King's Peak

At the end of August my awesome hubby and brother took a trip to hike to the top of King's Peak. They left on Wednesday afternoon for the big event. The plan was to hike to their camp spot and set up camp and then hike to the top the next day. They hiked about 10 miles to get to the spot where they would camp and did all this with a backpack on. David's pack weighed about 50 pounds. The next day they hiked another 10 miles to the top of the peak. It is highest point in Utah and from what David told me, it was REALLY hard to breathe. He said there were many times that he would have turned around and given up if he didn't have someone with him to keep him going. He learned a lot about how strong he really is. I was so impressed that he would take this on. I was SO worried about him the whole time. I kept wondering if he had enough to eat and if he was cold at night and. I had no way to reach him while he was gone. The plan was to camp until Saturday morning and then hike back down to come home. Well, Friday afternoon I am standing outside talking to a neighbor and Bryan's car pulls up. They decided to come home early and surprise us. I had no idea he would be home that night, but I was so happy! I am so proud of him and what he accomplished during this trip. He is amazing!!

Baby Girl

Enjoying some licorice

After scarfing down some mac and cheese

My sweet baby girl is 15 months old! She is such an amazing little girl. I just love her to pieces. Just ask her how many kisses she gets a day, I think she is counting. :)

Yesterday we had a trip to the pediatrician for a well baby check up. She is growing like a weed!

Her stats:

Weight: 23 lbs 1 ounce, 60%

Height: 32 inches, 75%

Head size: 95%

(I don't remember how much her head measured, only that she has a big noggin!)

Since her birthday she has gained 3 pounds and gotten a lot taller. She got so many cute outfits for her birthday (12 month size) and now they don't fit her! I was so sad because she only got to wear them a few times each.

Anastyn loves food and is always wanting a bite of whatever you are eating. She especially loves sweets. She is so busy and wants to do whatever her big sisters are doing. She climbs on everything and gets into everything. She has mastered the stairs and makes me so nervous! She is very independent and likes to do things on her own. She doesn't say many words, but she jabbers all the time. A few things she says are: mama, daddy, sippee, and no.

We love this little sweetie so much and we are so glad that she decided to be part of our family! We couldn't imagine life without her!

Maples Family Campout

Grandpa pushing the girls on the swings

David and Bryan jumping off the middle platform

More swinging

Alyssa, Abbey, and Marlee taking a ride with the KOA employees

The entire Maples Family!

This year our family decided to do our own campout with all of my siblings and their families. My mom booked campsites at the Lava Hot Springs KOA campground and paid for it all as our Christmas gifts. My whole family was able to make it. I cannot believe how much the family has grown. We will be adding two new babies this year, Brooke and Ashley are both pregnant and due within days of each other!

I decided that camping is lots more fun when you are a child. It is a lot of work as an adult, but we still had a good time. We went up on Thursday afternoon and set up our tent. We had dutch oven chicken enchiladas (so yummy!!) and peach cobbler for dessert. That day was also David's birthday so we sang to him as well. I feel bad that he spent his birthday camping and it was pretty much overlooked. Right after dinner it started raining and didn't stop until somtime during the night. We froze in our tent. I felt so bad for the kids. The little ones slept really well despite the bad weather though. The second day we headed to the water park and swam for a few hours. The girls had a great time! After everyone was tired of the water, we went back to camp. David and Abbey decided they wanted to float the river with a few of my siblings. I wasn't sure about Abbey going, but she really wanted to do it, so I gave in. She had a blast and they did it three times. While they were gone we started some roasts and potatoes cooking in the dutch oven. They turned out so good, the dinner was fantastic! That night was a bit colder, but at least it wasn't raining. Saturday we packed up and returned home. It looks like we will make this get together an annual thing and I am looking forward to next time!

Happy Fourth!! Part Three

Waiting for the show to begin

Anastyn loved the fireworks

All the kids are in love with Trent, poor Hillary didn't get to sit by her boyfriend.
Abbey and her sparklers

We finished off the evening with some great fireworks. Once again, Avery had her ears covered the entire time. She actually hid under a blanket sitting on David's lap during the whole show. Thanks to the new law in Utah allowing arial (my girls were expecting Little Mermaid fireworks) fireworks, we saw some cool firework shows all over the neighborhood.

Happy Fourth!! Part Two

After the parade we hung out at my brother Dave's house for the rest of the day. We sat around and laughed, ate, splashed in the water, jumped on the neighbor's trampoline, ate, painted toe nails, laughed, and did I mention we ate? Seriously, my big brother knows his way around the bbq and smoker. He made pulled pork sandwiches and beef brisket. YUMMM! Everyone else brought salads, desserts, and fruit. It was awesome. Usually a couple of my brothers go out of town for the holiday, but this year everyone stayed in town. It was such a fun time!!

My angel baby- Anastyn
My dad never gets enough sleep, so this is normal at all family functions.

The whole crew!

"Here comes the smolder..."

Most of the kids

(Alyssa, Marlee, Avery, Bill, Abbey, and Chase)

Grandpa and Grandma Peterson

Hunter and Avery

David and me. He refused to smile like a normal human for any pictures.

Happy Fourth!! Part One

We began our holiday celebrations by hanging out with fellow west-siders at the good old Magna parade. It is totally ghetto-fabulous and we do it every year. And I have no intention of changing this tradition.

I forgot to bring my camera to the parade, so I stole these photos from my sister-in-law. Thanks Bryan and Dayna for taking all the pictures! Avery was freaked out the entire time. She is not a fan of loud noises, so she had her ears covered the whole time! It was ok with me though, she stayed put in the stroller for the whole thing and never once asked to get out.

My Beautiful Sister

The day of Anatyn's party was the same day as Senior Prom for my sister. I was so excited because I got to help her get ready since I was already at their house setting up for the party. Earlier that week my mom had a second surgery on her ankle so she was down for a couple weeks. I think my mom felt a little left out of the festivities, so when her boyfriend Trent came to pick her up, they did the corsage/boutonniere tradition in her bedroom so she could see. Then a few of us walked over across the street to take a few pictures. There were about 5 of us with cameras and only two couples so it felt a little "paparazzi"-ish. She is absolutely gorgeous and looked stunning in her blue dress. I am so lucky to have her as a sister. She is my only sister and she helps me out a ton! It has been fun to be her second mom and be there for her while she was growing up.