Cooper's News

Cooper has FINALLY lost his first tooth. YAY! All of his friends have lost at least a couple and he was feeling very left out. When we discovered it was loose a couple of weeks ago he has worked so hard to get it out. On Tuesday night Taylor and I had had enough complaining from Cooper so we decided to take the pliers to it and rip it out. Well, the plier idea did not go over so well with Cooper so we opted for a papertowel instead. One yank from Taylor and it was out. We jumped and shouted for joy! Cooper was so excited!

Blazin' Hot!!!!

I am finally getting around to blogging. We have been out of town and then the day we got back Cody started running a fever and has been sick ever since. I started running a fever yesterday and have the worst head cold I have ever had in my life. I can give birth with no pain meds and I can't handle this sickness. I am miserable. Taylor left today to go bear hunting and won't be back until Sunday. Poor, poor, pitiful me! Now that I have the complaining out of the way......I figured I should get a little posting done right now while the kids are quiet. I probably should be folding laundry, washing dishes, planning meals for the next few days or cleaning bathrooms, but those can wait.
AZ TRIP
I drove the kids to AZ last week so that we could get one last vacation in before school starts and we are stuck at home for the next 10 months. My Grandma Marge also flew in to visit. I had not seen her for over 2 years so it was really nice to chat it up with her and let the kids get to know her again. My grandma and Cody got along so well. She is so sweet with little kids so it is no wander that he really loved spending time with her.





Marlene (my sister) and I did a lot of fun activities with the kids. We went to a Diamondbacks game one of the nights. My mom volunteered to watch the 2 babies (Reagan and Eli) so that Marlene, Ben and I could enjoy the game with just the older kids. Cooper was so intense about watching the game. I am so glad the he is a sport's fan. The stadium has this place where kids can bat and a guy pitches balls to them. That was their favorite part of the game.






We also took them to a place called Bounce U. That was a blast too. We of course did a lot of swimming as well. Cooper and Natalie did great. They are pretty confident in the water. Cody on the other hand needs a constant companion. The first day we went swimming he had no fear and so would just jump straight into the water....and sink! I had to save him several times. We got back to my mom's after the first day and he told my mom, "I kept drowning". The second day we went he was a little more cautious. It helped a lot to have my mom there to catch him if he did go under! Considering my kids don't get to swim very often here in Albuquerque I think they did a great job! I have to admit though it was stinkin hot. Even swimming did not cool us off very much. I seriously don't know how anyone can live there. Ok, I know, I lived there for 20 years of my life but I NEVER remember it being that hot. Now that I know what cooler air feels like I really don't think I could live in AZ again anytime soon!! I thoroughly enjoy going outside at 7:00pm and not melting from the intense heat.








Taylor flew in Friday night to spend the weekend with us. Cooper and Natalie had spent the night at Grandma Cathy's house. They went to Ami's birthday party the next morning. So it was just Taylor, Eli, Cody and I. It was nice to spend one on one time with Cody! He needs that kind of attention. We got up Saturday morning and went swimming with him and then headed off for Bass Pro Shop. Cody had never been in there before so he was amazed at all the animals.

Tylie, Natalie, and Ami at birthday party.


We had a great visit with everyone and I felt like I got to do everything I wanted to do and did not feel rushed! Thanks Marlene for letting us stay with you! It was so fun to play with baby Reagan! I better start getting these kids ready to start school.

Patio Cover

For those of you that are keeping up with the progress of our backyard, you will be excited to hear that our patio cover is finally finished. Taylor even put in some really nice recessed lighting. Get ready for some major parties at our house! Taylor and I have really enjoyed sitting outside and watching the rain fall. Now I am asking myself, "What in the world took us so long to get our backyard done?"


Eli was so tired he fell asleep in the swing. So cute, but yet seems so neglectful on my part!

Cabin Fun

This last weekend we went up to Taylor's Grandma's cabin in Showlow, AZ. Taylor's mom, dad, Grandma, sister and her friends went up with us. Our kids were the only grandkids there and they thoroughly enjoyed the one on one time with their grandparents. It was so fun to sit around and visit and play games with eachother.

