Over the river and through the woods

The results from Chris's finals are all in--he rocked all of them amazingly! He will now be able to move on to Tri Seven. For those of you not familiar, Parker Chiropractic is a three year program broken up into 9 trimesters (3 months on, two weeks or so off). It's a grueling process and this last trimester was the toughest so far. He had Board tests over his last mini-break, then there were the fabulous clinic entrance exams in the midst of all the regular school stuff he had to keep up with. Whew!!! He actually gets about a month break for Christmas. I have high hopes for a wonderful break!

Well, we made it! In true pioneer fashion, we loaded up the wagon, and headed out over the river and through the woods for grand adventures. We are now in the Sooner state. It's a good thing Santa is magic--how else could he load all the loot in his tiny sleigh? We were overwrought with presents in our little van! I still don't know how we packed it all in, or how we're going to get even more presents home. More importantly, I'm still amazed at the multitude of blessings we have that we can't fit them in!

It took a lot of work to get here, I tell ya! Friday was a day of DRAMA! Among other dramas that set us back a couple hours, the boys both broke out in hives for some mysterious reason. We think it's some new crackers I purchased and they've been wolfing down like little piggies. We were really nervous about Aiden, especially when it hit his face, but by Saturday morning they were mostly gone. On top of that, I came down with some kind of flu-like bug and the system hasn't been able to reboot itself yet. What a crappy couple months of getting sick eh Amy and Leisha?

It's been wonderful being here, despite not feeling well. How fabulous to have, not one, but three other adults to help me entertain/corral/ and supervise the mini-monkeys! Christmas is upon us and along with the rest of the troop, I'm feeling the excitement!

Here's wishing you all a Merry Christmas!!!

The big 10

Ten years ago, I met a hottie. A hottie named Chris.
(Sorry, my pictures are a result of taking a picture of an old picture--so they're poor quality, but you get the idea. Man I need a scanner! :)
It didn't take me long to realize what a rare find and a treasure he was and to snatch him up for myself (much to the chagrin of his current girlfriend). He could make me laugh like no one else. We had such fun together. I had found my best friend.
Things clicked from the first time we spent the whole night talking up on Squaw Peak. Our fate was sealed from that day on, and we've never spent a whole day apart since. We were baby-faced, wide-eyed, and immediately in love. We had a whirlwind romance, a quick (but oh so right) engagement.
On a brisk but clear winter day, December 20th, 1997 we were married in the Mt. Timpanogos temple.

Today as I look back, I keep hearing a Kenny Chesney song on the radio that is so fitting. In it he says:

Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap
and you wake up and you're twenty-five
and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife.
Don't blink.
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did.
Turning into moms and dads.
Next thing you know, your "better half" of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead.
Trust me friend, a hundred years goes faster than you think!
So don't blink!

How true. 10 years! Where did the time go? I do feel like I blinked and here we are. We were so young, niave to the trials we would face, full of hopes and dreams for our future together. There have been so many things I couldn't have anticipated. Ten years later, we're still holding strong and in the process of making those dreams come true. We have 4 beautiful children that fill our lives with love, laughter, and sometimes sweet tears. We've faced so much together and hopefully are stronger for it.

To my Sweetheart, thank you for 10 beautiful years! I wouldn't trade all the ups and downs, laughter and tears, sorrows and smiles for anything! Here's to another 10 wonderful years!

Alicia Should . . .

I'm stuck guys! I have nothing new to post right now and no will-power to be creative. Life is just so crazy lately! (like it ever isn't right?) "Jane, get me off this crazy thing!"

I'm so sick of seeing my same old posts, so I'm delving into the ol' "drafts" section. Here goes.

Ok, I saw this on Renee's website and thought it was so cute. I typed "Alicia Should" into Google to see what the universe threw back at me. These are a few of the funny ones that came up. (the words in green are my reply)

• by default alicia should be your number one friend (darn tootin!)

• What do U mean Alicia should be so grateful that they created makeup? (Oh, she is! She is!!!)
  

• Alicia should completely snub her (I'm not much of a snubber, but if she's a real pain in the patootie, I might consider)

• Turns out, her parents had already made the decision that Alicia should move back with them. (Couldn't get enough of my trouble-makin' the first time eh?)

