Okay- yeah I know I'm a slacker. What happened to my once a month goal of updating our blog? It's been 2 months and I do have some excuses (camera broke and family got hit with the plague). But, now we are all healthy and got a new camera so I will be back on it!

I don't know if it's me or are the months getting shorter and shorter? Not to mention feeling more like summer!

Thanks for all the prayers on December 23. Most of you know by now what was supposed to be a nice family day of skiing turned out to be a day I will never forget. Mat, I, kids, Vanessa, Michael, Cass (Michael's brother-in-law and his son, CJ) were at Sierra Ski Ranch. At 3:30, the kids, myself, Nessa, and Cass were turning in, while Mat and Michael made 1 last run! Well at 5, they still were not back, lifts close, and getting dark. We alerted the ski patrol and had mentioned to them Michael and Mat would be at Preachers Canyon (out of bounds) at which point they told us they would not send their guys due to avalanche controll not being done yet, (Michael and Mat had no water, phone, food, survival anything!! ) However, they (ski patrol) would patrol the road in hopes of Michael and Mat making it to the road. A couple of hours had gone by and no word, at which point they called in search and rescue. At this point, we had every thought running through our minds and just prayed for their safety! Luckily about 4 hours later, Michael and Mat were found (by ski patrol, search and rescue hadn't made it yet). They were hiking through 5 feet of powder, going over boulders, they prayed together, they made the tough decisions on what to do next (like build a snow cave or keep moving), they brought each other through what could have been a real tragedy! When they arrived, we weren't sure whether to kick their ass or just hug and kiss them! We did the latter. They suffered only minor injuries of dehydration and muscle fatigue! I want to give a shout out the Sierra! They were more than hospitable and their team kept us up to date and worked hard at making sure the boys were found! It was by far the most emotional state of mind I had ever experienced. Needless to say, they learned some valuable lessons and Santa Claus (Van) got the boys survival kits in their stockings!

Other than the wild adventure, we enjoyed are holidays with the family. We made a trip down to San Clemente for the New Years and spent it with Vanessa and Michael. We also made a trip to see Alex (Mat's cousin) and her family in Hunington Beach!

Mat's coaching CYO 4th grade boys basketball and is having a blast! Grayson is really enjoying having dad be coach. Anicka is also playing basketball, but they are just learning the game and having fun (no scoring is kept). Grayson is still playing piano. If anyone knows how to download video on the blog, PLEASE let me know. I'm trying to download Grayson playing the piano.

Hope this finds you happy and well!

With Love- The Petersons
p.s. I can't tell you how much I miss being close to all my friends and family. It's been 1 year and I really miss you all!