Bonjour!

Bonjour!
I’m a 51 year old mother of five amazing daughters and wife to a caring, sensitive AND sexy husband. I adore my family. I’m dedicated to my faith. I enjoy a good laugh. I'm nostalgic and love to reminisce. "Remember" is my favorite word in the English language. I love life! I’m passionate about music, food and {dreams of} traveling the world. I wanna be a castle and waterfall chaser. I’m fascinated with anything European. {PARIS! Hello!} I love celebrating anything and everything! I love to read, especially a good biography, mystery, Regency Era Romance or Historical fiction novel. I love thoughtful gift giving. To me the gift wrap is almost as important as the gift itself. I have a bit of an obsession with gift boxes and gift bags. As well as old world maps & globes, apothecary bottles and jars! I love being creative…bolts of ribbon, coordinating scrapbook papers, producing a table scape, or planning décor for a themed party puts a smile on my face. I love the details! I’m a freak for anything theme oriented. I enjoy event planning, but oddly enough do not like to host or entertain. I enjoy fashion, but have to really be in the mood to clothes shop. I love purses and funky costume jewelry. Especially big rings! I’d rather wear wedges or heels any day than flats. I enjoy decorating and searching for the perfect decorative pillow or picture. However, you’ll never see me frequent high-end stores. I'm more of a Ross, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning kind of gal. My favorite decor style is an old world rustic Italian chateau/Spanish Villa look with a hint of bohemian! OR a vintage shabby chic French country cottage/English cobblestone farmhouse. My #1 cookie-Molasses! Autumn is my favorite season. I’d go through childbirth a million times. I enjoy biking with my man, Pilates, and power walking. You’ll never find me in a gym working out. I love movies, whether watching them in the theatre or cuddled up on the couch with my family. I enjoy a good chick flick or real life drama! I'm a sucker for movies on the Hallmark & Great American Family Channel. I have a tender heart for the elderly. I adore Disneyland. I enjoy being in the canyon on a summer or fall evening at dusk. I love my friends. While I have some extroverted characteristics. I’m a self proclaimed introvert. I’m generally quiet, calm, reserved and pretty darn private. Why in the heck do I blog? It’s a creative way to record family history. I enjoy photography. I really don’t like to write, although I write in my journal often. My journals, patriarchal blessing, scriptures, quote book, and beloved Christmas tree filled with ornaments of family memories are among my prized possessions. I love the beach. I enjoy WWII history. I love a clean, orderly house, but ours usually looks lived in. ;) PBS Masterpiece is my friend. I adore Jane Austen films. They transport me to another time and place. If I had to choose another time period in which to live, early 19th Century England would be my pick. "Sense and Sensibility" is my all time favorite movie. My 3 favorite TV series are...BBC's Larkrise to Candleford, the 1950's Spanish Drama "Velvet," and the travel/food show "Somebody Feed Phil." My biggest pet peeve is people who blow their noses in public. So gross! {Take it to the bathroom people.} I’d go on a wine tasting vacation if it wasn’t against my religion. I’ve always wanted to adopt a baby from a foreign country. I’m an avid BYU football fan. I'm a Educational Support Professional. I tutor elementary kids in phonemic awareness, phonics, reading, fluency and comprehension. I love our campfires at Scofield Lake. I have a 'thing' for fairy gardens, Gallic French roosters, fresh flowers in a vase, pretty bowls & plates, and yummy smelling candles & soap. I love summer rainstorms and warm baths. I'm a scripture podcast fanatic. I'm also a fan of several Fox News shows; Hannity and Dave Ramsey Talk Radio. I very much miss Rush Limbaugh! I hate when my kids have homework. I'd rather clean 20 toilets than give a talk or prayer in church. I have quite a collection of Madame Alexander Dolls, children's books, Disney pins, and quotes. My favorite quote is "Don't underestimate me. I know more than I say, think more than I speak & notice more than you realize." True True LOL! I always prefer sitting in a back row versus the front. {I'm sort of a seat snob..yikes} I also have high expectations for my lemonade, salsa, and french fries too. HA! I work well behind the scenes. I love a good Dateline, 20/20 or 48 Hour Mystery. I’m a night owl. I'd rather be cold than hot. I love to budget our finances! I enjoy being a chauffeur to my children. I'm not a huge fan of social media. I don't snap, pin or tweet. All I want for Christmas every year is a ticket to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It's my FAVORITE. I’m an Anglophile…a royal watcher who loves anything English! Especially tea parties! I would like to serve a church mission to England with Jaren someday. I'm queen of paper towel, used kitchen dishrags and sponges kinda make me squirm. You’ll rarely find me out of the house not ready for the day, except when driving the kids to school on the days I don't work. I feel naked without lipstick or lip gloss. Mismatched socks, chipped fingernail polish, chapped lips and brownie crumbs on the floor drive me nuts! I like to organize and BE organized..but not saying I always am. ;) I enjoy hiking to waterfalls, ATV’ing with my family and snowshoeing with the hubs. Although I enjoy collecting recipes and occasionally watch cooking shows... (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, Paula Deen, Jamie Oliver, and the Pioneer Woman are my favorites) I’d rather not cook. Eating out is so much more fun. I'm a foodie. I live to EAT! LOL Trying new foods and restaurants is a favorite past-time, and believe it or not so is intermittent fasting. I'm not good at a lot of things... but gosh, if you need help with a themed celebration or someone to enjoy good food with, I'm your girl. I love the joy of anticipation and the celebration of holidays. Family traditions are important to me. I'm a memory preserver. I'm a pathological picture taker ;) a visual storyteller, and a lover of happy lists!

