Yea Right Stewie

I love my book club! It's three years in the going and it has been so fun. Each month a different lady chooses a book and we take turns hosting this little event at our homes. Well this month's book happens to be "Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook"

This little 720 page book (not including index) is supposed to inspire us?

Well let me just say YEA RIGHT, STEWIE! Before I get to pessimistic, I do have to give Stewie, or perhaps her brilliant staff members, credit for some pretty good ideas. Yes, I was even hooked, like a good book can hook you. In fact, yesterday I cleaned my bathroom celling vents the Martha way. I probably never would have cleaned my bathroom ceiling vents had it not been for this little encyclopedia of cleanliness. But seriously, does reality mean anything? I found myself getting more and more depressed the longer and longer I flipped through the pages. Then I thought, why am I waisting any time reading about cleaning my house, and how to properly polish my 16 different size sterling silver spoons, shouldn't I be cleaning it.

I don't even own sterling silver. Nor do I own a rotary Ironing machine,which I'm sure is a valuable investment for any household. Don't get me wrong I love cleanliness. I can't leave the house without beds being made, and with two little boys, I've gotten pretty good at daily toilet cleaning, but do I need to feel less of a homemaker because I don't weekly scrub my shower head and faucets with a toothbrush?

OK, I probably should.

So ladies, what are your cleaning secrets? I would love to know cleaning tips from the front lines.

Here's to whisk brooms, wedge pillows, and Bon ami. Happy Cleaning!

We Love Bear Lake!

Yes, I know it's September. Kids are in school, apples are in season, and Fall is just around the corner, but in my week attempt to hold on to summer a little bit longer, I thought I'd reminisce some more about our summer trip. So if you love Bear Lake as much as I do, here are some pictures of our annual mud-fling, sunscreen, sun-basking, water playing event. Thanks Mawga and Pops!

It was a restful vacation for Pops and Ike. Yes look close, Ike is in the towel.

A serious Isaac with a serious bucket of water.

Here's what we used the water for... The boys built a river leading to the Lake, we learned all about erosion, and dam building. Our cousin Josh was a good sport and is now a four year old boys hero.

Let the mud fight begin.

Pops sporting some great teeth. During our annual Bear Lake pinata fest, the boys each won some great teeth. They had a fun time wearing them around during the week, apparently so did Pops!

Ike getting ready to board Betty's Budget Buster. We sure had the sexiest boat on the lake. Thanks to Sue and Michael.
More Mud!

Take Down!

A man truly comfortable with himself.

Playing with Baby Emma.

Ode To The Mothers

A few day's ago I was feeling a bit like a failure.

Maybe you know the feeling, like you can't accomplish anything, and everything on your "To Do" list still remains, and has been there for a few days.

Well this was my plight as I was trying to rediscover the bottom of my kitchen sink , later that night, after the boys were in bed.

I finally had to stop myself from wallowing in the depths of failure and think about all the things we did do that day...

We actually accomplished a lot.

We had breakfast, (no small feet at my house) made cookies, played in the sandbox, went on a walk, made Hot Chocolate (sometimes my kids get strange cravings) played at the park, rode bikes, swung on the swings, read a pile of books together, painted pictures, played with sidewalk chalk, did the dishes three times, started laundry, built the train tracks about 6 times, read more stories, got three meals on the table, pretended to be spiderman, and even had the chance to visit the new Young Woman's Secretary and Beehive advisor. So although most of these items weren't necessarily on my "To Do" list I think they were just as important. I realized that these regular, normal days that I get to spend playing and building memories with my kids are great days, full of eternal accomplishments. All to soon, I'm sure, the train tracks wont need to be rebuilt, and "Froggy" books might be replaced with somethings else. So there at the kitchen sink I decided to not stress out too much about that "To Do" list....it was a good decision. One I'm sure I'll find myself making again and again. So, I don't feel to much like a failure anymore, I feel like a mother and I'm so grateful to be one.

So if my day sounds like your days. Here's To You!

Your a Mother (and not everyone can say they know the art of train building).

Remembering The Fun. Part 2

Logan... We really took advantage of the mountains this trip. One of our first days at Mawgs and Pops, we took a jeep ride up Green Canyon and went cave exploring. After Mike thought he saw a bobcat and Will found a bone in a cave, I decided that maybe we should leave the animals den and go home. "Every Party Has A Pooper That's Why We Invited You."

