Words for Women to Live By

1. Aspire to be Barbie - the bitch has everything.

2. If the shoe fits - buy them in every color.

3. Take life with a pinch of salt ... A wedge of lime, and a shot of tequila.

4. In need of a support group? - Cocktail hour with the girls!

5. Go on the 30 day diet. (I'm on it and so far I've lost 15 days).

6. When life gets you down just put on your big girl panties and deal with it.
7. Let your greatest fear in life be that there is no PMS and this is just your personality.
8. I know I'm in my own little world, but it's ok. They know me here.
9. Lead me not into temptation, I can find it myself.
10. Don't get your knickers in a knot; it solves nothing and makes you walk funny.
11. When life gives you lemons - turn it into lemonade then mix it with vodka.
12. Keep your chin up, only the first 40 years of parenthood are the hardest.
13. If it has Tires or Testicles it's gonna give you trouble.
14. By the time a women realizes her mother was right, she has a daughter (or son) who thinks she's wrong.

29 degrees

This is the average high for Minneapolis in February. Why should we care? We'll get to that ... stay with me. It has been one heckuva week. Hence the lack of blog updates. If you'll recall, we headed to mom and dad's last Sunday for a week of skate camp at Area 702 skatepark located in North Las Vegas. It was awesome! I cannot begin to explain how incredibly great the owners of the shop/skatepark are, the instructors in the park, and the overall environment of the facility. Cameron was worked to the bone every day. We arrived there around 9:00 or so in the morning, and left anywhere from 4-6:00 pm. This was considered more of a week of training than simply summer skate camp. Tim, the owner, really worked hard with Cameron and spent a lot of one-on-one time with him. Some pictures of the park:

 

Tim was very impressed with Cam's skating as well as his work ethic and respect ... which to me is more important than anything! I was a proud mama. He skated the vert ramp at the park ... 12 feet high ... and did great. In fact, when the week was over, he received the "Huge Air Award" from camp. Tim was actually surprised at the fact that the only contests he'd been in were at his skate school, and that he hadn't had more experience with it. We let him know that the skate school doesn't inform the skaters of the upcoming contests around town or the state, and that most of the time we have to do some research on where they are. So the second day of camp, Tim asks me if we were entering him in the King of the Groms contest. King of the what? Yeah - that tells you how much I know. He couldn't believe that I'd never heard of it, and actually asked for Bryan's cell phone number - to call him and ask him about it. Thankfully, Bryan hadn't heard of it either. Well it was this weekend in Tehachapi, CA, and held at the Woodward West sport camp. He honestly thought that was why were there, was to prepare him for the contest. He highly recommended entering Cameron, and even said that he would be his "sponsor" when asked at registration. 

King of the Groms is a national skateboarding contest, 12 and under, with 5 different qualifying contests around the country. Qualifiers from each contest head to the championships. Tim felt that Cam would compete very well in the contest and after some thinking it over and talking it over ... Grandma, Papa, Cam and I decided to head to Tehachapi for a road trip! Registration started at 9:00 Saturday morning, with the contest going on all day. We decided it would be best to leave Friday evening instead of waking up at 4:00 in the morning to leave. We had a great time on the drive ... about 4 hours or so ... and quite a few memorable incidents! Arrived at the hotel in time to have a little bit of dessert we took to go from dinner, but realized we didn't have any plates. So ... mom and dad had their boysenberry pie in little paper cups, and mine was eaten off a Planters Mixed Nuts lid. Pinkies up people. So upset I didn't get pictures. And did I mention that it was about 80 degrees or so when we were there? THAT was worth the trip right there.  :)  Okay .... so fast forward to Saturday morning ... we head over to Woodward West Skate Camp Facility. This is a pretty famous facility for skateboarders (as well as other extreme sports) and offers summer camp/training for kids. 

So we register him for the beginner level for each event: bowl, mini-ramps, and the street course. (He was signed up for Vert, but was way too exhausted at the end of the day to enter this one.) The bowl is normally is strongest area of skating, but on this day, it just didn't happen. Perhaps it was nerves in competing in his first "real" contest, and a national one at that. Here's Tim giving him some words of encouragement at the bowl:

After it was over, however, he put his game face on and went to work. Mini-ramps were next, and the street course was his final event. We had to wait all day for each event to finish, beginner, intermediate, and experts, before they had the prize ceremony. Bowl results, well we knew how that would end up. He almost didn't enter the street course, because this is one of his weaker areas, but ... he didn't place last. :)  Here's the street course:

 I was so proud of him for entering anyway, that it wouldn't have mattered. He really worked his butt off. The mini-ramps, well that was another story. There were 18 entered in the beginner category, and ...

Cam placed 

5TH 

and qualified for the 

national championship!!!!

