April 16th

Today I wish more than anything I could give some sort of creepy happy birthday greeting to this fine sir below.



I sure miss him! I can't wait for the adventures to come when he comes back home. I can't believe he's twenty today! Buon compleanno Johnny!

Good Morning Good Friday!

I've become a big fan of Good Friday this year. Scott gets to stay home from work today because it is a global holiday! Good Friday! Good to be home in the morning with Scotty! We slept in, woke up in our sunny bedroom, and got excited to see Scott's parents who should be here in about four hours! We're having a lazy morning (I just learned that you get to do that when your house is all clean and you've done all your laundry and grocery shopping... something I've never before experienced). It's so great to be all caught up!

Scott's working on his essays for round two of the Foreign Service exam, and I'm making some granola to stalk up for the week. The last couple days I've gone crazy with my fruit dehydrator drying strawberries, oranges, and bananas. I loved the smell it spread through the house. While we do need more granola, I mostly wanted to make it so our house will smell like maple syrup.

It's so nice to have the time to hang out together, listen to mellow harmonica music, and enjoy our bright and beautiful home! I love Easter! I love Conference! I love my family, and we get to spend this Easter with both sets of parents. I'm so excited!

In other news, and because I am a proud aunt... look at these cute little Easter Bunnies!

Happy...

St. Patty's Day AND Happy Birthday to my second mom! Scott called you this morning at 5:30 your time (6:30 our time... he was just getting to work) so he could be the first to tell you happy birthday! I was kind of mean and pointed out that Margy had been up in New York for two hours longer than we had been up, so she might have been the first one. But then I felt bad about saying that, and I hope you enjoyed your birthday message from your son! Happy Birthday, Lynne! I hope you have a wonderful day!



Lynne happens to share this day with my cute cousin Lizzie (on the right). Happy birthday Lizzie! I think she turns eleven today. I can't believe how old these girls are getting! I have the cutest cousins! I just have the best family in general! This picture is from our wedding.

Schtuff.

We had such a fun weekend. We did a lot of getting our house organized(yes... so we've lived here since November... but it's always a work in progress to put everything together).

Friday Eric came down to our place. It was really fun to catch up with him, and he was a good sport to put up with me doing all my little house projects.

We spent almost all of Saturday at Momentum working out and climbing. We were certifying on the lead wall and learned that Scott needs to skip his first anchor all the time or else I'll get sucked into it when he takes a fall. That was a good lesson to learn. Saturday night we went down to Provo to hang with Adam, Beckah, Matt, Loral, and Andrew.

Sunday we were able to go up to Kirsten and Nick's for beautiful Sarajane's blessing. When we came back from the blessing, we had a fabulous Sunday nap, booked our flights for our summer trips, and made some curtains for our living room. Sounds fun, huh?

Sarajane Evans

So glad this happened too...
Sarajane is such a beautiful baby! She was so sweet throughout her entire blessing. I have never heard her fuss at all, now that I think of it. When Kirst and I were getting her into her dress (the same one Kirst and I both wore when we were blessed... oh so sentimental we are...), I showed Sarajane what she looked like in the mirror and told her how pretty she looked. She just started smiling at herself. I couldn't help but laugh. Such a girl.

Andrew does not keep still! It's so hard to catch a picture of him! He was putting on a concert for all of his cousins, grandparents, siblings, and aunts and uncles. He put the crown on his head and said, "Now I'll be in charge!" As if he wasn't already the center of attention. He is such a funny kid.

Ben and Scott are two boys who never fail to make me laugh! I can't stop watching Ben to see what he'll do next. And I love watching Scott be such a great uncle. I just love this whole family!

Congrats Kirst and Nick! Hopefully this will tie you over until I put these pictures on your computer for you.

Does anyone know why the picture format gets so wacky sometimes?

Trips

Scott and I are already getting excited about the fun trips we have coming up.

