Trick or Treat!

Some photos of Halloween fun: Pumpkin carving!

My two little firemen!!

Trick or Treating Hayride!

(Nothing I could do about the super-reflective stripes on Logan's jacket!! He was easy to spot though!)

Organized chaos--Halloween party playgroup at the Petersen house!

Swiper

When I uploaded the Halloween pictures this morning, I found about 20+ photos on my camera that I had not taken. Curiously, they were all of the CAT. Hmmm....I'm thinking my sticky-fingered-preschooler who likes to take pictures had quietly snatched my camera without permission once again.... I'll spare you from the others, but here's a sample:

Quality photography, don't you think?

It's a girl!!!

Todd and I were on our way to the toy store to pick out some birthday gifts for Logan and having a really hard time deciding what to buy him. He had already had a party and gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and Nana, but we usually save a just a few gifts from mom and dad and have cake for the actual day of their birth. Logan has always wanted a cat, and Todd always says, "I hate cats! How about a fish? pig? goat? hamster? rabbit?" But Logan really wasn't into any other options. Anyway, we pulled into Toy's R Us and next door was Petco. Todd was actually the one who suggested getting him a cat. Daddy totally came through! Logan probably told Todd about 100 times, "Thanks for getting me a cat, dad!"

So this is Pumpkin--- a.k.a Kitty. And yes, Logan picked the name Pumpkin just like every other orange tabby in the world. Logan love love love love LOVES Kitty. She is a great cat. The boys drag her around, take turns holding her, and she cuddles on the couch and in their beds with them. We put her in the basement at night (because the middle of the night seems to be her frisky time) and when we try to find her she is almost always in Logan's room. Not just on the bed, but on Logan's chest on the bed. She knows she is his kitty. Logan and Kitty sleeping together.

Kitty will sleep on almost any warm body.


Self explanitory. Check out that happy face.

On his birthday, just moments after getting Kitty. Best gift ever, thanks daddy!

The Birthday Month

Starting on Aug. 12 with T.J.'s second birthday, followed closely by Todd, myself then finally Logan on Sept. 15, we celebrate our entire family's birthday's in just a month. It's a lot to squeeze in! The boys had a combined party this year--they mostly have the same friends--and are really too young to mind if they don't have their own. We had it at this great park, shady with lots of old oak trees, and it turned out to be a really nice day. We had giant sandwiches, a pinata, and a potato sack race (because we live in Idaho and Elmo does it on Sesame Street). Here's a few highlights:

Gettin' ready for the sack race.

Awwwww!! I never get cute pictures of them together!




Logan got a jeep for his second birthday, so Nana got Tate the "Artic Cat" complete with truck bed and tail gate, and a shovel of course.

Tate doesn't like cake, so on his real birthday (not the combined party day) they decorated Elmo cookies.

Can you say S-L-A-C-K-E-R??

Alright...yes, I am a HUGE slacker and have not updated this blog in 2 months!! What can I say, it has been just a little busy around here! We have celebrated 4 birthdays (on at least 8 different occasions), had a visit from Nana, started a new job, and I now have Dirty Boyz gear in 3 baby boutiques and Mini Bazaar here in eastern Idaho. Oh, and I forgot that a friend and I are in two craft shows coming up in the next month. Needless to say, there hasn't been a lot of blogging time. I uploaded 212 photos today, so here's just a few with a promise to post birthday pictures later today. or maybe tomorrow. soon.

Recent and annual trip to the red barn to pick out some new pumpkins. Because the 8 we grew in our garden just weren't enough.

Logan's first day of Pre-Kindergarten, Tate had to have his own backpack too! (Thanks, Wendy!)

Check out the lip!!! Sad for hours after Nana left.....

Butterfly release party

Nana sent us a butterfly pavillion and some caterpillars that ate and ate and ate, just like the book!! They hatched while we were in Yellowstone, but luckily our neighbors took great care of them and fed them while we were gone.
Hey--where'd it go??

Off to Mexico!

Goggle fun

I purchased two pairs of goggles for $1.50 at Walmart. It was well worth the investment! Both boys are now putting their heads underwater and blowing a geyser of bubbles and laughing hysterically. I had to post some picts of their fun, because what else would I do with these cute pictures???

Logan really wanted me to post this one, he has his head underwater. It's a big accomplishment for a chicken like him. :)

Jackson Hole, WY

We also visited Jackson Hole, since we (well the boys and I) had never been there. We went to Jackson for the day and did the tourist shopping thing and stayed over night in Alta at a ski resort. There were tons of bicyclers, horseback riding, and you could take the chair lift up the mountain. The boys loved that, of course. I thought Logan was going to be scared, but it was the best part for him. They had a nice heated pool too. This was only the second time Tate has been in a real, big swimming pool, but he was jumping in without holding onto my hands and going all the way under water. It was amazing, he isn't even two! The kid has no fear. We are in trouble. Anyway, we had a great weekend getting to see a little more of the area. These pictures leave a lot to be desired, but no one wanted to humor my amateur photographer.

