Beautiful children...

Scott finally purchased a camera so we're back in business! Here's some pictures he took of Allie and Cooper the Sunday before Christmas... SOOOO cute!



For my sister out in NY, here are some pics from our Cooper family Christmas party. First, the grandkids...

Because you haven't seen them for a while, I'll name them! Allie, Cooper, Quintin (B's),Brady, Jessica, Will/Darby, Casey, Skylar (all R's), McKinna, Cassidy (B's), Gavin (D's), Kirstin (B's), Camryn (D's). Not pictured is B's youngest, Kaitlin and K's Avery and Landon. Notice K's cheeser pose behind the grandkids... he's still the funny one!!!

Here's Michelle and Eric. He really does look this bad in person, he's not doing well at all. Presently, we're not sure he's going to make it. We were surprised, but happy he was well enough to join us for Christmas.

Here's Colette with their youngest, Kaitlin. Is she a little Brandon in girl form or what??!!


Here's Kathy with her two, Gavin and Camryn


And Jenni with "princess" Jessica!!

Grandma did her traditional treasure hunt for presents, which is ALWAYS a hit with the grandkids! It is a loud, rambunctious, chaotic party... but it sure is fun to be together!! I love my family!!

Things I Love, Things I Don't...

Let's start with things I don't love. I don't understand it, it drives me crazy!!! There is immeasureable feet of cubic space around me. Why do my children insist on walking right in front of me? Even if I move to the side to try and go around, they move back directly in front of me! This is especially bothersome while carrying armfulls of groceries or worse, their big sister. I can't really see in front of me while holding her, she's awkward and heavy! Few things make me want to scream more than their unexplainable urge to walk right in front of me, as slowly as possible!

Wheh, with that out of my system, on to things I love! I love taking Allie to preschool! I realize one day I'll feel like a taxi cab and I won't love it, but now I do! I love talking to her, especially after school, about her day. We were driving to school Monday, that was December 7th. The topic on her mind that morning: what kind of birthday cake she'd like for me to make for her! Keep in mind that her birthday is the end of July!!! Yet, she's thinking of it in December. I love that. I love hearing all of her ideas and more importantly- how she is so confident in my cake making abilities!! How "perfect" (according to her) her princess cake was, and her flower cake. I hope she always feels that way, grateful for the little things I do. Grateful for my efforts to make her ideas reality! Again, it probably won't last forever so I wanted to mention it.

First Big Purchase

Allie has been saving her money for our trip to Disneyland we took in November. I thought I better document the first big purchase!!! It took a lot of weeks to accumulate her money, but she worked hard and was excited to spend it! Here she is counting up her hard earned money with dad...


And the grand total is....


She found what she was looking for!!! Allie LOVES soft things, she loves to snuggle with them and ever since she was a baby she would rub her face at night/in her sleep with her soft toy. When she found this lion she was SOLD!! It is a pillow and a pet! The fact that Erin Bevard had one was also a bonus! I thought it would be tough for her to part with her money, she is a Crockett anyway... but NOPE! She was so excited about her first big purchase!

Family Vacation 2009

I know... it's been a while. It's a long story so let's skip it! Here are some photos from our family vacation last week to California. We loved Sea World!! Lots of fun kid rides and animals. Allie's favorite was the penguins, we went through 3 times! Here we are in a polar bear cave! We tease Allie about being a "polar bear" like her dad because they both seem to be impervious to cold! It was very icy and chilly in the cave! Cooper and I had to hurry out!

They had a pet show and all kinds of animals at Sea World... the kids loved it! They had Clydesdale horses which were a big hit with the kids, here we are as a family



We also went to Disneyland and California Adventures. Lots of fun for the younger two, not so much for Chelsie! Here's Allie with Woody. She LOVED the Toy Story ride! So did Cooper!! Again, not so much for Chelsie.

We did Disneyland for two days. There was so much excitement and stuff to see that Cooper was exhausted!! Here's a funny photo of him completely zonked out, face down!! The only way to get him to rest was to immobilize him and put him in the back pack! It worked great, but he is heavy!! Lugging that kid around for 2 hours on my back, pushing Chelsie around in her wheelchair... what a workout!!! Looks like I need a nap too!

We didn't get to the beach as often as we had hoped, but it was still a good time!

Zip Your Prograsity...

Yep, that's right folks! That's what I got told by my four year old. "Mom, you need to zip your prograsity"!! What does it mean exactly? I haven't really figured that out yet, but I think it has to do with my occasional cranky attitude! She likes to make up words, and they make sense to her! The other day we were at Grandma Crockett's house playing in the pool. She sprinkled some water on Grandma's hand and told her that was going to "geminate" her hand. What does geminate mean? Apparently it means that if she sprinkles the water on your hand, your fingers disappear! She also likes to make up words in Spanish. When I tell her the correct way to say something in Spanish, she tells me I'm wrong and continues to use her word! She's a funny kid!