Baby Shower in Logan

Jocelynn and Steph decided to have a baby shower for me while we were in Cache Valley over Thanksgiving weekend.  We had it at Fredricos Pizza.  It was a family shower and it was fun to just sit and visit with each other and enjoy the good food.

I received some really cute outfits, baby bracelets, diapers, wipes and other baby necessities.  It was fun to have my cute nieces there with me.  Almost all my "Cooper" relatives were there and also Bryce's Aunt Linda and Cousin Sherry.  It was nice to just enjoy family and create memories. 

I was also reminded again about how family support is so amazing.  We had an emotional moment at the end of the shower when Tawni came in upset because Johnny had come home early from his mission and "surprised" her.  Everyone offered love, hugs, shoulders to cry on, encouraging words and understanding.  And what Tawni had thought had ruined my shower, actually made me realize how thankful I am to be surrounded by such loving and caring family members on both sides and both near and far!

Thanksgiving with the Coopers

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family this year.  Dinner was held at Grandma and Grandpa Coopers home in Wellsville.  It was our family, along with Steph's, Jocelynn's, and April's families.  Before we ate, we went around the room and told some things we were thankful for.  It was so nice to hear grandma and grandpa's testimonies.  Grandpa talked about how thankful he was for Grandma.  He also talked about when he came back from the war and saw the Statue of Liberty. He said not at day goes by that he does not thank God for America.  He also was thankful for his posterity. After we all had our turns and finished wiping away our tears, we sat down to a nice meal..The food was wonderful as always.  Grandma made the turkey and Kyle made a yummy ham.  We just sat around and visited..

Later that evening, we went out to Jocelynn's hose to stay the night.  Bryce had to go back home to go to work, so the kids and I stayed out in Paradise.  Jocie and I went shopping for about an hour that night.  Then we shopped again the next morning for a few hours.  It was fun to spend that time together.  The boys had a fun time playing with Ty.

 Friday was Stephanie's 45 birthday, so we celebrated by going to play wally ball, eating dinner at Chili's and then we went to "Catching Fire" (Hunger Games).  It was fun to all be together.  Maddie (the awesome babysitter) took the kids to dinner and then to the Jump Zone.  They had a great time.  After the movie, we all came back to the Merrill's to visit.

On Saturday morning, I was able to go watch Jaden play in one of his basketball games over at Sky View.  After that, Steph and I did some shopping and then headed up to Frederico's to have a small baby shower for me.  We ate lunch, opened gifts, and enjoyed talking and laughing.

On Saturday evening, we had Jake and Shana over to eat Chinese food and hang out. Originally it was just going to be our two families there, but Jaden and Addey stayed to play with our boys, Jocelynn brought Ty up to play with the kids, Kylee and Matt came over to watch a movie and Scott and Chelsey showed up to get in the hot tub and watch a movie.  Never a dull moment at the Merrill home. It was fun to have everyone there.

We had a really enjoyable weekend.  Bryce got ot go four wheeling with his dad and Bruce on Saturday.  They went up to Treasureton and spent most  of the day breaking through snow having a blast.  It was nice to just get away from home for a few days and have a little vacation.

Decorating the Tree

The boys had a fun time decorating the tree this year.  I was too pregnant to do much helping, so I let them pick the colors and put on the ornaments.  They wanted to have red, silver, and blue.  They also helped me decorate the house and put out all my nativity scenes.  Christmas is such a magical time of year!

Our tree was a little over 12 feet high, so Bryce had to put the ornaments on the top portion of the tree.  He also had to climb on top of the table to place the star on top of the tree.  It was the perfect tree for our home. 

Alfie the Elf was very involved with Christmas fun this year.  The boys wrote a letter to Santa this year and Alfie brought one back to the boys.  Alfie also built a fun little Lego man carrying Santa's sleigh on the back of his motorcycle.  Alfie brought the boys Home Alone and some board games.  Most of the time he hung out in the lights, tree, or on the shelves!

We really wanted to focus some of our excitement on serving others.  We wrapped up some small presents and let the boys play "Secret Santa".  They had so much fun quietly delivering them to the door step of a little boy, ringing the bell and running to hide.  We also made a little package of movie gifts for another family and secretly dropped it at their door.  This was a great activity and the boys really got involved and wanted to do more!

Our Christmas Tree Adventure

Every year, I always think it would be so much fun to go cut down a Christmas tree as a family.  Well, this year I did a little research and talked to some people about doing it.  I found out that we could get permits up at the LaTienda in Franklin, Idaho for $10.  This allowed us to cut down any evergreen tree up to 12 feet high.

We decided to get our tree the weekend before Thanksgiving, because we were going to be up in Cache Valley and because Thanksgiving this year was just a few days before December.  Anyway, we decided to invite Jocelynn, Kyle and family to join in our "1st Annual Cutting Down Our Own Christmas Tree" adventure.

