The Cooley Clan

September 22, 2009

Luke William Cooley

Here is our little boy with his eyes wide open! Isn't he such a cutie pie?! He is a mild-mannered baby which is great for mommy! I think he looks like Jacob...my eldest, but he has the Cooley nose. Most every other feature is Nebeker though! What do you think?

Our Family Is Complete!!!

Our Family of 7 ... Richard LeRoy (38), Charise Alithea (31), Jacob LeRoy (10), Rachael Anne (8), Qaiden John (5), Aleah Reese (2 1/2), and Luke William (newborn).

Saturday afternoon, Richard brought the kids over to see their new baby brother. The nurse, Gloria, took this picture of us together. The kids were so excited to take turns and hold baby Luke. They are so gentle with him and can't seem to get enough time with him! I have the best kids in the world! It has been a GREAT few days.

Baby Is Here!!!

Here, Luke is relaxing on top of me after getting all cleaned up. There is no feeling like having just given birth to a baby and the nurses putting him/her on my chest. I have such an intense love for that child at that point and there is no way to describe it except it is a HEAVENLY feeling...

This is what true JOY is!

Luke weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz.

Luke William Cooley arrived at 8:28 a.m on Saturday, September 19, 2009 after 7 slow hours of labor. He is such a cutie and so good. Not fussy at all. We feel so blessed to have a healthy little boy and know that we have a great responsibility to rear each one of our children to grow up to be the best they can be and to contribute to making the world a little better place! Luke is another added blessing to us and we are sooooo happy to have him be the newest member of our family!!!

Labor Begins...

Me in Labor...don't I look LOVELY?! I guess my husband snapped a shot to show you how tired I was. It was about 4 a.m. when he took this picture. Let me tell you how the labor went...It was 1:30 a.m when I woke up to a hard contraction and I just knew we had to leave for the hospital. We left at 1:45 (after calling Nan Schmalz, a neighbor/friend to come sleep over here for when the kids woke up) and got to the hospital at 2:00 a.m. After registering, we didn't get to the Labor and Delivery room until 2:30 a.m. After checking my cervix, I was dialated to a 4 and then a 5 a little while later. From there, I didn't get very far very quickly... for some odd reason, my uterus was not contracting like it should have and I stayed at a 5 forever! I then got to a 6 finally and I asked my midwife, Stacie Carter if she would just pop my water...maybe that would speed things up. Well, after popping my water, I got to a 7 and then hung out at an 8 forever! I was getting very tired and fed up with how slow I was progressing, so when they asked if I'd like some potossin (which helps speed up the contractions), I didn't hesitate! After they gave me that, I had the baby in just a few contractions which was probably 15 minutes later! FINALLY!!!

August 15, 2009

1st time growing these!

This is the first time we have grown this type of CUCUMBER...

It's a Limon variety. It tastes pretty good, but not a lot of cucumber, so I don't know if I'll grown them next year or not. It's nice to try though. I think my favorite type of cucumbers, are Armenian. They are a light pale green color and grow pretty long...so you get more meat out of them.

My Sister's New Baby!

Chantel and Norah

My sister, Chantel just had a baby girl and named her... Norah Ryann Wilkinson! She is a replica of Chantel in my opinion...especially her eyes. Both are doing well. She had her Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at about 8:30 a.m. She was a big 9 lbs! Congratulations Chantel on going natural ... that's the way to do it, but many give up and can't stand to go through pain for longer than 2 minutes, so WAY TO GO SIS!

August 6, 2009

Missouri Trip...conclusion

Goodbye Missourian Cooley Family!

Abby, Lydia, and Rachael playing with the cute little kittens!

Qaiden and Abby

The Cooley Cousin Train...

Rachael wanted me to teach her how to float!

Aleah, Emma, Neil, and Abby in the little kid pool!

Jacob had fun throwing the rings with Wesley and diving for them afterward.

Swimming is fun!

