We have friends!

Justin and I have always joked with our family that we don't have any friends. It seems like we've always had trouble making friends and actually getting anyone to WANT to hang out with us. We could never understand why (because we are so dang fun!) but that was the truth. We are proud to say: NOT ANY MORE! We have friends! Actually, we've been slowly getting to know some friends since moving to our home, but we've recently spent the weekend with 5 other couples (and our 11 total children) from our neighborhood so we feel like we all know each other pretty well now. We took them to my Dad's cabin in Alton and we had a great time. We ate, we relaxed, we hiked, we chased our kids, and Justin and I conquered our lack of friends! Everyone was so pleasant and funny. We love our friends! Thank you, everyone, for coming. You brought wonderful food and made the weekend one to remember.

I learned that Justin is in the wrong career. He should have been a tour guide for a National Park. He planned out our daily adventures to Bryce Canyon and Cedar Mtn. Or he could have been a shepherd... getting us all to one place whether we wanted to go or not. Baaa. Baaa. Nolan had a fun time with all those kids, even though he was in his own world searching out trouble: the dishwasher, the carbon monoxide detector, the garbage can, the pantry, etc. It was a great trip. Thank you to my Dad who let us stay at the cabin. He is always so generous! I was pathetic at taking pictures. I'm going to be getting copies of everyone else's, but until then here are the three I have to share. We played the Wii and the kids loved playing with balloons. What fun!

Grandparents

Last week, Nana (Kenzee's grandma) came to visit from San Diego. We've never seen Nolan show so much affection to one person. Seriously. He was always kissing her! He was really eating up all that attention she gave him. Nana would say things like, "Is that so? Whatever you say, I believe you!" It was great to have her visit and see our home. She's just the sweetest little Nana ever... I'm pretty sure she's about 4 ft. 5 in. tall.

And then we went to Logan so that Nolan could visit his Grandma Kathi (Justin's Mom) and both sets of great-grandparents. Justin and I helped Kathi build two garden boxes. We went to Summerfest because her band, "The Hotflashes" were playing. It was fun except that Nolan got sunblock in his eyes. So sad! We had a great dinner with all of Justin's grandparents. It was really a nice Father's Day until the drive home. We have since ordered a portable DVD player. We love all of the grandparents in our lives... thanks for all you do for us and Nolan!

And lastly, I'll share some of the silly pics of Nolan that we've recently taken. Turns out he loves lasagna. It makes a refreshing evening facial cream. (He did this on his own... we didn't even have to encourage him.)

And he discovered how to growl while chomping down fiercly on a straw, which seems fitting in his Superman p.j.'s.

And finally, if I say "Listen" when I first start the dishwasher, Nolan presses his ear against it to hear the water inside. He's always so curious!

Support

Hi everyone! Some of you may know my sister, Lacey. She's so awesome!!! She has a degenerative retinal disease that may one day leave her without her vision. She has come across a website that is donating to Foundation Fighting Blindness. We need all the help we can get! If you have a few minutes, please follow this link: http://www.rcause.org. Copy and paste it in your browser in case the link doesn't work.

All you need to do is click on the orange bar that says "RCause donates daily to this charity When you CLICK HERE. IT'S FREE." There's no limit, so keep clicking if you have the time. I hope that somehow researchers can find something to help Lacey's eyes. 

Tall and Skinny

I'm happy to report that Nolan's 15 month appointment went well (other than the long wait because the doctor wasn't even in the office yet!). He's finally showing a little weight gain. His birth at 8 lbs. 3 oz. was the only time he's been average in size. Ever since, he's dipped down in the 5th and 3rd percentiles. Now he is back in the double digits at the 10th percentile!!! He's huge! Even more impressive (to his parents) is that he's in the 75th percentile in height! I think Nolan and his Uncle Daren stole all the height genes for the Petersen family. We hope it lasts. We sure are thankful for our healthy little guy!

Meet Pierre

We've recently tried some "new" hand-me-downs on Nolan. We took one look and we've decided to plan a trip to France! Isn't Pierre so handsome? Oui, oui! We tried on a few other hats that were pretty cute, too. Nolan has a new hiding place in our closet. There's a picture below showing how he crawls behind Justin's clothes. He'll sit silently until we try to find him and then he'll pop out with a cheesy grin. What fun!

We had our RV pad and back patio cement poured. and we're pleased to be finished planning, buying, putting together, and installing our garden boxes. I didn't realize it was such a big project (and pricey!). Looking back, we should have only planned for 4 boxes, but I guess we can feed the neighbors if we grow too much food. IF anything grows, that is. We'll be late planting, so we'll see what comes of it. I like the idea of growing delicious vegetables and herbs... I feel so virtuous! Nolan wanted to help throughout the whole process. He knew exactly what to do with the table saw. And don't panic... it was unplugged and locked in place! The backyard has been regraded (3 times now) and we're ready for sod. We can't stand to let the weeds grow back again. The backyard is really coming along.