Adventures in Arizona

Brindi and I headed down to AZ with my parents after the blessing. We were in SJ for the last three weeks and had a lot of fun. My brother Sterling was with his kids Vanessa and Ethan and my sister Amber got there last tuesday and brought kids Taryn and Bryant so we had a lot of fun. Brindi is growing like a weed of course so I need to post so everyone can see what she has been up to. She and I enjoyed the beautiful AZ sunrise and sunsets, and the rains. We also had a lot of different adventures... from Taryn putting a soccer ball down the shower drain, helping me make brownies, and eating ice cream....to helping GranDan deliver a calf...the calf delivery is a long story, but the short version is that the calf was too big for the mother and died before we got there, so Brennon, GranDan, and I tried to pull it out, but that didn't work so then Aunt Donata, and our neighbor came to help, but that didn't work, so we got a horse, well that didn't work, finally we had to get a pickup truck to get the calf out... it was pretty sad, but luckly the mother is doing good because after all that we were afraid we were going to lose her too. We also decided to go to Show Low one day and smart me put my purse in the trunk with the keys inside and then shut the trunk...well the open trunk button does not work on my grandpa's car and it isn't like the new ones that you can get into the trunk from the back seat, so my dad had to drive over to Show Low and he and I spent 30minutes fishing for my bag...but he got it...thank heaven for dads that seem to be able to fix everything! The last week I was there was the 24th celebration. We started the week with my brother Brennon and I playing volleyball and we had a lot of fun. Thursday was the junior rodeo. Vanessa and Taryn rode the sheep and Ethan did the poles. I think they had a lot of fun. We couldn't keep Taryn and Vanessa off the horses. They loved them. Friday and Saturday Trent and Brennon were in the rodeo...Amber and I did ribbon roping on Friday but our header missed so we didn't do any good, but Trent and Brennon both won money. Saturday Brindi and I had to catch our flight so we missed the parade and the rodeo, but we got to go school clothes shopping for Brennon and I had a lot of fun doing it. Boys are a lot easier to shop for. Now we are home! We had a blast in AZ and am thankful for my parents for taking me to the airport and missing the rodeo. I am so happy to be home with Joe again! I missed him so much. Here are some random pictures of St. Johns.

Brindi's Blessing

Over the 4th of July weekend we were able to bless Brindi Rae down in Leamington. It was a lot of fun to be with the family. Joe and I are so thankful that we have such a great family that is always supporting us. All of Joe's brothers and sisters were there except for Mike and Liz because they live in N. Carolina (we wish you were there!) and then a lot of his aunts and uncles. My parents, Brennon, Trista, GranDan and Virginia all came up also. So as you can see we are very lucky. It was a beautiful blessing and we are so happy to have Brindi in our lives! Here are a few pictures. Thank you everyone for being there it was such a
great weekend!

M*A*S*H*

I saw this on my cousins blog and have to admit I did do this in gradeschool. So I figured I would also try and see what my life would end up being. It was pretty close. I don't know about the kids or Oak City but everything else would be okay with me.

		I will marry Celeste.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Oak City in our fabulous Mansion.
		We will have 21 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a Blue Chevy Silverado Duramax.
		I will spend my days as a Professor, and live happily ever after.

4th of July

We headed to my parents home in Leamington Utah for the 4th of July celebrations. I had a long weekend and decided it would be a good time to see family and also to bless Brindi over the weekend. We arrived late Wednesday and Thursday we kept busy. Celeste became my moms personal assistant as she continues to recover from her leg surgery. I was also able to help out on the farm by taking a stream of water and bailing some hay.
Thursday night was also the start of the volleyball tournament that we entered. My sister Chelsea and her Husband John teamed up with Celeste and I. We had a blast and did pretty good with close games but just couldn't pull most of them out as we went 1-2. One team abused us literally, giving my sister a bruised arm from a spike and another spike almost took Celeste's head off. They were big, strong, and athletic. To say the least we didn't stand a chance. Friday morning we enjoyed the Parade as we watch Grandpa Petersen ride on the veteran float and saw David on his all-star baseball float. Were lucky most of our neices and nephews love us as they were willing to give us some of their candy. After the parade we continued our volleyball championship pursuit as we entered the play-offs. We recruited my brother Jon Wren and sister Jackee, but we seemed to get the same results as we lost our first match and was out. But it was a really fun event.
My sisters and aunts gave Celeste a long-awaited baby shower. I want to thank you all for being good to my wife. That evening Celeste experienced her first Deomolition Derby, and it was a good one. Several cars were flipped and the Abbott Family continued to dominate the competition. This was a great holiday and a great vacation for us.

