Charlie Cooper

OK, this may seem odd but I thought that I should direct all of you addicted bloggers out there to a blog that will truly affect your life. It is the blog of a 10 month old baby that is overcoming meningitis and is in Primary Childrens. The infection has left him blind, deaf and with brain damage. His parents post regularly to keep everyone up to date on his progress. I have found myself addicted to this blog and I don't know why. Maybe because Mack is close to the same age, I don't know but it is worth checking out. You won't regret it, I promise. Thanks Ryan

http://www.charliecooperjackjack.blogspot.com

Easter Photo

This was the only picture we took of the kids with their Easter outfits on. We took it before church, when everyone looked fresh, but the lighting outside was not good. Once we were home, no one looked picture worthy so I am a little sad this was the best one we got, because they really looked so cute.

Easter Review

We had a hectic, but fun Easter celebration at our house this year. Emily was really into the Egg Hunt, Isac toyed with the idea of hiding the eggs instead of hunting, and Mack had no idea what was going on.



















Emily found an egg that had spilled open. She was very concerned and had to pick up EVERY SINGLE jellybean.







Will this really be the last year Isac participates in the Egg Hunt? He is growing up too fast.






















This isn't the best picture, but with that many kids it was the best we could get...I wish someone would have thought about including baby Skye!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!

Just wanted to take a minute and say Happy First Birthday to our little nephew Jackson. We hope you have a fun filled day that involves you & UNRESTRICTED access to a cake! We can't wait to see pictures!

Does he look like he needs a little moisturizer?

Emily loves to climb into Mack's crib. We used to have a rule against it but that got thrown out the window awhile ago. So the other day I went in and this is what I found...Emily had saturated his head in baby lotion. He didn't seem to mind. The next day was the same song, second verse. Sam was over and after a few minutes of not hearing any noise from them I went in and this is what I found...Mack covered in lotion again, this time courtesy of Sam! I guess maybe he will be able to tolerate alot in life and just go with the flow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ganny!!

Today is my Grandma's 78th birthday. She lives in Oklahoma and loves to check each of her grandkids' blogs so I thought I would dedicate a post to her on her special day. She is an incredible woman and has so many qualities that I admire. She really was and still is the best grandma a kid could ask for. She made our childhood happy and memorable. And she spoiled us. She let us get away with things like using her nice sheets to roll down the hill and never complaining about them getting messed up or the extra laundry. And playing with the pencil sharpeners, and going to the fair, and walks to the pond or oil well, the list could go on & on. It never seemed like we were a burden to have around and she never seemed tired or put out about having to take care of us (all 4 plus some) but was always patient when I know she had to be, at the very least TIRED. Actually I do remember her offering me $1 to take a nap. I can still feel myself lying on her bed trying so hard to go to sleep...Jen, maybe you should try that with Sam. Ganny's house was always a welcome, comforting place, literally our second home. To this day the smell of coffee and bacon make me feel like a kid at Ganny's house again. I have great memories of getting off the bus and having crackers and orange juice. And we always had to call "I get to sleep with Ganny!!" She always made sure we were taken care of and supported us by attending all of our school functions. Remember WARRIOR POWER!! She was definitely the rock of our family, always steady and sure when so many other things in our life weren't. It is scary to think about how different my life would be without the impact of my Ganny. As I have come to know and understand her from an adult perspective I am grateful for the example she is in so many areas. She didn't have the easiest childhood yet she overcame the obstacles she faced and I believe some of those experiences contributed to her unique perspective in taking care of us. She was married to my grandpa for over 50 years even though there were probably times when they could have gotten a divorce like so many people do, but they showed that you just suck things up and stay together. I would like to think that she instilled a good work ethic in me. I may not always be working but when I am, I am really working. My grandma exposed us to many different religions. We attended Mennonite Bible school and Southern Baptist revivals and never thought twice about it. I am grateful that I had first hand experience with people of other faiths so that I understand that they are people too, and good people at that. We are all just trying to do the best we can. Now even at 78 my grandma goes on several Faith Medical Missions to third world countries every year. She sews for a western shirt company, Mo'Betta (Garth Brooks wears them) and keeps busy with lots of other things. We have always told her that she can never get old and at this rate she's not going to. We all love & miss you Ganny and hope you have a great day!!

