Baby Announcement

Meet Paisley!

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Born September 15, 2010 in Joplin, Missouri

Lovingly welcomed into Petersen Family on November 10, 2010 in Bella Vista, Arkansas

Soon to be a Northerner (shhh...don't mention the S word!)

Notice the tag ... already a Packers fan. :)

Homeward Bound

It is official. The Petersen's are moving back to Minneapolis!

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Just last week, my promotion was announced ... I will be the new Logistics Manager for our Research and Development facilities in Minneapolis. Our ticket home.

In some ways, I can't believe we have lived in Arkansas for 2 years already ... in other ways, it feels like we've been trying to get back to Minneapolis forever. It is with mixed emotions that we will soon close this chapter of our lives and settle back into life in the frozen tundra.


5 Things We Will Miss Most About Living in Arkansas:

1. Our beautiful (and cheap) house that has everything we need and more.


2. The complete absence of traffic


3. Friday nights at our favorite little pizzeria, Gusano's


4. The delicious BBQ


5. The great friends we have made ... although, many of them should be following us to Minneapolis eventually

5 Things We Will NOT Miss About Living In Arkansas:

1. Having to do ALL of our grocery shopping at Walmart


2. The corny local commercials that play repeatedly on every channel


3. The constant work travel that has kept us apart for so many days ... weeks ... months ...


4. The 100 degree humid summers that seem to last forever


5. The ginormous spiders, slimy snakes and other scary creatures that call the South home

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Arkansas and are thankful that we made the leap 2 years ago. We'd like to think we took full advantage of this experience - exploring a new part of the country, meeting new people, trying new foods - and thank everyone who made our time here so meaningful.

In terms of timing, I will be back in Minneapolis for a week in November for training and house-hunting. My new gig starts December 1st, with a week back in Arkansas to wrap things up and celebrate my big 3-0. Kyle (and the new pup) will hang back in Arkansas into January ... hopefully giving us enough time to find a new house and move directly from one house to the next, avoiding temporary living and storing all of our things. Let's also hope that Kyle has enough time to house break the new pup before she meets the Minnesota winters.

It's good to (almost) be home. :)

Two Years and Growing

Kyle and I just celebrated our second anniversary on October 25th. We kept it low key, as I was traveling back from work in Minneapolis that day. We traded cards and went for a nice dinner at Fred's Hickory Inn ... a local supper club down the road. We had a great time and are more in love than ever. I always like to say "I get to have a slumber party with my best friend every night of my life" ... (minus all the travel that keeps us apart.)

Here we are leaving dinner at Fred's. Life is good.

Well, my friends. Life just got even better.

Kyle told me he had something planned for us on Thursday evening. I needed to cut out early and be home from work by 4pm. I absolutely love surprises, and for once, I tried not to guess what it was, for fear of spoiling it. In all honesty, I had NO idea what was coming.

After driving north for about 30 minutes, Kyle pulled a package from the back seat and said "Happy Anniversary, honey." I told him we weren't planning to do presents this year and that he shouldn't have, but really, who am I to argue, right?!? He had a card that said "hope you're ready to grow our family" ... along with a mini dog collar. WHAT?!?!? Then I opened a few Labrador books he had wrapped. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?

Without me ever suspecting, (and I'm pretty nosey, so this is a HUGE accomplishment!) he had been researching breeders since June and had found a great one in Joplin, MO ... about 45 minutes north. He had communicated with her and arranged to surprise me with one of Elizabeth's litter of 5 pups, born on September 15th. We had been talking about getting a dog for years and could both agree on a Lab, so it was a perfect choice. Here's mom and, in the words of my friend, Greg, all 5 of her "dog babies."

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From the surprise and shock and excitement of it all, I felt like I was going to throw up ... but I kept it together and we met the breeder, Carolyn, and her family, played with the 5 pups for a while, met the mother, Elizabeth, and picked our favorite. They were designated by a small spot of paint on their rear-ends ... and I chose the little green one. An adorable little girl.

And here's the winner ... zonked out from all the excitement ... looks like me at about 10pm every night, so it's a perfect fit ...

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She will come home in 2 weeks ... get excited to welcome the new little Petersen. I know we are. :)