Catching Up

To everyone who likes to check this on a regular basis, I am sooo sorry! Right after my last post school got out for the summer and then we started running 10 different directions.
Let me catch everyone on what has been happening.........
Once Maddie finished school we started swim lessons about a week later. The following week was my cousin, Adam's wedding here in Fort Collins. Maddie and I were both in the wedding and it was a blast. Maddie did wonderful. When we were at the rehearsal the coordinator was about to tell her how to proceed down when Mad looked at her and said, "I know how to do this, I have done it before." OHH MADELEINE! In true Anderson fashion this wedding became a huge party! A couple people, I won't name names, spent the night on the banquet room floor using table cloths as covers. The next day a large group of us went white water rafting. Let me just put it out there that drinking heavily and then doing a fast paced outdoor activity cures a hangover in an instant. I think the idea that I might fall in the cold water was enough to snap me out of it. Then the following day we celebrated Grace's 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday Little Grace!!! The week after the wedding we took a deep breath and then the next week Brad and I had a "grown-up" weekend in Chicago. One of my childhood friends (since we were 2 years old) had her bridal shower out there so we turned it into a long weekend. Brad and I were able to go out for some nice long dinners and also get some shopping on Michigan Ave. done. Three days after we got back we had some family from New Mexico up to visit for the 4th of July. The kids had a blast as my cousin and her family who stayed with us have a 16 month old little girl and a 3 year old boy. I promise I will post some pictures soon!
In the meantime, Eric has left for Costa Rica and will return on September 7th. If anyone would like to follow his adventure he also started a blog. http://www.costaricabeachbum.blogspot.com/

I hope you are all enjoying your summer and will now try to keep up a little more!

Our Soccer Star

When I wrote earlier I talked about Maddie's love hate relationship with soccer. Especially at the beginning of the season she was not sure what to think. This weekend was Maddie's last game and Uncle Eric came to watch and take pics. They turned out great!! You will see that Grace is also very involved. She would stand on the sidelines yelling, "GO TEAM", and shag balls that got kicked out of bounds. I think that Brad is very excited that Maddie took to a sport and can't wait til the fall season!!

Two Peas In A Pod!

As I have said before, Grace & Maddie are very close. Wherever Maddie stops Grace is not even 2 steps behind her. Although Maddie can act annoyed, if it is Grace who plops down 1st then Maddie will find an excuse to sit next to her. As Grace gets older and more capable of doing "big girl" things I overhear Maddie showing her the ropes. The other night we re-arranged Maddie's
bedroom, well last night we were up in Mad's room after the girls and taken a bath. Grace wanted to lay on Maddie's bed and watch a movie. G could not climb into bed on her own so M showed her how to slide the dress-up trunk next to the bed. After that Maddie wanted to watch the movie, but after Grace learned her new trick she wouldn't stop getting up and down. Therefore; annoying her big sister to death! My advice for Maddie.....be careful what you teach her!!!

I Am Not Ready For This....

So here is the conversation I had with Madeleine last night at bedtime....
M - Mommy I have to tell you something
R - Ok, whats up?
M - I have a boyfriend at school.
R - Well who is it? (Keep in mind, I am keeping an extremely straight face)
M - Its Carter.
R - Which one is Carter?
M - He is the boy whos mommy has real short hair.
R - Oh, okay. Um Maddie, how do you know he is your boyfriend? (At this point my heart is beginning to race a little)
M - Because he TOLD me.....(whew!!!)
A little while later I asked her what it means to be boyfriend/girlfriend. She explained to me that it is like on TV. (Now I am starting to panic a little) When I asked what that means she told me that it just means that he is a friend who is a boy. (Ok, I seriously want to jump out of bed and do a happy dance at this point!!) I ended the conversation by letting her know that until she gets as big as mommy and daddy, that is all boyfriend/girlfriend SHOULD mean!

Next Step.....Culinary School!

I was trying to think of what post to do next. It feels like there is just so much to tell everyone!! Grace is growing up so fast, she will be 2 in just 1 month. We all knew that this was coming, but I was never prepared for another milestone to be tackled. Grace watches everything that goes on around her with "hawk" eyes, and lately those eyes have been watching everyone use utensils. It doesn't matter what Grace is going to eat, she now is demanding that she gets to use a "poon". For her that may mean a spoon or a fork. It is hilarious to watch because although she is now using the "poon" it DOES NOT mean that she is any cleaner! Which is another subject all together since neither of our girls like to get messy while eating. If they get food on their hands or face, as soon as both are done eating they are yelling to be wiped off! My job is and will continue to be try and keep meals as clean as possible!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to two amazing moms and grammies!!!

This first post will be a catch-up to let everyone know what our family has been up to. We will start with the head-of-household ME! Okay, I don't want to upset Brad so we can start with him. Brad has been extremely busy with work. He didn't get much of a break this winter as we didn't get any snow until the middle of April. I know...crazy Colorado weather!! On a good note, he has been making time to golf at least once a week. For those of you who don't realize how the golf industry works, it is VERY rare for someone in golf management to ever find time to golf. Our yard has become Brad's other obsession! He spends around 4 hours a week working on it. I can't even try to explain it, all I know is that it looks awesome! As for myself, my new hobby has been spinning classes at the gym. It is total hell, but you feel amazing once you finish the class. I have also been playing chaufer for all of Maddie's activities (we will cover these later). A couple of months ago Brad insisted that we get a house cleaner because of my lack of love for cleaning bathrooms. So, instead of worrying about bathrooms now I just pick up toys around the house as the wirlwind that is Maddie and Grace create the destruction! I have an amazing group of friends that help balance the mom in me with the Rose in me. Maddie is now 5 and going on 16! She will be graduating from pre-school in two weeks and is EXTREMELY excited to begin kindergarten in the fall. Over the winter she participated in gymnastics and I think the Bogard in her shows, she is great! Right now she is playing soccer, which she has a love hate relationship with. Once she gets to practice she is fine, but getting ready is a whole other story. Maddie is a fashionista in the making. She goes through (I am not exaggerating) at least 4 outfit changes a day. Now Grace just wants be wherever Maddie is. No one can make Grace laugh as much as her big sister. It is so great to watch! Her other favorite is Hogan (our yellow lab). She is constantly wiping Hogan's nose because she says that he has a "boogie". At the end of the day when he comes in the house Grace will take her blanket and cover him up so that he can go "night night". Grace is our little caretaker, making sure that she is available to help whenever she can.

As the year progresses I hope to keep on top of this blog so that all of our family and friends around the country can keep tabs on us. So here it goes!!!!!