Monday, July 26, 2010

Jolene's birthday party

We had Jolene's b-day party on Sunday, which I think the adults had just as much fun as the kids.  Many bottles of wine and quite a few beers were consumed.  I assembled pizza crusts for each individual and then everyone topped their own with whatever they wanted.  I was worried that we didn't have enough crusts, but it turned out that the toppings didn't stretch as far as the dough did.  The kids loved it as well as the adults.  We moved on to cake right after pizza came out of the oven cause poor Jolene was on meltdown.  I think the excitement and so many kids and the lack of naps these days were all starting to take their toll on her.  We sang and gave out cupcakes to the kids and cut the cake for the adults.  It was fun but the entire evening was a bit of chaos.  Jolene opened a few gifts from friends and got two really adorable little dolls that she loves, but doesn't really know what to do with them yet.  I think because Emmett doesn't want to play with them, she kinda doesn't either.  She'll learn...




Emmett had a blast cause his friends were basically all there for the party.  At the end of the night, Dawn and I finished out the night on the front porch watching our two boys put on a show.  They sang.  They danced.  I recorded.  They will probably hate that this was recorded when they are about 17 or so...  I will give you a taste at the end of the blog(make sure you turn up your volume so you can hear the made up lyrics!).  Lots of pics=lots of fun!



Saturday, July 24, 2010

Team Anderson/Lamascus

Luke, Jessica and I competed in a Summer Sprint Triathlon at 6:45am this morning.  Our team name was "I'd Rather Be Drinking" and under the picture on our shirts was the leg of the race that you completed.  So Luke's t-shirt read" I'd rather be drinking than swimming."  Luke swam a 500 in the pool at the rec center, then sent Jessica off on a 13 mile bike ride, who then sent me off on a 5K run.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and we finished, but don't have the results yet.  I think finishing was an accomplishment in itself.  We will work next year to beat this year's time!   Jessica's parents came and cheered us on.  It was really nice to have a cheering section.  Our two families went and had breakfast at the Irma when we were all done.  It was a great morning.  I did however forget my camera as we were leaving the house at 6am this morning.  I will post pictures when Jessica and Kim send them to me.  Unfortunately, I have no pics of Luke swimming as they did not arrive until he was already finished and out of the pool!  Now we are getting ready for Jolene's birthday party tomorrow afternoon.  Gotta make cakes and pizza dough and maybe take a nap...... 

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Finally, I caught Joey walking!

Here's the illusive video!  Enjoy cause she'll be running soon....


Jolene's First Birthday!

I can't believe that Jolene is already one year old!!! She is starting to cruise around, but at her own pace. She walks (aka about 6 steps) when you really aren't looking. I have tried to video this occurrence but she is really illusive and only walks when you aren't paying much attention. I would've bet a few bucks that Jolene would have gotten a tooth or four on her birthday, but she still has none. She has been running a fever for about 4 days now and yesterday the runny nose started back up. Maybe tomorrow...

Emmett and Luke went to pick out Jolene's present the other day. If it was up to Emmett, she would have opened a brand new Buzz Lightyear doll! Instead he compromised on a peak-a-boo train. Emmett helped her open it and showed her how to play with it. and has been playing with it all morning. I finally had to explain about her birthday and her presents...I think you get the picture. So tonight we will have small cake to celebrate, but the big party is on Sunday with friends. We will be breaking out the ladybug theme and really get to party!







Monday, July 19, 2010

Friday, July 16, 2010

Lindsey's bach party



I got to attend Lindsey's bachlorette party yesterday thanks to my neighbor watching the kids while Luke was in Casper for his annual company meeting. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet a bunch of really great ladies. We started at a mexican joint for food and marqs. Too much wine and not enough water for this chicka. I also decided that bringing a "jug" of Hot Sex was a particularly great idea. Hot sex is a chocolate creamy shot that was delicous with macadamia nut alcholic whipped topping on top! The second half of the party was at the KOA outside of town. Lindsey's family put their camper out there for us to party in. We had a white wedding scavenger hunt, all things had to be white: paper towels, tp, eggs!, socks, and so on for about 25 items. It wasw interesting having to go around the campground and ask for things....some people were very kind, some were irritated. It was fun either way.

fish update

Jimi 2 has died. I sat Emmett down and explained that Jimi didn't make it and he could care less. "Do you want another fish?" "Nah." End of conversation. Jimi went to his final resting place in the septic tank.

Luke's 32nd birthday

Luke's 32nd birthday was on Monday. He had to make a quick trip to Jackson and came back in time for red velvet cake to celebrate. Nothing like being a year older with two screaming kids to make you feel young again ;)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Our first pet

Emmett earned his first pet, a goldfish, by using the potty and being dry for so many days(potty chart that he completed a few weeks ago). We got the fish about a week ago. When you would ask Emmett what he was going to name the fish, he would respond "I'll tell you tomorrow." So we waited and the next morning and asked the question again. "His name is Jimi Hendrix." OK. Not sure where he heard or came up with this name, but it fits just fine for the poor fish. He lasted 2 days. During Emmett's naptime, Luke ran to Walmart and replaced it with another fish. Only this fish had a bit of black on it and the other one was white and gold. Emmett didn't notice until yesterday when he told me his fish was dirty and that he must have swam up against the black rocks in the bottom of the bowl cause he had some black stuff on him. Smart kid. Anyway, Jimi 2 is doing just fine...so far.


