Just eat it!!!!

So, it's going to be one of those types of days. Let me explain what that means around my house:

1. The day begins before 6 am.

2. There is a lot of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth (by children and mom).

3. There are still tons of errands to be done and lessons to be administered before lunch begins.

4. See #2.

5. We fight about food and sleep.

6. Dad comes home and mom turns into a zombie.

Now, to explain to you who don't know the in's and out's of the Petersen family (note correct usage of apostrophes--see blog post below) my kids have two main issues: food and sleep. My kids are well-behaved, they don't destroy my house, they do as they are asked, they love me and my husband...okay really this is mostly describing Ryanna because Owen is too young to deserve such accolades as of yet. Back to their issues.

My daughter is not a good eater as you read about a couple of posts ago. She has an iron will about not eating things she doesn't want to eat. Big deal you say, my kid is the same way. That may be, but does your child take an hour to eat a piece of toast? Do you have to allow an hour for your child to consume her lunch which consists of 4 chicken nuggets (the dinosaur shape by request) and about 10 carrot sticks? Do you have to repeatedly remind your child to eat while she's at the table and there are no toys, other humans or anything else remotely fun in sight? Well, if you don't, you don't understand this struggle.

Two meals of the day Ryanna usually gets to eat food of her own choosing (chicken nuggest, fish sticks, bean burritos, etc. for lunch) and (go-gurt, apples, toast, cereal, etc for breakfast). It still takes an hour for consumption.

My sweet, little boy was looking to be such a great eater. He would gobble down his rice or oatmeal cereal whether it has anything mixed in or not. I thought, "Finally, I deserve this. God knew I couldn't deal with this again." Well, starting last week Owen jumped on the food issues bandwagon. He now immediately spits out all cereal I attempt to place in his mouth. Think of one of those play-do toys where you place the play-do in one end and push the lever down and see it come quickly out the other end. Only with Owen, the food is going in and coming out the same hole and it's not fun for the whole family.

Okay, so the kid doesn't want cereal, what does he want. Let me tell you what I've discovered that is: chicken and ONLY chicken. Did he miss the train when cave men were coming to earth and just come a couple thousand years too late? Am I not nurturing the masculine side of him? Should I get him a club and buy some chickens to run around the backyard and let him go at it? Come on, just eat already!!!!

You know, I would blame my husband for all of this, but he's not a picky eater at all. I don't think I'm particularly picky, but definitely more picky than him (I don't do watermelon, sweet potatoes, undercooked meats...I'm sure there's a few more things I haven't thought of).

Not only does Owen not want to really eat anything other than meat, he refuses to take naps in his crib. As soon as I lay him down he stands up and screams and cries at the top of his lungs for...forever really. I usually let him do this for about 20-30 minutes because I'm in the middle of trying to give my daughter some attention. However, today it's going to be longer because I just need the break.

Featured below was the funny face that he used to make when I would feed him something new. Oh how I long for those days...

Audrey's Derek food fun

So, the perks with my hubby's job continue!

Wednesday night we went out to dinner with some friends of ours. We were "recruiting" them to come and work at my husband's firm. I am beginning to wish that I could recruit people once a week it was so yummy.

We ate at Ruth's Chris. Have any of you eaten there? I never had until last night, but it was worth the wait!!! It's a steak house and it's way out of the price we normally spend to eat out (think Panda Express $12 for the whole family), but when you're not paying, why not? I had the Ruth's Chris salad, filet and a side of Au Gratin potatoes. Of course I saved room for dessert which was a delicious creme brulee.

The only thing that could've been better is the name. Seriously, as an English major, what the heck kind of name is that? Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. So.... what does that mean? Ruth's Chris would mean that Chris belongs to Ruth, okay that makes sense. Now, we've established the Chris is Ruth's, but what is the Chris? Does Chris mean restaurant in some language? That wouldn't make sense either since its Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. This is some complex English enigma.

I get really annoyed at these businesses that don't do the apostrophe correctly. You know you've seen it everywhere! Bobs Paint and Supply. So, how many Bobs work there? Oh wait, you mean Bob owns the store? Did you know there's actually a way to signify such ownership and it's oh so easy to do? I realize with items such as Chris paint and supply it gets tricker to navigate--those darn s's and I also realize that the rules behind grammar are changed through the course of time and usage, but some things must be respected.

