INDY Photo Album

In the rental car on the way to Indianapolis...

...or Arby's. Depends on who you ask!

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the largest children's museum in the world!

Five floors of fun - very impressive! There were plenty of things to touch and climb on!

Among the several exhibits was the Dinosphere - giant dinosaur skeletons surronded by a lush habitat and weather-changing dome ceiling.

And for all you Harry Potter fans like me, I give you Dracorex hogwartsia, named in honor of the famous wizarding school. It's name litterally means, "dragon king of Hogwarts." Pretty cool, huh?

One of the coolest exhibits was the tour through an Egyptian tomb replica. At the end, the kids were able to help prepare a faux "mummy." First they pulled the brains out through the nose, (a big hit with the kids!) and threw them away!

Then they pulled out all the internal organs. That's Andrew holding the lungs. (A budding anesthesiologist, Bryan said!)

Here's Kimball and Lakely wrapping the mummy.

At closing time, they had an ingenious way to get reluctant kids to leave - a musical good-bye parade that winded down the four-story walkway and out the door! Brilliant!

Dinner with the Shupes at The Old Spaghetti Factory, one of my favorites!

I was really impressed at what a clean and beautiful city Indy is! It didn't hurt that the weather was gorgeous too!
On the road again! Let's do it again next weekend!

Logan Likes Roast Beef

So I presented a case at an anesthesiology conference in Indianapolis last weekend, and since I was planning on driving and had already reserved a hotel, we figured "hey, why not make a family trip out of it!?" So we rented a car, packed up the kids, loaded it full of clothes, the stroller, diapers, etc and hit the road for a five-hour drive.

The kids watched movies on the portable DVD player most of the way, but we did stop for an occasional meal at a few fast food joints. Somewhere east of Columbus, we stopped at an Arby's to get some food, use their bathrooms, and feed the baby. The kids ran around the place like lunatics until we were afraid the employees were going to kick us out, and then it was back in the car for the rest of the drive.

When we arrived in Indianapolis, I went to the conference while Summer took the kids to the Indiapolis Children's Museum, which I hear was incredible. It had a dinosaur skeleton, a hands on science center, digging in the sand, tunnels to climb through with wildlife encounters, and numerous other exibits. Afterward, we went out to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory, went shopping through the mall, and later hit the pool. We stayed in a nice five-star hotel (thanks Priceline!) and the kids had a blast terrorizing the place.

Finally, after all was said and done, we made the five-hour trip home. At bed time, we asked Logan if he had fun in Indianapolis. His response: "Yeah... and ARBY'S TOO!!!!" Apparently, the kid is an Arby's fan, and next year, instead of planning a trip to Disneyworld, we'll just hit the local Arby's instead!

You're cooking WHAT?!!

Yesterday, I was cooking some chickpeas (garbanzo beans) that I had in my food storage. (What!-They're good!) Logan came into the kitchen and said, "What you making?" I said, "Chickpeas," and handed him one to taste. He looked at it for a second and then said, "You cooking BUMS?" I wasn't sure I heard him right, so I asked "What?"

"Right there!" he said, pointing to the pan of chickpeas, "You cooking BUMS?!"

Apparently, he thought they looked like tiny little rear ends! I will never look at a chickpea the same again!

"I need to take care of her!"

Logan sure loves his little sister! He loves to sit by her and stroke her hair and talk to her in a cute high-pitched voice. "Hi, Baby Hannah!" or "Hi, Pitty Pincess!" (Pretty Princess) "I love Baby Hannah," he tells me all the time.Often he'll say to me, "I need to take care of her!" That means he wants to sit on the couch and hold her. It just tickles me that he loves her so much!
LOVE THOSE LASHES!!! Where did he get those? Certainly not from me!

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!

Easter Sunday

The boys looking so sharp on their Mickey Mouse sweater vests and ties from Nana and Papa.
Hannah looked so pretty for her first day at church! Dresses and headbands and bracelets - I am SO loving all this fun girly stuff! Thank you for the darling ducky dress Nana and Papa!

Easter Baskets, Traditions, and Paybacks

Holidays as a parent are a lot of fun! They always make me think back on my own childhood and the fun family traditions we had, and then continue some of these traditions with my own kids.

My mom and dad handmade and painted these Easter baskets for the boys. My siblings and I had similar wooden baskets that they made for us when we were growing up (see picture above; I'm the oldest one, on the far left). The Easter Bunny would always come while we were sleeping and fill our baskets with "breakfast food" (like Pop Tarts, juice boxes, and applesauce cups), some candy and a small toy. He would then hide our baskets for us to find in the morning. I always LOVED Easter breakfast as a kid!
This year, the Easter Bunny hid Andrew's basket in the oven, and Logan's was hidden in the front entryway. And yes, they also enjoyed Pop Tarts and chocolate bunnies for breakfast!Bryan's sister, Chris, and her hubby, Davie, flew out to spend some time with us for Easter this year. We have really had a blast with them! What fun people! When I was growing up, we always had a Thompson family Easter egg hunt with all the cousins after church.Our little family Easter egg hunt wasn't exactly a success this year. Logan sobbed the whole time because he wanted the green egg that Andrew found and Andrew shouted, "This is the WORST Easter ever!" because, quote, "I didn't get enough eggs!"

Umm...This seems like a good time to apologize to my parents for all the times when, as a kid, I was ungrateful for their efforts to provide a great time and make some nice memories as a family. Paybacks, I guess, right?! HaHaHa!

Hannah's Birthmark

Hannah has a darling little birthmark on the outside of her left shin. Bryan and I noticed it in the newborn nursery shortly after her birth. We thought it looked like a little pink heart - in honor of her Valentine's Day birthday, of course! I think it's pretty cute. Whenever Logan sees it he points to it and says, "Hannah has an owie!"

Another interesting thing about her birth is that she had a "true knot" in her umbillical cord. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, because it was really cool to see. I'll have to add a picture from the Internet instead. Apparently, it's pretty rare to have a true knot in the cord; it occurs in about 1% of births and is associated with abnormally long cords or increased fetal movement (I told you she was wiggle-worm - she tied her cord in a knot!)