MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The week started out crazy with classroom Christmas Parties and goodbyes. Sarah and the kids left on Wednesday, Jayden's class met with Morgan's to make Gingerbread houses. I'm not sure how that happened, but it was perfect for me! Morgan was so cute with Jayden! Aspen drove her a little crazy, so we left. On Friday, Aaron had a dance and the Student Council had a party. Dylan looked so bummed the whole time. I swear I'm doing something wrong with that kid!

Dylan asked for a camera this year. I spent a whole month researching which one would be best for him. Then I had to find one in a color he'd like! He opened it, but never really said anything. He also asked for an old computer game. That took forever to find! When he opened that he didn't seem happy. I don't know what to do, but it's breaking my heart. Everyone else seemed so happy on Christmas but him!

The last gift opened was one I have been waiting forever to give! We gave Aaron a cell phone. We added him to our account which gives him the ability to call Travis or I anytime or any other ATT customer for free minutes. He also has unlimited texting - VERY important. He was shaking when he opened it. He even gave me a hug. So worth it! Overall it was a wonderful Christmas. Now if I could just light a fire under Dylan all would be well!

How do you say Goodbye?
Is there a right way to truly say goodbye to someone? How do you thank someone you care so deeply about when you are hurting inside? Today one of the best friends I've ever met moved away from Ketchikan. She has helped me be a better person in so many ways. She has shown me how to be strong and dependent, thankful, gracious and loving to even those you want to strangle.

I will never truly be able to thank her for everything she did for me. I hope that she can forgive me for my weirdness right before she left. I'm not good at handling hard situations and this is one of the hardest I've ever had to deal with!!
So, Goodbye Sarah and good luck. You will be missed more than you'll ever know!

Leaving on a Jet Plane
Okay, so how many of you have a middle school child? How many play sports and are involved in music? I'm sure they compete against other schools right? Do they have to fly to the other schools? Crazy huh! In order for our Middle School to get any playing time they can A: take a four hour ferry ride to Prince of Wales island, B: Take a one hour flight to Sitka, or C: Take a one hour flight to Juneau. Our team? Well we did all three this year.

It was one of the hardest things dropping Aaron off at the airport with his ticket and wishing him well. Seriously, it was hard. As I was talking to Dylan about it I realized that he will be next year! The kids are growing so fast. Literally too, Aaron stands at 6 feet 1 inches (13 years old), Dylan is 5 feet 6 inches (12 years old) and Morgan is 5 feet (10 years old). I think that maybe I will get my basketball team after all!

12 Years Old!
Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me. I'm not sure exactly when I realized that Dylan was on his own path, but yesterday it hit me. He's becoming a man! As Travis confirmed him a Deacon and gave him the blessings of the Aaronic Priesthood I cried. One, because he is such an amazing young man and two, because I really didn't have anything to do with it. He has such a way with people, especially challenging children. He is so kind to everyone and so good to me. I love him and I am so proud of him. Next Sunday will be a wonderful experience to watch him pass the sacrament for the very first time.

Schoenbar Shootout 1st Place Champions

The middle school kicks off the each season with a home tournament. Five teams come from different islands to play. This year Sitka, Wrangell, Craig, and Metlakatla attended the tournament. Games started on Wednesday night and went until 11:00pm on Saturday. We had kids everywhere! Each players' family needed to house 2-4 other players. This is a tradition here since the only teams we can play are from other islands. In addition to the housing, host families are responsible to make sure that their players have breakfast, lunch and dinner. Schoenbar Middle School is too far away from restaurants for the kids to watch, so parents have to come and go all day. It's quite the event! I was at the school on Monday for 3 hours, Tuesday for 3, Wednesday for 5, Thursday for 7, Friday for 11 and Saturday for 16! Travis was gone hunting for a week so poor Dylan had to take over. He was a trooper.