So, now that you've heard me out, just explain it to me! And, for future use--(feel free to ignore this portion of my blog, it's for my own self-soothing and reassurance).

The Apostrophe's Usage:

1. To Show Possession
Apostrophes can be used to show possession.
Singular possessive- add 's to the end of a singular noun to show possession
the book's cover
Mom's oven

If the word already ends in s, just add a '
Mr. Bates' cat

In compound nouns, place the apostrophe in the last word.
John and Cassie's house

Plural possessive- add ' to the end of a plural noun
managers' instructions
dogs' bones

2. In Contractions
Use apostrophes in contractions to show missing letters.
don't (do not)
I'd (I would)
Who's (who is)

3. To Make Plurals
Use apostrophes to make plurals for numbers, letters, and symbols that don't have plurals.
11's
A's, B's, and C's
do's and don'ts

4. To Show Dialects
Use apostrophes to show dialects or unusual English.
'd ye s'ppose ye 'ave

5. In Dates
Use apostrophes in dates to show missing numbers.
'69
'04

6. In Time or Quantity
Use apostrophes in amounts, times, or quantities.
three day's worth
This morning's headlines

Victoria Beckham or Audrey?

So, I got my haircut on Saturday, by the greatest stylist of all time--my friend Brooke. Seriously, I wish I had a scanner to show you all some of my first arrived at BYU photos when I was a freshman. Not that I'm the most stylish person now, but I did need some help. Okay, lots of help in reality. I think all of my roommates who were from big cities really enjoyed the idea of transforming this country bumpkin into someone a little more pretty.

Well, after graduating from BYU, Brooke decided to go back and get her cosmetology license. Ever since then, she's been the only one to cut my hair. Crazy that we both ended up back here in Arizona. I always let her pick whatever colors and the cut as well.

So, here's the latest...

So, whadda ya think?

Food, Glorious, Food!

I don't know how many of you are aware of my constant food battle with my daughter. She started off life being such a great nurser...it's been downhill from there.

Seriously, she is very much like me in that she is always wanting to eat chocolate or any other type of treat, but when it comes down to eating food of real substance, it's honestly used to be almost a daily battle at our house until my the doctor gave me some good advice.
A couple of years ago my pediatrician told me to not make it a fight. He said, "If she says she doesn't want to eat, tell her that's fine and let her get down, but let her know that when she comes to you and says she's hungry, she's going to have to eat the food she didn't finish." Well, I implemented that rule on and off for a while. It actually does work. At least I thought it did anyway. It's worked up until yesterday/today.
The deal with Ryanna is that she's got no allegiance. She loves bananas one day and won't touch them the next day. I will make a meal such as roast and she'll eat it up and tell me how great it is. The next time I make it, she turns her nose up at it and won't even try it! It's not as thought I'm forcing all these exotic dishes down her throat, she can't make up her mind what she really likes.
She's been on this kick for several months now where she hates cheese. She loves bean burritos and when I say bean burritos, I mean just that--beans and a tortilla. No cheese thank you. The funny thing was that during this whole cheese hating phase, she's always continued to eat pizza. For some reason, she didn't realize that pizza is covered in cheese.
So, yesterday afternoon I made this pasta dish that has cream, peas, bacon and tortellini. Ryanna has eaten this several times with no problem. We gathered around the table to eat yesterday and Ryanna refused to eat any of it because it was "too much" for her to eat. Not that she didn't like the flavor or texture, it was just too much food. Okay, whatever. We let her get down and then at dinner we offered it to her again. She didn't want it and wouldn't eat it. She wanted to only eat toast (I have to say she is pretty faithful to toast, but only with butter, don't put jam or jelly on it or she won't touch it). Well, we didn't allow her to have any other option, so she didn't eat any dinner either.

Now, it's Sunday morning just before 7 am and I am nursing Owen when Ryanna comes into our room, flops herself on our bed and starts making vomit noises. Derek grabs her and runs her to the toilet. After this little episode, he goes to her bedroom to discover that she's thrown up all over her bed.

