New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve, we joined Steve's brother Brett (and Annie, Meg & Drew) and Annie's sister's family and in-laws. We ate and chatted while the kids played. Then, we headed to the basement for a "talent show". They have an unfinished basement which they have converted into a kids' playroom. They have speakers and a karaoke machine, a tv with video games and ropes hanging from the ceiling to play with. Reagan and Cole thought they were in heaven - running around, swinging from the ropes and playing with toys. The kids put on a talent show, which was them lip synching and dancing to various songs. Reagan was dancing to her own beat (mostly a hula type move that she favors) and Cole was trying to copy the other boys who were rapping, doing hip hop and break dancing. We laughed because he actually did quite well. Here's some pics and a video of his "skeeeellllss" (please excuse the bad audio - not sure why it didn't come through well). I had a head cold that did me in so, we left before midnight, but we had a great time. Here's to a wonderful 2010 and the start of a fabulous 2011. Bring it on!!!!

Rockstar Sunbeam

I mentioned before that I was recently released from the Primary Presidency in our ward (after almost 4 years). I am sad, but excited for new adventures and callings. In primary, we encourage the children to memorize the Articles of Faith (they have to memorize them before they turn 12 in order to graduate primary, but we encourage even the younger children to work on them as well). For those of you not familiar with these, they are thirteen statements or thoughts that describe the beliefs of our church.

So, this is Reagan's first year in primary and about half way through this year, we decided to try working on an Article of Faith for her. I figured if she can memorize lines from Shrek or Nemo, she can certainly memorize Articles of Faith (or the shorter ones). Well, she loved it and did great! She would pass off one after another and would immediately ask me "What's my next one Mama?" Cole even passed off three of them (Rockstar Nursery Child) just by listening to us work with Reagan. In fact, his line for our Primary Sacrament Meeting Program was the first Article of Faith - Gotta love it!

My friend Stacey (who was also in the Primary Presidency with me) started calling Reagan the "Rockstar Sunbeam". So, I picked up on it and started calling her that as well. Then, one day, Reagan asked me "Mama, what's a rockstar?" I laughed and laughed thinking that here we thought we were complimenting her and she had no idea what we were saying. Oh well - the thought (and enthusiasm) was there.

Today Reagan passed off the thirteenth Article of Faith, completing all of them. (We had to recite it over the phone since our next Sunday meeting would be after the first of the year.) She's the only one in our primary to have passed them all off this year and certainly the only Sunbeam. Not bad for a first year in primary.

Cole starts primary this Sunday - a Sunbeam himself - and already knowing 3 of the Articles of Faith, I'm hoping he'll step right in and pass them off his first year as well.

Way to go Reagan - you really are a Rockstar Sunbeam!

Christmas Day

Luckily, on Christmas morning, Reagan and Cole slept in until 8:00. We had drilled into their heads that when they woke up, they were to come into our bedroom, rather than coming into the kitchen and family room area (like every other day and like Christmas morning last year). They did so and we were able to get up, get the cameras, wake up Shannon and be ready to go before they saw the loot that Santa had left. Steve walked them down the hall slowly until Reagan made a break for it and jetted into the front room. They were elated! Shannon and I were laughing as we watched them open a present and take it to Steve to open and then get frustrated waiting as he untied the plastic knots, cut the bindings, and take whatever action was necessary to get the darn toy out of the darn box! Even more funny was watching Steve's frustration level rise as he fought with box after box.

We weren't even done opening presents before Rachel and her family arrived for another gift exchange and breakfast. Each Christmas morning, Kevin makes us omelets - they are SO good and he'll custom make them to your order. Then, Matt showed up (after staying until 2am to help us "put together" - that's a whole other story) and later Shannon's friend Heidi arrived. The guys hooked up the video games and we were on to another activity before Rachel and Kevin had to leave (they were hosting a luncheon at 1) and we needed to get ready to go to Steve's parents' house.

As always, it was a great time at Steve's parents' - that's what we love about it. More family, more friends, more food. Reagan and Cole love to play with their cousins and were surprised to to get more presents. We chatted and ate, watched the game and missed the few who weren't there.

Once we arrived back home, Reagan and Cole played with their toys some more and we all relaxed and talked and enjoyed the time together. We took some time to reflect on the blessings of Christmas, on the birth of our Savior and on the blessings in our lives. Then, we called it a night, putting another Christmas in the books.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve.. Eve (I think that's right), we saw April (she would be out of town for Christmas) and we saw my parents. Then, on Christmas Eve, we had our traditional get together. Rachel and her family as well as Shannon and Matt joined us for dinner and games, a program, a Nativity dvd, and the ever enjoyable Christmas Vacation. Mike joined us for Christmas Eve, rather than Christmas Day this year. We had a great time, with the exception of some of us being under the weather. Matt had laryngitis and couldn't speak while Shannon had some cold/flu that put her under and Mike had recent shoulder surgery so he only had use of one arm. We were a sight. Maybe that's why I didn't take many pictures this night. That and we were busy cooking, playing, wrapping, putting together (uggh) and enjoying Christmas Eve.

