Our Happy Family!

Fun in the Snow!!

2012-01-29T17:14:00.003-07:00

Scooter Boy was really excited when we woke up to snow a few Saturdays ago! He couldn't wait to get his snow clothes on and head outside!

...Enjoying some warm snuggles with Dad before heading outside!
At first just Derek went out- and Cooper watched him through the window and really wanted to go out too! So later we all headed outside to play together!
The little hill in the back is seriously perfect for sledding!
Brrr....cold but fun!
Some of our cute neighbor kids were outside and one time when they were sledding Derek and Lily crashed into each other!
More sledding!

Ryan made this giant snowball for Cooper and he loved it!!

Creativity!

2012-01-27T10:16:00.002-07:00

I love how creative kids are! It's so fun to see the things they come up with!! For example, if there are two kiddos and only one jacket- what's the solution?! ....Share! haha!
These two have so much fun together!
And one day we were playing in the front room and Derek said: "Mom! Look, I made a belt!"

Kids are so much fun!!

Cooper J's Birthday!

2012-01-20T20:24:00.006-07:00

We can't believe that Cooper J. is one year old! How did a year go so fast?! We just love this sweet little kiddo, and we're so happy that he's part of our family! His little smile lights up his whole face- and usually the faces of whoever is near him! You can't help but smile when he does! He is walking all around and will no doubt be running right with Derek before too long! He's so much fun and such a happy little boy!!

This is what I got for Cooper's birthday, hahah! He kept climbing out of his regular high chair! I would put him in the high chair, turn around to get his food and boom! - he'd be sitting on top of the tray...usually cracking up! So we (we actually meaning Ry, - he's so great!) ordered this seat with a little harness. It's worked out great- it takes up less space and he can't get out now! He doesn't even seem to mind that he can't escape now!
Oh I love these sweeties! They make me so happy!!
Cooper had fun opening presents! And he had two great helpers who had fun helping him if he needed it! :)

He was really excited for this Kit Kat! And don't you just love that little smile?! It's so sweet!
Time for cake!! ...notice he's not letting go of the Kit Kat! haha!
It was so fun to watch him eat his cake!

Cake in one hand, Kit Kat in the other....
Cousins!

I love messy, birthday cake faces!
He finally bit through the wrapper of the Kit Kat, so he had to have some of that too!
Happy Happy Birthday Cooper J! We love you TONS kiddo!!

Happy New Years!

2012-01-09T23:05:00.005-07:00

We had a really fun New Year's Eve party! Derek & Ryan started things off by doing some pops! Derek loves those!!

Happy New Years Part One! Ryan bought these really cool confetti guns and noise makers- so we had round one before Cooper J. went to bed!
After the little dude was in bed, we played some games! Derek got this really fun game for Christmas called "The Cat in the Hat- I can do that!" We had a lot of fun playing together!

We also played Wii Bowling! It was the first time that Derek had played it and he loved it! He has been asking almost every day since if we can play bowling!
He was very, very happy that he actually beat Ryan one time!
Wow! Way to go dude!
Derek absolutely loved these confetti guns! He was so excited that we got to do it two times! He kept telling me: "Mom! Did you know Dad bought more of those guns?!" It was so much fun!
Happy New Years! What a great way to start a great new year!!

Temple Square

2012-01-06T21:08:00.004-07:00

We went to Temple Square in December, and it is always beautiful, particularly in December, I think!! Sometimes when I was a kid, my mom, dad and I would go out to dinner in Salt Lake on my birthday, then we'd go to Temple Square and see all of the beautiful Christmas lights! Going to Temple Square at Christmastime always brings back those fun memories!

We had a lot of fun - except it was very, very cold! But still fun nevertheless! Derek asked me when we came home if we could go back the next day!

Oh how I love these boys!! They make me so happy!!

The Elf Mailbox!

2012-01-02T09:57:00.003-07:00

This year Derek wrote his very first letter to Santa! It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen! The number one thing he asked Santa for was a fan - like a little folding fan- because he got one when we went bowling, and it broke. I thought that was so sweet that he asked for something so small and simple! He also asked for a toy house, and a real dog. I explained to him that Santa might not be able to bring a real dog because we can't have dogs where we live, and he said "Well....we're going to be at Nanny and Papa's house for Christmas, and they have a dog- Zoe!" haha! I thought that was pretty good logic!

We were going to send Derek's Santa letter in the mail, then we heard about a very cool "Elf Mailbox." Derek put his letter to Santa in the box at night, and Santa's helpers took it away and left a small surprise for Derek and Cooper!
Derek helping Cooper unwrap his present!
Hey, this is fun!

Santa was so nice and actually left Derek's letter in his stocking on Christmas Eve ( I think he knew that I really wanted to keep it!)- and he wrote a little note back to Derek!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-29T22:51:00.004-07:00

On Christmas Eve we slept over at Nanny & Papa's! We had such a great time hanging out together and cooking Chinese food!

The kiddos were excited to open their Christmas Eve presents! And they looked so cute in their new jammies!

Here is Cooper J. in his p.j.'s - playing with Daddy!

And playing with Zoe. He really likes Zoe, and she is really nice and patient with him!

Derek opening his pajamas!
Derek and Mauri in their new, comfy jams! Now they are ready for bed! (in theory at least, haha!)
The kids slept in until almost 8:00 on Christmas morning! We all had such a great time watching them open their presents and play with their new toys!
We were all a little worn out after a very fun morning! I love this picture of Erica and Harley taking a nap!
Cooper J. having his first taste of scones & honey butter! Yummmmmmm!
I love the day after Christmas almost as much as Christmas- it is so fun to just be together and play!! Here Ry and Derek are playing with the new track Derek got!!
Merry, Merry Christmas everyone! And have a very Happy New Year!

Getting ready for Christmas!

2011-12-21T20:45:00.004-07:00

We have had a lot of fun getting ready for Christmas! We decorated our tree a few days after Thanksgiving! I love decorating the tree! One of my favorite things is all of the ornaments that Ryan has from when he was a kiddo! ...You can't really see the whole tree in this picture, but it is a good thing that it's small because Cooper J. has pulled it over twice! Luckily he was fine & so were all of the ornaments!
I love this picture! He's such a sweet boy, and you can't help but catch his enthusiasm when we're doing fun things together!
Both of the boys tried a candy cane tootsie pop! Derek is not a big fan of candy canes- but Cooper liked it a lot!
At the beginning of the month we went to the Festival of Trees. It's this really fun event where they have tons of decorated trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses and other things like quilts and yummy treats - all for sale. It's so fun to walk around and see all of the trees; lots of them are made in memory of people who have passed away, and it is both neat and sad to see pictures of them next to the tree. One of my favorite things about the Festival of Trees though, is that all of the money they raise goes to Primary Childrens Hospital. It was neat to talk with Derek when we came home that night & tell him that the money they raise at the festival helps kids who are really sick and have to stay in the hospital. Derek loved it and asked when we were going back to the tree festival!

I know this picture is blurry, but I had to post it because I love the smile on Cooper's face!

Let it Snow!

2011-12-06T19:04:00.003-07:00

In the first part of November we had a really good snowstorm! The little hill in the backyard is perfect for sledding down! ...And of course Ry thought it was super funny that he captured this picture for posterity! haha! What can I say though?! It was so slippery! I told Derek to hold my hand and so he wouldn't slip and then I totally slipped -and pulled him right down with me! It was pretty funny!
We had so much fun sledding and making snowballs and just playing! Cooper kept watching through the back door window and he had a look on his face like 'why am I not out there with you guys?'

I love this picture! Snow is so fun and magical!

Thanksgiving!

2011-12-05T22:16:00.003-07:00

This year we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house- and it was so much fun! My mom had to work that morning, so we thought - what if we just have it at our house?! It was so nice of everybody to drive up! Here is Scooter Boy in his pilgrim hat that he got at his Thanksgiving Feast at preschool!
Derek and I had a lot of fun making these cute little turkeys!
Harley - being such a good doggy! I kept teasing my mom (before Thanksgiving) that since Harley is so big, we were going to have a Thanksgiving dinner like in the movies - where the giant doggy snaps the turkey right off the table and takes off! haha! ...this hypothetical scenario became less funny when we decided to have dinner at our house, haha! But Harley was great- just like always! He's such a sweet dog!
Watching some football with daddy!
Everyone always loves it when I say, "Can we take a picture of everybody?" They pretty much wrestled each other to get the best spot!...we sure missed having Lins, Gman and Mauri with us for Thanksgiving!
Playing with our sweet Merry Sunshine!
Derek, Erica, Myke & Harley
I love Thanksgiving! I try to remember often throughout the year the many things that I'm grateful for- but I think it's so awesome that we have a holiday specifically for remembering what we're thankful for!

Holiday Catch Up....

2011-11-26T11:14:00.005-07:00

We LOVE Halloween! We start celebrating it in September by making Halloween goodies and crafts, and we go right up til Halloween Day! We had a lot of spooky fun this year! We carved pumpkins!
Hey- why don't I get to carve one?!

We bobbed for apples....baby style!

We made cookie spiders! These spiders mysteriously acquired more and more eyes as we went along!

We were so excited to dress up and go trick or treating!

We enjoyed some witches brew!
Derek got TONS of candy - including two full size snickers! What a great day!

Road Trip...Continued!

