Extra-curricular activities

One Saturday morning, we headed up to Lawrence for Kaw Valley Eagles Day, where nature organizations had displays about area plants and wildlife.  Coop in an eagle's nest:

 And in the eagle hat he made:

The following day, we headed to the bowling alley for a classmate's birthday.

Turns out, we may need to put some more sports shows on tv.  After Coop bowled, he would wait until the machine swept away any remaining pins, and then he would turn around and proudly announce, "Hey guys!  I got a touchdown!!"

Cooper and his Daddy

Going for a run during Christmas vacation:

Coop and I actually just went down to the track (1/4 mile away) while Alan took a real (3 mile) run through town.  Coop was crushed that he couldn't go the full distance.


Playing pirate:

(Or at least one of them is.  One may be sleeping...)

Reading at bedtime:

And finally, acting in a play Cooper wrote and directed called The Wizard and the Pirate.  It may be a little difficult to hear the dialogue, but you'll get the general idea, I think:

One more: Christmas morning at our house

Cooper really enjoyed wrapping presents this year.  Lots and lots of tape.  And bows.

Christmas morning with the gifts Santa left:

Daddy got coal in his stocking, which Cooper still thinks is hilarious.

Coop and his Grinch:

Coop with the gifts from Santa -- Santa suit, Titanic model, Titanic book, misc toys and candy.

Success.

Christmas in Lyons

With cousin Vada:

Cousin Zoey couldn't make it to Lyons this year, so we Skyped with her:

The Grandkid picture:

Decorating sugar cookies:

And Coop got some great gifts.  A pirate watch, which he hasn't taken off since (except for bath time):

At home a few nights later, with watch still on.  And also sporting his new robe.  And Grinch doll.

A dinosaur model that he and Alan put together:

And some fake snow, which is actually pretty amazing.

You add water to this little pile of powder, and it fluffs up like snow.  It doesn't pack well, but it's fun to drive trucks in and bury toys under.

Activities during our visit to Lyons

Grandma and Grandpa had some snow on the ground, so Cooper spent hours outside sledding.

Even on day 2, when much of the snow had melted:

Snowball fight with Daddy:

We walked along the train tracks out behind the house:

And took the obligatory gator rides:

And to burn off even more energy, I plopped him on Mom's treadmill:

Christmas in Wichita

We celebrated with Alan's family the weekend before Christmas when everyone was in town for Julie's wedding.  The night we were supposed to have Christmas dinner and open presents, Cooper stood outside Jerry and Carol's house waiting (not at all patiently) for Julie, Jon, and Jen to arrive.

"Julie, where arrrrrre you?  Jon, are you here yet?  Jennnnnnny, where ARE you?"

He eventually found some fun things to play with, including this antique train that Alan's folks found:

Castle blocks:

The swing set:

"Push me higher Grandpa Jerry!"

And the washing machine:

"Mama, they have a lid, not a door."  (We have a front-loading machine.)  "You can watch it spin!"

And one evening, we took a horse-drawn carriage ride, which Coop really enjoyed:

Goin' to the chapel...

Alan's sister Julie got married last weekend, and Cooper was the ring bearer.

Alan was an usher (aren't they cute?!):

I was Mom of 4-year-old Ring Bearer, which frankly took more than a little bit of effort:

Playing foosball with Jenny before the service:

Walking in with Jenny and Jon:

(Notice the red and black snow boots.  We're classy like that.)

Giving Jon the rings:

Sleeping on his ring bearer pillow (on the floor) that night:

Cooper's "projects"

Lately, instead of going to sleep at bedtime, Cooper has been working on "projects," as he calls them.  They involve typing paper, scissors and tape.  Witness:

A pirate, complete with hat, vest, and peg leg:

(Just for scale, the body is two regular sheets of paper, so these creations are all about 3 feet tall.  Which makes them difficult to store...)

A horse:

Stirrups for Fuzzy:

Santa:

A snowman:

A grinch mask:

"Mama, ask me how I got it to stay on."
"Cooper, how did you get the grinch mask to stay on?"
"I taped it to my face."

At Grandma Carol's, we didn't have typing paper, so Cooper made her a complete grinch out of kleenex:

A note for Santa that Cooper left on his door:

Translation:  "Night Number 3: My dad has been bad."  Looks like it'll be lumps of coal for Alan!

And finally, a school project:  a map of North America:

He traced each country, punched it out using a thumbtack, and then glued the map together.  He can name United States, Canada, Mexico, Greenland, and Panama.  Ok, so Canada and Mexico are backwards, but cut him some slack.