Birthdays and new houses

I wish that i had the motivation and the patience to keep this up every week, month or even every other month... But, alas, I do not. There are just some things in life that we all have to accept. This is one that i have to accept. I do not journal, i do not blog enough, but I do take pictures. With that said, this post will be quite long, however I don't think anyone really wants to read too much. Hopefully the pictures can say enough for the past 4 months!!!
Carter turned 3 in July! WOW~ I couldn't believe it. We had a great day. His day was on a Sunday, so what a better way to spend that sunday than with Family. We had dinner at my sister's house and had ice cream and cake afterward. It was wonderful. At the time, Carter was overly obsessed with Rockets. I tried my best... I think I failed, but to a 3 year old- it was the greatest cake ever. Carter is growing and developing like crazy. He loves his numbers, ABC's and reading books. He is very imaginative. He is constantly doing voices or making things talk. He has a great sense of humor. Carter loves his family and is (most of the time) tender and sweet with Chase.
Chase turned 1 in August. It was a wonderful time to have a pool party. My in-laws were moving in just a few weeks, so we had to use it up as much as possible. Chase loves the pool. He is a very active child, so it is hard for him to not be able to do his own thing... my cousin brought this and it made his life a little better. The last year has gone so fast. Chase has such a sweet and happy attitude, that the last year has been amazingly happy and wonderful. Chase walks, runs, screams, runs, screams... and bites. That's right. He bites. He has a little temper and will let you know when he wants you to know something... :) Chase loves food and will eat anything you give him. He loves Carter and is constantly copying and doing whatever it is that he is doing.

At birthdays I sit and think about my boys. I love them more than I thought possible. I remember when Chase was born, I was scared I wouldn't love this beautiful child the same way i loved Carter... I was very wrong. I couldn't love Chase or Carter more. What a wonderful gift it is to be a mother. I get to be home. I get to play with them. I get to read them stories and watch their minds take in the world. I get to help them love life and its creator. I have a dear dear friend who is sharing her journey on her struggle to become a mother. I look at people that go through similar trials and I feel for them, but i also want them all to know that when they do get that special one that will come to them, naturally or through adoption... they will be wonderful parents and their children will be incredibly lucky to have such amazingly determined good people as their parents who would sacrifice anything for the love of their child.

BATH TIME!!!! and SHARK HAIR!

Some pictures of our life since we have moved to Utah. Both grandparents came to visit and the boys loved it. Steph came with 4 of her kiddos and i didn't take a single picture...sad! Jaromy turned 27 and I turned 29! (AHHH).

See ya! Come back later!

Changing Times

It has been quite a while since the last post and my, how things change. Since last post, Jaromy has been accepted to Utah State University and will be starting the MBA program this fall, We have also moved out of our house and in with Jaromy's parents to save on one month of rent before we start the journey! It is a bitter sweet thing. It is exciting to start this and that Jaromy is so ready for it. However, it will be sad and hard to leave my family. I randomly think about the little things that wont happen anymore and become overwhelmingly sad. BUT- (if you buy two completos!) it is also so great to think about the friends we will make and the many things we will learn. We will be moving sometime in August. I have been looking and looking and looking for housing and jobs. It sure can get depressing when nothing falls into place. I am determined that this is for a reason. We feel very strong that the Lord agrees with this decision and so, he will help make it possible!! So... wish us luck!

On another note... we just had a Peterson Family reunion... IT WAS FABULOUS! My brothers came who live so far away and we were ALL together. It couldn't have been better. It really was a lot to ask for all of my family to travel here... so to those that are listening- Thank you! We went to Lagoon, had family pictures, Ate and Ate and ATE. For those that want to see all the family pictures and check out her blog- she is a great photographer... CLICK HERE!Life has been great. We have been enjoying all of our summer. We love to swim, eat popsicles, run in the sprinklers, eat more popsicles and swim again. Chase and Carter will soon have their birthdays. Chase is so close to walking and Carter is so close to pulling out all of my hair! :) just kidding. Carter is doing great and continuing to learn and grow!

Next post... maybe sometime before we move... maybe not! :)

Spring has Sprung!

So, Spring is here. I love this time of year. Carter, Chase and I could spend forever outside- if the weather would stay nice for longer than 3 days at a time! Chase has just realized that he loves the grass and dirt and exploring. Carter has realized that he is able to play by himself on the swing set (usually monsters are after him, or he is off to the park). Jaromy is staying busy working and studying for his test. I am trying not to go insane while potty training. Three days down, and sanity is still in place. Check back next week! :) No pictures this time... I decided to put them in a collage. I was going to post and then realized that every picture I have taken since last post is the same... to you. Not to me. But I sure do take a lot of pictures of my kids! Love them! Happy Spring!

put the kids to bed, sit down... and relax. You are going to need more than 5 minutes. It's a long one!

So it has been awhile. It is funny, really, how often I get on to look at other people's blogs, but don't update my own. Just so we wont have the hugest update ever... i will hopefully be brief explaining what we have been up to the past few months.

NOVEMBER

In November my sister and my mom and I threw a baby shower for my sister, April. She was due at the beginning of December and having a GIRL!!! We were all so excited since there are not many girls in the family. It was a fun weekend, with lots of pink and bows!

