Princess Cake

I think I'm getting the hang of this whole cake decorating thing.  This was my first barbie/princess cake...made for my niece, Sophie.  A friend that attended the party thought it was just a doll or something.  I thought he was going to freak out when he learned it was a cake and frosting.  :o)  It was pretty funny.

Hair Cut---finally!

Teagan had decided that he wanted to grow his hair out...and since he has hair like his mother, it grows quickly and is thick.  I wasn't loving it, but Teagan seemed to.  When it finally started getting warm, we told him that he needed to have it cut for the summer.  He wasn't thrilled, but we told him that he could grow it out again after school starts again, if he wants.  So, of course, before we cut it, I had to see if it would hold some little piggy tails....and it certainly did.

Do I have to?

No more bad attitude here. 

Well, maybe this is bad attitude, but looks more like Gollum, from Lord of the Rings, to me.

I don't have an after picture....but I've posted some recent pictures since the hair cut.  Such a happy, strange child.

Memorial Weekend

What do you do when you've been planning to go camping with Gma and Papa Larry, but then you have sick kiddos???  You set up a tent in the living room, of course.

It's warm, comfy, with hot running water, electricity, flushing toilets, and no bugs.  Look how happy they are.  Thanks Daddy for making it a fun night.

Baseball Season

Teagan was super excited to start baseball this year!  It's, of course, different from our couple years of soccer, but he's loving it.  And John says that Teagan could make a really good catcher.  Doesn't he look cute in his catchers gear!?!?  I know, such a mom thing to say.

Contact!  (Always exciting!)

John is Teagan's coach.  And they play in the Coach Pitch league.  So, pretty cool to have your dad pitching to you.

Re-hydrating.  He's so responsible.  ;o)

Ready to run home.  *Oh--at his game last week, Teagan got a "home run".....which really means that the ball kept being overthrown and not caught by the other team......but a home run, none the less.  Teagan was soooo excited and, of course, let everyone know.

Brody is playing T-ball this year.  Look at that form!  He's a natural.  And even though he's left handed...and bats left handed...he doesn't like wearing the left-handed mitt.  So he's still throwing right handed.  But, obviously doing just fine!

Ready position.  ;o)

I love watching him bat.  He's so focused....even with his helmet all wonky.

Good stop!

Terrily cute.  Love this kid!

Eight is Great!!!

My first born turned 8 today.  *sigh*  I love him.  I could never express what my children really mean to me.

I love how Kamryn is trying to help and Daddy doesn't think that's such a good idea.

Teagan asked for a Ninjago cake.  I had some big plans, but ran out of time.  It still turned out pretty cool and Teagan loved it!

Teagan and Uncle Greg opening presents.

Ready for cub scouts!

Pirates of the Caribbean game for the wii.....what?!?!?!?

Boo!  Mom and Dad gave me a gazillion presents for my birthday.  (He's such a wierdo.)  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEAGAN!!!

Of course the party didn't stop after BBQ, cake, ice cream, and presents.  Time for horsey rides from Uncle Greg.

Seriously....Brody could not get enough of his Unky G.

Charlotte is always a good sport too.

Just had to get a picture with the 4 of us Anderson kids.  I've decided that us girls might need to start thinking about following Tony's lead and spending a little time on our hair.  So fun to be together!  Thanks Teagan, for having a Birthday! 

I almost forgot!  We were able to bring cupcakes to Teagan's school to celebrate as well.  This is a first for us, because when we lived in Utah, we were always out of school before his special day.  Pretty fun!  And I try to help my children feel special....because they are.

Guess Who's 2

 Our sweet Liam turns 2 tomorrow.  We had his little party today with our little family, Gma & Papa Larry, Uncle Tony & Aunt Nancy and Ryan, Avery, & Sophie.

 He has been loving all the cows outside of town, so we went with a farm animal themed cake.  Barn cake with animal cupcakes....soooo simple!  And delicious.....And he loved it!

 He had a little trouble blowing out the candles.  But someone nearby pitched in with a little hot air.

 Obviously there was no problem digging in.

