The Petersen's

my valentine.

2012-02-14T05:25:00.000-07:00

thanks for being mine!

lately...

2012-02-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

when we planned a trip to disney world with 2-year-old, i assumed her enthusiasm level would be somewhat mediocre (i mean, she's 2). alas, over recent weeks she has turned into a total maniac. everything she does (/we do) has something to do with "dis-ee woll-d." clothes, toys, dreams, food. she is elated. we have a paper chain counting down the days, and each morning she wakes up and screams, "I RIP OFF A LINK!"
counting.down.the.days.

above: elle in my old swimsuit- and yes, it is 30 degrees outside;

"elle, what are you writing?" "this say, 'elle pee-a-sin!' and... this say 'mommy!' see?" smart cookie;

this is our first trip w/ elle longer than 4 days... and i have no idea how to prepare! as noted previously, we always bring our own food. this time, i think the food weighs more than elle. i may need to scale back? i may have gotten a little carried away;

piles & piles & piles. packing is so confusing. i'm waaay to compulsive to pack the day-of, so i've started piles. piles & piles & piles...;

elle is obsessed w/ nails. she noticed the moment i walked in her room following a nap: "mommy!? nails red!? it's new!" she just held my hands between hers, "oh, mommy! i love it!" i tried that shellac/gelac nail polish? it's supposed to last 2 weeks. fingers. crossed. (no pun intended.)
counting.down.the.days. (did i already say that?)

...or not.

2012-02-09T18:22:00.001-07:00

remember my last post?

right.

this is how she normally reacts when a camera is nearby:)
(and yes, she is wearing a swimsuit. in february.)

"mom, take my pit-chur!"

2012-02-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

...that's a phrase i don't hear too often.

i mean, it didn't last long. about 30 seconds. just long enough for her to realize i'd snapped her desired picture of those sparkley nails (she requests a new color every-other day).

i adore having a little girl!

guess what?

it's fuh-reezing cold outside.

elle still insists on wearing summer dresses. and no jacket. :)

her sweet little skin is so fair & dry in this chilly winter weather!

warm weather can't come soon enough...

her white skin & pink lips melt my heart.

her white hair is getting darker (i blame the lack of sun?), and that kind of breaks my heart.

it's so straggly and slow-growing, but she insists on having it down- it's how rapunzel does it, which means it is also how this girl rolls!

she runs in circles just to feel the wind, "mom! my hair is blowing!! it's so long! i love it! it's my favorite!"

("i love it! it's my favorite!" are her two favorite sentences. she repeats them multiple times a day, and it just sounds hilarious coming out of a toddler's mouth:)

mr. brian reeegaaann!

2012-01-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

we had a stupendndous night last night- a date to see brian regan downtown!

the dude is hilarious. i haven't laughed that hard in who knows how long.

our neighbor buddies doubled w/ us, and thanks to some pretty outstanding grandparents, we enjoyed an awesome date night!

first? dinner at biaggi's, next, to get warm cookies from bear country (it was so cold outside!), and finally we were off to see the funny-man himself!

from the 4th row.

hello, awesome.

my jaw & ab muscles (or lack there-of) still ache from laughing so hard.

also noteworthy below: the boys were more-so on a man date. they ditched kristen & i in our heels and walked around together.

also, also noteworthy below: mike's faces of hilarity. there were more not shown here. for the sake of his pride, i shall keep those from non-public viewing.

lately...

2012-01-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

elle is officially sure she is a princess; we've been getting new glasses around these parts (minus elle. but she felt left out, so she joined in the fun); a brilliant server at cheesecake factory gave elle a bowl of whipped cream- a smart man if you ask me; elle's ready for our next plane ride w/ headphones that actually fit her little head- "tie-gaa headphones!"

what? lame update? i know.

the end.

happy weekend!

some things we find uncomfortable.

2012-01-22T20:11:00.001-07:00

elle has been a little rockstar- she's been "potty trained" for a month or two now, with the exception of sleep, which doesn't bother me one tiny bit.

i went in after hearing her talking to herself post-nap (it had been 3 hours, and i was ready to hang out again!).

her reply?

"mom! you woke me up! LEAVE!!... wait... i pooped. eew. yucky."

i feel so used. first i have to leave? now i'm just the pooper-scooper?

i couldn't help but laugh hysterically at her thought process. she was so grossed out by her pull-up-o-poo that she pulled her dress up and squatted uncomfortably. as noted below.

since i don't find pooping in my pants an issue (whew!), i'll blame the next one on snow. i mean, sure, it's utah, it's january, and there have only been like 3 snowfalls all winter.

this year i find irritance in the time our snow removal company decides to plow (always during a nap or after we put elle to bed).

another negative to the snow? falling flat on my face.

it. hurts.

especially when you're running to the trash can with a huge bag of garbage in one hand, and an overloaded purse in the other.

any neighbors catch that fall? it was a doosey:)

note the snowflakes the size of golf balls.

oh, and the tumbleweeds. WHERE DO THEY COME FROM???

seriously, anyone know?

lastly (i've added this one as i type this post): football.

ok, not so much "uncomfortable" as "irritating."

in particular, the phrase i hear too often, "wait! just a minute! this game is almost over!"

25 45 minutes later, it's still going, hence my incredibly random blog post.

football, can you just end already?

lion, anyone?

2012-01-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

so... i heard about this great antique store downtown.

dressed in our finest "just out of bed duds," we went over.

scratch that, mine was "out of bed+post-workout attire."

i mean, does it get better than that?

get excited.

this would be a good time to add that the first words out of elle's mouth when she wakes in the morning are either, "dinnertime!" or "i pick a dress!" usually it's the latter. she wears "summer" dresses at all hours of the day and night. many times, there are multiple dresses on over multiple dresses.

so much for dressing your own kid. she decides what, how and when she wears clothing. it's a lost cause.

anyhoo, back to antiques...

i can't describe the size... like a trillion square feet if i had my guess. yes.

(math has always been a strength of mine.)

in need of a chair? this is your place. they actually added a roof between the floor and the roof... where they keep the chairs... so you're walking on an in-between floor? kind of creepy. but cool.

the lion, as promised.
they actually have a lion.
and a rhino.
in case you've been looking for one...

"SUSAN-WIF-CARS-ON-HER-FEET!"

2012-01-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

so... elle has had this massive obsession with this doll for some time now.

she would plead for her, "suu-sin? suu-sin wif cars on her feet?!"

susan was adoped in a rather unusual way, to which i shall not comment.

other than to say she was not stolen.

she is elle's bff.

kids bond with the strangest things, right?

TRAVEL! how we do it: the nitty-gritty-details.

2012-01-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Preface

I hope this comes across as helpful more than it does like I’m on a soapbox? People ask us all the time how we travel as often as we do- I think people judge us. It shouldn’t bother me, but it does. Sometimes. And then, I remember that this is something we love- we don’t ski or boat. We aren’t foodies. We don’t drive fancy cars, or car payments. We have never lived more than 864 sq. feet since we met 7 years ago. We make certain, deliberate, sacrifices. I moved around a lot growing up, maybe it’s one of the lingering side-affects? I get hives at the concept of living in one state consistently, so Mike & I made the deal that if we stayed here in Utah, we would be frugal and travel as often as possible. We don’t spend $1 without checking in with the other (really.)- call us weird, but it works for us! We don’t go into debt for anything- cars, gadgets, etc., let alone for travel. We have a separate “travel” savings account. We cut back in other areas to make this hobby work for us. A lot of people have asked how we still manage to travel, so I wanted to share some tricks.

I am a strategist through and through. I am cheap. I am always thinking of what’s efficient. It’s a sickness, really. Mike says that as long as I can channel these compulsions in fun ways, he’ll leave me alone:) Every trip we make, we know we are extremely fortunate, and we repeat, “This could be our last for a while!” Here is what we’ve learned…

1. Flights

We choose where we go based on what we can afford. We went to Europe in 2005, and although we have tried to go back a number of times, it’s just too expensive for us at this point in our lives. A few years ago we chose to go to Cancun because we only had 5 vacation days, and we could fly there on a direct flight, fast! We choose destinations closer to the west coast because there are often better deals, and travel-time is cut waaay down. If we flew to Europe from Utah, we’d be looking at 12+ hours of travel time; our actual “vacation time” is so much less than it would be if we lived in New York! When we go next, we want to stay there for a while & enjoy the scenery.

(Paris, 2005)

(Cancun, 2008)

Award Miles

Best. Trick. EVER. Two years ago I discovered we had unused SkyMiles on Delta. I also discovered that I could sign up for an American Express card, get bonus miles, and have the annual fee was waived for first year. Promos change often and vary. I signed both Mike & I up for the cards, and after 2 months we had enough miles to travel, free. The redemption of miles was the same for a flight to Washington as it was to Honolulu- this is a key piece- be strategic! We booked our trip almost 9 months out to get direct flights in the lowest mileage bracket. We chose the location that fit the mileage we had. Success! Two roundtrip tickets to Hawaii cost about $25 if I remember correctly (a few taxes/fees).

SkyMiles can be used for hotels and cars as well (rates are high, however). I will say that although Delta waived Mike’s annual fee the next year, they wouldn’t budge on mine. We renewed both our cards to get companion tickets, but I regret it. They are sitting in a file unused for the time being. I doubt we’ll renew our cards next year. (If you're interseted in a Detlta by AmEx card let me know- I have some really good specials laying around.)

This fall, we signed up for Southwest CC’s, again, on a promo. The three of us flew free to Ohio in December to see family, and will fly almost-free to Florida soon (our 2012 “trip"). We chose the slowest season to travel, waited for a sale, and got 11 free one-way tickets- all we paid for our upoming Florida trip was Mike's return ticket (about $175). Not too shabby! The SW CC’s required the annual fee payment up front ($70ish, each), but that’s ok. We’ve gotten our money’s worth! We also get great deals (and bonus miles) on rental cars. I’d recommend Southwest in a heartbeat! We’ve spent about $300 to get over $2500 in free airfare. Again, this is a huuuuge piece- we base travel on when and where it is the cheapest. Holidays are holidays for a reason. Don’t travel over them.

