The Hoopes Family

Twins!!!!

2011-06-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

After almost 2 years of not updating my blog I finally have exciting and scary enough news to take the time to post! We found out a couple of weeks ago that I am pregnant with twins. Talk about life changing. We are going to have 5 kids 5 and under! We are super excited and super scared. I will try to do better about posting and keeping up with the happenings of our family! :)

Camping!

2009-08-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

The last weekend in May we went camping up on Mingus Mountain with the Dommers and the Gronemans (families from our ward). We looked all over for a spot where we could have a campfire but ended up just having one illegally. We didn't get in trouble until we were about to pack up so it was all good.

This was the kids' fort that their dads made for them.

The dads also took the kids fishing at a near by lake. We had a lot of fun. The weather was wonderful and the company was great. I love camping!

summer continued...

2009-08-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

We spent Mother's Day at home with just our little family. It was actually Marshall's birthday as well. The kids and Luke gave me a sweet card and a new bike (which I still haven't actually gotten!)

Then the next weekend we went down to Pima. Friday night was Father's and Sons. Luke was soooooo excited. He had waited ALL year to take Marshall. Luke said Marshall got a little cold in the night but that he was a champ and they had a blast.

Then that Saturday was my 24th birthday (I don't know what I was thinking putting up 25 fingers, not like 24 isn't old enough!). After the boys all got home from camping Luke and I went on a motorcycle ride to Pinetop. We went up the Coronado Trial on Saturday, stayed at a hotel that night, woke up and went to church and then came home down Mule Creek on Sunday evening. It was sooo fun! And it was absolutely beautiful!

It was freezing going up Saturday so I had to stop and get some hot chocolate! That night when we got to Pinetop we were trying to find a place to eat and EVERYTHING was closed at 8pm! It was soooooooo cold so I didn't want to drive very far so we ended up going to KFC for my birthday dinner. It was fun though. It was also quite a site to see Luke and I on the motorcycle riding to church in our Sunday clothes. I am so mad that I didn't get a picture of that!

Luke's parents kept the kids for us and they got to play with their cousins. It was a very fun weekend. Here is all of the grandkids except for Hollen going for a buggy ride with Me-Na.

It is so nice to have parents and in-laws that are willing to take our kids so we can get away together every once in a while. We had a blast.

Marshall's 1st Birthday!

2009-08-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Then on Saturday, May 9th we had a pool party for Marshall's 1st Birthday. It was a lot of fun. Most of Marshall's cousins from Luke's side were there. Tan and Lee and their two boys, Hannah and Nick and their two, and Danny and Diane were all there. We swam, had a BBQ, ate cake, and opened presents.

This was the funky double decker cupcake I made for him...

Luke and I gave him this fire truck and he loved it. He still loves to ride it and has gotten really good at turning and popping wheelies (don't know if that's spelled right). Bentlee still rides the Dora one she got for her first birthday. All our tile is perfect for riding on them. Everyone had a great time. First birthdays are fun!

Summer Recap!

2009-08-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been A LONG time and we've had a really busy summer! I don't want to forget about all the fun things we did so I am going to do a summer recap post...

It all started happening in May... We went to the Children's Museum with some friends in our ward. Bentlee really enjoyed it. They had all kinds of fun little things to do.

Here the kids are riding trikes through the car wash...

Here is Bentlee painting...

They also had a noodle forest and lots of other things that are hard to describe. Bentlee's had a blast and talked about it for a while. We are going to try and go again this week.

The RIDE!!

2009-05-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to do this for over a week but I just never got to it. So the last weekend in April Luke and I got to go on a motorcycle ride with some of his family. We went to Laughlin for the River Run (it's a bike rally) and then also to Vegas. It was lots of fun! Here is some of our gang. Luke and I, Brian and Allison, Tanner and Elyssa, and Danny all went.

I took this picture going down the freeway.

This was at Hoover Dam. It was really fun to drive through there on a motorcycle and see everything. They are building a ginormous new bridge, it was awesome!

It was also really fun to spend the whole weekend with Luke and not have any kids to worry about! Thanks to my mom and dad, they made that possible!

