HOPKINSON

Latest project

2012-01-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

A little bit of felt goes a long way so I went a little crazy with these felt flower hair clips. These are super easy, too. Not even I could mess them up. I didn't even use half of my felt (I spent like $4 on a bunch of different colors) and I already have 7 fun combinations. I am really excited to have a little girl but if she is anything like her mother, she wont have hair for the first few years of her life... The plan is to buy a nice little headband so I can switch out the clips. There are a bunch of tutorials and for some reason I can't find the one I used, but here is one that pretty much explains it. Its just like rolling up little sleeping bags.. Anyway, I love this project because there is so much more you can do than just hair clips (the tutorial I posted put them on a wreath).

I wanted clusters, so I cut out a green piece of felt (leaf-shaped) and cut a little slit where I wanted the top of the alligator clip to come through (this way the glue wont get stuck or clump and all). I then glued my flowers to the green felt (and, consequently, the top of the alligator clip). I didn't like the green visible all the way around, so I trimmed around the bottom and left a leaf or two to cover the silver clip. I really hope that made sense. I guess it would help if I had a picture... oh well.

And just a little something to make you smile.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go get my child out of my ribs.

Baby Update

2012-01-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

(28 weeks)

I am in my third trimester! It is amazing how fast, yet slow this has gone by. Here are a few updates:

It still catches me off guard when random people at the store come ask me "when my big day is." It takes me a minute to figure out what they are talking about; I'm not used to strangers trying to talk to me. I love how much everyone loves to talk about pregnancy. It's nice to be "obviously" pregnant (as opposed to just looking chubby), however, I get some interesting looks from people and I can only assume it's because they think I am 15. To these people I try to make sure my ring is visible but I don't know how much better that makes them feel. 24, married and pregnant may as well be 15 around here anyway.

I passed my gestational diabetes test (yahoo)!

So far I have gained 22 pounds and I am feeling it. It's amazing how the extra weight affects you. I have had back and muscle aches because of it, so I decided to do something about it. I found a yoga video for pregnant women on Netflix. Jake wanted to do it with me and ended up getting really into it, so it has become part of our daily routine.

My belly button is disappearing.

This little one is still a CRAZY mover. We love to just sit and watch my belly morph and dance (I'm pretty sure she does this for hours at a time... Does this child ever sleep?).

She has recently discovered how to nudge her way to my ribs. She likes to hang out on the right side. Ouch. Somehow she will be up in my ribs and still manage to kick my bladder. Double ouch.

We have some names we are tossing around, but haven't decided on one for sure yet. Even if we had, we wouldn't tell you! Jake is dying to choose a name so he can start using it, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I jut haven't found that perfect name... We've still got time.

My doctors/hospital are very supportive of natural births. I have decided to try not to have any medication and just let my body do its thing. DON'T worry, it will all be available if I need it or if I just wimp out.

Well I think that's about it for now. Happy New Year!

A Very Merry Christmas!

2011-12-29T17:51:00.002-07:00

Here we were thinking we would be spending Christmas alone this year, being so far from family. Mignon and Joel just moved to Connecticut (which is ONLY about a 10 hr drive from us). Since they are on the same side of the country as us it seems so close. They drove down Friday to spend Christmas weekend with us. We are so glad they made the drive- we had so much fun and it was well worth it for us... We ended up creating a perfect blend of traditions that we had each grown up with.

Saturday Morning we had a big Christmas Eve breakfast. After breakfast we went out do to some last minute shopping for each other.

Mignon and I got a kick out of Jake's legs swinging around as he was sitting on the car singing Christmas songs for all to hear as he watched for Joel to come out of the store.

We came home, wrapped presents, made gingerbread houses and watched some Christmas movies. To make it feel a little more like home, we watched Scrooge (the old musical). We have watched this every Christmas Eve since I can remember at my parents' house. I decided it's kind of like reading the Book of Mormon... you notice something new every time you watch it, so it never gets old.

We opened our pj's (one of Jake's family traditions). I don't think I will ever take these off. SO comfortable.

And we tried to get some sleep so Santa would have plenty of time to make his entrance.

The next morning we woke up to a room full of presents! We must have been really good this year, because it was an impressive amount for 4 adults.

But, just like at home, we couldn't touch anything until we had breakfast, brushed our teeth, and got ready for the day... oh yeah, and went to church (Jake was dying- I can't wait to torture my kids like my parents did!). After church we dove in.

Jake and I opening super cute onsies from Mignon and Joel.

I have been wanting a really nice picture of the temple for our home. Mckay took/edited this picture of the SLC Temple and Jake got it printed and framed for me. It's so beautiful!

Thanks for those who sent us gifts, too! Caleb and Hayley had us this year and gave us just what we wanted! A beautiful homemade blanket.

Our Christmas mess. A success.

Making lunch (Jake was playing with our brand new camera all day!).

One of the things Jake asked for this year was a Nerf gun. Apparently at work they have Nerf wars when it's slow.. and even when it's not. He wanted one for me, too so we could play with them, but I decided to spend the rest of my Christmas money on other things.

However, Joel had the brilliant idea to buy all of us Nerf guns to share one of his family traditions: Family Nerf wars. This is was probably my favorite memory we created this year, and Jake and I will definitely be making this a tradition for our family. I'm so glad we both married nerds!

We were sad to see them leave the next morning but we were so glad they made the trip down! Hopefully we have convinced them to move down here, or at least come visit again soon! Thanks Mignon and Joel for making this year so memorable!

Happy New Year everyone!

24 weeks??

2011-12-06T16:35:00.001-07:00

I decided I need to be better at recording changes, feelings, and progress throughout my pregnancy, more for my use than anything else.

Ok, so I'm getting HUGE.

This is me at 23 weeks (last week).

I feel like I have grown a LOT in the last couple of weeks especially. Jake and I look at my beginning pictures and laugh because of how tiny I was. At the time we thought I was so big!

So our little lady continues to be a real mover. I love it. She especially likes to kick when I am trying to sleep. There have been a few times when she wakes me up because she is kicking so hard. She also seems to like it when I hum or sing. Or maybe she doesn't like it and that's why she kicks and punches...

She likes to tease Daddy. Every time I call Jake over to see/feel her moving she stops. Once he gives up, she gets right back to the boxing match with my insides.

Yesterday I had the computer on my lap, resting slightly on my belly. The little lady kicked it right out of her space. The computer slid off onto my lap.

At this point, my symptoms are: fatigue (if I lay down for a nap I WILL NOT wake up for at least three hours... I try not to take naps), my back often hurts and I get heart burn. I feel a little sick once in a while but not too bad! I toss and turn a lot at nights because my legs cramp up or fall asleep, but for the most part I sleep really well still. Overall I have had it pretty good for the last month or so!!

Once upon a time my sister Mardee and her husband Spencer warned me about sneezing when pregnant. The next day I learned from experience that they weren't kidding when they told me it could make me pee my pants. It just came right out. It hasn't happened since, but I'm always living in fear now.

The next day my sister-in-law Hayley told me about the horrible charlie horses she wakes up with in the night. I had experienced little ones, but that night I woke up screaming in agony from a dang charlie horse.. That hasn't happened since either. No more horror pregnancy stories for me, thank you.

Our crib/dresser/changing table set arrived today! And yesterday our stroller/car seat came (Thanks Mom O and Grandma H for helping us out with that!). We are getting really weirded out, and really excited! I can't believe how fast time is going by.. We only have a few more months to prepare for parenthood! Ready or not, here it comes.

Jake took me on a date last weekend- we went to pick out a real Christmas tree and decorations! I don't ever remember having a real Christmas tree, so this is really fun for me! We blasted the Christmas music (wouldn't be the holidays without a little Mariah Carey) and put up our decorations. These pictures don't do our tree justice (it looks so tiny to my huge body.. it's bigger than it looks there). Plus we don't have an "after" picture taken yet. I'll get on that.

Things are busy around here as we prepare for Christmas. Pretty sure we have copped out every year on gifts not only for each other but friends/neighbors, too. This year I've got big (still inexpensive) plans. I love this time of year. We are excited to have Mignon and Joel come to our house for Christmas! It will be a great opportunity for Jake to practice being Santa.

Poor Dixie, all drugged up from her long-time-coming surgery (finally spayed!). She may never forgive us.

Weddings, Thanksgiving, and Babies, Oh My

2011-11-30T17:55:00.001-07:00

Poor Jake got left home again while I went off to Utah. I thought for sure he would surprise us all and come for a few days, but that dang job of his just wouldn't allow it. I am thankful for the sacrifices he made so I could be at my sister's wedding and have an enjoyable trip.

Sadly, my pregnant brain took over while I was in Utah, and I would use my camera, set it down, not find it for a couple of days, use it again, and lose it again. There was SO much going on the whole time I was there and I am very sad I didn't capture it all. Anyway, here are some things I did capture:

My parents cleaned out the garage and turned it into a multipurpose room. My dad cut a big piece of carpet that he can lay out when we need more space to play, and roll up when we all leave. Brilliant, Dad.

This room was used for many things:

Running, playing cars, balls, games, riding bikes, and tea parties.....

...jumping, playing ping pong, foosball eating turkey, karaoke, dance parties...

