Athletes

Who says thumb wresting is not a sport? As Betsy so eloquently put it, these two are the baddest thumb wrestlers around...With their "gear" on thier thumbs to boot. They are doing the best "bad face" they know how to...Ella's is priceless. You both get the Gold in my book girlies!

 

More Memorial Day weekend...fun?

 More on Memorial Day...We had to take the obligatory pic when we headed to a Chinese buffet for our family dinner date on the Friday before Artyom left for Russia...So THIS was how our night started....

Cute kids, cute panda, VERY full tummies. They opted NOT to have the octopus...I SO wish I would have taken a pic of that...



...And THIS?! This was how our night ended...This is what happens when our little miss Ella is left unsupervised for 5 minutes and finds a tube of lipstick. When I asked her why she did it? "Mama, I just wanted to be an Indian!" hehehe. So here is what a good mom I am...Ella! Honey, why?! Now come here so I can take a picture".  hehehe She begged me not to show Betsy cause "She will be SO mad at me!" hehe. So instead I put it on Facebook....

Ensign Peak Hike

We had a family filled weekend planned over Memorial Day before Artyom left for the Motherland, and as it has been going in my life lately (or it really seems that way), it did not go quite as planned.

We were able to get in the hike we planned though and headed out in the early afternoon to hike up Ensign Peak. I was a bit worried that either Artyom or myself would end up carrying Ella but she was a trooper and both girls did great!

 

YAY!! We made it!

The girls decided that hiking was actually FUN and they are already asking where we will go next...A fun new family tradition has been made! Love it. 

Well. Count me in as a believer!

 

As a special treat for having the week off for First Grade testing, I took the girls out to our favorite frozen yogurt place. It is one of those that you get these HUGE cups to fill up yourslef with any flavor of yogurt or sorbet you want and then get to dump on the toppings as you see fit. Well. Artyom and I learned VERY early on that you go through the line with the girls and THEN you go thru on your own.

So I got them through, sat them down in front of this chalkboard, and I went thru for mine. When I sat down, this is what greeted me!

 

"WE MAKE THIS A BETTER PLACE"

 

My two precious girls, I could not agree with your statement more...



Perks of having cute kids

Artyom is working on a side venture with a few guys he works with and they needed to get a website going and a flyer. Artyom had asked about our kids being on the marketing material, as he is involved and I said, I would be ok with that.

He showed me the "proof" of the website and flyer and I made a few suggestions. One of them? Use our cutie patootie girls and show some versatility in the product you are trying to sell. Wow. I could just FEEL all my under-grad work in Marketing come a flowin back. hehe.

The next suggestion? Get Betsy to take some pics. Don't try to do them on your own. Betsy has an EYE for photography and has always taken the CUTEST pics of the girls.
Here is what we got. Yep. it helps to have 2 of the cutest girls on the planet..Just a perk of having cute kids I guess....yes. I am biased.

So tell me...what do you think?

Pederson weekend in Oregon

Here is a quick recap in pictures of our trip to Oregon. Needless to say, the girls were OVER THE MOON excited to be with all the cousins and must admit...I had a REALLY good time too. Most of the time was spent outside and the weather cooperated beautifully!

 

The trampoline was DEFINITELY a big hit and most of the time we would only have to look out the window to see all the kids on it. SO FUN!

 

I DID happen to get thim all to SIT for a split second to get a cute pic of some of the cousins. Look at all those cute next generation Peds!

We had a regular INDY 500 going on at Dave and Krystals on thier patio. The kids outnumbered the trikes and bikes, so we had to take turns. The others that didnt get to ride, just ran around them. I was SHOCKED we didnt have any accidents!

From L to R: Eli, Lauren and Aunt Charity and then McKena, Ell and Aunt Charity

Mason showing off his "SKILLZ" on the hoop. And the cutest kid we know- Erik with Grandpa Pedersons glasses. AWESOMENESS.

I had to take a pic of my Dad with "THE OWL" There is a story behind this thing...Sigh. It deserves a post all of its own. Stay tuned.

Tea Party time before we headed out to Church. I found the 3 of these cutie patooties having a little tea time. SO cute!

Leaving on a jet plane

I cannot even BEGIN to count how many times I hear Sofia ask if we can go on a plane. Every time I have left on business trips (which up until the last year or so was quite a bit), she REALLY wanted to go on a plane. Well recently...She got her wish.

 

After my 10 day trip in Italy, I was finally able to get some phone reception when I landed in JFK. I had ALOT of voicemails to get through. One was my oldest brother Jon, "requesting my prescence" there in Oregon that weekend. This was Tuesday night mind you and I was not even to my final destination yet. The thought of getting on another plane wanted to make me vomit, but I could not pass up the opportunity.

So Thursday night bags were packed, Friday morning tickets were bought and we had the biggest surpirse EVER for the girls (well besides getting a sibling which they are still anxiously waiting for...sigh.)

 

We told the girls we were going out to dinner, so Artyom put the suitcase in the car without the girls seeing and we headed out. We had been driving a bit when Sofia started to catch up and asked where it was we were eating at...As we got to the Airport Terminal area, I said, "well I thought we would eat at the airport. What do you think?" "Uhh...ok Mom" Then I said, "and after we eat, I thought we could fly to Oregon and see Grandpa, the Uncles and all our cousins"...I could HEAR Sofia's mind putting together what I had just said and the BIGGEST grin and teary eyed girl looked at me with the biggest eyes ever. REALLY MOM?!

