The Amazing Andersens

The Kids

2011-10-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

This first picture is of Sarah playing at the local mall's kid playground. She really liked climbing up and down on the toy airplane and car they had there. She tried climbing up the slide but couldn't make it in her socks. She was pretty determined, though! She tried and tried and tried!

These next 2 pictures are of Kelly and Parker playing in some big jump houses. We had a big stake activity last month. There were 5 or 6 jump houses, 2 of which had water hooked up to them so they could slide down some of the bigger ones. They had a blast that day! What Parker loved the most was that he had one of the jump houses all to himself for almost 10 minutes!

And this last picture here is Parker taking care of his sister after playing at the mall. He and Sarah were pretty cute together after playing. Parker was really excited to hold her, and she sat pretty quietly while we walked back out to the car for those few minutes! We could have gone for quite a decent walk had we wanted to and Sarah would have just laid there with Parker for a while.

No more Slide shows!

2011-10-05T17:44:00.001-07:00

So, apparently, slide.com is no longer allowing new slideshows to be made. They are shutting down their site and taking a new direction. SO, I was about to make a new slideshow tonight and found out that I couldn't! Unfortunately you won't get anymore mass pictures from us at one time!

Anyway, here are some pictures of us just having fun recently...I mean, these are mostly pictures of Parker still falling asleep in random places, at random times!

Day at the Beach

2011-09-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

Our summer has been fun so far! We have experienced plenty of heat and humidity to go around. I personally have spent lots of time in my car, traveling all over my area. In 6 weeks, I put nearly 5,000 miles on my car. Luckily right now, I have been able to stay in my office more trying to get some training in on some software and other things. Aside from that, we have had a very busy tropical season thus far...Hurricane Irene and a few others that never made landfall but were close. And, we've had our fair share of tropical storms roll through. Again, we have been lucky not to have too much affect from most of them. But, it does keep us on our toes! The biggest news around here right now is that Rachel got called into the Young Women's presidency as 2nd counselor. Also, her baby bump is now showing, Sarah is walking and starting to copycat lots of things like actions and faces, and Kelly is still bent on naming the new baby Snow White no matter what happens. Parker is potty training and doing pretty well as long as he doesn't have any pants on...he does even better when he doesn't wear any underwear. He gets swedish fish every time he goes on the potty, and he gets the most excited when he goes and gets to try staying dry while wearing underwear. He got so excited the other morning that he went in by himself after crying for a bit about not wearing any underwear. He went potty all by himself. We were super excited and congratulated him for doing it and told him he would get his swedish fish...Parker squealed in excitement and immediately after being told he would get his swedish fish, he shrieked, "And I get to wear underpants now!" It was pretty cute! Well, we've been to the beach a couple of times now. So, the next posts are going to be some pictures of taking the kids there. Sarah really liked the sand and Kelly and Parker really liked sitting in the small waves. We are excited to go again! Enjoy the pictures!

Moving Trip

2011-08-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd make a vacation out of our trip moving across the country. So here it is in pictures!

We're Back...finally!

2011-08-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we've moved to the deep south because I've taken a job as a facility manager with the Church. So, after a good year and a half of running my own remodel company (and many, many, many job applications) we have picked up and left the mountainous west for the flat but very green south. The kids are adjusting well...Parker has probably taken it the hardest because he is tired all the time. Kelly has made a bunch of friends but still asks to go back to see the family and our "old house," by which she means she doesn't even want to go back to our apartment but back to our original house where she first remembers living. Sarah has been a little sick but adjusting ok thus far. Rachel hates the humidity but loves the southern hospitality. So far, I love the job albeit it has been a challenge to move here and get things going. Anyway, here are some pictures right before we got the job and moved. We know it kind of came (or is coming as) a surprise to many of you that we've moved but we had to act quickly when the opportunity came about! So enjoy!

Snow Drifts in North Dakota

2011-01-21T14:35:00.001-08:00

So, below you'll see a few videos of the work I've done up in North Dakota. I hope the information I talk about is right (by the way, I hate listening to myself on camera). This video here is of us getting stuck in some real big snow drifts just by our house on our way home. What an experience!

