Shopping Trip

So, we decided to go on a shopping trip. I realized that I didn't have any clothes for Cooper after 18 months so we decided to go try and hit the end of the sales at the outlet mall. Seven of us, 4 of those in car seats, piled into my little Honday Odyssey. Here is a play by play (in film) of our fabulous day!

12:30 PM Kids are mostly happy (Cooper had a panic attack when I went into the house so his eyes are red-rimmed). They have fruit snacks, "Cars" is on the DVD, crammed in a car...what more could they want?

1:00 Luke happily sleeping while rapidly ruining his non-existent teeth with his new habit of sucking on his fingers (much to his mother's dismay)
3:00 Coop and Ella riding on the Merry-Go-Round during a brief break from shopping
3:30 Back in the car heading to Costco...Luke looking so, so sweet and loving the air conditioner
After leaving Costco Coop decided to catch a good 3-minute nap before Lincoln started yelling and woke him up. For those of you who know Lincoln you also know that I'm not exaggerating. Sorry Claire!
Emily, Claire, and Mom all wanting to tear our hair out at the end of a 10 hour trip in the Odyssey. What were we thinking? For the sake of brevity I left out several other stops in our shopping trip which added up to the 10 hours. Overall, I guess it was fun to finally get out of the house

Anti-Teenage Pregnancy Ad

You know those really cool "The Truth About Smoking Ads" that always make you think, "If I were a smoker that totally would have made me quit"? Yeah, well I've got one for Anti-Teenage Pregnancy. You pick which ever one grosses you out more. For those of you who can't see what that is...it is Luke's scalp (cradle cap) now lying on the kitchen floor. GROSS!! If that doesn't make your stomach turn I don't know what will. After an extensive EVOO scalp treatment, I plunged him in the bath and then combed out his cradle cap for about 20 minutes. Eventually I gave up and re-washed his head. Round 2 will have to be tomorrow. A mom can only handle so much dead skin!

Easter Fun!

I want you all to see my adorable children and the fun we had with the Easter holiday! Well, mostly fun...Cooper was sick so he was quite crabby, but Luke was great! I always love the Easter season because it seems like the earth is renewed. The flowers are beginning to come out, the grass is turning green, and the animals are making their appearances and noises. Everyone just seems happier. We had such a great time in church learning once again about the Atonement and Resurrection. I was able to sing in the ward choir this year and I really enjoyed learning songs about our Savior and feeling my testimony grow through music. I am so grateful for the Resurrection and sacrifice of our Savior.
I affectionately call this picture "my boys". Jake left last night to go work on a shooting range about 4 hours away. He'll be gone for about 4 weeks (hopefully coming home on the weekends so don't feel too sorry for me). We'll miss you so much!!
There are 2 things I've learned this week: never get between a boy and his cars....and never get between a boy and his candy eggs. Duh? Well, Cooper's basket was overflowing and so I took a few out to lay on the table while he continued his hunt. Bad move Mom!! He would not budge from his spot until he had all of his eggs in the basket. Problem was that every time he moved the eggs fell out. Little did he know that once he fell asleep Mommy was going to empty all of his eggs into a community treat jar!! Evil Mommy!!
The family with the beautiful yard at Poppy's.
At the ward Easter egg hunt the first egg Coop picked up had a Snicker's in it. After that the hunt was off. He had to have his Snickers!
Ella is so sweet! She couldn't wait to show her "haul" to Cooper and immediately ran over and started shoving all of her candy into Cooper's hands. If you look closely you can see the chocolate mustache that Cooper has obtained, pre-pubescent mustache.
The family #2...I like #1 better but the pond in the background in this picture is so picturesque.
This is the first time I've been able to dress our boys identically. I think they look so cute! My little boys-I love them so much!!

I love this picture! Cooper loves to give Lukes kisses...Luke, on the other hand, doesn't exactly love to be mauled by Coop.



Cooper and Luke with their cousins Ella and Lincoln.

I am now officially "white trashed" out!

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It's official! I am now grouped into the majority of the population that takes advantage of the government--and I love it! Yesterday I officially signed up for WIC (the day before Jake got employed) and felt so, so satisfied when I went to Wal-Mart and purchased 5 cans of formula for NOTHING! I have to admit I was really embarrassed but mostly proud that I figured out that paying my taxes for so many years is finally paying off! For those of you offended by the post, "I'm sorry!", but I don't feel that bad.

