Jessica Kopp

Uncle Steve

Five years ago this week my brother passed away. He was an amazing man and taught me so much. He was an example of righteousness, compassion, and respect. He was a friend to everyone and was always willing to lend a helping hand. He was my best friend. I miss him everyday.

These are a couple of my favorite photos of us. They remind me of all the good times. Steven was always smiling, laughing and joking. He gave the best hugs.

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Here are a couple of special memories that have been on my mind this week. These are things I want to always remember about Steven. Things I want my kids to know about their Uncle. Things that make me smile.

• Steven was the best lawn mower. He was obsessed with getting perfect, straight, even rows. He lived with us for a couple of months between jobs and school and for rent he mowed and took care of the lawn. My lawn has never looked that good. (sorry Derek)

• Steven loved Saturday morning breakfast at IHOP. I don't know if it was the pancakes or the bacon, but he thought it was delicious. He was always gathering up a group to head out for breakfast, and on most occasions, when he actually had money, he would pay for everyone. 

• Steven was one of first people to the hospital when I had both my girls. He loved and adored his nieces. He left work early in Logan and drove to Provo to wait for hours for Abby's birth. I still remember him arguing with my parents and sister about not taking equal turns holding the new baby. He was a baby hog. When Sydney was born, he was living in Rexburg by us going to school and spent a lot of time in my hospital room just rocking baby Syd. 

• He was the best uncle. The girls would both light up every time he entered a room. He spent all his time with them crawling around on the ground and letting them 'steal' his hat. He hated missing the first two years of Abby's life while on his mission and spent the time after he got back making up for it.

• Steven had so many jobs. And each job was COMPLETELY different from the last. He went from grocery bagger at Carl & Dons to assistant at the local mortuary. He crawled around in attics working as an HVAC guy one summer and spent another grinding down cement and adding decorative finishes. He delivered electronic equipment for the Rick's College Library and finished metal roofs on large buildings. But no matter what the job, he gave it his all and never quit.

• When I started dating Derek, Steven was not very impressed. He wasn't sure about me getting serious with a 'city slicker' from Chicago. He thought he dressed like a 'pretty boy' and was kind of a geek. But this only lasted until they really got to know each other. Steven and Derek were always going to concerts together and talking about new bands and songs. They became the best of friends and enjoyed playing racket ball and poker together, going river rafting, watching movies  and eating cookie dough balls. And when Steven lived with us, they worked as an excellent team in making fun of me. 

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I'd love to hear any memories or stories  you have about Steve. He was always up to something...never sitting still, always making people laugh. Please comment and share.

And for a good laugh here is a the family photo that goes with the picture above. I've been laughing about my dad's hair and mustache all week. Enjoy!

  

10 Things Tuesday

1. Sydney had 5 teeth pulled at the dentist last week. Poor girl was miserable and in a lot of pain. They took 2 from the top left, 1 from the top right, and 2 from her bottom front. She was very brave and handled it better then I know I would have but it is not fun to have every part of your mouth with huge holes. She's had to eat softer foods all week because she doesn't have hardly any teeth left in the back for chewing. On the positive side, she was very excited to take all the teeth to school in a little tooth necklace to show her teacher and friends. And the tooth fairy came and brought lots of dollars.

2. Soccer is in full swing at our house. Practices 2 nights a week and games all day Saturday. Sydney isn't sure she actually likes soccer, but enjoys running around with her friend Sarah. We told her we'd pay her for every goal she scores, but we might need to start paying her for at least kicking the ball. I don't think she kicked the ball once in the first 2 games. Abby on the other hand is in LOVE with soccer. She loves to play goalie and is really good at it. She even got her own pair of goalie gloves from the Easter Bunny, so she looks super official. She played forward the second half of the game this week and was so close to scoring a couple goals.

3. Saturday we had 5 beautiful, thick, dark, smelly yards of mulch delivered for the yard. I was SOOO excited. This is something I've wanted to do for the past 2 years, but it never seemed to make it's way into the budget. We have the crappiest dirt in our beds, and I'm always surprised when things actually grow and don't die. It took Derek and a couple scouts a few hours to get it all spread out, but it looks amazing. 

4. After the hard days work of spreading mulch and doing yard work, I left Derek with the kids and hit the town with a huge group of neighborhood ladies. We went out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy and played a fun game of switching seats every time we came back from the buffet. It was so much fun to get to know everyone and mix it up a little. I've missed the last few girl's nights but I'm glad I didn't miss this one.

5. On Sunday Mary, the Relief Society President, and I wore the EXACT SAME bright red polka dot dress to church. It wouldn't have been to bad except for the fact that I'm in the Relief Society Presidency and had to sit up at the front right next to her the whole meeting. We looked hilarious and everyone kept commenting on how 'cute' we looked. I guess that's what you get from shopping at Costco.

