Fun time in Salt Lake

Sunday evening we decided to go to Temple Square. We told Maxi that when you go to Salt Lake City as a visitor, you have to go to Temple Square. It was crazy with people, with it being the lights and everything, but it was fun to see the kids and Maxi in awe of it. Maren and I were actually in the bathroom most the time because she had a bloody nose, but we did see a lot. Maxi even saw a missionary from Argentina and talked to her for a while.

Monday we took the kids to the skating rink, then went to the movie Tangled, then took them home and the adults met Curt and Diane at Rodizios at Trolley Square.

We enjoyed our time in the Salt Lake area during Christmas. I love all my family so much.

Christmas In Ogden!

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year. The kids got out of school Wednesday afternoon, and we left for Utah (Ogden) Thursday morning. It was a very crowded van. Not only was it Christmas, extra presents etc., but we had an extra person too (Maxi). To add to all that, Sam decided to haul a 32" flat screen tv down for his dad. We were all squooshed, but we made it safe and sound.

I was in charge of making homemade rolls this year. I asked if I could do Rhodes Rolls, but was stopped there and was told no way. So, I tripled a batch (which took 4 hours) and made croissants (which made it longer), but in the end, they turned out fabulous. Everyone came over to Kass's; Curt and Diane with Robby and Melanie, Doug and Rhonda with JJ, Arielle, and Kenzie, Aaron and Brock were there from California, Anny and Jim and Fam were there and of course, Mom and Boston.

After dinner, we gathered to have a little program. Savanna and Andy played a few songs for us, we watched the Nativity show, listened to some Christmas songs by each cousin learning the piano, and of course...... opening of the Christmas Eve presents.

Zack, Jackson, and Max were laughing because they opened the same p.j.'s. Most of the girls got matching ones as well. They enjoyed posing for the pictures :)

We had to get a girls picture, but no one was looking at the same camera at once, it was funny.

Brock, Becca, Rhonda, Jenna, Kass, Anny, Mom

The girls all wanted to sleep in the same room that night. I'm not sure how long it took for them to go to sleep, they were so excited for morning to come.

(I think Brynn and Brooklyn decided to sleep in their mom and dads room in the end)

Morning came, and the kids were very excited for their Santa gifts. Each of the older girls got an American doll that looked similar to them. They LOVED them!

Aliza got Emily, Maren got Lannie, Brynn got Elizabeth, and Abby got Ruthie

In our family, when you turn 12, Santa doesn't really come anymore, but Jackson did get a scooter from him.

Sammy, Sam and Maxi were enjoying the morning excitement.

Mom was trying to keep Boston from eating her stocking candy. So cute. He did get his own stocking with his own treats.

We originally were going to open presents all together, but decided that would take too long, so we split our presents into families (thanks to Zack and the boys), and opened them up within our families in the same room. It was fun to see all that was going on in the room.

It was a wonderful and relaxing day. The girls played with their American Dolls all day long. This is a cute picture of them playing school with their dolls.

Even though it was crazy getting down to Ogden for Christmas, I'm so glad we were there.

Christmas Card

I wasn't going to do Christmas cards/letters this year, but after Sam wrote a letter because he was sick on Saturday, I quickly made up this picture collage on Sunday and got them mailed out on Monday.  Wow,  not bad huh?  I hope people get Sam's letter.  We've gotten lots of comments thus far.  It reads:

Um, well hello,

Sam.  Recent certified Zumbas instructor and a forward in the city hockey league.  Some folks have asked if he is having midlife crisis.  No, he has been there, and done that!  Perhaps since he topped his toboggan (toupee), he has had a second wind.  To quote Sam, "I'm tired of giving the other guys a chance!  Game on!"

Becca:  Just one more month.  We think this pregnancy has been her most beautiful.  If you haven't checked her "picture of the day" blog, she has chronicled this pregnancy with a picture each day showing from day one of "flat abs," to presently, a most definite "outie" bellybutton. Viewer beware, the belly is bare.  Yet, she is tasteful and as modest as a bikini top can be.

Sammy:  Pushing six foot two inches.  Not bad for some Pollock height genetics.  Not to mention, it looks like he has a reliable, full head of hair.  He is halfway through his junior year and  he still continues his better than perfect GPS.  He joined the debate team this year, and although it's his first year, he has been routinely recognized for ripping it up.

