WASHINGTON TRIP

Well a couple of weeks ago Cooper and I took off and flew to Washington to visit Brad's sister Julie. October was super busy for Brad and he was going to have to work late nights so we figured it was a perfect week to go since he wouldn't be home much anyways. Turns out he wasn't as busy as we thought and was home on time and even early some days that week but oh well it was still fun to get away. It was kind of an adventure packing and getting ready for our trip. I had been on a girls weekend with Amy and was in St. George and Vegas the weekend before. We didn't get home until after 8:00 pm Sunday and I still had to pack for both me and Cooper. We had to leave at 7:30 Monday morning so it was a late night and an early morning for me! Thankfully Brad had done the laundry so I didn't have to worry about that when I got home on Sunday.

I was most nervous for the plane rides. The last time he was on a plane he was 4 months old. Luckily he did pretty good on both flights. I had a grandma sit next to us both times so they were very understanding. And there was an extra seat on both flights so Cooper got his own seat which made it SO MUCH easier! Cooper was crazy though! He has so much energy and NEVER holds still. This didn't change on the airplane. He touched everything, was up and down, tried climbing over the seats, loved the windows, opened and shut the windows hundreds of times, flirted with people behind us, talk to kids in front of us, made lots of messes, colored with his crayons, watched a little of the Cars movie on the iPad, spilled my drink, stole ice from the cup of the lady next to us, BUT he wasn't the kid on the plane SCREAMING so I was happy!

He made friends with the grandma next to us. She was so sweet to him even amongst his craziness! I couldn't believe it but he even sat on her lap and wasn't scared of her.

Here is Cooper and the window :)


Julie will hate me but I had to share this. I was dying laughing when it happened!
Here is Julie putting in Cooper's car seat and the boys at Target.
I let Cooper down for a bit since we had been flying for so long and he touched everything. Julie couldn't believe how fast and how much energy he had and how much he could touch!

I was so excited for Cooper to get to play with his 3 cousins (Michael-6, Jack 4, and Bennett-20 months). The last time we saw them was the week of Cooper's birthday. Now that he is a little older he is way more interactive and independent so loves to play with the big kids. He absolutely LOVED the Richey's house. There was so much room to explore inside and out and soooo many new things to get into.

Here is Cooper adjusting to the Chaos:

Here is trying to lift this big rock. He even asks for help. But I gave him a smaller one that he could handle and he was just as happy.

Walking around like a big boy:

He found everything he wasn't supposed to have just like everywhere else we go. My little mischevious boy. Here you can see his favorites...the vacuum, mop, and broom :)

My child is very odd and his favorite toys are brooms and vacuums. He is obsessed! He spots them anywhere we go and freaks out if you don't let him play with it. He was in heaven because he got to play with the vacuum and broom the whole time we were up there.

He was constantly entertained. Michael was his best buddy. It was so cute to watch them interact. Michael would talk to him and lead him around. He really was so sweet with Cooper. Jack was cute with Cooper too. But he wasn't as in to Cooper.

Cooper loved the ledge on the fireplace. He played on it constantly.
He felt so big doing it because the big boys did it too!

I asked Michael if he wanted a picture with Cooper and he posed like this....

ha ha such a funny kid!

I couldn't hear Cooper so I went looking for him and this is what I found. Sweetest thing ever!!!!

Then there was Bennett. You have to understand that Bennett is almost twice as big as Cooper and is always wrestling and being tough with his older brothers. Cooper however terrified Bennett. Cooper kept trying to hug and kiss Bennett and he would run away screaming. This continued all week until the day we left, Bennett finally gave in and hugged Cooper back. But honestly it was the funniest thing to watch. Cooper could literally tackle Bennett even though he ways a good 10 pounds less than Bennett. I was impressed considering how much Bennett rough houses it with his brothers and Cooper doesn't really rough house at all.

One night we discovered that Cooper and Bennett had matching pajamas. It was so funny to watch them run around like this!

Bennett being fine with Cooper as long as he isn't being attacked:

Finally Bennett hugged Cooper back and wasn't so scared.
This is right before we headed to the airport to leave.

We had so much fun while we were there. We went to the Columbia store (a must when in Washington), crafted a little, went shopping, celebrated Jack's birthday, had a Halloween themed dinner, and just hung out and had a good time.

Here is some of the fun from our Halloween dinner. The boys all dressed up which made it even more fun.
(Candy Corn cookies, spider web 7-layer dip, witches brew, spider deviled eggs, monster puddings)

After the Halloween dinner we did the pinata from Jack's birthday. Michael and Jack got way into it! Every time Michael hit it, it went flying across the room. It was so solid that Tyler had to put it on the ground and hit it to crack it open. Here you can see Cooper with his broom watching all of the excitement.

The Richey's live on like 10 acres of land so it is a little boys heaven. We were able to "4-wheel" in the car around the property and do tractor rides. I wish Cooper was able to experience these kinds of things all the time like his cousins do!





We had a great time at the park. I discovered Cooper has no fear of slides. He would crawl up the jungle jim turned around and go right down the slide without even thinking twice.


Here is Cooper going down the slide:




Cooper was constantly going the whole time we were there. It wore him out!

I was ready to come home at the end of the week. Cooper didn't do so great at nights up there. I think he was teething and getting sick so that didn't make for a great combo. One night he screamed for like 3 hours, then others he was up and just wanted to play. Twice I just let him crawl around my bed and after about an hour and a half he would finally fall asleep with me. We missed Brad and were so excited to come home and see him.

Thanks Richeys for having us! It was a blast!!!!