Merry Christmas!

Guess who ELSE had a BiRtHDaY?

2012-01-24T21:46:00.000-08:00

Our Porter did! He turned 5 today!And this birthday has been as hard for me as Brody's 1st birthday. My baby is five and going to school next year... I just can't think about it or I start to get teary! Anyways, back to the "Happy" in Happy Birthday. As soon as Brandon & I woke up, we went into his room to sing Happy Birthday, and before we could even start singing, he yelled "It's my Birthday!" He has been so excited for his birthday to come. Porter is the last of his brothers to have a Birthday during our "Birthday Streak". I let him choose what he wanted for breakfast, and he chose pop-up pancakes with bananas and blueberries. I added a birthday touch with sprinkles and a candle!

After breakfast he talked us into letting him open one of his presents. I figured it was going to be torture enough for him to wait all the way until tonight to open presents, so we let him open one. He opened Grandma Perry's present... drill and screws game. He loved playing with it today!

Then Porter (and my other two) got to go play at a friends house while I did some shopping kid-free (thanks Emily!). We stopped at Walmart on our way home and I let Porter get some of the things that he normally asks me for and I say no to, like strawberry milk! I figured this is his one special day. He chose McDonald's for lunch. Then for quiet time, instead of playing quietly in the playroom, I let him watch a movie and play on the Wii. I think he felt pretty special today!

Tonight we had a family party and Grandma Hoopes came over. And finally, he got to open the rest of his presents!!!

Brandon got him a Mater Wii game (didn't get a pic)

I got him some Scooby Doo readers...

Brody got him a Crayola Glow Dome...

Hudson got him Mater and Lightning McQueen bath toys...

Grandma Hoopes got him a Knight dress up...

and an Armor of God picture...

And we all got him a new bike!

Yep, he was spoiled!

And I'm still having a hard time with the reality that this sweet, energetic, loving, creative, funny boy is 5!

We are almost done with our crazy Birthday streak. Me, my dad, Brody, Porter, and last my mom has a birthday the last day of January. It makes for a crazy month! I'm hoping February will be a little more calm...

Guess who had a BiRtHdaY?

2012-01-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

Our Brody did! He had his First Birthday on Friday the 13th! And am I happy about it? Not at all! I don't like celebrating my kids' First Birthdays because that means my babies are growing up(sniff, sniff). I have really really really enjoyed Brody as a baby. He is such an easy baby that he has allowed me to. AND I know they grow soooooo fast, so I told myself that I was going to worry less about everything else going on and just enjoy this stage. And I have!

It's a good thing Brody has two older brothers to help him open his presents:)

This is the cake I made for Brody. It's actually two standard size cupcakes and four minis.

These are the cupcakes I made for everyone else.

And here's the cute cake pics.

Other things while in Utah...

2011-12-27T17:16:00.000-08:00

Since we were in Utah at Christmas time, we couldn't pass up going to Temple Square to look at all the lights.

Grandpa let the boys drive a tractor and they were in 7th Heaven!

Boys will be Boys!

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T17:20:00.000-08:00

My kids woke up at a normal time (I'm sooooo glad I don't have kids that wake up at 5am on Christmas morning!) and my mom and dad were already waiting in the living room with cameras in hand! They love Christmas with the grand kids! Porter was excited Santa got him a camera so he wouldn't have to sneak momma's to take pictures:)

He was also super excited about his skate board!

Hudson saw the Transformer toy that he had been asking for, and then he didn't even pay attention to anything else that Santa brought him!

Baby's First Christmas!

He sure thought all of this was fun!

Including eating a candy cane!

After things settled down a bit, Porter noticed a note and picture with all of his stuff. Santa wrote him a letter to tell him that he left a trampoline at our house in Oregon!!! Santa also left pictures and notes for me and Brandon. Santa left garage shelves and a Cricut Imagine for Brandon and I!

Since Christmas was on Sunday, we spent the morning exploring and playing with all the things that Santa brought. When we got home from church, we got busy opening presents!

I didn't get a picture, but one of Brandon's gifts to me were tickets to Wicked! I have an awesome hubby! And I can't wait for March!!!

After all of the present opening, this is how I found Hudson... that Transformer still in hand:)

We had an awesome Christmas and everyone felt pretty spoiled!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

When we got home from the Polar Express, it was time to do the rest of our Christmas Eve festivities so the kiddos could get to bed. It was a fun, relaxing night. My Dad read Luke 2 while Porter and Hudson used the Nativity characters to act out the Christmas Story.

Then they got to open a present, which is always jammies. These boys were so excited to see Scooby Doo jammies!

My brother Daniel got all of my other brothers a present to open on Christmas Eve, also... but it wasn't jammies;)

My boys set out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer.

Then off to bed for my little munchkins. We had a very busy, very long day with the Polar Express and everything else we did, so we got them in bed early. I even heard Porter say "I need to go to bed and get to sleep!" He was soooo excited for Santa to come & he knew he only comes when everyone is asleep. Santa sure did come! It didn't take too long to get everything out and set up so Santa & Mrs. Clause went to bed early also!

The Polar Express

2011-12-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, Grandma & Grandpa took the boys on the Polar Express... and Brandon & I got to tag along, too!

Pure elation!

My dad got better pics, but I haven't gotten them yet, so I will post them later. It was such a fun day! We rode to the North Pole, where Santa was waiting to get on the train. Each child got to talk to Santa and he gave them a bell. We also got to sip hot chocolate and eat cookies. My boys LOVED it! I would highly recommend taking a ride on the Polar Express! (Whether in Utah or Oregon, you still get to the North Pole:)

Christmas in Utah!

2011-12-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

This year we drove to Utah for Christmas to be with my family. The kids were great the whole time, there and back! On our trip there, we stayed the night in Eagle, ID (close to Boise) with one of Brandon's friends. It was nice to have the trip broken up. On the way home, we drove straight through and it was nice to be home in one day. Either way, it is a looong drive with kids!

Porter and Hudson entertained themselves with presents they got to open periodically throughout the trip and lots and lots of movies.

Brody wasn't interested in the movies, so he had to entertain himself other ways... including putting his foot in his bottle! Silly baby:)

Christmas Lights!

2011-12-18T17:17:00.000-08:00

For Family Night we went to Keizer to see the neighborhood that has lots of Christmas Lights. The boys loved it!

The highlight was the horse that was out for the kids to pet...

and ride on!

This picture is for Grandma Perry 'cause she loves Gingerbread men & houses!

My cute little fish...

2011-12-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

I signed up Porter & Hudson for swim lessons as soon as Hudson turned three. He does so well by the end of Summer, but by the next summer, he is back to being scared to even get in the water. So I decided swim lessons this winter and then again in the spring will be just the trick! We ended up getting private lessons, too, because of a mix up, which I wasn't going to complain about! Their teacher was awesome!

Porter did well from the start! Swimming from platform to platform,

swimming from Teacher Sharon to the wall,

Jumping and diving in!

Hudson, no surprise started not even wanting to get into the water. (I honestly don't know why my kids have been so scared of water. I grew up in a pool & was swimming before I was two!) Most of the lessons, he clung to Sharon like this...

But she had so much patience and by the end he was doing so so so much better. I'm hoping this spring we will start from where we left off & not from the very beginning again!

*I have soooooo much to post, ya know with Christmas happening & all, but I lost one of my camera cords that I need to download pics to the computer (so annoying, grrrrrr!) so posting more will have to wait until I get another one. Stay tuned!

A day in the life...

2011-12-09T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a few random pics that show a day in the life of the Hoopes'.

Porter does quiet time in the play room while my other boys nap. He keeps himself busy doing who knows what! The only rule is that he has to be quiet. This day, I had the tent out for preschool and he turned it into a fort. He must have gotten tired from all of the hard work he did, because he fell asleep like this with his feet sticking out of the tent!

Speaking of being tired, when I give the boys a bath, I get Brody out first, get his jammies on and then put him in the jumparoo so I can take care of the other boys. This is how I found him one night... It's tiring work being a baby!

My house has little messes all over it now. I can tell where Brody has been by the trail he leaves. All the magnets pulled off the fridge, all the numbers pulled off the preschool calendar, the preschool garbage dumped over, all the kleenex pulled out of the box, etc... I LOVE these little messes, though! It is so fun having a busy-body baby in our house! We love you, Brody!

Porter & Hudson found the perfect hiding spot for hide-n-seek. They LOVE playing hide-n-seek with Daddy after work!

Rub-a-dub-dub. 3 little boys in a tub! These three LOVE bath time!

In loving memory

2011-12-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

Early Sunday morning, Brandon's dad passed away. I am sad that my kids, especially Brody, won't get to know their Grandpa, but I am so happy for the knowledge I have that he has been reunited with loved ones, including Steven, his grandson that passed away 10 years ago from a brain tumor. And all of us will once again be together because of the ultimate sacrifice Christ made for us. Reese will be missed by all.

This picture was taken on Father's Day 2011.

Go Beavs!

2011-11-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend fun continued on Black Friday (and no, we weren't shopping! Brandon & I did ALL of our Black Friday shopping Thursday night and only went to one store! I LOVE that Walmart price matches! We left our house at 9pm and were back with everything we needed by 11pm! Love it!) Anyways... we decided to go to an Oregon State wrestling meet. It was a lot of fun for the boys... and me. It reminded me of the good ole days before kids when Brandon coached wrestling and I would go to all of his meets.

