The Petersen Latest . . .

  As usual, we have been busy with our simple little country life. We've had soccer, new kitties, jog-a-thons, Halloween, Mimication, and volleyball. 

Quade played soccer this year.

Quade had been talking about getting a cat for such a long time. He wanted an orange kitty and he was going to name him Grasshopper. So I ran across some cats that needed a home and of course we couldn't just get one cat. Jet is the black one and Lovey is the orange one. Super sweet kitties. But while we were gone on our Mimication we lost Lovey. My poor country kids are so cold to losing animals. They of course asked about it but it wasn't a big deal for them. I'm still crossing my fingers that she will wonder back home some day. 

When Austyn got her new bike for her Birthday, we transformed her old one into a new bike for Quade. Green is his favorite color, so we made him a John Deere bicycle. He is such a brave boy. 

Every year Austyn's school has a Jog-A-Thon fundraiser. It is so cute and I love that her school always lets Quade participate in all the activities. 

This is Quade on his unofficial first day of preschool. I've been subbing at Austyns school and when I work in the preschool I get to bring Quade along. He loves it and does so good. 

Austyn enjoyed dressing up in her Halloween clothes in October.

We got to go to a little rodeo with some great friends. The kids love rodeos and they look so cute all cowboyed up.

The kids and Jordan's pumpkins. Austyn designed and drew her own face on her pumpkin and Quade went with his favorite person, Spider-Man. Jordan always does such a good job carving the pumpkins.

I was so heartbroken that the kids didn't want me to make their costumes this year. They didn't even want me to spruce them up. But they still were the cutest Batman and Batgirl around. 

Austyn chose not to do soccer and wanted to volleyball instead. She is over the moon about it. I love watching her light up when it's time for practice and then talk about how much she loves it for days after.

Mimication 2016 was at the Great Wolf Lodge! My Mom is the absolute best mom and Mimi in the world. We stayed for one night and unbeknownst to us there was a Santa convention going on while we were there! How amazing is that! Every time you turned around there was a Santa and Mrs. Clause. The kids got a kick out of talking to each one.

Our next stop was Driftwood Shores in Florence for a night. The kids love it there. We were the only ones in the pool, so they could be crazy and loud. And it's just relaxing to be ocean front. It's my favorite place. After we left there, we went to Alsea and stayed a final night with some family from Reno.  They have an amazing home right on the river. The kids were amazing as usual, and it was just relaxing and great to be with just my Mom.

Austyn had pancake day at school and we went to eat with her. It was delicious. Definitely not how I remembered hot lunches. Quade thinks he needs to be in Sissy's class. He thought we were at a restaurant and asked the lunch lady, "May I please have, pancakes and sausage?" She looked at him like he was from another planet. He looked so cute with his lunch tray. After lunch he got to go to recess with Austyn and stay for math time in her class. He did unbelievable! He followed directions, he even raised his hand and gave answers. Almost brought tears to my eyes. 

  Austyn is excelling in school. She is still priding herself with great behavior and the benefits it gets her in school. Her retention level for her age is outstanding. She picked this crazy pilgrim book from the library (very boring) and when I finished reading it, she could recite the correct dates and even the smallest details. I was blown away. I even had to thumb back through to check her accuracy. Her honesty and kindness are still some of her best qualities. However, we are beginning to see some drama/girly/hormonal craziness creeping in on us. I'm scared to death. I've never had many girl friends for just this reason and I am not looking forward to a full blown hormonal girl in the next 3-5 years. God help me! 

  Quade is growing up. I look at him and wonder where the time went. He's not a baby anymore. He's trying to wipe his own butt, doesn't use a booster seat at the dinner table anymore, has a big boy bike, and is just so independent. He also has taken leaps and bounds with controlling his temper. He might be one of the funniest 3 year olds there is. He has such a huge personality for his age and the funniest part is that he thinks and knows he is funny. 

  Jordan is a week or so away from his written exam. Then he will take his practical test and be done with this modules in his ODP. He will then start working (acting in capacity) as a captain for a year. Then his huge promotional test is next November. It will be nice when this module is over and he can take a break from studying for 6 months or so. He went Elk hunting with all the guys in my family. They we unsuccessful but had a great camping trip. He is looking forward to working on and fixing up his old Dodge truck when he's done testing in December. He also signed up for the Stairclimb in Seattle again in March. 

