Happy May

Life is good. Everyone is doing well. Just staying busy enjoying Spring and trying not to drive if we can help it. Gas prices are just outrageous. Cheapest place I found today was $4.07. RIDICULOUS!
Kids are doing well. Britten is all registered for Kindergarten. Starts in late August. Hailey still has 2 yrs. She probably thinks she'll be going right after B goes...poor kid. Finally gave Britten a major haircut last night. Hailey wanted one too but I can't bare to cut her hair. Britten now thinks he's Superboy b/c his hair is so different. It'll be good for the summer and it grows so fast.
Jackson and the chickens are well. The girls are laying again. Chris and I are off to Vegas next weekend for a wedding. Should be fun. Hope all is well with la familia. Hasta.

FINALLY

In case you're wondering, you didn't miss an update. We have many excuses but won't share them because we may need to use them in the future for a much longer delay in our BLOGGER responsibility. We have many thank you's to share. Easter was soooo perfect. Everyone dutifully came with their salad, bucket goody, cute little child... etc. If you want to see pictures, you'll have to check out Paradise's site because that was so last month. Since then, Laci has broken her arm but it's very pinkilicious. Speaking of pinkilicious, thanks to everyone for Hailey's birthday gifts. She is working on her thank you pictures but it's a bit slow.
We had wonderful weather last weekend and took a trip to the beach with Angel and the boys. It was awesome. The kids played in the waves and sand. We got a lot of sun and relaxation. It was well deserved!
Psalms' baby is due shortly. We are on pins and needles awaiting the news of our new little niece or nephew. Chris and I are planning a Vegas trip next month for a friends' wedding. It'll be a nice, short, well-earned get-away for us. I think we get to watch the Taylor boys next month too...how fun! See Angel - I haven't forgot.
Happy April B-days to Dad, Kyle and Hailey. And in case we find ourselves in the hot seat again, Happy May Days to all the mothers, a second one to my mother, to Suzie, Laci, Joe and Dick - and of course to the new little baby.

GETTING READY

We are so ready for Easter and the family. It's going to be a lot of fun and hopefully very memorable for the little cousins. What a wonderful tradition. We're hoping for good weather but you never can tell.
Safe traveling to everyone and don't forget to call Grandpa Bruce and wish him a Happy 80th B-day.

CASUALTY IN THE COOP

Well, we're officially in compliance with county ordinance 15849 - or something like that. Chicken #6 passed away on Saturday. Our first casualty of the bunch. Very close to their 3 yr anniversary. The remaining 5 are quite full of spirit so we'll see what happens. We haven't uncovered the cause of death yet as autopsy results are pending. We were told they should take about 4-6 weeks before we'll know. It's quite tragic as you can imagine. Chris and I had a somber, but not sober, moment with the Reverend Jack Daniels to mourn her passing. The kids just wondered, and wondered, and then wondered some more..."but where did she go?" She was one of two we called "Pinky". Now there's only 1.
It's been a lovely late winter here. The daffidils are in full bloom. We are SOOOO looking forward to Easter and seeing a bunch of the familia. It's still not too late to RSVP.

The first picture is where it all happened - the coop. The second is "big boy Jackson" - he's about 25 lbs overweight, but as far as we can tell, had nothing to do with 'the incident'. Finally, two tired little toddlers about to embark on lunch - also with an alibi for the tragedy.

Happy President's Day to all those Presidents out there.

Super Pics

I promised Par to post some pics from Super Sunday. It took a week but here they are...not too exciting but better than nothing.
Happy February Birthdays to Chris, Nathan, Dian and Donna. Happy Valentine's Day to Chris!!

