Don't Read Twilight Right Before Bed!

So, I finally had to read what everyone was talking about...and Yes, it was surprisingly entertaining. Vampires? Didn't think I would get that into it, but it was fun.

But, let me just say this...don't read it right before bed. I did it twice this week and both nights I had the worst nights sleep. I think last night, I created the entire second book in my mind as I was begging to just fall asleep. I couldn't get it leave my mind. So, I've decided I'll read the others, but I'll need to do something in between reading it and going to bed. Or...I need to somehow learn to turn everything off in my head when I go to bed, but I've been trying that since I've been married to a man who can lay down and be completely deep in sleep in 2 seconds. I'm still thinking about just laying down and I'll say something to him--he'll jump out of bed as if there's a fire because I woke him. I have no idea how he does it and I haven't been able to learn in the last 7 years...so I don't think there is much hope. Any ideas?

Puppy Love...

Meet Daisy. My youngest brother Jake and his wife got a puppy (Rotweiller/Austrialian Shepherd Mix) Nana was dog-sitting when she had to the opportunity to come and spend a couple days with us, so Daisy came along. The boys absolutely loved her. Here are some pics of their couple days with Daisy--a dog that will actually roll around on the ground a wrestle Bryson and Colton. She was so GOOD with the kids. Bryce and Daisy even ended up under a bed wrestling. Atlas looked on aloof the entire time--he isn't the greatest dog for wearing boys energy down.


The boys in Daisy's crate...

All three wrestling with their Pop.




Tackling each other.
And by the end of the two days, Daisy was so exhausted, she passed out on the couch with Bryson still mauling her. Bryson was opening her eyes with his hands and it didn't even bother her. Daisy will be missed. :(

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, I got creative this year and did homemade Valentine's Day cards. I even made Ben a homemade 8-page card commemorating our last 8 years. I also had a candlelight dinner for him when he got home using the china from our wedding that we've NEVER EVER used. My idea was to have food immediately for the boys and then send them upstairs to watch a movie, so Ben and I could have a nice private dinner - ya right! That never works. But it was nice anyway.

Colton's Cards. He even did all the work on these, except writing the words on the them. He traced and cut out the hearts. We wrote "You're Dino-Mite!" on them, and he glued on these little dinosaurs. They turned out so cute. I was quite impressed.
For Bryce, I didn't want to put too much into it, so I cut out these little balloons and glued yarn on them as the string. These holidays truly are for kids, right?!
This is Colton (left) at his preschool Valentine's party next to his friend Preston.

Here's a little story for you. I don't remember many Valentine's Days - last year was the cruise and it was great - but our first Valentine's together. I came home from work that night and he led me upstairs to our construction zone (we were remodeling the upstairs of our TN house). There were these white sheets draped over construction debris forming a tent. Inside the tent was a table with flowers and a menu that said "Petz Cafe". He had made an entire dinner and served it to me in our construction tent. He then surprised me with a violin solo of Canon in D. That was his present to me. He bought a violin and seranaded me. I had never heard him play before. It was beautiful. So...that was our first Valentine's Day Together. Pretty good, huh?

Don't feel bad if you didn't know who this guy was. Even his own boys didn't recognize him. When I pulled the picture out to be scanned, I asked Bryson "Who's that?" and pointed to Ben. He looked so confused and said "I don't know." He knew me, though. I guess I haven't changed that much. Daddy sure has, though...and it isn't a bad thing. :)

Ben's Snow Pics

Notice our buried snowmobiles...a lot of good that does.
This is the road to our house (on the left near the back of the pic). Snow is as high as Ben's truck

Ben took these pictures last week...and I forgot to post them with the rest. This will be it for snow...becuase it is MELTING. Don't know how long that will last and if we'll get another storm, but its been great weather lately.

Wish We Were There Now!

Exactly one year ago this week, Ben and I went on our first cruise with my parents, my brothers and their wives/girlfriends (now wives or fiances). Since I didn't have this thing going back then...I thought I'd go down wishful lane and post some pictures of what we did last year...Really wish we were there now. :)

PORT 1 - OCHO RIOS JAMAICA

This is where my brother Curtis went on his mission, so we were greeted by all these locals who absolutely loved my brother and had to see him again. This is Ben with a baby of a family Curt knew on his mission. He was so cuddly!

