So it goes...

 

Well the month and a half went by too quickly. We had such a great time over Christmas! We enjoyed a great ward party where the kids got to "shop" for gifts for the family. I also had a super fun night at a gift exchange with girls in the ward. Once Joey got here things went into high gear. We started his visit by going to see the new Star Wars film. I thought it was great, but I think the boys had warm up to it. After church on Sunday we headed north to the Twin Cities to go to the Mall of America. We did it last year and it was a ton of fun and we thought Joey might enjoy it. It was a short trip but we had good time. 

It snowed Christmas Eve and we had the best time going out to play in the snow and we made a pretty good snowman. Christmas morning came with lots of great gifts and food. We had fun Skyping with the grandparents too. Johnny was back to work after Christmas so we spent the rest of the days trying to keep ourselves entertained. Joey gave me a day off which was greatly appreciated. I went to my doctors appointment sans kids and then had lunch with Johnny at the hospital. then I took myself to see Star Wars again!

New Years Eve Johnny was working so Joey and I took the kids to a party some people in our ward were having. We played volleyball at the church for a bit. While everyone else had dinner we went to the hospital to see Johnny and have some ice cream. We went back to join the party at the Henderson's to eat and play games. We had a great time and good laughs. 

Once Joey left it was back to our normal routine which now includes weekly doctors visits and weekly ultrasound and NSTs. The kids are not loving being at the doctors so much, but I am enjoying getting to see my baby once a week and getting to spend lunch with Johnny at the hospital. Things are going well with the pregnancy. Baby is growing at the right pace and heartbeat is good. It looks like a Cochran and we got to see some hair today in the ultrasound! Daphne is not enjoying school very much this week. We had been having so much fun with it and then we took a break while Joey was here and ever since it has been a little bit of a struggle. Johnny has been looking at job opportunities for the last couple of weeks and has had a few phone interviews that have gone well. We are heading to Wisconsin in a couple weeks for a face to face, which I'm excited for, but we are going to have to wait til after baby comes to go visit other places.

M.O.A.

Sunday night it was looking like we weren't going to go on our little mini vacation. There was going to be a big snow storms in the area so it looked like a no go. We woke up in the morning and Johnny checked the weather and the traffic. It had snowed in Minneapolis, but not much and the roads looked good. So we decided we would chance it. We got in and we went out to eat Indian food. We don't have it very often, but I always enjoy it. Then it was off to the hotel to swim. This is what Daphne was asking to do ALL DAY. We had a great time. Daphne loves to swim and Quentin had a good time too. That first night was rough. We are all used to our own space and sleeping in the same room was not fun. 

We ate, got ready and then headed out to the Mall Of America. We walked around for a minute, but then we came to the rotunda and it looked like something for toddlers was about to start, so we decided to check it out. They were doing Dancercise and I thought Daphne would love it so Daddy and Quen headed to Barnes and Noble and Daphne and I stayed for Dancercise. She had a great time! So I'm glad we happened to find it right on time. 

We walked and walked and walked. It was an awesome Mall. It was four stories and each story was about a mile walk. In the middle there is a small amusement park. I wish we had the extra money to get to do some rides, but we had to pass on them. We didn't have any problem filling the time until Santa came though. There were so many stores!

I'm glad it worked out that the day we were going to be there was the day Santa was arriving at the mall. I think it is pretty ridiculous he comes so early, but it was cool for us. They had a live band playing Christmas songs and dancers. They passed out cookies and milk as well and jingle bracelets and decorative sun glasses. Then the Big Man arrived. He came over to say hi to Daphne and she ran away from him. She has always been wary of dressed up characters. We went and got pictures on his lap and then our day was over.

We got a much better nights sleep that night since we were all exhausted. We got up and took our time getting home. We stopped at a couple stores. After the Santa arrival we were all in a Christmasy mood. So we got a couple gifts and listened to Christmas music on the way home.

Friday we had one of Johnny's co-workers, Elizabeth, over for dinner. She was very sweet and indulged us in a game of Clue. Johnny's back to work with no breaks for awhile. So me and the kids are going to get back to our normal routine.   

Oh...maha!

This week seemed long because all week I was just waiting for the weekend. Not a ususal pastime of mine, but I knew once Johnny got home on Friday he would be all mine for almost a week. So I couldn't wait!

