Cooper's Choice

Cooper is getting ready to register for middle school next year. First, let's just take a moment and let me be a touch sad my little guy will be in MIDDLE SCHOOL in the fall.

Okay, we were going over his electives and trying to decide what he wanted to do. Amelia went with orchestra and has loved every second. Cooper wasn't too excited about orchestra, even though Amelia tried to talk him into it. Band didn't really excite him, either. Nor did choir. So finally I told him had to choose something.  He took a moment, then a huge smile bloomed on his face. He said, "Mom, I'm going to play the guitar!" Whaaaaaat?!

After I got over my shock, I went to work making my little man's dream come true. I tried to find guitar lessons in our town and figured if I couldn't I could use that to try and get Cooper to go with his second choice. But, lo and behold, I found someone who taught private guitar lessons, in town, for not much money, AND he had just had a cancellation that happened to be on the one night we aren't booked. With no reason not to, I signed him up.

On the day of his first lesson, Cooper strapped his brand new six-string on his back and strutted into his first lesson. He's been enthralled ever since. Here's a few pictures:

I wish you could see the head bob that goes with this.

Watch out world--the next Jon Bon Jovi is in training!

Of course, we still have to find him an elective. Guitars aren't used in band until junior high.  Sigh. Rock on, Coop!

Exactly When Did Cooper Get to be 10?!

Cooper turned 10 years old today! TEN YEARS OLD! He's in the double digits now! Excuse me a moment while I stop the hyperventilating. 

Cooper is full of charm, mischief, and outright fun. He is such a happy, thoughtful boy and we can't imagine life without him. There is never a dull moment around him and I love him more than words can say! He's been a charmer since birth, still loves to never wear pants, and has a smile that is contagious and gets him out of a lot of trouble! Happy birthday, Coop! WE LOVE YOU!!!

 

Spring Break 2017

We had a short spring break this year, but packed full of things. We ate lunch at a restaurant where they bring you the food, and spent the night in Idaho Falls at a hotel on the river where we swam for a couple hours.

They named their kickboards Chompy and Bob. 

 

We ate lunch at Red Robin. Amelia was excited to be handed the adult menu. She looked over it for a few minutes, with a disgusted look on her face. I asked her if she wanted to order off Cooper's kid menu. She said, "Yes! They have all this gross stuff on these burgers!" Maybe it's not time to go the adult route on everything.

After all the swimming and excitement, we went to our room, ordered room service and crashed:

Although it was short, it was great to get away for a bit and leave all the stress and responsibility at home. Only 7 weeks until summer break!

What Do You Mean Amelia Is 13?!

Thirteen years ago I was lying in a hospital bed, munching on toast, chatting with the sweetest labor and delivery nurse I have ever met. I had no idea how much my life would change in a just a few hours. 
Later that evening, at 9:11 pm, I was blessed with the most beautiful, caring, talented, loving, smart, funny, determined, and kind-hearted 8 lb. 6 oz. girl I know. And everyone else who meets her agrees with me. :-)  She went from this:

To this:

 While she weighs more than 8lbs now, not much else has changed. She still has an amazing smile, eyes that twinkle with happiness and at times mischief, and is an absolute blessing in our lives. She is dependable, kind to others, a confident little sweetheart and I'm blessed to be her mother.

 LOVE YOU, AMELIA!! Happy 13th birthday! Welcome to the teen years (although you've been adult-like your whole life) ! 😄 

Here she is over the years:

Where did the time go?!

I swear, the last few months have flown by--the days and weeks seemed to have dragged, but I'm not completely sure what happened to February and March! We are heading into one of my favorite times of year--spring and my kiddos birthdays! I'm always a little sad to be a year closer to being an empty nester, but that's drowned out by the fabulous-ness my children have become. Here's a few things we've been doing:

There was a potato bar at school for Idaho Day--Cooper doesn't care for potatoes unless they are cooked exactly one way so he improvised and drank his Sprite from a spoon. Crazy kid.

We've had a loooooong winter. A few weeks ago it warmed up to 43 degrees, so everyone was outside. :-) We went to the park and played some basketball, played on the toys, and ditched Amelia when she stopped for the 56th time to talk to someone she knew.

This is Cooper on picture day. I always make him wear a nice shirt on those days, so he thought he'd show off his "guns". He told me, "I hope the photographer isn't distracted by my awesome arms and focuses the camera on my face."

We also had the annual cake auction. Here's the cake we bought:

Cute, right? But is it FIFTY DOLLARS OF CUTE?!! I had it for $35 and a lady bid me up. I threw my cup at her to distract her when the bidding was about to close then raised my hand and won. It was pretty intense for a while there.

Finally, both Amelia and Cooper needed new bikes this year, so we bought them this weekend. It's mostly their birthday gift because they both needed adult size bikes. Whew. Hope they last a couple years!  That's it. I'll post more on my darlin's birthdays!

Bon Jovi Concert!!

Almost a month ago ( that's its already been that long is super sad in itself) I had the privilege to see my one true love (other than my children of course) AGAIN--JON BON JOVI in concert!

We stayed at the New York New York hotel:

We could see the T-Mobile arena from our hotel room window!

I was SO MUCH CLOSER this time, I could almost see him wink at me! :-)

Although we had a few fuddy-duddies around us, for the most part everyone was enthusiastic as we were and joined us in shouting mostly appropriate things. Mostly.

While we were in Vegas, I had M&Ms personalized to bring home to my darling children. Here's what they said:

We also went to a bakery that is owned by a famous guy and grabbed a couple pastries. Sadly, they looked better than they tasted. 

It was the BEST WEEKEND EVER, and I so grateful my family would watch my kiddos so I could go. Here's hoping the next concert is sooner than four years from now!  Rock on!