Our latest . . .

  Jordan bought a truck a few months back and we had some trouble (understatement) getting the title. So we ended up having to drive to California to do some paperwork at the DMV. So we decided to make a trip of it. My Mom and Grandma kept the kids we left at 4:30 am and got back about 10:00 pm. We drove straight down to Yreka and did the paperwork then ate lunch at a place Jordan ate at years and years ago. We then made a quick pit stop (so we thought) at the convenient store to get snacks, where we ended up pit stopping for about 30 minutes because the locking mechanism on the door broke. We had to call AAA and have them break into the truck. After that we decided to drive home through the Redwoods and back up the coast. It was an awesome trip. 

Jordan calling AAA when the door lock broke

Us Killing time waiting for the tow truck 

Redwoods

  Next up is our annual Memorial Day camping trip. We were all so excited to go this year. The kids are getting older and know what camping is and how much fun it is. The kids and I slept in the camper the night before we left just for the fun of it. They loved it. We lucked out on the weather. It misted/sprinkled in the mornings but it was beautiful the rest of the day. All the kids had so much fun and were so good playing together. I can't wait for our next camping trip, which I think will be in July with Jordan's family at Cresent Lake. 

Ranger rides were a hit this year

The whole group

  We had a record breaking Hay Season this year. We have never done hay so early in May before. Or so fast. We did both my Grandmas and my Aunt and Uncles hay in less than a week. Amazing!!! It went so well this year with no break downs and tons of help. Jordan loves doing hay. 

Bailing with ChaCha

  So we have one of our goats left that hasn't had her kids yet. I've had her pinned up for a few weeks now and we are all waiting to see how many she will kid. She is huge! She was our first goat, Fern. So we are really excited for her to have her kids. I'm praying that it will go a little easier than the last bunch did. 

  Austyn has a few more days until summer break! She is so ready to be done. And just have the summer to play. She's pretty excited about her new Kindergarten next year. I'm sure that will wear off the closer it gets. She just finished T-ball. She did really really well and actually liked it. Usually after the first practice of anything sports or dance she is done with it. But she enjoyed herself in T-ball. It was so cute. She will be doing swim lessons and Scandinavian dance again this summer. She has gotten so tall and slender (for her). I can't believe how old she is getting. She is so witty and sweet. 

  Quade is definitely enjoying the warmer weather. All he wants to wear is his undies and rubber boots. So with the nicer weather it's a little easier to make that happen. He has so much energy he just percolates most of the time. He talks a million miles a minute mostly about bear hunting, or his tractors and trucks with big tires or finding Cougars and shooting them. He is so much boy it seeps out of him. I watch him in amazement most of the time. He has gotten a bit better with being able to control his temper a smidge bit. He is much better about reasoning with him and being able to talk him down. I'm hoping this is maybe a turning point with him (fingers crossed). He will also be doing swim lessons this summer. It will either be really really good or really really bad. I may have to hide behind the fence while he's in the water? We'll see how it goes. 

  Jordan is busy as always with odds and ends projects around the house and planning for new projects we would like to get done this summer. 

  And I am planning for a great summer with the kids. With swimming, camping in the back yard, fishing, and anything that's different and fun for them. 

  Hope everyone is have a great start to your summer. 

  

  

Mother's Day . . .

O  First of all, it's still a little surreal that I'm a part of Mothers Day. I got to wake up to the face of an angel, my precious baby Austyn spent the night in my bed with me. Then Quade decided to sleep in and let us sleep until 8:00! So right there my day started off amazing. Jordan came home and brought me hot chocolate and made a Mothers Day card with the kids. Then we left for the aquarium. We had so much fun! Kids were amazing and had a blast. We then went to downtown Newport and saw around 100 sea lions all on the docks. That was almost better than the aquarium. We headed home and visited Jordan's mom for a minute and then went to pizza with my whole family. It was a very good day. 

Austyn thinks "selfies" are the coolest

My whole world!

Quades crabby hat. 

The kids got their faces painted and chose glitter face paint. Note to self, never again. We swear the lady used super glue to stick the glitter on. 

Salt water taffy in his cheek and ball in his hand. How couldn't he fall asleep?

Thank you family for making the day so special. 

Pet Parade Fun . . .

  It's pet parade time again!!!!! I love the pet parade. We went as Cowboys and Indians this year. Austyn and I and Chocolate Chip went as the Indians. And the boys went as Cowboys with KODA. They won 1st place. The prize was $15 and a whole bucket of horse treats, brushes, candy, and coupons to the feed store. Austyn was beside herself when she won. We had gone to the feed store the day before and they had the prizes put on display. She was determined she was going to win when she saw the prizes. The weather was perfect again and there were so many cute costumes. We had the whole Pertersen clan dressed up and parading around. It was so fun. I love making the costumes. I think we may be using these same costumes for Halloween this year. Only time will tell. 

This was the start of her costume. 

And this was after I bedazzled it. I made Quades vest and an adorable pair of chaps (that he wouldn't wear). 

Chocolate Chip was amazing. She stood so still while I painted her. And she let me tie feathers and beads around her legs. She's an amazing horse. 

The boys and KODA. 

