Janae & Donovan Lott

Dreyton turns 12

2010-05-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

Dreyton turned twelve in April. He was very anxious to turn twelve, because he was excited about leaving primary and becoming a Deacon. He was also looking forward to being in the Boy Scout troop with his dad. Donovan is the Scoutmaster.

I attempted the red velvet cake again, and I just can't seem to get the frosting right. My mother-in-law has shown me a few times how to make this cake from scratch, but I am terrible when it comes to making red velvet cake. I think I will just have Anne (my mother-in-law) make it in UT and each time she visits us. I'm not meant to make this cake.

Below is a picture of Dominique before the band concert began. I was able to get a quick shot of Dominique, but I could not get close enough to Dreyton.

Both of my boys performed in the spring band concert. Dreyton plays the trumpet in beginning band, and Dominique plays the trombone in the symphonic band. They did a great job!
I can't believe both of my boys are in middle school and growing up so quickly. It seems like just yesterday when they were little toddlers that I could watch over like a mother hen. My boys are changing so much and becoming more independent each day. Dominique will be starting high school in the fall and that means he only has four more years left in my home. Dominique has informed me that he will not be living in Florida, but he "will come visit." I'm constantly reminding my boys that they always need to remember their mom. The other day I told my boys that they couldn't get married to a girl until she went on a family vacation with our family. I told them that when they get married they would inherit another family and they should make sure their wife knows she inherits our family. Their response is, "We know mom!" They better or I will be showing up on their front door! **And you know I will!**

Strawberry Picking at Roger's Farm

2010-05-09T12:36:00.001-07:00

On April 24, I went strawberry picking at Roger's Farm. A few friends had told me about a great place to pick fresh strawberries. Florida (and the Newberry area where we live) grows a lot of strawberries. I remember picking apples in St. Louis and thought it would be fun to pick strawberries. Everytime I see a strawberry stand on the corner here in town, I want to stop and buy a case to make fresh strawberry jam. I was introduced to freezer jam several years ago from Donovan's Grandma Lott and his mother. It is the best stuff ever. Anne has come to my home several times to watch my kids, and she has made us several batches of this wonderful stuff. I decided I was going to try and make it. I took my girls and Jasmine's friend, Morgan. We picked six buckets in no time at all. We even ate a few along the way.
We wanted to keep picking, but one can only do so much with fresh strawberries.

Jyllian picked a whole bucket by herself.

I think I should have only picked four buckets. I ended up making two different batches. I made eight containers of freezer jam and twelve jars of jam. They both turned out yummy. We had strawberry jello, strawberry shortcake, and strawberry shakes too.

The girls wanted to go back again...maybe next year.

Spring Break/Day Four Animal Kingdom

2010-05-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

April 10, 2010

Our final day of Spring Break in Orlando was spent in Disney's Animal Kingdom. We had asked each of the kids which of the four parks they wanted to go to during spring break. I got four different answers. We had to go with the majority since we weren't going to all four parks in one day. Somehow we keep spending our spring break in Orlando. It usually falls on or right around my birthday. Whenever Donovan asks me what I would like to do for my birthday, I usually say let's go out-of-town for a few days.
The safari ride is one of my favorites at Animal Kingdom. I think we saw more animals this time then on previous visits.

Disney really has spent many hours/months/years creating this park.

Rhinoceros

The tree behind me is not real. It's actually part of It's a Bugs Life (which is a 3-D show). My kids love it.

Dominique gave a thumbs up to Mount Everest. It is a roller coaster ride, and it's great! I was truly surprised that he rode the ride and liked it. I think he is finally overcoming his fear of big rides. Dominique usually is our Jyllian watcher for the rides. But two things happened this trip: 1 ) Jyllian is now 40" (which means she can ride almost all of the rides), 2) Dominique decided to ride the rides. We didn't have to get a child swap card for most of the rides, and Jyllian had a great time...except for the river rapids ride. She sat next to me for this ride, and we happened to be seated in the seat that became drenched. I always carry a change of clothes for her, thank goodness. After getting drenched, she was not happy to be wet and didn't want to ride that ride ever again. I remember last year she tried to stand on her tippy toes to try and ride.

About 3:00 the kids started to get tired and wanted to go home. I couldn't believe it! Who gets tired at Disney? I guess everyone but me. We did leave early and grabbed some McDonalds on our way home.

Jasmine wanted to take our picture, so she tried.

She also took a few pictures of the pink flamingos. Do you know why flamingos are pink? Because of the shrimp they eat.

Spring Break/Day Three Magic Kingdom

2010-05-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

This year, Disney offered one free day to the park of your choice for each individual that volunteered his/her time to a non-profit organization. Of course I was immediately checking into a way to go for one free day of Disney. I signed our family up to work on at Heaven's Special Children (see http://www.heavensspecialchildren.org/). This organization offers various forms of therapy not typically covered by regular insurance to children with special needs. One service they offer is hippo therapy. Hippo Therapy is where horses are used in providing therapy. Our participation included helping to clean up some of the grounds where the horses were kept. After we completed our work, we were able to print off vouchers and present them at the Disney park. However, I discovered that the tickets were upgradeable, which meant we had an eighty dollar voucher that could be used towards different types of passes. Disneyworld was offering Florida residents four days of Disney for $99. I asked if we could upgrade to a four day pass. We were able to get a four day pass for $19 per person. I have never seen such a great offer from Disney, and I could not pass up this kind of sweet deal! A four day pass is usually $225 per person (for a Florida resident). You can see the savings and understand why we didn't purchase passes this year. Our annual passes expired last August, and we just couldn't afford another year of Disney. Plus we want to go and see other parts of Florida for our vacations.

On April 8, we were able to got to Magic Kingdom. It is our favorite park, and we wanted to ride the newly remodeled space mountain. Dominique rode space mountain for the first time. Finally, he decided to ride! This has been a long time in coming. After riding, Dominique said he would go again.
We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride. On our way out of the ride the kids decided to pose with Zurg.

I asked Dominique not to spin Jyllian and Jasmine too fast on the tea cups, but he didn't listen. The girls were wishing they rode with me instead.

Throughout the park there are spray fountains that people can walk through to cool off. The kids decided to get a little wet to cool down too.

Below is Donovan snacking on some twizzlers and listening to his ipod. He probably doesn't want to listen to the kids whine throughout the day.

Here the boys are on the jungle cruise.

This is our favorite place to stop and get an ice cream snack. It serves pineapple ice cream floats, and they are DE-LISH. I think we stop here every time we go to Magic Kingdom.

The famous Cinderella castle.

I'm sure you are all familiar with the rides at Disney. The exit of the rides go through a store, and the kids all think they need to buy everything they see. Here is Jyllian picking up princesses in a box.

Spring Break Orlando/ Day One and Two

2010-05-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

April 7, 2010

On the first day of spring break, we packed up the car and headed to Orlando. We drove straight to the temple and decided to take turns watching the kids. Donovan went into the temple first, so I walked around the temple grounds and fed the kids snacks. The first half hour was fine, but then the kids started to get bored. They were not very happy about hangin' in the minivan (I mean, what cooler place exists to hang out in than a mini-van?!). When Donovan came out of the temple and I went in, he took the kids for ice cream and to check-in to the condo we had reserved for three nights. I don't think they complained a bit about getting some ice cream. Donovan tends to get the "easier shifts" tending the kids.

I took a few pictures of the kids outside the Orlando temple grounds.

It was a beautiful day, and just a little warm, but I am not complaining about the gorgeous spring weather we had during the month of April.

The kids were asking me, "How much longer?" You know that's the question all kids ask. I just kept telling them that classic parental reply: "Just a little longer."

After finishing up at the temple, the kids went swimming in the pool at the condo. Then we went to Cici's pizza for dinner. I know it's not the best food, but it was a request by the kids. Can you say all you can eat pizza??

Day two: I promised Donovan that we would have one "down day" on our Spring Break. His idea of a vacation and mine are completely opposite. He thinks a vacation should be relaxing and not running all over to cram in as much "fun" as possible. However, I do enjoy his idea of a vacation too. On day 2, the kids were able to swim and watch some TV (something very unusual for them and their daily routine...not!). We had a great dinner at Sizzler. That was my pick as I had not had Chicken Malibu for several years. I think our kids are now Sizzler fans too!

Easter Festivites 2010

2010-05-05T18:10:00.001-07:00

I posted about this same event last year. But the girls and myself went back to the annual Easter egg hunt held at the grounds of the local mortuary. The girls were able to ride on this train, eat hot dogs and cookies, pet a few animals, play in a bounce house, and gather eggs full of candy.
Jyllian had fun chasing the bunny around the pen.

Jasmine and her friend Mackenzie met up at the event.

Jyllian didn't want to leave the petting zoo. She didn't get frightened by the goats like she did last year.

Jasmine and Elesse (our neighbor) were trying to decide if they wanted to pet the animals.

Jyllian had so much fun on this slide. She kept running back to get in line to do it again.

It's fun to see Jyllian really start to enjoy coloring Easter eggs. She insisted on coloring them all by herself. Hence, her hands dyed all colors.

Jasmine had a good time coloring her eggs and helping her sister.

The girls wanted to color more eggs, but I told them we didn't have that many people to eat the eggs. Even though we are an egg eating family, one can only eat so many eggs.

Jasmine's Skate Station Party

2010-05-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

March 13, 2010

Jasmine wanted to have a party at the local roller skating rink. She invited a few friends from school and a few girls from our neighborhood. She wanted to have a sleep over too, so I told her she could only have five girls. I don't really like slumber parties (the last thing I get to enjoy during them is an actual slumber), but I know the kids enjoy them. In the picture below are Sydney, Jasmine, Mackenzie, and Grace.Of course, we made the boys come along to the party with all of the crazy girls, and they were very reluctant (I don't know why....I mean, my older brother always liked hangin' out with me and my 9 year old friends when he was a tween). I told them there would be so many people there and no one would know they came with a bunch of girly girls. Donovan strapped on his roller blades and really got into skating. Who knew he liked skating so much? I guess he was reliving his classic skating days (and his affinity for the Bee Gees).

Dominique and Dreyton were having a much better time then I think they would admit.

Morgan is our next door neighbor and Elesse lives across the street. Jasmine has a great time with these two girls. At the beginning of the night, these two girls could barely stay on their feet. But by the end of the evening, they were skating around the rink. In fact the next day, they each went to the store and purchased roller blades. Jasmine and these two have been ripping up the neighborhood. It is amazing what some friendly coercion and positive reinforcement can do to motivate kids to go and go and go to learn something new (even if they fall down hitting the cement floor with their hind ends several times!).

The girls sipped a few slurpees, which I'm sure just added to their sugar intake (and inability to stay still and let me slumber later that night).

Jasmine and the girls were up late watching crazy youtube videos with Donovan. Jasmine is very much like her daddy. It's scary!

The next morning, Morgan wanted to give Jasmine a facial. Morgan used yogurt (with fruit on the bottom) for the face and cucumbers for the eyes.

The girls painted their nails and just pampered themselves like the divas they think they are.

GOING PRIVATE

2010-03-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

I have decided it is time to go private. If you would like an invite, please let me know.

February was here and now it's gone.

2010-03-02T11:51:00.001-08:00

As we return to a life of blogging after a Kingrey inspired hiatus, here are a few items we did during the month of February.

Donovan went to a conference in San Diego, so I decided to go along with him. Many people say ask, "Why would you need to leave Florida to go on a vacation?" My response is, "Have you seen the bugs in Florida?!" Just kidding...Well, it wasn't really a vacation to enjoy the sites of another city. I wanted to go along to enjoy some peace and quiet (not too much of that in our lil' piece of the Sunshine state thanks to the Fearsome Four Lott Litter). I was able to read one and a half books and sleep in (Did I mention the sleeping?!). I couldn't believe how long I slept. Makes me tired just thinking of it!

We also decided to go to an "exotic and exciting" place while in San Diego. Yep, you guessed it: Luxurious Tijuana, Mexico!! Donovan was able to buy his huaraches (leather sandals with tire tread soles) that he tries to replace every few years when he is in San Diego. We were hoping to get some Mexican jumping beans for the kids, but they were out of season. April through June is the time to go to Tijuana if you are wanting those Latin saltatory lentils.

Dominique had a band ensemble competition while we were out-of-town, and his ensemble received a superior ranking. He has really excelled in band, and we are very proud of him as he literally toots his own horn. Dominique also had to decide which high school he would attend as he had a lot of "recruitment letters" mailed to him asking him to come to certain high school programs due to his academic success. He decided to go to a Criminal Law program at the local high school and is excited to begin this fall. I don't remember having to make these kind of choices when I was 13. When I was 13, all I was worried about decision wise was which boy I was going to be kissing the next day. My how times have changed...or at least they better have changed before our daughters turn 13!

Dreyton has been continuing with his basketball, but the season will come to an end this weekend. He has learned a lot about blocked shots and turnovers (although he has been on the bad end of many of those). Fortunately, he has learned a lot this season and has improved. Donovan is hoping his ability to block others out for rebounds will assist him with tackle football season coming up this late summer! Dreyton doesn't even seem to mind when we tease him about a certain girl (who shall remain unnamed) around Valentine's Day. I guess he will be turning 13 soon...hmmmmmmm...

Jasmine has lost three teeth in the last week and has been preparing for the FCAT. The FCAT is a test in Florida that all of the third graders must pass in order to continue on to fourth grade. She has had more homework than usual and has been working hard to study (translation: her mother has been bugging her more than usual to get her homework and studying done). Today she actually started taking the FCAT. One day down and two to go. Rock the FCAT, Jasmine!

Jyllian had a good time with Grandma Lott who watched our kids while we were in San Diego, but she was very happy to see mom return home. She just LOVES to twirl my hair as she sucks her thumb. I am thinking of cutting a bunch of it off and giving it to her for a birthday gift. She also has taken on the role of Recycle Girl. She will strut her stuff and come running when we call for Recycle Girl. Who is Recycle Girl, you ask. Well, Recycle Girl is a very important figure who saves all mankind (or at least our household) by taking recyclable items from our kitchen to our recycle container out on the driveway. We are thinking of getting her an official uniform and are open for any design ideas you might have, so keep us in mind. She really gets a kick out of being Recycle Girl as her dad breaks into his role as Soap Man (the official liquid soap dispenser filler upper of our home....and he only misses getting the soap in the containers 13.7% of the time....I have been counting).

May you have a March as "fun" and safe as our February!!

Love the Lotts

Seriously Mommy

2010-02-03T08:21:00.001-08:00

Am I in trouble when my four-year-old daughter puts her hands on her hips and says, "Seriously mommy!" I'm wondering where she learned this word?

Trip to ut

2010-01-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

Last week, Jyllian and I took a trip to UT. A friend had given Donovan two buddy passes on southwest airlines (thanks Alicia). But these tickets required that we go stand-by, and that means there has to be room on the plane. So, I decided I would go in January. I used to be a travel agent, and January is generally a slow month. People have just finished with the holidays and taken vacations, which means they have run out of money. Well, I tried to get out of Orlando last Tuesday, but that didn't work. I called Tuesday night, and Wednesday looked ok. Jyllian and I left the house at 7:00am. I couldn't put my name on the stand-by list until I checked in at the gate. I reached the gate at 10:00am and the flight I was hoping to take had eighteen seats available for standby the day before. Well, not on Wednesday! The flight was overbooked by seven people, and twenty people were trying to go stand-by. I immediately started to figure out another option and that was a 2:35pm flight that connected to Phoenix. At 2:00pm, I checked with the Southwest agent and it didn't look good. After all the people had boarded the plane, I thought it was just not going to happen. I told Jyllian we were going to have to go back home and forget about our trip to UT. She of course was disappointed. My sister Shannon called me at the airport and said she had said a prayer for me that I would be able to get on the flight. I told her thank you, but the flight was full. Well, at the last minute some guy didn't show up, and Jyllian and I were the last two people to get on the flight. My sister has more faith than any person I know. She always says things will work out.

I made it to UT late Wednesday night. Jyllian did great. She was really looking forward to seeing all of her cousins. You see 2005 was the year that six out of ten children in my family had a baby, and Donovan's two sisters each had a baby too. That was a very reproductive year: six girls and two boys were born in our family. Jyllian has five girl cousins her age, and she was in heaven playing with them in UT this past week. She played and played and played.

We went to see Meg (Kristen's daughter). They had a great time with the three musketeers barbies and the hot air balloon carriage. Isabel (Meg's older sister) even got in on some of the fun with her remote control car. Kristen told the girls to jump off the couch, and she would take their picture. I'm sure Grandma Lott didn't mind that the girls were jumping on her couch. :)

The girls in action.I'm not quite sure what they were doing here, and I hope none of the Bloods or Crips who read our blog understand these 4 year old gang signs either.Aunt Kristen was showing Jyllian the pictures she took on her camera. What two kooky girls!

