More good news ...

Dad had kind of a rough couple of days after the surgery, mostly due to the chest tube hurting and the fact that his pain meds weren't being administered consistently. Apparently one of his day nurses on Friday "didn't want to wake him" so it was 7 hours without any meds. Not a good thing - apparently the pain was horrendous. But all of that was taken care of once that shift ended ... The chest tube was finally removed yesterday - yahoo! - and the last of the news was last night would be his last in ICU and then HOME! I know he and mom both are looking forward to that. Did get to talk to him last night for a bit - first time since the surgery, so I was very excited about it (and emotional, but he probably didn't notice, and probably doesn't remember the conversation anyway, now that I think about it ... :)  Headed there on Thursday and really looking forward to seeing him and giving him a big hug! 

Had such a long weekend worrying ... nothing else seemed to matter, even though it was crazy busy. Had 3 birthday parties at the park on Saturday, one on Sunday, had people over for the Civil War Game on Saturday afternoon  ... Boo to my Beavers, but at least they scored this week ... and errands in between all of that. The game was a nice short break from reality for a while - had a great time with friends and was so glad everyone was here. Ready for my Monday and hopefully knock several items off my to-do list. One of which is a haircut for Cameron. Much needed. I threatened him with the clippers yesterday if he gave me any grief about getting it cut today. Headed to the United Food Bank later to pick up some boxes and flyers for a Food Drive the park is hosting. Hopefully we can collect a large number for them - they were really excited that we contacted them about helping out. This was one of the first "charities" that I thought of when we it came up about doing something to help out - I have my Grandpa to thank for that. Growing up, we frequently helped him out at the Sunshine Division in Portland, putting food boxes together, the Soup Kitchen in Seaside, and he started the Food Bank in Seaside as well. I know he'd be pleased.  :)  'Tis the season people!

Thank you ...

to everyone for the good thoughs and prayers! They worked! Dad's surgery went well - and he is now in ICU. As of earlier, he was still sleeping and hadn't been awake yet. He's in ICU on a ventilator and will be for a couple of days before they move him to another room. The original timeframe for his hospital stay was until next Tuesday, but that all could change. Still looking at quite the recovery period in the upcoming months, but the scary part is over. :)

If you have a moment ...

I (we) would appreciate a little prayer for mom and dad  :)  Dad is headed into surgery in a bit and the more prayers the better! It's about a 6 hour surgery for the double by-pass and valve replacement. Gonna be a long day for all of us - especially mom. I'll try and post more info when I get it! Thank you all for the positive thoughts and messages you've sent our way already. I really appreciate it. Lucky to have such an amazing circle of family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

My regular blogging has taken a backseat again - oh well. I'm okay with that. But didn't want today to go and sneak by without wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. Be thankful for what you have. I know I am. In so many ways. Grateful for my family and friends, our health, employment and a roof over our heads. My cup runneth over! We are truly blessed and not a day goes by that I don't recognize that. Headed up to Prescott for the day - it's gonna be chilly!!!! Looking forward to a wonderful day there with family and friends. Loving it. We all hope that Thanksgiving finds you and your family happy, healthy, and feeling especially blessed.
 

You've Been BOO-ed

I mentioned this in my post from earlier today,  but didn't notice there was a website you could go to to see the BOO'ed poem and print it off. There is also a version to use for the office instead of the neighborhood one ... So cute! Start your own "Been Booed" reaction with your neighbors or co-workers!

www.BeenBooed.com

Gammit!

Okay - you'll either "know" what Gammit is from, or not. If you don't, I'm not sure I can really explain except it's from a pretty pathetic Nickelodeon "movie" ... one that obviously had some impact if I'm saying this. Now back to the reason for "Gammit" as the title ... a month? Really? I honestly thought it had only been a week or so since I last posted. I suck. You have to understand that this is part of my "free time". 1) I don't have much of that these days. And 2) After spending 8+ hours at a computer for my "real" job, then sitting at the computer when I'm at the park, Facebooking, updating the website and returning emails, well, sometimes the thought of sitting at the computer for "fun" makes me a tad bit, well you catch my drift. Oh well. Over it.