  And as for me, I'm trying to cherish and enjoy every moment with the kids that I can. It's going too fast, and I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to be at home with them and be involved with so much of their activities. I've been struggling lately with my back again. Recently I found out it's herniated  again. And the vertebrae has shifted back causing the spinal canal to be narrowed at that point. Which is in turn causing bilateral sciatica down both legs. Not fun. Makes for a very inpatient and cranky mommy and wife. I'm on a journey to heal myself. I'm trying some new methods and am very excited and hopeful that they will be as successful as the research claims it to be. Wish me luck and a few prayers wouldn't hurt either. As this year is coming to an end I always like to look back and reflect on my New Years resolutions. It was a goal to focus on my health/back issues. Well for 6 months I was good, and then it snowballed out of control when I fell off the wagon. It really showed me how my lifestyle needs to change to make me feel better. Which when I feel good I can be a good mom, wife, and person. And that's what's important to me. 

  That's it for us in the last month or so. I'm really looking forward to the Holidays as usual. And hoping for some snow this year!! Austyn is a full blown reader now, so I have to hide the Christmas list and ads for things already. I hope you all have a great and relaxing Thanksgiving. 

  

The Big Six ...

 My big girl turned 6 years old this month. She couldn't be happier to grow up and do big kid stuff. Me on the other hand am in pure amazement at how fast those 6 years went. Austyn has begun all day Kindergarten at Territorial Elementary School out here by us. She is loving the recesses, lunch at school, P.E. and music classes. All the things she's seen the big kids get to do for a few years now. There are a lot of incentives for good behavior in her school and she really prides herself for her accomplishments and rewards in that area. I can't begin to explain how proud I am of her kindness and honesty to all. Her manners are impeccable and no matter what she will always tell the truth. I love her happy glowing face and the excitement she has when I pick her up from school. She is so innocent and pure. And I just hope she can stay that way as long as she can. And I also admire her ability to talk to adults. She looks them in the eye and speaks right to them. Very sure of herself and brave. Besides school she has continued to lose teeth. She lost three so far and now she has three more to come out at any moment. She excelled in swim lessons this summer. And really worked hard to move to higher classes. She wants to continue to do swim lessons in the winter instead of soccer. She recently has became interested in the horse thing again. This time all on her own. I decided to back off and let her make the choice if that's something she really likes or not. We've riden a few times now and she has just about gotten back to her comfort level and riding ability as she had when we owned Chocolate Chip. Which naturally makes my heart happy. She enjoyed this summer just about as much as I did. We camped in the tent I the backyard, which is always a favorite. We went on lots of week long camping trips, fished, BBQd, watched the stars from the trampoline, rode little quads, went to the lake, parks, picnicked, walks, and the list went on and on. She definitely got to be a country kid all summer long. Austyn has found that crafts and baking is her favorite things to occupy her time. She is absolutely amazing at baking. She can do everything but the in and out of the oven all by herself. And she does so good at artsy craft stuff. I just love watching her sit and create her masterpieces that she is so proud of. She continues to add the sweetness to our family and is such a good role model for Quade and the rest of us. She thinks that she wants to be a "hair doer" when she grows up. I love to hear her future plans and how she sees the world from her 6 year old perspective. I hope to have the best and closest relationship with her as she grows up. And I hope she will learn me see how valuable family is. And maybe one day want to live right next to us.

First Day of School

Aquarium fun

Swim lessons

She chose to go camping for her Birthday this year. We went to Loon Lake. So we tried to do the usual decorations and Birthday fun as we usually do while camping. It was so fun and different. 

Birthday breakfast

Piñata time 

Her Brand new bike!!!

Summers End ...

  One final post of the summer :( I'm so sad. It went buy so fast. Even though we had a 5 month summer. But I do believe we've enjoyed every second of it. We were able to go to the coast to ride quads one day. It was so beautiful. The kids are getting so good on their quads. It makes my heart so happy to see them doing something that I grew up doing. It was such a big part of my childhood. And now they are enjoying it too. That's how life's suppose to work, I think!?

  The kids danced in the Scandinavian festival again this year. Austyn got to move up to the next age group, which she was stoaked about. They both did excellent and looked adorable in their outfits as usual. 

Petersen kids

  This summer we (the kids) did more swimming than they ever have before. Between swim lessons and the river we were probably in the water everyday and sometimes two or three times a day. Jordan built them a dock with a slide down by our house. They love it. 

  Our favorite camping trip finally came. The Crab trip with the fire department. We stayed a whole week this year and could have stayed another if we had the chance. The kids are getting old enough that they just run around and play with everyone all day long. It's such a big area they think they are running freely, but little do they know, they're not. There's a mothers eye, or two, or three, on them at ALL times. But we won't spoil their fun. 

We took the kids crabbing off the dock the second day there. 

This is about half the kids. 

The kids got to go crabbing on the boat again this year. They absolute love it. They helped measure all the crabs. 

He played so hard. He was exhausted. 

This is the potluck we have on Saturday every year. 

