Petersen's Playhouse

July

2011-12-22T00:41:00.000-07:00

We continued our Air Force summer enjoying Aaron being home but knowing that SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training was coming 3 weeks after he got home. Lucky for us the month-long training was at Fairchild AFB outside Spokane, WA. Lucky again for us that my parents live in Spokane along with my brother and his wife, Aaron's sister and her family and his grandma.

Family time and fun galore!

Alex got a TON of Cub stuff done with Grandpa.

Spokane equals family time as well as Subway time: Eat Fresh!

The first few weeks were surprisingly cool and cloudy but we still had a great time at the water park.

We usually split the time in Spokane between the two families. Lucky for us Aaron's brother Trent moved his wedding up a weekend so we could be there before Aaron left for Florida for water training.

Yes.... everything we did this summer was with the Air Force!

The sun finally came out and we had a great time boating with the cousins and cliff jumping (Alex went off a 30 footer)

The wedding was beautiful and we all love Aunt Tori!!

A little R&R

2011-07-31T00:05:00.000-06:00

Once Aaron got home and re-signed into the base he was given 17 days off for some family time and vacation. We decided to start off with a little Stay-cation in Rapid City. I mean, hundreds of thousands of people come here to visit, might as well see what all the fuss is about.

First Aaron and I got a babysitter for an afternoon and went riding on his motorcycle. There is a highway called Iron Mountain Road that was built specifically for riding. Lots of pigtail turns and one-way tunnels cut into the rocks.

Second we took a day and went to the Badlands. For those of you who are planning a vacation to come and see us, the Badlands are only 50 miles from our home. Just letting you know.

In between summer thunderstorms Aaron took Alex out for "man camp" on the hill behind our house, trying out the paint ball gun he got for Father's Day. Aaron and our neighbor played men vs boys. The boys even pulled out one win. WOLVERINES!

Another Rapid City area hot spot, actually located in Wyoming, is Devils Tower. For you Close Encounters fans we did not see Richard Dryfus but we did sing the song. De, de, de, bo bee....

And finally, we took the kids to Mall of America in Minnesota. One very cool mall! We stayed at the Raddison across the street which had a waterpark and then spent a day at the mall riding the rides. I think more than anything it was just good to be together again!

Aaron's Home!!

2011-07-22T09:59:00.001-06:00

So yeah - Aaron's home! It's been a month now and even though we are once again not together (he's at Fairchild AFB in SERE/Survival School) I figured it was time to throw some pictures up.

Aaron coming home was a bit of a surprise. For those of you following my blog or emails or whatever, you may know that his come home date kept changing. A bit frustrating - to say the very least. But FINALLY we had an official be on the plane date (June 18 for him) and an expected "home" date of about June 22-23 (depending on how long he had to hang out in Manas AFB in Kyrgyzstan).

So Friday night we say our final goodbye via Skype (thank you for existing) not expecting to hear from him for a few days . But, Saturday morning I wake up to this email (quote): So I wanted to wait to make sure everything went ok and no flights got canceled but right now I am sitting in Germany waiting for a plane to Charleston.

As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm totally freaking out! And by the time I actually get the email he's already in the air on the way to the US. Good thing we had Cub Scout Camp, 2 birthday parties and I had a lesson/sharing time for church to do, not to mention that the house needed a little bit of a clean up. It takes me about 10 minutes to wrap my head around the whole situation and then it's to the phones. Thanks to everyone who helped with carpooling and the like on that crazy day.

By 1:00 am Sunday (Father's Day) morning the house is clean top to bottom, clothes are all laid out, posters are made and I lay down for a last sleepless night.

At the airport: TSA has a policy that if you have a family member leaving or coming home from a deployment you are allowed to accompany them to/from the gate. Just like the good old days. Too bad the lady at the Security Line didn't want to follow that rule. I had called a month in advance to get all the info we would need to get past security. I had all the birth certificates for the kids and had received all the boarding passes from the downstairs ticket people and the TSA security officers on the main floor. I was ready. Then the crabby lady who loves to ruin peoples dreams and hates Father's Day entered my life. She refused to let us through.

For those of you who know me I'm sure you realize that I was calm and cool and not sending death to her through my eyes. FINALLY we get through (via a manager), although Aaron's plane has landed (late luckily) and we get to the gate just in time!! It was wonderful! Ainsley went right to him, the kids couldn't get enough of him, and there were tears all around - and not just us.

It was pouring rain so I was feeling a little sad that we couldn't really celebrate out in our cul-de-sac with our awesome neighbors. We pulled into the driveway, opened the garage and all our neighbors were standing in the garage waving flags and cheering. It was a perfect Homecoming and Father's Day.

Deployment Up-date

2011-06-12T21:17:00.000-06:00

So most if not all of you know that Aaron's replacement was delayed leaving the US due to the volcano in Iceland interrupting the airspace. Weather that is the actual reason or that's the reason that they are telling us that is all we have. So his replacement is a week delayed, of course delaying Aaron leaving Afghanistan.

So what happens now you ask? Very good question. From what I understand from Aaron, there is a flight leaving Bagram Thursday, June 16. Right now Aaron's commander has him on that flight. If he leaves Afghanistan on the 16th, he will be home (earliest) Monday, June 20 and (latest) probably around Thursday, June 23. Again though, neither of us know so your educated guess is as good as ours. One thing we can plan on is that Aaron home for Father's Day is not a reality anymore.

What happens if, for whatever reason, he doesn't' leave on the 16th? Again, great question! I believe that Aaron said that next flight out of dodge is Wednesday, June 22 which would get Aaron home probably Saturday, June 25 - Tuesday, June 28. Again, just ball-parking it here because neither of us know.

The end of days

2011-05-31T12:31:00.001-06:00

No not the rapture! Believe me when I say I'm just as sad as the rest of you that that didn't pan out. Here's to hoping that the Mayans got it right.

I'm talking about Aaron's deployment! Where have the 6.5 months gone? OK - some days were better than others and other days...well we'll just try to forget those days. But now here we are at the end of it! Aaron leaves Afghanistan June 13 to head back to Kyrgyzstan and then leaving Kyrgyzstan June 16! We are expecting him home the Friday or Saturday before Father's Day. Kinda poetic huh?

We are all, of course, ecstatic. The kids have enough "plans for/with dad" for 4 summers and I'm starting to realize that my "things to do while Aaron's gone" list isn't as complete as I had hoped it would be. Good thing I still/only have 3 weeks to get going!

