Memorial day week-end

Memorial day weekend was wonderful.
We enjoyed having Jake and Shan, Dave, Jen & Chloe out so very much.
It was nice because we also had Ken, Julia Dee, & Autum stop in on Sat.
Sunday, Allen and Bev came over and then on Monday, Ron & Patsy stopped in. It was fun to get to see everyone.
We also had the Hell's angles stop by. I knew you couldn't see steve in it very well, so I included the other picture as well, so that you could see the leader of the pack (Steve)
A mean looking bunch of men!!
It was so nice having "The kids" (easier than writting all of your names again.) with us up at the cemetery visiting their ancestors with us.
It really meant a lot. I guess, even more than I ever realized that it would.
It was a special day for us. Any wood ticks found by anyone?
I am heading in to moms today to take her to the Doctor today.
She had a bad night again and also fell. So if any of you want to get me today, call the cell.
Love ya, mom

We're buying a House!

Well, Dave and I have been looking around at houses in Idaho and Jake had sent us one listed on the inter-net for sale by owner. It looked nice, so we checked it out over Memorial Day weekend and really liked it. We started the negotiation process with the seller and have now come to an agreement conditional upon a home inspection and financing. It's an older home but is cute and has a lot of character. We're pretty excited! It's been helpful to have the opinion of so many family members in helping us learn the ropes.

We also really enjoyed our time in Arbon with Dad & Mom and Jake & Shan. We were in town a bit with house stuff, played some paint ball, visited some relatives, went to the grave yard and just relaxed. It was fun to see some relatives I haven't seen for a while as they came out the visit the grave yard. We saw Steve Call, Alan & Bev, Patsy & Ron, Loren Andersen and Cheryl. I think that was all. We really enjoyed our visit.

In Memory of Dad's Fingers

When I saw this video, I thought of Dad and his affinity with "Finger Food ala Ground Beef". I remember coming home on the bus in Arbon in elementary school to find dad walk up to JoAnn who was driving the bus. He was holding his bloody finger in his hand with I think a red handkerchief. He calmly asked JoAnn if he could get a ride to get his finger taken care of.

Then, of course, who can forget that dad put a lot of himself into building the bunk beds for our kids - in fact, you could say part of him will always be in those beds...at least part of three of his fingers.

If you cannot see this video, click here.


View this on LiveDigital

Dis or Compliment??

During the night Dave was curled up to me and I woke up to him rubbing up and down my leg saying, "you're such a big girl" over and over. I lay there thinking whether I should take offense to this comment. He then touched my arm which was out of the blanket and kind of cold, and it woke him up.

He said, "Oh, you're so cold. I thought you were Chloe and I was going to be worried because she was so cold." He then went quickly back to sleep. I have to say I did feel quite a relief and firgured that was more of a compliment to Chloe than to me!

It's a good thing he cleared that up in the middle of the night . . . . I don't know that I'd be speaking to him quite yet!

Alayna helping with the Garbage

A few weeks ago Alayna wanted to surprise me by taking the garbage can back to the house for me after the garbage truck emptied it.

I snuck over by a tree and took this video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpEmKG-0m0w

End of School for the Summer

On Thursday, Aliece had her Preschool graduation. Next year she enters Kindergarten with a very good teacher. We are excited for Aliece!!

On Friday, Aylee and Johnathan got out after a half day of school to celebrate their commencement of summer vacation.

We're looking forward to keeping the kids really busy this summer with baseball, swimming, and of course chores! :-)

Dinosaurs, Indians and Goblins

What is this, a prehistoric, sci-fi, history channel report??? Well, our weekend could be described in such a way.

Amber planned a cool trip for our family down in the southern portions of Utah. Our first stop was Price, UT where we visted a cool Dinosaur museum. It was pretty cool because that area of Utah is where they have uncovered some huge quarries of dinosaur bones. It was pretty amazing what they have found. They had a kid's activity center where Aliece and Alayna spent most of their time.

