Christmas Time is Here..

Well, it's been here for a while...but I just haven't had too much to write about. On Monday we finally made it to Temple Square to look at the lights. We met up with some of the Rich clan and had a family home evening. It wasn't too crowded at the lights and we had a good time.



Cooper has been pretty good about staying away from the Christmas Tree and presents. He doesn't bother them too much. Of course he can't keep completely away from them, but I think the only damage we'll have is some wrinkled wrapping paper. The one thing he can't stay away from is my Willow Tree Nativity. He loves the sheep. I swear I re-arrange it everyday. Well, this is what I came in to find the other day. He was walking up behind me and he said, "Sheep give kisses." For some reason he loves to put the laying sheep together nose to nose. It's happened a few times and I've just decided to let it be. What a cutie!!

No Sweets for Me

Last week I got some terrible news. For those of you that know me you know how devastating this news was for me...considering my addiction to anything sugar. After the dreaded glucose tolerance test, I was told that I have GDM. Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. DURING THE HOLIDAYS!! Oh well. I've actually been really good at restraining myself. Of course, I'm glad I found out because I want to have a healthy baby. My MD is having me take a three hour class this week and then I have to test my blood sugar four times a day for a week so they can see when it's the highest. Then, they'll give me medication to try and keep my sugars down. If any of you have gone through this or have any suggestions, let me know! I will for sure need it...this Wednesday I'm spending all day making chocolates. SELF CONTROL!!

Longest day of my Life!!

Black Friday here I come!! That is what I was thinking in the days leading up to that shopping day after Thanksgiving. Well, after a lot of convincing my mom and aunt finally agreed to jump on the bandwagon. Although I was set on going, I'll be the first to say that getting up at THREE in the morning wasn't very fun. Especially being pregnant. AND for some reason when I know I have to get up early, I never sleep. Anyway, Kohl's opened up at 4:00 and there was a feather bed and some sheets I wanted. Well, my mom the whole time was like, "We are going to be the only crazy ones there." SHE WAS WRONG. We were ten minutes late and the parking lot was FULL!! I didn't get my feather bed, but I got the sheets. By the time we were ready to leave, the line stretched around both sides of the store and met up in the back!! Three hour wait. Luckily someone tipped us off and told us we could buy stuff at the jewelry counter if we were purchasing jewelry or perfume. Hurray!! No wait for us. I headed out to get to the car and NO BATTERY!! Just to add to the fun of the morning. My mom accidentally left the lights on. Luckily a nice lady had just pulled up right in front of us and was willing to jump us. We headed over to Al's where I found just what I'd been wanting!! I can't post now, but will after Christmas :). Then on to Walmart...where we found more awesome stuff...Staples, Best Buy, the mall then back to Al's. I thought we'd be home by nine....nope eleven thirty. It was fun though. We totally loaded up my explorer and my aunt and to cram in the front seat with my mom!! It was a blast and we all said we'd do it again. Thanks for going guys!!




After our fun shopping day, you'd think I was going to go home and sleep. Nope. Time to go up to Idaho and find a Christmas tree. I've never done it before, but I always thought it sounded fun. It wasn't that hard of a hike and we found some great trees.




Nap time right? Wrong again. I figured since it was about 5:00 now anyway, no use in going to bed. Plus, my family wanted to head back into Preston and look at the lights. Of course they had to stop in at Pop N' Pins, the bowling alley made famous by Napoleon Dynamite. I don't think that place has changed in seriously thirty years. You still have to keep track of your own score on paper. My family had a great time while I sat there and watched. I was starting to feel the effects.






I made it through the day, pregnant and all!

Happy 2 Birthday Coop!!

Cooper was lucky enough this year to share his birthday with the turkey! He turned two on Thanksgiving day. I can't believe that my little boy is now two. It seriously feels like he was born yesterday sometimes. I remember when he was little and colicky how I wished he was older, and now that he is growing up I definately want it to slow down. I cherish the little things with him right now. The "hugs mom" and "kiss mom". He is such a little entertainer and loves the spotlight. I love hearing his rendition of the ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. The sad thing is he will quit singing them before they ever get old to me. Cooper we love you so much and you bring us so much happiness!!!

