Since you last saw us....

I think there may be something in the water here lately as our children have begun to exhibit some unusual changes to their facial features. No matter. We still love them (even if we are the only ones who still do!).


Poor Dominique has been experiencing horrific nasal difficulties with the increased pollen in the air.

Dreyton has been consumed with the idea of replacing Jay Leno when Leno "retires" from his new show on prime-time.

Jasmine has been a little depressed lately, but she has found comfort and consolation in a new diet she has started (eating anything not nailed down!).

Good Weather...grasshoppers & spiders??

We have had the best weather here in the Gainesville area lately. It has been around 75-85 degrees for the high for the last couple of weeks. It is so nice to be outside and enjoying the beautiful days. The kids have been riding their bikes, scooters, and skateboards everyday. The boys have a new project too. Dominique and Dreyton have started catching grasshoppers. Yesterday, Dominique showed me a water bottle with a grasshopper inside of it. He said it had laid eggs inside the bottle. I told him to take the bottle outside immediately. He then proceeded to tell me that he had the bottle in his room for over a week!! He also told me that his dad said I would not approve of them being inside. This means, of course, that his dad knew they were in our boys' bedroom and didn't even bother to tell me! I quickly found Dominique a plastic container in the garage that he could keep the grasshoppers in, but I told him that he had to keep it outside. He was so excited that he took off on his bike to catch more.













Why do boys like bugs? I just dread bugs, but at least I can kill spiders now. As a child I would pay my sister to kill them for me, and let's just say that she made a lot of money back in the day. Since, I moved to Florida, I have learned I either kill the spider myself, or this incredibly disgusting bug will be in my house. And there are not too many of the 8-legged creatures that make it past my exterminating footwear!

Jasmine Turns 8

Wow! Jasmine turned 8 years old Friday. It seems like she is growing up so quickly. She will be getting baptized on April 12, which happens to be Easter Sunday and my birthday. What a great day! We were actually trying to figure out the best time to hold the baptism. Since, the Lott family will be coming for Spring Break, we decided to do it then.















Jasmine wanted a karoke machine for her birthday. Jasmine is definitely following in her dad's foot steps. The two of them love to dance and listen to music together.






















Jasmine wanted strawberry shortcake for her cake. She loves to cut up strawberries, put them in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of sugar. Ok, maybe not that much sugar, but it is a lot.



































We had a small party at a new bowling alley in town. Everyone had a good time. Jyllian even tried bowling. I didn't know they made bowling shoes that small.















The girls had a great time bowling. Luckily, we put the bumpers up because those girls have a ways to go before they are averaging a 250 bowling score.
From left to right: Jasmine, Cheyenne (a neighbor), Elesse (a neighbor), Sydney (a classmate), and Morgan (her best friend and next door neighbor).

A Precious Moment

It has been a little chilly here in Florida the last few weeks. I was in the kitchen doing the dishes, and I heard Jyllian playing with the dog in my bedroom. But it became very quiet. When I entered my bedroom, I just had to take a picture. Don't you all just love getting into your car on a cold winter day, when the sun has been shining into it? It is such a warm feeling. I'm thinking the dog and Jyllian must be experiencing this same feeling. These two really keep each other company throughout the day when everyone else is gone.

The joy of kids growing up!

My mother raised ten children, and nine of us had braces. It is now my turn to "gladly" spend my retirement money on orthodontic work for my kids. Wow! Can you say expensive? Dominique had braces put on, and he actually has good teeth! Well, relative to me when I was his age. He will only need to wear them for just over a year. Dreyton has actually been seeing an orthodondist for two years due to an underbite, which my DNA passed down to him. He has had two mouth pieces and invisiline. As soon as he loses all of his baby teeth, he will have braces too.

Donovan and I are hoping at least one of our kids decides to go into orthodontics so that we can retire early and move in with them. At this point in time, Dreyton says he wants to be an orthodontist (mostly due to seeing a lot of "toys" some of the orthodontists we knew in St Louis had around their homes). We are keeping our fingers crossed that he continues to have this occupational aspiration!

Vegas Baby!

Each year the American Physcial Therapy Association holds a conference that Donovan tries to attend. It seems like I have been able to go with him every other year. I found out awhile ago that it was going to be held in Sin City this year, so I just "had" to go. Originally, I was going to stay with my sister-in-law, Kristen, and have some good times with some crazy girl fun, but her life changed drastically and she has since moved to Utah. I wasn't sure if I was going to go because she wasn't going to be there. But as it drew closer to make a decision about going, I decided it would be fun to go and visit other friends and spend time with Donovan. Everyone needs a vacation without kids once in a while, right? Thankfully Grandma Peterson snuck out of Utah Valley last minute to come watch our four children. It was very much appreciated! Thanks a lot, Mom!!

Donovan and I stayed in the Luxor hotel compliments of the University of Florida (gotta luv dem Gator greenbacks!).

We were able to visit with a lot of friends that have crossed our paths over the past several years. We lived in Vegas for three and a half years back in '99 to '02 . Wow! Vegas is so different now. There has been a tremendous increase in traffic and a lot more homes that have been built since we moved in Aug of 2002. The strip is still crazy, of course.

I really wanted to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, so we drove to Caesars Palace in the car we rented and had dinner there with a good friend we had not seen for a few years. Nothing like fine company and delicious food!

Donovan enjoyed his favorite dessert there, Dulce de Leche cheesecake. It was as yummy as this picture makes it look.

We "pulled a Janae" on this trip meaning we forgot to take our camera (once again!). At least we are consistent. :)

I knew this day would come!

I always knew this day would eventually come. What day is that?, you ask. It is when my children pass me up in height. Dreyton wanted me to measure his height today. Of course, we had to find out if he had finally surpassed his dear old mother's "giant" stature. Dominique and Dreyton have been neck and neck with each other, but Dominique is still slightly taller. But it is official that they are now both taller than me. **sigh** I measured the boys in the fall, but they were still a tad bit shorter than me. Since then, I knew they had grown due to the length of their pants I had bought for them increasing. Dominique didn't fit his band uniform a few weeks ago, but I wasn't going to remind them that they had probably passed me up. To keep my sons from being too puffed up, I had to remind my boys that being taller than me is not a very hard thing to do. I've been short my whole life, and it doesn't make me feel better that I'm shrinking with old age. I need all the height I can get!! It's strange not to have to bend down in order to kiss your children. I guess I'll be soon standing on my tippy toes to kiss my boys. Just as I do with my husband.

I get comments all the time. People will say, "Did you know you are short? Wow! You are short!" I think to myself, "Really...Where have you been?" I've always been short, but I don't need people to remind me of that fact. As you can see, I am feeling a little bitter of this "huge" accomplishment my two sons have met. On the bright side, Donovan is trying to have our accountant look at my decreased height as a possible tax deduction with the new Obama plan.