Cooper is 5!

I'm not sure how 5 years have gone by since I held my little (5 lb. 12 oz.) baby in my arms. Time has gone by so quickly and Cooper has grown up to be such a great kid. This year was the first time we have let him have a party with friends. He picked to have it at Chuck-E-Cheese's and with only boys. It was very chaotic and crazy, but tons of fun.

I am so glad I get to be his mom!

My Journey

So I'm having "one of those days"...(Scratch that, and make it "one of those WEEKS") where I've let something really insignificant and silly get me down. Because this specific situation is something that continually seems to occur, I have decided that I am done letting it get to me. I have let myself get distracted by something that continually makes me sad, but really shouldn't matter. I have been given two wonderful kids and a fantastic husband who make me so happy. They are my joy, and I'm done stressing over insignificant things (and/or people) that make me feel inadequate. This is my favorite quote and it's definitely something I need to read often to keep things in perspective.

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"... Don't get distracted with a lot of things that have no meaning for you or your family. Don't dwell on your failures, but think about your successes. Have joy in your home. Have joy in your children. Have joy in your husband. Be grateful for the journey."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

A few months ago...

A few months ago I set a goal.

I worked really, really hard.

And...

I DID IT!

Crossing the finish line was the best feeling ever!

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This was not about being fast. I didn't care about my time and expected to be close to 40 minutes. I was shocked when the clock said 32.43. My only goal was to keep running the entire race and I accomplished it!

I learned a lot about myself doing this. I learned that I can do hard things that I never thought possible. In the past, I couldn't even run a few yards without being tired, so running a 5k seemed so overwhelming.. I'm so excited to keep working at it and run another one in September. Maybe someday I'll get brave and try a 10k.... but not anytime soon. : )

Wipe-out Zone

Cooper is a little (well actually, a LOT) obsessed with the show "Wipe-Out". He watches it and laughs harder than I thought a little boy could laugh. I love listening him and Derek as they watch it together. The other day when I walked into our laundry room, this is what I found. At first I thought it was some sort of food castle, but after further questioning, Cooper explained that it was a wipe-out zone for little people to do. He had it all mapped out where they start and end. It is amazing if we go a day without our family room couch cushions being turned into a wipe-out zone, but I never thought our food would become one.

Fiesta Days 2010

We love living in Spanish Fork! Fiesta Day's is always a great time to spend some time with our families. These pictures are from the parade. After being in so many parades for the campaign, it is always so nice to be able to sit and watch the parade.

I love my Cooper!

Cooper is going to make a girl very happy someday. I am one lucky lady to get all the flowers he gives to me. : )

Water Party!

The beginning of the summer I received a new calling as a counselor in the Primary. I have absolutely loved it! One of the first things I was able to help with was a water party for all of the kids. We kept it simple and my group played "duck, duck, goose" with a spray bottle. Everyone seemed to have fun, and I loved watching Cooper play with all of the other kids.

Six Flags!

Earlier this summer, we went out to visit Derek's brother and his family who had just moved to Denver. We really loved it out there. It seems like a great place to live. One of the days we were there, we went to Elitch Gardens (previously a Six Flags) and had a fantastic time together. It was a really great day with my family.

This was Jack's first amusement park ride. He must be my child, because he seemed to really enjoy everything at the park.

Baseball Lessons

Cooper has done a lot of fun things this summer. He took a 2 week art class, baseball lessons, and swimming lessons. (Although the swimming lessons were cancelled after the first day...) It was a great opportunity for Derek and Cooper to spend some fun time together. He learned all of the basics and provided some great entertainment while they attempted to play a t-ball game.

Bowling with the Nelson's

The Nelson's love to bowl! One really rainy summer day, Derek's mom planned an afternoon to go bowling together. We had a lot of fun spending the day with some of Cooper's cousins.

Cooper, Angela, Zak & Tyler

Cooper & Abbey

My 2 cute bowlers. : )

Preschool Program

Leave it to me to blog about Cooper's preschool program only a few weeks before he starts back to school. They sang a lot of fun songs and each had a little part. My camera wasn't working very well, so this the only picture we have. He is so very loved and had all 4 of his grandparents come to watch him.

He is going to Miss Amy's preschool again this year and is very exited. I was amazed at how much he learned in one short year. He really grew up a lot in the past year, and we are very thankful that he has such a great and caring preschool teacher.

Cell Phone Pictures

It has only taken over two years, but I finally figured out how to get the pictures off of my cell phone. A lot of these are really old, but here is a little of what we have been up to for the last couple years. Enjoy. : )

Cooper and Grandpa Nelson

Cooper LOVES to break-dance!

Filming of the MTV movie "American Mall". It was MTV's version of High School Musical, but if never quite caught on. They filmed it at Provo Towne Center mall, so we watch a lot of it while my mom and I would walk in the morning.

Cooper looks so little!

Cooper and Derek out of the golf course. That is still where you will find them every Friday, and sometimes every Saturday too.

Derek and his grumpy face. He will probably be mad that I posted this one. : )

Cooper and his cousin Paisley.

This is the only picture I have of my first Republican Party State Convention. That was a day I will ALWAYS remember.

Cooper moving into his "big boy bed".

This is the first time Cooper met his new cousin Jordan who had just been adopted from Morocco. Jordan wasn't too sure about us. We LOVE Jordan and Cohen!!

Playing Guitar Hero at Katie's house.

This was the night of the primary election. Jason is about to answer Chris Cannon's phone call.