• Alicia should do some more duets (are you nuts! Maybe if someone wants to sound freakin' awesome by comparison to my howler-monkey voice, for enough compensation I'd be willing to hire out.)

• ALICIA SHOULD JUST GROW UP (I don't like it and I won't do it. Tacky, tacky, tacky!) : P

• Alicia should be held accountable and prosecuted (Oh no, not again!!!)

• The Alicia should be accompanied with an 81 coil boxspring for optimal support (I have no idea what this means, but it sounds comfy to me. I all about gettin' some optimal support!)

• If Alicia should happen to still be alive and perhaps even read this review - thank you so much for writing your story. (I'm still kickin'! I haven't written it yet, but you're so welcome anyways!)

• Therefore Alicia should also have been charged with automobile theft. (Anybody need a car? Cheap? Right now?!)

• The agent suggests Alicia should marry the spy and gain free access into his house (Already have! You wouldn't believe some of the dirt I've been diggin' up too! It's all in the report!)

• Alicia should be able to come up with her own date of birth. (Cool, can I be 23 again?)

• I believe that Alicia should be allowed to participate (in graduation), enjoying one of the rites of passage to adulthood as others her age do (Adulthood! No way! If it means I have to be an adult, I'm not doin' it!)

• Alicia should be ashamed of herself. (Oh I am! I am!)

• Bonnie and Alicia should hang someday. (Bonnie, I miss you girl! Let's do it!!!)
  

• Why would the Democrats not endorse Alicia? Perhaps Alicia should consider becoming a Republic (Maybe because I 'm an auto theft, never graduated, live with a spy, and I'm really not THAT ashamed of myself. :)

• I know somebody didn’t say that Alicia should be more humble. (Humble? What's that?)

• Alicia should be a shrew, and shrill-tongued (that's one thing I already do have down!)
  

• Alicia should be allowed to use her passion for horses (you bet your sweet bippy!!! Anybody have a spare horse? Maybe I'll have to shift gears from stealing mechanical Mustangs, to stealing the real deal eh?)

• Alicia should have avoided getting “caught up” in Michael’s deadline (Darn you Michael! You messed everything up!!!)

• Alicia should be tired or nicely warmed up. (oh, I'm tired! Definitely tired!)

• The group unanimously felt that Alicia should proceed with the plan for Bus service to VMRCVM as described in her letter. (Wow, unanimous huh? I've been a busy little beaver haven't I? Anybody have a clue what they're talking about?)

• NO ONE, especially Alicia, should ever consider singing a song that Patti LaBelle sang (Somehow I don't think Patti is quaking in her boots)

• Alicia has lots of old bicycle parts. She wants to build something new with the parts. What is the first thing Alicia should do? (take a nap and avoid all work!)

• Alicia is terrific.. I should have had a daughter like that (oh, so true! If only!)

• Alicia should have gone instead. She was weak and had no personality at all. (Ouch! Guess I need to hit the gym and buy me a personality!)

• Alicia should learn a lot and have fun (what can I say but too true.)
  

• alicia should come visit me this winter. my sister will be here, so u can meet her (i promise all younger siblings do not bite). ... (Well, I don't mind a little bit of biting . . . Count me in! Hope the freezer is well stocked with Ice Cream! )

• Her friend convinces her that Alicia should smoke since she is depressed because smoking is comforting. (It's a lie I tell you! All lies!!)

And might I just add a few Shoulds to the to do list . . .

• Alicia should get off the computer and wash the dishes.
• Alicia should get off her duff and fold some laundry.
• Alicia should spend more time cuddling with her little monkeys.

Here are a few things the WWW says that Alicia Likes too.

• Alicia longs for the beach to be a place all to herself. (Heck, Alicia doesn't even shoot that high anymore, she just longs for the bathroom to be all to herself for two whole stinkin' minutes.)
  

• Alicia likes to throw sand at seagulls! (evil to the core aren't I?)
  

• Generally sunny and optimistic, Alicia has a cheering effect on those around her. Alicia likes and needs people, and others genuinely like her too. (Anybody have a few hundred bucks I can borrow to pay this person off for saying such nice things?)

• alicia likes to take pics of herself (this couldn't be further from the truth. The Alicia in the photos always looks different than the Alicia in the mirror. It messes with my head! Anybody else have this problem?)
  

