Our Adventures Back East: Washingtion D.C

We spent the first week of our trip in Washington DC. We stayed with Uncle David on Andrews Air Force base. During our week we:

Spent some quality time snuggling with Grandma. Mom was very happy get her hands on Abram.

We played in the pool. We had BEAUTIFUL weather.

This is Uncle Isaac. Those muscles are real. Much to my dismay, I couldn't beat him in a wrestling match. I fought hard, but he took me down. Beat by my youngest brother...It was humiliating.

When we got tired of splashing, we migrated to the playground. You can't tell in this picture, but the kids were sitting on a rocket ship shaped toy that rocks back and forth. Noah is making his blast off- rocket ship noises in this picture.

Uncle David also took us on a VIP tour of the base. We got to see the President's golf course, where Air Force One is housed, some very cool fighter jets, and a hands on visit to their helicopter fleet. The pilots took time to explain how all the knobs and buttons work, and any other questions we had. This was not Noah's first time in a helicopter, but he still thought it was pretty awesome.

As did Uncle Eli.

And Pops too.

We also spent time touring DC. We started with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unnamed Soldier. We then walked across the Potomac toward the Mall.

Along the way, we took a few pictures with the Washington Monument. This is my mom and dad. 

 

This is me and Abram. Obviously, Abram's hat is on backwards.

We also took some pictures at the Lincoln Memorial. My picture with Honest Abe must have been taken with my parent's camera. So here's another picture of Pops.

Our perfect weather for the pool translated into one HOT walk across the mall. To cool down, we paid a visit to the WWII Memorial.

We all enjoyed the cool water. Especially Abram. Despite the heat, he was a very happy camper.

Noah, was not as thrilled to be sightseeing in the heat- Even with all the cold water he could drink while being pulled along in an awesome blue wagon.

We also spent some time in the Smithsonian at the Air and Space Museum. The kids loved it (the air conditioning was nice too). In fact, they loved it so much we went back the next day for another visit.

 

We also took a trip down to Mount Vernon. That is the home of George and Martha Washington. We toured their house (which has an incredible view of the river), the surrounding buildings, their graves, the museum and we even got to listen to a lady who was dressed up as Martha tell stories about George.

Last, but not least, we got to see Uncle Eli play his tuba in the Independence Day Parade. He spent the fourth of July marching behind Curious George in the HOT, hot sun. Apparently some kids from other marching bands were passing out from the heat- but thankfully Eli and his High School Band were able to survive without any causalities. We showed up early enough to get a good seat along the side of the road. Much cheering and clapping, and photo taking ensued when Eli walked by. Once he passed us by, we promptly packed our wagon, bid farewell to our curbside neighbors, and went back to base where we spent the rest of our Fourth of July...swimming.

The Fun Continues...

Leaving Grandma Petersen's did not mean the end of our summer fun. Tyler had already returned to Gainesville when Noah, Naomi, Abram and I boarded our plane bound for Baltimore, Maryland. We were on our way to spend a few weeks with my family touring Washington D.C., visiting grandparnets, and traveling to upstate New York.  

Our adventure began at the airport. We were quite a specticle, the kids and I. The show began with our bright blue wagon. It's quite a nifty little thing. It's made of canvas and has a folding frame so that it fits very nicely in your trunk. Here's a picture of it. The top detaches.

I had the wagon, but instead of towing children, I was towing car seats. Two of them. One BIG and one smaller booster. The big one filled up almost the entire wagon. On top the car seats I had bags. Three of them to be exact. My jumbo purse. A tote bag filled with snacks, my scriptures, kids jackets, etc.. and Noah's backpack- filled with kid friendly activities for he and Naomi to do on the plane. In addition to pulling the wagon, I also had Abram strapped to the front of me in one of those child carriers that is combination of an octopus and a strait jacket with straps going up and around, getting buckled here and there. Next  in the enterage was Naomi. She was wearing her Abby dog backpack complete with long furry tail (AKA- leash) which Noah was in charge of hanging onto. Noah, being a very dutiful brother was constantly coaxing her along or chasing behind her with me calling out for her to slow down. Walking down the terminal it was as if the The Petersen Family Circus was in town. Everywhere we went people stopped and stared. Grins spread across the faces of all the old timers as memories of travels with their own children came to mind. Other parents with young children observed with obvious expressions of sympathy. Some offered words of encouragement. Still others looked on with annoyance. I'm sure I reaffirmed to a few individuals their decision to never have children.

