Jessica Kopp

Nothing beats the county fair

Last week we took a quick little trip to Tremonton for the annual Box Elder County Fair. We go every year. I love it. My kids love it. Derek is a good sport!

I've been going for as long as I can remember and the girls have never missed a year. We look forward to it all summer and talk about all the things we are going to eat, ride and look at. To me there is nothing better then rides, scones, gyros, cotton candy, friends, sheep, pigs and old boyfriends all mixed together with live country music. 

Want to come next year?

Happy Friday

What a crazy week. We have gone non-stop and this poor little man has lived in his car seat.  And now we are headed into an even crazier weekend: soccer games, birthday parties, dance camp recital. 

Are you doing anything fun?

Cecret Lake

Last weekend we went hiking with the Dowdles to Cecret Lake up Cottonwood Canyon. It was our first hiking experience with Evan (5 weeks old) and even though it was kind of windy and chilly, he loved being snuggled up to Derek's chest in the baby bjorn. Sydney who is has always complained and whined about hiking, surprised everyone by being first up the mountain. And Abby was in heaven; she was outside, in the mountains, with her friends, exploring. 

Look at that HUGE moose right behind the kids. He was hanging out right off the trail. We sat and watched him for a couple minutes. The kids loved being able to get so close and thought they might want to go and pet it....we said NO.

The highlight of the hike were the salamanders. Ty and Abby came prepared with bowls and gloves to catch them, but ended up having to borrow some nets. They are fast and slippery. The water was freezing, but Abby didn't seem to care that much. Every time we turned around she was standing or sitting in it. Here is a little movie I made about our adventure. Enjoy!

10 'ABBY' Things Tuesday

Today is Abby's birthday. She is 9 years old. I can't believe my 'baby girl' is growing up so fast. I love to see her changing and experiencing new things, but I miss my little girl in pigtails. Abby is my tom-boy. Little miss independent. She is always watching out for others and isn't afraid to stand up for what she knows is right. I love her so much and I'm proud to be her mom.

Here are 10 things about Abby right now.

1: Abby's favorite food is cheese tortellini in alfredo sauce. She LOVES it. She wants to make it for herself all the time and doesn't understand why I'm not thrilled about her and big pots of boiling water.

2: Abby really likes the Harry Potter movies. She has spent the last few weeks having Harry Potter marathons and watching all of them in order. She used to have to borrow one of them from the neighbor because we didn't have a complete set, but she just got it for her birthday and is so excited. She is already planning her next marathon and counting down the days until the new one is available on dvd.

3: Abby loves all things that crawl, wiggle and live in dirt. No matter where we go, she can find a bug to carry around. She doesn't understand why some people run and scream when she shows them her "little buddies". Doesn't everyone love bugs as much as she does?

4: Abby wants to be a vet when she grows up. She spends hours a week looking up animals online. She especially likes to look at pet adoption sites and is always trying to guilt me into letting her adopt another dog.

5: Abby LOVES to be outside. She would live up the canyon if we would let her. She is always asking if we can go hiking or biking or camping. She isn't afraid to get dirty and is probably happiest when she is.

6: Derek and I gave Abby a new bike for her birthday. I think I saw tears in her eye when she saw it. She had no idea she was getting a bike and was completely shocked when she found it in the garage this morning. Not only is it blue, her favorite color, but it has hand breaks and 7 different gears. 

7: Abby HATES to spend her own money. She likes to look, but never buys. She is always putting things back at the last moment because she decides that she really doesn't need it. I can always tell if Abby really wants something because she is willing to pay for half.

8: Abby is the best Evan helper. She loves to feed, change and play with him. It is impossible for her to see him without giving him a kiss. She is so excited to teach him how to walk and ride a bike. 

9: Abby is turning into a little baker. She is always asking if she can make brownies or cakes or muffins. She is also always complaining that we don't ever have all the ingredients.

10: Abby is very creative. She is always coming up with new games and clubs for her friends. She loves to take pictures and make videos. Right now she is working writing songs and has lyrics pinned up all over her room.

Happy Birthday Gelly! We love you!

1 month

• Recognizes Mommy's voice and will turn to find her when he hears it.

• Loves his binky and sucks on it all day long. Makes a little 'oy oy' binky noise when he is ready to eat.

• Just discovered the flashing lights on the swing and loves to watch them at night in the dark.

