!

I forgot to mention in my last post that the Big Horn Wild & Scenic Trail Race 50K (32.4 miles) that Joe & I did while in Wyoming went well! Joe won and I was 31st (10th female). It was a beautiful race and we're happy that we were able to run this year!

Lots of love,

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Sweet Summertime

2010-06-25T19:49:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it is the last day of June already! This summer has flown by! We've been busy swimming, playing at the park, visiting friends & neighbors, and getting our house ready to put on the market (coming Friday)! We even took a trip to Buffalo a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. Here are some pictures from that:

Papa Don & Maya

Gabi & Gio had lots of fun playing together!

Auntie Amanda & Maya

Amanda & Greer threw a Birthday Party for Maya and Marco. Lots of family came and we had a great time. Amanda made Maya a little lady bug birthday cake. Marco's cake was a cow -- so cute!

Birthday party attendees

Shortly after my last post, our house was hit by a hail storm. We didn't have much damage to the house -- we only had to replace a few pieces of siding. However, our maple tree and gardens in the backyard were totalled. Gabi was so proud of her garden we had grown from seed, so it was a bummer. Some plants are making a comeback, so we'll see how it looks in a few weeks!

Hope everyone else's summer is going well! Happy 4th of July!!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

If You're Happy & You Know It...

2010-06-11T14:41:00.005-06:00

We have a lot to be happy about around here! I'm finally done with school and have REALLY enjoyed being home with my girls! The weather has been great and we have enjoyed being outside and on the move!

Having a tea party on the deck

This is my tummy!

Maya had her 1 year old check-up this week and is doing great! She weighed in at 21 lbs 8 oz (59%ile), was 30 inches long (80%ile), and had a 19 inch head (99%ile). So, she is stretching just a bit. She loves to cruise around furniture and is sooooo silly! She adores her sister.

Joe ran the Bolder Boulder over Memorial Day weekend and did well. His team did get 1st again in their division, so his absence last year has been forgiven! I took the girls up to Boulder to meet him and partake in the Memorial Day festivities. Gabi loved the parachuters, Air Force flyover, and the free popsicles!

HEADED "HOME"

Our biggest news is that we will be moving to Buffalo, Wyoming in December. Joe received a unanimous and enthusiastic approval from the KL&A Board of Directors to open a branch office in Buffalo. He has worked very hard for almost 3 years preparing for this opportunity. It will continue to be a lot of work for him, but we are excited about raising our family in Wyoming. I am definitely not looking forward to selling our house, the moving process, and leaving all of our close friends in Colorado.

We hope you are all enjoying the beginning of summer!

Love to you all! Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Maya's 1st Birthday!

2010-05-26T21:03:00.004-06:00

We celebrated the 1st birthday of our little Curly-Q this evening. She has been such a joy to have around! Here are some pictures of our cupcake and her cupcake. :-)

Gabi helped blow out the candle!

Yes, she has her mother's sweet tooth -- she loved it!

Maya received some fun and special presents -- thank you all for sending them!
Maya has been on the move these past couple weeks -- finally starting to get interested in walking. She is very hesitant and nervous (scared of falling), so she won't walk until she is good and ready. Gabi was the same way, but once she started walking she hardly ever fell down and was running within a few days! We will see!

Maya now has 4 teeth (2 up and 2 down). She says many words including, "up," "yeah," "that?!," "dada," "mama," "cat," and "thank you." She loves to dance, clap, and pull every book off her bookshelf. Her personality is definitely starting to shine -- still a laid back little girl, but already starting to test us! She can be a little stinker!

We don't go in to see Dr. Julia until June 9th, so we don't have her official 1 year old stats yet. However, as you can probably tell by the pictures she is still a roly poly and healthy as can be.

Here is a picture of Gabi on her new tricycle. She loves to ride around the block and visit all the neighbors. She is a dare devil, hence the new helmet. ;-)

Summer has arrived -- the weather has been amazing, the garden and flowers are planted, and the windows are open! Yay! Now I just have to get through these last 3 days of school!!!! We're sticking around here this weekend and Joe is running the Bolder Boulder on Monday. His team is expecting him to help recapture the 1st place trophy this year. They came in second last year - Joe didn't run due to Maya's pending arrival. :-)

Thanks for checking in on us!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

2010-05-16T18:44:00.003-06:00

Hello!

We went to the Rockies game today -- it was a beautiful Spring day in Colorado! We had a great time and the Rockies won! I think Gabi enjoyed the food more than anything -- a foot long hotdog, peanuts, and Dippin' Dots ice cream.Gabi kept saying, "Go Rockies!" Then she would say, "Go Jacksons!" (Our cat is named Rocky and dog is Jackson.) We've been trying to teach her "Take me out to the ballgame" and she is catching on pretty quick.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend and has a fun week ahead!

