Party Time

Cooper had his birthday party at Pump It Up - an indoor inflatable bounce house. He had some friends from school and his cousins come to jump, slide & race though the obstacle course. After all the kids (and Eddie) got worn out we went to the party room to eat pizza, sing Happy Birthday and have ice cream cake (from ColdStone - yum).

Cooper coming down the slide in the obstacle course

Cameron coming down the BIG slide

Wrestling time - Eddie had more fun than the kids in here

Pizza time

Yum! cake

A quick pose - minus the kid who had a meltdown on the floor-you can see a few of the kids looking at him. :)
Cooper loved being king for the day. I'd say he had a pretty awesome 5th birthday.

Happy Birthday Cooper!

Cooper celebrated his 5th birthday today. It was action packed and loads of fun.

We started the day by decorating cupcakes to take to school to share with his friends. They sang
him happy birthday and decorated a big birthday crown. Before school daddy took him and Cameron out to a birthday breakfast. They ate mickey mouse pancakes, hot chocolate with marshmallows and fruit with whipped cream on it. Boy was Eddie glad he got to drop them off at school and go to work. I'm guessing they were pretty amped up. (poor teachers)

After school Cooper decided he wanted to go to the skate park to ride for a while. We haven't been in several months. They tried their skateboards a bit then got some speed going on their scooters.
They love this big fish bowl. (Getting out can be a chore)

Cooper getting some speed.

We headed home to open presents. Cooper was quite surprised by the gift hiding outside.

A brand new bike (his first - you know that's how it works when you have an older brother). He loved it - hopped on and took off. I'll have to post the "bike show" another day :)

A favorite gift - spider man web shooters

After his favorite dinner - taco salad - we sang happy birthday and ate some yummy ice cream cake. Cooper decided to go for a pajama ride so they got all ready for bed and went out for one last ride before we read 'birthday' books and went to bed. Cooper had a great 5th birthday!

All Clean!

Time for the boys teeth cleaning. Luckily for them (and us beings we don't have dental insurance) they have no cavities. Cameron has had a loose front tooth for about 7 months now, the dentist said if it's not out within 2 weeks he's pulling it. He told him to start wiggling it all the time but so far it doesn't seem to be helping. I have a feeling we are going to be back there getting that sucker pulled!

Cameron & Cooper getting cleaned

So, we thought we got off so easy at the dentist until Billy went camping with friends over Spring Break. He took the "break" literally! Someone threw a rock which happened to hit him smack in the front tooth. It broke in 1/2 and he has to get a root canal & cap. Damn it (maybe I should send the bill to the other kid!) I guess I spoke to soon about saving some money.

Got Eggs?

Grandma Patti has several egg layers at her house. With her last batch of chicks we decided wouldn't it be great to have some chickens of our own so we can have fresh eggs. She had an old dog house and gave us some suggestions on how to make it into a great chicken coop. We took the idea and ran with it. The boys got busy right away fixing up the coop. Then we made a fenced in area to keep them safe from the roaming critters around here. On Easter we picked the ones we want and once the chickens are old enough to determine who the girls are (no roosters here, Cameron already wakes us up early enough) we are ready to bring them home.

getting the trap door working for egg collecting

working good

a table to raise it off the ground

ta da....club med for chickens (as one of our friends called it) . We added a tin roof which made it look really barn-like. I think once it rusts we should name it the "love shack". Can't wait for the fresh eggs.

Happy Easter

Grandma Patti has been feeling pretty crappy from all the chemo they are pumping into her body but she decided she felt well enough to have some company for Easter. My sister Amy cooked up some great food - we filled our bellies, hunted eggs and had a nice visit. I am so thankful she felt up to having us...it was great to see her! HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

The boys posing with Cousin Caitlyn (poor Ethan was sick and couldn't make it)

Us with Grandma Patti

The Boys - Cooper showing off his and Cameron's find

the search