Last Game of the Year

James' competitive hockey team played the Davis County Select Pee Wee team on Wednesday. This was the first time these two groups had met on a competitive (non-recreational) level and the competition was EXCELLENT!

Despite the strange ice situation (the rink had some problems with a compressor so the ice was not as frozen as would be ideal...), the kids on both teams all played well. The pucks didn't always glide where they wanted them to, and neither did their feet, and they got more wet than usual, but they worked it all out just the same.

Final score: Wildcats 3, Wind 2.

Favorite Photos of the Year

I love my digital camera because I can take lots and lots of photos and it doesn't cost a thing.

I spent some time today and went through all the photos James and I took during the past year. Included below are my favorites. Enjoy!

January 10, 2009
Salmon, Idaho
Photo Credit: Ivy Melton Sales

Dogpile the Goalie
State Recreation League Championship
March 14, 2009
Provo, Utah
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

March 22, 2009
Salt Lake City, Utah
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

Hildene
June 9, 2009
Manchester, Vermont
Photo Credit: Ivy Melton Sales

June 9, 2009
Quechee Gorge
Quechee, Vermont
photo credit: James Sales

Herring Gull
June 12, 2009
Jordan Pond at Acadia National Park
Mount Desert Island, Maine
photo credit: James Sales

Portland Head Light
June 13, 2009
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

Mellon Heads
July 3, 2009
Layton, Utah
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

Rainbow Clouds
July 23, 2009
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
photo credit: James Sales

July 23, 2009
Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

July 23, 2009
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

Swimmin' Hole
July 24, 2009
Condon, Montana
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

August 8, 2009
Hapuna Beach, Big Island, Hawaii
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

August 11, 2009
Waimea Canyon
Kaua'i, Hawaii
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

October 24, 2009
Layton, Utah
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

November 7, 2009
Provo, Utah
photo credit: Ivy Melton Sales

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to our family and friends. We hope you had as wonderful a day as we did. It was a nice change of pace to have a break from all the craziness of H1N1 mass vaccination clinics!

I have to share with you my favorite Christmas photo. My father is almost impossible to shop for, and he would actually be happy with no presents at all. BUT! I found a gem this year and from his reaction in the photo you can see he couldn't have agreed more. What would we all do if Max Hall didn't hate us anyway?

My dad and his new "MAX HALL HATES ME" T-shirt

Turkey & Hockey

In our house Thanksgiving and Hockey go hand in hand because our hockey organization hosts a competitive hockey tournament every Thanksgiving Weekend.

James' team this year is pretty green, and they are still learning to play together. While the boys didn't win a single game, they played tough, with heart, and kept the scores very close. In fact, three of the games we were winning heading into the 3rd period, just to have the other team come back and score 2 goals at the very end.

So close!

DARE Graduation

I didn't get any photos of DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Graduation because the lighting is terrible at the school and the majority of the photos I take in there turn out awful. But, I do have a great story to share about the graduation just the same.

James' least favorite subject in school is anytime he has to write a story or report. Writing has never been his "thing." I suspect this is because he is a bit of a perfectionist and gets frustrated about not always spelling words correctly and not getting the thoughts down exactly as he wants them the first time through.

Well, for the DARE program each student writes an essay about something they have learned during the course. The teacher and the police officer then select one essay from each class to be read out loud during graduation. James' essay was the one selected for his class. I'm so proud that he has found that success with writing that has eluded him for so long. I was equally proud of his ability to stand up in front of all his peers (and their parents!) to read the essay out loud. He didn't stumble over the words and read at a good pace, no nervousness to be detected.

I would have typed his essay here for everyone to read, but in true boy fashion, the paper ended up getting ripped in half, covered in dirt, and subsequently in the garbage. But I can tell you it focused on tobacco, alcohol and meth, and how hard it has been for him to see the impact of these substances on members of his family.

Good job James!

Birthday Bowl

This year we had a SURPRISE birthday for James at Fat Cats Bowling in Ogden. Fun photos included! (Ever notice how bowling alleys are not picture friendly?)

Reflections 09

James entered the photography portion of his school's PTA-sponsored Reflections Contest for the 4th year in a row. This year's theme was "Beauty Is..."

James selected the following photo he took while at Acadia National Park this past June and entitled it "Beauty Is Glimpses of Nature."