It got worse once we boarded the plane. I had to leave the wagon at the door to be gate checked. This resulted in me carrying two car seats, a baby and two bags down the narrow airplane walkway. As soon as I came into view ll of the passenger's eyes widened in amazement as they leaned away from the isle to avoid being hit as I scooted along. Luckily, waiting for us three quarters of the way back was Grandma Abby (Grandma's Artinger) and Uncle Isaac! They had boarded the plane in Reno and were ready and waiting for us to join them on the last leg of their flight! There were a few minutes of craziness as we buckled in car seats and children, stowed our bags overhead and underneath the seats in front of us. But before long, we were ready for take off!

Noah was very excited to sit next to Uncle Isaac!

Grandma Abby brought presents for Noah and Naomi.

Flying on the plane to Utah and then to Baltimore were Abrams first big trips in the air. He was a pro!

It was a long plane trip. Caravaning through the airpot was exausting! So I did what every young mother does when they have their mommy around. I handed her Abram, gave her charge of the children, and took a nap! 

More Utah Fun

In our church, there is a song that the little children sing titled, "My Heavenly Father Loves Me." It has always been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. The words to the song are:

Whenever I hear the song of a bird
Or look at the blue, blue sky,
Whenever I feel the rain on my face
Or the wind as it rushes by,
Whenever I touch a velvet rose
Or walk by a lilac tree,
I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world
Heavenly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see
The color of butterfly wings.
He gave me my ears that I might hear
The magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:
I thank him reverently
For all his creations, of which I'm apart
Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

In a feeble effort to keep up with my exercise routine, I would try to go jogging around the neighborhood a few times a week. It is on these outings that I found myself marveling at the mountains, the trees, the wild flowers, listening to the sounds of children playing, with the words of My Heavenly Father Loves Me playing in my mind. I have to admit, when I think about our trip to Utah, this was one of my favorite parts. It was a perfect balance to the wonderful craziness that accompany a family reunion that involves 5 young children, a wedding, packing for a move, job searching, and LOTS of FOOD!

Of course, I didn't think to take a picture, so here are some pictures of some of our other fun adventures while we were Utah.

The HendRUN! Each year Rachel and Michael host a 5K run for all who wish to participate. Noah decided he wanted to run with the big boys instead of walk with all the mamma's and babies. I was impressed. He ran much further than I thought he would! You see the lady with the stroller and the blue pants on. That is Tyler's sister Brooke. She was thirty-two weeks pregnant and keeping up with the crowd. You go Aunt Brooke!

Grandma had some fun summer "flip-flop" Lolly pops that the kids enjoyed eating on the back patio.

We spent an afternoon swimming at some friends of Grandma's. We invited Aunt Alana, cousin Violet and new cousin Alice!

Noah and Naomi rode the carousal at the Riverwoods.

Uncle Michael helped Noah play the arcade games.

Noah and Naomi played in the fountain outside.

Noah was reluctant at first. He is not a fan of wet clothes. But after watching and with a little coaxing from Grandma he decided to join the fun. He still wasn't happy about his wet clothes though.

As for little Abram. He was a trooper. He spent the majority of the trip happily observing the commotion around him as he sat snuggled with grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and of course, mom and dad (no way were we going to let family have him the whole time!) Here he is with Aunt Rachel while we were in the arcades.

It was a grade "A" trip. Lots of  laughing, family fun, good good, and wonderful memories to take home with us. We even got a few decent pictures! Life must be good. 