Accruing Miles

We put all our expenses on CC’s and pay them off weekly. This way, we get points/miles for every dollar we spend. Beee caaarefuul. It takes some serious babysitting (and compulsive organizational tendencies) to keep things in-check, and paid-off, but it works for us. This is how we accrue miles so fast.

(As a side note, I’ve seen very little of a negative effect on our credit- we both have kept “excellent” credit scores... so far so good?)

2. Hotels

Value-season, value-season, value-season. I could say this a trillion times. We go to Vegas in July. It's tradition! It’s scorching, but we stay at the Mirage (our fave) for about $70/night. We could get a cheaper hotel… but we love their pool! And it’s July... so we go to the pool a lot:) Generally, we plan this annual Vegas trip in the summertime, and choose specific dates based off when fares are at their lowest. We avoid travel the night before a holiday, or over a Friday or Saturday. We are at a hotel we know we love- great food, pool, location, etc. It may cost a bit more, but we save on other things by staying here.

(Vegas, 2011)

Summer is generally an insanely expensive time to travel (other than Vegas I guess:). Let’s take Disney World since that's where we are headed next, it’s on my mind! I know people are off school in the summer, but I would never in a million years go to Disney World in the summer. Never. It’s blazing hot, busy, and expensive! Paying four times for the exact same hotel room? No thanks. I literally found out the cheapest days to go in the entire year, and that’s when we’re going! In addition, I booked through Disney directly and got a free meal plan for the 8 days we’ll be there. That saves a ton. We wouldn’t have done the meal plan since we are cheap-o’s and bring our own food (more on this below), but who can pass up free? As a side note, we also chose Disney when Elle is 2 because she’s free! Once they hit 3… you pay. She’s young, but I think she’ll have fun, and I know we will. I love Disney World! We’re staying at one of their Value Resorts since they are… cheapest… but also because they have the best variety of food and lots of fun pools for Elle. Toddlers don’t understand luxury- they understand fun, right? I worked at Disney for a while, and have visited probably 50 other times, so I’m pretty familiar with the hotels. Disney hotels are incredible, and I’d recommend on-the-park anyday! It’s completely worth any extra money you may spend. Disney is a whole ‘nother beast, so if you have questions... let me know.

Never ever be afraid to cancel and re-book a hotel. I cancelled and rebooked our 2011 Hawaii trip hotel rooms probably 5 times. Sometimes companies will price-match theirs/others rates, other times you have to cancel and rebook entirely. I don’t mind. I’ll do it to save $20… oftentimes, much more.

This past trip to Hawaii, we booked a cheaper hotel in Oahu since I was more familiar with the area, and knew we’d be in the hotel very little. I went to a travel site and got a post-trip rebate; I sent in our 3-night hotel receipt and got a $60 voucher. That made our hotel even cheaper! We purposely went cheap-cheap in Oahu so we could splurge in Maui. We booked the cheapest room at the Sheraton Maui (I check reviews constantly on Oyster.com & TripAdvisor)- why the Sheraton? Because I read that they were great at upgrading! Because we went during non-peak season, the hotel was slightly quieter. I asked at check-in if we could be upgraded, and sure enough! They moved us from a Standard Room (parking lot view) to a Deluxe Ocean View. No joke, folks. It was heaven. All we had to do was forego a king size bed for 2 queens. SOLD! $600/night for about $275 (although it was even less because we bought a hotel/flight package deal)? Hawaii is fab, but know that oftentimes, you get what you pay for. Hotels in Hawaii are pretty pricey. We’ve tried other alternatives, but I think hotels are still at the top of our list (vs. rentals, B&B’s, etc.).

(View from our Lanai - Maui)

Thanks to friends who’ve let us stay with them a night or two when we travel- it’s great to spend time with people you don’t see very often, and a lot of times, that night or two of hotel savings means your trip cost drops substantially. While we’re on the subject, we LOVE meeting up with friends and asking them for lists of their favorite places to see, eat, etc. Locals know what’s best! Travel is verrrry personal- we aren’t big on museums and historical locals (sorry). Give us shops and beaches, and we’re happy campers! Remember this when you’re looking at/budgeting vacation activities. Do what you like to do!

Hotel Promos

Recently there was a Club Carlson (Radisson) promotion- if you stayed by 12/31/11 you received 50,000 points- I signed both Mike & I up for the promo, and when we went to Ohio to visit family, we purposely picked out a Radisson hotel. We made TWO reservations for two nights (meaning we had to check-out and back in again), but when we got home, I transferred my 50,000 points to Mike’s account, and we were able to get three free nights in Florida (we saved about $350)! We extended our Florida trip a few days for practically nothing. If we would have stayed somewhere not-so-touristy, or farther away from the parks, we could have EASILY racked up a 5-10 free nights. And we still have some points to spare. (Yes, I know I made a speech about Disney hotels being the best, but we extended our vacation and will spend a few extra days bumming Orlando around post-Disney).

3. Food

We’ve come a long way. We aren’t as cheap as we used to be- the first time we went to Hawaii we were poor. We spent $1300 TOTAL. That’s for airfare, hotel, food, everything. We know we could never do that now! We’re not that dedicated. We ate Ramen packed in our bags from Utah for 5 days straight. That being said, we still strategize.

We always share food (not just when we travel- we always do this- Mike and I can count on ONE hand how many times in 7+ years we have spent more than $25 eating out. Seriously. This is a golden rule for us).

When we travel, we try and save restaurants for a once-a-day event.

We eat out at lunchtime (it’s cheaper than dinner).

We try and go to “quick” or local places (non sit-down) where we don’t have to leave a tip (those tips add up fast, fast!).

We bring our own snacks.

We drink tap water (ok, he totally sneaks at least 1 fun drink/trip).

Mike always says, “When you’re full, you don’t remember if you’ve eaten steak, or canned soup. Full is full!”

We budget every dime before we leave, and after we come home we add up all our receipts to make sure we’ve stayed on budget (or under. That’s my goal!).

Another tip? Get a room with a fridge, and grocery shop at a local store! We do this alllll the time, especially at breakfast! Breakfast foods are uber cheap at the supermarket, produce stands, even convenience stores! Breakfasts at hotels/restaraunts? Much, much, much (much) pricier. Spend $15 on groceries when you arrive- if you're committed, you can save tons!

(Fruit stand on the North Shore - Oahu; Bread, cheese, papaya, and ramen from home = dinner! Hawaii, 2011)

If you have great travel tips & tricks, do share! I'd love to hear.

Here’s to traveling!

(Hanauma Bay)

the itsy bitsy spider.

2012-01-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

nothing cuter than your own kid singing through "the itsy bitsy spider."

especially when some of the words are elle-originals:)

i can just hear her little voice match her little motions.

cute, huh?

hm. a lack of butt runs in this family, as noted above.

especially when diapers are missing.

don't mind the droopy drawers:)

"I GO PAY IN THE SNOW!"

2012-01-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

this weekend while mike continued his man-project of building shelves in the garage, me & elle ventured outside to play in the snow- her first trip to play in the snow, i might add!

overnight we got dumped on with pretty much our first snow of the season- ta-daaa! snow!

mike came out to assist in building a snowman.

and to teach elle she could eat snow.

so, elle ate snow. and fed the snowman, snow (cannibalism?)...

and kissed the snowman right on the head.

(this girl is a kisser. we're going to have to keep a close eye on her.)

an attempt was made at making a snow angel, but really it was just an immobile "thunk" right down into the snow pack.

2011 in pictures.

2012-01-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

...better late than never, right? but no links. i'm waaay to lazy for links. sorry dudes.

JANUARY

elle discovered pigtails, socks, independence, and i discovered glasses.

FEBRUARY

mike continues the tradition of the valentines 'stache. elle's valentines 'stache is made of cheese.

MARCH

lunch dates w/ daddy, and day dates for hubby & wife; general YW meeting; it's finally warm enough for the park, and elle can no longer be contained within these walls & doors.

APRIL

easter brings sunshine, while 18 months brings tantrums & tears. and drama. and laughter. of course! pictures w/ my kid start to become a serious adventure.

MAY

saying hello to the zoo and HAWAII again! oh, and goodbye to our red.

JUNE

stuff... including our 6th anniversary!

JULY

outings: park city, logan and vegas, baby! it was our "annual couples retreat," and it rocked. elle rocked her first parade.

AUGUST

pool, park, play, repeat. also an awesome work retreat. mike turned 29. i sank a birdie from 45 feet away- i hear this was impressive. i'm no athlete, so i'd like to brag for a moment.

SEPTEMBER

one big haircut. one last visit to the pool. one first visit to the fair. one non-first visit to stat-care for my bee sting. one almost-first visit to the ER for the babe. ow.

OCTOBER

someone turns two! that someone is sure she is belle, and not just for halloween. another awesome work retreat. elle's potty training is moving along swimmingly. we bike weekly to visit some stellar (sometimes hungry) horses.

NOVEMBER

it's getting cold. time for the lights on temple square. and the christmas tree. and some real family pictures!

DECEMBER

a trip to ohio to see family is a fun but sleepy adventure. elle had her first ever cousin sleepover, while we dated again in logan. christmas is more magical than ever.

as i try and find pictures, i realize something not too shocking: there are thousands to choose from. no joke. hundreds each month. so many wonderful memories! such a wonderful year. we are so thankful!

see 2010 post here.

death & life.

2012-01-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

I think everyone certain sensitivities- things they find incredibly interesting, and really move them right down to their core- something they feel really “connected” to, if that makes sense? This past weekend (hence my last post - no worries, we are all ok!), the events that came up were tied to life and death.

