HaPPY 7TH BiRTHDaY CooPeR!

I have now become officially OLD. As of August 22 my first born is now 7. How on earth did this happen? I have always heard people say how "time flies by" or "they're growing up so fast", but I always thought they were wrong. It seems as though time doesn't move so fast while I think about things day to day, but when I look back at things, especially now I'm blogging and I always get behind, it seems like those things happened just yesterday, but it's really been a lot longer. I'm so thankful that I have gotten into blogging for the mere fact it's like keeping a journal or making a scrap book and now I can remember all the things that have gone on in our lives. Anyway, back to the birthday. On Thursday, the day before his birthday we went to the new Payson pool. It was so much fun. Some of our family joined us. Since the summer is almost over the pool isn't crowded and it felt like we had the pool all to ourselves. We all had a lot of fun playing in the water, going in the lazy river and going down the water slides. The pool was awesome and a lot of fun. After we were all done swimming we ended up going outside to eat the cake and have ice cream. I had seen a cake on my cousins blog about fun snack for kids (thanks Rach). I made the cake with my own little twist. Since, Coop has been more than obsessed with fishing I decided to add to the addiction and make him a fishing cake. Don't look too close you may see Cooper in a speedo. I think I'm most proud of that little guy on there. I was pretty mad when Walmart wouldn't sell me one of their cake toppers so I had to make my own and I think it's way better than the one from Walmart. Isn't it funny? He thought his cake was pretty awesome even though the cake was really soggy since the blue part of the cake was Jello and it had been in the sun and the jello started to melt.
This is everyone outside of the pool after eating the cake. I also made cup cakes that poor little Cooper didn't even get to eat because I was too worried about getting a picture of him with his cake for the blog. (please click on the picture above and take a look at the face my niece pulled just for this picture. She is always pulling faces in pictures and this one is my favorite by far. I crack up every time I look at it.) Okay, now focus and quit laughing so I can tell about the rest of his day.

The day of Cooper's real birthday he had to go to school. It was the 3rd day of school and he was still getting to know his class, so when they all made him a card and he found out two other kids in the class had a birthday the same weekend he felt bonded and he made some friends. I was worried he would hate going to school on his birthday but he loves it. After Mike got home we took the kids to Walmart and got his birthday present. We took him to pick out some fishing stuff and while he was distracted we bought him a MP3 player. After we left Walmart we stopped by the house and got my laptop. I started up the music player while we were heading up the canyon and I was asking Coop if he liked all these different songs, which he said yes to all of them, and I put them on his MP3 player and when we got to our destination we gave it to him. We went to visit some of our friends and they got a kick out of Cooper. We were all just sitting around the table talking and Coop was off in his own little world singing. I promise I will post a video of this a little later. (I can't show all my good stuff in one post or I won't have anything left in my bag of tricks that keeps you coming back.) We soon left and took Cooper down to the stream by where my grandma was camping. Coop had gotten a new fishing pole, the rocket fishing launcher, to paint a picture for those of you that don't know what this is just picture a gun with a capsule shooting out of it with a little tiny hook of death in it. I know what you're all thinking is where can I get one. Well, there at Walmart of course, is there anywhere else to shop. The only thing bad about this awesome pole is you can't really adjust how far it goes, so when you're trying to fish in a tiny stream it's not the ideal pole of choice, so needless to say the fishing wasn't that great and it didn't last long. My aunt and her two kids ended up meeting us at my grandma's camping site and Cooper was so excited because he loves to play with his buddy Trayven. They rosted some smores or should I say they burnt some marshmellow and ate chocolate and grahams. Oh well, they had fun doing it. After a little visiting we headed home.

When we had the party at the pool I had invited all of Cooper's Scott family to come, but because of my poor party planning they couldn't come. They ended up having a party for Cooper the Monday after his birthday. When I call it a party that may be an understatement. He is so spoiled by them, or shall I say well taken care of. When we went to pick him up it was like Christmas. He got a new motorcycle (which Coop soon found out contrary to what you may believe it DOESN'T exactly go/float in irrigation water), Mario Cart (which I must add makes you feel like you're back in the day of old school nintendo and you're watching that nerdy kid or possibly you are the nerdy kid that thinks by turning the controller or yanking the controller up makes you actually go in the direction you're moving), and he got a ton of money and clothes. They are always so great, every time a holiday or his birthday rolls around they always ask if there is anything he needs and they make sure to get it for him.

