NYC for Memorial Day

Over Memorial Day weekend we decided to head to NYC to see the herd of nieces and nephew (with another on the way!) before they took flight out west for the summer. Our plan was to give their parents some time to clean, pack and rest while we entertained kids. We took at least a few if not all five of the kids out every day we were there and had a blast!

Our first stop was a little playground at the very top of Central Park. Gwen and Sadie have uncle Thomas just wrapped around their fingers. I love watching him with these girls.

^^ Sadie never leaves home without her purse or her two cell phones^^

Any time Thomas sat or stood still for even a moment he was swarmed by kids. They just love wrestling around on their very own human jungle gym. This was how much of our weekend looked:

We rode the subway to church on Sunday, these kids are such city kids. They were watching out the window for the point where the subway tracks split- one goes down and the other goes above it. They tell me about this every time we visit. It's kind of a big deal when you're 4 or 5 years old.

^^ Right after telling Sadie to stop licking the post she's leaning on. Immune system of steel growing up here!^^

The afternoon was filled with naps. Sort of. I'm not sure how much sleeping actually happened, there was a lot more wiggling around, watching the iPad and poking uncle Thomas' face when he started to snore.

That evening we watched all five kids, took them to the park and put them to bed all by ourselves. It was pretty crazy but we didn't lose any of them. It made me really glad that you just get one kid at a time and gradually get used to having more and more. Five kids all at once is a little overwhelming

On Memorial Day we took the three youngest to Central Park. Cameron really wanted us to take him to the Bronx Zoo and was not happy about the fact that we were headed to the Central Park Zoo instead. He also had a little meltdown when we got on what he claimed was the wrong train which was taking us to Fake Central Park. I was so glad we had about 457 packs of fruit snacks to bribe good behavior and calm fights over orange juice and shared bagels and incorrect train choices.

It ended up taking us a little longer to get to the park than we planned, we stopped for bagels, at the splash pad and playground, we got popsicles and had to find the potty a few times. By the time we got to the zoo it was about time to head back home so we skipped seeing any animals and walked our way up to the Bethesda Fountain (Befesba Mountain if you're Cam). Sadie watched for every horse and carriage that passed as we walked through the park and got especially excited when ones with pink or purple adornments came our way.

As the fruit snacks began to dwindle we stopped to let them take off their shoes and run in the grass for a while. They found a turtle near the Boathouse pond and couldn't wait to tell their mom about their new friend Snap Turtle. We headed back to the subway via Strawberry Fields and were very grateful that we will just have one kid to wrangle for a while before we add any others to the mix.

Larry's Crochet

I feel like it has taken me a long time to get back into crocheting recently. When I was first pregnant all I did was sleep and try to choke down what little food sounded good to me. I did however finish this blanket before we headed to Utah and Idaho for the 4th of July. I made this one for one of my best friends from Santa Barbara who now lives in Utah with his awesome wife and tiny new baby boy. We got to meet their new baby for a few minutes while we were visiting and he was just so sweet! I always love getting to deliver a blanket by hand!

Oh, and this friend of mine, his name isn't Larry as the name of this post might imply. It's not even close. When we first met I couldn't for the life of me remember his name. I went up to him after church one day and said, "Isn't your name Larry or something horrible like that?" Well, it wasn't Larry but I have called him that ever since. In retaliation for my unwelcome nickname for him he began calling me Louise. After a while people really started to think that our names were actually Larry and Louise. 

I modified a pattern that I found on Pinterest for this blanket. It came from a German (I think) crochet blog and all I really had to go off was a picture of a handwritten diagram of the pattern. I tracked down the link if you want to attempt it too. Instead of doing just three double crochets in each cluster I chose to do 4. I think it made the blanket a lot more thick and almost bubbly. Remember when I did that bobble blanket and it took me a MILLION YEARS to complete? I would say this is a great, much faster alternative to that design.

I once again added a thick layer of fringe to both sides of this blanket. I don't know if you've noticed but I am really into fringe these days! It's easy to do and makes such a big impact. I want to fringe ALL THE THINGS!

I really loved how snuggly this blanket turned out, it's thick and soft and probably won't be put to any use until the winter- it is way too hot in Utah for this right now!

Larry's Crochet Stats

Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK
Colors: White, Silver, Citron, Sherbet
Hook sizes: 5.5 mm for the colored rows, 4.25 mm for the yellow rows

4th of July 2015

It's no secret that the best place on earth to celebrate the 4th of July is in Arimo, Idaho. At least that's what I believe. I've been there pretty much every year since I can remember and to me that place is magic.

