I think I can...I think I can....I think I can!

I know I just need to stop the looming that is there every time I think about this blog and a new post....I feel too overwhelmed to even know where to begin to come back.

So I am just going to do it...

A few things I missed....ha

First day of school....2011

The Big Kindergartner....




Didn't even look back....

There were some tears...not gonna lie....to which Sienna told me "Mom put your tears away... I just want to try kindergarten and see if I like it...if I don't like it you can sign me off...but...(pause)... I will probably like it.
More tears....sigh....when did she get so big? :(

Next up Jman...
Starting middle school. The big 6th grade. When we moved to Ashburn he was in 1st grade! :(


I know it's a bit blurry BUT HE'S SMILING!!!! A miracle!!!!

Cooper last year of Middle School....8th grade.


Hunter....11th flipping grade!!! Seriously how in the world did that happen??? He was just in kindergarten yesterday!

And then Halloween came along....

Apparently Dorothy was the it costume for kindergartners this year.....Sienna and her two besties (Grace and Avery) at the school parade....


Coop and Dylan....love them...they made me laugh.

Jackson and Colin...Jackson's the Mario just to clarify...

Coop's friends start to show up...by the end I think they had a group of about 25...

Rach with Dorothy and Elvis! How cute is Elvis???? Oh man....love him!

Conwey thought to start a bon fire and sit out there for trick or treaters....pretty good idea if I do say so myself....I always make a big ol pot of Chicken Chili and cornbread on Halloween. Want some kind of nutrition in these kids before the massive doses of sugar set in!

Digging in to the loot....

Um Conwey brought this lovely creature home on Halloween....uh..not sure what to think about him....

Jackson got a little bit of candy...

Cooper had a bunch of friends over after and they all spread their candy on the basement floor...it was crazzzzyyyyy how much candy they had.

Sorry all picture off my phone and no one ever holds still...hence the blurry...

And our carving competition always takes place....hmmmm guess which one is mine and which one is Conwey's.....hahahaha

Sooooo here is some of this and that since my last post in August.....

Birthday party days...

Muddy football practice days...ugh

Cheerleader days....

Cousin days....

Zinga Days....

Beautiful days...

Cleaning Days....

Sick days...

warm days...

Snow days????????

Pajama day...

Exhausted days...

Movie Days.....

Cheerleading hangout days...

Coming home from the bus days...

Kitty the American Girl Doll's birthday!

So there are a few of our days since August 7th...hopefully I will be able to keep up now!

Phew....I did it!!!! :)

We are still alive!

How is it August 7th already? We have had a month of Surgery's..Braces...Birthday's....and lot's of pool time.

Hunter had his surgery on his knee...it ended up being worse than they thought when he re-injured his knee he also tore his meniscus..so he ended up having a torn ALC, torn meniscus, and then they took his hamstring. So needless to say he was in some serious pain the first few days. I wasn't sure he was gonna make it. But he pulled through...and is now doing physical therapy and walking quite well now. They say they can't clear him for any form of sports for at least 6 months. Very sad. Football has started and it's very strange not having Hunter going everyday. :(

This is what he would give me for a picture right before surgery....

But we did get these after...

Lovely huh...we are just so glad it's over and the healing has begun!

Then the same night Cooper fell in his basketball game...we had seriously just gotten home from the hospital with Hunter and had to go to ER for Cooper who had to have CAT scan and ended up having a concussion...

So then the next week my sister Rachel had to have surgery..she had a lump in her neck that ended up being Thyroid Cancer so they had to take her thyroid out. It was pretty scary...

I hope she doesn't kill me for posting this picture...but she was one tough cookie and I am so super proud of her! I am happy to say they got it all and she doesn't have to do any radiation. We were really worried about that.

So we had definatly had enough of hospital and Dr's for the year!

Coop got his braces on...it wasn't as fun as he thought it would be...lived on Smoothies and soup for about 3 days...it's finally getting better.

When he was getting his on there was a girl next to him getting hers off so I asked how long did you have them on for...she says 9 years...Cooper almost choked on the wires they were placing in his mouth. The Dr quickly reassured Cooper she had a lot of special circumstances. Let's hope so!

Sienna got the benefits of the braces too...with lots of Robeks smoothies....

Now on to happier times...Birthdays!

My cute cute nephew turned ONE! Happy Birthday Hudson!


He was not a fan of digging in the cake...it made us laugh. He just learned to walk and he is a crazy man! So stinking cute though. I sure love him.

Next we had Cooper's best friends Dylan's birthday and we felt sad he didn't have his mom this year so we made him cakes and he slept over at our house...he was so sweet talking till about 1:00 in the morning about his sweet mom and her last days. Made me soooooo sad.

Then we had The Big Coop's Birthday...14! Ahhhhh so sad! I don't want him to get any older!!!

Sienna did not understand why Cooper didn't want to wake up and open his presents...she was very confused.


Then she told him she would give him a back rub for his birthday and that got him up.

Then we were off to IHOP for breakfast....Coop still tired I think....

Then we were off to the water park which I didn't have my camera for but Coop brought some friends and they had a great time. He is having a friend party next weekend I am a bit nervous for...with Coop everything is huge...tons and tons of friends. Wish me luck! Looking over his invite list he has as many girls as there are boys this year. Am I ready for this?
Happy 14th Birthday Coop!

We had all the family over for desserts....it's always fun.

So my 2011 10 things I love about Cooper James Casillas...

1. Love Cooper's heart....it is truly golden.
2. He has a really really funny sense of humor....he makes his friends laugh A LOT!
3. He is the most patient member of our family with Sienna when she is throwing a tantrum or being crazy. I trust him more than anything...so very responsible.
4. I love that he comes straight to me when he gets home to talk. We have the best talks.
5. I love how much he loves his family and friends...such a big big heart.
6. He is the best saver of his money...we will probably all go to him for loans one day...ha!
7. He is an amazing student in school...
8. Amazing athlete...
9. I love the look on his face when there is a baby nearby...he has a special knack with babies for sure!
10. There are so many things I love about Cooper James Casillas I really can't even begin to list them all...he is and always has been an amazing son and I love him so very very much!