Brad and Mo + 1

Build Her a Cake or Something II

2010-03-17T09:42:00.000-06:00

I made this cake for a baby shower I went to for a girl in my ward. The cake is a cheesecake flavored sour cream cake and the top layer has a YUMMY lemon cream filling and the bottom layer has a strawberry cream cheese filling. I think this will be my last buttercream cake for awhile. I'm taking a fondant class in April and I'm looking forward to all the fun things you can do with fondant.

And the Award for Most Original Valentine's Day Present Goes to...

2010-02-14T17:46:00.002-07:00

...MY HUSBAND!!!

For Valentine's Day this year my husband gave me some of these

And he took me to see this

And to top the day off, he surprised me with one of these

Nothin' says ROMANCE like a brand new Crapper!

13

2010-01-21T11:24:00.001-07:00

Today marks the beginning of week 13 of my pregnancy, the final week of my 1st trimester. The end of my first trimester couldn't come soon enough for me this time. I just thought I would list some of the "hellos" and "goodbyes" (some I'm really looking forward to and some I'm really not) that come with week 13 for me.

Goodbye nausea (hopefully)
Goodbye vomit (hopefully)
Goodbye complete exhaustion
Goodbye saltine crakers for every meal and between meals too
Goodbye ginger cookies
Goodbye pants without a stretch belly insert :(
Goodbye food aversions
Goodbye deep breaths

Hello maternity clothes
Hello stretch marks
Hello energy (hopefully)
Hello doctor's appointments
Hello shortness of breath
Hello peeing every 5 minutes and at least 4 times a night
Hello heart burn
Hello baby flutters
Hello ever growing belly (and butt and thighs, etc. etc. etc.)

That about sums it up for me.

Ya know, there are some women that thoroughly enjoy the pregnancy experience. During my pregnancy with Chelsea there were times when I thought I could understand where those women were coming from and that I might even be one of those women, but this time around I've decided that I am definitely NOT one of those women. Pregnancy has been difficult, emotional, and exhausting for me this time (at least up until this point) and I think I'm more like the women out there who don't necessarily enjoy pregnancy but rather just endure it in order to get the beautiful miracle at the end. I know...I sound like such a negative nellie huh?

My first Dr. apt is not for another 2 weeks and I am very anxious to meet with my doctor at this point and get some questions answered and some concerns resolved. Due to my nightmare of a birth experience last time I am already stressing out and concerned about the labor and delivery part of this pregnancy and I have a long road ahead before I should be so worried about it.

I am anxious to find out the sex of this baby too. I'm pretty confident that we will be having a little boy this time but it will be nice to have an ultrasound to confirm my suspicions.

Other than the fact that I have been so extremely sick with this pregnancy the whole thing still doesn't seem real. It will be nice to hear a heartbeat, feel some flutters, and start to feel like I've got life growing within me rather than just feeling like I have a never ending flu bug.

So here's three cheers for week 13...Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray!

Bread Class 101

2010-01-07T14:12:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago I was asked to post something on my blog explaining more about the bread class that I teach so that she could direct others who may have some interest to it. Allison...your wish is my command! Here is a little bit more information about the Pantry Secrets bread classes:

In a one time 2 hour class you will learn how to make DELICIOUS homemade bread from START TO FINISH IN ONE HOUR for the cost of about 25 CENTS A LOAF. You will learn that homemade bread can be FAST and EASY. You will learn how to UTILIZE YOUR FOOD STORAGE on a reguar basis and you will learn how this one simple recipe can SAVE YOU MONEY and help with your MENU PLANNING efforts. The very same recipe can be used to make 50+ meals, desserts, and appetizers (including pizzas, rolls, dessert braids, etc.). I teach about 2 group classes a month out of my home in Clearfield, one usually on a weekday evening and one on a Saturday morning. I also travel to other's houses if they are interested in hosting a class in their home. In this situation, the host invites their friends, family and neighbors to their home and I come and teach there. The classes are both INFORMATIVE and FUN!
There is a $20 class fee per person. I have been told several times, by those who have been to the class, that it is well worth every penny. So get together with your sisters, mothers, friends, daughters and come learn to WOW your husbands, families and dinner party guests with yummy homemade bread!

If you are interested in attending one of my bread classes or you would be interested in hosting a class in your home, I can be reached at (801) 928-9007.

