Happy Birthday McCrae!!

I can hardly believe my baby is 3 years old. What a wonderful gift my Heavenly Father has blessed me with when he sent McCrae to be part of our family. He is so much fun to have around and brings amazing joy to all who know and love him.
Here are the top ten reasons why we LOVE McCrae so much:

1. His beautiful blonde curls.
2. His infectious laugh.
3. His mischevious little grin.
4. His big snuggly bear hugs.
5. His sweet and sincere manners.
6. His love for life.
7. His stromg will.
8. He is soooo smart.
9. He is so loving and kind.
10. Potty training was a breeze!

We are so lucky to have you in our family and love you more than words can say!
Happy Happy Birthday, My Big Boy McCrae!:)

Tagged Again....

**My AWESOME Husband**




1. Where did you first meet? At Fantastic Sam's; I was working with is mom.

2. How long did you date before you got married? 8 long Months

3. How long have you been married? 13 years in December

4. What does he do that surprises you? I feel like I know him pretty well, there's not much that surprises me anymore. Actually, it surprises me that he always tries to kiss me after he's been working his guts out and has sweat dripping off his face. I'll kiss him (of course!) but I really pucker my lips up to get them out as far as they'll go:)

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His height, his strength, his big, strong hands, okay--Everything!!

6. What is your favorite quality of his? Dedication; he's dedicated to his family first, his schooling, church callings, serving others, anything he puts his mind to.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Shani-ba-nani or SweetiePie

8. What is his favorite color? Red (same as mine)

9. What is his favorite food? Steak

10. What is his favorite sport? He doesn't really watch any sports (lucky me!), but he likes to play all sports, especially Softball and Golf (if only we could afford it).

11. When and where was your first kiss? In the parking lot of Litza's Pizza after a Chris LeDoux concert. It was our third date and the whole reason behind us getting together.

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Just being together, I even enjoy going to the grocery store when it's with him. With four kids in the home we don't get out much but we do rent alot of Redbox movies and watch them on the laptop laying in bed together.

13. Do you have any children? Like my friend Tara put it, we have four perfect kids. 2 girls, 2 boys and we are done; no reason to mess with perfection!

14. Does he have a hidden talent? He writes beautiful poetry. I asked the kids what his hidden talent was and their answers were juggling and Rubiks Cube. As you can see I have a very talented husband the list could just go on and on!

15. How old is he? 35, 2 1/2 months younger than me.

16. Who said "I love you" first? I'm not sure how far into our courtship it was but I am pretty sure he said it first. Which is kinda funny because I knew very early that he was "the one", he on the other hand needed a little convincing. I guess he knew he loved me, he just wasn't sure he wanted me!

17. What is his favorite type of music? He likes ALL music, but his favorite would definitely be Religious...he loves Soft Sunday Sounds on FM100.

18. What do you admire most about him? Wow, that's a tough one because I do admire everything about him. He is such a sensitive and loving husband, he's a wonderful father, and he's a hard worker. But I would probably have to say that I most admire his strong testimony and his faith in Christ, he is such a great example to me and his children.

19. Do you think he will read this? Most definitely, he checks my blog daily!

20. I tag: Claudia, Danelle, Megan, and Bev.

Random Things Tag

4 random things I like about my husband...
~Of course I love everything about my Husband, here are just 4 of those things...
1. I love his big strong arms that wrap around me and hold me so close.
2. I love the way he can strike up a conversation with just anybody (whether he knows them or not).
3. I love his never-ending amount of knowledge, his brain is literally like a steel trap.
4. I love that he will dream with me, even if it is a little far-fetched.

4 movies I could watch more than once...
1. Pretty Woman
2. Miracle on 34th Street
3. Cars and any other Disney/Pixar Movie
4. I love watching movies, especially sappy love stories and comedies.

4 TV shows I watch...
~Since we don't have cable or dish I don't watch anything, but if I could I would probably watch...
1. Friend's
2. HGTV (anything)
3. Good Things Utah
4. Reality TV Shows

4 places I've been...
~I'm pretty lucky I guess, since I have visited the majority of the Western US quite a bit (I've only missed WA, OR, and MT)
1. Disneyland (3 times)
2. Jackson Hole
3. Branson, MO
4. Vegas Baby!!

4 people that e-mail me regularly...
1. Classmates.com
2. Old Navy
3. Kneeshorts
4. SPAM

4 favorite foods...
1. Cheese Enchiladas
2. Fettucini Alfredo
3. Porcupine Meatballs
4. Pork Roast w/ Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

4 places I would like to visit...
1. Nauvoo
2. Europe
3. Alaska
4. Hawaii

4 things I am looking forward to next year...
~I don't even know what's going to happen for us next week, so a year is quite a stretch for me
1. Matt starting his Master's Program at BYU
2. Sadie starting Kindergarten
3. McCrae starting Preschool
4. I really don't know, I have to just focus on one day at a time!