Mike gets the heebie-jeebies when it comes to anything death-related. Me? I feel like I was exposed to a more-than-normal amount of death growing up. Death has always struck me as incredibly fascinating. Beautiful in so many ways. The miracle of life is completed with this one, final act; the word “…died…” without hesitation, seems to send your mind flashing backwards, envisioning an entire lifetime of events. The character of an individual. Their smile. Their laugh. Memories- anything or everything. It’s just incredible.

Since last weekend, my mind has been thinking nonstop. This time around, I feel a certain sting of death more than before. Stronger than I've felt in a long time. I questioned how I can possibly raise a daughter even remotely equipped to deal with life these days. A few days of thinking, and all I can solidly come up with is by just loving her. Praying & loving her more than ever before. Trusting that she isn't really "mine," and He will take care of her perfectly. We put ourselves into units- couples, families, friends- but when it comes right down to it, this life is an individual journey.

For me, it’s not about having fear- I don’t have a fear of death itself. The emotion is almost always tied to those who are still living. Lately, I’ve been so amazed by stories of grace and love and faith. The power of connectivity as humans- the core values and inherent desire to live a life of joy. I have such gratitude for knowledge of eternal families. Gratitude for the love, faith, and compassion of a just and perfect Father in Heaven. My best friend and her parents were killed in a car accident when I was eleven, and I remember reading a book called “The Birth that We Call Death.” That phrase has always stuck with me. It’s an event- just one- it’s monumental in its nature because it is the end to what we know as our now. As the living, we move on because we have to, although “time” as we measure it for that one has stopped.
Isn't it all incredible?!

Shortly after my last post, I came across this article. It’s timing was spot-on, and it’s perspective was refreshing.

Nurse Reveals Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

“For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

ready or not, here (it) comes...

2012-01-02T11:16:00.001-07:00

before going to bed on new year's eve (yes, it was still new year's EVE:),

mike & i had our usual "girl talk."

i like our chats.

2011 was nearly over. it was a good year, really! we were very lucky. our lives were incredibly consistent. no high-highs, or low-lows. it was the most stable in all of my 27 years. we had the same jobs & house. our little family grew another year older. we traveled. we played. the year had more emotional challenges than ever before, but they were the kind that settles on anyone at a certain time in their lives.

we knew we were lucky. we watched those around us struggle. we prayed for them, and gave thanks for all that we were blessed with...

although we are grateful, we kind of went to sleep with a bit of a pit in our stomachs.

has that ever happened to you? you feel too "ok?"

this feeling that impeding doom (or at least strokes of bad luck) is almost certain to come. it always does.

such is the way a rollercoaster rolls.

the last time we felt "something in the works," we woke up and learned that mike's job was over. the baby in my pregnant tummy was struggling. so was i. blegh.

i hate it. i hate those moments.

flash forward 20 hours.

we were eating a new year's dinner at my parents, and within 2 minutes, 2 heaps of sadness were thrown on us.

it was already starting! really? this was the stuff that keeps you up at night with sadness. heartache. more tears for other's pain.

it is the sadness that puts life into perspective- makes events of years past feel like they happened yesterday.

i'm not afraid of the challenges, in fact, the more i've thought about the coming 364 days the more i've realized that whatever will come will be right. we will grow just like we need to grow. we'll learn. life will change. it's just life. that's what life does.

change is on the horizon, and it is welcome.

(she says with one eye open.)

a date! a daaate!

2011-12-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

mike's mom (& moe) hosted a "grandkid sleepover" at a hotel just after christmas.

what? brave woman, huh?

there were 9 kids. NINE!

she was even brave enough to take the nocturnal tank we call elle.

AH! imagine that!

we waffled- what do we do? go home? get a hotel in logan? the hotel in logan won.

logan! our old stomping grounds. where we met. fell in looooooove. spend our first years of wedded bliss (???).

we stayed at the university inn on campus- it was cheap, and campus was like a ghost town! the little room felt like the room on a cruise ship- it had one tiny window. in an insanely awkward part of the room i must admit. it did have a good view, however. and we had free breakfast in the morning! i'm slightly sure we were the only guests that night?

elle practically lept from the car when we arrived. she screamed, "tusins!!" (cousins.) they swam & ate pizza & played. i think they even slept a bit!? maybe.

we went to dinner at mandarin garden (shocker). walked around the fantastic logan mall (bah!). drove around to see our old houses, the temple, and main street. we always go to edgehill where we met (we were next door neighbors. our beds shared a wall. precious, huh?). we sound like an old couple as we talk of "those days." we walked around for about 8 minutes until we froze our bee-hinds off. went back indoors. cleaned my wedding ring. shared a malt at charlie's. oh, and we went to a cheap movie- "in time." we almost fell asleep before it started (hello, it was like... 7:45, and it was dark. we were sooo tired! told you we are old people these days). good movie though!

such a great little night away!

thank you pam & moe!

christmas day 2011.

2011-12-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

here is how our merry day played out:

we woke (not too early- yay!) & elle opened a few presents before church
at church, elle sang a lovely rendition of "happy birthday" to Jesus during the opening song, followed by yelling for all to hear, "is Jesus birthday!... i pee pee on the tiny potty!" (man, she loves that tiny nursery bathroom.)
we went home, put pj's back on, and opened the remaining presents
nap for elle
breakfast for dinner at my parents & stockings. smiling for pictures was not on her priority list... (neither was checking my ISO setting- HELLO bad resolution image below!)

elle delighted in the simplicity of christmas- i think she was just the perfect age! we didn't get her anything big, fancy, or special. just a small handful of presents covered in shiny paper. she was so happy!

we got her a $10 shopping cart and she proceeded to shop all over our house.

costco was in the kitchen, and walmart was in our bedroom.

mike & i didn't do presents for each other (we never do- we call our trips "presents"), so our attention was 100% on elle belle.

so. fun.

my parents. oh, i love them!

my mom cracks me up (and mike! see?).

she kills me, really!

our stockings this year included some very helpful items, should a natural disaster occur.

i.e.: thyroid pills!

mom, i love you. never stop your practicality. one day, the world will end, and we'll have you to thank for our survival!

also note below, my mom's gift to herself: a new "special" scrubber.

joy is in the simplicity, right?

you may recall my love for frrrozen hot chocolates- score! i have mix! we made a batch and as we drank we realzied the glass blender had broken...

crushed ice sure resembles the feel of broken glass in one's mouth.

elle helped my dad pass out stocking presents.

elle scored on this sweet mcdonald's set.

it calls out, "welcome to mcdonalds! can i take your order?" elle yelled back, "hi! i want one... sticker please!"

not sure they sell stickers at mcdonalds.

this helicopter was from mike's dad- mike was uber excited. all the families got one (although the men seem to have claimed them). we stole batteries from my parents and flew it around on christmas day.

knowing that i'm insanely accident prone, i begged all to stay away from me.

many times.

"keep it away from me! i'm serious!" i snapped...

well, i stood up from loading my purse, just as the helicopter crashed... into my mouth. INto my mouth. tongue, lips, cheek. swollen & tingley.

"amanda! i don't know how it got to you so fast! i wasn't even near you!"

note welts below.

i know. it's like some freaky magnetic pull i have.

i attract diasters.

the next morning my tone was more serious, "mike, if you hit me, i will throw that over the balcony to it's death."

"amanda, stop being paranoid. i'm not going to hit you."

5 minutes later? helicopter straight into the back of my head.

SERIOUSLY?

near diaster unrelated to the helicopter:

shortly after dinner i threw elle's bib onto the table.

right over the candles.

engulfed it in flames.

oops.

didn't see those burning there. er... uh..

good thing it was a plastic bib, otherwise, i'm pretty sure the house would have burned down. :)

sorry mom & dad for making your house smell like melting plastic.

ahem, i hope your christmases were merry & bright!

(and accident free.)

christmas eve in tremonton.

2011-12-27T17:09:00.003-07:00

...full of food, fun, family, & a fish pond!

merry it was indeed!

some joys of the season.

2011-12-23T14:38:00.004-07:00

i have that little girl- the one who is wearing a tee shirt + a skirt + tights + boots + a hideous princess dress bought at target post-halloween for dress-up (i have leared recently that a 2-year-old ~~cannot~~ does not care to distinguish "real life" from "dress-up.") in public.

it's a battle i've decided is not worth fighting- she's just so happy!

she wears a princess dress 99.9% of the day.

actually, she wears a few. she rotates through them on 30-minute increments.

the last couple weeks have taught us that elle is quite the decisive lady (really? like i shouldn't have seen that one coming years ago).

she's happy, and i love it.

everyday i pray, "please, please remember feeling this happy & pretty always!"

she looks in the mirror & grins from ear to ear.

she's started to randomly blurt out, "oh! i love you, too!!"

she tips her head to the side, smiles, and waits for a compliment. she then immediately responds, "oh! tanks!!!"

she is our princess.

she gives this season so much more meaning.

love & joy & innocence & purity & peace...

well, maybe not always that last one. but the others for sure.

last saturday we spent the morning pizzelle-making over the gas flames at my parent's.

125 cookies, 2 hours, and 6 hands throbbing with the sensation of carpel tunnel means it's another year of this uber-fun tradition.

they remind me of my grandma. of being a little girl.

you know, the sights & sounds & smells that remind you of the holidays?

thanks, too, to my mom for always hunting down & roasting chestnuts.

they made my week.

christmas, here we come!

merry christmas from the petersens!

2011-12-20T10:34:00.003-07:00

front & back

i'm so glad we sent out cards this year! we skipped last year, & it just didn't feel right.

i remembered why we skipped last year when i went to pay for the 3 books of stamps:)

the printing company's minimum order was 100, and i don't know 100 people.

so perhaps we shall wallpaper our bathroom with our extras.

too vain? :)

side note: that "m+a" graffiti was there when we arrived- we did not deface property for the sake of photographs. it was meant to be! there were also additional choice expletives which were photoshopped out. nothing said "happy holidays from the petersens" like some f-bombs:)

merry christmas!!

t minus seven days.