Jackson.  He has had a year of extremes.  One moment he is state gymnastic champion* and the next... well cross eyed.  His first deer wasn't quite dead and when he leaned over to take a look, he caught a hoof.  I blame myself.  I heard about this kid who ran into a pole and his eyes corrected, but so far, not working for Jack.  On the bright side, he now sees two imaginary friends.

Aliza.  Have you seen the newest Freaky Friday with Lindsey Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis? Every morning she dresses in the same clothes as the daughter in the movie, electric guitar over her shoulder (plugged in amp), enters our room and while strumming reads us a fortune cookie.  You know, I remember Jackson was kind of mesmerized by the movie Sand Lot, and we did humor his whole baseball phase.  But, I think this is different;  surely you agree it is not natural for a girl to the the electric guitar.  Plus fortune cookies are not always true.

Maren.  Our seven year old, and should have been our last.  She still sleeps in our bed.  I have told her when she's eight it's over.  Recently she has been abusing the craft of the mime.  She is in character 24 hrs a day, miming that she won't speak again until we get her a cell phone.  We think that's what she is saying?  Hey, I like a mime as much as anyone, but miming for a cause cheapens this beautiful art.

We just want to wish all a Merry Christmas, and notify all that this commences the Pollock Christmas Contest!  We have purposefully portrayed only one of us accurately.  Send us whom you think has been correctly portrayed and you just might win our most bestest prize from our dental office treasure box.  Shipping and handling charges apply.

Love you all, Sam, Becca, Sammy, Jackson, Aliza, and Maren and Max

*Jackson really was state champ. Again!

p.s. We have also been enjoying Max, a foreign exchange student from Argentina.  He is staying with us for a few months and it has really been a pleasure.  Come by to take a look and listen to his accent.  He is pretty neat.

The Nutcracker

I have wanted to take my girls to the Nutcracker for many years now, but never did.  This year, since Thanksgiving was at our house, and the Nutcracker Ballet was performing here the Saturday after, I invited all my Sister in-laws and their girls to join us.  They all accepted and we had a wonderful time.  We dressed up, went to Applebees, then to the Ballet.  When we were eating, so many people asked where we were going all dressed up.  The girls were happy to tell them.  Haylee and Rylee were there too, I wish I would have gotten a picture of them while they were posing for her camera.  Darn.

Thanks girls for making this a memorable moment.

Thanksgiving At My House

Even though it might be a little chaotic, I love having the family functions at our house.  We've had Thanksgiving here before, and it was wonderful, but our house was a little too small to hold us all.  This year, it was suggested we try going to the church or find a place we could rent for a small fee.  We couldn't find a place to rent, and our church was unavailable, but we were able to go to the Kenny and Jodi's church in Billings.  So, that was the plan.  Until a big snow storm came through Utah and Montana, which kept Dad, Steven and David from coming.  We weren't very happy about that, but Nick and Hayley made the trip which took an extra long.  Megan and Daman, we knew, were not coming because they were on a cruise..... stinkers, so we decided we would have enough room at our house.  

We cleared out the family room furniture, and set up the table and chairs.  The bench we have used in the past was outside under the snow, but it did get brought in..... yes, we did put something over it so someone didn't have too cold of a bottom.  Thanks Hayley for sitting in that spot.

It took a lot longer to get to sit at the big table when I was younger.  These two were pretty happy about that, Paige got to sit at the big table too and she is only 13!

The rest of the day/weekend we planned our Black Friday shopping day (we didn't leave that early), we had a little Scensy party, and did a little Zumba thanks to Aunt Kelli.

It was a wonderful weekend, I wish the whole family could have made it.

Championship Game!

What a great season Jackson and his team had.  They made it all the way to the championship game, which was the first for this Laurel team.  They lost only one game during  the season, and it was to this team they were playing tonight.... the Titans.

Jackson was one of the team captains this game along with his friend and neighbor Isaiah.

They played a great game.  Jackson punted a few times and even made a touchdown, but was later called back because of a flag.

The sunset was beautiful that evening.

It ended up being a tie game.  Our team was first to go, Jackson made a touchdown, but they didn't get the extra point.  The Titans made a touchdown and made the extra point.  They lost by one point.  It was so sad to see this team afterwards.  They all played so well.

Next year Jackson will be playing for the middle school.  Crazy!  These are a good bunch of boys going in next year.  I'm sure they will do awesome.

Grandma Weaver came into town to watch the game.  She enjoyed watching as well, and made sure she got a picture with her awesome grandson, Jackson.

