Jason, Diana, and Blake Hobbs

Ririe Family Pictures Christmas 2011

2012-02-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

I mostly just wanted to share some pics of my cute fam. But here is a quick update on Blake.

Blake at 9 months...

-finally has a good head of hair

-is further down the growth charts than he used to be: 50th percentile for height and 10th percentile for weight. I need to fatten this little guy up!

-crawls like a pro

-lifts himself up to standing and can hold on for several minutes

-has great small motor skills. I have to keep our floors really clean these days because he'll stick every little crumb in his mouth

-has developed some stranger anxiety

-likes it when we read to him and can turn the pages himself

-loves looking at pictures of himself and other people that he knows

-also loves videos of himself and will imitate what he's doing in the video (like making The Destroyer noise)

-has become quite the explorer. One of his favorite things to do is look through our drawers which are apparently way more fascinating than any of his toys.

-still likes me near him at all times. He's happy to explore but only if I'm right there with him

Blake in Action

2012-02-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

I've finally figured out how to post videos onto our blog so here are some of our favorite videos of Blake over the past 9 months. There are a lot of them. If you only have time to watch a few definitely check out Blake Copycat, Hysterical, First Laughs and The Destroyer.

Brand New

One Month Old

First Smiles on Video

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First Laughs

Blake Airplane

Roly Poly

Squealer

Superman

Hysterical

The Destroyer

Blake Copycat

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hobbs for the video camera!

Happy Holidays!

2012-01-14T15:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone! Let me start by saying that we got an amazing new camera for Christmas (thanks mom and dad!) and we are VERY excited about it so be ready for picture overload. Our Christmas break was quite the adventure this year. Jason had a whole month off from school so we decided to take advantage of the time and travel like crazy. First, we went to Denver for a few days to visit Jason's sister, Kamie, and her family. Then we headed to Salt Lake to see my family, followed by a trip to Twin Falls, ID for Christmas with Jason's family. Then (yes, that's not all) my parents took the three of us on a cruise to the Western Caribbean. So let me break this post up a bit...

Part 1: Denver, Colorado

Kamie, Bryan, Addison, Chase, Tyce, and Avery were nice enough to let us stay with them and practically take over there place for a few days. For our Christmas present (as if they hadn't already done enough) they gave us cross-country ski lessons with everything included- even babysitting. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me! It wasn't hard to catch on to at all and what I really liked about it was that you are moving the whole time- which for me means no freezing on the lift and wishing I were in the lodge. I also like that it's a good workout. If we ever move back to colder weather, I could see myself getting really into it. On the Nordic track, we saw a bunch of people skate cross-country skiing which I also really want to try. Next time I guess.

My favorite food of all time is a pork burrito from Cafe Rio so we always eat there on our trips up north- usually several times. The Berkeys had never been there before so we brought them a burrito home a try. Bryan said that he had already had eaten and Kamie planned to eat it later but somehow after trying a bite the whole thing was devoured before I had a chance to put my things away and come back downstairs ...and these burritos aren't small people. I guess Jason found Kamie, Bryan, and Addison polishing off the last bites with forks in hand and hunger in their eyes. That burrito never even made it onto a plate. If you're reading this and you've never tried a pork burrito from Cafe Rio, do it, do it NOW! It may just be the best decision you've ever made. If you're reading this and you are already a Rio convert, go there now and eat a pork burrito for me (both beans, medium sauce, enchilada style).

We didn't get to see as much of Denver as we would have liked but we did check out a couple of neat places. We went shopping at 16th mall, an outdoor mall that was pretty cool. We also went to City Park where there is a 5K loop at an elevation of exactly a mile high. I tried to run the loop but because it had just snowed that morning I strayed off the path at some point. Overall, I think we were able to get a general feel of what it would be like to live in Denver which is what we were hoping for since we'd like to make it one of our top picks for residency.

Part 2: Salt Lake City

We were only in Salt Lake for a few days but we sure packed a lot into the time that we had. I had lunch with some old friends, Sarah and Danielle. We spent New Years with our friends, Reed and Natalie. We had a fancy meal at IKEA because my parents are in love with anything Swedish these days. I even convinced Jason to come to the Nutcracker with me, my mom, and Shauna. Everyone need to see the Nutcracker at least once in their lifetime. It was fun to point out to him the parts that I played when I was in it years ago. I don't think I'd be able to talk him into going again but he was glad that he got a chance to see it. And from how often he commented on it, I would say that his favorite part was watching the men in their tights lol.

It felt like we had Christmas Eve three times this year, not that I'm complaining. When it comes to opening presents, I am just like a little kid- I love presents! It felt like I got double the presents this year because a present for Blake is really like a present for me because it's one less thing I need to buy him. He got tons of books which we really needed, a couple of Disney movies, fun toys, and a high chair. Shauna gave us these cool little finger puppets she made to go with the book "5 little monkeys". Blake isn't great at opening presents yet but he did have fun playing with the wrapping paper.

On the 22nd, we opened gifts from my grandma, had our immediate family gift exchange and decorated Christmas cookies. On the 23rd, we went out to dinner with the Ririe clan to celebrate my grandpa's 80th birthday. Then we had our traditional Christmas Eve program and Kevin gave a neat spiritual thought about developing Christlike attributes. My grandpa had a clever gift idea. He said that you could go one of three ways when giving a gift: an item, a gift card, or money. He didn't know which was better so he gave us one of each.

Part 3 Twin Fall, ID

Our 3rd Christmas Eve- actual Christmas Eve, that is- was spent with Jason's family in Idaho. We had a nice dinner and then a spiritual thought. The boys all got matching pajamas (Natalie's boys and Blake). It was adorable!

Then we got a special Christmas gift- the chance to talk to Jared!!! He was able to call us at 2am so we had to stay up way past our bedtime but it was worth it! We have stayed informed with his weekly emails but it was great to hear his voice and hear some rapidly improving Swedish. He is doing so well in Sweden and I can't believe how hard he is working. Well actually I can believe it because that's how he is but I am so proud of him. I was glad to hear that he had a great Christmas too. If you want to hear more about Jared and his LDS mission to Sweden, here is the link to his blog- http://elder-ririe.tumblr.com. My mom posts his emails and pictures on there every week.

Christmas morning was really exciting! I haven't been around little kids on Christmas in a long time but it really makes it special. I loved watching how excited Dillon and Wesley were to open their gifts. Several family members were able to be there so we hung out and opened presents with everyone for hours. Jason's mom has a Christmas gift idea that I really like. She gave everyone something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. Richelle brought us back some fun, old fashioned, wooden toys from somewhere that she visited this year (can't think of where right now). And Brittany brought us back baby blankets from Jerusalem.

Blake had a fun time playing with his cousins and got to meet Caleb, who is only 1 day older than him. They both turned 8 months while we were in Idaho. It was really fun to sit them next to each other and watch their reactions to each other. It was also fun to see how different they are. Caleb seems much older because he's bigger and is crawling all over the place. Blake is slowly picking up crawling but he does more of a scoot with his upper body off the floor and his legs sort of dragging behind him. He definitely prefers being picked up and carried around to crawling. Caleb is much more independent, which is most likely due to the fact that he has two older brothers and can't always be picked up at moments notice.

Blake isn't much of a mover, but he sure is a talker! He is always babbling. I love it! He says momma and dadda all the time though he doesn't quite know what it means yet. That's not to say I'm not trying to teach him. I point to myself and say "momma" then I point to him and say "Blake". He'll get it eventually. He has definitely reached the stage of development where separation anxiety occurs and it just recently got worse since we got back. He wants me right there with him at all times and will cry the second I walk away. He is extremely needy but I definitely got the cuddly boy I was hoping for. You know he's tired when he rests his head on your chest and sticks his thumb in his mouth. It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen!

