I asked my niece Emma, what she likes to do in her free time, she said "math". I said "Oh, really? You should be a computer programmer" she said "No, I'm going to be a lawyer". (I didn't know that lawyers were that "mathy"). Anyway, she went to get her "blue binder" to show me some of her made up math problems. Take a look for yourself! Rather than "long division" we call it "eternal division". Good luck correcting that baby!
Tonight I spent 2-3 hours with family. I don't get to see my nieces and nephew very often, but when I do, we have a blast. Non-stop laughing, usually at someone elses' expense.
This was a favorite line from my nephew Adrien. He's 10. He asked if we renembered last year, when he visited grandma's house, and he picked up a snail in the front yard and it crapped all over the place?" Unfortunately.. we did remember!
As a combined activity, we did service at the LDS Church's Sandy Garden last week. I'm not a huge gardener, but I had a couple of tasks while I was there. First, I was asked to prune the grape leaves. The instructions were for me to cut the leaves back to the part on the branch where the grapes were growing (leaving the bunch of grapes on the vine) . It was a giant entanglement of vines, and I did an ok job, but every once in awhile, I would trim too far up on the vine, and a bunch of grapes would be pruned along with the excess vine. I did this 2-3 times, and each time, I felt as though I was killing grapes. They'll never have a chance to fully prosper because of me!
I was at the store tonight and walked by the freezer section when I "thought" I saw "Bryers Double Chin Ice Cream". Turns out, it's actually "Double Churn".. totally different ice cream!
This little girl came to live with me, which made me very, very happy!
I love you all to pieces! xoxo 
ok - Don't be alarmed... I really don't have swine flu, but I learned today that one symptom of swine flu is "worsening confusion". Based on this new information, I believe I have officially had the swine flu for approximately 5 years. Just ask Jessie! (or anyone else that knows me)
I've been thinking a lot about Alex lately, and thinking about some of my favorite things about his childhood, that at the time, seemed like a pain. This habit started when he was tiny and we lived in Boutiful, and continued, even when we moved into our house in Midvale. Alex's bedroom was right across the hall from mine, and when I tucked him in, we left the hall light on and his bedroom door cracked. Every night he would ask me to check on him. I would say "ok!" Then... if I wasn't back to peek into the door to check within just a few minutes, he would shout.. "Check on me, k Mom?" and he would wait for a response. This would continue until he finally drifted off to sleep.
Ok - Maybe he's not "starring", but I see him (bottom row, 3rd from the left).. .and that is all that really matters! I love that face!
Who knew??
Tonight I went to Red Mango with Kenyon, Melina and Melisa. I had a small original with blueberries. I was freaking out because it was so good! All these years I thought I hated fruit, but apparently I'm addicted to it! I wanna go again tomorrow!
YW Wilderness camp was Tuesday thru Friday. I got home yesterday, so I've had a full 24 hours to dry out. We had a great time which included.. walking the plank, girl drama, spoon puppets, flour fights, a birthday barbed wire accident and lots of bathroom incidents with Potty Pants Dancer Nana and Watering Wilson McKenzie. We even read our favorite story... "Pee -ew is that you Bertie?"
Here is a rundown of the week.
Tuesday: Arrival and camp set up. McGuyver came and built us a cabin of rope and tarps (sort of like the 3 little pigs).. We made spoon puppets, played games and did skits. It rained.
Wednesday: Hiked 4 miles. Had a surprise birthday party for Jessie, walked the plank (my personal favorite version of "Tower of Terror"), had a lesson on Individual Worth, had a flour fight, and got caught in the "Wall of Water" It was scary. Oh.. and it rained and hailed. That night we did circle of light and sang our song "Beautiful to Him". The girls did great - there was a great spirit present. Lu and I made a fire with wet wood that was about as warm as a flashlight. Did I mention the rain?
Thursday: Got a shower.. It was so awesome! Had a lesson on the beauty of nature and feeling the spirit while at camp. Played games for hours under our "canopy" because of the rain. Stayed under the canopy for the craft because of the rain. Then had visit from the Bishopric and Stake Presidency. Played more games then had testimony meeting. It stopped raining and the stars came out just long enough for us to have a fire and testimony meeting. However, it was so cold, I thought the girls would turn into life-size popsicles.
Friday: No rain.. We packed and came home.
