Wrestling???

Well, I finally did it. I signed Tyler up for Wrestling. He has wanted to wrestle for years but I haven't done it until now for these reasons:

1. I don't want him hurt. I am not as concerned about the broken bone issue because in all reality he could do that riding his bike, doing monkey bars or any of the crazy stuff that kids do. I fully believe in limiting the possibility by wearing a helmet, knee pads, etc. when appropriate, though. My main concern was that I just didn't want to see him being chocked, thrown around, etc.

2. It is an all day mess. Weigh in is usually around 7:30 am, tournament starts about 9:00 am and he could wrestle at any time without any notice. Sometimes two or three hours apart, sometimes 15 minutes apart until around 1:00 or 2:00 or whenever they get done. So either you stay there all day or risk missing your child's match.

3. Joe works some Saturdays. Since none of my kids are old enough to stay home alone all day and it would be way too expensive to find a babysitter all day that means I am doing it by myself on those days. I am proud of the fact that even after I had the twins I still managed do let the kids to the extra activities that they do and that I make it to all of the games and take them to practices or lessens with all the kids in tow. It is not always easy, but I do it-all day is stretching it for me a bit, though.

But, I signed him up knowing that the Saturday tournaments are optional, and that the practices would be good for him. He loves to wrestle his friends and is good at it. When I got there this morning just before his first match and Joe told me his meet was in a town an hour away next week and Tyler really wanted to go I said no way, either he is not going or you are taking him!

After seeing him wrestle his first time, I was hooked! He lost all three of his matches but did an incredible job. After only having two practices and missing half of one of those because of his Blue and Gold Banquet he rocked it and barely lost to these kids that had wrestled for years.

He was so proud of himself and just the look on his face of doing so well and having so much fun was a reminder of why we let them sign up for sports or dance, or music (within reason, and only one activity at a time per child), to help them develop their talents, learn to be proud of what they accomplish, try their best and be good sports.

So next week we will pack a picnic lunch again, arrange carpool with friends for the early weigh in again, and make the drive to support Tyler and show him that we are behind him in whatever he chooses to do in life, just like we do for our other kids, just like my parents did for me. Unless, of course, it becomes too much, then we will reevaluate our options, because a crazy mom is not a good mom!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Gung Hay Fat Choy, or Happy Chinese New Year! Last night was our Blue and Gold Banquet, which as pack masters, Joe and I were in charge of. When I first heard that the theme was Chinese New Year, I thought that it would be impossible to make enough Chinese food for 50 people on a budget and have people actually eat it, considering that a large portion are children. We had decided to go the easy way out and serve Chinese (Hawaiian) haystacks, but the more I learned about the Chinese culture, I learned how symbolic all of the food dishes are. For instance, did you know that in dishes with noodles, such as Lo Mein, it is bad luck to break the noodles? Long noodles symbolize longevity.
Our wolf leader had volunteered to make the decorations, so I decided to go ahead and make traditional Chinese food and display the name of the dish along with what it symbolizes. It turned out awesome! With some ideas from both my mom and Joe's mom, we turned out an amazing dinner that got rave reviews, even from the kids.
It was decorated with red (happiness) paper lanterns that the boys had made strung across the room and cute table decorations made with oranges (wealth). The boys even fashioned a dragon that they used to dance around the room with.
We were quite proud of ourselves. We used to be our ward activity committee (Just him and I, what a committee!) and we loved it. It is fun for us to plan a big activity, cook a bunch of food, have a great turn out and to watch everyone have a great time.

Four Beautiful Generations

My little sister Jeanette got married in the Salt Lake Temple last weekend, so that means family gatherings! I love get-togethers of any kind, family or friends and we all know how social Joe is and the kids love being around their aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, so we all had a great time.

My Grandpa and Grandpa Petersen (my mom's mom and dad) were able to come. They live in Minnesota so I have not seen them for a long time so we took the opportunity to take a four generation picture. At one point during the weekend I was observing them sitting side by side and was noticing how much they look alike and thinking that someday maybe that is what I might look like-fine by me, what beautiful women! Believe it or not, this is the best picture I could find of the four generations, it must have been a long day!

Tyler eating spagetti at Bucca di beppo. Someone must have forgotten to teach the boy his manners!

Joe + Brenna + Braelynn + creamer

Another Day in Paradise

Throughout the years, Joe and I have had various "theme songs", I guess you could call them. Just songs that seem to fit the situation that we were in at that time that we could quote to each other and laugh about to make a hard situation seem easier. For example, just after the twins were born and we were feeling very overwealmed with trying to adust to having two newborns as well as meeting the emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of the three older ones "Over My Head" was a favorite one for that time.

Quite a few years ago, there was one called "Just Another Day In Paradise" that was a favorite for a long time. We had both forgotten about it, though, until Tuesday. It was just one of those days and it only got worse on Wednesday. We found ouselves saying it quite a bit and thought those of you that have little kids at home (or have had) might find that it applies quite well. It really is just another day in pardise.

I am having a hard time getting the video to upload onto Blogger, so here is a link to the the video and I will upload it later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yakW10rgKX0

Braelynn loves to do hair. Every morning when I go back to the bathroom to do Veronica and Samantha's har, she is back there "helping". Or whenever she finds a comb or brush she has to go the rounds combing anyones hair that will let her.

On Monday, Samantha wanted me to put sponge curlers in her hair so that it would be curly for school the next day (A girl in her class has curly hair and she wanted hers to bounce like hers!). So, natually Braelynn came to help me put the rollers in Samantha's hair. Eventually she ended up behind me trying to put the rollers in my hair.

Brenna is definatly a reader. The first thing she does in the morning is grab a book for me to read to her and then consistenty throughout the day. Some days I feel like I just cannot read another book but I am thrilled that she already has learned to love books. I was able to sneak the camera out the other day when she was reading.

On another note, we have reached a great milestone. Samantha has been free of thumb sucking for three weeks now! I am so proud of her for working so hard to accomplish this.

Samantha's "ahha" moment

We have all had one of those "ahha" moments, and Samantha and one on Saturday that I thought was so funny. You all know how dramatic Samantha is, so keep that in mind as you read this!
We had been watching President Gordon B. Hinkley's funeral on tv when I overheard Samantha and Tyler commenting on how this funeral was going on forever and how this has got to be the longest one ever. It had only been going on for less than an hour when they said this, by the way. I told them that they should call Aunt Vera (who is a Mortician, and a great one, for those that don't know) afterwards and see if it was really that long, knowing how long funerals can be sometimes.
Samantha knows that Vera is a mortician, has been to the funeral homes that she has worked in quite a few times, and even stayed with her in her apartment which was in the funeral home once. The conversation went on with Veronica joining in about what Vera does. All of a sudden, her eyes got really big and she says "You mean that Vera actualy touches the dead bodies?" Veronica and Tyler went on to tell her about dressing the bodies, embalming, moving and everything else that happens after someone passes away.
The look on her face was a mixture of horror and amazement then she said, "Oh, that just grosses me out!"