October Around Here

We love October!  It is a wonderful time of year.  We started off by enjoying General Conference weekend- a rare chance to be together as a family and just relax!

 All "original" Andersons will recognize this Go Fish card game that we played when we were young.  It is still a big hit around here!

Of course, we have to have a scrumptious breakfast complete with cinnamon rolls.

Fall water color projects kept everyone busy.

Jersey day at school is always fun.  Ashton sported her soccer jersey, Jordan wore her softball jersey and Regan was rooting for the YMCA!

Pregnancy is definitely starting to show...and I'm finally feeling better.  Due date is April 11, 2013!!

Grandma Cindy sent cute dresses- perfect for the fall season.

We got to enjoy one more soccer tournament- so proud of all the hard work and commitment this girl has put in to this season.  Proud of her for putting her heart and soul into practice even when lots of the games had to be missed due to Sunday play.  What a great attitude she showed.

Proud of these kids for being good sports about watching so many sports!!!!

Halloween post coming next!!

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

So we have been playing A LOT of soccer around here.  And it is so much fun.  The thing about fall soccer in the midwest...one weekend it is blazing hot and you are getting sunburned...the next weekend you have to pull out the winter coats and huddle under blankets...but by the next game, it's shorts and t-shirts again!  We have had it all this month!
Ashton got to play in her first tournmanent with her competitive soccer team.  We are so proud of her for how hard she has been practicing and the improvement she has shown.

She is also really enjoying still playing with her other team that she has played on since 2nd grade!

Jordan has come into her own this year realizing that soccer can actually be quite fun and rewarding when you run!  She has also figured out that at this level if you just hang out around the goal (no offsides), the ball will eventually come to you for the score.

Finally, Regan is playing at the big soccer fields and this is one determined little lady.  She is something else when it comes to trying.  She just will not quit, and she is always so proud that the family is there to watch just her!!!

Half the fun is hanging out with friends on the sidelines!  I like that part, too!!!!

The soccer fields are beautiful at this time of the year.

Fall soccer...nothing better!!!!

Good-Bye September!

September is one of my favorite months and this year proved no different.  There is always so much going on and the weather is just wonderful.  We have settled into a school routine and while we are busy, it feels so much more manageable now that I am not teaching piano.  Here are some of the things we enjoyed last month:
We took a very quick Labor Day trip down to the farm.  Knowing that our weekends would be crammed pack with soccer, we decided that we had to squeeze in just one more trip.  It hasn't rained all summer, but alas, this weekend was when the drought was broken!!!  And that means only one thing in Missouri....MUD!  Of course, the kids loved it and spent most of their time either in the mud or playing in the hay house they constructed in the barn.

Next up, it was crazy sock day at school.  Always fun to bring out the socks!

Jordan spends most of her free time playing school.  She reminds me so much of myself at that age.  She definitely has the "teaching bug".  Recently, she got out my old calendar and added it to her bedroom wall.

We have been enjoying some serious Utah State football around here.  My talented friend made this awesome helmet cake for the USU vr. Utah game.

Then the following weekend, Tod and I headed to Wisconsin to watch the Aggies battle the Badgers.  The outcome of the game was disappointing but we had a great day together and really enjoyed being in Wisconsin.  We first visited the state capital which was beautiful.  The stadium and band were incredible.  The environment (true fraternity row! think "beer funnel"! was eye-opening for me!!)  Thanks to awesome babysitters at home, the kids also had a great day.

And that's our month of September!  What a great time of the year.

Cole's First Day

Finally, it was Cole's turn to go to preschool!  Since the girls started school almost one month before him, he had been waiting a long time.  He had mixed feelings about going and in some ways, I think he would have just been fine staying home with me....but we both needed this new challenge and opportunity.  He goes to the same preschool that Ashton and Regan attended.  It is crazy to think how time flies...it seems like just yesterday we were taking Ashton there at age 3.
On the first day, he was so excited to get there...then when it was time for me to go, he wasn't so sure.  But every day since then, he has just bounded into the room with hardly a good-bye.  I am so happy to see him enjoying it and learning.  And for the first time in 10 years, I have a few hours each week to myself.  I hardly know what to do.  So far, I've done nothing exciting- just enjoyed taking a shower without interruption or going to the grocery store by myself!