Stadium of Fire

The day finally came!! We bought these stadium tickets back in March! (March 4 to be exact. I had to go back through all my email to find the tickets because it had been so long!).

Anyway, this is a family tradition of Charley's and we've sort of adopted it. We are going to try to go every other year or so. The last time we went was when Miley was there. Last year we didn't have kids (and it was Jonas Brothers) so we didn't go. But this year was Brad Paisley. How can you pass that up? I haven't seen Brad since the time I met him back stage, and I love his music.

Last time we were late, so this time Charley wanted to leave extra early. We left at 5:30. Got to Provo at 6:15. Um, no traffic this time, we had two hours until it started. Went right to a parking lot and walked up to the stadium. It was a VERY HOT 98 degrees!

We didn't eat before because Charley didn't want to risk being late. So at the stadium we grabbed snacks and water. Nate was so excited they had a Nathan's Hot Dogs there! That's what he got for his snack.

Then it was the hike to our seats. Keep in mind, we bought the most inexpensive seats there were. Bleacher, way high up. We did know this going in. What we did not know, is exactly how HIGH the seats were. As we started hiking up, we were in the EAST bleachers... which happened to be the only section in the sun at that time of night. It was also facing the sun. These balls were at the half way point. They use them in Brad's show. I've seen before where they bounce the balls during one of his songs.

When we finally got to our seats, we were on the VERY last row. Those steps are steep... I thought I was going to die half way up. And then we had to sit there in the sun for 45 minutes. We were DYING of heat!! Note to self: No more seats on the East side! We wanted more water, but weren't about to take the HIKE back down to get some. Here's a view of the stage from our seats. I got an email last Tuesday saying that Brad's crew was already in town building the biggest stage in Stadium of Fire's history. Hmmm. Not sure this stage looked all that big, but it was cool, none the less.

Soon, the show started. The announcers came out, and then we could see the parachuters. The plane actually dropped them out right above our heads. There were 5 of them, and the last one down brought the flag... I'm so impressed how they can land right on the field!

They also line the field with dancers, and service men. They have a salute to them. The pledge. The national Anthem (sung by David Archuletta that was awesome. Started as a video of when he was 12, moved to real time). And then the flyover. It was right above our heads.. or so it seamed... and rumbled the entire stadium! I just love all the patriotism there.

As the program started, and the sun started to go down, we actually decided we had the best seats. There was a fence behind us that we could lean against. (The other rows had the option to purchase a stadium seat or $5 to lean against). We had a seat back built in. We stood up and looked over the fence (I had to stand on my tip toes to see over) and there was a grassy shady area there. We are going to go sit there next year!!! LOL. Also, we were able to stand on our seats (because they give you a very narrow 12 inches of bum space and it was quite crowded) and see everything. We stood the entire time!!

I have a hard time getting my husband to smile in pictures. After Nate attempting about 20 shots and a lesson in smiling, this was the best photo we could get:

And of course, what Stadium is noted for... the fireworks show. Charley and I have a running debate on whose fireworks are better. Stadium's or Disneyland's. Although Stadium fireworks are pretty awesome, nothing (in my book) will ever top Disneyland! Now, it could be the fact that you are just standing on main street, and they are all Disney themed, I'm not sure. But none the less, they are better. And stadium is a close second :)

I'm glad we went to Stadium this year. It was awesome. After a 2 hour traffic jam back to Salt Lake city, we were starving!! So, we stopped at Village Inn on the way home. (It was 1 AM by this time!). Had an awesome breakfast before heading home to bed.

Happy 4th to all of our family & friends. We are so grateful for the country we live in and the freedom we enjoy. Thank you to everyone who made that possible. Including our three nephews currently serving: Carl, Matt & Chris. We love you all.

Why oh Why...

... is it so hard to blog?? I'm stumped. Believe it or not, I love to blog. I love to read them and I love to update. But for some reason, I'm averaging about 6 months between posts!! I think what happens is I just get so behind that I just get overwhelmed. So here's my attempt to get back on the blogging train.

It's Mother's day. Every time Mother's day comes around, I feel so honored and grateful to be a mom. I am a mom to a wonderful 11 year old boy. I really thought I would have more children. I didn't want to stop after one child. Apparently Heavenly Father had other plans in store for me. When I divorced, I thought my dreams of more children were over. I have since been blessed with two beautiful step daughters. Although I have no idea if more children are in store for me, I am grateful for what I have. A family who adores me.