Developing Talents

2009-11-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

All my life my talents have never been the kind that you would necessarily show off at a talent show. I don't sing or dance, I don't play a musical instrument, I don't paint or draw or do anything artsy, I've never been sporty or athletic, I don't write poetry or journal, I am not crafty and I pretty much don't have a creative bone in my body. My talents are the ones that aren't showy or flashy at all. In fact, unless you know me pretty darn well, you probably wouldn't even know I possed these gifts. I'm talking about things like, the talent of being a good friend, the talent of being a good listener, and the talent of remembering important dates, such as birthdays and anniversarys ( I can still remember the birthday of a girl I went to elementary school with and I haven't talked to her since Jr. High). More recently (like since I've been married) I have realized that I also have a talent for baking. It's not the best talent for my waist line, but I've not heard any complaints out of my husband. I can cook pretty darn good too, and I enjoy cooking but I LOVE to bake.
I'm not listing these talents just to toot my own horn here. I do have a point and that is that I have watched a lot of women use their particular talents in order to help their families financially. These are the violin players, piano players, and artists of the world. The women that can use their talent to teach others and in turn financially benefit their families. I would LOVE to be able to be able to offer piano lessons out of my home to bless my family, however I do not possess that talent and unfortunately I can't exactly market "come learn to be a good friend...only $20 bucks a lesson". So I've been feeling really stuck lately. Being a stay at home mom and living on one income is challenging. You have to get really creative sometimes about how to stretch your pennies. Having even just a little extra income would be such a blessing for us, but that would require me to leave the home and go out and get a job, which has crossed my mind more than once. However, I always get a good kick in the butt and realize my time is best spent at home with Chelsea. So then I'm back at square one again...Poor & no way to make my talents benefit my family...until NOW!
This past summer I decided that I really wanted to start developing some of my talents, one in particular. I wanted to become a better baker. So in July I took a bread making class that changed my world. It was amazing. I learned how to make the most yummy bread from start to finish in ONE HOUR. And even though that seemed to good to be true there was more. I learned how to use that same recipe to make 50+ other things. Everything from desserts and appetizers to full on meals. And the best part was using this recipe would save me TONS of $$$ and be a HUGE help to my food storage efforts. Taking that one 2 hour class was literally an answer to MULTIPLE prayers! Since that class in July I have been baking bread, pizzas, calzones, dessert braids, cinnamon rolls, soup bowls, and rolls galore like a crazy person and had a blast doing it ( Brad hasn't complained much either...he LOVES my bread!). It wasn't long after I took the class that I realized the company that I took the class from was hiring instructors to teach their bread making classes out of their homes in order to reach people in other areas. Again, a answer to my prayers. Being able to teach people about this amazing bread and what it can do for their family, out of my own home, on my own time, and be able to financially help my family at the same time...WOW! So I sent in my resume and a few months later I can officially say that I have a talent that can financially bless us. I am an independent contractor working for Pantry Secrets (http://www.pantrysecrets.net/). I will be teaching a variety of classes out of my home (or in someone else's home should they chose to be a host) a few times each month. Teaching how to make homemade bread is the main class and it's the one I will be starting with but eventually (after the first of the year) I will be teaching classes such as: Cooking with wheat and specialy breads, Pizzas & Calzones, Rolls & Buns, Dinner and Dessert braids, Menu Planning, Cooking without electricity, and Cooking with Rice and Beans. I am so so so excited to be a part of this and to be able to teach people about this wonderful recipe that has changed my world. If you are interested in attending one of my 2 hour classes (or if you are interested in hosting a class at your house) please let me know!
And as if the bread thing wasn't big enough, I also recently started taking cake decorating classes. Again, I just wanted to continue developing my talent. I just finished my first class and will be starting the second class in 2 weeks. I have had so much fun with decorating cakes. I have made different types for different occasions and although they aren't perfect I'm proud of my work. I created a blog for my cakes, just so that I could show them to my family and friends and also so that I can document what I've done and track my progress as my decorating skills improve. If you are interested in seeing the cakes I've done so far you can go to http://www.eeniemeenieminymocakes.blogspot.com/
So although I still probably couldn't participate in a talent show, I am so grateful for the talents I've been given, for the recent opportunities I've been given to further develop some of those talents, and for the love and support of my husband allowing me to explore and experiment with different options.

Family Pictures

2009-11-09T15:23:00.001-07:00

We recently had family pictures taken. I was SUPER impressed with our photographer. Her name is Hollie Kippen (http://www.uniquephotographybyhollie.com/). Her prices were very reasonable and she did a great job! The pics were taken at Layton Park. Here are some of our favorites!

this was the pose where I kneeled in dog poo!

this could quite possible be my most favorite shot of the whole photo shoot! Nothin' cuter than a daddy with his daughter!

Build Her a Cake or Something

2009-11-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

I decorated this Halloween cake. It's a white cake with a pumpkin spice filling.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Halloween wasn't anything really exciting for the Petersens. On Friday afternoon I dressed Chelsea up and we headed to Brad's work for a little trick or treat party for kids. Chelsea got to walk around with her dad to all the desks and cubicles and trick or treat. Chelsea couldn't really care less about the candy, but she did have fun wondering the halls. I think Brad had the most fun. He was such the proud father showing off his little girl and introducing her to everyone we passed. On Halloween we planned to go to our ward Trunk or Treat activity, however, Chelsea did not sleep the previous night and was napping when the activity started. I refused to have a cranky Giraffe so I just let her sleep through it and we ended up missing the activity all together. That evening we took our little giraffe to a few houses around the neighborhood (mostly just for the pictures), she got tuckered out pretty quick, we watched It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, handed out candy to the handful of trick or treaters we got, and ate homemade White Chili. Aunt Stacey, Uncle Sheldon, Aunt Amy and Cousin Braxton came over to visit for a few minutes and we did get a few pics of the kids together in their costumes. And that was really about it. We didn't even carve pumpkins this year. Bummer!

Spiderman and the Giraffe

Full Blown Toddler

2009-11-09T14:10:00.002-07:00

I left Chelsea watching Dora The Explorer while I took a quick shower. Apparently I accidently left our pantry door child safety contraption unlocked. When I got out of the shower and came down stairs to look for her this is what I found.