The Drill Cellar

2011-01-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

Working in North Dakota

2011-01-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

Recent Job

2010-11-29T20:39:00.001-08:00

So, here's some pictures of the most recent job Kevin and I finished. These are NOT the pictures we took (our pictures would be from the same angle) but our customer gave these to us today as we finished remodeling/refinishing her kitchen. It's the first time we have ever refinished cabinetry. Her cabinetry didn't have any hardware on it before and didn't match her furniture in the rest of the house. So, we changed the color of the cabinets to match her existing furniture and then installed a stone back splash to accent her floor tile. I'll have my pictures downloaded tomorrow and hopefully posted.

More Family Pictures

2010-11-20T14:22:00.001-08:00

Finally posting pictures

2010-11-20T13:48:00.001-08:00

New Arrival: Sarah

2010-10-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

So, again...it's been too long since we've posted! But, since we last posted lots of things have happened! We have moved to a condo that we're renting, still in Utah. And, we've had a new arrival to the family: Sarah!!! She is the only one of ours that has dark hair, let alone has any hair at all at birth! She was born on Friday, making our 3rd October baby! She was 7 pounds 12 ounces, 20 inches long and perfectly healthy. Pictures are always worth more than words, so here she is:

2010-05-01T13:42:00.001-07:00

So, I've posted 2 slideshows below. The lower slideshow is just some fun pictures of us hanging out at home, having some good ol' times. The upper show is from our trip home to Montana. The weather was all kinds of unpredictable while we were there...so we made the best of it every day! Kelly and Parker absolutely loved the room to run around, and Kelly couldn't get enough of her cousins while we were there! They got along quite well! Really, the pictures tell it all from our trip! As far as updates on us, Rachel is still tired from being pregnant...YES: SHE's PREGNANT! We're due in October...no shocker there. We're 3 for 3 in October so far! She has recently felt the baby move here this past week, and we're both really excited about it! We've had another little baby over a couple times this week and it just makes us more excited for this one to join our family in October (again, that's obviously our favorite month). And, NO, we will NOT be finding out the gender in our ultrasounds. It's more fun that way! Other than that, we're just trying to figure out who we should live with here in about a month once we move out of here. So, if any of you have spare closets or storage areas, we'd greatly appreciate the opportunity to make it our home for a while! Just kidding...I have put in my "3 weeks" notice at the apartments and am now trying to figure out what's next for us. Rachel and I have been discussing a lot of options...and that does include moving out of the state if we have to. If that happened, it would probably be just after the baby is born. Crazy! But, in the end, where ever the Lord tells us to go is where we will end up! We hope all of you are doing well! Enjoy the pictures!

Trip to Montana

2010-05-01T13:40:00.001-07:00

Just having Fun

2010-05-01T13:39:00.001-07:00

Scroll Down - We Posted a Few

2010-02-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

So, finally posting again...it's been a long time and we're sorry for that. =) We've just been lazy about it and haven't done it. SO, scroll down and you can see what we've been up to!

2010-02-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

We Finally Posted again! The slideshows are of December and January...we've been busy yet having fun! Kelly and Hanna play together every Monday and Wednesday and have lost of fun doing that, as is seen by the costumes and hiding inside the entertainment center! Parker is developing his personality more and more every day...his faces are changing just as fast as his personality! He loves to talk, I mean, yell all day long. Pretty much everything he says is at the loudest level he can produce. By the end of the day, it can be a lot to take, but he is absolutely adorable right now. He's learning new words every single day and loves to copy Kelly in everything she does. And Kelly pretty much copies everything daddy does...so we have a nice little train going of copycats in the family right now. =)

So, beyond that, nothing really new is happening right now. We're beginning to house shop more seriously. We have to be out of here by around August or so. With that, we're trying to balance me working at the apartments, for my broker and for myself. Starting my own company is taking a lot of work (and money) but job opportunities are popping quite quickly for us...I say us because Kevin and I are working together in the company. Rachel has been very supportive because I've been working extra days and long hours to get things going. We're also waiting right now to find out if we get this government contract we applied for months ago. We're supposed to know by the end of March...BUT, it's the government, which means we may not really find out still for a while.

Oh, I did get called into my bishopric...again. We got a new bishop this past Sunday. I was recalled to finish out my year-term as second counselor Our new bishop is really neat and Kelly likes him. She refers to his wife as "Bishop's Girl." It's pretty cute!

In the meantime, we're just sitting tight and having fun! We'll continue to post and hopefully post more often than we have been!

