2011

Well its a new year and I find myself to be pretty excited yet nervous for the events to come. I wanted to start this post with listing major things that happened in 2010:

January: got pregnant
February: took out my endowments in the Jordan River Temple and had a great experience
March: devastated by loss of baby. Although this was one of the toughest things myself and Kenyon had ever been through, we learned a lot and grew closer as a couple. At first I couldn't see it but blessings did come from the loss.
May: began working in Ketchikan, AK. (an experience and blogpost all in itself); also celebrated our 1 year anniversary with Kenyon!
June: finally hit my 20's!
September: got pregnant!
October: returned to Utah and visited AZ; Baby Petersen got its due date! May 10th 2011
November: traveled the country to visit my family. Kenyon and I became even closer during this time because we talked about anything and everything on the long drive!
December: found out Baby Petersen is a boy and has a 100% clean bill of health, moved into our new apartment, and celebrated Christmas with Kenyon's family for the 1st time since we've been together

We've had a pretty busy year filled with ups and downs but overall it was an amazing learning experience. Kenyon and I grew as a couple and I think are making steps towards being ready for our little man to come in May. There were times throughout the year when I couldn't see the blessings in my life but looking back there were many. God does things on his time and in his way which may not be the most convinient for us at the time but He knows that in the long run it is the best.

I'm looking forward to 2011. This year I'll have Baby Petersen, celebrate 2 years of marriage to my best friend and turn 21. I'm ready to take on motherhood and hopefully succeed! I know there will be challenges with what comes this year but with the Lord's help and that of Kenyon and my family, I'll get through them. Thanks for all those who have read my blog and stayed interested! Happy New Year to all!

Stay tuned for my next post that will hopefully include a bumpy bump and ultrasound pic!

It's a...

Well Wednesday we had our 20 week ultrasound and discovered we're having a BOY! I'm so excited! I totally knew from the beginning that he was a boy! All of the old wives tales and gender calender predictors were correct! He wasn't shy at all about showing his man parts! We feel very blessed that we've come this far in the pregnancy and that he's healthy! He's got a brain (thank goodness) and his heart is great and I couldn't be happier! We celebrated Christmas morning by opening presents with my mom and stepdad Lee via webcam which was great and then we'll have dinner tonight with the fam. here in Riverton and celebrate my brother-in-laws b-day!

I love Christmas and the sense of family that we get. I'm grateful for all of mine and the friends I have as well. I'm grateful that Christ was born (not actually in December but whatevs) and gave the greatest sacrifice for us. I hope Kenyon and I can teach our little boy the true meaning of Christmas throughout the years and the amazing gift Christ was and gave us. Merry Christmas to all!

Travels and The Bump!

Ok I'm sorry its taken so long but I didn't want to do a post per day so here is a picture post of our travels and a picture of my emerging belly!

As a little outline: we started in Denver, CO, then to Newton, IL to stay with my Nana for 3 weeks until right after Thanksgiving. We then traveled to Jackson, MS to see my Grandma on my mom's side, then to New Orleans, LA to see my dad and that side of the family, then to Phoenix for our niece's baby blessing. This is the documentation!

This is a baby white squirrel...why is it cool you ask: because you can only find them naturally thriving in the wild in a few areas of the world and Olney, IL is one of them!
Here is my handsome husband hanging out in the woods in IL.

Kenyon and I at that same park!

Our Thanksgiving feast! I made sure to take a nausea pill early in the day so I can enjoy it all...I made the green bean casserole!
This is my Nana and Pepaw and their dog Bubbles! We had the pleasure of staying with them for 3 weeks!

This is my Grandma Jean who we stayed with in Mississippi for a few nights. (My mom's mother)

Here is my dad and me! He made us dinner while we were there and it was quite delicious!

Its me and my childhood pet Roxie! I think she's the cutest thing!...Kenyon thinks she's annoying.

These next 4 are from when we were in New Orleans. The delicious fried treat seen below are called beignets...they're divine! The other 2 are from this clown sir that accosted us and made us get pictures with him!

These next 2 are from a park my parents used to take me to when we lived in Abita Springs, LA. It was fun to see it again!

If my teeth look green its because I had a delicious green spearmint snowball whilst in New Orleans a few hours before!

A nice sunset.

We also went through Texas and saw some family there and to Phoenix but I'll post those pictures at a later date! Thanks for reading this far! Last here is a picture of my "bump". I would have been 16 weeks 6 days! I'll be 18 weeks tomorrow and can feel the little one everyday. Kenyon and I have been so blessed and I'm thankful we've had this experience to spend time with family!

Its not much but its getting bigger by the week!

Hopefully our next post will be the big baby gender post!

Things to Come...

