We had a wonderful Christmas. This was the first year we have stayed home and not gone to Utah. It was fun to do our own Christmas Eve and let the boys wake up and have a quiet Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve I made a ham and potaotes dinner. After dinner they boys opened the gifts they had bought each other. It was great to see how excited they were to exchange gifts. I wanted to go drive around and look at Christmas lights, but there was a HUGE snow storm. We stayed home for 3 days while it snowed. We were grateful for a wonderful neighbor who kept our drvieway cleared with his snowblower.

Christmas morning we were up at about 7:00 am to open presents. Andrew came in our room at 1:00 am to see if we could get up, but to his dismay, we sent him back to bed. Then at 1:30 a.m. he came back in our room to tell us that he had tried to go to sleep, but couldn't. Once again he was sent to bed. Jacob woke him up when he got up.

(Looking at this picture, I can't believe how big my boys are getting. When did Danny change from a baby to a little boys. SAD MOM!)
This past summer while we were in Utah, my Dad took the grandsons to the golf course. After that Jacob wanted REAL golf clubs. Then in the fall Doug bought new club's, so Jacob decided he wanted clubs "like Dad's" for Christmas. I gave Jacob a magazine with lots of toys in it and told him to circle the things he wanted Santa to bring him. He handed back the magazine and said he only wanted golf clubs like Dad's. Santa was kind to Jacob and Andrew and brought both of them clubs. I must admit they are SO cute. They each have a bag and 3 clubs. Too bad there is over a foot of snow on the ground.
The boys also got nerf guns, light sabers and new p.j. (as you can see Andrew could use some), and the family got a Wii. The day after Christmas our new neighbors invited us over to their house to go sledding in their backyard and then have hot chocolate and taco soup. We are so excited to have another LDS family move out by us. That makes 4 families that live in the town we live in. What a blessing!
I didn't think Danny would really like the snow, but he loved it! He had a hard time moving in all his clothes, but had lots of fun. Look at that happy face!

This isn't the best movie, but that is Danny going down the hill.



When I uploaded my pictures I found this one. What cute boys!

Merry Christmas to all. I will post pictures of the day another time when I'm not so tired. Here is our Christmas card for those who have not seen it. http://hobbsholidaycard.blogspot.com/

Funny Conversations

My little sister, Karen, called me the other day to tell me about her daughter, Loralee, who had put a kernel of corn up her nose. That night Doug and I were laughing that Karen should just get her to sneeze and it would come out. The next day I called my Mom and was making a joke about the corn and told her that Karen needed to get Loralee to sneeze. My mom thought that was a good idea and called Karen to tell her to put pepper up her nose so the corn would come out. Karen did this and it really worked.

I was telling my boys about all that had happened and Andrew asked if the corn had gone so far up her nose to where the thing is that bites your finger. I asked him what he was talking about and he said if you put your finger up your nose too far, there is something up there that will bite your finger. I laughed and told him that there isn't anything up in your nose that will bite your finger. I guess when Andrew was little and picked his nose, Doug told him not to put his finger up too far or it would get bitten. Andrew never forgot this...Funny little boy!

n n n n

The other day we were all riding in the van and Doug and I were talking about Christmas. Doug asked me what Andrew wanted for Christmas. I said I wasn't really sure what he wanted. Doug asked Andrew what was the ONE thing he really wanted for Christmas. Andrew thought for a moment and then said, " Dad, I want a Nerf gun or an easy bake oven. " The look on Doug's face was priceless. I wish I would have had a camera to take a picture. Doug was shocked that his son wanted an easy bake oven. I was laughing so hard I started to cry. Andrew could tell his answer wasn't what we expected, so he asked what was so funny. Doug said, "you don't really want an easy bake oven." Andrew told us that he wanted to be able to make cookies whenever he wanted. Doug let Andrew know that he wouldn't be getting an easy bake for Christmas. I tried to convince Doug that it would be great to have a chief in the family, but he didn't agree.

Today I was looking at pictures and realized I had never posted about the fun time we had with Doug's sister Kristin and her husband Bryan and daughter Tasha. They came to visit us in September for a week. Bryan served his mission here in Minnesota, so it was fun to take him around to the places he served. We drove up to Duluth and spent a night there. This is a picture of Lake Superior. It was VERY windy and cold while we where there...I guess we do live in Minnesota.

We were very lucky to see this ship go under this bridge. The bridge is really cool because the bottom part goes up and down. It obvously is down for cars to drive over and then when a ship goes through the road goes up. There were only 2 ships leaving that day, so we were excited that we got to see it.

Cute cousins!

