The Hale Family

Life is good

2011-01-30T21:59:00.001-08:00

Life is good.

Spencer passed the Bar Exam and was admitted to the Arizona State Bar. He is officially a LAWYER! It's been a life-long dream of his (and mine) and finally that goal has been accomplished. He has all of his licenses and certificates. YEAH! He is enjoying the law firm he is currently at.

Rachel is enjoying school. Kaitlyn is still a girly-girl. Kimberlee is the funniest toddler around.

I'm busy with Performing Pals and keeping up with family and home.

Need I say more? Life is good.

Merry Christmas! Our Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-17T12:18:00.001-08:00

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A little catch-up

2010-11-18T13:23:00.001-08:00

(Working backwards): Happy 4th Birthday to Kaitlyn!

Happy Halloween! (Rachel was Bunny Foo Foo and Kaitlyn was The Good Fairy)

Rachel's and friend, Dallin's, First Day of School

Thumbs up! First Day of School!

We bought a new house beginning of the summer; this picture was taken before it was done.

Performing Pals!

2010-11-18T13:12:00.000-08:00

. . . . . And we're off! I currently have 34 kids in Performing Pals. We had our first concert in October; what a success! Over 160 friends and family showed up to see the performance. We're now preparing for the Town of Queen Creek annual "Hometown Christmas" event that we were selected to perform at. Then we'll finish off the semester performing at a local nursing home. You can check out cute pictures and updates on the blog: www.performingpals.blogspot.com

If you're interested in having your child participate, please email me at performingpals@hotmail.com

Performing Pals!

2010-07-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

If anyone is interested, I'm starting a Youth Show Choir for Queen Creek/San Tan area (or if you want to drive out here once a week you're welcome too!) It's called the Performing Pals.

We have a concert in October at the San Tan Mall and a Christmas concert at the Queen Creek Library.

There's 2 classes. Class 1: age 3-5 and also Class 2: age 6-11. Practices are every Tuesday 3:30-4:00 for Class 1 and Tuesdays from 4:00-5:00 for Class 2.

For 1 child, the cost is $20/month; for 2 children, the cost is $30/month, for 3 or more children, the cost is $40/month.

There's been several families who have already turned-in the registration forms. If you're interested and want more information (I have an official flyer), have questions, or may know someone who is, let me know! We start Aug.10.

Thanks-Rebecca

Oklahoma Graduation!

2010-07-23T00:05:00.000-07:00

Finally! Here's a sample of how our trip was to Norman for Spencer's graduation from The University of Oklahoma College of Law. We LOVED living in Oklahoma during law school. It was such a WONDERFUL and FULFILLING experience! We're so grateful to our friends who helped make our life in Oklahoma memorable. We love you all and will forever cherish those fond memories. Thanks for making us better people!

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Congratulations Spencer

2010-05-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Congrats...

we love you.

Happy Birthday!

2010-05-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our Kimberlee-April 26-1 year old!

Happy Birthday to my Mom, Kathee-April 24-(she's probably like 22 yrs old?)

Happy Birthday to Me-April 14-(I'm 22 yrs old as well, just like my Mom! . . . . and yes, I made my own birthday cake!)

Important

2010-04-25T22:43:00.001-07:00

To our Arizona friends and family, with LOVE, we are voting NO on Prop 100.

Here's a copy of my Dad's email, explaining why to vote NO on Prop 100:

I know there are some strong voices favoring Prop 100. But it is the wrong thing to do and I will be voting no. Here are a few reasons why.

1) Raising taxes ALWAYS has two negative effects. First, it places more of our lives under the control of the government. They take money from us, and then return it to us in the form of goods and services, but only under the conditions and in the situations that they prescribe. We therefore become their servants, when in reality it should be the other way around. It's simply the difference between King Benjamin's government and King Noah's government. This "small" tax increase will increase the average family's taxes by $400 per year. That's $400 more in power-to-control-our-lives turned over to the government.

2) Second, taxes (of any form) dampen economic activity. The more the government takes, the less we are willing to produce and consume. That is why the government uses "sin taxes" (on the sale of cigarettes for example) to reduce an undesirable activity. So in the case of a sales tax (like Prop 100), the government is treating "sales" like "sin", and there will be fewer goods being sold as a result of it. Fewer goods sold means less revenue for business which intern means fewer jobs which then means fewer people spending money (because they don't have a job any more) which feeds the downward spiral of even fewer goods being sold. Do we really want to feed the recessionary spiral that we "seem" to be finally climbing out of? The Goldwater Institute is projecting that as many as 24,000 jobs will be lost if Prop 100 passes. Some people might say, "It's only 1%, that's not such a big deal." But if you have only X discretionary dollars to spend each month, and now you have 1% more in sales taxes, you will (of necessity) be spending $X-1%. And if you are a business owner who now has 1% less revenue coming in, you have to cut 1% out of your budget somewhere.

