2011 Update

Wow, we are getting bad at blogging...here is our yearly update for 2011 and our yearly post!  We hope everyone is doing well this holiday season!

It has been a very busy year for the Bradshaws!  Here are some highlights in pictures of 2011.

Kolby's birthday, 8 years old!!

We had Kolby's birthday party at the church so everyone could play some games and Cooper decided to jump off the stage and he hit his chin which required some stitches. One more way our little Super Cooper keeps us on our toes!  Cooper also has lots of funny stuff to say. 

Here are some of our favorite Cooperisms:

• Seeing a stranger he said, "Hi, that's my Mom, her name's Tracy.  My name is Cooper and I can lift up a couch!"
• While watching Zoro he said, "Mom, I think Jesus gave Zoro so much power so the bad guys can't get him."
• Cooper: "Mom, I feel kind of weird and I don't like it."  Mom: "How do you feel?" as they were backing the car out of the garage.  Cooper: "Well, umm........I feel like, um, .......like my tummy is a garage door and its going up and down."
• At the end of the fall Tracy had picked all the green tomatoes and brought them inside to ripen.  All the kids were playing in the back yard and Cooper came in and watched me put the green tomatoes in some boxes and he said, "Mom, what are you doing?"  I told him and he said, "are you sure about this?"
• When Grandma Joy was visiting, Cooper asked her to scratch his bum crack.  She being a good sport, helped him scratch on the outside of his clothes.  He said , no Grandma, that's not how you do it, then he proceeded to show her the right way.
• One day we were driving in the car and we were looking at something out the window but Coop couldn't see it so he said, "I can't see on heaven sakes!"
• Another time while driving Cooper piped up and yelled, "Dad, where the heck are we are?"
• Lastly he went though a faze while driving he would see something out the window and want everyone to see it so he would yell at the top of his lungs, "LOOK, LOOK OVER THERE!", then when we would try to look he would say, "Oh, you missed it".

Cooper goes by Super Cooper and he has had a side kick, Super Black Bear.  He went missing this year and Cooper took around a missing flyer to all the neighbors asking for help finding him.  He hasn't had any luck finding him yet and that's all he's asked for this year for Christmas!

Kolby dressed up for 100 day at school.

Tracy's birthday (see cake for age)

Every St. Patricks day our kids swear they are going to catch a leprechaun, this is their trap complete with a pot of gold at the bottom to lure the little guy in!

Shelby's birthday party, 6 years old!!

The annual Cul-de-sac Easter egg hunt

 

Chase's new favorite game...get into the flour! At least he tries to clean it up.

Cooper's Joy School Graduation

June is full of birthdays in our house, the 7th is Casey and Cooper's birthday. Cooper turned 4 and Casey acts 4, but is actually a lot older than that!

Cooper really takes blowing out his candles seriously!

Chase's birthday is the 24th, he turned 2 years!! He was lucky and got to have his birthday party at the Garner family reunion held at diamond fork canyon.  His cake was very cute, but it fell down inside the camp trailer and got a little smashed...good thing he didn't care about anything except the M&M's on the cake.  It was also at this time that Tracy had a little scare and had to have surgery on her colon.  She is fine and very thankful for the prods and promptings to get checked out.  We were also very thankful for all the family and neighbor help during this time.

4th of July parade in West Jordan. Thanks again to Linda and family for letting us sit by them and for bringing lots of icee's!

Fishing with Grandpa Ivan at Henry's Lake.  Chase loves to ride in the boat.

The last part of July Tracy took the kids to Idaho for swimming lessons at Lisa's house and while they were there Cindy took some great pictures of them!

The last day of July Casey and Tracy along with some family and friends took part in the Burley Spudman Triathlon.  This was Casey's first and Tracy's 3rd tri.  We look forward to many more!

This fall has been full of soccer and flag football for the kids, preschool for Cooper, 1st grade for Shelby, and 3rd grade for Kolby! 

Shelby is our girl...this picture says it all...what more can I say to describe her.  She can be a so sweet one second and then flip a 180 on you the next.  We are a little nervous for when she becomes a teenager.  She loves to sing and dance and is enjoying 1st grade.  She loves to help her mom with the little kids and is a good big sister.  One day we went on a Mom and Shelby date and I got a glimpse of what we are going to be dealing with in the future.  We went to JC Penney's with a $10 gift card and I told her she could buy one thing, but she talked me into two outfits costing a little more than the $10.  Next we went to Ross and she talked me into buying me a new pair of shoes because in her words, "Mom, you really need these, and their so cute."  Taking advise from a 6 year old...we came home with a lot more than we bargained for, but we looked good the next day!

