WE'RE BACK!

Back by popular demand... the Schoepke Family Blog!!! (Sometimes I still can't believe I ended up with a name like Schoepke!) Chad's not going to like this, but I'm taking over this blogging business. Nope- not going to like it one bit! But come on sweetie... fourth of July was fun and all, but no posts since then???!! Other things ARE happening in our lives! Let's get to it!

4th of July Weekend

Our 4th of July weekend started off kinda crazy. Our friends were going camping up at Strawberry reservoir and we wanted to go, but we had 7 puppies to deal with and couldn't gather a plan of attack. Kim ended up giving up on the task, so Friday morning came around and I packed up my truck to leave for Strawberry. As I went to kiss Kim goodbye, she decided that she wanted to go...This meant that I had to repack the truck with everything that Kim would need, along with making room for 7 puppies and our dog Shay. While I wasn't excited about that, I was stoked that Kim changed her mind and made the trip. That was until the night time came around. Kim slept comfortably in the Ashby's camper, while I slept in the bed of my truck with 7 puppies and Shay. I spept about 2 hours that night and Shay nursed @ 3am and 7am. It was pretty rough, but you have to make sacrifices in order to reap the benefits, right? We fished Friday night and Saturday morning, but came back empty handed. That makes 0 for 4 on my fishing trips this year....WHACK! Hopefully I'll catch a fish this year and it will make it all worth it, but until then I am bitter...

Taylor, Crystal, Brent, Kelly, Jill and Shay in the back of my truck after some morning fishing...
All in all our camping trip was a success and am excited for our next journey...
Elise having a good time with the pups...
Chad and Joe showing off their bow shooting skills...
Chad let us take his 4 wheeler for a ride to the top of the summit...


On our way down from Provo canyon, Kim's brother Jeff gave us a call to see if we wanted to go boating. While I was running on 2 hours sleep and was dirtier than I've been in awhile, I couldn't resist a day on the lake. We hurried home and dropped off the dogs and made our way out to Utah Lake. Let me tell you, that was the best decision that we could of made. The lake was awesome. We met Amber's parents out there and they had this new tube called THE MOLECULE. After riding it, Jeff and I renamed it THE WEDGINATOR, because we were riding high without fail. That tube is one of the funnest things I've been on in a long time and I hope I get another chance to ride it soon. The weekend was a blast and thanks to all our friends for making it happen. I can even say that without seeing or lighting one firework off...
Our nephew Jordan is so cute...
Jaxon and me swimming in the lake...
Jeff and Jaxon on THE WEDGINATOR...

The Blog is Alive Again

So, I have officially fallen off the planet in the blogging world. People keep telling me that I need to update it (or else!!!), so I have decided to make their wishes come true and hopefully the death threats will stop...

Well, we have a lot to talk about these days. I went back to school full-time @ the University of Phoenix and continue to work full-time as Business Analyst at Investools. Kim is pregnant with our first child (for the second time) and is due Jan. 11th. We are so freakin' excited to start our family we can hardly contain ourselves. Kim literally can't contain herself. She has had morning sickness like no one's business and I wake up to her throwing up every morning. She's a trooper though and trys to keep a good attitude about it, even though she tells me every day that she is going to quit her job. I try to cater to her as much as possible and can't even imagine the discomfort she is going through.

There is also another girl in our family who just gave birth. Our dog Shay had 7 puppies about 2 weeks ago and they are the cutest things ever. Kim some how managed to sell 5 of them on KSL so far and her brother Brad is going to take one. That leaves one for us, but we haven't decided if we are going to take on the responsibility of a second dog yet...
We have been really busy lately. We spoke in Church a few weeks ago for the first time, and let me tell you, I am glad it's over. The week prior to speaking, consumed my thoughts and mind, and I couldn't function. Luckily everything went smooth, and Kim only left me 10 minutes to talk so it worked out. We are in the process of finishing our basement and backyard at the same time. It's been fun for Kim and I to design our backyard and pick out items for the basement. Hopefully it turns out good. I just picked up a 96 tacoma and am selling our Acura MDX. We decided it would be smart to get rid of a car payment and I've wanted a truck for awhile now, so hopefully that all works out.

Our summer has been fun so far, with Kim's brother Jeff buying a boat. For some reason he thinks we're pretty cool and invites us to go out with him frequently ;). We both love the water and have the convienence of Utah Lake 5 minutes away.

