Roasting Marshmallows and Hot Dogs May 2014

Usually in the spring it's too windy to do a fire in our fire pit and then in late May we have had fire bans the last few years.  We lucked out this year to have a few fun evenings after the springs winds were gone!!

End of 1st Grade May 2014

Cooper finished 1st grade.  It was a rough year as far as I was concerned.  Cooper had a difficult class and instead of the school  fixing the problem they just kept saying we don't have resources. So pretty much the teacher just tried to get through it and survive. So in Cooper's mind school was great.  He would finish his work in 10 min and then do whatever he wanted.  At least he enjoyed it.  At the end of the year they had a big water party for the Accelerated Reader Program and got prizes.  Then the last picture is Cooper spent his last day of school at home with the stomach flu. Luckily all the fun stuff was done and they only had school for 2 hours.  Now he is on to the big #2!!

First Broken Bone April 2014

You would think with 3 rambunctious boys this would not just be our first broken bone in the family, but we make it almost 8 years before we got our first one.  Cooper was climbing in a tree that he climbs all the time and slipped and fell out.  He first came crying that his head hurt but was holding his wrist the whole time. That morning it was still sore so I sent him to school and told me to call if he had a hard time.  So sure enough I got a call from the school that at lunch recess he fell and started screaming.  So I took him in here in Cortez and said yep it's got a buckle fracture but it was up to us if we should cast it.  So we just left the brace on and after talking to a couple mom's they said I would cast it maybe as adults we would be fine but active 7 year olds are going to fall again. So I called another Dr. and they casted it saying yet if he fell again he would have done more damage.  So we went in and he was all set to pick Bronco colors of orange and blue, but then saw a camo one and was sold!!  He had a cast for 6 weeks. 

Father's Day June 2014

For Father's Day this year the kids gave their dad this picture in a frame that said "I want to be just like Dad when I grow up"  These kids seriously have the best dad in the world!!

Spring Soccer April 2014

Cooper chose baseball this April, but Trip and Peyton chose to continue soccer from the fall. Their fall soccer includes 4 weeks in the spring with the same team.  They both had a blast.  They definitely both have a competitive edge.

New toy 2014

This is what you get when your husband and his two boys go to an auction.  A new toy!!!  The boys love their new dirt bike.  It is really Trip's size, but Cooper can still ride it even though he looks a little big!!  After a few times around the property Trip asked so where can I race this thing!!  Once step at a time right?

Easter 2014

So apparently I didn't do the whole Easter dress for Peyton this year.  That is probably because I was throwing up being pregnant with baby #5.  Usually I do an egg hunt at my house and invite friends over the Saturday before but this year I was just in survival mode.  So I took the kids to a community hunt that was over in 2min while Cooper was at baseball practice and of course the Easter Bunny came.  If I remember right we did have some friends come over the Goodwin's for Easter dinner and the kids did another hunt.  Well next year should be better!!

Change of Jobs March 2014

This March was another change for our family.  After a year of Tyrel working close to home for CAT he got a call from a guy he knew in his old company Atlas Copco.  He offered Tyrel a job being a Technical Trainer. He goes around to mines and different clients and trains their mechanics on their equipment.  With lots of prayer and fasting Tyrel took the job and went back to Atlas.  They gave him the same status and benefits that he had when left.  He has to travel some but when he is not somewhere teaching a class he gets to work from home.  So just as he switched, his first trip out of town was in Arizona so we all went since my parents were still snow birding it there.  We had a fun week with cousins and of course we take any chance we get to see my mom.  Cassidi had just moved to Arizona so we all got together for a BBQ at Nate and Carrie's.

Baseball Season 2014

This year was a lot of fun for baseball. It ran from April to Mid-June.  Cooper had a fun season. To say this kids loves baseball is an understatement.  At his age baseball is machine pitch which pitches the ball at about 42mph.  Cooper had a blast being the 1st baseman.  It was his favorite position.  After his opening game in May on a Saturday he broke his arm that next day on Sunday falling out of one of our trees.  He was so bummed!!  So that week he missed a couple games but once he got his cast on, practiced hard to play around it.  He bunted in hitting his first game and had to play a different position because he couldn't grip the ball in his mit, but after a couple weeks of practice he was back at first and hitting better than ever with his cast.  He team was ok as they won a few but lost more.  Then come league tournament and his team played hard and came and won the whole tournament! It was so fun and so fun to watch Cooper really enjoy something.  This kid lives for baseball.  After that ended he found out he made the All-Star team which I will post about later. 

9th Anniversary February 11, 2014

Tyrel and I just celebrated 9 years!!  This year we kept the anniversary pretty simple.  It was on a Tuesday so we just went out to dinner and a nice evening talking about our family.  It has been a wonderful 9 years and love how our lives have turned out.  We are more in love than day 1and can't wait to spend many more years together!! 

Snow January 2014

We didn't get much snow this year so we have very limited pictures.  I know a took a few videos of the boys trying out Cooper's snowboard sled, but must have not taken pictures.  We only got to go out as a family once sledding and a few us at a friends house.  Too bad considering Cooper got two new sleds and a new snow coat for Christmas.

Peyton Turns 4!! January 2014

Peyton turns 4!!  I sure love this girl!!  She definitely keeps you on your toes.  She is happy and energetic and bubbly and so fun to be around as long as she gets her way.  She is one strong willed girl that knows exactly what she wants. She loves to constantly dance and sing as she goes about her day.  She loves to treat Rowdy has her own person live doll whether Rowdy wants to or not.  She loves her brothers and does whatever she can to keep up with them.  I think in the process she is harder on her clothes than both her other brothers combined.  She is go go go until her head hits the pillow and no matter what we are doing she always has a different idea of how we could do it.  We had the Balfour family join us at the Durango Rec center to celebrate her birthday.