Rocket Launch

Here are the events leading up to our first annual Anderson Rocket Launch - East Coast Division.



Goofy Kids



Making the rockets



Painting the rockets

The Fourth of July

Preparing the rocket for take-off.

The countdown degins

Blast Off!

The only casualties were our 3 fallen rockets. 2 landed on top of the roof of Western Middle School and 1 landed in the tree.

They tried everything to get this one down; climbing the tree, shaking the tree, throwing sticks in hopes of hitting the rocket so it would fall to the ground but to no avail. It is a permanent fixture in the tree.

The show couldn't possibly be over, so the boys resorted to their own rockets. This is a bottle and below is a popsicle.

Boys will be boys.

We can't wait till next year. We had a BLAST!!

Vermont

We decided to go on a campout with the kids. I will admit I was a bit nervous especially since Ty is still so young, but we decided to give it a try anyway. About 3o minutes before we reached our destination Tasha threw up not once but twice. Since Vermont is a 4 hour drive there was NO turning back. Thank goodness for Pepto. It saved the weekend. We spent our first night at the Silver Lake State Park Campground.



Garret and Tasha loved helping Daddy with the tent.

Good morning sleepy heads.

Silver Lake

The weather was pretty unpredictable. It was a pretty cool weekend. It rained off and on all weekend. Luckily we were able to do all the things we had planned. When we got to the lake it was cloudy. The sun would peak out every now and then. We gave the kids the option to either rent a boat and go out on the lake or they could swim if the sun came out. Well, the sun came out and the swimsuits came on. They jumped in the lake and swam around thoroughly enjoying themselves. Until...

The sun disappeared. And.....

A fish swam by Tasha's leg totally freaking her out....

They ran out as quickly as they ran in, shivering while they waited for Daddy to grab their towels. Personally I would of went with the boat ride.

Ty enjoying some Daddy time, cuddles and....

kisses.

Take that. Smack!

While in Vermont, we took the opportunity to go to Joseph Smith's birthplace.

In memory of this great prophet, a granite monument was dedicated on the 100th anniversary of his birth. The shaft was sculpted from a single granite block quarried in Barre, Vermont, and is one of the largest polished shafts in the world. It stands 38 1/2 feet tall, one foot for every year of the Prophet Joseph Smith's life.

We got the grand tour from Elder and Sister Mckinnon. We also watched a movie about the Prophet Joseph Smith. He is and was such a remarkable human being. We loved being able to walk where this great prophet walked. There was such a sweet spirit there on those sacred grounds.

Ty getting in a catnap.

They actually had the original Hearthstone in the Visitors Center and the door step of the Prophets home behind Rob.

We took a ride on the golf cart to see some of the foundations that still exist from homes of family members related to the prophet.

The kids loved their sweet ride!

One crazy week!

Some weeks are easy, some are hard, others are just down right crazy! I will give you a peek at our week this week and let you decide. (Please note that I am writing this on the train home on Friday, so there is still a significant portion of the week that will still happen.)

Sunday evening Steph got a call from the mother of one of Tasha's school friends. Apparently there was a problem at the school so they were closing the school on Monday. We decided to investigate a little and pulled up the school website, isn't it funny that an elementary school has a website, and found out that not only would the school be closed on Monday, but for the whole week. Well, a free week for vacation isn't so bad so we settled in for some fun and Steph started planning some activities for the week.

We checked the school website again Monday night after the school board meeting and they said that the school was being closed for the rest of the year due to a mold problem in the school. They said none of it got into the air so there isn't a health problem, but they need to fix it before they let the kids back in. Remember, this is the temporary school that they set up while the regular school is being renovated. They also said that the kids would be relocated to another school for the rest of the school year. Tasha's third school this year! At least she gets to stay with her teacher and classmates.

So on Tuesday a building in Harlem partially collapsed right be the train tracks around 2:00 PM. That meant that there would be no trains from NYC to CT until it was safe. So, long story short, my train finally got moving around 7:30 and I got home around 8:30.