Jamaica's King - Bob Marley

Jamaica's Dunns River Falls. We climbed all the way up the huge water fall...something that would never happen in America thanks to lawyers. :)

PORT 2 - GRAND CAYMAN

View of our ship from our ferry boat to the island

We rode little scooters around the island all the way to Hell. It is the name of a real town on the island with a post office and everything.

PORT 3 - COZUMEL

This turned out to be one of the best days. We did an off-shore excursion to some Mayan Ruins on the mainland of Mexico. We had a cute little local tour guide who did well...but then as we were walking around these amazing ruins, an LDS guide noticed Curt's UofU hat and gave us his own tour--he knew SO much more information about these ruins. It was incredible.

Some of my favorite pictures from sea days:

We kept unintentionally winning medals on the ship for volleyball and shuffleboard. We thought we were just playing a game--turned out it was the ship's planned events that only we showed up for by accident. 1st pic: Ben, my dad & Curt; 2nd pic: My dad, Nate, Curt, Becky, Mandi; 3rd pic: Me, Ben, Jake, Dave, Shae.

Me putting my foot in mouth. It happens often. :) The picture of Ben with our waiter Sakda from the Phillipines. Sakda loved Ben because he was the only one in our family who would eat whatever Sakda brought him. Yes, our family is a little picky. And the girls...this was one formal night, the picture is my mom, me, my sisters-in-law Heather, Shae, and Becky. (Mandi was sick that night).

It was truly an amazing trip. I loved being there with my family. I loved the sites. I loved the warmth - it was very welcome in February. I'd do this again in a second. There is so much in this world to see...I can't wait for the next trip. Wish it was right now...since I'm in winter burn-out mode. :(

Idaho Snow!

Friends and Family have been asking for some pictures of the snow--especially those in California who are so bored with their never changing 65 degrees! So, here are few pictures. These were even before yesterday's storm, so we'll load some more next week. Ben just plowed again tonight and I think our mountains of snow will be here now until July!Views towards the barn from a window in the house.

An upstairs bedroom window...snow drifts on the roof

Atlas will do anything for his ball...even go searching for it in 4' of snow. Crazy dog!

Adventurous Reunion

Yesterday was quite the adventure. Ben had meetings in Idaho Falls, so I decided to go. Two of my friends from other states have since moved to Idaho Falls & Rexburg and I hadn't seen them for YEARS. Well, the drive there was fighting a crazy wind/snow storm. One road got closed and re-routed us through Blackfoot. The day was good...and then when it was time to head home, we looked at this:
Well, not exactly this. I pulled this off the internet this morning, so it is a little different...but basically, you can see all these red circles on every road surrounding Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum. The one road that doesn't show a red circle, had one last night. There was absolutely no way to get in or out of the Wood River Valley. Every road was closed from drifting snow. At about 8 pm, they finally starting allowing cars to be escorted. They were using 4 snowplows ahead of a pilot car to escort cars from Shoshone to Bellevue and then out from Bellevue to Shoshone. When we finally got through, you could tell the drifts had to have been 6-7' high. But...we made it home safely by 12:30 in the morning...and had a great day - despite a drive at least this bad the entire way.
Now to the reason I braved the roads in the first place - FRIENDS!

Marci Inskeep - I became friends with Jeremy & Marci when I moved to Georgia in 2000. They lived in the same apartment complex and Jeremy and I worked for the same company. At the time, they had 1 little boy, Forrest--only about 18 months. He was my special buddy...since I didn't have a boyfriend...this was before Ben. I remember telling Marci one day that I had decided that it just wasn't meant for me to get married anytime soon. God must want me to be alone for while--because there was NO ONE there I could possibly even date. It was the very next Monday that I met Ben. Well...5 kids later for her and 2 for me, they have moved back to their original stomping grounds of Rigby, only 2 hours away.

Here we all are...Colton & Bryce (mine) Phoebe, Forrest, Daphne, Marci, Fisher & Sophie(asleep-not in the picture). Amazing what can happen in 7 years!

