Topeka

We traveled to Topeka the weekend before Christmas to celebrate the holiday with my sister, my mom, and my mom's sister, Pat. Pat is from New York, so we don't get to enjoy time with her very often!

Here is Nana reading to the boys, with Aunt Pat looking on:
Nana brought a Christmas villiage for the boys to make. It was quite the deal! You can see that even Baby Blakester was involved.

The four boys got matching pajamas. What a group!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Bethell Family! We had a special Christmas celebration - here are a few highlights:

1. Miles was very scared of the reindeer. He called his daddy into his room several times on Christmas Eve, asking, "Will the reindeer come in my room? Will the reindeer bite me?

2. Cooper and Miles received an Xbox with Kinect from Santa this year. As Cooper was opening it, he said, "This looks like a grownup game!"

3. A favorite gift for both boys was the new underwear in their stockings. Miles received Toy Story undies, and Cooper received Spiderman undies. They were stoked. I think they each tried on every pair.

4. The BEST part of the day for the boys was that they stayed in their underwear (see point 3) the entire day. They were in heaven. However, due to the chosen dress for the day, we do not have too many great pictures to publish.

Thanksgiving

Our family traveled to Enid, OK, for Thanksgiving with Nate's family this year. It was so fun to be together for the holiday! One of the boys' favorite parts was the three kittens that Grandma and Grandpa Bethell had living in their garage. This experience caused Nate and I to think, "Is it time for us to get pets?" Thankfully, the conclusion we came to is NOT YET! :)

We celebrated Christmas while we were together, and Uncle Wade gave Coop a very cool remote control truck. The boys played outside with it, even in the 28 degree weather. Brrrrrrr!

Here is a goofy family picture we took. I didn't want to use the nice one because Anne is going to use it for her Christmas cards...so here's a preview of what's to come. :)

I have been working through a Gratitude Journal throughout the month of November, and I have so much to be thankful for! I am thankful to God for sending Jesus to die on the cross for me. I am thankful that he has my days set before me and the plans for my life all laid out. I am thankful for my amazing family. I am so blessed.

Nibbles

As Cooper was holding his nipples the other night around bedtime, he said, "What jobs do boys have to do with their nibbles?" Nate answered, "boys nipples don't really have jobs, Buddy." Cooper then asked, "Why do girls have to do lots of jobs with their nibbles?"

Trick Or Treat!

The boys got to trick or treat at Duck Creek on Friday.

On Halloween Day, we went to Craig and Janet's house and Miss Wilma's house. I felt pretty safe trick or treating with these two this year. Surely nothing could happen with Spider Man and Super Man with me.

Boys night out

I feel like I don't blog much any more, but since I'm home and the house is dead quiet I thought I'd take the opportunity to write a bit. The week is off to a great start here in Missouri and we are getting some incredible weather. It’s been in the mid-70’s during the day (even low 80s), but then it cools off into the low 50s at night. I’m not one to wish away the seasons, but I’d venture to say that I could do this kind of weather year round! I love to have the windows / doors open all day and into the night.

Tonight Carey had the opportunity to sub for someone in a local Volleyball league and then had bible study after for a few hours. So, the boys and I took the opportunity to have our monthly ‘guys night’. Although, tonight we stayed in. The boys opted to stay home and eat soup and cook a dessert. I really tried to get them to go for a bike ride with me, but they were set on cooking. Yes, ladies at work, this was a guys night – not some kind of tea party. It just so happens that the guys in my family like to cook. =) So, it was homemade minestrone soup, bread, and peanut butter bon bons.

Here are some funny stories from the evening.

Dinner: we’re eating soup and Cooper doesn’t like anything but the noodles and beans. Because he knows I will make him eat everything in his soup, he proceeds to tell me – ‘Dad, have you ever had noodle and bean soup? It’s the best kind of soup. Why don’t we take all the noodles and beans out of this soup? Then, I will eat all of it!’