Tagged By The Wife

How To Play This Game of Tag: Post these rules on your blog. List: 3 JOYS, 3 FEARS, 3 GOALS, 3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS, and 3 RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT YOUR SELF. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

1. Joys
-Celeste and Brindi
-Basketball
-Ranch/Farm

2. Fears
-Losing Celeste
-Not being able to enjoy life because I can't support my family
-Not being able to participate in sports, recreation or leisure activities because I am obese or disabled

3. Goals
-Not letting opportunities slip by while also taking the time to live in the moment
-Begin reading all the gospel related books that are on my list
-To receive my PhD or EdD so I can teach on the college level

4. Obsessions
-TV
-Sports
-Family

5. Random Facts
-I like decorating
-I like taking pictures
-I am 5 years older than Celeste 8 months out of the year

I am going to try and tag all guys that I know read and sometime post on blogger. So I will tag John Winsor, Nick Walker, Brandt Lovell, Cam Gentry, and Brandon Burnett.

Tagged

How To Play This Game of Tag: Post these rules on your blog. List: 3 JOYS, 3 FEARS, 3 GOALS, 3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS, and 3 RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT YOUR SELF. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

1. My first joy is of course my family...Joe and Brindi and all the rest of the extended family. My second joy the mountains and cattle drives. My third joy is sports...I love to play pretty much anything that helps me stay in shape.

2. My first fear is losing one of my family members...that would be the hardest thing for me to overcome. My second fear not having the means to take care of my family...I know it sounds funny, but I have always worried about going through something like the Great Depression. My third fear is the things that happen in all those mystery movies/show...where they try to solve the cases.

3. The first goal that I have is get in shape...and be happy with how I look. My second goal is to learn spanish...(someday!). My third goal is to get my masters...or get another degree...so that I have a more specialized degree.

4. My first obsession...and Joe will just roll his eyes when I say it and agree, is food storage. He is always laughing at me about it. My second obsession is losing weight...don't look at me though cause it isn't going so well. My third obsession is Brindi...probably because she is what I do 24/7.

5. The first random fact about me is that...wow this is hard...okay, it's a fact that my biggest regret in college is not sticking out basketball and playing the other two years...I think that will always bother me. Second, whenever I feel out of my comfort zone I tend to fold my arms...most of the time people mistake it for me being cold. Third, I absolutely love baseball and softball...I love to watch and love to play...the problem is the fact that I am not very good...I wish I would have played in High School.

Okay, I am going to tag JOE(I can do that right?), CHELSEA, LIZ(unless the baby comes in the next couple of days), MY MOM, and AMY.

Princess

My sister-in-law has a quiz called what kind of princess are you and so I am being a copy cat and doing it too because I wish I was a kid again.

I am Belle

Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

Shoshone Falls

Joe gets to work 4 10's and this week he had Monday off. So he packed us a picnic and we went to the Shoshone Falls. It was a warm day, but they have a lot of grass and shade so it was really nice. They are really amazing and it would be a lot of fun to boat up to them...maybe someday we will. Then on the other side of the falls there is a place where you can go swimming. They have a piece of the river sectioned off with a diving board, a sand barge, and a kiddie pool. It looked
like a lot of fun, but we figured with the little one we better not. I didn't get any pictures of the "pool", but if anyone comes for a visit on a hot day it would be a great place to go! There were some people ice blocking and Joe couldn't resist, so he went. It was a pretty steep hill...I should have gotten a picture of his brown bum...it looked pretty funny. Brindi was an angel the whole day. She really loves her wrap. She is our green pea in her little pod!

