The Ugliest Gift

What you are seeing Ben proudly display is the gift my sister Laura got for him for his birthday. It's a flowerpot. A bona fide, hideous flowerpot. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either.

After the initial shock wore off, I told Ben I couldn't handle waking up every morning to a man who owned a flower pot like that. Luckily, his friend Lori was getting married the next week. We threw it in a bag with plenty of tissue paper, shoved it in the middle of all the gifts at the reception, and conveniently forgot to mark it with a card.

And the legend lives on.

Three trips in one

On July 20th Ben, Nayeli and I all embarked on three trips in one. It was a good adventure and though I didn't take very many pictures, I wanted to record what a wild ride it turned out to be.

CASSIDY AND MATT'S WEDDING

 Cassidy and Matt with her parents

Our first stop was at one of my best friend's (Cassidy's) wedding in the Bountiful temple. Even though she planned the wedding in only a month, it turned out great! It was especially special because since she's a convert to the church and the only member in her family, I was her escort. It was such an honor and I was so happy to be there. My awesome sister Christina even came up to watch Nayeli so Ben got to attend the sealing as well. I love attending sealings with Ben and this one was good for Ben to be at since Cassidy was instrumental in setting us up. She was the one who gave Ben my phone number.

With Nayeli at the wedding. Ben objected to me putting this bow in her hair because "It's way to big". I'm sad to admit he was right. It was a little over the top.

Bridesmaids and Groomsmen

Yep, one of those pictures

MONTANA

After the wedding festivities, we slept the night at Ben's mom's house and then drove to Montana the next day. We had so much fun relaxing in the cabin, eating until our stomachs were going to burst, and getting out. We hiked, had a target-shooting competition with our new gun (yeah, we bought a gun- future post to come) and explored the big-sky country. And I only took two pictures. Lame.

We hiked with Emily and Laura's families to a beautiful lake. It was seven miles but all the grandkids did it, even my four year-old niece Bridie. 

So Montana was a blast (like always), and we loved it (like always). And Ben, thinking that it would be fun to film his friend on the Snake River, decided he would take a day of work while we were on vacation. And that's how we ended up in...


JACKSON HOLE

We arrived in the afternoon, and Ben filmed all day while I shopped. Let's just say shopping in Jackson Hole has gone to pot. When I was a kid they had a Benetton and J-Crew outlet, as well as a Gap. Now it's full of designer boutiques and souvenir shops that all carry the same things. What was foreseen as a fun day of shopping ended up being a day of walking from souvenir shop to souvenir shop, trying to entertain a three month-old and myself. And just when I thought I'd found a safe haven in a designer pearl boutique that was very interesting (I struck up a conversation with the owner who was wearing a $10,000+ pearl necklace), Nayeli had a blowout onto my shirt. Yeah, it was one of those moments.

By the time Ben was done filming at 8 pm I had hit my limit. We had agreed to go camping (to save money on hotels and because Ben LOVES camping) so we rushed to get to the campsite before dark. As soon as we got there, we began unpacking and realized... Ben had forgotten his sleeping bag. 

I had a severe moment of "we are getting a hotel room and don't think you're going to talk me out of it", but Ben calmed me down and told me that he had the perfect solution. He said he would sleep in his clothes, wrap himself in a blanket, and stuff his feet in my partially unzipped sleeping bag. So the two of us shared the sleeping bag until about 3 am when Nayeli got cold and I put her next to me. By the morning, all three of us were sharing one sleeping bag. Yeah, it was one of those camping trips :) 
 
 

 In actuality, it didn't turn out awful. At least we look like we're mildly enjoying ourselves here :)

Our little monkey

And in the end, it was probably worth it. Most adventures are, right? At least we got a great YouTube video to show for it.

A Story About the Garifuna: Trailer

Some of you already know this, but Ben is making a documentary. It was going to be a senior project but then after receiving funding he was told he couldn't get school credit for it. Despite that, we decided he should do it. Why that was our decision is beyond both of us at this point.  On one side, it's been a nightmare. Who knew making a documentary could take up so much time? And money? And be so much work?

But the upside is it's helped Ben hone in on what he wants to do as a career. When I married Ben he had the dream of becoming a documentary film maker. Surprisingly, making a documentary has made Ben... not want to make documentaries for a living. So it's a blessing he made the discovery now, instead of ten years down the road.

So without further adieu, here is the trailer of the movie we wish we'd never started, but that we're happy we're going to finish.

Daddy Daughter Time

I've been debating whether to retaliate after Ben's last post/expose about me... but I've decided to be the bigger person (insert halo glimmer here). Because when it comes down to it,  Ben is such a great dad.  Ever since Nayeli was born he and she have formed a bond and she loves being with him. It's so fun to watch. Allow  me to share some pictures to illustrate my point:

 

The day we brought Nayeli home from the hospital. He just wanted to hold her, and eventually they took a nap together. It was so sweet I had to get a picture.

The first time we took Nayeli out when she was only a week or so old. When she was young we often went on walks and took her in the Baby Bjorn.

Ben's favorite thing was when Nayeli would fall asleep on his chest and he could get a nap after work. She seldom does this anymore.

One day I asked Ben to hold Nayeli while I got something done, and when I returned I found him like this. Yes, those are her socks on his ears. Oh how Ben makes me laugh.

