Christmas Weekend

After we finished opening presents on Christmas morning, and spending time with Kelli and her new toys, we took off to my parent's home. Some of my brothers and their families were there. On Saturday, we took the kids sledding. It was a blast.



Kelli got a face full of snow on this run with her dad. She also likes to eat snow like crazy. She has some fleece gloves that eventually soak up the snow, so pretty soon, she was crying from the snow in the face and cold hands. So we fixed that problem in a hurry and she was happy again.


After we were done sledding, we took the kids to the movie, "The Princess and the Frog." It's a cute movie. And it was actually rated G! It seems that animated movies aren't rated G any more.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning is getting more fun since Chris and I have been married. Kelli sure makes it a ton of fun. I loved seeing her face light up at the sight of all her Christmas presents. Here are pictures of Kelli on Christmas morning.

Our First Big Snow Storm

These next pictures that you will see may surprise you. We got a ton of snow over the weekend. Because of all the snow, I decided to take Kelli outside to play in it. This is the first picture. The snow is piled up to the same height as Kelli.



This next picture is the front of our house.


I decided to build a snow cave with all the snow we have in front of our house. Well it was more like a snow tunnel. I figured Kelli would have more fun with that. Here are some more pictures of the finished snow tunnel.



I built the snow tunnel right where Kelli is standing in the first pictures and then it came out in about the middle of all the snow (close to the tree).

The Anderson Christmas Party

On Saturday, we attended the Anderson Christmas Party. It was a lot of fun. We met at my brother Greg's home. When we first got there, we played some games for the little kids. I made a pin the nose on the Rudolph. In this next picture, all the red spots are noses.


Next we played a game called Santa Santa. Someone stands in the middle of a circle of people blind folded. That person has a pillow in their hands. They have to find someone in the circle and sit on their lap, on the pillow. The person that is blind folded says, "Santa Santa." Then the other person has to say "Ho Ho Ho" and disguise their voice. The person who is blind folded gets to guess who it is. It is such a funny game. Next, all the adults went to Rodizio Grill while all the kids stayed at the house and played together.

After we got back, we built ginger bread houses. We teamed up as families. We named mine Chris and Kelli's house Hurricane Katrina Christmas because ours wouldn't stay up. Too bad I don't have a picture of it.

Next we played Pinata. That was sure fun to watch all the kids take a whack at the Christmas tree pinata. Luckily nobody got hurt, but there were a few close ones. Some kids just couldn't resist when the candy would come out of the tree.


Kelli taking a whack at the tree.


After the pinata game, all the cousins exchanged gifts. Kelli got a Guess Who game, Anderson Edition. It was pretty cool. Instead of all the guess who pictures, it had all the Anderson family pictures on it. Thanks Kaitlyn and Megan. Kelli has been having a lot of fun with it. And thanks everyone for such a fun party. It was great to see all of you!

Here Comes Santa Clause!

Last night, Santa Clause came to our community. Chris, Kelli, and I got all bundled up and walked to our community center. There were a bunch of kids that played instruments. They did really well. There was also some yummy finger foods and hot chocolate. Then Santa came. I was so impressed when I saw him. I almost felt like a little kid all over again when you see Santa Clause enter the room. Probably because I was so amazed with how much he looked like Santa. What do you think of these pictures of him?

Kelli did pretty well this year. Last year was a disaster. She was very scared and cried the whole time. This year she did not cry at all, but she hardly said a word to Santa when she sat on his lap. The whole time we waited in line, she kept saying to me, "I want to sit on Santa's lap." I thought she would go off on all the things she wanted for Christmas, but she was a little too shy. Maybe next year will be even better.

Getting Ready for Christmas

On Monday night for Family Home Evening, we decided to decorate for Christmas. It was a lot of fun. Kelli was so excited. She couldn't wait for her dad to come home so that we could start decorating. By the time Chris got home, she had all the decorations out of the box. We don't have very many decorations and our Christmas tree is small, but it works for right now.

Oh What Do You Do On Thanksgiving Morning?....

You Run A 5K!

