Graduation

Whooohooooooooooooooooooo! YEAH! WHOOOOOHOOOOO! HE DID IT!!!!! WE LOVE YOU CHALLIS!!!!

Here he his! OUR GRADUATE! CHALLIS R. GATTEN! CLASS OF 2008.

It was a big night at Weber St. Dee Event Center. There was a huge crowd and a sea of green because there were over 650 Falcons there to graduate. Challis had all his grandparents there to see him get his diploma and celebrate his accomplishment.


Of course we (Tiff and Rick) were there. We were so happy, and so proud. It was a time of reflection for us as well as Challis. It left me a little teary to see all the kids who’ve wandered through my life, kids that I’ve watched grow and become such fun individuals there moving on to the next phase of their lives. Most of them I’ll never see again. But my heart is full with hope and love for them all. I will be anxious to here where their lives take them in time.



It was also a time to think back on all those science projects, state reports, spelling tests, times table charts, the time I spent teaching Chal to write his ABC’s, and the times (almost everyday) we dragged him out of bed to go to school. It’s been so much fun, so much work, and worry. It felt like such a relief to hit his milestone with him.



Challis has been a good kid and he has set some good examples for his brother and sister. They were proud to watch him as he walked to get his diploma. They both love him and look up to him


Here is getting his diploma. Whoohoooo! We cheered loud for him.

Here they are the SEA of GREEN, Clearfield High School’s graduating class of 2008.

This is the part where you get really emotional when they move their tassels from left to right, and they are seniors no more.......they are graduates.

Can you say SUN? Not that I’m complaining, of course. Here we are (our family) squinting into the sun after graduation.

The kids after graduation. I love this one because Chal is trying to put a smile on Corbin’s face. Corbin never smiles in pictures....he’s to cool for that. :)

Challis and Melissa. Have I told you that we really love Melissa? We do, each and everyone of us. :) Congrats to you both!

After graduation we went to McGrath’s Fish House. It was yummy. This is a picture of Steve my Mom (A.K.A. Grandpa and Grandma Dorman) and Challis.

The last pick is of us (Rick and Tiff), Challis, and Dick and Wendy (A.K.A. Grandpa and Grandma Gatten.)

Clearfield High School

Clearfield Falcons!

Green, White, and Gold

It’s not easy bein’ GREEN, just ask Challis. He was bussed up to Clearfield High School his 10th, 11th, and 12th grade years. We call it the “ghetto school” or the “school in the hood” because it’s located in the poorest section of Davis County. It’s also the most overcrowded school in Davis County, and sees the least amount of money from the district. It’s been under construction the whole time Challis has attended. On Thursday, the largest class in Davis County will graduate from this school. (I’ll have to get back to you with the #’s after graduation.) They however will not be graduating from their auditorium, because there are not enough seats for the students let alone the guests of the graduates, but instead they will graduate up at Weber State College. I can hardly wait. So long Clearfield High!

I couldn’t help but take a picture of the Attendance Office while I was there buying tickets for graduation. You see, Challis has had Senioritis so badly this last term he missed about 15 days. Hmmmm.......

Challis' talent

Self Portrait

As you may have read, Challis’ favorite subject in school was art. The other day Challis brought home a folder that the school district had kept on him. In it there was the drawing above. His first Self Portrait. Who could have seen his talent? lol. The funny thing is....the drawing actually reminds me of him with it’s long neck and long skinny limbs.

I wondered if they had kept it because of the guns blazing in both hands. The thing is....he wasn’t even allowed to have guns when he was little. I thought this would be good for him and make him less violent. Instead he imagined everything as a gun, and I do mean everything. He became obsessed with the things, and eventually...I had to give in. (Rick would like me to clarify that he doesn’t own any guns. I meant, I gave into play guns when he was little.)

Challis' High School Job.

Smith’s

Challis has been employed at Smith's Grocery store since the day he turned 16. Smith's is only about 1.25 miles from our house which has been convenient since Challis hasn’t managed to save for his share of a car. :) They have been infinitely patient with him. It’s been a great place to be employed. They have worked around his schedule, and taught him to work hard. He works after school one or two days a week and usually works early mornings (6:00 a.m.) on the weekends. He’s a friendly kid, and has made friends with his coworkers. While the pay isn’t great, it has allowed him to have a good time in High School, and most importantly....date. ;)

Where did the time go? Flashback Friday.

Just Watch Him Grow.

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade


4th Grade


5th Grade

6th Grade

Jr. High

High School

Graduation 2008

Congratulations Challis, we love you!

Just a litttle Quiz.

