LOST

Okay...I haven't blogged in quiet a while, but I really think I have a good excuse. I have had something driving me crazy-it completely took over all of my spare time. I lost our camera! I know! I can't believe it either. I am usually not the type of person who misplaces things or looses them. I know I am not that kind of person because I am constantly checking and double checking to make sure I have everything. I looked everywhere for it! I tore my house apart, the cars, the garage...I even recruited my sister Lauren to jump on her electric scooter and drive the streets of Cowley in search of it. Seriously!
The last time I had it was August 8th, it was a Friday morning. Charlie and Max were leaving to go golfing, I walked outside to help get Max into the car and I had to run back in and get my camera. It was so cute, they were both standing between the cars with their golf bags all set up, fixing their clubs. I had to get a picture-and I did. It is what happened to it after that, that I can't figure out. I think I may have set it on top of the car...which Charlie drove to Powell. YIKES!
I had been hoping that after my searching had failed the camera would somehow magically appear. I-being the idiot that I am-was so embarrassed that I lost it, I didn't really ask around thinking that if someone found it and it was miraculously still intact they would recognize us in our pictures and bring it back. I searched for about two weeks and realized that it was gone. I had my Dad order me a new one-we were going on vacation and needed one ASAP. However, last Sunday we were sitting on our back deck and John Barnes and his wife drove by and asked us if we had lost a camera-they recognized our deck from the pictures in the camera. They went home and got it.
I now believe what had happened was that I had left it on top of the Yukon and it fell off on the way to Mom's house-on Hinckley's corner. Howard Keebler, Mom and Dad's new neighbor, saw it and took it into the town office. The battery was missing at the time-apparently Howard went back to the spot he found the camera and looked for the battery and actually found it! The camera didn't have a scratch on it! The battery has seen better days-but it still works! (When I get home from our vacation I will put up my "last" picture-the one that did my camera in.) Only in Cowley, Wyoming would someone go to such lengths for someone they didn't even know. We are so lucky that in the 'world' around us today we are surrounded by wonderful, honest people. I really am truly grateful for the life we are able to have here.

Monster Mama

Max is getting to be such a kid! He has been sleeping in a "BIG BOY" bed for about six months and has done really well with it. He loves it, but every once in a while we have a hard time trying to get him to stay in bed. Last week I was trying to put him to bed, I could tell he wasn't tired yet so I read a story to him. The rule is that while I read he has to lay down, he can' get up. For some reason he kept sitting up and trying to stand up...keeping himself awake. He fights sleep so hard! Anyway, I said to him at least five times "Max, lay down. I am not going to read until you lay down." This went on and on-every few minutes he was up again-so I finally looked at him and all I said was "MAX" and he looked right back and me and in a deep, husky, monstrous voice he said "LAY DOWN!" I couldn't believe it! He was mocking me-not to mention he thinks I sound like a mean monster! Is this what I sound like to him all the time? I was completely horrified.

I told this story to my family and they thought it was Hilarious, until- Max and I went to McDonald's with my sister Cari and her son Hudson. While we were there Hudson kept getting himself into trouble-Cari kept telling him to "sit down and eat your food." By about the third or fourth time Max looked at Cari then at Hudson and in his monster voice said "sit down Hudson." I could not stop laughing!

About two days after this little incident Max and Hudson were playing at their Nana's house and Hudson hit Max (it is always a debate as to who will hit who first). Cari ran over and told Hudson to "Say sorry, Max." Max looked at Hudson and said "Sorry Hudson." Cari felt horrible! At least I am not the only one with a horrid monster voice. Now after Max gets into trouble I sit down with him and tell him over and over how much I love him-and I try to explain (the best you can to a two year old) why he got in trouble. I hope he understands and doesn't think that I am some horrible, nasty, monster!

Guess what we did!!!