I couldn't believe how amazing Aaron played! He has grown leaps and bounds in strength. He's tall, 6 feet, but his arm span is even longer. When he is boxing out a player they don't stand a chance. He's also one of the scrappiest players on the court. He's always knocking the ball away, or causing a jump ball. He and Colton, the other post, work really well on help defense. It's a great group of boys! This year they won 7 out of the 8 games they played during the tournament. Aaron scored an average of 9 points each game! I was so proud of him!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN
Okay, so I'm not a huge fan. Don't get me wrong, love the sugar cookies. Hate the work. I'm not a good seamstress and that stresses me out. I hate paying so much for a costume they'll only wear once. I guess you could call me the scrooge of Halloween. I don't even put up a single decoration.
My kids on the other hand, well they are super creative. Take Dylan. He decided this year to be "Mountain Dude". That is what Aspen calls Mountain Dew. He came up with the costume idea and everything I needed to get. Thank goodness for scrapbooking crap, we were able to make the sign. I also found a t-shirt and green basketball pants he can wear for more than one night. They were both on clearance, not a normal find at WalMart. The end result: a very cute "Mtn Dude."

Then there is Morgan. She had it in her head a month ago to be a character from one of her favorite books, Warriors. She had the ears and the tale from her Mouse costume and she just added the rest. Travis helped her with the painting and she went to town. She looked soooo cute. Travis is the Halloween guru. He even made a huge gigantic spider to hang on our front window. Very cool!

Jayden was easy. He wanted to be a golden knight. That was it. So we gathered everything we had, spray painted the old shield and called it good. Thank you Jayden.

Aspen got a little spoiled to say the least. The tiara is from her birthday. The wings were a butterfly I found in a garden shop. The skirt is handmade by a friend. The shoes are from the Disney store and she loves them. The shirt I'm kinda proud of it. It took me less than an hour to sew and with no pattern and no swearing. Quite a feat for me. The end result is a beautiful Tinker Bell. Love it!!!

It's My Birthday!

Aspen turned three on the 21st. We had four friends come over to a small party. She loves Tinker Bell so that was the theme we went with. She got dressed up in her favorite Tinker Bell shirt and I put her hair up with a tiara. We played two small games, let the kids play with the balloons and then had cake. This cake was 8" round and cost more money than a sheet cake. Good thing she isn't spoiled.

2nd Place Ain't Bad
Saturday Aaron and Dylan played in the Championship game. It was an unusually beautiful day for soccer. It was clear and 55 degrees, no rain and no wind. It was crazy considering the night before it was pouring and blowing so bad it would move the ball on it's own. Both the boys played hard. Aaron has been sick for almost two weeks now and hadn't gone to school on Friday. Usually I don't let the kids play when they haven't gone to school, but his team depends so much on him that I bent the rules.

Dylan was one of the youngest players in the league, but you wouldn't have known this by watching. He played so tough! He'd charge the ball no matter the opposing player. There were a few times that he'd go up against a girl two grades older and try to be polite. He learned quickly that they wouldn't give him the same courtesy. After a few games he'd run over anyone in his way. Is it bad to say I was proud of that?

I'm glad soccer is over, not that there is a lot of time before basketball starts, but it will be nice to have a break with the kids.

Heather Christensen
A woman of talent and unselfishness. I am ashamed to admit that I never spent a lot of time with Heather. Family get togethers with the Tippetts-Christensen clan can be quite a handful. I do remember how fun she was. She was always laughing with the kids or helping Annette out in the kitchen. She would help Jana or Kara or Natalie with the kids. Heather never did things for herself. I remember in High School how talented she was. Even then she was busy helping with the band or the choir or anything else she could. She was so smart too. Juggling AP classes with her busy schedule. I never saw her just relax and take time for herself. It was always about others! I know that she is already in heaven singing with the angels. Our prayers are with everyone down south.
We love you HEATHER!

Grandparents
I cannot say how important they are, that's obvious. I can say how much my kids miss them! I know without a doubt that we are supposed to live here. We call Ketchikan home. Yet each time I visit I realize how envious I am that my siblings children are growing up with these amazing people.

