Hall Family Reunion

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

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!

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!

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