Happy Holiday Season!!!

Things have been crazy around here. I can't believe this is the first post since school started!! Lylee moved back to her old preschool and LOVES every day. Taylor loves everything about being in Kindergarten and going to school with big kids. He's started reading and adding. It's so fun to watch him grow up! I usually help out in Taylor's class one day a week and I have really enjoyed sharing that time with him and his new friends. About 3 weeks ago I had surgery on my left shoulder that has been nagging at me for years. Recovery has proved to be very challenging with 2 little ones, but Chris is Mr. Awesome and the kids are trying to understand. Taylor is scared of my owies and Lylee likes to give them kisses. It's pretty funny.

Yesterday we got out for a change. We went to Macy's and put the kids letters to Santa in their special mailbox. We let each of the kids pick out their ornament for this year. Taylor got a silly football dressed up like Santa and Lylee got a hot pink purse with lots of silver "bling". Last we headed towards Santa. As we were walking down the mall, we passed Santa walking away from his seat so Taylor decided to stalk the poor old guy to the potty. Chris went after Taylor and Lylee and I went towards the line. We were happily suprised to find out that pictures with Santa were half off. Taylor was very excited and climbed up on Santa's lap and had a nice little conversation. Lylee was terrified and clung tight to Daddy. It was a fun trip.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday season like we are! We're still looking forward to seeing the nativities, going to the live nativity at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, a trip to Apple Hill and the zoo on Christmas Eve!

Lylee's First Day of Preschool

Lylee was completely excited and also very leary of going to a new preschool, so she clung on to Daddy.

Taylor needed to pose by the tree, to show everyone his "new pose". He's such a silly boy.

I was able to get an ok picture of Ly outside her new school. As soon as I snapped it, she bolted to Daddy.

We went inside and were first to arrive and Lylee was giving me very sad looks. I told that Id stay until another kid came. Once that first kid got there, all was wonderful in preschool land!

Daddy wants to know why the kids don't finish their food all the time. Now if you had a peanut butter and a chocolate chip cookie on your plate, what are you gonna choose???

This is Ally Alligator. Alligator is Lylee's favorite word today!

Lylee and I picked a team together in the annual Anderson Family Hockey Pool. We won the honor of having my name engraved on this little Stanley cup and we get to keep the cup at least until next year (unless we win again!!!)!

On Fridays, the kids are encouraged to wear red to show their school pride for their Kaseberg Hawks. Taylor was so excited to get dressed in his Kaseberg shirt this morning. He even went through his closet to show me every red shirt that he has, for future Fridays.

Each week there is a prize for the class who wears the most red. Taylor really wants to win!

Taylor's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Taylor's first day of kindergarten. Things started off awesome. I got donuts and chocolate milk for everyone. Taylor finally got to wear his new rock 'n roll monkey shirt and his "running shoes". We had heart shaped peanut butter sandwiches and juice in T's new camo backpack for snack. We had all of our supplies. We were ready to go.

First we took Lylee to preschool and put gas in the van. Taylor got to go thru the carwash at ARCO for the first time and he thought it was awesome. He couldn't stop telling me how excited he was and how he couldn't believe the first day of Kindergarten was finally here.

He did great when I dropped him off at 8:30. He gave me a kiss and went straight into his new class ready for adventure.

By 11:50 the world had changed. Taylor didn't make any new friends. He was mad that I picked him up instead of Dad. He was REALLY mad that I thought it would be fun to walk home. I was starting to feel like I was trapped in Alexander's "terrible, horrible, no good very bad day".

I made Taylor take a picture with his Clifford listening ears. He was not happy.

I made him take a picture in front of the school sign. I wasn't going to let Taylor's terrible mood ruin the memories of the day, good or bad. He almost looks happy. That's because the sun is shining in his eyes.

I also made him take one last picture in front of his new school. Aren't I a mean mom? Taylor said I was. He moaned and groaned the whole way home. I was trying hard to find positive parts of his day. I kept reminding him how badly he had wanted to walk to Kindergarten.

Finally we rounded the corner of our street and all I could think was that there was one cold Coke in the fridge and it would be my reward for being so nice to such a grumpy and ornery little man. There was hope.

As we got closer, I noticed that Chris was not back from getting Lylee from preschool. My heart sank. No Coke for Mommy, more grumpy Taylor. Chris had, of course locked the door. After several splinters I found that all 3 doors were locked. After a fight with the gate, I got it closed and planted myself on the rocker on the porch (thanks mom and dad!). Taylor sat on top of the cozy coupe and let me know just how many things he was missing out on by being locked out of the house.

After about 15 minutes on the porch, Chris came home and let us in. I have rarely been so grateful for an adventure to end.

Now Lylee is cranky and not taking a nap...

Still Kickin'

Hi all. It's been a long time and a very long summer. I'm still trying to recover from my surgery, but there have been many bumps along the way that we are still attempting to resolve. So the kids haven't had a super fun mommy this summer. Hopefully things will get better soon. My garden, is having a terrible summer. I'm just praying that my fruit trees and berry bushes survive.

We have been blessed to have Aunt Cassie come and stay with us since May and she has become one of the family. I think my dad even told her that he considers her to be half Mexican, like the rest of us of course. This is a high honor.

We've also gotten to do some fun things since Monterey. Raging waters has passes this year when you go once, it pays for your whole summer pass, so we've been trying to go with Jac and Hyrum once a week. We also got to take Heather, Emma, Sara and Grandma Vicki. Next it's Grandpa Bob's turn. It's been lots of fun and nice, since grandma and grandpa moved and had to leave their pool at their old house (Taylor still doesn't understand why they couldn't take the yard when they left).

