Thanksgiving in Utah

This year we flew home to Utah for Thanksgiving. It was the BEST trip. Everyone was so fun to be with and everything went so smoothly. We really couldn't have asked for it to have gone better. We hadn't been to Utah since last Christmas so we definitely ready for some quality time with family.

Getting ready to leave Portland. Teddy is OBSESSED with airplanes and was so excited to watch them land and take off.

Our first stop was to spend time in Sandy with Jane and Gary and all Ben's siblings. We were especially excited to see Landon and Liesl who we hadn't seen in over two years. We were all together for a few days and it was the best. Nayeli loved her time with her cousins Andelin and Adelaide.

Dressing up as princesses. What, haven't you ever seen a princess in a safari hat and flapper dress before? ;)

Fashion shows on Grandpa Gary's stage

We arrived Tuesday night and chatted until the wee hours of the morning. Wednesday we were all tired, but that couldn't stop us from having fun together. The boys played pickleball in the morning, then Bonnie, Liesl and I left the kids with Grandma Jane while we went to lunch together. While we were gone everyone went swimming. Jane had bought all the kids their own kick boards and they had a great time.

 Swimming!

The rest of the day we enjoyed chatting and eating delicious food while the kids played. For dinner Gary and Jane treated us to Cafe Rio (my favorite) and then we played games and talked.

 The girls acting silly together

We went to bed early that night since the next morning we had signed up to run a 5k. Usually I am not signed up to run such things, but it went something like this... I told Ben years ago that I had wanted to run a Turkey Trot someday, so when Jane asked if we wanted to run it with her Ben encouraged me to do it and said he'd watch the kids. Eventually it morphed into everyone running while Gary watched our kids. I was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing since I hadn't run over three miles in about ten years, but I decided to go for it.

We had to be up at 6:15 am, but I was up with Teddy from about 3-5am and I was beat. Needless to say I was not the nicest when Ben woke me up in the morning. I think I said something like, "I'm am so SICK of getting woken up!" In my defense I am delirious when I am sleep deprived. I would have backed out of the whole thing... but my pride got the best of me.

We arrived at the race and it was a mad house. Plus it was 26 degrees. I thought, "This is triple torture. Not only am I running, but I'm running in the early morning AND  in the freezing cold". But I decided to make the best of it and, like Nike says, just do it.

My only goal was the run the entire time and not walk at all. Once the race started I plugged in my headphones, got some awesome music going, and got into a groove. I kept a decent pace and I was even able to sprint to the finish! I was so excited! My time was 36:13 which I was thrilled about.

Ben is so good at encouraging me to do things that will challenge me. Sometimes I hate it, but most of the time I love him for it.

Team White Meat! Chelsea came in first which was awesome.

After the race, we arrived home to find the kids still asleep.  Gary hadn't even had to watch them after all. After showering, we began cooking for Thanksgiving dinner. Gary's kids all came and it was great to see them. We had a delicious dinner and enjoyed talking. The afternoon was relaxing and we were able to spend a little more time with Jane.

Reading books with Grandma Jane

That evening we said goodbye to Jane and Gary and drove down to my parent's house in Provo. They are currently remodeling so the house was a bit torn up, but the changes are amazing. Really, my mom and dad have outdone themselves with the design and it looks wonderful. Especially the kitchen- my childhood kitchen is no longer but the new kitchen is so beautiful that it makes up for it. My parents gave us a tour of the house that night and we ended the day by chatting with Tina, Laura and Julia.

The next morning the kids and I slept while Ben got up at 5am to do a sunrise hike with Sammy. Because that's what those Petersens do.

Beutahful, isn't it? ;)

Two peas in a pod

On Friday my parents had to be at the temple all day so we spent the day at Laura's new house. She recently moved from Mapleton to Provo and I hadn't seen her home yet so we spent the day chatting and cooking. David and Marilyn and their family joined all the rest of us and that night we had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with all my siblings but Emily and Mark (you were missed!). We had such a fun time laughing together and dinner was wonderful.

