The Hopkins

A Fun Play Date

2009-08-06T15:29:00.002-05:00

We invited Grace over for a play date today. We had a wonderful time jumping at the park, playing dress up and attending a tea party! We used the tea seat Paige and Kate got in Fredericksburg from their Nana and Papa. The ladies sipped hot chocolate while calling each other your majesty and your highness. The girls ate flower and butterfly shaped pancakes with sprinkles cooked into them. We had a wonderful morning and can't wait for our next date!

In Paige's room we all got dressed up. Kate chose a purple skirt and at times a pink trash can for her hat. Paige wanted to be a princess bride and wore a vail and a beautiful pink dress. Grace was the little mermaid and various other characters during the day. Once the girls were dressed, they went to the tea party.

At the park Grace and Paige practiced their most outrageous jumps while I took pictures. After each jump they would come look at the picture and think of a way to change their next jump. I think we have some natural sports models!

July Fourth

2009-07-11T22:37:00.002-05:00

Thanks Libby for the yummy suckers. Kate ate all of hers.... not sure how. I am hoping Haley ate some of it.
Hey Kate, I am all wet now.

Joseph liked Paige's socks....we share. His dad made sure they were off before dinner.

Thanks to Gil, Libby and Joseph for coming to visit for the 4th! After going to the dinosaur park, we took a long nap before the Express game. I am not sure who won the game, but we had yummy snow cones, cotton candy and ice cream (thanks to Gil and Libby!). The fireworks were great.

BOWLING!

2009-06-24T21:06:00.003-05:00

Our Family Bowling Trip...

Told by Paige

We were waiting for our bowling. Dad was thinking, I should do bowling myself...

I picked a purple ball.

I pushed the green ball down.

I pushed it down and the pins falled down. I think I don't like to bowl. I will like it when I get bigger!

Kate is holding Little Bear!

Early Literacy

2009-06-16T21:26:00.003-05:00

Paige loves to get Kate ready for bed....

Kate loves to explore books! Wish she could put them back on the shelf.

Mother's Day and the Pool

2009-06-16T21:17:00.003-05:00

The girls and Mark did a great job celebrating Mother's Day! I got a beautiful vase, hugs and kisses and breakfast, YUM!

Trash Can War

2009-06-16T21:09:00.002-05:00

Kate and Paige love to butt heads. Future football players? By the way, the trash cans hurt!

Graduation/Pool Party

2009-06-01T21:35:00.004-05:00

Kate loves to be splashed with a bucket of water!

On our latest visit home to Katy, the girls had a pool party with their Uma, Aunt Leslie and cousins.

Ryan was a pro at swimming underwater and diving!

While we waited for lunch we all explored the garden...

Congrats Stephen! 2009 aTm graduate. We celebrated his accomplishment at Bloomer's.

Easter?!? A Couple of Months Late

2009-05-28T21:26:00.004-05:00

We have been super busy, or I have been super lazy....Here are our Easter Picutres. They are posted in reverse order, because that makes sense.

We made brownies! Paige and Kate love to help out.... Mom would be proud because I got all the chocolate off of their clothes and every surface in the kitchen!

What sweet girls...On our way to church.

Recovering from the picture with the bunny!

Searching for Easter Eggs in the Garden.

Kate did not like the Easter Bunny!

Waiting in line at the mall...only 45 minutes.

I love shoes!

I love clothes!

Paige is checking herself out in the mirror...

Did I tell you I love shoes?

I can't get these ears to stay on!

There we go.

Paige in her bunny ears.

Garden and Princess Parade

2009-04-11T12:10:00.006-05:00

Paige had such a good time she fell asleep in the car!
This is as close to a family picture as we get these days. Hardly ever are we all looking at the camera at the same time!
Paige went to a birthday party recently. All the girls had to wear their favorite princess clothes. At the party, they did their hair, make up and nails. Once everyone was dressed, the girls danced in the driveway and went on a princess parade.

Every day after the YMCA, Paige want to come home and see the vegetables. She checks to see how much they have grown.

The girls love squirting the plants with water bottles. Who knew such a simple task could occupy them for hours on end day after day. I am all for it!

Mark and I have been trying our luck with our green thumbs. So far we have spent a lot of money on compost and soil.... We planted a "salsa" garden. It has tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos and onion. We grew some green beans, corn and okra from seeds. Everything is doing OK at this point... The grass in our backyard was almost completely dead, as was the tree, but they have both show evidence of new life these past few weeks.

