From Thanksgiving to...

CHRISTMAS!

Holy CRAP!
it's almost here...

AND, I'm still breathing! :)


THANKSGIVING:
A Great time with Great friends (pretty much family), the Dillons! LeGrands first Deep Fried Turkey was super Yummy and a Great success!




















































THE DAY AFTER:
SUPER SALES! (I'm a B.I.G sucker for Black Friday) --this year I made one MAJOR stop, JoAnn Fabric -seriously, who can pass up flannel at $1.49 and fleece at $2.99 ?! (LoaLin has PLENTY of blankies coming her way:)

THE WEEKS SINCE:
The Christmas Lights and Decor went up!
















Santa's workshop has been in FULL FORCE! This year the Hoopes side of the family is having a "Homemade" Christmas! I'm proud to say I've completed 15+ "Homemade" gifts! (Sorry, no pictures now --don't want to ruin the surprises!) Along with putting together over 12 neighbor/friend gifts (Homemade) and gifts for LeGrand's co-workers (Homemade) --So fun!

I, as activities committee Chair-woman (without a committee) also pulled off (with the great help of LeGrand) the ward Christmas Breakfast! It was a BIG hit with a HUGE turn-out of at least 200 people! YAY!

I've finished shopping and most of the wrapping, got a day of Christmas yummies planned AND - that's a BIG AND --am going on day three of NO ACCIDENTS from my Super Potty-Training 2.5 year old! --We only started on Monday and he is doing GREAT, this probably wasn't the best time to throw in the Potty Training BUT what's one more thing? :)



















{His Prized Drummer for going Potty in the Toilet!}

Oh Yea - We haven't forgotten to enjoy the holiday! We've had our share of Hot Cocoa and Christmas Movies (mostly cartoons), Sledding, Festival of Trees, Playing in the Snow, Visiting the "Jolly Man", reading Christmas Stories and taking in the Sounds of the Season!

Little Miss!

On Thursday it was confirmed that we'll get to add a GIRL to our family come April! I'm so super stoked to bring another special spirit into our home!
--Truth be told, I've already acquired many outfit's and shoes AND finished blankets for little miss LoaLin (who already has a name :) -a little change from our mister Laex who didn't get his name until he was born)
- From the day Laex was born I KNEW that my next would be a GIRL, then when I found out I was pregnant I was confident that it was a GIRL, we'll mothers instinct is usually right :)

11/15/2002

We recently celebrated our 7 year (SEVEN YEARS!) anniversary!
Although I was off playing on the official date (to no fault of my own it just so happened that the trip landed right on our anniversary). We were able to celebrate a few weeks early with a relaxing couples massage and dinner on "the roof"!
What a fantastic man I'm married to (I mean, how many other people wouldn't even make a peep about the fact that I was going off to play WITHOUT HIM on OUR anniversary --I was way more guilted and stressed about it that he was).

New.York.City.

Oh how I miss you already! Don't get me wrong, I needed a break after 8 days, but I can't wait to visit again!

My trip was Fantastic --MJ and I covered the city from one end to the other (literally) -we retired each night with aching feet and serious exhaustion, just to rise early and tackle the adventures and excitement of the next day! It was truly a trip to be remembered!

A few of my highlights!


Discovering "Hidden Gems" and enjoying the diversity of the City!
Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem-being the last to make it through the door!
China Town, Canal Street, hunting for purses --good times!

The FOOD, oh the food. yum.my. --I could take some of Ray's Famous Pizza RIGHT.NOW.















Wicked Absolutely Phenomenal. worth every penny. I'd see it again in a heartbeat!















Revisiting one of my favorite places in the city, the symbol of freedom, Lady Liberty herself --There's nothing like her, I'm still brought to tears at her magnificence



















Visiting the Temple, so peaceful in the middle of a crazy busy City



















The Subway, Metro




















Ground Zero, floods of memories from that historic day














A stroll through Central Park, so beautiful and serene














Regis & Kelly, go-go dancing.

{Classic}

The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular -Amazing!



















Dinner and a visit with Gale and the Twins



















I'm so grateful for an amazing husband who let me check out as Mom and Wife for over a week to go play-how lucky I am to have someone who not just allows this, but provides the means to make it happen, then continually tells me I deserve it and steps up to take care of everything while I was gone-I love you babe!

Dad & Papa

My Dad shares a Birthday with the Great Pumpkin :) He says it's the best Birthday ever because everyone Celebrates and has fun on his Birthday!

My Dad is one of the Greatest Men I know. He has a sincere love for all people and would give the shirt off his back without a second thought. He is patient and loving and hilarious all at the same time :) And, he's the perfect Papa!

