The Peters

My Baby Girl Turns ONE!!!

2011-02-13T20:24:00.000-08:00

It still blows my mind how much time flies! It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in the hospital looking at Nixon for the first time. It was the first time I truly experienced love at first sight, and my love has grown stronger and stronger everyday. Now a year later we are celebrating Nixon's first birthday!

It has been an incredible year, and I have tried to capture every facial expression, every sound, every movement that she has made in the last year. It is amazing watching your "heart" grow up through their first year. She has developed so much and loves discovering new things every day.

She has been an amazing blessing to our family, and I wanted to make sure that her first birthday was as special as it could possibly be. (I know, I know, she won't remember it. But at least she will be able to see pictures!)

Thursday, February 10th, Nixon's Grandpa & Grandma Peters flew in to celebrate the special day. It only took a few minutes, and Nixon had already warmed up to them. On Friday, the 11th, we started the day by singing "Happy Birthday" to Nixon. She heard that song from me about 100 times the remainder of the day! We went out that night and celebrated with dinner with Grandpa & Grandma Mack, Grandpa & Grandpa Peters, and Uncle Ty. She enjoyed mashed potatoes, applesauce and raspberry ice cream. She LOVED every single bite! :) When Saturday, the 12th rolled around, she definitely realized that something special was happening when everyone showed up for her birthday party!

The birthday party was themed in Lady Bugs. Nixon wore the CUTEST lady bug outfit, and the whole place was decorated in Red, Black and White. She was a perfect social butterfly, and just like it was at Christmas, Nixon was showered with LOTS of gifts! She had a blast.

Here are the pictures of the birthday girl! Hope you enjoy!

February 11, 2011: Nixon turns 1 year old!

All ready for her Lady Bug Birthday Party!

A year ago, Mommy and Nixon were looking a whole lot different than this shot!

The start of Nixon's presents....Yes, there were more!

All the party snacks!

Lady Bug Cupcakes! :)

Nixon is the social butterfly!

Opening Presents

The Peters Girls

This is one of her favorite presents. I haven't been able to get this guitar out of her hands since the party!

Mike has been in training and wasn't able to fly out for Nixon's birthday. However we had him on FaceTime for the majority of the party so that he wouldn't miss out. THANK GOODNESS FOR TECHNOLOGY!!!

She really couldn't figure out what she thought of the candle!

She was being so dainty and delicate with the cupcake. I was expecting her to destroy the thing and make the biggest mess. But she kept taking small little bites!

FINALLY!!! We started making progress on the cupcake and getting it all over her face! :)

Birthday Girl and Mommy

The cutest Cake Face I've ever seen!

I absolutely love this girl! I still can't believe that she is already one year old! But I look forward to watching her grow each new day. She is my world and I couldn't imagine life without her! I love you baby girl! Happy Birthday!!!

Nixon Growing Up! Volume 2!

2011-02-13T20:12:00.000-08:00

I may not have been 100% dedicated to blogging, but the one thing that I was dedicated to, was taking Nixon's picture every time she turned a month older. Here are pictures of my sweet baby girl for the last 5 months.

September 11, 2010: Nixon is 7 months old!

October 11, 2010: Nixon is 8 months old!

November 11, 2010: Nixon is 9 months old!

December 11, 2010: Nixon is 10 months old!

January 11, 2011: Nixon is 11 months old!

WORLDS WORST BLOGGER!!!!

2011-02-13T19:13:00.001-08:00

Ok, it is official....I am THE WORLDS WORST BLOGGER! It has been months since my last post, and obviously we have had A LOT of things happen with our little family.

Since my last post, we left off with Mike graduating boot camp. From boot camp, he had 12 weeks of A-school training to become a Hospital Corpsman. His A-school was located in Chicago which was 6 hours away from Nixon and I. It was still really hard being away from him, but we were able to talk every night on webcam and Nixon and I made the road trip to Chicago about every 3 weeks. It was also really nice having him somewhat close when the holidays rolled around, and he was able to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with Nixon and I.

Mike graduating A-school December 18th and officially became a Hospital Corpsman with the United States Navy. We were extremely proud of him, especially since he graduated as the leader of his class. He has done an amazing job in the Navy so far and has a lot of recognition already! :)

From A-school, Mike was assigned to FMTB (Fleet Marine Training). Since the Marines do not have a medical unit, they depend on the Navy, and the Hospital Corpsman have to go through Marine training as well. He is currently in Camp Pendleton, CA completing his training. It has been a lot more difficult having him that far away, especially with the 2 hour time difference. We still get to see him on Webcam, but Nixon is now limited to only seeing him on the weekends since she is in bed before he gets done with Training. It's also been hard having to be away from him in person longer than 3 weeks. We were definitely spoiled being able to travel and see him as much as we did. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Mike is scheduled to graduate FMTB March 24th! At that time he is free to finally live with Nixon and I again, and we have been assigned to live in San Diego, CA! (I see MANY beach days in our future!!!)

As for right now, I have LOVED watching Nixon grow up! Since August, she has crawled, talked, walked, and is now into EVERYTHING! But she is still the best baby that I could ever ask for! I am also doing a little schooling on the side, so that I can get a job out of our home and still enjoy watching her grow everyday! :)

We are looking forward to the next month. We will either be living back with Mike or we will be getting REALLY close to it! Until then, we will stay in MO until the middle of March. At that time we will make the move back to Arizona where we will patiently wait to find out when our home is ready. IT CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH!

Hopefully everyone is doing well, and I will TRY and be a lot better at the blogging!

Here is a few pictures from the last five months! Hopefully it gives you an idea of what we have been up to!

Visiting the "Pumpkin Patch" in Chicago! :)

Nixon is my "little monkey", so it is only fitting that we dressed up like a monkey and a banana! Happy Halloween! :)

Nixon's first Thanksgiving! :)

Mike is officially a Hospital Corpsman! Way to go, honey!!!

BEST date night EVER!!! At first Mike did not think that it was going to be his cup of tea. But in the end, we both REALLY enjoyed the show! One word...AMAZING!

Nixon's first Christmas...and may I say, She was a VERY good girl this year, and Santa left her LOTS of presents! :)

My Husband, the Sailor! :)

2010-08-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

After being away from Mike for 9 1/2 weeks, Nixon and I were finally reunited with him this last weekend!

Mike graduated boot camp for the United States Navy on August 27th, 2010. He is officially a sailor! I have been looking forward to this day for the last year and a half! (Knowing that we would be separated for that long without any contact except for paper letters, was weighing on my mind since July 2009!) So needless to say, I was ECSTATIC when it finally came!

It was amazing to have our little family together for the weekend! It was even better when I had one of the proudest moments of my married life, watching my husband receive The Navy Club of the United States Military Excellence Award! And just so everyone can understand how important this award is....Mike was #1 out of 425in the entire boot camp, not to mention that he is in the top 50 out of 50,000 for the year!!!!! It brought tears to my eyes to see my husband standing there and being recognized. He is truly amazing and I am SO proud to be his wife!!!!!

My summer without my Hubs.....

2010-08-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Mike joined the Navy last year. He is wanting to pursue a career as a doctor, and Med school is out of our price range at this time. Once we started looking at all of our options, joining the military was the best option. Not to mention the fact that Mike is extremely outgoing and the military is right up his ally!

Since he chose a career in the Navy as a Hospital Core man, he was unable to ship out til this summer. (I believe it all worked out for the best since he was around to see our daughter born and watch her grow up for the first four months.) It had been hanging over us for an entire year, and I was dreading the actual day when he had to ship out.

