Grandma & Grandpa's Fire Pit

For years and years, Steve's parents had a trampoline in their yard. The grandchildren (and children) would jump on it each time we were there. Well, they decided to make some improvements in the yard and they took out the trampoline and put in a fire pit. We had heard about all the changes they made and we were invited to the inaugural lighting of the fire pit. The Petersen children and their children living at home were invited. Not all could make it, but many could.

We each brought a side to share and Grandma and Grandpa provided the s'mores and the hot dogs and the drinks. As we were ready to bless the food, Grandpa said that he was going to dedicate the fire pit. I hesitated for a moment, wondering how you dedicate a fire pit, but I was quickly instructed on the 'how to" of the dedication. Grandpa gave a beautiful prayer, asking that all who came to the fire pit would find peace and solace and other beautiful things. I was near tears when we were done.

Next, we roasted our hot dogs and ate and chatted and enjoyed being together. Then, we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Finally, Uncle Mark brought out his guitar and we sang songs. We had such a nice time. Good food, being with family, getting warm around the campfire and singing songs - it was a wonderful night.

Thanks so much Grandma and Grandpa - we love the fire pit and we don't miss the trampoline at all. Count us in for the next fire pit night!!!!

Fun Parties

With Cole's birthday party, I was thinking about the parties that Reagan and Cole have been to lately. We have been to some seriously cool parties. First was Gracie's Parisian party at So Cupcakes. The children were able to take a tour of the cupcakery and then decorate their own cupcakes. They colored pictures and read books about cupcakes. Cole was the only boy invited (other than Gracie's cousin) and he was loving being surrounded by girls.

Then, there was Addie's circus party with face painting and a pirate making balloon animals. The children played games and danced and had circus food.

Next, we had Ben's party with a magician. The guy was good at magic, but had lots of puns that the children didn't quite get.

Then, Vince had a party at Jungle Jim's. We haven't been there in years. It was ok, but our children were almost outgrowing the rides and the attractions there. We still managed to have a great time though.

Finally, we had Sammy's party with Zorb balls that the children would climb in. Then, they would bounce against each other. They were "fenced in" with bales of hay so they couldn't roll down the hill. They had SO much fun. They would run and hit each other, try to knock each other down and tried to make their way to the spot they wanted to be in. After the children were done with the Zorb balls, they played 3 on 3 soccer. The girls were the cheerleaders (after they were eliminated from the little tournament.)

Anyway, we've had some great party invites lately and hope that we return the favor with our parties. Steve always jokes "When I was growing up, you got a cupcake and 2 balloons and that was your party." Well Steve, things have changed :) and it is GREAT!!!!

Cornbelly's

It is an annual tradition for us to visit Cornbelly's each fall. It is at Thanksgiving Point and is a huge fall festival with face painting, bouncy bounce, games, food, a spook alley (which we avoid), a corn maze, huge slides, wooden forms to climb on and all sorts of attractions.

This year, we were joined by Reagan's friend Sophia and her family and Reagan and Sophia's 2nd grade teacher from last year - Mrs. Hone and her family. We had such a fun time with them. Mrs. Hone's little girl is only 2, so, we were somewhat limited in our activities while they were with us. When they left, we headed to the bigger attractions. First, of course, we had to get our faces painted :)

Then, we hit these bouncy pillow things in the ground. This is Reagan and Cole's favorite thing here. You would think that having a trampoline in their own backyard, that they wouldn't be so into bouncing and jumping - that they get enough at home. Well, you would be wrong - they love to bounce on the pillow thing, bounce in the bounce houses and jump anywhere they can. Reagan was primarily playing babysitter and made sure Mrs. Hone's little one was happy and safe.

We hit the princess village for more bouncy bounce, giant Legos for Cole to build and little houses and stores to play in ... as well as tricycles to ride around a course.