This picture was taken at my parents house. I had all of the four-year-olds sit on the couch. From left to right: Tate, Brielle, Bailey, Jyllian, Sierra, and Taylor

Jyllian played Thursday thru Sunday with her cousins and she had the best time. My parents treated me to dinner at Red Lobster ( Donovan doesn't like seafood, so I rarely go there). On Saturday night, we had a girls night out at Outback Steakhouse. Four of my sisters, three sister-in-laws, my mother, mother-in-law, and I all went out together. Let me tell you...it was a sight of woman power to behold! It was a lot of fun. Jeremy (my brother) also came along too. After all, he loves girl conversations, and he usually has quite a bit to add to them (he's like a mini-Oprah but without the money).

Jyllian and I had to leave on Monday. Luckily the stand-by process wasn't too bad for our return trip. I didn't get on the early flight, but I was able to get home. My sweet husband really needed me back home. Donovan would get the kids off to school and head in to work. The kids took care of themselves for a few hours after school. Luckily, Jasmine and Dreyton are still alive. They fight like crazy. Before I left, Donovan told me that he had the dinners covered. He said do we have top ramen, mac and cheese, and frozen pizza? Then we are set. Well, the kids actually didn't eat any of that. He took them out to dinner at Gelatos on Wednesday. They had Dominios pizza on Friday, Publix chicken dinner on Saturday, Sunday he barbequed hamburgers and hotdogs, and Monday he made them cheesy eggs, bacon and cinnamon rolls. I think they got to eat a little better than they thought. Each day, Donovan packed their lunches and even left them post-it notes in their lunches. Jasmine asked me why I don't leave notes in her lunch, and Dominique told me that a boy a school made fun of him for having a "mommy note" in his lunch. He, of course, told the boy it wasn't a note from his mom, but a note to remind him to watch his younger sister after school. Heaven forbid an eighth grader having a "mommy note." I think my other three children and Donovan appreciated me a little more while I was gone.

Jasmine told me that she ran out of clothes, Dominique said he had never seen the bottom of the silverware tray, and all three told me that their bathroom was a mess. I asked them why they didn't clean their bathroom, and they told me they didn't want to. I guess they were honest. But they did help their dad with the dishes. Wonder if they will still help with the dishes now that mom is back in the saddle??

Christmas 2009

2010-01-05T12:35:00.000-08:00

Our family spent Christmas at our home this year. Since the December 2005 birth of Jyllian, we have decided to travel to UT every other year. It was nice to be able to relax at home, but it was also much quieter than a regular Christmas with all the family in Utah. The kids were able to play with their presents and we played a few games too. I grew up having a tradtional Christmas Eve dinner. So, I made a special dinner that night, and we were able to eat leftovers on Christmas day. I do, however, enjoy my mother-in-law's Christmas lunch and did miss it this year. Thank you mom, dad, Wayne, Anne, Jeremy, Amanda and the little cousins for the gifts you sent. We truly appreciate your thoughtfulness. It helps makes living so far away from family a little easier.

Jasmine has been wanting a pet that she can call her own for over two years. We just didn't want to deal with another pet, but she wouldn't let it go. So this year Santa (the nice man he is) brought her a parakeet. When she walked into the living room and saw the bird, she said, "Finally!" She also received an American doll. She has wanted that for awhile too. Dominique spent the majority of the day building his lego sets. That's all he wanted for Christmas. He was happy to get him some legos.

Over the break, Donovan watched a lot of football, more football, and oh, did I mention football? He did also enjoy some other forms relaxation that did not require yelling at the tv set. It was nice to have him take some time off work. He promised if we would just stay home during the Christmas break, he would clean up our room. He did clean the room, and it looks much better. He moved a lot of his papers and books to his new office on campus. He actually has his very own office now, and it's in a brand new building.

Here we have Dreyton playing with his legos. No, he didn't get the barbie rv, pixos, or zu zhu pets for Christmas (although he may have gotten some ideas for next year), but Jyllian did. Jyllian once again did not want her picture taken.

Joy School Nativity Presentation

2010-01-05T11:44:00.001-08:00

Each year Ms. Angela has her joy school students perform the nativity for a Senior Living Center. She had rehearsed the play with the children a few times before the actual performance. When it came time to get into costume and perform, Jyllian didn't want anything to do with it. As you can see in the picture, she is trying to get hide from the camera and won't sing for the senior citizens. I was very shy as a child too. The children did a great job and the audience loved them.

That same evening Ms. Angela had the class put on a performance for the parents. At least Jyllian put on the costume for this performance, but she still wouldn't sing. I wonder if she would do it if I wasn't there to watch her. Ms. Angela said she sings and participates in class, but she won't do it for me. She loves to dance and sing at home, but I guess crowds scare her.

I don't know what is wrong with the camera. It may have to do with the person taking the picture (Dominique).

Jyllian turns four-years-old

2009-12-29T15:49:00.000-08:00

Four-year-olds are my favorite. They don't have as many major meltdowns as younger kids, but they are still sweet and say the funniest things. But most of all they don't talk back to you (as some kids who are "more mature" tend to do). Jyllian is our youngest, and I think she is definetly spoiled by her siblings and her parents. When Jyllian was born, Dominique would pray every night for almost two years thanking Heavenly Father for Jyllian. He still says it sometimes when we say family prayers. We took Jyllian to Chuckie Cheese for her birthday. We of course didn't have the camera, but we had a great time. We went as a family, and when we got there she wanted a big party with friends. I was just not up for a big party, and besides, she just doesn't have very many little girlfriends. I told her we would have a big party when she turned five. I think December babies just get ripped off for their birthday. There are ward, work, family, and friend parties during the month of December. It's very difficult to schedule an event around so many things going on. The day before her birthday, I had a ward Christmas party. Since, I am the ward activites chairperson, I was in charge. I was very busy that whole week. My house, my children, and poor Jyllian were put on the back burner. Jyllian did not know what type of cake she wanted, so I was just going to make a simple round cake. The day before her birthday she told me she wanted a unicorn cake. Well I have made her a Dora cake, a Cinderella cake, and a Barbie cake; however, I just didn't have the time to go looking for Unicorn cakes. So she decided a star cake would be fine. Well, I attempted to make a star cake. It was really a pathetic attempt, but we all ate the cake and Jyllian loved it (especially the frosting).

You are probably wondering what all of the ranch dressing is doing next to her on the table. Well, it was for the ward pary the next day. I did purchase too much dressing, but I took two of them back after the party. Note to self, people really don't like that much green salad at ward parties.

Universal Studios December 2009

2009-12-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

On Decemeber 5th, we woke up early and headed down to Universal Studios. In August, Universal was running a promotion. If you purchased a two day pass as a Florida resident, you would get a season pass good through Dec. 31st. This was our only day we could actually go as a whole family before the end of the year. It was a cold, windy, and rainy morning, but I said we were going rain or shine. I was prepared though. We had raincoats, blankets, and jackets. The sun did eventually come through the clouds in the early afternoon. The first week of December is a great week to go to any Orlando amusement park. The lines aren't very long, and there aren't many people at the parks. We cruised through most of the rides in Universal and later headed over to Islands of Adventure.

Donovan took a lot of pictures because the last time we went to Universal we forgot to get our camera out of the van. It is not just a hop, skip, and jump to your car. This is picture is taken in front of Universal Studios. Jyllian of course would not get in the picture. But we did get a few pictures of her throughout the day. Here she is, but we she didn't know we took her picture.

The boys love their picture taken not!

Jasmine really wanted to bring a friend with her. She always complains that she doesn't have anyone to ride with. Aren't her parents good enough? So we brought our next door neighbor Morgan. The girls had a good time.

This picture is taken in front of the jaws ride at Universal.

I don't know why we continue to take a stroller inside the amusement parks. Jyllian just runs all over. I guess we need a place to store all of the stuff we take inside the park.

Jasmine and Morgan...busted by the Simpsons ride.

Bart Simpson with the kids.

This is the newest ride at Universal. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is the name of the ride. This was the only ride that had a wait, and it was a loooooooooong wait. Donovan and Dreyton waited in this line for two and half hours (and got the front row for the ride) while I took the other kids over to Islands of Adventure. Whoever designed this ride did not make it a very efficient ride. Each car only holds twelve people at a time, and there are only two cars. I don't know why they would put so much money into this ride without making it so more people could ride it at a time. I wonder what the line will be like in the summer. As you can see in the picture below...the first drop is a big one.

Jasmine and Morgan being silly.

I know it's a great picture of me. Please keep in mind the weather here in Florida doesn't do my hair any favors. Natural curly hair and humidty just don't mix. It had been raining and it was the end of the day.

I realized we hadn't taken any pictures with Donovan, so he decided to do something crazy for the picture. I'm glad everyone had a good time.

It was Donovan's first time at Universal, and it was a great day to go. He hates crowds.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-27T15:31:00.001-08:00

This year Anne and Wayne (my in-laws) came to Florida for Thanksgiving. We were truly grateful to be able to spend Thanksgiving with family. We have been very fortunate to spend Thanksgiving each year with people we love and care about (the Melby's while we were in St. Louis). I worry that we will be alone, but each year it always works out. Anne and I went to see New Moon together. I guess it was an ok movie, but it was a little cheesy. Anne and I were also able to do some after Thanksgiving shopping. I think I wore Anne out. Thank you Wayne for watching the kids so we could shop, and thank you Donovan for working, so I would have money to spend.

Whenever Wayne and Anne come to town, I'm sure they fear my to-do-list. Grandma Lott made my four children Christmas pillowcases and Wayne did his fair share of car repairs and other odd jobs. Thanks for everything. We love you and really enjoyed your company.
Grandma even played Conquest of the Empire. Dominique loves to play this game, but it takes 4-5+ hours to complete. Thanks for being a good sport Anne.

Dreyton's sprained ankle

2009-12-26T16:48:00.000-08:00

Dreyton hurt his ankle the very last week of football practice. Another player fell on his ankle in a tackling drill. Luckily, we had crutches due to a injury Jasmine had received earlier in the year. He hurt his foot on a Monday evening, but we learned that if you don't need to go to the E.R., just wait until morning to get into the Dr. It is much cheaper and also faster than sitting in a waiting room for hours. He did have his ankle X-rayed by the orthopedist, but it was not broken...just very swollen and sore. He used this walking boot for a week and then used one crutch for another week.

He was not able to play in the finals, but we took him to the game to support his team. His team took second in the region. They played their last game against Hawthorne and lost, but the team played hard.

I think Dreyton liked the attention he received from his injury. Dreyton is just excited to be heading back healthy to another season of football next year. In the meantime, basketball should keep him moving.

Science Projects

2009-12-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

Dominique and Dreyton had to present a science project for the Science Fair in November. Dominique chose to measure the speed of light in jello. He placed 2nd in physics and will be going to Regionals in February. Dreyton's project examined how different colors absorbed light and heat for increasing the temperature of water. His teacher took pictures for him, but I don't have copies to download to the blog. Both boys did a great job and did the majority of the work on their own. We had to make five different jellos all with a different consistency of water.

The laser pointer was used to measure the speed of light.

I never did like science myself, but my boys really like their teacher Mr. Riley.

Jyllianism of the day

2009-12-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

Jyllian: "Daddy, what are ghosts made of?"
Foolish father: "Ghosts are spirits."
Jyllian: "I think they are made of clouds."

A Day With Flat Stanley

2009-12-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

Jasmine's friend Anne (from St. Louis) sent her Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley is a book character (see http://www.flatstanley.com), and Flat Stanley had to go everywhere Jasmine did. We had to take pictures and send them back to Anne. On November 14, Jasmine played a soccer game at 9:00am. After the game we took a picture with her friend Mackenzie and Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley was also able to attend Dreyton's football game. Dreyton was not wanting to stand next to his sister. Big brothers are just so darn loveable, aren't they?

Jasmine wanted Flat Stanley to have a picture taken with Daisy the dog.

Last but not least, these four girls were playing at our home that same day, and we had to get a picture with them and Flat Stanley. From left to right (Grace, Elesse, Jasmine, and Cheyenne)

Halloween 2009

2009-11-16T17:51:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to take a picture of Jyllian before we went trick-or treating. She was actually posing for her picture. I had nothing to do with my boys Halloween costumes. They went to KMART with their dad, and they returned with some interesting masks. I think Donovan was helping them get ready for their annual scare fest. The boys love to scare the trick-or-treaters as they come to the door. Each year they come up with a new plan to frighten people (not the little kids). Dreyton is dressed up as the Jigsaw puppet from the movie Saw. No, he has not seen the movie, but he saw plenty of commercials for the movie. Dominique was dressed as an evil scarecrow. Jasmine was a vampiress and Jyllian Mariposa.

Dominique was not feeling well on Halloween, so he just sat on the front porch and handed out candy. Donovan and I took the girls around the neighborhood, and they had a great time trick-or-treating. Jyllian kept running from house to house. I thought she was going to wear out, but she never did. When we got home she said she had a great time.

Joy School Halloween Party

2009-11-16T17:38:00.000-08:00

Jyllian loves to go to Joy School twice a week. She asks me everyday if it is time to go to pre-school. On October 29, Ms. Angela had a little party for the children. The kids made a few crafts and an edible snack. Jyllian really enjoyed the chocolate pudding. The kids played a little before the costume parade. It was a very hot and humid day.

The children had a costume parade, but Jyllian was a little shy. She wouldn't come out of the house to show her costume.

She didn't want me to take her picture, but I was able to take a picture very quickly. She was Mariposa in case you were wondering.

A Jyllianism

2009-10-31T04:13:00.001-07:00

I know I'm behind on blogging, but I guess I could add a few quotes from my children.

Jyllian dislikes her vegetables as most young children do, but we make her eat a few bites. This week we were eating dinner as a family and I told Jyllian she had to eat three bites of her broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. I think it's called the California blend. It's actually very funny to watch her eat her vegetables, because she gags on them. She has even learned at a very young age to feed the dog her food even though we have told her it will make the dog sick. She's such a stinker with her food and she's very picky. Well, she told us that the vegetables weren't making her bigger and bigger. She said, "only my feet are getting bigger." We all looked at each other and started laughing.

Dominique continues to say that there is nothing to do in Florida. I'm confused by this statement, but he's been mad at us since we moved here.

Dreyton was listening in on my conversation and he wanted me to give him more information. I told him it wasn't his business. He said, "curiosity killed the cat and I'm dying." (funny boy)

Everyday Jasmine walks in the front door from school and tells me how bad she hates riding the bus. Does any child ever enjoy riding the bus?

What have we been doing with our Saturdays?

2009-10-26T13:42:00.001-07:00

What have we been doing with our Saturdays? Well, since the second weekend in September we have been attending soccer and football games. It has been tricky jumping from game to game. There have been a few weeks where the games were scheduled at the same time. When this has happened, I end up taking Jasmine to her game, and Donovan takes Dreyton to his. We have also met some very nice people that have helped our children with rides. Jasmine started her second soccer season. She really enjoys playing soccer, but she doesn't enjoy the shin guards and bulky socks. She's always had issues with clothing, but at least she puts them on.

Jasmine plays a few positions. The coach is pretty good at giving each of the kids different opportunities. Here she is playing full back.

At end of each game the parents and coaches form a tunnel, and both teams run through the tunnels. Jasmine's team is still undefeated.
Dreyton started his second season of football. He is enjoying football much better this season. Last year he was continually learning the game. He has a much better understanding of the game this year. Although Dreyton's team has only won one game, he's still having a good time. I think Donovan is enjoying Dreyton watching the Gator games with him too.

Here is Dreyton in his practice uniform. He practices three times a week.

We always enjoy the concessions at the football games. I especially enjoy the boiled peanuts. I didn't even know what a boiled peanut was until I moved to Florida. Jyllian is enjoying a frozen slushie.

We take lots of activities to the football games for the girls, because they can become very bored. The Cleveland's lived in our neighborhood, until last week. The girls really enjoy running around the fields and under the stadium stairs.

Jasmine climbing the stadium stairs.

Dominique enjoying a sucker at the football game.

Where has my money been going lately?

2009-10-26T13:30:00.001-07:00

Dreyton has been reminding me that I have not posted pictures of him in braces on our blog. Well, the orthodonist is getting A LOT of money from us each month, so I guess we better show what we are getting in debt over. We are still hoping that Dreyton becomes an orthodontist so that he can buy us that lake front property with the lakehouse and boat someday. Dreyton had braces put on one week before school started. Each time we visit, the orthodontist changes the colors of his rubberbands. Right now he is showing off his Halloween colors (Can you see the orange and black?). I didn't have the option to change the color of my rubberbands, but at least my teeth straightened up (well, most of the way).

Epcot - Labor Day Weekend

2009-10-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

My parents, my sister (Annette), and her family came to Orlando for a family vacation over Labor Day weekend. We joined them for a couple of days of fun. Our first day was at Epcot in Disney World, and we spent our second day at Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios. I didn't take any pictures the second day because I left my camera in the car (all too common a theme for our family). The hike back to the car from the Universal parking lot just wasn't worth the walk. It is a horrilbe walk to get into that park.