Love

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

PS -- I've heard from lots of you so this is just a reminder to get me your e-mail if you would like access. By next post, we'll be private!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T18:17:00.003-06:00

We hope all of the mothers in our lives had a beautiful day! My family took me to the zoo and out for lunch! We had a wonderful time and I was thankful every minute for my two little girls who call me "mama."

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Family Update

2010-05-02T18:45:00.005-06:00

Hello Everyone! There isn't a whole lot new in our world, but I thought I'd post some updates, pictures, and videos of the family for fun!

GABI:

Gabi amazes us everday with the things that she comes up with. She is a very silly and fun little girl. Yesterday, she named everything that growled -- lions, tigers, chetahs, polar bears, and daddy's tummy. ;-) She has been riding her little bike around the neighboorhood on the few days it has been nice here. We also made a garden plot for her in our alley with onions going already. All the rest of the plants we are starting from seeds inside. She checks on them each day to see how much they have grown. It will be fun to share gardening with her this summer. She is becoming quite bossy (typical big sister, right Tom?) I told Joe that he better get used to it since he is going to be under woman management (x 3) for the rest of his life! ;-)

MAYA:

Maya has really become interactive, snuggly, and silly these past few weeks. She loves to chatter like she is really talking, then giggle at herself, then chatter away some more. She can wave hi and bye (opens and closes her hand), give hugs and kisses, and slither across the floor like a lizard! She can pull herself up to standing and sit up from the crawling position, walk/run while holding on to someone, but she usually is just content to lay on the floor and crawl. If she finds something while crawling that she wants to study, she'll just roll onto her side or back and study it there. I don't expect her to walk anytime soon; it's funny how each kid has their own unique way! Plus, she can "crawl" fast!! She still has only her two bottom teeth and I think 2 more are on their way up top. Her hair gets curlier and curlier all the time, especially after her bath! What a silly girl she is!

JOE & TARA:

Joe has been quite busy with work this week. Business has finally picked up for his company so he went from 32 hours/week to 60+ within two weeks. Things should quiet back down to a typical work week pretty soon, so that is good. We're hoping this is a sign that the economy is on the upside!?

I've been busy finishing up the school year (4 weeks left!) I'll have the summer off and then will only go back part-time in the fall. I also found out that enough students signed up for AP Environmental Science to fill 2 sections next year. So, that is the only thing I will be teaching! I'm so pumped to just have honors seniors and not crazy freshmen next year! AP Environmental Science is so fun to teach, so I am really looking forward to it. I spent a night out on the town with some good friends Friday night. We went to Canvas and Cocktails to celebrate Kristine's birthday. Everyone painted a picture following an instructor. It was really casual, interactive, and fun to see how everyone's creations were so different. I'm not too impressed with how my painting turned out (unfortunately I didn't get my Grandpa Joe's artistic skills and probably drank too much wine!), but Gabi thought it was a masterpiece and insisted that it hang in her room, so that is all that matters I guess! ;-)

GOING PRIVATE:

Over the last few months, I've been having people sign up to be "Followers" of this blog and also people leaving comments that I do not know. So far they are harmless, but it kinda freaks me out. I tried eliminating the Comments option and then going to Moderated Comments and that seemed to make it even worse. So, I'm going to make this blog private in a month or so. We will be going through a lot of changes in the coming year (like maybe a new address!!) and a lot of trips this summer, so we only want to keep our friends and family informed about the details! To access our blog once I make it private, you will need to sign in with an e-mail and password. I will enter the e-mails of my authorized users and you will create your own password. So, e-mail me if you would like access or just leave your name in the comments section. tmlamay @ yahoo . com.

Have a wonderful week! Thanks for checking in on us!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Spring Has Sprung!

2010-04-04T20:34:00.007-06:00

Happy Easter! We hope your day was filled with joy, laughter, family, and friends.

Our girls had a wonderful day -- we were fortunate enough to have my parents and Grandma Dorothy come to visit this weekend. We attended Mass this morning and then gorged ourselves at Table Mountain Inn's Easter Brunch Buffet. Here are some pictures of the girls from today:

We dyed Easter eggs on Saturday. Gabi enjoyed every minute! She loves eating hard-boiled eggs, which is good because neither Joe nor I are big fans. She is wearing a strawberry shortcake apron that my Grandma Dorothy made me when I was a little girl!

Here is a four-generation picture from this morning! Look at all that brown hair -- gotta love it!! ;-)

We all went to the Denver Zoo on Saturday. Gabi was able to get up close and personal with a giraffe. The giraffes at the zoo are her 2nd favorite; elephants are by far her favorite! Camels come in a close third. :) We love being zoo members and would highly recommend it!

