Cam Update

First up, calling him "Cam" is all the rage.

Cam is a member of the Bear den in his Cub Scout Pack and the lucky boy has his Grandma Shearer as one of his den leaders! Life is good for scouts, this month they participated in the annual pinewood derby. Russ and Cam made a nice car (that I failed to take a picture of.) It was black with a LEGO man driver and trust me, it looked goooood!





Last week we went to the BYU Paleontology Museum with the Bear Den. I thought is was perfect for kids his age. They gave us a 30 minute tour and admission is free!





They are sticking their heads into the jaws of a prehistoric crocodile that was the length of school bus!

Recess is the first thing he tells me about when he gets home from school. I get animated play-by-play accounts of how this happens to his clothing on a regular basis...



Cam participated in his first Hershey Track Meet this month. Third-graders from five Elementary schools gathered at the local high school to compete. Unfortunately, we missed Cam's events, the standing long-jump and the 200 meter, while picking up Savannah from preschool. However, he did well, had a great time and is already anxious to compete next year.



Perhaps you noticed the red spot just above his lip. Here's another shot taken a few days later.



This is what an airsoft gun can do to your face. He doesn't care. After his first airsoft war with a big group of kids in the neighborhood, all he can talk about is buying one of his own. I can hear echos of The Christmas Story. "You'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out." He promised to wear goggles so we are going to give him a probationary period to prove he is responsible enough to own one. I suggested a year long probation, but he didn't like that so much.

Cam keeps plugging away with piano lessons. This month he learned how to play Ode to Joy. He might play this for the recital in June and has a month or so to polish it up.



Cam works hard at school and recently became a fan of a reading program that the school is testing out. It's called Ticket to Read and he can't wait to do his reading homework each night. We are thinking about buying subscriptions for our kids this summer. It's less expensive if you buy them in bulk. If any of you are interested in going in for a group rate please let me know. You can get a 14 day free trial here.

Favorite Things From This Winter

1. Yoga (December and January)

Yoga amazes me. It's good for strengthening, balancing, flexibility and I think it's perfect for those who need some peaceful-getaway-productive time. Pictured above is the "Pigeon Pose." It's a nice stretch that eases the tension in the hip joint. It's my favorite and I'm always sad when the instructor moves on to the next pose.

2. Birthdays (January and February)

When it's cold out and the days are shorter, family birthday gatherings seem to be even more pleasant. Here are a couple birthday celebrations without their own blog entry...

Daryl's Birthday
&
Addy's Birthday

3. Ugly-Sweater-Cousin-Curry Fest (January 16, 2009)


80's-cool-cousins with sweet sweaters and Masamen curry - does an evening get better than this?

4. First Black President (January 20, 2009)

America has come a long way! Four decades after the civil rights movement we have an African American holding the highest office in the land. That is something worth celebrating whether of not one agrees with his policies.


5. The Theater (February 7, 2009)

Hurray for the fine arts! And hurray for a nearby university with great performances. We took the kids to see a theatrical production of "Go, Dog! Go!" Camen, Naomi and Savannah are familiar with the book and laughed and laughed at the creator's interpretation.


6. Volleyball (February and March)

I should begin with a little history on this subject. I went out for the volleyball team in 7th grade and 8th grade and I didn't make the team. Who gets rejected at such an early age? Well... um... me. I played intermurals instead and secretly hoped that the coach would referee one of my games and then my impressive skill would earn me a spot. It never happened. Then I moved out of state and never tried out again. I think I was partially afraid of rejection and part of it was that I moved to a gargantuan school in Texas where students were strongly encouraged to pick one only sport or activity and excel at it. I choose basketball. I've always enjoyed volleyball and never miss an opportunity to play. One summer, at BYU, my roommate Charis and I played several times a week and I loved it!

This winter I signed up to play in a women's league. Not knowing anyone who was interested I signed up by myself. The same was true for my teammates, and since we were the only team that didn't register together we dubbed ourselves the "Eclecticats." My teammates had all played in high school and one played in college. Wow! It is so cool to play with that kind of skill! Nice sets, killer hits, steady serves and the just the right amount of a competitive drive. We did pretty well in most of our games and they helped me grow with some nice pointers and a little coaching. (Thankfully, they were patient with my unreliable serve.)

We entered the final tournament in the top tier. We played at 5:30 and lost, we played at 7:45 and won, we played again at 8:50 and won, by 10:00 p.m. we were exhausted but very excited to begin play in the championship game. The better (and younger) team won. We didn't get the championship t-shirt, but 2nd place and a few extra hours of fun on the court was a great consolation prize.


7. Family Bike Rides (February 21, 2009)

Utah winters can chill you to the bone, and then two weeks later the snow can all nearly melt and you can go for a bike ride in a light weight jacket. So we did.


8. Girl's Gymnastics! (January, February, March and April)

Naomi and Savannah had an encouraging teacher, new friends, games, mats, beams, and trampolines to look forward to once a week. It's a great way to burn energy when the wind is blowing and the ground is covered with snow.

We had one unregistered participant that also had a great time.


