The Anderson Family

Look who's 40!

2012-02-03T21:48:00.002-07:00

That's right! The Joey that we all know and love turned the BIG 4-0 in December. I figured I had one more surprise left in me...after Mikayla's party and our big family trip...the final surprise of the year was to be Joe's birthday celebration!

Everyone knows that Joey is Mexican at heart...so I thought a FIESTA would be the perfect theme for his party! My sister-in-law made this amazing cake...loved it!

Trying to keep this thing a surprise was quite an undertaking! I think he was a bit suspicious when we got to the location, but he was so surprised to see some of his family there! They came from California & Texas to help us celebrate, and I know that meant a lot to him! Right before Christmas is not exactly the 'ideal' time to throw a big party! Thank-you to ALL of those who came to help us party it up!

Setting up the room...Shout out to the GREATEST FRIENDS EVER for all of their help with cooking, set-up, cleaning up, and moral support! We are so blessed to have such awesome friends!

Here, Caiser is studying up for the picture game where they had to guess Joe's age in pictures. Too bad he didn't know how 'precise' the answers needed to be!

Jeff & Veronica- love them! They introduced Joey & I , 17 years ago. I, likewise, introduced them...so we have a good history together! :)

Jeff & Veronica also brought this AWESOME "Mexican Justin Beiber" pinata! It was hilarious, and a lot of fun watching Joe try to crack it open! Thanks to Kristin for providing the 'sassy' blindfold that went along with the theme beautifully! =))

Love these girls!

I wish we had a picture of EVERYBODY that was there in the following cut-out! Sadly, many of them had to leave before we thought to start taking pictures. It was such a crack up to watch, and still makes me chuckle when I look at these!

Connor & Holly

Jose'- the Birthday Boy!

Joe's dad and his sister, Aimee

Caiser & Kristin...love it...love them!!

Jeff & Veronica-- watch out for this bandito!

Michelle & Mark-- or should I say "Rico Suave"???

Brett (aka Ronaldo) & Teri...the look says it all!

And finally, me & the Birthday Boy (minus the mustache, sadly!)

Thanks to all of our family & friends who were able to come and help us celebrate! It was such a fun night, and I could not have done it without all of you!

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY, JOE!!!!

FAMILY SURPRISE #3: We're on a BOAT!

2011-12-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

Seeing as we were pretty scared for our lives in our Miami hotel, we told the kids that we were not staying there another night, and to pack up their stuff! It worked as a perfect excuse to head out of the hotel and over to the Carnival Imagination. It was so much fun to tell them where we were going, and we were all excited to set sail! Our ship visited Key West, and Cozumel, and it was such a fantastic trip together with our family.

One of many of the 'cheesy' pictures they try to take of you at every place in the ship...

This is our picture from "Formal Night"...which we have dubbed "Sick Night"! We looked so forward to the Steak & Lobster, and things didn't turn out so well! We were on some pretty rough seas that day, and Connor & I were the first ones to start getting sick. We took our medicine, got dressed and headed to dinner-- hoping for the best. Connor didn't last more than 5 minutes, and I followed close behind him. The other kids were uneasy, but Connor & I were bad! Poor kid inherited his mamma's motion sickness! The boat was rocking pretty good when we took this picture:

Landon was treated SO great! Everyone made him feel so important and special...he got to pick everything from the menu that he wanted, and they would make it Gluten-Free just for him. He tried Escargot, Alligator, Cheesecake, Sushi, Salmon, Chocolate Melting Cake...you name it, he had it! It was wonderful!

We had 2 adjoining rooms, and one of the cots was on the floor. One morning when we were getting up, we noticed that Connor was kind of folded in half! It didn't seem to bother him too much!

This is our first stop in Key West, FL. We had a fun time walking around the island, and seeing what there was to see.

Key West is very famous for "Sponge Fishing"-- any kind of sponge you can imagine is there!

This is "The Little White House"-- a neat part of history to visit

We thought this was funny...

Our second stop was Cozumel, Mexico. We would have preferred to go to Cancun, but were still excited to go to Cozumel! Joe LOVES Mexico, and was thrilled to get a chance to use his Spanish. I was a little more reluctant-- having all of the kids with us, but we hired a driver for the day, and he helped us figure out some really fun things to do. We all survived! YAY!

After some time on the beach-- snorkeling & relaxing, Joe asked our driver to take us to "Dee BEST ZIP-LINING IN COZUMEL" (imagine him saying that in his Spanish accent)... I was SO (not) excited to find out that the 'best' place happened to be in the 'inner city'... this was the scary ride to the place...which turned out to be the most AWESOME place!

We had the coolest guys helping us, and they played so many fun little games for some free soda while we waited...it was also beautiful and lush! I'm glad I trusted Joe on this one! I think it might have been the kids favorite!

I refused to do this for the longest time. I have a great fear of heights, and so this did not appeal to me AT ALL. Somehow I was coerced into doing it, and aside from the heart attack, it was pretty fun! I can cross that off my bucket list -- not that it was ever on it!

Heading back to the ship from a fun day in Cozumel...

This is Ajsuli. She became Landon's best friend. She loved him, and helped him order all of his meals. She took such great care of him, and he loved the special attention!

The girls had some "ice-cream mani-pedi's" on the ship...they wanted a little pampering! I think they had a ton of fun together!

Our final breakfast on the ship...kind of a sad moment!

Once we were off the ship, and through customs (which took forever), we had MANY hours in the Miami Airport. 5 Hours gives you a lot of reading and thinking time! Thank goodness for books, electronic devices, and WiFi!

We had a layover in Atlanta, and were excited to find a Chick-fil-A in the airport!

This was such a great trip! It was fun to plan it, surprise them, and to be with my family- who I love SO much. We are so blessed, and I surely hope there are more trips like this to come!

FAMILY SURPRISE #2: Miami, Florida

2011-11-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Orlando was Mikayla's 'actual' 16th Birthday! We wanted to make it special for her, so we woke the kids up and surprised them by telling them we were driving to Miami! The Florida Turnpike was such a fun experience...NOT! I'm sure glad we don't have roads like that in Utah!

The BIG "1-6"!!!

OK- if only I had taken a picture of our hotel room in Miami. Just because it's a Marriott, doesn't mean jack I guess! WOW was this a scary place! I was honestly scared for our lives. It was in the scariest place. I've never seen a room quite like it either-- it was like something out of the 1970's! The bathroom had this frosted plexi-glass stuff that offered ZERO privacy-- as seen below with our shadow-making fun!

SO- scared for our lives, we managed to drive to the Wharf for some shopping and dinner. Mikayla picked Bubba Gumps for her birthday dinner, and of course, ordered the crab! It was lots of fun!

After our fun adventure out in scary Miami, we returned to the safety of our scary hotel, and went to sleep. The kids thought we'd be hitting the beach the next day, little did they know there was another surprise awaiting them!!!

FAMILY SURPRISE #1: Orlando, Florida

2011-11-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Early in 2011, Joe & I decided that we wanted to take the kids on a really fun trip, and have it be a SURPRISE! That's a LONG time to keep a secret, but the planning started in February, and it was fun to anticipate for several months!

We started out by telling the kids that we were going to go to California for Thanksgiving-- something we've done in the past. They were worried about missing school, so not really too thrilled about going. A few days before we were to leave, we "surprised" the kids by telling them we decided to FLY to California, instead of drive! They were thrilled! SO--- the secret continued!

When we got to the airport Joe made it up to the Sky Cap before the rest of us, and tipped him off that the kids thought we were going to California. He was great and told them to have so much fun in sunny California! Then, Joe did the same thing to the security agents-- who were also awesome! They went right along with it! Finally we got to the gate-- where we figured the kids would see that we were at the gate for Orlando! Joe was able to talk the gate agents into doing a 'performance' of sorts, and they began complaining loudly that Delta had done a gate change, and Orlando passengers had been switched to another gate. They said our plane was now heading to San Diego. As we boarded the plane, they took the boarding passes and told the kids how lucky they were to be going to warm California! SO- regardless or not if the kids were suspicious, it was such a fun little plot! Finally on the plane we asked the kids if they'd rather go to Orlando, and they were really excited! And so the fun began...

Waiting at the SLC Airport

The surprise was revealed!

The next surprise was 3 days at Universal, Orlando, and Islands of Adventure. It was SO much fun-- and that means a lot coming from a girl who can't do rides!!! However, they got me on this one! I absolutely HATE this stinking drop at the end of the Jurassic Park ride! YUCK!

Harry Potter was SUPER cool. What a neat place to go. Yes, the lines were long, but well worth the wait! The castle was amazing, and the ride was CRAZY-- needless to say my eyes were closed almost the whole time!