7 Days Until Graduation Quiz For Challis

1. Q. Can you name all of your teachers in order from kindergarten to 6th grade?
A. kindergarten: Mrs. Nymon 1st: Mrs. Nouget 2nd :Mrs. Williams 3rd: Mr. Carter 4th: ? I remember her face but not her name? 5th: Mrs. Williams 6th: Mrs. Norman
2. Q. Who was your favorite teacher of all time and why?
A. Mrs. Monson and Mr. Bagford., I like Mrs. Monson because she was the most laid back understanding and fun teacher I have ever had. She liked my art and taught my favorite subject as well. Mr. Bagford taught on the other hand math, my least favorite subject in the world. But he helped me learn it in a fun way, and he had similar interests as me! Such as playing video games and spending whole class periods playing chess!
3. Q. Who was your best friend in Kindergarten?
A. Evan Willie
4. Q. Who is your best friend now?
A. Jesse Brocious
5. Q. What was your favorite subject in school?
A. Art and multimedia
6. Q. What was your favorite school lunch?
A. Arby’s or Quiznos
7. Q. Who was the first girl you liked?
A. Lacey Caruth
8. Q. Who was the first girl you kissed?
A. Lacey Caruth
9. Q. Who is your girlfriend now?
A. Melissa Tomlinson
10. Q. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. A Fun and Successful young me!
11. Q. What did you want to be when you were in kindergarten?
A. Digimon Tamer (lol like any of you will know what that is!)
12. Q. What was the most outrageous thing you did in school?
A. This is a long list....... probably the time that I was escorted to the principal’s office for having a lighter in class that me and my friend stole from a maverick, Followed by a 2nd visit the same day for being framed for graffiti in my history teacher’s classroom.
13. Q. If you could do school all over again, what would you do different?
A. I wouldn’t change anything
14. Q. Where do you want to live someday?
A. NYC, California, or Japan
15. Q. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A. Moab Utah or China Town and Disneyland with my friends!
16. Q. What is your favorite song?
A. Cute without the “e” by taking back Sunday
17. Q. What is your favorite color?
A. Blue, Black, and Red
18. Q. What is your favorite restaurant?
A. Joes Crab Shack by the Ocean!
19. Q. If you had a party and you could only invite 10 people, who would they
be?
A. (If this doesn’t include my immediate or other family members) Jesse Brocious, Melissa Tomlinson, Nicole Story, Suzi Christiansen, Lacey Caruth, Christina Boone, Tyson Bryant, Joe Walker, Theo Perigo, Stacey Rudd, (and since we all know more people than we expected show up!) Taylor Sucesse and Cody Haslem! :D
20. Q. Who inspires you and why?
A. Leleouch Vi Britannia, Ichigo, Gatts, Spike, Arthas, Illidan, David Belle, Jackie Chan, Avril, Adam, Sora, Naruto, Bam, Soul, Blackstar, Cloud, Shinion my friends, and most of all my dad.

Prom

Melissa asks Challis to Prom

Melissa asked Challis to Prom because she said, she’d never done the asking before. She did a really cute job. She decorated his room with origami birds and a decorated box filled with fortune cookies.

The Dance

Here are the pictures that Melissa’s parents took. We didn’t get to see them, and I’m so sad. They look so darling. The last Prom for Chal.....Kinda makes me sad. Melissa looks so beautiful. Take a look at the last pic. They are so dang SKINNY!

I talked to them both about the Prom, and they both said they had a wonderful time.

Ogden 1/2 Marathon, and Rick's first.

Rick did AWESOME! What a great day. :)

What fun. Rick ran his first ½ marathon yesterday. As I predicted he left me in the first 20 seconds of the race, and I never saw him again until I crossed the finish line. We both struggled the last few miles. Rick struggled because he only stopped at ONE water station, and he took a GU without water. He had never used a GU, and it made him sick. (Is he CRAZY!?) And I struggled because I needed a prota-potty and there wasn’t one...Oh, well, I made it.:)

Rick beat my personal best ½ time 1:44 on the first try. He finished 1:43.....WHATEVER! He didn’t even train....he sucks! But, I’m really proud of him. Way to go Hon.

These are pics of us after the race together.



Here is Rick Finishing. I wish it was more clear, but my kids were the photographers.

Here is my finish. They did better with this pic. :) I finished 1:51.

These are my girls. L to R: Missy, Me, Becky, Teresa, and Stacy below.

Missy, Teresa, Rick, and ME!


These are some of the girls in my Boot Camp class. They are young and fun. I have enjoyed getting to know them this year.

Corbin, Channy, and Challis with the cow bells they cheered with.

Corb, Channy, Challis and my Mom came to cheer us on at the finish line. It ment a lot to us. Thanks for being so supportive. We love you.

After the race we came home and chilled watching TV. But later we saw Challis off as he went to Prom with Melissa. Then my friend Leslie made us a wonderful dinner and we sat and gabbed around a fire. It was the perfect ending to a really great day.

I'll have pics of Prom posted as soon as I get them.