Sunriver, OR

We got to spend part of our winter break in Sunriver, OR with Mike and Christy and their family and Aaron and his kids. We left Saturday morning and it was a long drive but it was beautiful through the pass and the girls did great in the car. We arrived to snow and we were ready for some great family time. We arrived at the house first and made some dinner and got to explore the amazing house. Then Mike's family arrived and the girls all got to go in the hot tub with Aunt Christy. We got the girls to bed and then Mike opened up our Christmas gift to them (Dale's life history) and we stayed up late, looking at the pictures and sharing memories.

Sunday we got up and went to a ward in Bend to sacrament meeting. Then we got back to the house for lunch and the Seahawks game. The girls stayed busy by making paper airplanes and throwing them down for the sky way. Then we went out to enjoy the snow. There were some small snow hills near our house that were perfect for our young girls.

Then I got in the hot tub with the girls while Mike and Christy went on a walk. Then Paige took my place to be with McCall so I could shower. Then Christy and Sam got in while Nate and I went on a walk. Baylor and Myla were in the hot tub for so long and loved every minute of it. 

It was a very cool walk but it was nice to get out just the two of us and enjoy the sunset and the beautiful landscape. Nate and I also played quite a few games of ping pong which was so fun and brought back memories from when we used to play all the time when we were dating.

The girls had fun and kept each other busy for the moments in between things. Cousin time is the best!

I made dinner for everyone and Aaron's family showed up just in time to eat. Then it was more of showing them the house, playing in the game room, and just spending time together. We played quite a few rounds of sardines in the dark which was so much fun. It was another late night of family fun!

Monday after breakfast we drove to go on a short hike to a waterfall. We took a few sleds which worked perfect for McCall and Baylor so they could ride along the way. It was a beautiful walk with a gorgeous view of the waterfall at the end.

Then we went back to the house, had some lunch, and Nate and I took the girls out for some more sledding.

Then it was some time relaxing playing games, watching K-Pop Demon Hunters, and enjoying more hot cocoa in our little peppermint cups that Nona sent.

Then it was time for some swimming. The resort had a swimming pool with a fun splash area, deep part in jump in, a place for water volleyball, a whirl pool, a kid slide, and a fun area with lots of jets. Nate, Aaron, and Mike sat the sideline and visited and at one point I looked over and Nate is on his phone with Aaron and Mike asleep on either side of him. I kept a constant eye on McCall and played with the girls. It was fun way to spend part of the evening! We got back for dinner, played a few more rounds of sardines in the dark, and then our last night of cousin fun, visiting, and going through Lily's photos from college.

Tuesday after breakfast, we drove to the base of the Lava Butte cone trail. It was about 2 miles up and it was hard work pulling McCall up with a sled. I was impressed that Baylor made it to the top with very little whining. It was a constant uphill and we all made it. The view at the top was worth the walk up! It was incredible and had a lookout tower to add to the fun.

The way down went much faster since we used our sled to go all the way down. There were a few spots that we had to get off the sleds but it was so fun. At one point, I had McCall and Baylor with me and we were going pretty fast. They loved it so much and McCall said that it was like a rollercoaster. We got back and had lunch and packed up to go. We loved our time with family and then made the long drive home. We made a stop at In-N-Out for some dinner.

It was such a fun way to spend some of our winter break!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with tradition, family, love, and fun. Christmas is truly magical with kids! We kicked off our Christmas week with a wonderful Christmas service the Sunday before Christmas. The girls looked festival and cute as usual.

Then on Christmas Eve, it was a day filled with last minute wrapping, counting presents and putting them in piles, making cookies for Santa, and Eliza even joined us for a bit and they did some crafts before heading over to Nona and Pop's house for our fun traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

We started the night off with signing the sandwich board. It was fun to look back over the years and to see who took part in Christmas Eve of Christmas past.

Then lighting our Santa candle.

Then the kids and men made our delicious sandwich. It's always fun to watch to see what each person decided to make. They just put meat and cheeses on. Then we wrapped the sandwich up so that it was all ready to be carried around the house.

Ding, Ding, Dong! 6 feet long! It's our Christmas song!

Then we did a mismatch Nativity and Paige got to read the Christmas story from Luke 2 this year. Then Pops put on his Santa hat and handed out presents.

Present fun!

I was super excited for Pops to open up his gift from us. I finally got his life history done after years and years of questions, editing, scrapbooking, and making sure it was perfect. It turned out great and I'm grateful that I could get it done. I know he appreciates it and so will his posterity. 

