A California December

I hit the ripe old age of 34 and Haleigh followed it up with a youthful 11. Joshua turned seventh months old. We've enjoyed the last week and a half with everyone home, including the man of the house, and are looking forward to one more week off. Maybe I can negotiate with the school district for a little more time? As previously stated, we opted for a quiet California Christmas. Joshua ate all the wrapping paper so we didn't have to bother to do any recycling:) We enjoyed receiving everyone's well-wishes and hope you received ours:) One day I'll get a decent family photo out to everyone. We've (Kade and the honeys) been on strike regarding the professional route, but maybe once JC Penney moves in next door (opening in March), we'll drag our lazy backsides in for a photo op. I'll just have to bribe Kade and all the honeys to make it happen. I guess that's what I get for taking photos of them 24-7. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Stevens Christmas 2008

Hi there. We will be staying put this year for Christmas. Matt doesn't ever like to travel, but he REALLY doesn't like it for the holidays. We'll probably eat Christmas dinner with my mother, but that's not a definite. Once again, that's not a favorite activity of Matt's. Apparently, my side of the family is a little wild. ; ) In all honesty, I don't like the stress of running from this place to that place and back and forth on the holidays. Kids like to be at home to mess around with their new stuff.

One of my favorite traditions is opening each part of the advent calendar each day and reading the scripture that goes with it. The other is reading "The Christmas Story" from Luke 2 on Christmas Eve. I love that cozy, peacefull feeling of Christmas Eve with the glow of the Christmas tree lights, hot chocolate, and a family reading of the story out of my family bible. That's the same bible my mother used to read my brother and I the story when I was little.

Christmas

Justin, Katelyn, and I will also be staying put for the holidays. OUr anniversary is on the 22nd, then Christmas, then New Year's, then Katie's blessing on the 4th, and finally Justin's birthday on the 5th. I guess you could say we have an eventful holiday season ahead of us.
If anyone wants to come to Katie's blessing on the 4th, they are more than welcome to come.

Like I said, it will be on January 4th here in Rexburg. Sacrament meeting starts at 1:30. DOn't feel obligated to come though because we understand about roads, weather, impossible distances, and getting kids ready to go back to school.

My favorite christmas tradition is probably going to look at lights as well. I didn't get to do it last year because it snowed a foot in one evening which happened to be Christmas Eve, and since we don't have 4wd and Rexburg doesn't blow, we opted to stay in. I'm planning on it this year though. Justin's family also had their big meal on Christmas Eve, so we've started doing that as well. And this year we're going to start a new tradition of making cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

Petersen Plans for Christmas and New Year's Eve

As per Jill's request, here is the lineup for the Petersens this holiday season. We are planning to stay home for both this year, given our status with a newly potty-trained toddler and a nursing baby and a mom with a broken tailbone who can't take much chaos these days. We are looking forward to our first Christmas in this home, since we were gallavanting around Utah last year. I imagine we'll ring in the new year as well from our comfortable abode. In between the two, we are planning a trip somewhere around California, probably up north a little ways to Mount Shasta to play in the snow for a few days. Kade's not a big fan of snow. Having grown up in the Cascades of Washington State, he's shoveled far too much snow for a lifetime (they used to jump off the roof into 10-ft. snowdrifts, or so the story goes). Having said that, we still like to ensure our California honeys remember both our roots and not wonder what that foreign white powder is about.
As for traditions, we've managed to do a lot of combining my and Kade's family traditions, and keep coming up with new ones. One of my all-time favorites is going around to see the Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. And, since Christmas eve was such a big deal with Kade's family growing up, we like to have our main Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, which makes Christmas Day a more pleasant, relaxing one.
Merry Christmas, all!

Hello

Hi everyone, I finally get to have the computer to myself. I usually come home from work, and then have to fight Amber and Shane for the computer. Shane is uptown with the Starks' for the Christmas Stroll and so was Amber. She just got home and is hungry, so I get to write while she eats.

I am loving my new job. It has gotten very busy, however, and I am having trouble keeping up. I did get to go to Phoenix for a distance learning conference, and I got to see the Barrett's and Toni. That was a lot of fun to see them. Ann graciously drove me back and forth, so I got to stay with them. I got to fly over the Grand Canyon and that was something like I have never seen before. I enjoyed the different scenery that Arizona has to offer.