3) The schools are (to put it bluntly) lying to us. They are threatening to cut school programs if Prop 100 doesn't pass. That part may be true. (It sounds like extortion to me, but it may be true.) The part they are lying about is saying that they "have" to cut programs when in reality it is what they "choose" to cut. The school districts in Arizona spend far too much money "out of the classroom" on administrative overburden. Take Mesa Public Schools for example. Their operating budget last year was $433 Million. That's just the operating budget and doesn't include costs for buildings etc. Of that $433 million, 91% was spent on employee costs (salary and benefits) for its 11,000 employees. But the district only employs 5,000 teachers. That means there are more non-teachers (6,000) than teachers (5,000). In the April 6, 2010 budget meeting, the District announced that if Prop 100 fails, they will be forced to cut an additional $25 Million from their operating budget. Fine, they could easily take it from the administrators and never even touch the classroom. But the really interesting thing is that just two years ago (2008), the District only employed 9,000 people, not 11,000. And they have been reporting a decline in students of about 2,000 per year for a number of years. If the number of students are declining each year, why did the number of employees go up by 22 percent in just two years? And why can't it go back down without impacting the (declining) student body?

4) Government spending (in all forms) is out of control. Did you know the largest employer in the State of Arizona is... the State of Arizona? Total government spending (state and local combined) in Arizona was $26 Billion in 2000. This year, it's estimated to hit $63 Billion. That's nearly two and a half times the spending of just ten years ago. The amount of fraud, corruption and waste is staggering. As an (anecdotal) example, the Scottsdale Unified School District hires me each year to do an actuarial study for them regarding retiree life insurance costs. Without going into too many boring "actuarial" details, each year the study shows that the study itself was unnecessary and therefore does not need to be repeated in subsequent years. But every year they come back and pay me $1,500 for another study... to tell them that they just wasted $1,500. The only way to stop this "big government" monster is to stop feeding it. We need a reduction in sales taxes, not an increase.

Dad

6 years and counting!

2010-02-12T00:17:00.000-08:00

Look what we started!Happy Anniversary to my Best Friend!

This is for you, Chris and Vivian!

2010-02-12T00:11:00.000-08:00

Our Friends Chris and Vivian came to visit over the Christmas Break! We had a BLAST! Thanks for coming JUST to see US, guys!

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Our Christmas Card - TO: All of You, FROM: The Hale Family

2009-12-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

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2009-11-28T18:44:00.002-08:00

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Fun

2009-11-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

Rachel's CRAZY Hair-thanks to Dad for giving the girls a bath!

Funny Faces-Thanks to Hannah for making matching hats!

My 3 Musketeers!

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn! 3 yrs. old!

2009-11-16T21:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! (a little late!)

2009-11-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

Cute Girls!

2009-10-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

Fabulous Fondant

2009-10-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

Fifth Attempt-Happy Birthday, Spencer!

Fourth Attempt

Third Attempt

Second Attempt

First Attempt

FINALLY!!!!

2009-09-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! Sorry it's been awhile . . . . . we've only had a "few" little changes in our life . . . . . like having a Baby! and coming to AZ for the summer! only to decide to officially MOVE to AZ to finish Law School and start a Bankrupcy Practice! and then there's the start of Preschool! and switching everything over to AZ Law School! Here's a few new pictures of our growing family!

SWEET KIMBERLEE . . . . 4 1/2 MONTHS NOW (so far we think she looks like Rachel but has Kaitlyn's personality)

AND THEN THERE'S KAITLYN . . . . (dumping dirt on herself at Hawley Lake)

THE GREAT HAIR CUT . . . .

FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL . . . .

The Many Faces of Kimberlee

2009-06-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

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More pictures of Kimberlee

2009-05-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS to Hannah Merkley and the Earl Family for guessing the right day, to

Liz Roberts for guessing closest to the right weight, and to Charlotte Morgan for guessing closest to the right time of day!

SHE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-30T23:06:00.000-07:00

INTRODUCING OUR NEWEST ADDITION . . . . .

KIMBERLEE HALE

Born Sunday, April 26, at 6:09pm

Weight: 7 lbs. 1 oz. --- 19 in.

More to come soon . . . . .

Sorry!

2009-04-24T22:04:00.000-07:00

Nope! No baby yet! I'm 2 days past due. THANK YOU THANK YOU to all you dear friends who have called me recently to see how I'm doing! I feel so loved! My Mom took me to get a pedicure on my due date, and it helped me feel better. Thanks, Mom! and Happy Birthday to you!

Kaitlyn falls asleep, I made the girls Easter Dresses

2009-04-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

Any Guesses?

2009-04-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hey, Everyone! From all of us in the Hale Family, we wanted to invite you to participate in a Guessing Game! What day and time is our 3rd Baby Girl coming and how much will she weigh? I am due on April 23. Rachel was 1 week late, born around 1:30 a.m., and weighed 7lbs. 13 oz. Kaitlyn was 3 days late, born around 9:30 a.m. and weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. Good luck! There may or may not be a prize associated with the correct answers!

Happy Anniversary! 5 Years! Feb. 12th!

2009-02-10T19:45:00.001-08:00

2009-01-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

Kidney Stone #21 (yes-I've passed that many; 16 on my own, 5 were blasted away last March) this one measures 6mm x 3mm. I've been incredibly blessed not to have pain associated with these.

