A recital among friends

Between Christmas and New years my friend Minda and I put together a small recital for our children and a few friends.  Her talented husband teaches their girls piano and so they don't get a chance to have a recital.  So she asked if we would participate and of course I said yes.  

We invited Emma Hunting who played the clarinet, and the Della-Piana family performed as well.  Our old bishop, Steve Guillian and his wife Karen, and Ashlee came to be in the audience.  It was so fun!  Elliot even performed.  The kids have been teaching her Mary had a little lamb, and she plays in perfectly.  She was so proud of herself she told Mike and I many times, "I did not mess up."  Cute, except when one of the performers had just messed up and she leans over and says it.  

Adam our oldest performer rocked out on his Ukulele singing a popular pop song.  What a cute guy he is and a great example for my boys.  

Santa Claus came to town!

Christmas morning!  

The kids were such good sports about Christmas being on a Sunday.  They were all on board with getting up and just playing with "Santa" toys and opening stockings.  Then after Sacrament meeting we came home and dug into the rest of the presents.  We of course enjoyed our traditional breakfast burritos in the morning, and a yummy ham for dinner.  

Everyone was so surprised and grateful for all they got.  They all were so patient and kind with each other and had tons of fun playing with each others toys.  

Santa made a BIG mistake putting makeup in this girls stocking.  She immediately dove right in and covered her face.  Isn't she pretty?  Mike told her he liked her better without makeup.  She wasn't happy.  Hands on hips she stated, "Dad, you should not tell little girls they don't look pretty!"  

The boys scored big with all of their gifts and they love playing together.  I'm so glad they have each other.

Miles got to perform in our sacrament meeting on Christmas day.  He played Carol of the Bells, and did an awesome job.  He is just one of many Peterson men with a talent for music.  So proud of you Miles, "Smiles."

Christmas Eve Fun

What a great Christmas Eve.  We started the morning with early Christmas presents.  Mike and I gave the boys a Lego table we had put together ourselves.  I actually found the table on the side of the road in a "free" pile.  It was perfect!  I had been scouting out yard sales and discount stores for the past 3 or 4 months, and it was worth the wait finding this baby.

  Anyway, I brought it home, painted it gray, and Mike cut and attached the Lego base plates.   The boys love it and they have plenty of room for their creations.  Since the boys were getting an early present I gave the girls their gifts from me.  New outfits for them and their dolls.    

We had a great fondue party with friends: Huntings and their family, Seveys, Amy Waterman and baby, and the 4 Elders assigned to our ward.  It was a full house, but we had plenty of food to keep everyone happy.  The kids put on the nativity for us.  I love their creative costumes.  Caleigh is wrapped in a sheet, Elliot has a Cleopatra costume on (she is one of the wise men), and Lauren has a Mario cart steering wheel on her head as her halo.  We followed my Mom's program and it was great.  It's one of my favorite traditions.  I still remember wrapping tinsel around my head as a girl while me and my childhood friends played the parts of angels.  

We ended our party in the early evening so everyone could go home and enjoy some of their own traditions.  We were able to open our Christmas eve pj's, and the kids put their stocking where they wanted Santa to drop their gifts off.

They are growing up so fast.  I love you my sweet children. 

And where ever in the world planking came from...here is our tribute to you.

Festival of Trees and the Wright Museum

A couple of weeks ago we needed a fun family activity so we headed up to Wolfboro, NH to the Wright Museum for a festival of trees that they were hosting.  Honestly the trees were not that great.  Of course I'm comparing them to the festival of trees we always attended in Boise.  Those trees were amazing!!!  But there were a few fun ones and the kids got free cookies.  It was fun, but what really made the trip fun was the museum.  It was a great view into american history during WWII.  

Griff kept cracking Mike and I up by saying "yahtzee" instead of "Nazi."  Example: "Mom come look at these guns that they fought the yahtzees with."  

My favorite part was all of the vintage posters.  The kids liked seeing toys from that time period.  Elliot liked the wedding dresses on display.  Miles and Griffin likes all the war stuff.  

Cutouts!

I miss gathering round my Mom's table and decorating sugar cookies with my kids, nieces, nephews, brothers, and SIL.  The kids loved it too.  Luckily we have our framily (friends that are like family) to carry on this tradition with us.  The kids all had a great time and the cookies tasted delicious.  

A boy of many talents

Griffin never ceases to amaze me at what catches his interest.  So the other day when he asked if he could sew I wasn't surprised.  

He has hand sewn before, but I thought it was probably a one time thing, but when he saw my fabric scrap bin out, he started picking out pieces to start another mini-quilt.  His hand sewing isn't very secure so the first time he sewed a mini quilt, I ended up going over it with the machine.  This time he asked if he could do it and I agreed.  He was so good and confident.  He was hooked.  Now he asks me all the time if he can sew.  Good job Griff.  Someday I hope you make your little girls skirts, and your boys little quilts for their stuffed animals. 

How do you deck the Halls?

Since Mother Nature isn't dropping any snow, we decided to make our own snow storm in our kitchen!  With the help of my kids and their friends we made it "snow" in our kitchen.  Mike even made some pretty awesome ones.  I didn't know he was so good at snowflake making.  He's so talented!  I love, love, love all the white against my red wall.  Now this is a snowstorm I can live with.

griffin is published!

This is Griffins second time getting his artwork in his schools newsletter.  The last time was in 1st grade.  He worked so hard last year but it just wasn't his time.  But this year his art was featured again.  It makes him feel so special.  He was so shocked when he found the newsletter in the recycling bin, I assured him I had already snapped some photos and planned on putting it in our blog.  Way to go Griff!

O Holy Night

If you want something to help you get into the Christmas spirit, watch this video that my awesome husband made a couple years ago. Merry Christmas!

