Christmas Holiday Update

I'm sorry for not writing for so long and now writing way too much.  There's so much to catch up on.  I haven't really talked to anyone.  I think I may have been subconsciously avoiding calling because when I hear all the fun and noise in the background it just makes me homesick. 

Christmas Eve we went to the Keeler's and made gingerbread trains and had appetizers and dessert.  It was a lot of fun for all of us.  They have three little boys 6, 4, and 2 so the kids had a great time and we felt right at home in the craziness. 

After we got home, we set out the gifts and read the Nativity story, then wrestled everyone to bed. 

Christmas day was definitely different than we're used to, except waking up at 7 and ripping open the gifts.  After we played with the goods for a bit, we got dressed and headed to the Skytrain station.  The kids have been dying to ride it since we moved here and on Christmas it's really cheap, so we decided to go to the Aquarium and watch their new Polar Express 4D movie.  The movie was very good, and the trip was exciting too.  It was certainly better than sitting at home driving each other crazy.  Boxing day was good for that.  Strange though to have Christmas so warm and without any snow.  It's been tough to get in the spirit, but we had a good one nonetheless.  Missed all of you and the games, food, conversation. 

The new train bridge getting good use already.

Feeding the ducks at Stanley Park on Christmas Day.

Madi as an elf for the Christmas concert; Clayton singing (in red on the top row)

The biggest crab haul yet just before Christmas.  We gave four to our neighbors and considered it our Christmas gift to them.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  We missed you.  There is a lot of new things on the blog, so scroll on down and catch up.  Once we get the web cam hooked up we'll try to keep in touch even more - face to face!  The kids are so excited, they can hardly wait and neither can I.  Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Iceberg, Dead Ahead!

Clayton brought home a book on the Titanic from the library and it has thrilled the boys for weeks.  Both he and Malcolm can tell you almost exactly how and why the Titanic sunk after watching whatever videos they could find on National Geographic.  Their new favorite game is building the Titanic out of Duplo, adding an iceberg and then engineering the entire tragedy from start to finish, complete with those poor souls who jumped in the frigid water or plunged to their death when the ship's end went straight up.  Then they "find it" under the water.  They are currently in the bathtub re-enacting the scene once again. They even turn the lights out because the Titanic sunk in the dark. I'm glad they are such sponges for history, I'll just have to work on something not quite so tragic.

The Titanic: The original World's Largest and Safest Ship...

And what happened four days later....

The Cooper boy's version of the ill-fated ship

Family Home Evening Humor

Madison gave us a lovely lesson last night for FHE which she came up with all on her own.  She chose her favorite pictures of Christ from the picture kit and told us, surprisingly well, the stories behind each of them.  Some of these pictures are included here: Jesus being baptised,

Jesus walking on the water (her absolute favorite), the ten lepers, the Garden of Gethsemane. 

It was very thoughtful and we were all listening intently (or as intently as it gets with three little brothers) when she pulled up the next picture and informed us that "then one day Jesus knocked on a door."

A good start to the holidays

We started our break from school with a bang - a birthday party we were all invited to.  There is a family in our ward that has two boys who have birthdays in December and January and they are about Madi and Clay's ages.  Instead of organizing two activities, their parents booked a theatre and invited their friends from church, school and the neighborhood and their whole family to come an celebrate with them.  She says they normally have a summer party, but they had a baby this year and the boys were disappointed that it hadn't happened yet.  This was a great idea though.  The theatre is older and rents out for private functions all the time.  It only costs $120 for the entire 272 seat theatre and their popcorn is $2 if you bring your own container, same for pop.   The Halls provided containers and cupcakes and the boys got to dim the lights and start the movie.  The kids were thrilled.  It was very exciting and fun being in a great big theatre with a bunch of people they knew.  If I knew enough people out here to invite, it would be a great way to combine all four of our birthdays in February and March.