That's right! NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! In this picture, he's holding his "Golden Ticket" for the National Championships. In Minnesota. In February. In the snow. :) But that's okay, because technically it will only be his second time in the snow!  Thus, the title of the post. It was kind of funny, because he didn't realize that he qualified until after the awards ceremony was through. We had to tell him what he just accomplished. I posted the video clip of his "winning" run on the mini-ramps at the end of the post.  The only time he fell was at the very end of his 45 second run - he only had a few seconds left before it was over. Still can't believe it. His first skate contest, a national skate contest, at the age of 8, and he qualifies for the championship. So there are four other Qualifiers around the country before the Championships. 

Tim was so proud, and it was so awesome because every time they announced Cameron's name for an event or during the ceremony, it was "Age 8 from Queen Creek, Arizona, sponsored by Area 702 Skatepark ... Cameron Peterson!"  Still gives this mommy the chills! Tim's son was also competing, which is the reason he was there. He was great helping Cameron out with Bryan not there, and really provided some great support for him. His son competed at the expert level and also qualified for Nationals. Unfortunately, he's 12 and will be 13 by the time the Championship rolls around, so he can't actually compete in it. That kind of sucks, but they will still be there - and as Tim said - rooting on Cameron! I'm so glad that mom and dad were there to cheer him on ... we were really fortunate they could be there! Daddy was on pins and needles at home ALL DAY, and was absolutely dying that he couldn't be there to see Him compete. I probably had to charge my phone twice during the day because of all the text messages, emailing him video clips, and calling with updates! We met some great people, and I was officially relieved of the "Rookie Skate Mom" title.  :)  I've got MY first contest under my belt also and am ready to rock and roll. If it tells you how long of a day it was, we left the camp around 7:00 pm and headed back to Vegas that night! We pulled in around 11:30 and we were pooped. However, not as pooped as Cam. This is as far as he made it. 

We had planned on leaving yesterday, Sunday, but with all of the driving we did on Friday and Saturday, decided Sunday would be a rest day. And indeed it was. It was the first time all week that we were able to sleep in. We all headed to breakfast, and then it the pool for the day. We enjoyed some very cold beverages (!) in the pool, and just relaxed and chilled.  Here's Cam hanging out:

We had a rather pleasant uneventful trip back home today - thankfully. You would have thought Cam was all "skated out" ... but he had a little bit left in him to skate this:

Daddy worked ALL WEEK on the ramp in the backyard. Tore up the old one, and extended it back by 5 feet or so, and out about 4 feet. Cam actually started to outgrow the old one, and it was starting to give under his weight. It was also a bit small for him now. Ironically, this is what he'll need to practice on for the contest in February. Funny how things happen like that! All in all it was a fantastic week. We had so much going on, but had a great time doing it all. Cam still has a couple of weeks before school starts, and as of right now ... we have no plans for road trips.  Yet.  :) 

Off again ...

I'm wondering if there is anything Cameron has done this summer that HAS NOT involved skateboarding? Or traveling? I'm thinking no ... he'll have no problems writing that essay when he starts school in a few weeks. Well we're off again! At least Cam and I are. He finished up his camp at the skateboard school on Friday. And on Monday he'll start a new camp ... in Vegas! Oh yeah. It is a fantastic opportunity for him and he could not be more excited. A visiting mom at his camp was telling Bryan about an indoor facility in Vegas. Looked it up and saw they had a summer camp offered. Long story short - Called and got him hooked up! The owner has 8 instructors, all certified and training a group with no more than 4 kids. Training ... a little bit more intense than what he's used to now, but he's ready. The owner was excited to have him for the week and anxious to help with some of the areas that Cam could use some extra training in. It also sounded like he had a few semi-pros coming in during the week to teach. And with the lovely accommodations provided by mom and dad - we're set! So he and I are headed out tomorrow morning ... driving .... and headed back next weekend. I'm very fortunate that my supervisor approved for me to work from mom and dad's, so while he's at camp I'll be putting in my hours. :) We're keeping our fingers crossed - and toes - that Bryan can fly in Tuesday afternoon and leave Wednesday evening. He wanted to be able to see Cam skate while he was there, so hopefully that works out. Unfortunately, we probably won't know until Monday for sure. His progression with his skating has come a long way in the last few months. I'm really excited for him to polish off some skills and learn a few new tricks this week. I will try and post some pictures throughout the week!

