Hogge Reunion

I'm so slow. It's been TWO WEEKS since we've been back from our trip, and I'm just now finishing up this post. I don't have all the pictures I'd like; I didn't take any skiing pictures with my camera. So I'll post those when I get them from my in-laws. But at least for now I wanted you to see what fun we had in the GORGEOUS lake we got to play in.

Here I am (blue scarf) riding in the boat with my nephew, Trevor on my lap. Marjorie (my fabulous mother-in-law) and Alisa (Vince's sister) and her son Colten are behind me.

And here's Vince in the boat with the gorgeous lake behind him.
We rode the boat on Monday all together to start on the trail that goes up to The Falls above The Lake. It's a short, easy trail, so even the kids enjoy hiking up to the falls. And there was SO MUCH water this year--more than anyone had seen, and the Hogges have been coming to The Lake for, over 30 years? I don't even know how long. Generations, I guess we can say!

Vince & I with our kids and my niece Emma at the Falls. You can't see it in this picture, but we were up this close for just a few minutes, and came down DRENCHED--the spray was so intense. But it felt fabulous because it was such a hot day hiking up.

Vince & the kids at The Falls:

And me:

This is the view looking the opposite direction towards The Lake--gorgeous, no?
And of course, everyone has to pose with this beautiful scenery:

The whole Hogge clan hiking back down the trail:
Our children enjoying the traditional s'mores by the campfire:

I loved that Evan had one in each hand and was devouring his tasty treat:
The only bummers of The Lake were:

1. Mosquitos! Those nasty bugs were so vicious this year. We had to head to town after two days because we'd gone through about 4 cans of bug spray. We literally got out of our tent and had to spray immediately or we'd be eaten alive. Yucky!

2. The rain. We love skiing--sunrise to sunset. We got about 1 1/2 really good days, and then the other two we got half or full day of steady rain. Everything was wet by the time we got home. But those few days we had were well worth it!

For the rest of our stay, we went back to Vince's parents' house and ride the four-wheeler, the horses, lit fireworks, hiked, and went fishing. I'm not much of a fisherwoman. I had a negative fishing experience last summer that resulted in me paying a tremendous fine for dipping my son's "Lightning McQueen" fishing pole in a lake. But I decided to give it another try this year (legally, of couse--I did learn my lesson). Most of the experience was spent swatting more blood-thirsty bugs and stepping in muddy black swamp water. But it was worth it in the end because I got some darling pictures of my in-laws:

And the kids:

And the lovely scenery (this was the point at which I was bored):

But mostly because Vince is a good fisher:

And then we let him go. (He swam away VERY fast!):

But here are the pictures of the fish that got away:


Better luck next time!

It was a wonderful trip. Can't wait to go back again next year!!

Look what I found!

This song got stuck in my head a few days ago, so I decided to hunt for it. I love You Tube! Oh how this brings back memories! I hope it does for you too.



Why, oh why don't they make cartoons like this anymore?

Tuesday Tell-All: Why I Run

Today's topic is exercise. This word used to put an instant lump of guilt in my gut every time I heard it spoken. It's like reading scripture or eating veggies or doing genealogy work: all those wonderful things in life we know we SHOULD be doing, but often have a hard time...well, finding the time. I've (mostly) enjoyed being active. But since I married Vince, I've learned to appreciate it much more. And even just in the last couple of years I've learned to CRAVE it. I can always tell when it's been a while since I've exercised. I start to get crabby and feel all bleh inside, and I just start itching to get out and pound the pavement. And as I'm sure you all know by now, my exercise of choice is running.

I love what running does for me emotionally. I'm not a morning person, but there's just something magical that happens outside in the early hours when the world is just starting to wake up. I love being a part of that and seeing it first hand. I love watching the sun come up over the Eastern mountains, and almost instantly feeling it warm my body. I love listening to the chatter of the early birds who have so very much to say to each other. I love the solitude of being left to my own thoughts--I can think about anything and everything I want. No one is pulling on my arm, needing me to tie a shoe or fix a toy. No one is competing for this time--it's just me. I love that. I need that.

I love what running does for me physically! For most of you that know me, you know I've always been a...well, chubby kid. "Pretty & plump" I think is how my Mom described me! ;0) She used to tell me I was like that female bunny on "Bambi"--definitely a girly-girl, pretty & plump. Weight has always been a struggle for me. But running has been the very best way I've found to get in a really good workout and finally get control of my weight. I eat better when I run. I look better when I run! And I feel much better when I run.