Before you all start thinking, "oh, she has the flu, poor girl, I bet her mom feels guilty," don't start. She doesn't have the flu. She threw up because she made herself sick from being hungry. I did cave in and give her a piece of toast with pedialyte to drink for breakfast.

Now, we just tried to eat lunch as a family and guess what I served Ryanna again? Guess what...she's still holding out. If I wasn't so irritated at her, I might have to admire her determination.

Nearly Famous

So, last night our little family went to an Arizona Diamondback's game courtesy of my husband's new job. Our tickets were amazing--23 rows back from directly behind homeplate. You could see the ball and the players and just about anything you wanted to see.

Free tickets; two sandwiches with drinks $26; parking my car $10; parking Derek's car $5 (he met me there from work); the whole experience $priceless!

Although Derek and I didn't get chosen to be on the Kiss Cam (it's where the camera in the stands pan around looking for couples to display on the giant screen and if you're chosen, you are supposed to kiss--cute idea), we did get onto the big screen. That's right, our little family had our picture broadcast throughout the whole stadium. How cool is that? My 10 seconds in the spotlight. Good thing I did my hair and wore make-up yesterday!

"They" Are Ruining My Life!!!

I used to complain to my husband on a pretty much weekly basis about how our little rental was going to drive me bananas because it was too tiny for our needs and we were running out of space and I was going to lose it if we didn't move. So, now we've moved. The place where we live now is significantly larger than our old place and now I have a different gripe.

My father-in-law is known for saying "They are ruining my life!" Who are they? That's the mystery. It starts when your child is old enough to recognize the discrepancies between your parenting and her friends' parents. She'll say, "They always get to go to McDonald's." As you age, you find "they" are always around doing the things you wished you were doing. "They" always wear the nicest clothes, drive nicer cars, eat at nicer places, look better, etc., etc.

I've discovered the "they" that is ruining my life and it goes by the following names: Pottery Barn, IKEA and Crate & Barrel. Maybe some of you get catalogs from these companies like I do. I am always excited to see what new designs are out and what color schemes I would love to duplicate if I had endless amounts of cash on hand. The bedroom pages don't bother me, it's the rest of the house that starts causing my paranoia.

Let me tell you what these photos do to me:

1. I start thinking that my counter tops should not have any scraps of paper or spare parts or stray items.
2. I begin to think that I own too many items to ever accomplish this design and begin to hunt through my stuff for items to throw away, give away or destroy.
3. I start to get rid of some pan I haven't used in a couple of years and then realize that I may need said pan in a couple of months for a certain recipe I have that I haven't yet made because I don't have the room to store all the ingredients needed to make the recipe.
4. I put back the pan and turn around to see my living room which doesn't have matching wood accessories. That's when the panic starts...
5. I run from room to room searching for cleanliness and order and trying to ignore the mismatching items.
6. I find the catalog that ruined my day and light it on fire.

Okay, so I don't really light the catalog on fire, but I do go through the other discouraging steps. Why hasn't someone started a revolution with design and gone for something called, "Goodwill Couture for Kitchens" or something along those lines? In the house I grew up in, I only recall the couches matching. Now it seems that there's a whole movement to make us feel insecure about our homes unless they look as though they were designed by someone.
Would I love for my house to look like no one ever lived there? Ironically, yes. Isn't that crazy to want to accomplish a design that isn't real? Have you ever noticed that the pictures with the bookshelves always look so pretty and nearly empty? Honey, if I'm buying a bookshelf it's because I own a lot of BOOKS! Not because I like to see bare wood that would require dusting in about a week's time if there weren't books covering it up!
So, one day, maybe if I'm lucky, you'll be able to come over to my house and think, "Gosh, does anyone live here?" Then you'll know that I'm living the Pottery Barn/IKEA/Crate & Barrel life. Until then, just pick up those dozens of DVDS Owen has strewn around the floor, ignore the piles of papers on my counter tops and desks and if you want to, borrow one of my hundreds of books, so I can make room for some more that are hidden in boxes.

What a Wonderful World

Make sure you turn your volume on for this hand puppet show!