2011-11-26T10:52:00.005-07:00

Continuing on with pictures from our fun, fun trip to California....We were able to spend a very fun day at Auntie Cook and Uncle Bobs house! We had such a good time! The day that we had to leave - Derek asked if we could go to Auntie Cook & Uncle Bob's house just one more time!

Enjoying an apple with dad!
Yummmm! That's good!
Snuggled up on the comfy couch!
The famous picture board! Barb had such a great idea to take a picture of this last summer when we were in California- so I decided to take a picture this time! I love to look at all of these pictures! It is so fun to see all of the family history in pictures!
Grandma and Grandpa - two of the cutest, sweetest people ever!! We sure love them!
Family pictures before we left!

We had such a great time - and we were really sad to leave! But soon we were back in the car. The Nevada scenery was interesting at some points....
...but it mostly looked like this:
I thought the California scenery was prettier & more interesting!

We stayed in a hotel again on our way home! Cooper had fun with the toilet paper, haha! We went swimming again and ordered room service! That was super fun! Derek asked if we could do it again the next morning!

We had such a great time in California! Looking through these pictures again made me feel so happy- we are so glad we were able to take such a great road trip to visit our amazing family!!

Road Trip! - part one

2011-11-03T21:49:00.006-06:00

For fall break we took a road trip to Sacramento to visit Great Grandma & Grandpa Miyake & Auntie Cook & Uncle Bob! We seriously had a BLAST! The whole trip was amazing! It was so great to see family, and both of the kids did so great on the loooooooong drive! While we were there Derek kept asking how we could make the time go slower! We are so glad that we were able to go!
Before we left, Ryan made sure we had enough snacks for the long car ride!
Taking a lunch break in Elko, Nevada. We ate on the grass & brought our soccer ball & frisbees so we could all run around and play for a bit!
The first night we stayed in a hotel in Reno! It was a lot of fun to stay in a hotel - we went swimming and watched cartoons and just played - and it was also nice to break up the drive a little bit!
Cooper J. - happy to be able to move around!
Daddy and Scooter! ...yeah, they look pretty happy to be out of the car too!!
While we were in Reno we were able to go to Trader Joes - I've always wanted to go there! We bought some super yummy snacks there because, hey, we needed a few more snacks, haha! But seriously, it was fun to go there! I wish we had a Trader Joe's in Utah! Anywhoo... this picture is not of us at Trader Joes, but there is a Trader Joe's yogurt container on the table which made me think of it...
The next day we made it to Sacramento! And the following day we went to this cute amusement park! Derek loved riding all of the rides!
And Coop enjoyed watching! (I love how you can see his teeth in this picture!)
Cooper and Great Grandma!
Me and the boys!
Derek loved all of the rides - I think he could have just kept going on them all day!
And Cooper loved the carousel...until it started moving! Then he was trying to climb off that horse & he was hanging onto my shirt for dear life! haha!
Getting brave! Derek started waving his hands in the air!
We have so many fun pictures from our road trip - that I decided to post them in 2 parts! So.... part 2 is coming soon!!!

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa!

2011-11-03T21:27:00.006-06:00

In October we were so lucky to have Grandma & Grandpa come for a visit! We were so excited to have Grandma come with us on Derek's first field trip - to the fire station!
And we went to the Discovery Gateway! It was such a blast! Here Grandma & Derek are enjoying a "ride" in the car!
Derek filling up the car with gas!
Cooper J. checking out a boat!
Lets go shopping!!
Sitting in a life flight helicopter!
Building with magnetic blocks!
Derek is so kind, and he loves sharing with Cooper J! Here he is sharing some ice cream with him!
Cooper is always happy when Derek shares with him!
Cooper J. having some attitude! haha! I love this picture!
Daddy's trick!
We were so glad that Grandma & Grandpa were here during General Conference. It was fun to watch conference together! On Saturday we went down to my moms and had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone!
We got to meet Erica's new doggy, Harley, while we were down there!! What a cute & sweet dog!

Best Mom's ever!! We're so grateful for our Moms!! They are just the best!!!
Happy Boys!!

Sharing some peaches with Cooper! He loves peaches!!

Playing outside!! We played frisbee and soccer with Grandma & Grandpa, and Ryan pushed Derek up the hill in this car!
We had such a great visit with Grandma and Grandpa! Thank you so much for coming to visit! Please come back again soon!!

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-17T10:38:00.003-06:00

This past weekend we went to the pumpkin patch! This is an activity that we look forward to every fall - and this pumpkin patch was one we'd never been to before! It was really fun! You pull this cart out into the field and pick the pumpkins that you want! Here is Scooter running to pick out some pumpkins with Ry!

These are the pumpkins we picked! I had never seen a white pumpkin before - I thought it was so cool!
Hitchin' a ride in the cart!

They had this tractor that the kids could play on!
Running through the hay maze!

The Finish Line!

2011-10-16T20:29:00.004-06:00

About a month ago we went up to Logan to watch Erica run a marathon! It was so much fun - and so AMAZING of her! I told her that never in my life have I even run ONE mile before noon, and she ran 26 miles before noon! We are so proud of her! It was so much fun to see her along the way and to cheer her on! And Lins mentioned that it reminded her of Heaven - and I thought that was such a great thought! Because really our life is like a marathon - but we have so many people cheering us on along the way! And think of how great it will be when we cross that "finish line" - knowing we've done the best we can!

Here are Derek and Mauri holding up their signs for Erica!

Almost at the finish line! Way To Go Girl!!
We seriously had so much fun watching Erica! We were so glad we were able to be there!! We're so proud of you girl!!
While we were in Logan we also went and visited President and Sister Norton - my mission president! It was so great to see them! At first Derek was so shy- but then President Norton gave him a sucker - and he even told Derek that he could have 2 suckers when he came back next time! Derek has asked me a few times when we're going back to see our friends from my mission again!
What a great day!!

Cute Boys!

2011-10-14T21:19:00.002-06:00

Here are just some fun pictures of these two sunshine boys! They make us so happy!

Smiles!

2011-10-14T21:11:00.003-06:00

So Derek and Cooper were both sitting on Ryan's lap - a favorite spot of theirs!- and Derek said "Mom! Take a picture!" It was so funny because Cooper J. kept moving and then Derek would look in the other direction! It was cracking me up trying to get a picture of all of them looking and smiling! Oh man - all three of these boys make me so happy! How did I get so lucky?!

Ready to be a big helper!

2011-10-09T09:47:00.003-06:00

"Hey mom! I'll help with the laundry!"

"This is fun!"
"Ok...I think I'm done with laundry."
"Time to play with toys!"

Cleaning Up: Pippi Style!

2011-10-06T12:29:00.003-06:00

Derek and I recently watched "Pippi Longstockings" - yet another one of my favorite movies from my childhood! Derek loved it! How could you not love Pippi?! So when he wanted to do some "spring cleaning" (that's what Pippi calls it on the movie!), I thought it was a great idea!
We, unfortunately, do not have the cool scrubber brush shoes that Pippi has, so we had to make do with washrags!
But even without the cool scrubbing shoes, we still had fun! And now whenever it's time to clean the floor, Derek wants to help me do it this way!

Ready for School!

2011-09-22T22:35:00.004-06:00

Scooter Boy started pre-school at the end of August....and since it's just the beginning of September, I don't feel that I'm too far behind posting this now...haha! Anywho...he is loving school! He is always excited to go to school - and I love hearing about all of the fun things he does! His teacher does so many fun activities with them; he comes home with some really cute projects! And he is walking around spelling R-E-D all the time - it's so cute! It's just amazing to me how fast kiddos learn- and it's just so fun to watch them growing!

Here is Derek on his first day of school! ...Guess I should add that it was puppy's first day too!
Sportin' his Phineas & Ferb backpack!
We're so glad that we found this preschool for Scooter Boy - it seems to be just right for him, and that makes us so happy! ....I do have to say, though, that Cooper J. and I sure miss him when he's gone!!

Mom! Look what I can do!

2011-09-16T16:17:00.000-06:00

It is so much fun to watch Cooper J. pulling himself up to stuff! When he very first started standing up in his crib, it would crack me up when I went to get him up from a nap! Seeing this little tiny kiddo standing up just hit my funny bone for some reason! I love going to get him up from his naps - because he gives me the Biggest smiles when I walk in! How could that not make you feel great, right?!
Here are some cute pictures of Cooper J. standing up in his crib! ...ok, so in the first few he's pulling himself up - not actually standing!

Fun in the Sun!

2011-09-16T09:07:00.000-06:00

We love playing outside! Here is Derek coloring with sidewalk chalk! His little smile just makes my heart so happy! He's such a sweet kiddo!
This splash pad recently opened up - and we have had a blast playing there! There is a way cute playground at this same park - so Derek loves to play in the water and then go play on the playground!

I love finding fun things to do so close to home!

We're so glad when Daddy comes home!

2011-09-04T14:53:00.000-06:00

Derek asks me every day when Daddy is coming home! A few days ago he asked me at breakfast if dad was on his way home yet! (These boys just adore their daddy!!)

Here Derek is siting in a camp chair watching out the window for Ryan to come home!!

Cooper and Great Grandma Mecham

2011-09-04T14:49:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago my mom and dad went with my Granny and my Grandma too Jackson Hole. They stopped by for a visit on their way home, and Cooper had fun playing with Great Grandma Mecham!

