So Grown Up!

Russton had a couple firsts this week.

#1 First: He got his first haircut on Sunday the 28th. I know, I know, no one can even see his hair most of the time. But, it was really starting to look like a mullet in the back when he wore shirts with a collar. Anyway, it was getting shaggy looking. So I braved the job myself. It didn't turn out too bad if I can toot my own horn! :) This is a before shot, you can see his hair over his ears. And this is a shot of the first cut. If you want to see the after pictures, there aren't any. His hair is way too blond to show up well in a photograph now. You'll just have to come visit us to check out his new style. #2 First: Feeding Independence. He used to let me feed him some and then he'd pick up some pieces of food himself. For the first time ever he refused to let me help him. He was VERY insistent about being independent. It is really kind of cute:

He seems so grown up to me. Especially lately as he is almost a year old. I can't believe how much he has changed in such a short time! Gosh, I love that little guy!

Christmas fun!

We had a really fun Christmas. This is us reading the Christmas story and playing each part with hand puppets. Thanks for the puppets Heather!


Russton kept kissing the baby Jesus puppet. It was SO cute!!










We decided to celebrate Christmas with just the three of us the Sunday morning before Christmas. Russton was so cute about all the presents. He especially liked pulling the bows off each gift before opening it.

Here's a clip:


Russton also got an adorable monkey toy. He had been eye-ing the monkey in the store during our Christmas shopping adventures. I decided I had better get it for him. And boy, was it worth it!! Check out the moment he opened this gift.

We were lucky enough to visit both of our extended families on Christmas day. I went to my mom's house early to finish up a Christmas gift I was sewing for Russton. Jesse was working, and we were expecting him late Christmas Eve. But then he surprised us by showing up in the afternoon! It was like a Christmas miracle! ;) Okay, not really, but I was still pretty happy.
Russton got some fun toys from his grandparents on my side. This is a wooden dinosaur pull-toy that my dad made for Russton.
My mom made me a winter themed quilt. Jesse got a tool box (but I didn't take a picture)
We always eat like kings when my family celebrates Christmas. This year was no different! Thanks mom for the tasty breakfast!!

After breakfast we headed out in the crazy, crazy snow storm for Malad. It was snowing so hard! We had to travel at 40mph or slower the whole way. But we made it safely. Thank goodness Jesse put new tires on the car!

Being with our Malad family was lots of fun too. Russton got a train push toy that lights up and sings. He can really walk around with that thing now, it's pretty cute.
We all got some really comfy jammies too! Thanks Grandma Carol!

Justin's family got a Wii for Christmas, so everyone enjoyed some action-packed video game playing. Later, many of us went outside to enjoy the new snow. Jesse made a sledding track in the backyard. Russton got to try sledding for the first time.



Yeah... I wouldn't really say that he... enjoyed it. More like he just endured it. Maybe next year he'll have more fun. :)

All in all we had a really great Christmas!! We're going to miss being around our family.

Pumpkin Blow

Sorry for the delay. we had this cool experience right after Halloween. Thanks to the Hylton's for inviting us to the pumpkin blow. that they have every year. it was awesome. Here is a little explosion.

Don't you think it's about time for an update?!?

Well I sure think it is! Let me see what random pics and videos I can dig up that will give some idea of what we have been up to for the past month or so.

We had a great Halloween! Russton went as Superman. That shouldn't be a surprise to any of you who know Jesse at all! Just a little peek at his super-human powers!


Here's a couple more home videos that show Russton & his daddy having fun :)


And a couple showing that Russton is growing to be more like his daddy every day!



I guess that is kind of a random update. Anyway, we are all doing really really well. We can't wait to see all of our family for the upcoming holiday!

Birthday Weekend

We had a big birthday weekend for Jesse. Friday afternoon we had a little party. I made Jesse a cake. It had his favorite, cool whip, frosting. He got a few gifts: a coat, a shirt, and "Ironman" on DVD.



























Then that evening we ate at Wingers with Jesse's family. It's Jesse's favorite restaurant (sorry Jason, as it is your birthday also, next year you can pick the restaurant). He even got free concrete pie!

Then we went to Frightmares at Lagoon. We got a smoking deal on tickets (thanks Tracy!) so many of his family were able to go with us. We didn't take the camera to the park so we didn't get many pictures of the fun things we did.

The highlights included:

Jesse getting the fastest time (out of 6 races) on the drag racing course.
Jesse throwing a baseball 64 mph and winning a blue stuffed dolphin.
AND...
Justin screaming on the ladybug bop! (that's in the kid's section in case you were wondering) Although later he did go on the "Rocket" several times to redeem himself.

Saturday morning we hung out in Kaysville, then we went down to "The Living Planet Aquarium" in Sandy. It sounded like a lot of fun, we really liked going to the one in Oregon when we were there, so we thought we'd try it out. Well it was not much like Oregon's! It wasn't bad for Utah, a land-locked state, I guess. Russton had a really great time, though, which made it more fun for us. Here's a few pics of Russton enjoying the aquarium.