My dad's birthday is next Friday, but we celebrated this weekend with a long-standing tradition -- bunny cake! His mother (my Grandma Genie) started making this cake for him when he was growing up since his birthday was always near Easter. Since then, my mom and I have taken over the tradition. Of course, Gabi was all over the chocolate cake!

I just had to throw this picture in...everyone gives Maya a hard time for being so rolly poly (even though she is average for weight/height!) She usually cleans up her plate AND her bib every meal. Gotta love those bib pockets, right Maya?!
Grammy Mary & Maya:
Gabi and Papa Gary had quite a good time this weekend -- he taught her all kinds of new words and tricks! They had so much fun and were soooo silly! Now I know where I get my silliness! Her favorite new phrase is, "that's not proper!" I guess you have to hear it to see why it is so funny! They giggled almost the entire weekend!

I was off of work last week and enjoyed EVERY minute I got to spend with my girls. The weather was so nice that we were outside most of the week -- playing, swinging, walking, visiting neighbors, eating lunch outside, having friends come to visit, chasing the dog/cat, having fun at the parks, having Easter egg hunts, blowing bubbles, etc. Here are a few pictures from the week. I am so ready for summer (8 more weeks and then an entire summer to spend with my girls -- yippee!) It always goes by so fast after spring break.

We're looking forward to a visit from Amanda & Greer this week. Love to you all!

Joe, Tara, Gabriela, & Maya

Gotcha!

2010-03-25T20:36:00.005-06:00

Hello! It has been awhile since my last post! Hope this finds you all doing well...everything is great here!

We celebrated Gabriela's 2nd Gotcha Day today...it has been 2 years already since she officially joined our family! What a wonderful 2 years they have been!

We celebrated by having a Guatemalan dinner and taking a family picture. She was being her usual silly self tonight!

We gave Gabi a little dog backpack that we bought while we were in Guatemala. She gave her "nana" a ride in it and thought it was pretty cute. She named the dog, "Jackson"...how original! ;-) I had a snow day yesterday! Gabi & I had lots of fun building this snowman, but she did not want to get her picture taken with him AT ALL! So, being my stubborn self, I took one anyways and think it tells the story well...yes, yes, I did make her hold his hand. What a mean mom I am! ;-)
We went to Buffalo last week and had a great time! Joe drove up Tuesday for some business meetings and I flew up with the girls on Wednesday evening. Flying by myself with both girls was a bit of a challenge, but I managed okay. Going through security was kinda crazy, but both of them did great on the plane ride. It was great to see everyone...we played lots with Gio & Marco, died some Easter eggs, and visited the new calves. Gabi got to see her first calf being born and is still talking about it! She says, "after the baby calf was born, his mama wicked (licked) him. That's nice." She loved getting to pet a new calf as well.
Other than that, we have just been hanging out, doing some hiking and running, took a trip to the zoo, and are enjoying every minute with the girls. Here's a picture of Maya on one of our hikes:
Maya has been changing lots lately...she has 1 tooth now! We didn't even realize that she was getting one, it just appeared while we were in Buffalo. I think the 2nd one is on its way now because her nose is a little runny. She has also started to army crawl. The video below shows it pretty well. She gets faster and more efficient every day. I guess this is what my brother did and he never ended up really crawling. He went from army crawling straight to walking. They called him "the linoleum lizard." We don't have any linoleum in our house, so we will have to come up with a fitting name for Maya.

She did have her 9 month check-up a few weeks ago. She weighed in at 19 lbs 1.5oz (49%ile), 27 inches (46%ile), and had a head circumfrence of 18 inches (91%ile). I was just amazed that she didn't even cry when she got a shot! Silly girl!

We are looking forward to Spring Break next week (an entire week hanging out with my girls!!!) My parents and Grandma Dorothy are coming for Easter. My brother may be as well. Hope you all are enjoying these beautiful days of Spring and have a joyous Easter with your family!

Lots of love,

Joe, Tara, Gabriela, & Maya

9 Months Old!

2010-02-28T14:49:00.008-07:00

Hi everyone, Hard to believe that Maya is 9 months old already! She is becoming quite the character -- trying to follow in her sister's silly ways. She is pretty laid back and happy as can be. She has made us as happy as can be as well -- what a joy!

Maya is a giggle bug and easy to please. Just like with Gabi, we love how simple things can crack her up!

This is what she does after every bite of food now...guess it means she thinks it is lip-smacking good! ;-)

We won't go in for her 9 month check-up until next week, so I don't have her official stats yet! She is definitely still a roly poly! She gets around by rolling and pushing herself in circles and backwards. She gets up in the crawling position, but it may be awhile yet. Her favorite word is, "dada" and she has said, "cat" a couple of times. She likes to wave "hi" and give high fives. She love music and watching her sister (and mom!) dance. She eats and WANTS to eat anything and everything. She doesn't have any teeth yet. She still gets mommy milk, but prefers it from a bottle now. I still get my snuggle time in the morning before I leave for work! :) The best words I can think of to describe her are "chill" and "daddy's girl" -- she adores Joe. I'm okay with that -- I adore him too! :)

A respiratory virus made its way into our household. I definitely took (and am still taking) the brunt of it. Gabi and Maya fought it off really well. Joe escaped it completely. Knock on wood. I haven't been sick in years, so I'm frustrated that it has slowed me down, but that is probably a good thing every once in awhile.