This weekend, I pulled a muscle in my back and it’s been very tender to the touch. Tonight I laid on the floor to wrestle with the boys and I hit the spot that is still super sore. I yelled out in a bit of pain and both boys were on me in an instant – ‘Dad, you’re going to be just fine’. ‘Daddy, you’re alright’. ‘Dad, I think if you tickle us you will feel better’. The last one was my favorite.

Some random, thoughts from Miles.
‘Mommy’s house is in Tennessee’
‘Happy birthday to me – Amen!’
‘Me not like bugs’
‘Me have a boogy’

This isn’t a random comment, but something I thought was hilarious and was the highlight of the evening. When we were making the bon bons, Miles and Cooper were helping me stir everything in with their hands (washed of course). Miles had the big bowl of ingredients and was kind of tipping the bowl over at the counter so he could reach everything a little better. I saw him lay his head down a little and I thought he was just tired. So, I went about cleaning up and helping Cooper. Little did I know that Miles, the little stinker that he is, had is tongue out and was very discretely licking the sides of the bowl. It was a classic Miles.

Race Weekend

For my 30th birthday, I invited my family and friends to participate in one of the races at the KC Marathon. Several friends and family members responded and participated! It was such an amazing blessing to spend the weekend participating and enjoying something that is such an important part of my life. Here are a few photos:

Sarita and me before the race

Sarita and me finishing the race

Matt Harader (brother-in-law), Jenn (sister), me, Dad, and Beth

Nate and my mom were so gracious to take care of Cooper, Miles, Jackson, and Blake during the race. (THANK YOU, Nate and Mom!)

Matt and Jenn ran the 5K together, and from what I understand, crossed the finish line holding hands. So cool. This was the first race for both of them. (I can't imagine running my first race with 10,998 other people...I think I would have been tempted to decline!) My sister might even like running a little bit now!! And I think Matt (and maybe Jenn?) is going to do the half next year. I love seeing them love this thing that I love so much! I know what I'm going to be doing with my sister over the holidays to have some girl time.

My Dad ran the half marathon. I can't even begin to describe the joy I felt when I saw him in the back of the crowd coming towards the finish line. (Hanna got to experience it a little bit because she was standing beside me when I started screaming, "There he is! My dad is coming! I see my dad coming!") He had a goal for a running time and he met it. I am so thankful for him! Beth, my dad's wife, walked/ran the 5K, and I think this race has made her want to be a runner! She really enjoyed it!

Nate's mom and sister, Anne and Hanna, get the prize for the longest drive to participate. They came up from Enid, OK, for race weekend. Hanna ran the 5K, and Anne helped corral the kiddos. I am so blessed they made the treck up to KC to participate with me! Hanna - I'm looking forward to the Turkey Trot!

My friend, Sarita, and I ran together. I am so thankful for her. From about mile 9 on, I was really fighting the urge to urp. She encouraged me and sang to me, and I kept on running! She has been my faithful running parter for somewhere around 6 years - this race was our fourth half marathon.

Clint and Jessica Wooderson ran the race together. Clint is not a runner, but decided to train for this event because he didn't just want to be on the sidelines. That's impressive. Jessica is a great friend - another faithful workout partner. She finished the race despite some intense knee pain. She overcame so much! Jessica also was responsible for designing and ordering the amazing green t-shirts!

Ashley Dinwiddie and Rachel Tennison decided to take my challenge and run the half. Rachel ran hospital hill earlier this year, not many weeks after having her second baby. Ashley had never run a half-marthon before. They both rocked it! Rachel and my dad saw each other a couple of times during the race - that's a fun story we'll remember. Ashley is loving running, and is thinking about another half in November in Tulsa.

Holly Shuler ran the half. I'm not sure if this was her first race or not, but she did awesome! She ran the thing alone. I can't imagine running alone for 2ish hours. She recently posted on facebook: New life goal: run another half marathon and then a full marathon sometime in the next 3 years. Who is with me?

