Memorial Day

 We got together at Bret's grave a week after Memorial Day. It is always so nice to gather as a family!

Fireplace

The fireplace is decorated! We just need to finish the sides of the built-ins and then we are done. So happy with how it turned out. Russ truly is amazing with his carpentry skills!

Hallie

 Hallie has had a busy and stressful month of May. May, in general, is usually stressful because of soccer tryouts. About 2 weeks before tryouts Hallie's coach for the last 4 years, Parker, decided he was no longer going to coach anymore. His daughter, Ryan, was done playing and he decided to be done as well. Russ thought this might be coming but I felt completely blindsided. We love Parker. He is a fantastic coach. He found a way to focus on development of the players all while staying competitive and keeping playing time pretty even. There has been zero drama between the girls and the parents in the lats 4 years, which is rare to come by. He is unique in that he knows the game of soccer so well and also knows how to coach it too. He maintains a big picture perspective and doesn't just worry about the scoreboard. Needless to say, we are devastated to lose him. 

The coach's that will be replacing Parker are Ady's dad (Tim) and Kam's dad (Jared). Jared in particular is one of the most negative people I have ever met. I have sat and watched him and Tim bicker all season long and trash talk everyone they can. They have coached previous Copper Mountain teams and not a single parent or player has much positive to say about them. Obviously this makes a very nervous. We want soccer to be a positive experience for Hallie. And we know by experience how much a negative coach can influence a player. They can break their confidence and sometimes ruin their love for the sport. I quit basketball in high school due to a yelling coach and Russ quit baseball due to a negative coach. 

Hallie would like to stay with her team. She loves her teammates and wants to play up with the 7th graders. For about 10 days we went back and forth with our options. Do play at her grade level? Do we opt to play for the B team but still play up? Do we move clubs? We talked to several people, including Parker, to get their perspective and opinions on everything. We were quite open with Tim about our concerns with him and Jared. We made it very clear that our number 1 priority is that Hallie has a good experience with soccer. After lots of conversations, we decided to play for Tim's team and give him a shot. If it's a bad experience, then we will go somewhere else next year. Hallie was happy we came to that conclusion. 

After the first day of tryouts, Tim offered Hallie an official position on his team. We are thrilled she made the A team playing up a year. She has the talent to compete and be an integral player on this team. We are excited to see what she does this coming season! Congrats, Hallie. You should be so proud of yourself!

Parker's last game as Hallie's head coach

2025-2026 Team
Kam, Scarlett, Christa, Aubrey, Madison, Ady, Yaitsah
Ryan, Elsie, Sadie, Hallie, Liyah

End of season stats. They had a fantastic year as a team!

Attempting to make the name "Parker" with their bodies

Spring Premier Champs

Goldfish

School friends (Hallie, Navy, Gavin, Nash, Aaron)

Sadie's birthday party

Training with Coach Nik

End of year swimming party with her softball team

Official offer letter! Congrats Halburger!

Christa's bday party

Training with Ura

Field day at school

Raef and Hallie

Navy and Hallie enjoying a Mother's Day treat at church

No surprise at all that Hallie is surrounded by boys. The majority of her friends at school are boys.
Carter, Carson, Jack, Raef, Sawyer, Hallie, Hudson (Hallie's current crush. Oh boy.)

  

Kids

May was crazy and somehow this is all the pictures I got of the kids this month. This month, the kids barricaded the downstairs with the couch cushions from the basement. We went to Griffey's baptism. Played at the splash pad in our clothes.  

Stockton

This month, Stockton pet a baby goat at preschool. Took random naps in random places, one time with his hand through the middle of a stuffed animal. Dominated on the soccer field. Had a play date with Zeke and loved playing coach pitch baseball!