This was in Vegas after a long day of riding. We went and ate at a buffet (Luke's favorite thing to do) and that was about it. Everyone was too tired to do much of anything else.

My super cool father-in-law! :) He made the trip possible.

Danny got us a super nice hotel in Henderson to stay at. We were a little out of place with our bikes and crazy hair, but we didn't care. Over the weekend we saw an Aston Martin, a Ferrari, two Bentleys and lots of other cool cars parked at the hotel.
This was my first big trip and I really had a lot of fun. My only complaint was that it was cold and I didn't have warm clothes, but next time I will be more prepared! I had so much fun that Luke and I are going to go on another ride for my birthday! I can't wait!

Happy Birthday Bentlee!

2009-04-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

Monday my little girl turned 3! I can't even believe that she is that old already! So Monday we invited a bunch of our ward friends over and then also Tanner and Lee and their two boys. We had a great time and Bentlee loved her birthday party. That is all she could think or talk about for a whole week before!

Luke cooked some really good hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken!

And then we sang to Bentlee and she blew out her candles. She was SOOO excited for everyone to sing Happy Birthday to her!

Here is Bentlee and her friend Kade enjoying the pink and purple cupcakes that I made!

And then FINALLY Bentlee got to open her presents (she had bugged me all day)! She was very spoiled and got lots of stuff, including this sweet tricycle from poppa Danny and me-na.

I have to say Marshall had a blast as well. He had a great time raiding the tables for leftovers.

And then he found the ice cream!

And life was REALLY good!

I just have to say that it was a really fun party and Bentlee loved having all of her friends there! I am so thankful for Bentlee and the sweet little girl that she is. Here are a couple of things she loves to do at 3 years old:

ride her pink bike
go to the park
go swimming
play with her friends
eat (just about anything!)

She has also become very good at saying her prayers and lately loves to be thankful for daddy and his hard work.

Happy Birthday Bentlee, your family loves you!

Easter

2009-04-22T22:13:00.001-07:00

This is how we spent our Easter, laying on the couch! We all got the flu bug that has been going around. Marshall had it Friday, I had it Saturday, Luke had it Sunday, and Bentlee had it Monday. So needless to say we all just stayed home from church and laid around all day. The kids did really enjoy their Easter baskets and looking for the Easter eggs though. I think we all had fun despite the sickness!

Marshall Walking!

2009-04-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Marshall just turned 11 months old two days ago and everyday he improves his walking. He has just recently started to let go of one thing and walk to something else all on his own. (Like from one couch to the other, etc.) Yesterday he took about 6 or 7 consecutive steps. He is getting so big and he's such a happy boy. Before too long he'll be walking all over the place! I'll take some pictures and post them soon. For now I'm going to say that I am CAUGHT UP! HIP HIP HOORAY!

General Conference

2009-04-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we got to drive up to Utah with the Nelsons. Brett, Rocki, Brinlee, Luke, Bentlee, Marshall and I all rode up in the Yukon. We spent the weekend with Sherra and John and the girls. It was a ton of fun! Rocki and Brett and Luke and I were able to go to the Sunday morning session of conference and that was really neat. I love being in the conference center with all those people that believe the same way I do. It is so powerful! It was a great weekend and we were so glad that we went. Thanks so much to the Carter's for their hospitality. You guys are awesome!

Here are some pictures of one of my favorite activities of the weekend...

Even Mom got into it...

And Bentlee was a SUPER cheerleader! Her cousin Shayla taught her well! :)

The ZOO!!

2009-04-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

Since we moved back down to Peoria, the kids and I have had a blast playing with all our friends that we knew when we lived here before. One of the fun things we did was go to the zoo. (My kids had never been and they LOVED it!)

Bentlee's favorite things were probably the monkeys, but she also really liked the giraffes and the elephants.

It's been A LONG time!

2009-04-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I've been slacking big time but I plan to be better in the future. Once I got behind it was really overwhelming to me so I'm just going to take it one step at a time!