Once he shipped out, they told us that there would be no emailing, no web cams, very few phone calls and only paper letters. All in all it would be an 8 week process and I was praying that the time would go by fast. So far we are on week 6 of 8! Mike graduates on August 27th, and I could be more excited that the time is finally approaching!!!!

Since Mike shipped off on July 1st, life has been filled with my baby girl. I try to capture every moment with her so that I can write Mike every night and give him little updates on her. It has definitely been hard having him away, but I think that it has been harder for him since he has to be away from both of us. So I make sure that I write him every night to try and make it a little easier on him.

I have had many people ask how things are with him and with Nixon and I. Nixon and I are doing really well. It was extremely hard the first couple of weeks without Mike. There was a couple of nights that I would wake up in the middle of the night reaching out for him. I missed talking to him everyday and having my best friend around. So I tried to stay busy and concentrate on our daughter.

As for Nixon, she has just been growing away and posing for the camera every time I take a picture to send to her daddy. One of our biggest fears was that she would forget Mike while he was gone since she is so young. So to try and make that NOT happen, Mike tape recorded his voice reading her books to her. We listen to about 2 books every day. I also try and show her pictures of Mike on a daily basis and tell her that "daddy loves her and misses her". I think that it is somewhat working because the little phone calls that we have received, I have put Mike on speaker phone and Nixon looks around the room.

As for Mike, he is doing AMAZING!!!! Anyone that knows Mike, knows that he is very outgoing and determined to do a great job at anything he puts his mind to. Shortly after he got there, I was informed that he was put in charge of 78 recruits. And just this last week, I received a letter from the Officer/Director stating that Mike would be receiving an award at his graduation for outstanding performance. I have never been so proud of my husband. It is truly and honor to be married to a man who is willing to sacrifice so much for his country and is doing an amazing job! He truly is an amazing man in my eyes and a hero to our family and country.

Spending Time with Family!!!!

2010-08-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Since I have been a "stay at home mommy" all summer long, Nixon and I have been able to attend the family reunions. It has been so much fun showing her off to everyone!

On July 7th, Nixon and I drove to the Mack Family Reunion with my mom and Steve. This year the Mack Reunion was located in New Mexico. I was a little weary taking Nixon on that long of a road trip, but she pleasantly surprised me and everyone else! She was a complete angel! She did not make a peep. She slept most of the drive and when she wasn't sleeping she was just looking around and happy to be with everyone in the car.

While we were at the Mack reunion, Nixon experienced her first zoo. :) I carried her around in her Baby Bjorn and she was able to watch all the animals. It was fun watching her face every time she saw them. It is a look of complete interest and intense thinking, as she watches the way they move. She is very observant, and I can't wait for the day that she will actually be able to make the noises that the animals make and be able to distinguish between them! :)

Nixon also experienced her first hike with the entire family. The Friday of the Reunion, we all got together and took the tram up Sandia Mountain. (I'm assuming that was the name since our tram conductor said that!) We spent the entire day up on the top of the mountain, and after lunch we hiked across the mountain to a little peak for about a mile and a half. Again, Nixon didn't make a peep, she just sat back in her little pack and enjoyed the ride! :)

That Saturday was the day that everyone left to go home. We had a really good time, and it was nice to be able to meet and catch up with that side of the family. :)

Then July 28th, Nixon and I ventured up to Idaho so that we could spend a few days with my dad and Carolyn before we had the Gutierrez Family Reunion. It was nice to spend time my parents and have Nixon spend time with her Grandparents. Her Grandpa and Grandma Sommer love her to pieces and couldn't put her down! They were constantly showering her with kisses and love!

After spending a week with my parents, we joined my mom's side of the family for the Gutierrez Reunion. We had a blast, and it was SO nice to get to see all of my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins that I haven't seen in a LONG time. It was also fun to show off Nixon to everyone. My Grandparents, Nixon's Great Grandparents haven't been able to come out and meet her, so it was the first time they got to see her. They fell in love instantly, and again, Nixon was loved by everyone.

Nixon is also the first great granddaughter of a granddaughter of a daughter to my grandmother....HAHAH... did that make sense?!? So it was the first four generation picture that my grandma has been able to take. :) We weren't able to get it professionally done, but it was fun none the less. Next time we will schedule an appointment and get a professional one taken so that we can have it framed.

All in all it was a great time spending the 2 weeks with family! Nixon fell in love with everyone and it was hard to say our good-byes. Hopefully it won't be long until we see everyone again!

Nixon Growing Up!

2010-08-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ok....So I am officially the WORST blogger!!!! The other day I was cleaning and realized that I haven't updated our blog since Nixon was 2 months old (She is now 6 months old)!!!! I really thought that once Nixon came I would be updating this every night with all the little things that she does. But come to find out, I don't update it, I just play with her and watch her while she sleeps! LOL! I am completely in love with her and cherish everyday that passes. She is my little angel and I can't believe how fast she is growing already.

Nixon is currently 6 months old and on the verge of crawling. She mastered sitting up by herself the middle of July and has been sitting up and rolling over all over the place. Over the last couple of days she starts with sitting up and then slowly moves down to her stomach. Once she is fully laying down on her stomach, she props her little bottom in the air and tries to push herself up in a crawling stance. She's not quite strong enough to keep it there, so she gets really frustrated and starts wiggling around. However, she is getting where she wants to go....I call it her little slither. She tries hard to crawl, but once that doesn't work, she slithers her way (pushes herself across the floor with her feet) to where she wants to be. I think that it will be any day now that she will actually surprise me and start actually crawling!

Nixon is a fabulous little baby. She is ALWAYS happy and laughing. She LOVES to chatter at everyone and she laughs at her own little "jokes" all the time. She absolutely LOVES her exersaucer! She could play in that thing for hours at a time and she loves to chat with all the little toys that are on there. Mike and I have been truly blessed with her and couldn't ask for anything more....Well maybe 2 or 3 more just like her! :)

Here are pictures throughout Nixon's 6 months....I thought everyone would enjoy seeing her changes throughout the last 6 months.

February 11, 2010: Nixon is Born!

March 11, 2010: Nixon is One Month Old

April 11, 2010: Nixon is Two Months Old

May 11, 2010: Nixon is Three Months Old

June 11, 2010: Nixon is Four Months Old

July 11, 2010: Nixon is Five Months Old

August 11, 2010: Nixon is Six Months Old

Nixon is 2 Months Old!!!!

2010-04-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

Nixon is 2 months old and I can't get enough of her! Motherhood is the most wonderful and rewarding experience I have ever had! Each day my love grows stronger and stronger! And along with my love, the amount of pictures I take of my baby girl keeps growing more and more!

The other day I went to develop pictures that I have taken of my baby girl. When I went to pick them up, I had TWO HUGE stacks and realized that there were over 180 pictures! And the majority of the pictures are just her being cute! And that is when I realized that I might need to tone it down a bit with the camera and maybe start taking pictures with her and other things! :) However, I will say, that it's easier said than done! Every face she makes, every move she makes, I want to make sure that I capture it so that I can remember it forever!

She is my everything. And like I said before, I can't get enough of her!!!!

Nixon's First Easter!

2010-04-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

I know that Nixon is a baby and she has no idea what an Easter basket is or what it entails, but Mike and I wanted to make her first Easter special!

When Nixon woke up Easter morning, I fed her, bathed her and the introduced her to her Easter basket! The Easter bunny had filled it up with wrist rattles, hand mittens, Disney's "Up" and the book "Love your Forever". We took a couple pictures with it and had her wearing a little cap that my Tia Rose Castillo knitted for her! :)

That afternoon Nixon spent her first Easter dinner with her parents, Grandpa & Grandma Peters, Great Uncle Mike & Great Aunt Carolyn, Aunt Ashlee & Uncle Ammon. Nixon was extremely happy and content the entire day! We couldn't ask for a better First Easter for Nixon! :)

Nixon Meets the Family!!!!

