Spring Festival

On Saturday Cole went to Worland to participate in the spring festival. Cole and his good friend Brian got to do the percussion. He loved it. Cannon got to do this last year and I think Cole was hoping to be able to participate in the festival also. Cole had to be to the bus at 6:30am and learned all of his songs while in Worland and then at 2:30 that afternoon they performed their songs. They also had a choir and the plastic flute. Cannon was on the flute last year. Maybe next year Cole will get to go back and do something different.

Anyway experiences like this are precious and I am so grateful we have a music teacher willing to sacrifice a Saturday so our kids can have these type of opportunities. Cole got to go to A&W for lunch(ordering all by himself is a big deal) He enjoyed his favorite a chili dog and a rootbeer float. All in all I think Cole had a great day and we as a family had a great time watching him perform!

Pinewood Derby

We had our pinewood derby on Thursday the 26th. Cole never goes for the traditional car shape. I kept telling him that a more aerodynamic design would have a better chance of winning but he did not care. So we came up with the money car(it looked better for the actual derby but I forgot my camera AGAIN) Adam has not stopped playing with it since we got home. Cole did not win but he sure had a good time watching the cars race. Pinewood derbies are always a blast!

What's In Your Backpack?

We had a good morning today and when things go smoothly in the morning we end up with a little extra time. This is what Cole did with his free time this morning.Yes, that is Adam all the way inside Cole's backpack. Wait 'til you see the other pictures they are a little creepy. When Adam was on Cole's back he said "now I can go to school without my shoes on." It was a fun morning. At first I was only concerned about the backpack breaking then I realized it was not something to freak out about and everyone enjoyed some pretty good giggles this morning.
This picture looks like it should be in some horror film. I can't believe Adam fit in Cole's backpack. Here he is hung up with the rest of the families backpacks.

Travis Is 7!

Happy Birthday Travis! Today is my little cowboys birthday. I just don't know how else to describe him other than that. He is such a bright spot in my life. Travis this year has become my shadow. Whenever we sit to watch a movie or this basketball season he can't get close enough to me. I am lovin' every minute of it. I know some day too soon he will be embarrassed of me and rather have me not even acknowledge him. So I am going to love it while I can.

Travis loves everything cowboy and horses and farming. I think Travis will some day own a small farm of some sort if he can. I at times think that maybe Trav might want to live around here some day so he can be a cowboy.

Travis has worked hard this year in school and I am so proud of the progress he has made. Travis has also made a new friend this year. We have a neighbor named Scooter and Travis loves to spend time with her. She loves to be with Adam and Travis and spoils them like crazy whenever they are together. It is like having a grandma right next door. It is great to have all sorts of friends and we can never have too much love in our lives and she definitely loves Trav.But really how can you not?I know Travis has the ability to be an example to many people around him especially his little brother and I am proud most of the time for the direction he leads him in. I do love watching Travis be the big brother to Adam. They play farm down in the basement for hours, laying out the animals with the tractors and all the farm equipment. They have so much fun together.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be Travis' mom. I learn so much from him. He has a tender heart and so much passion for the things he loves. We are all lucky to have him in our lives. Happy Birthday Trav!

Update

I just thought I would update everyone on the Cole situation. We thought every thing was going fine with his head and then on Sunday the goose egg on the side of his head seemed to be getting bigger. Monday when Jodi was dropping off Ethan I asked her to take a look at the cut and she encouraged me to take Cole to the doctor. We made an appointment and headed to Lovell. The doctor said that there was definitely an infection and that he would have to get the puss and what-not out of his head. The nurse had to rub off as much of the glue(and there was a lot of glue) as she could and Dr. Caldwell had to push on the very sensitive big lump on the side of Cole's head. He was in sooooo much pain but he really was such a good patient. He did cry a little but never pulled away and never yelled out. I could tell he was hurting pretty bad and I even got a little teary just feeling so helpless. The doctor then prescribed some medicine and off we went (sticker and suckers in hand.) By the way the stuff that came out of Cole's head was sooooo gross it reminded me why I am not in the medical profession.
Dr. Caldwell told us that if the spot on his head got big again we needed to push the blood and puss out at home. I was not looking forward to this just because Cole now knew just how much it was going to hurt and I knew that he was not going to be as calm with us as he was at the clinic. We went to the pharmacy and got the medicine stopped for some ice cream for the good patient and headed home. Unfortunately Cole chose liquid medicine and it tastes terrible. So now not only do we have to torture him with pain but we also get to pour horrible tasting medicine down his throat.
Cole has been a trooper and we have only had to push on his head once. The medicine is horrible but he chokes it down and goes on his way. Maybe next time we will just go to the doc first, probably not. The funniest thing about this whole ordeal is that I think it has made Cole and I closer. I don't know why but I just feel a little extra connection with him that wasn't there before. Go figure. Moral of the story who knows when a bonding moment might come along and in what form.

CRACK!

Here is the talk Cole gave in primary this Sunday. He wrote most of it on his own with a little help from me. It also tells the story of our weekend. The topic for his talk was Family members have special Responsibilities.

Heavenly Father provided us with a family. Sister Brost taught us last week that our earthly fathers are to preside, protect, and provide for the family.
Thursday we got out of school early. My brother, some friends and I were playing basketball on the tramp and having a great time. My brother went up to dunk the ball on the basketball hoop. As he came down I jumped up and tried to tip it out, and his teeth hit my head, which caused a three inch crack on the side of my head. I felt my head it was bleeding so I ran inside to find my mom. She looked at it and realized that the cut was bigger than the other times I had cracked my head open. So she called my dad and asked him to come home from work and look at it. When my dad saw the cut on my head he knew just what to do. He calmly cleaned the cut and with the help of my friends mom, Sister Winland, they closed the cut with super glue.Then they put bandages over it so it wouldn't open back up. My dad helped me rip those off this morning.
My dad always knows what to do and it makes me feel safe and protected. I'm grateful for my family.

Cole seems to be healing okay. He still has a bit of a headache and he has a pretty good bump on the side of his head. I think he will be fine. I too am grateful for Michael and his ability to stay calm and not panic. Life is never dull in a house full of boys.

HE'S BAAAAAAACK!

As most of you know basketball is over for the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies. And with the end of the season we get our dad back and boy is it nice. A friend asked me today "how is it having Michael home more?" and at first I gave her a short answer but as I thought about it Michael being home this week really was GREAT. The part of our daily routine I don't especially enjoy is the bedtime routine. This week Michael has been around and has taken care of the bedtime stories and the teeth brushing craziness that happens every night. I love basketball season and I love going to games but Michael not being home pretty much every night of the week makes for a grouchy mommy sometimes. So I am sure the boys appreciate Michael being home more, just as much as I do. Being a single mom is not the life for me. A little adult conversation in the evening has been a perk also. I am sad the Grizz didn't get one more weekend of basketball but it is nice having Michael around. Welcome back Sweetheart!