The Birthday Girl!

Maya turned 3 years old on Saturday!  She was so excited about it and enjoyed all of the attention, friends, family, cake, and presents!  Since Milan and Marco have their birthdays close to Maya's, we decided to have a triple birthday party today!  We had originally planned to have it at the park, but since the weather decided not to cooperate, we had it at our house instead.  It was very loud, but I think the kids had fun anyways!



"Happy Birthday to you!"  She always gets a little bashful when all the attention is on her.

Yummmm.....cake!

The 3 birthday kiddos!

Amanda made cakes for all 3 birthday kids that they got to pick out themselves!  Maya picked Strawberry Shortcake and the cake turned out so cute!  Maya loved it!

Milan's butterfly

Marco's airplane

Three kids opening presents at the same time was a little crazy. 

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On Saturday, Maya opened her presents from us and Grammy Mary and Papa Gary.  They sent her a princess dress which she hasn't taken off for nearly two days.

 Gabi picked out a My Little Pony Train Set to give to Maya.

 I decided to start interviewing the kids on their birthdays to see how their tastes/favorites change as they grow up.  Here are the results from Maya's interview:

MAYA (5/26/2012 – 3 YEARS OLD)

1.  What is your favorite color? PURPLE & PINK

2. What is your favorite toy? DOLL

3. What is your favorite fruit? WATERMELON

4. What is your favorite tv show? CAILLOU

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? MAC & CHEESE

6. What is your favorite outfit? BUTTERFLY DRESS

7. What is your favorite game? UNO (she is an awesome Uno player!)

8. What is your favorite snack? CRACKERS

9. What is your favorite animal? GIRAFFES

10. What is your favorite song? LULLABIES

11. What is your favorite book? A FLY WENT BY

12. Who is your best friend? DADDY

13. What is your favorite cereal? HEART-SHAPED CHERRIOS

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? RAKE WITH MOMMY (HA!)

15. What is your favorite drink? APPLE JUICE

16. What is your favorite holiday? EASTER (‘CAUSE I GET TO WEAR A PRETTY DRESS)

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? BLANKIE

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? EGGS

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? PIZZA

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A MOM

This is what happens when we brush out Maya's hair. :)

Maya still loves to color and do puzzles.  She is really good at writing her name and tracing all the letters and following mazes.  Her dancing cracks us up...very dramatic and so much like a ballerina with curtsies, bows, and ta-das!  Gabi and her have been playing pretend more lately which is fun to see...Gabi likes to play house, school, and naptime (still haven't figured that last one out).  Maya received a cash register for her birthday from Dave & Joyce, so I bet playing store is in their near future as well.

I have 4 days of school left!  The girls and I are excited for sweet summertime.

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

Hall Ranch Branding 2012

Today was branding day on the Hall Ranch.  We could not have asked for a more beautiful day.  I was given a little taste of summer since I took this morning off.  I'll be done with school on May 31st....28 total days left....not that I'm counting. :)  It really has been a great year, but I'm ready to spend some quality time at home with the girls.  Enjoy the pics!

The picture below looked vaguely familiar.  I took one of them in the same spot last year (see underneath).  What a difference a year makes!

4 Cousins....2012

4 cousins...2011  What a difference a year makes! 

Our little cowgirl!  She loves her pink hat (and her pink boots that match!)

Happy Easter!

We have had a fun-filled Easter Sunday so far!  All 5 cousins attended Mass together this morning and had to be the most well-behaved children in church! :)  We're not sure what got into them, but we're not complaining.  They hunted Easter eggs before dinner this afternoon and there was minimal jealousy and fighting.  (Except for Gabi's comment to us in the car as we were driving there that Gio found more eggs than her....BEFORE the hunt even started....hmmmm....not sure how that works!)

Maya looks like she's got some egg finding tricks up her sleeve.

I'm not sure why the rest of these pictures look  fuzzy on blogger....they look fine on my camera and computer....grrr....blogger you make me mad sometimes.  Anyways, here are some more Easter egg hunt pics! :)

Dressed in their Sunday best.

"Here comes Peter Cottontail....

...hopping down the Bunny Trail...

...Hippity Hop Hop, Hippity Hop Hop....

....Easter's on its way!"  (The girls have been singing this song nonstop today)

On Friday, Joe and I returned from our trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  We had a fabulous time!  We soaked up the sun by the pool and beach, each read 3 books, did lots of strolling down the malecon (boardwalk) people-watching, ate lots of yummy food at Puerto Vallarta's awesome selection of restaurants, and just relaxed.  I got a massage one morning, did yoga a couple of times on the beach. Joe went on a few runs along the beach and through town.  We attended Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral (or what we thought was the Cathedral....long story, but it's all good!), had a romantic dinner on the beach one night, and went on an "outdoor adventure".  The outdoor adventure was a day-long excursion that included a boat ride across the bay, an off-road vehicle ride up the mountain, a mule ride the rest of the way up the mountain (Joe looked awesome on a mule by the way!), and then went ziplining and rappelling back down the mountain.  I'm not a huge fan of rappelling and was pretty much freaking out about doing it down a 100 foot waterfall and then again for a 100 foot freefall, but I did!  It was super fun and I'm really glad we went.  We ended the tour with some tequila tasting (brought back 21st birthday memories).  Fun times for sure!

We really didn't take very many pictures at all.  I think I'm so used to only taking pictures of the girls that I just forgot.  Here are a few that were worth showing you all.

View at sunset from our room.

View of the sunset from our dinner on the beach.

Joe during our dinner on the beach...the food was beautifully arranged.