I realize that there's been a big lack of posting and pictures from me but have no fear! Once we get to Arizona I plan to make a very big picture post that shows the travels and my emerging baby bump! Thanks for still checking in from time to time, for those of you who do!

The Past Few Weeks (W/Pictures!)

Ok so I finally have some pictures and some exciting things to blog about! First off I'll start with our Halloween festivities! The weekend before Halloween we went with my sister-in-law and her husband and 2 boys to the Pumpkin Walk in Logan...we had a blast and here are some pics!

Here is our nephew Isaac! He and his brother Alex couldn't get enough of putting their faces through the little picture holes!

Here is little Alex! He's a character! It was fun hanging out with these guys!

Next for Halloween we went to Layton for Trunk or Treats at Kenyon's brother's and sister's wards with their families and a few others came up! Here is Kenyon's brother and his wife and their 2 cute little girls!

We carved pumpkins that night with some friends and for my first carving job I think I did pretty well! This top one was mine and the one below is Kenyon's!

We were Salt and Pepper Shakers but we don't have a picture of that yet! I also made these little hot dog mummies for fun and they turned out great! This is what they looked like:

The cheese on the bottom went a little crazy but I felt quite proud of my little project, especially 'cause I'm not what some people like to call crafty!

Lastly, as most know Kenyon and I have embarked on quite the trip! We're currently in Newton, IL enjoying my Nana's hospitality. We left Logan on Thursday the 4th of this month and hit up Denver for a few nights then drove the next day and spent the night in Kansas City, MO and we arrived here in Newton on Sunday! It's been a long trip and it'll be nice to relax for a while! These next few are pics of the trip!

A beautiful sunset at one of the over looks in Denver. This is a gorgeous state!

A shot of the mountains...awesome!
Lastly we went to Independence, MO and were hoping to go to the visitors center but it didn't open for another hour and we needed to jet so instead we listen to the Nashville Tribute to Joseph Smith and took a picture of the crazy looking RLDS temple...I think I like our better ;) .

I realize there are no pictures of Kenyon or I but have no fear we will take some whilst in Newton and on our adventures! On a final note we had our 2nd ultrasound and the baby is doing great! We didn't get an ultrasound but we did hear the heart beat and its at 152 which is awesome! We find out, as my dad puts it "if this apple has a stem" (gender) on December 22nd so we're pretty pumped! Should be an awesome Christmas gift! If you've read this far on my post, thanks for listening and being interested and I promise more pictures in the coming weeks!

Things Happening in Our Life!

Well there won't be any pictures in this one either 'cause I keep forgetting to bust out the camera but I've got some fun things to post about!

This past week we spent time in Arizona with Kenyon's brother's family! It was a blast! We took our nephew Brandon with us and had lots of fun adventures! Brian and Beth (Brian is Kenyon's older brother) have a 3 week old baby named Jessie who is adorable and I got to help out a lot with her! This was great because I don't have a lot of experience with little babies but Beth was awesome and let me hold her and bath her and what not! We also went to the AZ state fair which would have been fun except it was BOILING HOT! Kenyon wants to move down there but I just can't live there with that heat! I'm a cool weather kind of girl! It was nice to relax and at one point we went to a pool and went to dinner a few times. All in all it was an awesome trip and we wish we could have stayed longer!

The pregnancy is going really well as far as I know! This week the baby is the size of a fig! It's not that big but I'm still excited about it! The morning/all day sickness has gotten a little worse but only a few more weeks and I'll be through the first trimester and perhaps it'll go away?...wishful thinking! Our next appointment will be at 14 weeks and is November 4th so it'll be nice to see our litte creature again!

We're leaving for IL shortly after the appointment to visit my Nana for the month of November. It should be a ton of fun! I promise I will start making an effort to bring my camera and take pictures! Thanks for listening!

P.S I totally love October and am in need of someone to watch scary movies with!

We're having a baby!

It seems like old news now but for those who haven't been kept up to speed: I'm pregnant! I'm pretty excited but nervous at the same time. I got a little teary eyed when we went to the appointment last week just because I was so amazed at this little life growing inside me! For all those moms out there I'm sure you had the same feeling. One of the first questions I asked upon seeing the heartbeat was if it was a good heart beat and the doctor replied "its a great heart beat". I feel so blessed right now that Heavenly Father is trusting me to care for one of his children. People keep asking me what I want to have and honestly I just want it to come to term and be born healthy! For those not in that loop, I miscarried in March and am really hoping this baby sticks around for the long run!