Later that month was Thanksgiving. Since we had been with my family last year, it was Jaromy's family's turn. Well, due to some things that Jaromy's mom had to do in Utah... she was unable to make dinner. Therefore- I made my first Thanksgiving dinner.. complete with Turkey, rolls, pies, salad, potatoes and stuffing. It was a fun experience. The hardest thing, I thought, was to make everything and somehow keep it warm while something else cooked or finished or whatever... i don't like cold food! I was a little proud of my pie crust I made so i took a picture.
Too bad the pie didn't taste that great. The flour I used had gone bad.. therefore so did the crust. Sadness. It was a fun Thanksgiving.. Jaromy's parents decided they wanted to remove their wallpaper that weekend. So, needless to say, it was a busy weekend. On a different note.. we had no hot water that whole week before and after Thanksgiving making showers (and making dinner) not as fun as it could be. I truly gained a great appreciation for hot water and what the early pioneers went through. I know they went through a lot more than just cold showers, but that is something that just adds to the list of their hardships.

A few days after Thanksgiving, my sweet little niece was born (early). My parents and my sister and I headed over to Twin Falls Sunday morning to see the baby and the new parents. It was a fun trip and great to hold baby Claire. I got a new camera on my Black Friday adventures, so there have been a lot of pictures lately. Claire was the first recipient of this great new hobby!

Here are some other random shots from November. Chase and Carter continue to be such buds. Chase is getting to smile and show the cutest personality. He started on formula this month and really chunked out! There are times that he really resembles a bull-dog with his cheeks! We love it.




DECEMBER

December was lots of fun. We had family come into town from Phoenix that we don't get to see all that often, so everyday was a party. :) Layne and Lindsey even got to stay with us at our house for a few days after Christmas. It was so fun to see how Carter reacted and played with his cousins that he doesn't know too well. While they were here we went to a place called Jumpin Jungle. It is a place that is filled with bounce houses- Basically heaven for any 5 year old.. and Jaromy. It was lots of fun. When we first got there, Carter only wanted to play on the toy car.. the exact same toy that Stephanie has next door. But once he saw how much fun everyone else was having, he joined right in. The time there was cut short at Lindsey sprained her ankle. This injury seemed to just add to everything else that week. My boys had the flu, Kierra got strep the day she got here along with both kids the following two days, Lindsey sprained her ankle, Christmas Eve Steph's kids got the flu bug and two of them couldn't even join in on the festivities.. they were too busy puking! HOW FUN! :) But through it all, we did enjoy the holidays.

For Christmas, my mom does the 12 days of Christmas for each family. It is a lot of work that I know she puts into it, but it is also very fun for everyone. We tried to take pictures of each gift. The most popular gift- voted by Carter- was TOY STORY 3 or the giant candy cane. Jaromy's sister, Holly had her baby Dec. 22. This meant that his family went to Utah that day and spent all of the Christmas holiday down there. It was very different not to see them on Christmas day. We definitely missed them. It was nice, however, to have our own Christmas morning with Carter waking up telling us that Santa came and gave him toys. While we opened up presents, he thought that everyone (mine, dad's or Chase's) was Carters- in fact he still thinks that. To this day... you ask him where he got something (something simple) he responds with Santa. Wow, Santa really made an impression on him this year. The night before Christmas was fun and very traditional. We did our talent show, white elephant game, reading of Luke 2, and eating breakfast burritos. It was packed with lots of people, but we all had fun. Our family's talent this year was .... SOMERSAULTS! yes, we are a very talented family! IT was a very busy Christmas holiday and i found myself caught up in that, rather than the birth of our Savior. I loved the aftermath of Christmas and that Sunday right after was still celebrated with Christmas music and lessons. Here, I was reminded of our Savior's love and the real reason behind all the craziness.

JANUARY

let's see... not too much happened this January. Babies got bigger. Boys grew up a little more. Since I had been working a lot right before Christmas, I found myself not wanting to take any sub jobs, so this month, the boys and I had a lot of fun. We traveled to Utah for Baby Becca's wedding. It was so fun to see her and what a great mom Holly is! The main thing to report is that Chase has started to eat baby food more and more. He loves it! He loves his high chair. I can just tell, he feels apart of everything as we go about our day and he is in his chair. :) I started a diet this month. January 10th! I am just working out daily and counting my calories, allowing myself around 1200.

FEBRUARY

The holidays are over, therefore there is less to report on. However since this month is still in progress, my memory is a little bit better. This month we went to Twin Falls for Baby Claire's baby blessing. It was great fun. Steph's family, my family and my parents all slept at April's house. It was a crowded house, but it was a fun weekend. A few weeks later, one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world got married. We were able to travel over to Idaho Falls and be there for her sealing. It was beautiful and very spiritual. Jessica looked amazing and couldn't stop smiling! While there we saw Crystal and took Senior Pictures for her graduation coming in April!
To Date- I have lost 16 lbs. on my diet and lost 2 pants sizes! YAY! Lots more to go, but it feels great!

OKay... there it is. The low down on us for the last 4 months. I more than likely missed something great... we have been very busy and loving life. I noticed that there are random pictures in here with no caption or explanation- those ones I put in.. just because!