Jyllian's 3rd Birthday Pictures

I'm a little behind on posting Jyllian's pictures. But better late than never. While we were in Utah, I had my sister-in-law Amanda take some pictures of Jyllian. Amanda always does such a great job. It is very nice to have a photographer in the family. Thanks, Amanda.

When we arrived at Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Amanda's home, Jyllian thought we were going to play with her cousin Bailey. Little did she know! When I told her she was going to have her picture taken, she was not happy about it. It is very difficult to take pictures of Jyllian, because she does not like getting her picture taken. While Amanda took the pictures, she had me leave the room. It usually works better, if I'm not in the same room.

Amanda was not able to take a lot of pictures, but at least she was able to get her to smile in some of the pictures. Jyllian kept sticking her finger in her mouth and acting silly.

What kids eat?! The dinner of champions

The other night, we had pigs in a blanket for dinner. It's a very fast and easy meal and great for kids. Jyllian poured about a 1/4 cup ketchup on her plate. She loves ketchup! We were all finishing eating, and she said she was done too. I looked at her plate. She had only eaten one bite of her hot dog. I said, "Jyllian did you only eat the ketchup for dinner," and she said, "No I licked it with my finger." Surely, there is some nutrition in ketchup. After all it is made with tomatoes, right? She does the same thing with ranch dressing (another nutritious and important energy source). I'm not sure how much of the solid food she actually eats, but at least she's eating the salad dressing to cover the necessary fat intake recommended by nutritionists. What other "energy enriched" foods make up the diet of your children (or yourself)?

Poor Electrical Work

As most of you are aware, we moved to Gainesville in June of 2008. When we purchased our home, it was four years old. This is the third home we have purchased, and each time we have bought a house we have also purchased a home warranty plan (which usually lasts a year). Well, whoever wired our home here in Newberry must have done it Monday morning after a weekend binge with Uncle Jack (Jack Daniels, that is). Thus far, the problems we have expeienced are electrical ones. I had purchased a new dryer in Missouri prior to moving to Florida. The home we had in Missouri had gas hook-ups, and the home in Florida was all electrical. I prefer gas hook-ups, but that's another story. When the truck arrived with all of our belongings, the washer and dryer were put in their spot and plugged in. When I opened the dryer door, the light bulb exploded. This was my first attempt to use my new dryer. It was really scary because glass shattered inside the dryer. I called the Maytag warranty department, and they came to look at the dryer. Come to find out the 220 volt plug had been incorrectly wired. We had to then call the home warranty company to fix the outlet. I don't know how the people that lived in the house prior to us didn't have any problems, but maybe it was because they never washed clothes. Maybe they did and just didn't disclose it in when we bought the home. Our next electrical problem came with the wiring in the ceiling lights. Donovan was installing ceiling fans in the bedrooms (yes, shocking I know that he was actually doing a household chore...a minor impersonation of his dad that occurs every blue moon), and the swich to the fan was not working. Well, the wiring in the ceiling was not wired properly, so we had to fix the wiring in the ceiling. This week we had another electrical problem. The dishwasher quit working, so I called the appliance repair man (who is getting to know me on a first name basis by now). He looked at the wiring in the dishwasher, and it had melted together. He said the electrican did not place the proper size screw over the wiring. There was nothing wrong with my dryer, ceiling fan, or dishwasher. It has all been electrical problems. I thought electricans were supposed to be bonded and licensed. The person that wired this house did a horrible job and obviously didn't know what he/she was doing.

The joys of home ownership! We will eventually move again and get another house. It would be really nice to stay put for 35 years like my parents, but I know we won't. So I just have to hope I can have my next home custom-built. I would really like to have my brother-in-law Mike to be my contractor. He is very meticulous and would make sure things were done right. Those Whimpey engineers do a good job! If you haven't seen Mike and Annette's home, you should go inside (I can arrange a tour for a nominal fee if anyone is interested). He built it from the ground up. He did have a few things contracted out, but it's a beautiful home. I know everyone has housing issues, but I hope you had a good electrican (or a handy-man father-in-law who lives nearby!).

