Anderson [egg hunt]

Last Saturday we had our 4th annual Anderson Egg Hunt! We meet at Rose Park have some lunch and have an egg hunt for the kids. I know that every family has it problems, but I am glad that we we can see beyond our differences and are still able to get together and have a fun time together.

As usual Grandma out did herself and had big bags of goodies for each of the kiddos. They all got a new swim suit, towel, a toy, and Easter candy. Man they are spoiled!!

{Eastern Caribbean}

03.02.2013-03.09.2013

Chris got a trip through work to the Eastern Caribbean. About a week before the trip he found out that he couldn't go so I invited Chelsea to share a bed with me for the week.

We were spoiled with a nice BIG suite! Two TVs, double sink, dressing room, whirl pool tub, big balcony, sitting area. It was super nice! Way better than the 'port hole' Chris and I had on our honeymoon!

Half Moon Cay was kind of disappointing because of the weather. I was freezing before we even made it to the island! We did hang out for a while have lunch and do some reading on the beach. The water was really nice, actually, but I wasn't getting in!

The next day was our first day at sea. I ate, watched movies and laid on the Serenity deck while Chelsea snoozed all day because of sea sickness. 

It was also our first formal night. It was fun to get dressed up!

St. Thomas was where we almost died! The weather wasn't great there either. But we still managed to enjoy ourselves a little at Magens Bay for a bit before a big down pour came. But after our little scare we just wanted to get back on the ship!

The weather was great in Puerto Rico, of course it was only because I didn't put my swimsuit on! We did some shopping and exploring and had some lunch at good ol' Pizza Hut. 

Grand Turk was our favorite! The weather was fabulous and the beach was awesome. The water was beautiful and around the island from where we were was this spot with huge conch shells. It was so neat!

And after snoozing and reading books on the fabulous beach of Grand Turk we had to get ready for our second formal dinner. 

I was hesitant being gone again from my kids for 8 days, but it was nice to relax and have some "me time"!

eating. sleeping. massage. comedy club. Karl with a "K". muster station. BINGO. no chocolate covered strawberries. burritos. pizza. frozen hot chocolate. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. The Vow. Vince.
"don't act like you don't want to". lovers. seasick. chonches. warm melting cake. burgers. card games. more sleeping. reading. homesick. $2/min phone calls. sauna. ballerina boy. drunks. Sarah from Canada. towel animals. sunsets. deck 7. sleeping. pirates. Lido deck. sleeping in. no zip-lining. sick. sad good-byes.

February

Still behind... It seems like February just started and now we are halfway through March. 

This year is flying by!

1. My Nick. This was a Sunday afternoon driving to my mom's for dinner. LOVES baseball and LOVES his Angels! 2. I picked up the kids from school and Chloe came strolling out with her sunglasses all cute! 3. Aubrey went through a "Twice Upon a Mickey Christmas" phase, watching it over and over. Every time  Mickey got mad at Pluto she was so sad. It was the cutest thing! The very first time it happened Cooper came running to get me, Aubrey was in tears like she was hurt and Cooper said, "she is crying, cause Pluto ran away." 4. Poor girl not feeling well. And poor Mommy because she was difficult ALL month. 5. Aubrey came down with a nasty bug and was down for days. 6. Went to pick up Chloe's corsage. Aubrey got her own flower. 7. Chloe's flower. 8. Went to a "13 going on 30" birthday party for a friend. We played Truth or Dare and I almost died taking the cinnamon challenge. Not really! But I felt like it! Fin night! 9. Jordan got my phone during Sunday night dinner and got on my FB and announced I was pregnant. I got SO many nice comments I was sad when I had to tell everyone I wasn't. 10. Chris got me roses! 11. Cub scouts had their Blue and Gold dinner. I am sad I forgot to take pictures of all the boys and the cute western night that they had. I was given the We are "nuts" about you award as Primary President. 12. We watched Lucy for a week and the girls had a fun time playing together. They were trouble together but they had fun! 13. We went to BK and bowling to celebrate Cooper's birthday early. 14. After picking the kids up from school Cooper took his shirt off as soon as we got in the car. Such a hot day! It was only in the 70's, not sure what they are going to do when it gets in 100's. 15. Going crazy getting Chloe's costumes stoned for her first competition. 16. The night before Cooper's birthday we went to Red Robin with Grandpa Victor since I would be leaving early the next day. 

Chloe and Chris went to the Daddy Daughter dance at school. She was so excited about it. Jenny came over after school and curled her hair for her first date. They went to the dance, Chris embarrassed her with his sweet dance moves and then they were off to dinner. 

 

 Cooper was chosen to be V.I.P. at school and had to bring in some pictures to share with his class.

 Part of being V.I.P. means that you get to take Mickey home with you for the week and keep a journal of the stuff that you do together.

Cooper and Mickey did some self photos!

