The Peterson Family

Sledding

2012-02-04T14:53:00.003-07:00

We have not had much snow this year in Utah. But, we decided to bundle up one day and head up to Sundance to see if we could get lucky and find some up there. It was raining down at our house but after just a short 10 minute drive up the canyon we began to see some snow flurries. By the time we got up to the cottage it was a full blown winter wonderland! We decided to sled down some pretty deserted roads up by the cottage. They were so deserted, in fact, our car got stuck! Tanner used his excellent driving skills (and large and in charge muscles) and got us out of that pickle. Once we were all dressed and ready to go we did a few runs!

And who doesn't love to play on the swings in the snow? Poor Parker was so layered with hats he could hardly see!

This kid loves playing in the snow. He kept dropping to the ground and making snow angels. :-)

As much as I hate the cold I'm so thankful for this beautiful part of the country we live in and for fun days spent outside. I might feel chilly but these boys of mine keep me nice and warm. :-)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T16:06:00.002-07:00

We headed up to Idaho this New Year's to spend time with Tanner's family and take care of some business. I had Friday and Monday off of work and Tanner was free as a bird so we enjoyed a nice, long, relaxing, holiday weekend!

Travis and Nicole came over with the girls on Friday evening and the kids had so much fun playing together. We had a little gift for them from Christmas so it was fun to share that gift giving moment with them.

Side not: Nicole thinks her baby bump is huge but she's seriously so tiny- she is definitely a baby maker.

The kids were cracking us up! Parker was on a sugar high! Watch out!

We're looking into putting a diabetic bracelet on him so that people wont give him candy- that kid turns into a lunatic on sugar lately!

Kaydence

Marley

(I accidently uploaded this video but I guess I'll just leave it... nothing special, just Parker being crazy)

On Saturday I heard my Mother in Law lamenting about her cluttered and unorganized sewing room. I over heard her saying she wished she had a professional to help her get it all cleaned up. My excitement was astounding but I took a deep breath and casually offered my help- I'm an organizational freak. I can be a little overwhelming to some people with my need for color coding and size matching. But, to my astonishment she was grateful for my help! We headed to Walmart, bought $100 worth of plastic bins and other containers and we spent the whole day cleaning! It. Was. Wonderful! I know, I'm freaky. Meanwhile, Parker was ignored but played like a little angel with the legos, never once bugging us or getting into mischief. Tanner went to the movies with his Dad and I think it's safe to say every one was happy.

That night we had dinner with some of Tanner's friends from back in the day. We are all married and have kids now so it was fun to get together and let the kids play. The meal was extraordinary- a real treat!

After dinner I played a game called Farkle (and lost) with half the group while Tanner shared a love seat with his buddies and talked about... who know's what but I'm sure You tube was involved. Kim and Monte picked up Parker and took him home to bed. They are amazing!

Umm, yes, that IS Creme Brulee.

Only 4 of us lasted until midnight- welcome to being old and married with babies. So many New Years Eve count downs I spent alone while Tanner did valet in Vegas or I fell asleep while we hung out with friends but this year we both made it! We counted down, we kissed, it was perfect.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to practice the piano every day and try to teach Parker a little bit of technique. Well, apparently that should have been my goal LAST year because I found myself on January 1st being called to action. Kim said they had no one to play the piano in Relief Society so would I mind...??? Ummmmm, yes, Yes I would. But, I couldn't turn down a call to serve so I did it and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. :-)

We were able to hear Tanner's Dad speak in Church that Sunday which was a real treat.

After church the family all gathered for a famous Sunday roast at the Peterson's and we laughed and heard all about Kaitlin's awesome experiences at school learning to be a surgical tech (I'm so jealous). We laid around and relaxed, I may or may not have had too much dessert. We got to see Tanner's friend, Jake, and meet his new bride.... 2012 started off right!

The best in laws in the entire history of existence.

Kaitlin and Travis

Kassidy! We talked for a long time about books and reading. Another one of my goals is to read a book a week. So far I've read 4 books and it's only been a week!

On our way home we stopped by Spencer and Mona Kay's to meet their new, sweet, beautiful, baby girl- Laurel. She's perfect. I want her.

The kids were going crazy playing with each other and creating all kinds of chaos. We used this new app they told me about to make little videos of them blowing up. They were hilarious! I'm so bummed that they are moving back to Vegas! Not like I'm one to talk since we'll probably be moving to the East Coast when Tanner gets into PA school...

Beautiful Sage...

Monday we spent the day in our PJs cleaning up Christmas and organizing our crap! It felt soooo good! Parker was an angel and kept himself busy all day while we worked- well, except for this mess he created. But, I can forgive him for this. :-)

Another one of my goals is to see our friends more often! We love hanging out with Angeluis and now we have cute baby Mikailo to play with, too! He's just the happiest, most smiley baby and those dimples just about kill me. Aw!

Here's to a happy, healthy, adventurous 2012!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-08T16:03:00.003-07:00

Christmas was mellow this year. It was just the three of us. We've tried to start a sledding tradition for Christmas Eve but there was no snow! Then, we couldn't figure out what the heck we do for dinner on Christmas Eve, so we went to Chick-fil-A. We didn't mind. It would be nice to live closer to family so we could just stop by for a delicious family meal followed by a good night's sleep in our own beds but that's just not reality right now. So, we made do.

We were asked to visit some widows in the ward so we made cookies and delivered them on Christmas Eve. This was by far the best thing about Christmas for me. Now, I'm determined to do more service during the holidays instead of filling the days with meaningless activities. Actually, it's a goal of mine to do more service period.

Good works= my favorite value. :-)

Parker was so proud of his decorating skills...

We played with the train around the tree...

Put on our Christmas jammies....

Made cookies for Santa and set them out with some milk and also carrots for his reindeer...

Then it was sugar plums dancing in his head for this little guy.

The next morning Parker woke up at around 7:30 which was really merciful. I'm so glad he has not quite hit the age where he wants to wake up at the crack of dawn. I remember my first Christmas with Tanner and his family- we were only just engaged and his little sisters were still little. They woke up at like 5am to open presents! It was quite the shock to my system. :-)

He was totally stoked that Santa brought him "just what he wanted!" Hot Wheels Wall tracks! Thanks, Santa. They seriously are awesome because they are set up on the wall- I don't have to bug him to clean them up daily.

Parker and I both had stockings but poor Tanner did NOT. Parker assumed he must be on the naughty list. ;-)

We all were pretty lucky to have been given such generous gifts from our loved ones.

The present opening didn't take very long which gave us plenty of time to get ready for church and be there on time.

That afternoon Tanner helped me create a wonderful turkey feast! Everything was home made and super yummy! I love Christmas dinner!

We spent the rest of the day assembling all of Parker's toys- including these cool marble tracks from Nanny!

We were all exhausted by the end of the day. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

VNUS Conference in San Diego

2012-01-08T16:00:00.003-07:00

I was invited to attend a venous ultrasound conference sponsored by the device we use in our clinic. When they asked me to go I was soooo excited! The conference was just one day down in San Diego but they put me up in the Marriott the night before. It almost seemed like a joke- them flying me to Southern California and letting me spend the night at a fancy hotel. Could this be for real? I really had to wear my big girl pants and try and act professional. I'm used to Tanner taking care of all our travel needs. But, it was a great experience and I was very honored to be one of the 30 people in the nation chosen to attend.

I flew into John Wayne and my parents picked me up. It was sooooo good to see them!! They took me home and fed me dinner then my Mom let me take her car down to San Diego. That drive never gets old to me. The hotel was right by the temple and it felt good to see the place where Tanner and I were sealed for time and all eternity. :-)

Here I am on the balcony in my room the morning of the conference.

A shuttle took us to SDSU and we had a nice breakfast. The lecture was awesome and I felt really cool knowing all the answers. I've been practicing this type of ultrasound for 2 years and was able to give beneficial input throughout the day. I was even able to answer a puzzling question from a doctor about using certain veins for cardiac bypass surgery- since I work with heart surgeons some of those facts have rubbed off on me.

They fed us lunch, too, and I grabbed a Mt. Dew in honor of Tanner. He loves Mt. Dew and I can't stand it. But it was all that was left to drink so I gave in...

We had 2 different sessions of working in the lab. It was fun to show off my skills! :-)

After the conference they shuttled us back to the Marriott and I drove back home. It was the best ever being able to spend one on one time with my parents! I felt like the baby again! :-)

I was able to spend some time with my sister, too!

