2003 Hall Family Photos

In 2003 there were a number of key family events. They were: The development of Dave’s publishing company, Mapletree Publishing Company. They shipped their first bulk shipments of games, and Dave and Spencer went to New York to the Management Forum for Independent Publishers. And, a freshman at Mt. Vernon High School, Spencer got into the jazz band and soccer. He especially enjoyed the soccer, and their Mt. Vernon JV squad won most of their games.

Then we vacationed in Minnesota in late June/early July. We stayed in a cabin right on Lake Superior and enjoyed beautiful weather while we were there. In October, we capped off a momentous year by moving to Colorado.

World Trade Center Site This is a close-up view. They have an observation area where you can see the hole where the twin towers stood from behind some glass. They're doing construction there, but we weren't sure exactly what was going on.

World Trade Center Site This is a view from across the street.

The record whitefish It made a delicious dinner

July 25, 2003 Our big 100-year-old oak tree died over the winter. Here's our home teacher, Vern Hartson, doing extra-mile service helping to cut it down. There's enough wood in this one tree for the whole neighborhood.

Sven & Ole's Pizza is a popular stop in Grand Marais

Dave's study. Projects stacked all over--this is typical for Dave's work area.

A view of the Statue of Liberty This picture was taken from the ferry.

Spencer at the World Trade Center Site One of the first things Dave and Spencer did was visit the World Trade Center site, which was just a couple of blocks from their hotel.

Spencer at One World Financial Center The people were nice, friendly, and helpful generally.

Spencer in the Jazz Band On March 17, 2003, Spencer had his first Jazz Band concert. He's their pianist.

Spencer's Birthday Party June 12, 2003. He turned 15 on June 10th. Standing, from left to right: Kenny Smith, Lawrence Yancey, and Jared Gold. Seated, from left to right: Spencer, Devin Smith, and John Wolfe.

Soccer practice Spencer is in the light blue shirt near the left edge of the group.

Spencer's first Mount Vernon soccer game On April 14 the Mt. Vernon Mustangs played Solon. Spencer has his foot high in the air while teammate John Wolfe looks on.

Spencer was our shrink wrapper. This picture was taken March 8. Spencer spent a couple of days during his spring break shrink wrapping a couple of hundred games to be ready for our second big shipment

Our first major shipment. March 5, 2003--we shipped 208 copies of Dave's board game, Mortality, to Sounds of Zion Distributors in Utah. This was his first large shipment. Dave is posed with Managing Editor Dawn Griesi and FedEx Freight driver Rod Truax in front of the house.

Seagulls in front of the cabin

July 14-19 Spencer spent with his troop at scout camp. Here's his tent. He made more progress toward his Eagle--almost there!

This is the unofficial Minnesota state record menomonee whitefish that Dave caught. It weighed in at 4 lbs even. The previous record was 2 lbs 8 oz. For the full story, click the link to "articles by Dave."

Falcon Park Ward bishop, Mark Merkling, in his purple robe.

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The cultural hall had various stands like this made to look like Bethlehem merchants.

We were supposed to dress up in biblical attire. Here is the Ken Decker family.

Here is the entrance to the new two-room "suite", with the "Mapletree Publishing Company" sign at the entrance.

After moving in, Dave decided to build two rooms in the basement for his publishing business. Here he is putting in drywall.

Brian came for Thanksgiving. Here he is helping plant Leroy, his honeylocust, in our yard in Highlands Ranch.

A nice thing about being in the Denver area was being within driving distance of Provo, where Brian was going to school. We drove in for a couple of his Synthesis concerts, where he was their pianist.

This is after our first truckload in October. Spencer and I had to use the folding table for our kitchen table because half our things were still back in Iowa.

Our new house in Highland Ranch, Colorado I took this picture in August when we made the deal to purchase this house.

We boated down the coast about ten miles. It was a lovely day.

New York Stock Exchange A lot of American flags are displayed all over. We weren't sure if this has always been the case or is just since the terrorist attacks.

Dave at New York University Dave is posed in front of the Bobst Library where the Management Forum was held. He learned a lot and made some valuable contacts.

Our sign. We had a sign made for Mapletree Publishing Company to let people know we're for real.

Leroy the honeylocust. When we came back on July 8, Leroy the honeylocust, which Dave had left for dead because it didn't bud out in the spring, had just sprouted new growth, and here it is.

A view of Lake Superior from the cabin

Sharon and Hank

Dave's cousin, John Henry Eliasen (Hank), his wife Sharon and their dog. They have a house right on the lake shore next to "downtown" Grand Marais.

Spencer and Dave played a round of Spencer's new game in the cabin.

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village is just to the east of New York University. We took a walk over there just to see what it was like. This is a street market there--the street is blocked off for the merchants.

We took our boat out for a spin on Lake Superior Here we are launching at the lake access in Grand Marais harbor, with downtown Grand Marais in the background. Spencer is on the dock.

The Cabin We Rented on Lake Superior On the very left, almost completely hidden in the woods, you can see the cabin we stayed in. We love it right on the lakeshore.

Spencer at Columbus Circle We visited the New York Stake Center for a priesthood meeting and took this picture at Columbus Circle. This was at the southwest corner of Central Park, and you could see Times Square from here.

Spencer coming off the Brooklyn Ferry The ferry across the East River to Brooklyn was free, so we took a trip there and back.

Spencer helped Dave install his Fathers' Day presents on the bike--a speedometer and new lights.