After the Hone family went home, we hit the huge slide, we acted as hamsters in rolling tubes, we pumped water to race rubber duckies and we watched the fireworks show. Both dads disappeared for a while and we learned that they had visited "The Destruction Zone". I guess you buy a big bag of apples and you can shoot them in a cannon at targets, cars and stand up wooden figures. Apparently, it was well worth the money and both dads committed to visit The Destruction Zone again :)

Reagan, Cole and Sophia played and played and played. It did get a bit cold, so, we had to stop for hot coca. Oh - and they had this huge "tree" of jack o' lanterns made in the shape of faces. It was really cool. They had one side that was famous Utah faces and then just famous faces all the way around. By 9:30 pm, we were ready to go and still hadn't even hit the corn maze. We bought "bounce back" passes and committed to come again before the season was up. Then, we hit J-Dawgs for some really good hot dogs. Sophia's mother recommended this place and it did not disappoint. Thanks so much to the Shapiro and Hone families for joining us and making it a great night!

Ps - just a note - it was 10:30 before we arrived home. Cole was sacked out in his car seat. I brought him in and helped him change into his pjs and get to bed. By 6am, he was standing next to our bed and said that he needed to wash the monster makeup off his face. I told him we would do it in a couple of hours when we all got up. He said "No - I don't want to get the makeup on my pillow." He didn't seem to realize that he had already been sleeping on his pillow for 7 hours. I tried to explain it, but he insisted. So, we washed his face, got him all cleaned up and put him back to bed. Of course, then, I couldn't get back to sleep :)  Oh well, soon enough, he won't need my help at all - I'll treasure every chance I get.

Cole's Boondocks Party

Cole's party day started out with my parents coming for breakfast. We have a tradition in my parents' house of Saturday morning "Breakfast with Love." My mom would always make this huge breakfast with eggs and croissants and fruit and bacon and all sorts of yummy breakfast items. I swear, when we were growing up, that people would come out of nowhere for our family's breakfast. There were always several friends, whatever missionaries were serving in the area at the time, family and neighbors. Looking back, I don't know how my mom did it. Not realizing it at the time, I was probably the worst offender in inviting people to join us. Sorry Mom :)

After breakfast, we headed to Target. My parents like to take Reagan and Cole to choose their own gifts at Target (or whatever other store). Reagan and Cole love to look up and down the aisles, point things out to Grandma and Grandpa and select the item of choice. Against my objections, the child not having a birthday also gets to choose a toy. Well, we had Reagan's friend Sophia with us for the party (as her parents had to attend a funeral). She was with us at Target and so also got to choose a gift. Dad!!! 

After our shopping trip, we headed to Boondock's. We decided to have Cole's birthday party at Boondock's this year. He has been invited to a couple of parties there and has loved them. Me? Well, I was concerned about how to control and keep track of 20 of Cole's friends while they run around to the bumper boats, the go karts, the arcade, the laser tag, the mini golf and the restaurant. Ugggh!! Steve and I decided to try and we scheduled the party. 

First of all, I can't stand it when people don't RSVP. I mean, don't they realize that we are ordering pizza, cake and tokens for them to use while at the party? It doesn't take long to call or text - just say whether you are coming or not!!!!! Uggh! Well, so, we ended up with 17 kiddos. It was super fun for them but crazy for Steve and for me. I decided to wrap white ribbons on each of their arms so that I (and any other parents who were staying) would be able to recognize the children in our group. One parent said that they looked like a whole group of children who had just given blood ... not exactly what I was going for. So, I gave them the option to have a white, ribbon headband. That was more palatable to the boys and they quickly turned into ninjas (of course). 

First, we played arcade games for a while until the pizza was ready. Then, we ate. After that, the children wanted to go and play more games. However, since we only had the tables for an hour, we needed to cut the cake and open presents. While the party guests sang Happy Birthday, the Boondock's host wrapped Cole in 200 tickets to use at the arcade. After cake, we opened presents and Cole loved that part (of course). 

Then, we gave each of our guests a cup of tokens to use at the arcade and an unlimited wristband for all other attractions. I instructed them to always have a buddy and to stay with their buddies. Yeah - like that's going to happen, right? Luckily, 3 or 4 other parents stayed to help and, between all of us, we were able to wrangle these party goers. Steve said it was like herding cats. A group of them would head out to mini golf and then one would return, having gotten bored of golf. "But where are your buddies?" I would ask only to have them respond "I didn't want to play mini golf any more." Uggh! Kids were everywhere in that place. Steve kept asking "What kind of parent would just drop their child off for us to watch for 3 hours in a place like this?" I opted to take it as a sort of compliment that we were equipped enough to watch over and protect their child ... while, of course, also ensuring that they had a fabulous time at the party. The go karts were a big hit, but a few of the guests were too short to drive them ... bummer.

