Last few things before CHRISTMAS!!

Cooper had his Christmas program at school and did great! The fun thing about Cooper performing is he looks at me the whole time.....it's like getting a personal concert. :-) He did very well with his speaking part and smiled the whole time, waving at me occasionally.

We have been getting a good bit of snow lately (7 inches) so we had to go sledding! It was really cold so we only stayed out for about 45 minutes, but at our home there are huge snow piles from the snowplow, and Amelia and Cooper go out to play on those a lot.

When we were sledding, I sent my camera down with Amelia and Cooper to document their view of things. They are pretty funny. First, here's Amelia:

Now Cooper:

Next post--Christmas!

More Christmas Activities!

We survived last week! It was packed, with something every night plus it was my last week of commuting to Idaho Falls for my senior practicum. Monday Amelia and Cooper finished their last night of the Nutcracker. Tuesday was just one big blur, and Wednesday Cooper had his science fair. His project was sandwich bag explosion using baking soda and vinegar:

Thursday night Amelia had her Christmas orchestra concert. I was amazed at the difference a year (plus lessons) can make! The sixth grades last song was a version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" altered to fit the Polar Express. Their principal dressed as the conductor and read the poem while the orchestra accompanied him. In the end, he handed out red sleigh bell ornaments to the kids in the front and Cooper snagged one.

Friday night was our ward party, and it was a lot of fun. The primary did a short presenation and sang a couple songs. I didn't get any pictures, though--too much to eat and do!

Saturday was, as Cooper put it, "A free Saturday--best day ever!". We've been incredible busy the last eight weeks, so I agreed with him! The only problem to a "free" day is it allows me to see how much stuff needs to get done at home! :-(  I got some much needed chores done, and seeing it was only two weeks until Christmas, thought I should get moving on my Christmas cards.

With a bit of grumbling, I managed to get a few pictures of Amelia and Cooper so I can get Christmas cards out!

We also had the chance to go to the Christmas celebration put on by Hemming Village last week. They had Santa, the Grinch, sleigh rides, and cookies and milk. While we didn't have a lot of snow, it was still plenty cold to help get in the Christmas spirit!

After I took this picture, we ran into almost everyone we knew in Rexburg! I love living in a town that has such good values, activities for families, and people.

Still more pictures to come, I'm sure. We have Cooper's Christmas program at school and all the other Christmas activities!

Nutcracker 2015

We've been attending the Nutcracker for the last five year because that's how long Amelia has been dancing in it. And each year Cooper has suffered (not so quietly at times) through. This year changed that. In early September, Amelia's teacher asked Cooper if he wanted to be in the party scene. He told her he would think about it then and preceded to ask 1,342 questions about what exactly would be involved in this "party scene".  Apparently the answers were to his liking, and he accepted. He was thrilled to be doing something before Amelia!

This lasted two weeks. Then Amelia came home from lessons ecstatic because her teacher had asked her to dance in the party scene.

However, the children worked through Cooper's disappointment about not being the first one in the party scene, and began attending the rehearsals. Lots of 'em.

Now, because of their perseverance and raw talent, last night they both performed in the Nutcracker and absolutely nailed it. I may be a teeny bit bias, sure, but they were great. Just wait for the DVD to come out. Here are a few highlights:

I think they would both have liked living in this time era. For a week. Until they found out there was no internet or Legos. Or indoor plumbing.

Amelia was a soldier this year, and was very precise. During the fight with the mice, she took a mouse's sword and held it out of her reach---even though she had to jump to do it. 

At intermission I picked up Cooper from the back and presented him with his "bouquet". He had told me in the preceding weeks flowers were NOT for boys. He was thrilled to get this and gushed repeatedly the rest of the night.

My fabulous performers. (Amelia was thrilled with just flowers). 

We have another performance on Monday, then onto school Christmas programs, concerts, and ward parties!

Thanksgiving and Christmas stuff

It's been a month since I posted, yet I feel like it's only been a week! We have slammed into the holidays like a tornado. Thanksgiving was fun--so fun I don't have any pictures. Not a single one. However, I do have several of putting up the Christmas tree. It's always so much fun to go through our ornaments from each year and relive the memories...especially my Jon ornament! Sigh.

As I looked through these pictures, I realize I forgot another momentous occasion. Cooper got glasses!

He was happy to get them, and even happier when he could start reading signs, numbers, and words from further than 4 feet away! Isn't he just handsome?!