The teacher insisted that I allow Mason to play on the apparatus. I guess she knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep him on a chair in the corner. Savannah was put into a class with kids two years older than her and she needed (or wanted) a lot of help. I got a great workout running back and forth between chasing Mason and keeping him out of the other kid's way and helping Savannah do her cartwheels, somersaults and handstands.

9. New Haircut (March)

I have been ready for a new haircut for about four years. Finally my little sister, Kristina, helped me out. Ahh, something different!


10. Snow (March 10, 2009)

Eight is Great!

Camen hit the magical number eight. I took a child development course in college and one of the few things I remember from the course is that this is the age when the right and left hemispheres of the brain become fully connected. Interesting, huh?

For those of our faith the 8th birthday is a monumental, it's like the 12th birthday for Jews, but our celebrations usually pale in comparison to most bar mitzvahs. We celebrated simply with a Betty Crocker cake mix, a few presents and lots of family. (We do friend parties every other year.) Camen was happy with everything and was so excited for his upcoming baptism and confirmation.

We wanted to be sure that Camen knew that baptism was his decision and didn't ever want to leave the impression that he had to be baptized. Living in such a homogeneous population it takes extra effort to teach kids that not everybody believes what we do and to introduce some beliefs of other religions.

We taught Camen the Gospel and put extra emphasis on helping him to feel and recognize the Spirit. Intellectually he proved himself capable of understanding the doctrines and my anxiety about his ability to feel a spiritual confirmation soon dissipated.

It's hard to define and articulate spirituality to a seven year old. It's also challenging to measure and really know what a child has felt. However, spirituality oftentimes comes naturally and easily to children, I think that the cynicism we develop as we mature is what makes it unnecessarily complicated. Faith, hope and humility are fundamental in feeling the spirit, and as it turns out Camen was the one who did most of the teaching.

On the morning of his baptism I arrived at the church and most of our family was already seated. My mother-in-love, (new term I picked up from Emily), was playing some soft prelude music on the piano. I smiled and felt awkward for coming in just minutes before we were to begin. I sat down next to Russ and greeted Aunt Raquel and her son Truman who were seated behind me. A moment later Camen found me and while my back was still turned he squeezed me with a warm hug. I was a bit surprised as he doesn't initiate random hugs very often. I turned around, returned the hug and noticed the happiness in his eyes. He didn't seem nervous or uncomfortable, he just looked happy.


The program was simple and personal. As a member of the Primary presidency I had the assignment to speak about baptism, Russ's dad and brother Jayden sang a beautiful duet, and then our bishop gave a memorable talk on the Holy Ghost. Russ then baptized Camen and confirmed him. Spiritually, it was a very sweet.

It was wonderful to have so much support from our family and loved ones. In this photo Camen his with his parents, grandparents, and paternal great-grandparents. (I wish I would have taken a large group photo with everyone.)


Camen has a pure heart and it is a joy to have him in our lives.

Our Little Wolf.

Camen is now officially a Cub Scout. I had no idea this would be such a big deal - turns out it is a huge deal! He's been counting down the months until he could enter the pack. We went to the local scouting office and $65 later he has a uniform and a book. (I paid the high price believing that the BSA had their shirts made in the USA. Wrong, it was made in China.)

He was formally introduced at his first pack meeting in March and afterwards pestered me daily to help him finish up the final portion of his Bobcat Award. Do you think we can maintain that pattern until he gets his Eagle?

Special Day: January

Last year Russ and I started a tradition with our kids. Every month we take turns taking them out individually for a "special day." They love it, we love it and we highly recommend it. The child gets to choose the activity and without fail they like to include some sort of treat in their plan. It's a great way to do activities that won't work for the entire family because of age differences, costs, or lack of interest. We've done things like sporting events, painting pictures in the park, bowling, and long bike rides.

This January it was my turn to have a special day with Camen. He chose to go running on BYU's indoor track. He's in much better shape than I am. After he lapped me, (and laughed at me) I decided that it's time to get back in shape. Afterwards we went to MickeyD's for a grease laden breakfast, and it was good and it felt like the modern American thing to do.

Soccer Season

Camen has come a long way over the past few years and is maturing into a great little soccer player. I think his progression can be attributed to his love of the game, 20 friends to play soccer with everyday at recess, committed coaches, and some great instruction at the BYU sports camps.

Three years ago I remember watching Camen timidly trail behind the pack of kids chasing the ball. If the ball happened to move his direction he cautiously looked over his shoulder and exited the pack. Eventually he moved out of his comfort zone, had a few collisions and learned that it's okay to bump shoulders.

This year Camen scored his first goal, which also happened to be the first goal of the first game! He had three or four more in the games that followed. Camen has great footwork (if that's the right terminology) and is growing increasingly competitive.

Yesterday I overheard him talking to a friend that plays in a different league. Camen wished him luck on his game and his friend replied, "Yeah, we always win."

Camen enthusiastically responded, "Hey, we do too! It's soooo easy!"

Tonight was their last game and their team did go undefeated. Sometimes I have the parental instincts to teach him that life isn't easy, it's going to be hard. But hey, when you're seven years old maybe life should be good and sooo easy!