Need a 2009 Calendar....

Some of my readers, may or not know, but both my older brother and I were adopted when we were infants, so adoption is near and dear to my heart. A 'friend' (you can read more of her and her husband's story on their blog) of mine on a message board I frequently read and post on, is trying to raise money for her and her husband to adopt a child. If you need a 2009 Calendar, you should buy one of these adorable calendars! Part of the proceeds go towards their adoption fund.

Lonely blog...

Yes, I realize that there haven't been posts on here lately. There really hasn't been anything very note worthy going on at The Hopper House.

Colby had a tournament this past weekend. It was a team that was just a mixture of some kids from previous teams. The boys did surprisingly well. Saturday afternoon (3pm game) and evening (7pm game) it was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!!!! They tied one game and lost one game. (Yes, in pool play, you can have a tie.) Sunday, in bracket play, we won our first game that was tied for 4 innings, had some really crappy calls and then had a coach from the other team ejected. It was pretty heated, stressful, exciting all at the same time. The 2nd game was hard fought but we lost.

Tristen has a Christmas concert coming up on December 7th. 3 months ago when he got his trumpet, I didn't think too much of him having to practice at home. Fast forward to today, after 3 months of practice and 3 months of private lessons (1/week), I ask Jason last night if he could soundproof his room (I'm kidding). The kid can blow and although he is still a beginner, he is doing very well. Every day for 30 minutes, we get the pleasure of hearing him practice. It should be very interesting if Colby ventures into band next year! LOL! Tristen's birthday party is this coming Saturday. He chose to have it at Main Event. Should be fun times.

Not really any updates for Jason or myself. Jason reseeded the front yard with some annual rye grass and it looks amazing. It is more green now than it was prior. He prides himself in the front yard. Now if we could only decide what we are doing with the backyard. First project is a patio. Second project is tearing out the random plants the previous owners had that were randomly placed and never really 'looked' right. Tigger enjoys peeing on them, which then results in dead plants. The only thing he has learned to NOT pee on is the rose bush. It took him a few times, but I think he finally learned his lesson. Third project, well, it wouldn't be our project, is possibly a pool. We really wanted a home with a pool, but it didn't happen that way. We still aren't certain, but we are seriously considering it.

We're counting down the days until we can put up the Christmas lights. They are sitting by the front door anxiously awaiting Jason to put them up. Yes, I know Thanksgiving isn't here yet, but our tree and lights will both be up by Thanskgiving Day. Colby and I went and looked at decor for the yard yesterday. Ugh...I could spend gobs and gobs of money on Christmas decor. Surprisingly, the boys Christmas shopping is pretty much complete. I still need to purchase them a few stocking stuffers, but that is about it. :)

Well, there ya have it. Life in the Hopper house has been pretty low-key lately.

Texas Tech!!!

The game was amazing! It was by far, the best football game I've ever watched. The only thing that would have made it better was if we had been at the game. My brother, Bear, an avid UT fan, was NOT happy when he left our house last night. He thought the game was over when UT scored their touchdown to take the lead. Although, as they were making the drive for the touchdown, he kept saying that UT needed to take more time off the clock. Sure enough, Harrell took the team down the field and as we sat and watch anxiously, he made the connection with Crabtree for winning touchdown with :01 second left on the clock. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I've been on cloud 9 ever since the game ended. I sported my Texas Tech shirt today and left my Texas Tech flag on my car. As I was running a few errands today, I got the occasional guns up from some fellow Tech fans. Although we knocked of the #1 team and are now #2/3....it is on to the rest of our tough schedule. Next week's game is just as big. We are 9-0 for the first time since 1938, and let's hope the winning can continue.

Halloween @ The Hoppers

Our first Halloween in our new house was a success. Here are some pics of our decorations. We had a large pumpkin that stood about 8ft tall in the front yard, but was demolished by the wind about a week and 1/2 ago. Jason says that he is going all out next year with black lights, strobe lights, etc.

Those would be ghosts hanging in the tree.

Our celestial pumpkins were a success, and we received TONS of compliments on them all night. They were by so much easier than carving a pumpkin. Tristen's pumpkin says 'BOO' and Colby's pumpkin says 'Leave!'.

Colby was the scary guy and Tristen was the ninja.

Tech vs UT Game

As Saturday approaches, the more excited (and actually nervous) I get. Around work, I have quite a few fellow Tech alums and the game is definitely the watercooler talk of the day!

