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.