Jump Team

Nate has been participating in an after school jump rope club.

I have to admit, I had no idea what they did there, just that they stayed after school to jump rope. Nate mentioned "passing off" tricks, and jump offs, but other than that, he didn't really talk a lot about it.

Last week, they had their Jump Team Assembly. WOWZA... was I impressed at all the stuff they can do with a jump rope!!! A lot of the neighborhood kids participated and it was so fun to go and watch what they had been learning all year!

They had solos, duets, group tricks. The jumped with short ropes, long ropes, two ropes. Teams, and everything. They also had awards!

Nate earned the "Master Jumper" award. He was so proud of it. I know he has worked hard, even went over and passed off tricks while they were off track. He really felt like he accomplished something, and he's looking forward to doing it again next year!

Nate & Tyler with their Master Jumper awards. Nate is really going to miss Tyler next year!

Nate's First Paid Job!!

Well, it's kind of a job, but It was paid by me... LOL...

Nate's been begging for a couple years now to mow the lawn to earn money. The weather has FINALLY stopped raining, and we're able to mow the lawn. Charley taught him how. The downside is that our lawnmower isn't self propelled, and our front yard is sloped so Nate had a really hard time pushing it up the hills. I think he now knows why I DISLIKE mowing the lawn!! Believe me, if I would've thought he could handle the lawnmower & the hills earlier, the job would have been his!

Fortunately, the back yard is nice and flat. Rectangle shaped with no obstructions to mow around. (Now that the giant swing set is in Idaho). So, he was able to mow the back lawn and earn a few extra dollars. I had to take a picture though, just because he looked so grown up doing it.

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.

Nate's Recital

It's that time of year again- Spring Recital!

Nate participated in his 3rd recital. I remember back to his first recital. He had only been taking piano lessons for 6 weeks. It's amazing what they learn in a couple of years!! I even watched his this year's recital vs. last years, and can really see the improvement a year makes.

This year's recital was at Riverton music again. Nate's had a lot of support from family. Charley and I were there as well as Dave, Dayna, Dayna's 3 kids, Grandpa R, and Grandpa M.

He looked so handsome, and he did awesome!!

Arrow of Light...

Nate had his "Arrow of Light" ceremony on Tuesday, October 12th. This is the highest award that can be achieved by a cub scout. I'm so proud of him and all the work he has put into scouts. He really enjoys it, and it's such a good program for the boys. He also received his "Heavy Shoulder" award which means he earned all 20 pins in Webelos.

Charley and I have been the Webelos leaders. Nate was the only Webelo for 5 months, but after that, several boys turned 10 so they officially called us to be the den leaders. Gotta admit though, I know nothing about scouts, so Charley has done most of the work. He's great with the boys, and he loves scouts and watching the boys pass off their requirements.

The leaders are great about making the boys feel special when they earn this achievement. Our ward does a "skit" to recognize the scout, and Nate chose the "Outlaw" one. They pretty much had a warrant for his arrest, a trial, and the whole 9 yards.

The leaders also dressed up for the parts.. everything from Sheriff, to baliff, to Judge. They were awesome. All had parts and it came together perfectly!

The pretty much put him on "trial" for "earning his arrow of light." They questioned Nate himself, the den leader (Charley), the mom and the dad (Dave). Just asked us questions to make sure they had all the "facts" before finding him "guilty" of earning his arrow of light.

Afterwards, Brother Pryor presented him with all the awards & certificates.

As part of the ceremony, it's customary for the cub scout to cross the "bridge" to boy scouts. They have all the cub scouts (blue shirts) on one side of the bridge. Nate had to untie the square knot, step on the bridge and re-tie the square knot. He was so nervous about messing this up, but he did great! As he goes across the bridge, the cubs say "goodbye" to Nate. This was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Almost brought tears to my eyes to see Nate so grown up.

Then he crosses the bridge, unties the knot on the other side and the boy scouts (brown shirts) are waiting on the other side to welcome him into "Boy Scouts".

Nate had awesome support from family and friends there. My parents came. Heather and Craig and their kids came. Nate's dad came, as well as his aunt Niki (Dave's sister) and his Grandpa Richards (Dave's Dad). We also had a few neighbors there. Chris Kerner even was there at young women's and was able to pop in for a few minutes.

