Wrestling

Brenna said, "I cannot imagine facing 160 lbs of Harrison coming at you in spandex on the wrestling mat."  That is what his opponents faced this year as Harrison wrestled for the first time.  Harrison was a force to be reckoned with.  What he lacked in experience he made up for in brute force.  He won most of his matches and then came in 2nd at districts. 

Watch below to see him in action, he pinned his opponent in less than 15 seconds. (Harrison is in blue)

Pie

David: "I can't believe you ate that whole pie already."
Harrison: "I didn't."
David: "Well, who else would have?"
Harrison: "Surely someone else had some."
David: "Really, who?"
{awkward silence}

Our Entreprenuer

Brandon came home the other night and informed us he had made the quickest $15 in his life.  He made $15 for only 30 seconds of work.  Want to know how?  By eating a worm. 

Someone had offered to pay him $5 to eat a worm.  Knowing he could earn more, he refused the offer and said he wouldn't settle for anything less than $15.  Two other students ponied up $5 quickly and a large group of students gathered round to watch.  The only stipulation was that he had to chew it and have it in his mouth for at least 10 seconds.  Brandon rose to the challenge and earned his $15.  It was captured on multiple cameras and the video is floating around Twitter somewhere.

Harry

Harrison turned 14 this year.  It has been a great year for him, and a busy one for us.  There are many favorite memories, here are a few highlights of the year.

• One weekend when David was travelling, I asked Harrison what he wanted to do.  The answer was clear: dry ice.  Naively, I agreed.  5 lbs of dry ice later, I was introduced to the many experiments possible.  We did dry ice bubbles, dry ice drinks, explosions, and many more things.  At one point he innocently asked what would happen if he swallowed some dry ice.  Alarmed, I threatened his life if he ever swallowed it, that it would expand in his belly like a bomb.  He then admitted, he had "accidentally" swallowed some.  He then explained that he had some really powerful and painful farts for awhile.  I laughed, and we had a great time.
• We did not use all of the dry-ice on Saturday, and stored the rest in the freezer.  Before leaving for church, I very clearly told Harrison he was not allowed to use the dry ice while I was gone.  I came home to find him smiling like a mad scientist, the sink full of dry ice smoke.  Lesson learned.

• We got a fire pit for our wedding.  Good thing, because Harrison is the #1 user of the fire pit.  A friend had given us a bunch of tree rounds.  When Harrison found these, he chopped the rounds into logs with a hatchet.  That is all we had at the time.  The weekend of the dry ice, Harrison slyly mentioned that we needed an axe and I had promised I would get one.  We headed off to Lowe's.  He was thrilled and couldn't wait to use it.  I was amazed to see Harrison be able to chop the wood with just one swing, wow.

• One evening I heard Harrison running around the house and frantically calling for his dad.  Not finding him, he burst in to tell me that he thought he was in trouble and that there was a man outside threatening to call the police.  A man had brought Harrison home because he and 2 friends had lit a fire in the park and were jumping over it with bikes.  The man was concerned about their house that was near the park.  They had taken lighter fluid from his friend's house to light the fire.  Want to know whose idea it was?  Harrison's, he talked the two friends into it.  He has been suffering as he lost fire for six months because of it.
• Harrison has been working in the office at school as an aid.   He brings them hot beverages and they bring him snacks.  The ladies love him, and he knows it.  We have heard many times how great he is. 
• Brandon found T-Rex in the toy box and Harrison latched on, bringing it with him to run errands.  Do not be fooled by this sweet picture of Harrison hugging T-Rex.  T-Rex makes a squeaking sound when squeezed.  He used this to irritate his parents by squeezing it about 50 times during a 5 minute period.  He got paid $1 to release T-Rex, it is now hidden.

Ericson

We have a new addition to our family.

His name is Ericson, "Leaf" Ericson.

The original Leif Ericson was the Norse explorer who was the first European to land in North America.

Our "Leaf" Ericson is a leaf bug that was found on the porch.

Harrison decided to capture him and he is now living in a jar in our kitchen.  Brandon named him.  He eats leafs, but is picky.  He will only eat tree leafs.  We gave him some water, and he doesn't seem to like it.  I woke up this morning and couldn't find him.  I thought he had escaped.  Nope ... he just blended in with his food.  Can you see him?

