Christmas Adam was spent eating yummy food at Macaroni Grill.
All tucked in snuggly tight in their beds on Christmas Eve!!
May 09, 2012
May 08, 2012
Christmas 2011- Skiing
We decided after last year that from now moving forward we would like to gift experiences to each other instead of actual wrapped gifts. When I look back at my childhood I can't really remember what I received for Christmas when I was 16. But I can remember the time Santa Claus came knocking on my door on Christmas Eve!! Or the time we loaded our Volkswagen Van with all our Christmas things and headed to Arizona to celebrate the Holiday with my grandparents. Vallen and I want our kids to have more memories they can look back on with happiness and joy!
For Christmas we decided to go skiing. We rented a cabin in Sundance, Utah and counted down the days for our Christmas "gift." We invited family and friends...and even planned a birthday party for Uncle Rick. Since Vallen is the only one who had ever skied we were excited to experience a first!!
It did not disappoint!!
The cabin was WOW!!!
Skiing...
3 Generations of skiers. All for the first time!! Grandma Diana was great! Summer too. We took private lessons and learned alot. The bunny slope was a perfect way to practice.
Our niece Jocelyn and our nephew Aden came with us too. They were naturals. Skied without much instruction or problem at all. Jocelyn had a major face plant down the "big" hill. She was a trooper...got right up and kept going.
I am not much of a snow person. I just don't like being cold. I skied for this boy! All for him. The things we do for love:) Actually I really liked it. It was fun. I only fell twice. Once off the ski lift and once down the "big" hill. I definitely needed the Salonpas and Advil for a few days.
Summer's instructor was very patient and kind. She did very well, being her first time. We were so proud!
This is Breck being angry with his Mom. I wouldn't let him go down the "big" hill by himself. The boy has no fear. Not to worry...I have enough for both of us!!!
Ciria used Grandma Diana's equipment for half of the day and came with us. Ciria, Jocelyn, Vallen, and I went down the "big" hill at the end of the day. I'm not going to lie...scared me to death!! I wasn't ready...but I did it. So did Ciria...it took her and hour 1/2. I thought she would never get down. Vallen went with her!
We only skiied one day. Lack of snow!! Crazy, considering how much they had last year. Still a wonderful, wonderful experience. We loved it!! A truly great Christmas gift.
May 07, 2012
Christmas 2011 - Christmas Eve & Day
I went with something different with our tree this year. Traditional red and gold balls with red ribbon. Simple.
Someone very sweet and still anonymous treated us to the 12 days of Christmas. I began to look forward to the fun things left at my door each day. Thank you to the person who was our Secret Santa.
Grandma Diana has a wonderful tradition of an ornament that means something to each of us. For Summer it was A Breaking Dawn Ornament.
For Breck, it was a futuristic warrior.
For the entire family, it was a Star. To remember Grandpa Keary and how his smile always made his eyes twinkle...like a star. It's our first Christmas without him. He is missed. Love you Dad.
Christmas tradition...photo on Christmas Eve in our PJS.
I always make the kids take a photo in front of the tree each year. Where has the time gone? They are growing up so fast. Before I know it they will be on their own. I hope they come home for Christmas:)
May 02, 2012
January 02, 2012
December 13, 2011
Happy Birthday Breck!!
Our traditonal door decorations! We threw in the word "hot" because it's his new favorite word lately. He doesn't us it randomly. He uses it to describe the girls he likes. Yikes!! Don't worry...his Dad has talked to him about it!!
Traditional balloon decorations!! This year... hanging from the ceiling. Awesome. Although he did say he had a hard time sleeping because of the helium smell.
Breck is finally 10!! This means he can play 10+ games!! Joy!! He is super excited! Breck is very enthusiastic about things that really interest him. He loves video games, nerf guns, music, dancing, flag football, cartoon network, legos, youtube videos about legos, skateboarding, and eating cereal! Breck has passion...just not in school...yet! He is very smart and his grades don't reflect it....yet! He is sweet to his Mom (always) and loves to hang with his Dad. His sister... he tolerates. He often asks her to give him hugs...which she always denys him...for now!!
Happy Birthday Breck! We love you!!
December 12, 2011
Breaking Dawn: Part 1
Source: barnesandnoble.com via Megan on Pinterest
We are Twilight fans. Yes, I said we! Vallen was a sweetheart and read them too so we can share it together. Summer is old enough to read them and she has jumped on board as a fan too. I wasn't sure if I wanted her to read Breaking Dawn. It's a little intense and even the author said she thought you should be 15 before you read it. I went over and over what to do and finally decided to let her read the book. Some of the reasons I decided to let her read it and then go to the movie: 1) She had heard most of the story from her friends and I prefer she get it from the original source 2) I didn't want her to sneak it 3) It's such a phenomenon right now... why not share it together??? And so we did!!
