Snow, Anyone?

I've talked to a lot of people today who are experiencing snow for Christmas. We, however, have none. There's no ice either, so I won't complain.

For those of you who have snow, here's a little inspiration for you as you go outside to have some fun...

I love Calvin and Hobbes! Have fun with the snow everyone!

You Made My Day!

Package delivered by UPS.
Grab the scissors.
Lift off the top sheet of packing paper.
See two - TWO! boxes of Hostess Raspberry Filled Donuts. YES!!
Inhale first donut.
Begin to savour the second. Yum.
Oh,yeah-
Here, Micah, go put these other packages under the tree.

Your mansion in heaven just got bigger, Julie.

Now...where did I put that second donut?

A Little Christmas Cheer Worth Repeating

Now wasn't that fun? Good things are worth repeating. (I don't know about you, but I've seen this a few times before ;])

What Did I Do?

Do you ever look around yourself and wonder "What did I do to deserve this?" When I look at my boys, that frequently passes through my head. It's a little hard to take that Christopher is only a couple of years from college and mission and moving on with his life. Micah is ... well, Micah! How can you not love that face!? We laugh together a lot. So again, I ask, what did I do to deserve this?

Tribute to "The MIDDLE OF NO-WHERE"

My sister related an experience she had the other day that made me very glad for where I live. She lives in California, up in the mountains near San Bernadino. She and her husband are in the finishing stages of building their home. Friday they drove to Commerce (LA area) to pick up the carpet. On the way home, they decided to pull into a Jack-in-the-Box to get a bite to eat. Because of the way the carpet was situated, they couldn't go through the drive thru, so she parked and ran in to order the food to go. Inside she discovered that the entire front counter was covered in bullet proof glass as thick as her index finger was long! She had to speak through a little hole to place her order, pay through a little metal tray under the glass, and received her order through a glass box big enough to fit the tray with a bag standing on it. She couldn't open the door of the box on her side of the counter until the girl on the other side had closed her door. Needless to say, she scooted out of there as quickly as she could and got them back on their way to their happy little home in the mountains.

Some of you may be thinking, so what - nothing happened. However, just the thought of having to live in a place where the fast food businesses have to have bullet proof glass around them to give their employees a safe working environment makes me glad to live in a out-of-the-way place that some people in our own county haven't even heard of. I like living in an area where my biggest complaint is the smell of the hog farm down the road and around the corner (and that's only when the wind is just right!)

So, here's to the places of the world where you can leave your doors and windows open when you want to, where you can actually see the stars at night, and let noise of nature put you to sleep. A place where you can send the kids out to play and you watch to make sure they aren't playing in the creek. Here's to slowing down and getting over for the farm machinery on the road, to the sound of tree frogs, cicadas, and coyotes yipping through the night. Here's to letting the deer and the skunks have the right-of-way. Here's to back roads to nowhere and everywhere. Here's to living in Middle of No-where, No Body's-Heard-of-It, USA.

picture tag

age

place i've been

bucks lake, california

place i want to go

one of my favorite places

rocky mountain nat'l park

favorite object

favorite animal

favorite food

favorite color

birthplace

current place of residence

current pet

past loves

can't get these in ohio :(

best friend

nick name

first name

first job

what i'm doing now

who i tag

search google images for your answers. use pictures only from the first two pages of your search.

Thumpin', Bumpin' Pumpkin

Question: If I mention the word "pumpkin", what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Pie? Jack-O-Lantern? Roasted pumpkin seeds? If your name is Micah Peterson, this is what you think of when pumpkins are the topic...

Thumpin'...



Bumpin', Rollin'...

Pumpkin!



We found this funny book at the library,

and it changed his whole idea about what a pumpkin is for. So, we bought him a "pie" pumkin, and this has become his favorite activity. With his best friend, Justin...

(Do you think we might need safety goggles - or is this just the lastest in fashion accessories?)

with the cat...

and with a truck.

Bet you didn't know a pumkin could be this much fun, huh? If you get the chance, sit down and enjoy "The Runaway Pumpkin". Maybe it'll change you pumpkin ideas, too.

Oh, one other daily occurance since reading this book is the question, "Are you making pumpkin pie today, Mom?" I think this is going to have to be the year I finally bite the bullet and make a pie for Micah. This could prove to be interesting - my idea of baking a pumpkin pie is going to the freezer section at the store.

Makin' Memories

Here's a bit of what's been going on in our life for the last couple months. Having a high school age child really changes things. Chris (sophomore this year) gave into peer pressure and joined the soccer team. He's never played before, so this has been interesting. I didn't realize how it would take over our life. Coupled with Marching Band, he has been busy every night of the week. Soccer in now over, and marching only has a couple more weeks to go, thank goodness!

(Smiling is not allowed?)