I have started doing preschool with Daphne. She isn't to happy about it and I have to say its not my favorite part of the day, but she is so smart and I want her to succeed. Monday we had a repairman at our house. Our heater was not working which is not a good thing here in Iowa. He could not figure out what was wrong with it, which was making me nervous because my thought was that we were going to have to replace the whole heater. Thankfully it ended up just being some rocks in the exhaust pipe. We also took a walk and ended up going to our typical hang out, McDonalds. I miss being able to go to a park, but its really to to cold to be outside for any amount of time. 

Friday finally came and I was so excited. After putting the kids to bed we watched a movie. Saturday was the big day. We had decided to visit our good friends the Jevene's. They were on the Island with us and its been three years since we've seen than ans it was great to see them. They also watched the kids for us so we could go to the Temple. The Temple was tiny, but beautiful. It was so nice to get to go with Johnny which also hasn't happened in a long time. We got headed home a lot later than we were planning so the ride home was hard. Church was even harder. The kids were quite tired, so they were cranky, but we got through it. 

Tomorrow we are heading north for a couple of days. We wanted to go to Nauvoo, but the temple is going to be closed so we searched for another location for our mini vacation. We settled on Minneapolis. Santa is making an appearance at the Mall of America which we thought would be fun. 

Lamar Days

I didn't work this week and it felt weird not to have anything to do in the afternoon. I kept busy though trying to get stuff done so we can close on the house.  Monday evening we went to the high school to watch Bekah's choir performance. She did well and it was fun to get to listen to the band and remember how much I used to love to play. We went to get ice cream after the performance and we had some good laughs. 

Wednesday Mary, the kids, and I went to Colorado Springs to do some food storage shopping and go to the bank. It was nice to get out of Lamar for a little while and we got our chores accomplished. Daphne was happy cause we took her to McDonalds for lunch and she liked get all the snacks at Costco.

This weekend was Lamar Days. They had a little parade so we all went. Daphne hasn't been to many parades and she loved running and grabbing the candy though she teared up a couple times cause all the kids were faster than she was, but a couple were nice and shared with her. After naps we went over to the park to take in all the festivities, but it was pretty disappointing this year. We stayed to let Daphne play on the playground.

Johnny and I both had talks today in church. We talked about the blessings of reading the Book of Mormon. I think we did pretty well. 

Easter in Estes

Well did we have an awesome weekend!?! I am so glad John wanted to take the boys to a baseball game and I'm glad we decided to make it a little family reunion! 

We headed up to Denver to meet John and Joey on Friday. Meeting up with everyone took longer than we thought because we had a little miss-communication about Joe's flight, but it all worked out. After a quick dinner we all headed up the mountains to Estes Park. this is one of The Cochran's favorite places and it seems we try to make a trip up every time we stay with them. I don't know if it will ever pass Sedona in my list of favorite places, but I do love it there. 

Saturday morning we all headed out to the shops to walk around and enjoy the mountain air. We had fun looking at all the shops and talking and reminiscing while we gorged ourselves on all the delicious candy we bought. We had to keep that trip short so we could get the boys fed and ready to head back to Denver for the game.

They seemed to have a lot of fun. They got there early so they could get autographs and catch practice balls. They enjoyed the squirrel that decided to join the game and their messy hot dogs. The Rockies won which they always like to hear and they stayed late to gather cups from the stand which is part of the tradition of going to the game.

Us girls just sat and relaxed while the boys were gone. We went out for a nice steak dinner and came home and soaked in the hot tub and then warmed ourselves by the fire. 

Sunday morning Mary and John went down the mountain to visit Nana and Papa's graves while us kids stayed home and played games. When the parents got back we started a game of "bases" or as I always knew it as "pickle". We had so much fun and we were all exhausted when it was time to come in. We hid Easter Eggs and Daphne and Tanner each got a basket to open. We had a wonderful Easter dinner of ham and potatoes. Joe, Bekah, Tanner and I went on a hike after and I realized half way through that I am way out of shape. 

The evening was spent in the hot tub and then playing games. The resort we stayed at was so nice and comfortable. We had and amazing time. 

Monday we were all up early to head back home. On the way we had to stop and get a car that John had purchased and then it was back to Lamar. 

The Big Move

Well I have missed a few weeks, but I was pretty busy the last two Sundays. So now I have tons to catch up on. 

Quentin turned 7 months old on the 24th. He is getting so big and grown up. He wants to move all the time as is evident in his monthly pic. If you set him on the floor he immediately turns on his belly. He is still a mamas boy and prefers to be in my arms at all times. He is eating some solid food and is a little picky. So far he only likes to eat sweet potatoes, corn and any fruit. He also likes real rice not the rice cereal. He can play peak-a-boo and loves to grab anything in arms reach, cords seem to be his favorite right now and I am constantly having to take them away from him. 

