I'm 9!!

These were the words Zach yelled as he woke up on his birthday!! He was so excited. He ran around the house yelling, "I'm 9!" He got to have his favorite breakfast - Crepes. Then he opened his presents! He got lots of cool football t-shirts.

A football from Grandpa & Grandma Peters!!

Football Monopoly from Grandpa & Grandma Beus! He now has 8 Monopoly games!!

Some Nintendo DS games from us and Grandpa & Grandma Peters!!

Then after school his friends came over for a football party! They played flag football (he really wanted to play tackle, but since only two have his friends have football pads, we figured that would be a little unfair!)

Then it was on to the football cake! Zach has had a football cake, football field, football on a football field for the last three years so this year we added in some golf balls to mix it up a little. I know the golf balls are not quite to scale, but oh well. I did my best.

Then they all settled in to watch "Forever Strong". I think he had a great day!!
He said the funniest thing when we were driving everyone home. He was asking where the girls(Jess & Kourtney) were during his party. I told him that they had gone to friends houses because I figured he wouldn't want them there and they really didn't want to be there. So I asked him why he wanted to know, did he want them there? And he immediately responded, "yea, we needed refs!" (referees for their game!) We just can't help but love that kid!!

His sweet primary teachers brought this over!!
The next morning Zach had a tournament football game up at the Real Soccer field (Rio Tinto Stadium). He was so excited to play in the snow! We were not so excited to watch in the snow, but we did any way. They ended up getting beat pretty bad, but they have another game tomorrow night and hopefully that one goes a little better!

Happy Birthday, Zach! We love you!!

Two Little Princesses!!

I wish I would have taken more pictures of Rylee & Pyper the week we had her while Adam & Tris were taking a well deserved vacation!! They had a blast together and dressed up everyday in their princess dresses! They had dolls to match their dresses and twin pink ponies that they carried around also! They played outside for hours together jumping on the trampoline and playing on the swing set!

Princess Snow White and Princess Aurora

Superbowl Champs!!

Zach's football team won their Superbowl for the 3rd year in a row!! The game was on Halloween! It was a perfect day in Zach's mind - Football in the morning, candy at night!!

Spooktacular Fun!!

Zach had a little too much fun carving his pumpkin!!

Gunnar was a nice brother and carved Rylee's for her, she was so proud!!
Snow White!

Snow white & a Mummy (her best friend, Anthony)

Rylee had two costumes this year because I had some left over fabric from Jess' & Kourtney's costume! She was so excited to be just like them!!

Ready for Trick or Treating. Gunnar and Jess were off with friends! It's kind of sad for me that my kids are growing up! We missed them trick or treating!

Rylee's trip to Cornbelly's

Rylee had her first field trip in October with her preschool class! They went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point. She had a blast!!

Sliding down the slide

Picking her pumpkin!

Playing in a pit of corn! This was her favorite, she did not want to get out!

Train ride!

Racing ducks in the water!

Oh my goodness! A princess carriage!!

Halloween Crafts

I figured it's about time for me to blog again! I have had major computer difficulties and a crazy life, and unfortunately blogging has been at the bottom of my to do list. So as usual I have several posts to blog and then you probably won't hear from me again until after Christmas!!
Here are some pictures of my crafty kids making their annual Halloween craft! I wasn't really planning on doing any crafts this Halloween, but when Gunnar made the request I couldn't resist! I had some left over wood in the shed (thank you Treavor!) and so I let the kids decide what they wanted to make, we drew up the patterns, I cut them out and they did the rest!! They were all very proud of their finished projects, but Rylee was the only one that carried hers around for days!!

Rylee really painted this all by herself. I drew with pencil the eyes, nose and mouth and she painted them!

Gunnar was too cool to pose for a picture & Kourtney was so frustrated by the time she actually finished hers she wouldn't pose either! (she changed her mind after I cut everything out, so she had to wait while I re-cut things and then she is a tad bit of a perfectionist, so she kept 'messing up'!)

You Might Be A Redneck...

....If you wrestle a pig in the mud!

Yep, another first for our family! Gunnar wrestled a pig with three of his buddies last night and the Ultimate Pig Wrestling Contest in Salem. We had never heard of this event, but Gunnar's friend talked him into doing it. They set up this circular corral full of mud with a barrel in the middle. The team has 0ne minute to catch the pig and stick it, butt first, into the barrel. The team with the fastest time wins! They did it in 12.6 seconds! They ended up winning their division - they each got $50 & a shirt! They had four different divisions - PeeWee, Junior, Men/CoEd, and Women. It was hilarious to watch. The other kids were all wishing we had signed them up also. They are all making plans for next year, & I totally think we need to have a Peters girls team!! I am still trying to figure out how to blog the video clip. So please be patient with me.

A first time for everything!

September has already been a month of firsts for our family. So I thought it would be fun to share them all with you!

FIRST of all on September FIRST our FIRSTborn turn 15!

On that same day our little baby went to her FIRST dance class!

And that afternoon she had her FIRST day of Preschool!!

