Brice's last day of 3rd grade

Brice Douglas

is awarded

The Shining Mind Award

Brice amazes us almost every day with his quick mind and inquisitive nature. He is a student who is always excited about new learning and you can see his face light up as he embraces a new concept. Brice is truly a joy to teach and I see him being able to do absolutely anything he puts his wonderful energy into. Outstanding job in third grade, Brice. -Ms. Kimberlee Lear

Kierstin's last day of 2nd grade

Imaginative Writing Award

is presented to

Kierstin Douglas

...for charming us with your wonderful stories and journal entries.

-Mrs. Lisa Barrington (Miss "B")

Brinley's last day of Pre-K

Row 1:Mrs. Juanita, Brinley, Bruno, Ashley, Felipe, David, Andres, Miss Rosemary

Row 2:Lucas, Henry, Danny, Valentina, Gabby, Mariano,

not pictured: Min Ju

Mother's Day

I got to celebrate Mother's Day for almost a whole week this year. Before my parents left, I took my mom and Brinley to the salon for a mani/pedi.

It was the first manicure for my mom. Our three generational outing was so much fun.

We laughed, we cried, we grew closer and celebrated each other.

____________________________________

Blaine and the kids gave me a beuatiful watch Sunday afternoon.

____________________________________

Mother's Day is not necessarily on Sunday in Guatemala.

The first year here, it was on a Thursday.

I had no idea.

This year it landed on Sunday and so the annual Mother's Tea at school was Monday afternoon.

I had three to go to. At the same time.

With a little time management, we hit all of them.

______________________________________

Brinley was first. We had a brunch with food the kids made all by themselves, complete with place mats and paper flowers with her picture. She gave me a book she filled out. These glimpses into the mind of my children are so meaningful to me. (Even if they are so far from the truth.)

My Mom:

My mom's favorite place to go is...a restaurant for lunch.

My mom's favorite thing to do is...play with me.

My mom's favorite food to eat is...tortillas.

My mom loves me because...I take care of Luke.

My mom's favorite person is...me!

My mom's favorite color is...all the colors.

I love my mom because...she likes me.

I love you, Brinley

____________________________________

Kierstin's class gave all of the mothers massages.

They had practiced hand and neck massages the previous week and gave me a great few minutes of relaxation.

_______________________________________

Brice's class gave the mothers a book of poems they had written. I had two favorites.

Alliteration

Mom makes many mini muffins.
Super, smiley, smart mom.

Enthusiastic empty esophagus curer.

Cooks cakes, and candy for kids.

Lani loves little loving children.

I loved his "empty esophagus curer." He said that means I make good food. And he constantly looks for ways to use my first name (Lani) because he thinks it bothers me. It doesn't.

ABC Poem

A woman was lying down at the hospital

But she wasn't sick at all.

Could this be her lucky day?

Deep down inside her is where I used to lay.

Everyone was happy when I was

Found on her lap.

"Goo Goo Gaa Gaa," is what I said.

"His name is Brice," she said right away.

"It sounds wonderful," my dad would say.

Just ten months later I learned to walk.

Kindly she raised me very

Lovingly,

Mom

Lost and Found

A few days ago my newest sister-in-law posted pictures of her wedding on her facebook page. I was so excited to see them because her friend that took the pictures is very artistic. I loved her bridal and engagement photos so much that I asked Blaine if we should go have some of us done too. I am sure you can imagine how that conversation went!

Two of her photos were of my children. I had never seen them before even though they were taken last August. I wanted to post them because I didn't want to forget about these photos again.

I hadn't realized how much Kierstin has grown up in the last year. She is always a huge help when it comes to her younger siblings.

And Luke, my pensive baby. He furrows his brow just like him mommy.

Eleven Years Ago Today

Happy Anniversary Blaine.

Childhood Memories

A friend of ours, Carlos Rodriquez, painted this picture for us.

It is a pictue of the house my Dad lived in when he was a little boy.

His family lived in the little white house in the center of the picture.

We gave it to my dad the night before he and my mom left Guatemala.

Petersen Visit-Part 2

The second half of my parent's visit was spent taking short day trips around Guatemala City.