Scooter's Prayer

2011-08-25T21:55:00.001-06:00

Derek is such a fun, sweet boy! One night he wanted a glass of milk, and then he said: "Mom, we're supposed to pray, even for milk!" I think it's great anytime he wants to pray - so I said, Sure, go ahead! This was his cute prayer: ..."Dear Heavenly Father, I'm glad Mom let me have some milk, and we're glad I could play a game on Dad's phone... and we're glad Dad could come home from basketball safely."
He is just SO much fun! He is always keeping us laughing with the things he says! One night he told me this story:
"Once upon a time there was a little boy named Scooter and a little girl Mauri and they went to Lagoon. They rode on sharks - and the sharks began to turn into BIG HUGE Dragons!! And they drove and drove and drove in their vehicles..."

Oh krikey - can I just tell you how much we enjoy this kiddo?!

7 Months Old and Growing Fast!

2011-08-17T10:59:00.000-06:00

Cooper is 7 months old! I can't believe he's so big already! A few weeks before he turned 7 months old- he had his 6 month check up! He was 17.3 pounds and 27 1/2 inches tall! This little dude is sitting up by himself! He surprised me one day when I left him in the front room laying on his tummy - and I came back and he was sitting up!! I had no idea how he did that himself! He has been crawling all around too! He was mostly army crawling- but the past few days he's been crawling a lot with his tummy off the ground! And...he is also pulling himself up to stuff! He's always standing up in his crib when we go to get him up from his naps! He's so cute - and I just can't believe how fast he's growing! I think he wants to run and keep up with Scooter Boy!
These two are such great buddies! Scooter is so kind to Cooper - he will share his toys with him, play with him, watch that he doesn't get things he shouldn't - and he even let Cooper hold puppy! One of my favorite things is watching them laugh together! Scooter will start laughing about something and then Cooper will laugh because Scooter is laughing -it is very contagious!

Cooper J. keeps pulling these really funny faces lately!
We love his smile! Cooper is such a sweet little kiddo - we feel so LUCKY that we get to have him in our family!

Bowling!

2011-08-17T10:51:00.001-06:00

We took Derek bowling for the first time and he Loved it!! He had so much fun - every time we drive past the bowling alley he points it out to us and then asks if we can go bowling again! When we drove past a few days ago he said :"I really like bowling....now that I know how to do it!"

Lagoon!

2011-08-11T09:48:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago we went to Lagoon - it was Derek's first time there and he LOVED it! We went with Lindsay and Mauri - and Erica and Michael came too! Lins and I kept talking about how much fun it is to watch your kiddos having fun - and boy were they having fun! They were laughing so hard on all of the rides! And those two are pretty adventurous! We had such a great time!

Derek and Ryan!
Waiting in line for "The Bat." Mauri cracks me up - she is so funny!
Lins and Mauri!
Derek and Ryan on the bat!
Lins brought her big stroller and we actually pushed the cooler around in it...except for the times when we took a break and Mauri used it to rest and eat snacks! We started calling the cooler baby snack attack -because a while ago Mauri told Lindsay that they were going to have a baby named snack attack, ha ha! (according to Mar they are also having babies named: Spatula, Phineas and Ferb!)
Cooper J. was such a trooper! He was so happy - even though it was a pretty long day! Here he is playing with Erica!
Derek and Mauri on the swings!
Cooper J. taking a nap!
More fun rides!

Derek and Mauri really liked the new rollercoaster - called "Bombora." I wish I would have gotten a picture of it! We had such a fun time that Lins and I took Derek and Mauri back the next day! Lagoon had a bounce back deal going on, so we met my mom and dad there and had another great day of fun! Derek is still talking & talking about Lagoon - and asking when we are going to go back!

Check it out!

2011-07-27T12:02:00.000-06:00

Several weeks ago the boys were playing on the floor and I ran into the other room for a second. I heard Scooter say: "Moooooom! Check it out!" I came back to find them sharing Scooter's Cougar's hat!

Such cute boys!!

Trip to Missouri

2011-07-21T16:24:00.001-06:00

We had such a fun time in Missouri! It is so much fun when we get our family together! The boys did great traveling, and just had a blast with their cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandma & Grandpa of course! A few days after we came home Derek said to me one morning: "Last night I had a dream that we were in Missouri and me and Eli were playing!"

We really love going to the Discovery Center!
Blowing giant bubbles!

Derek and Eli had fun playing in the water in the backyard! We thought this picture was so cute & funny because of the contrast in their skin! Derek gets so tan in the summer!
Eli is so cute and funny! He has the cutest little voice and is so sweet! Derek had so much fun playing with him!
They had this beach ball that they were playing with, and Derek and Ryan were throwing it back and forth. One time Derek threw it to Ryan and said: "Take that ya dirty old man!" It was hilarious! He didn't say it in a rude way or anything - he was just joking around! And we have absolutely no idea where he heard that phrase....
Just playing!
It was so much fun to meet Lexi! What a cutie!! She is such a sweet little girl! And look what a good helper she is - helping her momma with the camera!
With Auntie Alli!!
We saw these fun patriotic strawberries in the Family Fun magazine! I thought they would look very cool - but boy was I surprised that they were also super yummy!! I wasn't sure about sprinkles on strawberries, but it was a good combo!! We will definitely make these again!
Fun family picture! ....I love that you can see the slobber on my shoulder, haha! (that is from Cooper J. - just in case you didn't know! haha!)
I love these two pictures!! Scooter was outside doing pops- jumping So High!! He's such a fun kiddo!!

More pops with Alli!
We loved being together with our family in Missouri! Everyone else had some great pictures - and they are so nice to share pics! I definitely have more to post!

Parade!

2011-07-11T08:36:00.001-06:00

In June we went to Springville for the Art City Days Parade! We enjoy going to the parade every year! Even though it's basically the same every year, we still have fun! This year it was less than exciting, though! I'm not sure if it's because we were sitting int the "quiet zone" or because there was less candy than usual - I'm not exactly sure what it was that made it so.... boring! Derek even said to Ryan at one point "Can we go now?" But at least the company was very good! And after the parade we all went to my mom & dad's house for a bbq!

Everybody waiting for the parade to start! (Ry took the picture - so he wasn't in it! dang it!)
We love these kiddos!
The hula hoop queen! Mauri is so good at doing the hula hoop! I got a great video of her that I will post later! She's so cute!
Scooter Boy on the plasma car! Mar & Derek had a lot of fun swimming in back yard, riding the scooters and just playing!

Let the countdown begin!

2011-07-06T18:53:00.000-06:00

We just returned from our AWESOME trip to Missouri!! (there are SO many fun pictures that I can't wait to post!) A few weeks before our trip we made a countdown chain. We had lots of fun taking links off, until one day Derek pulled too hard and the whole thing fell down & a bunch of the remaining links came off! Right after that happened he said: "Well, I guess we have to go to Missouri today!"

Food and Fun!

2011-06-28T21:29:00.000-06:00

Our doctor recently said we could let Cooper start trying some food! He usually watches us like a hawk when we are eating- and tries to grab our food all the time! But he wasn't exactly sure what to think when he tried some baby food...

I think he likes it!
It is tons of fun to watch these two together! They always have the biggest smiles for each other! Here they are just playing together and having fun!

One day I put Cooper down on a blanket, stepped away for a second and came back to find this!!
What a cutie pie!!

Sleepover!!

2011-06-20T19:50:00.001-06:00

We were so excited to have Erica America come and sleep over a few nights ago! We were all so excited to see her, and Scooter just wanted her to play and play in the back yard! And she is such a good sport - she played with him for such a long time! Our neighbors have this little car and they're always riding it down the hill, so Scooter was riding it down the hill and Erica was pushing him & the car back up the hill! Then Scooter convinced Erica to ride with him on the car! I had lots of fun watching the two of them!!

I love this one- how Scooter's face says: "Yay! Let's go!" and Erica is looking like "Ah-oh...I'm not sure this was a good idea after all!"
Going down!
That was so much fun, lets do it again!

An Interview with Scooter Boy!

2011-06-19T20:37:00.001-06:00

For part of our Father's Day fun, I asked Scooter Boy some questions about his Daddy! His answers were really cute and pretty funny!!
- How old is Dad? -- "Let's see....4"
- What is Dad's favorite dinner? -- "Rice."
- What is Dad's job? -- "Fixing walls and stuff."
- What makes Dad mad? -- "Breaking down the walls."
- What does Dad do when he comes home from work? -- "Fix the wall." **
- What is your favorite thing to do with Dad? -- "Watch TV with him."
- What makes Dad laugh? -- "I don't know."
- What does Dad do that makes you laugh? -- "Nothing...Getting chips...When he turns on the TV it makes me laugh, I believe."
- Is Dad a good singer? -- "Yes."
- What is Dad's favorite song? --"Harry Potter."
-What would you like to do with Dad? -- "Ummmmm.... Help him clean with THIS!" (hoding up the duster)
- What is the best food that Dad makes? -- "Noodles."
- What is something Dad always says to you? --"Ummmmm...."
- What do you think Dad does when you are sleeping? --"Nothing...all of us are asleep."
- How are you and Dad the same? -- "I don't know."
- How are you and Dad different? -- "I don't know."
- What do you love the most about Dad? -- "When he gets tons of things that we need."

