I Can't Believe He's 5...

I can't believe that my little Cooper is 5. That just seems way too old to me. He is such a good little man and has such a sweet heart!

Some of my favorite things about Cooper are...

• His love for preschool and learning! He asks me if he can do homework all throughout the day!





• Although he loves to learn he also LOVES to lounge. He would sit and watch movies and play video games for 3 days straight if I would let him.





• He is such a snuggler. He always loves to be hugging you or sitting with/on you!





• His love for Star Wars/Heman/Transformers/Buzz Lightyear... the list goes on and on. He loves Super Heroes.






• I love that he loves to talk. He will sit and talk to anyone that will listen about anything. (Sometimes it is truth and sometimes not:) He loves to tell stories! And anytime you ask him something and he goes off on some story I always have to ask if that is the truth or a funny story. He then breaks into laughter and yells "funny story"!

I love this kid so much and am so grateful he is in our family!

Jedi's in Training!

We actually celebrated Coopers birthday on his REAL birthday this year for the first time! It is two days after Christmas and I am always exhausted by the 27Th so we usually celebrate it on the 28Th or 29Th. I always figured that he had no clue so why not. Then my children started getting smarter and growing up and learning how to read calendars. So the 27Th it was this year! He decided on a Star Wars birthday party this year and Nick and I started planning it the night before around 9pm! I am not sure how much sleep (if any) we got that night but I do know it was worth it. He was one happy kid.

When the boys (not sure why it has to be a all boys party, the only girl allowed was Sam and it was because she bribed him) arrived they got their Jedi names (their names spelled backwards) and the training began. They all had a light saber and had to practice using them. They couldn't let the balloons touch the ground, they had to pop bubbles outside. We even let them practice using the force and they went outside to see if their force was strong enough to open the garage. Amazingly enough it opened! :)

We had to save Princess Leah and we were attacked by a asteroid shower and had to find all the missing asteroids. And after they had completed all their training Darth Vader (Nick dressed up) came down to fight them. Around 1am I decided I wanted to make a pinata of the Death Star and let the kids use their sabers to beat it and get candy. So we made the pinata and when I went to get it at 8 the next morning it was still soaking wet. So when Nick came down dressed up he had a whole bunch of candy in his cloak and every time the kids whacked him he would throw some candy out. He was our own moving pinata. It was hilarious!

We made R2D2 for the cake. It was fun to venture out and try something different but it did take a lot of work and when it was time to cut the cake I had a hard time doing it. I made Nick cut it in the back! :)

He loved it and that's all the mattered! Happy Birthday Coop!!!

Christmas Day Details!!!

Christmas was really wonderful this year! We were able to spend a lot of time together leading up to Christmas and Christmas Eve was just a great night!! We spent the afternoon at our friends house having a little Christmas Eve linner! It was fun to spend some time with friends and letting the kids play basketball outside! (Love AZ weather) We got home around 5:30 so we had plenty of time to break out all the Christmas Eve traditions. We frosted cookies,

and it is a good thing that Santa LOVES this little boys germs because I think he licked everyone he decorated!!




















After that we all went to the tree for some family pics and to find the tradition jammies to unwrap. This year they got to unwrap two presents. Jammies and slippers! (thanks auntie Brooke for the slipper!)






As soon as the jammies went on the kids started to get a little excited to say the least! None of them could stop jumping and dancing and smiling! It is so much fun for them to be so excited!

I got one picture of Sam squeezing their guts out before the craziness began!!


We then went outside to sprinkle the reindeer food around our yard. I found a cute little story and a bottle of mixture at Michaels this year and the kids had fun sprinkling it around all over.

The next morning the kids slept in until 8 which was wonderful because as usuall Nick and I stayed up until 2 or 3. I LOVE IT!! Pax actually had to be woken up and Sam had no problem doing that!! Of course Nick made them wait FOREVER!! He always does and I start to get a little anxious as well! I think he just loves tormenting us! I thought our kids were going to explode with excitement!

Making their way down the stairs. We used to go youngest to oldest but this year we decided that they could all go at the same time! Sam was happy!

The kids were as happy as ever and they didn't even find their main gift, their scooters, until about 30 minutes later! They were just amazed that they got PEZ candy and M&M's in their stockings. I think both were gone before and presents were opened!

Sam, Coop and Pax waiting patiently while dad opened a gift! I think it was killing them!

We spent the rest of the day in our jammies, playing our new games on the tramp, watching movies, and eating yummy treats from friends! Pax spent the rest of the day doing this....

Our good friend Debra got the kids these straws and Pax played with them for hours! You get to build your own straws and I do have to say that they are pretty cool! :)

We loved Christmas but missed all our friends and family in Utah/Cali too! Thank you for your cards and phone calls!! We LOVE you all!!!

2010.. A YEAR OF FIRSTS!

Well really we are just doing firsts in Dec, Nov, Oct, and Sept. That is basically when life got too busy to blog! And because I am too tired to switch pictures around we really are going to start in Dec and work our way back! Sooo... What firsts have we had?????

FIRST TIME SANTA HAD TO HAVE FROZEN COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE ICING. Note to self... be better prepared on Christmas Eve.

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FIRST TIME IT RAINED THIS HARD IN DISNEYLAND ON US. Everyone had their own poncho and umbrella and we were still soaking.

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FIRST TIME BRENNON AND PAPA AND GRANDMA FLANNERY EVER FLEW TO CA FOR 24 HOURS JUST SO THEY COULD SEE THEIR GRANDKIDS OPEN THEIR PRESENTS. AND FIRST TIME WE HAVE EVER TAKEN A CHRISTMAS TREE TO A HOTEL!

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FIRST TIME MY KIDS HAVE EVER BEEN COLD IN PHOENIX. :) WE WENT TO MCCORMICKS RAILROAD WITH OUR FRIENDS THE FALLERS AND IT WAS CHILLY!!!

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FIRST FAMILY PICTURES WE'VE HAD SINCE PAX HAS JOINED OUR FAMILY!!

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FIRST TIME I EVER WALKED OUT OF MY BEDROOM TO SEE THIS...

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FIRST TIME MY LITTLE PRINCESS DIDN'T WANT TO BE A PRINCESS FOR HALLOWEEN. ALSO THE FIRST TIME WE RAN OUT OF CANDY ON HALLOWEEN! SO SAD!

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FIRST TIME MY KIDS ACTUALLY HELPED WITH CARVING PUMPKINS. COOP WOULD NOT TOUCH THE PUMPKIN GUTS SO WE HAD TO USE A BAG. I'M A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED IN THEIR WIMPYNESS!

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FIRST TIME GRANDMA FLANNERY CAME TO A HALLOWEEN PARTY WITH US! FUN FUN!

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FIRST GOAL COOPER EVER SCORED! I LOVE HOW EXCITED HE WAS!

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FIRST TIME SAM DECIDED THAT GOALIE WAS THE POSITION FOR HER. AND SHE PRETTY MUCH PLAYED THAT POSITION THE REST OF THE SEASON!

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THE FIRST TIME I EVER LOST ONE OF KIDS AT DISNEYLAND! COOPER! ALSO THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER SEEN A GROWN MAN WEARING THAT HAT AND PLAYING A WASHBOARD! WE LOVE YOU MICAH!

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THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE!

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THE FIRST TIME WE REALIZED THAT WE HAD A GUITARIST ON OUR HANDS! AND TO THIS DAY THE GUITAR OBSESSION REMAINS!

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FIRST DAY OF MISS BECKY'S PRESCHOOL CLASS! WHAT A STUD!