THE MINER TRIO

A Daddy-Daughter Date

2008-12-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

This year Aspen entered a drawing contest to win tickets to Molly Mouse. Molly Mouse is a ballet put on by the Children's Ballet Theater. Aspen colored her picture for days and did the best that she could. She was convinced she was going to win the tickets and kept asking us if we thought she would win too. Both Zach and I told her that if we were the ones judging, we would totally pick hers but we didn't want to set her up for rejection either. So she entered her picture and we waited to see what would happen. Well she did end up winning the tickets for her age group and she was so excited. Zach decided that he wanted to make that day especially "special" for her so he decided to take her. He bought her a corsage and even drove around the block before ringing the doorbell to pick her up for their date. He took her to dinner and requested a special table by the fireplace. Aspen talked about their date for many days afterward and was sad when her corsage had to be thrown away. Lucky for her, it came with a special bracelet that she can keep forever. Thank you Zach for being the "daddy" that you are. You are amazing and both Aspen and I are lucky to have you.

Aspen's First Snowman of the Season

2008-12-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Aspen's first snowman of the season. She built it all by herself and improvised using cherry tomatoes and a pixie stick. Aspen is not a picky eater but tomatoes are one thing she can't stand. It isn't for lack of trying either. She has probably tried them over 50 times and she keeps trying them too, bless her heart. She does not take after her mother. I am quite possibly one of the world's most picky eaters. I feel so lucky to have her. It makes meal times so easy. My next child will probably be just like me or so I have been told. That said, you can see in the picture exactly what Aspen decided to use the cherry tomatoes for. I laugh every time I look at this picture. I can just picture what she was thinking in her head.

Picking and Carving the Perfect Pumpkin

2008-11-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

Zach was so excited to take Aspen to find the perfect pumpkin. He found this place in Riverton that had rows and rows of pumpkins and he knew that would be the place. So a week before Halloween, we went Pumpkin shopping. When we got there, Aspen couldn't get out of the car fast enough. She found hundreds of pumpkins that she wanted. She had a really hard time picking just one for herself so we let her pick one for mom, dad and baby as well.

Then we had to carve the little beauties! Aspen was adamant about carving her own pumpkin with NO help. I was a little nervous but she did an awesome job. She did let her dad take out all the "gross" stuff. She didn't see any need for her to "touch" it. She is such a daddy's girl and Of course he loves it.

Before Aspen cut into her pumpkin, she made sure to tell it sorry. She has such a tender little heart. Her daddy loves that too. Okay, so does her mom :-).

So now that we found and carved our pumpkins...it was time to trick-or-treat!

A Very Happy Halloween

2008-11-05T08:38:00.001-08:00

We started celebrating Halloween about a week early. Every year at Grandpa Coops work, they hold a huge Halloween party complete with games, trick or treating, dinner and a movie. We always have the best time there and this year was no exception. Here are a few pictures from that night.

Aspen went as Cinderella this year. We bought her costume while we were in Disney Land and figured it would be a perfect time for her to wear it again.

Goofy Grandma Cam

Grandpa Coop and Grandma Laurie

Brock, Holly and Jeremy

Two Sweet Princesses Gone Fishing!

Our Little Run Away

2008-10-24T13:53:00.001-07:00

Do any of you remember running away from home? I do, but it wasn't until I was in Jr. High! Aspen surprised us the other night by telling us she was catching the bus and running away from home! What! Where in the world did our 6 year old come up with this plan. Basically what happened is that her dad had gotten mad at her for playing with our neighbors mailbox. She opened it and some of their mail fell out. He told her that tampering with other people's mail is a federal offense and she needed to go and pick it up. There was no screaming or tears. She simply went over, picked up their mail and headed back to the house. She was up in her room for a minute and just as I was wondering what she was up to, she came walking down the stairs with her purse, a rolling backpack and her My Twinn doll. When I asked her what she was doing, this was her response. "Mom, I don't know how to tell you this but I am running away from home. I am so mad at my dad. He hurt my feelings and I need to leave!" I was shocked but simply said, "Okay honey, I am sorry you feel that way. Your daddy wasn't trying to hurt your feelings and I know he loves you very much. But if you need to go, then I guess you need to go." I think she was surprised by my reaction. Zach was there but couldn't say anything because he was trying so hard not to laugh. We made sure she had a jacket and her favorite stuffed animal and we asked her how she was going to get to where she needed to go. She said she was going to take the bus. The bus doesn't actually come into our neighborhood but we humored her anyway. She knows she can't go past the corner stop sign so we wondered just how far she would go. Here are some pictures of her leaving. We had to get the camera for this one. It is a little bit blurry because it was taken through the window of our house.

Here is one of her looking back to see if anyone is watching her. Of course we were!

Here is one of her waiting for the bus. She never did pass the stop sign.

We gave her about 10 minutes and then Zach went out and got her. He told her he was sorry that her feelings had been hurt and that he loved her. She decided to come home. We are glad she did. We would have missed her terribly :-).