2010-04-18T13:00:00.001-07:00

The last week of March, Nixon met a lot of her extended family. Since she was getting blessed, we had lots of family travel in from everywhere! It was so nice and fun to see everyone meet Nixon for the first time. And I do believe she has almost everyone of them wrapped around her finger already! Here is just a few pictures of Nixon getting LOVES from everyone! :)

Nixon's Baby Blessing

2010-04-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to Nixon's blessing since the moment I laid eyes on her blessing dress that my Grandma Gutierrez made for her (this was when I was still pregnant)! It was the most beautiful dress and although I had not seen my baby girl yet, I knew that it was perfect and that she would look so beautiful in it! Just like I knew, Nixon looked so perfect! Words cannot describe how I felt! She was so pure and beautiful, and AGAIN, I couldn't stop staring at her!

Many people traveled LONG distances to be at Nixon's baby blessing. I was so happy and thankful that so many were able to come. They made the day perfect. Nixon was blessed by her Grandpa Sommer on March 28, 2010. My dad, Nixon's grandpa, gave the most beautiful blessing. He was joined by Grandpa Mack, Uncle Ammon, Uncle Kimball, Uncle Dustin, Matt Llewellyn, Gary Freeman, and Jeff Skousen.

After the baby blessing, we went over to Denise and Gary Freeman's home to have the luncheon. Again everything was perfect and everyone was having a good time. Again, I am so thanful that everyone was able to come and make this day so special. It meant the world to us and I know that once Nixon is old enough, she will also appreciate everything.

Nixon Has Made Her Debut!!!!

2010-02-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

After 30.5 hours of labor, or family has finally been blessed with Nixon's arrival!!!! Nixon Sommer Peters was born February 11, 2010 at 8:28pm. She weighed 7 pounds 1 oz and was healthy, beautiful and absolutely PERFECT!

Everyone has always told me, or tried to explain the feeling of becoming a mother for the first time. Words can't even describe the feeling of becoming a mother to a precious miracle! I have never felt so much love for someone! My mom and Mike keep laughing at me because I can't stop staring at how beautiful and perfect she is!

Many have wanted to hear the story of the labor so here it goes......

Monday, February 8th I went into the doctor for a regular check up. My blood pressure had been slowly creeping up during the pregnancy, and my doctor was getting concerned that I was developing preclampsia. When I went in that Monday, my blood pressure was the highest it had been and my doctor decided to schedule my induction for 10pm on Wednesday 2/10. However, I went into labor on my own Wednesday at 2:00pm.

When we went into the hospital that evening, the doctor decided to hold off on the Potocin until the morning and let nature take its course. The next morning (2/11) at 7:00am, the doctor checked me and I was still only dilated to 3 cm, so I was hooked up to the Potocin to "speed" things along. However, it did NOT speed up anything!

When the nurse came in at 1 pm to check how far along I was at that time, I was still only at 4 cm. She told me that she could feel scar tissue from my previous surgery and that was causing my cervix to not dilate the way it was suppose to. Therefore, it was taking a LONG time. However, I was bound and determined to NOT get the epidural and that I was doing fine at this point without it.

When 3pm rolled around and I was still at 4 cm, the labor was getting REALLY bad and I was starting to get exhausted. I still was not giving into the epidural, so the nurse put me in a labor spa for an hour. It definitely helped a little bit and was much more relaxing.

When the nurse checked me at 5:30 I was finally making progress and was now at 6 cm. The pain was REALLY bad at this point and I was so thankful that I had Mike and my mom there rubbing my back and coaching me through the pain. I was trying all different positions and anything that the nurses were telling me to alleviate the pain as much as I could. And still....No epidural.

Finally at about 7:30, I was dilated to 9 cm and I was starting to feel the urge to push. When the nurse checked me, she told me that it was going to be very soon and she was going to get the doctor. I was extremely excited and scared all at the same time. I was doing this all natural and I was terrified that pushing Nixon out was going to hurt worse than the labor. And at this point I couldn't take any more!

When the doctor came in at 8:00pm and was telling me to push, I was pleasantly surprised to find that delivery actually felt really good compared to the labor! Nixon was being very cooperative as well and I only had to push for 28 minutes. Finally at 8:28pm, my baby girl was here! She was absolutely perfect! Words cannot express the happiness and love that I immediately felt when looking at my beautiful daughter. Everyone keeps saying that I was crazy for not getting the epidural and they ask if I would do it like that again.....All I can say is I wouldn't change a thing and that Nixon was worth ever second of it!

Happy Holidays!!!!

2010-01-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

Mike and I had a VERY busy Christmas Holiday season! We had been planning the entire year to go up and see my dad in Idaho for Christmas, and at the same time try and fit in my mom and family along with Mike's parents and family! But it took a lot of planning and a little stress!

Mike and I asked the doctor as soon as we found out we were expecting if I was going to be able to get on an airplane. He said that "it should be ok" but he wouldn't know until it got closer. So every doctor's appointment I would ask the same question.... How is it looking for Christmas? :) In November, he told me that it should be fine but he would be doing an actual physical test a couple days before we left. If I was dilated at all, he didn't want me going. However, Mike and I felt confident and bought out NON-REFUNDABLE tickets anyway.

As Christmas started to get closer, we started getting anxious and I started to get really nervous about being dilated. I felt good up until about 2 weeks before my appointment, and it was then that I started getting really achy and uncomfortable. So I knew that I was going to be getting good/bad news!

Tuesday December 22nd was my appointment. I walked in with Mike TRYING to be optimistic. It was a bitter sweet feeling because I wanted to see my dad for Christmas so badly, but at the same time if I was dilated I knew that we would be getting to see Nixon very soon! So I was anxiously waiting. As expected, when the doctor checked me, I was dilated to 1 cm. He looked at me and said that he wasn't sure he would let me go and I instantly got tears in my eyes. He knew that I was looking forward to this, so he decided to do an ultrasound to see if I was thinning. After the ultrasound, not only did I get GREAT news about being able to see my dad on Christmas, but we also got the BEST gift by getting to see our daughter's face for the first time! It was one of the best days we have had so far....that is until she actually gets here!

So with that, we spent Christmas Eve with my mom, Steve, Ashlee, Ammon & Ty in Tucson with family friends. Christmas morning we drove back to Scottsdale to spend Christmas afternoon with Mike's parents and family. Then Christmas evening we boarded the plane to spend Christmas night with my dad & Carolyn! It may have been an EXTREMELY busy and nerve wracking holiday, but it was one of the best one's we have had together since we have been married!

Nixon's Nursery Is Complete!

2010-01-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

With the Holidays and getting ready for the baby, I haven't been the best blogger! However, I am going to be changing very soon because I want to make sure that I am updating everyone on our little family!

The most recent event in our household is finishing up Nixon's nursery before she gets here....And everyone, including the doctors think she will be coming soon! For months we only had her furniture in the room and the walls were VERY bare! However, I figured since I had time off I would finish it up and get everything organized....I believe they call it "nesting" and I've been nesting BIG time!!!!

Mike and I picked out the color scheme of pink, sage and brown after we looked at all of the bedding. Mike wasn't the biggest fan of the pink, but he did like what we chose. Next was trying to get all the decorations up! We LOVE her name so we figured we would post it up in a couple different places.

You can't see it too well in this picture, but above her dresser/ changing table is her full name in 3 plexiglass frames....Nixon Sommer Peters. Underneath the frames is a mirror that we placed a vinyl lettering saying. It says "The nearest thing to Heaven is a Child" I absolutely love the way it all turned out!

