The Hoffman Fam.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

We drove to Wisconsin to spend Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Hoffman and family. As usual we had a great time. The kids got every toy they could have ever wished for and more. My children are blessed to have 3 great aunts that play an active roll in there life. Which means they are spoiled at Christmas and birthdays by them. Before we took off to Wisconsin we had a Preschool Christmas Party at Brendon's preschool. The children put on a mini nativity and concert for all the parents. I sure love his preschool.

Frosting Cookies for Santa

Santa found Grandma's House!!

Everyone looks pretty for Christmas morning Church

Aunt Mary and Ana

Baby Stroller from Grandma

stack of presents as tall as he is!

yunmmy! Dont worrt it was empty.

Amy and Matt. Big Game Day! Packers won of course.

Playing games on the lPad with Uncle Jeff.

game face is on.

Laurens awesome bowling shoes!

Hanging out.

Candy Land with extended Cousins.

Thanksgiving and Mexico

2011-12-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year we spent with Anthony's mother and our dear friends the Liberatores. Since we have no family close we have made our friends family. In the sense we spend holidays and special events with friends. Of course if our parents had the time and money to come spend every special occasion with us they would. Life just doesn't work that way for most of us. Grandma Hoffman flew in and celebrated my birthday with us and Thanksgiving. I had a picture of the birthday celebration, but it got deleted. Sorry.

The Saturday after thanksgiving Anthony and I kissed the kids and Grandma good bye and headed off to Mexico. Anthony had winter meeting with the company. Since we all had to travel to meet. We met in Mexico. Brilliant idea in my opinion. First time I have ever left my babies. And yes it was hard, but got over it the second I spotted the beach. Thankfully we have great friends that watched them the whole week after Grandma left. Knowing my kids were with people I trusted made it easy to let go. The trip was amazing! I went to the spa twice! Laid out in the sun almost everyday and ate great food. Plus we saw all the great friends we have made in the company. Including my friend Tonia. She made the first year living in Arkansas with no family bearable.

Arianna at Brendon's Preschool Feast.

Thanksgiving with the Liberatores

WHY I NEEDED A VACATION!!

Found the bathroom and arianna like this after a shower. Yeah that was fun.

Our Hotel Room in Mexico

View from our room. Yes, that is the Ocean.

Private pool on our balcony.

The First day we spent in Mexico was Sunday. We got the opportunity to find a LDS Church near by and attend Sacrament meeting.

Anthony trying on the nacho libre masks.

Amazing Sand Art.

dinner with the Garner

Beautiful Sunset on the Boardwalk.

fun friend that hung out by the pool at the resort.

Scuba Diving

Christmas Tree outside our hotel

One of the nights most of us on the trip went on a Rhythm of the Excursion. First we took an hour boat ride to an island. Had dinner and enjoyed a great performance.

Sunset on the boat ride

swimming with dolphins. It was unbelievable.

Last day and Breakfast with the Hawkins

WHY I CAME BACK FROM VACATION

Love these kids more then words can express

We had a great time in Mexico enjoying the weather and seeing the sites with great people. Reminded me how blessed I am. We even got to be apart of a robbery. While touring some sites with a member we met at church. Lenny and his wife left their backpack in the car. When we came back to the car it was gone. We were in the middle of nowwhere and had only been gone 5 minutes. Unfortunately they had their passports in the backpack and had to spend the next day getting a temporary one. Lesson I learned... Mexican Prison is not a friendly place. Even on the outside. When the week was over I felt ready see my kids and jump back into life. Good thing because after two days everyone in the family got the stomach flu. We all got over it by the end of the week and are now playing catch up before Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

Brendon's Preschool Program

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Catch up and Halloween

2011-11-14T14:35:00.000-08:00

I have had a lot going on the past month and got behind on updating the blog. Here is what we have been up to the last few months.
The Brewers came to St. Louis for the playoffs. With them being that close Anthony wanted to go to the game. We worked out plans with some friends and drove down to St. Louis. Anthony and his Friend John went to the game. I stayed at the hotel with Cristy (john's wife). The next day we all went to Six Flags and had a great time. I forgot how much I love roller coasters. Brendon was unsure about most the rides. I finally persuaded him to try out a few. His favorite was a log ride that had a miniature drop at the bottom. I think he rode it at least 5 times. Arianna enjoyed being out side and all the people. She went on a couple rides, but decided it was not her thing. I have a feeling it will be one day.

What is the best thing about staying in a hotel?? Jumping on the bed!!

Entrance to Six Flags

Arianna loved this Red Pepper.

Scooby Doo where are you!

Train Ride

Brendon's Favorite Ride

The last two years My Uncle Michael has come into town for business with Sams Club. He is able to attend his meeting and we get to have him stay with us and enjoy his company for a few days. The kids loved him. Everywhere he went the kids followed. There are a few perks to living in Arkansas.

