A New Post

Well, I'd almost given up on blogging.  I've had a post in the wings since October.  I dabbled with it a little in November, and then in December.  In January I finished it and tried to upload pictures.  Then after I uploaded pictures, Blogger refused to save it (rude, rude, RUDE blogger)!

In February I was still too offended to touch it and March just sort of ended before I realized it.  But its April now, I'm on spring break.  I've had the whole day without any sort of schedule (minus sending my kids off to school because their spring break didn't line up with mine).  I've cleaned out my fridge, done 4 loads of laundry and edited a few pictures.  No more excuses.  I'm going to blog!

But where exactly do I start? Should it be with the 4 birthday's I missed? The two seasons of soccer?  the holidays of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day or Easter? Should I write about my job? Jackson's brand new "he's in remission" news? Abby's first, and second lost tooth? How about her dance recital?  Or the boy's piano recitals? Or our trips to Washington and Utah for Carter and Dexter's baptisms? Seriously?  I don't know where to start, it's all so overwhelming.  It seems wrong not to post pictures.  I could start there...

Right around William's 3rd birthday, he fell asleep on the same fuzzy white blanket I had used to take his newborn pictures.  He just happened to be shirtless.  I seized the opportunity.

Before...

After.

He's my baby and he always will be.  There will be no others behind him.  It breaks my heart that he's getting bigger, and bigger.  But he's also getting better and better (and naughtier).  I do love this sweet boy.

How about Abby's dance recital?  She gets to dance with her cousin Brynn and bestie, Lily.  Both Uncle Cory and Uncle Brandon came out to see them and of course, Mimi and Papa too.

And just because I already had these collages done.  I'll throw in Christmas too.

William (who only replies to William, Will, or his favorite, Will the Thrill.  DO NOT call him Bill or Billy...you've been warned).

Our princessa.

Carson.

Preston (who now wants to go by Stone.  It's not my favorite).

There.  I posted.  It's a step in the right direction, yes?

First Day Of School 2012

That is so messed up right? Who in their right minds would start school on August 7th? Oh, that's right! We live in California and 80% of the folks here are left minded!

Having got that off my chest, my three biggish kiddos did start school last week, much to Carson's dismay. To the boys, this "first day of school" business is old news. Just give them a few bucks for lunch, pound a fist in the van and let them be thank you very much. I did make them wear new, CLEAN shirts (much to Carson's dismay) and insisted on taking the mandatory picture in front of the house. I got my camera out, flicked my finger to hit the "on" switch and realized it WAS on. On and dead. I cursed myself under my breath (no back up battery either...rookie mistake) and pulled out the ol' iPhone, thus the iffy pictures.


~Preston-5th Grade-Mrs. Serian~


~Carson-3rd Grade-Mrs. Labron-Frazier~

Enough about the boys, let's talk about ABBY! She's a kindergartner!


~Abigail-Kindergarten-Mrs. Simonian and Mrs. Taylor~

I love, love, love me a kinder! And I love knowing and loving the kinder teacher! Mrs. Simonian was Carson's teacher last year and she was ah-mah-zing! She has always taught kinder, with the exception of last year (count my many blessing's name them one by one). We were overjoyed when we read Abby's name on her class list. She job shares with Mrs. Taylor (they've been job sharing for 17 years) and they couldn't be cuter or more enthusiastic about their job. Love that!


~Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Simonian, so cute!~

~The Kissing Hand~

Abby was all too willing to shimmy into her new yellow skinny jeans (much more fashion sense than her brothers). She was a tad nervous, as expected, but was surprisingly stoic. Even when the little girl in the back of the room broke into hysteric sobs, Abby kept right on listening to Mrs. Taylor read "The Kissing Hand". She had a great first day and even napped a little that afternoon!

