The Anderson Family

baseball cake pops

2010-06-14T10:53:00.000-04:00

2010-06-14T10:51:00.000-04:00

castle cake

2010-05-24T10:47:00.000-04:00

2009-06-15T17:32:00.000-04:00

Piney River

2009-06-15T17:31:00.000-04:00

Cape May

2009-06-15T17:13:00.000-04:00

Me and Chris just took our first trip away from the kids. I was the maid of honor for a friends wedding in Cape May NJ. So we made a trip out of it and did the tourist thing buying gifts for the kids, touring old victorian beach cottages, and walking the boardwalk. I was really nervous at first being so far away from my babies, but we made the best out of it and ended up having a great time. Such a great time that Sunday came too fast, so we took the scenic route home :) It was fun being Chris and Kandice again..not just mom and dad! I am looking forward to our next getaway!

AKJK-A+V

2009-06-15T17:05:00.000-04:00

It is always so much fun getting together with childhood friends. Unfortunately that doesn't happen too often when you have jobs, families, and distance in your way. So, anytime my friends are in town I do what I can to see them..which takes a lot of planning on my part since I am the only one in the group with kids, other than Amy (not pictured). Anyways these are my bestfriends from va beach, the most talented and amazing women I know. In 8th grade we named our group AKJK for Amy, Kandice, Jessica, and Kim..don't know who made that up..but, it's dorky so it was probably me. :)
Amy couldn't make it, she lives in Pennsylvania with her 3 kids. Vanessa came in her place, she's a 1st grade teacher in Norfolk, Jessica a landscape architect just moved back here from San Fran with her rocket scientist husband, and Kim is a graphic designer in Philly. It was great seeing them..brings back memories when life wasn't so complicated!

?

2009-06-15T16:50:00.000-04:00

I came across this little gem while uploading pictures..my kids are so silly!

Park day..yesterday

2009-05-22T11:24:00.000-04:00

Finally I have this thing up to date!
Yesterday me and Isabella spent some time with Ryan and Jenny. It was such a beautiful day we decided to take a walk to the park 3 blocks away..okay Jenny maybe the park was more like 4 or 5..lol. Anyways they play so cute together, I am so happy that I remembered the camera!

Haircut..chop chop

2009-05-22T11:16:00.000-04:00

It has always been important to me to let the kids have their own individuality. As long as they are respecful and keep their grades up, I could care less about how their hair is styled. Elijah's hair however, has been driving me crazy. It is hard enough getting Chloe ready for school than to have to brush and detangle Elijah's hair too. I can't tell you how many times I have been at the bus stop with a hair brush in hand. It was such a relief when he came home from school one day and said him and Jacob wanted to cut off their hair and get mohawks. My mom and I wasted no time and had them at the hair salon as soon as they finished their homework. The kids at school are completely shocked and I think Elijah enjoyed the attention. A lot of people keep telling him he looks taller..to him that makes it all worth it! It's so nice to be able to see his face again. :)

May..Graduation

2009-05-22T11:05:00.000-04:00

Finally graduated magna cum laude with my Associates in Science! I have been at that school so long it's almost hard to say good-bye to it. TCC chesapeake is so small it has always been more like 13th grade rather than a college. I have to admit that I haven't been always working towards graduating. More like just trying to figure out what I want to do. Taking creative writing classes, photography, gardening, etc. It's time to move on. So I'm off to either Regent or ODU in the fall pursuing a degree in Early Education. The reward for all of this education is a J-O-B..whats up with that?