Anyone care for WAFFLES???

I made the mistake of feeding Chelsea raviolis one night for dinner. This was the consequence of my lapse in judgement.

My visiting teachers arrived unexpectedly during this cute little dinner party...I was quite embarrassed!

She loves to perch herself up on this huge flour bin I have and watch me cook or do dishes. Her shirt says it all (Just be glad I'm not a Twin)!

The Birthday Bash

2009-08-26T14:20:00.009-06:00

We celebrated Chelsea's first birthday with family and friends at Barnes Park in Kaysville. It was a fun evening and Chelsea had an absolute blast. She ate more than I've ever seen any one year old eat (apparently she's a fan of the BBQ ), she rode down the slide and climbed (as best she could) on the jungle gym, attempted to feed the ducks bread but thought the bread would be better in her own mouth than in the ducks mouth, ran around the park, opened presents, blew out a birthday candle (with mom's help) and DEVOURED her "Dora the Explorer" cupcake (and part of her cousin's cupcake too)! Thanks to all those who came and celebrated our little girl's big day with us! I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

arriving at the park...so excited!

Saying hello to Aunt Amy

birthday girl playing on the slide

probably the 400th time down the slide

Checking out the ducks and geese

The "Dora the Explorer" Cake and Cupcakes (no thanks to Wal-mart I might add!)

happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...

I'm goin' in!

the first bite

go big or go home!

hey guys, this stuff is good...you should try some!

Mmmm...cake = happiness

the aftermath

more aftermath

Opening gifts

Thanks for coming to my party every one!

The last time down the slide...time to call it a night!

ONE

2009-08-26T14:18:00.004-06:00

August 14, 2009

I can't believe she is ONE YEAR OLD already! It seems so weird to me that one year ago today, my beautiful 11 pound baby was placed in my arms and I became "Mommy". This last year with Chelsea in our lives has been full of new experiences, laughs, giggles, sleepless nights, struggles, wet kisses, snuggles, scares, pride, excitement and an ever growing LOVE. I thought I would just take a minute to mention some of my most favorite things about Chelsea and some of my favorite times with her.

- When she was just a newborn I loved it when she would curl up and fall asleep on my chest

- I love that she adores her Daddy. They have a very sweet relationship

- I love that she is such a happy baby

- I love her cheesy grin that she gives when she gets excited

- I love, what we call her, "snaggle teeth" that shine through when she gives that cheesy grin

- I love when she rocks to music like she's dancing

- I love when she does the motions to "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" as I sing

- I love her big blue eyes

- I love it when she gives "Mr. Waddles" (a stuffed penguin toy Uncle Greg gave her) snuggles

- I love it when she cries for me (not that I want her to cry but it makes me feel special)

- I love that she's kind of a "tomboy" but the second you stick her in a dress she's looks just like a little princess

- I love that she really likes books and she loves to be read to

- I love coming into her room every morning to see her smiling at me and she can't wait for me to pick her up and love her. It's nice to have someone be THAT excited to see you every morning

-I love bath time every night with Chelsea. I love her little naked bum and how excited she gets when she's playing in the water

- I love how excited and smiley she gets when her dad and I hug and kiss every night when he gets home from work. She absolutely LOVES it when Brad and I are affectionate with each other. And more recently she's joined in the fun and we get to have a family group hug and then we take turns kissing each other

- It hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure it's right around the corner. I am going to love it when she says the word "Mama"!

Flying High at 29!

2009-07-24T10:01:00.004-06:00

So what WAS the gift Brad planned for my 29th birthday??? A private plane ride around the Wasatch front. He arranged with a co-worker of his who is also a private pilot to take us up in a plane and fly over our house, over Ogden Canyon and over Park City. So...the "mysterious" phone call that Brad received was his work buddy, Alan, telling him the plane needed some repairs and it wouldn't be ready on my birthday (hence the delay).

So this last Friday we headed down to the Salt Lake Airport (the private plane area) and met Alan there. He did all the pre flight inspection stuff (which Brad totally ate up) and then we were off! We headed north and flew over Lagoon, over our house, over Hill Air force Base and my favorite part was the Canyon. Brad even got to fly the plane for a good portion of the time (he was pretty much on cloud nine!) It was a really neat thing to be able to do, a once in a life time opportunity really. It was definitely an unexpected and creative gift! It was such a fun adventure. Brad pretty much decided he needed a career change after that. He started looking into flight schools around the country. It was pretty funny!

So that was the big secret...FLYING....yea, NEVER would have guessed that one! Here are some shots from our sky high adventure.

Million Air was where we flew out of

inside the plan with Alan, our Pilot

This was our trusty plane...her name was Piper!

Some of the cool places we saw from WAY up high

A Walking Machine!

2009-07-23T18:47:00.003-06:00

Chelsea is officially walking! She took her first steps on July 12th (2 days before she turned 11 months) and has been practicing every day since. She still gets tripped up and falls when toys get in her way, but she's doing really good. She is walking more than she is crawling now. I was able to get a short video of my little walking machine in action. Enjoy!

Spoiled Brat? You decide...

