Peterson Reunion

While we were in Idaho we attended my Peterson Family Reunion.  I hadn't been for a few years and it was very fun to see family that I hadn't seen in a long time.  It was a very long, hot day but it was nice to be there with family.  We had lunch together and then went on a tour of a historic pioneer village which was really neat.  Then we visited, played games, and had a Dutch Oven Chicken dinner.  This is the kids with their Great Grandma and Grandpa Peterson.

This is all the Peterson clan listening to the tour guide for the pioneer tour.  The tour was very well done.  The kids got to do hand on pioneer activities and they shared lots of fun stories about the pioneers in this area.

 Cousins playing on the covered wagon.

 Emily was chosen to be a helper and she got to dress up in pioneer clothes and help spin wool.  She was in heaven.

The kids got to sit in old school desks and learn all about school during pioneer times.  

Grandpa Peterson did a great job of entertaining Matson all day which was a great help to us.  Matson is a busy little handful but Grandpa kept him happy and busy all day.  Matson has a special bond with Grandpa and really can't get enough of him.  Every day when he wakes up he asks me, "GO Grandpa's house?"   If my mom stops by to visit he hardly lets her in the house before he says "where Grandpa?"  It could be considered a bit offensive, but he sure LOVES his Grandpa!

Grandma's Birthday/Vacation Begins

We started off our vacation by going to Idaho for Grandma Hansen's 88th birthday party!  We had a few bumps along the way.  We found out the night before we left that our little airconditioning problem was a big, expensive problem that required ordering parts so we ended up leaving a lot later then planned.  As soon as we got the van back we threw our stuff into it and headed off.  It wasn't until we were almost to Malad that John turned to me and said, "what did you pack your stuff in"?  Anyway, it's a really long story but we ended up in Idaho without any of my clothes for our week long vacation.  After some deliberation we decided our best option was to head back and get it.  Crazy, I know.  So we pulled over to wait for my parents.  We switched their luggage to our van and my parents joined me and the kids on the rest of the trip to Idaho and John headed back to Utah to "retrieve the package" as he likes to explain it.  :)  Luckily, Grandma Durrant took pity on us too and went and picked up my bag and met John in Salt Lake.  We really appreciated everyone who helped us this day...there were a lot of you!  In the end, we all made it to Idaho, I had clothes, and the kids and I made it to Grandma's 88th Birthday and were were so glad to be there! 

 We stayed two nights at my grandma's with all my family and it was a fun time.  The kids enjoyed experiencing the country life and spent their time going on walks, swinging with Great Grandma, skipping rocks, etc.. 

Carter and Matson chilling in Grandma's gazebo.

 All the cousins skipping rocks with Grandma Peterson.

Showing off their Big Bro and Lil Bro shirts, thanks to a great Gymboree clearance sale!  :)

I loved spending a few days with my Grandma and getting to spend time at her house which just happens to be one of my very favorite places in all the world!  Happy Birthday Grandma!

Building with Dad

 John was working on building some shelves for our garage (HOORAY!).  Carter was right by his side through the whole process.  He LOVES to help his dad.  He had all his tools out and was helping dad saw and hammer.  But he encountered a problem:  he didn't have a nail gun like dad was using!  Next thing we know he had ran inside and pulled out his Nerf gun and he was ready to work!  He helped nail those shelves up with his powerful gun and he didn't stop until John was done using his nail gun!  It was so cute!

 Measuring and sawing with dad.  Carter stayed right by John's side all day as they built the shelves and he loved every minute of it.  We love our new shelves and I love how entertained Carter was for the whole day.  I told John maybe he should build something every Saturday...he wasn't too keen on that idea! :)

That's our boy with the evil glare.  We love this boy!

Father's Day

The kids made John breakfast in bed and had all kinds of cute cards for him. At church they sang the cutest song that our new chorister had written and the kids were delighted.

That evening we had Grandma and Grandpa Durrant and the Schreiners over to celebrate our dad's.  The kids put on a really cute Father's Day Talent Show to entertain us all.  :)

Fire

We are covered in smoke and ash but we haven't been evacuated.  They are evacuating all the neighborhoods just South of us.

Summer!!!

 Summer is in full swing around here.  The girls have way too much time on their hands and have started planning activities to invite all the neighbors too.  It's their favorite thing to do!!!  Kelsie and Brianna planned a talent show this week.  They made flyers, signs, and got trophies.  Quite a few neighbor kids showed up to perform their talent and went home with trophies or medals.  It was really cute!  Kelsie and Brianna love to plan events like this and they do  a really good job doing it on their own.  I don't know what Kelsie (or any of us ) are going to do when Brianna and her family move this summer.  It's so sad! :(

Now this just cracked me up!  Carter and Emmi informed me they were hosting an easter egg for their friends. Yes, it is JUNE!  They have seen their older sisters plan one to many "events" around here.  They wanted to get in on the action, even if they are only 4 years old!  They used their candy to fill up eggs, hide them, and invited their friends to come over for an egg hunt.  The kids showed up and didn't even seem to mind that there were only 15 eggs and 7 kids.  I think I'm hiding the easter eggs until next spring so that doesn't become a regular event!  :)

Last Days of School

 This is Emily and Jace (AKA Emily's boyfriend).  Emily was very upset to have the school year end because she is afraid Jace will forget her!  She is completely boy crazy!!!  We are really in for it!  She says she is not boy crazy...just only likes one boy.  (Jace and Emily are always together at school.  She is hilarious when she talks about him.  She is completely smitten and couldn't be happier that he told her he likes her too!  I have LOTS of stories about these two, but I'll save them for another time.  :)  At least she chose the cutest and nicest boy in the whole class to be smitten by.  That gives me hope.  He is adorable.

 Last lunch of 1st grade for Emily and her friend Sydney.  I had such a good time eating lunch with my girls on the last full day of school.  The 1st graders were REALLY talkative and told me all kinds of interesting things!  This was the 1st time I'd been to lunch this year and I was shocked by how few kids were in the lunchroom at one time and how calm it was.  I was used to their last two schools that were triple the size of this one.  It has been such a nice change to be at a smaller school this year. 

 Last lunch of 4th grade.  Kelsie with her best friends from her class this year (Holly, Hailey, and Sydney).  Kelsie and Emily ate lunch at the same time this year which I loved.  Kelsie went by and checked on Emily each day to see if she needed help with anything.  She is a really good big sister.  As a result Kelsie and Emily know all of each other's friends too.

 The Mural that Kelsie got to help make in art class.  Really cool!

School is out!  Hooray!  We were all so ready for a break.  We celebrated the start of summer with an ice cream party with our neighbor friends!