Anyway, things have been pretty crazy with us lately, there has been a lot going on. I'll back track just a little...

Here are the kids in the new Sunday clothes they got for Christmas. Savanna got Marshall his super cute outfit and Santa brought Bentlee's dress.

In January Luke and Bentlee went to the annual Hoopes' boys trip to the monster trucks (Bentlee is the only girl that gets to go!) She absolutely loved it and still talks about the "monster trucks that ramped over the cars".

Unfortunately, on the way down to the monster trucks Luke rear ended a lady and totalled our camry (the good car!). But, everyone was fine and that is all that matters. I wish I had a picture to show but I didn't take any. They were able to put the car wreck behind them and go enjoy the monster trucks.

The month of February the kids and I spent the WHOLE month in Thatcher. We went down because sweet Grandma Carter had died. We went to her funeral and then spent the week with family. The Carters stayed for and week and so did the Tucson Best's. It was so fun to spend all that time with my sisters... and Vince! We went on a couple of really fun dirt bike/4-wheeler rides and just had a really good time. Here is some pictures from our trip to Frye Mesa...

Then after everyone left, I had to get busy studying. I had one more section of the CPA test to take so Mom and Dad helped me with the kids so that I could study. They are amazing!

The kids (especially Bentlee) loved getting to see baby Brinlee!

Marshall started crawling one day before his 9 month birthday. (He followed in his sister's footsteps and started at grams and papas).

After the funeral Luke had to go back to work but he came back a couple weeks later (Valentine's Day) to spend the weekend with us. We spend the day in Pima riding 4-wheelers and playing...

I took my test on February 27th and then we went home to start packing. While we were in Thatcher studying our renters moved out of our Peoria house and we decided that we were going to move back in. For the next two weeks I packed like crazy and Luke got ready to move into his NEW office! On March 12th Luke moved into his office and on the 14th we moved back down to Peoria.

Holiday Video

2008-12-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Studying at Papa and Grams' House

2008-11-09T19:52:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday night the kids and I drove down to Thatcher so that I could study for my CPA test this upcoming Friday. All last week I sat in front of my computer trying to cram for it. Today I finally got a day off and that is why I am updating the blog.

Bentlee has had a fun time playing with all of her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. She loves being around her family. In fact she has played so hard that after her bath the other day she fell asleep on the couch with nothing but her towel on. Papa said one minute she was arguing with him and the next she was sound asleep!

Papa and the kids!

Marshall sat in the highchair in the kitchen the other day and watched papa cook. This week I finally broke down and started feeding him solids. He got to where he wasn't sleeping good at night, his growing body needed some real food! Let me just say that he was definitely ready! He'll eat anything I give him. So far he's had bananas, carrots, and avocados.

My Princess!

2008-11-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

I hadn't ever really taken pictures of Bentlee's haircut. Here she is before church last week.

Driving his first car!

2008-11-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

The other day the kids were playing outside and Luke put Marshall in the car. He looked so cute I had to take some pictures!

Trunk or Treat

2008-11-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

I know it is a little late but I wanted to post some pictures from Halloween. We went to our four ward trunk or treat. Marshall and I handed out candy at the car and Luke took Bentlee around. It was pretty fun.

We had a cowgirl and a little baby chick... Bentlee loved the candy!

My two boys!

Babysitting

2008-10-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we watched some kids so their parents could go out on a date. It was pretty interesting having 6 little kids. Bentlee had a blast! They all played really well together and had a good time. Here are the boys....

And the the girls...

These are Bentlee's new friends, Allison and Megan. She loves when they come and play with her.

I've Been Tagged!?

2008-10-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is my first experience with being tagged. Heather got me and I'm supposed to list 6 quirky things about me...

1. I absolutely love peanut butter and honey sandwiches, especially on my homemade bread. I eat at least one everyday (usually), today I had two, lunch and dinner!

2. I have serious OCD when it comes to toilets, especially public ones. I will hold my pee all day long so that I don't have to go in a nasty public restroom. Being pregnant is hard for me just for the simple fact that I can't hold it as long.

