100% All Boy!

There is no question that Cooper is a boy. He is loud, stinky, rough and loves anything with wheels. Motorcycles and 4-wheelers are no exception.

Mike was unpacking the trailer after a trip to the sand dunes and Cooper got very excited when he saw the 4-wheelers. He started saying "motorcycle". Mike put him on and he didn't stop smiling the entire time.

Fun at the ZOO!

Last week Brandy, Darcie and I decided to take the kids to the Zoo. They had so much fun. Cooper really enjoyed the trip this time and got very excited every time he saw an animal (talking about them and pointing them out). We even took them into the monkey exhibit. The kids loved seeing the monkeys up close and personal. One almost landed on Darcie's head.


Cooper loved the giraffes. I stood there just pointing and smiling. I guess we were pretty lucky when we took the pictures because we even got the giraffe to look our way.


Cooper and Chase were having so much fun nibbling and sucking on each others fingers. They wer laughing and smiling and it was very cute. I grabbed my camera to get a picture and right as I took the picture Cooper chomped down on Chase's finger and made him cry. I am such a great mom! Sorry Chase.



When we had seen every animal there was to see at the Zoo, Brandy got all of the kids snowcones (without the syrup). The kids thought this was the best treat ever. They were so happy. Cooper would hardly even take his face out of the ice. As you can see in this picture, his face was a little cold. He is such a funny boy.

Cooper, what is that you're wearing?

The other day I came into my bedroom to find Cooper had gotten into Mike's underwear drawer. I found him with a pair of underwear around his neck like a scarf or I guess a cape. (After all, he was wearing his Batman shirt.) I started laughing and called for Mike to come see what Cooper had been up to. As soon as Cooper saw us laughing he starting laughing as well. He thought he was so funny and so did we.

Halloween

Everyone had lots of fun on Halloween. Christy and I tried to carve pumpkins with the boys and ended up having to do all of the work. I thought Cooper would be at the perfect age but he wanted nothing to do with the insides of the pumpkin. Go figure. He is the messiest eater I know but the pumpkin seeds are just too gross. We also had a BBQ with the family and our friends Michael, Karla and Ethan. Then when everyone was nice and full we got the kids ready and hit the streets. We were able to contain Cooper for half of the trip and then we had to set him loose. He ran up and down the streets all night. He went up and down driveways and walkways having the time of his life. We could hardly keep him going in one direction and it was difficult to even keep up with him. With a little bit of coaxing we made it home.

I think at this point Ethan was done trick or treating and ready for bed.

Connor can walk for miles as long as you keep a sucker in his mouth.

The little trick or treaters all ready to go.

Cooper and Grandma. He still doesn't like that head piece.

The boys sharing some candy before trick or treating.

I think Zachary had just too much fun.

Warning. . . Don't feed your kids Chef Boyardee Ravioli

The other night I thought I would fix the kids something quick and easy. Little did I know I would have to hose them down. Think twice before giving the kids this for dinner. After the first couple of bits the boys looked like this. (Keep in mind Zachary is a clean freak.)

Let's just say there aren't enough wipes to tackle this kind of mess.

Can you say Oopma loompa? I love you Connor.

Schnepf Farms

This weekend we also had the priviledge of visiting Schnepf Farms with Jesse, Brandy and their family. Once we arrived we visited the carousel. This was Cooper's first time riding on a carousel. I thought he would really enjoy riding on one of the horses but I was mistaken. He reacted just as he had when I tried to put him on the pony the day before. In order to get him to even go on the ride I had to sit on the horse and hold him.

After the somewhat successful carousel ride we found a cute little photo-op and had the kids pose for the cameras.

Then we were off to the pig races. The boys hung onto the fence and watched as the pigs raced by while Tyler was chosen to stand up front and cheer one of the pigs on. Needless to say, the boys only lasted for a couple of races before we had to move on to the next attraction.

