Cooper Hutchings Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family origins - Family history

A Genetic Anomaly

Does this make anyone else go, hmmm?

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Baby Steps

First, it all starts very innocently. A botched haircut, something like this:

Then you slowly begin to think, day by day, that this really isn't too bad of a haircut. Before you know it, your son is looking like this:Eventually, it's just the stylish thing for the whole family:It all starts with "Baby Steps". I'm now beginning to understand the Mullet World.

Cuteness All Over

"We Miss You Daddy"

I was trying to capture some "Miss You" thoughts for Jake and got a couple of cute candids while doing so. This pic is dubbed the "Bulldog" or the "Monster", I think it should be called the "Cuteness" with a really messed up grill.

Wondering at what the crawling creature was--not too exciting, just an ant.

Perceptive-LESS

I've never claimed to be a perceptive person. I pretty much have to be told things flat out before I actually get them. Quality example: (disclaimer-I know this is so gross and if I lose some friendships over it, I'll understand) It was my freshman year at BYU and I was roommate's with long-time friend Emily Maycock. About 8 months into school she finally decided that she needed to confront me with some "issues". Without going into detail, she had noticed that I hadn't been brushing my teeth before bed and that I hadn't changed my sheets yet. She couldn't take the nastiness anymore! I had no idea that I was doing anything out of the ordinary. It honestly never crossed my mind to do those things. Now, I know that my mom probably brushed her teeth and I know I must have washed my sheets when she told me to (I started doing my own laundry when I was 10 or so). However, she must not have ever told me when to do these things when I was all on my own. I'm really working on changing my ways!!! So...yesterday I decided I needed to wash the fabric on my car seats. Claire mentioned that she bleaches the metal fixtures on her's whenever she washes the fabric. Hmmm...I've never thought of that. So I decided that it was definitely time to give them a bleach bath. Here are the results (please don't report me to Child Services): GROSS!!!!!!!!!! The moral of the story is to protect your wee ones by santizing their seats.

WELCOME HOME ELDER HUTCHINGS

SWEET ANTICIPATION, BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT. We were so eager to meet Elder Ryan during his layover in Atlanta, coming home from Switzerland. Jake had quit work a day early to travel the 4 hours home in time to see Ryan. We had set aside the whole day in order to be there in time after an hour drive to the airport. We waited for a good hour when the phone rang---could it be Ryan? YES!!!! It was and it was so, so good to hear his voice. Then, he delivered the bad news. It had taken so long to go through customs that he didn't have time to come out to see his 2 nephews that he's never met and chat with his brother and sister-in-law. Were we disappointed? Absolutely. Will we survive? Not until we get to see him next Friday. We love you, Ryan, and are so proud of you!! We are SOOOOO excited to see you next Friday!!!!

Pics of our fun wait at the airport:

Universal Truths

Being raised in the church, we were taught that there were Universal Truths. These are principles of the Gospel that no matter what the circumstance is, they would hold true and remain constant. Period. There is no wavering from these Truths. For some odd reason I remember being told that when you spoke about a "Truth" of the Gospel the "T" was always capitalized. When I read the following article I realized that these are female Universal TRUTHS! I had no idea that I was, sadly, so predictable. I really thought that I was paving my own road, making my own mistakes, being stubborn in my own little way. I was so wrong!! With the exception of maybe one of these, I use every single one of these words and in the exact same tone/conotation. How sad!! Is there no uniqueness among women anymore? It kind of made me feel like an evil Stepford wife.

9 WORDS WOMEN USE (Courtesy of Niki Wilde)
(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says "Thanks a lot" - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say "you're welcome" ... that will bring on a "whatever").

(8) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying S***W YOU!

(9) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to # 3.

Coos and Giggles

We think that Luke has the most adorable personality and we finally captured it on video. For your viewing pleasure!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sprinkler Fun

After getting home from the "airport failure" we decided to let Cooper loose and he decided to get soaked in the sprinkler. He was having way too much fun to stop him...so he got soaked head to toe. We decided to bring him in once he started shivering and his lips turned purple.