To Anonymous - Thank you!!

2011-05-29T17:09:00.000-06:00

A week or two after Aaron left I received a rather large box from Omaha Steak Co. filled with dinners, veggies, and desserts with a card signed "With Love - an Anonymous Friend in California".

Three months later, at Aaron's halfway, I received another package.

Last month another.

It is well past time that I sent out a "Thank You" to my anonymous friend.

Dance Recital

2011-05-13T22:15:00.000-06:00

Sydney has been taking dance since September. Tomorrow is the big recital. What's fun about the ballet part is that the program is set up by children's books - the dancers tell the stories. The stories featured are Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Velveteen Rabbit, and Ferdinand the Bull. Sydney's group is the bumblebees in Ferdinand the Bull.

There is also a tap/jazz/modern program. They are just set to fun music by Janet Jackson, Queen, Madonna... it's called "Legends". Sydney's group is doing a tap to "Brown Eyed Girl".


Tap costume

tap again


Bumblebees

This is our neighbor Jayda - she's a strawberry in the Very Hungry Caterpillar

Ainsley's new skill

2011-04-01T22:12:00.001-06:00

Granted, it's not as cool an num-chuck (sp?) skills but slightly better than computer hacking skills. Ainsley turned 6 months last Friday and just today decided that she could sit independently.

Yes - she's huge but the Gerber baby wasn't hired because it was slim. She loves watching her brothers and sister. She equally loves food and eating. She has two teeth and her patchy hair is starting to fill in. She sleeps well and is super happy, which is a blessing with Aaron being gone.

Alex's week

2011-02-26T22:23:00.001-07:00

So we started the week with an ear-infection for Ainsley and a split eye for Sydney (see below) but ended the week with a lot of activies centered around Alex. I feel bad for the kid sometimes becasue being the only boy there is a lot of girl stuff going on around him that he has to participate in. So I 'm always glad when things get centered around him.

Thursday morning Alex was in the 2nd grade spelling bee. They do a class bee and top 4 go to the grade bee. Out of the 12 there Alex got 6th. One bettter than last year. The word "broad" tripped him up but he knows how to spell it now. I just pass it off that he's too respectful towards women to know how to spell that word.

Saturday was our first Pinewood derby. I passed on the opportunity to wow everyone with my wood working skills so Alex had to make his car with a friend and his dad. He designed and painted it himself. He made the Mach 5 from the movie Speed-racer. Didn't win too many/any races but had a blast and he's already looking forward to next year!

sizing up the competition

The bunk-beds strike again!

2011-02-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

At least it wasn't a cast this time! She's not sure if she hit the wall or the bunk-bed but one thing is for sure, Sydney tripped on her way to bed, hit something and ended up with 6 stitches. Luckily we have friends with benefits. Jarrett Hammer is a doc who works with Aaron and between Aaron's very souped-up (sp?) first aid kit and Jarrett's skills, we were able to take care of things right there on the kitchen table.

the hole

waiting patiently

"I feel numb..."

this is the closest she came to crying

I got to play nurse

all finished

Dr Hammer and Sydney

the next day with a surprisingly small amount of swelling

Luckily Aaron was on-line as soon as everything was finished. I think he was most disappointed about not being here because he wanted to do the stitches.

2 months out

2011-02-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

So we've just passed the 2 month mark. Check out the chain!

Here it is from the beginning for reference

Four more to go!

2011-02-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

It took a LOT of this...

...but she FINALLY...

...got to this!

Nice work baby! I will now stop torturing you.

Alex only older

2011-02-02T16:28:00.001-07:00

Looking back through pictures of Alex the only real difference I see is maybe a change in hair. It's like the kid doesn't change! Here are pictures of Alex now that he's 8.

Yes, I have since cut his hair. With all the decisions that the kids can't make for themselves, Aaron and I decided how they wear their hair is up to them. We'll see how that goes as they get older. He finally started complaining that hair was tickling the inside of his ears.

So here are some pictures of Alex through the years. The kid really hasn't changed! What do you think?

Alex at 7

Alex at 6

Alex at 5

Alex at 4

Alex at 3

Alex at 2

Ainsley's 3 month photos

2011-01-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

So I know I just posted a bunch of photos of Ainsley but here are a few that I really liked form her "photo shoot" from JC Penny. Gotta love the Penny.

So I've never taken naked baby pictures but she spit up all over her dress halfway through the shoot, so we had to do a quick wardrobe change. I think they turned out pretty good.

Aaron's work (as told by Aaron)

2011-01-15T16:59:00.002-07:00

So this is a video of a story that was done and posted on www.af.mil. It is about a family that was treated here in Bagram. I took care of the father/grandfather from doing his initial trauma assessment to discharging him. His daughter only smiled at me the time I gave her a glove balloon, but at least by the time she left she would give me five. The things I am getting to do here are very cool and I do really enjoy it.

Aaron

2011-01-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

So its been an official month now. Things are so-far-so-good. Aaron is busy working. It was 7 days a week 12 hour night shifts but now they have another Dr there so there is an occasional day off. We are both happy that he's on the night shift as he is 11.5 hours ahead of mountain time so he's up when I'm up. It makes it convenient to call, and web cam with each other.

He's working at the hospital there doing inpatient medicine. Not Aaron's favorite, but it is what it is and he says he does like taking care of the injured troops. Occasionally he gets to run trauma assessments when they come in and he has been in the operating room for a couple cases. He's still in the dorms and hoping for a little more room when some other guys go home and they can spread out. From what I can gather he sees Afghani civilians, patients from base and gets causalities ready for transport to Germany. He said that there are about 30,000 people there on base.

I don't want to speak too much for him and get the details wrong but I'm sure that if I do he'll log on and edit it anyway, so whatever.

Waiting in Germany to leave for Manas AFB

Sleeping arrangements in Manas


Aaron leaving Manas AFB in Kyrgyzstan

Aaron's "room" in Afghanistan

Part of the mountains on one of the few days it is clear enough to see them.

Ainsley

2011-01-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

Ainsley's 3 months now and I thought I'd throw a few pictures up to document that I love her just as much as the other kids. Anyway, she's my favorite right now. She's the only one who hasn't talked back this week!

They're pretty much the same picture, just a different outfit.

I have no words for this...

2011-01-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

...it's pretty self-explanatory.

Luckily the new year's resolution hadn't kicked in yet so my thighs were able to ensure that no poop leaked onto my niece's bed.