Amber cleaned and decorated our front room last weekend, so it is feeling more like the holidays, although we have very little snow. Thanksgiving was very quiet. Amber remarked how strange it was not to have little people running around and how weird it was not to have a whole bunch of adults talking to each other. It was really warm out, so I cleaned out in the yard. How weird is that for November?

Jordan is enjoying college out at the COT. He certified in the 1st level of welding. He is doing well with school, and he is still working hard at Burger King.

I don't need to update you on Amber since she does a better job of communicating than I do.

Shane is still homeschooling, and we are doing a little better with that. He just had two ears infected, also. I had to take him to the doctor last Sunday.

I have spoken to Logan recently - he was trying to make that old fashioned fudge I used to make - the kind that you either ate with a spoon or chiseled with hammer.

John was up a couple of weeks ago to see the kids.

Well, I'll close for now. I love you all!

Hello from the desert.

After a long hiatus, we are back. I am forever and always behind. But we are doing well. Dan only has about three weeks of the semester left and then he'll work on his doctoral paper over Christmas break. That will bring us to just one semester of classes left (it also includes a comprehensive exams, a language proficiency exam in Italian, a recital, his doctoral paper). We are currently applying for teaching jobs all across the country. We have applied for seven so far and have four more to apply for, so hopefully something will turn up. Unfortunately, they are all in the nethermost parts of the country. We'll let you know how it goes. The boys are growing up so fast. Cole celebrated his 3rd birthday Nov. 16. Thanks to all for their birthday wishes and gifts. They were gratefully received. Andrew is four months old now and so much fun. The boys have been sick this last week with terrible colds and Andrew with an ear infection. He was pretty sick, but he is on antibiotics now and doing much better. But I fear that I am now on the downhill slope to sick city. (All those sleepless nights and days taking care of sick kids.) Anyway, that is us in a nutshell. My connection really isn't working right now, so I will forgo adding pictures. Check out our blog for more up to date info: www.littlepickles.com

Yep, it's me!

Never thought you'd see me on one of these, did you?

I'm a Lucky Aunt

I just wanted to say how thankful I am to be an aunt! Sisters, thanks for bringing these adorable children into the world so I can be their aunt. I really do have the cutest nieces & nephews in the whole world--okay, so maybe I'm a LITTLE biased!

My Trip to Bozeman

On Saturday, yesterday, I got to go to Bozeman to have Christopher Paolini sign my copy of Brisinger. YAY for me! Anyway here's some pictures.

A Day with the Ostlers

So a couple weeks ago, probably a month ago to be more accurate, we went to Mary's to spend teh afternoon. We had such a good time palying with the kids. Ainsley kept us in stitches while Emma and Ethan gave us a good show with their dancing.

Hey everyone, Just thought I would say hi. things around here. I have been really sick. I had the stomach flu first, then strep, then a sinus infection, then a locked joint, and now I have psorias really bad. I have big red, flaky, itchy sores all over my body. And of course, since I am crazy and don't like to take meds.(I like to do natural) I am suffering. If this is not the end of the yuck I am going to be committed to the hospital. Other than that life is great.


Congratulations jill and Justin on your cute baby girl. I can't wait to see her. I am so glad my sisters are still having babies so I can participate and not have to be pregnant myself. Nothing wrong with being pregnant, I just don't want to be.

Our family is doing well. Austin still has a job. Thank heavens. And the kiddos are still growing like crazy. I can't believe Emily is 3 1/2 already. It seems impossible. Abbi lost 4 teeth all at once and they are finally growing back. Spencer is keeping super busy with 4th grade. Holy Cow! That is a very busy grade level.

Since I have been so sick lately I think we are going to stay home for Thanksgiving. Austin has the day after off, so we might go visit Jill and the new baby. I am dying to play with a baby. Too bad Ann is so far away!!! We miss Cole so much!!!

I hope everyone is well and happy. I am going to try to keep up with this better but no promises. Love you all, Jane

Autumn Days....hee hee

Awesome Sunrise from This Week

I love my new last name because you can play with it so much...anyways....

October flew past us in a blur. I can't believe it's November already.

The eventful things for us in October included childbirth classes, being worried over our car, getting a new camera, a surprise visit from Toni, and Halloween.