2009-07-23T14:36:00.001-06:00

I recently celebrated my 29th birthday. Normally I am not the type of person to care much about gifts. I really don't need a gift to make me happy. Pretty much just remembering my birthday is sufficient and maybe a nice card from my husband or a nice dinner out together. Nothing big or extravagant is needed. But something happened this year and I became obsessed with my gift. A few months back Brad mentioned that he had my gift all planned out and he was saving up for it. That got my wheels turning. What in the world kind of gift would he have planned for me that would be so expensive that it would require saving months in advanced. There wasn't anything I could think of that I wanted that would cost that much. And then a few days later he started asking me vague questions like "if you could go anywhere on the Wasatch front where would you go?" The questions confused me so I asked some clarifying questions and he basically wanted to know what sites I'd like to see and I told him it would depend on what I was doing. If I was walking or hiking it would one place, if I was driving it would some where else, if I was on a bike it would be some where else. Then it hit me! Clue #1 - I had been complaining about not doing anything as a family or a couple for a while by that point. Clue #2 - He bought a bike last year that he rarely rides because he says he doesn't want to go by himself. But he said he would love to go with me if only I had a bike to join him. Clue #3 - Bikes are expensive and would require saving money in advance. I just KNEW he was getting me a bike for my birthday. Suddenly I got excited! I thought about all the fun we could have riding around our neighborhood, riding down Legacy Parkway and how many FREE dates and family activities could come out of this one gift. As the months went by the more I thought about it and the more excited I got. When the week of my birthday arrived I was more excited about this gift (100% expecting a bike) than I have ever been about any other gift in my life. And then there were more clues that week. Brad was taking the day of my birthday off of work so that we could do something special. He arranged for a babysitter and had something planned for us to do. However, a few days before, he got a "mysterious" phone call and found out that my gift "wasn't ready" yet and wouldn't be ready for another week. So Brad decided not to take off work on my birthday since we apparently couldn't do what he had planned without the gift and planned to take the following Friday off when the gift would be ready. So Clue #4 - Brad's plans for our day away 100% revolved around this gift. If the gift wasn't ready our plans had to be postponed. A bike TOTALLY fits that description. I thought Brad had planned to go on a long bike ride together somewhere, maybe grab some lunch or something and then ride back. If you don't have a bike ready you can't really follow through on those plans. I now realize I was reading WAY WAY WAY too much into all of this, but all of these clues combined with my curiosity and pure excitement for a bike completely took over my rational thinking. So when I found out that I was going to have to wait a whole other week to find out about my gift I was pretty disappointed. Again, only because I couldn't wait to go on a family bike ride. So the night of my birthday Brad and I went back and forth about whether or not he should tell me what his surprise gift was or if I should just wait (this went on for hours). In the end we decided that I would just tell him what I thought the gift was. When I told him I KNEW I was getting a bike he flat out told me that wasn't it. At first I thought he was just trying to cover it up, just so that I would still be surprised the following week, but after a few minutes I realized he wasn't joking or trying to throw me off the trail. I really wasn't getting a bike. I guess the disappointment I felt was written all over my face. I didn't mean to be disappointed or feel sad but I was SOOOO SURE and SOOOO EXCITED. All my ideas and plans for different family outings and date nights flew out the window. The next morning (Saturday) I had an early morning meeting and when I came home the first thing Brad said to me was..."Let's go get you a bike." I hesitated and resisted at first saying that we didn't have money and he didn't need to do that but he insisted, saying we had some money in savings that we could use and we talked about all the benefits of us both owning bikes. So in the end...I got the bike I had been so excited for.

We spent that whole day trying to find a bike that would work for me. It was kind of a fiasco. They pretty much don't make bikes that are the colors I wanted, in my size (since I'm so tall), and in our price range. But at the VERY END of the day after going to pretty much every bike shop from Ogden down to Bountiful (more than once i might add) I found a bike that works for me. It's not pink or purple or girly colored like I wanted, but the size and price worked for me and it doesn't look too terribly masculine like I was concerned about. We also got Chelsea a little carrier for behind the bike so that she can come along. We didn't get out on our bikes until after 9 O'clock that night but it was SOOOO nice to go on a bike ride as a family. We have been able to go out on the trails around our house several times now and we are loving this new family hobby!

So, maybe I'm a spoiled brat, who made sure she got her way in the end, or maybe I just have a husband who wants his wife to be happy...maybe both. Either way, having a healthy family hobby is worth the title of "Spoiled Brat" in my book!

It's a Cannondale Hybrid

4th of July...My Favorite!

2009-07-23T13:32:00.000-06:00

Our festivities started on the 3rd of July rather than the 4th. My brother, Greg, and sister, Charity, came up for the week and were here to celebrate with us. The first year I lived in Utah I lived in South Salt Lake and found out about a cool fireworks show that the city of South Salt Lake put on every year on July 3rd. I went there the first year with my roommates, fell in love with the whole thing and haven't missed a year since, even though it takes us a good 45 minutes to attend now that we live so far away. It's become kind of a tradition for us and I love it. You bring blankets and lawn chairs and a picnic and there is a band that plays fun oldies music and they have booths and things set up. Then when it's dark, they put on THE BEST fireworks show accompanied by patriotic music. So I dragged Charity and Greg along with us to the South Salt Lake show. They pretty much made fun of the band and the odd people walking around the whole time BUT they shut their mouths once the fireworks started! They were impressed and amazed at how good the fireworks show was. So we had a lot of fun playing with Chelsea and dancing to the music. Chelsea WAS NOT a fan of the fireworks AT ALL! She was just about ready to jump out of her skin she was so scared. She screamed and screamed and clawed at my throat the whole time. It was awful and I felt horrible. I'm hoping next year she will be a little more ok with the loud "booms".