Brandon can't wait for next year because Porter will be old enough to join a wrestling club... and Porter's excited, too!

On Saturday we took Porter & Hudson to Arthur Christmas. It was a cute movie, but we will probably wait awhile longer to take Hudson back to the theaters. He had a hard time sitting still. I'm glad there were only a few other people there!

Thanksgiving weekend was so fun & we had a great time doing activities together as a family!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T22:55:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. Porter and Hudson made these cute turkeys at preschool.

We spent the day at my in-law's house. Brandon's brother and family came up from Salem. Grandma had gingerbread cookies for the kids to decorate.

Then they watched some classic Christmas movies: you know, Rudolf, Frosty the Snowman, etc...

Don't ask.

For Thanksgiving dinner I made a turkey (I totally forgot to get a pic of it! I guess I was too excited to eat it!), homemade rolls, this apple pie ...

and Pumpkin Pie Layered Toffee Cheesecake. That's right, folks. Pumpkin pie on top, toffee cheesecake on bottom. one word-Yum!

Porter & Hudson's contribution to the dinner were these ADORABLE fingerprint turkey place cards. Can you say cute or what? Hudson did his own and then lost interest. Porter finger printed half and I did the other half and Porter wrote all of the names. Sooooooo cute!

Cheers!

Just before we dug in... minus Porter. I didn't get him in the pic. oops!

Cutest Punkin in the Patch!

2011-11-13T23:20:00.000-08:00

Our little Punkin is 10 months old!

Brody

*is really wanting to walk. He practices by pushing the high chair around our kitchen! I've seen him stand alone also, so I'm pretty sure it's not going to be too long before he is walking.

*still only has two teeth.

*loves to play peek-a-boo with himself!

*gets so excited when I sign the word for "milk" (and I'm excited to say, he finally started to take a bottle!)

*loves water... a nice warm bath or cold pool, it doesn't matter! He starts splashing as soon as I put him in any water & he doesn't stop until I take him out!

*likes to play with whatever his brothers are playing with. Baby toys, forget about it!

*is still the BEST baby ever!!! and I feel so spoiled to have him!

Trick-or-Treat!

2011-10-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

The Incredible Hulk

Spiderman

My Mischievous Monkey

Our friends came over for dinner and later, trick-or-treating. They were the cutest Max & Ruby ever!

I made dinner-in-a-pumpkin, which has been a tradition at our house. We also had green goblin bread (spinach, butter, & garlic spread on french bread & toasted) and dirt & worms for dessert. I bet you can guess what the dirt was!

Trick-or-treating was so fun this year! My kids are at a fun age. Porter was the first to a door and then would run to the next door before any of the other kids had gotten their candy! We had to tell him to slow down! Hudson was on the other end of the spectrum. He would mosey to the door & once someone answered the door, he would talk their ear off! Brandon & I would try to listen to what he was saying. He mostly talked about how he was spiderman. Every.single.door. he went to, he would do this! It was so funny to see how different Porter & Hudson were!

Proud of their loot!

And our little monkey just along for the ride:)

Spiderman turned 3!

2011-10-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

Since Hudson's birthday is on Halloween, he had a ghost party... and I guess you guessed what he went as!

Spiderman and Hulk... no more cute costumes that I get to pick out, here!

The kiddos played mixed up pumpkins, witches brew, and went on a ghost treasure hunt.

I loved all of the cute and creative costumes!

And these were the main attraction for our Ghost party.

Boo!

Hudson LOVED his party! Seriously, when I put up my Halloween decorations the beginning of October, he thought I was decorating for his party and every morning he asked if it was his party... October was a looooooong month!

That night we went to our church Halloween Carnival & Trunk-or-Treat. There is a no-mask rule, so we colored their hair. Porter loved it, Hudson wasn't so sure!

On Sunday, we went over to Grandma & Grandpa Hoopes' house to have a Birthday dinner & open more presents!

Yep! He was spoiled!

Bauman Farms

2011-10-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

We had our preschool field trip to Bauman Farms on a cold, but dry morning. Brandon took the day off so he could come with us and help with Brody (who was hiding on his back). First was a hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Pumpkins, gourds, and indian corn were picked and put in bags.

Then off to the cider press to watch the best apple cider in the whole world be made! Everyone got some apple cider and a fresh, warm donut. Yum!

The kiddos got to pet the farm animals.

Brody just chillin' while my other 3 boys...

went a sliding!!!

Yep, just one of the boys:)

Porter in his element.

Who knew that a room full of hazelnut shells could be so fun!

Once again, this field trip was a huge success and a fun family day. I look forward to it every year!

Pumpkins & Caramel Apples

2011-10-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Nothing says Halloween like carving pumpkins and making caramel apples! So for Family Night we decided to do just that!

These two guys are such good friends! As hard as it can be, I am so glad that they are close in age.

And check out those apples! They had a great time with the sprinkles!

Porter going to town on his!

Hudson wouldn't possibly eat anything healthy, so he stuck with the caramel and sugar sprinkles.

Now, on to the pumpkins. Porter chose a Pluto pumpkin and Hudson chose a Daffy Duck pumpkin.

Fantasy Trail

2011-10-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

We have a tradition every Halloween to drive to the middle of no-where to visit the Fantasy Trail.

We walk around the trail looking at Halloween lights and decorations. It is a fun family activity to do for Halloween.

Hudson was scared the first time we went around, even though the decorations are not scary at all.

And the favorite part of the trail are the slides at the end!

I'm glad we started this family tradition when Porter was just a baby and will keep it going each year for Halloween!

Muah!

2011-10-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add this video of Brody. Soooooooo dang cute! Sorry it's sideways... don't know how to turn it.

My Sweet Little Guy...

2011-10-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Is 9 months old!

Is so curious of the world around him.

Has decided to crawl on his hands and knees instead of scoot on his tummy.

Has two little pearly whites on bottom. (He was not happy that I was trying to show his teeth off!)

Pulls up on everything!

Brody is growing & changing so much. We love him and are so glad he is a part of our family!

Soccer

2011-09-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

Porter was so excited to play soccer this year!

It was so funny to watch the "games".

Porter was great at scoring goals... in the other teams goal! Guess we'll work on that for next year.

I love this picture! It show's Porter's personality. He got hit on the head with the ball and this is how he reacts. I LOVE this little guy!

Watermelons & Monkeys

2011-09-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

For Family Night on Monday we did a bunch of yardwork and then for our treat we picked the watermelons that were growing in our garden. We have been enjoying all of the yummy veggies from our garden and this is the first time we have grown watermelons!

And I just wanted to add this picture.

That's Porter jumping off the swing mid-air.

My little monkey and dare-devil.

Eight Months

2011-09-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been 8 months since our little Brody was born!

He is the sweetest thing and so easy-going!

He's not crawling yet, but gets everywhere doing an awesome army crawl on his belly!

I just want to eat his little cheeks up!

PRESCHOOL!

2011-09-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

Another year of Preschool is here! The summer went way too fast, but this house was so ready for preschool to begin again! This year, Hudson gets to go to Preschool. He has been sooooo excited!

Porter and Hudson with their Teacher:)

Hudson was all grins the first day.

He felt like such a big boy!

And Porter feels like a Preschool Pro, now!

Train Ride

2011-08-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

I am sooooooooo far behind on my blog, so I decided to post my most recent happenings, and then hopefully slowly get caught up. But we'll see, because preschool starts next week & I am going to be busy with that.

This weekend was Brandon's birthday and we celebrated the whole weekend. Friday night we went on a date. It was so nice to have a break from the kiddos. We went to P.F. Changs and a movie. On Saturday we drove into Washington to ride the Steam Train in Chahalis. So much fun!

Hello Mr. Conductor!

Waiting for the train at the train station. Those two are best friends!

Porter was happy to have a little friend come on the trip with us.

Hudson leaning out the window... not too far, of course! We are responsible parents:)

Brody was just glad to be with the people he loves.

Cheese!

Porter mesmerized by the view.

After the train ride we came back to Portland and went to Red Robin for Brandon's b-day dinner. On Sunday we had his family over for dinner and my famous chocolate cake. Yum! (sorry, no pics, though) It was a great birthday weekend.

The Big One-Zero

2011-08-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago today I married the love of my life! I am amazed that ten years has gone so fast! I really still feel like we are newlyweds, which is a good thing, right? This guy of mine is such a good husband and father. I am so blessed to have Brandon and three little but amazing sons in my life and to know that we will be a family forever! I love Brandon so much and can't wait to see where we're at for our 20 yr, 30yr, 40yr... anniversaries!

***I know you probably thought I dropped off the face of the earth, but I'm still here! I just don't know where July went!!! We have been sooooo busy having fun and now I can't believe it's time to be getting ready for another year of preschool. I will slowly be updating what we have been up to, but the Summer's not over yet and there is still a lot of fun to be had, so I'm not making any promises:)

6 months

2011-07-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Stats:
Weight 15 lbs 7 oz. 10%
Height 27 1/2 in. 65%

Father's Day and Summer Fun!

2011-06-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure Brandon had a super great Father's Day this year. It started on Friday when he went on a "man trip" with a bunch of his friends. They went to Detroit Lake, and while there, their boat broke down so they couldn't get back! Brandon was supposed to come home Saturday, but I think he was really heart broken that he had to stay an extra day;) When he got home, we gave him our gifts. Brody gave him this book "My Day with Daddy". Hudson gave him some new shoes. I gave him a picture of the boys to put in his office. And Porter gave him a new drill that he loves!

