Epic Story 5 of 6

Hawaii

The day after our wedding we headed to Hawaii for our honeymoon. Neither of us had been there so it was an exciting new adventure for us. We checked into the Beachcomber hotel a block from Waikiki beach. We had an amazing suite on the 20th floor facing the ocean! We still had some daylight left when we got there so we ran to the beach to check it out. We rented a couple of surf boards thinking it would be easy, not so much. We tried for about an hour to get up and then gave up, well Peter got it a little so he would want some credit for that. Then we paddled way out into the ocean past the breakers and just laid on our boards and watched the sunset. The water was so warm and it was so unbelievably beautiful, and we were married! It seemed like we were the only 2 people in the whole world. I love that memory. It is definitely my happy place to think about still.

We spent the next four days wanting to see as much as we could. We did some hiking, parasailing, snorkeling, jet skiing, taking surfing lessons, going to the the cultural center and fire show, eating good food, lying on the beach and sight seeing. It was so amazing. That really set the tone of our marriage, we are always busy trying to fit as much as we can into everything we do. We have returned there one time since our honeymoon. I could spend every vacation in Hawaii and I hope to go back many times over the next few decades.


Hawaiian Temple


Parasailing


I couldn't imagine a better place to start out married life, it was paradise and we enjoyed every second.

Epic Story 6 of 6

Newlyweds










After we got home from our honeymoon it was time for school to start. We packed our car and Peter's parent's van full of gifts and headed to Provo. We had arranged for an on campus one bedroom apartment at Wymount Terrace. It was so tiny and perfect. We arrived after a long day of driving at midnight, but I was way too excited to go to bed. I spent the whole night enthusiastically unpacking all of our new stuff and arranging our little place. It was so awesome to finally be living under the same roof. Our very own place! I felt like a little girl decorating my doll house.

A couple of months later we went to Chile with Peter's family to pick up his brother Jimmy from the mission. We saw many things and met lots of people. I had just finished 2 years of spanish classes so I was really excited to use my new language skills. My spanish wasn't great, but I didn't let that get in the way. It was a great trip, and a testimony builder for me to meet all of the members that Jimmy worked with.

This was a mine we toured in Chile.





After the school year we spent the summer in Merced California and I did some home study courses while Peter sold pest control.

For our one year anniversary we went on a week long Carribean cruise. I didn't know there was a shark behind us until this picture was developed. Just kidding, I believe it is just another snorkeler. Just making sure you are paying attention. It was pretty fun trip, minus the morning sickness! I found out I was pregnant a couple of weeks before we left. We still enjoyed ourselves and we were so excited about starting a family together.


Some ruins in Mexico









Aside from some traveling as newlyweds, we went to school full time, and lived with our feet a few inches off the ground. I loved playing housewife. It was a fun time of life to be at college as a married couple. My grades went down that first semester becuause we were so busy having fun adventures all the time. We definitely lived life to the fullest.


BYU intermural waterpolo.









After Merced, we returned to BYU and did another year of school while my belly grew for 8 months. Then we moved to Santa Rosa California just before having Dallin for another summer of pest control sales.

It was there in Santa Rosa that we made the next big jump in life. The 2 of us became 3 early in the morning on June 3rd, 2003. This picture was taken seconds after we became parents as we looked at our little baby for the first time. Our most exciting adventure of all. It sure seems like it all came down to this moment.









Now it has been eight years and we are about to become a family of 7. We have grown a lot in the last 8 years, and endured some trials, but life just seems to get sweeter and our commitment to eachother is deepened with every experience. I love the choices we have made together and the life we have created. Happy anniversary Peter, I love you. I love you more all the time which I didn't know was possible. I hope you liked reading our story. It may seem ordinary to other people, but to me it is an epic one that has still only begun.

1st Grader

How is it possible that I have a child in 1st grade? My life goes by fast, I was just holding a tiny little baby Dallin in my arms I swear! Well enough of that. Dallin gets excited about a lot of things in life; trips to Oregon, family outings, etc. I have never seen anticipate something as much as first grade however. Every morning for about 2 weeks, he would wake up and come right over and tell me how many more days until school would start.

