Video killed the radio star...

Every time I think about this blog that song flashes through my mind.  It amazes me how 'once important' things can be replaced by other 'now important' things.  Each time I find a minute to get on the computer I now will go directly to Pinterest.  Then Facebook.  Then, every few days, to Yahoo.  Then, once a week or two, now I will come to the blog.  I am, in no way saying that Pinterest or Facebook are worthy opponents to journaling/blogging.  They just seemed to have moved up on my 'priority' list. 

Heck, I am pinning some pretty amazing stuff!  And find myself trying all sorts of tips and tricks with the house cleaning/laundry I dread doing.  And most of the stuff I do try, works and ends up saving a bunch of money.  And I feel smarter and better at my housekeeping job.   AND my house is cleaner then ever.

I also find myself day dreaming, and night dreaming about my "dream home".  SO many cute, practical, 'why-the-heck-didn't-I-think-of-that' ideas for the future.  I am looking forward to the time in our lives when we can buy some property and build that dream home I have in my mind, and all over my Pintrest account.

Then comes Facebook.  I have a love/HATE relationship with Facebook.  I love that I can keep up with all my family and friends that live so far away from us now.  I miss those AZ folks!  BUT, I hate all the daily drama garbage that some people insist on posting about.  And I have said a few times lately that I am going to completely STOP looking at Facebook, listening to the radio, or watching TV until the silly elections are over.  I know who I am going to vote for.  I know where my priorities stand and who I want in office.  I don't need all the attack ads, thoughts, and uninformed negativity that is all over the place.  UGH.  I HATE politics.  Its a good thing that David didn't want to be a mayor or congressman or something.  I would have RUN the other way.  There is nothing worse then the negativity and dishonesty in politicians. 

So, if you excuse me I will now step down from my soapbox.  Sorry about the off-the-subject rant.

The plan now is to play catch-up.  I am not going to give a time table or anything like that because, as I see it, that is a sure-fire way to set myself up for failure.  But, over the course of the next while, I will get back on the bandwagon of recording my family doings and get back on board with this blog.

Adios.  =)

Double digits!

I know I have about a million posts to catch up on, and well, it isn't going to happen today.  BUT, I do have a good reason to skip a month or two of activity and jump right to the present.  THIS present:

This wonderful little guy made me an official mommy 10 years ago today.  TEN years.  Good grief.  I feel old....

 

As I laid in bed last night remembering the night that Nathan came into the world (at 12:46am), it seemed like yesterday.  The pedicure with my sister, Heidi, the shopping trip cut short, the drive through rush hour, the panic, Davids' coaching calm voice in my ear, the PAIN, and then the sweet sound of a newborn baby finally crying.  I felt so young, so inexperienced, so scared.  We grew together.  We learned together.  And I wouldn't trade this boy for ANYTHING. 

 

10 years later.   Nathan has always been a smart little whip.  And he continues to love to learn, and read, and think, and share everything on his mind.  I love him more than I probably should.  Nathan is growing into the kind of young man that I only dreamed of having.  He makes me proud everyday.  He is GOOD.  He is SMART.  He is MINE!

We went to your house, now you come to ours....

Right after we all separated after the Provo Peterson Family Reunion 2012, Ben and Amy headed toward Idaho for another family reunion for her family.  Since we live a hop skip and a jump from Idaho, they decided to spend a few days with us, in our house.  I was so fun to have someone come to us and see our new place and surroundings.  We didn't do too many exciting things, but did enjoy our time together.  A Costco run, a couple parks, temple sessions, game nights, and a walk around the Billings temple was a perfect way to spend some relaxed time together.

Me (yikes!), Emily, Isaac, and Nathan

 My five and Isaac.  Looking at the temple. 

 Ben, Amy, Isaac, Hyrum, Hannah, and baby #4, a boy due in October!

My five, posing for the camera in front of the Billings, Montana temple.  It is OH-SO pretty..

