Happy Birthday to...

At this time of year, we have many family birthdays to Celebrate!!! So, today we're sending out a

Very Special "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" TO...

MY BROTHER...JOEY!!!

Hope you have a great day! Love you!

Bria's "Christmas Sing"

The very first "Christmas Sing" Bria was involved in, was during her first year at Preschool. (I wish I could find a picture!) She hated that we were there...in the front row...with our video camera...so she cried the ENTIRE time and held her teacher! Now look at her!

Today, we were able to go over to Bria's Elementary School for their "Christmas Sing". Bria did awesome! She's so funny because she won't sing us songs she's learned at school, or dance dances she's learned in her dance class, because she wants it to ALL be a surprise for the "Big Stage". I guess she likes surprising us with her ability to perform! She even saw me and waved! What a breakthrough!!! Maybe acting classes are in her future???

And...here are all the Kindergartners performing! They did a great job!!!

WAY TO GO BRIA! YOU DID SO WELL!!!

Bria's Dance Recital...

Have you ever seen anything so cute as this??? Bria had her dance recital this afternoon and did a wonderful job!!! Her dance class danced to "Feliz Navidad" and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen! Of course I say that with every performance, but look at her...SO CUTE! This is right before going out on the stage!

Bria is the one in the middle, and here she is with her award. She was so excited to get another, to add to her trophy collection. Bria did such a wonderful job and is so fun to watch! Great job Bria!!!

And...yes..."Santa" was there. Bria didn't want to sit on his lap because he wasn't the "Real" Santa. She did though...for the candy!

Now...I'm sure you're wondering about the shorts and game??? Well, last night we had a neighborhood Christmas Party, and these were our "White Elephant" gifts we gave. When the gift exchange began, we noticed that everyone was being extremely cautious about opening the gifts. Come to find out...Last year at the party, someone brought a REAL CHICKEN as their white elephant gift! A REAL CHICKEN! This year...a neighbor picked up a gift to open, and everyone was saying, "watch out...you never know what could be in there!" The guy took the smaller of the two gifts, shook it super hard, then barely opened up the box...and the TAIL of a MOUSE came out of the box! It was a REAL MOUSE! AHHHH! We had NO idea what we were in for! Some of the other gifts include a flask, alcoholic egg nog, candies, books, a HUGE bra...the list could go on forever!
Favorite things said at the party...
"Janna, that bra is so big...you could go on a hike and use it for a backpack". (Weston)
"We finally found a gift for your mom." (Jason referring to the huge bra)
"Mice are NOT allowed in my home. Get it OUT!" (Melissa screaming from on top of her counter...sooo funny!)
"Sorry little mouse, you now have an eye on the side of your head". (Jason after unknowingly shaking the mouse)
What a great time! We seriously have an amazing ward with so many fun people!!!

Are you curious what we ended up with? A cigar and a lighter (no joke), and 2 great books. Damon got a call shortly after getting home, from a neighbor who wanted to do a "trade". So...

Damon traded his books for this...

Great huh? We actually ended up "re-gifting" it for Damon's work party tonight. Such a great coffee table addition!

After the party for Damon's work, we went to see "I Am Legend" with some friends. Has anyone seen it? Freaked the crap out of me! I will most definitely have nightmares tonight!

Am I the ONLY one???

So, I have been in 3 accidents...the 3rd one happened today. The silly thing is that all 3 accidents have been with Garage Doors! Am I the only one that this has happened to???
The first accident was when I was 5 years old. I jumped in my parent's HUGE van, pulled the gear into Neutral, and rolled all the way down the driveway hill...right into the garage!
The second accident happened about 3 years ago. The garage door was all the way open. As I was backing out, the "manual" lever in the garage, hooked onto our car's luggage rack. So, as you can imagine, I backed out AS the door literally fell! I seriously had NO idea what happened until a neighbor came to help! The garage door was busted and our car needed some serious work!
The third accident happened today. I was in a huge hurry to get Bria to the bus stop. I pressed the button for the garage door to open, turned the car on...and...apperently had no time to wait for the garage door to completely open! DUH! I would've cleared the door if I had waited another second. Other than a minor scratch on the car, a little chipped paint, and a very minor garage door "boo boo", everyone made it out ok!

Lots of things...so little time!