HALLOWEEN

This Halloween was both very busy and fun. We had multiple activities that we attended. First came the family day at the pumpkin patch. Every year we go to the same pumpkin patch and pick out or pumpkins.Second was Brendon's Preschool Halloween Bash. It was amazing. I helped plan it and got blown away by all the detail that went into the party. Next we had our ward trunk or treat. I am now in the Primary and got to help plan out this activity too. We had a great turn out and came way with a lot of candy. Finally it was halloween. We did are usual Halloween sonic stop and trick or treating. Sonic in our town serves free hot dogs and drinks on Halloween. We have made it a tradition to go eat before we go out trick or treating. It has become a tradition we look forward to each Halloween. Both Brendon and Arianna looked cute in their costumes and loved everything about halloween this year.

PUMPKIN PATCH

PRESCHOOL HALLOWEEN BASH

WARD TRUNK OR TREAT

My Primary President and good friend Gene Ann with the kids and I.

Arianna loved going by the Liberatore's car. She got a sucker ever time.

SONIC STOP

TRICK OR TREATING

She would not let anyone help her carry her bucket. It was her candy and she was not sharing.

Happy Boy!

Preschool

2011-09-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Brendon is now going to preschool! His first day was last month but I am just getting around to putting it on the blog. On his first day we met daddy at his preschool and walked him in. To make things better Grandma Mills was even in town and got to go in with us. The first week Grandma Mills and I had a surprise waiting for him when he got home. The first day it he got a Kit Kat, second say M&Ms with a little M&M toy, and for Friday he got a frosty from Wendy's. Brendon has loved preschool. He is doing well and learning a lot. I am so proud of him.

He was not happy that I wanted to take a picture.

Helping Grandma carry Brendon's preschool bag into preschool.

Daddy and Brendon standing by Brendon's bag rack.

Family Family!

2011-09-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Last month was full of visitors. We loved it. Aunt Lauren came out to visit us for a few days after she attended a cousins wedding. We even got to celebrate her birthday! I loved having her around. She is such a great person to spend time with.

We took Lauren to our favorite Pizza Parlor. Mellow Mushroom.

Arianna Ridding the Merry go-round at chuck e cheese.

Birthday Dinner! it was fun to share our red plate tradition with Lauren.

Birthday Cake!

Blowing out the candles.

A few days after Lauren left my mom flew in from Utah to spend a week with us. We had a great time with her too. She spoiled the kids rotten! I loved having my mom all to myself (Well as close as I will get theses days). We did a lot of fun things while she was here. Including Brandon's first day of preschool. It was nice to have her be here to be apart of that.

NWA Preparedness Fair

We heard of a place that was said to have the best ice cream in Northwest Arkansas. We thought it would be fun to try it out while Grandma Mills was in town. The ice cream was fabulous. It was also the largest ice cream cone I had ever seen!

Pure Happiness

It is the length of his head!!

Sharing with Grandma

Celebrating Brandon's first day of preschool. Sharing the chocolate cake.

The Native Museum

I loved this Mural.

The black bear. Brendon would not get to close.

Grandma and the kids spent many hours on her bed reading book s. Reading and taking naps with grandma was Brendon's favorite things.

Swimming with Grandma

Time with Beckie and Marques

2011-08-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

For the first summer since Brendon was born I decided to stay home. Fortunately we had many family members plan trips to come visit us. The first to visit was my sister Beckie and her boyfriend Marques. We had a great week with them. We did a lot of fun things. Which included getting them both addicted to games on our IPad!

Playing in the Bentonville Square Fountain

Naturals Baseball Game

Crystal Brigde Gardens

Learning how to play Baseball with Marques

First Corn on the Cob

We tried cutting the corn off the cob, but she wanted to east it like everyone else.

Splash Park

Angry Birds Game

We bought snacks for Beckie and Marques to enjoy while at our house. Red vines was one of them. Arianna enjoyed them.

Plating on Brendon's water slide

Take a close look at Brendon's face. This is how he felt about sister having a turn.

Dinner at Abuelo's

Fun crafts with Aunt Beckie

Birthday! Birthday!

2011-07-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

We have been busy the past couple of weeks with both the kids birthdays. It was crazy planning two birthday parties in two weeks, but a lot of fun as well. Each year I make a cake and plan a party for the child having the birthday. I love to explore with different cake ideas and have fun trying new things.

Arianna's Birthday came first. We had a Giraffe themed party. I had a blast planning and decorating for her party. I was very excited to finally get to have a pink party. Making her cake was a learning experience. I spent many hours on the phone with my fabulous sister Lindsey who talked me through the fondant frosting. I can't believe my baby is a year. She is the personality of the family. Some things that make her special are: her scooting around on her bum instead of crawling, Her scowl, the way she smiles and says hi to everyone! You are my baby girl Arianna. I love you.

ARIANNA'S PARTY

bubble party favors

The Cake

Its my party and I'll cry if I want to.