Today, October 26th marks my grandpa's birthday - I'm sure he's spending it "up there" fishing. It's funny, I have his birthday as "recurring" in my Outlook calendar, and I've just left it there since he died. It's a nice reminder, although thoughts are never far from him. In fact, I told mom the other day that sometimes I forget he's gone ... I'll mention Grandpa and Grandma in conversation, or think to myself about the next Oregon visit and seeing them. Love that he is still so vivid in thoughts, Hate that he is gone. :) This picture was the last time that we saw him -  It was at Dan & Kim's wedding, just under a month before he died. Feel SOOOO Blessed to have had this visit with him, and that it is my last memory. He was so happy! Love you ya Old Fart!  ;)

We've been really busy lately - what else is new, right? And who isn't? Have had some excitement in the skateboarding department: Pros to the park, (hoping for yet another bit in an upcoming issue of Thrasher Magazine) heading to Vegas for the Dew Tour Championships, and Cameron working hard for an upcoming comp in December. Business is good - fall break camp was a HUGE success. Good thing, taxes are due. Not much else to report on that end. Cam's fall break was a couple of weeks ago, and we headed to mom and dad's. Nice visit, had a great time with them. Cam and Papa did some Go-Kart racing, skateboarding (well, not Papa) and mom and I did the usual: shopping, a little casino-ing, lunch and pedicures. It was great! We hit the Dew Tour Skatepark Finals on Friday - with mom and dad - fun event. Cameron took approximately 83 pictures there, and was excited to see some of his faves skating in person. Bryan flew in Friday night after a busy week, and then the three of us hit the Vert Championships on Saturday. Mom and dad left for Mexico Saturday morning - whatever - and so we "house sat" for them the rest of the weekend. Saturday night was pretty chill with pizza and beer and watching the Beaver game. Seriously. What is up? VERY UPSET about that UofW loss, (Please - no comments from the Husky gallery - or any other gallery for that matter - but I'm over it. I guess. At any rate - it was a good break. Although I'm sure Cam is ready for another one - 2 book reports, poem memorization, and about 7 gazillion tests this week. Guess that's how he's gotten to a (Important...About To Brag:) 7th grade reading/spelling level? :) 

The weekend before Cam's break we headed up to Prescott for a nice day visit/dinner with Mike & Denise and Grandpa and Grandma Lasky. It was Denise's birthday - a milestone - one I won't mention specifically (You can thank me later Denise!) It was beautiful up there, and really nice to breathe in some fresh air for a change! Mike and Denise bought a house earlier this year to be closer to Grandpa and Grandma while Grandpa is going through chemo. Good to see the grandparents, and grandpa looked good. Again, nice to spend an entire day on a weekend without business involved!

Yeap. That's about it folks. Nothing too exciting planned for the upcoming week - work, work, oh ... work. :) Bryan's birthday is Sunday (yay - he'll finally be the same age - he seems to think it's funny to remind me of how OLD I am, even though it's only by 6 mos.) As of now, we have a "date night" planned for Saturday night. Hopefully that sticks and we can have a nice dinner - out - with no kid - somewhere other than Filibertos.

Few random pics ...

Found this on our doorstep this morning ... we were Boo-Ed! So cute - pumpkin full of candy, and a little poem instructing us to follow through with Boo-ing 2 more houses.  :)

Cameron and Latte - already best friends - sleeping soundly. This is usually how she sleeps, whether it's with him or us! Such a snuggle-bug!

One of the days she was with me to pick Cam up from school. She usually sleeps on the ride, until we pull into the parking lot. Then she is up and waiting patiently until he comes out. She's trying to see out the window here ... and as soon as she spots him, all hell breaks loose and it's pretty hard to calm her down she's so excited!

Out of the Mouth of ... Cameron

Cam: Mom - guess what I found in my math book?
Me: Uh - your homework?
Cam: NO! A booger - and it wasn't mine.
Me: How do you know?
Cam: 'Cause it was in the next chapter. Probably from last year. Gross, huh?
Me: Mmm. Slightly. Did you touch it?
Cam: Not really.
Me: Not really? Go wash your hands.
Cam: But it was a long time ago - before lunch even.
Me: Great. Still - go wash your hands.