After the museum we headed up to our campsite in Nine-Mile Canyon. We set up our camp and ate a quick dinner. Then we headed up the canyon to look at petroglyphs. The ancient petroglyphs are still around due to the flat sandstone rock walls all around the canyon. They say that the canyon has been inhabited for 8,000 years! We didn't have too much time there before it got dark, but the kids saw some cool rock art before we had to turn around.

On Saturday we loaded the kids in the van and headed down to Goblin Valley. It was quite a landscape. This state park has some of the coolest land formations - but they still let you hike among them and climb all over them. The kids had a great time exploring the valley of Goblins. While we were there we found a geocache, a snake, and a really cool cave.

It was a hot day, so after our excursions, we were beat. We sure were glad we came in May and not July.

We had a great time as a family, and are now ready for a restful Sunday!

Where's Amber when you need her?

Well, the primary children sang in church for Mother's Day like they usually do, however, the chorister had informed me that she was moving at the last second . . . so I had been doing singing time the past few weeks. I was really enjoying it and thought it would be pretty fun to lead them in church when singing for their mothers. The week before, the pianist and I discussed our plan and what the cues would be.

Well, Mother's Day was here and the children were excited. They all made it to the front of the chapel trying to be as reverent as their little excited bodies could be. As I focused on the children and got them all in their places and ready to sing, I raised my hand and stood on my tippy toes to give the pianist the go ahead . . . however, I couldn't see anyone at the piano. I took a few steps to the left, stretched a little farther and I still couldn't see her. No one was sitting at the piano! My heart sunk, my mouth felt like cotton and the palms of my hands instantly started to get wet and clammy. Frantically turning around, I scanned the congregation hoping that our pianist was just a little slow, but no body was moving and they were all starting at me!

After what seemed like hours, a blessed individual caught my eye and made a motion of playing the piano in the air. I looked at her with a huge smile and nodded my head. She came running to the front and jumped behind the piano. The children did wonderful despite the shaking cheat sheets I was holding up to help them remember the song. After church I hunted my angel down and gave her a huge hug! Thank goodness for talented people!

Can't take the cold? Get out of the water!

Most of you all have been experiencing the small cold spell this week that we have experienced. Although our temperatures have not dropped below freezing this week, it was cold enough the other night that when I went to work the next morning, I walked by our small waterfall pond to find all of our fish floating on the top of the water.

Not to worry though. Amber called me later in the day all grossed out. Aliece had kindly fished out all remaining 8 goldfish and laid them out to dry on our little wishing well in the front yard! Amber was near panic and didn't know what to do about the fish lying on our lawn decoration. I suggested that she have Aliece take the fish and put them in the garbage.

Despite Amber's disgust regarding Aliece's behavior, when I got home I paid Aliece five cents for each of the fish she got out of the pond for me :-).

Amazing, Amazing

And here they are a few hours later. AMAZING! They may look a little off to the side but that is because of the wind.

Amazing, Amazing

Lynn put the water on my Lialics last night so that they wouldn't freeze. Or I should say so that the frost doesn't hurt them.
I was devistated seeing what the sprinklers had done to them this morning.
But I will send 1 more picture of what they look like now as the day has gone on.

It looked like it would be a beautiful lday this morning. It has turned off cold and windy.
This was what the morning looked like on the other side of the house. The sprinklers were not on the lawn all night however. They were started this morning.

Good Morning Family

Hello everyone...
I get so excited reading the blogs and want to contribute something. But alas, my life just isn't as exciting as the indecent exposure of Alayna, or ambers heat waves, in the home :) or our 2 fix-it men, with their modes of transportation, even if one is a stroller & one a car.
Or Nuskins newest worker, And especially not as exciting as the artwork of one young man showing him emotions and feelings, to the talents of his sister in singing in the choir.
And never to the father who refuses to listen to his little daughter as she moons the whole school while freezing her buns......And to the wonderful world of technology that shows the newest and most recent life that will eventually enter the Andersen family. It makes you wonder if he laughed a time or two as he was in heaven looking down on us all & thinking of entering this family.
what can I say to this family who knows how to have fun, can laugh at themselves & life, and has a whole lot of love for one other.
I can say, I love you all and am so proud of each one of you. Even the ones like myself who don't blog very much, but needs to a whole lot more so that we can have an occasional peek into your lives as well.