My Dad took my Mom and me out to dinner and a movie that night. Nothing beats that! This is us silencing our cell phones.

Sunday I went with my mom to church. My Dad didn't go because he was still kind of on lock down from his surgery. He'd developed a small infection and he didn't want to risk attracting any more germs. I loved going to my home ward and seeing all my homies!

My sister, Josi, was out of town with her husband visiting some of his family and so I was soooo bummed I couldn't see sweet baby James! But she left Mr. Fluffy with my parents and he seemed quite comfortable. They were trying to get rid of him but I have a sneaking suspicion that he's here to stay. :-)

I had a blast visiting my brother and seeing my adorable nieces! Lil Kim is my favorite! She is just the cutest, sweetest, most lovable, social, smart, darling little beauty! We had fun taking pictures and making videos to send to Parker.

Monday was my last day at home. :-( My Mom took my shopping for new scrubs which I am soooo grateful for and my Dad took us to the Spectrum for lunch and another movie before the dropped me off at the airport.

Oh!!! I love my Dad so much!!!

So, basically what I'm say is that I LOVE my job. I know I've said it before but seriously, it's the best job in the world and I feel so lucky and utterly blessed to be able to do something that not only do I love doing but they love me too! :-) I'm going to be so sad when this chapter of my life is over!

Good Golly, Tis the Season to be Merry!

2012-01-08T15:59:00.007-07:00

Christmas came and went way too fast this year! I feel like every year I want to be super organized and on top of things so that we can really enjoy all the Christmas cheer and focus more on the true meaning of the season. I think it's safe to say I could do better next year.

We had a blast, though! I wish Tanner had been able to be done with finals longer than a week before Christmas but ohhhh well. He missed out on a lot of our fun festivities but that's ok. We have a whole life time of Christmases to celebrate together! And now he's DONE at BYU!!! Now we just have to see where he gets accepted to PA school....

Our ward throws a Christmas Breakfast each year and it was soooo fun! The boys made crepes for breakfast and each class sang a song up on stage. And there was even a special visit from Santa!

My beehives have added Parker into their class as an honorary member. :-)

Parker was soooo excited to meet Santa and tell him how good he's been and how hard he's been "working to be on the nice list" and how he really wants Hot Wheels Wall Tracks!

Happy the Elf made his debut this year in the Peterson home-

One day Parker wasn't being very nice and he touched Happy. So the next morning Parker had a little note from Santa saying that Parker needed to be a good boy. Parker get's Tabasco on his tongue when he's being naughty. Good thing it doesn't happen too often.

We made a gingerbread house one day! It's funny how they never really turn out as awesome as the picture on the box....

One weekend Tanner's parents and little sister, Kassidy, came down and stayed with us! We met them up at Temple Square for some dinner and to see the lights. I was feeling a little feverish so I was freezing!!! But, it was one of my favorite Christmas activities this year.

Kassidy and me.

We sat in the old tabernacle for a few minutes to warm up and listen to the music.

And we strolled over to the Conference Center. The view of the lights from up there was amazing! Parker loved walking around the building, too, and seeing all the art work displayed.

Monte looked like the uni bomber in his trench coat. :-)

I love this picture. Pretty much sums up the evening.

It was both Kassidy's and Monte's birthdays in December so I made them this delicious cake! I was pretty proud of myself if you can't tell. :-)

After church, lunch, and cake we took Kass down to BYU to do a little tour. She's going to college next year!!!!

Parker was obsessed with Kassidy- they are BFF.

We haven't had much snow this year at all so I'm glad I manned up and took Parker outside before school one day to play in it- the one day it snowed. I was kind of looking forward to a white Christmas. Now I feel bad for bagging on the snow so much. :-)

Giving Thanks

2011-12-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

Over the river and through the woods! To Grandmother's house we go! I COULD NOT WAIT to see my Mom and Dad this Thanksgiving. It was unspeakably hard being so far away from my Dad and the rest of my family during my Dad's whole ordeal but I'm happy to report he's doing much better! We weren't able to stay at my parents house due to his convalescing but we got the next best thing- My brother's house.

We left on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (after work) and spent the night at the Hotel de Manning. The next morning the boys played Cars- they are really so cute together! I was giving Tanner a hard time for eating a slow breakfast but he really wanted to stay and enjoy Jeff's biscuits and gravy. I finally took a chill pill and sat down and ate one too- and literally, the moment I was done I got a call from my sister that she was in the hospital, in labor and progressing quickly!

Oh man! I yelled some choice words to my boys and we hurried out to the car. I don't know how we got to California so quickly but we made it!

When we there she was 9cm dilated and they were prepping the room for delivery! She did some last minute touch ups.... The nurse put me to work helping my sister to push but...

5 hours later she was still only at a 9 and was wheeled into the OR for a C section.

She and her husband welcomed a sweet baby boy named James that evening and I was thrilled to be able to meet him on his birthday!

The next day was Thanksgiving and after a little morning football game with my brother, Tanner came home and the cooking, baking, and setting began!

I call this picture "the calm before the storm". Tanner got the kids settled down with Winnie the Pooh about 20 minutes before my sisters came over and the party started!

Sweet Kayla

I was really proud of myself for putting Pinterest to use and making these cute little pilgram hats for dessert.

Parker loves his baby girl cousins!

The cousins watching Cars2

Since my Dad was still in recovery my brother offered to host Thanksgiving dinner. It was weird not having my parents there for dinner or my sister, Josi. It was like all us kids had to man up and do a grown up holiday all by ourselves! We had a lot of food and dinner was a total success! Although we missed who was missing. :-)

My favorite part of Thanksgiving was going around the table and saying what we were all thankful for. My niece said she was thankful for her Daddy. Soooo sweet!

That night we loaded some to-go boxes full of Thanksgiving deliciousness and delivered them to my parents and to my sister's new little family in the hospital.

Oh man, I'm in love. This little guy is just about the cutest thing you've ever laid eyes on. And I could NOT believe how great my sister was doing! She was up and laughing and nursing and acting like this was her 10th baby- not her first. She is amazing and I love her so much! Her husband Matt and I really bonded through this whole experience, too. I'm sooooo happy he's my brother forever!!!!

Tanner couldn't get enough. He loves babies!

Each morning we capitalized on the glorious California weather and swam at my brother's gorgeous pool.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Tanner went Jacuzzing with his phone in his pocket on Black Friday and we had to get new ones. :-) We did a litte shopping too which was super fun! That night we had dinner with some friends who I used to babysit for. They had 4 kids and added the last one when I was a senior in high school. Then, this year Robyn found out she was expecting #5! Needless to say it was a major huge surprise but their new daughter is just precious and it was so good to meet her!

Saturday we went down to Laguna Beach and got some cordials for my Mom at the Chocolatier and ate gelato on the beach. We ran into some good friends, too!

We helped my Mom and Dad get their Christmas decorations down and set up the tree. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is helping people set up their tree! :-)

My Dad has a hard time with his breathing still (tends to happen when your lungs get doused with acid) but he gets stronger and healthier everyday and is officially off pain killers and anti biotics!! He showed us his incision scar. Wow, it was huge! 9 inches! I treasured every moment spent with him!!!!

While we were helping my parents with their Christmas decorations Parker played over at London's house. When we went back over to pick him up I found London and him in the dark watching Nick on Lisa's bed! lol I kinda have a feeling they might end up together- maybe it's just a hope and a wish. :-)

I would have the cutest grandkids!!!

That night we went to the Spectrum for dinner and to window shop a little bit...

We took Parker for a ride on the Merry Go Round- My Mom and Dad are usually there with us at the Spectrum and love to see Parker's excitement on the Merry Go Round. We took a ride for them!

After dinner we headed north to Newport Beach to see the tallest Christmas tree at Fashion Island! My brother and his beautiful girls met up with us there, too.

The girls were pretty tired...

Don't mess with Lil Kim. :-)

Parker was pretty wasted by the end of the day as well.

Sunday was the day we drove back to Utah and it was super sad! I hate goodbyes! Especially to sweet little baby boys!

Josi got to bring her darling baby boy home that day and has been the best Mommy!

We said our goodbyes to my Mom and Dad and my awesome brother and his girls. I cannot thank my brother enough for his tremendous generosity! We felt like royalty at his beautiful new house. It was clean and comfy and we could have stayed for 10 more years! lol I miss everyone already!