Here's some fun facts about my Dad:
*He grew up in Whiterocks, UT on the Indian Reservation, the second to youngest of 7 children (5 girls and 2 boys)
*He was a State Champion wrestler for Union High School
*He served a mission in Sydney Australia
*Just a few months after his mission, His Mom passed away of cancer at age 45
*He is unbelievably talented, and he excels at everything - He can draw, wood-work, leather-work, yard-work, cook, construction-work (you should check out the amazing playground he built for the grand kids)...you name it he can do it!

One of the greatest things about my Dad is his ability and willingness to WORK HARD. Dad is a Journeyman Linemen for Moon Lake Electric. When the whether is tumultuous and freezing and completely miserable my Dad is the one fixing the power outages so that everyone at home can be comfortable. Without complaining he's called out in the middle of the night to brave the blizzard and climb a power pole to restore power (and we're put out because our homes don't have lights and it's getting a little chilly without the heat). He truly has sacrificed for our family.

For 26 years my Dad has endured and at age 52 he still continues to do this on a daily basis:











































{Last week, changing a cross arm on a 60 ft pole at Flaming Gorge -My Dad's the one on top}
{Ignore the date on the pictures - somebody's camera is WAY off}

Etsy Update!

Yay! Due to the OVERWHELMING response to the darling beanies I featured on Studio 5 --You can now find them in my Etsy shop (Please try to ignore the fact that it's "under construction") --I realize there's only a few there, but I'm more than happy to take orders --don't forget all the girlies on your Christmas list :)! So for all of you who would rather "buy it" than "make it", here's your chance!

* OctoBer *

Our October F L E W by --even with the 14 days of sickness --I love that we've still had some days of nice weather but I hate that we've already had our first snow, good thing it was just a little :)











































Laex had a blast trunk-or and trick-or treating this year, he was totally into gathering all the candy he could get! We also decided to do something different and hit up the Mall for some treats, other than being a complete Mad House we had a great time and he collected enough sugar to feed us for a year!

Last Minute!

YAY! I get to fill in (SO Last Minute) at STUDIO 5 on Wednesday, yep, this coming Wednesday! -I'm so excited! Don't forget to watch, 11:00 AM Channel 5

And now...I must prepare! :)

BIG APPLE

Now that I can focus, the excitement is taking over!

In exactly 3 weeks, I'll be "Leavin on a Jet Plane"! Just me and MJ, destination? NYC BABY!

I Heart NYC, BIG TIME. It's been Way.Too.Long. since I've visited (6 yrs to be exact).

But this time, I'm doing things a bit different. Instead of staying with the Weinbers in NJ, we'll be planting out butts, smack dab in the middle of the Big Apple for 8 days of pure enjoyment!

Already confirmed:
Wicked!(front and center thanks to my super awesome hubby)
Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular!
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
Empire State Building
Tavern on the Green
Ground Zero
Pizza
Ice Skating in Rockefeller Plaza
Time Square excitement
South Street Seaport
Max Brenners
China Town
Little Italy
Temple
Central Park

and much much more....

Did I mention the City will be dressed for the Holidays, this warms my heart - there's nothing, and I mean NOTHING like NYC at Christmas time :)

If you had 8 days in NYC, where would you visit??

I'm ALIVE!

And it's about time I update :)

A couple of weeks ago we got a visit from my parents --Laex always loves to see Gramie and Papa! Their purpose for coming was to attend a fashion/hair show put on by Kenzies Cosmetology School --they do it to earn some extra bucks for a trip to Long Beach to a hair show--it was a pretty fun time with the theme "Jungle Fever"! And it turns out my little sis is Rockin at school - she was the BIG GRAND PRIZE WINNER (out of 53 contestants) with her creation of this darling little "cheetah girl" (My cousins daughter) ! -GO KENZ!






































Its been a while since I've Bragged about this handsome little man! My Laex is such a hoot (although I do wish he'd get over his fear of the toilet!) His nickname as of lately has become "Smart Fart" -and he calls himself this proudly! --He really is the smartest 2 year old I know, and truth is, I'm not really sure where it comes from :) I fear for my other children because he's set the bar pretty high! He talks a million miles a minute and I constantly get comments on how well he speaks and what good pronunciation he has! Here are a few of my favorites!:

*I've kind of nicknamed him "bubby" - It just happened- well lately he's been using this nickname for me, I think he sees it as a term of endearment or something, but it's pretty funny when he walks around the house yelling, "bubby, bubby" --I have to remind him, he's bubby :)

*He's become very particular about his manners, it's a good thing but often so comical that I have to leave the room or turn my head so he doesn't see me snicker. He'll say, "Oh, Fart - Scuse Me" or even better his dad will fart (cause I never do :) ) and he'll say, "Scuse you Dad, Fart"

*The other day (while I was seriously DOWN & OUT) my dear friend (pretty much the best friend anyone could ever have) Jen was coming to get Laex for the day. I asked him if he wanted to go play with the boys and after jumping around exclaiming, "Yay, so excited" he proceeded to explain, "Toys upstairs, toys downstairs, games on the TV" (ie video games). He knew exactly what he was in for! (He gets SPOILED at Jen's, and he LOVES it)!

