Come see, Mommy!

This evening I was working some magic at the grill when Nolan came over and said, "There's a lizard up there. Come see, Mommy." He didn't seem all that enthusiastic but I thought I would help him get a close look. I asked him where it was and he continued to point to the side of the house. I still wasn't seeing anything... I figured it was a little baby that had already run away. We walked the length of the home and he finally said, "It's right there!"

Whoa!!! Lizard? More like a freaky wild dragon!!! Here is what he showed me:
I could hardly believe I was seeing this in my yard. It had to be just over a foot long with the tail and probably 3.5 inches wide at the belly. And Nolan didn't seem to think it was anything out of the ordinary. I ran to get Justin and the camera and headed back out. We thought it might be dead, but suddenly he jumped onto his feet in an aggressive charging position. I began screaming and yelling for the boys to get back. Later I said, "Justin, you know that was scary when he got up on his haunches like that." and Justin said, "The only scary thing was your screaming." Nolan just had this look of "What is going on?"
We made a few calls and the sheriff said he'd come help. We have no animal control here so he was the next best thing. He actually didn't know what to do with it at first. We figure that it is a bearded dragon that got loose from it's owner. He called a local pet shop and they said they'd take it. That way it will live and they'll give the owner a while to claim it. I'm pretty sure Sheriff Mott was not pleased about picking him up. I have a feeling he's more comfortable with handling criminals. But he did well. What an adventure!
Justin called a few of our immediate neighbors to ask if they had a missing pet. When they came out to have a look Justin later confided, "I figured you guys didn't have a pet lizard but I didn't want you to think this was a domestic abuse case." Nope - no wife beating tonight.

Youth Conference and much more!

This week has been so exciting. I'll start with last Sunday. When I awoke from my rare and glorious nap, my two nieces were at our home. Lacey had gone into labor! I just knew she wouldn't wait until Wednesday, her induction day. It was nice having the girls over to play with my boys since I had lots of packing to do for youth conference. Just before I left at 6:45 a.m. the next morning, we got word that the little guy was finally here. Lacey and baby Travis had a rough time (forceps and all), but they are doing well. We're happy to have another boy grandchild in the mix, especially one as cute as him! I'll get pictures soon to prove it.

So I left Justin with four children as I headed off for youth conference! I was so excited I couldn't sleep the night before. It did not disappoint. There were many fun activities, water fights, sports games, a fun dance, lots of good food (anything tastes better when I don't have to cook it), great spiritual moments, etc. etc. Our youth are awesome and I had a great time with the other leaders as well. If not for the lack of sleep I would have stayed a couple more days if I could! I felt like I was in high school again going to the dance and staying up late eating junk food and playing games. My bedroom even got slammed with water balloons at 1 a.m. The stake made a handful of boys write me apology letters. Poor kids... I thought it was funny! What an adventure. Justin did so well with the kids. He had the house clean and even had to take care of Kendyll's bloody nose. My mom only had to babysit one afternoon (thank you!!). It was a fabulous break for me. Next time we'll have to take a break together. Thanks, Doodah!

This week we've also been exploring in the moutains and tried a new local frozen yogurt shop. Delicious! We saw an official Home Depot stock car where Ezra tried his first cotton candy and Nolan threw another hideous tantrum. Justin took Nolan to an Elders Quorum activity this morning. They went shooting. Yes, we put a 22 semi-automatic rifle in the hands of our 3-year-old. Justin said that Nolan took a shot, looked around, and then continued shooting all over with a serious look on his face (Dad never took his hands off the rifle, of course). He then wanted to try the handgun... that's where Daddy drew the line!

A Good Day

It's only noon, and so far we've enjoyed the swings at the playground, went swimming with the cousins at Aunt Lacey's house, grilled hotdogs, and enjoyed shortcake with strawberries, blueberries, and real whipping cream. Could this summer day get any better? It might if only I didn't have to mop the kitchen floor.

Happy Summer!

