I have a TEN-YEAR-OLD!!!

Andrew turned the big 1-OH on January 4th. Crazy! Ten years! A decade! A tenth of a century! Wow, you are old, Buddy! Or maybe just your mother is.

We had an awesome time at Laser Fun Zone for his birthday party. We ate pizza and chocolate cheesecake and played two games of laser tag. Even his old mom had fun running and ducking behind walls to jump out an tag an unsuspecting by passer from the opposing team. Seriously, it was super fun!

This was the first time I didn't make Andrew a cake for his birthday. The night before, he came to me and said, "Hey Mom, I have a great idea - CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE! From the Cheesecake Factory!" So I made a little trip down to the CF (55 miles - see how much I love you?) and picked up the chocolate-est cheesecake I could find - the Hershey's Chocolate Bar Cheesecake. And yes, it was as good as it sounds! That WAS a great idea, Buddy!

Andrew is always so kind to include his brother Logan and Logan's best friend, Mark, with all his friends! What a good big brother!

  Traditional birthday questionnaire coming soon!

First Day of School

I know we are a little late compared to the rest of the country, but today is our first day of school! Andrew is headed off to Mr. Skinner's fourth grade class, and Logan is in Mrs. Erickson's first grade class. Andrew is happy that he gets to be in a portable classroom and gets to sit next to his friend, McKay, who was in his class last year. Logan is SO excited to be going to school all day and eating lunch at school this year! He's been telling everyone that he has the best teacher in the whole school! He's also thrilled to be riding the bus with is buddies, Mark and Bryce, who are starting Kindergarten this year.

Hannah wanted to get a picture with the boys too! This morning, after I sent the boys up to brush their teeth, Hannah came down grinning and said, "I brushed my teeth, Mommy! Now I can go to school too!" When I told her she couldn't go this year, she burst into tears. Poor Hannah!

Andrew and Logan with his best buddy, Mark at the bus stop.

1.21 Jiggawatts!

Yesterday was the Pinewood Derby for Andrew's Cub Scout Troop.Andrew and Bryan did an awesome job designing their car and turning it into the Delorean from Back to the Future! Andrew even won the award for Most Realistic car! Great job guys!!!

M&M Kit Kat Cake

Andrew told me he was too old for a themed birthday cake this year, so I threw together this cake based on his love of M&Ms and Kit Kats. I layered two round 12" chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting, surrounded the cakes with Kit Kats, tied the curly ribbon around to hold them in place, and dumped a huge bag of M&M's on the top! Seriously the easiest cake I have ever made! I think the birthday boy liked it too!

Happy 9th Birthday Andrew!

Name: Andrew Bryan Anderson
Age: 9
School Teacher: Mrs. Rants
Best Friends: Kai, Eben, Blake, and Tyler
Favorite Food: Brownies
Favorite Book: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo and the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
Favorite Activity: Soccer
Favorite Movie: Nine and The Lightning Thief
Favorite Song: Fireflies by Owl City
Favorite TV show: Jackie Chan Adventures
Favorite Website: Disney's Toontown Online
Favorite Colors: red and bright yellow
Favorite School Subject: Science and Math
When I grow up I want to be: a lawyer and an inventor
I want to go on mission to: China or Japan
What makes me happy: "Good food."
What makes me sad: "Bad food."
What I like best about myself: "I'm good at sports."

Welcome Home, Andrew!

You may have noticed that we've been missing one of our Monkeys this summer. Andrew has been staying with Nana and Papa in Utah for the last six (L-O-N-G) weeks. They've been spoiling him rotten with trips to the movies, swimming, parades, fireworks, HAFB Air Museum, a baseball game, Snowbird, Alpine Slides, mini-golfing, restaurants, rock-collecting, playing with cousins, camping with Uncle Kody, and Lagoon with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. Andrew has had such a blast; I'm pretty sure he hasn't missed us at all. Nana said it's been the best summer she's ever had!

It was interesting to see how our family dynamics changed while Andrew was gone. We sure missed his witty humor and responsible "big brother" nature. Logan, missing his best playmate, became good friends with Hannah and played with her all the time. It was hard to feel really settled in our new house with one of our kids missing.

Andrew flew home with Nana on Thursday, and we are so glad to have him back! We've sure missed you, Buddy!

HaHaHa! Just kiddin' Nana!

Andrew BEGGED us to shave his head for the summer. He wanted to be completely bald! The mowhawk was just a joke!

Andrew's New Haircut

His inspiration:
And here it is:

Andrew's Baptism

February 14th was a very special day this year - Valentine's Day, Hannah's 2nd Birthday, and Andrew's Baptism Day! Andrew was baptized and confirmed by his dad, Bryan. We had a very nice program of talks and a musical number. Andrew's Papa gave a great talk about the Holy Ghost.

Andrew was able to be baptized on the same day as his best friend, Noah. Those two have done almost everything together these last few years!
The Fam

After the baptism, we enjoyed a dinner of soups, rolls, and cookies. So many friends, family, and ward members came to support Andrew and Noah. We were especially lucky to have Nana and Papa come from Utah! They gave Andrew his very own set of GREEN scriptures and case. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)


We are so proud of you, Andrew! You are knowledgeable about the Gospel, have a testimony, and have truly chosen to follow the Savior in this very important step! We love you!