360 crab were caught. That $7000 worth. My mind was blown. 

  We also were able to finally go fishing a couple times at the river. The first time we caught over 20 catfish. It was so much fun. Just how I remembered it as a kid. The kids were lined up behind the adults waiting to get a new worm, take a fish off the hook, or needing another cast out into the river. We couldn't keep up with the kids. Every time they would cast out they would instantly get a fish on. We didn't even have time to build a fire or get lanterns. The second time we were more prepared. We got everyone situated and had a couple more adults to help with the kids. We use to do this when I was young and now I'm doing it with my kids. Hopefully they will remember it like I did and want to continue it on with their kids. We are so fortunate!!!! 

Summer cat fishing on the Long Tom

Kids going fishing

  My parents took the kids and I on a spur of the moment trip to the aquarium. We couldn't have asked for better weather. We were in t-shirts and flip flops on the beach after enjoying the aquarium. The kids would take playing on the beach over any other activity if they had a choice (which usually they do). I can't blame them one bit!

  Jordan's moms drill team was competing at the state fair and we were able to go cheer them on. I always love watching them. It amazes me that they are at a full run and maneuvering so effortlessly. They won!! We took the kids to the carnival side after the competition to ride the rides and to Jordan and I's dismay, the rides were astronomically expensive. And poor little Quade (not often do I say that), was to small for the majority of the rides. What a rip off. I remember riding all the rides for hours as a kid at fairs with all my cousins. It's not like that anymore. It is literally cheaper to go to Disneyland for a day than to spend the day at the carnival. 

  Austyn has her first day of school tomorrow. She is super excited and a little nervous she says. She can't wait to eat lunch at school and have recess and this new thing called P.E. I had to laugh that she didn't know what that was. She has chosen to go camping for her Birthday instead of having a big party. My kind of girl!! So we are ALL super pumped about that. We're going to Loon Lake. I haven't been there since I was her age. It will be our last camping trip of the year. Although I think I already said that once about our last trip. She is continuing on with riding horses occasionally. Her confidence level is rising and her skill level is getting back up there as well. Baby steps and just letting her do it on her own time has help immensely. She didn't want to play soccer this Fall. It's too much running she said. Gotta love her. So we might do swim lessons at some point this winter. 

  Quade is determined he is going to school like Sissy. Even though he knows he's not, he still tells everyone he is. He has become a professional bike rider in a very short amount of time with no training wheels. He is pretty amazing in all he does. His imagination is wild. He still has him imaginary friends, Judy, Big Bear, and Runner. He is the complete opposite of Austyn it's amazing. I could watch him all day long and be entertained. He will be participating in Tiny Tigers soccer in the Fall. And he is very excited for it. He's tired of waiting to be a big kid and is finally getting to do some of the things he's watched Austyn do. 

  Jordan has enjoyed a break from studying in his ODP program, but is going to start back up shortly. He has been trying to squeeze every little project, trip, helping others, and time with us as he can before he has to start spending every moment studying. This is the first summer I can remember that he has been home so much. LOVING IT!!!! He's always looking on Craig's List for some sort of truck part and he found one in Reno. So he and I randomly took a spur of the moment trip to Reno to pick up a truck cab. We left at 8:30 pm and got back the next night at 7:30 pm. We drove all night and slept in the truck for about an hour and a half. Got up, picked up the part, and headed back home. I'm too old for those kinds of shinanagins. 

  As school drew nearer I began to get a bigger and bigger pit in my stomach. I'm going to miss my little buddy so much while she's at school. Sometimes I get teary eyed just talking about it. I love being with my kids. I love taking them to the grocery store, where if we're good we get a doughnut (please Lord let the kids be good so I can get a doughnut!), running errands, they help me clean the house, they're just my little buddies that I do everything with. I thank God every day for giving me such great kids. But I do know it's good for them to be away from me too. It's just hard sometimes thinking about them being out in this big bad world. I know she's only in Kindergarten but it will only be a blink and she'll be in college. I hope she holds family and the values were teaching her as highly as we do. 

Family picture 

Papa and Quade doing what he loves best. Guns and quads. 

  Let's see, next comes Austyn's Birthday, then soccer, and just more school functions and the Holidays. It's my favorite time of year!!! The kids decided to not let me make their costumes this year for Halloween. I was crushed. But I keep telling myself it's less work and a lot cheaper to buy their costumes. They are going to be Batman and Batgirl. I'm sure I'll do some bedazzling, I just can't help myself. Oh, I almost forgot, our Anniversary. 8 big ones this year! Looking forward to getting into a routine with the new school year and enjoying helping in her class and watching her learn. Hope all is well with everyone. Happy Fall y'all!