August 2009

2 August 2009

Hi all! This was a pretty busy week for Jim and he couldn't wait for it to end! Monday Gwen, Cara and the Petersen kids went to their last summer movie. Not one of my favorite ones, but oh well. Cara hung out for awhile and we all decided to go to lunch together so it was fun. Tuesday Gwen and the kids took Cara's car to the mechanic and then Reagan and Cake had a date. That afternoon Cara took the kids (what am I going to do now that she has a normal job?????!!!!!) while Gwen took grandma and grandpa to Cleibe's followup dr. visit. It went pretty smoothly and that night Jim had a presidency meeting and then had to help his HTee with a broken arcadia door (until 10:30 pm). Wednesday we did errands and John and Cake had a date - and he loves the motorcycle she got him! That night Jim made LOTS of calls about a baptism on Saturday (it wasn't announced in church). About an hour after he got done, he found out the baptism was postponed :-( Thursday was grocery shopping and Jim helped a lady move that night so he was gone late again. Friday we hit Sam's club, grandma and grandpa's for a visit, the mortuary for a visit and then we had some friends over to play. That night Jim helped set up for a wedding and then got called to help take down and it was a total joke because he was doing it and none of the family helped. Saturday Jim spent working hard all day long and Sunday was church and meetings. That night he got a call for emergency electrical help and was there until really late too. On to another week and still hoping for our next monsoon to come sooner rather than later :-) Hope everyone is well

9 August 2009

Hello Hurdsmans! This was a little more interesting than past weeks. Monday we had a family day and went to Jeepers (indoor mini amusement park) and the kids had a great time. John and Reagan LOVED the bumper cars and John did pretty good driving/steering them for a kid his age. And Reagan went crazy on the Monkey Barrells where you spin as fast as you can - she made the poor little guy in with her sick! It was then decided that the Petersens will not go to Disneyland until the kids are old enough to go on all the rides themselves (or have CA Hurdsmans there) because Gwen and Jim just can't handle those spinny rides anymore! :-) Tuesday as Gwen was baking bread, Reagan kept talking about making cakes and cupcakes, etc. So when Gwen finally stopped to listen, she realized Reagan wanted to throw Jim a "best dad ever" party! She and John drew pictures for decorations and wrote cute notes and we made cupcakes (yes, my oven was on a long time that day - and it was 110 degrees outside!) But while I was waiting for the bread to get out of the oven, I mixed the cake mix, went to check email and came back to see John on the counter trying to fill the cupcake pan by filling his hands with batter and putting it in the pan. Oh what a day! The kids then went to play with some friends and we had the dad party before Jim went out for his church night. Wednesday we babysat two new kids from the ward while their mom was in the hospital. Thursday we went to the bank and Reagan made a lemonade/grape stand and her friend came and played. It was also a disturbing day because we learned our RS Pres who lives on the next street had a home invasion. It was a very scary situation and from what we have learned, angels were watching over them because they are OK and apparently there had been "a hit" on her from a real nasty ex-son-in-law. Friday we watched the Manning kids while Vickie went to her dr. appt. Then we went to dinner and visited the pet store for cheap entertainment. Saturday Jim did work, Gwen took the kids to a party at the bounce place, then Cake and Steve stopped by for dinner. Sunday, church, meetings, cake at Cake's house. We learned two things this week - Reagan has Mrs. Humes again for a teacher this year. And Aunt Rachel is pregnant (a surprise to everyone!). Have a good week.

16 August 2009

Hi all! This was kind of an eventful week. Monday was Meet the Teacher for Reagan. She turned instantly shy when we got to the school. A lot of her friends are in kdg but none in her class, so she is going to meet a lot of new friends. Tuesday John went to the dr. because we suspected strep AGAIN. well, luckily it wasn't, and we all went school shopping for Reagan. That night Jim had basketball for EQ (he didn't play since the wife threatened him!) The Stake is doing EQ sports and we just learned it's been 8 years since they had a sports program because of the big problems they had previously (the Stake Pres had to pull in some men to talk to). Wednesday school started. Reagan was SUPER excited! She was mostly excited to eat in the cafeteria and have more recess. And John pooed in the potty twice that day (but not since) so it was a big day for him too. Well, since school started on a Wednesday it really threw me off because Wed is always early release and I was thinking it was Monday, so mommy was late for pickup - how embarrassing on the first day! Thursday is a blank, although I will add that we are trying to find a new work van so Jim has been focusing on that. Friday Jim was in Tucson, Gwen and John did errands, that afternoon Gwen and the kids went to Aunt Carolyn’s to see Brian and Jimmy Nusbaum. We also saw the Crandell cousins too and the kids had a GREAT time playing together so we ended up staying longer than planned. Then Gwen took the kids to Cake's house for a sleepover. I guess they did great and it was a nice break for us, we had a very late dinner and had a nice evening. Saturday Jim got up early to help a new family move into the ward and then EQ basketball and working in the garage. Sunday was full of meetings and church.

23 August 2009

Hi all! Hard to believe we are nearing the end of August! This week we continued in the school routine and it's getting a little better. Reagan loves packing her own lunch with dad and usually eats all she takes. It's still hot walking to pick her up, so hopefully we will get some cooler weather here soon. Monday Gwen and John did a couple of VT visits and then Jim bought a new work van and we went to Phoenix to get it. It is bigger and newer and he seems to like it a lot, so now we won't be sinking as much into the mechanic. Tuesday Gwen and John made a run to Sam's club and John loved sitting on the mini motorcycle (all boy!). That afternoon we had Webelos at our house (one of the leaders was out of town so Gwen was the "warm body") and then visiting teachers came to our house. Wednesday was pretty mello. Thursday Gwen and John went to the mall for Kid's Club and riding the carousel and that afternoon the kids went to play with some friends while Gwen took Lois and Cleibe to their follow-up visits at the cardiologist. We waited a LONG time so it was annoying but everything seems to be good with them. That night Jim coached the EQ BB team and had a full night. Remember what I wrote about last week that they hadn't had sports for 8 years? Well, the game after our ward had some fighting so they called it quits! Not sure if there will be more games for those wards...Friday was Pres. Monson's birthday so the kids were encouraged to do an act of service so Reagan got up and fixed Jim's lunch. That afternoon we got the blue van out of the shop (the new ac has gone out 3 yrs in a row!) and that night we went to a family party given by Jim's sister Cami. It was fun to see her family and the kids had a great time. We took Cleibe too and all he said was "that's the best party I’ve ever been too!" He’s a funny old guy! Saturday Gwen dragged Jim to a parenting class given by someone in Cara's ward that does it for a living (anyone heard of Love and Logic?) It was good but so hard to sit there in folding chairs all day! One funny surprise is that in the class was a girl Gwen had graduated from high school with! It's Kerry Beykirch - she dated Trevor Cefalo for awhile. I knew she was in AZ but it was so funny to see her there! Sunday church and the kids stayed home sick with Jim and Gwen took 4 girls to church because their parents couldn't go...so she had a few confused looks! :-)