Kenyon has changed a little bit this time around. He tells me how much he loves me everyday, a couple times a day. Right now although I'm not big, but I've already started gaining weight and I feel like a heffer! Kenyon on a daily basis tells me how beautiful I am and that I don't look fat at all! I've felt pretty sick this time around as well (which they tell me is a good thing) and Kenyon is always right there to make sure I'm ok or get me whatever I need. He's an amazing guy and I feel so blessed to have him for eternity

Oh! I almost forgot! For those who didn't know, Kenyon and I were sealed this past Saturday at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple! Kenyon surprised me by taking my wedding band and engraving it with "Forever 10/25/10". He's so cute! It was an amazing experience! The spirit is just so strong in the Temple and I hope I remain worthy for a Temple recommend all my life.

Well this post has been long enough without any pictures! Next time perhaps I'll figure out a way to scan the ultrasound so all can see our little creature! The next appointment is November 4th! It seems so far away! I also want to thank all my friends who are mothers who've helped me through all my fears. Trust me they're still there but just a little subdued!

Back in the Lower 48

Well my friends it appears there's going to be another change of plans! We're currently in Bellingham, Washington and I just finished the most delicious blizzard! Our next step is, we're renting a car tomorrow to pick up our car in Portland, then leaving extremely early Wednesday morning to get to Riverton that night!

We're delaying our travel plans till later in November which means for the next little while we'll be moving in with my mother-in-law in Riverton. She's got an apartment downstairs with 2 bedrooms that we'll be sharing with Kenyon's sister and her husband. Should be a good time!

We're also getting pretty excited about our sealing Saturday! It's going to be awesome!

I don't have any pictures to add but whatevs! At least what's going on in our life is known! Hope everyone is enjoying their transition to fall! It's my favorite season!

Drawing to an End

Our time here is rainy Ketchikan is FINALLY drawing to an end! Our internet hasn't been working properly so there won't be any pictures for now but all is well in the Petersen world! We're about to enter a very busy part of the summer when lots of fellow employees leave and we're left with a TON of hours at work! This should make for some nice paychecks! At any rate I have a few updates on life!

1. Kenyon and I are getting sealed! I'm wicked excited and I know he is too! We get sealed September 25th at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple! It will be a crazy time right before then because we have about 6 days to get back to Utah after we leave Ketchikan and we've got plans to see some awesome people along the way! The only down side is once we're sealed we're leaving again!

2. We leave Ketchikan September 17th! It should be a hectic day because it's the last busy day of the summer. I get off work that day at 7 and we have to be at the ferry terminal around 8, but at least we're leaving!

3. Once we're done with the ferry ride and the sealing we're headed on a little road trip! Here's what it will consist of:

• First to Arizona! My sister-in-law is having her baby and could use some help so we're going down there for around a week and a half.
• Once done in Arizona we're headed for Louisiana to visit my dad for a few days and potentially over to Mississippi to visit my Grandma on my mom's side.

• After we've finished our time in the South (stopping along the way to see temples and such) we're headed to Illinois to stay with my Nana on my dad's side for a few weeks. It's going to be awesome!

Once done with our adventure we'll head back to Utah to settle down for a bit! We'll be flying my parents out for Christmas so that should make for a nice end of the trip!

We're very excited for all the things along the way and I'm somewhat saddened to note that we will no longer be getting a puppy but don't worry...I'm ok with it! I'll be posting pictures as soon as our internet stops hating us and allows us to post them!

Life in Ketchikan

For the record my life here in Ketchikan isn't one big adventure/money saver like I thought it was going to be. It's been a lot of fun seeing a different part of the country and meeting new people but its not quite the experience I hoped it would be for various reasons.

1. My Job: my job is a blessing. I'm very thankful to have a job that gives me 39 hours a week guaranteed whereas back in Logan it was whenever Golden Corral was feeling frisky and wanted to give me hours. The problem with my job is that a. I have come to find that I hate sales and b. my boss is kind of a jerk. The sales aspect sucks because as soon as people walk in the door they look at me like I have 2 heads and am only going to sell them crap. Not the case people! It's my job to sell things and I feel like I do it in a non-sharking way. Then when it comes to my boss he doesn't have a clue on how to manage a store. Granted it's his first year managing but still it's not that difficult what he does. He is a nice person but not a good manager. His wife works across the street and he's CONSTANTLY going over there to see her but what does he tell his employees "he's working and making phone calls"...it's total bull. I work in one big hypocrisy! It also doesn't help that his whole family works there and they are what I like to call a little bit sheltered. I'm making it through working there ok but next summer if we come back I'll most likely be looking for a new job.

2. The Church: for those of you who didn't know I absolutely LOVED my ward back in Logan. The people were amazing, very welcoming and we made some awesome friends. Here however the ward has some sort of grudge against those of us who work for the summer. It's quite obnoxious and doesn't make any sense. Because a lot of us work on Sundays from time to time, now would be the easiest time for us to stop going to church all together and fall away so wouldn't you think that we should be fellow shipped even more than the average person? Our first day to church no one talked to us. Then the next time I went I had to go by myself and not a single person approached me. All I got was looks from people. It's hard to want to go to church when you don't know anyone and feel a little lonely. I just keep telling myself that it's the gospel and lessons I'm going for, not the people.

