Feeling the Christmas Spirit

We've been feeling the Christmas Spirit around our house. Here's a little bit of what we've been up to:

We started the month out right by getting our Christmas tree. Usually we cut our own, but Ben spotted a tree farm not far from our house with a camel. That pretty much sealed the deal so we went to Frog Pond Farm for our tree this year.

Visiting the animals

Meet Betty the camel. She is a BIG animal- the owner said she weighs 1,500 pounds and eats A LOT of food. I can only imagine. My kids were a bit afraid of her, but I think they liked it.

 Frog Pond Farm

 This place is just magical.

Free hot chocolate!

 You may remember from last year, but typically we get trees that don't fit in the car. This year Ben was ready and so proud of his ingenuity.

The tree in all it's decorated glory, before the kids tore it apart. It's like a big toy to them, which is okay, but I'm a little worried that we won't have any intact ornaments left for next year. Teddy's wrath knows no bounds, you know?

As a side note, see that tired man lying on the couch with a bowl close by? Right after we got home from the tree farm and set up the tree Ben started to throw up. He was SO sick- by far the sickest I've seen him in our marriage. He threw up all night and the next day too. I think it was just a bout of food poisoning because he was fine 24 hours later, but those 24 hours were bad ones. Poor Ben.

Another Christmas tradition we have is to make gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and decorate them. This year we put Teddy to bed before we did said project because, poor boy, he doesn't know his own strength. I felt bad he missed out on the fun but also... he'll get plenty of years of decorating in once he knows not to smash all the things.

 Our finished products

Nayeli also dictated her first letter to Santa this year. Then, to my surprise, she wrote her name at the bottom for the very first time. She wrote the letters in the right order- she just didn't put them in the right order. Details, details. It was such a proud and exciting parent moment for me I didn't care.

Mailing our letters!

 Decorating felt ornaments with glitter. Lots and lots of glitter.

One weekend Ben went camping with scouts and I stayed up until 3am sewing Christmas projects. Two of the projects I did were these Christmas pillowcases. Growing up my mom had special Christmas pillowcases that I always loved so I wanted to make some for my own kids. They each picked their own fabric- doggies for Nayeli and monkeys for Teddy. I used this tutorial to make them with the burrito method- a quick and easy method to make a pillowcase. I would highly recommend it.

It's been a great month and I think it's safe to say that we're ready for Christmas to come. Let's be honest- we've been waiting all year long for the magic this season brings.

Nayeli-isms

Nayeli is such a character and says the funniest things. Here are a few of her Nayeli-isms of late:

• (Driving around looking at Christmas lights we saw an inflatable snowman on a lawn). I said, "Look Nayeli, it's Frosty the Snowman!" She replied, "No mom, that's not Frosty. He's not smoking. Frosty is always smoking."

• She was sick for a week and had to miss church. She was sad because she missed seeing her friend Audra. I told her she could see her next Sunday. She said, exasperated, "It hasn't been Sunday in weeks!"

• She was introducing Teddy to my friend and said, "This is my brother Teddy. He likes to ruin anything I'm trying to do."  That's only a little better than when my mother-in-law came to visit right after Teddy was born. She asked Nayeli, "Do you like your new little brother? What does he do?" She replied matter-of-factly "He cries".

What can I say, the girl is honest and cute to boot. I sure love how fun she is getting, and wouldn't have her any other way.

She's starting to dress herself and favors the monochromatic look. If it all isn't the same color, she doesn't want to wear it. My little fashionista.

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!