Johnny's last week of rotations seem to take forever but Friday came and our lives changed very quickly that day. After going to the doctor to get Quentin some shots we picked Johnny up from his last day as a med student. We headed home, but before we went to our leasing office to see if we could move out whenever we wanted (I was previously told we could not move out until the last day of our contract). They told us we could move anytime we wanted so we went home and decided we wanted to move a whole week earlier than expected. All I can say is the next three days were a blur of packing cleaning and getting things ready for our move. We decided to stop by in Des Moines to drop off our stuff and look for houses before we headed to Colorado. I was also excited to get to see the place we are going to be living for the next three years! 

After packing the truck and driving the two days to Des Moines We were so glad to get unloaded and be off the road. Our kids are always so good traveling, but after the three previous days of not so much mommy time and the car breaking down it was nice to be off the road. We didn't get to rest though because looking for houses is hard work when you a dragging two little ones along with you. I'm not surprised, but a little disappointed we didn't find anything while we were there. So the search continues over the internet. The rest of the drive went very well and we were happy we got here safely.

We have been having lots of fun here at Nana's house. I can't decide who loves who more, Daphne or Tanner. We figured they would love playing with each other.Quentin loves all the attention he gets and he loves his bouncy gym. I have found a little job doing house/yard work for people in the ward. Its good to be making money and having things to do while I'm here. Johnny is hoping to get a job substituting at the schools here. Other than that our life is as normal as it can be. 

Shopping Around

This week was a little lonely, but it went fast. Johnny went to two interviews this week. The first was in Quincy, Illinois. He was gone a little longer on this one because he couldn't get on a flight back home on Monday so we didn't pick him up until late Tuesday night. We did go to the mall and I actually shopped and bought something! That hasn't happened in a long time. The kids did so great out walking around we took advantage of it and went to another mall when Johnny went on his second trip of the week. I was super sad I couldn't go on this one with him. He was in Saint Petersberg, Florida and he was right by the beach. We thought about trying to go with him and do a Disney trip, but it wouldn't have worked out.

Now he is done interviewing and it is time to decide how to rank them all, which I know will be hard. He liked so amny of them and they all have plus and minuses. 

Last week

Last week went by so. After we got home from Michigan Johnny only went to school for one day and then it was back on the road for him. He left for Jonesboro, Arkansas Thursday morning.  We didn't do much while he was gone, but we did run a few errands including getting our breaks fixed while we had the car. We picked him up super late  Friday night. It was nice to have him back the next day so I could get us all ready and packed for the next interview. Sunday morning we headed up to Somerset, New Jersey. I love being able to go with him to interviews so I can see the city. New Jersey was the last one I get to see so I am a little sad about that. We drove home Monday after he was done with his interview. I love road trips. It's always so fun to sit and talk and listen to music and books. Our next road trip will be our move to our new home! 

Life in the new year

I am way behind in this post. I meant to post on the 1st. When I missed that I wanted to do it on Sunday and missed that to, but better late than never...right?

Quentin turned four months right before Christmas. He is the sweetest baby. He has the best laugh and is pretty ticklish. He still loves to be held all the time which means I'm making dinner to the sound of a sad baby, but other than that he is a happy baby. He is starting to grab things and we have been practicing sitting up with him. He also seems very interested in the food we eat so we have been giving him tastes of real food.

After Christmas we spent our time playing with our new toys. Daphne definitely loves the train set she got as well as her stuffed triceratops aptly named "Tops". We have enjoyed all the card/board games we got. Its so nice to have some games that don't need other people to play them with. 

Johnny hasn't had to go to the hospital very much since Christmas which has been fun. New Years Eve we had our sparkling cider and lucky pickled pigs feet. We watched about 5 minutes of the "Ball Drop" and it was horrible. Not worth all the junk to watch the ball drop for 10 seconds. 

 

On New Years Day we headed down to D.C. Johnny has really wanted to see the Holocaust Museum. So we went there and then headed over to the American History Museum as well. It was nice to take things slow while we were there. We usually are rushing to hit everything in one day, but we were there just to waste time and it was a lot of fun.

