Thursday, June 3, 2010

{Halle's growing up..literally}

This is what I came home to from work today w/ specific instructions:
1. I am to start knocking anytime I need to go into Halle's room.
2. I am to knock because she could be hiding her money. (all $2)
3. I am to knock in the morning, because she could be getting undressed.
(please note the smiley faces and the hearts. At least she broke it to me easy)


Halle's Kindergarten Graduation
(please note my daughter is a head taller than the other kids)

Full of smiles, this one was.


Totally humoring my mom w/ this picture. I grew up hearing the phrase"Carrie close your legs!"...please refrain from the "that's what she said" jokes...thank you!


I've never seen someone fight a smile so hard!





Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Monkey turns 4

My self proclaimed mama's boy(he informed Spencer that I am his and Spencer is dad's) turned 4 years old on Mother's Day! I can't believe how big he is getting. Ethan had two requests for his cake this year...he wanted a grasshopper and ants on his cake. After walking around Walmart for 2 hours trying to find some plastic bugs to put on his cake (who knew it would be that hard) I struck gold when I found this cake in the bakery. It had bugs on it, more importantly a big beautiful green grasshopper! yay! After adding a trail of chocolate sprinkles (wallah, there's your ants!) and gummy worms, Ethan was sooo excited about his bug cake! The following picture is of Ethan telling me to take a picture of him and his grasshopper....this was the best $20 ever spent....

We went to the park w/ some family and had a bbq...

The kids showing us the "fish" they caught. Notice Spencer's huge catch!

I'm so grateful for this loving little boy of mine. Ethan loves to do what he wants and heaven help the person that tries to disrupt his "plans". ...We had a pretty big scare w/ Ethan in November when he had to undergo 2 surgeries and a week long hospital stay for a staff infection in his neck. It was the longest week of my life, but such an eye opening experience to so many things...mainly...how much I love this little boy and second how naughty this sweet little boy of mine can be! He was.
1. When he does something wrong and you are trying to talk to him about it he likes to say, "mom I just like you!"
2. He loves to pretend to hunt all of the time. He even misses his targets! We were driving the other day and past a field full of deer and he aimed his gun and shot and yelled out, "I missed! Oh deer I'm gonna get you!"..he got it on his second shot.
3. I get asked at least once a day, "mom, what's that I smell?" The kid has a nose on him...I usually get told daily "that I smell so good and that I'm perty!"
Ethan's favorites: pb&j, cheetos, dinosaurs, animals, any book about animals, movies, jumping on the trampoline, roasting "jallows" marshmallows, loves to pretend and fake scare with his dad.
I love him so much! I'm so grateful for his unique little personality and I'm so lucky to be his mom and have him in my family!













Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Lady GaGa finaly died!

Halle (Halle aka Cinderella)
Halle entertains me daily. I would like to get in her head someday and see exactly what goes on there. Today on the way home we had the following conversation....
...lady GaGa playing on the radio......
Halle: Mom, did lady GaGa die?
Me: whispering to Chris, "Oh I hope so!", but then answering: "No, she's very much alive."
Halle: "Well doesn't she smoke?"
Me: "yes, I think she smokes."
Halle: "Well, she should be dead. Smoking kills you."
Me: "It can give you cancer that can eventually kill you."
Halle: "Well will you take me to her concert?"
...gulp.....
Me: "By the time you can go to a concert I don't think she'll be singing anymore. (only if I'm lucky enough!)
Halle: "Maybe I can go to Adam Lambert then."
Me: " How about Susan Boyle?"
Halle: "I DON'T EVEN LIKE HIM.....WHY DON'T YOU LIKE ADAM LAMBERT, HE'S REALLY GOOD. I KNOW HE WEARS MAKE UP BUT I LIKE HIM!"
Chris: "Susan Boyle's a woman."
......on the radio now singing is Sean Paul.....
Me: " What about Sean Paul?"
Halle: "MOM, HE DOESN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH! WHAT IS THIS THAT HE'S SAYING? I CAN'T UNDERSTAND HIM!"
The conversation ended by me saying when she turns 15 years old, cause that's how old you have to be to get into a concert, we can go to a concert together that we both agree on....This girl is very detail oriented. She makes me laugh so hard! It doesn't help that she gets sarcasm and uses it on Chris and I. Aaahhhh, funny.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Ethan

I get to look at this face EVERY day, I am so blessed!