Here we are on our last day at Disney for a long while. Our passes have offically expired. :( We had a fun couple of years going to Disney. We do need to see other parts of Florida while we are here (however long that will be??). I love Disney and have since I was a kid. I wish the season passes weren't so much money. Donovan actually got to come with us on this adventure. He's usually working so I can play.

Here we are waiting for the rest of the group to ride Soarin. That's a really great ride. I'm holding my little nephew Cade. My sister (Annette) has the blonde hair, blue eyed children and I have the brown hair, brown eyed children.

Jyllian and Brielle had so much fun together. They are one month apart, but Brielle is much taller. I guess Jyllian got my shorty genes.

Jasmine and Ashlyn were patiently waiting for their lunch. Who knows what Jyllian is doing? It sure doesn't look like she has any idea either!

Jasmine really enjoyed having Ashlyn ride all of the rides with her. She usually has to ride with her mom or dad (yuck).

Dreyton is enjoying Disney's technology. Sometimes it's hard to get my kids to leave the buildings at Epcot with computers and games. There is just so much to do and enjoy there.

Dominique is sending e-mails to his friends. He took a picture of himself and then altered it.

Me, my sister Annette, her baby Cade, and my mom.

A group shot with all the kids from left to right: Dreyton, Tyler, Brielle, Dominique, Jyllian, Jasmine, Ashlyn. Oh and don't forget excited Grandma in the background. I guess Grandpa forgot to look.

I wanted a picture taken with my kids and the grandparents. I didn't realize my dad was closing his eyes, but it's the only one I took.

We did get a little wet. Yes, we had another Florida rain storm (they happen almost every day in late summer with a heavy downpour but only last 15-30 min), and I forgot to bring raincoats. I'm usually really good about the raincoats. Donovan and Mike (my brother-in-law) are trying to keep the strollers dry.

At the end of the day, we headed towards the World Showcase at Epcot. It is usually not a very kid friendly part of Disney, but they started a Kim Possible Scavenger hunt. The kids got cell phones that provided them with clues. We were all running around the World Showcase trying to find the clues. It is actually a great idea, and the kids all wanted to go back again.

While we are all waiting for the firework show to begin, the kids played in the water fountain.

The girls were able to make some masks in France. Annette and I also found a wonderful pastry shop in France. We bought a dessert and ate it by ourselves (I sure hope Donovan doesn't read this post!). It was the best pastry. Yummy!!

Jyllian showing off her mask.

Wrapping up August

2009-10-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

Jasmine loves dressing up her sister Jyllian. On this day, she was a rock star. don't laugh...someday she may make us a whole lotta bling!
Jyllian started "Joy School" and loves it. She asks me everyday if it's pre-school today. She's growing up so fast. We had to buy the sparkly tennis shoes at the store. She didn't want anything else, just sparklies...the same shoes her brothers got for going back to school.

Donovan turned 37. Isn't he getting old (ha, ha)? I guess that would make me even older. He just wanted chocolate cake, so he got chocolate cake.

Day Four - Universal Studios with the Pittard's

2009-10-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Our last day with the Pittard's, we went to Universal Studios. We had a great time, but it was terribly hot (Can you believe we had a hot day in August in Florida?!). I wasn't very good about taking pictures with my camera on this day. But at the very beginning of our day we saw Dora. Jyllian loves Dora, so I was very excited to get a picture with Dora. I think Jyllian always pictured Dora with a much smaller head...one that couldn't swallow her whole.

We did get caught in the middle of a down pour. It actually felt good to get wet. The only bad thing about getting wet is going inside a building for your next ride and freezing from the air conditioning. I know...what a crazy thing to complain about. I can hear my pioneer ancestors turning over in their graves listening to me complain about that one!

Jasmine is sporting her rain coat. It was also very windy, but we forgot to bring along our wind coats.

Day Three - Hollywood Studios With the Pittard's

2009-10-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

Some may wonder, "What does one do with a younger child that can't ride due to her height?" Jyllian doesn't sit in the stroller and wait twenty to thirty minutes while the rest of her family enjoys the rides. She is always looking for something to climb on at every moment. Most of the time we can pass the time, but it does get tricky as evidenced by her scampering on the fountain wall below. This place was a great find. While Jyllian and I were waiting for the others, we found an arcade room. She had the best time playing video games (at least she thought she was playing..which is much more economical than the money spent to amuse the other 3 kiddos on the arcade games).

Inside one of the buildings, I snapped a picture of Dreyton. I asked him in my best Joker voice, "Why so serious?!" but he just acted like I wasn't funny at all.

I stumbled upon a bunch of Disney characters. I usually don't do the whole meet and greet the characters bit as the lines are usually too long and I don't like wasting my time waiting. I guess it was villian day. This is the Queen of Hearts. Jasmine was just excited to take a picture with a character.

This is a picture with the Snow Princess. She really frightened Jyllian. She wasn't nice at all...maybe she was a little "too in character" or maybe her Princess panties were in a wad!

Here we have the Sheriff from Robin Hood.

I tried to get one last picture of the day with our group, but Jyllian was not wanting her picture taken. My kids have a lot of fun when the Pittard's come to town.

Day 2 - Animal Kingdom with the Pittard's

2009-09-27T16:50:00.001-07:00

Day 2 with the Pittard's was spent at Animal Kingdom. It was a very hot and humid day, which tends to happen more in Florida than us "Westerners" care for, but overall the weather is great. I thought we were going to melt on this day. As a parent, I like going to Animal Kingdom because the park closes early. It is nice to be able to leave at a reasonable time and not have to tell the kids they can't go get on one more ride. We were able to go back to the campground and swim. The swimming pool was really warm. It felt about as warm as bath water...ahhhh...I hope the warmth was not due to some kids' healthy kidney function, but I like to think it was from the Florida sunshine.

I'm glad Jasmine was smiling. The heat was making us a little cranky. And a cranky/moody Jasmine is not what anybody wants to deal with for very long (very long being more than 4.7 seconds...trust me on this one!).
Dominique is browsing around the gift shop. His Grandma Peterson would be so proud how he spent time in a Disney Park store!

I wish I could ride around the park in a stroller. Do they make these in a larger size?? I am not that big and could probably squeeze in one built for children. I think the bigger trick would be to convince Donovan to push me around in it all day. It would make an interesting addition to his Honey-do list.

The four boys enjoying their jawbreakers. What a bunch of suckers!! lol We love you guys!

Day 1 - Crescent Beach with the Pittard's

2009-09-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

My sister (Laura) and her family couldn't have come to town at a better time last month. Donovan had just left for the week to attend a conference in Monterey, CA. I don't like it when he leaves town, and I am left alone with the kids However, this time I had company thanks to Laura and her fam. Monday, August 10, we drove to Crescent Beach, which is a little South of Jacksonville. The kids had a great time with their cousins and loved being at the beach.

Below is a picture of Jasmine and Trent.

Jyllian and I walked along the beach collecting seashells. Jyllian had a great time, but she didn't like the salt water going up her nose (not that I can really blame her).

The boys (Dominique, Dreyton, Grayson, and Trent) enjoyed themselves trying to be surf dogs while riding the boogie boards.

My niece Paige and her friend Gracie. You should have seen the number of Florida teenage boys weeping when these two hotties left the beach that day!

The kids had fun making sand formations. Fortunately, there were not many cats to come along and make "deposits" in the creations the boys made.

Here's Dominique sqiunting from the sun and enjoying the beach. We really had some fun that day and were glad to spend some time with Laura and her family. Thanks for visiting, Laura.

Magic Kingdom- Aug. 1st

2009-09-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Our annual passes to Disney World expired in August, so we planned to visit all four parks before they expired. We picked August 1st to go to Magic Kingdom. I thought it was going to be a day full of crowds and long lines, but it was quite the opposite. We actually cruised through the park and even saw places we hadn't seen before. The Tiki Tiki show is something my children will pass on in the future, but I thought it was a fun show. It was a very enjoyable Saturday with the family. We woke up early and got home late, but the kids had a great time.

Here we are in the Swiss Family Robinson tree house. I loved this movie as a child.
Jyllian and Jasmine were excited to ride the Jungle Cruise.

I guess Dreyton didn't want Dominique to sit too close to him. Dominique decided that today would be the day to start riding the "bigger" rides. Too bad Space Mountain is under renovation, because he said he would finally ride it. Dominique even rode Thunder Mountain. He does not like drops on amusement rides, so he passed on Splash Mountain. Dominique is great to have with us when he declines to ride because he watches Jyllian while we hope on the rides she can't.

Of course, I had to have a family photo. I know the kids just love me for this. :) I'm very sad my passes expired, but I'm sure I'll figure out a way to earn money to buy them again (or at least con Donovan into getting some in the future...I mean, he can go without something, can't he??).

July 24th BBQ

2009-09-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

This is my last post for July. I'm finally caught up from my trip in UT! We had one last BBQ before we headed back to Florida. It was nice having Wayne and Anne (my in-laws) come to my parents home. There is always plenty of food, and it was delicious...with lots of fresh Utah corn.

This year my dad grew 30,000 ears of corn. Two of my brother-in-laws worked for my dad over the summer to help farm the corn. They took care of the corn, and it turned out great! I wish I could have been able to freeze it and bring it with me home to FL.
My sister (Laura), my brother (Jeff), my mom and dad were just enjoying each others company in this picture.

Jyllian was able to ride uncle Jeremy's horse. It was her first time riding a horse. She was hanging on to her cousin Sierra very tight.

Jasmine also enjoyed riding the horse. We told her maybe next summer she could learn how to ride by herself.

Bailey, Sierra, and Jyllian are all the same age. Jyllian really had an enjoyable time with all of her cousins.

Lott Grandkids July 2009

2009-09-08T15:57:00.001-07:00

I told Anne (my mother-in-law) her birthday present would be late, but I didn't tell her what it was. You see we had to be in UT for this picture to be taken. My sister-in-law, Amanda, is a wonderful photographer. Each time I visit, I have some pictures taken. I hope next summer we can have a Lott family picture. It would be really nice to replace the old one on my shelf.

Top Row: Isabel, Dreyton and Dominique
Bottom Row: Jyllian, Meg, Mattison, Baby Emma, Jasmine and Ethan.

Dominique is now in 8th grade. It's hard to believe he will go into high school next year.

Dreyton is my 6th grader. He has always seemed older than his age.
Jasmine is now in 3rd grade.

Jyllian just started Joy School and she loves it. She really wants to ride the bus with her big sister.

My children are all getting so big.

Alicia's Wedding Day

2009-09-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

On July 18th, my sister Alicia was married to Tyler Harvey. We drove to Manti early Saturday morning for the wedding. Here Donovan is outside the Manti temple waiting for Alicia and Ty to walk out of the temple. A lady asked him if he was a pilot. I guess I can see why she asked him if he were a pilot. Do pilots wear dark glasses? Jyllian and Jasmine are playing on the temple grounds.

Jyllian is sitting and looking cute.

Here is the whole Peterson bunch on the steps.

From left to right: Alayne, Janae, Annette, Alicia, Laura, Julie and Shannon...all seven girls.

We left the temple and had a luncheon in Fairview. After the luncheon we headed to my parents' house for the backyard reception.

This is a picture with all of the spouses and my parents.

This is a picture of my family with the groom.

All the sisters at the reception.

The flower girls took several rides throughout the evening in the carriage. It really was a Cinderella-like wedding.

Here are all of the nieces with Aunt Alicia.

Back view of the dresses

It was very difficult to take the picture with the groom and the nephews, so Alicia and Grandpa had to step in and hold the little boys.

One last picture of my family at the wedding. Let me tell you it was very difficult to put that frilly dress on Jasmine. It was even more amazing to get her hair curled and place the flower wreath on her head. But she ended up loving it after she saw all the other cousins looking just the same.

Family Picture Day

2009-09-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Each year my mother thinks it is important to get a family picture. I'm not talking about my immediate family, but the whole Peterson family. We are a very large family! There are ten children in my family, and we are all married. There are now twenty-eight grandkids and two more on the way (Julie and Jeremy's wife, Amanda, are both expecting). Someone has been pregnant in my family for the last ten years. We usually only have a couple of days to get this picture, because I live in Florida and Alayne lives in Rexburg. This picture was scheduled for July 16th at 7:30pm. Donovan was supposed to board a plane at 8:00 am that morning, but he decided to sleep through his alarm clock (as he had only had 2 hours of sleep for each of the previous two nights). Luckily, he did wake up in time to catch the next flight that left at 12:00 noon. It put him into SLC around 6:00pm. He arrived just in time to have this picture taken. We were going to have to photo shop him in. All because these two fell in love.... Love you mom and dad!

All the siblings with mom and dad.

And we can't forget all of the out-laws...

A picture with all of the grandkids.

And finally a picture of my family (Donovan, Janae, Dominique, Dreyton, Jasmine and Jyllian).

Utah- July 2009

2009-09-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah, Karen gave birth to little Emma. Here she is with Grandma Lott.

Dominique turned 13 in UT. Grandma Lott was soooo nice to make him a red velvet cake (it's his favorite). This cake is made from scratch, and it takes awhile to make. I was glad Grandma offered to make the cake because I really didn't want to. I can never get this cake to turn out the way Anne does. Dominique wanted to see the movie, "Up," so we took him and some cousins. These four boys ( Dominique, Dreyton, Tyler, and Grayson) can really stir up trouble. They decided it would be fun to go bee hunting in Grandma Peterson's back yard. They each took their turn getting bit by yellow jackets, but they kept trying to capture the bees. I'm not sure what the fun is in that, but it kept them occupied for a couple of days.

Road Trip to St. Louis

2009-08-17T16:13:00.001-07:00

On July 3, we started our drive to St. Louis, MO. Our children really wanted to visit their friends, so we decided to drive to St. Louis and then fly from St. Louis to Salt Lake City. Donovan was kind enough to drive the van back to Gainesville, but he did fly to SLC a couple of weeks later for my sister's wedding. We were able to take our dog Daisy with us to St. Louis. The kids were so happy, and I think she was too. I would have never guessed in a million years that I would be letting a dog in my home or car. But she is the best dog. She showed up at our door step a year ago and seems to really like us too. We were able to visit with the Melby family. Donovan and Spencer have known each other since their mission. The Melby's arrived in St. Louis one month before we did back in 2002. Spencer is finishing his cardiothoracic fellowship, but they may stay in St. Louis. And who knows...maybe we will be back there again to live sometime too. While we lived in St. Louis, Donovan and Spencer purchased this boat together. We sold our share when we left, but we sure had a fun time back on the water. Gotta luv spending time with some good friends on a boat with some smooth water!! Donovan was so happy to waterski (it was his first love).

Dominique waterskiied, and Dreyton and Jasmine both tried to get up. They were soooooo close. Maybe next time.
The kids were having a great time on a floating dock where we stayed and had a picnic. They would dive down and get hand fulls of mud to smear all over themselves. We call it the Meramec mud bath. It would probably cost $150 at some high-priced salon. However, I find it gross, but kids like dirt.

The boys were able to spend some extra time in St. Louis with their friends. Dominique stayed with the Tammenga's and Dreyton stayed with the Jarvis' family. They wanted to stay longer, but they had a plane to catch. It was their first time flying without their parents, but they were fine.

Dominique's surprise 12 plus birthday party

2009-08-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

We now have a teenager in the family! Dominique did not want to turn thirteen, so he was telling everyone he was "12 plus." I'm not sure why he didn't want to turn thirteen, but I just don't think he is ready to like girls yet. That's ok with me, though. As far as I am concerned, he can wait until he graduates from college before he starts dating.

I decided to throw a little surprise birthday party for him. I invited a few boys from school and a few from church. Dominique had told me that he didn't want a birthday party this year. He was a little upset with me at first for having the party, but I think he ended up having a good time. The boys played capture the flag and a little bit of Fear Factor games. The boys had gone to a Fear Factor party at a friend's house a few months ago and really enjoyed it. So we tried it here at our home. Left to right: Josh, Jon, Corey Rudd, and Corey Koziera

Jeremiah, Kyle, Dreyton

Dominique loves the Wii. He got a few games.

And some cash which he spent on games

and a Toys R Us gift card which he used to buy (yes, you guessed it) more games. Yes sir-ee Bob, he is a game junkie, and his mom has to put limits on his Wii, DSi, and computer time.

Scout Camp - June 2009

2009-08-02T06:49:00.000-07:00

I know I am behind on blogging, so I will do my best to catch up! Dominique and Donovan went to scout camp at Camp Shands that is in between Gainesville and Jacksonville the fourth week of June. I sent them with a disposable camera because I didn't want Dominique being responsible for my digital camera. The pictures obviously aren't very good quality, but they do capture some of scout camp.Dominique competed in a scout troop marathon that involved running, swimming, archery, answering trivia questions, bicycling and basketball. Dominique participated in the swimming portion.

All of the scouts slept in tents. I don't know how I would handle sleeping in the heat with all of the several different types of creepy crawlies that were there with them.

This is a picture of the inside of the tents. Dominique and Kyle (another boy in the ward) shared a tent.