Gunnar got to score his FIRST touchdown of the season in his FIRST high school football game! (technically it was in August, but it's close enough) He also had his FIRST injury in that game and sat the whole second half, but is doing fine now!
I got to help haul hay for the FIRST time. I know that doesn't seem really exciting and note worthy, but those bales of hay are freakin' heavy and although I only lifted a few and put them on the trailer I am pretty sure I am going to be sore in the morning! Most of the time Gunnar & I just watched Chad in awe of his strength! While he was picking them up and throwing them on the trailer we attempted to stack them neatly on the trailer.
Jessica got to drive her dad's truck for the FIRST time! Yep, the benefits of living on a ranch! While we were loading the hay, Jess was driving for us! She did a great job!
I got to drive a semi-truck for the FIRST time! I have loved driving from the moment I first got behind the wheel in Mexico when I was 15. I guess it's a good thing because I spend most of my afternoons driving my kids to all their activities! Some day I hope to drive across the country in an RV, it may be by myself, because Chad doesn't share that dream! Another goal I have had is to drive a semi truck and today I got to do that for the FIRST time! Chad had some big bales of hay to load with the tractor and needed someone to drive the semi & I just happened to be that someone! It was pretty cool! Chad was actually impressed that I didn't kill it once (it's a stick shift)
Gunnar had two driving FIRSTS also this week. He got to drive himself to the high school (don't tell anybody!) Chad & I were not home and he needed to be there, so Chad told him to just take his truck! Now that is trust! I was dying, but glad to say he made it there safe.
He also drove on Main Street in Spanish Fork for the FIRST time. I was with him, and he was very nervous. He has really only driven on the country roads (no street lights, or much traffic to deal with). He did really well & I only freaked out a little bit once when he took a left turn a little too sharp!!
I really can't wait until he can legally drive and help me out with carpooling everyone everywhere!!

Gunnar's 15th Birthday!!

I can not believe I have a 15 year old! It seems like just the other day he was our cute little G-man! He has been such a blessing in our lives! I love his tender heart & the fact that he still hugs me every night and tells me he loves me! People are drawn to Gunnar and every who meets him can't help but love him. He is a great example to his siblings, even if he does beat up on them a little more than needed! We love you Gunnar and are so proud of who you are!!
Gunnar is very excited to be 15 and what this next year will bring for him. I think it is safe to say that he is more excited to drive than to date (so are Chad & I!). For his birthday he wanted to go paint balling with his friends up on our ranch. It wasn't really a party, because he is too cool for that kind of stuff now. And of course I couldn't get the boys to pose for pictures, because they are too cool. So I took a few shots while they were getting ready for battle! Notice they didn't start until dark! Chad thought they were crazy (this from the man who spent most of his nights in high school spotlighting all night!!) I thought for sure we were going to have someone fall and break an ankle or something because we were doing this the night before their first football game! I am glad to say that not one boy was too seriously harmed, Chad & Zach couldn't resist a few cheap shots at the boys while they were at the truck reloading and we were watching from the safety of my car! I think they were the ones who inflicted the most pain! The boys all had a blast & Chad realized he is getting old - it was all he could do to stay awake past midnight waiting for the boys to run out of paintballs!Zach was very excited to play with the big boys! He got all his gear on and then had a change of heart as the boys went off running in different directions in the dark, so he ended up sitting in the car with Chad & I. After hitting a few boys from the safety of the car and getting some shooting lessons from his dad, he passed out in the back seat!
I am pretty sure I am going to be making football cakes from now until Zach graduates from high school. Both of our boys' birthdays come during football season and so that is there obsession at the time! Here is my 5th football cake I have made!

Opening presents! I love Zach's face in this picture. We got Gunnar a Utah Drivers Handbook so he can start studying & Zach was amazed at how big it was!

Happy 15th Birthday Gunnar!! We love you!!

Not a moment too soon!!

Jess finished her quilt!!!!! It was her goal (okay it was really my goal) this summer to finish this quilt she started awhile ago. We got all this fabric when we redid her room and she got everything cut out right away, but once she started sewing, it was very slow going! It took all my strength not to just finish it for her! But we are both happy to report that it is complete!! It was actually finished the day after school started, but close enough! And she one value project closer to earning her Young Woman Medallion!! Way to go Jess!!

Back To School!

Wednesday began a new school year for my kids! I am now a mother to a 9th, 8th, 6th, 3rd grader and soon-to-be preschooler! I am just freaking out a little that I have a son who is a Freshman! Friday night I had three kids go the the Spanish Fork High School football game!(Go Dons!)! I mean, come on, there is something seriously wrong with that! It was just a few years ago that I was the one going to high school football games, right?!
So I have to share a funny story that goes along with my kids growing up way too fast. I am always telling Rylee that she can't grow up, that she needs to stay little because she is my baby (a perfectly normal request, no?). We also have a little problem with some of our kids liking to drink Dr. Pepper (I don't know where they get that from!) and so I always tell them that it can affect their growth and they shouldn't drink it. The other day Rylee was 'sharing' Chad's drink(that may or may not have been Diet Dr. Pepper) with him and then she turned to me and said, "Look mommy, I'm getting littlier and littlier". Out of the mouths of babes! I guess I set myself up for that one. Then again today at the store when I was buying some Diet Dr. Pepper she said, "You getting this for me so I can stay little? Thanks, mom" I have created a monster!!