During the month of January, Kyler was able to play on his first sports team! There was a local basketball league for the elementary kids, and it was a lot of fun! We were going to let him play t-ball or something while we lived in Lubbock, but it was really expensive (like $125, ridiculous). So he never played. I was shocked when they told us the basketball league cost $10 and that included the t-shirt!! Wow! We did have to pay $1 to get in every game, but that didn't break the bank either! Kenney volunteered to coach his team as long as no one else could do it. Well of course they picked Kenney. He was the coach for the kindergarten and first grade purple team! We were really surprised that Kenney was the only male coach, not that there is anything wrong with that, we just thought there would be more dads involved. I think it was safe to say that the kids had more fun than Kenney, but it was fun for him too! Kyler liked the first practice, but after the first game he didn't like it because he couldn't shoot without being blocked. Welcome to real basketball Kyler! You are no longer the biggest, playing against your two little brothers!! Haha! Towards the end of the season he started to have a lot more fun with it.
During the first couple games, Kyler pretty much avoided everyone on the court. He didn't want anyone to touch him, and he sure wasn't going to touch anyone else! He was without a doubt, the first one back when the ball changed possessions. He was definitely one of the fastest kids out there every game!! He didn't get the ball very much even though he was one of the better shooters. By the last game, I was afraid he might not get a chance to make a basket. However, during his last turn on the court he made a shot!!! I was so excited for him!! He didn't show much emotion, but he was really happy!! He also kinda played defense during the last game. He at least got close enough to touch people!! Next year it should be really fun to watch Kyler and Damon play together!!
PS~ These pictures are not very good. I was trying to control two crazy little boys dying to play basketball and holding a baby, so my picture taking really suffered!!
Not unusual to catch him alone without anyone else around!
Notice where the ball is and where all the other kids are looking... except Kyler!!!
During Kyler's first game he got blocked while taking his first shot, as seen here. It made him pretty hesitant to get close to all the other players after that. Eventually he got comfortable enough to shoot again!
First one back and no clue where the ball is!
I got super excited when this happened. Kyler got the ball on a fast break and was alone dribbling the ball. He can run faster than he can dribble so the ball got behind him, but he did shoot a basket all alone. I was bummed when he didn't make it, but he just got too excited and nervous at the same time, so he didn't shoot his best shot!
Warming up before a game.
These kindergarten and first graders were so much fun to watch. They were clueless to pretty much everything going on, but they all had so much fun!!
Kenney did a great job coaching! All the kids loved him, and he made it fun for all of them. It was impressive how much better the team got as the month progressed!
I told Kyler to get with one of his friends after the last game to get a picture. He just stepped slightly closer to the kid next to him, whom he hardly knows, and faked a smile. This is Kyler and TJ.
The team picture. Kyler really wasn't as small as he looks in this picture. The first graders were definitely bigger, so it will be fun to watch next year!
This is the beginning of the first game. Our team, which really wasn't very good, was playing the best team! Our kids still hadn't figured out how to throw the ball in or learned to not steal it from one another! Towards the middle of the month we had kids doing "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" to pick which kid to throw the ball to. It was quite funny, but the beginning of the season was a little embarrassing because the kids seemed so clueless. Kenney was trying to explain and yell so the kids could hear him, but they didn't listen very well. They were just too excited which made it even more comical.
This video is the best because in the background you can hear Radley and Damon yelling, "Go Kyler!" You can especially hear Radley yelling, but Damon is Kyler's biggest fan. He would get excited when anyone made a shot, but even in warm-up, if Kyler made a basket Damon was the first to yell and get excited for him!
This is just one of the many times Kyler would just run as fast as he could to get back. It was so funny to watch. If there was a fast break Kyler could always catch up to the kid with the ball, but he never played much defense once he caught up! We can always teach defense, but we can't teach speed, right?!?
The camera pops out almost every time Bentley puts on a new outfit, especially on Sundays. She has been blessed with so many adorable clothes! I feel like I have to get a picture before she grows out of all these cute clothes! It is really funny how much the boys pay attention to her clothes. Damon loves to pick them out and is very opinionated about what she wears. We all love having a baby girl in the house. I really hope that she continues to have her brothers wrapped around her finger because it is the most amazing thing to watch! I absolutely love it!!
