Trista and Jacob's Wedding

Saturday Trista married Jacob in an outdoor ceremony in Bob and Alison's backyard. I didn't take any pictures during the ceremony because ewe were told not to and after the only pictures I took were the ones my kids wanted with Amelia and Trista. Amelia was the flower girl and she looked pretty cute walking down the aisle throwing leaves out of her basket. fall wedding equals Leaves instead of flower petals, I liked it. Avy and Rylee wanted a picture with Amelia and like every kid at that age she gave crazy eyes with her crazy grin.

I did Trista's hair and I thought it looked really pretty. I wanted to get a good picture of it once she had her wedding dress on but wouldn't you know it was windy and her hair got a little wind blown. Ah well, best of intentions like always. Kenedy got her picture with her Aunt Trista and then Avynlea and Rylee joined her for a couple more.

Trista brought her karaoke machine to use during the ceremony for music and also so the guy officiating could use the microphone. Once my girls saw it they were super excited and wanted to do Karaoke but Trista was adamant about there not being any karaoke at all. You know my girls eventually wore her down and once the wedding was over and a lot of the guests had left they got to do karaoke. They were loud and a little obnoxious but they were having fun and including their little cousins and I loved every bit of it. I love that my kids are not duds and that they like to have fun. It reminded me of how I would be if my sisters were around, we know how to have fun for sure. The karaoke got shut down when Bob came over and turned it off so he could have the girls help get chairs and tables loaded and put away. I got the moment he came and turned it off on video and it is so funny, it cracks me up every time I watch it.

After everything was done and cleaned up I was sitting at the table playing with Sophie, Dustin and Sara's youngest. She is so cute and this was the first time I saw her all day, there was just too many people around I think. She was having me take pictures of her with Trista's bouquet and was really just adorable.

 

Meridian vs Rocky Football Game

This photo of Avynlea and her friend Ryan was taken on Thursday when Avy went to watch the JV football game against Rocky She had a lot of fun and was really excited when Meridian won!

Friday night the cheerleaders came to our house after school to get ready for the Varsity Football game against Rocky. I made macaroni and cheese and I quadrupled the recipe because I wanted to make sure we would have enough. I definitely did not need to do that, tripling it would have been more then enough but better to have too much then too little. I was left with two dishes filled with macaroni and cheese and after the cheerleaders left Kefford and I took one pan over to the Lyon's to give them the gift of dinner. They were super excited and it was fun to visit with them a little bit. They even decided to come to the game and I told them I would save them a seat. They came late in the third quarter and only ended up staying about 20 minutes because they had their baby Claire with them but it was fun for them to come for a little bit.

The cheerleaders normally wear Camo to the Rocky game but the Camo pants that all of the returning cheerleaders have were not going to come in time so they decided to wear football jerseys with Camo scarfs in their hair. Avynlea chose to wear Max Gwilliams number which nobody was surprised at given her not so secret huge crush on the guy. 

Kenedy was coming home this weekend for Trista's wedding and I was really excited to see her. I got roped into braiding the cheerleaders hair and in between braids I would check to see where Kenedy was on the phone tracker I have. Pretty quick she arrived and I was so excited but I couldn't really hug her because I was in the middle of braiding. She sat next to me and braided some hair and we just talked, she brought her roommate Lacey with her and it was fun to meet her.

Avynlea had one of the cheerleaders take some pictures of her, Natalie and Paige but she didn't do a good enough job so she had Kenedy come out and take some better ones.

Avynlea, Natalie and Paige

At the game they took a couple pictures with Avynlea's favorite coach Amanda. Amanda works in the office at the school and Avynlea is an office TA and gets to work for/with Amanda. It has been nice for Avynlea to have her to talk to about cheer frustrations and Captain help.

Avynlea took this jumping picture and google photos put together a then and now collage of Avynlea using this photo and one from Middle School cheer.

Kara uploaded pictures she took during the game to the cheer teams group chat and Avynlea had me go through them and pick which ones I wanted. I loved all the pictures she took of Avynlea stunting and am just in awe of the no fear Avy has when flying. She is pretty amazing!

My friend Stephanie sent me a text asking if I was at the game, she was on the Rocky side there to watch her daughter dance with the Rocky dance team. I sen there this picture of me and said of course I was there. It was fun to chat back and forth with her a little bit. At one point she asked if our cheerleaders were wearing football uniforms because ethos what it looked like to her. I had to laugh about it and say yes they were, I think the look a little goofy with the jerseys on because they are meant to go over pads and therefore stick out funny in the shoulders but the girls like wearing them so what do I know.

During halftime Avynlea came up to us to say hi and we made her take some pictures with all of us.

Kenedy and Lacey

Meridian ended up losing to Rocky which was a big bummer the final score was 24-21, Meridian fought hard but Rocky was just better unfortunately.

Kris Gwilliam sent Kefford and I some pictures of Avynlea that were taken at the Rocky game by someone on the sidelines and sent with the football photos to the football moms. I loved the action shots that were captured of Avynlea and am always happy to have more pictures of her flying.

 

Sunday Hair, Ashleigh's Baby Shower, On the Phone with Ryker and Rylee Homecoming week and Game

On Sunday October 10 I initially did my hair in an updo that I made up on the spot. I really liked how it looked in the back but did not like how I looked from the front so I took a picture and then pulled it out and wore my hair down.

Ashleighs in-laws through her a baby shower that afternoon which I of course could not make it to. I sent a gift for her and Mom Marco Polo'd her while she was unwrapping my gift. I got her a Pooh counting book, Winnie the Pooh onesies and Winnie the Pooh crib bedding set. All three items were on her registry and I thought they were so cute. I am happy that I was able to show my love and support for the new baby even though I couldn't make it to the shower.