Yellowstone

Recently, Todd took two weeks off of his grueling U of Phx. schedule and we took a couple of road trips. We went to Yellowstone for a few days and stayed on Lake Hebgen. It was beautiful, the boys loved fishing and throwing rocks in the lake. Yellowstone was fun, but a lot of driving and hard with two little ones who needed to be carried, got hungry, needed a nap, wanted another snack, had to change shoes, needed a drink, had a stinky diaper, you see where this is going. It was a really cool place to visit though, if you can get past all those "stinky geysers" as Logan called them.

See how our garden grows...

Since I'm sure it will snow anyday, just wanted to share some garden pictures! We have an abundance of zucchini and several very large pumpkins in the works. The boys have been busy watering and eating all the strawberries they can pick everyday. They are loving it!

Rare moment caught on film

I picked Logan up from playing at a friend's house to find this cute little image. Todd rarely gets sweet little moments like this to cuddle with a warm baby so I had to post it.

4th of July

I must admit, Idaho Falls is a great place to celebrate the 4th. Parade in the morning, activities along the greenbelt all day, fireworks at night along the river. It was even a tad chilly this year, which I think is weird considering it's July and you should be able to fry an egg on the sidewalk. We had a great 4th, which for us just consisted of the parade and BBQ at our house. We had a perfect spot at the parade in the shade since I went and marked off a spot the night before. Yes, I was one of "those" people. But hate me or not, it was totally worth it. Anyway, we also did a last minute BBQ with anyone who was around (I only took one picture of the kids for some reason). We did not go watch fireworks this year because 1. Logan is terrified of the noise and hates them and 2. they don't start until 10:30 and that is really late for us. Some of our neighbors set off HUGE ones, so it was just like our own private viewing. Fireworks are legal here, so you can pretty much see great ones from your very own front yard. Here are some picts: Tate, Josue, Logan and Jake having some good 'ol hamburgers and hot dogs.

Logan's favorite part of the parade (he made me take the picture).

McKaylee, Elise, Logan and Tate lounging in our front row parade seats. (Blurry because some unnamed toddler likes to take pictures with my camera even though he has his own and gets finger prints on the lens.)

Buddies!

Highlights from AZ trip

The boys and I took a week trip to Kingman to visit my mom at the end of June. Here are some picture highlights of our trip. We had a great time except for our trip home--we should have arrived back in ID around 7 p.m., but due to Allegiant Air's super planning--arrived home at 1:30 A.M. Pure torture since my kids have a pretty strict bedtime of 8 p.m.


I really did not mean for this picture to be first, but yes, I sometimes let my child pee outside. It's just so easy. And Grandpa Bob would be so proud! We took some fried chicken to the Hualapai's and checked out the wildlife and climbed rocks. By far the highlight of the trip! We even saw a deer that ended up stalking us!!

Pool time!

Logan painted Nana's toes ALL BY HIMSELF! Bet ya didn't guess that...

So this is a perfect picture to describe my child. He has caught a lizard in this pot, he has ketchup on his face, his shirt is on inside out, no shoes, and happy as a clam. :)

We took a quick visit to Flag for the day and got to have lunch with some of my oldest and dearest--Stephanie and Melissa. Here we all are with all the kiddos!! Aren't they gorgeous!!

Logan's Graduation

Logan has officially graduated!! From pre-school. It really was a big celebration for him--he had a rough start to school this year and a few rough patches during the year (they forgot him in the classroom once) but preschool was a great experience for him. He is definitely still very attached to mommy and a little shy, but he has come out of his shell and become more confident. His teacher, Mrs. Perez, made a big deal out of graduation (this was her very first class, so special for her too) and it was a great way to end the year. She had both a.m. and p.m. classes come together and invited parents. The kids practiced and practiced their "program" which consisted of songs and prayers and during their performance, gave each child a diploma and book of their school projects. I tried to attach a video I made with my camera (I forgot the charged and ready camcorder on the bathroom sink) but for some reason couldn't do it.

I made him wear a tie, because he has one and really, how many occasions are there when you can wear a tie? I also made Tate wear one too, just because he's so darn cute.

His teacher, Mrs. Perez, is on the left and Mrs. Jenson, the classroom aide, is on the right.

Summer has finally come! Well....sorta.....

So it has finally gotten warm enough to have a little summer fun here in lovely Idaho Falls. On some days. The last week, for example, has been rainy and chilly. Yesterday when I woke up it was 43 degrees! It's June, Mr. Weatherman!! And, it is supposed to rain all week. ug. We did have a few really nice days though, and we took full advantage. Biking to the park, water table on the deck, and a slip-n-slide. Here are some pictures!!

Logan got a new bike for Christmas and he has been learning to ride. He really likes all the gear he gets to wear "so we can be safe." Did I mention his favorite color is green?