They loaded up and headed back toward Provo this morning.  Glad to say that we got to see all sorts of Petersons in the last 2 weeks.  Also glad to say that my blog is caught up!! =) 



The last days of the reunion

After a late night of 4th of July celebrations, we all slept in, and then met up at the neighborhood pool that Amys' parents have.  We splashed and swam for a while with cousins and family.  I love water and swimming, so I had a great time!

Aubrey and Nathan (bag over his cast) soaking in the jacuzzi.

After a nice dip in the pool, we loaded up our camping gear and headed for Santaquin Canyon.  The campsite was picturesque and absolutly perfect, minus the downpour of rain for an hour or two right as we were setting up!  We camped and relaxed and played for a couple days.  I love camping too, so we had a wonderful time!  David caught up on some game time with the family, I caught up on some reading, and the kids played hard with each other, and in the small stream that ran right by our campsite.  Loved it!

My five.  Otter pops too...

Ticket to Ride.  Carl, Dad, Ellen, David, Andrew and Nathan.

Aubrey, out on a limb...

Mom, Amy, Ben and Hannah.

On Saturday morning, the 7th of July, we had a quick breakfast, and broke camp.  And it was over.  Two car loads headed south, back toward Snowflake.  It was a sad, tearful goodbye.  I just wish we lived closer to family.  I miss them....

We headed back north toward Provo, and spent the rest of the day catching up on laundry and loading up the car for our trek back to Montana.  Sunday morning we climbed into the car, and drove the 10 hours home.  Glad to be home, and glad to have seen everyone!  We miss you and love you!

4th of July- Provo style...

We headed early toward the parade route.  We met up with the men of the group who camped out overnight, and settled into our spot.  We really enjoyed the parade in the shade most of the time.  I even saw a celebrity of sorts- Nienie!  I almost cried, seeing her for real!  I felt kinda silly, but it was a neat experience for me. 

Nathan and Andrew watching the parade.

Some cousins waiting for the parade to start.

Broccoli anyone??  Jay loves it!

One of the floats in the Provo parade.  A bit creepy but pretty cool.

It was hot, HoT, HOT!!!  After the parade we all headed over to Carl and Annas church and had a pizza party lunch and some fun playing with bubbles, balls, and each other in some A/C! 

We headed back to Ben and Amy's and had some fun with a homemade pinata.  It broke after only 3 hits!  Aubrey is a STRONG little girl!  Then the whole Peterson family took some pictures in our new matching flag shirts (thank you mom!!) 

Daddy and Aubrey, just moments before the pinata broke!

All of us!  11 adults, 12 grand kids.  Still growing with one more on the way in October! (no, not me...)

We had some more down time with games and movies, and then headed toward BYU to see the fireworks.  The show started really late, but it was a good one!

Betsy watching the fireworks!

Around town with the Petersons

After returning back into Provo from Manti, we had a relaxing Sunday afternoon.  We had a nice dinner and then took a family walk along the Provo River.  It was a nice trail and we all enjoyed it!  After our river walk we settled down a bit and played some games and then headed back to our beds for the night.

Us... Jay, Mommy, Betsy, Emily, Daddy, Aubrey and Nathan.

David and I.  A little fuzzy, but I like it.

Took some impromptu family pictures.  I think they turned out pretty good...

Four of the five grandsons all climbing up a tree.  In age order too!

Picture of Emily swinging by the edge of the Provo River that was too cute to pass up.

Monday came early and we headed back toward Ben and Amy's and had yummy breakfast, and then loaded up our crew and went to the Dinosaur Museum at BYU.  The kids loved seeing the dinosaur bones and being out of the heat.  After the museum we all headed to the Provo Temple where the kids played a bit in the fountains, we walked around, and enjoyed some shade.

Aubrey and Daddy!

Jay and Nathan loved the triceratops head.  My handsome boys!

Cousins in the fountain!  Isaac, Hyrum, Jay, Nathan, Ellen, Aubrey, May, and Betsy.  And an aunt and a couple uncles too!

