There is NOTHING better than family!!!! Except to have Tanner with us...next year!!!

This past Thanksgiving we had a wonderful time together with our family. And we had the unique experience of having our Christmas with them at the same time since Ron, Maddie and I will be in Chile over Christmas! We played games,food, Murder-Mystery Game by Ethan & Ashley, food, creating our own family motto sponsored by Megan & Maddie, and then some more food! Presents were shared, family photos taken, a pulled pork dinner by Jaxon & Megan, oohs and aaahs by little tiny voices of the grandchild kind! Getting nakey-nakey with cousins and having bathtub time with Grandma and then topping off the week was a HOLIDAY Dinner complete with Ham & Turkey and every fixing you think of! (This is where I pat myself on the back!!!) I love my family and I love their little families. It is a lot of bodies and a lot of personalities but somehow we manage to get along so well and have a great time. I can't wait for next year when Tanner will be with us!

My new Camera...A Little Intimidating for Now!!!

So here's the deal as Maddie would say...A couple of years my two sons told me I should become "one with my computer"...still working on it but feeling a little more comfortable. Then I go and get a new-fangled, SLR, fancy-dancy camera. "Become one with your camera mom." I've had it about a week and it's a little intimidating to say the least. The manual is thick and I read it often. I've even tried reading it in Spanish and Chinese...not working!!!
Jaxon was a big help in doing research, reading consumer reports and making multiple trips to the local BEST BUY to gather as much info. to pass on to me to help in the decision making process. All I can say is that when we went in to BEST BUY to make the purchase, the clerk that was helping us made the comment,"This is a great camera, you must be good." Whoa!
These are just a few pictures that I have taken with my new Cannon Rebel Xs T1i that I love! The one of Jaxon and Courtney was one of the very first pics I took. The cool thing about it is that I was on one side of the apt. and they on the other. Can you say ZOOM!
Next is Ethan and Ashley's little 2 month old Wyatt and an up close picture of his little baby body parts. The next pic is of Miss Courtney Rose in her new Old Navy Pink Pea Coat being completely fascinated with my "Christmas Time Decor". "Grandma you have so many cherries all over the house!" And finally two pictures of little Azely and her many rolls! All I was supposed to do was change her diaper but decided that her Nakey-Nakeyness needed to be caught on film. All I'm missing is my little Jay Jay who is coming next week. Look out, Grandmas got a new camera!

Elder Tanner Dean Anderson

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Dave & Lizzy!

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Always fun when Jay is in town....and Aubrey Too!

So along with the surprise birth of Wyatt, Ethan had been planning another surprise for Ashley....he decided to fly Aubrey and Jay here from California to see the new addition! I'll admit...I got caught....again! It used to be that no one could ever surprise me because I am such a snoopy pants.
Jay and Courtney had a lot of fun together and became real playmates. Just too bad that they won't live close to each other growing up.
Jay is a very happy and pleasant little guy. He has an infectious laugh and a "deep-throat growl" that is so funny! There was never a dull moment while he was around!
I think the most interesting thing about Jay is his total fascination for electronic gadgets. Loves the phones, remote controls, watching videos of himself and looking at pictures on the camera. We could hardly get him to pose for a picture because as soon as he saw the camera he wanted to look at it.
Surprises come in many sizes. This past week our family had a mini surprise in Wyatt, a small surprise in Jay and a marvelous surprise with Aubrey! Thanks Ethan!

And still another.....Miracle!!!!

Surprising us all......on September 21st 2009, little Wyatt Ethan Felix decided he wanted in on the fun and was tired of being inside his mom's tum-tum! He didn't take too long to get here and was actually a good size baby for being 5 1/2 wks. early.

Ashley did great through the whole process with Ethan right by her side. I was lucky enough to be there for the whole thing to witness a true miracle. It was beautiful and a very special night...or early morning (12:46 a.m.)
He weighed 5 lbs. 9 oz. and as of this posting is still in the NICU at our local hospital. Each day brings progress and Ashley's "Kangaroo Time" with Wyatt is helping her to stay emotionally attached to her little one.
We are all truly blessed to have another one enter our family and look forward to watching him grow and to see Ethan & Ashley love and nurture this little guy.

Another Miracle!

August 19th, 2009....little Azely Marie joined our happy family! She came a little late and so we are all thrilled that all went well for Megan and Jaxon and Azely. She is a precious little jewel and I claim it's because her middle name is the same as mine. Mother and daughter are doing great and Daddy has been so good to take extra care and time with Big Sister Courtney. Courtney loves her new play mate and that "she is tiny" and "Courtney is getting bigger". Another wonderful miracle. Now it's Ethan and Ashley's turn...............

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ReunionTime!!!