....and watching movies on the big screen. The multipurpose room really had one purpose: keep the kids busy while the moms worked. Mission accomplished.

(Below: all of the nieces that had been born at that point- one more has come since. Our boy, Zavian, who is so adored and loved by all his girls, is also missing in this photo.)

Here is me with my sister-in-law Karalyn (Mckay's wife) at Mignon's luncheon/reception. I was at 22 weeks, and Karalyn was about to walk out the door to the hospital and be induced. Busy day for her!

Here we are compared to skinny Mardee (who is not pregnant.. that I know of).

Our happy new couple, Joel and Mignon Deehr!

So that might seem like a lot, but I didn't have my camera for half of the fun. Here is a quick run down of the festivities:

-Bridal shower for Mignon where I got to see a lot family and of course my wonderful cousins.
-My sisters threw me a baby shower at brick oven- thanks again for all of the gifts, advice and love!
-Baby shower for my sister-in-law, Hayley (Caleb's wife). She has her baby in about a month- well anytime now really. It was fun to see Jake's side of the family!
-Thanksgiving Day- I spent the morning being slow and sick, trying to make yams (thanks Spencer for helping me!) and then took off to Mimi's house to spend more time with Jake's side. It was so fun to see everyone, and it was a special treat to have Mimi escape from her physical therapy prison for the day! :)
-The day after Thanksgiving was more wedding prep- busy busy busy!
-The wedding, luncheon and reception- such a beautiful and fun day. I'm so happy to for Mignon and Joel!
-After the luncheon, Karalyn and Mckay took off to the hospital to be induced. Baby Jensie didn't come until 1:45 am Sunday, so we went to meet her the next day! She is a beautiful and healthy baby and will be a fun cousin for our little girl! When they brought her home the next day I ran to their house to get something, not wanting to intrude for too long... Zavian started running in place, grabbed my hand and pulled me in to see Baby Sister. He was so cute with her and is already a protective big brother. I'm so happy for this wonderful family.
-Dinner with my good friends from my ELED cohort (Cami, Nicole and Caitlyn). It was SO good to see them! I got to meet Caitlyn and Nicole's babies and hear about Cami's experiences as a teacher!

There were so many wonderful celebrations and reunions these last couple of weeks. Between all of the excitement I had family members taking very good care of me while Jake couldn't be there. Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible, comfortable and enjoyable! I apologize that I wasn't my most energetic self... All of the excitement wore me out!

It was a memorable and fun trip, but I missed my husband. I am so happy to be home with him again.

PS to my side of the family-- There are more pictures that I will upload to facebook for you.

Oh boy, it's a GIRL!

2011-11-10T16:57:00.001-07:00

Here she is, our sweet little lady. What an incredible experience to see her. I need to get me one of those ultrasound machines... I wish I could just watch her all day. Of course, she was tossing and turning through the whole thing.

I am so excited to be having a girl! We would be so ecstatic either way, it's just a relief to know! Not to mention it makes this all seem so much more real. Of course, she already has Jake wrapped around her tiny little fingers. We celebrated by buying a set of onsies and matching pants (which daddy picked out). We are so happy to have a healthy little baby and we just cannot wait to hold her!

Fall

2011-11-07T19:57:00.003-07:00

Fall is a beautiful time of year. If we were back in Utah, we would take long drives up the beautiful canyon to see all of the colors.

Here, all you need to do is walk out your door.

Monkey boy shimmying up a three.

Dixie was posed so perfectly.

Below: my big pregnant 19 week picture.

(baby/pregnancy update after the pictures)

NetApp (Jake's work): These fiery red trees are everywhere, I love them!

Shelly our turtle. We found her while taking pictures and brought her home to hang out for a while. Charlie was really scared of her at first, but they warmed up to each other. I was prepared to keep her but Jake made me release her back into the wild... He might be right, she wouldn't have been very happy living in our sink. The dispose all might have made her nervous.

Some of the projects I've been working on:

I painted some old vases. I still need to find something to put in them.

My sister Mignon is getting married (WAHOO!) so I decided to make little flower hair clips and/or headbands for my nieces to wear. (I credit this idea to Danielle- thanks for showing me how to make these!) Here is a tutorial in case you are interested: http://www.simplyvintagegirl.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/29/tutorial-how-to-make-lovely-fabric-flowers/. **With these flowers I decided to just cut circles and not divide the pedals. I also just hot-glued the layers and little rhinestones instead of sewing them.

I decided I should measure their little heads before I make their headbands.

I just bought silver clips (below) from Walmart and glued ribbon around it.

I have one nephew and of course can't leave him out. I am in the process of figuring out how to make a boutonniere or little tie for him.... Any ideas or suggestions are welcome...

Jake's brother and his wife (Caleb and Hayley) are having their first baby in January (WAHOO again)! I am trying to finish their baby blanket before I leave for Utah next week (for the wedding). It will be similar to the one I made a few months ago. Jake picked out the fabric- he had to make sure it had something to do with baseball for Caleb's boy!

Of course, we stay very busy getting ready for Baby Hopkinson! There is so much to do and think about before this little one makes his/her way into the world.

During the last couple of weeks we have been able to feel the baby move- and boy (or girl), does this little one like to move! I had such a strange realization a few days ago that there is a little person with a fun little personality in there. My little person. Yeah, I know- Duh! Of course there's a little person in there, what did you think it was? I can't explain it, but I feel so connected to this precious little spirit. I love to feel the little kicks and squirms and can't wait until he/she starts swinging from my ribs. Remember those monkey pictures above? Is there any confusion about why this kid is a mover?

Are you sick of reading "he/she?" Yeah, me too.

This Thursday Nov. 10 is our ultrasound! We cannot even wait. We keep thinking of all kinds of excuses to call the doctor to reschedule for sooner... This is worse than waiting for Santa to come.

Now is a good time to cast your vote.

Boy or girl?

(If you can't comment on my blog, let me know on facebook.)

Mr. Intensity

2011-10-27T11:20:00.001-06:00

Lately Jake and I have had very deep and meaningful conversations about our "alter egos." In case you are wondering what I mean about "alter ego," here is how Wikipedia defines it:

An alter ego (Latin, "the other I") is a second self, a second personality within a person, who is often oblivious to the persona's actions. (Jeckyll and Hyde are examples.)

So we tease about Jake's alter ego being this intense person who will switch between one extreme to another. If you know Jake, you know he is full of personality. He is an extremely passionate person, which I absolutely love about him. This is how he has gotten so far in many aspects of life. This guy is awesome. We have to laugh when this intense side of him comes out in funny little things and it has become quite the inside joke around here. I nick-named the alter ego "Mr. Intensity." It sounded like an awesome superhero name, so I couldn't help but create a comic strip for Jake to frame and put on his desk at work. He was so excited and proud of it that he wanted me to share:

MR. INTENSITY

Hopefully you can make the picture bigger and read the captions.

I may have to turn this into a series.

(Disclaimer: I am not an artist)

Pumpkins

2011-10-25T21:23:00.002-06:00

This year carving pumpkins will pretty much be the extent of our Halloween celebration... We just didn't have the time, energy or resources to figure out costumes. We are probably the lamest Halloweeners ever. Next year I am determined to change that.

Anyway, here are our pumpkins!

I made Jake gut them while I made dinner (for the first time pretty much since I've been pregnant).

Tada! The finished products. Jake used a stencil and I have to say, he did an excellent job. I free-handed it and did not do quite so excellent. It was supposed to be more on the "cute" side but turned out looking kind of scary. I guess that's what Halloween is all about.

Tomorrow will mark week 18 for our own little pumpkin. Baby update coming soon.

Parable of Gomer

2011-10-19T17:38:00.000-06:00

We have been trying to become better at collecting food storage- useful food storage. I read this little parable written by an anonymous author and thought I would share. I laughed and cried because we have probably used each one of these excuses... plus I'm pregnant and I cry at weird things. (I took this from my ward's provident living specialist's blog- check it out! There are a lot of good ideas and tips to help you get prepared: http://gottawannaneedagettaprepared.blogspot.com/.)

These are the generations of Gomer, son of Homer, son of Omer. And in the days of Gomer, Noah, the Prophet, went unto the people saying, "Prepare ye for the flood which is to come, yea, build yourselves a boat, that ye may not perish."

Now, Gomer was a member of the Church, and taught Sunday School and played ball, yea, even on the ward softball team. And Gomer's wife said unto him, "Come, let us build unto ourselves a boat as the Prophet Noah hath commanded, that we may not perish in the flood."

But behold, Gomer saith unto his wife, "Worry not, dear wife, for if the flood comes the government will provide boats for us."

And Gomer did not build a boat.

And Gomer's wife went unto Noah and she returned saying, "Behold, Honey, the Prophet saith unto us, "Build a boat, that we may preserve ourselves, for the government pays men not to grow trees, wherefore the government hath not the lumber to build for you a boat."

And Gomer answered saying, "Fear not, oh wife, for am I not the star pitcher on the ward softball team? Wherefore, the Church will provide for us a boat, that we will perish not."

