February/March Tidbits

I'm so glad Jeff and I took Bentley to the temple for the first time. We were able to squeeze it in right before the youth had it's own temple trip. The matrin came and chatted with Bentley and we got to do some names for a guy we met there. Jeff baptized Bentley and I and it was super special. She had a good time with the youth group too, and they took such a gorgeous picture with the temple all lit up!

Jillayne hosted a little book club board party at her house and we watched a movie on Netflix that was originally a book. I put together a fairly nice looking board and was so amazed with the spread after we all put our boards together. It looked pretty incredible and delicious!

My sweet Grandpa Cooper passed away on Jan.25, 2026. He hung on for such a long time and, although it is sad, I knew he would be feeling so much happier with his wife on the other side. The funeral was held on Feb.6 at 2pm in Cardston, so Jeff took the day off of work and we drove there for it. My mom and Steve spoke and then Emily and Abby Whiteley, and Meghan Cooper sang a beautiful song. We went to the gravesite and then headed to the church for a family dinner afterwards. We had sandwiches and other sides, and played a game of "who knew him best." It was really nice to see lots of family that I don't see too often and the kids found friends and played with Porter and Abby as well. The weather was beautiful, especially for a February day. 

This year Valentine's day fell on a Saturday so Jeff and I decided to host a Valentine's party for couples. We made a really good steak dinner and went all out with herb butter and a seperate beet salad with whipped goat cheese for each couple to share. We also did baked potatoes and a simple arugula salad. It was a lot of work but so much fun! Then we had each person bring a gift for a little exchange and we thought it'd be fun to make the gifts a little spicy. It was a lot of fun and made for many laughs. We also had a "not so newlywed" game, where we answer questions about our spouse and see if we match what they said. Then for dessert, we had a chocolate fondue with fruit of course! I invested in some really cute pink fondue pots/platters and I'm kind of obsessed with them. We had a really fun night!

The kids had a week off school in February, but we didn't have anything planned. They all still had activities running so it was filled with a lot of basketball, flying squirrel one day, and we went to see the small time theater Frozen play as a family. It was so cute even Boston loved it! Bentley was also able to get her hair cut by my girl Stefanie, who comes to our house. The following week the kids all got to go skiing for school. We were worried there wouldn't be enough snow because February had been unusually warm and it had all melted, but luckily we got a dump before they went and they were able to go and enjoy it.

Community basketball ended for Bentley and Deacon and they both played for gold on the last Saturday in February. Since Bentley was forced to take a break from basketball because of her appendix, she wasn't sure if she should play these final games. Luckily she had a friend, named Emily, that encouraged her to come. She was able to make a couple practices before the finals and felt a part of the team again! They got so far, but unfortunately for both Bentley and Deacon they ended up losing the last game and took home silver. Still something to be very proud of! Jeff was an assistant coach for Deacon's team and that made it even more fun. The following weekend Deacon played at provincials and ended up with another silver! Boston came along and loved the balloons. Deacon was also able to have one last hurrah with his team at Boston Pizza. Bentley's team wasn't a high enough div to go to provincials, but they played in a tournament and ended up with a bronze medal for that. They had a lot of fun and I came to really love their team. I thought the coaches were great, although Bentley thought they were too strict at times, but I really liked the way they'd push and teach the girls.

At the beginning of March I went to the Olympic Oval so I could skate with Leo and his school. I find indoor skating so much fun and I knew Leo could use the help. We had such a fun time together going around and around, laughing, and catching up with his friends. He definitely had a few falls but he just thought it was a blast no matter what. I love how much he loves when I come to his school things so it's always worth it!

We've been doing Family Home Evening when we can and I thought it was the cutest thing when Deacon made the Easter story out of Lego. He did such a good job, and then we made some poppy seed rice krispies and some puffed wheat squares. 

The kids had a random Monday off school in March so I took Deacon out for breakfast at Ihop, since it was his turn for a date. I also decided to book our favorite hotel and go swimming! Emri and Bryce were able to join us as well and the kids swam for literally 5 hours! Jeff grabbed some pizza for dinner and we didn't even leave the swimming area. We didn't sleep there that night but made sure we stopped there for the free breakfast on our way to school the next day. 

Boston and I are obsessed with the cake pops at Starbucks so whenever there's a new one that comes out we always have to get it! 

We may not have caught the leprechaun with our traps this year, but he was sure to leave us some goodies. Boston had a great time with the hat, necklace, and candies. We even found him a cute shirt at Walmart for St. Patrick's Day that he wore to preschool. 

Boston also finished his first swimming lessons in Preschool 1. He loved it so much and enjoyed the ribbon he was given. It was good for him to spend some time in the water, as he's always been a little afraid of getting his face wet. 

One last photo to show Bentley's fun YW activity where they played "Where's Waldo" at the mall. She's been inviting Hope to some activities, even though her family is not active, and it's been really nice to have her there.