I think everyone had a great time at the party. They seemed to be having fun, going from attraction to attraction and pretty much staying with a buddy. Steve and I were exhausted at the end of it and I felt a fairly high amount of anxiety during the entire party, just making sure we still had everyone and that they were enjoying themselves. I'm not sure we will have a party there again - with 20 - but it was fun and Cole had a great day. Isn't that really all that matters? Ps - I'm sad that I didn't take a pic of our family at the party or a pic of my parents with Reagan and Cole - I guess it was just a crazy day. I'll be better in the future :)

Happy Birthday Cole!!!

 I can't believe that our little baby is 7. What?!? Time has flown by and it is crazy, but we are celebrating Cole's 7th birthday this week. Since his birthday fell on a weekday, we couldn't have his party that day. Instead, I picked him up from school at lunchtime and took him to lunch. He chose McDonalds (no surprise) and we had a nice lunch. After he was done eating, I asked him if he wanted to play in the play place. He looked around and realized everyone his own age was at school. This was the preschool crowd :) He smiled and said "It just seems too little for me now." Seems that way to me as well ..... sob!

After school, Cole had soccer and then we met Steve's parents at Bonsai (another Cole choice) for dinner. We had a great time chatting and had good food and, of course, the staff banged on the gong and we all sang Cole Happy Birthday! When we returned home, he was able to open the rest of his gifts (we let him open one at breakfast and then Grandma and Grandpa brought him a gift to the restaurant).

He scored mostly Lego stuff, but that's what he is into, so it is great! He immediately wanted to build his new acquisitions, but it was late, so, we put off opening any of the boxes until the next day.

Happy Birthday Cole - we love you SO much!!! You are such a sweet boy with a funny sense of humor and a curious mind. You are fast and strong and great at your soccer and karate. You also are kind to others and helpful. We are so blessed to have you in our family. Here's to another year .... I can't believe you'll be getting baptized a year from now. Wow!!! Slow things down!!!

Hall of Fame

This year, in Primary, all of the children (and anyone in the ward) who pass off all 13 Articles of Faith are considered to be in the Hall of Fame. Reagan and Cole passed them off a couple of months ago, but they just received their little cards which will be put up on the wall in the Primary room.

I know that they do it every year, but I am still so proud of them. It takes a bit of time and effort to memorize and pass off all 13, but each year, it gets easier. They are diligent at passing off each and every one and they ask questions about certain words or meanings and we discuss what that particular Article of Faith means and how it shows what we believe in our church. The songs that go along with the Articles of Faith can be helpful, but some of them are very odd songs. Reagan and Cole use what ones help them and just memorize the rest. We are so proud of them for working hard and memorizing all 13 and passing them off. Way to go guys!!!!

Another Belt Test

Reagan and Cole continue to work on their karate skills. It was time for another Belt Test and I love to look back over the last few months and see how they have progressed.

Their sparring has really improved. They are getting more controlled in their strikes and better at defending.

In Black Belt Training, they have been working with the short sticks. It is pretty cool how they look when they get the form down.

Their kicks are great - I love to see them fly through the air as they do their flying side kicks.

Their forms are getting more complicated but they are learning and performing them well. 

They are getting better at power karate as well. They are punching and kicking well. 

They continue to progress in their self defense techniques. 

They have begun learning to back handspring .... gulp.

They have honed their grappling skills more and more.

Their instructor always has them doing some interesting challenge, whether it is an obstacle course, a handstand contest, jumping over a pool noodle while kicking a paddle, jumping like frogs, running like bears or throwing balls. They are improving their different skills all the time.

One day, their instructor had them put ropes around their waists and they were to pull the person behind them who was holding the ropes. They were supposed to have equal forces with the person pulling forward and the person pulling back. However, Cole's little partner couldn't hold on and Cole ended up giving him a ride across the studio. 

At the Belt Test, Reagan, Cole and their classmates showed off their forms. 

They showed off their kicks!

They showed off their punches and blocks.

They showed off their self-defense techniques.

They passed their Belt Test and are now brown belts!!!! We are so proud of them and the hard work and discipline they have to put into their karate. They are doing great!!!!

Here's a little movie with tidbits of their Belt Test.