Dan and the boys are out crab fishing again.  They went Saturday and caught eight of the biggest crabs they've ever seen.  We gave four away and kept the others.  Clay finished one off all by himself.  Sorry Scott, Mal and Steve - we have now learned that in the winter they get even bigger and meatier, so you'll have to come back and try again.  If they have as good of luck today Dan will take them to work for his clients to share on Christmas - just a nice treat they don't very often get.  We were missing all of you who eat crab on Saturday with that plentiful bounty.  We phoned three families to invite them to share with us, but they were all busy and sad they couldn't come join in.  I'm sure they'll have another chance.  I think Clay and Dan would go out every day this holiday if they could. 

Dad, do you eat crab?  Clay wanted to know if you want to go with them when you and mom come out, but I can't recall if you like shellfish or not.  Mom, I don't think you do, but maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe they'll be really big by then...

Blessings of a Multicultural Ward

Yesterday was our ward Christmas party.  We had a great turnout with lots and lots of food.  Surprisingly, more food than desserts.  Which was okay.  We had the usual Christmas fare - turkey, ham, potatoes, mixed veggies, stuffing etc., but we also had a nice surprise.  Due to the number of Korean, Japanese and Phillipino people in our ward, we also got to have homemade noodle dishes (what we would call Chinese food, even though not one of them is Chinese).  The kids were thrilled because rice noodles and shanghai noodles are one of their favorite things, and these people know how to cook them.  No one even took potatoes.  We can have those any old time!  Someone also brought lasagna, which was a change from the usual starches.   (We also have Italian members, not to mention a Scottish family and a woman from Britain).  What a fun dinner!  We sat with a Philippino woman who gave Madi the leftover noodles she brought because she knew how much she loved them.  While we were excited by noodles, she was excited to have potatoes!  Along with the food, we also got to hear 'Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer' in Korean and French.  It was a lot of fun.

On the same note, there is a woman in our ward who grew up in Ottawa.  I was mentioning that Steve is going to Toronot West and she was so excited for him because it is apparently the most multicultural, diverse mission in Canada.  We are second or something.  So, looks like Steve will get to enjoy some of these fun dinners and amazing people too.  We have really enjoyed getting to know all the oriental people in our ward.  They are very soft-spoken and gentle, but honest to a fault, and-maybe because they have to work harder at the language-they always remember the kids names and make sure to say hello and give a compliment.  Someone else told me that Steve will get to pick up lots of phrases from all sorts of languages out that way.  Maybe he's going more foreign than he realizes...

We do really love our ward here though.  It's kind of nice being in a ward with only twenty primary kids.  Everyone gets to know your family pretty quick, and they are all willing to lend a hand when needed.  Dan was sick at home last week and I wouldn't have even made it to the car after church if it wasn't for two priesthood who chased the boys (Clayton) down and strapped them in.  All in good fun, of course.  I really appreciate it because we don't have all of you out here, and they need people who act like aunts and uncles and grandparents.  My visiting teaching partner is about Mom's age and her kids are all grown up and she loves to help the kids whenever she sees them.  Spencer has a nursery leader, Sister Cho, who barely speaks a word of english, but always gives him big hugs and tells him she loves him.  And I must hear at least once a Sunday how 'beautiful' our children are and how glad they are to have them in the ward.  You need to hear that once in a while when you have 1/5 primary kids sitting on your bench in Sacrament meeting not being the example of reverence.

We also have another family in our ward who joined the church about 3 or 4 years ago and is in a similar family situation as we are.  They have three children  - 3, 2, and 1- and I love to watch them because I can sympathize with them.  They like to watch us and know they are not alone.  Their oldest, the boy, loves to run around with ours.  But their middle daughter, for some reason, has made me her second choice when mom is busy with the baby.  She sat with us more than them last night, and would only eat what I fed her.  She's adorable.  She reminds me of Mya- very petite and blonde and quiet.  She also loves Madi, and followed her around most of the night.  What fun!

Anyway, those are my ramblings on our very diverse, wonderful ward.  It is a real bright spot out here and we are learning a lot.  We are always impressed that our kids really don't see race or culture.  Our blessing living in Okotoks was that our kids learned to look past differences because we lived by Andy and Dan, who both deal with disorders like Autism.  Our blessing here is that they are learning to love people from all walks of life.  And so are we. 