The Poster Child for Aggie Ice Cream. MMMMMMM Good!

Somehow the boys heard about "Old Ephraim." We took Mawga and Pop's Jeep and took the boys on a Bear Hunt up the canyon to find his grave. Once we finally arrived (I think we took the long way, Jake was sweet to give us directions:)) we met an older gentleman who spared no detail in telling the boys the story of the bear. Lets just say we were overcome and for the rest of the trip had Old Ephraim on the brain.

Posing in front of the grave.

Three men and a man's machine

Ike looking like he survived a bear attack himself.

WE LOVE COUSINS!

Beautiful baby Emma


Playing on the Slip and Slide at Aunt Sue's
The Boys got a little creative and became "Mud Monsters"
Ike getting in on the action.

We loved being in Logan.

Remembering The Fun Part 1.

Well now that I got all that sappy, sentimental, gooshyness, out of the way it's time to document our trip for future posterity or maybe just for future laughs. We left home-sweet-home and drove straight to Brighton, in Big Cottonwood Canyon, for an Isaacson Family reunion. My grandparents have been very dedicated to hosting a family reunion every other year, and it's a fun time to see my cousins and family. I'm always shocked at how grown up people are getting. My cousins having kids, ....the nerve. Times have changed since my cousins and I were little nine year olds fishing golf balls out of the coarse ponds and trying to sell them back to the Homestead. Haven't they Jayne?
Anyway, I really am related to some fabulous people and appreciate Grandma and Grandpa's efforts on our behalf.

These cousins had fun climbing on and finding all the "Boldurs"

My mom and dad wanted to take their offspring on a hike up to Lake Mary. It was a beautiful day in the mountains.

Once we arrived at our destination the little boys couldn't help but stick their heads in to cool off. It was all we could do to not ignore the sign that said "No Swimming." Bah Humbug!

(Notice Will and Mike in the background.)

Uncle Jake, was a great help when it came to sticking Isaac's head in the water.

Will and Aunt "Branana" taking time to ponder life.

Perhaps a highlight of the reunion was being able to watch the rescue attempt of some poor hiker who broke a leg up the mountain. The helicopters were the funnest to watch circle and land just up the street a few yards away from our cabins. We hope the hiker recovers well. Sadly, his plight made for some great entertainment.

Sunday we left Brighton and headed down to S.L.C. The Rees Family and us decided to take the kids to the Church History Museum. This picture was taken moments before we had our own realistic pioneer experience, Ike feel under the handcart and was rolled over, impressive as it is he didn't get hurt. The museum had some fun things for the kids to do, but I think the escalators were the favorite activity.

There and Back Again!

(The boys in the car on the way to Utah, we stopped to get gas in Fort Collins, and the boys got a sour, sugary treat from the store. It's a way to celebrate the half way mark, I guess :))

We Anderson's sometimes forget how much we really love being close to family. We get in the grove of things, living our lives out here in Kansas. It's a good life, we feel so blessed and content, and then we plan a vacation to Utah. We spend the next month anticipating and excitedly awaiting the upcomming trip. Somehow, 1,000 miles and 16 + hours in the car doesn't seem that big a deal when we are heading toward those realitives of ours. We arrive and after going through the rounds of long awaited hugs and kisses and more hugs and heartfelt hello's we soon get on with the buisness of playing, and for a short while being close to the people we love. Oh how we love to play, and how we love being with people that love us and are (at least we believe) excited to see us too. I'm sure we do a fantastic job of throwing everyone's schedules off, making messes, getting into things, leaving dirty fingerprints everywhere, and adding a few (well maybe a lot of) decibles to the noise factor. But then, I also think we do a fantastic job of contributing to some pretty fun memories.


All too soon it's time to get back in the car and head East. After rounds of tearful hugs and kisses we force ourselves back into the car. We remind ourself's that we really do like it in Kansas, but this time around 1,000 miles and 16+ hours in the car becomes a little less bearable, and uncomfortalby numbing. With a chunk of our hearts left behind, we come to accept the fact that for a while we will continuially think about and really miss those realitives of ours. This time around, two days after we got home, Will told me during breakfast, "Mom, I need to tell you something, I just really hate leaving Mawga's house." He's in good company. We know there will be a little emptyness inside, then after a while we will get back to normal, our schedule returns, life continues and we are content and happy, looking forward to the next trip and looking forward to a time we will see those realitives of ours again.





Thanks family for the wonderful trip!