Then we went to visit Grandpa Hoopes. He hasn't been in good health and has been at this Rehabilitation Center for a couple of months. Good news, though! They are going to let him come home on July 4th! Yay!
We love you Grandpa Hoopes!
( I am also excited because my mom and dad are coming up here on Saturday, so we will be able to give him his Father's Day gifts in person this year!)

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the sunny warm weather, so we went swimming in Grandma's pool. It was a blast! So fun, I think we're going to go back today, even though it's not supposed to be as sunny! We are definitely ready for summer here! Hudson took awhile to warm up to the water, but by the time we left, he was comfortable in the pool and having lots of fun!

Brody hung out in the pool the whole time, just chillin'.

Porter was having so so so much fun!

Swim lessons sure paid off! He is doing really good with actual swimming. I'm just glad he isn't scared of the water like he has been the past two years!

Notice anything missing in this picture?...

The training wheels are off! Good job Porter!

I just had to add these pics of Brody! This is how I caught him sleeping for one of his naps!

Face completely smooshed into the mattress! I had to check and see if he was still breathing! Silly baby:)

5 months

2011-06-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

My little guy is 5 months old!

Brody is rolling over a lot, drooling tons which must mean teething, and very close to sitting on his own!

He also got his first taste of rice cereal today. He wasn't sure what to think of it and made some pretty funny faces:)

Sunny California

2011-05-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

***I'm finally getting some time to update what we have been up to during the month of May. Here's what has been going on:

I had to add "Sunny" to the title, because we have been having the coldest, rainiest Spring EVER and I am sick of it! So I was going to enjoy every second of the sunny, warm weather in Southern California! Brody & I flew to Los Angeles Memorial weekend to see my cousin, Hanalei, get married. It was such a nice wedding.

Austin and Hanalei Gene:)

Isn't she gorgeous? She designed her dress and my Aunt Rachel made it, as she did with mine. We are so lucky to have such a talented Aunt in our family! My pictures don't do it justice, though.

Brody was the lucky one to come with me, and I had a little break from my oldest two, which was very nice. This is Brody's Great-Grandma, Mary. She has 13 kids, 12 of which were able to come (my Aunt that didn't come just had a baby, so I guess that was a good excuse not to come). I think that's pretty good to have 12 of 13 siblings gather at one time. And on this trip, I found out that my Grandma has 76 grandchildren (that's 75 cousins for me, just on one side of the family)! What a legacy! My dad took pictures of everyone at the wedding and of all my aunts and uncles that came and a lot of other pictures, but he didn't realize my camera had been switched to video, so I don't have a lot of the pictures that were taken:( Oh well.

Brody got spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa Perry, because he had their undivided attention.

The Los Angeles Temple is beautiful. I just didn't remember how huge it is! It is even bigger than the Salt Lake Temple. When you are on the temple grounds and you look up at the temple, it is just massive!

We were all tired from the traveling we had to do to get there, but even though Grandpa was taking a nap, Brody wasn't going to have any of that!

It was a quick trip and most of the weekend was spent doing the wedding activities, but you can't go to SoCal without going to the beach!

And this pretty much sums up our trip! A sun-kissed face and absolutely exhausted!

One Preschool Year Down, A Lot to Go!

2011-05-31T21:20:00.000-07:00

I did it! I just finished my first year of teaching preschool! I think back to this last year, and sometimes I don't know how I did it. Planning and making lesson plans each week, taking care of two very busy kids, having a baby in the middle of the school year, keeping up with church callings, keeping up with house work and everything else that comes with being a mom, but I did it! I had soooooo much fun & I am going to miss teaching and miss my kids, but I am ready for Summer Break!

We made homemade ice cream in ziploc bags when we talked about cows during our unit on farm animals.

We tried to catch bugs when we were learning about them. Porter caught a whole bunch and even caught a frog!

Our last day of preschool I threw a party. I realized that I didn't take any pictures of it. Bummer. It was in the evening so the whole family could come. We had a picnic in my backyard on blankets. The kids played on our play structure, and I had bubbles in the sand and water table. I made these super cute butterfly cupcakes in honor of the butterflies we had in our classroom. I ordered caterpillars and we watched them eat and eat and eat, then make chrysallis' and then come out butterflies! It was so interesting to watch that process!

The kids sang a couple of their favorite songs from preschool and then I gave them a book and this pillowcase:

What a fun year! I can't wait for next year!

Swim Lessons

2011-05-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Porter has been going to swim lessons this month and is almost done, just in time for summer! He has done an awesome job. His only complaint would be how cold he gets. He shivers like crazy, but he has been a good sport!

He has been a little fish and has loved the water!

T-Ball

2011-05-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

Porter had a fun time playing t-ball again this year. He didn't try to get every ball, only the ones that came to him. That is an improvement over last year!

His cute team. Even though he was one of the oldest, he was still one of the smallest:)

Our cheering section. Hudson can't wait to play next year. I can't believe he will be old enough to play!

Here's a couple clips of him playing. The first is Porter in the outfield. The second is Porter batting. Next year we will work on him running the right way:)

4 months

2011-05-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Our Brody baby is 4 months old today on Friday the 13th!

*loves to play with toys

*puts EVERYTHING in his mouth

*thinks his brothers are hilarious and laughs at them

*is sooooo ticklish, especially on his tummy and behind his knees

*reaches for everything that is in front of him, including hair

*is still the sweetest baby in the whole world

My Little Missionaries

2011-05-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

When we found out that Brody was a boy, Brandon & I thought simultaneously "Missions!" Those are going to be some crazy and rewarding years sending 3 boys on missions one after the other, with some overlapping! I know that they are going to be GREAT missionaries, though, because they have a perfect role model to look up to: their Dad.

Aren't they cute?

Easter Videos

2011-05-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny Came!

Our Easter

2011-04-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice Easter this year (like always!)

It started off with 8:00 church, so all I had time for is taking some pictures before we had to rush to church. Actually, I'm pretty impressed I had time to get myself and three kids ready, take pictures, and make it to church on time!

And I liked going to church first before we did all of the commercial Easter things. I think it helped my boys to understand the real reason why we celebrate Easter. As Hudson says: "Jesus died us." too cute!

The Easter bunny came during nap time and left lots of eggs.

Hudson discovered a chest with dress ups in it and that was the end of the egg hunt for him.

Porter found most of the eggs, but Hudson didn't care because...

"Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!" "I Fly!"

We headed to Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes' house for yes, another egg hunt, fishing for prizes (Grandma really spoiled them! It was more like Christmas!), and a yummy dinner.

The night ended just the way it should have, with Grandma and grandkids:)

I LOVE MY WIFE!!!

2011-04-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Brandon here: I always see my wife doing blog stuff. I love to get on and read all the creative/fun stuff she does. I love how we have a fun little journal with this. Well...I have hijacked her blog right now. She doesn't know about this but...I am having fun! She probably thinks I am on Facebook or some wrestling website. As you all can see...I AM NOT!!! HEHEHEHE!!!! I love doing sneaky things. This could end up bad for me...but it is totally worth it! Muahahahaha!!!

All you followers...I want you to know... I LOVE MY WIFE!!! She is the most amazing mother, wife, friend, daughter, cousin, daughter in law, sister, mommy, sister in law, granddaughter, cook, shopper, coupon-er, wife, shoulder massage receiver, wife, Odyssey van driver, momma, preschool teacher, wife, cleaner, party-er, mom, cheerleader, hard worker, sleeper, snuggle-er, and did I mention... wife and mother.

Hope all goes well when she sees that I sabotaged her project/blog/journal. Well...I am a part of her life so I guess she gets to deal with that. If you all don't know yet...I want to be clear...

I LOVE MY WIFE!!!

I AM A LUCKY MAN!!!

The Life of a 3 Month Old

2011-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

The life of this 3 month old consists of:

Eating, lots of sleeping,

snuggling, a little crying,

smiling, cooing,

watching my older brothers, tummy time,

being held, discovering,

and loving Mommy, Daddy, Porter, & Hudson.

We love you, too, Brody! It's hard to believe you are 3 months old already!

Our Newest Addition!

2011-04-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

We finally have a car that fits our growing family better! I never thought I'd be so excited to drive a minivan, but I tell you, with 3 little kids, it is going to be sooooo nice!

A Whole Lotta Stuff!

2011-04-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of things going on the past couple months. Here's a recap of what's been going on at the Hoopes':

A whole lotta going to the zoo

A whole lotta playing in the snow

A whole lotta silliness

A whole lotta preschool fun

A whole lotta burrito-baby sleeping

A whole lotta brotherly love

A whole lotta playgroup fun

And a whole lotta NYC & Philly sightseeing

There. I'm caught up! Now I can't wait for a whole lotta other stuff that we have planned to happen in the next few months!

2 Months

2011-03-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

My little Brody Baby is 2 months old today! He goes to the Dr. tomorrow and I am interested to see how much he has grown. I LOVE how he will just sit and "talk" to me with his sweet little cooing. It just melts my heart! I just realized I can't post a picture because Brandon has our camera. Where, do you ask, is Brandon? He is on his yearly "man trip" with my dad at the National Wrestling Tournament in Philly, PA. He is going to be gone a whole week because they are spending a couple days in NYC. I am here holding down the fort by myself. Go ahead, you can feel sorry for me. Brandon's usually gone a lot between work and church, but what's going to be the hardest for me is not being able to hand Brody off in the evening when he gets home, or shewing Porter & Hudson into the playroom to wrestle with Daddy so I can have a break. I will probably get a few less showers this week, and I can guarantee the boys will get a few less baths, but we will survive!