Taylor and Cooper met up with one of Taylor's uncles, Uncle Cub, and went fishing on his boat. Cooper was all smiles when he got back. I guess he caught the most fish and won a trophy! He has acquired the nickname Skipper because he was so good at driving the boat. I was amazed to see the size of the fish that he caught!





We took the kids to the Go-carts, which is a tradition every time we go to the cabin. Cody looked a little scared at first but once he got going he loved it and did not want to get off. They had a kiddie track as well so we let Natalie and Cooper drive themselves. I did not realize how competitive they are with eachother. It was really cute to watch!!






One of the nights we were there we were watching some old Family Home videos. Well Cody accidently pulled on a cord that was hooked to the video camera which was sitting on top of the big screen TV. It came crashing down on his head. Blood immediately started gushing from the front of his head. We debated whether or not to take him in for stitches. After a LONG few minutes the bleeding eventually slowed down and we opted to treat him at home. I got some butterfly bandages and some New Skin and patched it up myself. He probably should have gotten stitches just to reduce the size of the scar it is going to leave but what little boy is complete without a few scars on his head, right? He finally calmed down and fell asleep. I hate when my sweet Cody gets hurt, and it seems to happen a lot. Other than that incident we had an awesome time at the cabin and can't wait until we can go back to hang with family!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

I found these pics and they immediately made me laugh! Who has changed the most over the years, Taylor or me?









Yesterday we celebrated Taylor's 27th birthday! I turned 27 a couple of months ago and Tay just loves to rub it in my face that I am soooo old, well honey, it is your turn. Now we both are only 3 years away from being 30!!! AAHHH!!! At least we are going down together!

Unfortunately, Taylor had to work on his birthday, really not fair, but I guess that is real life. When he got home from work, the kids and I greeted him with the Happy Birthday song and presents. Later that night I took him out just the two of us. It was great to eat a warm meal together and not have to scream over the children's voices just to ask how eachother's days went. We really need to get out on dates more often. I don't tell you enough that you are the best husband ever and I am so grateful to have you in my life. I love you!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

I just love Holidays! I love that Taylor gets to stay home from work and hang out with us!
Our ward always does a 4th of July breakfast and bike parade for the kids so we headed over there yesterday morning. The kids were really excited to decorate their bikes for the parade. A few days ago we went to our friend Heidi's house and painted 4th of July t-shirts as well. They came out pretty cute! Cody started the parade but about 1 minute into it, drops his scooter in the middle of the parking lot and runs in the opposite direction. I guess he got bored!



We got together with some friends in the afternoon and had a BBQ at the park. We had a lot of fun chatting it up with other couples while our children played. I love that in Albuquerque you can have a party outside in the middle of the day and not die of heat stroke! Around 8:30 it started to get dark and immediately there were tons of fireworks going off. It was neat to sit in the middle of the park grass and watch tons of fireworks all over the sky! I love that everyone can buy fireworks here and play with them. We did not have to drive anywhere, search for parking, or fight through large crowds of people just to enjoy a firework show!
Kids cuddling up under blankets during fireworks!

Backyard Work

For the past couple of weeks Taylor and I have been working on getting our backyard done. When had grass back there for the past couple of years but I decided a few weeks ago that I was tired of the grass and I was ready for a change. Unfortunately for Taylor, when I get my mind set to something it is going to happen even if I have to do the work myself.
We don't have a huge yard, actually I can't even hardly call it a yard at all....it is tiny. So I thought for sure I could tackle this project by myself. Well, my good friend Heather came to the rescue and offered to help me. So one day we headed out with our shovels in hand and tore out the grass ourselves. It was really hard work and I would have never finished it if it weren't for her help. It was such a sense of accomplishment when we finally came to the last patch of grass. Taylor brought in some rock to put down instead. We figured it would hold up better with kids. I also built a raised flower bed to add a little bit of color in our yard. I am pretty proud of myself because I built it all by myself!! We still have a couple other little things we want to do in the yard but for the most part we are done!






Our yard is much more kid-friendly now. All the kids in our cul-de-sac end up at our house playing! I love it! I know it sounds stupid but it has been so awesome to see all of our hard work turn into something really nice!