Ryker called on Monday to talk to us and I later discovered that Rylee screenshot some pictures during her conversation. Ryker is doing good he is really enjoying his mission and is not homesick at all yet which is good. I love getting his weekly letters and talking to him when we get the opportunity to.

Homecoming week means dress up week and every day is a different dress up day. Rylee was so excited that for "Jersey Day" she could wear her Dads Cleveland Indians jersey that he got on his mission so many years ago. She was asking us if we had a jersey and Kefford said he used to have one but he doesn't have any idea where it is. I know that I would have never gotten rid of it and same with him so I told him to check his closet. Sure enough there it was, still like new since it does not ever get worn. It was fun for Rylee to wear it and nice for Kefford to locate its where about once more.

Owyhee had their Homecoming assembly Friday morning outside in the sunshine and cold...brrrr. When I picked Rylee up from school that afternoon she gave me a play by play of all the action from that mornings assembly. Being in Student Council she was a part of helping with all of that action. One thing she was excited to tell me about was the Homecoming God and Goddess. Owyhee does their Homecoming Royal Court a little different than what I am used to. Instead of having Seniors Homecoming King and Queen and all the other grades Prince and Princesses they have special names for each grade...Seniors: King and Queen, Juniors: Prince and Princess, Sophomores: Baron and Baroness and  Freshman: Duke and Duchess. In addition to all of this they wanted to include the special needs class and have them part of the royalty Homecoming court and the only titles the Student Council could come up with were God and Goddess, a little weird but ok. Porter is a special needs kid in our ward,  he is Avynlea's age and just the sweetest boy. Rylee was super excited to tell me that he was voted Homecoming God and she described how cute he was going up to get his crown. The inclusion and love that the kids show the special needs kids honestly brought tears to my eyes. I told Rylee I can remember being in school and seeing other kids make fun of the special needs kids and how sad that always made me. I would try to go out of my way to be nice to them and I love that my kids are able to do the same at their schools. 

Later that night was the Homecoming game against Boise High School. Rylee went with her friends Taylee and Naomi and had such a good time. They painted their faces, stood in the student section and cheered their team on to their first ever Varsity Football win!! That it was their Homecoming game made the Victory all that much sweeter! 

Owyhee 23 Boise 20 

As soon as the game was over the students stormed the field to celebrate and then the school had a bonfire which Rylee thought was fun. 

 

Elder Peterson Week 6

I had a pretty great week, I'm adjusting pretty well. I'm typing this with my left hand only, so it might not be that long. 10 minutes ago my hand was smashed into the Church gym wall while playing soccer and because that stubbed most of my fingers, my hand isn't totally functional. Pretty swollen though.

ANYWAY, great week. We get tons of referrals from church ads, and even though not all of the referrals care to hear our message, a lot of them do. We taught several new people last week and they were (mostly) super good lessons. We even think that Jada and Monica could be on date for baptism soon.

I'm learning a lot and I'm having a ton of fun most days. 

Yesterday at church my ability to somewhat play the piano was exposed by other Missionaries and now I might have to play for the primary program... We'll see... 

But Elder's quorum was nice, I learned a lot about following the Savior and how to keep him centered in my life. Very important. 

I went on exchanges Thursday, right after zone conference, and was with Thompson and Frogley as a trio. It was a lot of fun to be back with him, and a trio is super fun turns out. We got fed a ton in their area and by Saturday night I'm pretty sure I had eaten more than the whole week before. Good times. 

I can't think of much else to say, partly because my head is a little fuzzy from my hand hurting, but also becuase I'm hungry right now. I'm gonna go steal some chips from Sister Steffenson. 

I'll end with a brief testimony. Prayer is a powerful tool. It is direct communication with Heavenly Father. The Savior taught that we should always have a prayer in our hearts. Never separate yourself from the spirit by shutting off your communication with God. Never harden your hearts towards the spirit. Always be ready and willing to receive inspiration from the spirit. And pray constantly that you will receive promptings in a way that you can easily react to. Pray ALWAYS. 

Have a good week everyone! You're all in my prayers. 

Elder Peterson

1) Frogley down

2) Creepy Halloween decoration. (I think she likes me)

3) An old edge trimmer. Pretty fun to use actually.

4) A ton of salad that me and Frogley were given after Zone Conference

5) My sweet new backpack for exchanges and carrying around a change of clothes

BYU vs BSU

September 7: My Cousin Lisa posted a picture of her Mom, my Aunt Jeri, reading a book to my Aunt Joan. I thought it was such a sweet picture. Mom was trying to send the picture to our family group chat but was having a hard time. Joshua told her how to screen shot but I just screenshot it with my phone and uploaded it for everyone to see. 

September 9: Kenedy and Mikayla went to Provo for the BSU vs BYU game with a couple of Kenedy's roommates. Kefford and I were watching the game at home and I felt bad for the girls when it started to rain pretty heavy, but then it got really sunny and no more rain. This was a big game, BYU was defending their 5-0 winning streak and BSU was trying to take their rival down. The final score was 26-17 with a big upset win by BSU. I was pretty excited and Kenedy was loving being at BYU to watch them go down! I am glad she was able to go, the one big bummer about BYU-I is they don't have the college sports and so Kenedy has missed out on being able to go to football games at her school. I am happy she was able to take the time to head down to Provo for a a game and that it was the outcome that it was made it all the more better!

Mikayla, Taylee, Lacey, Kenedy, Gracey and Sarah

Mikayla, Taylee

Lacey and Kenedy

Kenedy and Lacey                                            Kenedy and Gracey

Kenedy had her BSU shirt on under her BYU shirt, she was in the middle of the BYU section and had to blend in but she made sure to show her BSU pride when it counted hahaha