2009 First Day of School

Jared and Leah continue to love school. Here are the traditional first day of school pictures. Jared is in 4th grade and Leah in 1st.

Jared with Mrs. Durham.

Leah in Room 11.

The Happiest Place on Earth

When Jeff was on his mission I remember writing him and asking him where his favorite place was. His answer: Disneyland. While we were in Newport Beach, we headed to Anaheim and hit The Magic Kingdom.




Like all good parents, we forced Lucas to go on Thunder Mountain Railroad. He now refers to it as the scary train. He was much more comfortable with the carousel.

Ever since Jared was in Aladdin, Jasmine has been Claire's favorite princess. She was a little nervous to meet her up close.

Our friends happen to be there on the same day, so the kids were excited to have friends to go on rides with. Aidan was in Leah's class last year.

Leah was lucky enough to be invited to dance with Tigger.

Fun was had by all - 15 hours of fun! We arrived at 7:15 a.m. (park opened at 8:00) and left the park at 10:15.

Summer Vacation in the OC

We had the amazing opportunity to get away from our real life this summer and head to Newport Beach. The kids were so excited to spend time with their cousins.



Lucas, Claire with Spencer and Lincoln.



Hayden in her wonderful pink room!


Leah and Hayden love to be together and wish they lived closer to each other. They spent hours playing together - trying to keep the boys out!

Lincoln makes the best faces!

I don't know who is more competive playing video games, Jared or Joey.

Jared is Shere Khan

Jared was lucky enough to participate in a summer production of the Jungle Book. His director knows him well and cast him as the villian, Shere Khan.

Here's Jared with his fans. The little kids know all of the songs and sing them constantly.

Jared with his director, Mrs. McCormick. She has the patience of a saint and always brings out the best in the kids.

Start Your Engines

We have the perfect racetrack in our house - through the kitchen, around the living room and down the hall. Even the pets stay out of the way when these two get going.

Bye Bye Diapers

Yes you heard it correctly, after almost 9 solid years of diapers, we are free! Claire took about a day but she did great. We had lots of chocolate milk and goodies for bribery. Of course, she was stubborn at first (which is not shocking to those that know her well.)

I feel so much lighter traveling without a diaper bag!

Lucas's Fourth Birthday

Our sweet little Lucas. Everyone loves this little guy. He is sweet and sensitive but is starting to have a mind of his own. (He is an Anderson, after all.) The family came over for dinner and cake.

This is his attempt at a wink. He always makes funny faces at the camera.

He has been asking for a Wall-E cake for the last six months!

We gave him a big boy bike for this birthday.

He was so excited to ride his bike with the rest of the big kids on the court (including our wonderful neighbor Kyle!)