A Barrel of Monkeys

Two funny stories to brighten up the colder days:

1. Malcolm and Dan were playing together.  Dan had him counting from 1-5, then running and jumping into his arms.  To make it a little more challenging, Dan asked him to count backwards, then run and jump.  Dan started counting, "5...4..".  Malcolm turned around to face "backwards", and counted "1...2...". 

2.  Dan was driving Malcolm and Spencer home from Superstore yesterday.  It was around 1:30, far too late for Spencer to start sleeping or he would just be up all night.  We're phasing out naps, otherwise we have a 21/2 year old up til 10 or 11.  As luck would have it, he started to doze just as Dan passed the 7-11.  Quickly thinking that he might be able to keep him awake with the promise of a few penny candies, Dan veered into the 7-11 parking lot.  He jumped out and went to Spencer's door, opening it and asking him if he wanted a treat.  Spencer raised his face towards him with his eyes closed and said," Yes, Dad, yes!"  Dan asked him again because he thought he was still sleeping, but he could tell Spen was straining to look at him.  Spenny answered again, but this time explained in a very worried tone, "Yes, Dad, but my eyes won't open!  I can't open my eyes!" 

These two keep us laughing, but the attached picture shows them demonstrating saying a prayer for a book we were making.  I imagine the face Spencer is pulling is the same one he would have turned towards Dan when he found it impossible to open his eyes.  Happy morning!

Hooray for everyone!

I have yet to say something to certain members of my fam-

CONGRATULATIONS!

Steve - we are praying for you every day and we are all so thrilled to think that you will be spending two years in Toronto West.  At least you'll get fairly normal food there.  Dan's sister lives there, and her husband is in the bishopric.  She said if you get into their region she'll take you out for a nice dinner, so here's hoping.  Wish I could be there to go to the temple with you, but I guess I've missed everyone else's too, so we'll all have to go together when you get home.

Mandy & Scott - Word is you're having a boy.  Lucky you!  I don't say that sarcastically, I really mean it.  Even though they are rough and tumble and crazy busy, they are a lot of fun.  A lot less drama.  And I'm glad to finally get a few boy cousins for my little hooligans.  There aren't any on the other side, so it's up to you girls.

Tiffany & Chad - I'm so happy for you.  I hope things are going well.  We are also hoping you have a boy, or two.  Hee hee.  I do not wish twins on you, though everyone seems to have suspicions.  I just hope you feel good and get a healthy little one. 

I don't know when I'll get to see either of these babies, or Tyler for that matter, but send lots of pictures.  I love to hear about all the bright, exciting things happening for all of you.  Steve, you can rest assurred that you will not be the only one who won't be around for everything for the next couple of years.  Maybe I can rig a trip in the summer...here's to dreaming.  Miss you all terribly.  I suppose listening to Christmas music doesn't help me.  I'm turning into mom and Grandpa, crying over silly things.  Wait, I was always like that.  Still, these tears are tears of joy.  Love you all, and good luck.

Lice, lice are NOT nice

Madison has brought home lice, so I have spent the week doing laundry, bleaching, vacuuming and pulling/combing nits out of hair.  The first time took me 3 hours, and yesterday it was one.  I guess I'm getting faster.  Of course, the second time there was only a few to find.  Disgusting!  I know it's just a normal childhood thing and we're not supposed to feel bad or unclean, but you can't help wondering how this could have been avoided.  I do have one suggestion - stop having 4-5 children share a cubby to hang their coats at school.  She got this from someone there, and I will never know who, but I have told her she needs to put her jacket into her backpack to avoid them that way.  Then again, she is seven and putting heads together is no rare occurrence I'm sure.  Help!! 

What a disaster.  They have a pesticide shampoo to kill the things, but they have yet to come up with something that can unattach the nits from the shaft of the hair so you can simply wash them away.  Not so great because the trouble is if you miss even one it can hatch and start the whole process over again.  I must accept that for the next month Madison and I will sit on the couch and do lice checks every night and regularly after that because who knows if the person carrying it at school will catch or take care of the problem.  Talk about Mommy/daughter time.  Ha Ha.  We watched the Christmas Shoes the first day.  Madi boo-hooed and then had to make sure I was crying too to make her feel better.  I tried to shed a few tears for her.  Mostly I was crying about the lice....

