Christmas Fun

Last week my mom planned a special night for the Hoopes' family. We were treated to dinner at Blue Plate Diner and then headed to This Is the Place Heritage Park.
Blue Plate Diner was great for everyone. The kids especially loved to pick out songs on the jukebox...it was free so especially great. Elvis seemed to be the most popular among them. The menu for the diner included everything from burgers to breakfast. I thought we were going to miss the whole dinner scene. We locked our keys inside the house. How do you do that?, you might ask. It's called lack of communication between the spouses. Luckily, my mom saved the day and we made it in time.


Everyone had a great time at the park in spite of the below freezing temperatures. Amy was a bit envious of Watson's little fleece cocoon, but we managed to stay warm with hand warmers in our gloves and love in our hearts...I know, so cheesy but it seems to fit.

The kids were able to run around and we learned the Virginia Reel. Everyone danced, including Uncle Travis. And, we all had a good time! It was so cute to watch Paris & Addison run around and learn the steps too. I'm sure Watson was jealous and that was why he cried during that part.

The park has an old timey candy store. It was fun to see and taste some things that are a bit less commonplace at Target. Their dark chocolate toffee almonds are REALLY yummy.

Thanks to my mom we had a great time. It's nice to do something different and really contributes to great memories for our family. You're the best Mom!!!

I Can't Resist

Now that I'm getting back on track for posting news and such, I can't resist adding a few more Watson pictures. It makes me want to take more pictures of Chandler too--I've slacked a little on that. 3 month old boys are a lot easier to capture than 9 year old boys who don't really sit still. :)

Late but Thankful

I've been thinking a lot lately of all the things to be grateful about, partly because of the season and partly because I'm emerging from my "new mother" fog. First and foremost I am thankful for having the gospel in my life. It is really easy to forget how great it is and what it means for day to day living. I lose sight often of the eternal perspective of things but I know I can always find my way back to it once I take the time to be still and listen to the spirit. I'm grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who knows me and wants me to learn and be happy. I'm next grateful for my family. I feel very blessed to be married to Scott and have two boys of my own. It's ok that I'll probably always be outnumbered. Everyday has laughter and smiles because of them. My extended family is fantastic as well. I really think my post-Watson recovery would have been much more difficult and depressing without Challey and Amy's support and unconditional love. I love to spend time with my mom and other family and am so grateful to live close enough to have the chance to be together often...along with that I'm thankful Scott is patient and loving enough with me to participate too. I'm grateful to live where I do and know the people I know. I'm constantly amazed at the generosity of time and talent given by the people in my ward. I aspire to be like my girlfriends who are so accepting and constant. Yes, life really is beautiful and I want to be grateful daily.

Ode to Scott

My head and heart are thick with love for you

I don't think I could be married to anyone more true

Whenever I look into your eyes and smile

I can't think of anyone else of which I'd like to spend awhile

Talking and laughing and dreaming of days ahead

At the end of the day my love bank has been well fed

I'm so glad you are you and you let me be me

I expect to celebrate more of your birthdays until you are ninety-three!!

Happy Birthday and I love you!

Finally!!

I'm happy to report my blogging frequency will improve, starting now! Watson is over 11 weeks old and has been growing at a good rate so I finally feel like I can diversify my attention a little and incorporate a little of my old life back into my new life. It really is a new life. I was reading through my "Someday" post and realized I've accomplished each thing on the list. My yard isn't in the best shape but it is looking better than when I was 8 months pregnant. I've worn almost every pair of regular shoes since September 4th and feeling grateful for non swollen feet again. I've held my baby boy for hundreds of hours and am still amazed at his sweet little face. Yes, things seem to be returning to some kind of normalcy and I think Scott and Chandler are feeling a bit relieved about it. Yeah!!

25 Days and Counting

Watson Peter Carr...born on September 4th. He is all boy. I love him very much. We are learning together how to make life a little sweeter.