Home After Christmas

2010-02-28T20:47:00.002-08:00

December 2009

2010-02-28T20:47:00.001-08:00

From Early Last Year

2010-02-28T20:45:00.000-08:00

Can't remember if we posted this picture or not but this is one of our favorites! Kelly was inbetween changing clothes or something and decided to take a little nude ride around the house on her bike!

Just hanging out

2009-08-27T08:22:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone! We've had a quiet summer here and a nice one. We've just been hanging out together and spending lots of time outside. We try to go up the canyon here at least once or twice a week right now to help Kelly get nice and tired before bedtime. School is starting up here next week...but not for me!!! It sure doesn't feel like I've graduated but that feeling will become very real here on Monday when everyone else is driving to campus and I'm not. Anyway, just thought I'd post a few pictures of our days up the canyon and just playing around!

More Kelly Sayings

2009-05-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

So, on our travels to visit Aunt Barb, we stopped at a truck/rest stop to take a break and get some ice cream. Kelly was wearing her "squeaky" shoes on the trip and walked in holding Rachel's hand. On our way to the bathroom, a couple of guys walked past us that seemed like bikers and, after hearing Kelly's shoes, said, "I dig her kicks." Kelly's response was priceless...she looked at Rachel and said, "Mama, he digs my kicks!" Then turning to me, she said, "Dada, he digs me!"
Tonight, while wrestling and playing with Aunt Lindsey, Lindsey began pretending to eat Kelly's stomach. Kelly proceeded to stop Lindsey and said, "Don't eat my tummy. There's food in there!"

New Quilt

2009-05-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

So, we went out shopping for some new bedding for us and Rachel found this quilt (thanks to Lindsey) that she really liked. SO, last Saturday we went shopping. Upon arriving at the quilt shop where the quilt was, we took a few minutes looking at different combinations of the 2 quilts we were going to purchase. Of course, this purchase required months of saving and wasn't just a spur of the moment purchase. Kelly, of course, was quickly entertained with everything in the store and apparently intrigued the employees there, too. It was raining so there weren't very many people out shopping that day. One of the employees took Kelly around the store (after asking us) to show her different quilts for girls. Upon returning to where we were, Kelly noticed a few employees folding and putting ribbons on some place settings and other store materials. She promptly ran over and hopped up on the bed and started helping them. One employee commented that Kelly was working for our employee discount and as I went to the register to purchase the quilts, the lady checking us out said she was going to give us the employee discount! I coudln't believe it! She told me that we had a cute family and that she was giving us the discount because she could and she wanted to! So, thanks to Kelly, we saved $65 off the quilts we purchased! Isn't that great? Thanks to Kelly we saved money. She and the store employees are now best friends, too (that's what Kelly told me when it was time to leave...she ran to the one employee she had spent time walking around with and gave her a number of hugs before we left and said she was now her best friend!).

The Tulip Festival - Celebrating Graduation

2009-04-26T15:29:00.001-07:00

Graduation - Finally!!!

2009-04-26T15:05:00.001-07:00

Parker's Smile

2009-04-18T07:47:00.001-07:00

Parker doesn't have a problem smiling for anyone. This is the best smile we've caught on camera yet! He and his Aunt Lindsey were having a good time together!

2009-04-16T18:31:00.001-07:00

2009-04-16T17:09:00.001-07:00

Easter weekend was fun and exciting! It was full of surprises and adventure! It started with a trip up to Kim and Nick's new home. We relaxed the first evening there and got up Friday morning to a fun-filled day of errands everyone wanted to run. While Dad and I were out, Rachel called me to come home immediately because she had fallen down the stairs on her back while holding Parker and felt like she was going to pass out, along with the tingling sensation through her arms and legs. Luckily, that turned out only to be deep bruising and no serious injury. On Saturday, we spent the day at the baby animal days hosted by the town and by Macey's. Kelly really liked seeing the cows and holding the baby ducks and chicks. She also held a rabbit and pet some baby cows, goats, sheep and pigs. The pigs scared her a little bit. She had the most fun holding the rabbit, I think. She also took a train ride and a pony ride, which she had to do all by herself. I wasn't allowed to help her hold on or anything.