Nana and Papa's House at Spring Break

2009-04-06T22:05:00.003-05:00

Posing with Nana and Papa at the Live Stock Show.
Kate says cheese for a family photo.

Paige looks beautiful in Nana and Papa's garden.

Pretty in Pink! Paige dancing in her balet clothes.

Crawling in an underwater tube at the zoo.

Playing at the petting zoo.

Plaing with Our Cousins

2009-04-06T21:54:00.003-05:00

Beautiful baby Alyson.
Who needs nap time? Bombs away!

Ryan and Paige were dancing. He was the prince, she was the princess...

New Baby Spellins

2009-03-15T07:59:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the World Baby Alyson!

Rayn Loves Alyson! She looks like him he says.

We enjoy sitting around looking at the new sister.

Macey says I am not sure about this!

We Got a New Truck!

2009-03-15T07:31:00.002-05:00

We finally almost fit together in our family car. Mark has been waiting patiently for a couple years. It was time. We had a two door Scion and trips to Houston were almost impossible. Two kids, two adults, baggage and a Haley! We just made our first trip to Houston in the truck. It was great!

Since we have purchased the new truck, Honey-Do projects are getting done at a faster rate. Yeah, we can get compost, we can put it in the back of the truck! Or lets use the truck to move some of the stuff from the garage. We are having fun just doing the day to day family stuff.

Inflate-A-Zone

2009-02-06T22:00:00.001-06:00

WhoA!
WhEE!

I wanna JUMP!

Taking a break.

I love jumping.

Feeding the Ducks!

2009-02-06T21:38:00.004-06:00

I think we found the ugly duckling!

Mark and the girls at the Park.

Mommy and Paige getting ready to feed the ducks. We were at home one Saturday and I convinced everyone it was a great day to go to the park. It was COLD. We fed the ducks and then went to the mall.

Yard Work

2009-02-06T20:55:00.003-06:00

Here is a rare look at our yard....It is not in tip-top shape. The grass is definately not greener here.

Kate is helping Paige ride her trike to the neighborhood park.
What a cutie!

PAIGE IS WATERING THE TREE IN OUR BACKYARD. I HOPE IT LIVES.

Paige's First Hair Cut

2009-01-02T14:20:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-02T14:01:00.003-06:00

Paige made a new friend!

We played a game, boys against girls...The BOYS won!!!

Mark Got a New Camera for Christmas!

2008-12-30T21:21:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We went home to Houston for a week. The girls had a great time! We have one week left in Round Rock to get settled and enjoy some family bonding time of our own. With our Christmas gifts, we got a new camera. The following are just some of the hundreds of pictures we have taken..... :) I thought I would be able to upload them and change the order, but I guess not... sorry!

At the top of the slide....keep reading it will make sense.

Say "Cheese"!

We went to church the Sunday we came back in the beautiful dresses Nana and Papa gave us!

Everyone is having fun! Huh?

At the bottom of the slide!

Nana and Kate playing "Patty Cake."

Hello Haley!

Christmas at the Hopkins

2008-12-24T13:06:00.000-06:00

Auntie Jen, Uncle D. and baby peanut. Baby Peanut will be born in May. We cann't wait to meet her.

Opening presents Christmas morning with mommy and daddy.

Darren and Valerie in the Garden room.

Sitting in front of the tree with Nana.

Taking pictures with Papa.

Posing with our dolls for the Christmas picture.

Kate opening her first present...a doll named Olivia.

Paige opening her first present....a doll named Sarah. Daddy got to change her dress. Then Uncle D. got to put it back on. She spent a long time looking for her "Baby's Daddy." Unfortunately, Sarah doesn't have a daddy.

Watching movies with Uncle D and Auntie Jen.

Trying on Nana's glasses. She said she couldn't see anything with them on.

Baking cookies with Auntie Jen. Paige's favorite part is the icing.

Catching Up!

2008-12-20T13:16:00.000-06:00

We are getting ready to celebrate the Holidays! Paige and Kate are getting excited about Santa's visit. Paige can sing the entire song, "Santa Clause is Coming to Town." It is really cute when she gets to the verse that is supposed to say, "so be good for goodness sakes,' because she says, "So be good for Christmas sake." The Methodist church put on a Bethlehem walk and the girls and I got to see baby Jesus in the manger. Paige sang baby Jesus Happy Birthday. It was very sweet. Half way through the song she said, "Mommy he's not listening to me. His eyes are closed." I explained that Jesus always listens to you even if you feel like he is not. What a lesson to be reminded of. Anyway, we will be spending most of the break in Houston with both sides of the family. It should be a wonderful time!

