The Bright Side

Many of you know that things have been a little crazy in the Anderson household with Aaron getting laid off, me getting in a car accident, and my cousin unexpectedly passing away all within a few weeks time.  I have occasion to be a little dramatic about it, but there have been some good things going on too...like for example does it get any sweeter than this?!

You may have already seen that because my sister Liz posted it on Facebook, but I had to have it here because it is so precious.  She gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Emree Josephine, who my kids obviously adored.  Neither of them wanted to share, Adelyn stated, "OOOH I could hold this all day!"  Hopefully they will be equally as excited when their sister comes in a month.

Michelle was nice enough to make the trek up to Bellingham with me since Aaron was sick.  It was a great way to get some time in with her before she left on her mission, let the boys have some bonding time, and give Liz a little break.  

Another good thing we have had going for us is all the unseasonably good weather we have had and Adelyn's new interests spending it hiking or at the beach.  She was actually upset at me when I tried to carry our pack with snacks and water.

Online, the trails at Rainbow Falls State Park looked a lot cooler than they did at the actual place, but Barett wasn't feeling the hiking that day anyway so the kids had fun just throwing rocks into the stream and climbing on logs.  This little string of pictures crack me up--I couldn't decide which was the funniest/randomest, so you can decide for yourselves.

Why is he lifting up the shirt?  No idea.

Adelyn couldn't figure it out either, but Barett obviously thought it was a great joke.

But what I laughed the most at was Barett continually lifting his leg to try to climb on top of this higher log, so I made him try again so I could get a video of it.  His determination and confidence is awesome, best showcased in the grunt at the end.

We headed out for some more hiking to Priestpoint State Park, which turned out to be a lot prettier and a lot closer, so it was a win win.  I hadn't done the Ellis Cove trail since the old bridge washed out so I headed down there with the kids one Saturday morning.

It was a lot longer than I remembered it, so I ended up regretting going down there without Aaron.  The kids actually did a really good job on the way down, but once Barett fell in the mud in the tideflats, it was over for him.  I had to carry him the whole way back up.  Those of you who haven't held Barett in awhile and/or haven't tried to carry 35 lbs for 25 minutes uphill while pregnant with varicose veins and swollen feet can't fully appreciate that statement.

But my, that doesn't sound like the brightside.  It was a gorgeous day, a gorgeous path, and Adelyn was in seventh heaven gathering all the purple shells they have in that little cove.  And she managed to make it back to the car on her own without too little complaining.  Though I did have to bribe her with a treat: snow cone and face painting at the Farmer's Market at least saved my sanity while my body was getting a work out!

An Idaho Easter

I promised this a long time ago, and yet here I am FINALLY doing it.  Since we are going to be a little busy with baby this summer and Aaron's sister had a baby of her own in March, we decided to veer from the normal summer trip to Aaron's parents and took a drive out there for Spring Break.

On the drive down, Aaron and Hillary were talking about how much they missed riding horses and amazingly enough, they got the opportunity to ride this time!  One of our awesome new sisters in law, Sarah, volunteered to take the kids out riding while we were there and I assured her not only would they love that, but Aaron and Hillary would love it too!

You can't really tell from any of the pictures we took, but I think Barett loved it more than anyone.  He cried and cried when we finally took him off.  Luckily Sarah's friends who owned the horses had a swingset and a dog, two fabulous distractions for Barett.

The girls wanted to ride together, but quickly discovered they didn't feel quite as secure that way.  Though the two show horses were very well-trained, the girls weren't prepared for the horse to shudder and Mikaiah never did want to get back on!

Of course we were loving all the sunshine we got to soak up while we were down there too!  But wouldn't you know Washington had a miraculously 70 degree day while we were gone. :(

The traditional Easter Egg Dying.

And hunting.  Not sure what's going on in this picture, but I am scared.

Barett getting ready for the hunt at the church to begin...just a little impatiently.  He grabbed an egg before they started and Aaron tried to distract him from getting more by showing him the candy inside.

And you can see from this picture, that definitely distracted him...so much that he didn't want to grab any more eggs, just eat the candy.  They had a huge pancake breakfast in the church after with even more candy on the tables as part of the decor.  It's a wonder my kids ate anything BUT candy that day!

The next day they had the baby blessing at the house, which was really nice.  Here are Ainsley and Bentley, the reason for the trip and 

definitely the star of the show.

Adelyn and Mikaiah sporting their Easter Dresses, while I think Mikaiah's mind is yet again on candy.  The Easter Baskets are off to my right.

Jay and Susan went all out and did yet another easter egg hunt in their own backyard.  Adelyn was in Seventh Heaven, since her attention span was definitely the longest of the grandkids, she scored.  Her only disappointment was that the Easter bunny was nowhere to be found.  Maybe you will dress up next year Jay???

Uncle Seth got some bubble wands for the kids, which entertained Barett for hours.

What a little man...cuddling a little bunny.

Sadly our time quickly came to an end and we had to head back home, saying goodbye to Aaron's grandpa.    This was definitely the happiest the kids were that day...the road home was a little too long and they lost it with three hours still left to go.  Now I know why my parents used to wake us up in the middle of the night to head to grandpa's!

We had a great time and can't wait to see you all again for our own baby blessing in August.