Hoos' Family Chronical

Sugar and Spice and everything Nice

2011-02-21T22:32:00.001-05:00

Kailey was helping me make some frosting tonight, and as she was licking it off the beater, I told her she's my little sugar baby. I told her that some people say that girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice and boys are made of frogs and snails and puppy dog tails. I asked her, do you think you have sugar and spice and everything nice inside of you? She instantly replied "No." "So what do you think you have inside?" I asked. Kailey matter-of-factly answered "Guacamole."

June 2009 - Sea World Day 2

2009-11-07T21:31:00.000-05:00

My Mom came with us to Sea World where we got to explore for a second day. I swear, if I lived in San Diego, I would just get a season pass! There is so much to see and do - and the kids were just so happy the whole time. We did have one little scare though. Logan got off of the rope climb and headed over to the arcade without telling anyone. My Mom and I searched everywhere for him and we finally found him calmly playing the demo of a racing game, not even realizing that he was "lost"!

June 2009 - Sea World

2009-11-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

Hello Shamu! The kids had a blast at Sea World. There were great programs showing off all of the talented animals and Logan and Kailey really liked the play area and rides.

June 2009 - California

2009-11-07T14:48:00.000-05:00

After Travel Town, we went to Griffeth Park Zoo and saw lots of fun animals. The mountain goats were especially impressive with their agility and the kids really liked to watch the baby animals poop in the petting zoo. (Go figure!)

June 2009 - California

2009-11-07T14:45:00.000-05:00

Here we are at Travel Town in LA with my Dad and my brother Aaron. They were so good to the kids and Dad even bought us tickets to ride on the train which was a total highlight for them!

June 2009 - More Pics from Logan's 4th Birthday

2009-11-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

Logan's 4th Birthday

2009-11-07T14:10:00.000-05:00

Logan insisted on having another Cars party for his 4th birthday. Luckily we were in a whole new state with new friends, so I was okay with it. We were so glad to have my Mom there who made a fabulous cake for Logan (from scratch!) We played lots of fun games and had a "race track" in our driveway with a "real" pit-stop! We had Logan's cousins and school friends come and it was a blast!

The Zufelts are Here!

2009-11-07T14:02:00.007-05:00

June 2009 - We were so glad that Ashley and TJ and their cute girls could come and visit from Texas. All the cousins were so happy to play with each other and cook out. Kailey finally got to meet Tristan who is just a couple of months younger than her. It will be so fun for them as they grow up! We are glad that Jeramy's family always makes it so fun to get together.

More Pics from Logan's soccer

2009-11-07T13:57:00.000-05:00

This was Logan's last day of Spring Soccer, and for once, we actually had nice weather. It seemed like every weekend in Spring was cold, wet and miserable, but today, the smiles are genuine. Also, that is powdered sugar on his cute face!

Jeramy's Graduation

2009-11-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, Jeramy has been going to school at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville for his PhD in Engineering Physics. Even though he got a job last October, Graduation coincided with a Physics conference at UVA, so we all got to go back for graduation and Jeramy's hooding. He has put in countless hours and sacrifice to get to this point and we are all so proud of him. He has so many great ideas - I can't wait for the "real world" to see what he can do! We were also so happy to have Jeramy's parents and advisor there at the ceremony and for our little celebration where we got to see a lot of great friends that we've missed these last few months.

Safety First or High Fashion?

2009-04-26T18:30:00.000-04:00

Jeramy woke up early to go snowboarding, but Kailey loved his helmet, so we had a little fashion show. Unfortunately, the snow was so good, that they closed I-70 (the only way up to the mountain) so Jeramy didn't get to go after all (so sad).

Logan's First Soccer Game

2009-04-26T18:24:00.000-04:00

Logan just started soccer with some of his neighborhood friends. He loves running around on the field and getting the ball. Sometimes he's a little enthusiastic and kicks it as hard as he can out of bounds, but we are trying to teach him that he's supposed to aim for the goal. It's been very cold so far, but I think as the weather warms up, he'll enjoy it even more. His team did lose their game 4-5, but to be fair, I think we kicked it in our own goal a couple of times...

Fashionista!

2009-04-26T18:15:00.001-04:00

Kailey is learning how to dress herself now. She spends a good chunk of her day taking her pants of and then trying to get them back on to another part of her body (and not necessarily her legs...)