• Alicia likes typical nerd things, aka, Star Trek of all kinds, role-playing games, video game soundtracks, computer RPGs, fantasy novels, and drawing (well, some of it's true anyways. I am a big nerd. I do like Star Trek (though Generations is probably my favorite). I love the game "How to Host a Murder". And I do dig fantasy novels, and drawing)
  

• Alicia likes heading out on a farm bike (whoever wrote this is sadly mistaken. It should read, "Alicia is a big chicken and doesn't like mechanical toys because she is also incredibly uncoordinated and accident-prone!")
  

• alicia likes a guy?!? (yeah and he's a hottie too. He drives a zippy little Scion around town and is obsessed with spines.)
  

• Alicia likes to mess with my head. (Waa Ha Ha Ha!!)
  

• Alicia likes hanging out with her friends. (and doesn't do it nearly enough!)
  

• Alicia likes to talk in third-person form cause she's weird and tired and ate so much candy this week that she is probably going to be hospitalized soon. (What more can I say? This just speaks for itself!)
  

I need a hug!

Last night was a very exciting one, spent in secret rendezvous with little people. Ok, just one little people. Kolbi became ill last night at 12:32 to be exact. I won't bore you or gross you out with the details, but suffice it to say, the big question on my mind is "Why did we have to eat something RED for dinner last night!?"

I am one TIRED monkey mama! I'm ready to collapse, and I desperately need a hug! I've been coveting my kiddos' cuddly/sweet buddies today and how they have the easy life of carrying around a lovey to ease the pains of the day. Where's my snuggly?

In the wee hours of the morning as I was scrubbing the carpet, my mind attempted to divert my attention from my unfortunate task and began to wax nostalgic. I have been meaning to post about this for a while, so in light of my need for a hug, I decided to post something sweet and uplifting, cuddly to my soul.

My Miss Zoe has been smitten!

She has recently (and randomly) latched onto a stuffed bunny that she calls Bu-Bu (if she's upset and can't find her lovey, it sounds more like "bwa bwa"). She carries it everywhere, kisses it soundly (with a "Mwaa" sound), and even feeds it before herself (that says true love in Wasson-speak).
She also seems to have developed a respect for all things buddy. If one of the other kids leaves their buddies around, Zoe will pick it up and go find it's owner. Kolbi was in the bathroom this morning, leaving her beloved puppy alone for a few minutes. I found Zoe lovingly carrying puppy around singing, "o-bee?!"

When Kolbi was about this age, she endlessly carried around her ratty baby (named "Baby" of all things) and a stuffed Paddington bear (named, can you guess? You got it, "Bear"). When we would put her to bed, part of the routine was the searching for the buddies. We would walk around the house, searching in the strangest places (closets, under the bed, behind the t.v., in the toilet, etc. (ok, not the loo, just seeing if you were still with me)), singing out, "Ba-bee? Where are you? Baby?" Bea-er?" Then we would find said precious buddy and we'd exclaim, "there it is!" Hugging it tightly, she was now secure to go to bed. This fun little tradition has carried on through all 4 of my kids while they were still wee ones. Bunny gets left in random places, but before long I hear Zoe calling out "Bu bu? W'are you? Th'y'is!" So fun!

Kolbi is home from school, vegging out on the sofa to the tune of daytime soaps (ok, PBS drama anyways). As a tribute to all things cute and cuddly, I thought I'd give a mini-lesson on these,

Bear in mind, this is purely for my nostalgic whims, if you nod off in class, I'll simply ignore the infraction (and quietly hand out detentions after class).





With that lesson over, I'm spent! Thank heavens my sweetie wore his ultra soft/ultra cuddly grey sweater today. I'm ready to snuggle up with my buddy and watch a little PBS. Class dismissed.

Ta Da!!!!!

Drumroll please! The results are in! Chris passed all of his Clinic Entrance Exams with flying colors! In the words of his sister Bronwyn, "Like he'd do anything but succeed; right?" Woot! Woot! Happy day!

Just thought you all would like to know. :)

The Christmas Spirit

This morning I was packing the sardines in the can, er van, and I heard a ridiculous amount of ruckus outside. I thought it was the rowdy neighbor kids again and didn't think much of it. But when I opened the garage door to pull out, it got louder and I saw a man standing outside my neighbor's (across the street) door. I rolled down the window out of curiosity, but then my ears started burning at the f-bomb he dropped while pounding murderously on the door with his fists.