The "Butter Beer" was quite good. It tasted like a really butter-scotchy cream soda!

Donkey was hilarious to the kids! So quick and witty!

I love this one of Joe & Mikayla...so sweet!

This was our last night at Universal. So sad to be leaving, but the kids didn't know what other surprises were ahead! YEE-HAW!!

16 Years of Mikayla!

2011-11-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

I've been on a blogging hiatus, but figured it was time to come back because we've had several eventful months that I thought might be worth documenting!

How did my baby girl become a 16 year-old young woman? I can't believe that we are at this point in life already. It really seems like just yesterday we were loving and snuggling this precious, yummy baby girl of ours!

Yes- it's a knitted sweater vest, and I loved it! I even had friends borrow it!

Great memories of my two beauties!

And now, as if all of a sudden, we are to this point. Where I have a driver! This is the day she passed her test! An exciting moment indeed!

Unfortunately, this BENTLEY is NOT the car my sweetie pie will be driving...even though she looks pretty sassy in it!

Here are Mikayla's 1st set of wheels...a 1996 Honda Civic! It's no Bentley, but it's a cute little car!

On her 'actual' birthday, we were out of town (post to follow), so before we left I made sure that Mikayla got in a fun celebration! I planned a surprise party for her. It was great fun secretly texting all of her friends, and plotting a way to get her to the big event. We did a "Winter Luau" theme, and it was so much fun! I had awesome family and friends who helped me, and it was a GREAT night!

Nanny ran some fun BINGO games, with some awesome prizes. Everybody wanted to win!

Brooke helped serve the Tropical drinks! Yum!

My sister-in-law, Laurel, made this AWESOME Sweet 16 cake!

We are SO blessed to have Mikayla in our family! We are proud of the lovely young woman she is becoming, and the example she sets for her sister and brothers. Even though this mom's not quite ready for a daughter who can drive and DATE, I am excited to see her growing up, and becoming such a wonderful person. She is one in a million and we love her so much!

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY, MIKAYLA!!!!

October Festivities!

2011-11-05T22:07:00.000-06:00

I am all confused with Blogger! My pictures are NOT in order...but I'm too tired to care! So, enjoy this mis-mash of October happenings! It was a fun and busy month!

Halloween-- the girls had different groups of friends over for some trick-or-treating, food, and fun!

Alice in Wonderland

Hippie

Friends again...

Other friends

Willy Wonka & his friend Gorilla guy (?)

Willy Wonka

Of course, BEFORE Halloween came some pumpkin carving...PRECEDED by the Pumpkin Patch!

OK- we grew this beautiful pumpkin right in our backyard. Joe was SO proud of it. It weighed a whopping 98 lbs! I think he's gonna go crazy next year trying to grow something bigger!

Randomly placed in the middle of these Halloween/Pumpkin pictures is Mikayla in her cute skirt that she made. Darling!

Back to Halloween...I win Mother of the Year for going to Landon's class party. It was great, and the kids had lots o fun!

Obviously earlier in October, I did a PLETHORA of canning. I get so mad at myself every time I do this, but I have the food, and I feel like I have to use it! So- this year I canned...

PEACH JAM-- YUM!

PEAR SAUCE- YUM AGAIN

Let's take a quick intermission from the canning pictures to show you the squash we pulled out of our garden the night before the first freeze! Seriously...what to do?!?!?!

OK- back to my canning pictures...

SALSA- YUM!

SPAGHETTI SAUCE- just OK :/

Squash explosion in my microwave-- seriously, thought a bomb went off!!!

TOMATO SOUP-- YUM, YUM!! I think it's better than Zupas!!

*As a side note-- I still have boxes of ripening tomatoes in my garage. I don't have the heart to throw them out, but I refuse to do more canning....ugh!*

MOVING ON...

For U.E.A. weekend we took the kids & the Christensen's to the cabin! It was surprisingly nice weather, and we had a great time!

We always like to drive into Ephraim and get some pizza, followed by the ice cream parlor and penny candy store (however, penny candies are now $.03. Guess they're now "Three-cent candies"!

And- back to the Pumpkin Patch for fun! Wow- this post is like a crazy maze...all over the place!

October was a great month! Seems like it flew by. Guess that's what happens when you're having fun!

Brooke Turns 14!!!!

2011-10-01T14:12:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that my little Brookie is FOURTEEN!!! Old enough for dances, and a learners license...IN CANADA! Too bad we don't live there...bummer...

Brooke is such a wonderful girl, and these past 14 years have been full of fun, joy, laughter, and sometimes-- a little sassiness!! ;) I honestly can't believe how fast these past years have flown by. Seems like just yesterday I will snuggling this cutie-pie:

Seems like overnight Brooke went from my sweet little 8 year old girl, to glasses, braces, and middle school!!!

I love Brooke for so many reasons. She's smart, talented, organized, reliable, funny, and beautiful-- inside and out. She reminds me a lot of myself!....JUST KIDDING PEOPLE!!! ;)

This year for her birthday party she asked if she could take a few friends to the cabin. We thought about it, and decided it would be fun (that's right-- Mother of the Year for me!!!)

The leaves are just starting to change colors up there-- it's beautiful!

Thanks to "Grandpa Gino's" in Nephi, for making this yummy cake!

This was a fun group of girls--all except for the fact that 2 of them are BYU fans!!! Kidding again...they were ALL lovely!!!

The girls ate, made a campfire and had s'mores, watched movies, stayed up WAY too late, rode 4-wheelers, and had a great time!

HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY BROOKE! You are such a great person, and we love you SO much!!

The Greatest Singer in the World!!

2011-08-09T21:20:00.000-06:00

Joe bought me the greatest present for my birthday this year...tickets to see "The Greatest Singer in the World...Celine Dion"!! (think SNL)

He & Caiser worked out the details for a really fun weekend get-away to St. George/Vegas. Thanks to the Hogan's for such a fun time!

This is probably my favorite picture! We took it after the concert as we were driving back from Vegas-- VERY late at night! It had been a very fun, but very long day, and we were feeling a bit 'giddy'!!

Lots of good eating...

Caiser bought himself some $20.00 beef jerky...hope it was THAT good!!

Kristin & I got very savy at taking 'self-portraits'! We are easily entertained...this is one of MANY!!

As we waited in the theater, it was very HOT. We got quite sweaty, and luckily both had elastics to pull our hair back. Joe & Caiser went go-carting while we watched Celine. Besides the fact that Caiser got quite sick, I think they had a fun time!!! =))

So many things made this trip fun. Maybe it was the man in the St. George movie theater that had a question, and wanted the temperature turned down, and wondered why there was a black line at the bottom of the screen...or maybe it was learning how to take 'proper' pictures from Kristin (the expert)...or maybe it was Caiser finding a piece of glass in his Texas Roadhouse bun, or maybe it was Joe getting some new golf clubs, or maybe it was the old man with the stinky breath & broken hand in his cup holder sitting next to me at Celine Dion, or maybe it was the lovely group of French-Canadian men in front of us at the concert...maybe it was the rides in the car with awesome conversations...maybe it was discovering Caiser's love of turning every word into a song late at night...maybe it was a fun trip to the Las Vegas "Ross Dress for Less" and having to pay $3.00 to park (which I didn't want to do),...or maybe it was just the TERRIFIC friends that we were with...No matter how you slice it, we had a blast!!

Temple to Temple

2011-06-29T20:25:00.001-06:00

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart-- that's TRUE STRENGTH"

TWENTY-THREE MILES. That's what Mikayla, Brooke, & Connor-- along with the rest of the youth and leaders of the Summerfield Ward, walked when they journeyed from the Draper Temple to the Salt Lake Temple. They started at 3:00am, and 10 hours later they arrived at their destination...

Starting Place- the Draper Temple

Ending Place: The Salt Lake Temple

What an incredible accomplishment for all of these people! It's amazing what we can do when we put our minds to it, and have the love & support of others...

They made it to the stairs of the S.L Temple!!! After that, they kind of fell apart-- especially Connor. He was a trooper! I really debated letting him do the entire walk. With his flat feet, he experiences a lot of leg pain. He had fantastic leaders who watched & checked with him on a regular basis. However, the last 3-5 miles were very hard on him. He kept it quiet because he wanted to finish. He was SO close to his destination and he didn't want to miss a thing. I am so proud of that commitment. He couldn't get off of these stairs!! He couldn't move at all-- I wondered how we were going to get him to the car. This is the only smile he could muster before a long period of sobbing (and Landon walked the last few miles with them too). I am so proud of ALL my kids-- this is a story they can pass on to their posterity. What an experience!!

Moments along the way...

This is the view that they had for the end of their walk--- a view of the beautiful temple!

