Merry Christmas!

Christmas came a little early for Brad this year.  He brought his Christmas present home yesterday morning, and spent quite a bit of time playing with the computer in it afterwards.  He thought it was pretty fun having his truck call me on the home phone.

Haley is extremely happy as well, and Gage is happy he doesn't have to drive the Hyundai anymore.

Happy Birthday Devin!

 Devin turned 13 on Monday!  Thanks for all of the calls, texts, and birthday cards!  This year he decided he did want to go to dinner.  We tried a restaurant we had not been to before, except for Gage.  Gage had gone with some friends at work, and brought home some leftover fries, which Devin loved!

We still haven't had his birthday dessert yet because he can't decide what he wants.

The sister missionaries are so wonderful!  They come and visit Haley and Gage weekly, working hard to get them to attend the singles ward weekly, to pray, and read their scriptures.  Sister Finua (I hope I spelled that right, she is closest to the front) is from West Valley and is always trying to get Haley to give them a service project.  So, yes, they are cleaning up Alofa's poop!  There is definitely a special place in heaven for them.  Sister Orton is in the back, and is from Cedar City!

It has been so cold here this last week or so, with temperatures dropping well below zero at night, and staying below, or barely above zero most of the day.  At first Alofa was fine, but after noticing ice stuck to her nose one evening, we decided it best to bring her indoors.  She is sporting some darling pink booties, to keep her from scratching up the hardwood floors, and some green painters tape to keep them on.  She loves them!  Not really.  She hates them, and gets quite aggressive when we try to put them on, or take them off.

Friday night (date night), Haley had just returned home earlier that afternoon after taking Alofa to get a bath.  Because her undercoat is so thick around her neck, Haley had to take her collar off so she could dry.  Brad and I were getting ready to leave to go to dinner.  Brad was holding the door to the garage door open for me, and had just opened the car garage door, when guess who comes walking around the corner?  Before we even realized what was happening, Alofa was out the door, down the stairs, out the garage, and running across the street.  After two near death experiences with cars, losing all of but one of her booties in the snow, Haley upset thinking we were never going to catch her, and all of us chasing her for 40 minutes, at two degrees below zero, through the fields, across streets, into backyards, and finally coaxing her into the car at the charter school below our neighborhood.  We were all frozen, exhausted, a bit irritated........and I'm pretty sure Alofa thought that was a fun game she would love to play again!

Just when we thought we would never like having a dog less........how much do we love Haley? :)

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Some additional updates, Brad is teaching the Valiant 9 primary class, I am now a Nursery Leader.

Haley has taken on a part time job at the Under Armor store at the outlet mall near our house.  She is planning to visit Utah again the 19th - 23rd, providing the weather cooperates.  She didn't want to drive the Hyundai, so she applied for a car loan to buy Brad's FJ Cruiser.  She has been working so hard to build her credit.  With a credit score of 734, she qualified, but needed Brad to co-sign because of her limited time working at her current jobs.  So, I guess Brad will be getting a new truck for Christmas. 

Where has the time gone?

Wow it's been a while since I've posted anything!  Since the last post, we were able to go to Utah for a week.  It was great to see everyone, and to meet Baby Harrison McArthur, another ginger cousin!  He is so cute!  And as you can tell from these pictures, Gage couldn't get enough of him.  Even when someone (me) would steal the baby from him, Gage would just follow me around until he could get him back.

 

Just before we left for Utah, we were able to hire Dan the Handyman to replace the posts that Alofa had used as a chew toy, and build an enclosure with a gate on the porch so that she could not do that anymore, or scratch the sliding glass door.  Well, guess what?!?!  We are going to have to hire Dan back to make the gate lower so that she can't get underneath!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

(We did make Haley cover the cost of replacing the posts, and she will have to pay for Dan to come back.)

First Halloween in Colorado!

