Cali's Preschool Graduation

So I think I'm still in denial that I have an almost Kindergartener. Cali will be five in just a couple of weeks! I'm not ready for that yet either. It's hard having her grow up, but I'm loving all the new things that come with every step. She had her preschool graduation last Thursday. It happened to be on the same day as our wedding anniversary, but we let that day be here day and celebrated our anniversary that weekend. Cali had such a fun day. That morning Cali, Isaac, JR and I all went with Cali's preschool class on a field trip to Thanksgiving point. They saw animals, rode ponies, and ate a sack lunch outside. It was really fun and we had a great time enjoying the activity as a family.

Here's Cali with her preschool class. Her teacher, Mrs. Adrienne, does such a good job with the kids. We'll miss having her be Cali's teacher.

As you can tell, Cali was super excited and had so much fun at Thanksgiving point with her class.

The pony rides are always a favorite :).

Isaac's first pony ride. He loved it!

They all had a blast playing together. It was hard to get a pic of Isaac because he was running around everywhere!

Isaac loved looking at all the animals.

Isaac and JR. JR was an excellent camera man that day :).

Cali eating lunch with her school class friends.

After the activity we all came home and rested for a little while. It was a hot day! That evening we had Cali's preschool graduation at our church building. Cali was so excited :). Thanks for those who were able to come. I know she loved having you all there!


Cali's preschool class all lined up in their graduation hats.

The tassels are just too cute :).

Cali getting her preschool graduation certificate and memory book from her teacher, Mrs. Adrienne.

Cali watching the slide show her teacher put together with the Aunt Anna.

Cali with her proud parents :).

This pic makes me laugh. Cali was trying to give Isaac hugs, but he was on a chair so it ended up on his neck somehow. Such sibling love :).

Isaac giving kisses to my good friend Jami after the program. He's such a little flirt!

We had such a great day celebrating Cali and her graduating from preschool. We love her so much and are so proud of how well she's doing in school. She's so excited and ready to go to kindergarten. I'm the one who's not ready! I'm glad I have the summer to prepare myself, but I'm sure I'll never be ready for her to get older. What a big girl I have :).

To the Best Wife and Mother

I've been trying to think of a fitting tribute to the woman that holds everything in our lives together, and everything I could think of just seemed to come up short (no pun intended).

And then I realized something. Kristen has so many great friends and family, including all of you regular Peterson Family blog readers, that love her dearly and can't imaging life without her, and they--YOU--are the ones who understand more than anyone just how wonderful life is with Kristen in it. It is only fitting, then, for me to share just a few of the reasons why I and our children love Kristen as our wife/Mother/best friend.

1. Kristen knows just how to make things right, whether she even realizes it or not. Her love, patience, and overwhelming kindness seem to shine through the darkest of moments--be it the ache of a sick kid, the frustrations caused by an idiot husband, or the fearful dread of dealing with cancer. Her outpouring of selfless love, love that isn't focused on solving a problem or receiving anything in return, softens hearts and endears all to her infectious charm.
2. Kristen is an amazing organizer. She can make sense out of the biggest pile of junk and turn it into a well sorted library of, well, junk. :) I'm afraid my constant clutter is shaving years from her life.... She also does wonders with our finances and keeps them organized so we stay afloat.
3. Kristen loves time with family and friends more than anything in this world. It's almost like watching someone walk into ecstacy when she is around those she loves. With a family the size of hers, and more good, close friends than Facebook can account for, I just wish I could give her more of what she really needs with those people: Time.
4. Kristen is truly a manic-expressive. If it's on her mind she's going to share it. The crazy part is that when she shares it she always seems to enjoy a willing, and often enthralled audience. I don't mean to have that sound like shock, but I know that if the fortunes were reversed and it was me doing the talking I would have a bunch of really annoyed people on my hands. Heck, I say more than a few words and that's how people get already! The wonderful thing about her gift is that all the best parts of it have been passed on to our kids. I'm just hopefull that I'll be able to account for something positive in their lives. :)

The list could go on, but then I wouldn't be able to get away from my computer, which is something I already spend too much time with.

Happy Mother's Day sweetheart! Cali, Isaac, and I love you more than we can ever say.

Happy Happy Birthday Isaac Dear...

Ok, sorry about the title. I think I've been in Primary too long ;). I already mentioned in a previous post that May is our crazy month. So many things going on with birthdays and anniversary's and such. But it's all good things :). Saturday we celebrated Isaac's 2nd birthday. It wasn't his official birthday, that's tomorrow. But a two year old doesn't know any different right? :) Two years old. I can't believe Isaac is two! He's definitely starting to act his age, if you know what I mean. But he's still cute so we're keeping him. I haven't made any promises for when he's a teenager, though. ;)

For Isaac's birthday we had a little party at my parents-in-law's home. Thank you Petersons for letting us have it there! It really was wonderful :). My parents, my brother Jeff, my sister Heather, her boyfriend, and my nephew Britton were all able to come, along with the Peterson clan, and Isaac's great grandma and grandpa Nelson. So it was a full house :). We had a BBQ, opened presents, and had cake and ice cream. When I say cake, I don't just mean any old cake. We ate the coolest cake ever! Well, at least me, JR and Isaac think so :).

What do you think?! It was seriously the funnest cake to make and it just makes me happy looking at it :). "The nose plays." LOL!

Here's some more pics of Isaac's fun party:

Isaac with his great grandma Nelson.

A rare moment with Isaac where he's actually looking at the camera! He was so into his party that he didn't have time to look or smile for the camera :).

Isaac opening his presents. This present was my favorite! JR's mom and sisters made Isaac a quiet book. It's amazing!

He looked so intense when he was opening all his gifts. He didn't know what to do with all his new stuff!

I love Cali's face in this one. She was so excited to see what Isaac got :).

Isaac's big toy from JR and I. He wanted it out of the box ASAP.

He LOVES his new Spongebob PJ's. I think he's trying to stick his tongue out like Spongebob is :).

Isaac with grandma and grandpa Weeks. He's holding some balls that they gave him. Such a great gift for a two year old!

Oh, and just because I can, here's a pic of JR's sister Anna before she left for Prom the night of Isaac's party. Doesn't she look gorgeous! And to make it better, she went with a special needs kid. Isn't she cute :).

Isaac was a little overwhelmed I think with all the gifts and the party, but he loves all his presents and has had so much fun playing with it all. He also didn't quite know what to think about his Spongebob cake when we first brought it out, but now he will not stop talking about it! "Baba cake!". I was so proud of him because he blew out his candles all by himself, and we hadn't even practiced with him. He's such a big boy and I'm so happy that he's mine :). Happy Birthday Isaac! We love you!!!