Best picture of the day. 

The big WIN!

The whole gang. 

April Adventures . . .

  Oh my lord it's been a strange month for me. I looked back over my last post, which was just one month ago, and it seems like it's been six months since then. I can't decide if it's just been so busy it seems like we've done 6 months worth of things or it has just dragged by. Either way, it's been only a month. I have a ton of pictures and I think it would be easiest to tell our latest by giving a quick run down on each picture. And then I'll see if I left anything out. Here we go ...

Jordan thought it would be an excellent idea to shave his head. He said he wanted to see the shape of his head. I told him I could have saved him from looking retarded and told him it was round😊

We finally got to experience the new trampoline place in town. It was amazing. Austyn is attempting to walk a tight rope which is over a huge mat. This place was filled with all sorts and sizes of trampolines. My favorite were the ones that ran up the wall. It had great big foam pits to jump in too. Great place for all ages. 

My parents on one of their little quad finds ended up with this adorable motorcycle. Quade has claimed it as his. And he thought it needed to be cleaned after he rode it. 

This is the outfit Quade would choose everyday. Undies with rubber boot (no socks). THATS IT! Not the ideal riding attire, but he's happy. 

When I wanted a boy this is the picture I had in my mind. Laying on his tummy in his undies playing with trucks (quads will do). My heart is so happy. 

She is the best. So glad she is in my kids lives like she was in mine. 

Fishing with his Daddy. Pretty cute if I do say so myself😊

I'm not talking about the bald head 

Mowing with Daddy

Here's a funny story😣 One day I was picking Chocolate Chips pen and decided to brush her so I walked through the gate and closed it behind me (not latching it) and before I could blink she was out and running through the hay field. Every time I got close to her she'd put her tail up and run. She did this until she got to the farthest possible corner away. Then she just walked right to me and let me catch her😤 Needless to say, the field was VERY wet along with my shoes and pants. I had in the mean time called Jordan to come help me catch her so he picked me up on the quad and we lead her back to the barn. 

We took the kids to Hentzes for an Easter egg hunt. It was so cute. There was barely anyone there and the kids had a blast. After that Jordan took the kids to a friends place for another little hunt while I made a dish for a family Easter get together. 

Easter morning! 

So after they found eggs and their baskets at home our good friend who lives at our old house called the kids and said that the Easter bunny forgot they had moved and he had hid eggs and presents all over the place. It was so amazing. Lucky kids. 

After the two hunts we were off to Easter in Albany with Jordan's Grandparents. It was so much fun. The food was great, everyone was there, and the weather was perfect for the kids. Couldn't have been better. 

Oh the great help I get folding clothes. 

Ok how amazing is this?! This is my moms wedding dress. Austyn has been asking to wear it forever and my Grandma was watching the kids one day and I came back to find this. The funny thing about this is that everything fit Austyn perfectly except for the length. 

Showed the kids some alligators on our walk around the golf course. They loved it. 

I babysit on Mondays and I had an extra this Monday. Needless to say we had an all boy day!

We got to go see the Garth Brooks concert!! It was so much fun. 

Helping some friends work their sheep. The kids had so much fun. 

My mom and I took the kids to Wildlife Safari while the boys went over East to shoot. We had the best time ever. The animals were all out and so close. Quade was wild about these bears. He is crazy about bears. 

And this is him with his pack on and gun ready for his bear hunt. 

That's it for the last month of pictures. So a quick run down on everyone:

 Austyn is starting t-ball soon. She is very excited about it. Usually after the first practice she's over it, but we will see. She is over school for the year. Once the sun starts coming out consistently it's so hard to get her to go to school. She's also very excited for the pet parade this year. She will be going as an Indian and dressing Chocolate Chip up as her Indian horse. It's going to be cute. I haven't decided if I'm going to have Quade do it or not. It's an awful long walk for him. I was thinking about making him a Trapper and leading the two mini donkeys with furs on them. We will see how motivated I get. 😉 

 Quade is so good at talking. Amazing how much clearer he is in just a couple months since his Birthday. He is still struggling a little bit with the control issue, but is so much better. I'm expecting it to keep getting better and better. But man he sure gave us a run for our money for awhile there. He still loves to ride anything with a motor and pretend to hunt alligators,cougars, bears, and wolves. 

 Jordan had started physical therapy for his shoulder and hopefully it will take care of the issue so he can avoid surgery. Only time will tell. He has gotten his "new to him" truck all fixed up and road worthy. Just waiting for some paperwork and then he will be rollin in his new ride. 

  Same ole same ole for me. Austyn and I planted our flowers and I've been just soaking up the time with the kids. My mom has always told me that every stage has been her favorite with her kids (us). I'm hoping she's right (always is) because I couldn't imagine it being better than it is right now with the kids. I can honestly say I've loved every stage with the kids so far. Except of course those rough few weeks with Quade. But I wouldn't take those back because I learned so much about him and myself during that time. Summer is going to be the best one yet. I can already tell. We have our camping trips planned. And hopefully we will get some projects done around the house this summer. I'm hoping it will be a bit more laid back than last year. But I know as well as you that that probably won't happen. 

  Hope everyone is getting ramped up for summer.