Priceless.

 

They traveled GREAT! And only got ancy a few times. It was definitely something they will not forget...and hopefully the don't. Cause with the airfare prices the way they are right now? Who knows the next time we will be on a plane!

May 9-Victory Day in Russia

Victory Day in Russia is today— May 9th, when Germany has finally surrendered to the Allied Forces in WWII— is one of the most sacred holidays for Russians, who lost more than 26 million people in that war. On this day, TV networks broadcast World War II-inspired films, younger generations honor veterans, and the festivities culminate in a military parade at Moscow’s Red Square. Congratulations to everybody, and a huge thank you to our veterans who brought peace to our land.

I may not have been born in Russia, I was not raised in Russia, I cannot even begin to fathom what it means for a country to have lost 26 MILLION people in a war.

But I am married to a very proud Russian who I love dearly. Our children have Russian in their blood and it is important to us they understand where they came from:

Two very different parents, coming from two very different countries, with two very different backgrounds, and together- that makes them pretty darn special.

I have been to Moscow's Red Square, and, as it is with most places that have had it's share of tragedy and triumph, is a special place to visit. Today is for the Red Flame, and what his country did for not only the Motherland, but the World.

Spasibo.

I see a bumper sticker in the making

Cuncle Josh read the blog post and did his "duty" by making up THIS for Sofia and her story about laughing so hard she wet her pants.

LOVE it.

Don't worry Mom. I know this happens alot

It's every parents hope they never get a call from the school while their kids are there. My stereotypical Monday did not disappoint when I got that dreaded call from the school. I was in a meeting so when I got back to my desk, Artyom had called a number of times, I had a msg on my work phone and a text from Artyom. Luckily I looked at the text first.

Sofia peed her pants. They need a new set of clothes for her.

 

Once I resolved that the call did not involve the loss of limbs, I THEN listened to the phone message. I felt so bad and wondered what had happened. After the "phone tree" of calls, and organization of trying to find out who would get to her the quickest, I got a hold of Jacki who was home and able to pick her up ASAP. I mean come on...no one wants to sit in wet pants for long...

 

Sofia was picked up, got to Jackis and I called to see if she was ok or scarred for life (as I would have been at her age...) I got her on the phone and she "whispered" to me what happened. She said her and her friends, her bff Diana and Natalia were on a twister thing, having so much fun at recess, and she and her friends were laughing so hard that they could not stop laughing and she accidently peed her pants.

 

Well. Here is my bad mom moment of the day, cause I completely ERUPTED in laughter and I am darn lucky that she started laughing hysterically too.

 

Then she said "MOM! Don't laugh. I know it happens all the time."

 

That got me going all over again and she and I just laughed on the phone together for a few minutes...Best.Moment.Ever.

 

Lesson learned from my beautiful 6 year old daughter today? Don't sweat the small stuff. Laugh till you cry...or pee your pants. Cause after all...it happens all the time...

You just never know WHO you might run into

I finally came through on an idle threat to go do something with Jacki (its been awhile...my bad), and we went to a movie. Looky who we ran into at the theatre?! He was great and let me "strike a pose" with his hero-ness and I instantly texted it to Aryom and the girls to see. I think the girls were more impressed than my Russian. Oh well.

Keep those eyes open-especially at the movie theater... you never know WHO you'll run into!

Maka is "Mountain Lion of the Week!"

I got a call from the school yesterday and it was Sofia's asst. Principle. At first I was a bit concerned, but he let me know that Sofia had been nominated and won "Mountain Lion of the Week" by her teacher, Ms. Merrill. Sofia has told me about this oh-so prestigious honor bestowed upon students at her school and in the life of a six year old-she has wanted this FOREVER. I was so excited for her! She was nominated because she is:

"always helping others write in their journals each morning."

 

The assistant Principle was super cute and put her on the phone so I could congratulate her. She was so cute! I'm so proud of her. She is a blessing to our family and we love her so very much. Last night she went out for a celebratory dinner of her choice. Chick-Fil-A.







Keep up the fantastic work Maka! We love you

First signs of Spring- which means it will be gone in 5 minutes FLAT.

***
See my post title?! This was just a few days before it SNOWED!!! Utah weather at it's finest.

It was so nice and the girls needed some vitamin D- so we headed out to the park. The one right by our house was SO packed, that we made a family executive decision to go to another one- the water park and hoped that the water would be on. It wasnt, but the girls had a blast being in the sun. So we took a few slurpies, (compliments of the Sev)a bag of chips and a yummy new candybar we had to try- its the French vanilla milky way...can we say YUM!! It didnt make it to the park. The girls ate it en route...  and we just played.

 

 

We took FULL advantage of the nice 78-80 degree weather...We have been here long enough to know that this Spring weather will NOT last and well be in the triple digits in no time...

Happy Snow Day...er...I mean May Day!

Yep. Woke up to a bit of thundering outside and thought it would clear up in the afternoon. Then when I walked outside it was a bit chilly and I thought, nah- it will clear up.
I got to work- and am at this moment looking outside at a BLIZZARD!

This was when I first got to work....Its still coming down, and actually STICKING at this point.

HAPPY FIRST OF MAY!!