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah, and she returned unto Gomer, saying, "Behold, mine husband, the Prophet saith that the Church hath not enough lumber to build a boat for everyone, wherefore, mine husband, build for us a boat that we might not perish in the flood."

And Gomer answered her saying, "Behold, if we build a boat, when the flood cometh, will not our neighbors overpower us and take from us our boat; wherefore, what doth it profit a man to build a boat?"

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah and she returned, saying, "Behold, the Prophet saith, build unto yourselves a boat, and have faith, for if ye do the Lord's bidding, He will preserve your boat for you." But Gomer answered his wife, saying, "Behold, with this inflation, the price of wood has gone sky high, and if we wait awhile, perhaps the price will go down again. And then I will build for us a boat."

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah, and she returned saying, "Thus saith the Prophet, build for yourselves a boat RIGHT NOW, for the price of wood will not go down, but will continue to go up. Wherefore, oh husband, build for us a boat, that we may perish not."

But Gomer answered his wife, saying, "Behold, for 120 years Noah hath told us to build a boat, to preserve us from the flood, but hath the flood come? Yea, I say, nay. Wherefore, perhaps the flood will not come for another hundred and twenty years.”

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah and returned saying, "The Prophet saith, he knows it has been 120 years, but nevertheless, the flood will come, wherefore, build unto yourselves a boat."

And Gomer answered her saying, "Wherewith shall we get the money to build ourselves a boat, for are we not now making monthly payments on our snazzy new four horsepower chariot? Wherefore, when our payments end, perhaps we shall build ourselves a boat."

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah and returned saying, "Behold, the Prophet saith that we should cut down on our recreation, and our vacations, and even give each other lumber for Christmas, that we might thereby get enough lumber to build a boat."

But Gomer saith unto her, "What a drag! Are we to cease enjoying life, just because we must build a boat?"

Wherefore, Gomer built not a boat. But behold, one day Gomer heard thunder in the sky, and he feared exceedingly and he ran, yea, even to the lumberyard to buy lumber. But behold, the lumber store was crowded with great multitudes, all seeking to buy lumber, and there was not enough lumber to be found for the multitudes.

And on the same day were all the fountains of the deep opened, and the windows of heaven were broken up, and the floods came - and behold, Gomer had no boat. And as the water rose above Gomer's waist, his wife saith unto him,

"Behold, Honey, I told thee so!"

(end of parable)

Note from Amy:

Here is what President Ezra Taft Benson said in 1974:

"The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah." (Jan. 1974 Ensign)

He said it again in 1980:

" The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah." (Nov. 1980 Ensign)

Week 16

2011-10-14T21:32:00.000-06:00

I feel so huge, and this is just the beginning! Today I have started to do the squat. It is very uncomfortable and near impossible for me to bend over to pick something up off of the ground.

I think I have felt the flutters of the little one. I could be very wrong, but I'm not..

It was so exciting!

I have had a really good week as far as "morning" sickness goes. I am still not quite as energetic as usual, but it feels so good to feel good! I believe I have our relief society to thank for that! They have been bringing meals for us because I can't (or couldn't) cook without getting sick. Having healthy, easily accessible food has been extremely helpful. Next week I'm planning to get back in the kitchen!

We have such a great support system out here! Our neighbors are so excited to dig up their old things for me and give wonderful advice. Our friends do the same. I never leave the Lowry's house empty handed (I am sporting the super cute and comfy maternity jeans Danielle gave me). My family from afar is of course so wonderful! Mardee is even bringing some maternity clothes for me when we come out to Utah (November!). At this pace, we wont have to buy a dang thing!

Too many people to thank. Thank you all.

PS.

Confession:

I was feeling a little sorry for myself today, so I got dressed up and went out. Do you know what I did? I went to Target to look at baby clothes. Worked like a charm.

2011-10-06T13:51:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to let people know that I figured out why many of you can't leave comments. It should be fixed now, so you don't have an excuse. Please let me know if you are still having problems. Thanks!

-mel

Babies Everywhere!

2011-10-05T14:45:00.000-06:00

First off, if you haven't seen the Nutrigrain commercial, look it up on Youtube and watch it now (this is where they title of my post originates).

Ok, now about the pregnancy. Prepare for excitement and adventure.

Finding out:
I woke up early to take the pregnancy test so I could hide it from Jake and surprise him (not really expecting or getting my hopes up to see a positive result). When I did see the positive result, I was so excited and rushed to hide everything and hopped back into bed. Jake opened his eyes for a minute and I couldn't hide my wide-awake eyes and excited smile. He smiled a little and said, "What?" I thought I had given it away.. luckily he fell back asleep... When he got up he found an empty pregnancy test package... yep I left it out. So my plot was foiled and I just had to jump out of bed and shout out the great news.

We didn't want to tell anyone (at least anyone outside of NC) until Jake's parents came out for the trip. They were they only family we could tell in person and we didn't want to spoil it... Here is Jake's mom's reaction (we had our ultrasound pictures on the fridge and told her to look at the pictures).

10 weeks:

How it's been:
I love being pregnant. The first couple of weeks after finding out I was just so excited and time was passing way too slowly. Because of our past (we have had a couple of miscarriages) the doctor wanted to keep tabs on the growth of the baby early on. We got to get ultrasounds as early as 5.5 weeks (looks like a little bean) and have been able to watch the little alien grow. Amazing.
Then the nausea began to set in. I guess it's been kind of a blessing in a few ways for us. For one thing, it distracted me from the "impatiently waiting" mindset. It also was a good sign that the hormones were doing what they should which gave us comfort. Whenever I would say, "Oh, Jake, I really don't feel well..." he would reply, "Good!" We would laugh about it and then I would go vomit. :) It was nothing but a vicious cycle of constantly having to eat, never wanting to eat (the thought, smell and taste of food make me want to vomit!), finally eating and vomiting... leaving my tummy empty again. I tried not to complain because I know there are many of my friends and family that have had MUCH worse experiences with pregnancy. I had it good compared to them, and I am thankful.
Poor Jacob. I think the pregnancy has been rougher on him than on me. Until about three weeks ago Jake had to do the cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry and taking care of me along with going to work to provide for us. Plus he couldn't come to close to me without making me gag or worse.. This guy has done an amazing job keeping up on everything and having a good attitude about it, too! Even through these hard days, I have loved the experience.

How it is (2nd trimester!):
I have good days and bad days now. I normally don't vomit (however, I have to stop myself a couple of times a day), and I am able to eat most foods now. I still can't cook without feeling queasy, but our friends and ward members have taken good care of us. I can pretty much do everything else, although I usually have to take it easy on the couch in the evenings.
How do people work when they are pregnant? I am so glad we decided I wouldn't teach while I was preggers. It has been hard to give up teaching this year, especially watching all my friends from school decorate their classrooms, but it will be worth it when this little one comes. Plus, this time not working or being in school is giving me opportunities before kids come along to grow and develop skills that will help me prepare to be a mother.

There is nothing more important or exciting to me than motherhood. I know it will be hard sometimes, and I know my life is about to change forever. I can't wait. I am glad a have a companion like Jake to work through this new experience with me. What a great privilege we have to be parents!

Ok, you may return from the edge of your seats. That was probably the most interesting thing you have read all day.

Trip to New York

2011-09-27T11:05:00.000-06:00

Jake and I were so happy to have visitors! Especially these crazy people. Jake's parents arrived Saturday night and the fun began right away. We were excited to be able to tell them in person that we are having a baby Hopkinson. We kept them up late, and woke them up early Sunday morning to begin our grand adventure.

We planned to spend the day driving up to Niagara Falls. We were making good headway, so I suggested that we stop to check out the next interesting place we see so we could get our "wiggles" out and experience a taste of Virginia. We sure lucked out. A few minutes later we happened to drive by a fish hatchery in the middle of nowhere with a nice little BBQ shack near by.

Jake and Dad were pretty excited about this.

Mmmm BBQ out here is yummy.

We reached Niagara that evening, ready to eat. Picky, pregnant, grumpy lady had to eat before anyone could have fun. Yes, I am being a little subtle here.. For those of you who don't know already, Jake and I are almost 14 weeks preggers! But that's another story. However, it applies a little because you can guess I really haven't been feeling well, but I was very blessed to at least feel well enough to enjoy the trip! I don't know how fun it was for the others..... Anyway, here is Jake and me waiting to eat before we go to the falls.

It was such a beautiful night! The lights on the falls were amazing (although, they would have been more amazing to see from the Canada side... in fact, everything looked so much more exciting over there. We didn't have passports and didn't feel up to trying to make a swim for it.)

The next day was one packed full of fun.

We rode the Maid of the Mist to get a close up view of the falls. Horseshoe falls are so so incredible. For some reason I didn't put a picture of them and it takes too much work to put one in now... but just know, they are incredible. Pictures do this place no justice. They don't do me much justice either..

It was kind of a chilly day. It was supposed to storm most of our trip, but we ended up having nearly perfect weather. Another answer to our prayers.

We only got a little wet on the fairy ride, but that was just the beginning.

We got to go to the little aquarium to watch the seal show and other such things you might do at an aquarium. This little guy was cute. He wanted to rest, but it was too cold to get out.

