The Black Cloud

OK, for the last 3 days MrHoppy has had a black cloud over his head. I'm ready for the skies to part and for sun to shine down on him! His black cloud is bringing me down too folks...

Last Thursday he was SO excited - his new iPhone finally came in! We spent the evening getting it set up, updating his aps and inputting his information. It was quite an upgrade from the phone he had with his previous carrier. We are such Apple people.

Then on Sunday he went dirt biking with his cousin. Do you see where this is going? T's bike wouldn't start to MrHoppy went back to get pliers. Fast forward to a wreck on the dirt bike. His phone and the pliers were in his camelback together. Guess whose screen was smashed by the pliers? 2 whole days of using his new phone and it's ruined. We're trying to check on getting it replaced but it's not looking good. $199 is where we're at right now. And that's $199 we don't have after purchasing the phone just last week...

He was so sad. I was sad for him. He just can't keep anything nice!

Yesterday he had a REALLY rough day. I guess it was just annoying in general anyway. And got worse when a can of black spray paint exploded on him. Yes, you read that correctly. A can of BLACK spray paint exploded on him at work! To top that off he drove home dirty and with traffic his commute took twice as long. He opens the door, finally home to a disgusting stench of poop. Dog poop. Poop from a very sick dog...

I have photos of this explosion but I'll spare you. Our Ridgeback got a case of explosive diarrhea in her kennel. It was everywhere. Everywhere. All over her, the wall, the kennel, the dresser, the carpet, her bedding. Poor baby, who knows how long she sat in her own filth while we were at work. It was the straw that broke the camel's (his) back. Poor guy was still cleaning when I got home. Covered in spray paint of course.

B was outside shivering - he had given her a bath with the hose and she was miserable. And had been sick 4 more times in the back yard. I have her an anti-diarrheal and that was the end of the explosions but she still isn't feeling well today. We're not sure what upset her tummy - she rarely gets sick. But she's holding down water, eating cottage cheese and doesn't seem to be in pain. I was so glad we weren't up all night with her.

I hate when our babies are sick, they are so helpless and can't tell us what is wrong. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well today while we're at work. My sister is going to try to check on her too. And I hope this is the end of MrHoppy's little unlucky streak. If it's not - this is going to be one LONG week! I also hope the spray paint comes off his neck and head sometime soon... He looks pretty silly right now!

Summer Concert

MrHoppy and I are lucky enough to still have friends in the town we attended college. So we have an excuse to sneak up there for a night out every once in awhile. Some of our friends have connections in said small town so this year we were able to get free Bunk House passes for the Clint Black concert. Woo Hoo. The Bunk House includes free booze and food so you can imagine how fun our night turned out. ;)

Am I a huge fan of country music? No. Am I a big Clint Black fan? Nope. Did I pay attention to the concert? Not really. We were too busy socializing and catching up with friends we don't see often! But we did have a really fun night and I'm glad we went. Who doesn't love an outdoor concert in the Summer?

MrHoppy with our friend K. K is married to one of MrHoppy's roommates from college.

MrHoppy hanging with said-friend K and another old roommate J

My sister and her hubby. Being el-pregnant-o she sweetly volunteered to drive our butts home. I may or may not have drunkenly talked her ear off for the entire hour long ride! Love you sis!

Sisters! We always take photos of ourselves this way for some reason. As do MrHoppy and I

Case in point

K & K nearing the end of the night. It was a fun one!

I really love Summer. But I'm always ready for the season changes we get here in Colorado. We're nearing my favorite time of year - Fall! It's sooooo beautiful here in the Fall, I can't wait. I'm dreaming of football, chili, pumpkin beer and crisp mornings!

Camp Colorado

We have been doing A LOT of camping this Summer. So much so that I'm rarely home on weekends. MrHoppy and I are lucky that we enjoy so many of the same pasttimes, especially when it comes to the outdoors. We both love to camp and we make it a priority in the Summer.

I think I posted last year about MrHoppy's family and their annual Family Campout. We did it again a few weeks ago and had such a great time. We left for our usual spot near Grand Lake right after work Thursday evening and stayed until Sunday morning. It was family time full of beautiful sights, sunsets, dirt bikes, hikes, beer, camp fires, and my favorite animals: Moose!

