Iris really loves Eden

Thanks for being such a great aunt Eden! I love this picture!

There's nothing like having an older sister to dress you up...

How I Spent Last Monday Night...

On Monday night, I went to a "tumble gym" with my home evening group and another group in the ward. It was so much fun! We were playing on the mats, falling into the foam pits, jumping on trampolines, taking off from spring boards, etc.

The last major "activity" we did is best illustrated by the two bottom pictures... I actually have a Word document containing a nice little stick-figure diagram, but I don't know if it's possible to attach Word docs to the blog. So, you get the real pictures of real people!





Jonathan sliding over the pads into the pit.




Ammon flying through the middle. He made it right through without knocking anything over, even though the angle doesn't look like he'll make it...







David in a "superman" jump.






Ammon and I in the pit.












The moment of impact with Ethan.








Just after the moment of impact with David.





So, what's going on in the last two pictures is this: I would stand in front of the foam pit braced for a head-on collision. The "runner" (first Amelia, then Ethan, then David) would start from about 20 feet away (I think David started about 30 feet away...) and go full-speed toward me, causing me to fly back into the pit. It was so much fun! My back is still a little sore (three days later, now), but in my opinion, it was worth it!

And here are some quick clips from the evening...

Catch-up

I know Tanner's picture is a duplicate, but I just copied this post from the Callister blog to make it easier for me.

Amanda turned 9 Jan 31st.

Chris turned 3 yesterday.

Tanner did a Davy Crockett report last week.

Gracie got her first haircut yesterday.

This is why Gracie got her first haircut yesterday.

This is so you can actually see Gracie's face. (She's wrapped in Chris' coat following a blow-out at track & field.)

And just so Naomi isn't left out, here's a picture of her.

T. Crockett

Matt and Brian Say Hi

I sent some of you this picture last night. I hope it doesn't offend any of you. Matt and I were sending texts back and forth a little bit during the game. I asked him if a BYU fan could come and say at half time, regardless of who was winning. He sent back something like, "No. Only if Utah is winning. Just kidding. Portal..." whatever it was.

So, I went over to talk to him for a bit, he texted Brian to come up, and I decided I needed a picture of the occasion. I was looking for someone to ask if they could take it and kind of tapped this guy on the shoulder who was passing by. When he turned around, I started asking if he could take our picture. I didn't get very far when I said, "Wait, I kind of know you." He said, "Yeah, you're an Anderson, right?" Guilty as charged. He asked my name, I asked his, and at that time I re-met Brent Peterson. He took the picture (a few times) for us, then went on his way.

By the way, Brian said he wasn't smiling on purpose because he wasn't happy that Utah was losing.

It was a fun game. I'm glad we didn't allow Utah to repeat history and once again kill our 44 home game winning streak!

ps HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAYDON!!!

andy

just wanted to show everyone an updated picture of andy. i think he looks a lot like benny did when he was first born, but it's really hard to tell because of benny's dark hair.

i'm also very pleased to announce that for over a week now andy has only been waking up once at night to eat. he is awesome!!!

It's Been Too Long Since Anyone Posted Anything...

... and I was tired of seeing me each time I came to check for updates.

It's just past midnight. Earlier today I flew back from California.

It was a fun trip. I went to see my MTC companion and her family. After buying the ticket, she told me that she wanted to set me up with her husband's brother. A sneaky trick... I went with very low expectations. I had met him at her wedding two and a half years ago. I remembered him being a nice guy, and pretty quiet. I also remembered him giving me a hug when leaving the reception with her parents. When I mentioned this to Mom she said, "Maybe he was just getting in to the family spirit of things." Yeah, well, he didn't give her parents a hug.

Anyway, it was good that I had no expectations. He is a nice guy, but he's a little strange. And yes, I was giving allowance for his being inductive and possibly uncomfortable. Trust me, I've been there myself. We went to dinner my first night there (me, Bonnie, Ryan - her husband - Josh - his brother - and Russell and Lisa - Bonnie's brother and sister-in-law). On the way home (we were sitting on either side of Bonnie's baby in the back seat), his arm was around the car seat. I was kind of dozing off (went to bed really late the night before the flight, and work was pretty crazy) and felt him lightly touch my hair. Weird.

We went to Monterrey the next day (just the four of us - five including the baby). It was fun, but again, slightly awkward. I think his expectations were too high. Bonnie confirmed this when she told me that he was talking about "eternity" with me before I flew out. It kind of creeped her out. It creeped me out too.

Sunday after church, to end the "drama" Bonnie told him that I had just started dating someone back in Utah. He said he had gotten "that vibe" and asked if it was "that Harper guy" since he had heard us talking about him in Monterrey. Well, who cares if he thinks I'm dating my brother, I'm in the clear.

Before you think I'm heartless, he is not without prospects. In fact, what prompted Bonnie wanting to set us up was meeting a 20 year old girlfriend of his. Apparently she was pretty ridiculous, and when faced with her as a potential sister-in-law, felt like she should take matters into her own hands, and come up with someone she liked more. While I'm flattered that she would want me as a relative, I'm afraid it just won't work.

Now, as this is my first post to the blog, would all who read this inform me if they feel this kind of thing is an appropriate blog post, or better suited to a letter?

ps - the picture is of a seagull who perched really close to us in Monterrey a few times. Kind of fun!

Gettysburg . . .


Niagra Falls . . .


Just a random sign I liked last summer . . .

This is old, but as I'm at home in bed today, I thought I'd try to posting a picture for the first time.

For Rob's birthday I took him to Chuck E Cheese for his very first time. I totally beat him at ski ball. :)