In other news, I am the only one in my extended family in the country right now. My brother is in Africa for almost a month (Malawai, Zaire, Zimbabwe) visiting and touring with a friend of his working in the Peace Corps. My parents are on a Carribean Cruise (they deserve it -- Iowa has had a horrible winter this year.) I'm sure they're soaking up the sun.

Hope you all are doing well! Take care and thanks for checking in on us!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T21:43:00.006-07:00

Here are some pictures of our two little bundles of love. I believe it is close to impossible to get a "perfect" picture of an 8 month old and 2 year old together, but here are some of my efforts. Hope you enjoy all the outtakes! :) Silly Girls!Here are a few more...we are all doing great!

I wish I had some pictures of our trip to Steamboat last weekend, but my computer "ate" them. We met a bunch of our great friends from college for a few days of skiing, stories, and the SuperBowl. Go Saints! (Joe has been a lifetime Saints fan, so he was pumped with their victory.) Gabi was able to ski quite a bit and loved every second. We are amazed at what good balance she has. She really liked riding the magic carpet. She thinks that the Olympic skiers on TV ride magic carpets as well! Steamboat was having their Winter Carnival while we were there, so we were able to see some ski jumping, ski races, and horses pulling skiers down Lincoln Ave, The girls (minus Maya) attended a night celebration complete with the "lighted man" sking down Howelson Hill and some outstanding fireworks. Here is a picture that Ashley took that night.

Lots of love,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

"G" is for GABI; "M" is for MAYA

2010-01-26T21:09:00.002-07:00

Our view from the front of our house (stands for Golden High School)

What our view would be from the back of our house if our huge neighborhood trees were not in the way (stands for Colorado School of Mines)

It is a coincidence that Golden has a "G" for Gabi and an "M" for Maya. I don't even remember how we discovered it, but I love how Gabi thinks the "G" is up there especially for her! She points it out a lot out our front window and says, "G is for Gabi!" If we ever decide to have more kids, we will either have to move or do some major vandalism! :-)

Things have been quiet around here; finally getting back into the routine of things after the holiday season. Here are a few pictures of the girls from the past few weeks.

Dancing

Some of Maya's favorite things to do:

clap!
eat little finger foods -- she can inhale those little puffs like you wouldn't believe!
watch us dance
Rocky, our cat (she giggles every time she sees him)
flip her tongue over -- it is the craziest thing and I'll try to get a picture of it!
have her curly-on-top "fauxhawk" hairstyle (I'm thinking we'll have one girl with straight hair and one with curly!)
just chill and be happy!

Some of Gabi's favorite things to do:

dance!
read any and all Cat in the Hat/Dr. Seuss or Fancy Nancy books
feed Jackson (who says she is too young for chores!?)
ask "Why?" and "Why NOT?" a lot
count in English and in Spanish (she can get to 16 in both languages)
SING! She has quite a repertoire -- "Twinkle Twinkle," "Days of the Week," "Personal Penguin," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Who Stole the Cookie?," and the "ABCs"

We hope this finds everyone doing well! Thanks for checking in on us!
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Our "S Vacation"

2010-01-09T07:26:00.006-07:00

Hello everyone! I thought I'd share some pictures from our Christmas week in Breckenridge. Gabi referred to it as our "s vacation -- snow, snowshoeing, skiing, swimming, santa, stockings, and scrumptious food!"

A QUICK family picture -- it was cold!!

Grandpa's prodigy -- she loved it when he played Jingle Bells!

Grammy Mary & Maya

We took Gabi skiing for the first time and SHE LOVED IT! She giggled the entire way down the hill, as you can see in the video. I can't wait to take her again!

Even Maya was taking notes about how to ski -- she's next! ;-)

We spent quite a bit of time at the lodge's swimming pool. It was Maya's 1st time swimming and she thought it was just great! She has always loved baths, so we knew she would!

Just Lounging

Santa did find us in Breckenridge!

Gabi received a cowgirl set-up --

hat, boots, and a stick pony. She immediately named her pony, "Buddy."

Joe received some "muck boots" for Christmas, a little bigger than the cowboy boots Gabi received, but still fun for her.

Our "s vacation" also added some big words to Gabi's vocabulary -- "cappuccino" and "delicious". If you know my parents, you will know why "cappuccino" is so fitting. And if your family ate like ours did that week, then "delicious" makes sense too! We had a great time with my parents and brother!

