Daddy's Little Helper

I Melt For You!

I had to come up with a really "cheesy" title for this one!

Yesterday Bryan told me that he had a lecture/dinner at the hospital that spouses were invited to. Instead, he had gotten reservations at The Melting Pot to surprise me. I have been wanting to go to The Melting Pot for years - ever since the one in Salt Lake City opened - so I was so excited! Since we were at such a fancy-schmancy restautant, we were on our best behavior! Really, it was so nice to just sit, talk, look at each other, and eat our food without a highchair, kids menu, or crayons in sight!

The cheese fondue was awesome!

Quattro Formaggio Cheese Fondue
Fontina, Grùyere, and Gran Queso cheeses blended with roasted garlic, basil and tomato pestos and fresh mozzarella Perlini. -mmmm! (yes, that was straight from the menu. I know, I'm a nerd.)

A salad was the second course, followed by the entree (veggies, chicken, steak, salmon, and shrimp) which we cooked at our table. The best part was, of course, the dessert!
Our "Flaming Turtle" chocolate fondue (milk chocolate, caramel, and pecans) was delicious (and on fire!)

It was fun to do the whole 4-course meal, but I think if we ever go back, we will just order a cheese fondue and a chocolate fondue. Those were, by far, the best parts of the meal.

Thanks Babe! That was such a sweet, thoughtful surprise and I had a great time with you! THANK YOU, Carl and Nancy, for Bryan's birthday money that paid for it! And last but not least, THANK YOU, Shupes, for watching the munchkins! We don't get out just the two of us very often, so this was an extra special treat!

Birthday Bash!

Last Saturday, we celebrated the birthdays of these three - The Birthday Boys - Bryan, Eric, and Chris.

(It was Hudson's 1st birthday party too, but he was taking a nap.)

I baked Bryan a Chocolate Turtle cake with plenty of caramel and nuts. Looked pretty good...

...until it tipped over in the fridge.

Oh well. Luckily the birthday boy is very easy to please.

Bryan and Hannah

There were lots of yummy treats for all.

This birthday boy just finished overnight call at the hospital. It's okay Eric, we all understand! Plus, it was extra cute with sleepy Ainsley in his arms.

It is so fun that these three friends have their b-days within a week of each other so that we could celebrate them together! Kimberly suggested we do it again, five years from now...in Hawaii. So put in on your calendars, friends:

March 2014 - Hawaii!!!

My School Musical 3

I hope you will all come out and support Bryan and me by coming to see our new movie!

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My Boys Have Some Sweet Moves

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Happy Father's Day!

Bryan,
You don't get as much praise as you deserve, so I'm going to take this opportunity to brag about you a little bit!

One of the many things I find so admirable about you is your ability to balance family life with your busy professional life. Your profession requires a lot of time and energy from you, more than most jobs, I think. Even in Medical School when you had mind-boggling amounts of studying to do, and heavy pressures to perform on exams and evaluations, you always found time to spend with the kids and me. You have amazing perspective that enables you to prioritize your family, school, work, and church responsibilities. I don't ever worry about being neglected because, when you're home, you're "home." And when you're not home, I know you would be, if you could! Our kids are going to grow up with fond memories of working, playing, and laughing with their Dad!

This year, I think we faced our biggest parenting challenge yet when Hannah was in the NICU. I don't know what I would have done without you there to lean on. It is such a comfort to know that I will have your love, support, and perspective through the tough parenting challenges to come. It's a joy to know that I will be able to share the fun and laughter with you as well!

Happy Father's Day, Babe! We are all so blessed to have you!

Guess Who's 30?!

I was "tagged" by Meghan about a month ago, but I thought Bryan's birthday would be the perfect time for this.

MY HUSBAND....
What is his name? David Bryan Anderson. He had always gone by "David" growing up, but in college (on a dare, I think), he started introducing himself as "Bryan." So everyone who met him in college or after (including me) knows him as "Bryan," while those who knew him before college, (including his entire family) still call him "David." Our new brother-in-law, Davie, didn't know what he should call him, so he came up with "Bravid." Guess who ordered the yummy ice cream birthday cake? How long have you been together? 8 years

How long did you date? 6 months. When we were first dating, Bryan told me he had a "5 year plan" to not get married until he finished medical school...hahaha...yeah, that didn't last very long!

How old his he? the BIG 3-0 today!

Who eats more? Bryan

Who said I love you first? Bryan. Then I said something lame like, "I think I love you too."

Who's taller? Bryan - 6' 2"

Who can sing better? I can. But he's MUCH better at making up fake words to songs! Especially in the shower.

Who is smarter? He definitely has me beat in Math and Physical Sciences. I'd have to say he's probably smarter. Though I did beat him in overall ACT scores.

Dr. Anderson, making the primary incision.