The biggest event in Idaho was Brittany's wedding which took place in the Twin Falls temple. I have never been to a sealing before (besides my own, of course). It was really special and I was glad that we could be there. Brad (Jason's dad) is a sealer in the temple and had the privilege of sealing Brittany and Luke. Afterward, there was a luncheon held in behalf of the happy couple. Both the Hobbs and the Chandlers are very musical families so there were several beautiful musical numbers. My favorite was one that Brittany and Luke sang together. And of course I liked the group pieces because it's always fun hearing Jason sing.

I got to be one of Brittany's bridemaids. I need to get the group photos from someone but here are a few of our family. Luke's dad owns a tux shop so of course all of the guys got hooked up with tuxes. The little boys all looked adorable! And of course Blake was the very cutest of them all;) I only took about a million pics.

Part 4: Cruise to Cozumel, Belize, and Costa Maya

The cruise was absolutely amazing! I was worried about what it would be like to cruise with Blake but he did great. As far as babies go, he's actually the perfect age to take on a cruise because he's eating some solid foods but not running around yet. We kept him entertained at dinnertime by giving him small pieces of bread to practice picking up and eating. He also loved it when we would give him small drinks of water from a straw and can even drink through the straw himself (though we need to be careful because he tries to drink way too much). He doesn't seem to be a picky eater at all. He hasn't refused to eat anything we've given him so far.

We love the fancy meals on the ship! We never order appetizers, a main course, and dessert at restaurants so that's a treat for us. I also like that you can take a chance on something you normally wouldn't order and it's not a big deal if you don't like it because it's all included. Usually about an hour after our regular dinner we would head up to the buffet dinner to make sure we didn't miss anything fantastic. That's what we call "second dinner". I'm usually not crazy about breakfast foods on cruises but I discovered that they had some delicious muesli onboard and had it every morning after that. Does it make me sound like a total fattie to say that the food is my favorite thing about cruises? Oh well, it's true.

I'm not big into souvenirs. In fact, I think they are mainly loads of crap that will only junk up your house. I am baffled by that anyone buys them. Plus I can't stand being yelled at and hassled in the Mexican shopping centers. Don't they know that they are completely driving me away!?! However, I did bring back just a couple of neat things. While in Costa Maya, Jason and I had rings made with each others names carved into them. I also bought the Royal Caribbean cook book so that I can try my hand at a few of the amazing dishes we had onboard. It will be a good cook book to have around if I ever want to make something that not only tastes impressive, but looks it too.

My parents watched Blake for us while we rode the ATVs in Cozumel. I was worried that the ride would be on perfectly smooth roads and that we would be following each other at 5mph but it was a lot more exiting than that. We had a great time! I would really like to own ATVs someday.

Well back to life, back to reality. Poor Jason has started into his surgery rotation and will be working 80-90 hour weeks these next couple of months (gross!). It's times like these that we understand why people gave us their condolences before heading off to medical school.

Phew that was a long post!

Happy Turkey Day!

2011-12-02T13:28:00.000-08:00

It was a bummer that we couldn't see family on Thanksgiving. However, it did provide me with the opportunity to roast my first turkey! And unlike my stuffing adventure from last Thanksgiving, it turned out great. We had dinner with our friends, Tyler and Chandra Headman. Chandra and I created quite the feast-there was everything you could hope to eat on Thanksgiving and more! We were very proud of our work. After dinner, we hung out and talked for hours. Blake even had a festive meal of sweet potatoes and pureed Turkey. It was the first time Blake tried meat. And I wish it were the last because pureed meats are absolutely disgusting!

Wrestling match between Jason and Blake. This is how it ended.

Our little guy is ferocious! Can't you tell? :)

New addition to Blake's room-which I made myself! It's pathetic that I'm so proud of this dummy proof creation but if you knew how intimidated I am by anything crafty you would be proud of me too. Just walking into a craft store makes my heart race. I had a bad experience in my eighth grade home ec class and I still haven't recovered.

Festival of the Lights- Opening Ceremony

2011-11-15T10:58:00.000-08:00

I've been filling in for one of the instructors at Galveston Ballet who just had her baby. This weekend some of the girls danced at the opening ceremony for the Festival of the Lights at Moody Gardens. They were great and it was fun to see some of the pieces we've been working on in class. I didn't get many pictures but here's one of our youngest dancers performing. They are so cute! I'm hoping for lots of boys in our family but I need at least one girl to be my little ballerina.

The grand finale of the Opening Ceremony was when Santa and two helper elves skydived and parachuted into the crowd. Santa was looking a little too athletic for my tastes. This is certainly a side of Santa we've never seen before!

And of course, we got more pictures of Blake than anything else...

Here's me back when I first started ballet-

love my Minnie Mouse leotard with the attached tutu that I begged my mom to buy me!

So far, I've had a really great experience teaching ballet. I've taught fitness classes for years but really the only chance I've had to teach dance was when I taught jazz for a short while at BYU. Since Janel (the teacher I'm filling in for) is the main instructor at Galveston Ballet, I've had the opportunity to teach every age group and level at the studio (3-Adult). The young ones are a lot of fun but I'm learning that I prefer to teach the older groups because discipline isn't an issue. I knew that I would love teaching the most advanced students because you get to do the all of the most fun and challenging steps but I've found that I also really like teaching the older girls who are new to ballet. It's neat getting to be the one who teaches them something for the first time. Overall, teaching ballet is very rewarding! Dance has been a tremendous blessing in my life and I love sharing my passion for dance with others.

If she doesn't scare you...

2011-11-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

...No evil thing will! Halloween was a lot of fun this year. We don't normally make a big thing out of dressing up but since we have Blake around, we wanted to go all out. If it isn't completely obvious, we dressed up as Cruella De Ville, Jasper, and Lucky from 101 Dalmatians. We stole the idea from Jason's sister Natalie who did the same theme with her family a few years ago. My favorite part might have been calling Jason an imbecile all day long even though he says I couldn't make my voice sound mean to save my life. Jason has a pretty good Jasper impression. He kept pushing me and saying, "Get out of my way old lady", drawing his inspiration from the part of the movies where Jasper and Horace steal the puppies.

On Friday, we went to our ward Halloween party where we had some good chili and hung out with friends. On Halloween, the Molines invited us over to make gourmet style caramel apples. I probably would have taken a picture of our apples but they weren't really gourmet-looking. We were in a hurry to make ours since it was past Blake's bedtime. Well, they might not have looked it but they were so good!

Blake-O-Lantern.

We've been so busy lately that we didn't get around to carving pumpkins until a few days after Halloween. I went the day after to pick up a pumpkin but they were all gone so I asked the manager about it and he found two mis-shapen pumpkins in the back that he gave to me for free- score! We wanted to do something simple and a friend gave me this idea. Blake humored us by sitting contently in the pumpkin for about 10 seconds but then decided he had enough so I rushed him up to the bath. I just know he's going to look at these pictures someday and wonder what on earth we were thinking.

Happy Half-Birthday Blake!

2011-10-28T03:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our sweet boy's Half-Birthday! He is growing well and doing all of the things a little 6-month old should do. And of course we are so proud of him! We do need to try to fatten him up a bit. He is 27.5 inches long (85th percentile) and weighs 15lbs. 9 ounces (25th percentile). Blake isn't quite as easy as he was when he was younger. He's a lot fussier and demands to be held practically all day. It's hard to get things done but I love that he wants so much of my attention and know that this stage won't last forever. Here's some fun recent pics of the three of us (starring Blake, of course).

Bath Time

At the Beach

Moody Gardens Aquarium

Blake's first feeding of solid food.

A specialty I like to call Breast milk a la Rice Cereal. He loved it!

Dad's favorite study buddy.

Can't wait to see this boy after being gone for a long workout.

Blake caught in an especially adorable mood

Visit From Family

2011-10-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my mom, Shauna, and Corbyn came to visit us in Texas. It was a pretty quick trip but it was nice to spend some time with them. We took them to some of our favorite spots and restaurants in Galveston. Some of the touristy things we wanted to do with them were closed with it being the off-season but we did get to go to the beach, walk around downtown, and do a duck tour. I always go past the ducks on my runs and was excited to finally go on one. Duck tours, for those of you who don't know, are neat because they can go into the water. On our tour they took us into a shallow body of water just off of 61st street. It wasn't quite as thrilling as I had pictured due the somewhat lame location but we had a good time. My favorite part of the tour was holding Blake who was fast asleep on my chest the whole time.

