Ugly Christmas Sweaters

This weekend we had an ugly christmas sweater party. There were some great sweaters worn with lights and bells and the karaoke was awesome. Here's some pictures from the night.

Alex and I in our lovely Goodwill sweathers The best white elephant gift given by David, chosen and worn by JR The girls sang "Material Girl" by Madonna All the boys sang "I Want It That Way" by The Backstreet Boys And here was one of the highlight karaoke performances by David singing "RESPECT"

Scary Santa

The other day at Target they were taking free polaroids with Santa. This picture perfectly depicts how Hailey feels about Santa Clause (and any other live cartoon character). She did however eat the whole candy cane he gave her by the time we left the store.

Thanksgiving in Minnesota

This last week we had a great time in Minnesota visiting Alex's family for Thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone and get away for a vacation. Everyone was there, except his oldest sister Pam. Hailey had a blast playing with her cousins William and Rebecca. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Alex went pheasant hunting with his dad and brother Tim. Tim was the only one to actually shoot a pheasant.

With Hailey in her new coat, hat, and gloves she was able to endure the 30 degree weather outside.

Family picture in the backyard

Here is Hailey with her cousins William and Rebecca.

There is a new Hassell family tradition of bowling on Thanksgiving Day. We all did pretty well, except Diana killed us all with a record 164 score.

The day after Thanksgiving we went on the search for Alex's parents 16ft Christmas Tree.

Here is Alex in a tree hole with Hailey, William, and Rebecca

Alex had a good time driving the truck he hopes to inherit up to the tree farm.

Hailey even got a shot at driving the truck.

Halloween

This year Hailey was Princess Belle. She had a great time carving the pumpkin with Dad and dressing up. We went trick-or-treating with some friends and Hailey quickly caught on to the concept of getting candy. She had fun riding in the wagon licking her lollipop with the other Disney Princesses.

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday we took Hailey to the pumpkin patch. She liked seeing the animals, but refused to be put down and actually pet the goats. She also didn't like being around the flies, and kept waving her arms around to make sure they wouldn't stay on her. We tried to take her around to do everything, but mostly she just wanted to ride the tricycles they had around and go on the slide. We got some cute pictures though, and Grandpa Hassell told us to get Hailey the biggest pumpkin we could find, so we came home with a pumpkin over half the size of Hailey! It was a nice time, and made it feel a little more like fall time even though it was still quite hot.

"Hailey" Klum

Our friend had Hailey pose so she could take some pictures of her hair accessories she sells. I thought the pictures turned out really cute and was surprised she was able to get Hailey to smile so well at the camera. You can get the hair accessories here.

Bike Rides

Since the weather is getting cooler in the evenings we decided to start using our bikes again. We got a great deal on a REI bike seat for Hailey from Craigslist and found a small enough sized helmet at Dick's Sporting Goods that just opened up on Saturday. We were super excited and Hailey loves riding on the bike. She doesn't even mind wearing her helmet. She points out the moon and now says bike every time we go in the garage. Alex has informed me that because we are old it's okay to look like dorks and wear helmets.

Gladriel's Wedding

Thursday we attended our good friend Gladriel's wedding. Gladriel and I were roommates our freshman year of college and have been close ever since. We are very happy for her and Jarrod, and we had a great time. Here's some pictures from the day.

Desert Friends

In the desert we have such wonderful wildlife. Below is a lovely friend that was building its home next to our hose which Hailey loves to play by and help us water. At first Brooke just thought it was a large black spider but then noticed the lovely red hour glass. Brooke is still a little on edge.

New York, New York!

We had a really great time in New York City! We went shopping, saw ground zero, ate at great restaurants, loved the musical In the Heights, sat in the live audience of the Letterman show, viewed Starry Night by Van Gogh in the Museum of Modern Art, strolled through Central Park, visited with friends and family, and walked a lot! Here's some pictures from our advertures in the Big Apple!

Next to where the new twin towers will be built

Looking out over ground zero

The Statue of Liberty from afar

After the Letterman Show

In the Heights Musical

Great Statue on the roof of the MOA

Van Gogh's Self Portrait

Peter Luger's #1 steak restaurant in NYC

Dinner at the trendy TAO restaurant

TAO Restaurant

In Times Square

View from balcony in Diana's (Alex's sister) apartment where we stayed

Snipers on the roof across the street from the apt. where a dignitary was speaking (maybe Bush?)

All the black sedans and SUVs with soldiers and police

Picking up Hailey at the Mall of America on our way home

Hailey's Silly Faces

I thought I would just post some cute pictures we have taken recently of Hailey. Hailey was 18 months old on Sunday!

Trying on the cute dress made by Grandma Kay

Stinker Face

Getting ready to go to the Splash Park (yes, it is still that hot here)

Hailey has a loud pyscho laugh

Crazy hair after a day in the water