Playing in Oregon

We got back last night from a quick trip to Oregon. We had a blast with my family, but just like every time we visit our families it went way too fast. We spent all day Saturday playing at the lake on our old jet skis. It was Cooper's first time riding on a jet ski, he rode between Mason & I and he is such a wild man that he absolutely loved it. We went pretty much as fast as if he weren't on with us, and he just cheered and laughed, he didn't cry once. Anyway, we had tons of fun!

Here are a few more pictures, that weren't taken at the Lake

Happy 80th Birthday Omi!!!

Thursday was Omi's (my grandma) 80th birthday! We made a trip home to Oregon to celebrate with her. I am so grateful for Omi and the blessing she has always been in my life. She has always been such a wonderful example to me of endless faith and Christ-like love. I love you Omi!

This is a picture of all of my sisters except for the youngest 3 and me with Omi.

Cousin Buddies

Cooper missed playing with Trey & Parker, but he had so much fun with Drew this weekend while the Carters were at our house. They had the most fun spitting water over the edge of the little playground. The hose was up there by them and Drew kept filling his mouth up with water and spitting it out as far as he could, Cooper thought that it was HILARIOUS, and it wasn't long before he joined in and was spitting too. They stood there spitting for about a half an hour, they stopped of course once I tried to get a video of it. Boys, Boys, Boys we just wonder what it will be like when Janel has a little girl (the first in the family) in a few weeks. How will a girl survive with four crazy boys?

You can tell they had fun just by looking at all the toys on the floor.

178 Miles Of Fun

This weekend Mason ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay. The race started in Logan and ended in Park City, 178 miles!!! He was on Team Chasqui, with his brother, Warren & 2 brothers-in-law, Jordan & Dennis. There were 12 people on the team, each person ran 3 legs of the race. Mason's legs totaled 15 miles.

Mason's sister, Alison and her little boy, Drew stayed at our house for the race. It worked out perfect because Mason and Dennis (Alison's husband) ran back to back so we drove up to watch each of them run their first two legs of the race, and then the next day we drove up to see them cross the finish line. This was an insane race, it was through the mountains so most of it was either running up steep hills or down them. We felt pretty guilty watching all the runners kill themselves while we sat in our nice air conditioned car. The race started Friday morning and ended Saturday afternoon, the runners ran through the night, and just slept a few minutes here and there on the ground or in the van. To make things even harder, Saturday ended up being the hottest day of the year! During his first, longest leg Mason thought that he was going to throw up, but he still didn't walk, he ran every step of the way!!!

By the end Mason was limping pretty bad (he still is), he says it was one of the hardest things he's ever done but that it was a great experience. If it were me I don't think that I would ever want to run again in my life, but he says that he made him more excited about running and he just wants his legs to get better so that he can start running again. He wants to go back and try some of the other legs of the race to see if he can do them. The guys are already talking about how they want to do it again next year.

Way to go Mason and all of the other crazy people that made up Team Chasqui!

close the bathroom door...

Recently Cooper learned that he can climb onto the toilet and then onto the counter in the bathroom to turn on the water. He can do this in about two seconds flat, no joke. If the door to the bathroom is open you can bet that's where Cooper is. Well, at least some good has come of it, usually he hates brushing his teeth but apparently it's more fun when he thinks he's being naughty. This is how I found him the other day. Notice the orange marker on his cheek. My grandma says some babies turn two a little earlier than others, I think that's what happened with Cooper, even though he's really only 19 months.

Dads Are Great!

Yesterday was father's day and I didn't get a chance to do a post, so I'm doing it today.

I am so grateful for my husband and the wonderful father that he is. I remember before Cooper was born Mason was a little nervous that he wouldn't know how to be a good dad or how to take care of a baby. Well ,ever since the day Cooper was born Mason has truly been the most amazing Dad. Watching Mason with Cooper has made me fall in love with him even more. I am so grateful for this wonderful man that I married and all the sacrifices that he makes for Cooper and me. I love you Mason!

Cooper is so lucky, he has 2 wonderful Grandpas, and he has 3 great grandpas that are still alive and love him very much (unfortunately we don't have a pic w/great grandpa Casler).

Happy Father's Day!

What a Man!

How many guys do you know that can do this?

My Little Cookie Monster

Yesterday I made some cookies. They didn't really turn out because I was missing some ingredients, but that's okay Cooper sure enjoyed them. After I had taken the first batch out of the oven and they were cooling on the counter, Cooper came in with a little step stool that had been in the backyard. He put the step stool right up to the counter where the cookies were and that's where he spent the next 20 minutes or so, munching on cookies that he thought were delicious.

Where's Cooper?

The other day while I was folding laundry I noticed that it had been a little quiet for a few minutes and I couldn't see Cooper anywhere. It took me a minute but I finally found him under my bed! He was very proud of himself, and I'm happy to say that it kept him occupied while I finished folding the laundry.

Super Cooper

Every little boy has to own a pair of Super Man pajamas with a cape at some point, it's like a right of passage or something.

A good superhero cares about people. Mason bumped his head and it made Cooper VERY sad. What a good boy!

Near Death Experience

Yesterday we went to the pond to feed the ducks. I was crouching down to take a picture of Cooper when all of a sudden I hear Mason yell "Jess! Watch Out!" Well, it was too late, a giant goose (it doesn't look all that big in the picture) rammed into my back at full speed. It scared me so bad that I almost peed my pants. I'm surprised that I'm still living today to tell the story. Just kidding, but it really did scare the heck out of me. I'm just glad it didn't run into Cooper it definately would have knocked him into the water and he'd probably be scarred for life, forever terrified of ducks and geese.