Our New Home

2009-03-07T15:57:00.000-05:00

View of Kitchen from Family Room

Well, we are "moved in" but we still have boxes to go through. I think a lot of it we will try to garage sale. It was hard to know what to keep or get rid of since we didn't know what Lynne had. It's nice to have a furnished house, because there is so much that we don't have, but at the same time we aren't sure what to do with our stuff either...
We really like the neighborhood there are three playgrounds/parks really close and everyone is very friendly. Logan started preschool at Gunbarrel Preschool a couple of weeks ago and really enjoys playing and the crafts. Kailey and Logan are also going to a music class, and an art club group. Life is fun!

More New Home pics

2009-03-07T15:52:00.000-05:00

Kid's Bathroom
Stairs to Front Door
Powder Room
Basement Storage

Pics of New Home

2009-03-07T15:50:00.000-05:00

Formal Living Room

Dining Room
Family Room
Basement

Tree House

2009-03-07T15:48:00.000-05:00

Our Backyard

2009-03-07T15:46:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of our backyard. We got a new-to-us swing set off of craigslist, but it's similar to the old one here - just purple and a little newer.

Our New Home

2009-03-07T15:43:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of Logan and Kailey in our backyard in our new home in Gunbarrel (near Boulder).

The newest sleep aid

2009-02-02T11:46:00.002-05:00

I made some molten chocolate cakes for a party and Logan kept begging me for one, so I finally gave in (although I was wary that it was too much chocolate for one little guy). When he was done, he said, in all seriousness, "Mom, I think all this chocolate and sugar is going to help me sleep good tonight." YEAH, RIGHT.

Why can't Jesus go to the bathroom?

2009-01-27T18:24:00.002-05:00

Here is an "out of the mouth of babes" experience...

We were taking the sacrament bread and

I whispered to Logan "Okay, Honey, now think about Jesus."

He asked "Why?"

I said "Because His body was broken and He died for us."

So Logan askes, "How does he go potty?"

I said "What? What does the sacrament have to do with going to the bathroom?"

He said "You know, how does he go to the bathroom if his Potty is Broken?!"

Racing

2008-12-25T19:10:00.002-05:00

We were hiking at Manoa Falls and Logan asked me if I wanted to race. I said OK, but then he said alright Mommy, now stick out your tongue just like Lightning McQueen and RUN! I guess a Mom with more composure would have just declined, but I have to admit, it was kind of fun :)

Waikiki Beach

2008-12-25T19:05:00.000-05:00

Just Enjoying the Hawaiian Sunshine. Being in Hawaii has been so relaxing and fun. Wish you were here!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-12-06T15:48:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun visiting with Auntie Peggy, Uncle Steve and Katharine. Katharine whooped me at Wii Tennis, but at least my Mii is cute. We ate way too much, but enjoyed every bite!

Diego Party

2008-06-29T19:39:00.000-04:00

We had so much fun at Logan's Diego party. You can't see it from these photos, but we had streamers and balloons and posters all over the walls for decoration. We made a Diego Ocean Animals mural with stickers and colored pictures of Diego with Baby Jaguar. We played "Diego says," and made animal noises and movements. We played pin the badge on Diego, an animal toss to the "Animal Rescue Center," and dug animals out of the sand box. Then we went on an animal scavenger hunt with our binoculars. We ended the party with Pizza, Cake and Ice cream and some free play on the playground. What a fun day!

Birthday from Grandma Hughes

2008-06-29T19:30:00.000-04:00

Grandma Hughes sent a package for Logan and he had so much fun with the presents. He especially liked the bubble wrap which he thought was a present in and of itself!

Playing Doctor

2008-06-29T17:36:00.000-04:00

My Mom got Logan an Animal Hospital Doctor kit and he and Kailey love to play with it. Okay, so Logan loves to play with it and Kailey likes to chew on it.

Kailey and Friends

2008-06-29T17:34:00.000-04:00

Here are pictures of Kailey on the slide (her new favorite activity) with her friends Avani and Suchi. Actually, they are Logan's friends, but they love to play with Kailey - especiallly peek-a-boo!

