It's a baby!

Well family. . . . Dave and I were able to go and get the ultrasound done on our baby yesterday. It was so amazing! There really is a baby in there! Sometimes it's hard for me to believe it even though I can feel it and have heard the heart beat (and of course I'm growing :). He said everything is looking good and the baby is measuring right on the due date of January 16th! Here are a couple pics that I thought were so cute!

If you haven't heard and can't tell by the pictures. . . .it's a girl! She was pretty active and not shy at all! We can already tell she's got a bit of Andersen in her with these great poses. It was fun to see her moving and sucking. We've already become proud parents and sharing our fun pics!

Anatomically Correct

Aliece drew this picture yesterday of a Mommy. As you can probably see, she was fairly anatomically detailed in her depiction - as she puts it, she even included the parts of the body that make the baby grow big.

Bench Warmer

Wednesday night Jake and Shantell came over to our house to watch our kids for us at 9pm so that Amber and I could go to an interview with the 2nd Counselor in our stake presidency. Amber and I didn't want to get our hopes up, but we figured something was up!

We attended the interview and there we were told that I was being released from the bishopric, and (even better news) the new bishopric had already been called.

The counselor told us to keep it quiet, but that the release would take place this Sunday.

The secret was successfull as no one suspected anything. We had to reschedule the sacrament meeting talks and after-church interviews/visits. The Stake Presidency showed up on the stand just before the meeting and after the sacrament, they took over and released us and sustained the new bishopric.

On Wednesday night I was very excited for the release, but as the week has gone on, I have fallen a bit nostalgic and reminiscent. I nearly cried all the way through this morning's interviews and the first part of the sacrament meeting. There have been a lot of great experiences, and I have loved getting to know the ward members so well. I will miss the calling, but I do say, it will be a great change to be able to sit with Amber and the familiy and be a "bench warmer" during church again.

Oh, the smell

Tonight I was putting some things away in the kitchen and every so often I would catch a reminiscent smell. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it kept bringing back good feelings and vague memories.

It wasn't until after a few minutes of working in the kitchen that I realized what it reminded me of...Grandpa Willard. Now, I enjoyed the memories a little longer until the detective in me decided that I needed to figure out what the smell was.

I paid attention to my wanderings as I continued cleaning the kitchen. Then, when I was putting some stuff in the pantry, the smell hit me. I looked around...There was a bunch of fruit that Amber had put in the Pantry to ripen.

It all made sense...Grandpa's treasured boxes of fruit and produce salvaged from local grocery store garbage bins.

Back to School

Well this week has been the "Back to School" week for the Andersens. On Monday, Aylee started the third grade. Yesterday, Wednesday, Johnathan started first grade. It is Johnathan's first time as a full-day student, which he really seemed to enjoy.

The kids are getting back into the school routine with early mornings and homework. I just hope that I can get back into the routine -- after Friday, Jake and I will have started school once again by attending a 4 hour "orientation" in Murray.

Here comes the bus, Here comes the bus, Here comes the bus!!!

A Poopy Problem

Over the past few months, Alayna has been big into taking off her clothes and diaper at night while she is supposed to be sleeping. We have then been finding her stark naken on her wet or worse, poop smothered bedroom.

To alleviate this problem I went to the hardware store and bought a nice big role of duct tape that is stored with the diaper supplies and dedicated to the use of securing her diaper from being removed while unattended.

This has worked up until today. As Amber went to get Alayna up in preparations for church today, she found the brown stinky mess all over the bedsheets. Smears of brown covered the face and mouth of the little culprit. (Thank goodness for Sunday Morning bishopric meetings!)

So, how did she remove her diaper this time?? The answer is, she didn't. Instead of removing the clothless wonder, she kept it on her body, but had been sticking her hands in the back of the diaper to pull up the messy treasures.

Any advice (handcuffs, straight jackets, etc) on the matter would be appreciated!!

Camping up Midway

Well, I was going to post some pictures with this, but blogger is experiencing some problems tonight with pictures.

