Bowling

While in Utah we went down to BYU to visit Nate’s brother, Barry. While we waited for him to finish up his classes for the day, we took Owen bowling at the WILK. It was so much fun and Owen was out of his mind with enthusiasm. They didn’t have any bumper aisles for us, and that ramp thing was surprisingly hard to aim. That being said, Owen bowled an 18 that day. He was so pumped and has enthusiastically told everyone who will listen, “I bowled eighteen!” It was so funny to watch him heft that bowling ball around. He’s a huge fan of bowling now, and wants to go all the time. On our flight home from Utah we had little TVs on the chair backs in front of us and when he saw me flip by a bowling tournament on ESPN, we had to sit there and watch it for the next 30 minutes. That was definitely a first for me, but I’ll take 30 minutes of silence from my toddler on an airplane at almost any cost. I love this kid, he makes me laugh everyday!

Temple Square

Going to see the lights at Temple Square is one of my favorite Utah Christmas time activities. We went one night and made it just before the lights turned on. It was really funny to see Owen’s reaction when, all of a sudden, millions of lights turned on around us. There was just enough snow on the ground. It was so beautiful. While there we were able to see Nate’s sister Emily in her Madrigals concert. It was a really fun Holiday activity.

Snow Day

While it is a balmy 76 today in Atlanta, things look quite a bit like Christmas in SLC. On our visit we were able to see some snow and even go sledding at Sugarhouse Park. We saw some snow on the way home from the airport and Owen thought it was bubbles! I guess we don’t get a lot of exposure to snow around here. Owen had a great time playing in the snow and really enjoyed sledding. Here are a few photos that I (the spectator) snapped on our outing.

1st Half Marathon

This Thanksgiving Nate completed his first half marathon. It started at 7am, and while there is a severe drought in Georgia right now, it was pouring rain the entire time. I am really proud of Nate for doing this. It was one of his new year’s resolutions, so I tried to encourage him to do it. He is really happy that he did. I made him a gold medal that says “I finished my first half-marathon with minimal whining and very little resentment towards my wife.” Aren’t I hilarious?
He ran with our friend Carolyn Hansen. It was so fun to see them cross the finish line all drenched, tired, but happy. After the race I tried to get some photos of Nate and Owen, but Owen couldn’t be bothered to look at the camera. He was way too interested in the Snickers Marathon bars. Silly kid.
Way to go Nate! You are our hero. We love you!

Stone Mountain

A few weeks ago we went on a little family outing to Stone Mountain, for their annual pumpkin festival. We had a fun time together. We went to their pumpkin patch, rode on the train, played miniature golf (truly hilarious with Owen) and rode the gondola to the top and back down. It was a full afternoon, but we had a great time. I love Saturday outings.

Happy Halloween

This halloween was a lot of fun. Owen dressed up as a monkey, thought it was pretty hard (read: impossible) to keep his little hood on him. This is the only documented minute in which he had it on, and you can see him pulling for it in the photo. We went to a little neighborhood BBQ with our friends, the Hansens, and then trick-or-treated our way home. It was a lot of fun. Owen had the trick-or-treat phrase down pat and marveled that it produced candy in his pumpkin bucket every time. His little friend Ava is a flamingo. I especially love their little tails.

Ferndale

We were lucky enough to spend a few days at the Slesk acreage in Ferndale, Washington. My sister Jamie (Slesk) hosted us for a few days of fun.
A few high-lights:
1. we visited an orchards and bought some of my new-found favorite apples (honeycrisp), 2. went on a beautiful walk in Lynden and found the GREATEST park there
3. visited a favorite chocolate boutique
4. made apple cider, that’s right, MADE apple cider
5. had an private tour of the extensive grounds at Slesk acreage :)
6. enjoyed chicken southwest soup, which deserves it’s own post and you’ll see that soon
7. visited some fun shops in downtown Lynden, Wa
8. established a deep and lasting relationship with Tucker (the family dog.)
Thank you Slesks for the hospitality and good times!

Seattle

While on our recent getaway to Mount Vernon, we spent one day in Seattle. It was great fun. Nate checked out a few agencies there, and Owen and I spent the day with Ruth Ann, Jacob and Grace. It was the only rainy day our entire trip, but it was fun to be drenched for a day...it brings back so many childhood memories! We had a great time and since it was pretty soggy I didn’t pull the camera out much, but we did go to the Pacific Science Center and had a great tour of the city courtesy of Ruth Ann. Thank you Ryan and Ruth Ann for hosting us for an evening and spending time with us. We really had a great time!

