-swimming lessons and soccer! with 3 boys all in swimming and soccer, we had lessons 4 days a week and soccer 4 nights a week. with brent coaching both jensen and burton's teams (yep, they were on separate teams) and evan having his own soccer night at a different location, we lived, ate, and breathed soccer this spring. as fun as it was, we were relieved to get a break during summer vacation....only to start it all again in the fall!
-my younger sister, jess, went to the temple for her first time in june. what a special opportunity it was to travel to the edmonton temple to experience that with my family.
-my brother robert was also ordained as an elder that same weekend and brent and i were happy to be in red deer to witness and participate in his ordination.
-brent and i celebrated our 10th anniversary (what!!!???)
-camping with friends in july was fun, even though the weather was LOUSY!! needless to say, i am so happy we purchased a tent trailer this fall so that when the rain pours, we won't be sleeping in our leaky tent anymore.
-staying in a lake house for a week with my family at hayden lake (idaho) was SO MUCH FUN that we have already booked another trip for next summer. evan is already asking when we will be going to the lake house:)
-we adopted an additional family member for the summer and early fall. it seems my brother rob was out to visit us in cranbrook almost every weekend during the summer. i even took to calling it "the summer of rob." we had rob boating with us, camping with us, hanging in cranbrook with us, cliff jumping and hiking with us....i would like to think he was here so much because he loves me, his big sister, so much but i'm pretty sure it had more to do with my kids than anything. he sure loves them!
-boating, boating, and more boating...any time, any where, as much as we could! WE LOVE BOATING. jensen, burton, and evan all learned how to knee board and wake surf (with help), and jensen and burton discovered a new love for water skiing. i think we spent 2 weekends of the entire summer at home!
-young women's camp...my first one as a leader. LOVED IT!!! i love our girls here in cranbrook. what wonderful young women they are. they have truly inspired me to become a better "older" woman:)
-planning and organizing my mom's 50th birthday in september. how fun it was to have her whole family there! i love the coopers!!!! and my mom, a whole lot.
-then it was time for my other brother, andrew, to get ordained as an elder. as brent was already going to edmonton for an orthodontics course, the kids and i tagged along and had him drop us off in red deer for the weekend so we could support andrew and let him know how much we love and appreciate him.
-thanksgiving in red deer came next. always fun to go home for thanksgiving and spend time with the fam. we were also able to go to the temple with rob for his first time - again, a truly marvelous experience!
-followed a few short weeks later by meeting in calgary to send robert off to the preston, england mtc to get ready for his mission in the scotland/ireland mission. tears were shed by all, still are sometimes by me!! but happy tears - we all love him so very much! he is doing awesome and it was so great to be able to talk to him on Christmas day. we love getting emails and letters from him and to hear about his experiences teaching the gospel. what an example he is setting for my kids...and for me too! and to think we will have to do it all again for andy soon....emotionally draining sums it up pretty good:) but i wouldn't want my brothers to be doing anything else with their lives at this time. their missionary service and experiences will be invaluable to them and to those they serve.
-then...change!! being called as the new primary president in our ward threw me for a loop and it took a bit for me to get my feet back under me. but things are going well and i am really enjoying my new calling. it keeps me busy! i am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord.
-and then the hustle and bustle of Christmas. we actually stayed home for Christmas this year - we didn't travel to spokane until the afternoon of Christmas day. it was really very nice to wake up in our own home on Christmas morning. i sense a new tradition in the making:) it was fun to spend a few days in spokane with brent's family as we have not seen them too much in the last 6 months...what with all the major happenings in my family!
-and then back home for a few relaxing and LAZY days over the new year's weekend. my mom and sister, jess, came to spend new year's with us and it was so fun to just do nothing with them. just to have them around to talk to, play games with, watch movies with, and just hang out. i love my family.
phew....reading all that made me tired again. really we did have a fabulous and fun 2010. as busy as it was, i wouldn't change any part of it. i love making memories with my kids and spending time with our extended families. that is what growing up is all about. it is fun to see our kids learning and growing - trying new things as they are getting older. it is rewarding as a parent to start teaching my kids things that i learned and loved as a kid, and seeing them start to enjoy these new things. i only wish that they wouldn't grow quite so fast....it makes me realize just how much more i need to take a step back, focus on the most important things, and treasure every moment i have with my boys and paige. they are so precious and i love them so much.
so, with that being said, here's to 2011! may it be as fun and exciting as the last 10 years!