Tricia Scott - Tricia and I met through church in Chicago, IL in 2003. She had one little girl, Mikaela - about 2 years old and I was pregnant with Colton. We were only in Chicago 10 months, but have some of the fondest memories and some of the best friends from there. Tricia, Vanessa Pollack and I quickly became the best of friends. They were both such a blessing to me after Colton was born...He was such a HARD baby. Vanessa's ski boat was our morning relief. We'd put the babies in their car seats in the boat (approved flotation devices--that's what we kept telling ourselves) and going skiing for a couple of hours. That boat motor was the only thing that would keep Colton from screaming. As soon as we'd turn it off, he'd start up again. So, now 5 years later and 2 more kids, Tricia now lives only 2 hrs away in Idaho Falls.

I had one more reunion in the last 2 weeks. I received an email from a lady I knew in Tennesee (2000-2003) about an email address change...and the new email address had the word Boise in it. Joel & Linda Lopez were in our ward in TN, they both worked me as a trim subcontractor, too. I helped them design and get a house built for themselves. They are great people--and sure enough, they had moved to Boise and live only a couple minutes from Ben's brother John. All kind of strange that friends of ours from 3 different states have all moved to Idaho and we've seen them all in the last 2 weeks. I wonder why...there has to be a reason. I don't know. But it has been great!

This is the REAL Ben Petzinger

I took this from an email he sent out to his 4 brothers. Good luck at understanding it :) Now you know what he's really like...forget that "Things About My Husband" post.

I will be voting for the Democratic Ticket once McCain is nominated. I'd rather place the blame squarely on the shoulders of liberals than be saddled with my vote destroying our economy.

Representative (TN) Davy Crocket once said:"we have the right as individuals to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money"

The dems and McCain have a nearly unstoppable election model that has served that party well since the days of our first massive entitlements in the New Deal to "rescue" our nation from the Great Depression. It is getting to be a mute point to argue principles of conservatism to a populace so conditioned to complain that life is "unfair" and preach the, "it's my right" mentality on such remedial private matters such as healthcare, legal immigration and retirement.

My glass is half empty when I reminisce about the welfare state created on the Navajo Nation that is a formidable bellwether of things to come in this country when we take a community's pride away by giving them everything. It is even more alarming to me when I consider the Fate of a once proud Slavic people in the Soviet Block. They have recently turned their backs to Freedom (it's not easy - you know) and latched onto Putin's throwback rhetoric to hammer and sickledom because he can guarantee security. By definition - socialism is the guaranty that the State will take care of us in a benevolent manner. Socialism is only possible through force - which is communism. There is no coincidence that Ronaldus Magnus Reagan scorned the Soviets by calling them the Evil Empire (the liberals were upset at him back then for saying these words - and then back it up with action) - it is PURE EVIL TO FORCE EQUALITY OF RESULT ON ALL PEOPLE. This is consistent with eternal principles endowed by our creator: agency. We are free to succeed and fail all the same.

One thing I have also experienced first hand is the soul-less state of a people where aside from all else of material worth, the one thing that can't be given is self-sufficiency and independence. Russia is a travesty in the human experience and I have a hard time even considering visiting there again because I have such a deep and profound respect for the worth of a soul that when I see what Socialism has done - it shakes me to the core. My mission there was completely devoted to The Gospel of Christ which transcends politics and liberates a captive soul. When you combine the two (self sufficiency and independence) in my mixing bowl of common sense - you get freedom. WHO IS OUT THERE TALKING ABOUT FREEDOM?

Freedom isn't depending on a government check that limits your capacity to seek after and pursue life, liberty and happiness. Davy spoke often of Freedom and he died protecting it. Where are these guys today?

