Horsetooth Half

It's time to toot Daddy's horn (shhhhhhh, don't tell him). I couldn't very well post about my little run last August without mentioning Mark's first Half Marathon (and first race). The boys and I are so proud of him! Mark ran in the Horsetooth Half Marathon in Fort Collins on Sunday. He finished well under his goal time and rocked it as far as Coop, Cruz and I are concerned. Of course, Mark down played everything as if it were no big thang but this was a pretty hard core race. Most of it was in the foothills with some pretty tough climbs.

The race ended at the New Belgium Brewery with beer, live music and happy crowds cheering everyone on. The boys and I had fun cheering for everyone as they crossed the finish line.  Suprisingly, they were very enthusiastic cheerer on'ers and were very excited to see their Daddy as he ran by.  It was a fun way to show the boys how fitness and exercise can be fun and rewarding. Do I think they picked up on our lesson? Not just yet, but hopefully they will someday.........

Way to go, Daddyo!

Cruz cooling down with the Big Racer

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Coop showing off Dad's medal.

4!

Happy 4th Birthday to our little/big boy that brings us so much love and joy!!!!  April 18, 2008 will forever mark the day that our lives were changed forever.

Birthday Fun

Mark and I kept going back and forth on whether or not we should have an official birthday party and invite all of Cooper's new friends to celebrate with him.  We decided to skip the Birthday Hoopla one more year.  We figured we'd avoid a party while we still could. Not that we didn't think it would be a blast or that Coop wouldn't enjoy it because there is no doubt he would. We figured Coop doesn't quite know what he's missing out on and we didn't want all of his friends to think they had to get him a gift. There will be plenty of time once school starts for the birthday madness to begin.  Until then, we opted for one more year of keeping the celebration somewhat low key.

 

I'm not going to lie, Cooper did ask if his friends were coming over to have cake on Sunday as we were celebrating.  I guess we underestimated Coop's knowledge of what Birthday's are all about.  Not to mention, he now has friends that he wants to celebrate with which is wonderful.

 

We did end up getting to celebrate with friends on his birthday after all.  Wednesdays are usually a play date day for us.  Normally we go to the park but it was a bit (read: waaaaaaay) too windy so we went to the indoor gym instead.  We brought cookies to share and all the kiddos played with the parachute.  Of course, everyone wished Cooper a Happy Birthday and made him feel special so it all worked out in the end.  And one of his little buddies even made him an awesome birthday baton!!!!  It was the perfect gift!  Hand made and from the heart.

Birthday Baton!

Batman Birthday

Although today is Coop's actual birthday, we had the birthday partay on Sunday.  Unfortunately, Mark had a work commitment in Boise that he couldn't get out of on Coop's birthday, so we decided to celebrate a little early.  Coop was on board with that and quite frankly, I think he's enjoyed milking it for all it's worth as we have been celebrating ever since.

Coop has recently discovered Batman.  Or as he likes to call it, "Baaaahtmaaaahn".  Coincidentally, he has also developed what sounds like a Boston (Baaahstaaahn) accent along with this new obsession.  We're not sure what to think about this new "accent" or how it even evolved.  For now, we're just laughing it off and going with it.  I have to admit, I keep waiting for him to tell  me that he 'pahked his cah at Hahvad Yahd' every time his accent thickens.

Coop requested a chocolate Baaahtmaaahn cake.  Luckily, I had some help with the decorating.  I also searched high and low for a batman figure to put on top of the cake that didn't have guns, daggers or other dismembering devices.  That was a very hard feat.  Yes, Cooper is unfortunately discovering "shooters" but we're trying to avoid the topic of weapons as long as we can.  This is going to get increasingly harder to do as we enter into the Super Hero Chapter of our lives.  But I digress......not only do I have to come to terms with the fact that our BABY BOY IS FOUR, but that our BABY BOY likes BIG BOY THINGS!!!!

Here are some pics from our Baaaahtmaaaahn Birthday Celebration........

Special Skype session on the TV with Grandpa Pat and Grandma Linda while we opened their gifts.

The Bat Cave....
basically a plastic Batman Doll House but he LOVES it!

Batman Cake.
Nice Skillz Mark!!!

Batman under wear, of course!

Thinking about his wish.........

Making the wish.....

Tidying up........

Token messy brother pic.........

Sharing his cake with Baaaaahtmaaaaahn.

So long 3!

Bubbye 3.........

Hello 4.......

