What's On My Happy List?

Britains Got Talent-

I may be a sucker for anything Parisian but the same

pretty much goes for anything English too. I've watched

this video of Susan Boyle singing "I Dreamed A Dream" I

can't tell you how many times in the last two weeks. I get

chills everytime. If any of you have dreams unrealized, or

think you're too old or plain to achieve anything, think again.

Susan Boyle is an unemployed, average-looking, middle-aged

woman who lives alone with her cats. She's never been married,

never been kissed. But she did something truly amazing. She got

up in front of hundreds of skeptics and sang something so

touching and brave. Her audition video has over 49 million hits

on YouTube. Incredible. Wish I could post it here but YouTube

is not allowing it. I'll admit I half watch it over and over to see

Simon's reaction at 2:01, 4:02 and 6:12. It is priceless. I just love

that guy! Here's the link if you haven't seen it or want to see it

AGAIN. Watch it and get working on those dreams!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

What's On My Happy List?

Quote of the Day-
It was once said that Obama would be President
"when pigs fly"... Well.. Sure enough.. 100 days into
the presidency and.... swine flu.

What's On My Happy List?

Brie's mommy date-

Brie and I had a great time together at the Living

Planet Aquarium...

We saw a shark and other funky sea creatures. The jelly

fish being one of my fav's.

We both loved the jungle part.

Although at first, Brie wasn't too sure

about even getting near the glass when she

found out that an anaconda snake lived

in there!

The turtle was Brie's favorite. So much so that she came

home with a stuffed animal turtle she's named "Shelley".

She was brave and petted a pencil urchin and this green

brittle star.

We shared a salad at the Calypso Cafe.

Brie loves salad! What a funny kid she

is. Haven't had a child like salad at this

young of an age nor one who openly

expresses her negative feelings about

church and pre-school. Doesn't like

either! She says they are boring.

Since we are on the subject of boring

I'm reminded of a family night we had a

couple of months ago where we were

watching "The Work and the Glory".

Brie escaped upstairs to Gramma's

and when Judy asked her what she

had been doing. She said, "Having

boring Family Home Evening!" When

Grandma inquired further asking

why it was boring... she said "because of

watching a stupid church movie!"

Oh my! LOL

My teenager and tweens are

more cooperative when it comes to church

matters than my little four yr old! What's

up with that? You'd think it would be the

other way around.

I think we may be in for it with this child...

Just another funny thing that has come out of Brie's mouth

lately...

A couple of weeks ago she had a cold/cough.

When she was sick I rubbed the bottoms of

her feet with Vicks Vapo Rub to help quiet her

cough. (Sounds strange but it helps) She was also

having her fair share of Motrin. We'd make sure

she had these two medicinals to take to Grandma's

in the morning while I went to work and then we

would make sure we had them at bedtime on the

night stand in case we needed them. It became

a ritual. One night when she was bringing them down

from Grandmas I noticed that the lid from the

Children's Motrin was open. red flag. So I start

questioning her about it....(wondering if she'd been

eating the Motrin like they were candy or something.)

She innocently told me that she hadn't taken any. I should

have been more trusting, taken her word for it and left it

at that, but I kept pestering her with..."Are you sure, Are

you sure you didn't take any? Finally with disgust in her

voice, she says, "Do you think I'm STUPID?" (as in like..

duh mom, why would I eat a bottle of medicine.)

Hilarious. (It shut me right up that's for sure.)

What's On Our Happy List?

A trip back to the 80's .....

For several weeks now the girls and I have been eating,

sleeping and breathing the "Footloose" soundtrack and

music video. Our Stake just held a "Music through the

Decades" evening last Friday night where each ward had

to perform a musical number from their chosen decade.

The 8th ward had the 80's and we picked the theme song

from "Footloose". I had the privilege of being in charge of last

years roadshow and got roped into doing it again this year.

