The madness has begun.....

Can I just say I have really grown to LOVE March Madness. Despite it being during spring break every year. Despite the fact that Lexi's birthday always lands during the games. Despite the fact my husband takes two of his precious vacation days for the first two days of March Madness. Despite kids running around, making messes and trying to yell over the games. Despite the fact that I spend much of my time cleaning up and preparing the food for the day. Despite the fact that we spend more money on our March Madness party than we do for our anniversary, birthdays, valentines....etc, etc. Truly, I am getting into the Madness almost as much as Jeff does (if that is possible).

This morning I got up early, quickly got the girls dressed for the day sporting the cheer leading outfits of the teams we were rooting for. I finished off the shopping list that Jeff made for me, and headed out the door. I gathered everything that we needed for the big games and rushed back home. When I arrive, the kids want food, my husband needs my help putting up the large bracket and we still have a load of groceries in the car. This is just a little sample of what my day was like. Let's just say, it will be like that for the next three weekends! March Madness is too literal around here.

Jeff goes all out. First of all. We get all 4 games at the same time. This is made possible to Directv and their March Madness package which we have to have.
Jeff also gets a bracket blown up to about 32'x48" for one of our basement walls. Everyone who comes to watch the game signs the bracket and a ball.

Our door is open to anybody that is daring enough to come over and endure the madness!! No really, it's not that bad. In fact below are some pics of family and friends who came over today (sorry Matt R. we were charging the camera when you came).

.









We really could dedicate an entire blog to Marchania (that's what we call it in our home). Since, I have so much I could write about the games today I will have to narrow it down. I thought it was fun that the three teams we root for: Kansas, UNLV and BYU were playing today (I know you Mountain West Confrencers will not understand how you can like UNLV and BYU). Unfortunately, only Kansas and UNLV won their games. Of all the teams to face off against each other, these two teams will be facing off on Saturday. We will have a divided house. Most of us will be rooting for Kansas. Jeff, who was born and raised in Vegas will always be loyal to his child hood team. He roots for KU his Alma Mater but, will have a hard time doing that against UNLV. The last time I remember them playing in a tournament (a little over 10 years ago) we almost broke up. I remember Kansas beating UNLV and Jeff saying that the officiating was unfair (of course). I had to stick up for my team! I wont go into details but, let's just say it got heated!! A repeat of that night would not be fun, especially with guests!

Well, this is just a glimpse of our Cooper madness. Come see it for yourselves. Our house is always open for every game!! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK.........

Playing catch up....

I know many of you have given up on us! I told Jeff that when you don't post frequently enough that people stop checking your blog and then it doesn't even matter any more. Well, we are going to try to be more consistent (that's the story of our lives). I wanted to post some pics from Disneyland back in January. We went with Jeff's family for one day and met up with some of our best friends, the Geddes family on the second day.

Our kids with the Geddes kids: Max, Braden, Lauren, Lexi, Ali, Kate, Ashlyn

Cooper and Geddes Girls with Snow White (not to state the obvious)

Coops with Frozone

Ashlyn fell asleep while she and I were waiting for a ride around midnight. We were waiting to get on Alice and Wonderland when it got stuck. We were stuck in a pack of people and couldn't get out of line. I would have held her but, I was holding Reese and Jeff was on another ride with the older kids. Just felt like I had to explain because I felt guilty, though it was funny.

Ashlyn and I riding together. My sis-in-law Aimee was in back.

Jeff and Max in the front. His bro Jeremy and his son Caleb. In the second car was Bryson and Justin.

Waiting in line with the cousins

Ashlyn with her favorite Aunt Annie and Uncle Jutin. Justin puts up with a lot. All of the kids love him and are always climbing all over him.

Needless to say we had a good time. We hope we can do it again in two years! I have lots of great pics that I need to email to the Coopers and Geddes's.

Well, I have a lot more catching up to do. Some recent fun things.

• Lexi got her ears pierced.
• I turned 30!
  
• We finally got new carpet in our front room, that was my b-day present and I love it!
  
• Gearing up for March Madness (an entire blog should be made to cover this huge ordeal in our house).
• Reese had a 9 mos. appointment and they said she is in the 30% . The Dr. and I both think a mistake was made somehow. She is a chunk!
• Jeff was moved to another department at Sprint. He will still be doing Multi-Media.
• Max started Spring soccer, Jeff is coaching.
  