Gordon's Pumpkin Patch

We’re back! We threw caution to the wind last week and took off for a little trip to Mount Vernon, Washington. My home town. We had a wonderful time visiting with our family and enjoying the beautiful, crisp weather. On one of our excursions we went to a cute little place called Gordon’s Pumpkin Patch. I’d never been there before, but it is a local favorite. The owner does these amazing paintings on wood, and displays them all around the patch. I just love to watch Owen run around outside while his cheeks and nose turn pink from the cool weather. Here are some photos we took at the pumpkin patch. More updates on our trip to Washington to come!

Fall Festival

This year we went to the fall festival at Briarlake Elementary. Carolyn was the fall festival “boss” and headed up the whole thing. It was a lot of fun and Owen had a great time with all the little activities. They had the most amazing balloon guy there who made Owen a really cute giraffe. I love this time of year. Welcome fall!

Nate's 30th

We celebrated Nate’s 30th birthday this year! His birthday was a lot of fun. We went bowling, ate cupcakes and had a great time with the Puzey’s and Hansens! Happy Birthday Nate!

Sisters Weekend

Four of my sisters flew into town last week for a bit of a sister’s weekend. I don’t have any great photos from their visit because one of my cameras is broken and I don’t know how to use the other. So I’ve borrowed this one.  We had a great time, we shopped, went to lunch, talked, got pedicures, went for walks and really enjoyed each other’s company. It was a great weekend, though I got far too little sleep! I think we all did. I’ll post more photos if I can get my hands on them! 

Birthday Boy

This weekend, with family in town, we celebrated Owen’s 2nd Birthday! I can’t believe he’s already 2 years old. We had a great time and Owen really enjoyed all the fanfare! Here are a few shots from his party.

It's a GIRL!

It’s a girl! I am so excited and already have a whole list of things I want to buy! Hooray! I just want to give a shout out to those who were right (I’m NOT on the list)! Owen actually knew it was a girl. We would ask him if he wanted a brother or sister and he said sister! I guess my son has more intuition than I do.

New Bike

Thanks to Aunt Missy and her family Owen has a new bike! Owen was over the moon when I opened it up for him and has been riding around the house (we’d go outside, but it’s over 100 degrees out these days...) non stop. I love to see him scooting around the house on his little bike.

Little Artist

So I am trying to figure out how to use Nate’s fancy camera. I know it shouldn’t be hard, but for some reason my photos are turning out overexposed. Anyhow, I took a few pictures of Owen yesterday working on one of his drawings. He loves to draw circles. I tape a piece of newsprint paper to the kitchen table and let him go to work with his crayons and markers. He is such a cute boy!

Pool Days

Although it is raining outside today, we have had many sunny days when we’ve been able to enjoy going to the pool. I have to admit, I never remember to bring my camera to the pool (for the obvious reasons) but am so glad that my friend Anne took these photos and emailed them to me. These are from one such wonderful day at the pool with Anne and her kids (see photo below). Owen LOVES to swim and is our little water baby. He loves to jump into the pool and almost does a little cannon ball as he does. He tucks his little legs up and jumps with his hands in the air. It is really quite cute! I will TRY and get a photo of that jump before the summer is up, but it is pretty hard to watch a toddler at the pool, while taking photos. We’ll see what happens. Anyhow, here are a few photos to help us remember those fun summer pool days!

Mustache

This all started out innocently enough, with a cupcake. But by the end of the cupcake, Owen had a perfectly formed handle-bar mustache! It was hilarious because he was, of course, oblivious to it. It looks like he’s into silly mustaches too, just like his daddy. Before too long, he even had a little soul patch.

Pregnancy Survival

My friend Robyn, as I have mentioned before, has been doled out more than her fair share of creativity. For my birthday, she sent me the most darling package including 10 items to help survive being a pregnant mother.  What a darling idea! I absolutely loved it and wanted to share what a cute idea this is with you. I love the details of the packaging, as well as each individual gift. Little did I know when I ooohed and aaahed over her new card making idea, that those cards would end up in my package. I LOVE hand made cards. So check out how cute my friend is! Thanks Robyn!

Litttle Dude

I thought this was so cute. The other day up at the Puzey’s house, Owen was driving around in the jeep and the battery died. So what did he do? Hopped out of the jeep and checked under the hood. That is, of course, where the battery goes (this he knows), but I couldn’t help but snap a shot of him being a little dude.

31

Thirty one was a nice birthday to celebrate. My friend, Carolyn, shares my birthday, so we went out to dinner with her, Jason and Shauna (Jason’s sister). We went to a fancy, new (to us) restaurant in town, Bones. It was delicious! Then we went to see the new Harry Potter movie, which was also fantastic. It was a great day.

