Things I'm Loving

• David selfies during Jack's nap time. However, I don't love this quite as much as David napping during Jack's nap time. It's a good thing he's cute.

 

• Today's forecast. This is the most mild summer of my entire life. I'm in trouble this winter!

 

• My dad's brownies. My dad has made this recipe every Sunday since I can remember. I finally got the recipe from him because Spencer wanted them for Father's Day. (I was too scared to get the recipe before because of my lack of self control). Turns out I was right about the no self control thing - we can't stop making them and eating them!

4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (or 4T of butter plus 3/4 c cocoa)

2/3 cup shortening (I like to add a little extra to make brownies more gooey and soft)

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350

Grease a 9x13 cake pan with shortening

Melt chocolate and shortening on low heat in large pan.  Remove from heat after melted.

Mix in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Bake for 30 minutes in greased cake pan.

Lick the bowl while it cooks :)

•  My extreeeemely picky Jack, whose diet basically consists of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, pizza, and naked juice, who has a newfound love for apples dipped in...KETCHUP. I'm so glad he asked for it because I would have never thought to offer him that!

• David's happy place.

 

• Running with these kiddos... for about the first 10 minutes until David starts screaming bloody murder and the jogging stroller starts feeling like a million pounds. Then I hate it!

 

• My Gryffindor/Jack and David birthstone rings. 

• The Office. We started watching Season 1 again and I forgot how awesome it is. The only TV that I ever need for the rest of my life is LOST and the Office. And maybe a little Sister Wives ;)

#flashbackfriday aka catching up after a blogging break part 1

The last week of April, Spencer dropped Jack off in Arizona so we could go look for somewhere to live in Iowa toddler free. Spencer flew to Arizona with Jack on a Sunday then flew back to Birmingham the next day while I basically packed up our entire apartment with one hand while holding David. We flew to Davenport the morning after that. Spencer's flight on Sunday got in at 10 and I obliviously drove to the airport on an empty freeway with tornado sirens blasting. We were stuck at the airport until 1:30 am waiting for the tornadoes to pass. As we watched the news, the tornado got closer and closer to our apartment so we were actually very grateful we were at the airport that was safer and further away from the tornado. For a half an hour or so, we were pretty convinced that the tornado was going to completely destroy our apartment, which would have been a perfectly horrific ending to that apartment complex of horror. We had to be at the airport at 5:30 am the following morning and we were pretty exhausted!


My view of Iowa from the plane... I was pleasantly surprised!
 
The next few days we looked for somewhere to live, Spencer attended a few meetings, and we got familiar with Davenport. For some reason, it seemed like we were the only tourists in Iowa! ;)
 
 
 
 
We flew back to Birmingham that Friday and even though we couldn't move to our townhouse until June, we thought it would be WAY easier to move without Jack. So instead of driving straight to Arizona, we packed up our moving van Saturday, moved our stuff to a storage unit in Iowa on Sunday, then headed to Arizona on Monday morning and finally arrived on Tuesday night.
Of course, they installed a brand new awesome playground at our Birmingham apartment the exact day we moved. #goodridancemountainlodgeapartments #whydidyouhateussomuch?
 
Our packing buddy
 
Our scenery on Monday
 
Our scenery on Tuesday
 
 It was an exhausting 10 days and we were so excited to finally make it to Arizona to relax and visit and be reunited with Jack at what Spencer termed "the toddler resort". Jack loved working with Papa on the pool, getting spoiled by my mom all day, play dates with Seth, playing with Isaac and Elizabeth, and most of all - the lawn "blower". He still talks about Papa's "blower" every. single. day. and he still hasn't forgiven my mom for not bringing it all the way to Iowa when they came to visit.
 
 
 
 
 

Jack didn't miss me one bit, but I sure missed him!

4th of July weekend

We spent our weekend parading, relaxing, swimming, biking, catching turtles(!), fighting Jack and David to go to bed before 9:30 pm and wake up after 5:30 am with no success, and watching fireworks from our front porch. God bless the USA!

 
 
 
Our not so awesome bike ride.

I am extremely sad that I missed my dad's drunk-looking patriotic flag twirling this year. Last year's was pretty awesome.

Things I'm loving about Iowa so far

• Our townhouse. I didn't realize how depressing our apartment in Alabama really was until we got out of it! Our townhouse has three times more windows than our old apartment and the walls are white instead of dark tan and it just seems lighter and happier. We are two miles from Spencer's work, we have a basement to play in, we have bunnies to chase outside, and cute little boys to play with next door. Plus I don't have to haul both boys down a flight of stairs to get to my car! And it is the same price as our Alabama apartment. Tiny two bedroom, one bathroom townhouses in Iowa is where it's at. ;)

 
Chasing bunnies

• Our bike trail that is .2 miles from our house that goes all the way to the Mississippi River. If we go left on the trail, it leads to the park and if we go right on the trail, it leads to the library.  It looks almost identical to our running trail in Birmingham, it's just a lot longer. 

• The John Deere Pavilion. It's free and it's heaven for my tractor obsessed toddler! A few months ago, I was parking at construction sites to give Jack his tractor fix so this is just too perfect. 

 
 
 
 

• The splash pad on the Mississippi. It's currently under two feet of water due to Monday's storm, but it was fun while it lasted!

Elizabeth caught guppies right off the sidewalk!
 
 

• The water ski show that is free every Wednesday and Sunday throughout the summer. Jack sat still for over an hour watching, his personal sitting-still record!

 

• The 60 degree morning weather and 70 and 80 degree afternoon weather. I better take note that I love the weather now because I'm going to hate it from about October to April ;)

The second half of 2014

The first half of this year has been the craziest and most eventful 6 months since I have been a mom. David was born, family visited, we vacationed at the beach in Florida and in New Orleans, Spencer graduated, we spent a month visiting family, we moved to the middle of America, and two weeks later, my mom, Elizabeth and Isaac came to help us get settled into our new townhouse and to show us Nauvoo and Chicago. These last six months have been crazy and stressful and wonderful and I feel so incredibly blessed.

Even though I have been itching for routine since David was born, I cried as my mom pulled out of the driveway today. I wish that I lived closer to her. There are no more future events to anticipate... just long and predictable days ahead where my biggest goals of the day will be to get out of the house with both kids in tow and to talk to an adult human being. I know that one day I will miss these simple and sometimes lonely days with my babies who need me so I'm going to embrace it and enjoy it the best I know how :)

Helloooo Iowa!!!!

The Hall Family Road Trip of 2014 has officially come to an end. 5 weeks, 7 travel days, 15 states, 4 flights, 70 hours of driving, 11 different beds, infinite torturous toddler whining and baby screaming, Frozen soundtrack on forever repeat, endless packing and unpacking, minimal sleep, lots of anxiety, one panic attack, and SO MUCH FUN WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!! There was eating and napping and running and visiting and fishing and hiking and boating and zoo tripping and swimming. It was great.

Now bring it on, Iowa! We are sooooo ready for you.

Birmingham

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. (A Tale of Two Cities)

I am grateful for Birmingham's beauty and it's equally divided four seasons. I am grateful for the football loving, BBQ eating, Jesus worshiping, country listening, Southern hospitality and culture. I am grateful for the wonderful friends I've made, and I am extremely grateful for the Refiner's fire I've experienced here. I love Birmingham and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Now on to the Iowa chapter...

The Things Jack will miss about Alabama:

• The most amazing libraries and storytimes in the universe

• Ruby, his first friend and first love. 

 

• Gavin, his cute little friend and church buddy

 

• And last but certainly not least, the zoo. Jack stripped down naked for his grand finale at the Birmingham Zoo.