This is Jimi 1. May he rest in peace.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Swimming today

Emmett is in swim lessons once again and loves them to death. He asked to go swimming after lunch and the temperature is on the rise so maybe not such a bad idea. Jolene needs to start getting in the pool anyway. So I loaded up the kids(Jolene has switched to the next car seat by the way!) and we headed off to the pool. We get there and no towels. The towels must have jumped out of the bag and landed neatly in a stack on the kitchen counter...... Anyway, in the family locker area, I am getting Jolene in her cute little suit when I look up and Emmett is running in circles around the other parents with my underwear and brightly colored bra yelling "Are these yours mommy?!". Slightly mortified since they were not my finest, I calmly told Emmett to put them back in the bag and put on his trunks. Once the battle to get dressed for the adventure had ended, we headed into the water. Instant tears for Jolene. She has really been hating bathtime lately and I should have expected as much. The water was actually a bit cold today and I am sure that didn't help. 15 minutes after we got in, the lifeguards blew the whistle for a 5 min break. I completely forgot about this rule and did not time our outing to the pool very well. Jolene, Emmett and I went to the showers to warm up and Jolene loved the shower. She definitely had more fun in the shower room than the pool. She and I got dressed while Emmett played in the shower and then he went back in the pool for a few more minutes(I was thinking of a better naptime!). Overall, my first experience taking the kids to the pool by myself wasn't too horrible. Not sure if I will try again next week.....maybe when Jolene is fully walking by herself....worse??? we'll see.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Fourth of July

The family and friends started to arrive at midnight on Thursday night. Mom and Chrissy, plus Holly, loaded up after Chrissy got done with work and drove to Cody. Made for a long night, but got to have a full day in Cody on Friday. Sarah, Ryan and the girls, Lily and Anna, arrived on Friday afternoon. Mom and I took the kids to the kiddie parade on Friday morning and Chrissy(preparing for Mt. Kilimanjaro in a few weeks) went to hike Heart Mountain that sits right behind us. I will have to get pictures from her as she said it was beautiful from the top. Once the Christensen's arrived, the watermelon margaritas started flowing and the water fight ensued. The kids drenched each other and anyone who got in their way--me. I filled the bucket with water so they could fill their own squirt guns and I guess I looked like I wanted to get soaked. They had a blast and asked to have a slumber party. Why not. We thought it was worth a shot. Emmett wound up "reading" every book on his bookshelf to the girls and they didn't go to sleep til about 10:30 or so. They were up with Jolene and I at 6am the next morning. Needless to say, we had some tired kids on our hands the next day. The ladies and kids piled into one car and took off to Red Lodge for the day while the gents went golfing and shopping for fireworks. We went to the Bear Tooth Animal Reserve(not sure of the exact name) and got to see all sorts of animals that were rescued/injured and some were waiting for release back into the wild. Mountain lions, elk, a buffalo, many birds, a few bears, bobcats, wolves and more. The weather was a bit chillier than we had planned for so everyone was outfitted with long shirts and coats(borrowed from my closet as Emmett's stuff was too small for the girls and who packs coats for the 4th anyway?). Everyone but Jolene. I completely forgot to pack her any warm clothes. Luckily there was a spare blanket in the back of the car. We had a quick lunch while the parade went on outside. I had no idea there was a parade going on that day and it made for an interesting parking situation as well as busy streets in Red Lodge. The kids went outside with Grammy to watch the parade while we waited for our food. It was nice to get back and relax at the house for a bit. Not too long for us girls. We have instituted mandatory Girls Saturday Afternoon Out for the 4th of July weekend. We went shopping and stopped to have drinks and fried green tomatoes at Rib and Chop. A well deserved quiet time for the ladies. The boys were at home with sleeping kids gawking and drooling over all of the explosives the purchased earlier. And cooking ribs for dinner. After dinner, once the kids went down to sleep, we lit up the firepit out back and enjoyed a few drinks by the fire. It was the perfect weather to enjoy a fire and drinks. Up to late once again, it made for a tired morning. The parade started at 9:30am and we made it by about 9:00am. Luckily, we got to sit with our friends the Nelsons outside of their apartment on the main drag. It took a bit, but we jumped back on the horse and made bloody marys and screwdrivers about halfway thru the parade. Afterwards, the crew headed back to the ranch for naps and to prep for the upcoming BBQ. Jessica and her family came over and played for the evening. The neighbors joined in the fun as well. We wound up with a pretty good mix of fireworks when all was said and done. It sure made for an enormous mess to pick up the next day. Mom and Chrissy had to head home, but the Christensen's stayed one more day so we could see the Extreme Bulls at the rodeo. We had a disastrous lunch in town and made up for it with a few beers at the rodeo. It was a good day. Looking forward to many years to come.