Other than trying to keep up with work ... and laundry ... there hasn't been much going on. It's been hot. Really hot. And the humidity has been horrible. If I wanted to have curly hair I'd get a perm. Or live in Florida again. So our outdoor activities have taken a back seat for now. Even swimming is a bit rough ... the pool temp was 88 a few days ago. It was somewhat refreshing ... for about 20 minutes. Then you start to feel like you're in that Bugs Bunny cartoon where he thinks he's taking a bath .... in the big iron pot sitting over a fire? Toss in a few carrots and voila! Dinner is served. The monsoons should start up next week .. lucky Bryan. But looking forward to a little rain ... and the lightning storms are pretty cool. Okay - time to change my loads again. That's it for now! I'll keep you updated on the Vegas stop of Cam's skateboarding tour. :)

As Eleanor Roosevelt once said ...

In the long run,

we shape our lives,

and we shape ourselves.

The process never ends until we die.

And the choices we make

are ultimately our own responsibility.

Keep the faith

So much has gone on these past few days, that I've really had to take a step back and get some perspective on things. I suppose tragedies do that to a person. Unfortunately. Sometimes it takes everything you've got - and then some, if you can dig that deep - to believe that some things happen for a reason. Sometimes you will never know that reason. As difficult as it may be, you need to keep the faith. Our hearts go out to extended family for the loss of a loved one. Questions will remain unanswered. Doubt and reservations will surround faith. How could it not? Where do you turn when you feel you've been let down? There will always be memories, however. That won't change or be altered in any way. That's a start in an attempt to try and ease some of the pain now and in the days ahead. I hope and pray that peace and acceptance come sooner than later.

It's a dry heat

Published in our paper:

"So much for sneaking through the summer without a stretch of blast furnace heat. High temperatures approaching, if not exceeding, 115 degrees are expected in the Valley by Friday and continuing into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Because of the potential danger, the Weather Service anticipates issuing an excessive heat warning effective for two days, perhaps three."

Oh joy. Nothing like getting third degree burns from opening up the front door.

My 3rd Grade Stories

So a while back ... a LONG while back ... I mentioned Cameron came home from his last day of school with a book of stories he had written in class thoroughout the year. Some were poems, others were stories about historical events or science subjects they were studying, and the majority of them were creative writing. Very creative writing. A good number of them had the story started by the teacher, and they had to finish it. I promised I'd post some of my favorites, so here's the first one! Enjoy :)

A Strange Boy

A strange thing happened to me last month. There was loud pounding on my door. I opened it and it was a kid from Africa. He was begging for food. I said come on in. And he did. We made pizza. It was cheese pizza. Then mom came home. She was wondering who the strange boy was. The pizza was good. The boy said thank you 20 times. It was the best pizza ever. Nobody knows how he got here without a passport.

~By Cameron

San Tan Valley, AZ 85140

FYI ... San Tan Valley is the name of Arizona’s newest community ... ours! Just a little bit of background: San Tan Valley is Pinal County’s largest community in terms of overall population (80,000 residents). Prior, we were considered Queen Creek for postal purposes only. We actually live in unincorporated Pinal County and the town of Queen Creek would not incorporate us. So, San Tan Valley is comprised of a large area south of the incorporated area (meaning inside the town limits) of Queen Creek, Arizona. We got this new name because this area is not part of the Queen Creek town limits and there was often confusion about where people live. It was also good timing, as the Post Office needed to implement new zip codes to better serve the nation’s second fastest growing county, Pinal County.

The town/zip code change was effective July 1st ... but for those you who might procrastinate in updating your address book, you have about a year. :)

Happy Fourth of July!

Hi everyone - hopefully you all have plans to enjoy this great holiday. It has been quite the week here ... I took a couple of days off from work and really spent them working around the house. You know ... fun stuff: baseboards, plant shelves, kitchen cupboards, Cam's ROOM, things like that. Pretty much things that have been put off way too long. I also squeezed in a few appointments, so it was pretty busy. It felt like something had been accomplished, so I suppose that is always a good thing. Another week of skate camp is complete. Cam's been having so much fun, and really progressing with his skating. There was a skate contest this morning at one of the local skate parks, but the thought of skating in the heat didn't seem too appealing. Yeah, me either. Now how about an annual New Year's skate contest, or even Memorial Day? Seriously ... Fourth of July is not the holiday to expect a good turnout. The weather has been stifling. And pretty crazy. It's rained off and on the last few days which is great ... when it keeps raining. The few drops here and there suck - all it does is bring the humidity up and it is miserable. Today is clear and not a cloud in the sky. It should be perfect for our BBQ/party we've got planned for today. Looking forward to it! Our week also consisted of heading tot he theater to see Transformers. Loved it. Thought the first one was better, but this was really good. And ... we also watched Gran Torino which was EXCELLENT. Clint Eastwood was amazing in this movie. It was a tear-jerker, so watch out. But in a great way. It also had some great humor in it, which made it a great all-around flick! Honestly that's about all we've been up to. Not too exciting - but I'll take it. Have a great weekend!