Ode to Canned Peached

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

We canned peaches last night,

what did you do?

Roses are red,

Daffodils are yellow.

David helped the whole time,

He is quite a great fellow.

Roses are red,

Dead roses are black.

When it came to peeling peaches,

David had quite the knack.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

It took us 6 hours,

We did not have a clue.

Roses are red,
Brown is the color of wood.
I only called mom 4 times,
I think that is pretty good.

Roses are red,

Chickens don't fly.

If the peaches don't taste good,

the boys better lie.

Roses are red,

All kids love Mickey.

After all of those peaches,

My floor is quite sticky.

Roses are red,

My pants are maroon.

At $4 a bottle,

This may not happen again soon.

Roses are red,

Daisy's are white.

Because they love canned peaches,

I knew the boys would delight.

Roses are red,

Dirt is brown.

When finishing after midnight,

My face wore a frown.

Roses are red,

I know how to skate.

With all of these peaches,

I bet they'll taste great.

The Senior

Brandon turned 17 last week!  He is a senior this year and his time at home is limited.  While we love having him here, we're excited for his next adventure.  Here are a few favorite memories from the last year:

• Brandon loves baseball and has spent many happy hours on the field last year. He played on the Centennial varsity team his junior year.  He plays catcher, 2nd base, and outfield.  He was proud (and David was jealous) of the physique he achieved while training for baseball.  His 6-pack is quite impressive.
• Brandon was elected as Junior class president.  He spent many hours helping with activities, planning dances, and attending high school sports.  They must have been impressed as he was elected again for his senior year without even campaigning.  This year he is student body president again.
• When hunting for jobs this summer, Brandon had quite the network.  At one point he had 3 different job offers and jobs, all in 1 week.  He decided a job with a local health and fitness store was the best option.  He is a sign dancer and sales manager.  You can see him sign dancing on Fairview if you are ever in town.
• When asked to do a project for Calculus, Brandon chose to mix shop and Calculus.  He built a representation of an integral out of wood circles in the shape of a top.  Very clever.
• After taking his construction class last year, we were regularly informed of the many certifications he received.  With a twinkle in his eye, he told us that he is now certified to use a hammer, a staple gun, and a variety of other tools.  His class built a house for Habitat for Humanity.  He is taking that class again this year.
• Our truly favorite memory is learning that he shot himself with Harrison's BB gun.  The boys were outside trying to hit a squirrel.  He had pumped it 10 times when the squirrel ran off.  Feeling Maverick-like, he spun the gun with his finger on the trigger.  It shot him in the hip.  No major damage was done, and Brandon was able to pop the BB out with only a minor flesh wound.  He never mentioned it to us, and we found out from other sources.

The 6-pack (he had painted someone's number on his stomach for a game)

We're looking forward to a great Senior year.

Fish

Our fish died today.  It was a Beta fish named "Fish".  Fish was a good fish.  It survived even when it was not fed and when it's bowl was not cleaned as regularly as it ought.  The Halls brought Fish into the marriage. 

Brandon, Harrison and I shared fond memories of Fish.  I learned that Fish came to the Halls when they were watching Chris' Beta and it died.  Fish was the replacement Beta that they tried to trick him with.  She was originally Chris' fish.  Chris brought her back from college one time and left her.  After Chris left, she didn't get fed for an entire month before David figured out the boys hadn't been feeding her.  But, she survived.  They had a healthy debate about how long Fish had lived.  We think it was somewhere between 3-4 years, which they calculated to be 100 human years.

Some words shared at Fish's passing were: "Finally!  That has been 2 years in coming.", "He lived a full life.  It was time."  and lastly, "It's a girl." (I thought Fish was a boy).

Au Jus

We had French Dip for dinner tonight.  I asked Brandon if he liked Au Jus.  He responded, "Au Jus kidding me?" (He loves Au Jus).  He then told me that he was definitely tweeting that one since it was completely "off the cuff".  He also decided that he is turning into his father.  We laughed pretty hard at his cleverness. He was right, he is turning into his father.  David loves puns.