Logan's 3rd Birthday

2008-06-29T17:32:00.000-04:00

Logan has grown up so much this year.
He is constantly asking questions (Why?) and figuring out, not just what things are, but how things work both mechanically and socially. Of course, he is testing all types of boundaries. An example might be that since I let him help me crack the eggs when we are baking of course that means he should be able to take the eggs and milk out of the refrigerator and start cooking all by himself! I try not to make a big deal of it, because he usually isn't doing anything wrong on purpose, but you'd be surprised how many ways you can get in trouble "accidentally."
Logan is so proud of how he is growing up and getting bigger. Like being potty trained and learning how to pee standing up (like Daddy and some friends he saw on the playground). He can hop on one foot. He can climb up the big ladders on the playground. He can do super-spins (where he jumps up and spins all the way around at the same time). He is most proud of the fact that he can now do "two" and "three" with his fingers. He's actually had a lot of trouble with this and has been using one index finger on each hand stuck together to represent "two" and the OK symbol to represent "three."
He is learning his letters and (thanks to the Letter Factory DVD and some magnets) now knows most of them. He is learning how to write his letters and can do A, H and O and sometimes L, N and C. It's slow going with his attention span and energy level, but we keep plugging away!
Logan's favorite things to do right now are sand, water, chalk, cars and going for walks as a family.
I think the biggest breakthrough of this year is the growth of a substantial head of hair. It took long enough!

More Strawberry picking pics

2008-05-18T14:44:00.000-04:00

Strawberry Picking

2008-05-18T14:43:00.000-04:00

Since this is our last summer in Charlottesville, we couldn't miss picking Strawberries at Chiles Peach Orchard. Of course we started with a yummy strawberry milkshake and then headed over to the field. The plants were lush and the strawberries ripe. It was a beautiful Saturday though a bit windy (but in a nice way). Logan really wanted to pick the green ones, but we managed to convince him that the red ones taste a whole lot better. We have so many wonderful traditions here in Charlottesville, we hope that when we move we'll find some new ones to keep the memories going.

Kailey loves to swing

2008-05-18T14:22:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that Kailey is big enough to fit in the swing already, but I am thankful because it means I don't have to wear her in the Baby Bjorn all the time and she can have some fun too!

Bathtime!

2008-05-18T14:18:00.001-04:00

Watering the Grass

2008-05-18T14:03:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, we drove to Fredericksburg, VA to look at the area for a potential job. Of course, Logan needed to go potty when we were in the middle of no where, so here's a pic of his first opportunity to "water the grass" as Jeramy put it. After this, Logan wanted to pee outside all the time because the grass ALWAYS needs water, right? So I had to explain that we only pee outside when it is an emergency and there are no pottys nearby. "Oh." He says. Try not to sound so disappointed, Logan...

Playdoh Playdate

2008-04-07T22:20:00.000-04:00

We had a little Playdoh Playdate today since it's been a little cold and rainy. Logan was amazing - the kitchen set he got for Christmas came with little "recipe cards" that have pictures of food to make. He picked a card and made a little salad - just like the picture! Okay, so maybe it was just wads of playdoh stuck together - but they were at least the same COLORS as the ones in the picture and you could tell that he was deliberately trying to make a yummy salad for Mommy! He was also very proud of his "bug" that he made with the set from Grandma Hughes. (See Pic #2). Pic #4 shows Sterling, Logan and Hailey playing in Kailey's gym that I made into a "hideout" by putting a blanket over them. I had just pulled the blanket off when I took the picture. It's not as in focus as I would like, but the blurry smiles tell the story just as well. They had fun playing in that little space for much longer than you would expect of 2-3 year olds.

Be still my heart

2008-04-07T22:13:00.000-04:00

Does this just make you melt or what?! I can't say it enough - Logan is the BEST big brother!

Kailey

2008-04-07T22:11:00.000-04:00

Okay, so maybe I put up too many pictures of Kailey, but I just think she is the most adorable baby I've ever met! She's almost 7 months now, and to the point where she can sit up very well on her own. The only problem is that even if you put her in one place, she doesn't stay there long as she is so interested in the world around her. She can't crawl yet (thank goodness) but she somehow scoots or rolls or army crawls her way all around the living room floor.

KidVention

2008-04-07T22:04:00.000-04:00

Logan had a blast on the bouncy castles at KidVention a couple of Saturday's ago. He even went on this huge one (I was surprised they even let him on!)

Jeramy's Lab

2008-04-07T22:00:00.000-04:00

This entry is for all of us out there who wonder what in the heck Jeramy does in the "lab" this is what it looks like! No little white mice, but still a very complicated maze of optics (that's physics talk for mirrors and lenses). When you see it in person, it is very impressive. Every day I wonder how in the world he keeps all these little parts straight, but I guess if it's your passion and your ticket to a PhD, you learn to pay attention!

Easter Egg Hunt #3

2008-03-23T14:53:00.002-04:00

This first picture is actually from Easter Egg Hunt #2, but Picasa wouldn't let me do too many pics at once. This LOOKS like an innocent enough picture - like Logan is just holding his basket and about to pick up an egg, right?! Wrong! This is the picture right before Logan decided to throw his entire Easter basket - eggs and all - down the slide (to his left) and then pick up every egg hidden on the play structure and throw them down after it.