 All the kiddos.

And every little boy needs a t-ball set. 


Happy Happy Birthday to our sweet, happy, funny, smart, cuddly, dimple faced boy!  We love you Liam!

Spike

During our visit to the ranch John found a Horny Toad Lizard.  After a couple days of convincing, I let the creature come home with us.  Teagan has been asking for a lizard for a long time and so now he is the proud owner of Spike.  (This is not the best picture.....I'll post more another time.)  We are having a heck of a time getting the poor little thing to eat, however.  His diet is supposed to consist mainly of ants.....but for some reason, we have been short on ants.  We have given him several crickets and a couple spiders, but he won't touch the crickets....and I'm not sure about the spiders.  I'm afraid Spike is starving to death!  John is going to check out a place for some ants tomorrow, hopefully it works out.  If any local friends have some nice big ant hills...let us know!

A Lovely Ranch Visit

The Langston Family
(At a big and pretty cool park near the ranch.)

   Posers

Peace.

Kamryn kinda freaked her mom out climbing so high in slippery cowgirl boots.

Aunt Kati and Uncle Brad....still so young.

Teagan said, "Mom, I want to show you something."  Then he ran over, climbed on a big log and tried to do the karate kid crane thing.  Totally cracked me up!

Grandma giving Kamryn a push on the ginormous tire swing.

            




         Papa and Kati giving the teeter-totters a try.

Brody on the huge, fun slide.

Grandma, Kati, and Liam trying to catch Uncle Brad at the end of the slide.

Have you ever seen a playground like this before?  Me neither.  It seems a little 60s space themed.  The kids had a ton of fun.

The kids could not visit the ranch and not be able to ride the horses.  It was a little warm outside, but the horses humored the children for a couple good rides each.

 Even though I am not necessarily a big horse lover, I'm grateful that my children have the opportunity to enjoy these beautiful creatures.

Little Ms. Kamryn truly loves the horses and is fearless.

Waving.....like a true rodeo princess would.

                   "I really can do this by myself, Dad."

Liam also really loves the horses and was not happy to let someone else have a turn riding.

   




Pure, pure joy.

Kati and Brad are always a huge help with the kiddos and of course, the kids wouldn't have it any other way.  They love every minute they get to spend with them.

Kamryn, Aunt Kati, and Brody.....sticky fingered and stuffed full of s'mores.

Brody enjoying the fire before s'mores.

Kamryn, Teagan, Aunt Kati, and Liam....warm and toasty.

Daddy and the two little ones on a walk back from the barn.

Kams on the ever-popular tire swing.  Look at that beautiful, sweet face!

Another highlight.  And another thing that Liam did not want to share.  It's tough being almost 2 years old.

Silly Brody's turn on the tire swing.

 Obviously Liam had a hard time leaving the 4-wheeler seat.  But the other kids didn't seem to mind him riding along.

Daddy and Brody.

"Patiently" waiting for their ride on the 4-wheeler.  (I love this picture of Kamryn.)

 More waiting.  (I also love this pic....her chin is still in her hands.  Ha!)

Liam flying solo with Daddy.

Uncle Brad and Aunt Kati teaching Liam how to fly a kite.

 (I'm not sure why the 2 photos above are causing me so much grief...but these next 2 are no different.  I know I'm not a computer whiz, so I'm going to move on.)




A little dirt sand won't hurt.

Yes, she truly thought she needed to make sand angels.  Although, she didn't much appreciate having her tangled hair combed out after washing it and not having conditioner to help out.

 Liam and Kati watching the kite.

Uncle Brad's cool kite.

Uncle Brad patiently teaching the munchkins about kite flying.  It was a perfectly beautiful sunny, windy day to fly a kite.

Liam's turn on the tire swing.  He kept that smiley face during his entire time on the swing.  I could look at that dimpled smile all day.







It was a wonderful visit to the ranch.  The kids love it and love being able to spend time with Grandma & Papa and Aunt Kati & Uncle Brad.  John was able to help brand cattle, and I truly enjoyed the company and quiet that the ranch provides.