A Very Eggs-ellent Breakfast

"Hey Look! It's twinners." Dad Petersen said as he cracked open his first egg. Not something you see every day. Then he cracked open his second egg. It was a twinners too! I'm not sure what the odds are that you would get two double yolked eggs in the frying pan at the same time, but my guess it's not very good. To remember and celebrate this historic event we...took a picture.

It's gotta make you wonder, What Are They Feeding

Those Chickens!!

Fire House Adventures

Uncle Ian, serving a mission for our church in Northern Pennsylvania, is a bit of a celebrity in our home. That is why we were very excited to read a letter from Uncle Ian just for Noah and Naomi. After I read the letter I asked Noah, "Are you going to be a missionary when you get older?" To my surprise Noah responded with a resounding "NO!" When I asked why, his response was, "Because I am going to be a Firefighter."

Noah has always been a fan of firefighters but his dream of becoming a firefighter was solidified after Grandma and Grandpa Petersen worked their Grandparent magic and arranged a VIP tour of the local fire station. While we were there we got to....

Look cute in Fireman Hats.

Sit in the Driver's Seat.

Climb through the truck.

Take an actual ride in the fire truck around the block. Noah even got to blow the horn!

Wear Some Authentic Fireman Gear.

Watch Uncle Michael get hoisted over 100 ft into the air on the latter.



Spray the Fireman hose. I helped Naomi.

Dad helped Noah. The pressure of the hose was VERY powerful!!

Take some fun family pics sitting on the fire truck.

And last but not least, hang out with some really awesome Fireman!!

The evening was wonderful. Noah was in little boy heaven. He didn't say much, but his eyes were big as saucers and he wore a grin the entire evening.

After the fire station we went to the Provo Airport and watched as fire trucks greeted the first Frontier airplane to land there. (Those pics didn't turn out.)

So thank you to our wonderful fireman friends. We appreciate all that you do and know that our little Noah is determined to join your ranks...Someday...After he serves a mission.

Marriage. Marriage is What Brings us Together Today. (Think of the priest from Princess Bride!)

June was a very exciting month for our family. We began with a birthday (I'll write about that later!). The next two weeks were filled with cleaning, packing, organizing, and left over eating in preparation for our trip to Utah! We left on Tuesday the 14th but the real excitement was Saturday the 18th when Brandon (Tyler's Brother) married his beautiful bride Amy in the Salt Lake Temple. Of course the kids were much more excited about their fancy new clothes, eating yummy cake, playing kitchen in the nursery room and dancing at the reception. Here are a few pics:

While I was upstairs getting ready for the evening, Tyler thought to take a few pics of the kids before the craziness began!



The reception started out at Amy's Aunt's home, but was later moved to the local church building due to the weather. Do you like the dress? It has a fun story. Looking for a "Coral Dress" wasn't going well and during one of our weekly playgroups I told a friend about my delimma. She went home and did some research and found this dress at Down East Basics. It was perfect! The dress was sold out online and there wasn't a store in Gainesville so I called Marilyn and she went shopping for me. Happily, she found one! Unfortunately, and fortunately, there was only one left and it was a medium. Having just had that adorable baby there in the picture, this left me in pickle. I knew when mom bought the dress there was no way I'd fit into it. So I spent the month before the wedding exercising and eating salad (I got very burnt out on salad) to make sure I fit into it. I can't even begin to tell you how yummy all of the desserts at the wedding tasted!

After six and a half years of marriage, three children, having survived law school and Tyler's LLM program, we look pretty good!

 Brandon and Amy tied the knot. Cake was eaten, the pictures turned out well, the mom's cried and the children behaved. The wedding was a success! Brandon and Amy left on their honeymoon Saturday night and then....THE FUN BEGAN!!

