12 Days of Christmas

Some cute family picked us for the 12 Days of Christmas. The boys were so excited! I don't know who you are, but you have made our holidays so much brighter! What a great reminder about what this season is all about; the love of Jesus Christ and the joy in giving. Thanks to whoever you are! The boys love the cozy new blanket! (Or as Ethan calls it, his "night-night")

The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree

One of my very FAVORITE traditions! Every year we go up into the mountains with Brian's fam and pick out our perfect Christmas tree. This year it was absolutely GORGEOUS up in the mountains! A perfect day! The boys enjoyed tromping around in the snow. It's days like this that make my memories perfect!

Cute kids all bundled up! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em!


I love cute little Kyla peeking out from her little pooch! Jacey has the cutest little smile! My nieces are adorable!

Reesa's Surprise

Since I'm talking about surprises, I'm going to start this blog out by dissipating my brother-in-law, Jason's, favorite rumor . . . NO! I am not pregnant! With that said . . .

A month ago I was on a routine trip to the grocery store. Brian had the afternoon off so I was able to peaceably enjoy my trip. I picked up a carton of eggnog as a surprise for Brian. He loves the stuff and he needs the calories. It's like a win-win situation. When I got home this is the conversation that played out:
Me: You are going to LOVE me!
Brian: No, you are going to love me!
Me: I bought eggnog!
Brian: Go to the computer.
(Me walking over to the computer. At the computer desk there was a set of confirmation numbers and the Jazz webpage pulled up.) He bought us Jazz tickets! I was stoked! I've wanted to go to a Jazz game for a year! It gets better.
Me (incredulous excitement): You bought Jazz tickets?!
Brian: It gets better . . . (a few clicks of the computer mouse and I am reading the web page that talks about Kyle Korver's annual coat drive at the game that my husband had just bought tickets for.)
Brian: You better go buy a coat!

If you donate a coat to the coat drive you get to meet Kyle Korver. THIS WAS HUGE!!!!!!

I love Kyle Korver. I won't lie. LOOOOOOOOOOVE him! My husband, because he loves me, supports my crazy fan obsession. (Seriously, think crazy stalker and you have Reesa . . . )

Our tickets were in the nosebleed section, but it was so fun! Best surprise ever! I got to meet Kyle Korver and get his autograph. I could have had him sign my Korver jersey, but then I would never be able to wash/wear it again. Instead I got the autographed picture and have now put him in his proper place, amongst the family pics. Sigh. Love Kyle. Love Brian. Best surprise ever.

Brian and I at the game.

If you look REALLY closely, you can see Kyle on the second row, 4th guy in. He's wearing black which wasn't the best choice for me to get a crazy stalker picture of him without my supersonic telephoto lens.

These are our seats in proportion to the court. I can't say that it mattered much. Still loads of fun!


This is a pic of Boller and Booner. I really missed hearing their running commentary during the game. "It's buckle up time!"


We bought these inflatable Jazz bears at the game for the boys. They were a buck and the boys love them!

The Loves of my Life

A couple of months ago I found myself blog hopping and reading about all the amazing things that others are doing. This isn't a bad thing. I like reading what's going on with everyone else. However, I found myself belittling the job that I have as a mom. I would go to bed frustrated that I wasn't doing these amazing things: seeing spectacular sites, traveling the world, doing vast amounts of humanitarian work. Then one day it hit me how spectacular my job really is. Don't get me wrong. I love being a mom. It's all I have ever wanted to do! But for some reason I felt as though society was telling me that it wasn't enough. Well today I formally say to society, I don't care!!! I love my boys!!! I love being at home with them and that is enough for me! One day I hope to be able to do those amazing things that people are doing, but as for this season in my life, I am thoroughly enjoying my boys!

Ethan:

How I love this little guy! I never knew that so much energy and personality could be packed into such a small little guy! Ethan is definitely his father's child. There are so many things about Ethan that remind me about his father from his little double cowlick down to his fidgety feet when he is tired. Ethan is 100% pure boy. He loves to rough house and tumble with his big brother. He loves anything with wheels including, but not limited to, cars, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, trains, big rigs, etc. We sometimes joke that Ethan has tractor Tourettes. He will be talking and out of no where he will say tractor or combine! This kid busts me up!

