Holiday Catch up

I don't know why it has been so difficult for me to blog, but it has. Can you get "bloggers block"? It has been periods like this that have disrupted my journal writing in the past. I just haven't wanted to write about my life, it is enough to live it, do I have to put it on paper too? But, the other night my kids wanted to see pictures, they wanted to hear their "Gotcha" stories and I was able to pull it all up for them here...So, I need to have this for them and for me.
Thanksgiving:
We spent Thanksgiving up in St. Louis. We had dinner on Wednesday with my dad and then Thursday with my mom. Deven helped peal the potatoes, he was in heaven :) Ari had a blast playing with Aunt Sisi and Aunt Skylar. 
It was a little difficult for Deven to be away from his biological siblings but we embraced our family traditions and hopefully it will help him to feel more at home next time. 

Christmas:
Petersen Family Nativity:

 Christmas morning:

Family Pictures:

Dear Arianna (3 years)

Dear Arianna,

3 years! You have brought so much joy to our home. You have turned into a little girl this year.  You are such a character. You are so happy and love to make others happy too. You love to play on your own and with Deven. You take any situation and turn it into something fun. If you hear music you start dancing and singing, it doesn’t matter where you are.  You love to dress-up. Your favorite thing to do is to wear your snoopy pillow case as a cape (I made the pillow case for your Aunt Sisi when she was a little girl). You love to mix dress ups and be a super hero princess or batman in a tutu.

You love to eat vegetables and fruits, and love to help me cook.  You really have a talent for music. You can sing “I Love to See the Temple” and “Stars were Gleaming” along with many other short kids songs. You match pitch and rhythm.  You love it when I play the piano or flute.

You have learned to write your name and can trace and cut very well. You LOVE to read books and to do “school” with Deven and with the other kids. You catch on quickly to new concepts and even sometimes call me “Sister Petersen” during school to be like the other kids. I am still amazed when I realize that you aren’t  just babbling nonsense, but are telling me a very involved story that I can understand!
You love to play chase with daddy, but are afraid of your heater.  You are now potty trained and are very ready for primary. One of your dad's favorite conversations with you went like this: "Ari did you get a cookie." "uh huh....I think I need another one."
I love who you are and who you are becoming. I hope that you will keep wanting to bring happiness and joy to people’s lives.

Love,

Mom

Here are some pictures from Ari's birthday party. We had a dress-up tea party. Ari's cousin Joe was the waiter and we had a blast!

Grandma Cluff's Funeral and We Bought A House!

It has been a whirlwind the last few weeks. Ben's Grandmother past away and we spent the weekend down in Mesa, oh and the day before we left we closed on a house. 

Kitchen

Family Room

Ben's Office

Deven's Room

Ari's Room

Master Bedroom

Dinning Room

Guest Room/Attic/Playroom with a Full Bath! Come stay with us!

Amazing Backyard

I realize now that I should have taken pictures of the kids in front of Cacti and Palm Trees (which Ari kept calling "pine" trees) but it was HOT. We did not want to be outside and if we did, it was with family or in the swimming pool. We did get to each fresh limes off of Ben's cousin's tree and the kids got to play with so many cousins (which I also didn't take pictures of). As it is, I only thought to take pictures of Ari and Laura playing together.

St. Louis Trip

The last post had so many pictures, I thought I would include the non-sealing pictures in this post. We stayed in a hotel for one night and the kids had a blast:

It has also become a tradition to ride the carousel at Faust Park:

With Aunt Skylar

Nana!

Sister Selfie

Deven has turned into a real climber, it is hard to keep up with him, I couldn't even touch the top of this rock structure...