In other non-picture accompanied news, the first trimester is over and report cards were sent home. I have brilliant children! I'm hoping some of that brilliance rubs off on me as I finish up this semester....if I make it!

I'll post soon about the Nutcracker performance.....like tomorrow, since it's tonight. Stay tuned!

Programs and Recitals

Saturday night Amelia had her first violin recital. She did a wonderful job, and didn't even need any music! She has progressed so much in just two months of lessons, and I'm very proud of her! I think she was a little humbled however, after watching what the students who had 6+ years could play. It was good that she could see what's possible, and hopefully her practicing time will increase a bit. :-)

I didn't get the first measure of her song because my phone froze, but you can still see plenty of her excellent skill:

                                    

Sunday was our primary presentation. It was a little bittersweet for Amelia because it was her last one. She'll be going into Young Women's in March. She gave a beautiful talk, and Cooper nailed his part. Here's a picture of the two superstars before we went to church:

                                                         

 

 

Next up--Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2015

Whew! What a weekend! It all started Friday with Cooper's (aka Hawkeye) classroom Halloween party:

Amelia (aka Evie) had a party as well, but because sixth graders are soooooooooo mature, no parent volunteers were needed:

 On Halloween, we went to Hocus Pocus at Hemming village. They had face painting, cider and donuts, trick-or-treating from Star Wars and Disney characters, hay rides, and these little train rides:

As the train starting moving, Cooper noticed the wind-chill lowered the temperature drastically and solved that problem:

Of course, no Halloween is complete without a Headless Horseman

Or Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker:

We were ALL nervous until Cooper relinquished the light saber.

We came home for a few hours, went to Fat Cats trunk-or-treat then came home and binged on candy before I could stop them:

Yes, Amelia has less candy. Due to her spacers, Cooper inherited about 1/3 of her stash.

Now, there's a chance my OCD tendencies have maybe, possibly, could-have been passed to my children......look at that beautiful organization of candy! Brings a tear to my eye. And before you think, "Wow, we used to get a lot more than that when we were kids"--first off, it's enough to have Cooper bouncing off walls at 8:30pm at night. Second, mom always threw away half of our candy on Thanksgiving, anyway. 

 
 Happy Halloween!

Jack o' Lanterns!

This weekend we carved out pumpkins. Cooper still doesn't want to touch any of the pumpkins innards, while Amelia revels in it! They were both really creative this year. Amelia even did a "bedazzled" one. By the time we had finished theirs, I was so pooped I just did a classic design. Halloween is only 3 days away!

In other news, Cooper had an eye appointment today and..............needs glasses! Here's a quick picture of the frames he choose:

He won't get them for another two weeks. I think he looks dashing!

Moving the Camper

The four brothers all trying to have the "best" idea to move the camper (turn up your speakers):

Dad watching the whole thing giggling:

 Finally, the women stepped in and using Jojo's idea got it done:

Cooper was having a rough day and needed to blow off some steam crushing cans:

Semi-annual Call Clean-Up and Pumpkin Pickin'!

We had another clean up at my parent's house last weekend. They are getting ready to move into a new home, so we are slowly but steadily going through the house, garage, and outside so it won't be such a mess when they move. Cooper was a great help with the wheelbarrow and crushing bags of cans, and Amelia made sure all the cousins were taken care of!

Andy and Courtney, awaiting orders.

Just chillin'/

Grabbing some food.

Before.....

After!!

Coltman and his daddy.

 

Conagher was not in the mood to be photographed.

Matthew was!

Taking a short lunch break.

Dirt!

In a different post, I'm going to post the video of loading the camper. It's really funny to listen to four brothers try and figure out how to load a camper....especially since dad used to do it by himself!

They figured it out soon enough...after the women jumped in!


We also squeezed in getting our pumpkins also. This year is so busy with activities, lessons, and commitments we're having a hard time fitting out traditions in! Might be time to re prioritize our life, eh? We hit our pumpkin patch in the early evening instead of the morning and there was a slight difference from the other years:

It was PACKED! This picture just shows one view. The wagons were all being used, and people were everywhere. It was quite different from our other years. We found our pumpkins (I'll get a picture of them up soon), went through the straw maze, grabbed some cotton candy, and headed home.

Got through the straw maze!

Looking for the perfect pumpkin. Apparently "perfect" means huge.

Amelia resting while searching. Cooper wasn't feeling great, so he was not excited to be in pictures.

That's it! We'll carve them.......sometime before Halloween, and I'll post those pictures. Now we're on to parent teacher conferences, Halloween, and sugar overload!