A Little Angel

March was a difficult month in the Petersen home. It started wonderfully with Abram's baby blessing and mom's visit, but quickly went downhill when Noah came home with the worst flu bug we have encountered and it proceeded to infect half the family. Within days both Tyler and Naomi were sick. Tyler and I tag teamed waking up to take temperatures, give cool baths, and administer medicine. Noah eventually developed bronchitis- Naomi pneumonia. Each day I desperately prayed that Abram wouldn't become the next victim. Finally by the end of the month, everyone was doing much better. I was grateful, but my house was a mess and I was exhausted.

On the thirtieth of March Tyler was scheduled to be sworn in before a federal judge as an attorney. That morning, Tyler mentioned he would like to have some friends over for dinner afterward to celebrate. He would cook dinner, all I had to do was make a cake. But like I said, my house was a mess so I felt the need to clean and the three kids and I had to be ready to leave by 1:30. Looking back, It doesn't seem like it should have been that hard, but that morning I felt terribly overwhelmed, depressed, and grumpy. My feelings intensified when my cake fell and I ended up having to bake another. After the second cake was finished I tackled the dishes. When they were done I picked up toys and swept the floor so I could mop.  I asked the kids to stay upstairs but they kept coming downstairs to get a drink, ask if they could help me, complain about the other sibling bothering them. It's not that they were doing anything so horrible or out of character for a little four and two year old, but at the time, I didn't feel like I could handle their questions, needs, and curious little fingers getting into things a moment longer.
Finally I looked at Noah and shouted, "I just can't be a good mom right now. I need you take Naomi and go Upstairs. I just can't be a good mom. You have to go." His shoulders slumped and his lip quivered as his eyes filled with tears and he took Naomi's hand and went up the stairs. Guilt now joined my overwhelming mixture of emotions and I abandoned my mop as tears of my own began to flow. The look on Noah's face continued to replay in my mind. I felt like a terrible mother. I didn't know how I could possibly get everything done in time. I felt utterly overwhelmed. Suddenly, there was Noah. He looked at me for a moment then gently wrapped his arms around me and said, "I love you." For the next few minutes he continued to comfort me while I cried. I could not help but think, "This is backwards. It's me who should be comforting him." But I knew that it was I who needed comfort and it was not just my little boy telling me of his love, it was my Father in Heaven. Returning to my mop, the task at hand didn't seem nearly as impossible as it did minutes before. My energy was renewed with the knowledge that I had a Father in Heaven who is aware of my struggles and that he will help me through them.
  I have no doubt that in our moments of need Heavenly Father inspires individuals to be his angels. That day, it was Noah. Standing in front of me he could have said any number of things, but instead he wrapped his arms around me and spoke the words I needed to hear most. At that moment, Noah was more than a little boy. He was my Angel.

Little Abram

I believe it is the privildge of all mothers to think their children are the most beautiful creatures God has sent to Earth- And I do. With all of my children I have found myself staring at their tiny little bodies in awe and wonder at the miricle that they are. Following are a few more pictures of Abram during the first few weeks of his life as well as some pictures of Grandma Peteren's visit!

You woke me up for this?

Hey there Mom!

One of Naomi's more gentle moments with Abram. I don't think she intentinally is trying to hurt him, but I often find her poking him and pinching him arms- not hard, but enough to wake him up and make him squirm.

Grandma Petersen flew into Orlando and after picking her up she watched Naomi and Abram so Tyler and I could attend the Temple.

Hummm... What's for lunch today?

Noah continues to be a great big brother. He is very gentle and is always eager to hold Abram and give him lots of hugs and kisses!

Grandma with Abram.

After spending a week with Noah and Naomi Grandma deserves an honary firefighters certificate. Not only was she the head fire chief, but she was the truck, latter, and fire siren. Noah was in Heaven.

Grandma painted Naomi's fingernails with "Pink Ink."

They also made some Yummy cookies!

Grandma was also here for Abram's baby blessing. She crocheted the blanket that we have used for each of our kids baby blessings.

The transition from two to three has been an adventure, but we are all very glad Baby Abram is here. He is growing very quickly! I always knew I would eventually get a chunky baby- and here he is! Perhaps that is why he is the best sleeper of the bunch.