In June Ben had to go on a business trip to Atlanta. He felt a little guilty for leaving me alone with a newborn, so he left little notes for me to find around the house. This one was my favorite. One day I pulled a diaper out of the diaper bag and surprise! there was a note from Ben. Can you see it?

This is how I found Ben carrying Nayeli in the sleepy wrap one day as he was making phone calls for church. In his defense, she was still asleep and she could still breathe :)

Daddy daughter computer time

Frequently Ben will play with Nayeli so I can get something done... and almost any game he invents sends Nayeli's laughter pealing throughout the apartment. In this case, he was throwing her stuffed animal up so it would hit her on the way down. She loved it. It was precious.

Celery, fetchin' hussies and the other things Athena says while asleep (and awake)

It's Ben here with another post full of intrigue and excitement.  Let's begin at this: Athena is a very intelligent individual. She is a fast thinking, high performance go-getter that runs circles around me.  I love her very much.  It's important for me to preface this post with that information. That said, let us now dive into the wonderful intricacies of the things Athena says when she's awake, then continue on with a follow-up on a previous post about the things Athena says in her sleep.

Things Athena says when she's awake
Like I said, Athena is very smart. However, her brain will sometimes run so fast and furious that her tongue trips and hilariously exudes gems that I promptly write down for the entertainment of our posterity.

 First, let's begin with the butchered idioms category. I've forgotten most of the context behind each of these Athena-isms, but I feel like the material is sufficiently incriminating to stand without explanation:
 -- It was like a hand on a chalkboard.
-- You read me like a glove.
-- No caution to the wind.
-- I'm burping a storm up.
-- I was so mad, she sent me over the roof.

---

 Next, a fine conversation we had:
 A: That's not even clausible.
B: Did you just say "clausible?"
A: No, I said "plausible," but it came out "clausible."
B: (laughing)

---

One night, Athena was hungry as we were about to go to bed. In order to make me feel like I wasn't being abandoned, she kindly asked:
A: Do you mind if I go out and scowage?
B: Scowage?
A: Yeah, you know... uhh...
"Scowaging"... it's like scouring and scavenging combined in one late-night jaunt to the fridge.

---

 And lastly in the awake category... pronunciation:

As I've taken a new job and Athena has quit her job at the hospital, we've had to discuss money and how much we are/aren't making. It appears when Athena learned to speak, there were several word connections that were wired to the wrong places. Here's a conversation that may or may not have happened:
 B: How much were you making at the hospital?
A: Well, my celery was pretty decent there.
B: You mean your salary?
A: Yeah, my celery.
B: Celery, like the food?
A: No, celery.
B: Do you mean salary?
A: Yes, Ben! Celery!

Bullying is a common theme in the media these days, and we've discussed it together several times recently. Here is a hypothetical conversation about bullying at our house:
 B: Wow, I can't believe how many kids pick on each other.
A: I know, bowling is a huge problem everywhere now.
B: Are we talking about bullying or bowling?
A: Bowling.
B: Pins? Strikes? Spares?
A: No, bowling when kids pick on each other at school.
B: That's bullying, not bowling.
A: I know, bowling!

 I think I've tried to correct Athena's pronunciation several times, but I think it's so darn cute, I'll probably just let it go and chuckle to myself when we discuss "celeries" and "bowling."

---

And we're into the asleep category:
I don't have as many juicy sleep-talking quotes as I did in the first post about the topic, but these ones are gems that need inclusion.  I think this one came after a long night of work in the ER:
A: "Your sister ended up hitting her head with even smaller heads. OK?"

I think she was dreaming about a disagreement with her mother in this one.
A: "No it's not. It's like I'm a fetchin' hussy. Like I don't know how to do makeup. It's stupid!"

This one was completely random:

A: "Premothering.  I don't claim to be an expert in that category.  Did you get the good tasting ones?"

---

Well, there you have it.  This is a just a small glimpse into what happens at the Petersen house. We thoroughly enjoy our time together and I especially enjoy my life married to Athena. She always keeps it interesting.

Quote of the day

"Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for." Elder Neal L. Anderson

Thanks to my friend Vindie for sharing this on her latest post about motherhood. I needed this today. 

Random Summer Happenings

This summer has been so fun... and I have all sorts of random pictures of what we've done. So here they are, all meshed together.

This summer I quit my job in the ER at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. This was the picture one of nurses took of me saying goodbye. It's been bittersweet- I miss the people and adult work environment a lot. However I don't miss the night shifts or the drunks and psychotic patients. I think I'd had enough of those.

When Ben's brother Sammy came home from his mission we hiked with the Petersens up above Snowbasin. It was really beautiful.

However Nayeli got really hot and we ended up having to strip her down to her diaper.

This wasn't technically summer but I'll include it in here. We went to plant flowers in my Nana's yard for Mother's Day. She is 95 years old and still lives independent. She's one of my heroes.

A first for Nayeli- we took her swimming in her great-grandparents' pool.

She actually really seemed to like it. Maybe we have a little swimmer on our hands.

The fourth of July

When people see Nayeli there are two things they comment on: her big eyes and her big cheeks. This picture makes it obvious why those are the first two things they notice.