Thanksgivin' 2014

I am a little late posting this as it is already 2015, but I wanted to steal some pictures from Jessica since she is so much better remembering to capture moments than we are.

Thanksgiving was a total blast! Sam's parents were planning on going to Idaho to visit family for the week and Sam really wanted to go as well. I was a little weary at first because of all the school work I had to do, but Sam, as amazing as he is, helped me make sure everything would get done so both of us could have a good time.

We left Tuesday after Sam took a test and I attended one of my classes and headed up to Provo, UT. Alas, since we left at lunch time I did a lot of driving in the dark. That's right, I drove the entire way to Provo...in the dark! Joey was a sweet little boy, but he gets carsick like his mama and puked halfway. We had the privilege to stay with my really good friend Bethany and her hubby Quinn, who lucked out on a cute apartment. We didn't get any pictures, woops (like I said we always forget to). In the morning we treated them to breakfast at Kneaders (yum) and then headed to Idaho Falls. This time no tickets!

Grandma Hobbs is always the sweetest and best hostess. We got to stay in one of her living areas which is pretty secluded. We packed way too much as we thought it would be nice and snowy up in Idaho. Both Utah and Idaho were comparable to ABQ that weekend so I think we lucked out in that sense. We had a grand time eating and playing games with Grandma Hobbs, Sam's parents, and Jess and her boys (Sebastian arrived on Thanksgiving Day).

On actual Thanksgiving we headed to Pocatello to have dinner at one of the huge institutes, with Uncle Dan being the host there. Lots more family members to meet! After dinner we had an epic nerf gun war. Poor Joey got shot in the face close range so I sat out for a good portion. In fact, all the little kids weren't having a fun time, so at the end we all lined up for them to shoot us. The deal was to "die" a dramatic way, but Joey didn't like it when his dad died. He threw himself on Sam and cried, so now we know he actually will care if Sam dies.

We had a post-Thanksgiving dinner at Julie's place, which was just as fun. I got to meet some of Sam's family I didn't meet the previous two times I've been up. Brad and Julie are also excellent hosts! There was a concert at the end of the evening for all those who wanted to participate. I lucked out when one of Julie's kids had a cello, so I got to participate as well.

We headed to Salt Lake on Saturday because I really wanted to see the lights at Temple Square. So we spent the day at City Creek mall and Temple Square until it got dark enough. We were in awe. Each tree was individually and professionally wrapped in lights. There were Nativity Scenes around the world. There were even our beloved luminarias with cool cutouts in them. The reflecting pool had glowing orbs floating in it. It was a really neat sight - I can now cross it off my Bucket List.

We were staying with one of Sam's old mission companions, but he had a wedding reception to go to, so he invited us. We arrived even before he did though, which made it very awkward. We didn't even know who he was related to. At first we thought the bride was his sister (as the last names didn't match), then we thought it was his wife's brother or sister. But no, it was his wife's cousin. We truly felt like wedding crashers. But hey, the food was good.

After a wonderful stay at Sam's old companion's home, we headed back just in time for a rehearsal for the "A Child is Born" concert. It was a busy busy week, but an exciting one as well.

Ready for the park!

I wasn't there, but I heard that Beau insisted on
catching Joey. Joey wasn't too thrilled with that.

All the boys need are some cars and they are happy as clams.

Ready for some dinna!

How cool is Angie for bringing a lot of her guns for us to enjoy!

Jo wasn't having it.

Cousins!

All the fam. You did great Grandma Hobbs

A free concert at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Gorgeous tree inside.

It's getting dark

  Can you believe how gorgeous those lights are?

Nativity in the middle of water.

Doesn't even capture how beautiful.

Joey still not having it.

Only satisfied when able to run around and cause mayhem.

Attempts for a Family Photo

This year I wanted to get Christmas cards designed and printed early before we headed up to Idaho for Thanksgiving. It's a little hard to get a good one of Joey when all of us are in the picture and no one guides his attention to our tripod. But with the help of Photoshop, we did alright this year. Here are the final products:

And here are some other fun shots we got when Joey got a little restless:

Walking never felt so good.

Sweet smile.

Mischievous too.

And Big eyes.

Silly faces.

Tugs at my heart strings he does!

That's all, folks!

The Last of Fall 2014

Hello everyone!

This post is the rest of our October that we captured in pictures.  Joey went to his first little pumpkin patch (sort of), we enjoyed our ward's Trunk or Treat, and we played a Halloween concert on the Children's ward at UNM hospital.  So, here are the pictures:

Joey playing with the car I grew up with.

At Galloping Grace:

                                      Joey not sure of the festivities                                     Leah Bee-a's 1st birthday 

                                                 I adore that silly face of his                                               Tractor time

                                          Mason and his faces are priceless                                  Working the water spigot
  

 Joey and his sensory activities (didn't like the corn pit that much)

"Ride 'em Cowboy!"