Husband Tag

What is your husbands name? Ryan Scott Harvey

How long have you been together? We celebrated our 5 year Anniversary in December & are coming up on the anniversary of meeting six years ago next month.

How long did you date? We are still dating!! But it was from April to December so 8 months.

Who eats more? Umm...you would probably guess Ryan but it might be closer than we think.

Who said I love you first? I honestly don't remember...I hope that doesn't hurt Ryan's feelings.

Who is taller? Ryan but not by that much.

Who has more speeding tickets? I have only gotten 1, I'm not sure about Ryan but I don't think he would have more than 1 or 2.

Who is smarter? Book smarts, current events, etc. I am probably smarter. Ryan knows alot of random things that I don't have a clue about, mostly man things like houses, cars, the body and I am glad he does!! Oh and he maintains at least a 3.8 GPA in school so he is book smart too.

Who is more sensitive? Definitely me, although he can be sensitive about weird things sometimes, I think I have him beat.

Who does the laundry? I do...it is a job I actually like to do. But I wish he would fold his own garments...he likes them paired & rolled together...very time consuming.

Who does the dishes? Ryan use to do them more but now that he is hardly ever home I usually do them. But it is a job that he is good at helping with when he notices it needs to be done.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? What kind of a question is this? Ryan does but I'm not sure that it matters.

Who pays the bills? I do but I would like it to be a joint endeavor!

Who mows the lawn? Have you seen our lawn? I have never mowed it. I don't mind mowing, but it seems like a few of the summers I have had a newborn baby!

Who cooks dinner? I do, we are lucky if Ryan is even home to eat with us.

Who drives when you are together? Ryan but we are such different drivers I wish he would drive a little more cautiously when we are together!

Who is more stubborn? This depends on the issue. We both have our issues!

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? I am never wrong so it must not be me! J/K!! I definitely admit it first!

Who's parents do you see more often? Mine- We see my dad every weekend, my mom 2-3 times a month. And unfortunately we only see Ryan's mom & dad a couple times a year. (Cathy you need to move closer SOON!)

Who has more siblings? I have more full-blood siblings-1 brother & 2 sisters. Ryan has 1 full sister, 3 half sisters, 2 half brothers & a handful of step -siblings.

Who has more friends? Most of our friends are mutual so we're probably even.

Who wears the pants in the family? We both wear the pants or at least we both think we do.

Who eats more sweets? I am addicted to sugar in any form...Ryan is addicted to soda so it probably equals out.

Guilty pleasures? Discovery Channel & talk radio especially Glen Beck.

How did you meet? We are an internet success story. We really meet on LDS Singles. Funny huh.

Who asked who out first? Ryan invited me to go see David Copperfield for our first date. I guess you could say he worked his 'magic' from the very beginning.

Who kissed who first? This tag is a little junior high schoolish...he did.

Who proposed? Do girls really propose? Ryan took me on a trip to Northern California to see where he served his mission. I thought he was going to propose but by the end of the trip he hadn't so I was beginning to think he wasn't going to. But we went on a hike to this cliff overlooking the ocean at sunset and it was there that he asked me to spend forever with him. I know it sounds a little cheesy but it was perfect and it is such a happy memory. He did a great job!

Best Feature? His baby face & rosy cheeks!

Best personality trait? His giving, compassionate, caring nature. It covers alot of area.

Pet names? I call him Lovie & Daddy (want to be one of those old people with grown kids that still call their husband Daddy!) and he calls me Honey.

Where do I see us in 15 years? Finished with school hopefully, living in our dream house in the country with 5 kids and maybe a grand baby ( hard to believe we could be grand parents in 15 years but Isac will be 25!!)

What is my favorite thing about him? There are things about Ryan that drive me absolutely crazy but when it comes down to it I wonder how I got so lucky to end up with such a wonderful man. Thanks for sharing your life with me Lovie!! I love you!

Now I tag Jill, Emily, Tammy, & Sheri (if she ever rejoins the blogging world!)

The 3rd Child

I always worry about posting a balanced amount of info and pictures for each kid.  So here is a picture of Mack for no other reason than that he is such a cute boy!!

Emily's 'broken' nose pics

I know these pictures are weird but I am posting them for out of town family members who have been concerned about Emily's nose.  They don't capture exactly how it looked, her lip was busted pretty good but since she always smiles for the camera you can't really tell and all of the blood is cleaned up (the scariest part was that she was bleeding out her eyes).  She had a little swelling & bruising the next day.  You can't even tell anything ever happened now, thank goodness.