Birthday Girl and her cake.

eating the cake

yummy

opening the presents

BRENDON'S PARTY

It was really fun to plan Brendon's party because he was able to help. He picked out the theme, what cake he wanted me to make, and all the friends he wanted to invite. His party was a T-Rex pool party. We had a T-Rex bone cake, Brachiosaurus cookies and Dino bones for each kid to take home. Brendon is my little man that loves to help me cook, play trains, swim and much more. He is a very helpful with things around the house and know more about the Ipad than I do. Happy 4th Birthday Brendon! I Love you.

Party favors

The Cake

Blow- up slide and pool.

Ready to blow out the candles!

opening presents

BIRTHDAY DINNER

Along with the Birthday celebration we have the Birthday Dinner. The Birthday Girl or boy gets to pick the menu for dinner the night of their birthday. Arianna had her favorite Macaroni and Cheese with watermelon. Brendon had wings. I think Brendon was more excited to use the red plate then he was to eat the dinner on it.

Summer time

2011-07-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

We have had a blast this summer! I am trying to enjoy as much time with the kids as possible. Since Brendon starts preschool in the fall. We recently got a splash park 5 minutes from our house. We have loved it. Arianna even gets in on the action.

cuddled up with daddy.

We took a quick trip up to Wisconsin to visit family and be a part of Michael's farewell. He was called to serve a mission in Mexico. He reports to the MTC this week. We are excited for Mikey and know he will be a great missionary. We love you Mikey. See you in two years. some fun things. Before Anthony arrived we drove to Green Bay to the Train museum. Where we spent a day with Thomas the tank engine. There was a lot of fun activities to do all encompassing Thomas and the Island of Sodor. When Anthony arrived we took Arianna on her first go-cart ride with Brendon and Hailey. She couldn't decided if she liked it or not. We also had an early celebration for the kids birthdays. They both enjoyed that. It is always fun to spend time with family. We all had a great time.

showing off the train ticket

Taking a ride on Thomas.

Thomas the train

Play at the train museum.

Arianna is in the car with me you can barely see her bow.

Passing by

Opening presents!

Loving what she got!

Katie and Arianna

siblings :)

Fourth of July weekend was really fun this year. Anthony and Brendon both enjoyed going to the firework stands and picking out fireworks. I believe they went back 4 times! On the 4th we got together with some close friends and enjoyed a show of fireworks. Thankfully Arianna wasn't bothered by the noise. In fact she would clap and say "ya da dad".

hanging out before the firework show.

family

light it and run.

Month of May

2011-06-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

May was a great month for our family. We had many wonderful and humbling experiences.

To start the month off we had my dad come and visit us for a week. It was so much fun having him here. Brendon made sure he got in a lot of train time with Grandpa Mills. Any free time we had Grandpa spent it playing trains with him. Arianna followed him around the house everyday and fell asleep in his arms every night. Unfortunately my dad's visit came along with lots and lots of rain and tornado warning. He got to be very familiar with our safe spot. He is convinced we need to move now. It was wonderful having him all to ourselves for the week.

Reading books with Grandpa.

Playing trains. The track they built together.

Saturday night at the Naturals Game

A baseball from the game!

Sleeping on Grandpa.

Playing in the rain!!

Soaked to the bone.

We were very fortunate to not have any tornadoes touch down in our area. Joplin a city about an hour or less from us was not so fortunate. They had a massive tornado touch down and destroy a lot of the city. The hospital, walmart, school and many other local stores and homes where destroyed. This really shocked our family. Anthony has many customers that live in Joplin and we have friends families also there. Our church in this area was asked to gather up 200 men to go and help in the clean up effort. Anthony did not even question whether he should go or not. He quickly volunteered himself. He was gone Saturday and Sunday of that week helping in the clean up efforts.The first day he was there he was helping clean up debris that had fallen or damaged local homes. One woman came out of her house in tears, hugged Anthony and told him she had been praying for someone to come and help her. I felt blessed that my husband had the opportunity to help. It was a life changing experience. Pictures of this event will come soon.

A year ago I was asked to fellowship a sister investigating the Church. Since then she has joined our church and we have become very good friends. Sunday the 29th her son Brenden was baptized. Anthony was asked to baptize him. It was such an amazing experience to watch my husband take Brenden into the water and baptize him. I am grateful for this gospel and opportunities like this that bring joy and happiness into our lives.

Anthony,Brenden, and Maria

Elder Schofield on the left taught Maria and her family the discussions

Thomas and Toes

2011-05-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Thomas and Friends Live came to Bentonville. Anthony and I thought it would be fun for Brendon to go. I bought tickets for Anthony to take him. First father and son play. Brendon loved it. I loved hearing his excited voice on the phone before the show had started telling me what he was about to see.

I was a little sad that Anthony got to take Brendon to the show, so I made sure Arianna and I had a great girls night. We went on a walk and came home and painted our toes. I wasn't sure how much fun this would for my Ana girl, but she sat there and let me paint. Her little toes looked so cute!