SNOW DAY

We took the kids to the cabin this past weekend and were greeted with about 10 inches of snow. More fell the first night we were there. The kids had a terrific time making a snow man, snow angels and sledding down the neighboring hill. I was impressed with their courage to slide down on the saucer all by themselves. We also spent some time in Sonora with the family. The kids just love Uncle Don.
The first picture above is of Hailey on her bike from Christmas. Then come the cabin pictures. First is Britten going down the hill on the saucer - which eventually broke and then is a pic of B on an old sled. We have a picture of Britten 6 months old on this same sled in the snow but I think it's on a different hard drive so it'll have to wait. I do have a hard copy in case anyone is really interested.... And of course the kids and their snow-person.

Click here for more pics

Happy Birthday to Rayann.

SuperBowl Party at our house. Bring your own designated driver. Until next time.....

JET LAG ?

Can you claim jet lag if you only left the time zone for a portion of your vacation and it was only an hour different? For some reason, I'm having trouble getting focused on the tasks at hand - like getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. I feel like I've been off forever even though it's only been a few days. Maybe it's because the Bears lost, again.
Ah, but I digress. I just returned from Arizona where I got to spend some quality time with Baby Brooklyn... and Par & Justin & Mom&Dolan....of course. Brooklyn is such a sweetie. She reminds me so much of Hailey when she was little. Speaking of which, the pictures here are of Hailey when she isn't so little. The one of her and Britten is our home all decorated and the other one is Hailey in Union Square, San Francisco on our mother/daughter day out. The final picture is little Brooklyn.

Well, Par and Justin are doing a great job. It's so cool watching them and the baby together. They're naturals.

Everything is just fine here. Still a lot of leaves that need to be raked - where are you Dad? If we wait any longer, I'll have to rake them myself. Happy December birthday to Dolan. And a Happy New Year Birthday to Alan just in case I don't get back here by then.
Oh yeah - Par, by the way, I made Egg Nog when I got home today. It was really good. I saw the recipe in some magazine on the plane. It's extra good with Bailey's Irish Creme. Love yah.

Babies in the air

November is a fine time of the year for giving birth. Yes, it's true. My baby sister, Psalms, is a spunky Scorpio - of course sharing her special day with the one and only Prince Charles....little Preston just celebrated 6 years of excellent living....I too am fortunate enough to be a November baby - (thanks mom and dad). Most importantly, two little nieces or perhaps a niece and nephew are going to join other fine Scorpios before them and become little November babies very soon. Both Jessica and Paradise are counting and timing their contractions carefully, bags are packed, fathers-to-be are pacing, phone numbers have been stored, relatives are on stand-by, bets have been made...we can't stand the suspense - BRING ON THE BABIES!
The autumn air is crisp and perfect for propelling the sound of a newborns' piercing cry. I just can't wait to meet the little ones. Happy Birthdays go out to Psalms, Preston, Jeff (although he's not a Scorpio..), the newbies, Danny De Vito and Jerry at work - he probably thought I forgot but nope...not I.

The kids and I went to the zoo last weekend. It was cool and here are a few memories we chose to share. Happy Turkey Day to one and all and Thank You to all the current and past Veterans. Go Bears.

BOO!!!

Halloween 2007
Originally uploaded by The Hallfords

INDIAN SUMMER

Thank goodness for the downpours last week here in the Bay Area. We aren't in the severe fire danger that our Southern Californian compadres find themselves in. The weather this week is absolutely perfect - unless you're dealing with Mother Nature. I decided that I'm going to take a beach day later this week and ditch work. It'll likely be my last opportunity until next year sometime and I could use the peace and quiet away from work....can't wait.
The kids are terrific as usual. Thank goodness there's nothing to report. We spent some time at the local cornfield and pumpkin patch yesterday. The rule was that they each had to be able to carry the pumpkin they chose. They did pretty good. We went on a tractor ride and played in the corn maze. It was a lot of fun. We've planted some bulbs for next spring - have many more to go - and seeded all of our lawns waiting for the sun to help with the germination. The kids are looking forward to trick or treating next week - too bad that the Great Pumpkin comes afterwards and takes all their candy....
Talk to everyone soon.

