The House of Love

Daddy's Mini Motorcycle

2012-01-29T16:28:00.000-08:00

One of the boys favorite father-son activities is riding around our cul-de-sac on Jed's Mini Motorcycle!

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Phoenix waiting patiently for his turn...

Jed and Drake having the time of their lives...

Drake emphasizing the importance of the helmet to his little brother...

Phoenix finally getting his turn and loving every second of it!

Gravity Park!

2012-01-26T16:27:00.000-08:00

Jed found this amazing park in Saratoga Springs and just had to take the boys there. This park is the coolest park we have ever been to and the boys never wanted to leave...

Horribly Handsome Haircuts!

2012-01-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

Drake and Phoenix's hair was so shaggy and out of control that they were starting to look like homeless children! Neither of the were fond of the idea of getting a haircut so Tiffy decided to make it fun and give them Mohawks! EVERYONE had an opinion about their hair from horrible to handsome, but in the end it was a fun way to help the boys feel comfortable about getting their hair cut. The cuts lasted for a week and then we gave them the only cut we can make look good...the buzz!

Oh No...No Snow!

2012-01-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

Utah is known for cold winters and snow, but this year winter has been uncharacteristically warm and lacking in snow. We've probably had a total of 6" of snow Nov-Jan and it melts before we can enjoy it! One of the positives we have found in this snowless winter is not having to limit our park visits! The following pics are from a trip to the park with the boys on January 3rd 2012. The weather was nice and warm and the boys had a wonderful time!

2012

2012-01-01T15:35:00.000-08:00

Saying goodbye to 2011 was bittersweet. Our little family had a wonderful year and we learned so many valuable lessons.

2011 is a year that we will always cherish!

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We look forward to the changes 2012 will bring and we can't wait to continue sharing our story with our friends and family.

Love Always

Jed Tiffy Drake Phoenix

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T22:25:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

November 2011 at a glance...

2011-12-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Drake wants to be just like his daddy!

The next few pics are from a day that Drake

and Phoenix were goofing around all day and Tiffy was having

a ball taking pictures of them being cute...

While Christmas shopping at the Provo mall we discovered

the indoor carousel and we had to ride it!

Phoenix is a little goof ball...

Phoenix Drake and Cousin Willy Bill hanging out...

Drake was sick on and off throughout most of November and one day he started having fainting spells so the Dr. wanted to check his heart...all results were good and they deemed his fainting a result of weakness from being sick over a long period of time.

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Jed Tiffy Drake Phoenix

Happy Birthday Phoenix!

2011-11-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY

PHOENIX RODNEY PETERSON

Phoenix is friendly and kind. His best friend is his big brother Drake
and he loves to spend every second of the day playing with him. His favorite things include: the color blue, popcicles, string cheese, batman and spiderman, riding his bike, and bath time. Phoenix is also a really smart little boy and knew his ABCs before he was 2 years old. He loves to sing and his favorite song is "Twinkle Star." Mr. Phoenix is also a cuddle bug and will love on his family members as long as they can stand it. He can be a bit shy sometimes and other times he can be loud and crazy...it just depends on his mood. Daddy, Mommy, and Drake love you Phoenix and we are so happy to have been blessed to have you in our family. Happy Birthday!

October 11th 2011 <--- REWIND...

2011-11-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

On October 11th 2011 we found out that we are expecting a new addition to our family!

Click for: Pregnancy Updates ...our journal about our journey to becoming a family of five.

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We kept our news a secret until the week before Christmas. It was difficult to publish any posts without letting any hints slip out so we got behind on updates. Watch for new posts in the days to come!

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**Posted 01/31/2012...scheduled for 11/01/2012

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T21:23:00.000-07:00

We fully intended to have a week full of fun leading up to Halloween, but we hit a bit of snag...

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Tuesday we made pumpkin sugar cookies...

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Wednesday we took "the shop" Halloween cupcakes...

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...In case you didn't notice that Drake was not in any pics Tuesday and Wednesday he wasn't... Poor guy got a stomach bug and by Thursday both boys were down for the count.

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After a weekend in bed they were ready to Trick or Treat when Halloween rolled around on Monday. We participated in American Fork City's main street trick or treat and the boys got loads of candy! Phoenix went dressed as Batman (his favorite "soupdah hebor" and Drake went as Bumblebee the Transformer (he loves transformers). Even after Halloween passed the boys wore their costumes for about a week!