April..Field Trip to Jamestown

2009-05-22T10:53:00.000-04:00

Even though I wasn't chosen to be the chaperone for Elijah's 4th grade field trip to Jamestown..I went anyway. There really wasn't a choice in the matter. Elijah kept looking at me with his big blue eyes pleading for me to follow the charter buses, saying that everyones mom is going. I could not believe that "everyones" mom is going to tag along after their kids. What happened to giving your kids some independence? As I dropped him off I realized he was right. EVERYONES mom was following the buses! They had formed a mommy train of SUV's and mini-vans behind the buses. As I walked Elijah to his class there was a sea of mom jeans as far as you could see standing around waiting for the cue that the kids were heading to the buses. Geez.. So I did what any other mom would do in that situation..I raced home, got Isabella up and dressed, grabbed my camera, threw a lunch together, and made it back up to school in time to get in line just as the buses were leaving..the only thing I forgot was some comfortable walking shoes..Jamestown and heels don't mix. ;)

April..Spring Break

2009-05-22T10:40:00.000-04:00

The Anderson's graciously let us stay in the beach house for spring break. Unfortunately, it rained the entire week. So we stayed home working in at the condo until the weather cleared. Which worked out because we really needed to get the condo ready to put it for sale. So, most of Spring Break we worked at the condo stripping wallpaper and painting. Finally on Saturday it stopped raining and warmed up. Even though we didn't get to stay at the beach house for as long as we would have liked, we still had a great time walking on the beach collecting shells and starfish. Thanks Linda and Charlie :)

snowboarding

2009-05-22T10:24:00.000-04:00

Chris took Elijah for a day trip to Wintergreen. Elijah had a blast and can't wait to go again. He did really well for his first time. They took some great pictures and videos (I can't find where Chris uploaded them, I'll youtube it when I do) I am so happy Chris has finally found a "snowboarding buddy"! :)

couple of the snakes

2009-05-22T10:19:00.000-04:00

March..hike at Back Bay

2009-05-22T10:16:00.000-04:00

We decided to take a hike in Back Bay one pretty weekend in March. We didn't know that because it had been raining so much that it made the snakes move up to high ground to get out of the water. As we are hiking on the trails there were snakes everywhere. By the time we noticed them it was too late to turn back..which was exciting to Chris and Elijah but TERRIFYING to me and Isabella. As we walked on the boardwalk path there were snakes to the left and right perched on reeds and branches warming in the sun.

February Elijah's Birthday!!!

2009-05-22T10:06:00.000-04:00

This year Elijah turned 10! He wanted to learn to snowboard so Chris hooked him up with a new Morrow board, bindings, boots, and gloves. Since part of his gift was a snowboarding trip, we decided to do his party low key...bowling and birthday cake. :)

January "snow" ball fight

2009-05-22T09:54:00.000-04:00

"When you are putting together a piece of furniture in one room..do not leave kids unattended with the packing contents in another room, or this will happen."

Their 20 minutes of fun cost me and Chris hours and hours of cleaning. Ten years from now we will still be finding little remnants of this "snow" ball fight!

Blog update..What we've been up to for the past 5 months..haha

2009-05-22T09:43:00.002-04:00

The semester is finally over so I am trying to catch up on everything that I have been neglecting these past few months. Next on my list is this blog. I didn't realize that I hadn't posted since Isabella's birthday..oops. Needless to say so far it has been a really busy year.

New Year's Baby is 4!!

2009-01-05T22:45:00.000-05:00

Isabella turned four on December 31st. I decided instead of having my house overrun by kids we could just have the party somewhere else..somewhere that no one would be at 3pm on New Years Eve. The MacArthur Center play area. Who would have thought so many kids would be there! Isabella didn't seem to mind though. She was surrounded by her best friends and family. She said on the way home right before she fell asleep, "That was the best party ever". <3

Isabella and Isabella "best friends forever"

More Tinkerbell :o)

That last candle gave her such a hard time!

Christmas #4 Anderson's

2009-01-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

For some reason I have no other pictures from the Anderson's except this one of Buddy and the one below of someone playing the Wii. There are also a couple of the lamp and someones foot. Which means this photography must be from one of my goofy kids. I am guessing it belongs to one in particular..So, I borrowed the last two pictures from Linda's blog :)

Christmas #3 The Evan's

2009-01-05T22:26:00.000-05:00

Jacob's new drum set...I feel like Santa might regret this one...

