Big News, Little News

Okay, so I know it has been forever since I have updated my blog.  I haven't felt like writing much.  I'm sorry.  We are staying busy every day and honestly, it's been hard to make the time for the blog.

We have lots of news around here though.  First:  the less exciting news.  (I'm going to make you read the whole dang blog before I tell you the big news.)

Carissa has been really into starting conversations lately.  She'll say "I have a new baby cat." or "I have a boo-boo."  She really wants everybody to know about the cat and the last time she got a scratch or a mosquito bite.  She is funny and sneaky.  She doesn't always tell the truth and when Maleah tells on her for lying she says "Sissy call me lie, lie, lie!!!" We have had a lot of conversations about what the truth is, what a lie is, etc.  She doesn't seem to care.

Maleah has been doing swimming lessons this month and has improved tremendously over just a short period of time.  Her teacher says that she has a "perfect kick" and she her strokes have gotten a lot better.  She loves to swim and is getting pretty good at it.  We are very proud of her.  She is getting very excited about 1st grade and is actually ready for school to start.  She misses her friends and is excited to see who her teacher will be.  Both of the girls have amazing tans going on.  It doesn't take too many times in the pool or too many rides in the convertible, even with sunscreen, for both of the girls to have a glowing tan.  I think Carissa's hair is blonder than ever too.

Speaking of the convertible, I have officially changed her name from Elle Woods to Sally.  Whenever I mentioned Elle Woods in conversation, it sounded like I said Elwood.  And honestly, not too many people remembered Elle Woods from Legally Blonde and then I had to explain it.  So one day I heard the Mustang Sally song and was like "why didn't I name my car that??"  So I changed it.  There was no paperwork at the courthouse to complete or anything so it all happened pretty quick (like in one second). 

In other Carissa news, she can now ride a scooter like nobody's business.  She rides Maleah's old scooter through the house and she is every bit as good on one as Maleah was at the age of two.  They amaze me on those things.  I need to take some pictures of it.

So that is pretty much all of our "little news" and here is our big news:  Mini Cooper #3 is due in March.  Yay!  We are so excited!  I am not very far along yet but my due date is March 22, Maleah's 7th birthday.  Carissa's birthday is March 26 so if this baby comes the week it is supposed to it is going to be a crazy week for birthdays in our house.  But for all of you who actually know me, know that I never have my babies when they are supposed to be here.  They are always early.  This is the first baby to actually be due in March (Maleah was due in May, Carissa in April) so the chances that it is born in March aren't really that great.  We'll see though.  Right now, I am very tired, very hungry, and nautious, which is not a good combination.  The extreme heat that we're having is not helping.  Even though I don't feel very good I am still happy to be blessed with another baby. 

That is really all I can think of for today.  I have had some complaints about not enough blog updates so I promise I will do better, especially since I'll have much more to report on now.  See, just when I was running out of good writing material on my Mini Coopers, God sent me another one. 

Summer Fun: Part 2

We have been having so much fun this summer.  Two weeks ago our town had a Fishing Derby for kids at Charley Brown Park.  During the derby they held a Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher look-a-like contest.  Maleah really wanted to be in the Becky Thatcher (she was Tom's girlfriend) Contest.  So she and I went to Joann's Fabric a few weeks ago and bought some really pretty red fabric and a pattern.  I had never made a complete dress by myself before.  I've made lots of quilts and aprons over the years but never anything as complicated as a pioneer dress.  Apparently I bit off more than I could chew because the two weeks that I had to make the dress flew by.  It was hard to stay out of the pool and not to go on bike rides because I needed to be sewing.  So, guess what?  I didn't get the dress finished.  I did have a Plan B though.  Plan B was to call my friend Tracy (Yay Tracy!  You made the blog!) and borrow a dress that her daughter had worn a few years ago to Pioneer Day at her school.  Tracy brought me the borrowed dress and I was surprised to see that it was the exact same pattern that I had been working on and it was the exact same fabric!  I couldn't believe it.  It was a little big but I pinned it up and Maleah wore it to the contest.  And she won!  She was so excited!  The winners (little Tom and little Becky) got to ride in a really cool amphi-vehicle (I think that's what it was called.)  It was manufactured in the 1950s and could go 70 miles per hour on land or 7 miles per hour on water.  The driver drove them around the park and directly into the park lake.  I held my breath for a minute but they floated.  Whew!  Maleah had the best time.  We stayed and fished in the derby but didn't catch one single fish.  It didn't matter though because Maleah was already having a great day!  Here are some pics from the contest:

Right after the Fishing Derby we borrowed my Mom and Dad's camper (thanks Mom and Dad!) and headed to Forbes Lake to camp with our friends Deb and Paul and their kids.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and we had the best time!  It was way better than last time!  (For you faithful blog readers, you may remember a post about our camping trip last August where we were almost cooked alive because it was so hot.)  The kids all played and rode their scooters around the campground while the adults visited.  It was so relaxing.  One of Deb and Paul's kids had a scooter wreck on Saturday night though and we spent a couple of hours in a nearby ER though.  He got five stitches and was very tough about it.  He was a real champ about the whole thing.  Luckily, the stitches didn't put a damper on our fun time and the next day we went boating and fishing in our boat.  We even rented one of those paddle boats that you can pedal around the lake.  Those things are exhausting!  Good thing there were so many adults because we had to take turns giving the kids a ride.  It was just a fantastic weekend.  Here are some pics from the paddle boat experience:

My view on the paddle boat.

