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Ryan was fortunate enough to have an extended birthday celebration this past week. His grandfather was inducted into the High School Coaches Hall of Fame and so Ryan and his brother flew down to support Grandpa Long and join in the celebration!

The guys all went golfing on Saturday morning. This has become their new hobby and I'm glad that they had time to golf. They tried a new course that seemed to be a better fit for their skill level, and everyone had a great time.

For dinner on Saturday, Ryan got to pick the restaurant that he and his family (including cousins and aunt) went to. Being the smart man that he is, he picked Outback (yes, I was a little jealous that I was in Utah missing out on the deliciousness). After dinner, Aunt Flower surprised him with cheesecake and Star Wars presents -- she knows him so well! She is so thoughtful to have brought 2 cheesecakes on the airplane all the way from California! Sunday was church and then the Hall of Fame banquet/induction ceremony for Grandpa Long. It was a great event and Grandpa did a wonderful job with his speech. He was a high school basketball coach for a long time, had 4 state championship teams, has been very involved even after retirement, and we are so proud of him!

Ryan was back home for his actual birthday. For dinner he fired up the grill -- steaks for the 2 of us and the regular hot dogs/hamburgers for the kids. (I got to have steak after all!) I didn't know that Aunt Flower was going to treat him to cheesecake (which he brought some home), so we had another cheesecake here! I had debated whether or not to make it from scratch or to buy it . . . looking at all I wanted to do that weekend, I decided to buy it. Maybe next year!

We got him presents about some of his favorite things. Currently, his favorite show is "The Biggest Loser", so we got him a Biggest Loser book and DVD. And since he loves to grill, he also got a new grill cover and a super-duty grill brush. My other present to him was to deep clean his grill. It was long overdue! Unfortunately, I started the project a little later in the day than I had originally wanted, so I wasn't quite done when he got home. It was quite a project! I didn't have time to get it perfectly clean, but it is now MUCH better than it was. I didn't think to get a picture of the mess while in the middle of the cleaning process, but here is the aftermath to give you an idea:Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Tender Moments

This blog is our family scrapbook, so usually I post about the fun things we are doing. But life is not always so happy. This weekend was a hard one for me. Ryan went out of town Friday to visit his family and was gone through Sunday night. In the last month, he has been out of town a week for work, then we went out of town without him for a week, and now this weekend. I guess having Dad gone so much finally caught up to the kids, or me, or both!

I tried to plan some fun activities, but we had to postpone them because too many boys were getting time-outs and were otherwise grumpy. We did end up going out on Saturday -- they were good at Hogi Yogi, but then we had more problems that evening. Nathan was a NIGHTMARE through all of church . . . I left physically and emotionally exhausted.

And then as we were leaving church to go home, I tripped between where the sidewalk ends and the parking lot begins. I had a diaper bag on one shoulder, a large songbook in one hand, and Elizabeth in her carrier in the other. The carrier hit the pavement and I landed on top of it. Elizabeth of course woke up and started screaming and I started crying as I picked myself up. I don't think I actually landed on her, thanks to the handle. But I was so scared that I had possibly hurt my baby. The boys had been ahead of me and they all came back to help. I could see that they were sad to see me so upset. Once I was sure Elizabeth was okay, the tears continued more because I was emotionally spent. (I did bruise my left shin a little and scraped a few toes on my right foot, but I was fine.) I was glad that we had been slow leaving church -- no one else was around to see what a mess I was!

Out of all the stressful moments of the weekend, there were some tender, wonderful moments still:
1. Joshua had been in timeout on his bed. I went in to talk to him about what had happened. At the end of our conversation I asked, "Who do you need to say sorry to?"
Joshua: "Benjamin."
Me: "Yes, that's right. You can come out if you can tell him you're sorry and then be nice the rest of the day."
Joshua (as he is getting off the bed): "And Jesus! I need to say sorry to Jesus."
Me (happily surprised): "Yes, that is a great thing to do to repent."
Joshua is already out of his room, running down the stairs when I hear: (really loud) "Sorry, Jesus!"

2. I was able to take a break from the kids to attend the temple sealing of our neighbors. Karson and Betsy adopted Izzy 8 months ago, and this weekend they were able to be sealed to her. It was a beautiful moment, and I left the temple with such a love for my own husband and children. Even though none of them were physically with me, I felt so close to them. I am so grateful that we can be together forever!