Melanie Farris had it on her bucket list to run a half-marathon. Even though she found out recently that she is pregnant, she completed the race! Her dad did it with her, and even though it was a challenge, she finished it! Way to go, Melanie!

Tim and Jana Cossins ran the 5K, and it was there first race ever, too! They finished together and have another race coming up soon. They are both working so hard to be healthier - so cool!

I am so thankful for all my friends who participated in the weekend. It was an amazing way to celebrate 30. Thank you, Lord, for my family and friends!

Birthday Week and More

It's been a while since I've made any contributions so I thought it appropriate that I take a few minutes to update the blog on this week's festivities. To kick Carey's 30th birthday week off, I left Monday morning to Portland, OR and Los Angeles, CA. I always enjoy visiting my customers in those cities, but I enjoyed arriving home on Wednesday afternoon. While in CA, I was able to make a very short stop in Laguna Beach. Even though I was only there for about 10 minutes, it’s always a great trip down memory lane. I love it there.

I got home just in time to take the boys, wrap a few presents, and get ready for Carey’s birthday on Thursday. All in all, the big day was pretty low-key. However, the weekend of October 16th should make up for the low-keyness by meeting a bunch of friends in KC for the marathon. I’m guessing it will be about the best birthday present Carey could have.

On Friday, Carey and the boys left for KC to her bi-annual neurology appointment. As has been the the last several times, Carey was given a good report and no new concerns. She was able to meet with a good friend for lunch and the boys got to spend some time with Grandpa. In preparation for the drive, we were getting the car ready told Cooper he needed to go potty before leaving. He said he would and proceeded to take another load to the car. What we didn’t know is that we didn’t really specific where he should go to the bathroom. Evidently he thought the front yard was as good as any…(I airbrushed to protect the innocent...)

A Couple of Stories

The boys stayed with the Hamanns while I had an eye appointment this week. I stayed and let Cooper and Miles play a little longer after the appointment. As he played, Cooper said something like this (right in front of Abby's mom): "Hey, Abby, in the middle of the night, let's both sneak out and drive away together." I said, "Cooper, do you have your driver's license?" He kinda of laughed a social laugh and said, "Oh, I was just joking. That's what we're going to do when we're older." Oh. Much better.

After B.U.M. kids on Thursday, I asked Cooper who he played with.

Cooper: I played with Robin and with Miles.
Me: Oh - that is so cool! You and Miles can be good friends, and Miles even gets to be here to play all the time!
Cooper: Yep. Miles is my best bud.

I love that.

Coop's Birthday

Cooper had a great 4th birthday!

Nate traveled home in the a.m., so our plan was for Cooper to open presents after Nate arrived home. Cooper was having a hard time waiting, so I let him open a little present: a harmonica. He LOVED it and calls it his "flamonica."


Cooper's favorite gift he received was a new scooter. He has had one crash, but seems to love it!

Four Years Ago...

Four years ago today I was at the hospital getting ready to meet Cooper Thomas Bethell. What a day September 17, 2006 was for our family!

Thank you, God, for entrusting us with Cooper!

Things I Love about Cooper

He has amazing hair! (How superficial is that?) But STILL, he does have great hair. :)

He is an amazing big brother. He loves teaching Miles how to do new things!

He is one talented dude musically! I'm excited to see what God has in store for this little one!

Things I Love about Miles...

He gives the greatest hugs. His emotions are felt and expressed so strongly - including hugs!

He loves to eat broccoli. How many kids do that?

He is one cool dresser.

The Helicopter

I found out that Jared's (a guy I work with) dad is a one of the paramedics that works on the helicopter based at CMH, our local hospital. Jared said his dad would love to show us the helicopter sometime. So, today, Neal Taylor gave us a grand tour! Cooper and Miles were in heaven! THANK YOU, Jared and Neal!

Pictures for Daddy:

From Miles:



From Miles:

From Cooper: A road with a tree beside it. The tree has blue birds in it.