*He's recently taken a serious liking to "cartoons" --and in the meantime I've become a terrible parent because I take some really big advantage of this :) --anyway, he'll ask to watch cartoons and then he'll tell me where he wants to watch them, in this manner, "Cartoons on TV, Elmo, not on Puter (computer)" or "No TV, Mickey on Puter"

*He'll come in, in the morning, dragging his blankie and never fails to say, "Sleep good!"

*After watching football with Daddy one evening, I asked him if he liked watching football and he proceeded to tell me all about it, "run fast, catch ball, wear helmet and gloves, touchdown"

*^*We've been working on colors, numbers and letters he's really good at pointing out "L" and numbers "1, 5, 8, 2" and everything is either "orange, pink or ba-lue" He also LOVES to watch Football with Daddy and can easily identify a "football, basketball, baseball, soccer ball, and golf ball"*^*

NOT GOOD

Pregnancy, UTI, Upper Respiratory Infection and now SWINE FLU --too bad it all had to come at once :(


I'm in a BAD way --

This too shall pass :)

Today

we heard a heart beat!

This is by far one of my favorite times in a pregnancy, on the outside there's not much proof but inside there are magical events taking place and Heavenly Father at work creating yet another masterpiece!
AMAZING! and I love it!

Our new little one ** (which I'm already unofficially convinced will even out the score and bring lots of ruffles and pink to our home)** is due to make an appearance on April 17th! --if "she's" anything like the big brother "she'll" be arriving right on time!

What we've been up to!

Just catching up on the last few weeks!

Enjoying one of our last "grilled" meals before winter blows in --yummy pizza!





























Laex doing what he loves best, reading --for some reason he thought it was so hilarious when LeGrand would say Hippopotamus!






Cleaned out the garden and once more we're over-taken with veggies--This is only about half of them! And of course LeGrand had to show off his prized TURNIP --it's been growing all season just so he could see how big he could get it!



























Enjoyed a great night out with awesome friends as the Cougs took on the Aggies --GO COUGS!



































Though I hate the cold that's on it's way, I do love all the holidays coming up -we're all ready for Halloween!

Success!

The Boutique was such a success! Thanks everyone who made it by and for all that didn't --look for us again the end of March :)


Now...














On to dealing with all the STRANGE things that have been going on around here:

Feeling a little yucky

Munching all.the.time.

Catching up on rest

Gaining a few extra pounds

















Yep it's True!

Boutique Time

I've been completely DISTRACTED by the big SHOW coming up!

Please SPREAD the WORD!

Bring YOURSELF, your FRIENDS, your MOM, your SISTER, your NEIGHBOR, your GRANDMA, your AUNTS, your CO-WORKERS, your DAUGHTERS and even bring all the MEN if you want!

SERIOUSLY, you've gotta CHECK. THIS. OUT. --even if you only come because the CURIOSITY is KILLING YOU :) ---

Can't wait to SEE YOU ALL THERE!

Liv'N Chic Boutique
September 24th-26th
Thursday & Friday 9 AM-8 PM
Saturday 9 AM-5 PM
882 W. 1500 S.
VERNAL

Soup

Tomato Soup anyone??

















If I see one more tomato, I might cry - seriously, if you want 'em come and get 'em!

Labor Day: Family & Fun!

LeGrand had to work :( but...Laex, Kenz and I headed to the "Hoopes Family Reunion" held this year in Grand Junction, CO. We had a great time --we look forward to this every year! I slacked in the picture department but here are a few of the highlights!
*Luau
*Swimming, swimming and more swimming (every time I turned around Laex was back in the water!)
*Too much food and lots of junk
*Catching up with all the cousins
*Enjoying doing nothing!

It was a great time but we were so glad to return to our Dad!

Abundance

In case there is any doubt my Garden is producing, this is what greeted us after being gone for a week...
























































{Of Course our first meal back was BLT's and Corn on the Cob:) }


I just finished up about 25 jars of Salsa and I already have enough tomatoes for at least that many more...