June Fun

June 11th was the last day of school. Sophia surprised me by coming to school with ME painted on her face! I laughed so hard! She was very proud of it and made sure to tell everyone to "look at Mrs. Hoffman on my cheek!" Sooooo cute!

Now... usually the last day of school is the BEST day EVER for kids. I tried to make it fun by having them dress in costume (I was a skunk or "a little stinker" haha). We even did a count down of the last 10 seconds of third grade and then blew party noise makers to celebrate.

While "celebrating" I was shocked to see faces like these..... sad faces..... and a lot of tears! I had to hold it together and not cry myself. It was soooooooo sweet and sooooooo sad all at the same time.

This might just be the saddest picture in the ENTIRE WORLD! They were ALL CRYING! I am going to miss them so much. I tried to comfort them by telling them that they would see me again next year because I was going to substitute when their 4th grade teacher was out. Then I overheard a bunch of them talking about how they were going to "cough and sneeze all over their teachers next year so they would get sick and I would come back". Uh-oh.


Next up... Father's Day! Jeremy is so excited to be a Daddy. Look how proud he is of the little whale bathtub that will soon be used for his little boy or girl. (Thanks Aunt Tiff!)

Thank you Ryan and Bethanni for letting us borrow your bassinet! Every time I look at it, I smile just thinking about the little angel who will soon be sleeping in it.

7 months and still growing.... eeeeeeek!


For our ONE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY we decided to go to Vegas and see a Broadway Show. Here we are on the road... we had just stopped at Sonic to get watermelon slushies. It is a Vegas roadtrip tradition.

The first night in Vegas we went to a restaurant that both of us have ALWAYS wanted to go to... Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It was AMAZING! The steaks come to your table still sizzling and soooooo delicious! It was a wonderful dinner.

The second day we decided to go to ESPN zone and play some games. First up... mini bowling. Look how cute and small the bowling balls are!

Next.... football. Yes, I was reeeeeeally putting some effort into it. Jeremy was cute and kept making sure I felt okay and wasn't hurting. I think he was worried I might go into labor from playing these games, haha. Very sweet.

After the games, we dressed up for the show. We went to a restaurant that Jeremy has been wanting to take me to for a while now... Nobu. We enjoyed the delicious Black Cod and Rock Shrimp. Sooooo good!

Showtime at Mandalay Bay!

We LOVED the show. The costumes were amazing, the music was so beautiful, and I think we were both smiling the entire time.

As an anniversary tradition, we decided to find a piece of cake after the show and feed it to each other like we did on our wedding day. The orgin of the cake eating tradition says that it symbolizes that you will both always be there for each other and provide for one another. Afterwards, we exchanged cards (homemade construction paper cards of course)!

Hurray for our 1 year anniversary.... one AMAZING, WONDERFUL, and EXCITING year together.

The Proposal

This is the story of the most romantic and surprising day of my life. This is the story of how Jeremy asked me to marry him...

Jeremy's sister was getting married on the weekend of my birthday, so he wanted to set aside the weekend before or after to celebrate with me. We decided to do something special in honor of my birthday on the weekend before his sister's wedding. Jeremy planned a trip to Napa Valley for wine tasting and a hot air balloon ride. I was very excited to do something so out of the ordinary and even though I am scared of heights, I knew it would be a once in a lifetime experience. Little did I know at the time how truly special my birthday weekend would turn out to be.

About two weeks before the trip, I began to receive a yellow envelope in the mail each day. Inside the envelope was a card that explained a reason why Jeremy loves me. Each day I would run to the mailbox and happily read each reason. I felt so lucky to have a thoughtful boyfriend who enjoys thinking of romantic ways to surprise me all of the time. The yellow envelopes continued to come and continued to get a little more serious each day. On the twentieth day, as I was packing for the trip, I received the last reason which said "You are my best friend….you are the one I want to be with".

That night we drove to Napa Valley. On the way, Jeremy gave me something he created which was labeled "Passport to the Top of the World". On the paper was a checklist of activities we would be doing throughout the trip. Each activity was something that involved being high in the sky. We spent Friday wine tasting and enjoying the beautiful scenery of the vineyards. He took me to Sterling Vineyards, which had a gondola that took you to their wine tasting location at the top of the mountain. This was my first "up high" activity to check off the list.

When the time came to check in to a hotel he told me that he had a special spot picked out for us to stay. As we drove into the Vineyard Inn I couldn't help but smile as I looked around at the tiny cottage style rooms. We got out of the car and walked toward the deluxe sweet, which was framed by a arch doorway covered in greenery. The room was gorgeous!

We went to sleep fairly early because the next morning we had to meet at 5:30 a.m. for the hot air balloon ride. I was so nervous, but very excited at the same time. Our balloon lifted off the ground at around 7a.m. and the experience of floating through the air was unlike anything I had ever imagined. It was so peaceful and absolutely amazing! I felt like we were floating on a cloud. I hugged Jeremy and thanked him for such a wonderful memory. Then it was time to check off the second activity on my "Passport to the Top of the World".