The next part was trying to figure out what was going to go by her crib. I had seen many of my friends and family paint the name and hang it on the wall, so I decided to go with this as well. I found some fun letters and painted them pink and hung them with the sage bows. On the other wall I decided that I would just hang her comforter that came with the bedding. It was too thick of a blanket to place in her crib, but at the same time, it was too pretty to hide in the closet! So I figured we would display it and use it as decoration! :)

Lastly was the wall with the windows and glider..... now it doesn't look like too much now, but it will in about a month. This is the only thing that hasn't been finished. On Sunday, Mike and I will be going to go take professional Prenatal "Belly" Pictures. I thought that it would look really cute it there was a picture of Nixon's "mommy" and "daddy" with her in my tummy. So above the glider will be an 11 x 14 sepia picture of Mike and I with Nixon in my tummy. Those pictures will definitely get posted as soon as we get them back! :)

And there you have it.... our baby girl's room is complete and we are definitely ready for her to come!!!!! Only 41 more days til my due date and who knows, hopefully she will come a little sooner than later!

Drum Roll Please.....

2009-10-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

On September 24th, Mike and I made a fun little trip to the ultrasound clinic. It was this day that we would be finding out whether our little bundle of joy was going to be a boy or girl! We are pleased to announce that we are having a GIRL! :)

I can't even begin to explain how excited we are! The minute they told us, I started thinking about little dresses, bows, dolls, and lots of pink and purple! Not to mention I was a little relieved because Mike and I had agreed on a girl's name but could NOT agree on a boys name at all. With that said we have decided that our baby girl's name will be Nixon Sommer Peters.

After we found out that we were having a girl, Mike and I went to Babies R' Us and picked out Nixon's furniture and all the bedding. Mike tries to play it "cool" but I could tell he was loving every minute of it. When we left Babies R' Us, we left with a HUGE bill and all of Nixon's BIG nursery items.

We were so excited when Nixon's furniture came in last week. Mike and I spent the day putting the crib, dresser/changing table and nursery together. It was honestly one of the best moments that I have spent with Mike. He looked like such a happy/proud daddy putting everything together. I will never forget that look on his face. Not only am I so blessed to be carrying our baby girl, but I am extremely blessed to be creating a family with such a wonderful man who will make the BEST daddy in the world! :)

Our Exciting News!

2009-07-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

So MANY of you know that Mike and I have been trying to get pregnant for over 2 years now! We have done MANY tests, fertility drugs, surgery, shots, you name it and it wasn't working. Finally the doctor sent us to a fertility clinic where we tried artificial insemination. The first time didn't work, but the second time was successful!

With that, Mike and I are please to announce that we are FINALLY expecting! We have never been so happy and can't believe that it has finally happened for us! We are currently 11 1/2 weeks along. We went to the doctor's office today and got an ultrasound and heard the heart beat. Our little Bundle of Joy decided to show off today and swim around for us as well! It was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen and heard!

As for the pregnancy, I have been EXTREMELY lucky! I haven't been sick at all! The only symptoms that I have experienced is being completely EXHAUSTED! And luckily I am starting to get my energy back from that! As for the baby, the doctor said that everything looks great and sounds great!

We wanted to let everyone know our exciting news and thank everyone for being supportive! We thank Heavenly Father everyday for blessing us with such an amazing gift! We will keep everyone updated as we experience this amazing journey! :)

My Trip to Missouri

2009-07-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

Everyone that knows me, knows that I am completely attached to my mother! We are very close and I have always lived within driving distance of her. So you can imagine how upset I was when the day came that my step-dad, Steve got a job offer in Missouri and moved my mom and youngest brother to Columbia, MO. Now, don't get me wrong, I was very happy and grateful that Steve was able to find such a great opportunity, but I wasn't too crazy about the idea of them being SOOOOO far away!

With that said, the day that I knew exactly when they were leaving, I booked a plane ticket to go visit them with Ty's Best Friend, Jon. (Mike couldn't get off work and I was sad that he wasn't able to make it!) Yes, they hadn't even moved yet, and I already had a ticket! But it was a VERY GOOD thing that I had because it would have been A LOT harder saying goodbye!

Visiting my family in Missouri was a lot of fun. The day we arrived we went to the famous St. Louis Arch and took an elevator to the VERY top! It was definitely an experience and I now understand why people DO NOT like heights! But even though it was scary, it was A LOT of fun.

The second day we were there, Steve got us all tickets to the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. We had amazing seats and we were surrounded by avid Cardinal's fans. So needless to say, they weren't too happy when they heard us screaming "Go DBACKS"! Again, we had SO much fun!

The rest of the week was spent at my parents house relaxing! We went and took a look at a couple of hiking trails, went to the movies, and got mani's and pedi's! It was the perfect vacation, with the exception of missing my husband! But next time he will be with us to see how beautiful Missouri really is!

Our New Family! :)

2009-07-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

WOW......So far Mike and I have had a BUSY summer! We had 3 weddings, 2 bridal showers, and 6 baby showers all in a matter of 2 months. Not to mention moving into a new home and watching my Mom, Steve, & Ty move half way around the United States! So with that I will try and fill in the gaps from when I left off in April.

As I said earlier, April and May were filled with LOTS of celebrations. One of them brought a new addition to the Sommer family. Yup, my dad tied the knot and I couldn't be happier! Carolyn and My Dad were married June 2nd. Mike and I were able to take some time off of work and go see them and actually MEET my new Step-Mom. She is so nice, and I am so happy to see my dad with such a big smile on his face! We are so happy to have her in the family and we wish them the very best! We love you!!!!

Bowling Professionals!!!!

2009-04-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Mike and I have done a lot of couples nights/weekends with our good friends Matt & Laura, and Wyn & Mya. We have gone to a cabin for the weekend, hung out on holidays, and spend weekends hanging out and bar-b-queing. However, our group is about to become one couple short! :( Our friends Wyn and Mya are moving away to Denver, CO!

To say good-bye to Wyn and Mya, we decided to go bowling Friday night. And if any of you know Mike and I, we are not the best bowlers....in fact, we are lucky if we get above 100! But we still had an amazing night out. We played several games with our friends, and there was a couple of games that I actually bowled higher than Mike!

We had so much fun with our friends, and it was the perfect way to say "see you later" to Wyn and Mya. We will continue doing our couples weekends, we will all just have to travel further to do it! :)

Congrats Ramey & Lindsey!!!

2009-04-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

So I had an EXTREMELY busy weekend! Our really good friends, Ramey Peru & Lindsey Lewis, finally made it down the isle!

The Festivities started first thing Friday morning. I got up early and started doing my last minute bridesmaid duties! That afternoon, I picked Lindsey up to go to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Everything turned out really good and we had tons of fun!

Then came Saturday....The BIG Day! Again, we were up REALLY early and were getting ready for Lindsey to become Mrs. Peru! Hair and Make-up people started to show up around 11:30, and we were all running around trying to make everything perfect. Finally at 5:00, Lindsey and Ramey became Husband and Wife!

Mike and I had so much fun! We want to wish Lindsey and Ramey the Very Best, and thank them for having us participate in such a special day. Congrats, Mr. & Mrs. Peru!!!!

Happy Two Year Anniversary! XOXO!!!

2009-03-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

Mike and I celebrated our Two Year Anniversary on March 2nd! We did not do anything extravagant this year because we have been so busy with work and being out of town for friends and family. Because of this, Mike and I both took that Monday off of work to just spend the day together. It started out with me making him breakfast in bed, then we ran a couple errands and ended the day off with his parents taking us to dinner. It was perfect and I wouldn't have changed one minute of it!