We also went to Kemah Boardwalk one night where they have a few rides and places to eat. My mom went on the roller coaster with me and it was so much fun. If I could do the night over again, I would have gotten an unlimited ride pass and ridden the roller coaster all night long!

Later in the week, us girls and the babies went up to San Antonio for a night. We stayed at the Marriott right on the River walk which was really cool. After walking along the river, we got some good food at Hard Rock Cafe. In the morning, we took the boat tour along the river.

My mom loved getting to hold both of her grandbabies!

Another one for the grandparents...

2011-09-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

At Blake's 4 month check-up, he weighed 15 pounds and was 26 inches long. That's 50th percentile for weight and 75th for height. As they would say here in Texas "he's fixing to be tall like his dad".

Blake at 4 months:

*can roll front to back and back to front (though he doesn't practice very often)
*can sit well with support
*tries to eat his toes
* plays with rattles- as long as sticking them in his mouth counts
* hates taking naps
*LOVES looking at himself in the mirror! Can you blame him?

We love making him laugh! Jason is the best at it. He starts by saying, "are you ready, are you ready?" And Blake knows that something is coming.

We've taken him swimming a couple of times now. He seems pretty indifferent to it at this point but Jason and I found something we find very entertaining which we call "Blake airplane". This is where we drag his upper body along the water and his legs float up behind him. I guess to be more accurate, we should call it "Blake hovercraft".

"Get out of the picture, dad. I'm the star here!"

Austin OlympicTriathlon

2011-09-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day, I competed in the Austin Triathlon. I hadn't competed in over two years so I was feelin pretty nervous on race morning. I was even feeling sick to my stomach for a good ten minutes into my swim but I'm not sure if that was nerves or the large piece of chocolate cake cheesecake I had eaten the night before. Either way, lesson learned- cheesecake is not a great pre-race food! Anyways, the whole weekend was a ton of fun. There's something really exciting about a race. I do all of my training alone and it was nice to be out there gunning it with a bunch of other people. Between the olympic, sprint, and sprint relays, there were over 2,000 people competing. I even thought the expo the night before was pretty exciting- picking up a few last-minute essentials, sampling Clif Bars and recovery drinks with fellow athletes. This may be a huge clue that need to get out more ha ha.

Here's me and my support crew. They almost didn't come to the race because we didn't want to wake Blake up so early but we decided they should be there and I was glad they were. It was fun to look for them when I passed the crowds of people and to every once in awhile catch Jason chasing after me like a banshee trying to get pictures. We rarely ever get any good ones. I've decided that I'm no longer going to smile in the action shots because I always end up looking like a complete idiot. What I should do is try to look really intense, like I'm really focusing on my speed or something... ha ha yes, that is sure to do the trick!

My goal was to beat my last olympic time, which I did, so I was really happy. I also ended up taking fourth in my age division- not too shabby for someone who just gave birth four months ago!

Gun Time: 2:53:31.3
1500m swim: 31:02.4 2:04/M
40K bike: 125:27.3 17.4mph
10K run: 51:32.1 8:19/Mile

My weakest leg of the race is definitely the swim. I'm actually alright with that though. If I had to choose something to be worst at it would be swimming because it's so short in relation to the bike and the run so it doesn't make as big of a difference. For example, the girl who took 5th place was much higher ranked than me on the swim but that only saved her about 2 minutes while I was able to beat her run time by 9 minutes.

My ultimate goal is to complete the Ironman next May. To say that I'm intimidated by it would be a huge understatement. I just have to keep reminding myself of the principle I learned back in exercise physiology, and that is adaptation! When you progressively increase workload, your body reacts by increasing it's ability to cope with that new load. I treat my training schedule like it is the Bible so discipline is not my concern. What worries me most are the thing you can't control so easily-like injuries. I've been battling an ankle injury for years. It already holds me back from running as much as I'd like to. I just hope it doesn't get to the point where I can't run at all. When I did the half-ironman a couple of years ago, I didn't run for a month before the race to let my injury heal. It turned out alright for the 13 mile run but taking a month off right before a marathon is really not ideal (no kidding, right?)

Waterton National Park, Canada

2011-08-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last Month, I had the chance to go to Waterton with the Ririe clan. It was so great to spend time with everyone. Waterton is an absolutely beautiful place. It is a tiny little town surrounded by mountains, lakes, waterfalls, greenery, and wildlife. I tried to take lots of pictures but unfortunately, I don't think there's a way to fully appreciate its natural beauty without experiencing it for yourself. There's a short hike called the bear hump where you can get a great view of the town from the top.

Deer were everywhere, walking around like they own the place...

Here's us getting some ice cream. Yum!

Traveling with Blake was a nightmare. It was only about a month ago that we flew to Utah and he did great. This time was a different story. He spend much of our flights testing the strength of his lungs and unfortunately, I didn't have any help because Jason couldn't be there. He didn't sleep well at all in the pack and play that the hotel provided us with so we got very little sleep the first couple of nights. Things got better once we discovered that he could sleep much better in car seat. Despite our difficulties, I was glad he was there was me. It was bad enough leaving my sweet husband at home. I would have hated to go without both of my boys for the week.

Now for the highlights...

My favorite activity was the hike up to Crypt Lake. It is known as the best hike in Canada and I wouldn't argue with that. During the 11 mile journey, you hike through spectacular canyons, view waterfalls, and climb across narrow ledges. There is an extra loop that you can take to see Hell Roaring Falls which my dad and grandpa did with me. None of us had a camera so we didn't get any pictures which is a shame because it was really neat. Crypt Lake itself was gorgeous as you can see in the picture below. If it were up to me, I would have spent the entire trip hiking. Sadly, I couldn't convince anyone to go with me on more of the long hikes so I'll have to go back someday to do the ones I missed out on.

My next favorite part of the trip was mountain biking with Roger. The trail we went on was just difficult enough to be thrilling without being too technical. I loved it and am convinced that I need to do more mountain biking in the future. I've been telling Jason that my number one requirement for the next place we move is that it needs to have good hiking and biking trails. Also good places to road bike and run. And preferably good weather so that we can do these things for most of the year. I'm not asking much;)

Anyways, we had just headed out on a second trail when we ran into this...

A momma bear and her cub!!! Roger came up on them first and yelled for me to turn around. In seconds, the baby cub was up in the tree. Luckily a big group of hikers was just behind us so we felt safe enough to sneak of couple of pictures of them before turning around. I was bummed about not being able to ride the trail but glad that we got to see the bears. We road home along the main road which was still scenic but not quite as much fun.

Another highlight was afternoon tea at the Prince of Wales Hotel. The guys stayed back to babysit for us while the ladies went out. It was really nice. The Prince of Wales hotel is one of the most often photographed hotels in the world. No doubt due to the unique architecture and a beautiful nature backdrop. We listened to live music while enjoying the spectacular view and eating little delicacies like scones, cucumber sandwiches, salmon sandwiches, cream puffs, and cookies. None of us are big tea drinkers but they did have a few herbal teas that we tried and other beverages like juices and hot chocolate. It kind of made me want to buy a tea set and invite my friends over for a tea party. Maybe I will.

Cameron Falls
A little-known fact about the falls is that the H stands for Hobbs
Okay... that's a lie...

Cameron Lake

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the great trip!

2 months old!

2011-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know that I'll give an update on Blake every month but I love having an excuse to post some of his most recent pictures! He is becoming even more fun by the day. He smiles all the time now and is making more and more happy cooing sounds- I love it! I also love when he practices kicking out his little legs. He'll do them both separately and then together. I got some really cute videos of him doing his leg exercises and making cooing noises but still haven't figured out how to post videos. I'll have to work on that. He now weighs 12 lbs. 13 ounces which is in the 75th percentile and is 23 inches long which is 50th percentile.