Just for giggles

Okay, so I've gotten this email a couple of times, perhaps you've gotten it too? It always makes me laugh because of the "logic" it uses. Enjoy!

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... Don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: You're not listening.... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable. It's the best feel-good food around!!

AND, my favorite!
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Do you know what day it is?

Believe it or not, I was unaware of this until yesterday, but today is International Chocolate Day!!! I'm not making it up I promise. I was very excited to hear about this special day, but sad to realize that not enough of us are aware of its existence to make it important. I mean, really, when's the last time you stopped and thought about all of the wonderful things chocolate has done for you?

Here's a few of my reasons for loving it:

1. I used to be thin, when I was like 4 years old, but then I discovered chocolate. Since that day, I have had extra padding to cushion me if I fall.


2. Sometimes I'm sad or mad or bored...then I eat chocolate and I feel HAPPY!! (followed usually by guilt, but that's a different blog).


3. Peanut butter used to be so lonely, but then it met chocolate and they have been the best of friends. They are two of my closest friends.


4. Everybody loves kisses and hugs!


5. You can buy chocolate in icecream, another favorite of mine!

Always paying attention

The other day Derek was entertaining Ryanna by playing with her MagnaDoodle. It's one of those magnetic boards that you can draw on with the little, attached pencil (a little like an Etch-a-sketch?). So, after a while of drawing, she says to Derek, "Let's play a little game." Derek agreed and Ryanna outlined the rules of the game, "Dad, you're going to draw whatever thing you think is my favorite thing and I have to guess what it is. Then, I'll draw your favorite thing." She had Derek go first.

I have to admit, if she posed this game to me, I'd probably draw her dolls or maybe some chocolate or ice cream or something. Derek drew a horse I believe. She guessed and he handed over the pencil to her.

Now, what do you think she drew? You'll never guess this one. She drew a picture of me! She said, "I know mom is your favorite thing dad." I can hear you all saying, "ahhhhh," just like I did.

And all I can hope is that she would draw Derek for me and not a piece of chocolate...

Lucky Number 13

Owen is at such a fun point in his development. Everyday it seems he's learning and changing. Not that there aren't some frustrations as well. When he wants me to hold him, he isn't deterred by anything and since he's been able to say "Mom-mee" for about a month now, I know exactly what he wants. He doesn't say it calmly, he chants it loudly like he's at a football game. And, with these laminate floors we have, when he crawls at a fast pace, it's quite a quick, clomp, clomp, clomp I hear around the house.
He's not just crawling quickly though. Now he's walking, not all the time, but he's getting to the point where he can take several steps in a row and then either fall or lean forward to grab onto what he wants.
Last week, Derek and I were chatting in the living room and Owen was playing with some toy on the couch. He decided he was done with the toy and let go of the couch and walked 13 steps in a row. Who says 13 is unlucky? He did it again tonight-13 steps.
I have yet to catch a walking session for the camera because as soon as I run to get my camera, he's done with it. So typical. He's pretty cute though, I thought I would share some of the short, fun videos I've taken the last week.
The second video we took tonight. Owen loves the Hokey Pokey as much as his sister apparently. I am really, really sorry that you can hear me attempting to sing the song, but it was so funny to watch him flail his arms while we did the dance for FHE. He loved it.
I also wanted to note some of the crazy things he does that Ryanna never did:

1. Scream like Mariah Carey. I'm not kidding, I have never heard another human being make a high pitch scream like this.
2. Poop. This sounds weird, but Ryanna was so incredibly constipated, it was so frustrating. Owen had FIVE poppy diapers yesteray. FIVE. I changed one as soon as he woke-up. I put on a clean diaper and went downstairs to throw it away. When I returned, he smelled stinky. I thought, "No way!" and then I checked and yep, he'd done the deed again.
3. Clench his fists, scrunch up his face and look so incredibly stressed out. I don't know where he picked this up from. I'm never a stress case...at least I don't think I look like that anyway.
4. Laugh with his sister. Obviously Ryanna had no sibling to do this with, but when she starts to giggle, Owen will look at her and give a little giggle back and that makes her laugh harder and then he laughs back at her and it's the cutest thing. I really need to record one of these sessions.
5. Destroy everything he can. If it looks neat and organized, he's going to notice and make it his mission to undo everything orderly about it.