This year the cousins took charge of the events and made the 4th celebration into the first Keith & Jean Anderson Family Reunion. It made the whole weekend extra special. My brother Seth designed a logo for the event and made each of us a shirt. Irene planned water games for the family Olympics and we actually designed and created a float for the town parade. I have to give a huge shout out to my Auntie Kathy and Gram for letting us take over their houses and yards for the weekend too. 

Get your scrolling finger ready because there are a LOT of pictures from the weekend. 

Things got started Friday night with a weenie roast and stories around the fire. There were a few impromptu skits and lots of trying to keep babies out of the fire pit.

The love that this family has for our grandmother is profound. She is such an interesting lady and so young at heart. I loved watching her interact with her grand and great-grandkids and tried to capture a few of those moments.

^^ Camille helping fan the smoke away from Gram^^

I preparation for the holiday my brother asked me to crochet him some festive shorts. I somehow figured out how to make them and they were a huge hit. He wore them all night Friday and the whole day Saturday too.

^^Invisible Bench Skit by Autumn and Evan with a cameo by Keith^^

^^Auntie Kathy's New Pet Skit^^

^^Miles is SO over our crazy antics^^

Gram began telling stories about her family history, something we all quieted down and listened to. She has seen so much in her lifetime and has had such great adventures. We learned a lot about her and also my Grandpa Keith's younger lives. It became so clear to me why we as their family are so important to them. I realized why we get together every year in a little podunk town in the middle of nowhere to be together.

As the sun began to sink behind the mountains the ukulele and guitar came out for a little jam session. Have you ever seen such a glorious sunset!

^^The kids watched movies on the side of the garage until late in the night^^

The 4th

We had the traditional Fireman's Breakfast in the park bright and early on the 4th. It was already getting hot by 7:30 AM and it just got hotter and hotter as they day went on.

^^Shorts!^^

Our parade float was themed "Bursting in Air" and naturally was covered in fireworks. If you know anything about my family it's that we love fireworks and burning things. In fact, the police had been at my grandma's just the evening before telling us that our giant fireworks were illegal and we needed to stop shooting them off. If the cops or the fire department show up at a family party you know it's been a success!

I have to say, I was pretty proud of our float. When the grand kids were little my Gram used to put so much time and energy into making a themed float with all of us in coordinated outfits. It's been years since we've done that now. Mostly we panic about half an hour before the parade starts and throw the I heart Arimo sign and some patriotic streamers on Grams car and let her drive the parade route. This year though, we pulled out all the stops!

^^Gram riding as the Matron of Honor on the float^^

One of the things I love most about the Arimo Parade is that you can enter almost anything you want into the parade. Vintage John Deer? Heck yes!

Cheerleaders on a car trailer? Oh yeah!

A bike you decorated with crate paper? You'd better believe it!

Tiny pony and a cart? Why not!

Horses or even a mermaid? Sounds great!

After the parade we all hang out in the driveway and eat popsicles because 'Merica!

Then we tried to get everyone together for a family picture. After about 15 minutes of this:

We finally got a few really great ones

I wish I could figure out how to make a higher quality gif of this series but the flag waving in the background is pretty cool anyway.

One thing I always connect with summer at the grandparent's house is hollyhock dolls. My grandpa used to help us pick hollyhock flowers and dig toothpicks out of the kitchen to make these clever little dolls. I love that Gram is teaching the next generation this fine art form as well.

The Olympics

After lunch, some lounging in the shade, a softball game at the park and putting Mentos into endless bottles of Diet Coke we divided into teams for the family Olympics.

Don't mess

^^Team Red^^

^^Team Blue^^

^^Team White^^

Many of the games involved hauling children around with various amounts of water from one bucket to fill another bucket. There were a few close calls, some possible cheating scandals and many, many buckets of water thrown.

The final showdown was on the slip and slide. I don't even know what the point of this game was but it was sure fun to watch!

^^ I love this picture for so many reasons...^^

In the end the BLUE TEAM WON!!! Thomas and I were part of that team and although we couldn't help too much (my being pregnant and Thomas recovering from appendix surgery) we fully intend to use our bragging rights all year!

^^Gram watching from her deck like, "What are these crazy people doing in my front yard??"

Our normal water fight antics followed the victory of the Blue Team including assaulting anyone who dared to pass by the house. The neighbors down the street hooked up every house they had and came charging down the street at us. We've attached them on an annual basis for quite a few years...

It was so hot out, everyone was finding a way to cool down. Some classier than others. Actually, none of them were classy.

After everyone dried off a bunch of the family had to leave to go back to their homes and jobs but a few of us stuck around for the rest of the weekend. We drove up to Lava Hot Springs for the fireworks, stayed up way too late and went to church with Gram on Sunday. I always get really sad when we have to leave Arimo and all the family magic behind. I can't wait until we can take our little baby there and teach him all about this place!