The Hoskins Family

Cookies, Cookies and more COOKIES!!!

2010-04-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

For Valentines day the kids gave cookies out to everyone in thier classes instead of candy....it was fun and a good idea, but it took awhile and thank goodness Grandma Hoskins snatched up little Mara from us to save my sanity. I love sugar cookies but making them can be a real Pain!!!

HaPpY vAlEnTiNeS DaY

2010-04-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun Valentines Day this year!!! The kids got new Valentines shirts from Grandma Dede and Me....they were so excited to wear them to school. Payden at first was a little embarrased at the phrase on his shirt but as soon as his pre-school teacher saw it and liked it I think that he changed his mind and liked it too. I was trying to get pictures of the kids in thier shirts and these cute hats that I had ordered through a friend but as you can see they just turned out pretty goofy....I dont know though everytime I see them I like ar them even more because they are so candid!!!

See Ya later Bish's and Hola Costa Vida!!!

2010-01-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

Well one of the things that this New Year has brought is a new job for Shayne. He is going to be the Asst. Manager of the new Costa Vida opening in Pocatello on Monday, January 18th. He has been training and hiring and getting the returaunt ready for the past 2 weeks and is loving the change. He is excited for the store to open and maybe in the next couple of months our lives will be back to normal. We are looking forward to all that this job has to offer and the potential for opportunities down the road. Make sure that if you are in the Pocatello area that you stop in and see him. They are located right by Chili's in the Costco parking lot!!!

Goodbye 2009....HELLO 2010

2010-01-15T16:37:00.001-08:00

We had such a fun New Years at Grandpa and Grandma Hoskins with all the cousins. We laughed our heads off playing balderdash...and barely finished in time to celebrate the New Year. Autumn and I drove all over trying to find long stem glasses for everyone and finally found some at Walgreens....oh the fun that the two of us have sometimes!!! All the grandkids except Mara spent the night and had a fun time. We had to wait till the next day to do the bonfire because of the wind but enjoyed it none the less. We are excited for this New Year and the changes that will be happening soon. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year filled with fun and suprises.

Merry christmas & A Happy New Year

2010-01-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

My sister designed this Christmas Card for us to send out, but I could never get it to work because of the size it was formatted to be. Eveyone ended up getting a Costco (plain jane) christmas card and I was a little bummed. So I thought that I would post it on here for everyone to see. She took all these photos as well...luv ya Liz and think that you are one talented lady.

Under our Tree

2010-01-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

I and my family like everyone else look forward to the Christmas Season every year. It is always pretty laid back since we don't have to travel at all living within a few miles of everyone. I have had the goal of trying to simplify things the past couple of years and decided that Christmas was one of them. We decided that there would only be certain things that the kids got for Christmas and that was it. I really dislike the feeling that after Christmas I have to totally revamp our toy closet to fit everything in... Plus by the time you get gifts from Grandpa's and Grandma's and every one else it is a tad overwhelming. Since we started this last year I felt more at peace with this season and a lot less stressed. After all, Christ's birth should be the center of the season and not how many gifts are under the tree! We had a enjoyable Christmas with my family and were excited that Liz and Eric could come visit even if it was for only a few days...bummer!!! We are looking forward to visiting them in the next few months to see thier new house. The kids always look forward to heading out to Grandpa and Grandma Hoskins house to see thier cousins and find out what everyone got from Santa. We exchange gifts eat good food and definantly never come home hungry on Christmas. Shayne's mom gave us a challenge for this next year to write in a notebook 5 things that we are thankful for each day. I haven't been very good at doing this but, love the idea. As we celebrate the year to come let us always be thankful for what we have, we have so much and there are so many with little or nothing. We hope that everyone had a safe and fun Christmas!!! The Hoskins Family

Our Gingerbread Villages

2010-01-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

Grandma Dede had the kids over this year to make gingerbread houses. It was fun to see how they decorated thier houses. Payden had a lot of animals in his yard and Paige had lots of rock paths and a stream. This is becoming quite a fun tradition that the kids can look forward to each Christmas Season.

Dancing Diva's

2010-01-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

We were so excited for this year of dance, Nayeli decided to dance with Paige's class. This was helpful in convincing Paige to dance for at least one more season. They both worked hard and were very sucessful at their dance recital. The coreography in thier song was pretty difficult. They did one dance for each class and Paige's class danced to The Carol of the Bells which is a very beautiful Christmas song. They all danced to Christmas Songs which was such a great start to the Christmas Holiday!!! She had so many friends dancing this year in various classes which made each preformance so fun to watch. We were able to get a couple pictures of her, Nayeli, and Adyson. Grandpa and Grandma Hoskins were able to come watch and even took the girls to get a bouquet of flowers at the end of the preformance. We never got a picture of them though which Paige was bummed about. It was a little bitter-sweet knowing that this was going to be Paige's last dance recital since she has decided to start piano the beginning of next year.

Pretty Little Pedicures

2010-01-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

While Kristen was visiting from Arizona, we got all the girls together and went to a cute little boutique store in our area called Paisely Punch to get mini-pedi's for the girls. I told paige that she could get a mani too forgetting all about her dance recital the next day. They can't wear any polish on their nails during the recital and so she was bummed when we had to take it off:( All of thier nails turned out great, Mara and Sasha's especially since they both did glitter toes and they still have those cute small piggies. We wish that we could have spent more time with Kristen and Sasha when they were here but grateful for the time that we had.