Is that Chris smiling in a picture? There is always a first time for everything.. :)

More Tinkerbell..............

Christmas #2

2009-01-05T22:22:00.000-05:00

Christmas morning was very laid back at our house this year. The kids slept in until around 8:30. Which was nice considering me and Chris didn't get to bed until 2:30..

Isabella with yet more princess stuff. We are going to be in trouble when she grows out of this phase.

Elijah opening up his chinese stars.

Chloe on her motor scooter..without a helmet..just for pictures purposes :)

Four Christmas's #1 Christmas Eve with Grandad White and Beverly

2009-01-05T22:09:00.001-05:00

Koko Chanel's first Christmas <3 style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">

Elijah happily adding another hat to his collection.

Isabella in her Tinkerbell seat opening more Tinkerbell gifts..

Chloe playing with her make up set she got from her Uncle Matt...I am going to have to borrow some of that..shhh

Wave Church Christmas Eve program

2009-01-05T21:56:00.004-05:00

Elijah and Chloe were both in the show on Christmas Eve..but, because there were so many children I could only find Chloe. She appears on the big screen in the back around the 2:58..so serious..sooo cute.

"Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

2009-01-05T21:56:00.001-05:00

Cedar Road Elementarty Christmas program

2009-01-05T21:53:00.000-05:00

Isabella is making her list..and checking it twice

2008-11-13T08:21:00.000-05:00

more pics..

2008-11-13T08:20:00.000-05:00

Playtime!!!

2008-11-13T08:19:00.000-05:00

Jenny and I went Christmas shopping together yesterday. The kids were so good that we rewarded them with some time in the playplace. Soo cute! :o)

Bella is growing up

2008-11-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how grown up Isabella looks in this picture! She is going to be 4 in December..time goes by so fast!

Daddy and Isabella

2008-11-04T09:13:00.000-05:00

more halloween..

2008-11-03T15:03:00.000-05:00

We went to a costume party after dropping the kids off at grandma Debbie's house. Leah even came along and hung out with us old folks for a while.

Halloween

2008-11-03T15:01:00.000-05:00

We spent Halloween trick or treating in my mom's neighborhood this year. Chris had to work late so my mom and brother walked around with us. Isabella never really got used to the awkwardness of going up to a strangers door, saying trick or treat, and getting candy. So needless to say I was the full-time carrier of the pink Tinkerbell fairy. Elijah and Chloe had no problem whatsoever, their bags were so heavy by the end of the night that they could barely carry them.

Cheering competition

2008-10-22T08:59:00.004-04:00

Chloe's competition was this Saturday. The girls were extremely excited and covered in glitter from head to toe. Chris chose to take this video zooming in from the top row of the bleachers for some reason..so, if you look very closely you will see Chloe is in the first row, the second from the right.

the days are flying by...

2008-10-22T08:57:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I last posted a blog. My relaxing summer full of fun, sleeping in, and no schedules came to an end the day school started. Along with the early bedtimes and early mornings came extracurricular activities that pretty much fill up our week. We really enjoy spending time outside watching games and practices.
Elijah is in his 6th season of soccer. His coach this year is the complete opposite to the one he had he had last spring. Although the games last year were pretty entertaining with all the cursing and screaming at the refs and kids..we really appreciate our new coach. He and his family just moved here from England and he is very nice and calm and the kids think he sounds a lot like Shrek :)
Chloe is in her first season of cheering. Honestly I am not sure if it is her calling, to me and my mother's dismay. She is a little bored with the same ol' cheers and isn't really that enthusiastic about cheering for "flag" football. I really think that it is because her coach looks like she took a handful of Valium before she stepped on the field, she has the energy and excitement a turtle...no offense. :)
I hope Chloe gives it one more season before she throws in the towel, but she is already asking about gymnastics...
Isabella is going to begin ballet lessons with Annalise at the end of the month so she is really excited about that! We had to wait until Elijah and Chloe's season is over first, otherwise we would just be living in our car. While the kids are at school me and Isabella have been enjoying our afternoons together. The kids don't come home until 2:30 so we have time to go on play dates, shopping, zoo, story times, meet up with friends, etc..
It's been a crazy, yet wonderful start of the school year.