But, it was back on the road for us! The drive was nice and easy, no traffic and I got to read the whole time. Can't complain when there's so much to be thankful for. :-)

Grandma Great

2011-12-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

Tanner's dear, sweet Grandmother passed away a few weeks ago after a long, hard decline due to dementia. It was difficult seeing her disappear both in mind and body but we know she is in Paradise now enjoying the fullness of joy which she had earned through her faithful diligence here on this Earth. Her life was in no ways easy but she always had a tender hug, sweet smile, and endless amounts of love for everyone around her. She will be greatly missed.

It seems like funerals are something we never look forward to but once there it's an oddly happy time filled with lots of family and friends, positive remembrances, and an abundance of love. I always leave such events feeling uplifted and content.

Tanner has the most amazing family and I'm truly so blessed to be a part of it. We could only stay for about a day due to our hectic schedules but it was so nice getting to spend that time with family up in Idaho.

Tanner's cousin had twins a couple months ago-I'm not sure which one I was holding but I felt like a lucky girl!

My mother in law had a very hard time witnessing her mother slip away and dealing with all the emotions and anxiety that goes along with that but I was very impressed with her calmness and composure at the funeral. She is one great woman and I love her so very much. This is Kim with her brothers and sister.

We took this opportunity to take a family picture. It's always kind of an ordeal trying to get this picture "just right"....

And these are the 3 Peterson Grandchildren (so far). Nicole is due to even the score with a boy next May!

Our little Parker is just about the best travler you've ever met. He does so well on long car drives which is a blessing since we are frequently driving long hours to see family. He has no problems entertaining himself!

I love these boys and am so proud of my dear husband for being such an outstanding son and grandson.

And if I haven't said it before, I LOVE this man.

I know I said that funerals are kind of a time I look back on with fondess but please, let's not have any more for a very long time. :-)

Family Pictures 2011

2011-12-04T17:20:00.014-07:00

This year we were able to have the super talented Jennifer Eliason take our family pictures! I LOVE how they turned out. We thew our outfits and hair and make-up together in a flash and you can never feel skinny enough in a picture but I love my little family and that's all that matters. :-) We took these pictures right in our cute neighborhood! Enjoy!

Hawaii Part 5- Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls

2011-11-19T19:26:00.003-07:00

Our last day in Hawaii was bitter sweet. As much as we missed our cute little boy we knew we'd miss the warm, humid air and beautiful beaches, too. We also learned that day that Tanner's grandma was extremely sick and probably going to pass away- Didn't make for a tremendously relaxing last day but we made the most of it. We took the top off our jeep, turned up our "Hawaii" song, and relished every little, last moment in paradise.

We had the most wonderful, spiritual experience serving in temple. It is a magnificent building and truly a House of the Lord. We took some pictures on the temple grounds the next day and even ran into a cute Vegas friend!

Courtney took this picture of us. We really are blessed beyond measure. :-)

Earlier that day we set off on an adventure to hike to one more waterfall- Maunawili Falls. On the way there we just happened to pass a Leonard's Bakery Truck! We'd been told not to come back to the mainland without trying one of their famous Malasada's and the day we went out looking for the actual bakery we found that it was closed! Doh! So we were stoked when we ran into this truck!

We were excited to set off on our adventure into the Rainforest but little did we know this would not be easy- Honestly, don't go chasing waterfalls, just stick to the river and the lakes (and the oceans) that you're used to.

The trees were huge and the bugs were plentiful. I took home many bug bite souvenirs. We felt like the ONLY ones out there!

It had been raining on and off all week so the trail was WAY muddy. It was almost like walking on ice- carefully so that you don't slip and fall on your booty.

Tanner was smart and picked up this walking stick....

Then we came to this bamboo forest- don't go in the bamboo forest.

Hint: It's the WRONG way.

Yep, we got lost. We were frustrated and tired. A short hike was now taking forever and there was no waterfall in sight. Tanner used his skills (and walking stick) to jump over a huge mud puddle and kept walking. I called out to him to help me but he's literally deaf and didn't hear me so I, despite my best efforts, stepped directly into the puddle- sinking ankle deep in thick mud. I'll admit it- I cried. Let me tell you, I would NOT have made a valiant pioneer. Not by a long shot. I was mad at Tanner for not helping me and when I starting really yelling he slipped and caked his whole behind in mud! We both couldn't help but laugh at that point.

We finally made it to the falls only to snap a picture and turn right back around.

The way back was faster. Mostly because we knew the way and we didn't care so much about protecting our shoes from the mud. Yep, those shoes did NOT make it back to Utah.

After getting cleaned up, packed up, and said our goodbye's to our beach we rode off into the sunset to the airport. Like I said, bitter sweet. We got to the airport plenty early which was good because our flight took off early before the President flew in and shut it down. The red eye left much to be desired but we were glad we could see our little boy early in the morning and spend the day with him.

Travis and Nicole deserve some sort of reward or something. The are angels! I was glad I could spend some time with them the day we picked up Parker. They came down to see us and take the kids to Chuck E Cheese. I also got to scan her and show her the precious baby in her belly! I know what it is but I'll let her tell you... :-)

Aloha!

Hawaii Part 4- Turtle are Tubular

2011-11-13T19:00:00.003-07:00

Everyday was a brand new adventure from sun up to sun down!

Pretty much every person we talked to told us to go to Matsumoto's for shaved ice. I was kind of skeptical at first but holy cow- it was soooo good! I think I'll have to go back to Hawaii just to eat some more! Yummy, finely shaved ice with ice cream at the bottom and sweetened condensed milk on top??? Yes PLEASE!

One night we took a moon lit stroll along "our" beach. The moon was so bright and the water was so warm! I don't know why we didn't just take a full on dip!

Ok, one of my top 3 moments in Hawaii was definitely swimming with the turtles. I've dreamed about doing it for so long- it was truly epic. Our camera died but I totally had some one on one moments with the turtles. I was like the turtle whisperer. I was swimming so close.
Oh, it was awesome!

We were also told to definitely visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. I was on the fence about spending a lot of time there but I was pleasantly surprised! Visiting the 7 villages of the islands of the Pacific was hugely entertaining and we learned a lot. We stayed for the Luau dinner which really hit the spot- we were starving! During the Luau they asked any anniversary or honeymoon couples to come up on stage for a special dance. Well, it WAS our 7 year, 7 month, 7 day anniversary so we felt like we qualified. :-)

Enjoying a little canoe ride together.... :-

At the "Hawaii" village learning about the Hula

See that guy up there?
He climbed all the way up to grab a coconut!
He's nuts!

Tanner being Tiki guy- he was obsessed with the Tiki guys!

We watched the evening show, Ha: Breath of Life after dinner and it was amazing! We had great seats and I had to try so hard not to think about Parker and cry!

One morning we took a little dip in the water at "our" beach. It was so warm and the sand was so soft. The water was super clear and we had fun taking pictures with our under water camera.

Sometimes I feel like I'm a mermaid. I LOVE the beach and swimming in the salt water!

Hawaii Part 3- Double O Seven

2011-11-13T18:38:00.211-07:00

We hit the road early the next morning to make it down to our next adventure on time. Apparently we picked the week that the President of the United States and a bunch of other world leaders were in Hawaii for a big meeting. That made the traffic a royal nightmare. We didn't mind too much because the drive was absolutely gorgeous.

This was the sunrise- enough said.

And a rainbow for good measure! :-)

We booked a fun under water scooter ride with Island Water Sports and it was so cool!

The guys who worked on the boat were from San Clemente which made me homesick (actually I think I got a little sea sick). But check this out! Totally James Bond, huh? All you do is dunk your head under the water and pop up under the big bowl. Oxygen is pumped in to the head piece so you stay dry and just breath normal air!

Then we snorkeled a little bit and laid out on the boat before heading back to shore.

Later that day we visited Pearl Harbor. We took a tour through the Aviation Museum.

The plane behind me was the kind my Grandma's first husband flew when he died. He was a test pilot and died here at Pearl Harbor just a few months before the attack from Japan. My grandma had just given birth to their first son and was on her way to Utah to visit her family. Back in the 30's it took a long time to get from Hawaii to Utah and without cell phones and the internet she didn't find out about her husbands accident until she arrived home. Her father broke the news to her. There she was, a young mother, widowed and not knowing what to do. Her parents encouraged her to go to Salt Lake and attend college. One night she and her friends went to dinner and dancing on top of the Hotel Utah. That's where she met my Grandpa- also a pilot in the air-force. It was love at first sight and they lived a long, happy life together and are right now in paradise together eternally. :-)

Tanner was in airplane heaven!

We did these cool little flight simulators- I was really bad at flying my WW2 aircraft...