30 August 2009

Hello Hurdsmans - welcome to Sept (almost!) On Monday, Reagan stayed home from school since she was sick over the weekend and still not feeling well. We headed to the doctor and then stayed home for the day. Tuesday we waited for candy, went and serviced a machine, and Reagan brought a friend home from school to play with. Jim ended up taking Lois to Urgent Care on his way home from work and ends up she has shingles. Cara stopped by for a short visit and then it was pack meeting for Gwen and the kids. Wednesday as we waited for a different candy order we received some very sad news. A former member of our ward had been killed in Afghanistan and his parents still live in our ward (his mom is my cub committee chair and so probably received the horrible news after pack meeting). It has been very humbling putting our flag out daily and it is quite a sight to drive down their street and see it lined with flags. He had been deployed for about a month (he was a PA) and has a 2 month old daughter named Reagan. Meldrum is handling the arrangements too, so I'm kind of glad I'm off during this week of the funeral. Wednesday night Reagan had her soccer meeting to meet the team/coach and Jim and John thought they would hang out and have fun, but Jim ended up having several people stop by, one of which was his EQ Secretary who had kind of mentored this soldier along so it was kind of a therapy session for him to talk with Jim. Thursday John and Gwen went to Kid's Club at the mall and that night Jim had basketball practice at the church. Friday Gwen and John did yard work that took much longer than planned and filled several of the neighbors "green cans". We found out one of our neighbors was back in the hospital so we threw together a dinner for the evening and then Jim headed to the basketball games, where it was worse with the language and reffing. Sounds like basketball might need to come to an end - eh? Saturday morning Reagan was sick again, but worse, so off to the Dr again. That afternoon we got a call that Jim's niece had a blowout on the freeway, so he went to rescue her and came back to get in the pool when we heard from Hilary that her dad was in need of a blessing in Phx. So off Jim went and came home to have UFC at our house. So any of you that give the Petersen's a hard time about not planning ahead...this is why :-) sometimes life (for everyone) is topsy turvey and unpredictable! We are glad to hear that Hilary's dad is home and hopefully feeling better. Sunday Gwen stayed home with kids but we switched off for each other's meetings and then Cake and Steve came over for dinner and then Gwen and Kim went to a youth fireside. The most recently returned Uruguay Mission President lives in our Stake and was giving the fireside. It was fun to remember some things, he did it like a zone conference. Have a great week everyone!

July 2009

5 July 2009

Hi Hurdsmans! What a fun week we had - Congratulations to Jake and Kenzie!!!! Hope they are enjoying LV and Disneyland! Monday we and the Lunts and nana dropped the boys off with Hilary and headed to the Oquirrh Temple Open House. It was really beautiful and had amazing chandeliers and a lot of pretty stone. Reagan loved the baptistry (she can't wait to be 8!). Afterwards we had lunch and Gwen was able to meet up with her first AZ roommate which was a lot of fun. That afternoon Jake and Kenzie took us to ride Kenzie's horse Oreo. The kids loved it! And that night we had s’mores with Jim and Ann around Marj's fire pit. Tuesday Jim spent the day driving to UT and in the meantime Jake took us out on the boat. We all got to ride the new tube which was a lot of fun and then we played in Mike Reeder's backyard. Jim arrived and the kids (and me) were thrilled! Wednesday afternoon the CA Hurdsmans arrived and the kids had a great time playing with cousins and Gwen got a chance to visit with a high school friend, Kathy Coburn. Thursday was the wedding at the cool tabernacle, with pictures afterwards. Then home for a rest and off to the Maddox luncheon - sure wish we could have remembered more embarrassing stories about Jake to share :-) And that night was the reception and we were able to see some people we hadn't seen for awhile. Jim hung out in the nursery most of the time, but we all enjoyed a yummy snow cone. After that we did fireworks which was fun (especially for us from CA/AZ where they are illegal). Friday Jim worked on projects around nana's house and we got Mike's broken car to SLC and that night we did fireworks again before bedtime. We also took the kids to the train museum and got on the caboose. Saturday we went to the cemetery, and went to rog and hilary's for a quick visit, then it was off to AZ, which we drove in one day. We got home pretty late but were lucky enough to time it right to see the fireworks in Flagstaff, although John was more intrigued with the trains that kept passing. Sunday was church and taking dinner to grandma and grandpa since grandma had a hurt foot and couldn't walk. A couple of fun memories from this trip will be Reagan and Sierra using grandad's old "fashion" cameras to take pictures of everything, picking berries, john "storing" his white sox in nana's fireplace - for how long we don't know, he just opened it and pulled them out of there on Friday! And while we were on the boat, Reagan kept telling Ellie to look at the dragon fly, when Ellie asked where, Reagan said, on the "honkers" (horn) It was funny! It was great to see everyone! Love Jim gwen Reagan and John (John can now say Reagan instead of Da-Da)

12 July 2009

Hello everyone! Well, we have been enjoying some extreme heat...so it's been alot of inside time and pool time for us. Monday we had our movie day and saw "Kitt Kittridge" and even though it may have been too old for the kids, Gwen enjoyed it. That afternoon Jim took his mom to the doctor and found she had a torn ligament in her foot and is now in a boot. Tuesday we waited for a couple of candy orders and had Stockton over to play while Cara and Steve did an errand. That night Jim went to the temple with Elder's Quorum. Wednesday we had the neighbors over to play and that night the kids played with daddy while Gwen did a cub scout orientation. Thursday we had a kid switch, we took John to play at someone's house (cousin Hailey is being watched by someone in our ward so he went to play with her) and brought the sister to our house to play with Reagan. It was fun for them and that night we had our ward pool party at the jr. high nearby. It was really fun! Jim and Reagan did alot of the slides and diving boards. Reagan loved the high dive! I think she impressed some of the kids in the ward with her "no fear". Gwen and John stayed in the beach area on the Frog slide :-) Friday Jim and Gwen had a date and Saturday Jim spent doing electrical service for some neighbors, then he did the lawns in the heat (I don't know how he does it!). Gwen went to a convert baptism (spanish branch) and was called up to bear testimony in Spanish - it's been a long time! And that night Jim had UFC and Gwen watched a Hallmark movie which was really good "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" about a polish woman who saved 2500 jewish children during WWII. Sunday was meetings and visits with Cake and our neighbors. Also Cleibe is in the hospital and Jim and Reagan went to see him (and meet someone to help give a blessing to him) and currently they are running tests but he seems to be doing better (they thought it was an ulcer). We hope everyone is well, Happy Birthday Jenn! Have a great week!

