Fun Lately

So this is the most random group of pictures...but I decided to catalog them all as the fun we are having lately at the Watkins' household.  First we have our beautiful fruits of the garden...

It seriously has been so much fun. This is our first garden and we are loving the zucchini, squash, we have carrots and swiss chard and the tomatoes are almost ready.  Loving it. 

Then here is some more random stuff...Jake's idea...we decided to go to the park and try out iceblocking.  It wasn't as fun as I remembered it, but the kids had fun.  We also got to see our long lost buds from Maricopa.  The FOATES!  Love this family.

The weather has been so beautiful lately and it was just nice to get out and enjoy the sun and good friends, and of course, good food.  So speaking of fun and nice weather...here is a shot of today, Memorial Day...  our friends the Morris family invited us to the park and they had this awesome SUPER huge slide.  They covered it with water and some sort of soap and it was super fun. 

Weston and his buddy Brigham.

And here we have the BEST sunday dinner I have had in a long time.  I ran into my friend Jill on facebook.  We were friends clear back when I was single at BYU working in the women's locker room.  Anyway, we have been trying to get together to have girls lunch or something and it hasn't worked out.  So we decided to just get the families together.  So we did.  We made yummy fajitas and they brought dessert.  I had no idea how the night would go...(we haven't seen each other or talked for ever...) but of course, it was SUPER fun.  We talked non-stop and laughed and just had a blast.  My kids loved them too. 

Anyway, I know this wasn't a clever post or anything, but I just wanted to show some of our new friends and say; we feel super lucky and happy since we moved here to Mesa.  Not to take anything away from the AWESOME life we had in Maricopa.  But we are thrilled to be making new friends, have more time together as a family and to just be here.  We are very blessed. 

And He does it AGAIN.

So every so often, Jake just does something that I TOTALLY love and something I NEVER thought he would do. Example: sing with me at a Stake Christmas fireside...or throw me a HUGE surprise party. Simple things...but GREAT things like dedicate a song and sing to me at Karoke...still one of my favorite memories. Anyway, to some these wouldn't be a big deal...or maybe with a different personality, I would expect these things from Jake. But with Jake...I don't expect it, and I KNOW he does it only to make ME happy. I guess that is the best part, knowing that he LOVES me enough to go way out of his comfort zone to show me. Anyway, back to the post at hand. Tonight....wait for it, Jake and I went ................................................. DANCING! ha ha..it just makes me laugh. I guess the Mesa Highschool Jazz band was doing some fundraiser thing. So Jake kind of surprised me and took me tonight.(I knew we were dancing...but he got the tickets.) We learned the Eastcoast Swing and just had a total blast. I kind of grew up dancing in my teens, but all my memories are just that...MEMORIES. So it was just so much fun to be dancing with MY husband. He really is a natural and together we were pretty good I thought. Jake kept saying "stop smiling so much!" But, I couldn't and I didn't...and I won't, for a LONG TIME.

Peterson Family Pictures May 2011

So my brother Ty was supposed to take family pictures for us right before Traci and Ryan's Wedding Reception.  However, it rained out the planned outdoor part and we had to hurry and set it up at the church.  This left only about 10 to 15 minutes to get a few shots.  They really turned out so WONDERFUL considering we had 16 in all and only a few minutes.  Thanks Katie (Ty's wife) for taking the shots.  I love them and will cherish this for a long time.  I love my family so much.  This is the first time we have been all together in like eight years or something. 

 So here is all of us! 

I know these are on facebook, but I want them here cause I print out my blog in a book. 

 Ty got these shots just really quick.  Love my sister Tina....love all my sisters so much. 

It is weird to see yourself aging slowly...I see it in this pic.  I love it anyway.

So here is the WHOLE family including my wonderful parents who gave us all the perfect childhood and foundation for life.  Thanks Mom and Dad.  I love you so much.

And still...I can't even look at a picture like this and just wonder....HOW DID YOU DO IT?

Traci's Wedding in Idaho

So my baby sister is Married!  I still can't believe it.  I got to fly home this last weekend and be in the temple with ELEVEN of my siblings.  I am so happy she found Ryan to begin her life "Happily Ever" with.  I missed my kids and my honey...but am so glad I got to go.   Love the Peterson Family.  Ty took lots of family pics that I will have to post later, but here a few I took while there.

Trisha with her kids...and another one on the way in the next few weeks.

Dad and Me....some of my favorite moments.  Hearing him teach and sing on Mother's Day in church.  Love this guy.

