Kate the Great turns 5!

Well my baby girl is now 5.

I thought I'd share a little about what makes Kate so special. She is so unique and I've said it before, but she really is everything I ever dreamed of having in a daughter. She hops up on huge horses and trots them around round pens with no fear. She wrestles and plays rough and can take a hit or a fall much better than my two boys can. She also holds tea parties in which every individual cup or saucer gets put away exactly where it belongs in the original packaging. She has an adorable baby voice when she speaks to Lucy. Taking after her mom and Aunt Jessica, she LOVES books and stationary, post-its, journals, and just paper and pens in general :) She also loves bags and carrying things around, she likes to be prepared with sunglasses or a snack anywhere she goes. She is reading at a 2nd grade level but still comprehending at a 1st grade. She is great at trilling her "r"s. She remembers things very well and can repeat events with great detail (for example, when asked what she learned in her church class, she responds with "We talked about the Joseph Smith story and how he went into the sacred grove on a sunny spring morning...etc etc.) She is sassy and can throw a sharp attitude when she's feeling like it. She loves princesses and pink. She has great body control and is a good gymnast. She can make loud annoying sounds. She is the biggest sweet tooth in the family and would eat junk food all day if I let her. She loves to paint and do crafty things. She likes to talk on her pretend phone. She is determined and beautiful and I just feel like the world is hers for the taking, whatever she wants she can make it happen.

So my week was mostly spent planning a 5 year old birthday party, but I also had time to run up to Camp Alpine and dig up a few amazing Oregon ferns with my sweet Sandy. Sandy was there at the hospital when Tyler was born and (along with her husband Chuck) has been close friends with his family for many years. This lady is one of those women that you wish would just keep talking and never stop, just everything that comes from her is wise and kind and uplifting and I would just love to sit at her feet and have her teach me everything she knows. Heavenly Father has blessed me with women like this throughout my life, the most consistent and most influential being my mom, but also special women like Sandy and several others (usually older to much older than me) that have really shaped me. I'm so grateful for righteous examples that keep me headed in the right direction.

Anyway we went out in the beautiful Oregon forest and went home with a boxload of sword fern that I've planted around my yard. It felt like a very local thing to do and I loved it.

Just hanging out at the park as a family watching Cole practice. Was a happy night. Love having Tyler around during this time of day, although the trade off (in bed by 7-8 pm) is pretty stinky.

Here's Cole and his adopted brother Tye whom we get to watch every day after school. Tye had finally lost a front top tooth and they both looked so cute.

Lucy's cheeks are growing, as well as the rest of her. She is so wonderful! Still happy and content and observant. Her eyes are starting to get lighter...we just may have a blue or green eyed Petersen baby!

Kate's big day! She asked for breakfast in bed - muffins and OJ and berries. Of course the others want to eat in bed too.

Opening presents during the party!

Luke dressed up for kids to arrive :)

Reading a new princess book to the car cousins.

This was a special day, we headed to the coast with another young family in our ward the Domans. It ended up being a beautiful day weather wise and it's totally one of my happy places in the world - to sit on the beach and watch my kids spend hour after hour running, digging, getting wet, exploring, jumping off dunes, searching for shells, flying kites, eating food, and just enjoying this blessing of being so close to the ocean. We spent about 5 hours here this day and the kids could have done another 1-2 easy.

It was a perfect breeze for kite flying! No that is not a terrorist that is my husband.

Happy Luke.

 Kate and Chase, best buds. They do preschool together so they get to hang out a lot.

Cole was really proud of his castle, each time we go it gets more and more intricate and creative.

 Lucy hanging out in the shade.

The last best part of this week was Cole's end of year music performance. His music teacher has been taking the kids on a tour around the world and teaching them songs in 6 different languages, they performed them with dancers and speaking parts and it was wonderful. I was proud of him singing and being respectful and not goofy which he sometimes gets. He is working hard on his behavior to earn one of the class guppies that are being adopted out, next week we just may have our first pet as a Petersen family!

Oh yes one more, Tyler taking the kiddos for a little spin down the lane after getting back from a Memorial Day ride. :)

Busy life, happy wife

I can't believe how extra busy our life got these past few weeks! There's normal busy, and then there's feels like Im running around crazy busy, and that's been May for us. We have something almost every night (baseball) after an early dinner then church responsibilities have been a lot more demanding, which I don't mind but just takes more planning. I completely love my calling but now I'm getting more involved in Cubscouts which is opening up this whole new world. Plus being more active on the Parent Group at Laurel, Cole's school. Plus less husband help with his new hours, we get him usually around 4-7 pm every day. But I am SO GRATEFUL for it all! This is totally what I signed up for. And if I ever start wishing Tyler was home more, I just think about the moms that have husbands serving in the military that not only have their husbands/dads gone for months and years at a time, but have to worry about if they'll even come home. That gets me back to a good attitude every time. 