They attended church with us. Unfortunately, there was not a translator that day or our English Sunday School teacher so they sat through three hours not understanding anything. My mom reached back to her college Spanish class and could catch a few words but like me, at the end of the block she had a headache. It was very nice to have them there Sunday afternoon when I spend the day alone with the kids. This Sunday though, Blaine and I spoke at a youth fireside on dating so they watched the kids for us.

We went to the Kaminaljuyu museum. It is dedicated the city buried underneath Guatemala City. Many scholars believe this to be the City of Nephi. Apparently all museums are closed on Mondays and so we opted to spend the day at a local market where we stimulated the global economy.

We attended the temple.

The four of us were the only people in our session. It was neat to be there with just my husband and my parents.

We went to the Popol Vuh Museum dedicated to Mayan artifacts. I am going to have to go back since I spent the whole time trying to keep Luke quiet. Each room is set up in sequential order so you can see the evolution of products and influences of other cultures. It was fascinating. (Does using that word make me sound like a grandma?)

We went to Antigua, a Spanish inquisition town that used to be the capitol of the country. We went to the local market and found great things. We then crammed ourselves into one of these bad boys:

to get to my favorite restaurant in Antigua, Santo Domingo.

It is actually an old convent

that was converted to a hotel. This is the outside reception area complete with macaws.

My favorite thing (besides the food) at Santo Doming is these flowers that are dripping down from every wall. It is so romantic.

Normally I could just remember the food tasted good but at Santo Domingo it is also about the presentation:

My dad ordered pecan encrusted salmon with lentils and peeled steamed asparagus.

My mom ate jumbo shrimp with lobster and sweet potato cookies. The polka dots are three different dipping sauces.

I had roasted duck with gnocchi and porcini mushrooms.

It was heavenly. I loved how each food was brought out on a different shaped plate.

The last day my parents were here we visited Lake Amatitlan.

It is so peaceful and the drive really gives you a sense of Guatemalan life. We HAD to drive through Villa Canales were Blaine's cousin is now serving his mission and did a quick drive through of the city. No Elder sightings but we did take a few minutes to visit the little chapel. It is so amazing to see this beautiful building on the edge of that little town.

Mom and Dad, thank you so much for making the huge effort to come visit us. It was great to spend time with you and let the kids get to know you. I loved every minute of it.

p.s. Sorry this is the best picture you could get of the volcano while you were here. It was cloudy everyday. I guess you will have to come back.

Petersen Visit-Part 1

Surprisingly, after our trip to Italy, out-of-towners, stomach flu and school projects due after spring break I was still geared up for another round of visitors. I shouldn't make it sound as if we are always having them because we always welcome more, but I was just so surprised to have so many in a short period of time. As one of nine kids, I seldom, if ever, have had one on one time with my parents as an adult. I was lucky enough to have them for nine whole days all to my self.

The day after their arrival we took off for Rio Dulce, a river that leads to the Caribbean. We stopped in Quirigua to visit the largest stellas in the Mayan world. Our favorite thing was learning about the "and it came to past" glyph and the glyph meaning "Christ."

See the hand with the four fingers with the circle (or nail print) in the palm?

We stayed in a rustic bungalow on Lake Isabel and in the morning took a glorious hour and half ride down the river.
Next we headed to the beach. Cocoli can only be reached by boat and is just a few miles from the coast of Belize. We have been to this spot three times before but decided to try a different beach this trip. It paid off. About 100 yards off shore there was a sand bar we could all stand on. We stayed out there swimming and playing for hours. The water was a little to murky to see the bottom which made it all the more scary when we all started getting bitten/stung by something! But the weather was perfect, the beach was solitary and the company-world class. Can you see why this place makes a bid as my favorite place on earth?

After the beach we took the boat to the hot springs and did a little more swimming, eat a fresh coconut and then hiked up the mountain to do a little spelunking.

My parents in the hot springs.

"Chance" Encounter

After we returned from Italy, Blaine's parents stayed two extra days to play with us. The first day we hiked one of the active volcanoes, Pacaya.



The lava flow had changed since the last time we had visited and made the hike much harder than in times past. I don't think the kids would have made it this time. Half of the time we spent walking on lava gravel or newly cooled lava rock which got us very dirty.


These are not tan lines...they are dirt lines!