I can't believe how fast time flies by! It seems like just yesterday that I was walking down the isle towards him. It has been an amazing two years and I wouldn't trade them for the world. I am so thankful that I have Mike in my life. He is my best friend and my rock. I love you, honey!!!

~Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties~

2009-03-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Our good friends, Ramey Peru & Lindsey Lewis are getting married on April 4th. Watching them plan the wedding has been fun, but celebrating their last month of single-hood has been the best part of the engagement!

Ramey had his Bachelor Party in San Fransisco the weekend of February 28th. Mike was really excited to go because he has never been to San Fransisco before, and I was jealous because I haven't been there either! Because I have never been there, I had a few requests to make. I wanted a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge & a picture of Lombardi Street. He wasn't able to full-fill both request, but he did bring back a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge!

While Mike was in San Fransisco, he also went on an Alcatraz Tour. I thought it would be really neat, but he said that he wasn't that impressed. Yes, he said that it was cool to see, but the tour got a little boring towards the end. HOWEVER, when Mike and I do make it to San Fransisco, he will just have to suffer through another tour, because I REALLY want to go see it as well! :)

As for Lindsey's Bachelorette Party.... She had her party in Scottsdale on March 7th. Although we did not venture out of Arizona, we still had TONS of fun. We got a room at a hotel where we lounged at the pool for most of the day. Then we started out the night at Pink Taco where we had dinner. From there we went out to a couple different clubs to dance and give Lindsey a good night! The night ended at the hotel where I fell asleep VERY quickly. I don't know if its the age thing, but I just can't stay up like I use to! :)

Mike and I both had a great time with our friends and we wish both Ramey and Lindsey the very best as they are soon-to-be "Mr. & Mrs. Peru"!

My Amazing Husband!!!!

2009-01-19T07:32:00.001-08:00

Many of you know that Mike is a really active person....and if you don't know that, I'm sure that you have read about it through our blog. He has done triathlons, 1/2 marathons and is looking forward to training for the 1/2 Ironman this year! It is amazing to see the drive and determination that he has!

Every time he completes something I am so proud of him and have to share with everyone! Sunday (Jan 18th), Mike completed his first full marathon! (That is 26.2 miles in case you didn't know.) He had been planning on doing this for a couple of months and had his mind set.

We woke up at 4:45 on Sunday morning so that I could take them to the dropoff point. From there, I would go to different mile markers to cheer him on! Every time I would see him run past me, I was so proud and amazed at how he does it all! It is unbelievable to me, that a person can have the drive to run that long of a distance!

I am so happy that Mike was able to accomplish, yet again, another physically challenging goal! He is an inspiration to me and I couldn't be happier for him! Great job, Honey! I love you!!!

WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!

2009-01-19T07:26:00.000-08:00

I am ecstatic....along with the rest of the state of Arizona, that the Arizona Cardinals are going to the SUPERBOWL!!!!

As many of you know, the Arizona Cardinals are not known as a good team in the NFL! That is why it was so surprising to everyone how well we have done this year! So well that we made it to the playoffs and beat out every team!

The Arizona Cardinals have NEVER been to the Superbowl, and I can't image what it will be like in the next couple of weeks! GO CARDINALS!!!!!

Sleeping Babies....

2009-01-10T12:00:00.001-08:00

Mayhem and Chaos are still tearing up our house. They are at each other non stop and half the time you would think that they were killing each other! I have worried about leaving them in the same room with each other without supervision! They are extremely jealous of one another and I was starting to wonder if they would ever get over it!

However, I recently found out that this is all an act that they put on for Mike and I....In fact, they really do love each other!!!! The other day it was really quiet in our house and I went looking for my babies. I found them in our room cuddled up with each other sleeping. Since then, they are constantly sleeping by each other! And there are times when Chaos thinks Mayhem is too dirty, so he will give Mayhem a little tongue bath before he cozies up! It is the cutest thing and I thought all of you would enjoy! :)

Goodbye 2008...Hello 2009!

2009-01-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

So if your holidays were anything like ours, you were BUSY!!!! We have done so much since Thanksgiving that I don't know where to start!

The month of November flew by! It started with our dad and brother coming down from Idaho to help Ashlee move into her place.
It was a short trip, but we still had fun spending time with each other. The first day consisted of work and then the rest of the time was playing around. We don't get to see my dad or brother too often, so when we get to, we try to have the best time!:)

At the end of November, we traveled down to San Diego to see our Stepbrother Kimball get married! It was a beautiful wedding and I absolutely love the San Diego Temple! There are so many of us on my mom's side that it was nice to be with everyone and take pictures! Hopefully we will get to do it more often!

December came REALLY fast, and was just as busy as November. We started off with taking our Christmas Card picture! :) Last year it was just Mike and I, so we decided to spice it up a bit and add our babies to it! We dressed Mayhem up in his Santa outfit and chaos got to be in the stocking! I thought it was the cutest thing, but Mike thinks I was torturing them! It made for a good card though. :)

We were really excited for Christmas this year because Mike and I were having it at our house! We were packed in here. Ammon and his friend came down from Idaho and my mom and Ty came up from Tucson. They were here the entire week and I loved every minute of it! We started off the week Christmas Caroling and delivering "goodies" to friend and neighbors...Mike was not too thrilled about caroling, but he was a good sport with it! The next night we had a gingerbread competition and Ammon's house turned out awesome! He is definitely the son of a bricklayer! My mom's birthday was the 23rd, so we dedicated the day to her. We went to Olive Garden and then went bowling afterwards. My mom kicked all of our butts! And Mike saw for the first time why we never go bowling....I am AWFUL! :) But we all had a blast and it was good to be with everyone.

Christmas Eve was really busy. We had our traditional Mexican Fiesta! We made so much food and then played our traditional Christmas Phase 10. We watched movies and then the boys played XBox. But it was soon time for Santa to come so we had to get to bed because we were waking up really early! We had to be up at 6am to be able to get to where all of us needed to go....Ty, Ammon, and Patrick (Ammon's friend) were going to Ty's dads house....Ashlee and Josh (her boyfriend) were going to Tucson, and Mike, my mom, and I were heading to Mike's families house. It was a busy day, but it was so fun to be with family.

After everyone left our house we were getting ready for New Years. We had told 3 different people that we would be stopping by their parties. So needless to say, our New Years Eve consisted of driving a lot! We had a really good time at every one's houses. We played games at one house and karaoked at the other one. Mike even surprise me by doing a little performance with Ramey and Josh! It was really nice to bring in the New Year with friends and each other! We had a great 2008 and we are excited to see what 2009 brings us! :)

Husband Tag!

2008-12-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

Charity "Husband Tagged" me and I thought that it would be fun to do. So here is a little background info on Mike! :)

5 Things He Loves
1. Me, Mayhem, & Chaos
2. SUPERMAN!
3. He loves being active and staying in shape! Right now he is training for a marathon in January!
4. Watching wrestling from high school or wrestling on YouTube
5. Tattoos, and I'm really hoping that he grows out of this one!

5 Things On His To Do List(this is really what's on his list)
1. Work out
2. Get someone out to fix Ashlee's water heater
3. Schedule a date for someone to fix the bulb in the t.v.
4. Iron his clothes for work tomorrow
5. Take Christmas Pictures....yes, I'm making him, but its on his list! :)

5 Foods He Enjoys
1. He absolutely LOVES sushi!
2. Buffalo Wings
3. Chocolate chip Pancake/German Pancakes....its a tossup
4. Chocolate Milk
5. My homemade Lasagna

5 Things You May Not Know About Him
1. He's allergic to cats, but he loves them so much that he had to keep Chaos when we rescued him!
2. He took state for wrestling in high school
3. He can't dance at all but likes to think he can and does little movements back and forth! Its hilarious!
4. He worships Arnold Schwarzenegger....its a little weird!
5. He has a very dry sense of humor and people don't know if he's joking or serious half the time.....but a little tid bit of information, he's joking almost ALL of the time and just likes to get a reaction out of people.