After this, the kids were ready to go swim at the pool in the hotel. We were surprised that even Danny loved to swim in the pool.
The hotel we stayed in was round. The top part of the hotel is a restaurant that spins around in a circle. I think we timed it perfect. We were able to see the city as the sun was going down and then when it was dark with all the lights. While we ate, we made a complete circle.

The next day we went to Gooseberry State Park to see the falls. I love to be along the North Shore, even if it did rain on us. It is the most beautiful place!
Andrew and Tasha had fun playing and hiking together. It always makes me so happy when we get together with family and the kids get along.
We also hike the cascades along the Baptism River. They are always so amazing to see the water rush down the rocks.

On our way back to Duluth, we saw two guys SURFING on Lake Supier. Doug wasn't able to get a picture of them actually surfing, but they did. It was super windy that day so the waves were big enough to serf on. I guess you find lots of things to do when you live in such a cold place.

We had to take a trip to The Mall of America. Tasha and Jacob had a great time at the amuzement park inside. Danny loved to be able to walk around and watch them on the rides. We also went to the Underwater Adventure in the Mall. It has been a while since we have done that, so Jacob loved seeing the sharks so close up.

Danny discovered the horse today and loved it and no he doesn't fall off the front of the horse.(You might wonder with the way the video ends.) He is such a happy little guy!

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween! I think this is becoming one of my favorite holidays. The boys have so much fun and I get to eat lots of chocolate...what could be better!

This year our ward had a ward carnival on Thursday night. It was a lot of fun to see all the kids in their costumes. Jacob and Andrew went as pirates.

Danny even had fun and kept the hood to his costume on most of the night. Once he got tired, then he was done with the costume.

Andrew had a great day at school on Friday, Oct. 30th. In the morning they went to each of the 6 kindergarten teachers and did something in each of the rooms. In the afternoon they had the parents come and see the kids in their costumes. Each of the classes learned a fun Halloween song. This is Andrew with his teacher, Miss Frederick.

Here is Andrew with his class singing their Halloween song.

Saturday we went trick or treating. The boys had to be so bundled up, you can't even tell what they were dress as. Jacob decided to be spiderman and Andrew wanted to be a pirate again. We went around the neighborhood for about an hour and a half. Last year we went for 3 hours. Danny was not enjoying the cold and the stroller. He wanted to get down and run. Also, Jacob got tired. Andrew said he DEFINITELY was not done, but had to come home. We sill have plenty of candy to take care of my sweet tooth for a couple of weeks:)

Out of the Mouth of Babes

The other night we had sent the boys to bed. (They share a room with bunk beds.) Doug was on his way upstairs when Andrew came out of the room crying. Andrew said, "Dad, Jacob just called me stupid." Doug told him he would talk to Jacob. As Doug walked into the room Jacob said, "but Dad I forgot his name."

Are you kidding me. I have laughed and laughed over that one. I never know what Jacob is going to say next!

Also, last week Andrew was sick. I said family prayers and sent the boys to bed. Andrew woke up the next morning and was still sick and was unable to go to school. Later in the day Andrew asked me why he was still sick because I had said a prayer that he would get better. He then said, Mom, you must not have had very much faith when you said your prayer. I laughed and said thanks! Then we had a nice talk about how you don't always get what you pray for.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...NOOO

Today we woke up to our second sight of snow in the last couple of days. There was more snow earlier, but it has started to melt. The news says we got about 2 inches...WHAT ISN'T IT OCTOBER. I think it will be a LONG winter. I think I will start planning a trip to somewhere warm for Christmas!

Long Way to Go!!

Last Saturday, Sister Beck (The General Relief Society President) came to Minnesota and gave a fireside for all 8 stakes here. It was wonderful to feel of her spirit and be rejuvenated. At the fireside, she told about when she had gone out to eat with another sister after she had given a fireside. The waitress at the restaurant asked if they were nuns. She said no, but why do you ask. The waitress said that they seemed spiritual.
After the fireside, the two other women who went with me, decided to go out to dinner. As we were all walking into the restaurant, I told the other two to put on their most angelic face so our waitress will ask us if we are nuns. As we walked in the door the server asked if we would like to be seated at the bar. The three of us started to laugh and said a table would be fine.
I guess I have a long way to go before someone sees my spiritual side.

Crazy Day!

Yesterday was one very eventful day! Andrew started Kindergarten and Danny had his 1st birthday. I'm not sure who it was harder for to let Andrew go to school, me or Jacob. Andrew will go to school Monday, Wednesday, & Friday all day long. School starts at 8:10 am - 2:50 pm. I think this is a LONG day for a Kindergartners, but what do I know.

As we were driving to school I was telling Andrew that I had bought him lunch and he needed to eat all his pizza. He said, I get a WHOLE pizza. NO, I laughed, you get a slice. He was scared he would have to share his lunch with everybody if he got a whole pizza. I then started to name off all the rules at school.

