Family Pictures from the Chrismas Tree Farm

The second picture was taken on the hay ride and the first was taken on the "spider log" by the duck pond. We called it the "spider log" because there were so many spiders on it. Parker would not sit on it. He was so scared of the spiders.

Chrismas Tree

And here is our Chrismas Tree. It took us one whole day to put on the lights. It took Tony 4 trips to the store. We ended up putting 3400 lights on our tree.

Christmas Tree Farm

Yesterday our family went to the Chrismas Tree Farm. It was a fun place. The kids made christmas ornaments and saw Santa. We went on a hay ride and watched some geese and ducks on a pond. We found a 11 ft. white sprauce which will be out Chrismas Tree this year. Today we put the lights on our tree. It took 3400 lights to ilumenate it. Check out the pictures.

Fall Pictures

My friend Marchet took these Pictures of the boys last week. Aren't these cute? She will be taking our family pictures when my parents are here.

2 Falls in 2 Weeks

I fell down the stairs carrying Parker. My body hurt for about one week after. The bruises are not even gone yet and guess what? Last night Parker woke up crying and while carrying him downstairs to give him his pain medication I fell down the stairs again. I thought I was being extra careful and there it happened again. I could not get up for 15 minutes and after that Tony had to help me walk. It was horrible. I fel on my tailbone and I hurt myself pretty bad. Today I have been controlling the pain with some prescribed medication and resting. Last night before falling asleep Parker told me that I should slide down the stairs like him and his brothers from now on. I might have to follow his advice if I don't stop having these accidents. Tomorrow Tony has to go back to work and I have to take care of my kids. The meds are working great and I am sure I will be able to manage the kids and some light house work.

November update

I guess we spoke too soon. Parker had a really bad day today. He was in so much pain he could not eat or drink. His pain medication was taking the edge off but not all the pain. It was really hard to see him that way. Yesterday he was runnig around having fun and eating and drinking all he wanted but today was different. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Saturday Tony and the boys were working in the yard. Zack and Parker's favourite task was to rake the leaves into a pile and jump into it. They had so much fun. Tony took some great pictures of their playing. The landscape in our area looks really cool. The trees are changing colors and there are so many leaves everywhere. The other day I was standing at a red light and there was a big tree right across the street from me. The leaves were falling and flying away in the wind and it looked enchanted. It has not been raining too much and the temperatures are still bearable. I think I will need a winter coat this year though.

Tucker started walking on November 1-st 2008. That makes him our latest walker. He's almost 14 months. He still goes back to crawling when he wants to move fast or when he feels it is to slippery to walk. He is a smart cookie this one.

Parker's Hospital Visit

Today Parker, Tony and I went to the Scottish Rite Childrens Hospital where Parker had his tonsils removed. Parkers surgery was scheduled for 11:20 am but it took place at noon. He did very well considering that he was not allowed to have anything to drink or eat since 7 am this morning. He was actually really excited to go to the hospital this morning. When we got to the hospital we found that they had a great area for kids who were waiting to be admitted to their rooms. Parker quickly made a new friend. We played for about an hour before we were admitted. After getting settled in our room we saw a lot of nurses and doctors who explained the surgery to us. Everybody was very nice and sweet. At about 11:30 am Parker was given the "happy medicine". He became sleepy within 10 minutes. At 12:00 he was taken by his nurse to his surgery and at 12:30 he was back with us in his room. The nurse who was wheeling him back to his room said that he told her to bring him to his mom and he also told her to go faster. When he got to the back to his room he was crying because his hand was hurting. I do not like I. V.'s . I think those hurt more than the surgery itself. We had to wait to be released for 2 hours. We had to make sure Parker would be able to drink and he needed to keep his I.V. in for at least 1 hour. He did great. He drank 2 cups of apple juice and slept the whole time untill we were discharged after he calmed down. We are at home right now and he is acting fine. I just gave him another dose of his pain medication. He must be doing really well because he just got a candy bar from somewhere and ate it. He's such a little toad.