The Scarecrow Festival-Thanksgiving Point

2008-10-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

We went with the LaFord family to the Scarecrow Festival last Saturday. Emily and Tyson have 3 adorable kids. Alex who is 7 and twin girls who turned 2 this past July, Avery and Kendall. Aspen is convinced that she and Alex are brother and sister. If you ask her if she has any siblings she will tell you she is getting a sister after Christmas and she has a brother named Alex. They honestly do act like brother and sister. Aspen also adores the twins and loves playing "big" sister to them! Here are some cute pictures from that day. We had such a fun time. The best part was watching Emily take both girls up the slide. By the time she reached the top, you can see a line forming behind her. It was priceless. Emily you are such a good sport and Tyson shame on you for not helping her up the slide. Just kidding, we all know how independent she is. She wouldn't have let you help if you tried.

Aspen and Kendall:

Tyson and Avery:

Aspen, Alex and some really tall guy:

A picture of Emily taking her girls up the slide. Notice the line forming after her... She is the person at the very top!

Halloween Festivities

2008-10-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Garden after Dark-Red Butte Gardens:

We try to make it to this event each year. It is so much fun. This year the theme was, "Once Upon a Time." The girls sang in a Shrek Karaoke, they made a seed packet, a witches hat and a monkey puppet. They traveled through a glow in the dark Gum Drop Alley and fell through the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. They also collected all their stamps from each station and received a prize at the end. No, it wasn't some random cheap toy, it was a tree for them to plant! As a parent, I thought that was a great idea. As a child, they probably wanted the cheap toy. All in all, it was blast.

KeLsie, Aspen and Cassidy doing Karaoke

Some Halloween Decorations and a not so scary spider.

My Niece KeLsie hanging out with a moose.

Catching Up!

2008-10-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I blogged. It isn't that I don't want to blog or that I have nothing to blog about but more that I lack the motivation! So here is a quick catch up on our lives. Aspen has started 1st grade and loves it. She is learning so much and having fun at the same time. Her school is a bit on the extreme side but since she doesn't know any different, we don't tell her. With that said, it also demands a lot of our time so we are adjusting as well. Here is a picture from her first day. She is with one of her best friends, Alyssa.

Then about a month ago, Zach's aunt came to town to visit. Holly is absolutely amazing and we love spending time with her. Did I mention she is also beautiful. We were able to get together for dinner at Archibalds, we saw the witches at Gardner Village and went to Red Mango for Dessert. Then the next morning we met for Sunday Brunch at the Little America. It was fantastic! The weekend went by so quickly but we were thankful for the time we had with her. She reminds Aspen so much of her grandma Cam (well they are sisters) and Aspen just adores her. Thank you Holly for your visit and for spending time with us. We love you.

Aspen also started Ballet again. She had both Ballet and Gymnastics over the summer but we had to limit it to one extra curricular activity once school started. I think she would have chose gymnastics but we talked her into Ballet. Or rather the fact that her friend Cassidy would be in her class helped motivate her. She is at the Children's Ballet Theater and her teacher is amazing this year. It really is an adorable place. We love it there.

Zach took the day off a couple of weeks ago to go with Aspen on her field trip. They took the kids the the BYU Museum of Natural History and to Cabella's. The kids were studying natural animal habitats in class as well as the difference between Carnivore, Herbivores and Omnivores so these were the perfect places for them to visualize what they were learning. Here are a few pictures from that day. Zach still isn't convinced that 1st graders wouldn't have enjoyed a different kind of field trip but again, they don't know any different so why tell them :-). They had a blast.

I really do have more to tell you but the motivational thing is kicking in. I will post more soon.

Here and Gone!

2008-08-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

With our summer slowly coming to an end (school started today) we are trying to fit in as much "fun" as we possibly can. Aspen and I have been spending a lot of time at the pool and this past weekend, we all took a trip up to Snowbird and bought "All Day Passes." Actually we purchased passes for Aspen and Zach and I just sat around and watched them have fun. Oh the joys of pregnancy :-). They did everything they could. They raced down the Alpine Slide numerous times. They jumped on the bungy trampolines. They climed the rockwall, rode the ZipRider and then finished the day off with an Arial Tram Ride. For those of you who haven't done this, I highly recommend it. It is so much fun. We usually do it at least once a year. Here are a few pics from our day.

This last picture is of Aspen coming down the Aerial Tram Ride. She was exhausted but I liked how you could see her reflection in the glass. So I added the picture :-).

It's Official

2008-08-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Aspen is finally going to be a big sister. We cheated and went to Fetal Studio's this past weekend. I am only 17 1/2 weeks but we found out we are having another girl! We are so excited. It was kind of a strange twist because we were all convinced we were having a boy. This pregnancy has been completely different from my last. The guy who did our ultra sound wasn't very convincing either. After numerous attempts and a fruit juice to get the baby moving, he decided it was a girl. He may very well be right. He would know better than we would right! Either way, we are excited for baby #2 and so is Aspen. She sings and talks to my belly every day. Now that I can feel the baby move, I can tell just how much she already loves Aspen. Whenever Aspen talks to her, she moves around like crazy. It is so sweet.