Egg nog toast before heading home.

Then it was time to get ready for Santa and bed. First up was opening up jammies.

Sweet girls all ready for Santa!

Then setting everything up for Santa- cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for the reindeer, and special sparkle for the lawn to make sure that Santa stops at our house.

Christmas morning! Baylor and McCall were up first and had flashlights looking around at all the fun gifts. They were so excited and we woke Paige up so we could get started. Baylor wanted us all to open up the present she gave us first. It was so sweet to see how excited she was to see us open up her gift. McCall loved all the Paw Patrol gifts she got. Baylor gives the best reactions to presents and is so real. She got an awesome microscope that she loves. Paige got typical teenage stuff and was very grateful and loved being part of it all. I loved just watching it filled with joy, love, and gratitude.

Nona and Pops joined us for Christmas dinner. I made a roast, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad, and Jell-o. It was delicious. Then we had a zoom Peterson family Christmas party to open up gifts from each other. Then Grandma and Poppy called in the evening so they could see us open up gifts they got us and we could see them open up the gifts from us.

It was a perfect day! We spent all day together just enjoying the beauty and fun of the day. I'm so grateful for the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ. He was willing to descend to this Earth so each of us can live with Him again. I can live with my family forever! I'm so grateful for that eternal truth!

Merry Christmas!

December

December is always a very busy month and this year wasn't any different. We love the Christmas season. It has been a month of shopping and wrapping and all the fun December things that happen with school.

At the beginning of December, Paige was able to go to a birthday party of a friend and they went to this craft shop in Maple Valley that also does workshops. Paige was able to make her own blanket by hand crocheting it. It is so pretty and soft and looks perfect on her bed.

The first weekend, Paige, Baylor, and I went and watched two of the young women in our ward and our friends perform the Nutcracker. They did amazing and I loved watching Lizzy be the rat king because the roll and the fun part of the role fits Lizzy's personality perfectly.

December has also been filled with gymnastic practice and meets. Paige is doing great. There was a couple of meets that she was a little hard on herself. The last meet before the break, she was an all-around so she got to do all four events and got to do bars for the first time. For this one, I made sure that her focus was just to have fun and enjoy the experience. She did amazing!

Paige and Baylor also had concerts. Paige had an orchestra concert and she did amazing. She plays beautifully and the school's orchestra is really good. They have an excellent teacher which always helps. I didn't get any close up or individual pictures of Baylor at her concert but she did amazing. They did amazing and I loved watching her. I almost teared up because she has progressed so much over the years with her confidence. She was much more herself and had fun with it.

Paige and I have gotten to enjoy some really fun youth activities this month. First off, we got to experience Snowflake Lane for the first time. It has always been on my bucket list and it was so fun. I would love to go again with my family another year. Then we went ice skating. Another activity, we made homemade decorations for our tree that we got to decorate for the ward party. We also did cookies and caroling with the young men and also had a temple trip to kick off our winter break.

Mr. Elf returned for December and has been moving all around the house making the girls stay on Sant's nice list. He has had some fun.

The tooth fairy and Mr. Elf were roaming our house one night so we had some extra excitement in our house.

We have been going to indoor playground in downtown Kent with our neighbors. McCall loves it and they had a special Christmas one and Santa even visited. McCall's face was a pure frown when we first arrive which was so funny. She very slowly warmed up and even willingly took a candy cane from him and smiled in the group photo.

The last few weeks there has been a lot of flooding in our area. We are fortunately way up on the hill, so it didn't affect us. There has been so much damage and evacuations. It is sad to see. Nate and I drove to downtown Kent to see some of the areas affected near us. It was crazy to see all that water.

I was able to do science in Baylor's class at the beginning of the month and then I volunteered the class for her class party on the last day of school before the break. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad that I am able to be her class as much as I am.

These three!

We watched the first Wicked with friends in our ward during Thanksgiving break. Then since the second one is still in theaters we went with them to see it in theaters to kick off our Christmas break. It was so good and I will never be able to watch the Wizard of Oz the same. It was such a fun outing!

Last night, we did our annual tradition of going to look at Christmas lights and see the Very Merry Christmas house. They put on quite the display to Christmas music and it's close to home which makes it the perfect spot for us to go see. 

We are looking forward to Christmas and all the fun traditions. I'm so grateful for the birth of my Savior! I can't believe it is already almost a new year. We are going to enjoy our break and time with family.