Finally a new post.

Yes, it has been forever since I have updated our blog. Unfortunately I don't have anything really exciting to report about our time missing in action. I'll just update you on Thanksgiving and the usual goings on in the Pope household.

Thanksgiving was fun this year (isn't it always? What other holiday is about giving thanks, eating, hanging out, eating some more, friends and family, and eating?) This was our 3rd Thanksgiving away from our families and I cooked the turkey this year (my 2nd time ever cooking a whole turkey). It turned out really yummy and moist. In fact I'm sure if I had said how moist the turkey was one more time Damon might have thrown it at me. The secret to a really moist turkey is to stuff it with apples, onions, and celery-Just a hint! I also made the rolls and Lemon Meringue Pie! Lemon meringue pie is my favorite so I make it every year. The problem is that I make them so infrequently that they take me FOREVER to make. Oh well, one yummy bite and all of the hard work is forgotten...well almost.

Damon played a little neighborhood football game in the morning and it was freezing! I was glad I wasn't out there. My friend Crystal braved the cold for a few pictures of the tough football players. (Check out her blog by clicking on her name)

We had dinner at our friend's the Dixons with the Flemings joining us. The kids just ran wild and had a great time. Hannah thinks that she is one of the big kids (Max and Brenna are 2) and tried to get right in the mix.

Thanksgiving at the Dixon's. Don't you love Hannah's hair and smile?

Damon got the whole week of Thanksgiving off and we sure enjoyed having him home. It was nice to be able to take a shower without a little person peeking in at me every few seconds. Hannah enjoyed having Damon home and followed him everywhere. Hannah loves to read books (she could do it ALL day) and Damon was so great to read Princess Bear, Elmo Loves You, Humpty Dumpty, Wheels on the Bus and her other stack of favorites over and over and over. Damon got to go fishing a couple of times with his friend Bren Dixon during their week off and just enjoyed spending time with his family.

Okay, I know this is turning into the longest post you've ever seen, but I had to include some funny pictures of Hannah (it wouldn't be a real post without pictures of Hannah)! We got out the Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving and Hannah found this elf hat and thought it was way cool with the bell on it and everything. Here she is modeling it for us.

I also bought her a new hat and mitten set at Target. The mittens are attached to the top of the hat and it kind of made her look like a bunny.

I love the tongue sticking out.

Notice she has a book. That is how she usually looks!

Sorry this was such a long post. I guess that is what I get for not posting more regularly. We'll be heading out of town for Christmas on the 15th so there may not be a post for a while but I'll be sure to update all of my followers (oh wait, do I have any of those?) when I get back. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Last days of Fall

On Thursday it was 60 something degrees and I knew it would probably be one of the last (if not THE last) warm days of the year so I wanted to let Hannah go out and play in the leaves. I was hoping to get some really cute pictures in the beautiful multi-colored leaves, but as you can see from the pictures she wasn't really cooperating. She had a really hard time walking in the leaves and kept falling. She wouldn't look at me when I got the camera out. All she wanted to do was go walking on the sidewalk (and in the middle of the road.) So, instead of playing in the leaves as I had pictured, we walked on the sidewalk and I chased her down before she ran into the middle of the road. I have so many good memories playing in the leaves when I was a kid (sorry Dad for always jumping into your nicely raked leaf piles!) and I was envisioning my daughter having these same memories. Oh, well. Maybe next year!

Crawling toward the sidewalk (and road).

Trying to catch the leaves the wind was blowing her way.

These leaves are pretty yummy!

You should have fed me something before we came out, Mom.

One of the two pictures I got of her kind of smiling.

Just cute! How did I get such a cute kid? I know I'm a little biased, but she's pretty darn cute!

I'm IT AGAIN!

Okay so I must have forgotten to say "NO TOUCHBACKS" when I played tag last time because I got tagged again! Here it goes:

The Rules: Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post the player tags six people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Have fun! (I have also been instructed to do this about my husband.)

Damon:
1. Damon was the soccer team captain and played varsity basketball in high school.
2. Damon was prom king in high school (I'm smiling about that mental picture since I can't get this kid to dance with me!)
3. Damon has wanted to be a dentist since he was a sophomore in high school. What vision!
4. Damon and his flag football team won the BYU-Idaho intramural championship 4 times in a row! Go TEAM HORKLEYS!
5. One of Damon's legs is smaller than the other (his right is smaller) due to a soccer injury as a sophomore in high school.
6. Damon has promised me that sometime (hopefully sooner than later) he will take a Latin dance class with me. I already have the shoes!

Miriam:
1. I love to travel and have been to at least 12 different countries.
2. I lived overseas in Saudi Arabia for 2 years when I was a kid.
3. I'm afraid of large dogs I don't know (and even some small ones) due to scary childhood experiences.
4. I love to dance! I haven't done it in a while, but I love to swing, country dance, ballroom, and Latin dance.
5. I can't make sugar cookies to save my life. I can make other cookies just fine but sugar cookies always kick my trash. Thank goodness for Betty Crocker mixes!
6. I really like soup. I love to make soup and I love to eat soup. The only problem is that I don't know how to make a little bit of soup. Poor Damon ends up eating it for 3 or 4 nights before it's all gone or we're so sick of it we could die!

I tag Kim West, Terrah Harper, Haley Hammons, Jordan Pratt, Amanda Howard, and Carissa Poyfair (you don't have to do it again if you've already done it).

Tag! - I'm IT

So my friend Carissa tagged me on Monday and I'm just now getting around to posting this on my blog. Sorry everyone! I know you have just been dying to find out the juicy details of my life!

