The flu and a fat, sneezy puppy

Last week Don and I were both sick with the flu, and poor Butler was sneezing all over the place. Butler got some pills from the vet but Don and I just sweated it out and watched the Phineas and Ferb movie several times. I am getting really good at giving Butler his pills disguised in peanut butter.

Man's best friend

Butler is the most loyal puppy ever. And this has got to be the cutest picture of my boys.

More Butler stories

Butler can be a source of aggravation, since he has water on his brain. He hasn't learned not to chew on people and he can get very fussy and vocal. But he is also a good source of fun and amusement. Now that he's getting so big and fat (he's probably at 25 lbs.) Don put a t-shirt on him. Other fun moments: Butler is not afraid of the lawn mower, but he is afraid of remote-control cars. Butler actually will follow Don around when he mows the lawn; in fact, he follows Don just about anywhere if he is allowed to.

Meet Butler Bulldog

Two new additions to our household: a new computer to replace the one that got stolen and Butler the Bulldog! He is three months old, weighs about 20 pounds, and is wreaking havoc due to teething!

Warm and cozy or environmental nuisance?

Donny's been making good use of our fireplace this winter -- we bought $150 of wood for the fireplace and the fire pit in the backyard. I enjoy the coziness, but then the New York Times goes and posts this article about why it's so bad.... Hope we're not making the neighbors ill!

A day with the big spenders

The BYU Athletic department often brings new recruits by to Special Collections for private tours, and they said thank you for my tour-giving with free seats in the loges and wristbands to the hospitality tent. It was a gorgeous day for a football game, and from higher up you could see all the fall foliage really well. I haven't gone to a BYU game since I was a freshman -- I think they've changed things in the stadium around a bit.

The hospitality tent is for people who buy "Legacy Seats" to all the football games. They cost enough for the university to give them a catered lunch before the game and snacks during halftime -- $1300 for a season ticket. This is Don acting like he fits in while we're eating. Since we didn't have major BYU Cougar gear it was probably pretty obvious we weren't supposed to be there normally.

Inaugurating our awesome new fire pit

Our friends Jed and Karen and their four kids came over for dinner and helped us test out the fire pit with s'mores last weekend. Now we need to have a full-on cookout.

Happy birthday Don!

Tomorrow is Don's birthday and once again we're traveling on his big day. We're off on another trip back East: 4 days in New England, 3 days in Philadelphia (library conference) and 2 days in Washington DC (library conference again).

Tonight I'm making him cupcakes. I'm trying to decide if I should decorate them like baseballs, soccer balls (lately he's glued to the World Cup), or zombie heads.

The best $15 Don ever spent?

My husband has a slight addiction.

Easter egg hunt

Can you spot it? Look high!

It's October and you know what that means

Yes, it's October, the temperatures are falling and the leaves are changing color. I'm shopping for Halloween decorations and starting to bake more. We've survived ten months of marriage.

But what October really means in the Kopp household is baseball playoffs. It means that Don is regularly glued to the tv, and our downstairs neighbors probably hate us because of all of the jumping, yelling, and stomping going on. It means that I am often keeping an eye on scores while Don is at work so I can text him with regular updates. It means that there have been serious debates about flying to Minnesota or LA to go to a game (we decided to stay home. Sorry, neighbors). It means I just bought a Yankees-themed pumpkin carving kit, which should arrive via UPS sometime this week, and I have to wash Don's Yankees shirt weekly.

Not that I'm complaining -- I love that my husband is so enthusiastic about his favorite sport and his favorite team. The next time you see me, I even might be wearing Yankees gear!

Another glimpse out our window

There were actually two of these guys on the hill across from our complex, munching on leaves. They stayed around long enough for me to search frantically for my camera and let me take a picture.

I looked out the window and what did I see...

This was the view from our balcony before I left for work this morning.

Fun weekends

Two weekends ago we went to see The Reverend Horton Heat up in Salt Lake. Last weekend was a 3-day weekend for Pioneer Day. We went camping with Megan, Matt, and Wyatt and some of their friends and family near Scofield and went hiking in the heat. We went fishing at the lake and on the river below the dam, but all we really caught was the grass on the river bed even though there were fish jumping all over the place. Did I mention I finally got my own fishing pole? And I was the only one to actually catch a fish (but it was only an inch or two longer than my hand).

Freedom, and my mean husband

Last night was Don's final night working graveyard shift. We're confident he'll find a new job soon; he just applied for a job at BYU which will be great for letting him take the pre-requisite classes he needs to get into grad school.

So last night he got in around 2:30 AM, having only needed to work half a shift. This is basically what happened when he walked in.

Don: Maggie, get up, it's time for you to go to work!
Maggie (groggy and too blind to see the clock without my glasses or contacts): Groan. I'm so tired!
Don: Get up, you have to be at work!
Maggie: Give me fifteen more minutes!
Don: No, you'll be late for work.
Maggie: Fifteen more minutes!
Don: Do you know what time it is?
Maggie: Fifteen more minutes!
Don: No, you'd better wake up.
(At which point I stumble out of bed scowling, grab the alarm clock and figure out what time it really is. Don starts laughing, I groan again and crawl back into bed)
Don: Aw, you have such a mean husband.
Maggie: Hmph!

I don't know why he thought it was so funny last night, although I am laughing about it this afternoon.

Another Friday night with Wyatt

This is what happens on Friday nights when we have Wyatt come over:




1. Playtime with Uncle Gonny














2. Making messes with Aunt Maggie










3. Uncle Gonny conks out for a bit (Wyatt took this picture!)

Friday night with Wyatt

Tonight we took Wyatt to a movie and brought him home with us for pizza. Afterwards Don and Wyatt had a wrestling fest and some quality computer game time. Here they're playing a Pirates of the Caribbean game. I think Wyatt wore his Uncle Gonny out!