From Cooper: This is for KU. He drew the giant 'D' first, and then asked if that was for KU. :)

From Cooper:

A Few Pictures

Cooper and Miles in their matching shirts at the Springfield Cardinals game.


Cooper - going off the diving board at swimming lessons.


Jumping in!


Doing the back stroke...

Miles...

Here are a few sayings from Miles lately:

"kang-ku mom" - "Thank you, Mom"

Miles was driving his Gator with his milk in the back from the boys' bedroom out to the kitchen. Cooper and I were building a garage together, blocking the door to the hallway. Miles said, "Scuse me kids!" several times until we moved.

In bed tonight, I was reading Miles a book called "Let's Share." At one point, he said, "Zoe has two, that girl, none" to describe a picture. That is the perfect description! He is getting so good at putting words together!

Blog Material

Nate had an overnight trip this week, and it seems to always happen that my best blog-material-moments happen while Nate is away. I think the reason for this is two-fold. First, we are all a little off when "Daddy" is gone. Emotions are often heightened, and our normal routine is just different. Second, when Nate isn't here for me to vent to, I vent to the blog. :) So without further ado:

We did our weekly Walmart shopping trip yesterday morning. I usually start in the nonfood section and then end with the food so it is out of the refrigerator the least amount of time possible. As I walked towards the nonperishables, Miles looked at me and said, "poopy." "Okay, Buddy. I'll head to the bathroom after I finish up over here." I finished the nonfood items and headed to the back. As we traveled, Miles continued to express his need, with increased frequency and intensity. I parked the cart near the bathroom, and Miles screamed at me, "POOPY!" I leaned in to him to whisper a message, as I try to do when I feel like screaming at him, and as I began to say, "Miles, please stop yelling," he gave me a huge head butt. Forehead to forehead. I was beside myself! What is a mom to do with that? And just when I thought I was at my witt's end, the bathroom was "Out of Operation." Really? Do I really have to walk all the way to the front of the store with both of my children, one of whom is shouting "POOPY" at me in order to take my potty training kid to the toilet? Needless to say, I changed a poopy diaper for the first time in several days that morning.

Thursday night was Bolivar Day at the Park at the Springfield Cardinals. Our family had tickets before we knew Nate was going to be traveling, so I invited my friend Sarah to join us. We arrived at the game and quickly found a playground. Sarah left to use the restroom, and I helped Miles go down the slide. When Sarah returned, we were regrouping to go find our seats, and I could not find Cooper anywhere! He was gone! I asked Sarah to stay with Miles, and I rushed to find someone who could help me find Cooper. The woman at the lemonade stand was the first employee I came to, so I rushed to her and said, "I can't find my son - can you help me find my son?" Another worker with a radio came quickly and I explained the situation. She used her radio to alert the stadium workers that a 3 year old was missing. They immediately locked down all the gates and began to look. I couldn't stand still and walked around in a frenzy, looking for Cooper between answering the lady's questions. "What color is his hair?" "The same color as mine!" "What color is his shirt?" "Gray - just like my shirt!" (We all - and I mean EVERYONE - had matching shirts for Bolivar Day at the Park.) "So - if you were to call your hair a color, what would that be?" "LIGHT BROWN!"

Within five minutes, they had found a little boy without his mom and indicated to us that we needed to meet them near gate 2. Not long after that I saw a man walking towards me, holding my child. I grabbed Cooper and held on to him so tight. We hugged and cried for several seconds. That was one of the most terrifying experiences of my entire life. For the rest of the evening, Sarah and I did not let go of the kids' hands - she held on tight to one and I held on tight to the other. I am so thankful for that girl! I knew that I couldn't take my kids to a baseball game by myself, and I was SO RIGHT! :) When I was by myself, I lost one of them! My thoery is that Cooper saw Sarah leave for the restroom and followed her, thinking we were all going somewhere. I asked him later where he was going, and he said he was looking for me. Poor guy thought I walked off and left him!