Here is where we got really wet. "The Cave of Winds." The cave has been eroded away, but it is still a fun way to get right up in the waterfall! Here is where we got really wet. They even gave us little sandals to wear and plastic bags to put our shoes in. Pretty sweet.

Mom had to take her sandals off because they didn't have her size and they were uncomfortable, but the rest of us were pretty excited about our new kicks.

You may notice I am in a wheelchair.

The day's events were beginning to really wear on me. I didn't want to keep the rest of them from having fun, but Jake wouldn't leave me by myself (of course). So he decided to wheel me around. This was a little awkward because I almost felt like I had to pretend I didn't have leg use... I decided that wouldn't work when I saw a couple from the Cave of Winds that had just seen me jumping and splashing in the waterfall..

Jake had to wheel me down a hill to see horseshoe falls. That was scary. The best part was when he had to wheel me back up. ba hahaaaa

Jake and his Dad spreadin' the love

What a fun-filled and exhausting day!

Next stop: Palmyra!

Hill Cumorah

The Smith's cabin (where Joseph Smith grew up).

View of the Palmyra Temple from the Smith Farm

The best part, of course was walking through the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith saw the First Vision.

Jake folded his own few pages of the Book of Mormon at its first publication site. Look at that perfect crease.

The last stop in this area was the Peter Whitmer farm where the church was organized.

Now to NYC! On our way we drove through Ithaca. I had to get a picture for my family- years ago we discovered the existence of Ithaca College. Say it out loud and you will understand why it was so funny to us.

We arrived in NYC Wednesday evening and decided to explore a little. On our way to Times Square we ate some yummy pizza. It was a lot of walking and a pretty crazy experience driving! Fun to visit, but how do people live in that place?

Sadly, because I was a weak pregnant person, we weren't able to see everything while we were there, but we definitely had a blast! At least, they all told me they had a good time..

One of the most memorable experiences was walking down the street and seeing where the David Letterman Late Show is filmed... No that's not the exciting part. We walked in to sign up to be in the drawing to be in the audience for one of the shows. Well, they were doubtful we would be able to go in even if we were drawn because Mom and I didn't have our IDs. We entered, but pretty much gave up on that activity because, yes, maybe they could let Mom in without an ID because they could tell she was over 18 (not that she looks old or anything..) but me... I am lucky if people think I look 16 (I usually get 14). Well once again I ruined the trip for everyone.

Well about an hour later we received a phone call that we had somehow been drawn and allowed to get in even though we didn't have IDs. We were pretty excited. Especially Dad.

Below is a pic of us waiting in line to get in.

Pretty sure we will be on TV sometime this week. Jake and I don't have TV so we probably wont see it. Look for us in the audience in the episode with Gloria from Modern Family...

The last activity and the icing on the cake was going to see Wicked. Luckily I have a bad memory, because Jake and I saw it a couple of years ago, but it was pretty much like going for my first time. It was fun to share this incredible experience with Mom and Dad Childers. If you haven't seen it, you should. My favorite.

As I said previously, I went the whole trip without throwing up or getting too sick to do anything. literally an hour after we got home I started getting sick again... coincidence? I think not. Jake worked so hard to make this trip full of fun and excitement, and I am grateful I (or should I say Baby Hopkinson) didn't completely ruin it :)

I know this post is long, but I wanted to write down a few more things for my own memory's sake. This trip was all laughs. From miniature continental breakfasts, to hotel vending machine spitting out soda across the hall, drying our waterfall-soaked socks and shoes with a hair dryer and heaters, waking up early to record proof that Dad snores, walking into Hotel Carter in Times Square where we canceled reservations (because of the reviews) to see what we "missed out" on (pretty sure this hotel was the inspiration for the Tower of Terror at California Adventure), and many other small moments of our trip kept us laughing all the way. On the road we kept ourselves busy by doing crossword puzzles, chatting, rocking out to music and trying to see how many different license plates (States/Provinces) we could find (I think we ended up finding 43).

Thanks Mom and Dad Childers for sharing this grand adventure with us. We had so much fun and miss you already.

As far as the pregnancy goes, I will fill you in with another post another day. We will see if I can get Jake to post the video of his parents' reaction to the news.

Getting Caught in the Rain

2011-08-22T16:30:00.003-06:00

Adventures as of late:
Last weekend Jake and I decided to spend the day fishing. We woke up to a damp Saturday morning. The weather was predicted to be rainy throughout the day. Jake was so disappointed. He had been so excited about this day that he could barely sleep all night. If we had stayed home because of the rain, it would have been like waking up Christmas morning only to discover it had been cancelled this year. We justified that since it was only 60 percent chance of scattered showers later in the day, we could just buy some umbrellas just in case, and be on our way.
We had to hike about ten minutes to our favorite spot at Jordan Lake. We hauled chairs, a cooler full of food/drinks, and a couple of bags of other things we would need throughout the day.
15 minutes into our relaxing day it began to POUR. We gathered our bags and other things on our laps and under our little umbrellas. Dixie hopped onto my lap and poor charlie ran around trying to find somewhere to stay dry. We all huddled up to wait out the storm. We waited... and waited... and waited... After about 15 minutes our umbrellas were too soaked through to keep us dry. A half our into the storm it began to slow down a little. We decided we needed to get back to the car.
We gathered what we could and headed out. Once we got to the car we laid things out to dry, and Dixie and I tried to get dry and warm in the car. Jake and Charlie ran back to get the rest of our things. By the time they got back the rain had stopped, but we were all so wet, we decided to call it a day. Jake and I always enjoy these situations we get ourselves into. It could have ruined poor Jake's day or made him upset, but we just couldn't help but laugh. After all, we love the rainstorms out here, and where better to enjoy it than out in the middle of it? It would have been the perfect ending to a perfect day... but it wasn't.
I couldn't let this be the end to his fishing day. On our way out we found a place to park next to the lake (so if we needed to book it to the car we could). We ended up fishing there for about six more hours! It turned out to be a very successful fishing trip. We let all of our fish go, but there was a lady fishing close to us who wanted our larger catfish. I caught the biggest one- about four lbs. Well ok, Jake helped me hook him and then reeled him in (and it took probably 5 minutes to tire that big fish out!). It turned out to be a great day with my sweet husband.
__________________________

On another note, I am excited to declare our most recent cultural experience:
Deep-fried Pickles!
Wow. They were delicious! Jake even liked them, and he doesn't like pickles. Apparently we have a lot to look forward to in September when the State Fair comes around. I am told that they deep fry EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. If it is edible, it's deep-fry-able. I am really looking forward to this.

2011-08-18T18:06:00.002-06:00

I know some people have been wanting to see pictures of the inside of the place... I took these a while ago and only got a few good ones. I decided I wanted to take more before I posted them, but, well it's just never going to happen. So here are a few pictures to give you an idea:

Our little kitchen. You can see our "backyard" as well.

Living Room

"Dining room"
We still don't have a table for it...

Our bathroom

And there you have it; four of my favorite rooms in the house (excluding the dining room, actually... You know, because we never use it.)
I guess you will just have to come visit to see the rest.

1st Chenille Blanket..... Check!

2011-07-29T19:07:00.003-06:00

One of my latest projects is the Chenille blanket. My sister made some for her girls and I loved them! I decided it would be a great skill to have so I can give them away as baby shower gifts (that is, if I can get better at it..).
It took me about three weeks to complete (a LOT of hours) and I am so happy to finally have it finished. This poor blanket was definitely my experimental one, but it turned out pretty well for what I put it through. I'll just tell you this included a lot of patience (which I decided I have very little for this sort of thing), unpicking, midweek runs to the fabric store (the closest one is 20 min away), and encouragement from Jake. If it weren't for him, this blanket would have been torn up and tossed about 5 different times.

I'm not completely happy with how the colors turned out. It was hard to picture what the colors would look like after it frilled, and I wish I had either put the pink in the front or middle. Anyway I learned a lot this time around and can't wait to make more!
Ahhhhhh, so comfy.

ps. As many of you know, I am making a large quilt as well. I have finished sewing all of the squares together, and just have to find someone to quilt it for me. That costs money though, so we are going to wait on that (it is also experimental and has a lot of issues.. This is why we are not in a hurry to get it done!)

Exploring North Carolina

2011-07-26T16:53:00.008-06:00

One of the challenges of moving to unknown territory is not knowing what to do for fun. People kept telling us there is a lot to do around here, but we just couldn't find it... We didn't know where to look. I still have yet to find a bowling alley, but that's a different story. I am talking about outdoor, free-ish things. I have to be outdoors in the summer time, even if the rest of the population is indoors trying to escape the blazing heat.

Last Saturday we decided to get out and do something about this. Jake asked around work and found out there were trails and beaches at Jordan Lake about 20 min away. So we went. We drove around for a while trying to find some sort of information to direct us where to go. We finally found the perfect spot.

We hiked 5.5 miles in 102 degrees 70 percent humidity and loved every minute of it!

We stopped in the middle of the hike to cool off in the lake, which really didn't help much, but it was definitely fun! I think it was hotter in the water than it was out.

We also enjoyed some nice dry sandwiches. You can tell by my face how delicious it is.

We had a great day together. He was such a good sport even though he couldn't keep up with me on the hike.......

