SPRING THAW??!!??

What the heck? Imagine our surprise and pissed off-ness upon finding this in our backyard.

I will admit that we hadn't been in our backyard for many weeks and when we did, there was either snow or big puddles. So we called our builder and within two days he had come out to our house with his CAT and compacted the dirt, filled it in and has made plans to re-pour the cement landing out the back door. This time with rebar securing it to the foundation. We will pay extra to have him pour a cement pad with rebar for the A/C unit, for that was not in our contract. But I think the money is worth it. I won't have to be all nerved up next year at this time. Here are some close ups of the damage.

Guess what else the spring thaw brought out? Oh yes, the beloved trampoline. The kids have not had their tramp for almost a year now. Maddie has been out on it every day since we put it up. Good times!!!

BBall 2008 Comes to a Close

Look at my littlebig man posting up underneath!

I think Brayden had fun playing basketball this year. I am not sure. It was a pretty physical league and at one point we had coaches threatening to throw kids out of the game, and parents threatening to throw coaches out. Part of the problem is that the kids are old enough to learn the rules and abide by them, but the league doesn't require the coaches/referee's (yes they are one in the same) to call fouls, traveling, double dribble, etc. So it gets wildly out of hand. We will see if he wants to play next year. It has been exciting and hard this past year to see him grow into more of a preteen body. His shoulders are starting to broaden out and he is getting the Peterson signature long torso. And.... B.O.! Guys, when did you start putting on deodorant? I don't remember using deodorant until junior high! Was I the stinky girl in elementary? I wonder.....

Here we see a fine display or correctly guarding your man (even if he does wear levi's to the game).

Here he is driving hard to the hoop!

Work Schmerk - Part II

I went and made a pitch to my boss and low and behold she accepted it!!! I am now working Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I feel lucky to be able to pick and choose when I want to work. Plus, I will still be able to carpool with my friend and save money on gas. It's been nice having a little extra money in the bank. I'm not sure I will work in the summer, but I will worry about that in May. Maybe now I will be able to catch up on some house work and continue volunteering at the elementarys on Wednesdays. :) YAY!!!!!

LET THERE BE SUN!!! - And there was!

Ahhhh, don't you just love Utah?!? Sweet snow one weekend and gorgeous sun the next! You just have to drive 5 hours and Tah Dah!!! Sunshine. We went to St. George for the weekend, and yes I did forget my camera and these pictures were taken with my cell phone. Don't ask questions, just read.... hahaha. I got wrangled into coaching a 14 and under girls softball team from Grantsville and this weekend was a tournament in St. George. Plus, Brandon had the weekend off, so he was more than willing to go to St. George and watch some softball, play with the kids and get some sun. The kids loved getting out their gloves and bats and playing catch. Luckily, Brandon has a friend that owns a condo in St. George and he was willing to let us stay there for free (THANKS JAMIE!), so the trip was relatively cheap. My girls team did okay. They won two and lost three games. This is the first time they have been on a field this winter, so when outfield did not hit their cut offs, and some of the girls didn't know where they were supposed to be on some defensive plays, I couldn't complain too loud. All-in-all, a high quality weekend for us! :)

LET THERE BE SNOWWWW! - And there was!

Let er' rip baby! I could live like this for another month! And I even drive 45 minutes on country roads to work! I love it! We went to Ephriam for the weekend to check on the house and spend a weekend away from everything and everybody. We pulled into town and there were literally walls of snow. 4 ft. drifts, and where people had a tractor to move the snow it was even higher. It took us two hours in the dark to move the snow around enough to get the truck in the driveway. I about broke my back shoveling, but I didn't even care because the next day we got up, started the 4-wheeler, pumped up the snow tube and went redneck CRAZY in the snow! We pulled the kids all over the little town of Wales (west of Ephriam). Throwing them off when we would speed around the corners just like Craig Hreinson used to when I was little. The deal was that if you got thrown off the tube, you had to trade with someone. Brandon told me to go slow with Maddie. So I did. When I looked back, she had her hands propped behind her head!!! She wasn't even holding on!!! So you all know exactly what her mother did. Revved it up of course and put her in a snow bank! :) After the kids and I got tired of that, we made a snow cave in one of those 4 ft. drifts and then a snowman and finally after 4 hours of play, they were cold and ready to come in for hot chocolate.

Maddie-my Lifesource

I felt like I needed to dedicate a post to my Maddison Makenzie Peterson. She is my life source. How else can I explain the happiness and vividness that she brings to my life. Not to take anything away from Brayden because they both are the driving force in my life, but a little girl is special to her mommy. Last Saturday we spent at my parents house. And Saturday morning, as is common in my parents house, they put on the Beach Boys and turned up the volume on those ugly massive speakers they still have in the kitchen. Maddie was mesmerized by my mom and dad dancing and gettin' jiggy with it. Somehow along the way she managed to ask my dad why he liked to dance so much and his answer was "it's what made me fall in love with grandma. She was such a beautiful dancer." Maddie has been on a "what made you fall in love with mom" kick ever since. She has been asking us (Brandon and I) where we met, why we liked each other, if we have a crush on each other and if we still love each other. Every time we kiss in front of her, she gets this little smile on her face. She is a happy, precious little thing.

Hunting-Guns and Kids

So if you will notice I have posted an opinion poll to the right to get anybodies input that visits my website. My son received a big new gun for Christmas. I would say that it is similar to a .22 in strength of firepower. He is only allowed to use it with close supervision from his dad. I think it is great that he and his dad are spending time together and sharing a hobby, but I think the gun was a little much a little too soon. The Red Ryder BB gun has been a good gun for Brayden for the past two years. Must we really upgrade? Is 9 yrs. old enough to really understand the power that a gun has? That it can take a human life? The picture below was taken the weekend of the 12th when Brandon, Brayden and some friends went to Gunnison. For those of you wondering, no, Brayden did not shoot any geese, he was more like the retriever Brandon has always wanted. ie.... he had to go pick up the dead geese in the field.