The best part of their stay was our trip to San Lucas Sacatapequez where Blaine's cousin, Elder (Logan) Douglas is serving his mission. We had a "chance" encounter with him after driving around for 45 minutes asking people if they knew where the Mormon missionaries live. After a lot of searching we just happened to turn the corner on to his street right as he was walking out of his apartment. It was so great to talk with him and see him working for the Lord.

Grandma and Grandpa

While we were in Italy, Grandma and Grandpa Douglas stayed with the kids. They (the kids) had so much fun. Laura cooked with them, died Easter eggs,
read lots of books, made clay sculptures, and spoiled them rotten. All of this during Spring Break and before grandpa arrived.

When they were both in town they had the kids ready for school early everyday, took Luke to the park every day, went shopping, watched Brice play basketball, took them to church,
toured the school three times, made forts, I heard through the grapevine they took a few naps, went swimming, watched the garbage trucks,
and again, spoiled them rotten.

I am so thankful they were willing to come visit and watch the kids while we were away. The kids were in great hands.

Florence and Venice

After three wonderful days in Rome we drove to Florence. Full of Renaissance art and old cobblestone streets and Catholic churches, lots and lots of churches. We stayed at a little hotel on the Arno river for two and a half days and sightseed? sightsaw? looked at lots of things. We went on a day trip Venice to travel the Grand Canal, buy Venetian glass in Murano and see the Tuscan country-side.

Things to never forget:

Florence
-castles on every hilltop
-no SUVs just lots of SMART cars
-my first response to our hotel room
-2 1/2 hour wait to get in to the Uffizi
-my favorite pieces of art-Michelangelo's The Quattro Prigioni
-seeing the Arno river from our hotel room
-getting lost trying to find the hotel
-gelato-a lot more gelato
-Duomo
-Blaine singing "Figaro, Figaro, Fi-ga-ro" because that is the only word he knew in Italian
-going in to a mass
-The Baptistry and it's doors
-trying to be careful of what I took pictures of knowing my kids were going to see all the photos of the statues too!
-Ponte Vecchio at sunset
-making a side trip to have authentic Bolongese sauce for dinner in Bologna not knowing everything closes on Monday. We settled for gelato and McDonalds.
-Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's David is held
-"trying" to take artistic photos of each other on the steps on the theatre
-wanting to sign up for "The Amazing Race"
-getting ripped off when we exchanged money
-drinking red orange juice for breakfast
-Nutella everywhere we went
-speaking Spanish with an italian accent so people could somewhat understand us
-Palazzo Vecchio and all of the statues there
-gnocchi

Venice
-Grand Canal
-gondolas
-Murano where they sell Venetian glass
-watching the glass blowers
-having a tour of the artist's private collection
-being reminded that the vast majority of people in Europe do not bathe every day
-next time buy more souvenirs
-Doge's Palace
-St. Mark's
-trying to find a pink Prada tote since Brinley's favorite song is Fabulous from HSM2
-beautiful bridges
-meeting the artist of the oil painting we bought

Rome

Usually Spring Break is a time for the kids to get out of school, put on their shorts, and head somewhere on a family vacation. This year we mixed it up a little.

We flew Blaine's parents to Guatemala to watch the kids and he and I took off on an eight day vacation to Italy. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my in-laws?

Here are things I want to remember from our trip:
-being able to have a conversation with Blaine without being interrupted
-sleeping in as late as we wanted
-Spanish Steps
-Trevi Fountain
-"artistic" pictures of the Pantheon
-first taste of gelato
-scarfs
-studying the Sistine Chapel
-St. Peter's Square
-the girl in the airport that talked on her cell phone so loudly, we all know her social life. One of these days I am going to call her ex Kennon and tell him to run away. And her current boyfriend...if she doesn't like his preppy dressing style, why do you like him?
-paying outrageous amounts for mediocre lunches
-massages at the hotel
-sidewalk heist of the guys selling fake D&G sunglasses
-drinking from the aqua duct fountain that was made in the year 17 BC
-learning the myth of how Rome was started-Reamus and Romulus being raised by wolves
-visiting the dungeon Peter and Paul were held in before their martyrdom
-seeing how Roman Paganism influenced early Christianity
-going to church on Easter Sunday and having someone translate the Italian meeting in to Spanish!
-my second taste of gelato
-finding times to call the kids everyday with a nine hour time difference
-the Colosseum
-tour of ancient Rome
-walking miles everyday
-learning about the House of the Vestal Virgins
-third taste of gelato
-burial sight of Julius Ceasar
-Circus Maximus
-learning about the catacombs where the early Christians hid out
-Castel Sant'Angelo
-Italian pizza
-Vatican museum-map room and tapestry room
-Palatine Hill
-time alone with the love of my life

