Cooper's 3rd Birthday/Mike's Graduation Party

So for Cooper's 3rd birthday and Mike's graduation I wanted to throw a big party. I decided to do a fall theme. We had soups and breadsticks, homemade oreos, chocolate covered pretzels, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and veggies. It ended up being freezing that day so we decided to do it at home instead of the park. It was SO fun. My amazing sister came up the night before and helped me all night.

 

 

 

Treats :)

He was one spoiled boy!

Cooper with his new hulk hands and jazz jersey

Already beating up dad

Cooper and favorite uncle Joe

Uncles Joe and Dan

Mike, Shalese, Me, Kara

 

 

Halloween

Firestation

Cooper has an aunt Kara that loves him very much and she LOVES to spoil him.  For his birthday she got him a personal tour of the fire department training facility in Salt Lake.  He got to ride in a fire truck, squirt the fire hose, got a hat with his name on it and got to tour the whole facility.  He LOVED it.  She then took us out to dinner at Chili's.  She's pretty much the best aunt EVER.  Here are some pics from our adventure.

Quick Update and Zoo Pics

So..... it's been a very long time since I have posted anything.  I guess our lives are too boring to be blog worthy :).  This is just a quick update and pics from our recent trip to the zoo.
I got a job at a company called Winchester Homes.  It is a home builder in Syracuse.  I do secretary stuff, filing, communications with buyers, agents and lenders, and accounting.  Mike graduated in  August and is looking for a job.  We moved in with my mom in Layton to save a little money and avoid signing another lease in case we have to move.  Cooper turned three!!

A few weeks ago we FINALLY made it to the zoo.  Here are some pics.

Beautiful Katie

This year started out a little rough for us with the passing away of Mike's 13 year old sister Katie. I have put off this post because I didn't really want to think about it, but I want to remember so I am finally posting about it. During Christmas Katie had what seemed like the flu. The day after Christmas she started complaining that her ankle hurt, but we thought she was just being dramatic. When we noticed that it was swollen, we thought maybe she twisted it. During that week she was still sick and her ankle got worse. When they woke up on Friday morning and saw that she has blisters on her ankle they took her to the doctor. They called us and said that they were taking her to Primary Children's because she was dehydrated and her liver and kidneys weren't functioning properly. That afternoon I also found out that I had strep throat. When I got home from the doctor, Mike headed to Salt Lake to be with his family. That night he called and said that they had figured out Katie had a flesh eating bacteria. They were going to do surgery and take out as much of the bacteria as possible. Then they told us that there was only a 50% chance she would make it. After the surgery, Mike came home so that I could go back with him. Saturday we took Cooper to my mom's and headed to Salt Lake. Saturday morning they did another surgery and ended up amputating her leg. We spent the whole day at the hospital. When we got there, the doctor told us that there was really nothing more they could do and that she most likely wouldn't make it. Saturday night we all headed home to rest. Mike and I went to clean the house for them, but were called back to the hospital where we spent the rest of the night. Sunday morning they decided to take her off all of the life support and she passed away about 9 am. I have never been more exhausted and emotional in my life. Seeing what everyone was going through was heart breaking. I hated seeing them like that. Thank goodness for the gospel. This helped me stay positive and understand that it was her time. I also felt good knowing that she is in a better place and perfect now with none of the limitations she had here. We headed home right before she passed away. Mike got the whole week off, which allowed me to recouperate from being sick. Thursday we headed down to Salt Lake. We attended the temple with Mike's parents, siblings and other family. Thursday night was a viewing and Friday was the funeral. Saturday we went to Chili's as one last family activity since it was Katie's favorite restaurant. I am so glad that the funeral was a celebration of Katie's life, with her siblings sharing their favorite moments. I was also grateful to see that so many of Karla's family came from out of town. This situation was devastating, but so much good can come for these things. I am hoping that someday we can all be ok with what happened and celebrate the good things :). We love Katie and miss her, but I am so glad to know where she is and what she is doing.

Mike and Katie (Family Pics 2010)

Katie dressed up as her dad (my favorite pic)

Katie dancing with the Russian Ballet

Katie playing T-Ball

Recent Cooper Pics

Cooper is so cute that I just have to post some pics of his every once in a while :). He is so funny! He has actually started saying words in the last month and it's so fun!

spaghetti face

Touchdown!

Sleeping with his animal friends

Temple Square Lights

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went with Mike's parents, Joe and Katie to see the lights at Temple Square. We went to Denny's before and then checked out the lights. It was really fun. Here are some pics.....