December Birthdays!

December is a busy month for pretty much everyone.  But, I have probably almost everyone beat for busy in December.... 

I have five children.  3 of which have birthdays that fall within 9 days of each other.  And one more that falls less then a month before.  4 out of five birthdays happen within 4 weeks of each other....

So, here they are, my beautiful December babies:

Aubrey Sue Peterson was born on December 10, 2003.  Our second child and first girl.  This year she turned NINE. 

 

Emily Jo Peterson was born just a year and nine days later on December 19, 2004.  She is our third child and second girl.  This year Emily turned EIGHT!  She is being baptized next weekend in Snowflake! (Sorry for the random newborn pic.  This is what happens when all my pre-digital camera pictures are in one HUGE box. Piled up)  Note to self: organize your pictures!!!



Jay Clayton Peterson joined our family three years later on December 15, 2007.  He is our fifth child and second boy.  This year Jay turned FIVE. 

Thanksgiving 2012

This was the first year ever that I flew solo with the Thanksgiving feast. It was different not having extended family around, and turned out to be a pretty quiet day.  I had random homesickness waves pass over me, but, all in all, we survived, and ate well!

 Neither David or I are very big turkey fans, so, because we could, we opted for ham.  Neither of us really like pumpkin pie either, so we made lots of pecan and peach!  It was great. I did a lot of searching for recipes on Pinterest and other cooking blogs, and found my favorites. Our meal turned out fantastic. YUM!  I haven't seen my kids eat that good in a long time!

 

 The spread.  Sweet potatoes, ham, stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans, french fried potatoes, 4 pecan pies, and 2 peach pies.  YUM!

 I loved Aubrey's expression in this one.  The kids 'helped' a lot with the food,

so she was READY to eat. 

 Pigging out!

And because we are thankful for our dog, Max got a small bowl of ham, stuffing, and mashed potatoes too!  He LOVED it (meaning: he pretty much inhaled the food)!

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband, great kids, and even, for that silly little dog.  =)

Betsy turned SIX!

My sweet, happy, beautiful baby girl, Betsy turned SIX on November 11th!  Time flies when you are having fun!

It was a very low key, no fuss kind of day. All she asked for this year was chocolate cupcakes for her kindergarten class. And so, that is what she got, plus a bit more!

Betsy has a smile that just radiates through every bone in her body.  The joy just oozes out of her.  And when she just can't keep it in, she starts hopping around and giggles and laughes!  It gets everyone else laughing too.  She has such a contagious, positive spirit and is such a HAPPY child.   I wouldn't trade her for ANYTHING. 

I love you so much my wonderful girl.  Keep joyful forever! I love you Betsy Boo.  Bugaboo bears.  Boo-boo-be-do.  Sweet sweet petunia.  Petunia pants.  Giggle bug.  The best bets.  You make our lives happy!  You make EVERYONE happy!  =)

Halloween Happenings 2012

Two days before Halloween, our family carved two pumpkins. One for the boys, and one for the girls. The kids, of course, made a scene about pumpkin guts, and had fun with the scrap pieces of the pumpkins!

 David does the honors and carves the pumpkins.  I take the pictures.

 YUM!

 David carving the girls pumpkin.  With a star nose and heart eyes.  Naturally... =)  Aubrey and Emily had just gotten back from their ballet class, hence the matching leotards and tights.

Jay playing with the heart eyes.  Cute kid.

 

On the day of Halloween, Emily had a fun little Costume Parade at her school.  Here is her 2nd grade class, and a close-up shot of Emily dressed up as a ballet dancer.

Do you see her between the football player and all those alien guys?  Cutie patootie!

 

Right after Emily's costume parade, Jay and I headed straight over to Betsy's school, to help at her Halloween party. 

Betsy's kindergarten class.  She is on the far left side, 2nd row.  She is dressed as a purple fairy.  Her teacher, Mrs. Kaupish gave each of the kids little disguise glasses.  They are all wearing them in these pictures!

 She was thrilled to have us there, and loved sitting with Jay and acted so grown up!