On Saturday we went up to the Puzeys for more birthday partying! We had a yummy dinner, my favorite salad, a yummy dessert (see above) and watched a movie. It was a great celebration!

Birthday Tradition

A long time birthday tradition in my family is that on your birthday you get your own box of cereal. To understand why this is a big deal, you must first realize that I was raised with the following cereal options: toasty-o’s, crispy rice and corn flakes (at times). There was nary a Fruit Loop in sight. In order to sweeten such cereal, one had to add heaping spoonfuls of sugar. And on the magical day, once a year, you got your very own “sugar” cereal (to distinguish it from the “unsugared” cereal already in the house). My choice for at least 8 straight years was Lucky Charms. It was (and is) all that a sugar cereal should be: sweet, crunchy, intensely colorful, and left you with a sweet, purplish-colored bowl of milk at the end. I know there are stomachs churning at the thought of Lucky Charms, and normally I’d probably agree with you, but every 5 years or so a few of my childhood taste buds come back and I crave a bowl of Lucky Charms. So for the following reasons...

1. It is my birthday
2. I can buy my own cereal at any time
3. I have cravings when pregnant which often surprise me (yep, that’s right, pregnant, in case you didn’t catch my subtle hint in my last post).
4. It really has been at least 5 years since the last bowl

...I have purchased my own box of Lucky Charms. Happy Birthday to me!

Adored

So I went shopping at Baby Gap recently and fell instantly in love with this little onesie. I bought a 0-3 month, to fit my little newborn next valentine’s day.

Savannah

In desperate need of a quick getaway for the weekend, Nate, Owen and I headed to Savannah, Georgia. I had been there before, on one of my rotations, but Nate had never seen it. Since it is only a 3 1/2 hour drive from Atlanta, we hopped in the car on Thursday and headed out for the weekend. We spent one day in historic downtown, taking in all the beautiful architecture and history. The houses are beautiful and the gardens are unbelievable. The ironwork on the houses is my favorite. We, of course, also had to eat at The Lady and Sons restaurant for the ultimate southern food. Owen was such a trooper the whole weekend and we really had a nice time.
On Saturday we drove out to Tybee Island and enjoyed the beach for a bit. Owen was a bit more tolerant of the sand this trip to the beach. Last trip, when we went to Seacrest Beach, he wouldn’t TOUCH the sand. This time he mastered the art of playing in the sand without actually BEING in the sand. It was really funny to watch. It was a short trip, but just enough to let the wind blow on us enough to cheer up our spirits and enjoy life more.

4th of July

We had a lot of fun this 4th of July. It was a warm (but not too hot) sunny day here in Atlanta, and we celebrated with some ward friends at Piedmont Park. We each brought something to contribute to the picnic, and had a lot of fun playing on the grassy hills of the park. There were water balloon games, water fights, baseball games and frisbee. Nate brought his remote control car, which was a big hit with the toddlers, and the little boys. It was nice and relaxing and fun. Owen just loves to be outside and to be around other little kids, so he was in little man heaven.
Later we moved our party to the Hansen’s house for some fireworks. I just realized this was the first time Owen had seen fireworks! He was mouth agape the entire time, occasionally covering his ears. Last 4th of July we were up in Eden, Utah at a family reunion and we missed out on fireworks. The year before that, we saw a spectacular show here in Atlanta, but Owen was still 9 weeks away. So here are a FEW (I’ve been terrible at remembering to take more photos lately) pictures of Owen’s FIRST 4th of July celebration! I forgot to bring my camera out at the Hansens, so sadly, no photos of fireworks or his reaction to them. A terrible oversight on my part....

21 Months

I cannot believe that Owen is already 21 months! He will be 2 in September and it seems like he is growing up so quickly. Here are a few pictures of him recently on a trip to the zoo (one of our favorite outings). Some of his latest trends:
1. yelling “HEEEEY” if you steal a grape from his plate
2. shouting “Oh Boy” when he’s excited (i.e. when daddy or mommy come home)
3. Putting his hands up and saying “where are we?”
4. Still has a fascination for all things electronic and loves to talk on the phone
5. Folding his arms and closing his eyes for prayers (it lasts about 3 seconds into the prayer) and then saying a VERY enthusiastic “Amen!” when finished.
6. Bargaining (pleading) for ONE more book before being put to bed
7. Driving the Puzey’s Jeep all by himself. He still has no idea how to steer (or that he can steer) but loves to hit that gas pedal!
8. swimming. We realized he is quite a fish and loves to cannonball into the pool. I’ll try and take some photos of that to share later
9. Still has an affection for popsicles, has chosen his favorite flavor, blue.
10. Loves to repeat things he hears. Latest phrase: “Oh Gosh!”