19 July 2009

What a week! Gwen was on-call but because it was such a busy week, it seemed to go by quickly. Jim took off Tues/Wed and worked Thurs/Fri. Monday Gwen and the kids took some friends to the movie with them. It was cute, usually too long for the kids though. Monday Cleibe had an angiogram which indicated he needed a pacemaker. We were told it would be that day...Tuesday Gwen and Cara went to the shooting range for "girls shoot free" day and then we went and saw Cleibe in ICU. Something funny about grandpa, his ICU nurses kept asking if he wanted to watch TV or read and he said he was "too busy" to do any of those things! must have been contemplating the meaning of life :-) That night Jim had EQ softball and they had a really good time (after finally finding an open field). And again, Cleibe didn't get the pacemaker...until Wednesday morning. Things went fine and he was moved to a normal room so that afternoon Gwen and the kids went to visit grandpa (Jim had been there all morning with Lois). Thursday Gwen and kids went to the grocery store in preparation of the grandparents coming to stay on Drummer. Then we went to the hospital and it worked out that Cara was able to take the kids to story time at the library close by (Cara saves us yet again!!!) while Gwen got Lois and Cleibe discharged and to their new temporary home. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very cooperative! It was so hot this week!!! That night the kids were fitfull so because of grandma and grandpa in the house Gwen took them to the doctor and John had strep! so grandma went somewhere else and we kept grandpa quarantined (he was already taking antibiotics) so we stayed home. Saturday Jim went to a convert baptism and we brought grandma back to Drummer. Sunday Jim went to his meeting, Gwen went to church and meeting and then petersen dinner at our house to celebrate Rachel's upcoming birthday. Jim had frozen A TON of ice in buckets, 5 gallon barrells, etc and we threw it all in the pool for an ice pool party! It was fun, but they melted so quickly! We hope everyone is doing well, hopefully enjoying nicer weather than us! We are anxiously awaiting our first real monsoon. Have a great week!

26 July 2009

Greetings from hell :-) It's been super hot! Monday we went to the movie "Dog Hotel" and here we learned that dogs are more important than kids going to a stable foster home...but dogs are people too! Monday night we had a doosey of a thunder storm. The thunder shook the house and Gwen ended up sleeping with scared Reagan. Wednesday Jim took the day off (van in the shop too) and we took grandma and grandpa to the hospital followup visit. The following is our "oh my hell" moment of the week: The doctor came into the room, was reading through the records commenting, "oh yes, I remember you mr. petersen" and said this a couple of times. Then he proceeded to tell us about the condition of Cleibe's heart and said, "we have two courses of treatment: we can continue on with the medication or we can put a pacemaker in" ???????!!!!!!!! Gwen quite abruptly interrupted the doctor and informed him that Cleibe ALREADY had a pacemaker put in in the hospital! wow! actually, we had already discussed that we would not be using this cardiologist and that just sealed the deal. Jim did very well at keeping it all bottled inside and didn't explode at the doctor. We got through that and Jim worked the rest of the week and Gwen did some visiting teaching and we all took care of grandma and grandpa. The kids did really great helping out with them. Friday morning Gwen took the kids to the library for Bingo. It was a lot of fun and they each won a book. That afternoon we picked Cake up from the airport (she was visiting Emily in St. Louis) and took her home. Saturday was busy, Jim did the lawns, Gwen went to the gym and then we transported grandma and grandpa back home. They are happy to be home (and back with the dog again) and are doing well. But the kids were not very happy that they left - they loved having them at the house. Saturday night we had Ryan Manning's family over for dinner and pool. Cara and Steve came over too and it was fun to visit with everyone. Sunday was church and meetings and a nice relaxing night. Hope everyone is well.

14 June 2009

Hello all! Well, Jim and I can't remember Monday or Tuesday...except that the kids had their last week of swimming lessons. It's kind of a relief it's over. Reagan really liked hers but John was a little stinker and didn't want to be in the water, even though he loves the pool at home. Cara did a lot of painting at our house on Tues/Wed - it looks really good, what would we do without her!? Wednesday the EQ challenged the Priests to a softball game. It was the perfect weather, cloudy and breezy and the Elder's beat the Priests pretty good! :-) It was a fun night. As we were leaving the field, one of the Elders said to Jim "so I'll see you tomorrow night?" and Jim suddenly got a look of horror on his face, he had forgotten to tell me he signed me up to go to the temple with him the next night! So of course I'm trying to figure out babysitters..luckily Cara was able to watch the kids and it seemed to turn out OK (luckily for Jim!) Again, what would we do without Aunt Cake? Friday Jim took the day off and primed the kitchen cabinets for painting. That afternoon the kids and Jim helped out a family and Gwen went to Cub Scout Day Camp. Again, we were blessed with breezy/cooler weather. Our ward/spanish branch had the biggest group and the boys had a good time. Saturday we worked on cabinets again - Jim's such a good worker! And then he was rewarded by going to UFC and hanging out with the guys :-) Gwen took the kids to the park to get them out of the house. And church today, the normal busy-ness. Hope everyone has a good week, really looking forward to the Utah trip!

21 June 2009

Hi all! It has been a busy week! Monday Gwen and the kids met Cara and the Thornley kids for the Monday summer movie. It was a bit scarey for my kids, but they liked it (Spiderwick). Cara graciously watched the kids that afternoon while Gwen took Lois to her cardiologist followup. It was a long wait and kind of annoying, but hopefully they will find out why she is still not feeling up to par. That night Jim and some guys helped someone move and he didn't get home until late. Tuesday was Jim's 40th birthday! Reagan loved decorating for his birthday and wrapping presents - it's so fun to see her get so excited! We waited for a candy order and that night had a quick birthday celebration with the Thornley's and then Jim was off to do church visits for the night (and again didn't get home until late). Wednesday was another waiting-for-candy-order-day and in the mean time it was trying to get the kitchen cabinets primed and painted. Thursday we did a story time and activity which was fun for the kids and that night we had a ward visitor's center night and then rootbeer floats at the church - again, another late night for everyone. Friday night Gwen and Jim had dinner/games with another couple in the ward. Saturday was misc jobs for Gwen and Jim and putting the kitchen back together. Then we had cake for Stockton's birthday at Cara's house and afterwards, Jim had guys over for UFC at our house. Sunday was the usual church and Lois and Cleiburn came for Father's Day dinner. we hope everyone is well and we are excited for the wedding festivities!

28 June 2009

What a busy week, but it was OK because we knew a vacation was waiting for us! Monday Gwen and the kids had the Monday movie “Madagascar”. They enjoyed this one a lot, even though it still is kind of hard to sit still. We also did VTing and Jim did his usual errands. Tuesday I don’t really remember except Cara watched the kids for a bit and then I watched 3 sisters from the ward for quite awhile. Wednesday the kids had haircuts in preparation for the wedding and that night Jim had church PPIs. Thursday Cara was kind enough to watch kids again while Gwen did more errands. Friday was more visiting teaching that went wayyyyyyy too long but the kids had fun playing (I visit teach my Primary President so there is lots to talk about). That afternoon was spent finishing laundry, packing, etc. That night John had a hard time sleeping and we eventually made our way to urgent care just 6 hrs before our flight was to leave! It was some sort of throat infection (no strep) and was kind of a weird deal, but we came home and slept for 1 ½ hrs and then made the decision to keep our flight (john was doing much better by then). We made it to SLC and went to temple square with nana and Emily and ellie and danny. It was fun and then we stopped to see Rog, Hilary and Bonnie. The kids are having a great time! That night Rog and Hilary came back to BC and we all had smores around nana’s fire pit with Uncle Jim and Aunt Ann. But Gwen was so exhausted from so little sleep! Sunday was early church and lots of visiting. With John and Danny in nursery, we doubled their numbers and Reagan was the only girl in a class full of boys. We are looking forward to seeing everyone, drive safely!

