Cabo San Fabulous!

In an attempt to squeeze in one final getaway pre-baby, Ben and I jetted off to Cabo for a glorious week of sun, relaxation, reading and escape from our never-ending to do lists. It was a wonderful time for us to focus on each other and prepare (as much as possible) for the huge change coming our way in October. We talked a lot about the baby, what kind of parents we want to be, and reflected on how grateful we are to have had the last five years together, just the two of us. Oh, and we may have discussed (and we think finalized) names for the little guy/girl... Ben is committed (and I'm going along with him) to keeping this information top secret until the big day arrives, so there will be no sneak preview here!

The best part of our trip was simply time together...time away from the business of life and preparations, away from the endless renovations on the house, away from the pressures of work and school. Time to just be together and appreciate this season of "just the two of us" that is rapidly coming to an end.

More Cabo Pics

Celebrating Natalie

How do I even begin to describe all the amazing things about my beautiful sister? Her love of life, food, music, running, nature, and her family are just a few.

She has inspired me in so many ways...running multiple races and marathons (she's amazingly fast!), using her amazing musical talent, moving alone to a foreign country, carving out a beautiful live for herself in Princeton, and living life boldly and fully. She is my running guru, my source of unending advice and support, my favorite "last call of the day".

I truly believe one of the greatest blessings of my life is having a sister who is also my best friend. Happy Birthday, Natalie!

More Natalie Pictures

Wonderful Friends

As we head into the great unknown of parenthood, we are grateful for the advice of wonderful friends who have gone before us. In May, I was blessed by a wonderful visit from Adrienne who traveled all the way from Pittsburgh to have a girls' weekend in Tucson with me. We saw "Sex and the City", hiked, ate ice cream and talked...a lot. It was the perfect girls' weekend. I'm so grateful for her honest advice and straightforward approach. She is a wonderful source of practical advice and an amazing friend. I am so grateful for her presence in my life.






This past weekend, I traveled to the East Coast for a reunion with my suitemates from college. So much has changed since we were last together a year and a half ago! Between the four of us, there are now 2 babies, and 2 more on the way this fall! As you can imagine, the weekend was full of "baby talk" with lots of advice and tips and tricks. It was such a wealth of information that I took notes! We even took a field trip to Babies R Us where Christina and Deb helped Jenn and I navigate the overwhelming amount of baby stuff out there. Above all, it was a sweet time of catching up with beautiful friends and cooing over beautiful babies.

While I was away lounging and enjoying myself with friends, Ben was hard at work getting the nursery ready. Our selfless friends, John and Erin, came over and helped him move furniture and gave advice to tackle his first-ever paint job. He worked hard all weekend and I came home to a beautifully painted nursery! What a guy!

Cinderella

This past week we were visited by a fairy tale character. She cooked, cleaned, baked, scrubbed, and washed all week long with a smile on her face as bright as the yellow rubber gloves she wore. Cinderella, also known as Natalie, was an amazing help in checking off many of the items on our ever-growing “Before Baby To Do List”. Aside from the multitude of tasks she accomplished, she pampered me to the hilt with backrubs, foot rubs, cookies and anything I could possibly need or want.

We did our best to treat our little servant girl to as much fun as possible (after she finished her chores, of course!). We dined on fantastic Mexican food, ate a LOT of ice cream (three words that changed my life: Thin Mint Blizzards), and Natalie was able to witness her first-ever desert monsoon. To celebrate the 4th of July, we escaped the miserable heat by heading up to Mt. Lemmon, the tallest peak in Tucson. There we grilled out at a friends cabin and enjoyed the unusual sensation of being chilly outside in Arizona. On our way down the mountain, we spotted fireworks exploding all over the city below us – what a beautiful sight!

Above everything else, it was wonderful just to have Natalie’s smiling and cheerful presence around the house, excited about every detail of her nephew or niece-to-be. Thank you, Natalie, for a wonderful visit!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to our Dads!

