superbowl sunday

What a sweet day! Because it was the Sabbath, we kinda tried to mix the Seahawks in with our Sunday stuff.

For example, to start the day, Jake thought we were sustaining "Russell M. Wilson" (Seahawks QB) at Stake Conference instead of Russell M. Nelson.   

We were reminded of Mosiah 7:18 as we talked about being part of "12saquah," renamed for Superbowl Sunday, and the excitement of being part of the 12th man:

photo cred: Andrea Hutchison

     "And the Lord called his people Zion because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness..."

photo cred: Lisa Reising

We had family over to eat dinner and yummy snacks.  There was a blessing on the food and the Seahawks.

Drew was putting all of his emphasis on the olives, reminding us of the important Scriptural meanings behind them.

Jake made sure to keep it a day of rest, as well as the big(ger) boys.

We thought of John 13:34 as we got to spend the whole afternoon and evening with family:

   "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you,  that ye also love one another."

 

At the end of the day, Ali prayed that Richard Sherman could feel better quickly, and I washed all of the Seahawks gear so we could be ready for Superbowl Victory Monday. 

Oh, the JOY of a Seahawks Sabbath.

Go Hawks!

Jake and Ali really wanted Seahawks jerseys to wear to school.  They wanted them for all of the Seahawks spirit days.  Everybody's doing it.  Everybody has one. 

 

I said Seahawks t-shirts would be about the same thing, except they're like a fourth of the price.  And besides,  I don't like the jerseys.  1) They're too expensive; 2) I don't like last names on apparel.  What if that player is traded?  Or he does something really bad?  3) The jerseys are not super comfortable--like you probably wouldn't want to wear them to bed, so for the expense, you are still only getting one purpose out of them.

But they still really wanted Seahawks jerseys.   And it's pretty obvious in the pictures that both Jake and Ali got them (and have even worn them to bed).  Steve insisted they needed the jerseys, too.  He said he'd donate his birthday money toward the cause!  And every last cent went toward two jerseys, which in turn, made two very happy kids.  Go Dad!

And Go Hawks!!!!

target

Steve spent 6 days and 5 nights (but who was counting??) in the Middle of Nowhere, Nevada over a long holiday weekend (MLK, but again--who's keeping track??) with 3 of his brothers and his dad.

I was not very happy about it.  He was leaving us for almost a week, over a long holiday weekend (did I mention that?), just so he could shoot guns.  (He liked to call it home protection training).

However, I started feeling better about the whole thing once his mom accepted our invitation to come to Issaquah and hang out with us during those 6 days and 5 nights (or however long he was gone).

And I really felt better about it when Steve got home and showed me his target practice at the end of his training.  They had to write a loved one's name on the front body, and then shoot the two shadowed people who were holding the loved one hostage.  I was really impressed!  I am in good hands.  Well done, Steve!

reminder

At the end of the day, when I look back and wonder why the house is still messy, why my projects are unfinished, and why I feel behind....

   

 

 

 

 

these pictures will remind me.

Oh yeah.  That's why.
(Good thing he's so darn cute!)

ownership

Drew is really into assigning ownership to everything--plates, shoes, socks, coats, and even colors!  It is completely adorable.  It started off with the colored dinner plates and breakfast bowls.

This carries over into any color on anything or anywhere.  When he sees yellow, he says, "mama."  Anything pink is "Ali."  Purple is "Emma" (as Drew calls her).  Blue is "dada" and green is "Jake."

 

When I'm folding laundry, and when he sees socks or a shirt or pajamas--he says the name of the person it belongs to.  When he sees shoes in the basket or coats on the hook, it is the same thing! 

 

We are all rather impressed with his brilliance, to be honest.

four in '14

The Hoopes Family Four in 2014:

 

1.)  Study and learn more about the Old Testament

Thanks to the 52 week guide from the January Friend, we are all set.

2.) Improve our Food Storage

Update our 3 month meal menu and supply list; improve and learn more about safe water storage.  Bonus if we make it 6 months!

3.) Learn more about family history

Keep attending family history class; learn more about our ancestors through reading their family histories; keep up our own family history (blog); icing on the cake would be to take a family name to the temple.

4.)  Brush our teeth at night AND in the morning

Strategically place toothbrushes around the house so we can improve our a.m. hygiene.

There are many more things we could work on, but we'll take these 4 this year.  

Here we go!

Moe'uhane

/dream/

One of my dad's favorite past times is planning trips to Hawaii.  He has planned a trip to Hawaii almost every year for the past several years!  He is a dreamer and likes to do things BIG.

 

We don't usually end up going because things don't work out for whatever reason, so he cancels everything and puts the dream on hold.

He told us about this particular trip back in February.  We didn't tell the kids because, well, we didn't know if we would actually go!  And because 10 months is a looong time to wait for a trip to Hawaii! 

 

Well, this year was THE year.  The magical, dream-fulfilling year.

 

We couldn't have had more fun, loved it any more, or wished for anything different.

Thank you, Dad and Mom, for the BEST TRIP EVER!!!