Boo

Beavers lost, had high hopes for that game. Sun Devils lost, had high hopes for that game. Moving right along to NFL .. Come on Cardinals! Make mama proud! Not heading into the park until later this afternoon, so we're enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon at home, watching some football, catching up on laundry, etc. Isn't this what we're supposed to be doing? Love it. Hope you're all having a good one!

Conversation last night during the Beaver game:

Bryan: "Honey, what do you want for dinner?"
Me: "I'm drinking it."
Bryan: "Right. Should've known not to ask."


:) Gotta love my Corona.

Hey!

Only a week has passed ... not too shabby, eh? Life is good, busy, but I'm certainly not going to complain. Cam's birthday party was a success ... kinda nice to know the owners, as we completely took over the skate park.  :) There were about 60 people or so there that showed up, most to skate, others to just, well ... socialize ... if you know what I mean.  :) It was nice having mom and dad here for the weekend, convinced them to stay an extra day, after bribing dad with a steak dinner. It worked. Theresa and the kids came over to swim and play, so it was a nice Sunday afternoon at the Peterson's. Skate park has been busy. working on our Fall Break Camp coming up here in a couple of weeks, helping to sponsor a skate comp, and ordering new product for the shop has been taking up quite a bit of time. We offer a "free" trial lesson for people interested in taking classes, it's a great way for parents to determine if their kids are really going to like it before they spend all the money on reg fees, equipment, tuition, etc. By the end of tomorrow, we'll have had about 12 trials take place this week, and already 7 or so have signed on. This is good. This is what pays the rent people! In the process of potty training our little puppy. She's doing good, but it's taking a little longer than we wanted.  :) She is super sweet, a great mix of a puppy and a kitten. She LOVES to cuddle! Some pics below of Latte:

Busy weekend ahead of us ... finish up some yard work is top on the list, now that our wasp hive is gone. (Bryan sliced one in half while with the hedge trimmers, unknowingly. Needless to say, when you have a swarm of wasps chasing you, and after being stung about 6 times, you tend to just drop what you're doing!) Took care of it, but now we've got the rest of the yard to finish. Have some projects to work on at the shop, and of course, football that must be watched. Is September really about done? Where the heck did it go? Hoping for some cooler weather ... when we still have temps that are reaching 110, it starts to make you a bit angry. We want our "fall" weather! Now! That's it for now ... off to wake up Cam and get to working ... let's get this day started!!!

Soooooooo ....

Here I am! I know, y'all probably thought I gave up on this blogging thing. Nah ... just blagging. :)  Seriously. I have so much to report on, but wanted to make sure that today especially, the blogging world knows how proud I am of my "little" 10-year old!
Happy Birthday Cameron! He hits double digits today. Cannot believe it has been that long. I know all mother's remember the day "like it was yesterday" and I'm no exception. At this time, we were still waiting for him! Took his sweet time before finally blessing us with his presence into the world. At 3:20 this afternoon, about the time I pick him up from school, my baby will be officially 10. Love him.

What else has been happening in the last 6 months? Not much.

February - The last post was King of the Groms Championship in Minnesota. Cameron placed 6th in the Intermediate Bowl comp. That's 6yh place in a national comp! Very proud. The first series stop for this year's King of the Groms contest took place in July at Woodward West in California. Hit that up, and he placed 2nd in Intermediate Mini-Ramp. Earned himself another Golden ticket to hit Nationals in Minnesota, again, in Feb. Not so good in the bowl comp, but we're looking at heading to Simi Valley again in December to give it another shot.

March - Bryan and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. I know. Who woulda thunk?  Fox 10 news came out to do a piece on the park, had fun with that. Sort of. But got a  lot of publicity out of it which was awesome. Also had our Grand Opening Celebration on March 31st, which was incredible. So many people came out to help us open the park and celebrate.

(Why do I feel like I should print this post and send it with our Christmas cards?)