Ben's Dad showing Charlie some "Puppy Love"

Kara's Dad doing his famous kitchen dance routine

We love you both! Hope you had a wonderful Father's Day!

I Love NYC!

This past weekend Ben and I traveled to the big city – New York – for a wonderful weekend of fun, food and a generally fabulous time. Our home base for the weekend was Natalie’s cute apartment in the beautiful haven of Princeton, NJ. We fell in love with the campus, the town, the green trees and grass (we’ve been living in the desert for a long time!), and all the little stores (especially the ice cream shops!).

We took the train into NYC and thanks to Ben’s amazing navigation skills saw a lot of the city in a short time. We walked through Time Square (once was enough!), strolled through Central Park, window shopped on 5th Avenue, took the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, paid our respects at Ground Zero, saw a game at Yankee Stadium and spent an incredible amount of time waiting in line for, eating, or talking about eating cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. If you haven’t heard of these addictive little monsters, they are a sugar-addicts worst nightmare. The Magnolia Bakery is a little shop in Greenwich Village that sells the most amazing cupcakes on the planet. There is always a line out the door and they limit how many cupcakes you can purchase at once because the demand is so high! We visited this little gem twice and ended up with a bounty of cupcakes which quickly became the focus of every meal.

NYC Sunset

Paul and Natalie feasting on Greek food

Ben loving Yankee Stadium

We also treated ourselves to a show on Broadway that we’ve wanted to see for some time. Natalie, Paul, Ben and I saw Rent and loved every minute of it. After the show, in true New York style, we went out for a fantastic dinner at 11:30pm at “The Spotted Pig”. Our evening even included a couple celebrity sightings! Ben’s eagle eye spotted Seth Meyers and Andy Samberg of “Saturday Night Live” fame at a little restaurant in the Village. We played it cool (at Ben’s insistence) and didn’t gawk or take any pictures, so you’ll have to take our word for it that we saw them! After this amazing evening (which involved more cupcakes, of course!) we took the train back to Princeton and fell into bed around 3:30am.

Rent!

The Spotted Pig

Fortunately, our last day was very relaxed and included an outdoor lunch with Paul and Natalie in Princeton, and our second ice cream stop of the weekend. The competition was fierce between Natalie and Paul about which ice cream place was better, so Ben and I gladly offered to become judges and sample both offerings!

All in all it was an amazing weekend and a wonderful way to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary!

Happy Mother's Day!

We hope our Moms had a mother's day as lovely as they are!

Ben's Mom

Kara's Mom

We love you and miss you!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I had a lot of fun pulling together some of my favorite pictures that best represent all that is wonderful and amazing about my Dad…his love of adventure, food, fitness, dancing, laughing and all things outdoors. I’m so blessed to have such an openly affectionate, loving, sweet, exciting and hilarious health-nut of a Dad.

He is always up for an adventure, whether is flying with me to Norway to visit Natalie, hiking in the mountains of Arizona, going for a “wild ride” (4-wheelers and grocery carts are equally exciting under his control!) or just going for a walk in the woods behind the house. His love of nature is unfailing…he is just as excited to see a squirrel as a turkey, deer or bear! He is my hero, saving me from scary dogs, rescuing me when I have a flat tire, talking Ben and I through how to unplug the garbage disposal after clogging it with a pound of potato skins and fixing any and every problem I throw his way. He has modeled a commitment to his faith without judgment of others. Most importantly, he loves his family unconditionally and unabashedly.

I couldn’t ask for a more wise, loving, and incredible Dad who I just love to be around. Happy Birthday Dad!

My favorite Dad-o pictures

The New Beginnings of Spring...

Spring is a time of renewal, beginnings and life. It’s only right that in this season we formally announce our exciting news…we are adding to our little family. “Baby Hoffman” will make his/her debut in October and we are thrilled!

We’ve loved telling friends and family and experiencing their squeals, screams, tears and dances (UB’s dance of joy takes the cake) of excitement. It’s comforting to have so much love and support as we head into the scary unknown of parenthood. And now that I am finally starting to keep everything I eat down (9 days and counting!), we’ve been able to focus on all the fun and excitement that exists beyond ginger ale and saltines.

