| SAM - 2015 | Home | My Site Map |
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JANUARY - Some good and some bad this month. First Sam and I rang in the New Year with the Smith's at our house. The fireworks off of the Peak were amazing as usual. Next, near the beginning of January my Great-Uncle Shirley passed away. He was my Grandma Dorothy's youngest brother. I always remember him smiling. He was a sweet man and will be greatly missed. So there were lots of CMHS Basketball games this month and lots of January snow. The winter hasn't been as cold as last year but there is a LOT of snow. For Sam's French class he was able to get extra credit if he went to the Cartier exhibit at the Denver Fine Arts Museum. So Sam whisked Grammy and I off to see the exhibit and took us to lunch afterwards at the Pints Pub. A very nice little break. And more snow. Near the end of the month Sam attended the annual bowling get-together with the Scouts. The boys had an awesome time and ate lots of bowling alley food. And more snow. |
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FEBRUARY - Some more good, and even more bad. The Super Bowl was on February 1 and we had another rivalry party with Smith's at our house since it was Seattle (Ms Erin's team) versus the Patriots (Sam's team). What an awesome game. Very exciting. Then on February 4th one of the scouts in our troop James Bornkamp, passed away. James was a huge boy,with an endless appetite. I still remember him often shyly standing there sucking his thumb thinking no one saw him. We loved having him in our troop and sharing our time with him. He will be sorely missed. The funeral was held the next week. Then there was more CMHS basketball, and more snow. During the middle of the month we went to the Cripple Creek Ice Sculpture Festival which, compared to the one's in Alaska, was pretty weak. And then, to end the month, another epic snow storm with the final totals at the Derrickson house of 10 inches. Man we are ready for this winter to end. |
    Richard, we should have done a selfie with EWE!!  The BEAST!! |
MARCH - So CMHS basketball ended this month and the boys had a very nice end of season banquet.
Of all the boys,
Coach Hollywood
had only nice things to say about Sam. He said he was one of the most coachable boys. And there
was MORE snow. A a nice yummy St Patty's Day dinner. And finally at the end of the month was Spring Break!! Whew Hew!! We decided
to go to Atlanta, GA. Here was our itinerary: Day 1 - Flew from Colorado Springs to Atlanta. With a four hour delay in Houston, we didn't get in to the hotel room until 1am. We stayed near the airport that first night and it was one of the most disgusting hotels I've ever been in, and I've been all around the world! Day 2 - We woke up early and drove from Atlanta to Savannah. We stopped in Macon and drove through their Cherry Blossom Festival trail and had a very nice lunch at the end. Then we quickly ran through the Ocmulgee National Monument which was pretty neat. Of course there was road construction about 3 miles outside of Savannah so it took us nearly 2 hours to actually get into town. But we got there and our hotel was right on the river. We were able to have dinner looking out at the water and watch the sun go down. I tried to talk Sam into doing a haunted tour of the city but he was too scared!! At 6 feet tall!! Day 3 - We woke up early again and started the day at the Ships of the Sea Museum. This was a small museum which had the history of shipping in Savannah as well as of every ship named The Savannah. We left there and then drove about another 1-1/2 hours down the coast to Jekyll Island. We had to be there by noon as we were going on a kayaking trip with the 4H Tidelands Nature Center. We paddled through the sawgrass tidal coast on the inland side of the island. The day was overcast so it wasn't too hot. We saw tons of birds and some dolphins near the end with a baby. So incredible. We had dinner at the Lat 31 restaurant where Sam got Fried Banana Cheesecake!! MMMM!!!! Day 4 - Today was a more casual day. Our hotel was right on the ocean and the view was amazing. We spent most of the day walking along the various beaches on the island. We went out to Driftwood Beach and then to the pier to see the fisherman. After a short step into the bait shop for some ice cream we went back to the hotel room and Sam swam in the heated outdoor pool (there were some gorgeous 14 to 15 year old girls there, what luck!). And then a nap, and some lunch at the clubhouse. Again the food was AMAZING!! In the afternoon we went walked through the little town and then to the GA Sea Turtle Center to see some of the turtles they were helping to rescue. Very informative. And then dinner at the bar on the inland pier with a cooling rainstorm. This is an amazing place if you ever get the chance to stop in. Day 5 - The next day we had to leave our little island paradise, so we started with a nice latte and headed out towards the Okefenokee Swamp. We were able to stop and take a walk, but we didn't see an alligators. There was a lot of driving today, but as we approached Atlanta again we were able to stop at Andersonville Prison. This was one of the most notorious Civil War camps in the South and is now the National POW Museum. The film and displays were awe-inspiring. And then you do a car tour through the camp and cemetary. Very somber! Finally we rolled into Atlanta. But the hotel I thought we had booked we didn't have until the next two nights so I had to quickly book us a hotel for that night. That type of uncertainty causes Sam to have panic attacks and he was starting to head for one. But then I feed him and tucked him into a comfy bed and he was a-okay. Day 6 - We started the day in downtown Atlanta Aquarium and then over to the World of Coca-Cola. Did you know that the College Football Hall of Fame is in downtown Atlanta? Neither did I until we decided to end our day there. Actually it was a pretty neat place. Highly recommended for the lover of football. Finally some awesome pizza for dinner. Day 7 - Our last day in Atlanta and we started out at Stone Mountain which I didn't know but it's like a resort with a lake and lots of fun kid things to do. We walked the monument and then into the museum. We left there and then headed over to the Atlanta History Center and Museum which had the most amazing display of Atlanta's involvement in the Civil War. The display was year by year and had little movies you could watch that summarized a lot of the information. VERY neat, highly recommended. Finally dinner at the Atlanta Fish Market. YUM!! Day 8 - A leisurely trip home and we rolled into our house at ~12pm. We even had time to go get Roxa who was so happy to see us. Another successful trip!! |
