Jan 2014 . . catching up

I think Facebook was a bad thing for blogging.  I used to be so diligent in posting things to my blog and then, well . . . I lost interest when FB had updates from everyone.  But, someday, I will be glad I updated this blog!

I'm going to do a month at a time, starting in Jan of 2014 and see if I can catch up. Then, I'll go back to the end of 2013.  There is something about writing a goal down that I'm hoping will help me stay on track!

January was a month that we finally caught our breath!  After moving, a trip to Punta Cana and Christmas, it was time to finally settle into our rental house and get going on the new home!  Or so we thought.  We really thought we would break ground in January, but the construction loan process was tedious and even getting the permit had bumps in the road.  We did finally close on the loan on Jan. 30th!

So, the month passed and despite multiple trips to the lender and gathering paperwork and meeting with our builder, we still had no hole in the ground.  Friends of ours who were building were in the same boat.  Everything was just moving at a snail's pace!

Kinley began her first year of competitive volleyball and loved it and was also playing rec basketball.  What a stud.  That kid was a shooting machine, almost always having the most points on her team.   Her volleyball team was local and played in a lower division since they were up against 12 year old teams.  They actually did really well and Kinley learned a lot.  The tournaments meant being there all day and super early mornings, but she really enjoyed it, especially being with her buddies.

Go, Xtreme!

High scorer every week!

Focus

The biggest event of the month, by far, was Cooper turning 16 and then getting his driver's license on Jan. 15th.  Happy, happy day!  He was thoroughly enjoying his newfound freedom and learned in a hurry that schoolwork is hard to stay on top of when the social life comes calling.  What a weird feeling to watch him drive away by himself!  His birthday was pretty low key.  Out to dinner with Evan and Alex was all he needed.

Ready for the test!

Birthday crew

Sweet 16

Kaiya started her competitive season as well in January and what a great start she had!  Her first meet was amazing and she quickly figured out that she had the ability to win every meet on bars if she hit.  The first meet was at Adrenaline and she broke the 36 mark for the first time ever on her first meet of the season, even counting a fall on beam.  She placed 2nd on bars and AA.  The following weekend was the first out-of-state meet in Reno, NV.  It was a fun trip, but not her best meet.  Her nerves got the best of her on bars and a fall on beam sort of added insult to injury.  But, she still placed on everything and had an absolute blast with her team and coaches at the hotel.  We went bowling and had a good laugh at dinner watching Rich try to complete a food challenge.  A crazy side note was running into an old teammate of mine at the meet--someone I hadn't seen for 20 years.  She lives in Reno and was at the meet watching her old club.  Wow!! Her last meet of the month was the Winterfest Classic at DU.  She was aggressive and fell again on bars, but here's the thing--even with a fall, she placed 3rd AA and was 2nd on bars!  So fun to see her at the top of the heap and having so much success.  

Catching air

Dismount

Level 7 crew

Lots of hardware!

Such a monkey

Chillin at the airport

Fun reunion with Shannon

Love this pic

3rd AA at Winterfest!

Stolen moments

I am really behind on this blog . . . again.  Instead of trying to catch up, I decided not to.  For now, anyway.

In the midst of running like a crazy person everywhere, today I remembered a discussion with my dad not so long ago about finding time to stop and smell the roses, so to speak, when it comes to my kids.  OK, that's almost impossible for me because I'm so task oriented and busy checking things off that proverbial to-do list.

But my wise father must have planted a seed because I realized I have been sneaking in those moments.  Take today, for example.  After two insanely busy nights in a row at work, I was home this afternoon catching a quick nap when Cooper surprised me by coming in.  He was on his way to the middle school on assignment for student council to talk to 8th graders about preparing for high school (um. . .weird) and had time to stop at home for lunch.  We had all of about 12 minutes, but for that 12 minutes, I was IN the moment--warming a Hot Pocket and getting a precious 12 minutes of his time.  He caught me up on everything going on in his life and then stopped and gave me a hug as he walked out.  Gulp.

Kaiya and I get 30 minutes in the car most days as I take her to gym.  30 minutes while she fills me in on her school stuff, the latest girl drama, and what's new on her Instagram page that I coudn't figure out and tips for how to get past 4 on Flappy Birds.  Yes, I suck.  I turn the radio almost off and, again, I'm in the moment.

Kinley is the last one to go to school each morning and so she doesn't even have to get up for a half hour after Kaiya walks out the door.  But we figured out, especially on mornings like today when I got in bed after work at 2:00 a.m., that between 7:30 and 8:00, we have a precious half hour that we can snuggle in my bed.  Sometimes, we both fall asleep and other times, we talk.  Ok, she talks and I try really hard to stay awake and listen.  But she knows when I come in her room at 7:30, that's our time together.  I learn a lot about what's going on in her head and in her world from 7:30 to 8.

I even got a stolen moment with my neice, Sydney, as she said, "Hold you, Haley" (translation . . . "hold me") on the morning after she spent the night at our house.  Our little earlier riser crawled into my arms to watch an episode of Dora.  I kinda miss Dora.