And I'm a mean Mom and have told my kids that once they turn 12, they were no longer allowed to go trick-or-treating.  Well, I did make an exception for Devin this year because he hasn't done much socializing since we arrived, but I told him he had to figure out his own costume.  Well, apparently he didn't like that idea, and became the self designated door answerer.  Well, as you can tell from the picture above, we didn't have many trick-or-treaters.  A total of three groups, to be exact!  We have lots of leftover candy, yay!

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Our first Sunday back from Utah, we had a special Sunday meeting, in which they split several wards in our stake.  We were put into a brand new ward, and released from our callings that we have had for a grand total of maybe two months, if that.  Brad was not able to be there, as he was traveling again.  After visiting Georgia, North Carolina, Utah, and the Philippines during the month of October, I think he spent less than a total of one week at home.

The youth group in our new ward is quite a bit smaller, and I believe the primary is quite a bit larger.  Devin was the only Deacon, out of twelve, to be included in the new ward boundaries.  I'm hoping he will make friends soon.  Thankfully, he really liked his deacon's quorum leader, who is the new YM president in our new ward.

 

Latest & Greatest

 Haley has been given the opportunity to work part time coaching Rugby, coaching these very cute kiddo's!

 Though, it's not really work for her, as she loves the game, and loves kids.

And yes, they actually pay their coaches here.

House Pics

Kara and Laurie have both asked for pictures of our house, so I finally took some.  I guess I should have turned some of the lights off......not a professional!

My Office

Half Bathroom

Boy's Bathroom

Devin's Room

 Gage's Room

 Haley's Room

 Haley's Bathroom

Happy 18th Birthday Gage!!

Typical Gage Birthday:

• He doesn't want to go anywhere.
• He doesn't like his presents wrapped.
• We make his favorite dinner, Monte Cristo sandwiches and 7-Layer Bean Dip.

 He didn't want a cake, just ice cream sundaes.  So, Haley and Devin went to cold stone and bought him this little ice cream cake.  As you can see, Haley was very creative when trying to fit 18 candles on it.

At the end of the day, Gage said it was the best birthday ever!

Haley's Owie

Last Saturday (the 10th), Haley cut her finger at work with a brand new knife!

After about four hours of non-stop bleeding, they sent her to the instacare.  She called us and asked if one of us would take her.  Brad and I were still in bed (don't judge...she goes to work at 3:30 in the morning!), so Brad graciously agreed to take her.  When they called her back, they told her that her "buddy" could come back with her.  Of course, they were shocked when they learned he was her Dad.

She ended up with four stitches, and went right back to work.

She can go get her stitches out tomorrow.

Back to School

Devin started school on Monday, his first day of Middle School!  I think I was dreading it more than he was.  Somehow, my kids seem to turn into aliens at this age.

But, don't worry!  Devin seems to really enjoy it!  He has friends from scouts in some of his classes, and to eat lunch with.  He says it's way better than elementary school, and even likes most of his teachers.

They do things a little bit different here.  The biggest difference is, they don't have lockers.  They provide enough books that they have one at school, and one at home.  They also have to bring enough supplies to school on the first day to be able to keep them at school.

Now, if we can just get his bus pass!  They don't automatically bus kids here.  There are no boundary restrictions.  Anyone can ride the bus, but you have to pay for it.  It's $150 for the whole year, and they can't get on the bus without their bus pass.  Because we registered just a couple of weeks before school started, we are still waiting for his

Along with starting school, of course, comes the school clothes shopping.  Yay!

There are two shoes in the picture above, one is Brad's.  Can you guess which one is Devin's?

If you guessed the white one, you are dead WRONG!!!!

Devin now wears a size 10 in men's shoes, along with a size 14 pants, which fits him around the waist, but is barely long enough in the legs.  I don't think he has ever even worn the same size pants as his age before, let alone bigger than his age.  I realize that this is not really abnormal for his age, but for being a Petrick, it is!  When I took him in for his scout physical, he was just above 5'2".  We are going shopping tomorrow for a new suit, as the one I bought him to pass the sacrament when he turned twelve (8 months ago), is now too short in both the legs and arms, and he insists on having one!

