Sweet Anderson!

Today Anderson had his Kindermusik class. During the class the kids play with lots of different instruments and they pick them up and then when the teacher Miss Anna tells them to put them away they all put them away. There is a little girl in our class who has a disability and is unable to walk. So every time the kids change instruments her mom has to hold her and try to get and put away the instruments. Today when Anderson went to get his instruments I told him to get two for Ada and her Mom. He walked right over picked two up and handed them to Ada. He then went over and got two for us. The rest of the class he would get the instruments first for Ada and then for us he even put them away for Ada. I didn't even have to tell him too. WHAT A SWEET BOY! I have already had to remind myself of his sweetness when he was throwing food at the dinner table! Really he is a very Sweet Boy!

Pierce's Party Pictures!

These pictures are late but still fun to see!
The birthday boy! 5 Years old I can't even believe it!

Enjoying the party with my sweet baby girl!

Indiana Jones!

Once again Liesl with her amazing cakes. Look how cool the sharks are!

This Week

Noah and Sam came and played Monday after school. Anderson was in HEAVEN he loved playing with his older cousins. They are so sweet with him. Noah especially is a trooper he spent the entire time doing what ever Anderson wanted. Getting dinner on the table was a breeze because Anderson was totally entertained

Adalayde got her first taste of asparagus and she loved it! It made a huge mesh but she ate two spears!

We went to the Children's museum! Anderson loves to go and play with the balls. I carry Adalayde in the carrier put Anderson on his monkey leash, I mean let him wear his monkey backpack and we are off. Oh, and we make sure to have hand sanitizer with us at all times!

We had a good week! Anderson still loves Kindermusik and swimming lessons. He is really improving and loves to swim. I have been going to Stake aerobics and Anderson goes to nursery with a girl named Maddie who watches the kids while we work out. He loves it! We have been spending a good portion of these winter months at the church. We have aerobics three days a week and then play group in the gym once a week. It has saved us this winter to have a place that Anderson can run around. We have also put our museum pass to good use as that also gets us of the house . We are looking forward to warm weather next week we hope and the ARRIVAL OF ALL OF OUR COUSINS!!

Getting so big

After our run I took Adalayde to get her own sippy cup. She has been wanting Andersons and he did not want to share. Since we have gone BPA free and these stupid sippy cups cost a fortune each of them get two cups. Anderson will only use Orange so we got Adalayde a yellow and a pink. She was so excited! We came home and washed it and she loved using it.

It must feel good on her teeth. Yup, that's right my baby has one almost two teeth. You can't seem them that well yet but soon I HOPE they will be very visible and I will post a picture!

Why I love Saturday

We ate breakfast then went for a run as a family. We ran 15 miles! Ok, not really we ran 2 miles then Big J wimped out and we had to go home. I think it had more to do with March Madness but you never know! It felt so good to be outside and we actually used our new double jogger as a jogging stroller. My kids love to be outside and they love the stoller. Thank goodness for that!

Anderson and the SCARE of my life

Have a sucker or maybe a frosting coated ice cream cone!

Anderson gave me the scare of my life while we were gone. We were staying in Deadwood at a small hotel. Luckily it was small. Anyway, Anderson was obsessed with the elevator. By the way, the person who makes elevators with the buttons low enough for kids to push them should be fired!!

So, one day as we are all meeting to go to breakfast, Anderson disappears. I thought Justin had him and he thought I had him. Anderson is very sneaky! I was scared but I could hear the alarm going off in the elevator. Frantically I pushed the button so the elevator would come to our floor, the 2nd floor. When the doors finally opened... NO ANDERSON!

I was freaking out, I started to cry and was running up and down flights of stairs screaming his name. Gabriel ran outside to make sure he was not on the street. My dad went to the first floor and Justin went to the third floor.

When my dad went to the first floor he asked the lady at the front desk if the place had a basement. She said yes but that nothing was down there. Well, there was a little something down there. While she was getting the key to stop the elevator it came to the first floor and guess who was on it? That stinker had gotten off in the basement and then gotten back on!

When I got down to the first floor I saw the best thing ever! My dad holding Anderson and he was safe. We figure he was gone for no more than five minutes but as a mother it felt like days.

I would like to say that it will never happen again but it did on the same trip. We took our positions quickly minus Gabe in the street and found him again on the first floor.

So, if you want to get Anderson a really great birthday gift you could put an elevator in our house with buttons low enough for him to reach, it would keep him entertained for hours!!

I DO LOVE MY BOY TONS!! He is a stinker but the best stinker in the WORLD!

Mount Rushmore!

I am way behind on blogging but here are some pictures of our Mount Rushmore trip!

Anderson was not a fan! Can you tell?

Mount Rushmore was really amazing to see!

Pierce with his Tachi Man!

Adalayde missed it!! She slept the entire time!

We had a great trip and enjoyed spending my dads 50th birthday with him!

The Weather Outside is Delightful!!

The kids had swimming lessons today and when we got home we decided to have a picnic outside. Mostly because I am sick of hearing Anderson cry when we get out of the car and go inside. My boy is an outside kid!! When I took him in to put him down for a nap he was already filthy. I guess that is what little boys are suppose to look like!


The best picnic ever according to Pierce

The great outdoors wears my kids right out! Yes, at 7 months Adalayde still needs to be swaddled to sleep!

Happy Birthday Miss A!

Happy Birthday Ainsley. You are such a smart, sweet and fun little girl. You make me laugh every single day. I can't believe that you are already three years old. Even though you seem so much older than three, I can't believe that three years has gone bye since you were born. You are such a good cousin to Schwinney and Adalayde and they love you very much. You have been a very precious gift to all of us, especially your parents! I am so glad that my kids have such a wonderful cousin so close! You are the best niece the world! I love you very, very much!