After we landed we enjoyed a relaxing champagne brunch. Jeremy had told me we would be going dancing and I had assumed we were going to a club. When he told me that we were actually going ballroom dancing, I began to panic. I did not bring a dress and asked him to take me to Macy's so I could find something appropriate to wear that night. When we got back to the Vineyard Inn, I was still worried about not having a dress. He smiled and told me that he would not have planned something without making sure I had everything I needed.

Jeremy went out to his car and walked back into the room carrying several birthday presents. Each package was wrapped in gold paper with a big yellow bow ( I immediately thought of the yellow envelopes I had been receiving before our trip). I opened my first present and was completely shocked when I pulled out an exact replica of the yellow ball gown that Kate Hudson wears in the movie "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" (one of my favorite movies that I have made Jeremy watch over and over again). I have always commented on her dress and told Jeremy how gorgeous I thought it was and now I had my very own copy of it! I was so happy! The next gift was a pair of beautiful gold high heels to match the dress. My last gift was an adorable gold purse to use that matched my shoes. I was so surprised and anxious to wear my new outfit. The dress was a perfect fit thanks to the help of Jeremy's sister and mom. I was so thankful for all of Jeremy's thoughtfulness and as I got ready for our dinner together, I couldn't help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

I will never forget the look on his face when I was finally ready and I walked out of the bathroom wearing the yellow dress. As we drove into San Francisco I continued to talk about how much I loved my outfit. In the movie, Kate Hudson's character is given a very expensive diamond necklace to "frost herself with" and I jokingly asked Jeremy if that would happen too. He laughed and said "no". We arrived in San Francisco and had dinner at a very fancy restaurant (Top of the Mark) on the twentieth floor of a ritzy hotel. Once again, we were high in the sky, which was the theme of our romantic weekend together. People were smiling as we walked through the restaurant and commenting on my dress and how beautiful it was. I felt like a princess as the hostess walked us to our table that overlooked the entire city. The entire meal was wonderful and we had a very enjoyable conversation. Soon the band had set up and began to play soft jazz music in the background while we had our desert.

All of a sudden, Jeremy took my hand and placed it on his heart. I felt it beating wildly and it felt as if it might pop out of his chest. I nervously asked what was wrong. He then said, "Darla, I lied to you". I immediately thought, "what?! What is he talking about?!". He continued by saying, " I lied, I am going to frost you tonight." Then I watched as he pulled a ring out of his jacket pocket and got down on his knee in front of me. I realized what he was doing and began to cry, I was so happy. He told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him. Through tears, I managed to say "yes" and we hugged for a long time. I could hear people around us clapping. Almost the entire restaurant had stopped and everyone had been watching the entire proposal. Jeremy slipped the gorgeous ring on my finger and I felt like I was dreaming. I continued to cry and laugh at the same time. My emotions were all over the place!

Shortly after the proposal, the manager had the band announce our engagement and invited us onto the dance floor. They played Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to the Moon" and I had my first dance with my fiancé. All night people were coming up to our table and congratulating us. Restaurant guests were sending over glasses of champagne and offering to take our picture throughout the night. We enjoyed dancing together, sipping on our champagne, and talking about how excited we were about what had just taken place. It was a perfect night. A perfect weekend. I have never felt so loved and I am so excited to begin our life together! I happily checked off the last activity on my "Passport to the Top of the World" and I felt inside like I had really been there…. I felt like I was dreaming, like I was floating off the ground, like I was on top of the world!

SURPRISE Baby Shower

Well... the week started out great! Mandy went to her groomer, Lance, who likes to always remind us that, "bows are OUT and feathers are IN". Haha, he really takes his job seriously! I love it! (Notice how he made her match my outfit!)

One of the parents from my 3rd grade class totally tricked me! She made me believe that there was going to be an award ceremony for my students. When I opened the doors where the "award ceremony" was going to be held, I heard everyone yelling "SURPRISE!!!!". All the parents were there and even parents from previous years. There was a table FULL of gifts and another table with refreshments, flowers, cheese, crackers, and special teddy bear cookies from Royal Bakery! I was SOOOOOO surprised! I had thought for sure that none of the parents were planning anything. They were so good at keeping it a secret.... even more impressive was the fact that none of the 3rd graders told me either (now THAT is incredible!)

This is one of my favorite pictures. One of the little boys from my class, Zachary, leaned in close to me and said, "Mrs. Hoffman you deserve to be pampered". Then he began massaging my shoulders. All of the Moms in the room were laughing. So cute!



The little girls in my class were having so much fun saying, "ahhhhhh"
and "how cuuuuute!" over and over again.




Jeremy has been busy, busy, busy lately. He has filled each weekend with a special baby project to get things ready for our new arrival. A few weekends ago he painted the baby room, last weekend he build the crib, and this weekend he has been busy refinishing and painting the dresser. Wow! What an AWESOME hubby I have! He is going to be the best Daddy!


Here it is!!! The finished product... it is perfect! And made with love from Daddy's hands, which is even better! Here are some more pictures of the room. We still have some things to hang on the walls and one of the Moms from my 3rd grade class is an artist and will be painting a mural of a cute tree on the left wall next to the rocking chair. It is all really coming together =)

We are SO excited for Baby Hoffman!!!! P.S.- Can you believe this whole jar of pickles was only $3.50 at Cosco?!?! A pregnant girl's dream come true! Haha