Overall a good experience, but extremely soggy and cold. It's hard to believe it was a summer camp. The girls never complained though. I think that although they were cold and wet, many of them were able to feel the spirit and enjoyed being away from the world. Enjoy slideshow below.
Mission Photo - Mexico City East Mission!
Elder Petersen is top row.. 2nd from the left! He's the skinny one! :)
What the random? Tonight I was on Alex's mission website and I ended up linking to one of his former companions. I viewed photos' and whadda ya know! There is my kid, with random photo's floating around the internet. This was by far my favorite. I love how he towers over everyone by a full head! These guys must be about as tall as me!
When I spoke to him on Mothers Day he said that he is still getting a lot of persecution from drunk Mexican's and they try to speak to him in English. He decided his new approach to cutting the conversation short is to tell them that he is German. In this photo.. I can see how that might work!
p.s. for anyone that is wondering.. 258 days!
What the heck? We have to get up even earlier next week?
Plus.. if they are saving the daylight.. what are they saving it in? And.. where is it stored while it's being saved?
I'm so over the idea of Daylight Savings. Is this a "tradition' that can be done away with! Any fans of sleeping will agree with me! However, Kenyon will be up with the roosters, happy, bright and cheerful.. ready for the challenges of a new day! ZZZZzzzzZZZZzz
Please leave the lights off, and shower in the dark! Love you!!
I liked these.. when I was a little girl..
I just want to say that I love people that share their kids with me! I have several friends that allow me to be a "fake mom" (as I like to call it), to their kids. I babysit for the weekend, sit with them at Sacrament Meeting and Stake Conference, help Christmas shop for clothes for a teenager, take them to Jackson Hole for a weekend, and take 'em to see Santa! I feel really lucky and blessed that people are so willing to let me share in the lives of their "babies".
I also get to spend A LOT of time with 16 amazing girls and even though I'm not technically their "mom", I get to give advice, have sleepovers, teach them things, love them and watch them change and grow! It's the best "fake mom" job ever, because I don't have to clean up their messes... well - unless it's powdered sugar!
This time is fleeting, and I'm in love with it!
So I lied.. It was really just two people, but I'm back! I read my blog tonight (after trying to remember how to actually log in to my blog) and I couldn't believe how long it's been! October??
Then I tried to remember what I've been doing since October, and I realized I didn't have much to report on. No wonda!
For those needing an update on Alex - His hump-day is Friday, February 20th. Yep - that's right. He's been gone nearly 1 year. (It's way under 400 days now). Miraculously, I've survived. As much as I want him to be there, I honestly don't think I've ever done something this difficult in my life. I especially miss him when I need to debrief on my day, or to tell a long story. Oh wait - I think I said, "for those needing an update on Alex".. sorry - here goes.
Alex is still serving in Mexico City. His last area was more remote and was an area that he describes as "straight out of Nacho Libre - the main traffic was goats and donkey's".
He's had many baptisms and has helped many people. He helps a lot of people get divorced, so they can get re-married, so... they can get baptized. He loves his misison and has already said he does not want to come home. He's making a huge difference in his mission - and at home. He is currently serving as a District Leader and a Zone Leader. I got to talk to him for an hour on Christmas Day, and in his following e-mail he said "Thank you for not crying on the phone - it made it easier for me to not cry". Yep - that's right - I didn't cry when I talked to him.. well, at least not so he could notice.
I was at my friend Kathy's tonight and her son came to hug her before he went to bed. I wanted to cry at that. Actually - I wanted to reach out and grab him and hug him too! But I refrained, since he would think that I'm a freak!
Mom's enjoy your little boys! Eventually, they become big boys and get dates and leave home! It's an annoying pattern I've noticed with almost every boy that I've ever known!
This experience happened a few days ago, but for purposes of family in the West Indies, China and across the United States, I wanted to share this story.
Kenyon rode in the Tour of St. George last Saturday, October 18th. This tour is a Century ride which means it’s a 100 mile bike race. He had trained for a couple of months, and although he never feels like he has trained enough, he was ready for a good ride. The weather was perfect for a bike ride and the route was very scenic.
My friend Marie and I, and her 5 boys were following the race, as Marie’s son Tory and his friend Taylor were also riding. The cheerleaders would typically pull ahead of the cyclists, cheer them on as they rode by, and then drove ahead again, to wait and cheer (or heckle) other riders during our stops.
