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| SAM - 2013 | Home | My Site Map |
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JANUARY - So, the second semester of seventh grade started...with all F's. I finally figured out Sam was deciding to read in Access class versus doing his homework. So, after long talks with teachers, councelors, and the Access teacher; no reading until all homework and studying are done. His grades begin to pull up..but there is a chapter 2 to this story. Cotillion begins this month. Dancing with girls!! Oh by the way Sam is playing hockey with the Whiteouts and they are doing very well. And, near the end of month Mom managed to sprain her ankle walking off a curb. What fun!! |
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FEBRUARY - So, Cotillion was lots of fun. We FINALLY started getting some snow in the Pikes Peak region. Not nearly enough to ward off the drought though. Sam is continuing with the Whiteouts and he's playing basketball at the Y. He got every short boy out there on his team (he's the tallest at about 5' 5"). |
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MARCH - Finally March is here. Both Sam and/or I have been sick the entire month. However, the Whiteouts won their Championship!! Yeah. The basketball team finally won a game...the last one of the season, and Sam got the last point of the game!! Sam's first band concert of the year. He played the piano (shocking). And finally Easter came to our house. Sam got two Easter egg hunts and he won them both. Lots of candy, goodies, and a huge ham meal. YUM!! |
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APRIL - Oh boy this is the busiest month. So chapter 2 to the grades issue above. I started seeing a lot of roller-coaster of Sam's grades. Good one day, bad the next (thank goodness for the Campus Portal). So, I started counting his pills. He took it one day but not the next. Oh brother, how long had this been going on (well come to find out about 3 weeks to a month)? So, after some talks with his counselor I have taken over giving him his medication. Problems solved. His grades drive upward, he starts caring about doing well, organizes his binders by himself, talks to the teachers about assignments, and cleans out his locker (which made it on the CCTV at school as a "hoarder locker" before). Thank goodness for Vyvanse!! So I'll have to do this until the semester ends, and we'll see what 8th grade brings us (hopefully some more maturity). Sam quietly celebrates his birthday at the end of the month. He didn't achieve his usual goal of earning something big for the end of the year, but he has learned some valuable leassons!! |
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MAY - 7th grade finally comes to an end...we made it!! Sam's grades end up pretty good at the end of the year, after all that. An "A" in math and science. I am pleased!! He will get a birthday party later in the summer at Elitch's, but no smart phone yet!! Now vacation begins. Sam will begin the summer by spending 3 weeks in Indiana with his Grandpa and two friends, Pax Huxstep and John Lovingood. They fly out over Memorial Day weekend and won't be back until June 15. Mommy will get lots of good golfing in!! |
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JUNE - We tried to have a nice Father's Day picnic outside, but got driven inside by the rain!! It has hardly rained here this summer and has been terribly hot. The Black Forest Fire started June 11 and it was dejavu all over again from last year. One of my friends from golf was supposed to meet us but her house was one of the first to burn. Tragic!! |
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JULY - July starts with a BANG!! We attend the Old North End Bike Parade which has been held since same
was a little boy. We haven't been in a couple years as we've been out of town. Next we hit the Rock Ledge Ranch for an Old Tyme
Fourth of July Celebration. Sam meets Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, General Palmer (founder of Colorado Springs) and we see
a Revolutionary war camp recreation!! Neat!! Then on July 8th Sam starts a big adventure with the Boys Scouts to the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Beckley, West Virginia. The troop starts with a touring trip to Chicago by taking the train from Denver to Chicago. Mommy and her friend Erin (Ryan's mom) both decide to chaperone the boys on the train to Beckley. In Chicago here's what we saw: So, at the Jamboree Sam did 3-D archery (like into actual stuffed animals), rifle shooting, the ropes course, zip-lining, and whitewater rafting. They had a concert with 3 Doors Down and a speech from Mike Rowe. I'd have picture but he lost his camera on about Day 2. No such luck!! He came home a tired, but happy boy!! |
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AUGUST - 8th grade at Cheyenne Mountain Jr Jigh!! Sam decided that decided that he wanted to have his birthday party at Elitch's Amusement Park. So we needed to schedule that for the summer time. He invited three of his friends to join him (Edward Thomas, Ryan Smith, and John Lovingood) and we spent the entire day at the water park and then riding rollercoasters into the evening. |
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SEPTEMBER - Okay so to round out another weird year, it started raining in September and didn't ever seem to stop. Colorado has historic flooding. Manitou Springs had devastating mud slides and the entire town was literally awash in water. At our own little house, there was no flooding (we kind of sit on a hill) and our downtown stormwater system was working great. But when the rain continued, and standing water started to appear in the backyard, we were getting a bit concerned. However, that was just about the time the rained stopped and things began to dry up. We needed the rains so badly so that was a positive aspect of this tragedy. From that point on we had a great fall with mild weather and beautiful fall colors (it's been a while!). Sammy D is continuing to play football, hockey, AND basketball. He's doing great and having a lot of fun. School is cruising along well. He is in advanced English and has a good grade. Math is an "A" and Science is a "B". Our deal is this year he will get an "A" in math and "A" in science in order to earn his big gift for his birthday. So far he seems to be close to that target. We will monitor that to see how it goes. |
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OCTOBER - We did the full decoration of the Derrickson house for Halloween, pumpkin carving, and scary costume wearing.
These are the sports he is playing
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NOVEMBER - So school, scouts, and sports have all been chugging right along. Mid-month Sam had an awesome weekend. First on Saturday we went to the Trans=Siberian Orchestra concert at the World Arena. Then, he, Grampy, Uncle Cary, and Seth all went to Denver to the Broncos v. Chiefs game, the most highly anticipated game of the NFL season!! Grammy had no clue when she purchased the tickets what a bargain she got!! We had a quiet Thanksgiving at Grammy's and went to visit Great-Grandma. Mommy was sick over Thanskgiving. |
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DECEMBER - So December is both a lot of stress, and then a ton of fun. Sam did his finals at school. In the end he got 5 A's and 2 B's. He did get an A in math, but he got a B in Science - an 89.24%. Wholy cow could he just have bumped it up a bit!! Then we had lots of fun with scouts at the year end Holiday party. Then off to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 3D and IMAX with the Smith's. This is a yearly traditional as Ryan's birthday is on Christmas. After the movie we go to dinner and then exchange gifts. We looked forward to this day for a long time and had lots of fun!! Finally Santa came to visit Sam. Last year I was spending Christmas Eve breaking 2 toes getting Sam to sleep so Santa could visit. This year he was in bed by 10pm and I was liesurely able to get ready for next day. What a difference a year can make. |
| More miscellaneous pictures of Sam in 2013: Sam 2013 | |
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