Easter

2011-04-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

Easter was rained out this year. My poor kids never got the chance to go outside for an Easter Egg Hunt. I tried to make up for it by having one in our house with some friends. Brendon while looking for eggs would only pick up the plain eggs . If they had a sticker or plastic around it he would pick it up and then put it back. The best reason I can come up with is that it is to much work to take the plastic or sticker off to get to the candy. He is such a funny kid!

Easter Sunday was a great day. Brendon gave his first talk in primary. He did such a good job. I was a proud momma. After church we enjoyed our presents from the Easter Bunny and spent the day together as a family.

I tried to get some really cute pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes, but Brendon was not happy about it. He would not smile or sit long enough for a pictures. Most of the pictures are of Arianna. She did not mind posing for a few pictures.

Egg Hunt

Easter Baskets

Mom and Dad's Basket

Brendon's Basket

Arianna' Basket

Easter Outfits

Playing with daddy

I grew up with the great tradition of the Red Plate. Whenever you do something special or have a Birthday you get to use the red plate at dinner . I thought now would be a good time to start that tradition in our family. Brendon got to use the red plate after giving his amazing talk in primary.( He was more than happy to pose for this picture! Go figure.)

Baseball Baseball Baseball

2011-04-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Brendon has always loved playing sports. He recently decided that he really likes baseball. Anthony loves baseball and played all through high school and in college until his mission. So I am not surprised that Brendon has a natural talent and desire to play baseball. Brendon got his first mitt and baseball along with a tee ball bat ( that was 20 bucks might I add!) last week. He is now spending a lot of time in yard learning all there is to know about playing baseball.

First Family Baseball game of the season. Brendon has been asking to go to a baseball game for months. He finally got to go. We all had a great time. Arianna loved being outside and danced to every song. Brendon loved the ice cream and watching the game from grass. It doesn't get much better than a night out with the family enjoying a baseball game.

Our seats in the stands

Brendon at the bottom of the grass hill. He was hoping for a home run ball to come his way.

Arianna enjoying the grass. We walked up and down the hill many times.

The Naturals in the outfield

Date Night

2011-03-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you put the Saumwebers, the Stapleys, and the Hoffmans all together?!
ONE GREAT DATE NIGHT!
We have all know each other for over two years and somehow have never managed to all go out together without the kids.
We all met at Carrabbas to have dinner. The food as always was fabulous, but the conversation and laughs where what made the night.;) Next we decided to go go karting. My sly husband talk one of the workers into riding along with us. Which meant all adults in the cars and a boost for all the cars. I have never gone that fast in a go kart before! 1 time around the course and you could smell the rubber burning. For a short time I felt like a teenager again, having a great time messing around with friends. Hopefully it wont take us another two years to make it out all together again.
Thanks to Karis we got pictures of our night out.

Filled with good food and hilarious conversations!

At the go kart race track

My life is complete!! I spun Anthony out! Ha ha sucker!!!

the race is on!

Arianna found her Groove

2011-03-07T13:49:00.000-08:00

While enjoying some down time as a family Arianna decided to entertain us. I didn't get the best part on tape but I got something. I know that I am her mother and all, but I am absolutely amazed and in love with the fact that she is tying to dance. She is such a fun baby.Love her!

Snow, Dragons, and Valentines

2011-02-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

This winter in Arkansas has been pretty normal except for the crazy snow storm that left us with 18 inches of snow. I grew up in Utah so I am use to snow, but very few times have I ever dealt with this much snow. Most every shop, restaurant and business were closed. I think my husband was probably the only person who went into work that day.

The view from our front door.

Arianna playing in the snow. She loved eating it more than anything else.

Brendon climbing through snow tunnel.

"I can't get up! I can't get up!"

One great thing that came from the snow was a chance to make snow ice cream. Brendon and I had a lot of fun making it. And even more fun eating it!

I have tried to be more crafty and creative since I had kids. When I saw this cute idea in the family fun magazine. I just had to try it with Brendon. He recently got into dragons after seeing the movie How To Train Your Dragon. I am very proud of our finished project.

What is the best part about Valentines Day?

Being told you are loved and all the candy that comes in the mail!

Brendon enjoying his valentine candy.

Arianna loved the Valentine cards. One day she'll appreciate the chocolate. Until then I will do it for her!

SUPER BOWL!!

2011-02-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the Super bowl! Packers vs. Steelers. Of course because Anthony is a born and raised Packer fan we had to have a party! I must say I was actually really into the super bowl this year. I had a blast planning the part and even more fun sporting my Clay Mathews jersey. It was a great night of good friends, great food, and super bowl win for the Pack! It is going to be a great week at the Hoffman House!

Joys of January

2011-02-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Arianna is now 7 months old and has developed quite the temper. She love attention and hates being ignored. . She is very playful and is always finds ways to make a mess. We joke as a family and call her mayhem. No matter were she is she will spill, dump, or destroy something.

6 month photos

I just love that smile :)

Arianna will not fall to sleep unless she has her ducky blanket and soft giraffe.