Not the best picture, but look at that cute sweater dress!
She was so smiley in her polka-dot dress.
She makes all of us smile!
Look at that, how could you not be happy looking at that?
Just couldn't get enough!
And this was the winner!!!
Bentley makes the best pouty faces with a lip that sticks out so perfect. I was trying to get a picture of it, but she couldn't decided if she was happy or sad!
This was as close as I could get when I had the camera out. I tried for a good 5 or so minutes, but I couldn't make her sad anymore!
I didn't get a great picture of the dress, but I love feminine things that aren't pink!
Poofy hair!
Nothing special about these jammies, but I love how she is sleeping. Don't tell anyone (especially the Dr) she is sleeping on her stomach. I promise it's only for short naps.
Just so tired!
These next few videos are of Bentley just smiling and talking. She is getting so much more interactive and responds so well when she looks someone in the eye. Here she is talking and smiling at me.
We had a BIG party to ring in the new year!! Well it wasn't really a big party, but it was still fun! The Payne family was still in town after the blizzard, and we celebrated together. We made lots of food, watched football, played games, and danced the night away!! Damon actually lasted to 12:00!! Not by our choice of course! The kids had a blast, and it was fun to hangout with them and Nana & Papa!
Dance Party!!
On the move.
Brek took great care of Radley. She pretty much did whatever he asked her to do! Poor girl is left with so many boys around!
These two were pretty good buddies this time around! Our boys are so luck to have such good cousins!
"Mom, Bentley needs to lay here with us!" I don't think she will be left out of much. They always make sure they can see her when she is awake.
They may not pay much attention to her, but they love her being close to them.
Not her best picture, but I love this sweater dress Oma sent. She has a pink one in the next size from Grandma too! She will always look so cute thanks to her grandma's!!
Supporting the Longhorns! The Texas women's volleyball team made it to the national championship game this year. They didn't win, but Go Texas!!!
I think almost every grand kid has a picture like this with Papa. He somehow always takes the kids when they are sleepy or he makes them go to sleep somehow!
The kids seriously danced all night and the next day! I was amazed how long they were entertained by dancing to the same songs over and over again!
My kids were not as good about the choreography as the others, but they were fun to watch none the less!
Well we knew the blizzard was coming, and we were prepared to be housebound for a few days. However, we were not fully prepared for the power to be out for 3 days!! The storm blew in Saturday the 26th with strong winds. There was a little bit of ice, but nothing especially worrisome. By Sunday there was a little more ice and nasty howling winds. It literally sounded like a freight train outside. Sunday morning about 10am the power went out. It wasn't too bad and the house only cooled off to about 65. We were worried about the new trampoline in our backyard. We decided not to put up the enclosure when we originally set it up because of the storm that would be coming. We were quite anticipating such high winds. We tried to stake it down as best as possible, but it still blew up. We were glad once the ice came to at least weigh it down a little, but then we worried there would be too much weight and it would stretch out the springs! Bad timing to get a trampoline!! Luckily, the frame is only slightly bent and it didn't blow away!!
Somehow power was restored around 4pm, and I was able to make dinner. Then again around 8pm the power went out. We were really beginning to question the intelligence of whomever took out the fireplace in our house and replaced it with glass blocks that belong in a bathroom!! We decided to stay at the house and keep the boys together in the living room where it was semi-warm and put extra blankets on everyone. It was definitely chilly by morning at 50 degrees! The boys were so excited to sleep in the living room that when they woke up, they didn't even notice the temperature! They were running around without jackets or socks! Bentley did surprisingly well considering how much she likes to be warm when she sleeps.