Me and my niece Chloey - she came over to boat with us on Sunday.

Besides camping and fishing this summer, we have also been going to the park a lot.  We like to meet our friends there and play.  Carissa loves the merry-go-round and Maleah likes to swing and go down the slides.  Here are some pics of us at the park with our friends: 

Carissa Faith Cooper

The Playgroup Moms (minus one + Catherine)  This was our

attempt at funny faces.  I couldn't think of one.  Haha!

Some of The Playgroup Kids

Maleah and Carissa with our friends the Luzadders

In other exciting news, we officially have another male in our house now.  Jason is no longer quite as outnumbered.  We have a new kitten and he is a he.  He is super cute and playful and very sweet.  The little gray fur ball was found dodging in and out of traffic but a nice lady stopped and picked him up.  She couldn't keep him but instead set out to find a good home for him and ta-daaa!  She found me and now he is ours.  We threw around a lot of names and had trouble deciding on one but we finally decided to name him Abraham and we call him Abe for short.  The kids love him.  Eloise is still a little unsure about him but I know one day they will be friends.  At least I hope so...

I think that about catches the blog up to current happenings.  This week Maleah played her last tee ball game.  She played four games total for the year.  We had a lot of rainouts.  After the last game yesterday she said "Tee ball was just okay.  I'm thinking I probably won't play ball next year."  We'll see if she still feels that way next spring or not.  Carissa has been calling Maleah "Mia" and it is so cute.  She hollers "Mia!  Mia??" when she can't find her.  Adorable!  Carissa's favorite thing to say lately has been "Happy Sunday!"  She has been telling everybody Happy Sunday.  It is so funny.  Of course, it started on Sunday but she wants to say it every day.  We have to remind her that today is Monday (Tuesday, Wednesday, or whatever) and then she will change it to "Happy Monday!"  She is so darn cute.

Have a great week!

Summer Fun: Part I

I know it's been awhile since my last post.  I'm sorry!  I've been so busy enjoying the summer that by the time I sit down at the computer at night I haven't felt like writing anything.  So this post is going to be a catch up post from the past two weeks.  So here we go...

Maleah finished up Kindergarten. She had a wonderful year and a wonderful teacher. She learned so much and is becoming a very good reader. She made new friends and was very sad that the school year was ending. She is missing her friends terribly. She also wishes she could have Mrs. Stanford again in 1st grade. Here is a picture of her and her teacher on the last day of school:  (Notice that she is wearing a jacket.  It was cold!)

Here is a great picture of Maleah and Aunt Angie at TGI Friday's.  We all went out to eat for Aunt Lori's birthday and had a great time. 

Maleah started playing tee ball this year.  Unfortunately during the past school year she heard through the grapevine from all of her friends that there was such a thing as "team sports."  She quickly figured out that she had completely missed tee ball and soccer last summer.  I couldn't keep these sports a secret from her anymore thanks to all those chatty little kindergarteners whose parents actually enjoy sports.  Soooo, she is playing tee ball this year.  She really likes it too.  She is a good hitter and has fun.  Her team is OK Automotive, which made her very happy because her Uncle Timmy owns OK Auto.  If her team t-shirt was pink or purple it would make her happier though.  She thinks blue is way too boyish.  Her team is all girls so was a little insulted that her shirt was blue.  Here are some cute pictures from the ball field:

Running the bases

Playing the field

Carissa cheering on Sissy.

She has had two games so far.  It was hot.  Even my calves were sweating.  I tried not to think about it too much.  If she sticks with this whole sports thing, I sure hope the games get a little more exciting.  They are a tad bit boring.  But she sure has a good time and that is what matters.  Besides, there are only four more games left to play.  I will sweat four more times for my daughter. 

Moving on, Maleah got a new bicycle.  She has been riding without training wheels since late last summer.  We bought her a new bike back then because we had a deal:  if she learned to ride without training wheels she would get a new bike.  She learned and got a pink Barbie bike.  It was super cute but it didn't last long.  That piece of crap had been ridden very little (since she learned at the end of the summer last year) and stored in the garage all winter.  This year we started going on longer bike rides and her pedals would lock up on her while riding for no reason and then the chain started falling off all the time.  The locking up of the pedals scared her half to death each time it happened because she almost wrecked every time.  She was a nervous wreck and in total Panic Maleah Mode.  (I hate Panic Maleah Mode!)  So we went shopping.  We shopped at lots of stores and at the very last store we found the bike for her.  Uncle Brad had told us to make sure that we checked out that store because they had a really nice pink bike.  Maleah fell in love with it and it fit her great.  She is now riding around happy as can be on her new pink bike that matches Mommy's.  She really liked that it had black tires because most girl bikes have white tires.  "The white ones just show dirt so bad Mommy!  I just can't keep them clean.  I definitely want black tires."

Well, I have a lot more to tell you but I'm too darn tired to tell it all.  It's 10:30 and I'm headed to bed.  I'll try to post again tomorrow or the next day.  I have to tell you all about Becky Thatcher, our camping trip, funny Carissa stories, and all of the swimming and playing we've been doing.