I'm So Happy He's Mine, Cooper's 9!

Cooper turned 9 years old today! He 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!!!

 

It Must Be Kinda Cold Someplace...Because I GRADUATED!!

It is finished! I reached the light at the end of the tunnel and it is worth everything I had to go through....except maybe a few classmates. They were real winners. Anyway, Friday night I graduated! They pronounced my name correctly, shook hands with important people I had never seen in all my 4 years at BYU-Idaho (except Elder Kim Clark---he hangs out with M. Russell Ballard you know, :-) ), and accepted my blank diploma cover and alumni pin. Here's a few pictures of the night:

Picking up my cap and gown the night before graduation.

Last day of student teaching--it was harder than I thought to leave those students!

Walking across the stage/stand:

 After the convocation:

Future graduate---in like 10 years! (Still too soon!)

Thanks for everyone who came to support me, I appreciated it! Now, onto teaching impressionable young minds. Poor students. :-)

Cooper Sweeps the Pinewood Derby!

Tuesday night we had our second annual pinewood derby. Our first one was a little rough, with battle scars including a hole in my dining room table. This year went much smoother. So much that COOPER WON FIRST PLACE!! He. Won. Every. Single. Race. He couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. The super competitive dads in the ward couldn't believe it.

Here are some pics:

Cooper with his bright yellow Pokemon car. He was awfully proud of it....even before we knew it was a winner!

 

 

 

 

 

His face when he won his first race:

The winning moment:

 
                           

Here's the trophy and an extremely happy scout:

Thanks for Ben for all your help with his car!

The Birthday Dust Has Settled...

....and Amelia is one happy girl. Thanks to everyone who helped make her birthday (week) such a great one! I'm sure she'll remember this year forever. (She'd better--it was an expensive one!) :-)

Here are some pictures:

Pizza Pie Cafe--with a free monster Cookie for her birthday.

Her birthday party with 5 of her VERY loud friends. So. Much. Squealing. 

Cooper was the quietest one. Who'da thought?!

 She also had her locker decorated; was sung to in class, ballet, and primary; had
a shopping spree with Katie Call (and the rest of us); dinner at Pizza Pie Cafe; a fully decorated house; and a special birthday pie. I think there was more, but I'm too pooped to remember it! Luckily I'll have two years before her next party!

HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS, AMELIA IS 12!!

Twelve 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 day, at 9:11 pm, I was blessed with the most beautiful, caring, talented, loving, smart, funny, determined, and kind-hearted 8 lb. 8 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.

 LOVE YOU, AMELIA!! Happy 12th birthday!

Here she is over the years:

Easter 2016

Our Easter Bunny came on Saturday morning as he always does. Amelia and Cooper woke up at 6am, so while they were finding eggs I was lying face down on the carpet trying to find the energy to lift my head. They began opening their eggs, and I hear Cooper say, "Ohh!! A dollar! Hell-oooo, George Washington!" Then a heard a kissing sound. I asked him if he'd kissed the dollar bill and he said, "Of course!" Well, duh.

For the rest of the weekend we went to Blackfoot to spend Easter and hang out with our ENTIRE family. We haven't had that since our reunion last June! Katie and David were visiting, so we all got together for an Easter egg hunt with the cousins, a family dinner and pictures. It was so much fun to see everyone, talk, and plan the upcoming wedding(?), new babies, new jobs and moves! Here are some pictures:

Cooper going through his eggs.

Amelia was in heaven with all the cousins to play with!

Cooper paused long enough to let me take a picture.

My almost-12-year-old. 

Next up: BIRTHDAYS and all the chaos, happiness, and remembering they bring!

St. Patrick's Day and Other Activities

We have had a busy few weeks! First off, Cooper came home with a note to make a leprechaun trap for  St. Patrick's Day. Here's how it turned out:

The leprechaun climbs up the pipe cleaner, then stands on the paper. What he won't know is that the paper has slits in it, so he will plummet to the bottom, therefore trapped. Cooper was excited to go to school on March 18 to see if it worked. Alas, the leprechaun got away. Maybe next year.

Friday night Amelia had a "stay late" party. They are the new rage--instead of a sleepover (which I would've nixed anyway) they stay until 10pm. So Cooper and I had a night out at Pizza Pie Cafe:

Saturday we ran errands and got ready for the week.  At the grocery store Cooper used "The Force" to open the doors for anyone who needed to go in. He got a real kick out of it.

One of our errands involved a pricey shoe-shopping expedition. Cooper wears a 4 1/2 now, and Amelia is at a 3 1/2. After we found Cooper new shoes, the saleslady informed Amelia that a size 3 1/2 in girls is the same as a 6 in women. She quickly ran to the adult aisle and tried on these babies:

She plead her case to purchase them, including all the things she could do being three inches taller. In the end however, she lost to the fact that I was buying, therefore my word was the law. She did end up with respectable one inch heels that were a much more sensible wedge. I don't need her growing up any faster than she already is!

Amelia also graduated from primary this weekend-it's a week early, but we won't be in town next week, so the presidency graduated her today. They gave her a cute gift and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She adored all the attention and well-wishes. I can't believe she'll be moving into Young Women!

That's it! One more full week of school plus a couple days and we have spring break! Hooray!