Due to the fact that Reagan and Cole both fell asleep for an hour or so at 5 pm, we had a late night and then couldn't seem to get them to go to sleep. I kept telling them that Santa wouldn't come if they didn't go to sleep, but each time I would walk in their rooms to check if they were asleep, they would sit up in their beds and ask if Santa had come. Crazy kiddos!

They finally hit dreamland and we finally finished wrapping, putting together and stuffing stockings. At 4am, I fell into bed, satisfied that there would be a wonderful Christmas Day for everyone.

Petersen Siblings Christmas Party

I've written about Steve's family before. I think we total 140 from Steve's parents down (and that number was over a year ago, so, I'm sure we are well past that now). He says that having 10 brothers and sisters meant there was always someone to play with.... and play they do! We got together for a Christmas party with his siblings (and any children still at home). Wow - what a blast to have everyone... or almost everyone, together. They play with each other, joke with each other and chat. They share memories and give their parents a hard time and tell each other's long kept secrets. I especially love to see Steve with his brothers, huddled in a circle, talking about when they were younger. There are quotes from Mom (jockeystrap) and tales of shenanigans (Steve blowing himself up with gunpowder) as well as inside family jokes and lots of great memories. Robyn is always good to give back rubs and Steve is usually wrestling with someone.

We ate, had a gift exchange for the kids and one for the adults, and played a version of Pictionary - men v. women. We girls thought we would win for sure by making the guys draw items such as: dredle, fondue, and yogurt. The guys, on the other hand, claimed to not get the memo about drawing "items" and they gave us such things as: Don't ask, don't tell, Brett Favre, and grinch. It was so fun to see people try to draw, try not to cheat, and try to convey their "word" to their team. My favorite line from this activity was hearing Doug tell Steve "Drawing more of the same thing won't help us - draw something else!!!!!"

We always have a great time with the Petersen siblings and are so grateful to Mom and Dad for giving us so many people to play with. Here's a few pics of our night:

Christmas Dance Class

The week before Christmas, Reagan's dance class was so cute. For a month or so, they have been practicing all of these little dances to Christmas songs (Rudolf, Santa Baby, Nutcracker, etc.) and this week, they performed for all the moms in the gallery. Love it! Reagan was decked out in her Christmas tutu (courtesy - again - of my friend Stacey), but after missing a few classes while we were in Hawaii, she didn't quite have the dances down. It didn't matter - we loved watching them. During one of the dances, the girls have candy canes that they dance with and they link together by putting the candy canes around each others' waists - it was darling!!! We were missing 2 of our classmates and had 2 new girls who were making up a class they had missed, so, we weren't totally in sync, but it was cute nonetheless. Take a look:

Our Christmas Card

In case we missed someone on our list (and because this blog is our own, personal, family scrapbook), here's a look at our 2010 Christmas card. I love it!!!

Thanks again to English Photo for helping us preserve our family's ages and stages :)

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward held their annual Christmas Dinner and Party and we we had a grand ole time! There was a great dinner and then members of the ward sang or played instruments. After that, the primary children sang songs (even the nursery children were included) and played bells. At the end of their program, Santa came into the room. I got such a kick out of Cole. When Santa walked in, all of the children were sitting on the stage. Cole jumped down and ran (not walked.... RAN) across the room to Santa. Not scared, not holding back - just a full sprint to get to jolly old St. Nick. Unfortunately, although he got to Santa first, this put him at the end of the line to sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted. Reagan, on the other hand, was scared to death. (I can't really blame her, he was a scary looking Santa's helper). We received candy canes, gave our wishes and took a couple of pics before calling it a night. One of the best parts of the night was getting to chat with our recently released (sigh) primary presidency. We are on to new things, but oh so sad to be out of primary. Thanks to our ward for a great Christmas evening!

Christmas Sing

Reagan's preschool held a Christmas Sing. I knew she had been practicing because as we would hear songs in the car, she would say "Hey, I learned this song in preschool" and she would sing along. We were out of town and missed it last year, so, I really had no idea what to expect. It was darling!!!!

