Be Kind in 2009

Happy New Year!

2009 has been kind to the Peter Urmstons. We have had so many choice experiences with our family and friends. We set out this year to make a conscious effort to "Be Kind in 2009" It turns out that the scripture is true-- "Give and it shall be given unto you".  We have had so many great experiences this year. So in the words of Inigo Montoya, "Let me explain. No, there's too much. Let me sum up."

January

• Be kind in 2009  
• Sledding with Matthew Urmstons
• Celebrated love with Courtney and Brigham
  

February

• Heart dinner
• Made and raced  pinewood derby car.
  

March

• Tanner was in Les Miserables
• Spring Break @ Leo Carrillo
• Talmage's basketball team went undefeated two seasons in a row  

April

• Easter Sunday. Garrett sang @ church.
  
• Talmage earns bear award
  
• Tanner ran track-1500m
• Porter swam-50m
  

 May

• Porter turned 17
  
• Tanner was elected ASB Publicity Chairman
  
• Elaine retired as PTC treasurer without scandal
• Peter rocks Big Rock Olympic Tri
• Birthday visit to Grandpa S.-96 years old
• Dodger game/ all-you-can-eat/ no emergency stops
  

June

• Grandma and Grandpa Urmston returned from mission.
• Garrett turns 13 

July

• Garrett went to Boy Scout camp
  
• Talmage turned 10
  
• Fourth of July at Nicole and Jacob's
  
• McMurtrey Sea Monkeys(Garrett, Talmage, and cousins) win City swim meet second year in a row.
• Elaine celebrates a birthday
• Urmanium  reunion @ Leo Carrillo (Urmanium Song)
• Elaine lead the youth leaders @ Girl's Camp
  

August

• Elaine turns in PTC financial books with minor scandal
• Tanner and Porter went to YM camp
• The Ironman Adventure
• Peter is an ironman
• Peter and Elaine celebrate 19 years of marriage 
• Tanner named cross country captain 

September

• Our car was stolen and found
• Porter's blood drive Eagle scout project
  
• Tanner  turns 16 
• Garrett went to student body leadership conference
  

October

• Talmage played first year of tackle football
  
• Garrett entertained the student body while running for office
• Halloween party @ Michael and Jaime's
  

November

• Tanner raced in Valley Cross Country Championships @ Fresno
• Peter turns 43
• Thanksgiving with Marc Urmstons
• Peter, Tanner, and Garrett were shepherds in Savior of the World production.
  

December

• Talmage goes to regional oral language festival
• Porter's Frontier Titans football went to Valley Championship
• Christmas 2009 

Whew!!!!! That was Great! Bring on 2010!!!

Frontier Football.

Check out Porter at 0:49

Porter said he didn't want to hear any more about football for awhile, so this is the final word for awhile. Porter's football team played 13 football games this year and they won 11. One loss was a nail biter that went down to the final play. Their last game was for the division valley championship(defeated 20-7)We think this was a great accomplishment, and Porter played a quiet but important roll. Porter played center on his team. He played a leadership role for the offensive line. He was the only returning line member from last year. They did a great job. We are all proud of Porter for his accomplishments. We had lots of fun watching the games this year(never really predicted we would be a football family)- thanks Porter. Congratulations on a great season!!! Thanks everyone for your support.

Some Stuff

We usually carve pumpkins on the monday evening before Halloween. We have been so busy that everyone was just happy to have a normal Family Home Evening. We did the normal song-prayer-lesson-activity-treat-family prayer. When everyone was going to bed we realized we had uncarved pumpkins on our porch. We thought we would do it Tuesday, but we had football practice, cross-country practice, basketball conditioning, football practice, Savior of the World practice, and a church meeting, so we pushed it to Wednesday. On Wednesday we had football, cross country, basketball, cub scouts, boy scouts, and church, so we pushed it to Thursday, then Friday. Finally, Saturday afternoon we carved the pumpkins.

Halloween costumes: Monopoly Man, Monkey boy, TJ Detwiler, Unabomber, and Brother Pauga.We had a fun time at the cousins, then some of us watched "The Lady in White", others were too scared, while others were too tired.

Friday was the last home game for the senior. They were honored at the start of the game by being allowed to give their mother a rose. The team is doing well.