You never know what will come out of his mouth. Ethan never lacks for something to say. He is a little motor mouth. I firmly believe that Ethan came to earth with a strong understanding of the English language. I kid you not. This kid understands what you are saying. He can usually talk back with you about your topic of conversation too, whatever it might be. It amazes me how easily learning comes to Ethan. Once he has learned a concept it is locked tightly in his brain, stored away waiting for further use.

Ethan loves his older brother. These two boys love playing together. Whenever Connor is gone to school Ethan will always ask where he is. He wants to be doing whatever it is that Connor is doing. He looks up to his older brother so much.

Connor:

How I would love to spend a day in this kid's brain! Connor thinks about things in a different way than I would. He completely fascinates me. Connor has always been a high-energy kid. He loves to run and play really hard. He loves roughhousing and wrestling. He has now learned that there is a right time and place for doing these things. Example: running away from mom in the grocery store and having to have her chase you down while your brother sits in the cart at the service desk cheering you on for your brilliant escape is a big no-no and will result in a time out when you get home from said store. Running around in the back yard is a mom-approved activity. We love Connor's energy. It is just part of what makes him Connor.

Connor goes to school every day. He gets to attend speech classes and an integrated preschool class. On the days that he has preschool he gets to ride the bus. He generally likes riding the bus, but sometimes it is a little loud for him. (Connor is really sensitive to loud noises.) He loves his speech teacher, Miss Chris, and looks forward to the days that he has speech. With these classes his vocabulary has improved immensely! He has corrected me a few times in things that I say and it always catches me off guard. Example:
Me: Connor, do you want some water? (pronounced wah-dur like a true Utahn)
Connor: No mama. It's wah-tur! You say it!
Me: Wah-tur!
Connor: Good job!
I'm glad that these classes are of benefit to all!

Connor loves to read. He chooses really interesting books too. He loves going to the library, and if he could I think he would go every day (a child after my own heart!) Connor loves all sorts of books from silly books about a sister who eats everything except peas, to nonfiction books about animals. I love how well read he is at 4! I'm always learning something. For example, do you know what a monotreme is? It is a mammal that lays eggs. Two such examples are the duck-billed platypus and the echidna. I'm so glad this kid has a wide genre and we are not just reading Hop on Pop over and over again (although that is a classic.)

Connor is a great big brother. He looks after Ethan like a little duckling. He includes Ethan in his activities. I'm not saying these two are perfect all the time to each other, because we all know that's not true. They are really exceptional boys though (at least in their mother's eyes.)

I love my boys! I am so grateful I get to be their mom! I am so grateful for this season in my life!

The Gift of Time . . .

This is what I want this Christmas season . . . the gift of time. So little time, so much going on. I wish it was a lack of things to post about that keeps me from being a good little blogger. Sadly, it is not the lack of entertaining things spewing from Connor & Ethan's mouths, but rather the lack of time that these two leave me in a day. One day this blog will be updated . . . hopefully one day soon . . .

7 Years Ago Today . . .

Seven years ago today my husband and I first layed eyes on each other. Some of you have heard the story, but probably not the TRUE story of how we met. (I don't tell it very often because it makes me feel like a man-hunter and a woman on the prowl . . . ) So today, for all of posterity and for the general entertainment of others, here it is.

Growing up I loved the theater. It's where I finally felt like I knew who I was . . . which is ironic because in the theater you are always pretending to be someone else . . . go figure. My friend Nancy had an uncle (Uncle Marc) who was heavily involved in community theater in Preston. Nancy was the one who got me involved in the community theater in Preston and I will forever be grateful to her for that. I have so many awesome memories of doing plays, melodramas, and shoot outs up there.

After being involved in countless performances up there I had become quite familiar with most of the directors and theater board members. I had been called a few times (generally about 24 hours before) to perform in a last minute shoot out (a little performance that the theater guild did in the street in front of the theater). Every year the script was a little bit different, a little bit better, and a little bit more fun. The summer of 2002 was no different. I'd gotten a call again about doing this performance, this time with a week's notice. They'd written a silly little shoot out throwing in a bunch of wild west characters from different plays. They wanted me to play the part of Calamity Jane (rough and tough cowgirl who ends up getting all gussied up at the end). Super fun performance. I even got a cap gun to shoot off . . . hee hee! Anyway, they had also recruited this guy named Casey to do the shoot out. Casey was a new comer to the theater. We had done Bye Bye Birdie together earlier that spring and came to be pretty good friends.