The past few months have required a lot of adjusting; adjusting our plans, adjusting our lifestyle, adjusting our expectations, and adjusting to loss. Although it breaks our hearts that Poppy will never meet his great-grandchild, we find comfort in the fact this new life continues his beautiful legacy. (Natalie wrote a beautiful tribute here that captures him perfectly).

And so, we press on. We keep working, studying, playing, saving and planning realizing much of what lies ahead cannot be planned for. We are learning to rest in the peace of knowing God's timing is perfect and just enjoy the ride.

My Poppy

On Sunday, February 17th my beloved Poppy unexpectedly passed away in his sleep. It’s still hard to believe this giant of a man, so full of life and love is gone. Rather than try to capture his amazing life, I’ll defer to the beautiful obituary my Uncle Bob wrote.

Robert Lee Petri

As difficult as last week was, there was such sweetness in being surrounded by family. As Uncle Bob said, it was as though we were all in a protective bubble, full of stories, laughter and tears. Now that we’re back to “the real world”, I’m reminded again of how blessed I am to have such an openly affectionate and completely loving family. We share freely and without reservation our emotions and devotion to one another.

Poppy loved his family more than anything. And although I didn’t think it was possible, his passing has brought his family even closer together.

"Runnin' just as fast as we can (can, can, can)..."

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the Hoffman Household. We kicked off the New Year with a bang at the Rock n’ Roll ½ Marathon in Phoenix. It’s a fun, flat course with bands every mile or so. After a somewhat rocky start that included a forced pit stop at McDonalds (over-hydration!), we finished with a strong and much-faster second half. We literally danced in the streets, sang along to the bands and had a fantastic time. While Ben and I have run several races separately (3 half marathons, 1 full marathon, 1 triathlon) this was only the 3rd race we’ve done together. It was awesome to have Ben beside me after doing the marathon solo last year. It also felt great to have fun while running - something I used to think was impossible!

Check out this picture from the start line. Can you find us in Coral #8 among the 30,000 other racers?!



The following weekend we had a very special (and somewhat ridiculous) celebration for our favorite puppy pal, Charlie. We couldn’t let his 1st birthday pass without recognition. As a recovered non dog-lover, I can imagine how silly it sounds to have a birthday party for a dog. But here’s the rub…we just don't care! Ben and I rounded up Charlie’s closest friends for an afternoon at the dog park complete with a dog-friendly birthday cake!

Doesn’t he look like the happiest birthday puppy ever?!

We celebrated MLK day the all-American way...with a day trip to Mexico. Our friends Lisa and Mike escorted us on our first road trip across the border (we actually walked across) and helped us navigate the, uh, wonder that is Nogales. We had a fabulous lunch on a patio complete with some amazing margaritas and food that still makes my mouth water.

And honestly, what is a trip to Mexico without sombreros and a donkey?!

This past weekend's highlight was the amazing discovery of Ben’s hidden talent for “Dance Dance Revolution”. After yet another amazing meal courtesy of Erin's culinary genius, we decided to “break it down” with a dance off. John and Ben were amazing although a bit River Dance-esqe due to lack of movement in their upper-halves. Erin and I got imaginary bonus points for style, but my lack of true skill killed us. I need practice!

The rest of the weekend was spent in recovery mode from all the fun with a little spring cleaning/closet organization for me and lots of studying for Ben. It felt good to get rid of all the stuff we don’t really need and donate it to someone who truly is without.

We are so grateful for our full and fun lives, complete with so much more than we need….

A Christmas Miracle!

A few years ago, Natalie and I (who, we will freely admit, transform into giddy 5 year old versions of ourselves at Christmas time) began calling anything and everything fun that happens while home for the holidays, "A Christmas Miracle!". There was no shortage of Christmas miracles this year, both big and small...

