Sweet Sixteen!!!

Stephen and I have been married for sixteen years, most of them amazing!  {Fighting cancer kind of puts a dark cloud on lots of things.}  Every year is still worth celebrating!  {And anyday is a great day for flowers!}

We were able to go out to eat at Christopher's, a local place in town.  Since it was a Tuesday, the place was much slower than any other time we've gone, and we were able to sit in a nice, quiet room on a bench seat at a table in the corner. 


Our meal was fantastic!  I especially loved the crab cake appetizer and the key lime tart!

 We made it to sweet 16, and we are still going strong! 

Out of School Fun

 On the Saturday after school got out, the boys were still busy playing.  Ryan had a swimming birthday party to attend in the morning.

 Right after that, all three boys went to a neighbor's party at the same place Ryan had his birthday celebration. 



 We started Summer School, which basically is just a writing prompt, an art prompt, activities, computer math games, and field trips. 

One day, we were learning about turtles, so we took some bread to feed the turtles at one of the local parks. 

We saw many turtles, but the coolest was the HUGE catfish that would chomp up the biggest pieces so quickly that the turtles had no chance to eat!

Summer has gotten off to a great start! 

Last Day of School

 Kyle and Ryan were excited for their last day of school.  {Evan's last day was a week prior, but he insisted on having his picture taken.}

Kyle's water day was rained out, so his principal scheduled an indoor day of fun.

Right after the fun, I checked both boys out in order to have a fun lunch date!  Kyle's classmates were really sad to see him go!!!

Kyle was sad about the end of school, saying, "The worst part about today is leaving my teachers and friends.  I'm really going to miss this year!"

Mrs. Sullivan

 Mrs. Bingaman

Mrs. Murphy

What a great school year all the boys had! 

The Weasel

With all the rain, we tried to keep busy with inside games.  The boys came up with one of their own.....

End of School Program/Party

 Ryan's teacher, Mrs. Grant, was going to be at her daughter's graduation on the last day of school, so Ryan's class had their party on Thursday.  It was fun going to class with Ryan one more time, and the kids were sad that Evan couldn't stay and play.

{Ryan had been excited about the countdown to summer his class was doing...pictured behind us...and would come home each day to share their special thing....no shoes, free seating, free stations, class dance party, etc.  He was quite upset when he had to miss a whole day, due to strep throat the previous Thursday afternoon....Evan had a double ear infection, too!!!}


We had loved Mrs. Grant this year.  Ryan has learned so much and grown....mostly in knowledge!  

 There was also a special Kindergarten end-of-school program that day.  Ryan was most excited about the "Mr. Golden Sun" song!!!  {He also got to stand by one of his best friends...the one he told one of the parent volunteers was his cousin!!!}

He's ready for FIRST!!!! 

The Rain in May

Kyle's water day turned out to be not exactly what he'd planned.  I have NEVER seen so much rain as what we have experienced in the past month!  Houston has had major floods.  Small towns and roads around us have been washed out.  Our yard has been a swamp.  Oh, and the boys' school was on "duck and cover" for an hour while we waited for a possible tornado to touch down.  {Evan and I were trapped in the car rider line at the time!} 
Grandpa and Grandma have had some adventures coming home from Houston in major storms, like being trapped in traffic on the highway in heavy storms and nearby tornadoes.  They couldn't get out of the car and into the ditch, like you've always been taught, because the ditch was flooded out.  You couldn't drive anywhere because cars were bumper-to-bumper and blocked by blown over semi-trucks. 
This weather has truly been crazy!! 

May Pack Meeting

Kyle's first year of Cub Scouts has been one of learning for us.  We worked hard earning belt loops at home and he worked on some at den meetings.  However, receiving the actual award has been the hard part.  There have been multiple pack meetings where we thought Kyle would get recognized for his achievements, only to be told, "we don't have that loop," or "we didn't know about it in time."

Well, the squeaky wheel does tend to get the grease, so I asked, reminded, emailed, put a bug in the ear of one of a new bishop {Grandpa} and did all I could to try to make sure Kyle was awarded for his hard work this year.  {May would be his last chance to receive awards until the fall, as they don't hold pack meetings in the summer.}

Sure enough, Kyle did get his awards.  First, he recieved the advancement patch for Wolf and got to place the pin on me. 

Then came the fun part.  As they handed out belt loops, Kyle was called again and again and again.  Each time, he kept holding his fingers up, keeping a running tally of his awards.....4, then 5, then 6....then SEVEN!!!  He was grinning from ear to ear.

After all those were handed out came a special award, given to Kyle by our bishop, the religious square knot.  Kyle has worked really hard on completing the required goals in his Faith in God booklet, even the most difficult one of helping to plan a quarterly activity---difficult bc there no longer are quarterly activities!  {He helped plan "It's Great to be Eight!"}

Then came the real fun......the longest banana split I've ever seen.  They put it out in a 50-ft trough and let those boys dig in....a boy's dream/a germ-a-phobe's worst nightmare!

 I'm really proud of Kyle's hard work, and grateful it was finally recognized.  On the way home he told me, "this year, instead of just working on one every Sunday, I want to do TWO!  Just think how much I could earn!'