Here is a profile picture from our ultra sound.

A lot can happen in a month and a half!

2008-07-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

I honestly don't know why I haven't kept up on my blog. But rather than sit and give you a bunch of lame excuses, I will simply add a few pictures and get us up to date.

In June Aspen had the opportunity to ride in the Lehi Stock Parade with her Grandma Laurie. Aspen has loved horses since she was a baby. Even her room is decorated with horses. So this was the perfect thing for her. An old frind of mine, Tom Lewis, or as I still like to call him "Tommy" let us borrow one of his horses. Thank you Tommy and Jen for letting us do this. You guys are great.

The other great thing about this parade is that my cute Grandparents were the Grand Marshalls. In order for them to be the Grand Marshall's, someone had to nominate them and "someone" did. They not only were the Grand Marshall's of this parade but they were the Marshall's of the entire Lehi Round Up Days. Even though it wore them out, they loved each and every minute of it.

I also had the opportunity to spend some time with and old friend of mine, Katie Terry. We have been friends since Jr. High. I knew that her little girl loves horses just as much as Aspen, so I called to see if they would like to come with us. Lucky for us, they did.

Also in June, Zach represented the Sheriff's Office at the Riverton Demolition Derby Tug O' War. Basically, they go up against the Riverton Fire Department. They have done this for the past two years and both years the Sheriff's Office has taken the title. Here is a picture of Zach. He is the third guy in. Look at those muscle's. Zach said his motivation came from not wanting his little girl to see him lose. You could hear her screaming over the hundreds of other spectators. She was so proud of her daddy and so was I!

In July, Aspen had the opportunity to be in another parade. This time is was with the Children's Ballet Theater. She takes dance there with her favorite friend Cassidy. Here is a picture of the two of them on that day.

The final post I will do is of us on a litte hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Aspen has loved this hike since she could walk and we do it at least once a year. Grandma Cam came with us this time and it was fun to have her:

Kindergarten Graduation

2008-05-30T14:02:00.001-07:00

The very first post I did was of Aspen starting Kindergarten. Now, I am posting about her graduating from Kindergarten. We are so proud of her. She has learned so much this year. I am amazed everyday at the things that she knows. She was fortunate to have amazing teachers this year. One's who truly cared about her and what she was learning. We think the world of them.
Her graduation was bittersweet, just like every new chapter in your children's lives. With each new chapter another one closes. Aspen will never be a Kindergartener anymore but we will remember these days for the rest of our lives. I just have to take a minute to say (and I know I speak for her daddy too when I say) that we have loved every minute of having Aspen in our lives. No other joy even comes close to the joy that she brings to us each and every day. Every laugh, every cry, every snuggle and every jump on the tramp are precious to us. Now if we could only figure out how to make the time slow down just a little bit. She is growing up way to fast for us. Now that I am crying, I will end this post with a few pictures from that day. Congratulations Aspen! You. Are. Amazing!

Aspen and her friend Gentry

Do you think they look proud?

I think she looks proud of herself too. The flowers are from her daddy. He never forgets!

We were so happy to have my Grandma and Grandpa Cooper with us. My grandpa has had an awful year. One surgery after another but he is a trooper.

We were also happy to have Aunt Holly and Aspen's cousin Jeremey with us. She had the day off and they spent it with us.

Thank you everybody for making Aspen's day special. It means so much to her. Thank you mom for bringing the donuts. It is a good thing you did :-).

Field Trip and a dress down day

2008-05-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Aspen and I went to the Zoo with her Kindergarten class. I thought it was funny when I asked Aspen if she was excited to go to the Zoo and she replied, "I am, but I am more excited to wear anything I want!" They wear uniforms at her school and they have only had one other dress down day this year and Aspen missed it! I just thought that was a funny thing to come out of a Kindergartener's mouth.
Anyway, we were a bit nervous because the weather wasn't looking so good. It had been raining for days and it didn't look like it was planning to stop anytime soon. It did rain while were there but not enough to ruin the trip. The kids loved it. Their favorite thing (and mine too) was the gorilla's. One of them had wrapped itself up in a sheet to get out of the rain. It was adorable. I took a picture of it but it didn't really turn out because the gorilla was behind the glass and kind of far away. Oh well, you will have to take my word on it. Here are a few pictures from our day at the Zoo.

Aspen, Gentry and Sadie

They really thought they could move that ball!

Alyssa and Aspen
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Ms. Eschler (one of Aspen's teachers) and some of her students

Mother's Day

2008-05-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

So I know Mother's Day took place about a month ago but I am just now finding time to tell you about it. For Mother's Day, my mom, my mother-in-law, Aspen and myself joined up with Hilary, her mom, her mother-in-law, her grandma and Cassidy, and headed down to Las Vegas for the weekend. The reason for going to Vegas had nothing to do with gambling. We went down to see Phantom of the Opera. It was fantastic. The play is based off the movie which I absolutely love, only in person it was so much better. We stayed in this amazing time share called the Wyndham Grand Desert. For 10 people, we needed a really big place, and this one delivered. The kids had the best time. They swam in the pool, they saw the fountains at the Bellagio and they went to FAO Schwartz! Oh and the temperature reached 109 degrees on Sunday. I think Summer is finally here. At least in Vegas anyway.
Here are a few pictures from our trip.

