Ode to Cooper

Who ever said that diamonds are a girl's best friend, should have listened to the saying that Dogs are a man's best friend. As we enter into month number 14, missing things from Texas gets easier and easier to accept and deal with. Australia has become home (not to worry, Texas will always be #1 in our hearts and heads). We have developed new food cravings, enjoy some good Aussie music, kick back during the Aussie holidays (kind of thankful they still celebrate the Queen's birthday - PUBLIC HOLIDAY!), and have readily infiltrated the laid back life style of living in Queensland. However, I still find it difficult when I think about Cooper. Our family of 5 downsized to a family of 4 when we made the move. You see, Cooper was my first baby. The first child I cleaned up after, the first child I worried about, the first child I was responsible for. The first child to punish ( I swear he tried digging to China by way of our backyard, the incident with the water hose and flooding an entire backyard and a bedroom of mom's house, as well as causing a gas leak...) and the first child to teach (at least he can sit, lay down and stay, well stay for short amounts of time). He made the best cuddle partner when I was sick, or wanted a warm body to keep my feet warm at night. He managed to triple in size when he was allowed to sleep on the bed with us (thus causing a few sleepless nights for James, I somehow managed to sleep without a problem). You know...sometimes I think I can still hear the melodious sound of his bark. It goes without saying that I miss my dog, my four legged companion, my handsome boy, my son (yes, son...in case you were wondering James and I are finished helping to populate the world). To help me miss him less, I decided to use him as my model for this blog update. If you came looking for pictures of the girls, scroll down to older posts, or wait for the next update, because this one is all for Coopie!!!!

Maybe a face only a mother could love...but this mother loves him!

Bundled up at Grandpa and Grandma Be Be's house. Even a dog needs a good bundling every now and then... and possibly a little whiskey over ice according to this photo.

Running out at Nannie and PawPaw's neighbor's land.

Strike a pose Cooper, mommy is using you as her model.

Had a little swim.

And this is how I dry off...

I know Cooper is being VERY well taken care of while we are in the land of Oz. I know he will be even more spoiled when we do return. I also know that I have to change my morning running route. Why? And what does this have to do with my Cooper blog update? Every morning I run past a man walking a chocolate lab...I smile...and I miss Cooper just a little bit more.

Noosa Weekend

This past weekend, our family headed up the Sunshine Coast to a little town called Noosa. Noosa is about an hour and 30 minutes to our North. Noosa was originally home to several aboriginal groups. In the last 50 years, Noosa has become a very popular tourist destination, and it was easy to see why. The beach was beautiful. I know I say that about all the beaches we have visited. All the beaches in Queensland are clean, clear and well maintained. We are lucky to live so close to so many different beaches. I still feel like I am on a quest to see as many of them as possible.

We managed to make it out of town around 12:45 on Friday. Ashtyn cooperated by taking a little nap on the way there, and Kenyon kept herself entertained in the back with some coloring. Friday night we had dinner at the Surf Club and did some night swimming in the hotel pool. Then it was bed time, so we would be well rested for a very busy Saturday and Sunday.

Dinner was NOT on their minds. They REALLY wanted to be on that beach! This was our view while we ate dinner at the Surf Club on Friday.

Contemplating her next move...Kenyon has really grown very brave and sure of herself in the water since our move over here. She now runs directly at the waves instead of away from them. No fear of the water.

We went for a little walk on Saturday morning, through part of the Noosa National Park. Here the kids are perched on rocks on the side of the park, holding Flat Danielle. A friend of mine's daughter is doing a class project on Flat Stanley. All the kids made flat versions on themselves and mailed them as far away as possible. We received Flat Danielle in the mail and took her to Noosa with us.

The beach is WONDERFUL for out kids. They run 90 miles a minute all day and then crash hard at bed and nap time...a mother's dream!!

The main beach at Noosa, on Friday afternoon.

On Sunday we took the scenic coastal drive home, and stopped at different points along the way. This was taken at Point Perry, outside of Coolum.

Sooo happy!! James got this picture of Ashtyn. Pure joy and excitement...she looks like she is about the fall over sideways. Ashtyn loves the beach, but her favorite activity is to see if she can run away from the waves before they get to her. She calls them "chilly willy waves!"

Strike a Pose... On our way out of the hotel Saturday morning.

On our Saturday morning nature walk.

Nope...not pooping or peeing...attempting to get the sand out of the bottom of her swimsuit. She will hate this picture later on in life.

One of my favorites...James got this one while Ashtyn and I were looking at the beach. I think she looks like me. And no, I had not pee'd in my pants...we had already taken water from a rogue wave :)

Wave Jumper!

Melts my heart to see such bliss on my girls faces!

Air Kenyon! Had to have some pool time as well. Our kids love the pool just as much as the beach.

James running down to the water for a swim.

A little rain shower coming in. We were blessed with wonderful weather Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. Sunday, Noosa said goodbye to us with heavy rain...that made it a little easier to leave.

How's that for a pretty beach?

Taken at a lookout in Coolum on our Sunday drive home.

Coolum. The weather on Sunday was pretty rainy and nasty, making for some good waves and surf.

