Hat Parade

I love that I have such a cute daughter that I can make hats for. It's so much fun! Here are some pictures in all her lovely hats! The black one was inspired by one I saw at the mall - I figured I could make one. One good thing about cold weather in Idaho - hats are in fashion! Feel free to email me for instructions on the hats - if you have a basic knowledge of crochet they are easy and quick. You can complete them in couple of nights while watching television. I have to say there is something very satisfying making things by hand that are used by my child. One of these days I might get ambitious and make something more complicated than a hat!

Challenge

Kristen did this on her blog and it looked like fun to me so here it goes!
Rules: Anything you have done has to be in bold and/or underlined. How much have you done? It only takes about 5 minutes… :) Come one.. try it out!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars Many times at Lake Powell
3. Played in a band (Never done that, but if Aaron starts one I'll be happy to be his one and only groupie)
4. Visited Hawaii (Aaron wouldn't mind being able to bold this one in the next few years!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis - What is that? A Yoga pose?
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris - when I was seventeen, I long to go back with Aaron and kiss him under the Eiffel Tower.
13. Watched an amazing lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - taught myself photoshop, InDesign and all things graphic
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - KFC how I still hate you
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty1
8. Grown your own vegetables - hopefully this summer
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - not overnight but on my way from London to Nottingham
21. Had a pillow fight - what girl hasn't?
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - yes and I'm not sorry
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - yes um in Zions...hee, hee
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - does a rock climbing wall count?
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke - yes and badly
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt - just a few months ago!
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted - sketched at Disney World
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie- I think my own student film counts
56. Visited the Great Wall of China - would love to see it one day
57. Started a business - angel dawn productions baby!
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason - Aaron is a sweetheart
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - I loved all my toys to death, but I still have my blanket
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - Yeah but never finished it
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - technically let go because they were stupid with their business plan
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - working on it, working on it
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - was in a play and got to be in the Flagstaff paper!
85. Read the entire Bible - I confess I have never sat down and jsut read it cover to cover, only sections
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - I did Donnie Osmond's makeup once for a shoot, nice guy
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake - would anyone really want to do that?
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy
There's plenty I haven't done, but hey I have time!

Christmas Cribs

Christmas is coming,....

By popular demand here are AJ's Christmas photos I took in digital format for your desktop viewing pleasure. We had so much fun visiting over Thanksgiving and can't wait for Christmas!

It's so stimulating being you hat!

AJ needed a hat to keep her head warm. Her head is too big for baby sized hats and too small for the toddler ones. So I decided to make her one. I got out my handy crochet hook and yarn and made her one to go with her purple outfits. Now I need to make one to go with all her outfits! She's so cute in it we just had to take pictures to share. The pattern is really easy, if you go to http://www.yarncat.com/ and look at the modern flapper hats there are some great patterns and ideas. The only thing I added was the ball on top.
Last year I made a few hats for my family and I have to admit it's fun to be able to make hats for my little girl!

Fall Party

Last Saturday was our second annual Fall Pumpkin Party. We inivited a couple of other families to have dinner and play a few games. Aaron and I felt very adult having families with kids over - it's like we've graduated to a whole new level of adulthood. Aaron bought our new Christmas tree on Halloween (an awesome 9ft tree that was prelit for only $130 at Walmart) and he was itching to put it up. I mentioned how I had seen a "fall tree" at a craft store and so we went and bought a bunch of fall leaves that were on sale and voila! A fall tree that looks pretty awesome.

For our dinner we made taco soup, a pumpkin Thai soup and cornbread.
We then played a few rounds of Don't Eat Pete! I made a board and cups from the cricut... I secretly hope my mom will forget that I have it. When I made the cups I let AJ play with the paper scraps - she had lots of fun detsroying and shredding them.

After a rousing game of Don't Eat Pete we frosted cookies and had pumpkin cake (the kids were definatly hiped up on sugar when they left our house!). It was a nice evening andI think everyone had a good time - I sure did. It's nice to talk to other moms - I was talking to Katy and she was mentioning how her doctor always managed to scare her with off handedly mentioning things that her daughter wasn't textbook about. I mentioned how mine was the same way - come to find out we have the same doctor!

The holidays have started and I just have to smile. It's the time of year I fell in love with Aaron and it just adds to its meaning for me. To have a little family to share this time of year with is a blessing.

All Hallow's Eve

Here's some more Halloween picts of the whole family together. AJ and I joined Aaron around noon yesterday to check out the festivities and to show off our cute baby girl. Here's Aaron trying to look tough, while holding a Fairy. =-)

Halloween Present

These pictures are from my first Halloween at Melaleuca. It was a lot of fun! We were the Wild West. I was a gunslinger (a bad boy cowboy-assassin).