Your all the reason that I have always wanted the sign I have on my wall.
LIVE WELL LAUGH OFTEN LOVE MUCH
BECAUSE IT REMINDS ME OF MY FAMILY.
Love, mom

Indecent Exposure

To continue with John's "cold seat" story, I (Amber) will tell the rest of the story. (If you haven't read "Hot Days, and Cold Seats" do that before reading this.)


So, I immediately caught what John was trying to tell me, and everyone knows how I laugh when something is funny. I was turning pages for the other pianist when I burst out laughing, and she of course wanted to know what was so funny. When I finally got the chance to tell her -- in between the next two songs -- she joined in the laughter. It was all we could do to keep from bursting out loud! Well, her husband had noticed that we had been laughing and in their car on the way home asked her what that was all about. She told the story, to which her 6th grader responded, "Yeah! We noticed that!"

Hot days and Cold Seats

The other day we took the kids to the Choir Concert where Amber was playing piano and Aylee was singing. The concert took place in the school gym. Since Amber had to accompany, I was watching the kids by myself. We had to get there early so that Amber and Aylee could get situated in their places, so we were able to score front row seats.

We had about 15 minutes before the choir started, so we let the kids sit on the floor an do art, climb over the chairs, and whatever else little monkeys like to do in public places.

We were all dressed up for the special event. Johnathan and I were in our ties, and Amber ahd the girls dolled up in dresses. Before the concert started, Alayna kept complaining about the metal folding chairs being cold and wanted to sit on my lap. I kept telling her, no. I wanted to demonstrate how I could keep my children in an appropriate attitude and comportment for concerts. Besides with the heat of the afternoon outside, I thought the cooler gym was nice.

During the first part of the concert I was taking little film clips of each song to capture the moment. Aliece and Alayna would try to talk to me and I would "Shsh" them and try not to look at them so that they would be discouraged from trying to talk to me during the performance. This worked pretty well, except for Alayna's plea's to sit on my lap because of the cold chairs.

Half way through the event I did a quick check on the kids to make sure that they were paying rapt attention to the musical program. As my eyes glanced on Alayna, I just about died. Our little girl was sitting on the chair with legs in Indian style. There in plain view was the absence of any underclothing under that dress. With my face turning red, I quickly grabbed the child and sat her on my lap with her dress pinned down to my legs so as not to expose her to the 125 elementary school choir children directly in front of us.

In between two of the songs, I caught Amber's attention and showed her a very upper thigh on Alayna. Amber caught on immediately and began laughing her head off.

What is with this child lately!!!

Amelia Earhart Choir Concert - Spring 2007

Thursday night, Aylee's school choir had their annual school performance. They did a great job. Amber was one of two accompanists. It is always fun to hear them perform. My favorite song they did was "Grandma's Feather Bed".

Don't touch that dial!

For the past week, Provo has been experiencing weather that is too hot for the month of May. The nineties are upon us already and we are feeling it.

I have been coming home to a pregnant and complaining wife everyday. She has been making comments about how hot our house is and how uncomfortable she has been. She has been giving me a daily report on which room is the coolest for the day and how she has tried to do all of her activities in that one room.

I guess I have just figured that she is pregnant and has just been uncomfortable. Going to Male and Female communication classes in my day, I know that women are not always looking for solutions to problems they talk about, rather they want a listening ear and some compassion. So, I try to empathize and tell her how sorry I feel for her.

Well, since it is Sunday, and I am actually home during the hot hours of the day, I noticed that it was pretty darn warm in the house. I went over to the thermostat and thought I would set the temperature to be a little be cooler. As I touched the button on the thermostat, I noticed that it was set at 85 degrees. I thought, man, no wonder it is hot in here, the kids must be playing with the thermostat.

