snow... Snow... SNOW!

This winter has been kind of a tease so far. Lots of really pretty sunny days, where you think playing outside is fun idea, until you stick your head out the back door and feel how cold it is. I have been in denial of what season it is and have been spending lots of time dreaming about my garden for this summer. But then... it snowed! And oh boy did it snow!

We watched it starting to fall and we were hopeful.

and then this...

turned into THIS!

So the next morning we went outside to play!

Happy boys :)

I wish I would have gotten a video of all the giggles that happened.

It was so much fun watching the boys be so excited about the snow.

So we called up our cousins...

and asked them to come play, too!

We found a great hill to go sledding on...

and took off with the biggest smiles!

It was a really fun adventure for everyone...

even the big boys :)

Then it was a race to get back to a warm house!

I wish I had more pictures of our next adventure in the snow, but I don't. We had so much fun together playing in the snow that we thought why go home and stop hanging out? Nana and Papa were out of town, so we called and asked them if we could stay at their house. Of course Nana said "yes!" so we packed up a cooler full of food, tossed in lots of warm blankets and headed over to Nana and Papa's house. We got snowed in of course... but that was kind of the point. We had a wonderful time. It felt like we were in a cozy cabin in the woods. The boys played so well together and after they were all asleep for the night it was the grown ups turn to play! Talking, playing board games, and watching favorite TV shows by the fire will be such a fun memory for me. I am so grateful for family that are also wonderful friends... and that we could enjoy the snow by staying warm inside. While it looked like this outside:

  

Brrr!!

Come back again next year, snow!!

COUSINS!!!

We have been looking forward to having our cousins down to visit. And it finally happened!! We got to go pick up Uncle John, Aunt Anna, Aubrey, Bryant, Stuart, and Emmett at the airport! We didn't get to keep them forever (just yet...) but we did get them for a whole 2 weeks! And you better believe that we squeezed every moment that we could out of it :)

 

Airport Welcomes :)

Reunited, like they were never separated (melt my heart)

Doing some art projects...

I had to post Aubrey's picture that she made because it's my right to brag about my niece. She's amazingly artistic, and I love that about her!

Digging for treasure...

Nana and Papa had a "Panana Pajama Party" Which was a sleepover that Mommies and Daddies weren't allowed to be at... you guys had SO much fun!

And then there was our last night...

It was sad... but everyone made the most out of it.

I heard that Uncle Blake started the wrestling match...

But I think that there were quite a few guilty people (and little people) :)

It was SO fun being all together.

I can't wait until this becomes normal and just a part of our every week . Love you Andersons!!

A change of plans

We had planned to go up to Great Wold Lodge this weekend, but Drew got really sick after Christmas and we had to stay home. The doctor said that it was a really serious respiratory flu and that if he wasn't in bed, he would be in the hospital. We didn't want Daddy to end up there, so we rescheduled. It was a bummer to miss out on the time we had planned... but it would have been an even bigger bummer to go without Daddy.

To make up the disappointment of that, we took Noah and Jack to a fun new place called Monkey King Playground. The perfect place for a couple little friendly monkey's to go play... and they had a great time!

Ready for a jungle adventure!

Brave boys, being up so high :)

Two silly faces looking out of the monkey...

For the next week Drew was in bed... which proves how sick he really was. But Noah, Levi and Pickles made sure that he had all the entertainment and company he could handle. 

A dinosaur circus came to town... complete with an audience.

Amazing lego creations were built...

puzzles were made...

Movies were watched...

And lots of snuggles and naps happened.

We're so glad Daddy is feeling so much better! And we are looking forward to Great Wolf lodge whenever we get to do that!

Christmas 2013

Christmas this year was not ideal in a lot of ways. We got the flu, came home from our trip later than anticipated because we were all too weak to travel, and we were missing half our family because they are living in Virginia. Honestly, I'm kind of ready for a do-over and for next year to hurry up and be here so we can try again. But, I don't want to skip over the good things that happened, so here are some highlights:

- We were able to do Advent consistently throughout December, and start a new routine of doing Family Bible time now that December is over.

- We got to be with family. Even if it wasn't ALL our family... and we get to look forward to being with everyone VERY soon!

- Both boys were old enough this year to grasp what Christmas morning held, and listening to the squeals over the monitor while I  stuffed their stockings was really fun.

- The few nights we drove around looking at Christmas lights it was beautiful. We live in an awesome neighborhood for looking at Christmas decorations, and I loved hearing the boys point out what they saw and hear the conversations they had:

Noah: Oh look Levi... Christmas lights!

Levi: Oh YEAH! Miss-iss lights! Oh, there's MORE Miss-iss lights. Oh! More Miss-iss lights!

Noah: Yeah, I see them! Look at that one!

Levi: Yeah! Mommy- look! Miss-iss lights!

Me: Yeah! Which lights are you looking at?

Levi: Those. I see it. But you miss it.

And I think my favorite part of this year was how excited both the boys would get when we read a book or saw anything that had to do with the first Christmas. And how Noah would correct whatever show he was watching that claimed to know what Christmas was about (like being kind, or giving presents, or just being a happy time of year) and say, "Uh... no it's not! It's about Jesus!" Yes it is buddy... yes it is :)

Pics from Christmas Morning

Happy boys in matching PJ's... I will milk this tradition  for as long as these two let me!

"Can we open these yet??"

Sweet boy.

Yay! More things to build with!

Snowman pancakes.

Playing with Christmas presents.

It will be sad putting all our Christmas stuff away... but so fun to look forward to celebrating next year!

"Vacation"

December has been a super busy month for us. But, when we were asked to fly down to see Grammy and Grampy in their newly renovated house, we couldn't say no. So we packed our bags and flew on an airplane down to California for a few days. I wish I had more pictures to show from the trip, but we all got the flu while we were there... so we only got one days worth of pictures. And that happened to be the day that Noah and I got to go to Pretend City with Aunt Becky and a boy that she nanny's for named Calvin. It was really fun making a new friend and running around a miniature city doing "jobs" together and earning a "paycheck" to cash out at their ATM's.

Designing their boats to sail in the "lake".

Driving his boat... by using a gun that blew air into the sails of his boat.

Being a dentist.

Crusin' in a bimmer (only in Southern California...)

Being a gas station attendant.

Shopping for food...

Checking out...

And running off to an emergency with Calvin.

I'm so glad that they were the ones on duty that day!

And then this happened...

He hid behind the curtain and I panicked because I thought he had run off... but no. He was just getting dressed for his night job. A DJ-ing Polar Bear.

The rest of our trip was mostly hanging around Grammy and Grampy's house being sick. Maybe not the ideal vacation, but being with family and friends is priceless... even if we're not at our best. And I am so grateful that we had such wonderful family to take care of us, and that they didn't get sick!

Friends

When we first moved to Oregon a few years ago it was a lonely beginning. We had so much going on that it was hard to find the time to get to know anyone. Things like finding a house before we had Levi, moving into said house, having Levi, getting settled into the house, replacing all the windows, remodeling our kitchen...the list goes on and on.

But two years from that beginning point we have found some amazing life long friends that I am so grateful for. Friends like what I remember growing up with. Ones that stop by randomly to say hi, call last minute to see if we want to come join them at a park, have random coffee dates with the whole family, and having the honor of standing with them on their wedding day. I am so grateful to be close to family, and I am also grateful for friends that feel like family too.

Sarah and Tim's Wedding

Christmas Concert and Dessert with the Marshells and Hemphills

Coffee Date with the Gentry Family

Park with the friends