I wish we had more time at Pearl Harbor- so much history to learn and appreciation to give.

On our way home we stopped by the new Disneyland Resort, Aulani. We walked around and checked it out and then had dinner outside at sunset. The sunsets in Hawaii are incredible!!!

I can't believe how lucky we are to be able to spend this time together in the most beautiful place in the world!

Hawaii Part 2

2011-11-13T18:10:00.006-07:00

We noticed a place called Waimea Valley and decided to go check it out! It's this amazing botanical garden that you could spend all day exploring with a water fall at the end where you can swim. Basically, heaven on Earth. We LOVED it in there.

Seriously, aren't these trees the coolest!? I just LOVE them!

The walk through the botanical garden was easy and totally breathtaking.

We're in the rain forest! This is so cool!

Swimming under the water fall is one of my top 3 moments in Hawaii. So rejuvenating and awesome!

Kiss my husband under a water fall in Hawaii- CHECK!

After our little hike we stopped by the restaurant for lunch and enjoyed some Hawaiian shaved ice.

Later that day we got all cleaned up and headed to Haleiwa for dinner. (We had breakfast at Jameson's one day, too)

We walked through the historic district and meandered through the shops and art galleries before eating dinner. Tanner loved the Clark Little gallery.

We ate at Pizza Bob's. :-)

One of the experiences we really wanted to relish was watching the sunset at Sunset Beach. So we made it a special point to be there and ready for when the sun hit the horizon.

Hawaii just keeps getting better and better!!!!

Aloha! Hawaii Part 1

2011-11-13T17:17:00.005-07:00

Margie and Mike

So, remember when Parker and I flew to California in April? And remember how we volunteered our seats and got free Delta Vouchers in exchange? Well, we just cashed them in! I told myself that I was going to use those vouchers to buy tickets to Hawaii so I watched and waited for the rates to drop and then, BOOM! I transfered Parker's voucher to Tanner's name and we were in business!

We flew out of Las Vegas because we found the best deal through that airport. We dropped Parker off at Travis and Nicole's (which was no big deal for him but I totally lost it as we drove away...) and then headed down to Vegas to spend the night at Jeff and Andrea's house. What would we do without amazing friends?

We almost missed our flight early the next morning. Tanner set his alarm for 4:30am but it didn't go off! I randomly woke up at like 4:45am and we rushed to get our butts to the airport. We rented a car in Salt Lake to get down to Vegas and got completely lost trying to find the rental car return. THEN, when we finally got to the airport, Tanner realized that he forgot his wallet in the car! So, we had to take the shuttle back to the rental car place and get the wallet. We were stressing big time. So much so that Tanner decided to take ALL of the metal off his body to get through security faster- just in case the detector happened to go off and he'd have to get searched or something. That included his wedding ring.

Which he forgot.

In the plastic bin.

Sigh. Don't worry. They found it and it's on its way back to his finger. We BARELY made our flight but little angles were watching over us and we made it. With a brief stop in LA we were on our way to Oahu!

When we walked off the plane we were amazed at the warm, humid air. Everything smelled soooo good!

It took us forever to get our bags and car but we got upgraded to a jeep which made Tanner really happy! And we ran into my first friend at the car place which made ME really happy!

Our first stop was to our friend's house. Mike and Margie lived in my ward growing up. I remember her doing singing time when I was in nursery and she was my Mia Maid leader in Young Women. She and my mom are good friends and her older daughters are friends with my sisters. She graciously fed us lunch (we were starving) and then led the way for us to head up to the North Shore. Her sister in law, Sue, has some beach rentals and she really hooked us up! We stayed in this cute little cottage right on the beach. It was perfect!

The beach in front of our little Cottage

Basically, the first thing we did when we got settled was take a walk along "our" beach. It was beautiful to say the least! Paradise!

Later, after running to the store for sun block and other things, we cruised on over to Waimea Bay. It was bitter sweet to be enjoying such a beautiful day- the night we arrived I got a call from my brother that my Dad was rushed into surgery due to a perforated esophagus. It was a near death experience and now, over a week later, he's still in the hospital but doing well. It will be a long recovery. It's trippy knowing my Dad is in the hospital hooked up to tubes and wires. I don't even have a memory of him being sick- let alone on heavy antibiotics and pain killers in the hospital. My brother says his stitches look like a shark bite. I'm so thankful I work with such amazing cardio thoracic surgeons who have answered any and all questions I had.

Thinking and praying for my Dad

Tanner's view of the beach

Later that day we stopped by Sunset Beach and watched a surf competition for a few minutes. The waves haven't gotten too huge yet but it was still incredible to watch those amazing surfers out there!

View from our bedroom window

Tanner taking pictures on "our" beach

So stoked about our cool jeep with the top off!

Tanner taking pictures of the surfers

Waimea Bay

That evening we took a drive over to the center of the island and met up with 2 of my very best and long time friends. Jana and I have known each other since birth and Wendy and I became best friends in 2nd grade. Wendy now lives on the island with her husband, son, and very new baby daughter. Jana lives in Washington with her husband and 1.5 daughters.

The drive along the outer edge of the island was so lush and green! I was obsessed with these trees!

We drove through this tunnel and thought we were so cool that we were actually IN the island!

Jana, Brooklyn, Me, Nadia, Wendy, and Holden

BFF! It was so amazing that we could all meet up half way around the world and hang out like it was yesterday.

Jana, Jake, and Brookie

Holden, Jake, and Wendy (I think I'm still holding the baby- I didn't want to put her down!!!)

The first full day of Hawaii did NOT disappoint!!!

Trick or Treat?

2011-11-03T09:22:00.005-06:00

Trick:

Magic Trick to be exact. Last week Tanner and I took Parker to a magic show down at our local playhouse. We sat right in the front and Parker was amazed the entire time! The show was geared toward kids and the magician was hilarious- the kids LOVED him! I thought it was particularly funny that his "assistant" (aka: super skinny blonde) had glitter all over her body and the magician had glitter all over his.... face. Hmmmmm???

(Parker's "scary" face)

We had a hard time deciding what Parker was going to be for Halloween. About a month ago when I asked him he told me he wanted to be a "giant pumpkin". Um no. Then, when we went to the store, he said he wanted to be Winnie the Pooh. He has never even seen Winnie the Pooh. I was confused. But my neighbor suggested he be a Rock Star and by golly she was spot on!

We had some ripped up jeans but we went to the thrift store and bought some killer light up boots and spray painted them silver. We found a T-Shirt and totally glittered it out. Oh, and that black leather looking vest was quite the find. We drew tattoos on his arms and studs in his ears and sprayed his Mohawk blue. He grabbed his prized guitar (gift from Max and Ben) and we were in business!

(I'm trying to look all hard core but I'm pretty sure I'm just signing "I love you")

Trick:

We planned a pot luck Halloween party at my work and I was the ONLY one in the ENTIRE office who dressed up. It's ok, my patients thought I was cute. ;-)

Our ward Trunk or Treat was fast and furious. But the kids looked adorable in the costume parade!

Trick:

After staying up way too late and eating way too much sugar Parker pretty much turned into a monster at bath time. So, we turned off the lights. I know, mean right? Ok, so we threw some glo sticks into this bath and boy oh boy what he in heaven! Wish we had glo sticks for every bath every day! Tanner had some left over dry ice, too, and we threw that in there which was super cool!

On Saturday, my friend Josh invited us to Cornbelly's! It was much more fun going with another adult and clearly much more fun for Parker to play with some other boys while we were there. Josh's son Tanner was born just a few days before Parker and they are so fun together!

This is the best shot I could get of all 3 boys- they were too busy playing!

TREAT:

Tanner took most of the pictures on Halloween with his camera so we'll have to patiently wait until he gets those up loaded. We crashed the Cul-de-Sac of Terror and spent some time with family and then cruised on over to our hood for some trick or treating! Tanner stayed home to deck out our porch and hand out candy while I took Parker around. It's cool how in Utah everyone in your neighborhood is in your ward. We met up with our favorite little neighbor girls and finished the night off with them. They were adorable! (Yes, pictures to come....)

I think we have enough "treats" to last us a life time!

Good Things to Come

2011-10-30T12:26:00.000-06:00

To my family and friends who are dealing with difficult times-- I share this with you.

Whether or not you share our faith, this wonderful encouragement.
I hope it helps you like it has me!
-Tanner

Spooktacular!