Halloween was fun since we had friends over for games and treats. I think I am still recovering from the sugar highs and lows of the weekend.

Petersens in the Fall

October went way too fast for us. I can't believe Halloween has come and gone already. Nothing too exciting to speak off this month--another month of campaigning for Proposition 8, school, extracurricular activities, etc. We potty-trained Maryn at the beginning of the month which seems to be going well--unless she's outside. She loves to be outside in the backyard and it's too much of a distraction. Joshua started solids at the beginning of the month. He's a little wiggle worm and is constantly in action. You can't live in the pumpkin capital of the world without visiting a real pumpkin patch which we did, and just this past week, we visited Yosemite, first time in the fall for us. Happy Fall, y'all!

WASHINGTON D.C.

Well, I'm going to Washington D.C. in April, over Spring Break. :) I'm terrified, yet I'm uber excited!!!!!!!!! I'll most likely get to go to the Smithsonian and the National Mall. Cool huh? Well, right now I have a sinus infection (again!) and probably the flu. :( grrr. arg! Chubs says hi!

HAHAHAHAHA

lol...FEEN-AY!!!!!!! "Watch Plays With Squirrels" on youtube.com :)

Too Early to Think of Christmas?

With our weekend of snow showers, I've been thinking a lot about Christmas. I've already done most of my Christmas shopping. I'm not an over achiever, I promise...I just don't have much money so i have to start early and keep my eyes out for bargains and deals and then I stow the presents away for Christmas. Anyway, I got to wondering about who has who for Christmas this year. I don't know who usually does the drawing of names or whatever, but maybe I missed out on it if they already made the assignments. Does anyone know who I have for Christmas? or have I jumped the gun with my early Christmas enthusiasm and it hasn't been decided yet?

Hello from Amber

Hey, peoples! School is driving me nuts. I think I should get more than a diploma for going to Butte High. Anyway, Mom is making me an apple pie right now! YAY FOR MY SIDE!!!!!!! I think I need to lay off the sugar. :) NEVER! Anyway, it's been really cold here (snowed all day today and yesterday) and my friend Josh and I were eating lunch outside (I'm crazy, I know), so my hands were dreadfully cold. I told my buddy that I had been playing in the morgue, and he thought I was serious! Honestly, it took him a minute to realize that I was joking. Almost as good as Toni's "Air flow or strip show" story. Aren't all our family sayings just wonderful? I love them.
Anyhoo, I look like a faery princess right now because of the awesome sparkly eyeshadow I'm wearing. :)
ps I hate people in general. Is that a bad thing?

Life in the Hills...

Alexus is absolutely loving school and making all of the friends she is making. She was invited to her first birthday party for this coming Friday and it is becoming quite the event for her. She is still taking riding lessons and is even starting to trot on her own! Its amazing to watch this little child wield such a large animal to do what she wants. Tyse is growing and smiling like a little man should. He has a great smile and laugh which helps him out when his little temper decides to flare up which is happening more and more lately, much to my dismay. We are also in the process of moving into our house! The septic still has to be connected as does the power and we don't have any water or propane yet, but it is coming along and we are very excited!

How about "As the world turns in California..."

I can't even remember what happened in September:) We celebrated Kade's 35th birthday. For some reason, that sounds old. Caleb earned his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts. We've been very active in the grass roots effort to get Prop 8 to protect traditional marriage passed here in CA. Haleigh started playing the clarinet in band at school. Elise exited from the speech program. We've begun potty-training Maryn and Joshua started solid foods. I think that's it in a nutshell, with not much time to devote to the computer.

The Days of Your Lives

Like the title? I'm so funny. Anyway, Just thought I'd give an update on our lives. Justin is loving school and work this semester. He's in a lot of his major classes and loving every minute of them. His job pretty much is doing what he's majoring in so he likes it a lot. Right now he's training to be able to certify others in CPR.

I'm doing the same kind of things I've been doing all summer. I work on my little sewing projects, cook, clean, and do some bed resting. A few new things I've done this week include harvesting apples and plums from the trees in the yard of our apartment complex, making apple pies, going to Yellowstone, and attending the RS broadcast. I've also been planning a big Halloween party. If anyone has any great ideas for me to use at my prty as far as decorations, food, or games, you should let me know. I'm thinking of freezing some of the plums we picked and peeling them to look like eyeballs since they're about that size.