The bad with the good

Things have been kind of rough here lately.  It rains 6 days out of 7, which wouldn't be so bad if the sun ever shone in between.  It's expensive and busy and hard to make friends because our ward covers an area the size of Lethbridge, so no one lives remotely in the same areas.  Our car needed major unexpected repairs and our washer drained into the bathroom sink and overflowed everywhere.  Dan's schedule has been a bit crazy because they are working out the kinks for the transfer students, so it looks like we might be here an extra semester and still need to work out a 3 months practicum afterwards (as long as we can actually find a certified Rec Therapist to do it with).  I can't get work and we live in a very small space that can seem very confining when the weather doesn't agree.

But just when things seem to be oppressive and unbearable, I am reminded of all the blessings we have.  Driving home from Langley last week the sun came out and the snow-capped mountains were there, clear as a bell.  Then Clayton piped up, "Mom, aren't you glad we get to live here for a while?  We have the ocean on one side, the mountains on the other, and lots of bridges and lots of trains."  What a positive perspective in a dreary month.  We are lucky to have this experience.  So many people don't get the opportunity to finish their schooling once they have four children.  We have seen and done lots of things we otherwise would only have experienced as tourists, if ever.  We go to the beach in November and play in the sand.  We fish for crab.  We will be here when the temple is opened and we are seeing what it's like to live where the gospel is definitely a minority.  Dan has a job that allows him to choose his hours based on his school schedule, not his school schedule based on his work hours.  I get to stay home with our kids and we still manage to make ends meet.  We get to learn how to love each other even in a small space and, hopefully, realize that our family really can be our best friends.  We definitely have to depend on each other more and learn to compromise.

This is mostly for me, I think.  Just getting my thoughts down.  But that's where we're at out here on the West Coast.  Miss you all terribly, but trying to find the silver lining in all the "experience" we're getting.

Student of the month/Salmon returning home to spawn

Clayton was awarded a student of the month certificate for doing well in grade one.  He was pretty excited to receive it at the assembly.  It's nice to hear your child's teacher give such positive complements.  Or, rather, nice to know he's a great kid when he's not at home fighting with his brothers and trying to get out of work (ha ha).

Also around that time we saw salmon swimming upstream in the creek by our house.  It's a very bizarre phenomenon when you actually see it in real life, not on t.v.  They rest a bit in little pools along the way, then gear up for the big jump against the current.  It looks exhausting, but extremely cool.

Trick-or-Treat!

And here are the costume choices for this year - a hula girl, black spidey, batman and undecided.  Spen started out as Spiderman but stripped that off before we got out the door and ended up taking a sword and wearing a shield on his back, which he took off after about three houses.  In the end he was a kid in jammies getting free candy.  (He's got it figured out!)

This was about our nicest Halloween ever.  Madi even took her jacket off.  No one was freezing cold and we only had to go to one complex to get too much candy.  The snow at Halloween might actually be good for something - at least they get too cold and want to go home!  It was a lot of fun, especially for Mac and Spen who haven't really had the chance to grasp the whole idea of Trick-or-Treating yet.  All done for another year...

Pumpkin Party!

Here are this year's contributions to our Halloween experience.  The pumpkins are compliments of mom, who sent them across the mountains with the Bullock's.  Unfortunately, two of them succumbed to an early, mouldy death much like a lot of the pumpkins out here on the coast, but we were left with the other two large ones.  The little one in the middle is from Clayton's field trip to a pumpkin farm - the highlight of Grade One so far.  I will add pictures of the costumes etc.  later!

Happy Halloween!

Peekaboo!

So back to the peek into the lives of the West Coast Coopers. We are finally back online after a major crash in our computer, so for those of you who thought I had once again started something only to die out after a month, take all of your cynicism back. I actually missed coming on here. This is about the only writing I get done nowadays.