We spent New Years up in Buffalo, but unfortunately didn't take too many pictures, but we had a great time there as well!

Happy New Year!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T16:39:00.002-07:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and were surrounded by family and friends!

"Pretty Lights"

2009-12-14T18:38:00.005-07:00

We have really been getting into the Holiday spirit lately. It is so fun now that Gabi is understanding most things. She loves the tree and all of the lights that she sees around town -- "pretty lights!" She also enjoys decorating Christmas cookies, getting a treat from her Advent calendar each day, and singing Christmas carols! She is actually pretty good at "Jingle Bells" -- we will try to get her on video one of these days! We also took a trip to Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo -- it was actually really cool!

Maya is doing well sitting by herself now. She loves it when Gabi sits next to her to play. Maya has started to say some syllables -- mostly "lalalala, wawawa, dadadada" She has always been very vocal, but it is still kind of fun to hear her starting to understand the beginnings of speech.

Maya is also really into eating lately!

We all know that this time of year...THIS....

leads to....THIS....Thunder Thighs! Gotta love it!

(She is going to kill me when she is older!)

Have a good week! Gabi is counting down the days until Grammy Mary, Papa Gary, and Tom get here. We're headed up to Breckenridge for a week over Christmas! Happy Holidays to you all!

All our love,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Thankful

2009-12-05T07:41:00.008-07:00

It has been so long since my last post, that this one is lengthy! We are all doing great -- staying healthy, busy, and happy as always. Here are some events that have made us so thankful for the wonderful family that we have.

My Mom came to visit in early November. She watched the girls for a day while Joe & I went a Wyoming football game. I know Gabi & Maya enjoyed it and I'm sure she did too! Thank you Mom!

We spent an entire week in Buffalo with Joe's family over Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to just relax and enjoy each other. Gabi & Maya got lots of quality time playing with their cousins Gio & Marco.

Amanda & Greer hosted Thanksgiving dinner -- it was outstanding! Thanks you guys!

Gabi went on her first horseback ride! She didn't like it at first, but warmed up pretty quickly. She rode Buddy, the horse, with Papa Dave first, then by herself, and then Gio got in on the action. She loved it and was a natural! She still keeps saying "Giddy Up, Buddy!" When we say our prayers at night, she now prays for Buddy in addition to all of her family and friends.

Look, they're taking turns!!! ;-)

Even Maya was able to meet and ride Buddy:

We had some family pictures taken a month ago or so. Here are a few of them. If you would like to see more, click HERE.

Here are some more pictures from around the house this past month! Gabi has been talking so much lately -- we can't believe how fast she is picking it up now. She has even started singing to herself (especially the ABC song).

Hiking on South Table:

Maya is still a calm and happy baby. She has been filling out ever since she started eating cereal, fruits, and vegies! Her legs are so strong and she can scooch herself and roll around on the floor. She loves to "talk", squeal, bathtime, anything Gabi does, and cuddles.
I took Maya to see Dr. Julia yesterday for her 6 month check-up (yes, 6 months already!!) Here are her stats:

16.4 lbs (61 %ile)
26 inches long (61 %ile)
17.5 inch head (90 %ile)

We hope this finds you all healthy, happy, and enjoying the Holiday season! I'm excited for Gabi to help me decorate the tree and house today!

Love to you all,

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

A Happy Halloween

2009-11-03T15:42:00.002-07:00

We hope you all had a fun halloween! Here are a few pictures of Maya and Gabi in their costumes. Gabi was a giraffe and Maya was an octopus.

The cutest part of the costume!

Trick or Treat, Angie!

Hopefully we got the correct legs buckled in!

Carving a pumpkin!

We trick or treated at Joe's office and the rest of downtown Golden on Friday night. On Saturday, we just visited a few neighbors and friends that were close by.

We're looking forward to my mom coming to visit this weekend. She is even going to watch the girls on Saturday so Joe & I can head up to the Wyoming vs. BYU game in Laramie.

Check back later this week for a link to family pictures that we had taken last Sunday!

Love to you all,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Snow Day!

2009-10-29T10:59:00.003-06:00

We are getting our first storm of the winter and it is a big one! Meteorologists are saying that Golden has received 30" so far and it is still snowing! Maybe I will get a 3rd snow day from school tomorrow!

Gabi & I ventured out this morning after putting Maya down for a nap. I was hoping to be able to build a snowman, but the snow wasn't wet enough!

Have a great day!

Happy Fall!

2009-10-24T20:42:00.005-06:00

Fall has always been our favorite season -- I think it comes from the fond memories that we have from running cross country -- the briskness of the air, the smell of fallen leaves, and the extra motivation to get outside before it gets too cold!