GAS

No not that kind of gas. This post is actually about gasoline. There is a shortage of gas in Georgia. So you can only get gas at some gas stations mostly in the mornings. Nobody knows when the this problem will be taken care of. Last Friday Tony and I went on a date. We had a nice dinner and on the way to get some ice cream we spotted a gasoline truck. We went ahead and parked our car by a pump and waited for the gas to be refilled. After 5 minutes the gas station was packed full . People were pushing their cars to the pums because they were out of gas. A gas station associate came out and told us that it would take 45 min until they can open the pumps. 10 minutes later the line of cars waiting for the gas went around the block. That's just crazy.
So after 45 minutes we left the station with a full gas tank. Today Tony took my car to work to fill it up with gas on the way to work, but he could not find a gas station which had gas. So tonight we will be cruising around looking for gasoline. Wohoooo.

September update

I know I promised to post on a weekly basis but it's been hard adjusting to life in Georgia for me. I just could not get myself to sit down and type for various reasons. Anyway I finally mentally kicked myself and it worked. I am slowly getting on track with schedules, school and chores. We still have tons of boxes to unpack. So to make us feel better we just hid them in the basement and now we all feel less guilty about not being completely unpacked after being here for almost 2 months. Out of sight - out of mind - really works.

September started pretty mellow for us. Nothing really happened. Tony's Birthday was on September 3-rd and I decided that he needed a surprise party. So I called a few friends and we got the ball rolling. A lot of Tony's friends showed up and celebrated with us. Tony did not expect anything like that. He was very surprised. He loved his party. We even got a baseball cake for him.

September we also celebrated Tucker's 1-st Birthday. We had cake and lots of presents. He loved the wraping paper. Parker loved the presents.

Today Parker and I taught Tucker how to climb down the stairs. He was climbing up and down the stairs all day long. He was giggling the whole time.

Yesterday was my "Arizona Girls Night In" and we wanted to watch "Maid of Honor". That did not happen because we had so much to visit about. I think we'll have to start another "Night In" so that we can actually watch a movie and we can visit on our other night out. It is so great to have friends from home here in Georgia with us.

Finally

I've been on Monika's case to write a new blog now that we're in Georgia, but she's had a lot to do. So I figured I'd log on and write something and play on her pride a bit. :-)

We've had quite the adventure in our move to Georgia. Nothing has gone quite the way we have planned. This includes issues with our renter in Arizona, issues with the movers in coming here, and just stress from the move.

It took forever to get our internet hooked up. It took just as long for DirecTV to get our satellite dish installed. Now it is all working, and things are starting to settle in a bit.

Zack absolutely loves his school. He's making friends fast, and growing up even faster. He's been a big helper to his mom and is a great example for his younger brothers.

Parker is still quite the character, and has quickly made friends with the neighborhood children.

Tucker is getting another tooth, and is very close to walking. He is standing on his own, and walks along the couches and anything else he can pull himself up on. His favorite game is climbing the stairs.

Yesterday was Labor Day, and we took the boys to downtown Atlanta to the Children's Museum. They had an absolute blast. We went with Palmers, and the kids played together. Zack's favorite part of the museum was where he was able to operate a crane that picked up balls from another aparatus, and then he could turn the crane and dump the balls into a box where they would return through an elaborate process to the box where he originally picked them up. He had more fun dumping the balls on people's heads who happened to be standing in the zone that the crane could reach.

We also have 2 deer that live in the woods behind our house (there are probably more). We see them regularly. Parker comes running up the stairs from the basement to tell us that there is a baby "Darr" outside. The kids love it.

We hope that everyone is doing well. We miss our friends in Arizona, and hope that many of you take the opportunity to visit us someday.

The Boys's Packing Day

Zack and Parker were hanging out with Codi, Sabrina and AJ while our household goods were being packed. We are so greatful for good friends. Thanks Codi and Amber. We love you guys.

Countdown to Georgia

Well it is Thursday (7-24-08) and the packers are here. I was up last night unitll 1:00 am packing, crying and preparing everything for being packed. Now they are here, doing a great job. Zack and Parker went to Amber's house and Codi picked them up from there and took them to the movies. They wet to see "Horton hears the Who". No wonder my kids love Codi. She is so much fun. I have had my issues with people packing and moving my stuff until the packers came. I have decided that this is the way to move. Also I love to tell people what to do. It comes naturally to me ( ask my husband). Seriously I don't even have to try. So I am sitting here on my couch updating my blog and checking from time to time on the progress of the work being done. Do you remember being 10 and dreaming of the perfect occupation. I have found mine. I will be the person who's stuff is being moved ( profesionally). I should hold off on deciding on my career path though. The movers are coming tomorrow. I might like telling them what to do better. It's 3:30 pm and the packing team is done. I am amazed at how quick that went. At 5:00 pm we have a possible renter for our home coming by to look at the house. I am surprised that we haven't had more people look at the house. Let's hope this is the right person. We have been praying for the right person to rent our house. I am sure we'll know once we meet them and they still have to qualify through our Property Management Company. I am sad to leave but I am also at peace. It's a unique feeling. I tell you. Well it's 3 more days to our Family Vacation at Lake Powell and 10 days untill the final move to Georgia. Can you belive that?

