Another Shooting! How Can We Stop This?

My heart is breaking for the victims of this senseless school shooting. How can this happen? What can be done to stop it from continuing to happen? Many talk about gun laws but is this really a solution? Do you truly believe that if someone wants to get a gun for the purpose of committing robbery/murder that they wouldn't be able to obtain one illegally? Should innocent people be expected to no longer have the right to protect themselves?

The way things are currently going should every school be required to have metal detectors to help prevent this from happening again? There has to be some sort of increased protection for our innocent children along with increased help for the mentally ill.

My heart is breaking for these families whose lives are forever changed. Their loss is unimaginable. Please remember to keep them in your prayers in the coming days, weeks and months. Hug your children and family members tonight and thank the Lord that you are still able to. Let this serve to remind each of us that no matter how difficult things may be, we are blessed to have another day with our loved ones.

**MISSING PERSON** PLEASE HELP & SHARE POST!

Today I got home to see a post on my good friend Renae's Facebook...her stepson, Jack Culolias a student at ASU is missing. This family has been through so much lately with the recent passing of  her husband/his dad due to lung cancer. She is currently in Tempe, Arizona helping a search party look for him. He was last seen at the Cadillac Ranch Restaurant on Friday November 30th at 11:00 pm. It's been reported that his wallet and cell phone were left at the restaurant. They need your prayers and help. Please share this blog post with anyone you know. Please pray for a hedge of protection around him and that the search party will have the Lord's wisdom and guidance on where to look for him and that he is found unharmed. Please contact the Tempe, AZ Police Dept. (480) 350-8311 with ANY info you may have!! Thank you. 
 
 NEWS LINK

My Embarrassing Weekend Confessional

I shared this story on Facebook and decided, why should I limit a good laugh to only my FB friends. So here's my own personal "Embarrassing Moment Weekend Confessional"

I was at church, sitting with my legs crossed when I noticed a lump in my jeans just above my calf. I ever so discretely reached my hand up the bottom of my pant leg and pulled out a pair of underwear that had obviously gotten trapped up there when they came out of the dryer!! Yep, I'm a very classy and sophisticated lady...NOT!lol only me!!!!!!!!

Falling Behind-Dancing, Walking & Games

Since I started my blog I've become so addicted to adding images with my posts that it's caused me to fall way behind on my postings. For example...every year I do a post and pictures of the annual Homecoming dance...which I still haven't officially done (officially=posting to my blog not just Facebook.) I have so many cool pics and want to share the big day with all of you. Wait till you see the amount of kids that were at one house before the dance.

Elijah & his homecoming date Sarah

I also haven't updated my son's CIF football games which by the way...his team's been winning (semi-finals this Friday.)

Elijah after last Friday's BIG second round CIF win 52-14

We also did another walk in my dad's honor to help stop the #1 cancer killer-LUNG CANCER. I don't know about you but with all the fundraising & awareness for breast cancer, I somehow thought it was #1. It really hit me at the lack of fundraising efforts and publicity that lung cancer receives.

Post set up along the route in memory of my dad

 So my sister, son Josh & his girlfriend headed to San Diego to pound the pavement.

My oldest son Josh, his girlfriend Charmaine & my sister Stacy

So now you've received a little preview of my upcoming posts/pictures...if I ever get around to spending the extra time to catch up (fingers crossed.) I think it's important to post these life occasions...it's a sort of journal and fun to look back on years later to see what was going on in my life way back when. The details seem to get lost in the memory of events if they're not written down.

Jullien Turns 21 Today!

My little boy man is 21 today, and is celebrating in Paris right now. He left on a two month trip to work/model with his agencies in Europe. He traveled to Germany and Spain already and is now in Paris and will end up in London before heading back to New York. So unfortunately I'm not able to celebrate this momentous occasion with him.

Jullien has always been my tenacious kid. He was born two weeks early and when he was not quite a year old we moved from California to Utah to be close to my family. Just as we arrived he became very sick and listless. We rushed him to the ER and it turned out he had pneumonia. It was really scary and we weren't sure if he was going to pull through; little did I know way back then...I had a little fighter on my hands (in more ways than one!) Luckily he came through it with only slight lingering lung weakness that appears whenever he gets the cold or flu (it drops straight to his lungs.)

Jullien was always a skinny, lanky kid but had a huge attitude to compensate. He would stand up to anyone who came at him or his brothers, his friends, or someone who was getting picked on. This served him well in sports. He was really talented at football, baseball, basketball, surfing and volleyballl. He had a never quit, never let anyone get you down or tell you that you can't do something attitude. He would push through any obstacle like a bulldozer. No one was going to hold him back from something he wanted or wanted to achieve.