We headed out to Anderson Farms, a little east of Boulder, to celebrate the harvest and pick out some pumpkins. They had all kinds of animals to see (Papa's are better according to Gabi) and we took a hay ride on a tractor ("like Papa's") out to the pumpkin patch. Gabi had a blast and as usual, Maya was just along for the ride, happy as a clam to be out and about.

I think she wants this one. :-)

Riding the barrel train:

Family picture time:

Here are some pictures from the past week or so. We're staying healthy and busy.

Loving my girls:

Take care and happy fall!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Hall Happenings

2009-10-16T21:28:00.005-06:00

We hope this finds you all happy and healthy! Here are some pics and updates from the past couple of weeks. Enjoy!
Gabi & Maya are both doing great. I took them to see Dr. Julia for their 2 year and 4 month old appointments a few weeks ago...here are the stats:

Maya: 24in (50%), 13lbs 12.5oz (50%), 17in head (90%)

Gabi: 35.5in (>90%), 29.2 lbs (80%), ?head(a lot to remember with 2 kids at once!)

Both passed the developmental questions/tests with flying colors. The 3 of us left with a total of 6 shots amongst us -- Maya got the worst of it...poor girl!

We started feeding Maya rice cereal a few weeks ago as well. She is finally getting the hang of it and doesn't make quite as big of a mess as she did in the picture below.

Last week, my friend Char hosted a scrapbooking baby shower for Maya. Everyone made scrapbooking pages for Maya's album. They turned out wonderful and will make putting the album together so easy! I was especially glad that everyone signed the pages that they made, so we will always remember who contributed to the album. Thank you to all that came! Here are some pictures from the party.

Marisol & Maya the drooler!

Morgan, Marisol, Maya, & Danielle playing Ring Around the Rosy

Gabi & her beloved Elmo

Good friends, Donna & Kristine, with Maya

Last Saturday, Joe & I went to the Booklover's Ball, a black tie event benefiting the Denver Public Library. It isn't very often that we get dressed up, so I thought I would put a picture of us that was taken for Black Tie Colorado. Even though we were definitely out of our element and didn't know anyone (except Mayor Hickenlooper & Governor Ritter!), we made the most of it and had a good time. We've decided that our next Saturday night out will be dressed in jeans, joined by good friends, with cold beers in our hands! ;-)

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of Maya. She is such a happy baby -- we have really been blessed. Gabi & Maya have been sleeping in the same room for about a month now and it has gone really well. Both are hard sleepers, so that helps. Maya sleeps from about 8pm - 8am, waking up once around 4/5 to eat and then goes back to sleep. Gabi is just zonked from 8-8. Even our extremely creeky floors don't wake her very often.

We're headed to a pumpkin festival tomorrow and to Marisol's 2nd birthday Sunday. Should be fun!

Love to you all,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

The Party Was A Hit!

2009-09-28T20:35:00.005-06:00

A picture is worth a thousand words...this one pretty much sums up how much fun Gabi had with 14 of her little buddies at her 2 year old birthday party last night. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for lots of playing and eating in our backyard!

We went with a bug theme for the party...Amanda made the ladybug cake (isn't it cute!?) and I made the bumblebee cupcakes. We also served dirt (oreas, chocolate pudding, and gummy worms)!

Just about ready to blow out the candle! So excited...

Enjoying some watermelon with a few of her best buds...Octavia, Peyton, & Lathyn...

Here are some more party attendees hard at work making their bug jars...they turned out really cute!

When the bug jars were assembled, we went on a "bug hunt!" I spread ~200 plastic bugs all over our lawn and the kids searched and searched to fill up their jars. We think they got them all, but I'm sure Joe will snag a few with the lawnmower! ;-)

Gabi's favorite part of not only her birthday, but her "birthday weekend," was opening presents. She loves her new umbrella, raincoat, and golashes from the Monterastelli clan. She wants to wear her purple boots with EVERTHING! She puts them on first thing in the morning over her pajamas. They really are quite cute.

She also received a Mr. Potato Head family -- she really likes them, but...

...Maya isn't too sure about them yet!

Gabi is growing up so fast. Her vocabulary expands everyday! She can identify all of her colors, animals, shapes, letters, and numbers. She loves dancing to music in her CD player and is constantly giving us some good laughs. The "terrible twos" have made their appearance every now and then, but she is still a very happy little girl.

Thanks for checking in on us,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Happy 2nd Birthday, Gabriela!

2009-09-25T21:05:00.003-06:00

We celebrated Gabi's 2nd birthday today! Can you believe she is two already?! How time flies when you're having fun! Gabi took cupcakes to Tracy's house this morning to share with the other kids and we took her out to eat at The Outback tonight because they have the best mac & cheese around (she pretty much inhales it!) We'll celebrate more on Sunday during her party and I'm sure we'll have lots more pictures then, but in the meantime, here are a few from this evening!

All our love,

Joe, Tara, big girl Gabi, & baby Maya!

