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JANUARY - 2009 zoomed in before I knew it. I've been behind on the website but I'm getting
caught up today. Sam and Mommy took a picture with their glasses on and then Sammy spent the night with Grammy and Grampy
because Sam and Grampy were going to an event and mommy did not want them driving on New Year's Eve. So Mommy spent a
quiet evening at home watching movies. There has been no significant snow yet this year so no outside snow activites. Grammy had a nice
birthday dinner for Mommy's birthday. Near the end of the month we went down to Old Colorado City to see the first annual ice
sculpture competition. It left a lot to be desired; however it was nice to be outside. |
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FEBRUARY - February was a busy month of sports, school, and cub scouts. First, on Valentine's
Day Sam gave Autumn a nice card and gift. She liked it a lot. Then Sam and Ryan went with their mom's to the Chinese
New Year's Festival at the City Auditorium. We saw the dragon, the drummer's and some martial arts. The boys loved it.
Finally, near the end of the month at the Cub Scouts the Bears earned their whittling chips by whittling a neckerchief
slide. They did an awesome job and Mommy shelacked them all to make them shine. After that meeting the boys quickly
ran over to the Cheyenne Mountain Retirement Home to view their art project. Their art was an interpretation of the
butterfly exhibit that had been on display throughout Colorado Springs in the summer. Sam's butterfly was called
the "Eye Fly". |
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MARCH - Sam had a jam-packed March. First he finished up Winter Hockey with the CC Tigers
mascot. He had a nice party at daycare for St. Patrick's Day and wore his giant hat. There was the Pinewood Derby
for Cub Scouts. Sam won first place in the den and third in the pack. This year he will be going with the rest of the winners
to the Ute District Derby. Thomas the Tank Engine came to the Pikes Peak Center and Sam and mommy went to the show. And then finally
for Spring Break, mommy and Sam were supposed to go to Canyonlands in Utah; however, due to the giant snow storm (the only significant
snow of the season) we headed south to New Mexico. Sam and mommy went to see Carlsbad Caverns,
Petroglyph National Monument,
Chaco Culture National Historic Park, and
Bandelier National Monument. We took out new 17-foot trailer with us for the first
time and it was quite the adventure. The wind was outrageous, we ran out of gas once, and we took a harrowing route over the
mountains to Bandelier. But, Sam and I made it as we always do and we have a great story to remember!! |
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APRIL - Sam began the month with Easter egg painting and hunting. He got lots of good things
from the Easter Bunny (his second favorite holiday, he says after X-mas) and of course we enjoyed putting on our trash bag cover
to paint the eggs. Since Sam won the Pinewood Derby in his den, he was able to go to the Ute District Pinewood Derby. He invited
his friend Max and both boys had a great time! Sam did not win but it was quite the experience to enjoy. Finally Sam had his
birthday party at Skate City. He invited a ton of boys and they all had a great time skating and eating Spongebob cake. |
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MAY - May was a fun month. First, Mother's Day was celebrated at Grammy's house with great-grandma,
Aunt Julie, Grammy, and Mommy. It was a multi-generational celebration. Sam also ran in the Skyway Marathon for the second year.
He ran 26 miles in 13 weeks and qualified to run the last mile at the Cheyenne Mountain High School track. Near the end of
the month was the final piano recital for the year with Ms Sofia. Finally, Sam celebrated the end of third grade and the move
on to summer! |
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JUNE - Sam's summer has been great. He started out by going to Indiana with Grandpa for 2 weeks.
Then when he came back he wanted to play baseball with the YMCA. Sam also participated in the Scouting Day at the zoo with his
friend Ryan. The lions took a real fancy to Sam and keep jumping at the glass enclosure to try and get at him! |
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JULY - July was another great month for Sam. We left for Alaska on the 1st of July and spent 7 days
with our friends Tina, Brent, and their son Spencer. While in Alaska, Sam was able to land on a glacier on Mt. McKinley,
do a boat ride on the Seward Penisula, ride the Alaska train back to Anchorage, see a Wild Dog Sled show, and just get a generally
good look at the Great North. Near the end of the month Sam went to the wedding of his mom's friends Donna and Tim. The
wedding was held at Farish which is a military recreation site near Pikes Peak. |
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AUGUST - This was finally a quiet month for Sam. We spent some time with outings at Sam's daycare
Greenshades. We went to the Denver museum and then to Elitch's. Finally on August 17th 4th Grade started for Sam at
Skyway elementary. He was super excited to head back to school and see all of his friends!! |
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SEPTEMBER - Sam and Mommy just returned from
Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We camped on the Blue Mesa reservior. On the first day
we went on the Morrow Point Boat Tour and saw the Curecanti Needle.
On the second day we went to the actual Black Canyon and saw the painted wall, went on several hikes, and saw the "death drop". A nice
Belgian man took Sam over to see that because I COULD NOT go on the platform which was cantilevered over the side of a sheer wall.
School has begun and Sam is getting into the swing of things. |
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OCTOBER - This month was Sam's piano recital. He chose to play "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie
Titanic and a composition of his own. Near the end of the month was the traditional Skyway Halloween Party. Sam loved playing the games
as usual. He wanted to have a very scary (read that as bloody) costume. We compromised on a zombie skeleton. |
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NOVEMBER - Early in the month Sam and Mommy decided to head to Disneyland for Thanksgiving. We flew
to Los Angeles and spent the first three days in Anaheim. The first night we went to the Medieval Times for an awesome dinner and
show. The next two days were at Disneyland. We went on every ride that we didn't go on when we were here when Sam was three. We moved
operations down to San Diego and first hit Legoland on our way down from Los Angeles. Then on the next day we spent the day with Shamu
for Thanksgiving, even having dinner with him. This was Sam's favorite place to be. He loved the killer whales and the "Believe" show.
Finally, we headed back up to Los Angles. The first place we went was near the Santa Monica pier so Sam could swim in the Pacific Ocean.
Next we went to Universal Studios. And on our last day we saw the Lea Brea Tar pits and the Hollywood sign. I asked Sam if he liked Los
Angles and he said NO!! It was too big and ugly!! Back to our little hometown then. Sam finished up the month by playing basketball
and more hockey. He's getting much better. |
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DECEMBER - Finally Christmas swept into our house. Sam had another music recital this time at Skyway.
He played in the percussion. He plays, bass and kettle drums and the xylophone. He's made at me because I made him choose this instrument
but it helps with his piano so he's outta luck for now. I tol dhim he can pick up any instrument he wants later in life because he will
have gotten the basics of reading music through piano. Sam's really struggling with believing in Santa this year. He is convinced it's
me until he got his "Santa" presents which he put in a letter I wasn't able to see. But he got what he asked for :) |
| More miscellaneous pictures of Sam in 2009:
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