**There was a small hole in Derek's wall, and last week he took some scissors to the wall and made the hole a LOT bigger! I kind of freaked out & asked him (...maybe shouted at him...) why he did it & he said "I wanted to see what was behind the black stuff!" Oh boy! Later Ryan asked him why he did that, & Derek said: "I don't know.... I'll think of a reason while we're driving down there." (we were just about to go to my moms house). Then Ryan told him that he (Derek) was going to have to pay to fix the wall, and he said "Uh-uh, someone like you is going to have to pay for it!" (he didn't say this in like a bratty way or anything - it was actually pretty funny!) Then Ryan told him that the money to fix the wall would have to come out of his bank account, and he exclaimed: "Kids have bank accounts?!" ha ha! Anywho... when I asked him these questions, the wall experience was still heavy on his mind!

Just Having Fun!

2011-06-15T19:41:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the fun things we've been up to lately!!

Digging in the dirt! This kiddo loves dirt, and even if there's just a small patch of dirt, he'll find it and dig, dig, dig! This was before we got the little sandbox!

There is a hill in the backyard- it is perfect for rolling down!
Playing with his butterfly net (or as he calls it, his fly net catcher!) that Grandma gave to him!

We've had lots of storms in the past few weeks - and I thought the clouds looked pretty cool! (Scooter didn't want me to take his picture I guess!) Also, in the background you can see the fire station. When we moved here- I wondered if it would be annoying to live that close to the fire station -but it's actually really fun! ...at least when you have a 4 year old! Scooter loves watching and listening to the fire trucks! Almost every time they pull out he says "There they go to help someone!"

Cooper J! I love how he looks so relaxed, like he's just chillin'!
I really can't get enough of kiddo feet- I seriously love em! I think they're so cute!
And oh how we love those blue, blue eyes!! I love both of our kiddos eyes! It's just so fun how Derek's are so dark, dark brown- and Cooper's are super blue!!
I just thought this picture was cute!
Our cute sister, Katie, made these darling P.J.'s for Cooper, and I tried them on to see if they fit! They were still a little bit big, but they looked SO dang cute I had to take a few pictures!!
Derek loves to hold Cooper like this! And he's such a good helper - he's always telling me "You can leave Cooper with me- I'll watch him!" How cute is that?! I hope he's still saying the same thing in a few years when he's old enough to do that!!

Brought to you by the letter "D"

2011-06-09T20:24:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we were talking about the letter "D," and one of our activities was this "Doggy Tea Party." I remember having tea parties when I was little and I loved them! Scooter had a good time, and so did our "guests"- Puppy and Zoe!

Field Trip to the Farm!

2011-05-30T11:41:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago we took a field trip to Wheeler Farm! We started out by feeding the ducks!

Scooter throwing some bread to the ducks! He loves to feed the ducks!
And he loved the big tractor of course!
I love these pictures! They're so cute!

Playing in the little tree house!

Cooper fell asleep!
I'm not sure he loved his hat - but we didn't want him to get sun burned!
When we were looking at the pigs, Ryan saw a HUGE rat - but we didn't get a picture of it... too bad! haha!

Four Months Old!

2011-05-26T15:10:00.000-06:00

We can't believe that Cooper J. is already 4 months old! He had his 4 month check up, and he is now 26 1/2 inches tall and he weighs 15.11 lbs. I always think it is fun to compare how big Scooter was at the same age! At 4 months, Derek was 27 inches tall and weighed 18.4 lbs!

I thought this was so cute - both boys sitting on Daddy's lap! They both just adore their Daddy!
Some fun pictures of the boys!

Derek wanted Cooper to sit on his lap for a picture!

Derek's Birthday!

2011-05-22T21:23:00.001-06:00

We can't believe Derek is 4 years old! ...Well, unless you ask him! He keeps saying that he is turning 3 again!

Derek helped me bake his cake the day before his birthday, and when this happened - boy was I glad that Ryan had bought 2 cake mixes! haha! (...and I can't even blame this on anyone, haha! It was totally my fault that this first cake literally fell apart! Luckily we had that 2nd cake mix! And even luckier that this hit my funny bone instead of my go crazy-stressed ballistic bone! haha!)
Big helper! Derek helped me decorate the cake- and we had a lot of fun! He's such a great kiddo - so full of energy and always wanting to help! We sure love him!
Happy Birthday Kiddo!
Aaaarrgg Matey's! Scooter has been really into "pirates" lately - so one of the things he got for his birthday was a treasure chest with an eye patch, gold coins and a bandanna!

Oh my goodness- we just LOVE these two sweet boys! I don't know how we got so lucky to have them in our family, but we are SO glad that they are ours!!
Opening presents! ...and boy, were there a lot of presents! Scooter sure is lucky to have such amazing grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who love him so much and gave him such fun stuff for his birthday!! Thank you everyone!! :)

The (second) cake!
Playing in his new sandbox! This boy would play outside in the dirt all day if he could! We have this little patch of dirt next to the patio and he was always digging in it - so we got this little sandbox for him. I think he had a really fun birthday - and we're so grateful that we could spend the day (in person & on webcam!) with so many of our AMAZING family members!!
Another really fun thing that happened at Derek's party was that Mauri lost her first tooth!! She was super brave & let Papa pull it out with pliers! What a cutie!!
And while we're talking about Mauri, I have to share the cutest thing she said a few weeks ago! She said to Lins: "Mom, I had a thought... What if Amber & Ryan didn't want another kid, and we got Cooper!!" haha! When Lindsay told me that I laughed so hard! She's so cute & funny! (I told Lins to make sure & tell her that we definitely want Cooper though!!)

Future Chef

2011-05-11T10:22:00.002-06:00

Derek LOVES to help us in the kitchen! We all have a lot of fun cooking together! A couple weekends ago we made these yummy triple chocolate cookies, and Scooter was a big help of course!
Scooter and Daddy!
Helping pour the flour into the bowl!
Mixing!

The hardest part = testing the dough!
Not only does Derek like to help us cook, but he is always coming up with these crazy concoctions! For example, a few weeks ago he told me he wanted some water, chocolate milk and regular milk all together in a cup. I told him no - that was gross! But he insisted, so I said ok- go ahead and try it, thinking that if he tried it he would see that it wasn't good! But of course he loved it and has asked for it several times since then! I think the other 2 food inventions I remember the most are when he mixed fruit loops and feta cheese together (he liked that one!) and American cheese and junior mints (this one was spit out in the garbage!). What a fun, funny and creative kiddo!

Eggs, eggs and more eggs!!

2011-05-07T21:29:00.001-06:00

Hunting for Easter eggs is one of Scooter's all time favorite things to do! He was looking forward to the Easter egg hunt at Nana and Papa's SO much!! He and Mauri had a blast, and both of them had a TON of eggs by the end of the day!!

He would shake each egg when he found it, and then put it in his bucket! He's such a cute kid, and he's so great at just enjoying the moment- whatever the moment is! He really helps me to take time and just enjoy whatever it is we're doing!!

Zoe in her snuggy- so she wouldn't get cold outside! haha!
Easter Morning! The night before, Scooter asked us to hide more Easter eggs- so we hid the eggs he found at Nana & Papa's. He was SO excited when we told him that we hid more eggs! He looked and looked for the eggs before he even noticed the Easter baskets!!
Looking for Easter eggs... or as Scooter calls them "Easter Hunt Eggs!" Oh boy, we love this kid!
Opening (or...re-opening!) his eggs and checking out his Easter basket!
Ready for church! Cooper had an Easter outfit too- he's just not wearing it in this picture!
After church we colored hard boiled eggs. This was the first time we did this with Scooter and he Loved it! (of course!) He did really great too! He followed all the instructions we gave him & we didn't have any spills or major messes or anything! Fun times!!

And just in case he didn't get enough sugar yet, here he is eating a yummy Easter cupcake that our cute neighbor brought to us! :)
We had a really fun Easter - and a great time leading up to Easter too, with all of our activities and lessons! We talked about Easter for a few weeks in family home evening, and we were so happy because after we told Derek the story about how Jesus was resurrected, he repeated the story back to us! I'm so grateful that we can teach our sweet kiddos the things that are so important!! They learn so quickly and are such great examples to us! And I'm so grateful for Jesus and that He was resurrected. I'm so thankful that because of Him we can have hope and happiness!!

Easter Egg Cookies!!

2011-05-05T09:45:00.001-06:00

I saw this idea on-line somewhere for Easter egg cookies! You divide the cookie dough into 4 or 5 pieces & then add a different color to each one - then mix them together and you get tie dyed cookies. I didn't know if it would really work, but i thought we would have fun making them!

My big helper!

I thought the dough looked so cool! It really looked like tie dyed dough - i thought it might just turn a boring gray color - like what happens when you mix play-doh together!
Derek wanted to add sprinkles, of course!
They turned out pretty cool!

We had so much fun doing Easter stuff! We also made these bunny puppets & sang the little bunny foo foo song!! Scooter wanted to sing the song over and over!!

Easter Craft!

2011-04-29T20:43:00.001-06:00

We love art projects of any kind around here! I can't even remember where I saw this one- but you cut out some eggs from cardstock, color on them with white crayon, then drop food coloring on them & spray with a spray bottle! We had a lot of fun & they turned out pretty cool!

I was glad it was actually warm enough to do this outside! (Which means it wasn't snowing, haha!) Scooter thought the whole project was a lot of fun!