Counting the Days

2010-12-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

This is what a 6 month paper chain looks like.

It's a little daunting if you think about it so don't. Just working on one day at a time.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T22:46:00.001-07:00

It was surprising to me that it took some effort to keep up with the Christmas traditions with Aaron being gone. Luckily there are a few kids counting on me to stay up on my game.

Here are the kids making/decorating a gingerbread house.

here's the end result of that project

A tradition that we adopted from the Petersen side of the family is that on Christmas Day you get to pick whatever you want to eat into one giant "Awesome Meal". It can literally be anything. We usually do this on Christmas to maximize laziness so no one has to cook but we are going to a friends tomorrow so "Awesome Meal" was tonight.

Menu included: orange chicken, popcorn shrimp, mini quiches, cougar gold, cuties/clementines, pizza rolls, egg-nog, and cream puffs.

Oh! there I am. Hope your Christmas was as merry even if it was less fattening.

Rain Storm

2010-12-24T22:26:00.002-07:00

Two nights ago we had a rain storm come through Rapid City, qickly followed by arctic air from North Dakota. This was the result. Notice they are not using sleds.

In this next one you can see how far Alex went with out a push. Also notice I had the forethought to make the kids wear their bike helmets.

After the fun I spent an hour breaking ice off the driveway so The van could get in the garage.

Saying Goodbye!

2010-12-08T14:44:00.001-07:00

Here's to a fast 179 days plus 15 days overlap! By-the-way, Ainsley's not dead, she's sleeping.

After about 10 attempts to turn this picture the right way I give up. Sorry but you'll have to turn your heads. If any one knows how to fix this problem let me know (yes I logged out, deleted the post and started over - 4 times!).

From Aaron: I was able to fix this from Afghanistan. Modern technology is amazing!

One busy weekend

2010-12-03T23:50:00.001-07:00

So not only are we getting ready for Aaron's up-coming deployment - we also had some important family events this weekend. Alex was baptized and Ainsley was blessed in church. Luckily we were able to combine both events into one weekend to have maximum family visit Rapid City during the winter.

I will have to say that I do feel old having a kid old enough to be baptized (the age of 8 at our church). In one more year we will hit the halfway point of Alex being in our home until college. Parenthood is going surprisingly fast.

Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex and dad

Ainsley's blessing day

Working on a smile

Jealous?

2010-11-19T23:42:00.001-07:00

So I didn't think that Camryn was jealous of Ainsley but apparently there are a few things that Camryn needs to claim as her own. So Ainsley, looks like you'll just have to wait your turn.

After 1 month...

2010-11-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

Ainsley's had a few experiences.

First, she learned dad's trick:

Second, she attended her first BYU football game vs. Colorado St and got to meet Cosmo. Another Cougar in the making!

Third, she's starting to smile! As you can see, she not only has a dimple in her chin but also one in each cheek. Can't wait until that smile is for me and not just because.

Going Green

2010-10-21T13:32:00.001-06:00

As we now have 5 people using the bathroom in our home, we sure do go through our fair share of toilet paper. I'm not about to put anyone on rations, but we could buy stock in it and probably put the kids through college.

So with that in mind, I appreciate the conservation efforts when too much was unrolled. Waste not want not huh?

4 Kids?

2010-10-18T16:56:00.000-06:00

So a friend questioned whether or not we actually had a 4th kid as there have been little to no photos or her. We wanted to respect the privacy of our daughter and keep her anonymity, but to please the masses here are a few photos of the not so little new born.

Arrrrgh!

Evidence of the 4 kids

Chubby Bunny


Playing Rock Band with dad. She's not screaming, she's singing!

In other kids news, Camryn is our dress up girl. Apparently butterfly fairies can also double as handymen.

Baby's here!

2010-09-25T20:13:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the world Ainsley Kate Petersen! She's a pretty big girl if you have no eyesight and are unable to see. 9# 8oz and 21 inches. Granted, we have big genes in the family.

The story (real quick):
So you can see from the below picture that the baby was getting big because I was huge. Remember, actual due date is Oct 6.

So Thursday Sept 23 I have a growth ultrasound to see how big the baby is getting. At this point my "due" date has already been bumped up to Oct 1. The tech lets me know that baby is approx 10 lbs.

So Friday morning I meet with my OB and basically we come to the decision that the bun is done in the oven and getting crispy around the edges. She immediately went to call the hospital to find an opening in the induction schedule, the sooner the better. Funny thing is is that by 12:30 that afternoon I started laboring on my own.

At 3:15, I'm at the school picking up the carpool after school and get the call to come in. Of course I have to ditch the other kids and Aaron needs to get home but eventually by 5:00 I'm signed in getting comfy in my open back gown.

By 7:00 the penicillin finally comes down from the pharmacy and by 9:30 it's all in (I was strep B+). It was a bit frustrating as I pride myself in having quick labors and the waiting game was out of my control. By 10:00 they start the pitocin and break my water by 10:30 or 11:00. I start pushing around 11:45 and she's born at 12:04 am.

That's the story.

T minus 12 days...

2010-09-19T21:18:00.000-06:00

...and very much counting!

No lady at the supermarket... there isn't more than one in there. Thanks for asking though!

3 year pictures

2010-09-19T21:16:00.000-06:00

Somewhere in between the 2nd and 3rd birthday Camryn changed her smile from this:

to this:

Just kidding! We got a few good ones but not as good as last year:

Turning 3

2010-09-10T16:30:00.000-06:00

Camryn is three. It's amazing to me how much younger 3 is now compared to Alex and Sydney being 3. We had a great pre-birthday week with reminders that "Sunday is my birthday" and then me reminding her that it was only Tuesday, Wednesday...etc. Orange chicken, corn on the cob and strawberries were on the menu along with cheesecake and presents.

Oh yeah - she also got a hair cut. Happy Birthday Cammer! You have been a really fun 2 year old. Let's go for a repeat and have a great 3!

As easy as ABC, 123...

2010-09-08T15:27:00.000-06:00

Hooray for the first day of school! Hooray for Sydney that she is starting Kindergarten and Alex for loving 2nd grade already.

Alex's Phinies and Ferb t-shirt in honor of the 104 days of summer vacation now over


Jake and Jenna Bohnenkamp our neighbors and carpool

We were in Arizona the night of the open house so I missed signing up for the all the volunteer stuff. Sydney's teacher had a "saying goodbye" story and thing lined up for the new kindergartners and parents so we came in, listened to the story and then got ready to leave. I then noticed that all the volunteer papers were out and started looking through them to make sure I didn't miss anything. A few minutes later from across the room Sydney yells out "Are you going to leave yet mom?". No attachment issues there.

