Merry Christmas To You!

Wishing you and yours the best Christmas! See you after the big day!

My Little Helper

Seriously, who wouldn't want a LITTLE HELPER as CUTE as this guy...

I must admit, this boy puts a smile on my face everytime I look at him. He can make a mess like no other child I know, but he can also melt my heart in a second!

Check out how cute he looked as we walked out the door for church. After his hair cut he looked so grown up, that I had to lather him up in baby lotion, so he at least smelled like a baby.

My cute little helper!

Christmas Lights? Well Maybe Not!

Last night I thought that we needed to spend some quality time together and do something to help the Christmas Spirit. We have been so busy this year we haven't had a chance to do many things to celebrate the season like we normally do. I thought okay, lets go see the lights at Temple Square. So we all bundled up and headed out the door.

We stopped for dinner and on the way out we were approached by a young man asking for money. I didn't have my wallet and Craig only had 3 dollars in cash, which he gave to him. (That plays into the story in a minute).

We headed to Temple Square, little did we know that it was going to be so crowded...our normal parking spot was totally full, and so was pretty much everything else. We decided to go for the pay parking, we were desperate. (can you tell how cheap we are) I pulled out my wallet and discovered that I only had 3 dollars cash. Just FYI there is nowhere in to park in SLC for $3. This is where the other $3 we gave to the young man could have been helpful! But we did a good thing by helping him out. (RIGHT?) So with some unhappy children we decided to see the lights just by drive-by. One child was very BUGGED! But we were stuck, in the middle of very busy, crowded, not a parking stall in sight (at least one we had money for) SLC. So, we made one more pass by, saw a few lights, and left!

(This is what we went to see...but sort of got jipped)

On the way home, with Brit asleep in his carseat, and one child still giving us the stink eye everytime we turned around. I had a brillant idea...Thanksgiving Point lights. They are drive thru. (And after making a phone call, I found out they take debit card.) Perfect solution, right? WRONG! Of course after we mentioned this to the kids and they seemed pretty jazzed, we drive up to the entrance only to find the line to get into the lights area was probably 4 miles (at least) bumper to bumper at a stand still. To this I had to scratch my head, it is a DRIVE THRU right? We quickly vetoed that because of the time and how slow it was moving...or not moving! Again our plan was busted! More stink eye!

(This should have been what we could have seen!)

So I took matters into my own hands, pulled out my phone and found great Christmas Light displays on YOU TUBE! We watched them the rest of the way home. I know, I know, nothing like the real deal, but I made everyone laugh when I pulled it out to show them some lights. Seriously, not what we had in mind but it will be one we remember that's for sure.
( You never know when You Tube will come in handy!)

One last idea of mine that actually worked! We stopped at the new Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in AF and grabbed a couple of apple pie carmel apples. They were a hit! Not to mention delicious! After one bite, the stink eye was gone and a smile lit up her face!



An interesting end to a very interesting evening! But it ended sweet!

Have a great week before Christmas!

Thanksgiving Day

*Thanksgiving 2010*

This year for Thanksgiving we headed up to Draper to spend the day with my parents. It was a small group this year, a little bit different than normal, but still fun. For dinner we only had my parents, Cortney & 3 of her children (the others weren't able to come), and my family. We had a great day together, Craig & Sarah came over later in the day/evening too. I got all the photos mixed up and out of order, but oh well! Have a look at our fun day!

This was at the end of the day, Brit had so much fun, he zonked out on Grammy & Papa's bed.

Brit, Zach & Ross tackled/wrestled to entertain themselves.

Liberty and Julia had a great time with Grammy's melt beads.

Here we are getting ready to eat.

This year I was in charge of the Apple Salad. This is a tradition in the Peterson family. I have no idea who came up with the recipe, but it is tasty. Grandma Runner used to always make it and put it in this exact bowl. For tradition and sentimental reasons, I decided to use her bowl, I thought that was pretty cool.

Zach was sure he wanted the drumstick... After a few bites, he went with the white meat. He is his mothers son.

Liberty is ready and waiting for the FEAST!

Dad asked Craig to carve the bird this year, this was a first...I love how Dad is watching over Craig's shoulder to make sure it is getting done right.

I guess Brit was missing those of the family who weren't there, because I found him talking to the family photo.

Dad giving Craig instructions on how to carve a turkey.

Grammy and Liberty making a favorite treat of Grandpa Great's. Pecan filled dates rolled in powdered sugar. Adam liked them but none of my kids did.

It was a fun day! The food was great, being with family even better! I love Thanksgiving for more than just the food, I have so many things to be thankful for and it's always good to stop and reflect on those many blessings. I hope your Thanksgiving was as great as ours!

What Happens When Brit is Quiet

While folding some clothes yesterday morning I had the thought...Brit is awfully quiet. Just after my thought, I heard Craig say, "Cricket, come here right now". I had no idea where Brit was, but headed into Craig's office to talk to Craig. As I walked down the hallway, I smelled something, but didn't think much of it. I got to the doorway of Craig's office and found Brit, covered in baby powder, but not just him, the whole corner of the room. Funny thing about this is Craig was in the same room and didn't notice it. He was one happy kid! Thinking he was pretty funny. All Craig and I could do was laugh.

