april 2016

Here we are to April! 

Liv and Tosh's school recognizes students that are "Bucket Fillers"--meaning kids that show kindness and help others to feel appreciated and loved. I think this is a darling mural on the wall at their school:

Our sweet Liv was recognized as a bucket filler and got her photo up on the wall:

  
Liv styled Truman's hair while we waited in the car for Tosh at piano lessons one afternoon:

He does have sort of a "Hipster" look here:

Hewitt and Arnav were invited to attend AzSEF this year. They continued to work to try to improve their science fair board for each competition. They made three different boards! At AzSEF you get a chance to talk to the judges and answer questions.

The fifth grade students that attended the state level judging:

Hewitt and Arnav took THIRD place in the Chemistry division. Way to go! Their school had the most winners (5th and 6th grades) and were the division champs:

The woman holding the trophy in this photo is Mrs. Iyer; we just found out that Hewitt will have her for 6th grade (Burke had her and she is awesome)!

This is a super cute video of Truman kicking the soccer ball! Reminder: to see videos you must go to the blog site (sweetpetes.blogspot.com). They will not open from email.

Liv offered to reorganize the spice cabinet. She did a great job!

Liv teaching her friend Natalie how to make arm pit noises (ha!):

Rob traveled to Argentina and Brazil for work in April and was gone for 12 days! While he was gone we attended a birthday party at Tumbleweed Park for Sia--the daugther of Shruthi (Rob's co-worker) and Sriram. Burke helping Truman on the slide:

Sia had quite the birthday bash with TONS of food, and a bounce house. They are such a sweet family and even had a gift bag for each of our kids.

On the way home from the party I stopped to get this photo at the entrance to our neighborhood. What an amazing sunset!

Post-bath, pre-pajamas:

Without a pool gate, we hardly spend time in our backyard. Truman was so happy that I moved his highchair outside so he could eat out there.

Sweetest face!

Truman's shirt is one that Tosh wore. Here are these cute brothers side-by-side:

Truman looks so cute in a hat (he doesn't keep it on long):

August and Kiefer came over one day and it was so fun to watch Truman really interact and play with the boys. Going for a wagon ride:

Team work:

Truman's turn!

Kiefer is so good with Truman. I loved watching them play cars together:

The kids braved the cold pool one day:

This is the most darling video of Truman seeing Rob after his 12-day trip!

Liv had dance photos taken and was so excited to get to wear the costume for her recital!

Hewitt's school was selected to be part of the "Flame Challenge" live worldwide assembly. I was able to tune in from home and was delighted when Hewitt had a turn to respond to a question posed by host Alan Alda (Hawkeye from M*A*S*H).

I took a photo of my laptop and it isn't the best, but still cool!

Our 17th wedding anniversary was on the 24th of April. Tosh made us a sweet card:

Truman starting blowing kisses to everyone at bedtime in April. It's the sweetest thing ever. He (still) does it before nap and bedtime every day.

We attended Tosh's 3rd grade musical program. Tosh asked me to get a photo of this moment and I did!

Grandma Pete was in town for Aunt Sue's knee surgery so she was able to attend...

As well as Sue and the twins:

I nursed Truman for the very last time on April 28th and shed a few tears. I flew to Utah the next day for the wedding of my niece, Samantha. My good friend Angie was willing to pick me up from the airport and we had a nice visit and lunch at the gardens at Thanksgiving Point before she dropped me off at my niece Amanda's house (she lives right by Thanksgiving Point in Lehi).

Tulips are my favorite flower and it was such a perfect time to visit Utah. My trip was super short (less than 48 hours), but really nice. Selfie of Angie and me:

It was nice to see Amanda and Jamie's new place and their darling son that is just a couple of weeks younger than Truman. We visited while I steamed chair covers to help get ready for the reception. It was exciting when the family all gathered there for dinner (I love getting to be with all of my siblings!). After eating, I went with this crazy bunch of guys to help set up for the reception:

Todd, Brock, Mark, Jake, Me, and Alex 

I spent the night at my cousin Jackie's (and my Aunt Pat's place) in Bluffdale. It's always great to see them. My aunt just turned 91! I was telling Jackie that I feel my mom's presence most when I'm around Pat.

Samantha and Braden were married at the Provo City Center Temple. I was so excited to get to see the temple and be there with my family. This temple is special for many reasons, but my mom grew up just a few blocks from the historic tabernacle in Provo and was even baptized in the basement. My folks were both so excited when this temple was announced (just a few months before my mom passed away). The sealing was lovely. The sealer mentioned something in his remarks prior to the ordinance about how it doesn't matter how many children you have, but the important thing is finding out what the Lord's number is for your family. This really made me teary thinking about our little Truman and what a blessing he has been to our family. I'm so thankful that we were willing to change "our number" of four, to follow what the Lord had in mind for our family--fabulous five!

My sister and me:

Gorgeous temple and day:

The lovely bride and groom:

A photo of the families (that I got from facebook):

We had a yummy wedding luncheon and then I went with Todd's family over to Helen's house before the reception that evening. She had all sorts of treats for us and Todd's kids made chocolates with her chocolate molds, as well as chocolate covered strawberries. It was great to be able to spend some time with Helen. I've missed her a lot. 

Braden and Samantha are all about the outdoors. My niece is a huge scouter and has worked at the Boy Scout National Jamboree, and was a ranger at Philmont Scout Ranch. Mindy had the awesome idea to have a patch made just for them. It turned out so great and Samantha and Braden were thrilled with it. It will make the cutest Christmas tree decoration. 

The reception had an outdoor theme with hammocks, tents, and backpacks all over the place.I thought it was darling and perfect for them. I especially loved the tent for gifts!

Another borrowed photo (from facebook) of me with the beautiful bride!

David (father of the bride) called me one day and told me that he was asked to play bass guitar on one number with the band. The song he felt most comfortable with was Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with your Best Shot," and asked if I would be willing to sing it. Such a common song for a wedding reception, right? :) I was happy to do it, and it makes a fun memory. Here is one last photo of David and me, courtesy of the wedding photographer:

After helping clean up after the reception (and saying goodbye to the family), my niece McKaylynn and her hubby Jake offered to give me a tour of their new place and drop me off at my mother-in-law's.  It was great to spend some time with them and we were even able to play a few games. Patti was kind enough to take me to the airport early on Sunday morning and I made it home in time for 1:00 church. The trip seemed too quick, but at the same time I was ready to get back to my little guy! 

And that wraps up April!