Visit from the Cook Family - Part 1

Kids watching the water shows. Of course, Rylie is plugging her ears because she doesn't like any loud sound that is like a firework or a gun going off.

The infamous water shows! LOVE THESE!

Dad & Corie

Mom & Corie

Pumpkin made of carnations!

Our family!

Rylie's favorite "plant"! Anything that's involving a horse, she's a fan of!

Corie was EXHAUSTED!

New York, New York Hotel

Lions at the MGM

Corie

Hayden

The kids waiting for the "train" from the Luxor to the Excalibur

Kids in front of the sphinx, at the Luxor. This worked out perfect because at the time we were in Vegas, Connor was learning about Egypt in school!

Our family at the Luxor

Rylie enjoying her pie at the buffet in Rio! Mmmmmm!

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When are friend's, the Cook's, came to visit us we all decided to go to Vegas (they had never been). We started off hitting the Stratosphere so that Scott & Mike could go on a couple of rides there. I didn't want to be the 1% where the ride malfunctioned and was sent off to space, so I stayed with the kids and Jackie and her kids. We even got into trouble being too close to the slot machines with our kids. I'm sorry, but did we REALLY look like we were gonna' drop some cash? What gave it away, the 7 kids we had following us around? They probably thought we were Sister Wives! Hahahahaha! Anyway, after the "boys" got that out of their system, we headed to the Rio hotel for their buffet. Word had it that it was a pretty dang good buffet for the price. I can say that I really liked it and thought it was yummy! My kids liked it too and it had a lot of variety. The Cook family ate them out of their corn on the cob supply, I think! After lunch we went to Chuck E. Cheese! That was a BLAST, even for us adults! The last time we were there, the sponge bob machine was broken and kept shooting out a whole bunch of tickets. Well, I tried my luck again and it WORKED!!!!! Both families got a ton of tickets!!!! Afterwards we headed to the strip and saw different hotels and attractions. The kids loved seeing the lions at the MGM! They also loved the water shows! The Cook's kids loved the escalators! I think we all had a great time! We walked a million miles, I swear! LOL! Everyone zonked pretty fast on the way home, except for Connor, who NEVER falls asleep! I would definitely say that our trip to Las Vegas was a success!

HALLOWEEN 2011

Rapunzel

Miss Ladybug!

Storm Trooper Connor

McGinnis FAmily Halloween

Corie's chariot

Jack (Nightmare Before Christmas)

Darth Vadar

Connor at school

Connor in his school parade

Crazy Hair Day 2011

Last week was Drug-Free week/Spirit week at Connor's school. For Crazy Hair Day, this is the style and colors Connor chose. So fun!

Connor Loses His First Tooth

On October 20, 2011, Connor lost his first tooth FINALLY! This tooth has been loose for such a long time but, not loose enough to come out. A few weeks before that the kids had a dentist appointment. The dental assistant was cleaning Connor's teeth and pointed out the new tooth, replacing the loose tooth, had already grown in a bit behind the loose one. The dentist also looked at it and said it needed to come out in the next couple weeks FOR SURE or they'd have to remove it. Mike talked him into letting him pull it and HOORAY it came out!!!!!! It was so fun playing tooth fairy! I loved it and can't wait to do it again!

Corie Turns 10-Months-Old

On October 17, 2011, Corie turned 10 months old! Holy smokes, only 2 more months until she's a year old?!?!?!?! Where in the world did my baby go??? She is changing so fast! And growing up so fast! The time has gone by so much faster with her! With this month she:

