Friday Night BBQ at Cory and Angie's

Angie and Cory invited all of us up to their place for a nice evening tonight. The kids and I took off from Provo at about 4:30. After two returns to the our house before even leaving the neighborhood we finally got on the road. The kids have looked forward to this night all week since Angie extended the invite. The kids were invited to spend the night there with their cousins which is a total thrill both for them and for me. I gave Sarah a call and asked if I could spend the night at her and JD's place since Cory and Angie live only about 15 minutes away. Things went a little later than I had planned so when I arrived at their house they were already asleep but hopefully we will get a little time together in the morning.
On the ride to Salt Lake the kids and I were snacking on edemame beans. After a few minutes and several beans, Jack asked, "Mom, how do you think they get these beans inside of the shells?" It was such a sincere, genuine question the likes of which I will miss all too soon. I told him that Heavenly Father just made them that way and that this is how they grow, just like watermelons have seeds built into them. Charlie then said, "I know how it's done. They just open this one side and stick the beans in then seal it back up again." That just added to the moment. To be reminded that these two boys are thinking and analyzing everything is just amazing and so rewarding and often times really funny.
(As I review the photos I took of the evening I am realizing the kids I didn't get photos of were Jack, Sam, Chasik, Olivia and Avery..Darn..They are all so adorable, but hard to catch once they get playing and having fun together. Bummer! I will have to be sure to include them in the next post.)

Little miss Lily. Ben and Michelle's youngest child and the youngest Cook grandchild. She will be two on July 4th. Independence day is the perfect day for her to have been born. Tonight she celebrated her freedom by enjoying whipped cream off of the Key Lime Pie we had for dessert. It was so much fun to see the big grin on her face as she fed herself with her fingers. The fork was just left by the side of her plate...Why bother with utensils anyway?


Michelle, Ben's wife, another of my awesome sisters in law. Ben travels a lot for work so he wasn't with us for dinner but since it was Friday, he flew in at about 9:30pm and Michelle went home to see him for the first time this week.

Ben and Michelle's only son Noah. He is such an easy going sweet kid. He is so easy to be around and nothing really seems to ruffle him. He has a great time with Chasik and Sam. Noah is in Cairo's same grade so he is a year behind Sam in school. As shown on the earlier blog post, he is a cute little athlete playing baseball and tennis. I asked him earlier this week if he had ever been in trouble with his parents. He told me one time he had been. He had been told to do his chores or he wouldn't get any treats the next day. He then quickly did his chores so he was no longer in trouble. Honestly, if that is the one time he can remember being in trouble, he has to be a darn good kid.

Charlie and Braxon having dinner. The best photo I could get of Charlie was a "crazy" pose. Regardless, they are both super cute kiddos.



This is Braxon..Cory and Angie's youngest. He is the twin's "pardner". Because he won't be 5 until October he will be a year behind in school but they are close enough in age the three of them are so cute together and have a great time. They often want to be included with the older 3 boys but rarely are welcome.

Cory, Brad's brother, and his gorgeous wife Angie. Angie is like a sister to me and Cory is one of the great men of the Cook clan. He watched all 12 kids tonight after dinner while Angie, Michelle and I took off and indulged in some shopping. Thanks Cory!

Madison, Bailee and Cairo acting crazy in Cory and Angie's backyard. I agreed if they would pose cute for a few photos they could do a few with "attitude". This is the resulting photo

Here are the girls in one of the original smiling photos. Aren't they adorable?