On Friday afternoon, Amber and I loaded up the truck with gear and children and we headed up to Midway, Utah (about 30 miles from Provo - up the Provo Canyon) for a fun filled camping trip. We camped at the Wasatch Mountain State Park at a cool little campsite. That night they had a special thing with park rangers about Owls. We got to learn about great horned owls. Johnathan and Aylee played some costumed parts as a kestrel and fox respectively in a play designed to teach about the feathered night goer. As the sun went down, we enjoyed a small campfire with some smores that the kids cooked up.

We slept fairly well, all things excepted. We woke up around 8am and had a great breakfast of coffee cake that Amber had made the previous day.

We cleaned up camp and went to a nearby park for playing and a little baseball. After that we spent the rest of the day doing some local geocaches and seeing some cool parts of Midway and Heber.

We also stopped at the spots where Amber believes her great-grandparents lived there in Midway. They were still pretty cool places...we took some pictures of them and hope to share them sometime.

We got home around 4:30pm just in time for the Saturday evening process of getting kids fed, bathed and ready for the hustle and bustle of Sunday morning!

Happy Independence Day

I have a friend from Bangalore, India that reads our family blog every once in a while. He just Instant Messaged me to tell me that not only is today a special day for Amber and I as we celebrate our anniversary, but it is also Independence Day for India. It was August 15, 1947 that India obtained political independence from Britain, France and Portugal.

So, along with my celebrations for this day, I tip my hat to my Indian friends on this their 59th Independence Day Celebration. Happy Independence Day!

Amber has made it nine years!

I just wanted to wish Amber a happy anniversary with me! Yes folks, today marks nine years since we tied the knot in the beautiful Idaho Falls Temple.

Amber and I celebrated our Anniversary yesterday in fact, because of some meetings Amber has tonight. We went out to dinner and then went for a movie. It was nice to spend the time together.

It has been a fun nine years, I'll say that. I can't believe how much has changed, and yet how much hasn't. The experiences we have shared over these few years have been magnificent. The other day, I was looking at some pictures of Aylee's birth - how Amber and I just looked like two kids. That is wierd. We don't feel old, but we don't remember being so young when we got married - it was kind of funny.

So, if we are considered "old" now, I look forward to growing "really old" with Amber in the many years to come!

Family Bike Ride

On Saturday afternoon, after Johnathan got his new bike, I worked on getting some training wheels on Johnathan's old bike so that Aliece could start her biking experiences with the rest of the family. I installed the training wheels and Aliece hopped on the bike and took off like a natural.

For dinner, Amber wanted to have a picnic and she wanted us to all ride our bikes to a part on the Provo Parkway trail along the Provo river for a picnic dinner. She put together a smashing spread of sandwiches, drinks, vegetables, and fruit. She loaded the kids up with their own backpacks and off we went.

I was really worried about Aliece making the 1+ mile trip, but she hung in there with the coaxing of her Mom. She did have a couple of scary experiences. On our way there, one of her training wheels went off the trail and that caused her bike to veer off the trail. Down she went off the steep slope of the shoulderless shore, through trees, weeds, rocks and nearly into the river. I had hopped off my bike and ran after her. Luckily she stopped before entering the now shallow river. She had some scrapes and bruises, but she was ready to hop back on and continue the journey. We are grateful she didn't get stabbed by one of the many large branches that she barely missed in her speedy careening down the hillside.


We stopped on the trail for our picnic dinner and then headed back home for the Saturday night bath routine.

On the way home, Amber was with Aliece. Aliece had the same experience as before, but this time crashed headlong into a chain link fence. That phased the girl a bit and she walked her bike for about five minutes before hopping back on to ride the rest of the way home. We all arrived home just as a small rainstorm crossed our paths. The kids thought it was cool to finish our ride in the rain.

Johnathan's New Bike

For the past few weeks, Amber and I have noticed that Johnathan has been having a hard time keeping up with Aylee on bike rides. I took a look at his Bike on Saturday and determined that despite the adjustments we have made to the old bike, it is just getting too small for that guy. So, I grabbed Johnathan, had him give me all of his money, and we went to the store and found him a new bike.

