LiOnS, and TiGeRs, and BeArS- OH MY!

Alright, it was just lions but still pretty cool right? Justin had to go to Vegas for work so Coop and I decided to hitch a ride since we always miss Justin and we needed a break from the snow. While we were there Justin went to somebody's house who worked with the lions at the MGM, he actually got attacked a few weeks ago-yeah, while people were watching! Scary! But anyway, he told us that they feed them at 8pm every night and to go because that's the only time they do anything, otherwise they sleep. So, we took Coop and went. He loved it! The crew throws balls of ground meat at the glass right in front of the kids so the lions lick it off and they get to see them. He thought it was pretty funny. Sticking a meat soaked hand in a lions mouth wouldn't exactly be my dream job but it was pretty cool to watch and no one was attacked while we were there!

This is supposed to be a video of them feeding the lion but I'm not what you would call 'computer savvy' so I guess it will just be a pic (Jackie I will probably be giving you a call!)

We also made a few trips to the park while Justin was working. Not exactly warm, but so nice ot get some sun and be outside! Thanks Todd and Kim for lettin us crash at your house. Don't you love how Coop goes down the slide? He puts the skids on if he gets going too fast! =)

2 year check up

Length: 36" 85th percentile

Weight: 24.4 lbs 10th percentile

Head Circ: 47.2cm 10th percentile

He's still tall and skinny! Where that gene came from nobody knows but hopefully it will stay with him. He got one shot and didn't cry, not one tear! I couldn't believe it! So he got to pick a sucker and I'm pretty sure that erased all the bad feelings about the doctors office. Kids...

Look Who's

TWO!

~Not even 24 hrs old!~

~About 4mos~

~One year~

~Crazy at 2!~

~They grow up so fast!~

We had cake and ice cream at our house for Coop's birthday and it was a blast. He loved all the presents, especially his Cars Laptop, and we had fun with all our family and friends. Thanks everyone! We can't believe he is already 2. I swear he was just born yesterday.

IT'S A...

GIRL!

Our cute little girl's profile

We had our 20wk ultrasound yesterday and found out that we are going to be having a little girl! We are so excited and I do know what we are going to name her but I will let that be a surprise for when she is born.

During the ultrasound we also found out that our precious little girl is going to have some very tough times ahead of her. Hopefully I will be able to write all of this and still see the computer screen! The ultrasound went fine and when she was about finished she asked if there was anything she hadn't looked at that we wanted to see. I couldn't think of anything and was ready to jump up but Justin asked about her arms. It hadn't occured to me that we hadn't yet seen them. I just figured it was because of how she was laying. When she looked around for a little bit she said, "Ok Lindy, let me just explain some of the things I saw" I knew something was wrong. Apparently her arms have not developed normally. She has one arm that goes to her elbow with 2 fingers on it. The other arm is shorter, they are not sure by how much but it looks like about half the size and it was too hard to see whether or not she will have fingers on that arm. She called over to the hospital and got us in with a specialist and a second ultrasound to verify what she had seen. She just said she hoped that she had made a mistake but I knew she hadn't.

The Specialist looked at the second x-ray and then did one of his own and explained again what he saw to us. They don't know what the cause is or why it happened. Justin's brother actually, from what we can see on the ultrasound, has about exactly the same thing. It is very rare and they don't think that it is genetic but Justin and I have a feeling genes might have something to do with it. I know I hadn't taken any medication since being pregnant but I was teriffied it was because I hadn't taken prenatal pills all that great but he assured us that definitley wasn't it. Wee are thankful that everything else looks ok. It's comforting to have Justin's brother in the family because he can do everything so that helps us know that she probably will be able to also.

I don't think all of the tears are necessarily dried, although today has been much easier than yesterday. Thanks to our family and friends who are so supportive and loving. We know that this is Heavenly Father's plan and are just thankful for the opportunity to have this sweet little girl come into our lives. It's hard for me to ask for things but I will ask for your prayers in behalf of our baby. We are ok but we are just praying that she will have the strength of spirit and character to get through all of the struggles we know she will inevitably endure. Again thanks to those who are constantly lifting us up. We love you all

Thankful

I was reading a friend's blog who is an adoptive mother and I just have to recognize how thankful I am for the kid(s) that I have. I never knew before having Cooper how much you could really love somebody. I love my family and I love my husband but nothing is like the love that a parent has for their child. Even now when Cooper reaches out to hug or kiss me it almost makes me cry. How blessed am I to have been entrusted, even for just a little while, with this precious little spirit. How blessed to know that I get to teach and take care of him. Even with all the stresses and messes it is the best thing that I have ever been able to do. I feel my Heavenly Father's love more because I have him. How sad for those people who think their careers and personal aspirations are more important than their children. They will never know the joy that they could have no matter how much money or fame they acquire. Thanks to those who constantly remind me of this.

Jazz vs. Cavaliers

We went on a date night with a few of our friends to the Jazz vs. Cavaliers game. We sat about 6 rows from the top but it was still so fun to be there. We were pretty sad the Jazz didn't win but there were some amazing plays by Lebron and the boys (and the Jazz to of course). It's always fun to go support our team!

High School Tag

Ok, I am a such a nerd and wasn't tagged with this but it was so dang funny on my sister-in-law's blog that I stole it (sorry Andrea!) Definitely brings back lots of memories and makes me laugh!

