Jessica Kopp

Trick or treat

10 Things Tuesday: Halloween Highlights

1. Evan's excited little voice saying 'thank you' for every piece of candy.

2. Abby's last elementary school Halloween parade.

3. Sydney got almost half a pillowcase full of candy.

4. Derek and I both made it through Halloween without dressing up.

5. NO SNOW!!! Perfect trick or treating weather.

6. Evan's favorite candy was a huge gum sucker.

7. Cheetos and orange soda for lunch. Crappy (aka: yummy) food all day long.

8. The girls decided it was cooler to trick or treat with friends and not mom and dad.

9. Candy sorting at the end of the night. M&M had a big night.

10. Evan's death grip on his candy basket. He wouldn't let anyone near it.

Happy Halloween

As I type this I'm eating a pile of candy for breakfast (2 licorice sticks, Sour Patch Kids and 3 candy bars.) That's what you do on Halloween right? I'm already thinking about lunch.....maybe a Butterfinger?

Halloween has already been super fun and we haven't even gotten to the main event of trick or treating yet. Between 6 different neighborhood, work and friend parties we were on the move all weekend long. The kids loved spending so much time in their costumes. It actually made all the work worth it. Abby was only out of her costume for 3 hours in the afternoon on Saturday. She spent most of the day playing at Nickelcade and going to her first official boy-girl party. Last night we celebrated with the Dowdles. I made my 'famous' pumpkin chili and the little kids dined on Halloweenies (aka: hotdog mummies) and Cheetos. 

Evan is in LOVE with Buzz Lightyear and watches the movies a couple times a day. I had to do a lot of searching to find this costume in his size, but it was totally worth it to hear Evan squeal with delight when he looked in the box and saw it. His whole face totally lit up. He was so excited to put it on and show and tell us about the wings and all the buttons. He even flew around the house yelling "to infinity and beyond."

But all of this abruptly ended when he looked in the mirror. He was terrified and we couldn't get it off fast enough. He kept yelling "I NO LIKE IT." For the past month he has continued to hate it and won't go near it, let alone, try it one. Saturday we had Derek's work party and we finally got him to give it a try after bribing him with lots and lots of candy. We avoided all mirrors and he kept it on the whole time. I've got my fingers crossed for tonight. Sydney has been practicing trick or treating with him all week and I can't wait to see how excited he get when he has a pumpkin full of candy.

I think Syd is going to be a princess every Halloween for the rest of her life. She loves the fancy dress, the pretty shoes, the glitter, the crown, the makeup and gorgeous hair. This year she even gets to carry a stuffy around all day.

We only got this costume because it was 75% off the day after Halloween last year, but it is perfect for Abby. Not only is it blue, her favorite color, but she likes being something a little different then everyone else. She loved putting on all the makeup and sticking chopsticks in her hair, but she didn't like being called Mulan. For the record she is NOT a Disney Princess.

Today was a great day

Abby dominated on the soccer field.

Hugs from my dad.

Amazing weather.

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Laundry washed, folded and put away.

Sydney's art lessons.

Evan didn't have any accidents

Floors mopped and vacuumed.

A little breaking and entering.

Shopping with my mom.

Cheesy bread and pizza for dinner.

Packing for California.

Here Comes the Bride....Meghan

I was honored that Meghan, my cousin, asked me to take her bridal photos. She looked absolutely beautiful and perfect (and tiny.) We got a little bit of a late night (hate Utah traffic) but we raced against the sun and won.

*Sorry for the picture overload. I just have so many favorite, it was so hard to choose which ones to share.

 

10 Things Tuesday: September Stuff

1> Evan is doing amazing at potty training. He hardly has any accidents, but several times he has announced he needed to go potty and we are no where near a bathroom. I've never had a boy before but I'm quickly learning about 'peeing like an indian.' Last weekend I had him pee on the tire of the car while at a fall carnival. Now he asks all day long if he can go potty on the tire. Last night he took off all his clothes and I barely grabbed him as he was headed out the door to pee on the car.

2> I love watching church in my pajamas from my couch. The kids built a pillow fort and cuddled up together in front of the television. Sydney drew and labeled pictures of all the speakers. For some reason every person had huge ears and crazy hair.

3> Abby and Derek built a rocket for the 6th grade rocket launch. It was a major ordeal that involved a lot of cutting, gluing and late night cussing. They both claimed to be master rocket builders, but after all the incorrect cuts and bad angles, I'm not convinced. It took a lot of tape to keep that rocket in one flyable piece. In the end, the rocket flew up nice and high.....but the parashute was a no show.

4> The Blizzards are back. Soccer season is in full swing and it's turning out to be a great year. Derek got his exact team, plus 1, from last year and they are picking up exaclty where they left off. They are passing and spreading out and scoring tons of goals. Even though they aren't winning every game, they are playing hard and learning lots. Abby has scored a goal in almost every game. She is super fast and not afraid to get a little aggresive.

5> Sydney participated in the 3rd grade egg drop. It took a lot of cardboard, tape, styrofoam and plastic, but when the egg was dropped from the roof of the school it didn't get a single crack. She then stuck the egg in her backpack unprotected and surprise, surprise, it broke all over EVERYTHING.

6> We got new lamps in out master bedroom. Usually this wouldn't be something to write on the blog about, but our lamps both broke over a year ago. After complaining every night it still took over 12 months to get them replaced. 

7> OneRepublic played a post game concert after a REAL game and the girls thought it was cool to see the "real" people play the songs they hear on the radio all the time. We left after a couple of songs because the girls didn't like being so squished in the crowd in front of the stage.

8> Evan is spending more and more time in timeout lately. He isn't very good at sharing and has taken to hitting and pushing to get what he wants. He just sits on the bench, hangs his head and cries and cries. But the second he is done with timeout he perks up, stops crying and yells, 'Happy again!" 