Our vacation was kicked off in style by a fun party hosted by our brave and amazing friends John and Erin. After a horrendous week, they somehow pulled off a beautiful evening with tons of wonderful food and a very exciting "White Elephant" gift exchange (truly a Christmas miracle!). Our offering for the exchange was the film "Donnie Brasco" (a shout out to the Pistone family!). We walked away with fabulous prizes and a special gift for Charlie from "Uncle Tim" who had this to say about Charlie..."Charlie is not made of hair and paws...he's made of LOVE."

We could not agree more with Tim's sentiment. As this was Charlie's first Christmas, I'd go so far as to say his very existence (and his ability to transform me into the person who blogs about a dog) is a Christmas miracle!

We arrived in PA with our luggage (a Christmas miracle), and had a wonderful time in Pittsburgh with friends and family. Matt, Adrienne and beautiful Georgia (who is a Christmas miracle!) graciously hosted us and even used a day of their precious vacation time to spend time with us. We had a lovely meal with Beth and James at their favorite Peruvian restaurant/shop (I'm totally at a loss with what to do with our souvenirs. Right now they are living in my sock drawer!). We also had a great time catching up with Kami and Ryan, friends from college. It was so comforting to spend time with such wonderful friends and to be able to pick up as if no time has passed (a Christmas miracle!).

We also had a great visit with Ben's family. It's great to see all the family and spend quality time together. One of the best parts of our trip was a visit to Phipps Conservatory to see the Gardens & Glass exhibit. We spent a lovely afternoon strolling the gardens with Ben's parents and Grandma.

One of our greatest Christmas miracles arrived during our time in Pittsburgh...Keegan Joseph Donovan! Our dear friends Brian and Erin are the proud parents of a beautiful and healthy baby boy. Brian and Erin met at our wedding (he was a groomsmen, she was a bridesmaid) so we like to think we had a little something to do with Keegan's existence. Check out their amazing website (it puts our puny blog to shame) and handsome little Keegan!

After Christmas Eve service with Ben's family, we headed to Erie for the Gibson gathering. There is something magical (and miraculous!) about being home around Christmas. Suddenly I'm a little girl skipping around the house unable to sleep knowing the next day is Christmas. I love all the little traditions we have maintained, adjusted, and added over the years...everything from Cinnamon Crunch bagels for breakfast (a Christmas miracle) to watching the "kids" (Natalie and Joel) open their stockings, to our annual Christmas morning nap in the loft under the Christmas tree.

Uncle Bob (UB) and Aunt Janice (AJ)

We added some new traditions this year using Uncle Bob's Popcorn air popper (a Christmas miracle - thank you AJ!), and his amazing chili and jambalaya. UB, I hope this tradition continues for years to come!

Natalie and I also had a fabulous day with Mena at the spa (her Christmas present from us!). She was pampered to the hilt with a facial, massage and manicure while Natalie and I treated ourselves to massages (a Christmas miracle). Afterwards we had a fabulous lunch...what a great girls day out!

Sadly, as all good things do, the trip came to an end far too soon. We're fighting the January blues by trying to focus on the fun things ahead...

Christmas Pictures

Running in a Winter Wonderland

Last night we rounded up some friends and ran the Winterhaven 5K. Winterhaven is a neighborhood in Tucson that takes Christmas decorating to a whole new level. Every house is decked out with amazing lights, music, and all kinds of themes from Charlie Brown to the Bellagio (complete with synchronized fountains). Residents offered hot cocoa and buttered rum to runners literally dancing through the streets. Holiday attire is encouraged for the run, and as an added bonus Ben's sequined vest doubled as reflective wear.

We had a great time running, singing carols, and checking out the lights. As a reward for our fun workout, everyone came over to our place to warm up with some hot cocoa and apple pie. The birthday boy even shared his annual double-decker cookie cake.

Saturday night was my company's Christmas party, hosted at a local resort complete with a Vegas theme. And what's Vegas without Elvis and some showgirls?!

Now we just have to push through these last couple days of work and packing then it's home for the holidays!