He is a section leader in band, which means he's responsible for making sure everyone in his section knows what they're doing on the field. In soccer he's been playing outside halfback, when he gets to play. I still don't have a clue what's going on with soccer. Not much of a "soccer mom".

The following video is from the Band Spectacular in September. Bellefontaine High School hosts this event every year and invites schools from our county and some surrounding counties to come and perform. It's not competition, but it sure is fun to watch. This is the last part of Ben Logan's performance.

One other high school tradition that Christoper decided to participate in was Homecoming Week.They had...Pajama Day, which he didn't do...

80's Day...

(These clothes came out of our closet! Lance has been hanging on to them for sentimental(?) reasons, and they sure came in handy here. Christopher had a hard time with the close fit of the pants, but he was authentic, if nothing else.)
Geek Day (no picture here)..
Costume Day...

and Gold and Black Day...

He is living it up this year, for sure. To top it all off, he has Seminary at 5:30 every morning. I've always said I wouldn't ever want to relive my high school years, and getting this kid through his high school experience only reinforces that thought! Whew, what a life.

Watch out, You're Next!

This is a first - getting tagged by another blogger (thanks, Becca!). Oh well, here goes:

8 Shows I Love to Watch...
Would you believe me if I tell you the only time our TV is on anymore is for news/weather in the mornings and the evening? Okay, okay... sometimes it gets turned on so Micah can watch Super WHY! on PBS.

8 Favorite Restaurants...
1. Yin Da (hole-in-the-wall Chinese buffet)
2. P.F. Chang's
3. Anna's (Nice little Greek place in Dublin, OH)
4. BD's Mongolian Grill
5. Ted's Montana Grill (Never had the bison, but the crab cakes...mmmm)
6. Pizza Barn (Hands down best pizza ever)
7. Doc Henderson's
8. Japanese Stakehouse

8 Things That Happened Yesterday...
1. A couple extra hours of sleep in the morning. Seminary was cancelled!
2. 65 minutes on the treadmill.
3. Unplanned trip to Dublin to go to the Mall.
4. Purchased a wedding gift for a friend's daughter.
5. Bought myself a pair of jeans.
6. Remembered why I hate shopping for jeans.
7. Did my time in the consession stand at the football game.
8. Ben Logan won the game 20-0! Unbelievable.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To...
1. The basement finally being repaired.
2. Getting the "Basement Fix" paid off.
3. No more election ads.
4. Christopher getting his driver's license.
5. Another Family Gathering.
6. Libary Tuesdays with Micah and Justin.
7. The next square of a carmel Booster Bar.
8. Getting my motivation for exercise back.

8 Things on My Wish List...
1. New refrigerator.
2. Better organization/time management skills.
3. Size 8 backside.
4. A dry basement.
5. A permanent space for my car in the garage.
6. A separate garage for Lance to work in.
7. Being able to afford more frequent visits with our family out west.
8. A return trip to Hawaii.

8 People I Tag...
1. Beth Miller
2. Heather Alcantara
3. Debbie Lewis
4. Lance
5. Cassie
6. Michelle Wahl
7. Laura Collis (You were thinking about starting a
blog, so here's your first post!)
8. Kirsten Davis (You could start a blog, too. Hint, hint)

Mom's Overture by Anita Renfroe

If you haven't seen this yet, take a minute. Here's one for the moms of the world...

Dadsense by Anita Renfroe

...and now, one for the dads...

Today's excuse... I mean reason...

Yep, that about sums it up. Today could have been a good day to get back on the wagon and start putting myself back together, however...maybe tomorrow will be a good day to start.

Today's Blessings

A familiar old face
The love of a husband
A kiss from my Micah
The strength of a friend
Laughter through tears
Getting lost in a book
Creamed potatoes & peas
The gift of peace

Best Friends - What would we do without 'em?

I'm only doing this because somebody got smart about it today-the fact that I haven't added to my blog lately. What can I say? That's what happens when you're only around 90%. So in response, I dedicate this post to my dearest, bestest friend.

Let me share a little about her. She cannot tell a lie. It makes her ill. No joke! She can keep a secret, even if it nearly kills her. I can share anything I want with her. I think Lance is the only person on earth who knows more about me than she does, and even then, it wouldn't be by much.

Even though her immediate family may not always think so, she is the BEST cook. Almost every good recipe I have came from her. To the embarassment of her husband, our family has become the place where her leftovers frequently end up, and we gladly take them every time. This week she shared some of her newly made raspberry jam. I ate so much if it, I made myself sick. One time, Chris was at their house and they had baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese for dinner. Before this, I could never get him to eat it, but after eating her's, hey, it's great stuff. Okay, enough - she's a great cook.

I wish I had her talent for creating beautiful spaces. Her home is gorgeous - inside and out. You go there and don't want to leave because it's such a comfortable place. She can put on quite a spread for a party, too. If she ever chose to go into catering or interior decorating...well Martha, get out of the way.