How our eggs turned out! (I helped him decorate with the white crayon, but he did the rest!)

Clothes are overrated!

2011-04-29T20:36:00.000-06:00

Why is it that naked (or mostly naked!) babies just look so cute?! On this day we were just changing Cooper's outfit and I thought, Oh, we've gotta get some pictures of him in just his diaper! He looks so cute!

I love how you can see the drool on his chin in this one!!
I don't even remember if this was the same day or not - but somehow Scooter ended up without any clothes on for a while too! haha!

Rock & Roll

2011-04-24T21:03:00.000-06:00

I can hardly believe that Cooper J. is rolling over already! It is so fun to watch him roll around - I just cant believe how fast he's growing!!!

I think it is so cute when he rolls over and then scoots up on his knees like this!!

Thumb sucker!

2011-04-21T17:52:00.000-06:00

Scooter Says...

2011-04-10T17:25:00.001-06:00

Scooter is always saying things that just crack me up, so I wanted to share some of the things that make me laugh!! (and of course I had to post some pictures of this cute boy!)

*One night we were getting ready for bed & Scooter said his prayer and then asked me if he forgot anything, and I said: "I don't think you forgot anything. You can say what you're thankful for, and if you want to ask Heavenly Father for anything..." and then Scooter said: "I want to ask Heavenly Father for a treat!"

*Scooter: (saying his prayer): "Thankful for Mom at Zumbalaya...is that right?!"
Dad: "Zumba!"
Scooter: "Thankful for Mom at Zumba."

*Last summer we had a yard sale at my moms, & Derek said: "I love yard sales! ...but Woody doesn't like yard sales!"

*Scooter: "That's just a peanut operation!"
Mom: "What?! Who says that?!"
Scooter: "Little John - remember when they hide behind the bushes and Little John says: Its just a circus, a peanut operation!" (Guess we've watched Robin Hood a lot, haha!)
* Scooter: "Mom, I need a paper towel" (aka a tissue)
Mom: "OK, I'll get you one."
Scooter: "That's not necessary!"

*We were listening to Josh Groban and the words to one of the songs say: "I just can't wait to get lost in your eyes." and Derek said: "Mom! Josh said he wants to get lost! How sad!"

* And one of my favorites: "We should read books every day!" I totally agree!!

Some more fun pictures!

2011-04-10T17:12:00.000-06:00

Little Buddies!
I love how Scooter is holding Cooper's hand in this picture!
Cooper hiding from the camera! Guess he didn't want me to take his picture this time!!

Scooter Boy rockin' out!

Grandma and Grandpa Came to Visit!

2011-04-06T11:24:00.000-06:00

We were so excited to have Grandma and Grandpa come out for a visit! The day that they flew in - Scooter asked me all morning when Grandma and Grandpa were going to get to our house! ("Mom, do you think Grandma and Grandpa are still on the airplane? ... Mom! I bet grandpa and grandma are driving here right now! etc.) He was pretty excited, and Grandma & Grandpa are pretty good sports because they just played and played with Scooter!

Here is Grandpa J. and Cooper J. Cooper had such big, sweet smiles for Grandpa!
Smiling for Grandpa!
Grandma, Derek and Cooper.
Grandma and Derek playing angry birds! Ryan recently got a new phone and Derek absolutely loves to play games on it, so he was thrilled that Grandma's phone has games too!! They had a lot of fun playing together! ...And it has been cracking me and Ryan up because the last two nights Derek has talked in his sleep about angry birds!! Haha! I think he's hooked Grandma!

Cooper's Blessing Day!

2011-03-30T21:17:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday was Cooper J's blessing day! It was such a great day, and we were so happy to have our family with us!

I love this cute picture of the four of us!
Ryan wanted Cooper to get blessed in a BYU outfit, but I thought he should probably wear white! So he wore this cute little tux that both Michael & Derek wore when they were blessed! ...But Ryan brought Cooper's BYU beanie!
Me & Aubs hanging out after the blessing!
Erica, Mauri and Lins!
Derek and Mauri rockin' out!
Cooper J! He's such a happy & sweet little boy!! We are just loving him so much!
Michael took these picture f or us- and he really got some great shots!! Thanks a ton Myke!

Worn out little boy snuggling with Nana!
Cooper J. and Grandpa J.
Lets get Glendon! ...or is he getting us?! ha ha!
Cooper and Grandma!
We were so happy that our family could come and share this great day with us!!

St. Patricks Day!

2011-03-25T10:16:00.000-06:00

We love St. Patrick's Day here! We had a lot of fun doing some fun crafts in the days before St. Patrick's Day, and that morning a little leprechaun left Scooter some gold under a rainbow! We had a fun day!!
Leprechaun pancakes for breakfast, with a side of leprechaun gold!
The rainbow we made a few days before St. Patrick's Day!!

The Best Boys Ever!

2011-03-25T10:09:00.001-06:00

These boys just make us so happy! They are so sweet - and we feel so blessed to have them in our family!

Scooter Loves to hold Cooper! You can tell from this picture that they're both pretty happy being around each other!
Little buddies!
Cooper J. He's so good at holding up his little head! He's growing so fast!
Watching basketball with daddy!

Cooper's First Trip to the Zoo!

2011-03-25T09:58:00.001-06:00

A few weekends ago the weather wasn't too cold, so we headed to the zoo with Lins, G-man, Mauri and Aubs! We had a great time!

Mauri & Derek are ready to go!!
I just love hanging out with our family! It makes me so happy when we get to do things together!
Cooper J. slept most of the time!
Riding the carousel with Aubs!
Playing around! These two are so fun and funny! They love playing together!

A bunch of people were gathered around when the peacock gave us this display! ...I didn't know if he was showing off for us, or if he was ticked and trying to scare us away cause there were so many people crowded around him, haha!

Two Months Old!

2011-03-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

Cooper J. had his 2 month appointment yesterday! I can't believe he is already 2 months old! He weighs 12lbs. 9oz and he is 23 3/4 inches long! He is growing so fast!

Our little leprechaun! Ryan bought this St. Patrick's Day outfit for Cooper!

I love this little outfit! He's such a cutie!

Scooter LOVES to take pictures of Cooper J! Every time I get my camera out (and other times besides that too!) Scooter will get his camera too- so he can take pictures of Cooper!
Smiles make us so happy!
Boy oh boy do we LOVE these boys!!

Smiles!

2011-03-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Cooper J. is almost 2 months old! He has been smiling so much lately! He is such a sweet little boy!

More Pictures!

2011-02-28T12:46:00.001-07:00

I just can't get enough of these cute, cute boys!!

I love them so much!!

6 weeks ago...

2011-02-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

...I woke up around 5am with contractions. I had been having contractions the night before, but I was still surprised that contractions woke me up & that I couldn't go back to sleep - after all, we had a c-section scheduled in just a few days, right?! I wondered if I should wake Ryan up - but I figured that even if I was in labor that the baby wouldn't be coming fast - so one of us might as well sleep!
When Ryan woke up I told him that I'd been having contractions for a a few hours & that they were coming pretty consistently. He was like "Why didn't you wake me up?!" ha ha! I called our "on call nurse", a.k.a Lins- and she said it would probably be a good idea to call the hospital & see what they said. So, a little bit later (after frantically packing our bags just in case!) we headed down to the hospital. It seriously made my day that our "entourage" was there when we walked in!! It was so fun to have so much of our family there!

Here we are feeling my stomach while I was having a contraction.

After just a short time we were heading to the operating room!!
And before we knew it, Cooper was born! It was so fun to be able to take pictures right after he was born! Since we had an emergency c-section with Scooter, we didn't even have our camera in there with us!
Here is Cooper with our cute, cute friend Brenda - she works in the nursery!
Scooter Boy - playing & waiting to meet his brother!

I love this picture - Ryan sitting with Cooper & checking the score of the game!
Sweet Cooper J.! My brother Myke took some great pictures for us - including this one!!
Brother Buddies!!
I really can't believe that Cooper J. is already 6 weeks old!! He is growing so fast and we are having so much fun with him! He is smiling a lot and is such a sweet baby!! We're so grateful for both of our sweet boys!!

Bath Time!

2011-02-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

We found out a little bit ago that Cooper J. is not a big fan of bathtime...at least not yet! I think he cried the hardest he ever has when he had a bath! (he does not cry very often at all!) Scooter wanted to help - and it was so cute because Cooper stopped crying when Scooter was washing him! I love to watch those 2 together - they are such great kiddos!!
I just love the face he is making here!!

Cute, cute boys!! I feel so lucky every time I look at both of them!!

Sew Much Fun!

2011-02-13T18:45:00.001-07:00

I have never been good at sewing! I took sewing twice in school and I didn't like it either time!! But a while ago my mom said she would help me make a quilt for the baby - and so we gave it a shot! And I had a blast!! I thought the whole process was so much fun - from picking out the fabric to cutting it and sewing it and seeing it all come together!!

Here is the fun fabric we picked out!
Me - learning to sew! ...and my trusty assistant!
So excited! Its coming together!

Almost finished!
Yay - look how cute it is!! My mom is a great teacher - and i had so much fun making this quilt with her - (she helped me a ton - and she did the border & the binding because we kind of ran out of time!) - I am hoping that in the summer I can make a quilt for Scooter!!
Cooper J. enjoying his quilt!