Love For Garrett

Garrett ran for school president. The bad news is he didn't get elected. The good news is he captured the attention of hundreds, and had them all laughing. He sang "you should vote for me" to the tune of "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift.

You’re not sure who to vote for, you’re upset
Here’s a list of votes that I can get
Cause no one here can lead like I do.

President Obama and the stimulus that he took
All 700 billion people on facebook
Cause no one here can lead like I do.

Taylor Urmston and Harrison Smith
The Octomom and all of her kids
The Jonas Brothers, yeah well just Joe and Nick
Kevin just makes me feel like I am sick

If you could see that I’m the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can’t you see
You should vote for me, you should vote for me.

The wolf boy from Twilight, he’s a psycho
And there’s the money you could be saving with Gieco
Cause no one here can lead like I do.

Simon Cawell and Darth Vadar
Coby Byrant and Terry Fator
Mr Unfried we know he’s the best
Even Beyonce, but not Kanye West

Recently, Taylor Swift’s VMA award was cut short. Here is how it would have gone if she had finished…

Thank You! I’ve always dreamed about winning one of these but never thought I would. I sing country music so thank you for the chance to win one of these…oh and vote for Garrett Urmston for President!

If you could see that I’m the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can’t you see
You should vote for me, you should vote for me.

Vote Garrett Urmston For Your President!!!

Week in Review

Titan Cross Country
Tanner had a great run this week. He came in third place to help lead his team to victory(we think the team won, there isn't a scoreboard or anything) in a tri-school meet against Centennial and West. A good portion of the race could be seen from the stands at West High. Tanner looked strong and fast throughout the race. He stayed up with the leaders and finished about 20 seconds behind. Tanner said he thought the course felt long, but he finished in 17:29.

Titan Football

 The Titans played the West High Vikings. West had beaten one of Frontier's formidable foes in Ridgeview High. The game started with a touchdown pass on the first possession and continued on from there. Porter handled his opponents well as they took turns trying to get past him. The final score was 42-7. The Titans are 5-0 on the season, and play Ridgeview at home next week. The Principal of Frontier was heard to wonder out loud after the game, "I think we might have a good team here."



Boy Scout Beach Trip
Garrett went camping at the beach this weekend with his scout troop. They went to San Simeon. Garrett took his favorite foil pack- salmon and veggies. The boys had a campfire at night and spent the next day at the beach. Nobody got in the water, but a few scouts were buried in the sand. They saw some wildlife-seals, and it was good to get away from the routine.


Rampage
The Rampage were defeated in their football game this week. Talmage got three behind the line tackles and is trying to talk his coach into letting him play nose guard. They play at Liberty Park this Tuesday @7:30.





 

What Did You Do For Someone Today? (Be Kind in 2009)

Today we heard this inspiring talk by Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Last year he inspired us as a family to try to be kinder by finding "joy in the journey", so we decided to "be kind in 2009".  (2009 theme) Back then he said,

"Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”3 We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us."Finding Joy in the Journey

Today, President Monson, once again emphasized the importance of loving, helping and serving others in a world that is plagued with anger, hate, and violence. We want to share his words with you. If you have 16 minutes, push play and listen to his counsel. It will inspire you to do some good.

 

What Did You Do For Someone Today?--President Thomas S. Monson


Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?--Mormon Tabernacle Choir

On Saturday night President Monson talked about anger.

Week in Review

Rampage

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

• The rampage had their first official game this week. The team didn't win but the Urmston defense played well. Talmage got a skull and crossbones sticker for a great defensive backfield sack. Next game is Tuesday.

Frontier Cross Country
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

•  Frontier cross country had a meet against stockdale. Tanner came in 7th after 6 Stockdale runners. He ran great and had a respectable 5K time for the first meet- 17:16. We're looking forward to some great meets this year.

Norris Constitution Test
Friday, September 18, 2009

• Garrett took and passed the Norris constitution test as part of his bid for the Norris presidency. He passed with 100%. His campaign will be in full force this week with a poster on Monday, and a full force media blitz leading up to his speech to the student body on Friday. His campaign team is working on slogans and song selection for the speech. GARRETT for PRESIDENT!!!!

Frontier Football
Friday, September 17, 2009

• The Titans demolished the Tehachapi Warriors Friday night 43-14. Defense was quick and on fire, causing several turnovers. The hometown refs couldn't even help their team. The Titan offense was working on all cylinders gaining positive yardage on almost every rushing play, and completing several pass plays. Porter dominated, once again, a nose guard who out sized him, but couldn't outwit or out-muscle him.