I didn't get any pics of the first part of their walk in the dark, early morning! But, they were still smiling when we found them on the home stretch...

Look how happy Kristin appears to be in this shot....

Now look what she was dealing with for the entire walk....she is my hero!!

I'm sure this is just one of many injuries and sores that resulted from this walk! But everybody was a trooper, and persevered through their misery! :)

Have you seen the temple on a dark and quiet night?

Have you felt the power of its majesty and light?

Its spires reach up to heaven

Its doors call out to me

"Come enter in and find the joys that last eternally"

I'm so proud of the Riverton, Summerfield Ward! They are the best!!

Connor turns 12!!!

2011-06-21T17:08:00.061-06:00

TWELVE years ago, this is the cute little man I loved to hold, kiss, and snuggle!!!

And now my little snuggle bug is growing into a young man! It makes me a bit sad when I think about just how fast the time has flown by! However, twelve years later we are so proud of Connor. He works so hard, and tries to be successful in everything he does! We celebrated a few days early with a cake made by Nanny:

Then Connor opted out of a birthday party in order to take his friend Adam to Lagoon! They had a blast!

Mikayla came along, and kept me company! These are a few of MANY pictures we took while we were bored!

Connor faced his fear and went on The Rocket!! He loved it!

On his actual birthday, our family went to Zupas for some dinner... YUM!

Then Joe was off to some Elder's Quorum stuff, while some TERRIFIC friends came over to sing & have birthday cake with us! It really made his night :)

Oh how I love my baby boy! Although not quite the small bundle he once was, I'm so proud of who he is becoming. He was able to receive the priesthood, and be ordained to the office of a deacon, and that was a great day as well! We sure love our Connor!

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

Cancun Adventures

2011-06-09T21:54:00.006-06:00

We recently went on a fantastic vacation with some fantastic friends! Brett & Teri were awesome vacation buddies, and we had so much fun in Cancun, Mexico! Here are some of the highlights (not in chronological order because I'm too lazy!!)...

This picture is for you Teri!! We were taking a taxi somewhere, and we came upon these guys on a motorcycle who had gone fishing.There was a big fish hanging from each side of his backpack! I wonder if it was filled with fish too?!? Kind of a funny way to transport fish-- but whatever works for them I guess!!!

We might have been suckered into a couple of "Vacation Club" presentations. Something about 'free stuff' really appealed to all of us (please don't think less of us)! Hopefully we've all learned that we'd rather pay full price and fore-go the hours of fun sales presentations! However, we were able to visit the Ancient Mayan ruins of TULUM for a much cheaper price! LOL!! They were very cool, and we had a great time learning all about them from our wonderful guide, whose name I can't remember. However, he could spell very well in English ;)

We were adventurous and braved Mexican public transportation on several occasions. It was a wonderful experience. We were reminded of Nacho Libre a few times. Once when a man started yelling at the top of his lungs and walking down the aisle playing a CD of 200 songs he compiled. He was blasting them out of his little portable speaker and selling them for $5. People were actually buying them, but for a few short minutes I thought we were being hijacked! :(

Another night it was getting late, and we had ventured out to Walmart. On the way back we were on the 'party' bus....there were blue lights inside, techno music was blasting, and our bus driver thought he was on the movie 'Speed'. It was an awesome feeling....just hoping that we made it back to the hotel in one piece!!

We snorkled a few times, and it was great. First at the Royal Hacienda in Playa del Carmen (yes- another Vacation Club meeting), and then again on Isla Mujeres-- which was AWESOME! Aren't we super cute in our attire???

This is the view from our balcony. I seriously could stare at that ocean ALL day. It is full of the most beautiful & vivid colors that you can imagine!

So blessed to have such wonderful friends!

Speaking of friends...we thought it appropriate to call each other by our "Mexican" names while in Mexico! Mostly because we tried to be sneaky during one of our "Vacation Club" meetings, and give the lady our middle names instead! We had to entertain ourselves somehow!!! So... introducing from left to right: Guillermo (Joe), Baby (that's what the lady called me because I was the youngest), Teria (Teri, obviously), and Ronaldo (Brett)-- don't forget to roll your 'R's!!! Makes me chuckle just typing it!

Now, if you can peel your eyes away from our stunning beauty for just a few seconds, check out the colors of that ocean!! Amazing!!!

Joe became amigo's with one of the landscapers who was taking coconuts off of all the trees. He asked him to toss a couple up to us on our balcony, and he did! By the way-- I love my handsome, spanish-speaking husband so much!!! Awwwww

One night we went to Bubba Gump for dinner. It was so yummy. In addition to this, right behind that railing is a lagoon that Joe & I jet-skied in the last time we went to Cancun. What I did NOT know then, but came to find out is that there are over 2000 Crocodiles in that lagoon. NICE. I can't believe I did not know that. I guess that might be the most daring thing I've done in my life-- without even knowing it!! We were hoping to see some crocodiles at dinner, but we had no such luck!

This is a guy that we called "Randall". Randall enjoyed the surf very much, and layed just like this (spread eagle) for a very LONG time in his speedo! (thanks to Teri for giving us this memory)

We took the ferry (aka 'slow boat to China) to Isla Mujeres one day. This is a beach that we found. It was awesome, and we had so much fun there. You can't tell, but the people way out by the boats are sitting down. It was THAT shallow!

We went to Xel-Ha in Playa del Carmen. It was a great place to visit. We snorkeled, zip-lined, rode tubes down the lazy river, saw some wildlife, ate & drank to our hearts content, and wore ourselves out! Great day!

This is just a few of the many pictures we took. We had such a great time with Brett & Teri, and are grateful that they invited us along for the ride. We would love to take our kids back sometime-- it's a great place to visit!

Palm Springs Getaway

2011-05-25T09:36:00.000-06:00

This year for Spring Break/Easter, we took the fam to my parents house in Palm Springs. It was so much fun, and the weather was perfect!!!

The beautiful golf course

My parents were "car-sitting" their friends convertible BENTLEY! It was such a SWEET car!

The kids got to have 2 egg hunts! Grandma Anderson did one at Joe's sisters house, and then my mom did one on Easter morning. The kids had so much fun at both!

We went to Knotts Berry Farm on one of the days, and then we also went to Soak City near my parents. Awesome that it was water park weather there....it definitely was NOT back in Utah!!

We did LOTS of good eating out!!!

Even on vacation, there's work to be done....

My parents got the kids Golf School, and they had a great time. They were actually pretty good!!

My girls take after their mother...they like to lay in the sun!

This was such a fun trip, and we can't wait to go back! Thanks to our families for making it such a great time for us!!

Landon turns 9!!

2011-05-23T16:40:00.001-06:00

Well, my sweet little baby boy turned NINE on Cinco de Mayo! I cannot believe he is getting this old (or maybe that I am getting this old)!

We started the day off with a wake-up call of "Happy Birthday", and his first gifts of some clothes & a TORNADO maker (which he saw in Palm Springs, and we managed to buy it and bring it back without him knowing)!

Then...yummy gluten-free waffles, strawberry's with sugar, and a smoothie for the Birthday breakfast!

That tornado maker is really quite neat-- even makes sounds and comes with a cool DVD!

Birthday outfit...watch out ladies!!! Woot Woot!

Then Joe & I met Landon at school for a birthday lunch of some delish Chick-fil-A!!!

We lucked out with a day of semi-sunshine for a swimming party! It helped that Grandpa heated the pool to 92 degrees too! Nobody complained :) The kids had a great time swimming, sliding, and having a soft-serve icecream bar- complete with all the fixins!

Watch out Martha Stewart....check out the sweet birthday cupcakes I made for Landon!! Not only aesthetically pleasing, but yummy too!

Landon ended up with some awesome things-- lots of water guns, a gum making kit, an ant farm, a remote control boat, a spy watch, some gift cards, and other exciting things!

HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET LANDON! We sure love you!!

Everything I Needed to Know I Learned from my Girlfriends in Las Vegas!!!

2011-04-04T16:58:00.037-06:00

The following creative anecdote was written by my good friend, Val, following a great trip to Las Vegas. A group of us Canadian girls had a reunion of sorts, and we had so much fun. This may not make sense to anyone else, but it sure cracks me up! Comments in brackets will be from me!

1. There are losers, and there are unicorns. What you do with your thumb will determine

which one you are. (Julie, Val, Nat & Angie went to the duelling piano bar. One of the songs they sang was about a unicorn... and the 'losers' are Amy & Myself who stayed in the room.)

2. Papis only look good on male circus acrobats. (Not sure how to explain this one- other than the fact that Angie bought some things at Ross called "Papis"-- they bear striking resemblance to what the acrobats in Mystere wear...that's all I can say!)

