Our Thanksgiving

Because we already had our HUGE Thanksgiving feast a couple weeks ago with the entire Peterson family, we kept it simple for the actual day.  David and I are both not very fond of turkey.  So, because it was a small family gathering (we invited Davids parents and youngest brother, last minute), we opted for ham.  YUM!!
Here is our small, yet delicious spread...

And because we are Petersons, we must have PIE.  I have to be perfectly honest and admit that I have never been a pie fan.  (Yes, I know!  How dare I call myself a Peterson!)  I don't like fruit pies, or nut pies, or pumpkin pies.  The only pies I really enjoy are cream pies.  Chocolate and banana cream pie are my favorite!  But, according to David, those don't even count as a pie!  So, we prepared five pies, none of which I ate any of.  But, the kids seemed to enjoy the apple and pecan pies, so that was good.  David, in fact ate one entire pecan pie all by himself throughout the day.  Glad to make the family happy...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!!  Now on to Christmas...

We sold our van...

We bought our 1999 Dodge Caravan right after we found out we were expecting Betsy.  So, that makes it nearly six years ago.  I have to admit that I had a tear in my eye as I watched it drive away this weekend.  Not so much because of the attachment to the van itself, but mostly because of the memories that it held.  I brought two of my babies home from the hospital in it.  I watched my children grow in the backseats of it.  They moved from infant seats to forward facing car seats, to boosters, to no car seats at all in that van!  So, I bid a fond farewell to our van.  I will miss it; but not the upkeep on the 235,000 mile engine, or the overheating issues, or the lack of a sound system, or air conditioner, or cruise control....  Maybe I won't miss it as much as I thought!

Oh, and by the way, I am ABSOLUTELY loving our replacement vehicle.  A 'new to us' 1999 Chevy Suburban.  With all the bells and whistles.  Only thing that is a tad bit annoying about it is the broken handle on the drivers door.  I have to roll down the window to get out!  It is a pretty easy and inexpensive fix, when we get around to it.  There is A LOT going on...

Aubrey and Emily DANCE!!

On November 17-19th , my two oldest girlys practiced and performed in a dance production.  They did SO good, and I am one proud mama!  The costumes were SUPER cute, and the girls did such a great job.

 Aubrey, getting her hair fixed for the performance.  With her makeup on, she was absolutely convinced that she had to have this goofy facial expression.  You will notice it in every single picture I took of her.  =)

 Emily, getting all gussied up.

 Betsy wanted in on the action, so I put curlers in her hair too.  My three beautiful girlys.

 Aubrey, after her final performance.  Still in character.

Emily, posing sweetly.  She did such a great job!

Both girls did incredibly well with the busyness of extra practices, a dress rehearsal, and two performances.  I got to go to the final performance and watch my girls do their thing.  Aubrey is a natural performer.  She was so exact and right on with her dance moves.  It was fun to watch both Aubrey and Emily come out of their shells, get up on stage, and DANCE!  Love my sweet daughters!

Nathans' Piano Recital 2011

Nathan has been doing wonderful with learning to play the piano.  He has been pretty good with practicing and seems to really enjoy it.  He has played his recital songs over and over and OVER for the past month.  Gotta love it...  He performed them nearly flawlessly.  And I am so very proud of him, and his lack of nervousness!  (You should have seen me at my first piano recital!  I was so freaked out that I didn't even play my songs.  Hey, I was only six!  Even a bribe for ice cream didn't work!)

 Here Nathan is with is wonderful piano teacher, Wanda Sanderson.

 Here is his name on the program.  He was so thrilled to see it in print that he took a picture of it!

And here is a sneak peek of Aubrey and Emilys' dancing debut!  More on that next time....

Arn't they just stinkin' adorable?!?!?!

6 out of 7 isn't bad...

Jay, being the monkey he is, was playing wildly and decided to bust his chin open and get stitches on the night of the 14th.  He kept trying to kick himself up into a handstand, one of his arms slipped, and he came crashing down, head (or maybe chin) first, on our hard tile floor.  He bled pretty good for a minute or so, and I took him over to the doctors office and he got 3 little stitches in his chin.  Silly boy....

And because I like to brag about my wonderful little bunch of kids; Jay didn't even cry!  (okay, initially when he hit the ground, for about 15 seconds...)  But not when he saw the blood, got the numbing shots, or got stitched up.  Dr. Nichols was thoroughly impressed and kept telling me that he was a wonderful, tough little boy.  I had to agree. 

The next morning he had completely forgotten about the whole experience, and has since been annoyed about the silly band aid he has to keep on his chin.  I am kind of worried that if he could actually touch or feel the stitches, he would pull them out.  He is tough, I tell you.

Oh, and by the way, Emily is officially the only member of our family who HASN'T had stitches now.  Knock on wood...