Who does the laundry? Me

Who pays the bills? Me

Who mows the lawn? Bryan. It's pretty embarassing to admit it, but I have NEVER actually moved a lawn in my life! Sad, I know!

Who cooks dinner? Usually me, but Bryan makes a mean BREAKFAST!

Who drives? Bryan. Though even he admits he's a little scary sometimes.

Who is more stubborn? Bryan

Who is more sensitive? Me.

Who has a super power? Bryan has the amazing ability to cheer me up when I am really down! His patient listening, caring words, and hugs, mixed with a little bit of sillyness, always do the trick! He gives the credit to the glass of chocolate Nesquik he insists I drink. He calls it my Prozac. I think people don't realize what a goofy person he is until they really get to know him!

Who kissed who first? Bryan tried to kiss me first, but I didn't know he was trying to, so I accidentally turned my head and he ended up getting my cheek. Oops, sorry, Babe!

Who asked whom out first? Bryan. We first met donating blood plasma in Ogden while we were going to school at Weber State. We were both sitting there across from each other (with needles in our arms) when we struck up a conversation. Very romantic. I thought he was pretty cute, so I was thrilled when he for my phone number. He called me the very next day to ask me out.

Who proposed? Bryan. He proposed at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on February 15, 2000.

Who has more friends? Probably about the same. He has a lot of friends from work.

Who has more siblings? We both have 2 brothers and 2 sisters.

Who wears the pants? Logan.

Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you!

"Maintenance needed for a wet spill in the paint department!"

It's worse than it sounds...

SO...we'd been standing for about 20-25 minutes in the paint department of Severance Wal-Mart last night, just waiting for someone to come mix one gallon of paint for us. We had someone paged twice and Bryan had to go buy the kids some blue Gatorade to keep them happy.

When someone finally came to help us, Logan said to me, "I have a tummy ache, Mommy!" I stepped closer to him, and was about 1 foot away from him when I got hit with a WALL OF VOMIT! PROJECTILE VOMIT! I just stood there, gasping, not realizing what had happened. The first thing Bryan said was, "Are you okay, Summer?" I guess I must have looked more distressed than poor Logan. Despite how cranky I was for having to wait so long for some freakin' service, I felt a little bad about the disgusting mess we left behind in the paint department! (It was fascinating to see how many employees suddenly appeared when there was something interesting like vomit to see.) We did our best to mop ourselves off with paper towels, paid for our paint, and rushed out to the car in the pouring rain.

On the way home, Logan got sick again in his car seat. Did I mention he had eaten Salt & Vinegar potato chips a bit earlier? I'll just let you imagine that smell in an enclosed car!

When we made it home and got Logan stripped down and into the tub, he sounded pretty proud of himself, "I did TWO frow-ups, Mommy!" (Yup.) "BIG ONES!" he said with a smile. He must have felt better after that, cause he went right to bed and we all slept through the night without any more "frow-ups."

This morning, I woke up a bit late and was rushing to get Andrew and Airyonna ready for school. I was thanking my lucky stars that none of us were sick this morning (despite the fact that we all drank from the same Gatorade bottle last night - nice, huh). Just as the timer rang to tell us it was time to leave, I heard the unmistakable sound of a "blow-out." Poor Logan...this time it was the other end! I started peeling a soaked shirt and pants off his body while shouting to the other two to get their coats and shoes on, "and don't step in the puddle of poop in the carpet!" I hosed him down in the tub and redressed him kicking and screaming (he didn't think it was fair that he couldn't stay and play in the tub). Back downstairs, it took me a while to realize that I couldn't find Logan's or my shoes and coat because they were in the laundry (Oh yeah, they were full of vomit last night!)

We did finally make it out the door (though Logan had to go shoeless; I put him in the stroller) and got the kids off to school - only a little late. I just finished scrubbing the giant puddle of diarrhea in my carpet, and thanks to a whole lot of Febreze, the poopy smell invading my entire house is starting to dissipate.

Through the ordeals of this morning, I had to keep thinking about Bryan and what he said last night, "Everything is okay, this is just part of life." When I was about to loose it at Wal-Mart (okay, I was already in the process of loosing it) Bryan kept a happy, cheerful attitude throughout it all! He even cleaned all the vomit out of the car and carseat with a smile on his face! I don't know how he does it, but this is one of the traits that I admire the most about Bryan! In difficult or very unpleasant situations, he always has a good attitude and is able to keep things in perspective. This is exactly opposite of my reactions; I just get moody and snap at everyone. I feel SO fortunate and grateful to have Bryan as my husband! Heavenly Father knew that I needed someone like him to make up for all my weaknesses and teach me how to behave! I just hope it doesn't take me an entire lifetime to learn from his example! I love you, Bryan!