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!

An Idaho Easter

I promised this a long time ago, and yet here I am FINALLY doing it.  Since we are going to be a little busy with baby this summer and Aaron's sister had a baby of her own in March, we decided to veer from the normal summer trip to Aaron's parents and took a drive out there for Spring Break.

On the drive down, Aaron and Hillary were talking about how much they missed riding horses and amazingly enough, they got the opportunity to ride this time!  One of our awesome new sisters in law, Sarah, volunteered to take the kids out riding while we were there and I assured her not only would they love that, but Aaron and Hillary would love it too!

You can't really tell from any of the pictures we took, but I think Barett loved it more than anyone.  He cried and cried when we finally took him off.  Luckily Sarah's friends who owned the horses had a swingset and a dog, two fabulous distractions for Barett.

The girls wanted to ride together, but quickly discovered they didn't feel quite as secure that way.  Though the two show horses were very well-trained, the girls weren't prepared for the horse to shudder and Mikaiah never did want to get back on!

Of course we were loving all the sunshine we got to soak up while we were down there too!  But wouldn't you know Washington had a miraculously 70 degree day while we were gone. :(

The traditional Easter Egg Dying.

And hunting.  Not sure what's going on in this picture, but I am scared.

Barett getting ready for the hunt at the church to begin...just a little impatiently.  He grabbed an egg before they started and Aaron tried to distract him from getting more by showing him the candy inside.

And you can see from this picture, that definitely distracted him...so much that he didn't want to grab any more eggs, just eat the candy.  They had a huge pancake breakfast in the church after with even more candy on the tables as part of the decor.  It's a wonder my kids ate anything BUT candy that day!

The next day they had the baby blessing at the house, which was really nice.  Here are Ainsley and Bentley, the reason for the trip and 

definitely the star of the show.

Adelyn and Mikaiah sporting their Easter Dresses, while I think Mikaiah's mind is yet again on candy.  The Easter Baskets are off to my right.

Jay and Susan went all out and did yet another easter egg hunt in their own backyard.  Adelyn was in Seventh Heaven, since her attention span was definitely the longest of the grandkids, she scored.  Her only disappointment was that the Easter bunny was nowhere to be found.  Maybe you will dress up next year Jay???

Uncle Seth got some bubble wands for the kids, which entertained Barett for hours.

What a little man...cuddling a little bunny.

Sadly our time quickly came to an end and we had to head back home, saying goodbye to Aaron's grandpa.    This was definitely the happiest the kids were that day...the road home was a little too long and they lost it with three hours still left to go.  Now I know why my parents used to wake us up in the middle of the night to head to grandpa's!

We had a great time and can't wait to see you all again for our own baby blessing in August.

Woodland Park Zoo

We got a great deal on a zoo pass last year thanks to Krista, so before it expired we figured we ought to use it one last time.  Aaron hadn't gone with us up there before and I thought he would get a kick out of Barett's reactions to the animals.  

Apparently I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I had, but I just had to share these lion cubs.  I had never seen any lion cubs in person, especially not this close.  They were playing right up next to the glass.  The kids of course were fascinated, but so were Aaron and I.  Look how big their paws are!!  We had trouble tearing ourselves away, but the crowd was so huge in this exhibit we figured we ought to give the others a chance to see too.

Lions are definitely one of Barett's favorite animals, but his number one favorite would have to be birds.  In fact, his first word besides Mom, Dad, more, hi, and bye, was duck.  He actually just said it for the first time the week that we went to the zoo.  

Typically he prefers grunting to speaking, but he was so excited about all the different kinds of birds we saw at the zoo, that he shouted "duck" every time he saw one: emus, eagles, crows, anything.

His other new favorite thing to do is watching TV/movies.  Is it bad to like when they get into that??  I know supposedly they are not supposed to have "screen time" before two, but seriously, he loves it so much.  This particular time he went into the family room at my parents' house, grabbed their binder of kids DVDs, turned it to Rio, grunted and pointed at it until my dad turned it on for him.  And obviously we couldn't tear him away.

I have uploaded lots more pictures from Easter and our trip to Idaho, so get ready for another fun post soon!