5 Places He's Lived
1. Mesa, AZ
2. Gilbert, AZ
3. Scottsdale, AZ
4. Chandler, AZ
5. Tempe, AZ........yup, just Arizona

5 Quirky Things About Him
1. He thinks his hair looks good when he grows it out no matter how many people tell him it looks hideous! :)
2. He can't stand wrinkles and irons his jeans and his t-shirts!
3. He blows his nose in the shower and grosses me out every morning!
4. He needs a couple minutes of quiet time to himself right when he gets home. Then he will sit and talk to me.....the drive home just doesn't cut it, he needs those extra minutes! :)
5. He has to sleep on the right side of the bed everywhere we go and when he is about to sleep he roles over on his right side, which means cuddling is over! :(

That sums up Mike in a nutshell! Love you Honey!!!!

I'm tagging: Natalie, Lori, Rhonda, and April :)

Tis' the Season!

2008-11-23T11:46:00.000-08:00

I generally do not like anything Christmas before Thanksgiving. (We need to get through one holiday before we start the other!) But this year feels a little different.

We are all seeing the effects that our economy is having on everyone and everything. Friends, family, people at work, and Mike and I have been starting to watch our spending a little more. I have been hearing "Bah Hum-Bug" A LOT at work and when walking through stores where Christmas is being commercialized. At first I was in the same boat. Mike and I have to be very careful this Christmas and it has made me a little sad. My favorite part of Christmas is buying for others and seeing their faces when I give it to them! But then I had a reality check.

Every year it seems like Christmas is getting further and further away from its real meaning. People have been concentrating on the gifts, the trees, the decorations, the holiday movies more and more. Because of this everyone around us is not happy with the season this year. That is why I believe that this is the perfect year to bring Christ back into Christmas. He is our one true Savior that brings comfort to our hearts. We may not have money to celebrate Christmas, but it does not cost a penny to celebrate our Savior's Birth.

Because of these thoughts and feelings, I have been in the Christmas spirit more and earlier this year than I have in years. I am so grateful to have the faith and wisdom to bring me such comfort during these hard times.

Its not about the presents, its about Jesus Christ and the gift our Heavenly Father gave us when sending him to earth. With this Mike and I are wishing all of our Friends and Family a very Happy Holiday!

Its Mayhem & Chaos at the Peters....LITERALLY!

2008-11-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

So I don't know if we told you that we decided to keep the Kitty! I was so excited because I was getting really attached to him! And the Kitty now has a name.....CHAOS! I know, I know, people think we are crazy for naming our pets Mayhem and Chaos! Their names fit them SOOOOO well though!

Chaos has adjusted really well to our home and Mayhem now has a little play buddy! We are trying to teach Mayhem to be a little bit more gentle, but I think its close to impossible. He loves to play with Chaos and gets a little out of control.

Mayhem's favorite thing to do with Chaos lately is run around the house with Chaos in his mouth! Chaos starts to meow really loudly like its hurting him, but if Mayhem puts him down he turns around and attacks Mayhem. They both love to play with each other. And hopefully I can catch Mayhem in the act of carrying Chaos so I can show everyone how hilarious it is!

But yes, having two pets has definitely spiced things up here especially since they are both so little still. So when we say that its Mayhem and Chaos here, we are meaning it LITERALLY!!!!! :)

The Birthday Girl....

2008-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

I know I need to get a lot better at posting things right after they happen! But at least I'm getting them up there, right?!?!

So Saturday, October 25th was my 28th birthday. I wasn't really wanting to do a whole lot because I wasn't too thrilled about age 28..... 28 just sounds SOOOOO much older than 27! I can officially say that I am in my late twenties! :(

Well, I started the day with a little pampering at the day spa! It was so nice and needed! Then I met my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for lunch at my favorite place....The Cheesecake Factory! It was so good and nice to sit and relax for the morning. Then my mom and Ty came into Phoenix to go to dinner with Mike and I. Ashlee just got a job at a really nice steakhouse called The Keg. She made reservations for all of us and it was probably the best steak I have ever had! I HIGHLY recommend it! :) Then we went out for a little bit with my friends.

Mike was such a trooper the whole day! He had something to do that day and had been up since 3:00am. After he got home he went straight to dinner with us. I didn't even want to go out with my friends because I knew how tired Mike was, but he insisted that we went. He didn't complain once and tried to make the night perfect. However he ended up falling asleep at Lindsey and Ramey's house. That was our cue to leave!

Even though I wasn't too thrilled about 28, everyone made it a great day! Thank you everyone and I love you all very much!!!!

Let's Go Phoenix Suns!

2008-10-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night Mike was able to get hooked up with tickets to the Phoenix Suns Pre-Season Game. I was really excited because I had never been to a game before.
When we got to the arena, the tickets were waiting for us along with another surpise...we got hooked up with "back-stage" tickets after the game too!

Our seats were also pretty good, we were sitting lower level and the game was easier to watch since we were so close. Mike and I left a couple of minutes before the game ended so that we could go to the Team Store and get something to autograph. Once we found a little basketball, Mike and I headed toward the Suns' locker room!

We saw all of the players! And let me tell you that Shaquil O'Neal is freaking huge! I felt so short standing there by them. Mike was looking forward to seeing Steve Nash the most, so when Nash came out, Mike got his autograph and a picture! For my first time at a Phoenix Suns' basketball game, it was awesome!

Here Kitty, Kitty!

2008-10-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

About a week and a half ago at work I decided to go to lunch. As I walked out of the doors of the bank I heard a little kitten crying in the bush. The kitty was the littlest thing I have ever seen and I thought the mother would be somewhere around. I kept looking for the mama cat and couldn't find her. I couldn't leave the kitten outside by itself, you could tell that she was really scared, so I brought her into the bank. No one at the bank wanted her and I couldn't just let her go outside. So I called Mike and he told me to bring her home!

I first took Kitty (that is what we are calling her until we decide if we are keeping her or not) to the vet. I didn't want to bring her home if she had anything wrong with her. The vet weighed her and she didn't even weigh a pound! He also said that she was probably only 4 weeks old, if even that. After we found out the Kitty was healthy I brought her home and introduced her to Mayhem.

Mayhem has definitely been curious of Kitty and loves to play with her. But we have to remind him to be more gentle....he tends to get a little rough with her. But Kitty seems to like Mayhem too! I'm starting to really get attached and now have to convince Mike to keep Kitty!

California, Here We Come!!!!

2008-09-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

About 5 months ago, Mike told me that he was going to be signing up to do the Disney 1/2 Marathon over Labor Day Weekend. He was going to do this with a couple of Wells Fargo Employees. Together, they would wake up at 4:30 in the morning at least 3 times a week. They were completely dedicated.

Well the weekend finally came and we all headed to California! We were all So excited. Mike, Cassidi and Graham were excited for the marathon, and I was SUPER excited for Disneyland....and their marathon! :)

We left on Saturday, August 30th REALLY early in the morning. We were driving and we wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to shop in Palm Springs and make it in time for the marathon check-in. We spent about 2 hours in Palm Springs and then had to drag ourselves away from the Outlets before we spent all of our money. Mike was obsessed with the Nike Outlet, while I was obsessed with Coach, Banana Republic, Prada, Gucci, and the Kate Spade Outlets! :)

After shopping we continued the drive to check-in to our hotel, and then to check-in for the marathon. The marathon check-in was at the Disneyland Resort so we had to walk through Downtown Disney. This REALLY made the excitement grow more! We walked around and did a little shopping after Mike and the others collected their marathon things. However, Mike dragged us away before we really wanted to go so that they could rest before the 1/2 Marathon.