Lylee is in ballet class once a week and absolutely LOVES it! She walks around on her tippy toes and does ballerina turns all week long.

Taylor started out in gymnastics, which he really liked, but we decided to move him to Taekwondo which is twice a week and uses a lot more energy each session. So far he really loves the kicking and the punching.

I've been making jam and jelly on our hottest of days, smart I know. And Chris has just gone back to the extra board at work after a few months on a regular afternoon job.

So, that's pretty much the Anderson family summer update. I'll post pictures when we get our new computer, hopefully next week.

We Have Heroes at Our House

We have Cinderella, the beautiful princess who is friends with all animals, and we have a superb doctor who is on call 24/7 to take care of any ailments that may arise.

We have a little girl who seems to disappear into thin air.

And everyone knows spiderman, of course. Please don't share his true identity, he's not interested in publicity and wishes to remain anonymous.

We also have other heroes that appear now and then; a cowboy, a ghost, a fairy or two (very handy for granting wishes). Do you have heroes at your house too?

End of an Era

I grew up listening to Michael Jackson and watching his videos on MTV. I was saddened to hear that he left this world on Thursday, June 25. Thinking about the world of dance, music and my own little world, I finally understand what a huge part his music played in that world. We're still seeing his influence in dance and music and I believe we always will. The full length version of the Thriller video was one of the best videos ever.

I finally understand how people felt when Elvis and John Lennon died. I hope and pray that his children are protected and well taken care of and that Michael has found peace in the afterlife.

We've Got Berries!

This week we came across a few berry deals, and since I've wanted raspberries longer than I've wanted the garden, well we now have berry bushes up in the garden. We've got Raspberries, Bluberries and Blackberries. The Blackberries look like they will even give up fruit this year! I don't know when or how, genetics I guess, but I love the garden.

I was able to get some starts from some of the plants growing in my mom and dad's yard before they moved too, so far the ones in the ground are taking to my backyard very well. Now we have to see how the plants in the water and mason jars will do. It's so exciting to finally have a backyard that we use on a daily basis.

I also planted some melons and herbs this year. I know, either crazy or ambitious. Actually it's probably a bit of both. The mint looks great and so do the cantaloupe. Doc ate the leaves on my honeydew, the little stinker, but the roots and stems are still there, so we'll wait and see!

Our Mini Va-Ca, Totally Out of Order!

The whole fam at the Lone Cypress on The 17 Mile Drive between Monterey and Carmel

The Lone Cypress

(Isn't is amazing?)

Taylor, Lylee and Cassie. It's been such a blessing to have her her with us this summer, for all of us!

Me and the kids along the shore. By the end of the day, they both loved the beach and the ocean.
I think it's self explanatory, but it's also a really fun park.

There are no words. I wish we could go every day.

The Dennis the Menace Playground.

Kid size rock wall.

Swervy slides.

Holy fast! This is a super fun roller slide. I fell flat on my booty laughing! Twice!

Lylee getting her feet wet. She was terrified at first, but once she actually got her feet in the water she fell in love with the beach and the ocean and wants to know when we're going back. I think we're going to have to take a day trip to Muir Beach one day soon.

Monterey

Taylor at the freshwater otter exhibit at the aquarium.

Seahorses

Twiggy Seahorse, they actually look like plants. They are very, very cool.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish

Fun in the splash zone

Look where Daddy found us!

The Nemo tank

Monterey

T and Ly at the Nemo tank finding Nemo and his friends

Taylor watching the sea otters

The birthday twins

Wonder what he's looking for? It's Ghiradelli's where we had amazing ice cream treats! The only food that we actually bought during the trip, everything else we needed was in the cooler!

Goin' to the Optometrist

Yesterday, Cassie and I took the kids to the eye doctor for their first visit and they both did AWESOME!!! Thier sight is right on track, so that's the really good news. They wanted their pictures in their glasses and they totally posed on their own (Taylor posed, Lylee copied). I've never known anyone that thought that the glasses that you get after your get dialated, but my kids thought they were hot stuff!

Our Little Farm Girl

Lylee and her "little pony", Pinkie.

Lylee and Taylor both got John Deere boots (T's are brown and green) when one of the local kid's stores went out of business. I found the John Deere fabric at JoAnn's Memorial Day sale. Easiest dress I ever made and so cute! She loves it!

Triplets

Cassandra, Taylor and Lylee in their matching outfits. I know, cheezy. I think it's still cute though!

Look What I Found

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I find this sweet sight on the floor at the end of my bed.

Taylor is laying on his favorite stuffed friend, Turkilis the Turtle. We got him a few years ago from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Turkilis and Taylor have been great friends ever since. He even gets to go on outings with us. This week he went with us to get allergy shots!

Another New Project

My sweet mother-in-law sent out a bit of her extra fabric for me to play with. JoAnn's had Simplicity patterns on sale 5 for $5 on Monday, so Cassie and I had fun picking out 10 new patterns! This dress is extra special because Aunt Cassie has a skirt out of the flower fabric and Taylor has a tie out of the green stripe fabric. Lylee loves the dress, but she also saw the Jacket on the pattern and wants that too. I told her I'd make one in the fall, after the days of 108* are over!

I think this is one of the most fun parts of having a little girl, I get to sew all kinds of things for her. I did find a pajama pattern for both kids and I'm going to attempt a tie and some boxers for Taylor too.

Maybe on Sunday I can get a pic of Taylor in his tie, Cassie in her skirt and Lylee in her dress. So fun!!!