3. Speaking of male circus acrobats, there are some who believe no matter how

athletically genius a stunt may be, if a man has his head in another manʼs crotch, that

is not right. (Agreed-- again, referencing Mystere)

4. It doesnʼt matter if you actually are famous, if you tell people - with convic

tion - you

were on American Idol, they will believe you. (I'm not positive, but I think Natalie 'might' actually sing MORE than I do--- she had a guy guessing what season of Idol she was on!)

5. Some people just like hot, beefy (imaginary!) drinks. (The first part of this was omitted to protect the innocent! The 'hot beefy' drink is something I was certain existed, and found proof in my research today! YAY!)

6. There is no joy equal to that of winning $60 in a slot machine. Unless you are able to

double down your last $.50 on “Deal or No

Deal” and win a dollar!!! (This is the night when Julie, Val, Ang, & Nat tried their hands at luck! Julie won $60! Amy & I were the 'losers' who went to bed!)

7. It doesnʼt matter how cute you are, or how sweetly you smile, some bus drivers will

NEVER let you on a bus if your pass has been expired for 5 minutes. In that situation,

it is best not to buy another bus pass (!), but to walk the distance out of principle, and

to break in your new shoes. (Nat & I waited at the bus stop for 15 minutes, only to get on the bus and be told our passes expired 5 minutes beforehand! Nice.)

8. Speaking of shoes, there is no limit to how many shoes a girl needs. At least that is

what you want to tell the border guy when he wonders why you have an entire

suitcase filled with brand new sandals. (Angie had really good luck with finding shoes-- she filled her suitcase)

9. Still speaking of shoes, there is also no limit to how tall your sandals should be,

especially if you are going for a long, jerky, bus ride where you will need to stand,

straddled, in a skirt, balancing precariously on 4-inch wedges while onlookers gasp in

amazement that you have not broken an ankle, or the more likely scenario, fallen on

your arse. (Amy wanted to be pretty while she shopped and wore a skirt & some cute wedges. However, riding the bus, standing on the spinning/accordian part of the bumpy bus, proved quite difficult!)

10.Speaking of arses, it is true that muffin tops come in all shapes and sizes. For

example, when trying to squeak into a girdle in the handicap changing room in Ross

on the strip at 11pm, it is possible to create at least six different bulges in places you

did not know could bulge. Itʼs best at that point to take lots of pictures. (Val & Angie decided that it would be 'funny' to try on some girdles. The Ross workers probably didn't find it quite as funny!)

11.There is really nothing better than spending an hour or two in the M&M chocolate

store. Ok, thatʼs not true, the BEST thing is LEAVING the M&M chocolate store after

the hour or two... (Let's just say that Natalie REALLY needed to visit the M&M store-- and we got to stay there for a long while!)

12.Edward Cullen is a chain smoker, and is actually much taller in person. (SO disappointing, and unfortunate! We almost got a picture for our kids until he started to smoke! All my hopes and dreams about Edward disappeared at that moment!)

13.Husbands do not distinguish between their wives kissing another man, and kissing a

man spray-painted gold holding very, very still. Apparently, that is also wrong to do. (Something you'll have to ask Val & Angie about!!)

14.Speaking of men holding very, very still, the statue of David teaches us many things:

Italian sculptors had no sense of proportion, grown women still giggle when they see

a wee-wee, & Jimmer was not the first man to sport that hairdo. (While it is a work of art, Angie & I agreed that perhaps a loin cloth would have been appropriate!)

15.Thanks to the hard work of womenʼs rights activists, girls today can choose from any

profession in the job market. Some, apparently, use that opportunity to dress in

skanky underwear and dance on blackjack tables. Or spend a night being a special

“friend” to old, asian men. You go, girls! (Ummm, self-explanitory)

16.There are some of these women who prefer to just walk around town in the skanky

outfits; they donʼt even care if you were already planning on wearing that pink, sequin

monokini mini-dress (seriously, would look SO much better on a Mormon mother of

four!)(Again, self-explanitory).

17.Speaking of mothers, if anyone ever tries to slip one of those nasty cards into

a wholesome motherʼs shopping bag, she will literally bite off their head. No loss to

the universe on that one, since one of the other 9000 card-passer-outers will quickly

slink out of the gutter to take his place, hopefully with a little better judgment than the

last guy. (Bottom line: Don't mess with us mothers)

18.Outlet stores are big, and there are lots of them. You will need days, and a GPS, to

navigate all of them - which you MUST do (refer to #8). (Self-explanitory)

19.A hotel garbage can serves many purposes: Foot bath, Ice-gathering vessel, and

Holder of trash. The third one may make you rethink the first two, but then again, it

might not... (You would think at least ONE of us would have seen the actual ice buckets near the TV, but we did not! So, we improvised with garbage cans! Which coincidentally doubled as a foot bath for a pedicure. Yep- kinda gross!)

20.When staying in a large, crowded hotel, the best way to gather attention is to walk

right through the middle of the casino with a big red cooler. You may get comments

like, “nice cooler,” or you may just enjoy the random stares and confused looks. It

helps if there are six of you in a row, walking in a sort of parade-fashion, and the

others are carrying equally out-of-context items like a FLAT of water bottles, a box of

diet soda, or a bag of bananas and paper towels. (OK-so we brought a LOT of stuff! How

ever, people can laugh all they want at our cooler-- we saved ourselves bundles of money by eating yogurts, bananas, and swedish fish!!)

21.After you get your picnic supplies up to the hotel room, you may find that you have

forgotten critical items, like a can opener. DO NOT attempt to open a jar with your

bare fingers, unless you have a band-aid to cover the resulting laceration, which you

will not have because you needed to save room in your luggage for shoes (see #8). (The one thing we did NOT have was Band-Aids!)

22.Fashion tip: When there is typhoon-level wind outside, spend at least 45 minutes

curling your hair before you step outside. This is also a good time to secure your

eyelash extensions... (Ummm, the one time we decide to get 'ready', the typhoon-level wind was blowing. All of that effort for nothing!!!)

23.Another fashion tip: Glitter toes are NOT just for hookers, they are also for moms

who like to let their polish grow out from December to April. (Nat likes to get the most out of her pedicure!)

24.Frozen hot chocolate is really just a watery milkshake, except that it costs $14. (We went to Serendipity- good even though it's over-priced)

25.If you are on a bus and suddenly realize you want to be on a different bus, donʼt

worry about telling your bus buddy that you are leaving, just get up quickly and run

off. She will surely follow you and you can explain later. Hopefully. (Being moms, we all recognized the importance of the 'buddy system'. However, Val forgot it momentarily, and sent her 'buddy' into a panic!)

26.If you are on a casino shuttle and a man with a broken arm starts giving you advice

on what you should do for entertainment, you should TOTALLY listen to him. He

probably knows better than your friendʼs husband anyway... (Joe told me that Fremont Street at night was NOT safe, and that we should probably avoid it. However, when some guy on the bus tells us we should check it out, Joe's advice went out the window!)

27.Sometimes things happen for a reason. Like, letʼs say you are so excited to try out a

zipline that will carry you across Fremont square, high above the heads of thousands

of drunken people, so you stand in line next to dozens of drunken people, only to get

to the front and be told by the grouchy (drunken?) cable operator that you cannot go,

maybe itʼs best. Sort of like when you are having an awesome time at a live, outdoor

concert and your friends drag you away to the bus right in the middle of it, thatʼs

probably for the best as well (We ended up getting a concert from Ronnie Dunn- formerly Brooks & Dunn. We had a great spot, and it was lots of fun. However, because there were thousands of people there and the 'last bus time' was quickly approaching, we had to leave early to get there! Julie was less than thrilled by that!) Especially if, by getting to the bus early, you secure seats up top next to a homeless woman who continues to s

hake her abundant lice infested hair out over your head. Maybe there is a reason for that as well. (I was the one she shook her hair over...Angie said she saw something jump onto me! Awesome! Needless to say, that was a great feeling, and I'm pretty sure there was NO reason for that!!!)

28.Speaking of lice, it is generally known that farm girls are not afraid of bed bugs. (Angie likes bugs, and Nat likes Toads)

29.Speaking of beds, there is a strap on the roll-away bed that holds the mattress in

place when you try to lift it up against the wall. Use it. (Val did not see the strap, which would have been useful!)

30.The best April Foolʼs joke is when you tell your friends that one of the girls in the

group is missing and has been gone since 3am. They get super-worried and say

things like, “I bet sheʼs having a good time, eh?” (Can I just say that Nat & I were the ones who actually worried!!! Who are the better friends???)

