Say it ain't true!

My dad had a Polaroid Camera. I loved it. To bad our kids will miss out on them.

On Feb. 8th, Polaroid Corp announced that it will discontinue production of all instant film.  I am so sad about this!

Yum!

I love breakfast food-  

I think that these french toast kabobs would be great for Father's Day breakfast... okay, they would be great anytime....

Ryan's wedding cake.

I think that if Ryan where getting married, this would be his choice of cake.  

In case you have nothing better to do..

You could knit a cosy for a tree!

BMW!

I would drive this!  I don't know where the rest of the family would go, but this little BMW 

looks like a creamsicle on wheels!

Chicago 2008

We had THE BEST TIME in Chicago.  The trip was a lot of fun, and to think that I just about bailed at the last minute.

Claire was not feeling her best, but that may have been a good thing.  All she wanted to do was sleep and cuddle.  She is NOT a cuddler, so this was a nice bonus!  

Chris and Ashlynn ended up being the big winners of the national laundry and kitchen design contest.  Both winners from Riverwoods Mill.  NICE!  The best part was that the grand prize is a trip to Sweden this summer!  (Extra nice!)

• The first thing we did was go for some deep dish pizza.  (of course!)
• The buildings and architecture are amazing.
• I didn't get one this trip, but the best Monte Christo Sandwich I've ever had was in Chicago and I have been craving it!
• The Magnificent Mile is, well, quite magnificent!  
• We stay at the Alerton Hotel- I am pretty sure that the elevators are possessed!  You never really know where your going to end up when you push a button!

THE CHOCOLATE LOUNGE:

Great concept!  Their motto is  "YOU LOVE CHOCOLATE, WE'RE HERE TO HELP!"  

TIFFANY'S-  

I tried on a 10 carat yellow diamond ring worth  $455,000.00!  

Yep, that's almost a 1/2 million sitting pretty on my finger.... 

A boy and his box

So Claire got a new car seat and Ryan got the box that it came in.  Clearly, Ryan was the winner.  I have to say that as a kid there really is nothing better than a big ol' box to play with.  

It's a rocket, a lemon-aid stand and a secret lair!   He has breakfast every morning in it too.  It has entertained the kid for four days straight.  Show me another toy that can do that! 

Oh, and I got a Britax Marathon for Claire... it's huge and barely fits in my car.  Yikes!

Postcard Dresser.

I think that this would be a nice place to save all of the love letters my husband writes me.  (um, okay so he's never written me a love letter.)  But I think that this is still a great dresser.  

Clint's Birthday is today!

My brother, Clint is 31 today. He looks great in this picture, if you can see him behind All of the hair.    (This hurts me as much as it does you:)

I love my brother!

He is the most amazing brother ever! He genuinely cares for everyone. 

He is witty and so fun to be around.   I love that we can sing every word of Milli Vanilli  

He has always had a great sense of humor and I laugh every time we talk.  Clint is also a loving father.  I love watching him with his kids, he is very sweet.

Happy birthday-  I am proud to be your sister.  I love you.

  

Seven months!

Claire is so much fun!  And growing up way toooooooo fast!  

Tweet!

 People are so creative!

First Lost Tooth!

Ryan had been complaining about his tooth hurting him the last couple days.  I noticed that his front tooth had turned dark and was a little loose.  Long story, short.  High in the gum line there was a strange boil.  It was so infected.  He had to have his tooth pulled by the dentist.    He was awesome, but I feel horrible that I didn't notice it sooner.  

Disney Cruise 2008

We went on a 4 day Disney Cruise with Chris' family over Spring Break.  It was such a good time.  The kids were completely entertained from sun up to sun down.   All of the kids club counselors were from England or Australia and after spending every waking hour with them, Haley came off the boat with a great accent!   

Next we hit another few days in Disney World.  We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It was amazing to look out your bedroom window and see zebras and giraffe looking back at you.  There were animals everywhere!  I ended up getting sick the last couple days, so I didn't make it to the Magic Kingdom, but Chris, Haley and Ryan got to go after the park closed for the Pirates and Princesses Party.  They had the whole place to themselves until mid-night, then the magic wore off.  

New Mom!

My sister, Emily had her baby.  He is beautiful!  Connor David Reese is one lucky kid and  Zach and Em are in for the time of their lives.  

Oooopps!

I am concerned that the amount of calories I burn is no match for the amount I consume!  

Disneyland. [practice run.]

Chris was suppose to go to Canada last Sunday, but never left Saint George.   The plane in SLC was having mechanical trouble, yada, yada, yada-  missed his connecting flights...   Not going to Canada. (I think was just a very elaborate plan to get out of helping me in Primary :)  

So he came home with bags packed to go somewhere.  

Half hour later we where on the road headed for Disneyland.  We didn't tell the kids.  I tip-toed around the house and packed the suitcases with out them knowing.  We told them that we where going on a Sunday drive.  About three hours into our road trip, Haley was convinced that we were in Wyoming :) 

Our family loves Disneyland.  I am amazed at the way they do everything.  The way people are moved around the park effortlessly, the creativity, the look on Chris and the kids faces when they get sopping wet on the White Water Rafting ride (say that five times fast)- it's the best!

