Coop and Me

Cooper and I had a great Christmas trip to St. Louis and Illinois!

We took off the day after Christmas and arrived in St. Louis in the afternoon where Daddy was there to pick us up! We hung out at the house and ate some yummy Christmas leftover, packed up (in the rain/hail) and made the long trek to Dennis and Karen’s! We arrived there pretty late and did a little bit of chatting and entertaining before heading off to bed, when we woke up in the morning we had some breakfast and got ready for the day where we headed to Great Grammy Mary and Great Grandpa John’s wonderful Christmas on the farm! We did a lot of snacking, eating, and gift opening! The Christmas on the farm tradition kicks off with “family time” where each person shares their year with the family, then the youngsters help put together the Christmas Nativity scene where each person in the family receives a figure and the boys get to place it in the niche. Next we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and said the Lords Prayer before eating a great and filling meal! Then we hung out until our special guest arrived! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Santa himself graced us with his presence, we got to hear a story from him and the boys got to talk with him! Cooper went straight to him and played with his coat, hat and of course his REAL BEARD! We sang some songs and got to chat with him until Mrs. Claus showed up from her shopping trip to take him back home. After Santa we played “grab bag” which is somewhere along the lines of “white elephant exchange” after that everyone (especially the boys) got to open their real presents (THANK YOU TO THE FREESE FAMILY FOR BEING SO GENEROUS! I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU HOSPITALITY AND WARM HEARTS) After that it was more family times, snacking, and watching the boys play. Cooper was very worn out by this time that him and I laid down for a much needed and relaxing nap, when we awoke we ate once more and watched at the family rooted on the Illini to a double overtime victory! Once the game was over and the house was picked up we headed back to Karen and Dennis’s with the boys where we would stay the night once more! In the morning we awaited Karen’s parents Ralph and Peggy’s arrival and had a great omelet breakfast. After breakfast Aunt Karen took me out to ride my very first horse (something I've wanted to do for quite some while now) I got acquainted with a great horse named Toby and after getting him all geared up and watching Karen ride I was ready to try it out for myself. I thought it was great and I was truly fascinated by this large strapping animal (I even asked for one for Christmas! :) who knows this city slicker may actually be a country kid at heart?! :) After riding we had a ride in Grandpa Ralph’s Corvette and then got Cooper geared up for the car ride home with a full tummy and a clean diaper, we headed back to St. Louis! That evening we let Cooper run himself a little tired and visited the neighbor Susan for some sewing tips and inspiration (I got a sewing machine for Christmas!) She was also very kind and generous and I look forward to hearing from her and sharing with her what I am able to do in the future! :) Maybe we could even meet up when she visits her grand baby in Denver!

Thursday was another fun adventure day! It was a Grammy, Mommy and Cooper day because Grandpa had to go to work. We woke up and decided we would go to the train show at the botanical garden. We took a stroll around the block and then headed there, we walked through the train show and looked at all the great trains and all the great plants! Then we decided it would be silly to pass up such an amazing day so we walked around the gardens, Cooper was able to get out and run around which was perfect for him to get out some of that energy! His favorite thing was throwing the leafs in the breeze and watching them fly by! Afterwords we headed to the store to pick up a couple things for the impromptu casual get together with some neighbors and friends! The ride home turned into a nap and when we go home Grandpa was ready and willing to take the little man on a walk while Grammy and I prepared dinner. We had a wonderful tuscon bean soup using the good ol honey baked ham bone, and she also made us some yummy penne cotta! Then it was time to turn in early for the morning journey home. We had to wake up pretty early to get to the airport for our 6AM flight back to Denver but we made it home safe and sound! We had a great time as always and enjoyed playing with Grammy and Grandpa and all the cousins! Thank You to everyone once again!