My Beautiful Mess

Warning: This post contains an insane amount of photos!

My Cooperman turned 8 last week! I can’t believe it! Of course, I said that last year when he turned 7….and probably the year before that…and likely the year before that…

The punk had a week-long celebration! It started the weekend before his birthday because we had family in town. Nan, Grandma, Uncle Chad, Aunt Amy, and Cousins Jack & Sydney helped us celebrate at Flat Tire Burgers - very fun and very yummy! The funnest part was the s’more tray…

These boys have so much fun together…

And this girl is just so stinkin’ cute!

Then my mom, grandma, Cooper and I headed downtown to see the Lion King on stage. This was Cooper’s first experience at a big time theatrical production, and I loved sharing it with him. We both laughed, we both cried, and had an amazing time! He loved it!

On his actual birthday, our little fam met Gamma & Buddy at Incredible Pizza, which if you ask me, is not that incredible any more. But of course The Boys love it! They had a good time playing mini-golf, mini-bowling, and driving the cars - Coop is big time now and gets to drive by himself!

THEN, the weekend after his birthday, we had a party with his friends. It was a Lego-themed party at Martin Park Nature Center. Did you know they do not make Lego party supplies?? So we did our own. Cooper and his dad made the invitations with this photo of their creation…

I set up a scavenger hunt through the trails at the nature center. They had to find 13 clues along the way. Attached to each clue was a bag of Legos which we had planned to use for a building activity after the hike but we ran out of time. One reason we ran out of time was because we got a late start. Want to know why we got a late start? Because one of Cooper’s best buds tripped and split his head open! On my watch!!! He had to get 3 stitches!!! I couldn’t believe it. So after shaking off feeling like a complete schmuck, we were on our way…

Then Cooper had seen some photos online of Lego-shaped cakes people had made and wondered if we could try one! Ugh! I do not bake! But I do love my boy…just please don’t look too close at the cake!

Cooper, you are a kind, intelligent, and fun kiddo! You have the biggest heart for your family, for your friends, and for God. I am so proud of the choices you make and the example you set for others. You constantly impress people with the way you pay attention to the needs of others. Baby, I am THRILLED to be your momma. You are and will always be a constant joy! Happy #8!

Yesterday, my baby turned 5….I think (more on that in the next post!). Ever since we went to Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch last October, I have wanted to do his birthday party there this year. And, needless to say, we had an absolutely fantastic Saturday Birthday Party last weekend. The perfect weather we had was like God smiling down on our day!

This place is fantastic! The kids and grown-ups alike had a blast! I highly recommend that you go. They set us up with our own party area with tables and fire pits for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.

A big portion of our family was there and about 3 kids from his Pre-K class, along with their families, came too. We started off on a hayride all together, and everyone sang him happy birthday. Along the route, they have placed pumpkins hidden in the trees, numbered 1-20 something. The kids loved hunting for all of them.

All the kids also got to do pony rides. Birthday Boy first though….

They have a corn maze that The Boys took Nan through…

They have all kinds of animals to pet and feed - goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, a llama, and bunnies…

There is a hayfort to climb on….and have everyone pose on :)….

Me and The Boys made cookies instead of cake…

…and he opened packages…

….and I got lots of great cousin pics….

Drew, you had an incredible party for an incredible kid. I love your sweet heart, the funny things you always say, and the way your speak your mind. You love being home and just hanging out. You love your Big Brother and chocolate chip cookies and spaghetti and meatballs (probably in that order!). And your mom, dad, and brother love you “bigger than the universe!”

(I think everything is working now. I can now properly use tags and categories, though I will need to go back and re-tag and re-categorize past posts - someday! But everything is working - hopefully!)

Before I completely hyperventilate and fall to the floor because school starts in 8 DAYS, we are squeezing in every last drop of summertime and time together that we can get! So in that effort, Ryan took a few days off from work this past week, and we traveled to some great Oklahoma destinations! (slide show follows) You can also get some great deals on admission prices to lots of Oklahoma spots by going to Metro Family Magazine’s Exploring Oklahoma website - our kids got in free to all the places we went! Even better!
On Wednesday, we went back to POPS in Arcadia, this time to take Daddy and because it was their 1st Birthday! They hosted a great party with a moon bounce, inflatable slide, an incredible face painter, a hysterical clown, and free cupcakes! We finally had some cloud cover that day so it wasn’t even that hot which was a bonus! Cooper was completely enamored with Chester the Clown and followed him around everywhere, waiting to be part of another magic trick or some funny bit. Drew wants the face-painter to be at his birthday party! So in other words, we had lots of fun! Happy Birthday, POPS!