"Barbie" hair

Rachel's 4th Birthday!

Baby Girl #3!

2008-12-15T12:26:00.000-08:00

For your viewing enjoyment....

p.s. My cool photographer friend made the design above for me. Check out her website: fifephotography.com or blog: fifephotography.blogspot.com. She may be coming to AZ...

Catching Up (Thanksgiving, Gingerbread Houses, Semi-Curly Hair

2008-12-12T20:34:00.000-08:00

Attempted "Happy Birthday, Daniel" Song. . .and More

2008-11-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

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2008-11-15T22:30:00.000-08:00

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Quick Trip to Arizona and California

2008-11-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

Having Fun

2008-09-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

What is this?

Sis-tahs in da Hood

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Home Sick from Church

2008-09-14T19:43:00.001-07:00

Rachel's new favorite game

Good to be back home, but then . . .

2008-09-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

Flying Tambourine equals Ouchie

"Oh, what do you do in the Summertime . . . ."

2008-09-01T19:24:00.001-07:00

SURPRISE!

2008-05-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

We're here in Arizona for the whole summer! As of 2 weeks ago, we were planning on staying in Oklahoma and Spencer would do summer school. But then we received a surprise phone call saying that Spencer had an incredible internship with a law firm in Mesa. So a few days later we were on our way and now we're here! It all happened so fast!

What do we Oklahomans do for fun? We chase balloons because it's so windy!

2008-05-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Livin' Good in the Neighborhood

2008-05-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

A Surprise visit from Cinderella (a.k.a. my friend, Jolyn, who does Princess Parties)

Young Women's Presidency Temple Trip

I sewed these dresses for my little girls (thanks for the help, Mom)

Just the girls!

SPRING BREAK!

2008-03-30T09:59:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the Easter Dresses, Grandma and Grandpa Hale!

Ice, Ice Baby and Dancing Monkey

2008-03-06T21:26:00.001-08:00

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Dancing Carebears!

2008-02-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

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OU Women's Basketball Game (ranked #10!)

2008-02-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

Rachel's cute friend Bryce

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Kaitlyn lovin' the game!

Random Pictures

2008-02-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

YW's Presidency; 80's dance

Spencer's Handsome Feet (he took the picture)

Kaitlyn's Lip OW-EE

Fun in the Snow!

2008-02-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

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Dancing Queens

2008-01-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

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2008-01-07T22:12:00.001-08:00

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FUN in ARIZONA!

2008-01-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

After-math of the Ice Storm

2008-01-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

1-tree split in half due to weight of ice
2-tree crushes swingset

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Ice Storm Pictures

2008-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

Sunday Morning-Day 1

Monday Morning-Day 2

Any guesses on what Kaitlyn is saying?

2007-12-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

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Fun in Norman!

2007-12-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

Norman's Christmas Parade-so fun! (so cold!)

Game Night with Law School Friends (every Friday!)

2007-12-02T15:33:00.001-08:00

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Princess Jammies for $1 at a garage sale!

2007-11-30T14:16:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving in Missouri

2007-11-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

"Duck Mating Call"

Hiding in a log

Aunt Christina braiding Rachel's hair

Uncle Jonathan and the Girls

Sad Louisa

Happy Louisa

ATTEMPTED "Insy Weensy Spider"-Song

2007-11-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

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Tired Rachel

2007-11-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

"I'm so glad when Daddy comes home!"

2007-11-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

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Kaitlyn the Pope

2007-11-14T18:38:00.000-08:00

Law student goofs off; is that allowed?

2007-11-07T19:26:00.001-08:00

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Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn!

2007-11-07T17:41:00.001-08:00

Murder Mystery Dinner Theater

2007-11-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

Rebecca: Miss Denise Devine (famous actress)

Spencer: Nigel de Funk (bodyguard and DJ)

We were given specific characters and scripts, and invited to dinner to solve the mystery murder of Jed Matteson

Trunk-or-Treat

2007-11-04T21:37:00.000-08:00

2007-11-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

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Pumpkins and Popcorn

2007-10-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

The University of Oklahoma Law School

2007-10-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Family Fun at the Park

2007-10-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Rachel's Dance Class

2007-10-27T12:17:00.001-07:00

Bama and Pop come to Visit!

2007-10-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

New Dress-up Clothes from Grandma

2007-10-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

Raman Noodles and Applesauce

2007-10-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Park

2007-10-18T19:56:00.001-07:00

Spencer's SURPRISE BIRTHDAY Party!

2007-10-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Dress Up Time!

2007-10-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Daddy's Chair

2007-10-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Brownies-YUM!

2007-10-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

Nursing Home Visit

2007-10-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

Painting

2007-10-18T19:02:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPENCER!

2007-10-13T21:55:00.001-07:00

DANCE TIME

2007-10-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

SLEEP TIME

2007-10-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

CUPCAKE TIME

2007-10-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

WATER TIME

2007-10-01T21:12:00.001-07:00