Summer Days

Nolan recently completed swimming lessons at Deseret Peak. He was typically the first one to hop into the water, often announcing to his teachers, "Here I am!" There was a brief near-drowning experience with him and another girl. I looked over and saw them floundering underwater. I was able to reach Nolan and when I pulled him out it caught the attention of the lifeguard who jumped in for the girl. Scary, but Nolan recovered okay. He would come home and say, "I'm such a fast swimmer." Most of the days we would stay and swim afterward. Ezra loves the water and I even enjoyed going down the waterslide with Nolan. It was always fun to see our friends, Jaxon and Marshall, and our cousins, Ryan and Kendyll.

During one of his lessons, I was watching him from the side. I heard his teacher say, "What are you looking at, buddy?" as she tugged her swimming suit up. She looked at me and it was obvious that he was checking out her cleavage. I laughed and said, "Oh, his Mom isn't lucky enough to have that so he's very interested." A little awkward but she thought it was funny.

We also went to the Moulton Reunion which was held in Alton at my parents' cabin. At one point, we had 48 people in attendance. It was nice to have lots of space, good food, fun conversation, and time away from work and cleaning. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Moulton, and all of those who came. We missed you if you weren't there, especially Jodi and Daren's families.

The first morning, we woke up at 5:45 a.m. to drive to Panguitch for a Hot Air Balloon Festival. We were amazed at how much fun it was to see 36 balloons being launched all around us, all within 30 to 45 minutes. Nolan and Grandma K were hoping for a ride, but it didn't happen in the end. Luckily, Nolan did get to walk around inside the balloon part as they were blowing it up with the fan (not the propane tank!). It was quite a sight and worth the loss of sleep.

We did a little hiking and had some bad luck at Cascade Falls - which was closed. But I think everyone had a good time in the end, especially cooling off at the waterfall near Bryce Canyon.

There was a bit of excitement when I was reading my book in the corner of the family room and turned to see a chipmunk staring at me. I quietly alerted Justin so that we didn't alarm anyone. Well, all the children became very interested as we tried to direct the chipmunk out the sliding door. Soon there were children everywhere and the poor chipmunk couldn't find a direct path anywhere. After shooing him out from under the oven, we finally got him to turn the corner. He nearly ran right into Nolan and my feet, but we quickly scared him out the door. Victory! After that everyone was much more dilligent about keeping the doors closed.
The highlight of the trip (for Nolan and Justin) was a 3.1 mile hike at Bryce Canyon, with an elevation change of 1500 feet. We started on the trail, but many of us soon turned around when we realized how hot and tired the children would be. It was a good thing Grandma K turned back with me because she was able to carry Ezra back up. My back is too weak (I know, pathetic) so she was a big help. Ez cried nearly the whole way back. I was worried about Justin and Nolan. Nolan had insisted on continuing. I pictured Justin having to trudge up the switchbacks with him on his back as he took puffs from his inhaler. After lazing about at the visitor's center for 2 hours, Justin told me that Nolan was quite the little champ! He was the only tike that never complained or asked to be carried. We're so proud of our little hiker and spelunker (he liked the caves, too). In fact, all the family at the top cheered him on as he came over the rim. He later told me, "I'm a very good hiker!"

Birthday Bash

We had a wonderful birthday weekend in Logan, celebrating our little Ezra. We can't hardly believe he is one year old, but we threw him a big party anyway! It was fun to enjoy Grandma K's backyard and the beautiful weather. A big thanks to everyone who came and brought food. Thanks even if you didn't bring food. It was fun! I have a feeling Ezra knew exactly that it was his special day. He would crawl around looking at everyone, giggling, smiling, and grunting. And what could be better than eating cake pops and his own ice cream cone?! Happy day, little man!

I got the idea for the cake from my cousin, who pointed me to bakerella.com. Those little bees are like eating pure joy!