I feel badly because for his 2 month birthday, he gave me the gift of sleeping through the night for the first time and I took him to the doctor to get shots! He really did not like them and was uncharacteristically irritable for the rest of the day. He is normally such a good baby and only really cries if there is something wrong. I can breast or bottle feed him and he does just fine. He even goes to sleep on his own most nights without putting up a fit. I'm worried that because we got such a good baby this time our next one will be a little terror. And then I will have no idea what to do with them! Just take a look at this happy guy:)

Here he is making faces at his dad.

And some more pics that I thought were adorable

Oh and for you mothers out there, I had to share this exert from a M. Russell Ballard talk I was reading on the sacred responsibilities of parenthood.

"Sometimes you sisters may feel like the Brethren do not appreciate you and the important contribution you make to your families and to the work of the Lord. Perhaps if husbands and fathers experienced what someone suggested might be planned for the next Survivor show, it would make a difference:

Six men will be dropped on an island with one van and four children each--for six weeks. Each child plays two sports and either takes music or dance classes. There is no access to fast food.

Each man must take care of his four children, keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, etc.

The men only have access to television when the children are asleep and all chores are done: There is only one TV, and there is no remote control.

The men must put on makeup daily, applying it themselves either while driving or while making four lunches. They must attend weekly PTA meetings; clean up after their sick children at 3:00 a.m.; make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla, and one marker; and get a four-year-old to eat a serving of peas.

The children vote them off the island based on performance. The winner is the first one voted off who gets to go back to work."

I thought this was hilarious. If you'd like to read the full text, you can find it at the following website.

http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=8397

Utah trip

2011-06-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, we got to spend some time this month up in Utah. Like always, the trip went by way too fast. We had a great time and loved showing off our new baby to friends and family. Most of my side of the family got to meet him and Jason's parents were able to come down from Idaho for a few days to spend time with us.

Corbyn checking out his Cousin

Me and my bestie-even after living proof she still can't believe that I'm a mom

Blake's baby blessing and Jared's farewell were held on the same day at my grandparent's ward. I was really impressed with Jared's talk, he is going to make an amazing missionary! These pictures were taken at the luncheon afterward.

The boys on their big day

Sisters and our babies

My mom and her three kids

We always try to fit in as much hiking as we can while we're in Utah because as you might imagine, there isn't much hiking in Texas. We had planned on hiking Timp but unfortunately, not enough of the snow had melted yet. My solution was to take snow shoes and put them on when we needed them but I couldn't talk Jason into it, what a party pooper lol! Instead, we did several small hikes up Neff's canyon which is right up the street from my grandparent's house and a long hike up Mt. Olympus. Just short of the top, we had to turn back because it was icy, rainy, and as you can see in our picture, we weren't necessarily prepared for that. I guess we will never know if there are Greek Gods at the top of Mt. Olympus!

I also got in a great bike ride thanks to the loan of Shauna's bike. I felt like such a slow poke on her mountain bike but it was a lot of fun and I even experimented with some true mountain biking trails. True mountain bike trails are ones in which you are afraid for your life, enough said.

Jason and I celebrated our anniversary a little early this year since we had willing babysitters around (thanks mom). As of June 21st, we have been married 3 years! I don't know how my poor husband has hung in there so long but I'm sure glad that he has! Jason took me to a Thai restaurant (my favorite) in Salt Lake called Sawadee. The Pad Thai was great, the Panang not so impressive, the company...the very best! Then he surprised me with a carriage ride around downtown. It was very romantic and I found that there is a lot I don't know about the major city so close to where I grew up. For example, I didn't know that there is a garden on top of the conference center. Later in the week, we took a tour of it with Blake, Jared (or as Jason now calls him, Jar-head) and Jason's sister, Kamie.

This blog really needs some more pictures but they were hard to get since we forgot our camera.

Goodbye Grandpa, I love you

2011-06-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, while we were visiting family in Salt Lake, my grandpa passed away. I was so glad that I got the chance to see him one last time before he passed and that he was able to meet Blake. His 18 year battle with prostate cancer has finally come to an end.

The funeral was lovely, it was nice to reflect on his life and the many wonderful qualities that he possessed. My grandpa was the kindest, most gentle man. I never once saw him lose his temper. My mom and my aunt, Tracy, have said the same thing about him, which is very impressive because how many people can say that they've never made their parents completely lose it! Instead, he was a constant source of love and comfort to his family. He was also a great example to me of how to treat your spouse. He treated my grandma like a queen, always putting her needs first.

He was incredibly hard working. He worked up until just a couple of months before his death, not because he had to but because it was just who he was. He always encouraged us grandchildren in our schooling, giving us $50 for each good report card we brought to him as kids and financing our college educations.

My dad shared my favorite of him at the funeral and I'd like to share it now. When we were young kids, he would tease me and my sister by telling us that he had grandchildren who looked just like us. He would ask us our names and exclaim, as if in surprise, "those are their names too!". When he would ask how old we were, he would again exclaim, "that's how old they are too!" This would go on and on with me and my sister giggling and shouting all the while, "it's us grandpa, it's us!"

I'm so grateful for my grandpa's influence in my life and for the knowledge that I have of the gospel. I know that I will get to see my grandpa again someday. Until then, goodbye grandpa, I love you!

1 month old

2011-05-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

Our little man is 1 month old! It's crazy how much he has already grown. He is starting to fill out his onesies and is becoming much more active, which means that we get to see more of his beautiful deep blue eyes. It's also crazy that in the past month I haven't slept more than four hours at a time. Dad's been off the hook for night feedings while studying for boards but that is about to change. He takes them this Saturday which will be a huge relief for both of us.

These two get lots of sleep.
Here are those eyes I was talking about- ah, I love them! And his little nose... his toes...the way he stretches and curls up his entire body when he wakes up from a nap...basically all of him! These babies are addicting!!!
He's working on his smile. I don't think that he does it on purpose yet but it is adorable when we catch one. I can't wait til he smiles in response to the things that we do. It's neat how each stage has it's milestones. And now that we are adoring parents, we will be thrilled at each of them! I apologize ahead of time for all of the bragging we'll be doing about our little boy and the amazing things that he does. I know that no one will care nearly as much as we do.

Next week, we're headed up to Salt Lake so that Blake can meet several family members and friends for the first time. He'll be blessed at Jared's farewell on the 12th which we're really looking forward to. Can't wait to see many of you soon!

Newborn Pictures of Blake

2011-05-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Alan Sheffield, took these pictures for us when Blake was 5 days old. His wife, Kristen, also came along to help out. It was quite the photoshoot! But what can you expect when trying to get an un-diapered infant to cooperate with you. Jason may have been pooped on, peed on, and spit up on in the process (I don't know how I didn't) but in the end I think we got some great pictures! We have a fantastic photographer and the most adorable baby in the world to thank for that!

This ultrasound picture was taken when I was 32 weeks along. We were amazed at just how close this picture was to the real thing! Thank goodness the alien-looking pictures weren't quite as true to life lol.

Maternity Pics

2011-05-09T03:01:00.000-07:00

Jason and I are lucky enough to know a few great photographers. A good friend of ours, Donnie Warren, took these maternity photos for us when I was 38 weeks along- about a week before I had Blake. It will be fun to show Blake these pictures in a couple of years and explain to him that he was growing in momma's tummy for nine months.

Thanks Donnie!

The Most Incredible Day

2011-04-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

On April 27th, 2011 at 6:06am Blake Jason Hobbs made his way into this world-and into our hearts. He weighed 8lbs. 10 ounces and was 21 inches long at birth. What a big boy! No wonder my back was killing me. I definitely prefer having him on the outside as opposed to the inside. It is amazing how quickly and intensely we fell in love with him! It's funny how we just like to watch him all the time, we are completely enamored with him.

These babies are no piece of cake though, I have to say. I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing 95% of the time. I can't wait to start to figure all of this out! The worst part of being a mom is all of the stressing and worrying. I hope that gets better with time. I've at least improved a little bit, the first day we brought Blake home I wouldn't let him out of my sight. I decided to test the baby monitors- a test that didn't last more than five minutes because it put me into a panic to not be able to see for myself that he was okay at all times.

