Keeping Up With the Andersons

I can never seem to take enough photos of these kids. They seem to be up to something new and crazy every day! In the preceding photos:

It was so much fun to watch the kids' faces on the Fourth. They had seen big fireworks up in the sky before, but we'd never bought them sparklers and things they could light themselves. There is a great shot of Jacob throwing a fit and having a 'time out' at our new house. I'm standing in a big mouth at Casa Bonita in Denver, where Paul took me for my birthday this year. It's inside the restaurant in a dark, creepy cave called 'Black Barts Hideout'. Apparently at three years old, I decided I was NOT going through that mouth (no wonder! It was a little bit scary last month when we took the picture! Imagine being three years old having to walk through that thing!) Anyway, it's a one-way tunnel so, you have to go through the mouth to get out. I guess I caused quite a scene. The boys are having a bubblebath in Mommy's tub for a special treat. In that one photo, there is an old chair awaiting the van to the thrift store, and I found the boys sitting in it one day...I told you I can't take too many pictures! There are two shots of the boys at swim lessons. Liam is doing 'laps' in one of them, and Jacob is sitting in a cute little inflatable airplane. This amazing woman teaches them how to swim and be safe in the water in all kinds of situations. At the end of each lesson (once they are swimming really well) she pushes them out of a toy like this and they have to swim to the edge. It sounds a bit barbaric now that I'm looking at it written out on the page like that, but it's really amazing. We've seen her for about 10 lessons and Jacob can swim almost the whole sideways length of the pool. It's http://www.donnasdolphins.com/ if you want to check it out! There are also photies of Ewan's first nap in his own bed, and the two biggest monkeys at the photo studio getting Jaocb's 5 year old pictures taken.

the broccoli baby

Ewan is my second broccoli eating kid. I didn't know there were children who would eat green things of their own accord. One of many lessons I've learned from my kids! I used to tell the boys that if they didn't do a good job in a restaurant, that I could easily take them home and we would have broccoli and rice instead of deep-fried junk at a restaurant. This usually enticed good behavior out of my two little hyenas,but we have had to leave a couple places and go home to some of Bonnie's finest home-cookin'! I recently had to stop using this as a threat, because, although Jacob is miserable throughout the entire ordeal, I noticed that Liam actually liked it. He would happily eat his punishment and go skipping off to play. I was very happy to realize today that I have a second broccoli eater. But, I'm going to have to come up with a new threat to use in restaurants.

Happy Fourth of July

We all got brand new 'Proud to be an American' t-shirts for the Fourth of July this year. I am so thankful to live in this country where I can raise my children to follow God and worship as we please. It's hard to imagine a world where people don't have that option. Yet, it goes on all around the world. I am grateful this Independence Day 2008.