Happy Maya Giggles!

2009-09-22T21:17:00.003-06:00

We hope this video of Maya giggling brings you smiles -- it sure did for us!

Love to you all,
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Pierced Ears!

2009-08-30T14:01:00.002-06:00

I took Maya to get her ears pierced on Saturday. Gabi's foster mother pierced Gabi's ears when she was 3 months old, so we decided to do the same with Maya because we loved it! I was so nervous because I still remember what a traumatic experience I had when I got my ears pierced at 5 years old. However, I was so relieved when Maya hardly cried at all. She even smiled at the lady right before she did her second ear! Sometimes we think Maya is too laid back for her own good! I've also heard that it doesn't hurt babies as much as older people because of a lack of nerve endings in their earlobes (or something like that.)

Anyways, I picked out the smallest 14kt gold earings they had and they look absolutely huge on Maya. We've been teasing her about her "bling bling" all weekend. LOL!

High Flyer

We hope everyone has a great week and is looking forward to the 3-day weekend coming up. We're headed to Buffalo to celebrate Gio's birthday and for a pig roast at Amanda & Greer's new house. Should be a good time and you can bet there will be lots of pictures next week! ;-)

Love to you all,
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Crazy Last Days of Summer...

2009-08-22T14:53:00.004-06:00

Whew! The last week or so has been a bit crazy around here, but lots of fun! We hosted two sets of friends for dinner (one of which included a scary fire in our grill), enjoyed 16 fabulous teacher friends of mine for Bunko, went on a trip to the zoo and had some fun days with Grammy Joyce, shuttled the girls around to different locations/took time off work to watch the girls each day while our babysitter was on vacation, and I was even part of an evacuation at my school that was big news. Crazy stuff, but we're surviving, relaxing this weekend, and looking forward to getting into a routine this week.

Our friends, Karianne & Justin, came over for some Hall Ranch steaks before they headed back to Japan for their 3rd year of teaching at an international school there. They brought the girls little kimonos, so of course we had to try them out. Justin even had Gabi doing the sumo wrestler walk -- pretty funny!

Can you tell who Maya looks like in this picture? ;-) (Like father, like daughter)

Smiling at big sister -- she's pretty funny!

Kisses for Maya -- sweet girls

While Joe's mom was here, we took Gabi to the zoo and she had a blast. After seeing the kangaroos hopping, she decided she needed to hop around the zoo for quite awhile and say "hop, hop, hop" as she did so. She still loved the elephants and when she saw the giraffes, she said "is tall!" She wasn't a big fan of the carousel, but maybe after a few more tries, she might like it. Grammy and the girls had a fun time while we were at work and Gabi even does the Grammy celebratory dance now as you can see in the video below. She does it a lot after she uses the potty...quite comical! It's funny what they pick up on.

Hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for checking in on us! Tara

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

2009-08-12T14:53:00.004-06:00

Hello! We helped my Grandma Genie celebrate 90 years of life last weekend. She is doing so well and it was wonderful to see her. She is such a special lady -- with unconditional love, an enduring appreciation for her family, a powerful relationship with God, and a funny sense of humor. She also shares my love for all things sweet, especially cookies!

Holding her newest Great-Granddaughter (she has 11 total)

My parents met us in Alliance and we picked up my brother at DIA and brought him with us. It was great to see them and Gabi sure had fun with Grandma, Grandpa, and Tom!

I thought this picture of Gabi hugging Jackson was cute. She sure loves her dog and cat!
I head back to school tomorrow. I sure am going to miss being home with my two girls, but we will still have most of the afternoon together, since I'll be home around 3:00 each day. They are going to an in-home sitter in north Golden. Gabi will have a blast -- I took them for a trial day last week and Gabi didn't want to go home when I went to pick her up -- about broke my heart! She's a social bug, so it will be good for her. So, my posts may be few and far between, but I will try my best.

Maya is still doing great -- just happy and content as can be! She is rolling over from her back to her stomach now and we've got her sitting in her Bumbo seat. She's still a little wobbly, but getting better by the day.

Joe's mom is coming this weekend to stay with the girls for a few days while our babysitter is on vacation. Gabi is super excited already!

Love to you all,
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Another G & M Update! :)

2009-08-06T14:18:00.004-06:00

Hello everyone! Here are some pictures and videos from the past couple of weeks! Enjoy!

Sisters

Maya really likes to watch Gabi. When Maya is sitting up, she'll follow Gabi around the room watching her every move. Gabi is getting a lot better with Maya and likes to "play" with her. She can say "Maya" and is excited for Maya to sleep in her bedroom. Maya has a crib now, but we haven't moved her into Gabi's room yet. We'll see how that goes!

Maya Smiles -- they come pretty easy and often now!

She's getting very good at holding her head up too.

