Thursday, June 30, 2011

Marshmallow Guns

It is a constant struggle to convince Soren that shooting people, toys, anything is not cool.  We are not gun people. We do not own guns. We do not allow the kids to have toy guns. We try to not allow them any tv with guns in it. We do not hunt. Seriously, guns are not a part of our lives. Yet somehow, our 4 year old has a way to turn everything into a gun!  Pens, toys, sticks, fingers…seriously, anything. I recognize that I cannot fight his urge to shoot things (afterall, we are self-proclaimed redneck wannabes). So instead, we have made it a rule that the only thing he is allowed to shoot out of these “guns” are rainbows and marshmallows.  Well, Soren took this a little literally, because he has been asking for a marshmallow gun. And because Kevin is a really cool father, he made him some!

IMG_5009IMG_5010IMG_5011IMG_5012

A Posed Picture

So after two years of failed attempts, I finally got the kids to pose for a picture. Of course, they had to be wearing this…

IMG_5028IMG_5027

Now let me explain…

we are currently in the process of transforming one of the chicken coops into a play house. This means that we have a lot of painting to do.  Lately, if any of the kids’ clothes are stained or ruined, I fight my impulse to hoard them and throw them away. Therefore, they were left with no paint clothes.  So I raided my closet for something to wear.  They ended up in a couple of old tank tops, their own underpants, and my gym socks over their shoes.  They look like the cutest little girls you’ve ever seen!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Six Years of Wedded Bliss

In a way it seems like a lifetime ago.  In a way it seems like yesterday.  But the calendar tells us that it really was 6 years ago.

Here’s a look back at the vows spoken that faithful day 6 years ago…

ceremony1

June 25, 2005

ceremony3

I promise to always remember how new love feels and rekindle the spark that first brought us together.

I promise to keep the fun and excitement of youth both in myself and in our relationship.

ceremony4

I promise that you will always be my closest friend and the person that I confide in.

I promise to cherish the relationships we have built and will continue to grow and develop new relationships.

ceremony5

I promise to understand that we are two separate people and will appreciate and support you as an individual.

I will cherish you for the perspective that you bring to the relationship and I will try to understand it and use it to make our relationship stronger.

ceremony 7

I promise that family will always come first no matter how challenging life becomes.

I promise that together we will work to keep our families close and be there for support in any situation.

ceremony 9

I understand that our life together will not always be easy but I promise to preserver and standby you.

I promise to make the necessary sacrifices to build both myself and our union to be prosperous and happy.

ceremony 10

I promise no matter what the future, we will together make it our dreams.

 

I look forward to the many years we have together to watch myself and our relationship mature and develop into a lifetime of memories.

ceremony

I promise to support you throughout life as an individual, as a friend, as a family member, and as a partner.

Happy 6th Anniversary Kevy! 

(And if you really want to see the details of the ceremony…Click here)

Friday, June 24, 2011

Thank You Target Clearance

While every day should be Thank You Target Clearance Day at our house. Last weekend we had an especially thankful Target Clearance Day!…

IMG_4938IMG_4941IMG_4942

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Making of a Card

The boys were very excited to make a card for Daddy for father’s day. I however was not as excited at the prospect of cleaning up a mess after an art project. So we just did the same as we do for all meals, headed outside! IMG_4965IMG_4966IMG_4967IMG_4968IMG_4969IMG_4970IMG_4971

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Birds and the Bees

Soren is very into science these days. He loves hearing about how everything works and he is very interested, specifically, in anatomy and physiology of all animals.  Lately, he has been asking about reproduction.  We try to keep it as scientific as possible.  We talk about mammals versus reptiles. He knows about pollination.  He knows that babies need a “seed” and an egg and that women are born with eggs in their bellies.  He asks lots of really good questions, and again, I try to give him the most straight forward and accurate answer possible.  It wasn’t until the other day that Soren asked the dreaded question of how the “seed” got into the mommy’s belly where the egg lies.  So I swallowed hard, thought for a brief moment, and gave him the most scientific answer I could come up with for a 4 year old…”Magic”Winking smile DSCN0264DSCN0266DSCN0267DSCN0268DSCN0269

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Friday, June 17, 2011

Insta-Cousins

Soren and Boodle have plenty of cousins on my side of the family (4.5 to be exact) but none in sight on the Peterson side. So like any good sister-in-law, I have been bugging my sister-in-law, Amanda, to pop out some babies, to which she replies with an adamant “No!”  That was until she started dating Robbie who has 3 kids of his own.  The other day, Amanda hosted a BBQ in honor of Kevin’s 32nd and all of the kids got to meet for the first time. They had a great time together.  DSCN0280DSCN0281DSCN0283DSCN0285DSCN0287DSCN0288DSCN0290DSCN0291DSCN0292DSCN0293

Do we see insta-cousins in our future?  Only time will tell!  Well, time and a 2 carat princess cut diamondSmile

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Intro to Fantasy Baseball

As many of you know, Kevin used to be quite into fantasy sports…no seriously, I mean that it would take up as much time as work.  But because he is a Super Dad, he has sacrificed the mass quantities of hours that he paid attention to fantasy sports and hangs out with his kids instead.  But sure enough, I knew this day would come…

The kids’ Intro to fantasy sports

DSCN0271DSCN0272DSCN0274DSCN0275

Of course Kevin didn’t get to pay undivided attention to this fantasy sports league, but not to worry, it was actually Uncle Vova’s league that he is managing while Vova is in the MotherlandWinking smile

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Groovy Smoothies



These days one of Soren’s favorite shows is the Fresh Beat Band. He loves the music, the dancing, and especially the Groovy Smoothies on the show. So as you can imagine, both kids were ecstatic when they awoke to their own Groovy Smoothies on Sunday!




DSCN0222DSCN0226DSCN0227


Untitled from Amanda Sidell on Vimeo.




DSCN0230DSCN0233DSCN0235




Untitled from Amanda Sidell on Vimeo.







DSCN0238DSCN0239







What a Groovy Sunday!