These are the boys in Donovan's scout troop. He is the scoutmaster. Donovan and Dominique had a good time too.

Washington D.C. Day Three

2009-06-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

Day Three: Me and Dreyton and the trucker hats!

Our first stop of day three was the Arlington National Cemetary. We were able to see tombstones of several of the men and women in the United States Armed Forces who died fighting for our country. We were able to see the grave site of John F. Kennedy and his wife. Below is a picture of the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. This tomb is guarded twenty four hours a day.

Here is a picture of the Washington National Cathedral. It is the sixth largest church in the world and second largest in the United States. It is very beautiful inside and out. We stopped at the World War II Memorial, and Dreyton wanted his picture taken next to two of the states he has lived in.

This is the gold star wall. Each family member was given a blue flag if they had a family member serving in the armed forces. When someone died, the family received a gold flag. Each star represents 1000 soldiers who died during World War II. Over 400,000 servicemen died.

Dreyton and his buddies at the Memorial.

Dreyton very happy to be standing next to the Missouri pillar.

We were able to go to tour the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the National Archives (which contain the orginal Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

This picture was taken at the American History Museum. This is a stone wheel.

Our last day: We woke up at 4:45 a.m. and departed at 6:00a.m. We arrived into Gainesville at 9:30p.m. It was a very long drive, but I had a great time with Dreyton. I told Donovan he could go with Jasmine if she chooses to go in a few years. We'll see if he is "man enough" to do it! :)

Washington D.C. Day 2

2009-06-20T06:19:00.001-07:00

Here we go! My day started at 5:45A.M. As chaperones we had to get ourselves ready and then knock all the doors to get the kids up. We had to be to breakfast by 6:45 and on the buses at 7:30. This picture is me trying to take a picture of myself with the trucker hat. It may just be a little more sporty on my head than on Dreyton's??Our first stop was Mt. Vernon. It must have been on ALL the tour buses itineray that day because there were bus load after bus load of people there at the same time we visited. Mt. Vernon is where George Washington and his family lived. This is a picture of his home. We were able to walk around the grounds and see his tombstone, the farming grounds and the museum.

This is the other side of George Washington's home.

Our second stop was visiting the Air and Space Museum. McDonald's is located inside the museum, so this was where the kids had lunch. I think they were more excited to eat lunch at McDonalds then tour the museum. How can the scientific discoveries of aviation compete with a Big Mac and fries?

We only had an hour and a half to tour the Air and Space museum before we had to load up on the bus. Here we are outside of the museum waiting for the bus. It was a day FULL of orange.

Our next stop was an outside visit to the White House. Unfortunately, it took a long time to drive to the White House due to several roads being blocked that day because of the shooting that occured at the Holocaust Museum. An 80-year-old white supremist walked in the museum and shot a black security guard. The sad thing is that the white supremist had already served time for another crime. It's unfortunate that the security guard died and the old man lived (he was shot twice by other guards and taken to the hospital). The museum has only been open for seven weeks. We had the option to tour the museum on Tuesday, but our principal decided to not visit this museum. She felt like the museum would be too deep for the fifth graders. I know other groups were supposed to tour the Museum on Wednesday (the day the shooting took place), but the museum closed. On Wednesday, Donovan called me on my cell phone and asked where I was. I told him we were trying to find our way to the white house. The streets had been blocked due to a shooting. He was calling to tell me that he had read about the shooting online, and he was making sure we were ok.

We made it to the White House. Here is a group picture of the kids. The public has not been able to tour this inside of the White House for several years, but we did see protesters on the outside.
Next stop: Ford Theatre. This is the theatre were President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Boothe. The picture below is were Lincoln was sitting at the time of the play.

Next stop: Dinner at the Great American Buffet. It was pretty good buffet food. The waitresses kept refilling the kids drinks. As a chaperone, I had to make sure the kids didn't have coffee for breakfast, and we had to make sure the kids ate something besides dessert for dinner. I know I lived quite a sheltered childhood, but I can't believe parents let their elementary age children drink coffee. Aren't children already hyper enough? Isn't adding caffeine like throwing gas on a fire? Anywho...

We left dinner and went to the Metro Station. The children were so excited to ride the subway. Most of the children have never seen a subway. There was a small problem with the ride on the subway. Since the children drank so much for dinner, they had to pee REALLY BAD. Who would want to use the bathroom in the subway? When we exited the subway we could not find the bathrooms anywhere. These kids had to pee so bad I thought we were going to have a few accidents. We finally did make it to the bus, and several kids were lined up to use the bathoorm on the bus. The flusher broke, so I decided I could wait!!

After dinner, we were able to visit several war memorials. This is a picture of the Korean Memorial.

This is the Lincoln Memorial.

This is a picture of the Washington Monument. We didn't get tickets to go to the top, but we saw the outside. This monument stands 555 feet tall.

These are the three soilders representing the Vietnam Memorial.

This is The Wall that lists all of the soldiers who fought and died in the Vietnam War.

We didn't get back to the hotel until 9:30pm. I climbed into bed at 11:00, but I couldn't fall asleep. I really wanted to be asleep after a long day of walking and childhood antics.

Day 3 will be forthcoming...

Washington D.C. Day One

2009-06-14T18:01:00.001-07:00

Each year the Alachua County Sheriff's Dept. takes all of the fifth grade safety patrol students to Washington D.C. Each school needs chaperones, so I went as one of the "lucky" chaperones. The buses departed at 12:00 A.M. and drove all night and all day to Washington D.C. It took the buses fifteen hours to reach D.C. That was definitely one of the LONGEST nights of my life (and I have had more than my share of long nights in my 29 years here on Earth). First of all I don't sleep well sitting up, second, I don't sleep while moving, and third, the kids were not so quiet (as you could imagine an excited group of 11 year-olds cooped up in a bus together all night).

Once we arrived in D.C., the whole event was quite fast-paced with a tremendous amount of walking. Then again, these kids today needed that kind of exercise! It was great to be able to go with a tour guide. I have been to Washington D.C. a couple of times before, but I learned a lot more about the memorials, buildings and our history. This is the Jefferson Memorial below. The President of the United States can look out the window from the white house and see this memorial. Some view to behold as he enjoys his morning hot chocolate, I'm sure. Below is the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. FDR is sitting in a wheelchair that he made from a kitchen chair. I had these three boys in my group (Shane M., Shane D., and Dreyton...Isn't it a good thing we didn't name our second son Shane? How confusing would THAT have been?!)

This is another statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He did not want people to know he could not walk. As most of you are aware he contacted polio at the age of 39. He could not walk for one year and still had an extremely hard time walking after that.

I took a picture of Dreyton riding on the tour bus to and from our destionations. Can you feel the enthusiasm he exuded on this beautiful morning after a "perfect" night's rest?

This is Dreyton on top standing outside of the Newseum. It overlooks Pennsylvania Ave. It is a fairly new museum displaying how the media have captured the news over the years.

The boys are waiting for the rest of the group. My group tended to be a little "rambuctious and eager" as they ran ahead of the pack (and the analogy to a group of animals was quite appropriate at times).

This picture was taken right after a group picture was taken of all twelve schools that left from Alachua County. Dreyton was able to visit with his friend Landon (a friend from our Gainesville ward from church).

I'm only posting this picture so you all can see how hidious these hats were. We all had to wear these hats each time we got off the bus. Each school had a different colored hat and each school wore the exact same shirt. These were our trucker hats. I don't like hats! They make my head hot and itchy. The hat was obviously too big for my head. Maybe someone with a big head can find a use for it....hmmmmm, Father's Day is coming up. Shhhh. Don't tell Donovan what he will be getting! It will be a surprise, and besides he loves hats anyways. :)

Other events that were not captured on film include the following: walking tour of Captiol Hill and a tour of the Buearu of Printing and Engraving which was where they make money (da bling bling). We saw a glass box containing $1 million dollars of $10 bills....and mini-me was sitting outside of it salivating at the mouth while Austin Powers ran around the place.

Days 2 and 3 of this fantastilicious trip will be forthcoming in the next blogs. Stay tuned!

How old are we??

2009-06-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last night we were watching the Princess Bride on TV. Donovan and I told Jasmine it was time to go to bed. She wanted us to record the rest of the movie, but we were going to be switching channels. Our DVR doesn't allow us to record one event and watch another. She said, "Well, don't we have this movie?" I said, "No we don't". Jasmine said, "You know on those square things that you put in the square machine." Donovan and I looked at each other unsure of what she meant, and then began laughing as we realized she didn't even know what to call a VHS tape and VCR. She has grown up in the dvd era. She doesn't even know what a VCR even is. I guess Donovan and I are getting REALLY old. At least we have one another to get gray and wrinkley together. :)

Church shoes and clothes

2009-05-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

Why is it that children's clothes fit them one week but not the next? Jasmine told me that her church shoes don't fit. I looked at them and sure enough her feet were hanging off the back of her sandals. Why did it take her so long to notice? I know her feet didn't grow in one week. Dominique and Dreyton have had the same problem in the past. One week their pants are too long and the next they are too short. Dominique had been wearing these black shoes each week to church and for band perfomances, but for his spring band concert they didn't fit. I told him just to wear them one more time. I did not have time to drive to the store and purchase new shoes before the concert.

Cupid Jyllian

2009-05-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went to Dreyton's fifth grade fan fare. The fifth graders preformed a little skit and sang songs. The kids had displayed some of their work they had done throughout the year. Dominique often teases Dreyton about a girl named Maggie. Her older brother, Zach, is Dominique's age, and the Dominique and Zach tease their siblings about liking each other. Well, tonight Maggie stood and introduced herself. Our little fearless daughter, Jyllian, said out loud, "That's Maggie? Dreyton's girlfriend? He loves her!" Maggie's mother was seated behind us. She smiled and winked at Jyllian. After Maggie's presentation, Maggie's mom said that Dreyton treats Maggie better than any other boy in the fifth grade. Maggie's mother is Dominique's reading teacher, so she know the boys very well. She doesn't mind if Dreyton likes Maggie, but the official report from Dreyton is that he will neither "confirm nor deny the validity of Jyllian's statement." Oh, those 5th grade crushes....bring back memories of notes asking another if he would "go with me." Where on earth we would actually "go", I still have no idea! Maybe I will ask Dreyton where he and Maggie will go if it ever comes to that.

Riding Mower or Push Mower?

2009-05-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Each week the boys (Dominique and Dreyton) help me or Donovan mow the lawn (although lately it has been me much more than my testosterone counterpart). The boys have the chore of using the self-propelled mower, and I usually use ol' Triple L, which is our riding lawn mower (what our sons like to call "the Lott Lawn Lamborghini"). Dreyton would really like to mow the lawn with triple L, but he is not quite "manly" enough yet (like myself...ha ha ha). I told Dreyton that it is not a toy and actually a dangerous machine used by ninja assassins in certain parts of the Orient. He insisted that he was old enough to use this beast. So I tried to explain how to use the mower and then had him drive with me. Well, his driving "skillz" definitely need some further polishing. After backing into the fence, let's just say he wasn't ready to use the riding mower yet. Maybe next year. Dominique also wanted to try, but I think it is going to take some practice driving before we turn on the blade. In the meantime, I guess I will be the one to keep using Triple L "fully loaded" with the blade running.

Mother's Day (Flashback five years ago)

2009-05-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

Each year we celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day. When Dominique was seven years old, he asked me on Mother's Day, "Mom, what day is Kids' Day?" I have to admit it was a reasonable question, but I simply replied with, "EVERY day is Kids' Day!"

I do wish everyday was Mother's Day, because to celebrate it Donovan made me strawberry crepes, bought me my favorite chocolates (Lindt Truffles), did breakfast dishes and "picked out" and purchased the perfume that I showed him at the mall last week.

Happy Mother's Day mom and Anne! You are two of the most selfless people that I know.

Riding the Bus

2009-05-08T11:34:00.001-07:00

Jasmine just hates riding the bus to and from school. Luckily, she has a very nice next door neighbor that allows her to ride to school each day. Every day she asks me to pick her up from school. I asked her why she dislikes riding the bus. She let me know that the bus driver is mean, it is very hot and sweaty, and there is a little boy named Connor who chases her home each day. After she steps off the bus, Connor chases her and tells her he loves her. Today I stepped outside to watch her walk down the street. I saw Connor chasing her. But today she swung her backpack at him. When she reached our door, she was so excited. Jasmine said, "I think he is going to leave me alone." I asked why he wouldn't be chasing her anymore and she said, because I hit him with my backpack. I thought girls chased boys not the other way around. It is fun to watch though.

Dreyton's Birthday Backyard Party

2009-05-01T15:43:00.001-07:00

Dreyton has been awaiting his "own post" on our blog for some time now. I didn't realize my children were keeping track of how many times I post about them. Dreyton has been feeling a little left out. I guess I haven't posted about him on here as often as our other three children. Well, Dreyton, my dear 11 year-old bundle of joy, here is YOUR post. :)

Dreyton was having a very difficult time deciding what to do for his recent birthday party. He finally decided to have a backyard party with water games and pizza. All of the boys had a great time. They all had water guns and water balloons, and I don't think anyone ended the party in dry clothes. They also played capture the flag. I am here to tell you, dem' eleven-year-old boys sure have a lot of pent up energy in those little bodies they have!

Here are some pictures of the boys enjoying pizza. Oh! I discovered another difference between boys and girls, and I will pass along my newfound wisdom to any of you who may be planning future parties for some young men. Don't order three cheese pizzas, one pepperoni, and one ham. Boys like stuff (i.e. MEAT) on their pizza. I was told not to order more cheese pizzas next time. Who new? (**Actually, Donovan knew, but I didn't ask him before ordering** OK, Donovan...get away from my keyboard now) I knew boys ate MORE than girls, but I didn't think it mattered what was on the pizza. I guess some boys have a pickier palate than I imagined.

Boys can down a lot of soda too. I guess if you add enough sugar to anything that boys will gulp it down!All of the boys helped Dreyton blow out his candles.Present time! I think it is always a lot of fun to watch all of the kids huddle around and watch with eager anticipation as the birthday boy opens his presents. Dreyton is my easiest child to shop for. He is happy with almost anything he receives, and he is always seeing new stuff on TV that he would love for me to buy at only 3 low payments of $19.99!! We went to the store the day after the party as his newly received monies were burning a hole in his pocket after a mere 24 hours. He wanted a DSi for his birthday. He used all of his money (plus some of mine!). He said it was the best shopping day ever (not that I agree as he didn't even buy one pair of shoes with his shopping spree). HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DREYTON!! WE LOVE YOU!!

A sprained foot

2009-04-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon the kids were in the backyard having a waterfight. Dominique was using a hose, and Dreyton and Jasmine had waterguns. They were running around having a good time until Jasmine was injured. Mom has told them repeatedly to not go down the slide wet because someone can get hurt. In St. Louis, our next door neighbor went down our slide (yes, we brought it with us to FL from MO) wet and broke the top of his foot. I looked out the window because I heard crying. I knew she was hurt because she had a very sad cry. Usually, when she is slightly hurt she gets angry and yells at whoever she thinks is at fault. This time she didn't move.

Donovan and I went outside to see what had happened. She was brought into the house and after a few hours of debate, Donovan took her to the emergency room. Well, the E.R. on a Saturday evening is not the nicest place to be. Donovan decided to come home and return the next day as it would have been the morning of the next day before the docs would have been able to see Jasmine anyways due to such a long wait. He figured he would have been in the E.R. all night if he had stayed. Jasmine kept us both up Saturday night. She cried due to pain, but we did give her motrin. Sunday morning we called a few urgent care centers in Gainesville, but the X-ray machines were down at two of the locations and the third one was not open on Sundays. So, Donovan decided to return to the dreaded E.R. Four hours later, it was determined that she did not break her foot but sprained it. She received crutches and a splint. I'm sure those crutches are going to be quite expensive. She was told to stay off of her foot for a few days. Today she has actually started putting a little weight on her foot. I don't think she'll being playing in her soccer game Saturday, but she will at least be walking with one crutch.

Easter/Baptism/Birthday

2009-04-15T14:28:00.001-07:00

We were trying to decide which day would be best to hold Jasmine's baptism. Since the Lott's were planning on coming to Florida over the kids' spring break, we decided to have the baptism while they were all here. We were in Orlando all week, but drove home Saturday night. Sunday was Easter and my birthday, so Jasmine was feeling pretty special to have her big day too. It was a very busy day. We woke up, and the kids had to find their Easter baskets. Then they went outside to find some eggs grandma Peterson had hidden for them. Grandpa and Grandma Peterson flew into Gainesville Saturday evening. They patiently waited at the airport for a ride. Donovan and I left a little later than planned from Disneyworld, but my parents were still at the airport and ready come to our home.It was so nice to have the Lott's at our home too. Wayne made some shelves for me in my laundry room. He went to Home Depot with my dad, and they got all of the supplies. We painted the room gray, and it looks great. I now have some food storage shelves. Whenever Wayne comes to my house, I make him a list of to-do items. He actually asked for the list before I could give it to him. I think Donovan gets more excited than I do when his dad comes because it clears off his honey-do list (that tends to get longer and longer as he delays in completing a lot of the tasks). We had a hard time getting the kids to take a serious picture. The girls were being so silly.