Summer read the book the week before the movie came out. We purchased tickets online before the release date, yet, the night of the movie we still went an hour before it started to stand in line...
The movie was the best so far!! I did have her cover her eyes on some parts...she was all too happy to oblige. My favorite thing was sharing in all the excitement with Summer. She loved the long line we waited in, she loved going to see it on the date it was released, she loved how the audience screamed when they saw Jacob, she loved the music, came home and played the soundtrack over & over (we had previously downloaded it earlier in the month), and she & I had fun...TOGETHER!! It was a great memory for both of us!!
When we were heading to the movie, she recieved a text from her friend asking her to go to the movie. I asked her if she wanted to invite her. She said no. She wanted to go with me. Of course, then she said she didn't tell her friend that she was going with her Mom...that was too embarrassing...even though she really wanted to go with me and not her friends!! Her words. Made me laugh!!
The next night I went with Vallen. He really liked it too. We all plan to see it again over the Christmas Break:)
December 11, 2011
Incentives
I try not to bore you too much with my PTO life. I feel my brother, Alexander, may think I am bragging about what I do since he doesn't believe in titles and roles and all that jazz...he's entitled to his opinion and I'm entitled to give him a hard time on my blog!! Love you little brother.
I have realized that I have documented very little of this part of my life. It's been a year & a half now and I love what I do. That's what this blog is for...to document the things I do and the things I love!!
SO!
We have a membership drive every year. We try to earn as much income as possible to cover our expenses for the year. Unfortunately, schools don't receive all they need from the state. Our wonderful parents make up the difference so that our children may still experience the arts, physical education, go on field trips, etc. We try and make the incentives fun, so it gets the students excited. This year our wonderful teachers, staff, and principal agreed to help!!
One incentive was lunch with the principal!! The kids loved this...they think she is a celebrity, like a rock star!! Myself and my co- in all things PTO, Lorraine, hosted a luncheon. I will say...throwing parties for the kids is my favorite thing. They love everything and are so easy to please!
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Lorraine made these awesome cookies!! Our theme this year is I love ME (Myford Elementary).
Our GRAND PRIZE incentive was if we made 100% of our financial goal and at least 75% of our students participated in our drive our principal agreed to be slimed!! We made both!!
I found the "slime" recipe online. It's made of powdered jello, flour, water, food coloring, and baby soap. My kitchen was covered in slime!! It was everywhere and so hard to get up when it dries. The nice thing about the slime is that is sticks!! Ms. Fedderly was in for a treat!! She was such a good sport. Seriously...who does this? We raffled off 5 spots to the students and they each took a turn to dump their slime on the principal!! The students thought it was great!!
A million thanks to Amy Fedderly. She has been such a great support to me in my role in the PTO. She is awesome in every way and the community is so lucky to have her!
(I HATE this picture of me!! Yep...I've gained some weight back & part of it is the shirt..right? 12 lbs to be exact. It's frustrating and part of the process. It stinks. I have to work super hard to get back on track. The nice thing is, I know I can do it. I just have to make it a priority.)
December 10, 2011
December 09, 2011
Friday Night Lights
Breck played Flag Football this year! It was so awesome. He loves the game as much as his Dad!! Vallen loves the game. He can tell you each and every detail about each and every play in each and every game in ever played in. The guy LOVES football. I have always been impressed that Vallen doesn't push Breck to love football too. Breck has played soccer, baseball, and football. We have let him find his "love." He really enjoys Flag Football. I have to admit, I do too!! It's a no contact sport, which is fine by me!
A proud moment...when Vallen & Breck were at practice they were ordering uniforms. They asked Breck what number he wanted to be, he has always chosen his favorite number of the moment, like 7 when he was 7 or 8 when he was 8. This year he said, "44." 44!!! That was his Dad's number. Is his Dad's number. He wore it throughout Football and even sometimes shaved it to the hair on the back of his head. Breck said he wanted to be just like Dad this year. It was truly touching for Vallen. He never pushed him to do it...he let Breck decide to do it on his own. The pride they both had when his uniform showed up and there was a 44 with the name Blackburn on the back was definitely a memory maker!!
It was a fantastic season!! They lost in the last game before the championship game. The Colts had a great season, Breck had a great season! He was motivated and gave his all...most days :) He did score a couple of touchdowns, which was awesome to watch from the sidelines!! Way to go Breck!!