~Yogurtlicious after school!~

~My tired kinder with William doing his best to wake Abby up!~

Will and I bonded over Target slushies and Diet Coke. I was really looking forward to some one on one time with him. Instead, I'll be teaching preschool with Miss Heather at the Learning Tree Preschool! Yay! It's a great opportunity and I get to bring my little buddy with me. It was a last minute call from the bench and I'm happy to step in and take over for Miss Tami (who is moving to Utah, boo). Before then I think we need one more family vacation. We're taking off Thursday for camping in Cedar City. I can't wait! Neither can Carson. 7 days of school can really take it out of a guy!

My Cub Scouts

I've had a couple of people complain about my last post. Who doesn't love looking at a potty training post...for two months? I'm a terrible blogger lately. In my defense...wait...nope. Not even going to try to give an excuse. However, I'm going to skip right over Preston's birthday (it's VIBP ((Very Important Blog Post)) status so it requires it's own, separate post) and dive in with our last Cub Scout Pack Meeting.

First, I just have to point out how awesome Carson is. He had 2 speaking parts in this pack meeting. He's getting so brave about doing things he's really terrified of. He's my hero.

For some reason or another, the scout leaders had been forgetting to give Carson his Bobcat badge. He was pretty excited to give me the pin and finally get to put a badge on his shirt. Poor thing was disappointed month after month, but his patience has finally paid off.

This was Preston's last hurrah. He's 11. How did that happen? When I started this blog he was 6. 6! He's still that little boy, right? Please someone tell me he's not growing up. Anyone? Argh! Anyway, since no one will invent something to slow the continuation of time, I'll just get on with it. Preston earned his Webelos badge and along with it, his Arrow of Light. He's been a super good sport with all this scouting stuff. I say that because he's had to be super patient with his ignorant-in-all-things-scouting mother. It was a process of trial and error but we made it through. Carson and William have it easy! I'm so ligit now.

For the record, this is what little people do while sitting through a entirely-way-to-lengthy pack meeting for their older brothers.

Get In, Sit Down, Buckle Up, And Hold On

Prepare yourself. I'm about to unleash some serious visual stimulation. I decided the only way I was going to catch up with all the blogging was to just do one massive marathon post. You'll all be happy to know that I've pinpointed my biggest issue with my blogging ineptitude. I take to many pictures. I admit it. I am a snap-a-holic. I'm wondering if there is some sort of support group. The only reason there aren't more pictures of our Washington trip is because my battery died and I left my charger in California. Thus, I only had 650 pictures to sort through instead of 1000. So, in no particular order (save chronologically), here is December contained in 22 collages.

ABBY TURNS 5!!! How did I miss this one? She had a great day with our traditional breakfast in bed, presents and a low, LOW key family/friend party.

Princess on her birthday morning.

Opening presents at her party.

All her peeps.

A few days later, our 5 year old princess was the star (to us) in her dance recital. She was the cutest one there and the only thing missing from her big night was her daddy. He was in D.C. It's a shame too, because she seems to have his coordination instead of mine :-/!

Our pretty girl with Miss Lisa.

Warming up and with her bestie Lily.

"I'm the Happiest Christmas Tree"

Abby wasn't the only one strutting her stuff. The big boys had their piano recital the same week Abby did. Which, again, meant Daddy missed the action. But luckily for me and the kids, Mimi and Papa were there to step in for BOTH recitals! Thank you thank you for suffering... ahem... enjoying those nights along with me.

Both boys performing. Carson had only had 3 lessons before the recital. Miss Judy gave him the option of participating and I was shocked and thrilled that he wanted to. Big, massive, enormous step for him!

Candid shots of that night (Way to block Mimi, Papa...rude)!

Christmas Eve we had Mimi, Papa and Uncle Brandon over for soup and presents. Mimi and I vetoed the idea of NOT making her famous clam chowder (the boys are seriously mistaken in their disdain for all things seafood). I did make a mean cheese potato chowder to make up for it.

William on Christmas morning! On the eve of Christmas Eve (got that?), I counted all the presents to make sure all was fair and balanced. It was, Abby and the big boys each had 10 gifts. But William had 2. I'm still not sure how that happened, but I will always be a Target fan after rushing there to make up the difference and spending less than $40. However, the cheap price tag might have come with the fact that a 2 year old isn't picky, hence the $1.50 echo microphone!