Setting up camp with the small group that made it up Thursday night

B waiting for everyone to get set up. She is so good about staying at camp without being tied up but while we were all busy I didn't trust it!

Giz hanging out in his coat with M. He is like a little baby

Sunset over the mountains. Can you blame us for loving being up there?

Full moon. M and I played with my new camera forever trying to get a perfect shot. I still have SO much to learn but she is really helpful.

Cooling off in MrHoppy's Aunt and Uncle's camper. It was soooo hot during the day! L thought she was one of us.

There I am getting ready for a ride!

It rained the first day so it was unusually cold the first night. I slept in my beanie with Gizmo!

A shot from the car on the way up

A shot of the lake from the car

Another gorgeous sunset

Full moon

Full moon with embers from the fire

They don't call it Colorful Colorado for nothin'

Fantastic view from the top of our hike.


Unfortunately MrHoppy and I did not defend our horseshoe tournament title. We took 2nd. Damn! It was all in good fun though. T & M, we're coming for you next year!

Pool Fun

It has been hot, hot, hot in Colorado! We have been staying cool by hitting the pool as often as we can. O loves the pool and I love being able to spend that time with my sister, brother-in-law and MrHoppy.

Our town has a new pool this Summer. One part has a crazy-play-town-contraption thing. There are 2 big slides and a lazy river. The fun part of the lazy river is that there are waves in one portion of it. It's so much fun watching O ride on the tube with his Daddy and go over the waves. He loves it!

On the downside, I have now been burned TWICE this Summer. Stupid - I haven't ever burned my stomach before but I guess I need sunscreen on it from now on!

Here are some fun pictures from our pool adventures.

Chilling in my shades with Auntie and Mama 

Sunscreen is such a fun toy


I don't want to wear my hat! Really, this lasted about 30 seconds. He is such a happy boy

 Sharing his sandwich with Uncle

Kisses for Uncle between bites

Fit Friday

Whew, this week has been a whirlwind! Work is still busy which is a positive. We have been so busy at home which is both positive and negative. I'm not really sure what we have been doing outside of our normal activities but I can't seem to get anything NEW done! Week was kind of blah fitness/eating-wise but I'll lay it out there. Because life gets in the way sometimes. 2 weeks in a row sometimes...

Fitness: I did work out 5 times this week. Thank goodness because good ol' AF arrived last weekend and I was a bloated and miserable mess! Midol and exercise were my friend and I was still a bloated mess! Possibly due to all the salty food I was craving? Working out seriously keeps me sane so I don't know how my week would have gone without it! It felt really good to be back at the gym after my hectic schedule the week before. It's amazing how fast I feel a difference when I'm not lifting. A week without it and I'm completely weak-sauce!

Nutrition: FAIL. I don't know how or why it happened this week. I had a few stressful days (insane traffic, things not going my way, etc) and it seemed every night when I got home MrHoppy and I looked at each other and wondered why we hadn't planned dinner yet. Fail. We did OK all things considered but the universe was not on our side. After cleaning the house top to bottom Wednesday night we cooked the chicken we had thawed. It was the 2nd part of a package, and after we took our first bites we remembered the first part... So gross. Disgusting. I don't know what was wrong with it but it went in the trash. So at 8:30 2 very hungry Hoppys ate tortillas for dinner. Our week went that way pretty much from Monday on... Curses!

 Weight: 119 - I think that's the same, or more, than last week. Eh, I'm not too worried. Between not eating the best and being on my period that's not too shabby. It's only a number anyway! Right?

And let me just say, I am so ready for the weekend. We have fun plans that I'll write about next week. It's much needed let me tell ya! TGIF!

It's A...

I forgot to write about our family's good news last week!

My sister was sure they were having another boy. The heart rate was on the low end which sometimes indicates a boy. One of her doctors even said that was his guess and to tell him if he was wrong.

Well... Last Monday he was proved wrong!

I was so excited when I saw her pull into my parking lot at work. I knew she was done with the ultrasound but she was torturing me with random texts all the way to my office. :)

My BIL got out of the car and held up 3 fingers. I knew what it meant immediately! We had talked a lot about what they look for to confirm a girl and the "3 lines" were there! We got to look at the pictures on my computer right away. It was a really exciting afternoon. They are so happy and I am so excited for them (and us!).

