I know it has been a real long time but I can't forget this conversation I had with Blaze (7 yr old) and had to share.
He comes home from school and while we are doing homework, we has this conversation:
Blaze: So I don't have a girlfriend anymore.
Me: Why? What happened?
Blaze: We broke up.
Me: Who broke up! You or her?
Blaze: She did.
Me: What did she say?
Blaze: Just that she doesn't want to be with me anymore.
Me: I'm sorry. How do you feel about that?
Blaze: eh - I don't care. There a tons of others girls that want me.
I giggled inside at his confidence. Darren was so proud of him and told him he would have his choice of anyone he wants and more, which I can't say.
It was just great seeing his little shoulders shrug as he showed it was no big thing to be dumped - he would just get another.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Catching Up!
I do realize that it has been almost a good four months since I have posted pictures but there are good reasons for that. Here are a couple of excuses, even if you don't like them. We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona after cheering Darren on at his first Ironman. We sold our house and had to move out days before Christmas Day. I spent every minute either packing boxes and the storage unit, looking for a place to live or shopping and wrapping presents. Along with all the typical holiday parties at school, work, church and family. AND unpacking all of our stuff into a much smaller home for the time being and getting it all decorated so that it felt livable. Blaze had a birthday - he turned 7 years old - crazy!!! Darren and I spent our Christmas present to each other in Vegas in January - a much needed vacation. We have also had a couple rounds of sickness = strep throat, sinus infections, runny nose, cough etc. AND been involved in wrestling matches, swim team practices, Jr. Jazz basketball games, piano practices and recital, drama, scouts, so on and so on and so on. Sometimes I feel we are TOO busy and spread too thin. We also helped in creating a more than successful adoption 5K fundraiser for Colin and Ranie's new baby. I am hoping with the holiday season over - we can slow down a bit and catch up.
SO......where do I start. Oh - I forgot to tell you that I lost all of our pictures from 2010 so I now only have what I have posted - which you know isn't much.
Here are a few pictures from our visit to Arizona. Darren competed in the Ford Arizona Ironman in which he swam for 2.4 miles, biked for 112 miles and ran 26.2 miles without taking a break. He completed all of this in 13 hours, zero minutes and 40 seconds. Absolutely amazing. We are more than proud of him and this amazing accomplishment. He finished much faster than he thought and after the race, realized he could have taken off a good hour from his time if he didn't get that flat tire or the numerous bathroom breaks he took. The kids were great sports including baby McKay, only 8 months at the time. We were up at 5:30 in the morning and didn't crash that evening until midnight. The weather was horrible which made us trapped to our vehicles but we had fun anyway. We had shirts made so that you knew who was on Team DeGracie and we cheered as loud as we could every time we saw Darren coming. Needless to say - he received many gifts from us for Christmas and his birthday related to the Ironman. He now has a bound book of pictures made by Ranie, a framed collage of photos and a professionally framed collage of his picture, bib, medal and plaque. Our family room definitely has an Ironman decor going on right now.
While we were in Arizona, we visited with family and friends, went target shooting with our bows, ate a lot of food, played a lot of games and went on a hike. The boys love it in Arizona and we have had so many discussions about moving there.
Can you tell which one is Darren?
Blaze has his 7th birthday and got to choose were we ate dinner that day and what we did for entertainment. He chose Cafe Rio for dinner, of course, and bowling for his activity. Here are a few pictures of that day.
Super Bowl Sunday! Darren childhood team was in the Super Bowl so we had to get all dressed up. We had signs, balloons and logos all over the house. Tons of food, family and candy. Here is a peak of what we looked like.
Run For Love 5K. Darren helped Colin and Ranie put together a 5K run/walk to raise money to help with the adoption of their new baby. It was on February 12th and we had an amazing turnout. I think it turned out bigger than they had planned which is well deserved. We spent a lot of time getting it all pulled together. I was quite busy with registration and timing that morning so I didn't get great pictures but here are a few of the beginning of the race. You can get an idea of how many runners there were. Canon ran the race as well and finished in 46 minutes. We are so proud of him. I video taped him crossing the finish line. I am sure he grateful for it to be over.