Lindsey then called as Kelly and Parker kind of hit their wall at the animal days. She was having some car trouble and pulled off the road up the canyon. So Dad and I went to meet up with her and luckily again, there wasn't anything significant for the time. So we headed back to Kim's. Zach came in Saturday night and late that night the entire neighborhood lost power for a while. Oh, and the whole time we were there, Kelly got sick and then got worse. She had a horrible time sleeping. I slept next to her every night but one...Rachel was sleeping on a stiff cot to help her back feel better. Sunday we went to church and had Easter dinner and then came home that afternoon. It was a fun trip. Enjoy the pictures!

Only a few days away

2009-04-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Only 2 more days of class and I graduate!!!

Other Pics just for Fun

2009-03-25T17:55:00.001-07:00

Pictures of our Nebraska Visit

2009-03-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

Recent Visit to Nebraska

2009-03-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

We just recently got back from a short visit to Nebraska where we visited with Grandma Andersen and Aunt Barb. It was a little colder than we anticipated but we had a good time relaxing. Kelly had a blast walking Aunt Barb's dogs and taking rides in Grandma's wheelchair. Kelly was also determined to have Grandma play soccer with her. Dad went with us and hasn't come back yet (he's still sleeping on our living room floor...hasn't gone home since Christmas break yet). Our favorite part of the trip were the things that were coming out of Kelly's mouth while we visited. We went to dinner with Aunt Barb our first night and the waitress asked Kelly how her water was. Kelly promptly answered, "My water's boring." In response, the waitress promptly brought Kelly a lemon to put in her water to hopefully make it a little more exciting. The other greatest thing out of her mouth was during our visit to Little America on the road out to Nebraska. We had stopped for a rest, some playtime for Kelly and some ice cream. Kelly was wearing her shoes that squeek every time she takes a step (thanks Granny!) and walked past these 2 biker-looking guys. As we passed them, one of them looked at Kelly and said, "I dig your kicks." Kelly was holding Rachel's hand and looked up at her and said, "Mama, he digs my kicks. He's diggin me!" It was so funny! I couldn't stop laughing at it! The things kids say!
We had a really good time during our visit. Grandma did okay on our first visit on Friday but didn't do so well on our Saturday visit. She got really scared for us after we left so much so that Dad had to call me just so she could here me say to her that we were fine. We caught glimpses of the old Grandma Andersen through her interactions with Kelly. She really enjoyed having her around (as did many of the other elderly folks there...we couldn't leave without Kelly getting and giving a number of hugs and saying goodbye to everyone in sight!).
We're back in town now and counting down until graduation (April 23-24). Rachel is probably more excited than I am since she's waited nearly 4 years for me to get done. Still not sure what job I'll be taking but I should know here in another week or so. I'll let everyone know once I do! In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of our trip!

Parker's Pouty Lip

2009-01-25T19:43:00.001-08:00

This lip pops down every time he gets hungry, tired or just wants to cry for no good reason. Man, he sure can pull it down pretty low!

Pics of our Recent Activities

2009-01-25T19:41:00.001-08:00

Just Hangin Out

2009-01-25T19:20:00.001-08:00

Kelly's Learning the Ropes Early

2009-01-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

So, we decided it was time for Kelly to take over Rachel's position in the Office. She picked it up right away! She was answering phones, signing contracts, and hanging up on the rude and angry people (she even hung up one of Rachel's calls on a tenant's very upset mother...literally). So at the speed she is learning, Rachel won't have to work anymore by the end of the month! The last picture is Kelly wondering what to do next since she just hung up on another angry parent!

Lindsey and Kelly's Night Out

2009-01-25T18:34:00.001-08:00

Kelly was sooo excited for this one night. We told her she was going out with Aunt Lindsey. So, we got her all dressed up and put her diapers and things in her backpack. She couldn't wait for Lindsey to get to the house! With her hair done, jacket on and her backpack on, she looked like she was off on her first day of school! She went crazy when she heard Lindsey pull up outside. She also started crying the second Lindsey hopped back in her car to move so Rachel and I could back our car out because she thought Lindsey was leaving without her! It was pretty funny. They had quite the evening together.
Kelly does love her Aunt Lindsey!

Snippets of Christmas 2008

2009-01-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

2009-01-25T15:06:00.001-08:00

Parker is growing fast. He is already over 15 lbs. He is his daddy's boy. He is in the 96% for height. He loves to snuggle and is very smiley when he has had a nap and been fed. He loves to talk as well. Parker loves laying flat on the ground and watching everything around him.