Carving Pumpkins!

2011-10-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

This year we decided that we would do a family activity every night leading up to Halloween. Monday night's activity was carving pumpkins! When we first told the boys what we were doing, they were confused and really not into it... Then we gave them markers! Grandma Shirley had showed them how to draw faces on the pumpkins (last week) and with a little help from Jed and Tiffy they had their designs ready to go in no time. When we started carving the pumpkins Drake was ready to take it on himself, but settled with popping out the pieces when needed. Phoenix was laughing and watching every move Daddy made. Both boys enjoyed cleaning out the pumpkins and refused to touch the goop with their own hands! When we were finished and lit the candles inside, the boys just stared...we ended up going through three candles a piece! Carving Pumpkins=A Good Time!

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(Note: We gave the boys eggnog and cookies before we started...all of their pictures show evidence of their yummy snack all over their faces!)

Phoenix wanted to use his shovel to scrape it...

Daddy helping Phoenix

Momma helping Bubba

Scooping out the guts!

Drake was proud of his work

Happy little Balooga

Daddy and Phoenix...

Cheesing It...

"Can we do dis every day Momma?" -Drake

Drake was intent on wearing his...

The end result...

Phoenix's Pumpkin

Drake's Pumpkin

HeeHaws!

2011-10-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

We took a trip over to HeeHaw Farms and

spent a whole Saturday having family fun time!

Saying Goodbye...

2011-10-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

We received news that Aunt May didn't have much time left

so we headed to Montana to say our goodbye.

We made it to Butte in the evening and said goodbye...The next morning Aunt May passed on peacefully surrounded by her loved ones.

Alta May Hoffman

On Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011, our cherished mother, grandmother,aunt, sister and friend, Alta May (Hunt) Hoffman, charted withangels into the heavenly kingdom to once again reunite and rejoicein the accompaniment of loved ones who have made the gloriousjourney before her.
May was born to George and Mabel (Cox) Hunt, July 5, 1932, inWaterloo. She was the second youngest, the only girl, among fourchildren. It is believed that her strong personality formed fromthe predominately male family structure; however, it is a knownfact that through her family she developed a heart as big as theHunt families’ hands. She was very close with her brothers, butBilly and May were inseparable and he remained her lifelongconfidant. She became a skilled cook working alongside her motherat the Palm Café, where she later met her future husband with alittle help from her mother’s coconut pie.
On March 1, 1950, she married her true love ,Charlie Hoffman.Together they moved to Butte and raised five wonderful boys. (Thisis believed to be what solidified her strong personality.) In thelate 1970s, May and Charlie moved to Belgrade to farm the Hoffmanfamily ranch. While at the ranch, May utilized her love ofgardening to build some of the most beautiful flower and vegetablegardens. In addition to the gardens, her cooking and wind chimescreated a family sanctuary. While at the ranch, she hosted manyfamily dinners and the occasional game of Aggravation with familyand friends (as long as you didn’t turn the board over). InBelgrade, she also worked for the school district as a cook at theelementary school.
In 1998, May and Charlie moved back to Butte to be closer to herboys and grandchildren. Again, she hosted amazing family feastswith portions comparable to that of the entire elementary schoolwhere she worked. Every morning she would have a hot pot of coffeeready for anyone who wanted to stop by and chat. On the weekends,her house was a common place for the family to randomly gather,because in addition to coffee, fresh donuts were alsoavailable.
May was full of life, she loved to live and lived to love, andshe will be sorely missed, but will live on in the hearts of thosewho were fortunate enough to have known her.
“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy andsudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity;when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; whentrouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, andendeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the cloudsof darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” — WashingtonIrving.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Elroy, Edwinand Billy; daughter-in-law, Debra Hoffman; and the true love of herlife, Charlie Hoffman.
She is survived by her sons, Richard, John, George, Mark (Pam)and David; grandchildren, Autumn Hoffman, Deeanna (Quinton) Queer,Richard (Kristin) Hoffman, Christopher (JD) Hoffman; andgreat-grandchildren. She is also survived by sisters-in-law,Shirley and Dorothy Hunt; special niece, Tammy (Hunt) Thompson; andnumerous other relatives. In addition, May had many specialfriends, Sandy and Marissa Thomas, Tom and Jean Steel, Jack andOlive Smith, Ed and Gloria Dunn, the Shaw family, and ShirleyPerini. We also thank the numerous friends who have offered supportto the family throughout the years.
A wake will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, in DugganDolan Mortuary. Memorial services will be conducted at noon Monday,Oct. 17, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Memorials may be made to the Shriners or Our Lady of theRockies.