This past month was a little stressful and scary for us. As many of you know, our oldest son, Ethan was admitted into the hospital w/ a deep neck infection. It happened so fast and literally over night. This infection then turned into an abscess (which was staff bacteria) underneath his curated artery...3 cat scans, 2 surgeries later and a week in the hospital and this entertaining son of mine is back to his loud self. The only proof that something was ever wrong is the 2 inch cut on the side of his neck. I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, who answers prayers. I've never felt so helpless as a mother, but through trials and hardships comes humility and blessings. Chris and I are blessed with the greatest support group...EVER! We have the best family and it's very humbling as they continue to help us out in so many ways.

Highlights of the worst week ever:

1. Ethan was so ornery to everyone, those poor nurses! Any time they asked Ethan if he needed anything he yelled, "I told you, nyooo!" completely naughty, but hilarious coming out of Ethan in his mumbly voice.
2. While at Primary children's Hospital, Carlos Boozer and Jerry Sloan came to our room to give Ethan a signed basketball. Ethan says nothing to him, but slaps the ball from Carlos Boozer's hands...they sprinted out of our room.
3. By the end, whenever a nurse would come in the room to do vitals, Ethan would say without looking at them, "I don't need anything, fanks guys!"
4. Whenever they would come and give him his medicine through his i.v...he say, "Mom, what happened to me?"....so sad, yet so cute said in Ethan's voice.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

THANKFUL

I'm so blessed! I love this family of mine.

I was supposed to be Daisy duck, but after a "minor"
panic attack, I became a caveman. Seriously, I'll never give
my mom crap again about being claustrophobic again.
My adorable family provides me w/ the comic relief that is needed in my life......
More Hopkins funnies:
1. In the car the other day Spencer let me know that the sun was in his eyes. Ethan said, "Dencer don't worry I'll keel (kill) the sun!" I looked in the rear view mirror to see some FIERCE blinking going on from Ethan towards the sun.
2. Halle informed me that she speaks Spanish, which I already knew because I hear it all day and night. It gets better, when I was watching my one year old niece the other night Halle informed me that Shea didn't understand what I was saying because, she too speaks Spanish. Who knew?...Halle.
3. After seeing her aunt snuggling w/ a boy, Halle informed me that Sharise was laying on her friend's lap, THAT IS A BOY! She then went on to say, "I'm going to have to talk to her tomorrow about that."
4. Spencer has been going around telling me to "spank der booms", ( spank there bums). Examples of what he wants me to spank.. a chair, Ethan, his blanket, a flower arrangement, Ethan, the dogs, Ethan, his ball, his sippy cup, and Ethan. Before child services are called, he's just playing. It's a thing my family does, we say, "I'm going to spank your bum", and then we give a nice rump slap.
5. Spencer was watching basketball on t.v tonight and started yelling at the team, "cum on guys, pass the ball!" He's TWO! Seriously, it's moments like this that give me a glimpse what the future holds for me and my t.v. time.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Funny Hopkins moments

1) We went to a family reunion on Chris's side and as we were getting ready to leave, Halle said to my mother in law that she was sorry that she called her relatives weird..
Lucinda (mother in law): "I didn't know you called my family weird."
Halle: "I did Grandma. But, they're not weird they're just old".

2) Halle and I were driving past some cows and Halle asked me why people have cows. So, I told her that some farmers/ranchers raise cattle then sell them to other people or to stores for meat. Halle's response: "Mom, wait a minute. Are you telling me that milk and hamburger BOTH come from cows?"
Me: "That's what I'm telling you."
Halle (now making this weird throaty noise) says: "mom, that's disgusting!"
Me (laughing): "I know, it actually is when you think about it. Are you going to still drink milk and eat hamburger."
Halle: "yep."