They get the day to day love. They get the birthday and holiday love. They get the learning, the hoping, the support. Am I doing the right thing? In living here am I depriving my children of knowing their grandparents?

Every time we visit I have to remind the little ones who their Grandparents are. It breaks my heart. They don't love them any less, they just don't know them. I can't replace this time. For some of our loved ones I know that is a short time. I show them pictures and tell them stories. I tell them the naughty things I once did to grandparents and help them understand that they, their grandparents, love them unconditionally and completely.

Yet, this doesn't bring me peace. It doesn't make the pain go away. I'll I know is that I love these people and they love my children. Our Heavenly Father sent us here for a reason and he will help heal these wounds. For now, I just have to keep showing the pictures and telling the stories. For those of you who do get to be close to your parents and grandparents - cherish it! Don't take it for granted!

Sisters
On Thursday we took a drive with Grandma and Grandpa up Provo Canyon. It was absolutely wonderful. There wasn't any traffic in the canyon. It was a perfect 74 degrees.

We ate lunch at the Dairy Keen in Heber and then went to take hoards of pictures up at Wasatch Golf Course. The girls were so patient. Aspen was so funny. She posed and giggled the whole time. Now if I could only convince Morgan that she is beautiful and that smiling won't kill her!

Soccer Stud
This year was Jayden's first year in soccer. I, being completely knowledgeable in soccer, decided to coach. Yeah right, the only thing I know is which direction to kick the ball! Okay, and protect your face - that I figured out in practice. Anyway, this year Jayden played on a first grade - Kindergarten team. He was able to have his good friends Ethan, Jaden girl, Anna and Nena on his team.

At first all he did was run around helping kids up. Yes, this is a good attribute, but I did want to see him kick the ball a little. In our last game he finally started chasing the ball. He seemed to have a great time. On Saturday we will have a little soccer festival with cupcakes and medals. Then it's break time for Jayden. At least until Dance. Oh yes, Jayden will be in dance!!

Day at the Beach
The last day the Degraws were here visiting we headed to Bugge Beach. Travis and Aaron found a large log that was sitting across a rock. It was a natural teeter totter. Of course being the manly men they are they were the first to try it!

After much screaming, the girls kicked off the big boys. Travis bounced them until they were laughing too hard to hang on. With their pink coats and blonde hair these two looked like twins from behind. It was so wonderful how good everyone got along. We are very lucky to have good friends like these!!

Dylan didn't want to play in the water so he started looking for hermit crabs. He found this teeny tiny crab and put it in the Frisbee. As he was playing Cooper came over with two bigger crabs. Then Tobyn found a gumboot colony and Dylan added it to his collection.

Aspen came over to see what Dylan was looking at. She wouldn't touch anything, but kept giggling as they walked around. It turned out to be a beautiful day. I hope they come back for another visit.

Soccer Season
It has begun. Actually it started a few weeks ago, but it's all the same. Jayden is playing in Micro. That means one practice a week and one game. I'm coaching his team and we are having a great time! He runs around the field talking to the kids. He doesn't ever really kick the ball, but he seems to have fun.
Dylan is in the 6-8th grade league. He gets tired quickly and his ankles are sore, but he hussles! He has improved so much. He attacks the ball and is a strong passer. He usually plays forward position, for those who are Soccer illiterate that means he plays and the front of everyone and tries to make a goal. This is pretty impressive considering that he is the youngest on the team. The other night he made a shot and barely missed the goal.

Aaron is the tallest in the league by at least five inches. He is also one of the quickest players. He also plays forward with Dylan. So far I haven't seem him pass it much to Dylan, but he'll learn that he can count on Dylan and hopefully he'll pass more. Next week is tryouts for the Middle School soccer team and he'll play on that as well.

Last, but not least, is Morgan. She is in the 4-5th grade league. Some of the boys are already big kids, but this hasn't stopped her. She goes right after the ball. Even though she didn't play last year, she hasn't seemed to be behind at all. She loves playing goalie, but she is so aggressive that forward is a better position for her. It is going to be a fun year watching all of them!

