Lots of lasts

This last week was filled with lots of lasts . . . last spring baseball tourney for Cooper, last spring gymnastics meet for Kaiya, and the last day of school. Now, if we could just have our last rainy day, I would be thrilled!!

Cooper's last baseball tourney was not pretty, but the boys had a great time. It was in Colorado Springs, so it meant a hotel stay, which was the best part for the boys. They lost their first two games in an ugly fashion and hung in there in game #3. Coop couldn't get his bat going, so he came home pretty frustrated, but he has an entire summer of baseball ahead of him! He will be playing for the high school's 'C' team, which blows my mind because these kids aren't in high school yet! I hope they don't get swallowed whole!

Pool time--best part of the tourney!

Getting a needed pep talk

Cooper finished the year with a 4.0 somehow. He was about as fried and burned out with school as I've ever seen him. More than the grades, I am just so proud of this kid. Middle school is rough! He gets teased for getting good grades, but plugs away and blows it off. He got so many awards at school at their awards ceremony that I lost track, but the best one was a student of the year type award.

Kaiya's last meet was her best yet!! She improved her all-around score by 2 full points and won both bars and beam. It was fun to see a smile on her face and all the hard work paying off. She, too, was ready for school to be over, but it has been funny the last couple days to watch her walk around in a daze--the gym was closed this week, so with no school and no gym, she is a lost soul! She had so much fun playing with friends after school.

Vault and bars champ!

Best floor routine yet

Playing with chopsticks at dinner after the meet . . . nice face, dad!

Last day of school fun

The girls has field day on Monday and had a blast. Kinley's teacher made their last day of school so special. I have absolutely loved her teacher. They came home with a little scrapbook of photos and writing samples and it was fun to see her progression. She even has a reading group going for the summer. We will miss her so much!

Fierce competitor

Can't beat a Popsicle on Field Day

Last day of 4th and 1st grade

We will miss Mrs. Zamudio sooo much!!

The final 'last' was the last day of Erika's time in her 20's. We celebrated her 30th birthday one day early. She's such a special part of our lives. I think my brother knows how lucky he is, but we remind him pretty regularly anyway.

Birthday girl

Fun times

Feeling like a ping pong ball!

Last Saturday was about as nuts as it gets for us. Schedule of events was as follows:

1) Piano recital for Kaiya in Boulder @ 10:30

2) Baseball game for Cooper in Louisville @11:15 . . . moved to 1:15 . . . and finally played at 2:15 due to rain.

3) Gymnastics meet in Bouder @1:00

4) Baseball game at 6:30 in Louisville . . . rained out.

Somehow, all of those events ended up being within 20 minutes of each other. How lucky is that? My dad joined us for most of the day, which was so nice. Kaiya did a great job in her recital--for as little as she practices, she's getting pretty good!

So poised

Cooper's team lost, but he felt like he made good contact with the ball. They put him in at 2nd base for part of the game, which he never plays, so he was a bit out of his element. He was just so bummed to have the weather ruin yet another tournament. Where is the sunshine????

Kaiya's meet went really well. Her only bad event was floor--she just looked so tired. Everything else was awesome and she even stuck beam!! There were only 2 level 6's at the meet, but she won, so it still felt good!!

1st place! (even if there were only 2)

A little wobbly, but she stayed on!!

It was Kinley's turn for some of my time on Monday at her 1st grade field trip to the zoo. I had worked from 3 pm to 3 am the night before, but managed to get up and go with her. I was questioning my sanity, but I think she told me about 10 times how happy she was that I was there. Her group was so well behaved and we saw so many animals in 2 1/2 hrs, including a baby orangutan that was literally hanging onto its mother's back and sitting on her head. Made me think that we really aren't all that different from our primate friends! :)

My last 1st grader to go on the zoo field trip

I just loved this picture . . the mom completely oblivious to the baby hanging all over her!