3) I was saying to Halle one day after picking her up from school, how old she's getting and fast she's growing up. She looked at me w/ this concern/sass and says, "mom, I'm not dying. I'm just in kindergarten." ....very true.

4) Chris informed me today that he found out that his great-grandma was an alcoholic. (he really knew that, he had just forgot!) Anyways, he told me that that explained everything.
Me: "what does that explain?"
Chris: "why I'm so addicted to Mtn. Dew. Carrie, it's the burn I love!"
Me: nothing was said.....I just laughed.

5) Spence (my youngest) is severely, annoyingly, adorably attached to his blanket. I snuck it away from him and got it washed and dried without him knowing, (I think my friend Micah would know what an accomplishment this really is!) Well, when I went to hand it to him it was still warm. He grabbed it and said, "Hoh, mom. Hot, blow on it." It makes perfect sense, I blow on his food when it's too hot so naturally I would blow on his blanket that was too hot...smart kid.

6) The other day after I got Ethan and Spence buckled in their car seats I went to go let Halle know it was time to go. As I was walking away I heard them start yelling something at each other. My father in law asked me what they were yelling about and I told him I didn't know. Well, as I got closer to the car I heard:
Ethan: "Stop it Dencer (spencer), she's my mommy!"
Spence: "No, she's my mommy."
Ethan apparently can't come up w/ another response so he stares Spencer in the eyes and just starts screaming. Don't worry I broke the fight up and then started it over again when I said, "I'm both your mommy. I'm Halle's mommy too!"

7) We were eating ice cream the other day. Ethan got distracted, of course, and went off to play. Well he came back into the kitchen and looked in his bowl and let out a gasp..
"Mom, my ice cream dead!"

8) Ethan got hurt on his finger and came over to me crying. I picked his finger up and kissed it. After looking at his hand, he grabbed my mouth and pulled it open and said, "Mom, owie gone!"...I AM pretty amazing.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Halle's belated birthday post. I can't believe she's 5!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALLE!


Where to even begin with Halle. Halle is the most complex 5 year old girl I've EVER met in my life! She is the sassiest, sweetest, girliest, tom-boy you'll ever meet. She has always acted so much older than she is, maybe that's to go w/ the fact that she's always looked 2 years older than she really is. As I was going through all of the pictures w/ Halle in them, I noticed that over 3/4ths of them are Halle hugging or holding one of her brothers...that's Halle. She has always been so maternal and such a great big sister. She adores her family, especially her Grandmas'! She loves to be outside, fishing, camping, and going on picnics with our family. Some of my favorite things she did as a little kid is call bumble bees, "bum bum bees". When we were potty training her, her motivation was gum. She couldn't have it until she actually pooped on the toilet so every day she'd go up to chris and say, "Daddy, don't eat my poop gum, k?
Just recently I had to go to our neighbors house and have a talk w/ our neighbor about Halle peeing on their lawn. They were swimming, she didn't want to walk home ( 2 houses down), so she did what any sensible girl would do....she pulled off the swimsuit and peed. She seriously cracks me up! I'm so grateful for this adorable little girl in my life and the sweet little spirit she has. Our family would not be the same without her...you know, since she runs the show! As frustrating as she can be sometimes Chris and I have said many times that we wouldn't change anything about her, we love her so much and just the way she is. Sass and all.

She's 2 in this picture.









Halle on her birthday. She likes to relocate flowers that I put in her hair. I would get Halle ready for school in the mornings and Chris would drop her off. Well, when I went to pick her up, her flowers were always moved to the very front or right on top of her head. One day I went to pick her up and she was in full makeup. Don't worry, chris helped her blend in the lines. We all know we don't want lines in our makeup. The other mothers thought it was hilarious and I just loved the fact that Chris blended her makeup for her instead of wiping it off. funny.


Halle and Chris. They are so much a like! If Chris goes anywhere, Halle is there right beside him.



Isn't she beautiful?...I love her!