Halloween!

Occupy Halloween at the Jaramillo’s. The kids went out and worked their butts off getting the candy and I made them share their wealth with Dad who did zero candy gathering. Why should my kids get all the candy and not share?  Can you believe the audacity of my kids not wanting to share? I live here and breathe their air so they should automatically be required to share right?  So we counted all the Snickers and for every ten they needed to give me four. For every 10 Reese’s you guessed it four. I let them keep all the DOTS and Jaw Breakers. Fat Cat kids anyway thinking they can reap the benefits from their work. 

Love, Dad

Mashed Potato Face

Sunday night is our usual chicken cordon bleu and mashed potato night.  Unlike his big brothers, Noah loves mashed potatoes.  He is still having a little bit of a hard time getting them in his mouth.  He tried several times with his fork/spoon and then gave up and just put his face in the mashed potatoes on his plate.  Thank goodness it was time for a bath!

Belt Testing

On Friday, Todd, Rachel, Ethan & Jacob had their belt testing.  Todd was testing for his red black stripe and the kids testing for their blue red stripe.  They all did really well. They all should be black belts by this time next year!

A New Member of Team Jaramillo - Introducing Daisy

Rachel has been wanting another dog for months. She wrote to "Santa" about getting a dog for Christmas.  She kept looking online at different Shih-tzu puppies.  She found one this afternoon on KSL.com.  Mom and Dad are a bunch of softies, particularly because Rachel is such a good girl.

This is Daisy.  We picked her up as a surprise.  Rachel has promised to take care of her.  One of the things we did differently than with Chloe is that we didn't get Daisy a kennel.  We used the cage that we bought before for outside, put down newspaper and training pads.  The space is big enough that she has all of her needs right there.  We won't have to take her outside to potty like we did with Chloe.  That will be nice particularly in the winter.

Welcome to our family, Daisy

and introducing TEAM Jaramillo!!!

Rockin' with Rascal Flatts

Last night Todd and I went to the Rascal Flatts concert at the Usana Amphitheater.  There were some thunderstorms right before the concert so we thought we might get rained on but luckily the storm went past right before the show.  The opening acts were Justin Moore and Sara Evans.  Then the main attraction - Rascal Flatts.  They have a lot of video and lights in their shows.  I guess that's what makes the tickets so much.  I asked for tickets for my birthday.  I don't usually ask for anything specific so Todd was more than happy to get me what I wanted.  Our seats were pretty good.  The show started out with the three Rascal Flatts guys banging on drums in the dark.  As they hit each drum the drum lit up.  So the combination of rhythms made it look really cool.  They were pretty funny between songs too.  One of the things they said that sticks out in my mind is when Jay was talking about Joe Don and saying "If you want to know what Justin Bieber will look like in 30 years, here you go."  They were pretty interactive which is cool.  Todd bought me a t-shirt.  One other memorable thing was that we were sitting close to a family that was on the grass.  They had a young child who was really sick.  When Todd asked on the of the staff they said the kid had terminal cancer and only has a couple days to live but he has been to every show at the Usana this summer.  It was really touching to see his parents laying there next to him.  We are so blessed with our health and strength!

Rachel's 1st day of school

Yesterday was Rachel's 1st day of 7th grade at American Heritage.  She was really nervous going to a new school and all by herself.  She attended Eastlake Elementary for 3 years and always with her brothers.  She was a trooper though and walked right in when I dropped her off.  She reported that she got her locker assignment; there are more girls than boys (even with only 17 7th graders), and that some how her lunch order was missing.  I felt so bad. Luckily they gave her a lunch anyway.  I made sure that I took care of that for the next two weeks.  She is dealing with all the changes pretty well.  We're very proud of her.

Back to School Night At AHSJ

Last night was Back to School night at American Heritage.  This will be Rachel's first year there for 7th grade.  We met all but two of her teachers.  There are only about 17 7th graders.  That will be nice to have small classes.  Rachel said she was glad the school itself is small.  She was really worried about getting from class to class at the public middle school.  I was trying to figure out if there was anyone else coming from Daybreak but so far no luck.  I guess I will be dropping her and picking her up just like I did Jacob.  Good thing Noah will be in a school closeby.

Let's Play Summer Camp - Week 2

Rachel and her friend Jaden are doing a summer camp here at the house for some of the neighborhood kids.  We have 5 little ones this week.  It is so cute to watch the girls with these little kids.  They are really good at playing with kids.  The theme today is Fairy Tales so the kids made their own golden crown, built castles with blocks and helped Little Red Riding Hood get to grandma's house by counting the numbers on a die they rolled.  They also had a chance to make their very own fairy tale creature with play dough.  The one little boy made a pizza.  We will let the play dough dry and let them take their creatures home on Wednesday.

Summer Days are Going By Fast

It's just me and the boys this weekend since Todd took Rachel with him to help Richard Murdock with the Leadville 100 Race.  Todd, Rachel and Rich's family are his relief crew.  They run around to certain spots along the race to provide whatever he needs.

The boys are just hanging out, playing the Wii.  I got a bunch of scrapbooking done and Noah is playing. Every once in a while he will get up and walk 5-10 steps.  He hasn't been all that interested in walking but the fact that he is getting up and doing it on his own is a "step" forward.

Rachel has been doing a day camp for some neighborhood kids with her friend Jaden.  The last week we had 9 kids.  This next week we only have 3 and they are younger.  We will have to see how it goes.

The kids are about a month away from their blue belt test to receive their blue-red stripe belts.  They are so good at Tae Kwon Do.  Todd has been busy at it too.  I imagine he will test for his next belt, a red belt next month as well.

Todd has also started cycling.  He gets up every morning at 5 am to go for a ride for an hour.  Then he still attend TKD at night.  He is motivated in a way I haven't seen before.  It has got me going as well.  This past week I have gotten up and walked every morning.  Plus I am doing some light weightlifting.

Ethan and Jacob have started the new school year - 5th and 2nd grades respectively.  So far it is going well.  They will have to learn to rely on each other more since Rachel is not there.  Rachel will be starting school the day after Labor day - in September.  We just ordered her uniform.  I hope she likes it ok.

Can't think of anything else right now but maybe later.