Easter 2012

We had a fantastic Easter this year! The weather was gorgeous, we celebrated with friends and most of all, the four of us were together! It's been a couple years since we've been able to celebrate Easter together as a family. Mark and I decided it would be fun to invite some friends over for an egg/beer hunt. The kids hunted eggs (obviously) and the adults hunted beer (also obvious). It's a tradition we hope to continue. Mark and I started this tradition at our first house together in SLC. We had an awesome neighborhood and every Easter we would have a beer hunt. Not many of us had kids at that point, so we had a progressive like party where we moved from yard to yard visiting and hunting for beers strategically hidden along the way. Things are a little different when there is only one yard involved so the "beer" hunt portion ended up taking place in the cooler of ice and our kegerator. It's just crazy to leave yummy beer out in the sunshine instead of on ice. Plus, we only had our yard so the hunt kind of lost it's fizzle.

Of course, it is more about the kids now at this point. They had a blast hunting for eggs and the adults had fun visiting, eating and beer sampling. Best of all, we were able to celebrate outside in the sunshine! The boys were so excited to have their friends over and I think all of the kids consumed more sugar in a few hours than they've had in a lifetime.

I'm always hesitant to post pics online of other people's kids so you'll just have to imagine all the cuteness that was scattered throughout our yard. A very successful partaaay if I do say so myself. I look forward to many more!



Easter loot.

Easter duck.

The hunt.



Tricky terrain.

Cheese

Grandma Linda has managed to turn both of our boys into cheese snobs. Grandma doesn't eat string cheese. She's more of a brie or camembert kind of gal. The boys and Grandma enjoy their cheese time together.



Cheese and Tractors

Buddies

Reading to Doggie

Red Park

The "red" park as Coop calls it, is a hot spot any time we visit St. George.

Maze

Hello, maze! We missed you!

Flying

Airports are fun!

Coop Bossing and Cruz Snacking. 
Both are justified because I asked Coop to be my helper and Cruz.....well, the kid can eat.

Coop on a train!

Toy Take Over

This is what happened not more than 10 minutes after walking in the door to Grandpa Pat and Grandma Linda's house. It was as if the boys said (without words) "we sure did miss you guys AND your cool toys".

Tears of Joy

We are back from another fantastic visit to St. George. The boys and I enjoyed the warm desert sunshine and some much appreciated grandma and grandpa time. The boys did great on our flights for the most part. Cooper is now a flying champ and can pretty much entertain himself. Cruz on the other hand is quite a bit of work. As much as I appreciate the savings of being able to travel with little ones on my lap until they are 2yrs old, it sure isn't as easy the closer they get to 2. There was a lot of squirming and wrestling going on. Thank goodness both of our connections were short little flights.

If there was ever a moment I wished I had a video recording was the moment we stepped off the plane and Coop locked eyes with his Grandpa Pat. It was truly a Hallmark moment. Since my hands were busy juggling Cruz, a stroller and our carry ons, it would have been impossible to even attempt to capture the moment via video. It honestly was the furthest thing from my mind. Therefore, I will have to write it down in hopes it will forever be embedded in my mind.

Action! Roll (wish it would have been there) camera...........
As soon as we landed, Cooper started to recognize that we had finally made it to St. George. Still rolling on his toddler plains-trains-and-automobiles high, he couldn't stop giggling and squealing, "Mommy we're in St. George do you see Grandpa?!" (he knew grandma Linda wasn't going to be there to pick us up). I told him, "not yet, buddy. Grandpa won't be on the runway. We have to wait to see him once we get off the plane and out of the terminal." He continued with his giddy squeals and giggles and patiently waited to deplane.

The St. George airport is very small so it doesn't take long to get from the terminal area to the baggage claim area. In fact, you can see the baggage claim area almost immediately after stepping off the plane. Cooper locked eyes with his Grandpa immediately and that is the moment that will melt me heart forever. He immediately took off and ran yelling "Grandpaaaaa! Grandpaaaaaaaaaaaa!". In the confusion of seeing Grandpa through the glass, and choosing the wrong path to get to him, he took a little detour through the vending machine area. This added to the cuteness and prolonged the moment for me because he had to back track quite a bit. All while running like a frantic little mouse and squealing "Grandpaaaaa!". When the moment arrived for MY DAD to lift MY SON into his arm, our little man burst into tears of joy. Our sweet little guy was trying to wipe his tears and was giggling with excitement all at the same time. It was pure magic and genuine proof that my favorite Bige C truly loves my favorite Big D. L.O.V.E, love and I love it!