The current Activities Committee Chairman is my good friend

Phillip. Although he's a very capable man, he's nearing elderly

status and felt quite out of his element trying to pull off

something of this nature. (Just the thought of that makes me

giggle) When he said he wasn't sleeping at nights because he was

up worrying about the roadshow I told him not to worry and that

we would take care of it. We had so much fun last year doing

"You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray that I didn't half mind

having the pressure of pulling something together again this year.

Although Kyleigh, Emma and I started several weeks in advance

scheming about choreography and who from the ward we were

going to get to play or dance certain parts, we really only have

one week and two practices to put it all together. C-R-A-Z-Y!

(Usually about mid week I'm begging for a strong drink or for

someone to shoot me) LOL Can you blame me though? I, who

cannot sing, act and sure as heck cannot dance, am the roadshow

director. I barely know what I'm doing and I find that quite

unnerving and humorous at the same time. Thank goodness that I

have daughters who have talent in this area. They helped

tremendously. With almost double the people on stage than last

year and so many more parts to fill with the choreography, it was

a lot harder song to put together than "Hairspray". It may not

have looked as polished as last years but the thing we did

manage to do was have the whole ward, young and old,

represented this time. Can I tell ya how much I love my ward?

...best on the planet. Not only did we have men in their sixties

shaking their groove (my poor father in law one of them) but we

had young women and young men that we never thought would

participate, up on the stage. And they had fun doing it! That in

itself was quite momentous and the most rewarding part for me.

We've laughed our heads off watching the video over and over...

the improvisation in the moves, (the hearts on the butts), the

uncoordination and the two near mishaps were hilarious.

Hopefully I can get the video posted soon... when we figure out

the downloading difficulties. In the meantime here is the actual

"Footloose"video that we got our inspiration from. Fun stuff I tell

ya!

My 80's girls..gotta love the leg warmers!

What's On Our Happy List?

Our "Crack Off" Champion-

We didn't get around to dying any eggs this

weekend but were able to do so after school today in

preparation for our first ever "Crack Off" Tournament.

Hannah had the winning egg...it escaped without a single

crack! Because she outlasted all the others she will hold

the title of "Crack Off" queen until next Easter.

She was ecstatic!

Grandma won the first round against Emma.

Jaren getting in position to roll his egg against

Grandpa's.

Because Emma is very artistic and domestic.. she is loving

this cake decorating class she takes with her Aunt Dori

on Monday nights. She decorated this Easter cake tonight

for us to enjoy after our Tournament. It was really yummy!

We also finished up our traditional FHE lesson on the

Resurrection. That simple box pictured holds special meaning

to our family as it has represented the Savior's tomb for many

years now. During the movie we watched on the Savior, Brie,

in typical four year old grammar says... "He got died on the cross".

I love the things little ones say.

Other non Easter randomness....

We had beautiful Spring weather today. Brie and I enjoyed

making bubbles with the bubble wand.

Emma's winning team

We held our 2nd annual "Hoops Hysteria" gathering

last month with the neighbors where twenty one of us

drew our teams for this years NCAA tournament. One of

Emma's teams, The North Carolina Tar Heels, ended up

going all the way and winning the National Championship.

She won the money and bragging rights until next year!!!

Celebrating our Wedding Anniversary-

{16 years of marriage...16 reasons why I love

my husband}

*his understanding heart*being sensitive to my needs*

he's a peacemaker*love his hands*his love for old classic

movies*how teasing is part of his love language*his calm

temperament is perfect for a household of girls*his ability

to whip something up for dinner with what he can find in

the pantry or fridge*his cologne smell*he gives good advice*

our shared passion for good food-especially cheeses and

seafood*his help in ironing and helping us get off to church

on Sundays*his intelligence and love for higher education*

working hard to provide for our family*his excellent

BBQ'ing skills*because he's mine forever*

What's On My Happy List?

Easter


I know that my Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my everliving Head.


He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.


He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives...
"I know that my Redeemer lives!"




Some favorite pictures from Easter
Sunday....

Kyleigh and Emma actually wanted matching

skirts...imagine that!