memories

2008-08-08T15:17:00.000-04:00

With Grandma in the hospital I have been thinking a lot about the importance of family and remembering members of my own family that I loved and lost.
My mothers parents died long before I was born. So growing up I had my dad's parents Mildred and Cecil White. I lost both of my grandparents pretty young, I was 11 when my grandmother died and 15 when my grandad passed away. They were such wonderful people. My grandmother was crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and was cared for by my grandfather for years. They lived together in South Norfolk, I have so many memories going to their house and picking pecans in their yard. My grandmother couldn't get around so I would lay on the floor beside her and color in my coloring books. I was happy just to be in their presence..listening to them talk to my parents. My grandma was such a peaceful person and always had a smile on her face, regardless of all her health problems. My grandad always looked sharp with his hair slicked back and thin slice of a mustache.

I remember after my grandmother died I thought about my grandad and how lonely he was and I called him up one night. It was completely out of my shy character to do that, it completely caught him by surprise, we talked for hours. I didn't realize what an impact that made on him until his funeral. All these family members and friends of his that I didn't know where coming up to me and saying how my grandad told them about me calling him during one of his loneliest nights and how much it meant to him. His funeral was on my 15th birthday. Even then at my saddest of times I didn't realize how much more I would miss them as I grew up. I have so many questions I wish I could have asked them about their lives, childhood, experiences, advice, etc..They would get a kick out of my silly kids and be so proud of how my brother and I turned out. Instead I am left with old pictures and memories. That will do for now, but one day I will be able to ask my questions...
I love this photo! It is my grandfather and his friends way back in the day. They just look so cool, like they are up to no good :) Grandad is the one on the right.

There is my grandmother as a teenager when her and grandad first started dating <3

Grandad looking smooth..

piney river..last one..i promise

2008-08-05T22:51:00.000-04:00

piney river part 3

2008-08-05T22:50:00.000-04:00

Even Lily went for a swim..we were amazed..we had never seen Lily swim before! I think even she was amazed..

piney river part 2

2008-08-05T22:45:00.000-04:00

Isabella eventually got into the "swing" of things...

For the first time ever we went camping during blackberry season. The kids were thrilled..I was scared of the black bears!

We had the waterfall all to ourselves! Nothing like freezing mountain water..

Piney River..

2008-08-05T22:38:00.002-04:00

This weekend we took a camping trip to Piney River. It is our favorite place to camp in the summer. The weather is always a perfect 70 degrees and the nights are in the cool 50's. The kids loved climbing the rocks and making dams. It was so nice seeing them playing together again like when they were little.

Elijah learned how to throw knives and make a fire. His new skills kept him busy for hours...

Isabella eventually got used to the great outdoors..bugs..dirt..etc...are not any of her favorite things..

beach kids

2008-07-24T11:13:00.000-04:00

Not so talented Talent Show..Elijah Chloe Jacob Banana Dance

2008-07-24T10:55:00.001-04:00

Crazy Chloe

2008-07-24T10:54:00.000-04:00

more...

2008-07-24T10:52:00.001-04:00

more pics

2008-07-24T10:51:00.001-04:00

Our summer so far...

2008-07-24T10:49:00.000-04:00

We have been incredibly busy this summer! I have forgotton all about this blogging thing :o/ So to catch everyone up on the Anderson clan..To start out our summer we went to the Anderson's beach house. Which the kids really enjoyed spending time with their cousins and playing on the beach in Corova. We have made trip after trip to Busch Gardens, honestly me and Chris are getting a little sick of it, but the kids love going. The boat has been a fun past time for us as well. Last weekend we were able to have Leah come with us as well. We had a lot of fun riding around, and even pulled up at Waterside for a while. I am looking forward to August, we a vacation coming up (don't know where to yet) and a camping trip to Piney River. I'll try to update when I can!