It has been interesting getting use to two kids. I feel like a bad parent when both kids cry at the same time and can't help both at once. Usually Kelly can be distracted from crying by having her help take care of Parker. Overall it has been so much fun to take more time to just enjoy the kids and watch them interact with each other.

Kelly and Parker Spending Time Together

2009-01-25T14:49:00.000-08:00

Kelly loves being a big sister. She is in 7th heaven if she can
help take care of him. She comforts him when he cries and
never fails to let us know when he burps or has gas. If Daddy
is holding Parker she wants to be held to. She has figured out
though that Parker weighs a lot so she doesn't pick him up
without help.

Kelly Having Fun

2009-01-25T14:42:00.000-08:00

Kelly was trying to do somersaults into the boppy. She found it quite entertaining to not go all the way over.

More Pictures of the Kids

2008-11-12T06:06:00.001-08:00

The top two pictures are us on our last day at the hospital. Kelly had to wear a mask because she had been sick. She was so excited to hold Parker. She has been really good with him at home thus far. She likes to hold him and pat him on his head softly whenever he cries. The bottom left picture is Kelly with her aunt Lindsey. Aunt Lindsey is Kelly's favorite! The bottom right picture is Kelly in her Halloween costume. She was a blackbird. Here she is imitating a bird as per the instructions given from her grandpa!

Parker James has Arrived!!!

2008-10-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Weighing in at 7 pounds 15 ounces, standing 21 inches tall, the light-weight medal contender of the world: Parker James Andersen!!! Here he is...born at 2:30 on October 24th.

Kelly's Birthday

2008-10-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is one of Kelly's 2-year old birthday pictures. More are on the way!! Isn't she cute?!

Proud Peach Picker

2008-09-27T21:18:00.001-07:00

Picking Peaches

2008-09-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Our bishop called us up on Friday this week and told us a friend of his owned an orchard of all kinds of fruit and had just finished harvesting his peaches for the year. He offered our bishop the opportunity to invite anyone and everyone he knew to come and pick as many peaches as they wanted. The orchard is about 450 acres...so there were a lot of peaches to pick!!! We went out Friday evening and again on Saturday afternoon and picked 72 gallons of peaches!!!!! Kelly absolutely loved it and probably picked some 18 gallons just by herself! Of course, she ate some during the process and hasn't wanted to do anything else since Friday other than pick peaches! She was an incredible help! It was soo much fun! Her favorite things to say were: "We're pickin peaches!" (if a peach fell on the ground, she would say-->) "It's yucky now. Pick new one!" "It's a little one, daddy!" "Pick big one!" So, if you want some peaches, you know where to find them!

Kelly's Real First Injury

2008-09-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

So not too long ago, we were on "skyping" with my mom and dad when Kelly starting crying off and on and kept holding her hand out and saying she had an "owie." After taking a closer look at it, we noticed that her thumb was really swollen on her right hand. My mom looked at it via our webcam and we decided that it felt and looked like she had dislocated her thumb! We couldn't believe it! So, right before she was to go to bed, we instead headed for the hospital to get it checked out. In the meantime, while driving and then playing in the doctor's office while we waited on the doctor, her thumb naturally slid back into place. We took some xrays and had the doctor look at it, but in the end, all we could do was let it heal up on its own. Luckily, actually, it slid in place on its own. It would not have been fun to have to put it back into place! So, thank goodness for that! Anyway, here's a picture of her thumb not too long after we got back from the hospital...lots of swelling and coloration...and Kelly was an incredible trooper through it all!

Just Pictures for Fun

2008-09-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

Here you've got Granny and Kelly waiting together to go up the ski lift on a full moon-lit night. Also, Lindsey and Kelly are playing in Kelly's new tent, which she loves! The other pictures are of Kelly with her great Grandparents on Rachel's side of the family and Rachel and Kelly laying on the lawn at Temple Square looking up into the trees together.

Trip to the Temple

2008-09-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

We took Kelly to Temple Square, which she really liked. She loved all the flowers and kept calling the temple "Jesus' house." She then proceeded to call everything she saw that evening "Jesus' water," "Jesus' flowers," "Jesus' tree" and on and on. It was pretty cute. Her favorite thing to do, though, was to walk on the short walls that formed up the flower beds. She would walk around all the flower beds and then bend down to smell them. She loves flowers! It was pretty cute!

