Boys

 I thought I had better throw a few pictures in here for the boys. It is hunting season after all. Dallas has taken Gavin with him several times and one night, he made us all go. The kids all had fun. It was nice to spend some time with the family but I did learn once and for all that hunting is not for me. It's just too sad. I don't see how anyone thinks it's an enjoyable hobby. To each their own I guess! I do love to see the father-son bonding though!

First Day of School!

 Just a few Pictures from the Kid's first day of school. Mackenzie is in 4th grade and actually has 2 teachers but one of them wasn't there that morning. Her teachers are Mr. Sandlian and Mrs. Isom. Gavin is in 2nd grade and his teacher is Mrs. Levine. So far they are both having a fabulous year! I thought I had gotten a picture of Avery on her first day of pre-school but I guess I didn't. Her teacher is Miss Karen and she loves school too!

Brigham City Temple

 A few weeks ago, we went and walked through the Brigham City Temple during the open-house. It was so pretty. Avery just kept saying "WOW! It's so sparkly!!" I am glad that we were able go. The kids all thought it was pretty amazing.

 They all loved the fountain! 

 While we were there, the kids all bought bows and arrows. That was the best money I think I've spent in a long time! They played with them all weekend and have played with them for hours on end since we brought them home. 

Fun in the sun

 As usual, I am way behind on blogging so back up to a month ago. For our last weekend before school started, we decided to go camping at the Gorge with some friends. Dallas was determined to do some fishing while we were there and he was successful! He caught this big guy right from the boat! With his bare hands even!

 (Maybe it was already dead when he caught it)

 Gavin spent his time trying to catch lizards.

 We went on a boat ride over to the Dam and decided to go on the tour while we were there.

 Best Friends

 The kids (including Dallas), spent their evenings catching crawdads. They caught quite a few of them.

It was a great way to end the summer!

I have lots to post and I will get to it eventually but these past few days I have been thinking about Tina a lot. Yesterday marked 6 years since she passed away. It's weird because sometimes I think of her and it seems like it was just yesterday that we were taking our kids to the park, going shopping, talking on the phone, watching movies, or taking the kids swimming. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were saying goodbye. But then other times I think of her and it feels like it all happened a lifetime ago. I  have a hard time remembering what her voice sounded like and it makes me wish I could hear it again. I miss her so very much!! I came across this poem yesterday and it seemed very appropriate for the occasion.

We thought of you with love today.
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday.
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories.
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake.
With which we'll never part.

God has you in his keeping.
We have you in our heart.

Love you always! Miss you dearly. Thinking of you today and always.

Family Time!

For our Anderson family reunion this year, we went to Bear Lake. The weather was perfect and the kids all had a blast!

Avery, Gavin, Hayden, and Rylee couldn’t wait to build sand castles!

Cute SydneyKyrieAlek and Rylee

Grandpa helping the kids collect seashells

Jaxon and Avery

Mackenzie, Gavin, and Avery having fun in the sun!

Taylor, Avery, Joye, and Kyrie chasing their shadows

Mackenzie and Sara…. I don’t know what they were doing lol!

Cute baby Camden

Grandma and baby Paityn

Camden and Alek

Grandpa teaching the kids how to skip rocks.

Story time….Now, no family reunion is complete without a little drama right? The kids all played so well, we had no problems at all so leave it to me to set it right by adding a little drama and excitement. First a little background.. Last weekend when we went to the Gorge as I said in my last post, Mackenzie locked my keys in my car. I mentioned that while we were at Bear Lake and I added that I have no spare key for my car.  After a little conversation about how I had taken my key to get it copied, and how they wouldn’t do it because it was chipped, I said it was ridiculous that the ornery lady wouldn’t copy it just because it had a little chip in it (meaning the key was damaged). Mark started laughing and pointed out that she probably meant the key had a microchip in it so it has to be copied at the dealership where they can duplicate the microchip. Aha! After feeling like an idiot, I let the whole key subject drop. That night, we were getting ready to leave and we had a long drive back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house so I took Avery into the port-a-potty. I should probably mention that Dallas wasn’t there at this point. He had left earlier and gone home.  Anyhow, Avery was scared and didn’t want to go potty because it was dark in there. I put my keys and my cell phone in my sweatshirt pocket, and dragged her in. I was holding on to her, trying to get her to go potty and as I sat her down, she panicked when she saw the gaping hole full of –well, you know what. Anyhow, she panicked and grabbed the front of my sweatshirt. Then I hear a “PLOP”. I just about died. I knew what had happened and I was just praying that it was my cell phone. I reach into my pocket…. My cell phone is right where I left it and my keys are no where to be found.  After using my cell phone as a flashlight and confirming that yes, my keys were indeed sitting on top of about a ton of crap, I started laughing.. hysterically. It was one of those times where you are going to either laugh or cry. I laughed. I guess I am just lucky they didn’t sink! A few minutes later, my dad pulls up and you should have seen the look on his face when I told him what had happened. Priceless! Mark and Sherin had left but we knew Mark had a big shovel in the back of his truck so we called him and they came back and my dad and Mark went fishing. They were pretty creative. Using a shovel, a thin piece of metal shaped into a hook, and some electrical tape, they got the keys out without any trouble. As Mark is cleaning my keys, I look at them and notice the ignition key is not among them. I have a magnetic keychain that separates so the ignition key can be separated from the others. You’re thinking the ignition key was in the toilet?? No, It was safe and sound in my car the whole time. Phew! So, all that fell into the toilet was my house key, my mail box key, and the clicker (I don’t know what they are called(The automatic door locker thingy). If I had realized that sooner, I would have just left them there! But, My dad and Mark saved the day anyway. Here we are over a week later, and I still have not touched those keys. I just can’t do it! After all of the excitement, I just wanted to go home and stay there!! Really, why does this “crap” always have to happen to me??

After retrieving my keys, we headed back to my parent’s house and after some much needed sleep, we got up and had a fun run for the kids then went to the Wheat and Beet days parade.

mmmm. Candy!

Then we went to the annual fire fighter’s water fight. They had about 6 trucks spraying water and the kids all got soaked. They loved it! Especially Avery. She thought it was a great time!

We had a delicious dinner at my mom and dad’s house then we went to the fireworks. I even convinced my friend Constance to drive down from Idaho and come with us. She lived with me for a couple months when we were 12 or 13 and I have not seen her in 3 1/2 years so it was great to see her and catch up a little bit.

Before I left, Mark snapped this picture of Sherin, Staci, and I. I stole it off of Sherin’s facebook page. We missed Erick and Leslie but It was great to spend some time with my family. I just wish we could get together more often!