Eight Years Ago...

Eight years ago today I was in a Boise hospital. I was watching my wife go through something painful that would change our lives. Our oldest son Gabe was born. It is hard to believe that eight years have passed. He has grown into such a strong, intelligent, helpful and loving son. This weekend will be pretty big for him and our family. Tonight is Gabe's first Pinewood Derby, he will get baptized tomorrow and have a birthday party.

Happy Birthday Gabe!

Response fromt the field...

Here is an article from Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan with response from the troops.
My favorite quote "I am here, I am defending my country, and I am watching history being made,". So true.

From correspondents in Camp Phoenix | January 21, 2009

Article from: Agence France-Presse

THERE were cheers, whoops of joy and loud applause at US military bases in Afghanistan today as soldiers welcomed in their new commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama.

Soldiers at Camp Phoenix, a mainly US base on the outskirts of Kabul, stood to attention as they watched a live television transmission of Mr Obama take the oath in Washington.

"It's a proud moment for us," said Brigadier General Steven Huber, commander of the base, where many of the soldiers hail from Illinois, also Mr Obama's home state.

"He is our new commander-in-chief and we will serve him with honour," he said. Live feeds of the ceremony were watched at other bases across Afghanistan - where roughly 32,000 US soldiers lead an international effort to fight a Taliban-led insurgency and rebuild the local security forces.

"To see a black man become commander-in-chief - some people thought it would never happen," said Sergeant Mike Byrd, himself an African-American.

"Now it has happened and that brings loads of joy, the beginning of hope," he said in a large dining hall at Camp Phoenix filled with uniformed men and women, some with guns in holsters or resting in racks, gathered for the event.

"I have family members in tears of joy at this moment," he said.

Moments before the inauguration ceremony, a large cake in honour of the new president was sliced and handed out in front of a small replica of the Statue of Liberty.

Master Sergeant David Nichols said it felt right for him to be watching the inauguration in Afghanistan.

"I am here, I am defending my country, and I am watching history being made," he said.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24941966-12335,00.html

Mr. President

Today we, as Americans were part of history. The 44th President of the United States was inaugurated. The peaceful transfer of power happens again in the world's oldest democracy. Whether a person voted for Mr. Obama or not now is the time to rally behind our new President just as our nation had rallied around Presidents in the past. The time is here for us to embrace our legacy and strengthen our nation with our desire and conviction in the precepts that have kept our nation throughout the years.

Congratulations Mr. President. Time to get to work. (FYI- after being sworn in, before the parade, President Obama went to the Oval Office to get some work done. (source:NPR))

My view…

We have some new neighbors that are sprucing up their new place. The city of Boise purchased a building behind us that they are going to use the location for police and fire services.

Among all the things they have to update at the property is build a wall. So for the past few months they have been working on getting this wall in place. I am assuming that they will top it with razor wire as they do at other police locations.

Between the trains that come through regularly and the construction behind us it can get pretty noisy. I hope they are completed before I need crack open my window this spring.

Walking with Dinosaurs

This past Wednesday the kids and I went to Walking with Dinosaurs- The Live Experience. It was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed it. Grandpa Peterson gave us the tickets as a Christmas Gift. Thanks Grandpa! If you have never heard of it, the show is based on the BBC production "Walking with Dinosaurs". But of course it is a live show. So the dinosaurs are anamatronic and live action puppets. They look pretty realistic, as much as creatures that have been extinct for millions of years can.

Here is a clip of some of the performance.

16 Interesting things...

I was tagged. This has not happened to much to me so I thought I better follow up. I was tagged by a friend to share 16 interesting things about me. I don't talk about myself to much so I am not sure if these are interesting or not, but here goes.



Sixteen Interesting Things…


1. My name is Chris Peterson and I am a Boise State fan, not the coach. Those who are not Boise State football aficionados may not know this, but the Boise State coach is Chris Petersen. Sounds the same spelled differently. But many times on the phone and when I have done presentations and classes people ask me about my name and if I get paid the same…I wish! (He is the highest paid state employee in Idaho)


2. I student-taught high school Spanish and taught conversational Spanish night classes the same semester. I needed two additional credits and I could not fit them in while I was student-teaching and so my advisor (the Modern Languages Department Head) offered me the chance to teach a twice weekly conversational class for adult learned and the Boise State Canyon County Extension. I received two credits and $50 a class. Not too shabby!