Here is a video clip of Brody talking. (Luckily Brandon didn't take the video camera) I'll post pictures later.

~XOXO~

2011-02-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

I can't stop giving these little guys hugs & kisses! I'm so lucky to have FOUR guys in my life that I love and that love me back!

We decorated Valentine cookies for preschool. Look at all that candy!

One Month

2011-02-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already been a month since Brody came to our home. It's gone by quick, but at the same time, it seems like I've known Brody for so much longer than one month. He is such a sweet little boy!

He has even started smiling which just melts my heart and makes all of the hard work of taking care of a new born worth it.

His first bath. His umbilical cord was attached until he was 3 weeks old, so he didn't get his first bath until then. He loved it, of course!

We blessed our little Brody last Sunday. It was such a special day. My parents flew in for it, Brandon's parents came, and Aunt Kim and cousin Avery were able to come.

We weren't able to get a family picture because Brandon left at 5:45 am for meetings, and didn't get home until the boys were napping. The joys of having a husband/dad in the Bishopric:)

Better Late than Never, Right?

2011-02-10T16:46:00.000-08:00

This is late, but Happy Birthday, Porter! Our big boy turned 4 years old on January 24th. And boy, was he spoiled this year! His Grandma Perry was visiting to help with Brody, so we went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. It was a surprise. We told him we were going to his Dr. appt. and he was going to get lots of shots. (I know, we were mean, but it sure made for a fun surprise!) When we drove up, he said, "Chuck E. Cheese! Mom, can we go to Chuck E. Cheese before my Dr. appt.?" Bless his little heart! He still thought he had to go to the doctor! When he found out, he had a grin on his face this big for every picture!

Hudson was not a fan of this ride. He plastered himself to the windshield! Like that could help him!

Porter sure had fun with his Grandma Perry that lives so far away!

And the entire time we were playing, this little guy was sleeping. (And don't you love the car seat blanket my mom made? It is sooooo nice! Thanks, Mom!)

Like I said, Porter was spoiled this year!

You can't go to Chuck E. Cheese without getting a picture with the mouse himself!

Porter has a friend that has a birthday the day after his. We did a combined party last year and that worked out well. We did it at our house, so this year, we had the party at Peyton's house. Tish did the whole thing (Thanks, Tish!) which worked out really good since I was trying to just survive with 2 little kids and a sweet bundle of joy!

Porter showing me his "Birthday Boy" badge. Peyton's in the background. I don't know why I didn't get a pic. with both of them.

Porter & Peyton are all boy and they wanted a ball party. So they got a ball party! Basketball, Football, Soccer, & Baseball were all played. I was impressed with some of the skills!

Hudson being his weird self!

Hudson's way of eating a cupcake.

Happy Birthday, Porter! We sure love you!

I'm in Love...

2011-01-28T22:07:00.000-08:00

With this little guy.

It's taken a long time to post more pictures because I have just tried to enjoy this time I have with Brody. Babies grow so fast and I have made a conscientious effort to not worry about all the little things that normally take up so much of my time (like house work & blogging). I start teaching preschool again on Monday, so I have tried to enjoy this time before "real life" starts again.

It's amazing how much love I can feel for someone that has been here such a short amount of time.

The proud Papa

Our family of 5! (and the other guys that I am in love with, also)

Porter & Hudson have been super good big brothers. Hudson has actually wanted to hold Brody more than Porter, which surprises me. They are both very gentle with him and give him kisses all day long. It's neat to see my rough-n-tumble boys' soft side.

Brody turned 2 weeks old yesterday. I was trying to get to this post yesterday so I could post these pictures on his 2 week old birthday, but that didn't happen. Things have been crazy around here with 3 small kids & we are all still adjusting to the changes!

Brody is an ounce shy of being back to his birth weight. I am glad about that, because he wasn't gaining enough weight at first and I had to take him to several Dr. appts. just so they could weigh him. I guess now the Dr. believes me that I am feeding him! :)

Here are his 2 wk stats:

8 lbs. 6.5 oz. - 50%

21 in. - 75%

He still is hanging onto his umbilical cord.

He's got hair! My other babies just had blonde peach fuzz, so I was surprised to see how much hair Brody has & how dark it is. (even with his dark hair, I think he will still turn out to be a blonde, but we'll see!)

Brody's trying to keep up with his brothers. They have all been able to hold their heads up from day one. So strong!

Brody with Grandma Perry. She is always soooooo much help when I have a baby & I wish she lived closer.

Did I mention he is a good baby? He is, thank goodness! I wake him up one time during the night to eat. He is a good sleeper, hardly ever cries, and is getting the hang of nursing (we were struggling with that one for awhile). What more could a mama ask for?

Now to the birth story:
My due date came and went and I was still pregnant. My Dr. said he had no reason to induce me early and I really wanted to go into labor on my own, but finally I decided to be induced on Jan. 13th. I went in at 7:30am to start the whole process. I got all hooked up to the pitocin and was ready to start laboring. With Porter and Hudson, it didn't take very long for the pitocin to kick in and start labor. With Brody, it was very different. I waited and waited and waited for something to happen, and for 6 hours nothing did! My Dr. came in at 1:45pm and broke my water. That got things going quick! My contractions went from barely there to "I can't take this any more!" I wasn't planning on getting an epidural, because I didn't have one with my other two, but for some reason, these contractions seemed so much more unbearable. It wasn't long before I was yelling for an epidural! The anesthesiologist came in and slowly described the procedure and all the risks, all the while I was in agony and wanting to punch him in the face! He then said it would take 20 min. to get the epidural in. By this time I was feeling the urge to push. My nurse said go ahead, but then said to stop & urgently called my Dr. in. He pretty much got there just in time to catch Brody! (10 min. after the anesthesiologist left. I'm glad I didn't get the epidural b/c it wouldn't have kicked in until after I had Brody!) He was born at 3:27pm. My labor was less than 2 hours long! I'm pretty sure that's why it was so intense. Let's just say I'm glad he's finally here!

Meet Brody Steven

2011-01-17T21:28:00.000-08:00

We are so glad to finally have Brody here with us! He was born on Jan. 13th at 3:27pm. 8 lbs. 7 1/2 oz. 20 in. He is perfect in every way!

More pictures and the birth story to come!

Baby Update

2011-01-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

This little guy has been way too comfortable! I think if he had his choice he would just stay in my womb forever! Because of this, I decided to be induced... tomorrow! I am so excited to finally have him here and to be able to hold him in my arms! I will post pictures and the birth story (you don't have to read it unless you want to) as soon as I can.

Blogger Challenged

2011-01-09T20:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know why for the life of me I can't figure out how to change the colors of my text. I used to be able to, but things have changed so much on the blog that now I can't figure it out!!! It's driving me crazy! Normally I can play with things and eventually figure it out. I've been wanting to change my colors for a long time now. If anyone knows how, please help!

Oh, & by the way, if you hadn't guessed yet, I haven't had my baby yet. My due date is tomorrow and I am hoping to go into labor on my own, but we'll see!

Sunbeam in da House!

2011-01-02T16:31:00.000-08:00

We have a shining Sunbeam at our house now! Porter was so excited this morning that he was going to Primary today. Well, that excitement wore off and half way through Sacrament Meeting he told me he wanted to go to Nursery. By the time Sacrament Meeting was over he was crying and I was literally dragging him to Primary. This guy loved his Nursery! The funny thing is , he almost got a whole extra year in Nursery because his b-day is in January. So he is just starting Sunbeams, but will be 4 in a couple weeks. There are 3 other boys with b-days within a week for Porter's that are in his class, so I know he is going to have a ton of fun, eventually!

Once he was in Primary he was fine (I get to spy on him b/c I'm in the Primary Presidency). I guess we will see how next week goes! I was worried that Hudson might be sad without Porter in Nursery, but I talked to our Nursery leader and she said he was just fine.

And notice our door windows in the picture. Yes, it was dark outside when I took this picture and it was right before we left for church! This year our ward meets at 8am! A big change from 1pm! But I will take 8am church over 1pm church any day! I was home by noon today, and I even had a meeting after church. That meant we had lunch on time and naps on time! It was super great! I'm only nervous about how I'm going to do it when I add a newborn into the mix. Getting 3 kids ready and to church by 8:00 all by myself will be a challenge. And poor Brandon, he has to leave our house at 5:45am!!!! for meetings! This will definitely be an interesting year!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T17:48:00.000-08:00

We had a simple, relaxing Christmas this year. My family came up again this year since I am in no condition to travel. My boys were sick leading up to Christmas, and I have been lacking in energy so we didn't get to do some of the things we wanted to do, like zoo lights, but oh well, there's always next year!

Porter and Hudson decorated cookies for Santa.I think they managed to use a whole bottle of sprinkles on the handful of cookies they decorated:) It's a good thing Santa loves sugar!

Along with the cookies, Porter wrote a cute letter to Santa and even drew him a map so he could make his way back to the North Pole! So cute!

They opened a gift on Christmas Eve. (pj's of course!)

