WKND

Blogging. I suck at consistently doing it. But I enjoy it. I like writing. Sometimes I do a good job at it. But I mostly forget that it is a forever journal for my life. I should try and blog in the name of journaling more. Having said that, I shall go over the weekend's events.

Weekends should always begin with an afternoon nap. Like a solid, under-the-covers nap. If that happens, then it is almost guaranteed to be a good weekend. I had a nap on Friday and it was luscious. Daddy had taken Van on a little mini golf date and then picked up Jack from school while Violet and I got some beauty sleep. After a slumber and a ball of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough from the freezer, I picked up the babysitter and we headed up to Salt Lake City to meet up with Pete n' Marie for some din-din. Sidenote: Pete n' Marie are lucky. Marie was my dad's assistant at NuSkin (did things like balance his personal finances and put his contact lenses in for him) when he worked there and she became a friend of the family. She is pals with all of us Peterson girls, so she has a variety of girls she can hang out with. That is lucky, because we are all awesome. But I win because Marie gives me all her little girl hand-me-downs for Violet. 

Dinner was at Cafe Niche in Salt Lake. And it was excellent. I got the spring rolls for an appetizer and then the marinated lamb for dinner. Oh that lamb. Tender as can be and paired with baby artichokes and baby yukon gold potatoes. The marinade was lemon and herb and fantastic. Best lamb dish I have ever had. Oh but the spring rolls! Stuffed full of veggies. Asparagus, green onion, avocado, carrots, cabbage and then some mango. I forgot that I need to make some spring rolls sometime. Dessert (ps, when I go out, I go big or go home. Don't judge, jerks.) was a chocolate cake soaked in something, probably alcohol. Whoops. Whatever it was, it was killer. Something that a restaurant often does wrong is a chocolate cake. It's often too sweet and dry. This cake was not the case. Oh, and let's not forget the fresh raspberry sauce the the whipped cream. 

Waiting for our funny flick to start. 

After dinner was a movie. "Identity Thief", which was non-stop laughs and F bombs. BUT GOSH DANG IT, some really good parents brought their like 8 year old daughter to that movie. Yeah, they did. WHERE ARE THE PARENT POLICE!? SOMEONE ARREST THESE IDIOTS! That girl should have been at home, watching "The Chronicles of Narnia" like my kids were.

A snapshot from my run on Saturday. It was so much less cold than it looks. 

Ended up taking off my extra sweater and gloves. 

Saturday began with egg sandwiches and Saturday jobs. Sweeping, mopping, wiping. And then later, I was able to get out for a run in the sun. The weather was perfect. I couldn't resist. After my run, it was a quick shower and little kids shoes put on and we were off to a high school boy's basketball playoff game. Our neighbor is a coach at a local high school and invited us to come watch. And it was excellent. Lots of sweaty high school boys and yelling parents.

Thai chicken pizza. I am sorry, I will never stop taking pictures of my food. 

My three people scarfing. Jack killed his pizza in about 5 minutes. Boys eat a lot. 

After the game, we headed to Provo for some Slab pizza. BBQ chicken for Jack, chicken bacon ranch for Ethan, Thai chicken for me and cheese for the littles. And of course, a trip to Slab wouldn't be complete without one of my kids spilling their drink. This time it was Violet. Orange Jarritos. Once pizza was consumed, I had Ethan drive us to the Smith Field House on BYU campus. What a brilliant idea that was. It was practically empty, only people there were loser students who didn't have a date for a Saturday night and decided to spend it running the track. Van was our star and he ran around the track endlessly. We calculated that he ran a total of 2 miles. He just didn't stop running. His fastest time around the track was 2 minutes. Not bad for a 4 year old. Jack and Ethan played bball and then Violet climbed the bleacher stairs and pooped her underwear, like you do.

Lastly, we ended our dynamo day with ice cream at Subzero, Ethan's favorite. I always get lemon frozen yogurt with raspberries. Everyone else opted for bubblegum or cotton candy. And vanilla for Ethan. Always boring vanilla.

Today was Sunday. We recently discovered that putting toasted coconut on oatmeal is heaven. So our day started with oatmeal topped with coconut and almonds. But this is mostly because there is no other food in this house. A few days ago, my friend was telling me about her new year's resolution to cut way down on her grocery bill. When she told me her last month's grocery bill, I was floored. A little over $300 for a family of 7. No coupons and still eating well. WHAAAAT??? So I decided to not go to the grocery store this week. What a dumb idea. We have no food in this house. And we have no orange juice. If we don't have orange juice in this house, there is mutiny. Like when I put breakfast in front of my children and there is no orange juice, they do not compute. "What do you mean you don't have no orange juice? What do you think we will drink? You aren't suggesting water are you? That just will not do. You are fired."

Church was grand. We taught primary. We talked about the first step of becoming a member of the church of Jesus Christ: faith. Our little Sophie in our class told us about how she got a pencil for Valentines. "It was a special one. With a lid. A 'chemical' pencil." After church, we had a little home teacher action and turkey sandwiches. Violet nearly fell asleep during home teachers. Nursery always tuckers her out. Once I got Violet put down for a nap, I proceeded to engage in the most luscious 3 hour nap, complete with ear plugs and a sound machine. Heaven. And if things couldn't get better, right after I woke up, my neighbor brought me warm chocolate chip cookies. People, life doesn't get better than that. Well, actually, it does. I then ordered pizza for dinner. Didn't have to cook, got some cookies and took a giant nap. It's the little things that make me happy.

Now the weekend is over. We just finished watching "Bye Bye Birdie" and the boys are now having their nightly brawl. Little boys just can't resist. Violet is stacking markers. It's her new obsession. And next, I am going to convince Ethan to put the kids to bed while I plan my week's menu and paint my nails.