hi family! i just wrote up a post on our family blog and thought i'd repost it here for all to read. i love that we have this blog as a compilation of the whole family's lives! it's such a great way to keep in touch. we had such a wonderful time in utah visiting family and really missed those of you who were unable to come. we love all of you and think of you often!

here's our recap: warning, it's a bit lengthy

four and a half

two and a half

and a half

years old

we spent nine days in utah partying it up at a roper family reunion as well as half-of-the-mccoy-family reunion. only one trip to instacare was required and that wasn't until our last twelve hours in town so all in all i consider the trip a roaring success. we all know that traveling with kids is kind of like really fun torture. taking care of kids is a lot of work. taking care of kids at someone else's house is even more work. through trial and error i've learned two key factors that makes traveling with my minis much more fun:

1) limit it to a week, none of this two week business like in days of yore

and 2) take darek with me. two parents are always better than one.

and i suppose i can throw in a third helpful tip: have very low expectations

ie - roll with it and expect to be beat

a few summers ago when i was breaking my two rules and spending two weeks in utah with atticus and beckett but without darek and i was in the throws of sleepless, funless vactioning with little kids chaos, my sister-in-law (who i consider to be wise beyond her years and secretly wish i were lots and lots more like her) said to me that "traveling with little kids is really a labor of love" and it's so true. at this stage in life, as much as i love to travel to see family and friends and take a break from everyday life, it's pretty exhausting and not always what i remember family trips being like when i was a kid - but that's exactly the point. family trips as a kid, playing with cousins, staying up late, eating popsicles, endless summers, sleeping on the trampoline is magic. pure magic. and that's why we do it. during these years when our kids are too young to realize that traveling is really exhausting and instead just think it's party time from sun up to sun down is creating childhood magic. my most precious childhood memories are of visiting cousins, playing on my grandpa and grandma's farm, going to water parks and lagoon, eating cookies and getting lost in cousinland. nothing is better. and i want that for my kids, especially since we live so far from most of their cousins. and until i had kids i didn't realize that my parents were creating that magical world for me by enduring the weeks of packing and planning, hours of driving, nights of not-sleeping, too much fast food eating, and making major sacrifices just so i would have those memories that i would love forever.

it's a labor of love. so exhausting. and so worth it.

so thank you to our family for hosting us

thank you to darek for helping me

thank you to my kids for loving it

and thank you to my parents for teaching me how to create childhood magic for my minis

atticus and beckett really lucked out in the cousin department on the roper side - eight boys under the age of eight. that makes for some serious little boy play.

trucks and dirt and guns and sprinklers and swings and swords and superheros and snips and snails and puppy dog tails.

four and a half has been both a darling age and a challenging age for atticus

he's so smart and so interested in learning everything there is to learn. he asks the best questions and i can't believe how much he understands and remembers when i explain things to him or tell him stories. he sincerely loves his siblings and is a really good big brother. i've known since his birth that he has a kind and tender heart and i see that in how much he loves to cuddle kennedy and bring her toys and play with beck and (sometimes) share with him. he actually cries at sad parts of movies - ie - when curious george gets sent back to africa - because he's such a tender hearted little soul. he's also so busy and hyper and crazy and fun and laughs and laughs and laughs. and last week as we were leaving the gym he turned back to the little boy he had been playing with and yelled,

"bye bye friend! thanks for playing! i love you!"

*melt*

and of course it's also challenging because he understands so much

but lacks the emotional maturity that comes with age - which results in lots of whining and meltdowns

and he never, ever listens until i ask/tell him a 50th time

so i just remind myself that it's not supposed to be easy...

crazy atticus being crazy

beckett is the charmer of all charmers

he's a total ham and definitely the family clown

at only two and half years old i can't believe how much he understands how funny he is

and how much he intentionally does stuff to make us laugh

and i've never seen a copy cat like beckett

he will literally watch atticus say/do something then execute the scene exactly

it makes me laugh and it also make me remind atticus 100 times a day to be a good example

until recently beckett hasn't been old enough to understand when he's being left out of something which has been both sweet and sad to watch. i remember one time in recent months going to a friend's house to play and beck was so so excited to get out and run around with the big boys. he literally jumped out of the car and started hopping around in utter joy ready to play with the big boys and when the big boys ran off to play, leaving him behind, he just followed after totally clueless to the fact that he was being left out. he fully believed he was in on the action. it broke my heart in the most tender way. it hurts to see him being left out and so sweet and heart wrenching to see that he thought he was being included. i was relieved that at least he thought he was part of the big boy action. however, last week he figured it out. we had little buddies over and of course atticus and his buddy ran off to do big boy things and leave little brothers behind. beck tried to keep up but to no avail.