My stomach is getting bigger and bigger, and just when I think I can't get any bigger, my wasteline expands a little more. I'm getting more excited and more impatient for baby to come.

Happy Belateds!

Just a happy belated birthday to Denise yesterday, and happy belated anniversary to Don and Mary on the 20th. I hope you all celebrated in grand style and know I was thinking of you on your special days--just sat around feeling guilty I didn't get your cards in the mail. Anyway, happy belatedness from your California sister!

Some Thoughts on Potatoes

a small round flat potato we got out of our potato box

I discovered today how much growing up a certain way affects us the rest of our lives. I don't know how many of you remeber the potato box in the washroom, but I was thinking about it today when I was peeling potatoes for Justin's lunch, and I had to laugh to myself because I have my own potato box. I keep it under the bottom shelf in my kitchen where the sunlight can't get to it, but I can and there's planty of ventilation so they don't rot.
When Justin is helping me with dinner sometimes I tell him to go get three or four big potatoes out of the box. It's so funny to me because I remember helping mom with dinner or lunch when I was little, and mom telling me to go get six or seven potatoes out of the box.
I also remember peeling lots of potatoes growing up. I wasn't very quick at it when I was younger, but boy am I quick now. I think it helps that I have a very, heavy duty peeler, but all the same after years of practice when I was little I must be pretty good at it.
The first few months after we got married, Justin was pretty amazed at how many potatoes we ate. Pretty much most of meals I knew how to cook included potatoes of some variety and so we had them nearly every day. That and they are so stinking cheap especially here in Potato Country. It's like reverting back to childhood when we had meat and potatoes for every meal. Whether it was venison stakes with mashed potatoes or pasties or stew...potatoes pretty much made up half of every meal.
Luckily for Justin, even though I don't think he ever really minded because he never said anything about it, I have branched out my meal plans, and quite often we have Mexican and Italian dishes. Some of my favorite things I have learned to make since being married include baked burritos, chicken enchiladas, fettucini with alfredo sauce (from scratch), and lasagna.
All in all though, I don't think I'll ever depart from being a meat and potatoes kind of girl. My favorite Applebees order will probably always be steak and french fries or mashed potatoes.

Surviving Butte High

Hey, peeps! I'm currently a sophomore at Butte High, and I'm going nuts. :D I just turned 16 on the 6th of September, and, happily, completed my Young Womanhood Recognition stuff a week or so before my birthday. :) (which happened to be my goal.) I'm writing a new novel on top of school, seminary, and teaching myself Italian. I'm pretty busy, but I at least enjoy Italian and writing. I have no job or opportunities for one because our family has no connections, so I'll hang out, bumming off mom and doing whatever odd babysitting jobs I can get. I've got to go to bed. (Seminary comes very early.)
Ciao,
Amber

The Three Stevens

Hi All

I've finally joined the blogging era and am figuring it all out! We now have our own family one too - Wohoo! As for an update, although slightly belated, we are doing pretty well. Alexus is enjoying school more and more, but the early mornings aren't always that fun for her. She is learning to swim in school and loves checking out books from the library. She loves playing school now, too. Lex is also learning taking horse riding lessons and is enjoying it! Tyse is doing great, although pretty sick right now. He has that killer smile that tends to keep him out of too much trouble, but he is finally talking in sentences and so the next hurdle is potty training. I'm not looking forward to that too much, but he has the idea down its just getting him to go in the potty instead of outside all the time. As for me its pretty much work, kids and riding. My aunt and I are trying to put some miles on our horses and its been great. I've been taking some senior portraits, doing some graphics work and still working at the stock yards so its been fun. All in all we're doing great!

Adamsons

The Adamson family is still putting along. We are still trying to get over our loss of Oreo. And now since Oreo got killed Silver seems to have run away. We haven't seen her for a few days. And we were doing so good. We had those bunnies for 1and 1/2 years. It is hard to see their empty hutch. Abbi is about to turn 7 and I am trying to talk myself into potty training Emily, since she is 3 and not getting any younger. Other than that nothing much is going on. We would like to know what all of you are doing for the holidays. We are not sure what we are doing,but we would like to see some family. Let us know.