Some of our Favorite Christmas Picture's

2010-01-15T09:06:00.000-08:00

Grandma Dede wanted a picture of all the grandkids to put in her Christmas Card, so when we were in Meridian for Thanksgiving, we got a few cute Christmas Photos for her to choose from.
We were lucky to be able to get these few it is really a task to get them all to smile and look at the camera together and especially hard for the little ones. We had a great time visiting my brother's family on Thanksgiving it was a really relaxing get away which is always nice around the holiday season.

I've been caught...

2009-12-08T21:03:00.000-08:00

Uh-oh my mom found me raiding her closet and trying on her shoes!!! I find it funny that Mara will wear everyone's shoes but her own. Payden has a pair of sponge bob slippers that are way to big for him and she walks around in them. I can't believe that just a couple of months ago she wasn't even walking....my baby is growing up way too fast!!!

A Tea Party for Stella

2009-12-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

Kristen called me and asked if I could help put a baby shower/tea party together for Kira. She has this great idea to make it a tea party where everyone could dress up and our little girls could all be involved. We decorated with various tea cups and tea sets. I had some tissue paper flowers from Mara's birthday that we used also. It turned out great and was a lot of fun to see all of the cute things that she got for the baby. I am so blessed to have Kira as my best friend and was more than happy to help her sister out!!!

Leaves are falling all around...

2009-11-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

One of our families favorite fall traditions is: raking the leaves together, making a huge pile with those leaves, and then jumping in the leaves. Mara loved picking them up one by one and helping put them in the trash bags. However, she wasn't much into being sat in the leaves with her brother and sister throwing them around. We have raked and cleaned up around 7 big bags of leaves already a big accomplishment for 3 small kids.

Happy Fall Days to all our friends and family:)!!!

Trick-or-Treat

2009-11-03T14:44:00.001-08:00

As always, we had a fun and exciting Halloween week filled with lots of parties and enough candy to last till next Halloween. The kids enjoyed being around their cousins and seeing their costumes. We had a total of: 3 army guys, 1 candycorn witch, 1 Leopard, 2 fairies, 1 purple dinosaur, and 1 little chick. Our week consisted of: 1 ward dinner, 2 school parties, 3 trunk-or-treats, and visiting 2 grandparents!!! We had a busy Halloween and were pooped by the end and went home Halloween night and were all in bed by 9pm. Which for all who know us this NEVER happens. We are hoping that next year is just as fun!!!

Happy 7th Birthday Paige!!!

2009-11-03T14:00:00.001-08:00

Lil Mischievous Girl

2009-10-28T17:52:00.001-07:00

Mara I have a feeling is going to be our mischievous child. She has mastered climbing onto the couch from our little trampoline and thinks that she is all that. She is an expert walker and just wanders around constantly. She loves to help mom unload the dishwasher and get into anything and everything. She has the funniest faces and has us constantly laughing at her. She is definantly keeping us on our toes and we love it.

Happy Birthday Mara!!!

2009-10-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that you are "1" already!!!

Happy "5th" Birthday Payden

2009-10-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

Scary Goats...

2009-10-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well here we are at the fair again, I think that it is about the same every year. We walk around looking at all the vendor booths and eat some great food. We were crazy and went on Labor Day and it was packed. It wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have the stroller and two other kids in tow. Mara as you can see was TERRIFIED of the goats. We are such mean parents and put her next to one just to get it on film. They also had this kids station where you could do a bunch of things including milking a fake cow, we all had to take a turn doing just that. The cow only produced water and no milk though which was kinda funny.

Back To School

2009-10-07T12:30:00.001-07:00

Paige was a little hesitant to start this school year with a new teacher. We are so new at all of this school stuff and knowing who to request and all that jazz. Since the start of school we have been very impressed with Paige's teacher Mrs. Emily Smith. I was a little suprised at learning that she graduated from Century High the year before my sister, and boy do I feel old!!! Anyways, she is an awesome teacher and has such a eye for teaching and she is great at what she does. Paige is loving school and is at a 2nd grade reading level already. We are so proud of her and her accomplishments already this year. Way to go Paige!!!

Payden was so ready to be back to school, and honestly I was kind of ready for him to be back in school too. He is just a ball of energy and gets bored pretty easy. I love being home and being able to spend the summer with my kids but I also love the changing of the seasons and getting back to a normal schedule which school brings. Payden loves school and has made some new friends this year which is exciting for him. He especially happy to be in preschool with his friend Gracie from church. He is doing great in school and I can already see him changing so much this year. He hopefully will learn lots and be ready for kindergarten in the spring. Now if only I can prepare myself for having two kids in school.

YAY, I can STAND on my OWN!!!

2009-10-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Bugs R Fun MoM!!!

2009-10-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Okay so those of you who know me KNOW that I don't particularly care for BUGS. Well this past summer, Payden tries to come in the house with this little (Very Big to Me) Bug (Praying Mantis). I of course reminded him that we do not bring BUGS inside and that they belong OUTSIDE with thier families. He of course was UPSET when told this, but did what he was told and took it outside. I took a couple pics of him with HIS BUG because even though this is a Bug that I despise, I can count on one hand how many times I have EVER seen a praying mantis. He definantly has a lot more COURAGE than his mom:).