Then the day finally came. I took him to his class and he met Mrs. Fischer, his new teacher who seems very sweet. He was also very happy that he has the same aid that he had last year who he loves. He ran over and gave her a big hug. He quickly said goodbye to me and eagerly went over to his new desk. Eden and Tanner also took this day seriously. They both insisted that they wear their backpacks to Dallin's school as well, it was too cute!

Dallin is having a great first week of school! He loves it, especially getting 3 recesses on the big kid playground. He is doing just fine, no issues at all that I know of so that is great. He is determined to be a really good boy for first grade and takes this big boy transition very seriously. What a great kid.

We also started our Mommy preschool this week and we love that too. Eden especially looks forward to it each day. I love the curriculum, I just open the bag for the day and follow the lesson plan, so easy and fun.

It has been a big adjustment for everyone to get up a bit earlier and not having Dallin around, but I am so proud of his accomplishments and how all of my kids are growing and learning.

Papa

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I love this picture of my Dad. This was from their trip to Idaho last week. Definitely in his element!

Great Printer

The HP Officejet L7555 A few months ago Peter and I decided we really needed a new printer. Although the $30 one that we were using worked, It didn't work well and the ink cost was insane for the amount of printing it did. So as we were shopping Peter really gravitated toward a black and white laser printer because of the high output, but I just couldn't face not having a color printer for all of my homemaking needs. Color laser printers were just too expensive and although the ink would last a long time, it would be a serious investment each time. Inkjets are pretty cheap but you don't get much bang for your buck with the ink. We seemed to be at a crossroads as we went from store to store trying to find the right fit for us.

Then we just happened to be at Costco, probably buying diapers, and as we browsed the printers I noticed this one that had a sign claiming to be cheaper than a laser printer per page. We talked with the salesman for quite a while about this claim. He even showed us the ink cartridge refills on which the package estimates how many pages you can print per cartridge. Sure enough it was very comparable with laser jet quantities. It was something like 1500 pages for the color cartridges and 2500 for the black and white! Much different than other ink jets quantities.

This printer is an Officejet which is a step up from the regular inkjets, but Peter was skeptical since it was only $139.00. Somehow we decided this printer was going to be our best compromise since we just couldn't afford Color and Laser in the same sentence.

When we brought it home and put it together, I did notice the quality was surprisingly good for the price we paid. Since the printer came with ink I decided not to hold back with the print jobs at all, but didn't expect much from the lower level ink that they usually come with at first. Seriously I printed like crazy, no holding back for the last 4 months and this thing just kept going! I don't know how many reams of paper we went through because the kids go through so much paper too for their own use, but between myself and them it was at least 10. I am careful to print on the economy setting a lot, I have always done that, but still printed and copied like crazy. I finally had to buy some color ink for this thing after all this time just yesterday, but the black is still going strong.

The color cartridges cost a total of about $60(about 1500 pages, perhaps more on economy printing), but that is still a lot less than laser cartridges. You can get 2 black cartridges for about the same price (5000 pages!) The printer itself has really impressed me for the price. Way better quality than I expected for $139. It has only jammed maybe 3 or 4 times with what seemed like a thousand print jobs. Anyway, we have been very happy with our decision to get this printer so if you are looking to get something good, try one of the printers in this line. If it requires HP Officejet 88XL ink, that is the way to go. I love to share a good find so I hope this is useful for someone out there.

P.S. This one is also wireless so we hooked it up to our internet router and can print from anywhere in the house!

Water Park Fun

This is from back in July when we had a heat wave. The kids enjoyed cooling down at the splash park by our house.

Tanner cracks me up in this.





"Look at my BIG muscles mom!"

Camping

Since we didn't get to have our family reunion campout, Peter set up the tent in our yard the other night. We baked s'mores in the oven and ate them in the tent, sang songs and told stories. This is one of the kid's favorite things to do with their daddy.