Kate is one year old! Happy Birthday! November, 29 2007.

Paige and Kate playing with Kate's birthday presents. Kate is wearing a new birthday dress. We celebrated her birthday at the football game. She made a poster that said, "All I want for my birthday is a Stony Point win!" She got her win and the Tigers went on to win couple more play off games. They made it to the semi finals... Next year we will go all the way! I am so proud of the boys, coaches and their families. It was a long season, but we all worked hard until the end. Everyone's efforts were validated by the success the team achieved! We are so thankful to be here in Round Rock and part of the Stony Point Football.

Grace, Paige and Kate playing at the park. This is the best picture I have of the three of them. They are almost all looking at the camera!

Playing at the park during Thanksgiving break.

Grammy and Grampy Visit

2008-11-24T12:43:00.000-06:00

Getting ready to go...I am not sure why it is so blurry in the middle of this picture. I wish it were more clear.

Papa and Grampy were reading the girls, "Fancy Nancy."

Go Tigers! Kate really gets into the games!

Thanks Uma, Papa, Grammy and Grampy for coming to visit the other weekend. We had a lot of fun. We went to eat at Hao Hao and then to the football game. Unfortunately for the family, I had not really figured out how and where we were going at the game. We parked on the wrong side of the stadium and had to walk all the way around. Then our seats were at the tip top of the bleachers....The wooden bleachers that are very narrow and it was a very crowded game. When we finally got to our seats, Paige had a dirty diaper....Once everyone got settled in their seats I began to dread the trip back down to our car. We made it through half time then it was back to the car....Grammy and Grampy can walk really fast! The Tigers won and I was glad to have everyone see what we do on Friday nights.

2008-10-29T21:45:00.000-05:00

Paige carves her first pumpkin. She wanted it to be "scarey."

Kody (our neighbor) tries to get all the cousins together for a picture. Almost everyone was looking!

Macey says, HEY!

Ryan and Paige rested after the park.

This was as close as we got to a group picture.

Papa posed with the girls.

Ryan was King of the Park!

They had a picnic of donuts and kolaches in the park with Papa.

Paige and Ryan watched a movie.

Aunt Leslie had some qaulity time with the little cousins!

It has been a long time since we visited Katy, but Paige and Ryan got along just fine. They went crusing in the jeep.

Paige cheers the team on with the tigers.

Paige and her dad pose with the Tiger mascot!

Kate and I watched from the sidelines.

Paige got to ride in the Stony Point Tiger Homecoming Parade.

Gross!

2008-10-14T22:28:00.000-05:00

Kate, Paige and I made Halloween cookies on Sunday. We iced them and delivered them to the neighbors. Paige was in charge of the sprinkles and Kate took care of licking the bowl (hee hee).
Want some? Yummy!
Our kids were decked out in matching outfits so I thought we should get a picture... Too bad by the time we took the picture they no longer had complete outfits on.
Hey Mom, look what I made for you! So the other morning I am trying to clean and get ready to go to the YMCA. I keep smelling something dirty, so I took out the trash, vacuumed and sprayed air freshener. I could not figure out where the smell was coming from. I gave up and went to get Kate ready. Guess what I found... my diaperless baby with poo spread everywhere. It all over her crib, bottles, body and even thrown across the room. She was thrilled. It was the grossest (is that a real word) thing I have ever had to clean up!

Kate Can Walk!

2008-10-04T20:17:00.000-05:00

2008-10-03T05:58:00.000-05:00

This is Kate's favorite way to eat dinner. Yummmy hot dogs.
Kate waits patiently as Terry and I scramble to get the girls ready for the game. There is a lot involved in just getting there. Once we are there it is always a sigh of relief.
When we finally get to the games, the girls start methodically taking everything off. We have to take pictures right when we get there.
Kate loves everything about the football games. She loves to cheer on the tigers.
This is the first picture that Paige has ever taken. She did pretty good.

We are so proud of Mark and the Tigers. He is part of a great team!

Stony Point Cheerleaders and Painted Toes!