Happy Father's Day

I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to the dads in my life. I'm so thankful for Joe. He has worked so hard this last year. I don't know how he handled working, homework, job applications and job interviewing. I am so blessed to have found him. He is my better half that is for sure. He is already a great dad...and if you can't tell from the posts (meaning multiple) a very proud dad. He reminds me a ton of his own dad Sylvan. They are so much alike and I am so thankful they are. For those of you who know Sylvan you know what I mean. I'm a so lucky to have the inlaws that I do. You won't find a guy with a better personality or anyone more likeable! I really miss being around like we were last summer. I hope Sylvan has a great Father's Day! Last, but not least I'm so thankful for my own father who has always been there to help me when I needed it the most. He as taught me so many life lessons without saying a word. He is such an example to me and has always been a source of

strength for me to lean on. He always tells me to be happy where ever I am, which if you know me the only place I want to be is around family, cows, and mountains and not being around these things for the last few years, only randomly, this has been really good advise. I hope that my dad has a

great Father's Day too. I love you guys! Happy Father's Day!!!!!!!!!!!

Brindi Rae

We just wanted to up date you all on our beautiful daughter. Brindi has been such a huge blessing in our lives. So far we think she is a pretty good mix of us both. She has Celeste's cheek bones and the hancock ears. She has my dads and my butt chin. She also has my eyes and the cursed Petersen toe. That is all we can make out so far and we know things will change as time goes by. But we are baffled by her long fingers. We do not know where those came from.
She is our cuddling bunny. She always wants to be held, we can't hardly put her down without her crying at us to pick her back up. So far Celeste has had trouble trying to get things done because she can't put her down very long. I think were probably spoiling her but hey, its our first born! She also does not like her bassinet or her swing (she is a little small for the swing). And she only likes to sleep with us. Last night I put her in her bassinet and she was sleeping pretty good for a while but then she realized where she was and woke up and started crying. We let her cry for a little while and finally I grabbed her and set her on the bed with us and immediately she stopped crying and fell asleep within a few seconds. Are you kidding me!
She is also a grunter. She is always grunting, moaning, and making any noise she can with that little body. It is actually really funny to listen to her. She also currently loves to touch her face with her little hands. She hates to have her body restricted. I try to wrap her up like a burrito but then she just squirms until she has freed her arms and then she starts kicking until she is free, all while grunting. Its quite the sight to see. Enjoy the pictures.

Bryant is here!

My sister Amber had her little boy Bryant this last week and I am finally getting to post about it! He was 7 lbs 7 oz and 19 1/2 inches long! He was in a hurry to get here. They didn't even have time to give her a epidural or an IV. I don't know how she could handle all the pain! I guess we know who the weak one in the family is!!! Amber he is adorable and we can't wait to see him! I think you're going to have another little beach bum running around!

Life in Moscow

Another year has come and gone and another chapter in our lives is being closed. This has been a very eventful year for us. And as we prepare to move this weekend it has caused us to reflect on the many events of the past year and our Life in Moscow, ID.

Welcome to the Family

My little Brother Robert tied the knot over the weekend. He married a great girl from Enterprise, Ut named Kari Clove. They were married in the Utah St. George Temple. Congratulations to you guys. I hope you have a great life together.

I am not sure Kari realizes what she is getting herself into. This picture explains it all. When it was taken I asked her where her side of the family was, which she replied that she didn't have any nephews or neices. Oh boy, well welcome to the Lovells! And there are 5 missing.

As many young couples try to do, Robert and Kari tried to hide their car so it would not be victim to the siblings of the weddings. This attempt failed as John, Alex, Zac and myself quickly dicsovered its whereabouts and went to work on its decorating. I think it turned out pretty good.