• Takes lots of little naps during the day, but is a GREAT sleeper at night. Usually only gets up once a night. Thank you!

• Hates sunlight. Makes a horrible squishy face every time he goes in the sun and refuses to open his eyes.

• Only poops every 2 or 3 days, but makes up for it by farting all the time. 

• Abby picks out his outfit and changes him every morning. He doesn't seem to mind being a human baby doll. (She picked out the hat in the picture.)

• Working on smiling. Sometimes he can get one side of his mouth to work but not the other. But he always has 'smiley' eyes.

• We love him and are glad he is part of our family

Back to School

Yesterday was the first day of school. I can't believe Abby is in 4th grade and Syd is in 1st. The girls were so excited that they couldn't sleep the night before. Even though we had them in bed around 9, I don't think either one of them made it to sleep before 11. Around 10 I could hear something upstairs and opened Sydney's door to find her dancing around in the dark to Taylor Swift. She said she was just too excited to sleep. But even though she couldn't sleep, she was up and dressed, with her bed made, by 6:45. 

You can totally tell the girls' different personalities from their first day outfit choices. Sydney was purple and pink and sparkles, while Abby was black and punk and rock star. 

Don't you just love those gloves???

Both the girls love their new teachers and are excited for all the fun stuff they get to do this year. The highlight of Sydney's day was eating in the cafeteria....she says they have the most amazing snicker-doodle cookies. Abby loving seeing her friends from last year, but hopes her teacher doesn't talk as much tomorrow.

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BLAST FROM THE PAST:

Sydney graduated from kindergarten last spring, and I realized I never posted any pictures. So while on the theme of school, I thought I'd do it today. Sydney loved kindergarten. She loved reading and writing. And really loved Mrs. Belnap. 

Family Photos

The week before we welcomed Evan to our family we got some adorable family photos taken by the super sweet and talented Maggie Holmes. I LOVE how they turned out. At first I wasn't sure about having photos taken while I was 9 months pregnant, but I really wanted something to celebrate this time in our lives. I'm so glad I did.

Enjoy! 

Maggie will be back at the end of September for more mini-sessions. I would recommend it to anyone. But sign-up soon, because I know all the spots will fill up fast (if they haven't already).

Happy Hump Day

We are having a rather interesting Wednesday. Started off with a little fender-bender this morning in the school parking lot and now I'm making chocolate cookies from scratch. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Summer fun

Life is going a hundred miles an hour. I can't believe it is the middle of August already. Summer is over. School starts next week. Evan is 4 weeks old............wow!

We have been non-stop the past few weeks. Lots of family activities and camps. Here is a little snapshot of a couple of things we've been up to.

OREM OWLZ GAME

We try and go to a couple of Orem Owlz baseball games every year. This the first one we've made it to this year, but we had a blast and are going to try and make it one more time before the season is over. We love sitting on the grass, eating hotdogs and nachos and watching some baseball. Sydney was so excited they added a girl mascot "Holly" and wanted her picture taken with her. Evan was a great sport and sleep most of the time.

LEHI PIONEER CHEER CAMP

Sydney went to a mini-cheer camp last week with a couple of girls from our neighborhood. She loved all the dancing and yelling and has decided to be a cheerleader when she grows up.

VOLLEYBALL CAMP

While Sydney was playing with pom-pom, Abby was busy working on her serve. Even though she had never played volleyball before, by the end of the week Abby was in love. She told me she liked it better then any other sport she played before because it was in an air-conditioned building with a drinking fountain!

TREMONTON

I took the kids to my parents house for a couple of days. The girls had a blast hanging out with their cousins. They hung out in Grandpa's shed, made a fort, swam in the backyard, made tomahawks and rode bikes to the dollar store. I loved being able to spend time with my parents and sister....I even snuck in a hair appointment with my friend Jessica.

MR. EVAN

Evan continues to be an absolute joy. We love him so much. Poor guy has to spend everyday being kissed and loved and cuddled. He had a couple of important firsts the past few weeks. While we were in Tremonton, he got to meet his Great Grandma and Grandpa Lasley for the first time. He was a perfect little man and just snuggled up and went to sleep in their laps. 

Evan also got dressed up in his first 'real' outfit and went to church. He looked so handsome in his little khaki cords and button shirt. And again he was a perfect angel and sleep the whole time.

Hope you are having as much fun this summer as we are.