Sooner Rather than Later

I will soon post pictures of my cute little stinker. Watson Peter was born on September 4 at 8:04 am. We had a bit of a difficult time in getting him here in that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, this led to my getting a c-section. We are doing great, trying to figure out the nursing, sleeping at night, and balancing real life thing.
I have much to blog about including how fast Chandler is growing up and the new/old hobby of BMX racing Scott has begun again. All in good time, I suppose...

Someday...

I'll update my blog...
Be able to bend over to weed my front yard...
Not spill something on myself every time I eat (because I can't lean over)...
Have my basement back in order because Chandler's closet is done and the baby's room is ready...
Can wear real shoes, no more flip flops everyday...
Enjoy sweets without constant heartburn...
Hold my new baby boy...
Someday...it's all kind of in the near future.

An itty bitty update...

I visited with my doctor last Monday for my 28th week checkup. 28 weeks? Already? I've been feeling a lot better so things seem normal. Although, I have to say that my growing belly does slow me down quite a bit and that is a little frustrating. The doctor did the routine visit, including measuring, and announced that I may be 10 weeks out for the baby, rather than the anticipated 12 weeks! That was a little bit of a surprise. I'm totally not ready for Watson to arrive, but I'm working on it, a little at a time. He and I are both healthy and growing according to schedule. I feel very blessed to be a part of this experience and I'm excited to be a mom, again. I don't think, though, I really understand how my entire existence will change with a new baby in the house. Oh well, I'll manage. :)

9 on the 9th of 2009!

Chandler is growing so fast! He has gone from this:

To this:

In record time! He really is a sweet kid who just wants to have normalcy and fun. Sometimes that gets really confused as he moves back and forth between two very different families. I love to hear him laugh and read and tell jokes and talk about things of which he is grateful. He has a real desire to learn more about the gospel and grow into it all. He's very sensitive to how others feel and he wants to protect them and be happy. I'm so grateful to be a part of his life! Happy birthday big kid! (Yes, the post was severely delayed in that his birthday was May 9, 2009)

Batter Up!!

Spring baseball started last week. Chandler has been so excited to put on his baseball pants, play catch, and hit some balls out of the park. He seems to be so comfortable this time around with the other boys and the game. This year the kids get to pitch and they play by the "real" rules. Here's to a great five weeks of games!

We'd love to see you at a game or two! All are at Falcon Park, 9200 South 1700 East

Mondays & Wednesdays

5/4 5:30 pm West Field

5/6 5:30 pm West Field

5/11 5:30 pm SE Field

5/13 7:00 pm SE Field

5/20 7:00 pm SE Field

5/27 7:00 pm SE Field

6/1 5:30 pm SE Field

6/3 5:30 pm West Field

Eggs, Candy, Flowers, and Such

We had a great Easter holiday this year! I'm so grateful for my mom's smart tradition of celebrating Easter Bunny fun on Saturday and true Easter on Sunday. The kids annual Easter egg hunt started Saturday morning. It was so funny to see the older kids walk past the eggs at eye level because they had their eyes on the ground the whole time.

Everyone had fun finding eggs and Easter baskets. It amazes me the Easter Bunny can find so many ingenious places to hide the baskets each year! Chandler loves to spend time with his cousins and couldn't seem to get enough. I'm grateful to have such a fun family.

It's a....

BOY!!! Yeah!!!

Everyone is excited, most especially Chandler. He told us during the ultrasound he thought it was a boy but he didn't want to get his hopes up so he was expecting a girl. We are happy to report the baby is healthy and is growing strong.

April Fool's!!

Yes, April is almost over and many events happened. We started the month with a fun dinner of "fish sticks & peas." It's not very often I can fool Chandler about anything, in fact, I'm a really bad liar or faker. I don't know if it's a good thing or not. When it was time to eat Chandler's plate was the only one on the table, there was no way I was making three plates of fake peas out of Green Apple Airheads. He started picking and then realized there was more to his dinner than meets the eye. So we were able to trick him for a couple of minutes and he got to eat dessert first. The "fish sticks" are vanilla wafer cookies with peanut butter and crushed corn flakes. We really did have fish sticks and peas for dinner and it was funny to compare Chandler's response to eating each dish.