Goey Goodness


"Going on a Hippo hunt!"

Frog

A few weeks ago Peter was working out in the yard and found this huge frog! The kids watched it for a long time and then decided to catch it which turned out to be easy. It was a fun discovery for them.

Oregon Recap

Here is a little recap of our trip to Oregon:

Our first day there was Thursday. Peter went rafting with the big group and of course I stayed back with the kids. We had a cousins day at Michelle's house and it went great. We had about 15 small children there and they all got along so well, that we barely had to do anything other than change diapers and feed them. They were totally self entertained with eachother it was great! I loved watching Dallin interact with his cousins, my he has come so far. He spent a lot of time playing games with Derek and talking Star Wars. I really love seeing him able to relate to children his age. This is still pretty new to see but you would think it was never an issue! The rafting trip was a huge success as usual, lots of wet fun, family bonding and food. I admit I was pretty bitter that I had to sit this one out, it is one of my favorite activities. Definitely worth the trade off though since I am being "crafty".

On friday Peter went to take his Journeyman exam and a few of us went to the Enchanted Forest. I can't believe I grew up in the Portland area my whole life and have never been there. Yeah, I learned that taking 4 little ones with no hubby is a lot of work. I took my stroller but realized that the extreme hills and corners were a pretty big chore. The kids had a GREAT time though, it was such a perfect activity for them. They loved exploring all the fairy tales, enjoyed a very humorous version of snow white, did some big slides, and watched a really neat water show.

Saturday was the wedding and then Sunday we left for the beach for a couple of days with the Dickinsons. On Tuesday Peter flew back to CA so he could work and I drove the scenic drive to Astoria to visit my sister. I was so glad that I was there during the Portland heat wave. It was only in the 70's and low 80's there. It was fun to visit with Cami and her cute kids. I was a little sick so I was not much fun but it was still a good visit. By the time I left her kids had our plague too :(

Thursday I drove to St. Helens to visit my parents. That night I got the call from Cami that one of her kids had Chicken Pox...dun dun dun! My 2 youngest have not been vaccinated for that yet. Incubation can be a while so we still don't know if they will get it. The bad part is that I still had my sister in Beaverton and one in Salem to visit but they did not want us to come even close with that exposure. Laurel has a little baby and Beth's twin girls haven't had the shot yet either. Our family reunion was scheduled to be the following Thursday so I was going to visit my sisters for a couple of days each and then Peter was going to come back for that. With the Chicken Pox outbreak the family just decided to cancel the whole thing. Can you imagine camping while your kids come down with chicken pox? With no one to visit and no reunion to wait for I decided to throw in the towel and go home to Peter. I visited with my parents for another day first. Then on Saturday I went to the Hedman family picnik and we stayed the night at the Dickinsons (they have all had the pox). Dallin got to spend some quality time with Peter's Dad and Grandpa D that evening so that was really neat. They went to Grandpas house to visit him and they swam in the lake, just the 2 of them. How great is that?

Sunday morning we left for CA with Lucy in tow. Thank goodness for her willingness to come and help me out. We got a flat about 15 minutes out on I-5. I have no problem changing a tire so it wasn't a big deal. The hardest part is getting the bolts off. Peter keeps a t-iron in the car which helps, but I still had to jump on it to loosen the bolts. I must have looked pretty sorry doing that with my pregnant self so a good samaritan stopped and finished the job for me. Even with a full size spare on I wasn't comfortable making the rest of the trip with no other back ups so we stopped at a Walmart tire center for lunch and got a new tire. It was a long day as the only driver but we finally made it back safe and sound. I was actually glad to be back, Peter and I were really missing eachother. I can't complain too much because we were in Oregon for a week and a half. My only sadness was not seeing 2 of my sisters and their wonderful families. I was exausted though and glad to be in my own home again.