3. The Expenses: I promise that this is one of the last complaints. Alaska is an expensive place to live! I mean we're getting by just fine but we haven't been able to save as much money as we've wanted to. We also have now gotten an estimate on how much it will take to fix our car that currently resides in Portland, OR and its WAY more than we expected. We've worked things out though and we will be able to put away a little bit of money so that's good.

All in all I'm sorry for complaining but this place just isn't what it's cracked up to be. Maybe it's just Ketchikan and the rest of Alaska is cool but I can't seem to get a grip on this place! It rains all the time (that's not an exaggeration) and I'm constantly working (which is good minus the part previously mentioned in this post). I see everyone having fun in the sun in the lower 48 and am incredibly homesick. Don't worry though folks I'm not slipping into depression! The good things here are the friends we've made and the landscape. It's beautiful here!

Thanks for listening to the rant! Here's a few fun pictures so you guys no I don't just stay in my apartment all day and sulk:

Kenyon felt like quite the manly man when he caught a crab in the water with his bare hands!

It took me forever to want to hold it but I did!

Thanks for listening to the rants!

20th Birthday!

So yesterday was my 20th birthday! It's crazy to think I've been on the earth for 2 decades! For my birthday Kenyon was able to get us on a zip lining excursion! It was a blast and here are some pictures from said adventure!

Here's me getting nervous for the zip line! It was cold and rainy but I was ready!

Our roommate Whitney got to come with us too!

Kenyon and I!

Me actually zip lining!

After we went zip lining, we lounged for a good portion of the day with friends around then we went out to eat to one of my favorite restaurants here called Ocean View! I got the manicotti and then for dessert on your birthday they give you free sopapias! (I have no idea how to spell that. Also for those of you who don't know what those are, they're basically fried dough with cinnamon, sugar, honey and whip cream!) Here are a few pics from that!

I know I look a bit squinty but for the record it was very dim in the restaurant!

They put a big sombrero on you and then sing! It was delish!

For presents I got some awesome stuff from my mom, including the shirt I'm wearing in the above picture, a necklace from Kenyon that I've really been wanting, and a new sweatshirt and sweatpants...here's the outfit!

Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes!

What I'm saving for...

Basically the whole reason for this summer is to A. have an adventure but B. make money. I don't know what Kenyon is saving his money for but I have a clear goal in my mind. It keeps me excited about working 8 hour days everyday. So I've decided to illustrate my blog with a few pictures since I haven't posted any of us for the past few times!

Because we're not having one of these for now...:
(I don't know whose baby this is but it's really cute and I thought it'd be good for the content!)

...we're going to get one of these when we come home at the end of September/beginning of October:
That's right we're getting a Boston Terrier puppy! We want a little girl and are playing around with funny names for now! Let me know if you have any suggestions!

I'm really excited about this guys! I would rather have the first one but right now is not our time so the second will do!

I'll post more pictures of our actual life soon but I figured now you all know what I'm saving for here in Ketchikan!

1 Year Anniversary

May 29th a year ago Kenyon and I were married at his home ward in Riverton! It's been quite a crazy first year but I'm still in love with him! To celebrate our new friends Toby and Sandra who work for a jeep excursion company got us a free jeep tour! It was way fun but way dusty and bumpy! Later that night we went to dinner with our 2 married couple friends and came back to the apartment for ice cream!

I'm so happy I married Kenyon and I can't wait till we're sealed when we get back from Alaska! The first picture I'm posting is my favorite picture from our wedding! We were just soooooo tired as everyone whose been married is after their day of pictures and festivities and I want to have it framed someday 'cause I LOVE IT!



These 2 are from the excursion:

The Jeeps!


My man and I!

I have a few more pictures that I'll post at a later time but for the excursion we went on a jeep ride along old logging trails, then canoed to a place where we ate lunch and went a nature hike, then more jeeping to this really pretty overlook! It was a lot of fun!

Tide Pooling!

So on Friday the 28th we decided to go look at tide pools with some of our new friends Don and Heather and this is from our adventure!


Starfish! The starfish here are soooo cool! I mean I'm sure they're cool elsewhere but I've never seen them so I think they're cool!


This one had 6 legs and was a little baby one!



Orange one and multi-legged one!


My goofy husband!




We all decided to try the local seafood!...JK!


US!

Some Pics From Alaska Life

Some pictures from the trip and of Alaska life!


Portland Oregon Temple! It's beautiful in there!


Us on the ferry! That was an adventure in itself!


Look how big the slugs are here!!!!

I'll post more pictures once I start taking them! All of the ones here came from Kenyon!