Here is Logan helping Kailey find her Easter Basket this morning.
Kailey liked chewing on the wrapper of a chocolate covered marshmallow Easter Bunny. Lucky for me, she can't eat that yet, so I get it!

Logan taking a picture of Kailey with his new toy cell phone. He thinks he is just like Mommy now!
He LOVES this phone - he completely ignored everything else the Easter Bunny brought. He also cried for half an hour when we told him he couldn't bring it into church because it was too noisy!

The kiddies and I in our Easter best!

Easter Egg Hunt #2

2008-03-23T14:46:00.000-04:00

I got to be in charge of hiding the eggs this year and a bunch of friends helped. Here is Chuck Bowen holding an egg that a squirrel ate through only minutes after we hid it!
Jeramy got to be the Easter Bunny.
The last picture shows about half of the people that came.

Easter Egg Hunt #1

2008-03-23T14:42:00.000-04:00

Logan didn't want to go with his 0-3 year age group - he wanted to hang out with the big girls!
After finding 6 eggs, Logan said that he got "enough" and decided to hang out and check out his loot. Not the kind of "loot" that Jeramy's sister's got, but the candy...
After a couple of minutes, he changed his mind, got a second wind, and collected 8 more eggs!

Carrots!

2008-03-22T13:41:00.000-04:00

Jeramy fed Kailey's her first "real" food today while I was at the Habitat for Humanity build. He said she really seemed to like it and that she ate half a tub! Go Kailey! The construction was fun for me and great experience. We laid decking which I guess is like plywood boards that will go under the floor. The scary part was that we were two stories up nailing the plywood to the tresses. I was pretty scared of the height, but after a while it wasn't so bad. It felt good to do some service for the community.

Teeth!

2008-03-19T07:48:00.004-04:00

It's official! Kailey has gotten her first two bottom teeth just a couple of days past her 6 month mark. They are razor sharp and have me dreaming of weaning, but I think we may be at least a couple of months away from that. Kailey is hitting all of her milestones right on target and it is so fun to watch her progress. She can already roll over, and now she can sit up by herself (at least for a little while). Way to go Kailey! I think Dr. Quillian is right, you are a precocious one!

Logan's Quote #4

2008-03-09T22:18:00.003-04:00

So Logan is going through a phase (I hope) of not wanting to eat the skin on apples. He also decided that he doesn't like the crust on bread. Today when I asked him if he was going to eat the crust parts of his Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich, he said "No, it's too skin-y!"

Monster Jam

2008-03-09T22:09:00.000-04:00

On the spur of the moment, we got tickets to see Monster Jam at the John Paul Jones Arena. It was quite the redneck thing to do, and when I showed up, everyone was wearing camo - so I felt a little out of place (or underdressed?!). Logan really loved the show, because the only other time I've ever seen him still for 2 hours at a time is when he is asleep. I was glad that we brought his monster trucks from home because they were selling similar ones at the arena for $25 each!! It wasn't as dirty and muddy as I expected, and nobody crashed, but it was still cool. Oh yeah, and Kailey is permanently deaf. Just Kidding. We left her with some friends. (Who are now deaf from her crying)

Logan's Story

2008-03-02T14:20:00.000-05:00

So I wrote a story for Logan about one of his typical days and now I am trying to take pictures to fill the book. These were a couple of cute pictures. I like them because they show his personality.

My darling

2008-03-02T14:12:00.000-05:00

Kailey is just so cute and so happy.

Quote #3: Friends from the Start

2008-02-28T16:00:00.000-05:00

The other day, we were all playing together and Logan said "Kailey is my sister. Kailey is my friend." It made me so happy to hear him say this. I have never talked about them being friends, so this was something that he came up with on his own. He really is so loving to her and Kailey loves being around him. I hope they will continue to be friends as they grow up.

The Monsters are Coming!

2008-02-13T18:07:00.003-05:00

I love that Logan has started using his imagination over the last couple of weeks. We played a game today where we turned off the lights and used binoculars to find monsters. Then we shot them with a gun. It was fun.

Obama Wins!