Being home a week sooner than planned I realized that I had a completely empty schedule! I have definitely taken this opportunity to have a "staycation" and relax at home. I have only left the house once to grocery shop this week and that is great with me! Dallin can't have therapistscome in either because believe it or not 3 of them have not had Chicken Pox. So no one coming and going, just a quiet week alone with just us and Lucy. Lucy played and played with the kids, they love her to death. We played games, camped in the yard and took bike rides. Lucy was able to stay for 3 days and then she flew back to Portland. I have been editing photos like crazy, reading and recovering from the busy trip.

Enchanted forest. Without Peter there to help with kids, I was not able capture a lot.

The Oregon Coast

Ahhh, is there really anything better? What a beautiful sight it is.

We went home for Sherry's wedding and stayed for a Dickinson Reunion in the following days. We all went to a big beach house in Lincoln City and had a fun and, hmmmmm lets just say interesting time.

One night we had a Pirate party. The kids especially loved dressing up, singing pirate songs that Tammy prepared, playing games and of course hunting for treasure.





Cute baby alert! I can't help it, I am just so in love with this little guy.


ARRRRRRR!!! wait a minute, I see a pirate with 2 eye patches!

What was the interesting part you may be wondering? Well, before the trip a few of the little people started getting a stomach bug. On the way to the beach however, most cars did not make it without pulling over multiple times with sick people. It came in a huge wave! The whole first night at the beach, each of the 3 bathrooms were in constant use with people exploding from both ends (sorry thats pretty nasty, but it was!) It was like we had a plague and it was just a matter of who would be next of our big group. The grossest part was sick little kids that gave no warning. Without going into further detail I will just say that all of my potty trained kids had to wear diapers because it was so out of control. Lori stocked the house with sanitizing wipes and lysol for the many clean ups. It was one crazy trip for sure. Someone started this sheet of paper and as people would get sick they would cross off their name from the "not sick" side and add it to the "sick" side. One night during my middle of the night pregnancy bathroom trip, I found Tammy sleeping on the floor in the bathroom since she couldn't go far, so she just assumed I was coming in for the same reason.



Most of the people left standing on this list did end up getting sick including myself the day after. I got off pretty easy though. I am not sure exactly, but I think only 2 or 3 people are superimmune.



This was definitely a pukefest that we will always remember.




On a more uplifting note, all of the Dickinson grandchildren were there so we did a grandkids picture with Grandma and Grandpa. This makes 16. This picture will be outdated in November with 2 more on the way and I am sure this is just the start. These kids are so lucky to be part of such a great family group. They will have so much fun growing up together.

Favorite Tanner Quote from the trip:

Peter: Tanner, want to go to the beach?
Tanner: I'm not Tanner, I'm a pirate!
Peter: Okay...Pirate, want to go to the beach?
Tanner: Pirates don't go to the beach, they go on pirate ships!!!
Peter: Are you sure you don't want to go the the beach?
Tanner: PIRATES DON'T GO THE BEACH!!!
Peter: Okay then Pirate, we will see you later.
(He really didn't go!)

A New Look

I have been working on photoshop scrapbooking today and decided I am way overdue for a new look. Its like getting a new haircut or something. What do you think?

I am not sure about the pregnant sillouette anymore though, I am so not that cute so she is really getting on my nerves. ------------>

(The scrapbook kit was from ShabbyPrincess)

More Wedding Pictures

Here are a few fun pictures from the wedding day:

Isaac


Carter


Dickinson Originals



Maddison


Tanner


Eden


Eden


Zora


"Sherry Baby" Singers


All 9 brothers


Carter and Grandpa


Cara


Lindsay


Eden


Carter
At the reception, the grandkids found the little "mote" to be very entertaining.
I do have more of the grandkids if anyone wants them, these are just the ones I liked best.

Peter Rocks!

When we were home last week Peter took the Journeyman exam to get his Oregon license. Today we found out that

he passed!!!

YES, this is same thing he has been working toward for 5 years! NO more apprenticeship, NO more classes, NO more complications from moving to CA, NO more traveling back and forth to Oregon for this stuff!

