April is Here and Gone Again

Hello Friends! There's a lot to report for the amazing month of April. First of all, the month started out with wonderful General Conference. It was a wonderful two days of spiritual uplifting to reboot, re-prioritize, and remember our Savior Jesus Christ and His wonderful sacrifice that gives us purpose and opportunity in this life and life hereafter. 

Bitter-Sweet Parting-

Next, we decided to sell our 2002 Dodge Stratus. We paid it off last year and fixed it up before moving to California in July. Well, a few weeks after we arrived here it decided that it was time for another rest. The transmission went out and we have not been in the financial, nor mental state, to put more money into it. So, even though we didn't get a lot of money from the sale we at least feel like we're taking a step forward in getting rid of it finally in the hopes of using the money toward moving on to something more reliable in the near future. It was really neat too, since when we finally put the sign up in the windshield we sold it the next day! Blessings for sure. We're so thankful. Below is a picture of it being towed away to be given some TLC by it's new owner. Bye Lexi, be good!

Easter!

We love Easter! It's such a beautiful holiday full of new birth, hope, and reminders of everything that's good about life, family, and all of God's wonderful creations. It was especially nice to be able to spend it with both of our extended families. The kids really enjoyed dying eggs with Gpa & Gma Anderson and egg hunting with Gpa & Gma Keel. Below is a picture of our shared haul from the Easter Bunny. There were only a few things that were more than a dollar. They were really surprised and very entertained, we were happy with the results, even if they were hyped-up on sugar for the rest of the day!

(Here's Riley playing with the dollar pin-wheel. 

Dean and her love watching it spin in the yard!)

 (Here's Dean in his spiffy Easter outfit. He looked so handsome. 

To bad we couldn't get him to sit still for a really good picture.)

 (Here's Dean whining about going into the yard to find Easter eggs! So funny the 

things kids do. They were so excited once they got the hang of it though.)

Our kiddos-

 (Doesn't Dean look like a piggy with that triangle in his mouth/over his nose?)

 (Riley Mae wanted to brush her teeth too! 

She wants to be just like her big brother Dean.)

 (Dean got to help James wash the car, and found out it was a wet and sometimes 

dirty job! He was so excited about it. He got to play in the suds and use a sponge

 and get rinsed off with the hose. Very exciting stuff for a 2 year old.)

 (Riley makes this face often lately and it is so funny. She also likes running away 

when we are trying to re-clothe her. And she loves to climb up and down things

 now that she is a walker; these rugs for example. She's so entertaining.)

 (This is Riley face-down asleep in her new high chair, that she 

loves! Thank you to a wonderful family member who gives us

 GREAT hand-me-downs. She feels like a princess in it!)

 (Dean and Riley are usually fighting, or whining about who stole 

whose toy,...yes, it starts young!So when there is a sweet moment, 

we like to capture it! Here they are being pals while watching Mickey 

Mouse Club. Pretty precious right? We love these monsters!)

The big news!

James got a new job as an Account Clerk with the City of Barstow. He was contacted by a hiring company, interviewed, and given the position within three days and then started work the next Monday. It was all very unexpected and wonderful. James is loving the environment and the job description where he gets to design spreadsheets and analyze in-depth reports to create a more quick and reader-friendly version. He also gets his own office and is really enjoying the people who he works with. Below is a snap-shot of said office. We are saying our prayers that this will be what we have been hoping for and become permanent if possible.  We are so grateful for this new development! 

Thank you for all your prayers and everything you do to make our lives sweeter and more blessed each day. Hope you and yours are well and good where you are. Look forward to relating Riley's 1st Birthday event in the next post.

Love,

The James Anderson Family

Spring Has Sprung!

Happy Spring! We are so excited for the brighter days ahead and to share some of the fun things the milder weather has allowed us to do lately.

