Princesses, Rock Stars, and Fairies

While I was busy in the kitchen the other night, here is what my children were doing :)


Here is Gina, Katelyn, and Emily, otherwise know as
the Super Girls Rock Band!



Katelyn is pretty in pink :)




Gina too!


Emily has a style all her own :)


Of course, then Daniel had to get into the action.



Then on Saturday, July 26th, at her cousin Gaven's
Birthday party, Katelyn lost her first tooth!!!
And we were visited by the "Tooth Fairy"



And then we had Rock Star - Take 2!!!




Not to be out-done by The Hannah Montana-Myley Cyrus
Best of Both Worlds concert in 3D!

Katelyn, Emily P, Emily M, and Daniel pose with their
cool 3D glasses!


Emily and Emily

It didn't last too long. After a few minutes they

were bored and wanted to watch Transformers!!!

Swim Hard! Swim Fast!

Matt and I are so proud of our girls and how well they swam this year for the Reedley Marlins. They both improved their times in all of their events and made it to the Time Trials. They were mentioned in the local paper several times and felt famous when they were stopped by people at church and in town to congratulate them. Katelyn also made it to the finals where 22 teams competed against one another. She received a 4th place in the 25 yard Freestyle and 8th in the 25 yard Backstroke.
Next year, we will have three swimmers since Daniel will be joining the team. Look out 6 and under boys!

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As you can see the kids have a lot of fun! Look close and you will see all that happens at a meet: swimming (of course!), lots of junk food (why? Because that's the way it is...tradition...makes them swim faster), ribbons in lots of colors, and lots of fun making friends.

Birthdays and Mortorcyle Rides

We've been so busy in the Peters house that there hasn't been any time to blog. On Saturday, July 12th, Katelyn turned 7 and had a big pool party. She received tons of cute clothes and gift cards (that she chose to use to buy more clothes and shoes!) It's truly dangerous to take her shopping!!!

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As the party was winding down, Katelyn was surprised by a visit from her Grandpa Graber. He stayed the night and took us all to the movies the next day to see Wall-E. Then we came home and they took turns getting motorcycle rides! Oh what fun!!!

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I was sent this story today and thought I would post it hear for all to read because it bears repeating. Thanks Erin H. :)

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

'I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. 'Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.' 'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied. 'Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ..... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.'

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5.. Expect less.

Thanks again Erin.

Erin and T.J. with Haley and Jack and the kids.

Fun for Matt and Jenny

Yesterday Matt and I went boating with some friends of his, without our children. It was a blast! I even got up on the ski, despite the choppy water. But the most fun was riding on the tube. Check out the photos that follow.

4th of July

This 4th of July marked the one year anniversary of our first night sleeping in our new house. Wow! It's been a year already and I still have some boxes to unpack. At this point, I guess I really don't need whatever is hidden inside them.



We celebrated the 4th with our neighbors, lighting fireworks and enjoying the fantastic sights and sounds of the high school's annual 4th of July Extravaganza. Earlier in the evening we watched Dara Torres, the 40 something mom and olympic swimmer, qualify for this year's olympics. Also just as impressive was the record breaking swim from Phelps. "...oh oh say does that star spangeled banner yet wave..."

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

Summer has found us here in Reedley! It has been between the high 90's and 105 over the past week! Today we are seeing the beginning of a "cooling trend" as my sweet Auntie Mike would say. But I am not complaining. We are blessed to have a beautiful home and a fabulous swimming pool to cool off in. Yesterday, Matt surprised us with an inflatable water slide that drops the kids into the pool. The kids had a blast! They were overheard saying, "Woo hoo!" and "Awesome Dad!" I even tried it once, but I didn't slide very fast - hmmm... maybe I am over the weight limit.

Anyway, last week I went to UCSF to see some Neurologists and see if they could explain why I was having headaches. Basically, they could not. The doctor recommended that I treat the pain with migraine-type medication, get some more MRI's taken and then return in 6 weeks or so to meet with an MS doctor. He was not really saying I have migraines or MS, but since there is some white matter scattered across my brain, they need to figure out why. Apparently doctors who treat MS patients have more knowledge of white matter changes than neurologists do. So... that is where I stand with that. Thanks so much for all of the phone calls and emails. I feel blessed to have a great family and so many friends who are just like family praying for me.

Speaking of family, my mom joined me on the adventure to San Francisco and we had a lot of fun (and spent a lot of money!) Everything is expensive there and we even had to pay $20.00 just to park at the doctor's office. Nevertheless, it was worth it just to hang out with my mom and have "girl time." Again, I am so blessed! Thanks mom!

Tonight we have a swim meet up in the mountains. Both girls swim for the Reedley Marlins Swim Team and are having a great year. They have improved their times, won lots of ribbons, and most importantly are having fun! Even Daniel wants to be a Marlin. He decided yesterday that he was no longer going to swim with the floaty bathing suit and instead swim in his shorts, just like his dad. And he did! We can now officially say that Daniel can swim all on his own. He was so proud if his accomplishment. Emily was too. In fact, she was so excited that she wanted to teach him the backstroke already!

Wow! My babies are growing up so fast. I can hardly believe it. But it reminds me to cherish every moment I have with them and to live as if there were no tomorrow.