OU is officially Gator Bait!!

Congratulations to the University of Florida Gators!! 24-14 win over the Oklahoma Sooners. What a game for the BCS National Championship of NCAA Football!!

A day of birthday parties

While we were in UT, Bailey (my three-year-old niece) had a birthday party. The party was took place at the Primrose Retreat in Spanish Fork. It was such a fun place for the girl cousins to hang out and dress up. Each girl selected something to wear, and each girl didn't just try on one dress but several. The girls also were able to have their hair done by a stylist at the salon. My sister Shannon stepped in to help out with the hair. This is a picture of Jasmine with her cousin Katie. Katie is 8 months older than Jasmine.

Jyllian was crawling and walking all over the run way. She was waiting for her hair to be done all stylin' like.

This is before the girls had their hair done. Jasmine is in the background trying to find something to wear. She's not into the frilly, fluffy stuff as she feels it is too constricting and "bugs" her. The staff helped her find a skirt and jacket print. Whatever mom suggested just wasn't a good idea.

Here is the after shot picture. All of the girls were able to walk down the runway and show off their new hair do. These are all of the girl cousins on my side minus an 8-month old. These girls have so much fun together. But a few cat fights do occur. Me-ow!!
Miss Jasmine modeling her Hannah Montana look. Someday she may actually take on the name of Corida Florida.

A tea party (herbal tea, of course) followed dress up and hairstyling. The girls ate cupcakes with yummy pink frosting and pink hot chocolate with whipcream and pink sprinkles. I told you it was all girly! I tried the cupcake and hot chocolate, and they were delicous. Jyllian loved the frosting like most kids. Jasmine was just getting over the stomach flu, so she didn't eat much. Her stomach was still weak. Yes, each time we visit UT someone gets sick. Dominique, Jasmine, and Jyllian all got the stomach flu. Dominique and I caught the cold, flu, and fever. Yuck!

What would a princess party be without a crown? Jasmine, Amanda, and Ashlyn are all loving their crowns. Bailey was not so keen on the idea.

We attended Bailey's party in the morning of the 30th and then in the afternoon we went to Grayson's Party (my nephew). He had his party at Boondocks in Draper. I didn't get any pictures, but the kids enjoyed unlimited laser tag, arcade games, go-carts, and pizza. The boys thought this party was much less "girly" than the one their sisters attended in the morning. My sister could not get the kids to leave. She let them play laser tag for two hours. Dominique, Dreyton, and Jasmine all had a great time at Grayson's party.

It had been a couple of years since my kids had seen snow, so they wanted to play in the snow everyday. Donovan was OK in just playing in the snow when he went skiing and nothing more. Dominique enjoyed building a snow fort with his cousins. Dreyton forgot his gloves and discovered how cold the snow can be. I don't think he'll go outside again in Utah without gloves. It was 0 degrees the last Saturday that we were there. Brrrr! Thanks to Shannon, my mom, and Anne. They were able to round up enough snow gear for my kids. I didn't want to buy all that winter garb for just a two week stay. I mean, it wasn't like buying a new pair of shoes for myself, which are always OK to buy no matter how many times I wear them! :)

Back From Vacation

The kids had a great time in Utah while we were away from home for the holidays. We are always so busy running from here to there and everywhere when we go back to our hometown of Orem. We arrived at 12:30 am MST the morning of the 24th. Our flight was supposed to leave Orlando at 4:45 pm on the 23rd . It was delayed for one hour. We had to make a connection through Denver, and the flight from Denver was also delayed. By the time we got to bed, it was 4:00 am Eastern time. Our kids were very tired, but overall responded as good travelers. The kids were very excited for Christmas, and I think they were more concerned about presents than sleep.

My parents held their annual Christmas Eve dinner at my sister's (Julie) house. It was a very large group. There are now forty eight people in the Peterson Family, and that is an awful lot of people to feed stuffed pork chops (just ask my mom). It is a little loud and sometimes overwelming, but the kids have a great time. The sign outside of my parents' home reads: Welcome to Grand Central Station. Boy, is that an understatement at times! Here is a small portion of the gang enjoying their new toys.

