Lions & tigers & bears - oh my!

We finally were able to take the boys to the Phoenix Zoo a couple weeks ago. I've been dying to take them, especially before it's 100 degrees outside. Luckily, the weather is still pretty nice. It was a little warm, but nothing us Arizonans would be bothered by.

The boys had so much fun. I think the play place was their favorite part. Cooper sure liked the giraffes, though. The rhinos were my least favorite - I have never smelled anything so disgusting! The monkey village was . . . an experience. You go into this open area that is fenced off from the rest of the zoo where the little monkeys roam around freely and you can observe them up close and personal. I probably wouldn't have thought much about it, except there are signs posted everywhere telling you if you don't bother the monkeys they won't bother you. What does a monkey consider being 'bothered'? And if they are bothered what does that mean they do? Don't they tend to fling their poo? Needless to say, I didn't make direct eye contact with any of the monkeys and I was in and out in record time. Oh, and the lady at the entrance told us not to touch the ropes because the monkeys pee on them and when I looked over at my 3 year old he was running his hand along the rope. Yep. I think next time we'll skip the monkey village. Ick.

Easter

**Note** To Linds: We saved you a spot next to Brookie in the picture. You were there in spirit! :)

We had a very nice Easter this year. I was able to see the Easter Pageant twice this year - once with my sisters and once with my family. I'm glad I went twice, because I didn't get a lot out of it with my boys there. Love them, but they don't sit still for more than a couple of minutes and 'quiet' is not a word in their vocabulary. I'm glad we went, though. Both Cooper and Hudson watched in awe as the angels came out to dance, sing and blow their trumpets. It was a neat experience.

I really enjoyed this general conference. It was so nice to spend Easter listening to the prophet and other leaders of the church give their messages. I love President Uchtdorf! I'm terrible at remembering which speaker spoke on which topic, but I loved the talk one of the men gave on motherhood. It rekindled my desire to teach my children the gospel and make sure they are brought up in righteousness. I've been slacking! :)

The Easter bunny brought Hudson and Coop some treats, which they both seemed to enjoy, and we went to my parents house and had an Easter egg hunt. Well, Coop hunted down the eggs while Hudson rode around on his little motorcycle. It was fun to watch.

I hope everyone else had a nice Easter!

Happy Birthday, Hudson!

My baby is officially one year old. It's a bittersweet moment. :( We had family over on his birthday (the 25th) and had a little party. He wasn't that interested in opening presents, although his big brother sure was, even though none of them were for him. Poor, Coop. Hudson loved playing with the balloons and he seemed to enjoy the cake, though. We took lots of pictures. The poor kid - the cake I got him had red frosting on it and it totally stained his face. He looked like he had a case of the measles or something. :( Luckily, it wore off after a good scrubbing.

We spent the weekend in Thatcher and celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday (hers is the day after Hudson's) and Hudson's some more. It was nice - we hadn't been since Christmas. I can't believe how big Hudson is getting. He's walking all on his own now (he figured it out a couple weeks before his birthday). He's such a happy little guy. He smiles and laughs all the time (he has what we call a mad scientist laugh) and loves to make noise. He's especially fond of screaming, particularly when we are in church. His 1 year well check is tomorrow and it will be interesting to see what percentile he's in. His last appointment he was only in the 50th, but as Grandpa Conrad says, "he's a tank" now.

Happy Birthday, Hudson! We love you! :)

Spring is in the air

I can't believe it's already March! Hudson will be 1 year old on the 25th, but I feel like he's just a baby. He's getting so big, though. He walks around the house holding onto the fire truck Cooper got for his 1st birthday. It rolls down the hallway and literally drags Hudson along with it. He loves it, though. He thinks he's pretty big walking down the hallway with the truck. He even figured out that if he stands on the side of it and scoots it across the floor sideways that he can keep up with it better than if he stands directly behind it. It's very entertaining to watch. I got a little bit of it on video, below.

The following pics are for you, Don and Joan. Cooper was so excited when he got his Valentine's Day card from you. He couldn't wait to spend his money, so we finally went to the store the other day and he got his Ben 10 toy that he's been bugging me about for the past 3 weeks or so. He took his toy to the cashier and handed her his money. He was walking pretty tall after that. :) He told anyone who would listen how he picked out his toy and paid for it with his money all by himself. We got Hudson a ball, which he chases all over the house. He especially loves it when someone will play with him by throwing the ball to him.

Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!

It's a nice day -

for a white wedding. My sweet husband made this collage of all the McDowell brides (so far).

My sister Bre just married Chris Mortensen last weekend. Their reception was more of a 'celebration' as I like to call it. We all wore shirts with McDowell or Mortensen on them (depending on whose side of the family you are on) including the bride and groom. President Cathcart introduced the bride and groom and the rest of the family over the loudspeaker while we ran through a human tunnel as the suns game music was playing. It was a lot of fun - the whole celebration was. It was just a big party. Congrats to Bre & Chris.

2010

How we're spending the new year . . .

We spent Christmas in Thatcher and had a wonderful time

Hudson is cruising all over the place on all fours. He loves to go into his brother's room and play. He's been pulling himself up on everything and anything and is starting to walk along the furniture. He will be 1 in March and I have no doubts that he will be walking by then.

Cooper loves to wrestle with his dad. He's into the phase where everything is a question. "Why, Mom?" is his most quoted phrase. He can spell his name and count to 13 (random, I know) and he just grows more every day. He's a really good big brother and when he's not driving me crazy he's a really big helper.

Randy and I are doing well. Randy had over a week off from work over Christmas, so I was spoiled having him home all that time. It feels like I don't get to see him that much during the week, because he works so much. In this economy, though we're grateful for the work. I spent this past weekend in Glendale at my sister Bre's bridal shower. I wish I had pictures of Bre opening her presents (it was pretty hilarious) but I was too busy talking and laughing. After the shower I had the opportunity to attend the Performing Arts for the Glendale Stake Youth Olympics. There were some outstanding performances this year - I was really impressed.

Anyway, that's how our year is going so far. I hope everyone is having a great start to 2010!

Weddings

My sister, Lindsay, got married on Friday to Disraeli Rangel in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. The sealing was very sweet. We all had lots of fun hanging out and celebrating their marriage. The reception was especially fun thanks to all the food and dancing. Congratulations, Linds & Dis!