One night before one of these performances, Casey came and found me and asked what I was doing after our show. I told him I was just planning on watching the parade from the theater balcony and then going home. He told me that he and a buddy were planning on going to the rodeo after the parade and asked me if I wanted to go with them. Sure, I thought. I'm always up for hanging out with a couple of cute guys. (I have been possessed of serious boy craziness my whole life . . . good thing I had little boys!) Casey had told me that his friend, Brian, was supposed to get a date, but hadn't, and so we would just all be going as a group of friends. (I have to clarify this so you all don't think I am a total troll. I was not on the manhunt while on a date with another guy. Give me some scrupples . . . )

Right before the performance I saw Casey talking to this dark-haired, good looking, hunky guy. Later on during our performance I would look out into the crowd and see this same guy watching me. I was entranced. After the performance I met up with Casey who then introduced me to his friend Brian. Throughout the evening I made sure to place myself in the middle of these two good-looking guys. We watched the parade on the balcony of the theater together, walked around the fairway together, and watched the rodeo together. This was my first rodeo. I had never been to one before. The whole time Brian and Casey were explaining everything to me about the rodeo and all the events. Amidst the explaining of the rodeo I was getting to know these two guys better, having a marvelous time. This next part proves what a total cheese I was, but I remember being at the rodeo, sitting between these two handsome hunks and thinking to myself I wonder what would happen if I kind of shiver. So, like the true romantic moron that I am I gave a visible shiver. Brian turned to me and said, gee, I wish I had a jacket that I could loan you. It is kind of cold out.

And then I was sunk.

Here was the man of my dreams, interesting, a return missionary, respectful, loyal, friendly, and ready to do his good turn daily like a good boy scout. Not to mention I thought he was a complete hunk!!! (What am I talking about, I still think he is!)

The next evening I found Casey before our performance. I was on a mission. I told him what a good time I had last night and started casually asking about Brian, my handsome hunk from the night before. Casey, being the quick study that he is, asked if I wanted him to give Brian my phone number. Mission accomplished.

The next night I got a phone call. And who was it you ask? My handsome hunk from the night before . . . Brian. I think he should earn extra points for calling me so quickly.

And here we are now . . . 7 years later. I'm so grateful my husband didn't run screaming for the hills after having met me. He is wonderful. He is the about as close to perfect for me as I think you could come. He listens to my rants. He scratches my back every night. He supports me in all my crazy endeavors. He encourages me to do the things that make me happy. He works so hard for our family and hasn't yet given up. He loves our boys with all his heart. He doesn't let me sulk when I'm upset and he gives me time to think things through when I need it.

So here it is, my gushy love post to my husband. Happy 7 years, Hon! Hopefully the next 700 are as wonderful!

Connor's Talk

Connor gave his first talk in Primary today. He marched right up to the podium like a pro. It went a little something like this.

Me (holding a picture of Jesus): Connor, say this is Jesus.
Connor: Jesus.
Me: Jesus helps strengthen our family.
Connor: Family.
Me: He's an important member of our family.
Connor: Family.
Me: Jesus wants our families to be strong.
Connor: Jesus.
Me: When we have family home evening he promises to strengthen our families.
Connor: Family evening.
Me: I know that when we have family home evening, Jesus blesses our family.
Connor: Jesus.

So as you can see, he at least hit all the important topics. Jesus, Family, and Family Home Evening. I'm sure if nothing else, someone could piece together precisely what he said . . . right???

Santa Claus shops at K-mart

Just as a disclaimer, I am a freak. I started Christmas shopping in June this year. Usually I can hold off until at least August. Not so this year, and here is why. K-mart, this week, has all their clearance-priced toys 50% off. I'm not just talking 10 or 15 toys here. There are LOTS! And not only that, but the fun brands that kids seem to love . . . Thomas toys, Diego, Bratz, My Little Pony, Fisher Price, Cars, Barbie, Little Einstein, Handy Manny, to name a few . . . all clearanced to the Reesa-affordable range. Which, in my book, usually means insanely cheap. As another disclaimer, I have always felt that shopping as early as I do saves me boatloads of money. I'm not shopping the pre-Holiday sales as much, buying what they claim is a sale. Last year having Christmas all bought for the boys months in advance was a HUGE blessing, with Brian not having a job. If anyone else would like to join me in my freakishly early Christmas shopping, feel free.