finally he came downstairs crying and said, "atticus won't play with me."

heart

torn

out

i wanted to cry too

 he is the sweetest soul and of course it's so hard for me as a mom to see his little heart ache

but alas, these are the growing pains that build character

so try as i might to protect my babes from any and all heartache,

i know it's good for all of us to have a little taste now and then

sweet beck throwing sand

and kennedy

my half year old

those blue eyes

those elf ears

needless to say she owns every heart of every person she ever smiles at

she rolls and rolls hither and yon to reach whatever object she has set her sights on

and she's so close to crawling that i'm afraid if i blink i might miss the actual moment of the first crawl

she slept like a dream on the vacay which only made me love her all the more. and she just got passed from person to person, winning hearts and she went along. i don't want to jinx myself but she's definitely what the baby whisperer would categorize as an angel baby and even though i had nothing to do with that, since she just came that way, i like to pretend that i did have something to do with that and count it as a parenting success - because it's those successes that keep us going, right?

angel girl

so anywho, we had so much fun on our vacation and i'll have to blog more details this week.

it was so wonderful to see the family that we saw and the few friends were able to see

although we missed seeing so many.

i'm so grateful for this stage of life and the things that i'm learning, although i'm not going to lie - it's not easy.

but it's not supposed to be, so i hope that means that we're doing it right.

xo

.ta.

Mini McCoy Bash

We had a super duper fun weekend with Brandon, Darek, Marschell and company last week. We crammed a lot of bodies into this house but wouldn't have had it any other way. Amanda already blogged about it and put up pictures on our blog so click on our link to see what went down.

Oh and Emma's new favorite thing - growling. It's pretty dang hilarious. She does it almost constantly while she is awake. We'll figure out how to upload a video so you can hear and see her in action. Love you guys!

Speaking of food...

So last week turned into classic McCoy food week, check this out:

Sunday night dessert/Monday breakfast:  FRITTERS!  We made grilled pizzas (quite delicious by the way) and so I told Brooke to make extra dough for fritters.  I can't believe I forgot how stinkin' good those things are.  Haven't ever even made them for Brooke so it's been a really long time since I had 'em.  She said she can't believe I hadn't ever made something I knew was so good.  Holy cow, now I want some RIGHT NOW!  The kids loved it and almost got sick cause they ate so much. 

More dessert:  So also one night after dinner Brooke says, "Who wants Oreo Smasho?"  I was like, you made it?  "Yeah, didn't I tell you?"  She's made it a couple of times and it's just one of the best things in history.  Funny, it always make me think of the Damrons (sp?) who used to live next door.  I remember taking it over to their house after they moved and I think that was the first time we had it or something.

Dinner the other night:  Fish sticks!  And of course only with the classic McCoy homemade tartar sauce of mustard and mayo.  Brooke was out and about and suddenly I had a huge craving for fish stick sandwiches.  She bought a huge bag and I filled an entire cookie sheet and we ate every single one.  Kids don't like the tartar sauce tho, they don't know nuthin.

Some of things I've told the kids we used to eat as snacks as kids:
- graham crackers smeared with butter
- toast with cinnamon/sugar
- English muffins with peanut butter

I've told them about the time I'll never forget Dad trying to make homemade V8 (oh, that was so barf) and once making homemade syrup and adding every single sprinkle and candy thing there was in the cupboards, waaay too sweet even for sugar addicted kids.  Also loved the big box of donuts we used to have for dessert after dinner sometimes and we all wanted the maple bars.  And who can forget the Red Baron pizza Friday nights?  I still eat those a LOT, mmmm.  I was just telling Luke, cause he went to Costco with Brooke the other day and was saying how heavy the cart was, that we used to go the store and have two completely full carts at checkout time.  haha, I'd love to see the faces of the people around here if we did that.  I was laughing while at Scout Camp about that Postum crap Mom used to buy, can't believe I used to actually drink that stuff.  They had something like that at the Trading Post.