When Amber came downstairs, I told her that the heat was getting to me and that I noticed how high the thermostat was set.. "I know!" was her reply. "I have been turning that thing up and up all week and it just won't cool off!"

I asked her to repeat herself, which she did. When I started laughing, she caught on to what she has been doing. All week she has been dying of heat. Trying to cool off the house, she has been turning the thermostat HIGHER rather than LOWER (mixing up how we work the air conditioner with how we run the furnace).

She has been having quite a few similar "pregnant moments" lately. I hope we make it to September!

Can he fix it? Yes he can!!!

Something happened the other day that set a ball in motion. Tuesday, I finished my tasks at work and decided that it was time to go home. I hopped in my car, turned it on, and backed out to leave. As I tried to turn, however, the wheel remained stiff. Also, I noticed that the alternator light (as well as a few other lights on the dash) was on. I knew something was wrong, so I pulled the car back into the parking spot and popped the hood.

I opened the hood and the result wasn't pretty. My power steering pump was no longer connected to the engine mount and was just laying there, busted bolts and all. The fan belt was still good but was tangled up within the other engine parts.

I walked home and told Shantell about our predicament. She looked at me, disappointed, and suggested that we call a mechanic. I knew that I had to prove myself and be a man. I went to the garage and grabbed by favorite tool and set out to go fix our car (see picture below).



A couple of trips to Autozone and a few hours later I did what I didn't think I would actually be able to do. I fixed the car.

Last week, my wife saw me only as a kid with soft hands that works on computers all day. Now, however, I believe I catch her gazing off in thought about how her man looked that day, wearing his hard-hat and using his greasy tools. She has more than a husband....

.........she has a man.

What's a Mother to Do???

A few moments ago I was doing some work on the computer when, I (Amber) heard the van horn honk out in the garage. Grateful for the loud "tip-off," I hurried out to see what kind of mischief my youngest daughter was getting in to. Imagine my surprise when I opened the van door to reveal the following......





Notice the high-heeled shoes!

Alayna currently has issues with clothes that are dirty even in the smallest degree. Unfortunately, I found her discarded clothing next to the flag pole in the front yard, which means there is a huge chance that many of the neighbors saw her display! She's definitely an ANDERSEN!!!

Supressed Emotions

I was cleaning up some art projects that the kids had scattered across the house this past week. As I was chucking things, this artwork caught my eye.

Johnathan has a kid in his class named Leland. Leland is very rambunctious and has quite a discipline problem. He is a pretty rough kid around the edges and sometimes really bothers Johnathan. I don't know the story behind this picture, but I get the feeling that Johnathan was a little fed up with Leland the other day. I just wonder what his teacher thought of it! (You may have to click on the picture to get the full effect).

Hello Baby #5

Today was the big day for the Andersen Crew. Amber had her 20 week ultrasound. She worked it out perfectly of course and planned the ultrasound coincidental to our kids' day off of school. We loaded the gang and headed to the doctor's office. The kids did pretty well and were very excited to see baby #5 in action.

As for the gender of the baby, I am posting a picture that reveals all. See if you can figure it out yourselves. If you need a hint, just picture our family leaving the ultrasound room and going out of the office through the stuffed waiting room with Aliece sobbing, "But I wanted a baby sister!!"

Back to Work

Well, this is kind of old news but I thought I would update anyway. My maternity leave was up about 3 weeks ago and it was originally planned that I would quit working when that was up, however, I thought it would be nice to stay on at a very part time basis. So they asked what my ideal situation would be, I gave them my proposal and they accepted. So I am going in on Wednesdays only for 5 hours in the evening. This allows me to get a little exercise for my brain, earn a little extra money for insurance and Dave gets to spend some one-on-one with Chloe. It's worked out pretty good and I think we've all enjoyed it for the most part.

Chloe was taking a bottle at one point really well, but has decided she doesn't like it too much anymore. Dave's been bringing her by work for a little nourishment when she won't take the bottle, however, a couple weeks ago he decided he would try to distract her to see if that would work. She loves the water, so he put her feet under the running water and while she was focusing on that, he gave her the bottle and she ate a bit. He's so creative! Sometimes he can get her to take it and sometimes not . . . I guess it just depends on her mood. We'll see what he come up with this week.