6. I found my missing 'J' necklace this week. YEAH!!!! It has been missing for over a month and I've been sick about it. I paid WAY TOO MUCH for it at a fancy New York store 4 years ago but it is my favorite and been so worth it. I wear it almost everyday. I knew I'd placed it somewhere very 'special' but I couldn't remember where and have spent the last month whining and complaining to Derek about it. Poor guy was so sick of talking about it and even offered to buy me a new one. But last Thursday while digging through my change drawer in my car.....there it was, down in the very bottom covered by all the pennies.

7. And the reason I was digging through my change drawer was because I had promised Sydney this doll rocking chair from the Star Mill Antique store in American Fork for being so brave about her teeth. When we went to pick it up, I just assumed they took cards....I was wrong. Cash and check only. Sydney was heart broken we couldn't take it home because after all my digging and scrounging I still only had $6.50 of the $8 it cost. The nice man at store told me not to worry about it, take the chair and when I got a chance to stop by and give him the missing $2. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

8. It has finally happened, my baby can move in a forward direction. My life, as I know it, has changed forever. He is a human vacuum and find any and every scrap, feather, junk, paper, fiber on the floor and puts it in his mouth. He isn't very quick yet, but I know that will change by the end of the week. He starts by getting up on all fours, but then falls to his belly and does this little full body worm move while kicking out his right leg. I have to admit it is adorable.

9. I have been doing Weight Watchers for the past few months. I'm shocked at how many points are in everyday food but even more at how many few points I'm allowed to eat in a day. I am excited to announce that as of this week I've lost 10 pounds.....I celebrated with cake for breakfast. Probably not my smartest point decision.

10. I spent under 1 hour at my house today between the hours of 6:00 AM and 9:45 PM.  I walked out my front door at 6:00 AM to go walking with my Darci and Renee. And after working, running errand, driving carpools and a Relief Society meeting I didn't get home until nearly 10. I'm glad I was able to squeeze in a shower and couple of hugs and kisses to my kids. I'm hoping the next few days are nice and slow and I can stay close to home. We've been going non-stop for the past few weeks and I feel like I need some major time on the couch. Derek told me last night I wasn't allowed to schedule any projects for this weekend.......I told him I'd try.

5th Annual Lasson Family Reunion

*Warning Photo Overload Ahead.

We had a blast over Spring Break. The girls had the full week off of school, so we did what we've done for the past 5 years.....head to St. George with the Winwards, Hulls and Dowdles. Or as we like to call it, The Lasson Family Reunion. 

Here are a couple of the highlights.

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THE HOUSE

 
This is the amazing house we rented. We had never stayed here before, but would gladly recommend it to any one. It had 5 bedrooms and 4 bathroom, a huge kitchen, pool and hot tub, pirate themed playroom, 2 large screen televisions, exercise equipment (that we never used), tons of pools toys and a deck overlooking the beautiful red rocks. Did I mention it was AMAZING? 

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SAND HOLLOW

One morning we headed into Sand Hollow State Park for some hiking and exploring. The kids loved playing all over the Petrified Dunes. Evan wasn't sure he liked hiking, especially because it was right in the middle of nap time and he had to wear a hat, but he survived and eventually fell asleep in the carrier. I tried to get a picture of all the kids on top of the huge rock we climbed, but 9 out of 12 was as good as I could get. 

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SWIMMING

Swimming was the main event of the trip for the kids. We swam every day.....all day long. Someone was constantly in the pool. The little kids loved the hot tub bubbles, the bigger kids loved diving for rings and the dad's loved showing off and jumping off the brick wall, while the moms looked good reading a book on the side. Evan even got in on the fun and spent a couple hours floating around and splashing. 

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THE LADIES

A trip to St. George isn't complete until the mom's hit the outlets and have a TASTY carmel apple. Usually we do more looking than shopping, but this year I ended up with 2 new dresses that I was told I HAD TO GET. I love these ladies and am so glad for their friendship in my life. 

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This is the best tradition we've ever started. There is nothing better than hiking, swimming, eating, golfing, playing racketball, relaxing, watching movies, playing games and shopping with best friends. Like always, when you have 12 kids under the age of 9, things can get a little crazy, but everyone had a great time and we are all looking forward to next year already.

  

E is for Evan

 

He might not be able to crawl, but he can sure make a mess.

Evan knows exactly where the sticker bin is and rolls directly for it every time I set him down in my office. After the 3rd time of cleaning it up I got smart and moved the bin. Evan was so sad when he couldn't find it that he laid his head on the ground and cried.

*I should point out I did not stick the 'e' sticker to his head. He did that all by himself.