Our Tall Children-

We finally got them in to see the doctor this month. Took us long enough! But we were very glad to get them seen. Dean is now 37" tall and Riley is 29" tall and are doing well despite some change-of season colds that have been hanging around for awhile. Riley has to catch-up on a few shots, and got four all at once. She did a great job though, we were really impressed.

The Dean-

He is just growing up too fast! He is 30 months old and his haircut makes him look older. He loves to draw. He'll actually tell us what he is drawing and it will look like what he says. Like water, balloons, flowers, etc. We're constantly amazed with his ability to observe and then do what he sees. He's had some trying experiences with other kids lately. He was bit on the arm and punched in the nose, poor kid. We had a hard time with that one, but know it's part of growing up and learning how to deal with other kids his age. He watches movies constantly, and has such a big vocabulary and imagination from all of them. We also have been loving his sense of humor. He was telling knock-knock jokes that had us rolling. For a two year old, it was awesome. It went something like this:

"Knock, knock!" "Who's there?" "Banana." "Banana who?" "Banana is in the tree."
"Knock, knock!" "Who's there?" "Owl." "Owl who?" "Owl is eating the banana."

(These are the "four balloons" he drew the other day.)

One of his favorite things this month, was when we all went to fly the airplane kite he and James picked out together!

The Riley Monster-

Doesn't she look so sweet and innocent? Well, she's 11 months and learning so fast. She is now cruising everywhere, and we have videos of her first walking attempts and another inventive way she's picked up to get around. She's definitely curious, stubborn, and a quick learner. We sure love her.

 (This is her right before she stands up in her high chair for the fortieth time!)

 (Yes, she is holding the TouchPad. Doesn't she just look like she knows exactly what she's doing?)

(Uncle Bryce would be wrapped around her finger, but she's got her fingers on the stereo remote instead.)

Okay, she IS sweet and innocent, but she sure does get into some mischief!

 (See the graham-cracker plastered to her shirt? haha.)

 (Toys don't go in the toy boxes, she does! It is her favorite thing to pull everything out onto the floor.)

 (She is a remote-stealing, cheerio-spilling, graham-cracker-smashing monster; whom we absolutely adore!)

 (This is Riley covered in Mommy's thieved cookie. It looks better on her anyway.)

(This poor innocent frog (and so many other stuffed animals and toys she 

can carry like so) was the victim of a teething Riley monster!)

And just wait until you see what she does with the DIRT!

 (She kicked her shoe off and buried it first, then proceeded to try and eat the dirt, suck 

on the rocks, and threw a couple too, you know, for good measure. Good thing she's so dang cute!)

Dean also had a lot of fun playing in the dirt. He buried his legs in it, rained it down into his hair, and dug for rocks. Then he did some fun drawings in the dirt. He's such a little artist lately!

Cousin Alex's Baptism--

Dean's oldest boy-cousin got baptized this month and we were able to get Uncle Bryce to teach our Primary lesson (which coincidentally, was on baptismal covenants) so we could all go. It was so great. We left early enough to get some brownies to bring, feed the babies something small, change them and when we got there it was pouring rain, hail, and snow. But Alex was so fun, the talks were so well-done, and seeing Uncle Ray being able to baptize and confirm him was awesome. Dean loved watching it and was so excited he kept saying "Baptism!" and "Water!" And of course, they loved the cookies afterward too, as you can see! They were so good and so exhausted when it was over. So nice to have cousins close.


Hope you liked the updates. We love sharing and have so many great things to look forward to this next month, like: General Conference, Easter, and Riley's First Birthday! Yay! Can't wait to see how it all goes.

Love,

The James Anderson Family

Long Awaited Update--Part Two

Hello again! As promised here is the second part of the updates; from the month of February. So many exciting things we don't want to miss posting. Let's get started.

Valentine's Day:

We went all out for Valentine's this year. Brittany did 14 days of valentines to James, and James bought Brittany yellow tulips (her favorite) and took her out to dinner and a movie. 

 (Here's the first day of valentines...a little cheesy but that's how we roll!)