Just to give a fast forward update on the park ... 6 months later we are doing better than ever. Every day is just that much more successful than the last. We have well over 100 kids that take lessons, and a strong support system from some loyal skate fans that visit us regularly. Love it. Summer Camps were a huge hit - 8 weeks of all day camp was somethin' else. It was great, but even more great when it was over.  :)  Can't keep our shop decks in stock, constantly ordering SK8 ASYLUM t-shirts, and we just got our own wheels in! So exciting. Lots to do to keep up with the growth, but we're managing. Bryan loves it, instructs a few classes here and there, and is damn good at it. Cam? Well hello people ... he's got his own skate playground ... of course he's loving it. Me? Love it, but it's a lot of work. Still have my day job, so this is my "second" job and some days it really takes a toll.  :) 

April - Hmmm. Nothing too exciting here. Had a birthday. Woo hoo. Cam and I did hit Venice and Huntington Beach for a weekend, which was awesome. Of course it would have been better with Bryan, but ... stuff happens. He competed in a bowl comp - it was a backyard pool - literally - and took 3rd place. Highlight of the trip? Meeting Christian Hosoi - one of his all-time favorite skate pros. Kid was in SEVENTH HEAVEN!

May - Couple of skate events we were helping sponsor, had a film crew in to shoot a music video at the park (it was an "up and coming" rap singer), and Cam finished school! End of 4th grade ... he received the Principal's Award for being on Honor Roll each of the 6 grading periods, so we were extremely proud of that. It was also a hard time for us as Grandma Peterson, Mike's mom passed away. She had been ill for a while, so it was tough on all of us.

June - Mini-Ramp Comp at the park - good times had by all. Good turnout, and the skating was great. Cam actually wanted to compete in this one, and even bumped himself up to the 12-15 age division. Did pretty darn good too ... came in 4th! (We had outside judges come in, so it wasn't like mommy and daddy were scoring everyone there.)  :)  Go Skateboarding Day is a huge event in the skateboarding community. We celebrated by opening up a special open skate session, where all proceeds benefited the JohnnyKicksCancer Foundation. Great organization, and one that we were included in on a personal level. three of our class participants were cousins of Johnny Romano. We chose this organization because the little guy was a fighter, a skater, and only 10 when he lost his fight to Leukemia. The Make-A-Wish Foundation honored his request to become a "pro-skater" and several companies actually produced Johnny Romano decks, trucks, wheels, shoes, etc. We purchased a Johnny Romano deck and auctioned off the complete during our skate event. It was great, and Johnny's family was even more thrilled to have us contribute. There will definitely be a 2nd Annual SK8 & DON8 Go Skateboarding Day!

July - Very hard month for us. Had to put Hayden down, which still chokes me up. He was such an incredible cat. Had him for 14 years, and he was truly a part of the family. He'd had a seizure in April, and never fully recovered from that, in fact, he seemed to get worse. We finally found out that he had a brain tumor, and that it was spreading rather quickly, especially around the area of his left jaw. He never let on that he was in pain, however. Still cuddled, still loved us, unconditionally. Just got to a point where he couldn't eat very well, and the tumor was starting to affect his nerves. It was time. Hardest thing I've ever had to do was take him to the vet, but he is at peace now, and  we are so lucky to have had him in our lives. 4th of July we were closed and had a nice BBQ at our house with plenty of friends, food, swimming, and of course, adult beverages. It was a much needed break. Cam and I headed out on a road trip to Vegas, Bryan flew in a couple of days later, and we all were able to head out to Cam's comp at Woodward. It was great to hang with mom and dad, relax, and be together!

August - Cam started 5th grade - I know. Unbelievable. Had some issues with Bryan's (old) route and the guy who purchased it. Caused some serious stress for us - not sure what we're in for legally, financially, etc., but believe everything will be okay. But ... as a result, I had to hit Seattle solo for a wedding, which was great, but so missed having my boys with me. Although ... it was nice to kinda get away for a few days, see the family, enjoy the festivities and breathe. :) We also added a new member to the family: Latte ... a Lab/Chihuahua mix. I know, I know. It is odd. Hope you aren't "visual" types of people. We got her from a Rescue, and we're really hoping that for the mommy's sake, SHE was the lab. At any rate, she is adorable. She's now 4 months old, 5 lbs, and won't get much bigger. She's the chocolate color, and the only one in her litter that didn't have the caramel colored/chihuahua look. Love her. She LOVES to cuddle and snuggle, play, and is just a doll. Now we just need to get that potty training under control ...

