January 8, 2010

It's cold today. I really hate the cold. I would much rather be burning up in the summer than go through the dead of winter. I never seem to get warm. Brrr.

January 7, 2010

Taryn and I went to the mall today to help get baby Jenny moving around a little. She is not actually due until Feb. 6th, but it's good to get some exercise! I ended up getting a few things for my little niece since I haven't gotten her anything yet!

January 6, 2010

One of our favorite games...laser pointer. Our kitties will chase that little red light forever. We have to trick them into thinking that it went under a piece of furniture so they will stop looking for it. Although they do continue to try and get under the furniture...

January 5, 2010

I found these on www.etsy.com one day and told my mom about them. Lucky for me, they appeared in my stocking on Christmas morning. They are so cute!

January 4, 2010

My new calendar for work. Josephine Wall is my favorite artist...she doesn't leave any wasted space and the colors and movement spark my imagination. You should check her out here.

January 3, 2010

Girls' Day Out! Mindy, Heather, and I (and Daniel, of course!) went out to the Pond House for some girl time and to soak in the hot tub! Nothing like a hot tub on a cold day! Ahhh...

January 2, 2010

The Intrust Bank Arena hosted an open-house so everyone could come and check it out. It is pretty awesome and will hopefully be a big kick to the Wichita economy. We looked all over for this so that OG could pose with Wu.

January 1, 2010

The Shockers played on the first day of the year and handed out mini basketballs!

December 31, 2009

We spend New Year's Even with a couple of friends. Just before midnight, OG and Big C were battling the waters of Wii Sport Resort in a heated canoe race.

December 30, 2009

OG and I finally broke down and bought a Wii. It is so awesome! This is OG's avatar sky-diving into Wii Sports Resort for some fun in the sun. There is archery, bowling, frisbee, and much more!

December 29, 2009

We've had some heavy snow this year. Our poor little Frog Garden keeps getting buried!

December 28, 2009

Apparently, when you get married, it means EVERYONE will now send you a card!

December 27, 2009

OG's parents got us matching PJs! These are the softest pants I have ever worn. They are like wearing a cloud.

December 26, 2009

We drove down to Watson Park to look for Bald Eagles and found a different kind of bird all together. If you stop too long, they will surround your car so you can't get away!

December 25, 2009

Another favorite Cooper Family Tradition: Christmas Breakfast. Every year, Dad makes a huge breakfast with pancakes, several different kinds of bacon, sausage, and eggs. It's a great way to start the day!

December 24, 2009

OG feels like Thug Nation in his new Packers hat.

December 23, 2009

This is the picture that came in our Christmas card from the Allred family. We have some cute nephews!

December 22, 2009

We had our "Holiday Party" at work today. My friend made this amazing Christmas Tree cake!

December 21, 2009

The Texas Tech Red Raiders came to play at Koch Arena. Big 12 teams hardly ever play the Shockers, so tonight's game was a big deal. It was close the whole way, but the Shockers kept the lead to the end! In the last 2 minutes of that game it felt like the whole arena was going to come crashing down from the cheers of the fans.

*Disclaimer: This game actually took place on December 19, but so did Jack's party. Creative license has been used here. :)

December 20, 2009

Amy and Jason were in town for Jackson's birthday, so Jennifer was able to give Amy her present...an ornament from Infinity Art Glass! (see post from 12/11/09) She was so excited! Jennifer had it made with red and white stripes to symbolize Canada.

December 19, 2009

For Jackson's 7th birthday party, we took a trolley ride around town to look at Christmas Lights!

December 17-18, 2009

OG and I may not have a chimney for Santa to come down, but that doesn't mean he won't get here! So we ordered ourselves our first Christmas stockings! Mine is on the left and OG's in on the right. We got them from Cheryland on www.etsy.com .

December 16, 2009

I am so proud of myself! I am pretty awful at wrapping presents and I usually wait until the very last minute to do it, but this year, I got it all done in one evening! And I didn't even settle for gift bags on most of them!

December 15, 2009

This is OG's favorite Christmas decoration. It's Santa driving a racecar with a reindeer riding shotgun. He loves it so much that it stays out all year long.

December 14, 2009

My friend Debbie gave everyone in our unit name stamps for Christmas! It may not seem like a big deal, but we write our names countless times per day and this will save both time and effort!

December 13, 2009

Today OG and I took Kenny to see the Nutcracker. He was supposed to go with his school this year, but all fieldtrips were canceled this year to help the budget. OG and I were already planning on going, so we brought him along. I don't think ballet is really Kenny's thing...

December 12, 2009

Taryn is almost 8 months pregnant! Her friends got together and threw her a diaper shower. She got some super cute stuff to help her get prepared for our little girl! I can't wait!

December 11, 2009

This is Scott Hartley out at Infinity Art Glass in Benton. He makes the most amazing sculptures from glass! Every year around Christmas he has an open house where you can design your own ornament and watch him make it! It's incredible to watch! This year we had the added bonus of watching him make a light fixture. Here he is swinging it back and forth to give it the ripples that you can see starting to form.

December 10, 2009

OG's mom gave me this for Christmas last year. I collect Nativities, and I must say this is my current favorite. It folds up into a box and looks like a little present!

