Visitors, birthdays and other random thoughts.

So thankful for Grandparents that come to visit.  We love having Papa and Sharon come for so many reasons.  They always find new places we have never been.  They have faithfully come to visit each year that we have been here.  I cherish the time I get to hang out with my dad.  He is good to his very core.  I am so thankful for his testimony of the Savior, his example of making friends with everyone, and his easy going nature.  One of my favorite things he shared with me was the 11th commandment, don't get too damn serious.  That is coming from my dad who never swears.  I love him with all of my heart.  I am so thankful for his wife Sharon.  I love knowing that he always has someone looking out for him and that will keep him active.  We are so thankful to have her in the Peterson family.  

My baby turned 6!  He loves all things Nerf hence the cake.  At school Matt and I were Royal Readers for his birthday.  Matt read Frog and Toad.  He has the best reading voices you ever did hear.  

Cooper started playing the French Horn this year in school.  I love the red ring he gets on his lips when he practices, when is the operative word in that sentence.

I physically can't go past a thrift store with out popping in to see if they have any Fiestaware.  I have found several pieces, lucky me!  To appease my angry children we love to try on glasses.  

I have a thing for murals.  I love all the colorful murals in Amerst.  

My boys love to stick my earrings in my ears.

Rocky had his first season of soccer.  He rocked it.  He plays all the time with his siblings so he has had some pointers.  Matt and I coached Ruby and Coopers 6-8 grade co-ed soccer team.  I don't have a clue about soccer but I am a great cheerleader and can get people where they need to be and send out team emails.  

My dear friend just had a beautiful baby girl.  It was awesome watching my baby love another baby.  Babies are heavenly.  I miss having babies around.  It just about tore my heart out sending Rocky to full day Kindergarten.  I have always wanted to be a mom.  It is totally my dream job.  It  feels pretty lonely eating lunch by myself after 14 years of having a buddy around.

 Lego Bricnic 2015.  Legos summer party is always spectacular.  I love the caricatures and the buttons we collect each year.  It is a great day to eat copious amounts of sugar and play very hard. 

 We went on a field trip to JAIL!  I think I had more fun than my kids.  Our friend is a police Sargent.  He showed us all the cool things about the station.  We have decided to continue to be law abiding citizens.  

 The Rich family got a new ride!  After many years of cramming into the Saturn we now have a 2013 Dodge Caravan.  I love it! 

Connecticut Science Center.

Good bye dear Saturn!  We have made so many great memories in you.  Thanks for getting us from here to there for so many years. 

 I was called as the Young Womens President of my ward.  I am so excited about this opportunity.  I love these girls already especially the one that looks just like me.  I had the privilege of spending the night at girls camp. 

 Crystal Lake

 China Town in Boston

 Boston

 Happy 40th Mr. Rich.  I love that I get to grow old with this good man.

Back to school!  8th Grade, 6th grade and Kindergarten.  What a weird feeling to send your baby off into the world.  I shed some tears.  I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom and now all my homies are gone in the day!  I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.  I will get back you you on that.

Some thoughts on trees and life...

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Living in New England I am surrounded by vast quantities of trees.  They are everywhere I look; millions of them.  I am fascinated by the beautiful changes the leaves go through as the seasons push them along in their yearly cycle.  After last years brutal winter with snow covered trees (and everything else), I was rejuvenated with the beautiful spring blossoms.  Blooms of every color adorned the trees; majestic fuchsia, pale pink, clean white, vivid orange and sunshiny yellow.  Then the blossoms dropped and my entire world turned every shade of green you can imagine; green everywhere you looked.  The trees are so dense you cannot see trough the thick forests.  July 4^th can be tricky, you have to be in the perfect spot or you will not see the fire works hidden by the leafy treetops.  The dense trees provide much needed shade from the sun and homes to all the critters that scamper about.  Sometimes I forget to look up just because there are so many leaves.  Then the temperatures dropped and the leaves transformed into some of the most amazing hues I have ever experienced.  The New England leaves truly are an experience.  Joy would fill my soul, as I would drive down the road in a tunnel of crimson, gold, chocolate, and fire.  There were times I felt it was dangerous to drive because the breathtaking leaves were so distracting.  I lived in a vibrant oil painting.  As the leaves started to change I started to feel anxiety that fall was here and soon the leaves would drop and the trees would be naked, ugly, bare.  The world becomes drab barcodes of grey stripes wherever you look.  With the shorter days and the lack of color, it can be depressing and dreary.  I don’t want to feel that way so I have chosen to look for the good.  As I have walked around and really looked at my surroundings I have discovered much beauty and many parallels to life.  When the trees are stripped of their leaves it is an opportunity to see things in a different perspective.  The bare trees allow me to see what the land looks like; beautiful dingles, bubbling brooks, hidden landscapes.  I observed the shapes of the individual trees.  Each tree looks so different from the others, the branches are skeletons; some short and stout others tall and thin.  Some trees have beautiful knots and others have rough bark.  Some have been damaged with branches hanging by a tread until the next storm comes.  Some trees have been hiding beautiful berries, bird nests, papery wasps nests or a stray Frisbee.  The bare trees allow me to feel the sun shine and see the beauty of the azure sky or a fiery sunset.  The branches guide my eyes to look up and see the full height of the tree.  You see the trees as they really are, what they have been through, and remember what will happen to them after the impending harsh winter.  They will bloom again!  100% chance that spring will come again…guaranteed!  Such is life.  We have bare times that seem dark, drab and discouraging.  I know in the autumns of my life I have been able to see things differently.  If I chose to seek beauty in the situation I could always find it.  Every time I am in one of these times of life the Son shines and heals my soul. I learn what I am truly made of.  There is also that same knowledge that there is a 100% chance that spring will come again.  Things always get better.