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. I was a Sophomore in High School and wishing I was 16 so I could date!
2. I was working at a sno-shack (one of the yummiest jobs ever!)
3. I was sharing a car with my older brother (not fun! He never put gas in it I swear!)
4. I was taking voice lessons.
5. I was living at home with my parents and 5 siblings.

5 Things on my to-do list today:

1. Go to the library and return my books.
2. Go to Target.
3. Write my talk for the Primary Program on Sunday (yes I am a procrastinator)
4. Update my blog
5. Do the dishes.

5 Foods I enjoy:

1. Mexican food
2. Mashed Potatoes & Gravy (can't wait for Thanksgiving!)
3. Italian food
4. Chinese food
5. Hamburgers and other BBQ foods like potato salad

5 Bad habits:

1. I never wash my face before I go to bed.
2. I am bossy
3. I like to be right (who honestly likes to be wrong?)
4. Sometimes I put Hannah to bed before she's really ready because I need a break!
5. I'm a procrastinator

5 of my favorite toys:

1. The Internet
2. The computer
3. Books
4. TV/watching DVDs
5. My husband :)

5 People I tag:

1. Emily
2. Katie
3. Misty
4. Jordan
5. Rachel

Good luck tagees! Can't wait to read all about ya!

Is this my personality?

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards.You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values.You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's" Your Personality Type?

I'm not sure if this is really me or not, but this is what the quiz has decided. What do you think?

Daddy's Entertainment

Last night when I was trying to do the dishes Hannah kept trying to unload the dishwasher while I was loading it. So, I asked Damon to entertain her for a little while so I could get them done. I was scrubbing a pot and I turned around to find this view of Hannah.

Yes, Hannah is wearing the laundry basket on her head. It was really funny. I think Damon and I were the ones being entertained and not Hannah. But, she didn't seem to mind. It was really funny watching her walk around with that on her head. For those of you who think this might cause suffocation or is some type of holding your breath exercise, the bag is made of mesh!

She's such a funny little girl. I don't know what we'd do without her!

Thank goodness for moments of quiet reflection

Do you ever have those days when you think, "I love my job, but I need a break!"? I had one of those days yesterday. Even though my job is being a mom (a stay at home one at that) and I love it, sometimes you just feel like you need to run away from home. Hannah has had a cold and was whiny all day yesterday. After being cooped up at home (especially one one of the rare sunny days in Cleveland) I had had it. Luckily for me when Damon came home and we had dinner he told me to go out and do something fun. He tried to get me to invite various friends to go to ice cream or something, but I was just in one of those moods where I needed to get away by myself. So, I went to TJ MAXX and looked at sheets and comforters (am I exciting or what?) and then went to Target to check out the clearance Halloween costumes and candy. When I got home Hannah was thankfully in bed and I had 15 minutes to spare before The Office came on. Later after I had gotten over my selfishness I thought about my sweet little daughter. I was sad because I didn't get to kiss her goodnite or say prayers with her before she went to bed. I guess sometimes it takes little moments of reflection like that to make you appreciate the little things in life. I guess what I am trying to say is I love my life. I love being a mom. I love my sweet little daughter, she brings so much happiness to my life. Thank goodness for moments of quite reflection.

My little Hannah when I got home and kissed her goodnite. You can't really tell, but she's got her bottom sticking up in the air. She's the craziest sleeper!

Happy Halloween?

We went to our Ward Halloween party last night (can you guess who we went as?) and Hannah had already had it before we got there. She wasn't thrilled about me trying to make her keep her lion mane on and as you can see from the picture she wasn't really having a happy Halloween. I was in charge of helping the kids make tootsie-pop ghosts so she hung out with Daddy during the party. I think all she did was walk around and try and beg food off of people. We do feed her, I swear!

Hannah was much happier wearing her costume at our little playgroup on Thursday. All of the kids were being some type of animal for Halloween so we had them all dress up. They were pretty cute but didn't hold very still for pictures (imagine that!)

I am Lion hear me ROAR!!!

I don't think we'll put Hannah through wearing the costume again and just stay home tonight. Maybe we'll skip the trick-or-treaters since we'll run out of candy in about 10 min. anyway.

First Blog Attempt

After 4 1/2 years of marriage and one child later, we finally have the internet!! This means I have a lot of catching up to do. One of the things that was top on my list was figuring out how to do a blog. All of my friends have them and I want one too! So, without any instructions at all, here is my first attempt at blogging. Those of you who may be more blogging savvy (lets face it probably everyone but my mom is - no offense mom!) may not be too impressed with my first effort, but give me a break. It is bound to improve as I figure things out.


On October 10 Hannah celebrated her first birthday! I can't believe that she's one already! Time goes by too quickly. She's so fun! She talks all day long and we can hardly understand a word, but that doesn't seem to stop her from talking up a storm. We've taken so many pictures of the poor child that whenever we get the camera out she starts smiling. We say "big smile" and she just cheeses it. She sure makes us laugh! This picture is of her on her birthday with her new farm. Note the famous cheeser smile.




These are pictures of Hannah enjoying her birthday ice cream cone cupcake. She pretty much devoured it. It was pretty funny. She couldn't get enough of it.


On Wednesday (October 24th) Hannah just started walking. She's been walking for a few months now, but she'd only take a few steps at a time. On Wednesday night she just took off and Thursday morning she was walking (almost running she's so fast) all over the house. Gone are the days of a clean house and a rested mother (Oh wait! That happened a year ago!) She kind of looked like a monkey at first because she stuck her belly out and waved her arms in the air. She always keeps us laughing!