I am so looking forward to having another niece. J is so far away and I miss seeing her grow and change. This new babe - being close - will be very spoiled by her Auntie! Let the girl shopping begin!

Some MrHoppy Funnies

Nobody likes to have fun more than my husband. Seriously, this man loves a good time. If there is fun in a 50 mile radius - he will find it. It's something that drew me to him and something that I absolutely love about him.

Sometimes, along with having fun comes planning. And preparing. And since we are fortunate enough to have lots of great friends and family around us it usually involves a few (or 10) couples.

Funny #1: MrHoppy thinks he is laid back. This is one of the funniest things he has said to a group of people who know him. We all burst out laughing. I'm actually chuckling as I type this.

Which brings us to...

Funny #2: MrHoppy is far from laid back. He stresses out and stresses everyone out around him when he gets in a mood. His Dad calls it a "moment". This usually happens when we're planning something a little bit complicated. The plan is all set and we're ready to roll. He inevitably tries to change the plans at the last minute. Every.Time. We all just wait for him to come up with a bigger, better (and WAY more complicated) solution to the plans that have already been made. And then we laugh when he does it. And smoke comes out of his ears...

And then comes...

Funny #3: MrHoppy thinks he isn't picky when it comes to what we eat. He goes as far as to tell me I have to decide. Whoa,  putting such a big decision in your wife's hands?? (Sidenote: I hate making food decisions, I'm happy for someone else to pick and I'm good to go).
Take a night recently for example. We were going to get dinner out and he told me on my way home from work to pick the place. I wasn't thrilled, but agreed. I got home and said my ONE stipulation was that they have a patio, I was in the mood to be outside. I then listed 3 places that have outdoor patios. He didn't want to go to ONE of them. He even said "I was thinking maybe Chili's".
Really?? Why did you talk me into deciding if you were going to shoot down all my suggestions and you already had somewhere in mind? I admit that I got upset for a little while. It was so annoying. But guess where we went? You guessed it. Chili's. Chili's doesn't have a patio people...
Tonight? I have hamburger thawed and peppers ready to go for stuffed peppers for dinner. Guess who doesn't want them? I'll give you ONE guess... And it's not me...

Funny #4: MrHoppy hates to be told to do ANYTHING. If I tell him we should clean Thursday he will argue and pout and declare that he will NOT be told when he is cleaning. Personally, I like to clean Thursdays because we go into the weekend with a clean house and don't have to worry about another chore on the weekend.
I've gotten wise to his ways. I ask him what night HE wants to clean and guess what his answer is? Thursday. Because he likes to start the weekend with a clean house and get that chore out of the way. Isn't this getting exhausting?

Funny #5: He is always starts "pissing contests" with me. And now I, in turn, have started doing it to him! If I say I have done something he says "well I did this", to which I answer "well I did This!", to which he answers "WELL I DID THIS!!!". Seriously, it's a problem. Here's a typical example.
     -MrsHoppy: I emptied the dishwasher.
     -MrHoppy: Yeah, well I cooked dinner.
     -MrsHoppy: Yeah, and I did the dishes
     -MrHoppy: Yeah, well I mowed the lawn after work
     -MrsHoppy: Yeah, well I put away all the towels and sheets
I could go on. And on. And sometimes we do. And it drives me insane but now he's sucked me into the habit and I'm doing it too! I told him that he's created a monster in me. We one-up each other all the time now!

In all seriousness though - I am super lucky. I have friends whose husbands are total bumps on a log and they can't get them to go out. I'd much rather be reigning my husband in than trying to convince him to have a good time! I am so glad he takes interest in our plans and doesn't leave everything up to me. Is it more of a pain sometimes? Absolutely. But at least he cares right? I'm also really lucky that he helps with 1/2 the housework. Again, I have friends whose husbands don't lift a finger at home. This would NOT fly at our house. We split the chores as best we can so we both feel we're doing equal work. Sometimes we bicker about it but so far, it works for us.

What are some quirks of other husbands out there? I hope we aren't the only crazy ones... Happy Tuesday!