I also love what running does for me socially. Even though it's such an individual sport, it creates an instant bond between people. I get so excited when I find out someone else is a runner, because they understand all that it means to me. They understand what an accomplishment it is to run a 5k in 26 minutes, or to finish a marathon, or just to brag about a really good training run. I love that running can bring together total strangers and make them friends.

And I don't have to be fast to be a runner, or come in 1st place in a race. I just have to lace up my shoes and shut the door behind me, and I really feel I can conquer the world.

Happy Anniversary!!

Just a shout-out to my Love to say, "Happy Anniversary, Darling!" Eight short long years! It's been a rough road, but I'm so glad we've come so far. I'll save all the mushy stuff for another time & place, but I thought it'd be fun to see us then and now:

This was our engagement picture. (And as my nephew Hyrum always says, "Awww, cute!")

And here we are now:

And I have to say, I still think we're cute! And I really can't believe how much my love has grown in the past 8 years. We were so young when we got married. I think our love now isn't the same silly, giddy, exciting love like it was then, but a deep-rooted love that I feel in my whole body now. You're a wonderful man, Vince! And I'm a much better woman because I have you to be my man. I love you. Happy Anniversary!

And.. We're Off!

Well, I really hoped my life would get less crazy. So far, not much. But at least it's FUN! I wanted to say a fond farewell to everyone. We're heading up to The Lake with Vince's family. I can't wait! I love skiing and swimming at The Lake! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them. I'll try to pop back in soon. But for now, I'm off to have a much-needed VACATION!!

She's Ridin' a Two-Wheeler!

We were up visiting Vince's brother who lives a few hours from our house. His wife left for an author's conference and my Mother-in-law stayed to watch 6 grandkids. So she asked me to come along to help her out! So I took Brooke & Evan and we went up and stayed for several days. We had so much fun. While we were there, Brooke kept asking me to take off her training wheels on her bike. I told her we'd wait till we got home so Dad could do it. Then it dawned on me--"I'm perfectly capable of working these tools! I may have no idea what this one is called, but I can turn it like a pro--remember, 'Righty Tight, Lefty Loosey', okay I'm good!" And before we knew it, the wheels were off, and so was she!

She wiggled and wobbled for about 45 minutes. Then we decided she needed more space, more than the narrow sidewalk she was working on. So we all took our bikes down to the church parking lot a few blocks away, and by the time we got there, she had mastered it! It happened so fast! I thought it would take several days of working on it, but she was so good. She had a few really good crashes and scrapes, but she jumped up every time and rode away.

So now my little girl is all grown up! Yes, I know she's already seven years old, but it's amazing how time flies. They start out so little, and you turn around and they're riding off on their own, reveling in their new-found independence!

The Craziest of Crazies!!

Oh, man! I'm glad this is the end of the week, and beginning of a new one. Last week was CRAZY! I felt like I was running non-stop the entire week. Which is also why I love Sundays. I can finally relax, and take a nap, and catch up on my blog. Sorry if you've felt neglected. And I wouldn't be surprised if I lost all my readers this week. Hopefully life will be less crazy now (hopefully) and I'll have more time to stay up to date (hopefully). So if you're up for a long post, good! Here's a portion of everything I did last week:

Brooke finished 1st Grade. Next time she goes to school, she'll be a 2nd Grader! Yikes! And she'll finally have her little brother going with her. *Sniff Sniff!* Can't believe both my babies will leave me. But every time I say that Evan laughs at me and assures me that he will come back home every day. Even my sadness at being left home all alone doesn't keep him from wanting to go to Kindergarten!

Brooke with her 1st Grade teacher, Mrs Roberts. We loved her so much.

This was a special week for Brooke too because Thursday was her Birthday! That has been hard for me, to realize she's now SEVEN! I'm the mother of a seven-year old! I still can't get over how big she is.

She really wanted a fancy cake, but I just didn't have time to make a fancy cake. We comprimised on a rainbow cake, though. We got the kind with the colored sprinkles in the cake, and I bought M&Ms, Skittles, and marshmallows. And Brooke & her girly cousins had a wonderful time decorating the rainbow cake. It turned out really cute. She was happy because it was fancier than a plain old cake. And I was happy because it didn't take me all day to make it!