We got our permits and then headed up to Franklin Basin. At first there was hardly any snow, but as we kept driving, it got deeper and deeper.  We had a hard time spotting any smaller Christmas trees.  We finally took a different trail and headed down until we couldn't go any further.  We stopped our trucks and decided to get out and walk around.

It was a gorgeous day as far as it being clear, sunny and blue skies.  But, the wind was blowing and it was extremely cold. After we all got dressed in our winter gear, we headed over the metal bridge and started looking for the perfect tree.  The boys enjoyed running around with Ty.  Jocelynn wanted a small tree for her front porch, so it didn't take them long to find their tree.

We tromped through the snow and trees and endured the freezing wind for about 15 minutes.  At first, we liked this one we are standing by, but we soon realized that the base of it was huge and that it probably would have taken up our entire front room.  Most of the pretty trees split into multiple trees half way down the trunk, so the bases on them were massive.

Eventually, Kyle found out perfect tree.  It was about 12 and a half fee tall.  It wasn't a full tree but ended up being a really nice tree and quite symmetrical.  It took the men less than a minute to saw it down and start hauling it back to the truck.

After we got back to the trucks, we got the trees loaded, stripped off all our winter gear and then snapped a few pictures.  Clayton started crying because his hands were cold and had gone numb.  He ended up sitting in the truck and defrosting while we finished putting everything away.  It was a fun little adventure and I look forward to doing it again.  The cost is inexpensive, and the memories were priceless. 

Our Christmas Tree Adventure

Every year, I always think it would be so much fun to go cut down a Christmas tree as a family.  Well, this year I did a little research and talked to some people about doing it.  I found out that we could get permits up at the LaTienda in Franklin, Idaho for $10.  This allowed us to cut down any evergreen tree up to 12 feet high.

We decided to get our tree the weekend before Thanksgiving, because we were going to be up in Cache Valley and because Thanksgiving this year was just a few days before December.  Anyway, we decided to invite Jocelynn, Kyle and family to join in our "1st Annual Cutting Down Our Own Christmas Tree" adventure.

We got our permits and then headed up to Franklin Basin. At first there was hardly any snow, but as we kept driving, it got deeper and deeper.  We had a hard time spotting any smaller Christmas trees.  We finally took a different trail and headed down until we couldn't go any further.  We stopped our trucks and decided to get out and walk around.

It was a gorgeous day as far as it being clear, sunny and blue skies.  But, the wind was blowing and it was extremely cold. After we all got dressed in our winter gear, we headed over the metal bridge and started looking for the perfect tree.  The boys enjoyed running around with Ty.  Jocelynn wanted a small tree for her front porch, so it didn't take them long to find their tree.

We tromped through the snow and trees and endured the freezing wind for about 15 minutes.  At first, we liked this one we are standing by, but we soon realized that the base of it was huge and that it probably would have taken up our entire front room.  Most of the pretty trees split into multiple trees half way down the trunk, so the bases on them were massive.

Eventually, Kyle found out perfect tree.  It was about 12 and a half fee tall.  It wasn't a full tree but ended up being a really nice tree and quite symmetrical.  It took the men less than a minute to saw it down and start hauling it back to the truck.

After we got back to the trucks, we got the trees loaded, stripped off all our winter gear and then snapped a few pictures.  Clayton started crying because his hands were cold and had gone numb.  He ended up sitting in the truck and defrosting while we finished putting everything away.  It was a fun little adventure and I look forward to doing it again.  The cost is inexpensive, and the memories were priceless. 

Baby Shower for Parker

 In mid November, some of my dear friends threw a baby shower for me and Parker.  It came along with a lot of unnecessary drama over the date, time, , the location, and who I should invite to it. In the end, it ended up being really enjoyable and I had so many wonderful friends come out and support me.  I received so many nice gifts.  Some of my friends who put it together for me was Holly Casebolt, Jacqui Gabrish, Rachel Moyes, and Aimee Walker.

 Aimee made these cute little blocks that say Parker.  Everyone else contributed to the decorations and yummy desserts.  We had the shower at Holly's home and I think there were about 25 friends that showed up. I received diapers, wipes, lots of cute little outfits, blankets, and all the needful accessories for a baby.

 This is a picture of my friend and person who I visit teach.  Her name is Tabitha and I am so glad that she was able to come to the shower.  She is a very busy laday and it was nice of her to try to make it.  I also was surprised to see the Whetten family show up.  It was so nice to visit with them. When they are around, it feels like "home" to me. 

 I love this little four wheeler that Kim Yamashita created for me out of baby accessories.  It was so creative and everyone thought it was great.  She told me later that she couldn't just buy me some diapers. Holly hung up a clothes line and every time I received a little outfit, shwe would hang it on the clothes line!  I am so grateful to all the friends who came to support me and show their love for me.