More Family Fun...

After Luke's baptism, we headed back to Charity's house to enjoy all the fun she has to offer.  All of the kids and most of the adults got in the pool.  It was way too cold outside for me, heated pool or not.  Wyatt convinced Colter to jump off the waterfall one time.  It was awesome.  

Kids rode bikes and scooters and played games inside.

The pool and hot tub drew the biggest crowds.

There were friends and family everywhere and each kid managed to make a new best friend.  Colter spent a fair amount of time playing tug-of-war with a black inner tube and two other kids.  Wyatt played a water monster game with a bunch of the littlest boys.  Adell and a bunch of little girls jumped off the waterfall and played on the rope swing. 

Poor Will and Clare were feeling sick and slept through all the fun.  It was a wild afternoon.

Will's favorite activity!

We arranged a family photo shoot while we were all together in Saint George.  Heather brought her fancy camera and Dave set up all the shots.  

Lorien always manages to capture some great family selfies.

Wyatt got this picture of Lorien.  She wore her wheelies for shoes with the wheels in the heels.  She was falling all over the place.  She finally got the wheels out and gave them to me for safe keeping...I let one roll off my lap and into the bushes on accident.  Wyatt saved the day and the wheel.

My husband has a nice butt.

Cute, blonde siblings.

Mother daughter.

Our first family group shots were a little tricky.  Colter was mad at Dad for making him climb up the rocks when Colter didn't want to.  So Colter said he would never smile and never be happy again.

Proof:

We got a few good shots of the whole family together.  Dave set a time and ran back and forth between the group and the camera.  It was entertaining. 

After the group shots and Colter calmed down we took another family photo.  We got smiles from everyone.

Now maybe I can get Christmas cards out this year?

White Friday

Clever Heather and Alan decided to have their oldest, Luke, baptized while we were all together in Saint George.  They called it White Friday.  Brilliant.

We got up early (for us Californians on vacation) and got all gussied up.  We also took some family photos on the red rocks before the baptism (that's another post).  

It was a lovely ordinance day and we were all glad to be there.  Adell got to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and did a great job!  She was poised and gave a great talk.  I've included the talk at the end of the post.  While we were preparing her talk we had a chat about women in our church and history.  Adell is starting to make connections to the patriarchy and seeing women don't always get the spotlight.  I told her that was how history had been (written by men and all) but things were changing.  As an example, I pointed out how a GIRL is giving the talk about the Holy Ghost at Luke's baptism!  How cool and exciting is that?  A girl (Adell) will be teaching all of us about this special ordinance and gift from God.  

Adell's talk:

I’m Luke’s cousin, Adell.  I am going to tell you a little bit about the Holy Ghost and an experience I had with him.  I was just baptized a year ago and got the gift of the Holy Ghost. There is a scripture that teaches you about the Holy Ghost.  It is when Jesus was teaching his disciples. John 14:26

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Jesus said the Holy Ghost would do three things for us:

comfort us,

teach us and

help us remember things we have already learned.  

I wanted to share an experience I had with the Holy Ghost.  One time I had to bring my scriptures to church for a lesson we were having.  I couldn't find them and it was almost time to leave for church. I was getting worried.  I prayed about it and had a feeling I should look under my dresser. I looked and there they were.  I knew it was the Holy Ghost telling me where to look for my scriptures.

Since then I’ve prayed a lot more often for things that I am worried about.  The Holy Ghost usually comforts me and I feel better.

I just want to say I’m proud of you Luke for getting baptized.

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen

lorien was here

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Oh the noise, the noise, the noise, noise, noise!

Well, we had an uneventful drive on Wednesday.  We left around 7:00 in the morning and rolled into Saint George (after going to the wrong address) around 8:00 pm.  Earlier in the week, I had decided to have Amazon ship Adell's birthday presents to Charity's house so we would have them for her birthday on Sunday.  Unfortunately, I selected the first address I had for Ben and Charity in my Amazon settings...which was an old address.  On our drive, I was the navigator and put the old address from Amazon into my phone.  As we made our through Saint George Will knew right away we were not in the right neighborhood.  We had to go to Charity's old house and knock on the door to explain the package situation, relying on their kindness and honesty to hold Adell's birthday presents for us.  It was a little embarrassing.  

Thursday morning we woke up to adults and children everywhere!  It was noise, noise, noise!  Kids were playing games, adults were making food and people of all ages were milling about talking.  It was glorious.  

Colter and Micha tried to lock Will in a closet.  It was that kind of day.

At one point in the midmorning, baby Sariah was trying to take a nap.  There was so much noise from all of us, she could not fall asleep.  After listening to her persistent cries, I decided to go bounce her to sleep.  She was not happy to see me.  She kept screaming and reaching for the door.  I pulled out my phone and started the Rockabye baby Coldplay album.  When Clare was a baby and toddler we would check this CD out from the Redwood City library and play it on repeat for nap and bedtime.  Poor Lorien knew this album inside and out as she shared a room with Clare.  They listened to the CD played on an old school boom box that we got from a Stanford friend when they were moving out.  Thinking about it now makes me a little emotional.  We've come a long way.  Anyway, the music settled Sariah down and she eventually fell asleep in my arms.