Disneyland 2007

Well, we survived the Disneyland trip. We've been back for a week and are still recovering from all the excitement of Arizona and Disneyland. The kids had a terrific time seeing their aunts, uncle and Grandparents. Of course Mickey Mouse, Pooh, Tigger and Goofy stirred them up a little as well. Here are a few pictures they wanted us to share: the girls at Paradise's shower, the family with Mickey and the kids on a giant watermelon in Goofy's garden.
Well, now we're home and trying to get the yard ready for fall and winter. The backyard grass is starting to come in, we've planted many new plants, we have the bulbs ready for planting in a few more weeks, we've raked and pruned most of the front yard, sprinklers are almost complete...just a bit more work until we're ready for the front yard grass. It's been a lot of work but well worth it.
Happy October Birthday's to Jessica and Simon. Talk to everyone soon.

Some of the cousins

Here are four (five if you count Jackson) of the 'Lutz Cousins' chillin in the backyard eating Aunt Angel's birthday cake. We just thought we'd share....Have a great football weekend.

ZOO DAY

Whew - we got the next post in just under the Paradise - imposed 1 month rule. Here are a few pics of the kids from the zoo last weekend. We had a lot of fun. Chris took these on his phone so the quality isn't the best. We had a really good time watching the young male elephant playing with his tire. It was very cool. No reptiles for the day - they were all hiding. But Hailey took the Cheetah for a ride and Britten had the Tiger to finish out the day. Talk to everyone soon. Happy Belated B-day to Angel!

Secret Camping Place

We'd tell you where it was but then it would only generate more traffic. It's somewhere in California and we'll definately be going back. Too bad Liz and Stuart couldn't stay. Maybe next time. We spent 4 nights with the kids in this place and had such a great time. Jackson, Hailey and Britten did a terrific job hiking, sleeping in their sleeping bags, playing at the beach, counting sea lions, spotting whales and all that other camping stuff. We will be back.
We have one more big trip planned this year - Disneyland - sounds like a blast but we're making a pit stop in AZ to visit Paradise and family first so it will be a long one. Hope all is well with everyone and especially with all the new babies, new parents, and soon to be new parents.

2 POSTS IN JULY?

This one is for you Paradise. Nathan, Joe and Angel came over the other night. Chris' sister also joined us. We had 9 big kids and 7 little kids playing, drinking and bar-b-que-ing. It was a lot of fun. It was so cool to see Alan. We eventually figured out that we had a 2 yr old, 3 yr old, 4 yr old, 5 yr old, 2-7 yr olds and of course Laci. They all played together nicely and didn't get to bed until after 10.... oops. Here are some pics of the event.

Sue and Thomas had a lovely wedding earlier this month and just got back from their honeymoon in Hawaii. Britten and Hailey did a great job with their roles but I don't have any digital pictures to share yet. Hopefully soon. Chris and I went Whitewater Rafting two weekends ago. It was so crazy and cool. If anyone will be around July 12-13 of next year, let us know so you can join us. It's an incredible experience.
Talk to everyone soon.
Happy Birthday to Ben and belated Birthday to Siven. If anyone talks to Psalms - I need her address and/or phone number.

HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY

Congratulations to Simon and Michelle on the birth of their son. I don't know his name yet but I'm sure it'll be a nice one. Can't wait to hear all about him and maybe even meet him and little Kyle one of these days.

We took the kids to the local 4th of July parade this morning. It was pretty cool but very hot. It was still over 100 degrees at 7 this evening. Jackson played in the kids' pool to keep cool.
Happy July and late June birthdays to Paradise, Austin, Amber, and Siven. Of course the new little guy will be right in there, 1/2 way between Austin and Amber - better give him an "a" name.

Susan and Thomas get married this weekend. How exciting. It's supposed to cool down by about 10 degrees so it ought to be perfect. Congratulations to them.

The first picture above is Hailey trying on shoes in my closet and the other is the kids and Jackson posing at the parade.