You also get to sit at the special V.I.P. desk and have glitter glue. That is a BIG deal!

Mickey came to the park with us for a picnic one day.

 Since I would be leaving on Cooper's actual birthday we celebrated a week early with Burger King and bowling with some of our family and friends.

 CHEESE!!! All the kiddos while we were bowling, minus Lucy who refused to let me take her picture.

We celebrated again the next day with Sunday dinner at my mom's house so that her, Jenny, and Katie could come. Grandma made Cooper his favorite, meatballs and rice and Aunt Amber made Cooper his cake. Cooper requested a monkey cake like when he turned 2 and Amber made the monkey a ninja because Cooper has been into Ninja Turtles, which is mostly what he got for his birthday.

{Valentine's Day} 2013

I LOVE making subway art!

I do love Valentine's Day! Yes we should tell the people in our lives everyday that we love them, but a special day to do that is always fun.

The kids had pink smoothies and donuts for breakfast. It is always fun to see them so happy.

Aubrey and I went to Alex and Cooper's class parties. Aubrey was spoiled rotten with all the treats and attention she got in the boys' classes. When we were in Cooper's class she asked me to leave because she wanted to stay in kindergarten.

 My mom and dad offered to watch all the grand kids so we could all have a Valentine's date. So the kids had pizza and Valentine's cookies and Chris and I went to Serendipity for dinner with Jeremy and Mical.

{2 and a half}

The 23rd of December Aubrey turned 2 and a half, and "terrible twos"  officially set in! 

She is definitely TROUBLE with a capital T. But she  is also so sweet and funny that it makes the temper tantrums a little easier to handle. She is finally potty trained! We started way back in the beginning of October. It took forever to get the pooping thing down. But we have been accident free ever since I got home from China. That is definitely something to celebrate!!! Aubrey is LOVING all of the princesses! She says that Ariel is her favorite, but she likes all of them. She even loves watching the older ones, like Snow White and Cinderella. She loves dressing up in her princess dresses and playing with her princess castle from Christmas. I have a couple of princess soundtracks on my phone and she listens to them all the time and knows almost all the words to some of them. She is really into dancing right now! She is always telling (not asking) someone to dance with her. I love it when Nick dances with her, it is pretty sweet. She can't wait to start dance class, she is constantly asking. Soon. She is still a picky eater. I don't think she is going to outgrow this anytime soon. She is talking more and more everyday and she is growing like a little weed. I need her to slow down a little bit and be my baby!! And we still love her to pieces!!

January

 Now that February is already half way over, let's see if we can't get January documented!

At the beginning of the month while the kids were still on winter break the Anderson kids spent some time with us. Trying to keep 9 kids happy and entertained is quite the chore. We spent a couple of days at the park letting them get out some of their energy!

And then I was off to China! That was the longest I have ever been away from home. It was a great trip, but after I got home I was completely overwhelmed and it took a while for me to recover. I do know now that jet lag is a very real thing!

Some randomness from January:

1. When did my kids get so BIG??!!

2. Aubrey is lucky she is cute because most days I want to give her away!

3. Aubrey has been loving the days when Lucy gets to come play.

4. Chris has been working on his truck quite a bit. Whenever he has a spare minute anyways. 

5. Dad mastered girls hair while I was away. Now he does the girls hair on the Sundays when I have ward council.

6. The kids had hat day at school.

7. Ever since I got back from China Aubrey has been sleeping with Chloe. Most nights when I go into check on them they are sleeping on top of each other.

Grandma took the girls and I to see Disney On Ice. It was a princess one and the girls LOVED it! All the princesses were there, but the show featured Cinderella, Tangled, and Princess and the Frog. And since then we have watched all of those movies countless times!

Everett had a cute super hero party. It is always fun when every one dresses up and gets into it.

The following week Jordyn had a super cute princess party. Cinderella seemed to be the most popular princess!

To end the month I hosted the "8 is Great" fireside for all the kids in Primary who are turning 8 this year and will be baptized. I wish we took pictures because everything turned out super cute! Amber made big 8-shaped sugar cookies that each of the kids got to take home. We had such a great turn out too. Of the 10 kids in the class, we had 9 of them with their parents. It was a great night!

The BIG 3-0

 I celebrated my birthday in China and the celebrations only continued when I got home. Chris hung streamers EVERYWHERE, a "Happy Birthday" sign and got me my favorite,  a Nothing Bundt Cake. My kids were so happy I was home, boy did I feel loved!!

Alex and Cooper even gave me some of their animals for me to sleep with when I got home.

 And as January went on I had birthday lunches with friends and family, we went to dinner several times to celebrate with different people, and treats and cakes just kept coming!! Thirty seems to be the birthday that just keeps on giving!! I am so thankful for good friends and family who made me feel special!

Sad I didn't take pictures of any of our outings!