I took the girls to the Jefferson County Fair this morning with some friends and their girls:

Charlie, Marisol, & Gabi in front of the sheep.

When Gabi saw the horses and sheep, she would make the appropriate sound and then say "PAPA!" She is used to seeing these animals on Papa Dave's ranch!

Gabi pets (she did after the pic was taken) Danny, the goat!

Here is a video of Maya checking out her feet -- she thinks they are pretty cool!

Here is another one of her kicking -- she is constantly kicking her legs when she is awake:

Our other big news is that Gabi is potty trained! Yippee! It was quite the undertaking and wasn't the most pleasant way to spend our anniversary and my birthday, but it was worth it. We have learned that Gabi will do almost anything for a jelly belly! Ha! She still has an accident every now and then, and we're still working on using the public restrooms and #2, but we have a good start.

The entire Hall family had some pictures taken over the 4th of July weekend. Here are a couple of them:

Marco & Maya

To see more, click here. The password is halls10
To see ALL of them, click here.

We're headed to Alliance this weekend for my Grandma Genie's 90th Birthday! Should be a fun time! Love to you all!

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Just Chillin'

2009-07-26T07:04:00.004-06:00

It is hard to believe that Maya is 2 months old already! She is such a sweet little baby and we love having her around. She went to see Dr. Julia on Friday and weighed in at 10lbs 7oz (50th %ile) and was 22.5in long (60th %ile). So, she is eating well and healthy as can be.

She has discovered her feet and loves watching herself kick! She is constantly moving her legs and can even scooch herself around on her back in her crib or on the floor. Even the nurse commented on how strong her legs were when she was giving her her shots. She is a smiley little bug and I think I've even heard her giggle once or twice. Maya has been sleeping 8-9 hours at night since she was around a month old, so that has been very nice for me.

On Saturday, we went to the Buffalo Bill Days Parade here in Golden. Gabi really enjoyed all of the horses, marching bands (she's really into dancing right now), and the balloons. It is a fun parade.

You can't beat this view!

Gabi's friend Lily (Lily's brother got to ride a street sweeper in the parade!)

You can't have a parade in Golden without some Coors trucks. I thought this was a good pic because if you look closely, you can see the brewery in the background.

Here is a picture of Gabi and Lily drinking their milk together in our recliner last night. They look pretty tuckered out after playing hard. Lily and I have the same birthday -- July 28 -- she will be 2 on Tuesday and I will be 30! Yikes!

Joe and I had our first official date night on Friday. It is the first time we had gone out by ourselves since before Gabi came home! We had a great time eating at the Olive Garden and seeing "The Hangover." Thanks to Char and Jason for babysitting! Joe and I celebrate our 7th Anniversary tomorrow!

Love to you all,

Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Fun in Iowa

2009-07-15T14:39:00.006-06:00

Yes, we were crazy enough to venture out on the road again last weekend...this time a 10.5 hour ride to Urbandale to see my family. Maya is at a good age to travel, but keeping Gabi happy and entertained was a full-time job each way. We made it and had lots of fun with my parents and brother.

Maya was baptized on Saturday at St. Pius X Catholic Church, the same church that Joe & I were married in. Our family friend, Deacon Rick did the private service and it was beautiful. He said that Maya was the first baby that he had baptized that did not cry at all. She even smiled after he rubbed oil on her head. What a happy girl she is! Our friend, Kara Jones, made Maya's dress and Gabi's as well. They are beautiful! My brother, Tom, is Maya's Godfather.

Joe, Maya, and Tom

Gabi and Grandma Mary

Proud Grandparents & Godfather

Baptism attendees with Deacon Rick

On Sunday evening, we had a party celebrating my Dad's 60th birthday. His birthday was actually back in April, but he wanted good weather so his band buddies could have a Rock 'n' Roll concert outdoors. They did an awesome job! It was fun to see some family friends that I haven't seen since I left home 11 years ago (or longer!) It was also nice to meet some of his co-workers and church friends for the first time. My uncles from Omaha were able to attend, so it was fun to catch up with them as well.

Gabi teaches Uncle Tom how to use a camera ;-) Gabi adores Tom -- and since we've returned from our trip, she keeps saying,"Tom?"

On our way back to Denver, we stopped in Lincoln and had lunch with my Grandma Dot. She got to meet Maya for the first time.

Early last week, my Grandma Dot asked me to take a close-up picture of Gabi and Maya together so that she could show her friends. When I was feeling up to the challenge, I sat them both on the couch and started shooting very quickly. I had to take almost 20 pictures to get a few decent ones. Here a 3 of them.

This is my ultimate favorite:

Doesn't Gabi look totally guilty here? Even though she wasn't the reason Maya started crying, her "I didn't do it and even if I did I'm too cute for you to get mad" smile says otherwise.

That's all for now! Take care!

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya