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.