Pictures speak a thousand words.

This is going to be really random, but I just downloaded some pictures from the past couple weeks of our life and wanted to post some.

Mason helping Scott blow out the candle (we only had one candle in the cupboard) on his birthday banana cream pie. Don't I have the most handsome boys in my life?I worked the night before Valentine's Day. This is what I came home to early the next morning. This is not the first time Scott has had a sweet surprise set up for me when I get home from work. It is probably my favorite way Scott surprises me (he is always surprising me in sweet and creative ways.) I am so lucky to me married to such a romantic guy.
Scott made this card using the sides of Mason's hands. How cute is that?! I will keep this forever!

Mason and Scott were both sick last weekend so they stayed home from church. I came home to find them taking a nap on the couch. It was so precious. When I turned on the camera it woke up Mason so his eyes are open. You can tell how much Mason loves his daddy.
Mason is walking all over the place now as long as he can have a hand on something. This walking toy is one of his favorites right now. Looking at this picture kills me because I'm looking at a little boy not my baby!!

Rachel's Salon

Bumbo Chair: $40

Baby Einstein Video: $10

Gerber Puff Treats: $2.50

Sippy Cup: $3

Wahl "Peanut" clipper: $60

Laptop Computer: $1200

Haircut with no tears: Priceless

Yes, I just did a cheesy Mastercard commercial to introduce my blog. I gave Mason his 4th haircut last week. Now I am more than willing to pay a professional to cut his hair and make it look good, but when I tried that at six months it was more tramatic than getting shots at the Dr. So ever since then I have been attempting to do it myself (YIKES!). I went to a haircuting demo put on by our Relief Society and I'm proud to say.... it didn't help very much. But I did find that my little salon set up gave me about 20 minutes of a cooperative Mason and I was able to produce a decent haircut (Caitlyn and Natalie don't look too closely, you'll have nightmares). Here's a picture of the finished result. Isn't he a handsome guy!!

Mr. Congeniality!!

A year ago I couldn't imagine sitting at home all day with a baby who can't talk and not getting bored out of my mind. That was before I met Mason. My little boy is more entertainment I could ask for with all of his expressions, noises, and games he loves to play. Some of my favorite expressions are the crinkled nose with snorting noises when he gets mad at me for taking dangerous thing away from him, when I play peek-a-boo and he laughs and bashfully buries his face into the ground, when I let him play with my work badge and he pulls out the string and watches it snap back and laughs so hard his whole face is laughing (see first two pictures). My favorite noise by far is his growling (which he is doing to me right now), but I also like his totally fake cry he does when he wants something he can't have (it is funny because it is SO fake!). His favorite game involves me stacking his blocks as tall as I can and he crawls with his head tucked down as fast as he can into them knocking them over. He also likes to do obstical courses in our living room crawling through the bottom of our coffee and end tables, over any pillows or bags on the floor, and on top of any person who might be lying on the floor. The most precious time for me is when he wants to read books and he grabs one and crawls over to my lap and just wants to sit on my lap and read books. He is so busy these days that this is the closest I get to cuddling him when he's awake. Anyway, now that you are all probably bored stiff with my mother moments I'll post some pictures from a week or so ago when Mason was in his high chair and was showing off his many expressions. One things for sure....this kid's got personality!!

Happy Birthday Scottie!!

Today is the day we celebrate the birth of Scottiepoo. He has been on this earth for 25 long years. (Wow he's really getting old!) Mason and I want to wish Scott a very Happy Birthday!! Now I'm going to do a birthday spotlight on Scott, like the kind they used to do in Primary and Kindergarten.

Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Snack: Chips
Favorite sport: It's basketball season right now so I'd have to say basketball.
Things he is good at: Geometry (you should see him pack a suitcase, there is not an inch of wasted space.), basketball, baseball, changing diapers, kissing, (believe me, I would know.), driving in the snow, being a supportive husband, the list could go on and on.
Something unique about Scott: One ear is higher than the other.

okay, so that wasn't really a very great spotlight. It's 4 am, I am just finishing up my third night shift in a row, so my mind isn't sharp enough to think of any interesting questions. And I must say I answered all these questions without consulting Scott so if he says any aren't true than take his word for it.

Let It Snow!!