I was so happy with how my delivery went. You can imagine that after seeing so many deliveries for myself, I was preparing myself for the worst possible scenarios.
I couldn't let myself think about the really horrible things that could happen during delivery but did let myself worry that I would have a failed induction, be in labor for days, and end up having a c-section due to failure to progress. I absolutely hate being a patient and staying in the hospital and was glad that we got out of there quick!

On Tuesday morning, I had my doctor strip my membranes in hopes of getting things going. I had pretty regular contractions all day but had being having contractions on and off for weeks so I didn't think much of it. I got home from work, went to the gym, made dinner, and just about as we were starting to clean up the real contractions hit. They were excruciatingly painful, it felt like someone was ripping out my uterus from the inside and then cutting through to my back with a knife (I apologize for the graphic description). As terrible as that felt, I was glad that I had to endure it for a few hours. I really wanted to experience what labor pain is like and I think I will be a better nurse because of it. Not that I was going to go through all of labor with pain like that, I'm not crazy. I had them page anesthesia as soon as I got to my delivery room. One of my very favorite anesthesiologists did my epidural and hooked me up with the good stuff. He's my favorite because I once had a patient with a VERY low pain tolerance who he gave an epidural to. He sang "You are not alone" by Michael Jackson to her and played it on his phone while doing the epidural, it was hilarious! Anyways, because they wanted my doctor there for delivery, they didn't augment my labor with pitocin but just let me progress naturally- and that I did! When I was checked in triage at 10pm I was dilated 3cm, 80% effaced, and -1 station. At about 4am I suddenly got very nauseous, threw up, and my water broke. That's when I knew I was really close. They checked me again and I was fully dilated, fully effaced, +2 station, and feeling pressure. When my doctor arrived, we started pushing and 15 minutes later (which felt like two hours) Blake was finally here! As you can see from the pictures, he came out screaming bloody murder- a wonderful and reassuring sign for mom!

Our stay at the hospital and first day with Blake! The poor guy looks so beat up in these pics, he had a difficult trip out! I'm really glad that I decided to deliver at UTMB. I thought it might be awkward to deliver with my coworkers it wasn't and the care I received was amazing.

Back at home. You really need to see him in person, he will absolutely melt your heart! We've been trying to decide who he looks most like. He's got my nose and dirty blonde hair but he has some of the biggest hands you will ever see on a baby! I guess Jason was the same way when he was born. I love seeing Jason as a dad, I am so blessed to have him and Blake in my life!

A Very Happy Un-birthday!

2011-04-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Since Jason's birthday is the day before my due date, we decided to celebrate a couple of weeks early this year. His actual birthday is on May 1st. On Friday, I surprised him with tickets to see Brian Regan, his favorite comedian. Before the show, we ate at P.F. Changs so that Jason could get his favorite meal- candied walnut shrimp. I love having an excuse to spoil my husband! I get so excited to celebrate his birthday. The show was good but hard for me to enjoy since I was having a lot of back pain and some contractions. I just hope I didn't totally ruin the experience for Jason with my obvious discomfort. If you haven't seen Brian Regan before, it is definitely worth looking up some of his material on youtube.

Saturday, we had some of our friends over for cake and ice cream. I made a carrot cake that I thought was delicious! And good for you too lol. I got the carrot cake recipe from a nurse that I work with. She made it for me the other week when my coworkers surprised me with a small baby celebration. Here's the recipe in case anyone is interested in trying it. Before frosting the cake, you pour a sugary sauce over it which makes it nice and moist. Then you top it off with cream cheese frosting that has a hint of orange- yum!

Anne's Famous Carrot Cake

3 eggs beaten

3/4 c oil

1/2 c buttermilk

2 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

2 tsp soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 8 -oz can crushed pineapple drained

2 c grated carrots

3 1/2-oz can flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 c sugar

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 c buttermilk

1/2 c butter

1 tbs light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c butter softened

1 8-oz cream cheese softened

2 c confectioner's sugar

1 tsp each orange juice, grated orange rind

1 tsp vanilla

Combine eggs, oil, 1/2 c buttermilk, 2 c sugar, 2 tsps vanilla,beating until smooth.

Add flour, 2 tsp soda, cinnamon,salt.

Stir in pineapple,carrots,coconut,pecans.

Pour into 3 greased and floured 8-in cake pans (or 1- 13x9)

Bake 350f for 35-40min or until cake tests done.

Boil in saucepan 1 c sugar, 1/2 tsp soda, 1/2 c buttermilk, 1/2 cup butter and corn syrup.

Cook for 4 min, stirring frequently.

Stir 1 tsp vanilla.

Spread over hot cake layers.

Cool layers in pan 15 min then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Cream 1/4 c butter and cream cheese in bowl.

Add remaining ingredients, mixing until smooth.

Spread between layers and top and sides of cake.

Enjoy!

I also made Jason's favorite dessert- brownies from a box. It's funny that he prefers simple brownies to any of the other fancy desserts I like to make. I've even tried making him homemade brownies that take much more effort and he always says the same thing- they're good but not as good as the ones from the box. I asked Jason if 26 sounded old to him. He said that it didn't but that it's probably because he can never remember how old he is and he has thought several times in the past year that he was already 26. One of my favorite things about being married is knowing all of your spouse's quirks and only loving him more because of them.

35 weeks down, 5 to go!

2011-03-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

That's right, in just about 5 weeks we will be first-time parents! Yesterday, my good friend Stormie threw me a baby shower. It was great to see everyone who came and of course it got me even more excited about being a mom. How can you not be excited about a baby when surrounded by all that cute baby stuff? Thanks to everyone for the support and for all of the great gifts!

I am now the proud owner of an original Beth Coon masterpiece. She is so talented!

Diaper and bottle cake by Mandy Ashton. Mandy is also expecting her first baby this July.

Thanks so much Stormie!
And thanks Kimberly and Beth for helping out with the food and games!

Hill Country

2011-03-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we went up to Austin. We've been wanting to check out hill country for some time now and we finally made it happen! Highlights of the trip include...

1. spending the entire weekend with my favorite person

2. boat tour to see the bats fly out from underneath Congress bridge- this time of year there are about 750,000 bats living under the bridge. Many of them are pregnant, so it was nice to be among several of my kind (sort of). At sunset, they fly out to hunt for food.

3. Amy's Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream- YUM!

4. "hike" to Mt. Bonnell- not much of a hike but a cool view of Austin. And if you'll notice in our picture a very good view of my ever-expanding belly!

5. dinner and a movie at the same time- the theater we went to serves you dinner while you watch your movie on the big screen. The food I ordered wasn't very good and neither was the show (we saw Just go with it) but it was a neat experience anyways.

Austin is a really cool city! I was a little sad because we had the opportunity to move up to Austin for Jason's rotations 3rd year but chose not to because of my job and the extra expense. I would really love to live there though! It's a great place if you are an active person. They have an amazing trail sytem (second only to Boulder, Colorado in use), wide shoulders and sidewalks along the roads, and hills! In Galveston, I am nervous to ride my bike anywhere and the running situation is not much better. I would also like to live in a bigger city that has everything you need. Less ghetto would be great too. This topic is making me kind of depressed so I better move on, just twoish more years to go.

On a happier note, I am loving my job in labor and delivery! Womens, infants, and children is definitely the right area of nursing for me. I have learned so many interesting things, the nurse I am orienting with is awesome, and I get to be a part of the birth experience everyday. I tear up a little everytime I see a delivery. The most precious thing you will ever see is when a mom holds her baby for the first time. I can only imagine what that will be like when it's my turn in a couple of months. A couple of things I have learned for my own delivery- I do not want to be induced too early and end up with a C-section. Also, an epidural is the only way to go. The women without them look absolutely miserable, it's scarring really, and they usually end up with one anyways.