Brendon is now a Sunbeam in Primary. I can't believe it! He is so cute sitting with his Sunbeam class in the primary room. He is very good at building his train set now and loves to put up a track and play for a week and then build another one. If I am ever having a hard day I start to think about all the funny things Brendon has said to me that day or earlier that week. Some of the best are:

"I can't eat dinner it will make me Crazy!!!

"The Ana monster is eating my track!"

"My T- Rex is going to eat your baby!"

"White snow is really good, but yellow snow is yucky!"

my not so little Sunbeam

One of the many track he and I have built.

Anthony had his 27th birthday in on January 27. We celebrated by buying him a 47 inch t.v., a night out to Red Lobster, and a family party with cake and ice cream. Brendon walked around the house singing to Anthony all day! Brendon also told me we needed to buy daddy a present so he could open it. Sure enough Brendon got to blow out the candles and open Anthony's present.

St. George

2011-01-21T14:54:00.000-08:00

While we were in Utah we made a quick stop to Hurricane. My sister Kellie was blessing her baby. It was the first time all of the girls had been together in almost 2 years. Brendon was most excited about staying in a hotel again and jumping on the bed! We actually stayed at my sisters house, but spent time at the hotel where the rest of the family was staying. Anthony was not able to go with us but we still had a wonderful time. After the blessing the kids and I stayed for a few extra days then flew home. I am so grafteful that I was apart of this wonderful celebration!

Playing Hot Potato! We all enjoyed it! Even the adults.

Uncle Ben and Arianna. When I travel without Anthony and Ben is there He is usually turns into the surrogate dad!

Cousin Chase and Arianna. Chase loved holding "the baby".

Arianna was fascinated with Mason.

My cute baby Mason.

Hunter and Arianna. Hunter played and held Arianna a lot. He loved her and she loved him.

Uncle Brian and Arianna.

Arianna most of the time. Sitting on Grandpa and eating an M&Ms box.

Aunt Lindsey and Arianna. Lindsey always got Arianna riled up when I was trying to get her to sleep!
Thanks for that Linds!

Swimming in the "hot water pool" according to Brendon.

Jumping in the pool!

Arianna, MaKenna, and Brianna!

Aunt Kellie and Arianna. Love those Cheeks.

The Holidays

2011-01-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

We have had a fabulous holiday with family and friends this year. I have a lot to blog about so I will start from the beginning.
December 11, 2009
A beautiful Saturday morning around 9:00 I hear the sirens in our neighborhood. At first I think there has been an accident in front of our house. Look out the window see nothing so I move on with breakfast for the kids. I hear the sirens again, look out my back window and see the firetruck driving very slowly up and down the streets. Knowing how much Brendon loves firetrucks I rush him to the window, hoping he will get a glance at the big firetruck, to my surprise I see.....

Santa had come to our house riding a firetruck! Brendon was thrilled! Santa got off the truck and handed Brendon a bag of candy. People can say all they want about me living in Arkansas. This is one of the many reasons I love it here!

We spent Christmas in Utah this year. It was the first Christmas we have spent in Utah since we moved to Arkansas. I was very excited to spend the holidays with my side of the family. Arianna loved my father and fell asleep in his arms every night that we were there. Brendon loved all the snow, the mountains and being spoiled at Grandpa and Grandma's house. I loved having a shopping partner again and soaking up all the memories and joys that loved ones bring. I love my family so much.

Brendon's before Christmas present. This was my Grandfathers train. Brendon loved it! I hope he can one day enjoy the meaning behind it too.

Gardner Village: Finding all the elves.

the yummy cookie at Gardner Village Bakery.

We gave the beamer some Christmas spirit. You can't see it, but it had another antler and a red nose!

Running the Christmas Village train with Grandpa.

Ridding tracks!

My Dad and I on Tracks. Arianna wasn't as excited to ride them as Brendon was!

Nap time with Grandpa. This happened frequently.

Brandon's best friend. He would kiss George good bye any time we left the house.

Temple Square

Beckie, Marques and the kids.

Beckie and I.

Cookies and Carrots for Santa and the Reindeer.

Brendon's Santa present.

Arianna's Santa Present.

Cocoa Maker!!!

Kitty From Aunt Beckie

Eating with Grandma. Arianna loved to eat with Grandma. She new she would get things she would not get if Mommy was feeding her.

Great Aunt Kathy and Arianna At Christmas Dinner.

Grandma Reading my favorite Christmas book growing up as a child.

I was spoiled this Christmas and got two very special gifts. Anthony Gave me a diamond necklace on Christmas Eve as a early celebration of our five year anniversary. December 28, 2005 I married the best man in the world! He thankfully has loved me ever since! I am blessed to have a great husband. I love you Anthony! You are my best friend.