First Day of School
8th grade, 6th grade, 4th grade and Kindergarten! Two schools and four students. Do the math - that leaves just Aspen and me. Days of lounging in the sun, watching soap operas, and scrapbooking! Yeah right. If you were reading correctly you'd have seen that it is ASPEN and me! That means lots of chasing, lots of no's and as much intervention as one can take. I'm going to have to get real creative to keep her busy.

As for everyone else they are settling in nicely. Aaron was so confident the first day. He walked right in and kids surrounded him. He has a way about him that people are drawn too. It doesn't hurt that he's almost six feet tall and demands the attention.
Dylan is the sixth grader. He seemed a little nervous, but still ready to go. His teacher is a friends' dad, but I think he was still a little nervous. All in all his first week went extremely smoothly. He got 69 out of 72 on his Math test and 100% on his spelling test. His teacher said that was bad since these were tests to determine where to start teaching the kids. He asked how is he supposed to start teaching him if he got the pretest all right? Brilliance, it's in the DNA.

Morgan was very nervous, but she got over it the first day. Her best two friends; Danny and Largim are in her class and this made things go easy. Her teacher is wonderful, but already I've received a note about Morgan's attitude. Aihyaya! What to do?
As for Jayden. His first day was full of tears and a terrible stomach ache. How was Jayden, oh he was excited! I cried when I dropped him off. I cried when I went to lunch. I cried when I picked him up. He does great. His teacher says he listens to her and he follows the rules. His two best friends are crazy and naughty so it will be a difficult year.

Extreme Home Makeover
No, it's not Ty! Aaron is just as cute though! Here he and Travis are putting some final touches on this side of the roof. Now three weeks and $5000 later it's finished! It looks sooooo good. Aaron, Dylan and even Morgan helped. There were also some wonderful friends; Jeremiah, Lyle, Cody and Steve that came over too. Without all of them Travis might be a single man and me without a roof. Okay, maybe not the roof part - I could hire that out!

The roof before was brown, with a little mold and lots of rot. Travis picked out some great shingles that were black and shades of gray. They are called Architectual Shingles and have layers to them. We took tons of pictures for the insurance company and they accepted it! I'm so glad it's over and we can focus on the million other things to fix.

BIG OUCHIE!
On Tuesday I arrived home from Youth Conference in Juneau. That's a whole other blog, because it was an amazing experience. On Wednesday night i went back to work at the Cedars Lodge. I'd only been working about an hour when Aaron called in a panic, then Travis called on the cell phone. I couldn't understand either one of them. Finally I hung up on Travis and said to Aaron, where is dad? He said, "he took Aspen to the hospital." I dropped the phone, grabbed my keys. It only took me five minutes to get to the er. I ran inside to find Travis holding Aspen on the end of the bed. Apparently she had got her thumb stuck in the front gate and it had ripped the top right off! There was a huge chunk out of her thumb. The nurse was washing her hands. I tried with all my might to not cry or throw up. Aspen was only whimpering. The doctor came in and looked at it, he said that luckily there wasn't any damage to the bone. This meant no surgery he said and the thumb will heal. They had Travis take some xrays to make sure there wasn't any bone damage. Luckily there wasn't any. After only two and half hours they sent her home in a bandage. She has been in a little pain, but okay so far. Now I have to keep her out of dirt and water. Yeah right!

Home Run Hero
Out of the 74 boys attending this years SouthEast Alaska's All-Star Tournament only 12 were chosen to participate in the home run derby. Aaron was the second to last in the competition. He hit two way over the fence. They weren't just over the fence, they were waaaaay over! If the field had been set up for the High School they still would have been homeruns. I was so proud! After he hit the first one he turned and looked at me. He is such a cute kid! The second place winner hit three and the next one hit four. I was sooooo proud!