After our adventure at Jordan Lake we showered up and went to the movies. Theaters easy to find here..

Is this making you want to come visit?? It's perfect weather in the fall, so you just let us know when to expect you...

Trip to Utah

2011-07-12T19:32:00.008-06:00

I want to start this post by saying a big thank you to Jake. He is such a selfless husband and works so hard in every way. All I had to do was mention that my whole family (except Mikalyn) was getting together in Utah for three weeks, and I suddenly had a plane ticket. He knows how important it is for me to spend time with my family (especially nieces and nephews that I don't get to see often- which is all of them now). We tried to work out time when Jake could come too, at least for a few days, but he wasn't able to get any time off of work. He spent three weeks alone in North Carolina while I took off to party with my family. Thanks Jake, and thanks to the Lowrys and Hubbards for trying to take care of him for me.

The day I arrived in Utah my eyes dried out (I felt like Spongebob when his eyes shrivel up and sizzle...), I had a bloody nose, and my lips and hands started cracking! How can anyone live in that dry place??

My parents went a little nuts this year in order to make this a fun trip for all of us. Thanks Mom and Dad. There were all kinds of activities going on during these three weeks. I apologize once again that the pictures are out of order. It will only matter to you if you were there I guess.

The kids didn't know what to do when Grampa only shared teeny tiny slivers of his Father's Day cake... But of course, they wouldn't let him get away with it.

Can you believe that's the Gramma? (And yes, I do know how to spell Grandma and Grandpa.)

I let the girls get me ready for "the party." This is what the next generation is coming up with: collect all of the barrettes and hair things possible, and stick 'em in wherever you can find and empty space. I like it.

One of the many attractions at Gramma and Grampa's

Alva and Clora Orton Fam Reunion in Oregon. Wearing our shirts proudly (Mckay designed them). I just love these two pictures. The kids got all kinds of treasures in the fish pond. Backward hats+lots of bling= gangsta.

On our way back to Utah, I rode with my parents. My dad grew up in Oregon, so it was fun to listen to his stories and see places he lived and where he wrecked his first car, etc. For at least 6 hours on our way home I listened to his little memories and short stories. I had heard many of the stories before, but I have a little different point of view at this point in my life. I grew to learn a lot about him and my mother. This is one of the best memories from the trip. If you haven't sat down to listen to your parent's stories lately, do it.
We stopped to get gas literally in the Middle of Nowhere. Although it turned out to be closed for the holiday, we stopped anyway to take a few pictures of their main attraction:

While Mardee and Spencer went on a date, Cadence, Campbell and I went on our own. We got all ready for our date (using my make up) and went to dinner (Gramma's Kitchen) and a movie (Gramma's Basement).

Lemonade, 25 cents!!
These kids made a lot of money! I would hire them. It didn't matter how far away the car had driven, they would not give up on it until it was completely out of site!

Here are some of the "improvements" Gramma and Grampa have made:

Swing set: I have been asking for one of these for years. I leave Utah for three months and this is what happens. I may have enjoyed it more than the kids...

My dad found these little cars on KSL (for all of you non-Utah people its like Craigslist only better). The batteries didn't work, but the next day he came home with new ones. They were a hit! Especially for our little guy. He is just like Grampa- they love their cars!

This is amazing. My had has been building a little playhouse cabin for the grandkids. It's not finished yet, but they did not let that stop them from enjoying it! Inside there are little kitchenettes, table and chairs, rugs and a loft in the making. They moved right in.

All of the grandkids together on the teeter totter.

To my family: I will post more pictures on the fam blog soon.

It was so fun to spend time with my family. I love them and I am grateful for their good examples, love and friendship.
By the end of the trip, however, I was definitely ready to be home to my own family. I had two layovers scheduled for my trip home: in Denver and in Atlanta. When we arrived in Denver there was a crazy lightening storm. No planes were moving, and we were stranded on the plane for a little over an hour. I was anxious because I didn't know if my other plane had left or not. Luckily it was also delayed. When I got onto that plane I began to pray that I would make my next flight in Atlanta. The pilot came on and said, "I have just talked to the connecting flight going on to Raleigh. Because there are 25 passengers from our flight that are scheduled for that one, they are going to delay the flight!" FEW! I was relieved because I was already late as it was. My flight was scheduled to get in at 12:35 am, but now it wouldn't be til about 2 am. I didn't mind because I was comin' home! Or so I though. To my dismay, and to 24 other passengers' dismay, the pilot decided that he actually wasn't going to wait... and he wasn't going to tell us either.
Stranded. Stranded in Atlanta. The next flight they could get me on wasn't until 7:35 the next morning. I wasn't about to try to navigate around this city all by myself in the middle of the night. It was a very long night. I was so tired but could not sleep. I watched the sun rise and then hopped on the plane. I slept most of the 45 min plane ride, and finally I was HOME!

Jake, being the thoughtful and excited husband that he is had all kinds of welcome home surprises! Balloons, signs, and a beautiful necklace and earrings set. It's good to get away, but it is so good to be home.

2011-06-06T11:45:00.010-06:00

Jake's Birthday

Instead of going off to work on his birthday, Jake and I took advantage of the service hours he is given from work (basically paid time off to serve in the community). What better way to spend a birthday than by serving others? The service project available that day was building homes with Habitat for Humanity. When Jake was younger he helped his dad build houses from the ground up, so this was perfect! He was having way too much fun putting that roof together. None of the other volunteers had much experience, so Jake took charge.

I decided I didn't feel too comfortable (or helpful) on the unfinished roof. I have roofed with Jake before- I don't mind being up there when there is something to stand on.. So I ended up helping put up a wall on the other house. Jake didn't come down from that roof until lunch. After lunch he got right back up and hit the ground... roof... running. It was in the 90's that day plus the humidity added like ten degrees. I don't know how people do this for a living. Down on the ground I kept getting comments like, "I don't think Jacob has come down from that roof all day," and "He is like the energizer bunny!" Yep. That's my Jake! The volunteers in charge of the project were very grateful for his knowledge and energy. He makes friends so easily too. I think I was like that once upon a time... I envy his ability to influence others so easily. He is so upbeat and positive about life, and others just gravitate towards it.

All of his new friends invited us to go for beers after a long day of hard labor, but we respectfully declined. Their feelings weren't hurt, because they remembered we are from Utah... Besides that, we had more birthday plans!
We got cleaned up (I never thought I would enjoy a cold shower!!) and hit the town. We had planned to go to a nice expensive restaurant, but decided we would rather visit our favorite little Mexican grill. After a very satisfying meal, we went to Kung Fu Panda 2! Best birthday ever. And it wasn't even mine.

Day at the Beach!

Our good friends Jim and Danielle joined us on an adventure to the beach! These two have done a lot for us and we are so glad to have them! I am afraid we were having too much fun and didn't get many pictures, but here are a couple just to give you an idea!

Dixie enjoyed relaxing in the sand, but wasn't too happy about getting hit by the waves when she got to close to the shore. One of my favorite things to do at the beach is find seashells. Unlike California beaches, you didn't have to go far to find beautiful shells. Most of the shells I found were next to my towel.

Jake and Jim enjoying the warm water!

Charlie had a blast. I wish I had a picture of her swimming with us and catchin' some waves.

Thanks Jim and Danielle!

Meet Rocco

Ok, here is our new dog, Rocco.. Just kidding! Our neighbors took their girls to some big water park for a couple days, so we are watching him. He is a sweet dog, but Jake and I are... what's the word... horrified? He is the most slobbery dog I have ever met. He is stinky too. There is no keeping up with the drool flinging onto everything/everyone in the house.
We have gained a lot of appreciation and love for our clean, obedient, calm dogs that don't slobber. He does have a cute droopy face, though. Rocco, it was fun while it lasted... kind of.

Date Night..?

2011-05-24T18:56:00.010-06:00

It was my turn to plan the date night. I don't know how fun it was for Jake, but I had a blast! Who am I kidding, Jake would love scooping poop with me if that's what I wanted.. but I didn't. We have been needing to take good pictures of us, so I figured that could count. When Jake came home I had our camera and TV tray ready to go. We found a cool spot, put the camera on the tray and posed. Here are a few of the pictures edited by Jacob.

Of course, we couldn't take it seriously for very long!

Settling In

2011-05-16T19:24:00.007-06:00

After what felt like forever (4 1/2 months) we are no longer homeless. Check out the new pad:

We live about five minutes away from Jake's work, 3 minutes from the church, 15 minutes from the airport, and about 15 minutes away from the Raleigh Temple (which isn't even really in Raleigh). Very convenient and very comfortable. PS- we have 2 "guest rooms" that need occupants..

We love our neighborhood. Our neighbors and ward members (I have yet to find a close neighbor that is a ward member) are so friendly. I love how diverse this place is, and everyone is respectful of each other. The neighbor kids call us Miss Melanie and Mr. Jacob; I will be honest, I am soaking in all of this southern culture. We absolutely love it here. The only thing about this place is the drivers.... I don't understand how people can be so happy and friendly, but once the hit the roads they are ruthless! I just don't get this.