It was fun to spend time with the Thomas girls. Jyllian and Meg got along most of the time. I guess as good as three and four year olds can get along. Meg and Jyllian love princesses and barbies. Kristen and I went shopping on Monday. Since our birthday is less than a week apart, we decided to take our birthday money and shop without kids. Grandma Lott watched the kids, and we were kid free (What a treat!). It's so nice not to chase the kids through the clothing racks at the stores as they play hide and seek. I talk on the phone to Kristen almost everyday, but it was nice to actually have her around. After everyone left on Tuesday, Jyllian wanted to know when they were coming back. I actually was wondering the same thing. We probably won't see them back in Florida for a long time. That makes me sad, but we will be able to see them in Utah this summer. My mom made me my favorite strawberry cheesecake for my birthday. She used to make it for me while I was growing up and living at her home. I haven't had this cheesecake in probably twelve years. I haven't lived in UT for almost thirteen years, and this was the first time my mom had been with me on my birthday in that long. I love my mom. She always made our birthdays special.

Disneyworld April 2009

2009-04-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you! My mother-in-law (Anne) has been wanting to visit Disneyworld for quite some time now. Anne and Wayne brought their children and grandchildren to Disneyworld. They paid for everything (airfare, accomodations, food, and theme park tickets). This was definitely a once in a lifetime trip. Anne and Wayne are two of the most generous people you will ever meet. They do so much for their children.

The grandkids had a great time, and it was very nice to have all of the Lott cousins together. The kids enjoyed swimming and just hanging out together. I know my daughter Jasmine kept her cousins (Mattison and Isabel) awake at night. I kept hearing them giggle as they thought they were being so clever and sneaky.

Magic Kingdom- Day 1
We were all up and ready to hit the ground running as we began our Disney excursion. The kids were excited and wanting to ride, ride, ride. Below is a picture with Grandma and Grandpa Lott and all of the grandkids (excluding Jyllian). She wouldn't get in this picture. It has to be her idea to have her picture taken. Anne and Wayne have eight grandkids, and Karen is pregnant with their ninth. She is having a girl in July.

After riding splash mountain, I took a picture of some of the group. We got a little wet on this log ride, and the water felt good on the sunny Florida day. This picture is taken in front Cinderella's castle. The kids were getting tired and my feet were aching, but it was still easy to smile after Day 1. Hollywood Studios - Day 2
Day two we went into Hollywood studios. We were able to get a picture of the whole group. A nice gentleman took our picture. Toy Story Mania is one of my favorite rides. We were able to get fast passes, but they weren't good until after 6pm. When we returned, it was closed due to technical difficulties. It reopened about an hour later, but some didn't get to ride. I was very impressed to see Wayne and Anne ride the Tower of Terror, and they were brave enough to do it without any Depends too. It is quite the free fall. This is a playground in the park called Honey I Shrunk the Kids. I think all of the kids had a great time here. We spent a good hour in this playground. I was exhausted after chasing Jyllian. She is always on the go.Donovan was taking a break inside the playground. Doesn't he look nice in those shades?Dreyton was starting to run out of steam.These four were the life of the party! Donovan and Kristen are so crazy when they are together. But they just take after their animated mother (and her Herbert Hardnarkle adventures).While we were in line for the Toy Story ride, I took a picture. It is a 3-D ride, hence the cool looking eyeglasses.Jyllian can pose very well for her pictures when she wants to. She wanted me to take her picture. She lifted her leg in the picture. I'm not sure why. I guess she thought it would be a better picture. What do you think?I was trying to take a picture of the two of us together. Not such a good picture. I need to practice and get some good pictures. Kristen does this very well.Day 3- Animal Kingdom
Our first ride of the day was on a Safari ride. Everyone was able to ride in a jeep around the wild animal park. I think this was the favorite for the kids. We were able to see all kinds of animals that live in the wild. Here are Karen, Mike, and Ethan enjoying the ride.Me, Jyllian, and Dreyton posing for our picture.Kristen, Meg, Mattison, and Isabel were having a great time. Meg was sticking her tongue out at Donovan.Jasmine's got the look...we just aren't sure what that look will do for her.The three youngest wanted to ride Dinosaur, but they were too small. Maybe in a few years, they will reach my "towering stature." It looks like Meg will be able to ride it before Ethan and Jyllian.Jyllian playing the drums.Still Day 3 but we hopped over to the Epcot Center. They have free taste testing of some soda from around the world. There were some disgusting flavors, but a few of them were rather tasty. Jasmine obviously tried the one that is made to subdue the consumer. We were just about ready to leave the parks and head back to Gainesville. Jyllian was tired and did not want to be in the picture, but Grandma held onto her like a cowboy wrassling a steer to capture this precious moment on film.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

Each year the Milam Funeral Home in Newberry, FL holds an easter egg hunt and other activities for free. It is a very generous act they do to help people celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Besides the tons of filled Easter eggs they provide for the kids' age seperated Easter egg hunt, they also provide food (donuts, cookies, hotdogs, popcorn, and drinks), horse carriage rides, petting zoo, train rides, a bounce house, and a fire truck all without charging a dime of the 500+ people who attend. This is our second year attending, and the kids had another great time this year. Jasmine and Morgan met up with a friend from school. Her name is Kaitlyn. The girls had a good time racing through the field trying to fill their baskets.

Jyllian was a little shy about picking up the eggs. But she did manage to get a few. The egg hunt is divided into groups. She was in the three and four-year-old group.

Morgan, Jasmine and Jyllian are trying to do some pull-ups from the back of the fire truck. Guess how many they mustered altogether?

The girls are petting the mama sheep and her baby lambs. There were chickens, rabbits, and goats too.

Jyllian would not have anything to do with the Easter Bunny. I guess I can't blame her. Kinda creepy to a 3 year-old, don't you think? Jasmine and Morgan stood in the picture without her.

The girls all had a good time on the train ride.

Dominique and Dreyton didn't come with us this year. I think they didn't want to be seen at a "Kid" activity. You know they are getting older, or so they tell me.

Since you last saw us....

2009-04-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

I think there may be something in the water here lately as our children have begun to exhibit some unusual changes to their facial features. No matter. We still love them (even if we are the only ones who still do!).

Poor Dominique has been experiencing horrific nasal difficulties with the increased pollen in the air.

Dreyton has been consumed with the idea of replacing Jay Leno when Leno "retires" from his new show on prime-time.

Jasmine has been a little depressed lately, but she has found comfort and consolation in a new diet she has started (eating anything not nailed down!).

Good Weather...grasshoppers & spiders??

2009-03-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

We have had the best weather here in the Gainesville area lately. It has been around 75-85 degrees for the high for the last couple of weeks. It is so nice to be outside and enjoying the beautiful days. The kids have been riding their bikes, scooters, and skateboards everyday. The boys have a new project too. Dominique and Dreyton have started catching grasshoppers. Yesterday, Dominique showed me a water bottle with a grasshopper inside of it. He said it had laid eggs inside the bottle. I told him to take the bottle outside immediately. He then proceeded to tell me that he had the bottle in his room for over a week!! He also told me that his dad said I would not approve of them being inside. This means, of course, that his dad knew they were in our boys' bedroom and didn't even bother to tell me! I quickly found Dominique a plastic container in the garage that he could keep the grasshoppers in, but I told him that he had to keep it outside. He was so excited that he took off on his bike to catch more.

Why do boys like bugs? I just dread bugs, but at least I can kill spiders now. As a child I would pay my sister to kill them for me, and let's just say that she made a lot of money back in the day. Since, I moved to Florida, I have learned I either kill the spider myself, or this incredibly disgusting bug will be in my house. And there are not too many of the 8-legged creatures that make it past my exterminating footwear!

Jasmine Turns 8

2009-03-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

Wow! Jasmine turned 8 years old Friday. It seems like she is growing up so quickly. She will be getting baptized on April 12, which happens to be Easter Sunday and my birthday. What a great day! We were actually trying to figure out the best time to hold the baptism. Since, the Lott family will be coming for Spring Break, we decided to do it then.

Jasmine wanted a karoke machine for her birthday. Jasmine is definitely following in her dad's foot steps. The two of them love to dance and listen to music together.

Jasmine wanted strawberry shortcake for her cake. She loves to cut up strawberries, put them in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of sugar. Ok, maybe not that much sugar, but it is a lot.

We had a small party at a new bowling alley in town. Everyone had a good time. Jyllian even tried bowling. I didn't know they made bowling shoes that small.

The girls had a great time bowling. Luckily, we put the bumpers up because those girls have a ways to go before they are averaging a 250 bowling score.
From left to right: Jasmine, Cheyenne (a neighbor), Elesse (a neighbor), Sydney (a classmate), and Morgan (her best friend and next door neighbor).

A Precious Moment

2009-03-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

It has been a little chilly here in Florida the last few weeks. I was in the kitchen doing the dishes, and I heard Jyllian playing with the dog in my bedroom. But it became very quiet. When I entered my bedroom, I just had to take a picture. Don't you all just love getting into your car on a cold winter day, when the sun has been shining into it? It is such a warm feeling. I'm thinking the dog and Jyllian must be experiencing this same feeling. These two really keep each other company throughout the day when everyone else is gone.

The joy of kids growing up!

2009-02-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

My mother raised ten children, and nine of us had braces. It is now my turn to "gladly" spend my retirement money on orthodontic work for my kids. Wow! Can you say expensive? Dominique had braces put on, and he actually has good teeth! Well, relative to me when I was his age. He will only need to wear them for just over a year. Dreyton has actually been seeing an orthodondist for two years due to an underbite, which my DNA passed down to him. He has had two mouth pieces and invisiline. As soon as he loses all of his baby teeth, he will have braces too.

Donovan and I are hoping at least one of our kids decides to go into orthodontics so that we can retire early and move in with them. At this point in time, Dreyton says he wants to be an orthodontist (mostly due to seeing a lot of "toys" some of the orthodontists we knew in St Louis had around their homes). We are keeping our fingers crossed that he continues to have this occupational aspiration!

Vegas Baby!

2009-02-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

Each year the American Physcial Therapy Association holds a conference that Donovan tries to attend. It seems like I have been able to go with him every other year. I found out awhile ago that it was going to be held in Sin City this year, so I just "had" to go. Originally, I was going to stay with my sister-in-law, Kristen, and have some good times with some crazy girl fun, but her life changed drastically and she has since moved to Utah. I wasn't sure if I was going to go because she wasn't going to be there. But as it drew closer to make a decision about going, I decided it would be fun to go and visit other friends and spend time with Donovan. Everyone needs a vacation without kids once in a while, right? Thankfully Grandma Peterson snuck out of Utah Valley last minute to come watch our four children. It was very much appreciated! Thanks a lot, Mom!!

Donovan and I stayed in the Luxor hotel compliments of the University of Florida (gotta luv dem Gator greenbacks!).

We were able to visit with a lot of friends that have crossed our paths over the past several years. We lived in Vegas for three and a half years back in '99 to '02 . Wow! Vegas is so different now. There has been a tremendous increase in traffic and a lot more homes that have been built since we moved in Aug of 2002. The strip is still crazy, of course.

I really wanted to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, so we drove to Caesars Palace in the car we rented and had dinner there with a good friend we had not seen for a few years. Nothing like fine company and delicious food!

Donovan enjoyed his favorite dessert there, Dulce de Leche cheesecake. It was as yummy as this picture makes it look.

We "pulled a Janae" on this trip meaning we forgot to take our camera (once again!). At least we are consistent. :)

I knew this day would come!

2009-02-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

I always knew this day would eventually come. What day is that?, you ask. It is when my children pass me up in height. Dreyton wanted me to measure his height today. Of course, we had to find out if he had finally surpassed his dear old mother's "giant" stature. Dominique and Dreyton have been neck and neck with each other, but Dominique is still slightly taller. But it is official that they are now both taller than me. **sigh** I measured the boys in the fall, but they were still a tad bit shorter than me. Since then, I knew they had grown due to the length of their pants I had bought for them increasing. Dominique didn't fit his band uniform a few weeks ago, but I wasn't going to remind them that they had probably passed me up. To keep my sons from being too puffed up, I had to remind my boys that being taller than me is not a very hard thing to do. I've been short my whole life, and it doesn't make me feel better that I'm shrinking with old age. I need all the height I can get!! It's strange not to have to bend down in order to kiss your children. I guess I'll be soon standing on my tippy toes to kiss my boys. Just as I do with my husband.

I get comments all the time. People will say, "Did you know you are short? Wow! You are short!" I think to myself, "Really...Where have you been?" I've always been short, but I don't need people to remind me of that fact. As you can see, I am feeling a little bitter of this "huge" accomplishment my two sons have met. On the bright side, Donovan is trying to have our accountant look at my decreased height as a possible tax deduction with the new Obama plan.

Jyllian's 3rd Birthday Pictures

2009-01-23T12:19:00.001-08:00

I'm a little behind on posting Jyllian's pictures. But better late than never. While we were in Utah, I had my sister-in-law Amanda take some pictures of Jyllian. Amanda always does such a great job. It is very nice to have a photographer in the family. Thanks, Amanda.

When we arrived at Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Amanda's home, Jyllian thought we were going to play with her cousin Bailey. Little did she know! When I told her she was going to have her picture taken, she was not happy about it. It is very difficult to take pictures of Jyllian, because she does not like getting her picture taken. While Amanda took the pictures, she had me leave the room. It usually works better, if I'm not in the same room.

Amanda was not able to take a lot of pictures, but at least she was able to get her to smile in some of the pictures. Jyllian kept sticking her finger in her mouth and acting silly.

What kids eat?! The dinner of champions

2009-01-17T16:05:00.000-08:00

The other night, we had pigs in a blanket for dinner. It's a very fast and easy meal and great for kids. Jyllian poured about a 1/4 cup ketchup on her plate. She loves ketchup! We were all finishing eating, and she said she was done too. I looked at her plate. She had only eaten one bite of her hot dog. I said, "Jyllian did you only eat the ketchup for dinner," and she said, "No I licked it with my finger." Surely, there is some nutrition in ketchup. After all it is made with tomatoes, right? She does the same thing with ranch dressing (another nutritious and important energy source). I'm not sure how much of the solid food she actually eats, but at least she's eating the salad dressing to cover the necessary fat intake recommended by nutritionists. What other "energy enriched" foods make up the diet of your children (or yourself)?

Poor Electrical Work

2009-01-16T04:18:00.000-08:00

As most of you are aware, we moved to Gainesville in June of 2008. When we purchased our home, it was four years old. This is the third home we have purchased, and each time we have bought a house we have also purchased a home warranty plan (which usually lasts a year). Well, whoever wired our home here in Newberry must have done it Monday morning after a weekend binge with Uncle Jack (Jack Daniels, that is). Thus far, the problems we have expeienced are electrical ones. I had purchased a new dryer in Missouri prior to moving to Florida. The home we had in Missouri had gas hook-ups, and the home in Florida was all electrical. I prefer gas hook-ups, but that's another story. When the truck arrived with all of our belongings, the washer and dryer were put in their spot and plugged in. When I opened the dryer door, the light bulb exploded. This was my first attempt to use my new dryer. It was really scary because glass shattered inside the dryer. I called the Maytag warranty department, and they came to look at the dryer. Come to find out the 220 volt plug had been incorrectly wired. We had to then call the home warranty company to fix the outlet. I don't know how the people that lived in the house prior to us didn't have any problems, but maybe it was because they never washed clothes. Maybe they did and just didn't disclose it in when we bought the home. Our next electrical problem came with the wiring in the ceiling lights. Donovan was installing ceiling fans in the bedrooms (yes, shocking I know that he was actually doing a household chore...a minor impersonation of his dad that occurs every blue moon), and the swich to the fan was not working. Well, the wiring in the ceiling was not wired properly, so we had to fix the wiring in the ceiling. This week we had another electrical problem. The dishwasher quit working, so I called the appliance repair man (who is getting to know me on a first name basis by now). He looked at the wiring in the dishwasher, and it had melted together. He said the electrican did not place the proper size screw over the wiring. There was nothing wrong with my dryer, ceiling fan, or dishwasher. It has all been electrical problems. I thought electricans were supposed to be bonded and licensed. The person that wired this house did a horrible job and obviously didn't know what he/she was doing.

The joys of home ownership! We will eventually move again and get another house. It would be really nice to stay put for 35 years like my parents, but I know we won't. So I just have to hope I can have my next home custom-built. I would really like to have my brother-in-law Mike to be my contractor. He is very meticulous and would make sure things were done right. Those Whimpey engineers do a good job! If you haven't seen Mike and Annette's home, you should go inside (I can arrange a tour for a nominal fee if anyone is interested). He built it from the ground up. He did have a few things contracted out, but it's a beautiful home. I know everyone has housing issues, but I hope you had a good electrican (or a handy-man father-in-law who lives nearby!).