What Do These 3 Things Have In Common?

And the answer is ...

The first picture is a strawberry with peanut butter hanging from our tree.  Harrison concocted this as a trap to get squirrels to come into our yard.  He was using them as target practice for his Beebe gun.  In this occasion the squirrels got away with the strawberry.  However, he has hit two squirrels since using other methods.

The second picture is his April fool's joke for his dad.  April Fools has been a long tradition in their family.  Harrison spent weeks planning out his joke for his dad.  Thankfully, I got the final say about what was allowed or not.  It ended up a bit tamer than Harrison would like, but his jokes were quite effective.  He built a trap in our bathroom out of shaving cream and duct tape, making it tricky to get into without getting creamed.  Lastly, he created a fake "duty" in David's toilet out of a variety of kitchen items.  It smelled terrible, but he was pleased when David found it.

We found those potatoes in Harrison's room one week after a deep clean.  He had gotten them for Halloween, had stuck them in a box and forgotten about them.  We didn't know they were in there until I insisted on cleaning out the box.  Harrison was delighted, I was aghast and we all got a good laugh out of it.

The last picture is of Harrison in a shirt he found one 4th of July at WalMart.  It is special, it has a horse with flag colors on it.  Unique shirts are a Hall family tradition.  How can you not just love this kid?

Things I Never Thought I Would Google

You may have noticed, I love lists.  A blog entry feels empty without a list.

Here's my latest one, things I Googled that I never imagined I would ...

• "How much does hamster milk cost?" - When planning April Fools pranks for his father, Harrison convinced me we needed to find out how much hamster milk costs.  Did you know you could buy this?  You do now.  He did not end up pursuing this for his April Fools pranks.
• "How to get Pam out of concrete." - We have a pyro in the house, and our little pyro loves our fire pit (thanks siblings).  Anything flammable has been tested.  Yes, including Pam.  After finding out he had gone through 2-3 cans of Pam I noticed grease spots all over the back porch.  Did you know that dish detergent can get Pam out of concrete?  I do.
• "How to dance Gangnam style." - When this first became popular, Brandon insisted I watched.  We have watched this several times at our house.  In spite watching a video how to do this, I am not coordinated enough.
• "How to get silly putty out of clothing." - Need I say more ...

1

We turned 1 today.  I can't believe a year has gone by so fast.

On our trip to DC a few months ago we had a layover at the Denver airport.  We took a picture where we met.  It was at this very spot almost 3 years ago that David handed me his business card.  We have talked every day since.  Here's to 50 more. :)

Baseball

We had our last games of the season this week.  Both Brandon and Harrison had a good season.

Brandon made varsity this year.  Centennial had new coaches this year, which proved to be a good thing.  The team had more wins than last year.  Brandon plays catcher.  Although he played varsity the entire year, for one game the JV team asked him to play catcher since both of their catchers were out.  (This happened to be the game we remembered to bring the camera.)  David captured some action shots of that game.

Brandon is playing catcher in the first picture, and is at bat in the second picture.

Harrison's team did well this year.  While he spent most of his time in right field, his coaches also wanted him to pitch some.  We got some good action shots of him pitching.

Murf Mobile

David and Brandon have been looking for cars for Brandon.  Brandon has been diligent at searching Craig's List and coming up with proposals for David.  They are usually faster, smaller cars with upgrades.  David usually chooses larger, slower cars that can be fixed easily. 

The other day Brandon tells us he has found a "Murf Mobile" that would be "sweet".  He recognized they are lousy cars, but still thought it would be awesome.  I had no idea what a Murf Mobile was and so asked.

Brandon: "Are you serious? You don't know what a Murf Mobile is?  Who doesn't know what a Murf Mobile is?"
Kimberly: "Yes, I'm serious.  What is a Murf Mobile?"
Brandon turning to his dad, "Dad, divorce is still an option."

I laughed pretty hard. 

(For those of you who don't know, a Murf Mobile is from Wayne's World.)