Aaron's bachelor summer

2010-09-05T22:42:00.000-06:00

For those 7 of you who have actually followed all my summer posts, you have undoubtedly noticed that most is about the kids and myself. During the months of June and July our family was together a total of about 23 days.

Aaron was living up the bachelor life this summer! Spent two weeks in Texas, a week of motorcycling, a week of backpacking, riding during Rally Week... nothing but good times for him! Here's Aaron's summer recap.

June 20 - July 4
Aaron left his Father's Day celebrations early to fly to the heat and humidity of Texas. Brooks AFB is a stripped down base without a commissary, BX, swimming pool and the fitness center closes 1 hour before Aaron was done for the day. He was the second most senior officer in his group and one of two out of 25 who didn't get a rental car in their budget, so he had to bum a ride from all the 2nd Lieutenants

Classes included a night vision lecture, high altitude physiology, fighter/bomber/mobility/recon missions, and his favorite history of Air Force ophthalmology. He also spent some time in the high altitude chamber.

Unfortunately for Aaron, Hurricane Alex was on its way to the area so he was the only one in his program who didn't get to fly in the aircraft pictured below. He did get to spend an extra two days of extended holiday in Houston until the weather cleared and he could fly home.

He was able to see his brother Nathan and his wife Leaa and their baby Corinne and finished the first 2 books of the Hunger Games series. He also paid tribute to his fallen brother's-in-arms at the Alamo. All in all not a bad 2 weeks. He spend 40 hours with his family until we took off for Utah and left him to his next adventure.

July 12-17
After a grueling 4 days back at work Aaron hitched the trailer to the Altima and drove the motorcycle over to Spokane and the start of his Wild Hogs week. Their planned destination was a trip up through Canada but the day before they left a passport went missing so the route was changed to follow the Cascade Highway along the Washington/Canada border.

Although the boys seemed to be disappointed in the change, Aaron was secretly excited as now they would be traveling through Forks, WA and he would be able to watch for vampires and put his feet in the sand at the La Push Beach. After visiting his vampire Graceland Aaron is definitely Team Edward!

Other highlights of the trip were the general scenery, hanging out with his brother, dad, and brother-in-law, and eating a container ship.

Halfway through the trip Aaron got the stomach flu. Apparently it's a bit trickier being sick on a motorcycle than on a car trip.

Yes this is Aaron puking over the guardrail. Thanks for the picture Trent!

Alex has already started getting ready for the time when he will get to pilgrimage to Forks, and become a man.

July 27 - July 31 (but actually 30th)

The male side of the Nelson family went on a backpacking trip. It originally was going to be 20 miles in 4 days with about 1200 feet gained in elevation, it got changed to 30 miles in 4 days with 5000 ft gained in elevation and ended up being 30 miles in 3 days with the 5000 feet gained in elevation. The final count was due to the persistent rain in the Rocky Mountain National Forrest. They had a great time and made it over Flat Top Mountain without be electrocuted or lost in a white-out (you have to have Aaron or someone from the trip tell you about the guy who told them to turn around before making it to the top). A fun time was had by all.

yes that's Aaron packing heat

a little rain never hurt anyone

August 10

As if there hadn't been enough fun had by Aaron, he went on the tenth annual Dakota Thunder ride sponsored by Ellsworth AFB as part of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The ride left the flight line, rode down the runway and then headed off base and took a back road to Sturgis. This sounded like a great father-son opportunity, and it was at first. After pictures, getting into a B-1, waiting for the ride to start and drinking lots of water to stay hydrated on a hot August day they were on their way. They rode with the medics near the back of over 500 motorcycles. It was great until somewhere on the two lane highway to Sturgis, Alex said he had to pee. Aaron tried to get him to hold it, but after bouncing around on the back seat for 10 minutes they pulled over and Alex was able to relieve himself on the side of the road. Through a series of unfortunate events they were separated from the rest of the group and missed a key turn to get to Sturgis. They ended up in Deadwood, SD with Alex falling asleep on the back of Aaron's bike. Deciding to call it a day they hopped on the freeway and head for home. They will try to make it all the way to Sturgis next year.

Aaron has now resumed being a father to our children and states that the bachelor life is too exhausting. We'll see what happens next summer!

Summer Vacation: Spokane, WA - 773.25 miles (from Utah then 922.09 miles home )

2010-08-16T17:05:00.000-06:00

The kids and I left Utah with my mom for driving company. It was a pretty uneventful drive except that I did get hit on at the McDonald's in Idaho Falls by a guy who apparently has a pregnancy belly fetish. No mister psycho, I don't feel as though I've never looked better and yes you are staring. Creepy!

Spokane was just a relaxing week of visiting with family. We visited parks, did some shopping, and picked raspberries. Of course no trip to Spokane would be complete without a trip to Subway. We ate fresh about 4 times the 5 days we were there. Aaron came home on the Friday before we left and we enjoyed a boating afternoon with Aunt Brooke, Uncle Cody, cousins and grandparents.

Camryn and Sydney helping papa Nelson in the garden

Riverfront Park in Spokane

sisters - Cami, Carolyn and Andrea

Long Lake - Sydney, Aunt Brooke, cousin Jaycee

Summer Vacation: Utah - 683.35 miles

2010-08-02T11:49:00.000-06:00

So Aaron finally gets home the afternoon of July 4th and the kids and I take off again the morning of July 6th. My mom's extended family was having a reunion.

We stopped my Martin's Cove on our way down. This is another Mormon Church Historical site where the handcart companies were basically stuck as an early winter came through the area on their way to SLC. I once again explain that we are only at the beginning of our trip and once again I am sitting listening to a very sweet old lady peat her "schpiel" while trying to get the DVD player to work and then REPEAT it once the DVD gets going. We sat long enough for Camryn to need 2 bathroom breaks.

1 hour later we are done and I say: Alright, which way to the Cove?
                                        old lady: It's a mile and a half that way.
                                               me:   A driving mile and a half?
                                       old lady: No, it's a walking trail.
                                               me: Kids! back in the van. Time to go!

Martin's Cove is a little more involved than I thought so we'll have to hit it for real another time. but we did get a picture at the entrance.