OU is officially Gator Bait!!

2009-01-08T21:16:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the University of Florida Gators!! 24-14 win over the Oklahoma Sooners. What a game for the BCS National Championship of NCAA Football!!

A day of birthday parties

2009-01-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

While we were in UT, Bailey (my three-year-old niece) had a birthday party. The party was took place at the Primrose Retreat in Spanish Fork. It was such a fun place for the girl cousins to hang out and dress up. Each girl selected something to wear, and each girl didn't just try on one dress but several. The girls also were able to have their hair done by a stylist at the salon. My sister Shannon stepped in to help out with the hair. This is a picture of Jasmine with her cousin Katie. Katie is 8 months older than Jasmine.

Jyllian was crawling and walking all over the run way. She was waiting for her hair to be done all stylin' like.

This is before the girls had their hair done. Jasmine is in the background trying to find something to wear. She's not into the frilly, fluffy stuff as she feels it is too constricting and "bugs" her. The staff helped her find a skirt and jacket print. Whatever mom suggested just wasn't a good idea.

Here is the after shot picture. All of the girls were able to walk down the runway and show off their new hair do. These are all of the girl cousins on my side minus an 8-month old. These girls have so much fun together. But a few cat fights do occur. Me-ow!!
Miss Jasmine modeling her Hannah Montana look. Someday she may actually take on the name of Corida Florida.

A tea party (herbal tea, of course) followed dress up and hairstyling. The girls ate cupcakes with yummy pink frosting and pink hot chocolate with whipcream and pink sprinkles. I told you it was all girly! I tried the cupcake and hot chocolate, and they were delicous. Jyllian loved the frosting like most kids. Jasmine was just getting over the stomach flu, so she didn't eat much. Her stomach was still weak. Yes, each time we visit UT someone gets sick. Dominique, Jasmine, and Jyllian all got the stomach flu. Dominique and I caught the cold, flu, and fever. Yuck!

What would a princess party be without a crown? Jasmine, Amanda, and Ashlyn are all loving their crowns. Bailey was not so keen on the idea.

We attended Bailey's party in the morning of the 30th and then in the afternoon we went to Grayson's Party (my nephew). He had his party at Boondocks in Draper. I didn't get any pictures, but the kids enjoyed unlimited laser tag, arcade games, go-carts, and pizza. The boys thought this party was much less "girly" than the one their sisters attended in the morning. My sister could not get the kids to leave. She let them play laser tag for two hours. Dominique, Dreyton, and Jasmine all had a great time at Grayson's party.

It had been a couple of years since my kids had seen snow, so they wanted to play in the snow everyday. Donovan was OK in just playing in the snow when he went skiing and nothing more. Dominique enjoyed building a snow fort with his cousins. Dreyton forgot his gloves and discovered how cold the snow can be. I don't think he'll go outside again in Utah without gloves. It was 0 degrees the last Saturday that we were there. Brrrr! Thanks to Shannon, my mom, and Anne. They were able to round up enough snow gear for my kids. I didn't want to buy all that winter garb for just a two week stay. I mean, it wasn't like buying a new pair of shoes for myself, which are always OK to buy no matter how many times I wear them! :)

Back From Vacation

2009-01-06T16:18:00.001-08:00

The kids had a great time in Utah while we were away from home for the holidays. We are always so busy running from here to there and everywhere when we go back to our hometown of Orem. We arrived at 12:30 am MST the morning of the 24th. Our flight was supposed to leave Orlando at 4:45 pm on the 23rd . It was delayed for one hour. We had to make a connection through Denver, and the flight from Denver was also delayed. By the time we got to bed, it was 4:00 am Eastern time. Our kids were very tired, but overall responded as good travelers. The kids were very excited for Christmas, and I think they were more concerned about presents than sleep.

My parents held their annual Christmas Eve dinner at my sister's (Julie) house. It was a very large group. There are now forty eight people in the Peterson Family, and that is an awful lot of people to feed stuffed pork chops (just ask my mom). It is a little loud and sometimes overwelming, but the kids have a great time. The sign outside of my parents' home reads: Welcome to Grand Central Station. Boy, is that an understatement at times! Here is a small portion of the gang enjoying their new toys.

Here is a photo of the 6 three-year-old grandchildren in the Peterson family. Shhhhh, I will let you in on a secret. Jyllian is the cutest of them all (but don't tell my brothers, sisters, or their spouses). :)

Dominique was very excited to receive a Havoc Heli from his cousin. I think he was also posing for the picture (just a hunch).

Santa delivered Guitar Hero to Dreyton Christmas morning. Guitar Hero was at the top of his list, and believe me he gave me a HUGE list. He is my easiest child to shop for because he wants everything. Dreyton is a marketer's dream as he drools after watching almost any commercial and immediately exclaims, "I want THAT," once the commercial has finished (whatever the product might be from asparagus seeds to zoo animal waste).

Jasmine was excited to receive the Gabriella doll from High School Musical, and not just because it made her dad jealous that she received what he had listed as #1 on his gift list to Santa. Jasmine had a great time playing with her cousins on both sides of the family while she was in Utah. She enjoyed the snow and being pulled on an inner tube behind a 4 wheeler quite a bit.

Here is Grandpa Peterson in his comfy chair relaxing and enjoying watching his grandchildren play with their Christmas gifts.

Jason and Alayne came from Rexburg, ID to spend Christmas with the family. Jason & Alayne are doing fine and just LOVE Rexburg (in case you were wondering).

After we ate our traditional Lott Christmas lunch, we played some most entertaining games (ones requiring skillz and not just luck).

This year we were able to take Dominique and Dreyton snow skiing. Donovan and I took the boys to Sundance (home of Robert Redford who is much better looking on the silver screen than in person...sorry Bobby, but it is the truth) and had them in a beginner ski class. This was contrary to how my brother (Clint) taught me to ski when he took me to the top of the mountain and said, "Ok, ski down the mountain." I know that Dominique is a little apprehensive to try new things, so I thought it would be better to put the boys in a class. Neither Donovan nor myself have a whole lot of patience when it comes to listening to any kind of whining (especially on the slopes). We picked the boys up after their class at 4:00 and got back on the lift. They were so excited about skiing and wanted to show us their newly developed talents on the slopes. Dominique was a lot faster on skis then I would have thought. He actually ran himself straight into a snow bank (face first). Dreyton was a little slower and apprehensive to turn, but we made it down the hill and back up the lift three times before the lifts closed. I don't know anyone who enjoys skiing their first day or masters it the first day. The good news is... the boys said they would return to the slopes and are excited to do so. We may even take them to the black diamond runs "just for fun!" (The boys are in the background yelling, "No!" as they read what I wrote) The boys also had a fun time shooting guns with their uncle (Brian Pittard) and his sons in the West Desert on the other side of Utah Lake. Luckily, all came home with as many fingers and toes as they left with before their journey began. Brian is just a stickler when it comes to safety. Sometimes he seems to be the most mellow, laid back, and easy going guy I have ever met...um, ok, I knew I couldn't type that with a straight face!

Donovan was really happy he had the chance to visit with some of his best friends who he has known for over 20 years now but doesn't get to see as often as he would like. We should give a shout out to Doug (birthday tomorrow) and another to Brad (birthday on the 15th) who both are inching their way that much closer to the big 4-0 this year. Donovan also was able to get together with his friend and old football/wrestling coach, Don Palmer.

I was able to see Twilight with Anne, Kristen, and Karen. Donovan watched the kids for me (What a wonderful gift! Boy do I sure owe him now.). They agreed to see it again so that I could see the movie. It was a good movie, but I liked the book better. We went to see Bedtime Stories with Grandma and Grandpa Peterson and some other cousins. It was a funny movie. I enjoyed it. Grandma and Grandpa Lott took the boys to see Forever Strong about a rugby team. The boys said it was a good movie, but they enjoyed the Cold Stone ice cream with their grandparents even more. Those are my boys! We all love ice cream.

We hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Year!

Great movie to check out

2008-12-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

So if you are a procrastinator like myself, you may need to still get some Christmas gifts. Or maybe you are just looking for a cool flick for yourself. Either way, we would like to suggest that you check out the movie "Darius Goes West" (http://www.dariusgoeswest.org/). Donovan's research at the University of Florida involves children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) (see http://mpl.phhp.ufl.edu/muscular-dystrophy/), and a local Gainesville family put on a showing of the movie on campus where the entire cast/crew came and met the audience after the movie. This is a movie about a young man with DMD whose friends decide to take him across country so that MTV can "Pimp his Ride" (his wheelchair). The movie is not a "downer" movie full of doom and gloom, but it presents a wonderful message about how important life is and how much joy can be had through living.

Donovan enjoyed the movie so much, he purchased a dvd of it and watched it again with our kids last weekend. They also loved it and talked about all kinds of cool topics with us after it was over. So please check out the site and recommend the movie to others if you hear a showing is coming to their city! And you too will be laughing when you hear the word, "Glosabi!!"

Jyllian's 3rd Birthday

2008-12-15T05:53:00.001-08:00

Thursday, December 11th was a very busy day. Jyllian and I sent the three older kids off to school. We did some Christmas shopping, birthday shopping, and grocery shopping. I still had to decorate Jyllian's birthday cake. She wanted a Barbie cake, and I knew it was going to take a while to decorate it. Usually, I decorate birthday cakes the night before the birthday. I was exhausted the night before, so I decided to wait until the actual day of her birthday. I don't think I'll do that again. It was a miracle the cake even was finished before we ate it. Jyllian kept wanting to help me. Of course she wanted to lick the frosting and put the food coloring in the different bowls. Decorating the cake took a lot longer than expected. But the important thing is she was so excited about her cake!

Of course she had to lick the candles as she removed them from her cake. She didn't want to blow the candles out. I think she was a little overwhelmed by her siblings telling her to blow them out.

Grandma Lott makes quilts for her grandchildren, when they turn three years old. Jyllian was so excited about her quilt. She immediately wanted to go show Mrs. Theanna (our next door neighbor) her quilt. All of my children love their quilts. Over the weekend they each had snuggled in their blankets that Grandma had made. Thanks Grandma. We love you.

We also attended Dominique's band concert that evening. This is not a very good picture due to the poor lighting. Since, Dominique is in the back it is difficult to see him. He plays the trombone in the symphonic and jazz band this year. He enjoys playing the trombone. After Jyllian's birthday activites and the concert, my pillow never felt better than when my head it at bedtime that night.

Our children do listen

2008-12-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

We have tried several things to get our daughter Jasmine to stop sucking her thumb. I know she is too old to be having such a bad habit. We have put yucky thumb polish, but she sucks it off. Each night before she goes to bed we wrap her thumb with an ace bandage and place a thumb guard around her thumb. She has figured out how to get her thumb out. I will go check on her right before I go to bed, and she is asleep with her thumb in her mouth. Well, I told Jasmine that she will not be allowed to go to her friend's party if she doesn't stop sucking her thumb. I also told Jasmine she will not be playing with any friends after school until she stops. I guess she is finally starting to see the importance of not sucking her thumb, because last night she wrote a note to Heavenly Father and Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father and Jesus,
Please help me . I need your guyses help. I need you guyses to help me to stop sucking my thumb and stop getting in fights with my friend Morgan Lynn Markle. I am thankful for you guyses and my home, clothes and my friends, also my family. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen. P.S. I love you Jesus and Heavenly Father. Love, Jasmine Danika Lott

She can be a tough cookie and she tries my patience daily. But she can also be a sweet girl. She would be very embarassed if she knew I posted her written prayer, but I thought it was very impressive.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

It was really nice to have my parents in town. Every other year my parents host the Thanksgiving dinner for my side of the family. This was their off year, and my brothers and sisters and their spouses ate with their in-laws. My mom and dad did most of the cooking at our home this year. It was very helpful to watch them make the stuffing and cook the turkey. No matter how many times I try to make certain foods that I grew up eating, I just can't make them taste the same as when my parents cook them. I did make a "to die for" cococut cream pie. I got the recipe from my sister Julie. After dinner, Grandpa took the kids to see Bolt (the new disney movie). Grandpa loves to take the kids to see movies.

Friday morning, we drove to Orlando to go to Disneyworld. We have season passes, and my parents bought a 10-day pass last year. Donovan was not able to go due to the fact that he is still recovering. He is back to work and doing fair to mostly sunny. He just has to take it easy for the next four more weeks. He said he will be snow skiing when we head to Utah. The doctor said he could do whatever he wanted after eight weeks. Dreyton is really looking forward to skiing for the first time. I sure hope it snows in the Rocky mountains by the time we get there.

This picture was taken at the entrance to Magic Kingdom. Jyllian does not like her picture taken. I remember Jasmine at this same age. She didn't either.This is Cinderella's castle at Magic Kingdom it is so pretty at night. It looks like icicles hanging from the castle. There were so many Christmas lights and decorations around the parks.

At the entrance to Hollywood Studios, there was a very large Christmas tree. I couldn't get the full length of the tree with my camera. There is a new ride at Hollywood Studios called Toy Story. It is a fun ride and I recommend trying it, but it is very popular. My kids love this ride. We got fast passes at 9:45 am, but they weren't good until 5:45pm. Fast passes allow people to wait in the fast pass line and get on the rides quicker, but you have to get them early in the day. I don't ride any rides without fast passes. It just takes too long to stand in the stand-by lines.

At night, Hollywood studios has a street with millions of lights. The lights coordinate with music and it is an amazing light show. It is so pretty at night.
Jasmine was able to ride most of the rides with my sister Alicia. Jasmine really enjoyed Alicia's company. Jasmine told her friend Morgan that Alicia would paint their nails and toe nails for them. Alicia did paint their nails but not their toe nails.

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving weekend with lots of turkey (or tofu), family, and recreation and/or rest!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

My parents flew in town late last night. I convinced them to come spend Thanksgiving in Gainesville. I spent most of the day shopping with my mom. We went to Sam's Club, because they don't have a Costco here,(hopefully one day). I love Costco and I have been going through withdrawls. Our next stop was the grocery store. I absolutely hate the grocery store, but when your mom pays the cashier, I love it... We came home and emptied the car and then drove to Bed Bath and Beyond. My mom said I needed a roasting pan to cook the turkey and a turkey platter. Of course, I didn't argue with her. It's hard living so far away from family, but I do feel a little spoiled when my parents and in-laws come to visit. I am so blessed to have such wonderful caring parents and in-laws that are so helpful to me and my family.

Here's Johnny!!

2008-11-24T05:53:00.000-08:00

While out of commission and recovering from surgery, Donovan realized the lack of talents he has developed over the last “29” years. So he decided he would work on “making more
of himself” with his time at home. Over the course of 3 weeks, he did his best to grow some facial hair. This tedious task required multiple facials involving combinations of Miracle Grow
and manure, but he was pleased with the end result. He tried his best to imitate Jack in Janae’s favorite movie of all time (ha ha ha, yeah right!), but the facial mixture just didn’t have the same result on the bangs and receding hairline as it did on the facial scruff. Maybe he should just stick to other more obtainable talents like casting shadows?

Today was his first day back at work at the University of Florida, so we thank all of you again for keeping Donovan in your thoughts and prayers during this time.

Tag...I'm it!!

2008-11-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

7 weird things about me
1. I always manage to plug my nose with my hand before I hit the water when I am waterskiing.
2. Sometimes I laugh so hard I don’t make any noise but look like I am choking.
3. Legally I am short enough to receive government support as a dwarf. Ok, not THAT short, even for Uncle Sam.
4. I never wear hats because they mess up my hair I spend “so much” time on every morning.
5. I went to the airport when Donovan came home from his mission expecting to break up with him that evening as there was another guy who I had been dating for the last few months. Well, those plans ended up changing, now didn’t they?
6. I have lived in 12 different homes since graduating from High School (and 9 of those were after I was married).
7. I have a shoe fetish, but my current income limits my indulgence at this time. So I have to fill the void painting my toenails.

10 years ago
1. I had two children in diapers.
2. I was managing an apartment complex in St Louis and worked with my good friend, Shelly Pierson.
3. I worked part-time in the evenings for Northern Reflections to get some way cool discounts on clothing that I would not end up needing when I moved to Las Vegas in a couple of more months.
4. I was getting all excited for my husband to finally be done with school. Little did I know that he would have another 5 years of more graduate school in the future.
5. I was getting all excited to go to Utah for Christmas and do some skiing and see my family.