When Kenyon arrived at the 40 mile mark –he wasn’t feeling great. It was the lunch break for the ride, and his stomach was hurting. He didn’t feel like eating, which means he didn’t energize his body.
He rode several more hours, another 35 miles and was ascending up the steepest grade of the race. He still was not feeling well. At 75’ish miles, he pulled under an underpass and stopped his bike. It wasn’t a planned stop, nor did he see the underpass coming and say to himself “I’ll go to the underpass then stop”.. rather he rode under the underpass and essentially just stopped his bike. He got off his bike and called me to say that he wanted us to come and pick him up. He had decided he would ride in the car to the top of the hill, see if he could shake off the stomach ache, and then enjoy the fun part down snow canyon, which is the steepest descent of the race. Marie turned the car around to go back to get him, and just then, Tory and Taylor were approaching the car, so we waited a moment or two, to cheer them on, then we were headed back to pick up Kenyon. I would guess it took us 10 minutes or so to reach him.
During these 10 minutes, Kenyon got off his bike and was waiting for us. As he stood there, he started examining his bike, and he noticed a bulge in his tire, along with a tiny crack in the rubber. When Marie and I arrived, Kenyon loaded his bike onto the bike rack on the back of the car. As he loaded it, he showed us the bulge in the tire and we both said that it wasn’t a good idea to ride on that tire. He didn’t have a spare with him, so he was pretty bummed that his ride for the day was over.. especially, because he was excited to “haul” down Snow Canyon.. what he anticipated to be the best part of the ride. As we passed cyclists coming down the canyon, we tracked them at about 35-40 miles per hour.
At the final rest stop, we were pulled over, waiting for Tory and Taylor to arrive, when we heard what sounded like a gun shot! We turned around to see Kenyons back tire spinning. Jace (one of our cheerleaders) said “I think your tire just blew”. We all scrambled out of the car to check it out, and sure enough – that bulge and crack in the tire had blown and the tire was shredded.
I’m grateful that my husband felt the prompting of the spirit to stop his bike and get off. And I’m grateful that he had a stomach ache. I know that sounds weird, but – remember my entry from the Lotoja (204 miles, 15 ½ hours)? He doesn’t give up a bike race.
Everyone in our group that day realized the impact of what would have happened if Kenyon had been flying down Snow Canyon and the tire had blown.
I’m a lucky girl!
Don't worry, you don't have to respond and tell me "no your not, your a winner!" I'm totally talking about the real "losing".
I think I'm losing my short term memory.. is it an over 40 thing?
I keep losing my car. Like - I park in the parking lot at the mall, and when it's time for me to leave.. I have no idea where I parked, or what door I came in. NOTHING looks familiar to me!
Yesterday I went to Zupa with friends for lunch. I parked the car, ate lunch and when walking out of Zupa, I walk in the opposite direction of the car. How sweet is Nicole to say "hey Kris, I think we parked over here!" Like.. in a totally sweet and patient way, not like I would have said as I'm thinking.. Duh dork! You don't even know where you parked your car?
Finally tonight -I'm pulling out of the parking lot at the church to take Jessie home, and I turned the wrong direction. I only have ONE GIRL in my car and I don't know which direction to turn. Jessie's response.. "Um - I live the other way!"
I'm old! Maybe this is what I get for making fun of my mom... who's like 100!
A good friend of mine brought to my attention today that I suck at blogging! She said "you haven't blogged for 2 months".. Wow! Someone noticed?
Don't worry - I still have plenty to say, but I guess I've been busy river rafting, camping, going to the beach, bear watching, lying in the sun, wake surfing, pretending to be someone elses mom, and cheering for my husband. I know.. it's quite a life!
As for Al P. He's at 485 days and counting. Time is flying.. remember my blog when I was in the 700's?
At 8 + months he's a full time door knockin', BOM carryin', service doin' taco eatin', divorcin' and marryin', baptizn' Elder. He's happy - therefore, I'm happy! He also gets to work at the Mexico City Temple Re-Dedication starting next week, and it's rumored that President Monson will be there!
He's got 15 of his group of 17 friends that are in the mission field. They are serving from the Phillipines to Hawaii. How can 19 year olds be so amazing! I'm a proud mom of all 15 of them.. whether they belong to me or not!
Today's motto.. "my life is happy, even when the world is crumbling"..
