The Last Day of 2009

I can hardly believe that today is the last day of 2009. A decade has come and gone and I am sitting here wondering why time seems to go so much faster now that I have kids. Maybe it's because I am so much busier than I used to be. Whatever the reason I am glad that I have kids, but a little sad that time is going so quickly. I look back at the photos of my kids last year and the year before, and it makes me miss the days when they were so little. It's not that I don't love exactly what age they are now, I am just a little afraid that this stage will pass as quickly as all the others have and before I know it they will be all grown up! I am sure that I am being ridiculous, but maybe I can get past these fears if I get them off my chest and move on. Does anybody else ever feel this way?

2009 has been a great year. I prefer to look at the positives and forget about the negatives. Our kids have been so happy and have learned so much, and I feel blessed to be able to be part of that. We have done many exciting things together like go boating with our cousins, ride bikes in the neighborhood, go to the dollar movies, play baseball and basketball at the park, go swimming, visit the fire station, and so much more. We love to go go go and it has always helped us learn, grow and have fun.

I am excited for 2010. I think it will bring many good opportunities for our family, and we plan to take advantage of as many of them as we can. I hope this new year turns out to be one of the best yet for us and for all of our friends and family. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I can hardly believe I have already gotten around to posting a few more photos. I am glad that I fit it in because a few of them are great!

Grandma and Grandpa Hoppie gave Zane and Ny this ghost night light in October. Ny slept with it just like this for several nights in a row. Can you see its belly glowing?

Here are some of the girls in our 'hood all dressed up for a kiddie Halloween party. It was so much fun!

Here is one of the turkey cookies Zane and Ny made for thanksgiving. They used a copy of their hand print to cut the shape. So cute!





Jeff and I right after our 10th anniversary cruise. Can you see the ship behind us?


I took the kids to the live Nativity in Draper this year. It was FREEZING, but well worth the wait in the icy cold line :-)

Nyah had her preschool Christmas program this past week. She is the one in the polka dot dress up front. So cute!

This is me and Ny after the program. She is so beautiful, and so sweet. I just love that girl!

She wanted to get a picture of us with her candy cane in it. Candy canes are oh so important, and must not be left out of cute photos!


This is our ginger bread house. The kids chose to build Snoopy's dog house. Too funny.

I have more, so maybe I will get a chance to add them sometime soon. Merry Christmas!

A little Peek Into My Life

Wow, it has been a long time, and there are so many fun things to share. I guess I will just post some photos and let you see for yourself!

Jeff helping Ny carve her pumpkin into a kitty cat.

Zane and Ny on a walk by Great Grandma's house.

Zane playing Flag football.


Jeff and I in Ensenada for our 10th anniversary!

Suprise, surprise... I am short on time, so I will post more pics asap! Enjoy!

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...