Christmas day my mom surprised my sisters and I with necklaces she had made for us from our Grandpa Mills .Words can not describe the meaning this necklace has to me. Every time I put it on I feel of his love. My Grandfather was a wonderful man. I will always cherish the wonderful memories I have of him.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving we went to Wisconsin to be with Anthony's Family. We had a great time. We celebrated my birthday with the family and had a little mini Christmas with everyone there. Near My in-laws house they have a Doc Harley Davidson store. In it they have alligators, birds,turtles, and many more animals you can come and see. Brendon loved the alligators. He went twice just to look at them. Each time it took at least ten minutes to convince him it was time to go. Arianna loved all the attention she received. Lets just say She was not happy to just have me when we got home! I am so grateful for the wonderful relationship I have with my husbands family. We are very loved.

The Brothers

Grandma and Arianna

Aunt Amy and Arianna

We visited Grandma at school and enjoyed school lunch with her.
Brendon talked about it for days after. He loved eating lunch at Grandma's work.

My Yummy Ice Cream Birthday Cake

The turtles at Doc's. They would come right up to you.

The Alligators

Thomas and Friends Misty Island set from Aunt Mary.

Grandpa and Arianna

Aunt Mary and Arianna

Mini Christmas

Playing trains with Uncle Jon

Aunt Patty and Arianna

Wrestling with Uncle Jeff.

Thankful Turkey

2010-11-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

I grew up with this wonderful tradition and now I get to do it with my children!
Every year before thanksgiving, for family night, we make a thankful turkey. Each family member writes what they are thankful for on paper feathers. We take the feathers and create our families thankful turkey. It sits on our table or front door to remind us of all the things we are truly blessed with.

Family Pictures

2010-11-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had our family pictures taken. I love my family and am very grateful to have each member apart of my life.
Every time I look at these pictures I smile.

Halloween

2010-11-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

Halloween was a blast this year! We had our ward Trunk or Treat, a Halloween Party with friends, and Trick or Treating!! This year Arianna was a kitty, Brendon was an elephant or "belephant" and I was a fairy!! Brendon loved handing out candy as much as he enjoyed getting it! When he would answer the door he would yell, "Trick or Treat,"!! before any of the kids at our door had a chance! Arianna wore her cute costume all day Saturday and didn't mind! She decided the best way to celebrate Halloween was by sleeping!! She slept through most all the activities, but looked cute no less!

Ready for the Trunk or Treat!

Cutest kids in the world!!

the only cat Anthony loves!

Trick or Treating!

Our good friends! Keira, Big Brenden, Little Brendon

Brendon and Cole

Brendon and his future wife Avery! We love Avery and her family! We always say we are going to make sure they get married because they are so cute together!

At the Trunk or Treat with Daddy!

All the Candy!!

Filling in the gaps!

2010-10-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

I don't always have time to post pics and blog about all the stuff I want. So here is a few picture and events that I wanted to blog about, but never got a chance! Hopefully in the future I will be better!

I have started to give Brendon little chores he can help me with during the day. Example: He will help empty the dishwasher or make the table for dinner. On this particular day I was cleaning the house and letting him play while I finished mopping. He followed me from room to room asking if he could do it! He loved it so much I had to snap a picture!

We all love baseball! We try to go to a few game during the Naturals season. We attended this game with our friends Rafael and Patrica!

The Gang!!

Daddy and Brendon enjoying the game!

Rafael and Patrica holding Arianna

I checked on Arianna during an afternoon nap and found her like this!

It is tough being a girl!

Pumpkin Picking!

2010-10-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and we are loving it! This a great time of the year! The leaves are changing and the weather is heavenly! Along with fall comes our pumpkin patch tradition! Every year before Halloween we go to a near by pumpkin patch and pick out our pumpkins to carve! This year was a lot of fun with the two kids! Especially because Brendon is old enough to do it all himself!

For family night we decided to carve our pumpkins! I loved carving pumpkins as a child and could not wait to do it with my children! Well things did not go as well as I envisioned! Brendon hated the idea of putting his hand in the pumpkin and pulling out the "yuck"! When I tried showing him how fun it was he would say "no thank you! I do not want to get my hands dirty!" I guess that is my fault for being a clean freak! Despite it all I think our pumpkins turned out great!

Family Matters!

2010-09-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

The summer has come and gone! It has been a crazy whirlwind! Here is the summary of the last few months! The day after Arianna was born my Mom came to help out and visit. She cooked meals for us cleaned my house, planted beautiful flowers in the yard and much more. The next weekend my Dad and sister Beckie flew in! We started the weekend celebrating Brendon's actual birthday with a family bowling game and root beer floats! Thanks to my wonderful family I recovered quickly and enjoyed having a baby around.

Swimming
Abuelos!!
T-Rex Brendon picked out for his Birthday with Grandpa and Grandma Mills

Birthday Float!

Family Bowling

Playing at the park with Grandma Mills

After Arianna's Blessing Arianna, Brendon, and I took a week trip to Wisconsin! We were able to see Anthony's Aunts (who spoil my kids), Hoffman Grandparents, Aunt Katie, Aunt Lauren, and Uncle Mikey! I was able to relax a little and enjoy family. We did a lot of fun things with the Family! Brendon's favorite was going to the train museum with Grandpa and Grandma Hoffman.

Aunt Lauren's Birthday!