Our very first Train Ride

2009-10-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to be able to go on a train ride through the UPRR. Thanks to an awesome friend of mine who stood in line and got us some of the few tickets being given away. I guess they travel these commuter cars all around the U.S. giving train rides and we would only have the chance about every 5 years or so for this experience. These commuter cars are from back in the 50's and believe it or not are very comfortable. The kids had so much fun and loved looking out the window to see everything as we cruised along. It wasn't a long trip, only about a half hour out to Inkom and Back, but very fun. The kids were given coloring books and such an unbelievable experience. We loved every minute of it and can't wait till next time!!!

OuR NiCe tRiP ThRoUgH hAiL

2009-08-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

We decided for our Hoskins Family Trip this year we would change it up a little and go to Island Park rather than our usual destination of Bear Lake. We camped in the Buffalo campground in loop d and it was fantastic. We had plenty of shade and room. The kids had a great time riding thier bikes around the loop and introducing themselves to the other campers. On friday some of us drove to West Yellowstone, we had a lot of fun shopping and looking around at all the cute stores. We did have a panic when my nephew was seperated from the group but we found him by our vehicles, thank goodness. We all took a trip down the Big Springs in canoes and the kids in inter-tubes pulled behind. We were able to see a moose, weasel, beaver dam, and do some fishing along the way. Paige loved all of the nature and is looking forward to adding all of this to her nature journal that she made. After the trip down, we headed back to camp for lunch and to relax for a bit. We decided that the adults and older kids would take another trip down the river after lunch. So we headed out for what we thought would be a relaxing trip down. As we were puting the canoes in, we noticed that there were some stormy clouds above and thought it might be nice to have a little rain. We had not even made it 1/8 of the down the river when the wind started blowing 30+ miles per hour. We were having a hard time keeping the canoe straight and getting it to go where we wanted. I think that we were about 2/3 of the way down when it started raining and HAILING on us. I had NO HAT so the water was just pouring down my face and everytime I tried to open my eyes I thought that I was going to lose a contact. Luckily, Shayne had his fishing hat on and was able to see and paddle us somewhat. By the time we made it to the end, my hand had slipped off the paddle and I had smacked myself in the eye (luckily I didnt get a black eye), our canoe was retaining water, we were both soaked and freezing, I had numb toes and hands. Who would have thought that we would have needed coats on the way down?? Well we survived our little adventure down, but I am starting to think that my husband and boats are not such a great mix!!!
On our way home, we stopped at Mesa Falls and that was fun. Payden locked himself in the camp trailer and tried to start a fire, we had to send Paige in through one of the tiny access doors to open the door, and to say the least we were not happy parents for sure!!! I think that school isn't going to come soon enough. Did I mention how much I LOVE my children??? I really do love them, I do!!! We always have such memorable family trips!!!

Seriously....NO FEAR

2009-07-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

We walk to the park every day for lunch and occasionally Payden rides his bike. Well on our way to the park last week, I noticed that neither one of his training wheels were touching the ground. I called Shayne at work laughing and said that we should take them off. When he got home, we took off one of the wheels and left the other just so he had a little help getting started. Shayne left it on for a day and then just decided to take it off and see what would happen. He noticed that it was missing and started to get upset. Shayne took him out on the grass and gave him a push and he has been without training wheels ever since. He rides circles around his sister and almost around his dad. His favorite place to ride is the school by our house because it has ramps and curbs that he can jump. He makes me so nervous sometimes because he literally has NO FEAR and even Shayne has been telling him that he needs to slow down. I have a feeling though that this is not going to happen:)

We had heard that on the 18th of July at the Pioneer Day celebration any child under 50 lbs and over the age of 4 could do Muttin Bustin. I told Payden about it and he said that he wanted to do it. Well I was a slacker and didn't get him signed up by the deadline and was hoping that he wouldn't remember:{. Well we got to the fairgrounds and they were signing kids up right then and there and the minute he saw this he wanted to sign up. Grandma said that he probably shouldn't because he only had flip-flops on but I figured he would be fine and just let him sign up. His number was 59 and they said that they might not get to his number in time, but it all worked out and he was able to ride. He did so good and held on real tight but we forgot to tell him to keep his mouth closed so he ended up with a mouth full of dirt, YUCK!!! He was upset that he didn't get a trophy but he did end up getting a blue ribbon which was pretty cool:).

Yay for New Pics!!!!!

2009-07-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to finally have new pics of my kids. I think that they turned out absolutely adorable. My sister always does a great job and seems to know what to do to make them perfect. I will admit that this is a great feat when the kids are fighting us constantly and always wanting to know how many more pictures that they will have to take. I love having her to share her talents with our family and that she is patient with us everytime. Thanks Liz for taking thier pictures!!!

Celebrating our Freedom

2009-07-10T10:04:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that another 4th of July has come and gone. I love the 4th of July and all that it stands for, I am thankful for this holiday and the chance to be reminded of our freedoms. I find myself so often taking for granted all that I have and the sacrifices that have been made by many for our nation. I want those that have served or are currently serving in the military to know that you are in my prayers and I am thankful for you all. I hope to be a little bit more diligent this next year with taking the time to appreciate my freedoms, not just on the 4th of July.