Reagan and her class sang ten songs (some with bells, some with actions, others just with song). They did great! We sort of laughed that Reagan was SO serious. She was not smiling as she was singing, she was in-tense. She was singing clearly, loudly and emphatically. Love it! Shannon joined us to watch the program and Reagan was thrilled when she saw Shannon walk in the room.

After the singing was done, we had a special visitor.... Santa!!! Reagan was excited, Cole was ecstatic. Each of the preschool children was able to sit on Santa's lap, tell him what they wanted for Christmas and receive a candy cane. Cole jumped in on the end of the line and went right up.

What a treat to hear Reagan and her class sing. We love her preschool and are so glad that she is doing well and loving it too! Cole is right behind her, asking when he gets to go to preschool. Soon Cole... soon :)

Jib Jab

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Isn't Jib Jab a Holiday Requirement?

Family Pictures - Sneak Peek

As I have posted about many times before, we LOVE LOVE LOVE our photographer. English Photo has taken pics of Reagan and Cole since they were born. I am amazed at how they always look exactly how I would want them to look. We've had sessions where I didn't think we would get anything good only to cry tears of joy when I looked at the pics. We've had sessions where Reagan and Cole were fighting, pouting, goofing off or just not themselves, but somehow, Allison is talented enough to get the shot and show it well.

This session was no exception. We decided to shoot outside, but it was the windiest day I can remember. It was cold and it was cloudy. Plus, with no snow on the ground, we were not going to get the "winter wonderland" look. Allison said "trust me" and we did. Oh how glad I am that we did - I love them!

Here's a few that she put on her blog (englishphoto.com) as a sneak peek. We have since picked up the full catalog of our sitting and I don't know how we'll narrow down which pics to order - I love them all! My favorite, though, is probably the one of Reagan and Cole hugging. They (and Steve) are so precious to me and I love this shot of them. Thanks to English Photo - we couldn't recommend you enough!

O'ahu - Day 9

Today was a full day of traveling. We were up at 4 am to meet the shuttle at 5:30 am for a ride to the airport and an 8 am flight. We had a brief stopover in LA and then arrived home at 7:30 pm to snow and cold in Salt Lake.

We are sad to be leaving the sun, but excited for the Christmas season and to be back in our own beds. We thoroughly enjoyed O'ahu and will definitely be back. We stayed in great hotels, had great access to so many of our favorite restaurants and stores, and enjoyed beautiful scenery.

I was once asked "wouldn't you want to live in Hawaii?" and seriously - the answer is an emphatic "No". I really don't think we would appreciate it as much if we were there all the time - just as I think we appreciate the beauty of our home and neighborhood more after returning home from somewhere else.

So, thanks - once again - to Hawaii. We love it there! It was the perfect break from the cold. It rejuvenated our bodies and our spirits. The snow at home looks more beautiful now and the mountains look more majestic - we left a perfect beach to return to a perfect, winter wonderland :)

O'ahu - Day 8

Today being our last full day in Hawaii, we needed to make the most of it. We tried to soak up as much sun and surf as we could get. We played in the pool, played on the beach, had lunch, played in the pool and played on the beach some more. We let Reagan and Cole choose our dinner location tonight and they wanted pancakes (their favorite). So, we found an IHOP across the street from the hotel and had a delicious breakfast/dinner. We packed and got to bed early. We meet the airport shuttle at 5:30 am.

O'ahu - Day 7

Our new hotel was not even a mile down Waikiki Beach. We have a suite in this hotel with two different living areas, which did make things a bit easier. Reagan and Cole had their own area and we had ours. Not that we don't enjoy being all together, but after a week of being on top of each other when trying to get ready or Reagan and Cole wanting to watch one thing while we wanted to watch another... well, it was good to have a bit more room. The ocean view from our room was great. This hotel has a salt water lagoon, beach area and several pools. It also has a restaurant right on the beach (a bit like our favorite Hula Grill on Maui).

We checked in, changed, and hit the water. The main pool had little slides, big slides and a super, big (dark) slide. Here, they require any children under 12 to wear water wings if they are going on the slides.... even if the children know how to swim. Bummer!!! Reagan and Cole wore them and didn't want to take them off. I worried that made them rely on the floaties, rather than swimming as they usually do.... oh well. I had to laugh, though, at Cole who could not seem to stay upright coming down the big slide. Every time, he would start the slide sitting straight up, but come out of the last turn sideways, backwards or upside down. He had a smile on his face, but was never sitting straight up. Reagan did great until they hit the super, big slide. She was all for it, but apparently you twist and turn and the whole thing is in the dark. The first time she came out, Steve caught her and she was in tears. It took her all of 20 minutes to suggest going on that slide again and from that point on, that was the only slide they went on! As is their MO, Reagan and Cole wanted to go from the pool to the hot tub, to the pool, to the hot tub, to the beach, to the pool, to the hot tub. Another great day in the sun!