Valentine's Day:
Canon had to make a Valentine's box for his class but they decided to make it a competition within the 5th grade. He came up with the idea of making his look like Reese's peanut butter cups. Here is a picture of the final piece. He ended up winning the top award, Best of Show, for the best box in all the 5th grade. He has had a few self-esteem building moments lately which I am very grateful for. You should really see this in person - he did a great job.
We also had our annual cookie decorating contest but the cookies didn't turn out so we changed it to cupcakes at the last minute. We each decorated several cupcakes and then chose 2 to place in the contest. Our Arizona family members are the judge. Apparently my "I Love Dan" and "I Love Don" cupcakes weren't good enough to win. Pierson's frosting drop actually won so simplicity and then Darren's and Canon's won for creativity. I think we need new judges personally. Anyway - here are few pictures of our evening.
SO......where do I start. Oh - I forgot to tell you that I lost all of our pictures from 2010 so I now only have what I have posted - which you know isn't much.
Here are a few pictures from our visit to Arizona. Darren competed in the Ford Arizona Ironman in which he swam for 2.4 miles, biked for 112 miles and ran 26.2 miles without taking a break. He completed all of this in 13 hours, zero minutes and 40 seconds. Absolutely amazing. We are more than proud of him and this amazing accomplishment. He finished much faster than he thought and after the race, realized he could have taken off a good hour from his time if he didn't get that flat tire or the numerous bathroom breaks he took. The kids were great sports including baby McKay, only 8 months at the time. We were up at 5:30 in the morning and didn't crash that evening until midnight. The weather was horrible which made us trapped to our vehicles but we had fun anyway. We had shirts made so that you knew who was on Team DeGracie and we cheered as loud as we could every time we saw Darren coming. Needless to say - he received many gifts from us for Christmas and his birthday related to the Ironman. He now has a bound book of pictures made by Ranie, a framed collage of photos and a professionally framed collage of his picture, bib, medal and plaque. Our family room definitely has an Ironman decor going on right now.
While we were in Arizona, we visited with family and friends, went target shooting with our bows, ate a lot of food, played a lot of games and went on a hike. The boys love it in Arizona and we have had so many discussions about moving there.
Can you tell which one is Darren?
Blaze has his 7th birthday and got to choose were we ate dinner that day and what we did for entertainment. He chose Cafe Rio for dinner, of course, and bowling for his activity. Here are a few pictures of that day.
Super Bowl Sunday! Darren childhood team was in the Super Bowl so we had to get all dressed up. We had signs, balloons and logos all over the house. Tons of food, family and candy. Here is a peak of what we looked like.
Run For Love 5K. Darren helped Colin and Ranie put together a 5K run/walk to raise money to help with the adoption of their new baby. It was on February 12th and we had an amazing turnout. I think it turned out bigger than they had planned which is well deserved. We spent a lot of time getting it all pulled together. I was quite busy with registration and timing that morning so I didn't get great pictures but here are a few of the beginning of the race. You can get an idea of how many runners there were. Canon ran the race as well and finished in 46 minutes. We are so proud of him. I video taped him crossing the finish line. I am sure he grateful for it to be over.
Valentine's Day:
Canon had to make a Valentine's box for his class but they decided to make it a competition within the 5th grade. He came up with the idea of making his look like Reese's peanut butter cups. Here is a picture of the final piece. He ended up winning the top award, Best of Show, for the best box in all the 5th grade. He has had a few self-esteem building moments lately which I am very grateful for. You should really see this in person - he did a great job.
We also had our annual cookie decorating contest but the cookies didn't turn out so we changed it to cupcakes at the last minute. We each decorated several cupcakes and then chose 2 to place in the contest. Our Arizona family members are the judge. Apparently my "I Love Dan" and "I Love Don" cupcakes weren't good enough to win. Pierson's frosting drop actually won so simplicity and then Darren's and Canon's won for creativity. I think we need new judges personally. Anyway - here are few pictures of our evening.