He was pretty darn excited to have a new bike, and now he keeps up with Aylee just fine!

Daddy - Daughter Campout

After Alayna's birthday party festivities, I took Aylee and Aliece to a Daddy-Daughter campout for our ward last friday night. Our camp took place at one of the favorite sites our ward likes to go to, Blackhawk Campground off the Nebo Loop and past Payson Lakes.

When we got there it started to rain, so I made a makeshift shelter with all of my non-boy-scouting skills. It only rained for about 15 minutes, however, and then let up. It was beautiful the rest of the stay.

We had a fireside that night, and when the Bishop asked who would like to offer a prayer, Aliece raised her hand and said loudly, "I will!". So, at that, Bishop said, "And Aliece Andersen will offer our prayer". After the song, Aliece offered a nice little prayer. The bishop replied that it was probably the nicest prayer he has heard at a fireside.

For part of the fireside, the Bishop asked for two primary girls, two young women, and two men to talk about women that have made a difference in their lives. Aylee raised her hand and spoke about Amber and how she has always reminded and encouraged Aylee to read her scriptures and that has helped her in her life. Just before bed, the three of us sat in a circle in our tent and talked about their Mom and their grandmas. We had a great time.

The next morning, the Dad's made breakfast that was furnished by the ward. Eggs, pancakes, ham, etc. The girls had a great time playing with their friends and hanging out.


We had to take off early to get home in time for Amber to run to a stake meeting. However, on our way home, we stopped off at a nearby geocache and grabbed it. It was a fun walk in the woods. Aylee spotted it first and they both had fun trading some items in the cache.

Alayna's Birthday

Alayna's birthday was a success last weekend. She had a great time going around with her brothers and sisters prompting her in saying "How old is Alayna??? Two!!". Alayna got it down and would say it to us all.


The kids had a great time helping her open presents and play with them of course. She enjoyed the delicious Ice Cream pie that Amber made for her. After her party at Noon, Alayna went down for a nap and her brother and sister watched the movie she got for her birthday -- you gotto love being two!

Aylee's Baptism

I am trying to get caught up on my blogs, and as of yet, I have not blogged about Aylee's baptism on August 5. Aylee had a lot of people there to support her in this important decision. She has worked really hard to prepare for her baptism and this day was one that she will remember.

Afterward we had a picnic at our house. It was fun to have everyone together and to visit.


On the next Sunday, Mom and Dad came to our house and watched the kids so that Amber could go to her brother, Jake's, Patriarchal blessing in Logan. So, Mom and Dad took the kids to church for us so I could still go to my meetings. The kids really enjoyed spending part of Sunday with Mom and Dad.

Ensign Article - Must Read

I don't know how many of you have read this month's Ensign or not, but there is an excellent article on Financial Freedom on any Budget. You can see the article: Financial Freedom on Any Budget.

Amber just called me a few minutes ago after reading the article and looking it over. She asked me where our cousin Jan lives now-a-days. I told her that I thought he was teaching college down in California somewhere. She said, "Well, then that is it, I knew it was him". I asked her what she was talking about. She said that the article in the Ensign was written by a Jan D. Andersen who was a professor at California State University, Sacramento.

I did a little research and sure enough, found his webpage at the college: Jan D. Andersen's Faculty Page

I have read part of the article and thought it was pretty interesting, but I never look at the Authors. I guess this is proof positive that Amber not only reads the Ensign, but she Feasts upon it's every printed word!

Happy Birthday Alayna

We want to just wish Alayna a very happy birthday today - two years old!! We're still trying to get her to say "two", it should be a fun day.

We're just going to have a small party at lunch time with some presents and cake. She still is at that stage where she doesn't really understand that it is all for her. (So we can keep it cheap!) :-)

The Suffering Surfer

Tonight, Amber and I took Aylee and Johnathan to an Orem Owlz baseball game. Jen and Dave were kind enough to watch Aliece and Alayna.