3. I do not enjoy talking on the phone. There is something about talking to people when I can't see them or their expressions that really bugs me. I'd rather email or talk to them in person. This isn't necessarily true with family and close friends however.

4. I can't stand it when things don't add up right. I will do things over and over until I get things right or they match. It must be the accountant in me! :)

5. I don't really like to shop. I really dislike going grocery shopping or going to Walmart so I avoid those places (Luke does a lot of the grocery shopping). And anytime I go to the mall I can't even enjoy myself or try on a new outfit because I'm too worried about kids. It just never ends up being a very pleasant experience.

6. I'm pretty obsessive about clean sheets. If I don't shower before I go to bed then I sleep on top of the comforter, if I do shower then I sleep in the sheets. I make Luke do the same. Weird, I know.

Let's see... I tag Casey and Sherra...ha ha!

Two Cute Kids!

2008-10-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

I am just about worn out for the night but I want to say that I love being a mom and I have two super cute kids! I am so thankful for them, and for my amazing husband! I am so blessed!

Bentlee takes every chance she can get to be a mommy!

Carving the Pumpkin

2008-10-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors gave us a pumpkin so for family night this week we decided to carve it. Bentlee said she wanted a happy pumpkin and this is what she got. She was pretty excited about it after it was done, but she wanted nothing to do with taking out all the nasty guts. Luke got pretty into the carving, you would think he was a dentist or something!

Talk about a serious pumpkin carver!!

The Bouncer

2008-10-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

Marshall absolutely LOVES this bouncer! He will bounce and bounce and eventually bounces himself to sleep (see above), it is so cute! The other morning I was getting ready and he was bouncing and watching me. Pretty soon he was completely asleep but every once in a while his legs would start bouncing again. Even when you take him out of it, his legs like to keep bouncing. It's pretty funny.

Our First Camping Trip!

2008-10-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Bentlee is helping her dad get wood and make the fire. She absolutely loves being outside and especailly going camping. She did say she wanted some friends though. I guess mom, dad and Marshall weren't exciting enough for her!Okay, so last weekend we made history. We actually went camping with just our little family, no one else. We have gone camping a lot with both families, or the ward or whatever, but never just the four of us. It was so fun! Luke told me a long time ago (like when we were first married) that his dream was to get home from work and I would have the kids and everything all ready and we would go out and go camping. On October 17th 2008 his dream came true. He got home from work about four o'clock and we headed to Lynx Lake. We only went about 10 miles and we were in the pines away from everything and everyone. We got there and Luke and Bentlee made a spectacular fire and then we cooked our delicious tin foil dinners on it. Then we roasted marshmallows and had smores. We all slept in our little two man tent under the stars and full moon. We had a really good time, I can't wait to do it again.

Marshall's Big News

2008-10-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

A day after Marshall's five month birthday he got some rice cereal. He did pretty good, but I haven't given him much since because it is just easier to nurse him. I think I'll wait until the six month birthday and really start him on solids.

Marshall has had a pretty exciting couple of weeks. For one thing he has pretty much mastered sitting up by himself. Just after he turned five months he was figuring it out, and now I can sit him down and not worry about him. Hurray! Then, a week ago tomorrow I noticed that his first little bottom tooth was coming in. I didn't even realize that he had been teething. He hadn't shown any signs. Lucky me!!

Poppa Danny's Train

2008-10-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

The kids love to ride around Pima while Poppa Danny pulls them with his John Deere. He made the little cars for them all to ride in. They have such fun grandparents!

Bentlee and the Boys

2008-10-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

We went to Pima for Conference weekend and Bentlee got to play with Cameron and Cooper. As you can see they had a lot of fun in the mud puddle. Bentlee loves playing with her boy cousins.

While we were there Bentlee got her first "real" haircut. Aunt Hannah gave her the cutest little bob. It made her look all grown up!

Then the next weekend we went and stayed with Tanner and Lee while Luke went to his regional meeting. The kids went to the park three times in two days. They were supposed to camp out in the backyard in a tent but Luke ended up out there by himself, the kids all backed out. They played in the bath this time, instead of the mud.