Sunday morning Mike, Cassidi, and Graham were all awake by 3:30 in the morning. Landon (Cassidi's Fiance) and I were not about to get up that early, so we said that we would meet them at the finish line. I know, I know, we could have been a lot more supportive, but 3:30 is WAY too early!!!! By 7:30am Landon and I were up and heading to the finish line to meet everyone. There were TONS of people there and I was surprised that we found them! Everyone did a really good job. Mike finished 13.1 miles in under 2 hours and Graham and Cassidi were just over 2 hours and 15 minutes! Good Job Guys! That night we went for a little dinner celebration to everyone's favorite....Sushi!

Monday we celebrated Labor Day at Hunnington Beach. Mike, Cassidi, and Graham were really sore and wanted to take it easy for the day. So we hung out on the beach, rented body boards, and played smash ball. It was a really good day except for the fact that Cassidi and I almost drowned in the ocean! Note to self....don't rent a body board and go out in the ocean without instructions or knowing how to swim well!!!!

Tuesday was the best day by far....well, at least for me....we were spending the day at DISNEYLAND! I absolutely love it there and Mike hadn't been there since he was 10 so there was a lot of new additions. We were able to go on all of the rides that we wanted with the exception of the Haunted Manson, it was closed for "Beautification" and I was really disappointed. However, both of us experienced a new ride for the first time and Mike and I both said that it was our favorite. It is the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, and it is light a giant video game. We loved it and were able to get this picture from it! As you can see, I totally kicked Mike's butt in the game! :) Another picture that we got was at Splash Mountain. We had to ride this ride twice to actually get a good picture. However, I was not so happy after the second time around. I was placed in the very front row and got COMPLETELY drenched!

Disneyland was so much fun! There are also WAY too many pictures to actually show, so I have created another slideshow for everyone to enjoy. We had a blast and have already been talking about next years trip. I told Mike that next year I MIGHT do the 1/2 Marathon with them. But that is a REALLY big Might! :)

Monsoon Season Is Here!!!!

2008-08-28T21:39:00.001-07:00

August in Arizona has always been known as Monsoon season. We get most of our rain the entire year in one month. This year has been crazy, and I've never seen Monsoon season this bad! The other day the wind and rain was so hard that it looked like a mild hurricane. After the storm was over there were trees uprooted everywhere. Then tonight we had another storm pass through. This one didn't have wind like the last one, but it was the craziest lightning storm I have ever seen. This video doesn't even do it justice. It looked like someone had a strobe light outside, lighting up the whole sky when it flickered! :)

BUSY, BUSY, July!!!!!

2008-08-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

As I stated before, July FLEW by because we were so busy all month! With that said, I apologize to everyone for barely posting anything this month. But I figured that I would make it all up in one big blog! So.....here goes!

July started out with a proud parent moment....Yes, my baby graduated from Puppy Training School! We named our baby Mayhem for a reason, he was out of control! So I looked into taking him to a couple of training classes. I didn't think they would work as well as they did, but it is amazing! He is the best dog now and knows lots of new tricks! He's growing up so fast!

Later in the month...July 14th to be exact, Mike and Caleb celebrated their 26th birthday. (See blog below!) Happy Birthday Boys! :)

After Mike and Caleb's birthday, we were busy preparing for our week and a half trip to Idaho! I was SOOOOO excited I couldn't wait! We were going to be having a family reunion for both sides of my family. So there was a lot to do! We went and bought our first family tent, sleeping bags, lantern, and pads to sleep on. We love camping, so we were really excited to finally have camping gear! :)

On Wednesday, the 23rd, Mike, Mayhem and I started our vacation. It started with a 14 and 1/2 hour drive to Idaho. Mike was not too thrilled about having to drive, but with all of our camping stuff, and our little baby, Mayhem, we really didn't have a choice. I was really nervous that Mayhem would have a hard time being in the car that long, BUT he was VERY good! We left the house at 5:30 am Arizona time, and pulled into my dad's driveway at 10:00pm Idaho time. It was a VERY long day!

Thursday was the first day of the Gutierrez Family Reunion. We had to wake up early so that we could get up to the camp-site in time. However, we were not woken up by our alarm clocks! We received a text from Caleb! Christopher Dashel Peters was born on Thursday morning, making Mike and I an Uncle and Aunt for the second time! We haven't met him in person yet, but he is a beautiful baby in his pictures! CONGRATULATIONS, Caleb and Marti!

After getting the exciting news, we were finally off to the reunion. We had a blast! I LOVE spending time with my family! We sat around the campfire, played games, made boats to float down the river (which never happened), golfed, visited Mesa Falls, floated Warm River, had a program, which WE won, and took LOTS of pictures. There are so many pictures that I had to make a slide show! So feel free to watch the slide show in the blog below! :)

After leaving the Gutierrez Reunion, we headed directly to the Sommer Reunion. This was a little bit more domestic and we actually were in our family cabin in Island Park. We got there a little late so I wasn't able to get any pictures there, which I am now regretting! :( Mike, Ammon, Ty and my cousin Miguel decided to jump in Henry's Lake that night! Then we sat around and played games until it was time to go to bed. It was fun being able to see my Dad's side of the family too!

After the reunions passed, we were able to sit and relax the rest of the week at my dad's house. I think its the perfect vacation because we don't have an itinerary and we CAN actually relax! We visited with family, went to a couple of movies and then went shoot guns with my dad on his birthday, August 1st! Happy Birthday, Dad! Shooting guns is one of my dad's favorite things and now I think its one of Mike's favorite things too! (They always say "You marry someone like your parent!") Mike actually picked up on it really quick and had a really good aim! Then once the event was over, Mike was soon planning his next big purchase....a GUN! He will also be joining my dad and brother next year during hunting season!

Finally our trip was ending but we had one last thing to do! We were heading to Utah for the day to visit some of my best friends and their husbands. We spent Saturday with Sadie and Nathan Schanz and Shalee and Chet Blasucci! It started at the local swimming pool and then ended at Sadie and Nathan's for a BBQ and games. I love seeing them and I wish I could see them more! Plus, all of our husbands get along well so we have a lot of fun! Every time I see them though, we swear that we are going to take pictures. And every time we forget.....this time was no different! We end up having so much fun that we completely forget to bust the camera's out! Again, another regret!!!! :(

Then today, 3rd, Mike and I started our drive back home. We arrived safely home and are preparing to go back to work tomorrow. :( Why is it that vacations have to go by way too fast? At least we are going back fully rested! :)

The Reunion!

2008-08-03T22:20:00.001-07:00

We took SOOO many pictures at the reunion, that I had to create a slideshow! Enjoy!

Happy BELATED Birthday to Mike & Caleb!

2008-08-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

First things first.....I need to apologize to my husband and brother-in-law for getting this up SOOOOO late! This month has been EXTREMELY busy and I didn't get around to posting this up! (Again, Sorry!)

As many of you know, my husband is a twin....not identical. On July 14th Mike and Caleb celebrated their 26th birthday! We went to Mike's parents and had a really nice dinner and then had cake. It was really fun. But the very best part of Mike's birthday is that for a couple more months he only sounds ONE year younger than me! :) That is until October rolls around, then I go back to being the cradle robber!