Tell me one thing better than a reunion? This summer I have had many reunions! We just finished up the FIRST ANNUAL RON & JILL Family Reunion! What a blast! I was reunited with my little JAYJAY, Brett & Aubrey's one year old son. I could squish every part of his little (big) body. There came from Fullerton, CA for the week. It was so good to see them

Then I was reunited with Courtney Rose! Even though she and her dad, Jaxon and her mom, Megan only live 40 minutes away, it is ALWAYS a pure joy to listen to her communicate as only a 2 yr. old can do!
Ron and I had a lot of fun planning for our reunion for the kids. With Ashley and Megan (due any day) pregnant and the temperamental weather to deal with, we had to stay nearby and change our original plans often. Also, as you will notice by the following pictures, Tanner....Elder Anderson.....was with us all the way....well at least his face was!

We went and played miniature golf and Laser Tag! Elder A. really liked this and we even gave him his own gun............shhhhhhh don't tell his mission Pres.


There was always plenty of food to graze on...a must for all reunions!

Jaxon brought his guitar hero and Elder T.D.A. got to try his hand at lip syncing!


While the girls were at home with sleeping babies, Ron took the boys out skeet shootin'. Nice form Elder! Good practice for coon huntin' in Carolina!!!



In July we were able to reunite with Ron and his brothers and sisters and bazillions of cousins. We spent the day at a very hot Lagoon! Rides to make us dizzy, water to cool us off, and fun and laughter all the day long!!!


Also, in July we reunited with Bestor family! John and his family were able to come for the summer from Cairo, Egypt, the Hendersons from St. George, Kurt, Petrina and Ella from SLC and we drove down from Rexburg. It was short and sweet and as always fun to catch up on our three missionaries and Johns adventured from afar. Thanks mom and dad for letting us bombard your house for the weekend.

And then one of the funnest reunions of all was with my friend Laurel Carlile Steele. Ron< Maddie and I happened to be at Lava Hot Springs on July 3rd and little did I know that Laurel was there with her huge family reunion. We have been best friends since 8th grade and even though we don't see each other very often when we do......look out! It was a great summer reunion. Fall is certainly in the air and school fees are paid. Now it's just time to make sure Maddie has the right
outfits' to wear to school and we're off..................Thanks Everyone! I had a great summer

So Here's The Deal! Enjoy Them While They Are Young!

Ron and I have found a new place in our lives together. A satisfying one. An interesting one. A challenging one. A rewarding one. A unique one. Five children. Three married, one on a mission and a senior who eats and sleeps at home but prefers being with people her own age...all the time! And that's okay! But we look at each other and smile and ask, "Now what do we do?" We have our own interests. We have some in common. The challenge now is to find more things in common that interest both of us. I remember years ago when an older and wiser friend of mine told me, through tears, "Enjoy your children while they are young, they will grow up so fast!" At that time I had 3 young children and a husband who was rarely home and I honestly wondered what she was talking about! Now I know! Ron and I are back where we started almost 29 yrs. ago. It will be a fun journey with new twists in the road and adjustments to make but hey... he's actually talking about replacing the GEO so at least the ride will be comfortable along the way! Looking forward to getting reacquainted!!!!

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JULY HAS COME & GONE...but NOT without FUN!!!

So what do you all do in the Summertime! The whole month of June was filled with rain and cold weather so when we finally got sunshine and heat we have been living it up! The following pics show some of our thrills and adventures during July!

One of the biggest thrills for Ron was to finally witness hummingbirds enjoying his feeder he put out for them LAST year!

Watching Ethan & Ashley (6 months pregnant) play softball was a lot of fun. A big thrill for us was to see Ethan hit & home-run!!!!

A huge thrill and accomplishment for Maddie was turning 17 and jumping off the highest platform at LAVA hot springs! The above picture is after she did it and the pic below was taken as she was about to take flight as her friends cheered her on!

WAY TO GO MADDIE!

I am so thankful that Maddie has such great friends. 2 Carloads of her friends went to spend the day at Lava Hot Springs for her BDay celebration! 2 cars, 2 coolers, lots of snacks + kids = a great summer afternoon!

Even the drive home was beautiful!

The 3 of us made the drive to the Anderson reunion down in Utah. Lots of kids, laughter and food and to really make everyone HAPPY.....LAGOON!

I even pulled out "Singing Sam" for Primary Time with all the grandkids.

Brett (Boom) & Aubrey and Jay were not there...so this pics for you Bford!!!

Laguna Beach was a lifesaver in the 100 degree heat, especially for an expectant Ash.

Jaxon, Megan & Courtney weren't there either so we took a spin on the Samurai for you guys!!!

Ron's stomach doesn't agree with rides and so I rode on some with Maddie and guess what.....I found my tummy doesn't agree either!!! Another successful Anderson Reunion!

Another very hot summer day Maddie and I met Megan & Courtney at Rigby Lake to cool off.

We think that Maddie is going to be trouble when she has kids some day!!!!

Sun, sand, water and mom...doesn't get any better then that!!!

And our latest body of water we played in was Heise Hot Springs. Lots of fun again with Maddie and 2 carloads of friends, but this time one of MY friends (Gale Willmore)went as well.

Well, August is just around the corner so we plan to fill our days even more full. The first annual Ron & Jill Anderson Family Reunion
is about to commence. So looking forward to seeing the Richardson from California but forever mindful of our Missionary in North Carolina.
Love your guts Tanner!!!!!!!!!!