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.

Resolution.

I'M SO TIRED!!

Okay. For about a month now I have been getting up on weekdays at 4:30 AM. Why? Seminary. I am teaching it this year. Careful what you say...you might be next! So, for someone who has always been a night owl, getting up at "o-dark-thirty" kinda hurts. Really hurts! I am barely functioning most days. I have no energy, no motivation, and life at our house is kinda going down the tubes. I only do what has to be done, and usually only when it's urgent. Laundry, bathrooms, floors, meals...all of it is suffering. Yes, you should feel very sorry for my family.



I need to make one change...just one. GO TO BED EARLIER!!! Duh. Don't ask me why this is so hard, but it is. So I'm making a resolution to change my life by making one simple change at the end of my day. So long to all you new TV shows I want to watch, good-bye evening computer time (who needs facebook or zuma?), no more opening a book as I lay down in bed at night. Starting tonight, I will be in bed at 10 PM. Yep. That's what I'm doing. As of tonight. In bed at 10...no later. Nighty-night, y'all!

UP!

Let me tell you about this wonderful day...

It started early with a trip to Sick Bay to get Chris some help with...

(and this is looking pretty good! His eye was swollen shut, and the poison ivy also covers various other parts of his body. He's feeling pretty uncomfortable, to say the least.)

After an hour and a half and one whopping shot in the arm later, we end up at the intersection of 5th and Vine in Marysville. When we finally came to a stop at the intersection the car looked like this...

and I had a citation for "failure to obey traffic signal". Yahoo. We are all fine. I will have bruising where the seat belt did it's job, and Micah has a small bump on his noggin, but we are all alive, and very grateful. Oh, I also have the opportunity to take an online defensive driving class that will keep this minor misdemeanor from showing up on my driving record if I can complete the course. Do you think it's worth the $25 fee? I probably won't be able to afford it after I pay the fine on the citation.

Later this evening, Lance decided to mow the weeds. (They are all that's growing at the moment.) As he was going around the propane tank, he bumped it and it now looks like this...

Are we having fun yet?

So, as far as I can tell, we can go nowhere from here but.....UP!

F@#$&!!!!!

Yep, I said it.





The Ol' "F" word.





Not THAT one...





FORTY!









And yes, this is in large print so everyone can read it, even the over 40 crowd. (Why are the eyes the first thing to go?)


And thanks to a fun party thrown by a great friend, it wasn't so bad! It's feels official now. Thanks, Cass! She's got pictures on her blog, if you want to check it out.





Fabulous Friends + Fantastic Food = Forty-ain't-so-Bad!






A special thanks goes out to those who "took me back to Hawaii" (I was born there) for my birthday. You know who you are.

Overheard

Lance: Ten o'clock. Time for bed, you have school tomorrow.

Chris: Not me, there's no school tomorrow.

Micah: Me, too! I don't have naps tomorrow!

TMI...way too much

Bold the items you have done:
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
20. Slept on a train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Cooked over a open fire
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a Bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

If you're reading this, and you have a blog, consider yourself tagged.

Busted. Period.

This will have you grinning, if not laughing. Now that's a week has pasted since our latest episode of "Life with Teenager and Preschooler", I can think about it without wanting to wack someone upside the head.

Last Saturday, Lance and I spent the afternoon in Columbus at the temple and then he took me to Red Lobster for dinner. (BTW, if you haven't gone there and tried the new firegrilled menu, you must. Mouthwatering.) So, after we got home, I took Chris to meet some friends at the movie. On the way there, Lance calls my cell. Christopher answers, listens, hangs up and says, "Maybe I shouldn't be going to the movies", so we head home.

After Christopher and I left, Lance asked Micah if he wanted to watch a new movie we got from Netflicks.

His answer: "Sure, but I already watched that with Chris and Becca, but Chris told me not to tell"

Oh. Really.

As you may have already guessed, Becca would be the girlfriend, WHO. IS. NOT. ALLOWED. OVER. WHEN. WE. ARE. NOT. HOME. (Okay, I take it back. I do still want to wack him upside the head.)

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?

Moral of the moment? One - Never break the house rules. Two - If you feel you MUST break the house rules, don't tell the 4 year old brother not to tell. 4 year olds don't know how to keep secrets!

PS to all the teenagers of the world - we, your parents, were teenagers long before you were. Do the words "Been There, Done That" have any meaning to you?

Modern Conveniences

Over the weekend, we got a dose of what life would be like without one of our major modern conveniences...

RUNNING WATER .

Instead we got our water from these

(...and this was just for flushing toilets! We had more for food and drinking.)

Outside there was plenty of water in the form of

I was grateful for the snow and ice; it caused church to be cancelled, which meant I didn't have to skip church due to the fact that I was too skanky to be seen or smelled in a public place. I won't gross you out with the detail of how long it had been since my last shower.

Thankfully, we have a membership at the Wellness Center over at Honda.

I can honestly say this is the first time in a long time that I've been happy to go there. Usually it is just the place I go to torture myself by exercising or being seen in a swimsuit. This time, though, it was the destination for a warm shower. (Blissful sigh...)

Monday morning meant relief from our sorry situation -

Meet Ralph, our friendy Rainsoft Guy!

He fixed the problem (an elbow joint in the water system had split and was spraying water all over the walls and the floor) and by late morning we had running water again! Happy dance, everyone! Ralph was the hero of the day, and while I think he's a really nice guy, I really hope I don't have to see him again for a long time.

So, blessings to count...

running water

water storage

snow and ice at an opportune moment

gym memberships

ralph

running water!

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.