Cooper had an awesome birthday and I just want to say thanks to everyone who shared in his special day. He is so lucky to have so much family who loves him so much . He is such a special boy and I just want tell him how much I love him and how thankful I am that he chose me to be his mom. I must have done something pretty special for him to have chosen me or maybe he just felt sorry for me and new I needed a lot of help. I'm pretty sure it's the second one!

I love you Coop and I hope you had a great birthday!

1ST DaY oF SCHooL!

Cooper and Rhielyn both started school Wednesday, August 20. Cooper is in first grade and he likes it okay. He is a little mad at me because I made him change schools from last year. He was so sad because he doesn't get to see any of his friends from school. Another reason he doesn't like it he tells me " I have 3 recesses and I am so tired, but atleast it's good excercise." He has to be the funniest kid ever. We went to back to school night the night before and to my surprise COSTCO gave every kid in the whole school a backpack along with a few items. I thought that was awesome. The only downfall is every kid in the whole school has the same backpack. I wonder how long until Coop losses his backpack. We also got to meet with his teacher and I had to fill out some papers while we were there. While filling out a paper all about him I asked him "What is something special about you" I'm expecting some really cool thing to come out of his mouth. His answer was "my tongue". Now that got me thinking what on earth is so cool about his tongue, he can't roll it and he can't wistle with it. I still can't figure it out and when I asked him he just laughed and changed the subject. I guess I'll never know.

Rhielyn loves school. She went right in and left me at the door. She was so excited and had the best day. She has a new teacher this year. She is the same preschool teacher Cooper had. My kids love her. Rhielyn had her meet the teacher day on Monday but through a little miscommunication we missed it so we had to go on Tuesday. While we were on our way Cooper and Rhielyn were talking about her teacher and Cooper says "Rhielyn you are so lucky. You have the best teacher in the whole world." And I think she might be. Rhielyn thinks so too. The other day when I was getting her ready for school we got to talking. Our conversation goes like this:

Rhielyn: mom you have to do my hair in french braids.
Me: why
Rhielyn: a girl in my class had her hair like that last time.
Me: so
Rhielyn: well, Miss Leslie called her sweetie
Me: so
Rhielyn: I want her to call me that
Me: maybe she just forgot the girls name so that's why she called her that and not you.
Rhielyn: No, so do my hair in a french braid.

Well, she didn't get her hair in a french braid and the teacher didn't call her sweetie, but all was not lost, she did call her cutie pie. I think that one fits her a little better than sweetie, because she may not be sweet, but she is cute. Anyway, all in all the first day of school was awesome and I love all day school. I wish Rhielyn could start already. I guess I'll just have to wait. They are growing up way too fast and I know I will never get this time back, so I guess I'll just enjoy it while I can and they're not teenagers.

BeST VaCaTioN eVeR!

Bear Lake was awesome! We had the best time. We have made our Bear Lake vacation a family tradition with my mom's side of the family. We have had so much fun in the past years, but this year was the best by far. I don't know what exactly made this year more fun than the years past, but I'm sure the awesome tube my dad bought to pull behind the wave runner was a HUGE part of it. I thought the tube was going to be totally lame and not much fun, but when I got on and I saw my dad behind the wheel of the wave runner I must have had the look of fear in my eyes, because as my mom always does she reminded him I am a mother of three and I can't take care of my kids if I'm in a full body cast. He started out really calm, but Shay and I decided we needed a real ride instead of this kiddie stuff , so we gave him the thumbs up and he turned it up and that's when the fun started. I was a total spaz. I couldn't quit laughing. They could hear me from the shore. I must say I would totally recommend it to everyone, but I also must add, I rode in the tube in the sitting position and my butt and hands were sooooo sore. Everyone who rode on the tube had many many bruises so if your a big fat sissy don't take my recommendation, or I guess you can just ride it really slowly. Also, I must add I had the hardest time getting on this thing once I fell off, but that was also a lot of the fun. I'm sure it was quite the sight.