Later in the week Steph did Joy School while juggling three kids in the morning on Thursday and had a playdate in the afternoon.

If that isn't crazy enough for you our stake asked that we visit all the members in our ward this month, lots of extra work for the EQ president, and we are putting on a no-holds-barred pinewood derby on Saturday and I got to go out with the missionaries on Thursday night.

Well, I'm out of breath just from thinking about it all. Hope you guys are having more fun than you can handle as well.

Snow Day

On Friday it snowed a ton. When I say a ton, I mean between 6 and 8 inches overnight. Tasha was already out of school for Winter Break so there was no free snow day. The kids have been dying all winter to go out and make a snow man. We really haven't had any snow to speak of this year until now. So with Ty safely down for a nap, Steph headed out with the kids. It was great fluffy stuff, not the normal icy stuff that we have had. Now we know why Utah has the greatest snow on Earth.


Now everytime we go outside they have to step on the snow. They thought it was really cool that the van had snow on top, they called it a snow hat. I told them that when it got warm enough the snow hat would fly off while we were driving. So for the last two days they have been watching very closely for the snow hat to fall off. Today while we were driving home from stake conference it finally happened. We felt a big gust and the snow hat took flight. They were so excited.

How fun it is to be a kid!

Grandma Anderson's Visit

We got to have a lot of fun with Grandma Anderson. We were so excited to have her come and spend a week with us. She soaked up all the time she could with Tasha, Garrett and Ty. She even found time to put Rob on a new diet (gotta watch the pounds these days).

Ty hasn't been sleeping very well, we think his stomach is giving him problems. So Grandma let us know about Gripe Water. This stuff is great. He takes a dropper-full before he eats and he is good to go. No more gassy tummy.

We are so glad that we got to spend this time with Grandma Anderson.

Kids Say The Darnedest Things

Garrett said the funniest thing to Tasha today as I was trying to get them to pick the toys up in their room. Garrett grabbed the phone and said, "I'm calling the fire department to take away mom." Little does he know that some days Freecycle looks very appealing to mommy. Today I actually attempted potty training Garrett. Needless to say after four pairs of wet underwear and one poopy pair it didn't go so well. Now despite all the accidents he did have some success. Whenever he would ask for a treat (which seems to be constantly) my response would be, "If you go potty in the toilet then you can have a treat." Immediately he would run into the bathroom pull down his pants and would strain to push whatever would come out, each time it was a little tinkle. He would be so excited that he went to the bathroom but even more excited that he would get a piece of candy. Kids will do anything for a piece of candy. I'm pretty partial to treats myself. I'm hoping we can trick Garrett into getting potty trained. Hopefully his teeth won't fall out after we have accomplished this daunting task. I'm tired of changing big boy poopy diapers. Why does potty training have to be such a challenge?

Introducing...

Ty Colton Anderson. That's right, he made it today. We went in this morning so Steph could be induced. Delivering Garrett was fast and wild so we decided to schedule this one. Everyone did very well. We got started at the hospital at 8:30 AM. Tasha and Garrett stayed with Kristen Anderson, Laura Turley and Monica Cowan, thanks a ton! It took a while for things to really get going, but by 4:20 PM he made his grand entrance. We think he is a very handsome addition to this Anderson bunch. He weighs 7 lbs. 7 oz and is 19 in long. He has a thin patch of dark hair and some big eyes. Steph and Ty are resting at Stamford hospital while I wrangle the kids. Tasha was really excited for him to come, she even had Kristen call us immediately after school to see if he was here yet. Garrett was a little more discriminating, but quickly warmed up when he met Ty. He will be a great big brother, even if he didn't want to take a picture with him.

Halloween

Well we all had a great time on Halloween. Rob came home early and took the kids out Trick-or-Treating. With the candy the kids got from Trick-or-Treating and from the Trunk-or-Treat a week ago, they may never sleep again.