2011-10-24T09:48:00.000-06:00

Fall has been blissful. It feels like California here in Utah. Not for long, though. Cold temps are headed our way. I guess I can be OK with it. Cozy sweaters, warm fire places, and a good book are what I look forward to when the days get shorter and night time comes sooner.

We've had our fair share of heart ache these past 5 months and I'm ready to take a break from all of it. I think I need to relax- maybe start doing yoga and take a vacation.....

Tanner and I have been completely enjoying our date nights. Sometimes life gets way too busy for a good, old fashioned date night but we've been sticking to it pretty well. Last weekend we drove up the canyon to Sundance and had dinner at the Foundry Grill. We wanted to go see a movie but it was sold out so we just went home and it was actually really nice. Tanner watched football while I snuggled into bed and read for a couple hours. It was heavenly.

Yum.

I took Parker to Pumpkinland down by our house last Saturday. It's easier for me to let Tanner spend his mornings and early afternoons at the library on Saturday's if I have a fun activity planned for Parker and me. It's a little boring doing all this stuff without my mom or my sisters but I'm so lucky to have my sweet little boy. He's my bestie. :-)

Of course Angeluis came over for dinner on Sunday, as usual. And of course I didn't take any pictures. But you'll have to believe me when I say I got some hilarious belly laughs out of baby Mikailo. He's just the cutest little dimpled baby you've ever seen!

Monday we were lucky to have Jeff and Ange come over for dinner before they headed back to Vegas. It was a quick "eat and run" dinner but we had a blast eating while the boys played and played. Why aren't we next door neighbors???

For family night we carved pumpkins and did science experiments. Tanner bought this chemical kit to make glow stick juice. He even prepared a little power point presentation on "Letting Your Light Shine" for our lesson. He's so darn cute. Such a "man" thing to prepare a power point presentation for FHE. :-)

Parker was NOT into getting the guts out of the pumpkin. Looks like Mom had to do all the work since Tanner's still deathly afraid of carving pumpkins.... :-)

Ta-da!

One afternoon after school we painted some smaller pumpkins and made silly monsters with stickers. Parker put stickers all over his face and then wanted to ride his bike to our neighbors house to "Scare" them. He's crazy.

Really concentrating on his color palate here....

I was able to get off work early one day this week and chaperon at Parker's little field trip. They took the kids to a park behind the school and had a picnic. It was so fun playing with all the little kids and spending some sun shiney time with my little man.

After the park I took him to the dollar theater to see Cars 2 again. When I told him we were going to see it he completely lost it. He was soooooo excited! lol

Friday Tanner and I met Spencer and the kids at Barnyard Boo at Thanksgiving Point. Mona Kay was totally sick and couldn't make it. :-(

The kids had so much fun playing the games and riding the ponies and seeing all the animals.

Happy faces

Scary faces....

Hula hooping... So funny!

Apparently Parker thinks this is the correct cowboy pose. He's so silly!

After Barnyard Boo, Spencer was kind enough to take Parker home so Tanner and I could go out on a date up at the University of Utah. We first got dinner at the local pizza place, the Pie. It was super crowded and super yummy. :-) Perfect little college hang out.

Then we saw "Thriller" at Kingsbury Hall. I'd heard about it from one of my young women and when I saw they had a student discount I thought we should go check it out! We were able to score awesome seats- which makes all the difference when you're seeing a dance performance.

Before the show started these zombies walked around and scared everyone. One chick got all up in my face, her hair was hanging all over me and she was breathing all hard in my face. It was pretty gross and freaky.

The performance was amazing. Each set was a different dance with a different Halloween theme. It's a must see for Halloween for sure!

Saturday Parker and I had a super fun day while Tanner was at school. We went to Cornbelly's first thing in the morning- got there right when they opened!

We played there for about 3 hours then went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and saw some friends. We ran errands and had a little rest before Tanner came home and we went to a friend's reception.

I'm thinking I like being happy over being sad. So, I'll just go with that for now- and maybe do yoga and.... yes, I think we'll go to Hawaii. :-)

October Fun

2011-10-13T08:54:00.000-06:00

We were so excited when October came with lots of warm temperatures. But then, it got cold and rainy. Which is ok, I guess. It's fun to snuggle in and drink hot chocolate and eat soup sometimes. Or, if you're Parker, you like to warm up in the.... dryer???

Tanner planned our date last Friday night and it was fantastic! We had such a great time! I was really proud of him for pulling off such an awesome date! First of all, we ate at the most delicious pizza place! Pizzeria 712 is amazing. Go there. After our delicious meal we attended BYU's Homecoming Spectacular! Since Tanner "lives" at school he had seen advertisements for this show all over campus and decided it would be a fun date. It was so wonderful seeing many of BYU's performing groups live! And Bryan Stokes Mitchell did not disappoint! I loved listening to the BYU philharmonic- they were excellent. Good times!

I've been trying to squeeze in as many fun, festive Halloween activities as possible with Parker. Saturday we went to Hee Haw Farms. It was lame at first. It smelled heinous and and it was all muddy from the rain. Many of the attractions were wet or shut down. I was disappointed.

I told Parker to make a face like a farmer.....

So much taller than last year!!!

Since there wasn't much to do we decided to check out the corn maze.

I'm not usually too into corn mazes. Who wants to get lost? But we made it fun.

Child of the corn

He was so excited when he found our way out!

After the corn maze the sun started to shine and the place really started to wake up!

Parker enjoyed going down this huge slide about 42 times.

And had a blast on the "animal train"...

And climbing on the tractors...

And, playing in.... corn???

This was his "scary face"

We ended our afternoon with a pony ride. :-)

This is us being scared of all the creepy decorations.

A couple weeks ago I got some free tickets to the Piccadilly Circus that was performing at UVU. There was NO way I was missing out on some good, old fashioned circus fun! We got seats right smack dab in the front. It was awesome!

Parker LOVED the motorcycle guys who rode in this metal cage. I always knew the kid from "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken" like invented this thing, but I'd never seen one in real life! It was cool!

And this chick who hit the bulls-eye with a bow and arrow using only her feet... Totally Katniss.

And, MY favorite part of the show- the elephants! They were seriously RIGHT in front of us. We could have reached out and touched them!

The clowns and jugglers and boxing kangaroo were all fabulous! We had a great time!

The next night Parker and I headed up to Sundance to ride the lift during the full moon!

Here's a view of Timp right now. Yep, all snow capped.

We got there a little early so Parker got a lollipop and we walked around a little bit. I got a hot chocolate and we bundled up before jumping on the lift.

(The flash was too bright!)

The moon was sooooo bright!

I had so much fun riding the lift with Parker- just snuggling together and talking. I told him stories and he told me about komodo dragons. Oh man. He's such a cutie.

For mutual this week we took the kids to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point! The kids all had a blast and I had fun exploring and playing around the Parker. We definitely want to go back!

Some of the kids from the ward...

Parker jumping on a huge balloon thingy...

And playing in more.... corn???

We started getting REALLY tired....

We had doughnuts and hot chocolate before we left- Parker thoroughly enjoyed his.

I've got the BEST girls! They are so sweet to play with Parker and tolerate the fact that he has to be with me to nearly every activity.

October has been so fun- I can't wait for Halloween!

It's Fall

2011-10-05T21:33:00.000-06:00

My cute little boy had picture day last week. He's so huge. Almost on a daily basis I have people commenting to me on how tall he is. His gymnastics teacher told me the other day that Parker is the happiest kid he's ever met. I love my little boy. He's my favorite!

Posing....???

"Ok, Mom. You can go now..."

Date night is super important to me and it doesn't happen enough, it seems like. My parents, who have been married for 44 years, have religiously had a date night. I remember eating mac-n-cheese, watching TGIF with my sister and a babysitter every Friday night. My parents are the happiest married couple I know and I hope one day I can look back on 44 years of great date nights, too. :-)

Last Friday night Tanner sacrificed watching the BYU football game to take me out on a date. Swoon. We ate at this new restaurant called Spark in downtown Provo. We met the owner a couple weeks ago and decided it was high time we checked it out. They are famous for their "specialty" drinks. They are non-alcoholic for us LDS folk and super fun and yummy!

After dinner we saw a movie. Typical "Dinner and a movie" date but seriously so needed and nice to have a night out with my husband.

We took Parker to the Hogle Zoo on Saturday because we knew the weather was going to start getting colder soon (as in today) and we had never been to this zoo. It was smaller than the San Diego Zoo which was nice. We could see the whole zoo in a few hours and feel like we got to experience everything it had to offer. The San Diego Zoo is phenomenal but it's just so massive- it's hard to see everything you want to see in one visit.