Trip to Montana

The boys and I were lucky enough to escort my dad up to Montana. We had a blast while we were there. We took my brother Ben with us. He was a TON of help! Thanks Benny! Here's some fun pics of everything we did!


Ethan at the gas station. He's getting his treats!

The boys always get spoiled to pieces whenever we go up there. This year was no exception. To borrow an expression, "what's that I smell? Something seems to smell rotten . . . SPOILED ROTTEN!" The boys were surprised with new bikes. I don't know if we have said this enough but, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!


Not only did they get bikes, but helmets to go with them. This pic was too cute not to share.


Playing with the cousins with bubbles. They seemed to think it was fun to pop them with their mouthes. It's a good thing they are nontoxic. Connor doesn't seem any worse for the wear.


All loaded up in Auntie Sue's Envoy. My Aunt Sue is amazing. She love, love, LOVES children and spoils them to pieces. On Tuesday she loaded all the kids into her SUV for an adventure. She is one brave woman.


The first stop was Happy Meals at McDonalds and visiting Grandma Mary. Grandma Mary is my grandmother's friend from her days at school. They get together every Tuesday and Thursday for coffee. Coffee is code for lunch and shopping. Occasionally I think there is actual coffee involved.


After enjoying a delicious lunch of Happy Meals we went to the park to feed the ducks. In some ways I feel like my life has come full circle. I remember going to feed the ducks at this very park when I was younger. It was so great taking my boys to do this activity that I loved doing as a kid! There are literally swarms of ducks. Connor loved chasing them. He is one brave little kid. He fed one of the ducks right out of his hand! Ethan loved quacking at them.



After feeding the ducks we jaunted over to the playground for some good times.


After the playground we went to, by far, the coolest place I have ever seen in Montana. We drove out to this quarter horse ranch, quite the ritzy place. There, in the pasture, with a couple of horses are 2 zebras and a camel. Yes, you heard me right. Two zebras and a camel, in a pasture with horses, in the middle of Northern Montana!!! Crazy! Connor LOVED this.


The camel was on the other side of the pasture by himself. My cousin, Dawson, and I hiked over to get some pictures of him. He was still kind of far away, so this picture is the best that me and my little Kodak could get with its blessed zoom feature.


This was only our Tuesday adventure. We were there for a fun-filled week. I will try and post soon about our other days of fun!

Butt-a-saurus and belching, what more could a girl ask for!

Connor has dinosaur underwear that he dearly loves. He also has a ritual involving him turning his back side to us, pointing his derrière at us and asking, "what's that?" One evening after bathing we had this conversation:
Connor: What's that?
Me: I don't know, what is it?
Connor: It's a butt-a-saurus!
Me: (Trying not to laugh) A what?!
Connor: A butt-a-saurus! It's REALLY big!
Me: OH!!!! A BRONTosaurus.
Connor: Yeah! A butt-a-saurus!

Ethan is improving his belching ratio. He is about 60% now. Meaning, 60% are real and only 40% are fake. Dinner this evening was absolutely symphonic!

Burping Contests

That's right. I, being the proud mother of two completely awesome boys, am proud to announce that Ethan and Connor have discovered the joy of having burping contests. Of course, 97% of said burps are fake, but they have a good time "UUUUURRRRP"-ing back and forth at each other. It is a sight to behold and completely hilarious! I love my boys!

Best $25 spent EVER!!!!

I bought myself an early birthday present today. It was the best $25 I have ever spent!

Oh, how I love the D.I.!

Ethan's Birthday

I know, I know, Ethan's birthday was over a month ago. I have absolutely no excuses . . . Oh well.

Ethan started out the morning by enjoying all the decorations that magically appeared over night! (And of course did not want to stick to the walls, so most of them had fallen down during the night) The best of which was all the balloons!



Since Ethan is our leap-year boy, we had two parties! It was great fun! The first one was Saturday, February 28, and involved all of Brian's family. We had a car theme, which might have been one of my more inspired ideas. Every kid was given an apple or orange box and instructed to turn it into a car. Paper plates were used for wheels and the steering wheel. (On a funny note, Connor kept getting flat tires the whole time he raced. His whole car was pretty much demolished by the time the race was over. We're REALLY looking forward to Connor turning 16!) We used ribbons to keep the car on their shoulders so they wouldn't have to hold it up the whole time they raced. Of course we had a race. We traveled the loop that went through the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. (By far, my most FAVORITE part of this house!)