The man's guide to fixing your stroller

#1: The SPD (sun protection device) will not stay engaged due to over use and wear on the gears
Solution: Using rope, a carabiner, and an everyday belt loop that has been removed from some old paints; the SPD can be fastened securely when needed and quickly removed when the kid wants a look around.

#2: The TSPD (temporary sun protection device [blanket]) wont stay in place. Due to the vibration of a brisk walk, it slowly slides off the stroller and becomes a nuisance.
Solution: Using three small spring clamps, fasten TSPD to outer edge of SPD and allow to hang in front of the kid. This provides a secure hold keeping the TSPD out from under the tires, you can also roll it up and stow it away on top of the SPD, when not in use.

#3: The kid likes to have distractions (toys) close at hand, but also enjoys throwing them to the ground also causing a nuisance.
Solution: Take excess rope from solution #1 and tie each end to spring clamp 1 & 3 from solution #2. This allows you to attach distractions so that they are within arms reach but secured so that they cannot be dropped in route.

For additional information please refer to diagram below.

So this is what Chloe and me did on our last daddy daughter date... just wait till she can ride a bike.

The Auction

Today, Mom and I went to Poky and stopped off at an auction. There wasn't too much of interest that I felt we couldn't live without but since they were selling vehicles I thought I would see what they were selling for. They were running two rings so Mom decided to see what else was selling but headed the wrong direction. There was a lot of people there and she couldn't here me yell at her so I whistled and pointed to where she should go. This got the attention of the auctioneer and he took my actions as a bid on a vintage 1951 fire truck for $4900. ( It would look cool in our yard and the kids would have a lot of fun ringing the bell and siren). But for $4900, I had to embarrass myself and call off my bid just before they said "sold". Mom was a little excited too. We decided I had had enough of auctions for the day and left.

Age is catching up to me

While Amber was up in Spokane last week, I had to suffer through a traumatic experience on my own. While combing my hair last Thursday morning, I discovered a very prominent and noticeable gray hair! I looked at it several times to confirm it. There is no denying it, it is gray. I checked today and it is still there. Man...I am not ready for this!

To add insult to injury, last night Amber and I were visiting about the choir concert that she and Aylee performed in yesterday at Abravanel Hall. Amber mentioned that one of the choirs used a tape recorder for their accompaniment. Aylee piped up, "Mom, what is a tape recorder?" Wow...I feel the wrinkles coming on as I type!

Five for Fighting

It's been a couple of weeks but I thought I would blog about a concert we went to. Five for Fighting came to SLC on April 23rd and he's one of Joe's favorite singers, so Dave and I decided we would take him for his birthday cuz we really like him also.

Joe had a ton of homework and it was on a Monday night, but he came down just for that and when it was over, he headed home and pulled an all nighter so he could be ready for his classes the next day.

It was a smaller venue so it more up close and personal. We didn't get there early at all but after the opening act, most people went back to the bar to get their drinks so we were able to move right up to the stage. There wasn't any seating and you just stood, which proved to be a long time for our old bodies :) but it was nice to be able to get real close. I wasn't paying attention at the end and the drummer tossed his sticks to the audience. They both came really close to me and I ended up dodging both of them. Dave got one and gave it to Joe. Anyway, he was a great performer and we had a lot of fun.

We left Chloe with Dave's niece. (It was only 10 minutes from where we were going) She was pretty good most of the time, but now has decided she doesn't want to take a bottle so she was pretty ravished by the time we got there.

When I went to town yesterday, Joe had these yellow roses for me and they are just beautiful.
I have been in the kitchen a big part of my day and have loved looking at them.
It's interesting how much the grain in the table showed up in this picture.
I thought Joe must have gotten them for me for mothers day, but he said no, they were just for now. It meant a lot to me.
mom

What a Pose!

Well, now that I have something fun to blog about . . . !

