A Husband and Wife were reunited

Today, March 2nd,
a husband and wife were reunited...
11 grown children mourned the passing of their dad...
nearly 3 dozen grandchildren and great grandchildren cried tears for their grandpa...
and too many friends to count reflected on just how they knew R.B. Graber,
better known to us all as "Poppo."

Poppo was "The Leader of The Band"
And while the specifics of the song are not exactly the same,
the feeling behind the words is reflective of his life.


The Leader of The Band - Dan Fogelberg

An only child
Alone and wild
A cabinet makers son
His hands were meant
For different work
And his heart was known
To none --
He left his home
And went his lone
And solitary way
And he gave to me
A gift I know
I never Can repay

A quiet man of music
Denied a simpler fate
He tried to be a soldier once
But his music wouldnt wait
He earned his love
Through discipline
A thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls
Took me years to understand.

The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through
My instrument
And his song is in my soul--
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
Im just a living legacy
To the leader of the band.

My brothers lives were Different
For they heard another call
One went to chicago
And the other to st. paul
And Im in colorado
When Im not in some hotel
Living out this life Ive chose
And come to know so well.

I thank you for the music
And your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom
When it came my time to go --
I thank you for the kindness
And the times when you got tough
And, papa, I dont think i Said
i love you near enough --

The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through My instrument
And his song is in my soul --
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
Im just a living legacy
To the leader of the band

I am the living legacy
To the leader of the band.

God Bless you Poppo. So glad you are reunited at last with Mommo, the love of your life.

Terrific Kids

We are so proud of these two "Terrific Kids!" Each month teachers from each class select a student who exhibits the character trait for that month. Today, Emily and Katelyn both received the Terrific Kids Award for "Leadership" for their classes. Their teachers commented that Emily and Katelyn motivated the students in their class to get work done and were always willing to help out in the classroom. What a thrill to see both of our girls receive an award on the same day!!! Congratulations girls! Love you lots!!!!

New Year

To start off the new year we spent a week down south. It was great to see my mom and step dad and just hang out with my brothers, sisters-in-law and nieces. We finally met our new niece/cousin, Maeli. She was so cute and already such a big girl!

Then we spent 4 days and nights at Disneyland. It was lots of fun! We were so spoiled! We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. With the help of my dad and some of his and my mom's friends, we received lots of upgrades, discounts, and free admission!

The first night was the last night of the Christmas festivities. The castle was lit up and so beautiful. My dad arranged for the girls to go to the front of the castle and be a part of the fireworks balloon test. They were able to speak on the Disney Fire radio and set off a balloon to see if the wind was o.k. for the fireworks show. It was a special treat. Then we were given VIP seating in front of the castle to watch the show - Incredible!!!

This was the first time staying at the hotel. We played in the pools at the Grand Californian and Paradise Pier Hotels. We had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen and met lots of characters. And, of course, took advantage of the short lines at the parks and rode almost every ride! It was truly a vacation to remember. The last night we met another new family member, our nephew/cousin Wyatt and had dinner with Megan and Molli too!

It was a memorable trip.

December 2008

No, you are not seeing things! Yes, I have really updated our blog (after 4 1/2 looooonnnggg months!!!) Here are a few pics from December (and Jan) - Snow at TL Reed (After School Rocks!), Emily, Katelyn and Daniel rockin' out in the garage with their new guitars and drums (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Peters!), and the starting off the new year fishing with Grandpa Nick (we didn't even get a bite. The only one catching fish was the seagull!)

Temporarily missing in action.

If there were a grade for blogging, I would probably be receiving an "F" right now! It's not that I don't have anything to say or pictures to show to my five faithful followers (Mom, Christine, Erin, Jeremy, and Mallory), but the last few weeks have been crazier than ever!

Most importantly, I have been missing in action because Matt's Grandpa, Papa Earl as our children call him, passed away on September 5th. And even though he lived to the age of 92, we were a bit shocked that he passed away. He always reminded us that he was "not old" and in many ways, he wasn't. We miss you lots Papa and are greatful to know that you are watching over us from heaven. Love you xoxoxoxo

Matt and his Grandpa - Fishing at Pine Flat - July 1980


We have also been busy just hanging out together as a family (and counting our many blessings). Here is a quick update in pictures of what the Peters' have been up to the last month.

These are a few of my favorite things...
Playing in the pool with my family

Seeing my children have fun

Celebrating Milestones with my family

For Emily's 9th birthday, we had a Tie Dye/Sleepover Party. Who knew making tie dye shirts could be so much fun? The kids had a blast and the shirts came out fabulous (I will have to add pics of the finished product). Later in the evening the girls had a talent show and decided to dress up Daniel. See if you can figure out which one is him. Hint: If you are having an E.T. flashback, you've found daniel :)

The next day, we spent the day as a family, celebrating Emily's Birthday on our boat.

So-Long Summer...

Well, the first day of school finally arrived. You can see that at least two of our children were happy to start the day! Daniel was upset because he could not walk to school (His school is at least 6 blocks away!!!)

Katelyn and Ethan Milton waiting for their teacher to arrive. These two have been buds since Kindergarden - they have been in the same class every year and have played on the same soccer team the last few years as well!

This past Tursday we decided to sign Daniel up for soccer. Even though we had our reservations about him being a bit young we took him to his first practice. Our friends are coaching the team and encouraged us to join their team. Their daughter Serena and another boy from Daniel's class are both the same age as Daniel and are both on the team. So, we'll see...

Daniel didn't like that another boy took the ball away from him. This could pose a problem.Thankfully he got back out there and joined his friends.
He is pretty good when he focuses on the ball.
We will keep you posted!

Catching up since August 1st!

It's been exactly three weeks and two days since I have posted. I know this because 2 of the 5 people who look at this blog have been reminding me that "there is nothing new!" Sorry. I guess I didn't realize that anyone was following along :)

So let's see if I can recap in words and pictures why I have been absent. The last time I posted Matt and I were preparing to go on a mini vacation. The night before we left, the kids had a "vacation" of their own!!!

Camping in the living room has never been so much fun!

Although the "camping" looks like a lot of fun, Matt and I opted for something a bit more comfortable for our mini vacation. We headed to the coast for our 10th Anniversary. We had a great time in Pismo just doing whatever, not worrying about schedules, children, etc. It was just what we needed.

Here's where we stayed-a home on the edge of the cliff (literally!)

that Matt's family has been renting for the past 20 or so years.

New things for the end of summer:

Short hair for all three girls!!!

And a new boat for all!!!

The pups watching us clean the boat and keeping the neighborhood safe :)

We decided to take the boat out a day after we bought it and join some of Matt's friends from the fire department at Millerton Lake. We had a great day; except that our new boat only lasted about 2 hours in the water! Apparently there was a seal that wasn't "sealed" and a bilge pump that didn't work! Hmmm... anyone think maybe we should have taken a test drive? Thankfully we didn't sink and we were able to jump on our friend's boats. Here are some of the photos from the day.

Jeremy against the kids... I think the kids won!

More photos to come...

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