the last time

We were able to share some memorable visits over the break with my grandpa Earl. He had been sick about a month with pneumonia and wasn't making too much progress in recovering. My dad had an inkling this would be how he would leave this world.


He enjoyed watching his great grandkids play and run around at the care center which brought smiles to his face. We knew this would be possibly the last time we would see him. It was a sad goodbye but we knew he'd be taken care of.

lights in the night

We made it to one of my favorite places over Thanksgiving, Temple Square to see the lights!




It was fun watching Cooper look at all the lights, he LOVES lights of all kinds.


They had a huge cutout model of the temple in one of the smaller visitor centers which was really neat to see.


Mr. Benson all bundled up.

the discovery

Hey guys, I'm walking!

And he won't stop. We can't keep this boy still anymore. He decided to make walking his 'official' mode of transportation on Thanksgiving. It finally clicked for him that it's faster than scooting and crawling.

popcorn lover

I didn't take any pics on Thanksgiving for some reason but my mom came through with a few of my cute family. We had a fab dinner with all my cousins.


We went to the movies later and saw Tangled. Cooper only made it through the first hour but in that hour he enjoyed some serious popcorn, that he gets from his dad. Cooper sat and ate out of his own cup and was grabbin popcorn out of Lincolns' cup too. Probably the best part of going to the movies right?

planes & turkeys

We headed west for Thanksgiving for family and snow and Cooper couldn't wait to get on the airplane (not really). He did love checking them out through the glass.




We finally made it and had a fun night hanging out with our Olson cousins. Our family had flights coming in all day.


That evening us siblings went to visit my sick grandpa while the in-laws helped my aunt with some cute desserts for Thanksgiving. I couldn't believe she was able to get Steve and Adam to do these. They were getting crafty on us.


They're store bought cupcakes. She then softened 3-4 caramels, rolled them out, cut out a small area for the inside of the turkey. That circular part was laid over the frosting. Then the extra caramel from the cut out was formed around pretzel sticks to form the legs. Then a lip of green frosting was added around the rim and small pieces of angel food cake were stuffed in the opening to look like stuffing. Pretty cool if you ask me and the kids loved them.

almost a walker

Out for a fall afternoon walk and an attempt for some family pics, Cooper worked on his walking skills although it's more of a game than a mode of transportation at this point. A few more weeks and we might have a full walker on our hands.


The only semi-okay family pic, Steve didn't want to cooperate today and didn't feel good about any of the photos. Another attempt will have to be made.


Cooper was sure having fun hanging out.

white peanuts

An early Christmas package from Grandma came in the mail. With the toys hidden the peanuts were the excitement for the day.