Trip turns 6!! May 2014

So when out kids turn 6 we tell them they can have a friend birthday party. Well Trip said he didn't want one so instead he wanted to go to the bounce house place. I don't know if you can see in the pictures but the boys are covered in sweat!! It was so gross!!  Trip is a great kids but also probably my most difficult!!  He has a very contagious smile and loves to be the silly one to make us laugh.  His Dad is his Hero.  He is a completely different kid when his dad is around.  He is hard working, tough, easy going, an overall great kid.  He will work on a project with his dad all day long with no complaints.  I ask him to unload the dishwasher and it's " AHH why do I have to do everything around here!"  I think it's amazing how the one kid who always gives me a kiss goodnight and a hug can also give me the hardest time.  We definitely have a love/dislike relationship.  He is finally coming out of his shell and will do things in front of people, but can still clam up at the drop of a hat!! He is super competitive just like his older brother.  So the two of them together can get exhausting.  They are each other's best friend but are constantly trying to one up each other!! Trip is a great kid!

All Stars 2014

Cooper was very fortunate to get picked for the All-Star team this summer. Part of the All-Star tournament is on Sunday and we told the coach Cooper couldn't play that day. He was nice enough to say that's ok we will take him for the time he can and he can still be on the team.  Cooper had a blast practicing with the team.  Unfortunately he only got to play two games in the tournament because the rest got rained out on Saturday and his team came up from the loser bracket on Sunday and won 5 games in a row to win the whole thing.  Cooper was so sad all Sunday that he wasn't there.  He kept asking me why they had to play Sunday!!  The main highlight for Cooper was on Saturday he was playing somewhere else in the outfield instead of 1st base that way the coach knew he had someone to play there Saturday. Well the kid he had there had 10 errors of dropping the ball so his coach finally put Cooper there and he got three outs in a row!!  Tyrel was definitely  a proud dad in that moment!!  But I was impressed with the level of competition at this 7 and 8 year old age.  It was a lot of fun!!

Cooper baseball spring 2014

Cooper had another fun year of baseball!!  He was in machine pitch again(the machine pitches the ball 42mph) .His coach was Josiah Forkner who was an awesome coach.  I am so glad that he has had great coaches that make him work hard but also make it really fun. Cooper broke his wrist the day after his first game.  He sat out one game and then after he got his cast he was ready to play.  He had a little hard time at first batting and playing first base with his cast. So at first his coach taught him how to bunt and put him at second base.  He then practiced at home and soon was back at 1st base and hitting further than he did before his cast!! In the league they were in the middle. They weren't the worst team but also not the best.  Cooper had to adjust to that since his team only lost one game during the tournament all season last year. But once tournament time came this year his coach told them " okay we have been playing all season to learn the game, now we are playing to win!" And so that is what they did! It was so fun and exciting to watch! 

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.