Here's a close up picture of the arrow of light award and the heavy shoulders plaque. The plaque is engraved with his name and the date.. such a neat thing to have. They also presented me with a lanyard that I can put all my mother's pins on and keep them in one place. The yellow/blue side is for the cub scout pins, and the red/green side is for the ones that he will earn in boy scouts.

I'm so proud of Nate and all the work he has put into earning these. I hope he continues to enjoy it and is motivated to earn is Eagle Scout award! It's such a great program and teaches the boys responsibility and committment... Congrats buddy!

Red Ribbon Week...

It's Red Ribbon week at school! Nate loves to be involved in the activities, and Tuesday was crazy hair day. I had no idea it was crazy hair day, or I would have waited for his haircut.. He was starting to look so SHAGGY!! So, since it's super short, this is what Nate came up with for his crazy hair... Gotta love his creativity :)

Catching Up...

Whew... So much to blog... So little time!

I have finally posted some stuff from the last few weeks... I always think about blogging, but just sitting down to do it.. Yikes!! So if you're reading... keep scrolling.. There's quite a bit!

We just got back from Idaho. Just a short day trip this time. We went to see Brogan be baptized. It was actually pretty neat. It was at a hot springs place close by and afterwards all the kids could swim. (I guess in Idaho, when the church is booked for the day you need it, the next closest church is NOT so close!)... But it was really neat to go and to visit with Charley's family for the day... I always wish we had more time to spend there.

Here's a few pictures that were taken at the facility where he was baptized. It was called 1000 Springs. I always love the look of a suit & tie, so I had to take a picture of "my boys" in their suits.

Happy Valentines Day!

Ski Utah Day...

Nate went skiing for the first time! He went with his class at school, and needless to say, he loved it!! He wants to go back!!

Me, I was a nervous mom! Anybody who knows me knows that I'm not the "nervous" or "over protective" type, but for some reason, I worried about this! I think it's because I've never been, so I really don't know what it's like, just that a lot of bones get broken while skiing!

Ok, seriously, I knew he was in good hands. They had lessons while they were there & i'm sure they just did the little slopes. No poles, just the kids & the teachers. I actually was so surprised when I picked up the skiis from the rental place because they were so tiny!! So cute. Wish I could have been there to take pictures of the action, but I did get a couple when I dropped him off at school.

Rocket Derby...

This year's rocket derby was Nate's last year. Our ward doesn't have trophies, but rather they give participation awards for everyone that competes. It's actually better that way. The kids (or in our case the step-dad) work so hard on the rockets that they all leave with an award and not feel like their efforts were wasted.

Charley had to work over the derby, so these are the pictures I text him as a "play by play". He was so disapointed that he wouldn't be able to be there to see it in action. Well, as it turned out... Nate's Rocket smoked the first race. Then the hanger fell off and I had to super glue it. Well, as little as I know about these things, I glued to rubber band together.. and didn't find out until the second race when it didn't move off the start block...... So, after a little help from the scout leaders, we were back to smoke the 3rd and 4th races.. for an overall first place finish! Nice way to end his last derby.

Charley has built all three of his rockets. I was thinking back to Nate's first rocket derby. I was a single mom and knew (well, still know) nothing about scouts. When they dropped off the rocket "kit" I started to panic. I don't know what I was thinking the kit would consist of, but when I opened it, it was two rubber bands, a pin, a white plug thing, a propeller, three white triangle plastic things and two blocks of rectangle wood. ??? I had no idea what to do with it. Thankfully, Charley and I had just started dating, and he knew all about it! (Although he did laugh a little because I had never even seen a rocket derby!). Charley loves scouts, and he knows a lot more about it than I do!! I'm so greatful he is here and able to help Nate.. and also because it's something they can do together.

(I actually have to give credit though.. Nate's scout master called that year and asked if I would be needing help building the rocket so that Nate could participate.. This is when C and I were first dating and it wasn't really known yet... But I was so impressed with the willingness of the scout leaders!). What a great program!

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.