I have had a wonderful day. Time spent with family. At church I watched as Nate sang with the primary for the last time on Mother's Day. Yes, I practically had to push him out off his seat to go up there, but when I asked him to go up and sing for me the last time, he did it. And he did a great job. It seems like just yesterday I was so excited to watch him sing on Mother's day for the very FIRST time!! Watching him, I realize that he is the reason I strive to be a better mom every day. He needs me and depends on me, and even though he may not realize, he motivates me to be a better person.

Pumpkin Carvin'

It's already that time of year... Fall! Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all around the corner. Charley and Nate love to carve pumpkins with those patterns in those carving kits. But as you can see from the pic below, pulling the GUTS is NOT Charley's favorite part...

So he quickly turned the job over to Nate.. who doesn't so much mind it. I just laugh at them both, because i don't really get into the carving...

But they do a great job! Here's Charley getting ready to light it...

And I had to take this picture just so you could get an idea for the size of this pumpkin!! I think Nate chose the biggest one in the lot... Good thing they were only 8cents a pound over at Winco!

And here's the masterpiece! Didn't they do a great job??? We do always leave them inside because I'm always afraid they will get smashed or kicked or something. But for sure we will take it with us to the trunk or treat and put it out on Halloween...

2009 in Review...

We actually had a fairly busy year.. looking back! Here's just a brief rundown of some of the highlights.



January
In January we had a New Year's party at the Boyds. It was Fondue & Fun! the kids played on the WII, they guys watched videos, and the girls scrapbooked. Everyone was happy! We also had a superbowl party here at the house. Everyone had those goofy 3D glasses on for the commercials. I have the cutest picture of ALL the kids on the love sac, but of course, I can't find it!! So bugged!!



February
Charley turned 40! I had to rub it in a little by having a huge surprise party for him. Well, it turns out it wasn't a huge surprise, but it was still a lot of fun! We rented out a room at the fitness center, and we probably had 50 or more there! We had pizza, cake, and then everyone enjoyed the facility swimming, racquetball, the fun zone, etc.

March
Charley's sister Heather, her husband Craig & their three kids moved in! Their house sold so quickly they needed a place to stay FAST! We had so much fun with them living here. I was really able to get to know the them and kids. Turns out they would be here three months, and the time flew by! They are now happily living around the corner, close enough we still see them often! this is a picture of all the kids on Easter. So fun to see all the easter baskets lined up on the piano!!

April
Nate had his first piano recital! He had only been taking piano for a few weeks, and he did awesome! He played two songs, and he sure looks sharp in a suit!!

May
We had so many birthday parties and celebrations to go to. But, unfortunately we also received the news that Charley's work would be filing for bankruptcy and he would be losing his job. This was so stressful, and it's hard to keep in mind that there's a reason for it. It would be some leaps of faith and some long months as Charley looks for a new job.

June
On the upside, in June we celebrated our first anniversary... IN HAWAII!! Charley had some airline vouchers and we have a time share, so the trip was pretty much paid for. (Otherwise, we would never have been able to get there). 4 short days, but so much fun. This is by far my most favorite vacation.

July
Nate starts 4th grade! Can't believe how fast he's growing up!! Holly also started 6th grade.. her last year of elementary school! Since they are on year round, their summer is cut a little short. Lucky for Nate though, it's only three short weeks until he goes on his first off track!

August
This was kind of another "down" month. Charley gets in a car accident in the Honda. Just something to add more stress, but it turns out ok. We are able to get it fixed quick enough to take our two fun road trips planned for September! On a brighter note, Lauren started HIGH school!! Can't believe how grown up she is! She loves to be social, so she's going to love it.

September
There were a couple weeks with LOTS of miles packed in. We traveled to Montana with Charley's family for Labor day weekend. I got to meet Charley's brother James & his family for the first time, and they are so much fun! After that long road trip, we rested one day and turned around and drove to Disney! This was another SHORT but sweet trip that we kind of lucked into. We were able to spend time with Charley's parents which is always fun.

October
Nate really wanted to play baseball, so we signed him up over in Taylorsville. It was half way between us and his friend Christian that wanted to be on the same team. It was so much fun to team coach and our boys (plus one girl) did awesome! Way to go cardinals!!




November
November is kind of a blur! LOL. I did 3 boutiques in November which is crazy busy! I am just getting back into them, and forgotten how much WORK they are! I loved every minute of it though. It also helped bring in extra income for the kids' christmas. Who knows how we would have managed otherwise??




December
Last but not least, December! Charley had his first overnight Christmas with the girls since the divorce. We had all three kids here christmas morning, and it was so fun! Definately different with more than one child opening gifts... but so much more enjoyable! Who would have thought that all three kids would be "calling us from their cell phones" at 6:30 AM to get us out of bed to see what Santa brought!!