I freaked a little and quickly pulled out, cranked up the christmas music to protect my children's innocent ears, and high-tailed it down the block (quickly closing the garage door lest he come my way??? I don't know, I was a little panicked). I got about a block away when my conscience kicked in. What if that guy does something to hurt those people in there? What if he's high or drunk? I checked to see that we had a minute to spare so Kolbi wouldn't be late, flipped around and casually drove back down my own street (telling the kids NOT to look at the bad man and to pay attention to the lovely songs) so I could get my neighbor's address. Then I drove back down the cul-de-sac with the aire of "I don't live here, I'm not paying any attention to the obscenely angry little man on the porch, I'm just lost and looking for an address. Hmm, hmm, hmm (I'd whistle casually if I could, but instead I hummed, see?)."

On our way out, the guy paused in his tirade and glanced over at us. Jonah started wigging in the back seat, "Mom, Aiden looked at the guy! He saw Aiden looking at him!" I calmly reassured him and drove on all casual-like. Around the corner and out of ear-shot though, I flipped open the phone and called the police (luckily I had a rare moment of fore-sight about a year back and programmed the # into my phone). I reported the guy, but was too shaken up and had tried too hard to be casual that I didn't have a very good description to give the coppers. "Um, he was caucasian, I think. He had on a sweater. Green I think. He had short hair and maybe jeans?" Brilliant and incredibly helpful eh? Oh, and did I want to leave my name and phone number? Let me think about this . . . Um, a crazy guy is yelling outside my neighbor's door, he saw me drive past, possibly saw where I live, and I watched CSI last night about a bunch of crooked cops. What if he's a crooked cop too and has access to the records of who calls in the bad guys! (Paranoid much? just a wee bit) "No, thank you!" I politely declined. Anyhoo, we went on our merry little way and dropped Kolbi off at school.

When we got back, a cop car pulled into our neighborhood just before us and pulled up to our neighbor's house. Of course the guy was gone. I pulled (once again very casually, cause Casual is my middle name right?) into the garage, but didn't shut it. The kids unbuckled and lined up at the back window like a little row of pink peas to observe the cop get out and knock on the door. No one answered and I began to think, "Well, maybe no one was home anyways. No harm in being cautious though right?" After what seemed like a long time, a woman with a baby on her hip and toddler at her side, opened the door. It was hard to tell, but she seemed a bit frantic and suddenly I was so relieved that I had called in reinforcements. What if those were my babies? What would I do if some crazy person was pounding murderously at my door? Why didn't SHE call the cops?

The show was pretty much over, I got the kids out of the car and closed the garage door just as a second cop car pulled up. I don't know what happened after that. But I ended up having a very enlightening and scary discussion with Jonah when he asked,

"What bad word was he saying Mom?"

"I'm not going to repeat it son."

"Was it the f-word?"

Wigging a little bit, I asked, "How do you know what the f-word is?"

"Is it the f-word I say sometimes?" WHAT??!!??

Then I remembered that a few weeks back he kept singing one of his little made-up, nonsense-word songs. He kept saying "fok" as just another nonsense-word, but is sounded so much like the bad word it made my ears burn every time and I dis-allowed him from saying that word anymore. Ah! Ok, now I get it!

"Yes honey, that's the one."

"But mom, (since he is Kindergarten now and an official expert at letter-sounds) it just sounds like fox with the the ending for duck. How is that a bad word? What does it mean anyways. Why do people say it? Why, why, why, what, what, what???"

I quickly put a ki-bosh on the 20 questions and moved to a different topic. But wow! What a morning! How about a little peace on earth and a Merry little Christmas to you!?

