Lauren's Birthday Blizzard

Mother nature's gift to Lauren on her 7th birthday was the snowiest day in 19 years. It started snowing late Friday night and didn't stop until Saturday night. On top of all the snow the winds were 35-40 mph. At times we couldn't see the house across the street from us. The Minnesota Department of Transportation even pulled all the snow plows off the roads because it was too dangerous. It was crazy!

Lauren got a lot of attention for her birthday because no one could go anywhere. We celebrated her birthday by going to see "Tangled" (on Friday before the snow started). She got to choose her favorite birthday breakfast (donuts) and dinner (Hawaiian Haystacks). After dinner we had snowman cake and ice cream. She spent most of the day playing with her birthday gifts. All in all I don't think she minded be snowbound on her birthday.

Lauren is a smart, helpful, happy little girl and we are glad she is part of our family.

Katelyn is 11!

December 5th was Katelyn's 11th birthday! Wow, can you believe Katelyn is 11? I am having a hard time believing it myself and I was there at her birth. A couple of days before her birthday, there was no school so Todd took Katelyn and a couple of her friends to Grand Slam. They got to play laser tag, mini golf, crazy cars and arcade games. They had a lot of fun and it was a special treat that her Dad got to take her. The truth is that Todd didn't want to miss out on all the fun. Katelyn is very creative, happy and helpful (when she wants to be) and we are glad she is part of our family.

Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday, we took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day! In Minnesota you never know what October weather will be like, but we were lucky this year. Dustin and I read a book about hayride a few weeks ago and EVERY day until last Saturday he asked when we could go on a hayride. Now we have a bunch of pumpkins on our porch just waiting to be carved.

Swim Team 2010

Okay, I do not know where she got it, but Whitney can swim like a fish. Todd and I definitely can't swim that fast. She has been on the swim team for the past 2 years and it has been really fun to see how much she has improved. Her favorite stroke is definitely freestyle. She usually competes in the 100 meter freestyle, 50 meter freestyle and 200 or 400 meter relay. At her meet last night she came in first in the 100 m. Way to go Whitney! Here are a few pictures.

Back to School

Whitney's 1st day of 8th grade (next year High School - yikes!)

Lauren's 1st day of 1st grade

Headed to the bus stop

Katelyn's 1st day of 5th grade (next year off to Middle School)

At the bus stop

Lauren and Kate waving from the bus

Enjoying an after school snack

Yesterday was the first day of school and it went off without a hitch. No wardrobe malfunctions (although Whitney was a little peeved that she didn't get to choose what shirt to wear - she had to wear her mentoring shirt), no bad hair days, no missed buses. Everyone made it on the right bus in the afternoon. Everyone found their lockers and classrooms. I'd say everything went great! Dustin didn't even miss his sisters (I think that will change after a few days). It was definitely quiet around our house. Dustin and I had time to make jam and even cookies for an after school snack. Let's just hope day number two goes just as well.

Dustin's New Do. . .

As I was cutting Dustin's hair the other day he asked if he could have a mohawk. I didn't have a good reason why he couldn't so I told him I would try it and see how it turned out. It turned out pretty good. I told him he could have it that way until school started, but after a few days he got tired of having to spike it up so we ended up shaving it off. It was fun while it lasted.

2010 Anderson Family Reunion

After our trip to Oregon we spent 2 weeks at home and then we were off to Utah for our Anderson Family Reunion at Aspen Grove. We were brave souls and decided to make the drive from Minnesota to Utah in one day. We left our house at 3:30 a.m. and reached Kevin and Jenni's house in Tooele, UT at midnight Minnesota time. It was easily one of the longest days of our lives. We decided that we prefer to make the trip in 2 days. We weren't sure what to expect at Aspen Grove, but it turned out to be a ton of fun for all ages! We did some pottery/crafts, hiking, archery, pellet gun shooting, rappelling, climbing, ropes course, paint ball, geocaching, mini-golf, simulator golfing, ping pong, air hockey, badminton, swimming and fishing. We competed in the Aspen Follies (team games) and went to Frontier Night (where you got to do frontier activities like hatchet throwing, branding, lassoing, bull whipping, etc.). Too much stuff to write. The best part was having our whole family together (even for a short time). Our only disappointment was Grandma withdrawing from the Dance Dance Revolution competition. Maybe next time!