We had so much fun this 4th of July. We started out the day by attending the parade and were a little disappointed with it, it may just be me but I swear it gets worse every year??? Anyways, the kids liked it and thats all that matters. We then headed down to rosspark and went swimming. We were having so much fun and then it started POURING. I am not kidding...I think that we were possibly the only people in the greater Pocatello area that were rained on, I guess that I can at least be thankful that we took the hassle(just for you Aaron) of putting up a canopy and were in our swimming suits during the downpour. We waited over an hour and half for the pool to re-open inside and by then decided that we should just head home. We then were invited to BBQ with our good friends and their family and that was great. Shayne even survived the nickel sized hail while pulling our steaks off the grill real quick. I think that Pocatello has currently endured some of the most crazy storms I have ever seen. Anyways, by the end of the second storm of the day we were wondering if the firework show would even happen. We were glad that it did happen and excited that we were able to see it so close up for the first time. I think that seeing the ground show makes all of the difference. We then lit off some little fireworks and then headed home. We thought that after 45 minutes getting off the hill would be a breeze. Boy were we wrong...I think that it took us 30 minutes to go about the 5 miles to our house. I want to go back up next year even with all of the madness :) We had so much fun and loved being able to celebrate with our awesome friends.

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy 4th too. I challenge you all to try and remember all that you have and not just on the 4th. We definantly are a priviledged nation and I am so thankful for that!!!

A Weekend OFF

2009-06-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

I was so lucky to be able to attend Time Out for Women in Poky just this last weekend. All of the presenters were great and had just what I needed to be rejuvenated and excited about my role as a mother and just plain life itself. I love the feeling that I get each time I go. It is one of those experiences that every women needs. Especially today and everything that us mothers face, I get sooo scared for my kids because of the world and how corrupt it has become. If you have never been, I encourage you to go:) I was able to go with 2 of my closest frinds ever which made it all the more awesome. They mean so much to me and I don't know what I would do without them. Kira and I got our pic taken with Hilary Weeks who was one of the most talented, beautiful musicians ever. She is so down to earth and funny. Every other time that I have attended Time Out the musical presenter was Micheal McClean. Now don't get me wrong, I love Micheal but Hilary was a nice change. I am excited to attend next time and "fill my buckets"(had to have been there to understand:))!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-05-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

I just thought that I would do a quick update...we have been busy as usual which in turn has made be blog neglectful but we will hopefully slow down after this month.
Paige is just finishing up Kindergarten and I cannot believe that I will have a first grader this next fall...were does the time go?? It is definantly passing me by. She is also just about to finish up her first dance class with a program at Poky Auditorium on June 16th for the finale. She has done excellant in her dance class but I am afraid that i cannot convince her to continue:( She has deceided that she wants to play Soccor in the fall and I am excited to see how that goes.

Payden is just finishing up his first year at Pre-school and has learned soooo much. He definantly has benefited from his Pre-school class and has made some close friends. He looks forward to Pre-school every week and so hopefully we can keep him busy this summer and he won't miss it so much:) He is looking forward to starting T- Ball in June and I am ready for some good laughs that will come along with it.

Mara is gorwing by leaps and bounds everyday. She is in the process of cutting 2 more teeth which will make 4 total. She is not yet crawling but seems to find things that she is NOT supposed to have pretty easy. i am thinking that her bro and sis must be involved with this somehow. She is developing quite the attitude and it makes me laugh. I mean seriously can kids really have an attitude at this age?? Her tantrums sometimes are unbelieveable.

Shayne is busy with work and work around the house. We have plenty of plans for this summer and hopefully we can get most of them accomplished:)

I have been busy at home with the kids and am looking forward to some nice weather. I know that it has to eventually grace us with it's presence..right?!? I am starting to wonder!!! I am excited to get my garden going and get my hands dirty. I love to garden and am curious to see how my box gardens will do this summer. We are planting lots of new things along with all of the usual stuff. I am looking forward to Mother's Day this next sunday and am excited to have already gotten some handmade gifts from the kids. I love homemade gifts. Now if I can just get through sacrament meeting this next week accompanying the primary things will be fabulous:) Well practice make perfect...or at least that is wht I have been told so there will be lots of that going on this week.

We also just celebrated my Dad's 50th birthday which was a lot of fun. I was stressed up until the last second but it was well worth it in the end. I love suprises but have a hard time keeping them so I almost blew it one too many times. I made him a scrapbook and that was a lot of fun. Everything was worth it seeing his face as he entered the room and everyone yelling suprise. If you know my Dad he is not one for parties and big groups of people especially if he is the center of it all. My parents are also celebrating their 30th anniversary. What an accomplishment that is, I love them so much.

Sorry there are no pics this time, but I promise that they are coming and will be posted very soon. Hope this finds all our friends and family in good spirits.

