Sunday, September 30, 2012

Flop Free

Confession time: I can't dive. 
 
I can swim, but I've never been able to dive.
So when JR asked if he could take diving lessons, I was all for it. 
 
Yesterday was JR's first diving meet. I posted on Facebook that if he didn't belly-flop or hit his head on the diving board Greg Louganis style, I was considering it a success.
 
 
Well, it was a success.
 
 
I've never been to a diving meet, and honestly have only seen it on the Olympics, so I had no idea what to expect. 
There were 5 rounds of dives, and two judges.  Each judge held up their score after each dive.
 
 
First Round: Front Tuck Jump Straight
(jump off diving board, tuck your knees, land feet first)
I don't have a good picture of this one, but here he is about to jump.



Second Round: Back Jump Straight
(jump backwards into the water staying completely straight the entire time)


Watching the other divers with his teammate AJ. 
There were probably about 25 kids competing.



Third Round: Approach Front Dive
(take 3 big steps, jump, and dive)



Fourth Round: Back Dive (this one is self explanatory)
The beginners are able to have their coach help them, although they can't score as many points.



Warming up in the pool before the 5th round. 



Fifth Round: Fall-Off Front Dive
(a dive without jumping)


The kids aren't divided up by ability, just age and gender, so JR was competing in the boys 9-11 group. 
There were 5 boys in his group, and JR got 4th.
 
I was so proud he didn't come in last he might as well have won an Olympic gold medal!
(JR was super proud of himself too.)
A well earned 4th place smile!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Fashion Fabulous Friday



I have to say it, I love the blow up parrots.
 

Why pirates you ask? Well, it was for Randi's pirate party last Saturday night. 
 
 I can't even begin to describe how awesome this party was. The kids keep asking me when we're going to another pirate party. 
 
And by the way: If you're ever going to a party given by someone who writes murder mystery parties for a living...it's probably going to be amazing.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Pizza. Good.

For you Real Housewives of New York fans: Is it just me, or is Kyle giving his pizza some serious Ramona Eyes?
 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

A Welcome Just for ME!

Waaaayyy back when we first moved to Durango I wrote about this "friendly" little sign that greeted my 3 kid carrying SUV in the library parking lot.


I immediately thought of that sign in Durango as I pulled into a parking lot near our neighborhood and saw this one waiting for me.

Now that's a sign that speaks to me!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Slightly Different

After seeing Reed's soccer game faces, I thought you might also enjoy Kyle's.
He, too, has a game face.
 
If you consider a "I'm just happy to be here" smile a game face.




 


Monday, September 24, 2012

Success!

One week after our tour of the Mitt Bus, JR and I were hot on the Romney Trail again.
This time we ventured over to Jefferson County (the swing county in our swing state) for a Victory Rally.
 
After parking a mile away, I learned as we approached that we needed a ticket.
Oops, I didn't know that.
The volunteers assured me it was no problem, and to just go get in the ticket line.
 
 
Not being prepared was the best thing that could have happened, the ticket line only had 2 people.


Here's the line of people who actually followed directions and brought their tickets.


JR and I went through security, and as we walked in, a volunteer told us, "Come this way to be on TV! You'll be right behind Governor Romney!"
 
 
Yep, My plan was all falling into place.
You see, if there's one thing I know, it's how to get attention.  I knew if we had any shot of getting anywhere near him, we better stand out.
 
 
Here's what JR and I looked like.


All these people behind us, were actually there way before us.  Luckily, we just had a great case of good costuming, perfect timing, and the right volunteer spotting us!


We were about two people deep behind Governor Romney when he came out.  I was just excited to be about 10 yards away from him.  But the night was about to get better!



After he finished speaking, everyone in our section rushed the guard rail. 
I had one person sort-of in front of me, so I shoved JR between us, and stood on my tip-toes.
 
 
Had I not have had a feathered Uncle Sam headband on, Governor Romney would have never noticed me.
But those red feathers are an eye-catcher, so he looked at me, pointed at my hat and gave me a nod that said, "I like your hat".
 
And then.....
 
Governor Mitt Romney. Shook. My. Hand.
 
And I'll just be honest, I let out a teenage girl meets Justin Bieber squeal.
 
 
After the squeal, I started screaming at JR, "JR! Just touch him! Just touch him!"
But I guess JR's little costume also did the trick, because he got a handshake too!
 