Carson got his wish of being a firearm owner. I was super nervous about Santa's decision, but after the guns broke 4 days later, my nerves were eased. Also, he loves to close his eyes as he opens his presents. He wants the surprise to last that much longer. Love it.

Abby is all that you want a little girl to be. Barbies and jewelry and shoes and snow globes (both of which, William broke...grrrrr). She is so fun to watch!

Preston was also armed this year. He's getting harder to buy for. Less toys more...???? I don't know! 10 year olds are hard! But he's such a sweetie I could have given him a Ken doll and he's be fine with it.

CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON! These are in a kind of random order, but we did have so much fun with all the crazy Andersen's. There are a lot of us (31) but you'd never know from the state of Mom, Becky and Courtney's houses...wait...no. You'd definitely know. We stayed at the Noftle Inn and it never disappoints. There's always a continental breakfast and plenty of people to keep the kids occupied.

A highlight? Why the extended family get together at Matt and Court's. I just love my Uncle and Aunts. But my cousins are the bomb. Plus we got to spend a little time with Granny Great. I think she must love sitting back and watching all of us laugh and chat and get super competitive playing Family Feud (my team won). Not to brag, but she must be so proud!

Ensign Ranch was fabulous, except there was no snow. I take issue with this. I love in Southern California and when I drive 22 hours to Washington I expect it to be blanketed with a fresh layer of Christmas snow. Is it so much to ask? I mean really!

Group shots: Girl cousins (easy to photograph), natural siblings (holding our baby brother), all the cousins (19), sisters, and boy cousins (seriously not easy to photograph...where's the Ritalin?)!

More candids...Matt and I are hot.



Slushy snow on our last night. Abby loved it, William....not so much.

And what is a family get together without a dance party? The little girls shook their stuff, then a bunch of thugs showed up. It was weird. And because we're a competitive family, the mommy's had to show their daughters that we still had it. Bring on the pyramid!

More candids.

A buddy collage (Avery and Zoe), (Brax, Pres, Tys, and Wes), (Bro-in-laws + Jax), (Sam, Ky, Rerra, and Syd), (Carson, Dex and Coug), (Adalynn and Abby), (the sisters), (Aftyn and Will).

I'm now officially caught up on blogging...BOOM!

WEEEEEELLLCOME...TO MEDIEVAL TIMES!!!

Taking Carson to Medieval Times for his birthday = Best. Idea. Ever. Our besties, the Schuamann's, were already planning Luke's birthday there and we totally crashed the party. I was so excited to take Carson. He love swords and knights and meat on the bone, and, let's be honest, violence. There was one person that might have been just as, or even more excited than Carce. Trevor. It was all I could do to contain his random "Cable Guy" quotes. His inner nerd (that incidentally isn't buried very deep) came rushing to the surface. This scene is his particular favorite. It was pretty comical to watch...except when it was just embarrassing.



Mimi and Papa had never been so they joined in on the festivities. I'm so glad they came, and I know it meant a lot to Carson.

I have to say, it was so much fun! The horses are ah-mazing! And there was a falcon. A real live falcon that flew around our heads. I was traumatized as a child and birds are not my favorite thing. They rank just above snakes. But I did brave meeting said bird after the show. It wasn't too terrifying.



The best part? Our knight won! Ya buddy. The Black and White Knight rules! And he had the most marvelous winning smile.



After dinner we trucked on over to the Schaumann's for cake and ice cream. Heather is awesome. She made tunics and shields and bought swords and daggers. She even bribed the Costco people to create a cake they don't have in their catalog of designs. Awesome I tell you.

So, in conclusion, Trevor is a "Cable Guy" nerd. Carson likes meat on the bone and violence. I hate/am terrified by birds. Heather is awesome and the Black and White Knight rules all.