I'm glad he actually knew how to open them this year. It makes it more fun. He had to put his boots on we gave him.



Hauling around Rat-a-tini (Susan's dog)in his new dump truck. He would chase that poor dog around the house constantly.



Cars, trains and airplanes. That's what Coop is most into now. I went pretty easy on the cake this year. It had to compete with all sorts of yummy pies!!



My cute little two year old.

Face Painting

We were in charge of babysitting for our co-op a couple weeks ago. My friend Melissa had talked about Watercolor Colored Pencils on her blog and how they were great for face painting. Well, we decided to try them out on Coop, Landry and Jack. I think Brad's artistic ability really shone threw. They wanted to be scary monsters. The kids loved it and it was so easy to clean off. Hopefully the Christensens and the Tates aren't too mad we drew all over their little boys!

Big Boy Bed!!

Around the second week in November we decided it was time for Coop to get out of his crib. He had been begging to sleep with us in "mommy and daddy's bed" for the last few nights. We finally found a bed and he was so excited. We have been using it for almost three weeks now and things are going great. He does have a few issues staying in bed...but they are to be expected I guess. It was so funny because for some reason he couldn't open the door to his room so we would just hear a knocking at random points in the night and it would be Coop wanting to come out. Now that he opens the door himself, it's fun to see him walk up to me in the morning and after his naps. He is such a cutie!!

Girls Trip to Park City

A couple weeks ago, I was lucky enough to go spend the weekend with some of the greatest gals! We had such a good time. Myself, Tara, Nikki, Georgana, Lesli, Britany and Heather met up for a weekend of shopping and catching up. We missed you Chelsey!! We all went to high school together and have tried to stay close even though we live in different places now.
The weekend was full of good food, great shopping and of course some laughs. We ate at Cheesecake Factory and Cafe Sabor and shopped at Fashion Place, the Outlets and of course TJ Maxx. I even had my first experience with foot zoning. Lesli is taking classes to learn how and she practiced on me. It was awesome and I'm planning on doing it again soon.
This was the second year we've done this and each year has been so much fun, but it goes by too fast.
It makes me sad that I don't get to see these girls more often, but I love that when we get back together we pick right up where we left off. Thanks to Brit for getting us a place to stay. Love you girls!! Can't wait until next year.



Aren't my friends so photogenic?? Me on the other hand...I think I was worried Brit wasn't going to make it in the picture because she was doing something. That's my excuse :)

Chocolate Milk.....Face

Okay, so Cooper has started to learn his colors. He knows blue, red, and some of the others. Well, lately he has been going around the house saying chocolate milk randomly. I have just come to realize that chocolate milk is his word for brown. He will go around saying it and pointing to brown things. Cute right?
Well tonight Brad, Coop, and I were at Target. We were done looking and were heading out when a black woman passed us. All of a sudden we hear CHOCOLATE MILK, CHOCOLATE MILK, CHOCOLATE MILK.....FACE! Yup. He kept repeating it over and over like he was astonished. Brad and I were dying laughing. Our kids are so innocent, and the things that they say at this young age are so hilarious! I'm just not looking forward to the awkward moments...I'm sure they are soon to come!

Trick or Treat!!

Halloween was a blast this year. I swear we live in the best neighborhood for it. It does pay to live only six feet from your neighbor in some instances! I had no idea what I was missing growing up. In Lewiston we got a lot of candy, but we had to be driven from one house to the next. I guess it's just a different experience.
We started our day off with a Halloween party. My cute neighbor friends Mandy and Janette had planned it. They had lunch for us and we decorated cookies. We had a great time. Thanks guys!!
I have no idea where Coop got the idea that this is the face he has to pull for pics...it is a common thing now!



