Vacation

We head out this morning for our annual Peterson vacation.  For the 11th year in a row we are heading to the shores of Clear Lake, IA where we'll spend the week at IRBC.  This is our favorite place to go as a family.  We used to take other vacations through out the year, but when life got busy and the money tighter to spend this was our one staple that we refused to let go.

Since I really need to finish packing and get us out the door I will leave you with this cute video of Carmen & Andrew.  I love that we've created this tradition that our kids are excited about.  For Carmen & Andrew this is the only vacation they have ever know.  We started going there as a family in 2002 (I grew up there spending many previous summers there as well) so for all of our kids this has been a huge part of their life.

Enjoy the video & have a great week!

VBS

This week our church is having vacation bible school.  They are using the Go Fish theme, which means it is without a doubt awesome!  My big kids are all helpers, while the little ones attend.  Here is some video of Angel helping with the music:

Here is Mandy, Nina & John in one of the skits (they don't come in until after a minute or so):

Friday's Food

I wanted to post some food related items that we enjoyed this week.  I was going to post this on my personal blog, but I thought the post was going to be too long so I nixed it.  Heaven forbid I go too long or talk too much on a blog post ; )

 I've wanted to post my cookie recipe for sometime.  I had talked about it on facebook one day.  It drew a lot of attention.  I even had a mini giveaway & the person who correctly guessed my secret ingredient received a package of said cookies.  I always get great comments when I make these cookies.  They are so soft & moist.  They just fall apart in your mouth.  I'm a fan of oatmeal raisin anyway, but this special ingredient makes it all that more yummy!  Want to know what it is?  Tomato soup!  Here is the recipe.
 
OATMEAL RAISIN TOMATO SOUP COOKIES

~1 egg
~2 sticks of butter
~1 ½ C. sugar
~2 tsp. vanilla
~½  tsp. baking soda
~1 tsp. baking powder
~2 tsp. cinnamon
~1 small can tomato soup
~1 ½ C. flour
~2 C. oatmeal
~1 C. raisins

~Combine ingredients, spoon onto cookie sheet.

~Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Also this week we made mini personal pizzas.  My kids love to make them because it's easy for them to do themselves and they can personalize their own to their taste.  I don't have an exact recipe for them, but the idea is very simple.  Take an english muffin & slice it in half.  Add pizza or spaghetti sauce & your toppings.  Top it off with cheese & bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted.  I meant to take pictures of each step, but forgot a few along the way.  Here are the ones I did get.

John thinks its so funny when he photo bombs my pictures.

What are some fun & yummy things you are making this summer?  Let me know : )

Flash Mob

Angel & the GHS Gadets performed in a flash mob.  It was a First Friday down on Seminary St.  They closed off the street to vehicles and several downtown business set up with things to showcase & sell.  The block was full of people from the community.  All of a sudden a group of girls breaks out in a synchronized danced to the Michael Jackson song Beat It.  To the unknowing person this may seem odd, especially when more and more people start breaking out into the same dance.  It was all planned this way though and the girls had fun.  I was on the wrong side of the street from Angel so you don't see her real well.  People other than the Gadets participated.  I was wanting to learn the routine myself and join the fun, but every time there was a practice I had something going on.  Maybe next time : )

Welcome summer....

It's unofficially summer.  I say it that way because I know and am aware that technically summer solstice isn't until June 20th.  However since school is done for the academic year, it's after Memorial Day, we are into the month of June and more often that not we are all wearing shorts & t-shirts.  Sounds like summer to me!

I am extremely aware of many, MANY things that have happened at the Zoo that I have not blogged about.  I have lots of pictures and video that I took specifically with you all in mind.  I have gotten really good about blogging most weekdays on my personal blog, but it's easier to let things slide here.

I'm hoping that with my more carefree summer schedule I can go back and catch up on some of these things.  Some of them were big, exciting things (at least in my book they were) that I really, really want to tell you about.  So they may not be in order date wise, which really bugs my ocd-ness, but I'll get them posted.

For today I will leave you with a concert clip from Brianna's end of the year choir concert.  I especially love the piece since it contains a few songs from the opera Carmen, naturally my favorite opera.  Enjoy the video : )

8th grade recoginition

Tonight Mandy & her classmates had a special program to recognize their accomplishment of finishing jr. high and getting ready to pass onto to high school.  Yes, this makes me all emotional and teary eyed to think of my second child to reach this moment in her life.  It's going all to quickly!

Here are a few pictures from our night:

Ready or not GHS....here comes Mandy Peterson!!!!

Recruiting for Friends & Payphones

It's so hard to believe that 18 years ago TODAY, Jim & I had our first date.  Mind you, it was just a "friend date", because I had a boyfriend (whom I promptly broke up with first thing the next morning).  I never get tired of telling the story that Jim approached me & said "I'm recruiting for friends.  Can I list you as a possibility?"  How's that for a pick up line?  Betcha you don't hear that too often, ok, maybe never.  But, hey...it worked!

Our date consisted of going out for pizza, attending a church service and then hanging out at the river front for several and I mean SEVERAL hours!  This all took place in Burlington, so that town has always had a special meaning to us.  

We visited Burlington just a few months ago when Merle was here visiting.  We walked the same area that Jim & I had done so 18 years earlier.  Something caught my eye.  A pay phone.  First off, you don't see many of those anymore.  Call me crazy, but that's like antiquish  Out of style.  A thing of the past.  My kids probably don't even know that they exist.

However back in my day (a sure sign that I've been around the block quite a few times)  payphones are all that we used.  There was one on every corner.  So on this particular night 18 years ago this exact payphone is what I had used to call home.  

Jim & I had arrived at the hanging out at the river front part of our date later in the evening. 8:30 p.m. or so.  I made sure I called my mom right away to let her know what I was up to.  Yes....yes....I was the ever obedient, innocent daughter.  *batting my eye lashes in true sincerity*  OK....so maybe that's stretching it a lot tad, but I did have good communication with my parents about such things.  Back then, my parents actually had a toll free 800 number that we could call when needed.  With my constant school activities and normal teen outings they wanted to make it easy to call when we came across any phone, pay or not.

Anyway, I called my mom, told her I was on a date.  I remember telling her it wasn't going to be long and that I would head home soon.  I was still a minor (17) and also still in school (just weeks away from graduation) so I knew a late night was not going to be acceptable.  Before I knew it though, magic was happening with Jim & I.  We talked and talked and talked and talked.  I knew on that very night that I would marry this man and spend the rest of my life with him.  About every hour or so we would stop so I could call my mom and let her know I was ok and that I was still in Burlington.  I don't remember the exact time, but I know it was something insane like 1 a.m. before we finally wrapped things up for the night and I headed home.  I still had a hour drive home and amazingly I didn't get in any trouble for being out so late.

Earlier in the evening the night air had gotten cool and Jim had given me his sweatshirt to wear since I was only wearing a white tshirt, green pleated skirt and sandals that night (yes, I remember EXACTLY what I was wearing)!   I meant to give him back his sweatshirt (honestly), but after I drove away I realized I still had it on.  Of course, back in that day there was no calling or texting him real quick to let him know I still had his sweatshirt. I drove home with it on, slept in it and wore it to school the next day.  I still have that exact sweatshirt hanging in my closet.

The rest, you could say, is history.  Nothing was ever the same.

It was a nice surprise to see that payphone in Burlington.  A nice piece of history that means so much to Jim & I.  A beginning of a new path that we were about to embark on, having no idea where it would take us except for one heck of a ride.

(Re enacting those phone calls to my mom since they didn't have cameras back in 1994...hahahahaha)