1. Did you date someone in high school? Yes.
2. What kind of car did you drive? Unfortunately none, except if you count the green Saturn that was supposed to be mine but I didn't have a license (uh-oh)
3. Did you pass your driver's license test the first time? Of course.
4. Were you a party animal? Not unless you count h.t.ing at BYU approved housing at 2:30am
5. Were you considered a flirt? Never.
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Nope
7. Were you a nerd? I wish I would have been
8. Were you on any varsity teams? No
9. Did you ever get suspended or expelled? No
10. Can you still sing your fight song? I should be able to considering how much we sang it but no
11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mrs. Brown and you gotta love Schoonover
12. Where did you sit at lunch? Commons, Taco Bell, football field
13. School mascot: Bulldogs baby
14. School colors: Kelly green and white
15. Did you go to homecoming and who with? Yes, Geoff Brown Jr. year and Alex Scobell Sr year
16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Yeah, I would do a lot of things different but high school was pretty fun
17. What do you remember most about graduation? Not much.
18. Where did you go on Senior Skip Day? I don't think we had one.
19. Were you in any clubs? Clubs? With sports med but now I can't remember its name
20. Have you gained weight since then? Uh yeah. Unfortunately.
21. Who was your prom date? Dan Stevenson, Matt Goddard
22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Probably, I would have gone to my 5 but they are gay and sent e-mails instead of real invites. Seriously whose e-mail is the same as when they were in high school?
23. Did you have a job while in high school? Janitor and telemarketing
24. Worst class? Chemistry
25. Favorite class? Sports Medicine and First Aid

Ok I nominate Jackie, Alexis, and Marianne. Have fun!

It's True!

We are having a baby! I guess I should officially announce it on the blog since I have the little widget of a floating baby-yes I am pregnant and due June 27, 2009, 2 days before Justin's birthday. I am 18 weeks right now so that's about 1/2 way. CrAZy! It has gone by so fast. This pregnancy has been quite a bit different than Coop. I haven't been as sick but now it is mostly at night. I'm ready for bed at like 10 o'clock! We are going to find out what it is Feb. 4th. Cooper doesn't know what is going on yet. I tell him, "Mommy has a baby in her tummy!" and he looks at my stomach and says, "Where'd it go?" So, maybe when the baby gets bigger but that would be a pretty hard concept for such a little kid! The baby is moving quite a bit now which I love-that's the best part about being pregnant. We are excited and wanted to share the news!

Baby's first picture (abt 10wks). Cute huh? It is a profile with the head on the left, little tummy, and one little leg. Can't wait to meet them!

Winter Fun

Oh baby-here I go!

We had to keep his face warm somehow on the snowmobile

He loves to be pulled around on the sled

We're BaAck!

Alright, I have been the biggest slacker with this blogging thing but we finally got a new computer (before Christmas but that can count as "just" right?) so that we can download the pics directly onto it. Before we had an ancient laptop from the 1990's so that is a major improvement. So, hopefully now that things have settled down after the holidays we can start the blogging once again. Lots has happened and we've done tons of fun stuff this summer and winter but I won't try to catch up or I will never get to the present. Anyway, we are finally back and ready for action. Sorry to those of you who lost interest like 6mos ago when we kind of fell into the black hole! But enjoy

Bear Lake 2008

We LOVE Bear Lake! It's definitely one of my, maybe even my favorite, trips of the year. We get to swim, play mini golf, dodge the Bear Lake Monster, and wakeboard (my favorite). We were even able to put Coop to bed and go boarding at sunset. Can't get much better than that. We go with Justin's whole family and it's a blast! We even saw Elder L. Tom Perry there. He walked by and it was all I could do to stop myself from suffocating him in a hug. I had a pic but once again it got erased. Seriously, so mad

Such a stud. Even while he's chasing the seagulls. One of his favorite pastimes.

Haylie and Cooper are only about 5mos apart and have fun playing together~especially if they are making trouble. They chased the birds, tore all of the tassles off of a little girls bike and jumped like monkeys on anything they could find.

Cooper was also very concerned about the sand on his arm that he couldn't seem to get off. We had a blast and even survived family pics! I can't wait to go back next year!!!

p.s. I really do have a husband but for some reason we are never in the same place to get pics at the same time!

6 years and counting...

Happy Anniversary Baby!

For our 6th anniversary we stayed at Anniversary Inn in the Jungle Safari room. It was pretty cool. The trunk of the elephant was a shower that went into a jacuzzi tub and the bed was set up in a tree with a waterfall coming down it. We got to go to dinner and a movie and sleep in! It was awesome. We had some other cool pics but they got erased from my camera and I was so mad! Oh well, that's why one year olds shouldn't play with them. I can't believe it's been that long but it has been awesome and we're looking forward to many more.

Independence Day

We went to the annual parade in Provo, which Cooper loved! I thought he would be running everywhere but I guess there was enough to keep him entertained that he just stayed put with me and sprayed people with the water gun! We also had a picnic in the park where they played in the little pond, and watched Thanksgiving Point fireworks. It was fun. Hopefully next year Justin won't have to work during the day!

ThE zOo

We had so much fun at the zOo with Hayden, Haylie, Andrea and Grandma Milne! The kids loved the animals, the zoo train and squirting each other with water guns. It was a great day. We will definitely do it again next year.

Forget taking a picture, they are ready to get started!

Spraying Grandma with the water gun (I love that picture)

The giraffe's were so cool. They even had a pretty new baby one


Luckily we didn't have to heed this warning


Coop a little nervous about the water spraying elephant

June

June was a great month! We had my 25th birthday (I know I'm so old!), Justin's 28th birthday (at least I'm not as old as him) and lots of other fun summer activities to keep us entertained. Here are a few pics from June...

Cooper discovered his LOVE of lawnmowers. Seriously he talks about them at least 3 times a day!


We had fun swimming with the cousins

Justin's annual birthday pool party/BBQ

top: Devin, Mike, Becky

bottome: Justin, Lindy, Cooper, Kristin, Vance, Barbara, Hannah, Matt