Cooper Isn't a Kid Anymore!

Cooper Flynn turned 12 years old today! TWELVE YEARS OLD! Excuse me a moment while I stop the hyperventilating. From here on out, I have to pay the adult price at movies, buffets, and entry fees. 😆

Cooper is full of charm, mischief, and outright fun. He is such a happy, kind, funny, thoughtful boy and we can't imagine life without him. There is never a dull moment with 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 2019!

Our spring break this year was quick but so much fun! We drove down to Salt Lake and stayed in Joey and Jojo's condo (thanks guys!). We hung out at Temple Square, went shopping, celebrated Amelia's birthday, ate waaaaaay too much, and played with Katie, David, and Linus! It was so fun to get out of town for awhile and just have some time away from responsibility. Here are some pictures of our stay:

Linus would call Cooper "Booker".

The first night we got burgers and fries from Five Guys, In-And-Out, and Atlantis to compare and see which was the best. Five Guys won the burger contest, but Atlantis ruled with their fries. 

This is our view from the condo:

The birthday girl in the morning. I even decorated the condo for her!

Amelia wanted to go to Boondocks for her birthday and the outdoor attractions were open. They went on the bumper boats......but it was still a little chilly. Amelia, sadly, was caught in the cross-fire of many battles. Luckily, we had all her clothes from her shopping spree in the trunk!

After a quick change they finished up their game cards!

We dried off and went back to Katie's to have a birthday dinner, complete with Oreo cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory!

Before we left, we went up to a park at the top of the mountain--literally. It was beautiful!

Next up--Cooper's birthday, and LOTS of end of the year activities!

FIFTEEN! My Little Girl is 15!!!!

Our life moves at such a fast clip I sometimes get taken aback when there's a quiet moment and it hits me how grown up my children are. Amelia turns FIFTEEN YEARS OLD today, and I think it hit me last week when she was walking out from ballet. 

She stopped to talk to a friend and she laughed at something her friend said. The sun was going down, and her brillant $5,000 smile was flashing, her eyes twinkling. I stared at her for a moment and realized....she's a young woman. Logically I knew it, from the time she was 12, but it seemed more glaringly obvious at that moment. 

Fifteen years ago, 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:

 I can't express how much I love this child. 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 15th birthday! I'm so happy you're not a sullen teenager.....yet) ! 😄 

Here she is over the years:

Picking up Speed

As much as January and February drag, March, April and May seem to speed right by! March started off with our ward cake auction. After furious bidding, we were proud owners of a nice $52 chocolate panda cake. Don't worry, we had investors so I didn't have to come up with that all. Here are some pics of that night:

The next week Amelia had her winter orchestra concert. She's moved up to first violin, but she's still in the corner so it's hard to get a good picture of her. :-)  I'm so happy she's chosen to do orchestra and ballet--they are just the best group of young people and she has made such good friends. Here's a few shots of her concert...I continuously forget how tiny she is until I see her next to others. Hahaha!

Finally, I had to post this picture of the siblings in their "okayest" shirts. As soon as they saw them, they wanted to buy them. I'm so blessed and happy they are such good friends. Yes, they argue and annoy each other at times, but I'm so grateful for the love (even if they won't admit it) they have for each other. I'm a very lucky mom!

Next up: birthdays, Spring Break, and spring activities!

Gravity Factory

For as much as January drags, February flies by. Not having those two days at the end of the month really do matter. :-)  

After Valentine's Day we settled down to finish out the 2nd trimester. Only 57 more days of school! This year has just bulleted by. We all went in for eye exams and grabbed new glasses. Amelia doesn't technically need them, but she said she has a hard time seeing from the back of the classroom, so I think our eye doctor humored her. 👀

We also found time to use the Gravity Factory passes Nana and Grandpa gave us for Christmas. All our other cousins came up and we had a blast jumping and hanging out with them!

I'll try and download some of the videos.....

We have a busy March coming up with concerts, performances, and only one more short break from school. Then we'll go on to birthday celebrations!

January is OVER!!

January is always a long month, but this year it seems like it lasted forrrrrrevvvvver. Even with a snow day and two "sickness" days it seems like this month was never going to end. We had a lot of great things happen though. One:

Cooper received the Aaronic priesthood and was ordained a deacon! He's passed the sacrament twice and loves it.

Looking good in that suit, isn't he?

He also, much to Amelia's dismay, grew AGAIN. He's now a full inch taller than her. She's taking it well, asking him to reach chips on top of the fridge for her, get things off the high shelf of the closet, etc. 😆

She has on  2 1/2 inch heels in this picture...and he's still gaining on her. 

Cooper has also started a ballroom class once a week after school. So far he's really liked it, and it helps keep him active during the winter. We have had a really cold one this year, and I think everyone is feeling it. Welcome February!