I just realized that I've been tagged :)

2008-05-30T13:57:00.002-04:00

The Rules:
1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People that are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your post tag 8 people and include their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment on their blog to tell them they've been tagged, and to comment back and read your blog for the whole story.

My 8 Random Facts
1. I drive around with a basket and a towel in my car just incase there is an injured animal. These geese crossing the street with their babies are freaking me out!
2. When I turn 30 I will have spent half of my life with Chris. <3
3. My favorite time of day is in the evenings when the whole family is together.
4. I love to watch the Food Network. <3 Paula Dean <3
5. I have been inspired after reading "Eat, Love, Pray" to go on her journey from Italy to India, and then to Indonesia. Probably will never happen, but I will settle for Italy. ;)
6. I desperately hope that Obama or Hillary will not be president!
7. I love carbs..all carbs..pasta, rice, bread,etc.. I would never be a good candidate for the Adkins diet. lol
8. I am sick of network reality shows!!

Memorial Day Weekend..

2008-05-27T09:52:00.001-04:00

We had such a busy weekend! Elijah spent thursday-monday in Lake Gaston with a friend, so it was just me, Chris, and the girls. We went boat riding, strawberry picking, and to Busch Gardens. Out of all of the fun stuff we did, Chloe says that her favorite part of the weekend was spending time with her Aunt Leah. She babysat for us while we went out and celebrated my moms 49th birthday. Leah bought Isabella and Chloe shirts to celebrate Chloe pulling out a tooth :) They wore their shirts the next day when we went strawberry picking. It was a great weekend..I need another 3 day weekend to recover!

strange..

2008-05-22T08:24:00.002-04:00

30 minutes before the earthquake in Sichuan people videotaped these colorful clouds. It is believed that they are from the gaseous particles released prior to the earthquake.

Jubilee

2008-05-20T12:40:00.003-04:00

Me and Chris took the girls to the Jubilee for fireworks on Saturday. I forgot how crowded that place gets..especially on a Saturday night! I think the last time we actually braved the crowds and watched the fireworks was years ago when we took Leah and Colby. It was Colby's first time seeing fireworks and we found the perfect spot to sit. Well, it had been raining the day before so they had put down hay to cover the puddles. For some reason that night the fireworks were showering flaming ashes everywhere after they exploded. These ashes started to catch the hay around us on fire..it was insane..poor Colby was traumatized. Thank God nothing caught on fire this time!

Chloe decided to try to jumping thing which is just a law suit waiting to happen..but, she had a blast..

After the fireworks we watched the Gin Blossoms concert. It was a great night :o)

Field trip today!

2008-05-16T19:11:00.001-04:00

I went with Chloe on her field trip to the Air and Space Museum today. It always freaks me out when I step onto a school bus, the smell brings me right back to my childhood..however, what I wasn't prepared for was the NOISE! It was a great trip though, I enjoyed hanging around all the kids. They crack me up :D

2008-05-14T11:47:00.000-04:00

My first post :o)

2008-05-14T11:02:00.005-04:00

Right now we are all really excited about school coming to and end and summer beginning...for all of us except me. I am taking a course this summer, Statistics (yuck), it is my last class for my associates degree and then it is off to ODU. I really enjoy going to school, getting away from the kids is hard for me but it helps me remember every now and then who I was before having children.
Chris has been really active this spring, he is either running with Lily, playing football with Elijah and the neighborhood kids, or doing yardwork with his little helper Isabella.
Isabella has seemed to have broken out of her shell lately. She has become very fond of her father and is on him like velcro when he comes home from work.
Elijah has had quite a year so far, he has played two seasons of soccer and is hoping to play tackle football in the fall...I am not so sure about that!
Chloe has had a pretty eventful year as well. She has made a lot of friends this year..every weekend she is at a sleepover at someone's house. She also has become really interested in drama,she's definitely a drama queen, so this might be the right track for her.