Lucy will be 4 months old this week! She's still growing like a weed, being a great eater and sleeper. She has started grasping things and even slowly reaching out towards things that interest her. Here's the first time she was touching the rings on her play mat. As you can see she's still working on hair :)

Kate had a special day last week, Kindergarten Kick-off. She'd been looking forward to it for weeks and was just perma-grin all day, it was so adorable. We went to her school and she got to spend time in one of the kindergarten classes reading a book and working on a calendar while parents heard about different programs at the school. Then we got to go on a bus ride together around the neighborhood and learned about bus rules. This smile perfectly sums up how excited she is to be going to school finally! Another cool thing, this totem pole in the front of her school was a project Tyler worked on when he was in elementary school!

All three kids love working on projects while they use the potty; usually reading books, drawing a picture, or working on a lego project. But this was the first time that someone worked on a sewing project while in the bathroom! It cracked me up.

Another fun thing for Kate and Cole was going to the dentist, they LOVE it. Mostly the cool prize at the end, but hey whatever works.

Cole had a fun dress up like an adult day at school, he borrowed daddy's old Costco Tire Center shirt.

Looking forward to KATE'S BIRTHDAY this week!

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose

I can't stop thinking about that quote I saw on the only blog that I regularly check in on, nieniedialogues.com (if you aren't familiar with Stephanie Nielsen, be sure to check it out. You're in for a treat.) I love the type of person it makes me envision - confident, strong, grateful, happy. I am feeling that way today after celebrating a wonderful Mother's Day with my sweet family.

I really got the royal treatment today! After years of not-so-subtle hints about how I want Mother's Day and my birthday to be handled, (I feel like for 363 days of the year, I will put my family first and serve them unselfishly. I want 2 days to be mine! :) Tyler really understands what I want and makes those 2 days so awesome. All I want is: to be with my family, to not have to do any housework that I don't have to, for the kids to recognize the day by serving me somehow, to take a nap, read, or just sit down if I feel like it, and to cuddle and love on my children. Anything extra is icing on the cake.
As I'm typing it, it sounds a little selfish and I guess it sort of is. But the real reason behind my desire for queen-like treatment on my two days of the year is because of my children. I want them to stop and appreciate what a mother does all the time and to practice showing gratitude. I want my boys to grow up and treat their wives the way Tyler treats me - with respect and appreciation and a little spoiling. I want my girls to lose themselves in service to their families but also know how divine and worthwhile their roles and mother and wife will be. I'm thankful for a husband who listens and shows me love in the way I want to see it :)

When I got home from church, Cole ordered me to get into some comfy clothes and get in bed. He then brought me lunch in bed! He made a turkey sandwich all by himself! It was super sweet.

Cole took this one of us after church today. I love this guy more than anything.

I love these boys.

Sure love these girls. Nice photobomb Cole!

 Being a mom is the best! There is no other way I would rather be living my life.

I guess it hasn't been all about just me around here lately...:) Cole lost a front top tooth!! It was so exciting to him. He really didn't want to part with it so he asked the TFairy if she would let him keep it and she did. It has left quite the hole! 

 We really loved conference and I enjoy building it up and getting the kids excited about it.

 We also had fun hunting for eggs at our primary activity - Luke even found a snake that he carried around for a couple hours!

 I just love this big old tub. And the lighting in there is awesome at bedtime. These two are such good buddies! I think he's going to be lost come fall when she leaves us ALL DAY. I don't want to talk about it. :( .... :)

 I've been running again! My knee is feeling Super great and I'm building muscle and endurance back up again. I am pretty confined to the treadmill since Tyler leaves so super early for work but I don't mind, I'm just so pumped to get to run again after a year plus off (thank you ACL and Lucy :) It just feels good to sweat again.

This baby is so happy and awesome!

Found a cool trail behind one of our favorite parks in Eugene.

We took the preschool kids to Thompson's Mill in Shedd, OR for a field trip. It's an old grain mill and it was fun to hear the history. This story really impressed me, a man named Bud Kronschteiner worked in this exact spot for 30+ years, doing the exact same thing - filling grain sacks and sewing them shut. He wore out the floor and there is even a footprint at the bottom of the picture where he stood. Can you imagine doing the same exact task for that long, day in and day out? He had a family to provide for and he just DID IT. There's a lot to be said for just doing a task because you need to, not because it's convenient or fun or what you wanted. Maybe he loved his job or found purpose in it, but can you imagine working in the same 5 foot space for your whole adult life? Inspiring.

 This mill was really cool and historic.

 We got to go to Newport with my Morrill family that came out for Lucy's baby blessing, it was a beautiful day. I love being this close to the ocean.

 A couple of Lucy's 3 month pics :)

 We had a picnic in our dining table fort one day for lunch. Fun! I love Cole's lantern he taped to the "ceiling".

Check out that hair! Wow!

I need to do another post about Lucy's blessing day. It was beautiful.

Luke's daily job - putting the silverware away. It's awesome!

We did the pet parade again this year, which means we dress up and borrow pets from Lisa to walk them in the parade. Cole wanted to be a cowboy and walk Hershey...

Kate was Little Red Riding Hood on Buster

And Luke was the big bad wolf riding Peanut. Such good horses! Such lucky kids to get to enjoy them!

We are in the beginning of both Kate and Cole's baseball seasons which are fun but more work to eat dinner early, then get home and get in bed fast. We also have a crazy birthday season coming up, Kate in a couple weeks, then Cole a couple weeks after her then Luke a couple weeks after him. I'm really looking forward to it! :)