I have been wanting to post so many things, but have absolutely NO time! So, I will be posting the happenings from this past week...
Last Friday, Colton woke up and got dressed ALL BY HIMSELF! He was so excited! It's funny that he doesn't match, but even more funny that he thought his pajama shirt was a pair of shorts! So, he has one leg through an arm hole, and his other leg where his body would go. It was so funny! He wore this outfit ALL day, and got mad at Gramma Jenny for taking it off! What a cute little independent boy!


We finally decorated a gingerbread house with the kids on Saturday night. Colton was so excited to see all that candy...so he dove in! He is still on a sugar-high! The roof collapsed 3 times, but turned out cute in the end. The kids did a great job!


Saturday, after the kids were in bed, Damon and I decided to go out and play in the snow! It was so fun! This was taken just outside our front door. There was so much snow!!!


Damon built a snowman...


We found a sledding hill in our front yard...who knew?


Made snow angels...and even managed to plow the driveway and have a little snowball fight! We had a great time!

For Family Night on Monday, we took the kids to the mall to see Santa. The (more than) 1 hour wait was worth it...until...I heard what they wanted! Bria was told she could only ask Santa for one thing because "he is a busy man and needs to get presents out to every good boy and girl." So, I was surprised when she asked for...a Baby Alive, Baby Born, Rescue Pet, and shoes for her Build-a-Bear! WHAT??? Of course, Santa will only be bringing her one (or two if she's really good), but what a stinker for trying to go behind my back:0) Santa was great and said, "I'll see what I can do". Micah told me before that he wanted a drum set. So, I was again surprised when he asked for the "talking parrot from Costco"! WHAT??? Colton was the only one that was easily convinced! He is getting a Huge stuffed dog. Everytime I take him to Robert's Craft, he screams forever because I won't buy him one...so...Stuffed dog it is! Thanks Santa!

Tagged yet again!

Shauna...you little stinker. Yep, I've been tagged. This is a new one for me, so here goes...

5 things I was doing 10 years ago.
1. In my first semester of college at Palomar College, and preparing for my trek to Idaho to attend Ricks.
2. At college, I took all the same classes as my sister Blythe, and we hung out at the institute before, sometimes during and after all classes, left for lunch almost everyday, ditched out on some classes...and I still managed a 4.0! We won't be discussing what classes we took:0P
3. I worked at a Finance Company as a secretary and got paid mega bucks for my typing skills.
4. I went to the beach almost everyday and kept a nice bronze tan. I wish I realized how good I had it with sun year-round, and little responsibility!
5. I was still living at my parent's home, and they allowed us to have parties whenever we wanted. As my dad said, "You can't invite less than 5 people, that's not a party. But 200 may be too many, so anywhere inbetween should be fine!"

5 things on my to do list today.
1.Decorate a gingerbread house with the kids.
2.Get all our goodies made for the neighbors.
3. Shower.
4. Sweep the kitchen and do the dishes.
5. Finish my Christmas shopping

5 Snacks I enjoy.
1. Peanut Butter Cups
2. Apples & butterscotch dip
3. Avocado egg rolls from CPK
4. Green salad with candied nuts, cranberries, feta and dried mangoes...SO good!
5. Fruit...fresh pineapple, strawberries, grapes, kiwi...you name it!

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
1. Full makeover! Hair, makeup and wardrobe!
2. Hire a maid to do all my cooking, cleaning and laundry!
3. Donate to a good cause.
4. Go on a trip around the world with Damon and the kids
5. Take a few "un-named" family members with me to have some "work" done:0)

5 Bad Habits.
1. Complaining
2. Eating too much sugar...chocolate is my weakness.
3. Picking at my face (says Damon)
4. When Damon is home, I automatically think my day as a mother has ended.
5. Staying up too late. We normally go to bed at about 1am!

5 Places I have lived.
1.Arizona 2. North Carolina 3. Utah 4. California 5. Idaho

5 Job that I have had.
1. When I was 8, I dressed up like an Ewok and passed out candy for the "Grand Opening" of a new business. That was my first job!
2. Gap Employee 3. Telemarketer 4. Secretary 5. Being a MOM!

5 things you may not know about me.
1. I grew up in California and our home was about a mile from the beach.
2. I played soccer all through High School, and was also a Sprinter on the track team!
3. I have 5 sisters and 2 brothers.
4. I live in Utah and I hate skiing!
5. I'm starting a business...and... you'll have to keep checking my blog to find out what it is!