Greg napping during the festivities
Chelsea's enjoying time with her Aunt Charity

dancing to all the fun oldies songs

waiting for the fireworks to start

Brad, Chelsea and Charity got to sleep in on the 4th while Greg and I got up at the crack of dawn and headed out to the Clearfield city building to participate in a 5K race. I thought it would be a fun thing to do with Greg. Greg kicked butt! He was 13th to cross the finish line and he came in 2nd for his age group. He finished in 21 min. and 53 sec. He got a red ribbon as his prize! I on the other hand STRUGGLED! There is nothin' like a 5K to remind you how out of shape you really are. I tried and ran some and walked some and then ran some more and walked some more. I was the 218th person to cross the finish line and I did it in 43 min and 51 sec. No I'm not proud of that time! But it did give the motivation I needed to get back to running again. Even if it's just a mile or two a day. It was a fun thing to get out and do and especially with my brother.

After the run we came home and I made homemade scones for breakfast and we dressed Chelsea up in her cute 4th of July outfit (thanks Gma D).

For the afternoon we just kind of hung around the house, watched a Stearman family favorite Mac and Me and continued a Stearman, and more recently a Petersen, Family tradition of making homemade ice cream. That evening we headed over to Brad's parent's house for a nice BBQ.

After the BBQ we had planned to go to Davis High School for round two of fireworks for the year, but after the episode with Chelsea the previous night I couldn't feel ok about going to another firework's show with her and putting her through that misery again. So since I was going to go home, everyone decided to skip the fireworks and go home with me. So we ended up putting Chelsea to bed and watching So I Married An Axe Murderer. It wasn't as spectacular as going to a firework's show would have been but, we did get to see a few fireworks from our deck in the back yard. All in all it was a nice 4th of July complete with homemade ice cream!

Hiking Adam's Canyon...sort of...

2009-07-23T12:00:00.005-06:00

I have been complaining that Brad and I don't get out and do much. We have kind of gotten into a rut of just sitting around and watching the boob tube. I hear about all of my friends and the fun things they do together with their spouses or families and I was bummed that we don't do any of those fun things. Not having money and being on a strict budget is always a good excuse to not get out and do things but there are some fun things to do together as a family that are free and so I have been complaining that we don't do enough of those things. Well I think Brad got tired of my complaining because he had a Friday off a couple of weeks ago and he suggested we go on a hike as a family. I JUMPED at the chance to get out and do something both healthy (exercise) and fun! So we borrowed a baby hiking carrier and headed out for Adam's Canyon in Layton. I'm told that there is a waterfall at the end of the hike, which I was really looking forward to seeing, BUT we never made it to the end of the hike. About half a mile into the hike Chelsea started crying. It was getting to be her nap time and the sun was beating down on her ( I brought a hat for her like a good mom but she wouldn't keep it on) and she was just miserable So she cried...and cried...and cried. Having a crying baby while you are trying to hike doesn't make for a very good outing. So after we had gone maybe a mile and half I told Brad we should head back because I didn't want to go the whole way up and the whole way back with a cranky baby. Brad was really bummed but agreed and we headed back to the car. About 5 minutes before we got back to the car Chelsea had fallen asleep. Just our luck! After the failed hike attempt, Brad suggested going for a drive and since Chelsea was now sound asleep in her car seat, I agreed. So we had a really nice drive together and saw some places I'd never seen before. So our attempt at a family hike didn't quite work out but Brad and I decided we want to try the hike again, but this time we will find a sitter so we can be sure we make it to the waterfall!

The start of the hike...still a happy baby

This is where the hike ended for us :(

A look out point we stopped at on our drive

Left Overs

2009-07-18T20:28:00.004-06:00

These are just some random pics from our Mammoth vacation that I didn't get included with the previous post.

Mammoth Lakes, CA

2009-07-18T14:23:00.013-06:00

My brother Greg leaves for his mission on July 22 and we won't be together with him for two years. So my parents thought it would be a good opportunity to spend some quality time together as a family. They planned a week vacation for all of us up in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Our family came from Utah and Jeff and Mandy came from Arizona and we all met at my parents house. We left on a Monday, June 8th and headed up to Mammoth. When we got there I think we were all quite surprised. It was cold cold cold and drizzly. All of us (except my parents) expected nice sunny summer weather and packed our clothes with that thought in mind. In fact, some of us didn't even bring a sweatshirt or pants at all. My suit case contained a million pairs of shorts and one pair of jeans. My sister-in-law packed all shorts and Capri's. So the first stop we made was to a local Rite-aid to purchase some sweatshirts. I had to buy one for me and for Chelsea since I only packed summer type clothes for her as well (so when you see the pics and I'm always in the same outfit...that's why). My parents rented a cabin for the week and it was very very nice. It was large enough for us all to fit comfortably.

view from the deck of the cabin

View down the street

After we arrived and got things unpacked we headed in to town for a pizza dinner at this yummy restaurant called Nik-N-Willies Pizza. It was such delicious pizza. They piled the toppings so high and it was covered with a mountain of cheese. I don't think I've had such a yummy pizza. After dinner we made a pit stop at the Rite-air, which I already mentioned.
The next day the weather was pretty poopy. It was cloudy and cold all morning and then it rained all afternoon. The boys (My dad, Brad, Jeff and Greg) went golfing, while the girls had plans for some sort of girl play time. We couldn't really do a movie because we had Chelsea to worry about, so we decided we would go get pedicures. Well, there was only one salon in the entire town and they only had one pedicurist SOOOOO that ruled that out. So the girls just hung around the cabin the whole day and got some rest. We did spend some time in the hot tub that was at the cabin and that was nice.