Stats and Alarms

Teenie tiny Ez is only 17 lbs. 12 oz. - that's just under the 3rd percentile for weight. He is 28 in. tall (12%) and his head is 18 in. (60%). He might be little but he's still smart! We'll be taking him in every month to weigh him to make sure he's gaining. The doctor said it might be because he's crawling faster now with his tummy off the floor and he's standing up to everything. He's burning more calories. I think it's partly because I'm trying to quit breastfeeding and he's still not getting enough whole milk yet. But we all know Justin and I won't have a heavyweight champ, so I'm not worried.

I'll be posting about Ez's birthday weekend in Logan a little later, but I thought I'd jot down another "endless alarm" experience. Do you remember our camping experience? Well this wasn't quite as bad, thank goodness, but bad enough. We ran into Best Buy so that Grandma K could look at TVs. As we were browsing, Nolan pushes open an emergency exit door and a very obnoxious, loud alarm sounds. Oh jeez. Not another alarm. Well, several workers walked over, I apologized, and I figured it would be turned off in a jiffy. Turns out the workers' key was broken. They messed around with the door for a bit, and then walked off. At this point, we're all feeling very sheepish. They send for reinforcements but no luck... the alarm is still sounding and customers are starting to clear out. By now there's about 8 to 10 employees (I guess they have that many employees for occasions such as these) swarming around dealing with the alarm. After about 5 minutes, they located the "chosen one" who had the magical key and peace was again restored. Other than us and some die hards looking to buy a huge plasma, the place was empty (oh yeah, and the 10 employees). Justin made sure one of the tall, ominous workers gave Nolan a little talking to (he's learning about natural consequences) and we were out the door. For some reason, Grandma K was no longer interested in looking at TVs.

Portraits

The boys are 1 and 3 years old so we headed to the portrait studio. They turned out great considering Nolan is at the "fake smile" stage, and Ezra is crawling all over like a wild man. Love these cuties! We're looking forward to a fun celebration for Ezra's birthday this weekend.

Feeling Happy

All is well in the Petersen home. We've planted our vegetable garden, the flowers are blooming, and we're enjoying some warmer weather. Justin actually took 4 days off for Memorial weekend (including his regular Friday off since he works 4 10's) which is wonderful because he's been working 60+ hours a week lately. It was great to have some family time without any laptops or blackberries interfering. So naturally, we headed into town and bought a TV and entertainment center. I've said it before and I'll say it again: we love IKEA! We started Monday off at the nearby track where we got a little exercise as a family and tried to teach Nolan some baseball skills. Justin and I ended up practicing our batting skills while Nolan ran around the track yelling, "I'm exercising with by myself." (His words, not mine.) The rest of the day was spent doing yard work, washing/waxing the van, and mopping the kitchen floor. Not exactly fun holiday stuff, but it felt good to get it done.

Ezra has two new words this week. "uh-oh" and "wow." He kind of whispers the "wow" sound and makes his mouth open really big. He also loves feeding mom and dad his snacks. As we pretend to eat from his hand, he makes the movements with his mouth along with us. I've officially cut off the breastfeeding at night because I've started giving him cow's milk in a sippy cup. If he gets up in the night, it's a quick sip and back to bed. Pretty soon he'll be on cow's milk only... yahoo! Of course I've loved bonding with Ez, but bonding time is over, buddy!

We had a fabulous visit at a nearby park today with 3 of our friends. They each have two boys also, so there was a total of 8 boys age 3 and under. Good to know there are lots of little friends for my kids. The park play ended early when I caught Nolan hiding behind a nearby fence. I knew immediately he had dropped a bomb in his underwear... again. This poo in the underwear has got to stop. It's starting to get me down. Poor guy is doing great otherwise, though. He'll get it! Apparantly our bribes of gum, new Legos, train rides, and a computer in his bedroom aren't working.

We recently got a water softener. That has immensely improved my quality of life. Softer skin, no more eczema for Ez, less time spent cleaning, less soap, cleaner dishes, the list goes on and on. It's fabulous! There's the trouble of expense and hauling salt from the store, but I'm willing to overlook that (or at least make Justin deal with it)!

That's the report for the week. Hope everyone's summer is off to a happy start!