Tina's SUPER cute little girl.  Seriously...I would take her in a heartbeat.  Melrose

Tonya and her family.

Troy just found out they are having a BOY!  Congrats guys.

Toby and Traci...loved my late talk with Toby up until around 4am.  I got to spend the night with Traci before her wedding too.  Lucky me.

Truman and Kara (Ryan's sister.)

Rachel and I.  Love this girl.  We have stayed friends through all these years...and now I claim her as a sister.  Since our siblings are married and all.

This is little Karly Mae...Ty's oldest daughter.

The Happy Couple.  Traci and Ryan. 

Tayne and Brook.  She is due soon and doesn't know what she is having. 

A little about the trip.  It was a superfast/ whirlwind really.  My flight was delayed 4 and a half hours so I ended up getting there very tired and late around 6pm on Friday.  Trisha and Tonya came in later that night and I got to slowly see everyone.  Tayne and Brook took picked me up at the airport, so I was nice to see them.  I loved getting to spend the night with Traci.  We tried not to talk too much, but we had to a bit.  Love her and I am so excited for her new married life with Ryan.  They will do great.  The next morning was the TEMPLE marriage.  Then we had a luncheon and had not much time to set up for the reception.  We tried to do it outside...but to no luck...it rained.  So we hurried and tore it all down and set up at the church house.  We only had a few minutes for family pics and then we were off to the reception.  That night was fun and where I got to see lots of old friends.  The next day was mother's day.  I missed my kids and Jake a bunch.  Church was wonderful though and I still just loved the time with my family.  I spent the rest of the day hanging out and spending some one on one with Tina and then I was off early the next morning. 

Highlights were being there without the kids.  I got to help more and also get to know the nieces and nephews on a different level.  I loved being in the Temple with all eleven of my siblings that are old enough.  I loved seeing my Mother on Mother's day. I loved late night talks.  I love the Spirit that is always at the Peterson house.  I loved seeing everyone work together to set up the reception is like 45 minutes...seriously!
 I loved coming home to a wonderful suprise of Jake picking me up (he was supposed to be working,) and hugs and kisses from my littles.  What a wonderful time.  I feel very blessed.

Padres verses the Phillies and a little recap of our favorite memories...

So here are some pictures of the last part of our vacation.  I don't know what to say about it...it is a baseball game.... I love being with family and that is how I look at it.  We were cheering for the Padres I think...but were sitting next to CRAZY Philly fans...go figure.  Perfect night out with the kids my husband and of course...goood ol Matt.

I jotted down an ongoing list on a scrap piece of paper during our driving time.  Here is the list:
Things I WANT to remember.

Spencer singing "DJ turn it UP...UP...UP!"   So sad you missed it.
Weston dancing in his underwear while we ate in our car at Seaworld.  He was cold...from a wet ride.  Too funny.  (by the way...we didn't buy ONE thing from Sea World.  I was so proud of us.)
Playing at the NEW PARK with Matt.

The Shows at Sea World

Kids acting SUPER hyper around Matt.  It was annoying but cute at the same time.

Spencer saying "Shamu Funny...he do Backflips!"

Our ride up was great and so was our ride home.  We rode home after the baseball game and didn't get home until 3:00am.  I loved spending time talking to Jake the whole time. I do love a captive husband....

Getting pooped on TWO TIMES and thinking it was raining...ha ha

Building Sand Castles.  Getting Great Parking...almost everywhere we went.

Jake burned a CD for the drive...epic.

Playing kickball on the beach and having Weston remind me "Moms don't sing out loud on the beach...it is embarrassing and they sound bad!"

A Little Piece of Heaven on Earth

So Sea World...it was fun.  However, trips like that are a LOT of work.  I was thinking about it today.  We work to plan...clean, pack...I had the oil changed on the car.  I cleaned it out...packed it and then we spend hours in the car to drive there.  Then we get up really early and we take our kids ALL day to walk around, wait in lines and to see the sights etc.  Then we have tired cranky kids to put to sleep and to try to get some sleep ourselves to do it all over again.   So by Friday morning MOM (which is me) is exhausted.  I hardly slept the night before and didn't appreciate hearing Weston snore and 2 other kids in our room.  We head to Sea World again and I like it...don't get me wrong.  But for some reason when we stepped on the BEACH ...finally MY VACATION STARTED.Maybe it is because Jake plays most of the time with the kids.  Maybe water is good for the soul.  Maybe it is just the sand between my toes...the view. 