Home Sweet Home

2011-02-06T13:43:00.001-08:00

After much anticipation, we are finally all moved in to our new place! And loving it, by the way! It is an adorable little town home in the same apartment complex as our last place. Thanks to everyone who helped move boxes (and our giant bed), prepared dinner for us, and all of those who "warmed" our place by coming to our housewarming party! Here are some pics for those of you who are too far away to stop by. I apologize for the amateur photography/weird lighting.

Dining area

Living room

Guest bathroom and entryway

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

My favorite room of all- the nursery:)

Called to Serve

2011-02-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

My brother got his mission call the other day- to Stockholm, Sweden! He leaves on July 6th. I couldn't be more proud or excited for him, congratulations Jared!!!

Family Pics

2011-01-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-01-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

We spent this Christmas vacation visiting family and friends in Utah and Idaho. It was so great to see everyone! A few highlights of the trip...

Baby shower thrown by my sister and mom- thanks much you two and everyone who came all the way out in the snowy weather! All of the fun stuff I got and the cute babies at the shower made it almost unbearable that I have to wait another four months for ours to get here! It was fun to see Sara's baby, Luna and Jamie's baby, Mikah in person.

Playing with my adorable nephew, Corbyn. He is trying to eat my nose in this last picture! He would even make these cute attacking noises right before going in for the kill.

Getting together with old friends. We went to see the lights at temple square with our friends, Reed and Natali Crosby. We also got to see Jake and Belinda Detweiler, Boston Crockett, and Kate Savage.

My mom picked me up in Vegas where we stayed at the stratosphere hotel, went shopping, and ate at the Treasure Island buffet. You wouldn't believe how tasty this buffet is. One of the best and worst things about my second trimester has been my incredible appetite- food has never tasted so good before! This has been refreshing after not wanting to eat anything at all for the first few months but it's not so great when someone mentions a food and I want to immediately go out and buy it. My favorite pregnancy food- cottage cheese! Maybe I don't get enough calcium in my diet because I can't get enough of the stuff. The view from the Stratosphere was pretty cool but unfortunately we couldn't get any great pictures of it. I want to go back some other time when I'm not prego and do the rides.

Snowshoeing up Millcreek Canyon with Sara Bennett, her hound Olive, and even Luna. I know I've said this plenty of times before but I absolutely LOVE the mountains! It was so beautiful and peaceful up there! And there's just something about trekking up hills whether it's on foot, snowshoes, or a bike. I can't wait to move back to a place with mountains.

Another snowshoeing adventure- this time with the Hobbs clan in Twin Falls, Idaho.

That sums up our trip pretty well. Jason starts back up at school tomorrow and will also begin studying for the boards. I start my new job in Labor and Delivery in just two weeks! More to come on all of that soon.

The Graduate- Bachelor of Science in Nursing

2010-12-06T06:14:00.000-08:00

1 year, 60 credits, and 596 clinical hours later, I can now say that I am a nursing school graduate! This year has been one of the hardest and most exhausting of my life for several reasons. Fortunately, this year has brought many incredible blessings as well. Thanks to everyone who helped me through the hard times. I don't know how I could have made it without the Lord, my husband, my family, and my friends to rely on.

So what's on the agenda now? Well to be a registered nurse, I still need to pass the NCLEX examination. So as soon as I have gotten some well deserved R and R, I will resume studying for that. I'm also looking for just the right nursing opportunity, helping my personal training clients avoid the typical holiday weight gain, training my boot camp substitute, shopping for Christmas presents, and of course preparing for the baby to come next year.

In February, we'll be moving into our new apartment, an adorable two-story apartment with the living and dining areas downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs. I've already got the baby's room almost completely planned out. We're going to do a neutral jungle theme. I know it's a little early to be baby shopping but I can't help it, it's so much fun! I'm 19 weeks now- almost halfway and starting to show. I should have got a swimsuit shot when we were at the pool this weekend. And yes, it was warm enough to lay out here on Saturday. There is one definite perk to being away from Utah in the wintertime- no snow and occasional days in the 70's. Anyways, lots of excitement coming up. All of the above plus my bday tomorrow, high level ultrasound on Friday, and heading home for the Holidays next week!

Trick or Treat

2010-10-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

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It turns out my husband makes a really good geek. Not that I'm surprised:). How did I ever get such a suave, studly man to marry me?! Halloween this year was a lot of fun. We dressed up to go to our ward Halloween party and then last night our friends, Kimberly and David Dickinson had us over to carve pumpkins. We've met so many great friends here. Like usual, I picked a pumpkin design way beyond my skill level. My mummy head lost a few more teeth than he was supposed to but I think it turned out alright. I love holidays, it's so much fun to do all of the traditional activities.

Cruise to Cozumel

2010-09-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Because Jason missed out on the first one, we took a short cruise together to Cozumel. It was so nice to get away from our crazy lives for a few days and spend some time just the two of us. The highlight of the trip for me was playing at the beach and renting jet skis. We love those things! I can't wait for the day that we have our own...along with a boat and all of the necessary toys:) The only downside to the trip was that I was sick basically the whole time-"morning" sickness claims another victim! In case you haven't caught on yet, I'm pregnant! Due date- May 5, 2011.

Cruise to Mexico

2010-08-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

During my short break from school, my Mom, Dad, Jared and I took a cruise out of Galveston. Sadly, Jason couldn't come but my family did get to spend a couple of days with him before we left. We checked out Schlitterbahn for the first time and it was such a cool waterpark! They have the largest lazy river I've ever seen which actually wasn't very lazy because a big section of it has rapids and waves. They had lots of great slides too but the lines were all pretty long. I guess the Schlitterbahn in San Antonio is even bigger, which I can't even image, so we'll have to check that one out some day.

On Saturday, we left for the cruise. It was the first time I've haven't had to travel long distance to get to the port-it is just ten minutes from our place. We cruised to Cozumel and Progresso. In Progresso, we went biking through the jungle and "snorkeling" in cenotes (natural pools). I thought that snorkeling in the cenotes was pretty neat, though I don't know if you could even call it that because you couldn't see two feet in front of you in that water lol! The first cenote was enclosed in a bat cave and the second was more open. The best thing about the cenotes, however, would have to be that it was the only place the horse flys couldn't get you! While we were biking/swatting bugs and eating lunch/swatting bugs I was bit several times by horse flys- if you've ever been bit by one you know that they really hurt! It was quite the adventure, we even had a tire blow-out on the bus ride and barely made it back to the ship on time.

Cozumel was more chill. My parents and I went swimming and snorkeling at a hotel near the ship and drank Strawberry Daiquiris and Pina Coladas (virgin of course!). Time on the ship was fun too. We played three games of Settler's of Catan, two of which were won by yours truly (dang, I'm good!). I also loved pretending that I'm rich at the fancy dinners and ordering several courses. I love the chilled fruit soups and they had this chocolate melting pot that was to die for! I also found my newest ambition on the ship. I'm going to learn how to breakdance- not kidding:) As soon as I find some kind of class or way to learn, I will be all over that! My only regret is that my poor husband who hasn't been on a vacation all year had to stay at home and study. I felt so bad for him that I planned a 4 night cruise to Mexico for just the two of us. Be watching for an update on that!

So back to school tomorrow... sad news, but only 1 semester left!

Dance Mob!

2010-07-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

On September 12, 2010 there is going to be a HUGE dance mob in downtown Galveston to commemorate the 2 year anniversary of Hurricane Ike and Galveston's recovery from the storm. Anyone ages 7 and up can participate in the dance mob, so if you'd like to join go to this link http://groups.google.com/group/galveston-flashmob912/web/welcome.

There are already over 700 participants and as rumor has it, the final performance will be featured on the news, youtube, and possibly even Good Morning America. Janel Amsallem, Amy Canaba, and I did the choreography and it is very simple so don't shy away from being in it because you're not a dancer. If you don't live in Galveston and just want to watch a very embarrassing video of me doing the dance, there's a link for that too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEsO8ppTcR4.

It was WICKED!