Bubbly by Colbie Caillat

So, I love this song!!! Have any of you heard it yet? If you haven't, you should have a listen. Just click on the link below. I tried to embed it on my site, but I couldn't get it to work.

http://music.aol.com/video/bubbly/colbie-caillat/1932324

So, I love this song for three reasons:
1. I love that she looks like a normal woman! I mean, have you seen the size of most singers these days?
2. I love that she keeps her lyrics sweet and innocent.
3. I love that the video portrays a sweet experience with the guy she loves. They spend a day at the beach and spend time by the fire in the evening and it's all clean.

If you like Jack Johnson, you'll probably like this song. It reminds me of a female Jack Johnson, makes me think of his song, "Banana Pancakes." Also a little reminiscent of Corrine Bailey Rae.

the BIG five

Another tag...here we go:

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Starting my second year at BYU.
2. Still dating my boyfriend from high school (not my husband).

3. Living with three of my freshman year roommates.

4. Playing racquetball on a regular basis.

5. Realizing that I have to take Spanish classes even though I survived a calculus class at BYU.

Five things on my to-do list today:
(I wish I only had five things on the list, that would be nice and unintimidating!)

1. Take Ryanna to her first day of pre-school.

2. Mail two books I sold on amazon.
3. Deposit two checks into my bank account.

4. Do a reading lesson and violin lesson with Ryanna (the former was accomplished, the later not).

5. Unpack the office.

Five snacks I enjoy:

Finally an area I enjoy discussing!

1. Cinnabon cinnamon rolls
2. Peanut butter and chocolate icecream from Baskin Robbins

3. Chocolate Chip cookies

4. Rollos, peanut butter Twix, Hershey's smores, candybars, Take 5 candybars

5. Caramel covered apples--call me a health nut for this one!

6. Jamba Juice (like I only have five! or even only 6 for that matter)

Five Songs I Know the Lyrics to:

1. Summertime--DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

2. Bless the Broken Road--Rascal Flatts (love this song!!!)
3. Dancing Queen--ABBA

4. I Want You (Better known as the Chic-a-Cherry Cola song)--Savage Garden

5. Livin' on a Prayer--Bon Jovi

I'm trying to pick a random sample here. I like lots of different music.

Five Things I Would do if I was a Millionaire:
1. Pay off my mortgage.

2. Talk to an amazing financial planer and get set for life.
3. Pay a lot of tithing.

4. Live very similarly to how I live now, so my kids wouldn't be spoiled brats.

5. Travel!!!!

Five Bad Habits:

1. Snacking late at night.

2. Eating when I'm bored.

3. Being impatient with my kids.

4. Being too judgmental.

5. Worrying too much.
Wouldn't it be funny if I revealed something that really shocked you here like, stealing? I thought about putting it down, but chickened out. By the way, I don't really steal.

Five Things I'd Never Wear Again:

1. A wedding dress--only saying this because I don't want to have to wear one, meaning I want my marriage to last!

2. Pegged pants

3. Pants that reach my real waist (have any of you seen that SNL called Mom Jeans? Too funny!)

4. jelly shoes (my feet sweat enough without enclosing them in plastic coffins)

5. almost all of the "fun" earrings I bought when I was a pre-teen

Five Things I Like to do:

1. Blog/Read friends' blogs

2. Plan get togethers with friends

3. Genealogy

4. Read
5. Try new recipes

Five Favorite Toys:
1. My computer/internet

2. My digital camera

3. My Kitchen Aid Mixer

4. Caller ID

5. The remote to the TV

Five People I Tag:

1. Kjirsti

2. Tami Nelson

3. Brooke M.

4. Shelly G.

5. Adrienne W.

That's the Good Stuff

Yesterday, after having gone through several boxes, (I am still unpacking) I was taking a break when Ryanna asked me, "Mom, can I go play in the sprinklers outside?" I was about to open my mouth and say, "no," when it dawned on me. Yes, yes, she can go outside and run through my very own sprinkler, that I own, on my very own grass, that I own, in my backyard that is completely fenced in. That fence--I own it too!