2008-09-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

We tried to go swimming at the neighborhood pool last Sunday, but they were still closed for the hurricane. So, we went to the park to feed the ducks. I parked quite away from the lake thinking the walk would be good for all of us. Unfortunately, Paige wore shoes that were too small and got rocks in them. I ended up carrying her and pushing the stroller about half a mile...with all of our stuff. I must have looked completely overloaded because teenagers were volunteering to help me carry everything where I was going.

We finally made it to the lake and the ducks were not interested in our food. We called for them, threw our bread and waited .... Nothing happened. I would not say we had a successful trip, but we got out of the house enjoyed the weather and took a break.

Paige is getting ready to throw some bread to the ducks.
She had a huge wind up and the bread landed right in front of her toes... It was cute.
Kate cheered us on...
We took some Mommy and Daddy time today. We got a babysitter, went to the movies and out to eat. The babysitter and Paige had a great time. She painted Paige's finger and toe nails. Paige looked so cute. Jenna said Paige was mad because she wouldn't paint her whole finger.
Paige, Kate and Gracie cheer their daddies on at the second game of the season.
GO TIGERS!, GO DADDY! GO GRACIE'S DADDY!
Nana and Papa got the girls these cute cheer leading outfits. They have sweet bows and tennis shoes to match. Thank you Nana and Papa!

There is Daddy! Paige was spooked by all the boys running in the background and the music playing.

Paige and Kate are starting to play well together. Paige loves Kate and really tries to help take care of her. Kate is growing so fast. She can wave bye-bye now and say mama and Dada. Mark and I are working too hard and every day is a whirlwind, but we love it. We are loving each other and growing our family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2008-08-31T18:31:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to Paige....

We had a wonderful time at Paige's Birthday today. Thank you to everyone who came or was celebrating in spirit. Both grandparents came to the party and Paige was so excited to see them. We were also excited to see Terry and Grace, Phyllis and Chloe, Kelly and Regan (a great lady I teach with), and our neighbors from across the street.

The kids played in the backyard in an inflatable swimming pool and other water toys. There were bubbles, water balloons and water guns. Haley loved playing catch the waters as the kids were splashing her. After about an hour we had cake, ice cream and chocolate fountain goodies inside. The kids loved the chocolate fountain....but we have lots left over. Paige then went to open gifts. She was not too into actually opening the gifts, but she liked seeing what was inside. She loves her new motorcycle bike toy from the neighbors, her doll house and accessories, her baby doll stroller, her princess towel and bat, and alphabet fridge toy.

We were so grateful people took time to celebrate with Paige today.

This year we decided to make less complicated cakes...Paige liked the white one with the flowers the best.
Paige was disappointed she could not eat the cake right away so she decorated her own. She barely got the icing on the cake before she started licking it off. Yummy!
Kate enjoyed the party. She loves Paige's new doll house.
Paige is playing with her new doll house, her shirt is being washed. Somehow it got icing on it before the party even started.
Kate is wearing her light up owl shirt and posing with Papa. Paige would not pose for this picture, she was ready to go outside.

Paige is checking out the chocolate fountain.
She ended up eating just plain marshmallows.

First Football Game!

2008-08-29T06:02:00.000-05:00

This week we went to the neighborhood pool and played with our letters in the bath. We had lots of fun, but got super tired. Mark looks like he might cry in this picture....We don't hold back around here.

Paige and Grace looking for the TIGER!

Baby Kate enjoying the weather!

Our eyes are always closed these days. Last night was the first Stony Point High School football game. The Tigers won! YEAH! We are off to a good start.

Back in Round Rock!

2008-08-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

Kate at the back door.

Say, "Cheese."
Posing for a picture, as good as we get!
Playing in Mama's room in the morning. Uh oh Baby Kate is crying.
Mama and Daddy have their own bathroom! No more sharing, Yeah!

Well we finally made it back to Round Rock. We have been very busy the past couple weeks unpacking and settling in. We LOVE being back in our old house and having the extra space. Whenever we are out and I tell Paige we are coming home she always says to her "new room." Paige and Kate love spending the days with Ms. Terry and Grace. Terry has been a huge help. She watched the girls a couple days so I could unpack and brought us dinner one night.

Baby Kate's Room

The Girl's Bathroom

Paige's Room

Mark is excited to be coaching again. He went back to work the day after we moved back. He has loved every minute. Luckily,this year he found someone to help out with the laundry after practice so he won't be home so late. Paige thinks it is cool her Daddy is a yellow school bus driver. We went to see Mark at a scrimmage this weekend. I told Paige we were going to see the tigers and she said, "Oh no they will eat me!" I explained that it was football and she would be safe. When we got there, the boys were running off the field and I told Paige we need to hurry and get out of the way. Terrified she yelled, "The tigers are getting me." After a few games I think that we will understand the whole concept of football players.