Sorry to confuse so many people...this happened about 3 weeks ago.  Emily was racing Isac to the couch and tripped and went face first into the wooden leg of our couch.  We are pretty sure that she broke it, but after calling the doctor they said there wasn't really anything they could do for a broken nose.  But it was pretty traumatic for everyone...I hate blood & never know what to do, Isac felt awful because he thought it was his fault, and Ryan, who is usually the rock in situations like this was practically beside himself since it was 'his little girl' who was hurt & bleeding, and obviously Emily was a little upset too.  Ryan's mom and sisters have been so worried about it so I posted the pictures for them, but she is fine now, sorry for the drama.

RED Blue & Gold Banquet

This year the cub scout's Blue & Gold Banquet theme was Chinese New Year.  Several of the leaders served their missions in China and they did a great job teaching the boys a little about Chinese culture and how they celebrate the new year.  They served yummy sweet n'n sour chicken and fried rice...much better than hot dogs.  It is tradition that each scout makes a cake with their dad that corresponds with the theme.   Isac wanted me to post a picture of his cake.  It was a hit not only because it looked cool, it tasted good too...how can you go wrong with oreos, cream cheese, and Cool Whip filling?  Ryan did not do the writing...I will take the credit for that.  It says "Year of the Rat" &  "Isac", or at least that is what it was suppose to say. 

Emily loves Troy

Conversation with Emily.

Emily: "Mom yook I cool yike Troy." 

Amy: "Wow, you sure are."

Emily: "Yeah, Troy weally cool yike that."

I think Emily is going to be very disappointed and upset when she realizes she can't marry her Uncle Troy.

Mack's freaky rash

With all of Mack's weird issues lately I don't know what to think about this kid.  He broke out in a rash all over his body and face on Friday.  I was afraid he was having an allergic reaction to amoxacillen but according to Dr. Doug that is usually hives, not red bumps.  It went away eventually so who knows what the problem was, but he sure looked pathetic.  These pictures don't even look close to what it was like in real life. 

Announcing the arrival of SKYE WALKER

My brother Jeff, and his wife Nellie had their fourth baby girl last week on the 20th.  They named her Skye Walker and she weighed in at a whooping 9lbs. 6oz. and measured 22 1/2 in. long.  She hardly seems like a newborn.  She is absolutely beautiful and we are so excited to have another niece & cousin and Amy is especially pleased to share her birthday month with such a special girl.  We can't wait to see what mark Skye will make on the world.

Happy Birthday Jared!!

Today is our brother-in-law Jared's 29th Birthday!  Before we know it he is going to be an old man, so we thought we would take a minute and give a shout out to Jared on his special day.  I am and always will be the only daughter-in-law since Ryan is the only son.  For now only one of Ryan's sisters is married, so Jared is the only other in-law.  This creates a special bond between the two of us  at family gatherings because if things start to get a little weird (no offense guys) we can relish in the fact that both of us are just along for the crazy ride.  Anyways Jared is a great guy, an A+ husband, a wonderful dad, and a fun Uncle Vince, even if he is a little fishy!  

Reminders from a 9 year old

Reminder #1 Be proud of what you do.

For Valentine's Day each kid in Isac's 4th grade class was suppose to decorate a box at home to put their Valentine's in at the class party.  Not having alot of time to micro-manage everything Isac does, he was turned loose on this project all by himself.  I thought he was quite capable of doing it on his own.  This is what he came up with.  It is about the size of a briefcase or small suitcase, covered in brown shipping paper, regular tape, and my personal favorite-duct tape.  He cut a flap out of the front and fashioned a handle on top out of duct tape.  Then he really jazzed it up by drawing a big heart on the back in pencil that is barely visible and spelled out his name in stickers on the inside of the flap and put 4 heart stickers in various places.  He was and still is so proud of his 'mailbox'.  He made Emily one out of a shoe box and they had fun mailing letters to each other.  The next day I had a hard time letting him go to school with it.  Kids can be so mean and I didn't want him to get teased but I didn't say anything.  So after Ryan took him to school and I saw the box sitting on the kitchen table, forgotten, I wasn't about to rush it up to the school.  Little did I know Isac would realize he left it behind and promptly return for it.   So the briefcase box made it to school and served it's purpose, and came home filled with cards and candy.  And Isac didn't get teased.  When I asked him if anyone said anything about his box he said totally indifferent "Well I didn't exactly get any compliments on it."  Why was I so worried?  Now I don't think I want to throw the thing away....