Easter Fun

2009-04-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

We have been busy this spring and especially the past couple of days preceeding Easter. I don't know how we managed it, but in between everything going on we colored Easter eggs. We invited some friends over to do this with us which made it all the more fun. The kids had so much fun and us adults had fun cleaning up 2 cups of spilled dye (pink dye for that matter) off the floor. We also ended up coloring most of the eggs after the kids got bored. Oh and I almost forgot the jeans that were dyed by the spilling of the dye. Well better luck next year, I guess!!! On a lighter note, I love Easter and what the savior did for each and every one of us. I am thankful for him and the way he provided for us to make it back to our heavenly father. I continue to be amazed at his selfless sacrifice for me and feel the greatest love for him. Well I hope that your Easter was great reminder of our savior and all that he did for us for you also. I hope that things will now slow down a little for us. I am looking forward to planting my block gardens and everything that comes with this time of year. We were able to go to the park a couple of days ago which was sooo nice. I am happy to finally see some warmer weather:)

Complete Chaos

2009-03-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I need to find a different way to post my pics other than a collage everytime. oh, well that is what you get again another collage- so deal with it!!!:) We have been up to a lot since the last time I posted. We went to Meridian to visit my brother and his fam. It was so much fun to see them and thier new house. We also got to see them speak in church and they did such a great job:) They got us tickets to a hockey game and I will admit that I was a little hesitant at first about going. I have this fear that I am going to get hit with a hockey puck. They all think it is funny...ha ha!!! Well we sat right behind the goal so not only was the glass there but also a net above that. I survived my first hockey game-whoohooo! It was a lot of fun and thanks to Nicole and fam for watching the kids for us so we could go!!!
Mara is growing by leaps and bounds every day. She now has her two teeth on the bottom. She got them at the same time and then croup right after that, let me tell ya it was soooo much fun!!! She can now sit by herself for extended periods without falling over. Her fav words are dada. Boy can she talk your ear off if she is in the mood.
Paige is still taking dance and has her spring recital in May. I am so excited for it. She is such a cute little dancer. She also had her last parent teacher conferance for the year. Her teacher said that she is one of the best in her class and she recieved all plus' and 3's on her report card which means that she is at and or above grade level. We are so proud of her and her accomplishments.
Payden is looking forward to t-ball in a few months. He is loving pre-school and learning a lot. He is a handful some days and keeps me on my toes. We love him and are proud of his accomplishments also.
Almost two weeks ago, I was released from my calling of almost 5 years. I had some bitter-sweet feelings about this. I was ready for the change until they asked me to play piano for the primary. Seriously, that is like my night-mare calling, I do not practice regularly and was completely shocked. I of course told them yes and started my calling this past sunday. I survived:) I think that I played worse than I probably ever have because or my nerves. I am glad that my first week is over and now I can get settled in. I am thankful that the lord gives us callings for us to grow. I know that this is why I have been given this calling. I was also called as asst. camp director to help out my bf Kira. I am totally excited about that calling!!!
Well I hope everything is well with all my friends and fam. We love ya!!!

Loved you then, Love you still, Always have, Always will

2009-02-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

Well Valentine's Day has come and gone again, I am already looking forward to next year. I am honestly suprised to hear myself say this. I love holidays, but not all of the stress and overwhelming feelings that come along with them. Valentines day really isn't that stressful right.... I have always felt like there were stressful holidays and then not so stressful ones. I learned this year that with two kids in school, Valentines Day is changing from a not so stressful one to a more stressful and involved holiday. I helped with Paige's Valentine's Day school project on top of the Valentine Treats and Cards for everyone in the class. I since then have felt guilty about not making something and taking it to family and close friends. Sorry Guys....maybe next year?? I want our family and close friends to know that we love them and thought about them on Valentines Day.

Paige, Payden, and Mara were spoiled like no other.....Hello it's Valentines Day not Christmas guys!! Well after seeing their abundance of candy and treats, I gave them each a toy. I love candy and all but trust me they had enough for a small army:) We gavePaige a Littlest Pet Shop that she decorated all by herself. We gavePayden a transformer( the one he wanted for Christmas that was way......expensive at $50), I bought it for more than half off. We gave Mara a fisher price interactive book about farm animals(soooo cute). They each also got a short sleeve shirt that they can wear this summer. Plus then they were given treats by thier grandma, we also took them to go see Bolt (sooo cute).

Shayne and I were able to go out by ourselves friday and saturday night thanks to our parents. Seriously, what would we do without you?? We went out to eat friday and then went shopping for our V-Day gifts(Sportsmans warehouse and Downeast Outfitters:). I love flowers and candy, but honestly they only last a day or so and then the fun is gone! I would rather have something that I can enjoy all year. We then went to see Yesman. I will admit that there were funny parts ,but I was not overly impressed and will not watch the show again. I was a little grossed out by a certian part of the movie which I will leave censored(if you have seen it you know what I am talking about)!! We went out to eat with friends on Saturday and then attended the Sweetheart Ball put on by our stake. When we pulled into the parking lot ,I seriously thought that we were at the wrong building. There were about 10 cars in the parking lot, I am not joking. We were like the eleventh couple at the dance. I had stake dance flashbacks the whole night....it was fun. we danced to the YMCA, footloose, Macarena, Electric Slide, Bunny hop, ect. I was sooo disappointed that we got there shortly after they had played fishing in the dark....I love that line dance. We went out for Ice cream later with some friends and then headed home.

I had so much fun midst the stress and overwhelming stuff that I just am so excited for next year. I love my family and am thankful for the love that they have shown and always show me day after day. I am thankful for the love of a supportive husband who supports and takes care of our family. I am thankful for the loves that my kids give me everyday. I love the savior and what he has done for me. I don't know how I would get through the day without him. It's nice to be able to feel his love everyday. I could sit here all day and give you a list of all the things that I love, But I won't. I know this blog is long enough already!!!

Love to all of our friends and family, you know who you are!!!:)

Pay it Forward

2009-02-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine has this on her blog and I thought it sounded like so much fun. So this is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift.