Owen and Teddy

On Saturday we got up and went to the Bean Museum. I grew up going there with my dad on date-night and have very fond memories of it. A few years ago they remodeled it so I wanted to take the kids and Ben and go see it. It did not disappoint- I loved it and so did the kids. 

"Mom, take a picture of me with my cute face!"

We spent the rest of day at Laura's house, eating leftovers and enjoying time together. I love my family so much and feel so blessed to be one of them.

Grandma Rita and Teddy

Before we left for Utah, Nayeli told me, "I'm shy of Grandma Rita and Opa". After a few days there she said, "I'm not shy of them anymore". It seems my parents can charm anyone.

On Sunday we went to our old ward in south Provo- the Provo 6th ward. It was so great to see all our old friends and ward members. There were so many examples of pure Christ-like love in that ward that it warmed my heart to see those who welcomed our family into their own. I will love many of those people forever.

After church we went to Sam and Bonnie's apartment for dinner with Ben's dad and Landon and Liesl. It was great to get some time together again with everyone and wonderful to see Ben's dad. We had a delicious dinner and Sam and Bonnie were great hosts.

All the Petersen cousins!

Playing around with Uncle Landon

Dave brought his guitar and serenaded us all while the brothers sang together once more

This picture just warms my heart, especially Nayeli with her hand on Andelin's shoulder.

Of course there was hair styling as well.

Monday was our last day in Utah, and just in time Utah delivered with a bit of snow for the kids to play in. They were really excited about it. 

We had to say goodbye to my parents which, as you can tell, Teddy was devastated by. I was a little sad as well because my parents are wonderful.

We drove up north to Kaysville to visit my Nana Ruby. She is 99 years old and until just last year was living alone and independent. She now lives in an assisted living center. She has always been an optimistic, wonderful woman. I sure love her and I loved getting to spend some time with her.

Teddy is the most loving little boy.

Our last visit of our trip was Ben's grandparent's house in Ogden. Kent and Nyla were kind enough to invite us up and we even got to spend a little more time with Landon and Liesl and the girls! It was wonderful. We chatted with Leslie, Dave, Kent and Nyla and ate delicious food. It is always a party when one goes to Grammy's!

They made gingerbread houses! I think they were sick from all the candy, but they had so much fun.

Grandpa Dave and Teddy playing with the broom

Nayeli with Nyla and Lydia and Jace (Josh's kids)

In the evening after dinner Ben's dad drove us to the airport and we said goodbye to Utah for the time being. Our flight went well and the kids did great. We arrived home tired but so happy to have had such a fun time. Like I said, it was a great trip and we are still smiling from the good times we had. Until next time Utah!

Time Out For Women

Since my sister Emily moved to Oregon, she has driven out to Portland each November for Time Out for Women (TOFW). It's a two day event put on by Deseret Book with LDS speakers. This year there was Sheri Dew, John Bytheway and many others that we really enjoyed. Plus it is always so fun to have Emily come visit.

Emily talked me into going running with her the morning after she arrived. She had a c-section only two months ago but she ran circles around me. 

Baby Luke was the star of the show! My niece Ellie came for Time Out for Girls.

We went to Marrakesh, a delicious Moroccan restaurant in the city. The food was really yummy.

We spent Friday night and all day Saturday at the event and had a great time. I love having a sibling live so close and TOFW is a great excuse to get together.

Seussical!

When I was growing up, my dad took each of his kids out on a "date night" about once a month or so. We could choose whatever activity we wanted, do our hair however we wanted, and wear whatever we wanted (to my mother's dismay). It was great bonding time with my dad and I really believe those dates helped me feel very close to my father.

Ben has begun to do the same thing with Nayeli. At the beginning of November, they went on a date to see the musical "Seussical" at the local high school. When I told her that she'd be going to a play, she asked, "What will we play?" I don't know if she fully grasped the concept before they went, but it turns out they had a great time. Ben said she was attentive and well-behaved the whole time. She is getting so big.