How cute is this little boy? It seems like every day Cooper discovers several new things. I love watching him make discoveries and the joy of the little everyday things. I definitely wish it was as easy to make me happy!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Good Wife

This actual article, sent to me from my buddy Karen Cantrell, was written for the 1955 Good Housekeeping magazine is simply another confirmation to me that God knew when to place me on this earth. I was laughing so hard when I read it. Let me count the ways I was all wrong for 1955:

• Prepare yourself for 15 minutes before he comes home (a.k.a. have make-up, look refreshed, and be happy). I might have 1 of those 3 done occasionally.
• Catering for his comfort will bring you immense personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, I frequently find myself too tired to gain that "immense personal satisfaction"...that's probably not the idea they had in mind in 1955, however!!
• Prepare the children, have them washed, keep them quiet, and remind them of their manners. WHAT???!!! Dinner is quite possibly the worst time of the night!
• Listen to him-remember his topics of conversation are more important than yours. I definitely think that telling him about my grocery savings, my cute shirt I bought, or how many poopy diapers I changed today are more important than whatever he has to conversate about.
• Never complain if he comes home late, goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Oh I complain-loud and clear!! I need a break!
• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement...You have no right to question that. This one is wrong on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.
• A good wife always knows her place. This means I am a terrible, terrible wife!!

Now, I do try to be a good wife and most of this is in jest. But, those poor, poor ladies of the 1950's!

For My Honey

Beach Bums!!

I just got back from a week and a half of pure, uninterrupted vacation. Yes, I'm tired, very tired. However, it was worth it and we had a blast swimming, playing at the beach, hanging out, vegging out, and doing a few other unmentionables on a memorable "girl's night out"! Jake has been begging me to put a lot of pictures of the vacation up since he wasn't around to enjoy it. We think Jake will be able to come back at the end of this week so we are really, really excited to have him back to ourselves! We love you and miss you so much!

We spent the first week with the Fia's, Josh, Mom, and Dad. Those girls are so much fun in the sun. If it was up to them they would stay at the pool all day long. The Beach Club has possibly the coolest set-up ever. There is a huge kid's pool in one area with several waterfalls and squirting water. This massive slide ends up in the kid's pool. Cooper couldn't get enough of it. He LOVED going down the slide. Poppy was a trooper to take him a few times because I got tired of climbing the 5 stories of stairs. Then there is a lazy river with several fun water obstacles. We stayed out of the adult pool and hot tub, but above that is another kid's sand pool. It's basically a bunch of sand that gradually runs into a pool. Lots of fun for the kids! While the pool is amazing, the beach is terrible. It is beautiful but that comes at a price. The sand is broken shells that cut painfully into your feet. Cooper wouldn't really get down and walk and I didn't blame him. It's pretty, though. Grandma and Poppy were so helpful with both the boys. It made my life a lot easier. Jordan, Amanda, and Jonah came up for a few days. Little Jonah and Big Luke are about 3 weeks apart (Luke is younger) so it was fun to see them interact and compare notes on milestones. We decided these 2 couldn't look any different. The next week Claire and Meredith came down to play with their little ones in tow. It made for a crowded house and some stressed Mom's, but it was definitely worth it! There were 5 kids in car seats, 3 mom's, and my 13 year old cousin came down to help out. We were all in a 3 bedroom condo. Here is a picture journal of the insanity.

One of the fun pools. Who needs to put the shark floatie in the pool? It sure made it easier to watch Cooper when Luke was eating. Trying to entertain the kids with the construction of the famous "Ickyboohoo" sand castle. We wished Poppy was there to add his decorative expertise.
Sweet Luke sleeps on his side with his middle fingers in his mouth. He has really learned to sleep through a lot of noise. He is such a good baby!
I decided he's not very photogenic because he always looks like he has 4 chins. He's not as chunky as he appears.

One of the days was really nasty so we decided to go to Marineland to check out the dolphins. The kids had a lot of fun watching the "big fishies". It was so windy and nasty we decided to go swim in the indoor pool for the rest of the day.

INSANITY!! Not enough arms to push all of the strollers.


Super Cool Cooper!
Avery, Meredith's little girl, was such a player! She was always holding Lincoln's and Cooper's hands. She was a peaceful barrier between the two boys who always tend to end up in tears when they are too close to each other.

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!! We needed a release so we decided to try some sexy hair-do's and our "fierce" model poses.

Claire decided to go 80's!! You go girl!

This is the one of the crazy nights we had. We would all climb on the bed and let the kids torture each other. At least we knew where they all were. Cooper had a tendency to walk out the front door and into the parking lot with no one knowing. Scary!!