Andrew's Party

Happy 8th Birthday, Andrew!

Name: Andrew Bryan Anderson
Age: 8
School Teachers: Mrs. Cohen
Best Friends: Noah W.
Favorite Food: Italian Chicken
Favorite Book: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Favorite Activity: Soccer
Favorite Movie: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Favorite Song: Fireflies by Owl City
Favorite TV show: The Suite Life on Deck
Favorite Website: Disney's Toontown Online
Favorite Colors: red and bright yellow
Favorite School Subject: Science
When I grow up I want to be: a mechanical engineer and an inventor.
What I like best about myself: I can run fast.

Do I really have an 8-year-old?! I can't believe it! It's crazy to have a child old enough to show us new things on the computer, formulate logical arguments that are hard to dispute, and even have his own music preferences! Ü We are so lucky to have you in our family, Andrew! Thank you for being a good example for Logan and letting him play with you and for being so kind to Hannah. I really appreciate your help around the house when you do your chores. You are so smart and we are very proud of how well you are doing in school. You are a very capable person and even though it's hard for me sometimes, it's fun to watch your independence and confidence grow. This year will be a big one for you as you will be baptized, finish the second grade, say good-bye to some dear friends, and move to a brand new place. It will be an adventure, but I have no doubt that you will fly through it and make great new friends. We love you so much, Andrew! Happy Birthday!

The gift that keeps on giving...

Bryan has been having some trouble with his teeth lately, which is probably what inspired the following conversation between my mom and Andrew:

Mom: "Andrew, I just can't figure out what to get your Dad for Christmas! Do you have any ideas?"

Andrew, thinking for a moment: "Well, he has really been wanting a rool canal for a while now."

Back To School!

Off we go to the first day of second grade. Andrew has Mrs. Cohen at Lomond School this year.

It's fun to be back with the before-school and after-school playgroud gang again (though we are terribly missing you, Shupes and Lanes)!

Andrew with some of his new classmates. He was a bit disappointed that Noah wasn't in his class this year, but he is being a very good sport about it. I'm so glad that he is such an easy-going guy!

Have a great year, Andrew!

100 Hours!!!

Andrew participated in the summer reading program at our local library again this year. He reached his goal of reading 100 hours and earned his gold medal! He worked extra hard this last week so that Nana could see him receive his medal before she went home. Andrew's favorite books this summer have been the Scooby-Doo and Magic Treehouse series and Beverly Cleary's Henry Huggins books. It's been so exciting to see him enjoy reading and I really hope he will continue to read for fun even though the program is over.

We are so proud of you Andrew! Great job!

Happy Pioneer Day!

In celebration of Pioneer Day, Andrew and I attended a special tour of the Kirtland Temple and Historic Kirtland geared especially to the cast children of This is Kirtland. It was a great reminder of the faith and sacrifices of our pioneer ancestors long before they made the trek West to Utah.
Andrew at the Chagrin River where many of the early Saints in Kirtland were baptized. Andrew was amazed that people even got baptized in the dead of winter when the river was frozen over.

The children listen to a sister missionary at the original N. K. Whitney store.

We were reminded of the opening scene of the show when the Whitneys prayed to know the word of God. Joseph Smith then arrived at the Whitney store and uttered the famous words, "Newel K. Whitney, thou art the man. I am Joseph the Prophet. You prayed me here, now what do you want of me." It was so exciting to see "the lights come on" when the children connected the things we portrayed on stage with the actual events and places where they occurred. There were a few moments like that including an especially sweet one in the School of the Prophets when Jon and the children sang, "He Lives." We also got to sing "Coming to Kirtland" on the steps of the Store and the children sang "Education" in the old schoolhouse.

Andrew and his stage dad, brothers, and sister, "the Rigdons."

The Feast Dance

This is the dance from "The Feast" scene in This is Kirtland. Definitely my favorite part of the show! I haven't had the chance to dance much since college, so this was so fun for me. I was glad to get to dance with Chris again, who played my husband and dance partner when I was in the show two years ago. He was a great dance partner - strong, sturdy, a fast learner, good rhythm, and a sense of humor when I messed up. Plus, we were already comfortable dancing together, which made it much easier.

You can see Andrew dancing with the children on the far right wearing the blue shirt. Thanks for the video, Mom!

This Is Kirtland! 2009

Andrew and I have been pretty busy the last couple of months rehearsing for our stake musical, This Is Kirtland! This is the sixth year of the show's running, and the second time I've had the opportunity to preform in it. The show depicts the lives of early Mormon settlers in Kirtland through beautiful music, dancing, and costumes. I feel so blessed to be just a small part of this great show and feel so much love and gratitude for the early Saints who lived right here. It's been especially fun to have Andrew in the show with me this year!

Andrew with his family, the Rigdons

Jason and Summer as John and Rebecca Tanner

Heather and Rich as Thankful and Parley Pratt

Summer singing in her pregnant scene

The women - I love these ladies!

The men chasing the young women at the feast - love the expressions!

Summer and Chris dancing at The Feast Cartwheel!

Woo-Hoo! (Summer, top center and Andrew, lower right)

Andrew (front right)

Joseph and Emma singing, "Dear Emma"

Tom as Joseph Smith

Laura as Emma Smith

School of the Prophets

Singing "The Spirit of God" at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple (Andrew, front left)