We sure love this little guy and love being his parents. We feel so blessed to have him!

Beach Vacation

While my mom and dad were in town we took them down to the panhandle to the beach. We rented a beach house with my sisters Cheryl and Kristen with their families as well. It was so fun! I wish I could live at the beach. I just love it there. We played at the beach, in the pool, rode bikes, played games and (here is the best part) relaxed and had fun together. I had so much fun, in fact, that nary once did I pull out my camera to take photos. So I had to bum these photos off my sisters. (Thank you!). Why no Anderson family beach photo you ask? Well, Owen had pink eye, and I was in a grumpy mood (Owen was up a few times during the night not feeling well) and I just didn’t feel like it. Sad huh? Oh well. I guess we’ll just have to plan another trip to the beach! Wanna come?

Bunnies

We found a little nest of bunnies in our yard one day and last week they decided to come out of their little burrow! Owen chased them all around the yard with their mother nervously watching. Could you just die? How cute is Owen’s pudgy little hand with those baby bunnies? Don’t you just love spring?

Helen, GA

While my mom and dad were in town, Cheryl and I took them to a quaint little bavarian town up in northern Georgia, called Helen. It was a fun day and a beautiful drive through the country. There is a river there that you can go tubing on in the summer. (I really love tubing.) Most of my pictures didn’t turn out, but here are a few that did.

Kitty

We have a few little animals in our neighborhood. We have little bunnies, squirrels, birds and a kitty. The kitty’s name is Holly. She belongs to our neighbor. Holly is deaf, which makes it so much easier for Owen to sneak up on her. She’s old and very sweet. The other day we had just come home and Holly was in our yard. I pulled Owen out of his car seat (a back breaking ordeal these days...) and set him on the ground. He immediately set out after the kitty and did what anyone would: 1. pointed at the kitty, 2. pet the kitty, 3. cover the kitty with dirt and yard debris. Poor kitty.

Bubbles

We snapped a few bathtub shots the other night. This is the one on my desktop right now. Owen love to see photos of himself in the house and says “bubbles” each time he sees this one. I love my boy.

iLove

Nate brought an ibook home from work the other day, to take with him on his trip. He let Owen play with it a bit, which was a big treat, since we are always shooing him away from our computer at home. He figured out how to turn it on and loved being free to type on the keyboard to his hearts content.
We will be raising this boy right (read: on a mac). I just had to share a few pictures I took.

Zoo Day

This week Owen and I went on several outings, just the two of us. It was a lot of fun. This Saturday we went to the zoo. I didn’t bring the stroller this time, I just let him wander around where he wanted to go. Once he saw an animal, it took a while to coax him onto the next thing. It was really cute. We learned lots of new words, like Zebra, Gorilla, and Monkey. There are some animals that he cannot dissociate from their sounds. If you ask him to say Lion, he roars. Same thing with doggy, etc. It is really quite cute.
While there Owen pulled him self up to this gorilla (above) and I just love the face he made as he was climbing.

Talking to Daddy

Nate was out of town last week, so we did a lot of talking with daddy on the cell phone. Owen LOVES talking on my phone and is now to the point that he’ll just grab the phone whenever it is offered and start yammering away. I tried to capture the serious faces he was using as he talked and listened to daddy. He gets very into these conversations. Maybe I’ll add a voice clip so you can hear it.

Easter Sunday

We celebrated by going to church and keeping track of the 14 little rascals in the junior nursery. We actually really love our calling. Then it was home for an easter basket and then a nap, before heading up to the Puzey’s for a little Easter celebrating. We had a very yummy spring dinner: Spring Rolls and Peanut Sauce with chicken and rice. Then we went on an easter egg hunt. Owen had to taste the contents of each egg before he could look for the next. When we returned we dyed easter eggs and Morgan taught a lesson on the meaning of Easter. It was a great day!

Easter Saturday

We started out our day early this Saturday with a 5k Fun Run hosted by the Emory PA program (my alma matter...). Let me just point out that I posted on Monday that it was 85 degrees here in Atlanta. This morning it was 30 (!!!) degrees, which will explain Owen’s hat and coat. Nate and I ran and Owen rode along in a jogging stroller. I pushed the stroller and Nate finished a full 10 minutes before me. I am going to blame the stroller.
At the finish line they had all sorts of fun family activities, including an easter egg hunt for the kids. It was a lot of fun. A great way to start an Easter Saturday!