Going to Utah is always great because we get to see so many people while we are there. There are former roommates:

I'm the big one

Friends from Ohio who are either living there now or are in the area for the 4th:


I still can't believe we got that many families together

And then of course there is all the family we get to see:


Sydney and Uncle Ethan - Sturgis look out!

The Kidd cousins also visiting from Colorado

My sister Christine, my mom, and I in front of the Mt Timpanogos Temple

While visiting my grandpa's grave Alex stumbled upon Magnum PI's grave. Alex was sad for him that he was buried without his Detroit Tigers hat.

Rest in Peace Magnum!

Summer Vacation: Badlands and Wall Drug

2010-07-29T17:52:00.000-06:00

So the kids and I got home from Kansas late night June 30. Our friends the Rasmussen were coming up from Fort Collins for the 4th on the night of July 2nd, Aaron was flying in late night July 2nd. Unfortunately thanks to Hurricane Alex Aaron was stuck in Houston until the afternoon of the 4th.

We headed off to the Badlands, so named as they are "bad lands" to try and farm (catchy right? nothing gets past the Dakotans), where we hiked, picnicked and suffered a little bit of heat exhaustion due to hot weather and only 3 water bottles between the two families.

View of the Badlands


Kids and I at the top of one particular hike.

On our way home we stopped at Wall Drug. Anyone (all 5) who have been through South Dakota knows about Wall Drug because there is a billboard for it every 3 miles across the entire state (not joking). Here is mile 131 - 110 on I-90:

wait for it...

almost there...


NOW!! exit now!

It's a giant drugstore complex with shops, cafes, wild west trinkets:


it says "Homeland Security, Fighting Terrorism since 1492"

And DELUXE accommodations

You can even ride the Jackalope.

Let me tell you...South Dakota does NOT disappoint!

Summer Vacation: Coming home from Kansas - 693.39 miles

2010-07-26T09:45:00.000-06:00

So Aaron was still in Texas when we finished our Kansas vacation so I decided to see some of the sights on our way home. Two places I particularly wanted to go were to Winter Quarters in Nebraska and The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.

I've noticed that sometimes when you go to a Visitor's Center the people there have their "schpiel" that they usually say. I've also noticed that no matter how often you tell them you don't have a ton of time and still have about 8 hours left in your drive, you are going to get the entire "schpiel". Thus our visit to Winter Quarters went from a quick 30 minutes to 2 hours. The kids only complained as I went through the cemetery but did stand long enough for a picture or two.

By the way, for those of you who don't know Winter Quarters is the place where the pioneers stayed over the winter in really terrible conditions before their trek west to Salt Lake City. Most there had been forced out of their homes previously so food and supplies were scarce and there was a lot of sickness so many, especially kids, died there.

Kids pulling a handcart. Alex mentioned that this was so easy that pulling it to Utah would've been no problem.

Kids loading their wagons.


Memorial to children who died at Winter Quarters. You can almost feel the enthusiasm.

Although long, it was a great experience and the kids actually learned something so we have that going for us...which is nice.

So back in the car and 5 hours later we pull up to The World's ONLY Corn Palace. That's right, there's only one and lucky us it's in South Dakota.

Since none of you know, The Corn Palace was built to advertise that corn grows in South Dakota and to entice farmers to either move here or stay here instead of relocating to Iowa or Nebraska because hey...we have so much corn we're building palaces out of the stuff.

Apparently it didn't take because to this day South Dakota still does not have 1 million people in her borders.

They start decorating for the next year in July so it's not as corny as it could be.

World's Only...too bad I didn't get in there myself.


Rushmore made of corn.

Summer Vacation: Kansas Style - 693.39 miles

2010-07-21T16:31:00.002-06:00

So our summer vacation is only half over and already the kids and I have traveled 3830 miles (by van). Since we have been all over doing and seeing different sights, I am attempting to do separate blog posts for each "vacation".

Aaron recently started the Flight Medicine training and was sent to Texas for his first two weeks of class. Since I was on my own I decided that now was as good a time as any to go visit my brother Scott and his family in Topeka, Kansas.

There are a few things to know about Kansas before you go to visit:

1. Kansas has humidity and if you are pregnant and haven't been in humidity in about 4 years (since Ohio) you are going to sweat... A LOT! Your kids will also complain that they are"hotter and hotter and hotter than ever!"

2. Kansas has no regulations concerning the 4th of July. Anything and everything is legal right there outside your front door so long as you are exploding your fireworks during the approved days (this year June 27 - July 5)

3. Kansas gets a bad rap about being boring BUT there was a ton to do and it was gorgeous! We were there a week and literally ran out of time before we got to everything

Here's a peek at what Kansas had to offer the Petersen Family:

Sydney playing with the puppies at the libraries bookmobile

Camryn at Shawnee Lake park

Sydney at the Topeka Zoo - she almost got bit on this one

Camryn and cousin Skyler fighting over the Bear Chair. Gotta love 2 1/2 - 3 year olds! I mostly picked this picture so you can see how hot Cammer was!

Sitting in "school" at the Deanna Rose Farmstead in KC, KS. Although we did end up in KC, MO by accident on the way home.

Alex riding the tractor track at Deanna Rose Farmstead in KC


This is the other side of Shawnee Lake. They've built a beach with water slides, sprinklers, and basketball hoops.


Alex, Sydney and Cam with cousins Skyler and Carson.

A place to lay your head

2010-07-20T22:41:00.000-06:00

Ever been so tired that you can't go another step? Apparently Camryn has had that kind of a day.

The Magical House of Rasmussen

2010-06-16T18:53:00.000-06:00

So even though the U2 concert wasn't part of our weekend (I still think Bono is faking a back injury/surgery in order to watch the World Cup in peace - a little too convenient in timing) we still had a great time in Ft Collins visiting the Rasmussen Family.

Let it be know that any house that has a PA system including tape deck, to play all your mixed tapes, is something special.

Sunday June 13, Camryn asked to wear panties. We had had one day of unsuccessful potty training before a few weeks ago and since then has avoided her panties like the plague. Since she was asking, I thought it only right that I accommodate her. Even wore them to church and stayed dry. Monday June 14, she was wet 3 times and pooped once. Tuesday was even worse as she wet her pants 2 times during my doctor's apt. By Wednesday, I was done and she was back in diapers.

Alex is probably the only 1st/2nd grader who has yet to lose a tooth. Granted, the fact that his first tooth didn't even come in until a week after his first birthday should have been a tip-off that losing the teeth wouldn't be easy. Finally 3 weeks ago he discovers that he has a lose tooth! but even with constant wiggling the blasted thing won't come out.