Here is a photo of the 6 three-year-old grandchildren in the Peterson family. Shhhhh, I will let you in on a secret. Jyllian is the cutest of them all (but don't tell my brothers, sisters, or their spouses). :)

Dominique was very excited to receive a Havoc Heli from his cousin. I think he was also posing for the picture (just a hunch).

Santa delivered Guitar Hero to Dreyton Christmas morning. Guitar Hero was at the top of his list, and believe me he gave me a HUGE list. He is my easiest child to shop for because he wants everything. Dreyton is a marketer's dream as he drools after watching almost any commercial and immediately exclaims, "I want THAT," once the commercial has finished (whatever the product might be from asparagus seeds to zoo animal waste).

Jasmine was excited to receive the Gabriella doll from High School Musical, and not just because it made her dad jealous that she received what he had listed as #1 on his gift list to Santa. Jasmine had a great time playing with her cousins on both sides of the family while she was in Utah. She enjoyed the snow and being pulled on an inner tube behind a 4 wheeler quite a bit.

Here is Grandpa Peterson in his comfy chair relaxing and enjoying watching his grandchildren play with their Christmas gifts.

Jason and Alayne came from Rexburg, ID to spend Christmas with the family. Jason & Alayne are doing fine and just LOVE Rexburg (in case you were wondering).

After we ate our traditional Lott Christmas lunch, we played some most entertaining games (ones requiring skillz and not just luck).

This year we were able to take Dominique and Dreyton snow skiing. Donovan and I took the boys to Sundance (home of Robert Redford who is much better looking on the silver screen than in person...sorry Bobby, but it is the truth) and had them in a beginner ski class. This was contrary to how my brother (Clint) taught me to ski when he took me to the top of the mountain and said, "Ok, ski down the mountain." I know that Dominique is a little apprehensive to try new things, so I thought it would be better to put the boys in a class. Neither Donovan nor myself have a whole lot of patience when it comes to listening to any kind of whining (especially on the slopes). We picked the boys up after their class at 4:00 and got back on the lift. They were so excited about skiing and wanted to show us their newly developed talents on the slopes. Dominique was a lot faster on skis then I would have thought. He actually ran himself straight into a snow bank (face first). Dreyton was a little slower and apprehensive to turn, but we made it down the hill and back up the lift three times before the lifts closed. I don't know anyone who enjoys skiing their first day or masters it the first day. The good news is... the boys said they would return to the slopes and are excited to do so. We may even take them to the black diamond runs "just for fun!" (The boys are in the background yelling, "No!" as they read what I wrote) The boys also had a fun time shooting guns with their uncle (Brian Pittard) and his sons in the West Desert on the other side of Utah Lake. Luckily, all came home with as many fingers and toes as they left with before their journey began. Brian is just a stickler when it comes to safety. Sometimes he seems to be the most mellow, laid back, and easy going guy I have ever met...um, ok, I knew I couldn't type that with a straight face!

Donovan was really happy he had the chance to visit with some of his best friends who he has known for over 20 years now but doesn't get to see as often as he would like. We should give a shout out to Doug (birthday tomorrow) and another to Brad (birthday on the 15th) who both are inching their way that much closer to the big 4-0 this year. Donovan also was able to get together with his friend and old football/wrestling coach, Don Palmer.

I was able to see Twilight with Anne, Kristen, and Karen. Donovan watched the kids for me (What a wonderful gift! Boy do I sure owe him now.). They agreed to see it again so that I could see the movie. It was a good movie, but I liked the book better. We went to see Bedtime Stories with Grandma and Grandpa Peterson and some other cousins. It was a funny movie. I enjoyed it. Grandma and Grandpa Lott took the boys to see Forever Strong about a rugby team. The boys said it was a good movie, but they enjoyed the Cold Stone ice cream with their grandparents even more. Those are my boys! We all love ice cream.

We hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Year!