6-7-09

Hi all! Our week was a little less crazy, but still crazy. Monday we started swimming lessons, and the water was cold! Tuesday more swimming lessons and something of a scare/funny story on Tuesday night. Gwen and Jim were in the bedroom talking and Reagan came running in saying John was bleeding everywhere. Gwen ran into the kitchen and there were drops of red on the carpet and in a long line on the tile in the kitchen. Next she saw John holding his hands up to his face and red spewing from his mouth into his hands. She quickly got him to the sink to rinse off to see where the cut was...John had opened a package of red koolaid and ate it! He didn't like the taste so he was spitting it out all over! It gave us a short panic, but was pretty funny (OK, after it all got cleaned up), what a relief it wasn't more serious. Wednesday we fed the missionaries, but earlier in the day Gwen and the kids spent time in the pool. We were playing "shark" and John was the shark. He pretended to eat Reagan and she said, "Don't eat me John, mom is meatier!" It was funny. Thursday we had countertops installed, it makes the kitchen look so different and we are really glad to have it done. Friday was a busy day with nana. We went to the mall to get shoes for her (luckily we had left by time the Amber Alert went out for a missing child from that same place!) and then we went to the bounce place for the kids to use up some energy, and then a little more shopping for mom/gwen. Home to the pool where the kids were so excited nana got in with them. Jim was in Tucson that day, so he came home tired. Saturday Nana flew home and we worked on the house and Gwen did lots of laundry. Saturday night Jim dislocated his toe - AGAIN! He suffered through the weekend with it (it has now been popped back into place and is doing better) thank goodness for pain pills. Sunday was a long day at church and then we had yummy oreo pie for Reagan Thornley's birthday celebration. Hope everyone is well, we are really looking forward to seeing everyone soon for Jake's wedding. Love, Jim Gwen Reagan and John

5-31-09

Ok ready? Take a deep breath and then read...Monday for Memorial Day Jim was lucky enough to take the kids to the summer movie "Spacechimps" which he LOVED! (hee-hee, just kidding) Gwen was on-call for work and it ended up being a very busy phone morning so luckily Jim could take the kids and they met up with the Thornleys. Tuesday we got a call from Lois saying she wasn't feeling well (just a sidenote - she had been to the ER twice over the weekend but they didn't find anything). So Gwen and the kids went to grandma's and we ended up going to the heart hospital near our house and she was admitted and they eventually found that she had had a small heart attack but further tests didn't indicate any damage to her heart. We are so thankful that Cara was here to take the kids while Gwen stayed at the hospital most of the day with Lois and that she could also pick up nana. Tuesday night nana had her first stay and the kids were so excited to have her here. That night Jim broke one of his wisdom teeth (we were told 2 yrs ago to get them out -oops) so Wednesday we called the oral surgeon and were blessed and they got us in that day. We had to wait awhile but we can't complain. He did pretty well and that took care of that day. Thursday Gwen headed to yet another doctor, the pediatrician, since the kids had been complaining for a couple of days about their ears. Reagan had an ear infection and swimmers ear in one ear and John had swimmers ear in both ears. We'll we were headed out to pinedale that afternoon with nana so we went to the pharmacy to get the special ear drops and guess what? our insurance didn't cover $100 (for each kid!) so we had to get another prescription sent up to the showlow walgreens. We made it to pinedale, got the medicine and enjoyed some gorgeous cool weather! Friday we took nana to see the sites in showlow and the temple in snowflake. that night we had a couple of people from our ward stay at the cabin too. Saturday we had a lazy day and came home late afternoon. Cara and Steve came over for dinner that night and then Sunday was church, Jim taught an awesome lesson on home teaching (even brought a couple of men to tears :-) and we enjoyed having nana here. Poor nana, had to experience all of our weirdness this past week but the kids sure have loved having her around and just can't understand why she isn't up at the crack of dawn with them! :-) Hope everyone has a good week. Love, jim gwen reagan and johnp.s. Lois had a funny when they came to take her for her angiogram (sp?). She was really nervous so when the nurse asked her her name to check her band, Lois said "anna-susanna-banana" to be funny and quick as a wit, the nurse said, "OK, so you're here for the sex change operation - right?" It was so funny!

5-11-09

Happy Mother's Day yesterday! Hope moms got some relaxing time - Jim was sure good to me, let me sleep in (in between all the work calls :-) and he and the kids made cards and brownies and let me have some alone time - it was just what I wanted :-) This past week the work van was in the shop again - we're ready to change mechanics, the problems are just not getting fixed. Also, Gwen went to a food storage class at the cannery and John hung out with daddy and they got Reagan. Tuesday Jim had Elder's Quorum night and Gwen and the kids went to Pack Meeting. It was pretty chaotic and then home to bed. Wed we had something but I can't remember. Thursday was John's jumping beans class - only 3 boys showed up so we built towers with foam blocks and destroyed them over and over! That afternoon we spent time at Cara's house and then Gwen had Roundtable that night and afterwards went for ice cream with her old Webelos partner. Friday morning Reagan's class had a tea party for all of the mom's. Reagan picked out pretty clothes for each of us and we had cake, punch and the kids sang and showed us a few things. It was fun and Reagan was so excited! Saturday Jim cleaned the church and spent the day mounting the tv above the fireplace. It sure looks good, a little different to get used to. Gwen did a cub scout orientation and that night the kids had a babysitter while Gwen and Jim played games with other couples in the ward. Sunday was a busy phone day for Gwen, church, and that night the Petersen gang and Thornley's came to dinner. Hope everyone is well, starting to look forward to all the exciting summer events. Too bad it's getting completely hot here!!!

5-3-09

Welcome to May! Monday and Tuesday we waited for candy orders in the morning. Jim took John on work errands (John made friends with a dog that is at a supplier's business) Tuesday afternoon we went to Cake's house and the kids played while Cara dyed Gwen's hair. Tuesday night the kids played with daddy while Gwen had primary leadership meeting. Wednesday was pretty mello, except Gwen scurrying to get company quarterly reports done. Thursday we had John's little "jumping beans" class and he loved doing tumbling that day. In the meantime, Reagan played in the rec center's "kid's club" and she enjoyed dressing up there. That afternoon the kids had friends come play and they had alot of fun. Friday the kids played with different friends and then John went with Jim and Rusty (single guy in our ward) to Father's and Sons. They drove up, had dinner, hung out and came home around 11:30pm. They had a really good time and next year they might even spend the night :-) We had girls night with Cara and we went to the mall and did each other's errands together and then had dinner. Gwen did some cleaning and then watched a girl show. Saturday was more errands, we bought a sink and faucet for the kitchen and then had another single guy over for dinner and the girls were off to a wedding reception for Gwen's friend that cuts the kids' hair. Sunday was full of meetings and now it's time to wind down to begin another week. Only three more weeks of school for Reagan and then let the summer activities begin! John's new thing is changing clothes 2-3 times per day and being VERY opinated on what he wears (dirty or not). And Reagan is reading! She is doing very well at reading the little booklets sent home. Reagan also lost her second tooth on Saturday! And she got in the pool - it's too cold for the rest of us but she was loving it!

