Aug 2009

Trip to the cabin.

Logan's first day of 1st grade.

demolition derby with friends.

opening presents

Thomas the train cake.

getting to see his room for the first time.

It has been a busy month with getting ready for school to start. After mom left we tried to get back on a schedule. We went to the demolition derby, Ethan turned 3, Logan started 1st grade, and I started a new job.

July 09

Logan's fake piercing. He won this at Chuck E Cheese. I am not sure about it.

We spent time at Chuck E Cheese and Riverfront park with mom the night before she left. During the rest of her visit we were able to get caught up on a few movies (True Confessions of a Shopaholic, He's Just Not that In To You, Twilight-yes I watched it and am hooked, and The Proposal). It was great to visit with mom and just have her around. I sure do miss her!

Mom's Visit

We did many things while mom was here to visit.....Logan showed her how well he does in Karate, cheap waterpark, and swimming lessons.

Mom's visit....

More swimming lessons, Riverfront Park, and Monster Trucks! We had a blast!

Silverwood

Dustin, Logan and Ethan by No. 7

After we dropped mom off at the airport we went to Silverwood Theme Park the for the day. The boys had a ton of fun and Logan even rode his first rollercoaster, but I bet he won't be doing that again for a LONG time.

Independence Day!

As I reflect over the past 11 years, I have grown to understand more what Independence Day really means. To many it is a day of get togethers with family and friends watching fireworks and time off from work, but to me it has come to mean so much more. To me it is a day to give thanks for the freedoms that I take advantage of every single day, to be thankful that I am at home in a nice comfy bed with my family, and a day that I think of every soldier, seamen, airmen, and marine that is serving our country fighting for those freedoms that I enjoy. This 4th of July has weighed heavy on my heart and mind for two different reasons. One reason is that my brother, Kyle (SSG Peterson) is currently in Iraq serving in harms way and the other reason is that a dear friend to my brother was KIA on 29 June 09. This is particularly hard for me due to the loss of a fellow soldier, but also because now his family will be without a husband and father. I have rationalized the loss of this soldier and the reasoning behind Kyle having to go over there since I have once to served, but what is so hard is that I don't understand why God has chosen to take the lives of these soldiers to leave loved ones in so much pain. I can't wait to ask Him. I understand that every individual that joins the military signs his/her name to the dotted line with the understanding that someday they will be expected to give their life for the freedoms that are enjoyed by all....been there done that. With all of this being said, please pray for the soldiers that are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and that they all will have a safe return home. As Kyle prepares for his leave, please keep him in your prayers that leave goes well and that his return to Iraq is safe and his return home even safer. I love you, Kyle.
Kyle on the day he deployed with Chase.

Some soldiers that Kyle is serving with in Iraq.

The boys with their cousins as we were watching the fireworks.

Emma, Logan, and Ethan.

Alex, Drew, Emma, and Logan.

4th of July

The boys playing on the slip 'n slide. They didn't like having the water on when they were sliding.....Crazy boys!

Ethan taking a break from playing cars in his favorite spot....the laundry room counter...to say hello!

The boys taking a break from the slip 'n slide to eat "Wiggle Worm Dirt Pie." They LOVE this snack!!!!

Last T-ball game of the season

Logan had his last game on June 25th. It seemed like when the team was finally figuring out what to do the season was over. He had a blast playing ball and looks forward to playing again next year. It will be interesting to see how pitching machine goes.

Logan's last days of school

Logan finished school on June 4th (I know I am late in posting these...sorry). The last week of school was spirit week....Monday was wacky hair day (he didn't want to dress up), Tuesday was nerd day (picture enclosed of my "little" nerd), Wednesday was sports day (again didn't get too excited about this day) and Thursday was decade day (I wasn't too creative on this one....he was supposed to be dressed like Danny from Grease, but it didn't turn out. He was just excited to wear jeans when it was hot outside).

Playing outside.....

Ok so these are just Ethan playing on the slip n slide. Logan refused to have his picture taken.

Parachute Men and Negative Neil turned happy....

Ok, so I have decided that I need to figure out some crafts for the boys to do this summer so I don't kill them by the end of our time together. I came across a magazine (Family Fun) a couple months back and went to their website www.familyfun.com to look up some ideas. While trying to find something fun I came across parachute men. In the past the boys have LOVED playing with these men, but have gotten frustrated by the little strings getting tangled up. This craft is made out of plastic Walmart sack (enlarge the side holes and cut holes in the front and back), pipe cleaners (cut these in half) and a little figurine of your choice.

I made these for the boys and tried to show them how much fun they would be.....

During construction Ethan chose to ride his bike.....

After construction he was thrilled to play with the parachute man......(notice Logan in the background)

Logan was not so thrilled after the construction. He informed me that my parachute men were not as cool as the ones that he got from the dentist (and even requested to go back to the dentist to get another one). He sat in the chair and pouted saying negative things. So I started calling him Negative Neil (he didn't like the Nancy part since he is a boy-that is how Negative Neil came about). He sure is a stubborn little guy....I guess he gets this from his dad!We ended up going back into the house to find smaller figurines with the outcome better for Logan. In this picture I was the coolest mom and made the best parachute man ever (even better than the dentist).

New glasses and missing teeth!

Logan got glasses at the beginning of May. He is adjusting to them, but not liking them very much. The correction in them is not enough for him to notice a difference and mainly has to have them for the astigmatism.

He has lost two teeth (with the tooth fairy bringing money) and has another one that should be falling out within weeks. Both teeth have been pulled out using the door and string extraction method (not my choice of course!).