Check it out!

Brit with powdered striped hair.

Part of the mess...look how proud he looks.



Here he is thinking this is great fun!

After I took a few photos, I grabbed the vacuum and with Brits help got it all cleaned up. We even vacuumed his clothes, which is wasn't too fond of. Oh well!

At least it wasn't Vaseline ... Caleb did that when he was close to Brit's age. That was horrible!

Scott and Andrea's Wedding

*November 2, 2010*

Craig's little brother Scott was married to Andrea Gomez in the Mt. Timp Temple. It was a goregous day! They really lucked out with the weather. The bride and groom were both darling. It is strange to believe that Scott was only 5 when I met Craig now look he's all grown up and married. CRAZY!

The day was great filled with family, photos, food, laughs, and seeing friends that we haven't seen in a while.

Check out some of the photos of the day...

Scott and Andrea just after being sealed.

One of the nicest things about the day was having all of Craig's siblings together in the temple with their spouses. He comes from a great family.

Brit enjoying some time outside.

The bride and groom...snap shot taken by Liberty

Liberty posing by another sculpture.

Brit made me pretty nervous running around these sculptures...especially when I saw the price tag! YIKES!

Brothers...man I love these two boys!

Brit and me...before the reception started.

Veenker boys striking a pose by one of the many bronze sculptures.

All the cute Veenker girls...making funny faces.

Zach and Stockton found many different ways to kill time...ipod touch games was a favorite.

Liberty couldn't take her eyes off the cake. She was so excited to watch the bride and groom cut it.

Zach "helping" with decorating the car...looks to me like he is helping himself to the oreo cookies.

By the end of the night...Brit was one tired boy!

Congratulations Scott and Andrea!

Good One

Before I tell you the full story, you need to know that this week I haven't done a thing in my house...it was a mess! Toys, laundry, 2 crock pots that were used this week "soaking" by the sink. It has been a busy week as usual and when I had the time, I didn't want to touch it. So to say that my house needed some attention is an understatement. I had nothing going Saturday morning so my plan was to get it cleaned up. So with that...

Last night we were getting ready to say our family prayer, all kneeling in the family room...and yes, we all had to scoot something out of the way before we knelt. We all went to bed early last night, mainly because Craig had an early morning meeting with Elder L. Tom Perry. After the prayer this is the conversation:

Craig: "You know, you may want to get the house cleaned up tomorrow"

Me: "I know, I plan on it."

Craig: "Cause it would be really awkward if Elder Perry asked to come over to our house tomorrow after the meeting for lunch."

Me: "YIKES! That would be embarassing, wouldn't it?"

Caleb: "I hope he likes Mac & Cheese!"

We all got a laugh...and yes it was a great motivator for me to get my house cleaned. There wasn't really a chance that it would have happened. But it made me laugh the way Craig finally found a way to get me to clean the house. Seriously, I would have been so embarassed if anyone had come over, (which some people did), but I would have DIED if Elder Perry came over with my house looking like it did. This morning was a very productive morning. I got almost everything done, of course there is still a few loads of laundry to do. But my house is cleaned up, so if you were thinking of stopping by, now would be a good time.

Freshman Viking Football

Caleb had an exciting football season. This year he played both Outside Linebacker and Defensive End, and also played Quarterback. The final 2 games (playoffs) he started as Quarterback. He did a great job all year. He is a big kid, and does a great job wherever he plays. It was both exciting and nerve racking to watch him at QB. There season ended in the second round of the playoffs, but overall they did great! Caleb has had a unique experience, he has played with the same team and same coaches for 4 years now. Sadly, that came to an end on Saturday. The boys will continue just with new coaches next year. There were tears both from the boys, coaches and parents. It's been a great run! I can't wait to see what next year brings. It is always exciting! Here are some of the shots we took of Caleb's season...

Caleb talking to his head coach Joe after a win.

Caleb was one of the captains for a few of the games.

Here he is ready to jump off the line.


He wants it...bad!

Waiting to get back on the field

Caleb is in the middle of the wedge. (I promise)

Caleb making a pass, I took this one from high up in the stands, I love how you see him, the ball & the receiver.

Caleb handing off the ball

Watching the outcome of the play

The season is over...it's been a ton of fun! We are already working for next year. Can't wait to see how it all plays out! Great Job #8!!!

Zach Football Season

Zach had a great season! We were able to use a friends camera, to try and get some action shots. I am far from a photographer but I tried. This year Zach played both ways & on special teams. He played Center on offense, Outside Linebacker on defense, and was the kicker on special teams. He rarely sat out, it was fun to watch him. His team made it to the play offs, and lost in the first round. Good Job Zach! Can't wait to watch you next year!

Here are some of the shots we took...

It wasn't unusual to have Craig give Zach a pep talk, or give him pointers.

Zach jumping to get the tackle
Getting ready to kick off

Waiting for the quarterback...

Down, Set, Hike

Waiting for the second half to start

This year Zach's cousin Stockton & his cousin Shafer joined the team. It was so much fun to watch them all. (This picture was taken just after the playoff loss, that is why Shafer is in tears.)

Blocking, blocking, blocking

Zach rushing in...

Way to go #1! Go Vikings!