Happy Sweet Week!

I've been meaning to put this on here for a couple of weeks...it's just good I got it in before February was entirely gone!

I love Valentine's season. It's more than just a day for me. I love the reds and the whites and the idea of love being everywhere all the time. I don't know why I get so excited to decorate my house for Valentines, I really have to hold myself back from putting out the hearts in January. Maybe its because it feels like a nice little break between winter and spring. Or maybe its because no one looks at you as if you're crazy when you doodle hearts and such on everything. Or maybe because its just a really fun time to do some extra special things for a lot of different people. I love helping Chandler pick out his Valentine cards for his class and putting them together. I think it's great fun to plan little surprises for my cute husband and boy. Sometimes I'm even put together enough to create a little something for friends. (That didn't happen this year, but it will be on the list for next year!) Chandler was home almost the whole week of Valentines so I planned little treats each night:

Monday

Tuesday

My mom hosted her annual Valentine's making party. We went and Chandler made a great little Valentine for his teacher, Mrs. Wariner. (I think he has a little crush on her, she's fantastic!) We decorated sugar cookies and ate candy hearts and cinnamon lips. It was great! Thanks Mom!

I wish I'd taken pictures but didn't think of it until later.

Wednesday

Thursday

A quiet little dinner for three, complete with a heart shaped Papa Murphy's pizza and mini chocolate lava cakes. (I have to admit I had a pregnant moment with the lava cakes, I added 2x as much butter so they didn't turn out great. Chandler assured me they were good and didn't miss a crumb eating it.)

It was really fun to plan little surprises for my little family. Scott had a few surprises of his own for the weekend. Sometimes its really just a nice thing to do something a little out of the ordinary.

Preoccupied...

IFly, Ufly?

This Christmas was all about adventure for our family. Along with getting Geary Snowbikes, Chandler and Scott got a trip to IFly. It's an indoor skydiving spot for thrill seekers. Since I jumped out of a plane for my 30th birthday I skipped this activity. It was great fun to see the nervousness and excitement of my guys and be the picture taker. The simulation is really accurate from the real thing, as far as I could tell. Chandler did a few little tricks with the instructor on his second round. Scott grinned from ear to ear the whole time. It was definitely worth it!

Fun, Fun, Fun

Over Christmas break the Carr family went on a little adventure--in our own backyard. Snowshoeing in Millcreek Canyon is really a great activity, especially for eight year old boys. It's also a great adventure for bigger boys too. Scott is such a great sport with Chandler. It was fun to watch them avoid falling in the river together and climbing hills.


Chandler was so excited to cross snow bridges, climb steep mountains and jump off fallen trees. It was a perfect day, a lot of other people thought so too. We saw lots of cross country skiers and hikers with their kids and their dogs. The trail was a great one for hiking or skiing on because once you got to the top you could sled your way down.

I wish I was better about taking advantage of our great outdoors. Scott gave me snowshoes two years ago for Christmas and I've only been half a dozen times! Once we purchase some for Scott and Chandler after the season's over, maybe I'll go more often. In the meantime, if you're ever up for a snow shoe adventure, give me a call!

3rd Year's the Charm

I can't believe Scott and I got married three years ago today! The weather was so different, temperatures in the mid 40's and 50's, no snow, beautiful sunset. All I can say is being married to Scott is a constant adventure. I love him very much. He is strong, and funny, and loving, and passionate about so many things. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep up with his dreams and let go of the seriousness of life. I'm so grateful he is my husband. Heavenly Father really knew what I needed to have greater balance for my life! I look forward to the endless years ahead of laughing and working together to make life better for one another.