Kiddie Pool with Hailey!

Train Museum!

Mike Anthony's younger Brother decided he would come home with us and surprise Anthony! I was thrilled to be traveling with another adult! It was wonderful having Mike stay with us. We tried our best to show him a good time in hopes he would come back after school! The weekend Mike was here a fair, car show, and barbecue competition was going on a the baseball stadium in Rogers. We enjoyed good food and looked at some amazing cars.
Brendon loved anything to do with Uncle Mikey's computer!

Brendon's first pony ride!!

Arianna's Blessing

2010-08-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

Today was a wonderful day for our family. Anthony blessed our beautiful daughter. I am so grateful for a husband that holds the priesthood and lives his life in accordance to the gospel.I love you Anthony you inspire me to be a better person! Arianna was very good throughout the blessing. She gave all the people in the circle a good laugh when she gripped onto the microphone cord and was not giving it up after the blessing. Anthony said he had to pry it from her fingers!! Arianna is a special spirit. I feel so blessed and honored that Heavenly Father has allowed me to be her mother!

Thank you Aunt Kathy and Aunt Lisa for her beautiful dress! Thank you Katie for making her Hair band! She looked beautiful!

Special Delivery

2010-07-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

July 7, 2010 at 10:00 Arianna Mae Hoffman made her debut! She was 8 pounds one ounce and 18 1/2 inches long! Thanks to a great husband Anthony and my awesome birthing coach Cori I was able to have her without an epidural!! It was one of the greatest experience of my life!

Brendon is loving having a little sister! He always is willing to help and hold her. When he holds her he rubs her head and tells her how cute she is. Today Brendon was rubbing her head and she started to whine. Brendon response was " I am Just petting you!" Arianna you are a great blessing to us! We love you more than you know!

Great Month of June!

2010-07-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

June has been a busy and exciting month for our family! My friends here in Arkansas threw me a great shower to celebrate the soon addition to our family! We then had Father's Day! Brendon and I got Anthony a Charcoal grill! Dinners are much better for me these days!! Not to mention Anthony is a great grill master!

Anthony and I had an early Birthday Party for Brendon this year. His birthday is July 16th but I figured the new baby and a party would not go well! Brendon wanted a Thomas themed party! I made little thomas trains that the kids colored and decorated to take home! The cake was a lot of fun to make as well! I was so glad we did a party for him he was so happy to have all his friends celebrate with him! Not to mention he loves cake!

Almost There!

2010-06-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

5 weeks left and we will have our little girl!! I had a doctor appointment today and everything is moving along. The doctor and nurses still think she might be a little early. I am not holding my breath! I am however trying to get ready just in case! I have actually decided I am going to try to do this one all natural! I have a great friend who will be my "coach"! I sure hope I have the will power and strength to do this! I guess I will find out!

I can't wait for the day...

2010-05-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for the day I can say "yes Brendon is potty trained!" I am roughly 7 weeks away from having our baby and Brendon has decided that peeing in his pants is okay! I know he can tell when he needs to go! He will not give up on any playing time until it is almost to late. He stops himself from completely peeing threw everything, but gets his underwear wet. I don't have much time to get this under control! Treats and incentives no longer working! How do you get a two year old to want to stop playing and go potty before it is to late!

"I don't want a baby anymore!""

2010-05-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Brendon has had some pretty interesting views of things lately!
Every time I wear mascara. Brendon will get really close to my face examine it for a minute and ask if it is chocolate! At first I thought I had chocolate on my face somewhere. I realized he was pointing to my eye and not my face! I would love to know where and how he came up with that idea!
Monday I had my monthly Doctor appointment and thought I would just take Brendon with me.It is usually a short visit and he loves to hear the babies heart. Unfortunately it was not a short process like usual. We waited for over an hour to be called back and then waited in the room for another 40 minutes. Brendon was fabulous the whole time. He never once complained or asked to leave! I give all the credit to the portable DVD player!!
When we arrived home Brendon walked in the door took a deep breath and told me he did not want anymore babies! I replied "just baby Arianna right?" He quickly responded with "no I don't want a baby anymore!" Later that day we were at Anthony's softball game and a good friend asked Brendon if he was excited for a baby sister. He informed her he was no longer having a baby and that he did not want one anymore! I am in for a nice treat if a 2 hour doctor appointments was to much time to put towards the new baby! This should be fun!

Home Sweet Home

2010-04-16T13:35:00.001-07:00

We have lived in Arkansas for almost 3 years! Last summer we were blessed to find and purchase a home! Now that it has been a year I am finally posting pictures! Sorry to all of you who have been waiting to see these!

I'm giving in!!

2010-04-08T08:35:00.001-07:00

Everyone that knows me knows that I hate documenting my pregnant belly. We now live away from all of our family and most family member have never seen me pregnant. I have decided to stop holding out and let the family and friends see the belly! This is me at 6 months!