Today we are going to move boxes into the new school building. We are going to drop the girls off at Terry's and then taxi all my stuff over. It should be interesting to see how many trips and how much stuff can fit in my car. I think our strategy is to sort the boxes by how much they weigh, move the heavy ones first and then I will take the rest each day next week.

Westside Elementary, Leander ISD

2008-03-18T20:08:00.000-05:00

Bath Time....Paige!
Big sister, Little sister.
Mommy and Kate outside...
Lets Rodeo with Daddy....
Yummy!

Paige Playing Dress Up...
Kate Loving Her Bath!
Tummy Time!
Whoa, Weird Sound.
Mommy, Kate and Paige after a long week....

Back Again!

2008-02-23T22:43:00.000-06:00

It has been almost a year since my last post. I forgot my password, got busy and just now figured it out. A lot has happened since the last blog, we had another baby. Kate Olivia was born on November 29, 2007. Life in Houston has been fun. Mark has been working as an Assistant Principal at North Shore High School. I have been working as an Early Intervention Specialist at North Shore Elementary. We have been hanging out with family and loving every minute of it. Here are some pictures from the past year that are fun!

Paige at Boo at the Zoo!

Thanksgiving 2007. Five days before Kate was born!

Uma and Papa with Ryan and Paige.

Welcome baby Kate!

Leslie, Ryan, Macey, Valerie, Paige and Kate November 2007.

Paige and Ryan playing the piano.

Macey and Kate in the car seat. Not the best idea :)

More comfortable for Kate.

First Blog-Getting Caught Up!

2006-12-17T08:01:00.000-06:00

Start at the bottom of this page and read up.

I put my sunglasses on and helped out. That is where we are now.

Even with all the family, Dad still had time to build a deck.

Here I am with Papa Hopkins, Dad and Grandma Leota.

A few weeks later I met my Grandma Leota.

We talked all afternoon.

I met Mema.

There is nothing like milk and cookies.

I celebrated my daddy's birthday with my Nana, Mema, Papa Hopkins and my parents.

I am ready for Christmas.

There they both are!

We watched Aunt Leslie and Ryan ride the carousel.

Aunt Leslie, Ryan, Mommy and I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving. We had to get up really early.

We had fun.

He gave me kisses.

He found my hair.

He found his nose.

He found my nose.

I took pictures with Ryan.

My Aunt Leslie got me to laugh.

There was football to watch.

We went to the Spellins' for Thanksgiving Dinner.

I met my Grammy Hubbard too.

I met my Grampy Hubbard.

Thanksgiving at the Hubbards.

I didn't have to dress up. I am already as cute as a pumpkin.

Halloween came and we walked the neighborhood.

I forgot to tell you, I also go to football banquets.

This is my babysitter Terri and her daughter Grace. Mrs. Terri loves me bunches and Gracie is like a sister.

Go Stony Point Tigers!

Maybe I should stick to cheering!

The ball is bigger than me, but I am ready to play!

Since my daddy is a coach, I have been to lots of football games.

Here I am with my Nana and Papa Hopkins. Don't I look cute in my bonnet?

I also met my Nana Hopkins.

Did I tell you, Ryan loves me!?!

I have met my Aunt Megan and third Grandma Kathy. Megan is a safe person for me to be myself with. I have spit up on her many times.

I have met my Uncle Stephen and love him...See my smile. I also met Kristi, and I like her too.

Ryan sure does love me. We talk on the phone to each other these days.

I have sipped coffee out by the pool with my Papa Hubbard.

I have met my cousin Ryan, who gives me lots of love and kisses.

I have met my Aunt Leslie. When she came to visit we went to the hearing doctor and the mall.

Since I came home from the hospital, I have had all sorts of fun with family. I have built a bear with my Uma and Papa Hubbard.

We were shown how to burp and feed her. They even showed us how to change a diaper. Those things are automatic now. Especially the changing diaper part.

When she was born, she has some trouble breathing and stayed in the NICU for five days. Mom and dad got to stay at the hospital with her and learn how to be parents.

This is Paige Elizabeth Hopkins. She was born on September 1, 2006. She weighed 6.27 lbs and was 19.5 in long.