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APRIL - Usually this is a pretty frantic month for me since it has all the kids' birthdays, Easter, Sam's birthday party, etc. however, I had planned so well before I left on Spring Break the first part of the month was a breeze and easy to enjoy. Easter came off without a hitch and it was a beautiful day to search for eggs outside at Grammy's house. Then, as I was walking past the Pikes Peak Center (next to where I park at work) I saw a poster for The Mythbusters coming on April 11th. I thought maybe Sam would like to take some friends to this for his birthday. I was shocked when he said yes (I thought he might think it was to young for him and his friends). So I got four box seats (the boys went without a parent and loved it) and we stopped at Bingo Burger for dinner before-hand. When I picked them up after the show they were just buzzing with excitement. I was so glad!! Hey that was easy-peasy!! I'll have to remember that for next year!! Oh, and since Sam's grades for this year haven't improved much from last quarter, I got to pick his present. New golf clubs and shoes. We are going to go golfing!! Then at the end of the month Sam finished Hunter Education class with Grandpa. They plan on going Turkey hunting this year. |
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MAY - Finally a quiet month...except for all of the hail and rain in Colorado!! Epic. Mother's Day. And Sam finishes his first year of high school with 4 A's, 1B, and 2 C's. Not great but okay. After school finished he packed his bag and headed to the lake cottage with Grandpa for a 2 week vacation. But it was raining there too. |
 Day 1 - COS to Cimarron, NM |
JUNE - Sam is off to Philmont.With him
are Matt Frazier, Peter Meinig, Dean Taylor, and Ryan Smith. Matt's dad Mike is the leader along with his wife Miriam.
They are Expedition 615-J-02 on Itinerary 5, Challenging.
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  Hike on Horse Island 
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JULY - Sammy and Mommy decided to go to Denver to celebrate the 4th of July Here was our itinerary: Day 1 - Leisurely drove to Denver. Of course we had no choice becuase it took us nearly 2 hours from our house with the traffic. Then once we had some dinner at historic Marlowe's we took ourselves back to our hotel room and prepared for Wicked the Musical at Buell theatre. The show was FANTASTIC!! Day 2 - We woke up late and met Grammy and Grampy at the Cherry Creek Art Festival. It was okay. We're not big art people. However, the gourmet food trucks were AMAZING! Yum. Then back to downtown Denver and a movie. We decided to see The Terminator: Genysys. The movie was alright, but the theatre was awesome. Plush reclining seats with a table. I don't know how we will ever go to a regular theatre again! Day 3 - We woke up late again and headed to Voodoo Doughnuts. Now, I had heard about this place but man did it live up to it's reputation. The Grape Ape is now officially my favorite doughnut flavor! Then we headed to the Denver Zoo. The zoo has really changed since the last time I was here about 10 years ago. All for the good!! And back to downtown Denver for dinner at The Ships Tavern at the Brown Palace. The halibut special was so scrumptious!! And finally we headed out to the Civic Center. ONLY to find out the fireworks were the night before!!! ARGGHH!! Day 4 - We woke up and decided to drown our fireworks sorrows at The Denver Biscuit Company. Sam had the Franklin and I had the shrimp and grits. Oh Yeah!! From July 17-26 Sam went with Troop 101 to Melita Island. 
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AUGUST - Sophomore year. Sam decided not to play football this year and chose to focus on his grades. He also decided to try out for the Fall musical The Putnam County Spelling Bee. He did not make the musical, but the choir teacher was so impressed with his tryouts she asked him to join. So now he is in beginning choir!! |
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SEPTEMBER - September 26th was the CMHS Homecoming. Sam met a girl named Isabella Nowakawski (her parents are imigrants from Poland) in one of his classes. Apparently they were talking in class one day and basically decided they would go to the dance together. However, her girlfriends made it clear to him that he needed to ask her in a fancier way. So, all on his own, he decided I should bring him some Amy's donuts (which is her favorite). He orchestrated giving these to her at lunchtime in front of all of her friends. And on the cover he wrote in Sharpie, "I will be so disappointed if you DONUT go to Homecoming with me!" They took a picture but he won't give it to me. She said yes!! He arranged with his friend Sam Scofield to meet at The Broadmoor for pictures, and then Sam drove them to dinner at Coquette's Bistro (it is a gluten-free restaurant for Sam's girlfriend Juliette), and then he took them to the dance. I picked them up at ~11pm. They got in the car and were just chattering away like magpies. We got Izzy home by 11:30pm. Sam's first real date. |
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OCTOBER - So far this month we went to a corn maze in Castle Rock called Reaper's Hollow, Ghoul's Gulch Haunted House, we saw the Crimson Peak movie, and did the Halloween spectacular at the Derrickson house. Sam also did his first choir concert at the school!! |
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NOVEMBER - Thanksgiving at Grammy's house with the Smith's. Oh yeah Sam made the basketball team again, he's still on the C-squad though. That makes him a bit frustrated. |
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DECEMBER - So in December Sam and Mommy did some fun things. We went to see the Cirque Holidaze show at the Pikes Peak Center. I was sicker than a dog but I made it!! Finals again. Sam got 1 C, 1 B, and 5 A's. Better than this time last year!! Then, to kickoff vacation we went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the Smith's. The weather was COLD over vacation. |
| More miscellaneous pictures of Sam in 2015: Sam 2015 | |
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