Christmas

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone and that it is already New Years Eve!! It's crazy how time flies.

We had a really nice Christmas. Joel and I both took the whole week of Christmas off. It was nice to spend the week together. We were able to do some fun stuff. We went skiing one day, that was really fun and made for some good laughs. Mykell is still learning, and lets just say while sking Mykell had quite a few falls,a broken pole, and she can tell you a really funny story about her losing her skis while getting on the lift!! We also saw a couple of movies. Marley and Me was my favorite, although after seeing the movie I can't get Joel or Mykell to stop looking at dogs on the internet. Poor Mykell is getting her hopes up, and it's not going to happen!! We also got to spend time with all of our families and I think we relaxed a little although I can't really remember that part.... But the most important part of the Christmas break was reflecting on the meaning of Chistmas. Christ's Birth!!

We hope that all of you had a Merry Christmas and we look forward to sharing the New Year with you!!

Here's Mykell telling Santa all she wants for Christmas is an I-pod!!

Mykell admiring her lime green I-pod

Look at this cute coat that I bought for Joel to give me on Christmas!! Doesn't it look nice with the pajama pants?

Doesn't Joel look so cute in his new shades?

Even Bella got a present!

Mykell's 1st Ski Lesson

Mykell had her first ski lesson at Wolf Mountain this past Saturday. She was so excited, and I must say she looked so cute in her new snow outfit! Mykell actually won the lesson and a free ski rental from a contest she participated in at her school. I knew that she really wanted to learn how to ski when I heard how the contest worked. Basically the person who ran the most miles in the first three weeks of November won a free ski rental, pass, and lesson at Wolf Mountain. Mykell ended up running 12.5 miles, and won the prize!! She had such a good time skiing. We actually had a pretty big storm on Friday night and Saturday so there was new snow and it even snowed a little during her lesson. Mykell was way exhausted by the end of the day, but she still can't wait to go back. We've already made plans for the next trip, this time Joel and I will see what skills (if any) we still have.

Here's Joel helping Mykell before her lesson. Notice that she doesn't have any poles. I guess they don't give the kids poles because they want them to learn how to balance without them! Sounds harder to me?

Here's Mykell riding on a conveyor belt that takes her to the top of the bunny hill!

Mykell sleeping in the car on the way home!

Happy Birthday Joel!

Joel's B-day was yesterday!! He turned 36!! He is now closer to 40 then 30! I think he's doing ok with the whole age thing. (no mid-life crisis yet!!) He is definitely not like me. I'm going to turn 30 on my next birthday, and I am not looking forward to it at all. Joel asked me the other day if I was still ok being married to an older man. I of course am still "ok" with my older man!!

We celebrated Joel's B-day on Sunday with the Petersen side of the family. We had a really fun party. Joel requested that his mom make chili and that we have cheese cake for dessert. I found something out about Joel that I didn't know.... His favorite kind of cake is cheese cake? I honestly didn't know that? Anyway, everything tasted amazing, and it was fun visiting with all the family.

Joel I hope you had a great Birthday. Your an awesome Husband and Dad. Mykell and I are so blessed to have you!! Happy Birthday!

Thanksgiving!!

I know I'm slow at getting my blogs posted, but I have a minute so here goes...

We had a really good Thanksgiving. We switch off each year between my parents and Joel's parents. This Thanksgiving we spent with the Rivera side of the family. We had a really good dinner (thanks mom), and it was fun to see all of the fam!! I contributed pies and mashed potatoes to the meal. And I'm proud to say that I didn't mess anything up! You can see a picture of the beautiful pies! My mom actually helped me with the pies. She's only showed me like 5 times how to make pies... I still don't think I want to try one without her present! !

Before we ate our meal we went around the room and all said what we were thankful for. My three year old niece Paige said she was thankful for "my Jesus"!! It was cute!! We all had and have so much to be thankful for. We are so blessed!

We also had a really fun game of spoons after the turkey dinner. I have to brag and say I was the winner. The game got a little violent, but no one was seriously hurt!!

Joel and I are now detoxing from our Thanksgiving meal and months and months of over eating! I hope everyone had a really good Thanksgiving.

Here is my mom preparing our meal! Thanks Mom!

These are the beautiful and delicious pies we made.

We just finished our meal and look how happy we are!!

I thought this was a cute picture of my sister Jen, Mykell and my mom!

Bella

Mykell has been begging me to post some pictures of her guinea pig Bella. This will come to most of you as a surprise. But after months and months of begging Joel and I finally gave in and let Mykell get a guinea pig. I never thought in a million years that I would allow this!! Some of you might not know this about me, but I am deathly allergic to dogs, cats, and horses. I didn't think that I could be allergic to something as small as a guinea pig, but I found out after a couple of months that I am also allergic to Bella. So , I try to keep my distance and Mykell is really good about taking care of all of Bellas needs. I came from a family that didn't have any animals growing up, and Joel had just about every kind of animal growing up. So this guinea pig was a definite middle ground pet for our family. I'm really glad that Mykell is finally able to have her very own pet. She is definitely an excellent mother to Bella!!

Harvest Fun!