I got interested in quilting after seeing some of the quilts made by her. In fact, the first one I made would probably still be sitting around waiting to be quilted, if not for my wonderful friend. I took it over to her so she could work on it, and the next thing I know, the UPS man shows up at my house with a box from Idaho. She took it with her on a visit to her family, and they finished quilting it for me! Now there's a great friend.

Oh, one other story that will tell you about her personality. One year I decided to crochet some dish clothes for her, because I knew she loved the knitted ones. I didn't knit, so I did what I knew how to do. Anyhow, I made up a bunch of them for her. In my ignorance, I made them out of acrylic yarn, not cotton. I didn't figure out until much later that I had given her a bunch of totally useless dish clothes, but she never said a word. Just thanked me and used them in whatever way she could (if I remember correctly, one was used as a pad under a potted plant).

Speaking of thanking me, this woman is the most diligent person I know when it comes to sending a thank you card. I'm going to tease her just a bit here. Once, she and her husband were invited to a dinner party, and she had the thank you card in the mailbox before leaving that evening to go! Wow.

I could go on, but she's already thinking of diverse ways to retaliate. I didn't give her identity on purpose. I think a lot of you who read this will know who she is without a name, and anyone who knows her will agree with me about how great she is. Needless to say, when I grow up - I want to be just like her!

FYI

I just wanted to let you all know that Lance, who has been getting on my case lately for all the time I spend on the computer and blogging, has started a blog of his own. You can find it at www.nofabrication.blogspot.com. Go check it out and welcome him to the world of bloggers!

Food Storage?

Lance and I went to the temple this morning and left the boys home together. This is what we found when we got home - Chris playing a game on the computer and Micah...

fast alseep on 100 lbs. of oat groats.

Maybe I shouldn't can this stuff. We've apparently found another use for it!

Home, Sweet Home

Earlier this week Micah, Chris and I were in town for an appointment and went to lunch afterwards. We went to Subway. Lately we haven't been eating out in an effort to save money, so this was a treat. Once inside, Micah immediately ran for a table, then yelled his order out from across the store. Chris and I got the sandwiches and drinks and joined Micah at the table. After we had situated ourselves and dug into our yummy food, Micah sets down his sandwich, heaves a big sigh and says, "Mom, I'm home." What a kid.

Wagon Wheels & Baby Dolls

What do wagon wheels have to do with baby dolls? Dayton Ohio East Stake Youth Conference, that's what. This year the Stake planned a pioneer trek for our kids, and Lance and I went along as the "parents" for our Branch. It wasn't long - arrive Thursday evening, trek on Friday, service project early Saturday & heading home by 3 PM. We camped out in tents or under the stars, and enjoyed meals provided by the stake leaders. Here are a couple of videos of the event...
Thursday evening the kids learned the Virginia Reel...

These next three are from the day of the trek. I tried to put it into one video, but it was too big to use...

As you can see, some of the trek was easy, and some of it put the kids to the test. I didn't pull the cart once, and in some of the area's I was lucky just to get myself up the incline. It got pretty steep in places, but amazingly enough, there wasn't much grumbling from the kids. They worked together quite well.

Did you notice some of them carrying baby dolls along with them? Let me tell you about that. Before we took off from the campsite, one girl from each family group was given a baby doll to care for on the trek. Toward the end, Brother Young (Stake YM Pres.) stopped the group and talked about those who had to care for young children or babies while crossing the plains in handcarts and how some of them had to leave them behind when illness or injury took them. Then, he dug a shallow grave and had one of the young women bury her baby. Talk about leaving an impression on a person. I think of all the experiences the kids had durning their eight hours with a handcart, this one left the greatest impact. That poor girl was completely broken up over the thought of what it must have been like to leave a child behind like that.

That wasn't the end of it, though. Lance and I, being the ones bringing up the rear, got to go back and get the baby and get it back to camp undetected. That night at the fireside, Brother Young had the young lady get up and tell her feelings about the experience. He then brought out the baby doll wrapped in a beautiful white blanket and gave it back to her, reminding the kids that because of the Savior's Atonement, those who made such sacrifices in their lives would be able to raise those lost children one day. It was great lesson for the whole group.

All in all, it was a great event for everyone who was able to go. We all left with tired and aching bodies, but with stronger spirits and testimonies. Here are a few more pictures...

Jori & Weston enjoying(?) a dance...

Getting ready for the trek ... will the girls be impressed with the new look?

Our pioneer family...

Jori's baby envy...

Oh sure, it's all fun on the flats...

Down a steep incline the girls really show their stuff ... Who needs men, anyway?

Pulling up another steep ridge...

Post-trek help for sore feet...

Saturday service project clearing the honeysuckle that's taking over Ohio.