Spencer is Six

Spencer was so excited when his birthday rolled around.  He was excited to be able to have cupcakes at school, to be able to wear the birthday crown, and to be able to eat lunch with Daddy.  I think most of all he was excited that now he has to use two hands to show how old he is!  It was fun celebrating his day by going bowling, glow in the dark golf, and the boys were able to enjoy a round of laser tag.  We did all this at Main Event where they have a special going where you pay one flat fee and get to play all you want and as long as you want.  After we played our heart out we came home for cake, the birthday song and blowing out candles, and opening presents.  Spencer was more excited about the presents then the cake and so he graciously took a few bites of cake and then was ready to open presents.  Spencer wanted more than anything to have a drum set and his parents made his dream come true.  Things have gotten a bit louder at the Cooper Household, but it is fun to watch him play the drums and Madeline play the guitar and give a concert.  Spencer loves The Wiggles and loves to sing and dance along while watching, and now that he has his own drum set he can be a full fledged Wiggle and drum along to the songs.  The day after his birthday Spencer toted his drum set around to different parts of the house playing and then when he was done with the inside he went outside and took it around the backyard and even up the tree house.  Each spot he would play for a bit and then move onto a different spot.  He wanted to know how his drums sounded in each of the different locations.  I can say for certain that Spencer didn't like his drums when I decided to use them to wake him up one morning to get ready for school.  Now for a little bit on Spencer.

Spencer is a happy go lucky kind of kid.  He always has a smile on his face and he always ready to have fun.  Spencer loves to live each day to the fullest having fun along the way.  It is never a dull moment when Spencer is around.  He is always saying or doing something funny.  His face lights up when he smiles and he brings that joy to others.  Spencer is very persistent and full of determination.  He likes to figure things out on his own and does not give up until he knows how.  Spencer knows what he wants and goes after it.  Spencer is full of obedience and jumps right in when it is time to get things done, except when it comes to emptying out the dishwasher.  Spencer and the dishwasher are not friends right now.  Spencer is full of adventure and goes all in full throttle.  Spencer loves to play basketball, loves anything to do with water, loves to ride his bike, sing along to wiggles, listen to music on hid Dads' I-pod, and enjoys playing games.  Spencer has picked up reading in school and is diligent about plugging away at his reading assignments.  School doesn't come easy for him, but he works hard and keeps at.  Sometimes in life those that are slow and steady win the race.  Spencer loves to wrestle with his dad as well as give the family a Spencerfied music concert.  He and Madeline are best friends and are always found together playing.  Spencer loves to cuddle with his Mommy and he loves his oatmeal in the morning.  One of the qualities that I love about Spencer is his zeal for life.  He is a great example to me of a positive attitude and finding the joy and enjoyment in everyday.  My life would be very dull without Spencer and I am so blessed and honored that Heavenly Father sent Spencer into our home.  He gives us adventure and sometimes we need that around here.  I love to see him smile and I love to see the happiness that lies within his eyes.  He truly has a positive and happy attitude and that is something that we can learn from.  He has brought so much joy and laughter to our home and I know that will only continue to grow in the future!

May Happenings

The school year is winding down and I am so happy.  I look forward every year to being able to have things run at a slower pace and where we can spend time together doing fun things and making fun memories.  You always know when school winds down because there are a bunch of activities to attend to all at once.  At the beginning of May the boys had their field day.  They moved it inside because of the weather.  Usually we have to worry about rain, but this time when had a cold snap come through and it was rather chilly with a strong north wind.  It was a little different navigating through the halls with all the classes and grade levels participating in different activities.  My plan was to watch Spencer in the morning and Anthony in the afternoon, but I ended up staying with Spencer to help his teacher with getting 20 Kindergartners to the different stations throughout the school and not get lost or trampled by the older kids.  It was nice that after Spencer was done doing his activity, Anthony's class came for their turn, so I was able to see a little of Anthony too.  Most of the games were geared towards the little kids so there were parts that Anthony was a little less than thrilled to do, but he did them with a smile.  Madeline was a trooper and followed me around for the day cheering her brothers on.  There were some of the volunteers that still remembered Madeline and so they were kind enough to make accommodations for her to be able to participate in some of the activities so she was excited about that.

After field day was the big anticipated Kindergarten field trip to the zoo.  Grant was able to tweak his schedule so that he could be there for Spencer's special and important day.  I was able to go along with Madeline so it was a family affair.  They split up the kids with the parents and as individual groups you tour the zoo and eat lunch at your own leisure.  They give us a time and location to return and with that you are off on your own to explore and learn.  I like that we are not in a big group trying to all stay together and keep track of the kids.  There were enough parents going that each group had one or two kids in addition to your own child.  We are only had one additional kid and he ended up getting sick that morning so for us it was a family zoo trip, which was kind of nice.  It ended up raining so it was fun going through the zoo in the rain, but luckily it didn't really down pour until the end.