Last One for the Night!

2008-10-01T19:26:00.001-07:00

Potty training has been the worst stage! Bentlee is so capable of doing it but refuses. She will sit on the toilet forever and I know she has to go but she will wait until I give in and put a diaper on her. So I have decided I'm just going to wait until she WANTS to. I keep trying to bribe her with all kinds of fun stuff but nothing tempts her. UPDATE: Bentlee finally went pee pee an d poo poo on the potty! October 10th 2008 was her very first time! We are making progress.

Her new thing lately is pretending. She has acquired quite the imagination! She loves to get my boppy and feed her baby. She is such a cute little mommy. I always hear her talking to herself or her baby and she always says phrases that Luke and I say. It is really funny. Her phrase the last couple of days has been "baby, that's not nice".
Marshall just hangs out. He is seriously the easiest, most laid back baby. He has totally spoiled me. The other night I had to go do new sister visits for Relief Society and he just sat in his car seat content for like three hours straight! My kids are so fun, I love being a mom!

I got all my pictures on the computer so I had to catch up tonight!

Brother and Sister

2008-10-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Bentlee and Marshall love each other, and I am so glad! Bentlee can bring a big smile to Marshall's face without even trying. And Bentlee loves to show Marshall all her toys, play "Dora cards" with him, read to him and all kinds of fun stuff. Anytime Luke and I ask Bentlee if she wants to do something she ALWAYS asks "and Marshall too?" It is so cute to watch them get along so well. Hopefully it will be something that lasts.

Goodbye Eula!

2008-10-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Our family had a sad day last week. We had to say goodbye to our friend Eula. She was supposed to become Luke's BOA (secretary) but she ditched us and moved to Sierra Vista. We are sure going to miss going to lunch and visiting her at the office. Bentlee loved going to play at her house. She is like a 3rd gramma to Bentlee. We all miss her, it is crazy how close we got in such a short amount of time. This picture was at her going away party.

Camping Labor Day

2008-10-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Every Labor Day we always go camping. Last year we went with the Hoopes' so this year it was the Gibbons' turn. Bentlee had a blast! Her cousins have little four-wheelers and they would take her for lots of rides. She never wanted to get off! She also really liked riding in the Rhino Rocki and Brett brought. Her other favorite part was all the Ring Pops that Grams and Papa brought for the kids. She also really liked going to the creek and playing in the water. Her dad even caught her a little water snake that she got to pet (I know ewww!) but she was so excited and to this day still talks about the "baby water snake with red tongue". Now all she wants to do is going camping! Marshall was great as well. He slept really good and just hung out during the day. He even went on a couple of four-wheeler rides himself.

Luke took a couple of days off so we were able to camp for 4 days. Luckily just about everyone in my family has a toy hauler or motorhome (they have forgotton what it means to camp) so we were able to get a shower before church. Casey and Jeff blessed Jett that Sunday in Luna which was pretty neat. We all had a really good time and didn't even get too wet the night that it rained ALL night long. And the food was wonderful like usual when my dad does the cooking!

It's Time.

2008-08-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally broke down and decided to do the whole blogging thing. I really need to be better about writing down all the cute things my adorable kids do. So anyway this is kind of a bad time to start because I can't find the cord to my digital camera, but when I do I'll get some pictures on here.

Bentlee has been doing some really cute things lately. Like she'll be playing and while she's playing she sings her version of "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam". It is really cute. She has also been saying a lot of phrases that Luke and I say like, "have a dood day" and "I'll be bat soon". Oh and the other day we were in the car and all of a sudden she said "Oh my doodness". We really have to watch what we say. Today she told Luke she was going to punch him in the nose!

Marshall is doing great too. He is the best baby! So he's not even three months old and he has been sleeping 11 hours at night! I put him to bed about 8:30 and he sleeps straight until about 7:30. It is wonderful. He is also a very happy baby. All you have to do is talk to him and he gets a big grin on his face. It's so fun doing the baby thing all over again, you forget how exciting each new stage is. Well, that's all for now.