Here is January in a nutshell

2009-02-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

We have had quite a few new adventure's this month ,and so rather than spending all day blogging each different one you get them all together. I love collages, can you tell?!?

Well first off Paige started tap and ballet dancing, which honestly I think I was more excited for than her. After her first class, we were driving home and I said, so what did you think of your dance class , she says" It was soooo hard I can't do the dances". I was trying not to chuckle because she has this unrealistic veiw lately that the first time you try anything it should be perfect (no exceptions). She has however been to three classes now, and is getting better and loving it more each time that she goes. I cannot wait till her first debut!!! It is so fun to watch them practice beacause they all have their own interpretation of what the instructor is trying to teach them and it can get quite humorous:)

As you can see from the pictures above, we have spent a lot of time just being plain goofy. Payden is into taking pictures lately of whoever whenever. He will ask us to take his picture and then he pulls funny or scary faces. He then immediatly after wants to see the pics and just laughs at himself. He is getting so big and is loving pre-school. His teacher was telling me that he just cracks her up every day. He is still a wild child and out of control most days but can be the sweetest child also. He is looking forward to starting T-ball in the next couple of months and I cannot wait:) We love you Payden!!!

Mara is now 5 months old and has graduated to a saucer. She loves it!!! We call her "smiles" beacuse no matter when she wakes up that is the first thing that she does. What a way to start the day. If only all of us could start the day with a smile:) She is on the verge of rolling over and probably would be if she didn't have a sister who holds her 24/7. Mara loves her sister and laughs when she does silly things, which is often.

Paige also just cut 10 inches off her hair and donated it to Locks of Love. We are so proud of her decision to do this. We have always had a love/hate battle with doing her hair! Does anyone else have this problem??? I kept threatening to cut it shorter and she would say "NO WAY". Well just in the past couple of weeks, she out of nowhere decided that she wanted to cut her hair. I have to admit that the more I thought about it the more reservations I had with it. I love her long hair! I finally after about a week of hoping she would forget about it made the appt and let her cut it. I think that it turned out adorable. She was sooo excited to donate her hair and wants to grow it long and donate it again. I think, what an amazing example she is at such a young age. We love you Paige!!! oh and by the way grandpa, Paige says you cannot have her hair for a wig for yourself!!!

We have also had lots of fun with our friends the Adams'. We do a lot with them and love them to death!!!!:) I hope that your month of January was just as good as ours and hope all is well with your families.

Welcoming in the New Year

2009-02-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

We were excited to welcome in the New Year and were even more excited to be able to spend it with family and some very close friends. This is the second year in a row that we have had the party at our house and it has been so much fun. To me there is nothing better than good food, friends, family, fun, and games!!! We had spinach artichoke dip, shrimp, sushi, pumpkin roll (that my visiting teachers brought that day it was soooo yummy), and much more. The kids had a lot of fun wrestling with grandpa and Uncle Eric (the kids absolutly love thier uncle eric and I think that he might even have more energy than them....how is that possible??). We played a game called "last Word" and it was sooo much fun eventhough I was not very good at it. You have to think fast and I just can't do that during the day let alone late at night. oh, well!!! The guys played a game of golf on the Wii and I think that Shayne likes it better that way cuz he can actually win. Mara is into her tongue and making funny faces (note her curled tongue in the pic above). She is such a cutie and we love her so much. We took pics of everyone right after welcoming in the New Year and then it was off to bed ASAP. I feel like it gets harder and harder to stay up every year. I must be getting old or something:) I hope that everyone had a great time on New Years and good luck on all your resolutions:)

SaNTa CaMe To oUr HoUsE

2009-01-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Mara

2009-01-06T13:07:00.001-08:00

Mara is now 4 months old and growing like crazy. I just took her in for her 4 month check-up and she weighed in at a wopping 17lbs 9oz. The doctor says " You must just produce only cream....WOW.....I bet you are getting tired of lugging her around" I said " I know and its not like she is close to walking or even crawling for that matter.....lol"!!:) Oh well, we are use to having big babies and so really it is nothing new. Anyway....she is doing great and is obviously healthy. We are so blessed to have healthy kids.

We LoVe tHe SnOW!!!!

2009-01-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to finally see some snow in our yard especially since it was almost Christmas. Paige was so excited to build her first snowman. She built a little one and it was so cute......I told her that I would help her build a bigger one that afternoon but by the time we got out there the snow had turned dry:(

Payden and Paige love being out in the snow together.They have tried to build snow forts, made snow angels, and of course have snowball fights. I love to watch them play outside and am thankful that now they stay out for longer than 5 minutes. Since it takes about 20 minutes to get all of thier snow clothes on:)

HaPpY HoLiDaYs

2008-11-30T18:46:00.000-08:00

We just returned home from visiting my sister and her husband for Thanksgiving in Wyoming.

We had a fun time getting to see where they live and the beautiful country that surrounds thier home. They don't have a lot of shopping in Pinedale where they live so we spent the majority of our time at thier house doing crafts, playing games and watching movies. We did however get the chance to go swimming at the rec center there and the kids also tried out the climbing wall. I don't know how I did it but I made it home without any of those pics. Liz took most of them on her absolutly awesome camera. I will post later for all to see.