After two days in Branson, MO at Silver Dollar City, we drove back to my sister-in-laws home for the night. We woke up late on Thursday morning and drove up to Nevada, MO which is 1 hour north of Webb City (where we stayed at the Swarnes' home) to visit, eat lunch, and ride on ATV's at Oralea's In-Law's (Mary & Neil Swarnes) home. Mary traveled up to Logan, Utah when we lived there with her son Joe and Oralea about 7 years ago so it was nice to visit with her again. They have a nice home with their own pond for fishing, and a nice piece of property to ride the ATV's. The kids rode little battery operated 4-wheelers, while Joe with my daughter Rachael in back and his son Neil in front drove one ATV and Rich and myself drove the other one around the property in the backwoods...there were lots of spider webs and the trail had definately not been used for a while, but it was nice with the breeze blowing...always an adventure when ATV'ing. After eating lunch, we got ready to leave and headed over to Rich's other sister, Gayla's mother-in-laws home just 5-10 minutes away. While there, we played with their 3 little newborn kittens, little newborn puppy, and let the kids play and swim in their outdoor swimming pool! It was sure nice of Gayla's mother-in-law (Blanche) to host all of us Cooley's at her home! Everyone had a blast, especially our kids with their cousins, Wesley, Abby, Ally, China, Lilly, Neil, Lydia, Emma, and Anna. They didn't know them at all, so it was a much needed family gathering. After swimming some, we layed things out on the picnic tables for a big BBQ dinner. After eating, visiting, swimming, playing, etc., we drove back to Oralea/Joe Swarnes home. Friday and Saturday were our last two days. Rich wanted to go to his 20 year High School reunion. So, Friday night, we went to the park to see some of Rich's classmates...it was weird and not that exciting, but we ate a few snacks, let the kids bounce in the bounce house, and at the playground for a while. It was the first part of the reunion. On Saturday, we visiting with two of his best buddies, John Cyr (wife, Casey and 8 yr old daughter, Saddy) and Daniel Dillon...they met us at Oralea's home and had lunch with us along with Rich's other sister, Tawnya and her two girls (China and Lilly), Roger (Rich's brother), his Dad, Oralea's family (husband, Joe and kids Lydia (6), Neil (4), Emma (2), Anna (2 months), and we were surprised to see our ex-brother-in-law Bill Ringen who visited us when we lived up in Alaska when he was married to Rich's sister, Nikki. It sure was a nice visit with all the family and close friends, and much better than any school reunion! Saturday night we did go to the Country Club for a nice buffet dinner and an awards ceremony...Rich won the award for "Robbing the Cradle"...I was the youngest spouse there (7 1/2 years younger)!!!! That concluded our trip to Missouri...which was one we'll never forget. We left Sunday morning after a yummy full breakfast of sausage/potatoe dish, blueberry muffins, canned fruit, and juice. We drove all the way home and didn't get there until 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning...long trip, and glad the driving is over. We thank Oralea and Joe for their hospitality in putting us up for most of the week. We wish we lived a little closer to the Cooley family members because we had a really nice trip!

Silver Dollar City rides...

Our kids wanted to stay at Silver Dollar City forever...we should have left them there!

Tea Cup fun...Dad and the 3 older kids are in the middle teacup.

The flying swings.

The Racing Regata...which boat do you think won?

We rode the train through the park as we shared two cotton candys and the HUGE dill pickle (I guess I was having one of my cravings)!

Aleah spent a lot of time in the stroller, but she had fun nonetheless. We got a lot of treat to keep her happy. Look at the cute face!!!

The kids are waiting in line for the Fire In The Hole coaster ride. Richard was watching the show just next door but the kids wanted to do the ride instead. Aleah and I just got some snacks while we waited.

Mom coming out of CRAZY Grandfather's Mansion...everything was either upside-down or not what it seemed! ...very interesting!

The little kid coaster was short but worth the ride, even for the big kids!

Here is Jacob and Rachael on the Electro-Spin ride. As it spun, it also slid up and down on a coaster type rail.

Dad on the Electro-Spin ride...the kids had to find a seat ont he other side of the ride.

Front to back: Jacob, Rachael, Qaiden and Dad on the American Plunge! I told Rich that he wouldn't get very wet...hee, hee, hee...little did he know!

Ok...I guess I WAS having more fun than I thought!...nice picture, huh?

Our next stop was the Butterfly ride...only Qaiden and Aleah had fun on this one...Jacob and Rachael were ready for the big kid rides! I was actually allowed to ride this one :)

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee...

The Frog ride was fun....I don't know why my kids are so fascinated with frogs...

After the Marvel Cave, we were walking past the Blacksmith's Shop and Richard said he wanted to stop and see what they were doing. The guy let the kids' hold a sword that they made and showed the knife they were in the midst of working on.

Silver Dollar City...Marvel Cave

Goodbye MARVEL CAVE...it was fun!

Richard and Aleah climbing the stairs to get on the train.

This was the Marvel Train we took coming out of the cave.

Do you see the bat? We saw a few flying around...this one's sleeping!

Richard and Aleah looking at the cool formations.

Our tour guide was really nice and had a fun sense of humor!

Looking up, you can see the original entrance to the cave that they had to enter suspended from a rope.

After walking down the steps, we were in the main room called the "Cathedral Room".

Wednesday, July 29th was another fun day at Silver Dollar City. This time, we started by visiting the famous and beautiful Marvel Cave. The tour guide said that it was fairly strenuous and there were many stairs. He took one look at me and said, "there have never been any births in the cave before...so that would be a first!" It wasn't strenuous at all but one of my favorite things to see and do! At the end of the tour, we took the train cars out of the cave and back to the entrance of Silver Dollar City and the gift shop there.

We stayed the night at the Gazebo Inn in Branson City (right on the Strip-the main street of entertainment) and the next morning had breakfast and took off back to Silver Dollar City for more fun!

Funny Kid Moments!

December 20, 2011- We were all in the kitchen making gingerbread and I had just taken out the first batch of the gingerbread boy and girl. As I attempted to scrape up the girl on the spatula, she was too soft and started to fall apart as I quickly placed the mangled mess on the brown paper bag! Qaiden pointed to the messed up cookie and said, "Ladies first!" and "Mom killed her!" It was just so funny I changed from being really upset that I had ruined the cookie to laughing so hard at the random funny comment! I keep telling the boys, "Ladies first", and I guess it is sinking in!