Teacher Gifts

 I remember what it was like to get a used stuffed animal inside a chipped mug for a teacher gift.  As such, I try to give gifts that teachers will actually use, as well as ones that have a sentimental aspect.  There are hundreds of ideas on Pinterest, and whenever I use one, it seems that's the one everyone else decides to use.  So.......I came up with an original this year!!!  {Although, I'm sure it's probably out there somewhere on the interwebs.} 


I got a bunch of Sonic gift cards and made up a cute saying.  Then, the boys drew pictures and wrote thank you notes to each teacher, including their favorite C.A.M.P {computer, art, music, P.E.} teacher.  Here they are, hard at work.  {It's right after field day, so Po was "super-hot," and had to take his shirt off.}

 I think we might do this every year.  The generic Cooper Family gift!!! 

Ryan's Field Day

 Ryan's field day was next.  Kinder doesn't do tug-of-war, so there were more races outside. I think Ryan's class was Brazil. 

Evan made friends, played in the dirt, and spent most of the morning on the playground.

This cracked me up:  the shortest paired with the tallest for the 3-legged race!!!

Ryan has loved Kindergarten! 

Kyle's Field Day

I actually got to attend field day this year.  {last year was spent in the hospital!}

His coaches decided on an Olympic theme, and each class represented a country.  Kyle's class was Australia.  He has such a great class and teacher!!!

{Kyle also had a favorite pose for the day....see if you can find it.}

First up was the outdoor relay races.

Then came tug-of-war.  His class came in 3rd place, and they sure didn't like losing!!!

Here's the team classes against each other:

It was finally time for popsicles!!! 

I'm so glad we were able to cheer for Australia and enjoy a morning that wasn't raining or blazing hot!! 

Pen Pal Field Trip

Kyle has been writing to a pen pal at another school in town all year.  {Funny enough, his pen pals' name is Lily, just like his friend who lives next door!}
As part of the end-of-year celebrations, the classes were able to have a park day field trip in order to meet their pen pal face-to-face.  I was so worried that ANOTHER one of Kyle's field trips would get rained out, but luckily they were able to make it work! 

Last Day of Preschool

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed about the last time we'll ever have a 3-year-old preschooler in our family.  Evan finished his last day of school on the same day I had chemo.  It also POURED rain all day and ended up being in the 60's!  It was a bummer to not get to play outside. 

As soon as I was done and ran through the pouring rain to get milk, I got a call from Ryan's school.  He was running a fever and complaining of a headache and sore throat.  I picked up Evan, and noticed he was coughing and had a terrible runny nose.  So, I was able to make a doctor appointment, check Kyle out, as well, and take all 3 to the pediatrician. 

Ryan did have strep throat.  Evan had a double ear infection.  Kyle was negative for strep, and no fever, so his runny nose was most likely from allergies. 

This was not a fun way to end Evan's school year, and Ryan was disappointed to miss one of the fun countdown days at school on Friday. 

One more week for the older boys and then it's summer time!!!! 

Dave Matthews Band

 It's a bucket list kind of year.

Both Stephen and I have wanted to see DM Band in concert for decades.  Even when we could afford it, our schedules never lined up....until this year.  And, we were excited.

We were let down.  I don't know if it was a combination of it being the first show on the tour and Friday the 13th, but it just wasn't a good set list.  AT ALL.  In addition to that, they started over an HOUR late.  And, it felt a lot like a garage jam session, with different members going on and on with instrument solos.  FOR MANY, MANY times.  I get showing off your skills for one or two songs, but stretching out the time with that instead of with many of the well-known and loved hits?  Not my favorite. 

Here's one of the 3 or 4 songs they played that we even knew well. 



 Meanwhile, the boys were having the time of their life at a campout with Grandpa and s'mores. 

They lucked out.  

Mud Day

 Kinder's big day to celebrate the end of the year is Mud Day.  I was able to help out, which meant Evan was able to play in the mud with the class that has basically adopt him this year.  {Man, is it going to be another LOOOONG year until he actually goes to Kindergarten!!!}

Before playing, we ate a picnic lunch outside.  It was HOT until we moved into some shade. 

Then, it was time to get muddy!

We weren't able to get a "before" pictures; the mud was too enticing!  This is the closest to clean as I was able to shoot. 

Ryan had said before that he wasn't sure he wanted to get dirty.  That changed.... 

... and escalated quickly!

Nothing like a mud bath to refresh and rejuvenate you. 

I thought it was a great idea that a major rule of mud day is that you cannot put mud on another person without first getting their permission.  I heard many asking, "My I put mud of you?" or "Can I throw mud at you?"  I think only a few declined.  They were loving it! 

Their pants soon got too heavy because of all the mud!

 I told them to just take them off.  Evan that didn't work, and Ryan was rolling them up to get them tighter.....and skimpier!

All the teachers got muddy, too!

Here's the after pictures:

The next part was *fun*.  We the dads hosed everyone off, as best as they could.  Then, parents supervised the kids changing in designated classrooms.  Thankfully, ever hallway and classroom had already been prepped with butcher paper pathways.  We made lots of make-shift dressing rooms by hanging towels between easels or cabinet doors.  Oh, and I forgot to bring a change of clothes for Evan, so he was going commando under a towel on the way home.  And, I took my shoes off, but didn't place them far enough away from the action.  They were COVERED in mud!  I'm glad they were my lawn mowing shoes! 

I'd say this day was a great success!  Evan's going to love it in a few years!