So what happens this weekend at the Rasmussens? Camryn becomes fully potty trained, pee and poop, even through the night and Alex loses that dang tooth! Apparently our house doesn't have "IT" but so long as we have access to the house that does, I think we'll be okay.

In other weekend news, we enjoyed hiking around Rocky Mountain National Park

watched a lot of World Cup,and visited the Budweiser Factory and learning all about the making of beer. The kids payed surprisingly good attention and even memorized the 5 ingredients to making beer (says Sydney: water, yeast, rice, barley and "jumps" aka hops).

Last day of school...and a baby bird

2010-06-07T13:35:00.000-06:00

Today was Alex's last day of school! Yeah for summer vacation, sleeping in (for me) and hanging out at the swimming pool (not for me, my white legs and pregnant belly...but I'll do it anyway). I'm the afternoon carpool pick-up so I cranked the High School Musical song "What Time Is It?" (answer: summer time) and headed home. It was a gorgeous day, 75 degrees with a slight breeze and a few scattered clouds. I thought to myself, "what a day for a Slurpee!". There's a gas station a few blocks down from our neighborhood so I thought "what a great day for a walk!". So the kids and I headed out for a great school's out walk to get our Slurpees.

Sydney and Cammer were busy smelling flowers and Alex was telling tales of lost teeth and reading tests when we can upon a dead baby bird in the middle of the sidewalk. It had fallen out of its nest in the tree above us. It was brand new, still yellow with a little peach fuzz. I called the kids back to look at it - hoping to answer any questions they might have (being the bird expert that I am). We looked at it's beak, saw the little wings, and noticed that it's eyes weren't yet open. We soon exhausted all bird talk and turned to leave. We all stood to leave except for Camryn who was still looking at "the baby". I called for her to come and without hesitation she exclaimed "bye baby bird"... and then stomped it !

I can still hear the squish beneath her sandals and see the squirt shoot out the side. It's kinda funny now that I'm not dry-heaving over it.

Here's hoping...

2010-05-12T16:00:00.000-06:00

for a brother!

Although Alex is a great brother to his sisters, we recognize the need for more testosterone in the home. Baby's ETA is October 6 but I've had the other three early so we are planning on late September.

A whole hand

2010-05-10T11:24:00.000-06:00

So before Sydney's broken arm fiasco she turned 5. It's sometimes hard to believe that she's only 5, there's enough hands on hips, eye rolling, and sighs of exasperation to fill a junior high, but she's 5 none-the-less. She invited a few friends over for a swimming party at the Rec Center and then we had dinner at Burger King. Always a great party at the Petersen's.

Sydney has a ton of personality, as you can see from her pictures, and confidence and kindergarten can't come soon enough. I'm finding that she' more and more like me so we've had a few power struggles where we both act like 5 but mostly have a lot of fun. She love to sing and dance and lately has discovered a talent for soccer.

Yup...

2010-04-27T20:38:00.000-06:00

...broken.

A prefect 3 for 3

2010-04-26T16:37:00.000-06:00

Because in the Petersen House, Sydney, wishes really do come true! (see blog post Jan 13 "No bunk-beds were harmed")

Technically it's not a perfect 3 for 3 since we don't know if she actually broke it or not. Syd Vicious fell off her scooter and when she came home she had a visible physical deformation above her elbow...yet the x-rays were negative for a fracture. We go back in tomorrow to re-image and see if there are any signs of bone healing and that will tell us if it broke or not. We will then go from there. Not sure if that's where our kids are taken out of our custody or not...

"It's been awhile"

2010-03-22T21:18:00.000-06:00

I'm sure all of you "Stained" fans would agree that although an "exciting" story, it's time to move on to other facets of our mundane lives.

Cammer got her cast off the day before Aaron and I left for our New Orleans trip, making it much easier for my mom to keep her clean while we were gone. As you can see, she's pretty happy about the event.

The next morning Aaron and I caught one of the three flights leaving Rapid City that day and flew to New Orleans where we then rented a car and drove to Houston to visit Aaron's brother, his wife and new baby. Why not fly to Houston? We were going to New Orleans for an Air Force work thing and they paid for the ticket to New Orleans.

Being our first time in Houston we did all the touristy things like go to the Alligator park

visit Galvaston (by ferry where we saw dolphins swim) and view the carnage left by Hurricane Ike

and visit the beach on the Gulf of Mexico where Nathan was really excited to take a picture while wearing his mom's old sun glasses

and also where we received a call from my mom watching the kids that our newly out-of-the-shop van was dead at preschool and she couldn't get it started to get the carpool at the elementary school and, of course, it was snowing on them as they tried to jump the car. That led to an hour long phone tag with neighbors, tow-trucks and good citizens to get the kids picked up, our van back in the shop, and my mom to the airport to pick up Aaron's car we left at the airport. Just another relaxing vacation!!

After a few days in Houston we then headed back to New Orleans where Aaron had his USAFP Conference and I attended classes with him. I now know everything there is to know about Vitamin D deficiency vs Vitamin D insuffuceny (and yes there is a difference), and I also know a lot about Regional Pain Syndrome as pertains to children of deployed spouses/parents.

This is our group of friends at the Lafeyette cemetery right before we got ripped off by the cemetery caretaker and or grave robber. He sat and told us all about the cemetery and then said that the cemetery collected donations from visitors for upkeep, but then said we just needed to give the money to him. You can decide where the money actually went.

There were many beautiful areas that we got to see and enjoy. It was great to be able to see these very old sections of the United States. One great thing about New Orleans is that you get that "old world" feel in our very young country.

Here's me by the Mississippi River and the Steamboat where we had a creole dinner our last night

Here's Aaron and I on Bourbon Street (before 10 because we weren't there for boob-fest so much as for the experience - although we came to realize that any time on Bourbon St is boob-fest time)

And here's the view of our room on the 40th floor and the Carnival Cruise ship (that we weren't on) passing by

It was a great vacation, minus me getting food poisoning the last day there (no the vomiting was not from the contact buzz from Bourbon Street). Special thanks to mom for allowing this adventure.

One for the 2010 DUI tally

2010-02-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to assume that everyone I know knows that I have diabetes. If you don't, NOW you do. I "manage" it with an insulin pump although some days, like Tuesday, it manages me.