Day 3 was interesting to say the least. We planned to spend the day fishing. We should have known the day would be a disaster. The Stearmans are not wilderness folk. We should really stay clear of the mountains and anything related to them. We tend do better at the beach! It took literally all morning long for the guys to figure out the fishing poles and how to get the line on them. We finally made it out of the door at 1 pm and headed for the lake. No one knew where we would be going or how to choose the best place to fish and it was chaos...the blind leading the blind. To make matter WAY worse it was absolutely FREEZING. We were attempting to fish in frigid conditions and everyone was pretty much miserable. Jeff was the one and only person to catch a fish (on his first cast) and then in the process of try to get the hook out, the fish died. It was really sad. It just proved that the Stearmans have no business being out in the wild. After being out there for probably a little over an hour it started to snow and that's when all of the ladies decided to throw in the towel and go home and get some hot chocolate. So we spent the remainder of the day watching movies, and playing games.
We were hoping for better weather on day 4 and we got it! We planned to do a hike called Crystal Crag. My dad use to take us on this hike every year when we were young so we figured it would be a pretty easy hike. We packed our back packs and water bottles and headed out. It was beautiful weather so we thought we would be good to go. Probably 1/2 mile into the hike we started realizing that the trail to follow was still covered in snow from the winter. We thought we could try and cut a few corners and find the trail again but after about a mile and a half or so of wandering around trying to find the trail, we decided to stop where we were and eat the lunch we had packed. After lunch and a few pictures we headed back down. It made for a much shorter day. Again, we spent the rest of the day movie watching, hot tubing, playing games and napping. All the relaxing that was done was sooo nice.

The next day we had to pack up and leave. Before heading out in our separate directions we stopped at this super cute little restaurant called "The Stove" for a quick breakfast. I've never seen such huge food portions in my life. WOW! The biggest pancakes I've ever seen! But it was excellent food and fun to be together as a family one last time. After breakfast, Brad, Chelsea and I said our good byes and made the long trek back to Utah.

It was such a fun trip (even though the weather didn't cooperate and the hike got cut short) and I'm so glad my parents planned this great vacation so that we could spend some time together as a family.

Charity's Special Day

2009-07-18T11:56:00.005-06:00

My sister, Charity, went through the Redlands temple to take out her endowments the first weekend in June. This is the second one of my siblings to receive their endowments this year (Greg went through the temple in April). It was a very cool experience to see her all grown up and making that very important commitment. She looked BEAUTIFUL in her white temple dress. In fact, perfect strangers at the temple commented on what a beautiful young lady she is. They kept asking "is she getting married?"...No..."well then is she going on a mission"...No...they were stunned. Then we told them she just felt like this was what she should be doing and the next step she should take...they were all shocked. We are all very proud of Charity. Here are some pics of our family outside the temple.

Green Thumb???

2009-07-18T11:22:00.005-06:00

I've decided I don't have a green thumb...at least not yet. This year, as part of our food storage efforts, Brad and I decided to plant a garden in our back yard. The project started MONTHS ago with Brad and his Dad chopping down a very large tree in our back yard. That was so that we could get some sunlight in order to have our garden grown. We decided to do a modified version of a square foot garden. First we had to build our garden box with ply wood (that was Brad's department). Then we hauled a bunch of dirt from a garden center to our back yard and filled the garden box, then we measured our one foot by one foot squares, then we planted. I thought the planting part would be a fun thing for my nephew Braxton to participate in. I asked him if he wanted to help me make a garden and for the whole rest of the day he walked around saying "make a garden, make a garden". When we finally went outside to "make our garden" I got everything situated and dug a hole in the soil and then gave Braxton a plant to place in the garden and he took one look at the garden, realized that "making a garden" involved getting into the dirt and wanted NOTHING to do with it. So I ended up planting all of our garden. I did have Braxton pose for a picture though :) We ended up planting a couple of broccoli plants, some onions, some lettuce and some peas. That was all done in March and then I had to wait until May to plant all of the other things that I was really excited about planting (i.e. squash, bell peppers, cantaloupe). Unfortunately my May was so swamped with trying to finish my furniture project (mentioned in a previous post) I never got around to planting the rest of my garden. We did plant a few tomato plants in June but that was as far as we got. I can't really say we've had a real plentiful harvest this year. So far my lettuce was completely devoured by bugs, my onions only grew to the size of a golf balls, and we are still waiting on the rest. We did get a few peas, however, I didn't get them frozen fast enough and they went bad on my kitchen counter (I know...what a waste). The broccoli is just now starting to show some fruit, which I am excited about and we have a few GREEN tomatoes hanging on our tomato plants...so we will see. I am just going to chalk up this year to experience. It was our first attempt. Hopefully next year we will know better what we are doing.