November sum-up

Time to play a little catch-up on November. I feel like my life and I are in a footrace. My life is smugly always three laps ahead of me, waiving victoriously. Meanwhile I'm three feet from the starting line already wheezing and frantically trying to catch my second wind. I say, wait up old bean!
Early this month my brave sister Kirsten and her equally brave husband Steve welcomed their 5th son into their beautiful family. Matthew John Gorski boldly made his debut 3 weeks early and is just a bitty little guy. That makes him the 21st grandchild in the Peterson family (did I count that right Mom?). His proud big brothers are thrilled and are already teaching him the ropes.
Isn't he gorgeous?!
Thanksgiving break was won-der-ful! Just the break I needed. We almost stayed in town as we were still battling with passing the sickies around. The two mini-est (c'mon, it's a word, right?) monkies were still a snottin' and a coughin' all over. The night before we were to jet off to Tulsa to see the extendeds, Zoe had a lava-hot fever. Mike Ogden, our ever faithful friend and Home Teacher, took time from his adorable new little man Zachary (also born in November--fabulous month for birthdays isn't it Leisha?) to help with giving her a blessing. We'd decided that night not to make the trip and subject the cousins to The Gamboo. But morning came with a miraculously happy, healthy Zoe. The local doc declared her healthy, the family approved (including the parents of the cousins), so we frantically threw all our stuff in the van and trekked it on out to Tulsa.

It was just what the doctor ordered! For me at least. Mimi and Pop graciously welcomed us. Turkey day we gathered with much of Chris's fam (minus Ian, his sweetie Brandee, and son Brysen--we missed you guys). We ate, we schmoozed, we ate, we played, we ate, we giggled, we ate some more. It was so nice! Here are a few pics of the said event. (I would have more, but that would mean I would have to hook up the camera, download the pics, clean them up, load them on the slide, and post them. I'm feeling entirely too lazy for that. Bronwyn, my awesome and talented SIL, took some fabulous ones that were readily available, so check em' out)

Poor, poor Chris had to spend the whole break holed-up studying for his Nasty Clinic Entrance exams. He did take a break, however to take me out for a fabulous lunch on my birthday (sans mini-monkies, thank you Mimi and Pop!). I got an amazing surprise present--a sewing machine! I'd been coveting my friends' machines for a while now and Denise (Chris's mom) decided to save me from all that sinnin'. She gave me her gently used one and I'm so excited! Woo hoo! No more beggin' and borrowin', I can make my little projects whenever I get the hankering! On top of that, Pop and the kiddos made me the fudgiest batch of brownies ever for my b-day treat! I couldn't think of another thing to ask for. What a blessed girl I am!

Towards the end of the trip I'm sure Chris's parents were ready to tell us not to let the door hit us in the nether-regions on the way out. Zoe was so over tired (she blatantly refused to associate with the letters N. A. or P.) she was a little ball of rage the whole time. Like a mini Krakatoa, she blew her top regularly in spectacular displays of molten magma and flying debris! By the grace of God, she crashed hard on the way home and took a beautiful 2 hour nap, then was absorbed into shows (bless you little dvd player!) until about 20 minutes from home. Whew! Since catching up on her sleep she has become a tame little volcano. But over the break, she learned the fine art the ever popular 2 year old tantrum! Complete with the throwing of herself on the floor, balls of raging fists, feet stomping, eyes squidged up tight (c'mon, it's my blog, I can make up ridiculous words if I want to!), and lungs just bursting with the melodious sound of glass-shattering scream. It's a sight to behold I tell ya! Only time will tell if she actually survives until 2.
We were beginning to worry a little bit about Zoe's language development. It was a bit on the slow side and we were considering getting her tested. It didn't help that we spent Thanksgiving withBronwyn's boy Bennett, who is only 2 months older than Zoe but quite the smart little chatterbox. Well, she had a language explosion this last week and a half. She's suddenly saying a lot more things. I've suspected she was saying things for a while now, but like a stranger in a strange land, I just wasn't catching on to her foreign language. But now she's saying things more clearly. It's a nice little *whew* moment. It's fun to hear her talk too. Maybe now she won't scream at me so much. Hah!
Chris took his Clinic Entrance Exams last week. These are a series of ultra-important performance tests (the fun, fun kind where two professors lean over your shoulder and wait anxiously for you to screw up so they can dock points. Oh yeah, and if you don't pass, you can't move on with the rest of your schooling! No pressure eh?) What a pain in the patootie! He studied until he felt like his brain was on frappe. And then he studied some more! That boy studied more than I'd ever seen anyone study! It paid off though. We know he passed most of them and we're waiting until Friday to find out the results of 1 more before he can breathe. I'll keep you posted.
There. I did it! All in all, it's been a crazy but fun month. Maybe some day I'll catch up to that ever fast-paced life of mine. *Meep! Meep!* Then again, maybe not!