I am so out of practice bouncing a baby.  My biceps were BURNING after just a couple of minutes.  She wouldn't let me sit down in the rocking chair or lay her down in the crib.  It was kind of the best agony.  I love snuggling a baby and I got that wish...my arms were just so out of baby bouncing shape!  She slept for about 45 minutes in my arms.  I could feel the burn for days after!

Later in the evening, Sariah needed another nap and the noise was too much for solid sleep again.  I went back in for bouncing duty.  This time she fell asleep much faster but wouldn't let me put her down.  Sariah did let me sit in the rocking chair, so I fell asleep too, it was lovely.  We had a cozy nap with my arms in a little less pain.

  



Thanksgiving dinner was yummy and plentiful.  Will made our brine turkey (by having Emily buy and set everything up on Tuesday) and cooked it Thursday.  It was definitely one of the most flavorful, juicy turkeys we've ever had!

After dinner and a nap, I decided I needed to run to Target for a few "essentials".  Little did I know, it was Black Friday for Target.  It was crazy!  I do not shop Black Friday sales.  I've gone a few times and it always feels so hectic and crowded.  I'd rather pay full price and have peace while I shop.  I also think the biggest sales are for things I'm not buying.  Target was a madhouse and I only needed Diet Coke for Will and some towels for the pool.  They had isles roped off for the check out lines that snaked around the whole store.  Other isles were blocked at the ends with big sale items stacked there...vacuums, microwaves, TVs.  I had to go back and forth all over the place just to get to the towels.  It just reinforced my idea that Black Friday is not for me.

Poor Lorien was bored and I should have taken her to Target with me.  I bought her some ice cream to make up for it...a little.

After Target we played a game where you had to look at a set of upturned cards and tried to give a one-word clue to your team so they could guess the cards correctly.  It was so fun, and hard!  At one point, Will was the clue giver for our team.  Our team was made up me, Will, Lorien, Wyatt, Evan, and Ben (so mostly our Anderson family).  Will was getting ready to give his first clue and Lorien said, "Watch, he's going to say something super hard like 'Pythagorean, seven'."  We all laughed, knowing Will as well as we do.  Will responded, "It's close...geometric, six."  We all laughed even harder.  Lorien really knows her dad.  Now we need to get the game for family game nights.

Thanksgiving break begins at home...

We are going to drive down to Saint George for Thanksgiving but Will needs to work and I have some house projects to do at the start of the week.  We sent Clare down to Saint George early with Aunt Angela.  Angela wanted to escape the smoke and was happy to bring Clare along.  Lucky!

Monday the 19th was Colter's 1/2 birthday!  He's been looking forward to this day for about six months.  I think he expected an actual birthday with presents and stuff.  I just make a special treat and take a picture.  

The kids have been bored at home.  They usually enjoy all the electronics and tv time they can handle.  Something about not being allowed to go outside at all has made electronics boring.  Even Lorien has gotten bored looking at her phone!  Wyatt rounded the little kids up and played a game of Dungeons and Dragons. 

Monday was also the day I committed to painting the house.  I started the entryway and the upstairs hall when I painted the living room and family room...maybe a year an a half ago?  But I ran out of paint and steam.  I bought more paint immediately but never got my steam back.  Painting these two spaces was on my "must do" list for the break. 

Adell helped in the hallway.  I was lucky to have her!  We also had friends over to play and sent our kids to a few friends houses.  It was a good start to the week! 

I finished both areas for painting and they look so beautiful!  The gray wisp color in the hall and family room is such a beautiful color, I love it!  I also made a Tuesday morning trip into the city to check out a kitchen supply store.  I want to add a set of cabinets and a pantry in the kitchen.  Who knows if it will ever happen.  It was good to check the place out.  Then it was cleaning and packing and laundry for the trip!  We head to Saint George Wednesday morning!

Early November happenings...

On Monday the 5th Clare was dancing "full out" in hip-hop.  She threw her hands above her head and felt a painful twinge in her right shoulder.  She ignored it and kept on dancing "full out" for the rest of class.  By the time she got home, her shoulder was in amazing pain and we knew something was wrong.  I finally got her into the doctor on Friday.  Her arm and shoulder hurt everywhere and to do every kind of movement.  It was difficult for the doctor to give an exact diagnosis.  We left with a generic "shoulder impingement" diagnosis, a sling and an order to not move her arm for two weeks.  We will see how she heals with no movement...and how well she handles no movement.  

On Thursday morning the wind was whipping.  We were having some Santa Ana winds, leaves and debris were blowing all over the place.  Sadly, in a town about 200 miles north-east a fire started.  The winds whipped the fire into a frenzy and a wildfire ripped through the town of Paradise.  The fire chewed through acres and acres of land, homes, and businesses in a matter of minutes.  The devastation has been staggering.  The death count and number of people missing keeps on growing.  They are calling it the Camp Fire and it is proving to be the most devastating wild fire in California history.  It is scary and sad.  Down here in the Bay Area we've been socked in with smoky air.  The air quality gets worse and worse every day.  I cannot imagine what it is like up at the fires so I'm not complaining about what we are going through here, we have houses. 