Zoo Atlanta

Today we went to the Zoo! It was so much fun. Owen LOVED every last bit of it. And he LOVES Ava (see photo). It was really cute to see him take it all in and run around with the Hansen kids. Owen’s favorite was the river otters. That and being out of his stroller and running around. Why do I bring a stroller everywhere? Oh yeah, to cart around the stuff. Most of which I never use, but it is incredibly handy when I do. The things we do...  We had a great day and look forward to going again and again! I highly recommend a trip to the zoo. And don’t forget the stroller...

Georgia Aquarium

The Bywater’s came to town this weekend (hooray!) and we took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium while they were here. It was so much fun to watch Sophia, Oliver and Owen take it all in. We had a great time. Owen was a bit apprehensive at first, but really enjoyed himself. He did, however, absolutely REFUSE to touch any of the animals in the interactive pools. We wish we could do that more often!

Twins

Each morning after the boys hop out of the shower, Nate dresses Owen, then picks out his own outfit. Every so often these outfits are VERY similar. He swears it is never on purpose, which makes it all the more funny to me. So today I just had to post a picture of my twins.

Brilliant

I love to watch Owen learn. It is especially funny when he copies something we do. Yesterday I stood him up on the counter after his bath to brush his teeth, and he grabbed a Q-tip and put it in his ear. He is then, of course, quite pleased with himself. And, admittedly, so are we. Is it dorky that we think he’s BRILLIANT because he’s figured this out? Sure. But parenthood, I am found, makes quite a fool out of you in more ways than one! So here’s a nudy shot of our smarty pants, taken by his nerdy mom.

Puzersons

the word puzersons is a name we coined while on vacation at Disney World with the Puzeys. We use that term to refer to ourselves as a group. Our stroller that we rented from Disney, for example, said “Puzersons.” There is now a puzerson bucket at my house where I put all things I need to remember to take up to their house, and I bring home in it treasures from the Puzeys as well (things they have given me, not just things I randomly take because I like...) So this past week was the latest puzerson event: I took care of 4 puzeys + 1 anderson = 5 puzersons. Cheryl and Doug went away to Hawaii and while they were basking in the glory of Maui, I was basking in the glory of 5 kids! It was as challenging as it sounds (hats off to all mothers, everywhere), but also a lot of fun. Here are some of the photos I took during the week. Owen and Kate had a great time running around together all day. I was so happy they played together so well. Owen very cautiously tried out the trampoline for the first time. We made cookies (of course) and watched movies with popcorn almost every night! The kids are dressed in “space suits” (lest you confuse them with snow suits...as there is no snow in Atlanta). Kate and Owen entertained us by playing the piano with their heads. 5 kids is crazy, but fun.

Man Jammies

I just had to post a photo of Owen in his PJs. We call them the manjammies and they crack us up every time he wears them. All he needs now is a striped robe and some dad slippers.

The Race

Sometimes it seems as though we are in a race. We can hear that Owen is getting into something in the other room, but we just want to finish brushing our teeth, ironing one more shirt, getting dressed, etc. He seems to be driven too, like he wants to make just one more colossal mess before we come and find him. This is what we found the other morning when just such a race had ensued. Clearly, Owen won this one.

A Day in the Park

On our visit to Utah in December we went to play at Sugar House Park with Grandma Jill, Aunt Becky and Emma. It was a lot of fun. I especially like the concern on his face on the slide with Emma. We love our family.

Temple Square

I forgot I still had photos on my camera that I hadn’t downloaded to my computer. So sorry for the late entry, but here are some pics from our trip to SLC. We went to Temple Square to see all the lights. Owen was quite taken in (and quite cold) by it all. Nate and I hadn’t seen the lights in 2-3 years, so it was fun to see it again. Most of my pictures didn’t turn out very well, but I thought they were worth posting anyway.

Snow

This past vacation was Owen’s introduction to snow. The minute we got outside at the airport he wanted to get down and touch it. So we let him. The cold seemed to startle him a bit, and he kept saying “hot.” We also took him out in Grandma and Grandpa’s back yard and he walked around a bit, but falling in wet snow gets really cold when all you have on are jeans. Next we tried sledding, which he seemed to enjoy. Sadly we didn’t undertake this adventure until it was ALMOST too late (see the grassy patches in the snow).

BYU

While visiting family in Utah we made a sentimental stop in Provo. We went up on campus and bought Owen his 1st BYU shirt. BYU seems like such a different place now. Different, but still the same somehow. And we went and had lunch at Gandolfo’s.
Good memories of college days.

Cheesy Pictures

For as long as I can remember, Sarah and I have been posing for what we refer as “cheesy pictures” of ourselves. We have taken so many of these over the years. I’ll have to dig up a few more and scan them in. For now, here is the latest addition to our collection.