At school Anthony is apart of the Student Council.  Throughout the year they participate in different service projects and fundraisers to support different things at school and charities that they are raising money for.  Because of their hard work they were the recipients of the National Student Council School of Excellence Award.

Of course you can't have May without Spencer's birthday, but I will do that in a post of its own.  Lets just say it is hard to believe that my youngest is six years old.

Lastly, Mother's day this year was fun.  The kids enjoyed spoiling me for the weekend and I was reminded of the blessing and joy it is to be their mother.  I was able to celebrate Mother's Day by playing the organ in church and giving a talk, both went well.  We did most of our celebrating on Saturday.  The kids went out shopping at an office supply store because I had reward rebate money that I needed to use up and then Grant took me to Khols where I had some Kohl's cash that I needed to use. Afterwards they took me out to dinner.  I wanted to have a new skirt for when I gave my talk and so everyone was nice enough to allow me to find a skirt.  Afterwards we went out for a nice yogurt treat.  Sunday I was able to take my usual nap, have a nice dinner, and be able to open some nice presents.  The kids were so excited to present me with their cards and gifts and I really enjoyed seeing the smiles on their face.  Spencer made a card at school with flowers.  The object was for me to pull a flower out and listed was a chore that Spencer was going to do for me.  Spencer was very certain that the chores listed on the flowers were for me to do and not for him, so that was funny!  Being a mother is a gift and a joy and a calling that I am honored that Heavenly Father has given me the opportunity to be.

Fifth Grade Camp

Back in mid April, Anthony had a week long trip to a learning camp where the kids learn and experience different things in science.  It is the highlight for the fifth graders.  Grant was able to take the week off and go with Anthony as a chaperon.  They have cabins one for the girls and one for the boys.  Grant and a few other dads braved the week in a cabin full of boys.  During one of the parent meetings they brainstormed different ways to wake up the boys and settled on Grant playing his trumpet each morning.  So every morning Grant would stand in the corner and belt out different turns, much to delight of the kids.  On the last morning that they were there Grant shared the love with girls and played them a few songs to help since they were struggling to get out of bed.  From what I hear it was fun, at least for the leaders.

Anthony was able to do various activities like horse back riding, hiking, evening skits, team building activities, and of course crafts.  There were classes on water, our imprint in the environment, and animal tracks.  From the reports that were given, Anthony enjoyed himself immensely.  Also from the reports I learned Anthony has a reputation as being very smart among his peers and their parents.  One of the instructors was giving a discussion on Antarctica  and he started it out with asking what the largest continent is, of course Anthony answers Asia.  The instructor replies that it is Antarctica and Anthony politely tells him it is Asia.  One of the parent spoke up saying that if Anthony says it is Asia then it must be correct.  The instructor then decided to go about his discussion a different way.

Another occasion where his reputation was brought into the spotlight was during their water lesson.  They were learning how much water they consume and the instructor has the kids multiply and add a few numbers to get the correct answer, Anthony pipes up right away with the answer and the instructor thinking that Anthony couldn't know the answer that fast asked a parent use their phone's calculator to get the answer.  This time Anthony's teacher asked "Did Anthony Answer?" and when the class said yes then she said "then it is right."  The instructor ignored what the teacher said and asked for someone to use their calculator to give the answer.  Mrs. Breunig this time said without using her calculator that it was right.  Anthony this year has become the class tutor helping the teacher out when she needs help in assisting those who don't understand what is being presented.  I am confident to say I think he enjoys it.

The camp is a nicely run camp and during the school year they host several schools during various weeks where they teach and instruct the kids on various things related to science.  Then when school isn't in session they host families, and the families are able to participate in all the activities they have there or they can just camp in the cabins they have there and do things on their own.

Anthony came back tired and with lots to say.  There is a difference when someone in the family is gone, but I am glad that Anthony and his Dad were able to have some good father and son experiences.

April Hapenings

April has been a busy month for us.  The Master Bathroom is still not finished and with the way things are going I am hoping maybe in May it will be done.  Grant has been busy with work travel, Boy Scout campout, and a week long fifth grade campout.  One needs to be home to be able to work on the bathroom.

The month started out with Anthony having his first court of honor.  He received the Boy Scout joining award as well as his Polar Bear Patch.  He is just a couple of requirements away from getting his Tenderfoot and a few away from getting his Second Class.  He is really enjoying Scouts and the leaders are enjoying having a scout who is enthusiastic about scouting.  Anthony was also called to be the Patrol leader for the eleven year old patrol.  To say he is excited is an understatement.