Southern Pride

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Welcome to the South!

This Week's Pictures and Doings

"Cars! Cars! Cars!" I feel like that's all I ever hear anymore. If I had a nickel for every time I've watched that movie in the past month I might be a few dollars richer! Cooper and all of his cousins/Grandma Becky/Aunt Rebecca watching "Cars!"
Leisurely evenings in Poppy's backyard.

I saw this picture and thought, "Aren't we just the cutest family ever?" Don't you all agree? Just say "yes" to make me feel better.

Ye Old Ones

I felt like I was in the prime of my youth. I was outside playing wiffle ball, and even winning, and feeling so young and like I could run around those bases forever. Suddenly Claire and Rebecca, my sisters, stopped the game and came over to me and gasped! I knew something must be terribly wrong to have caused such a reaction! "A gray hair!" they exlaimed in horror, "you have a gray hair!" Oh no!! The world as I knew it was crumbling before my very feet! Okay that was a bit dramatic, but seriously, it made me feel so miserably old. I don't feel old enough to have a gray hair. Isn't gray hair synonymous with wisdom? I don't feel wise enought to have gray hair. I don't feel smart enought to make all the smartest comments in Gospel Doctrine, also synonymous with gray hair. I'm definitely having a mid-life crisis. Can anyone recommend some hair dye?

Cooper's First Walk

I was just looking at my videos and found this adorable one of Cooper's first recorded steps. I love watching his cheeks bounce up and down when he walks around. Warning: this is a few months old and you'll have to excuse his haircut (or lack thereof!).

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HUTCHINGS IN ALL THEIR GLORY

Perseverance

Sweet, sweet smiley Luke

That's our Cooperman and a very Cooperman face

Okay, it's official-I think I am amazing for figuring out this blogging thing! I felt like my mom and dad when they were first confronted with the new age of computers--totally hopeless! Look at me now, though, it's all about "persevering"! If my music gets annoying, feel free to mute.

We are finally ready to move into the guest house! Every time we move I realize that half of our belongings are my clothes. I don't know why I feel it necessary to have a wardrobe for all 10 sizes I've ever been in my life...including maternity! I guess I think that if I keep "persevering" I might get back to my high school size one day! We'll see...

Jake's been "persevering" with me nagging and nagging him until he finally succombs to my pleadings just to get me to shut up! We are pretty sure he has a job now in the near future. Whew! Take my word, he has put up with a lot of nagging! I just want to be able to go shopping again and join a gym. A.K.A.-I want an income!!

Cooper and Luke have had a lot of "persevering" of late too. Here's a picture of Cooper in the hospital when we though he had pnuemonia. Luke has had to put up with his mommy switching his schedule. He is now a 12-hour-a-night sleeper which makes the world a much happier place! We think he is the cutest little bundle of love ever! If he's not sleeping he's smiling and cooing--quite literally! If you smile at him you are guaranteed a smile in return. Love it!

Our Real First Blog

Jake and Emily at the Ringling Bros Circus

Hey all! Well to update all of you interested readers...we are still just hanging out in Brooks, GA, trying to bide our time before Jake can get into dental school. Not any time soon, however, he still has a couple of years before he'll even be accepted into the program. We think he got a pretty solid offer on a job so we're pretty excited for that. Cooper is doing great. He recently got over a scary flu bug and has recovered to full spirits. He is even happier than before! Today he pulled out a "suitcase" of Hot Wheels and it seems like his mouth has stayed open with awe and amazement ever since. Never get inbetween a boy and his cars! Luke is happy as he can be...for the little time that we see him. The boy eats, stays awake for about 30 minutes and then sleep for 2 more hours. I think Cooper saw him yesterday for the first time in several days. He probably thought he'd become an only child again! We love our two little bundles! As for Jake and Emily...there's not much going on! The homefront got a deluge of rain yesterday and only too late did we realize that the garage leaks from every nook and cranny. We ran out yesterday to find that our nice, nice mattresses were drenched and already molding and rusty. Welcome to Georgia! Emily has been trying to clean the Guest House to move in but that wasps and roaches keep appearing out of nowhere. She's convinced the hundreds of plants in the house are attracting the pluthera of bugs! Jake has been trying hard to find a job and was so relieved to finally make some headway. Now it's time to finish relaxing before his long vacation ends!