The WONDROUS Randi

Alright everyone...indulge me. Cooper's Aunt Randi has recently turned her amazing talent for photography into a business. We are lucky enough to benefit from said talent...hence the billion pictures below. I couldn't pick my favorites so you are getting to see most of them. She did such an amazing job, if anyone is interested, you can see her website here, Flutter Photography. We were so grateful that we were able to wedge ourselves into her crazy schedule. On a side note, we have been so proud of her for being such an amazing mom, wife, and now business woman. We love you Randi!

So, without further ado...Cooper B Daines.

April 27th

The Weekend...

(Not the actual dress...but close!)

We had our first bbq of the year for a Shock game which we were going to watch broadcast over the interent, (plugged into our tv). However, shortly before the game we were informed it would not be broadcast over the internet, only the radio. So, we listened to the whole game over the radio, just like the 50's.

Also, the picture above was a request by Tim. He wanted me to take a picture of him in his jersey with his Shock football, however by the time the picture took he was distracted by a plane.

Tim getting in on the cuddling with Steven...

Tim's Spring Choir concert was this Sunday at NIC. When we arrived he informed us we were lucky we came because after this concert he's retiring. (Mom informed us that this was actually not the case)

Family Home Evening

I was so lucky that for my baby-shower gifts I was given children's books. I love so many of them, and I realized last night that we hadn't read any to Cooper yet. So, tonight for Family Home Evening we had our short lesson and we chose one of our books to read as a family. So, I wanted to thank the Maile's for our choice for this evening...

We love this book! The illustrations are beautiful, and for me personally, I love to remember all the times I read it with a bunch of wet-headed-giggly little girls. Thanks you guys!

Just a quick update of the things happening around here...

The other Sunday as Steve and I were sitting together, we looked down at Coop and saw that he had his hands in the golfers grip, so we immediately took a picture for Grandpa. You might notice the kitchen towel next to Cooper. Yes. It's true. He has begun spitting up like you wouldn't believe. Yesterday at Kiley and Jarom's he spit up about two feet out. So, thanks to the Davis family genes, we are enjoying projectile spit-up.

I totally stole this picture from Candy's blog. I love seeing the cousins together.

Cooper helped Grandma conduct sales meeting. It is so awesome to be able to take Cooper to work with me. On some small level it makes me remember Mom bringing some of us to work. and that makes me feel just a little bit more connected to her. Because of her it's been amazingly easy. Thanks Mom!

Poor Sammy has been sick this week. The day that I was there, it was so sad. You just want to wrap them up and help them feel better. Get better Sammy!

We were able to gather and celebrate some birthdays with Bernard and Marsha this weekend. It was so fun to be together and, let's be honest, eat some really good food. Thanks for everyone who worked so hard to make it happen!

Also, I just wanted to congratulate Liz and Albert on their upcoming wedding! We can't wait for you guys to start your life together. You are going to have so much fun!

(The picture below is of their first date...he made her miniature golf blindfolded...)

We can't wait to see everyone for the wedding!

A Difficult Change...

As I've posted about before, we love our dogs very much. Since we've come home from the hospital, it's become increasingly apparent that we are unable to handle all three of our dogs and the baby. After a lot of prayer and thought Steven and I decided that we needed to find a new home for at least one of the dogs so that they could receive the care and attention that they need. So, again after prayer and thought, we decided that we were going to find a new home for Brother. Our decision was largely based upon the fact that he is a purebred, and also a fairly rare dog, leading us to believe that he would be the easiest to find a good home for. I put him in the newspaper, and we've received about 8 calls today from people who want to have him. We decided on a family in Priest River who have 10 acres and 1 dog that is lonely. She uses her dogs for search and rescue for the local Sheriff's department, which made us feel like he would really be well taken care of. So, she's coming to pick up Brother tomorrow, and even though it makes us really sad, we're excited for all the space and fun he's going to have at his new house. (I'm totally crying)

So, I wanted to post a little tribute to Brother, we love him so much, and we're so excited for him.