3. Nathan was much better today (Monday) and so I laid by him at bedtime tonight when he asked me to. We were talking about various things when out of the blue he gave me a big hug and said, "Mom, I love you. Even when I tell you I hate you, I really love you a lot."

I'm thankful that these overwhelming days are few and far between, and that when they do come, there are still tender moments to be found!

Faces of a Birthday Boy

Joshua turned 4 this week! We enjoyed the morning by decorating his cake together. We also had a contractor here, putting window tinting on our downstairs windows. Joshua enjoyed talking the guy's ear off! The contractor even commented what a character Joshua is :)

In the afternoon we put the candy on the cake and enjoyed the nice weather outside. When Ryan got home we went to Winger's. They brought Joshua a sundae, and he made the funniest expression the entire time they were singing to him -- he wouldn't make eye contact and he raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth wide. I didn't have the camera ready, so by the time I took this picture his expression had changed slightly:

Back at home, Joshua entertained us with more excited and silly expressions while he opened presents.

After he opened this one he exclaimed, "Flip flops! That's what I've always wanted!"
His train cake was made from a cupcake set I have that uses different shaped cupcakes to make cake patterns. It looks kind of silly on a silver platter, but that is the only tray I could find that was long enough for the whole train!

I always love the kids' birthdays because then there are new toys to keep the kids entertained for at least a week ;) He has really enjoyed his Toy Story (R.C.) legos, Trio blocks, Toy Story Ker Plunk, a mix-and-match car building kit, and even his flip flops that I'm sure I'll have to hide when it will most likely snow next week! But the first thing he wanted to show the neighbor friends the next day: his Cars beach towel! I love how Joshua is always so enthusiastic, even about the little things. Happy Birthday, buddy!

Family Fun

Our last day in Arizona, Friday, was low-key and yet packed with activities. In the morning we hung out around the house. Benjamin and Joshua enjoyed helping Grandpa make some cookies for Uncle Sam on his mission. They were pretty good helpers, and only got a little messy near the end!
One thing I have loved about these last 8 years is that my parents and Ryan's parents have lived about 30 minutes away from each other. This makes it so nice to visit both sides of the family anytime we are visiting one family for a certain reason. On this trip we got to go see all the Partridge cousins on Monday and Friday afternoons. On Monday we got to see Blake play T-ball and we had Family Home Evening with The Gang. On Friday the kids played outside and in Amy's basement while I got to visit with my wonderful sisters- and mother-in-law.

Elizabeth playing with Adam, who is 5 months older

When we got back to the Anders' house, we ate a delicious dinner prepared by my dad. He knows that I love seafood and yet I don't eat it much. He made shrimp, crab, Tilapia, rolls, salad, and potatoes. I was SO full, but it was SO worth it. Thanks for taking care of me, Dad!

We had a wonderful Spring Break visiting our family. I had several people comment how crazy I was to drive 11 hours each way with 4 kids while Ryan stayed in Utah. I didn't think about that -- all I was thinking about is how important my family is to me. I enjoy being with them (both my family and Ryan's) whenever I can, and I am so grateful that I could make the drive! A sentimental song from the Zac Brown Band comes to mind, "It was the pleasure of my life, and I cherish every time. And I count the days and the miles back home to you on that Highway (89) ride."

Girl Time

While the boys were at the Grand Canyon, Elizabeth and I had some great "girl time" with my mom. It was really nice to get to spend quality time with Mom, without having to manage all the kids.

We went out to eat twice in the day and a half! We took one of Mom's friends from church to a really delicious local pizzeria on Wednesday night. When dinner was over, we walked to the other end of the shopping center to a frozen yogurt place -- it was the kind where you serve yourself and you pay per ounce. They must have had about 14 choices of flavors (I got a chocolate coconut -- yum!) and a lot of toppings, too. It was perfect weather to sit outside and talk as we enjoyed our treat.

Thursday we spent a lot of the day packing up the house. It was hard for both of us to pack when Elizabeth was awake, but we found a way to keep her occupied for a little while:
In the afternoon we ran a few errands and then enjoyed a nice dinner at Red Robin. Thanks, Mom, for a great time together! I always love spending time with you!