4-27-09

Hi all! Hope everyone is well and healthy...we are hot and hopefully healthy (we never know if the "nursery" bug is going to kick in until Tues/Wed :-) This past week was a super busy one for Gwen's work phones and Jim kept busy with church stuff. Monday Jim bought a new toy with some of the tax return (flat screen tv) and Tuesday Reagan and Cara had a date to buy more school pants. Wednesday was cannery day for Gwen and Thursday Jim helped someone move something and then we went to dinner with someone from our ward at Fuddrucker's. Reagan's school has these nights once a month where if you go to the restaurant, part of the money goes to the school and who ever's class has the most go to the restaurant they get a cookie party. We have only done this twice during the school year, so it was nice to do it as a family. Friday we had a friend over to play with the kids and Jim helped set up for the ward preparedness fair. Saturday morning the kids had a babysitter and we went to the preparedness fair - Jim also had to do a short presentation on the employment center. The fair was pretty good, kind of long though, but we learned some things and are hopefully motivated in some areas (i.e. better gardening, gwen to make bread :-) that afternoon we had a baptism for someone in the ward and then Jim went to Jaren's house for a night of UFC/fellowshipping :-) Sunday was meetings, home teachers, movie night for the family. We hope everyone is well, and are looking forward to seeing everyone for the wedding! Love, Jim Gwen Reagan and John

4-20-09

Congratulations Jake and Kenzie!!!! Very exciting :-) That helped decide when Gwen took her trip to UT for the summer - good thing the swimming lessons are earlier in June! Monday we had a family bowling day. The kids did pretty good and the white-haired's next to us were entertained by the kids bowling. Tuesday Jim had the day off (we have had a hard time getting the mexican candy needed for Jim's business) so Gwen worked in Reagan's classroom while Jim and John ran errands and took the van in for alignment. That night Jim had EQ Employment night at the Stake Center and Gwen and Cara went to the sealing for cousin Carol Crandell and Shon. It was a very nice evening and they had a lot of support. Wednesday morning Gwen had a long presidency meeting. Later John didn't feel so good and he layed around abit, so after school Gwen and Reagan planted the garden. Sure wish dad were around to give some helpful hints, although this arizona planting seems to be alot different than UT! That afternoon John complained of a hurt stomach so we got to the doctor before closing and found out that John has strep - yippee. It was a really rough couple of nights. So Thursday we stayed home. Friday Gwen got the kids signed up for swimming, after lunch her and the kids ran a couple of errands, including getting "summer fun movie" tickets. It's 10 movies (one movie a week) throughout the summer for $7 per person! Hopefully this will get us out of the house but somewhere cool too! We were going to head to Pinedale this weekend but that night Reagan complained of a sore throat so, sure enough, she had sores in her mouth. Saturday at the doctor she said it wasn't strep, but like mouth blisters - yipee. So we stayed in this weekend. Jim went to priesthood on Saturday afternoon and Gwen went to Stake Conference on Sunday. We are now on the mend (except for those darn allergies) and we hope everyone is well. Love, Jim Gwen Reagan and John p.s. we have really entered the sibling fighting stage. The pattern seems to be, John poking or scooching really close to Reagan to bother her and she yells/cries like she is dying, yeah.

3-13-09

Hello all! Monday was busy, we had a large candy order delivered and Jim took Grandpa to get his hearing aids adjusted. Tuesday Gwen was able to go help a little in Reagan's classroom and that afternoon was a little busy with someone coming to look at the countertops, Jaren, Jenny and Hailey came for playing and dinner and then Jim was off to church stuff and Gwen and Kim went to a bridal shower while Cake watched the kids. Wednesday we probably went to the park after Reagan's school (I can't remember) and Thursday Gwen started feeling really yuckky with a doozie of a sinus infection. Friday there was no school and so Cake took Reagan on a "date" to the park and Target. Gwen and John did mini errands. That afternoon Gwen went to the doctor and Jim was home early enough that he could watch/play with the kids. Saturday was rainy all day which Gwen loved, but she wasn't working on the church farm in the rain like Jim - he got to play in the mud! Then he came home and the van had a flat tire so it became a frustrating family outing to Sam's tire shop. First, we wandered around for an hour and went back and he said he couldn't find anything, but at our urging said he would look at it again. So we went back inside and had pizza for lunch. We went back to the tire shop and he said he couldn't find anything still so we went to the van in the parking lot and Gwen HEARD the air hissing out of the tire, so we went back in (at this point Jim was sure the guy hadn't done the proper testing in the water tank) and he came out and listened to it himself. So we hung around some more and when Jim went to check, the guy was having lunch! ugh! Soon after we were on our way - ugh! Saturday we also colored easter eggs-the kids ended up having green hands. Sunday we decorated our bunny cake, hunted a few eggs before church and then church and home to get ready for Cake and some of the Petersens for dinner. It was fun, but the kids were so crazy with sugar and tired that it was early to bed for them. Have a great week! Love, Jim Gwen Reagan and John

4-5-09

Hi all! This past week was a busy but fun one for the Petersens. Monday Jim worked in Tucson all day and got home late. Tuesday he also had a long day in Phoenix and Gwen and the kids got ready for the trip to San Diego. Tuesday night was the Pinewood Derby so Gwen and kids went, luckily Jim came and got the kids so Gwen could help clean up. Wednesday Reagan went to school and Gwen and Jim alternated errands and then we headed to San Diego after lunch. The kids did really well on the ride and we arrived early evening and the kids got to playing right away. Thursday while the Hurdsmans were in school or at work the Petersens went to Sea World. It was perfect weather (even a little chilly) and we saw a couple of shows, Shamu and Pets Rule. The kids loved the shows and the animals. We did the skyride too and did better than I thought with kids up high. We played with cousins that night and Friday we did another day at Sea World that was more relaxed but a lot of fun. The kids got REALLY close to the sting rays (actually I think they were bat rays) and they played in the water kids area so then we came home. Every night the kids played hard, but they had the hardest time getting to sleep because they were so happy to be together. Saturday was setting up the new swingset for the CA Hurdsmans. It was an all day/night project with the men attending Priesthood in between. Finally at 11 pm kids were asleep and the adults cleaned up and had ice cream and went to bed. It was nice to be mellow for Conference on Sunday and now we are heading home to AZ and hopefully the good weather won't leave when we get there. Glad Morgan is doing well and hope everyone has a good week. Love Jim Gwen Reagan and John

