Cooper is 4!!!

Cooper turned 4 on August 26th. He was so excited for his birthday. It is all he would talk about for months. From a list of things he wanted to the many different themed parties he wanted it was all we heard. Finally, his birthday had arrived. Here is a little bit of a conversation I had with him that morning: Me: "Cooper, Happy Birthday!" "Guess how old you are today?" "You're 4 years old." Cooper: "No, I'm not big enough." It was so funny and very cute. He really didn't believe he was 4. I guess he expected to wake up a foot taller. Finally, after some convincing he realized that he was 4 and is now very proud of it.

This year, it happened that we would be driving to Arizona on Cooper's birthday. The first picture is of Cooper after opening his first present in the car. When we arrived at Grandpa and Grandma's house it was decorated for the occassion. After a yummy dinner, Jared, Christy, Zach and Connor came over to celebrate Cooper's birthday. It was a very fun day and we really enjoyed spending it with family.

Just a couple of things about Cooper: he is the best big brother a sister could ask for. He is always asking her how she is doing and helping her with things. He is always concerned about her and always excited to play with her. He is very helpful around the house. He loves to sing (when he doesn't think anyone is listening) and is 100% boy. He loves cars, trucks, dinosaurs and Transformers. He is caring and sweet, always telling Mike and I that he loves us and always surprising us with hugs and kisses. Cooper we love you and are so happy you are our boy!

Cooper waiting patiently for the present opening to begin.

Cooper surveying the goods.

Cooper and Daddy. (So Cute!!!)

Finally, present time!

The cake! Thank you Grandpa and Grandpa Nielsen for getting this awesome cake!

Cooper blowing out the candles with Connor's help.

A visit to Utah

Just last month my cousin blessed her baby in St. George (sorry no photos). We met my parents and sister for the occassion and had a lot of fun. It was so nice to able to see family we haven't seen in a very long time. The kids had a blast swimming and playing with extended cousins. After the quick weekend the kids and I drove up to Salt Lake with my parents while Mike made the drive back to California. It is beautiful this time of year and the kids loved spending their time outside hiking around my parent's house. Here are some of the photos. As you can see their views are pretty amazing!

Grandma, Cooper and Cody showing us the way to the creek.

What can I say about Kamryn . . . when she puts her mind to something, there is no changing it! We kept trying to tell her she could just go around, but she wanted to scale the fence.

Nothing like taking a hike with your Elmo backpack stuffed with Woody and Jessie toys.

I'm pretty sure this was the kids favorite part of the hike. They loved the water. Just as a note this is very cold water, as in just melted snow cold.

Of course Kamryn could't throw a small stone into the water, she had to find one of the biggest ones she could pick up.

Grandma teaching Kamryn all about the mountains.

Kamryn is 2!!!

Kamryn turned 2 on August 1st. She is getting so old and has pretty much decided that she is a little woman now. Gone are the toddler days. She is one tough cookie and very opinionated. She let's you know what she wants and most certainly what she doesn't. She is so funny and love, love, loves her Daddy and Cooper. She loves Mickey Mouse and surprisingly Dino Dan. Thanks to her brothers obsessions with dinosaurs she can now name 3-4 of them by name. I was shocked when she came downstairs with a dinosaur and said "brachiosaurus". Kamryn, we LOVE you so much and couldn't imagine life without your sweet little spirit and crazy personality!

After celebrating their birthdays in Phoenix before the big move, we decided to keep it simple. Just cake (the best Red Velvet EVER!!), ice cream and presents.

Kamryn's favorite present . . . the cozy coupe!

Disneyland

While Mike's family was here visiting in July, we went to Disneyland. The kids had SO MUCH FUN! (Although one day was not nearly enough time to see everything with all of the crowds.) Cooper is still talking about Big Thunder Mountain Roller Coaster and the Jungle Cruise and can't wait to go back. Luckily, he is now 42" tall which means he can ride everything at Disneyland except for Indiana Jones. He rode Big Thunder Mountain 3 times in a row and another roller coaster twice. He loved pretty much every ride . . . except Pirates of the Caribbean and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (I guess they were just too scary).

A family pic just before the Jungle Cruise.

Another Jungle Cruise pic.

Cooper and Kamryn playing Goofy's piano.

Kamryn checking out Goofy's house.

Kamryn and I waiting in line to see Mickey Mouse.

After waiting in line for awhile, we finally saw Mickey Mouse! As I am sure most of you know Kamryn loves Mickey and all of his buddies. She was very excited to see him and throughout the day she pointed out every character she saw by name.

We can't forget about the hats . . . the kids were able to pick a toy, etc. as a souvenir to take home. This is what Cooper chose:) He loved this hat and insisted on getting it. And honestly it was so funny, how could we resist?

Kamryn's choice . . . this is what started it all. How cute is she in this hat? And I kid you not, I tried and tried to get her to pick something else. But when a 1 year old keeps saying Donald Duck hat, how can you say no?

Fun with Addison

Just a couple of pictures of Cooper and Addison being silly:)