My Family

I have some cute pics of the kids and of Jeff's birthday dinner, but I think I will post them later. Today I just wanted to record how much I love my awesome family. Every day my children say or do something that brings love and light into my life. They are so funny, so adorable, so smart and kind. They love to cuddle up with me or with Jeff, and it just warms me up! Whenever I ask them who loves them the most, they say, "You and Daddy". So true.

I am also blessed to have the kindest most generous husband who always tries to put my needs and the needs of our kids first. How did I get so lucky? He works darn hard for us everyday, and he is committed to being the best dad and hubby around. I adore him, and I love him more and more everyday.

I know this is a little squishy for a blog, so I guess I hope nobody else reads it, but I wanted to make sure it was out there just in case. I read a blog today that was written by a loving mother and wife who passed away last year. You could read how much she adored her family, and I thought that it was an amazing gift she gave her family. They will always have that to look back on and know of her love for them. I feel pretty confident that I will live to be an old old woman, but I guess you just never know :-)

FINALLY, SOME BOATING PICS!!!!

Jeff and Ny on the tube with Nikki and Brayden

Zane swimming in the lake


Brandon and Aunt Kimmie

Peeps on the boat and in the tube

Matt, Zane, and Trent

Jeff just chillin' on the boat

Nyah, trying to muster the courage to jump in :-)

Shay and her little cousins trying to get her wet!

The Aunties being silly

Zane with a grasshopper crawling up his arm!

There are several other great pics of the boating trip, but I think I will just post them on Facebook in a few days. It really was a fun trip, and we are so grateful for Pam and Andy and their generocity. Zane is already asking when we can go back to Boise and hang out on the boat with our cousins again. Maybe next year.....

Because I Love You

Okay, so I am slow getting boating pics up, but I will do that soon. I just wanted to share a little conversation I had with my precious daughter Nyah recently.

Me: I am so lucky that you are my daughter. Do you know how you came to be mine?

Nyah: No.

Me: Heavenly Father decided to send you to me and to Daddy.

Nyah: Wow.

Me: Why do you think Heavenly Father decided to send you to us?

Nyah: Because I love you.

Talk about melt your heart! I was not sure what answer she was going to come up with, but that is the very best one I can ever imagine. I love that girl!

Boating!

We are still here in Boise with the fam doing a fun boating trip. Zane and Nyah are having a ball with their cousins. Zane is a big fan of the tube rides, and he loves to catch as much air as he can. He even got bucked off the tube yesterday, but luckily Shyalie was a great Baywatch Babe and dove in after him. When she got there he was grinning from hear to ear. He is one tough cookie!

Nyah loves the boat, and when she gets hot and tired we make her a little bed and she takes a snooze. I can hardly believe she can sleep on a wild boat! I guess that is one of the perks of being three.

I have lots of great pics, but I will have to wait until I get home to upload them. Stay tuned...

GIRLS NIGHT OUT (You don't want to miss this!)

Friday, July 10th @ Provo Marriot Hotel

Sorry, this is a little hard to read, but you should look into this if you are interested in changing your body in an awesome way! Kristi and Trish can give you a step by step plan on how to eat to to lose fat, and how to exercise to get you toned! Visit their blog to check it out! I am "Living the Life" with Kristi Approved, and I have already lost over 5 lbs of nasty fat, and started toning and building muscle! After only 3 weeks I shed 1 1/2 inches off my waist, 2 inches off my hips, and 3/4 inch off each of my thighs! This is a great way to live and have more energy than ever!

If you are interested, go to http://www.kristiapproved.com/ or kristiapproved.blogspot.com

Potty Training, T-Ball, and Princesses

I have been so darn busy lately! I want to cram in a few things that I have been meaning to blog about but haven't yet. Enjoy!

Nyah finally decided 3 weeks ago that she is a big girl, and she is ready to wear big girl underwear and go to the potty. I was a little scared since we had big plans that day (Saturday) to go to Lagoon and I didn't want to ruin her resolve by making her wear a diaper, so I took some extra cloths with us and crossed my fingers. I couldn't believe it, but she told us 8 times that day that she needed to go to the potty, and she did it every time with NO ACCIDENTS! She did it at home twice, at Lagoon twice, when we were driving home (We pulled over and took her to Wendy's), and while we were at my sister-in-law's house twice! I don't want to get too graphic, but it was pee and poop! Since that day 3 weeks ago she has only had 2 accidents, and they were both right in front of the potty while she was pulling off her undies. Yay for Nyah!!!

Zane recently started T-Ball on the Lehi City League, and Jeff volunteered to be the coach. I can't tell you how excited Zane was when he found out that his dad would be his coach! We have had 2 practices and 1 rained out game, so Zane is itching to get out and play another team. He really is quite good, he knows all the rules (he watches baseball with Jeff and plays with Jeff all the time), he can throw and catch quite well, and he is one heck of a hitter. I heard that his cousin Tyler (who I think is almost 10) is a baseball phenom, so I guess Zane is trying to follow in his footsteps. There is another family rumor that Jeff and his big bro Dan were awesome ball players in their day as well, not to mention the Softball skills of all of his aunties, so maybe baseball runs in the Hoppie blood ;-)

Nyah will be three on Monday, and I wanted her to have a little party with all of her 3 year old friends to celebrate. Ny wanted a princess party, so we decided to go with it. We get little Disney princess invites and handed them out to her friends in the area. She also told the next door neighbor about her upcoming party, and she offered us some beautiful crystal looking plates and matching cups to make the girls really feel like royalty. I was afraid that they would get broken, but she assured me she didn't mind if they did since she had so many and bought them second hand anyway. I couldn't believe her generosity!

I decorated with purple flowers, a strand of Christmas lights, party favors (crowns, rock candy wands, stick-on earrings, barbie stickers, fashion rings), and the cake.

The Table

The Cake and Place Setting

Lizzy, Nyah, and Megan

Getting Ready to Bead Bracelets

Princesses Eating

Princess Nyah

Heart Shaped Sandwiches

Bracelets!!!

Directly After the Party

( lol.)

It was so much fun to have all those little princesses over making bracelets, eating finger foods, opening gifts, playing together and giggling! Thanks to all of the moms who let us borrow their little princesses for the afternoon. It made Nyah's party so fun and so memorable.

12 Weeks to a NEW ME!

So, I am pretty sick of working out every day and staying the same size. I have been busting my bunz running, lifting weights, swimming, doing aerobics and pilates, and although I am seeing improvements in my stamina, strength, and overall health, I have plateaued in the weight loss category. I know (and have known) what the problem is (I don't eat right), but honestly I have no idea how to plan for, shop for, and cook a really healthy meal. So when I found out that my friend Trish and her buddy Kristi started a business to help women learn to eat right and get a rock hard body, I was on board! They gave me a book (they call it the Pink Bible) that outlines EXACTLY what to eat, how to prepare it, when to eat it, and what exercises to do... for a whole 12 weeks! You should see the before and after shots of Trish, it is unbelievable. So I am starting my journey to a new healthier, thinner, firmer me, and I couldn't be more excited... or scared ;-) I am taking a before pic tonight in a bikini, but don't worry, I won't post it here... but if I end up looking as hot as Trish, maybe I will make this blog private and post my after photo... or not! We'll see....

Wish me luck!