These pics that you see above were taken by my sis Liz at her house. She did an amazing job. I really am so lucky that she is talented in photography. It definantly saves me the hassle with finding someone to take photos. It took a long time and we only got a few good shots. Mainly because every time that Paige would look Payden wouldn't and so forth. I was amazed at how many great shots there were considering the obstacles.

3 bugs and a Dinosaur

2008-11-07T11:55:00.001-08:00

I know that I am little behind with our Halloween Photo. Things have been a little crazy this past week at our house, and to add to that our internet provider had a tower down in our area. It is amazing how much I rely on the internet now days. It was only down for a couple of days but it seemed like longer. So I guess its better a little late than never....right?!? Shayne was gone hunting so he lucked out on pictures this year. Don't worry we'll get him a great embarrasing costume next year to make up for it. I was a Monarch Butterfly, Paige was a Butterfly, Mara was a lady bug, and Payden was a Dinosaur. I didn't even think about it till afterwards but I should have made Payden be some type of bug- Oh well. Halloween was great & the kids had fun. Now if only I could hurry up and get rid of all this candy.

Lots of Monster Mash Laughs

2008-11-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

I Have Beeen Tagged

2008-10-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well here goes this is my first time being tagged. The rules are that I tell 7 interesting/weird facts about myself and then pass it on to 7 other people. I guess that it is about time that I went outside of the box with my blogging. I just am so into blogging about my kids that it is so easy to forget about myself. Most moms can probably relate to this comment.

1. I put lotion on my hands about a million times a day. I cannot stand it when my hands feel dry. I take lotion literally everywhere I go.

2. I have a hard time saying "no". I stay at home with my kids and also watch a couple. Because of this I have a lot of people call needing "favors". I just wish that I could get the courage to say no sometimes.

3. I have issues with letting my kids go anywhere if their clothes don't match. I know this is crazy, but its the truth. Paige and I have battles daily over this. I am finally starting to let go a little bit. I figure eventually she will figure it out. I just have to keep telling myself that it doesn't matter what anyone thinks or says about it.

4. I hate folding laundry& unloading the dishwasher. I would rather do anything around the house than these two things. I don't really know why I hate doing these two chores, just do. I have to thank my husband for helping out with these two chores.

5. I cannot hardly go out in the sun without my sunglasses. I must have really sensitive eyes or something.

6. I hate winter. Solely for the fact that I cannot wear flip flops. I hate wearing shoes and socks. I would rather walk around barefoot. Even though I hate the fact of wearing shoes I choose them over being barefoot in the snow.

7. Every so often I will grow my nails out. I don't do this often because long nails have a tendency to drive me crazy. As soon as one of my long nails break, they all have to go. I absolutely cannot stand to have one short nail and the others long.

I tag Kristine, Liz, Amber, Shannon, Audrey, Autumn, and Danica

It's Almost Halloween....finally

2008-10-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

I got this idea for these cute halloween pumpkin shirts from the magazine Family Fun. I thought that they were so cute. My friend had made them and so I was able to see how cute they were. The kids weren't that thrilled that mom made them all wear the same things and then on top of that I wanted pictures, well of course are you kidding. I had to have pictures after all that work and I am a scrapaholic. Now they both want to wear them to school tomorrow imagine that. I love holidays but at the same time I can't wait for Halloween to be over with. After 3 trunk or treats ( 2 grandmas wards and ours), mom coming up with three costumes, the trek around town, visiting 2 other granparents houses, I think that I might just be a tad tired. Oh well, the look on thier faces makes it all worth it in the end.

2 Months Old already

2008-10-22T16:06:00.001-07:00

2008-10-22T15:49:00.000-07:00

I cannot hardly believe that my all time favorite store is now in poky. I hate to say it but buying clothes is one of my most favorite things to do. My husband on the other hand is not much of a shopper. So you can imagine the look on his face when I tell him that we have to stop at the mall when we go to IF. He is as excited as I am for this store. This means no stopping at the mall in IF except for the occasional trip to Old Navy:). Now if we could only get a Target, Kohls, Old Navy, and Seagull Book in Poky! I know, I better just keep dreaming!

Mom's cute little Pumpkins

2008-10-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Paige and Payden picked pumpkins at Grandma Hoskins this past weekend. They were so excited to be able to finally pick them. They even picked one for Mara and thier dog KC. They looked so cute with thier pumpkins that I had to get a picture. They are excited for Halloween. We are in the process of figuring out costumes. Paige and mom are going to be butterflies. Mara is going to be a lady bug. Payden wants to be a dog-gremlin-troll-dinosaur-police man-pirate. He is still trying to make a final decision. Will post after halloween they should be adorable pics.

Our Annual October Camping Trip

2008-10-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Every October during general conferance weekend we take an extended Hoskins family trip to Power House Campground in Malad, ID. We watch or listen to conferance both days in the great outdoors. It is a lot of fun for the kids and a relaxing weekend for the adults. We have been pretty fortunate to have good weather most every year that we have gone. This year was one of the unfortunate years we had rain all day saturday and it was cold. We were banished from the outside weather to the confines of our camp trailers. The kids still played outside in the rain saturday and luckily it was nicer sunday but still cold enough to keep us women inside. Shayne took the kids for 4 wheeler rides on sunday and got some cute pictures of them by a beautiful waterfall. I love this time of year when all the trees change colors. We love the outdoors and look forward to our family trip next year.

Look at those cute baby legs

2008-10-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks Aunt Kristina
We love them!!