 Date night with Dada!

Meeting with the cast after the show

Here's to many more fun daddy-daughter dates!

GMAT complete!

In August Ben decided to go back to school, and that gave him only a few months to study for the GMAT. Two, to be exact. When he looked at the average amount that others study for the test, he found it to be six months to a year and many people take it three or four times. But with deadlines looming, Ben didn't really have a choice. He decided he could take it twice, and then as a I mentioned in an earlier post, he spent every spare moment studying.

He took it the first time at the beginning of October. His score was 560 out of 800. Not fantastic, but considering that test taking isn't Ben's strong point, we felt it was a good starting point. Then at the beginning of November he took it again and got a 610. We were thrilled. This is the smile on his face when he came home from the test that day:

As a matter of interest, I have to mention the breakdown of Ben's score. The test is broken into four sections- math, verbal, data analysis and an essay. On the math and data analysis he scored in the 25th percentile, but on the verbal he got in the 95th percentile and on the essay... he got a perfect score. Seriously. I was so proud of him. It's evident what Ben's strengths are, isn't it? He's a whiz with words and communication, but math is his Achilles heel. All the better reason to go back to school, right?

Now onto applications. We've done a ton of research, thinking and praying and we've decided to apply to BYU and the University of Utah. We feel like it's time to go home and reconnect with family for a bit. We'll likely leave Utah after school, since we have an adventure bug that has to be fed, but if all goes as planned we'd love to have that time with our families again. Stay tuned!

Halloween with Elsa and a Pumpkin

Halloween has come and gone, but what a fun holiday! I think Halloween is especially special as a child. There is something so magical about dressing up as someone else and eating candy to your heart's content. Okay, maybe magical isn't the word... stellar? Marvelous? I guess I'm at a loss for words. Let's just say it's great.

Ben was on a business trip the week before Halloween so he missed our ward Trunk or Treat. The kids were so excited. Nayeli dressed up as Elsa from Disney's Frozen and Teddy went as a pumpkin (the same costume Nayeli wore two years ago- I'm all about recycling costumes). To make their costumes coordinate, I said it was Queen Elsa and her pumpkin jester.

For the Trunk of Treat Ben was in charge of making targets for a marshmallow shooting game. He brought home big pieces of cardboard from work to cut holes in, but didn't get a chance to do it before his trip. I told him I could do it, but I did it in my own way. Behold, how I cut holes in cardboard:

I finished the ghost to my satisfaction, but by the time I called it quits at 1am I was too tired to make the pumpkin more elaborate. I don't think anyone noticed anyway.

We had a great time at the ward party and our neighbors Pops, Makayla and Maddie also came. They were super helpful with the kids and Pops even made some chili for the chili cook-off (he and Ben have a rivalry each year to see if either of them can win). Unfortunately Ben couldn't compete this year and Pops didn't win anything, but we still had a great time.

Saturday the 31st started with cards from our neighbor Nana, who has adopted my kids as her surrogate grandchildren.

Opening Nana's cards

Ben was studying for the GMAT all day, so I took the kids to a Halloween celebration at our local grocery store. We rode the city trolley, decorated sugar cookies, and drank hot chocolate. It made for a fun morning.

Trolley ride!

After we returned from the grocery store party, the weather began to unleash it's fury and I think the only way to describe it would be monsoon-like. Raining pouring from the sky, wind, puddles that were filling up cars- it got pretty bad. Luckily by the night it was just lightly raining. We dressed the kids up and took them to trick or treat at a few of our neighbors.

Of course the candy isn't the thing that grasped Teddy's attention- the puddles were. We let him get soaked to his hearts content. He was thrilled.

Our last stop for the night was at Pops and Anita's to show off costumes and chat until bedtime. The kids ate candy until they were sick and then Ben and I put them to sleep and watched Studio C on YouTube. It was a great Halloween and I can't wait until next year to celebrate it again.