But I do have to confess that this is just our warm up.  We are going on a Disney Cruise and to Disney World in one week with Chris' family.  

Just for F-U-N

My kids are so great.  I think they are really funny.  Like the other day when I was helping Ryan get ready and he told me "Quit woman handling me, Mom!"   or Haley singing at the top of her lungs into the hair dryer.  (We've all done it.)  And Claire, playing peek-a-boo with her blanket and making us laugh more than her!

Six Months

I am pretty sure that Claire has been able to sit up for quite awhile now, but has never been given that opportunity.  We sat her down on the bed thinking she would topple over- instead she sat there and just looked at us like "What?"  

The last six months have flown by.  Claire LOVES to eat.  (she's a Peterson, of course she loves to eat!)   The better the food the louder she yells for more.  

She loves to hear herself.  "MA, MA, MA, MA"  where her first words.  

 She's adorable and we are so in love with her.  

Is it spring yet?

I have blossoms on my trees! I think this is a good sign.  I got a little antsy and planted some Mums in my planter.  They froze.  

I can't wait to plant some flowers and have some life outside.  

Easter is really early this year.  I think it is weird when Easter is not in April.  

Eleven!

My daughter turned eleven!  I can't believe it!  How did I become the mother of an eleven year old?  

 We had a great party with a few of her friends.  They painted tea cups, bowls, plates & etc. at our local pottery studio.  Haley found the cutest cups that looked like cupcakes.  We filled them with goodies and my amazing friend made lemon and chocolate cupcakes. 

 I think Haley had a great birthday.

Happy Valentine's to you (2008)

Hey hot stuff!  Here's a little treat for you!

This is Ryan's Valentine this year.  We had a hard time getting him to pose for the picture, but now that he see the end result, he loves it.

I totally stole this from Ashley.  Thanks for the idea.

I had no idea...

Ryan said to me the other day- "I new that baby was cute, but I had no idea that she was going to be this cute!"  

He will be the protector of this little girl wether she wants it or not.  

But really- could she get any cuter?  

Things I would never change.

It seems to me that we are always trying to change ourselves or those around us.  Try to loss weight; change the monsters into polite children at the dinner table, etc.  A little tweak here, a little there.  I think that I dwell on the things I would do different instead of the things that went right.  So in spite of myself; here are a few things I would never change:

 

I wouldn't give my childhood up for anything.  My parents are drastically different, but complement each other well.  I am introduced by a neighbor to others as "This is Jennifer, she had a happy childhood."  

 

My Mom, Dad, Clint and Emily- The fact that we all love being with each other... I think that says it all.

 

The man I married.  I am not going to lie.  Things started out a little rough, but he is the best husband.  I am sure he thinks I am a mess most of the time, but I am HIS mess and I think he likes me back.  

 

My three kids who make me happy.  It is my privilege to be their mother.

 

My friends- I think that people come into your life for a reason.  It has been proven so many times, especially the last few years.  

2007- in a nutshell

I wrote a very lenghthy year-in-review, but it was to long!  I am not kidding!  So I edited it and still was a little to over the top.  So this is our 2007 year- in- pictures:

• We are expecting a baby in August.
• Pregnancy and Jennifer don't mix! (Hyperemisis)
• Chris falls and breaks his elbow.
• A stool falls and breaks Ryan's big toe.
• Haley turns ten!
• Ryan turns five
• Claire is born and is beautiful! Claire and I missed sharing a birthday by one hour.  Chris surprised me and flew my sister in to visit from NY.
• Chris' Grandpa Winkel passes away
• Everyone is crazy in love with the new addition to the family.

Lovely Light...

I have been in love with this chandelier ever since I saw it in this fantastic store on Newbury Street in Boston.  My Mom, Sister and I went last May and I just can't get it out of my mind!

Posted by request.

A great weekend!

I took the kids to Richfield while they were out of school for Christmas vacation.  Emily and Zach were visiting from NY.  It was so fun to see her little belly finally looking pregnant- only 10 more weeks to go!  

Then my Mom and I packed up the kids and went on to Salt Lake.  We went to the Clark Planetarium and to the Children's Discovery Museum.  Then meet Emily and Zach at the Cheesecake Factory!  We stayed at the Marriot by the Galivan Center so Haley and Ryan could squeeze in a little ice skating too.  We did a lot in such a short time and with three kids!

Two Teeth!

4 1/2 months!  Growing too fast!  Claire surprised the heck out of us on Saturday.  She had two little teeth pop through!  She was so happy and pleasant that I did even consider that they were on their way.  Sunday how ever... She was sad and in pain. 

 I got her a little teething ring at the grocery store in Foothill Village in SLC while we were waiting to meet my Brother there late Saturdaynight.  He had a sweat shirt on that said "Notre Dame Women's Boxing"  I love it.  He said that when he was going to school there he had  passed a girl on campus wearing this sweat shirt.  It was quite big for her.   Intrigued, he stopped and asked her how he could get one.  She said that you have to be on the Women's Boxing Team.  Then she asked if he would pay money for one?  