2011-12-18T18:07:00.003-07:00

as we speak, elle is pressing the shutter on my camera, running around to the other side of the ottoman where the camera is pointing, smiling, and saying, "cheese!"

someone has been around too much of me setting the timer.

ps- it's 1 week until christmas.

what?

pps- how do you get children to wear coats?

neither of us ever wear one. that may be part of the problem.

ohio- it's the birthplace of aviation, you know.

2011-12-14T21:01:00.002-07:00

72 hours, start to finish. 4 flights. 1 iPad (which elle mastered in 20 minutes). 1 dinner w/ me staring at 2 people w/ glowing faces as they played with iGadgets. 4 presents to entertain a 2-year-old during 18 hours of travel. 2 bus rides. 1 prius from colorado (what?). 1 mall choo-choo train. 3 different overnight accomodations for each of our 3 nights away. pizza for 3 meals/day. cookies non-stop. a lot of "pat pat pat pat pat... blastoff! shake your whole body!" (see: little einsteins.) 39 hours straight w/ no sleep thanks to an insanely stubborn kid. speaking of stubborn- anyone else's child refuse to bathe? what kid hates baths? anyway, back to the list: panera hot cocoa + other delish ohio-only food; 1 crazy puppy named annie who loved to lick elle. an elle who received a dress which she refused to take off for an entire day. oh, and lots & lots & lots of stops to see family- a great family. whom we love. they are why we went. we loved all our time w/ them. it was a great long, fast, weekend in ohio.

life lately. including the fact that i'm another year older.

2011-12-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

i'm now 27. what? what?

my sweet coworkers decked out my desk, and elle was the lovely recipient of my bday balloons (& another little gift or two)! she has a love affair w/ balloons, so naturally, she was elated.; i've been working more this month, and it's exhausting. i adooore my job, but it's been really hard. elle is having a tough time w/ me being gone. as am i. i am extremely thankful for the insane views i catch out of the windows before i leave for the day (the lights are one plus to it being dark at 5!).

my birthday fell on sunday, so we made a weekend affair out of it! my sweet mother-in-law gave me a gift card to cheesecake factory, so we jetted there friday night. we also had a lovely family dinner w/ my parents on monday. elle sang "happy birthday" the whole way home. love.

santa @ our ward party on saturday; mikey's work had a family party where they rented out a theater at gateway to see "happy feet 2." elle danced in the aisles. it was so darn funny! all was well until she drank 16 oz. of apple juice, and we ended up covered in poo. can someone tell me how the movie ends? (and yes, those are the chipmunks. totally unrelated to penguins, although they were very enticing to her. before jetting home, we stopped to pose.); elle is a fan of this fall fruit. she hoards cuties & pomegranate seeds.

elle's thoughts on mac & cheese:

2011-12-05T21:02:00.001-07:00

i know, it's super healthy, right?

well, whatever.

it came w/ a side of blackberries.

that helps, yah?

can i just say that mac & cheese, in all it's boxed glory,

saves many a-day.

7 minutes?

yah, i can handle 7 minutes.

especially when i get this face in return:)

gobble, gobble.

2011-11-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

somehow, these are the only pictures i have from thanksgiving day: leaving the house & my new favorite tradition- coming home & setting up the tree!

as soon as mike brought in 'ol natasha (our tree), elle remembered just where she was to go.

i think this tree shrinks each year.

we have a tiny house, so a tiny tree shall do!

hooray for the holidays!

family date: the lights on temple square.

2011-11-29T14:46:00.001-07:00

I’ve repeatedly professed my insane love for long weekends.

I mean, more-so than the average adult.

This one did not disappoint!

We spent Saturday night on an official “family date-” dinner & walking around Temple Square to look at the lights. It was frigid out, but man oh man, we had a great time.

This year Elle was old enough we could bribe her to stay confined to her stroller. Last year was madness, remember? Her staying put was a blessing in more ways than one- there were literally so many people we were just herded along like cattle. Just following the crowd, baby. It was packed! Forget stopping to take pictures. All 15 I have were shot with my mitten-ed finger, and the camera loosely pointed in a general direction.

Ah, close enough.

family pictures! it's about time.

2011-11-22T20:50:00.001-07:00

real family pictures. it's been a 6+ year debate.

well, after insensate begging, mike caved to my constant pleading.

poor guy can't get away from cameras.

it was a rough 20 minutes w/ elle (as you can tell by most of her leery-faces. she was not. happy.), but it was SO nice to not have to touch the camera for once! no wonder most give up once their ratio of adults-to-kids shifts. MAN it is hard!

thanks brooke! my hats off to you...

today? i think i'll read a book. (elle, not me. i don't read.)

2011-11-15T13:48:00.001-07:00

i love that chatter has turned into conversations.

funny, silly conversations.

this morning elle came running into the living room screaming,

"mommy!!!! i eat your hair now! MMMMMMMMMM!"

as she chomped down with her teeth.

whaaa?

i said to her, "what? no! if you do, i'll eat YOUR HAIR!"

"no mommy! i eat your hair how! you? you stop!"

these same phrases went back & forth between us as we laughed harder & harder.

maybe you had to be there.

trust me, it was funny.

ps- thanks to my mom for keeping my overalls circa 1985 ^.

how do clothes from 1985 outlast clothes from 2010? they don't make 'em like they used to.

It’s true what they say: there really is nothing like watching your husband w/ your little lady (& vice versa). . .

2011-11-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

christmas morning in november?

2011-11-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

saturday was one of those days you wake up w/ a little grin- nothing planned.

(what? nothing?)

just heater kicks on, i look & see shadows of snow falling outside.

it's 8:03 and i'm just now realizing elle is screaming, "MAAAAAAAMM!"

usually this call comes much, much earlier in the morning. sleep-in! perfect!

later, we bundled up & as we walked out the door, elle was giddy watching the snow fall.

"suh-nooo!"

mike taught her to eat snow off the car.

(eew.)

as we got in the car, christmas music started playing.

really!?

this all makes me veeerry happy.

it's friday & it's fall.

2011-11-04T13:21:00.002-06:00

i long for a big pile of leaves to throw elle in.

all these pansy trees in our neighborhood hardly do justice when you're itching for quantity.

maybe that will be our goal for the weekend?

find & jump in a gigantic pile of leaves?

how magical!

it's crisp & chilly outside.

it's snowed once this week already.

it's pathetically dark when we wake up. and when we sit down to eat dinner.

but the sun & moon & skies seem different this time of year.

i love fall!

it's kind of a magical season, yes?

the new anthropologie catalog just came in the mail.

is anyone else totally mesmerized by every detail in-store and in-catalog?

oooh!

i keep flipping through the pages and just dreaming.

i'm hoping one of these times i'll flip the page and see $48 instead of $488.

that would be magical, too.

halloween post, petersen style: 3 events, 1 holiday.

2011-11-01T14:16:00.001-06:00

goodness me, there are a lot of halloween posts out there!

...here is ours:)

this is elle just before we left the house to trick-or-treat.. um, hello, excited!

this was our first year actually celebrating halloween- & this great night rounded out the whole october season!

we went around w/ cort (nacho libre), kristen, & boedi (buzz lightyear). this was the first time "i've" been trick-or-treating in at least 15 years... it was so much fun! i loved seeing more & more kids appear & run the streets as the sun went down...

sunday night we had my parents over for a pre-halloween feast- mr. skeleton, plus apple bites, cheese fingers, mummy dogs, mummy pizzas, monster toes, & my parent's presentation drink complete w/ eyeballs. the eyes won the "nasty" award thanks to raw-chicken texture. eeeewie!

(i'm going backwards...)

friday night was our neighborhood trunk-or-treat.

i love mike restraining elle by her hood below.

i wonder how we'll break the news that we can't continue this trick-or-treating every weekend? she's mastered holding up that bucket, "treat?? tanks!"

two weeks ago was my parents' trunk-or-treat. it was a lot of fun! they run with a VERY proper crowd. i was so impressed. this was the first time elle was "decked out" as belle. by decked out, i mean... she wore the dress that was already dirty & well worn. it's huge on her- wrapped & pinned in the back. boots on. straggly ponytail. wrong princess crown on backwards (if on at all). i'm a super duper mom, huh? i laughed my little head off when we arrived & this other belle came up to elle with all the class & poise of the real beauty! light-up shoes, hair perfect, and pretty little gloves (not shown). oh, i laughed! i'm so glad my girly is too young to realize how lame i was. once again, i'm committed to being a little more festive next year.

i started off this morning (november 1st), raiding target clearance w/ the other crazy moms at 8am. we officially own 2 more halloween items. and a lot more candy (it's so cheap!! i get so distracted.)

baby steps.

pumpkins through that other "p" word.