We stayed in a cabin right on the beach and it was the best place ever. We practically lived on the beach. I'm actually really surprised after we left there was any beach left, since Ryder could not keep the sand out of his mouth. I thought when I changed his diaper I would find a sand castle inside. We was a wild man. We loved every minute we were there and so did my other kids. My kids were in the water almost the whole time. They didn't really care for the wave runner or the tube, but they loved playing in the sand and the water. We had to keep them lathered in sunscreen and I must add I

think the spray on sunscreen is well worth the extra money, because usually when we go to the pool I spend half my time rubbing on sunscreen and with the new stuff all you do is spray and go. The only time I had any complaints from my children is when Cooper told McKayd he could bury him in the sand. Big mistake. McKayd dug a hole and had Cooper sit in it, then he proceeded to fill the hole with all of the wet mud he had just dug out of the hole. I think the picture speaks for itself. He didn't have much fun with that activity. I don't think he will be letting McKayd do this again anytime soon. Since we were right on the beach we were able to bring our four-wheelers to ride to and from the beach. Cooper's four-wheeler wouldn't go very well in the sand so he didn't get to ride it much, but we were on the big four-wheeler plenty going to and from the cabin. We just had to drive kind of fast so we wouldn't get stuck in the sand. One time Brady was taking the four-wheeler, along with a small trailer loaded to the brim and then some with life jackets and lawn chairs, back to the cabin. My uncle made the mistake of telling this 19 year old boy to "drive it like you mean it!" needless to say the trailer and the four-wheeler did not arrive back in one piece. It was so funny.

While we were there I found my true calling in life. I was born to be a ROCKSTAR! One night we stayed up until about 3 a.m. playing Rockband, singing, dancing and just taking a million pictures. We had so much fun. I think this vacation has brought our family so much closer. We usually just hang out at family birthday parties and such, but having this time together and getting to know each others true personalities was a great experience. My aunt even made the comment on how she never knew the real me. That really got me thinking how we don't really just hang out as a family. We definitely should more often because we had so much fun! I'm so excited for next year. I just can't wait. This was truly one of the best vacations I have ever been on. Thanks everyone for all the fun.

**8 THiNGS**

8 things I'm passionate about

1. Mike
2. doing everything for my kids
3. my family and friends
4. helping others
5. making a difference
6. raising honest and good kids
7. having fun
8. not missing out on a thing

8 words or phrases I say often

1. stop it
2. quit fighting
3. I'm hungry
4. how did you get to be so cute
5. be quiet
6. No!!
7. go outside
8. I love you

8 things I want to do before I die

1. sky diving
2. buy a house
3. get life insurance
4. see my grand kids
5. get old
6. lose weight ( I would hate to see anyone get a hernia from lifting my casket)
7. clean my house
8. get sealed to my family (yes we've gone through, but we put it off until Cooper was adopted and then one thing after another. Hopefully next month)

8 things I've learned from my past

1. I can get through it
2. my mom may know a thing or two
3. you can get pregnant even when it's not planned
4. family is everything
5. I am a little crazy, but that's not always a bad thing
6. I have to watch my temper
7. people can forgive and move on
8. drugs are bad bad bad, but the people who use them aren't always

8 places I'd love to go or see

1. Hawaii
2. Italy
3. Florida
4. heaven
5. St. George
6. with Mike to a Jets game
7. anywhere alone with Mike
8. Caribbean

8 things I currently need or want

1. money
2. more time
3. my RN degree
4. house
5. a Pepsi
6. new car
7. less blubber
8. maid

8 people I tag

1. Brandee L
2. Jalyce R.
3. Brianne C.
4. Breanne B.
5. Suzee A.
6. Chanel P.
7. Natalie R.
8. Rach G.

Have fun and Git-R-Done!

I'm Back!!!