So, I sent her upstairs to put on her swimsuit, so she could go and run through the sprinklers in the backyard. She had a blast. She just kept running back and forth and back and forth. It seemed a bit tedious really, but she had fun. I even let Owen crawl around on the patio area. He was in close enough range that the sprinkler would get him too and he loved it. He didn't love it more than the tasty looking rocks that were nearby, but he was entertained as well.

I went inside to get something and on my way back outside, I could see my kids in the yard and it just looked so idyllic. I stopped for a second and thought, this is it. This is what Derek and I have worked so hard to achieve. We wanted a house with a yard for our kids to play in and now we have it. We are so blessed. I was filled with such happiness and I thought, "Wow, I love this!"

Oh yeah, that first paragraph wasn't completely honest. The bank actually owns all of this stuff, but they don't care that I live here and do what I want. It's a great arrangement.

Tagged by Brooke!

Okay, I have to preface this tag by saying that I don't have a scanner and I didn't have a digital camera before I got married, so I don't have any pre marriage photos to post with my questions. I know, I can hear your collective groan out there saying, "We want to see pre-marriage Audrey in all her glory!" Alas, it is not to be. Here's the tag though:

1. Where did I meet my husband?
We were actually in the same BYU ward. I know, all of you who didn't go to BYU are rolling your eyes saying, "Oh, one of those!" BUT, hopefully, our story won't bore you too much.
My cousin was in charge of ward prayer (also affectionately referred to as "ward stare") which is where all the singles gather together on Sunday evening to have a little devotional and say a prayer together and, let's be honest, check each other out. So, my cousin would call up random people in the ward a couple hours before ward prayer and she would ask them to say the prayer. Well, she asked Derek to say the prayer at ward prayer one night. I had just ended a serious relationship with another guy in the ward and so after the prayer was over my cousin said, "You need to meet Derek Petersen." I thought she knew him and I definitely thought he was cute, so we walked over and started chatting. Through the course of the conversation I discovered that she didn't even know him. Then she volunteered us to take him a homemade treat later in the week. I said to her and him, "We don't even know him and we're going to make him a treat?" Derek looked at me and told me to "shut-up." He was so smooth, right from the beginning!




2. What was the first thing you said to your husband?
Let's see, it was probably "Hi" and my name. I honestly don't remember exactly what I said. It was hard to hear over the angels singing...

3. Where was your first date?
Okay, this one is STILL a source of great debate in our marriage. I contend that we had all of about two dates before we got married and Derek likes to think that every time we got together we were dating. I think it was probably when he called me up a couple days after meeting me at ward prayer and invited me over for lunch. Me, being about as smooth as he is apparently, said, "I've already eaten lunch." Now, to my credit, I did say I'd still like to come over and just chat while he ate lunch, but he teased me and told me not to come over. I did go over though even though he couldn't give me the lunch he said he was going to. He home taught a girl from Mexico and she had made him and his companion some tortillas and beans. Before Derek could share them with me, his roommates had already devoured them.
We ate lunch together almost every day for about 3 months and Derek counts all of those as dates. I guess they were dates in a way, but I still contend he was a bit of a lazy dater. He still contends he was so smooth.

4. Where was your first kiss?
In the living room of the house I was sharing with my roommates. He asked me if he could kiss me which some of you out there will think is sweet, but I didn't. I think it makes the moment more awkward. He asked because I had told him once that I would never want someone to ask me.

The conversation went like this:

Derek: "Can I kiss you?"

Me: "Do you want to kiss me?"

Derek: "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to."

Me: "Well, if you want to you can."

In the adapted for TV version of my life, this part will seem much more smooth and romantic than it really was.

5. Did you have a short or long engagement?
Short. We met at the end of January, got engaged in May and married in August, all in the same year. I'm very efficient at everything I do! (ha!)