McCain's military service speaks for itself - he put his life on the line for our country - but it is followed up with a clever election model of populism (Think Huckabee). Isn't it interesting that his jabs at Romney for being financially successful in the private sector are a cloak and dagger equivalency to a democrat criticizing a free market person for the same reasons. "When I lead my squadron in the Navy it was for patriotism - not profit" - McCain. Now, he uses his military career as both a shield against criticism and an ointment to catch the fly - or those so enamored with his service that they are willing-even compelled to overlook his temperament and voting/legislative record in the Cesspool Senate. The guy is brilliant - and dangerous as his "smoke and mirrors" legislative works have proven. By nature, when a politician is not conservative - he is liberal. Where there is darkness, there cannot be light and visa versa.

The gradual slip away from Conservatism in this country has picked up speed as career politicians like McCain (Republican In Name Only - RINO) feign conservative ideals while exchanging bodily fluids with the instant gratification-prostitute principles of entitlements that yield votes and STD's = Stereotypical Transfer of Dependence from the private person to the state. Once that love child of entitlements has sucked on the government teat (that's boob for another term) - they degenerate to a self inflicted lifestyle of bitter resolve of protecting their entitlement and cry afoul when the mother's milk runs dry with a litany of victimhood and wrong doing from "the man" or "the wealthy" or "the winners of life's lottery". QUE JESSE JACKSON AND AL SHARPTON FOR THEIR PREDICTABLE SPEECH OF INEQUALITY.

It makes me sick and I have seen it happen all in my lifetime as I started paying attention in Jr. High and understood then and there - that there are two types of people in our nation: makers and takers, producers and seducers, providers and insiders, Freedom Seekers and Freedom Tweakers, Capitalists and Socialists. (The rhyming is in respect to Jesse J: rhyme-master of political dribble and shallow rhetoric.) My decision was made early by way of example from all our forbearers in the Everinghams and Petzingers that I will always be a contributor to growth and not a drain on growth.

I, for one do not appreciate the complement of having to work nearly 4 months for free so other's can nuzzle up to their teat and milk my earnings dry. I hate that I have become bitter and detached from the political process to the point that i'd rather see a democrat harvest the credit for nose diving our economy than a president registered (by default) in my party who is nothing but a whore for votes. Consequently, the party I grew up associating with has definitely changed. Like a frog being boiled - the Contract w/ America group lead by Newt in '94 is all but defunct, cooked and corrupt in a filth of special interest money and inside-the-beltway conceit. Big business special interests love curtailing the free market b/c it is hard to compete. Newt thinks free market can solve global warming. ......Newt, if we can't reverse it (according to their high priests), then we can't stop it either. I don't know about the rest of you - but the 6 foot snow drifts on my roof and property are due for some warming soon - or i'll have to shovel my roof. I also don't know why I asked Newt a question here - he isn't reading this.....I'm just ranting after 5 PM when I should be at home with my dear wife and sons.

With any luck - they'll learn to argue with their dad too and form their own opinions of how things should be in this cruel world. I think Dad chose to take a liberal side on some things just to be a contrarian. He was sure good at that.

As the great political philosopher and mental-midget, Jesse Jackson says: I have been disenfranchised.

Ben

Things About My Husband

Ok...so you all are doing this, so I'll join in. My husband doesn't contribute much to this...and some of you don't know him too well, so here goes.

What is his name - Benjamin George Petzinger

How long have you been together - Since May of 2000 - 7 years and 9 months

How long did you date - We dated for 4 months and were engaged for 3 months (all but 3 of those months were long distance, me in Tennessee and him in Utah)

How old is he - He is 31...almost 32 (yes, younger than me)

Who eats more - Definitely him...except when I'm pregnant...then I can outdo him sometimes

Who said "I Love You" first - Neither really, he just said "I used to make fun of my roommates who came home and said they'd met the one." That was it. :) I'm sure we said I Love You sometime later...just can't remember. Bad, huh?

Who's taller - Obviously him or I would have had to have married a midget

Who can sing better - Definitely HIM! My family does American Idol Karaoke (badly) and Ben got a perfect score his first song...who knew?

Who is smarter - Depends on what it is.

Who does the laundry - Me most of the time. He will load the washer, but NEVER fold clothes.

Who pays the bills - Me.

Who sleeps on the right side - He does...always even when we are in a hotel.

Who mows the lawn - What lawn? We haven't had a lawn since Illinois in 2003. In Arizona, he'd have to mow rocks. In Colorado, it was oak brush. He does, though, when we have a lawn.