Every once in awhile my blood sugar drops. My lips go numb, I get tired, my hands get shaky and really cranky (or any combination of those). That's on a good day. Sometimes it drops too fast and I don't recognize the signs until it's too late and I'm really low. When I get really low you can say that I get "drunk". I get disoriented, VERY confused, and on rare occasions I don't know where I am. The biggest problem is that when I get that low, I don't have the capacity to recognize how bad off I am.

Tuesday night I was driving home from piano lessons with a mini van full of kids (my kids) when my blood sugar dropped. Unfortunately it didn't just drop, it plummeted. All I really remember looking back is that I made sure the kids had their seat belts on and that I missed the turn onto Sheridan Lake Road (to get to our neighborhood).

What I don't remember is this...

Apparently I was "driving" around the neighborhood by the school (not close to home) when I rammed a Jeep parked on the side of the road. Wait... it gets better! I then drove away and continued heading for home. So I was in a hit-and-run where I was the runner. We finally get home, the kids are crying, telling Aaron that I crashed the car and I'm looking at the van trying to figure where that huge dent came from. Aaron grabs Alex and they go off to find out who I hit while I sit inside drinking my weight in apple juice. Luckily 1. Alex knew right where we were 2. the people were really understanding and 3. we have great insurance. Our car is now a haven for all things sugar (treats in every nook and cranny).

All kidding aside, we are all fine and I'm just glad that no one was hurt. Minus the Odyssey.

Cast: part 2

2010-01-14T19:34:00.001-07:00

So as happens fairly frequently with young kids, the short arm cast slid off. Trying to remove her coat was the problem. I tried to put it back on right away, but Camryn ran away yelling "No!". It didn't even last 24 hours. The newer version (applied by Dad) should stay put and has already been decorated. She looks happy now, but it wasn't that way initially.

No bunk-beds were harmed...

2010-01-13T19:19:00.001-07:00

The bunk-beds weren't even involved but knowing that would be the first question, considering our past history, I thought it'd be best to clear that up right off.

So on Monday I was sitting at the computer cataloging pictures on the computer when Camryn fell off the other office chair and landed on our hardwood floor. She had a good cry and told me her arm hurt, but then went off to play. Throughout the day I would notice her holding her arm once in a while but not excessively and she played fine all the while.

Tuesday came nicely enough but when Camryn turned and knocked her arm on the banister she really let out a cry. I had Aaron check it that night and with Aaron using all of his training and almost no response from Camryn with all sorts of checking we decided it was nothing.

This morning (Wednesday) Camryn was throwing a fit because I was washing her blanket and as she went to leave the laundry room tripped on the clothes basket and fell over onto the carpet. She once again landed on her arm, but this time she screamed and I couldn't find a way to calm her down. Off to the clinic we went and 30 minutes later we were looking at her x-ray and a small but noticeable buckle fracture in both her distal radius and ulna.

The casting went smoothly, minus that fact that they didn't have any colors, and thankfully it's only a short cast because that whole way out of the clinic and to the car Cammer was yelling "mom! take it off!". She better is now. I was hoping that this would prompt the end of thumb sucking (she's a left-thumb sucker) but she is obviously ambidextrous in that department so there goes that hope.

Sydney was with me during this whole process and when it was mentioned that she's the only kid to not have a cast now she looked at me and said "I want a cast too! Really bad!". With 2 out of 3 now having had a cast, I'd say the odds were in her favor.

Hope you are better than this - Carolyn

7

2009-12-04T15:38:00.001-07:00

So Alex turned 7 last week. It's amazing that I've been a mom long enough to have a 7 year old. We of course got pictures and thought I'd share them with the world.

Looking at last year's picture I see now that he's older but I guess I didn't notice it until now. That and when he told me that he wasn't a baby anymore.

He loves 1st grade and has recently joined the "Jump Club" which is exactly as it sounds. They meet twice a week and jump rope. "Coach" Aldridge teaches them tricks for an assembly at the end of the year and Alex is one mean double-dutcher. Right now his life's ambition is to lose a tooth as he seems to be the only 1st grader who hasn't yet.

Filling In

2009-11-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

So Carolyn left a couple days ago to fly to Spokane to watch her sister run in the Washington State cross country meet (Her team won, way to go Andrea). Since I took a few days off to take care of the kids during the day I figured I would also fill in on the blog. Those of you that know me, know that I am the oldest of 6 kids and I had many opportunities to watch my younger siblings. This has made me very comfortable and capable of taking care of the kids. I think the only difficult thing is that because I am not there for the day to day items I am a little lacking in knowledge when it comes to the common tasks.

One thing that is not uncommon is for me to drive our van. I like to drive, so whenever we go anywhere as an entire family I am 99.9% of the time in the driver's seat. After we dropped Carolyn off at the airport (I think any city that only has flights out on certain days doesn't need an airport, they should just call it a landing strip) we were driving home and Alex called up to me from the back of the van and says, "Dad, if I call you Mom it is just because I am not used to having you driving the van". Apparently he felt the awkwardness that was about to occur as I tried to command the ship for the next couple days.

Since I took some "days off" so I can watch the kids I decided that first night that I would do something fun. Xbox is a great way to relax and I hadn't been able to play at all recently, so I sat down after I got the kids in bed. I stood up again at 2:30 in the morning and got into bed about 3:00 just in time for Sydney and Camryn (who share a room and can never wake up by themselves) to come in because Sydney had a dream and was scared. I went to put them back into bed and Sydney said she wanted to sleep in my room one night while mom was gone. I figure hey, this night is half over so get it out of the way. Well not only did I get to bed very late but I didn't actually sleep at all because I had Camryn kicking me in the back until she decided to sit up at 0600 and hit me in the head saying, "I up". Not a great way to start the days and a single parent.

Alex got off to school just fine so then it is time to get the girls dressed. That is not a problem, I've dressed them many, many times. One thing that I do not take care of is hair. Carolyn adopted an amazing compulsion from our good friend Cathie about the girls always having their hair done when they go out in public. I know how important this item is so I will do my best. Sydney's is pretty easy, brush, berrett and done. Camryn is a different story. After a long period of combing and re-combing along with wishing deeply that I had participated in the 1980's hair-band hair, I finally managed something that was presentable, please judge for yourselves and make any comments that will let Carolyn rest easy. I call it "The Deb" (watch Napoleon Dynamite). It is a little hard to tell from the angle but it is off to the side, not on purpose unfortunately, but then again some of the greatest inventions were accidental.