This weekend we had some fun harvest activities going on. On Saturday my aunt had a harvest costume party. Mykell was so excited to dress up. She decided to be a bag of Jelly Belly's. I found the idea while searching the internet for homemade costumes. Mykell really liked the idea. It turned out really cute, and was extremely cheap!! She won the most creative costume at the party. She thought that was cool. At one point during the party she stood a little to close to the rose bushes!! A couple of balloons popped, and gave her a good scare! It was funny!

On Sunday we carved pumpkins with all of the Petersen's. Mykell, Joel and I all worked on one pumpkin. Joels job was cleaning out the pumpkin. Mykell and I carved it together. It turned out pretty cute. I love this time of the year!!

Mykell and my Mom at our Harvest Party

Mykell with all of her cousins!

Mykell with our beautiful pumpkin!

Hard At Work

Ok, so I started this post a week ago and I couldn't find my camera so I didn't post it. Little did I know that I would get sick and have no time to find the camera... I'm feeling better now, and have passed on the sickness to Joel:( Before the plague hit our house this is what was going on....

The past four weeks Joel and his Dad have been working hard on a shed for our house. Last night he recruited the whole family to come participate in the work!! It was actually really fun, but it was still hard work!! Joel is extremely smart when it comes to these types of projects. I must say I am way impressed!! I've attached some pictures for all you guys out there dreaming of building your own shed!! I'll post the finished product just as soon as it's complete.

Busy Days...

Sorry I've been slacking for so long, but in my defense it's been a crazy three weeks. In the last three weeks I've been to Phoenix, camping (Utah), and Vegas. Let's just say it's been hard keeping up on blogging. Here is a recap of what's been happening...

Three weeks ago I was in Phoenix for work. (nothing fun going on there) Just work and heat!! Joel did a wonderful job taking care of Mykell. I heard that he tried very diligently to put Mykells hair into a pony tail. "Tried" is the key word. Mykell only missed me because her personal hairdresser was gone. It sounded like the two of them had a lot of fun while I was away, and Joel definitely earned some points for attempting to try Mykell's hair!

Labor Day weekend we went camping with some friends. We had so much fun! Mykell proved to us that she is definitely not a girly girl. Mykell and her friend Jessica played all day long in the river. When they weren't catching frogs and snakes they were floating down the river on tubes. It was so nice and warm during the day and then painfully cold at night. Joel tried to convince me that we would be warmer in our sleeping bags if we slept with a minimal amount of clothes on. Lets just say that I didn't fall for that old trick!

And then last weekend I spent in Vegas!! And I didn't do what most people do while in Vegas. No gambling on this trip. It was spent with my mom, sister, and aunts attending a Deeper Still conference. It was an awesome trip. We had such a good time worshiping and hearing God's word together. And we also had an awesome time talking and shopping and doing all that girl stuff that we don't always get to do.

Here are some fun pictures!!

Mykell searching for frogs!

Jessica and Mykell

Joel and Daren talking by the camp fire

Ok, so this isn't working....

Kathy, my mom, and me at Deeper Still Conference

Back To School

Looks like it is time for another school year to begin. We all went to back to school night on Monday night. On the way there Mykell asked Brooke if she had any lip gloss. I said "what the heck do you need lip gloss for? When did you start wearing that?" She said she needs it just in case she runs into any cute boys and she'd like to start wearing it today! I guess she's starting to notice boys a little bit.

We're really excited for this school year. Her teacher seems really nice and extremely organized. I'm so thankful we are able to send her to Christian Heritage. When I walked in the classroom they had this on poster board in the front of the room:

PLEDGE TO THE CHRISTIAN FLAG I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe.

PLEDGE TO THE BIBLE I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word, I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.

It was a good reminder of what a blessing it is that she gets to go to a school that teaches the Word and prays for and with our daughter during school hours. I love that they teach creation instead of evolution..

She is really excited for school this year. She is getting really organized and she's ready to go out and tackle another year of it!

Talk to you soon!

Mykell's 1st day of 5th grade!

Finally Blogging!!

Ok, so I've finally caught the blogging bug. Everyone here at work is in shock that I am doing this. In fact I'm a little shocked myself!! I just have so much fun looking at everyone elses blogs, (to the point I've become a blog stalker) that I thought I should get one started for our family. Maybe it will help me start taking a few more pictures.... Maybe:)

We have had a really busy summer. I can't believe that it is almost over:( We did some really fun stuff. In June Joel and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary in Las Vegas!! Joel taught me all he knows about black jack and we walked away with some cash!! It was way fun!

In mid-June we traveled to Estes Park, Colorado for my family reunion. It was lots of fun. Joel and Mykell did some horse back riding. (I couldn't due to the fact that I'm allergic to horses) We also swam, and visited with family. It was fun to see everyone!!

July and August have been full of weekend getaways to Bear Lake. Mykell would live at Bear Lake if she could. She loves the water and has been attempting to water ski. She's a really good sport, and extremely tough. She gets out there on the tube and I can hardly watch it looks so scary!!
Here are some pictures of our summer thus far....

Joel and Mykell getting ready to go horse back riding!!

Here we are at Bear Lake 8-9-08