31.Sometimes people love to wear swimsuits all day. Itʼs kind of cute, really. A little

slutty, but cute. (Val & Ang did look cute-- even though they were completely inappropriate! HAHA)

32.Speaking of swimsuits and cute, we wear the suits not to actually SWIM in, but to sit

around the pool and get sunburned. Sometimes people forget this and decide to help

their friends get their swimsuits wet. These are bad friends with evil hearts. (Let's just say the evil ones are Nat & Angie!)

33.Travel tip: When you have diarrhea, it is best to sit quietly in the car so nobody will

make you laugh, which could trigger a negative reaction. (I will say this was NOT me, however, they will remain anonymous due to my respect & love for this person)

34.Health tip: Walking pneumonia is no big deal, really. Take lots of Motrin & Day-Quil,

and spend several hours a day walking through smoky casinos with a 25-pound purse strapped over one shoulder. You will feel GREAT when you get home. (this WAS me-- good times! Despite my sickness, I had so much fun, and everyone seemed to put up with me just fine! I still don't know why my purse was SO heavy!!!)

35.Dietary tip: Your bowels are capable of holding about three buffet meals at a time. At

some point they start to reject the food, which will try to make its way out one end or

another. (see #33 for additional information). (Again, not naming names, but NOT me)

36.Speaking of buffets, there is an unwritten rule that you MUST try something from

every section of every buffet you can possibly cram into a 24-hour period to get your

$55 worth of food. That creates a gastrointestinal stew containing spare ribs, duck

lʼorange, crab legs, cobb salad, california rolls, blueberry donuts, pineapple slices,

sweet & sour chicken, baked beans, feta and bacon macaroni & cheese, garlic

mashed potatoes, cheesecake, pita & hummus, chinese chicken salad, creme brulee,

minestrone soup, bananas foster wrapped in fried crepes with whipped cream and

strawberries on top, cotton candy and lobster-stuffed ravioli (to name just a few).

Some people believe that this specific mixture creates endorphins that makes you

THINK you are not tired at 3am, even though you have had a total of 8 hours of sleep

in the last 3 days. At this point you should put on matching t-shirts and pajama pants

and hit the slots. (WOW- I'm already missing the buffets, what can I say!)

37.There is nothing quite as insulting as calling someone a “fartʼs ass.” (This is an "Angie-ism"... I'm still trying to figure it out)

38.The best way to learn where everything is in Vegas is to get up really early and go

for a run. Just kidding, nobody actually does that! (although some people are so

sneaky they put on running clothes and slip out to play Texas Hold-em at 8am, then

come back nice and sweaty, making their lazy friends feel like slobs for sitting by the

pool drinking Diet Coke instead of burning off last nightʼs second buffet dinner (see

#36). (Amy was so good, and went for a run every morning while the rest of us excercised poolside!)

39.For some reason, people in bars know secret lyrics to the song “Lucille” that the four

Mormon women in the front row do not. Apparently there are also actions to the song

that we did NOT learn in primary. go figure! (Again, this was at the Dueling Pianos...I missed out because I was sick and went to bed early at midnight. Apparently they were 4 very colorful words!)

40.And finally, if we have learned nothing else this weekend but this, it is: “Make new

friends, but keep the old, one is silver, the other ones REALLY love bling!”

This was such a fantastic trip! Even though miles & years have separated us, it was just like time stood still! I'm so lucky to have grown up with such extraordinary ladies! Thanks for the fun and the laughs...We will do this again for sure!!

Back in the Saddle!

2011-03-20T19:27:00.014-06:00

Well, I must admit-- it's been a LONG time since I've blogged! Life gets so busy, and then there's so much to catch up on that I didn't even know where to start! So- no post (yet) on Christmas, or Valentines Day. However, thought I'd try to add a few little activities before I forget about them! Here's a 'modge-podge' of the past few months of happenings in our family:

We spent a fun weekend in Midway with the Hogans! Our husbands made it difficult to get a good picture, but we managed one or two without one of them making a face! We enjoyed some good food, some good games, some good working out with Just Dance, and all around good fun!

We had SO much fun going to the Parent Day Lunch at the girls' school! They were SO SO SO happy that we were able to come and eat with them! ;)

In February we were able to volunteer for the Special Olympics. It was such a great thing to do for our family. The girls were able to help line-judge for Volleyball, and for part of the time our 'job' was to be the best FANS ever for the athletes! Also- we got to present the athletes with their Medals, and that was fun for each of the kids! I'm so glad we did this!

Now on to March.... Brooke got "Student of the Month" at South Hills Middle School, and was honored at a special breakfast. She was 1 of 2 students nominated in her grade. She was nominated by 5 of her teachers, and we are SO proud of her. She works so hard, and always does her best at school. She is a very determined young lady, and we know she'll go great places in life! We are so proud of our BROOKE!

And finally....we made these fun Rainbow Cupcakes for our Sunday Dessert today! They were so much fun-- of course I made 2 batches, one gluten-free for Landon. I think they turned out pretty good!

Mikayla turns FIFTEEN!!!

2010-11-28T13:55:00.005-07:00

My little, tiny, baby Mikayla has hit the BIG 15! I don't know WHEN or HOW this happened, but it did!! It has, of course, made me sentimental (surprise, surprise)! The teenage years are just as 'life-changing' for the parents, as they are for teenagers, and even though it is so much fun to have this teenager around...it's hard for me to not have that 'little girl' anymore! I love her so much, and she is facing a whole new world of possibilities. I could be corny and sing "Slipping through my Fingers" from Mamma Mia... but I won't do that because it will just make me cry! HaHa

So, instead enjoy my little tribute to my Mikayla-- who I love SOOOOO much!

HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY MIKAYLA!!!

Around the World in 26 Days...PART 1: NEW YORK CITY

2010-11-01T17:10:00.045-06:00

OK- we didn't really go around the world....but coast to coast is close enough for me!!! It was great fun, and pretty exhausting- all at the same time! For Brooke's 13th Birthday, my Mom took her to New York! I got to tag along because my Dad couldn't go! Rough break for me!! Of course I was nervous about leaving Joe & the other kids, and I also have a small little 'issue' with flying. However, I had never been to The Big Apple, so I was really excited to go and spend time with my mom & Brooke! (don't worry...Mikayla got to go to Boston when she was 13, so she had a trip too!!!)

We did so many things in New York, we hardly had time to sit! We were so tired sometimes, but it was SO worth it! There is so much to see & do- I had NO idea...

The Museum of Natural History was very cool, and very BIG! We could have spent a couple of days in there!

We went to both the Top of the Rock and The Empire State Building. They were both so cool, but I liked the view from the Top of the Rock better!

We managed to get ourselves reservations at Serendipity, and it was so much fun. We ordered the famous frozen hot chocolate...

And the most healthy of desserts...

We took a City Tour, and part of it included a boat ride out to see Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty. It was a very interesting boat ride, and we will have lots of funny memories for years to come!

In the picture below ,my mom and Brooke were standing right next to me at one point. They were pushed out by many, many other tourists. It was annoying (to say the least)-- but I managed to insert my face into several of THEIR family photos--- as a special souvenir for them! Good Times :)

Ellis Island

What can I say about our Petticab ride through Central Park? Hmmm... Well, I didn't fear for my life until we went out of the park, and into traffic! I kept reminding our driver that we needed to keep my daughter & mother safe!!! Wow- that was an experience!!

Top of the Rock view of Central Park

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was awesome. Again, could have spent a lot more time there!

This is the view from our hotel room at the Marriott Marquis. It was awesome. Such a treat to be able to stay there...THANKS MOM :)

I made Brooke & my Mom go to Rockefeller Plaza early one morning to see the Today Show. I watch it every morning, so I really wanted to go and see where all the action happens. It was worth it! We got to meet and see several TV personalities! And--- the highlight of the morning...Donald Trump came right up to us and asked us if the back of his hair looked ok! Here's some of the action...

Al Roker...

Seth Meyers from SNL...

The Donald...

Waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more for the Today Show to start...

Kathy Lee Gifford...

Matt Lauer....

After the Today Show, we went and took an NBC Studio Tour. It was pretty fun! We went to the set of Dr. Oz, and SNL. While we were at SNL, the cast was there rehearsing for their season premier, so we got to watch that for a while! Kind of fun!

My mom treated us to FIVE Broadway shows! It was a blast! We saw Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, The Adams Family (with Nathan Lane & Bebe Neuwirth), Memphis, and In the Heights (with Jordin Sparks). They were all so much fun, and so different from eachother!

We had to check out Juniors while there...YUM!!!

And, here are more random pics (because I'm sick of trying to make it chronological! Blogger needs to make it easier to maneuver pictures!!):

Yes. I looked like a complete idiot taking the picture below!!! BUT, I didn't care! I had The Donald, Merdith, Kathy Lee, Hoda Kotbe, and Seth Meyers all right next to me...I couldn't pass it up cause I'm a dork like that!