During his Senior year he started at safety but was moved up to linebacker for Edison High School. He didn't look like your typical linebacker, but he hit like a freight train. No one could ever understand how he had so much strength. During one of Edison's practices, Jullien kept getting by one of the huge lineman and sacking the quarterback. The coaches began to yell at the kid for being unable to stop Jullien. After about the third or fourth time of getting beat, the 250+ lb kid charged Jullien after the play was over hitting him from behind and knocking him to the ground. Jullien...all 130 lbs of him went crazy on the kid, flipping him over and ended up on top of him punching him. They finally had to pull Jullien off the kid. He definitely earned the respect of the players and coaches and proved that the size of the player doesn't necessarily matter, it's what's on the inside that's important. I think that's when the coaches decided to move him from safety up to linebacker.

Jullien has applied that same perseverance to everything he does. I can honestly say that I admire his fearlessness; his ability to charge at an obstacle and conquer whatever is in front of him. I've been so blessed to have such a wonderful son who has not only a big personality but an even bigger heart!! So today on his 21st birthday...I've posted 21 pictures of my boy throughout the years. I want him to know how proud I am of him and how much I love him. Happy Birthday Jujy!! I love you and am so blessed call myself your mom.
Never stop chasing your dreams!!

 YOU"RE 21 WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE PARTY BEFORE THE BELL GAME ~EDISON vs FOUNTAIN VALLEY~

Elijah got postered the night before the BIG game & his cheerleader Sarah made him a blanket...SO AWESOME!!!!

This past week marked our BIG Edison vs. Fountain Valley Bell game. The week leading up to the game is almost as exciting as the game itself. It starts on Sunday with all the parents meeting at the school to make posters, goody bags, signs and the dreaded locker cleaning. Yes the parents take on the task of cleaning out the boys lockers & the entire locker room. Each year they pick a winner for the messiest boy. One year we found a thick covering of mold on pancakes & sausage that had obviously been in there for several months. I wasn't on locker duty this year (thank goodness!) I didn't hear who won the "award" this year but I figure I would've heard if it was my son. We put up posters & goody bags in each locker.

Throughout the week they get root beer floats, more goody bags and then a fancy dinner the night before the game which always is a steak dinner called "Baron of the Beef" symbolizing how they're going to eat em' up! Earlier in the day they dressed up as Fountain Valley Nerds...

My lil nerd!

Elijah's tie & glasses look so cute...lol!

 The morning of the game, at 2:00 a.m. all the parents meet to decorate/poster the entire outside of the school. This is a long standing tradition. The first time I heard of it when my oldest son was a freshman I thought, "2:00 a.m., are you kidding me?" But after so many years of doing it, you realize it's such a cool thing to be a part of.

5:30 a.m.- Okay we're EXHAUSTED!!!

View pulling into the school for the Pep Rally

Every inch of the school gets postered!!

WALL ART!!

We didn't finish till close to 6:00 a.m. A lot of parents go to breakfast at someone's house and then head to the pep rally. I knew that since I'd just gotten over a long 2 week sickness I needed to try and get a little sleep. So my hubby and I headed home to catch a couple of hours sleep. It was actually my first time attending the pep rally in all the years with our 4 other boys. I'd always wanted to go but when the alarm would go off I'd hit snooze and never get up. This year was our last year and I made sure to set two alarms...I wasn't going to miss it. It was fun and took me back a couple of years to my high school days!lol! We took tons of pics with Elijah, friends & the bell...which is what the winning team gets to keep at the school for the entire year. The game is HUGE and sells out every year. This year was particularly bad because several of the senior parents didn't get tickets before they sold out and had to sit on Fountain Valley's side.

THE BOYS WITH THE BELL

Elijah (on the left) & Trenton (on the right) have been playing football together since the age of 5! Vargy (in the middle) joined them a few years later...they've grown up on that Edison Football Field!

This should take some of you back a few years to the good ol days of high school Pep Rally's!! 

The boys getting pumped up!

This is called the SONIC BOOM


After the pep rally, my hubby and I went downtown to get some breakfast then home to sleep a couple more hours before we had to get to the college to help set up the tailgate party (another tradition that includes recent alumni & alumni from years back.) Edison is a top Orange County football program and has a huge and faithful following.

The Team Captains

The game was a close one for a while, 7-3 heading into the half. Edison's defense which has been very stingy this year was hoping to hold the Barons to 0 and beat the all time school record which they'd tied last week for the most shut outs in a single season (4). Unfortunately FV scored a field goal...but Edison stuck to their plan working together to bring the Bell home for another year. Elijah played amazing defense. He had several key tackles, a great kick off return and a few carries on offense (he's been dealing with a sprained ankle) but has been wrapping it up and playing, determined not miss a single game of his senior year...especially this one! I'm so proud of his hard work, determination and leadership. As a team captain, he continues to lead by example, and is always one of the first to lift up and encourage his teammates.