My Fam!

My Fam!

The Hubs and I

The Hubs and I

My Girls!

My Girls!

Kyleigh Dawn (28)

Kyleigh Dawn (28)

Emma Abigail (26)

Emma Abigail (26)

Hannah Isabelle (23)

Hannah Isabelle (23)

Brielle Olivia (19)

Brielle Olivia (19)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (13)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (13)

Mr. Charles "Bingley" Wentworth III (4 yrs.)

Colonel Edward Fitzwilliam "Darcy", Duke of Westridge (3 yrs.)

My Man!

My Man!

Good Times!

Good Times!

Wedding Day 5*17*22

Lillian "Lilly" Belle

Disney Food Fun! 2019

Disneyland Tips

What I Believe!

Our Missionary

We Bleed Blue! {Except for the Poppi}

My list of favorite movies!

Learn more about Dyslexia!

Music To My Ears!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

What's On My Happy List?

Christmas Week! Part II
You certainly have to love seafood to be a Cooper ! Every Christmas Eve we have the most delicious seafood feast that is every bit as good as anything you would get at a seafood restaurant. Seriously. It is seafood heaven! We ate crab, lobster, shrimp scampi, tempura shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, cous cous...then Grandma's bread pudding or our homemade French pastries (see below) for dessert. It was delightful!
Here is Hannah holding one of the biggest crab legs I've ever seen. I was so happy that she was able to enjoy the festivities as much as she did. The poor thing woke up crying Christmas Eve morning with an ear ache. I took her to insta care later that afternoon and sure enough she had an ear infection. Six days prior we had just been into the doctors with Brie who also had an ear infection. My kids haven't had ear infections in YEARS, so it was so odd to have two within a week. Some funky virus...
Brie stuffing her face with cold shrimp...YUM!
After our feast we played our traditional, crazy, Christmas gift exchange game. It is so much fun! We walked away with Disney bucks, cash, gift cards to mall stores, restaurants, Cabellas, movie passes. i-tunes, toys, games, food...
Emma managed to walk away with the coveted new nutcracker.... The girls in their new PJ's and Fancy Nancy Christmas book and doll....We love Fancy Nancy around here!
I even hopped in for a pic with my new comfy PJ bottoms...
Daddy reading "The Night Before Christmas" ....the girls sprinkled reindeer food out on the front lawn and left Santa milk and oreos. His absolute favorite!
Christmas morning....




What did Santa bring?
The cutest barbie house and 50th anniversary Barbie doll for Brie...V-tech explorer globe, and a bucket of art supplies and activity books..Hannah wants her bed as comfy as her parents so she asked Santa for a Serta foam mattress. What a funny kid! A new bedspread, Franklin Speller, Crayola Crayon Maker and art supplies were her other main gifts....

Bare Escentuals Starter Kit and make up from Sephora, new coat, wallet and gift card for Kyleigh...

Cell phone, bathrobe, Bamboo computer art pad and fashion designer kit for Emma....

Santa left all the girls the Wii DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) They have spent hours playing it and absolutely love it. I even joined in on the fun! The girls and Jaren laughed their heads off watching me try to move my big fat bootie to the beat up in grandma's front room. Believe me, I was a sight to behold!
We had a lovely Christmas morning, topped off with our traditional brunch with yummy breakfast casseroles, bacon, fruit, and assortment of breads... CAN YOU TELL WE LOVE FOOD AROUND HERE?

On our way to Grandma and Grandpa Bell's that afternoon to see all the cousins.... Visiting with family...Christ is the reason for the season...

Knowing this Christmas was going to be especially difficult for my brother Brad, who lost his wife a few months ago, my siblings and I wanted to do something special for him. We gave him this 18" Christus, a replica of the one at the North Visitor Center at Temple Square. We also gave him this quote...."The sweetest, tenderest, happiest homes are not those where there has been no sorrow, but those that have been overshadowed with grief and where Christ's comfort has been accepted." Gary Ceran aka Bob Crachit in "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Theatre. (He lost his wife and two children in a car accident on Christmas Eve a couple of years ago) It was a very tender and touching moment for all of us.

2 comments:

  1. What a fun Christmas! I want to come live with you guys. :) Lucky girls!!!
    I am so happy to be able to stay in touch through your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOVE that quote. How beautiful.

    ReplyDelete