Happy Belated Birthday, Mike and Caleb! :)

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

2008-07-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Fourth of July was spent in Tucson, AZ this year. Mike and I drove down Friday morning and spent the entire weekend there. It was so much fun. We played in the pool all day on Friday and had a barbecue with the family. We were missing a couple of people though.....Robert, Grant, Stephanie and their kids, Ashley & Cameron, Kimball, Ammon, and Dustin (whose on a mission). But when you have a family this big, its almost impossible to get everyone together at the same place! :)

That night we went to go watch the fire works, but we were disappointed to find out that they went off earlier than what we thought. So we played with Sparkler instead. It always seems to amaze me that no matter how old I get, I still love SPARKLERS! :)

The next day we decided to go to the Desert Museum. I was told that it was like the zoo but with desert animals. Hmmmmm....I should have caught on right then that it was going to be outside. I'm not such a bright one at times and thought that we would be spending times indoors. WAS I WRONG!!! We ended up walking through the desert in over 100 degree weather looking at animals that I would rather be running away from! (Snakes, Lizzards, Scorpions, ect.) Although it was extremely hot, and we were sweating to death, we still had a lot of fun with each other.

I was so happy that we were able to go to Tucson for the 4th of July weekend. I hadn't seen Melissa and the girls since our wedding! And now there was a new addition....Little Mathias! He's the cutest thing! And Mike and him had a little bonding time! :)It was a perfect weekend.

Paige made a BEAUTIFUL bride!!!!

2008-07-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Its official....Paige Eubanks is now Paige Adams! I was so excited that I was able to go to Utah to see Paige get married. She was so pretty and everything looked so good. The wedding had Paige written all over it! Yes, the wedding was somewhat traditional but had Paige's touch of originality. They were no "I do's" just a loud "YES" when they were asked if they take each other as man and wife. Everything was perfect!

Durango, Colorado

2008-06-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

Lately, Mike and I were just wanting to take a little trip and get away. That finally happened on Memorial Weekend. We went to see our friend's Chris and Elizabeth in Durago, Colorado.

I have never been to Durango and I LOVED it! It was so beautiful there. The first day that we were there we went into the town and walked around. It is very touristy and had a lot of different shops around. Mike was in heaven because that weekend they had a biking race. So he was able to sit and watch all the bikers do their thing. (I'm pretty sure he wished he had brought his bike so he could get in on the action!)That night we went to dinner and had the two best things ever....Sushi and Coldstone! :)

The second day we were there, we decided to take a little nature hike. Chris first took us to a spot where people do a lot of rock climbing. Chris showed off his skills of rock climbing that he is perfecting, and Mike and I climbed a small rock just so we could see the view.

The second place we went to was a trail that we hiked for about an hour. Again, there were rocks everywhere to climb, and this time Mike thought that he would try climbing a bigger rock than the first one we climbed together!

I made Chris take the pictures because I didn't want to watch Mike climb up the rock....just in case he fell, I didn't want to have to witness that! :) However, the biggest milestone of the hike....Yes, even bigger than Mike's rock climbing!....was that this was Lil' Mayhem's first outdoor hike. He was in puppy heaven!

All in all we had a great time! We had a bit of a weather shock....70 degrees is cold for us when we are coming from 100 degrees! But other than that, it was the perfect weekend get-away!

"Calling it the Cadillac Ranch"

2008-05-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

After hanging out at Dave and Busters for Rhonda's going-away party, we all headed to a little place call Cadillac Ranch. It took A LOT of begging, but I finally persuaded Mike to ride the mechanical bull! All I can say about it is....Mike would make a really good rodeo cowboy! :) He was able to stay on the bull for a really long time and finally got THROWN off! It was hilarious, but I don't think Mike thought it was too funny the next day. He had 3 BIG strawberry bruises on his knee from squeezing the bull with his legs! NOTE TO SELF......NEVER ride a mechanical bull while wearing shorts!!!! :)

Bye-Bye, Rhonda :(

2008-05-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, we had to say good-bye to one of our good friends, and Mike's Boss....Rhonda Bell. Everyone was really sad to see her go, but we made her last weekend in Arizona a BIG PARTY!

Mayhem is living up to his name!!!

2008-05-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

Poor little Muddles! He thought that he was going to have a nice relaxing day....that is until we showed up with Mayhem. Yup, our little puppy has turned into a terror, and he's DEFINITELY living up to his name! He loves to chew, run, and howl at anything and everything that moves. He is crazy, but we love him!!!!

Mya's almost a Mommy!!!

2008-05-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

Mike and I attended our friend's baby shower in April! Mya and Wynn are about to be proud parents! In fact, as of last night, Mya was in the hospital and Wynn was patiently waiting. We are so excited for them!!!! And to answer all of your questions.....No, Mike and I are not expecting....YET!!!! :) (Can you tell we get that question a lot!)

Puerto Rico!!!!

2008-04-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

We just got back from an amazing trip in Puerto Rico! It was absolutely beautiful and DEFINITELY needed for both Mike and I! :) We started out the trip with Chase Bank....that's right, we actually went there for work! Chase sent me and a guest (Mike) to Puerto Rico for being in the top 10% of branch managers! Everything was paid for....our flight, our hotel, the excursions and our food. The bank trip was only til March 30th, but Mike and I decided to take advantage of the free flight and extend our stay!

For our excursions, we chose to Deep Sea Fish and Catamaran Snorkel. The snorkeling was awesome, but the Deep Sea Fishing...Not so much!!!! In fact, everyone needs to ask Mike how he did on the boat....HILARIOUS story. (Hint: He now knows the meaning of motion sickness!!!!) Here is a picture on the Fishing Boat and of the Baracuda that was caught!

The remaider of the Puerto Rican trip was done with the two of us hanging out and shopping around. We ended up meeting up with a couple of co-workers that exteneded the trip as well. We shopped in San Juan and visited the spot where Pina Colada's were invented! :) It was SOOOOO much fun and we didn't want to come home!

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

Mike and I started our Easter celebration on Friday Night. We went on a double date with our good friends Matt, Holly, and Baby Neils! We went to the Easter Pageant at the Temple and then went out for ice cream. Mike had never been to the Easter Pageant, so we had to make sure that we sat up front. We totally lucked out and got really good seats, with the exception of a REALLY loud family in front of us. :)

Newest Edition to our Family!!!!!

2008-03-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Meet Mayhem!!! Since everyone around us is starting a family, Mike and I decided to add on to ours! :) We just got Mayhem a week ago and we absolutely love him! He is the cutest thing and has the funnest personality. (We think he's really cute until he goes to the bathroom in the house or chews up Mike's cell phone charger!) Yes, he is definitely a puppy and he is helping us with our patience! I figure once we master the training stage with the dog, we can move on to bigger things....like maybe a baby! :) But for now, Mayhem is the baby of our house!

Renaissance Festival

2008-03-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, we ventured to the Renaissance Festival last week. We enjoyed a couple shows, waxed our hands, ate TONS of food, and actually rode an elephant! You can't really tell in the picture, but that is exactly what we are sitting on. We had lots of fun! :)

Mike Keeps Me Active :)

2008-01-05T12:23:00.001-08:00

Those of you who know me, know that hiking is not my most favorite past time activity! But saying "I Do" to Mike came with compromises! :) Yes, I married "Mr. Active"! Mike loves doing anything that keeps us active and lately that is hiking everything and anything in the Phoenix/Tucson area. I actually am starting to like it and look forward to our next hike! The first two pictures are our Thanksgiving Hike in Tucson. I didn't make it to the very top because it got too scary. And yes, Mike still makes fun of me for it! The third picture is our Christmas Hike at Camelback in Phoenix. This one wasn't as scary and I actually made it to the top! :)

The Wedding

2008-01-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

March 2, 2007....The BEST day of my life! Who would have thought that when I met Mike Peters 4 years ago that I would be marrying him!!!! Life is unpredicatable, isn't it?!?