Look close at Cooper's bottom lip...he went to the dentist and they put medicine in to numb his mouth.  The dentist didn't realize that he was biting the heck out of his lip because he couldn't feel it.  This picture was taken a couple days after and it was still really swollen.

Kolby is going to be getting his wolf badge in cub scouts this month and is really excited.  He loves scouts, playing with friends, sports, building things, and anything active.  Kolby is very creative, he can build something extra special out of tissue boxes, toilet paper rolls, ect.  He has really taken a liking to origami, and can fold paper for hours making different airplanes, ninja stars, and boomerangs.  He is always busy and is also becoming a very good reader.  He is a great older brother and loves to try to get the other kids to see things his way.

Chase is growing up too fast.  He is trying to potty train himself and we are not quite ready.  He takes off his diaper all the time, so we tried duct tapping it.  That worked for a few weeks, but then he figured out how to slip the diaper off.  He has had some successes with #1 and #2, but if we are not right there all the time, he just relieves himself where ever he is at.

Chase also loves to be a part of adult conversations.  When we are talking he comes up and will say your name over and over until you say, "What Chase?"  Then he just smiles and says, "ummm".



We are very grateful for this Christmas time of year and for our savior Jesus Christ!  We have been blessed with a wonderful family and are grateful for the many blessing we enjoy.

The Highlights of 2010

     This year is almost over and its time to recap our highlights in a letter for all to read.  I think I can do this in just one word....KIDS!  You can say that word in what ever context you wish (because we have).  Whether it sounds happy, angry, funny, shocked (good or bad), frustrated, proud, etc., and that pretty much sums up our whole entire year!

      Kolby is turning 8 in Jan. I can't believe he is almost old enough to carry his very own gun. I'm such a proud mom.  When he was younger he always asked for his own "real" gun and every time he did so we told him, "not until your accountable for yourself at age 8. " It seemed so far away and yet here we are.  Don't worry it's only a BBgun, but still watch all pet owners nearby.  Sorry neighbors, its open season in our back yard.  All I can say is the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  Kolby is so fun and has quite the sense of humor.  He was throwing something around one night while I was cutting hair and knocked a pot of dried flowers off of a shelf.  It hadn't been that long ago that Cooper had did the same thing and got in big trouble because the flower pot broke.  This time however, luckily for Kolby the pot didn't break so he thought it would be ok. With huge sigh of relief he picked it up and put it back. Casey told him that Mom was going to be mad because he had broken all the peddles off the dried roses, and Kolby said, "its ok Dad, its winter time now, roses don't have peddles".  He then started sweeping up all the other stuff and said, "when I make a mess, I clean it up!"  Kolby is starting basketball in January and can't wait to get out on the court and show everybody his new moves.

     Shelby is five and full of it!  She is in a ballet/tap dance class and knows how to shake it!  I don't know where she gets all her pizazz, but she's definitely got moves!  She loves Taylor Swift, singing (making up her own songs), dancing, friends, changing her clothes, and kindergarten.  She loves babies and is a little mom to all around.  She is a fabulous big sister to Chase and is always tring to take on the mom position with him.  This summer we were all going on a bike ride and her training wheels were not working so I asked Casey to fix them before we left.  The kids were getting restless so Casey said to go on ahead and he and Shelby would catch up.  Casey fixed the training wheels by taking them off and sure enough here came Shelby riding down the middle of the road without a care in the world and going faster than I would have liked.  It is funny, she was always so hesitant riding her bike with the training wheels on.  She is our little dare devil.  Shelby is always happy, full of life and a joy to have around. 
    

Next is Super Cooper, he is three and you always know when he's around because he is never quiet.  He has a little bit of middle child syndrome because he thinks he has to scream to be heard.  He always says "Hey, hey you guys, I'm talking!"  He loves to throw anything and jump off of everything.  He loves to be outside and run, play with friends, build with Lego's, going to joy school, and the building workshops at Lows.  He is a very determined boy and likes to do everything by himself.  When you try to help him with something he says "No, I said I have to do it!"  His favorite thing to do by himself is to tie his shoes, which he doesn't really know how to do, but he does it anyway so there is a huge bundle of knots.  My favorite time with Cooper is just when its me and him, and he holds my hand, he is my little buddy.  I love it when completly out of the blue says "I love you", or "I like you". One of Casey and my favorite things to do with Cooper is sing him his special song at bedtime.  Mine is a made up tune about "Cooperophagus, is my dinosaur.  He's rough and he's tough, and really really nice, ect."  He listens closely to all the lyrics.  Casey's song is "Good night sweet heart", but he always changes sweetheart to whatever superhero or animal that is appropriate for the night.  Casey always knows when he has picked the right thing because Cooper always nods his head yes when it is the right thing.  We love our Cooper, he keeps things lively in our house.
 