Our next stop was at the petting zoo where the children enjoyed petting the goats, well some of them. I have come to realize that Cooper is a dog or cat kind-of boy. I had to take his hands and help him pet the goats because he was a little scared. That is not to say that he didn't enyjoy chasing them. I think he just felt more comfortable at an arm's length.

After the kids were done playing with the animals, we headed over to the corn maze. We attempted to go into the maze when we decided it might scare Cooper half-to-death if an older kid jumped out at us. Instead we posed in front of the corn.

We had tons of fun and we can't wait to go back next year.

Trunk or Treat

We had a very busy weekend. One of the many activities on our agenda was the Trunk or Treat at Dave & Teri's ward. We had so much fun. It was so nice to see old faces and catch up. My sister and her family came with us and we met up with Brandy and her family. Zachary was batman, Connor a shark, Tyler was Jo Jo, Chase was a lion and Cooper was an elephant. I must say they had to have been the cutest little kids at the church.

Cooper in particular enjoyed himself. He spent almost the entire night running. He would run from car to car and from person to person barely stopping for a breath. Mike, Teri and I had to take turns chasing him and keeping him off of the black top which he loved to lay on. All in all the kids had had lots of fun and ate way too much candy.

Zachary, aka. Batman

Connor as a shark.

Connor as an elephant/shark.

No he wasn't Eeyore, he was an elephant with no head. The only way we could keep the head on was to give him candy.

Yes, we had to bribe him with candy corn.

"You look like an elephant." "Well you like like a lion."

Fall is in the air

Cooper and I went to Anthem's Autumn Festival with Karla, Ethan, Zachary and Connor. The boys had lots of fun.

Everyone rode the ponies except for Cooper. He got scared when I put him on to the pony and cried so we just posed for a picture . Both Zachary and Connor were nervous but were brave enough to take a ride. Ethan was the bravest of them all. He seemed to really enjoy himself.

(I love this pictures. It looks like the boys are involved in a very serious conversation.)


Then we decided to take the kids to the pumpkin patch. It was fenced in so we let the boys run around and play. They loved the pumpkins and hay. They would pick them up and place them in different places and occassionally throw them. Boys will be boys!

I guess I wasn't watching Cooper as closely as I should have been. Apparently they were being more destructive than we thought.

All dressed up for church

I just had to post this picture because I think Cooper looks so handsome in his little tie. What a CUTIE!

My first ice cream cone

Cooper's Grandpa Johnson came to visit and brought all of the boys, Zachary and Coonor, ice cream cones. As you can see Cooper throughly enjoyed his. (You can tell by the before and after pictures.) When he was finished we had to strip him down and give him a bath.

Lake Havasu

We recently went on a mini-vacation to Lake Havasu with our good friends Michael and Karla and their little one, Ethan. We enjoyed the warm weather and cool water. The boys had lots of fun and loved playing with each other in the raft. It was so nice spending time with friends and family.

Cooper's First Birthday

Cooper celebrated his first birthday on August 26th. As soon as he woke up we let him open presents. He loved them all but especially liked the four wheeler. He caught on right away and racing across the house. For dinner we took him to Olive Garden, his favorite, and he proceeded to eat everything in sight.

We can't believe how big he is getting and how quickly the time flies by.

Our Summer

We had a lot of fun this summer. In May, we went to Florida with Stacey's family. We spent a week at the beach and the kids had a lot of fun. Although the waves were overwhelming, they seemed to really enjoy themselves. Cooper discovered the sand and was often seen licking his hands. While there we were able to visit the Miami Seaquarium. The kids loved seeing all of the animals, especially the dolphins.

In July, Brad,Darcie and Addison came to visit. Cooper and Addison had lots of fun playing and destroying Grandma's house. Then we went with Mike's family to California for the 4th of July weekend. We enjoyed another visit to the beach and Cooper seemed to remember just how much he loves the sand.

August brought exciting changes which included the move of my sister, Christy and her family from Utah. They lived with us for a little while and just recently moved into their own condo. The boys are having lots of fun playing with each other and are the three little amigos.