Then we watched Joy to the World (the short movie the church made about the Nativity) and off to bed! Like I said, I kept Christmas simple & I'm glad I did! My little guys enjoyed spending time with their Grandma & Grandpa that they don't get to see very much. I realized that I didn't get any pics of "the uncles" but Porter just LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his uncles & he had a blast playing with them!

Look at that face! Priceless! What every parent wants to see on Christmas morning when their kids discover what Santa left them!

Hudson got the train set, but both of them have played with it non-stop! It was definitely the toy of the year! Good job Santa!

Look at that intense concentration!

*As for me, I am still very pregnant. I was secretly hoping this little guy would make his debut in December, but that didn't happen. I am definitely ready for this baby to come. I am very uncomfortable, but I know I can make it a few more days (9 to be exact). The good thing is my Dr. said he wouldn't let me go over my due date, so I know I will have this baby sometime within the next 9 days!

Christmas Activities

2010-12-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

Family Night with Friends

The Grimmett's invited us over for a Gingerbread House Family Night again this year. First we acted out the nativity. Maisey was the cutest Mary, Porter was Joseph, & Peyton was a Shepherd.

The daddy's were the wise men.

Then onto decorating gingerbread houses. Last year, the Grimmett's had the disaster house, and this year...

WE DID! We couldn't get it to stay up for the life of us! I don't think Porter minded because he got to eat it right away! All right, Maughan's, it's your turn next year to have the disaster gingerbread house:)

Candy Cane Party

My friend Laura put together the cutest Christmas Party for kids! The theme was Candy Canes. Hudson enjoyed decorating and then eating a Candy Cane cookie. (Notice the drool covering the front of his shirt. I thought I was waaaaay over the drooling phase, but Hudson is getting his 2 yr old molars & it has been super painful for him. Poor guy!)

Porter painting a Candy Cane Ornament.

Showing off their Reindeer Candy Canes they made. Thanks Laura, for a super fun party!

Gymnastics Performance

Porter has been enjoying gymnastics again this year. He LOVES to show me his "tricks"!

Bear Crawl- but for Porter, it's more like the Bear Sprint! He is so stinkin fast!

Speaking of fast, I had a hard time getting any pictures because he was so fast doing all of his "tricks"! He has no fear and does not hesitate at all... and he always says he wants to do it himself. Mr. Independent!

Happy Turkey Day!

2010-11-26T11:50:00.001-08:00

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving 2010! I have so so so much to be thankful for, especially these little turkeys!

We made the paper turkey's at preschool and then we made cute cupcake turkeys for everyone on Thanksgiving.

Look at that concentration! (from both of them!)

Such cute turkeys! My little guys ate theirs for dessert after our Thanksgiving feast, & everyone else was able to take theirs home.

We had Thanksgiving at our house this year. Here's Brandon's fam. minus Mike, Jen, Morgan, Jordyn, Kelsey, & Ryan. Brandon & I made the turkey's this year for the first time. I roasted mine in the oven & I was pleasantly surprised how good it was! But, Brandon's took the cake (or turkey). He smoked it and it was the. best. turkey. ever! Good job, honey! That will be a tradition every year now!

It was a great Thanksgiving this year! The only thing that would have made it better would be to have my family there, but I am grateful we live close to at least one of our families! Hosting Thanksgiving wasn't as hard or stressful as I thought it would be & would LOVE to do it again!

P.S. Brandon wanted me to add that he participated in the craziness called Black Friday shopping this year (that's totally unheard of. He usually HATES shopping). He got his game face on, became crazy like all the other shoppers (he said the women were the most aggressive & pushy) and scored us a 40" t.v. for under $300! (he got the 3rd to the last one!) Good job! I think maybe, just maybe my love of shopping might be rubbing off on him?.... well, probably not, but he did a good job early, early this morning!

Gilbert House

2010-11-24T16:40:00.000-08:00

We didn't have preschool this week, so we ventured to the Gilbert House with a couple of Porter & Hudson's friends. This was our first time to explore the several houses.

Doing some Grocery Shoppin'

Bubble Poppin'

Cow milkin'

and Feedin'

Game Playin'

Dressin' Up

Train Watchin'

and Slidin'!

Let It Snow???

2010-11-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

Anytime it snows here, we try to take advantage of it because it doesn't happen very often. Well, this "snow storm" had been talked about for days & this is what we got:

My kiddos were still excited and wanted to go play in it, so we got in all our snow clothes that we don't get to wear very often & headed outside.

They had tons of fun playing in the "snow"! :)

Maybe, just maybe we will get a real snow storm this year!

Our Hudson

2010-11-13T19:10:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that our little Hudson is 2 years old! He's supposed to be our baby, but he is sure wanting to be a big boy. He is talking like crazy & keeps up with everything his big brother is doing. He LOVES Porter and looks up to him. They are best friends.

Hudson's 2 yr old stats:
Height: 35 in.- 90%
Weight: 28 lbs- 70%

He is just so cute I just want to squeeze him sometimes! He came to me like this while playing outside with a football saying "Hemet, hemet!" (helmet) Brandon was really proud of him for that!

Speaking of squeezing him, sometimes I want to squeeze him not in a good way! For some reason, he has not been sleeping very well. Depending on the day, he will take HOURS to fall asleep for nap & bedtime!!! This is driving me crazy. Sometimes he doesn't even fall asleep at all for nap. I am definitely not ready for a non-napping child! He's barely 2 for heavens sake! When he finally does fall asleep, it's usually not on his bed. Can you find him among all the stuffed animals?

He gets so tired that when he finally does fall asleep, he just crashes where he is. Silly kid! I'm hoping this is just a phase. I guess I've been spoiled with Porter taking very good naps, even still!

Nap or no nap, we still love this little guy! He keeps things interesting in our family:)

One HUGE hAlloWeEn Post!

2010-11-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

Halloween started early this year. We were basically celebrating from Oct. 1st- 31st. It was a crazy month and that is why I am just now getting around to post anything!

Elder's Quorum Halloween Party

I'm glad that we are still invited to Elder's Quorum activities even though Brandon is a High Priest. They are so much more fun than the High Priests! Last year I went to the Halloween Party alone because Brandon was sick. We decided to repeat the costumes this year so we could go together & actually make sense this year!
Here are the Black-eyed P's!

The whole group. I was so impressed with the costumes. There were some really good, really creative costumes. I wish I had some of that creativity!

Pumpkin Party
Every year the Grimmett's have a pumpkin party at their house. They have an awesome garden and always has TONS of pumpkins grow. The kiddos get to pick a pumpkin and decorate it.
I think Hudson got more paint on his hands than on his pumpkin!

Porter & Peyton getting their creative juices flowing.

This was the most hilarious thing I had seen in a long time. The game was a monster mash where they were supposed to go around the room & pop each others balloons. First of all, the balloons were too hard for the kids to pop. Second, some of the kids started getting upset that other kids were trying to pop their balloons! I don't think they quite grasped the purpose of the game, but it sure was stinkin hilarious for the mom's to watch!

Then things quieted down with lunch & a Halloween Dora movie. Thanks Maisey (and Emily) for a super fun pumpkin party!

Fantasy Trail
We took our 3rd annual trip to the Halloween Fantasy Trail outside of Oregon City. Our whole family enjoys this activity.

We brought the Grimmett's with us this year. Maisey & Porter were so brave!

Hudson was brave, too!

All the cute kids!

Our Littlest Pumpkin
This is for my mom who always is wanting to see belly pics. I'm 28 weeks here.

Monster Mash!
I did a Monster Party for Hudson's 2nd Birthday. Here are my two lil' Monsters!

*Disclaimer: The day of Hudson's party, he decided not to take a nap and was super grumpy for his party. This led to not cooperating for pictures. This is the best I got of Hudson the skunk.

Brandon made a giant monster for pin-the-nose-on-the-monster.

The kids made monster masks and I read some fun (not too scary) monster books.

And of course a monster party could not be complete without monster cupcakes,

and monster toes!

Most of the group.

Happy Birthday, Hudson!

Haunted House!
We went with some friends to the Oregon School for the Deaf to their haunted house. The cool thing about this haunted house is that Extreme Makeover Home Edition came here and made over this haunted house (along with one of the dorms). It was fun to go through the "Nightmare Factory" and then watch the episode on Halloween night. I'm amazed at what they can do on this show in one week!!! It was a super fun haunted house minus the looong wait before.

Pumpkin Carving
Porter & Hudson had a blast carving pumpkins this year.
Hudson wanted a SCARY pumpkin...

and Porter wanted a silly pumpkin...

and this was the end result: Two silly kids, one silly pumpkin, & one scary pumpkin!

Pumpkin Patch
Porter had his first preschool field trip to Bauman Farms. *For confidentiality reasons I am not posting any pictures of the rest of my preschool class (other than the occasional back of the head)
It was sooooo much fun & we will be doing this every year!

Hudson and Daddy even came along with us!

It didn't rain that day (thank goodness!) but there was no lack of mud!

The class got to see how apple cider is made...

and then had a taste, along with an apple cider donut. Yum!

Hayride to pick pumpkins.

Hudson found one just his size!

Feeding the animals.

The rest of the time we spent going through mazes, climbing through hay obstacle courses,

and sliding! Lots and lots of sliding!

And before we left, we had to stop by the nut house!

I can't tell who had more fun, Brandon or my little boys!

Carnival
On Saturday we went to our church Halloween Carnival & Trunk-or-Treat. Here's my 3 handsome boys:

Porter the Cowboy

Hudson the stinky, but cute skunk
(and yes, he had to have a horse just like his big bro!)