Whatever it is...I find myself laughing, relaxing and just feeling at peace.  Even Spencer seems to get in the action.  He slept over 4 hours between the two days we were "beaching it."

Aubrey loved the sand.  She even tried hard to not have any "meltdowns" this year when she was cold.

Weston can use all the energy he wants and it isn't annoying...misplaced or misunderstood. 

Thank you San Diego and Thankyou La Jolla and Mission Bay beaches...for making our vacation perfect!

Sea World 2011

I absolutely love this pic of the kids.  Here we are about 15 minutes until Sea World San Diego opens...standing at the gate.  They each have their little maps and are ready to enter.  It really was so fun to see them discover new things and enjoy our trip together. 

Here is a pic of our dear friend Matt.  He is the one who invited us to come and stay at his place.  Matt and Jake went to school together and have been "buds" forever.  I love the way he is with our kids.  Even Spencer got more hyper and excited when MATT was around.

For some reason the favorite ride at Sea World was the Bayside Skyride.  Aubrey was super nervous to get on it...but then had to do it again the next day.  Sea World is a great place and we ended going both on Thursday and Friday.  I personally love the shows and enjoyed the "New Horizons" show the best. 

When we were there on Friday we saw a Water Monitor which is the 2nd largest lizard in the world.  I think his name was Clive.  Weston loves to tell the tale.

Latest stuff!

Well the first big recent occurrence...is Spencer....going POTTY! Yes that is right people....he totally potty trained himself. I have a little sticker chart that he uses and sometimes I bribe him with Kid Essentials (some chocolate drink...thanks Janalyn.) He hasn't been dry at night yet, but since Monday we have only had 1 accident during the day...so he is doing great! If anyone wants to congratulate him..he loves it.
 

Next we have our little spring garden. I am sooooo proud of it for some reason. I had NO idea how to plant or what I was doing. So when ANYTHING grew I was just tickled pink. I assumed Jake would do it since his Dad is the gardener in their home. However, Jake was busy when it needed planted so the kids and I took over. He has been more than happy to allow us to continue to take care of it. I thought I would hate it, but I love weeding. I love seeing the plants grow...I love watering with Weston (he is my main helper,) I call him my "farmer boy." Lots of fun so far. It is even a lot bigger than this now, but I will post more pics when we harvest.

The other day I was out weeding the garden and left the sliding door open. A little bird flew in and just froze with fear. He let us pet it for a while before he had the courage to fly off again. He is down on the lower right part of the picture. The boys were having a blast.

Aubrey was being studious and stayed doing school. Here is a picture of just a few of the things she is working on at school when she goes to EAGLERIDGE. I can't make myself keep all this stuff, but I wanted to document it somehow. Aubrey is doing great at school and I just hope she continues to be as self motivated and keeps her love for learning.

I need more pictures of other friends here in our new ward...but I wanted to post about how Jake and I are making new friends as well as keeping up friendships from our past. Here we are on our Datenight with the Jones....last night. These guys are our ol' friends from Maricopa and they moved about a year before us into Gilbert...so now they are our NEW friends here I guess. They are always fun to hang out with...thanks guys!

Lately people have thought we were sisters for some reason...I will take it!

So there you have it...aside from Soccer (which needs it's own post) that is what The Watkins' Family has been up to lately.

Children's Science Museum

So a few weekends back my wonderful husband (and he really is good at this....) came up with something once again to do on a Friday night. This night he just so happened to find out that TARGET sponsors a free night for families on the first Friday of every month to go to the Children's Science Museum in downtown Phoenix. So we went. We first ate (I like to include this whenever the food is good,) I got a great Gyro! Anyway, then we rode the "light rail" downtown. Smart really...no parking, and cheaper than gas right now. Plus it is always an adventure.

So here are Aubrey and Weston...loving the train. I don't know if it is in my head or not...they still fight too much, but it seems they are better friends since we moved. Maybe the homeschool, maybe that they are older...maybe nothing has changed and I just notice it more. I do like seeing them get along though.

I have like 20 pics from the Museum, but they seemed boring and bad light. My favorite was watching the kids play at the virtual store and so I included this one.

Our family...minus the photographer of course.

And then we have the accident.... On the way home we hear a lady scream..."we're gonna hit!" and then BAM we hit...another car. The light rail just blasted into a SUV and here is the damage to the train. We were all fine, and I just hope the passengers were. We could see tires and parts of the vehicle all over, but not much more. I know they went to the Hospital and Jake read the next day that there were no casualties. It made for quite a long ride home, but at least we got here safe. Fun night...non the less.