Friday, February 20, 2009

Southridge Heatwave

I really wish I was talking about the weather here, but sadly I am not. I am talking about the Southridge High School Heatwave Dance Team. They ROCK!! At the beginning of this month they were able to perform at half-time at the Pro-Bowl in Hawaii. They had a GREAT time and were able to share the stage with the likes of David Archuleta, Enrique Iglesias and Ciara. Not to mention ALL of the famous football players. Anyway, here is a video of their Jazz routine that they are working on for the State Dance Competition in March. Enjoy.



Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Perseverance

Two weeks ago, Jacob walked in the door from school and he says to me, "Mom, you are going to be so proud of me." I reply, "Jacob, I am always so proud of you." "Yeah, but this time you are going to be even more proud of me," he says. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a certificate. It reads - Maya Angelou Elementary School, This certifies that JACOB OLSON is awarded this certificate for Demonstrating The Character Trait: PERSEVERANCE, followed by the date and signatures by the school principal and his teacher. I was immediately happy for him because he has been wanting one of the "Student of the Month" awards since Kindergarten and has never received one. Back in November, Kayla came home with one for demonstrating Fairness. He was happy for Kayla but was mad because he says he tries to do the best he can and had never received an award.

I was happy for him and hugged and loved on him and asked him, "So, what did you get this award for?" "I don't know, it says on there." Perseverance. I started thinking, this is kind of a weird award. Who gets an award for perseverance? Fairness I understand. That's easy, but perseverance? I asked Jacob if he knew what perseverance meant. He said no so we decided to look it up together in the dictionary.

This is what we found:

per⋅se⋅ver⋅ance  [pur-suh-veer-uhns] –noun
1. steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
2. Theology. continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation.

per·se·ver·ance (pûr'sə-vîr'əns) n.
1. Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.
2. Christianity The Calvinistic doctrine that those who have been chosen by God will continue in a state of grace to the end and will finally be saved.

Perseverance Per`se*ver"ance, n.
1. The act of persevering; persistence in anything undertaken; continued pursuit or prosecution of any business, or enterprise begun. "The king-becoming graces . . . perseverance, mercy, lowliness." --Shak.
Whose constant perseverance overcame Whate'er his cruel malice could invent. --Milton.
2. Discrimination. [Obs.] --Sir J. Harrington.
3. (Theol.) Continuance in a state of grace until it is succeeded by a state of glory; sometimes called final perseverance, and the perseverance of the saints. See Calvinism.
Syn: Persistence; steadfastness; constancy; steadiness; pertinacity.


All I could think was WOW. Is this how my sons teacher sees him? Is this what he is like when I am not around, with his peers? I became teary, my heart was full, I was proud. I hugged and hugged him. He didn't think it was a big enough deal to bring his mama to tears, but they were happy tears. Jacob is such an amazing little boy and he is showing character traits that some grown men never have. He is mature beyond his years and he doesn't even know it. Still I wonder, what did he persevere through that landed him an award for it? Is he still trying to persevere through this? I am curious.

I guess it isn't such a weird award after all. I can't wait until conference time so I can sit with his teacher and discuss this more fully.


Congratulations buddy!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Do you want it??

You know you want it!!

The first FIVE people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

I know, I know quiet your girlish screams, please.

This offer does have some restricitions and limitations: 1 - I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! 2- What I create will be made with you in mind. 3-It'll be done this year (glad it just started). The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Yesterday and Today

  • Today I couldn't figure out which socks were mine and which ones were Jacob's. He is 8. I am 31. How sad is that.
  • Yesterday I tried a new recipe from the Get Your Eat On blog and my family LOVED it. It was the Chicken a la Fuente. Yummy!!
  • Today I found out that my bro-in-law will star in a play in Moses Lake. He will be Gaston in Beauty in the Beast. How exciting!!
  • Yesterday I went from smiling to crying within about 10 minutes because first I read Tiffany's blog then I read Karen's blog.
  • Last night I had the privilege of escorting my sister at Senior Night at the Southridge basketball game.
  • Today I am not happy that it snowed last night. I am really looking forward to Spring.
  • Yesterday Kayla told me she wanted to cut her hair short.
  • Yesterday I priced out a trip to Disneyland for our little family over Spring Break and was really happy with the numbers I came up with.
  • Today I found out it's gonna cost the same amount as the trip I wanted to take to fix my car. Figures.
  • Today I am "burning" Irish Cream in my Scentsy warmer. It smells like a very strong maple syrup to me. Makes me want pancakes!!
  • Today my girls were rockin' out to our old Green Day CD.
  • Yesterday my little sister Ashley got home from her trip to Hawaii with her dance team.
  • Today I am hoping to get our taxes done.
  • Today I feel bad for skipping out on Kelsie's one activity she has a week. I was just not in the get-up-and-get-going mood this morning.
  • Today Jacob is so excited for his play date after school.
  • Today I need to study for my RS lesson on Sunday.
  • Yesterday I decided I wanted to run in a 5K this year.
  • Today I am wondering what I was thinking about wanting to run a 5K.
  • Yesterday Kelsie told me she was not a baby.
  • Today Keslie told me going potty in the toilet was too hard.
  • Right now I am thankful for everything I have, everything I know, and how hard my husband works to keep us comfortable.

Monday, February 2, 2009

I LOVE being a MOM!!!

This is for all of you AMAZING MOMS out there!! My cousin-by-marriage, Sheri, sent me this via email and I just HAD to post it for you all to watch. This is so Awesome!! I found myself clapping and giggling at the end. ENJOY!!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Gettin' Down and Derby

This past Thursday was our Pinewood Derby. It was Jacob's first one and we were all very excited for him. Here are some before and after pictures.



Jacob and Kevin working on the car.



I know it looks like Kevin did all the work, but I promise, Jacob did some sanding:)





This is his "Magic Machine" car. As you can see, they also had to have a special case to carry it in. Both the boys were very excited about what they had made.




Here was the line up.


The race is on!!



Jacob and fellow scout, Easton, cheering on their cars!!!



I didn't get a picture of the end result, but Jacob ending up placing 3rd out of thirteen boys and it also got him a spot in the "District" Race at the end of March. Father and son had a great time and were very excited about the end result. Now, they are tweaking the car a bit to get ready for the big race.