 
Needless to say, it was a huge night for us. 
Watch out, Paul Ryan.  We want handshakes from you next!
 
 

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Matinee

For your Sunday afternoon listening "pleasure":
 
JR's version of Party Rock Anthem...as taught to him by his piano teacher, Vince Neil's Doppelganger.
 
 
 
 
 
And for those of you (my parents) who have never heard the song Party Rock Anthem, here is is.  A little goes a long way.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

New Names

In China, the meaning of your name is what's most important.
 
Ayi's daughter is named Yuan-Yuan. (You-an You-an)
Which I loosely translated into English as "Circle-Circle". 
(Ayi thinks my translation is hilarious, and will call her daughter "Circle-Circle" when she talks about her to me.) 
Obviously, Yuan means more than 'circle', and I'm sure a better translation would be 'continuously' or 'going on forever'.

 
When Ayi gave JR his Chinese name it was a huge deal. 
Many people were consulted (including Jason's entire Chinese office staff and everyone in the neighborhood). 
It was finally decided that JR's Chinese name would be Wang Zi (W-an Zuh).
 
Which means...Wait for it...

"Handsome Prince".
(It's okay, you can totally roll your eyes.)

 
I told Ayi she could give Kyle and Reed Chinese names, and it didn't take her long to come up with:
Da Zhuang (Da Drawn)
and
Xiao Zhuang (Shou Drawn)
 
Which means "Big Strong Guy" and "Little Strong Guy"
(Kyle gets to be 'big' since he's a minute older.)

So here they are
Da Zhuang, Wang Zi, and Xiao Zhuang
 
The bluest-eyed Chinese you'll ever see.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Color Me Blue

I have a confession to make:
For the past few years I've been terrified to paint any of the rooms in my home.
 
Ya see, when Jason and I first got married (and I had no kids, and was teaching school so I had time for "projects" over the summer) I decided to paint some of the rooms in our house.
 
I painted the upstairs bedrooms, the dinning room, and then decided to paint our bedroom.
 
I picked a beautiful deep maroonish/red color.
And as I began pulling the painter's tape off, the paint stated peeling off in strips with it.
 
 
I've tried to block out that painful time in my life. 
But seems I remember hysterical phone calls to my parents, bringing the neighbors over for second opinions, and making Jason help me.
 
 
4 or 5 coats of paint later, I think we were finally finished.
 
 
I hadn't picked up a paint roller since...Until this weekend.
 
 
I forgot to take a true before picture of JR's room, but at least I remembered to take one before we finished!


After


JR wanted "cub scout navy blue".
This is our compromise. (Dark colors still scare me!)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Get Ready to be Super Jealous!

Look what was on my dinner plate last night.



And, even better, look who was in my kitchen making them!


Ayi (our Chinese nanny from Beijing) arrived late Friday night, and will be here for three months!
Three months!
 
We love her.  A lot.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Tour Bus

I'll tell you what, living in a swing state is serious business.
I get a phone call every day (every. single. day.) asking me how old I am, if I'm male or female, how likely I am to vote, and who I will vote for. 
 
Did I mention I get called every day?
 
 
 
I found out on Saturday that the Governor Romney bus was coming here to Broomfield on Sunday afternoon. 
There were rumors that he might be on it, but sadly there was a plane crash in Pueblo, (where he had a scheduled appearance) so Governor Romney's plane wasn't allowed to land.
 
 
 
JR overheard me telling Jason I was going to see the "Mitt Bus" and asked if he could come along.



Everyone was super excited when the bus pulled up!


One of Governor Romney's campaign managers spoke to us, and we also had a meet 'n greet with the Republican candidate running for the Colorado House of Representatives.
 
 
We all got to tour the bus, and as we were getting on JR turned to me and said,  "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity isn't it, Mom."
 
 
JR sitting at the conference table.


And hanging out in one of the fancy captain's chairs.


That's a pictures of Governor Romney with President George H. Bush. 
Wish I had a picture with President Bush next to my microwave!


JR and I enjoyed the evening, and they told us to keep our eyes out for Mitt and/or Paul Ryan (being a big hunter, he's, of course, a favorite around the Ingy house) in the next week or so!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Face Time

The Littles are both doing great at soccer this year, but the award for 'best facial expressions during a game' goes to Reed.
 
No contest.
 
You might notice he gets into the game...just a bit.