Baby Anderson is a....

Love this cute announcement Austin and Britt put together!

I am thrilled (and right).

Campus Tours, HS Swim, and a New Favorite Thing

I often feel a little anxious when I begin a post because I really don't have the time to think it through, plan it out, and make it make sense. That would be today, but I have a lot to catch up on, so here goes.

Shilo was interested in taking a couple of campus tours with her cousin Rachael while we were in UT. I knew I would too busy to get her where she wanted to go when she needed to be there, so my seester (and partner in busy-ness) and I recruited our Dad. A few days prior to our arrival, he and my mom had been released as full-time missionaries after serving two years at the Family History Center in SLC. He had some time on his hands, right? (wink, wink).

Monday was BYU day.

He headed out with these three beautiful ladies. I'd say he's a lucky man.
And they couldn't have asked for nicer weather. Bonus!

Tuesday was USU day.

My Dad graduated from USU, so I figured he might enjoy showing them around his old stomping grounds.
This time Bill tagged along.

Bill hasn't stopped talking about the free buffet they were treated to in between the campus and housing tours. Let's just say he ate himself silly (and only two days before Thanksgiving!).
They all had lots and lots of Aggie ice cream.

After the tours, Grandpa showed the girls where he lived while attending USU.

Then they took a quick drive over to Paradise where he had lived as a child...
(I want to live in Paradise, don't you?)

... and to the cemetery where his Grandparents and Great Grandparents are buried (that would be the girls' Great Great and Great Great Great, right??)

It was a huge bonus to get a family history tour along the way! They all had a great time.

Next up, Thanksgiving (at last!). Another day. No promises on when.

Yesterday looked like this:

Shilo's first swim meet was rescheduled to next week.

She has another one today (v Regis - Missy Franklin's old school), then Saturday, so it actually spreads things out a little bit. Plus it gave her extra time to study for her Calculus test. Bonus!

Yesterday, in between and after hair appointments, I worked on locker tags for next week:

I think they turned out {cute}. Okay, maybe MORE than {cute}. Just my subjective opinion. 

I hope the girls don't mind having a cow on their lockers.

I also worked on a couple of sign ups, including one for the team Christmas Party we are hosting next week. I'm trying to calm myself by taking one thing at a time and using my time wisely (which is why I need to be done posting today!).

Before I go I have to share my new favorite thing.

In all the running around Jill and I did for wedding supplies, I ran across these little babies.
I was a tad apprehensive because they were a little pricey ($10), and I was worried they might stick to the caramel more than the traditional wax or parchment paper. Nope, they don't. And I don't have to tediously tear and cut a million little sheets of wax paper for each batch of caramel. Plus these are oh-so-pretty. Bonus!

I'm stocking up when I go back. Love. Them.

Mr. Anderson

Today is Austin's Birthday so it's the perfect day to spotlight the J.Wride concert we attended last week. I was really excited that it happened to coincide with our trip to UT, and that the weather that Saturday was great for expeditious road travel.

Here are some highlights:

I loved that so many family members were able to make it... Taylor and Lynnea, Kade and Hunter...

...Angela and Matt...

...Grandma and Grandpa Syddall.

I had to grab some digital video (on my old trusty point-and-shoot), so I know it's not high quality sound or picture, but it demonstrates a tiny bit of Austin's skills.

After the concert we stayed around to get some photos with the band.
I wanted to get a pic of Austin's groupies but missed the shot. Drat!

You can check out the J.Wride FB page here

and find their albums on itunes. Check. Them. Out.

They are a seriously talented group of guys.

It would take too much s'plaining to fill you in on the silliness that went on while we chatted it up with Austin's dad as he packed up the drum set. Lex and Shi were splitting a gut.
Something I said about Band Dads.


Happy Birthday, Austin!
We love you and appreciate all you add to our family!!

Whirlwind.

We returned home Saturday night from our whirlwind UT trip.

It was a loaded week, and I don't have time to post about it all right now, but I thought I would give the super condensed version, then expound later.

A concert.

Campus tours.

Thanksgiving.

A wedding.

There is oh-so-much more to share.