After the zoo, I turned around and joined my dad and brother and my dad's stockbroker at a Rockies game, sitting in the owner's seats. Front row, baby! It's the 3rd time I've had the privilege of sitting in those seats and it never gets old! Gourmet buffet beforehand and the Rox pulled off a come from behind win, so it was a great finish. What a week!!!

Up close and personal with Tulo from the front row!

April catch-up

I have been really diligent about trying to update the blog once a week, but since I left my camera at my dad's house on Easter, I had an excuse to take a little break. But, now I have some major catching up to do!

Both of the older kids have kicked into high gear for the spring. Cooper's baseball tournaments are almost every weekend and Kaiya has 3 gymnastics meets, which means some divide and conquer for the two parents. Cooper had a tournament two weeks ago that started off miserable and ended on a high note. They are playing teams that often have 100 kids try out and only the top 12 or so make the team. Seriously, some of the kids are almost double Cooper's size. Not sure how we are even supposed to compete. After day one of getting our butts handed to us, the boys found themselves in the consolation bracket as the last seed. Well, these guys played their guts out and made it clear to the semi-finals, losing by just one run in the last inning. Such a heartbreaker, but so fun to finally have some success at this level! Cooper had the best day of his life at the plate (11 RBI in 3 games!!!) and was just hitting the snot out of the ball. He caught all three games as well and was one tired puppy! The video is one of his best hits of the day.

Castle Rock tournament--11 RBIs in 3 games!!

Solid hit!

Kaiya had her first meet last weekend as a level 6. This is a huge jump from level 5 because every event had a new skill added. She now tumbles into a back flip on floor, does a back flip off the bars and tumbles backward on the balance beam. She was super nervous, but just did awesome! Beam was her nemesis, as usual, but even that wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it was. Enjoy the videos!

Kaiya and her teammate, Maddie

Level 6 bar routine

Floor routine--her best score of the day 8.35!!

Other April highlights . . .

--We had a really nice Easter with my dad, brother and his wife despite the fact that I had to work the night before. :(

Easter morning

--The kids all got to have one friend stay over this last weekend as a reward for good behavior. It was the first time Kinley had a friend stay over and they were so cute and got along perfectly all weekend. Kaiya got to have 2 gym buddies and Cooper had a good friend stay as well. It was a packed house and I felt like all I did was feed them round the clock! I did take them all swimming, too. Whew!! I was wiped out by Saturday night! I am so grateful for my kids' true, good friends.

Love these girls!!

Kinley and her best buddy

--I started swimming lessons in anticipation of attempting a triathlon in August. A good friend of mine is teaching me to swim and thank goodness she is patient! We have had lots of laughs and I've returned the favor by helping her train in the gym with some other friends. I can finally swim the required 1/4 mile on my own, but I am still super inefficient. Could be a long few months getting ready for this thing, plus I'm considering the Warrior Dash in August as well.

--I accepted a position to be the camp nurse at a gymnastics camp for Kaiya the last week in July. We will head to Lake Owen, WI where Kaiya will get intensive gymnastics training and lots of fun on the side and I will get to run in circles being the camp nurse. It was quite the application process (they even called my references!), so we are happy to be going. Kaiya's $1,200 tuition is waived and they pay my expenses, so it's a great deal! We're both excited.

--Kinley is gearing up for her big dance recital at the beginning of June and then she's looking forward to trying some different things this summer. Can't believe the kid only have 3 1/2 weeks left of school! We are all ready for a break from all the homework, lunch packing, getting up early, etc!

--Cooper was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last week. He has worked his butt off for his good grades (despite the fact that it gets him made fun of by some of his athlete buddies) and we're proud of him for sticking to it. He also got selected to be on the yearbook staff and to be a WEB leader again, so he will be helping to be in charge of first day activities for the incoming 6th graders. So proud of this kid! He has taken some serious heat from his buddies about being a "goody" because he cares about his grades and likes being involved in the school, but he's finally getting better about letting their comments go and recognizing that it's OK to be good in school!