4-05-09

This past week was a busy but fun one for the Petersens. Monday Jim worked in Tucson all day and got home late. Tuesday he also had a long day in Phoenix and Gwen and the kids got ready for the trip to San Diego. Tuesday night was the Pinewood Derby so Gwen and kids went, luckily Jim came and got the kids so Gwen could help clean up. Wednesday Reagan went to school and Gwen and Jim alternated errands and then we headed to San Diego after lunch. The kids did really well on the ride and we arrived early evening and the kids got to playing right away. Thursday while the Hurdsmans were in school or at work the Petersens went to Sea World. It was perfect weather (even a little chilly) and we saw a couple of shows, Shamu and Pets Rule. The kids loved the shows and the animals. We did the skyride too and did better than I thought with kids up high. We played with cousins that night and Friday we did another day at Sea World that was more relaxed but a lot of fun. The kids got REALLY close to the sting rays (actually I think they were bat rays) and they played in the water kids area so then we came home. Every night the kids played hard, but they had the hardest time getting to sleep because they were so happy to be together. Saturday was setting up the new swingset for the CA Hurdsmans. It was an all day/night project with the men attending Priesthood in between. Finally at 11 pm kids were asleep and the adults cleaned up and had ice cream and went to bed. It was nice to be mellow for Conference on Sunday and now we are heading home to AZ and hopefully the good weather won't leave when we get there. Glad Morgan is doing well and hope everyone has a good week.

3-30-09

Hope Sydney had a Happy Birthday! Happy Anniversary to Cake and Steve! Monday we had the work van in the shop, Tuesday we were supposed to get a candy delivery early so we could pick up the van for Jim to work, but the candy order came 2 hrs later than they told us - ugh! So Jim had a very late start at work that day and ended late so there was no church night for him. Wednesday Gwen got her VTing done for the month (yippee) and then headed to the cannery that afternoon. The set-up now makes it go fairly quickly, it takes longer to stand in line and pay than to do the canning! Thursday Jim took the day off because the van in fact didn't get fixed and it was in the shop again (when do we give up on this van?!) So Jim took his dad to get new hearing aids. They are called "Zounds" and were invented by an LDS man who has a hearing impaired daughter. Seems like they are working out and we don't have to do as much yelling at grandpa! :-) That night Jim went to do security at HFPE and Gwen watched the kids at home - nice switch huh? The truth is, we've had to pay more babysitters for nights when we both have church stuff going on and Gwen didn't want to have to do that for Enrichment night too. Friday we had an Elder's Quorum party at the park. It was fun for the kids and there happened to be an 18-wheeler delivering a car to someone across from the park so John and Gwen watched it get unloaded, it was kind of fun to see the process. Saturday was misc and then we had the Thornley's over (Cara brought a yummy dinner) and the kids stayed while Cake and Steve went to their Pinewood derby. Sunday was HT, Pres Meeting and Petersen Dinner (Happy Birthday Lois!). The cousins had a great time and the funniest was when Sam, Luke, and Reagan were on the hammock and John went right over and flipped them all off - luckily no one got hurt! Have a good week everyone. Love, Jim Gwen Reagan and John

3-22-09

Hello! Happy Birthday to Uncle Mike! This past week was a little different for us. Reagan was on Spring Break so we didn't really have a routine. Monday was the usual errands. Tuesday Gwen had a dental appt (and got pinched by the dental asst for not wearing green - Gwen was not amused) and then she went to the gym while Cara was kind enough to babysit. That night Jim had church stuff. Wednesday all of us went to Yuma to visit Rog, Hilary and Bonnie before they moved to UT. We played Wii, talked on the webcam to nana and Jake, went to dinner and had ice cream at the Boysuns. It was fun and Bonnie sure is a cutie! We were going to stay the night, but decided to drive home that night since Rog and Hilary had it all under control. It was a late night but it was nice to be in our beds. Thursday Jim did work stuff, Gwen tried to clean house and then we all went to a youth museum here. The kids had fun and it got us out of the heat - what's up with this 90F weather!!???? Friday morning the kids got to play with the newest babysitter while Gwen and Cara went to the shooting range. It was ladies day so we didn't have to pay and there were alot of women there - but we were the only ones without tattoos!!! Saturday night was our big "Les Mis" night in Phoenix. We went with Cara and Steve to dinner and then to the musical. Because it is off Broadway now, it was a local theater group that did the production. It was good and it was kind of cool to be so close to the stage in a smaller theater. Sunday was busy for Jim with HT and meetings, and Gwen survived her first sharing time. Hope everyone is well and have a great week! love the petersen gang p.s. we had a windy day today and it blew ALOT of lemons off the tree. They are always randomly dropping now so you have to be careful not to walk under it or you might get bonked in the head with a lemon!

3-16-09

Hi all! This past week was full of Gwen preparing for the new calling (lots of emails from the pres!) and Jim working long days. We went to the park a few times and even went to the zoo on Friday with cousin Hailey. The kids had fun playing in the water fountain area - even though we didn't see too many animals that day :-) Saturday we had dinner with the Thornley's and the kids played, Jim and Gwen even snuck away to a wedding reception and then it was bedtime. Sunday was a very busy meeting day. The major accomplishment for the week was that the taxes were completed!! This is a big deal because our old accountant always filed an extension for the business returns and this year our personal and business taxes were done by the business due date!!! yippeee - less stress for Gwen! Have a good week. Love, the Petersens

3-8-09

Hi all! This past week seemed busier than normal. Monday Jim had a dr's appt for what we think is bursitis - it actually worked out that he went to the work place of one of the inactive elders in the ward so he got to know him a little better. Gwen had yet another dental appt. Monday night John had a really high fever - it was scary (almost an ER trip). He had had a fever on and off for the past couple of days but we got a dr appt and it turns out one of his tubes is out and that ear is really infected. Glad the fevers are done for now...So Tues was the dr appt for John and Gwen had Webelos and Jim's church night. Earlier in the day we tried to go bowling as a family since Jim had the day off and when we got to the bowling alley, every single lane was filled with white-haireds - most from WA, and that's life in AZ in the winter! Wednesday wasn't as crazy and Thursday we ended up getting a babysitter so that we could fulfill our church callings (somehow that just doesn't seem right). Gwen had Roundtable and Jim had a last minute meeting with the Stake. Friday Jim worked a long day in Tucson and Gwen took the kids to the park and the zoo. It sure wore them out! Friday morning Jim took the kids to a tree competition that our friend Dan does every year in Phx (he placed 2nd) and the kids did a bounce, rock climbing wall (Reagan climbed it twice and it was HIGH!), and got their faces painted. That afternoon Cara came to get the rest of her stuff from the garage clean-out and we went to visit grandma and grandpa petersen. That night Cara fed us while Jim put up a ceiling fan in Stockton's room. And then there was Sunday...Gwen got called as the Primary 2nd Counselor (so I didn't get out of scouts completely!). This will be interesting...after church was the setting apart, Gwen's scout committee mtg and then Jim off to another Stake meeting. Hopefully this week is a little more calm. Hope everyone has a great week! Love, the petersen gang