So besides that few minutes of terror, it was a very enjoyable evening. We didn't see much of the game, but the experience was very fun! And I left praising God for my sons and His protection over them!

A Man Weekend

On Friday afternoon, Carey left for a weekend trip with some girlfriends to Branson. Besides the excitement for her to have a break, I was looking forward to some time with the boys. So, here is a brief summary of our first real 'man' weekend.

Like any man weekend, it centered around food. We went to the boy's favorite place Friday night (El Rodeo) and that was followed with some chocolate custard at 3G's. The boys requested that we drive around and so we did! It was a really pretty evening and we had a great time. Bedtime was uneventful and by 8:30PM I had the evening to myself. After a little work, a little cleaning, and some veg time in front of the TV I called it a night.

Saturday proved to be a big day! We all slept in (which was really great and lots of fun!!) but then got right to business. We spent the morning at the Farmers Market, C&C (a favorite farm supply store), Quarrels Supply to pick up the remaining accessories for the Big Green Egg, and packed for our adventure in Springfield! While we were at Quarrels Supply (a general hardware store that has electrical, plumbing, and farm supplies), Cooper tells me he has to go to the bathroom. We were near the plumbing hardware section where they have lots of toilets on display. I told Cooper we'd have to go find the bathroom as I wasn't sure where it was. He looks at me, looks at the line of toilets on display, looks back at me and says 'Dad. There are plenty of toilets right there that I can use.' I then had to explain that those were not hooked up (let alone the fact that they were not in private!). For the rest of the day, Cooper would double check to ensure toilets in the restrooms were hooked up. How fun to experience these kind of things with my babies!

In Springfield, we picked up lunch at McDonalds, a toy storage box at Lowes, and a few things at Outdoor Home. When we came home, Miles took a nap and Cooper helped me work on a table for the Egg and assemble the storage box. We cooked our first pizza on the Egg and it was AWESOME. I think Cooper is just about as excited to cook things on the Egg as I am! I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact that the Egg is green...just like John Deere of course. After pizza and lots of playing in the toy box, we all called it a night. Besides waking up in the middle of the night to find Miles stuck under his bed (don't ask me how he got there), it was pretty uneventful.

This morning, keeping with the food topic, I got up early and put on a beef brisket. I'm pumped about seeing how it turns out!! With the temps cooling off in the morning, it was a fantastic way to start the day. What could be better than a cool morning, watching the sun come up in a rocking chair, and the smell of smoked meat?!

Here is a picture of the Egg in action!

Counting

Out of the blue, Miles started counting. He has been attempting to count for quite some time. It has sounded something like, "two, one, two." Last night he counted with his dad to 11! Tonight, he counted to 10 with me and then after 10 he said "21" and laughed. He thought he was pretty funny.

Last Week

Last week, my mom came to Bolivar to stay with us Wednesday through Saturday. Our beloved Ms. Lisa was visiting her family in Arkansas, so my Mom came to watch the boys while I worked on Wednesday and Friday. Here we are smiling together. :) Just like high school girls. :)


We celebrated Mom's birthday while she was here. My mom is a fruity dessert kinda lady, so I decided to make her a pie, with her coaching. This is the 2nd or 3rd pie I have ever attempted to makem and even with her here to help me, it was quite the struggle! (In fact, it may be the last pie I ever make.) But nonetheless, we had pie for Mom's birthday, and I think it was even kinda good. (I'm not a pie person, so I wouldn't know!)



While Mom was here, we made hummingbird feeders with the boys. You can barely see it in the picture below, but we have had a hummingbird eating out of one of the feeders frequently! I didn't really expect they would be used, so I have been pleasantly surprised! My Grandma and Grandpa Nevergold LOVED hummingbirds. I didn't know them well, so this small thing makes me feel more connected to them.


Mom brought some fun bubble wands with her that made really large bubbles. For the most part, I used the wand to make bubbles, and Coop and Miles ran around smashing the bubbles with their wands.