Later we went to Malad where we got family pictures, tasty dinner and more birthday cake! Yum!

It was a really fun weekend, I hope Jesse had a great birthday!

BIRTHDAY!!!

It's Jesse's birthday on the 13th! Everyone be sure to wish him happy birthday! I love you Jess, I'm so glad that you are in my life! I hope this weekend is the fun...est birthday celebration ever!! (I hope it doesn't rain and ruin all our plans. =( That would really stink!)

4 Fun Videos

Russton has been so much fun lately. He's growing so fast and learning and discovering new things all the time. These four videos are for those of our family and friends that we don't get to see often enough. And for Russton's grandmas who can never get enough of him laughing.

Russton is into everything these days! It's so cute when he comes up with a unique way of using something very ordinary. (And yes that's general conference on in the background. Conference was so good, but I couldn't resist capturing this moment.)


Speaking of discovering new things, Russton is just beginning to discover all the fun noises you can make with your mouth! What do you think of his new trick?


Sometimes his discovering gets him into trouble!


Last, but not least, the video his Grandmas will play again and again! (And yes it is two full minutes long, however, this video clip went for a whole other minute and a half longer than this before he got tired of laughing at me!)


We feel so lucky to have such a fun little guy in our home! I can't thank Heavenly Father enough for sending him to us. We love our Russton!

World's longest post... BEWARE!!

It has been much too long since this blog has had an update. Hopefully, this extra long post will make up for that.

Jesse started back at USU the end of August! Russton and I are very proud of him for continuing to work on his education. Here's a picture of my two favorite Aggies!














Over Labor Day weekend we had the
Howe Family Olympics!

This year's Howe family camping trip was located in an exotic and far away land: Grandma and Grandpa Howe's backyard in Malad, ID. Okay, maybe to some of you, Malad doesn't seem far away or exotic... well that's because it isn't. But their back yard made the perfect setting for a little family sporting competition.
We had opening ceremonies to start out

I know... small town fun. Life just doesn't get any better than that!

Each of the events was a grueling test of skill and stamina. We were all so proud of the winners! Some of the performances were worthy of the real Olympics! These winners are sure to become household names just as popular as Michael Phelps!

The Howe family champions:

Trick diving:
1st- Trever
2nd- Jason
3rd- Baylee










Baylee's Bronze medal dive:

Jason's Silver medal dive:


Here's Trever's Gold Medal winning dive:

And... he's only 5 years old!
**********************************************************

Decathlon (aka The Obstacle Course):
1st- Jesse
2nd- Justin
3rd- Jared










Here's Justin's Medal winning run (we didn't get the other two recorded):Check out that time!! Nice work!
*********************************************************************


Cannonball:
1st- Grandpa Evan
2nd- Jared
3rd- Justin










And of course the cannonball videos!

Bronze- Justin


Silver- Jared


GOLD- Grandpa Evan


Our Three Champions!
Gold in Cannonball- Grandpa Evan
Gold in Trick Diving- Trever
Gold in Decathlon- Jesse













Other moments of glory:

Baylee's Bronze



Jared and Cameron (Jared with his Silver and Bronze)







And, last but not least, Justin doing a throw-back to Rocky. Way to go, Leroy, you rock!








So, I think this post is long enough. Check back later for more fun!

My Husband the Star!

Very few people know that my Jesse has done a little acting on the side. And all of you faithful blog readers are in for a treat today because I have finally dug up a clip of one of his finest performances. Maybe you can spot him in this video. It's pretty fuzzy, but you should be able to get the gist of it. Hope you enjoy!

Click here to watch the video!


Did you figure out where he was??


Okay, so maybe it's not really him. But the guy looks so much like Jesse it's just crazy. You would be astounded at the similarity if the picture was a little more clear. Perhaps they were twins separated at birth... on completely different continents. Well any way, it gave me a good laugh I hope it did for you too!

Redneck Ride Home

Normally, I don't think of myself as a redneck. I mean, I haven't had my picture taken with "yesterday's ponytail" hair in a VERY long time (never seen my 5th grade picture?? Now you know why!). And(!) my parents did finally get rid of all the old cars in the yard (that was a bitter sweet day at the Anderson home). Plus, I'm proud to say I still have all of my teeth. So I was really feeling pretty close to normal.

Today was a little different though. I have to say that I felt more like a redneck than I have in a very long time. It was just our ride home from church today that struck me as a little... shall we say out-of-the-ordinary.

3 sure-fire ways to have a redneck ride home:

1- Drive a huge truck.
2- Set righ' thar in the middle by yer honey!
3- Get in all yer bar nakid youngun's.

The tradition lives on! 08-08-08 Party.