2010-07-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

After all that we've heard about it, we finally got to see Wicked! Jason said that it was his favorite musical and has been singing "Defying Gravity" ever since :). I would probably have to agree with him, tho I also love The Phantom of the Opera. If you haven't seen Wicked yet, I would definitley recommend it!

2010-07-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Our 2nd anniversary was last month, on June 21. Congrats to Jason for making it through two whole years with me! Since I didn't have a blog at the time, I thought I'd post some pics from our wedding.

No place like home

2010-07-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Last week, I took a trip to Salt Lake to spend time with friends and fam. And it's true...there's no place like home. I spent the week playing with my new nephews, perfecting my mad tennis skills, shopping with the girls, catching up with old friends, and hiking/running trails just about every day (Finally! Can't even tell you how much I miss the mountains). If it weren't for the fact that I left my hubby at home I probably wouldn't have been able to leave. I'm realizing now as I post these pics that I didn't take very many (typical me) so sorry to those of you who got left out and thanks so much for making my trip great!

Coppelia

2010-05-30T18:39:00.001-07:00

I've been taking a ballet class from Galveston Ballet and this weekend we performed Coppelia at the Grand Opera House. I didn't realize how much I've missed performing until now! I had a blast even got some flowers from a not-so-secret admirer. It was strange not to have my parents there to watch me dance and to be one of the "old" dancers, things have really changed since the days when dancing was my life. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to those days with so few responsibilities and plenty of dancing but then I remember that there are pros and cons to every stage of life. For now I will just plan to keep dancing as much as my busy schedule will allow.

Road Trip to San Antonio

2010-05-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

We've been going through sort of a rough time so we thought it would be fun to take a quick road trip to San Antonio. It was nice to get things off of my mind and just have a good time with my cute hubby. We had breakfast along the river, did a little shopping, had dessert at the Melting Pot, and just took it easy. As you all know, we are not the greatest at taking pictures but we did manage to get a couple.

Moist and Delicious Granola

2010-03-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Until about a week ago, I had no idea how granola was made. It is one of my favorite foods but I've never tried to make it because I was sure that the process was extremely complicated or that it required some special granola making machine-wrong, it is so easy! One week, two batches, and three different varieties later, I have acquired a serious addiction to making and eating granola. I'd probably be making some right now if it weren't for the fact that I've completely depleted my granola and honey stores. So, here is the recipe I used if you'd like to try it. And I highly recommend that you do! This recipe comes from one of my training clients, Marcy Hanson, who owns a bed and breakfast here in Galveston. I've also included a picture because if you're anything like me, the chances of you baking something without seeing a picture first are very slim. Why on earth cook books ever come without pictures is a huge mystery to me!

Marcy's Granola

5 cups oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup coconut
2 T brown sugar
1 T vanilla
1 T cinnamon
½ cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper and pour the granola over the pans. Bake 10 minutes at 300 farenheit. Mix, then bake 6-10 minutes more. Add additional ingredients as desired- banana chips, craisins, apple chips, sliced almonds, yellow raisins, pumpkin seeds etc.

The first time I made this, I replicated the recipe exactly and didn't add anything. I bet it would have been good with dried apple chips but I didn't have any. The next batch I made, I ommitted the cinnamon and it tasted just like the granola I used to buy at Great Harvest-Yum! It was great as is, but I added craisins and sliced almonds to half the batch just to mix it up.

P.S. I found the greatest website with links to tons of amazing recipes that those of you who like to cook should check out. The link is http://www.tastespotting.com/ I've made two recipes from this website so far- thin crust pizza and chocolate cake- both were great!

The Artistic Stylings of Jason and Diana Hobbs

2010-02-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had so much fun pretending to be artists! We signed up for this art class at a place called Pinot and Picasso and it was seriously one of the neatest dates I've ever been on. It's just one class, they have everything ready to go, and an instructor takes you step by step through a painting. The painting we so masterfully imitated was "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh. If you look up the actual painting and then look at ours you will probably have yourself a good laugh but give us a break, neither of us have ever painted before. Regardless of this painfully obvious fact, we are both very proud of our work:)

San An

2010-02-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend we took a road trip to San Antonio (I like to call it San An but Jason says that people don't do that). We had such a good time but it went by way too fast! Friday night we hung out along the river walk and had dinner. Saturday, we walked around downtown, checked out the Alamo, and went to the Japanese Gardens. I had no idea just how cool the river walk would be! If you haven't been there, I definitely recommend it. The river is a few feet below the city so there are no roads, just a river with restaurants, hotels, etc built right beside it. We took a little boat tour and it was so interesting, even to a non history buff like me. For example, they showed us a hotel that was constructed in only 222 days. How did they do it so quickly? Well they built each of the rooms off site- furniture, picture frames, and all- then they stacked them on top of each other like Legos. It was really funny, when we went to get our tickets for the boat tour there was a small family ahead of us. I guess they were trying to pass their six-year old off as a five-year old so that he would be free because he kept loudly shouting "No mom, I'm six. You're just saying that so you'll get the discount. I'm not five, I'm six!". We were both just trying not to laugh. Sadly I left my camera in the car so I didn't get any pictures. I stole this picture online from a blog called "Frances Ellen Speaks" just to give you an idea of the river.

It's the little things that count

2010-01-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

Roy Raccoon

The other day, Jason and I were trying to think of our favorite and least favorite little things in life. They can't be anything hugely amazing or disappointing like a big promotion at work or finding out that your scholarship doesn't qualify you for in-state tuition like you thought (not that I have any recent experience with that). But they have to be little things that either brighten your day or just kind of annoy you. Some of my favorite things- oh no, this is starting to sound like something straight out of the Sound of Music- were receiving a sincere compliment, getting something exciting in the mail (like Cheryl & Co cookies or a singing card-thanks grandma and tracy), a cold shower after a hot and sweaty run, getting flowers or a love note, lunch with an old friend, or class being canceled unexpectedly. I couldn't think of as many least favorite things but I really don't like when I can't find my keys, I lose a favorite article of clothing, dinner doesn't turn out right, getting out of the shower when your apartment is freezing cold, or how socks and hangers seem to disappear into thin air! Our top fav was when you go to purchase something and find out at the register that the item is on sale for a much better price. I thought my least fav was getting out of the shower into the cold but then I thought of a better one- have you ever had to resolve something over the phone and you just keep getting transferred to someone else? Or you can't even get past the automated voice to an actual person. This is the worst thing ever! If any of you have any good ones to add to the list I'd love to hear them.

So speaking of little things, this morning there was a raccoon right outside of our apartment! How crazy is that? I took a picture of him and nicknamed him Roy. He was so cute, I hope he comes back to visit.

Alright, I have a joke to tell and then I will end this pointless little post and do some homework. Betcha didn't know I was such a jokester- well, while my family was here, they found this great Christmas sale on Laffy Taffys. Now, I've never been big on Laffy Taffys because they always come in those packs with four flavors and the only one I like is Strawberry. But these packs only have strawberry and watermelon, if you've never tried a watermelon Laffy Taffy-do it! It's like a party in your mouth. They taste a lot like those sour patch watermelons which are probably my favorite candy. Anyways, the jokes on Laffy Taffys are usually pretty lame but I came across one I really like.

Which animal has more lives than a cat?

A frog, it croaks every night

he he he he

Holiday Cheer

2010-01-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun with our families this Christmas! First, we visited Jason's family in Idaho. We got to see the plans for their new home, decorate the Christmas tree together, Zumba with Brittany, eat Cafe Rio (finally!), attend a session at the Twin Falls temple, and just spend some time together. It was supposed to be a surprise that Jas and I were coming, but, mom and dad Hobbs bought the tickets, Brittany was there when they bought them, Heather had to know we were coming because she was giving Jason a ride back to Salt Lake, and I spoiled the surprise for Natalie on my blog... but Richelle was really surprised... ha ha. She arrived at the Hobbs home to find two wardrobe boxes with a ribbon tying them together. When everyone yelled "Merry Christmas Richelle", Jason and I popped out! I was actually quite comfortable waiting in my box, but Jason was cramped! He kept complaining that he couldn't wait in there any longer-what a whiner! At least we could wave to each other through the tiny handholds in our boxes.