I thought I would post a couple pictures of Chloe and update you on her life because I've been a slacker in blogging. It's amazing to think our baby is already 3 1/2 months old! She started out so small and has really been growing and learning so much. She now is able to grab toys and hair and whatever is near her little hands and is so curious about everything around her. It's fun to watch her get excited about things she's interested in. From what I read she won't be giving kisses for another few months, but she sure does like to slobber all over your face and suck on your chin, nose or cheek if you let her.

What a pose . . .eh? Look at all that muscle! :)

I think she's taking after Dave in that she loves the water and enjoys her bath time. I'm excited to spend some time at 7 Peaks with her and her cousins this summer.

I was having a meeting with the RS President (who also brought her baby) just this last Monday and Chloe was on the floor enjoying herself. I looked down just in time to see her flip over from her back to her belly! I was so excited and let out a yelp of joy. I scared the other baby to tears and swooped up Chloe so quickly in my excitement that she probably didn't realize what she had done. She hasn't rolled over again yet, but is sure trying.

She is so fun to have around and entertains me all day. So far I have thouroughly enjoyed each little stage she has gone through. I keep thinking, "this is my favorite stage! I don't want her to grow any more!" But then she learns more and does something new and I think the same thing. It's just so much fun!

Well, that's enough of "The Life of Chloe" for now but there will be more to come I'm sure!

OOPS, I guess I used the same picture that John did, didn't I.
we just wanted to say once again how grateful we are to all of you for helping us once again with branding. It means so much to us and we wouldn't be able to have cows if it weren't for all of you. We had a great time. It is such an enjoyable time for us each year as we meet together to enjoy your love and and hard work.
Well, I know I enjoy it, But I'm not the one who has to throw any of the cows, and wake up the next morning hurting all over.
We truly do love and appreciate all of you for it. Thank you!

Jen and Chloe stayed for a few days and it was so much fun to have them. It sure makes me excited for their move here. Hopefully we will get to see them much, much, more often.
I went out and looked at the little house today and it got me so excited. I love it and can't wait for it to get finished.
Jen and Dave, If you fix the place up, we could give you a real good deal on it to live in when you move here. It would fit your budget very nicely.
It would be a little bit of a comute to Pocatello for you, when you get your job and go to school in the fall. but you'll save so much on buying the house, that you could afford it. :)

Lynn finished drilling down on the churchground yesterday. He drilled grass and Hay. This is for the project. We could sure use your added faith & Prayers, that it will have enough moisture to come up like it should and do well.
Have a great day family... *****Glad your home Amber, Aliece & Alayna. We all missed you.
Love, mom

My High School Days with Dad

I saw this comic the other day. It reminded me so much of the time that Dad taught me a lesson when I acted embarrassed at being seen with Mom and Dad.

Mom and Dad came to pick me up at the Jr. High school in Malad. I was at that stage in life where you get really embarrassed easily. I didn't want to be seen with my parents so I hid on the car floor as we drove away from the school. I tried very hard not to be seen with them.

After our "nice" little lunch, I made them park a half a block away from the school as I dashed out of the car and into the building. I went to my locker to retrieve the things for my class. On my way the classroom I ran into Dad. He had bill of his cap flipped upward, mouth escew, and held his belt buckle like an wanna-be cowboy. In a gomer-pyle / slurred voice, he was walking around the hallway saying..."Hey Der, I'm John's Dad!"

Needless to say, I learned my lesson on that very day. Never again did I act embarrassed about my parents!

Another year at branding!

We sure had a great time branding on Wendesday. Aylee and Johnathan loved their jobs with Branding. Aylee did the numbers on the tags and kept track of the bull and heifer counts. Johnathan took his "cheerio" job seriously. They really had a great time having their cousin Sean there to work and play with them. Sean's job was to bring the tagger over to Dad.

I thought my back would be worse that it has been after branding. While sore, it is doing surprisingly well.

Thanks for a great time!

(If you can't see the video, go to this link: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=855648436352209301&hl=en)