Ostler's

Life is busy right now and stressful, but all is well. Emma is having a pretty stressful transition with school and we are trying to figure things out. Ethan's shoulder is better and he no longer has to wear his brace. He still has to be careful for another 6 weeks. I was changed from 1st to 2nd counselor in YW which has actually complicated life. Ainsley and I haven't felt good so today we had a movie marathon while Don did a football game in Leadore (2 hours away). We watched Mulan II and Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium. Next Saturday Don and I will celebrate our 11th anniversary. Man are we getting old.

Belated Update

Sorry I have been so late in posting something. Our lives have been pretty uneventful until the last week so you really haven't missed out on much.
Well, two weeks ago, Justin finished up summer school, and we headed to the mountains for some rest and relaxation. I posted on my own blog all about that so if you want to read about our dead moose find and Warm river adventure, you'll have to go there to find out about it. It was a wonderful weekend for camping and did the trick for us. Then we spent a few days getting ready for our trip to California.
We drove down to Jane's late Tuesday night (I ended up having to get a new drivers' lisence so we got behind schedule), and then we flew out to Sacramento early Wednesday morning. We got to see all of Justin's immediate family (his mom, dad, brother, and his sister's family), and a good chunk of his extended family. We also got to spend time with April and her family which was so great.
Everyday we were in a new location in California so it was an interesting trip. Wednesday we spent in Sacramento and Vacaville, Thursday we spent in Concord and San Fransisco, Friday we spent in Manteca with April, and Saturday we spent in Berkley.
It was so good to spend time with April and the kids even if it was only for a few short hours. Joshua is so adorable, and I can't believe how big the rest of her kids have gotten. They are such good kids, and so different from each other in personality. We wished we could have spent the night at least, but with so much family in one area but different locations, we were pretty stretched for time in any one location.
For those of you who have never visited Berkley California, you're in for an interesting adventure if you ever do. I saw a man walking down a street in nothing but his underwear, and let's just say they weren't boxers. I also have never seen so many Obama signs, peace signs, and women's lib signs in my life. And talk about the pedestrians and bikers. They were all over the place. The streets are all super narrow and windy. It's like uptown Butte times three. I couldn't believe some of those streets.
we flew back in very very late Sunday night and stayed at Jane's one more time. A tragedy struck while I was eating my breakfast. I watched Jane's pet rabbit, oreo, get malled by a cat. It happened so fast while I was looking out the window that I didn't have time to do anything, that and I didn't even know that it was Jane's rabbit. Jane has declared war on the stray cats in her neighborhood, and I don't blame her.
We ended our trip with a stop at the Army surplus store outside of Idaho Falls. Justin thought he had died and gone to heaven. I really liked the store too. I do believe that whoever I get for Christmas this year will be receiving a present from the Army Surplus store.
All in all it was a whirlwind of a trip, and though it was good to go somewhere different for a change, I was never so glad to get back to my little home. My feet had swelled up to gigantic proportions, and I was starting to think that they would never go down, but with my return to rural, quiet, cold rexburg, my feet are back to normal.
Sorry i have no pictures of our trip. We don't have a camera, but hope to be purchasing one soon. Let us know of any recommendations you have.

Your mother does exist

Hi everyone!

I am alive and still on planet Earth. I was looking at this remarkable website and realized how proud I am of all of you. I am the luckiest Mom ever. I love all of you so much. It is wonderful to see all the pictures.

I wanted you all to know that I have been hired full time at Montana Tech as Distance Learning Coordinator. It will be a welcome change and adjustment. I have really enjoyed my work at Rocky Mountain Clinic, and I will still be working an hour here and there for them. They said I could work from home.

My job at Tech is partly grant money, so if we do not produce - no job next year. Needless to say I will be working very hard.

I couldn't even begin to tell of all the events going on. I have a pie crisp in the oven and a line up of bread things I'm baking. So I will say bye for now and hopefully, I can fill you in on life later.

I love all of you.