Lets Compare...

2011-02-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

I think it is really fun to look at pictures of Derek & Cooper together & see their similarities and differences!!

Cooper-
Derek-
Derek-
Cooper-
Oh I love these boys!!

Almost One Month Old!

2011-02-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

Cooper is going to be one month old tomorrow! I can't believe it!! We are just having so much fun with him! Mauri was really excited to meet Cooper - and she did such a great job holding him! She was cracking me up because when Lins was holding Cooper, Mar kept saying "Mom, be careful with him! ...Mom! You're patting his back too hard!...Mom! Be careful!" It was super cute!

I love how you can see his eyes so well in this picture! I hope they stay blue!!
He cries so rarely that it's really pretty cute when he does cry!

Buddies! I never get tired of watching Scooter & Cooper together! Scooter is such a great big brother! He is always telling Cooper that he loves him & Cooper loves to watch Scooter!!
I feel so lucky that I get to spend my days with both of these cute boys!!

"No more pictures Mom!" ha ha!
What a cutie!!
Brotherly Love!
All three of my boys! So handsome!
I just love this little picture of Cooper!

The First Two Weeks!

2011-01-24T15:07:00.001-07:00

Cooper is already 2 weeks old! He is such a sweetheart - and we are so glad that he is here with us!! Here are some of the things we've been up to for the past 2 weeks!

We came home from the hospital! Yay! ...We put Cooper's blanket in the car by accident, and it was just too cold to take him out without a blanket, so we covered him up with my blanket...Probably the only time in his life he'll use a pink blanket! ha ha!
We've been trying to sleep! Some have been more successful than others...
We've been reading stories all together! What a blast to have 2 boys to read with! ...Now if only we could get Daddy into reading....
We've been so blessed to have several visitors! Aubrey came and stayed with us for several days, and she was a Lifesaver to say the least!! She brought all kinds of activities for Scooter - and he really enjoyed his one-on-one time with Aubs!! When he would wake up in the morning he wanted to go downstairs by himself with Aubs! When I came down he said: "Mom, will you please go back upstairs?!" It was absolutely wonderful to have her here - and I seriously don't know what we would have done without her!
A few days later we were able to see Matt, Katie and Eli as they stopped by on their way to Wisconsin! Scooter and Eli had so much fun playing together! And we had a lot of fun visiting with Matt and Katie! We are so excited for them & their new adventure in Wisconsin, but I have to say I wish they lived closer so we could get together more often!!

My Mom also came and stayed for a few days - and that was another huge blessing!! Not only did she cook and clean for us, she played with Scooter (watch out Mom, he will probably want to play "Flamingos" next time he sees you!!), cuddled Cooper and let a tired mommy sneak in a much needed nap!! I love having our family here, and we were as sad to send her home as we were to send Aubs home! I have to be honest...I wondered if their car keys "mysteriously" went missing - if that would mean we would get to keep them here longer!! We love our family so much & we're so grateful for the WONDERFUL support they are to us!!
Buddies!
I am so, SO happy because Scooter & Cooper are already becoming buddies!! Scooter has done awesome with the transition of having a new baby brother! He is always saying "I love you Cooper." He will help me when I need to change him - and with any other number of things! And the other night Cooper was crying and I went to give him his binki and Scooter held out his hand to stop me and said "I'm on this!" and then he went and gave Cooper his binki!! The admiration is mutual, too! Anytime Cooper is awake and Scooter is nearby, he can't take his eyes off his brother!! It makes me SO happy that they are already friends!! I know from personal experience that friendships with siblings are the very best!!

We feel so grateful to be blessed with two fun, sweet boys! And we're so excited to play with both of them and watch them grow!!

We have a name!

2011-01-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

Cooper Jeffrey Miyake

2011-01-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more pics. We are very close to deciding on a name...... :)

2011-01-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

More pics.....still working on the name......

New addition to our family!!

2011-01-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Our little guy decided he didn't want to wait until the scheduled C-section on Tuesday. He was 7lbs 11oz and was 20 inches long. We are still working on a name for him. Both mom and baby are doing great!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T20:52:00.001-07:00

We hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas!! We slept over at my mom & dads with all of my siblings! It was so fun! Being with family is one of my most favorite things about Christmas! We missed being with our family in Missouri - but were so glad we could still see them on the web-cam!

Scooter chillin' with his daddy! These boys are just the Best! (this is one of my favorite pictures!)
Cousins! Scooter & Mar had so much fun playing together on Christmas Eve & Christmas! And it is just so fun to be with kiddos on Christmas morning!
Even London (Aubrey & Tyler's dog) came to join in the fun! Here she is giving Aubs a high-five!
Time for Christmas jammies! ....Don't worry mom, I can cut the tag off by myself! (and he did!)
The kiddos were excited to have matching Perry pants!
Christmas hugs!

After the kiddos were asleep on Christmas Eve - and while we were waiting for Santa to come- Erica hid in this big box and we asked my mom to come into the kitchen. Erica popped out of the box and scared my mom SO bad!! I feel kind of bad saying that I couldn't stop laughing...but it was pretty funny!
Christmas morning!! It was such a blast to watch the kiddos open their presents & just have fun! Scooter was so excited about each of his presents!! This is the cute kitchen that Santa brought to him! I have a feeling we're going to have lots of fun with this!!
My mom made me & all of my sisters a beautiful quilt! Erica knew that Me, Lins & Aubs were getting a quilt, but she didn't know that she was too! She was so excited when she opened it (we all were!)!! I love her face & Scooter's face in this picture!!
The girls!!
We were all so dang excited about our quilts! Lins was saying that gifts from the heart are the ones that mean the most, and it is SO true!! I just love this quilt- and it is so soft to snuggle up with!! Plus, I love it even more because my mom made it for me- so it's like snuggling up with it is like getting a big hug from her!
Our traditional Christmas morning breakfast!! I asked Scooter if he wanted a scone, and he said: "I don't like scones....Mom, do I like scones?!" He took a big bite of a scone with honey butter & the verdict was: "Mom, I like scones!!"
We all played together on Christmas morning, and as you can tell from this picture, we were tired by the time we headed home! It was a good kind of tired, though! I'm so glad we were able to spend Christmas with family - to just be together and have fun, feel good, and remember the greatest gift of the Savior's birth.
Since he had a nap on the way home, Scooter was re-charged and ready to play when we got home! He had so much fun talking to all of our family in Missouri on the web cam and opening the fun presents they sent! (I have more cute pictures of the fun stuff they sent!! All I can say is we have a VERY talented and thoughtful family!!)

This was a cute hat that he got from Erica & Chris! He wanted to sleep with it on.
I kept meaning to ask someone to take a picture of the three of us- and I kept forgetting!! So Ryan took this picture when we got home!
I love my sweet family so much!! And I feel like the luckiest person ever because our family in Utah and in Missouri are just the BEST!! I'm so glad for the fun times that we get to have together celebrating different occasions & just enjoying each other!! And I feel especially grateful for the Savior- and His birth, life and death. I'm so thankful that He makes all things possible, and so grateful for how Christmas reminds me that we are the happiest when we have His spirit in our home!! I really hope that we can make this coming year one where we focus on the Savior & do more to remember Him & try harder to be like Him!!

Boys Night!

2010-12-19T20:18:00.001-07:00

On December 4th, Ryan took Scooter to a BYU basketball game at Energy Solutions Arena. Scooter was so excited to go- and asked about it for several days until it was "the day!" Here are the boys all ready to go! ...and of course puppy went too!
Buddies! Scooter just adores his daddy (for obvious reasons!) and LOVES any time they get to hang out together!!
Taking in all of the action!
Worn out from all the fun!

Baby Belly!

2010-12-19T19:58:00.001-07:00

I keep forgetting to take pictures of my baby belly! But here are a few pictures!
This is 35 weeks!

27 weeks!
20 weeks!
We are so excited to meet this little guy!!

Thanksgiving!

2010-12-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

I love Thanksgiving! I think that having a gratitude attitude makes a huge difference in how happy we are - and I'm glad there's a Holiday that helps me remember how many things I am truly grateful for! After we had dinner at my moms house, we went around the room and everyone mentioned a few things they were thankful for. It was fun to hear what everyone said, and I liked how the things they mentioned reminded me of even more things I am grateful for!

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, I saw this fun cornucopia in the Family Fun magazine, and even though I don't sew, I decided to try and make one for Scooter! I was pretty happy with how the cornucopia and all of the little vegetables turned out! And I had a lot of fun sewing them! (boy was I surprised! ha ha!)
This is Derek giving Erica one of his famous running hugs!!
The kiddos played with this box for such a long time! There is just something magical about boxes!!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Lins, Glendon, Mar, Erica and Chris came to our house and we went to see "Tangled" together! We loved it! It was such a fun, cute movie!! After the movie we played at our house for a while, and Mar & Scooter made these cute reindeer!
Those cute kiddo smiles make me SO happy!!

Such a sweet boy!

2010-12-10T11:04:00.001-07:00

Scooter Boy really, really loves his daddy, and he usually asks me several times a day if it is dinner time yet, because he knows that daddy will be home at dinner time! Yesterday we had this cute conversation:
Scooter: "When will daddy be home?"
Me: "At dinnertime!"
Scooter: "That is the perfect gift!"