September - Here we are! Cam's 10! See that wasn't so bad, wasn't it? (I was asking myself that question ...) And no, it wasn't. But spare time that equals more than 10 minutes? Yeah, we call that a vacation in this house. 

Okay - well now that you're all caught up - I guess we'll chat soon ... next March maybe? Just kidding. I promise it won't be that long.

And we're off!

To here ... The 8th Annual King of the Groms Championship! We are at the airport as we speak, just waiting for our flight. Get into Minneapolis pretty late tonight, but excited to get there nonetheless. And yes, in case any of you just happen to know what the temperature was there today, well, let's just say it's colder than s#!t. The hight was 29, and the low -- well we'll be the judge of that when we land ... supposedly it's 9. Cam is very excited to compete - and see some snow.  :) I will be sure to take lots of pictures, and try and update this throughout the week. He has a practice session tomorrow and Thursday, and Friday night at 6:00 is the semi-finals for the mini-ramp. Saturday he'll compete in the bowl. Sunday ... we HOPE to be competing in the Finals .. Woo Hoo! Very proud of him for making it this far ... there are some amazing kids competing in this series.

Happy Birthday Mom!

You have always been there whenever we've needed you ... with more than enough kindness and just the right amount of advice. We can't thank you enough for all that you've done for us, and hope you know how very much we love you! Have a FANTASTIC birthday celebrating with those who love you more than you know.  :)   HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wish we could be there to help celebrate with you, but know we are there in heart and thinking about you on your special day. Enjoy - you deserve it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone has a great day!

XOXOXOXOXO

Love, Us

hi.

It's me. Yep - I'm here and yep- we are still alive!  It was a crazy, crazy, weekend. We opened - yay! Weren't sure that it was going to happen at first ... this last week we talked about opening Saturday, but on Wednesday, one of the guys working on the build decided to quit. After 3 months, and knowing we needed the bowl built by Saturday, he leaves. Nice. Needless to say, Bryan stepped in for him, which left a WHOLE LOTTA other stuff that he needed to take care of get passed off. After some very late nights, the bowl was finished, finally, on Saturday morning about 4:30am. 7.5 hours before we opened. It was crazy. But ... that's over, and we had a great opening weekend. Had a lot of people come through both Saturday and Sunday, had some register for classes already. Everyone left happy, everyone had a great time, so that was huge for us. All in all it was a good weekend - exhausting - but good! Now the craziness of everything has died down somewhat, and once we get all the classes filled up, routine might just be right around the corner. THEN ... Cameron won't be wearing the same pair of pants all week to school because I didn't have time for laundry. Just kidding. Maybe.

Happy Birthday ...

to Art & Lucy!  Ohhhhh .... the memories! If you are one of the few unfortunate souls that have NO idea what I'm talking about ... check it out here.   :) It is quite the circus around here! We are so trying to get things moving to open the pro shop within the next week or so, the park soon to follow, if and when we can get things straightened out with the city of Mesa. Very difficult. Dealing with different inspectors that give us different information, approvals, permits, etc. So the political crap has been difficult to maneuver. But ... we're getting there. Again - this is ALL we have done in the past week or so! Nothing too exciting, just trying to wrap up some loose ends! It's rainy here today, and with it being a holiday and no school, Bryan and I looked at each other with a smile thinking ... Yep, this is the type of day we will be LOVING in the future!!!  :)

Thought for the day

If you don't like something, change it.

If you can't change it, change your attitude.

~Maya Angelou

Happy 2010 ...

