JROTC Awards Banquet 2009

My highly decorated son could totally

run for president. See, he's got the

wave down.

James is down in front. This is for the Team Awards

which were all on the same certificate. They were more

efficient this year. In fact, there were a number of

awards that weren't deemed important enough

to give out on awards night.

James also received a national award: the

American Legion Medal for Military Excellence.

At the end, seniors are recognized and parade through

the Honor Guard. In the spirit of those who have gone

before, James hugged fellow cadets

and pinched their cheeks.

Colonel Horton, James and Master Sergeant Hardcastle.

Disneyland or Bust!

This last week we gathered the whole family together and went on vacation. We visited Disneyland and Knottsberry Farm. Each person made the trip so memorable... here's a few of those memories beginning with a ride in a stretch SUV limo:

Hubby/Dad/Grandpa always makes an impression in his quest for the perfect picture. Sometimes it's a pain but it's always worth it in the end. He also let out the snortiest snore one night that sent James into extreme giggles.

Hillary knew where everything was without ever looking at a map. Even if it hadn't been 14 years since I'd been to Disneyland, I'd have needed a map. She was also very patient with the tagalong grandparents! I think Hillary wanted to be in the picture with the Aztec dancer at Knottsberry Farm more than her little ones did. Hee hee.

Marc did funny impressions while we waited cuz you know you wait for everything at Disneyland. He had a backpack full of snacks and jackets for his little ones which he carried everywhere and was able to take care of all of their needs.

Natasha and Emma could go on most rides so they were kind of put out about the one or two they weren't big enough for. Both were generally very agreeable and no trouble at all. (At least not for me!)

Samantha was in her own little world most of the time and proved to be quite a good escape artist but we didn't lose her. She also had to be pried off the tea cup ride. It was cute to see how enthralled she was with the airplanes coming and going at the airport and grandpa was so good to be appropriately thrilled with each one.

Adelyn loved the carousel and cried when she had to leave her horsey. She had so much fun on rides she even caught herself smiling and put her hand over her mouth to cover it!

Sonia did a lot of leg work for me with scheduling the flights, hotel, shuttles, etc. We still might not have that done if left to me. She was my go to gal and also knew where everything was found at Disneyland and Knottsberry farm.

Shawn had a donut shirt that was so funny, people stopped him to say he had an awesome shirt. Sami was really studying it too since one poor donut had a bite out of him and his poor jelly goo was spilling out.

Roxanne was a huggy girl. I got hugs from everyone but I received 2-3 each day from Roxanne. She foiled her sisters evil plan and did not grab some random person's butt like Sonia wanted her to. Undetered, Sonia then smacked Shawn's hand to try and make him do it but that didn't work either.

Leland didn't know I was watching but he looked like a little kid staring out the airplane window. He was sick with some stomach bug (for which he received antibiotics when we returned home) and was such a trooper. His big thing was to get some cotton candy. He bought two and shared with everyone. Some had fun making mustaches and other things out of their pieces of fluff.

James had so much fun running on all the rides he could. He was willing to try everything since the last time he'd been to Disneyland was at age 4. I don't think Thunder Mountain Railroad was quite as memorable for him this time as it was back then. He does seem to be having fun on one of my personal favorites... the tea cups!

Most Awesome Commander Ever!

"Woo-yeah! Look at me and my bad self! Uh-huh! Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!" James and his team did very well at the 16th Annual Utah JROTC Invitational Pentathlon competition. T-ville had four teams but only three of them could compete so the fourth one competed for another school that came but didn't have enough people. It was because of T-ville's 4th team that Independence High even received an award. All the T-ville teams did well and came away with several awards each. James' team won 2nd place in the Regulation Drill and Exhibition Drill competitions. While Ben Lomand High had the fastest male and female individual runners, James' team still placed 1st for the Mile Run. The absolute high-light of the awards ceremony was at the very end when James was announced as the Best Commander. Hoo-aah!

Mom Rocks!

Pasta is reported to give you natural energy so just before a competition, James likes to have pasta. The last couple of competitions (including today) he's gotten his teams together for a pasta party. This time it was at our house and I had the idea that it was a pot-luck pasta party and agreed to make a dish similar to spaghetti but the sauce is a little different and it's served over rotelle. Then last night I came across a recipe for a chicken pasta caesar salad and thought it looked good. The reviews all said it was fabulous. I had the idea that I could use up some left-over rotisserie chicken and make this salad for the kids also. Good thing! One other young man (John Grant) brought a creamy chicken and pasta dish and another brought some spaghetti makings which came in handy for a couple of very late comers! I had plenty of cooked pasta still but it was good to open the can of spaghetti sauce for them. The salad was a hit, even James liked it. We also had a jug full of lemonade which went fast so James filled it up again. The party broke up one by one until eventually the last 4-5 left together. They are sure to win their competitions tomorrow!

After everyone ate, they split up for games. X-box games for half and a rousing game of Risk for the others. They've had lots of fun and it was so cool to have a house full of happy noises.

Milestones

This last Saturday my oldest granddaughter, Natasha, was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was so happy to be eight and to have her dad baptize her.

It was a full day. I went up to Hillary and Marc's to get the hams started. Between Gingell's and Moseley's, it took two hams and my turkey roaster came in handy! There wasn't even that much left over, just enough for a few sandwiches but the bonus is that both Hillary and I have a ham-bone for soup. I'll be making beans and ham.

Back to the baptism... due to some miscommunication, we were late to the service. It turned out ok but we were kind of running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying get everyone in the car, figure everything out, and get everyone to where they needed to be. That didn't end once we got to the church. Then it was go here, go there and oh, Tasha and Marc need to change! It's obvioiusly been too long since I've been involved in a baptism and it didn't help that they do the service a bit different up north. Once the baptisms were done, we moved back to Hillary and Marc's for dinner.

The hams were perfect and to them we added rolls, veggies, salads and eclair cake. Mmmmm. While everyone was enjoying their dinners, Sonia was surrounded with little ones waiting their turn to have bunnies painted on their toenails. The Moseley siblings took the opportunity to pose for serious and fun photos. My favorite is the James Bond-ish style poses.

Before long Sonia, Shawn and I were the only guests left so we gave Addie presents (since her birthday was the week before) and she was so happy getting her favorite things, a horse and a dog (stuffed of course!). By then Tasha and Emma were getting ready to go see the Hannah Montana movie with Sonia and Shawn so I bugged out leaving Hillary with my few Easter things to dole out Easter morning. Dad, James and I had a quiet and very different Easter meal... grilled steak and baked potato! Mmmmm.