Ivy Luella Anderson

We welcomed an adorable new member of our family a couple weeks ago.

We were pretty much set on her middle name- we considered it for Ginger, but decided on Jocelyn [my grandmother] and just hoped that we'd have another girl in the future so we could still use Luella- so glad it worked out! But Ivy was probably the toughest name yet to decide out of all the kids. It was time to fill out the birth certificate info and check out and I had the pen on the paper with NO clue what to write! But something just told me she was more of an "Ivy" than anything else we were thinking. So Ivy it was!

A special thanks to grandparents for watching the kids! Ginger spent the weekend with my parents and Jaxon and Violet were with the Andersons in Park City. They were so happy to meet their new baby sister.

Jaxon is taking all this girl stuff in good stride. He's very proud of the fact that he's the only boy, and the oldest to boot.

Violet and Ginger have had non-stop fun with Ivy. I knew they would. They took out all their dolls and spread out a blanket for Ivy to play on. Can you spot the real baby?

We are so in love with this little girl! Welcome to the family, little Ivy!

Jaxon Turns 8

Eight is great! Can't believe this kid is already 8 years old.

He had a Chinese themed birthday party, but I kind of was a little too busy to get pictures!

And for his birthday activity with dad he chose to go camping.

Found some cool bones that Jaxon wasn't all that interested in...he really doesn't care about animals at all, dead or alive.

They had a lot of fun. :) I can't believe he's getting baptized soon!

First Day of School 2019

After such a crazy summer school is finally back in session! And this year Jaxon and Violet were so excited to be going to the same school!

Violet is now in kindergarten! She is so thrilled about school. We of course took "first day of school" photos with their current favorite book. Violet likes 100 different books, but she chose this one because it has a picture she just thinks is hilarious. 

 Jaxon is now in second grade, and although he is a picky reader, he seems to tolerate Nate the Great books. I'm just grateful he's reading something!

So grateful they go to a wonderful school with wonderful teachers. It should be a awesome school year!

To the Zoo

A couple of days before our Talbot reunion we decided to cash in Violet's Christmas coupon and go to the zoo!

So relieved I don't have to be pregnant as long as an elephant does.

The highlight of the trip was when Violet was called on to be the special helper at the bird show. A dove landed in her hand and started eating out of it.

For her help she got a free ticket on the animal carousel.

I thought it was a perfect way to help make up for some of the fun she had to miss out on over the summer because of her arm.

Talbot Family Reunion 2019

We had a second family reunion this

summer, this time with my side of the family near sunny St. George.

It was a great few days in the sun, pool, and late nights talking. And that's all I wanted to do at 36 weeks pregnant, especially considering I was getting some false contractions on the drive down.

It was a very relaxing vacation before school started the next week. The kids had so much fun with their cousins that they didn't want to leave!

The Day to Day...

This has definitely been a busy summer for us. Aside from the Anderson and Talbot reunions, our weeks have been full of... 

Doctor's appointments! Violet got downgraded from a full arm cast to a short arm cast a couple days before our reunion. We still go in regularly for x-rays. 

Fourth of July and Free Slurpee Day...

 Birthdays...

Swimming lessons...but only for Jaxon this year with Violet's mishap. :(

Saturday visits to the laundromat. Jaxon works every Saturday for two hours emptying machines and doing other things. He really enjoys it. 

And we love going to the library. It is not unusual for us to check out 50+ books at a time. Mostly because the girls are bookworms. It's a miracle we haven't lost any.

It doesn't take Violet long to plow through several books

Ginger often falls asleep reading

And finally, Jaxon had a Chinese tutor this summer. Not because he needed it, but because he didn't want to stop learning Chinese over the summer. Mrs. Ge was amazing.

And that was the jist of our summer!

Anderson Reunion 2019

It was time for another Anderson Family Reunion this summer, and this time it was our turn to host! We chose to have it at Bear Lake and Lava Hot Springs. It was short and sweet, but we all had fun!

30 weeks pregnant- we kept it simple. ;)

We rented a circle of cabins at a KOA where we could have our own space and privacy.

We enjoyed the amenities...

Since Stetson had just left on his mission the week before the reunion (the first grandchild), we decided to make both night's firesides about missionary work. I loved hearing everyone share a story from their mission.

The next day we spent the morning at Bear Lake. Travis likes to call this creature "The Beast". I prefer to call it "Placido Flamingo". Either way, it was certainly a hit.

 Violet couldn't get in the water much but she made her own fun. :) She got into the habit this summer of showing off her cast for every picture.

We finished the day with the play "The Little Mermaid" at Pickleville Theater in Garden City. We were a little nervous with how the play would be (we've never seen one of their productions before) but we were impressed! They did a great job!

The next day we stopped for yummy raspberry milkshakes before heading up to Lava Hot Springs for some fun tubing on the river. Now THAT we've done before and we knew would be fun for everyone.

And that was our Anderson reunion this year! My goal for this reunion was to make sure people had plenty of time to sit, chat, and relax while taking in some of the local fun spots. I think it was a success! Everyone pitched in to help, and we couldn't have done it without them.