Another day.

Daughters

I once heard a young mother say she was worried about having more than one daughter.

Her first child was a boy, followed by a girl, and she had recently found out that she was expecting another girl.

I was a bit surprised and asked why.

She had been the only daughter in a family with four children.

She felt that, overall, girls were harder to raise.

More drama. More money. More emotionally needy.

Since I raised only one son, I couldn't speak to the comparison, but I could tell her that 

I wouldn't change having four daughters for the world.

I love those girls!

Here's a quick update this week on the three still here at home.

Lexee

I think I've mentioned before that Lex has more guy friends than girl friends. Lots of her member friends are leaving to serve full-time missions (I keep mentioning that she could go too!), but she also has some that aren't members of our church, to whom she is a great friend AND missionary. Her friend Chris was leaving the next day to head to the MTC, so they hung out one last time Monday night (with two non member friends). 

(We are madly trying to get Christmas decorating done before we leave for Thanksgiving... we just kept decorating around this chatty group.)

Lex was HEART ATTACKED by some friends in her YSA Ward on Tuesday night. I wanted to grab a pic of our door, but Bill had taken them down this morning because they got wet in all the SNOW.

Shilo

Shilo was a judge for the swim fundraiser Titan of Teachers Talent Show. The guy judges loved to talk it up throughout the show, but the girls didn't have much to say. At one point, the emcee asked for a female judge to comment, then got the crowd to chant, "Shi-lo, Shi-lo, Shi-lo..."

When the mic was passed to her, Shi said something amazingly witty like, "That was great!"

She has her mother's spur-of-the-moment humor - none.

(She said she thought of something good to say after the moment had passed... see? just like me.)

I have to record that she had a crowd of peers chanting her name... how often does that happen?

Here's Shi surrounded by her coaches. It's still up in the air how this season is going to go with two new coaches... things will for sure be very different. At least Coach Johnson is smiling at her!

Mauri

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mar's had a little lunchroom drama.

It's given me cause to reflect on my Jr. High days. I destroyed a couple of friendships over petty, ridiculous things. I went along (as a follower) with a Mean Girl or two, who, in moments of pride or jealousy or self-importance or insecurity decided to peck away at the first target they could find. It makes me angry that I allowed it... went along with it... felt justified in hurting someone else's feelings. It has been one of those things I have regretted my whole life since. 

As a mom, I am determined to do my best to teach my daughters from my mistakes. 

Don't go along with it. 

If you are kind, you will win in the end. I promise.

(I love these reminders)

(source)

(source)

I love the quote, "What Susie says of Sally says more of Susie than of Sally."

(source)

That being said, Mar has mixed things up a bit and started eating lunch at another table.

One of the girls at the new table came up with a cute idea - a Secret Turkey gift exchange.

Such a great way to exert time and energy (v. gossip and mean talk/texting).

I am proud of how Mar is trying to tactfully navigate it all. She is so much smarter than I was at her age.
I am so grateful. 

And here's our cute little Ava Elf.

I love my family (including my son, DIL and SIL, lest you wonder)! 

I am so grateful to have such an amazing group of people in my life and beyond.

Happy Thanksgiving Week!!

An Announcment

I've been granted permission to share...

I'm going to be a Grandma!!

We've known for over a month (it seems like an eternity), but Britt wanted to wait until she was a good 12 weeks before we started spreading the news.

We couldn't be more excited.

It was so cute how she and Austin broke the happy news (Oct13)

We were on our usual Sunday evening video chat... chatting it up about important things like

How were your Sunday church meetings?

What were the highlights of your week?

Our dogs are so cute....

We had probably been chatting for a good 20 - 30 minutes, when Britt said,

"Oh yeah, we got some new furniture for our office."

She grabbed the laptop and headed up the stairs.

Seriously, I was thinking, "Nice, they have a sofa... or a new desk..."

When she turned her computer around to show us, it took us a few seconds to see clearly (a moving screen via video chat can be a little blurry), then it took another few seconds to wake up mentally to what it was:

A crib.

