Lake Barcis

On Saturday, we decided that we absolutely must get out of the house to enjoy the sunshine. It was a gorgeous day - sunny and not too hot!

So, we drove the twenty minutes or so into the mountains to Lake Barcis. We were rewarded with gorgeous views! The water was an amazing color that only glacier water can give you, and the sky and mountains were spectacular.

We took advantage of the great walking/biking path and walked around a portion of the lake. It was just a nice relaxing day. I would love to get to the lake more frequently to walk.

Jackson update: I probably should not say this, or I will jinx it - but we've had great stretches of sleep for the past few nights! Jack is turning his days and nights around, which is fantastic for his parents (especially his dad who had an early mission this morning!).

I feel like we are slowly getting into a routine, and I might just get to Bible study one of these days.

Chris' parents are arriving on Saturday for two weeks. I hope we will get out for some good day trips while they are here!

"Population Control" & the American Government

Lately, I've heard rumblings, both on television and print news, about the U.S. government funding ways to infuse birth control hormones into genetically-modified foods. This is scary - both in contemplating what we are ingesting ourselves and what we are shipping to developing nations, as well as the implications that this has on government control of our lives.

Go to patriotpost.us to read a great related article from July 16th.

I Might Look Innocent...

...but I have been keeping my parents up all night! Everyone who meets Jackson (during the day) comments on how good he is since he seems to be sleeping all the time. Let me tell you, he is wide awake at night! But, we'll keep him. He's really cute. And, I must say, he is a sweet baby.

I am slightly terrified of Chris going back to work on Monday. But, I've gone without sleep before, and I can do it now!

Just wanted to give a two-week-old update!

Gelato Cake

I quickly wanted to let all the Aviano-area people know about a great find. My dad's birthday was last week while he was here, and before the baby was born, my mom and I went out in search of a cake we could order. We pretty much knew that we would be unable to do much on my dad's birthday, but we still wanted to do something special for him.

So, we were able to order a fabulous cake from Il Gelateria in Aviano (the one at the gray mall). It was tasty (two flavors of gelato) and absolutely beautiful. You can see in the picture all the work they did with meringues and chocolate to make it a work of art. It was also inexpensive! They also were able to customize it with my dad's name. Molto buono!

I highly recommend this place for any cake orders you might have in the future!

P.S.

I forgot to give the details that everyone seems to want to know! Jackson was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. And, no, he was definitely not named after Michael Jackson.

Baby Cooper is Here!

Jackson Thomas Cooper has arrived! He was born at 1:33 a.m. on Friday, July 3. We checked into the hospital on Wednesday at around 2:30 p.m., and late Thursday the doctor decided to perform a Cesarean section. So, it was quite a long birth, but it was worth the wait.

We are all at home now, along with my parents. Today is my dad's birthday, and I think he's just thrilled to have a third happy healthy grandson to add to the family!

We are excited to introduce you to Jackson, just as soon as we are all recovered.