So, you may have noticed I have not been blogging for a while. I now have my Internet up and running again and I have found it an overwhelming task to get caught up. Everyone has been so busy with many interesting and exciting events. While catching up I have found people have had some pretty crazy things happening from cars getting stolen to dramatic crashes with life threatening injuries. My life has been quite boring, but I guess I better document some things that have been going on since my last post. Where do I start? I've missed so many things, but I'll start with Fiesta Days!
*CaRNiVaL*

Cooper's favorite ride "The Spaceship".

He would go on this ride over and over all by himself. He really surprised me.

When did he grow up?

Rhielyn's favorite ride "The Magic Carpet".

She would go on this ride with Mike and they would scream and scream just for fun.

Ryder's favorite ride "The Stroller".
That's right I don't know where this kid came from but he hated all of the rides.

Even though Ryder hated all the rides I still made him go on a few just to see if he would grow out of it in the few minutes we were there. We went on family night, but unlike others we were smart and got there just as it opened so by the time it was getting busy we were done and out of there. Therefore, the carnival was really fun, cheap and not crowded. Here's more cute pictures.

*aDDiTioNaL FuN*

We didn't get to go to the rodeo and the kids were really disappointed, but I don't think they would have had much fun anyway considering they will not sit still. We did do the baby contest, but we didn't win. Mike took the kids to the fish rodeo and the fun things in the park. I was at a coed softball tournament, so he was a real trooper to take all the kids while I was off having my own fun. Anyway, that's why we don't have any pictures. We also went to the movie in the park. I had a softball game that night and we went as soon as it got over. We were supposed to go with a bunch of our friends, but most of them ditched out. I won't name any names (Jalyce, Josh, Taylee, Steven, Brianne, McClain, Brandee, Jeremy, Cheyanne, Rylee and Stetler). I really have a complex after that night. I don't know if we are just not fun or if I had some really offensive body odor, I'm not sure of the reason, but we had fun just the same thanks to our true friends Chanel and Aurora. Rhielyn kicked Cooper in the nose before the movie started and his nose bled through almost the whole movie. Ryder kept grabbing the guy sitting in front of us and Mike kept freaking out because believe it or not out kids were being loud, but we had fun anyway and I think we will do it again next year.

*PaRaDe*

On the day of the 24th we went to the parade. We sit in the same place every year with our Averett side of the family. This year my good friend Brandee, yes the ditcher from earlier, came with us. I was really glad they did. I got to bond with her little trouble maker Rylee and I'm pretty sure were now friends ,since I shared some chocolate with her and then she wanted to sit on my lap. I thought for sure I got some pictures, but I didn't. I know of my family did so hopefully they will share. Cooper rode in the parade with his grandpa Butch. I didn't get a picture, but this is basically what it looked like. He thinks this car and his grandpa are pretty dang awesome, so he was pretty excited. He also got a new shirt from Deseret First Credit Union, the reason they were in the parade, it's red for the Utes vs. BYU duel but he still likes it even though it isn't blue. Rhielyn saw the princess' in the parade and you would have thought she was in Disneyland. She was so excited and kept telling me "they're coming to my birthday" I just don't know where I'm going to send the invitation.

*PiCNiC*

After the parade we went to a picnic at a church pavilion with the Jex side of the family. It's been a tradition for as long as I remember and even after my Great Grandma Jex's passing her daughters have kept the tradition alive and it's really important to them. Grandma Myrl took this picture. Do you think she has something against the Utes or Cooper? I think it's the Utes. This is the kids with their Great grandpa Kaye.

Ryder enjoying a Popsicle. Why do they have to squish everything in their hands first before they'll put it in their mouth?

Kami, Me, Shaylie, Lindsay, Rhielyn, Libby and Layken in front. I actually think this is a really cute picture even with me in it.

*BiRTHDaY CaKe & FiReWoRKS*

After the long day we went to my aunt Kathy's house for cake and ice cream for Crystals birthday and the fireworks. The cake was great but by the time the fireworks started Ryder was ready for bed and the kids had left with my mom for a sleep over so. We headed for home before they were over because Mike didn't want to get into the traffic. He's getting so old! All in all we had a pretty busy and FUN week. It is my favorite time of the year.