Angel and Halloweens past

Since Aaron shared some of his halloweeen costumes I thought I would share some of mine. Here I am at a dress up party - I'm the one holding the lace fan. Most of my costumes growing up were fantasy based (hmmm I wonder if that is because my parents are fantasy writers?).

In 2004 I was a "Southern Belle".

Last year I was a Preggo Pirate.

And here's Aaron's vampire or undead costume from last year.

Peterson Fall Break Visit

A few weeks ago my family (minus brothers) came to visit for their fall break. We had a great time. These are some shots of a place called Mesa Falls. It is pretty close to Yellowstone. It was about an hour drive and completely worth it!

Halloween Continued....A.J. the Ballerina

Ok so impatient Aaron couldn't wait for me to post, I was going to show you how I made the tutu, but Aaron stole my thunder - so I guess not. If you want directions, ask I will be happy to post. - Angel

Angel said she was going to get around to posting some of these pictures, but I couldn't wait any longer. She made this for A.J. for Halloween and I think it turned out very well.

Halloween is Coming....

Since Halloween is one of the best holidays. I thought I would share some former Halloween costumes. Well, not all of them were from Halloween, but I was in a costume of sorts.


Classi Pirate, Aaarggh (I think this was a birthday party)

Santa's little helper (This was actually Christmas. See our poor man's paper tree in the background?)

A rockstar.

Rockstars. (This was President's Day Weekend)

Miami Vice

A Non-Ghetto Gansta (Chicago Style)

A shepherd. (This wasn't Halloween either)

Two broken arms, this was actual reality, scary though! That's why I thought of Halloween.

Priest Garb (Sixth Grade Play) Non-Halloween either, but great costume!

Classic Pirate once again!

The Quirky Things...a TAG from Sarah Yerke

Link the person who tagged you. Mention rules on your blog. Tell about 6 quirks of yours. Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same. Leave a comment to let them know. I was tagged by http://yerke23.blogspot.com/ 6 Quirks?? I am definitely too normal to be tagged for this. Ha ha, just kidding, but it really took me a while to think of 6 quirky things I do. But here they go....

1) When doing the dishes the side of the sink MUST NOT have any food particles left in the drain catch. The kitchen counters must also be wiped off after everything is put away, otherwise the kitchen feels messy.

2) I am not a pack-rat in general, except for one group of things: personal care products! Since I am a cosmetic chemist by trade we have drawers full of random products from the different companies I have worked at. Even if I don't necessary like the product, or could make a better one myself, I don't have the heart to throw most of them away.

3) Baking is therapy. I enjoy baking cookies, cakes, breads, pies, brownies, just about anything. I really have fun making new creations as well. If I don't like them the folks at my work eat them regardless. I wonder if they don't ever eat homemade goodies very often.

4) I never wear my wallet in the butt of my jeans. You ever see the Seinfeld with George's wallet and how big it was? Well, even though mine is no where near that large it really hurts my butt cheek and my back, so I find about anywhere else for it! Usually, it is in my gym bag under my desk, or in my car, or if I am wearing cargo pants, you could find it in one of the side pockets, it doesn't bother me there.

5) Magazines. I never read an article in a magazine before I look through the entire thing, mostly glancing at the pictures. I tend to read the short articles first. Much of the time with the Ensign I read it back to front because somehow it feels shorter to me than front to back.

6) Cold food. I am much more likely to eat my food cold than I am hot for some reason. Take canned soup for instance, I rarely heat it up. I typically just pop open the can, and start eating. It saves time and energy. When I do heat food up I usually only like it luke-warm. I tend to burn my mouth if I heat it up too hot. I was never good at blowing on my food before putting it in my mouth.

That's for you Sarah! Did you know any of those things, eh?

Holy Gerber Baby Peas Batman!!

Yes Robin, we had the BLOW-OUT of the century the other night (no I'm not talking about BYU beating the pants off of UCLA a few weeks ago). This post is for all you parents out there who wonder how so much poop can come out of something so small and so cute! A.J. did just that to us a few nights ago. We had got done eating dinner, and she was sitting in her high chair being quite pleasant (which was unusual for her at that time of day) and Angel pulled her out of her chair and my friend Matt said, "Angel what's that green stuff all over her back?" I then witnessed the most horrific site yet of fatherhood: Poop EVERYWHERE! Her diaper was absolutely full and so it had to find elsewhere to go, all over her back and in her high chair (brand new I must add). I hosed off the high chair outside and Angel hosed off the child inside and that was the end to the mother of all poops (I hope). If your child has had a worse blow out, PLEASE do share! No pictures please, we don't want blogger to become something like myspace.

Look what your machine can do Mom!

Angel is "borrowing" her mom's cricket (some machine that does all this fancy schmancy stuff for crafts and scrap booking doo dads...) and is having the time of her life. She made a wedding cake for her young women lesson this Sunday. She also made a nice card for one of my home teaching families daughter's baptism today. I think she secretly hopes her mom will forget she has it so she can keep it for the rest of her life.