Yep, that is what we did on Thanksgiving morning. Chris' parents and his brother flew out from Texas for Thanksgiving. We got some of the family together to run a 5K. It was such a blast. We ran it in Draper. The route started out by the outlet malls, then finished in practically the same spot. There were over 3600 runners. It was insane. It took a while at the beginning to actually start running, because it was so packed.

And here is the lovely bunch ready to start the race.


Here is Kelli and me after we finished the race. Kelli was such a trooper. She stayed calm and happy the whole time in her stroller. Probably because she was so entertained watching all the people running beside us.

The Greatest Day Ever!

You are probably thinking that I just had the "greatest day ever" by the title of this post. Probably the day that I got married and the day that Kelli was born were the greatest days ever. This is about Kelli's prayers lately. I have been trying to get her to tell Heavenly Father what she is thankful for. Lately she has been telling Heavenly Father, in her prayers, "Thankyou for the greatest day ever." I think it is the cutest thing. How sweet and humble can you get? I am touched every time she says that. It helps me want to make the best out of my days and keep looking for the positive. Then maybe every day can be the "greatest day ever."

Happy Birthday Kelli

Kelli is now 3 years old. She just turned 3 on Friday. I can't believe she is 3. Time sure flies. She is growing up so fast. Last year we threw her a birthday party. It was so much fun for her because she had so many little friends that lived around her when we were at the University Student Housing. This year is a little bit different, so we decided to have just a family birthday. I really enjoyed it. It is really fun to throw your child a birthday party, but at the same time it is sure nice not having to plan a big birthday party.

When Chris got home from work, we had Kelli's birthday dinner. We ate chicken fingers, mac and cheese, peas, peaches and chocolate milk. Kelli's favorite. After dinner we opened up her birthday presents. Thanks so much to my parents and Chris' parents for the wonderful gifts. Kelli sure loves them. Chris and I gave Kelli a kitchen. She sure has had a fun time playing with it. She makes us all kinds of food. After we opened presents and spent quite a while putting together Kelli's kitchen, we got out brownies and ice cream and sang her happy birthday.

The next day, Saturday, was the Utah/TCU football game. We didn't have the channel, so we asked Chris grandparents if we could watch the game at their home. I made Kelli a birthday cake and Chris' siblings and their spouses joined us at the home. We watched Utah get slaughtered the 1st half of the game. Then we lit candles and sang happy birthday again, ate cake and ice cream and opened more presents during half time. Thanks to Chris' grandparents and brother and sister-in-law for the nice presents to Kelli. She sure enjoys them. Then we watched the Utes get slaughtered again the 2nd half. We still had a good time.

This next picture is Kelli on her birthday with her new kitchen.


Happy birthday!


Kelli's birthday cake. It's not the most fancy, but she liked it.




Just a little history. Happy Birthday last year!


I don't have a picture of Kelli on her birthday 2 years ago. Her 1st birthday is on our lap top and it is broken....

So happy birthday 3 years ago!


Kelli's favorite things:

Having mommy hold her hand or carry her when Kelli is going up or down the stairs.
Drinking chocolate milk.
Reading bed time stories. She usually likes to sneak in more than 1.
Watching Scooby Doo or Care Bears (that will change soon, she goes through phases.)
Greeting daddy at the door when he comes home from work.
Giving loves and kisses to mommy and daddy.
Running around the island in our kitchen.
Taking baths in mommy and daddy's big tub.
Wearing dresses.
Making mommy a birthday cake out of dish towels and hot pads.
Playing with cousins.
Jumping off mommy and daddy's bed and having mommy catch her.
Playing in mommy's spice rack while mommy cooks dinner.
The pink blanket.
Singing Book of Mormon stories, I'm a Child of God, and I Love to See the Temple.
Making cookies or brownies.
Eating snow.....

And so much more.


Thanks Kelli for all the fun memories. Mommy and Daddy sure love you and are extremely grateful to have you in our lives.

