The Spirit of Thanksgiving

This video has been popping up in emails and on facebook and I finally watched it.

I loved it.

Simple, realistic, and uplifting

I am thankful for so much!

This video made me thankful for the good people all around the world.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who loves me and my children unconditionally and provides so well for us. I am thankful for my wonderful parents and in-laws and am even more thankful that they are coming to visit next week be a part of Maggie's baptism. I have a wonderful life, and I am grateful for all that is in it, good or bad.

Thankful for the Beauty of the Earth

These are the gorgeous views from our back yard.

I love looking out the windows and seeing so much beauty. I don't know what it is about looking at a wide expanse of land, but for me it is somewhat of a calming experience. Hopefully seeing these views each day will bring a little more peace and calm into our lives.

We are loving our new home and neighborhood, and are so incredibly grateful to be here.

~Life is good~

The Wildlife!

Halloween Night

Our Halloween Tree

(a new tradition)

The Carving of The Pumpkins!

The Master Carver

The Designers

Pulling out the guts...her favorite part.

"The Evil Little Pumpkin"

Ready to design.
"Real Jack-O-Lantern Face"

Class Clown!

"The Cooper"

This little pumpkin is suppose to look like Cooper.

Big eyes, round nose, a little round patch of hair on top, and his teeth look exactly like this!

Go LSHS Tigers!

Maggie our little cheerleader.

The varsity cheerleaders at Lees Summit HS held a mini cheercamp as a fundraiser. For $40 the girls got a cute "Tiger Cub" t-shirt, went to two practices and cheered during the whole first quarter at the Friday night football game.

The varsity girls did such a great job. They taught the kids six or seven cheers and even had them stunting!

Maggie had the time of her life and Kevin and I had so much fun watching her!

I think I enjoyed it a little more then Kevin.

Maggie and I were both in our element at the game.

Forty dollars well spent.

Before the game. It was so cold, they had the girls practicing in the gym.

Mags on the track, freezing, yet still smiling.

The mark of a true cheerleader!


This is the best pic I could get of her stunting. She loved being the flyer.


What a great night, and what a cute girl!

Stupid Human Tricks

Stupid Human Tricks

by

Cooper J Gadd

The Ball

(this is the size of a golf ball, a golf ball is what he usually uses for this trick)

Shoving the ball into the mouth......

......Just about there.....

.....Done! Voila!

When he's not in the tub he will pop the golf ball in his mouth and crawl around that way until, I'm assuming, his cheeks get tired and he spits it out.

What a talented little boy!

Boomer Sooner!

Our first OU experience as a family.....So much Fun!

We went to all the pre-game activities as a family and then sent the boys to the game while the girls went to a movie.

The fam in our Oklahoma gear. The girls started the day without OU Gear. Soon we all caught the fever and looking at them in their non-red clothes seemed unacceptable. So if was off to the face painting booth and the bookstore for shirts.

You may think this is a bit overboard, but if you are walking around without it you are the one standing out.

Our Past vs Our Future

Our Past = BYU

Kevin and I both grew up in Orem, UT in the shadows of the mountains and down the street from BYU. We've always been BYU football fans, and though it's sad to say, during college football season Kevin's mood on a Saturday is determined by the success (or failure) of the BYU football team.

Our Future = OU

Kevin is receiving his masters degree online from The University of Oklahoma. When he enrolled his exact words were this: "BYU has been letting me down my whole life. It's time to move on. I'm going to become an OU football fan." He then proceeded to buy OU football tickets FOR THE WHOLE SEASON! (he's crazy)

This is our family divided at the OU/BYU game.

We had a blast, but in the end there was no denying our roots, even for Kevin.

We heartily cheered for BYU the whole game and rejoiced in their unexpected victory!

GO COUGARS!!!!!

The incredible Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Cora, Maggie, Cooper, Kevin, and Grandpa Jack

Disney World

We took a trip to Disney World after Kevin finished pilot instructor training. We were there for a whole week and did Disney for 5 days! My mom and my sister and her husband came. Needless to say we had a blast!

I've posted a slide show for each park and one for Downtown Disney.

Magic Kingdom

Epcot

Animal Kingdom

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Downtown Disney

Locks of Love

Cora decided about a year ago to grow her hair and donate it to the locks of love foundation. I explained to her that her hair would be used to make a wig for children who have lost their hair due to cancer and other illnesses.

Cora said she wanted to do this so she could help other kids. I thought she'd end up wanting to cut her hair before it was long enough; but she did it! The hair she cut had to be 10 - 12 inches from tip to tip. One day she asked me to measure her hair. It was just about 11 inches. She said, "Let's go get it cut." So we did.

What a great little girl!

A Summer of Firsts

First Child With No Front Teeth

This was quite the event getting Maggie to pull her tooth out. I think we have about 16 takes on the video camera. We tried the old string on the tooth and slam the door trick, then Kevin tricked her and yanked on the string around her tooth. That almost did it. Then we all gathered in the bathroom trying to convince her to pull it out on her own. We gave up and left her in the bathroom alone. Two minutes later she emerged from the bathroom calmly saying, "I pulled it out."

First Child To Get Stitches

We always knew Cora would be the first child to send us to the ER. She decided, per her sisters instructions, to jump into the pool facing the wall. Her chin smacked the edge of the pool. Ouch!!! The thought just makes you shudder. We were at the ER for six hours, and Cora did great. (We spared you the gruesome pictures, of her opened wound. It looked like a second mouth)

Cooper's First Major League Baseball Game

(Houston Astros)

This is a big event for our family. Especially our little boy. As my friend Shelbi said it was his first game, "but certainly not his last!" Too true! This was a fun night, and a long drive. We drove three hours to the game and three hours back when it was over. We all had a good time and Cooper was pooped by the end. What a cutie!