A Day at the Pool

The Group, minus Susan the picture taker

Playing on the giant keyboard at FAO's

Caesar's Palace

The Gardens at the Bellagio

Hula on Over

2008-05-12T07:59:00.001-07:00

Since it has been over a month since I last blogged, I thought I should post something. We had Aspen's 6th birthday party on Saturday May 10th. She wanted to have a Hawaiian Luau. So we ordered the decorations (and borrowed some as well,) we made the invitations:

and the cake:

And we were ready to party. We invited about 35 close friends and family and about 27 people came. We ate Hawaiian haystacks and fruit and listened to Bob Marley. The kids mostly jumped on the tramp which wasn't the initial plan but they had fun.

Aspen got the most adorable presents. Everyone was so good to her. Every time
I ask her what her favorite present was, she says something new. Here
are few pictures of our guests and Aspen opening her presents. I don't
think we could have asked for better weather. It was perfect. We are
pretty sure Aspen had a great day and that is what we wanted.

I had to add a picture of Aspen's hair. I thought it turned out really cute.

The little birthday guests.

My brother Brock, his wife Holly and their little boy Jeremy.

Emily's little girl Kendal

Emily's other little girl Avery (YES! They are twins aren't they adorable!)

The Thank You's

Thank you everyone for making Aspen's day special. We love you all so much.

I also wanted to give a special thank you to my mom, Hilary and Grandma Cam for all their help. We couldn't have pulled off the party if it wasn't for them. You guys
are great.

Zach, thank you for whipping our yard into shape after our sweet dog destroyed it. You did a fabulous job and I know it took a lot of time to do. Your the best!

Day 6-Another Day at the Beach

2008-04-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

So if your sick of my blog already, this is the final day of our trip. We loved the beach so much, we decided to go back. It was another record breaking day as far as temperature. It felt great to lay out in the sun and then take a dip in the cold water. The girls played in the sand the entire time. They built so many things but the weirdest creation was a toilet. Yes, you heard me right, they built themselves a toilet. I don't really know if they decided to "test" the toilet out, nor do I want to. Either way, they had a great time that day and so did we. In fact, the entire trip was awesome. Thanks mom and dad for the awesome hotel rooms. They were amazing. Thanks for making it a trip we will never forget. Mom, I promise your feet will heal one of these days!

This was actually day 7. We woke up, went to breakfast and then headed to the airport. We had about a 2 hour car ride and Aspen fell asleep immediately. I think the week finally took it's toll on her.

Day 5-Seaworld

2008-04-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

The weather for Sea World was awesome. In fact, we were told it hit 85 that day. It was also Easter! We had a fantastic time. Aspen was so relieved that the Easter Bunny was able to find her in California. He left her a great big basket of candy and toys.

Sea World was awesome. We saw the Shamu show, we fed the dolphins and the sting rays. We saw sharks and went on some really fun rides. We got soaked but because the weather was so great, it felt awesome.

Me watching Shamu. Katie, this picture if for you :-).

Aspen feeding the dolphins

Kelsie and grandma Laurie feeding the dolphins.

Feeding the Sting Rays

A group picture minus the photographer, Me :-)

Zach taught Kelsie this smile when she was just a baby and it stuck.

I'm not sure who's legs are longer?

Day 4-San Diego Here We Come

2008-04-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Day 4 we packed up our stuff and moved to a new hotel in San Diego. We got there at a good time and decided to go to the beach. It was a Saturday, the weather was awesome and I think everyone else in California wanted to be at the beach too. We went to Mission Beach. The sand was amazing but the water was COLD. Don't worry, that didn't stop us. Here a few pics from that day.

Day 3-Believe it or not, more Disneyland

2008-04-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

CINDERELLA

BELLE

TINKERBELL

The Adams's were only going to be in California for 1 more day so we hit Disneyland again. It just happened to be Cassidy's 5th birthday that day too. The day before we went to the Disney shop and bought each of the girls a princess dress. Aspen would be Cinderella, Cassidy would be Belle and KeLsie would Tinder-belle. We dressed the girls up and started the day at the Princess Fantasy Fair. If you have never done this before, you have to do it. The Disney web site states that at the Princess Fantasy Fair
little princesses and knights are invited to a royal gathering. Immersive storytelling, fun crafts, including sparkling crowns to decorate, and regal ceremonies make this a fairy-tale experience come true.

What the website doesn't say is that if your princess is dressed up like a princess she may just be one of 8 that are given a special pass to meet Cinderella in person in a special part of the castle. Luck would have it, our girls were chosen and they loved it. The other thing the website doesn't tell you is that you don't need to get up early, dress your girls up and do the hair. You can have that all done on site. We did this after the fair. The cost is about $30 for hair and $8.00 for make-up. It is worth every penny. Here are some of my favorite pics of the day.
Jasmine and the girls

Mulan and the girls

Aspen and Belle

The Grand Finale was meeting Cinderella. She was beautiful and asked the girls if any of them new any good stories. Cassidy volunteered, plus she was the birthday girl.