Brandon as... Facebook. Yes he stole the costume idea from Jim Halpert from The Office.

The Carnival was super awesome, as usual. Our ward goes all out for Halloween! It took a full 2 hours to make our way around the whole church to play all the games!

The cupcake walk was the last game we played, and as you can tell, my little guys were EXHAUSTED by this time! (and we still had the Trunk-or-Treat!)

I was pretty exhausted myself from all the game playing, so I didn't take any pictures of the Trunk-or-Treat, but I need to write down what Hudson did before I forget. Porter got a second wind for Trick-or-Treating, but Hudson really was wanting to be done. I was pretty much dragging Hudson from car to car to keep up with Porter. Hudson did not think that was cool & soon started taking out his tiredness and frustration on the people passing out the candy. When someone would try to put a piece of candy in his bag, he would start crying and yell "No!". Poor kid! I really do feel bad that he was so tired he didn't want candy!

Halloween Birthday Boy
We celebrated Halloween on Saturday & saved Sunday to celebrate Hudson's actual Birthday!

He opened presents from Mommy & Daddy.

And we had a festive Dinner-in-the-Pumpkin.

I'm so Lucky!

2010-09-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

So, I just want to say that I have the BEST friends ever! I am so lucky! We had planned what I thought was going to be a Girl's Night Out for Friday night. Well, it wasn't exactly a girl's night out, it was a surprise baby shower for me & two of my other preggo friends! I was so surprised! I had no clue! Brandon even knew & didn't spoil it!

I don't have pics b/c I didn't have my camera, but here is the invitation that was passed out when I wasn't looking:

And this is what I came home with! Seriously, each of us 3 got a huge bin overflowing with gifts! Like I said, I am so lucky! Thanks, girls! It was a great surprise shower! And now I am super excited to get the Nursery done so I can put all this stuff away!

Porter's 1st Day of Preschool!

2010-09-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

Can't tell he's excited, can you? He was so excited that I let him pick out a backpack for school (even though he'll never need it since his school is at his house!)

Porter with his teacher :)

A+ for this kid for playing hard!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

2010-09-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

My summer just kept on getting busier and busier! This is what has been keeping me so busy...

I having been a canning maniac! I canned 32 quarts of peaches and 50 quarts of pears. Next on my agenda is lots and lots of salsa and spaghetti sauce.

I've also been getting my preschool ready. I can't believe that class starts tomorrow! I have been working on it for close to a year to make sure I was prepared and ready, and now the time is here! I am sooooo excited!

Here is a tour of Little Learners Preschool:

Block & Circle Time Area

Library

Writing Center

Dramatic Play

Manipulative Tables

Sand & Water Table

After things settle down with canning and preschool, I am going to update our whole summer, so stay tuned!

Surprise!!!

2010-08-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well, it's probably not much of a surprise, but we are having another little boy! 3 boys 3 and under! It is going to be so much fun!!! Don't get me wrong, I want to have a girl in the mix somewhere, but these 3 little guys are going to be best buds and have so much fun together growing up so close to each other. Brandon's excited that he's getting his basketball team! We can't wait to meet this little guy and get to know him! Yay for boys!!!

Yes, I'm still alive!

2010-08-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

What a summer!!! I have been sooooo bad at updating, and it hasn't helped that our laptop that has my pics on it has decided to give us problems. So still no pics. We had a blast in Utah with my family. Then we had a blast in central Oregon with Brandon's family. Now I am super busy getting my preschool ready to start! Hopefully one of these days I will update basically our whole summer!

Eagle Ridge

2010-07-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Vacation #2 this summer was in Central Oregon at Eagle Ridge with Brandon's fam. We spent most of our time by the pool soaking up the rays:

But we were also able to sneak in a few more activities like:

Bike riding. This was the coolest family bike!

Wii Dancing!

Movie Time

18 holes of Miniature Golf (between Brandon and I, we spent most of our time getting the balls back onto the green!)

The Pit of Despair, as we called it!

We even had company on the course.

More swimming in the jacuzzi bath:)

By the time our week was over, we were ready to have a vacation from our vacation!

Utah Trip: Lagoon!

2010-07-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

We look forward to going to Lagoon every summer we visit Grandma & Grandpa Perry. This was Hudson's first year to be able to ride the rides! He didn't know what to think at first, but quickly decided this was something fun!

Porter, of course, remembered how fun it is right away. He remembered this ride from last year. I think it's one of his favorites! He is one brave kid, because it is a free-fall ride!

Hudson looked so cute waiting for the roller coaster to start!

We all love this octopus ride. That's Grandma with Hudson, & behind them was Grandpa with Porter.

I think they tried every possible ride they could ride on!

Taking a break to ride the train & see some animals.

We also spent a good portion of the day at Lagoon-A-Beach, but I didn't take any pictures. I was having way too much fun! :)

Utah Trip: 4th of July & Ice Cream

2010-07-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

You can't celebrate a 4th of July without going to a parade! Porter & Hudson waiting patiently for it to start.

When the parade started, Porter was poised and ready to run & get the candy! He was sooooooo cute!

Hudson, on the other hand, sat on the curb and waited until Porter would put some in his bag! Haha! I thought this was so funny! It's a good thing he has a very nice big brother that shared all his candy!

That night we stayed up for fireworks. Look at that super cute smile!

Porter loves his Grandma Perry, can ya tell?

I just had to add this picture! Hudson thoroughly enjoyed his homemade icecream! Yum!

Utah Trip: Fishin'

2010-07-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

When Grandpa told Porter he was going to take him fishing, Porter was sooooooo excited!
He did a good job being patient with the fishing pole, but Grandpa still ended up throwing in fish food to get 'em to bite!

Hudson loved seeing the fish, but was DANGEROUS with a fishing pole...

until we removed the hook! Fish-away, Hudson!

Porter was so proud of his catch!

But he wouldn't touch the thing!

Grandpa even caught a fish for Hudson, but I think Hudson was more interested in the pole than the actual fish!

We ate the fish for dinner that night, & I was surprised that Porter tried it and even more surprised that he said he liked it! Thanks Grandpa, for the fun fishin' trip!

Utah Trip: Swimming & 1st Haircuts

2010-07-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

When we visit Grandma & Grandpa Perry, we always visit the pool that's right next to their house. There's all kinds of water fun there, but Porter & Hudson have played it safe & just stuck to the small frog slide. Maybe one of these years I'll get them to venture to some of the more exciting features at the pool!

Hudson's 1st Haircut!

I let Grandma do the honors, since she knows what she is doing!

How cute!

Utah Trip: Airplanes & Dinosaurs

2010-07-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Porter was so excited to fly on an airplane this year. We fly to Utah every year, but this was the first year he really remembered & talked about it non-stop! They both loved watching the airport scene while waiting for our own flight.
Happy to FINALLY be on the plane! Thanks, Porter, for making sure Hudson was looking at the camera!
Once in Utah, Grandma & Grandpa Perry had a fun-filled two weeks planned for us. We spent the fist weekend camping in Wyoming where 3 of my brothers were working at a scout camp. Porter was sooooo excited to see his uncles. (and I guess I didn't take any pictures... ooops!)

Porter LOVED the Dinosaur Park!

Hudson was a little unsure!

They sure had fun! Thanks Grandma for taking us there!

We're Outta Here!

2010-06-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

By 8:20 am tomorrow, me and my little boys will be on a plane flying to Utah to visit my family. We're always sad to leave Brandon, but someone's gotta work, right? My parents have a ton of things planned for the two weeks we are there, so Porter is super excited to visit and I think Hudson will just be glad to go along for the ride. I'm already behind on posting pics, but I probably won't post any until after I get back, so until then.... see ya later!

Bad News & Good News

2010-06-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Bad News: I'm not going to run in the half-marathon this Saturday.

Good News: I'm pregnant!

So, the whole story is I just had my first Dr. appt. and I told him what I was planning on doing on Saturday (running 13.1 miles, that is). There are lots of reasons why he said he wouldn't recommend that: it's going to be hot that day, I've never ran a half marathon before, he just doesn't know how my body will react to running that long while pregnant, and he said I could feel totally fine the whole time running, but then have issues later. My #1 priority is a healthy pregnancy and baby, so of course I'm going to take my Dr.'s advice. (I just try not to think of all the work and long training runs I did to not be able to meet my goal of running a half marathon!)

I'm still going to run through this pregnancy. I ran through both my other pregnancies and I felt so good doing that. I'm just going to do shorter, more normal runs:)

BTW- We will be really excited to welcome this little bundle of joy in January! (and I'm trying not to think about the fact that I will have 3 kids 3 years old and under for awhile!!) It's gonna be crazy, but so worth it!

"Jesus told me..."

2010-06-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

We've been talking to Porter about things that Jesus has told us not to eat, like coffee. He notices coffee commercials and he will say "That's not good for me. Jesus told me not to eat it." I was glad he was understanding this concept.... until now. Here is how our daily dinner conversation goes now:

Porter: "Jesus told me not to eat (fill in the blank with whatever we are eating that night)."

Me: " Jesus wants us to eat good food that is good for our bodies. He doesn't want us to eat food that is bad for us. Mommy only makes food that is good for us, so you need to eat your dinner."

Porter: "But Jesus doesn't want me to eat it."

It's hard to argue with a very picky 3 yr old!

Beach Day!