We love you Buddy!

More like...

We have never pretended to be anything but what we are (complete dorks). Lately, one of our nephews has become completely enamored with R2-D2. I of course was aware of the character from watching the movies as a child, but I didn't understand the attachment until this last week.

Recently Steven and I watched the third movie in the series, which was the last movie made. After watching that one, we decided to watch all the old ones. We have had so much fun! We discovered that even though we watched the movies as children, we really didn't understand what was happening in the least. Watching the movies as adults has been a completely different experience. As we watched all the movies I remembered that many people have drawn Gospel paralells to different aspects of the Star Wars flicks, so I decided to look for my own, and thanks to Mercer's obsession, I found one!

As I watched the movies I watched R2D2 very carefully, and I've decided that I'm going to try to be a little more like him, and these are the reasons why.

• He never complains. He goes through so many different horrible experiences and he never says (beeps) anything negative.
• He puts up with C3P0's constant complaining and worrying.
• He doesn't seem to mind being a little stout.
• He gets everyone out of trouble ALL the time.
• He gets bossed around constantly, but still pulls through for everyone.
• He gets put through the ringer and beat up all the time because of what the people he loves and serves put him through, but he always comes back stronger having learned from his last experience.
• He has managed to expertly pack his tools in a very organized manner.
• Even in the most horrible situation his sounds are cheerful and positive.

I'm going to try to put some of these attributes into action in my life. Thanks R2D2!

3628 or 3708 Brookie Lane

I've discovered that lately I've been living my life either here at my house or down the street at Candy's. So, after much thought and consideration I have decided that I will now be accepting all gifts and donations at either address.

We have been having so much fun together, and I can't wait til Cooper is big enough to actually be able to join in on the fun. The other night while Candy was doing some hair, we had a short photo session to take up some time, so here they are!

Hollywood (upside down style)

Let's all come out and admit that taking a picture of Sammy is a nightmare! He either runs away before you can take the picture, or he recognizes that the camera is going to flash and closes his eyes. (Or squints) Just from the other night I ended up with about 13 pictures of him with his eyes closed. I was going to do an entire blog of these pictures, but decided against it, so be grateful.

This picture was a total accident, but I think it's my new favorite!

Typical Sammy picture, notice the squinting? I showed this picture to Steven and he said it just looks like he's using the force.

Gotta love those Javier's...Posing or squinting, which is worse?

Cabin Fever

This weekend the Daines clan made the semi-annual trip to the lake cabins for General Conference. We weren't sure how it would be for our little family with Cooper being so new, but it went very smoothly.

It sort of rain-snowed all weekend, which usually is less then pleasant, but with the view over the lake it was awesome to see.

Along with it being Cooper's first Conference weekend, this weekend also held a very special milestone..Cooper's first Shock game! All the girls and kids went to the Shock game while the guys went to the Priesthood session. We bashed Stockton 70-12, and Cooper slept through the entire game. We had so much fun together, and all of James' hard work totally paid off. The game was so fun and all the sponsor events went so smoothly. Way to go James!

Princess Victoria...Shock royalty!

Sunday morning session we had breakfast with Mom, Dad, Tim and the Javiers.

Sammy...


Dexter and Cooper

After conference we had a family dinner out at the cabins, which Kiley so graciously prepared..we are still eating the leftovers for dinner tonight, thanks Kiley!

After all the reverence of conference, some sort of craziness settled over the cabins...here is just a small sample...



Crazy Rori..

Crazy Canon..



Crazy cousins who switched all their clothing. (Anyone have any idea why?)

Unable to button the pants, so the blanket is for modesty's purpose.

We really enjoyed conference, and we felt very lucky to get to participate in the sustaining of our new prophet. We had many favorite moments of conference, but Steven and I agree that we both enjoyed President Monson's remarks just before he closed. We are so excited to learn from him.

Happy Conference Weekend!