So once again, a pledge to be better at blogging. Get ready for Madness.....Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!

UPDATED!!!! Streaky Blogger

Okay, so I'm back, but not at full strength though. I've lost a lot of my desire to write. Blogging every other day was tough. It took a toll on me mentally. Being mentally tough has always been a weakness of mine. Even as Boy Scout I felt guilty reciting the last few lines of the Scout Oath, "To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." I'm usually awake... but not mentally. I'm a day dreamer. Just today as I opened up the internet to browse over to my blog, I got lost on the Apple site watching movie trailers. My life could be compared to your typical shooter in basketball. Some days I'm on fire, but other days, I couldn't pee into the ocean. Is there something wrong with me? Is this the mid-life crisis every one's warned me about. I hope not.

Maybe I can blame my lack of mental stability on an accident I had as child. Actually... I could probably point to several, but we'll start with this one. When I was about five years old, I was playing with a skateboard on our driveway. Sidenote... I'm not sure if it was my skateboard, but I highly doubt it because my parents were too cheap to buy me cool toys. My dad is an accountant with an extra large rubber band on his wallet who refused to get his kids anything he didn't have as a child. As for my mom, I don't know if she was part of my dad's master plan to NOT spend money on cool toys from the beginning, or if she was promised lots of exotic trips when the kids left the house. I'm just not sure. I don't have any physical evidence, but by the time I was four, she was definitely on board. Okay, back to the story. The driveway was somewhat steep.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, that's as far as Jeff got. He wrote that early this week and told me he's not ready to post yet. He just needs a little encouragement. I am going to post what he has. The rest is to be continued...........

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, so my mom read the blog and fired back a response. She sounds a little upset:

"Jeffrey, Your dad and I may have been just a little tight, but I don't think you kids suffered in any way!! I think you have all turned out pretty darn good. Wonderful children, now adults, with children of their own. Let's see how well you do!! Love you brown eyed boy!! Oh, and by the way, I do think the skateboard was yours!! Or maybe it was Kyle Brown's. Remember that squirrelly little Brown kid, down the street?? "Head On, rub directly on your forehead" "Head On, rub directly to your forehead" " Head On, rub directly to your forehead" If you haven't seen this obnoxious TV commercial on CNN then you won't understand the humor in it!! You went "head on" into Scottie Mac's truck!!! More power to ya big guy.....love ya mom"

I love my mom. We are very similar. Did you notice how she got distracted and changed subjects in the middle of her email? Mom, you are special. You're so special... I'm going to let you finish the skateboard accident:

"Now we all know the story of the Great Hiawatha, a narrative poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I am sure we are related, since my poems of the grandchildren will be legendary someday also...long, long, way long, after I am gone, anyway, I guess Jeffrey was trying to become legendary in his own mind, by imitating the great Indian warriors who would scalp their enemies in times of war, gloriously blazing through the camp, scalp in hand, yelping, dancing, celebrating over their victory...can't you just picture it?? Maybe a little too "heady" for some of you, oh, sorry, that was such a "hairbrained" comment, at any rate, what a sight! Well, Jiffy Boy had it backwards!! Bravely the little warrior got on his trusty, little, skateboard, belly first, and decided he would go on the war path. Zooming like an arrow down our steep driveway, he could feel the breeze rushing through his hair as he and his trusted skateboard Pronto rode to victory......onward and forward they flew not seeing the immediate danger which lay ahead of our brave, little warrrior. Alas, a parked truck, lay in wait for our little Indian boy, Hia"scoff"a. As our little brave, bravely braced himself, he rode UNDER the truck. The cutting steel of the belly of the truck, grabbed Hia"scoff"a's beautiful, black hair and scalped the little Indian boy, much to his humiliation and horror!! Oh, alas, no war dance tonight mamma!!! In shame he went, not crying, brave little Indian boy, to his beautiful mother, Indian Princess Lovealoveahooeyhop (that's me, if you couldn't tell) to which she brillantly stated, "Gee, I wonder if I should take you to the doctor." You see, the lovely Princess was not at all flustered or panicked, having seen many wars daily with her lively, little Cooper Indian tribe. Gore and blood, as well as trips to the emergency room were pretty common around this camp. Luckily, a good friend, Warrior Scotty Mac, said, "Ah, yeh, I ah, think you better take him". Twelve or maybe it was thirteen, or it could have been more or less stitches latter...it was a LOT, I know that, the little warrior and his beautiful Princess mother headed home, back to the tee-pee to tell the tale 'round the campfire that night. And so you see, a lesson had been learned..."Be a smart Duckee, No more skateboard around the Truckee!!" The End "

Okay, I'm about to wet my pants. That was great mom. She is so creative. Mom, thanks for the poem. Well, I hope you enjoyed the entry. Mom, was that you? Smells like Cooper.

