Double Digit Dude

This dude is double digits.  Here are 10 things I love about him:

1. He is always passionate about something.  Currently:Origami
2. Cooper always tries to choose the right.  When he doesn't he is quick to fix it.
3. Coop is the first one to notice if I am having a bad day.  He is always looking out for me.
4. Continues to be the Lego master builder.
5. This kid loves to read.
6. He works so hard in school.  I rarely have to ask him to do homework.  He just does it and does it well.
7. Coop is an expert scrambled egg maker.
8. He has a very tender heart.
9. He can do hard things and he doesn't give up until he figures things out.
10. I get to be his mom.  Lucky me!

Love you man!

 Love this dear friend who is moving away:(

 My little grouches.

 Winter is rough but the pay off is pretty amazing.

 We have a beautiful wetlands within walking distance of our house.  We love the wildlife there.

Matt completed his 4th Marathon.  Lots of hills.  He rocked them.  Rocky got to ride part of the way with his hero.  So proud of our daddy.

Goodbye Sheffield Ave

 Mid March we found out that we had an opportunity to move to a cheaper, bigger rental home across town.  For the next 6 weeks I packed and packed.

 Meet this bad boy, the oil tank.  Many homes in New England have oil fuel to heat the home.  $700 a MONTH to fill this in the cold months.  The new place has natural gas.  Halleluiah!  I won't miss the oil tank, no sir.

 One of the great things about moving is purging.  I am always amazed how much stuff we acquire between moves. I sorted trough all of our stuff and found some great treasures.  This concise story of Coopers made us laugh.

 We had a 2 day Tag Sale.  Can you find Rocky?

 There are many things I will miss about this house.  Ruby wrote her name on this Rhododendron leaf 3 years ago.  Apparently those leaves stay on for a long time.  I will miss our neighborhood.  Our neighbors were awesome.

 I won't miss the birds that were eating our house.  When the sun came up each day the birds would get to work.  I would not have been surprised if they made it through the sheet rock.

 Rocky helped me label boxes...

 Ruby helped me fill them.

 Cooper was also a good box filler.

 So much stuff!!!

 Uhauls have great acoustics.

 We had the greatest helpers.  We moved everything over to the new house and camped at the old one for a couple of nights.

 Cooper complained about missing socks.  When we moved his mattress we found 8 of them.  Gross!

 Thanks for all the great memories Sheffield Ave!

Here's to new memories!

Let's delve into TWELVE!!!

Happy birthday to this beautiful 12 year old.
12 things I love about my Ruby Girl

1. She makes me want to be a better person.
2. The way she sticks her tongue out in all her selfies
3. I never have to get on her to do homework.  She does it on her own and does an amazing job.
4. She can figure out just about any song on the piano by ear.  Her piano skills give me goosebumps.
5. When I am having a bad day she offers to rub my head or feet.
6. She gets the hiccups when she laughs.
7. She is fun to shop with.
8. This girl loves to read more than anyone I have ever met.
9. She can get Rocky to do things that no one else can.  He adores her.  
10. She gives heart felt gifts.  She observes what is important to me and creates amazing gifts to represent them.
11. You know where you stand with Ruby.  
12. She is mine.  This girl introduced me to my dream job of being a mom.

I love you Miss Mouse!

Random shots and thoughts

 General Conference Cinnamon Rolls came and went.  This was my all time record: 21 DOZEN!  Each time I make them I swear I will never do it again.  Then when we start eating and sharing them I forget what a pain in the neck that many cinnamon rolls are and enjoy a few...or 6.  This year we had 65 people come over to our tiny house. 

During conference we get creative so the kids will stay and listen.  We snuggle, do pedicures, Lego's, or cut out snowflakes.  We tried one of those games that you eat an M&M each time you hear certain words.  Unfortunately my kids would eat 15 each time they heard a pronoun.

I love listening to conference every 6 months.  I feel like the inspired words are directed to me.  I have my battery recharged and feel like I can keep on keeping on.  I know that we have a prophet of God and modern day apostles that teach us the the things that our Heavenly Father wants us to know.

 Man that was the L.O.N.G.E.S.T. winter I can remember!  So happy for spring!

You know it was a good bath when enough dirt comes off your body to write your name in the said dirt.  Especially when your name is YODA!

Happy 1/2 birthday to this little man.  Where did my baby go?

These characters were sighted at Walmart. 

Taste test in a tee-pee with tigers.  Happy T day at preschool.

 Look who is learning to ride his bike!

 This kid will read anywhere and everywhere.  He takes a book with him wherever he goes.  LOVE THAT KID!!

Remember I mentioned how we were thrilled when the 6 month long polar vortex left us?  We have got out and enjoyed the sunshine any chance we can.

Sometimes my kids are crazy...

I don't know where they get if from.

Coop has a new obsession: ORIGAMI.  I love how he is totally into something and puts all of his efforts into that hobby.  Then he moves onto something else.  He was crazy about Rainbow loom.  Now he is an Origami expert.

Family portrait by Yoda

 Couldn't get a good shot of all of us together on Easter so here are my favorite buddy shots. 

 Happy Easter

 The world is his canvas.  It took WEEKS to get all that Sharpie out of his belly button!

 My brother Rob sent me this Kimono from his mission when I was 5.  I love that it is special to Ruby.

 Black bean avacado pizza.  Come visit me and I will take you there.