Then the girls were off for hair and make-up. The event could not have been cuter.

Day 2-Disneyland

2008-04-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

We got up bright and early to make our way to Disneyland. Our hotel was about an hour away and we wanted to get there early. The best part was that we were meeting Hilary, Zach and Cassidy that day. They decided to meet us in California for spring break too. "Decided" isn't quite the best way to describe it, more like we convinced Cassidy to convince her parents that they needed to be there with us. So they loaded up their car and drove out to California too. They arrived at Disneyland before we did and were already in line for the new Nemo ride when we got there. In fact they were at the front and the nice people let us join them. I don't like line hoppers and I never thought I would be one but I am telling you Disneyland was so packed this year that there was no other way. Everyone was doing it so we did too. We packed a lot into that day. In fact, we were there for over 14 hours. The kids were amazing. They didn't whine or complain, they loved it. Here are a few pictures from that day.

KeLsie, Zach, Aspen and my mom on the Teacup ride.

KeLsie, Me, Zach, Aspen, Cassidy and Hilary waiting for the Dumbo ride (about 1 1/2 hr. wait)

Zack and Aspen waiting for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Zach, Hilary and Zach "Adams" waiting for Pirates.

KeLsie, my dad and Zach at the Pirate Island

Badge of Courage

2008-04-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Well we did it! We survived spring break, in California, with all the other hundred and fifty thousand people! I know that sentence makes it sound like all we did was survive but we did that AND we had a ton of fun!
On Wednesday March 19th, Aspen, Zach and I jumped on a plane and flew to California. The plan was to meet up with my parents who were driving. The flight could have been uneventful but no! I ended up sitting with a man that should have bought 2 tickets, for 2 seats, just to fit his rear end in. I know that sounds rude of me to say and I feel bad saying it however I was in great pain by the end of the flight. That was due to the fact that he took up half my seat and I had to litteraly sit halfway in the isle in an L-shape! Here is a picture of me and my flying partner and then here is another picture of Zach and Aspen, just as comfortable as can be. I was a bit resentful.

Once the excitement of the plane ride was over, we picked up our rental car and headed to Oceanside to meet my parents. We beat them there and had a few hours to kill so we picked up lunch and then decided to explore. We were very impressed. Our hotel was feet from the famous Oceanside Harbor Pier. Which is also home to the best pizza ever called Dominics. We sat in the bay and watch the sea lions bob up and down in the water. It was amazing.

Disney Princesses Make a Royal Visit to SLC

2008-03-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Aspen received a special package in the mail form the Easter Bunny. Inside were tickets to "Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes" and a note that said since she would be in California over Easter, the Easter Bunny wanted to send her a special package just in case he had a hard time finding her on Easter. He also said he knew that her best friend Cassidy would be going to the show and he thought Aspen would like to join her. We dressed the girls up in their Jasmine costumes which we were glad we did because ever other girl there was dressed up. The girls loved the show. They saw Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Mulan, Jasmine Sleeping Beauty and TinkerBell. They saw a giant fire breathing dragon, a horse drawn carriage and a 2-story waterfall. The scene's were beautiful. We all had a great time. Okay the dads tried very hard to enjoy themselves but were more than happy when it was finished. Seriously, what a great way to start our Disneyland Vacation. Thank you Easter Bunny.

Here are some pictures:

Nice hats boys!

Happy 5th Birthday Cassidy

2008-03-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

Cassidy turns 5 this coming Friday but since we will be California for her birthday, Hilary had her party the week before. The theme was a Tea Party. Cassidy invited 10 of her favorite friends and each little girl came dressed up like royalty :-). For one of the activities, the girls put on gloves and made home-made ice cream:

The girls were then asked to find their seats and sat down for lunch and tea:

After lunch, the girls played an adorable Tea Party game that they loved and then they opened presents.

When it came time for the girls to go home, they were given the most adorable party favors. Here is a picture of what they looked like and inside they were full of candy necklaces, bracelets and rings pops.

The party was a huge success. I think it will be one that Cassidy and all the other little girls, will remember for years to come. Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

Did Seamus visit your house too?

2008-03-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

At our house St. Patrick's Day is known as Seamus Day. It has been that way since Aspen was about 2 years old. When she was a baby, Seamus the Leprechaun, left her a book about him for St. Patrick's Day. Each year that book magically comes back and along with it, a treat of some kind. This year was no exception. He left her a pot of gold and chocolate four leaf clovers. He also left a box of Lucky Charms and a new "lucky" necklace. But even though the treats are great, Aspen's favorite part of "Seamus Day" are the shiny footprints Seamus leaves all over the house. He can be one messy little Leprechaun.

I forgot to take pictures this morning but here are a few pictures from other St. Patricks Days.