December 9, 2009

Another amazing Dollar Tree discovery! That place is full of hidden treasure! And the best part is that we bought these in August!

December 8, 2009

We decided it would be fun to get everyone special ornaments this year. Here is the Allred ornament with the original inspiration. Doesn't Reggie look adorable in her little sweater?

December 7, 2009

OG and I can't have a real tree because our cats chew them up, climb in them, and knock off all the decorations. So OG's mom got us this little tree for our bedroom. Our first Christmas Tree together! Precious!

December 6, 2009

We took our annual family trip out to Prairie Pines Christmas Tree Farm today. Every year Taryn and I look for the perfect tree knowing that Mom has the ultimate decision, then Dad gets down in the dirt/mud/snow to cut it down for us. Then we take it home and decorate it. Taryn and I have been trading off who gets to put the angel on top of the tree every year since we can remember. Well, this year the honor was bestowed on the newest member of the family...OG.

December 5, 2009

Let me just say, it was C-O-L-D in OKC this morning! But Shelly and I needed to stop and get a picture with the giant cowboy boot, just to prove we were there!

December 4, 2009

Me, Mom, and my very good friend Shelly went to a women's conference in OKC this weekend. We had some trouble finding our hotel, but we got to see some pretty awesome lights while we were driving around!

December 3, 2009

Martin started acting funny a few days ago...he wanted us to pet him and hold him and he was being NICE to us! So, naturally, we got worried! We took him to the Vet and it turns out that his bowels were compacted and he had to stay overnight so they could fix him. The next day we had to pick up a prescription at the regular pharmacy.

December 2, 2009

Decorating the office for Christmas! It's my absolute favorite season of the year! I think Christmas should last year-round.

December 1, 2009

Mary Engelbreit's December calendar picture. I guess kids in the Caribbean need presents too!

November 30, 2009

A shot of the Shocker Maniacs in the student section. They are more fired up this year than usual and have been really fun to watch each game. The crowd here is definitely the "6th man" that makes a difference to this basketball team! Go Shox!

November 29, 2009

Don't be fooled! This is not a picture of nothing! This is proof that a monster catfish lives in my grandparents' pond! It was so nice again today that I took my BFF Mindy out to the Pondhouse for some exploring and hot-tubbing. When it was starting to get dark out we walked out onto the dock (same location as yesterday's photo). I glanced down and saw the most gigantic catfish I've ever seen in my life, and here is the picture I got of it. Mindy and I stared at it and couldn't believe what we were seeing. I ran inside to get a high-powered flashlight but when I came back Mindy said the fish had just kind of suck down below sight and swam toward the middle of the pond. I promise that he is there on the right/middle side of this picture, but I don't have the technology to make it any clearer. If you look closely you can see a beam of the dock on the bottom left side, so you know it's not just a blank picture. But I'm not sure I'll ever be able to prove what we saw.

November 28, 2009

This week has been absolutely gorgeous weather for Kansas, so we decided to take full advantage of it today. OG, Mitch, Ken, and Jason all went golfing while Jennifer, Amy, and I took the kids out to the Pondhouse for some outdoor fun. They had a blast feeding the fish, climbing trees, playing soccer, and collecting pine cones to make bird feeders. It was one of those really perfect days that come along so rarely anymore. It reminded me to be thankful for every blessing that I have in my life and to make time for days like this.

November 27, 2009

Today we went back over to Ken and Jen's to maximize our family time. Colin and Ashley came over in the evening to play a round of Wii bowling with us. It's pretty funny to watch grown men lose to kids...

November 26, 2009

This year for Thanksgiving my family all went down to Texas, but OG and I couldn't take off work, so we had the opportunity to committ our full attention to OG's family. It was a wonderful, relaxing way to spend our first major married holiday. Natalie and Mitch (and Oscar) got to come, so OG's mom had all 3 of her kids in town for the first time in quite a few years! She was a little excited!

This year we were also joined by our Candadian-Texan family! Amy, Jason, and Rachel came up from Midland to celebrate their first real "American Thanksgiving" . It was fun for all of us to be together. We wrote out what we are thankful for and we blew up a bottle of diet coke with some mentos.

November 25, 2009

This week has turned into a showcase for all of our little furry babies. Natalie and Mitch are in town for Thanksgiving and, of course, they couldn't leave Oscar behind! He loves being around the kids, but after a long day in the car, he was being a total Mama's Boy. He came screaming through the house until he found mom and was a little whiny mess acting like his paw was hurt. Five minutes later he was running around again, but we did have a chance to catch this pathetic display of "I know I'm cute so I'm going to milk it for all it's worth". Who can resist?

November 24, 2009

Over the Thanksgiving week we try to visit friends that we don't usually see. Tonight we went and saw Dr. Homeboy and got to meet this furry friend as well. Compared to our 3 monster cats at home, this little kitten was a sweet change.

November 23, 2009

Jackson loves animals...but they don't always love him. This picture is pretty typical. He gets so excited to pick them up, but they aren't always quite as enthused as he is. Here Nala is being a good sport, but I'm not sure how long that will last based on her expression...