Life is rolling along at a ridiculous pace. I can't believe it is actually the end of October, halfway through the first semester of school and almost through Halloween. Time flies so fast when you're...well, not having fun, but trying to. Things are crazy out here- crazy expensive, crazy busy, crazy fast, crazy wet. But with all the change we are learning a lot of about ourselves and what we really want out of life. We also know this is where we need to be at this moment in time. If we hadn't come now, we never would have and we would have regretted it forever. So, we'll battle through the next two years and have some good laughs along the way.

How can you not laugh when you see these goofballs? The highlight of our month was when Mal and Steve flew out to visit. They may not have had as much fun in the chaos as we did, but we were thrilled to see family again, and the kids were especially thrilled to see these particularly family. (No slight on the others intended). These are the aunt and uncle they spent the last two years really getting to know and idolize them (yes, idolize). The boys couldn't be more happy than when Steve plays with them and Madi just waits for Mal to do her hair or talk girl stuff with her. It was so nice to catch up on their lives and pretend we're still young when we stayed up way too late eating way too fatty things. I really didn't want to say goodbye at the airport. Madi still tells me every day how much she misses them. We're waiting with baited breath to hear where in the world we'll get to hear from Steve in the next few years and so far Clay's only guess has been South Dakota. I'm praying for your sake, Steve, that he's wrong. I am only upset over one thing and that is that we only got two pictures that included Mal and Steve in the whole time they were here. I think Steve got one with all the kids, which I would like a copy of. The above are from our hike along the coast on Thanksgiving weekend.

That's the hardest part, I think. It's not the cost or the busy-ness or the difference in weather that makes things strange. It's not seeing everyone all the time. We love you all and hope everyone is doing well. Thank goodness for the internet and cheap long distance. It makes this a lot easier.

Here the kids are at the big white rock...in Whiterock, of course. The tide comes in so fast here that if you don't get out on the sand right away it might not be there when you come back. Scott and Mandy found that out with us while they were here. We got there and ten minutes later we had to find another beach.

Here are two pictures from Amleside Beach in North Vancouver. The beach sucks -it's all rock and wood and the kids won't get in the water cause it's too cold- but it's really cool to watch the ships sail out of Vancouver harbor. We were already impressed by the tanker ships out on the ocean, and then three of these cruise ships sailed by. They really are hotels on the water. The tankers would hardly even reach the deck rails on these babies. We were all impressed.

Madi and Dan in the water, Clay on his way. Tanker in the background.

More than just sand

Lest anyone think all we do is lay in the sun, here are some pictures from the suspension bridge and hiking trails in North Van. We have beaches and mountains. Not too shabby...

Crabfishing

Crabfishing has become our new family activity. Well, Dad fishes and we play at the beach. It's a win-win. The kids really enjoy pulling them up and watching them try to get away. We've had three keepers so far and the hardest part is putting these poor live creatures in the boiling water. But they do taste good. This picture is, obviously, not a live crab because it would be snapping at Clay with a lot of gusto. This is just one he found at the beach. It seems like I'm never around with the camera when we get them pulled out of the ocean and I forget to take a picture when we get home. Maybe next time I'll put a video on of the cooking fun. Scott and Mandy came out with us yesterday and I think Scott had a lot of fun. He told Dan he could just do that for the rest of the week. It's also a good excuse to sit out in the sun and play in the sand. Of course, we do that almost every day...

West Coast Journey - Day three
We have finally arrived on the West Coast. We piled our things out of the trailer and headed straight for the beach. The kids are thrilled. These pictures are, I think, from Whiterock and not from the beach near our house, but you get the idea. Lots of shells, crabs, starfish, oh, and seaweed. Look like it ought to be a lot of fun.

West Coast Journey - Day Two

Well, it is officially hot. Made it to Kamloops tonight and we were glad to get there. We went to the Train Museum in Revelstoke which thrilled the boys, and made a stop at the Enchanted Forest to escape the heat this afternoon. That thrilled everyone. Some of these poses is how we'd like to have our children while we travel.... They are being pretty good, but five hours a day in the hot car gets kinda boring, even with movies. I guess I could watch mountains and lakes all day, but little ones think you've seen one and you've seen them all. We drove through the Shuswap and Clay was amazed by the size of that lake. Just wait til he sees the ocean....