So today, I'm patting myself on the back.  Not so much for making an effort to be in the moment, but for how amazingly whole it makes me feel as a mom.

Back to school and SO much more (yes, another LONG post) . . . .

I used to be so good.  I was disappointed in myself if I forgot to post something each week now I'm lucky if I hit one each season.  Must do better!!

The kids have already finished their first quarter of school and Halloween is right around the corner, which means Kaiya is about to turn 13 as well.  Yikes!

So, briefly . . .

--Cooper started his sophomore year and his second year on the golf team.  Missing a ton is school for tourneys is super stressful, but he had a blast this year and qualified for regionals again.  Two upper classmen played with him this year and they all did well, usually scoring within just a few strokes of each other.  I was able to watch almost all of his tournaments and love walking the courses and watching.  Probably the highlight of Cooper's life in the last few months was getting a TRUCK!  We found a decent used pickup for him to drive when he turns 16.  He is totally obsessed with washing it and driving it whenever he can.  As nervous as we are for him to drive, I'm ready to quit being his taxi cab!

Coop also got a little screen time in August when he was asked to be part of a public service announcement for 2Hearts--an organization that was created to help kids bridge to the world of adult congenital cardiology.  The crew loved him and he's been asked to help in another PSA.  The hope is that these someday end up on TV.  Here is the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1owJ5LL8pY

First day of sophomore year

He's just a little excited

--Kaiya started 7th grade and it has been seamless.  She has a free period to get her homework done and pulled a 4.0 first quarter with all honors classes.  Woot, woot!  She has been training like crazy at the gym trying to get new skills and is so strong that it scares me.  I recently had to buy her a weighted vest to use at the gym to wear when she climbs the rope and does pull ups.  What the??

First day of 7th grade

Look closely at Kaiya going straight down the slide at Water World with a friend

Picture day . . looking so old!

--Kinley is loving her 4th grade teacher and has no problems in the social department.  She is also loving volleyball and has done really well playing up in the 5th/6th grade division and recently tried out for club volleyball and should make that team without any problem.  Kinley got braces on right after school started to see if the tooth that was knocked out was ankylosed.  The tooth appeared to take hold so well that it was literally stuck. The braces were just a test to see if the tooth would move down and thankfully, it has!

First day of 4th grade

Coop didn't have school til the next day but got up to make her breakfast

Picture day

Hoping these braces work!

Kinley and her BFF, Annabelle

Her favorite coach, Ronni

We lived through the great floods of 2013 and it's something none of us will ever forget.  It rained for 5 straight days and a huge chunk of the state of Colorado ended up under water.  Entire roads were  washed away, homes were lost, lives were lost and we all stood helpless watching until it finally quit.  The kids were out of school for a week and we witnessed destruction and miracles all at the same time. I had to get a police escort to the highway just to get to work.  In the days following the flood, we spent many hours scooping water and mud from the homes of neighbors and friends who had basements completely flooded.

Work in progress

The before shot of this basement

The park more like a lake) at the end of our street

Other highlights:

*As a family, we took a quick trip to Utah to say goodbye to cousin Mikala, who left on her LDS mission to Tennessee at the end of August.  It was so great to have everyone there (minus the other two cousins already on missions with a fourth that headed out right after Miki).  Our drive there was super stressful because of a mud slide that shut down the highway, but somehow we made it!

How folks in Manti roll

Helping out the Manti Lindhardts' family business at the fair

*I was able to spend a weekend with Lori at the end of August in Colorado Springs as she ran in the coveted Pikes Peak half marathon.  We had a great weekend together!

Garden of the Gods

*Going to the last Rockies home game of the year and watching the tribute to Todd Helton, who is retiring.

So long, Todd

Love our Rockies!

Love this pic of my dad and Coop

*A scrapbooking weekend away for me in beautiful Buena Vista with some friends.  My scrapbooks are totally caught up!!

Not a bad spot to scrapbook!

*Going to a Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson concert with our awesome friends, Blaine and Tirsa.

Photo taken at the lake where Blaine and Tirsa are building a new house--this is Kinley and their daughter, Bella. 

*Celebrating my dad's 70th birthday with him and so grateful that he is on the road to recovery.  One more surgery on Oct. 28th and the whole nightmare should be done!

Happy 70th, Papa!!

Taken behind my dad's house.  What a view!

*Bennett's trip home for a week after finishing instructionals in FL.  Only 2 more months til the big wedding in Punta Cana!

Lunchtime at school with Kaiya . . . 

. . . and then Kinley

Celebrating Uncle B's birthday a little late

OK, so maybe Uncle Doug isn't so scary after all

*Getting our house painted, building a new shed and knocking down the old one and getting our house ready to SELL!  Yup--after 12 years in our home, we have decided to see if we can sell our house and build a new one on a much bigger lot in town.  Stay tuned!!

Cooper standing in front of the lot we hope will someday be our new home!

*A weekend trip to Steamboat Springs with Brandon, Erika and Sydney.  We had a great weekend of pool time, relaxation and checking out the town.