Cooks Come to Visit

My family came to visit for a week, and we had a lot of fun. My mom and brother and sister flew in on Saturday, and then my dad drove in on Monday. Tyson and Sariah really enjoyed their first airplane ride. They were also excited to see Patrick again, and I know Patrick loved having lots of people around to play with. Tyson quickly became his little buddy. Patrick would grab his finger and drag him downstairs to play trains. He also loved to copy everything Tyson did.

Tyson and Sariah got new rollerblades, and they were out in the street all week making friends with the neighborhood kids. Patrick got a t-ball stand, and he wanted to try out Tyson's helmet, so I got some cute pictures of that. He figured out how to hit the ball very quickly.

On Tuesday we went to a cute place nearby called Tinytown. It is just a short drive up in the mountains, and they have over 100 tiny houses they have built and made in to a town. There is a post office, library, school, etc. They also have a cute little train to ride. (Since playing with his train set, when you ask Patrick what a train says, he now answers, "crash.") All the buildings were just the right size for Patrick to peek in and explore.

They had these tiny benches for the kids to sit on and Patrick was obsessed with showing us the animals on the benches.

He kept coming back to the benches to show us the rhino!

And the giraffe.

I love this picture with their three little bums sticking out of the movie theater.

This was the library. When I showed Patrick the books inside, he kept trying to pull the door open because he wanted to read the books.

Patrick enjoyed the train ride and sat so good while we watched the kid in front of us throw a royal tantrum.
Tyson in jail.

Peek-a-boo!

There was a playground there too, so I let Grandma and Grandpa chase him around for a while and I took a break!

Silly Tyson and Sariah wanted to swing in the baby swings!

I warned Grandpa that once he got in the swing, he was going to be pushing for at least 20 minutes.

My family got a Wii for Christmas last year, and since we had never played Guitar Hero, they brought it so they could show us how fun it is. My brother is really good at the guitar, and my sister is a pro at singing. She knows all the songs. Patrick learned the drums from Grandpa.

We also went back to the Museum of Nature and Science and the zoo. I don't have any pictures from the museum, but Patrick enjoyed it even more than last year. And of course we can never go wrong with the zoo.

My family was also here to celebrate Patrick's birthday, which made it even more fun! Thanks so much for coming all the way out here!

4th of July

Our 4th of July weekend was busy and fun. On Saturday we had our ward pancake breakfast that I was in charge of (and Reed so graciously assisted me). I was up late the night before cooking 12 lbs of sausage and 10 lbs of bacon. But it was worth it because I think everyone who came had a good time and it was much easier just cooking eggs and pancakes in the morning. I had a much better turn out this time, and I am hoping that people continue to enjoy my activities so that each time I can have a few more people.

Of course the missionaries were there to help us finish the leftovers!

This is basically what Patrick thought of the whole morning. He was mad a me for getting him up early and then passing him off to others while I ran the breakfast. Not a very happy camper. But he had plenty of rocks to play with.

The scouts did a flag ceremony for us after breakfast and then we sang "America the Beautiful." Someone told me that our ward hadn't done a breakfast for many years, so I think they liked it. I grew up going to my Grandpa Cook's ward's breakfast almost every year, and I always thought it was a good way to start the 4th.

That afternoon we picked up Grandma Cook and my brother and sister, Tyson and Sariah, at the airport. We tried to see fireworks on the 4th, but the storm that blew in was much bigger than we thought it was going to be, so no fireworks this year.

Water Fun

Yesterday we played in the water in the front yard. Patrick had fun filling up his bucket and splashing mommy. He also loved to help me water the plants. We also went to the splash park today, which was also very fun. Patrick enjoys the water, and I enjoy having a house and a yard to be able to play in the water in the warm afternoon sunshine.

Patrick's Big Boy Bed

Patrick slept in his new big boy bed last night! He went to bed just like he always does, and after he said good night (in monkey) we didn't hear a peep from him. I checked on him early this morning and he had fallen out of bed at some point because he was asleep on the floor. (We put pillows down in case of that.) But he didn't cry or anything, so I guess he likes it, and hopefully he learns quickly how to stay in bed!

We found the bed on Craigslist for $25 (what a deal!) and Grandma and Grandpa Haight got him the mattress. I made his blanket and pillowcase, and he will have matching window treatments soon. I am very proud of myself for making this quilt. I found this adorable fabric and knew it was just what I wanted for Patrick's room. It is fun and colorful, but it is not baby-ish and will last him many years. I did the whole quilt myself from piecing to quilting to binding. You can't see the quilting in the pictures, but I did a cute yellow zigzag on the seams. It is the biggest quilt I have made, and I love it!

Father's Day

Reed is an AWESOME dad, and we had a nice Father's Day on Sunday. Reed actually got his presents on Friday, because I have a really hard time waiting to give gifts, and I wanted him to grill our hot dogs Friday night. I really want to get him a nice big grill eventually, but we just can't afford one right now, so in the mean time I got him a little portable gas grill. It might seem funny, but it works well for our little family right now. He also got some big BBQ tools for when he does have a big grill. And I got him this t-shirt, which is from one of my favorite childhood movies, Tommy Boy. Oh yeah, Reed likes it too. :)

Saturday we got up early and went to the zoo. This summer members can get in at 8:30, so that is what we did, and it was PERFECT. We had almost 2 hours in the zoo before it got really crowded and warm. And a lot of the animals were active because it was early and they were eating. Patrick said all the animal noises as we walked through the zoo.

Sunday we had a great dinner with the family. Reed woke up early to work on his pulled pork. He inherited a smoker and really wanted to try smoking the pork. For his first attempt, it turned out beautifully. He smoked it for about 9 hours, and it tasted great. I made some coleslaw, and we had frog eye salad and watermelon. I also made chocolate raspberry pie.

It was a great weekend filled with great family time. Patrick really loves his daddy. He stands by the window in the afternoon and waits for daddy to come home. He enjoys being tickled and chased and playing ball with dad.

Can you say, "coolest house on the block!"

This is the GIGANTIC train set (nine trains!) Patrick inherited from my brother, Tyson. We finally acquired a piece of carpet so we could set this up in the basement, and this afternoon I conquered the train set. I know you must be thinking that a degree in engineering is required to set this up, and it was a challenge, but obviously not impossible! I am so happy that we have the space to keep this up so Patrick and his friends can enjoy playing in the nice cool basement this summer.

Thanks Uncle Tyson for giving Patrick you trains and thank you Grandpa Cook for mailing it.

I am waiting for Daddy to come home to show Patrick the train. So far I have been able to keep it a surprise, which is a miracle in itself. I will post more pictures when he is playing with it.

I Heart Glee

I just watched the season finale, and I only have about three months to anxiously await the season 2 premiere. Sigh.

Sloppy Joes

Last night we had sloppy joes for dinner. While making the meat sauce, I took some in on the wooden spoon to Reed so he could taste it and let me know if I needed to add anything. I walked past Patrick with the spoon, and he had a mild heart attack, probably thinking I had cookie dough or something yummy like that. He had to have a taste too.

So when we get to actually sit down and have dinner, Patrick refuses to eat his sloppy joe until I smoosh the meat onto the wooden spoon for him to pretend he is licking it off like cake batter.

He proceeded to eat a whole plate like this.

Our strange and wonderful child.