That night my parents came down. I was excited for them to experience with Coop. Brad had seriously been practicing with Coop how to Trick or Treat. He would have me stand behind the front door and he would go outside with Coop and have him knock on the door. I would open it, Coop would say 'Trick-or-Treat'...you get the picture. No joke. Brad really did practice with him for like three days. What a nerd!! Love you honey.
I guess the practice paid off because Coop was pretty much able to do everything himself. It was funny because he would just stand there after saying Trick-or-Treat. They would give him candy and he would just sit and look at them. They would then give him another piece and he would say,"Thank you, your welcome." For some reason they go together! At one house he even invited himself in to pet the cat. He walked right in, pet the cat, and walked out saying, "Bye kitty!" We had a great night despite the rain showers!!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween everyone. I love this time of year and I always feel like Halloween kicks off the holiday season. I actually even justify listening to Christmas music after Halloween. A little early, I know, but this time of year is my favorite!!

Monday we invited the Simmons over to carve some pumpkins and have some dinner. We had such a great time like always. Addy and Coop loved the pumpkin "guts" and had a blast throwing it all over. It was so funny to watch them play together. The finished product turned out pretty good!






The finished product!!

Rich Halloween Party

Last Saturday Carol had such a great party for all the grandkids. There was plenty of good food, friends and games to go around. We all had such a great time. Coop even left his Halloween costume on all night!!

Family Pictures





Cousin Picture



Blake & Kelly's little girl Ella was not happy with her costume...but she looked so cute!!



Costume parade around the pool table



Lori Side & Back View..haha




Go Fish!



The games Carol had ready were so creative. In this first pic, the boys had to taste the different kinds of "blood" and guess what each was. They also had to do it while they had nylons over their heads...hilarious!! They didn't really appreciate the flavors...one being pudding mixed with salsa!!



Worms and Eyeballs...(Spaghetti and Grapes). She told the neices to dig into the worms and eyeballs for some cash...they were blindfolded. The funny thing is that she had actually dumped a few real earthworms on top. There were a few screams and almost a few tears shed..but everyone thought it was hilarious! Coop was fascinated by the worms. He didn't really want to touch them.




Ghost hunt!! I thought this was such a cute game. There were a bunch of white helium filled balloons hidden outside. They gave each grandchild a flashlight and they went on a ghost hunt outside in the dark. Everyone loved it. When they found all their ghosts they brought them in for a prize!



Bob for apples! All the grandkids loved this one, especially watching their dads trying to get an apple. Grandpa even joined in on the fun. He wasn't shy...his whole head went in under water and he was as fast as any of them! Coop was just loving eating an apple grandpa gave him. He ate it all the way down to the core. I took it from him and noticed the whole inside was moldy! Yum!!



Is he alive???




And to top the night off, there had to be a hot tub dip. Brad can't go to his parents house without getting in the hot tob and he had plenty of company!



Thanks so much for the Halloween party Carol!! Everyone had such a great time!

Pumpkin Walk 2008

I was so excited to take Coop to the Pumpkin Walk this year in North Logan! I was up in Lewiston all last week and this was one of the reasons why. I loved going with my family growing up and now I can continue on the tradition. The theme this year was "Heroes", and it was awesome! It seems to be getting so busy as the years go by. We were lucky enough to have my parents with us and we all enjoyed it!

Coop actually looking at the camera!! This was in front of the batman exhibit.



My cute parents and Coop.



They had these wooden figures with the faces cut out. At first Coop didn't know what to think, but when he figured them out, we couldn't get him to leave the Yoda. He just sat there looking around at people. Everyone was laughing. He is such a cutie!!




The best family picture we got all night...Coop seriously has a phobia of looking at a camera. I swear! I'm pretty sure I was talking to him through my teeth telling him to look at grandma. Hence the weird look on my face. Oh well!



First bus ride for the family! They were shuttling people in this year. Crazy!!



My favorite exhibit. Some people are so talented!



This was my next favorite exhibit. If you look close, there was actually water pouring out of a pumpkin into a little pond. There was a father and son fishing in the pond. So cute!