With a sign that said something like

"Occupied May 2014"

It was so funny to watch the girls at home, who usually lounge around on the floor while we chat, minimally contributing to the conversation, suddenly perk up and become super animated and chatty.

We took guesses on the gender:

Bill ~ Girl

Tina ~ Girl

Taylor ~ Twin boys (this was BEFORE the ultrasound)

Lynnea ~ Girl

Britta ~ Boy

Austin ~ Boy (they had done the ever-so-accurate Chinese pencil test)

Lexee ~ Boy

Shilo ~ Boy

Mauri ~ Girl

I also sent a nice list of names I found in the family pedigree chart to get them thinking.

Some of my favorite boy names:

Truls 

(Britta said she can't even say it, but it's my fave)

Squire

Silas

Niels

And favorite girl names:

Mette / Metta

Ellse

Maren

Elsa

Comfort

I'm thrilled to be joining the ranks of all you grannies out there...
EXCLAMATION POINT!

Made.

I've been busy making stuff lately.

I've been blessed with the opportunities (I enjoy the creative part),

the know-how (self-taught mostly - you know how awesomely tech-y I am),

and moments of time squeezed in between the rest of life's busyness.

Just thought I'd share a few.

I made-over our ward bulletin board.

The old board was looking pretty dowdy.

And washed out.

And can I just say I've NEVER liked it.

(I had started taking stuff down before snapping this pic - it had all kinds of this-and-thats on it)

The new board:

There were a few hiccups, so don't look too close, but I like this board much better.

(Don't worry - I created both boards so I am not offending anyone but myself)

Then I helped Bill get these ready to order:

Per Bill's request, I helped design these for him to hand out at Tithing Settlement...

(He thinks it's fun to let the kids choose which one they want)

...and since last year he was chastised by young ward members for not having a treat at Tithing Settlement, we came up with this to go along with the Missionary Game Plan:

 Those little chocolate balls are pretty darn expensive, so Bill is giving only one handout per family.

At least it's a treat, right?

I'm still working on finishing those up - hopefully today.

I've printed a couple of these on little notecards for my VT ladies...

(source)

...along with one for myself. Trying to keep my heart soft ;-)

In the middle of all this making stuff, I have pushed Shi along with her college applications (she's still not quite finished with Personal Progress - shucks), listened attentively to and advised Mar on How To Survive Lunchroom Drama In Middle School, and tried to decide if Lex should see a doctor for her chronic cheek/lip-swelling and hives problem. And I've done a darn lot o' hair this week. (Followed by a lot o' laundry today.)

Congrats to this little swimmer for being selected as one of the captains of her high school swim team this year:

I'm not sure if she knows yet, and I can't wait to hear who else is/are captain(s) since I got a hint of some drama from Shi yesterday after the team meeting. Although my first inclination was to indignantly email the coach with my complaint about the selection process, Shilo politely requested I not. My natural tendency to vehemently oppose things I perceive (the operative word here) are not right-and-fair weighed upon my mind as I drifted off to sleep last night. I don't want to react that way. I want to be cool. Calm. Easy-going. That's definitely a lesson I can learn from Shi.

Thanks to Rebecca for the walk this morning.

You're right.

BYU is better.

I'm not sold on i-phones, though.

I hope you'll forgive my need for objectivity over subjectivity.

I'm working on being more soft ;-)

You are a wonderful friend and I will sorely miss you and your family when you take off to the land of y'all.

Something for the Things I've Learned notebook:

Shilo took the ACT four (4) times.

She did not want to.

"After three attempts," she told me, "it's highly unlikely you will improve your score."

I gently persuaded her to take it one final time, the last opportunity she would have before college applications are due. "What if," I asked, "you don't get accepted to the school you want? You'll always wonder if you could have improved your score that one last time."

All I can say is Mother Knows Best. 

(Sometimes. Sometimes Shi knows best, as in the aforementioned example a couple paragraphs ago.)

She improved her best score by 3 points. 3 POINTS. An overall 5-point improvement from her first test.

I could barely contain my joy, I was so happy for her.
(some heel-clicking and squealing may have occurred)

Is a fourth attempt worth it? Oh, yes.