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.