2010-06-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

So, I finally figured out if I load each pic one at a time, then it works! (not that I want to do that every time I post, so I still want to figure out what's going on. But at least I can post some pictures!)

We took a day trip to the beach with some of our friends for Memorial Day. It was so much fun! The day consisted of throwing frisbees, picnics, a candy store, kite flying, geocaching, Mo's, and of course playing in the sand and water! Porter loved, loved, loved it! (although you wouldn't tell it by this picture. I think he was crying because he wanted me to let go of him so he could go play some more.)

It was cold, but that didn't stop this little guy! When I told him we were going to the beach, he couldn't stop talking about it! When we pulled in to Lincoln City I told Porter we were here, but we were going to go to a candy store, first. He told me he didn't want to go to the candy store, he wanted to go to the beach! What child doesn't want to go to a candy store?!?

Hudson wasn't as enthusiastic as Porter was about the whole beach thing. The sand was hard to walk on & he didn't like the water, so he was content sitting with the adults. Eventually, he got used to the sand and played with the sand toys we brought.

Porter was all grins when he was flying his Buzz Light Year kite. He did a great job, I was impressed!

Give Hudson some food, & he's a happy camper!

"Bad Request"

2010-05-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

My sweet husband gave me a new camera for Mother's Day, which was so nice of him. I've been taking lots of pictures with it. I can load them to my computer just fine, but when I try to post them to my blog, it just says it is a "Bad Request". Hmmm. I'm baffled. So, until I get this figured out, no posting pictures. If anyone has any ideas of what I should do, I would gladly take advice:)

T-Ball

2010-05-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Our little Porter is doing T-Ball this year! It's been fun for him and also a learning experience because he always wants to get the ball, but sometimes it's a teammate's turn. It's been really good for him, though. 5 out of the 8 kids on his team are in our ward, so that has been fun!

The team lined up for pictures from tallest to shortest... Porter is the last one in line. Sorry you didn't get some of your Mom or Dad's height, Porter.

Hi Mom!

Good Hit, Porter!

In position for a ground ball.

Get it, Porter! Get it!

Keep your eye on the ball! (Those helmets crack me up! They are so big on him!)

Safe!

WooHoo!

2010-05-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking in the couponing department lately, but I just went to Albertson's tonight and once again got some great deals. 10 boxes of cereal, 2 boxes Capri Sun's, 2 boxes Nestle Drumsticks, 2 Danonino yogurts, 1 box popcorn, 1 box Reese's Pieces...... and Avatar! I spent $26.25 for all of this! Love it!

Tulip Festival

2010-05-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is coming late, because as usual, things have been crazy busy here! A couple weekends ago, we FINALLY made it to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. We wanted to go last year, but didn't make it because we were soooo busy redoing our yard and painting the inside of our house. This year I wanted to go, but our Saturdays were filling up quickly. We finally made it on the last Saturday it was open!

It was a lot of fun, but the weather was crazy: sunny and warm, then freezing and rainy, then sunny and warm, etc... We didn't even make it to the kids section with all the fun things to do there. Oh well, I guess there's next year!

The tulip fields were amazing!

Hudson, Porter, and Penny!

Too cute!

To say it was muddy would be an understatement! Of course Porter felt right at home, though!

Once again, too cute!

This was the best we got for a family picture.

Where's Porter???

Even with the crazy weather, it was a ton of fun, and I look forward to going next year!

Our Big Boy!

2010-04-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hudson is 18 months old today! I have been looking forward to this day for a long time... not that I am looking forward to my babies growing up so fast, but it has been a huge challenge keeping Hudson for all meetings of church. He has a set a lungs, is a wiggle worm, and won't stay still on a lap. I take my hat off to Brandon, because he's the one that has had to take him to Young Men's with him, because I teach the 5 & 6 yr olds in Primary. Anyways, we are sooooo excited that he is old enough to FINALLY go to Nursery!!!! Porter is super excited to have him in there, also!
Besides going to Nursery, here are some of the other things going on in this little guy's life:

He no longer uses a binky! (we ridded him of that habit at 16 months, just in the nic of time)
He is getting a mouthful of teeth, pretty much all at once! Poor little guy! His mouth has just been a lumpy, sore mess for a couple of months. Literally, he is getting more front teeth, eye teeth, and molar after molar... all at once!
He is communicating so much more, whether through body language, sign language, or saying words. He says: Momma, Dadda, Bubba (that's what he calls Porter), juice (for any drink), shoe, bye-bye, nana, ease (please), no-no, hi, thank you, what's that?... I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but this is what I thought of off the top of my head. He is also starting to put two words together to make a phrase. A couple weeks ago, I had been gone doing errands, and when I got home, he says "Hi momma!" It was so cute to hear my baby say that!
He continues to hold his own against his big brother. He doesn't let Porter pick on him too much. And he follows Porter around, copying what he does all the time. He really looks up to him. These two brothers sure love each other and have so much fun together!
He can do sommersaults now. Porter taught him how to and now they practice their sommersaults on our family room rug, all the time.
I'm not very excited about this one, but he can climb in and out of his crib. I was hoping to hold him off a little longer, but a kid's gonna do what a kid's gonna do! Luckily it hasn't been a big problem yet. He hasn't climbed out after we put him to bed, but when he and Porter are playing in their room, they will both climb in and out.

We love having Hudson in our family! He has such a cute personality and LOVES people! He is easy-going (except at church) and is such a cutie!
WE LOVE YOU, HUDSON!

It's Official!

2010-04-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

I am running a half-marathon in June!!! I still can't believe I am going to do this! I am not a runner, but this is something I have been wanting to accomplish for awhile now. I just finished my 1st week of training. It wasn't too bad, but I only ran 13 miles. I'm sure it will be a different story when I am running 13.1 miles in one day (hopefully in under 3 hours, but honestly, I will just be glad if I FINISH!) Anyways, wish me luck...I'm going to need it! :)

HELLLLLLLLLLP!

2010-04-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

This kid is a Houdini when it comes to clothes.... specifically pants and diapers. Let's just say he loves to run "free", which is a problem with his lack of bodily control! So, one of my friends gave me the idea to use a onsie under his clothes to keep him from taking his diaper off. Well, this strategy worked for about one week, then he figured out how to take his diaper off under his onsie! What a crazy kid!!! This is what I resorted to:
Duct taping his diaper!

The tape worked and he kept his diaper on, but it sure was a pain when changing it. Then, one of my friends gave me this idea:
Undies over the onsie!... and guess what? It has worked like a charm!!! It's a lot of layers, but I seriously don't know what else to do. I never had this problem with Porter! It's a good thing he's so stinkin cute!!!

Easter Happenings!

2010-04-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

We had a fun and crazy Easter weekend! On Saturday morning we had a meeting for Porter's T-Ball he's starting. There's 4 other kids from our ward on the team. That's going to be crazy fun! After that, we went to Bauman Farms to their Easter Egg Hunt. I do have to say I am sooooooo bummed with the weather we have been having. It has been so so so nice most of February and March, but of course right before Easter, it turned nasty rainy & cold. Grrrrrr! But we made the best of it and had fun!

This was a practice run for Hudson. He learned really quick what he was supposed to do.... although, once he realized there were treats in his eggs, he'd pick up one egg & then try to open it. He wouldn't put it in his basket. He was so cute to watch, though!

The whole family on the farm.

That is one BIG tractor wheel!

Porter and Peyton

After the Easter Egg Hunt, we walked around the farm and found.... The Jumping Pillow!

I knew that Porter would get right on and have a blast, but I wasn't sure about Hudson. He loved it!

Brandon would throw him onto it...

then he would just slide down. He looked sooooo relaxed! It was so funny!

We went home, and Brandon tilled our garden, so we can get it planted soon. Then Brandon left for the Priesthood session of conference. Me and a bunch of my friends met at McDonalds to eat and play. It was so fun to just let the kids loose and to be able to chat... for 3 hours! Yes, that's right, we were there for 3 hours! Everyone had fun, though.
When we got home, it was past their bedtime, but we still had eggs to color. We couldn't go to bed without decorating eggs, so that's what we did!

Hudson had a little too much fun with the blue dye...

"Uh Oh!" he said. And I said "It's a good thing we have wood floors instead of carpet!"

The finished products. I think the Easter Bunny was very impressed with our egg decorating skills!

The Easter Bunny spoils: Hudson got Toy Story 1 &2, lots of books (thanks Grandma Perry!), and of course the lawn mower. Porter got Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (he asked and asked for this movie!), lots of books and computer games (once again thanks Grandma Perry, I love having a mom that is a teacher, also!)

Our easter egg hunt:

Hudson was so cute b/c he would see an egg up high & point at it and go "uh, uh!" to let us know we needed to help him get it!

Porter wanted to get as many eggs as he could reach himself. He is Mr. Independent.

After all the eggs were found, we watched conference and ate a yummy crepe breakfast. Mmmmmmmmm!

Blueberries. Strawberries. Nutella. Whipped Cream. Powdered Sugar. Goodness!

Look how Porter attacked that crepe! We decided crepes are going to be our tradition for every Conference Sunday:)

We so much enjoyed conference. I loved how the emphasis this time was on family. For me, it gets hard being a stay-at-home mom. It's definitely the hardest job I've ever had. It was so good for me to hear that I am where I need to be, and I am doing the most important job that I will ever have. It gave me the boost that I needed to get to October's conference!