Wish you could better see my favorite decor item this Spring..

it's a rod iron hen that has laid an egg. I picked it up at the

Art Garden...One of the most darling, quaint shops you'll

ever step foot in. It makes me smile whenever I pass it

on my front porch.

I just had to include this picture because it really
gives you a true glimpse into how our family picture
experience around the holidays really are. Just to get
everyone to cooperate is momentous as picture taking is
torture for most of us (especially for dad as you can see
he is not pictured at all, even in his springy orange tie)
Kyleigh's look of disgust at her younger sisters' goofiness is
so classic that I busted out laughing when I saw it.


Grandma's infamous Easter Egg Hunt was
held on Saturday. You've never seen grown
ups move so fast in your life searching for
eggs filled with money and the prized gold
and silver egg worth gift certificates. The
craziness is all over in about about 30 seconds
but it is so fun and looked forward to with great
anticipation.

Goodies from the Easter bunny....

Instead of coloring Easter eggs this weekend we are starting
a new family "egg" tradition by holding our first ever
"Crack Off" Tournament to be held tomorrow night for FHE.
Can't wait!

What's On My Happy List?

Spring Break-

Oh, how we love Spring Break! That feeling of being

able to stay up late and know you can sleep in the next

morning...it's lovely.

Some other highlights of the week...

A movie a day...rewatching some of my all time fav's,

First Knight, Sabrina, Chocolat, Pride and Prejudice,

along with some ones I hadn't seen yet, Nights in Rodanthe

and The Dutchess. Thursday we went with some neighbors

to the theatre to see Bedtime Stories. What a cute show!

Kyleigh's friend sleepover...Kyleigh had

some girlfriends sleep over Tuesday night. Somehow

it evolved to having some neighborhood boys over too.

Talk about giddy girls! Emma played "spy" throughout

the night by capturing photos. Cracked me up! They

watched "The Outsiders". I swear I watched that show

when I was their age. I tell ya, it makes me feel

old! They all seemed to have a blast hang'in out..Finally,

around midnight I had to kindly send the boys home.

Attending Jane Austen Book Club-

Our ward is starting a Jane Austen book club. I enjoyed

our meeting this week where we learned about her life.

I adore her period piece films but I'm afraid reading her books

might be the death of me. We shall see.

April Fools

Emma and Hannah played some clever April

Fool's jokes on the family. I found little surprises

throughout the day...the inside cereal bags had

been placed into different cereal boxes, bathroom

toiletrees being switched up, our bed being short

sheeted etc. Us girls played a good one on Dori and

Luis. We tended cousin Daniel for several hours that

day. The poor kid got dressed up as a girl in a dress

and bow with painted toes and fingernails. I don't

think his parents are ever going to leave him again

with the Cooper girls on a April Fool's Day. LOL

Girls Night Out- Everytime the men in the

family go to the General Priesthood session

Grandma takes all the girls in the family out for

dinner and gelato. After watching a movie, the

girls and I sleep out in the front room and watch the

morning session of General Conference in our jammies.

I wish we had General Conference more often. :)

What's On My Happy List?

NEWS THAT IL DIVO IS COMING
IN CONCERT TO SALT LAKE CITY...

AAAAAHHHHH! I seriously flipped (literally screaming
through the house... poor kiddos had wondered what had
happened to their mother) after I read the email
announcing that IL Divo has added Salt Lake to their 2009
World Tour schedule. I'd given up hope that they would ever
come to Utah. I figured we'd have to continue to travel to Vegas
or some other major metropolitan area to see them perform
live. A dream has come true people. But now we've got some
ticket drama on our hands. (Not that I'm not used to that from
the recent dilemma with the Archuleta Idaho Falls concert.)
Nonetheless, My sisters, nieces and I have got to decide what to

do with our Vegas tickets. Do we go to both concerts? Or sell back

the Vegas ones and get smok'in seats for the Utah show with our

hubbies? Decisions. Decisions.