The trees are up and the town is lite, the Christmas season has officially begun.

December is flying by...

But on Dec. 1st we got out all the decorations and put the tree up.  Which included the kids' individual trees.  This is one of their favorite traditions, and this year they even had some new ornaments from Gma and Gpa Head.  My Mom had bought them last year after Christmas and sent them to be put away for this year.  Caleigh's were cupcakes, Miles got different musical ornaments, and Griff got sports ornaments.   They were a perfect fit for each kiddo.  (Elliot got all new ornaments last year for Gma and Gpa Head so she didn't need new ones this year.)

And the ever exciting Farmington Tree lighting ceremony took place the first Sat. of the month.  Mike missed out this year, but we still enjoyed some hot chocolate, free cookies, and a visit from Santa.  Santa arrived in his usual manner, on a firetruck.  

  

 The kids love running into friends and seeing people they know from around town.  After the tree was lite and each of the kids got their candy canes from Santa we headed over to FHOP (Farmington house of pizza) ,at their new location(right across the street), and got a pizza.  Oh, we got a cheeseburger for Miles, he's going through an anti-pizza phase.  Weird right?

Oh and on a side note... A couple of weeks ago Miles started asking on a regular basis if Santa was real or not.  Except he didn't ask directly it was more like..."Some of my friends at school don't believe in Santa." as he looks at me from the corner of his eye waiting for a reaction.  

I must not have given him one, because a few days later he said, "So I think I'm the only 5th grader at my school to believe in Santa still."  again looking at me out of the corner of my eye to gauge my reaction.  

So finally after doing some one-on-one shopping with Miles, out of no where I blurted out, "No He's not real, I'm sorry, but your older...." Well you get the idea.  The poor kid had tears in his eyes, and I felt like the worst Mom in the world.  We spent the rest of the car ride home talking it out and me explaining how the Magic of Santa is very real, he seemed cooler about the whole thing.  Now he's in the "know."  And every time I mention Santa to any of the other kids he looks at me, smiles a sly smile, and nods his head and says, "Santa, sure Santa."  

Thank you Sarah Hale for making this day a national Holiday

Thanksgiving was such a great day.  We had such a great time eating with our friends the Huntings and their family.  We even brought our own guest, Jim.  He made his amazing pumpkin pies, and was such a great addition to the group.  I didn't get any photos of us eating, but I snapped a few of the kiddos before we headed out the door.  They were so excited and insisted on wearing their turkey and pilgrim hats.  I just love my kids and Mike, they are so good for me.  I missed my own family this year, knowing at their tables they were all together, but maybe next year we'll be with them.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

A Thanksgiving tradition

I love love love the Christmas Dove, I'm sure everyone has seen past post of this awesome store.  And we always seem to make it there near Thanksgiving.  It helps kick off the Christmas season for me seeing all the beautiful decorations and of course the kids love the trains!  An entire second floor with train villages set up to play with.  What more could a kid want.  And as per tradition we all got our picture with Santa.

Griffin looks just a little too sure of himself.  I can just imagine him thinking, "you know I've been a good boy Santa"

 Mike will probably make me change this picture, but it cracks me up!

What a sweet smile this girl has.

Okay not to ruin it, but I told Elliot to do this..."whisper into santa's ear and tell him what you want."  After looking at me like I was totally bonkers, she complied.  Thanks Elliot.

 And of course Mom's still need to tell Santa what we want.

Elephant-locs and the loving family.

 Caleigh took these photos and is waiting for me to print them off, she plans on writing a story with them, something like this....

One day the loving family went out for a walk while their cupcakes cooled.  Elephant-locs wandered in and enjoyed the cooled cupcakes.

Then he watched some TV.

Then he posted on facebook, "just ate cupcakes...yum."  

And when he heard the washer ding, he rotated laundry to the dryer.

Then he took a long deserved nap until...

The loving family returned and found him in their bed!  Look how shocked they are with their hands raised up. 

 Ha ha ha, Caleigh is so creative, I can't wait to read her version.

Elephant-loc played by "Ellie" the elephant
The loving family played by themselves

Which Smurf are you?

Elliot is definitely "Vanity Smurf."  It is not uncommon to find her in the bathroom looking at herself in a mirror.  And when I take her clothes shopping with me, as long as there is a mirror close by she can occupy herself for a long time.  This particular night she wouldn't eat her carrots until she discovered they could double as lipstick when dipped in ranch dressing.  So of course... she had to grab the mirror!  

I'm not complaining, she ate all of her carrots.

Snow, No Problem

Since winter decided to start early this year, our fall sports were interrupted.  Which meant soccer practice still happened in the snow.  Well, at least for the other teams.  We showed up for practice, and our coach didn't.  But Griffin and the few players that did show up practiced for a half an hour then we called it quits.   We are sooo dedicated.    

October Fun

October flew by (like witches in the air).  We were busy with our usually routines, but enjoyed some Halloween fun.  The kids had a special costume cartoon club.  They dressed up, then drew each other in their costumes.  They have such a great time, we look forward to this every month.  It helps that the all have great friends in the club, except Griffin who is the youngest member.  

And of course the ward trunk-or-treat was very fun.  Our ward was recently combined with the other ward that attends our building.  So we are now members of the Somersworth ward, instead of the Rochester ward.  This was the first activity with the new ward.  The gym was packed with all of us.   It will take us a little while to get used to a big ward again.

 
Mother Nature threw in a trick of her own.  It snowed 8 in The Saturday before Halloween.  So we had snow for trick or treating.  The kids bundled up in the winter coats and snow boots and had a great time.    Caleigh even build us a trick-or-treating snowman (he has melted before I could get a picture, but he was so cute.)