Peter is now a

Journeyman Electrician.

He doesn't really need the license for what he is doing right now, but when we move back to Oregon, he plans to start his own business so he really needed to get this out of the way. I can't begin to tell you what a headache it has been for Peter to finish this from another state, but it is all worth it now. I am so proud of him, this is not just something you decide to do and get in a few months, it really is a process that takes years. 4 years of classes and 8000 hours of field experience to be exact and then you must pass a very difficult test. Way to go Peter! I just love that guy.

Sherry and Jeff

We had a great trip home filled with many adventures. The main highlight was having the pleasure of going to Peter's sister's wedding and photographing it for them. They had a gorgeous outdoor reception with bright vibrant wedding colors. They were such a cute couple, Jeff seems like a great guy for Sherry. Here is the preview with my favorites from the day. click HERE to see the rest.

Mini Vaycay

Peter had to go to Porterville which is about 4 hours away overnight for work. At the last minute, we decided to tag along for a little adventure. His work put us up in a nice hotel and the kids thought it was the best slumber party ever. We got in pretty late, played a couple of games and went to bed. The next morning we stuffed ourselves with the hot breakfast provided and enjoyed the pool, which we had all to ourselves. We spent some more time in our room watching PBS and then we went to the next door play land at Burger King while Peter went to turn in a bid for work.

Once Peter was done, we found a theatre and saw Harry Potter. It was a little too long for their attention spans, but we enjoyed it. Then we headed home. One of the best parts for me was the drive because we could talk and enjoy our time together.

I am so glad we went on this little trip with Peter. It was really last minute, but great family time.

LOL!

Oh Yeah!!!

Dallin the Game Boy

Dallin LOVES to play games! He goes through phases of which is his favorite and plays it 10 times a day with whoever will play for a good week or 2. Uno has been his favorite for a while now. Thankfully, one of his therapists brought "Sorry" over a couple of days ago and now he has a new favorite. Some of his other favorites are Hungry Hank, a random pirate board game, and Monopoly Jr. I can see that this is really good for his development. His math is better, maybe even his strong area. He is also better at reasoning and strategy skills.

Dallin has been having 6 hours of therapy a day this summer. Academically, he is way ahead of where he needs to be going into first grade. His conversations skills are always improving and his behaviors are very good. I think he will have a successful year. He will still have his aid there, but hopefully he won't need the extra support very much. I am so interested and hopeful for how he will do socially when he starts school again. He is such an awesome kid, I am so proud of him. I can't believe first grade is only a month away!

House Update

We have been dangling for months over what was happening with the house that we are renting at the moment. We found out it was for sale "short sale". Then we thought it was going into foreclosure. That is really frustrating to know that you are paying your rent to someone who is not paying the mortgage! It has been hard to really know what is going on, but Peter calls the listing agent about once a week or so to make sure things haven't changed.

So there is a short sale still pending. From what we hear, we will know in the next couple of weeks if that will go through. We really hope it does, because the buyer wants renters. We have not had anyone view the house at all so the buyer finally has an appointment to come see it. That means I am working like crazy to get this place looking shiny. (I can't believe how many people have just knocked on our door hoping to see the house! I just tell them no, and to contact the agent, duh!) I spent the whole day yesterday cleaning our carpets on the main floor. Seriously, we were not meant for carpet, but I can't believe what a difference a clean carpet makes. If the sale goes through, I guess it will still be 4-6 weeks before everything is final and then if we do get evicted they have to give us 60 days. So for now we are just hoping the sale goes and that they want to keep us. Moving is the pits so we are hoping to avoid it until we move back to Oregon.

Preaching to the Choir

The ward choir sang a beautiful rendition of America the Beautiful in church today. It was lovely, until they finished and Tanner decided to add his own song to the complete silence.

Tanner:"Thomas the Tank Engine(in shock, my hand covers his mouth for a few seconds. I let go thinking he got the message) HURRIES ALONG!"