I thought that was so cute!! I wish I could take a picture of his face every day when Ryan comes home! He is so thrilled, and you can tell it's his favorite time of the day!! What a sweet boy! ...and a sweet daddy too!!

Grandma and Grandpa!

2010-12-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to have Grandma and Grandpa visit in November! We had a blast with them, and every morning Scooter would ask me when Grandma was coming over!!

Grandma and Scooter read lots of books together!
Just hanging out!
Even though Grandma's birthday was in October, Scooter wanted to make a cake and sing to her! So we made a cake & Scooter decorated it!!
We went to a fun new park by Grandma & Grandpa's hotel!

We love you Grandma & Grandpa!
Goodbye kisses.

We all had so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa, and Scooter was especially sad when it was time for them to go home! We're so glad we have the web cam though - what a great way to keep in touch!

Happy Halloween!!

2010-11-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of my favorite Holidays! We all went to my moms in the afternoon for our annual sugar cookie decorating party followed by sloppy joes!
Scooter was very excited to be a pumpkin again! He told us a few months before Halloween that he wanted to be a pumpkin! ...And he really was excited, even though he looks sort of serious in this picture!
A cute pumpkin & a darling witch! After we decorated cookies we went with Lins & Glendon to trick or treat in their neighborhood. All of the neighbors lined up down the street, under canopies, (which was great since it was cold & raining!) and the kiddos went trick or treating from person to person! Ry & Gman took the kiddos to a few houses too, once the rain let up a little bit!
After trick or treating we played at Lindsay & Glendon's house for a while! It was a really fun night, & Scooter has already asked me if it is time to go trick or treating again!

We Love Pumpkins!

2010-11-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

We love fall! It is one of my favorite times of the year! I just love the leafs changing, pumpkins, Halloween, etc! It's so fun! A few weeks ago we went to a pumpkin patch with my mom & Erica!
Right away Scooter picked out a pumpkin that was just his size! We also saw lots of cute baby animals- you can see the little goats behind Scooter! They were cracking us up! They were running & jumping, and one of them kept jumping up on the momma goats back! So Funny!
Baby Llama!
Baby Kangaroo!
Scooter & Mommy!
One pumpkin wasn't quite enough, so Scooter picked out another little one (a gourd actually!)... and then one more after that!
Me & Erica!
Playing in the corn! This was so cool - it reminded me of a big sandbox but with corn instead of sand! Derek loved it!
Erica & Scooter on the hay ride! Erica was such a good sport to take Derek on the wagon! She needed to head to UVU to finish some homework, but came to the pumpkin patch with us first! ...What we didn't know was that the hay ride was a Long hayride, & my mom & I kept saying that we hoped Er was okay, since she needed to get to school! When the wagon finally came back, she was (of course!) still smiling & said she was happy to take him! What a Sweetie!

Feet! I really don't know what the deal is, but I just love kiddo feet! I just think they are cute!
A few days before Halloween we carved our pumpkins! Ryan & Derek's turned out so great! Derek had a little help from Ry! ...Maybe next year I'll ask Ryan for some help too! Mine turned out okay, but I messed up a little! Woops! At least it was fun!

Early Birthday Present!

2010-11-03T10:16:00.000-06:00

A few weekends ago we headed to St. George to the Tuacahn to see one of my favorite musicals: Crazy for You! It was an early birthday present for me! I first saw this musical when I was in high school & I have the cd. It's a Gershwin musical & just so much fun!!! My mom has been wanting to go to the Tuacahn for years, & we were so glad they were able to come too!! At first we were planning on taking 2 cars, but at the last minute we decided to try & squish into one car! It was actually really fun to ride together - and wasn't as squishy as we had thought it would be!

Here are Ry & Derek in my moms car!
Scooter did great during the musical! This is the second time we've taken him to the Tuacahn & he loves going to "concerts." He fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel & didn't wake up at all when Ry picked him up & brought him inside! I don't think he stirred at all until around 7:30 when he climbed up to snuggle with us!
Some pictures we took outside our hotel!

We had so much fun! I think this should become a yearly tradition! ...Next year we'll have to make sure the rest of the family can come too!!

Flashback to Summer!

2010-11-01T10:49:00.000-06:00

We had such a great summer - and one of the highlights was our trip to California! It was so fun to see the whole Miyake family, and it was great to be there to celebrate Grandma & Grandpa Miyake & Grandma & Grandpa Gwynne's 60th wedding anniversaries!

Here Scooter is playing football with Alli at Auntie Cook & Uncle Bob's house!
Hanging out at Grandma & Grandpa Miyake's house.
Swimming at Uncle Ricks!
It was so fun to see Eli! He is such a happy little boy! He could have entertained us for hours!!
Naps: Derek does not take naps anymore, but he took a lot of naps on our vacation! I guess we wore him out! I couldn't help taking this picture of his tootsies while he was sleeping! I love kiddo feet- I just think they're so cute!
Taking a nap with cougar & puppy.
Grandma & Grandpa Miyake at the anniversary dinner! Aren't they so cute?! They really are two of the sweetest people I've ever met!
I wasn't able to get a picture of Grandma & Grandpa Gwynne because Grandma wasn't feeling well and they weren't able to come to the anniversary dinner. We missed seeing them there.
Scooter absolutely loves golf carts - so he was thrilled to be able to ride in Grandpa Gwynne's golf cart! Here he is with Katelynn & Steven!
Another nap!
Not a nap - but I took this before he woke up one morning. The first air mattress he slept on didn't hold the air very well - but of course Grandpa Miyake saved the day and found him another one!
The first day we were in California, Auntie Cook & Uncle Bob's neighbor gave Scooter this adorable trike to ride - and he loved it!! He went zooming around so fast on it!
I think Scooter thought that Alli and James were just there to play with him!! Everywhere he went he wanted Alli & James to come with him! And they were so great to play with him!! It was fun to watch them together!
Me & Ryan! We wanted to get a picture with all three of us - but you can see Derek running in the background - he did not want to stay still!
At the Sacramento Zoo - on the train with Alli & Grandma!
On the merry-go-round!

After the zoo we went to this cute amusement park! Derek loved going on the rides, and of course he wanted Alli to go on them with him! She was such a good sport! They went on this little roller coaster, and I wasn't sure if Derek would like it or not, but you can tell from his face that he was loving it!!
Another nap - this time with Zebra, who he got from Alli & James!
Playing with Auntie Cook & Uncle Bob's granddaughter Maya! She was so cute- they really had a good time together!
Before we knew it, it was time to go home. How do vacations always go so fast?! Here are Grandma & Grandpa Miyake with Scooter & Ryan - in front of Grandma & Grandpas house! We had such a fun vacation - and it was so great to see everyone! After we had been home for a few days, Scooter said to me: "I want to go back on vacation!"
We were so grateful that we could all spend a week together! And we felt especially grateful that we could all be there & visit with Grandma Gywnne, because she passed away in September - just a few months after we were all together.

Preschool!

2010-10-31T18:06:00.001-06:00

We signed Scooter up for pre-school at the beginning of summer, and when we found out we were moving we decided to let him go for that month before we moved! He absolutely LOVED it, and we really miss his teachers & friends now that we have moved! If only there were some way we could transport them up here...or just apparate to pre-school a few times a week!

Here is Scooter on his first day of preschool! I can't believe how big he is getting!!
We went on a field trip to Bridal Veil Falls at the end of September. Here he is showing me the rocks that he found! He loves rocks - and wherever we go we keep coming home with more of them!
With Teacher Chrissy and his friends!

Scooter & Mommy! He didn't want to stand still for the picture!
Throwing rocks in the water!

On his last day of class with his teacher! What a fun, fun experience this was for him, even though it was only a month long! We are really, really hoping we can find a pre-school similar to this one - it was exactly what we were looking for!! ...Anyone know of a great pre-school in Bountiful?!

Moving Day is Coming

2010-09-20T21:32:00.001-06:00

We've had such a great summer! We were actually so lucky because Ryan was home with us the whole summer - so we had a great time swimming & playing! Even though we will miss hanging out with him all day, we felt so blessed when Ryan got a new job a few weeks ago. It is in Salt Lake, so with the new job comes a move, too. It is strange to feel both happy, excited and sad at the same time! We are really excited to have some more space in our new place, but so sad to leave here! Last weekend we moved about half of our stuff up there! Here are some pictures of our new place!
Scooter going down the stairs.
Mommy & Daddy's room.
Lots of grass to run around on outside!
The front room. I love the how the big windows let in lots of light! Plus, it will be nice to be above ground! (Our basement apartment now is actually really nice, but I'm excited to be able to see the world outside the windows, instead of just the window well!)
Kitchen table! This is one thing that I am most excited for - we actually have a kitchen table! Wahoo! And I really love the little bench!
Baby's room!
Going on a walk with Nanny! My mom, dad & Erica came up to help us move our stuff - thanks guys!! It has been just amazing how much everyone has offered to help- in all kinds of ways! It makes you feel good & loved that so many people offer to help!! Thank You!
Scooter's room! His bed has these cool drawers that you can put toys in and a little place perfect for hiding in! His mattress isn't on the bed yet, and he's had tons of fun driving his cars on his bed! I'm not sure what he's going to think when we get the mattress on there!
New recliner! I had asked Ry if we could get a recliner when the baby was born, so I could sit in it to feed him! We ended up getting it a few months early, but that's okay with me! It is so comfortable!

