Last Day of School!

Here is my big Kindergarten graduate. I can't believe he will be in school all day next year. Luckily we have the summer to play, play, play!

Jacee wanted a crazy pony tail for the last day and I also let her take the camera to school...some interesting shots.

Jacee with her teacher Ms. Peterson - no relation.

Jackson with his teacher Mrs. Ashworth.

Jacee with the school secretary, Karla Harris. We taught her daughter in ballroom years ago so we knew her quite well...we also were late quite a bit so Jacee go to know her quite well!

I have a couple of "super moms" in the neighborhood, I can only keep up with about half of their ideas. This one I thought I could handle - making a candy bar poster for the kids on the last day of school. Pretty fun and easy and of course the kids LOVED it! Thanks Camie...

Love school but Love when it's out...now if the weather would just cooperate.

Fun to have Brothers

I have spent the past two weeks sorting through boxes and boxes of my mother's pictures. If you know my mother, you know what a task this was. I thought I would be efficient and get the task done fairly quickly, but what I didn't count on was the walk down memory lane.

One thing I know for sure -I sure love my family and I'm so grateful for the childhood and life I have had because of them.

Now, these pictures were actually sent from my big brother. We are only 16 months apart. We have been through some pretty good times together. I have made his life rough, but he seems to always stick by me and support me - even when I had big hair! I am lucky.

As I watch my children play, I can't help but be grateful that they love to be together and have fun playing together. I hope they stay close and are able to be friends when they have families of their own -that is the best gift.

I'm sure being only 16 months apart - my brother didn't get to be the baby for very long. I might have stolen some of his thunder. I think he did pay me back (dent on my forehead).

And talk about an amazing mom. Now...we are children #4 and #5 of seven - so it's not like it was just the two of us for her to look after. She is amazing and I'm grateful for all the stuff she was willing to do for us - especially stuff like pudding art!

You really can't blame him - I was a pain - and probably still am! Love you Dave and thanks for the fun pics!

New Temple President

Walter R. and Eileen Petersen

Walter Ray Petersen, 77, Burley 3rd Ward, Burley Idaho Stake, called as president of the new San Salvador El Salvador Temple. President Petersen's wife, Eileen Marie Albertson Petersen, will serve as temple matron. Currently serving as a sealer in the Twin Falls Idaho Temple, he previously served as president of the Mexico Mérida Mission, stake president, patriarch, bishop, temple ordinance worker and Central America Area medical advisor senior missionary couple. A retired family physician and surgeon, he was born in Wendell, Idaho, to Raymond Orlinzo and Jane Maria Prescott Petersen.

Sister Petersen currently serves as an institute teacher and temple ordinance worker. She previously served with her husband as he presided over the Mexico Mérida Mission and as a senior couple missionary. She has also served as a ward Young Women president, ward Primary president, and gospel doctrine teacher. She was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, to Arnold George and Verna Beth Huffaker Albertson.

This new temple will be dedicated August 21, 2011. The temple president and temple matron are to be in San Salvador one month before the dedication. The calling is for three years.

I am trying to be positive. I just will miss them so much. I love you mom and dad.

St. George Temple

While in St. George, we went to see the temple. It was beautiful. We couldn't get over how white it was. What a great day.

The kids touching the temple. Jack looks like he is under arrest.

Be the beehive at the bottom of the stairs.

Our forever family - sure love these guys!

Dance Dance Revolution!

One of the funnest parts about dancing is the hair and makeup. It's kind of crazy to see what the studio wants each year. This year we have blue and pink eyeshadow and for the hair we have the Jo-Hawk. We had to practice before her first comp and it came out pretty well. Maddie of course, had to be included.

Close up of that great blue eyeshadow.

My two cuties - sure is fun to play with hair and makeup with my girls.

Jack's MRI

Jack was born with hearing loss in his right ear, we have always known this, but for the past year I felt that we didn't know all there was to know about his hearing loss. I had noticed he was starting to compensate and turn his left ear towards whomever is speaking.

I took him to the ENT that has worked with Jack since he was 1 month old. After doing a series of audiology tests, it was determined he has very little hearing in his right ear at all and the dr. wanted him to have an MRI to see "if there was something in the brain that was causing the hearing loss." (His ear inside is perfect - he has all the right parts and they are all fine.)

In the above picture, Jack had to be sedated. I hate it, they are so suddenly still and it doesn't look natural at all - in other words he looked dead. He did much better with the sedation than Jacee however, he did not fight it at all and just slowly closed his eyes and went under, no fuss. He did, however, scream bloody murder when he got his IV in, that was not fun.

Here he is trying to wake up. When I pulled out the camera he gave his best effort at a smile...he was SO tired. When the dr. called later that day with the MRI results, the first thing he said was, well - there isn't a brain tumor. WHAT? This is what we were looking for? A tumor is what he meant when he said, "Let's see if there is something in the brain causing the hearing loss..." I'm actually so glad I didn't know this before hand because I would have been a mess waiting for the results. As it turns out, the hearing part of his brain is a little underdeveloped. So, he will never have hearing in his right ear, but his left ear compensates and he will live a normal life. The biggest problem will be that he will not know exactly which direction a sound is coming from. Oh - and his girlfriends won't be able to whisper sweet nothings in his ear.

Overall, we are grateful for the news. As you can see, he is a happy, healthy, very fun boy. We are so thankful he is in our family and love him with all our heart. Love you big guy!

St. Patrick's Day