This was such an incredible trip, and I am so grateful that I had the chance to go and spend some time with my mom & sweet Brooke doing all of these fun things! I am so lucky & blessed to have them (and all the rest of my family) in my life!!!!

Around the World in 26 Days- Part 2: St. George Marathon

2010-10-24T13:13:00.015-06:00

Our second stop on our "Coast to Coast" trip, was to St. George for the St. George Marathon. It also happened to be on Brooke's 13th Birthday....so the night before the race we went out for a birthday celebration!

The Hogan's were in St. George the same weekend, so they came to support Joe at the race. We also had a some fun going to Golden Spoon a few times! (sans Joe, who went to bed early)

I had the privilege of driving Joe to the busses at 4:30am on Friday morning! Our hotel was a little more than a hop, skip, and jump away from the meeting place, so it was WAY fun!

We didn't see Joe coming because we thought he was possibly injured! I didn't have my camera ready when the kids spotted him in front of us, so I got a great picture of the back of his head, AND of Kristin's beautiful pearly whites! =)

He did AWESOME! Ran a 3:24:38--- even though he "hit the wall"! He was disappointed with his time, but it is still awesome to us!

We had a blast in St. George! Thanks to family & friends who came to support Joe...it meant a lot to us!

Around the World in 26 Days...Part 3: California

2010-10-20T19:41:00.025-06:00

Our third stop on our coast to coast trip was sunny CALIFORNIA! I hate blogger, and trying to organize my pictures in order...so this is the more memorable parts of our vacation in random order!

Is this not the cutest thing ever?!?!? I want one!

The kids loved the days we spent at Disneyland/California Adventures. We had great weather.. it was overcast both days, so we didn't sweat to death! And- aside from meeting my sister & her kids there and going on the FABULOUS rides, the kids got to see Sterling Knight (from the Disney Channel), and MEET David Archuleta! I'm pretty sure I get the "Most Awesome Mom of the Year" Award!! Everyone (minus Connor & I) was going on the Tower of Terror. So, I took Connor over to a churro stand in Bugs Life. And, standing right next to us was none other than sweet little David Archuleta! I called the girls (who were in a 60 min line), and they left Joe in line and ran over to meet me. There was nobody around him- he was just with his family & VIP tour guide. So, Mikayla was brave enough to ask for his picture. The guide told her NO, but he was very sweet and said "sure, let's do it really quick"! Awwwwwwwwwww! So sweet!.....

Good thing they got all dressed up that morning-- camp shirt and all! LOL

Sterling Knight- another Disney Channel star was also there that day! That was fun for the kids as well!

Random shots...

World of Color-- pictures can't do it justice! It was awesome!

My sister & her kids were able to join us for a day at Disneyland, and we had a great time with them.

So- to back up a a bit...we surprised the kids with Disneyland. They didn't know that's where we were going until we were parking in the "Woody Parking Lot"! However, Landon didn't figure it out at the same time as the other kids. We told him that our hotel was right in Disneyland. He was upset because he said that would only want to make him go to Disneyland MORE! It was a fun surprise once he figured it out! :)

Our "Beach Day" wasn't really 'ideal' weather! But, the kids still had lots of fun searching for starfish and sand crabs!

We headed into Old Town San Diego, and did some fun things. One of them was going to the Mormon Battalion Center. It has be re-done, and was VERY cool. I highly recommend it. The presentation was SO cute and entertaining, and afterwards the kids got to pan for gold!

We spent one of our days in San Diego, touring the USS Midway. It was very cool...I didn't expect an aircraft carrier to be that entertaining!

This was a flyer that was on the table in the War Room on the ship! I thought it was cool, and it brought back memories of watching CNN every morning during Desert Storm in High School.

Every time we are in California, it's a tradition to eat at "The Potato Shack" in Encinitas. They serve HUGE pancakes. You can't even finish one-- but Connor still wanted to try!

That about sums up our trip to Cali! We had a GREAT time!

Swiftly Flow the Days!

2010-10-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

Wowzers!!!! I can't believe I now officially have another TEENAGER in my house! As I was going through pictures of Brooke, this song kept running through my mind. If you know me, I am a song lover, but I admit this song is a bit of a weird choice! Nonetheless, it's what was in my brain, and seems very fitting for the occasion of Brooke's 13th Birthday!!! So, in the words of Tevye from "Fiddler on the Roof"... (don't laugh)

Is this the little girl I carried?

Is this the little girl at play?

I don't remember growing older... When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?

When did she grow to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday...

When she was SMALL??????

Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly flow the days

Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers

Blossoming even as we gaze

And that about sums up my thoughts!!! This little seedling seems to have turned overnight into that sunflower!!! Right in front of my very eyes!!! I can hardly believe that our little Brookie is growing into this lovely young woman. It seems like it has happened way too fast, and it's fun and sad-- all at the same time!

There are so many wonderful things about Brooke! She is so organized and responsible, and always gives her best in everything she does! We are so proud of her and love her for so many reasons, and wish her the happiest of Birthday's this year!

HAPPY 13th Birthday Brooke! We love you!!!

Oh Say Can You See/O Canada!

2010-07-14T22:08:00.012-06:00

We had a GREAT 4th of July Weekend this year! It was full of family, friends, and fun! To start the weekend off right, we went to the Stadium of Fire for an incredible fireworks display, as well as a concert from Carrie Underwood. It was AWESOME! That girl can SING! Despite the traffic, and the fact that Landon was sick with a fever and pneumonia...it was fantastic!

The next day we were able to get together with some of the great gals that I grew up with in little ole' Lethbridge, Alberta! So, basically a bunch of Canadians got together for a 4th of July BBQ! It was so much fun to get together and see everyone's families. I'm so grateful for these friends of mine!

Then onto the Riverton Parade! We went & joined the crazy crowd and set out chairs and caution tape a few days early! However, it was SO worth it! It was the perfect spot, and we had a ton of fun!

Hogan's

Doane's

Nixon's

I felt it was a good time to work on finishing my book... "The Help." I really enjoyed it :)

11 Years and Counting!

2010-06-21T14:27:00.015-06:00

Today may be the longest day of the year, but it's awesome for another reason too!!! 11 years ago today, we welcomed this cute little guy and his cool mohawk into our family!

I say this for all of my kids' birthdays...but...WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?!? We celebrated Connor's birthday on Friday with a couple of friends. He wanted to go to a movie, so we kept the party small. However, it was still BIG in entertainment value-- because I am an awesome mom! Joe was out of town running Ragnar (post to come), and so I did this 'event' all on my own!

We went to see Toy Story 3...SO CUTE! I highly recommend it (every time I think of "Big Baby" and his 'lazy eye' I chuckle). Then we came home and ate pizza...

Followed by some 'homemade' Raspberry Cheesecake! That's right...I said HOMEMADE!

Followed by...PRESENTS, and SMORE making at the fire pit! The fire was made by Mikayla & I! It took us a while to get it going, but I decided to get the gas can out, and wooooosh-- we had a BIG fire!! I think I nearly lost my eyebrows! =))

After everybody thoroughly smelled like smoke, there was a bit of trampoline jumping and running around the yard late at night, and then the campout in the tent!

Connor had a GREAT time with his friends...and I survived without Joe! Then, for Sunday dinner, Connor requested Lemon Cake with Lemon Icing. So, that's what he got...seeing as he was the Birthday Boy and all :) It, too, was mighty tastey-- if I do say so myself!

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY CONNOR!

We love you lots!!!

Landon's Baptism

2010-06-06T19:12:00.026-06:00

Yesterday was Landon's Baptism Day! It was a wonderful day-- perfect in every way! He was looking forward to this day for a long time, and was such a happy boy! Here is picture overload:

After Joe had finished pressing all the boys' shirts the night before, he hung them right here. When I saw them I thought about the poem "My Three White Dresses"-- only this is "Our Three White Shirts!"

I was a little Betty Crocker the week leading up to the Baptism. I baked a LOT! This was one of my crafty moments--I even made my own cookie cutter! It's GREAT to be EIGHT! :D

Dressed in white & ready to head over to the Church...

The font...

We had PERFECT weather that day...it was the best day we've had so far this year! Brunch was great!

Thanks to my mom for bringing this DE-LISH fruit! We had so much food left over!

After brunch we headed over to the pool...it was a BLAST!

It truely was a great day. We had so much fun with family & friends! Thanks to those who came out to support Landon on his special day!!

He was really excited to head to Church today in his suit, with his new scriptures!

Thanks to Grandpa & Grandma Anderson for making the trip all the way from California to be here!