There are so many words that we could say about our time in Montana, but the most important thing is that we were able to say goodbye. We love you Aunt May...we will see you on the other side!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After May's passing we decided to enjoy all of the things May and Grandpa Billy taught us to love about Butte Montana. We had huckleberry shakes, ate at PorkChop Johns, had town talk donuts for breakfast, visited old family homes, and stopped at the copper shop.

Drake adored sitting on the "midget toilet"...

Jed cannot resist the huckleberry shake shack!

Drake, Phoenix, and Grandma Shirley playing at a random waterfall in McDonald's parking lot...

Jed and Tiffy...young, in love, and silly little goofs!

Grandma Shirley remembering the good ole days...

Jed pretending to pick into the Budweiser van!

The following pics are naughty (haha)! We stayed with Cousin Mark and his house was a nightmare for parents with toddlers. Everything was breakable and decorative. On our last day we put caution to the wind and let the boys play on his yard ornaments. Thank heavens he doesn't have internet or we would be in serious trouble! ;p

Jed and Tiffy got matching bracelets from the copper store.

Fall 2011

2011-09-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

"Come," said the Wind to the Leaves one day.
"Come over the meadow and we will play.
Put on your dresses of red and gold.
For summer is gone and the days grow cold."

If the boys had their way they would ride their bikes all day every day!

Hanging out at the shop on "DaHonda"... waiting for Daddy.

The boys have a Love-Hate Relationship with Gage...

Drake and Phoenix think Gage is their "brother cousin"

Goofing Around...

Picking on Uncle Toddzie is a fun activity for the whole family!

The boys are always trying to help Daddy work...

These pics are from remodeling Grandma Shirley's kitchen!

Grandma Shirley is their best friend!

We took a trip up the canyon to show the boys the changing of the leaves...

Watching "Diego Go"... They become zombies anytime that show is on haha!

Decorating Grandma Shirley's Pumpkins...

Grandma Tammy and Phoenix falling asleep together

while watching Lion King.... Phoenix adores his Memah!

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Thank you for stopping by...Keep Smiling!

Jed Tiffy Drake Phoenix

Moments...

2011-08-10T00:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes pictures can capture a family in a way that words can't...

Thanks for sharing these moments with us...

Jed Tiffy Drake Phoenix

Tiffy's Bday, Yardsales, and a Puppy?!

2011-07-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

Our vacation continued...

The day after we returned from Idaho it was Tiffy's 24th birthday! She wanted to check out some yardsales and Jed happily obliged. At one of the yardsales there was a man with a puppy. Drake was so sweet and gentle with the puppy it made us get the crazy thought in our head that he had grown up and was now ready for a puppy (Wookie, Drakes first puppy had been gone for almost 8 months at this time). We spent the rest of the day trying to find the perfect puppy for the boys... and we did! Drake named the little guy SPIKE PETERSON and he was in love from the very beginning. The first week or so was amazing and the whole family fell in love with the pup. Well...everyone except Phoenix! Our sweet little Phoenix who was always so kind and gentle with everything and everyone was not quite old enough for a puppy. He did not understand that Spike just wanted to play when he nipped at him and so it would turn into a dramatic episode every hour. Spike would nip at Phoenix...Phoenix would grab Spike's hair...Spike would bite Phoenix...Phoenix would pass out...Drake would yell at Spike...and Tiffy was going crazy. Ultimately Papa Bear and Momma Bear decided that Phoenix was not old enough and we found spike a new home. It broke our hearts to see him go, but we feel it was the best decision for Spike and our family.

We love you Spike! We hope that you have a long and happy life. Thank you for being a part of our family for those few short weeks....

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Back to the story... Jed ended up buying Tiffy a new dryer for her birthday and surprising her with a BBQ with her Mom and sister Tristine. Our vacation ended simple and in the comfort of our own home. It was perfect. We could not have planned it out any better than it happened. That is the beauty of being spontaneous.

Thank you for sharing these memories with us!

JED TIFFY DRAKE PHOENIX