Watch Out Martha Stewart

During our recent trip to Washington DC, the boys ended up staying with friends. On the way home David and I had many conversations about what gift to get the families they stayed with. Plus, it was Lori's birthday and we wanted to do something for her. While passing Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in the airport, inspiration struck … caramel apples. We love them, they look beautiful, and they are fun. Then, inspiration struck again … why pay $7 an apple when we can make them at home? I know how to make caramel, we can buy some apples, dip the apples, drizzle chocolate in a fancy pattern, done. I was confident we could do it for cheaper and have more fun. Plus, then we could have some when done. Martha Stewart watch out, here comes Kimberly.

This is what I imagined the end result would be:

We read tips on line, I pulled out Grandma Hursts caramel apple recipe, I was ready. All went well until we actually dipped the apples. I couldn't get the caramel to actually stay on the apple. We dipped, we dipped again, we froze the apples, and the caramel just wouldn't stay. Then, the sticks kept breaking and we had to resort to kitchen knives. I then tried to drip chocolate fancily over the apples … again, a bust. This is what we ended up with:

The friends never ended up getting the apples (Lori still did). But, despite having to practically lick the caramel from the pan, it didn't stop Harrison. I think he ate more apples in 2 days than I had seen him eat in the last year.

I think $7 may be worth it.  Now, here's the real question … should I Pinterest this? ;)

I Believe in Miracles

Ever since we were little, we have played games together as a family.  When David became an official part of the family, he had a bit of a shock as he has not spent every Sunday for years playing games.  He is a good sport, but he has lost every game he has played since we've been married.

This weekend we had some friends over for games.  It was boys against girls, and the boys won.  David was pretty pleased with himself as that is the first game he has won.  Guess what it was ... Taboo.  A game that has little strategy beyond being able to talk and describe things really well.  I should have known that I would lose as that is what David likes to do best. :)

Quotable Quotes

One of my favorite things about Brandon is his sense of humor.  The guy just cracks me up.  Often, scripture reading is paused while Brandon and Harrison entertain us.  Feeling like I need to be a supportive spouse during this spiritual time, I try my best to maintain my composure and not laugh.  I normally fail.  When Brandon gets that twinkle in his eye, I know he has come up with something particularly clever.  More often than not, I find myself laughing through scripture reading.  When Harrison joins in, all is lost.  Here are a number of my favorite quotes from over the last few months (I even put one from myself and David, although they aren't nearly as funny as when the boys are being clever.) 

• "That is how my mind works, I compare everything to Taco Bell."
• "One of my life goals is to pee on or lick a national monument."
• "Do you remember when I was the master of 'Yo Mama" jokes?"
• "I've made it a strict policy never to volunteer for anything in seminary."
• "Footbally things"
• "On the tricycle ride of life, Dad has peddled up the hill, ridden over the top, and is coasting down the other side with his feet up not even on the pedals any more."
• "Oh poo-pa"
• After entering our room: "As a punishment (to David & Kimberly), I'm going to sit here on this chair for the next 30 minutes."
• David: "Are you burning things for fun?"  Child: "No, I'm actually testing household fluid combustion."
• "I have a really uptight teacher at school.  So, I start every conversation with, 'Do you know what I found on my foot this morning?'  To which she answers, 'I'm not your friend.'"

The Cleansing

We did a deep clean of Harrison's room this weekend.  It took two of us supervising and a lot of encouragement to get it done.  Guess which of the following we did not find in his room:

• A rotten apple that even Priscilla wouldn't eat
• Stale box of Chicken in a Biscuit
• Jack Link jerky & sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 potatoes
• A Substitute Teacher badge
• Two animal carcasses
• A six pack of Lightning Bolt Throwing Knives and Sheathe
• 100 bee bees all over the floor
• Large bag of clothes that did not fit (lots of breezy undies)
• Multiple Mountain Dew cans (one can he deemed "Special")
• Most of the houses pillows and comforters

Prior to this event we had noticed a distinct burning stench coming from Harrison's side of the house.  David and I jumped to the conclusion that my stepson, with an insatiable sense of thrill, had cooked, mixed, or created a fiery concoction in his bathroom. We cleaned the entire bathroom, vacuumed out the vent, but still could not find the source of the smell after weeks of looking.  After further investigation, looking high and low, we found a Hacky Sack resting on a bathroom spotlight slowly melting into the rice core of the children's toy. When taken off the "Slow Cooker" we found it scorched, yet not ready to combust at any given time during its time on the light.  We were very relieved to find Harrison had not committed accidental arson.  To not give him the satisfaction of the event, we threw it away immediately after discovery. 