Jeff with Jaxon and Kaylee...

Kim and Amber having a good time...

Tubings finest...
Last week we went out with the Ashby's on their boat, so needless to say we've been spoiled so far this summer. Thanks Chad for eating my sandwich and showing us a good time. We always have fun with you guys...

Ashby handling the 2 foot sandwich...

Double-ski special...Anyways, I've written a short novel and my hands hurt. I promise my postings will be more frequent and we'll keep you guys up to date...

Spencer Autumn Extravaganza

Happy Halloween Everyone. Although Kim and I did not make the attempt to dress up this year, we did make an attempt at carving pumpkins over at Taylor and Krystal's place...
Pumpkins from right to left: Mike D and Diana, Carter, Taylor, Chad, Brett G, Kim, Brent...
We made a mess...
Happy 26th to Mike D!!!

Bowling for Carter

Happy Birthday to the JNC. The Crew went down to Fatcats for some friendly and competitive bowling to celebrate Carter's b-day. Happy 18th Jesse! You're finally legal...

Carter beat me by one point! (He always manages to beat me by one or two in any sport we attempt;)

The Spencer's enjoying themselves...Kim and Chad posing for the camera with our bowling faces...

Mike D and Diana living it up...
Brent and Bertie having a good time...
The boys...

Shay (The Best Dog Ever)

So for those of you that didn't know, Kim had a miscarriage awhile back. It was a hard thing to go through and I don't wish it upon anyone, especially the person I care about most in my life and my best friend. Anyways, instead of starting our family, we decided to get a dog as a temporary supplement. Her name is Shay and is the best puppy ever. She's a half lab/half pointer mix and is super smart. We got her @ 5 weeks old (which is super young), but she's already mostly potty trained, can sit, lay, and shake. Not bad, considering Kim and I are rookies at this dog raising thing and have only had her just over a month. Shay is definitely a lot of work and more than expected, but she is worth it and we love her. In fact I think she has moved up the totem pole and surpassed me on Kim's favorites list ;)...

Camping @ Fairview (The Neel Secret spot)

Brent Neel is the man, what else can I say. Not only did he put together my favorite camping trip of 2007, but I caught my first trout of the year that was big enough to take home and eat. I cooked that bad boy up for dinner and it wasn't too bad if I do say so myself. The crew included, the Spencers, The Kelly Neel family, B-Neel, JNC, Bertie, Kim, and myself. We rode four-wheelers, shot bb-guns (a little side note, Susan is a dead eye, she couldn't miss, and I put my money on her against anyone, any day), fished, played games around the fire. It was epic. Here's some pics...


Brent and I woke up and went fishing @ 6 am. Carter went off and went hunting with his bros that were up there. When we got back from fishing, Brent cooked everyone breakfast and it hit the spot...Here's my trout that I caught. From the lake to the grill...
Our camp setup...

My wife is Famous in Vegas!!!

My beautiful and talented wife Kim is now officially famous. Throughout her entire life she has never met anyone famous, other than myself of course ;). That all changed when she took a girls trip to Vegas and met...you guessed it, Wayne Brady. She was at a restaurant in the Venetian and was sitting next to him at dinner. She didn't want to interrupt his date that he was on and couldn't gather the courage to ask for a picture with him, but just as they went to leave the restaurant, she sucked up her pride and couldn't resist the temptation. Here's the proof...

Mexico / 2 Year Anniversary

So it's been awhile since my last post, but we've been busy. We just got back from Mexico celebrating our 2 year anniversary. Having never been out of the country, I didn't know what to expect, but our trip was amazing and we are already wanting to go back...
The beaches there were incredible (Kim enjoying herself)...
Kim couldn't keep me out of the water...
Our hotel was amazing...































On the first day we went on a jungle tour around the lagoon and then to a national reserve for some snorkeling. We both thought we were going to die, due to the old school boat that we were driving and the waves were super choppy. We were literally in the middle of the ocean driving this little boat!















After the boat/snorkeling/jungle adventure we went and walked around at the Isla Visa mall that was right next to our hotel...
















The next day we took a boat to Isla Mueres, which is a small island located just off the coast of Cancun.




We went kayaking, took a bike tour around the island, and then took a taxi to downtown for some exploring...





Kim enjoying the band playing on the boat ride back to Cancun...