Thanks Grandma Frankie

Grandma and Grandpa Peterson arrived on Saturday, and we got to spend Memorial day with them today. G. Frankie never comes empty handed, and this trip she brought each of the kids their own beach bags! I am in love with all of them and will have to resist borrowing them.

The kids wasted no time loading them up and heading down to the beach.

I know they will be using these for years. Thanks G. Frankie.

Tall Ships

I saw three ships come sailing in....

Well in this case two...

I have had this song going through my head for the past week. Every year tall ships sail through Portsmouth, NH and we went to see them this year. They dock for a few days, and people tour them. We opted not to go on them, since we've been on similar ships before, but I love seeing these old wooden ships.

Tracy was able to meet up with us and come too. We love when Tracy is in town. She is quite the world traveler, but when she visits she always make us feel like there isn't anywhere else in the world where she would rather be.

The Twin's Firt Piano Recital

Saturday was a busy day, starting with Miles and Griffin's baseball game. When we got home, we got ready for the twin's piano recital. They have been working so hard on their songs, and seemed to be more excited than nervous.




At the end of their recital all of the participants got a personalized cookie with a picture of a piano on it. Miles ripped right into his, and Caleigh saved hers for another day. Aunt Tracy, who had just gotten into town that morning, was able to come and support the twins. Great Job Miles and Caleigh, I'm so proud of you for sharing your talents.

1 step closer.

Mike just finished up his last semester of course work, and we are all taking a big sigh of relief. Last Friday we all went together to UNH to turn in his final papers. Then we headed to dinner.
We finished off the "celebration" with a trip to Target to do some birthday shopping for Mike's upcoming birthday. I love when he picks out his own presents, I never know what to get the guy. The greatest part of a semester ending is, we are just one step closer to graduation.

**UPDATE** Mike still has two courses to take in the fall, but at least he's one semester closer to being finished! Two years down, and hopefully only two more to go...

My Griffin, Miles, Caleigh, and Elliot

Griffin wins the award for making me feel the most special on Mothers day. He woke me up at 7:30 with breakfast in bed (toast, cereal and a glass of ice water). With a home made note, "to Mom, love Griffin" He carried it up the stairs on a tray as slow as he could, so he wouldn't spill. Then when I came downstairs, he had made a fort for me, with a sign that read, "beware of the Mom monster." Not sure what that sign meant, but the fort looked fun. He also straightened up the living room and told me the whole day what a great Mom I was.

What a great kid! Miles, not to be outdone, made me some eggs when he woke up a hour later. I was a little nervous watching me 8 year old, use the stove for the first time, but he did a great job, and now wants to make eggs every morning.

Caleigh made me multiply cards and pictures of me and her under rainbows. She really puts all of her love in her art, so I could really appreciate all the details.

And Elliot, made my day, but writing her name for the first time. I was so impressed, we have only worked on it once before, and she sat down and wrote it all by herself in perfect letters.(well, perfect 3 year old letters). We will definitely be working on more writing now that I know she's ready. She loves "rhyme time" and wants to rhyme every time we get in the car.

Happy Mothers day to me. Oh and Mike drew me a wonderful card in priesthood. And he's been great at looking the other way this whole past week as I've been buying like crazy things for the new house.

Why I love my Mommy!

This is really hard to write, being 2, 700 miles away from my Mom. I mostly don't dwell on that fact, but on special days like today, when all you want to do is hug your mommy, it's hard to overlook.

So the 5 reasons I love my wonderful mother...

-My mother is the rock of our family. She has kept all of her 4 children centered in the gospel. She has taught us to rely on our Heavenly Father for everything. I never knew how much she did until I became a mother and realized how hard it is. She married my father, who was not a member of the church, but she still went every Sunday and her example helped build my fathers testimony. It didn't take too long, but many sets of missionaries, for him to join the church.

