Craig & Sue Petersen Family Reunion

While my parents were both here, we headed over to Bear Lake to enjoy a few days together at the cabin with the whole family. We jokingly called it "the Craig and Sue Petersen Family Reunion." We had a fantastic time and I didn't do a great job taking pictures. I was looking back through these and realized I don't have any pictures of my mom from this summer. I'm not sure how that happened because we were with her practically all the time. I will do better when they come home for Christmas!

 

The kids all LOVE Chelsea and McKall.

Crazy Abby.

I didn't take any other pictures, but we spent an absolutely glorious day at the beach. Chelsea was such a good sport and rented a paddle board and played on it with the kids. It was our last beach day of the summer and we couldn't have hoped for more!

We got some fantastic family pictures professionally taken while we were at Bear Lake. I will post them when I get them.

Fair & Rodeo

We look forward every year to the fair and rodeo. Garrett showed a cow again this year. Abby said she will show one when she is six, so I guess we have a few more years to wait for her debut. Garrett loves showing cows and our neighbors are so awesome to let him do it. He did a great job!

 

Pops flew in from China just in time for the rodeo. Abby was THRILLED to see him and didn't want to get off his lap. This pictures are so sweet.

Garrett was so excited to participate in the mutton-bustin again. He had practiced and was so excited, but his sheep ran out of the gate and right into a group of guys standing there. They just pushed it away and pushed Garrett off the sheep in the process. It was disappointing to not even really get a fair chance after he had been so excited and he felt bad at first, but once they handed him his little trophy, he was thrilled and it was all good.

 

Did I mention the kids were excited to see Pops???

Happy Birthday to Reese!!!

Our sweet little Reesie turned one at the end of July. The kids all got sick right before her birthday and she was basically miserable for most of her big day. Greg was working under a crazy deadline to finish a work project and was out of town. The kids and I were planning on going to meet him and spending the day with him, but their sickness kind of hijacked that plan and we just stayed home. I was ready to just throw in the towel and forgot about her birthday, but my dear mom wouldn't let that happen. She brought home cupcakes and Reese perked up enough to enjoy one for a few minutes.

 

She was happy enough after that I quickly dressed her in her birthday outfit and snapped a quick picture before she relapsed. It's a good thing she won't remember her first birthday, because it wasn't exactly memorable.

We did have a simple party the next week when she was feeling better. She LOVED her new car (and so did McKall). It plays music and Reese would get in there and just jam out. Watching them play in the car provided some great entertainment for all of us.

She couldn't get into her animal crackers fast enough.

There were lots of helpers for gift-opening.

Time for more cupcakes! I think I had my sister take pictures of this and forgot to get them from her. Oops. Just imagine a sweet little redheaded baby eating cake...or look at the pictures at the beginning of this post and you will get the idea.

Boy cousins are hard to come by in this family! We sure love Owen.

I'm not sure why this picture posted at the bottom, but I had to share it because it is so cute. Garrett got sick at the same time Reese was. (Abby got it, too. Fun times!) Garrett was really nervous his friends would come over and want to play and he didn't want to get any of them sick, so he made this cute little sign and posted it on the bedroom door. (It says "Keep Out" for those of you who don't read the language of 6-year-olds).

Back to Reese...what a sweet joy she has been in our lives. She is her daddy's girl all the way and the two of them absolutely adore each other. It is heartwarming to watch them together. We think she is a mini-me of Greg, so it is only fitting. She loves her brother and sister and they will do anything to make her laugh. I have cherished this first year with her and have tried to love every minute. I guess having Garrett and Abby get older has made me realize how quickly children really do grow, and I feel like I have been more willing to let housework, laundry, and other things slide just a bit so I can snuggle with her while she will still let me.

Reese was a fussy baby at first and developed a bit of a bad reputation, but she flipped a switch and is the sweetest little angel you could ever imagine. Her red hair gets her lots of attention everywhere we go and she has a precious little smile and giggle that I could never get enough of. She is a great little sleeper and loves to eat just about anything. We are so blessed to have her in our family!

Summer: Part 2

We spent the 4th of July in Bear Lake at the old family cabin. Uncle Ric added a Rhino to his fleet this year and the kids were constantly fighting over who got to ride with him.

Jan brought her famous "fun bag" and entertained the kids for hours with this moon sand. Seriously, where does she get these brilliant ideas? I guess all those years of elementary school teaching are paying off!

We loved getting drinks and dogs at Zipz while they kids played on the boats.

The beach was absolutely heavenly.

The kids are all in love with Juanito Bandito and Pickleville Playhouse. Seeing the show was a highlight of their summer and they were quoting Bandito for days!

Happy 4th of July!

Garrett saw some kids at the beach with a crawdad and was determined to catch his own. He couldn't wait for his dad to arrive so they could try to catch some. We spent lots of time trying, but weren't successful in catching a crawdad during this trip.

We surprised the girls with "Frozen" nightgowns... a big hit!!!

We were out for a drive one evening and saw a sign for the Bear Lake Rodeo. It was about an hour away from starting and they were still taking applications for mutton bustin, so we signed Garrett up. He was in shorts and flip-flops, so we hurried back to the cabin and changed his clothes and went back to the rodeo. He was really nervous at first, but he absolutely loved it and did such a great job. He was so excited for his medal and kept asking when he could do it again.

We came home for a few days and then headed back to Bear Lake with Greg's family and their friends. We always have a wonderful time with them and this year did not disappoint. The cabin, beach, friends, food, you name it...it was awesome!

After Bear Lake, we had a fabulous Lagoon Day with Willy and Jan. They spoiled the kids rotten and we had so much fun!

We stayed in SLC for a few days and went with Chelsea to This is the Place Park. We had never been before and it was so cool! The kids loved going back in time for a day and experiencing a small glimpse of pioneer life.

Sweet Reese doing what she does best...sleeping and eating!

We look forward every year to our town celebration on the 24th of July. Abby loved the dance and gathering candy, Garrett and Greg rode horses in the parade, Reese hung out in her stroller, the Airplane Ping-Pong Drop was a smashing success, and Garrett even got the special job of turning on the water from the hydrant for the fire department foam party. Good times all around!!!