We have yet to enjoy the fruits of our labors, but if we ever get a red tomato or the broccoli finally comes in fully, I will be sure to post a picture of us enjoying it.

My Summer Project

2009-07-18T10:57:00.005-06:00

I spent most of the month of May and into June working on a little project. My brother and Sister-in-Law are expecting a baby girl in August and told them I would help them with a changing table. For my changing table I just took Brad's old dresser and sanded it down and painted it white, and then put new knobs on it. I didn't realize how lucky we were to have a dresser that was exactly the right size. The first part of the project was just trying to find a used dresser that met all of my requirements (i.e. right height, length, depth, type of wood, and PRICE). After weeks of searching I found a good deal at the DI on a dresser that was the right dimensions and it came with two nightstands that I figured they could stack on top of each other and use as extra drawer space in the baby room. So then the manual labor started! I spend the next few weeks sanding...and sanding...and sanding. We have an electric sander but it still took quite a long time to get everything sanded down. Next was the fun part...painting. I painted the dresser and the two nightstands an espresso brown color (which I am hoping matches pretty closely with their espresso colored crib) and then finished it off with some cute pink knobs. Their baby room colors are brown and pink so I thought the knobs would add a nice touch. Anyway, I was glad to have them all done and ready to go before we headed down to California where we gave them to Jeff and Mandy. I think that will be my last furniture refinishing project for quite a while. But it was fun.

Here are some before and after shots of my handy work

Nightstands - BEFORE

Dresser - IN PROCESS

The FINISHED Product

Hogle Zoo Adventure

2009-07-18T10:57:00.000-06:00

Way back in May, my good friend Vanessa invited Chelsea and I to join her play group for a trip to the Hogle Zoo. So I packed up the kiddies (my nephew Braxton came along as well) and we went to the zoo. It was quite the adventure. As is ALWAYS the case with me, we had a few snaggs in our day-o-fun, which threatened to sour it (2 Kids + 1 broken stroller = A PAIN THE BUTT!) but in the end we had a really great time. The kids seemed to enjoy the animals and even though Chelsea was a little too young to care, she loves being outside so she was happy just to be wheeled around in the outdoors. Her legs got a little sunburt but it didn't seem to phase her much. Thanks for the invite Vanessa! Such a fun day!

INSOMNIA

2009-06-16T05:01:00.005-06:00

It's 4:30 in the morning and I have laid in bed listening to my husband snore for several hours now. I finally decided that I would be more productive getting out of bed and actually doing something rather than just laying there for yet another hour staring at the ceiling. Why can't I sleep? I'm just having one of those nights where your mind just won't shut off. It just keeps going and going. A lot of it has to do with my new calling. A few weeks ago I was called to be the first counselor in my ward's Relief Society. This calling definitely caught me off guard and I was feeling VERY inadequate for the call. But I've had many blessings and experiences that have let me know that this is the call that Heavenly Father wants me to have, that he is aware of my MANY faults and shortcomings, that He has been preparing me for this call long before it actually came, and with His help (and ONLY with His help) I can overcome my shortcomings and magnify my calling. As the first counselor I'm over education, which includes the RS teachers and making sure that Sundays are taken care of. It sounds easy enough, but I found out yesterday that one of our newly called teachers will not be there this Sunday and it is her turn to teach. So, it's now my responsibility to either find someone to teach the lesson OR I do it myself. I think this is the root of my little insomnia problem tonight. This really shouldn't be that big of an issue, but considering I've laid awake contemplating what I should do, it's apparently more of an issue than I thought. I've prayed about it, read the lesson through, and tried to decide if the Lord intends for me to do this lesson or if He has some else in mind for it. One name came across my mind but I know that the sister I'm thinking of has recently had some serious health concerns and to top it off, I really don't even know her. I've met her once. So I don't know if her health is up to teaching a lesson quite yet, and if not, I'm back to square one.
The other thing keeping me awake is visiting teaching. I've had the same VT route for a while now and it's been really nice because I don't have a companion (it's just easier to just go and do it rather than trying to coordinate with someone else's schedule). I have two active sisters on my list (whom I visit monthly with no problem) and two inactive sisters, whom I have never met, nor made an effort to meet (I'm confessing my sins via my blog). This really shouldn't be an issue for me. I would consider myself a pretty social person (not exactly shy) and I've served a mission where 90% of my day for 18 months was meeting with people I didn't know. Yet, the idea of making contact with sisters that I don't know, who haven't been to church in who knows how long, and who most likely don't want me to interrupt their lives, TERRIFIES me. I realize this is a very poor attitude to have, but it's a fact. When they asked me to do this calling, that was the very first thing that popped into my mind, the fact that I would be responsible to make visits to inactive sisters. It just plain scares the poop out of me! So I've been praying about it a lot. I can't say that any fear has been removed (darn it!) but I can say that I at least have a determination to get out there and do what I'm suppose to do...terrified or not. So I figure I should probably start with the 2 inactive sisters on my own visiting teaching route. So I've laid awake trying to think about how to contact/approach these two women. I figure food is always good right? A nice loaf of banana bread or plate of cookies always breaks the ice right? Fingers crossed.
Now that I've gotten out what's been on my brain I think I'm going to put some ear plugs in to shield myself from the hedgehog that sleeps next to me, and try and get some Zs.