Coolum.

I love how fierce the ocean can look. Nothing but whitecaps. Probably would have been good surfing. James and I did try body surfing the waves while we were in Noosa. FUN! Shame neither one of us had a camera at the time. We will definitely be headed back to Noosa. Stay tuned...our next weekend getaway is Easter weekend when we head to Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island (the largest sand island in the world).

Look who's 3!!!

On March 27th, our little Ashtyn turned 3. We celebrated with a weekend of activities. This has me thinking...I am pretty sure that while I was growing up, we did not celebrate my birthday with a weekend of activities. Then I realized that the things we had planned were just as much for the adults as they were for our little 3 year old.

Ashtyn, on her way to school on Friday. We dropped of cupcakes, so Ashtyn could celebrate with all of her little friends at school.

After school on Friday, we had a little party at the park down the street from our house. This is Evana, Harper and Ashtyn. Harper was all about the picture taking, Evana and Ashtyn were a little more interested in their juice.

PRESENTS!! This was a lovely doll from Ashtyn's friend Isabella (Bellie).

Some of the kiddos on the climbing ropes. Even though Ashtyn is small, she finds a way to fit in with the big kids.

I say the same thing every year...This is the last time I am making a cake/cakes. I have gotten into the bad habit of letting the girls tell me what they want their birthday cake to look like. Ashtyn requested purple heart shaped cakes with pink icing. So I made 20 little purple (had to dye the cake batter) heart shaped cakes with pink icing, and then put the first initial of each child's name on the cake. So each child had their own personalized cake...This is once again the LAST time I am making birthday cakes.

Liam, Kiera, Kenyon, Ashtyn and Jake eating some cake.

This little cutie is Jake. He and Ashtyn LOVE each other. They go to the same school. They are very cute with each other, holding hands and playing. I caught them eating cheese puffs off the ground. I just had to laugh, it was impossible to get upset. Plus I figured the dirt/bugs they were ingesting along with their cheese puffs had to be added protein right?

Ashtyn's party then led into a pizza party at Simone and Jason's house (parents of Jake). Here are the kiddos in PJ's eating pizza. Thus allowing the adults to have a few drinks of our own! See...happy children = happy adults!

Little bit of dancing after the pizza. It was a long night...

Ashtyn crept into our bed around 6:30AM on Saturday morning, only to fall right back to sleep until almost 8:00. I had to check a few times to ensure she was breathing

Ashtyn's baby doll, a gift from her friend Bellie. She originally name the doll Sally, only to change the doll's name to Reina. Gee...I wonder where she came up with those names?? Dad and Belinda - please tell Sally and Reina that Ashtyn still thinks of them often and is now naming her toys after them.

Saturday James and I took the kids shopping. Our New Zealand trip is coming up and lucky for us the stores in Brisbane have been having huge sales. In order to ensure happy kids while dragging them from store to store, a little bribery was in order. Our treat of choice...the donut. Ashtyn picked out a cinnamon twist that was longer than she was tall, and proceeded to finish the entire thing. Why was I left wondering why she was running around the store like a crazy animal?? Next time the treats will need to NOT be sugar based.

After going home for a Saturday afternoon nap, James and I once again put kids in car and headed out for an early dinner. Here the kids are playing wile James and I are enjoying a nice meal...

That's right...burritos and margaritas!! James and I counted...this was our 3rd burrito in 7 days. You might say that once we discovered Guzman Y Gomez, we became a little addicted. Burritos...GOOD! Margarita...BAD!!! Can't win them all. Great food and bad drinks. So we settled for $8 Corona and $8.50 Dos Equis...we are REALLY missing those Texas beer prices!!

Sunday morning arrived and Ashtyn opened gifts from family. Ashtyn had told me that she wanetd her own scooter. She said she no longer wanted to share Kenyon's scooter. I think she was a little happy that her wish was granted.

After breakfast, gift opening and showers, we were off to Underwater World. Here is Ashtyn all ready to go.

We got there just in time for it to start pouring down rain. Lucky for us there was also a triathlon going on in the town of Mooloolaba (where Underwater World is located). This made parking so simple and easy! James dropped the kids and I off at the entrance and then had to walk about 1/2 a mile to get to us...and he had to walk in the rain!

But we had 2 little girls who were so excited to be there that it made it all worth it. Here they are holding a blue starfish.

In the mouth of a predator!

Found a crocodile friend.

A long necked turtle.

The Otters stole the show. Very cute. There were three of them named Mayhem, Chaos and Lou. Evidently they are escape artists and cause all sorts of trouble, hence the names. The kids loved watching them.

Both girls are into striking poses these days. I am beginning to wonder if I have anything to be worried about.

While we were there, we caught the seal show as well. After the show both the girls got a kiss from Bella the seal.

Kenyon and Bella.

Ashtyn and Bella

With the birthday weekend finally over, Ashtyn and I made some playdough ice cream cones on Tuesday before nap time. Fun for Ashtyn = big mess for mommy! Happy Birthday Ashtyn!!!!!!! Mommy and daddy love you tons. You make us so happy, we are so blessed to be able to watch you grow.