Project

I had a project that I was working on over the past month. I got 2 night stands from Chris' grandparents. They got them from a friend and they didn't want them anymore, so they were kind to let us have them. I had a great idea. I thought that I should strip off all the paint and repaint them. Sometimes it's fun to have a big project to work on. I wish I had a before picture. They were a cream color and the metal between the drawers was gold. They also did not have any handles on them. They were quite the piece of work. They had a veneer on the top that was difficult to get off. After many hours of sanding, I primed, then painted, which also took several hours as well. After the paint was dry, Chris and I added the handles. Thanks to my dad for his expertise in paint. His advice was sure helpful. And here is the finished product.


And here is how it looks all together.

Crash Landing

Just a couple of days ago, Chris, Kelli and I were in mine and Chris' room. Kelli really likes to jump off of our bed and have me catch her. I was standing a few feet from the bed and carrying on a conversation with Chris. In the meantime, Kelli climbs on the bed. I was not even looking at her. My attention was focused at my husband. All of the sudden, I feel this body slam into me and then a big thud on the ground. Kelli was on the ground crying and looking at me like I was a terrible person. I felt really bad. We just kept telling her, "What a good jump!" It really was a good jump, I just was not one bit prepared or warned that Kelli was going to jump at me.

My Little Pirate Princess

Kelli had the choice between a princess costume or a pirate princess costume and she chose to be a pirate princess. (They were 2 of the cheaper costumes at Wal-Mart). I guess why be a princess when you can be a pirate and a princess at the same time!? That was what the title of the costume was on the package. So here is a picture of my little pirate princess.


She was sure excited about trick-or-treating. Every door we went to, as soon as the person opened the door, Kelli would yell, "trick-or-treat!" Then she would tell them "thank you" when they gave her candy. When we left the house, every time she would say to me, "That person was really nice to me."

Funny Things

Kelli is in a new phase where she "shushes" me a lot. Whenever I tell her not to do something, she quickly cuts me off by saying, "Shhhh." Little stinker. I try not to laugh because I don't think it is a great thing for her to do.

Last night, I was laying on the floor with Kelli and we were watching 101 Dalmatians on her little DVD player. I was laying pretty close to my bedroom door. She decides that she wants to get up and go get something in her room. When she goes to the door, she says to me, "Mom, why are you in the way?" Chris just busts up laughing and I just looked at her (also laughing) and said, "Oh, I am so sorry. Let me get out of the way." It is sure funny with some of the things kids say.

Hair

Kelli and I got some new things done to our hair. Kelli got her hair cut to just below her shoulders. For those of you who have seen Kelli recently, she had really long hair, so you might be able to tell. It was getting stringy and needed a cut. Chris and I asked her if she wanted it short and she said she did. Her hair really isn't cut short, but I thought for the 1st major cut, that it would be good to cut it at her shoulders. Kelli did a great job. She sat really still and seemed to enjoy it. That sure made me happy.

As for me, I dyed my hair. Well, my sister-in-law did it. My hair is actually a lot lighter than it looks now. I am a new fan of the hair dye we used. It is called Natural Instincts. The color washes out after 28 washes, so you don't have to worry about the roots showing when your hair starts to grow out or about getting your hair color back. So if any of you are wanting to dye your hair, but are worried about how it will look, use this hair dye. If you don't like it, wash your hair a lot.

Pumpkin Carving

For Family Home Evening last night, we carved pumpkins. I bought 2 pumpkins at the grocery store and brought them home. At first, Kelli was really interested in what was going on. She has never seen or participated in pumpkin carving.


Then after a while, of her dropping pumpkin tops on the floor, making big messes, and Chris and I getting after her, she decided it wasn't fun anymore, so she watched Dora on her little DVD player right by us.

Chris and I went to work carving the faces while Kelli watched Dora. When we finished, Kelli was all of the sudden interested and totally amazed at what we did. Here is the finishing touch.



Oooooooooo! Spooooky!

Kelli thought this was the coolest thing. She was very excited about it.



Happy Halloween!

More Deer Hunting

It has been a while since I last posted. I don't have any excuses. It seems like we have been going going going every day, so it's not like I don't have any thing to post about. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures for this post.

