.slow down.

Friday is upon us again...glorious wonderful Friday! At the moment I'm sitting in my office looking out on the world and really enjoying watching a couple of birds goofing off. I can't be certain that that is actually what they are doing, but it's quite hilarious. I find myself wondering what they are thinking and why they do the things they do...is that weird? Perhaps it is, but it's fun to actually watch the world and look at it from a different perspective sometimes.

This morning I sent Roy off at 6:30 packed up for a bike ride up to Heber. I love that that kid is so unconventional! My family is having a family reunion up there this weekend, and one of the first things Roy proposed was to take Friday off and ride his bike up there rather than catch a ride with the fam. Crazy kid planned on it taking 5 hours. Yeah, he did it in like 4 even when he had to come back down Parley's because the frontage road gate was closed. Just another day for Roy!

Today marks the 14th week in Prego land. The feelings this week...my finger nails are growing like crazy, core muscles are sore, and if I do any kind of exercise my hips make sure I know that they are feeling it. And what can I say about the crazy dreams??? They are nuts! Among the past few days I may or may not have flipped off some of my young women, stole gas, run away from a madman, and slept in a church: all as real as day, but not reality. I wish my dreams were of the caliber that made dreaming in quality HD worth it. But right now I wake up completely unnerved or baffled by what just transpired. So bizarre!

But even my dreams can't ruin that is finally Friday!

.the waning summer.

Holy crap! Where has the summer gone? I can't believe we are heading into the last few days of July already. It seems like I haven't even really gotten to take advantage of the long days and holidays this summer. We have been so busy with this and that, and haven't really taken anytime for ourselves that I feel like I'm missing the whole thing. What I wanted to do most this summer was go camping. And yes I guess you might say I have accomplished that with girls camp, but I'm talking about my own camping trip with just Roy and I roughing it. I'm hoping that we might make it out for at least a quick overnight camp trip for our anniversary, but seeing how the weekend is shaping up, I have a sinking feeling it's not going to happen. I wish we could be irresponsible, even just for a few days, but we will see. What I have loved though are these past few days of summer thunderstorms. Seriously, there are few things better in this world than summer rains. Not only does it cool the sweltering heat, but it makes everything smell and feel refreshed, and as a bonus it puts me in the mindset of autumn! It's a trifecta of goodness that is hard to beat! On top of those thunderstorm beauties, we finally got a 2 drawer filing cabinet! I know this seems like such an odd thing to get enjoyment out of, but seriously it makes me feel so much more organized, and has helped my ever wondering memory immensely. So yeah, you know I'm stoked about that filing cabinet!

.the wait is over.

At least for us...

after three years of marriage (well nearly, and close enough that I'm counting it), the Hoffman's are expanding their brood, or starting it however you look at it. We are non-the-less stoked, if not a bit paranoid after a miscarriage in March. So there it is...

13 weeks and growing (you don't get a face shot because I'm currently growing a mullet). We should be seeing this kid sometime around January 28th.

When I found out the second go around I couldn't sleep, I guess that's what I get for taking the test right before bed. But after you loose something like that it really hits home at how much you wanted it in the first place. It's been great having that desire push me through all the worries and fears of becoming a mom, because now I know what I really wanted to begin with.

I'm finally feeling less sick and the thought of food isn't as repulsive, and I'll be honest I haven't really even been that sick (No emergency trips to the bathroom or anything). So sorry to all you ladies that were super sick, especially during the whole thing. If I had to sum up these first three months it would be: starving all the time and not wanting to eat. I've been living on a diet of lots of fruit, toast, and a little bit of meat. The funny thing is all I've really wanted was just a plain deli sandwich, but since deli meat is off limits unless it's warmed up, that's been a no go. Oh well, blueberries have been keeping me going, and I'm looking forward to what the next 3 months will bring!

.camping and all that.

I finally got my first chance to go camping this year...girls camp and all that that entails. It was three full days of hiking, zip lining, and all manner or nature enjoyment.
I spent some quality time looking up through the trees from our camp hammock...I know right...really hard camping.

Our second morning we got up at the butt crack of dawn for a sunrise hike and devotional, and as much as I prefer to sleep, you can't say that a view like that doesn't make it worth it!

We had a HUGE crew this year. With 23 girls in total (11 of those being 1st year beehives), it could have been a crazy, but amazingly enough it all went off without a hitch!

I was in charge or our ward game night on Thursday, and by dinner time all of us looked like we could go to sleep right then. Seriously, I was ready to call it a day. We were just going to leave it up to the girls if they wanted to play any of the games that I had planned, or if they just wanted to head to bed. But wouldn't you know that if you bring a couple of ginormous sweats and some pillows everyone would be in line for a little sumo wrestling.

Such a simple idea, but the girls loved it and it was hilarious to watch!

.backlogged.

I'm behind, and sometimes when I fall behind it's hard to motivate oneself to catch up and stay there. The last couple of posts have been just small blurbs of my life mostly because I don't want to spend the time to actually write what's going on. For example within the past 2 weeks and some change I have had girls camp, Roy has had scout camp, we have splashed around in the pool with the niece and nephew, we've travelled up to Clinton to time our second race and will have a third coming up this weekend, and I'm sure I'm leaving out some other fun and interesting things along the way. I'm promising myself when I finally get home that I will update to some extent, but we will see if the motivation is there to download some pics and write out a brief (bore you to tears) synopses of us and the weeks that have been passing.

.missing 6.

Got this picture in my e-mail today along with a letter describing all the drudgery, and excitement my brother is enjoying while in his last week of basic...I may have cried just a little. Both because I'm so proud of him, and because I miss him! I love that little brother of mine!

.can I just say.

We are not condo people! Unfortunately, this is all in hindsight, and for the time being we are stuck where we are. Yes there are benefits to condo living if you're too busy or too old to care much about taking care of a yard and all the other nonsense that comes with owning your own property, but that is not us. I don't like being told what I can and can't do with my little space, when to put up my holiday decorations, or when to take them down. I don't like that I don't have a yard for a dog or any animal for that matter. Have I ever told you I want a dog? Well I do, badly, but that is not going to happen when we don't have a place for him. And to top it all off Roy is on the HOA board, and lets just say that for all the service he puts in, there is no gratitude...just a bunch of cranky ornery people who want him to fix all their problems yesterday. Roy has about had it, and that is not like him...he loves to be of service, so it bothers me that he is getting frustrated with helping people that don't care anything about anything unless it involves them. Mostly, I'm just ready to have a place of our own, with our own yard, where we fix our own problems and not everyone else's.

There I said it!