late april and early may

Liv and I have decided to grow her hair out--bangs included.  I think she looks older with her hair off her forehead. 

She's not too old to snuggle with Bunny though:

Burke is officially a First Class in Boy Scouts:

I'm excited for Burke to turn 12 and get to do more with our troop!

Liv swimming with her good friend Natalie:

We did a lot of tree trimming in our backyard one Saturday.  I get quite nervous when Rob is balancing way up high in a tree...

We kicked off the Easter celebration with egg dyeing.  The kids were all very interested in the beginning (don't let Tosh's face fool you)...

 And then the boys lost interest and it was just Liv and me finishing up:

I got some photos of the kids in their Easter clothes PRIOR to any egg hunting or candy.  I find it works better that way--ha!  I was happy to discover that I already had clothes for the three younger kids that coordinated, and was able to find this darling checkered bow tie for Burke--score!  I thought the kids looked adorable (if I do say so myself).  Rob and I each had a camera, so get ready for Easter photo overload:

I love how Liv is looking at Hewitt in this one:

Rob and I were visiting on the couch when Liv walked up to chime in on the conversation while eating her chocolate bunny like so:

 She is such a funny girl!

It's been warmer than normal this spring which has meant earlier swimming.  New goggles:

Jumping in the pool together:

Rob and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on April 24th.  The photo on the left is actually 17 years old--from before my mission.

Tosh recently asked me if I had ever read the book, "Where the Sidewalk Ends." Tosh and Hewitt were both thrilled to discover I owned a few Shel Silverstein books they had never seen!  I love that my boys love to read:

It was fun to watch Burke play in the "Sixth Grade All-Stars vs. Teachers" soccer game. They tied 1-1.

The kids' second cousin McCallin Fisher (Kurt and Noelle's son) got married in the Mesa Temple and we were able to go to the reception.  Liv loves her second cousin Olivia (she also goes by Liv sometimes):

We've had a few 'cooler' days lately and have tried to take full advantage of them.  Family Night bike ride:

Liv came downstairs the other morning and said, "Hey Mom, do you like how I dressed like a Rock Star today?"

 Not only is Liv obsessed with these boots, but also with popsicles!  She probably asks if she can have one about four times a day.

 One day after school I took the younger kids to the city water park to be tested for swimming lesson levels (Rob was in California and Burke was at a school field trip).  It was a great time to go as it was really quite empty. I wasn't planning on staying long (I didn't even wear my swimming suit), but the kids were having so much fun and so we stayed for almost two hours!  It was so interesting to just sit and watch the kids go down the water slides and in the lazy river without having to be IN the water! The kids are growing up!

Cute Tosh and Liv in the lazy river:

Hewitt was holding Liv up in the whirlpool area and she kept kissing him on the cheek over and over.

The Fathers' and Sons' campout was last weekend.  The guys had a great time as always, and Liv was really excited for our "Girls Night" that we've talked so much about.  She had a friend over to swim, play and eat dinner, and then Liv and I went out for frozen yogurt and played a game of Go Fish while we ate.
 

We came home and snuggled up on the couch while we ate popcorn and watched "Finding Nemo" (Liv doesn't seem to remember ever seeing it before). On Saturday we played at the park, did a little shopping, and played LOTS of board games and puzzles before the boys got home.

A couple of silly selfies from the park:

 The kids went swimming right after the guys got home that afternoon.  Liv is looking so cool in these goggles and flippers:

Burke's final book report and project of the year was to be about the Middle Ages or Renaissance period. Burke had heard that he is related to El Cid (a knight from medieval Spain), so he decided to read a book about him and research how he is related to him.  We were able to get a lot of information from Rob's Aunt Marlene, and then Burke and I spent several hours researching the rest.  The internet is so cool!!!  It turns out that El Cid is our children's 29th great grandfather!  The other interesting thing is that El Cid is buried in Burgos, Spain which was Rob's first area of his mission. Pretty awesome! Burke used this poster for his class presentation. For you Petersons, please note that you have Spanish, English, and French royalty in your blood:

Remember that sweet park in Mesa I wrote about last month? We took the whole family there one night this week (prior to a trip to the scout shop).  I knew the boys would really like all of the climbing equipment (and the ziplines). I got some fun photos of Tosh at dusk:

I've never seen a play structure as tall as this next one-- Burke got as close as he could to the top, but it was crowded with adults.  I was okay with him just coming back down before reaching the very top :)

Other things to note:
Hewitt earned his Bear and three arrow points in cub scouts.
I finished the last two art masterpiece classes of the year.
Only two and a half more weeks of school!

And last but not least, family dinner on Cinco de Mayo: 

april 2014 (part one)

Burke's science fair team competed at the state level with their project, "Pollution Exclusion."  In Burke's words: They researched how household plants could eliminate volatile organic compounds, a form of pollution found in things such as cardboard, paint chips, and paint thinner.  