 (Brittany's parents went out on a nice date on Valentine's Day too, don't they look spiffy?)

(James made napkin roses on Valentine's Day and gave one 

to Riley, she loved it and wouldn't put it down. It was adorable!)

 (We got all dressed up for the first phase of our date, dinner at Juliano's 

(we went on our first ever date there). Then we came back put the babes down

 for bed, got comfy and went to a movie. It worked out really nice.)

Corralling Horses:


Our Sister and her husband own a mustang and have it in a corral on their property. They needed some help moving it over to a more secure position where it was out of the wind and more supported. We were so happy James could help--they always do so much for everyone else and are so sweet and thoughtful all the time. It was nice to be able to visit too, Dean and Riley were so excited to see their cousins. We stayed until the afternoon and felt more like they were helping us out since they fed us, gave us an extra outfit for Riley since she managed to spoil all of her clothing while we were there (dumped baby food all over herself first, then found the dog bowl and spilled that all over the rest of her...crazy girl! haha.), and then gave James an In-N-Out shirt and gift card for helping. We love those guys!

 (Here is what it looked like when they were done. Isn't it beautiful?)

It was so great also, because we were able to use the gift card for our date that evening. Gpa and Gma A watched the babies so that we could use the two tickets James received to a  "Night of Magic and Comedy" at VVC and then we stole away to In-N-Out before going to save the grandparents. It was so nice. Two great dates in one month! Who would've guessed that could happen? Thanks to everyone who made that possible. We love you!

BRYCE CAME HOME FROM HIS MISSION!


Brittany's brother Bryce came home on the 9th of February after leaving over two years ago to serve a mission in Salt Lake City. It is so great to see the man he is and have him home again. We love you and are so pleased with your sacrifice and testimony brother! Following are some amateur photos we took while Tyler was in town. He was able to pick Bryce up and drive him home and spend a few days before returning to his life in Provo. It was really nice to have all of us together again after so long.

 (The siblings all together!)

  (Look at these handsome brothers.)

(All of us with our happy faces!)

 (Dean and Riley said cheese too!)

Bryce's Homecoming:

Brittany helped welcome Bryce by designing this announcement, doing a little decor, and putting together some "Oreo cakes." We hope Bryce's day was special for him and that he knows how much we love him.  

 (Can you tell he loves Oreos?)

Worth Mention:

James was only two cars and a few seconds away from being the van below. Monday morning on his way to work a car zoomed between him and the car to his left (in a non-existent space), lost control, and ended up slamming into the side of the van in oncoming traffic. James ended up staying to report what happened and being late to work, but we're thankful he made it to work! Thank you for your prayers; they are working!

 (James said there was a dad and his three year old daughter in this van. 
No one was hurt, but it just really reminds us to be so careful!)

  (This is the red car that caused all the problems in the first place. 
A reckless teenager. But at least he took responsibility for it.)

A nice family day:

We had such a nice time at a beautiful park in Hesperia, letting Dean and Riley swing, and imagine, and play. Then we were able to visit Gma & Gpa A and watch "Puss in Boots" and eat pizza. Gma A gave each of them a pair of sunglasses, and they both adore them. Dean in particular wears them everywhere, even at church. He has also been asking to watch "Puss in Boots" since then, at least once a day. He's so cute. We are so thankful for our family!

 (You can talk to each other from across the playground thru these. Dean was fascinated!)

 (Isn't he cute? We sure think so!)

 (They loved playing in the grass.)

 (We played "Red Light, Green Light" with Dean for the first time. 

He did pretty good. He did want to add "Blue Light" though...? Haha.)

 (These babies love to wrestle with their Daddy and each other.)

(This is a picture from a recent Sunday. Riley is playing 'peek-a-boo' with Dean's paper from nursery 

and Dean has his beloved bow-tie and sunglasses from Gma A.)

Can't wait to see what's next for our little family. We'll try to post again soon.

Love, 

The James Anderson Family