My favorite of the season was listening to the coach yell, "Pollock, get out there!" when the team was making mistakes.  He would run out and make an awesome play.

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween has been nice and somewhat relaxing.  The weather worked well, always a plus.  The kids had their outfits picked out for weeks, and it didn't take too much to get the stuff. 

 After the Trunk or Treat at the church, Amy, Kristie Anderson, and I took the kids to Walmart for a little more trick or treating and some craft stations.  They had a fun time.  

This picture was taken in a dark tunnel at Walmart.  I think it turned out pretty cool.  Randon was scared by The Grim Reaper in the tunnel and instead of screaming or crying, he laughed uncontrollably for about 5 min.  It was hilarious.

Since Aliza got her glasses, she knew exactly what she wanted to be for Halloween: a Lawyer.(Because I guess that is what makes the look of a Lawyer?)  Last week for Activities Day, it was fun time with moms.  We all dressed up and decorated cupcakes.  We both dressed up as lawyers.  I bought some $1.00 reading glasses, and found some suit type jackets at Goodwill.  We took briefcases and even made up cards.  

Pollock and Pollock

"We know it all, even if we don't"

Maren decided to be a witch, which was fun.  We already had the dress from when Aliza was one a few years ago.  We just purchased some tights and a hat.  It was great.  I so enjoyed going to her school parade and class party.  In one of the pictures below, you can see she is looking for me.  In the top picture, she found me and did a big wave.

Since Halloween is on a Sunday this year, we had the Trunk or Treat on Saturday.  It was a fun time, and I loved seeing all the kids dressed up, especially my nursery kids.  They are so cute.  I dressed up as a black cat.... ears, tail and the whiskers.  Those nursery kids looked at me and I could tell they knew me, but weren't quite sure how.  It was funny.  

Jackson was going to be a Vampire; we had all the stuff and everything, but when it came down to it, he already had his football uniform on from an earlier game (which he won!), so he decided to go as a football player-himself I guess :).  Sammy was gone for a debate meet ALL day, wow, he didn't get home in time, but he did go to a party last week and dressed up as some guy from the Lord of the Rings.  Same costume as last year.  He wanted to use his sword again.  Not a lot of opportunities for a good sword.

Clint, Amy and family are coming over this evening because they live on a street with lots of trick or treaters.  It will be a little quieter here.

Till next year.  Hope you all have a great Halloween!

Homemade School Pictures

I usually have purchased the pictures that the school takes each year. They can be pricey for what I want. This year I decided to take the pictures myself. I've been wanting to do this for a month now, I never made a set date or time, and always seemed so busy.

Sammy - 16 years old - Junior

Then I hear that Anny was coming for one day, for a tooth appointment. I have always loved her photos.

Jackson - 12 years old - 6th grader
She is so creative with the kids and backgrounds. When I asked her to help me take pictures of the kids, she said she would love to, just find a place to get them taken at and gave me some ideas.

Aliza - 10 years old - 5th grader
Old fence, big field, big red barn, etc. It took me a couple of days to think of a place. As I drove around, I would be looking for these things. Then it hit me, Aliza's 3rd grade teacher (Jackson's 1st grade teacher), Mrs. Johnson, had a farm with a big red barn. Each year the 3rd graders would go there on a field trip to her pumpkin patch.

Maren - 7 years old - 2nd grader

Yesterday, I picked up Anny, went to lunch with the office, then drove over to Mrs. Johnson's farm. The kids were out of school, so she was there working with her husband. She happened to be out and we talked to her for a little bit, then asked if we could come back later with the kids to take some pictures. She loved the idea, and said that another professional photographer was coming that evening for a photo shoot with a senior.

Anny went to her appointment and I helped get the kids ready for the shoot. We got there around 4:00, it was a sunny day, but at that time of day, there were some good shade. Jackson had to get to football practice, so we were trying to get him done first. He was a little stressed out, but had some good pictures turn out. I love how he's not trying to smile in one of his pictures.

Anny captured some great shots of the kids with a little of their personalities coming out. I've posted some of my favorites, but there are plenty more.

It was the perfect place to be, fields, old structures (concrete silo, wooden shed, wooden box car) green chair with a pond, and a big red barn.

Jackson was only 15 min. late for practice, not bad. When the other kids were done, we found some fun pumpkins to buy so we can carve them later.

Thanks again Anny! The kids had fun posing for their aunt.