Us, posing at the Provo Temple.

Aubrey kicks back and enjoys the shade at the Provo Temple.

The woman of the group then caravaned together and went out to lunch together.  It was a nice break from the kids, and fun to be together.  We went to Macaroni Grill and then over to DI to wander around an buy a few things!

The ladies at Macaroni Grill! YUM!

 Eva, Amy, me, mom, Anna

After we got home from our Ladies Lunch, we changed into swimsuits, loaded up and headed over to Veterans Pool,  a great, family friendly water park in Provo.  We went last year with the kids, and so they all were THRILLED to go again.  It was SO fun.  We had a BLAST!  We stayed and played for hours and could have stayed even longer, but it was time for dinner.  We had a nice dinner, and then we gathered around for Family Home Evening.  I prepared the lesson/activity and gave it.   It was a nice evening outside.  I love that Peterson family!

Betsy!



We stayed up TOO late, and didn't get to sleep Monday til nearly 2:00 am!  Tuesday morning came EARLY... 

We all carpooled up to Temple Square, where we wandered around a bit, and then went to a great Book of Mormon exhibit.  It was built for kids, and they all had so much fun dancing, building, fishing, playing, etc! 

After the B of M exhibit, we wandered through the newly built City Creek Center.  It was a SUPER nice mall.  We went to the food court for lunch and the kids played at the kids area at the mall.

Emily, and a bunch of other random kids, and Aubrey in the background.

We then went outside, and found a great little splash pad.  What kid doesn't love getting wet??  The cousins had a BLAST!!  And because it was SO HOT, they all dried out again before we got back to the cars!

Cousins LOVE getting wet at the splash pad.

We headed back toward Provo, but had to stop in Draper, to see the IKEA.  I have heard about IKEA before, but had never experienced it.  WOWZA.  It was amazing, and if I could have all the money in the world, I would have my house built and decorated five times over!  Between Hobby Lobby and IKEA, I am one happy woman!

We were all pretty exhausted from the run around of the day and just CRASHED.  We played games, visited, and relaxed.  The men of the group loaded up and headed out to camp out overnight and find a great spot for the Provo Fourth of July Parade in the morning!

Driving to Utah and the Manti Pageant

Right after we got Nathans' new cast, we went into hyper drive, getting ready for our 10 day trip to Utah for the Peterson family reunion.  We left early Friday morning, the 28th of June.  It was a nice, scenic drive through West Yellowstone.  We stopped in Island Park, Idaho, and had bathroom breaks and a lunch picnic.

(no, that's not a cigar, but a pretzel rod!  he he)

We got into Provo in the early evening and saw Eva and her family, and Ben and his family and Anna.  It was a nice evening with a small dinner and some games.  We then made our way to our "hotel".   Our sister in law Amy's wonderful parents have a large home that they invited our family of seven to stay at.  They live about 10 minutes from Ben and Amy's home, so it was nice to get away at night and have a bit of room to stretch out.

On Saturday morning we got ready for the day, spend a few hours with Ben and Eva's families and then headed toward Manti.  We arrived a couple hours later and found Davids parents and Uncle Andrew at the campsite at temple hill.

 It was a nice reunion!  We set up the tents and took a walk around the temple grounds.  We saved our spot for the pageant, and headed back to the camp for a nice dinner with them.  After dinner we walked up the hill, found our spot in the ocean of chairs, and settled in for the pageant. 

The Manti Pageant was very good.  Thousands of people invade the great town of Manti every year for this pageant, and it was worth it!  The kids were well behaved, and seemed to enjoy it almost as much as the adults. 

Sunset, with the smoke from one of the several wildfires in Utah

After the pageant finished (almost 11pm) we hiked back with flashlights to our campsite, and went to bed.  In the morning, we woke up, used the campsite showers, and got ready for church.  We visited the Manti ward ina beautiful old building, and joined many visitors for Sacrament Meeting.  After church we broke camp and all drove back toward Provo Sunday afternoon.

More to come later....