Splash pad

Visiting our friends in California

We Love you, Quinns!!!

Can anyone relate???

Things I never imagined I would find myself saying as a mother of a 1, 4, & almost 6 yr old...

- both of you stop licking each other. One of you is going to have to stop.
- please take my underwear off of your head.
- DO NOT jump/stand on the baby.
- Hunny that is called a turning lane and you can't drive in it
- please let mommy drive and stop telling me how to.
- I promise I'm going the right way
- No I will not get you your own (insert color here) t.v./ computer.
- Get off the table and put your pants back on

Okay, so I'm not what you would call technologically inclined. but I do have better reasons for my serious lack in blogging. My computer has been out of commission for a few months and well, I have discovered what a life I can have when I'm not on it every break I get. So, I haven't been in too much of a hurry to reinstall the software and get it up and running. I will, however, soon be doing a recap on all of the exciting events of the summer for our family. Which basically amounts to either vacations, or keeping indoors to avoid heat exhaustion. Okay and some swimming and water parks as well.

Until then, here's a cute story about my so sweet little Aston. I was making dinner one night and, as happens on rare occasions, he was sent to his room for a time out. When I went in there to let him know he could come out, low and behold, he wasn't there. I found him playing happily as ever in the toy room. I explained to him that he was supposed to be in a time out, to which he kindly explained to me that I was supposed to be in the kitchen. . . . The funny part is, he really meant it. He wasn't trying to be sassy, it was just very matter of fact. I tried my hardest not to laugh, but I don't do so well at that.

mowing the lawn

I started this one, so I guess I'll finish it and soyou can see what in the world "mowing the lawn" is all about. Here's Roan and his cute little lawn mower and he absolutely loves walking around with it. And if he sees anyone touch it, he is races after it as fast as his stubby little legs can carry him. It's so funny. He's so stinkin' cute.

(Thanks Vicki)

Christmas

Ryan carries on the traditions he had from when he was a kid - on Christmas morning he makes the kids wait in the hallway for a picture before they are allowed to look at their presents.

Roan got a few little things and Ryan enjoyed unwrapping them just as much as Roan did.

Jaidyn, of course, is enthusiastic about just about everything she got. She is such a positive little girl. She makes gift giving so exciting.

And then there's poor Aston. He was such a sport. See, his nana and papa have this guitar that he picks up and plays rockstar all the time. He carries around and asks to bring it home. So, I took him to Toys R Us to check out the toy guitars to "see" if that was what he wanted from Santa. From that time on, he want the "fire guitar"(he named because of the blue and black flames). Santa had already picked another guitar for him and when he got it, he started to get excited and then stopped and said "Oh, I wanted the fire guitar"- Strike 1. Then, Santa got him a toy bow and arrows and mommy stepped on them and they broke in half - Strike 2. Last, Ryan and I got him a T-ball set and after a couple of hits with the bat, one of the legs broke on the base - Strike 3! Poor kid. But, he's such an easy going kid, he just moved on to the next thing every time. After the T-ball stand broke, he did say "Oh maaaan". That's about it. It was so sweet. And with transformers, and knights armor, and balls and all of the other fun things, all he really wanted to play with was the little 25 piece puzzle (one of his favorite past-times) and he was totally content for an hour. But, after the whole day was over, when we were coming home, he said so sincerely "I loved all of my presents". It was so sweet. Fortunately, Santa took back his guitar when we mailed it with a pleading letter and he sent back the 'fire guitar'. I don't think he normally does that, but in some rare situations, you might catch him and get him to understand.

Christmas Eve

We open up Ornaments and pajamas on Christmas Eve. Here's everyone accept Ryan in their P.J.'s. Yes, I even bought P.J's for Ryan and I, only because I found the cutest matching pajamas for Jaidyn and I, so I couldn't leave Ryan out. Nerdy, I know, but that's okay - I'm okay with nerdy.

Christmas in February

I'm getting really bad about this updating the blog thing. I know. Here is my lame, but true explanation for it. It's really due to 3 things:

1- Ryan has been studying for and taking the AZ CPA exams, which is great, but puts quite a damper on my life for the time being...all for a good cause though. And he just finished his 4th and final one. Woo hoo. He's passed the first 3, we'll just be waiting for the results on number 4 in March sometime.
2- I've been getting together everything I need to get my application into dental hygiene school, which I did a little over a week ago...YAY! I find out in a month or two.
3- Some of you know I'm technologically challenged, so it's a miracle I even have a blog. (Huh Lydia :)

I little side not to point #3, seriously, I have the attention span of like 30 seconds for the computer and if it doesn't work, I quit or I beg someone to help me. Ryan can attest to this.

Oh, and you're probably wondering why I labeled this like I did. Well, not like it matters to anyone but me, but I still don't have Christmas pictures up and so, needless to say, when I do, it will be in February. Oh well. Christmas in February would be awesome! Two in two months. Okay, well, reliving it in February is great too.