O'ahu - Day 6

Today, no surprise, we spent the day at the pool and on the beach. It is our last day at this hotel as we are moving tomorrow to a new hotel (we wanted to try two different hotels this trip to know where to stay next time). Reagan and Cole LOVE to be outside in the water. We love soaking up the sun, especially when we know we are heading home to snow and cold. Steve has been so great - playing with Reagan and Cole for hours, letting me relax and read in the sun. They have loved having him be with us all day, every day - as opposed to leaving for work when we are at home. We are definitely enjoying this trip! We took a walk and had dinner down the block before heading back to relax (and pack). We're excited to see what our new hotel brings.

O'ahu - Day 5

Another beautiful day in paradise! We woke up and worked out, had breakfast by the pool and swam. Next, I took Reagan and Cole to the room for a bath and some rest (and a movie on the iPad) while Steve hit the beach to work on some business ideas. Later, we joined him and played in the sand and water until it was dinner time. After picking up some dinner, we hit the sack. Whew! Being on vacation sure is exhausting :)

O'ahu - Day 4

Reagan and Cole slept in an extra hour today - 6 am. Yeah!!!! After working out and showering, we picked up breakfast and headed for the pool. After several hours of pool and beach time, we cleaned up and went for a walk down the beach (the other direction from where we usually walk). We walked through the hotel that we stayed in with the girls many years ago and saw the park and beach where we played with them. We also saw a McDonalds and Reagan and Cole HAD to go and get something. We had a snack and did some shopping. This included another stop in the Apple store (again.... you never know when something new will come in - he just had to check). On our way back, there was an elementary school putting on a Christmas singing production in the middle of the shopping area. We stayed for a while and then continued our walk. We had dinner at our hotel and called it a day.

O'ahu - Day 3

Up at 5 again this morning, Reagan and Cole were ready to hit the pool as soon as we said "go". After breakfast, we picked up some inflatable rafts and headed for the water. We went from the pool to the hot tub to the pool to the hot tub to the beach to the pool to the hot tub, etc. What a day! Reagan was loving "surfing" on the raft in with the waves (maybe she takes after Shannon) and Cole was loving just digging in the sand. Having been in the water and sun all day, by dinner time, Reagan and Cole were spent. We picked up some food at Paradise Cafe and barely finished eating before the two of them crashed. Another early night and we are calling Day 3 a success!

O'ahu - Day 2

Reagan and Cole woke up before 5 am (ugggh!). I guess their little bodies are still on SLC time. We decided to go with it. I went to work out and Steve played with Reagan and Cole, then, I showered while Steve worked out. We were at the pool before it even opened. We started out at the kiddie pool, but that didn't last long before we were swimming in the main pool area. We love the pool here - there are some baja steps with chairs on them, some slides (little ones and big ones), a kiddie area with fountain sprays, and two hot tubs. Reagan and Cole alternated between the hot tub and the pool. Both are really good swimmers and several people asked how old they were before commenting on what great swimmers they were. They enjoyed being able to just play in the water all day. Our hotel has a great view of Diamond Head and we loved soaking up the sun while getting e-mails about the huge snowstorm hitting SLC.

One drawback to our hotel was that they didn't have wireless internet in the rooms. Our Mac needed a connector from the hotel's wire connection, so, we went in search of an electronics store. Steve was ELATED to discover that we were within a few blocks of the Apple Store. He loves, loves, loves that place!!! (Think shoe store for me...... yep!) He had to look at all the latest stuff (in case it might have changed in the last 2 weeks). He LOVES that the Beatles are now on iTunes and he had to get a pic with "the boys". Reagan and Cole went running to the back of the store to find the kids' area (the store at Gateway has one) only to be disappointed. They kept asking where they could play Dora and Diego. Of course, the store had just the cable we needed and we headed back to our hotel.

After making sure we were "wired" in our room, we hit the beach again. In years past, we haven't spent much time at the beach. Cole was little and didn't like the feeling of the sand on his feet, neither Reagan or Cole liked the salt water to get in their eyes or mouth, and they didn't like the currents dragging them where they didn't want to go. This year was different - they loved it! I'm not sure if they are just growing older and more tolerant of different circumstances, if they feel more confident in the water or what, but they wanted to spend lots of time at the beach. We are happy to oblige them and cart along the sand toys and the inflatable rafts.

We had dinner and then returned to out room. Having been up since 5 am, Reagan and Cole fell asleep while watching tv at about 7:30, which was fine for us. What a great first, full day!