We all scream for iPhone!

Well, we have it. We are now the proud owners of an iPhone. The experience was truly unique. As iSaid before, JP paid his cousins to wait in line for him today while he worked. They showed up at 9:00 am and were the 7th ones in line. At 5:30 pm iShowed up and relieved JP's cousin Erica of her post. There was just an ocean of nerds waiting there. JP wasn't going to make it on time, so iGot to have the experience of actually going in and buying the phone. The first 20 people in line had "special honors" and got to go into the store first.

20 minutes to go - the black curtain that was covering the store was removed.
Israel waits in line, overwhelmed with excitement
We were on FOX 9 News

As we were waiting iSaw a girl coming down the escalators who looked out over the sea of geekness, and iSaw her mouth the word, "Why?" :) Because its awesome, that's why!
The moment was approaching, people were getting excited, nerds everywhere were getting sweaty palms...it was intense.
Finally the countdown began and the floodgates were opened.


iWalked into the Apple Store and was greeted by rows of employees lining either side of the path to the register, cheering and applauding as the 19 others and iMade our way to the register.
The first guy in line got his iPhone and everyone cheered
It all happened so fast, iBarely had time to tell him which phone iWanted and which accessories iNeeded to go with it. And just as soon as it started, it was over, and iWas standing outside the store proudly clutching my iPhone bag. iDidn't open it - iLet JP do the honors.

We've been home for almost two hours now and JP is still playing with the phone. It's pretty cool. He keeps on showing me all the crazy things it can do. It really is amazing. And iKnow we haven't even scratched the surface of this iPhone. :)
Goodnight, sweet iPhone.


P.S. JP wants me to add...
He is positive that any of the "faults" you've heard about this phone are not going to be "faults" at all. Sure, the battery cannot be removed, but neither can iPod batteries and they seem to be doing pretty well. It may take a while to download documents, but anybody who is concerned about that must not have ever owned a Smartphone of any kind, because they ALL take a long time to download. Basically, even if this phone isn't perfect, it's FAR better than anything anybody else has made.
P.P.S. I hope you all can sense my sarcasm throughout this blog. The whole thing really was quite ridiculous. :)

Happy iPhone Friday!

The day has finally arrived! Happy iPhone Friday everybody! I can't tell you just how excited JP is about this phone. And I'm happy to say that we are #7 in line at Ridgedale Mall - JP has his cousins holding his spot while he works all day. The first guy in line got to the mall at 5:30 am...and the phone doesn't go on sale until 6:00 pm!!!
Anyhow...we're pretty excited. Can you tell? :)

I Scream, You Scream

This is one of Israel's new favorite things to do:


Thanks to all of you who have been praying for JP's dad. Yesterday's surgery went very, very well and Jim is now recovering at St. Cloud Hospital. He was able to get out of bed today and he may get to go home tomorrow. After that he'll still have a couple weeks of bedrest at home. We're thankful to God for His hand on the entire situation and praise Him for His healing power.

Charlebois Family Photos

This past Christmas, JP and I gave each set of parents a gift certificate to have family pictures taken sometime this year. On Saturday we cashed in one of those certificates with the Charlebois side of the family.
Karen Feder - the photographer from our wedding - took the pictures, and they turned out beautiful! I would highly recommend her to anybody for portraits OR wedding photos. She does beautiful work and her prices are outstanding.
Check the photos out by clicking here. Password: Charlebois

Naomi Lynn

I'm a bit late in posting this, but just now got the pictures to go with the good news! My sister and her husband recently found out that she is having a little GIRL in October! Her name is Naomi Lynn Peterson. I'm VERY excited to have another little girl in the family!! I can't wait to meet you, Naomi!

Rae's first day at the lake

Apparently cold, open water is pretty scary.

Happy Father's Day!

To the dads in our lives...
JP's Dad, Jim (this picture is hilarious!!!)

JP's Step-Dad, Larry

My Dad, Bruce

Our brother-in-law, Scott

My brother, Micah

Our brother-in-law, Pete

And, of course, my husband JP

Happy Father's Day...and THANK YOU for being such great fathers to these little sweeties!

Happy JP Weekend

This weekend is JP Weekend. Today is his 27th birthday and tomorrow is his first father's day.
My husband is the most amazing man I have ever known. He has been the greatest husband and father I could have ever hoped for, and I love him with all of my heart. He helps me be the woman I want and need to be. I thank God every day that he is in my life.
Happy birthday, love, and happy Father's Day. I'm so happy that I'm spending my life with you. Here's to many more years together and many more children to share them with!