One morning, I led everyone in a yoga class. We got really into crazy poses and then into doing tricks that actually have nothing to do with yoga. I taught Brittany and her friend, Dedra, how to do a shoulder stand (taking me back to the good old drill team days) and I mastered how to jump from my back onto my feet- a trick that I thought was only possible if you're a guy.

My family flew in on Christmas eve and so did I. Jason came back a few days later. While we were apart, our niece Lindsay asked if he was still married to me which I thought was really sweet. So just to set the record straight, yes, were are still happily married:) and I don't know if I will ever consent to spending time apart from my husband again! I missed him way way too much. Spending Christmas Eve and morning in a hotel was really weird but it was SO good to see my family! They completely spoiled me while they were here. My mom is a saint-she took over all of the cleaning despite how many times I told her not to and sewed my new toe shoes for me. My dad bought all of our groceries for the week, filled our car up with gas, and changed the filter in our apartment- like I knew you were supposed to do that!

On Christmas, we took a ride on the ferry. It was pretty chilly out on the deck but we still got to see lots of seagulls, pelicans, and even a few dolphins. The next day we saw CATS. It was pretty cool, cool enough to make me decide that I'm definitely being a cat next year for Halloween! We also went to the Space Center in Houston which was really interesting. I don't know if its the scene I remember from Armageddon where the astronaut loses contact with the ship and floats off into nothingness or something else, but space kind of freaks me out-you'd have to be completely insane to be an astronaut.

We stayed at Andrea's( one of my clients) house to house/dog sit and had fun taking care of Dudley. I recently lost a battle with Jason over getting a dog so it was fun for me to play dog owner for a few days. Jas says our apartment is too small and he's probably right, but someday I know he'll cave and we can get a husky.

My new commitment to picture taking

2009-12-15T10:58:00.000-08:00

Something that I am terrible about is taking pictures. I realized not too long ago that Jason and I hadn't taken a single picture since our move to Texas-oops! So here's my plan- I'm going to actually start taking my camera with me to places and even better, take some pictures. Then, I'm going to post them on this blog so that I have some kind of record of what's going on in our lives and what we look like (at the rate we're going I'm afraid that our future children won't even know what they looked like until the age that they could independently operate a camera).

So, as promised, here are a few of our most recent pics (that I am so proud of myself for taking).

Me and my adorable hubby on Thanksgiving. Sadly, no family around but we were invited by our next door neighbor, Clay, to come eat with them, which we did and I must say the food was delicious! I brought my parents' recipe for apple & yam casserole, mostly just because they make it every year and it made me feel a little closer to home.

Finishing up some Christmas shopping at Baybrook Mall... we wanted to get our picture taken with Santa but we missed him! So we just took a picture in his chair anyways. I guess there's no way he'll know what I want for Christmas now (sigh), I never sent a list because we were going to go see him in person.

Birthday shopping up at the Galleria. I'm very good at picking out my own gifts:) I'm really not very into boots but I found these great Ugg ones. They're awesome cause you can wear them two different ways and they have these big cute buttons. Oh and the tree behind us is the biggest tree I have ever seen! It went up three stories above what you can see. And yes, that is a skating rink right in the middle of the mall.

Back to school, back to school, to prove to my dad that I'm not a fool - Billy Madison

2009-12-06T12:48:00.001-08:00

I recently found out that I got accepted to the accelerated nursing program at UTMB! So when you talk to me in just over a year I will be a RN. Since I had 3 prerequisites that I needed to finish up before school starts in January, I had to hang up my plaid shirts and dark skinny jeans that I wore to work everyday at Hollister and have been doing independent study homework like crazy. The really lame thing is that the classes I'm missing are Texas government, US government, and history. I don't see why I need these classes to become a nurse but oh well, I'm just about done with them.

Not much else has been going on lately, which is why I don't have any cool pictures to post. I'm still working as a trainer at the field house and I've been teaching a group exercise class that has been a lot of fun. We spend half of the class doing strength training and the other half doing either kenpo, yoga, or plyometrics.

We're really excited for Christmas break and to see our families! We're headed to Idaho for about a week to visit Jason's family then my family is coming to Galveston to visit. I've got the whole week jammed pack with fun things to do while they're here. I'll write all about it later.

Our new apartment

2009-09-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

We absolutely love our new apartment and have put a lot of effort into making it cute (unlike our apartment in Provo). So, we decided to post a few pics of our new place. Our favorite feature is the couch. You wouldn't believe how comfortable it is! Just look at the picture, see how comfy it looks, and keep in mind that the whole couch fully reclines- sofa perfection! What makes it even better is how hideous and hideously uncomfortable our couch in Provo was. It was blue plaid mixed with a whole bunch of colors that should never go together. And worse, it was cuddle-proof. Anytime we wanted to watch a movie we would lay down blankets and pillows in front of the couch and watch it from the floor.

tri season

2009-09-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Half-ironman
1.2 mile swim
56 mile bike
13.1 mile run

Olympic- 1mile swim

26 mile bike
10K run

Sprint- 300m swim

13 mile bike

5K run

I also spent the summer training for triathlons. I competed in three-a sprint, an olympic and a half ironman. I really enjoyed the training and loved the races!

Alaska Cruise

2009-09-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

My grandpa (grandpa Ririe) took all of his posterity on a cruise to Alaska this summer. I should probably say that I absolutely love cruises and this one was no exception. We spent most of our time just hanging out as a family, playing games, and eating incredible food, but we also went on some awesome excursions. We visited the Buschart Gardens in Victoria, played around in Skagway, and went whale watching in Juneau. Juneau had to be the highlight of the trip for me. We saw tons of whales, sea lions, birds and other wild life on the whale watching trip. Then we went to see Mendenhall glacier. On a trail nearby we saw a momma bear and her cub sleeping up in a tree. It was adorable. The ship also sailed through Tracy Fjord where we were surrounded by mountains with waterfalls and glaciers. After returning from the cruise, we spent the day sight-seeing in Seattle.

Summertime

2009-09-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing summer! Both of us had one term to finish up before graduation so we went to school for awhile. It was a pretty easy term for both of us and I got to teach two jazz classes which I loved. I graduated in exercise science and Jason graduated in Philosophy. We would post some pictures from graduation but we didn't go!

After graduation, we took a trip to Chicago to visit Aaron, Natalie, Dillon, and Wesley. It was great to see them and we did tons of fun things while we were there. We saw the Blue Man Group, rode a tandem bike downtown, went to the beach, played Settler's of Katan with Aaron and Natalie, ate chocolate bags at Red Light, celebrated Wesley's 1st birthday, and went to Taste of Chicago. We also celebrated our 1st anniversary by renting a hotel room downtown, doing some shopping, and eating out at the Cheesecake Factory. Jason gave me a gorgeous ruby ring for my anniversary present and I gave him gear for his road bike.

Our move to Texas

2009-08-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Jason and I recently moved to Galveston, Texas for him attend medical school at UTMB. I thought this would be a good time to start a blog so that our friends and fam could track of us. However, I'm not making any promises on how often I'll write. If my journal is any kind of an indication, it's not looking very good, but I'll try. Everything here is going well so far. It's really not as hot as we were expecting it to be but it is really humid and I always have at least about 8 mosquito bites at any given time. Galveston is actually an island off of texas so we're surrounded by beaches which is awesome. They aren't quite as pretty as Hawaii or other beaches but we still attract a lot of tourists.
Jason's first day of school was today and I'm looking for a job right now. We'll keep you posted on all of that but I can already tell that I'll be wishing at least some of the time that I were in Jason's shoes instead of mine. Everything they get to learn about is so cool! Today they started dissecting their cadavers so it was fun to talk to Jason about that. Anatomy was by far my favorite class at BYU. They also have a medical case given to them each week that they learn about and try to solve. How cool is that?