Now I tag five people. Leave a comment on their blog telling them that they've been tagged.
Kasia, Amy, Maddy, Stacia, and Heather D.

Early Birthday Celebration!

What a fun afternoon! The Young Women leaders from church came and picked me up for lunch, to celebrate my birthday before all the craziness of Christmas! What a great group of women!!! Here's a picture of Diana, Renae, Summer, Monica, Linda, Lorrie, Me and Karen at Cafe Rio.

So, when Karen came to get me, there was this HUGE sombrero on her front seat with some velvet sunglasses. Karen, Monica and Diana were trying to convince me that it was a tradition to wear it during lunch. And...that they would bring in "shakers", say "Eye Yei Yei" super loud, and sing to me. You know...be all loud and crazy. I completely bought it until they got out of the car without their "shakers". I was ready to totally humiliate myself and at what cost????? I did have them take a picture of me with the sombrero and velvet sunglasses for a good laugh! Monica kept telling me to "make a funny face". Don't cha think I look funny enough?!? That thing was Enormous!

Highlights:

*Almost being tricked into wearing the sombrero! ALMOST! You crazy girls!

*Finding out that I unknowingly od on medicine for my cold sores.

*The guy sitting across from us, who apparently had an imaginary friend. He was first staring, then fell asleep for a bit. Then, he was talking and laughing...to NO ONE! Then, a long stretch and a roll of his head, and he was off! So funny!

*Seeing Renae's X, and remembering some of Monica's stories.

*Summer and her 8 tortillas!

*Karen's driving!!!!!

*Laughing for 2 hours straight!!!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! I had so much fun! Kirsten...we missed you! Monica, thanks for the key lime pie, and Lorrie, thanks for lunch! You guys are so much fun and I'm so glad I get to work with all of you!!! You're the greatest!

It's Officially December!!!

The Christmas lights are up, there's snow on the ground...

It MUST be December!!!

On Saturday morning, we woke up to about 5 inches of SNOW! Colton was in heaven! He would look up at the snow falling and just giggle! So cute!
Micah didn't care about getting his jacket on...he just wanted to play! The kids helped me shovel the main part of the driveway and the walk to our front door, then spent the rest of the morning rolling in the snow! We love the changing seasons!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

As you can see from the picture below...we had quite a few people over for Thanksgiving! Normally we travel down to California for Thanksgiving, but this year was a little different!!! We decided to have Thanksgiving at our home in Utah! My parents, 2 sisters (and their families), and my "little" brother, all came up from California to celebrate with us! Grandpa even came up from Vegas and stayed for a couple nights (which was a special treat), and my older brother came down from Riverton with his family! Damon's parents were also able to join us for dinner! What a fun week we had! This picture was taken just before Thanksgiving dinner...an Anderson tradition!

Damon, and my brother-in-law Todd, helped me with the turkey...which I'm so grateful for because I was scared to do that on my own! Todd brought up his "turkey spice injector" and it made ALL the difference!

Check out all that food! We had a veggie platter, cheese balls and crackers, chili dip with chips, green bean casserole, peas, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, 4 salads...2 green, a jello salad, and a pomegranate salad, fruit, rolls, cranberry relish, ham and applesauce, turkey, stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and ice cream. We had SO much food, we had to eat "buffet-style"! Did I forget anything???

After dinner, we were all tuckered out...even Grandpa! He won't admit it...but...I have a picture to prove it :0)

Here's my Crazy niece, Siena. A couple of my nieces decided to "stuff" her and even added a "uni-brow"!!! She was so funny and definitely gave us a good laugh!

The day after Thanksgiving, we all went up to Salt Lake. We went to the Beehive House, the Joseph Smith Building, and over to Temple Square to see the lights! Here are all the cousins at Temple Square...nice pose Carsten! A family picture at Temple Square.
The temple looked soooooo pretty, I just HAD to take a picture!
We had a wonderful time with everyone that came up for Thanksgiving! Some highlights are...

*Touring "Gardner's Village" in the freezing cold...and...being in such a hurry to leave the house, that I forgot socks and shoes for Colton, and all my kid's jackets! Luckily, there were extra blankets and coats in the other cars!

*Joey tricking me into buying fudge...THANKS!

*Tricking Grandpa into coming with us!

