2012 Peterson Mini Family Reunion

Here are some new family pictures from our annual Peterson reunion last weekend. We gathered in Pocatello Friday night, and the adults got to go out to eat while a couple local "Beehives" watched the kids. What a treat that was! Saturday we spent the morning taking pictures and then headed to Lava Hot Springs for the afternoon. Activities included floating the river, eating and relaxing. Chloe loved going down the river, and she went several times. I got some scrapes and bruises when I fell off my tube, but we all had a good time. After church in Poky on Sunday, we headed for home.

 

Return of the Prodigal Blogger

Hi, Everyone! I haven't logged into my blog in so long, I don't even recognize blogger anymore--it has a new look! Well, here I am. I'm not sure how frequently I will continue posting, but I'm going to start with a post about Mother's Day. (I think I like the intimacy of blogging more than facebook for sharing family photos, stories and memories.) Last Saturday we got together with the local brood for niece Molly's 1st birthday party, then we reconvened at Grammy and Papa's to plant Grammy's Mother's Day present: 8 new iceberg rose bushes.

Molly is sure a cutie.

So here are some pictures of the process. I had the hardest job--taking pictures. :) No, really, Chad, Kevin, Diannah and Nancy worked so hard to create this beautiful present for Mom. Thanks, y'all! We love you, Mom!

Halloween 2011

 Here is a quick report on our Halloween. Chloe got it in her head a few weeks ago to be a pumpkin for Halloween, so that is the costume that we created for both the girls. As you can see from Charlotte's attire in this picture, the weather was quite warm during the day on Halloween. (She didn't stay out long in her diaper.)

  Duncan "hates" (his word) Halloween, so he stayed home. But the girls and I had fun trick-or-treating with Aunt Di Di, who was dressed up as Waldo. After every house Chloe would say, "Can we go to a different house and go trick-or-treating?"

Summer Winding Down: Scenes from Spanish Fork

Yesterday evening Duncan, the kids and I couldn't resist the beckoning twilight of late summer. The evening was so mellow and beautiful, and the hay field behind our house had recently been cut and dotted with bales. We had FHE outside and then lingered past the setting of the sun, watching the farmers haul the hay, watching the sunflowers blow, and watching our shadows dance against the house. In a way it felt like a good-bye to Summer; the last Summer that Chloe will be three and Charlotte will be almost-two. But, as Chloe has been saying lately, "It's going to turn Halloween." And we'll have different things and different evenings to enjoy.

 

Spanish Fork Farmer's Market

I saw the sign for it earlier in the week and thought, "That would be a fun Saturday morning activity for me and the girls while Duncan is camping this weekend." So we arrived at the farmer's market Saturday morning ready to stroll leisurely through rows of vegetables, fruits, baked goods, art work, crafts and other items I imagined a farmer's market to include. Well, I have to say I was a little bit disappointed. Our "stroll" took all of two minutes, and we only saw some vegetables, a couple fruits, some grains, garlic and honey...oh, and some homemade lip balm and body butter. Three minutes picking out some carrots and the color of the flower on the lip balm, and our whole experience lasted about five minutes.

Here is what we came home with:

 

And it wasn't long before Charlotte's lip balm looked like this:

 

Maybe next year's farmer's market will be better. :)

We Have Moved

...to Spanish Fork. And we're having a splashing time!

100 Blends

On May 20, 2011 we came home with this:

And we made one of these:

And it was good.

And since then we have made many more.

On June 10, our blend counter hit 100. We are loving the Blendtec and all the health benefits and deliciousness it provides! It's fun to experiment and get creative with different smoothie combinations. Of the greens, we've tried spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, romaine lettuce and celery leaves, and so far I like the spinach and the collard greens the best. One of my favorite smoothies is spinach, fresh pineapple, and avocado. I've also ground wheat and made almond milk in the Blendtec. Blend on!