OH RIKKI!!!!

Charlie asked me to dress up for Halloween so I kept my promise...It was fun!
Now I know it's not Halloween YET but we already dressed up for our ward party!


It was very popular amongst the adults....Kids were confused..I Love Lucy..Hello!

Could he BE any cuter?


Our ward Halloween party..Ben dressed up last minute, he is a "punk kid snowboarder" but really, we all know that's his true self. Snowboarder: check, punk: double check, kid (at heart): check!



Masks weren't allowed at the ward party so here is Charlie's full Power Ranger costume!


Should have dressed this one as a jailbird!

QUIRKS..Who, ME?

Andrea tagged me to list 6 quirks so here goes!

1. Sniff sniff.....I need to smell all new food before putting it into my mouth. Ben teases me, but really, all I need is one good sniff and I already know whether or not I want a taste. I also REALLY love to sniff a freshly opened Snickers bar. Almost more then actually eating it. The eating is usually a slight let down after the awesome aroma!

2. This one drives Ben crazy-I am lazy when it comes to screwing lids on things tightly. I just set lids on top of stuff and this can cause problems when someone else (namely Ben) tries to pick it up by the lid! Peanut butter, bottles of pills, hairspray, you name it and the lid might not be on tight at my house...

3. I spell words in my mouth with my tongue on my teeth. The last word someone said, or a word I am thinking of. Now that is embarrassing and strange, I KNOW!

4. I make up and sing the dumbest songs to my kids...Those of you who know me best know my knack for singing about the mundane. One of my most popular right now is "keep it up, keep it up, you're doing great" which is to be sung when Charlie is cleaning his room. He will amazingly clean his entire room and put away all his clean laundry and make his bed with a smile on his face if I sing/chant that the whole time. Small price to pay to get him to enjoy his chores! I also have several versions about how cute the baby is and things like that. Sometimes I sing "go get your shoes on," and other instructions. Charlie also seems to have inherited/learned this talent and it's very cute when he sings his responses to me..Now that isn't weird is it?

5. I have a major aversion to doing laundry. Especially putting it away. I would rather clean the ENTIRE house then fold and put away the laundry. This one I share with Andrea but I'm having a hard time thinking of 6 so I had to post it anyway. ;-)

6. It's hard to think of 6 that I will make public without embarrassing myself......Sorry..I guess 5 is all you get!

I tag Becky G. and Kari S.....GO!

DID YOU KNOW??


That making a haunted candy castle is more fun then going to the racetrack? Amazing!


That Charlie went to a farm with his pre-school last month and ACTUALLY rode the horse?


This is his overall impression of the pigpen.....


Did you know that Charlie takes some pretty funny pictures when he's allowed to run free with the camera?


That this is the weather today? Soccer got canceled..YIKES!


Did you know that Andy is in the 77th percentile for height and the 6th percentile for weight! Wow...This is how to feed a baby who doesn't like his bottle. He's also taking medication for reflux and things are going pretty good as long as you know the tricks! (picture taken by Charlie, which explains why no Andy is visible!)


Did you know that these guys are pretty wonderful? I sure did....

-CSI TOOELE-

DATE: September 12, 2008

TIME: 7:43 p.m.

SCENE OF THE CRIME: Nearly empty neighborhood


WITNESSES:Andy Cook/Christina Cook


AVAIL. ASSISTANCE: NONE


EVIDENCE:One blood trail 1/4 mile long


PERPETRATOR: Gravel Blaster Bike


VICTIMS:Charlie Cook/one front tooth


VERDICT:
Charlie's got a brand new smile.........

LOVE YOU BEN!!!


This week has been a busy week! Soccer practice, pre-school, work, birthdays, scout camp etc! Ben and I's 9th anniversary was on Wednesday! He got me these roses which are GORGEOUS I couldn't help but want pictures of them!

This is what I got him!


TA DAAA!!!

Hee hee! Homemade zucchini bread. The best looking loaf is already gone, this is what's left of the second smaller loaf!

However, he offered to get off work early and take the kids so I could go to Ogden to celebrate my friend Andrea's 29th birthday. It was her very first 29th birthday of many other 29th birthdays' to come so I wanted to be there. That's what you gotta do sometimes if you choose to get married on one of your best friend's birthdays. We had so much fun! Pedicures, dinner, and chocolate fondu!




(Far be it from me to not give credit where credit is due. Jennie Taylor had the camera, took the pictures and I stole this collage from her blog...Thanks Jennie, I hope you don't mind!)

Today is also Ben's thirty-mumble mumble cough 'th birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!!!!!!!

I wanted to come to his work today and make a big deal about it since I won't see him till tommorrow (scout camp tonight) but he said this morning he wouldn't even have five minutes! Sad!

So, our anniversary and birthday celebrations are post-poned for a less hectic week! I am looking forward to some alone time with this awesome guy!

AHOY Matey!


Charlie started his second year of preschool today (please note his obligatory fake smile for Mom). This; however, is my FIRST time taking him to preschool when I am actually home! Most of you know he went to preschool last year but it was at the childcare center that he had gone to for years when I was at work all day, so it was a bit different. They had a pirate theme. He had SUCH a fun time!

Here he is displaying his loot. He said "I have the best school ever!" Clearly the first day pirate kickoff was a hit!


I also thought I'd post this picture of the face I am greeted with each morning and after every nap! He is so sweet!

HMMMM....

So I got a new bed set. My original plan was green tea colored bedding with brown walls. As you can see somehow I chose this chocolate brown bedding. I am not sure if I love it or not, but Ben really likes it and doesn't want the green stuff and I'm not sure I want to return it all since I have to do mostly online shopping. SO...Now I am stuck. What color should I paint? I don't want to do brown for fear it will all be brown and boring. So...Any thoughts? I've considered soft yellow, Ben suggests a wheat/tan color, how about pale olive like Andrea's lovely kitchen? What do you guys think? Any other ideas?

On a more important note Charlie started his first season of soccer. He was super excited about it and had his first game Wednesday night. He got tired and grumpy before the game started and almost didn't play! Luckily we talked him into it and he had a wonderful time!


He was playing with a goofy grin on his face half the time. Which I loved but wasn't able to get on camera! He is number 4. My brother-in -law Bret volunteered to be their coach and is doing a great job! Thanks Coach Bret!

Also keep your fingers crossed for Andy..He really struggles with his bottles and it seems like they cause him pain. So we are going to have an upper GI study done at the hospital to see what is going on, possibly reflux. If that doesn't tell us anything there is a feeding therapist we have an appointment with. I hope it works out soon!
We think he's pretty wonderful!