*Rook nights

*While Carsten was sleep walking, his leg "locked", and then he fell to the ground! He had no idea what happened! Darcy, Damon and I couldn't stop laughing! Sooooo funny! Then, he got up, walked over to his pillow, layed down, and went back to sleep! Best laugh of the day!

*Going clothes shopping with mom...without the kids!

*Staying up late watching movies, and waking up after the sun is over the mountain!

*Todd and Damon helping with the turkey!

*Seeing Todd "prep" the turkey...that was pretty funny!

*Going out to lunch with my mom and her friend!

*Everyone being willing to help with dinner, dishes and watching my kids!

*Finding out that my sister, Blythe had another baby girl...pictures to come!

*Finding out that my friend, Diane is pregnant!

*Having mom help me clean my house!

*"Adult's only shopping" on the day after Thanksgiving (Darcy, Todd, Damon and me)!

*Getting some Christmas shopping out of the way!

*Mattress surfing with Kiera!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Joey tricking Grandpa into thinking that the lemonade was iced tea...and Grandpa believing every word!

*Seeing the lights at Temple Square!

*Touring the Beehive House!

*Photo shoot with Kiera, Siena and Bria...pictures to come!!!

*Having Grandpa stay a couple nights!

*Grandpa getting ticked off at Carsten for changing the channel...like 10 times in 2 days!!!!!

*Squeezing 13 people into Darcy's van!

*Sienna dressing up!

*Having some of my family up for Thanksgiving! And...Damon's parents too!

We had such a fun time with everyone! We love having company!!! We really missed everyone that couldn't come (Crystal, Blythe, Aimee and families)! Hopefully SOON we can ALL be together at one place! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Guitar Heroes

My friend Jess and I got together a couple weeks ago to do some "Product Photography" for a business that I'm starting. We decided to take a little break...before we even began... to play a little "Guitar Heroes". What an addicting game! We didn't do too well at first (all my fault for getting kicked off the stage twice), but got the hang of it eventually! We had a lot of fun in that short time! How fun it is to ROCK OUT!!!

Special Tribute

Damon and I attended the beautiful funeral services for fellow employee, Russell Logan yesterday. It was a very emotional service, with wonderful speakers and amazing music! Russell died from a very sudden heart attack last weekend. He was an amazing guitarist and a loving father. It was refreshing to see his children and what wonderful, loving individuals they are. They truly understand Christ's Plan, and it exudes from their spirits! Damon was able to work very closely with Russell the last week of his life. He describes Russell as the "hardest worker", "very determined and competitive", with a smile you can't miss! Here's to you Russell!!!

Home Opener...

Last Thursday, Damon's work took us to the Utah Jazz Home Opener against the Houston Rockets. We had sooooo much fun! The night started with dinner in "The 100 Club" banquet room, and it was so yummy! I would've been just fine staying in there all night! Great food and great company! What more do you need???



We had a great time seeing everyone outside of the "work" environment.

When the half-time began, a bunch of us were able to go to the "underground".

As soon as half-time was over, we were all given t-shirs and were escorted ONTO the court!! We we welcomed the players back onto the court with "high 5s" and shouts from us. A couple of the guys were trying to rev up the crowd. It was very exciting! It was funny seeing little Randy next to Yao Ming! I couldn't believe how tall Ming was!


When we were escorted off the court, and back to the "underground", we ran into Jeff Hornacek! He was so great to stop and take pictures with our group! What an exciting and fun night we won't soon forget!

Glinda the Good Witch

So, "Glinda the Good Witch" came to visit the kids the day after Halloween. Each of the kids chose whatever candy they wanted from their trick-or-treat bags, then gave the rest to Glinda. I told them, "You can take whatever candy you want, but Glinda knows how much candy you have eaten. So, the more you give to Glinda and the heavier your bag is, the bigger your gift will be." So, Micah's candy was practically GONE by the end of the night! Glinda should have given him a penny...but she was nice this year and gave him some fun Color Wonder things....same as Colton. Bria on the other hand took 5 small pieces of candy, and left the rest to Glinda. She made sure her bag was the heaviest by leaving the King Size Snickers and taking the snack size...so...Glinda made sure to give Bria the Hannah Montana DVD she's been bugging me about for the last month! That is her super excited face when she gets something so cool! Glinda is officially my new favorite holiday friend!