Tanner remembered his Mom taking pictures of him in these holes when he was little....

Classic Hogle Zoo shot...

I LOVED the elephants. Oh they are my absolute favorite.

And, randomness of the century-

We ran into Nicole and the girls!!! She was there with her side of the family checking out the zoo, too! We had no idea they were going and the fact that we were at the exact same place at the exact same time is just plain crazy! What a pleasant surprise!

My cute monkey men

Some days I really feel like this guy looks....

Oh, and I was in LOVE with the giraffes. I loved it when the animals would look right at me. I feel so bad for the animals being all caged up in the zoo. Although I appreciate the ability to see all kinds of animals up close and personal it kind of breaks my heart to see them all closed in. But when they'd look right at me I felt like saying, "Thank you! You are awesome!"

Family shot

On the way home we drove through Park City and Heber instead of the free way. It was so beautiful. We really are lucky to live in such a gorgeous part of the country. We'll see where next year takes us- Tanner turned in his PA school application to 14 schools all up and down the east coast! Not sure where we'll be this time next year! But, at least we can enjoy every moment here in Utah! :-)

Up's and Downs

2011-09-26T10:20:00.000-06:00

Wow. September has had a LOT of ups and downs for me. I've tried to keep a smile on my face but it's been HARD. And I'm not usually one to work for a positive attitude. We've tried to have ourselves some good times despite all the heart ache, though. And as I look back on these times I feel good. Which is WAY better than feeling bad.

A couple weeks ago Tanner and I took Parker to the Utah State Fair. We were worried we were headed in the wrong direction because the fair was really out in the boonies! The Utah State Fair was certainly no OC Fair but we still managed to have a good time.

There was a cute little framer's exhibit for kids. They got to don an apron, pick up a basket and some tools and go to work!

He gathered all sorts of things in his basket and in the end sold his "produce" and was able to buy a shiny green apple!

We told Parker he could choose one ride to go on (fair ride prices are outrageous!) He wanted to do the big yellow slide. He had to go down all by himself and he was so brave.

Here he is walking up the 10,000 steps. Kids kept running past him- it took him like 10 minutes to get up!

He was not too sure about the ride down....

Ah! Success! He LOVED it!

I'm bummed I didn't get any pictures of Mona Kay's birthday party! I made her this big old chocolate cake with raspberries all over it and Spencer grilled up some steaks and made the BEST mashed potatoes and green beans. I swear- those 2 are gifted in the kitchen. The kids had a blast playing together (I might have spent a little too much time playing with Sage and her doll house...) and I even got to scan Mona Kay's little baby girl! So fun!

We hung out one Sunday after noon with Travis and Nicole, too. Don't know why I didn't feel the need to document every memory with a picture... oh well.

So, I was really in need of some girl time with by besties. Luis, Tanner and Parker stayed home one night to watch the BYU games while me, Angel, and Mikailo went to Jason's Deli for dinner. It was so nice spending some one on one time with my BFF. Don't know why we don't do it more often....

Saturday was a busy day. I took Parker to his primary program practice (so cute) and then we went up to Sundance to check out the Harvest Festival. There were tons of cute booths and live music.

All Parker wanted was a blue lolipop. (Sundance lollipops truly are the best...) I was content with my purchase of Vanilla Pear jam.

We had a good time together up in the beautiful mountains. The leaves are starting to change but it's still HOT. No complaining here!

That night I went out on a date with my "Mom", Liz. We started calling each other "Mom" in college when we were roommates and took care of each other. Liz would make me breakfast and drive me to school. She's the best and I love her so much. We went to Salt Lake and shopped around the Gateway and got dinner at this super yummy Italian place. Then we saw a movie. Perfect.

Sunday was the Primary Program! I told Parker to say his part loud and clear because he only get's "one shot!" He then replied, "NOOOO! I don't like getting shots!!!!" He was a little nut up there on the stage. He bee bopped around and made funny faces. Oh man. Tanner and I sat in the front row and tried so hard to keep straight faces when he was goofing off. We even gave him "the look" but he just smiled and giggled. Sigh. 4 year old boys.

He did great, though, and I'm so proud of my kid. His very first primary program. Sheesh. Time flies.

Well, lets all just hope and pray that October is a happy one. I'm kinda looking forward to it! :-)

Labor Day 2011

2011-09-06T17:13:00.001-06:00

It seems like EVERY single 3-day weekend we are jetting off somewhere. Well, since Tanner started his last Fall semester at BYU and I had to teach the Young Women on Sunday we decided to just sit tight and stay home.

I guess you could call it a stay-cation. :-) We ate tons of yummy food from the fresh fruit and veggie stands and even made home made peach ice cream! We're really fitting in with all these cool Utah people.

I've been itching to go out on the lake with a canoe. Don't ask me why. It's like this weird thing I had built up in my mind- like "If only we could rent a canoe we could have the most epic day!" Don't get me wrong, we had a blast out on Silver Lake in American Fork Canyon but canoe's are not stable on the water and I was concerned 99.9% of the time that we would capsize. We stayed safe and dry, thank goodness, but getting out of that thing was tricky and I have the wet sock and big old bruise to prove it.

We packed up a nice little picnic and took it out into the middle of the lake and just enjoyed the scenery while we ate our grub.

Fact: Tanner used to be a river guide in Salmon, Idaho during high-school.

The water was so glassy. It was beautiful!

After our little canoeing adventure we hiked up to the Timp Caves. Um, ok. Well, it's a 1.5 mile long hike up to the caves and the ranger said it would take about 30 minutes.

60 minutes later we made it.

Hole E Cow that was a hard hike. I was glad we had Parker and could justify a 4 year old's pace. I really got out of shape this summer!

At the top I was a little aggro. I was sweaty and tired and hungry. This is my, "If you HAVE to take a picture of me like this then this is what you're going to get."

Poor Tanner.

It reminded me of when we were dating and he had this great idea that we should hike the TETONS one day. We hiked above the tree line and into the snow up to a summit called Table Rock.... 10 hours and many bleeding blisters later we made it back down. I complained the whole time- it was HARD! Ok, so this wasn't quite the same but he sure heard it from me. ;-)

We had a few minutes to rest before our tour went in, which was nice. Once we got into the caves my bad attitude melted away. I was in utter awe. It was amazing in there! For all you who haven't been to the Timp Caves but HAVE been to Disneyland- it kinda reminded me of the line at Splash Mountain. But not fake and like a billion years old.

Our tour guide was awesome and knew everyone's name by the end of the hour long tour. He really knew his stuff and was very passionate about the wonder of the caves. It was really interesting to hear him speak and explain to us about the ancient geological history of them.

Parker was soaking it all up. He loved it. He was quiet most of the time just listening and taking it all in. He was constantly looking around and asking questions. This is why I love being a Mom.

At one point, deep inside the cave, our guide turned all the lights off so we could see how dark the caves really are. Everyone fell silent and it stayed that way for a few minutes. I thought it was incredible!

There were many, many breathtaking features in the caves but I thought this one was quite romantic. This stalagmite and stalactite are growing towards each other. If nothing disrupts them they will touch in a few millions years. Doesn't that just kinda remind you of growing close to your loved one? :-)

The caves were super cool! I highly recommend anyone in Utah going and checking them out. The hike up was hot and hard but the caves were cool and easy. The hike back down was obviously easy too. There are some steep drop offs but other than that it's paved and pretty do-able.

That night we all got cleaned up, BBQed up a delicious meal, and then cuddled up on the couch together and watched some TV. It was wonderful. Perfect ending to a perfect day.

Summer Lovin', Had Me a Blast

2011-09-06T08:35:00.000-06:00

After our little vacation it was back home and down to business. We all got our teeth cleaned at the dentist- NO Cavities!

Tanner had to take the GRE (An entrance exam for graduate school) up in Logan so while he was testing I took Parker to a cute little restaurant called BlueBird. It has been there for like 100 years. I told Parker he was my date and told him all the things you do to be polite on a date. He asked me about my day and told me I looked nice (in my scrubs, mind you) but then he grabbed the butter with his hands and smeared it on his roll with his fingers. "Is this how I do it, Mommy?" Hmmm, we'll have to work on manners.

After dinner we went and got ice cream sundaes at the front of the restaurant where you can sit on spinning stools and watch them put toppings on your favorite flavor. So cute!

(He just really wanted to be eating that ice cream- not taking any more blasted pictures!)