Congratulations to our Landon! We love him so much and are so proud of him. A funny story to share... the kids all gave Landon a bottle of water that they filled from the font he was baptized in. It didn't have a label on it, so Joe's mom suggested that he write on it, so that he didn't accidentally drink it. He said "ya- all my sins are in that water, and I don't want them back!"

I love this kid =))

What a Ride!!!

2010-05-05T10:48:00.019-06:00

I'm feeling a bit sentimental today because my BABY has just turned EIGHT YEARS OLD, so bear with me! One of my very favorite quotes is by Gordon B. Hinckley... it goes like this:

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise... Life is like an old-time rail journey-- delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts-- interspersed only occassionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride!"

I first heard this quote when Landon was a very sick little baby. It was given to me at church, and it's been on my fridge ever since. It was a huge comfort to me as we were experiencing one of the biggest trials in our life.

Landon's young life had LOTS of those 'delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts'...

It was indeed "quite the ride" for the first 2-3 years of Landon's life! From day 1, Landon was in pain. We searched and searched for answers. From sweat tests, to tubes, to tonsils/adenoids out, to CAT scans, and X-Rays, and Scopes and Biopsies, and 2nd, 3rd, & 4th opinions, with tons of trials of different medicines, and a trip to see a specialist in Los Angeles...Lots of struggles for our family-- but especially for little Landon!!! However... we know we were guided and directed in the courses of action that we took. And slowly, we began to see those "beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed."

And now it all seems like a distant memory! Today, Landon is 8 YEARS OLD, and I can hardly believe it! I am SO THANKFUL for our journey with him, and for this 'ride' we've all been on for the last 8 years. Without those struggles we wouldn't be as strong of a family, and so I'm grateful!

We just love Landon to bits and pieces. He is such a special kid, and we are so grateful to have him in our lives!

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY LANDON! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Student of the Week!

2010-04-22T13:48:00.002-06:00

For the next week, Landon is the "Student of the Week" in his class! He's really been looking forward to this...and today we got to go watch him tell his class a little bit about himself, and take some questions! It was lots of fun, and I learned that his "favorite sea-creature" (one of the questions) is a Jelly-Fish! I love the things that kids come up with :)

We sure love our Landon, and are proud of the great little man he is!!

2010-04-15T10:28:00.003-06:00

Those of you who know me well, know that I LOVE a good bargain! Well, I just had to share this one because it was SOOOO great! First of all, I love that Walmart will match other ads! We don't do it too often, but when we do, we can gets some GREAT deals! Another store was offering 5 for $5 on Quaker products. So- combine that match with a bunch of $3.00 off coupons from the mailers, and VOILA...CHEAP CEREAL! Apparently, a LOT of people had the same idea last night, because there was none left. However, the cashier told Joe they'd be re-stocking the shelf that night. So- being the awesome husband he is, Joe went over there at 6:30am, and loaded up on the goods! He said that he & 1 other lady took everything they had left!

I realize that these may not be the 'healthiest' of cereals, but with 4 growing kids, we go through cereal fast! And...the grand total was:

30 boxes of cereal & oatmeal for $12.90!!!! That's about $0.43/box! What a SWEET DEAL :)

Connor's Arrow of Light!

2010-04-08T09:35:00.010-06:00

This week, Connor was awarded his "Arrow of Light" in Cub Scouts. This is the highest award that a boy can earn in Cub Scouts, and it was an exciting night. He worked very hard to earn this, and we should also give a shout-out to his leaders, who helped him along the way! Also, thanks to Dean Ludlow for making this incredible plaque! What a wonderful treasure for Connor to have-- it is awesome! :)

Congratulations Connor! We are so proud of you!!!

Joe's Half-Marathon...2010!!!

2010-03-27T11:40:00.012-06:00

Today Joe ran the Riverton Half-Marathon. Luckily, the weather co-operated (other than the fact that it was mighty chilly)! He did a GREAT job! He's been battling this injury with his achilles all year, so he was a bit worried about how things would go. He felt great before the race, but when he didn't come through at the time he told me he'd be there, I figured he was hurt...and I was right! However, despite his injury he pushed through, and still had an AWESOME time! We are so proud of him!!!

Waiting patiently...

AND...the results were...

13.1 Miles in 1:35:55 ... pretty impressive to US! We love you Joe! GREAT JOB TODAY :)

CANCUN, MEXICO

2010-01-18T08:17:00.020-07:00

Is there ANYTHING more beautiful than the Caribbean Sea? I think I could stare at it all day long, every day! I loved it so much!!!

For our 15th Anniversary, Joe planned a 5-day trip for us to Cancun. My wonderful parents offered to take our kids, and we had such a wonderful time. I definetly want to go back-- next time with the kids. There is so much to do there...they would love it!

In order to get to Cancun, I first had to get on a plane!!! Thanks to my medication, I think I did great, and we had pretty smooth flights.

This is the view from our balcony...the water colors were amazing. I have so many ocean pictures, but how can you not take pictures when it's SO awesome?!?

What we woke up to each morning...

One problem with going on vacation by ourselves, is that most of our pictures are 'self' portraits!!! Those are always the BEST pictures :)

It was SO hot! So- we spent a lot of time in the sun... Maybe too much time!

We were there over New Year's, and the resort we were at had many festivities to choose from. We chose this banquet/show, and it was pretty fun.

This is our first, and only excursion... After this, Joe's wallet was stolen, so we had a small bit of cash & no access to our credit cards after we cancelled them. Luckily, there were plenty of other 'free' things to do for the next 2 days!!! This Jungle excursion was so much fun. We rode Wave Runners through the ocean out to a coral reef where we snorkeled. I was a bit nervous at first, but we had a blast.

Ruins are a big part of Cancun. However, since we needed to be very frugal for the remainder of our journey, we decided to go and see the "Ruins Del Rey" that were near our hotel. They were actually very cool. The ruins were filled with huge lizards, which was quite a highlight for Joe ;-) They were everywhere, and blended right in with the rocks.

This was such a great trip! 15 Years is a lot to celebrate, and I'm so grateful to Joe for making it possible!!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-06T19:04:00.012-07:00

December has come & gone, and we had a busy and wonderful holiday. Here's the rundown...

To get us in the Christmas spirit, we started off by going to Brooke's Christmas band concert. She did a great job, and it was lots of fun!

The Nelson's were able to come to Utah for Christmas, so we had a lot of fun with them. My parents were so sweet & took us to the country club for a wonderful dinner. And- my camera stinks and can't take good pictures. However, I guess the lights on the wreaths look kind of neat!!??!!

One thing we really love to do is go to Soldier Hollow for some sweet tubing! This year we had perfect weather...cold, but sunny with no wind. We had a GREAT time!

The kids all got ski lessons as a gift from Nanny & Poppa. They had a great time.

We had Christmas Eve at our house. We always act out the Nativity while Poppa reads from Luke 2, and then Nanny reads an 'interactive' version of "Bear Noel". I love these traditions!!!

Every year on Christmas Eve, my mom gives all of the grandkids new pj's & some books. The kids all LOVED their books, and couldn't wait to start reading them. Landon got "Ozma of Oz"...which I had never heard of, and "29 Clues." Connor got "Zia," "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," and "The BFG"-- he was excited about all of them. Mikayla & Brooke both got books they wanted, so everybody was happy. I'm just glad my kids like to read!!!

The kids all slept together in the basement, as they eagerly awaited Santa's arrival!

Christmas Morning...while the house was still quiet!

We had a terrific Christmas with family and friends. It truely is the most wonderful time of the year!!

Ain't It GREAT to be 38?!?!?

2009-12-22T16:25:00.007-07:00

That's right...this cute little guy is somehow now 38 years old!!!

But he's still as cute-- if not cuter-- all these years later!!!

HAPPY 38th BIRTHDAY to my SWEET, LOVEABLE, GOOFY, RELIABLE, HARD-WORKING, DEDICATED, FUN-LOVING, LOYAL,

& HANDSOME Husband!!

WE LOVE YOU!!

Oh my heck, what can this mean? I have a daughter who has just turned FOURTEEN!!!!

2009-11-27T12:28:00.021-07:00

Seriously! I can hardly believe we are to this point! My sweet Mikayla has turned the big 14! Where has the time gone? I remember being 14 like it was yesterday...I got my Learners Permit and was able to DRIVE (that was in Canada), and I got to go to Dances! That was a big year for me! I know it's an exciting time for her too, so we've been doing lots of celebrating!

We started by having a family party, where Mikayla got some wonderful gifts, and a yummy cake-- made by Nanny! She got her first pair of Buckle jeans as well, and that was a big moment!

She requested "Grasshopper Dessert" for her cake...not really a cake, but a marshmallow-ee/minty dessert-- YUM!