5 things on my to do list
1. Paint my kitchen.
2. Finalize the organization of my bedroom.
3. Continue to cheer on the Florida Gators football team to victory.
4. Go over all of the mail we have received from William (AKA the bills).
5. Take care of my recovering husband enough that he will owe me Big Time come the Holidays! ☺

5 snacks I enjoy
1. Fudge Brownie a la mode from Baskin Robbins with mint chocolate chip and world class chocolate ice cream with fudge topping and whip cream (but no nuts)
2. Mashed potatoes with gravy
3. My mother-in-law’s famous mint brownies
4. Mozzarella cheese sticks from Sonic
5. Milky Way

5 things I would do if I was a Millionaire
1. Pay off my husband’s remaining student loans…Ugh!!
2. Go on a shopping spree
3. Buy a Toyota Landcruiser to pull the waterski boat I would also purchase.
4. Pay off the mortgages for my siblings’ and inlaws’ homes.
5. Buy a houseboat and put it on glorious Lake Powell

5 places I have lived
1. Newberry, FL
2. St. Louis County (and city), MO
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Provo, UT
5. Orem, UT

5 jobs I have had
1. Accounts Payable for Better Built Manufacturing (the family owned business for the Petersons in Orem, UT)
2. Travel agent for Morris Travel in SLC, UT
3. Retail for Mervyn’s (Vegas) and Northern Reflections (St. Louis)
4. Waitress for Lone Star Steakhouse (Vegas)
5. Day care from my home in Las Vegas

I tag Kristen, Angie, Julie Haskins, Julie Huntington, Amanda, Anne, Diana, and Karen.

Donovan's Home

2008-11-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Donovan Monday, Nov. 3rd, after surgery, in the ICU. He was in and out of it all day. It was very difficult to get a picture of him with his eyes open. I have not seen so many tubes hooked up to one person. I kept trying to pull up his gown and he told me to leave it alone, but he doesn't remember even discussing that. Isn't that a beautiful scar?This picture of Donovan taken on Wed. Nov. 5th. He was moved to intermediate care and most of the tubes were removed. He has to hold the heart shaped pillow close to his chest everytime he coughs. We don't want that chest busting open!

Friday, Nov. 7th, Donovan home on the couch. He is still very sore and stiff. The doctors told him no lifting or moving anything over 5 lbs. for 8 weeks. He will be home for the next three weeks and then back to work. Thanks Anne and Wayne for flying to take care of us. Anne watched Jyllian everyday, so I could go spend the afternoon at the hospital. It's always nice to have Wayne visit. I had a to do list ready for him. He never complains about my list.

Post Surgery

2008-11-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

I wanted to give a brief update. Donovan is doing as well as expected, but in a lot of pain. Hopefully, he will be getting out of ICU today. Everything went well with the surgery. The doctor was able to repair the valve without replacing it. Dr. Klodell said, his valve was in bad shape and it's good he didn't wait too much longer to repair the valve. But he said his heart looks great. We appreciate all of the prayers that were offered on his behalf. Thank you for your phone calls, e-mails, and your support. Donovan is a very independent person, but it's good to know we have such a wonderful family and friend support group.

4 Riddles

2008-11-04T17:06:00.000-08:00

1. I never was, am always to be;
No one ever saw me, nor ever will they;
And yet I am the confidence of all
Who live and breath on the Earth's ball.

2.A strange book I saw:
Its foreword came after its epilogue,
Its end came before its introduction,
And its index, was in the first half!
What kind of book is this?

3.My first in sausage, but not in meat,
My second in pretty but not in neat,
My third in chance but not in risk,
My fourth is in circle and also in disk,
My fifth is in sun, but not in sky,
My last in kiss, so what am I?

4. They have no flesh nor feathers,
Nor scales nor bones,
But they have fingers of their own.
What are they?

When you answer, then answer like this:
4. _________
or
2. _________
Search Engines are not allowed, and Grandma and Granpa Lott cannot answer.

Sincerely,
Dominique

St. Augustine, FL...oldest city in the USA

2008-11-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

While Donovan's parents are here with us in Florida, we decided to head to the oldest city in our nation, St. Augustine (http://www.oldcity.com/), which is about 90 miles due East of us. It was a kind of drizzly day, but we had a lot of fun seeing some pretty cool historical sites and shops. The highlight of the trip was Castillo de San Marcos (http://www.nps.gov/casa/). This 300+ year old fort was pretty amazing to see, and they shot off a cannon from on top of the fort that was VERY loud.

Here we are in front of the old fort with a few cannons on top.

Here are Grandma and Granpa Lott with their favorite redneck grandchildren.

Dominique found a shop with a lot of medieval armor and weapons.

We even found a knight in not-so-shining armor.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful and frightfully entertaining Halloween. Jasmine went as Corida Florida...um, I mean Hannah Montana. Jyllian was a cute lil' Dora. Dominique and Dreyton dressed as a caped Joker and a skeleton. Grandma Lott pulled through by making capes that they just loved for their costumes. Dominique built a "Box of Terror" placed on the front porch where he or Dreyton would crouch down inside and await trick-or-treaters to come up to it for candy. Then they would jump out yelling, "Death in a Box!" and scare the bladder contents out of the kiddos. They were good not to scare any small children, though. The biggest scare came when Donovan put on a scary mask and came up to the box on his knees so that Dominique thought he was a kid. When Dominique jumped out, Donovan screamed at him and scared Dominique so badly that he knocked the Box of Terror over backwards. Dominique may have voided his bladder a little at that time too.

Dominiqe's Challenge

2008-11-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

It is Dominique again. Instead of a riddle, I come with a challenge. Who can guess who this is?

(Grandma and Grandpa Lott can't answer.) Good Luck. You're going to need it!

Heart Surgery

2008-10-30T04:47:00.000-07:00

Go to the post about Donovan's birthday. It will explain it.

Surgery Date

2008-10-28T09:11:00.001-07:00

Many of you have asked when Donovan's surgery will take place. As long as he remains healthy,(no cold, fever, etc.), it will take place Monday, November 3rd. Thank you for all your concern. This next weekend is fast Sunday. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Are you a good traveler?

2008-10-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

We have the worst luck when it comes to traveling. As you know we live in Florida, which requires us to travel a lot to see family and other events. But we dread traveling because we know something is bound to go wrong. On Thursday, Donovan left for a conference which was to be held in Vancover, Canada. He had been invited to be one of the presenters at the conference to discuss work from his dissertation. When he was invited to go several months ago, he asked if it was necessary to have a passport ot enter Canada. He was assured that a passport was not necessary. So when he left to go to the airport, I handed him an envelope that had his birth certificate inside of it. When he arrived at the Gainesville airport the gentleman asked for his passport in order to get all the way to Canada. Donovan said, "I don't have a passport, but I was told I only needed a birth certifcate." He showed the man his birth certificate and went on his way. He left our home at 8:30 am. He arrived at the LAX airport around 4:00p.m. our time. His flight had been delayed out of LAX. At 8:00 pm our time, I received a call from Donovan. He was not able to travel to Vancover, because the envelope he had picked up at our home only had a copy of his birth certifcate and not his orginal birth certifcate. The airline employee in Florida indicated the copy of the birth certificate would be suffcient to get to Canada, but at LAX they refused to let him board the plane to Vancouver. They told him that he could fly to Seattle and rent a car and that he would be able to enter Canada driving with only his driver's license and a copy of the birth certificate "because the laws are less stringent for drivers versus airline passengers." So off to Seattle he flew (albeit quite disgruntled at this delay, further expense at renting a car, and the need to drive a couple of hours once in Seattle). Well, at 1:00am he called and said, "I'm in Seattle, but here thay assure me that I can't go across the border without a passport or an orginal birth certificate." At 3:00am EST, the airlines finally put him in a hotel (where he was able to sleep for a little over 2 hours and get a shower), and then he was back at the airport to be able to get on a flight to get back to Gainesville. He arrived at the Atlanta airport at 1:40 pm and was told his flight to Gainesville had been cancelled. After spending six hours in the Atlanta Airport, he was able to get on a puddle jumper by being on standby and fly to Gainesville. He arrived last night at 9:00pm. He was exhausted and doesn't want to see an airport for a while.

Last year, we flew back to Utah for Bryan's wedding (Donovan's brother). It takes us 12-13 hours to get to Utah from our house. We have to drive two hours to the Orlando airport. (It's much cheaper to fly out of Orlando.) There are no direct flights on Southwest from Orlando to Salt Lake City. So we generally have a connection or a stop over. Connections with four kids is not fun. When we arrived at the Orlando airport last year, we had forgotten Jyllian's birth certificate. If you have a child under the age of two, you must present proper documentation to prove she is not two. They were not going to let Jyllian on the flight. The ticket agent asked if we could call our doctor and get shot records. I called the Dr's office, and they were able to fax a copy of the shot records. This delayed us quite a bit, so we really had to hurry to catch the flight. Well, as you know going through security is not so fun. I had taken a carry on with some valuable contents inside. My thoughts at the time returned to a trip to Boston Donovan and I had taken in Feb. 2007 when the airlines had lost our luggage. That luggage eventually did catch up to us a day later, but I didn't want to be without my stuff for the wedding on this trip to Utah. The carry on bag for this trip contained my video camera, my digital camera, two portable DVD players, all of my Mary Kay and Mac make-up, DVD's, all of my earrings and my wedding outfit. So in Orlando, we were so stressed and in a rush not to miss the flight, I left my bag in the security scanner. After I realized, I didn't have the bag Donovan rushed back to get it, but it was no where to be found. I cried the whole way to Utah and all night. We arrived at the Lott's house at 1:00am which is 3:00 am our time. I was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep. I cried all night over that bag. Donovan said, he had never seen me so upset over something that much. I did receive a call Utah time 8:00am. The bag had been taken by security because it had been left. I did get the bag but it cost me $75 to have it shipped to Utah. Thank goodness, I have so many wonderful sisters. They let me borrow their make-up and clothes. Right after the wedding I went to Kohl's and found me another new outfit for the reception. (Thanks for the outfit Anne.) The things we go through for family and to support them, and often they don't even realize it. This was a good learning experience for us. We all realized that we need to be grateful for what we do have and not put so much importance on material possesions. We are a happy and healthy family, and we have each other. I guess that is all that matters.

Donovan and I traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2000. Yep, we forgot our birth certificates, but we didn't even know we needed them. Luckily, we had checked in early enough, and Donovan's wonderful mother who was at our home in Las Vegas caring for our kids drove to the airport and gave us our birth certificates. I hope you are all better travelers than we are (although I admit that as travelers we are not too great of a standard to surpass). Here's some advice I'll offer (even if you didn't ask for it) because I care about you. Always remeber to get a passport if you plan to travel outside of the United States (no matter what anyone else tells you). My wonderful mother-in-law asked if we wanted passports for Christmas. I told her that was the best idea. It will be a gift well worth it. In 2009, no one can enter or leave the country without a passport. An orginal copy of your birth certificate is no longer valid. We would love to hear about any wonderful/awful experiences you have had.

Potty Training

2008-10-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

I have potty trained three kids and I haven't experienced any like Jyllian. She has not been cooperating with the whole potty business. She has peed on her bedroom carpet five times and I really don't like it when kids pee on the carpet. Last night, I told her I was going to quit using pull-ups and put her back in diapers. I told her that she was not being a big girl and she was still acting like a baby. She said, "Mommy that was so rude." She is very stubborn and won't even sit on the toilet. Donovan said, "Oh, Janae it can't be that hard. Just make her sit on the potty." I told him to go for it. He put her on the toilet and she cried for a half hour and still didn't do anything. I guess he got to see how difficult it can really be. The strangest thing is she will use the toilet at the church. She has discovered she can get out of Sacrament meeting if she has to go potty. Three weeks ago, Jasmine asked to go to the bathroom and Jyllian wanted to go with her. I was so excited because she actually sat on the toilet at church. The second week she peed on the potty at church, but this last week I told her we weren't leaving sacrament meeting to go potty, but she did sit on it after sacrament meeting. I'm losing my patience with this whole potty training business. She's almost three and I don't want to buy anymore diapers. I could save that much money each month.

I have purchased a bag of smarties, a bag of dum dum's, a bag M&M's and princess shoes to bribe her. Not one of these items have worked and I haven't given them to her either. I will show her the candy and the shoes but she just says I can give them to her sister. Does anybody have any suggestions?

New events

2008-09-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Each season (or at least at a twice/year minimum) we try to encourage our children to pick a sport or activity. I asked Dreyton if he wanted to play soccer again or try football. Dreyton decided to go with football for the first time (his father tried not to jump with joy when he heard this). He really didn't know much about the sport and was very nervous. He is on the Newberry Panthers football team, and he seems to be enjoying learning and playing football. Donovan is a little excited too! Go Gators and Go Panthers!!

Yep, we bought a brand new Toyota Sienna. This is our first brand new car. Donovan and I had a talk with our kids about the van. We wanted to make sure they understood not to scratch or do foolish things in the minivan, or we would freak out! The kids are so excited about the DVD in the van and power doors. I have found Jasmine in the van serveral times messing with all of the switches and gadgets (but then again, Donovan has found me doing the same thing!). It is a novelty to the children. We were hoping to get a different mini van in Aug. or Sept. The air-conditioning was not working properly in our old Caravan and we had an oil leak. The brakes were also having troubles. It is very hot here in the summer months and to not have air-conditioning in a car can make people very cranky. And as you who know us are aware, we are already WAY ahead of the curve when it comes to crankiness in even temperate, mild temperatures, so you can just imagine us in hot humidity. We took the Caravan to the repair shop in June and decided to wait to fix the van. Since we had been discussing buying a new car now for a year, we decided to buy a new van rather than pay for the Caravan's costly repairs.
Dominique wanted to make sure we took a picture of the spoiler. I didn't really care if it had a spoiler or not as I was hoping for cool hydraulics and low rider rims and wheels (ha, ha). There weren't many 08's on the lot to pick from, but we were happy with our pick. We are officially a Toyota family. Donovan drives a Toyota Corolla and I drive the Sienna. I know there are some that would never own a minivan (maybe John Bauer for one), but it gets ok gas mileage and is very nice to travel in. I would prefer a toyota Sequoia, but that is a little out of my price range. When we have our next child (which will be a boat), we will have to worry about getting something to pull it like that.Jasmine started her first week of piano lessons. Her teacher said Jasmine seemed very excited to learn and was happy to have her as a new student. We hope Jasmine will continue with her enthusiam towards piano. I would like to take lessons again myself. My mom let me quit my freshman year, because I was involved in other extra curricular activites. I wish I would have stuck with it. Maybe my mother-in-law will give me some free lessons when she visits in November as an early Christmas present...:)

Fun in the Heat

2008-09-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

We told the kids that daddy would not be able to go to St. Louis. It was like we moved all over again. They all shed a few tears and now have accepted the idea that we will be staying here in the Gainesville area for now. Donovan is finalizing all of his paperwork to start as a Research Assistant Professor. It has been a very long time in coming, but we are happy to report he will be phasing out of clinical care and he will have one job. Can you believe it? One Job!

It was so hot in Florida that the girls had to cool down their backsides to keep them from melting off. We call it the Florida Butt Shrink-off. Janae is working on getting her backside to heat up even more for that!

Jyllian! Be careful! You may have melted away too much of Jasmine's pa-tootie.
Take a close look at Jyllian's face in this photo as she gives commands to the dog, Daisy. The youngest has to have someone to boss around, doesn't she? She holds the ball in front of Daisy and says, "You want it? Go get it!" And then she throws the ball.

These are the best dart guns ever. The kids just love them, and we highly recommend them for all parents needing to take out some aggression on their offspring! Protective eyewear included to avoid any difficulites with Child Protective Services.

Donovan's 36th Birthday

2008-09-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

Most of our posts have been fun activites that we have done as a family, but this post is about Donovan. On August 25th, Donovan had his annual visit to the cardiologist. He has to see a cardiologist annually, due to his Mitral Valve Prolapse. On August 27th, the Dr. called to speak with Donovan. He wanted to meet with him at his office. We all know that getting called into the Doctor's office after tests are run, is not a good thing. On Friday, August 27th, Donovan met with the cardiologist and he said, his heart continues to show good function, but it is leaking more than previously. The Dr. has some concerns about some of the chamber dimensions in his heart. Because of these concerns, the Dr. thinks it will be best to repair his valve, even though he is asymptomatic. To repair the valve, Donovan will need to have open heart surgery. The Dr. said it should be done sooner rather than later. If he waits until there are problems, he could have permanent heart damage. So, we have had some major decisions to make in our life. Donovan was scheduled to go to St. Louis, MO for an interview at Washington University. He was supposed to arrive Sept. 14th, but that has all changed. We were also offered a job to stay here and work as a research assisant, but Donovan wanted to interview at Washington University first. Donovan is currently a Post-doctoral Fellow and doing clinical care as a Physical Therapist part time. After the surgery, Donovan will not be able to do any clinical care for two months, because he can not lift or overdue it. Well, most people can't be out of a job for two months and support a family of six, so we decided it would be best to stay here. Donovan will take a job Sept. 15th, which will increase our income, but at the same time he will stop clinical care. We had been praying as a family and trying to decide where to go next in life and the Lord has given us a few signs along the way.

I will keep everyone posted when the surgery will take place. Most likely it will take place in November.

Characters at Animal Kingdom

2008-08-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, August 12, we went to Animal Kingdom with the Pittards. It was also very crowded, but I guess that's what we should expect during summer break. Laura told me about a petting zoo inside the Animal Kingdom. I didn't even know the petting zoo existed. It's impossible to fit all of the activites of one park into one day. In order to get to the zoo, we had to ride a train. The kids enjoyed the train ride.

