Angel Child

The other day after I got out of the shower and had wet nasty hair, I was holding Ellie. She kept petting my hair and saying "Pretty, Pretty," then she said, "Bootiful," I told her she was so sweet. Then she patted my face and said, "I love you so much, mama," It was so sweet! It's great to be a mother. The joy of interactions with this beautiful little girl surpass my expectations every day. She is so much fun.

Groceries - What the $%&*@#?

I wanted to copy an image of a bag of groceries, but I haven't figured out a way to copy images from the web yet. Maybe one of my blog friends can give me some advice about that. My query is about groceries. How can I cut back and save money. My sweet, cheep little sister brags all the time about how she only spends $200/month on groceries. How the crap do you do it? Send me a list, I don't believe it. I spend more than twice that much. Do you have a separate budget category for non-food items like paper towels and diapers. Perhaps I'll try that next month. What do you eat? How is that budget buying any kind of produce? Please help me with this. I see ads for Albertson's where you can get 10 items for $15, but are you really saving if you don't pick items that you always use? And... is it cost-effective to go to different stores. Plus, I HATE WAL*MART!!! I like to get most of my shopping done at Macey's, is this why I'm failing miserably at a decent grocery budget? HELP!! We desperately need to save money so that we can do this whole in-vitro thing and add to our family. My grocery budget is the largest variable in my budget, I really want to do better. Any advice?

Upon our return from Jackson Hole, we wer delighted to get to visit the newest member to the Cooper clan - Baby Casen Stewart Cooper. While we were meeting the sleepy newborn, Ellie and Camden enjoyed some quality cousin-bonding time. I'm not sure if I've seen Ellie giggle so much. They had a blast rough-housing with the big stuffed horse. Are'nt cousins wonderful!

We just returned from our annual trip to Jackson Hole where Ellie enjoyed swimming at String Lake with her daddy, playing with her cousins (she is kissing James - Darcie and Ryan's youngest), and hiking comfortably in the backpack with mom and dad. It was a really fun trip. Ellie loved the water at the lake and the river. She really liked seeing the buffalo near our camp and laughed right out loud when she saw them. It was wonderful to enjoy the magic of the Tetons with our beautiful little girl. It was awesome family bonding time. Ellie was excited to get home though and danced happily around the house upon our return.

On the 4th of July, Ellie and I visited Bear Lake. Ellie loved the parade and had fun picking up candy. She really loves visiting Grandma Kristi's house. She loves that Grandpa Crane lives there so she can try on his cowboy boots! Daddy was off celebrating the 4th in Paris, France. We talked to him on the computer like we always do. He could hear a big Jack Johnson concert from his hotel room where he also has a great view of the Eiffel Tower. Yep, it's hard work being a pilot!

Ellie and her Mommy were very glad to be reunited and celebrated with a birthday party for Cousin Justin. Ellie has been singing "Happy Birtday to Justin" ever since!

Meet the Coopers

Welcome to our family's blog. We are having a great summer. Here's a taste of our wholesome recreational activities.

Dan and I made our second trip to Mt. Rainier summiting on June 28th at about 6:00 a.m. It was awesome and epic as we climbed with a team of 9 people on Gibraltar Ledges. I of course froze in the wee hours before dawn and swore to myself to sell all my gear upon return. However, the glory of the summit quieted my threats, and I'll most likely seek out other mountaineering feats.