Last weekend as some of you know, was the rifle deer hunt. Chris is a dedicated hunter and I got a tag, so we both got to hunt. Chris' dad and brother flew out to Utah to hunt with us as well. We got to hunt up 12 mile canyon where I grew up. Chris, his dad, and brother took off on Friday to find a camp spot and to get ready for the opening day. I stayed behind so I could teach my yoga and spinning classes. Chris' mom also came, so I got to spend some time with her. We got to go shopping with her and Chris' sister which was so much fun.

On Saturday, I got up and taught my classes. I left Kelli with my mother-in-law and drove down to Gunnison. My brother Wade, invited me to stop off for some rock climbing in Maple Canyon. So I met him and his family at Maple Canyon and we got to do some rock climbing. It was so much fun. I haven't rock climbed in such a long time, especially with my brother. He and I used to rock climb a lot together.

After we were done rock climbing, we stopped off at the famous Fat Jacks in Ephraim and ate some pizza and cheese sticks. It now has a different name, but it will always be known as Fat Jacks.

Saturday night, I spent some time with my mom. We bought some ice cream and watched a chick flick. That was a blast.

The next morning, on Sunday, Chris and his dad and brother came down the mountain for church. After church, I took off with them and headed up the mountain. We got to hunt on Monday and Tuesday. My dad also hunted with us. It was so much fun. We stayed in a warm camp trailer and ate wonderful food. None of us got a deer, but it was still a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed hiking off through the trees by myself. The mountains are so peaceful.

So this is what we have been doing lately. If we weren't deer hunting, we were getting ready for the deer hunt. Thanks to Chris' parents and my parents for all the help and good times.

Deer Hunt

I love the fact that my husband loves to hunt. It helps so that we can take a break from our every day lives and enjoy being together and also enjoying the mountains together. This past weekend, we went down to Gunnison for the muzzle loader hunt. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. The weather was wonderful and the mountains were beautiful. I got to see most of my family which is always wonderful.

This was a spot where we sat down and relaxed a little bit.


Chris and I were hiking out on this point and the scenery was spectacular, so we stopped and took some pictures.


This next picture didn't turn out like I hoped. There is an awesome black line at the bottom of the picture from my camera bag. So sorry about that. My dad, me, Chris, my nephew Seth, and my brother Derek are in this picture.



Again, another picture of the pretty mountains.

Random Weekend

Last weekend was a little random. My brother Greg and his wife Megan invited us to go water skiing last Friday night. Just Kelli and I went with their family. It was so much fun. I sat in the raft with Kelli and her cousin Katelyn. Kelli was a little scared, so I sat her on my lap. You can barely see Katelyn's head sticking out above the raft.


Here is a picture of Kelli and Katelyn. They are such cute girls.


After a while of playing on the raft and jumping in the water a thousand times, Greg asked me if I would like to water ski. I said, "sure!" I couldn't pass up something like that.



Thanks so much Greg and Megan. That was such a blast. Kelli and I had a great time.

That Friday night, when Kelli and I got home, we got a call from my brother Wade. He invited us down to help out with his sprinkler system the next day. We thought it would be a great idea to head down to Gunnison and help out with the sprinkler system and then do some fishing after wards. So the next morning, after I taught my yoga class, we headed down to Gunnison. Chris did the hard part, working with my dad and brothers on the sprinkler system, while I hung out with my mom and visited my Grandma and cousins. Hey, I offered to help, but my dad told me no. After several hours, my dad and Chris quit working on the sprinklers and I headed up with them in the mountains. My mom was very kind to watch Kelli for me.

I just love fishing in the mountains where I grew up. It is so relaxing up there. We brought our fly rods and fished a little beaver pong. Here are a few pictures of our little adventure. We caught lots of fish. It was so much fun.

Chris fishing.


My dad fishing.


Pretty scenery.


Me and my dad.



Me and my good lookin' husband.


After we were done fishing, we decided to put up Chris' trail cam. He recently bought it and we thought we would try it out. With just a little bit of sun light left, we hiked up a hill and found a spot where we felt lots of animals came through and we set it up. In a few weeks, we will check it out and see if the trail cam got any pictures of deer or other wildlife.