Reminder #2 Don't worry about what you wear.

Last week Isac came upstairs dressed in this outfit.  I realize it is not that bad but I have this thing about blue and in my mind there are strict rules about how different shades of blue can or cannot go together.  Not wanting to make a big deal about it, since he was dressed I couldn't really complain, I casually got him a different shirt that matched better.  After I handed it to him he looked up at me and said, "Mom, school is not a fashion show.  You don't have to wear stuff that blends all the way from your shirt to your pants down to your shoes."  I couldn't really argue with that.  So I will just be glad that for now he isn't caught up in how he looks and what brands he is wearing and hope that he can stay that way.  

Our Valentine Sweethearts

We had a nice Valentine's Day and hope everyone else did too.  Ryan had school so he wasn't home all day but the kids and I dined on heart shaped pizzas and then made goodies and took them around to friends, single people and elderly in our neighborhood.  Isac and Emily both enjoyed delivering the treats.  It is tradition that Ryan gets us each a personalized chocolate heart from Mrs. Cavanaugh's and this year Emily was so excited about hers.  Shortly after breakfast she pushed a chair over to the counter, got her heart and went to her bedroom and closed the door.  That is always a sign that something suspious is happening so I asked "Emily where are you?"  "No where!"  was her response.  I opened the door and there she was chowing down on her chocolate.  Funny girl, and she was even "nice" enough to share it with Mack.     

I thought I WAS a princess...I had glass slippers!!

As I was putting Emily to bed tonight out of no where she said "Mommy, you not a princess."  

I was curious as to what exactly that meant so I asked "Is JJ a princess?"  (JJ is my older sister Jen, Sam's mom.)  Emily responded with a giggle "Nooo."  Still confused I asked "Is Dawn-Dawn a princess?"  (This is my younger sister Arin who has no kids.)  Emily's face lit up and she said with a little attitude "Yeah!"  At this point I thought I might be on to something so I asked "Is Aunt Cindy a princess?"  (Cindy is also childless.)  This question got the same response, "Yeah!"  That confirmed what she was trying to get across...I have turned into a FRUMPY mom and I guess Jen has too.  Thanks Emily.

Science Fair

Last week Isac participated in the Science Fair at school.  For his project we took swabs of the toilet, trash can, and a few other places around the house and grew bacteria samples from them.  We then tested which household cleaners would kill the germs the best.  Bleach, Lysol, and antibacterial hand soap all worked but regular dish soap did not.  We all had fun and are proud of Isac (and Ryan) for the work he did.  He didn't move on to the District Fair but our friend  Katrina K. did. Her project tested which toilet paper is most absorbent  with Kroger brand suprisingly winning.  I thought we would

share some pictures of the project. These lovely germ samples came from our Toilet and Trash Can...

I've been Triple Tagged

I have been tagged 3 separate times with 3 different tags and I haven't responded to any of them yet.  But I had a minute tonight and thought I would start with the easiest one from my friend Tammy.  The ABC's...

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Ryan & my sisters
C-Cake or Pie: Fresh Peach Pie
D- Day of Choice: Tuesday
E- Essential Item: Being able to take a shower.  I know it's not an "item" but I can't live without it.
F- Favorite Color: Green
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Either...it's sugar right
H- Hometown: Chickasha, Oklahoma
I- Indulgence(s): Reading
J- January or July: July could we get some warm sun...I am tired of snow
K-Kids: Isac, Emily, Mack and does Ryan or my Dad count?
L-Life is incomplete without: Family
M- Marriage Date: December 5, 2002
N- Number of Siblings: 3
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P- Phobias or Fears: I am always afraid someone is under my bed (Michael Meyers) or car.
Q- Quote(s): "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Ghandi
R- Reason To Smile: Ryan is home and all the kids are asleep.
S- Season: Spring, how much longer...
T- Tag Six: I know there are lots of tags going around so if any of you that check my blog want to participate I would love to read your ABC's
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I'm a Democrat and I consider myself more liberal than conservative
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I like meat as long as I don't think about what I'm eating
W- Worst Habit: Not answering the phone.
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds
Y- Your Favorite Food: good BBQ from various hole in the wall restaurants
Z: Zodiac: Aquarius

Happy Birthday Katie

Today is Ryan's baby sister Katie's 16th Birthday!!  It is hard to believe she is turning 16.  She was 10 when I met her and that just seems weird since Isac will be 10 in April.  Anyways we just wanted to wish Katie a Happy Sweet 16 Birthday and warn anyone who may be driving in Oregon to watchout!!  We love you Katie!!