Monday was a really nice day, considering the situation. The sun warmed up the front of the house quite a bit, and it wasn't too uncomfortable. The boys kept begging to go out and play in what looked like snow but what was really ice. We didn't want them out there because we had no way of warming them up once they came back inside. Kenney told them if our house got up to 65 degrees they could go outside, and it did! They were super excited. It wasn't quite as fun to play out there as they had hoped, but it kept them busy for over an hour. Kenney took some video, but I accidentally deleted it when I was trying to make room on the memory card. Pictures will have to suffice! Since our power was still not on we thought it might be best for the kids and I to go to Childress where we could at least have heat! Kenney stayed behind to make sure our pipes didn't freeze, the food from the fridge and freezers stayed good and he had to go to work the next day (they closed his office on Monday). So we left and stayed at Nana and Papa's house with the Payne family too. The Payne's (Kenney's sister and family) drove through the blizzard! They were able to make it as far as Tucumcari, New Mexico on Saturday, but then they closed the roads and they were stuck until Monday!
The boys loved all these new adventures! They got to have a 'sleepover' in the living room with their cousins. Bentley and I slept on a mattress in there too. Kenney said he woke up and the house had gotten down to 48! The power was still not on!! I was happy we at least had company and a little fire to keep us warm while we waited. Finally around 12pm on Tuesday Kenney dropped by our house and said the power was back on!! Thank goodness! We stayed a little longer to let the kids play and then went home to a nice warm house with lights and warm water!
We thought everything was fine because the power stayed on all night even though it kept surging. However, the next morning the power went out again!!! Ugh!! I was in the middle of doing laundry and trying to catch back up from the storm! Thankfully it was only out for 3 hours this time! Needless to say, the boys played extremely well without any electronics and we stayed warm considering our situation. Kenney is now looking into generators and we are very curious to see if we can put a fireplace back into our house!
Good thing she had some warm clothes.
Trying to stay warm in the sun with boots on and socks keeping her hands warm.
These 3 crazies were running around after they woke up (when the house was 50 degrees) without socks or jackets or anything to keep them warm. Part of the day Radley even ran around without pants!! Meanwhile I was sitting on the couch in a blanket!
Ready to go outside!
Notice Damon's pants hahaha!!
Ready to be released outdoors!
Trying to find some snow, but it was all ice!
Trying to throw a 'snowball' at Daddy.
Damon throwing ice.
And Damon of course had to eat some ice.
He was just so funny looking with his hat and other clothes!!
Trying to make snow angels, but it was just ice so they pretty much just moved their arms and legs without make any indention at all.
But they all had to try!
Maybe they just didn't weight enough or were strong enough, but it was a pretty thick layer of ice!
But they tried really hard!
Exploring the snow/ice
Bentley and Mom just stayed inside where it was a warm 65 (for at least a few hours before it started dropping again)!
Christmas morning was pretty great! It was so fun to listen to the boys as they were looking through and sorting the presents. Radley was the first one to wake up, and we told him to go see if Santa had come. He went into the living room and came back saying, "Santa not come." Kyler got up just then and went into the living room and saw all the presents under the tree. Radley's mood immediately changed. They could have sorted presents for hours! They came into our room and were so excited. We asked if they had seen their stockings, which they had not, so they took off to go find their stockings. They found a note from Santa they couldn't read, but they noticed the candy! All of a sudden I heard Damon say, "I need to go look in the backyard and see if Santa left my dog." Dagger to my heart because he has been asking for a dog for a long time. I ran out of bed and stopped him because I wanted to be there for their reaction to the trampoline. We caught them in time, and it was fun to watch them race to the backyard. The rest of the morning was fun too! Damon kept telling us this was happy Christmas, and yes it was!!
Santa brought the boys a letter telling them he left a BIG present outside.
They found it!
It works!!
3 very anxious little boys!
They drew names for each other this year, and we opened those presents first. It was really fun to watch them give each other presents.
We love watching Damon. He is so expressive! No matter the gift he gets excited.
I don't know how many times he told me, "I'm so excited!"
The Hot Wheels track he really wanted from the store.
He had to give Kyler a hug as soon as he opened it. It was amazing to see him do this on his own without being prompted or asked. They do love each other.
Kyler shed tears over leaving the store and not being able to buy the green Power Ranger. So he was extremely happy to get it.
I love how Damon was even excited for Kyler to get what he wanted!
Someone else was excited about Christmas morning too!
She had a lot of smiles for us!
She also got a cool Bentley that lights up and moves! Damon was pretty stoked about it too!