Before, During, After

It was really hard to find a good picture of Sammy with his teeth before he got his braces on, since he isn't much of a teeth smiler.  But I did a little cropping and this picture will have to do.

BEFORE

June 2008 at Cousins Camp in Utah

I'm sure there is more, but this is what I came across for his during the braces stage.  I love this picture of my children....

DURING

February 3, 2010

And now the after stage..... He was so excited to get them off.  He got his braces on July of 08 and got them off today, October 20, 2010.  Now take good care of them buddy!

AFTER

October 20, 2010

Dr. Marc Oleson was his Orthodontist.  He is a member of the church and put a satellite office in Laurel, which was nice not to have to run into Billings for every appointment.

Jackson's Me, Myself, and I

At the beginning of the school year, Jackson's English teacher wanted all the kids to make a poster of their lives up to now,  with paragraphs and pictures.  There were 10 paragraphes that they had to write and there were questions they were to answer.  This is his life story so far.

I was born at 10:39 p.m. at the Methodist Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska on August

27, 1998.  I was not named after anyone, my mom and dad just rally liked my name.  My dad didn't want to name me Jackson, however, because it was the same name at the famous painter, Jackson Pollock.  My mom obviously won.  I was 7 lb. 12 oz., and 20 1/2 inches.  My mom wanted me to come so bad that she went to the Omaha Zoo and walked around for 6 hours and then she went into labor.  She called my dad at school to tell him she was in labor and he asked, "Can you wait until after my quiz?"  My mom said "I guess."  When Dad came home, they went to the hospital and I was born that night.  There are six people in my family.  My mom and dad, one brother, and two sisters.  My dad is 6 ft. tall, wears glasses, and is bald.  He just turned forty this year.  My mom says he is very handsome.  My mom just turned forty-two, is 5 ft. 4 1/2 in, has long blond hair, and I think she's pretty.  My brother, Sammy, is 16 years old, 6 ft. tall, has red curly hair and braces.  My sister, Aliza, is 10 1/2 years old, has shoulder length, light brown hair, and is 4 ft 7 in.  My other sister, Maren, is 7 1/2 years old, has shoulder has long blond hair, and is 4 ft. 2 in.  My dad is a dentist and my mom is mainly a homemaker and does my dad's office books.  I am second out of four.  I do not have any pets.  When I was 1 1/2 years old, we moved from Omaha to Gilbert, AZ for 10 months, then here to Laurel.

When I was 1 1/2 years old, my great grandpa Oleson died.  I really liked him.  A few months later, my little sister was born.  I guess I really liked her and gave her lots of hugs.  We moved to Arizona.  I remember I really liked the movie, The Sandlot.  I watched it every morning and I wore my shirt like the boy in the movie and ran like a dog was chasing me with a ball in my hand.  I even scribbled on my ball one night and said it was Babe Ruth's signature.  We then moved to Montana when I was 2 1/2 years old.  Shortly after, one of y grandmas died, Grandma Pollock.  I was there when she died.  I remember standing by her while stroking her face.  I remember going to Disneyland for the first time and Hollywood.  I remember seeing Batman and Superman.

I have been in gymnastics since I was 4 years old.  I am now at level seven in gymnastics and have been in it for 8 years.  Over the last three years, I have taken 1st in state twice, and even 3rd in regionals one year.  I've enjoyed playing football and baseball as well.  We went to Mexico, I remember drinking a lot of Pina Coladas, alcohol free of course.  I also remember going tot he beach, snorkeling, and swimming with the dolphins.  My cousin that was 6 months old passed away.  I got to see him a lot before he died.  I was very sad.  I've been hunting with my dad a lot, snowboarding, fishing, and anything else outdoorsy.  We've been to the beach some more, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, and Mt. Rushmore.

I've only had two pets.  They were fish, two Beta fish.  I named them Max and J.J.  Max lived for a bout three years and J.J. lived for about two months.  A fun trip that my family went on was to Mexico.  We swam with dolphins, went snorkeling, and fed all the fish.  It was so fun.  Also, we went shopping, caught geckos and lizards, and a monkey sat on my shoulder and licked me to death.  I have been in gymnastics for eight years and have placed 3rd in regionals, which is out of the Northwest states Montana, Idaho, Alaska, Washington, and Oregon.