Yes, I'm a woman and LOVE me some football, especially Red Raider football. Growing up not only in Texas, but also in a small west Texas town, Wink, TX, (to be exact) you live and breathe for football. After going to a 1A sized school which at one time was on the brink of being a 6-man football team, I got to experience watching Texas Tech for 4 years. Going from watching football at our itty-bitty stadium in Wink, to Jones Stadium (now Jones AT&T Stadium) was quite exciting back in the Fall of 1998 (sheesh, that was 10 years ago..OMG!). Since I graduated back in 2001, I've been able to attend a few games, but not near as many as I would like. I'm hoping next season to take the boys to a Tech game. Hopefully, one day, they will follow in my footsteps and be a Red Raider!

Regardless of Tech's record, every year our games against A&M and UT are always huge. We've conqured A&M for the past several years. The last time we beat UT was in 2002 and they were ranked #3. I was at that game and we rushed the field after the game.

This year, UT is ranked #1 and we are ranked #6. Tech is undefeated and obviously UT is, as well. This game is HUGE and I only wish I was still in Lubbock to be amongst all of the excitement. ESPN's College GameDay is in Lubbock for the first time ever. Raiderville, the 'town' where students are camped out all along the stadium awaiting the opening of the gates so they can get the best seats. Raiderville's population has now surprassed 1900. The pictures I've seen from all around campus make me envious that I'm not still there.

My brothers are avid *cough* bandwagon (kidding) UT fans. Actually, they've both been UT fans for as long as I can remember. I, in fact, was an avid UT fan until I decided to go to Tech.My brothers are planning on coming over to watch the game at our house and I'm sure it is going to be a rowdy evening. A few other Tech alums are supposed to be coming over too, so hopefully we'll have a balanced crowd. Jason said that he might have to skip out on this watching party b/c he isn't sure if he can handle all of the yelling. He is kidding, of course. He is quite amused with me when a Tech game is on.

Either way, I know it will be a good game and hopefully Tech will come out with the upset of UT. Here is a good article about the game - Same Story, Different Team

Wreck 'Em Tech!

Thanks Susan!






The way this works is I answer the following questions with single word responses, and pass the award on to 5 other bloggers:

1. Where is your cell phone? in my purse
2. Where is your significant other? on the couch
3. Your hair color? Blonde
4. Your mother? Peggye
5. Your father? never really had a real father
6. Your favorite thing? this time of year
7. Your dream last night? don't remember
8. Your dream/goal? i'm living it
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your hobby? Shopping
11. Your fear? losing close loved ones
12. Where do you want to be in six years? where i am now, but w/one more child
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? calm
15. One of your wish list items? wealth
16. Where you grew up? Wink, TX
17. The last thing you did? ate dinner
18. What are you wearing? jeans and a sweater
19. Your T.V.? on the World Series
20. Your pet? outside
21. Your computer? desktop
22. Your mood? annoyed
23. Missing someone? Yes
24. Your car? dark blue
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your Summer? Fun
28. Love someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? last Tuesday

Here are five blogs I love!

1. The Roberson Fam

2. Kim Chaos

3. Nikki & Memo

4. The McNoskys

5. The Haring Family

Rambled thoughts...

Nothing interesting enough has been going on for me to type out a whole paragraph. So, to improvise here are some rambled and bulleted thoughts.

• I got a speeding ticket last night!
• Jason's foot is in a boot b/c he fractured his heel bone, thanks to softball.
• We bought some Halloween decorations for outside. The nice wind storm / cold front ruined the pumpkin we had bought. We made some ghosts for the tree that have held up. (I will try to remember to post a picture.)
• Colby has his last baseball tournament of the fall this weekend.
• Last weekend, I hung out with 2 of my brothers for the first time in YEARS. We are all finally on the same side of Texas and it makes it easier for us to all get together. From what Jason told me, they are both planning on coming over next weekend for the Tech/UT game, which should make an interesting evening. Me, as the Tech Alum and hardcore football fan, and them, as UT fans. Whatever! I'm sure it will be a rowdy house.
• The VW Bug that I posted about awhile back is still in the garage, still in pieces, and pretty much where I expected it to be. Although, Jason did get back the front beam on Wednesday so hopefully he will get to work on the floor pans soon, so he can put the body of the car back on the frame (or whatever it is called) and I can have my parking spot back.
• The boys still haven't picked out a Halloween costume. I'm sure they will be the same thing as they are every year. Some scary looking thing which basically consists of a black robe and a scary face.
• Tristen made a Christmas/Birthday wish list and well, we kinda had to break it to him early that he wasn't going to be getting a) a laptop, b) a new cell phone, or c) an electric guitar. He has no need for a laptop, his cell phone gets LIMITED use, and he has a cornet. Once he masters the cornet and can fully read music, we'll see about the guitar. Poor kid, he had to start all over on his wishlist. Yes, we know it is a wishlist, but nothing on his wishlist was going to be granted, so we had to tell him!

See, nothing very exciting or noteworthy has been going on in our little world. Hopefully, we'll have some excitement soon!