After a couple days of work we headed north for Michigan for Johnny's interview in Brighton. I'm so glad we left a day early. We got to go stay with the Price's which was a joy! I love Katie and we had a good time playing games and talking. We did get there later than planned on Saturday because one of our tires blew out. We did beat the storm though. After hanging out on Sunday we drove over from their house to the hotel in Brighton. The storm was going pretty strong by this time so the drive was long and slow. At the hotel we just relaxed and stayed warm. Monday morning we dropped Johnny off and then just went back to the hotel instead of roaming the town like I wanted to. It was just to cold and to snowy to be out roaming around. We headed home once we picked up Johnny, but we didn't get very far with all the snow on the road. We ended up staying the night in Columbus. We woke up to another flat tire the next morning. So after getting the car repaired, again, we drove the rest of the way home. 

Life is going to be crazy for the rest of the month while Johnny finishes up his interviews. He will be gone a lot since he still has five interviews. We will miss him, but I know it will be worth it. Can you believe he will be a Doctor in three months! I can't wait for him to accomplish his dream and to find out where we are going to be living.  

To much fun to handle!

So I have so much to talk about because we have been so busy and I haven't posted in forever! We have had my sister to visit, Quen turned two months, we celebrated Halloween, and we went on a big road trip for a couple of Johnny's interviews. So you can see that we were busy. Lets start with my sisters visit. 

This was something I was SO excited for. It had bet to long since it was just the two of us and back then we didn't get along as well as we do now. We had a time from the moment she stepped off the plane. We spent our first two days walking the D.C. Mall. We went to the Capital, the Archives, Library of Congress, Fords Theater, Arlington and all the Monuments. Even though it was a ton of walking we had a great time taking all the history and all the gelato. Saturday morning we did a session at the temple that was perfect. We were starving by the time we were done so we went out for a big lunch and a little shopping. Sunday she helped me sing at our stake conference. We got home and decided to take one more trip down to D.C. to see the Holocaust Museum. It was a great exhibit even if it was a depressing one. We didn't have anything planned for Monday and ended up driving the short distance to Gettysburg. I felt chills looking up towards Little Round Top and thinking of the men charging and the men defending that little hill. Tuesday was the sad day of her departure, but we did take a little trip to the bay to walk the beach before she left. All in all it was a perfect visit! I can't wait for our next encounter!!!

Now on to my sweet baby. I can't believe how big he is getting! He is wearing 3 month clothes already. He is so sweet and happy. I love every minute of him. I feel like I could never get enough of his face. 

Halloween gets better every year. Some things are just better as a parent. Daphne loved it! We carved pumpkins before Rachel's visit. They were very rotten before Halloween arrived. The ward had a party that was great; great chili, great treats, great fun. On Halloween night we did our tradition and dressed up and when to Chipolte for $3 burritos! Then it was off to trick-or-treat. We went to a person's house that is in the ward to meet everyone and all go out together. It was a really good neighborhood for trick-or-treating. Daphne got tons of loot. We will be eating it for awhile.

Our little interview trip was so awesome. I like to be able to go with Johnny on his trips. I get to see our options for the future and I get to get out of the house for a couple of days. This trip we had two interviews. One in Saginaw, MI and the other in Cleveland, OH. Both would be fine options for us even with the cold weather. 

The kids and I had lots of fun while Johnny was at the interviews. In Saginaw we spent our day with the Walpole's, our good friends from Dominica. We went to a story time at the library and then to the children's museum there. After picking Johnny up we met back at the Walpole's because we were going to stay the night there. We got together with a whole bunch of people from the island and it was the highlight of the trip! It was so good to catch up with friends that were our family while we were on the island. Everyone looked so good and sounded like life was going well for everyone. We stayed up way to late that night talking with the Walpole's (we tend to do that with them). Saturday we woke up to a great pancake breakfast and then it was off to Kirtland. We got in a little later than we wanted so we didn't get to see the temple, but we went to the LDS Visitors center and the buildings they have there. Sunday we Went and did the tour of the Temple and it was really nice. I had been before, but they have changed things since then. Monday was the interview in Cleveland so while Johnny did that the kids and I swam and then had lunch at McDonalds while Daphne played. We headed straight home after picking Johnny up. We got home and we were all pretty tired. Its been a week since we got back and we haven't done anything at all. I'm getting excited for the holidays. We are going to have Joey here for Christmas again and its always fun to have him. 

To much fun to handle! (Pictures)

Sorry, these are very out of order!

Cinderella and her Prince

Halloween

Me and Katie!!!

All the Dominica Kids! They belong to us, Jamie, Holly, Crystal, and Ann.

Daphne had a ball playing with Hayden!

Pioneer Children at the Temple VC.

