Let's Play Catch Up!!

So this post totally turned into a NOVEL!  Consider yourself warned! Ü
Holy cow, has it really been almost a MONTH since I blogged?!  Geez!  We have been so busy with life the last few weeks, and I just have been in one of those "I don't want to blog" moods!  But before I get to far behind, ok let's face it I already am!!  But I don't want to let it go any longer!  So here's the update I know you've all been sitting at home waiting for!! hahaha!
February 27th
We went out to the desert to watch Ethan and Noah race in a dirt bike race, and watch all the older guys (and gals) race as well...  It was a bit chilly and we were worried it was going to rain, but thankfully for the boys race it didn't!
Kernan loves to play in dirt!!


Ethan at the starting line...


Noah...


Kernan looking cute...


Oh wait, he was throwing a fit! lol!


Nitro... Remember this puppy...  She's the one we watched just before Christmas for my Aunt and Uncle!  Her name then was FOXY but they changed it when she got to their house and she's now NITRO!  It's taken me awhile to get used to that name, I still slip every once in awhile!  Hasn't she gotten so big?!


Noah in action!


Ethan in action!


After all the racing was done, we went to a hotel in St. George for the award ceremony...
Ethan got 6th in his age group!


Kernan made himself at home and sat right in the middle of the aisle, thankfully we were in the very back!  Thanks to Brian for this cute picture! Ü


Noah got 2nd in his age group!!


And this boy was being a ham for the camera!!  Gotta take it while I can get it!


February 28th
Brian's birthday!!  Here are the kids waiting for him to come out of our room so they can jump up and yell, "Surprise!"


His loot...


The kids wanted him to open his presents first thing!!  So we got ready for church and they just couldn't wait!  So he opened his presents before church, now this might not sound like a big deal until I tell you... We go to church at 8:30 am!!!  So we were up, feed, dressed and ready with enough time for Bri to open all his gifts!!  Too bad it's not like that every Sunday!! Ü


Later in the day Kernan and Daddy got to work putting together the rocket that my parents and siblings gave Brian...


They bought him the same one they used at Christmas time!  Kernan couldn't wait to put it together!


Onto March!  The second week in March I had a big Photography conference in Vegas, it also just happened to be Maci's Spring Break so my WONDERFUL Mom flew up from Phoenix to watch my kids in Vegas while I went to my classes and walked the trade show...
I went to a bunch of really awesome classes while I was there but the best one by far was Jasmine Star's Platform Class! She is an amazing wedding photographer in So Cal...  Go check out her work, awesome!  To "pay" my Mom for coming and watching my kids, I gave her the other half of my ticket to WPPI just so she could come to Jasmine's class with me!  Obviously my Mom isn't a photog but she loves Jasmine's pictures and the way she writes!  Seriously, she has a wonderful way with words!!  It was an awesome class and we're lucky we got in!  They had to turn away 1000+ people because there wasn't enough seats, and she did an encore of her class the next day!!  She rocks!!
thanks to my awesome cousin Shelby and Aunt and Uncle for watching my kids so Mom could come!  you rock!
The next day I got together with some photog friends from an online forum and we had lunch and then went and walked the trade show...  We went in and right in front of me was Jasmine Star!! holla!  So I called her name and she turned around, I told her that I loved her class and I just think she's awesome, she took a picture with me and she is just so down to earth! 


As we were walking around we went to the shootsac booth, and Jessica Claire was there... So I got my picture taken with her... she's another awesome So Cal wedding photog! She's also the creator of Shootsac and Hipslip, I have both and LOVE them!
One bad thing about having a bunch of photogs with you, is  to know which camera to look at?!  I was looking at my camera...


And she was looking at my friend Trisha's camera!  Thanks Trisha for emailing this to me! Ü


And I also got to meet Becker!
  He gave a presentation at the WHCC booth (the lab I use).  I just love how all 3 of them are just so down to earth and real!


The next day I worked at the NILMDTS booth to try and get other photogs to join such a wonderful cause!  And then I went to Jonathan Canlas class which was awesome!  I have to be honest though, I really went because I knew that Natalie Norton was going to be in there and I have been dying to meet her!  I just learned who she was in January when she so openly shared the story about how she lost her little boy at 2 months of age...  She shared her faith, her heartbreak, her struggles and her love with everyone.  And I've been checking her blog ever since!  I was so glad to meet her and so glad I went to Jonathan's class, he was very inspirational and had great advice for photogs!  Plus, he flew to Hawaii (that's where Natalie and her family live) to take pictures at sweet little Gavin's funeral and he shared those during his presentation.  They were so smart to have boxes of tissues to pass around the room, I don't think there was a dry eye in the room!  It brought back all the emotions I had on the day we buried our sweet Broc almost 5 years ago!!  Thanks Natalie for being so awesome and inspiring!  Oh and you too Jonathan! Ü
So WPPI was over for me on Wednesday, but it just so happened that my cousin Sydni was getting married on Saturday!  So on Thursday, Brian came down and my Dad and the kids came up to  meet us in Vegas!  Friday we had Syd's shower and the family dinner and just my luck, Kernan was starting to get sick!!  He was a pill!  But what can you do?!
Here is the bridal party outside the Las Vegas Temple on March 13th.. I snagged this picture off Paula's facebook page Ü  Kernan wouldn't let me do anything, so grabbing my camera and taking some fun pictures was out of the question for me...