3-1-09

March??? Boy do I need to get those Christmas Thank You's done! (sorry everyone!) This week was uneventful and very eventful at the same time. Monday was errand day of course and Gwen was cramming to get the tax information ready for the new accountant - have I mentioned our old accountant retired without even telling us?! Tuesday I think we went to the park and then dropped tax stuff off to the accountant and then to the church for Webelos. Our activity was to set up for the Blue and Gold Banquet that night. This is where the eventful part of our week is...Gwen was cutting out butcher paper to cover the tables and suddenly John started crying. Gwen looked up and John had scissors in his hand, crying and then Gwen realized he had cut himself. Where? you might ask....well, he had a little piece of his eyelid gone! Yes, Gwen had a little freakout. It wasn't cut all the way through to the eye, but I didn't know what to do. It happened that there was a guy at the church dropping stuff off for the banquet that has an EMT son. We called him and he and his partner came to the church in their ambulance (good thing I didn't have a bill for this!) and looked at John. They recommended just keeping an eye on it (no pun intended). So we continued getting ready, came home, had kid meltdowns, Jim cancelled his church night (he knew I would never survive alone with the ornery kids, the scout stuff and being on-call all at the same time - thank goodness he came. Also, that was his dinner for the night so he didn't have a choice :-) So it was a later night than usual with the kids. Wednesday was visiting teaching and Thursday John was sick (but the eye was improving) and Jim helped someone move stuff. Friday we stayed close to home but had a friend come play. Saturday we decided was garage cleaning day. What a job! But it looks much better now and you will never believe this...we found more of Cara's stuff! Yeah, Steve probably won't be so pleased, but at least it was food storage! Jim also helped someone move some stuff. Sunday we took turns at church (John had another fever - will the sickness ever end???), Jim taught a good EQ lesson and now it's bedtime. Hope everyone is well, please blow some cooler air our way - it's getting hot! Love the Petersens

2-23-09

Hi all! This past week was a busy one for Gwen and that meant that Jim got to spend ALOT of time with the kids! Monday was our #8 Anniversary so we got a babysitter and went to dinner, we decided against a movie and went window shopping in a new area instead. Tuesday was John's pnuemonia followup (he's OK) and then scouts and Jim got out of his church night because he was babysitting kids. On Tues and Wed nights Gwen attended a CCW class (Concealed Carry for Weapons). It was very interesting, some good stories, now just have to send in the paperwork and it will be official. But honestly, she's more scared about having the permit now after hearing some of the "moral dilemnas" posed in class. Here's one of the most entertaining stories of that class. The teacher and his wife were going to Mexico and they got stopped at the border. Well, you can't take anything even related to guns over the border, not an empty shell casing, not an empty holster, nothing. But he had forgotten to take out the handcuffs from under his seat (that's how he locks up his gun when he leaves it in his car) and they questioned him and he knew if he told them what it was for he would go to jail. So he thought for a minute and then said they were his wife's handcuffs and the border guy let them go without problems! Thursday Reagan was sick and so we stayed home that day. Friday she felt better so she went to school and then Gwen and the kids both went to the ENT. As Reagan was sitting in the patient chair and the nurse was taking down some info, Reagan felt something on her bottom lip and then I saw something fall to the floor. Her tooth fell out! It was quite exciting. Re: the ENT, Reagan is fine, John we need to watch for excessive snoring at night :-) We also got the fridge fixed that night! Saturday morning Reagan excitedly woke Jim up at 3am to tell him the toothfairy had visited and left her a $2 bill! She was thrilled! Saturday Gwen took the Webelos to the Science Center in Phoenix. It was an all day thing and was alot of fun. It's a really great museum and it was Engineering day so the boys got a ton of freebies (yo-yo's, pencils, pedometer, calculators, etc). Sunday was church with naughty kids in Sacrament Meeting and then dinner at Cake's house. Gwen has a new calling...so we'll keep you posted when it actually happens. Hope everyone has a great week! Love, the Petersens

2-16-09

Happy 8th Anniversary to us! :-) After a long week, we are happy to be celebrating today! As usual, I can never remember Mondays, Jim probably did errands and I probably did laundry. Tuesday we waited on a candy order. Wednesday Gwen had the final part of her root canal and the kids had fun playing with a neighbor girl. Thursday we waited for another candy order and our fridge died. So we also waited on the repair guy. It's temporarily fixed, but thank goodness for neighbors with a little freezer room. Can't juice and freeze lemons till it's fixed! Friday we had a short visit from Searles and then off to get Reagan from her Valentine's party. Of course, there was a lot of sugar involved! Saturday the kids went to Thornley's and decorated valentine cookies while Gwen went to the gym and that afternoon we did some errands as a family. On one of our errands we established a new Petersen tradition. Every valentines, we are going to go to the store, find the perfect card for each other, and then show them to each other, laugh (or cry) and re-shelf them :-) That night we started a family movie and it just ended in kids getting put to bed earlier because of tired crankiness. Sunday was church and Petersen dinner. We hope everyone is well. Have a great holiday and week! Love the Petersen gang

2-9-09

Hi all! Monday started off with a visit to the doctor for John, he had pnuemonia. So we pretty much stayed home this week. Later that afternoon Reagan was off to the dentist for the first time, while dad babysat John. Actually last Sunday (2-1-09) as Reagan was brushing her teeth, I caught a different angle of her mouth and saw a tooth growing in behind one of her baby teeth on the bottom row. The dentist says it happens all the time but to work on getting the tooth out. So Reagan has proudly been wiggling her tooth! We stayed home...Jim worked...He had church night on Tuesday and Thursday night Gwen had the Scouting Roundtable. Imagine Gwen's surprise on Friday morning as she was brushing her teeth in a rush to go get Reagan from school, when the doorbell rang and it was our new polygamous neighbor lady with 3 small kids! They asked to picked some lemons from the tree, unfortunately Gwen had to run off to get Reagan so there wasn't time to visit. Right after her school on Friday also, Reagan went to see the doctor because mom was worried about her having pnuemonia (bad coughs). Of course her lungs were clear but she had an ear infection, so our next step? off to the ENT...ugh. Please don't ask if we are having more kids, I'm just not sure we can afford anymore in copays and prescriptions!!!!!! Saturday Jim worked on redoing a roof for an EQ service project. He was there all day and was pretty darn sore. Saturday evening we went to the baptism of Little Joseph Aposhian. There were alot of people and Gwen ended up walking outside with the kids cuz they were cranky and loud. Afterwards, Gwen snuck away with Kim for a late movie "Twilight" since we've been meaning to do that forever. Sunday church and rain. Hope everyone is well. Love, the Petersens and Happy Valentine's Day!

