random February 2013

Practically one year behind... Life as it was in February 2013 :)

"Daddy's home! It's play time!!"

Jed would often pick up Charlotte and put her on Ben's shoulders for a ride while Ben ran around. This time Ben collapsed on the couch in laughter, which is a good thing because Jed wouldn't have been able to keep up with two munchkins catching a ride on his feet.

This is what happens when you have a little girl that is really into fairy dress-ups, and has too many of them, and has a best friend little brother who does EVERYTHING she does, and said little girl LOVES to mother him and dress him up, and there are no boy dress-ups to be found...

And another. I couldn't help myself. It was just too funny!

Eliza loved her preschool program. It was 4 days a week for a couple hours in the afternoon, at the same Elementary School as Ben attended. She absolutely loved it.  Here we are at her Valentines party.

 Poor Sammy zonked out in the car on the way (he took a nap every afternoon usually). Amazingly, he stayed asleep the whole way in, even though it was drizzling and I was balancing his sleeping body on the handles of the stroller while I pushed it in the building. And he stayed asleep when I laid him on the couch and slept through the entire party.

My friends and I spent lots of fun time together, getting in all the parties we could before Spring and moving days.

 (Erin, Anona Davis, Britni Hamblin, Annie Christensen)

Here we are for Melody's baby girl baby shower. What a fun night!

 (Sarah Romer, Erin, Melody Aanderud, Anona Davis, Jenny Balmforth, Jenna Flannagan)

 (Erin, Melody, and Anona)

The kids and I made this ENORMOUS snowman one day. It was quite a feat. We had to use creativity and muscles to get that head on the top. I heaved it on Ben's back when he was on all fours, and then rolled it up to the neck place.  When Jed got home, he was impressed! I boasted that it would stand as a monument for the entire winter. Unfortunately, the next morning it was kicked down. (Sad!) But we had a great time making it!

Eliza was cuddling with Daddy during scripture reading one night...

Here is Ben showing off his pirate costume he made at school. 

 Eliza made a pretty rainbow out of modeling clay.

There was a week there when Sam was going around with fake teeth in his mouth and making me laugh! I had to get a picture of him.

Look at that little sweetie! Charlotte was sitting up so well! She was 9 months old in this picture.

Toledo Zoo- Feb 18, 2013

My awesome friends, Melody Aanderud and Jenny Balmforth, and I went to the Toledo Zoo with our kids in February 2013. We had such a great time! We were feeling particularly grateful for every moment we could spend together because we knew that in a few months we would be moving away from each other, once our husbands graduated from their residency programs. What a blessing good friends are!
In the picture above, Drew Balmforth, Ben, and Eirik and Joren Aanderud are riding the elephant.
Below, Teig Aanderud, Leisel and Anna Balmforth, and Eliza are hanging on for dear life. Luckily Jenny is supporting them from behind. :)

 We got to hold and brush the guinea pigs.

 We stopped to play at the zoo playground for a while.

We were all mesmerized by the enormous male orangutan. Leisel and Eliza = BFF. They painted their faces for each other; aren't they natural artists?