2008-02-13T14:32:00.004-05:00

Since Romney dropped out of the race, we've been rooting exclusively for Obama. I like his hopeful campaign (and that he graduated from Punahou). I also like that he's eloquent - which is a much needed change from Bush ("If there's one thing that Americans know how to do, it's grow corn!") We are excited that Obama has won the Potomac primaries including Virginia, DC and Maryland and is now ahead of Hillary Clinton. (I wouldn't mind if Hillary won, but Jeramy doesn't like her)

Milestones

2008-02-13T14:28:00.003-05:00

So I haven't really been keeping track of Kailey's milestones like I should. I think she started smiling around 6 weeks and laughing and gooing around 3 months. Well, I was hanging out at the Cannon's house "watching" their kids (they were just asleep) and playing with Kailey when she ROLLED OVER. At 5 MONTHS! Logan didn't do that until he was 10 months. I attribute it to her sleeping on her tummy. I think she really likes the mobility and the chance to look around (there's lots to see when Logan is your big brother!)

Logan's Quote of the Day #2

2008-02-13T14:23:00.002-05:00

"I don't want to be smart!"

Let me explain this one. Since Logan started jumping on Kailey while I nurse her, I have let him watch TV to keep him occupied. Well, now all he wants to do is watch TV, so we are really trying to limit it, but he keeps begging to watch. Finally, Jeramy tried to explain to Logan that if you want to grow up to be smart, then you can't watch too much TV. To this Logan replied "I don't want to be smart!"

Uncle Eben's Christmas Eve Party

2008-01-30T16:06:00.000-05:00

Meredith and Meli

Meredith and Kailey

If you are LDS, you might not want to look too closely at this one.
This not exactly your typical Santa Claus coming to town! As tradition dictates, the elves are some of the Uncles dressed up hoochie-mama style. It's pretty funny in person... ;)

Logan and Santa

Christmas 2007

2008-01-30T15:59:00.000-05:00

Christmas Morning breakfast, Logan with presents, Dad and Kailey.

Honolulu Hale Display

2008-01-30T15:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is a giant Santa and Mrs. Claus! Below: A Menehune driving the pineapple train.

Logan's first Banyan Tree

2008-01-30T15:53:00.000-05:00

These pics are from Christmas in Hawaii.
We found a banyan tree - I used to love playing in those as a kid - and got some shots.
These are across the street from Honolulu Hale (where we went to see the Christmas trees and holiday displays - a family tradition).

Sweet

2008-01-27T15:43:00.000-05:00

Baby Kailey at 4 1/2 Months + 1 day. Kailey is my Sweetie, but Logan likes to call her Mr. Stinky!

Baby Kailey at 4 1/2 Months

2008-01-27T15:41:00.000-05:00

Mr. Potato Head

2008-01-27T15:29:00.000-05:00

We were playing with Mr. Potato Head - Logan's favorite toy this week. It was a special gift from Auntie Peggy for Christmas. As you can see, the glasses are the biggesst hit.

Logan's Quote of the Day

2008-01-27T15:25:00.000-05:00

"Mommy, I'm turning the dark off!"

Island Titan

2008-01-13T14:42:00.000-05:00

At first, Logan seemed a little intimidated by Uncle Aaron because he's so big, but by the end of our trip, he loved playing with him (see video) It didn't hurt that Uncle Aaron has a cool new truck (A Nissan Titan) that Logan just LOVED playing in!

Beach Bunny

2008-01-13T14:34:00.000-05:00

Kailey only got to go to the beach a couple of times on our trip. (It was pretty windy so she hung out with Grandma most of the time) This is her at Waikiki just before sunset.

Hauoli Makahiki Hou

2007-12-31T17:08:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year from Hawaii. We have been visiting the family for the holidays. It's raining again today, so it was a perfect day to work on our blog. I was very excited for the fireworks tonight until last night when Logan heard some others lighting up early and got scared. I hope he gets more excited and less scared when he sees all of us burning together. We've had so much fun going to the beach, shopping, and of course eating, eating, eating!

Day at the Albemarle County Fair

2007-09-03T22:54:00.000-04:00

Meredith was just trying to make conversation at Albemarle County Fair while Logan and I checked out the cab of the fire truck, but this man in the uniform mistook her friendliness and almost signed us all up for the volunteer fire department.

First Post

2007-09-03T22:28:00.000-04:00

I just logged on and created my first blog. I expect this is going to be very informative for everyone out there in web land. Well, if I'm going to change the world or take it over,I might as well do it one posting at a time.

On a less world-dominating note, tonight we had the Schill family over for dinner. Meredith made mochico chicken and the Schills brought an awsome apple pie and a scrumptious peach pie. We all had a good time and we got to reminese over last week. The night ended with a fabulous rendition of "Peanut Butter and Jelly" performed by the masters of performing arts, Amy and Stewart.