And, last but not least, I made the single most impacting home improvement to our home this last weekend. With some encouragement from my dad, I researched and found how to replace our push-button flushers with handles. My children can now flush their own business without my help. Gone are the days of finding surprises left behind for me to flush! I. Am. Thrilled. :) (The boys love it, too!)

Sun-Day

I was getting Cooper ready for church this morning, and he said, "Mom, it looks like it's going to rain!" I agreed. He said, "But Mom, we're going to church today." I thought he was concerned that we might get wet in our church clothes, so I said, "Oh - it's okay, buddy, we can get wet in our church clothes." Still concerned, he said, "But Mom, we are supposed to go to church on Sun-day. A sunny day." Now I understand the confusion. :)

Miles

The cucumbers in our garden have been quite bitter this summer. Miles is very aware that they are bitter. Mr. Craig sent a few of his cucumbers home for our family. I told the boys that the cucumbers I was cutting up for lunch were from Mr. Craig, not from our garden. Miles said, "Mr. Craig - good. Mommy and Daddy - bad." I think he got the concept.

Tonight, Nate was lying in bed with Miles, getting ready to read him books. Miles wanted me to read him books, so he said, "Daddy out that bed. Mommy in that bed."

He's getting pretty good at communicating what he wants!!

Family Vacation

Based on our past experiences with vacations, we debated for quite some time whether or not to take one this year. After much thought, we decided to go for it! However, given the past trips, we did consider our lessons learned - use reputable hotels, don't travel too far with little ones (especially accross multiple time zones), and don't stay too long. The end result? Our family went to Branson this past Sunday through Wednesday! We had such an awesome trip! it was the perfect distance, there were lots of great activities, and the length of the trip was just right.

Seeing Cooper enjoy this trip gave us a small preview of what is to come. Miles still had a hard time here and there, but we have hope!! We pulled into our hotel parking lot to find our room, and Miles started saying, "home." (Translation - "I want to go home!") He repeated that several times throughout the trip.


On Sunday we drove to Branson and hit the Outlet Mall. We couldn't check in until 3:00 p.m., so the boys missed their nap. They did so well considering! We hit the motel pool that afternoon, and settled in for the night.

On Monday, we headed to Silver Dollar City. Cooper was so brave! We rode the elephant ride twice and the swinging boat once.







Nate and the boys enjoyed the ball area - shooting balls out of large guns.

Monday night we went to the Landing to eat and shop a little more. Even though he had a nap that day, Miles would NOT smile for a picture. No way.

On Tuesday we headed to White Water for the morning. Again, Cooper loved it! Miles struggled a bit, but enjoyed some parts, too. That afternoon, when we went home for naps, I had one of my favorite moments of the entire trip. Miles was having trouble falling asleep for nap, and there were some noises in the hotel. After one noise, I went in to check on Miles. After reassuring him, Cooper said, "It's okay Miles. Don't worry, Mom, I'll stay with Miles until he falls asleep." And then to Miles, "Miles - do you want to play some night time games?" Cooper didn't fall asleep for a nap that day, but when he slipped out of Miles room, he said, "He's asleep, Mom." I caught him going into Miles' room to check on him several times that afternoon. So sweet!

Tuesday night we headed to Dolly Parton's show, The Dixie Stampede. We were only able to get 2 tickets, so Cooper and Miles had to stay on our laps the entire time. Once again, Cooper did awesome! He was very entertained by the show, and was a great chair buddy! Miles, on the other hand, struggled to stay focused. As soon as the food was gone, so was Miles. :) We went to the bathroom twice, and then he spent some time under the table by my feet. (While this would normally be a no-no and completely gross me out, I let it go so I could enjoy the show!) Here we are after the show with the main host's beautiful Belgian horse. What a fun show!

Overall we had a VERY fun time in Branson! I am thankful that Cooper had so much fun and was such a delight! We have hope that Bethell Family Vacations will continue to improve as we learn and grow as a family!