TROUT CREEK

Okay, okay, after numerous requests posted on the blog for details on the Trout Creek trip, I have finally decided to humor you. Okay, the truth is that I've been crazy busy and haven't even had time to look at the Chick Chat website for weeks. I do have a few minutes right now, so I thought I would write a bit.
Well, as you all know (or at least most of you), some of us went to Trout Creek for a few days during August. That "some of us" consisted of John, Jordan, Brandon (Jordan's friend), Alexus, Tyse, Mom, Amber, Shane, & I. We camped at Bull River, which is a few miles north of Noxon. I believe it was my third time camping at Bull River, and personally, I like it quite a bit better than North Shore--the campsites are larger and more spread out. It isn't nearly as crowded as North Shore. I like the swimming area better, and there is even a little trail back along the river where it is incredibly quiet & peaceful. Hooray for Bull River!


Anyway, we just did the usual Trout Creek events - swimming, looking for deer, etc. It was beasty hot (upper 90s and low 100s), so we (Amber, Shane, & I) were in the water quite a bit. John, Jordan, & Brandon fished the entire time, so we didn't see much of them.
Amber and I visited the Ross Creek Cedars one of the days. Ann, you will be happy to learn that they fixed the road after the avalanche wiped it out the last time we were there. I simply love the Ross Creek Cedars. That place is somewhat magical, I think. It is peaceful, quiet, and the lighting inside the forest is simply remarkable. And talk about the water! The creek is the most crystal-clear water you will ever find in the world. And it is fresh-off-the-glacier cold to boot--just one step above frozen. They just don't make water like that very often!

Amber & I also did some deer watching. We saw 109 deer the first night, and even some wild turkeys. A turkey hopped out of the tall brush in front of us. We stopped the car to watch it, and a few seconds later, one by one, little turkey babies started popping out of the brush to follow their mama. They crossed the road in front of the car and walked off into a farmer's yard. They were so cute!

We also popped over the Idaho border (only about 10 miles away) and went to the Cabinet Gorge Dam. It was pretty impressive. And the water was an incredible greenish color. Talk about photo-op.

On our way home from camping, Amber & I took the time to stop at the National Bison Range. Our best views of the bison were actually from OUTSIDE the bison range since the animals were by the fence along the highway. Bison are pretty interesting critters, you know? They make a low grunting sound - sort of like a pig. I like bison.

Well, that's about the extent of our trip. We did have a few unpleasant moments, but that is to be expected with any family outing I suppose. Let's just say that I have DEFINITELY ruled out camping as part of the upcoming family reunion (hey, remember we're having a family reunion?). It's hard enough for all of us to get along under the best circumstances, let alone put us out in the woods without hot showers, indoor plumbing, and comfy beds to sleep in, and we're asking for disaster. Anyway, I had a fabulous time at Trout Creek. I'm even thinking about taking a job at the Naughty Pine Saloon so I can live out there. : )

The Monsooned Barretts

Things are going well in Arizona. We are all alive and out of jail as Mom would say. Andrew is getting bigger. He is now seven weeks old. He had his one month checkup on Wednesday (Sept. 3). He weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds, 14 ounces and 23 inches long. He is growing like a weed. Much to my dismay, we learned at his doctor visit that he has a milk allergy. So I get to cut out of my diet anything made with milk or soy. That pretty much wipes out my entire diet. I'm trying to look at it as a great weight loss program (if I don't die first). Also, just as an FYI since I know know one will be able to make it to this far away desert land, we are going to bless Andrew this Sunday, Sept. 7. It should be interesting with the circle just including Dan and the bishop, maybe his counselors will join in. Anyway, I need to go in search of a blessing outfit for him.

Cole is getting bigger every day. My little pickle is growing up too fast. It's kind of sad in a way. I don't want my little ones to grown up and ever leave. But I guess it is inevitable. Cole also received his first shaving of his hair. That's right all of his beautiful locks are gone. It is just way too hot for him with all that hair. I shed some tears and now we are trying to move on with our lives. Cole is still all about ball. We've added new sports to the mix since our good old Olympic days. Volleyball is a new favorite these days. Dan started back to school on August 25 and I'm not excited about that. But hey, this is our second to last semester so we'll make it. I'm just cruising along, feeding Andrew all day long, getting ready for some cooler weather.

Speaking of weather, we enjoyed a monsoon on Thursday evening. It was rather unnerving to tell the truth. Our neighborhood was hit hard. There were 75-80 mile per hour winds with gusts up to 100 miles per hour. We lost at least 12 huge trees along our street with many more losing large branches. Our street was closed down because there were several giant trees fallen across the road. We lost our power for about four hours. So I was changing diapers by candlelight. Fortunately, we didn't experience any damage except for losing our beloved trees outside our apartment. Anyway, it was rather crazy, but we survived. Other than that, things are really pretty uneventful. Hope everyone has a great week.