Tuesday get together

Amber, who is moving to the White Mountains and I had our goodbye party at the Paradise Bakery. It was so much fun to be with my friends for the last time. I will miss my life in Queen Creek and my friends. We have been thorugh much together. We love all of you for being such great examples to us and serving us in so many ways. I know life is busy and it will get even more so but I am planing on updating this blog once a week and I am hoping that will help us to saty in toch. We will be back someday. That's the plan. LOVE YA ALL!!!!!!!!

Sunday Night's Insomnia

Sunday evening I had a couple of sipps of diet cherry coke. I forgot what effects caffeinated soft drinks have on me at night time. Long story short I was up untill 1:30 am. After hours of turning and wondering why I could not sleep (of course I did not figure out why I could not fall asleep untill the next day). I finally crashed but something did not feel quite right. Something warm was touching my face, somebody was talking to me and for the longest time I could not figure out what was happening untill I opened my eyes and saw Zack making his makeshift bed at the foot of my bed. He was scared and could not sleep in his bed. So I got up and helped him with his little camp in my bedroom. By the was if you are cosidering watching "the spiderwyck chronicles" DON'T!!!! It was a fun show to watch for Tony and I but our kids got sooooooo scared. Anyway back to the story. It's 2:30 am and I am back in bed falling asleep. Suddenly something something is climbing on top of me and hangs on to me . I feel so hot and sombody is talking really loud now. Yes you guessed right if you guessed Parker. That little turkey climbed into bed with me and was sharing secrets with me by talking loudly into my ear. By now it's 3:30 am and Parker after refusing to lay down by Zack is laying in bed between Tony and I trying to touch my face with his big toe. I tell him to stop that and go to sleep. He of course is not tired so he starts to kick me in my back and tells me to move. I move to the very edge of my bed to prevent anymore contact and maybe catch some more sleep when Parker decides that he wants to hold his mommy. By now I have given up on any more sleep. That kiddo produces more heat than our heater. I do not even know when I fell asleep but I woke up at about 5:00 am to Parker's snoring and kicking my back again. I decided to ask Tony to move P back to his room so I could catch some sleep. When Tony picked Parker up to bring him to his bed I saw the big wet stain. I could not believe my eyes. He totally peed through a pull up diaper (which I guess is not hard, I had forgotten that those do not hold anything) The funniest part was though when Tony asked if that was sweat. I wished !!!!!!! Anyway I lent my upholstery shampooer to Tony's mom the evening before. So there I was scrubbing as much away as I could and pouring baking soda on my mattress (that takes all the moisture and smell away) Tony decided to just get up and start working (he's working from home untill we move) I went to lay down in the kid's bed. I fell asleep at about 7 am and was awoken by some kids fighting about 2 hours later. Well wasn't that an exciting night?

priceless

Last Thursday Zack had one of those really cute, I could just kiss you episodes. He was talking on the phone with Tony and Parker was being wild. After beeing reminded of being more quiet while his brother was on the phone, Parker proceeded to scream and push his baby brother down onto the floor. After reminding Parker for the 5-th time I raised my voice and told him to stop hurting his brother. When I heard Zack say to Tony: " Daddy would you hold on for just one second please" Then he turned to me and said : " Mommy be more gentor with Parker" (he meant gentle) Then he turned and continued talking to Tony. I could have just kissed that boy. He told me exactly what I needed to hear that moment of frustration. And I was so happy to see that he does listen and remember when I tell him how to behave with his brothers. He is one special great big brother.

To all our friends and family

We want to stay in touch so please email us your blogspot addys so we can add them to our favourites and check on you from time to time. tmpete0623@yahoo.com
thanks everybody!!!! We love you!!

Check out my Slide Show!