Who's slacking now???

Jeff!! So, I distinctively remember Jeff telling me when he started the blog that he wanted me to take turns posting every other day. In fact, on one of Jeffs previous posts he states:

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I think Bubba has given up on our blog. She will not write. Maybe she's got a case of blog fright. It happens."

Who's got blog fright now? Maybe it was Disneylands Tower of Terror that still has him scared (I was hoping Jeff would blog about our trip). As I was taking Jeff to work today (because we are down to one car) I asked him when he was going to update our blog. He said he was tired of it and was done blogging!! Can you believe that? I hate to admit that I will be sad if that is true. Even though he makes jokes at my expense, I do find his posts entertaining. Here we go again, back to the polls. I am sorry, I know polls can get annoying (at least ours wont be wrong like the political ones) but, I think we need to get Jeff back into blogging. What do you think? Take the poll to the right.

~Becky

My annoying husband.....and My favorite things

Okay, so the title might sound harsh but, I awoke early this morning to my husband chanting loudly "Reeebels....Reeebels....Reeebels". Apparently he was looking forward to the evenings big UNLV basketball game.



I will be the first to admit that I am grumpy when I wake up. Mornings, naps, anytime I wake up I am grumpy. (It's a Rowe thing). The thing is, I didn't even have to wake up as early this morning because my kids are all ready out for Christmas vacation. I was selfishly looking forward to an extra half hour of shut-eye. This kind of thing is not uncommon for Jeff. He is such a morning person and I am the complete opposite. He has woken me up at like 5am before just to talk. Some may think this is sweet but, I am sorry, I have a hard time even thinking that early. So, Jeff is chanting his "Runnin Rebels" chant so loudly that it wakes all 4 kids up. They all begin to pile into our bed. Jeff decides it's a good time to talk to our kids about their different birth stories. I am still trying to ignore and maybe get a minute more of sleep. So, he purposely asks questions like, "What pregnancy would you say was your hardest pregnancy?", "Which was the most painful pregnancy?", "What child was easiest to give birth to?". I mean, who asks these kind of questions first thing in the morning? Jeff is well meaning. Just like a child who has more energy than they know what to do with.

...On to my favorite things. I was tagged to post "My favorite things" from my friend Linds. Here goes.

1. My 5 kids (4 not including Jeff)
2. Email
3. Saturdays, as long as I don't have a chocolate fountain
4. The Readers Digest
5. Ice Cream
6. Clearance sections
7. Craigslist
8. Snow days
9. Hanging out with family and friends
10. The smell of Fall
11. Shoes
12. The Plaza lights

13. The service that I constantly see people give
14. Laughter - yes, this is a good thing being married to Jeff
15. KU Basketball
16. 24
17. Fox News
18. Out in the Barn and The Cottage Door - fabulous, unique home decor
19. Games, I love to play games and watch game shows
20. Christmas- This is the best time of year!

What are some of your favorite things?

----Becky

Bubba needs your help!!!

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I think Bubba has given up on our blog. She will not write. Maybe she's got a case of blog fright. It happens. Remember when Donny Osmond battled through a severe case of stage fright? Seriously, I'm not joking. I saw it on E! True Hollywood Story. Now, this is just one man's opinion, but I think Donny was going through puberty and couldn't hit his high notes in Puppy Love. Okay, you've got to watch this. I about wet my pants watching it. Clean up in aisle five.



Speaking of the Osmonds...did anyone see Marie collapse on Dancing with the Stars? I know this is old, but it's funny.



That was great. The Osmonds are a train wreck. Marie is the Mormon version of Britney Spears.