Well, that's the year in a nutshell! Looking forward to a busy & brighter 2010~

More Christmas

So, we told the kids they couldn't go downstairs until we all went down together. You'll never guess who the first one up was... YUP, 6:30 our phone rings.. it's Lauren!! When we walked out the door all three kids were sittin in the hall outside the door. I love that the kids still get excited.

Lauren got some jewelry & books from Santa. Holly got a dance bag and some jewelry from Santa. Both girls also got a camera, & all the accessories to go with them, beaded watches and itunes cards from us.

Nate got legos, bionicles, and a nerf gun from Santa. From us, rather than getting him a camera, he was so hard to shop for. He ended up with a gift card so he could go shopping.

I can't believe how FAST three kids can open presents!! So, since we were done in a sum total of 20 minutes, Charley and I went back to bed!!

After that it was headed out to grandma J's. Here's just a few fun pictures.

This is everyone that was there... Minus me (taking the picture) and my mom and dad who were washing the dishes! Everyone that know my parents know that dishes do NOT sit in the sink.. EVER! Even on Christmas.

And I don't even remember when the last time my sisters and I had our picture taken just the three of us. But I like this one.. even if I do look like a "midget" as Michelle would say...

Christmas Eve...

We were able to have all the kids overnight for Christmas eve. Actually, it was Charley's first overnight Christmas with the girls in several years. We picked them up around 2 on christmas eve and headed straight to my parent's family party. Every year (started on christmas eve, but since, the date has varied a little because of family schedules). The Jamison family party is the one time that my dad takes the entire family to a nice restaurant and pays for everything. He loves to do it and we all love to get together.

This year's party was at Mimi's. We missed Craig's family because his wife had surgery, but it was fun to get everyone together. Here's a picture of 10 of the 12 grandkids.


It took them so long to get in one place for the picture, that we told them to make a silly face too. This picture is so funny!

And a couple quick pictures of our family.

Aren't my parents the cutest?

Michelle's Family:

And Erin's Family:

Afterwards, everyone went to my parents for the traditional pajamas. We actually didn't go this year. Instead, we took the girls back to our place and made gingerbread houses. My parents gave us this kit for Thanksgiving. (They always give a christmas decor gift to the families at thanksgiving). Nate has been dying to put it together, but we told him he had to wait until the girls were here.

This kids got bored of the gingerbread house pretty early and started eating the candy. We also went and visited Heather's family and also went over to our friend Denise & Carlos's to visit and exchange gifts. It was fun for the girls to see their cousins and to visit with friends.

Our 2009 Christmas Card

Here it is! This year's Christmas card. Believe it or not, this year's cards were actually quite a point of contention! (I'll explain). But anyway, I think they turned out great for last minute...


If you didn't get yours in the mail, I'm so-0 sorry! I found a stack the sunday after Christmas that never made it to the mail. It's because I mailed all the out of state ones and several of the in state ones... then had to buy more stamps. (As you can tell, I never bought more stamps). But, I did get the majority of them out.

Not bad for last minute cards eh? Ok, now for the contention explanation...

I had scheduled family pictures 3 different times... but we have 3 busy children and never made it to any of the photo shoots. My goal now is to get family pictures sometime before next year's cards!! We shall see (LOL).

I actually debated not sending cards this year. It was a week before Christmas and I didn't even have a game plan. But you know, me, I am a procrastinator... thus I work VERY well under pressure. And for those that know me, knows that I LOVE cards, both making and sending, so how could I pass it up this year??

So Thursday before Christmas eve (I think it was the 17th) I bought these dollar hats from Michaels. We picked up the girls and took these pictures over at the district by their house. I uploaded them to Costco Thursday night, and Friday afternoon... viola! Christmas cards. They were in the mail Friday night (well the ones that made it to the mail). Did I mention that I love Costco photo??


What do you think of the pictures? Not bad for an ametuer, eh? I actually love the way they turned out, and the kids were surprisingly cooperative!. The whole photo shoot was a sum total of 20 minutes, but they were freezing... Sorry kids!

Can you tell which of the kids likes to get their picture taken, and which ones would prefer to go without? Holly was dying to get pictures taken by this light post also. Afterwards, I actually liked those best, so they're the ones that ended up on the card.

And this is my favorite one. I love the way this picture turned out! Charley did NOT want his picture taken at ALL. (This is why we aren't on the card.. haha). But he ended up liking this picture a lot, and wished I was in it too. Maybe next year we can get pictures with all of us.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and thank you for ALL the wonderful cards we received.