Two Months

Me and the Sister at Arlington

Kirtland

Tennessee

This last week was spent getting ready for and going on our big trip to Johnny's interview in Tennessee. The trip started 3am on Thursday morning. We had everything packed the night before and after feeding Quentin we pack up the kids and headed out. We made really good time and were in Jackson by 6pm. We went for a little swim and then went out for dinner. After 13plus hours in the car we were all tired so we went to bed really early for us. The next morning after dropping Johnny off for the interview we checked out of the hotel and headed out to check out the city we may be calling home. I liked it well enough. It is the perfect size, not to big, not to small and there are nice neighborhoods to live. There is lots of shopping and the Seattle Mariners farm league is located in town. It wasn't as pretty as the Eastern part of the state, but still beautiful. Johnny got done about three so we picked him up and started heading home. He said he liked the program and the director and residents were nice. The interviews were not what he expected, but thought they went well. We only got a few hour out before we decided to stop and get dinner and a hotel. The next day was spent driving and driving and driving. The way home always seems longer than the way there, but we made it. The only bummer about the trip was we missed conference on Saturday and then Sunday our Internet kept giving out so we missed President Monsons talk. The rest was great though and I can't wait to read over them in the coming months.

Impromptu

A couple weeks ago Johnny had the week off and we were just planning on sitting around the house doing nothing special and that is exactly how the the week started. Tuesday morning we woke up. Johnny was studying and Daphne and I were watching Price is Right. Johnny through me for a loop and asked if I wanted to go to Disney World! Of course I said yes, as long as we could afford it. So he purchased the tickets with the help of a cousin that is a Disney travel agent and we were on the road by 2:30. 

We had such a great time. We all ended up getting sick on the trip, but it didn't slow us down. We headed to the Animal Kingdom first. It wasn't our favorite, but I thought it was fun especially the Safari Tour and Finding Nemo the Musical was awesome. Next was the Magic Kingdom, which is my favorite! It just makes me feel like a kid again. I loved showing Daphne everything and getting to see it through her eyes. She loved meeting all the princesses and to go on the rides. Hollywood Studios was fun. We enjoyed the rides and the shows. I even got to be an extra in the Indiana Jones show. Epcot was the last stop on the tour. We went around meeting all the characters we could find. We got to see all the princesses. 

It was such a fun little family vacation. Now that I have been with just Johnny and now as a mom I can say it is so much more fun to do it with your kid. A lot more work, but more fun! Daphne is now a Disney princess expert, she loves them. She reads a princess treasury book she got for Christmas all day and looks at the pictures from the trip all the time. 

Vance and Daphne's Wedding

Last week Daphne and I got to head to Arizona to see my little brother get married. It was a great time. Daphne was a little "off". The plane rides and the three hour time difference were a little to much for her so she was a little cranky which means I was a tired mama. By the end she was getting used to it and then it was time to come home.

We spent the first night over at Jeff's house. We went out for dinner and then stayed up talking. The next day Heather took me out for a Mani/Pedi and out to lunch. I felt so spoiled and I enjoyed every minute of it! Then Vance came to pick me up to head down to St. David. We did a couple of errands first and then I tried to help as much as I could with a screaming baby to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Daphne did a little better at the dinner, but once she was tired she was falling all over the place. by this time I was exhausted. 

 The next day was the BIG day. After helping my mom with the soup for the dinner. I got to help all the girls get pretty. I did Chelsea's hair and then my mom's and Rachel's make-up. I was fun to do and  fun to have some more girl time. 

The wedding was wonderful. Daphne (bride) was beautiful and although you could tell Vance was nervous you could tell they were both happy and very much in love. I wish the best for them in their new life together.

Daphne and I went home from the reception early. I felt bad, but she and I literally could NOT take any more. She was inconsolable and I was just pooped. When we got home she crashed and I was so glad she was out. I got to sit in peace until the family got home and then I went to bed.

On Sunday I went to church with mom and Grandma. Rachel's little family was there too and afterward they took me and Daphne to Tucson with them. The family all got together to celebrate Rachel's birthday and to say goodbye before people started heading out. Jeff came and picked me up there and we spent the rest of the time at their house. Daphne was happier by then so we had a great day on Monday. We played with Helen and Arlo until Heather and Felicity got home. Then we went out to a cool museum (can't remember the name) and out to eat again. The next morning we headed back home. She did well on the flights and during our 3 hour layover. As nice as the trip was it was so good to get back to Johnny and to be able to sleep in our own beds again. 

Again thanks to my mom and everyone for making it possible to come and for carting us around and letting us stay with you and everything anyone did. We are so thankful and we love you!