Home finding trip

We got to Alpharetta on Friday and the first thing we did was to go and see 2 homes that were on our to see list. I do not know where to begin when describing those homes. Both homes were advertised with finished basement if one considers one finished room as finished basement. It took us about 10 homes untill we finally found a house that was clean and had a finished basement. It was so refreshing to go through a hose that did not smell and you could look out the windows. That gave us much more hope that we could find a home in Alpharetta that woul be livable. Most realtors when asked about the state of the messy homes told us that the owners were not willing to do anything to the house unless somebody signed the papers. In my opinion if these people do not take of their home in order to sell or rent it who is to tell me that they would take care of the problems after I signed with them. To make this whole story short .After 3 days of looking we found the home we were lookig for. It is in Alpharetta and about 5-10 minutes awy from Tony's work. We decided to rent for 1 year first so that we can get aquainted with the area and the traffic before we buy a house there. Anyway he house is beautiful with upto 6 bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms. It has a formal living room, dining room and media room. I will add the pics in a slide show above.
While in GA Tony and I clebrated our 8-th anniversary. We had dinner at Ray's Killer Creek Restarant and went to see a movie. It was great to be together and just talk.
We are getting excited and nervous about our move. I cannot believe it is only 5 weeks away. Well we are still working on tiling and painting. The sorting and desposing of will have to wait.
That's it for now .

A special thanks to Mom and Dad for watching the boys and making this trip possible for us. We love you!!!!!!
Also to Codi: You rule thanks for picking up the boys and watching them. We could not have done this without your help. Love ya!
And Courtney. I know how much you are going through my friend and I want to thank you for making room for our boys in your busy schedule . Love ya !

Moving plans so far

We will be taking a trip to GA soon to pick a house there for us. We are so blessed with Tony's parents who will be staying with our kiddos so we can do that in peace.
Yesterday Tony's sister Lindsay had her appendix (i hope that is how you spell it) taken out. Everything went well but they kept her in the hospital for an extra day. We are glad she's taken care of. We prayed all sunday for you. Love ya sis!!!!!!
Today my sister Maggie finished her exams and she passed everything. She just completed her elementary school education degree. Congrats sis!!!! We love you!!!!!
Today is also our home improvement day and guess what. Tony is on the phone working (he's on vacation in order to fix up the house) and the kids have trashed the house. I do not know how in the world we will be able to move in 6 weeks. To be continued ......

Zack's Birthday slide show

Zack's Birthday

Saturday June 7-th we had a Birthday Party for Zack. He turned 7. We had a water slide and a Indiana Jones cake. Zack loves Indiana Jones. He had so much fun with his friends. We wanted him to have a last party with all his friends before he moves to Alpharetta. I cannot belive that our moving day is only 7 weeks away.

Today was Tucker's 9 months check up. He is 30 inches long (95%) 20 lb and 5.5 oz (50%) and his head measures 18 1/2 inches (90%). He is doing great. He is crawling and pulling himself up on furniture. He loves throwing his food and toys. He talks and sings all day long. He is a great baby. He is taking after his older brothers.

Something cute happened today at the doctors office. When Tucker was getting his shot Parker started crying and when the nurse started takling to him he got mad at her for hurting his brother. He is such a little cutie.

Zack and Parker 1st picture with new summer hair cut.

June 2008 update

Many things have happened since last time we posted here. We have finally found out that we will be moving to Georgia at the end of July of this year. We are excited and sad at the same time. It will be hard to leave AZ. We will miss our family and all our friends here. Right now we are in the middle of preparing our move and trying to find a new house in Alpharetta Ga. Zack is the only one of the kids who understands to some extend that we are relocating. I do not know if he understands that he will not be able to visit his grandparents or his friends on a weekly basis. Parker and Tucker have no idea of what's going on.

A few weeks ago Tony lost his grandpa. We all got to attend his funeral in Utah. He was a great man and we will miss him dearly.

Zack finished school last week. He did wonderful on his report card. He is a great kid and we are very proud of him. Zack will also be turning 7 this month. We are planing a Indiana Jones Party. We are hoping he and his friends will like that.

Parker is 3 now and still refusing to potty train. He is our character. Parker loves to play with his brothers and loves calling his dad on his phone (which could be anything lying around the house like a toy car or a banana) He is hilarious.

Tucker is almost 9 months old, he is army crawlin. He loves to talk and sing. He is the smiliest baby ever. He just got his third tooth (top left).

Tony is doing great at work. He loves what he does and thats so important.

I just finished teaching preschool and I already miss it but I keep busy with our big move and the kids. Thats it for now. I will try to post something next week. (maybe)