We're doing our annual river trip this May. Last year we were on the Grand. The year before that was the Rogue (not to mention, I lived on a river for four months). We'll be running the Jarbidge River in Idaho with our good river friends. I hope to see everyone... Chuck, Jim, Jeremy, Nelson, Sherri, Sam, Rob... and many other old and new friends! It's so fun to get everyone together from so many parts of the country. I need to look into the kayaking possibilities of this river... because it'd be so fun for Scott and me to make our way down this river in our little yaks instead of a raft.

In June we're off to San Diego/LA area for a weekend for Robbie and Kelley's wedding. This is going to be such a fun party; we are so excited for them! It'll be the perfect time to get together with all our good Santa Barbara friends and celebrate with everyone. The surf isn't up to par for Scott during the summer... but maybe we'll be able to hit some good Lindsey waves so I can practice... in warm water!

We'll make our way up to Canada in July. Scott's half-brother John is getting married in Vancouver. We're making a good trip out of this one. We'll get to spend time with Scott's extended family, people he hasn't seen in years! I'm excited to meet everyone, see the city where Scott was born, and explore the whole area with Scott. He's so excited. He already has a list of things to do and people to high-five while we're there. I can't wait! Everyone knows I'd be down with living in Canada.

I'm hoping we pull together our trip to Israel this Christmas. We have just enough vacation time from work to make all these trips happen... so hopefully we can handle getting everything planned and put together. we'll be going to Israel with Scott's parents, Lynne and Rick; Scott's sister Margy and her husband Oliver; and Scott's Uncle John and Aunt Jana and their four kids. Hopefully we get everything organized because it would be the most amazing opportunity and good timing!

Despite my love of winter... we're ready to move on into the sunshine so we can bike, hike, climb, and take all these fun trips!

I Know

I'm staying with my cousins for a few days while their parents are in Hawaii.

I know I'm getting old because it's 11:15 on a Friday night and I'm waiting up for my two cousins (senior and sophomore in high school) to get back from hanging with their friends. And I am really struggling to hold out. DEAD TIRED. I'm fantasizing about how nice it would have been to have gone to bed at 9:30 when my eleven-year old cousin Emma went to bed.

It's the same feeling I had a couple months ago when I was at the Gateway with my mom. She had some American Eagle credit left over from before Johnny left on his mission. I walked into the store with my mom. Scanned the room in an instant, and turned to my mom and said, "I'm old, aren't I?"

I keep thinking, "Maybe I should call their phones and see when they'll be back." Lame cousin! Lame cousin! Then I think, "That car sounded pretty nearby. I wonder if that was them getting dropped of."

How late to kids stay out? I forget.

Mom, I appreciate your many many years of sleep deprivation. Thank you.

Hawaii

Key characters in the following story. From left to right:

Rob (a fabulous Rob, but one that is actually irrelevant to our story), Scotty, Me, Rob (the Rob of whom I speak), Kelley

Last night Scott was making his Sunday night call to his family, and he thought about giving his buddy Robbie a call to see how he was doing, having heard he had just had an interview with the fire department in SB.

Scott dials Robbie’s number…

Robbie: “Scott! Where are you?”
Scott: “I’m right outside your window, watching you.”
Robbie: “No you're not. I’m outside!”
Kelly in the background: “If you were watching us, you’d see my big rock!”
Scott: “WHAT? Your big ROCK? Robbie, did you just propose!!!”
Robbie: “Yeah! Like ten minutes ago!”

Lindsey and Scott: Common sounds of freaking out.

(conversation above may or may not be word-for-word accurate)

And then we hung up, so as to not rob them of their moment. But after checking out this blog, I see someone else robbed them of their moment before we did.

We are SO SO SO SO happy! Scott couldn’t stop talking about it until we went to bed. Looks like we’ll be headed to the LA temple or San Diego in July! Unless, of course... they want to get married in Hawaii!

I'm happy I know this is true...

...because thanks to the decisions of my sister and Nick (and my own parents, too), I know that I get to be with these guys forever! Lucky me!!!








Sarajane looks so much like Ben!




The Family: A Proclamation to the World

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

Things I Never Did...

