Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and this year was extra special. All the Ansons were together and we soaked up every minute. Ally could hardly wait for her Thanksgiving feast at school. She dressed up like an Indian, sporting the necklace she made that she was particularly proud of.


The Sunday before Thanksgiving was Joseph's birthday. It was also the day David and Amy arrived from Missouri. Two perfect reasons to celebrate with good food and German chocolate cake.


Sam wanted in on the Thanksgiving dinner preparations. Actually, he just wanted to gnaw on the cream cheese. Do you think I could get anything out of this adorable product placement? I should mention that the cream cheese was for an amazingly delicious pumpkin cheesecake Grandma made for my birthday which landed on Thanksgiving this year. Thanks, Mom!

We decided to have a grand sleepover at Grandma's house the night before Thanksgiving. All the cousins slept together upstairs in the storage room, of all places. They loved it. Brook later commented, "That was funny that we slept in the storage room."

We use the term "slept" very loosely. Brook had to be removed from the room since she was keeping the others awake. She fell asleep on the couch downstairs. All the cousins were finally asleep by about 10:45. The adults stayed up playing games until almost 1 am. The first kids started waking up around 5:45 and they were all up by 6:30 or so. It was totally worth it, but we were all tired the next day. Poor Benjamin literally fell asleep in his mashed potatoes. That would have been an awesome picture.

Zac had some canker sores that kept him from fully enjoying his meal, but they did not get in the way of enjoying his time with Caleb. The two cousins had a grand time together. They are two peas in a pod. Both of them shed tears when it was time for Caleb to go home. It was a tender moment for all of us.


All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving. Thanks to the Missouri Ansons for making the long drive to share it with us. Family is one of our greatest blessings. Hopefully we can make it to your house this summer.

Great to be Eight!

Zac's birthday celebrations started a week early when Joseph took Zac to his first BYU football game. It was cold and rainy, but the cougars won. He loved it and can't wait to go again.

The Saturday before his birthday, we invited some friends for a pizza party. It was a little crazy; about what you would expect with six 8 year old boys and a few sisters running around. The energy level in our living room skyrocketed.

My favorite game was the cookie-0n-the-forehead game. Each boy got a vanilla wafer on his forehead. He had to manage to get the cookie in his mouth without using their hands. A few of them actually did it. It was hilarious to watch.

The boys really liked the unwrap-the-candy bar game. When they rolled doubles, they got a turn to unwrap the candy bar while wearing oven mitts. It was loud and wild and exactly what they wanted.

The day before his birthday, we had the family party. Grandpa, Grandma, Nicole, Emily and Chris all came to help us celebrate. Star Wars was the theme of the day. A little last minute coordination helped us all avoid duplicate gifts. He scored great Lego Star Wars stuff, including the Wii game he was hoping for. He campaigns to play it daily.

As you can tell, the Lego Star Wars shirt was a huge hit as well. Thanks, Aunt Nicole.

Zac wanted a chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting. And that is what he got. I love that his cake requests are getting simpler.

We wore Sam right out. Good thing Uncle Chris was there to snuggle. I think Chris was ready for a nap, too.


As luck would have it, November Pack Night was the day after Zac's birthday so he got to go. He looked way too grown up in his Cub Scout shirt. They gave him all kinds of things including some neckerchief slides and a board to hang them on, an actual neckerchief and a plaque with the Cub Scout promise. He also got flipped upside down to remind him to do a good "turn" daily. I am so grateful that we have amazing Cub leaders in our pack. Zac loves scouts and has already earned his Bobcat.




And, of course, the best part of turning eight was Zac's baptism. He was baptized on Dec. 4th, the same day I was baptized (a few years ago). It was a special day for our whole family. I am proud of Zac for deciding to be baptized. Thanks for setting a good example, Zac. We love you!

Trick or Treat

After months (literally) of planning what they would be, the kids finally got to dress up for Halloween. We spent many a mealtime conversation discussing options and making suggestions. This is what they finally came up with. They got to don their costumes three times: at school for the Halloween parade, for the ward party and for the actual trick or treating.

Brooklyn settled on Tinkerbell. Actually, she was the first one to make a final decision. She insisted on wearing her costume to the school parade. Two of her friends showed up in costume to watch their older siblings as well. The wings did not work too well, but she was thrilled nonetheless.

Ally wanted to be a cow. We have a great cow costume in our stash so it worked perfectly. It fit her and her personality. She is too fun.

Zac considered several Star Wars options and decided to be Anakin. I did my best to whip up a Star Warish tunic. It turned out OK. He was disappointed that the "no weapons rule" applied to lightsabers, but he understood. I was proud of him for choosing to follow the rule despite what the other kids might do. What a great kid.

Sariah wins the prize for changing her mind the most. We were getting her dressed for Activity Days (her first opportunity to dress up) when she changed her mind yet again. She had decided on a cheerleader, but when it came time to actually put on the outfit, she wasn't too sure. So, we quickly taped some Smarties to her jeans and sent her out the door as a "smarty pants." She loved it and stuck with it, you just can't see her pants in this picture.

Sam was not particularly impressed with his first Halloween. It could have had something to do with the fact that we stuffed him into a fleece pumpkin suit that was a little small for him. He sure looked cute, though. He humored us long enough for us to take a few pictures.

He much preferred his more casual Frankenstein bib.

He also rather enjoyed his Halloween card from Grandma Walker. He actually tried to eat it. Next year we will let you have some candy, little man.

Fall Fun

Fall 2010 was full of little events that kept us busy. This post is dedicated to a few of those moments. Sam was very patient as we hauled him everywhere we needed to be. Here is is hanging out on Aunt Emily's couch while Sariah had her piano lesson.

Sam decided to learn to sit up. He started with the help of his Boppy pillow. Now he is a pro. He has since learned to get down from a sitting position and roll/scoot himself to get what he wants. We are helping his siblings understand that their toys are no longer safe on the floor, especially all the little Polly Pocket sized stuff.

Sam and Brook are getting to be good friends while the big kids are at school.

Sam also celebrated his half birthday. Following family tradition, he got half a birthday cake. Well, he got to look at it and we ate it. Sorry, dude. You can have your cake and it too next time.

We broke out the saucer for Sam to play in. He loves it and so do the rest of the kids. The first few days it was out, each time someone walked by it, they turned on some sort of music or played with a toy. It about drove me bonkers, but it is great for him to have a place to play while I make dinner or grade papers.

We took our monkeys to the zoo during fall break. Our family loves the zoo, especially Sariah. She is particularly fond of the camels.

In October, we hit a pumpkin patch with our good friends. It has become an annual tradition that kids won't let us forget. It's OK because the adults look forward to it, too. Between the two families we now have 9 kids, with number 10 about to make her debut, tomorrow in fact. Wow! Who would have thought our little families would grow so quickly. My favorite part of this picture is Brook's self imposed bunny ears.

A not so fun part of fall is the annual flu shot. We bribe the kids by taking them out to dinner after we are done. Here we are sporting our band aids. Maybe someday we'll be able to get our shots without all the drama we are privileged with now. I'll spare you the details.




This fall the kids made a great discovery . . . LEGOS! Uncle Chris and Aunt Emily came to babysit one morning and Chris brought his collection. One time was all it took; they were hooked. Joseph was pretty excited to join the fun when we got home. Legos made it onto each of their Christmas lists and we now have some of our own. Once again we are thankful for our super cool uncle.

Family Pics

My amazing brother-in-law has done a little photography work on the side and wanted to try family pictures. We immediately volunteered to be his guinea pigs. We are thrilled with the results. Thanks, Chris!