9 Months

2009-05-26T22:05:00.007-06:00

Chelsea recently turned nine months old and I wanted to make sure I documented all of her mile stones. She has grown up so much in the last 3 months. I feel like she's a whole new baby. She's acquired so many new skills and she's just so much fun. When we took her to the doc for her 9 month check up we got all good news. He said she looks great and is developing well. She weighs just over 21 lbs (85th percentile) and she is 29.25 inches long (94th percentile). One of the questions the doctor asked was if she got nervous or upset around strangers and I confidently answered "No, not at all. She's actually very happy with anyone." He responded with a very surprised look on his face and said "Really?" Apparently at this age most children start having separation anxiety issues and don't do so well with strangers. Well, immediately following his question and my response he came towards Chelsea to examine her and she let out the most terrified little cry and proceeded to cry (scream really) through the entire examination. The doctor took a step back and asked me "Would you like to re answer that last question?" I thought it was really funny. She tried to make a liar out of me. Anyway, I don't know what she was upset about when her doctor came near her but normally she IS very good with strangers. She's an all around happy baby. The only time we really have issues with her is at night. We are still struggling with getting her to STAY asleep. She sleeps through the night most nights it's just getting her to sleep that's a problem. She has her nightly routine of a bath, some relaxation time, reading books and a bottle and with that routine we can get her to fall asleep...for about 30 min to 45 min and then she's up again. We've tried letting her cry it out (she cried through an entire 2 hour movie the other night), we've tried putting her to bed later, we've tried sound machines, we've done what all the "experts" say yet, we still struggle with getting her to stay asleep. If you've got a suggestion I'm open to hearing it! Other than her PM issues she's is such a pleasant baby to be around. Apparently she's "pretty" too. I mean, I of course think she's beautiful, but I am pretty biased. But other people think she's pretty as well. No matter where we go, we could be at a restaurant, at church, at the mall, it never fails, someone always comes up to me and tells me how "pretty" our baby is. I'll take the compliment!

Her newest "tricks":

-She has two bottom teeth (they came in at 7 months)

-Eating table food (puffs, yogurt bites, banana slices, pasta, carrots, peas, corn cobs)

-crawling (8 1/2 months)

-sitting up /standing up in her bed (we had to lower her bed so she doesn't fall out)

-pulling herself up to a standing position

-growling

-clicking her tongue

-peek-a-boo

-playing with her cousin, Braxton

-she loves to be read to

-she loves to "talk" on the phone (she can tell when someone is on the other end and when you are pretending)

-she loves being outdoors

-Her hair on the side is longer than the rest of her hair. I call her my little Jewish baby. Every one comments on her side locks

-clapping

-She gets really excited and kicks her feet when the theme song for Dora the Explorer or The Backyardigans comes on. She doesn't watch the shows, she just pays attention long enough for the theme songs at the beginning.

We did have one scare. She fell down a flight of stairs on Mother's day. Scared me to death. After that we got a "baby prison" to keep her contained. She hates it but boy do I LOVE it.

This past nine months have gone by so quick and I'm so excited to see how she's going to grow and develop in the next nine months. At the same time I want time to slow down just a little. Soon I'm going to have a walking, talking toddler and my baby will be gone forever. I don't know if I'm ready for her to grow up quite yet.

Our Visit to La Quinta

2009-05-26T22:02:00.002-06:00

In April, Chelsea and I were able to go and spend a week with my family in La Quinta. It was a really fun trip and we got to spend some much needed time with the fam. Each day was filled with something fun (as the pictures show). Chelsea and I got to spend some time in the pool. It took Chelsea some time to get use to the cold water but after a while she got into it.

Chelsea also had fun playing in the warm spa with grandma and grandpa. Grandma bought her this super cute lady bug floater toy. Such a good idea!
On Wednesday, my Aunt Dayna (Auntie Tee Tee) and my cousin Brian came out to spend some time with Chelsea and I. We had a good time playing in the pool and catching some rays! Then on Saturday, my grandma and grandpa Nead came down. We had a nice visit with them. It was so good to see them.

My sister Jaylee and her boyfriend Patrick also came down while we were there. They brought their dog Shooter and Chelsea wasn't quite sure what to make of him. It was cute. We enjoyed a quick, but nice visit with them and my mom was nice and took us to my very favorite spot for lunch...the Soup Plantation! Yummy Yummy. There was a waitress there that was annoying though. She kept watching Chelsea and would tell me what I should and shouldn't let her touch and eat. She irritated me.

We were pretty much spoiled rotten from the time we arrived until the time we left. My parents watched Chelsea for me a few times so that I could go out running, my mom made me yummy breakfasts such as homemade crepes with strawberries (YUMMO!), my mom, Chelsea and I hopped in the car for a VERY QUICK road trip to Arizona (we looked at some homes that I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to buy), and we spent the rest of the time lounging. Charity had fun with her niece, teaching her a few dance moves, and Grandpa Steve couldn't resist giving Chelsea her first lesson on watering the lawn :)

The Crepes

But all good things must come to an end and we had one lonely hubby and daddy to return to. So we packed up our bags and headed back to Utah.