Mara's Blessing

2008-10-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

Shayne blessed our beautiful baby girl Mara Jayde this past weekend. We were so lucky to be able to have all of our family members come and share in this wonderful day with us. We want to thank them for all thier support. It was a lot of fun to see my brother and sister and thier families and to be able to catch up on everyones lives. We want to also thank those who helped with the luncheon afterwards. This weekend was a lot of fun and not one we will soon forget, but it is nice to get back to the norm.

A Sleepless Week

2008-09-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Every year about this time when hunting season starts Shayne goes on a week long archery hunt with my dad, friends, and uncles. This would not be so bad normally other than the fact that I have a hard time sleeping by myself. So I leave the light and TV on to get to sleep. I know its a little pathetic! However, when you add having a brand new baby and a daughter in kindergarten to the mix it makes for a tough week. Between getting up 3 times during the night and then up bright and early at 7 am to get Paige ready it gets tiring. I find myself so exhausted by the end of the day. I have to say for all of the single parents out there I have no idea how they do it. My hats off to them. I know that by the time Shayne comes home saturday I am going to need a week off!:)

3 Weeks Old

2008-09-11T10:16:00.001-07:00

Mom can't hardly believe that I am three weeks old it is going by way too fast. Mara is such a good baby and mom is thankful for that. Mara had her very first doctors visit on tuesday and is growing like a weed. She is already 9lbs 2 oz and 21 inches long. She is in the 95% on her height and weight and in the 75% on her head. We love her and are excited to see her grow and develop her own personality. We are also curious to see who she will look most like because right now it is a toss-up.

Preschool here I come

2008-09-10T15:16:00.001-07:00

Payden started school this past monday and mom was ready for the break. Those of you that know our son will know why I say that. Don't get me wrong I love my son but the 2 mornings a week that he has preschool give me a big break that is most definantly needed. He is loving school. It is the same preschool that paige attended and loved also. Mrs. Tammy his teacher is from our ward and we love her she is so awesome. This year they have an underwater theme. payden came home with a water bottle balloon fish on monday and it was so cute. Aspen one of the kids that I watch is in his class. I took their picture at their preschool open house which is posted above. I don't expect amazing things this year but I hope that it will give him some structure in preparation for next year at preschool.

A Very BIG DEAL

2008-09-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

Paige started school 2 days after the baby was born. I have been so frazzled between everything going on at home with the baby and all of the changes that have been taking place that I have not blogged as much as I would like. So here goes and were gonna catch things up for y'all.

Everyone asked me before paige started school if I was ready for it, I told them all that she was in preschool last year and we were used to her being gone and that Kindergarten was no "BIG DEAL". Boy was I ever wrong. We dropped her off at school on friday morning and Shayne took pictures and helped her get to class. She decided that she wanted to ride the bus to and from school. We took her to school for a couple days so she knew where to go and then let her start riding the bus to school. On the first day she rode the bus to and from school I was waiting for her at the bus stop and as the bus stopped and I watched her getting off the bus I started to cry. I know it it pretty pathetic. I never in a million years thought that I would be so emotional over something like this and so I have to say that Paige starting kindergarten was a "BIG DEAL".

Our New Arrival

2008-08-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Mara Jayde Hoskins was born on Wednesday, August 20th at 8:42 pm. She was 8lbs 4oz and 20 inches long. She definantly is not camera shy as you can see. She has been involved in 4 photo shoots already with her aunt Liz behind the camera. She loves taking pictures and has started a blog which is listed under our favorite blogs. We are so excited to have Mara here and are getting used to having a brand new baby in our home again. Paige and Payden both dote on her every day and love to help mom. Sometimes they help a little too much but that is alright. I will post more shots later, and my sister will have some on hers soon too.

Waiting for Baby Mara

2008-07-22T10:28:00.001-07:00

We are patiently waiting for the new addition to our family. We are expecting a baby girl around August 23rd. I have 5 weeks left and so we or at least I am counting down the days. The kids are so excited. Payden can hardly handle it. He asks me every day if today is the day that the baby will come. He is so cute. We are curious to see who she will look like and can't wait to hold her in our arms and give her lots of hugs and kisses. Liz took this picture and all of my maternity shots. We appreciate her and all of her talents that she shares with us and our family. Keep watching for the pictures of the baby coming soon.

2008-07-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

Bear Lake Trip

2008-07-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

We took our yearly trip to Bear Lake this past weekend. We stayed 3 nights and 2 days there and it was so much fun. It is great to just be able to go and relax and visit with family that we don't see to often. We also had our friends Aaron, Kira and their daughter Emma come for part of the time. That was a lot of fun. We played in the water on Friday during the day and then Friday night we lit our Aeriel fireworks down on the beach. Matt, Jerrica, and Adyson came down that day so we also invited them to come watch and they brought some of their friends also. We played in the water Saturday too and then just hung out by the campfire that night. Sunday we packed everything up and started for home. We took our friends Aaron and Kira and their daughter to the Minetonka Cave and did a tour it was fun but very cold and we were all tired of walking by the end. It has 444 stairs and that is only one direction. We also drove up to Bloomington Canyon and hiked in to see Bloomington Lake which is a glacier fed lake it was beautiful and the kids had a lot of fun. Paige and I loved all the beautiful flowers. After that we headed home and boy were we tired after all the walking but we had a great time together.