 Last our little Roonie.  Why do we call him that you ask?  Well when Chase was just little he would curl up in a U shape.  We would laugh and say he looks like a piece of macaroni.  It shortened and it stuck and now he is Chase-a-roonie, roons, ect.  He loves balls and his favorite game is fetch.  The other kids love paying chase with Chase.  He loves to be outside and throws a big fit when the other kids get to go out and he doesn't, he will bring you his shoes and stand by he door.  We have to keep all of our doors chained because he has figured out how to open them which causes a problem because his second favorite thing is to play in the toilet!  When someone forgets to close the bathroom door, we have a family phrase of "bathroom alert!!"  Everyone is supposed to run to 'the bathroom, get Chase out and close and lock the door.  We have it down pretty good, but he has been able to play in the toilet a time or two.  He and Cooper just got tubes in their ears and their adenoids removed.  Chase was not too excited about this but he will be once he finished healing.  When Chase goes down for a nap and before bedtime I hum him a lullaby, he is so adorable when he hums with you or when he is really tired he will go get a blankie, find me and with blankie by his head start humming the song.  Chase is such an addition to our home he is so sweet and very ticklish and we love hearing his little laugh.

     Casey is up to no good!  He came home from work a few weeks ago and told me he was getting a bonus from work and he wanted to use it to buy a new TV.  He thought he could slip one past me, but I can always tell when he isn't telling me the whole truth.  I asked him if Rick, his boss, was giving him the bonus, and he kind of dodged the question, telling me more about the TV he wanted.  Come to find out their was no Real bonus just a nice wife who thought if he would go to all the time thinking up all this mumbo jumbo then he could by his own Christmas present.  Just to make this clear  he was always meaning "he says" that the "bonus" came from his own pay check for a job well done that month.  He won't have anything to open on Christmas because he couldn't wait.  He is still buying and selling homes in Indianapolis, and drilling oil wells in Kentucky, but the reverse mortgages here in Utah are our bread and butter.

     Me, I don't do much other than laundry, cleaning, homework, cooking, and hair once a week.  I like exercising and would like to get more sleep.  My favorite things we did this year was go to Hawaii.  It was nice to get away from the everyday grind of things, and to remember that my husband is still my boy friend and we still have fun being together with just the two of us.  I love my family, and I look forward to the future and enjoy the present.  Life is good!!

     Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hawaii

In August we had the opportunity to go to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary and we had the most amazing time!!!  The weather was great and the island of Oahu was beautiful though I did picture it a tad bit different then it was.  We forgot our camera so we had to take all the pictures on Casey's phone, but it still took us two months to get around to uploading them to our computer so we can post this blog!! The first day we grabbed a bite of breakfast at Dukes a restaurant right on the beach (coconut syrup, Yummy), got all of our souvenirs bought, drove around the island, went to a Macedonian farm, checked into our condo in Turtle bay area, bought some groceries (yikes, it was expensive) and chilled on the beach @ Turtle bay.  We hiked a little ways on the beach so there wasn't so many people where we layed out.  It was hard work reading a book, taking a nap, and playing in the water in the middle of the day.  We even got a free show that 1st day on the beach.  How you might ask, well Fabio (is the name we choose for our new friend) came walking by me, in a hammock style thong speedo, chanting and dancing something to his 2 little furry stuffed animals.  Casey was in the water while the "episode" took place and its taking all I've got to keep from busting up laughing and thinking where is Casey when i need him.  My friend "Fabio" even did some bum slapping. I'm telling ya watch out Vegas Fabio is on his way.  Cas came back over to me just laughing, apparently he didn't miss the show he just didn't want to interrupt.  Day 2:  We got up and fixed us some breakfast at the condo then went to the Dole plantation (were I learned how to properly select and cut a pineapple), we had lunch there which was yummy pineapple ice cream. Then we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Tracy trying some fresh pineapple at the Dole plantation.

Riding the train at the Dole plantation looking at the acres and acres of pineapple!