9> We bought a huge box of toaster waffles from Costco and it was gone in less then 3 days. I think Evan had then for every single meal and snack in those 3 days. He woud eat his normal breakfast, lunch and dinner and then follow up with a waffle. I was glad to see them gone because it meant no more fighting over the toaster from the girls. One morning Abby was carrying the toaster around the house with Sydney following her screaming and complaining.

10> Abby did it again. She is a 6th grade representative in the Student Council. She isn't excited about the early morning meetings but she is looking forward to making a difference and planning cool stuff for the school.

What happened to September?

I don't know about you, but I blinked and September was gone. It is always a crazy month with school starting, soccer games, tons of birthdays and regular life, but this year we decided to make it a little more crazy and threw in a HUGE family vacation, photographing a wedding, family photos, a daddy-daughter date, black eyes, best friends moving, grandma visits, hiking and a couple of surgeries.  

Now do you understand why I haven't been blogging? I'm going to try and play catch-up this week. Here are a few photos to start off the September Review.

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We started off the month with a Western Daddy-Daughter Date. The girls were so excited and started planning what they were going to wear days before (plaid shirts and bandannas.) The night of the big event they played daughter trivia games, glittered and jeweled bandannas and ate lots and lots of pie.

Can you see Derek's black eye? Would you believe me if I said he got in a fight at a rock concert????

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Cecret Lake is a Kopp and Dowdle family favorite. Even though we were too late in the season to catch the salamanders, it didn't stop the kids from exploring, climbing rocks, falling in the lake and getting dirty. My favorite part of the day was the absence of whining. Usually we are dragging a sad Sydney up the mountain, but this year she literally ran all the way up and down with a smile on her face.

I see London, I see France

 

I see Evan's underpants.

I know he is going to kill me someday for posting these pictures, but I just can't help myself. We are in full blown potty training mode at our house this week and Evan running around with a Buzz and Woody bum is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. He is really getting the hang of it. Yes, we still have accidents, but its only been a couple days and I think he is doing amazing (tons better than his sisters.) He tells you when he needs to go, runs to the bathroom, and isn't afraid to go poop.

It's just another thing to checkoff on the list to becoming a BIG BOY!

Happy Birthday Abby!

I can't believe she is 11. She gets more and more grown up every year. She used to worry about bugs and getting dirty, now she worries about friends and boys and clothes and ipods.

I am constantly amazed by her and the amazing young women she is turning into. She is kind, patient and has such a big heart. She is a friend to everyone and is always looking for ways to help others. She is a huge help around the house and is always a pure joy to spend time with. I'm lucky to be her mom.

I hope she has the best birthday, an amazing year and all her wishes come true (including an ipod touch.)

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In honor of her 11th birthday, here are 11 little tidbits about Ms. Abby. 

+ Favorite food is cheese tortellini with alfredo sauce. She begs me every time we go to Costco to buy her more.

+ Favorite color is blue. She is on the Blue Blizzard soccer team, gets to wear blue t-shirts at Culver and just bought a blue binder for school last night.

+ Loves and collects elephants. She has about 15 currently in her collection. They range from stuffed, to wooden, to painted, to mini little tiny ones.

+ Wants to be a vet when she grows up. She recently got to tour a vetrenarian office and thought it was the coolest thing ever.

+ Asks at least once a week if we can get another pet. It is almost always another dog, but sometimes she throws in a guinea pig.

+ Obsessed with Harry Potter. She listens to the books every night while she falls asleep and is always planning movie marathons.

+ Is a FANTASTIC sister. She does pick on Syd and she does get mad at Evan, but usually she includes them, helps them and makes them feel loved.

+ Loves to bake. She makes amazing chocolate chip cookies, but is also great at pancakes, crepes and cake box cookies.

+ Loves to wear 'big' girl clothes. She recently discovered that she doesn't need to shop in the girls section anymore. The XS shirts and size 6 shoes of teen/women's fit her. She is loving all the new possibilities. 

+ Wants to shave her legs. I keep telling her once you start, you can never stop. She doesn't care. She says she is the only girl in 6th grade that has hairy legs and it is so embarrassing.

+ Loves hugs and kisses. She can NOT go to sleep at night without a big hug and kiss from Derek and me. And it can't be a small little squeeze, it has to be a full hug. Otherwise she will chase after you to get exactly what she wants.

Yesterday morning at the Kopp House

Evan from bed: Abby? Sydney? Abby? Sydney?

Me peaking into his room: Good morning.

Evan: Where Abby go?

Me: School.

Evan: Oh....where Sydney go?

Me: School.

Evan: Oh.....where Daddy go?

Me: Work.

Evan: Oh.

Me: But Mommy is here. Want to come play with me?

Evan: Ummmmm.....where Abby go?

    -----repeat 3 times-----

 

Yesterday was the first day of school and even though I had 2 very excited little girls, I had one very sad little boy. Once he finally realized they were really gone he sat at the top of the stairs and cried. Who is he going to play cars with all day?

Abby is finally the oldest in the school, a 6th grader. She is a little nervous about the 'real' grading and 'real' books but excited to have so many friends in her class. She told me usually the 6th graders are mean, but she is going to be nice to everyone. Poor girl was only back from Culver for 2 days and it was off to school. Good thing she loves it so much. Her teacher is Mrs. Anderson.

Sydney headed to 3rd grade super excited to show off her purple sparkly TOM shoes. Yesterday she earned 17 tickets and was cutting and counting box tops all morning hoping to get an extra 20 today. Her teacher is Mrs. Avis. 

I hope the girls have a great year, learn lots and don't have too much homework. I also hope Evan is always as excited as he was yesterday to see his sisters come home. He sure missed them all day.