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