James took first place at his school competition and is again moving forward to the district level competition.

Good luck!

Fall Soccer

A little bit more about our soccer experience this fall...

What a great team and what a fantastic coach. While the kids did not win every game (which is the way I prefer a season to go anyway), they played hard and most games were very close and competitive.

The coach let kids play positions they requested (for the most part), and James decided to try being the goalie for a change during most of the games. I was very nervous for him, but he ended up being quite the goalie player! I think his greatest strength was playing out in front of the net, unlike most kids who feel more comfortable standing back almost inside of the net. James' strategy made some of his teammates nervous, but most of them soon realized the strategy was good with the number of early saves James made.

HOOT!

One of the on-going assignments James will have in his 6th grade class this year is to read a book with a given theme, then to create a book report. Each book report will have a different approach.

For his first book James picked "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen. Book reports this time were to make a dioramas depicting a scene from the book. A photo of James' dioramas is below - complete with 3-D trees and a couple of feathered owls.

State Fair

We made our annual trip to the State Fair and even avoided tasteless swine flu jokes when visiting the pigs.

As usual, we focused our time on the animals and successfully didn't buy one bit of junk from the many vendors present.

James looked at many bunnies, noticed which ones were for sale, and asked if he could buy most of them. Thankfully he took my answer of "no" without complaining.

While we didn't take advantage of the free concert, we could still listen to most of it while we walked around and took our annual runs down the big yellow slide.

Hooray for Soccer!

James had his first soccer game this past weekend, and it was nice to get back to the game!

He is in his second year of U-12, and at this age they play on the full sized field. His coach is AMAZING and the kids really get along well. James played defense, goalie and forward, and (thanks to his allergist/asthma specialist) he was able to BREATHE the entire time. Which was a very, very NICE change. =)

The boys won their game 4 - 0 (way to go Hunter with your amazing AIM), and the teams were well matched. Six more games to go.

Kaua'i

Our final stop this trip was Kaua'i. We spent 2 and a half days here, and it definitely wasn't enough. Kaua'i is breathtakingly beautiful!

After renting a trusty 4-wheel drive jeep, we headed up Waimea Canyon.

While up in the canyon we were introduced to the favorite bird of Kaua'i (and throughout our trip we were re-introduced and re-introduced again and again and again...)

On the morning of our second day we headed to Lyndgate Beach Park to try out snorkeling for the first time.

James took to snorkeling like a fish, but I had a much harder time not panicking every time I put my face in the water. James liked it so much he 1) didn't want to leave (even when the rain started POURING), and 2) snorkeled each night in the pool at the hotel. We saw all kinds of fish (mostly these small white ones) and some honu while snorkeling.

I think my favorite place on the island was Hanalei, even though it was rainy, rainy, rainy the entire time we were there. I guess you need all that rain to make it that green and that beautiful. =) Blow is a photo of a very striking church there on the main road.

On our last day we hiked along the amazing Makewehi Lithified Cliffs on the south end of the island. When on the edge of the cliff you could look down and over to see many birds who had nested in the holes of the cliff wall, as well as many crazy black crabs running all over the place!

Hurricane Felicia & The Big Island

The following day we left Oahu to spend a few days on the Big Island in Hilo with our family. What we weren't counting on was the additional adventure of a hurricane. On Thursday evening of our trip Hurricane Felicia was at a Category 4, and expected to make landfall Tuesday sometime during the day. Then, on Friday morning it had lowered to a Category 2, and landfall was expected to be before 5 a m Tuesday. Forecasters were expecting Felicia to downgrade to a tropical storm before making landfall, but that didn't keep us from checking the Internet several times a day.

Yes, somewhere out there to the west is a hurricane. Wouldn't think it from the view, eh?

In the end, the hurricane ended up moving north of the Big Island and we were spared the flooding and damage other islands experienced.

While on the Big Island (waiting for the big hurricane of course) we visited the farmer's market...
Boogie boarded at Hapuna Beach (hands down the best beach in all of Hawaii)...
Got some quality time in at Volcano Skate Park...
Walked through the Thurston Lava Tube...
Went up to the Halemaumau Crater where a new opening billowed lots of steam (and lava is burning just below the surface)...

And had an all around good time with family.

Thank you Naeole's for letting us stay with you!