3. I have traveled quite a bit. Since graduating high school in 1992 I have been (not just driven through) to Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California (lived there a couple of years), Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York (NYC, too!), New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, District of Columbia, Maryland, Quebec Canada, Ontario Canada, Saskatchewan Canada, Alberta Canada, and Idaho. If anyone knows of any I left out let me know! Much of this was done while I was at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) and I was on the technical crew of a performing group Showtime Company.


4. I am a Mac user. Those who know me know this. For work I use PCs all the time and choose to use a Mac. I will admit that my wife was that person that introduced me to Macs and we never looked back. We still have the Blueberry iMac that we bought in 1999 (It runs our printer on our home network).


5. I love putting up the Christmas lights. Growing up every year, the day after Thanksgiving my Dad, brother and I would hang the Christmas lights on our house. I have fond memories of climbing on the house and getting each string of lights in the correct location as to balance effect with electricity. We actually drew a schematic of how many strands of lights could be plugged in the various electrical outlets around the exterior of the house. Every year I look forward to hanging lights on my own house. I don’t always get it done on the day after Thanksgiving, but usually near to that day.


6. I have a very eclectic music collection. I have almost 3900 songs in my iTunes library and on my iPod. All types of music from Depeche Mode to Garth Brooks to Maná to Wynton Marsalis to Erasure. I love turning on the shuffle and seeing what gets mashed together. This morning it was “Pork and Beans” by Weezer with Stan Kenton’s “La Suerte de los Tontos”.


7. I worked as a collector for a credit card company after I finished college. As a missionary in CA we frequently worked with people and helped them commit to learn about Jesus Christ and to keep his Commandments. Committing people to pay on their debt is not the same. I did not stay there very long.


8. I have a BB in my neck. When I was 11 or 12 my younger brother shot me in the neck with MY BB Gun. I had choice words for him that morning. So did the Dr. who decided to leave it in as it was very close to my esophagus.


9. I own all the seasons of Alias on DVD. While Alias was on I never missed an episode. My wife and I loved watching it. When the chance came I bought all five seasons on DVD. So now when we want to relax, we sit down and watch Alias together. Go Sydney Go!


10. I sang in a Youth Choir when I was in High School. We performed throughout our stake and I performed two solos. The summer before I met my wife, I was coerced in to singing karaoke at a booth at the fair and it turned out to be the booth run by my wife’s uncle.


11. I like to drive in the snow. I like it so much that last spring I drove through a snow bank in 45 degree weather and got the van stuck. The three kiddos and I tried to dig out to no avail; thanks to some help from friends we were able to get unstuck. You can read about it here.


12. I worked in the Idaho Legislature for the 2003 session. I had the chance to intern with JFAC, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. This was one of the last things I worked on while progressing toward my Masters Degree in Public Administration. It is very interesting to see the inner-working of policy making and the compromises that are made (and not made) to get projects and policies off the ground.


13. I have seen Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond in concert. They were both great performers and lived up to their billing as great showmen. They were at different times, but they came to the Idaho Center in Nampa and growing up my parents listened to both these singers all the time. So when they offered the chance for my wife and I to attend we went.


14. I have been to a Depeche Mode concert. (This has to be separate from the previous one for obvious reasons) They also came to the Idaho Center in 1998. My wife and I went and it was a great show. It is amazing that they sell out arenas worldwide and they came to Idaho for DM fans to enjoy.


15. I was the executor of estate when my mother passed away. When she died in 2002 my parents were divorced so it fell upon me to tie up all the loose ends. It was an interesting experience for a 27 year old. It really made me want to have things all prepared for when my time comes.


16. I play the Trombone. I don’t play nearly often enough, but I did in junior high, high school and college. I even received a scholarship to play when I was at Ricks College. I played in the jazz ensemble “Sound Alliance” and in the dance band. We played at 6 dances per year. More pop songs then jazz and we were a horn section in a pop/vocal band versus an entire instrumental band.



So there you have it. 16 things you may have not known about me.

Happy New Year!!!

2008 has come and gone. Hard to believe it. As I reflect on the year that took me to Twin Falls more times than I can count for work; to camping at Lucky Peak with the Rock Band crew. (At the time this is posted I am rocking out to Rock Band with the E & G). I am blessed with a loving wife and family and friends that accept me for who I am.

Here's to 2009! Happy New Year!!!