I have loved having time. Time to do what I have been meaning to do for a long time. -- Was that a great sentence, or what?-- When it comes to school, I am not a good multi-tasker. Poor Jake had to pull a lot of the weight while I was in school, even though he was often both in school and working full time. I have appreciated his seemingly endless energy and willingness to help me so much. He knew how important it was to me to finish school, and he has sacrificed a lot for me to do so.

Now that school is done, I have discovered this wonderful thing called time. What have I done with it? I have begun to develop talents and skills such as cooking, cleaning (yes, it is a skill), and sewing. Jake and I eat a real, home-cooked meal every day. I love being in the kitchen. I have had so much fun experimenting with different recipes. I usually do well to keep the house clean (except when I use my time to blog instead..). I even put Charlie to work. I taught her to take things upstairs for me. --Hey, they are steep stairs, ok? As for the sewing? Well, I've got a sweet little set-up (Thanks Mom and Mikee). My first project: a quilt.

Jake is loving his job, and doing so well. He has a way of making an impression wherever he goes. One of the many great things about his job is that he gets paid time off specifically for community service opportunities. On his birthday (May 26) we are going to be helping build homes for families who lost theirs in the recent storms. I don't know what good I will be, but we are both very excited for this opportunity.

Here is Jacob and Charlie. They have grown quite attached to each other. There are little lakes/ponds all over the place. Everything is so beautiful here. Charlie loves the water. Behind the camera Dixie and I are staying as dry as possible.

Oh, yeah. Another downfall to this place... Tics! We live in a forest, so we learned the hard way that you have to keep your pets protected! Even after buying expensive repellant stuff (what is it called?) these are two of the 4 or 5 tics we pulled off of Charlie in one night. Luckily Dixie's "repellant stuff" worked well.

Ok, I was going to make up some profound correlation between life and this railroad track, but I really just wanted to show off my photography skills. I cannot get over how beautiful this scene is. We pass it almost daily, so I finally readied my camera and told Jake to drive slow.

Although we are absolutely loving North Carolina, we have both been feeling a bit homesick. It started to sink in that we can't go home for Sunday dinners at my parents' house, or make a quick drive to visit Jake's family for the weekend.

We love and miss all of you.

--Until Next time!

Surrounded by Tornadoes

2011-04-18T15:16:00.004-06:00

Saturday afternoon Jake and I were driving around aimlessly in a desperate attempt to find a home. We had heard of the "tornado warnings" going on in our area, but it seemed to be a nice enough day... We are obviously not in Kansas anymore. Well, Utah, but you get the point. We were on our way to get lunch, humming along with some tunes, when suddenly we were interrupted by the scariest radio announcement we have ever heard. Here are some bits and pieces of the announcement (Yes, of course we recorded it!):

"This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation... Take cover now."

"Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a home immediately... Move away from any windows... Protect yourself from flying debris..."

We looked and each other and started laughing... Insensitive perhaps, but this was awesome! We thought about chasing the storm so we could see the tornado, but decided to be adults about it instead.

On our way home we began feeling the large gusts of wind tossing us to and fro across the freeway. The warnings became more serious, so we stopped at a friends house. Not only was their house closer, but probably much safer than our hotel room on the top floor. We huddled in their home watching the storm grow in intensity. It began to pour, so naturally Jake and I had to run outside. When we looked up, this is what we saw:

Ok, not really... But we did see tons of tree branches and chunks of houses spinning through the sky. It was incredible.

When things cleared up, we headed for home. Debris was tossed all over the roads. When we got home we turned on the news. At least two tornadoes had hit Wake county alone (where we live) and one of those hit in Raleigh just two miles from our hotel, killing three people. Tornadoes have been attacking the east coast. Within two days (Friday and Saturday) there have been 100 reported tornadoes resulting in at least 35 deaths.

We love our adventurous crazy lives, but we know we are so blessed to be safe and unharmed. Thank you for all of the calls, texts and prayers

So much to do, So little time to blog

2011-04-13T14:11:00.011-06:00

Ten reasons I will be able to keep up on my blog from now on:

1. I am done with school!

I officially graduate April 29, 2011.

I had an amazing student teaching experience this semester. My cooperating teacher was very experienced and taught me a lot. One day as I was teaching, my teacher's husband took her out of the classroom. Next thing I knew, the office ladies are coming in to grab her purse and other belongings. After I dropped off the students at the library I came back to the classroom to see what was going on. Her 25 year old daughter had just committed suicide. We helped her gather her things and she left for a week and a half (not long enough). It was one of those crazy moments in life. It was a blessing that I was there to help take over the class when she was gone so she wouldn't have to worry about her students missing a beat. It was a great learning experience for me, and it was a confirmation to me that the Lord knew where he needed me. Plus, you will never see a better/cuter class than this one!

2. Jake and I are back together!

Ok that doesn't sound right. In December Jake was presented with a great employment opportunity in Dubuque Iowa. They needed him to start right away, but I was about to start student teaching. We decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I stayed behind in Utah to wrap up school for three more months, and Jake ventured to ol' Dubuque. This was one of the hardest things we have had to do... I don't recommend it. He came home to visit about a month and a half into it for two weeks.It was hard to say goodbye to him again.

Two days after he returned to Dubuque poor Mimi (Jake's grandma) scared us all with a heart attack. She was going to be alright, but needed constant care and assistance for at least a week or two. Since Jake was able to work from home if he needed to, they allowed him to come back to stay with Mimi. It was quite a surprise when I stopped in to visit Mimi to find my husband who was supposed to be hundreds of miles away. They decided to allow Jake to stay three weeks until I was done student teaching.

3. We are done traveling the country for a while.

When Jake and I were taking care of Mimi, he received a phone call. The company he was working for before Iowa wanted to interview him and bring him on internally. Opportunities will never stop coming to this guy. He did so well in the interviews that they offered him a great position in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We packed up and flew to Iowa in order to wrap things up and gather his things. This began our great journey across the country.

(Keeping ourselves busy on our layover in Denver)

(Jake and Charlie stayed at a some ward members' home (the Beytiens) in Iowa. This is our little family finally reunited.

4. I have stuff to write about... for now.

Our first stop: Nauvoo Illinois. After we spent a day and a half in Nauvoo, we continued on for 16 1/2 hours (stopping in Ohio to sleep) until we reached our destination.

Wait... Where are the Mountains?

The company, NetApp, put us up in a hotel until we can find a more permanent place to live. Up until two days ago, I would do homework while he was away working. Now that I have finished a 40 page paper and compiled my portfolio, my time is not used as wisely.

5. We are so far away...

It is beautiful out here in North Carolina. We are literally living in a forest. I get so lost because when you are on the freeways you cannot see anything but trees. The weather is amazing. I never knew it could rain so hard! Now I know what people mean by being able to take a shower in it. Our first NC rain storm experience involved creating our own rendition of "Singing in the Rain" complete with song and dance.

This is all so new for us, and although we are so happy and excited to be out here, it is a long way from home.

The places we are looking at renting have 3 bedrooms in hopes to convince people to come visit us...

Well I guess I didn't have as many reasons as I thought. Let's just count each of them as two.

If anyone is still out there......and even if you're not.

2010-08-19T10:55:00.012-06:00

Ok, so my last post was around Christmas time... So if everyone has lost hope (because I know all three of you awaiting updates on my blog) I wouldn't blame you. I don't even know where to begin, so I am going to let the pictures do the talking.

School and dogs basically take over our lives. We worked a lot this Summer, but decided we needed to have some fun, too. Ps, look how long Jake's hair is! Beautiful.

My sisters and their families surprised me with a visit (Mardee from Chicago and Merica from California). We had my nieces over (Merica's girls) and got Popsicles from the ice cream truck that stocks our neighborhood.

Campbell-- Messiest baby award! She is rarely wearing clothes.. What's the point? :)

Avery, Reese and Cadence at Gramma and Grampa's

Jake and Spencer (probably talking about Layla's chunky legs) at the children's discovery museum in Salt Lake.

Cadence takes after her mom... and her dad... you can't get them away from the dress ups!

I have nothing to say of this picture...I love Campbell.

Merica and I pretending to be at the grocery store. Mer has always wanted to be a cashier.

The morning after our slumber party! This was Cadence's first time sleeping away from Mom and Dad. What a trooper. They took good care of our dogs.

Dance party after the parents left- the initiation for the slumber party

Although we haven't been on as many hikes as we wanted to this Summer, we have enjoyed a few- this is the hike to the Y with Dixie, Charlie, and our late dog Aspen. We had this beautiful German Shepherd for a month before we had to put her to sleep due to health issues.

Dixie never broke a sweat...

Jacob's birthday

This was what Jake saw when he woke up the morning of May 26th. Heart shaped, pink french toast. Presh. I let him open his presents throughout the day.

This is Jake's face while watching, for the first time, a parade at California adventure! We drove to northern California for a family reunion, and drove to California Adventure/Disneyland on our way home. This was actually our first real roadtrip with just the two of us. It wont be the last! These pictures are out of order... I apologize.

This is a "J"

"M"--- you know, for Melanie

The Screamer! We are the ones on the back row...

This is my finger pointing to my score. The new toy story ride was a blast!

Going into the Toystory ride/game

My super hot husband.