For the past six weeks Spencer has been going to a soccer clinic at the rec. center.  For the most part they play around and have fun playing soccer and learning the rules and some techniques to the game.  Spencer really enjoyed it and for him he thought was really playing soccer.  Grant and I were okay with this as we are selfish and don't want to give up our Saturdays for soccer games.  While Spencer would be at his soccer clinic, Grant and I would walk the track.  Spencer had fun waving to us as we would pass.  It was fun to watch him and see his excitement.  You could definitely tell when he was bored.  The only downside was the coach had the kids kick the ball one at a time, and when you have several boys you do spend a lot of time waiting your turn; hence the reason why Spencer would get bored.  On their last class they allowed the parents come and watch.  We thought they would play a game, but it was just a regular practice that we had seen the previous six weeks.  It was kind of weird being in the room and watching the parents of the other kids busy on their various electronic devices.  I decided something needed to be done, so Grant and I started cheering every time Spencer kicked the ball or demonstrated a skill.  We definitely got some looks from the others parents, but we didn't mind Spencer knew we were proud of him.  I think we might have embarrassed Anthony, but Madeline enjoyed cheering for Spencer.

At the beginning of April, I got a call from the school principal telling me that Anthony was awarded Outstanding Student of the Year.  This is only given to fifth graders and there is one boy and one girl selected from the school.  The fifth grade teachers nominate one boy and one girl from their class (so in Anthony case he was one of four boys nominated) and then the rest of the faculty vote.  Anthony received 16 votes and the second place boy received 7 votes.  Anthony didn't barely one he kicked it out of the park.  There is a special banquet to celebrate and award those who won from each of the elementary, middle, and high schools.  A few weeks prior Anthony found out he had been nominated and he was secretly hoping he would win.  I knew he would because he has a high reputation at the school.  Everyone know who Anthony is and those who know him our impressed by him and his character.  When the principal called me I had to fight back the tears so I could make it through the conversation.  I wanted to be there so bad to give him a hug, but had to wait until after school.  He was all smiles when he came out to the car that afternoon.  On the day of the dinner, Madeline and I decorated his room to show him how proud we were of him.  Apparently this award is a big deal!

Easter this kind of snuck up on me.  We did do our count down week and it was nice to go through the last days of our Savior's life.  We really enjoyed the Bible Videos the church has put out on the Internet.  Those really helped and made things easier for me.  Spencer had his Kindergarten Easter Egg hunt so Madeline and I went up to the school and watched him.  They take the eggs and spell out Happy Spring and the kids then find all the letters in Happy Spring along with a flower and that makes 12 eggs.  When they find all 12 then they sit down.  The teacher then checks the eggs.  It is a simple egg hunt.  This year they did the hunt at the park across the street so after the hunt the kids got play at the park.  I love to see Spencer's smile on his face when I come up to the school to participate in his school activities.  On the home front I decided to dye Easter Eggs this year.  I think the last time we did this Anthony as a 18 months, so it has been awhile.  It was a little nerve racking with Spencer but we made it out a live without spilling the dye.  We do our Easter Egg hunt on Saturday as well as presents.  We save the spiritual and most important side of Easter for Sunday.  This year everyone received a small Lego set as a Easter present.  Knowing that our kids are not that big into candy I took all the Lego pieces out of the boxes and used those to fill their Easter eggs.  To keep the sets all together each kid had their own color of Easter eggs to find.  To spice things up even more we did a glow in the dark Easter egg hunt.  I just had small plastic eggs so getting the glow sticks in the eggs was a bit challenging, next year I will make sure to have the large plastic eggs.  For Madeline's safety we hid them inside the house and turned off the lights.  The eggs acted as night lights so the kids were able to see their way around.  After all the eggs were found the kids then opened their eggs to reveal their present.  I thought it was a pretty ingenious way to handle things.

Of course you can't have April without mentioning General Conference.  In years past I would spend time getting packets together for the kids to fill only to find a lot of blank pages at the end of conference.  This year I gathered a few games we had around the house that the kids could play during conference and called it good.  We did decorate the office for conference as well as setting up a cupcake bar.  I kept things simple by just having a conference party and the kids enjoyed the conference the same as they did when I spent all that time printing things off for them to do.  In between sessions on Saturday we did go for a family bike ride where Spencer learned the importance of slowing down when going down hill.  I was busy holding onto Madeline so she wouldn't crash, Grant was putting his bike away because it had a flat tire, and Anthony was out ahead.  I was yelling at Spencer to slow down as he went down the hill and he is yelling back I don't know how.  Well anyway he had his first hard crash, but the good thing was he got back on his bike and rode.  When we got back to the point of injury he got off his bike and walked with it.  He now knows how to apply the brakes.

This concludes April for the Cooper family.  I will make sure to record Anthony's experience with fifth grade camp.  Hopefully progress on the bathroom will be done, and Grant and I will be celebrating 13 years of marriage, it doesn't seem like we have been married that long.  April has definitely been good to us.

We decided to follow Sister Dalton's suggestion for putting a scripture in a secret spot.  Since we are doing our shower we thought we would put own on scripture up to be covered by the tile.  Now every time we take a shower we will remember to not only be physically clean but spiritually as well.