2011-10-25T12:40:00.000-06:00

this girl, loves herself some pumpkins. she's making me realized how bah-humbug i am about halloween. next year? i'm going to have the spookiest house on the block. or... at least decorate with more than a pumpkin & some spiderwebs that blew off in last weeks rainstorm.

friday, i woke elle from a ridiculously late nap (i'm getting nervous, folks- her naps are a little sketchy lately). (you can see her rather delirious state below. note, she takes her pumpkin with her wherever she goes.) we drove downtown to meet mikey & share a pizza at settebello. loooove that place. after, we split a warm & gooey cookie at gateway, & rode all around the free-fare trax zone.

nothing beats the sheer joy of a 2-year-old doing the simplest things. man, i love that girl.

we've shopped so much lately- not like, "BUY" shop, just shop. why you ask? oh, because shopping with a toddler is borderline inanity. so we go & go & go & go, looking for the same things. note elle above. they almost kicked us out of urban outfitters, i'm sure of it. we really have shopped 20 times in the last few weeks- before nap, after nap, before bed... you name it. we're confident in our acceptance that from here on out we'll continue to use our annual vegas couples-getaway as a means for obtaining not only lovely sunshine & mess-free dinners, but more importantly, shopping 'till we drop.

sunday night was a dreadful one. from start to finish. elle cried tons all night, and after taking turns trying to calm her, we had our first nighttime vomit experience. 2:30 AM. "AMANDA!! ELLE THREW UP!" i about threw up just at the thought. sleep was gone the rest of the night. my gosh nights are long when you wake up at 2:30. i did immediate laundering of everything.

poor elle said, "mommy, i sick. i frow up."

i don't. do. puke.
don't. do. it. ask anyone who knows me- i'd rather die than associate with any sort of... that stuff.

it was a rough night + day...
it's been touch-and-go since then. another projectile puke experience ONTO me this morning. i did shockingly well. i'm proud of myself for not losing my raisin bran. it's been a tough monday & tuesday.
fingers crossed all this business ends asap.

(why did i end on that note? eew.)

"mommy, wow! i'm a big kid now!" (it's a catchy tune, eh?)

2011-10-22T15:53:00.002-06:00

Like a pillar of glorious light from the heavens- Elle is, like, potty trained. Kind of. I mean, she's almost there? I don’t know what it means to be entirely potty trained… Her bum falls through a public toilet, not to mention most have automatic flushers (MAN those things kill a child’s motivation). And seeing as though she pees massive amounts during slumber, she wears diapers at night and during naps… ALAS, while at (a) home with a potty seat atop a toilet, she will pee. And ask to pee. It’s so darn cute. Who knew pee could be so darn cute? If only dating Mike & Mandy could have seen ahead to the screams, songs, and dances married Mike & Mandy would perform for a peeing 2-year-old.

Well, bring on the pull-ups! It only took one ridiculously awkward visit to Nordstrom when I realized why pull-ups were invented. In 9 layers, Elle was shouting, “Mama! I pee-pee!!!” I couldn’t take her boots, leggings, and dress off/up/down fast enough… Pull-ups. Genius.

Today, the pull-ups have functioned more-so as skates.

"Woah."

tradition while it lasts: bike ride. on sunday afternoon. in pj's. to visit the horses.

2011-10-17T17:09:00.000-06:00

elle has learned to call the horses to the fence (see her kissy lips below?).

carrots in hand, we bike to the horses.

apparently we don't eat our veggies.

each sunday there are some leftover...

elle now knows carrots as "ho-aws food."

my camera is covered in cobwebs. and they aren't the halloween kind.

2011-10-16T14:47:00.001-06:00

I think my camera has stayed in its bag for arecord two weeks or so. What? Yes. That’s a first. I blame the cold weather. Thankfully, I have a phone. It saves the day.

This weekend was amazing (weather included).

I decorated for Halloween- the first and onlytime in our 8 Halloweens together. And yes, kid is naked again. She wanted topose by the “scaaa-wee” spider webs.
Elle helped me make cookies- although I think she only did so in order to steal chocolate chips? Who could blame her?

This weekend she also started counting toten. Completely out of the blue. I have NO idea where that came from. Mike& my jaws were ON THE FLOOR. Oh, and she started calling Mike “Mike.” I wastoo busy rolling on the floor laughing to correct her. “MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!!!MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!” Oh, she sounds just like me:) I should really watch mytone.

The last time my camera was out was for a wonderful work retreat! It was a busy day and we worked really hard, but every moment wasworth it. And we snuck in lots of giggles and madness. Because… well, that’swhat we do!
And yes, that is snow.
SNOW.
SNOOOOWW!
Eeew.
We spent most of the day in the kitchen. It felt like Thanksgiving. Heater on. Snow falling outside. Smells of food, warm drinks, and dish soap. It was cozy & oh, so fun.

Facials via the steamer.

Linens, face, linens, face...

Chasing wild turkeys. There were 13 turkeys... before Melissa & Annika chased them away:)

Elevator ride? Mmm-k!

Setting up the "tea" party.

Husband mister (all of them, not just mine) joined for dinner! Great day!

I'm officially caught up.

Time to take more pictures...

that's what's up.

2011-10-10T15:24:00.000-06:00

i remember elle's birthday...

that was on october 1st.

i'm looking at my computer screen and it's telling me today is the 10th.

i'm not sure what's happened in the last 9 days?

oh yes! general conference.

that was delightful!

oh yes! elle forgets that saturdays are the only day we can sleep in.

this past saturday she woke up long before the sun. we let her roam the house. the result was a twister, auntie em!

i think i passed out... i woke up with my head off the bed (so attractive, i'm sure). elle was fishing in my end table drawer. her eyes got big as if to say, "shoot, i'm busted." i sat upright and a moment later, my 2 faves entered the room with this ^

it's not often that i'm the last one up. i actually think that was the first time in history that has happened?

oh yes! yesterday felt like fall, not winter, and we rode our bikes to feed the horses!

elle was happy as a clam.

oh yes! elle made it through all of church yesterday without a meltdown! nursery included- suh-weet!

oh yes! we've seen a surge of fall-ish fruit. elle love it all. apples, nectarines, berries, peaches, bananas... she only eats the top half (see photo). she won't turn fruit... it's strange. and humorous. and somewhat wasteful.

thank goodness for iPhone photos.

so easy. so thorough.

it's been a crazy couple of weeks. we are happy & healthy. we can't complain. life is good. fall is here. we are thinking lots about tender mercies & the miracles that are around. we are just so small! so small, but so blessed. thinking & praying lots for those around us whose days aren't so pleasant. thankful for a heavenly father who loves us.

"i twoooo!"

2011-10-03T11:32:00.001-06:00

as soon as we heard that elle was awake, we moved her little pile of presents to the middle of the living room floor, and we went running, screaming into her room: "it's saturday! it's saturday! what does that mean?"

"i twooooo!! i twoooooooooooooooo!"
she bolted out of her room & squeeled as she realized it was time to tear through the wrapping paper.

all this hoop-la made her little face light up!
it was SO much fun.

we had a little breakfast, complete with a little "L" pancake + candle to blow out.

we did a little shopping ("maaallllll!")...

...and decided to make a pit stop at build-a-bear...

in case anyone is wondering, 2 was too young. she was pretty keen on the idea, until they actually started stuffing the bear. then she was done. but we couldn't just leave then.
alas, below is elle. happy as a clam.
or... not.
bear's birth certificate reads, "fd" because that is what elle slammed on the keyboard before accidentally hitting "print." hooray!

"i go home! i night!"

later on we met some family at red robin & had a little b-day dinner!

elle was delighted to receive more presents!

the entire weekend was so much fun! this was such an awesome year to celebrate- elle was just eating up all the attention. we sang to her at least 100 times and she adored each moment!

the tricky part of her birthday is that it fell (& will always fall) on general conference weekend. we were only able to attend 1 session (sunday morning. incredible. favorite? sister dalton's talk... & it's not just because i'm being partial). we enjoyed the other 3 session at home (what did we do before dvr's?).

it is always an insanely busy time of year, but so so wonderful.

happy birthday, sweet elle!

thanks to all our family & friends who made her day even more magical!

happy birthday, elle!

2011-10-01T04:37:00.007-06:00

Our little girl is officially 2.
You know how when you have a baby, you remember exactly how old they are? i.e.: 9 hours, 8 days, 3.5 months?
Now you round.
Then again, a two-year-old is clearly a two-year-old by their two-year-oldish ways. Not much explanation needed.
I can't believe my baby is two.

I can't imagine loving Elle any more than I already do. She is the light of our lives.

Mike taught her to tell knock-knock jokes, although she tips her head back and dies laughing at her wisdom long before she reaches the punch line.
She loves anything remotely related to a princess, balloon, or animal.
She hates when trains, buses, and trucks pass her by, and each time yells angrily, “NO! I RIDE!”
She has the most random palatte. She loves all fruit. And cold canned and frozen vegetables. She will answer the question, “What do you want to eat?” with “Cookies… and… WAA-WAA!” Never fails. Each and every time.
She hates bugs. With a passion.
She had her first nightmare this week- it was filled with “bees and f-wies,” and it broke our heart.
She is terribly terrible at sharing. Terrible. She’s a violent kind of terrible.
She is sensitive and emotional. And dramatic. I don’t know where she gets that from.
…But, she is also sweet and gentle and thoughtful. She hates when anyone cries.
We wrapped some presents for her birthday and she knows she can’t open them because “I one.” We’ll say, Elle, your birthday is Saturday- what happens Saturday?” “I two!! I OOOOOOOOOPEN!!! I two!” Each day we tell her the day of the week, and then tell her the coming days. The second we get to Saturday she squeels: "I twooooooooooooooooo!!"
She “hides” whenever someone leaves the room. Or when she hears a garage door open and thinks it’s Mike coming home. “Mom! Hide!” “Elle, that’s just our neighbor, we don’t need to hide.” “NO! MOM! HIDE! Da-deee!”
She ignores. And awkwardly looks at you out of the corner of her eye. “Elle. I can see you. Stop ignoring me.”
She puts herself in time-out.
In the mornings she plays in her room happily, then all of the sudden becomes belligerent when she's ready to have our attention. “MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!? DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!?”

I love her habits. And patterns. Our silly routines. The songs and dances and snacks.

I love how much she has grown and changed.
I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since this day. Oh, our little Sushi!

I love that elle makes our family a family.

i think these days are numbered. so long, sweet summer.

2011-09-26T08:12:00.001-06:00

you can tell by the fact that the sun is going down way too early,

and elle is way too bundled leaving the pool.
this summer elle started jumping in the big pool by herself, and swimming all around alone w/ her princess floaties.
after going almost-daily for 2 straight months, i'm not sure what we'll spend our fall & winter days doing...?

after we got home, mike & elle worked on their puppet.

it's kind of the best puppet i've ever seen.

finished puppet coming soon.

a little urgent care, a little state fair...