4 people I tag...
1. Kim
2. Denette
3. Jonie
4. Tara

Stand a little Taller

Like the title from Pres. Hinckley's book of uplifting quotes, Sadie has a new toy to help her 'Stand a little Taller'. Grandpa just got Sadie's very own pair of stilts made in just her size. He had also made a pair for Sydney and Stetson awhile back and I am still amazed at how well Sydney has mastered them, now she can help Sadie learn the trick of 'Walking Tall'.

And the MVP is.....

Stetson was named 'Player of the Week' for his team this week. His game last Saturday was so exciting and intense, we loved every minute of it. The score was tied with each team having scored one touchdown, we were down to the final seconds of the game and our boys were right at the goal line ready to make the winning touchdown with only 4 seconds on the clock. All the parents and spectators were standing down at the End Zone cheering the Spartans onto Victory, and they did it!! It was our teams first win of the season and they sooo deserved it.
Stetson has been playing on both Offense and Defense as the Center and as a Linebacker. He likes playing defense best because he can tackle, and boy does he! Just ask anyone who has ever witnessed him in action. He'll be on the complete opposite side of the field from the opponent carrying the ball, and after they have gotten past the rest of his teamates Stetson will kick it into high gear and take the poor kid down!! I'm really not one bit biased in my opinion of my boy, just ask anyone who has seen him play....He's AWESOME!!

Sydney "The Brain" Cox

The quality of the picture may not be that great because I had Matt's mom take it with her camera for me and then e-mail it to me for blogging purposes; then I had to rotate it so it was right side up. But, as you can see, Sydney got new glasses. She had them once before (about three years ago) but they got lost and then broken and we just never did replace them. She has been so excited about getting them again and couldn't hardly stand the wait. We think she looks adorable in them and also very smart! Thanks to Grammy and Papa for the push and the help in getting her focused again, we love and appreciate all you do for us. Happy Reading, Syd!!

Playing Catch Up!

The following pictures are from the week we spent playing with cousins and friends at Nana's house at the end of July. Some of my brothers friends are avid rock climbers and were so sweet to let us tag along one night. We went up Spring Canyon for a little picninc and FHE; it was alot of fun and we enjoyed the time we spent with Cody and Heather's friends. Through the summer they would go every Monday night with their big group and each family would take a turn doing the FHE lesson, well this particular night I think it was supposed to be our responsibility to do the lesson but we came unprepared, so one of Heather's friends just had us all do a quick little cheer to introduce ourselves. You had to chant "We are the Coxes...the Mighty, Mighty Coxes" and then throw in something with the same beginning letter as your last name so ours was "We've got Courage...Mighty, Mighty Courage". It was so much fun, thanks to Cody and Heather and the Andreason's for allowing us to tag along!

Moving right along!

McCrae has made another big step recently, it's a little bit sad to see my little guy growing up so fast. Our neighbor handed down her son's old bike to us, thinking it would probably still be a little bit big. But as soon as Matt put Sadie's old training wheels on it for him he was gone like the wind. He looks so big riding around, I can't believe my 'baby' is becoming such an independent Little Man!

Our 'little house on the prarie'....

Last weekend found us in Wellington cleaning up the mess left by our previous renters. The outside of our little home was hardly visible through the 4-5 feet tall weeds and trees growing up in the ditch bank along the front of the house, and inside hadn't been cleaned for awhile. There was dog hair matted down in the carpet of the one bedroom where the dog must've slept under a bed and the carpet in the living room was just black where the guy obviously came home from working in the coal mine and didn't bother to take his coal boots off outside (or in the back room for that matter). It just disgusts me to see the lack of care and respect shown by these people while they were living in MY Home.
It was kind of fun to spend a little bit of time in our little old house again. The kids enjoyed running wild on our 3 acres of 'weeds' and seeing our old neighbor with her 3 goats, dogs, cats, chickens, and so on. While we were there our cat Skittles made an appearance, so we decided it would probably be best to just bring her home with us. Since she wouldn't stay at my mom's when we tried to move her over there and has basically been on her own for this past year, we couldn't bare to leave her again. So now she is in hiding behind our washer and dryer, hopefully she'll get used to us again and warm up to being in a new home.
We have alot of great memories from that cute little house, and I didn't get to do any of the major renovations I had in mind for it but I know it will make a nice place for another young family. It would be so great if the young family meant to enjoy all our little house has to offer would find it real soon!