November 2011- I like to recycle plastic containers and so I had just washed out one of them and placed the plastic lid on top the toaster (near the sink) to dry. Jacob went to put some bread in the toaster and while in there, the lid melted! Just a little while later as I was getting dinner prepared, Qaiden sat on the stove counter right next to the hot stove top. I told Q to get down off the counter but he was slow to obey. I had turned off the stove, but one of the burners was still hot and so as Q sat there, his coat was lying on the still hot burner and his inner part of the coat melted. I was a bit angry with him for not being obedient and was pretty frustrated. At this point, I turned to the boys and said, "Ok, and the winner for the 'NO-BRAINER' award goes to...drum roll please...QAIDEN!" I changed from being angry to laughing because of how funny my own comment seemed to me! ;) (Sometimes you just gotta laugh at yourself!)So, whenever we do something stupidly funny, we call it the NO-BRAINER award! It's become quite funny to see some of the silly things we do each day!

May 25, 2010- As the kids got ready for school this morning, I asked Rachael if she remembered to get a leotard for Gymnastics today after school. Qaiden overheard and said "...it's NOT Aleah-tard, it's a Rachael-tard! And I would wear a Qaiden-tard!" Ohhhh the silly things that kids come up with!

Jan 20, 2010- I was in the middle of winding the cord of our kirby vacuum cleaner while singing 'Ring around the rosies a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes we all fall down'...and Aleah just standing there all the sudden dropped to her bottom without bending her knees (looked a little awkward). It was just one of those moments that made me laugh because it was so unexpected!

Who Is... Richard LeRoy Cooley II

With much pushing and proding from Charise and a little from her Mom, I am attempting to briefly answer the question "Who am I?". To begin, I was born to wonderful parents, Richard LeRoy Cooley and Leah Tryon on October 16, 1970 in Little Rock, Arkansas. I am the 2nd eldest of eight children... Nichale, myself, Rodney, Roger, Oralea, Tawnya, Andelaura and Gayla. I moved to Mesa, Arizona when I was about 3 years old and lived there till I was 9 years old. In the summer of 1980 my family moved to Carthage, Missouri where I spent the most important and influential part of my childhood. It was during my time in Carthage that I finished grade school, Junior High and High School. I graduated from Carthage High School in May 1989 and shortly after entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah, January 1990. I served an honorable mission to Brasilia, Brazil. Shortly after my mission, I enlisted in the Air Force and was Active Duty for 9 years. My time on active duty in the Air Force was spent in San Antonio, TX (Lackland AFB) for basic training, then I went to Technical School in Dever, Colorado (Lowry AFB) after which I moved to Hill AFB in Clearfield, Utah. I was afterwards, stationed in South Korea (Osan AFB) and was there for 1 year. Then I cross-trained from Munitions (otherwise known as "Ammo") to Computer Maintenance and went to Buloxi, Mississippi (Keesler AFB). My time as an "Active Duty" enlisted member ended in Anchorage, Alaska (Elmendorf AFB), where I met and married my wonderful wife, Charise Alithea Nebeker. Her father worked as the Chief Auditor at Elmendorf AFB and was just around the corner from the Headquarters bldg. where I worked in what was called the RAOC - pronounced rock - (in the basement of that bldg.). We met in June, 1997 at the LDS Singles Branch at the Maplewood Chapel in Anchorage, AK and dated till she went back to Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. Charise came home for Christmas and we got engaged January 1, 1998 and got married that summer, July 18, 1998 in the Salt Lake City Temple! It was a VERY special day for me! We lived there in Anchorage till 2000 and then moved in to Charise's parents home (10411 High Bluff Dr., Eagle River, AK 99577) for 10 months to save money for school. Thanks to Charise's parents we were able to save a substantial amount for school, which eventually was used as a down-payment on our 1st home. We had just had our 1st baby, Jacob LeRoy, August 26th, 1999 and then we were blessed with a baby girl, Rachael Anne on March 9th, 2001. We moved to Logan, Utah, May 2001 so I could go to school at Utah State University to finally finish my degree in Electrical Engineering that I'd been trying to finish for quite some time and which was VERY difficult to do while working in the military and moving around a lot. I also transitioned from Active duty to the Air Force Reserves shortly after arriving in Logan. I got my Bachelor degree December 2003 and got a job working with the government on Hill AFB as an Electronics Engineer six months later in a three year internship. We moved closer to the base in May of 2004 soon after our third child was born; Qaiden John, April 6, 2004. I was fortunately to get commissioned as an Officer in the Reserves about a year after starting work at Hill AFB and just before going back to school to get my Masters of Engineering in Electrical Engineering. It only took me a year and a half. I am currently a Captain in the Reserves and work as an Individual Augmentee (IMA) in the 508th ASW, which is an Active Duty unit. Our 4th child, Aleah Reese was born on my wife's birthday, February 28, 2007, in Layton, Utah and we had our 5th child, Luke William on September 19, 2009 at Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, Utah as well. Life is going well for my family and we are grateful for ALL of our blessings!!!