2-2-09

We are already finished with our first 2009 month? Crazy! Monday was pretty hectic. It was Kindergarten registration and Gwen waited pretty darn long before she realized that she didn't have to wait in the normal line but could just fill out the paperwork and hand it in since it's the same school Reagan will be attending. ugh. Then Gwen was off for a partial root canal. double ugh. Jim ending up taking the kids with him to the doctor for his knee shot and then Gwen started a very busy on-call week. Tuesday was Webelos for Gwen and then Pack Meeting and Jim got some work things done. Thursday the work van broke down & Jim didn't work Friday so we went to a new park and fed the ducks and watched the skaters at the skate park. Gwen also worked on getting corporate reports done that morning. Friday night Cake went to Reagan's school fundraiser. Reagan climbed the rock climbing wall and did a great job! However when they ran out of cotton candy before it was our turn, it was meltdown time. She sobbed the whole 3 blocks home (walking, mind you, so all the neighbors could hear it!) She came home and drew a picture on her door that basically said "no parents allowed" it was hilarious! Saturday Jim helped prepare a roof for next saturday's project and Gwen hauled the kids to the grocery store. That afternoon we went to Thornleys for Morgan's birthday celebration, the kids had a great time playing and the food was yummy. Then it was home for bed and Jim went to Jaren's house. Sunday was church, Jaren's wife Jennie and their daughter Hailey came to church with us so John had a friend in nursery. That night the Superbowl was on at our house and the game was enjoyed by all, even though the Cardinals lost. Now another week...but Reagan had a couple of funnies this week. Thursday morning as she was getting dressed for school she said, "you know what the great thing about socks is? They can go on either foot!" and then when we visited grandpa on Thursday afternoon she was fascinated with his pen that has four colors. Jim made the joke that grandpa always had that kind of pen and was probably born with it. Reagan ran up to Gwen and whispered in her ear, "mom, babies come out naked!" It was funny. Hope everyone has a good week. Love jim gwen reagan and john

1-26-09

Yes, it's very late at night (OK, early in the morning) and here Gwen sits at the computer trying to figure out health insurance, doing data entry for corporate taxes and dealing with pain from a root canal earlier in the day. I want my bed!!! Alas, the Yuma Hurdsmans are anxious to get the Hurdsman Hurd so I must fight off the sleep and get to writing...Monday we had Hilary, her mom Paula and baby Bonnie arrive in Mesa. Reagan was so excited to see them! Bonnie's a cutie and is growing fast! Reagan and Gwen had made cupcakes for a party...and then we coerced Cara into coming to our house for her "Happy Birthday Jane" party! "Jane" is Cara's new neck...she had surgery 4 years ago after her car wreck and one of her discs needed to be replaced and yes, it came from a generous Jane Doe and so every year Jane gets a birthday of her own. It was fun to have her come while Hilary was in town. That night Roger flew in from his interview in ID and we had a visit. They left the next morning and we started our routine for the rest of the week (Webelos, church calls for Jim, being parents). Gwen actually got her visiting teaching done this past week and Jim kept busy with all he does. Actually on Wednesday Jeremy called in sick so we kind of had a family day which was fun, but threw off Gwen's days for the rest of the week! Saturday was a busy day, Gwen and the kids went to meet Gwen's first college roommate from Snow. It was fun to see her and hard to believe it's been so long. Then we went to a bounce place for the kids and then off to Aunt Carolyn's birthday gathering at Kris' house. It was fun to see cousins and we enjoyed the visits. Sunday was church and Petersen dinner at Jaren's after Reagan's meltdown. We hope everyone is well and enjoying cool weather. Love Gwen and the gang

1-19-09

Whew, another long week gone by...Gwen was on-call and it seemed to be a long week with the kids. Jim did his usual week of working hard, with a few Suns games in between. Well to start at the beginning, Monday was parent/teacher conference, Reagan is doing well and is very SHY in class (huh?). That night Steve brought Cara by after their birthday dinner for cake. The kids loved having her here for birthday cake. Then it was more of our "24" :-) Tuesday John went to the ENT and his tubes looked good, but there might be other things going on with his breathing so we are currently doing nose spray. We watched one of Reagan's friends after her school and then it was Webelos and Jim's church night. Reagan had a chance to play with one of her church friends on Wed & Thur since she was out of school due to PT conferences. Thursday night was Enrichment and it was about preparedness and Gwen got some new ideas for 72 hr kits that she had never thought of before and then they showed everyone how to use the stake canner. Anna, Gwen's Webelos pal, brought a ton of M&M's to can :-) smart girl! Friday was good but long. First Gwen took the kids to Sam's to have the van tire fixed. Then off to IKEA, much better without kids, but what's a mom to do...and then to the zoo. This is the first time we've been in awhile and it was good, we saw about 5 animals in 2 hrs cuz the kids loved watching the giraffes and otters. Saturday was Jim's fun day - he went shooting with some guys and then went to his brother's that night. Gwen got some tax stuff done and even ironed church clothes! We hope everyone is well. Love the petersen gang

1-11-09

Hi all! This week John was sick most of the week and Jim seemed to be helping people alot this week, all until pretty late. So Gwen has pretty much stayed home with John, Reagan has enjoyed school and jumping on the trampoline. Thursday Gwen went to the temple early for Stake Temple Day and then went home so Jim could head to work. That night he went to the temple and Gwen bailed on Scouting Roundtable to watch a sick John (and Reagan of course). Saturday Gwen and Reagan took Cake out to lunch for her birthday and then the girls went to the park for a party for Reagan's preschool teacher - they had offically adopted a toddler and were sealed to him that day. Jim helped our new neighbhor set up their trampoline (this is the same neighbor that scared the crap out of our babysitter). So Sunday Gwen was home with John, and Reagan and daddy went to church together. It's an amazing thing that whenever it's just Reagan and her dad, she is a complete angel...but when mom enters the picture...anyway, she's a daddy's girl. Hope everyone is well, love the Petersens

1-5-09

Happy New Year! Well, Jim and I can't even remember what happened this past week, and all we had was Martinelli's :-) Gwen was on call and Jim worked Tues/Wed/Fri. Wednesday Gwen took the kids to a different park and we rode the little train and other rides. We forgot our duck food so we'll have to go back. That night we had Grandma, Rachel, Harvey and Jaren's family over for pizza and a couple of games. It was fun and everyone was gone by 9:15 so we put the kids down. As we were reading in bed there was a huge boom outside our bedroom wall - Jim went to investigate and our neighbors were doing some serious fireworks. Guess Jim didn't get to sleep until 2 am. So our plan to be asleep for the new year didn't work out! Friday while Jim was at work the kids went to Cake's to make gingerbread houses (but out of sugar cookie dough). They loved doing it with the Thornley kids and ate plenty of candy!!! Saturday Gwen started to take down Christmas and Jim went to a gun show with Jace. That night we went to Jaren's house to celebrate Hailey's #2 birthday. It was fun and we even got in the jacuzzi. Other than that, it was a few trips to the park or school to ride bikes, visiting with neighbors and jumping on the awesome trampoline. Sunday we started our new church schedule (noon) and it's going to better for Jim's meeting schedule but will make for a long day. We hope everyone is well and that so far so good on the new year. Love, Jim Gwen Reagan and John