Ah . . the life

I can't believe the kids have been in school more than a month already. It is so good to be back into a routine, albeit a busy one. Between working 1-2 times per week and running the kids to gymnastics, dance and golf, it is nuts around here (like every other mom I talk to!).

Kaiya got to be in a Labor Day parade for her gym and she did cartwheels and back-walkovers all the way down the street. The funniest part of that day was my journey to watch her. I had worked the night before, so I was dead tired, but I wanted to see her perform. So, I went straight from work to the parade route in Louisville. I got there almost an hour early, so I found a nice shady tree, parked my car and fell asleep. I about peed myself an hour later when the Centaurus High School Marching band started warming up right next to my car. Woke up to a tuba six inches from my car window. Sheez!

Handing out frisbees at the parade

Kaiya's cheering section (and candy gatherers)

In our "spare" time, we have enjoyed following our beloved Rockies and now the Broncos. Nothing better than meaningful baseball in September! Not too many people noticed or knew why Cooper got his haircut the way he did, but it was a copycat hair do of Troy Tulowitzki's from the middle of the season. He didn't tell me he was going to have it cut that way when he left with his dad, but I certainly didn't mind!

Cooper comes by his love of sports naturally, and he has been the lucky recipient of many game opportunities. In this week alone, he will go to two Rockies games and one Bronco game thanks to my dad and brother. The poor kid gets up so early for middle school this year, but he is managing his time so well and has been such a huge help around the house.

So, the weekend rolls around and he is so pumped to have a friend over. There is only one problem--it hits 10:00 p.m. and . . . . .

The Tulo stripes

First meet jitters

Kaiya's competitive gymnastics season is back in full swing now. She worked really hard over the summer to learn new skills and now that the season is here, she is training 3 days a week. Between school, piano lessons and gym, she is a very busy girl. The fall season is much different than what she did in the spring--the judges and scoring are much harder and everyone is trying to qualify for the state meet in December.

Her coach had to inform her on Monday that her new team leotard and sweatsuit weren't going to make it on time for the first meet today and she was pretty bummed. She is the ony new kid on the team this year and she wasn't too happy about having to look different, but I'm proud of how she handled it. There was some initial pouting, but no tears. :) And, one of her teammates let her borrow their old similar team leo, so it all worked out OK.

The meet today was, of all places, it was at my old gym in Ft. Collins. Very, very strange to be there as a parent. Walked in and there was my old coach getting the gym ready. We had a good laugh together. I have so much sympathy for my parents after sitting through these long meets as a mom now. They are so long (and yet both my parents, stepdad, brother and sister-in-law all came)!! She absolutely loves having her own cheering section.

She swears she wasn't that nervous, but the look on her face said otherwise. She was happiest with her bars and vault and just had a couple goofs on beam and floor. She ended up sixth place in the all-around--not too shabby for her first one! She gets to be in a Labor Day parade on Monday for her gym, so she is looking forward to doing cartwheels down the street. She is trying to figure out if she can throw candy to the spectators in mid air. Stay tuned!