2011-09-19T14:47:00.002-06:00

Thursday night we picked up Elle after work, and 2 inches from our car, I stepped on a bee. Barefoot. On the grass. I’ve been stung twice before, and although I was allergic those other times, apparently I felt stupid and hoped I’d grown out of my allergy. Or something.
Anyhoo, I didn’t.
If you know me you know that 1) I'm insanely accident prone, and 2) weird, stupid things happen to me all the time.
Like this.
Well, I didn’t go to the doctor like I should, and I got sicker and sicker. Saturday morning I drove myself to Urgent Care & left with a few prescriptions and much more peace of mind. Why again didn’t I save myself the time and money and go earlier? Oh well. I’m feeling much better, although my foot is still incredibly sore. And itchy. DARN BEES!!!! I hate bees.

Now, onto the fun part of the day! My coworker, Annika, was kind enough to give us tickets to the Utah State Fair! I couldn't not go. Elle was so excited- my parents had taken her a few days before, and she hadn't stopped talking about it. I hobbled my way around for a couple of hours- and it was so much fun (mostly now. Hindsight. At the time, I was sore & woozy).

Do you know what I love about fairs?

It doesn’t matter where you go to a fair- a fair is a fair is a fair.

Like… fair people? Most all fairs have that delightfully white trash vibe, yes? Ahh, smoke, rides that smell like rusty metal (and seem incredibly unsafe), carnies, and fried “food.”

Deeee-lightful!

poop & being mortified by an apostle. for the second time.

2011-09-17T19:12:00.000-06:00

Poop:

As mentioned previously, we’ve been working on potty-training.

The other day I decided to stay home all day and do nothing but keep Elle naked, helping her get used to “going pee-pee & poop on the potty!”

Who’s jealous?!

Elle woke up at 7:30 and I kept her naked until… 1:15. The kid had to nap at some point! Well, that’s 5.5 hours with no signs of pee. Clearly, she has way better bladder control than her mother.
No joke, she’s brilliant.

She doesn’t want to pee on the potty. So she doesn’t.

She of course peed during her nap, but when she got up, it was naked time again… and once again, nudity.

Pee-free nakedness until she went to bed at 8:30.

WHAT? Seriously.

How do you teach a kid to be potty trained, if they don’t… potty?

Leave it to Elle to outwit us all.

She’s gone a bunch of times in recent weeks.
Mostly when we’ve caught her and run her into the bathroom. More poop than pee. No one prepares you as a parent for how much poop you get on your floor.

Maybe that’s just me?

Shoot, that’d be embarrassing.

Elle gets an M&M when she goes potty.

She loves it. She cheers and claps.

Sometimes she even tells me when we’re driving that she’s peeing! Not that I can do anything at that moment in time…

Alas, whenever I ask her, “Do you have to pee?”

“NOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

I’ve tried sitting her on the potty for ages and letting her watch “The Little Mermaid” on our laptop.

No pee.

Hmm. We seem to be at a crossroads.
What do i do now?

Anyway, it’s funny. Funny, and moderately obnoxious.

Mortification (unrelated to bowel movements):

Last Friday night we had a free meal at a café near our house- we went in and were one of 3 families in the restaurant. Immediately, Elle had a full-blown tantrum. She wanted one of their giant cookies (you know the ones that are the size of pies and have writing on them?). Clearly, she couldn’t have one- they are plastic. As she flung herself onto the floor, wailing, I grabbed her arm and drug her outside for time-out. I ~~tossed~~ placed her into a chair and firmly explained that we were in public. She needed to be a big girl and we were getting our dinner just as quick as we could! As I lectured her, I realized I was up against a window. “I sure hope no one is sitting at the table on the other side of this window. That would be awkward.” When her time-out was finished, we went back inside, ordered our food, and sat down.
Mike leaned over to me, “Um, weren’t you and Elle on the other side of that window?”
“Yes.”
“Oh...I think that’s President and Sister Eyring.”

WHAT ARE THE ODDS!?
Seriously, people!? If you aren’t Mormon, you won’t understand the humiliation. If anyone hears a talk during General Conference addressed to violent mothers/abusing your children/keeping your calm in public/etc., know that it was inspired by President Henry B. Eyring’s terrible experience one Friday night.

Just of the record, this is the second time I’ve been mortified while in the presence of this incredible man. There was also a thoroughly embarrassing moment when I wore green squirrel shoes and he kind of called me out.

Oh, Amanda.

oh, & i did this...

2011-09-13T21:04:00.000-06:00

i've donated my hair twice before.

that's my incentive to let my hair keep growing...

this time? it took 7 years to grow long.

SEVEN.

ree-donkulous.

i adore long hair- i think it's just so lovely! but it never seems as perfect on me. shoot.

last time it was long, mikey & i didn't know the other existed...

it was a lot harder this time.

i feel like i'm getting old & my face is falling down.

i went back & forth between,

"this long hair is making me look worse! WAIT! what if i cut it and it looks worse-worse? then i have to wait another 7 years to recover!"

the annoyance of long hair won, and in i marched in to a new hair lady.

i drove with all the windows down & sunroof open, hair blowing all over the place.

that's one of my favorite things in the whole world- sunshine, windows down, & music? love.

i laughed to myself when i went to get out of the car, and realized i'd closed my hair in my sunroof (irony).

this time i only donated 8".

8" was plenty.

it's shorter than i wanted... but it'll grow back.

eventually.

right?

now that it's said and done, i'm happy!

i think it's a mini adrenaline rush.

that's about as daring as i get.

i'm afraid my face is still falling, but my mom did say i looked younger.

i'll take what i can get!

some pictures.

2011-09-12T14:23:00.003-06:00

the more photos i take, the more i appreciate other people's pictures...

in particular, those which have faces of children + parents all looking toward the camera, or at least with facial expressions which don't resemble mouthing the words, "NOOO!" or "COME HERE!" or "IF YOU LOOK AT THE CAMERA & SMILE I'LL GIVE YOU CANDY! OR ICE CREAM!"

maybe it's just me?

i took some pictures of these guys,

and they snapped some of us in return!

elle & boedi are hilarious.

and mischevious.

and two.

and at the end of this evening?

filthy.

enough said.

(see their photos here on my photo blog.)

y'all come back now, y'hear?

2011-09-10T19:13:00.000-06:00

dare i say- the mystery has been solved!

OUR BLOG IS SAFE.

i promise!

on my "sites i surf" reel there was a link to a photographer who had (at some point) a virus on his site.

google chrome & firefox flagged (& will flag) my blog INDEFINITELY until it has been "reviewed" by google (whenever that is. i've made the request). until then, if you have google chrome or firefox you have to click "proceed" and "ignore this warning/this site is safe."
unless you select for your browser to remember this setting, it will keep popping up saying there is malware. somewhere.
lame. i hope this is all sorted out soon.
thanks to way-too-big corporations like blogger and google who have zero customer support or contact help. none.
whatevs.
cross your fingers we're back to normal soon.
this is really obnoxious.
:)

malware- what the...!? i think not. someone. help?

2011-09-08T12:04:00.001-06:00

if blogger was not "invisible," i would have killed it.

pulverized it, really.

from it's stupidity uploading images,

issues posting comments,

it's inability to "save now," which deletes posts as i go...

& now the fact that apparently a large number of people have stopped GOING to our blog because of some stupid malware warning (i've never seen it, but i've gotten 6 emails today from others saying it exists)... REALLY? stop, blogger, just stop.

if ANYONE has thoughts, i'd love to hear them.

i've considered changing our blog address.

deleting our template.

removing all the items on the sidebars...

but that all seems so... permanent.

and time consuming.

and what if none of that works?

how do i know what works- i don't get an error in the first place?

i've searched high & low for solutions, but i can't find any.

all i've "heard" is that google chrome's uber sensitivity (as well as other browser security settings) sets off some bogus malware warning...

anyone? help? that is... if you are even looking at our blog...

is anyone out there?

saturday play-by-play.

2011-09-06T06:49:00.007-06:00

judging by facebook statuses... college football started? yes?

i love me some football.

not really.

anyway, in the spirit of sports, let's do a saturday play-by-play!

we went to tremonton for mike's nephew, dilon's baptism!

elle was delighted upon arrival:

isn't dilon a handsome little man? he's the second from the left:

back at mel & nate's for some bbq. there are a lot of boys. a lot. see? boys. lots. here are some:

boys are sturdy:

elle is a lady. and kind of a pansy. she gets that from me. she's cute though! i'll claim that too for now:

oh, the train. the train? hit it out of the park (wrong sport, but they're all the same in my book):

homerun!

it's all fun & games until the last shot on my camera... you can guess... the nanoseconds following this weren't as great as the rest of the day. NO instant replay needed. this child has almost broken her neck more times than i as a mom want to recolect:

game over.

i, have a toddler.

2011-09-03T07:12:00.043-06:00

i know it's a common statement here,

but this kid? 1) she's a hoot.

2) she's almost 2.

those two things i know for sure.

this morning it was... cool outside.
not smothering, sticky, or bright.
it was... cool.
i got chills.
chills not because it was cold... but because i realized fall is coming.
elle's 2nd birthday?
it's just weeks away.
summer- our summer- is dwindling.
labor day? it's the day after tomorrow!

a man at our clubhouse was looking back & forth between elle & i as we carried on a somewhat usual chatter: "ELLE! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU HAD TO GO PEE PEE?"
she smiles at me, "potty!!!!! mama potty!"
"elle! it's too late! you tell me BEFORE you go pee!"
for the hundredth time she was naked for hours in our house. i follow her like a hound. "elle, do you have to pee?" "NO MOM!" this goes on & on & on...
finally, i'm sick of pestering, and i'm really for the pool.
the instant i put her in a swim diaper and in her stroller, i see "the puddle..."
she's peed. again. not in a toilet.

anyway, the man in the clubhouse smiled at my loud tone & talk of urine.
(amanda- you're in public. filter yourself!)
he snickered, "she's 2, huh?"
"just about! how'd you know?"
"i have 2 year old twins. good luck."

pool playdate.