 Joey is full on walking now,

but here is the demonstration of his

willingness to actually be on his feet!

The mother? A year old.  The piglets? Ten days.

This pig and I have bonded.

Halloween:

                        Left:  Costume repeat: flying monkeys with our monkey who hasn't formed his chrysalis yet.
                        Right: Bandits, burglars, or Dick and Jane. Your choice.

This year for Thanksgiving we are planning on traveling to Idaho, which is a first for me. Looking forward to spending time with Sam's family!

A Year and a Half

Can you believe this boy is Nursery age?  While Sam was taking a nap after running a marathon I took this little guy to the nearby park to do a tiny photo shoot.  I didn't really edit any of these though.  Maybe when I have time...

I'm so glad to be this guy's mama.  I wish only the best for him and hope that we can provide that for him.  Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures of my silly boy (he wouldn't take any formal pictures).

Ah, in his element.  He is getting really, really close to walking.  He'll take quite a few steps then decide he's faster and more secure crawling.  As long as he has the desire, right?  We pretty much have a toddler in our hands (throws tantrums like one, too).  Definitely time to watch what we do or say around him, haha.

Duke City Marathon 2014

I can't remember exactly when Sam decided to run a marathon, but he was getting into long distance running and thought it would be a great goal to have.  Every year Albuquerque hosts the Duke City Marathon and for his birthday Sam signed up!  His friend in his Medical School class signed up as well and they were going to run together.  School was getting busy, but Sam still would get up very early in the mornings so he would have time to do some long distance running.  It crept up!

He ran the marathon on the 19th (yesterday) and did great!  We invested in good shoes so he survived without any injuries (apart from not being able to walk normally). He completed it in 3 hours 57 minutes!!

Here are some before pictures I took:

 Sam and his friend (it was still dark out, sorry it's blurry!)

Super surprised how many people choose to run this marathon! 

This line extended way back.

Our Stake Conference was that day and Sam told me he would take it nice and slow.  So I decided I would have time to attend a little bit then head on over to the finish line and take awesome photos of him.  Well, I got a text saying "3 more miles!" earlier than I expected so I bolted to downtown.  Since there were so many people and roadblocks, I couldn't find a super close parking spot.  But I did my best and ran to the finish line.  Then I saw Sam turn the corner and run past me.  I couldn't even catch up to him and I didn't just run 26 miles like he did!  Sorry I didn't get epic photos of his finishing.  Oh well.  Here are some "after" pictures: 

 I made this sign for him and had him use his last strength

 to stand there and hold it so I could get a picture.

So positive!  Taking a little break while walking to the car.



Sam ran with his friend over half of the way, but decided to run on his own after mile 16.  He was able to keep going by saying "that person shouldn't be in front of me" and passed them.  He was able to talk about school and the church with his friend, then listen to some general conference (it was held on Sunday after all).  In the car he kept telling me "Why would anyone do this to themselves?" And I couldn't agree more.  At home Sam was getting some serious chills and had to hop into bed to take a long, nice nap.  I made a nice, carb-ilicious lunch after he was done feeling like throwing up.  He is now back to normal except for the extreme soreness.  Way to go on completing your first marathon, Sam!

Joey at 17 Months

Joey turned 17 months a week ago and I felt it was time for an update both on him and the blog.

He is generally a happy boy, but he doesn't like you leaving his sight.

He is in love with toy cars and balls.  Any car is his car, and he'll let you know.

He enjoys climbing on top of things, including his mom and dad.

He used to be a great little eater, but he's starting to have more interest in playing than eating.

He won't go to bed until you are exhausted and need to go to bed yourself.

He will sit and watch a movie, and although it's suggested no screen time until age 2, it's worth my sanity.

He doesn't use a lot of words yet, but he does know mama, dada, bah (ball), go! (outside), vrrm (car), nana (no) and "uh oh!"

He loves going to the park or being outside in general.  He gets really mad when you leave without him.

He loves books, but we still have to use board books.  He's not afraid of ripping a page or two!

He found out he loves to draw, mainly with pens and pencils.  My homework, the sheets...

He is still clogged.  Poor little guy it takes him a couple days to get something out of him.

He has the cutest little gap-toothed smile courtesy of Sam.

He is 17 months and is still not walking.  We're making baby steps on the matter (pun intended), but he's having some balancing issues and he's not very confident.  He can stand on his own if you distract him and will take a couple steps if he thinks you're about to grab him.  He can cruise just fine and recently let us hold his hand and urge him to walk.  I don't know if he's really stubborn or if something's going on, but he is still in physical therapy (been since June).  I feel like a bad mother because every time there is a new baby that is starting to walk that is considerably younger than him I get frustrated, and I shouldn't.  I just need patience.  Being a first-time mom can be hard.


Now here are some pictures of Joey hamming it up for the camera: