Learning

Cooper loves going to his "game" on the computer and play. I tried and tried to do fun things to get him to learn his ABC's but nothing was working. This website has helped him so much. He begs all the time to get on here and play. It is such a great learning website. It helps kids learn their ABC's and how to read. If you haven't already heard of it....go check it out! http://www.starfall.com/

I want to runaway to a quiet beach......

+

=

Ok, so I have to say....Cooper might just give me a heart attack before I am 25 and that is a little over a month away! Within the last 5 days he has made my heart race, skip-a-beat, melt, and probably raised my blood pressure to not very good levels! Today is the last straw....I think I am going to runaway!

Just a few things Cooper has done these last five days (I won't tell you all of them but, these are the few that stand out the most!): I was taking a rest on Thursday morning and he was watching his show on my bed next to me. I was asleep for probably ten minutes.....no Cooper to be found. All the doors were closed so, I was frantically looking everywhere calling his name. I went out to the garage and he had gotten in my car and pushed the button to open the garage door and went out. I ran around the house twice calling his name when I noticed his scooter parked over at Joanna's house. I asked her if he was over there, luckily he had just gotten there. Thank goodness he was only next door. We are investing in high locks for our doors!

Saturday we were loading up the four wheelers and cleaning up to come home from the reunion. Cooper had been helping load the four wheelers with Nick and Nick came back to where I was. I said, "Where's Coop?" He replied, "He wanted to come help you!" Well.....he never came to me. Everyone was looking for him calling his name. Jeremi asked a guy who was over at his truck if he had seen him and he pointed him in the direction of where he went. This was probably the scariest, panicky feeling I have ever had. My stomach was sick, and I prayed my heart out to please help us find my little adventurer. After about what felt like a lifetime we found him and he was as happy as could be as if nothing had every gone wrong. He said he knew where he was, he was just playing in the dirt! Oh, Coop!

Then, the lovely Cinnamon disaster today...I do have to say...my house will smell good for a while and every time I vacuum.

Better late than never- EASTER!

Saturday the 11th we had a get-together with the Tobler Family for Easter. We had some chicken sandwiches and hamburgers for lunch and the kids did some activities with grandma(coloring eggs, coloring, and bingo). We then had an Easter egg hunt outside. The kids had a blast! Sunday I got to sub for the CTR 5 class. It was so special to see their faces as I told them the story of the Resurrection. You can see the love that they have for their Savior. The spirit of little children is amazing!

We came home from church and enjoyed our yummy Easter dinner; Ham, potato casserole, rolls, and corn. It was sure delicious!

It was so nice to have a day and really think about our Savior and everything he has done for us!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

One SUNNY saturday!

These are my FRIED knees after a fun day (April 18) of four wheeling out at Warner Valley. I was trying to get some sun on my white legs but it seems my knees caught the most and got a little burnt! :)

Perfect for left-over ham

This recipe was so yummy! It was the perfect week for soup since it was freezing last week so, I thought I would try it out and I LOVED it!
The recipe is from allrecipes.com- I changed it a little so here is my version.

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery (optional)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
2 cans of chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
pinch of minced garlic
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 c. shredded cheese

DIRECTIONS
Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and chicken broth in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in garlic, salt and pepper
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted.

Trapped

Yesterday Cooper was out riding his trike around in the garage. I had the door propped open and all the sudden I heard him crying. He came running in the house with a mouse trap snapped on his fingers.
Poor guy!
It was in the back of our shelves by our boxes and he must have spotted it and wanted to see what it was. Ouch!

Uplifting

I love conference weekend. It was so fun to listen to the words that were spoken. I felt so must peace listening to the talks given and the reassurance of hope and faith.
Even in these crazy economic times, we are reminded to count our many blessing because no matter what we still have blessings! I love how we are reminded to stay faithful. “As we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us," said President Monson.

Saturday in between conference I realized we needed to go and get our stuff for snacks for the Sunday session. As we were walking down the isles Nick said, "This is like the super bowl for Mormons. We always have TONS of food! :) It's so true. I was looking at our food after conference and noticed that we barley put a dent in all the snacks we had. Ha ha I guess I made way too much for 3 people. Oh well, we got to enjoy some of them for dinner with Dad & Mama Jo when they come to eat with us.

Cooper was so fun during conference. Every time he would hear the word prophet he would start singing, "Follow the Prophet, Follow the Prophet, he knows the way!" It was so cute. Even while playing in his room he would start singing it when he heard the word (my radio had conference on so he could hear it). He is such a fun little guy and loving learning new songs.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

Moist Grilled Burgers

Nick wanted burgers on Monday night so, I was browsing online to find a new, different recipe for hamburgers since I don't LOVE hamburgers. I came across this one and thought I would try it since it seems like whenever I have a hamburger it is greasy or dry. This one sounded perfect! I mixed up the meat (yuck!), made them into patties, and Nick went and grilled them. I was surprised at how delicious they were. They were moist and yummy! So, here is a new recipe for you to try! Let me know how you like it! :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound of ground beef
3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons grated onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons tomato juice
salt & pepper

Prepare grill.
Combine the beef with bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, grated onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and tomato juice. Shape into patties.
Grill burgers!
**Nick's advice-be careful when flipping patties. They are soft so make sure you flip gently so they don't fall apart! Happy Grilling!

Serves 5

12 Weeks

Thanks for the Congrats! We are SO excited to have a little brother or sister for Cooper to play with. I am due October 12th!

I went to my first appointment a couple weeks ago and everything looked good. It was so nice to hear the heartbeat and know that there is really a babe in there. Cooper thought it was pretty cool when he heard the heartbeat. He turned to Nick and said, "That my baby in mom's tummy."

I have been off and on sick. I shouldn't complain too much because it is WAY better than my pregnancy with Coop but, the thing I don't understand is in the last three weeks I have thrown-up more than I did the first nine weeks. Oh, lovely times! I am hoping I am on the uphill climb now! :)

I have discovered that apples DO NOT agree with my tummy (blah). I LOVE salad and pretty much any kind of vegetable. Sweet things don't agree with me too much either well as long as I don't eat more than one...especially chocolate and I LOVE chocolate but, not right now!

Some funny things Coop has been up to:
Nick was babysitting Cooper a couple weeks ago while I was getting my haircut. He was doing something on the computer and saw Coop walking down the sidewalk with a Book of Mormon under his arm. Nick went outside and asked Coop where he was going. Coop replied, "I going to church dad!"

Cooper is really into playing like he is the Dad (ALL THE TIME). We were getting ready for prayers. Cooper said, "I the dad...I get in my spot." So he goes to the spot at the bed where Nick usually is and makes Nick or in Cooper's words "Big boy" kneel in the middle. I said, "Ok Dad do you want to say it?" We are all ready and Cooper isn't saying anything he is just looking at Nick so I said again, "Dad do you want to say it?" Again Cooper just keeps looking at Nick and says, "Big Boy, you wanna try? I'll help you!" It was hilarious. Nick and I couldn't stop laughing. He is such a fun little guy!

The news is.......