Blood Drive
Saturday, September 18, 2009

• Porter sponsored a blood drive for his Eagle Scout project. It was very successful. He got 40 people to take appointments to donate blood. The Houchin mobile blood bank arrived at 8:00 and we got started. The blood was flowing consistently until 12:00. In addition to the appointments, several walk-ins showed up and he was able to work them in too. The Houchin people commented that it was very well organized. Breakfast burritos were provided for those who needed some protein, and muffins and juice for the palefaces after. 
  

This Week's Fun

Tanner's Birthday

• Tanner celebrated his 16 birthday on 9-12-09. We love Tanner so much. He has so many good qualities and talents that he has developed. His birthday dinner was shrimp ravioli and pear salad. For his birthday cake he had apple pie and vanilla ice cream. We had twix, peanut m&m's, and mini snickers in the candy cups. Tanner got a new camera for recording all of the wonderful events that will happen in his 16th year. Tanner continues to run cross country, he is in the chamber singers at school, and is the publicity chairman. He is very friendly, funny, and outgoing. We are well pleased with this boy.

Toddler Fun

• Our little toddler fun is gone. We all had a great time with little Lukas this week. Each of us had our own connection with him, and he brought a lot of life to our family. Talmage, who thought it would not be a good idea to add a toddler to the mix, was the saddest when his little friend left. We remembered all the joys of the toddler life: bath time, dinner time, prayer time, play time, little funny words and games, and messes and messy pants just when it's time to go some place. We all enjoyed our short week with the little guy.

Titan Football

• The Frontier Titans had their first game at their home stadium. They played the Antelope Valley Antelopes. Porter was sick with a fever all day, but was able to lower his temp and fulfill his team duties at center. Luckily it was a blowout, so by the second quarter he was done for the night. He said that he felt fine and would like to have played more. At the end of the game coach put him in for one running play- put 9 rushing yards in the stats for Porter Urmston. Final score 68-0.

Rampage Football

• The Rampage had a scrimmage. Talmage played receiver and safety. He had some good hard hits on defense.

Finger Prints
The person who "borrowed" our car has a fingerprint, a name, a face, and priors. The BPD says they are going after this guy. If  you live in the greater oildale area and your initials are E.E., thanks for taking care of our vehicle while you used it. To thank you we'd like to provide free room and board for 5 to 10 years on the taxpayers dime. Hope to see you soon. Thanks again.
And that's those are the highlights of the week.

This School Year I Hope

This school year I hope:

• to win in PE
• I get good grades/ a 4.0 GPA
• my students learn to be proficient reader
• to win all my basketball games
• I'll do well in basketball
• to keep my classroom clean and organized
• to be a good sport
• to support my family in sports
• to ride my bike to work often
• to get straight A's
• to be friendly
• to make time for science
• to have good conduct
• I will be happy
• to be kind in 2009-2010
  

The Ironman Adventure

On July 31, we started out for a wonderful adventure known as The Ironman Adventure.
We drove North, for about 150 miles with a pair of pliers on the top of our van. Some guys kept slowing down and passing us. First a guy gave Peter the thumbs up. Peter gave him a chin nod in return. Then they slowed and passed on the other side. This time, the driver pointed up to the sky. Peter nodded reverently, then realized he had left the pliers up there after a quick repair earlier that morning.


We spent the afternoon in San Francisco. We walked around Fisherman's Wharf, ate some food from the sea, and went to The San Franciso Bay Aquarium. We saw sea wildlife including sharks. We most enjoyed the deep sea tunnel where we saw the fish swimming over us.




Friday we spent the day in Santa Rosa getting ready for the triathlon. We drove to the river where the swim would start, we went to the high school where the race would finish, then waited for Peter to get his race stuff; and waited, and waited. It was a good waiting warm up for Saturday. We went and rested a bit then went to Olive Garden to carbo load. Nathan and Jill came with us. We had a good time. Most of us ate pasta. We went to Target for poster board, sharpies, and Vaseline, then we went back to the room for some last minute preparations. Elaine made PB & J tortilla wraps, Talmage cut open the Clif bar wrappers, and Peter checked his bike, again
.


