Jared's 30th Birthday Celebration

May 16, 2010:
Justin's brother Jared's 30th birthday celebration.

Nephew Jace

May10, 2010:
Our nephew Jace Timothy Peterson was born on April 29, 2010 at 6lbs. and 5 oz., and 18" long. He is ten days old in these pictures. We are so happy for Jessica and Tim. They will be great parents!

Easter

He Lives!


Mckayla sitting on daddy.


My mother-in-law's amazing lunch buffet!


Mckayla's Easter Basket from Grandma and Grandpa Humpherys. Grandma and Grandpa Carlsen gave her a basket too.


Mckayla's Easter Dress. It has a cute white sweater to go with it.


Mckayla's Easter Basket from the Easter Bunny!

Cousins

Mckayla (almost 18 mos.) and her cousin Caden (almost 2 yrs) playing at a neighborhood park.

Bubbles, Balls, and Elmo?

These are some of Mckayla's favorite things. We keep our bubbles in the cupboard above the fridge. Mckayla will always point up to the cupboard and say "bubbles." She even thinks that everyone has bubbles in their kitchen cupboard. Each time we go to a store that has a display of balls, Mckayla has already found her way over to the display and has pulled out as many balls as she can. I think she likes to see me chase all the balls she has thrown down the aisle! Mckayla also can't get enough of Elmo. From reading Elmo books to playing with her Tickle Me Elmo doll, getting enough Elmo is always a dilemma for this 17 month old. Getting an Elmo DVD is next on our list.

Sledding

Justin and I took Mckayla out sledding for the first time at the begining of this month. She seemed to like the first couple of runs down the hill, but after that she got a little scared.

Christmas

Our family enjoyed a wonderful Christmas this past year. I embraced the feelings of joy and hope that come during that time of year. I spent many nights just staring at the gorgeous glowing lights eliminating from our Christmas tree thinking about fun memories of Christmas as a child. My favorite memory that I thought about often was just waking up to snow and feeling like we lived in a cozy cottage in the woods. I didn't have to imagine hard, because my childhood home is surrounded by thick oak brush and a wooded backyard. It was so neat to see deer wandering through our backyard as a child. I also turned my thoughts to Christ during the Christmas season and cherished all the things that I have been blessed with in my life and throughout the year. Not only was Justin and I blessed physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc, but our families spoiled us with gifts once again. It is fun to feel like a kid again and be excited to open gifts. Justin and I just got one thing for each other for Christmas as we decided we want to save up money to go on a vacation. Mckayla had a nice Christmas but she didn't quite grasp the idea of unwrapping gifts. In fact, she never even touched one of our Christmas presents-shocking. She did love the ornaments on our Christmas tree though. I wanted to get a picture of my decorated tree this year, but there was not much left to see once Mckayla decided to undecorate the tree. The big round ornaments were Mckayla's "balls." She also loved the icsicles and gold stars.


This is Mckayla in her new ball tent tht she got for Christmas. She loves to climb inside it and play with the balls and read books.



Here are a few things that Mckayla got for Christmas: Her Mickey Mouse Club Ball Tent, Fisher Price Basketball Hoop,clothes, a zhu zhu pet, and new boots. We spent the night at Justin's parents house and Mckayla got to wake up to Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was so fun to see the look on her face when she walked into the room with all the gifts.

Fishy Lips

Oh this picture cracks me up. On Thanksgiving my Dad pulled out his Nikon digital camera and was taking pictures of Mckayla. When I saw Mckayla doing her fishy lips, it had me rolling on the floor. She is such a hoot!

Thanksgiving

This year Justin, Mckayla, and I went to my parents house for Thanksgiving. The guests also included my twin sister Jessica and her husband Tim, some family friends, my little sister Alexis, and my parents. We had a honeybaked ham, as per my Dad's request, and enjoyed some other favorite dishes. I love the fall time and have so much in my life to be grateful for: my life, my husband, my sweet daughter, my twin sister, my parents, my testimony, my faith, the employment that Justin and I have, my education, and the list goes on. Thank you for all who bless my life!

Fall Hobbies

I have felt super crafy this fall. The first picture is a floral arrangement I put together. That was fun. The next two pictures are of an apple pie I made. This is the first apple pie I have ever made. Okay, so have you ever hear of Wisconsin's famous apple pie in a bag? I hadn't either until the other day I was browsing for new recipes on the foodnetwork (which is also another hobby of mine). They had a video of some cooks at the Elegant Farmer in Wisconisn showing how they make this pie. Ah, it looked so heavenly I had to try it myself. Mine turned out a little juicy inside, but it was so delicious with some vanilla icecream on top. The next picture is of my first diaper cake. It seems I have had lots of baby showers the past little while. I have put together some fun baby gifts for my friends. The last picture is of some little girl hair bows that I made. I have been super excited about learning how to make botique hair bows for Mckayla and to give away to my friends as gifts that have baby girls. I will keep you posted as to how my skill increases in this area. I have struggled making the "korker" bow. They are the curly cue ones that you see. You actually put the ribbon on a dowel, spray starch on it, and then put it in the oven. They were really fun to make.