I was missing the girls terribly by the end of the trip.  They were missing us too (especially Maya by the sounds of it)  However, they had a blast with Grammy Mary while she was here and also a fun couple of days spent at Dave & Joyce's house for their sleepover!  We are so thankful that they were able to take such good care of Gabi & Maya while we were gone. 

Happy Easter!  Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya

Gabi's "Gotcha Day!"

I still can't believe it was 4 years ago today when Gabi was placed in our arms forever.  I remember it as if it were yesterday.  She brings us so much joy and we thank God every day for this wonderful daughter He brought in to our lives.

Our Annual Family Gotcha Day Picture.  :)

This weekend has been absolutely beautiful.  Lots of sunshine and playing outside.

No more baby swing for Maya.  I cried when I took it off and put the big girl swing on...can't believe she is almost 3!

Practicing Easter egg hunting!

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

MUD...and other fun stuff.

Our "yard" is a mess.  We have a huge job of landscaping ahead of us this Spring/Summer.  It has been really nice the past few days, so the snow has melted really fast creating the biggest mud puddle ever....to the delight of 2 little girls.  I had today off, so we played in it most of the morning...the girls created mud paintings, we "ate" mud stew and mud pies for dessert.  These pictures were taken when they were relatively still clean...it went all downhill from there.  I guess that's what washing machines and and bathtubs are for, right!?  We had a blast.  Country living at its finest.

Gabi enjoyed the mud a lot more than Maya.  Gabi is more of a tomboy and Maya is more into dolls, dress-up, and dancing.  Lately, she has been putting on her ladybug dress, grabbing her magic wand, making me sit on the couch and watch her dance.  It is so cute.  I crack-up at her awesome moves.  Dance classes here we come...



We've enjoyed many outings as a family on the weekends.  The girls really like snowshoing/sledding/hiking in the Big Horns.

Getting ready to be pushed down a big hill...the best part of the hike.

Weee!  Go Daddy Go!  They actually walk most of the way, but it is nice to have the sled for when they get tired.

My Grandma Dorothy came to visit a couple of weeks ago.  My Grandpa's brother passed away and the funeral was in Sheridan.  My Mom's cousin-in-law, Elaine, drove them both all the way out here from Lincoln/Omaha.  It was under sad circumstances, but we were really glad to have them here.  The girls loved spending time with Grandma Dorothy and I think she enjoyed their silly antics as well.

We planted our first seeds in the new greenhouse this afternoon!  Joe's parents and Grandpa Don have worked so hard to get this up and running.  It will be so nice to have all of that space to grow some vegetables (like lettuce and spinach) year round and be able to start lots of seeds early.  It sits right next to the large community garden, so will be convenient when planting time comes.  I really have Spring Fever and it is just the first part of March! 

The girls love playing in the water while we are working in the greenhouse.

The girls are both doing well...we had our first round of illness go through our house this winter...some pretty bad coughs.  We are definitely on the mend now.  You might have noticed that Gabi isn't wearing her glasses in some of the pictures....we had our first casualty.  They broke right across the nose bridge.  Good thing for insurance and a warranty! 

We are really looking forward to our trip to Puerto Vallarta for Spring Break.  It will be nice to lay on a beach and soak up some sunshine and just.....relax.  The girls are super excited for Grammy Mary to come stay with them while we are gone and to have a sleepover at Dave & Joyce's house for part of the time we are gone as well.

Love to you all!!  Tara

Big Sky Snow Bunnies

We spent last weekend in Big Sky, MT skiing and hanging out with some of our friends from college.  We had an awesome time and now have a new favorite ski resort!  It is Colorado-quality skiing with 1/4 of the people...that's my kind of  place!!  Gabi was able to go to ski school on Saturday and now has gained the confidence to ski by herself and she LOVES it!  We skiied again on Sunday morning as well.   I can't wait until we can ski together as a familiy!  Some of my best memories with my parents and brother were on the ski slopes, so I hope to share that with my girls as well.

Having a blast!  At first she would follow my turns down the slope, now she has to be the leader. :)

Maya was able to try out skiing as well.  We rode up the "magic carpet" and she skiied down between my legs.  She kept saying "faster! faster!"  and giggled the whole way down. 


Pink snow bunny!

Joe and I skiied with Jason, Chris, Sam, and Tracy on Saturday.  Ashley was kind enough to watch Maya and Gabi was in ski school.  We had a great time exploring Big Sky.  We rode the tram up to the top of Lone Peak and the boys skiied off (Tracy & I rode the tram back down...that's pretty extreme skiing up there for us mamas!)

Joe, Jason, & Sam at the top



The view from the top...you could even see the Tetons!  Beautiful!

Between the four families, we had six GIRLS ages 4 and under (Gabi was the oldest). They had lots of fun playing together! All of the guys that went are former UW runners. We are still convinced that Coach Sanchez somehow spiked the gatorade to eliminate the chance of any male offspring. :)

Chris cuddling with a few of the girls! :)

Cute little Greta...always a smile on her face!

A bunch of us went to a ski joring competition on Sunday afternoon.  It was held at a local guest ranch, so the atmosphere was fun.  All of the little girls had a blast just playing in the snow together.  We had beautiful weather the entire weekend.

Ski joring is when a horse pulls a skier through a slalom-type course with jumps and other obstacles.
 Kinda like water skiing in a way.



Gabi & Maya had fun pulling Greta on the sled.

Greta, Morgan, & Gabi

Ashely & Greta ...Ashley is expecting her second baby on Maya's birthday!
I'm betting it will be a girl...what do you wanna bet!?

Another couple of snow bunnies...Tessa & Tracy :)

Hope you all have a great weekend!  Lots of love, Tara