Ah, fun memories.  And man, I am HUNGRY now!

Jason

(tacos, taco salad, shish kabobs, all the knock-off cold cereal brands that came in bags and not boxes - puffed wheat (!), forced to eat squash and broccoli...)

Thank you all so much

Hey, thank you all so much for your birthday well-wishes -- privately as well as on Facebook and the blog.  It was so good to hear from you.  I gave a talk last Sunday (as usual, it seems) about what we know about heaven (which really isn't very much) and who we want to have there with us.  Hearing from all of you and seeing how well you're all doing stirs up deep feelings of love and appreciation for the kind of people you are.  Thank you.  One of my favorite scriptures is 3 John 1:4.  That e-mail chain about life on the ole' Rancho not so Grande was a hoot too.  We love your sense of humor. 

So Sharla's gettin' er done !!  Wow, two babbies in one year.  We're going to make 30 grandkids yet !!  Amanda ?  Amberli?  I think you're being called out.  (I think the rest of you have already limited out.)  Seriously, congratulations !!  Why not -- you all have such cute kids -- shouldn't they be part of our family?  By the way, was that really Beck having a little melt-down?  What a great shot -- he'll appreciate that on his wedding day.  And all the pics of Brynn and Emma as well as the older ones -- Jason & Brooke's kids and Kenzie with her new million dollar smile (at times it probably seemed like it cost a million).  What a great family, if we do say so ourselves !! 

As far as mission news, we've attached a couple new photos -- the first one is us standing out in front of our capilla.  It's really a nice building -- about the size of a stake center, but only one branch meets in it at this point -- attendance has dropped way off in this area, which I guess is why we're here -- to see if we can help re-build the local units.

The second photo is a couple guys trying to bring down a tree next door -- one guy is pounding on the tree with a dull ax while the other one is pulling it down on himself out in the street.  They managed to get it down without killing themselves or anybody else, but it was funny to watch. 

The last one is a "phone booth" in the heart of the city -- of course it has no handset -- somebody I'm sure thought it would work better in their house.

And so is life in Argentina -- everyday brings new (and often funny) experiences.  An example -- just last night this dog next door started yapping at 4:00 am.  It went on and on until I finally got up and went out on our front balcony and yelled at it in English "Shut up you stupid dog"!!  Pretty soon it came around from in front of the neighbor's car and wagged its tail at me and quit barking -- as if to say, Yeah, I understand English too.  (haha)

Otherwise, the work is going great -- it's really fun to see Mom get into it -- her banana bread has become a real hit.  She takes some with her on all our visits and the people just love it and her.
Well, better close this before I do something and erase it all.  Sure love you all.  Keep the posts and pics coming.

XOS,
Dad & Mom/G-pa & G-ma      

Felicitaciones

Mom, great inaugural blog post! Cool to see pictures (complete with a classic mom-with-her-eyes-closed in that cemetery pic!) and also get a 'day-in-the-life' of for you guys. Love the details, brings back a lot of memories. Keep 'em coming! Some of those seemingly routine or mundane (at the time) details are what I miss about the mission field and missionary life in general. I totally know what you mean tho...SO much happens in any given day or week that it all blurs by so fast. I remember thinking days felt like hours and weeks felt like days. And exhausting physically and mentally! At least you two don't have to get used to a new companion every few months! "Why does my comp fill up half his socks with talcum powder every morning? What a wierdo! Just buy some dry-fit socks ya goof!"

That's a really nice apartment too. Jealous. Does it have hot water in the shower or just a metal plumbing pipe sticking out of the wall w/ only freezing cold water? The worst!

And fun to see you learning the art of the empanada Mom! Fried empanadas filled with potatoes and shredded beef were the BEST! I think I once ate like 62 in a sitting. Good stuff. Looking forward to the smorgasbord of Argentinean cuisine you've learned when you get back! I'm making my birthday dinner request now. Move over scalloped potatoes.

Yeah like Spence said, what are the Argentinian birthday rituals? We had the same in Colombia...a raw egg smashed on your head followed by a box of flower / baking soda thrown on. We learned quickly to never tell people our birthdays. Or better yet, secretly tell Ward members it was your comp's birthday so they'd waste him.