Family pictures

So, because both David and I are notorious cheapskates, and don't really enjoy the amount of energy and stress that family pictures involve, the last professional picture we had taken as a family was when Jay was just 4 months old.  Yes, pathetic.  We got an updated picture (meaning bro-in-law with super nice camera) a couple years back.  We were all due for an update.  So, during all the festivities, Mathan, yet again with his beautiful camera, took some updated family pictures.  And all it cost us was our sanity for an hour or so!!

So, here they are....

There were several more pictures taken, of each Peterson family.  Here is the best picture of the entire Peterson Posterity (so far).    A little cropping and it will make a great framed picture.

Yes, my son has his hand down his pants.  So glad that will be blown up and hung on walls for years to come....

WARNING!!!

Due to busyness, things got backed up a bit... 

GET READY TO READ FIVE NEW POSTS IN A ROW!!!! 

Or you don't have to....your choice.

oh, and I'm still not caught up.... ={

Double digits....

Ten years ago I married this man in the Mesa Arizona Temple on November 10, 2001.  It was the best decision I have ever made. I can't wait for the next 10, and 20, and forever!  He makes me happier then I deserve.  I love you David....

Ten years later and still looking pretty good, if you ask me....



Peterson Family Reunion 2011

The big Peterson Family Reunion was held this weekend in the valley, where the weather was FABULOUS!!  It was a great gathering, and lots of fun to see everyone that was able to be there. 

 

 Aunts Terri, Stella, Nancy, and my wonderful mom-in-law Jody.

 Uncles Jared, Grant and Marvin.  You are always guaranteed to laugh till your sides hurt with their great story telling, when you get this three brothers together....

 Playing in the jump house they had set up.  It was the kids favorite attraction.

 Many of the group waiting for the slide show to start.

 Here comes trouble!!  Hyrum and Jay were quite the trouble makers this weekend. 

 David, with his very favorite cousin Ashley.

Some of the Peterson cousins playing on the playground.  Cute huh?!?

The weather was great, the family was great, and it was wonderful to see everyone growing up.  We are all getting older!

Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day, all in one!

Ben, Amy, and kids with Carl and Anna came down from Provo this weekend for the big Peterson Family Reunion . Because is was so close to Thanksgiving, we planned on doing the big dinner while they were all here. It was especially nice this visit to have the "rumpus room" finished out at Davids parents house. We spent many hours playing games, eating food, and visiting this last weekend. Here are a few shots of the fun...

 Jumping on the trampoline.

 Lining up for the feast! YUM!

 Playing chimes with Uncle Ben.

 Celebrating Betsy's 5th birthday.

 Singing songs and playing games with cousins!

And, of course, worn out kids from partying too hard!

It is always a party when Ben and his family comes to town!!

11/11/11

Betsy is our Veterans Day baby!  She is about as happy as you can imagine.  She has me laughing and smiling everyday.  She has a contagious smile, and her energy and joy just bubbles out of her!  We love our beautiful Betsy!  So, here are five things we love about our Bugaboo bears....

1)  You are ALWAYS happy.

2)  You are a peacemaker in our home.

3)  You always want to give, and help, and be nice to everyone.

4)  You are uniquely beautiful in our family, with your daddys' hazel eyes.

5)  You excitement for life makes everyone else happy.

 Here is Betsy with her Grandpa Peterson.  She is admiring her cake that her Aunt Amy made for her. 

Here she is with her daddy.  She loves her dad so much! 

 Turning five is HARD WORK!  Here she is sacked out on Grandma Peterson's couch. 

She is not one to stand still or look at a camera for more then a millisecond.  She just has to much happiness wiggling around inside her.  She is always bouncing, and giggling, and smiling, and hugging.  She is NOT shy, and loves to love on anyone that will give her attention. 

WE LOVE YOU BETSY!! HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY!!

Pwick-oh-pweat

Behind again... but when am I not lately?  GRRRR! So, here are the pictures of my cute kids in their Halloween costumes.  The weather was really nice, which gratefully meant that I didn't have to cover up their costumes with coats.  Jay kept me smiling all night as he would approach a house, and yell "pwick-oh-pweet!!"  Cute kiddo.

Betsy, Emily, and Aubrey were fairies.  What you may not see is their hair; Betsy's was purple, Emily's was very glittery, and Aubrey's is blue,  to match their wings and skirts. 

Jay was a knight.  This is, unfortunately, the best shot I have of him in is costume.  Oh well....

A few weeks before Halloween Nathan made a plan.  Much to my surprise, he wanted to do a canned food drive instead of trick-o-treating.  (I mean, what kids DOESN'T want candy?!?!)  He is a good kid, with a big heart.  Nathan had me drag a red wagon with him, and he went door to door asking for food instead of candy.  He got a great response (and still got LOTS of candy too), and here he is after he finished for the night.  He wanted to donate it to the bishop of our ward "to help people who don't have food".  He made his momma VERY proud.  What a great kid I have.  I don't deserve his goodness.