Gregory Family Reunion

I just spent the past week with my mom, traveling to Oklahoma to attend a family reunion. The Gregory's are my mom's mom's side of the family and, although I have done some genealogy research, I have little information about this particular branch on my family tree. Bill & Jamie were not able to go because of other commitments. We stopped in Amarillo and picked up my niece, Shelby. She is 12 but is already a teen-ager, for all practical purposes. I think she had fun but is too cool to actually admit it! We stayed at my uncle John's house in Ada and drove down to Lake Texoma on Saturday for the reunion. About 30 people showed up for the day and they are already talking about doing it annually and possibly making it a three-day event. I hope so because I'd like to bring Bill & Jamie next year, they would have a blast!! It was fun to meet cousins and spend a day together at Steve & Melissa's lake house.

Let's talk about this lake house...OMG! It was like a museum with all of the antiques and such! And, right on the lake with a boat dock. Amazing! Shelby and I devised a plan to hide out in one of the closets (there was totally enough room!) and just stay there!! There was lots of yummy food and, later, they took a couple of the boats out on the lake for some fun. It was too windy to do any skiing or wake-boarding, which would've been cool to watch, but we did go swimming when we got back to the dock. I was amazed at the water's temperature. Unlike any lake in Colorado, the water was not cold at all...it was very comfortable and felt really, really good on such a hot Oklahoma day!

mom, checking out the old photos in one of the bedrooms

barber chair in one of the bathrooms

one of the hallways

some of the Gregory's sitting on the deck

the back of the lake house

the boat dock

Shelby & me with boat hair!

on the lake

mom, Shelby, me, aunt Jean, uncle John

Like I mentioned, I do not know much about my Gregory line. My mom's mom was the daughter of Mack Gregory and Georgia Moore Gregory. Georgia died when my grandmother was six years old. Mack remarried Annie and had more children...this reunion was mostly for the Mack & Annie descendants. I have been researching my genealogy for some time, hoping to find the link to my Native American heritage. My family history is full of rumors of Native American ancestry but, so far, I have not found any documented proof. My great-grandmother Georgia was supposedly a full-blood Choctaw but, since she died of tuberculosis at a relatively young age and since Native Americans were not recognized as citizens, there is no information about her. At the reunion, everyone kept saying stuff like, "oh yeh...grampa Gregory married the Indian woman that died of tuberculosis before marrying our grandma." I did get some information at the reunion, though, that hints of a possible Choctaw link with Mack Gregory. I need to find the information I have and see where that tidbit fits in. I want to be able to enroll with the Choctaw tribe as that is the tribe that Jamie will be enrolled...I think it will be neat to have that connection!

Gifts for Dad...

I forgot to add pics of what we gave Bill, in addition to his new phone, for Dad's Day.

Bill's always asking me to print off pictures for him to have in his office and I never seem to get around to it. Walgreen's, once again, had a coupon code for a free 8 x 10 collage print so, I chose some recent photos of Bill & Jamie (plus a few of me & Jamie) and this is how it turned out. Now, he just needs to make a frame and, viola, he has pictures for his office.

In Sunday School this morning, Jamie decorated this handkerchief for Bill. Don't know what it's supposed to be but, it's a treasure, nonetheless.

Happy Dad's Day!

Bill is helping teach a class at ASC this week, starting today, so we celebrated Father's Day on Friday. We drove to Colorado Springs to see Toy Story 3 in 3-D at the IMAX on opening day. We did some shopping, had a nice dinner out and had ice cream at Cold Stone. It was a day trip, we didn't stay overnight, and we had a great day together. Summer time is so awesome because we can all get away whenever we want!
Bill got a new smartphone (Palm Pixie Plus) for Father's Day and today I made his favorite dessert to celebrate his fatherhood.

Jamie & me with our 3-D glasses at Toy Story 3!

Jamie trying on football equipment at Dick's Sporting Goods.
(he's a natural!)

I have to admit that Father's Day is not my favorite holiday. I used to HATE it because I'd spend hours searching for an obligatory, generic, non-sentimental card to send to my father. Hallmark just doesn't make a card that says, "You're an ass, but mom's making me send you a card anyway". Actually, since I stopped sending cards to him and, especially since Bill is now a father, the day is much easier to stomach. I cringe when I hear fundamental Christians talk about how the problems in America are due to the breakdown of "the family" and how we'd be better off if families stayed together. Let me tell you...I am sane today because my mother had the good sense (finally, after years of pleading with her) to get the hell away from that man! Dr. Phil says that "children would much rather be FROM a broken home that LIVE in one" and I can totally attest to that!! I can still hear my father's voice in my head on my 13th birthday..."so, you're a teenager now and probably think you're pretty hot shit. well, let's make a deal...you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours, and we'll get along just fine!" And, so it goes...
Needless to say, it was my mom's idea to have my father give me away at my wedding (I think he accomplished that task when I was 13) when I really, really wanted to give the honor to someone who actually wanted to be there. My biggest regret in life is not having Phil walk me down the aisle. So, for all of the alcohol induced rages and abuse, I do have to thank my father for showing how NOT to treat women & children with love and respect. Somehow, I always knew that there was a different way to be a father and I am forever grateful for the men who were there to model that for me when I was in high school and college. Thank you Phil, Mr. Findley, Coach Morris, Perry, Mr. Hooten, Rick, and others...it is because of you that I was able to break free and keep the ugly cycle from repeating through another generation.