Blogger Marathon

I have a few things to blog about, so I'm going on a marathon...starting now!

Cellulitis

Please be praying for my dad. Yesterday he was diagnosed with Cellulitis, a skin infection caused by bacteria. It has been demonstrating itself in his body with extreme chills, fever, and hot flashes. I saw him on Wednesday and he looked miserable.
He is on antibiotics now, so please believe with us for a quick recovery!

Overflow Cafe

I should have posted this a lot sooner, but my very dear friend Molly Barnhart just opened a coffee shop at the U of M! It's called Overflow Espresso Cafe, and its adorable. The name "Overflow" come from Psalm 23..."My cup overflows."
I am so proud of Molly. Anybody who knows her knows that she is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl. She's always off on some new and exciting adventure. She's never really had the reputation of being especially responsible per se. When we were in high school we used to carpool...and just about every morning I'd have to wake her up when we arrived at her house to pick her up by honking at her. For her to buckle down and do something this BIG this WELL is a testimony of God's grace on the whole project! :) (Molly, if you're reading this, you know I love you!!!)
So if you're ever in the U of M area, please make it a point to stop by Overflow and support this beautiful new hangout.
Click here to go to the Overflow website.

"Timber!!!"

Yesterday we cut down the very large pear tree outside our back door. The tree was a beautiful one and produced tasty pears, but it was more pain than anything else. Every year come August, the tree would drop hundreds of pears to the ground. If you didn't pick them up every day, they would rott on the ground and attract swarms of bees. (Actually, it was pretty funny when the bees would feed on the fermenting pears...then stumble around in a drunken stupor, unable to fly.)To top it off, the dogs dragged some rotten pears into the house on more than one occasion last summer.
So, it had to go.
Here are my very lame pictures of the downfall...it was getting dark outside and my flash wasn't strong enough to pick up the action from where I was standing (at a safe distance!).

And Finally...

What blogger marathon wouldn't be complete without a picture of Israel? :) Swimsuit edition...

Tutu Cute

Some friends of ours gave us a gift certificate to get Israel's pictures taken, and one of them ended up on the photographer's blog. Click here to view it.
While you are there, post a comment - the photographer said the more people comment on it, the longer it will stay up on the site.

A Rustic Experience

This weekend we took Israel on her first camping trip...and it was a doozy. My whole family packed up and headed south to Great River Bluffs State Park near LaCrosse. Twelve adults, four kids under the age of two, and a dog.
The first surprise of the trip occurred when we pulled up to the site and realized it was a walk-in site. A very long, muddy walk. We opted to drive our car down the "hikers only" trail to unload our stuff at the site, but the rangers weren't too happy with us for that. On the way out we had to carry/drag/wheel all of our stuff out. The rangers informed us that the park was designed to give campers a "rustic experience." I wasn't planning on bringing my 4 month old baby on a "rustic" adventure, but I guess that's what she got! I wish I was still in diapers so I wouldn't have had to use those outhouses...*shudder*....
The "group" campsite was too small to fit us all, so my younger brothers and their girlfriends ended up having to pitch their tents at the next site down, which really subtracted a lot from the experience. Also stealing our joy were the myriads of mosquitos swarming the densely wooded site.
Thursday night was fine and Israel did great sleeping through the night in a tent...then on Friday, the rain came. Everybody was running around, frantically trying to assemble a shelter from the downpour. The guys ended up rigging a 30x50 foot tarp over half of the campsite so we'd have a place to hang out.

On Saturday afternoon the rain cleared for a bit and we made it out for a hike. The views looking over the Mighty Mississippi were really amazing. Israel really liked the ride in the Snugli...and I guess the hiking motion was enough to lull her to sleep.

The rain persisted Saturday night (thunderstorms by then) and continued into parts of Sunday. Thankfully our shelter held up the whole time. We really did have a great time just being with family, talking around the fire, and watching the kids discover bugs and leaves and trees.

Camping with family is my all-time favorite thing to do, and even if this wasn't the most enjoyable of the trips we've taken, it will definitely go down in the books as on of the more memorable ones.
Here are a few more pictures:
JP and Israel in their matching bandanas

Off for a hike

Card game

Keeping warm by the fire with grandma

My mom has more cute pictures that I will probably post once she sends them to me.