Since we had plenty of time to waste we decided to head back up to Utah State's campus (Where Tanner was taking his test) and explore a little. It was a really cool campus with lots of interesting architecture. When it got dark we headed inside this building and found a classroom where we could read and play on the white board.

(Tanner did EXCELLENT on his exam and I'm so proud of him!!!)

Straight after the exam we drove up Logan Canyon to Bear Lake and spent the night with Tanner's grandparents. Don't even get me started on how upset I am that I didn't get a picture of them. I also wanted to snap a picture of the 4 generations of Peterson boys. Sigh. Better luck next time.

The next morning was..... terrifying. I took a shower down in the basement and when I was done I opened the shower door to find a spider hanging less than 6 inches right in front of my eyes! I screamed but gained control of myself long enough to grab my towel, step out, and turn around where I saw ANOTHER spider hanging there mocking me! I bet he was thinking he'd like to eat me up for breakfast! EW! Freaky!

After I was able to calm down and get myself dressed we headed over to the family reunion. I think it's safe to say that I didn't know anyone there but it WAS so nice getting to spend time with Tanner's parents- just us and them. They are amazing and we cherish any time we get to spend with them. :-)

After the family reunion we drove around the lake and met up with my BFF Jacob and his wife and family! We were so pumped on renting a jet ski but we only had an hour to spare and there was a 2 hour minimum that day. Bummer. But we did get to spend some time swimming, laughing, and chatting it up with Jacob and Diedre. They are just about the coolest 2 people you'll ever know.

It was HOT and I wanted to badly to be out on that big, blue lake. :-(

BUT, we stopped at LaBeau's for dinner on our way home. It did NOT disappoint. Those raspberry shakes were incredible!

Bye bye Bear Lake.

Since Tanner started back up at school we've been trying to get back into a good routine. It's been tough because the weather is still so warm and gorgeous. Our days are definitely more busy but I like it.

We took Parker to 7 Peaks one last time up in Salt Lake and then surprised Travis and Nicole with a little visit. We could have stayed and played all night!

A few days ago we took Parker to the Living Aquarium. It was on my Utah Bucket List. It was no Sea World by any means but it was still REALLY cool. I just love the ocean and all the little fishies that live in it.

This Summer has been filled with a lot of ups and downs but I think we made the most of every moment so I have no regrets. I know Fall is coming and it's weird to say it, but I think I'm a little excited. I'm ready for the pumpkin spice candles and the pretty colors all around. I'm ready for sweaters and snuggling by the fire. But, come January I'll be ready for Spring!

Home

2011-08-22T11:16:00.001-06:00

I've been California Dreamin' all summer and finally the day came when we packed up the ol' Red Velvet and drove off into the sunset. Tanner started school in January and literally has been going non stop ever since. BYU doesn't have Spring Break. Apparently, Spring Break is for pansies. So, I waited patiently (Kind of) until the day when his 2 week break began and we could spend some quality family time on the beach!

My good friend Emily was up at BYU for the summer so we brought her back home with us. I started babysitting her when she was 5. I kinda felt old picking her up from BYU. But our car was PACKED to the brim!

We left right after I got off work on Friday and it was a nice, easy drive. Parker is the best little traveler and we had a great time chatting and watching movies in the back seat. I even sneaked in some math flashcard time.

First thing we did the next day was to go the OC Fair! It was a ton of fun and perfect weather.

My Mom was enthusiastic about seeing the Pig Races and they sure didn't disappoint!

"Do the chicken's have large talons?"

Tanner tried teaching Parker some of his roping skills...

We were all super excited about the fair food- don't even get me started on the variety of splendid goodness. Parker, my picky eater, was not down with it but I got some good old fashioned fair food.

Look at the size of that turkey leg! We were seriously wondering if it was in fact a leg from a turkey and not some other animal....

Tanner hooked us up with some funnel cake for dessert. YUM!

The highlight of the fair for me was riding the elephant. I vividly remember riding an elephant at the San Diego Zoo with my grandparents when I was about Parker's age. Since then I've had a fascination and reverence for the grand creatures. It was the best 2 minutes of the day!!!

The ice exhibit was cool, too. (No pun intended) The ice sculptures were AMAZING and it felt good to get out of the heat. But, it also reminded me of how badly I hate the cold.

We stopped by the petting zoo on the way out and those animals were sure cute. They loved Parker!

That night we had a fantastic time with our old friends. We had pizza and swam in the backyard. Tanner worked for Mont when we lived in California and I used to babysit Robyn's 4 kids. She was shocked to find out that 9 years after she was DONE having kids she got pregnant again- against ALL odds. ;-) She's due in October and I wish I could be there to babysit sweet baby #5.

Sunday my brother blessed his new daughter, Mikeala. It was a very special day and he gave the most exquisite blessing.

My Dad and Mom

My Sisters

Monday was a day I've been looking forward to for about 6 months. My sister Josi discovered they she could land us camping spots right on the beach at Camp Pendelton! You have to be married to an active miltary member to receive the benefits so we were lucky and grateful to Matt for his service. We're looking forward to him coming home SOON!

Here's our spot! 50 feet from the water!

We set up a little shady tent where the kids could play

Parker had a BLAST playing with all his cousins non stop the entire time! He ASKED to go to bed every night- he was exhausted!

Parker and Kimmie

The Sunset from the first night camping on the beach.

Parker and Kimmie enjoying the fire while we roasted smores

Parker's been really into Frisbee lately, too, so Tanner picked up a glow in the dark one and once the sun was down we played that for a while. We only wished we had the Peterson's there with us to play some ultimate!!!! :-)

Literally, the BEST thing in the entire world is falling asleep to the sound of the ocean. The waves crashing on the beach is so soothing and peaceful. We all slept so good and woke up to Tanner making us a big old pancake breakfast!

Jojo and Tanner helped Parker dig "a big hole" to play in. They made Jojo's famous drip castles while waiting for more cousins to arrive.

We sure had quite the set up! 9 kids and 7 adults made for a pretty good time on the beach! My mom brought sandwiches and we all got ice cream cones. There's no worries when you're in your swim suit, sandy belly sticking out, licking a dripping ice cream cone. (For kids anyways)

My seester

The kids played until the sun went down- I'm sure they all slept good that night.

Cute lil Kim

Parker has told me over and over that his favorite thing about our trip to California was playing with his cousins. (And doing puzzles with Nanny in the morning)

My sweet brother and his beautiful girls

Mr. Sandman

So, that night at sunset I was sitting with Parker overlooking the ocean telling him about Pirates and how some pirates were not very good sharers. In fact, they used to steal gold and silver and all kinds of treasures from other people! And because they were so selfish they would hide the treasure- bury it in the sand when they came to a beautiful beach. And they made maps so that they could find their treasure again but sometimes they lost the maps and the treasure would stay under the sand until someone found the X that marks the spot. I told him that when I was a little girl sometimes I'd look for X's in the sand and we decided we'd go on a little treasure hunt! And low and behold we found an X and after we dug up some sand we found some gold coins!

The sunset on the second night

They day we left our camping spot we spent the morning packing up and then sat for about an hour and just enjoyed the sunshine. It was very relaxing.

Later that day we dropped Parker off at London's house and went with my parents to the Newport Beach Temple. That was definitely a highlight of our trip.

After the temple my Dad took us to the Newport Beach Marriott for a little Jazz concert and dinner at sunset. The musicians were phenomenal. My Dad loves Jazz. I grew up listening to it daily. But, I was taught how to play classical piano. To this day I've tried to play Duke Ellington or other jazz artists and I just can't. Jazz is a brilliant form of music. I really enjoyed my time with my parents outside listening to all that jazz. :-)

One day we took Parker to downtown Disney to checkout Ridemakerz. It's like build-a-bear but for cars. It's pretty pricey but if you have a 4 year old who's as into cars (and Lightening McQueen) as mine, you HAVE to check this place out!

You get to chose all the parts and pieces for your custom ride and then put it all together all by yourself!

Very intent on getting his car built like a pro

After he completed his car and took it for a test drive we went out to lunch at Rainforest Cafe.

Parker was melting down a little bit by this point. He'd had a big morning and no nap. The thunder storms and roaring animals kinda put him on edge a little bit.

But after he ate his lunch he was feeling much better. We told the server that it was Nanny's birthday (it is this Saturday) and they brought her the famous Volcano cake with ice cream! It was delicious!

We spent the afternoon swimming at Jon's pool. It's so beautiful over there- he's so lucky to live in paradise!

Tanner was helping Parker do some flips and he was LOVING every minute of it!