6. Where did you get engaged?
This is awesome! I had just flown back to Dallas from KC. Derek picked me up from the airport and had planned out a fun day of going to see these big, bronze bulls that are on this hill near the Dallas stockyards. Afterward we were supposed to go to this butterfly park. Well, he didn't watch the time and by the the time he decided we were going to go to the butterfly park I told him it would be closed before we got there. We were just walking away from the bronzed bulls. So he's like, "Um, let's go back up there." I said, "Derek, it's so hot! Let's just go." (It was over 100 degrees and the humidity was like 90%.) So, he relented and we started to leave and he changed his mind again and we went back. So, we go back and we sit down on this bench and he got down on one knee and proposed to me. This is a funny conversation as well, but I'm probably too verbose on these questions as it is. Let's just say that after he proposed, we turned around and behind us was a huge cemetery!

7. Where were you married?
We were married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple in American Fork, Utah.

8. How did the reception go?
Fine. We didn't do a line, we walked around and talked with everyone and I liked that a lot more than just standing there and having people have to greet all of your family that they don't know.

9. How was the honeymoon?
Come on, like this is anyone's business? It was great really! We went to Victoria on Vancouver Island, which is part of Canada located just off of Washington state. It was overcast the entire time we were there which was so wonderful after a summer in Texas.

Okay, now is the part where I get to tag some friends right? So, I tag Jen W., Dori H. and Erika Z. I'll be looking for your posts!

"Wuv....twue wuv" (Love...true love)

So, my daughter is obsessed with marriage. Apparently my husband and I must make it seem like a pretty exciting venture or maybe it's all those Disney movies her grandmas have bought her. We had a picture of the Mt. Timp temple on the wall (I say "had" because we just moved) and she would point to it and say, "Someday I will get married there when I'm older."

She knows a couple of boys who are her good friends and she really enjoys their company. But apparently none of them have taken her interest nearly as much as her very own, dear, old DAD! I'm sure this is a pretty common theme with little girls who have great fathers. It's still pretty funny to me. Some of our recent conversations have gone like this:

Ryanna: "When I get older I'm going to get married. I'm going to marry my dad."

Derek: "Ryanna, you can't marry me. I'm already married to your mom."

Ryanna: "Well, what about Owen then. Can I marry him?"

Me: "Ryanna, when you grow up and are older, you can get married to some man who is in love with you and can marry you in the temple."

Ryanna: "Well, can I have a fancy cake and flowers then?"

I do not know how she started recognizing the need for a fancy cake and flowers except once again from those dang Disney movies.

Me: "Yes, if you get married in the temple, you can have a cake and flowers."

She even likes to sing, that's right--sing "I'm going to marry my dad! I'm going to marry my dad." I don't know the melody, but she thinks it's hilarious.

The other day she asked me where my wedding dress was. I told her that it was at my grandma's house. Then she asked me if she could wear it at her wedding. Seriously, she's a bit obsessed.

The last little conversation I'll share with you happened at lunch today. I fed her some Spaghetti-o's which had letter shapes. She was telling me all the various letters before she would eat them. She was very excited to find an R since her name begins with that letter. Then she found a P and we had this conversation:

Ryanna: "Look mom! A P. I have a P in my name!"

Me: "Yep."

Ryanna: "When you were a little girl, did you have a P in your name?" This is another common theme, discussing me as a child. Maybe she'll be a psychologist.

Me: "No, I didn't have a P in my name when I was little."

Ryanna: "Mom, you are so silly. You had a P in your name when you were little. Petersen has a P!"

Me: "When I was little my name was Audrey Roy, I didn't have a P in my name."

Ryanna: "Audrey Roy? That's silly, your name is Petersen."

Me: "No, my last name changed to Petersen when I married your dad. Some day your last name won't be Petersen, it'll be something else when you get married."

Ryanna: "What will it be then?"

Note: She has asked me numerous times what her future husband's name is, like I know, but won't tell her. I always assure her I don't know who he is, but he'll be wonderful.

Me: "I don't know what it'll be."

Ryanna pondered this for a minute and then with great gusto she said, " I think it should be Rock and Roll!"

So, one day twenty years from now, I may have to introduce my daughter as Ryanna Rock and Roll. Who knew?

I thought this picture, from Halloween three years ago was appropriate. Between me and Disney movies, we've created a wedding obsessive, rock and roll loving star!