The Bright Side

Many of you know that things have been a little crazy in the Anderson household with Aaron getting laid off, me getting in a car accident, and my cousin unexpectedly passing away all within a few weeks time.  I have occasion to be a little dramatic about it, but there have been some good things going on too...like for example does it get any sweeter than this?!

You may have already seen that because my sister Liz posted it on Facebook, but I had to have it here because it is so precious.  She gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Emree Josephine, who my kids obviously adored.  Neither of them wanted to share, Adelyn stated, "OOOH I could hold this all day!"  Hopefully they will be equally as excited when their sister comes in a month.

Michelle was nice enough to make the trek up to Bellingham with me since Aaron was sick.  It was a great way to get some time in with her before she left on her mission, let the boys have some bonding time, and give Liz a little break.  

Another good thing we have had going for us is all the unseasonably good weather we have had and Adelyn's new interests spending it hiking or at the beach.  She was actually upset at me when I tried to carry our pack with snacks and water.

Online, the trails at Rainbow Falls State Park looked a lot cooler than they did at the actual place, but Barett wasn't feeling the hiking that day anyway so the kids had fun just throwing rocks into the stream and climbing on logs.  This little string of pictures crack me up--I couldn't decide which was the funniest/randomest, so you can decide for yourselves.

Why is he lifting up the shirt?  No idea.

Adelyn couldn't figure it out either, but Barett obviously thought it was a great joke.

But what I laughed the most at was Barett continually lifting his leg to try to climb on top of this higher log, so I made him try again so I could get a video of it.  His determination and confidence is awesome, best showcased in the grunt at the end.

We headed out for some more hiking to Priestpoint State Park, which turned out to be a lot prettier and a lot closer, so it was a win win.  I hadn't done the Ellis Cove trail since the old bridge washed out so I headed down there with the kids one Saturday morning.

It was a lot longer than I remembered it, so I ended up regretting going down there without Aaron.  The kids actually did a really good job on the way down, but once Barett fell in the mud in the tideflats, it was over for him.  I had to carry him the whole way back up.  Those of you who haven't held Barett in awhile and/or haven't tried to carry 35 lbs for 25 minutes uphill while pregnant with varicose veins and swollen feet can't fully appreciate that statement.

But my, that doesn't sound like the brightside.  It was a gorgeous day, a gorgeous path, and Adelyn was in seventh heaven gathering all the purple shells they have in that little cove.  And she managed to make it back to the car on her own without too little complaining.  Though I did have to bribe her with a treat: snow cone and face painting at the Farmer's Market at least saved my sanity while my body was getting a work out!