That night we had dinner at the Spectrum and took Parker for a ride on the Merry Go Round. I LOVE that place and I may or may not have bought 2 candles at Anthro...

Friday was my favorite day. It was just the 3 of us all day. On our way to the beach we realized that we forgot all of our towels and chairs for the beach so Tanner dropped me off at the Sawdust Festival and ran home to get them. It was exceptionally nice getting to chance to walk around looking, listening, and smelling all by myself. I bought a few earrings and sat at listened to the live band. I loved exploring all the little booths and looking at all the art. It was heavenly.

Before we hit the beach we ate lunch on the roof at Ruby's. So fun and even more yummy!

We went to our "go to" beach- the Montage. The water was perfect! We swam and saw little fishies, a seal, and even dolphins!

I HAD to go out in the water and take some pictures because the water was so very clear and gorgeous. As I was snapping some shots a wave crashed on me and instead of me flashing the camera I flashed something else. Can you say horrifying? Oh well, hopefully none of the 200 people on the beach saw. It was worth it. Look at that water!

Sand Angel

We stopped at Thrifty's for a double scoop on our way home but before we even got there this kid was out like a light. :-)

Our last day home we threw a baby-shower for my beautiful sister. She's not finding out what she's having until her husband comes home from Afghanistan- well, probably not until the little cherub is born! And believe me, I scanned her and sure did try and peak but the little cutie was being modest! ;-) I wanted to make her something but I'm neither artsy nor crafty so I attempted a soft blanket (even though I don't know how to sew) Hopefully the baby will know how much I love him even if the blanket falls apart in the wash. :-)

Glowing

Ta da! I sewed the sides with yarn. I'm cool. Don't judge me. ;-)

The men of the family.

All my sisters, my mom, and some babies.

My mom with all 5 kids and sweet Laura, too!

We left shortly after the shower and stayed the night with our BBF's in Vegas. Jeff and Ange have the BEST most comfy house and guest room. I wish we could have stayed there longer but it was about time we got home and back into the groove of real life. I miss it all so much already. I LOVE MY FAMILY!!! XOXOXOX

The Hills Are Totally Alive

2011-08-08T21:24:00.000-06:00

The hills were certainly alive with the Sound of Music on Friday night. When I saw that the play was going to be performed in the out door amphitheater in Sundance I bought tickets right away! I LOVE the Sound of Music and it was so fun seeing the play live and outside under the stars and with the beautiful mountains as a back drop.

Tanner and I got there early and brought a picnic up to eat on the hill. It was very romantic. :-)

I don't know if it is cool or not for me to admit that I knew every single line to every word and song in that play......

The next morning Tanner had to do some major studying at the library to prepare for finals this week so I planned a whole day for Parker and I- unfortunately we had too much fun to stop and take pictures. First stop was Walmart for some fabric, books, and breakfast ( Parker chose juice and powdered doughnuts).

Then we went to 7 Peaks. We got there pretty early so it wasn't crowded at all. I made the unfortunate mistake of wearing a red bathing suit so everyone thought I was a life guard. Parker's thrill of choice at the moment are 2 water slides that are for "Big kids only" and he went up the stairs and down those slides probably 35 times. I waited for him at the bottom in between the 2 slides and no one came and stood by me because they thought it was a space for life guards only. And people kept asking me questions! Oh man, I'll never make that mistake again!

After all the fun at the water park we got some McDonald's and came home for naps.

Then, miraculously, Tanner was done studying so we went to PF Chang's and then out to the Orem Owlz baseball game! It was so fun!

We sat out on a hill and Parker and I had a tickle fight while Tanner concentrated on the game. Angeluis and Mikailo came, too! And we all stayed for the fire works which were totally awesome!

Sunday after church I was itching for some fresh air so we decided to hike to Stewart Falls up in Sundance. We took the lift up to the trail head. It was Parker's first time on a lift and he LOVED it! I felt bad that we had to get off and start walking. He would have sat on that lift all day!

It was so beautiful up there!

We were hiding in the "jungle"

We saw this huge tree that had fallen and told Parker to stand next to it to see how big it was but he wouldn't stand there without his Dad. :-) From then on he made sure we noticed every single tree that had fallen down...

The craziest part of the hike was crossing this little stream that fell off into a water fall. Parker was so brave and totally rocked on this hike!

Ah! Stewart Falls! So gorgeous! I asked this guy walking his dog if he'd take a picture for us. Soon I realized he only had one arm and taking a picture was actually quite difficult for him to do. I felt really really bad.

Cheese! Notice he's holding, "the biggest leaf in the whole earth!"

I love spending time with my little family. Even though we're busy and we might not see each other every day I think we make up for it with all our awesome adventures. xoxo

One Year Older and Wiser Too..

2011-07-31T18:12:00.000-06:00

So, I pretty much love my little boy. He's, like, a kid now. Not a baby or anything. Kinda makes me sad. Kinda makes me happy.

Anyhoo, my Mom was able to spend the entire week with us and we had a great time celebrating Parker's 4th birthday to the fullest with her. She was actually in town for a funeral so it was a bitter sweet time. Hopefully being with us made it REALLY sweet. :-)

She took Parker out to dinner at his favorite restaurant CHUCK ARAMA! He likes it because you can get ANYTHING you want. lol And thank goodness we took him the day BEFORE his actual birthday- that way he was still free. ;-) Can you tell he was enjoying himself?

That night, after Tanner got home from school and Parker had a bath, we surprised him with his very first bike! It was love at first sight. He hopped on that thing with such ease- he's a natural! And rode it all the way down to the church parking lot where he was able to break it in before bed!

Of course, even though my Mom was in town, I still had to work. :-( Dang bread winner thing I have going on really cramps my style. And my Mom was gone all day on Parker's actual birthday day which happened to be on a wednesday this year. AND Tanner had to take a test that evening. ANDDDD I was responsible for my young women's activity that night. BUT, as it turned out we all got home at around 8:15pm and were able to let Parker open the rest of his presents. Lightening McQueen stuff and "Lots and Lots of Jets and Planes" DVD (As seen on TV- every 4 year old's dream come true)

He took little goodie bags to school on his birthday and came home with a cute birthday hat and a million stickers down his leg "kinda like a rock star".

(Still not quite sure if rock stars have happy face stickers on their thighs....)

Saturday was Parker's BIG birthday bash! We had to take my Mom back to the airport that morning which was a bummer but she had to get back to her other 4 children and 10 grandchildren in California having a birthday party for my niece! Whew Busy lady she is!

We invited all of our friends, family, and neighbors and WE. HAD. FUN!

I wanted to do his birthday party outside this year and keep it simple with a sheet cake a pizza but I knew it would be hot. So we decided to rent a blow up water slide. If I do say so myself, it was a brilliant idea. Everyone LOVED it. The kids were thrilled and totally got all their energy out! It was fabulous!

Here's Marley playing with the water gun. All the kids liked to be the squirtee's but no one liked to be squirted...

Kaydence blazing down the slide

And the BIRTHDAY BOY! He was so excited when he woke up from his nap to find not only his cousins outside playing but a huge water slide!

Later, Tanner turned up the music, the sun was shining, and the guests were arriving!

Here's the kids enjoying their pizza

Seriously, they are so darling!

Brian and Pilar are having their baby NEXT WEEK! Doesn't she look fantastic????? She needs to write a book or something!

The kids had fun doing cannon balls...

And diving...

And... belly flopping???

Cute, growing Parker family!

ANGELUIS!!!!! XOXOXOX

Oh man! Then, Tanner decided he wanted in on the water slide fun! The kids were ecstatic that he jumped in there with him! We could have just rented him for the day to keep the kids entertained! Sheesh- that man has energy!

Mikailo- my favorite baby.

Tanner playing with the kiddos

Cute Caleb came with his big sister and Mom (whom I work with). This is him saying, "Oh! Is dis a baby chair?"

By far the cutest messy pizza face at the party- Look at those eyes!

Wouldn't be a party without the Tucker's! I was so glad they made it!

Angeluis took the party inside. They stayed with us until 9:30 that night. It was so fun hanging out! It feels like it's been forever. But it's only been a month! :-)

Present time!

Ok, this Caleb has a pretty cute pizza face, too! :-)

Epic.

Seriously, it was so fun!

We had a PERFECT day! It was easy, we had just enough cake and pizza, everyone was happy, the sun was shining, the water was cool, the slide was awesome, and we have just about the best friends and family anyone could ever ask for.

Thank to EVERYONE for making Parker's birthday so special! Love you all!!! xoxox