Petersen Update

Okay I decided to play the game I play with my visiting teaching supervisor each month. I always try to call her to report my visiting teaching before she has to call me. Unfortunately some months she cheats and calls early because she's going out of town. How does this relate to Chick Chat, you might ask?! Well, I was desperately trying to beat Jill before she sent out "the e-mail" encouraging us to do our Stevensly duty and update our lives.

So, here goes. Kade finished counseling for summer school August 7, HCE started back to school on August 11, we celebrate our 13th anniversary August 18, and Kade started work August 25. We did manage to squeeze in some fun family activities amidst all the schoolness in our lives. We toured the Jelly Belly factory and ate a year's supply of jelly bellies in one weekend, swam a bunch at "Uncle Mike's," camped in the backyard, played at one of our favorite mountain lakes, and went grocery shopping as a family of seven twice, and 24-7 Olympics and sleepless nights. I also attempted a couple of wild outings with my five by myself. We had a nice break from year-round karate (actually tae kwan doe), skipped ballet pretty much the whole month, enjoyed a full month of cub scouts for Caleb (what an awesome program for little boys!--I can see that, now that I'm the mom of one--I didn't have a clue the few short months I was a leader when Caleb was 6 months old) and Activity Days for Haleigh, Elise, Maryn and Joshua (I'm the leader), and some more landscaping of the side yard (our secret garden).

I think that covers it. If you want more details you can visit my blog at http://www.kapandcompany.blogspot.com/. I look forward to reading all your updates too. And, by the way, I'm still waiting to hear the details of the Trout Creek trip. Ann alluded to the fact in her comment, I noticed, that she heard some of the scoop.

Happy 11th Anniversary, Jane and Austin!

As I was shopping today for our friend's son's wedding gift, I was thinking, hey, this date is familiar. It's Jane's anniversary. I remember being gone all weekend for your wedding festivities and coming back to work the following Monday morning. The headlines splashed across the newspapers were the news of Princess Diana's death. Hope you two have a great day!

The Stevens Boys

I stole these pictures from Shannon's facebook account so you could all see (hope you don't mind Shannon)

Trout Creek

So I am waiting for the Trout Creek goers to update us on their trip...I'd like a few photos too. I hear that there is a picture of a turkey and her babies along with some other great shots....

Happy Anniversary, Ann & Dan and Matt & Shannon!

I meant to do this earlier, but we haven't been home much and I've been battling Kade for the desktop these days. I just wanted to wish you guys happy anniversaries and more wedded bliss moments in the years to come.

Love those games.

I have to say that we are thoroughly enjoying the Olympics. At a time when sleep is already a much needed necessity, I get even less now because I have to stay up and watch every night. I guess you pay for what you value. I have decided, however, that I am going to have to start screening what events we watch. Cole was trying to do some dives in the bathtub the other night. I was okay with his gymnastics on the bed, but diving in the bathtub is not the best idea. So watch out for those young and impressionable ones that watch the Olympics. Who knows, maybe I have a future Olympian on my hands.

My kiddos

Thankful Thursday

So I saw that my friend Veronica does a post every thursday on what she is thankful for, and I thought that was a great idea. Sooooooo.....

Today I am thankful for scripture study, a wonderful husband, and wind. Some of you might be surprised by the last item if you know me well enough. I usually (almost without an exception) HATE wind. However, today was very warm and in my present condition, I get hotter than usual, and I just over heat like crazy. However; when it is windy, the heat is so much more bearable.

Olympics

I'm sure everyone is aware that the Olympics begin on Friday with Opening Ceremonies. I was happy to see that April had a countdown clock on her blog (although, I didn't expect anything less from her). I hope everyone has at least the basic stations so you can enjoy some good Olympic fun . Anyway, I just thought I would take this chance to share my Olympic enthusiasm with you. Enjoy!

Hello

hey peeps!! I'm in Arizona right now visiting the pickles family. The newest addition is adorable. I love him completely.

Bryce Canyon Adventure

Hello All!



