Coop's Pizza Party

For Cooper's party we chose to keep it low key and have some friends join us for dinner at a local pizza place. It's a really fun place with one of the largest pipe organs in the country, fun music, lights, a little puppet show and even bubbles! We have been there several times in the summer with the kids and they loved it. When we planned this we had no idea that winter was a WHOLE NEW DEAL for this place! You see we live in the land of snowbirds...meaning our population doubles in the winter, and we lose LOTS of folks in the summer. And this place, Organ Stop Pizza, is THE PLACE for everyone I.MEAN.EVERYONE over 60. We arrived early to snag a table and the place was insane....people wrapped around the building insane! I have never seen so much gray hair in my life....we were the youngest folks by 30 years! HA! It was a miracle but we found the only table left in the place....and then a bigger miracle the table next to us got up shortly after so we snagged it too! It was a super great night with friends celebrating our boy!!!

the sweet birthday boy

sisters ready to party

oh these blow horns.......I snagged them for a little table decor....and didn't think through the constant blowing...we made lots of friends and a few enemies too :)

the organ comes up through the stage when it begins to play

Cooper's choo choo cake......the trains didn't last long on the cake

boy do i love those baby blues

imagine the cutest little voice saying CHEESE...

singing happy birthday and blowing out the candles

almost the whole family

Mr Nate and Colton

Sweet Scarlett loves her some ice cream!!!

Caroline and her best buddy Lily

the kiddos

My dear friend Emily and I

opening presents

Jen, Laura, and I

Scarlett ate her ice cream then pillaged Aunt Laura's :)

Jim and sweet baby Patrick

playing in the arcade

Mike (who was kind enough to take Caroline to the Father Daughter Dance) and Patrick

Colgan and Jen

the birthday boy

We had fun and now it's time to go home :)
We are so in love with you Coop......I love celebrating you but would you please stay 2 FOREVER...I just love how sweet you are right now!!!!

goings on

so.......January and most of February have disappeared! Here's what we were up to:

Caroline pulled out her mixer the Snell's got her for her birthday and she made some little cakes and brownies

we went to our friends the Dettmer's house for the college football championship and we brought dessert. A football cake....

complete with a little Oregon love inside (we had to cheer for the west coast representative....and these colors were way easier to do then Scarlett and Gray!)

every Sunday after mass we stop for doughnuts.....the kids favorite! 

Caroline is a Daisy scout this year.....which means we've been peddling girl scout cookies! She is so cute with her little speech and she is learning lots about money management and sales skills! Daddy has been the really cookie queen though.....he's sold over 300 boxes at school! 

Superbowl weekend our cousins arrived from Seattle to enjoy all the football fun! The first night they arrived we had the whole crew over for dinner.

Saturday, While the big kids (and Coop) went to the NFL experience downtown I took the girls to a birthday party for one of Caroline's friends.

the three blondes

that night we headed to Laura's house for dinner and a little Seahawk nail painting! 

Superbowl Sunday we woke up and took family pictures and then stopped for festive Seahawk and Patriot doughnuts

 they were good.....but super messy!

 some of the girls

some of the boys

 the girls watching an afternoon movie 

 we raised the Seahawk flag

and we celebrated Uncle Michael turning 50 with an apple pie and a little afternoon lunch party!

 Horray for 50!

 then it was time to make cookies before the big game started

 football helmets and space needles

 coop a loop

Caroline and Clara are ready for the big game

 Coop and Car too!

Patrick was out of town this weekend so the kids and I celebrated Cooper turning 2 on Saturday with a birthday song and doughnuts for breakfast (wow....we've had a lot of doughnuts this month :)

 someone was a little upset about not getting the first doughnut :)

 Happy birthday sweet boy!

 we spent the day doing what he loves.......he played with his sisters.....he loves doing anything they do.....even if it means princess dresses

he got to wear his favorite boots.....he calls them his "boots cardinal"

  I took them to Target to buy some new sand toys.....then took them to the park and let them use the water fountain as much as they liked to wet the sand and make sand castles......aka cover themselves in mud! 

 After showering up Caroline was ready for the Father Daughter Dance at her school. Thankfully Caroline's good buddy Lily's dad, Mike, stepped up to take her since Patrick was still out of town on his hunting trip (his brother Michael's 50th birthday trip). *We didn't know about the dance when the trip was planned......we know for next year! 

 Coop always wants in on the fun

 The girls had THE BEST TIME! It was a sweet night of dinner, carriage rides, a chocolate fountain, goodie bags, and LOTS of dancing! She said it was the best night of her life:)

 Mr Mike with his two dates! 

Next up.....Cooper's 2nd birthday party!