Pledge Follow Up!
So - the pledge posted previously was something I thought Canon had to write for school. Apparently it was a pledge that he wrote for D.A.R.E. graduation and was entered in a school wide contest. His essay was chosen as the best essay written by a boy so him and the girl winner will get to read their pledge at D.A.R.E. graduation in front of the whole school on March 1st. He was pretty excited but gets more and more nervous as the day gets closer. I had no idea and offered him no help when writing his essay. I am even more proud of him now after finding out how great it actually was in comparison. I am so proud of my little student.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I love a good pledge!
D.A.R.E
D.A.R.E is awesome because we learn so much and have lots of fun learning. Every time we have D.A.R.E I always go home and tell my mom what we did, saw, and talked about. When our teacher would say we have D.A.R.E tomorrow I get so excited to see what we get to do. D.A.R.E is a great program for kids to learn not to do drugs or violent stuff.
I have learned how bad people look when they do drugs, what happens to them, and what they do. When we look at pictures of what happens to people around people who do drugs and when people get drunk. I have also learned how much trouble people get into when they do violent stuff like hurting someone or their home. We have talked about how many people get into lots of trouble and what for. These are some of the things people do that we heard. They do vandalism, robberies, make fires, get drunk, and lots more.
I think it is important to be drug and violence free because I don’t want to get into trouble or make my face and other stuff look bad. I don’t want to be arrested for violence or getting drunk. I also don’t want to tell people when I grow up that I did something bad when I was younger. When I get older I don’t want to look bad and have people look at you and think you are a bad or gross person when they walk past you.
I pledge to be drug free, make wise decisions, and to not let anyone control me. I also pledge to not get into any trouble anywhere I go. I pledge to stay far away from alcohol, tobacco, and all of the other drugs. I promise to do my best to tell people to not do drugs and violent stuff.
By,
Canon DeGracie
D.A.R.E is awesome because we learn so much and have lots of fun learning. Every time we have D.A.R.E I always go home and tell my mom what we did, saw, and talked about. When our teacher would say we have D.A.R.E tomorrow I get so excited to see what we get to do. D.A.R.E is a great program for kids to learn not to do drugs or violent stuff.
I have learned how bad people look when they do drugs, what happens to them, and what they do. When we look at pictures of what happens to people around people who do drugs and when people get drunk. I have also learned how much trouble people get into when they do violent stuff like hurting someone or their home. We have talked about how many people get into lots of trouble and what for. These are some of the things people do that we heard. They do vandalism, robberies, make fires, get drunk, and lots more.
I think it is important to be drug and violence free because I don’t want to get into trouble or make my face and other stuff look bad. I don’t want to be arrested for violence or getting drunk. I also don’t want to tell people when I grow up that I did something bad when I was younger. When I get older I don’t want to look bad and have people look at you and think you are a bad or gross person when they walk past you.
I pledge to be drug free, make wise decisions, and to not let anyone control me. I also pledge to not get into any trouble anywhere I go. I pledge to stay far away from alcohol, tobacco, and all of the other drugs. I promise to do my best to tell people to not do drugs and violent stuff.
By,
Canon DeGracie
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Vegas Baby!
We did it again. We had so much fun the first time we thought we would go back! We traded our Park City timeshare for a week in Las Vegas - mostly just because of the sun and palm trees but don't tell my husband. He thinks it was for the bare skin and gambling which we did see a lot of.
We spent a couple of days with Pierson's favorite people: Jaden, Uncle Dan, Becky, Ranie, Colin and McKay. The DeGracie family joined us for a day at Circus Circus filled with tons of fun on roller coasters and scary rides(see pics of Pierson) and another day soaking in some sun and then enjoying a late night show (KA) followed by yummy dessert. We have the best time with this family. We missed Jake but made sure we had dessert that night considering it was his 20th birthday.
