Playgroup Goodbye

Last week our sweet playgroup threw a going away party for Cooper and me. It was such a bittersweet goodbye. We joined this group a year ago, and it has been such a blessing for us. We have both made some wonderful friends, and Cooper has grown so much socially with the other kids. We are really going to miss all the fun playdates and thoughtful friends.

The theme was "Saying Goodbye is such SWEET sorrow." There was a chocolate fountain and lots and lots of sweets. Heaven for me!

Cooper sharing a snack with one of his favorite friends, Sophia.

Cooper and his good buddy Landon chilling on the couch.

Cooper playing in Sophia's kitchen one last time! (He LOVES her kitchen!)



So long Mansfield Christian Moms and Kids! We will really miss you!

Surfside Beach 2011

This past week we headed to Surfside beach for the 2nd Annual Foster Family Beach Vacation! We had a great time full of playing, relaxing, visiting, and A LOT of eating (Thanks Scott!)

Cooper and Kate making "cookies" on the beach with Grandmommy

Boogie boarding lesson from Daddy

Cooper taking Kent and Kate for a spin in the golf cart

Two of the sweetest beach babes ever!

PaPa helping Kate perfect her spiral!

Cooper's favorite activity this beach trip...surfing!

He even learned to say "Wipeout!" every time he fell. After awhile he was falling of purpose just so he could say it. HA!

Everyone checking out Scott's catch.

Kate showing off crab #2!

Watching a movie with Courtney

Cooper and Meghan playing on the deck with his new, beach friendly Cars toys. (Thanks Grandmommy and PaPa!)

Courtney, Kristen, and Grandmommy soaking up some sun. (The wind broke our tent on the first day!)

Grandmommy came prepared with a fun seashell craft for the kids. The girls decorated purses, and Cooper made a box to keep his seashells in. They loved this!

Glow in the dark puzzles! Dad and I may or may not have spend over 2 hours working on a Minnie Mouse puzzle...what can I say, we have to finish what we start.

Eating a popsicle after being such a good boy during family portraits...bribery works wonders!

Kate brought her guitar, and performed her first original song for us. She wrote it about our sweet PaPa Foster. She brought us all to tears!

Cooper couldn't help but give it a try too!

What a fun time with great memories! Can't wait to do it again!

Hawaiian Falls-Double Dose

This past weekend our church reserved the Hawaiian Falls waterpark for family night. We met our friends Jeremy, Shelley, and Jax there and had a great time! There were no lines or crowds. It was great! The boys had a blast!

Jax and Cooper licking the water!


Today we headed back to HF for a special playdate with Sophia and Landon. The kids must have gone down the slides 100 times! It was actually cloudy and cool, a perfect day to be outside. We sure do love our friends!

Getting ready for some water fun!

They were all very intrigued by this water station. None of them ever figured out how to turn it on! HA!

Rodeoing with MiMi and Grandad

This weekend we enjoyed a visit from MiMi and Grandad! They brought Cooper some tomato plants and flowers to plant outside his house. Let's hope he has more of a green thumb than his Mama!

MiMi and Cooper planting the plants. (She was a lot more willing to get dirty than he was, but he was more than happy to do the watering!)

On Friday night, we headed to the Ft.Worth stockyards for some rodeo fun. Cooper loved the petting zoo (of course) and all the horses walking around. The rodeo on the other hand was a different story.

We got off to a good start with a box of popcorn, a new light sword, and a great seat between MiMi and Grandad.

Grandad explaining the rodeo basics

Watching the first event, bull riding. Cooper was very intrigued, but a little overwhelmed by all this action.

However, I think it was the calf roping that really did him in. As soon as we saw that lip pucker out and he crawled into my lap and said, "Uh-oh cow," we knew our little animal lover was done. Needless to say, we made a very early exit.

So, maybe our little cowboy is still a little too young for the rodeo, but we sure did have fun in cowtown anyway. Thanks MiMi and Grandad!

Singing, Dancing, and Jumping!

Cooper has become quite the entertainer lately. Here are a few of his newest tricks!
Singing "Old MacDonald" with guitar in hand, of course!

Jumping up off the ground! You can tell he thinks he is jumping really high. This cracks me up!

He has also developed a true love for bounce houses. This is a little bouncing from Toddler Time this week.

Dallas Aquarium

This weekend we took a little family trip to the Dallas Aquarium! It was amazing and VERY crowded! We had a great time looking at all the animals (in the air conditioning!)

Our favorite part was the shark tunnel. It was so neat to watch all the sharks, stingrays, and turtles swim all around us. This is how Cooper felt about it...

Watching the penguins

Grandmommy's Visit

This week my mom made her yearly week long visit. This tradition started when I was teaching. We would spend most of our time decorating my classroom and getting ready for the school year. While I have many good memories of those times, I very much enjoy getting to shop, relax, and visit during her trips now! Cooper loved having Grandmommy here for a week too! They read an endless amount of books, played, sang, cooked, and played some more! She also got to come with us to Cooper's Stretch and Grow class, toddler time, and the library! Mom even kept Cooper so that Chad and I could have a night out for our anniversary! Thanks Grandmommy for all your help this week! You are such a great guest, and so easy to please!

Cooper being such a good listener during Stretch and Grow.

Reading with Grandmommy