Then, we surprised Mikayla with tickets to the David Archuleta Christmas Concert! This was exciting because she got to go with Brenna & Brooke (who paid for her own ticket)-- with no accompanying adult!!! (I have to say I think I earned "Mother of the Year" for that!!) They had an awesome time!

On Thanksgiving Day (the day before her real Birthday), Mikayla ran her very first 5K with her dad! It was the Utah Human Race, and it raised over $50,000 for the Utah Food Bank!!!Mikayla did SO awesome. She placed 6th in her age category...not bad for never having run something like this before! We were very proud of her :-)

And then, today, her actual Birthday, we got up and served her Breakfast in Bed. We had a few of our cousins from California here, so we all stormed her room and sang "Happy Birthday"! I know she just LOVED it! ;-)

I am so grateful for Mikayla! She has been such a joy in my life, and I am so proud of the wonderful young woman that she is becoming! It's so much fun to watch her grow up, but I'm hoping we can keep the boys away a little longer...I'm not quite ready for that yet!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKAYLA!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Good Friends, Good Food, and Good Fun!

2009-11-27T11:45:00.010-07:00

Over the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to spend some time with some lovely friends and share some good food, and lots of laughs! We went to The Cheesecake Factory for some lunch, and it was de-lish!

I found out about a class that teaches you how to make these AWESOME Temple pictures-- for cheap! So, a few of us got together and had a fun time crafting away!!! Unfortunately, we got the camera out at the end of the night, so there were several wonderful ladies that I did not get pictures of!

And finally... another Girls Night Out to see New Moon. It was a lot of fun...thanks to Laurie & Kristin for organizing it!

OcToBeR FeSt 2009

2009-11-01T15:16:00.014-07:00

This post is all over the place--- cause I'm too lazy to try and put it in chronological order!!! We've had busy October-- Full of Fun Fall Festivities:

Here are the kids in their costumes: Landon was the Tin Man, Connor was an Evil Jester, Brooke was a Princess (but chose NOT to dress up on Halloween night), and Mikayla was Marie Antoinette. Loved her awesome wig!

Previously...On Halloween morning, Brooke had a piano recital. She played "The Prayer" from Quest for Camelot. She did a wonderful job, and it was a lot of fun. The kids all dressed up for the recital, so that was an added bonus!

Previous to that...we spent a fun evening carving our pumpkins. This year I was a boring mom, and we threw all of the pumpkin seeds away!

Of course, before we could carve pumpkins...we had to go to the Pumpkin Patch to pick em!!! We lucked out and it was a fairly warm night. It was the place to be on the night we went, and we all had a lot of fun!

AND Finally...the very First Fun Fall Festivity, was to make Caramel Apples. We had a ton of fun, and they were a tastey treat indeed!

Also:

a) I don't know why some of my pictures won't center, but I'm tired of trying to fix it!

b)Missing from this post are Connor & Landon's Halloween Parade at school, our Ward Halloween Carnival, and our excursion to go and see "Michael Jackson's- This is It!" movie (which was awesome)!! I didn't want to do a picture overload, but all of these activities were lots of fun, and we had a fantastic October :-)

Landon and the Honor Roll!

2009-10-08T10:08:00.005-06:00

This morning Landon was invited to a little assembly where he recieved an award for SELF-DISCIPLINE. He was nominated by his teacher, and then the Principle awarded him his medal & certificate. He was SO excited, and wanted to make sure that I would blog about it! We are so proud of him, and how hard he works to succeed in school!

This is what his teacher wrote about him:

"My nomination is Landon Anderson because this student is an excellent example of someone who has Self Discipline. Landon completes his homework every night, and returns his homework folder weekly. He obeys the class rules even when we have a substitute. He focuses on his daily work and continues to improve his quality. Landon disciplines himself to study his spelling and dictation so he will do well on the weekly tests. I am proud of him and the wonderful example he sets for others."

Way to go Landon! We are proud of you!

Brooke turns 12!

2009-10-08T09:07:00.009-06:00

Well, our sweet Brooke has finally turned the BIG 12! This seems so crazy, and I find myself wondering where in the world the time has gone. This is one of those milestone ages...she's now a Middle School student, she gets to go to Young Women's, and overall, feels like she's moving up in the world. Such a big birthday, of course, calls for lots of celebrating!

Brooke had some cute friends over for her party. They started out with Pizza & Punch...

Next came the Presents....

Then they had a delicious Ice Cream Cake...

Followed by a rockin' game of BINGO...

and FABULOUS Bingo Prizes (wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper because it's all I had!)...

Then, being "Mother of the Year", I made Brooke a Birthday Breakfast of French Toast & Fruit Smoothies. We even stuck a candle in her toast & sang to her again!

The celebration continued the next day with a Family Dinner at the Country Club, followed by a yummy dessert made by Nanny!

We all had a great time celebrating, and there were lots of reasons to do it! Brooke is such a wonderful girl, and we are so proud of her.

HaPpY bIrThDaY BrOoKe... We LoVe YoU!!!!

September Randomness

2009-09-24T19:20:00.006-06:00

This is a variety post! Just a few little things that have happened in the last couple of weeks...

Our good friend Rachael, who lives in Italy, made some time to come and see us while she was here in Utah! She & Charlotte came over, and we had a great time!

Soccer season has begun yet again! Landon is so lucky because his uniform is NEON ORANGE! We can't miss him out on the field-- and he is having a great time playing this year.

Next...Joe had been working out so hard to prepare for the "Top of Utah" Marathon. However, in the week or two before the marathon, he injured his leg and wasn't able to do much training. After many days of anti-inflammatories, doctor visits, chiropractor visits, heating pads, & ice buckets, he made the hard decision NOT to do the run. We were all sad that he couldn't do it, but still went to Logan, cheered for some of the runners, and met up with some great friends to play a little!

The kids had fun swimming in our Brigham City hotel! (everything in Logan was sold out)

Our friends, the Wilson's, were so great & drove up to support Joe in his 'non-marathon'! We took some field trips while we were there. The first was to the Gossner Cheese Factory-- where we stored up on squeeky cheese & flavored milk boxes. We bought Rootbeer Milk, Orange Cream Milk, & Regular Chocolate Milk. The second was to the "Pepperidge Farms Outlet" where we found...pretty much NOTHING! Kind of a waste of time, but an adventure nonetheless!!!

And finally... I made drapes!!! It was quite the process, but I'm so happy with the end result. Now I'm feeling the 'project bug' again! Joe's gonna LOVE me :-)

And that's it for now!!!

Middle School

2009-08-26T07:55:00.007-06:00

I don't quite know how we got to this point...it seems like literally yesterday that we had these 2 beautiful, bubbly, spunky, stubborn, loving, caring, funny, talented, happy...LITTLE girls!!!! Where has the time gone? They are now both in Middle School- Brooke in 7th grade & Mikayla in 8th.

Yesterday I sent Brooke off for her 1st day-- a 7th grade orientation. I still can't believe this is happening...

And then today, Mikayla joined her for her first day! I think I was more nervous than she was :-)

Even though I'm mourning the fact that my 'little' girls are growing up, I am so excited for each new chapter that they face in their lives, and am so grateful that they have eachother to lean on for support & comfort!

I sure love these girls of mine, and wish them luck in their journey through Middle School...YIKES!

When it Rains...

2009-08-22T16:29:00.009-06:00

In the last couple of weeks, it seems like our family has been hit hard with health issues. I'm not complaining, because I'm aware that it could be SO much worse...however, it's still a sad state of affairs, and we have lots of grumpiness around here lately!! Here's a rundown:

Mikayla--Walking Pneumonia

Connor-- Sinusitis

Landon-- Pink Eye & Double Ear Infection

Me-- massive Tooth Infection that involved going to an Endodontist, who sent me to an Oral Surgeon, which resulted in getting my tooth pulled :-( There is a great story here...briefly-- I went to a dentist before I got married (15 years ago). He supposedly did a 'root canal' on my tooth. It hurt really bad for several weeks after I had it done, but eventually the pain went away. So, fast forward to yesterday, when the Endodontist went in to try and fix it, and told me that one of my roots had NEVER been treated, and another was only partially treated! NICE!!! I currently look like a chipmunk and will not include any pictures!!!

At the same time my dental emergency was taking place, Joe was taking Brooke to Urgent Care because she has... SHINGLES! Yes- it's rare in children, but it can happen. Poor girl. It gets worse every day. She is such a trooper though, and being very brave through this. Here are some pics so you can see how much the rash changes each day!

DAY 2 of Rash:

Day 3 of Rash:

Once again, I'm not throwing a pity party! I'm just laid up with a pile of gauze in my mouth, and figured it was a good time to update the blog! At times like these I am sure reminded of how grateful I am for GOOD HEALTH, and SOLID FOOD!