I'd like this to be the title to a blog post about all the things I haven't done in life that I'd like to... but it's not that reflective. It's a post of things I have done.... that I never posted on the blog. This particular one is about my sobrinos! Scott and I got back from a trip a few days ago, and I saw pictures of my nephews and my new niece on my sister's blog, and it felt so weird that it had been over a week since I saw them! I babysat them on the day Sarajane was born, but then I got sick so I kept my distance. I can't wait to see them! Especially Sarajane! Can you blame me?



Don't be fooled. She looks tame, but in good time I'm sure she'll prove to be a goon like her brothers.

Case in point:

Goon 1


Goon 2


So... I realized looking at these kids that I never posted pictures from our trip to Mom and Dad's cabin in Midway. We went up the day after Christmas and stayed about three days before we took off for Santa Barbara. It was so nice to be at the cabin! We finally had down-time to sit and read... and there were a few simultaneous group naps as we all tried to get through our books. It was fun to go snowmobiling, sledding (which resulted in a fantastic smashed blue nose for the next week), and play with the little boys. As we drove home, we saw the most beautiful view with the sun coming up over the mountains. Scott and I pulled off the road for a bit and saw huge moose and elk in a field. I don't know if the pictures will do it justice.... but it was really cool to see in person! I feel so bad we don't have pictures of my dad! Usually he's the one taking the pictures on our family trips. This time I was taking the pictures and he was doing all kinds of errands for us (getting gas for the snowmobiles, bringing all our gear in on a sled). Thanks Mom and Dad for a fun weekend and a beautiful cabin!

Welcome Sarajane!

This is my beautiful little niece. I have to admit, I was pulling for the name "Sarajane" the whole time. Congrats to Kirsten, Nick, and their new family of five! Wow, five.... that's weird to think!



I love this picture! I have one of Andrew doing the exact same thing, kissing Benjamin's head when he was only a few days old. These boys will be good big brothers.

It's January... you know what that means!

VALENTINES DAY!

I know... you're wondering what the deal is. Yes, I just celebrated a wonderful one-year anniversary with my husband... so, no, I'm not craving a romantic valentines day. I'm not craving valentines day at all, really. But January means Valentines Day because, at least in the Petersen home, all holiday celebration begins when the seasonal candy makes its appearance at Dan's. Halloween begins with the orange candy pumpkins (What are they called? Who makes them?) sometime in September, and Valentines Day begins in January with the arrival of candy hearts.



For those who don't know my brother Johnny, I will share with you that he is a candy junkie. This is actually a very positive thing for our family. Whenever we needed a treat growing up, we could find any number of craving-quenching candy in any number of the kitchen drawers, a laundry room cupboard, or the computer room shelves, tucked back behind a stack of printer paper. When we all stayed at a yurt last year, Johnny was kind enough to snowshoe in a ridiculous load of candy and cookies for us to shovel in during our over-nighter. Along with this obsession of Johnny's comes a great gift. He can sniff out the original brands to keep our taste buds from unpleasant surprises.

One year, for instance, we were all shocked to find that the large bags of candy hearts had a dark component to them. The minty flavor of the white candy hearts was sadly turned into a tart unidentified fruit flavor. There was an uproar, and luckily Johnny stepped in by discovering that the candy hearts in the boxes were still the true and original minty whites. Sadly, there was nothing Johnny could do when the familiar pink strawberry-like flavor became fruit punch.

Well, what Johnny doesn't know (and what might, quite frankly, break his heart), is that the boxes of candy hearts this year not only bear zero resemblance to the original flavors that tickled our tongues as kids, but also include a new flavor... an obscene BLUE candy heart!

Why? Why do things have to change the way they do? Why can't we just know what we're biting into when we pop one of these conversation hearts into our mouths? Will it be hard; will it be soft? Will it be sweet; will it be tart? The words themselves stay the same. "Fax me." No one faxes anymore! If we're not updating the messages, why are we messing with the taste?

You see, these things matter. Oh, they matter.

I remember the awful day I discovered chocolate skittles.

This season I also saw a peppermint Peep in my mom's cupboard. What's next?

"And what the heck are raisins doing in a salad? Why can't people leave well enough alone?"