I was walking around the petting zoo with my children, and we came upon a few Disney characters. I absolutely hate waiting for my children to greet characters. I feel like it is such a waste of time, but I know the kids like it. There was no wait, so I actually was happy to take pictures with the not-so-popular characters.

Universal Studios and Islands of Aventure

2008-08-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

Laura and Brian came to visit us and enjoy Orlando on Aug. 7th. The kids (and us!) are always excited for any visitors that are able to come our way. On Friday, Aug. 8th, we all drove to Orlando to spend a week enjoying the amusement parks and the beach. On Saturday and Monday we were able to visit Universal Studios and Island Of Adventure. The kids had a great time. Here are some of the pictures that we took while visiting.

Here Dominique is quick to point out the paparazzi with the camera trying to take our picture. Luckily, we wrested the camera away from this Lindsay Lohan stalker to post his work on our blog and deny the National Enquirer of yet another photo of the glamorous Janae. Dominique really wanted to go on the Jaws ride, but we weren't very successful in doing so. The line was an hour long. After we were almost to the front of the line to get on the ride, there were mechanical problems, and they stopped the ride. It was so hot and humid. We were ticked after waiting that long for nothing. Below is Brian who was sooooo disappointed as he had been totally psyched to go on his FAV ride Jaws. But don't tell anyone that he wet himself the first time he rode on it! :)

Kylie and Paige got ahold of my camera and snapped several pictures. Did you know Kylie and Paige have matured enough (Ok, maybe "matured" is not the best term to use as they definitely are not mature, but they have racked up a few more years here on Earth) to become infected with that devastating disorder of loving to shop? They didn't come back to Universal on our second day, because they wanted to shop and hang out at the hotel pool. What crazy teenagers!!

Here Paige is taking a picture of Dominique and herself. Paige is trying to demonstrate to her cousin the proper puckering technique she uses to practice her kissing on her Jonas Brothers doll.

Now she snaps one of her and Jasmine. Here Paige is trying to teach Jasmine the proper gang sign for, "Don't kill me because I am a ditzy blonde not smart enough to disturb your turf." We were glad Jasmine didn't quite master that one.

And here are Paige & K-Y. Don't they both look extremely ill with that horrible shopping disorder? We are willing to donate these two as subjects to any science research project that is trying to find a cure for this disease, and we are still willing even if it involves invasive or non-approved methods. It is a risk we are willing to take for the betterment of mankind...womankind??

Laura, Paige, and Kylie were resting while the boys were inside a dinosaur museum. Don't these two teeny-boppers act MUCH better when they are around their loving, doting mother?

Donovan joined us for one day of the trip, but he would much rather vacation at a Lake House with a boat.

The kids were able to splash a little in a water area. Did I mention it was soooo hot?!

Jyllian kept drinking this disgusting pee water. Yes, she peed in it too, so the ool is definitely a Pool. At least it wasn't too cold of water (around 98.6 degrees F), and it acutally had kind of a lemony taste. A little sugar, and it would have been not-too-bad tasting lemonade.

Ohhhhhhhhh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?! DOM-I-NIQUE & JYL-LIAN!

This is the statue that Jyllian fell off and hit her head. She was on the platform and fell back smacking her noggin' into the not so soft concrete. Her eyes rolled back and forth in her head, and I knew something was wrong. We took her to the health services at Universal, and they tried to put an ice pack on her head. It appeared she was Ok at the time. She fell asleep shortly after hitting her head, but when she woke up, she started throwing up. She threw up about five times. We ended up taking her to the emergency room later that night. The E.R. took cat scans of her head, and they told us she did have a minor concussion. Fortunately, she was fine the next day, and we had to pull her down from climbing up on other objects several times. The kid is a climber! It's amazing how quickly toddlers can climb (and recover). We are just glad she is all right.

Dominique on the same statue acting as if he's holding up the pizza. Maybe he should consider a pizza delivery job? Besides, that whole FBI dream job of his would never have the fringe benefits of free pizza, and nobody shoots someone over a pizza pie.

The Universal ball with the cool mist coming out and around it as the zombies leave their hiding place beneath the ball for their nightly feast of remaining Universal patrons. I guess that is why it is half price to get into Universal after 6:30 pm?

Which Muppet are you??

2008-08-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

So while we were in Utah, Kristen commented how Jyllian acts like Animal from the Muppets as she roars and shakes her head full of hair from side to side while running around. We decided we would look around and find out what Muppet character most suits us...

Jyllian:Animal
Wikipedia (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_(Muppet)) provides the following aboout Animal: "Animal's vocabulary is generally limited to guttural shouts and monosyllabic grunts, often repeating a few simple phrases. During performances, Animal is usually chained to the drum set, as his musical outbursts are extremely violent." Wow!! That is our little Jyllian to a 't.'

Jasmine:Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is infamous for being a VERY independent and hard-headed lady who at the same time is the princess of princesses when it comes to her Kermit. Jasmine can also be stubborn and packs quite the whallop when she unleashes her inner beast (just ask her brothers!). HII-YAAAH!!

Dreyton:Fozzie the Bear
Dreyton is like Fozzie in being "good natured and loves his friends." He has a warm heart and likes to tell jokes (and most of them are much better than Fozzie's bad humor).

Dominique:Scooter
Dominique is like Scooter mostly due to the glasses and age, but we also think he is "brainy and computer-knowledgable." Go, Scooter, Go!

Janae:Janice
When we saw this picture of Janice, we knew it was Janae. In part due to Janice covering up the letters "i" and "c" in her name so that it could be "Janae" in the lettering behind her. Also, we could tell that her eye shadow was soooo Mary Kay (just like Janae's!).

Donovan:Statler
Statler is one half of the old pair of "ornery disagreeable hecklers" from the Muppets that sat in the balcony. We thought Donovan looked a little more like Statler than Waldorf, so this was an easy pick. He continues as (at least) a third generation of ornery disagreeable men for the Lott family.

Daisy:Rowlf
Brown dogs...enough said.

So, which Muppet are you?? Leave a comment and let us know.

Utah Lake

2008-08-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Orem, UT, we were able to go boating on Utah Lake. Will and Shannon asked if we would like to go boating before we left town.. Donovan tried not to jump up and down and froth at the mouth excessivley from hearing the word boating. His first love was waterskiing, and unfortantely he doesn't get to waterski too much now that we live in a state with LOTS of lakes (but not a lot of free time or access to a boat). Dominique, Dreyton, Jasmine, Amanda, Haley, Grayson, and Trent all bumper tubed. The water was so nice around 12:00 p.m., and Donovan enjoyed waterskiing.
Jyllian loved jumping in the water and kicking around. I really miss the mountains.

Callister family picnic

2008-08-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

I know I'm really behind on posting (can you please forgive me??), but I'll try to get caught up (like we ever really can do THAT in life, right?). I've been gone a lot this summer leaving Donovan to enjoy the bachelor life (namely doing his own cooking and laundry) for awhile. These pictures below were taken at a park in North East Orem, (Windsor Park) for the 2nd Annual Callister Related People Who Live Around Northern Utah (AKA ACRPWLANU...maybe you have seen this acronym eleswhere but were unsure of what it stood for. Now you know! :) ). Below is Aunt Grace, Julie (her daughter), Karen, Kristen, Jyllian, Donovan, John, Anne, and Wayne. The kids were having a great time with water balloons like the ones Donovan is holding (No, they aren't big eggs...just balloons). Jasmine would love to throw the balloons at others to mositen them in the heat, but she did not want to be the recipent of one and its fluid contents. Jyllian was protecting her balloons, but water ballons do break open, unfortunately on me.
Anne,
Thanks for putting the ACRPWLANU picnic together. It's always fun to see family and what's happening in their lives. Anne provided the meat for the picnic, and Wayne, Gary, and Donovan cooked it. I always look forward to the desserts on the Callister side because they all make fantanstic sweets.
I have found it to be very difficult to get a picture of John. But at least I got a side view. Sorry, ladies, but he is a married man! Although his Firebird is single...and VERY clean.
Here we have Margaret and Ruthanne with her husband, Austin. These are Lois' girls.

Island Park Family Picture

2008-08-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

My mom always wants her family picture updated, but we all say Ugh! The only time the whole family would be together was at the reunion. Jason and Alayne live in Rexburg, and I live in Florida. The rest of the Peterson clan live pretty close to one another in Happy Valley. So we don't have a lot of opportunities to have ALL of us together for a picture that often. Amanda always does a great job with the photography even when circumstances are difficult. Amanda (my sister-in-law [AKA Amandona]) had asked a friend that was in Idaho to come take the picture, but he wasn't able to come. Amanda had her tripod and a timer on her camera. So Amanda (and later the oldest [but maybe not the wisest] grandchild, Kylie [AKA Heather or K-Y]) would turn the camera's timer on and then run like a banshee to her spot in the picture to get there just before the picture was taken. Considering our large group (and the glare from some of the balding heads), the picture turned out to be much better than expected.Amanda snapped a few shots of my family, and we really appreciated Amanda's service to us. Donovan wanted the lake to be in the background, of course. Too bad we didn't get a complete family picture with our other child, Demond (Donovan's waterski).

On Saturday, before pictures were taken, we were able to float down the river on rafts. Dominique rode in a raft with Tyler, Dreyton was in a raft with Grandpa Peterson, Jasmine went with Katie, and Donovan, Jyllian and myself were in a two man raft. The kids had a great time with their cousins, and I really enjoyed the outdoor activites.

Yellowstone National Park

2008-08-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 18th, was planned to spend the day in Yellowstone National Park. There were a lot of stops around the park to view geysers (but then again, I am already married to a consistent fountain of hot air). Although, we spent the majority of our day driving, we did a lot of walking too.

I thought I took a picture of the waterfall we were viewing at this spot, but I guess not. Annette (who is flashing gang signs to her Wyoming homies [Is that an oxymoronic statement??]), Will, and Sierra were in the background of the picture below with me and my wind-swept hair. Where is a good bottle of hair spray when you need some in the middle of a national park?This is the back of the motorhome that acted as our Rock & Roll tour bus through Yellowstone. It would have been a lot cooler if we actually had some roadies, but at least we had my little sister (Alicia, AKA Jessica) to help out. Jyllian was very tired as we had hit her nap time a couple of hours prior to this picture being taken. As for me, well I just try to have my eyes closed in all of my pictures because I like the way my eyelids look. :) That is actually not a growth on Dominique's back, but it is his little sister, Jasmine. Donovan and Dominique spent much of their time with her on their shoulders, and she is much heavier than she actually looks when you lug her around for several hundred yards. We are thinking of having an MRI of her to make sure her legs aren't made of lead.
Kami and Tate joined the motorhome tour bus later during the day.

The kids sitting in the Old Faithful vistor center keeping warm and waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. Can you tell they were "requested" to smile pretty for the camera??

We were patiently waiting for Old Faithful to explode. Once again it was a little chilly with wind, but at least we were able to get the dust off of our jackets/sweatshirts that hadn't been used since we were in Missouri. Unfortunately, we missed old faithful by five minutes. We had to wait another 90 minutes for the next erruption.

Here is Dominique on the top bunk of the motorhome. He was checking out how well the fan was working. At least it made him feel 2 inches taller for a moment. Ahhhhh....to be over 5 feet! I wonder how those tall giants above 5'6" don't walk around with a constant nose bleed, though...

Dominique's Birthday in Island Park

2008-08-02T13:58:00.001-07:00

On the 4th of July, I flew with my four children to Utah to return to my "motherland." I usually fly one-way by myself on my annual trek, because Donovan can't take off for the three weeks that I think I need to spend there. Somebody has to work! I don't have any pictures of the Stadium of Fire, but I took my two boys and Jasmine. Dominique and Dreyton thought that the parachuters were fake little men coming down from the sky. It was their first time seeing parachuters that was really cool. When the jets flew over, Dreyton siad, "That was awesome!" However, when Miley Cyrus took the stage to perform, Dreyton booed to the dismay of many a little chick-a-dee (and future zoo-bee) in attendance. I had never seen so many young ladies and girls scowl and give the evil eye as they did to Dreyton. Hopefully, none of them cast any evil spell on him that will actually work.

Donovan flew in on July 16th, and we drove to Island Park on the 17th. Donovan, Jyllian, and I drove through the thriving, metropolitan state of Idaho (AKA the Gem state) to Island Park to meet my family. We were stuck in rush hour traffic just outside of Rexburg as Bro Smith was moving his cattle across the main stop in town along with Bro Jones. We went up there for the first family reunion for the Larry Peterson family (Can you say, "Oh my Larry?!"). There were a lot of people staying in the house/cabin we all rented (47 including my mom's dog, Buddy), and Donovan just loved the togetherness of it all (especially the sharing of bathrooms). Anne and I (mostly Anne), made a red velvet birthday cake for Dominique. Dominique celebrated his 12th birthday in Island Park, Idaho. When we cut the cake, we offered it to the family. Most of them hadn't heard of a red velvet cake. I didn't know what red velvet cake was until I met Donovan and his family enlightend me on this exquisite dessert. The first time I tasted it, I didn't like it. I do like red velvet cake now, but it's not my favorite. Donovan and Dominique love that stuff.
The kids were roasting marshmellows around the camp fire and acted like young pyromaniacs. It was really windy and cold that night. Of course our blood has thinned considerably since we last lived in Utah 12 years ago, and we are now used to Florida weather (AKA the Sunshine state). Dominique actually thought living in Idaho and Montana wouldn't be such a bad idea, but we are thinking less cold and snow is a good thing.

Answer!

2008-07-27T12:39:00.001-07:00

He said, "I am goinf to jail for 6 weeks."

Answer!

2008-07-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

He said, "I am goinf to jail for 6 weeks."

2008-07-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

No hints on this one. And I am not telling the answer either! Think good and hard. .... Does your brain hurt yet?

Riddle III by Dominique

2008-07-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

GRANDMA LOTT CAN'T ANSWER!!!
My mom doesn't know I'm doing this, so I will probably get in trouble later.

A man was sentenced by a judge, and the judge told him," You may make a statement. If it is true, I'll sentence you to 4 years of prison. If it is false, I'll sentence you to 6 years of prison." The man told the judge his statement. After that, she let him free. What did he say?

NO INTERNET SEARCH ENGINES ALLOWED, KRISTEN.

First Impressions/past memories of Janae...you gotta leave a comment for this one!

2008-07-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

All right, so this is Donovan missing his wife and not working on the manuscript that is due for the meeting tomorrow. And I was thinking of Janae and thought I would try to get a smile on her face while she is away (not that getting a break from me isn't enough for her to get some happiness, mind you). I thought I would write a little about some of my memories of Janae (but still saving the "really juicy ones" for a future date in case I need to use them for blackmai...um, I mean to "brighten her day.")

PLEASE POST ANY OTHER MEMORIES/IMPRESSIONS YOU HAVE HAD OF THIS 4' 11.5" LADY AS YOU HAVE INTERACTED WITH HER (Remember, embarrassment is a demonstration of both love and affection).

So here are just a few...
- My first recollection of Janae is when she came and talked to my friend Todd Tellford in the hallway at Mountain View High School. I thought she was pretty cute, but I later found out she made out with Todd on their date. You go girl!

- Janae and I had Seminary class together our junior year (before we ever started dating). I again thought she was very cute, but I had a difficult time seeing her pretty face as she kept it down on her desk as she slept during class. I am sure it was all for the beauty sleep!

- Our first "date" was not with one another, but we were in the same group that went to prom for our junior year. I remember trying not to stare at her too much as we sat across from one another at the dinner table in the restaurant and also in the limo. I think my date may have sensed something as we never went out again.

- Just before we started dating, we were both at my friend's house (Doug Whimpey...yes, that is his real name, and don't laugh. He and his brothers are some of the toughest people I have met). So Janae's mischievous sister, Julie (some things never change), called and told Janae she had to come home right now as her father was upset she was away from the house. So Janae gets so upset she starts jumping up and down with a little tantrum. Little did I know that I would see that same kind of "spirit" in our future daughters.

- Our first "real date" was great. We were with our best friends (who happened to be dating one another at the time), and it was a ton of fun. The kissing at the end of the date was not bad either. ;) Ok, but don't tell Todd Tellford!

- We have an unspoken law in our family that one must slalom waterski in order to get "in." (By the way, Mike...we need to do some serious talking about how you "snuck"
into the Lott clan.) So Janae was able to go waterskiing quite a bit back in the day. However, she always had the cutest way of saying, "Drag me a little," when she wanted the slack taken out of the rope, and she somehow found a way to plug her nose before her face hit the water every time she fell (except once...and she has only skiied a couple of times since that day back in the mid-90's with a lot of prodding from her worse half).

So I will quit rambling, but I will say I love my wife so much and am extremely glad I am married to her. And I hope she is smiling with those lop-sided dimples as she reads this post.