He's Here! Our 23rd Grandbaby is Here!

We are so thrilled to announce the birth of little Cannon Rigby Copeland born to Kent and Natalie on March 1, 2010, in Toppenish, Washington.  He came so fast that Natalie didn't even have an epidural!  She should have been a pioneer woman!  As you can tell from the pictures, Ethan and Ella are crazy about him!

He is truly a miracle baby after all that Natalie went through for the eight and a half months before he got here!  But we are so proud of Kent and Natalie--they never faltered in their faith that he would be born and they would love him just like the other two children.  Here he is--absolutely perfect! 

Cannon Rigby Copeland

7 lbs. 6 ozs.

20 inches long

Ella wanted to take him home immediately, and Ethan was ready to play ball with him. 

Ethan and Ella fixed birthday cakes for Baby Cannon.  Ella was disappointed that "Louie" didn't have any candles on his birthday cake.  (She wanted to name him "Louie" since they find out it was a boy!  Hah!)

Those kids are going to be so much help with their little brother.  He's wondering when he can meet his cousin, Riley.  They will have so much fun together!

Way to go, Kent and Natalie! 

Football Fever!

George and I were really excited to go to Gainesville to watch Craig and his team in the play-offs for his flag football team.  We got there about 10:45 a.m., and it was raining and raining--but this is a "man's game" I was told by my husband.  A little rain wasn't going to stop them.  Cassie and I and Baby Riley stayed in the car, but still got to watch most of the action.  Riley was definitely dressed for the occasion!

Even in the cold, rain, and mud, Craig's team won.  It was great.  We all went to lunch and had a little time to chat at the restaurant before we had to go back to the next game.  As we approached the field and saw the other team, our faces really dropped--those guys were huge!  Some had even played college ball!  Let's just say, we weren't too hopeful about the outcome.  The rain had stopped, but it was still cool.  I got out of the car and took  a few action shots.

Pre-game chat

When it was all said and done, however, the score was only 28-14, so Craig's team can be proud.  Those guys were big, fast, and extremely athletic.  So that's the end of Craig's flag football for the season.  Actually, it's probably good.  Two guys have broken their fingers on the team already, and with state boards coming up for Craig, it would be hard to put your hand in someone's mouth with a finger cast on!

 

We went back to Craig and Cassie's for awhile and then needed to get on our way home.  I had to take one more picture of Riley.  Look, he is learning to hold his own bottle!  Notice the dimple--exactly like his daddy's!

Suddenly, on our way home, I looked down at my feet--mind you, all day long seeing Craig and Cassie's friends, being out on the field, going to a restaurant, and then I looked down.  To my horror, this is what I saw!

Are you kidding me!!!!!  George is the one who usually does this!  

We had to stop by Jeff and Amy's on the way home to see the kids before they went to bed and show them what had happened to me all day with the shoes.  We all had a great laugh!  What is there about being around Craig and Cassie that I always do strange things????

Oh, and here is Lola who is starting to only want her grandma.  

 

She pretends not to even notice George.  It makes him soooo mad!

Yeh, for Lola!  She loves Grandma even if she does some pretty strange things!  Hah!

Going 'Round the World and Coming up on the Other Side

This past weekend felt just like that--after leaving Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m., returning Sunday night at 6:30 p.m., and going 825 miles, I felt like we had travelled totally around the world.  George had a church assignment in both Tampa and Miami, so I tagged along to keep him company on the long ride.  

After completing his assignment in Tampa, we went on to Miami.  The weather was beautiful there--not too hot, not too cold, just great.  Kevin had given us some points for Mariott, so we stayed in a beautiful hotel there for free!  Thanks, Kevin! 

Looking out our window.  Too bad we didn't have time to even dip our toe in!

I know I have nothing to complain about compared to those in the North, but I am so tired of cold weather--we've had our share in Florida this year, so it was so nice to see some sunshine and beautiful flowers!  Springtime can't come soon enough!  Anyway, I was able to meet many members of the church (which I always love to do) in both Tampa and Miami.  Great weekend! 

Happy Valentines' Day and Birthday, Cassie!

February 14th is such a special day to remember those you love.  George was so sweet to take me to get some new clothes (I never go on my own!) and to lunch on Saturday.  We had a great time.  Then on Sunday, after going to church, Craig, Cassie, and Baby Riley along with Jeff and Amy and their family came to dinner.  Not only was it Valentines' Day, but Cassie's birthday, too! 

Craig said he was getting the birthday cookie--I think they had a few bites during the hour and a half ride over!  Hah!

This was Baby Riley's first car trip.  He seemed to enjoy the events very much!

Lola was dressed so darling in her little Valentines' dress for church.

She loved meeting her new little cousin. 

Happy Birthday, dear Cassie!

All she asked for was a Hershey bar, but we know how much she loves Sour Patch kids.  Craig will surely have some teeth to work on now!

This was Cassie's best birthday present of all!

Since Monday was Presidents' Day, I had no school, but George had work and Craig had school, so I went to Gainesville to see if I could help out Cassie a little and spend the day with her and Baby Riley.  We had a great time and hopefully I did help a little--sorry about dusting the whole house with what I thought was Pledge and it turned out to be Raid!  Hah!  I am still laughing about that one.