Happy Seamus Day!

Mmmmm Sugar Cookies

2008-03-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

After we hung out with the Easter Bunny and his friends we went to Hilary's moms house for a cookie party. The cookie party is a fun event that Hilary does about 4 times a year. She supplies the sugar cookies, the frosting and the decorative accents. Everyone else just gets to show up, frost their cookies and hang out. I know your thinking is Hilary crazy! Yes, she is but only a little. As a loyal friend I go to her house a few days before the party and we crank out about 200 sugar cookies. We have gotten so good at this, that we can do it in less than 2 hours. Are you impressed yet? Don't be, Hilary actually has all the dry ingredients pre-measured which is how we cut down on the cooking time. We usually have a great time. The only downside is that Hilary doesn't snack on the dough or the cookies until the cookie party. It is so hard baking all these cookies and then having to wait for 3 days before you can eat one. I used to sneak the dough but once I ended up sneaking a piece of crisco covered in flour, that was disguised as dough. It was awful, I nearly puked. Now I know the difference :-). Oh and if a cookie breaks being transferred to the cooling rack, that one becomes edible. I would never and I mean NEVER break one on purpose!!! Would you? Think about it for a minute, warm, home baked sugar cookies Mmmmmm!!!

It's been a long time

2008-03-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

It has been along time since I have posted anything. So I thought I would finally write something. This past weekend, Aspen and I were very busy. First of all on Saturday we went to South Town Mall to see the Easter Bunny parade. We have been lots of times before and Aspen just loves it. We saw the Easter Bunny and lots of his friends like Hello Kitty and the "Eat More Chicken" Cow. They even had the Quest Dog there. I didn't know that Quest had a representative but apparently they do and it is in the form of a big black dog. The Easter Bunny and his friends pass out eggs that are full of candy. Of course, this is Aspens favorite part. They also serve breakfast from Chick-fil-a which is yummy and free. Here are some pictures from that event.

They Should Know Better!!!

2008-02-19T13:07:00.001-08:00

For Presidents Day, Hilary and I decided to take the girls swimming. We called my mom and asked if Kelsie would like to join us too. Of course she did! What child can resist the pool. The kids were so excited they could hardly eat their dinner. After some quick shoveling and some weak attempts at telling us they were full, we were off to the pool. Unfortunately the minute we shed our clothes and emerged ourselves in the water the lifeguards blew their whistles and demanded everyone out! Someone had pooped in the pool. When I was younger, they would fish out the nasty little devil and then everyone could get back in. Now, they shut the facility down for the day. The girls were devastated. They cried huge crocodile tears and kept saying over and over, "Why would somebody do that!" "Don't they know any better!" It was almost comical. I just wish they could have done it about 2 minutes earlier and then we wouldn't have been soaking wet with no place to go! We actually did have someplace to go. We ended up back at my parents house and let the girls play in their Jacuzzi tub. Not quite the evening we had planned but it worked out okay. I had to include the picture of my mom washing the girls. She jumped right in without hesitation and neither Hilary nor I objected.

Magic in the Air

2008-02-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

When Aspen called me at work yesterday and told me that she lost her tooth. I immediately ran to Sunday's Child and bought a tooth Fairy doll. Around the dolls neck is a tiny book that stores the information about each lost tooth. On the fairy is a tiny pocket where you can put the lost tooth. Aspen was so excited about the doll and seemed anxious to put her out for the tooth fairy. But then as we brushed her teeth and got her ready for bed, she started asking me questions. "Mom, how big is the tooth fairy?" "Mom, what does the tooth fairy look like?" "Mom, were you scared of the tooth fairy when you were 5?" I answered each question the best I could. I even told her a story about a time when I thought I saw the tooth fairy. I told her not to be scared and that the tooth fairy was the nicest fairy in the world. She seemed content with that and wanted to write her a letter. The letter was adorable, this is what it said:

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I will not hurt you. Please be careful in the snow. Your pretty.

Love, Aspen.

Aspen slept in my bed with me last night because Zach was working a security job. After I turned off the lights and shut the door. The questions started again, "Mom, how big is the tooth fairy again?" "Mom, how will she get into our room?" Mom, can you move over a little bit more on your side so that I can scoot over too, I am a little bit nervous!" I started laughing so hard, I couldn't quit. Then Aspen started laughing and somehow that laugh turned to sleep. I thought she would be up all night with worry and excitement but I wrong. She slept like a baby and was more then excited to see what the tooth fairy brought her the next morning. A silver dollar, 4 more dollars, some lotion that smells like frosting, another fairy doll and she even left fairy dust which Aspen loved. Here is a picture:

The Sucker

2008-02-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday night while eating a sucker Aspen started screaming hysterically, "my tooth, my tooth." We immediately stopped what we were doing and ran to her attention. It wasn't bleeding but it was loose, really loose. We felt awful like it was our fault that her tooth was falling out. If we hadn't let her eat that darn sucker, her sweet little baby tooth would still be in tack. Keep in mind that Aspen is 5 years old. In fact, she will be 6 in May. She isn't a baby anymore but she is still our baby and we aren't doing very well with the whole growing up thing.