Tasha was a Pink Power Ranger and Garrett was Spiderman. As you can see, Garrett really loves being Spiderman. We got him the costume a couple of weeks ago, and he has wanted to wear it every day. (We're glad it was still in one piece by the time Halloween finally got here!)

We love to carve pumpkins. Tasha really did a great job. We poked holes in the pumpkins to mark the pattern and then used a little saw to cut out the holes. She followed right along the lines and did a great job on both pumpkins. When the kids got tired of the pumpkins they went for the apples and apple dip!

We have been trying to go to a farm to pick apples and pumpkins for the last couple of weeks, but the Saturdays have been cold and rainy. So today we went to see the Bee Movie. It was a lot funnier for the adults than the kids, but we all had a good time.

The Trunk or Treat party at the church

Here's a few pictures from the Trunk-or-Treat party we have every year at the church. They say its a lot safer than going around the neighborhood, but we just think it is a whole lot of fun.


Garrett and Tasha in the trunk of our "monster van." Everyone decorated their trunk and handed out candy.


Rob doing what he does best, he beat all the little kids in the no-hands donut eating contest.


Here the kids are making a ghost craft, Garrett even colored his with a scary face.

Another week gone by

Wow its already another week gone by. We should really slow things down around here.

Tasha was out of school on Thusday and Friday for Yom Kippur. You don't get holidays like that in Utah!

She took the time to hang out with some of her friends from pre-school. It is so fun to see her make good friends. She is very good at it. Everywhere she goes she makes so many friends.

We got most of our non-routine stuff boxed up last week and we will start moving it over tomorrow. It is nice to have a couple of weeks to make this move happen.

Steph is starting to get bigger now.

Garrett has really taken a liking to Joy School. Our kids grow up so fast.

Today I went to lunch with my team. We went to a place in the City called Le Colonial. It sounded french to me, but it was asian. It was really good. I had some chopped filet mingon with vegetables in a peanut sauce. Very tender and tasty. I highly recommed it.

Tasha's big week

Well today marks the end of Tasha's first full week at school. It was an up and down week for her. At first she was very excited for the week to start and then, as the week ran on, the excitement wore off. On Wednesday she didn't want to go at all. She hadn't made any friends yet and the day was so long! But then she met a friend named Jada. Tasha usually makes friends pretty quickly so we are glad to see her move forward. Its too bad that she will have to start again in a few weeks when we move to Greenwich.

Garrett started school this week as well. 6 boys in our ward get together for "Joy School." They go once a week for a couple of hours. The moms rotate who teaches. Garrett was so excited. He made a little booklet about counting to five. He especially liked that he traced his hand. This morning he walked me through the entire booklet. We are glad that he is enjoying it.

Our new apartment should be ready for us next week. We will move most things over in stages and save the big stuff for the 29th when we will get some guys from the ward together.

I started a long project this week. I'm still in New York, but working at the client's office. It adds about 20 minutes to my commute, but I get to walk an extra two miles each day. I'm having a good time and learning a lot.

Steph is busy trying to pack up all our stuff. We are trying to get a jump on it because we tend to get pulled away on so many different things.

A quick pic

Here is a picture of Garrett at the pool. He wasn't crazy about the goggles.

Summer Fun at the Zoo

Here are some pictures of the kids at the Bronx Zoo. We went with Monica, Dominick, and Kambree. Tasha and Garrett get along great with Dominick and Kambree. Monica even puts up with Steph.

Things are changing

Some new developments this week. Today Rob was set apart as the new Elders Quorum President. He has been the First Councilor in the EQ for a year and a half now, but he is still pretty nervous about the change. Seems like we are always changing around here.

Keeping with the change theme Rob starts his new position in New York City in only another two weeks! Today we realized it is time to order the train ticket for next month.

So, we will keep on changing around here. Rob got to talk with Dan on the video chat tonight and that was really fun. Dan is still talking in his sing-songy brazilian accent, but it is good to have him home. We really hope he finds himself a date soon so he can get back to normal.

This is Tasha and Garrett getting out of the tub on our trip to Washington D.C. this spring. What a couple of cheeseballs!