We then spent a couple of days with the Maughan family enjoying a walk on the Strip, the M&M factory, the Coke building, the Arcade (came home with tons of junk toys not worth the money spent on the games), saw a guy have a heart attack while crossing the road and we are pretty sure he didn't make it, went to the Bellagio to view several water shows, rode the roller coaster at New York New York, and spent another day at the pool.
We played lots of games, watched lots of movies, ate lots of candy, chips and soda (which is a must on a vacation) and had LOTS of fun. The weather was incredible, the company was so fun and we had the best time. Below is the proof:
McKay loving the lights and sounds of Vegas but not the smells! He loved the water show! He did so good for the crazy schedule we had him on.
Just so you know - Darren had to pay these boys in order to get them to stand next to them. I hope it stays that way.
McKay having a good time laughing at his cousins. They drown him with attention and fight over holding him!
Me holding on tight to make sure Blaze doesn't fall into the Bellagio Lake.
Me and my baby!
We didn't know Darren and Colin were here as a couple until pictures proved otherwise. Too funny!
I should be the professional photographer for the Bellagio - don't you think? I'd take that job!
Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe! Pierson wasn't fond of the moving Elephant.
Hanging out at the pool!
Pierson chillin' without bottoms with his favorite uncle.
Pure joy! Nothing beats babies in a bubble bath!
Had enough of Circus Circus! It was the single most terrifying day of his life. We made him ride every ride once, had to cut the roller coaster ride short due to excessive crying, and didn't stop telling us that his tummy didn't like it.
Look at the terrified look on his face. Isn't that so sad? What is worse is Blaze's face - he is enjoying Pierson's pain.
Not cooperating for the camera - of course.
Crazy Uncle Dan - Pierson's favorite!
Beautiful Aunt Becky!
We found a Pierson-friendly ride finally.
Just one more horrible ride he had to endure.
We spent a couple of days with Pierson's favorite people: Jaden, Uncle Dan, Becky, Ranie, Colin and McKay. The DeGracie family joined us for a day at Circus Circus filled with tons of fun on roller coasters and scary rides(see pics of Pierson) and another day soaking in some sun and then enjoying a late night show (KA) followed by yummy dessert. We have the best time with this family. We missed Jake but made sure we had dessert that night considering it was his 20th birthday.
We then spent a couple of days with the Maughan family enjoying a walk on the Strip, the M&M factory, the Coke building, the Arcade (came home with tons of junk toys not worth the money spent on the games), saw a guy have a heart attack while crossing the road and we are pretty sure he didn't make it, went to the Bellagio to view several water shows, rode the roller coaster at New York New York, and spent another day at the pool.
We played lots of games, watched lots of movies, ate lots of candy, chips and soda (which is a must on a vacation) and had LOTS of fun. The weather was incredible, the company was so fun and we had the best time. Below is the proof:
McKay loving the lights and sounds of Vegas but not the smells! He loved the water show! He did so good for the crazy schedule we had him on.
Just so you know - Darren had to pay these boys in order to get them to stand next to them. I hope it stays that way.
McKay having a good time laughing at his cousins. They drown him with attention and fight over holding him!
Me holding on tight to make sure Blaze doesn't fall into the Bellagio Lake.
Me and my baby!
We didn't know Darren and Colin were here as a couple until pictures proved otherwise. Too funny!
I should be the professional photographer for the Bellagio - don't you think? I'd take that job!
Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe! Pierson wasn't fond of the moving Elephant.
Hanging out at the pool!
Pierson chillin' without bottoms with his favorite uncle.
Pure joy! Nothing beats babies in a bubble bath!
Had enough of Circus Circus! It was the single most terrifying day of his life. We made him ride every ride once, had to cut the roller coaster ride short due to excessive crying, and didn't stop telling us that his tummy didn't like it.
Look at the terrified look on his face. Isn't that so sad? What is worse is Blaze's face - he is enjoying Pierson's pain.
Not cooperating for the camera - of course.
Crazy Uncle Dan - Pierson's favorite!
Beautiful Aunt Becky!
We found a Pierson-friendly ride finally.
Just one more horrible ride he had to endure.
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