Evan: 9 months old

 

NINE MONTHS! WOW!

My mini Derek is growing up so fast. He is turning into his own little person with likes, dislikes, opinions and personality. He spits out food he doesn't like. He giggles at the sight of the gold fish package. He is frustrated he can't crawl. He cries when he gets left in a room alone. He loves to 'bonk' foreheads. His whole body wiggles with excitement when he sees his sisters. He pulls the dog's tail. He hates hats. He kicks off all his shoes. He gives open mouth kisses. 

He is wonderful!

   

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter weekend in Tremonton. It was great hanging out with family and celebrating the season. Derek spent Saturday on the mountain boarding with his buddies, while I took the kids to Tremonton for the annual city egg hunt.The girls love getting all the candy bars, but this year they weren't impressed with the snow they had to hunt through. In the afternoon we meet up with Shayan, Aiden and Katelyn and went to the movies and lunch at Olive Garden. Evan tried several times to shove complete breadsticks in his mouth and kept gagging himself.

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing, listening to conference, wearing bunny ears, hanging out, coloring and hiding eggs and eating great food. It was a perfect weekend.

 

As you can tell from the heat gun above, we are very serious about our egg coloring. No time to wait for them to dry.

Our new little bunny couldn't decide what he thought about the ears. One minute they made him laugh and then the next they were the stupidest thing he'd ever seen.

Last Week

Last week was INSANE. Nonstop everyday from the moment my head lifted off the pillow until I finally crashed around midnight. Here are just a couple of the extra things that filled the week.

• Monday kicked off Teacher Appreciation week at the elementary school and I got to premier the movie I'd been working on the last few weeks. The teachers and kids loved it. I was just so glad it was done and over.

• Tuesday we took Syd to her first of many orthodontist's appointments. Poor little girl has been 'blessed' with a tiny mouth and there isn't enough room for her teeth to come down. The next step is to get 4 teeth pulled.....two top and two bottom. This will make room for her 7 year molars to come in and then she will get a roof spacer. The orthodontist says she will probably have it for 5 years. Poor girl.

• Evan got a big boy car seat. No more lugging the infant seat around. I hate this transition, because I love the convenience that come with a portable seat. I put off the change as long as I could, but Evan's poor shoulders were getting squished every time we put him in it. 

• Two weeks ago we signed and sold a rental home we've had and been paying the mortgage on for the past year.  We were so EXCITED to see it go. Wednesday we got a call that the deal hadn't gone through and the house and responsibility for the mortgage in March were still ours. NOT EXCITING!

• Abby was selected to eat lunch with the Principal on the stage for displaying RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. She was so excited she was nominated by her teacher. She said the best part was getting a Fox Hollow flashlight.

• While everyone else has been cussing the April snow, Derek has been excitable counting the inches. He went snowboarding on Monday and again on Saturday. Nothing like tons of fresh powder to celebrate his last days on the mountain.

• I went to dinner at the Blue Lemon with my girl friends on Thursday. It was a blast. We are headed to St. George next week with our families and we used planning the trip as an excuse to eat good food and spend hours together laughing. 

• Both my headlights went out on my car driving home from a Relief Society training in Salt Lake City. I had to choose between my brights and making everyone mad or no lights and not seeing. I did a little of both.

• Sydney was 'sick' every morning before school and through a fit when I didn't believe her. One morning after carrying her to the carpool kicking and screaming, Abby literally had to hold onto her backpack to keep her from jumping out of the moving car. 

• We took Lucky to get a haircut on Friday and while picking him up I lost both girls and Lucky for about 10 minutes outside of Pet Smart. I was calm for about the first 5 minutes, but by about 10 I was completely freaking out. I was seconds away from calling the police when I spotted them inside a store.

I spy with my little eye......

something that is long, green, and slithery. Do you see it too?

This is Abby's pet snake February (named after the month of the year Abby found him.)

February was my surprise when I got home from Vancouver last month. Abby found him while I was out of town and some how convinced Derek that she could keep him. He was chilling in the the front room by the piano when I got home. I was so exciting to meet him IN MY HOUSE. You should have seen the look of 'thanks' I gave Derek. If looks could kill.....

After much discussion (and tears), it was decided that the snake could stay until it was warm enough outside for him to survive on his own. So for the past month this snake has lived in a 5-gallon bucket in my laundry room and garage. He is served an earthworm every other day and gets to be LOVED by Abby.

He was finally released into the wild this week. Abby was sad to see him go, but understands that it isn't fair to keep an animal in a bucket. I will admit I wasn't sad to see him go, but I was proud of Abby for taking such good care of him. Like I told her, someday when she has her own house, with her own rules, she can get her very own snake to keep forever.