The game didn't stop the awesome day. In the first inning Aaron had this suhweet catch in right field. He had to sprint to get it, but he got it. He also hit a long double and made it all the way home on the next hit. The team continued to play strong through the whole game. The won 11 to 1. This may be Aaron's last game as the team will play tomorrow at 3:00 for the semi-finals.

Hey Now You're An ALL-STAR!!!
Aaron was chosen for the 11-12 year old All-Star Team. He started the year at 12 years old so he was still in Majors this year. He was the only one going into 8th grade. He is also the tallest on the team by 5 inches.

On Sunday they had a meet and greet with the other teams. It was held at a prestigious restaurant here in town. They were introduced to each other and swapped pins. I felt that even though it was Sunday I'd allow Aaron to go. The next day they held opening ceremonies. It poured the whole time! They also held the first three games.

Aaron's team played Juneau East the first night. He played right field. The first hit to him was straight down the foul line. He sprinted for the ball and threw an amazing catch to second. He got the runner out!! It was an awesome throw! His first time up to bat he hit a single to first base. What a beautiful hit! In the third inning the coach substituted him out. I asked the coach why, but he didn't ever answer me. Funny how the sons of locals stay in the whole game. Not mad at all though. Okay, I am, but I'm trying to be good about it! Why take out the kids (not just Aaron) that are playing really well? Why not substitute everyone? Let everyone play equal time? They are all all-stars, they are all equally good players. I'm not good at this relax and let them play. Tonight they play again, I hope it goes better for Aaron tonight.

ZIP - LINE
A very generous family here in Ketchikan gave a free Zip Line Tour to Aaron's All-Star Baseball team. They needed a volunteer parent so I went. It was totally wicked!

We were able to go on six different routes. The guides were so cool and helpful with the boys. They had a blast.

At the end of the tour was a slide. It was the scariest part of the whole thing! You went soooo fast. The instructions before you go down were, don't put your feet up you'll flip over, don't put your hands out, you'll burn them, etc. It was a little daunting to say the least.

Another part of the tour was a rope bridge. At first I was a little nervous, but you are still hooked up to a rope so that helped. I never thought that Aaron playing baseball would be so fun. Thanks Aaron!

CAMPING
During the month of May I realized that it was so crazy I'd have to put camping on the calendar for it to actually happen. Good thing I have Sarah to keep me to my word. As the week got closer I was so tired. I considered canceling, but we had made a deal.
The kids were good in helping to get a little bit ready everyday. Aaron had all-stars and I had to work each night, this made packing a huge feat. Finally Thursday morning we were ready. We loaded up the car as tight as we could and headed out.

We decided to go out to Settler's Cove. We love the beach there and thought the camp spots would be good. Sarah had found one earlier and we went straight for it. It was perfect. Big enough for two tents and lots of kids. Good thing too since I brought my five plus two more. Aaron, Dylan and Morgan were awesome setting up the tent and getting things unloaded.

As soon as we were set up we started to relax. Some of the kids went down to the beach to play, others stayed at camp. Morgan had a new book and dove right in to it. It wasn't long before I had to head back in to town to take Aaron and his friend to All-Star practice. It took me and hour and a half to go to the park and back. AHHH! We got back and had hot dogs and smores. After a few hours of playing we hit the sack. Aspen slept terribly. The boys did okay, apparently when really tired I snore.

The next morning we played at the beach all day. We made sandwiches and goofed around. Morgan spent hours looking for bull fish and hermit crabs. They had a wonderful time. That night we had dutch oven chicken and potatoes. I had to take the boys in to baseball again, but this time they got a ride back out. I'm so glad I went. We had a wonderful time and will do it again in a few weeks!!

It's Official!!
As of July 6th, 2009 Aaron is officially taller than me. After much deliberation and argument we measured. I stand 5 feet 10 inches tall. He is now 5 feet 11. AHHH

He wanted to make sure everyone knew this. Aside from yelling from the rooftop I thought this would work. It's a good thing he's so humble, cuz he's sure cute!