December 2014

Ever since Camille was an infant and had RSV she wheezes when she gets a bad cold.  By now she's an old pro at the nebulizer.  Unfortunately, Cecil is a wheezer too.  Good thing big sister can help him feel better about having to use the breathing machine. Same big ol' brown eyes and same wheezy lungs.
 

 

I really love all the festive, fun, and spiritual activities there are to do around this time of the year.  I took the kids to Burnet again this year for "A Walk Through Bethlehem".  Although super crowded, it is so amazing.  A church puts it on a couple weekends in December and basically acts as though its the time of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.  There is candle making, weaving, soilders, a tavern, etc. etc.  At the very end, you follow a star and see the baby Jesus.  It's so cool and isn't lost on the girls.

 

 

This is how Cecil feels about three hour church.  I can't say I feel much better than him.

 

 

I was surprised to get all four of them in a picture with Santa at the ward party.  I can't imagine this happening every year.

 

 

The YMCA puts on a great Christmas party the Saturday before Christmas.  This is on the horse-drawn sleigh pulled by Clydesdale's.  It was really cool.

 

My two favorites Sunday's every year is Easter and Christmas. This year, the boys were under the weather, so me and the girls got prettied up and went alone.

 

 

It was a really special Christmas this year.  We traveled to Arizona to spend it at the Cabin with the Taylor's.  Here's all the cousins with Grandma Nettie and Papa.  I really miss being near all these people. The cabin is so special and I wish my children could have more experiences there.

 

On Christmas Eve we had a small nativity play, sang a few songs and enjoyed the company.

 

 

It was super cold outside and only flurried a little, but it didn't stop anyone from hiking around, playing on the rope swing,

 

or spending a lot of time in my favorite spot, the porch swing.

 

The day after Christmas we all hurried off the mountain to ready for Jillian's baptism that was to be held that weekend.  I really can't believe that she's at this point.  I feel so grateful to have been surrounded by the Taylor family and some Peterson's too. It was such a wonderful day.  She got baptized in a dress from our wonderful friends the Rattray's.  Their daughter Allie took her first communion in this dress.  I just really love it.

 

 

Here's the crowd that came.  The energy and spirit was so wonderful.  Jillian's dress after the water was my baptism dress from when I was 8.  I love seeing her in it and she really really loves it, especially the "poofy sleeves", which makes me smile.  I was trying to alter the dress and give it cap sleeves and no collar but she just really loved it as is, so I left it.  I'm happy I did.

 

I had everyone write a thought or testimony on index cards for Jillian to come back to and read throughout her life. They were all so wonderful and Jillian really treasures them. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful families.

 

Speaking of hand-me-downs, here's an outfit that Jeanette made for a 3 year old Jeffrey.  Now it fits my little Coco.  Isn't it so adorable?

 

One of the day's before we left, we hiked the 'Hole in the Mountain' in Phoenix.  It's a simple and short walk to the top, but has great views.  I don't really miss living in Arizona.  I just really miss the people there.

 

There's a pretty cool view of the city through the hole.

 

The day before New Years Eve we departed AZ and headed to Sonora TX to ring in the new year with some of Jeff's friends.  A huge snow/ice storm decided to follow us and the trip was treacherous and actually pretty scary.  When we made it to the ranch house all was froze over, even the animals.  We had a cold, but fun New Year's.  

 

March 2013

March was busy, busy, busy. We have made some great friends in Round Rock. A few of us love to try out new restaurants. This night we went to a place that served us Rattlesnake. It actually wasn't too bad.

Me and the kids hit up the Austin's Children's Museum one Saturday that Jeff was working.

I worked a little on my inverted yoga poses. I really would like to take Yoga more regularly but every time I'm at the gym I opt for a cardio class.

For Spring Break we made the long trek back to AZ to visit family. We made a pit-stop at Jeff's friends ranch in Ozona, Texas. It's a working goat ranch. We all had a great time, riding the range in a four-wheeler, and feeding all the goats.

Once we finally made it to AZ our week was filled with hanging out with the cousins.

 

My old Zumba class had a "reunion' night. It was so much fun to dance with this group again.

The Cranes had a little get together at the Comptons house.

Wyatt and Coco got to know each other finally.

We visited the Gilbert temple.

I had some good quality sister time.

These girls were inseparable.

The three Jeff's united.

We don't miss much about AZ, but we sure do miss these peeps a whole bunch.

On the drive home, while stopping for gas, we ran into some familiar faces. They were traveling to a Taylor reunion/camp trip in TX. We ended up caravan the rest of the way.

(side note: Here's one of the bluebirds I've been feeding. And here's the pesky squirrel I've been feeding)

The same week we got home from AZ my dad had a work trip to San Antonio so we got a visit from my parents. It's always so nice to have them here. We visited the park downtown and rode the train.

We also visited a cave that's really close to our home. It was unbelievable.

Easter was low-key and perfect. We attended a few eggs hunts, went to church, and then had a large dinner with some friends.

With all the activities we found time to squeeze in a trip to the Austin Zoo/Rescue. We all actually loved it, despite it's poor reviews.

June 2012

Jeff turned 32 in June. We decided to take and family hike and explore our new surroundings.

We went a bit further than anticipated and the landscape was extra dry because of last years drought.

The girls had fun especially when we decided to take a dip in the lake in our unders.

Coco has met a few of the girls toys.  They were less than affectionate with him.

Sadly Camille got a glue fly trap stuck in her hair and had to get a hair cut.  This is my chop just to get the matte out.  We went the next day to a professional.

In May, Jillian asked to try riding a bike without training wheels.  By June she was completely confident.

I got to fly to AZ and be with the Peterson siblings for a day because Grandpa Pete died. It was wonderful to see the family, especially when were weren't all on our phones.

Coco met some new cousins.

The chapel was full of family and friends of one of the best men I knew.  They all shared stories of my Grandpa. "Sure do love and appreciate you", is a phrase he said each time I saw him.  Although I heard it often, the feeling of love and sincerity was never lost. Here we are at the grave site:

He was buried in St. John's at the same grounds as his father and his father's father.  I learned some wonderful history about my paternal roots.

This is my Great-grandpa Brigham Young Peterson and his wife Stella Jarvis.

This is my Great-great-grandfather Marcor Hanson and his wife Anna.  Marcor came to America on a boat with his brothers. They all kept their fathers first name for their last as was the tradition in Denmark. Marcor chose to use Hanson (father was Han) as a middle name and use his father's last name as his own (which was the American way). He also chose to change it from Petersen to Peterson to sound more American.  Thus making him the first Peterson on America. 

He went to SLC and started his family.  He was called by B.Y. to take his family and settle AZ.  

This plaque is at the edge of the cemetery and tells the story of the settlement. It over looks the valley where the first Peterson hut was.

I loved to hear all the stories from my father of his childhood as he toured his hometown.  We even knocked on his childhood home and got to walk through. 

It was wonderful to see my family even under sad circumstances.

RIP grandpa.

(self-portrait images found on Jeff's ipad)