Today we took advantage of all this wonderful snow we've been getting here in Utah by going snowshoeing with my parents. They took us up to Southfork where we went on a nice 3 mile hike. My favorite part by far was when we decided to try and cross the creek and my dad almost fell in and then later when my dad decided we should blaze our own trail along a ridge which eventually led us to a pretty steep slop which we just ended up sledding down on our butts. My mom was getting worried and kept reminding my dad, "They have a child they have to raise!" Not only was it beautiful and slightly adventurous, but it was a great workout for our legs. Thanks to mom and dad for a great outting and thanks to Chris and Kacie for watching Mason for us.

Rachel Hale

As I previously mentioned, my brother and his wife are going to name their daughter Rachel Faye Hale. She will be the 9th generation of Rachel Hale. There has been a Rachel Hale on this earth in an unbroken string since 1767--241 years. Rachel Johnson married Eliphalet Hale in 1767 to start it all off. Their son, Solomon, named one of his daughters Rachel. Since then, a brother in each generation has named a daughter Rachel. There are currently 3 generations of Rachel Hale's alive: me, my aunt Rachel Hale Gonzalez, and my great aunt Rachel Hale Cunningham and when little Rachel Faye gets here there will be 4 generations alive. Here is a list my dad put together for us.

1. Rachel Johnson Hale (1744-1821)

2. Rachel Johnson Hale Savory (1798-1880)

3. Rachel Johnson Savory Hale Hoagland (1829-1854)

4. Rachel Susan Hale Clark (1857-1935)

5. Rachel Louisa Hale Tuttle (1891-1986)

6. Rachel Hale Christensen Cunningham (1927-present)

7. Rachel Kay Hale Gonzalez (1959-present)

8. Rachel Elizabeth Hale Murray (1985-present)

9. Rachel Faye Hale (2008)

I am very pround to be a part of this great legacy. I try to lead my life in a way that would make these women proud to have me carry their name. I am also so happy Brandon and Whitney have decided to carry on the name.

Happy Birthday!

We are long overdue for an update on our blog. Sorry about that. It appears that we are not the only ones who had a post holiday blog lull. This last week has been so action packed I've been dying to blog all about it. It all started last Friday, January 25 when I turned the big 23. I remember when I used to think how old 23 was and now I'm here, but I don't feel old. Scott of course made my whole day wonderful. He got work off and spent the entire day with Mason and me. That alone was enough to make the day perfect, but it didn't end there. He surprised me first thing in the morning with the soundtrack from Wicked, which I have been dying to have. We sang along to the whole thing while we ate a wonderful pancake and scrambled egg breakfast prepared by Scott.

Later in the morning we had Mason's 9 month doctor check-up.

Here are his latest Stats: 21 lbs 8 oz dropping down to the 65% for his age, 30.1 inches long still in the 92% for his age, and last a head circumference of 45.8 cm pulling him up to the 60% from the 24% at 6 months (there's no denying he's got his dad's little head).

After the appointment my dad took us all out to lunch at Rumbi, YUM. Then we hit the mall and did a little shopping until Mason needed a nap. My mom watched Mason while Scott took me to dinner that night at Olive Garden, YUM again. That evening is when the real party started. We had all of our family over for cake and icecream. I got such great gifts from everyone, but just to highlight a few Scott got me new crocs for work, my parents gave us blinds for our house, Chris and Kacie gave me a beautiful mirror for our house, and one of the best presents I got was the news that Brandon and Whitney are having a girl and will name her Rachel Faye Hale. I love all my nieces and nephews, but seriously, does anyone honestly expect me not to favor my namesake a little?

Mason helping me blow out the candles.

My favorite picture of Kennedy taken at my party.

My biggest birthday gift from Scott was a birthday makeover. On Saturday I got my hair cut by our friend Caitlyn Cox. If anyone is looking for an amazing haircut they need to go see her. I decided it was about time to do something drastic. So I chopped off a good 10 inches of hair, cut bangs, and got some highlights. I LOVE IT!! So far everyone's response has been really positive to my new look (not that anyone would tell me it was ugly even if they thought it) except Mason who didn't recognize me at first and now must reach further to play with my hair while he falls asleep. I think this was a much needed change for me.

My new look. This picture isn't the best, but it's the only one I have.

A lovely picture Scott took while I was on the phone.

With all of the snow we've had this last week we had to take advantage of it by going sledding on Saturday with some of our friends. We went to a park up by Hobble Creek golf course. This was Mason's first time out in the snow and he loved it. In his snow suit he looked like the kid on A Christmas Story, and he moved a little like him too.

Mason exploring in the snow

Taking a rest

Our family

Mom and Mason

Dad and Mason