Family Camp!

2010-08-15T19:04:00.000-06:00

My aunt & uncle are so nice, and they invite our whole family up to their cabin each summer! We were so glad we were able to go again this year! Thanks Sue & Gary! We had a TON of fun!
Scooter loved the 4 wheelers! He wanted to stay on them all day & he is still talking about them! (He says "Glendon has a 4 wheeler, and at the cabin there are two red 4 wheelers!") He had a blast! Here are my two handsome boys on one -of many- 4 wheeler rides!
Ryan was happy to actually be able to ride the 4 wheelers this year, since last year he was on crutches!
Me & my long lost cousin, Casey! We haven't seen him for ages, and it was so fun to hang out together! One night he was teasing Mauri & telling her he was going to sleep in his car, so when we were all heading to bed, Casey started up the stairs and Derek said "I thought you were sleeping in your car Casey!" and Casey said "I was just teasing!" and Derek said, "You shouldn't do that anymore!!"
Cute cousins! Abbey, Mauri & Melody!
Happy, happy! Getting ready for another 4 wheeler ride!
Ry & Lins! Lindsay brought up a blanket she was working 0n - my mom was teaching her to crochet. It was so funny because Lins said to me that she brought her blanket because there were like 3 of our aunts & our mom & grandma who crochet, so she was going home with a blanket! My mom did help her a couple of times, but Lindsay did so awesome! I wish I had a picture of the finished blanket - that Lins finished! - so I could post it! It's so cool!
Nanny, Mar & Scooter getting a ride with the neighbor!
The neighbor also had a motorized swing set! It was so awesome, and actually went pretty fast!
Me & Lins!! We missed having Aubrey, Erica & Myke there with us!
Ryan took these pictures when he & Scooter were out on a 4 wheeler ride! It's so beautiful up there!

Playing games! This is such a fun bunch of people! Everyone was laughing and having so much fun! I don't think I've ever heard such an enthusiastic game of Uno!!
Worn out kiddos! Mar fell asleep holding the turkey feather that she found!
And Derek fell asleep snuggling with Nana!
Cute Grandma Mecham listening to my moms ipod!
Our amazing, wonderful hosts! Sue & Gary not only let everyone stay in their cabin and ride the 4 wheelers, they cook some very delicious food for us while we're there!! (and as you can see, it's practically enough to feed an army!!)
Derek going on a 4 wheeler ride with Gary!
Me, Lins & our cousin Emily!
Thanks again Sue & Gary for another great Family Camp!!

Another Birthday!

2010-08-15T18:59:00.000-06:00

We were excited to celebrate Ryan's birthday! He says he's getting old...but then he's happy when he remembers at least he's not as old as me, ha ha!! We went to lunch & then to see a movie, and then had ice cream cake later!

Ryan ordered a BYU cake - it's an ice cream cake with heath bar in it! Yum!!
Ryan blowing out the famous birthday candle at my moms house! He was doing it in slow motion for the picture!

Now & Then!

2010-08-15T18:53:00.001-06:00

We celebrated our 7th anniversary at the beginning of July! Every day I feel so lucky that I get to be married to Ryan! I know that nobody is perfect, but he is honestly perfect for me, and I love him tons!! Here is a picture of us on our anniversary, and just for fun - a picture from our wedding day!

4th of July BBQ!

2010-07-14T14:53:00.000-06:00

We had such a fun family party on the 3rd of July! We were all together to celebrate the 4th, and we started off the morning by going to see Toy Story 3! What a fantastic movie! Definitely one that we want to see again! I loved Scooter's "commentary" during the movie - "Mom look, it's Woody and Buzz!" ..."Oh no, that's not good!" and other cute little things! And luckily the people we were sitting by were patient and didn't tell us to "shoosh" or anything...Of course, I guess when you sit by family they don't have much choice but to be patient with you! haha!

Then we went to Nanny & Papa's house (Scooter has been calling my dad "Pops" lately, which I think is so cute!) and had a BBQ and a swimming party!

Erica and Aubrey were so nice to work as lifeguards at the pool! (Derek & Mauri called them that! They were good sports too, considering that they didn't walk away from the pool dry...) Here is Erica catching Derek as he goes down the slide!
Having fun!
Mauri sliding through Erica's legs!
Splash!

Drying off for a few minutes on his new Buzz Lightyear towel from Nanny & Papa.
Taking a small break to sit at the kids picnic table & drink his kid sized Shasta!
What a fun, fun day! The times we get to spend with family are some of my absolute favorite! And we were oh so happy that this bbq did not end like our one last year... No injuries or trips to the hospital! Phew! Made it even better!!

Our New Favorite Camping Spot!

2010-07-04T18:13:00.001-06:00

We went camping with Lins, Glendon, Mauri, Aubrey & Tyler last weekend, and this camping trip was much better than our camping trip last year! (even though that trip was pretty funny!). We went to Wasatch Mountain State Park. We had never been there, but Lins and Glendon had, and they told us great things about it! And we loved it! The campsites were awesome, there was plenty of room for the kiddos to run around and play, and they had actual bathrooms - not scary, hold your breath and run out "bathrooms!" Yay!

Here is Scooter in the car on the way there!
Digging in the dirt! He and Mauri were both covered in dirt, but they had so much fun - and we were just happy that they didn't have to play in mud this time!!
Mauri playing the drums! The firewood we brought up was from a woodworking store that was closing down, and the kids had a lot of fun playing with it before we tossed it in the fire!
They had this big open field and a pond just down the road from where we were camping, so we had a fun afternoon playing frisbee, catch and feeding the ducks!

The Kiddos, having fun!

Feeding the ducks!
On the playground with Daddy!
One of the few times the kiddos were sitting still! We were all helping get dinner ready, so Lins put in a movie for Derek & Mauri, and they had a great time hanging out in their camp chairs & eating some pre-dinner snacks!
We had such a great time camping, and we can't wait to go again! There were two fun things I didn't get a picture of that I wish I did! One was our cute camp host, Mr. Tunney. We saw him & talked to him several times, and every time we saw him he tried to convince Mar that girls shouldn't have dirt on their faces. He told her that girls weren't supposed to like dirt, and Mauri said "Well I do!" He also gave the kids a ride in his golf cart, which made their day! He was so nice!

The other thing I wish I would have taken a picture of was when we were at the pond playing, and the kids were on the playground. There was a time when only Mauri & Derek were using the playground, and then some other kids walked over to play. Lins said: "Is she (Mauri) being threatening?" and we turned to see Mar standing at the top of the stairs holding a stick almost as big as she was, and the other kids just looking up at her!! It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, and is still making me chuckle! We love that girl! She is always cracking us up!! (Oh, and Glendon went over to her & she said she was just asking the other kids if they wanted to play what she & Derek were playing! But Glendon took the stick away- since it might have been a bit threatening!)

Art City Days!

2010-06-21T22:31:00.000-06:00

We love celebrating Art City Days! I think it is so much fun to share things with Scooter that I loved as a kid, and I always looked forward to Art City Days! (I still do!). We went to a talent show one night, and that was really fun! Then we also went to the carnival. We had fun sharing a Giant scone, and Scooter thought the rides were really great!

Driving the truck! ...He kept scowling when we told him to turn for a picture! I think he was a little nervous too, but he really had fun! He would hop off one ride & say "Can I go on another one?" He's so cute!

Here he is driving the cars.
On the lady bug! ...I think it's a lady bug?!

On the motorcycle!

The circus train!
On Saturday morning we headed to the parade! We were so excited that it wasn't raining! It was a little bit cool, (can you tell, since Scooter is wearing a sweatshirt & hat?!), but it was actually perfect parade weather! It was nice not to be melting in the sun!
Scooter was really excited for the firetrucks, but when they were right in front of us - they were a little too loud!
Eating an otter pop! He had so much fun watching all of the parade, but especially running out to get candy!

Happy Birthday Kiddo!

2010-05-31T14:14:00.001-06:00

Scooter turned 3 last week- and we can't believe he's getting so big!! Daddy had the day off of work, and we had a great time together! He was very excited to find some money in a card from great grandma & grandpa!
We went to story time at the library, and then headed to one of Scooter's favorite places: the zoo! He says to us all the time: "We should go to the zoo!" This baby elephant is one of the cutest things ever!
Scooter & Daddy!
Scooter & Mommy!
I can't remember why he was covering his ears here! He is so funny!
On the merry-go-round! He asked about this all through the zoo, so he was very happy when we finally got there! And he was doubly excited to ride it twice!

I don't remember ever actually seeing a peacock with his feathers all out like that! We thought it was so awesome!
Getting some cotton candy for some cute kiddos! It was a blast to have Lins & Mauri join us at the zoo!
Scooter's Handy Manny cake.... It did not turn out as good as I would have liked.... but he was happy with it! And I'm sure the cakes will get better as I practice more! Anywho.... It was fun to make & he liked it!
Opening some presents! What a lucky little boy! He received so many fun gifts and cards from everyone! Thank you guys, So Much! It makes my heart happy to know there are so many wonderful people who love this little boy so much!
This grin makes me so happy! He was thrilled to get his very own headphones & mp3 player (or as he calls it, an mp2 player! ha ha!)
Blowing out the famous birthday candle!
Happy Happy Birthday Scooter Boy! We are so, so happy that you are in our family buddy! We love you So much!!