#1 Eat all your lunch

#2 Listen to your teacher.

#3 Be nice to your new friends.

#4 Know that Mom loves you and misses you A LOT!

Then Andrew said, Mom don't forget #5...Have faith in Jesus Christ.

That is right. Rule #5 is to have faith in Jesus Christ.

When we got to school Andrew was excited to put his stuff away in his locker and Jacob had to try out the locker too.

As we were leaving the school, Jacob let me know that this was NO fun! About an hour after we had been home, Jacob asked if we could go get Andrew. I told him we would go when school was over. Jacob said, "no, lets go get him NOW." This is going to be a LONG year for Jacob!!!

When I went to pick Andrew up he said school had been AWESOME. He was telling me that there was a boy named Ben in his class who had a hard time listening to the teacher. Andrew said a prayer for him in his head that he would be able to listen to the teacher...What a spiritual day.

Andrew also said that a girl had brought cup cakes for her birthday, but Andrew told his teacher that he couldn't have one because he has a cavity. I didn't know that he was so worried about his cavity. Good thing we are getting that taken care of the end of this month. I wish I could be a fly on the wall and listen to half the things the teacher hears all day.

I told Andrew that he had been to Kindergarten and now he could stay home with me. He thought I was crazy and was too excited to go to the library on Monday to stay home. I'm glad that he loves his teacher and is excited to learn.

Because of Kindergarten and a ward party, we celebrated Danny's birthday today. He wasn't too sure about the cake.

Once he tasted it, he thought it wasn't too bad. Andrew and Jacob couldn't wait to get their share too.

Danny has been such a fun baby. It is sad to see him walking and getting so big so fast. He loves his brothers and is trying his hardest to keep up with them. He isn't a big fan of eating, but will still drink a bottle so that is what fills his belly most days. He loves to have free reign of the house being able to go up and down the stairs to get where he wants.

We love you Danny!

Yesterday I was talking to my mom on the phone. She told me that today Lance, my brother, is going to run 31 miles for his 31st birthday. Lance and I are born on the same day, just 3 years apart. He enjoys running, obviously, so he wanted to do that on his birthday. That got me thinking that I should do something on my 28th birthday that I enjoy. Running 28 miles would put me in the hospital, so I ran 28 minutes. I didn't really enjoy it, so what to do that I enjoy.
I could scrapbook 28 pages...I would never get that done.
I could play 28 piano pieces...that would never happen because I 3 boys who love to help play the piano.
I could go play at the park with the boys for 28 minutes…that would be fun.
I could watch TV for 28 minutes...that will defiantly happen.
I could talk to my family for 28 minutes...I hope that happens to day.
Finally after thinking about what I really enjoy doing...eating cookies. I think I will go buy a bag of cookies and eat 28 of them. That is something I really enjoy. Now I just have to decide which kind to buy. That is a tough decision!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LANCE AND ME!

More of a Journal entry than a blog post! Fun, Fun Summer!

The day before we left for Utah, Andrew had his last soccer game. This was his first year to play and he loved it. By the end of the season he had become more aggressive and would get in and go for the ball. It was really fun to watch him play soccer. Jacob had a hard time at first watching and not playing, but next year they will both be able to play.

On Friday, July 17th I picked up Doug from work at 3:30 pm and we drove all night to Logan. We decided that driving through the night is the best way to get to Utah. The boys slept for much of the drive and it actually was a great drive. From when I put the boys in the van to when they got out was 22 hours. I'm glad that the boys did so well because 22 hours can get really long.

On Monday we headed up Logan Canyon to go camping with Doug’s family. Andrew and Jacob have been looking forward to camping for months. When we got up there to set up camp we discovered that there was a small mouse problem...they were EVERYWHERE! It was SO gross. I hadn’t been there 10 minutes and I saw a mouse run in front of me. I could hear them in the grass the whole time we were up camping. YUCK!!! I’m not the biggest fan of camping and then add mice…where is a hotel. We survived or I survived and we had a great time as a family.

Danny spent a lot of time in the swing because he would have loved to be down on the ground crawling around, but I just couldn’t let him do that. He was the hardest part of camping because he couldn’t sleep very well and he couldn’t get down and move like he wanted.

Jacob spent one afternoon playing catch with Melina. He finally got tired of standing and got a chair to sit and play, but kept on playing ALL afternoon. Talk about a long attention span. Grandma had a fun time trying to get the ball before Melinda could get it.

This is Doug favorite part of camping. He always takes his hammock and sleeps with our baby.