I have brown eyes, black pupils, dirty blond hair, and I am short, very, very short.  I am not very shy.  I like to do stuff in front of people sometimes.  I love to play sports, so I am athletic.  I love to play as much sports as I can and I think it is very fun to play sports.  I am very sensitive about things.  When I was working on Me, Myself , and I, things like my grandma and cousin dying, caused me to cry.  With my sisters and brother, I have a short temper, but my mom says I am good at doing what I am asked to do.  I am afraid of heights.  I am interested in anything outdoors; hunting, bugs, rattle snakes, fishing...a lot of things.  Also, I like to go boating and snowboarding.  My hobbies are fixing things, sometimes blogging, and riding my bike.  I belong to scouts and the Billings Gymnastics School (BGS).  I have won lots of awards in lots of things.  This past year, my handwriting has gotten a lot better, and I have gotten a little taller.

One of my favorite foods is Hamburger Helper.  Some of my favorite colors are black, green, yellow, and brown.  Some of my favorite t.v. shows are Adventure Time, Spongebob, and Johnny Test.  I like to listen to 106.7 the Planet.  My favorite books are Cracker and Lone Wolf.  My favorite season is hunting season.  I admire Michael Jordan.  I like to jump on my trampoline and play with my friends.  I find homework very boring.  I dislike people being mean to anyone.

I feel strongly about working as hard as I can.  I feel strongly about being nice to people and my religion.  My family is important to me and mean a lot to me, including my cousins, aunts and uncles.  These things are important to me because I love them very, very much and I would do anything to help them.  I forgot to mention education, that is also very important.

I think other people see me as nice, caring, and doing a lot of stuff, because I am always showing it everywhere I go and in everything I do.  I think they see me as being kind and helpful.

I want to go to BYU (Brigham Young University), go on a mission for my church, and become a dentist, just like my dad.  I want to get the best grades I can to get into BYU.  I want to work hard, do my best, and I want to be with my family as long as I can.  I want to live somewhere where there is not a lot of houses and have a big house.  Maybe I want to live in Southern Utah.  I want to go hunting a lot when I get older.

Big Horn Oleson Reunion

I love attending the Oleson Family Reunion. It is during the same weekend and at the same place each year. The four main families take turns providing a meal during the weekend. This year, the LaRae family provided the Friday night dinner, which is the first for the weekend, which meant we needed to get there early this year. (Some years we don't get there until after 10:00 p.m.) We all got there on time and the dinner turned out great. We had sloppy joes, which we made the day before, chips, celery, carrots, grapes, and three different types of dutch oven desserts (made by Mike and Kelli)

In the evenings we usually gather together in the lodge to dance, visit, and catch up.

Below: Top Right: David had his wisdom tooth out a couple of days before and had a dry socket and infection. Not fun. Lower Left: Carter had been in some ashes. Lower Right: Sammy lived with Nick and Hayley for six weeks, he was always holding Adelyn. He was having fun holding her again after being gone for a couple of weeks.

There are always plenty of activities to do.

TR: Hunter, TL: Michael Oleson, LL: Hunter, LR: Nick

I don't think there was a quiet moment up there with the motorcycles going 24/7. (actually Sunday morning was a little quiet)

TL: Jackson, TR: Casia and Karissa, LL: David Oleson, his boys, and Caleb, LR: Sammy

Getting ready for the Stick Horse Rodeo, started a few years ago by Jill, Sam's cousin.

TL: Aliza and Steven galloping over for the event, TR: Oleson boys ready and waiting, LL: Mike waiting with Maddie and Maren, LR: Me, Callin, and Steven getting a picture for the August birthday calender for next year. Our birthday's are on the 25th.

Here we go!

TL: Getting ready for the Pledge of Allegience, TR: Aliza just after rounding a barrel, LL: Sam and Mike carrying Maren because she fell and got hurt, LR: The kids marching in.

The kids had fun finding petrified wood that was put out afterwards, then Randon, Maren and Riley had fun building up this spectacular fire. Sammy and Pat, well, this year they made their own fun. Someone had brought dry ice up, hum, what can we do with that?

Dad was getting ready to leave Saturday night to drive home, so I quickly gathered all his children to get a photo.

David, Kenny (on tippy toes), Dana, Kelli, Dad, Clint, Nick, Megan (also on tippy toes), Steven and Sam

I also had to get the Seniors of the group (just kidding, they were out there playing and dancing more than any of us)

Sam, Franci, Ken, John, Janis, Cheryl

Two days just isn't enough time for a reunion. It was a wonderful time and can't wait until next year.