At the reception, we got a picture of my Gram and Grandpa Peterson with all 6 of their kids...


And the kids spouses...


Wasn't Sydni a beautiful bride?!


Then I also snapped a few pictures of my parents...


I LOVE these two so much!!!


I have to share a funny story, on our way back to the hotel after the reception, where Kernan and Brian spent most of the time in the car watching Pirates of the Caribbean (thanks Handsome for giving me some time to hang out with my family without Bub! You're the best!) Anyway, we were driving back to the hotel and Kernan said,
"I want to go home!"
and I said, "We are bud, we're headed back to the hotel."
and he replied,
"No, I don't want to go to the hotel!  I want to go to my HOME!  I done!"
Poor kid, that's when you know he wasn't feeling good!  This kid loves hotels!  But I guess living in one for a week, and being sick was enough for him, he just wanted to go home!!
So we got home on Sunday and I had to get center pieces together and a slide show done for our Relief Society Birthday Party that Wednesday, so 2 days to get it all together, with a sick kid!  Yikes!!  But it turned out awesome!  The theme we went with was:
Our Sister's Hands
The ladies had an entire program put together, it really was neat!  Here's what a couple of the center pieces looked like, thanks to my Grandma and her fun antiques that I went and borrowed!






I was trying to upload the slide show so you could watch it but it's not uploading to YouTube right... So I'll keep trying and as soon as I figure it out I'll post it on here.

Wednesday was also March 17th, St. Patrick's Day.  I did a fun hair do in Maci's hair for it...
I did a 3 leaf clover!


Here it is with the bow in it...  I love doing fun things with Maci's hair, I wonder how much longer she'll let me do it...


So just when I thought life was going to slow down after Wednesday, I was wrong. On the Sunday we got home from Vegas we found out that my Uncle Jeff's Mom had died that night and her funeral was on Saturday.  So my family came up on Thursday night to be here for Jeff and Bobbi.  On Friday we went out to the desert to ride motorcycles for Stockton's birthday (it was on that Sunday, the 21st).  It was pretty chilly here on Friday thanks to the wind!  So Kernan and I stayed in the truck most of the time, so sadly I got no pictures!
Saturday March 20th was Charilla's funeral, my Aunt Bobbi asked me if I would bring my camera with me and take some pictures for them.  Here are just a few...








Charilla's 4 kids with their spouses...


My family left the next day and our lives have slowed down a bit.  My birthday was on Thursday March 25th, Brian took the kids and I ice skating for it!  We had a blast!  I didn't take my camera though because I didn't want to carry both my camera and Kernan around so Brian took some pictures with his phone, here are a few...


This was how he was the entire time!  He didn't want to get out of the car, he didn't want to go into the rink, he didn't want to put on the skates and he did not want to go skating! It was so much fun!! (typed with much sarcasm!)


Maci LOVED it!  She didn't want to leave!  By the time we did leave she had gotten so good!  I think she only fell on her booty twice! Ü


Here I am being a "mean Mom"!  I made him skate!  If you look at the little boy behind us, you can see he was using buckets to skate, Kernan didn't even want to do that!  We even put him on them and pushed him around the ice which I think was the only time we got a smile out of him all night!  But as soon as we'd get back to the section where you get off the ice he wanted OFF!  If he had just dropped the attitude he probably would have been really good, but he didn't drop the attitude! argh...


Kernan and I also drove up to Cedar City on my Birthday for lunch at Jon's with my family,  Mmmm... That is the best restaurant!  But again, Kernan was on one!  I knew he was going to be from the time he got up that morning!  Brian said, "Dude, it's Mommy's birthday today!" and he said, "NO IT NOT!" I knew he was going to be a handful!  But he was seriously so embarrassing at lunch!  I got to wear a sombrero and they sang Happy Birthday to me, and the entire time he had his hands over his ears saying, "Stop singing that!"  I really hope this "terrible three" stuff goes away when he turns 4 in a few weeks!
Here's a picture my Uncle snapped of me and sent to my Mom and Brian!  Thanks Matt!! Ü  Doesn't the look I have on my face as I look at Kernan say it all?!  He was being such a brat!!



But the food was delicious! when isn't it?! And I always love spending time with my family so it was still a good birthday lunch!! Ü

Alright, so that has been what's happening at our house, busy busy busy!! I've had a few photo shoots in between all this as well as scheduling more!  I'm super excited because I'm taking the Hurricane High Cheerleaders pictures this Friday!  I'll share some of those with you for sure!  Ok, I told you I was WAY behind!  Hopefully I've learned my lesson and I won't let it get backed up like this again! Ü  Sorry it turned into such a novel!  If you made it all the way through you deserve a medal!!  I'm sure it's only my Mom and Grandparents that made it all the way though! lol!!

So until next time, have a great week!! Ü