I got my fill of smores. I love a nice warm marshmallow with chocolate and graham crackers…what could be better?! The kids also loved roasting marshmallows. I think more started on fire than got eaten, but that is all part of camping.
We also sang lots of songs around the fire. Austin had just been to scout camp so he had some great songs to teach us. Baby Shark and a song about a Moose were the kids’ favorites. I had those songs in my head for days.

The first full day we were there Doug and I went hiking on the Crimson Trail. The next day Doug wanted to hike to the Wind Caves, but I was way too tired, so Jacob said he would be Doug’s hiking buddy. Jacob hiked all the way up to the wind caves and Doug put him on his shoulders on the way down so they could get down fast. Jacob was so proud of himself.



A Hobbs family tradition is a horse shoes tournament while we are camping. The kids always have a fun time watching and cheering, but they always want to play too. This year grandma was able to find a Frisbee horse shoes game for the kids. They were happy that they were able to have their own horse shoe tournament. Jacob had more fun playing around than the tournament. He kept us laughing during the tournament.


We had a great time the 4 nights we were able to camp. It was amazing how well all the kids got along. Since we don’t live close to family, it has always amazed me how all the grandkids get along and include my kids when we get together. We love to be together with our family. The boys LOVE playing with their cousins. Seeing them have such a great time made it hard to leave.
On Sunday Doug flew home to Minneapolis to work for the next week and a half. The boys and I stayed with Doug’s parents for a couple more days. On Monday night Kristin, Doug’s sister, and her family took us out on their boat. The boys had so much fun swimming and riding on the boat.
On Tuesday we all met at the park to have lunch and play one last time. Thanks to all of Doug’s family for a fun time in Logan. We love you all so much and can’t wait for the next camping trip in MN. (Hint, Hint)

On Wednesday morning I said my tearful goodbyes to Doug’s parents and headed to SLC. My mom came and met me at the Visitor Center. I wanted to show the boys the artwork there and then of course the Christus. The boys thought it was very cool to see.

My sister Jane Ellen and her family were on their way up to Idaho for a family reunion. We all met at the Oquirra Mountain Temple open house. Andrew and Jacob were so excited to see their cousins Justus and Jared. The temple was so amazing and I’m glad that my kids were able to see the inside of the temple. Later when I was asking Andrew what his favorite part was, he said he loved…the cookies. Maybe someday he will enjoy the beauty of the temple and not just the treats at the end.

After are day at the temple, we headed to Cedar City to spend some time with my parents. We were able to have a couple of days with Grandpa and Grandma Stott before everyone else came. The boys had a great time riding the 4-wheeler with Grandpa and going mini-golfing with him. Jacob hit his first hole in one. At 3 years old I think that is pretty good.

We were lucky to have all my family together for the first time in 2 ½ years. One of the days grandma had bought a slip and slide and water guns to play with. EVERYONE enjoyed getting wet.

Another day the boys found the water guns again and kept getting grandpa wet. He finally had enough and started to fight back. Grandpa kept getting really wet with all four boys after him so he had to finally get the hose out to win the water fight.

The boys had to lay out in the sun to dry off after the water fight with grandpa.

Cute little Loralee. (Karen’s daughter)

Justus and Jared have been very helpful in teaching my boys about Star Wars. They brought a life saver (that is what my boys call a light saber) for Andrew and Jacob to play with. Crystal even was brave enough to take on Jacob.

We went to the green show at the Shakespearian Festival. They kids enjoyed the dancing and singing.

After the Green Show, we went to a grassy area to let the kids run and play. All the moms sat down to take care of all the babies. Every one of us had a baby with in the year. In the picture we have all the stages of a baby: Karen is holding Isaac who is sleeping, I’m changing Danny’s diaper, Crystal is feeding Kenney, and Jane Ellen is playing with Emma. What a fun year for all of us moms. I think we all just need a good night sleep!

Karen was really nice and brought her Wii for us to play. The boys were entertained playing Mario cart for hours. We were really glad to have something to occupy the kids while it was VERY windy outside.

Playing the soccer game is always a favorite thing at grandma’s house.

With all these kids we had to take a day and go to the park and also have a baseball game.

Best Buds!

On Thursday, Aug. 6th Doug flew back to Las Vegas to drive us back home. On Saturday we had The Kenney family reunion in Fillmore. (My mom’s family) We went to a church to eat and visit while the men went golfing. All the kids were running around and Jacob ran into the door. When he came to me his lip and nose were bleeding, so I didn’t notice his forehead start to grow. After I got all the blood cleaned up he had a really nice bump on the top of his head.

Last Friday we went to Lake Minnetonka and played in the water. It is a really fun place because they pump in water and clean it. Sand was also brought in to make it a really fun place for families to go because it only get 3 feet deep. All of us had a lot of fun playing in the water!