Happy 1st Birthday Roan

Our Sweet little Roan turned 1 December 19th. How quickly this year has gone by. He has been such a blessing to our home and brought with him, from the very beginning a special spirit that I know was meant to bless our home at that time in our lives. I'm so grateful for him and the pure love and happiness he has brought to our home. At this point, he has not found it necessary to switch to walking as his mode of transportation, though he is quite proficient at crawling. In fact, he is amazingly quick. He beats Ryan in races every time. His first real clear words have been "thank you" or "Di Dew"(I know, doesn't sound real clear, but he uses it completely appropriately- every time we hand him something). Anyway, here are some pictures of his little Birthday event. We just had his cousins and Nana and Papa come out to the train park where we played, had some cake and rode the train. And, I don't like bragging and I NEVER do it ;) but I made a freaking awesome cake. I mean seriously, I have spent 5 very long years attempting to show off my cake decorating skills - to no avail. I have tried princess dolls, castles and flowers, monkeys and spiderman. This one, the frosting actually stayed in place, you could look at it and know which direction to look from and what you were looking at. I know, you're looking at it like THAT is your best? But for me, it was AWESOME. So, I must show it off.

Hi friends and family,
A dear, close friend of mine of many years that I love dearly just lost her sweet 6 week old baby. She was in the hospital from birth struggling with a heart defect. She fought a good fight, but in the end she was too precious and the Lord wanted her home. Her parents have been amazing through it all and have had so much on their plate. A family member set up a memorial fund through paypal for Jersey to help the parents with all of the many costs they have incurred. If you have any little bit that you would be willing to donate, anything at all I'm sure would be helpful to them. It's so quick and easy to do online. If you don't have a paypal account, it's very secure and great to have if you ever need to send someone money for anything. If you do, you can just put the amount in and send. Otherwise, you can contact me and I will add your amount to my donation. I think you can get to the fund through this link:
www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=ev8N4DxX-6Y4Lc70RhAyN-N9RmfXx20gb0FiGzrYfqlvwpwWuSDjW8w_rhG&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f9fecf49521b3f5afc18ba9034b1c79cb454909ae53a8db99
or...
you can click on Anderson Avenue at the bottom of my blog
or...
you can email me and I will add your amount to my donationThank you for your consideration.

Love, Britney

A few fun videos for your holiday enjoyment

She learned this song along with a few others at her music group. My camara had some problems at the performance, so I asked her to do her own little performance for the camara. Of course she was more than willing to humor me. I'll try to get it again in better lighting and get her other songs on it, as well. And here's the funniest video of Roan just cracking up. I love the age when any silly little thing can set them off. And to hear them laughing that deep belly laugh is adorable. I can't help but laugh when I hear it.

What a cute little Indian

I'm a little behind posting this, but he was so cute. Aston made this in preschool for Their Thanksgiving feast. It turned out so cute and he wanted to be an "indiam" all day for about a week.

Mommy, we're rockstars""

I was busy doing my own thing (as usual), which I'm trying to not do quite so much. I'm sure many of you can relate to me when I say that I'm trying really hard to stop sometimes and enjoy the small moments with my kids. Anyhow, the were off in their rooms for a while and they came out laughing and saying "mommy, look, we're rockstars" it was so cute. Then they proceeded to play their guitars. That's what they're doing in the picture together. The things these kids come up with can really brighten my day. I'm so glad I have those moments to enjoy.

For an inspirational and testimony building experience

Hi, This isn't my usual blog posts, but this story really touched me and I wanted to share it for others to go to. For me, this story has reminded me of the important things in life and truly inspired me to strive to be better. I have realized that my trials are for but a moment in the eternal scheme of things and that I can still live every other moment to the fullest and try to be the best. Recently, I heard that a friend of mine from many years ago was recently married and they have been experiencing an extremely difficult trial. I got the blog address and I checked it out. I was not expecting to get what I did. I ended up staying up until after 1:00 AM reading it and catching up. It was an amazing story, but I have suddenly put my life and trials into a better perspective. I can only imagine what these amazing people have been through and what it must be like, but I do know that no matter what this life brings us, there are things that are solid truths that will never change, that we must cling to. Jesus is our Christ and our Redeemer. He loves us and it is only through His love and his atonement that we are saved. That life can bring many challenges, but if we cling to this, our lives can remain strong and in-tact amidst a world that is not. I am so grateful for this. This couple's names are Susan and Justin Turley. She is 25 and he is around 31 (I believe). They have been married almost a year now. They found out after they had been married for about five or six months that she had colon cancer. Since then, they have been through a lot, but as it stands now, the doctors have sent her home to rest because her body cannot take any more of the Chemotherapy. Their blog is not private and I believe that they have it out there as an inspirational story for anyone who wants to see it. If you have a chance, go to their blog and spend a little time hearing her story. It is truly amazing and inspirational. And if you want to, post the address on your blog for others who might be experiencing their own trials and be inspired by this story. The address is...

lemonademakers.blogspot.com