The boys had the opportunity to defend their project in front of several judges and ended up taking second place in their category!  Prior to judging:

Ryan C., Xavier V., and BTP

A quick pic prior to leaving for the awards ceremony:

The boys with their awesome teacher, Mrs. Iyer:

Way to go, guys!

 Liv is obsessed with these retro boots I've had since high school and wears them all over the house:

She insisted on buckling her baby in the car (with stroller) on our way to run errands:

One of Rob's new church responsibilities is over family history work for our ward.  We went on a date (I tagged along to a training meeting he had) to our local family history center and I was blown away when I found one of my ancestors dating back to 1043!!!  I had never checked out puzzilla.org before (do it if you haven't already!), and it was really cool.  Most of you know that I've always had an interest in names (I think this is one thing that Burke actually got from me), and I'm really looking forward to getting into family history work.  I'm planning to devote a good amount of time to this each week when Liv starts kindergarten this July.  What's great now is that all you really need is a laptop--no need to go to a family history center.  Rob started working with Burke and Hewitt on Sunday afternoon, getting them user names and ready to get to work as well.  Our boys love learning about their family, and it's a great Sunday activity.

Rob and I have been working hard to do some 'Spring' organizing/cleaning around here (my laundry room has been clean for over two weeks which may be a record!).  This is a random gem we found in our upstairs hallway desk.  I'm not sure when Hewitt drew this, but it made us chuckle.  Thankfully, he saves his humor for his art and never actually said this from the pulpit.

I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this but the kids are really into "The Game of Life" right now, especially Tosh.  Tosh is really into money and likes seeing how much money he can make playing Life.  He was just telling me on Sunday that he is planning to be a doctor, and I think that is mostly because that is the profession that makes the most in this game.  

I really enjoyed all sessions of General Conference.  Rob pulled out this awesome mat and wooden toys we got from Grandma Watkins which kept the younger kids busy during one of the sessions.

I'm pretty jazzed about these sweet pillowcases that will be going on our guest bed.  I have no idea if they were my grandmother's or maybe a wedding present for my parents?  I think they are darling:

I just found this "vacation map" in Hewitt's school papers.  It beautifully illustrates our holiday company this year.  I think my favorite part about it is how excited Hewitt and Aunt Alisa are to see each other (top left).  It's the cutest!  And then the photo of Alisa leaving on Christmas Day is awesome too (she's like, "See ya!" not even looking back.)  So funny!

Hewitt's teacher requested surprise posters to help encourage the kids for the week-long testing they had last week.  I thought Hewitt would get a kick out of these Studio C people cheering him on:

We attended Arts Night at Burke and Hewitt's school.  This is Hewitt's "Georgia O'Keefe" watercolor flower on display (this was a fun art lesson to teach):

The band preformed outside.  Burke is fun to watch on percussion (they were missing most of the band since it was an optional performance.  This cute Grandpa helps the section out sometimes):

My Primary responsibilities have changed and I am now over cub scouts (I think I've mentioned that before).  We just had our Blue and Gold Banquet which was pushed back a couple of months (due to the temple celebration activities and because both the cub committee chair and I are brand new).  We ended up doing a western theme and we had some last minute craziness over the venue needing to be changed due to scheduling.  The boys loved being able to run around outside at Skousen Park and it was a success in the end...AND it's over until next year :)

Hewitt and his buddy Dax:

Our good friends Fred and Char were sealed in the Gilbert Temple this Saturday.  They asked Rob and I to help with their program at the luncheon afterward.  We ended up doing seven numbers (in addition to family and friends making some nice comments and sharing memories).  Rob was even kind enough to fulfill the bride's request and figured out how to play Chicago's "You're the Inspiration" on the piano (with it's 4 key changes or whatever).  I think this is the only time I've ever seen Rob nervous!  Everything went well and it's always fun to me to watch Rob play live and be reminded of how awesomely talented he is.  I'm a lucky girl. 

An after-school Scrabble game with this cutie:

It is a little cooler this week than last (high 80s instead of high 90s).  I took Liv and her friend Natalie to two different parks today.  They were so cute blowing bubbles in the shade:

In honor of National Siblings Day (yup, that's a thing apparently) I dusted off this oldie and quite possibly my favorite throwback photo ever of my siblings.  I seem to vaguely remember dressing up as "Mr. & Mrs. Neat and Mr.& Mrs. Messy" or something like that.  The one thing I remember for sure is my sister telling me to find an outfit that doesn't match and me thinking that was impossible because everything looked great together--ha!  I also have to point out that this is me at Tosh's age.  I love what my good friend Angie said about this, "You don't just look like him but you seem to have a little crazy like him too."  Ha!  No comment. :)

Anyway, I am thankful for these three awesome people and their great examples in my life.  I love you guys.