1. Loves toilet paper. When I say loves it, I mean she loves to eat it!!!! It's like she can sense a bathroom door is open. If I can't hear her, I instantly check the bathroom. Sure enough, she's sitting there savoring pieces of toilet paper. She'll suck on a wad of it then spit it out and get a new one. NASTY! We're trying to get the kids in a habit of shutting the bathroom door after using the bathroom.
2. Corie loves to throw anything you give her. She thinks it's a funny game to throw it on the ground and watch you pick it up, time after time, until you realize what she's doing.
3. Corie has picked up on peek-a-boo. She'll stand behind something and then poke her head out and laugh! It's so cute!
4. Lately she's been singing in the car. If I'm singing to something on the radio, she'll make a constant "Ahhhhhhhhh!" sound as we sing. She tries to mimic us when we sing. I'm waiting for her to start doing it in Sacrament Meeting.
5. She hasn't started walking yet but, is getting closer and braver. Here and there she will let go and stand on her own. She gets around really fast though and likes to follow the kids around, or ME!
6. We moved Corie into a forward-facing car seat! She loves it! She weighs 23 lbs. now and seemed to be too big for her baby car seat! I think she enjoys looking forward, rather than looking at the back of a seat! I also like being able to tilt my rear-view mirror to be able to see her and see what she's doing.
7. Corie still coughs quite a bit. The appointment with the lung specialist is next week. We hope to have answers or a solution to help her feel better.
8. Corie loves to eat whatever we're eating. She seems to love meat and mac n' cheese. She DOES NOT like baby food in the fruits but, doesn't seem to mind baby food if it's a vegetable. She drinks 5-6 oz. of formula every 3-4 hours.

Our 8-year-old Angel!

Letting the 8 balloons go into the sky.

If you look closely, you see little dots where the 8 balloons are, in the middle of the photo.

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Brenna would have been 8 years old today. It was one of those triple days, that only come around once in a blue moon. Brenna would've been 8 on the 8th and been baptized on the 8th. Kind of interesting and ironic. Just when I think the tougher days of thinking of Brenna are gone, today hit. This year has been a tough year for me, when it comes to Brenna. I don't know why. Maybe it's because of all the friends and relatives I know, including me, having babies. Every time I see a new baby, it causes me to reflect on Brenna. Of course, I wonder and think about what could've or might've been. Unfortunately I'll never know. There's a huge plus in all of this. That would be that I have a perfect daughter, in every aspect of the word. Brenna will live with her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for eternity. That brings me so much comfort. The other plus to this is, if we live worthily, our family will be a complete family and will be able to be with Brenna someday, thanks to being sealed in the temple for eternity. That also brings me great comfort. I feel the reason I am struggling so much today is that I picture Mike walking down into the baptism font to baptize her. I picture her in a beautiful, white baptismal gown and Mike gently laying her in the water and bringing her up. I then picture Mike blessing her with and giving her the gift of the Holy Ghost. Yes, she got the better end of the deal and doesn't need baptism. However, as a Mom it's just strange and surreal to think that today would've been her baptism day. I still have many questions that won't be answered until the next life. I would give anything to have a glimpse into heaven, for even a moment, and see Brenna. I MISS HER!

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For what would've been her 8th birthday, we let off 8 balloons like we usually do. Unfortunately, Mike was unable to be here today because of having to be in SLC for work. So, my dear, sweet friend Cheryl came over to be here for us and help out. So, first we each wrote notes or drew pictures for Brenna. Cheryl and I both wrote notes and tied them to the balloons. Connor drew a tiger for her because he thinks that is what her favorite animal would be. Then he wrote on there C loves B (Connor loves Brenna). Rylie drew a picture of a lizard with hair (her words exactly) because that's the animal she thought Brenna would like. We tied their pictures to the balloons. Corie just wanted to devour her paper. The park we usually let the balloons off at had a lot of people there. I didn't want it to be a public event for all to see. So, we took the balloons to our church and stood out on the lawn and let the balloons off that had our notes and pictures on them. Connor and Rylie both yelled, "Happy Birthday, Brenna!" I also took some time to go through pictures and items from when Brenna was born and when she was buried. It was sad to go through it all but, good at the same time. It's like therapy but, free.

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Now it's peaceful in my house. The kids are in bed and I'm alone in my house and able to think. I love Brenna with all my heart and can't wait to be with her again someday.