The Amazing birthday cake that Liesl made. A real Princess cake for Princess Picky Pants as I call her!

Ainsley showing off her new earrings! She is a true DIVA!

No, I did not forget her birthday! We celebrated late because we were out of town on her actual birthday. And, as all princesses do Ainsley had a very specific idea of what her birthday should be. A castle cake would have been hard to find in Mount Rushmore!!

WE LOVE YOU!

Justin, Maris, Schwinney and Adalayde

Happy St. Patty Day!

Check out this picture of Anderson last year. Look how few teeth he had! Don't you love the bow tie. We really decked him out last year!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Happy Birthday to our darling cousin Olivia. Olivia you are such a sweet girl. As you all know from previous posts Olivia is one of our faithful blog readers. She loves family so much and loves to hear things about my kids. To me that says so much about Olivia and her sweet personality. She is kind and cares so much about others! WE ARE SO EXCITED TO SEE HER VERY SOON!! We wish that she was here so that we could celebrate her birthday with her right now. We are looking forward to seeing her and her family in April! We hope that you have a very happy birthday!

We Love You Very Much,

Love,

Justin, Maris, Anderson and Adalayde

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday to my Dad, the best Dad in the world. I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful father. I have many fond memories of my Dad. Some of my favorites are when I lived in Reno and we would work out together. I still like to listen to AC/DC when I run because it reminds me of working out with my Dad. I also loved going to Pyramid lake with my Dad, he spent hours teaching me how to water ski and I loved every minute of it!! Every year in Montana we make new memories together. He created a wonderful place for us to all get together as a family. This is where my children will create very special memories with their Tachi. I love more than anything watching my children with their Tachi because he loves them just like my Tachi loved me and that is the greatest love around!! Thanks Dad for all that you have done for us. You are a great EXAMPLE of a hard worker and a true family man! I hope that you had a very happy birthday. We loved spending your 50th with you! WE LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW!

Love,

Justin, Maris, Scwinney and Lulu

WE ARE OFF

We are on our way to " mountain Rush" as Pierce calls it. We are on our way to Mount Rushmore for a suprise 50th birthday part for my Dad. Cheri came up with this wonderful plan! My dad thinks that he is coming to Utah for his birthday because Anderson is sick. Actually we will be meeting him inside the airport and all getting on another plane to head to Mountain Rush! We are looking forward to this trip and some time together! I will post when we get back! We will have a few birthday posts to catch up on when we get back.

If you want to have a good laugh just think of us at the airport. Our huge stroller, Anderson on a leash, four car seats between us, our luggage, my pump, diaper bag and all the kids! WE ARE A SIGHT TO SEE!!

Thanks Grandpa Scott

Back in November Kent bought Anderson a nerf basketball hoop. The kind that you hang on the back of a door. Anderson and Justin were so excited. I think initially Justin was more excited about it! Until Anderson figured out what it was. Then he feel in love with it. HE HAD A HOOP IN HIS BEDROOM! He no longer had to go downstairs to shoot hoops. He could now shoot hoops during bedtime prayers and scripture reading. When you sleep with a ball you can get out of bed a shoot a basket first thing in the morning and right before you go to bed. What more could a kid ask for!

Well, it fell apart. That is what happens when you dunk balls in it, make baskets with books and any other toy that could fit in the basket. We used tape and glue but it could not be saved. So one day after putting Anderson in the car. When I was sure that he was not looking that Nerf hoop went in the garbage. When we got home Anderson looked all over for it. He would say Mom and then sign basketball. It was sad, I did not dare tell him that it was in the gross outside garbage can.

Well, no fear that very night Grandpa Scott pulled through. He showed up at our house with the Jazz basketball hoop and a Jazz ball. Anderson loves it so much. He slept with the ball that night and plays with it all the time! If Anderson had his choice we would have one in every room in the house!

SISTERS

Today I am grateful for my sisters. These girls in this picture are my very best friends, BFF. That is right Best Friends Forever! I don't have a picture with Brittany because my computer won't except a disc right now. But I want Brittany to know that she is included. As for my brothers I love you all very much too. However there is a very different connection between sisters. I enjoy spending time with all of them so much! They make me laugh, cry good tears and I know that each of them would do anything for me. What could be better than having eight very loving sisters. Today as Liesl and I sat on the porch watching our kids it really hit me hard how greatful I am for her and all my sisters. I am also thankful for the four kids we have between us!

Today I also had a very sweet discussion about adoption with my aunt who is also one of my very best friends. As most of you know she adopted a sweet baby girl for Etheopia 4 years ago. As I look at Beza I am reminded that Childeren no matter how they come to our famlies are by far the greatest blessings you can have. I hope someday that Justin and I will be able to adopt and take part of that very special oppourtunity and spiritual experience.

Today, I also have had the experience of praying for a family that I do not really know all that well. They are a friend of a friend. They are saying good bye to their sweet baby today. She was born with a heart defect and they have done all they can do for her. This is always a real downer and I don't like to post about sad things. However I feel that this family can use all the prayers they can get. So, if you are reading this blog please remember sweet baby Gracie Gledhill, her parents and her brothers and sisters. Her mom Michelle has written a very touching blog about her journey. You will cry your eyes out but you will be touched. The blog is thegledhillfamily.blogspot.com.

LOOK AT MY BEAUTIFUL SISTERS! AND OUR TWO DARLING DAUGHTERS!!