I have Bragging Rights...

OK, so setting aside the packing (well OK ~ the first brag) Jess has pretty much packed up the entire house. What a guy!

So my real bragging is about Madysen...So about six months ago she joined a Local Cheer team with her Bff Angelica. She had never even done a cartwheel. At first Madysen was a little frustrated but with much practice and fun her team went to their first (and only for Madysen) competition. They placed first and were eligible for Nationals. Madysen did a great job and her cartwheels and pyramids are PERFECT! Below are a few pictures...




So another brag is on the Academic side...Madysen's grade this year are required to know and pass a States and Capitals test. The first test was to be on the first ten states and capitals. The kids were given the choice to take just the first ten, or to take a test with all FIFTY(if they got 100% they would not have to take anymore tests)! For about 4 days Madysen Studied, we quizzed her tons, studied some more. Last Friday was the day of the test. She was determined to take the test with all fifty states and capitals. We were excited to get her paper back with a VERRY LARGE 100% on it (and not just one large 100%, but many)! Way to go Madysen!!!! We are not sure where she got her brains... ;-)

Our Beautiful "little" girl is not so "little" anymore, but even more Beautiful!

"High School Musical 3" party decorations...$15.00

Goody bags to sneak into the theatre...$10.00

Party Favors...$5.00

Movie tickets for 8 Tweens and 1 adult to High School Musical 3 opening day...$65.50

Celebrating Madysen's 11th birthday with her BEST friends(it is going to be soo hard for her to move)...PRICELESS

Thanks so much for everyone who made Madysen's Birthday this year GREAT!

Hallman's on the Move...

Well we are at it again. After being in Sunny California for EXACTLY 6 years we have decided to move again. Jess' job has transferred him to Bend Oregon. We have heard a lot of great things about this town. We are going to really miss the people here. We have made so many great friends here and it is really going to be hard to leave (I have already cried many times when I think of leaving all of you)! I hope that we can stay in touch and that we will get many visitors in the future!

Here is a picture of the house we will be living in. If we like this house (brand new) and neighborhood well enough we have the option to buy it...

We love the Anderson Family

This weekend we were blessed to have our great friends the Anderson Family over to visit. Jess and Darren met while serving their mission in the Dominican Republic. They have remained great friends ever since. After we were married I was introduced to Darren's new wife Lisa and we hit it off. We have not seen them for almost 6 years due to Darren's Medical School in the New York City area. We were very excited to know that they would be accepting a job offer only 6 hours a way in Medford Oregon. Madysen and Tanner were best of friends when they were toddlers. Alex and Tyler are very close in age, and Zac and Matthew are also close in age. They also have a beautiful baby girl named Emily (I wish I had gotten a picture for her). We had a great time. It was like all of the kids had know each other for YEARS when really they had only just met (except Madysen and Tanner)! Thanks Darren and Lisa for coming down and staying with us. We had such a great time and hope to see you soon, and many more times...

My Dream come true...Visiting New York City

So Jess and I just got back from visiting the "Big Apple"!! Wow, what fun we had! Thanks to a great friend Katie I had the best Itinerary! We actually were able to see EVERYTHING on my list! We left Monday night and flew all night. We arrived in New York at 6:43 AM on Tuesday Morning. After a "Scary" Cab ride to the hotel to drop of our bags we headed for the subway. Our first stop was the Financial District. We walked up and down Wall Street. We went over to the "Twin Towers" site. What a heart breaking scene. I did not ever see the site when the Towers were standing, but you could definitely tell that something was missing. After this our plan was to take the harbor cruise. Well because of a sudden down pour of rain, and lightning we decided to try this another day!

On Wednesday we got up at 5:00 (yes I said 5, if you know me I am NOT a morning person) to go to the Today show! I meet many Celebrities and actually talked to a few of them! The rest of this day was spent riding "Bike Buggies" through Central Park, walking up and down the streets of "Broadway", "5th Avenue" (famous for all of the stores), and Spending all night in "Times Square". Before we came I had gotten tickets to the Play "Grease...You're the One That I Want" (from the reality show last year!) It was so fun. We also made it to "Harlem" with some Work Buddies of Jess' to find the best place to eat Ribs.

On Thursday I was on my own all day and night. I decided instead of hitting 34th street I would hop on the train and visit my Aunt Tammy in Connecticut. What a beautiful house and City they live in! If I could choose any city in the world to live in that would be it! Thanks Tammy for showing me where you live and for lunch! After returning I decided to do a little shopping for myself. I had about 3 hours before it got dark so I went into many fun stores. I then got something to eat and went back to the hotel room for the night.

On Friday I once again got up at 5:00 AM (As you can see we got little sleep) to catch a Taxi (Very first, by my self) to head to the taping of "Live with Regis and Kelly" I was late in sending in for tickets so I stood in the "Stand-by) line. It turned out that 3 very nice girls had an extra ticket! They knew I was by my self so they offered it too me. Today was my LUCKY Day! I sat on the Second row (got a few seconds of AIR Time). It was fun to see how they film these, and of course see the celebrities up close! After the show I walked back through town (by now I am a pro at knowing where I was) to meet my Aunt Tammy and Cousin Issac who rode the train in to spend a few hours with me. We went to Famous Serendipity's for lunch and of course the "Frozen Hot Chocolate". Now, I am not a huge chocolate fan, but wow, this was so yummy, I ate the entire bowl! Thanks Tammy for taking the time to come in and play! After Jess was done with his last meeting we got back on the Subway and headed for the Harbor Cruise. It started to rain again, but since we already had the tickets we decided to just get on the boat. We saw many things, from Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, the many bridges, etc. After this we once again spent most of the night down at Times Square. This is truly the "City that never Sleeps"!

On Saturday we headed to the Natural History Museum. We spent a few hours here. It was fun to see some of the things that were in the movie "Night at the Museum". We then headed for the Airport in a Town Car(not quite as scary).

I had a great time, and am Thankful to Jess for taking me along on his business trip! We were also blessed to have Grandma and Grandpa Hallman fly in to watch the kids.

Hit Refresh to watch the slideshow below...

My Dream came true in New York City!!

~Zachary's First Day of Preschool~