Updates

Things have been a bit exciting around here.  Last weekend we had the pleasure of three of Gage's friends from Utah come and stay for a few days.  It made me realize that my own children are a lot cleaner than I thought they were, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

Last week,end we also had a nice sewer blockage in our basement that began with construction debris, and was compounded with.......other stuff.  Luckily we discovered it before it got too bad, and were able to have someone come fix it and clean it up within a few hours, and before Brad took his senses one step further, from dry heaving to......creating another mess.

And last but not least, this week, Brad had to give up his man card.  After nearly two months of the main floor of our house pretty much remaining at a slightly warmer than comfortable 76 degrees, and the furnace fan running constantly, we decided to call the builder.  The superintendent came out to our house, and so graciously informed us that the breaker to the main floor air conditioning unit was in the off position.  Well.....that's all I'm going to say about that as well. :)

Camp Dietler

So, last Monday, Devin gave up his vampire ways to venture to scout camp for what was to be six glorious days in the mountainous sunshine and fresh air, where no one would force him to shower, wear deoderant, or brush his teeth.........

 Hangin' out at our campsite.

Devin learned to cook sausage and.... HE TRIED IT AND LIKED IT!!!!!!

(after 12 years)

Devin is sporting his scout shirt and boonie at the outpost.  A destination they were able to hike to and build their own shelter to sleep under, and let's not forget, the homemade rootbeer!

This was Devin's favorite activity, throwing
tomahawks!

 This is our handmade shelter (without the tarp).

Not Again!

Updates

Haley was promoted on Friday to Shift Leader!  She received a $1.25/hr raise, and she can now eat for free.
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Gage found a part time job at Ann Taylor, Loft.  However, he can't begin working until he turns 18, so they are holding the job for him.  I know what everyone's thinking, the same thing we all did, what made you go into Ann Taylor to apply?  Even the lady who interviewed him asked him how he heard about the job. Here comes the classic Gage reply......

wait for it......

"I just drove to the outlet mall, found a parking spot, and went into the first store I saw."

Interviewer:  "Did you know what type of store it was before you came in?"

Gage (looking around the store):  "I do now!"

He actually will be working with a team, stocking the store when deliveries come.  He will only be working Wednesdays and Fridays, and only three weeks out of the month.  He is looking for another part time job to go along with it.
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We are getting Devin packed and ready to go to scout camp this week.  He has to be at the church at 5am in the morning, and won't be back until Saturday.  He is not very excited, but conceded to going.  I'm hoping he will connect with at least one of the boys in his quorum!  I think there are about 12 or 13.

DirecTV Company Party

I think we found an amusement park that makes Lagoon look like Disneyland!  The Amusement Park at Heritage Square in Golden, CO.  SCARY!!

Scary stop #1 - Notz Landing

Where the temperature inside is a breezy 90 degrees, and the hamburgers, well.....I'm not even sure it was hamburger.

Gage and.......Brad? (nice hair)

Killing time while Haley and Devin decided to brave one of the seven rides.

Scary stop #2 - The Space Scrambler

While Haley and Devin were in line, and others were getting on the ride, the workers discovered that one of the seat belts had broken.  But never fear!  Cocaine Man to the rescue!  An indescribable feeling came over me when I saw him.....tall, dark (circles under the eyes, that is), 98 lbs., and sniffing like someone had turned a faucet on in his nose.  I was horrified!  But hey, with a few tools, and the strength of the teeth in his mouth, he had the belt repaired in no time, riders back in the seat, and the ride moving at full speed once again.  I motioned to Haley and Devin, "Let's Go!".  With a definitive shake of Devin's head, they were on the ride in no time.....I had to walk away.

Needless to say, there would be no scary stop #3.  But, we did find out later that day that they had a crazy rainstorm in Golden after we left, dropping 2 1/2" of rain and causing flash flooding.

So, if any of you have dreamed of visiting Golden, CO, and your dreams come true........

we won't be going with you.