Beginning in 2002, my incredible friends have had a party on the golden day each year. You know, February-02-2002 then March-03-2003 and so on. This year's 08-08-08 party was tons of fun. We drank V8, and played 8o's sing star, and ate hot dogs (cuz there's eight in a package). Plus, Lisa brought these DELICIOUS cookie bars with 8 toppings. It was so fun. Here's a few pics from the party.

Allison & John waiting anxiously for their turn to play sing starRob & Lisa Rockin' to 80's sing star

Evan & Christy concentrating to putting out their best performance possible.

John & Jesse make Brittany look good!
(Caution: you may need ear plugs while playing this video)



Thanks for the good time everyone. I'm so glad we could all get together! I've missed you all tons. We really need to get together more often.
P.S. I can't wait for next year, we'll party like it's 1999! Or whatever other nine things we can think of.

Unsuccessful Craft

Tracy and I decided to make candles just for fun. I'm not really sure what happened to them. Both containers were full of wax before they cooled, but somehow by the time they were cooled they were both giant craters! Oh well at least it was fun. And they still smell nice =)

Update on Tracy

Sorry about the tardiness of this post. Tracy's surgery went very very well. She was able to heal for three weeks, and felt really good. When they turned on her cochlear implant she said it sounded like a lot of bells ringing. I saw her the day after she had it turned on. She was pretty frustrated with it at that point, there was a lot of new sound that sounded very mechanical, and she had a hard time getting the magnet to stay attached to her head. But as she has worn it more she says she's starting to understand new sounds better. She's really starting to like it now. She is really doing an amazing job on picking up how to use the implant. Hopefully she will feel confidant with it by the time school starts!

Pioneer Day Fun

We had a great pioneer day! Jesse entered a horseshoes tournament. He did pretty well, but he did not win =(
Anyway, here's a quick video to prove he was in the contest.

Nice Ringer!!

Anyway, then my best friend, Paulie, from high school came for a visit. It was really fun to have her here. She even helped me get some of my pictures hung up. Now we have fewer blank white walls, yeah! Thanks Paulie!

The American Harry Potter

What would Harry Potter have looked like if J.K. Rowling had said he was a blonde, blue eyed, American kid? A lot like this...

Gosh, his nails grow fast! Hopefully this won't be as permanent as Harry Potter's though.

Roska's Rock!!

Our friends the Roska's invited us to go up to Bear Lake with them this past weekend. So we packed up the sunscreen, and went for Russton's first adventure at the lake. The morning drive up Logan canyon was really nice, it was so beautiful and the air was cool.
It has been way too long since I have been to Bear Lake. They have completed lots of the road construction, at least the road seemed much more smooth to me, and I was shocked at how many gigantic houses had been built up there. But the lake was still beautiful blue.
We drove down to the beach to stake out a spot for our home base for the day (and thanks to Jesse's fabulous driving skills we did not end up axle deep in the sand-- whew, but it was close). Even if I had the power to choose the weather, I could not have picked a more perfect day to be at the lake. It was sunny, but not scorching, and there was a delightful breeze. Absolutely perfect.
I was pretty sure Russton wouldn't like the cold water, but he really seemed to enjoy getting his toes wet. So, I got him in his swim suit. He sat at the edge of the lake and had a blast.















































It wasn't long, though, and he got pretty tired out.
So while Russton slept, Drew dug a big hole and put Jesse in it. If you look closely you can see the Superman shield I drew on Jesse's chest (just to make him feel good). ;)

Then the Roska's took us back up the canyon to this remote campsite for hot dogs. Yum! it was very tasty! Thanks again Drew!
Russton enjoying the great outdoors...


So in this next picture you can see behind Russton that there is a random tent. This tent was just hanging out in the campsite. There was no stuff in it, no sign that anyone had been in there for quite some time. It was a little strange. However, we did consider leaving one of the older camp chairs up there to keep the tent company. Anyway, the topic opened up at least ten minutes of some of the finest comedy that I have heard in weeks. Drew and Emily you are a hoot!
Thanks again Roska's we had a totally fabulous time. It was so great to get away from the day to day stuff and have a mini vacation. Thanks for inviting us!

Morning walks

I love taking walks in the morning with my two guys! It's always fun to see where we end up. Today's adventure took us to Ellis Elementary where we took these cute pictures.


































I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I have a wonderful husband, who is my perfect match, and an adorable little boy that keeps me smiling all day long. I love them both!!

Our 4th of July Weekend

We went to Boise for the 4th. Jesse's brother was blessing his sweet little baby boy.











This is a pic of the Howe clan.












And of course, Jesse and Russton having fun with the camera













Russton & Trever










Our nieces went to Build-A-Bear, and one of them got a cute wig for her bear. Unfortunately for Russton it was just his size!

Russton's face when he realized what they were about to do ;-)

















These are going to go straight in his high school senior spotlight!



fun with cousin Baylee