Four Months

This might be a record for the longest I have gone without posting since starting the blog.  Except for of course on my other blog that we won't mention because I'm pretty sure I will not be blogging on it until well after this baby is born.  I don't think a healthy living blog is the best place to talk about my m&m cravings or the intense walking workouts I have been doing lately.

Yes, I am not good at being pregnant.  This one had some rougher spots than the previous two, but really I have been feeling pretty normal the past little while, plenty normal to sit at a computer an blog, so here I am with no more excuses...if you still even care what we are up to.

We have had a lot of sickness this winter, so a lot of playing indoors means a lot of racing the cars around the kitchen loop and a lot of dress up.

The girls got Aaron in on the dress up one day, but somehow he managed to take off his outfit before I could get the camera ready.  We were all disappointed, but not so much that they couldn't strike some good poses!

Adelyn decided to trade in her gymnastics class for a dancing one and so far she is loving it.  I don't know if she is more excited or I am at the fact that I don't have to continually chase Barett to keep him from plumetting down from the 15 ft high parent viewing platform to the cement floor below.  Yikes.

Adelyn donned some more dancing clothes for the annual City Parks Daddy Daughter Princess Dance.  Hard to believe it has been a year since the last one.  Shockingly enough she chose pink again. 

Aaron said she was much more into the princesses this year than the dancing, and she has already been asking me questions about where they live and when she could see them again.  Not sure if I should have told her about a little place called Disneyland...when I told her it cost a lot of money to go there she assured me she had money from her grandparents.  I said those $4 weren't going to be enough and since then she has been picking up money wherever she sees it and saves it to go see the princesses. 

She was so tired of the dancing after awhile they decided to just hit up the neighboring park for awhile.  I really like this picture of them...and it helps me forget how grouchy Barett was while they were gone.  He has become quite the little Daddy's boy!!

Our other fun Febrary news was going to Reno for Aaron's coworker's wedding.  This was my first time to Reno, and though it was nice to have a little couple time, I can't say this is a place I would like to ever go back to.  Maybe if I gambled...maybe if I drank...don't know what it would take.

The wedding itself though was WONDERFUL...seriously one of the best I have been to.  It was up in the mountains away from town, overlooking the valley, it was really beautiful.  These people are two of the most genuine, kind, fun, thoughtful people I have met and even though it was a quick trip, we were glad that we got to be a part of it.

Now we'll see if I can spare any more of this blogging energy to backpost...don't hold your breath!

Sunniest Fall Ever

I know, I know, I am always commenting on the weather in my posts.  I am so lame.  But happiness in my life here in Washington is very effected by whether or not the sun is going to be out.  I check my weather app nightly before bed to what adventures the weather will allow for the next day.

Thankfully, September and October have given us more than their share of unbelievably sunny days.  We took advantage of that with morning walks through the trails that we love by our new house, or the park that is just a five minute walk away.  

And of course, several visits to the pumpkin patch!!

Aaron's farm-livin' background makes him drawn to horses whenever we come across them, so of course Adelyn and Barett both had to take a ride.

I feel like most kids love animals, but Barett is really intense about them whenever we spot one.  Even if it is just a crow or a seagull.  Which, sidenote, we saw a bald eagle right above our gym yesterday...even I was excited about that one!

You can't see his face in either of these, but can you feel that intensity?!?!

We had a great time on the hayride...though during this time, Jadyn spotted the "PERFECT" pumpkin, so we had to trudge all the way back here to find it.  She cracks me up.

They had these cute little miniature John Deere tractors.  Anytime he can get behind the wheel, it is hard to tear him away.

Aaron's mom joined us there for a little FHE, with some Chili, Cornbread, and pumpkin painting afterward.

When I told Adelyn to smile, she told me first she wanted to do a pose like this.  Don't know where she got that from, but it is funny the things they start to pick up the more they understand about the world around them.  She is constantly surprising me.

Somehow we didn't take any of the pictures of the final product, but I can assure you, they are amazing.  Come by and visit our new house and you can check out the display on our front porch.

We ended up realizing that we all did pretty much the same thing that we did last year.  What a creative bunch...don't be ashamed Carrie Coleman!!

