Going to Kindergarten...

Here's our Micah on his first day of Kindergarten.
(He was very opposed to having a picture taken but Dad won the battle.)

He get's up at six and is on the bus by seven, before the sun even comes over the horizon. His teacher this year is Mrs. Johns, and his best friend, Justin is in his class.

After he got home that first day, I asked how he liked it.

His response: We got to play on the playground three times! And we had a nap and then got to go outside and play after the nap!

You can tell what his priorities in life are. Oh, to be five years old again.

Since then, we've heard that school is a little boring, discovered the bus ride home is the perfect time to make up for getting up so early in the morning (it lasts an hour :p), and having to tie his own shoes is reason for a major melt down.

Did I have a hard time putting him on the bus the first day? It was a little harder that I anticipated, but the one who's really having a hard time dealing is Dad. A couple of mornings back, I got Micah on the bus and turned around to find Lance sitting on the front step looking a little forelorn. Yep, growning up is hard on all of us.

Introducing...

...our new little Dallin Reed Peterson. He totally ignored the given due date of July 24, deciding instead the 29th of July was a good day to be born, and arrived at 12:34 PM. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces (same as Micah!) and measured 20.5 inches at the hospital. Five days later he measured 22 inches at the doctors office. We're going with the 22 inches, which explains a lot of the pushing on Mom's ribs and bladder at the same time for the last month and a half.

As you can see from the following picture, there were mixed reactions to his becoming part of the family.

Christopher is very pleased with his new little brother, and Micah may be wearing a grin, but it's pasted on. He is still warming up to Dallin. Every day though, he is willing to get a little closer, especially now that Dallin is more awake and looking around. Micah also starts kindergarten in a couple of weeks, so it's going to be interesting around here for a while. Change has never been one of his strengths. Lance is anticipating a few more years in the work force, as well as being mistaken for "Grandpa" instead of Daddy.

So, here we are... the Peterson Family...

...Christopher is starting his senior year of high school. Micah is starting kindergarten, and then there is the newborn. No, we did not plan it this way. Who in their right mind would? We are very grateful for the gift of one more child, though. Dallin is a gift, one we hoped for but didn't expect given our track record.

Now my days are sidetracked by a sweet little face that I sit and stare at for way too long, and a warm little body that fits perfectly to mine. I'm having a hard time getting much done around here. (Gee, really? He's almost two weeks old already, and you're just getting around to posting his pictures on your blog!)

Here are a couple more pictures. Aunt Laura came from California to help out for a week. Here she is with Dallin just before we were able to leave the hospital. The blue glow is from the photo-therapy blanket that we went home with to help him get rid of the jaundice. He spent the whole day Saturday in the nursery under the lights, which made for a long day for me. Laura kept me company for most of the day, which made it so much better. Thank you!

This last picture was taken at three days old. Check out those eyes! So dark you can't tell the iris from the pupil, just like Christopher's! I may be slightly biased, but this little boy is beautiful.

Addicted

Need I say more?

More Dang Good...

If you want to create a filling,

satisfying,

complete,

and O-SO-YUM-O meal,

make

THIS

to go along with those Dang Good Ham Sandwiches.

Thanks for passing this along, Cassie!

Dang Good Ham Sandwiches

(Image from bunsinmyoven.com)

Okay, they are actually called Ham and Poppy Seed Rolls, but after you make them you'll agree with my title. The picture is the same sandwich minus the poppy seeds. These were served at our Visiting Teaching Seminar today. They were baking through the last half of the meeting and you could smell them all over the building. Here's the recipe (thanks, Stacy!):

24 (2 packages?)Pepperidge Farm party rolls (the small ones)
(updated FYI: I couldn't find the PF rolls, so I used the Hawaiian Bread 12 pack dinner rolls)
1 lbs. thin sliced honey ham
1 lbs. thin sliced swiss cheese
2 sticks butter
2 T. mustard
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. poppy seeds
2 T. worcestershire sauce

Cut rolls in half and layer with ham and cheese. Put the top of each roll back on and arrange the sandwiches in a 9x13 pan. Combine the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, cooking until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour butter/sugar mixture over sandwiches and allow them to soak for a few hours or even overnight if you have the time. (Stacy says less "sauce" is better than more so they don't get soggy.) Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and the bottom is nicely browned. Now... I dare you to try to eat only one! You can thank me (or curse me...ha!) later for sharing.

By the way, does anyone else have the tune of "Oh, Canada!" stuck in their head? I loved how they "fixed" the forth leg of the cauldron base to start off the closing ceremony of the Olympics tonight. Anyone else want to take a trip to B.C. now? I do.

Totally Smitten

There are gifts, and then there are gifts. Tonight we were given a gift that is beyond words. I can't even explain it. You have to go see it for yourself here. This one has me in tears!

What D'ya Think?

I finally got the boys in for some pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

For those of you who want to know why you haven't been given any yet, don't worry. I'll have them in the mail as soon as I get them in...okay, maybe not as soon as I get them. You know me better than that. They will be coming, though!

WHAT?!?

There are some words in the English language that just aren't happy worlds. The word that tops my list at the moment is TERMINATED.

Friday I ran to the pharmacy to pick up Lance's refill. The conversation when I got there went something like this:

Pharmacy: Name please?

Me: Lance Peterson.

Pharmacy: Um...this is going to be $249.

Me: (mouth wide open...no sound coming out)

Pharmacy: Do you have a new insurance card? Your old number was denied.

Me: Well, this is the only card I have. It's the same one we've always had!

Pharmacy: (after comparing my card with the number they used) I'm sorry, it says this insurance has been TERMINATED. We will hold the prescription for you if you'd like, until you get a new insurance card.

Me: Yeah, okay. Thank you.

I walked back to the car, beginning to fume, thinking (okay, this is bad of me) what the heck...didn't Lance turn in the paperwork? (Sorry, Lance, for immediately thinking it was your mistake). This is NOT a good time in our life to be without medical insurance!!!

So, after calling the insurance company and hearing that word couple more times in reference to our insured status, (no explanation either..."please contact your workplace to get the issue resolved. It must be a mistake on their part"...) I really do not like the word TERMINATED. It's an ugly, hateful, miserable word. In my opinion, anyway.

Long story short, we are currently waiting for a new card with a new member number to replace the old one which was TERMINATED due to a glich at the insurance company. (Surprised, anyone?) This happened to about 100 of the employees at Lance's work. Perhaps the one responsible for causing such havoc in so many lives needs to have some personal experience with word TERMINATED.