Easter

2010-04-06T18:42:00.001-07:00

We had a great Easter this year! First Grandma Hoffman and Aunt Lauren came into town for a long weekend. Brendon took full advantage of having two more playmates! We had the great opportunity to go on two Easter Egg Hunts. Brendon loved them both! He filled his basket with eggs and then opened each egg to see what was inside. Coloring eggs became a favorite very quickly too! Brendon loved putting them into the different colors and watching them change. He carried the eggs very carefully the rest of the morning. When Easter came around the Easter Bunny treated us all very well! It was a wonderful Easter with friends and Family!

Specail Delivery: July 11th

2010-03-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

I am now officially 5 months! My parents came into town last week to visit and came with us to the ultra sound! It was so fun to have them there. We found out we are having a baby girl! I am so excited to have my baby girl!! Brendon has become very fond of the baby in "mommy's tummy". He loves to pat my tummy and talk to her! Whether he will be fond of her or not when she is actually here might be another story!

I had a very easy pregnancy and fairly easy labor with Brendon. I was in labor for a long time, but only had to push 5 times to get him here. The recovery is another story. The doctors call what happened to me a degree 4. Which means on the scale from 1 to 5 I tore a 4. My doctor has approached me 3 times now about my feeling of delivering vaginally again with this baby. I guess I must be crazy! He explained to me I will be totally fine to have her normally, but most women prefer a C-section after a degree 4 tear. The emotional and physical trauma was so bad for them a c-section was easier! I was surprised to hear this and then I started to remember the pain I felt for a year after (in that area)! I couldn't stand for longer than 5 minutes for 2 weeks, couldn't wear jeans for 4 weeks after. Thankfully Brendon was my first and I had no idea how bad it was. For me this was normal! I was hoping to have another vaginal birth with this baby. Then my doctor gave me the really good news! I might not be able to have an epidural! My blood clotting count is lower than they like it to be. For whatever reason My blood is not clotting as well as it should. This should not mean any major problems except if it does not go up I can not have an epidural!! Good thing she is all worth it! Thanks Grandma Jensen for the wonderful Genes!!
All in all we are very excited that she is coming! She is such a great blessing already!

Good times!

2010-02-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

Brendon is two and has started to really say some funny things! For example I decided to wear a skirt that I got from a friend to church on Sunday. It is tan with Brown stripes that fad into each other. After putting on the skirt and finishing getting ready for church. I went to Brendon's room to get him ready as well. As I walked into his room he look up from his book and said "Mommy are you a Zebra?" Anthony burst out laughing which only made Brendon more determined to find an answer to his question. He than said "Mommy is a Zebra! Right?" After I chuckled a little I finally responded that yes I was a Zebra! I guess I would rather be a zebra than a cow!!

I'm going on an airplane!

2009-12-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Due to living far away from both of our families we have traveled a lot in the past two years. Because we fly so much, Brendon has become very fond of airplanes and flying ! We all just recently went to Utah to visit family. Well I should say Brendon and I went to Utah to visit family. Anthony went for buisness. After being home for about a week, Brendon had decided that was long enough to be home and it was time to go on another trip. I am sitting in our family room when Brendon walks in carrying his carry on suit case. He than informed me that he was going on an airplane. He said "Going on an airplane Mom! I love you. see you later!" He than proceeded to walk out side and get in the car! After laughing to myself. I explain to him that he could not go on a airplane without mommy. His reply was "you comin?" He was not happy to find out that we were not going on an airplane and that he had to stay home with me. I guess I have a potential Pilate on my hands!!

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

We had a blast with Halloween this year. We have a great little pumpkin patch that we go to every year and buy our pumpkins. This year we got to take our friends and enjoy it together. This year Brendon was a Fireman. I had a hard time convincing him to put on his costume at first, but he soon realized the perks behind it! Brendon and I got to go to a friends halloween part a few days before halloween. Brendon had a great time. Halloween Night we had our ward trunk or treat and trick or treating around the neighborhood. Brendon had a blast walking from house to house saying "thank you" "trick or treat!" I guess he figured if you said thank you first you would get more. It worked if, we have enough candy to last him until next Halloween!

2009-11-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

DSC_2449.jpg
This summer we were able to go and spend some time with my parents and family. Brendon very quickly picked a favorite! This was the perfect picture that my Aunt Lisa was able to capture of the two!

Brendon at pumpkin patch

2009-10-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

Brendon at the pumpkin patch. Brendon and I were able to go with friends to the pumpkin patch. He loved looking through the fence at all the pumpkins. I think maybe even more than actually picking one!

the Hoffman Family

2009-10-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

We'll I finally got a blog! We will see how it goes! My friends helped me out last night to get this all set up! I guess as time goes on I will hopefully get a little better! Anthony and I have been married 4 years in December and have our little boy Brendon who is two. We where hoping to add to our little family in January, but the Lord had other plans. We have been living in Arkansas for two years and love it! The only true down side it being away from all of our family. We recently bought a house love it! We love our neighbors and area! Life for the Hoffman's is pretty good! We have great friends, wonderful family and a two year old to keep us in line!