Casey just had to get a picture of his favorite tropical plant!!

Here we are at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  This was a fun place and we learned a lot of interesting things.  Note for next time though, do not get a tour guide and do not pay for the luau, it was not worth the money!  They are good at upselling on the phone and I had no idea what I was suppose to be getting.  Oh well, we still had a blast and even more fun when we went back the next day to do some of the things we didn't have time to do with our guided tour group.

I volunteered Casey to go up and help out for the Tongan show.  He got to play the drums and yell and scream into the microphone, everyone after the show kept calling Casey "Utah", which was what the Tongan guy kept calling him.  Because we were cheap we did not buy the pictures from the center, we just took a picture of them!

This was at the big show at the end of the night.  Very fun, especially the fire dancers at the end.

We hiked Diamond Head.  We only had one hour until it closed so we had to book it, but we had time for a few pics along the way.  This was an old machine gun station used during WWII.

A look down at the Diamond Head lighthouse.

Looking down on Honolulu and Waikiki beach.

Turtle.

This was our 2nd day at Poly we learned how to play the ukulele, weave leaves into fishes and headbands, and I learned how to do the Hula!

Golfing on the beach!

They wouldn't let me wear my sandals on the coarse so I had to wear these beauties w/ no socks.  I had a few blisters when i was done.  Which took a while b/c I swung that dang club about 15 times each time I went to hit before I actually made contact with the ball.

All along the North Shore there are tons for fresh shrimp shacks.  After a little trial and error we found the best one of all.  They serve the best shrimp and oh it was good out of this piece of crap van/bus and they let you sign your name on it.  We also liked North shore for food and we found a salon that had a lady that gave one heck of a massage!

Sunset on the beach

One of our favorite places was Pearl Harbor.  This was an interesting and solemn place.  Going to see the USS Arizona memorial was something to remember.  Over 900 brave sailors are entombed in this sunken ship.

You can see the black oil still spilling out the the fuel tanks.

We each had to take our turn shooting the bad guys.

Another  fun thing we did, but not really worth the money was a submarine ride.  That's me going down into the sub.  We saw some cool fish and some turtles and some old ship and airplane wreckage all at about 100 feet below sea level, but really going snorkeling you can see most all that stuff anyway.

I think our favorite part was when we hiked to Manoa Falls.  This was the most beautiful hike we had ever been on, this little jungle was exactly what I pictured Hawaii like.  The falls itself wasn't that spectacular, but getting there and back was!  Right when we got there it started down pouring!  We took shelter under a tree and when we both realized we were already soaked we decided to just hike in the rain. 

We had to try to climb a tree and swing on some vines while we were in the jungle.

We also really loved swimming/ walking/ boogie boarding, from a beach out to this little island called Goat Island.  It was like it was our own secluded island b/c their really wasn't any one on it until we went to leave.  We walked around the whole thing, found some cool shells and stuff.  We also loved snorkeling.  Especially once we bought our own snorkel stuff.  One day we went to snorkel at Hanauma Bay (which was crazy with people) their was a line of people to get in and a lady that worked their was walking by telling us that there was sighting of a shark but he wasn't a threat yadda yadda and I asked her so you don't think I'll be bothered even though I have this big cut on my foot?  You could have heard a pin drop, everyone around me was staring at me and waiting for the poor workers answer.  I quickly said I was kidding and don't be alarmed (though I was secretly hoping I would clear the water when I got in). We also really liked the North shore for snorkeling and food. 

We were all set to go to the temple while we were there but it was closed for renovations so we just took some pictures.  We even made a special trip to a clothing store for Cas b/c he "forgot" his church cloths.

The last day we wanted to make sure we weren't going to get stuck in traffic when we should be at the airport.  So we decided to just chill on Wikiki beach.  We had to check out of our condo earlier so we didn't have towls or anything with us so Cas pulled a Michael Weston (Burn Notice) move and said, "If you act like you belong as a member of this hotel no one will question".  He became a member and snagged us some towls and we even dipped in their pool to rinse off before we had to leave for the airport.

Going to Hawaii was easily the funnest vacation Casey and I have ever been on.  We had a blast going and doing things by ourselves.  We were excited to see the kids though when we got home and are very grateful to Joy, Steve, Lisa, Cindy, Mom and Denny, and Janette and family for helping out with them while we were gone, especially Joy and Lisa.  We would go again in a heartbeat if we could afford it and if all these wonderful people would babysit again, but since both of those aren't possible, we'll just have to wait.