For dinner, we went to Dave & Kim's. (Brandon's brother) We had a yummy dinner.... then on to easter egg hunt #3! My kids were so spoiled this Easter!

All of the Easter festivities are fun and I loved watching my boys get excited about decorating and finding eggs, but my favorite part of Easter was asking Porter why we celebrate Easter, and hearing his answer: "Jesus died, and now He lives!" That says it all right there!

I'm in Preschool Heaven!!!

2010-03-31T14:49:00.000-07:00

This must be game week! I saw these deals at Toys R Us and I got soooooo excited b/c I am trying to get everything for my preschool (which is an extensive list) and most of these games I will be able to use! The rest of the stuff I will use for gifts! I was so excited about these deals, I didn't want to wait until Brandon got home to take the kids, so I just took them. They did pretty good, but I spent $1 on the rides at the front of the store to keep them happy! Here's what I got:

Twister

Connect 4

Trouble

Hi Ho Cherry O

Sorry Sliders

Chutes and Ladders

Operation

Bop It

Elefun

Hungry Hungry Hippos

Gator Golf

Monopoly Deal

2 My Little Pony's

3 Elefun & Friends stuffed animals

Most of the games have rebates and Toys R Us has a deal going on where you get a $5 gift card with every $20 game purchase you make (before coupons) I got $20 in gift cards! With the rebates ($31) and the gift cards, I spent.... $23.88! That's $1.40 per item! WooHoo! (And, when I put my gift cards in my wallet, I saw a $5 Target gift card I had forgotten about!)

I Heart Shopping!

Couponing is not just for cheap groceries...

2010-03-29T22:11:00.001-07:00

I am amazed at the different deals I have been able to get from couponing that have nothing to do with groceries. At Target I got a pillow (who can't use a new extra pillow!?) and the Battleship game for $3.04!
At Toys R Us, I got Toy Story and Toy Story 2 DVD & BluRay combo pack for.... $13.98! Plus, each DVD has a free movie ticket for Toy Story 3 valued at $8.99 each!
6 jumbo packs diapers, 2 tubes toothpaste, 2 Almay mascara's, & 4 Snickers from Walgreens all for $23.56! (I'm so excited b/c I think I have enough diapers now to get Hudson through the potty training process! I LOVE having stock piles!)
I've been wanting to get Porter and Hudson each a lawn mower so they can help Daddy when he mows the lawn. Toys R Us was having a Buy One Get One Free Little Tikes sale, so I got both of these for $24.99. I didn't use coupons for this deal, but it was something I was going to buy anyways, so I was super excited! The Easter Bunny is going to give these cute lawn mowers to my little guys for Easter:)
So, I know you are still wondering how I get these deals. Honestly, it would take me a looooong time to explain everything myself. I will tell you what I did to learn. I started following local blogs and websites that find the deals for you. The ones I follow are on my side bar. Seriously, they find all the deals for the different stores, they tell you exactly what coupons to use and from where, and they give you scenarios on how to do the transaction/s correctly. That doesn't mean I never make mistakes. I do, but you can always take the items back! For you locals, I also went to a couponing class taught by one of the gals from Frugal Living NW. She holds classes all over the Portland Metro area (your only payment is to bring 5 cans of food). On most of the couponing websites, they have "just beginning" links you can click on. I read all of these, which helped, also. I started very small, just choosing one store and only doing one deal. As I caught on and became more confident, I started going to more stores and doing many more deals! Hope this helps! Seriously, I could break down every single item I purchased and tell you how I did it, but these websites have it done already, so check them out!

*If you are still confused after looking at these sites, and want me to explain in more detail what exactly I do, let me know.

Oh, Porter.

2010-03-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well.... it's that time of year when Brandon goes on his "man trip" with my dad to the National Wrestling Tourney. He left this morning: destination Omaha, NE. He's only gone for 5 days, but those 5 days are long enough for me! I can't wait for Sunday night! We miss you already, Daddy!

Anyways, for these 5 days, I wanted to plan some fun things to do to help pass the time, and keep us all happy. Today, we had a FULL house of boys! 6 to be exact! My two, a little guy I just started watching, and 3 other little ones from my ward. That means 6 boys 4 1/2 yrs and under, including a 4 mo. old baby!!! It was a crazy time, but so fun for my boys to have so many friends to play with! We made shamrock cookies to celebrate St. Patty's Day, which they all loved!

When everyone went home and the house was quiet, I decided to take Porter & Hudson to Baja Fresh for dinner. They were giving Facebook Fans a free burrito today if you were wearing green. I thought about getting the food to-go, but decided to just eat it there. It was something to help pass the time. I am normally not that excited to take the boys out to eat.... especially by myself... because they have a hard time sitting still long enough to eat, let alone to let me eat. I knew my risks, but decided to go for it. Besides, if they are ever going to learn restaurant manners, I have to give them the opportunities to practice.

Things were going well, almost too well, I remember thinking. I was able to eat what I wanted (I was not too impressed with the food), and Porter and Hudson were eating, too! There was a little bit of rice on the floor b/c Hudson insisted on feeding himself, but if that was all I had to deal with, I thought that wasn't too bad considering I was the only adult with 2 toddlers at a restaurant. We had been there about 45 min. and we were wrapping up eating.

*Side note about Porter: those of you that know him, know that he is a wiggle worm and doesn't like to sit still.

Porter had been wiggling on his chair the whole time he was eating, but I didn't say anything, because a) he was eating his food, and b) he was staying on the chair instead of wanting to get down and run around. The next thing I know, in slow motion, I see Porter going down. He was falling in between 2 chairs, and as he is falling, his arms are trying desperately to find something to hang on to, to save his fall.... Unfortunately, the only things he found are the two food trays.

Once again, in slow motion, I see food flying through the air. Chips and apple sauce, and ranch dressing, and salsa, and rice..... and that's when I wanted to be invisible. But of course I couldn't, because the incident totally scared Porter (and made him feel really bad. He tells me later: "I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean to.") AND it freaked Hudson out, too, so they were BOTH crying.

So, what do I do? The only thing I could do. Without making eye contact with anyone (and secretly praying that the flying applesauce and ranch didn't land on the people sitting right next to us), I clean up the best I can with what napkins I had ( I was not about to cross the entire room to get more), wipe up ourselves as best as possible (we were all covered in applesauce and ranch), and get out of there as fast as possible! It was a good thing that I wasn't very impressed with the food, b/c we will NOT be going to that Baja Fresh for a LONG TIME!

*I want to add that I love my little guys so much and would not trade these "incidents" for anything, as mortifying as they can be! They're character-building, right?

**AND I promise I'm not ignoring those of you that have asked me how I coupon. I really am planning on doing a post on it (not that I am an expert in any sense of the word), but I am too tired and just want to veg right now, so it's going to have to wait 'till another day. Maybe I'll get it done tomorrow if I have a better day than today. Let's all hope for that! :)

More and More Deals!

2010-03-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

Albertsons had an AWESOME deal on fruit snacks last week. And since they are a staple in our house, I got 30 boxes! I also got 10 cans of juice and I spent..... $12.40!!! That's 31 cents per item! Amazing! I was supposed to get a $10 Catalina for buying the juice, which would have made this an even more amazing deal, but I bought the wrong kinds:( But I was still very happy with this deal!
At Safeway I bought 20 SmartOnes and with two $10 Catalinas, I got all 20 for $11.88! These are great to have on hand for my lunches. They are regularly around $2.50 each.
I was tired the night I went to Albertsons to do a frozen food deal, so I didn't get a picture, but this is what I got: 2 cartons Dreyers ice cream, 4 boxes Bagel Bites, 1 box Bagelfuls, 2 Steam n' Mash Potato pouches, 1 box Dreyers Fruit Bars. With a $10 Catalina I got for buying 10 frozen food items, I only spent $6.90!

I have to tell you that at Christmas this year, my family came to visit us and my mom went to get something out of my deep freeze. She made a comment about how much room there was in it. I laughed and jokingly said it takes money to fill up a freezer. Well, guess what? 2 months later, my freezer is FULL and I have spent LESS on my groceries!!! It doesn't take money to fill up a freezer or fridge or shelves, it takes COUPONING!

I got these HUGE packages of tp and paper towel at Safeway. With the $10 Catalina I only paid $3.48!
Here is our food storage shelves. We have had the # 10 cans, but pretty much everything else I have purchased since I started couponing the end of January. I look at what I have accumulated in 1 1/2 months and get excited to think what my food storage will look like in a year! I will need 10 more of these shelve units!
When I was putting together our RS newsletter this month, I found this quote that I really liked from Ezra Taft Benson: "The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah. We encourage families to have on hand this year's supply; and we say it over and over and over and repeat over and over the scriptures of the Lord where He says, 'Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
I am going to make more of an effort to make it to the cannery more often AND to use the food storage that I have. I thought I would start simple and start making our bread instead of buying it. I LOVE that I can grind my grains in my vita-mix. It is soooo convenient and easy!
I am in search of my favorite whole wheat bread recipe, so I am going to try a bunch until I find The One. This was the first one I tried. I like it because it has the whole wheat flour AND rolled oats, which I get out of my food storage. If anyone has a whole wheat bread recipe that they LOVE, let me know! I would love to try it!

Fun Day :)

2010-03-02T21:27:00.001-08:00

Brandon took the day off and we decided to go have some fun today! We took our little monkey's to NW Kid's Club to release some of their bottled-up energy. They had so much fun and Brandon and I had so much fun watching them!