Well, the kids had a great time at the game. I got a fun video clip of them, but it was pretty big (33 MB). If you dare to download it, you can at:
Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Anyway, near the end of the game, the kids were reading the program featuring the Orem Owls. Aylee was scouring the bio's of the famed baseball players. She came upon one biography and as she read it out loud, it caught our attention as it didn't sound quite right.

Aylee read, "...and he enjoys Suffering."

Amber and I turned to her and Amber re-read the sentence to Aylee, "not Suffering, but Surfing."

Johnathan, in his quick sense of humor, added, "He is 'surfing' for his sins!"

Amber and I got a great chuckle out of his cool wit.

Anyway, the Orem Owlz won the game just after 9:30pm with a score of four to zero.

Andersen Ranch & Farm : HOME

Andersen Ranch & Farm : HOME

A Dreamy Water Fight

On Tuesday night, Verne, Ann, and Jake were staying the night at our house before flying out to Chicago the next day to visit Reed and Michelle.

Jake chose to sleep downstairs in the family room on the couch. Well, of course Jake is up all hours of the night anyway, but he had a visit from Johnathan around 1:30 AM.

Jake said that Johnathan came walking into the kitchen and started opening the back door to go outside. Jake stopped the midnight prowler and asked him where he was going. Johnathan looked at Jake and said softly, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was getting the 'Super Soaker'. I didn't ask though."

With that, Johnathan turned around and trotted back off to bed.

That is the same type of thing Johnathan has done when we wake up to noises in the kitchen and catch him getting food. However, we had no idea that he has ever tried to get out of the house. Luckily Jake was there to catch him. I don't know if he has ever left the house in his sleep or not.

I can't believe what a sound sleeper that kid is. After that experience, we are going to not only deadbolt our doors but lock them with the higher chain lock also.

A new car for the Andersens!

Hello family,

Great news!!! We found (and purchased) a new car! As you can see from the pics attached, this is a Buick LeSabre. It is a '92 with 140k miles. The lady that owned it before us took great care of this vehicle. From the outside, it looks almost brand new. The car runs beautifully and the engine was overhauled about a year ago.

When we were looking at the car, we had trouble getting the arm rest to open. The lady tried but she couldn't open it either. She said that the lever that opens it was broken when she purchased the car over 10 years ago.

When Shantell and I drove the car home, I stuck a seatbelt into the latch and was able to pry it open. We found 2 pairs of sunglasses: a his and hers. So, not only is the car new in these pics, but so are the glasses that we are wearing. We love them!

I found a poem on the Internet that I think wraps up our experience for the past couple of weeks. Enjoy...

On the side of a busy road
this car has died again
I thought Corollas were good
but I think we have a lemon.

So we searched the classifieds
every day without waver
Now Shan's a happy girl
Cause we brought home a Buick LeSabre.

Political Correctness

I guess even the children are being taught how to be politically correct - even in preschool.

Today, Aliece's cousin, Ciri (sp) came over to visit. We were eating lunch at the time. Aliece asked Ciri. "Do you know Dave?"

Ciri responded with a "no."

Aliece answered, "He is Jen's Partner"

Man, Hillary Rodham-Clinton sure would be proud of Aliece!

Andersen Ranch & Farm : HOME

Happy Birthday A's! I can't believe your 8 years old today! You're catchin up to me!

Sounds like you have a fun day planned! I may have to see you another day this week to personally wish you a Happy Birthday with your busy schedule :) But I'll be sure to get my spankins' in! :)

I love you! Have a Happy Birthday!
Love Jen

Happy Birthday Aylee

We just wanted to wish Aylee a very happy birthday today!! She has her day planned out, including Toast for breakfast, fishing with Dad before lunch, mac n' cheese for lunch, party after lunch, Activity Days before dinner, baby chicken (S.O.S.) for dinner and miniature golf with the family before bed - this girl is a planner!