My super hot husband and Mr. Incredible. He is actually posing for us, not that other guy.

The lego store is actually one of my favorite places to visit in Downtown Disney-- everything is made of legos!

San Fransisco Pier 39 (reunion)

Oakland Temple

After our trip, we brought home the Childers crazy crew. Katelyn, Chase, and Chance. We turned it into a tradition to have them stay with us for a week in the Summer to have some fun. We went hiking, swimming, nicklecade-ing... and much more! We made these shirts (a tradition we started last year). Sadly, Chase left us earlier that day due to illness. We have your shirt waiting for you still Chase! We also missed Chelsea. She needs to stay home and take care of Mother, so we still need to make her one too.

Kate and Chance. What creativity!

This year we decided to make hats as well. We created the JMCK (Jake, Melanie, Chance, Chase, Katelyn) stensil. It's our brand.

Anyway, that is pretty much it for now. We start school again next week. It is my last year so I am anxious to get it done! Until next time!

Christmas Break

2010-01-06T09:11:00.018-07:00

It has been great not to have to worry about school these last few weeks. We have loved the extra time to spend with each other and our families. Thank you to everyone who helped us enjoy the holidays.

Making Christmas morning breakfast. We can't touch the presents until we eat a big, delicious, healthy breakfast! It wasn't quite as hard as it used to be.Mignon and Zavian pushing Dixie in a stroller. Sorry this is sideways...I decided it would be easier to just make you look sideways rather than try to fix it.

(Above) Z playing with the trainset. Not even interested in the presents.

(Below) New Year's Eve! Thanks Mckay, Karalyn and Zavian for the awesome party with amazing food, games, cars, balls, vacuums and sparklers!

I forgot to switch this one around too, sorry. This is my outfit for playing in the snow. I wore socks for mittens, tucked my pants in my socks because I don't have boots. I didn't really play in the snow, I just took pictures:

Charlie loves the snow. She will play and hang out in the snow for hours and still be hot. As she prances through it, she scoops some up with her mouth for a refreshing snack. This is an awesome shot of her catching a snowball.

Jake was covering them in snow. They loved it.

Dixie's new trick.

These dogs love playing with Jake. He is so energetic and fun.

Ok, I was sure this was the last picture this camera would ever take. If you look hard enough, you can see a snowball flying through the air (I'll let you find it). Right after this was taken the snowball hit the camera, fell out of my hands and landed on the icy sidewalk. That ended our fun day in the snow. Oh by the way, it still works!

PS. Some exciting news! Jake and I found a new place for cheaper than what we are paying now, closer to school/work and it has a huge yard, a garage, and we have the whole house to ourselves! We'll post pictures soon. Jake is also looking for a new job, so keep us in your prayers, and if you hear of anything, let us know!

Student teaching stories

2009-12-01T19:30:00.004-07:00

Most of you know that I just finished my first semester three weeks of student teaching. I had a blast. There was a lot of work that went into it, and it was difficult at times, but i loved every minute of it. My partner and I were assigned to a fifth grade class to create and teach a unit about the Revolutionary War. We were required to integrate the arts and technology into some of these lessons.

One day, we were trying (and I mean trying...) to teach the students about the constitution. Now, I still get confused about the constitution and government, etc, and to be honest, we didn't study up on the subject well enough before we started teaching. As we stood in front of the class struggling to get through this subject, a student raised his hand.

"Are you two struggling with your history today?"

We couldn't help but look at each other and laugh. We did not know how to respond. He called us out. Called us out cold. YOU try teaching a group of smart-alac 5th graders!

A couple of days later, however, I had a very uplifting experience. We had finished our lesson for the day, but the teacher had a meeting with the principal. She put us in charge as the students worked on drawing Christmas cards for people who donated to their class grant. My partner and I decided to give them some examples of how do decorate the cards. We drew Christmas trees, mistletoe, Santa hats... I then decided to draw a reindeer. As I stepped back from my somewhat awkward cartoon masterpiece, there was a great gasp.

"Wow, Mrs. Hopkinson, are you an artist?" "Thats the best reindeer I have ever seen!" "Will you draw one on my card?"

I took advantage of this, and told them, yes, I am an artist! Anyway it was really exciting. I walked around commented on each student's artwork. One very shy little boy had drawn a reindeer a lot like mine. This card was very creative, and I could tell he worked really hard on it. I told him how impressed I was by his picture, which drew attention from the whole class. I wish I had a picture of his face as the whole class came to praise him for his artwork. He was so excited but bashful about all of the attention. I was reminded of the real reason I want to be a teacher.

That same day, I was rushing out to my car, when I heard a little boy say to a friend, "Hey, you see her?"

"Yeah."

"She's my student teacher, and is like the best artist ever!"

He proceded to tell his friend about the reindeer. I kept walking, and laughing all of the way. Another good reason to be a teacher: They think you're good at everything! Except when they catch you stumbling while you're teaching....

Searching

2009-11-17T08:34:00.002-07:00

Do you ever have those days where you feel like you are just looking for things all day? I had one of those a couple of days ago. I would set something down (like a spoon, or my lunch) and ten seconds later, I couldn't find it anywhere. But that's not too bad, right? It happens to the best of us.

As most of you know, I have been doing my first little round of student teaching. I had to leave to be to Park Elementary School by 11:15. By about 11:00 I started out the door, but realized I didn't have my keys... The only keys to our only car. I went in to grab them, and of course, they had gone missing. I had them in my pocket earlier, so they must have fallen out. I searched high and low, I searched in obvious places, and obscure places (like the fridge, and the toilet..).

Then I remembered- I had been outside playing fetch with the dogs, and running around the yard. I walked up and down our yard at least 50 times, kicking leaves up as I went. No keys.

The dogs had been really enjoying that leaf pile in our yard... but I only chased them through it once... So I started spreading the leaf pile back out across our yard. At about 1:00, my field partner offered to come pick me up, so I would be able to be there for our lesson- which went very well, by the way.

I got home at about 5. While I was waiting for Jake to get home, I searched and searched some more. I concluded that they HAD to be in the leaf pile. so I finally just got down on my hands and knees and started sifting through it. It was getting dark, and it was very cold. Charlie decided to prance through the leaves and knock my hand, and what happened? My wedding ring flew off into the leaves.

Jake got home a minute later. I didn't cry, but I wanted to as I showed him that I had now lost two very important things that we can't really afford to replace. He just laughed and got down with me to look. When it got too dark to see well, we brought some lights out and hung them on the tree. It was dark, cold, and raining, and we still had no luck. We finally got creative and brought the leaf-blower out. After a while of blowing leaves back across our yard, I caught sight of something shiny. I dove down and snatched it (I felt like Harry Potter, wining the quidditch game). We had found the ring.

Now for the keys. I was back down digging threw leaves (as Jake was putting my ring into his zip-up pocket). He then kicked a little pile of leaves, and up came the keys! It was a miracle. What did I get out of this? When you rake leaves, stuff them in bags, and get rid of them! Oh, and some other important lessons, too.

Fall Fun

2009-11-07T17:15:00.021-07:00

This is the first Saturday in a long time that Jake didn't have to work, so we took advandage of it. We had a great morning up the canyon with the pups. When we got back, we decided something should be done about our leaf-covered yard.

Well.... I raked

Jake helped a little.

We put all of the leaves into one big pile

and had some fun...

A lot of fun!

Then we realized that we don't really know what to do with all of these leaves.

It has been a while since Jake and I last enjoyed a full day with just each other. We really needed it, and I loved every second of it.

Halloween

2009-11-01T20:52:00.009-07:00

Jake's family really gets into Halloween. This year Aunt Jill and Uncle Matt (and Mimi) threw a great party. There was lots of food, lots of home-made root beer, and lots of awesome costumes. I don't really know what I was- I just threw on random stuff, which I think turned into 80's... of course. I did Jake's make up, and he wore a wig, and my clothes... I'll never dress him as a girl again, because first of all he was a lot prettier of a girl than me. Plus he kept looking at himself in the mirror and asking me, "are you sure I look ok?" It was pretty funny. It wasn't his idea by the way, I had to talk him into it. It was worth it though, becuase Jake won the "Scariest Costume" award. I was excited about it, but he was disappointed because he was sure he would win the "Prettiest Costume" award.

We had a blast, and here's some pictures to prove it !