Brooke, Bekah, & Bethany putting on M&Ms. I wondered how much was put on and how much was snacked on!

Very cute rainbow, Brookie!



Typical Brookie pose & smile. I love the look Bethany is giving her too! So cute!

My Mom & Dad, and several of my siblings and Mary's kids all came over for presents & cake and ice cream. Vince's Mom drove down (she was flying out on Friday for a funeral) and she came a day early to be with Brooke on her Birthday. The funniest thing was that both she and my Mom got Brooke the EXACT same present! Obviously they both knew what she likes! She loved them both even if it was the same toy! She thought it was great that now her ponies can each have a twin. We all thought it was hilariously funny!

As I mentioned, my sister Mary is here with her family from Colorado. And my sister Beth flew in from Boston! So we have spent as much time playing together as we can. We also had a big photo shoot yesterday since we were ALL together--my entire family. That hasn't happened in a long time. So it was so nice to all be together again. I'll post pictures of our family once Mary gets them to me.

This week was also the last week of music classes. I finished teaching. We had Festival for the older kids, and recital prep for everyone. And then I had the programs to type and print. Recitals were yesterday. I wish I could say they went over without a hitch. They rarely do. There were numerous problems: the doors were all locked when I got there 1/2 hour before my first recital, the recital hall then wasn't set up, they didn't have the right disk drive to read our disks, then the drive we finally got plugged in didn't work, then we got it working but one of the disks was corrupt, etc. This is why I have nightmares before EVERY recital! There always seems to be something! But the kids all did awesome! I'm very proud of them and their progress this semester. And I have to say I have a WONDERFUL HUSBAND!!!! He was the one running around behind the scenes, driving to the studio 3 times to get what we needed so the show could go on! I don't know what I would've done without him. Probably cried! I'm also glad I decided to come extra early. And even at that, if the people had unlocked the recital early, we probably could've started on time. Oh well! It's done with now and I won't have to worry about that for 6 more months!

My own kids also performed in their recitals, and they both did great. Evan was the funniest. I swear he's going to be the class clown--I can see it all now. *Sigh* We've practiced and practiced this for weeks. He got up and played his first song fine (although he didn't even sit on the bench--he STOOD UP to play while I'm sitting in the audience shakin' my head)! Then he stopped before his next song, finally decides to sit down, and flings his right leg up onto the bench and faces the audience. Then he just stares with a completely blank look on his face. After about 20 seconds, and several chuckles from the audience, I step up and remind him he has one more song to play. He did a great job, and bowed very flamboyantly. My mom says she thinks he's must be of the mindset of a Victor Borge!

Brooke also did very nicely. Not quite as comical as her little brother, thank heavens! I'm impressed now that she can add in those extra finishing touches like dynamics and articulation that make it sound much more musical. It was harder to hear them in her actual performance, but at least I know in practicing she can really bring that all out! :0)

I also had a wonderful opportunity on Friday to meet some of my online running pals. We got together and had a yummy lunch at Heidi's house and let the kids play and just visited for about 3 hours! I was amazed at how fast the time flew by. It was great to finally be able to meet these ladies. I'd already met Leslie. She's the one that came to the SLC Marathon and jogged with me a bit. Did I mention she was days from giving birth at the time?! I loved getting to hold her sweet little baby girl. Heidi's friend Stacey came too. She was the one I rode the bus with up to the Ogden Marathon. And Meagan was there with her almost 6 month old baby too. These ladies have been a huge support for me while I've been training for my marathons. Hopefully we can get together again soon. Here are the pictures ladies:

That's Stacey, Leslie, Meagan, Heidi, and me.

And here are the kids having a great time eating hot dogs on the porch:

So that was mostly my week in a very large nutshell. In between all these fun activities I was scrambling around trying to get things finished up for my summer students, cleaning house for my Mother-in-law's stay here, taking her to the airport, and just trying to stay on top of my other normal duties. So now my family knows why I was so cranky last week (sorry, fam) but I think things will be much less stressful now. And the nice thing is these were all WONDERFUL activities! I was just grateful that I wasn't stressed out because I was doing awful unpleasant tasks. They were good and fun and I enjoyed doing them. There were just a lot of them this week!

And to finish off, here's a picture of Evan coming home from the recital all tired out. The kids fell asleep in the car coming home. I mostly thought it funny that he fell asleep with his hand in his sock:

And now I think I deserve a nap myself!