Trunk or Treat 2014

In keeping with Anderson family tradition we dressed up for the Halloween Trunk or Treat as a family.  We love this tradition and have had some pretty awesome costumes in the past.  This year however, we stewed and thought and couldn't decide or agree about what our family would dress up as for this annual event.  Until.........(insert trumpet music here)......the night the Aggies played BYU at cougar stadium.  It was a sign from heaven, yes, being the Aggie fans we are we had to go as the Utah State University football team beating those BYU cougars 35-20.  Victory is sweet especially when you beat the cougars on their own field.   We just had to celebrate a little longer and if I do say so, it was another Anderson family Halloween touchdown. 

Yes, another stellar year for the Trunk or Treat. 

 Wow!  Look at that cute kid!

 

 

Believe it or not, Big Blue even showed up to support the team.

 

 

 As far as the players themselves we had Chuckie Keeton, Nick Vigil and an up and coming player... Jake Anderson represent.

 

Another fellow Okie, Coach Matt Wells, honored the night with his presence as well as some tag along, crazy, super Aggie fan! 

It was so much fun.  Kiddos would come to our car, throw a field goal to score for the Aggies and then get some candy.  I think we even made a few more Aggie fans that night!  Success. 

We ran up that score!

 

 

 It was a great night!  I think we only offended a few people and those are people worth offending! (just kidding, sort of....no I really am.)

 

GO AGGIES!

 

SUMMER WAS.....

Summer at our house was......

popsicle and lemonade stands out front

a trip to the ocean, a first for the boys

a trip to the swamp, a first time for us all

baseball and t-ball, a dad who coached and three boys who played

a cute baby learning how to talk

SWIM TEAM and then more SWIMMING GALORE
 it's so nice to have a neighborhood pool in this Oklahoma heat!

Reading to the boys after lunch... our favorites this summer, Number the Stars and Snow Treasure. 

Snow Cones

Playing with Friends

A visit from our Wirthlin Cousins

Fire works!

The 4th of July Parade, Pool Party and Favorite Gier Get Together

The Annual anticipation of our trip to Utah

A Visit with Poulsons

A family reunion in beautiful Ephraim

BEAR LAKE IN ALL IT'S GLORY

Payson with Family

Payson Lake, Musti Bucks, 24th of July race, Cousins, the Grotto

Cache Valley

Cool summer mornings in Logan

Pick Ball

Discovering football card love with Papa

DI

Halleluiah with the Canadian Tenors and even more with the cousins

popsicles and more popsicles

Rocks with Pops

meeting a new cousin and loving the old ones. 

The other day on my way home from walking the boys to school I saw a lone kickball bounce across the deserted playground.  The bell had just rung and the kids where inside.  I had to stop for a moment the symbolism of that ball bouncing on an empty playground hit me hard.  Summer was over.  I had a sad pit in my stomach.  Time needs to slow down, I want my boys to stay little, and how can that happen when Summer is officially over?  But School came and beautiful September came and we celebrated an anniversary, we started playing football, we started focusing on school, Isaac discovered pokeman and all of third grade is addicted, Jake consistently wears his cowboy boots to school and gets to come home to me at 12:15, Will is a 5th grader, wow!  September is a beautiful month.  We enjoyed those beautiful warm golden days.  Now September is gone.  How the heck did that month zoom by?  So now it is time to embrace fall in all it's glory.  It is going to be great.  There are costumes to make, football to play, marshmallows to roast, grandparents to come visit, birthdays to celebrate, walks to go on, pumpkin treats to consume, and as always so many new Times to Keep. 
Here's to try to keep this little journal more up to date too. 

Mark Twain

Will recently had a wonderful week.  He started Enrichment, something he has been begging to do for years, and he had a major role in the 4th grade play, Tom Sawyer.  He was Mark Twain.  The main narrator.  We found a sweet wig, mustache, and eyebrows and Mawga hunted down a great jacket for the production.  I think it once belonged to a Logan Temple worker.  It was Awesome!  After a little tweaking, Will was ready to go.  Will was fantastic and learned all his lines so well.  We were pretty proud parents and I hope he felt like a million bucks, because he did such a great job.  
 

And it was Summer. Warm. Beautiful Summer!

Anderson Family Summer Adventure 2014

 

First Stop Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  What an interesting place.  We took a swamp tour and saw a lot of Gators.

 

In fact, we even got to hold them. 

 

 

And Kiss them...

 

What a cool tour this was.  Mike and I kept saying how crazy it was that swamps like this actually exist and people actually live there.  There wasn't a mosquito to be seen and it smelled great.  Not what I was anticipating. 

 

Then on to Gulf Shores Alabama!  What a beautiful, piece of paradise that is.  It was the boys first time to the ocean and they loved it!  Jake keeps calling it the Sea, the little romantic, and I think I'll refer to it as the Sea from now on too. 

 

 

 

There was lots of boogie boarding, sand digging and football throwing.

 

Jake diligently produced his ocean face.....lips pinched shut to keep out all that salt water. 

 

There wasn't a cuter baby to be found on the beach anywhere. 

 

One rainy morning I made my boys drive down the beach and look at the gorgeous homes.  I don't think they were thrilled, but I enjoyed every minute.  I loved all the bright yellows, corals, greens, and the softer beachy colors like the home above.  I think I could live quite comfortably here.  Blast, that it is a little too far from family.   

 

 

Another day we drove into Pensacola, or rather, "Pepsi Cola" Florida.  Here we toured the National Naval Aviation Museum.  SO COOL!  We drove down to the beach ate a early dinner at the Grand Marlin, and then found a quite beach, all to ourselves, and played. 

 

Bracken, flying above the waves. 



On the way home we drove through Memphis Tennessee.    And of coarse, when in Memphis, one must stop and visit the King.  By the time we got to Graceland it was closed, but we did autograph the wall, and we were able to peek at the home.  Suddenly we were Elvis Fans!.  It was nuts.  There really is a Heartbreak Hotel across the street from Graceland.  Darn it! It was sold out. 

Memphis was a little disappointing and a little scary, so on our way out of town we stopped by the temple to help us all feel a little better about it!

This was a wonderful trip and a fun way to kick off summer.  The boys kept little travel logs on our way to Alabama and all together they got to see parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,

Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas.  Will had just learned all the 50 states and capitols in 4th grade so it was fun to have him visit so many states and quiz us on their capitols.