On the way home. We were so packed in with 9 of us in the Suburban, 5 of those being car seats. Torture! Thank heavens for DVD's because the kids were actually really good besides a few mishaps such as Cooper being soaked from head to toe in his own pee. Oh well!! It was a blast to hang out at the beach!

The Office is BACK!!!

Was anybody else out there as excited as I was that the office is back?! As far as American Idol is concerned, I am OK that Michael Johns got the boot, good voice, but he reminded me too much of my brother-in-law Grant in the way he moves, Shalie you will know what I'm talking about. I'm just kidding by the way.
The Office has saved me this week. I have been surrounded by Univision and the wonderful novelas that it produces! I used to think that Spanish was a great language to know, but after the time that I have had to watch all of its wonderful TV programs, I almost wish I didn't know it! I mean how many times a day can a TV station show new episodes of a show called "Passion" every day?? I am going stir crazy in my hotel room that I am sharing with a guy from Honduras who has to have the TV on Univision watching "Pasion" as soon as we get done with work, or he blows a gasket.
Anyway, so I told him (in Spanish) that I need to have the TV from 9:00-9:30 to watch the greatest show on TV right now (The Office of course) or else I just might have to kill him- I mean come on, is a half hour a week too much to ask? Well, he let me watch and watch I did, and I think it was worth the wait! Dwight rules! I am still trying to convince Emily that we need to name our next boy Dwight--what do you all think? Maybe have Shrute be his middle name, Dwight Shrute Hutchings? Awesome!

So I got "Tagged", I'm Just Not Very Interesting

ABC's

A--ADVOCATE FOR: Baby Wise, Baby Wise, Baby Wise...and I feel like a wise Mom for doing it. It is the smartest, best, never-fail philosophy to parenting babies.

B--BEST FEATURE: Must be my sexy stretch marks because it reminds me of the beauty of childbirth.

C--COULD DO WITHOUT: My sexy stretch marks, though it does create a distraction for the rest of the rolls.

D--DREAMS AND DESIRES: To have lots and lots of perfectly behaved and well-rounded children.

E--ESSENTIAL ITEMS: Q-Tips. 'Nuf said.

F--FAVORITE PAST TIME: I love to read a good book or play the piano and sing if no one's around.

G--GOOD AT: Playing game and getting really upset if I lose. One of Jake and mine's biggest disagreements was over a Monopoly game. That game is officially banned in our home.

H--HAVE NEVER TRIED: Risking my life for unnecessary dangers such as bungee jumping, skydiving, parasailing, etc.

I--IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: I probably wouldn't be very practical. I'd buy a beautiful home and have an amazing kitchen. I would definitely get some 4 wheelers and wave runners. I would probably buy my children some clothes that aren't hand-me-downs or off of the 75% off rack. Hmm...maybe I'd buy them a pair of shoes over $2. Then I would go on some really sweet all-inclusive vacations. I would try to save some, but who knows if I would have any left over?

J--JUNKIE FOR: Carbs...in any form.

K--KINDRED SPIRIT: Me, Myself, and I. I don't know if anyone else gets me the way I do. My sisters (and in-laws) and my mom could fall under this category too.

L--LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I tend to not be able to keep secrets about myself so I don't know if there are any little known facts. I think I'm a natural introvert who has developed her extrovert.

M--MEMORABLE MOMENT: Finding out I was pregnant with Cooper. Finding out we were chosen to adopt Luke.

N--NEVER AGAIN WILL I: Purchase a condom or take birth control.

O--OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: A massage-my absolute favorite indulgence.

Q--QUOTE: "If you lose your keys in flowing hot lava, don't go after them because, man, they're gone." Jack Handy

R--REASON TO SMILE: I LOVE being a wife and a mommy!

S--SORRY ABOUT: My inability to keep my mouth closed. I really have the ability to get myself into trouble.

T--TAG SOME FRIENDS: Everyone who's reading this. Yes, that means you.

U--UNINTERESTED IN: Oprah. I've had my fill.

V--VERY SCARED OF: Evil people. I don't like knowing or thinking that there are people out there who would intentionally hurt me or my loved ones. Spiders or non-human creatures invading my personal space.

W--WORST HABIT: Reality shows...I have an addiction.

X--X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: Anywhere I haven't already been. Not home.

Y--YESTERYEAR DECADE OF CHOICE: I love the 16th century. I don't know why.

Z--ZODIAC SIGN: Gemini

To My Friend Jenn Thomas

Good luck to Luke on his first official day of piloting!!! I just couldn't resist...

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