2009-10-20T11:01:00.005-06:00

This is a really long entry, so if you don't want to read it, I understand. Just look at the pictures, and you'll get the idea. When we are in school, our lives seem so boring. We hardly have time to do anything, let alone write about it. I suppose I could find some time during my week to write about what is going on, but it would look something like this: Well, this week, every day, Jake got up at 6:00 to go to work. I stayed home and cleaned, studied, walked the dogs, studied more, got ready for the day, and made lunch for when Jake came home. We usually eat in the car as Jake has to drop me off at school by 2:45 and get back to work. Jake comes back to the school for class at 5:00 and we are there till 8:30 or 9:00. We get home, eat, walk the dogs, study, and try to get to bed by a decent hour (which rarely happens for poor Jake). I could copy and paste this entry every week since we started school... which is why I haven't posted in a while. However, this past couple of weeks has been very eventful. It was Saturday, and Jake was at work. I was on the phone with him (luckily) when all of a sudden a noise came from our bathroom. It sounded like the tub and sink whad been turned on full blast. I was hesitant to look in to see what was happening, but as I did, steam came at my face, and water was flooding our bathroom. A pipe under our sink had broken and was quickly filling our tiny bathroom. I put towels down to keep it from getting our carpet, as Jake sped home to help. The water also started coming out of the kitchen and was reaching our living room carpet. We finally got the water turned off, but our carpets were ruined. Luckily it didn't ruin any of our personal belongings, but our house was wet and stinky. Finally, a week later we ripped out the carpet, and our landlords are now giving us all new tile in our kitchen, bathroom and living room, and new carpet in our bedrooms. We are still in the process, but it is looking great, and we are so excited. In the middle of all of this, Jake began talking about finding a new home for Timber. She is a great dog, and we loved her. She improved a lot since we had her. She was fun, friendly and happy-go-lucky, and had a lot of energy. We never felt connected with her, and we felt that she needed a home that better matched her personality. So after debating for several days, we decided to find her a new home. We found her a great couple, and although we were very sad to see her go, (I'll admit I cried..) we are excited for her to have a happier life in the mountains of Park City. Jake didn't waste any time once Timber was gone. No longer than 2 hours later, to Dixie's dismay, we came home with our new German Shepherd puppy. I know, we are a little crazy. We love her, and she is already a great dog. Jake bought a magazine about German Shepherds, and calls Petsmart every day about questions he has concerning training the pup. He is so excited and committed to turning her into the best and most loyal dog. So, we are missing Timber's crazy personality, but we are excited to introduce little Charlie into our family.

California

2009-08-14T23:30:00.024-06:00

Last week Jake and I took a trip to good ol' California. We arrived at my sister Merica's house on Sunday. We had so much fun with her little family swimming, shopping, jumping on the trampoline, watching "Punky Brewster", etc. We even went to the Jelly Belly factory!
Wednesday Jake and I took off to our favorite theme park, Six Flags: Discovery Kingdom... We call it Marine World. There we rode on awesome roller coasters, but more importantly, watched the dolphin, whale, and tiger shows!
Thursday night Jake's brother Cody, his wife Hanna, and their baby Camdon came to join the fun. We spent the next day in San Francisco, walking along the piers, and watching the street performers. That evening we went to my very first pro baseball game! Now my life is complete... But wait, there's more!
Saturday was the perfect day to go to the beach! The water was so cold, but after a minute of being in the water, our skin became numb anyway, so we didn't even know how cold we were. I'm surprised Jake even set foot in the water with how terrified of sharks he is, and this area having the highest population of white sharks in the world during the fall months... After the beach, we returned to Merica's home where we got cleaned up and ready for the main event. The very reason we traveled so far: Wicked.... And it was. If you haven't seen this broadway show yet, you have to! It was so incredible. By intermission time, we started laughing at ourselves because we were all teary-eyed and our jaws were hanging open.
It was definitely a trip to remember! Thanks, Merica and Damian, for letting us crash at your place, and Thanks Cody and Hanna for coming! We enjoyed every second of it... Except the parts that we didn't.

2009-06-30T09:01:00.004-06:00

Well, as much as Jake loves little Dixie, he says she doesn't fill his "dog love tank." She formed more of an attachment to me, which is understandable because I am the dog-lover, and she's my dog. I guess Jake was feeling like the third wheel, because he has decided he not only is now a dog person, but wants a big dog of his own. I would ask for suggestions to help me convince him this is irrational, but it's too late.
-Our new family member arrived June 24th. Timber is a one-year-old Siberian Husky. She is thin, lanky, and full of energy- just like Jake! She absolutely loves Dixie. Dixie was a little overwhelmed at first, but they a re becoming best friends. So there you have it, our life just keeps getting more exciting, and our family keeps getting bigger. I told Jake that our next investment is going to be a horse, so don't be surprised when it happens.

2009-06-08T17:28:00.006-06:00

This is our "High adventure" hike to Stuart Falls. We, of course, couldn't help but get as close to the water fall as we possibly could... in this case, we were in it. There was still some snow up there, and we saw people climbing up, throwing snowballs, and sliding down. So, of course, Jake wanted to join the fun. Dixie and I decided to sit this one out.

Meet Dixie

2009-06-08T17:26:00.014-06:00

Sorry to keep you all in suspense... We haven't had the internet at our new place. Our 'new place' isn't really new anymore, though, we have been in this little basement apartment for about 4 months.

It has been a busy few months with trying to pass all of our classes while being kicked out of our house, and moving into a new one, Jake getting in a car accident the week after that, and many other exciting adventures. When we moved out of our first place, we took our trailer to our new apt, and the people who were living there... were still living there. We were homeless until they were moved out, so we locked up the trailer and lived with my parents for the weekend. When we finally did move in, we were disgusted to find out that the tenants before us had probably never cleaned. I couldn't shower because the tub was so bad. We had to empty the vacuum every three seconds, and, among many other things, we found black mold in our kitchen. But before we could deal with these problems, some girl decided to focus on her text rather than watch the road, so she hit the passenger side of our car. Car-less, we lived with my parents that weekend as well. We did get to rent a cool car for a week, while ours was being taken care of. That was fun.

Well, enough about us. Since this entry is entitled "Meet Dixie," I should probably write something about Dixie. She is the sweetest puppy you will ever meet. She is about 5 lbs, and has a lot of energy. She really is the perfect dog. She isn't yippy, but she will bark and warn us when she sees or hears a stranger. Her favorite game is hide-and-seek. We will throw her toy in another room, or wrap her up in a blanket, and run and hide. When she finds us, she lets out a bark and starts running around in circles. Even though she is small, she loves playing with other dogs. Below is a picture of my late cat, Jamaica. This is her on her death bed, which she didn't move from for a couple weeks until she disappeared. I put this picture up not only cause its so cute and I'm sad about Jamaica, but as a size comparison... However, I realize now that it wasn't the best choice. Dixie is not actually that small, because Jamaica, especially in her last weeks, was an abnormally huge cat... Well that's all for now.

Until next time something exciting happens!
.

2009-02-20T17:26:00.005-07:00

We finally got some pictures of our wedding, and I know you have all been dying to see them (all five of you followers), so here is a one..
What's happening this week? Oh, not much... Just a lot of work, studying, getting kicked out of our apartment, and getting a cute new member of the family... and no, I don't mean a baby. We got a puppy!
Jake and I have this problem with being impulsive... Well it's more like he has a problem with being impulsive, and I have a problem with taking advantage of his impulsiveness to get what I want; in this case, I wanted a puppy. Are we ready for this commitment? Either way, it's too late now. She is such a cute thing with a funny little personality. They tell us she is a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix, but we are convinced she is part fox. Not only does she look like a fox, she acts like one too! She is curious and loves to burrow and nestle under anything she can find.
Ever since my neice, Avery, watched "The Fox and the Hound" movies, she has been obsessed with foxes (fox's... foxen?). For the past two years she is constantly pretending to be a fox, draw foxes, playing with her stuffed animal fox, or telling you how her foxes, Todd and Dixie, told her they don't like you... Her older sister, Lauren, tried to make it illegal for the words "fox," "Todd," or "Dixie" to ever be said again. Thats how often Avery talked about them. Todd and Dixie are names that come from the movie. The girl fox in the first movie is actually named Vixie, but in the second movie, there is a dog named Dixie (just incase you were confused). So, naturally we had to name our puppy Dixie. We are very excited to tell Avery about our fox named Dixie. h
Oh and about getting kicked out of our apartment: A new company owns them and is charging more than they are worth. We have the choice to enter into a contract with them, or move out within two weeks! We are excited though, because we found a new basement apartment that is cheaper, and our landlords live right next to us. They seem like really great people, and their little girls love our dog/fox.
So.... Nothin much..

Our First Post

2009-02-09T08:27:00.010-07:00

Well, Jake and I have been married for about ten days now, and decided it is about time we joined the blogging world.
We were planning on just taking a few days off of school after the wedding, but ten days later, we are still debating whether we want to go back at all. Since we both had math tests today, we figured we should go back to school and get those taken care of.
We are living in a town home, and love it- especially now that is has become more "homey" as we add furniture and such. Really, all we are missing now is a couch... We use an air mattress in place of it, but its not very accommodating for company, so we are keeping an eye out for a good deal.
I am trying to learn how to be a good housewife (cleaning up after Jake, cooking good food, etc), but I have found that Jake is a better housewife than I am. I'm taking it as a challenge. I will one day be a better housewife than my husband. I do this by setting booby traps in my kitchen so I am the only one who can cook meals. I also hide the cleaning supplies, and bring them out only when he is gone. Ok, I don't really go to those extremes, but those are actually sounding like good ideas... On a more serious note, I really can't keep him away from his new vacuum. He loves that thing. I am open to any suggestions of how to solve this.
Jake and I are very happy and excited to start this new journey together. It could be such a stressful time, but we have received so many blessings and a lot of help from our family and friends, and we are very grateful.
Well I don't really know how to end this, so.... until next time!
--The new Hopkinsons