Well it was good to Skype with you guys Saturday. Sorry it was short and so distracted...but was great seeing you guys. We took some family photos while we were in SLC w/ the Ropers so we'll post some shortly...in the meantime, had to share one we got from the photographer. She couldn't wait and had to send me and Amberli this shot of Beck. Such a happy go-lucky guy!

(what do you MEAN Santa's not real!?)

Happy Birthday!

Hope you had a great birthday Dad.  Guess I should have included that in the email I sent this week...but figured I should keep well wishes and talk of septic tanks separate.  Anywho, I'm guessing the locals smashed eggs on your head then dumped farinha all over you.  No?  Too bad.

We had family pictures done in Boise but don't have em yet.  I'll post em once we do.  Presley started taking steps, 4 just a minute ago...her personal best.  Speaking of babies, whatcha think of Sharla's announcement. I think it's some sort of belated April's Fools gag.  Well I'm not falling for it Shars!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY from all of us! The following is Emma's gift to her Gpa. :)

As you can see we are working on the "modeling" business.

We love your guys. Happy 4 months to Emma this week and Happy 30-something to Gpa!
XOS

Happy Birthday Pops!!!

Well it's technically your birthday already even tho it's still Tues. here but just wanted to wish you a splendid birthday in the Argentine land!! how do they even celebrate birthdays? do they put weird stuff in the cakes like knives or pickles? better find out before you're surprised with a cut up throat!

So in honor of your birth, i'll share a favorite memory i thought of just yesterday. i admit i kind of miss that you work at the office. b/c i loved calling you there. i knew MJ would be the one to answer, i would ask for you, she'd put me on hold and obviously let you know who was on the line and then you would always, ALWAYS pick up. you never once said you were too busy to chat or that you'd get back to me later. and sometimes you would even call me from the office too just to see how my day was going. It made me feel special that you made time to talk when usually it was probably just venting about school and lack of money.....SO i'm glad you were never too busy and thank you for being willing to listen. Hope you have a great and memorable day!! love you dad!

xos.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

ok who are you and what have you done with my madre? you blog, text, email, skype....next you'll be posting videos to youtube. sheesh, move to a new country and i don't even know you anymore! well sounds like things are going just fantastic. missions are the best. altho we didn't get to take siestas in the middle of the day, no fair.

so i just got back from Girl's Camp and it was a lot of fun. only down-side was lack of sleep, mosquitoes and being away from Brynn. i got pushed into the lake (retaliation from the girls of course) and i didn't even know such cold water even existed!!! plus i was in my clothes and shoes so i had to dry my only bra in the sun. but we had a blast and i'm glad i got to go.

and for the real reason for this post.............BRYNN IS GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!!!! lame to announce on a blog but i figured since everyone reads this thing. i know, i know she's only 4 months old and i'm already about 10 weeks along which means they'll be less than a year apart but that's how we roll. it's going to be crazy and nuts but also really fun. so who knows? maybe we'll have 3 by the time you're home. plus side: no morning sickness and i'm almost 2nd trimester so i'm glad about that. at least i'm excited about it this time around...just hope my scar tissue has healed enough to not rupture....ok well when we get our camera back i'll post some pics of the little lady, still cute as ever and sleeping like there's no tomorrow! love you guys, miss you and enjoy!

xos!

Mom's a blogger!

Mom, awesome first post!  I love all the details, especially about the "uncomfortable" meeting with the ex-bishop!  Glad you are getting into such the swing of things there.  We think about you every day and are in all of our prayers.  It's great to see you with a missionary "chapa" as we called them in Spain.  It must be pretty great to be able to show them your skillz at ping pong and making activity bags!  Glad you humbled Dad too. heh heh  We just watched the video of the Tough Mudder and I'll find a way to post them here so you can see how tough I am, although I didn't feel like the video captured how difficult it was.  I think it compares to, like, 3 Iron Mans, pretty sure.  And love the pictures, what a nice looking place you got there, we'll come visit, I think it'll only take like 2 weeks to drive.  That's really cool too about that English teacher lady going to church too, hopefully things work out, she sounds really nice.  Okay, i'm off to bed now, talk soon!

xos,
Jason