Unfortunately, David had to work out of town on Halloween night. Our ward put on a Trunk or Treat, so we all suited up in our costumes (me too!), and went to a great night with friends and candy! Here are each of our costumes for Halloween this year...

 

 Nathan always likes creating his own costume.  He is a monkey.

 Aubrey is a fairy princess.

 Emily decided to mix it up a bit from school and added a bit of attitude.  She went as a ballerina/ pop star.

 Betsy is a sweet purple fairy.

 Jay went as a karate kid, but if you asked him, he would tell you he was a ninja!

 Can't forget me!  I went as a baby.  Footie pj's, teddy bear, pigtails, and all!

There was a small haunted house and carnival inside the church for after the candy ran out!  The kids had SO MUCH FUN!!  The weather was beautiful, and we were surrounded by good people and great friends! 

When the Petersons came to visit!

In the first week of October, David's parents and youngest brother, Andrew, came to visit for a couple days.  It was fun to get to have them come back to Montana again.  They helped us move last year to Laurel, and had not come back and seen us settled into our life here.  We had a great time together.  They are so relaxed and comfortable to be around.  I have missed my mother in laws influence in my life since moving here.  She is a wonderful woman and I love and miss her tremendously. 

While they visited we took a bit of a drive out to The Battle of Little Big Horn.  Also known as, Custer's Last Stand.  The weather was chilly, but David's brother, Andrew, is a history buff, and we knew he would love to see that place.  After we toured the area for a couple hours (no pictures), we had a small picnic, and continued our travels to Pompey's Pillar.  I had never been there and it was very neat.  We walked all the way up the large staircases to William Clark's signature and up further to the viewing summit.  It was a LONG way, and my legs were jell-o for the rest of the day! 

 David and Jay 'driving the boat'.

 THE signature.  Wm. Clark  (Lewis and Clark)  July 25, 1806

 Grandma Peterson and Jay.

 Proof that I was there.  Cute little shot with just the three of us. 

They could only stay for a short time, but it was a good time.  Andrew is leaving on his mission to Chile on December 19th, and that was the last time we see him for two years.  Here is a final picture with the whole crew before they pulled out and headed south toward home again.  We love you Petersons!  Good luck on your mission Uncle Andrew!

Hard working man... and kids!

I had just finished doing several loads of laundry. The kids came across the pile of David's work shirts and pants waiting to be hung up in our closet. It is his basic uniform. He wears it everyday, and we have several shirts and pants. So they thought it would be fun to put on daddy's uniform and match! It was funny.

I love that my kids love their daddy.  They want to be with him, and be like him in every way.  I am so glad that David is a wonderful father who loves his kids! 

When my parents came to town and I had a birthday!

My parents had recently returned home from serving their 2nd mission in Nauvoo, Illinois.  They had a few weeks at home, and then hopped on a airplane and came to see us!!  We were thrilled to have them come and spend a week on our turf from September 6-13, 2012.

While they were visiting we planned to go on a hike. We went on the same trail our family took in July by Red Lodge. I took very few pictures while they were here! We were having to much fun that I didn't pick up the camera enough! 

Grandma and Jay

 

Grandma, Grandpa and a wiggling Jay

A view from behind.  Stinkin' cute!

And the last picture taken was actually captured by a four year old. 

Jay took this shot.  Pretty good job!

 My mom spoiled me rotten with great cooking, lots of help cleaning house, playing with the kids, and lots of good conversation.  My dad enjoyed a couple days of going to work with David.  He seemed to really have a great time doing that. 

I happened to have a birthday while they were in town.  I turned 31.  When did I get so old?!?!  It was a great morning spent together in the temple, and then as a surprise present from my parents, David and I were sent away to spend the rest of the day on a date!  We had so much fun just being together.  And the kids had a great time with grandma and grandpa for the day.

My parents visit was wonderful.  It was great to be with them for a whole week.  We had a lot of downtime.  Played games.  Watched a movie or two.  Went to the park with a picnic.  They got to visit our ward.  It was so fun!!  Come back again SOON!  We love you!