Too Cute

I got a text from my dad when they were at the Grand Canyon:

"I told Benjamin that Phoenix was the capitol of AZ and he asked what the lower case was!"

The Grand Canyon

While we were in Arizona, my dad surprised the boys with a trip to the Grand Canyon. Elizabeth and I stayed in Scottsdale with my mom while the men-folk went on their trip.

They drove up to a town called Williams on Wednesday afternoon. There was a dinner buffet (where I am told all 3 boys downed lots of Diet Coke -- hope they enjoyed it because it's not happening again any time in the near future!) and then they enjoyed some movies in the hotel room. The next morning was a breakfast buffet and then they got to see a little Western show outside.

Here they are at the show:

Then it was time to board the train. It was an hour and a half ride to the Grand Canyon.

Nathan had fun taking some pictures with his camera.

Here they are at the Grand Canyon.
There was also lunch and a visit to the gift shop. Nathan got this coyote, which he named TeeWee, which is apparently short for Teeny Weeny. Benjamin got a raccoon stuffed animal that he named Zach, and Joshua also got a raccoon whose name is exactly the same as Joshua's. We convinced him to call it JPP since it was much easier than saying the whole name each time!

On the train ride home there was a "robbery". Two robbers came aboard and took everyone's money (well, anything that people were willing to hand over), which was donated to charity. Nathan tells me that he gave up a few coins, which is a lot for him. Doesn't this robber look intimidating (insert sarcasm)?
When they got back to Williams, they got dinner and then had about a 3 hour drive back home. They arrived back around 9pm on Thursday night. I was a little nervous before they had left -- I knew that my dad was a little worried about taking 3 energetic boys for a day and a half with no other adult back up. But he told me how good they were, and how much he enjoyed having that one-on-one time with them. In the past few days since they've been back, they keep talking about how much fun they had. I hope that they remember this little trip years from now and the memories that Grandpa created with them!

Easter

This year we decorated Easter eggs a week and a half before Easter. Usually I forget, and we end up doing it just a few days before. Ryan was still out of town for work, so we invited our fun neighbors, the Denneys, to join in on the fun! They are super creative, so I bet it was hard for them to watch us make pretty basic eggs, but we sure had fun with them here!

Bro. Denney helping the boys

The kids and I were on the road for Easter weekend (Ryan stayed home to work). Since it was Spring Break and since my parents are soon moving from Arizona to Washington D.C., we wanted to go and visit them this one last time that we could drive to them! The boys had swim lessons on Saturday morning, so we left in the afternoon. They were good travelers, and we got all the way to Flagstaff on Saturday. We spent the night at a hotel, and I was surprised at how well everyone went to sleep -- no jumping on the beds or bothering their brother like on previous hotel stays!

The Easter bunny is VERY low-key at our house . . . so much so that I bet the kids wouldn't have even noticed if the Easter bunny didn't find us this year. But when they woke up at the hotel, they found their Easter baskets. The boys each got a pair of sunglasses and a card game. Elizabeth got a toothbrush (she's had a tooth for about 2-3 weeks now) and some really cute shoes. I had the kids pose in front of the car before we got back on the road, but it was so windy that Joshua ran straight into the car and wouldn't come out for the picture!


I couldn't have asked for better kids on this trip. Nathan was so helpful with Elizabeth in the car. He even went back to the car by himself while the rest of us were in the hotel room to get a binky for Elizabeth. I was a little nervous, but it was 10:00 at night and I didn't want to drag all the kids back in the cold and wind. It was a pretty straight shot from our room to the elevator and then from the elevator to the door out to the parking lot, so I felt it was something I could let him do. And he did great, except that he accidentally held the unlock button down too long, causing all the windows to roll down! He came up all flustered that he couldn't get them up and the car wouldn't lock. I was able to go down later after I got the kids settled in bed and fix it.

At breakfast that morning, I could tell that most of the other hotel guests were watching us. But luckily they all had smiles on their faces and not scowls. I thought, "Yes, I do have great kids!" Of course their almost-perfect behavior did not last the whole trip, but at least they were good when I needed it the most!

We got to my parents' house about 10:15 that morning. We spent the rest of Easter watching Conference, playing with Uncle Brantly, and enjoying a delicious meal prepared by my dad (his meals are always one of the highlights of our visits!). Here is how Benjamin entertained himself:

It was an unconventional Easter, but a great one!