Saturday, August 1, was the Ironman. For Peter's account of this event go to: http://www.pedotries.blogspot.com/


Sunday, at the church we went to, all the testimonies were about people crashing in cars. This made us nervous for our travels. We headed out from Santa Rosa for a Sunday Drive. We spent a nice afternoon at the Golden Gate Park. We spent most of the time in the botanical garden. We all(Elaine) appreciated the beautiful sights and the fragrant aroma. We saw some cool turtles in a pond there.




Monday we stopped in Fresno and went to the waterpark in Clovis. We had fun slipping and sliding all day long. Then we headed home after a stop at In n Out to finish our Ironman adventure.



The trip was a fun family activity. The worst part was Porter wasn't able to come with us, but other than that it was a fun, wholesome family activity, never to be forgotten.

Porter's Birthday Suit

We celebrated Porter's 17th birthday this week. No he didn't have two different cakes. For the past three years, Porter has requested the same dinner- steak and shrimp, and the same cake-chocolate cherry. He has also worn the same shirt-looks a little smaller this year. These are pictures from his 16th and 17th birthdays. The 15th pictures look the same. We had to put a 17 on this year's cake so we won't have to count candles to know which birthday it was.

The Toddlers Take The Beach

We spent a wonderful week at the beach. This picture portrays the fabulous children preparing for an Easter egg hunt. They all got along so well. There was sharing and caring for each other that was impressive. What wasn't apparent was that this was a bond formed because of their common enemy: teenagers and adults.








It all started with a plot. Then the attack began.









A common form of attack was the surprise attack on sleepers unawares. Then a pull of the hair, yanking the head, and a flying-leap double knee to the back.


































The Jedis moved in, used the force, and destroyed the remaining teenagers with lightsabors.














They dug a pit for their enemies,


claimed their thrones,




and to the victors go the spoils.

Les Miserables

Over the past months, Tanner has been in rehearsals, after school, everyday for their production of Les Miserables. All of the practice paid off on March 11-13 when the production was presented to the public. All of the hard work was worth it. From the set, to the costumes, to the acting and singing, this was a first rate production. Tanner played several parts in the play. He was a chain gang prisoner with Jean Val Jean. He was the factory foreman. He was run over by a wagon and Jean Val Jean saved his life. He also played a revolutionary with a drinking problem. All of Tanner's characters were presented with devotion and motivation. There was no small part for Tanner. He put his all into each part. Of all Tanner's parts, my favorite was when he sang three or four solo lines. I was looking all over the stage to see who was singing the part. When I looked to Tanner, there he was singing. I didn't know he could sing so well. I have to admit I was surprised. Many of Tanner's friend were also in the musical. They all did a great job. We were all entertained and inspired by the school production.

Be Kind In 2009-March

The benevolent bishop in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables wrote, in the margins, the thoughts he had as he read and meditated. At such a time he wrote the following:

"Oh, you who are!

"Ecclesiastes calls you the All-powerful; the Maccabees call you the Creator; the Epistle to the Ephesians calls you Liberty; Baruch calls you Immensity; the Psalms call you Wisdom and Truth; John calls you Light; the Books of Kings call you Lord; Exodus calls you Providence; Leviticus, Sanctity; Esdras, Justice; the creation calls you God; man calls you Father; but Solomon calls you Compassion, and that is the most beautiful of all your names."

In his talk, "Finding Joy in the Journey" http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-26,00.html, President Monson said:

"Send that note to the friend you've been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say "I love you" more; always exprss your thanks."

So you're invited to show some compassion. Go hug your children, hug your parents, and write that note. We love you, and thanks for everything you(family & friends) do for us.

Why the Les Mis theme? This month Tanner is in the Frontier High School production of "Les Miserables" It plays March 12-14. Mark your calendars. We will be attending the 13th.

My Handsome Men

No joys on earth bring greater pleasure

Than little boys to love and treasure

Talmage and Kauner at Honor Roll Taco Fiesta!

Little Guys

Although we love the teenage versions very much,

sometimes we miss these little guys.

SNOW FUN

2009 Theme

Every year our family makes a theme to live by for the year. We had a hard time coming up with one in 2008. Porter finally came up with one in November--Procrastinate in 2008. So this year we're going to try to start earlier.

Theme: Be Kind in 2009
Scripture: Luke 6:38

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

Song: All These Things I've Done by The Killers (subject to change)