-My mom is a workaholic. As a child I might not have appreciated this, when it was time to clean my room. But I see what she has taught me through her example. Every Saturday was family work day, and because of that our yard was the nicest in the neighborhood. She taught me how to be a good employee when I started out in the workforce. She still is unable to sit down and relax until the house is tidy and all of her chores are done. Even when she is at my house! It used to drive me crazy, like I couldn't take care of my own house, but I learned this is how she showed her love, and so I always left dishes in the sink or a load of laundry for her to fold.

-My mom loves to laugh and have fun. She plans fun family activities for all of us to enjoy. She loves getting down on the floor and playing with the grandchildren. She is always ready for a card or board game, sometimes with a baby on her lap. She hates getting her hair wet in the pool, but would always take us swimming. She loves to have fun!

-My mother has a generous heart. She rarely things of herself and is always thinking of other. She is always wishing she could do more, when we all know she does more than she should have too.

-Lastly, I love my mother for teaching me how to be a good wife and mother. She loves my father more than anything in this world. I know because I watched them for 18 years and knew there was nothing she wouldn't do for my father. She still cooks him a hot dinner every night and consults his opinion on most things. If I'm doing anything right as a wife, it's because of my mothers example.


We all love you MOM. Happy mothers day.

Why I love my Frankie.

I have an amazing mother, and when I married my cute husband Mike, I got an amazing Mother in Law, Frankie. So here are the TOP 5 reasons I love Frankie and what I have learned from her so far.

-Frankie is all class. She knows everything about how to set a beautiful table to how to decorate your home. I love her style and look for pieces to add to my home decor that remind me of her.

-She is a crafty lady. She has an awesome scrapbook setup and has made our family MANY scrapbooks, that we enjoy looking at. When her kids were young, she had her own kiln and made dolls from top to bottom (including their intricate clothing). There's really nothing her creative mind can't do.

-Frankie loves babies! I mean what grandmother doesn't? But, I think Frankie could have sat all day holding my fussy, messy babies. She loved feeding them their bottles and rocking them to sleep. As soon as we would walk in the door, she would drop everything and put her hands out. Thank you for loving on them, when I was too exhausted too.

-We are spoiled, because of this women. Every birthday, Christmas, and special occasion, she makes sure we feel loved with a card with a check (Mike's favorite part!) When we lived close she would show up with an armful of presents for the kid's birthdays. And Mike still remembers getting a bag of cash when he graduated from college.

-And lastly, I love this lady so much, because she is an amazing mother. She raised her children in the Gospel, teaching them all the basics, helping them through scouting and young womens. She loves her children for who they are, finding the positives in each of them. I've really appreciated her pointing out things I missed in my own children. Like when Miles, at age two, would break every toy he owned, she said he would make a great engineer.

We love you Frankie! Thanks for being YOU.

"Hey batter, batter, batter, batter, swing. You've got to just do your thing"

The boys LOVE baseball. And they seem to be catching on quick, since it's only their first year. It's a bit busy around here, between games and practice, but we all enjoy being at the field. And the concession stand sells a variety of dinner foods. Which we take full advantage of.

A Parade of our new home...

On moving day, I snapped this shot... I was overwhelmed, tired, and ready to just lock the door and leave all of our stuff behind. But then we had wonderful ward members show up and save the day. Thank you to Mary and G. Dallin, who took Elliot and Caleigh for the day. Bless you! We practically had to kick everyone out mid afternoon because they just wanted to stay and keep helping. Thank you to everyone!!! We couldn't have done it without you.


So now our new home (disclaimer: I'm still rearranging and decorating, and there are still things floating around waiting for a home.)

These pictures are out of order, so starting with the boys room. They have so much space to play.
Bathrooms....
Girls room... Caleigh and Elliot picked out all new bedding, new beds, and wall decor. I Heart Target! And the beds were purchased at a local furniture store.
Caleigh especially loves all of the drawers, each bed has 6 big drawers. And her desk has a new bulletine board over it, so no more taping things on her walls.

Our room is still in shambles, but it has vaulted ceilings and tons of room. We love our new home and can't wait to start making memories.

I'm back....

We have been cut off from phone and internet for the last week. Ahhh... I've been going crazy!!! but I will have some pics up soon of the move and all our recent haps.