SPLISH SPLASH Mack's 1st big boy bath

Mack finally graduated to the big bathtub.  Actually let me rephrase that...Mack outgrew his baby bathtub awhile ago and I finally moved him to the big tub.  He seemed to enjoy the extra room...he was pretty cramped before and he loved to splash.  We are going to have to figure out a better way to wash and rinse his hair though.  He wasn't thrilled about the water being poured over his head.  

Emily's First cut and color by Sam

So earlier this week I ran over at my sister Jen's house to pick something up.  It was suppose to be a quick trip...run in, run out.  However, we started talking and the kids wandered off downstairs.  This normally wouldn't be a big deal but Jen is a hairstylist and has a salon in her basement.  By the time we went down there it was too late...Sam had poured a tub of powdered bleach over Emily's head, sprayed it with a water bottle, and caked pomade on it.  Jen had a doctors appointment to go to so we weren't able to rinse it out right then.  By the time I got home it was too late and the damage had already been done.  There were 3 bleached orange spots- a circle right on top, an oval, and a strip across the back, as you can see in the first picture.  When I combed it out hair started falling out in clumps and I thought I was going to be sick.  Ryan was home and I was even more afraid of what his reaction would be when he saw his precious little girls hair in a pile on the side of the bathtub.  Surprisingly he wasn't upset at all, just amused by the whole thing.  Thankfully Jen has awesome color skills and was able to fix the color so that now you would never know it was ever orange.  However when she blow dried it 1 inch sections of hair started sticking up and we realized that the we were so focused on the color drama we hadn't even noticed it had been cut.  We asked Emily while she was still in Jen's chair if Sam cut her hair.  She proudly said, "NO, Emmie do it all by myself."  She proceeded to show us exactly how she turned on the clippers and then lifted the clippers right to the bald spots.   That is the only part that is still noticeable.  We are glad we can say it could have been worse.... 

Christmas 2007

Could Santa have brought anything as cute as this?Stockings are the best part.
We are waiting for the year Isac refuses to wear footed pajamas.  It is surprising it has gone on this long but he still loves them. 
Emily and her new PINK cowgirl boots.  Now she can be just like Woody.
Mack got a Bumbo chair for Christmas and I swear the next day he could sit up on his own with out support.  What a waste...too bad Christmas wasn't in July.  

Is that Rambo?  No it's just Isac showing off his new airsoft guns. 

We apologize for the long delay in posting these.  Ryan got i Life 08 for Christmas and it has taken us a little while to figure out how to find the pics and now we are playing blog catch up.  

Could we please have a holiday where no one throws up

It seems like someone in our household has been sick or recovering from a bug for most of the major holidays for the past 2 years.  This is such a bummer since eating yummy food is such a major part of most holidays.  This year Isac decided to carry on the tradition.  After everyone went home on Christmas, Isac thought it would be cool to keep all of the glass bottles from the sparkling cider, several of which were over half full.  For some reason the thought never occurred to him that he could pour out the remaining bubbly, so he went ahead and finished off all 8 bottles without us knowing it.   It didn't take long for the throw up to start.  Now he shutters at the sight of  a bottle and I don't think he will be drinking any for a long time.  

A few Christmas highlights...finally

We took the kids to see the lights at Temple Square with Ryan's sister Cindy and Fadi.  Then they treated us to dinner at the Gateway.
Emily with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Fadi.  
Isac wearing his rebellious BYU visor.  
We felt like horrible parents dragging Mack out into the  cold, but I think he ended up being the warmest of all.  
Riding the "train" to Temple Square...Isac and Emily loved it.  
Emily posing with Aunt Cindy.  
Mack had lots of fun playing with his cousin Jackson at Ryan's dad's Christmas get together.  We wish they got to see each other  more often.