first talk

Jake gave his first talk in Sacrament meeting today! 

Thursday night he came out of the den with the laptop and said, "I finished my talk."  Whoa!!  We were so impressed.  He sat down and read it to us and we thought it was great.

Hi my name is Jake Hoopes, and I am a Deacon in this ward. As some of you know I strongly dislike practicing and playing the piano. And what’s disappointing is that I’ve been told to keep with it from my dad, my mom and the prophet of the whole church!!!!! They’ve told me that practicing will help me on my mission because everyone will want to hear me play the Hymns of the Church. Piano will help me not give up on other things and to keep practicing to my highest standard. Also it will help me develop my talent and that I don’t just do nothing all the time.  Also on my mission I will feel the Spirit through music. This is a quote from the article Keep Practicing written by Willis Jensen from the new Era of 2013. The quote is “Education is an important part of Heavenly Father’s plan to help you become more like Him. He wants you to educate your mind and to develop your skills and talents, your power to act well in your responsibilities, and your capacity to appreciate life. The education you gain will be valuable to you during mortality and in the life to come.” And I know keeping a balanced life will help me prepare for my mission because it will make me more smart and ready to go. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

klondike

Klondike weekend: January 11-12

Lowest temp: 4 degrees!!!!!!

Level of fun anyway:  Very high

Level of gratitude that I'm not the one going:  Highest possible

sunshine

Enjoying the sunshine from opposite sides. 

#hashtags

I really like hashtags.  It's so easy to get your point across in a quick way.  I think too many words sometimes make a story or picture boring.  And definitely longer.  For example, instead of saying all of this, I could have just written: #ipreferhashtags or #hashtagsaremorefun.  See what I mean? 

Speaking of hashtags, here are some Instagram posts (hashtags included):

 so hard to wake him up to go places

#youngest  #idlikeanannyplease

 watching his siblings play outside

#forgetthesebabytoys  #entertainment

 Jake's new favorite thing

#settlersofcatan  #waybetterthanvideogames

 Who's that girl with the straight hair?

#emmysdreamcometrue  #pleasedontrain

 

 #scotchtaperules

 

I could avoid it no longer.

#decembercombatzone  #somebodyhadtodoit  #countthisasmyworkout

in the crib

I knew Jake was playing with Drew, but I didn't know exactly what they were doing--until I walked into Drew's room and saw them here:

It wasn't exactly what I expected to find, but I thought it was hilarious, super cute, and unbelievable that the crib didn't come crashing down.  Yep, those are the boys, in the crib. 

before & after

 Before

 

 After

#christmastradition

#smashthegingerbreadhouse

2013

What's ahead?  We're not sure, but we had a lot of fun today thinking about it!

 

 

 Happy 2013!