We got a stinkin' dog. It's pretty cute, it is a schnoodle. Half schnauzer, half poodle. I do like dogs-but I wasn't ready to bring one into our "new" house. My Uncle Mike came across a really cute puppy and brought it over for Max to see. (Max has been telling everyone that he wants a puppy.) We were not home to see it, we were at the cabin....so-of course Cari saw it and fell in love! When we got home from the cabin Cari brought it over to show Max. Max immediately wanted it. He kept asking Cari "Max hold it, please?" If anyone would have seen him with that dog, their hearts would have melted. You see, every night Max asks Charlie for a "puppy, please Daddy, please." Every night Charlie says "absolutely not, but thanks for asking." He's got such a cold heart! So that night Max and I were a little broken hearted that we did not have a dog.

I got up the next day and started to read about this particular kind of dog and got even more sad because they are supposed to be great with kids, they do not shed, etc, etc. It would be the perfect dog-if we were looking for one. Then Mom called, she had found the guy who was selling them-actually he ended up giving them away-but she called him, he had two dogs left. I called Charlie, he said "I really don't want one, but.." That 'but' was all I needed. I called the guy and we met that afternoon.

When Max and I were looking at the two puppies- one puppy darted out of the kennel and chased Max around. The other was very timid and stayed in the kennel and waited us out. I thought-"oh that's the one I want-he'll just lay around and be calm." I asked Max which one he wanted and of course-very distinctly pointed to the running and jumping puppy and said, 'That one!"

We took him home and later that afternoon we were trying to name him. I said, "What about Ned?" Max looked at me like I was crazy and said 'NO!' So then I said something like "how about cookie, or candy?'...every name I suggested was garbage in his mind. I finally said "what about Woody?" (from Toy Story) Woody is Max's favorite character in any movie, he pretends he is Woody and he hauls a Woody doll around all the time-it goes everywhere with us.

Max thought about it for a minute and then said; pointing to himself, "Max is Woody." He looked at me with really big eyes and pointed to the puppy and said "Buzz Lightyear." So we now have a dog named Buzz Lightyear. He has been pretty good the past week, and Max has completely fallen in love with him. They are best buds-so Max thinks.

Fishing pictures

Uncle Andy, Daddy and Max









Max-right before he fell in!









Charlie and Max










Max and his cousin Kinley

First Time Blogger

I love being able to check on my family and friends through their blogs and one of my favorite things to do is blog surf, so I thought I would give the family blog a try.
Charlie's family has a cabin up by Sunlight and we were all able to spend this last weekend up there. It was so beautiful, we had a great time with Charlie's family. Max had a great time, he has been begging to go fishing all summer. We finally went and he loved it! Max's Uncle Andy was standing next to Max as he was catching fish and would let Max touch them. Max was so excited-then Andy asked if Max wanted to throw it back in and, of course Max said yes. Andy put the fish in his hand and it wiggled. Max dropped it-luckily in the water. He was so excited he was telling everyone that he "dropped fish in the water." By the end of the day his story had gotten a little braver and a little bigger and his story was he "throwed the fish in the water!" He is such a tough guy! He is definenatley a Peterson/Cooley-the bigger the story the better!
We have a great little spot we hike down to fish at-there is a little sandy beach that the kids like to play in. Max took his shoes off and would walk into the water. I had to keep rolling his pants up higher and higher because he kept getting braver and braver and would go deeper into the water. The whole time we were there fishing I kept thinking-Man I can't believe that Max hasn't fallen in yet. He was playing pretty wildly in the mud and water. Not two minutes before we were ready to head out-Max fell head first into the water! I thought we were going to have to hike out with a naked baby. Luckly Kinley had an extra pair of shorts for him to wear. I don't know what would have been worse, a naked baby or my little boy wearing girly shorty shorts! We let his shirt dry a bit and stuck it back on. He had a lot of fun. He has told everybody that "My Daddy catch a lot of fish!" I am glad we took the time to take him up there, we need to do it again soon.