Life of Leisure

While Brenda's Aunt LaRetta was visiting
from Ohio, we hiked to the Grotto.

Our reward at the end of the hike

One morning when Kara got up and Dad asked her how she had slept, her reply was, "Not very well. My animals kept talking, trying to decide what to do today."

Amy is becoming quite adept at using Mom's iPod Touch to play games. Her favorite at the moment is California Gold Rush.

Joy is back to playing with Plex (computer-based home entertainment system) now that he has a cable to connect his laptop with our TV. We've started watching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer via Hulu.

Brenda is having a very low energy week. We're not sure why, but we're hypothesizing that it has something to do with being out in the heat taking the girls to swimming lessons.


QOSROIT: Does anyone know what could be done to a shirt that got bleach on it to make it wearable again?


Happy Donald Duck Day!
Love,
The Petersons

Family Time

Amy helping Aunt Jo play cards

Joy with his 8 ball Father's Day cake

Kara has informed us that she prefers to have her head at one particular end of the bunk bed, because "Sometimes I get a little crazy and bump my head on the ladder."

Amy is enjoying gymnastics just as much as her little sister does and is doing really well after only 3 classes.

Brenda is now the owner of a Yamaha E-70U organ. It's not ideal, but it's sufficient and it was free!

Joy has a lot going on at work this week.


QOSROIT: Do you like to play cards? What's your favorite game?


Happy Meteor Day!
Love,
The Petersons

Deep Thoughts

The girls posing in front of
their favorite ride at Summerfest

Kara wore herself out running around outside.

Mom taught a Family Home Evening lesson last week on freedom to choose and consequences of the choices we make. Amy inadvertently reinforced that lesson when she chose to throw a tantrum about the kind of pudding she got for dessert and, thus, got no pudding at all. Later she was calling herself stupid and saying she hated herself. It was the perfect opportunity to teach her how much the Lord loves her in spite of the wrong choices she might make and how to learn from her mistakes.

When Dad was testing his wiring for the downstairs doorbell, Kara piped up with, "There sure are a lot of ding dongs in here!"

Joy has finished all the electrical in the basement and got the plumber out this week. We now have a bathtub and rough-ins for the toilet and sink down there. Next step: city inspection.

Brenda cut off and serged 10 pairs of the girls' long pants to get a little extra life out of them.


QOSROIT: What is one choice you have made that you will never regret?


Happy Icelandic National Day!
Love,
The Petersons

A Hike to Fifth Water Hot Springs

This was our family activity this past weekend:

Amy's favorite part of the hike was collecting rocks
and throwing them in the stream.

The girls posing in front of the lower pools
and a waterfall in the background

Before we left home, Kara declared, "Today is a perfect day for a pink hat!"

Joy only intended for us to hike part of the way in, but we all wanted to keep going. We made it to the lower pools and got to see a waterfall.

Given Amy's fascination with the rocks, we wonder if she might be a geologist when she grows up. Or maybe a professional softball player.

Remember how Brenda is deathly afraid of narrow mountain roads? Well, being on foot and trying to keep offspring as far away from the edge as possible doesn't make that any better. It was worth it, though. Beautiful scenery, great weather and happy children!


Interesting stuff:

-Stem cell contacts


QOSROIT: What is your favorite outdoor activity?


Love,
The Petersons