Anyways, back to Bubba. Perhaps she doesn't want to write because she'll be turning 30 in a couple of months...mid-life crisis. Or maybe...she's pregnant. She was snoring last night. That's one of her pregnant signs. All women have them. Bubba snores when she's pregnant. No kidding. If Bubba is pregnant...remember who broke the story first. Oh, she's going to be mad. So, I'm begging everyone to send comments to our blog and give Bubba words of encouragement. Tell her she's a good writer. Tell her that her new hair cut looks nice. Tell her having 5 children isn't difficult.

Let me conclude what perhaps might be my final blog with these delightful pictures from our Church Christmas Party the other night. Click on the link below to take a look. Most people know to click on a link, but those directions are mainly for my mom. I love my mom. She's a great woman, but she struggles with cooking and computers. It must be a C thing. However, I doubt my mom has moved past the previous paragraph because she's probably calling everyone with news that Bubba is pregnant. Mom, it was a joke. She's not pregnant. At least I don't think she is, but Bubba was snoring last night. Bubba, was that you? Smells and snores like Cooper!

***Church Christmas Party Pictures***

***Updated***Christmas at the Coopers!

Update to our blog. I've added a video clip of the kid's bloopers from our Christmas at the Coopers video shoot. I've posted it beneath the original video. I've also started Coop's Sports Scoop. It's a blog dedicated solely to sports! Read it and you'll find out why I started Coop's Sports Scoop. I hate the Spurs.
================================================================
Well, I'm sorry it has taken so long to write again. It's actually Bubba's turn, but she's been busy. I have her on a tighter leash. A lot of our time the past couple of days has been spent indoors. We had an ice storm on Tuesday, and like always, it was way overblown by the weather geeks...err...meteorologists. How do they keep their jobs? How many of us would still be employed if we made as many mistakes as those goof balls? So school was canceled, and I worked from home on Tuesday. We had a lot of fun. We made a video for my show. For those of you who do not know, I host a weekly training video called To the Point (2TP) for Sprint Customer Care Centers. It's not your typical training video. It's more like a cheesy Saturday Night Live or talk show. Each week my production staff and I try to create a short, catchy, cheesy video to open up the show. It can be a lot of fun. My producer had the idea that a quick video clip of Christmas at the Coopers could be somewhat entertaining. So the kids and I did it. Remember, it's cheesy, and Bubba did not want to be in the video because her hair was not done. I thought the main reason she whacked her hair was so it would be easier to do. I still don't get it. Anyways, on with the show!





See, pretty cheesy huh? Max wins an Oscar for over actor of the year. And yes, I get paid to do that. No one ever said you couldn't have fun at work. Don't blame me for your career choice. And besides, I'm sure you all make a lot more money than me.

A couple of things before I close. As I was driving to work this morning listening to the radio, I heard this dreadful remake of We Three Kings by a group called Eclipse out of Utah. It was just horrible. I mean, they had someone Beatboxing to it. I'm sure as the Wisemen were journeying to visit the Baby Jesus they were Beatboxing all the way. Leave Christmas songs alone. Is there some sort of requirement in the music industry that you have to make a Christmas album? Seriously, who wants to listen to Garth Brooks sing Silver Bells, or White Christmas, or heaven forbid, O Little Town of Bethlehem? I'm sure he found some way to insert alcohol, trucks and his dog into the songs. I think the only thing worse than listening to Garth sing Christmas songs would be Britney Spears singing them. Could you imagine Britney singing Joy to the World? That would be just magical listening to the Queen of love and joy spreading Christmas cheer! You know I actually have an album. If you want one for Christmas, just let me know. Here's a sample:



And finally, let's finish with a couple of sports notes. Ron Mexico finally received his sentence for mistreatment of dogs. Lawyer friends, is that the legal term for what he did? Please correct me if I'm wrong. It appears that for the next couple of years Mr. Vick won't be passing the football...or herpes for that matter. I really have a problem with what Mike did. I mean, why in the world would he torture dogs when he could have used cats? Rid the world of cats. There are two things my father in-law and I have in common. One, our love for Rowe (Bubba's maiden name) women, and two, our hatred for cats. I would love to share more about this, but I'll need to save the cat stories for another blog. This entry is already too long.

And, I can't wait to hear George Mitchell's report on baseball's drug culture. He's supposedly going to name Major League Baseball players who have used steroids. At this point, wouldn't it be easier to name players who haven't used steroids? Jeff, was that you? Smells like Cooper.