2011-09-02T06:09:00.067-06:00

here are some of my coworkers of yore! remember my friend rochelle? she's now the proud mama to will- isn't he a stud? rachel is the mama to adorable adalaide! i miss these girls! we planned a pool play date monday, and had a great time swimming, enjoying some lunch, and catching up as we basked in the august sun. and shade.

i find great humor in the fact that our kids are 23, 15, and 8 months... & are all nearly the same size:)

i think if we left elle & adalaide alone too long, they could probably get themselves into serious mischeif. these girls are movers and shakers! will? he is awesome. so chill! so content & happy!

i like these play date things.

we should do it again soon.

wallsburg: work+family retreat.

2011-08-30T09:09:00.003-06:00

it's been said that i love my job & i love love love the people i work with.

saturday was a retreat for the yw general presidency, board, staff, & families. there were about 200 of us.

"stunning" doesn't begin to describe the property. or weather. or company...

(above: sister elaine dalton w/ 3 board members who planned the day.)

their lake had a zipline, rope swings, and boats. elle kept saying, "pool!" then when she got in, her face looked the way i felt about lakes- 'ew! cold! slimy!' we rode a paddleboat together... & had the best time! elle was in heaven. mike let her steer. so basically, we made a lot of circles.

elle was nearly silent except for the random, "ohhh! boat! pool! happy!"

such a great memory.

the slip & slide: all-around highlight of the day.

people watching was nearly as fun as sliding down the hill!

please take note of how much elle hated going down the slide, but was somehow so attracted to climbing the hill...:)

note: face above.

the troughs of water running off the base of the slide made for gigantic mud pits. elle wouldn't leave them alone! she seriously looked like a swamp monster. that tutu swimsuit gathers all mud, debris, bugs, and general crap anywhere nearby... she was quite the filthy princess:) it took 3 washings just to tone down the brown...

melissa & me.

shade from the sun under the big trees.

my new coworker, annika, on the zipline.

remember jamie!? she came all the way up with her hubby & cute little baby millie!

elle. was. in. loooove. i mean really, can you blame her?

she just jumped on my lap when she saw this picture: "PLAAAAY! MOMMM! I PLAY!!!!!!"

for more about where i work, click here.

a surprise party! kind of.

2011-08-24T06:16:00.001-06:00

i planned a birthday surprise pool party for saturday at our clubhouse- and it stayed an actual surprise until i broke the news a few hours before (he hates "real" surprises)! score. i love it when plans aren't foiled!

most of mike's family was able to make it down, as were our favorite neighbors the crandalls, and my parents!... who, might i add, pretty much saved the day. my mom should be an event planner for a living. she made 4 giant homemade pizzas, my dad made his famous berry lemonade, and i made too-liquidy boston cream cupcakes (go, me!). it was a gorgeously hot day. perfect, with the exception of poor kenzie who was stung by a bee on her neck 19 nanoseceonds after they arrived. stupid bees! sorry, kenzie.

thanks to everyone for being so supportive of mike getting older:)

thank you all for making the long trek.

we had a blast!

happy 29th, babe!

cherry hill birthday.

2011-08-23T06:00:00.005-06:00

i may have had more fun than mike on his birthday.

the morning was insanity. so busy. i zoomed downtown...

birthday boy got off at noon (HELLO, AWESOME), and while elle napped at my parents, we went to a (drumroll...) MOVIE! "crazy, stupid, love." oh, i love movies. oh, i miss movies!

it was like, a real date! so much fun.

so fun.

later we went to cherry hill w/ my parents for some fun in the (hot) sun!

elle was in looove with the lazy river.

we all laughed & played.

my dad "runs" (is that right?) their summer concerts each weekend, all summer long, so they know their way around that place!

we all had some greasy park dinner & finished off the night with a trip to sports authority (clearly, my fun ended there. but i guess it was his birthday after all...)

happy 29th my lovey!

29: in 365 days, you'll be forced to truly face wisdom, maturity, and refinement. until then? cheers to your twenties!

2011-08-19T04:15:00.033-06:00

This is it. His last year in his twenties.

WHAT? Twenty-nine.

My husband is twenty-nine!

I have a hard time believing we’ve been married six years. Have an almost-two-year-old. And Mike is reaching that threshold where you are truly, only young in your head. Teenagers think you’re old. So you must be old. Because teenagers know everything, right?

Did I give you a complex, Mike? I guess we’re all just in shock. I would now like to express my love to you by sharing 29 of my most favorite memories with you…

(Warning: For those others who are reading, this may be long, personal, and confusing.)

photo taken last weekend when mike decided to cut his own hair. he looks much sexier now than at the above moment, trust me.

29. Wandering, looking for our hotel, walking on a bridge in Paris. When I’m pretty positive that you, Barb & Paul would have thrown be off the side into the water had they been given the chance… I was so mean and nasty and tired… you did something. Said something? I can’t remember what it was for the life of me, but I DO remember that was the moment I thought, “Woah. He is tolerating me. He is handling me being crazy. And dramatic. And he’s calm. And not jumping off this bridge himself. I want to be with this best friend of mine for forever…”

28. Sharing meals out. All meals. Always. And being cheap together. And never making decisions without the other’s awareness. Still.

27. The moment Elle was born and the first words of your mouth were, “She looks Asian…” and we laughed. It wasn’t the moment I expected- you know, that one people talk about where you instantly cry? Instead, it was our moment of laughter when we shared our new bundle in the only way WE knew how. And it was funny. And I think she laughed, too. At least I hope so. Because clearly, she is not Asian.

26. Chasing the waves in Maui together for hours.

25. When Elle was just a wee little lassie, and shot projectile diarrhea on you in the middle of the night.

24. Each weeknight when you rub my feet.

23. Our first date. The whole thing. In particular, the moment you grabbed my newly-mittened hand and ran across the street in Salt Lake. Or when we drove the hills in Bountiful and saw the deer run in front of our car- you said, “Wow, I wonder how many batteries that thing takes?” Oh, that was SUCH a fun night!

22. Cross-country drives & roadtrips.

21. When you bought art from a homeless man.

20. The thousands of times I’ve said, “Let’s take a picture!” You roll your eyes… but then you pose with me. OHHHH, the times you’ve rolled your eyes at me!

19. The golf course up on Cliffside- Sunday drives and house-hunting.

18. The night we thought someone was breaking into our house, and rather than saving your dear wife, you shoved me toward the door, and cowered under the covers.

17. When you hid in the dryer.

16. After the Jazz game when you, Paul & I were driving up by the Capitol- you got out to pee on the side of the road- and afterward made the funniest comment alive when we picked you up. You know what I’m talking about.

15. Watching you snorkel in pure bliss. Endlessly.

14. Our night walks of yore. On the beach in Spain when we talked about getting married. Choosing the “big” or “little” circle to walk in Logan. Exploring the streets of Europe. Enjoying night walks with fireflies in Ohio. Circling our neighborhood as I walked the curbs, hoping to induce labor. When we were first married and lived in that tiny Logan studio- we’d fight like crazies sometimes, other times we’d walk just up the hill to the temple.

13. When you flew to Ohio & met my parents. That moment we met in the baggage claim of the Cleveland airport- I ran & jumped on you like in the movies! I’m sure I was full of that much grace, too, as I leapt into your arms. I’m so graceful.

12. When you were sunburned in Edgehill and you lifted up your shirt in to rub in lotion- I saw that you had a six-pack. That was a nice surprise.

11. Black Pearl. You let me drive her. She was such a fast car… and then you bought Red. She was not such a fast car. But you loved her.

10. When you tried to pick a fight with the Tongans, who then stole our hubcaps. It wasn’t a favorite memory then, but it is now.

9. When I was pregnant and you heard about “shaken baby syndrome” on the radio. That day you asked me not to jump or move quickly, just in case it would hurt “your little girl.” And you were serious.

8. When I found you on the street downtown with a sign. Asking for forgiveness. You’re so sweet. Thank you for being so willing to change. So happy. Patient.

7. Hawaiian fruit stands & shaved ice.

6. The olden days of Baby London’s. Such a fun adventure. Going to Magic. Acting like grown-ups who pretended to know what they were doing.

5. The times when you laugh so hard you make that donkey laugh- I mean, I’m never funny enough that you laugh like that for ME… but it’s still HIL-arious. And it’s my goal one day for you to laugh like that at me. When appropriate. The time I drew an elephant & “nails” was close, but still, no donkey laugh. That was more of an, “Amanda, you’re an idiot” laugh.

4. I can’t even count the times I’ve caught you playing with Elle and it melts my heart. Never could I imagine anyone being a better daddy than you are to that little girl! She adores you. I also love the moment a few nights ago when she said in the silence at 4AM, “Dad. I. Want. Mom.” She loves us. And she’s a spitfire. And she’s ours.

3. Edgehill. All of it. All those silly memories we had as friends & then dating. Throwing a football, making lunch on your George Foreman, our roommates & neighbors. Sneaking in & out. The sound of the front doors slamming. The parking lot. That stupid hill. Ben & Jerry’s. Econ class. It feels like what made us… it seems like so long ago, maybe that’s why the memories are so silly? So fun. So sweet.

2. Trips. Oh, how I’ve loved our trips together. How could I count those memories? I’ll wait until you’re 100 to try. At least 100. Las Vegas, Hawaii, Mexico, Florida, England, Spain, France, the Bahamas, California, New York, DC, Chicago, & a bunch of places in between.