Who cooks dinner - I do, but he likes to cook and does it sometimes on the weekends. He's a great cook.

Who drives - Him. Although I love to drive, that is one thing I just let him do. :)

Who is more stubborn - We are both pretty stubborn, but he'd say I am more stubborn.

Who kissed who first - It was pretty mutual, but he initiated it since he had finally broken up with his girlfriend and it was now acceptable:)

Who asked who out first - It was his first day in Georgia and he was staying in a hotel, so I invited him over to my apartment for a home cooked meal. (Fajitas) He had a girlfriend at the time, so it wasn't really an official "date." Just a get to know you evening that happened to go until 3 the next morning - with us both sitting on opposite couches, the entire time! I promise.

Who proposed - He officially proposed to me while I was on a weekend visit to Utah, a visit that also included our engagement pictures and wedding dress shopping. I had also already reserved the temple months earlier...just in case. :) But, now it was official.

Who has more friends - Probably me, just because I have time to have friends...but he is very outgoing and people like him--so he has a lot of friends

Who is more sensitive - Um, not sure. Neither?

Who has more siblings - We both have 4 brothers, mine are all younger than me, his are all older than him. An oldest - youngest marriage.

Who wears the pants - We both would say we do.

Get out and VOTE!

Ok...so those of you who know my husband, know that he is VERY involved in politics. Not that he runs for office, but that he always knows exactly what is going on and has a definite opinion about everything. What kind of opinion? Well, he starting listening to Rush Limbagh at 12 yrs old and his pastime reading as a kid...Yes, Rush Limbagh books. Luckily, I don't mind because I do care. When I was in college and filed my taxes for the first time on my own (not as a dependent under my parents) I realized how screwed up this country is on a lot of levels--and that disdain for BIG government has only grown since then. Government is too big, we are WAY over-taxed, and the money is completely misused and wasted on ineffective government programs. We saw first hand what happens to our tax dollars living and working on the Navajo Reservation with federal money.

So, here is my plea! This is the only political post I will do until the final election, so bear with me. We have lived in 5 of the states that will be voting on Super Tuesday - Colorado, Utah, Illinois, Tennessee and Arizona - so we still have friends in all those states and this is my plea to all of you in those states to get out and vote. I have never claimed myself a Republican...I am just a conservative, so I won't even talk about the democrat side of this--Democrats mean bigger government and more programs. They think that we Americans are all too dumb to take care of ourselves and it should be government's responsibility to do everything for us...so I am not even going to give them the time of day in this. My plea is to vote for the right Republican.

It is down to John McCain and Mitt Romney. Yes, Mitt is a mormon, as am I, but I'm not voting for a church leader here...so I could care less about his religion. I want a presidential candidate who is not a lifetime politician. I want a candidate who will look at this behometh government and actually make some real changes and improvements. John McCain has spent the last 25 years in government....since 1982! And what significant conservative things has he accomplished? Absolutely nothing. He claims he wants to lower taxes, yet he voted against both Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. He sided with Ted Kennedy on amnesty for all illlegal immigrants. He has co-sponsored all kinds of liberal bills that have only created MORE spending in government and MORE programs. He is a liberal in disguise and will do nothing but keep our government growing. Many people have mentioned, including Mike Reagan, that McCain is also an angry man and has great disdain for anyone who does not agree with him.

On the flip side, Mitt Romney is not a career politician. He is an entrepreneurial business man who knows how to make a business work. That is what he did for a living. He'd buy companies that were failing, figure out what was wrong, fix them, and turn them around. This created jobs, improved the economy, created more tax revenue, etc. I believe he'd bring accountability to Washington again. He understands economics...he understands by REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE that less taxes = better economy. He also understands the other important issues of protecting our borders, the health care crisis, energy, etc.

I hope that all of you who have the opportunity to vote this Tuesday will really learn about the two candidates and make the best choice for our country. For those of you who want our government to be restored to the fiscally conservative, effective government it once was...go to the website http://www.citizensunited.org/. It is a great website for conservative research. And I say Good Luck, Mitt, on Tuesday.