The creative process . . .



The race looked something like this . . .



My race car cake turned out well and was super delicious! Sometimes I go so overboard when I make birthday cakes they look amazing but taste awful!



Everyone seemed to know exactly what to get Ethan . . . FOOD! The kid loves to eat! Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate! We had a great day! We love our Ethan and we're so glad he's a part of our family!

Catch-Up

I hope nobody minds, but I am going to have to play catch up for a little while. As the Kung Fu Panda would say, we have so many little nuggets of "pure awesomeness" that we would love to share with the world! All I can say is that it is good "there is no charge for awesomeness . . . or attractiveness." You all would be in trouble!


Speaking of attractiveness . . . you've got to love the blue!

Ethan has discovered the fire place. He loves to play in there. It is like a fun little hide out. Unfortunately he is FILTHY after climbing in and out of there. He will purposely throw toys in there just so he can go and retrieve them.



Connor is just as busy as ever. I love his enthusiasm for everything and love that he loves to run. It just brings this kid so much joy to run! We went to the Fun Park for my niece, Ashley's birthday. This video is of Connor and my niece Hailey. I think it pretty much epitomizes Connor. He reminds me of those old cartoons where instead of their feet you see a cloud of dust. Classic Connor.

We're Still Here . . . Sort of . . .

That's right, the Hobbs' family is still among the living! Somedays I feel as if the world has been kicked out from under us. I guess that is the way life goes. As a brief update for everyone, as of Thanksgiving Brian has not had a job. It was nice having him home for the whole month of December. Thankfully I am a crazy person who starts preparations for Christmas in July, so the boys' Christmas was all done and taken care of by the time Brian was out of work. I have loved having Brian home with me and the boys. The boys and I have been very spoiled. As you can well imagine though, there is a little bit of stress when your husband announces he no longer has a source of income for you and your family. The night Brian told me there was a possibility that he might not have a job in a couple of weeks I was a mess. There was the initial freak out of, "oh my gosh, what are we going to do!?!? We have boys that we have to take care of, bills that have to be paid, groceries to buy." You have absolutely no idea. By the next morning though, the faith had sufficient time to kick in. Knowing that the Lord would take care of us, and knowing that maybe this was an opportunity for something better to come along. Little did I realize . . .

December was a hard month. Brian without a job, and then a couple of other little nuances. Things like having your credit card number stollen by a Red Box machine, a flat tire, a carbon-monoxide scare that involved firemen in all their gear (seriously, terrifying!). All in all, a long month. It's good Christmas was in there to put a good spin on the month. Christmas was fantastic! It seemed to rule out everything that was hard about December.

January seemed to come with an explosion. My sweet, practically perfect (Mary Poppinish) sister-in-law, Cheryl was having some struggles with her leg. She went to see a doctor who told her it was probably just a strained muscle, but told her if it was still bothering her in a week to come back. A week later it was much worse. Her thigh muscle was hard and had a HUGE bump. The doctor took an X-ray and then scheduled her for an MRI the next day. He also told her with a little bit of intensity that this was much more important than school right now. With the MRI came a diagnosis of bone cancer. Even typing that now it seems surreal. My awesome,thoughtful, amazing 20-year-old sister-in-law has bone cancer?!?! All of the sudden every single one of our trials comes into perspective. How in the world can we complain about anything after seeing this sweet young woman go through something that no person should ever have to go through. I've had an aunt with cancer, and a cousin who was diagnosed with cancer at just 1-month-old; but I didn't understand. I didn't see either of them on a weekly basis, communicate with them on a daily basis, or see how it affects my husband, the person I am closest to on this whole earth and his wonderful family.

Our blessings have been so numerous throughout this . . . things that were once a challenge and trial are now blessings. My husband not having a job has been heaven sent; a true blessing. My wonderful grandparents invited us to come move into their basement which has presented a myriad of blessings all on its own. I've been able to serve and grow closer to so many people. Service truly does teach you to love.

My sweet little sister-in-law has started a blog, for anyone interested in following her progress. She is truly an inspiration to all of us. I don't say that lightly. She is amazing. Her attitude is astounding. She is teaching us all how to face every challenge and trial that we have head on. Her blog address is cherylhobbs.blogspot.com