So as soon as I could on Monday morning I called the Dentist. I wanted to make sure that if the tooth wasn't ready to come out, they could fix it. The Dentist assured me that the tooth was fine and in fact, she is lucky to still have all her teeth at this age. She said that girls usually lose their first tooth between 5 and 6 and boys lose their first tooth between 6 and 7. I had no idea it was a gender thing. After speaking to the dentist I felt much better. Like it was time for the tooth to come out anyway.

Although it still broke my heart, Aspen lost her first tooth yesterday, Feb. 13th. She lost it at school but brought it home for the tooth fairy.

I will post more about our tooth fairy adventure in my next post. But here is a picture of Aspen, 1 tooth short :-)

KeLsie turns 4

2008-02-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

KeLsie did it, she turned 4. She is getting so big. She had her birthday party at the Lehi Swimming Pool. It was complete chaos but aren't all children's parties. We had pizza and cake and then everyone jumped into the pool. The kids had a blast. Here are a few pictures from the party. Happy Birthday KeLsie. We love you.

Ratatouille anyone?

2008-01-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Aspen and I sat down to watch Ratatouille. We were half way finished when Aspen announced she was done watching the show and she was ready to start cooking! Well okay then! She does not take after her mother. I will cook but only when Zach doesn't :-). So I asked Aspen what it was she wanted to cook. She said she wanted to make something the whole family could enjoy (not sure where she came up with that term either but we went with it!)
She got an adorable apron for Christmas from Santa of course. She loves it and already had it on in preparation for the movie we were watching. She pulled out her spices, some cheese and some bread. She cut the bread up into little tiny pieces and added the cheese chunks. She added a few spices and some balsamic vinegar. She mixed it around for a while and then suggested we put it in the oven which we did. I wish I could say the final product was enjoyable but unfortunately I can't. Even she was dissapointed. So I let her make chocolate pudding afterwards. It is pretty much fail proof and she was proud of herself. All in all, we had a lot of fun.

Here are some pictures of her cooking:

And here is a picture of her dissappointed face when her creation didn't turn out quite as well as she had hoped:

From Christmas to...Swimsuits?

2008-01-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong. I love the winter but only to a certain point. I am so ready for summer and so is Aspen. She asked me the other day when it would finally get warm again. Santa gave her a new swimming suit for Christmas and she is dying to use it. So, we went swimming! She was so excited. I don't know why we don't do it more often. My dad is the manager of the the Lehi Pool, so we have access to the indoor pool anytime we want. We just don't take advantage of it like we should.

Christmas is finally here!

2007-12-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

We had a blast this year. For one, Zach didn't have to work. Last year we did Christmas at 3:00 in the morning. It was fun but very untraditional. The year before that, we had to pay someone $100.00 to work Zach's shift. This year, he just got it off. So he was completely in the Christmas spirit. As we were putting Aspens gifts together that night, he kept pulling out more and more things he thought Aspen needed. I thought we set a limit on her this year and I thought I was done wrapping presents. I was so wrong :-). This was the first year that Aspen really had a wish list. Needless to say, she was pretty adamant about a few things on her Christmas list. Here were the most important ones:

1. Polly Pocket Race to the Mall

2. Hawkie Talkie's (Walkie Talkie's) "real one's, not pretend."

3. A Princess Jasmine Dress up

4. Roller Skates

5. A Chia Pet

She loved every present she got but when she opened the ones from her list, she literally screamed. Watching her get so excited made this Christmas magic for me. Another thing that made the morning special was that Grandma Cam, Josh and Marie joined us. Grandma Cam spent the night and Josh and Marie raced to our house the minute we called them to let them know that Aspen was awake. It really was a Christmas to remember.

Christmas Eve with the Coops

2007-12-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, Christmas Eve has been spent with my Family. We do the usual, eat dinner and unwrap a few presents but one of the funnest things we do is a white elephant exchange, adults only and for a good reason. My brother Brock usually comes us with the most unique ideas. Those of you who know my brother can only imagine what his "dirty" little mind comes up with. Believe me, you don't want to know :-). Thank you Brock! You make great memories. Here a couple of pictures from that night. The kids could not have been better. They knew it was their last chance to let Santa know just how good they had been this year.

Christmas Recital

2007-12-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to see Aspen dance at her Christmas recital. Both she and Cassidy take a ballet/tap class at Starlite Dance Academy. Their dances were adorable. If you want to see something funny. Try watching a 5 year old do a step, shuffle, ball, step! The first dance was a tap dance done to the Beach Boy's song, Little Saint Nick. They were dressed in an oversized t-shirt with tinsel around the bottom and a furry hat.

The second dance was a ballet dance done to the Christmas Waltz by the Carpenter's. For this they traded their oversized t-shirts for a fairy skirt and ballet shoes. We were so proud of them. Stage-Freight? Not them! The girls absolutely love to perform. We took them out to Chili's afterwards to celebrate. What could be better than mac-n-cheese and cinnamon apples! Thank you KeLsie, Grandpa Coop and Grandma Cam for coming to Aspen's performance. It means a lot to her to have you there.