After this attempt I felt much better and have decided to track a portfolio of my work. This next piece I call the Dorothy (check out the shoes). I realize that Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, where I got my inspiration, had braids but one step at a time. Now you may see this and not think much of the final product, but this picture was taken against her will after 2 hair rubbing incidents and hanging upside down for 10 minutes (don't ask). I will unfortunately only be making guest appearances doing hair after Carolyn returns but keep your eyes open for my future work.

Sydney has mostly been good, but did give me many insights into the personal hell I can expect when she is a teenager. Lots of hands on hips and things, you can picture it I'm sure. She went to a friend's house after preschool on Friday and about 4:30 I get a call from the kid's mom. "I just wanted to let you know that our dog nipped at Sydney and she got a little scrape. She kicked our dog who is old and a little angry. She said that she kicks her dog but doesn't get bitten". This is horrible to hear on two accounts:
1. She should never kick any animal and animal kicking is not something we condone (except neighbor's cats that poop in our yard, but we never let the kids see).
2. We never have had and probably never will have a dog.
At least she can think on her feet right?

To continue with the honesty department, Alex won an Icee from school. Friday was nice so he, Camryn and I rode down to the gas station to redeem his coupon. There was not a good place to leave the bikes and I did not want them to fall onto someone's car so I told him to get it on his own. He is almost seven so he should be able to handle this. The coupon was for a 12oz Icee. I told him to look for the 12 oz cup and get that one. He comes out with a 20oz glass (only filled about 18ozs) and I say, "I told you to look for the cup with 12 on it". He replies that the sign had a 12 and that is the cup he took. They let him have it and really what is 20 cents. I had him wait with Camryn and the bikes so I can go to get something for Cam and I. Sure enough one sign says 12 ozs, where the 12 ozs cups are located. The other sign says 21 ozs where the 20 ozs cups are located. We'll be having him checked for dyslexia this week.

To finish this off I will be getting slightly dirty (if you actually consider potty humor dirty) so read on at your own risk. After weeks and months of mostly constipation from Camryn, I was the big winner of the poop sweepstakes. I have changed way more poopy diapers than any one person should in 4 days. I will be buying South Dakota state lottery tickets to see if my streak continues.

We will be very excited to have mom home tomorrow, who will be coming back to us at the ripe old age of 31 since her birthday is that day. Please direct all "old" jokes and snide remarks below.

Aaron, out!

You Too?

2009-11-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

Just last week Aaron and I were able to ditch our kids with my sucker brother, his wife, and my sister and head down to Las Vegas to enjoy a brief 36 hours of couples vacationing with our good friends the Rasmussen's (who also ditched their kids). Our purpose in Las Vegas was simple: See U2!

It was awesome, as they always are! Even from the cheap seats in the back of the stadium (where we were) it was a most excellent concert. I attribute the fun, not only to the band, but to the spectacle of "fans" we were seated with. Again, we were in the back, so far back that there was no one behind us. As I found out that night, a slight sense of isolation combined with A LOT of liquid courage equals a fun time.

Let me introduce you to a man I'm going to call 'L Money 50 plus'. L for the leopard print shirt he was wearing, Money for the fact that he was wearing a $ sign necklace AND matching ring (both covered in bling) and 50 plus because he was. He is so awesome that he gets 2 awesomes!

Another favorite was "trashy ladies man". This fine male specimen dropped his sweatshirt into the lower bleachers where his woman promptly climbed underneath to retrieve it (never mind all the nast under there). Her act prompted "trashy ladies man" to let us all know what was going to happen that night when they got home (expletives edited) due to her heroics of saving said sweatshirt. That's where the trashy comes in. I don't' have a picture due the explicit poses they were giving - I'm trying to keep this a family blog. They unfortunately had to leave before the end of the show due to his woman's inebriated state. I'm sure that she slept soundly all that night.

We ended our vacation flying back to Utah in time to watch BYU get a beat down by TCU (expletives again edited). This was not awesome. In fact, it was the opposite of awesome although I still smiled for the pictures.

Hope your last weekend was fun too!

Carolyn and Aaron (tag-team)

Oh...

2009-10-16T19:26:00.000-06:00

So I was coming out of Ashely Home Furniture Collection today (looking for a new couch for those who are curious) with Camryn and there was a guy getting out of his car at about the same time. Since we were the only two in the parking lot I smiled and was ready to say "hello" when he looked at me and said, "Oh... I see you have a little one with you". What? I've been trying to figure where that thought came from and where it was going. Like "Oh... I was going to ask you out because you are super hot, but I see you have a little one so you must be married" or "Oh... I was going to ask you for money, but I see you have a little one so you're probably poor" or better yet "Oh... I WAS going to abduct you and drive off in my non-discript van, but I see you have a little one and don't want to leave her alone in the parking lot".

I guess I'll never know.

JC Penny Magic

2009-09-30T16:33:00.000-06:00

So I recently took Camryn to JC Penny to get her 2 year pictures taken. I thought you might like to see them too. They're no Picture People and I only spent $3.99 a page with free sitting (thank you Air Force) but I think they're pretty good.
Peace - Carolyn

School, sch-mool

2009-09-23T14:21:00.002-06:00

So school has started. Alex going into 1st and Sydney starting preschool. Both are happy to be gone and honestly, I'm happy to have them out for awhile. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MY KIDS, but it doesn't mean we have to be together all the time.

the other day while at school Alex was "laughing so hard at a joke that I fell over" and cracked his head open. Our house phone wasn't working at the time, Aaron's cell was off because he was in clinic, and my cell was inside charging while I was outside painting. Alex sat in the office the last hour of school waiting for someone to pick him up. Luckily the bleeding had stopped by the time I got there. Probably not winning any parenting awards in the near future.

For the fans!

2009-08-30T20:48:00.001-06:00

For reasons bigger than myself I've started a blog. Seeing as I've have as of three weeks ago joined the world of cell phones you might be asking yourself where this 21st century Carolyn came from. I've often chuckled at my children falling downstairs, eating dirt, and pooping in the tube and thought "where is the mass media outlet that will allow me to share in my life's adventures?". Yet alas, I was too lazy to go out and search for the sweet release of publication.

In our move eastward our friends shouted "More! More! We want more! How will we fill the void?" Look no further friends for the answer is before you. No longer will you have to wait, wondering what we are up to, hoping for a glimpse of our simple yet distinguished lives. The answer is here before you on your very computer, i-phone, MAC, PC screen.

It is with this in mind that I dedicate this blog to you - My fans.

Welcome to "Petersen's Playhouse".

Now...Let's Party.