- Sure.

-Twenty dollars?

-Sure!

She took it off and handed it to him.  (She had a shirt on underneath, of course.)

He handed her twenty dollars and they went their separate ways.  

This is a picture with Claire and her new teething ring.

Christmas Day 2007

 Christmas morning around 4:00 a.m.  Chris got a phone call that he had an alarm go off at the office.  So he had to drive to the office to take care of it.  I started getting a little worried so I called him and made him stay on the phone and tell me what he was doing.  It was really windy that night so I am sure that it was just the wind, but still!  

Then Chris got up at 6:00 a.m. to make orange roll dough and let it raise so we could take them to his home teaching family later.  

Around 7:30 our kids got up and so that meant we were up again.  The jolly old man was good to us this year.  Haley was pretty surprised to get an I-Pod and some cute American Girl things.  Claire got a high chair.  She was thrilled; I'm sure of it.  Ryan was very excited about his cool robot fort and I-Coaster.  And Chris got the Apple TV.  (but ended up returning it after doing a little research and deciding it wasn't something we needed right now.)  

But,  no one was more shocked then I was.  Chris got me the bag that I have been going crazy over for a least a year now.  He actually tried to get it for my birthday, but it didn't come until the middle of October, so he had been hiding under his desk for 2 1/2 months now. - How he pulled it off; I'm not sure!   { I am finding that EVERYONE else knew he had gotten it! }

Anyway, after playing with Santa's gifts for awhile, we had breakfast and finished making the orange rolls.  They were "delectable!"  (Ryan's new favorite word! )  So we put them on a cute little platter and Haley and Chris ran them over to his home teaching family's house.  Well, there was a small accident and the orange rolls ended up all over their front steps.  - Oh, well.  It's the thought that counts, right?

After that we opened up the rest of our gifts.  I do have to say that my kids- with the help of my Mom- gave me the cutest pair of bunny slippers.  I love them!  They have a great little wedge heel on them. 

 

It was great to kind of drag the Christmas magic out all morning.   My Mom called to see what we got and we were just starting to open gifts.  The kids were so great to not be in a hurry.  I though that was very commendable.  This was the first year we have had Christmas with just our little family.  Usually we are at one of our parents homes, or they are at ours.  It was kind of strange- being without them. 

I forgot to mention that we got rockband.  A family that rocks together... well, ROCKS! 

I love Christmas.  

The Postum conundrum

Yep, it's true they are not making Postum anymore!  What is a girl to do?   

This weekend I when to Richfield to visit my family.  I called the grocery stores to see if they happened to have any Postum.  No luck.  Then my Dad got involved.  We called every surrounding small town with hopes that maybe the news about the Postum supply hadn't gotten there yet.   We even called Royal's Market in Loa!  Some lady had just cleaned them out.  So we had to think outside the box (or outside of the state- as it were)  I called my Brother in Bakersfield, CA.    The following is the post that he put on his blog  The story ends well, but read on.  It's worth it!

Ransom Note

Wow! After doing a little research and finding out that my sister was right, I'm starting to feel greedy. Like flared nostrils and dilated pupils greedy. It turns out I'm sitting on a gold mine. Postum is a thing of the past--and judging by the Postum Forums out there (you heard me, Postum Forums) this stuff is soon going to be more valuable than....something quite valuable. Maybe I'll come back some time and fix that little non-simile. But for now, know this: I have 19 large jars of Postum in an undisclosed location and it's mine. MINE I TELL YA! I'm holding it for ransom.

Our arrangement was that, since Utah is fresh out of Postum from St. George to Logan, I'd cruise the markets here in Bako and ship her what I could find. Guess what, sister? DEAL'S OFF! Call me to make an arrangement. Or visit my new Postum eBay store.

Okay. I'm not really holding it hostage--I'll send it as soon as I get back from SLC--but you really should sell this on eBay--those people are nuts!

As a side note, I had just finished packing my cart with this powdered liquid gold when I spotted a not-very-active member of my ward walking past the aisle. Not wanting him to see me with a ridiculous quantity of something I had obviously just taken from the coffee aisle I quickly ducked my head and turned into the next aisle which, as it turns out, was the magazine aisle. If you're ever sneaking around in the supermarket to "avoid the appearance of evil" be sure to find a better spot to hide than the magazine aisle. I'd rather be seen juggling flasks of Jack Daniels with a cart full of pinot grigio than appear to be scanning the covers of Maxim and Hot Rod. Luckily, I don't think he saw me. At least not he stood behind me in line at the checkout.

"Wow!" he said.

"It's Postum--no caffeine," said I.

"Don't worry; I won't tell."

"I'm serious--it's out of production and my sister wants it."

"I said 'don't worry; I won't tell.'"

"Yeah, thanks. See you around."

So I have several jars of the good stuff!  You can find some here on E-bay!  :)

It gets better...  now it's in the news. 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2008

Ahead of our Time

Look what made the front page of the Deseret News 3 days after my last post. The author, Sara, as I like to call her, never called me for a comment on the tragedy, though.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695240438,00.html