As a result of the smoke outdoor and after-school activities have been canceled every day this week.  Adell has been home sick with a fever so she hasn't missed much.  Colter's kindergarten class had their Thanksgiving Sing.  It was supposed to be outside but got moved into the MPR due to smoke. 

Colter told me he was not going to sing and I was not allowed to take any videos or pictures.  He did sing a little bit.  The only part he really refused to participate on was when the kids sing "Hello Mr. Turkey how are you? Hello Mr. Turkey how are you?  With a gobble, gobble, gobble and a wobble, wobble, wobble.  Hello Mr. Turkey how are you?" to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it".  During the wobble part, the kids are supposed to shake their booties.  Colter refuses, it is embarrassing.  He cannot figure out why the other kids are willing to do it?

This is the view from our front door.  You can't see Las Trampas at all and the air smells so smoky.  You can feel it on your tongue and the back of your throat.  I get a headache and itchy eyes if I'm out too long.  The kids are going stir crazy inside all day every day.  They try to go out every so often but the smell sends them right back in. 

We are praying for the people who have lost their homes and loved ones.  It is scary and sad. 

School was canceled all together today.  We got to start Thanksgiving break a day early...and stay inside. 

Breaking with tradition...

Oh boy, this dude wished for a wiggly tooth every day last year (his first kindergarten year when friends were having teeth fall out of their heads like they'd been in a street brawl).  Colter's teeth were glued to his gums and the roots were deep.  Narry a sign of looseness presented itself all year long.  Over the summer his bottom right tooth started to wiggle.  Little by little that tooth became a full-blown loose tooth! Colter was ecstatic and freaked out at the same time.  He was pumped to FINALLY have a loose tooth but he was worried about how much it would hurt to lose a tooth.  He maintained a safe distance from Will knowing our family tradition of Daddy pulling a kid's first loose tooth with his leatherman tool.  Some days when Colter had wiggled his tooth a lot and felt like it was close to coming out he would tell me to NOT tell Dad his tooth was loose.  He was nervous!

In the last two weeks that loose tooth has become obscenely loose, dangling by the proverbial thread, if you will.  Colter refused any assistance in getting it out.  We watched funny youtube videos to try and encourage him to pick a creative way to get the tooth out.  I suggested tieing it to a nerf gun dart.  Colter was not interested in any option fearing the non-existent pain in tooth removal.  

Sunday morning he was standing at my bedroom mirror watching that wiggly tooth move all around his mouth.  He could practically pick it up and twist it backward.  I suggested the nerf gun again saying the tooth would be out in a snap (snapping my fingers).  Colter said no way.  I snapped my fingers again and guess what, he had pulled that tooth right out.  SNAP!  And it didn't even hurt!  He was so excited and shocked.  It was a win.  

Poor Dad was at church with the big kids so he missed out on his chance to pull Colter's tooth with the leatherman.  Maybe on the next one...

So wiggly!  At Lorien's birthday dinner November 8th

Loose tooth gone!  November 11th

A constant pair...

Lorien and Wyatt, what a team.  Watching these two grow up over the last fifteen years has been such a joy (and challenge).  They really are the best of friends and the worst of enemies.  True story.  Also true, they are best friends more often than enemies.  This year has been particularly fun.  Lorien is a senior and Wyatt a freshman.  It is the only year they will be in high school together and the first year since Lorien's last year in elementary school.  

Hearing tales from their interactions at school gives me moments of laughter and chagrin.  They are in the Dungeons and Dragons club at school and play on a campaign together.  Lorien always greets Wyatt in an embarrassing way when they pass at school.  She also greets his friends.  Wyatt has started calling out all of Lorien's friends too.  So far, Lorien's friends all think Wyatt is super cool and all of Wyatt's friends are dead of embarrassment.  About a month ago Lorien tackled Wyatt and got him in a headlock during brunch break.  Kids were standing around gawking, Lorien kept the headlock up telling Wyatt to say uncle.  Wyatt declined and said "penis" instead.  About this time a teacher walked up to see what all the hub-bub was.  Lorien said (with her headlock firmly in place) "Oh he is my brother" to which the teacher replied "Oh, ok." and left Wyatt to his demise.  Thankfully Lorien released Wyatt soon after.  He is a tough kid and didn't take it personally.  I'm sure he will get Lorien back some how...maybe on graduation day?

They have always been good friends.  They have certainly had their times where they are distant or even coming to blows but over all, they are such good friends.  I am so thankful they are mine.  They are funny and fun and I love them so much.

Happy birthday Lorien and Wyatt!

We went out for Pho for Lorien's birthday dinner choice.  Wyatt picked chicken and waffles but had to wait a few days for his turn.

We also had to wait a few days for pie and cake.  Wrestling and life have kept us busy.  Still, a very happy birthday for these kids.