Madison, Aspen and Cassidy. Posing for a Picture after their recital

Aspen and her Grandpa Coop

Not your average snowman...

2007-12-18T09:46:00.001-08:00

One of our favorite "Christmasy" things to do, is to drive around and
look at other people's Christmas lights. So the other night, we rounded
Aspen up and headed out the door. We saw many beautiful lights and
Christmas decorations but what we didn't expect to see was a snowman
the size of our garage. Here is a picture of the snowman. It is a bit
blurry but just to put things into perspective, the snowman's eye's are
made out of large plastic plates.

Christmas wouldn't be complete without...

2007-12-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

Seeing the lights at Temple Square! So after our fun day of sledding, we decided Aspen needed to see the lights at Temple Square as well. Honestly, you can't fit too many things into one day can you :-). Aspen loved the lights and especially the nativity scene with baby Jesus. She was quite concerned by the fact that baby Jesus was in the cold with nothing but a blanket on. I told her numerous times that the baby wasn't real but she insisted that he was. So she wins! The lights were magical and with the snow covering the ground, you could really feel Christmas in the air. My favorite part about temple square is the reflection pond. I could stare at those tiny baubles of light, all night long. Even with all the people on the temple grounds, it would be hard to find a more peaceful and relaxing place.

Aspen striking her favorite pose.

A Family Picture

Grandma Cam

Oh Let it Snow!

2007-12-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

We finally have snow. We had planned to take Aspen snow shoeing for the first time this past weekend. However, with the avalanche dangers, we chickened out. We decided to take her sledding instead. Playing in the snow is something Aspen looks forward to all year long. Honestly, what child doesn't. For me, I sometimes dread it. It is so much work just getting out the door. But in the end, it is all worth it. We met up with the Adam's at Sugarhouse park. They all looked so cute bundled up in their snow gear. Okay, actually Zach Adams looked a little bit like he belonged on the movie Fargo but you get my point. Here are a couple of pics from that day.

Tea for Four!

2007-12-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

For the past few years, Hilary and I have made it a tradition to do
something as a surprise for each others birthday. The goal is to make
it as fun and as cheap as possible. This year for Hilary's birthday, we
went to a chocolate tasting event that was suppose to turn us into
Chocolate snobs. It turns out that "real" chocolate isn't really that
good. Better luck next year right. So for my birthday, Hilary kind of
broke the rules. She took both Aspen and I to a tea party at Gardner
Village. It was amazing. We went to a place calledProtea Cottage.
After picking out our tea, we relaxed as the girls dressed up as princesses
for a "Royal Feast. The royal feast consisted of biscuit-like scones
that we spread with raspberry jam, sweet lemon curd and clotted cream.
We ate finger sandwiches with chicken salad and cucumber-cream cheese.
The desserts were delicious. We had spice cake, petite fours frosted
like a gifts, sugar cookies with lemon curd and kiwis, orange slices
and grapes. Are you hungry yet! We were stuffed. Luckily, your allowed
to bring home the leftovers.

Family Pictures

2007-12-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

We finally did it. We had family pictures taken, professionally that is. Thank you Liz! You did an amazing job. Here is our favorite one of Aspen. I will post more later.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

For Halloween this year, Aspen dressed up like Tiger Lily from Peter Pan. We stole the idea from Hilary. Actually, we borrowed the idea and I do mean that literally. When Hilary was a little girl, her mom made matching indian costumes for her and her sister Heather. Her mom still had the costumes, right down to the feather for their heads. It has been a tradition for both Hilary and I to dress the girls alike each year.

I finally gave in...

2007-10-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of the things Zach and I agreed upon before getting married is that one day we would get a dog. Well, after 8 years of marriage, that day finally came.
Here is the newest addition to our family. His name is Frank. Now let me start by saying Zach nor I wanted to call him Frank. That was the name he came with. We wanted to change it to Winston or Yankie, basically anything but Frank. Aspen would not go for that. His name was Frank and we were keeping it. I have found a way to cheat. I call him Frankie. He looks more like a Frankie to me with his wisps of hair and huge brown eyes. Aspen doesn't seem to mind that I call him that and occassionaly, I have heard her call him that as well.

First Day of Kindergarten

2007-09-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone tells you to enjoy your children while they are little because sooner or later they will grow up. Zach and I are still trying to figure out where the past 5 years have gone. That couldn't really be our little girl who just started kindergarten could it?
With tear fillled eyes and heavy hearts we walked Aspen into her first day of kindergarten. Of course, as far as Aspen was concerned we were nothing but excited for her. This was her big day, her day to shine. She had waited for this day for over a year and she was ready. For Zach and I that day would come much to soon. We vowed not to shed any tears in front of her. However the minute we left her in that tiny, child size desk, all bets were off. Once my tears started, they wouldn't stop. It was evident on both our faces that our hearts were breaking. Our little girl, who still seems much to young to be in school, is growing up!