So, after living in Utah for 7 years, I finally made it to Bryce Canyon National Park this past weekend. My friend Gracelyn, her daughter Joyce, Joyce's friend Jenna, and I went to Bryce Canyon on Friday.
We set up our campsite and then we hiked the "Navajo Trail" in the park. It was pretty incredible (despite giving myself heat exhaustion). We had a great time. I definitely prefer greenery & rivers, but the red rock formations were absolutely breathtaking nonetheless. Hooray for my side! - Toni-

One Year

I thought I'd take this opportunity to share the commemoration of the one year anniversary of our moving to Arizona. I can't believe that we've been here a year. In some ways it seems like we've been here for a long time. But I can't believe we've been here a year. Time does fly. We came to Arizona with one toddler. One year later, Cole is almost a preschooler and we have a newborn. It's amazing what a year brings. Anyway, just thought I'd share this reminiscent moment with you.

Nicknames

When Kade, his siblings, and cousins were growing up, his maternal grandmother gave them each nicknames, that everyone remembers and still talks about today. Anyway, Kade's mother wants to continue the tradition and so lately, the family has been bouncing around nicknames for all my MIL's grandchildren, and even her children-in-law. That got me thinking about us growing up. I know Mom and Dad weren't in to nicknames, (at least for me, I should say,) but Grandma always called me Brownie. Did any of you have nicknames from our parents or grandparents while growing up? Just curious and trying to fill in large gaps in my gray matter.

Authorship

I'm so glad April figured the authorship thing out. That was going to be my task for today, but now it's all done for me.
So this summer I've been learning new things since I haven't been working or going to school. I learned how to sew. I made one skirt now in the possession of Amber, curtains for my kitchen, and now I'm slowly but surely working on a dress. My next sewing project will be to make a little girl's dress for my baby.
I also have been learning how to blog hence our family blog. And I have been working on family history. This includes family indexing online, teaching Justin how to use PAF, and also getting my own cleaned up and more workable.
Another thing that I have been up to is learning to crochet. So far my efforts have been to watch several you tube vidoes on how to do it. Maybe later today, I will be adventurous and venture to DI where I noticed some yarn and crochet hooks.
If you can think of any other handy skills I should learn feel free to email me with them as I like to feel productive, and I like to prevent myself from getting sucked into spider solitaire.

We're still here.

Disclaimer: Okay, so not to appear the slug of the family, I have to say that we are currently without the internet. We are working to get a working connection, but cannot promise anything, much to my annoyance. But alas, you do what you can. So if I am slow in responding, that is why. That is also why I have not sent photos of little Andrew yet. But Dan was able to do a little updating of our blog today at school so be sure and check it out.

Update: We really had a pretty uneventful Fourth of July. Our ward had a patriotic program and breakfast and that was nice. I was SORELY disappointed that there were no parades anywhere to be had. I even looked online for a parade to watch. I thought, "I don't want to live anywhere that doesn't have a parade for the Fourth." I mean, what kind of patriotic place is this? Anyway, since we didn't have a parade to watch, we went swimming instead. We decided to invite some friends from the ward over for a BBQ since they don't have any family here and we don't have any family here and neither of us had plans. So we had a BBQ and watched fireworks together. They have a little girl Cole's age so they had fun.

As for the rest of our month, I decided to go ahead and have my baby. Actually, he took us by surprise and came three weeks early. My kids tend to do things on their own time table. I was a bit stressed because Amber wasn't going to be here for another four days and I didn't have anyone to watch Cole. But after a lot of stressing and worrying and phone calls and generous friends, we were able to find care for Cole for the day. We love having Andrew in our family. He already adds a lot to our little unit. He is very snuggly and cute. Andrew is healthy and I am happy to report that he passed his newborn hearing screening and that we are not experiencing major eating issues like we did with Cole. All in all, we love are little Andrew and Cole and consider ourselves very fortunate to be their parents.



Favorite game: Like Toni, I don't know that I could narrow it down to one game. Black car, Olympics, oh so many memories. I did enjoy playing deer. That was a great game. And what about buffalo jump? Ah, the good old days.

Just experimenting

I'm just trying a feature out from one of my photo management programs, something I hadn't noticed before but Haleigh brought my attention to it this morning. Bear with me, please! Oh, by the way, the obvious subject matter in this photo is Caleb's baptism last month.