1. That smile. How I love that smile of yours. And those lips. Everything. You’re the man for me, and I’d never change a thing. Thank you for being my man. There are so many more.

I’m so glad you were born. I’m so happy to have you. Elle is, too. We love you, and all your crazy ways. You’re the best. Happiest birthday wishes to our man!

a place for all those other pictures...

2011-08-17T18:19:00.000-06:00

is it bad that i shutter to say this? seriously. what's up with that? oh, i know. i kind of feel like a copycat.

we all know now that i really love taking pictures, right? right. well, since we have a business license and all the gadgets that go along-side, i decided to start a second blog for all the pictures take! i'm not saying i'll go "pro" right now- we all know i'm far from professional, but it's a step in the direction away from just stalking my 2-year-old... i'm learning so much more each time i shoot. i love pictures. i never want my love of photos to get shoved aside and turn into "obligation," so we're on a trial run of sorts! we'll see what happens but for now, i'm practicing taking pictures. and those pictures have a home! another blog:
click on over to the link to amanda petersen+photography...

p.s. - can anyone explain why blogger images have has looked like dirt lately?! ever since may or so, uploads look SO grainy! i've tried everything. they are perfectly clear on my computer, but once they're uploaded they get all messed up. i've tried resizing. changing my layout. using photobucket. everything i can think of. blogger has been resizing them, too. for no apparent reason. i swear i'm not computer illiterate, but still- no luck figuring this out. anyone else have this problem? or do i just suck? :)

"cooo-keey and waa-wa?"

2011-08-13T09:07:00.001-06:00

when i got out my veggies to make dinner, i discovered they were moldy.

mike walked in the door from work i just smiled at him with a "please tell me you have a great idea for dinner" look. we've only been out once this whole month, and i can't stand cooking anymore.

we've driven by this place a million times, but apparently, it's now a new restaraunt- a BBQ called j.d. smedley's

it was a gorgeous friday night, and could not have been more charming!

we walked up to the door- a 25 minute wait? we can handle that.

we sat on picnic tables & enjoyed smelling the loverly aeroma of the big smoker in the yard (we all showered when we got home-now that is my idea of camping- smelling like fire without the overnight-ing!).

we kept waiting.

elle just kept yelling, "coo-kie & waa-wa!??!"

"elle, you have to eat more than cookies & water for dinner."

"no! coo-kie & waa-wa, mommy."

still waiting.

after an hour the couple behind us said, "we waitied an hour to get a table, and now have been waiting another hour for our food..."

they took off, and so did we.

you know that point where you can sense your child is near a meltdown?

right. it was time.

"COOO-KEEEE N WAAA-WAAAAA!"

sure it was friday night, but there were only 6 total tables filled inside & out!

has anyone watched "kitchen nightmares?" i kept hearing gordon ramsey in the back of my head.

this wasn't panning out exactly like we'd hoped.

oh well, if they last through the year, we'll try again...

we promptly headed over to a bakery/cafe for cookies & water.

"daddy? coo-kee & waa-wa?"

weekend roundup.

2011-08-10T07:10:00.002-06:00

friday night elle hung out with her best buddy, boedi! these two crack me up. they are great little buddies. who happen to hold hands wherever they go:) while cort & kristen were on a date, mikey & i lived a few hours with "twins." how do parents of multiples do it? they were both really good, but two 2-year-olds at a park is pure insanity! boedi was a stud & let me take a million pictures. elle is catching on to my game and runs away screaming, "nooooooooooooo!!" whenever she sees my camera.
here's the dynamic duo post-splash pad, mid-craziness (do you like their matching war cries? "woooo!!!!")...

saturday was the annual "vernie pete tee party" in tremonton. this year, mike's awesome sisters watched elle so i could golf with mike! mike, his dad, brother-in-law (nate), plus dilon (he's 8) kicked my butt. i know, surprise, right? well... there was ONE exception of the day... read on, you'll be so super impressed...

no joke, mike even said, "amanda. that was so good, it's blog-worthy!"
hole #1: from (what mike said was) 25 to 30 yards away, i hit the ball right into the hole! hello, birdie! i have to say before my magic shot, i literally swung and missed HITTING the ball. i don't aim. my goal? to actually make contact with the ball+club. so when i nailed this one, i screamed and jumped so loud that the other golfers on the other holes even turned to clap! they were probably just trying to shut me up. such bad golf etiquette, i know. go amanda!

after golf we picnic'd at marble park. the only park i've ever seen with animal heads on the wall, one of the worlds largest collections of barbed wire, and playground "toys" made of rusty, razor sharp, old metal. YAY! elle loved it:)

sidewalk (& carpet) art.

2011-08-05T08:54:00.004-06:00

yes, my child has no pants on.

i'm letting her run naked part of the day, hoping to get her started on potty training

(this post inspired me. i even bought that same seat! i'm a sucker for parenting "peer pressure").

the truth is, it was rainy a few days last week & since we were inside a big chunk of the day i figured it wouldn't hurt anything!

plus, i'm sick of buying diapers.

although... this is kind of like, hard, so i may pansy out for a while:) we shall see...

when i spotted sunshine, i took a break from my cleaning pee off the carpet,

& elle played picasso all over our sidewalk!

she's a funny little lady.

she usually gets more chalk on herself than the ground- see,

she rolls ON her drawings because she realizes she can transfer her "image" right onto her person!

smarty pants.

park city turns into utah olympic park.

2011-07-31T13:12:00.002-06:00

yesterday, mikey had the lovely idea to head to park city before elle's nap- so off we went! traffic into main street was backed up as far as the eye could see, so we quickly turned off and found ourselves winding up the mountain toward the utah olympic park!

it was our lucky day- the pool was a bustle with the freestyle jumpers.

elle?
all she kept yelling was,
"POOOOOOOOOOO-oooooooo-LLLL!"

"no, elle, we can't get in this pool. "
"NO! POOOLLL!"
poor kid.
i don't blame her- jumping in looked so tempting.

hoorah for free afternoon fun!

food, inc.

2011-07-28T14:15:00.011-06:00

mike covered his eyes and ears, "la-la-la, i don't want to know!"

alas, after hearing and watching bits & pieces of "food, inc." numerous times, i finally sat down watched the entire documentary via youtube.

it's fascinating.

disturbing at times,

but it's disturbing whether you watch or not.

honestly, yah, it sucks to hear, but it is so nice to not turn a blind eye.

i encourage you to at least watch the first and last minutes...

as mentioned previously, we've been "flexitarian" for a while, but i think i'm officially done buying meat.
and i'm going to be much more cautious as to the other products i buy. sure, i spent $7 for cage free, organic eggs (at costco nontheless), opposed to $3... but it's about baby steps, right?
throw stones if you will, but every little bit helps!
i now feel much more enlightened:)

i love this little lady...

2011-07-25T16:26:00.005-06:00

a little about sleep & a little about dancing around like a princess.

2011-07-22T13:47:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite (& least favorite) times of the day is the morning... In particular, mornings when Mike & I work. I hate waking a sleeping child... it's so... ironic, isn't it? We slip into her dark room at the last possible second & search for her body. We gawk how cute (& big) our "baby" is. We whisper how guilty we feel. Usually we can see her from the neck down. Her head is always, always under her favorite blanket. She’s such a light sleeper she’s usually opened her eyes by this time, and instantly, a huge grin comes across her face. She is pure delight in the mornings, and I love it. Once she’s up, she’s up… there isn’t much cuddling, other than a sometimes momentary hug and stretch.

She's been sleeping so much better since we adjusted her nighttime schedule! It was rough sailing for a few weeks there… really, Vegas was a divine intervention for us. I was either going to check into a hotel, or the looney bin. Whichever came first. Thank you, Vegas. Maybe some slumber parties at her grandparents are to thank? Either way- bedtime is later-we were sad at first to lose our “couple date nights,” but in reality we gained family date nights, which rock. We spend most nights at the pool, splash pad, or park… who could complain? Not me!

Elle is such a girl.

I'm pretty sure she has many more natural, sweet, motherly instincts than I do. She's so caring and sensitive.

She found this skirt of mine and instantly put her hands over her mouth, gasping, "Ohhhhhh!"
"Elle, do you want to put on mommy's skirt?"
"DDD-AAAAAHHH!"

She laughed & laughed & laughed,
twirled & twirled & twirled...

saturday in logan.

2011-07-20T06:25:00.024-06:00

Just outside of Logan I realized I’d packed my camera for our day-o-family-fun…

but realized my camera battery was sitting, cozy in its charger, on our kitchen counter. Lame.

I almost cried. If Mike wouldn’t have mocked me I would have cried (I could see his smirk when he realized just HOW off the hook he was- no camera?! ALL DAY free of a camera?!? I think he may have secretly sabotaged me). Thankfully, I remembered my phone. And still managed to take like 100 pictures? HA!!! Not that anyone should be surprised.

Elle was napless so we just shoved Dum Dum’s at her to try and keep all of our sanity. Really, we all just ended up sticky & exhausted by the time we got home. I’m not sure if there are any other children in existence who also refuse to sleep in their car seat (anyone? Anyone?). No matter how tired she is, she won’t sleep in the car. She’s been like that since infancy. It makes for long, loud car rides and yesterday was no exception! Screaming aside, it was a great day!

Highlights: walking around campus (including my freshman home, and where Mikey & I met); going to feed the ducks at 1st Dam; Gossners (Elle literally drank 2 milk cartons of chocolate milk in less than 2 minutes. So... we turned around and bought more); potato & bacon spring rolls from Hamilon’s; the “zoo;” and finally, a wedding reception for one of Mike’s best high school buddies!

stealing candy from bigger kids for our littler kid. and for us. via the farmington parade.

2011-07-15T05:10:00.003-06:00

the rest of sin city.

2011-07-09T15:23:00.001-06:00