So, another Father's Day has come and gone...any man can be a father/sperm donor, it takes a special man to be a dad. I am SO thankful for the man that was brought to me to be my son's dad.
Happy Dad's Day, Bill!!

Rockies Skills Challenge

This was Jamie's third year to compete in the Rockies Skills Challenge. He has placed 2nd in the two previous years. The third time is the charm and, today, he won the boys 8 - 9 age group. The three components of the challenge are throwing, running and hitting.
!

Jamie's longest throw was 73 feet.

Jamie ran the bases in 11.31 seconds.

Jamie's longest hit was 114 feet, 3 inches.

So, there were only four boys competing in the 8 - 9 age group but they are all worthy opponents and, it's pretty darn exciting that Jamie won! He now advances to the Sectional competition in Pueblo, CO on July 18th.
YAY Jamie!!!

Where The Wild Things Are...

...at the Southern Peaks Library, of course!

This week's Summer Reading Program was a hands-on presentation by the folks at the Alligator Farm. It's weird to think that here, in the world's largest alpine valley, alligators and other exotic reptiles can survive but, because of geothermal wells, they are one of the cool & interesting things to see in the Alamosa area. They brought an alligator, a tortoise, a turtle, a bearded dragon, a boa constrictor, a gecko and a blue tongued skink to show and for everyone to see up close and even touch, if so inclined. Click here for more information on Colorado Gators!

Challenger British Soccer Camp

Jamie participated in the Challenger British Soccer Camp this week in Alamosa. He did it last year and when the information came in the mail for this year, he said he wanted to do it again. It is coordinated through our Parks & Rec department. I think that it is not advertised very well and it is a little bit pricey, costs about twice as much as the ASC Soccer Camp, so it does not draw a very large crowd. I think it is great for Jamie because he gets more one-on-one instruction. Plus, it's fun to watch and just listen to the camp leaders accents!

They divide the kids into age groups for the first part of the morning and then they are also divided up into four World Cup teams (of all age groups) for scrimmages. Jamie's coach was Theo and his team was Iceland. They are given "homework" throughout the week to learn more about their team's country. We had some leftover white t-shirts so Jamie decorated two of them with the flag of Iceland that he alternated wearing all week. (Note to self...buy another package of white t-shirts for Jamie to decorate however he wants! Inexpensive & fun summer activity!)
They are told that their activities, actions, scrimmages, etc. count toward World Cup "points" and at the end of the week, a World Cup "champion" team is selected. I don't really know if they keep track of the randomly awarded points or how they actually choose the winner but, Iceland was this week's World Cup "champion"! The other teams (Italy, Brazil & France) tied for second place...hee hee! Jamie was also given the Sportsmanship Award.

Today was the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa. I hope that Jamie will be interested, especially when Iceland plays.
ETA (6-17-10): Iceland did not qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

decorating his t-shirt

coach Theo and 6 - 8 year old campers

Jamie - Sportsmanship Award

Iceland - World Cup Champions!

the soccer ball with orange shirt is their World Cup trophy!

Team Iceland!

British Soccer cheer!

Jamie & Theo

Baseball

Jamie's baseball season is in full "swing"! Bill is coaching his team again this year and they are the Dodgers. They play games on Tuesdays & Thursdays and have practices on Mondays & Wednesdays, baseball has kind of taken over our lives!! Jamie is also attending the British Soccer Camp this week so he's had soccer every morning and baseball every night. Jamie is enjoying baseball and it's amazing how much he's improved from last year!

Summerfest on the Rio

This is the weekend of Summerfest on the Rio in Alamosa. Cole Park is filled with craft & food vendors and everyone comes to enjoy the sunshine. It is usually very windy for Summerfest and Bill purchased an EZ-UP specifically for this event, in the hopes that it would hold up better than the tarp cover he's used in the past. Wind was not an issue this year...instead, we've had record breaking heat! 94 degrees, to be exact! It's crazy to think that a week ago, we were having freeze warnings and, today, we broke a 64-year-old high temperature record!

Bill & Jamie camped out at the park both nights and although sales were down, Bill had a great time. He has fun visiting with everyone.

Mom and I went in on Saturday morning, took them breakfast and walked around to see all of the booths. She left for Rio Rancho afterward. I went home for a few hours but came back in to see Bits N Pieces perform. They always put on a good show with good ol' classic rock & roll. Saturday's temperature only got to 90 and it clouded up and started raining in the early evening. Just in time to cool things down for the night and in time for Bill to close up shop so we could make an appearance at the LeDonne's BBQ.

I stayed home today and crashed! It was hot but I managed to stay comfortable inside the house with fans going. My fibromyalgia & I are secretly enjoying the warmth!

Twenty Four Years!!

We decided to stay an extra night in Salt Lake City and drive straight through to Alamosa. On Monday morning, May 31, we said our good-byes to Bill's mom and then met the Goodier's at Einstein Brother's for breakfast. They were all headed to Creekside Park for another round of Frisbee golf. Jamie really wanted to play so we let him go with Scott & Corrie while Bill & I walked across the parking lot to Starbucks to share a quiet anniversary moment. Wow!! Twenty-four years!!

We picked Jamie up and started on our 9 1/2 hour journey. We were unsuccessful in attempts to meet with our niece, Cristina, so we did stop at Sofa Mart in Draper to see Brad and drop off the box of books & CD's we brought for baby Lauren.
The trip home was not too bad. We stopped in Grand Junction and had lunch at Qdoba and again in Gunnison at McD's for ice cream. We were all glad to be home and Jamie was happy to see Ginger & Bronco.