Rice Pudding

This past weekend my oldest niece, Kelsey got married to the man of her dreams in the Denver, Colorado Temple. I wasn't able to attend so I have been a little home-(family) sick.

Tonight I decided to make one of my family's favorite comfort food dessert, Rice Pudding. I thought it would ease my homesickness a little. This recipe was from a cookbook my grandmother, Alta Taylor, owned when she was a young mother. When I was a little girl, my mom used to make a triple batch so we could eat it for breakfast the next morning too. Yum!

Rice Pudding
1/3 cup sugar
2 well beaten eggs
2 cups milk
1 T butter
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 C cooked rice
1/3 C raisins

Beat sugar and eggs together. Gradually add milk. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and pour into 1 quart casserole dish. (tripling this will fit in a 9x13 pan) Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes depending on how big you make the recipe. When done, a knife blade will come out clean.

Fun Run

Each year Colegio Maya has a Fun Run for the whole family. The school is K-12 (about 340 kids). Last year we all participated and had a great time. Brice was in the lead for his age group the whole time but stopped to get a drink of Gatorade and came in second. Kierstin, like always just wanted to have fun and told me she skipped (as in -to-my-Lou) the majority of the 3K race. She came in third without even trying. This year, the kids were bound and determined to get another trophy, especially the always competitive Brinley.

Brice and Kierstin-set loose to run as fast or as slow as they wanted. Even though Brice was one of the youngest in his age group, he placed third.

Blaine ran with Brinley. She started the race in tears because so many people came out of the starting block before her but quickly recovered. She had to slow down a few times to let Daddy catch up to her and would not let anyone pass her. She came in right after the 1st place male winner in her age group but strangely did not win. She was upset all day long because she did not have a trophy to bring home. Brice said she could have his but it just wasn't the same.

Luke started off in the stroller with me but quickly realized he wanted out and ran the majority of the race.

Monday at school, Brinley was presented with a package. It contained a nice note, a lot of candy and her trophy! Apparently they timed the kids in strollers on accident and not those who actually ran. She was so pleased she earned a trophy.

Worldly Influences

Monday night I sat down to read a few articles in the Friend to the kids. One we read was entitled "Broken Trust". It is about a girl who, while house sitting for a neighbor, breaks a figurine. She tries to hide her mistake and then feels guilty. She went to the neighbor and confessed and apologized.

After finishing the story I asked Brinley if she could tell me what it was about. She thought for a minute, stood up, started dancing and then replied, perfectly on key(if there is such thing as on key in a Miley Cyrus song);

"Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days. Everybody knows what, what I'm talkin' 'bout. Everybody has those days. Nobody's perfect..."

ER Trip

Use of ER
Q69.08 ($8.64)
ER Doctor Fee
Q130.00 ($16.25)
1 Vial of Superglue
Q33.70 ($4.21)

Having a happy two year old with no scar on his forehead?

Priceless!

Last night Luke ran into a table, full speed, and sliced his forehead open. The other kids were frantic when they saw all of the blood. It is true, head wounds really do bleed a lot. Heather McGary took the girls to her house and Brice, Luke and I headed to the church to meet Blaine. (He was at the church doing interviews.)

I spent a few minutes looking for my camera before we left and then Brinley asked through her tears, "Mommy, can you please not take any pictures because I do not what to remember this!"

Blaine and his first counselor gave Luke a blessing in the church parking lot and then we drove to the Emergency Room.

I was nervous he would have a scar from the stitches but luckily they just super-glued it shut. He was a valiant soul and never even cried while they were cleaning his forehead or closing up the wound. I am sure the blessing was responsible for that peace.

p.s. Even though I was a little nervous about the medical facility, who can argue with a price like that?!?