And only 10 days late. OMG! I cannot believe this is my first post of 2010! It's been pretty crazy lately and to be perfectly honest, we just haven't been home too much this last week or so. Starting with New Year's ... we had a great time. Had about 60-70 people over at the park skating. Had all the fixins' for a nice little party: music, munchies, and of course, some beverages. There were quite a few people skating, and EVERYONE gave us positive feedback about the place. It is almost done, but there were 3 of the 4 areas that people could skate, so they were happy.  :)  It was great to have all of our friends there - new and old - to help us celebrate the upcoming year! Took down my Christmas decorations that weekend, and they are boxed up and ready to be moved into my new storage unit ... under the vert ramp in the park. You have no idea how much storage space there is in there. It will be nice to FINALLY get my Christmas tree out of the guest room closet! ;) Of course, Monday meant back to work for me after 4 days off, which was nice, but started to feel a cold coming on. Tuesday, not a whole lot better, in fact I had some facial swelling when I woke up, so I knew it wa a sinus infection from past experiences. Wednesday ... not so good. Stuffy head, cough, and my face, well ... if you wouldn't have known, you'd have thought I was beat up. bruising under my eyes, swollen eyes, it was HORRIBLE! Needless to say, I felt like crap, and there was NO WAY I was going into the office. So, it was a sick day - first one in almost a year and a half! Felt it was justified. Took some good medicine, and slept for about 5 hours straight. Swelling was a bit better, thank god for sunglasses, and the fact that I didn't have to go anywhere! Cam went back to school that day, so there was the start of some normal routines going on! Thursday morning had a doctor appointment, and ended up getting a nice cortisone shot - in my face - for the swelling. Yes, it was that bad.  :)  I'm happy to report that I am MUCH better. Any hopes of becoming a poster child for a battered wife are null and void. I did have a picture, but I'm WAY to vain to post it. It was that bad. So ... on to Cameron ... he got his report card for last quarter ... HONOR ROLL ... AGAIN! WOO HOO! SOOOO proud of him. He really worked hard to raise some of his grades from the progress report a few weeks ago. He got 2 B's and the rest A's ... love it!!! He's gotten VERY good about knowing his responsibilities with getting homework done, and done right, or the skating sessions will be significantly decreased! Bryan is pooped. Period. But it's good. The park is coming along great - we're just waiting for the bowl to be finished, and that should be about a week and a half. Would like to open up the pro shop within the next week or so, and now that we finally have power to the place, that is a good possibility. No more using our cell phones to use the potty!  Our SK8 ASYLUM sign on the builidng should be up in a week or so, we've got a guy painting a 15 foot SK8 ASYLUM logo on one of the cement walls in the park, alarm company, and the bank will be out on Monday to get things going. :) Craigslist is a godsend. Bryan found a brand new cash register, three tape guns + tape, and a credit card/debit card machine for a great low price of $150. Business close out. It was huge!!! After pricing all of the stuff prior to finding this guy, we were looking at a couple of grand. So this was great.

Now that I think about it ... there really isn't much going on. Work, school, and park have been utilizing ALL of our time. Today is a clean up day. House ... park ... garage. It should be productive. Cam's championship contest is next month, so we're trying to get those travel plans all squared away. Still making an serious attempt at opening the park by the end of the month, so we plan to have the grand opening celebration about a month later - definitely after Cam's contest. That's it for now ... will do my best to post more, and more frequently!

Out of the Mouth of ... Cameron

We were sitting at dinner the other night, and talking about vegetables. Bryan mentioned mushrooms are the ONLY vegetable he will not eat. (I know, he's weird, right?) And Cam agreed, then mentioned spinach. But only if it's in a dip. Then he said that he wouldn't even eat the seaweed at lunch at school. Seaweed? Really? You have seaweed for lunch? Yep - it's always on the menu, you should know, mom.  Hmmm ... pretty sure you don't have seaweed, after all, Ben Franklin isn't THAT hip to offer california rolls for lunch. Well we don't have your January menu yet, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow.  Fast forward to the next day ... Cam brings me the menu, and points to next Thursday's lunch ... See? Right there ... I told you. Let me see that ... Cameron ... this says kiwi. Seaweed, kiwi, same thing, right?