Parenting Tip: Childrennnnnn just wanna have fuuunnn!

Dancing Kings

Jumping into parenting with teenagers is an interesting thing.  I will admit that I am used to uninterrupted sleep, it is a glorious thing.  I hadn't been plunged into sleepless nights with a baby, or years of little feet finding you in the middle of the night.  In fact, I kind of thought starting with teenagers might be an advantage as I skipped that stage.  Instead, I have learned that what it really means is that their best thoughts and desire to connect come between the hours of 11:00 pm and 1:00 am.   Interestingly enough, it doesn't bother me at all, I have found that during these times is when the best entertainment comes out.

It is not unusual for us to hear the knock, and the door immediately opens to "Dad, guess what!  I just got 10,000 points on Tetris."  (or some other game).  Once when David was travelling, I got a call at 11:00 pm that went like this.  "Hi, Kimberly, can you come outside?"  "Why Harrison?"  "Just come out to the porch" "I'm looking out the door and can't see anything."  "No, you have to come outside."  Open door, "I don't see anything."  "No, you have to come out on the porch."  "Okay Harrison, I'm outside."  "Turn around"  I turn around to see Harrison on the roof, window open, waving at me and smiling like he just robbed a bank.  Yes, their best entertainment comes at night.

A few nights ago we were watching TV when we heard a knock on the door.  In comes Harrison and his friend, Sam.  Without saying a word, they do the following dance and then leave:

If you wonder where Harrison got his dance moves from, Brandon and his friends performed this skit at their ward's Christmas party.  We laughed pretty hard.

Brandon Christmas Skit

BTW: David and I didn't think we could dance nearly as well as the two boys, so we chose not to put our own video on the blog.  You can thank me later.

Thank you Santa!

Santa brought us a King size bed for Christmas.  We learned the hard way that we are not compatible sleepers.  Kimberly needs a firm bed, David soft.  So, at least one of us has had a miserable sleeping experience for the past 7 months (usually that translates to both being miserable).  Memory foam is now our friend, and Santa has saved our sleep.

(The added bonus is that our new comforter matches our wall, so no need to repaint. Wahoo!)

Eggnog Shakes

Chris spent the month of December with us and we had a blast.  This guy is so full of energy, you can't help but get caught up in it just being around him.  Since he was with us in December, we were glad that we got to spend his 21st birthday with him.  Here are a few of my favorite memories of Chris over the past year.

• We came home one day to find this message on a bottle of eggnog.  We laughed pretty hard.  He wanted to make sure he got an eggnog shake.  I learned that eggnog shakes are one of his favorite things.
• Priscilla and Chris really bonded over the month of December.  Prior to December, Chris was not a fan.  Chris was so determined to win her over that she got a LOT of treats.  She got walks, a lot of belly rubs, and was even invited to sleep in his room a few nights.  It worked, Chris was one of Priscilla's favorites by the time he left (he may even be a competitor with Kimberly).  Since he left she has really missed all of the attention.
• Chris has been really big into vinyls recently.  When coming home for only a month he brought his vinyl player and about 30 vinyls.  He even got more for Christmas and was in heaven.  According to Chris, music in its true form can only be listened to in vinyl.
• We got regular clothing guidance from Chris while he was here.  As two engineers, it was probably needed.  He even claimed he needed to submit our names to the TV show "What not to wear".   I'm sure we are better dressed and better coordinated since the visit. 
• Chris bought his first car this December.  He ended up buying it the day before he went back to school.  Unfortunately, the car that he found was a stick, and he did not know how to drive stick.  Chris and his friends, and Chris and his Dad spent hours the night before trying to teach him how to drive.  We were both relieved when we heard that Chris and Brenna had made it back to Provo with no disasters.  He stalled a number of times, but thankfully the only thing that was hurt was their pride.

P.S. We are going to pretend that this entry occurred back in December when it was Chris' birthday. 
P.P.S. Trish, thanks for letting me copy your birthday blog idea.