Well maybe we are not creative at painting, but someone is at posing!  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings with the costuming and trick or treating.  One thing's for sure is that it won't be sunny!!  Gotta love a good rainy Northwest Halloween.  Hope it is a good one for ya. 

What We Have Been Up To

It seems like the past few posts I have talked about how busy we have been, but these last couple months have definitely taken the cake.  I don't think I have worked this hard or been this tired since my mission.  

Most of you know that we put an offer on another short sale back in February and finally signed the deal in August, which is when the mayhem set in.  I am happy to say though that we are finally coming up for air and coming out of hiding, and I thought I'd share a little of the good times we have had.

The people who rented this house had two large dogs.  Those of you who love dogs infinitely more than I do can at least surely admit that they can cause a lot of damage, especially when the people are gone all day.  The floors downstairs were pretty trashed, so we replaced most of the floor.

My mom somehow convinced us that it was ludicrous to pay someone else to put in laminate and she, my Dad, Kathryn, and Ben all pitched in to help get it done.  

The worst part was tearing out the linoleum in the kitchen.  It had been glued to particle board which was then nailed to the floor.  When Aaron tried to get it up with a pry bar, it would just disintegrate into tiny tiny pieces.  So they rented a little toe kick saw which made it possible but turned the house into a dusty war zone.  Our eyes itched for weeks.  Aaron and Ben may still have nightmares.

We could not have done it without my dad's knowledge...and tools.  He seriously has a lot...of both.  Obviously Barett was an essential part of the floor crew as well, how could I leave him off the list?

Another side effect of large dogs taking reign over a house is that the bottom two feet of all the walls were scraped and scuffed everywhere...combine that with the previous owner not upgrading beyond builder-grade flat paint which is impossible to clean, we decided to paint the entire house.

With 20-ft ceilings in the entry and family room, that was no simple undertaking.  My dad had the genius again...we rented scaffolding.  No, I did not venture up there but I do love my brother for doing it.

  

Adelyn, on the other hand, was surprisingly not afraid of heights, considering she freaks out if I give her anything other than the tiniest of pushes on the swing.  Anytime she saw me painting with the ladder she was anxious to climb up the other side and help me out.

For Aaron's birthday and my birthday, my parents were going to get us a flat screen TV (I know, we are so behind the times that we don't have one), but at the last minute countered their offer with another...a backyard renovation.  

Since the backyard's slope made it impossible for Barett to play out there and the kid loves being outside more than anything else, we chose that instead...that flat screen can wait a little longer!

After two solid weeks of shoveling, raking, tilling and sifting dirt and rocks, I think my parents probably wish that we had opted for the TV!!

We built two big retaining walls to counter the slope...and make me a perfect spot for my vegetable garden next year!!!  It is no wonder that the grass back there was completely dead because we had about 1/4 inch of topsoil on layers upon layers of gravel.  The soil was so rocky that it took two people to operate the tiller.

 I am happy to report that where my Dad and Ben are standing in this picture is now level with the wall behind them and has grass growing in!!  I have never seeded a lawn before, but it has been pretty exciting.  We have taken the last two weeks off to let the grass start to come in, but we still have to tackle the patio side of the yard.

I will have to take some after pictures of the house and yard when we are all finished so you can see our progress.  And one of these days we will have a little housewarming party so you can come see for yourselves.  Let me know if you need our new address for Christmas cards...it will be that time before we know it!

I don't usually feel that the internet is the best place to express love or gratitude, but as I wrote this post I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of both for my family.  I am always amazed at how they are always there for me no matter how busy or hectic their own lives are.  

My Dad does not have many vacation days at all, and he took one to help Aaron and Ben on the floor when he could see they needed it.  My mom has a very busy job as the vice president of a college, but she would come to my house on her way home from work (I lost track of how many times), change into her work clothes and go until the sun set.

My mom made the comment at Sunday dinner that her overall feeling from general conference was that she needed to do more service...but has she forgotten all this??  Like we learned from Elder Packer at the last conference, service to our families is the most important kind.

I just hope I can be the kind of parent that my parents have been to me.