Elijah running a kickoff return

OFFENSE! #9 Running Back/Slot Receiver

DEFENSE!! #9 Outside Linebacker

Edison came out after half time and took charge. They pounded the Baron's on defense and showed up big on offense. The final score was 21-3. The defense was SO close to a shutout!!

This week is our final league game against a tough Huntington Beach team. Winning this final game will give us the sole title of Sunset League Champions and a 1st seed heading into our new playoff division the Southwest. I'm expecting big things for this team. Most of the boys have been playing together since the age of 5 and have such a tight bond...a brotherhood. They work for each other, never letting their brother down. Let's go CHARGERS...make this the BEST YEAR EVER!!

WE KEEP THE BELL!! 8 YEARS IN A ROW!! WOO HOO!!

Elijah getting interviewed after the game

Let the celebration begin!

WE HAVE THE BELL...AGAIN!! 21-3!!!!

THE PRICE IS RIGHT-COME ON DOWN!

Me, My Mom & Sister Stacy

My mom came down for a visit & to watch 3 of my youngest son Elijah's football games (she's never been able to see him play in person) and also walk in the Stop Cancer 5K (see previous post HERE) with us..so we were really looking forward to it.

I had signed up with an on-camera audience website a while back to go watch one of my fav dance shows live. They kept my email address on record and I received a PRIORITY ticket to go see THE PRICE IS RIGHT (Watch here if you miss the episode on 10/17/12). Priority meaning, guaranteed entrance, no waiting to get in for hours & the possibility of making a good impression with the producers to actually get on the show and win some big prizes!

I knew my mom & sister loved the show so I clicked on the link and scored my tix. Everybody was really looking forward to it & we planned on wearing our "Miracle Walker's" shirts from our 5k, which was perfect since it's cancer awareness month. While waiting to talk to the producer a man came up to us who was in line quite a ways behind us & said, "Are you Dave Bolda's family?" (my dad's picture was on the back of our shirts.) He proceeded to tell us that he was down visiting from Utah & is a Provo Firefighter who worked with my dad on several search & rescue missions. He wanted to tell us what an amazing man my dad was! We couldn't believe it...what a small world! Well we all fought back the tears (didn't want to ruin our camera ready makeup) gathered ourselves up, very grateful for the wonderful words and knowing that even if we didn't get picked...that made our day!

We headed to the interview section which happened while we were still in line, they just scooted a group of about 15 of us forward a few feet away from the crowd & while still in a line we spoke to the producer for a quick 2-4 minute "impression session." After we finished we knew that one girl in our group was IN for sure (Brittany) she was a character & turned it on during her interview. As we headed to wait to go inside while they made their decision, several people came up to my mom & said, "You're SO IN!" They were high fiving her and said you'll see. They didn't even hear the interview...they just saw how cute & fun my mom was (she has fans wherever she goes!;D) Once inside were put in one section & then after the producers came in & looked at us a few times, someone came over & moved us closer to the edge (wink, wink)...okay, that was a pretty telling clue that one of us was getting up there! SO PEOPLE...now you can tune in or dvr TOMORROW'S Price is Right show & watch to see if any of us actually get up on stage let's hope ("the camera adds 10 pounds theory") isn't true!! Sorry, but no info allowed until the air date 10/17/12, well detailed info anyways!! 

Grandma Gangnam Dance & Fundraising

Sister Stacy~Mom Carrie~Me & ~Son Joshy

My mom, son, sister, and friends walked in the "STOP CANCER" 5K. I woke up sick a week from this past Saturday and wasn't feeling exactly ready to head out on a 3 mile walk but I figured my sickness is nothing compared to what all these people battling cancer are going through. So I laced up my shoes and pounded the pavement, Kleenex in pocket & camera in hand and loved one's by my side.

I was SO grateful to not only meet my personal fundraising goal of $500.00 but surpass it...Woo Hoo!!! A HUGE THANK YOU to Var, Brigett and Becky who donated to this fight!! Our MIRACLE WALKER'S team raised over $1,400.00. Yes we're awesome like that!

So here's a view of our crew, walking in memory of my dad, Dave Bolda & with Charmaine's aunt Lisa who is currently battling cancer. We're going to continue to do our part to find a cure. After the walk, (which my mom was worried she wouldn't be in good enough shape to finish) they started playing the Gangnam song well that was all my mom needed to hear after crossing the finish line to get her pumped up...watch her celebrate finishing her very first race.

GRANDMA GANGNAM DANCE

My mom & sis

YAY MIRACLE WALKERS!!

Charmaine's Famous Heel Click!:D

My Mom @ the 3 Mile Marker...WOO HOO!

My oldest son Josh & me!:D

We Miss & Love You Dad! We're doing our part in your honor!

MIRACLE WALKER'S CREW!