Fun with the Family over the Summer

2008-09-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

So my Mom came to town for about a month and we had the chance to spend lots of time together as a family. We picniced at Grandma's house, watched the 24th of July parade, went to the zoo, played in the mountains, rode a ski lift in the middle of the night, and all kinds of other fun. Of course, it all had to wind down eventually so that Rachel and I could get back to work and now school. So anyway, it's back to the good-old days as we not only are counting down to baby #2 but by my April graduation!!!

Back to School

2008-09-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I've started school up again and I'm FINALLY a senior! We're looking forward to graduation and especially baby #2 here in just over a month. I know we're not exactly regular bloggers but we're trying. Just be patient with us and we'll eventually post something! This was taken at the zoo while mom was in town visiting. It was quite a challenge to get Kelly to smile for any picture that you wanted her to smile in unless you were tickling her or playing with her.

Just Counting Down to Baby #2!!!!

2008-09-09T23:25:00.001-07:00

More Camping & Other Misc. Pictures

2008-07-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

Camping Pictures & Other Misc. Pictures

2008-07-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from our camping trip to Moab a few months ago as well as other misc. pictures from the past few weeks. If you want any details, just let me know!

Our Journey to get to Our Vacation

2008-07-19T13:19:00.002-07:00

Our trip plans originally included leaving on July 3rd to go and see Kim and Nick for the 4th of July. We were planning on spending 3 days with them and then heading home to spend a week with Rachel's family. That didn't exactly happen.
Our trip started with me working until nearly midnight on July 3rd trying to get ready to leave. Then, I ended up working all day the 4th of July until about 11 that night. Saturday morning rolled around, and Rachel and I work a few more hours before we packed up and finally left. We didn't get very far however.
About 3 blocks from home, our car started smoking like crazy. We ended up having it towed and fixed the following morning (Sunday by now). So, once the car was towed we went out to dinner instead of going home, and our waitress didn't even know we had been seated. The service was pretty poor that night.
Once dinner was done, we headed home and walked in the door only to have the dining room light burn out as I turned it on when we walked in. It couldn't have been any worse than that...or so we thought.
We got the call on Sunday morning that our car was ready and so we packed up again and thought we were finally on our way to our vacation. About half way up to get our car, we realized Kelly was missing a shoe and had to turn around to go home and find it. We did and began our journey one last time. We finally got to the shop where our car was and they said it was ready. However, right before I was ready to pay, the mechanic came in and told us there was still a problem.
After about an hour and a test drive, we finally paid and were able to take off for vacation...and that time it was for real.
We loved the week we had with Rachel's family! Kelly loved every minute of being outside every day, playing in the lake and with her cousins, riding and driving the 4-wheeler, and everything else! It was worth every minute of our challenges to leave to take that break. We had a blast!

Our Vacation

2008-07-19T13:19:00.001-07:00

The Rocking Chair

2008-07-19T12:41:00.001-07:00

Kelly loves the rocking chair in her room. Every night before she lays down, I rock her and sing to her. This one night, I peaked in on her and found that she had moved all her stuffed animals into the rocking chair and then climbed in with them and covered herself up with her blanket. She fell asleep that way.

4th of July

2008-07-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

Independence day didn't exactly turn out as planned for us this year. Rachel and Kelly went to watch the parade while I ended up working all day. The other little girl in the pictures with her is Hanna, in our ward. They have a lot of fun together! I ended up replacing 2 water heaters and replacing a ceiling that ended up having a water pipe break inside of it once I finished the water heater in the same apartment. I couldn't believe it! I finished the second water heater just as all the fireworks shows ended. I was able to sit down and have dinner with Rachel and Kelly that evening, though. Rachel barbecued for all of us, and I was able to take a few minutes out to eat with them. I didn't get home until almost 11 that night, though. Some holiday, eh?

Kelly's Muscles

2008-07-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

So we've done the "superman" thing with Kelly a handful of times and she decided that it was her turn to hold us up!

Just for Fun

2008-05-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

Kelly and Aunt Kelly

Rachel's Fish Lips

Trip to Vegas

2008-05-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

We recently took a trip to Las Vegas to visit Rachel's sister and her family. We had really nice and relaxing time down there. The weather was beautiful! We also ran in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer fun run that Saturday. This run has kind of become a tradition for us in Vegas. Anyway, Kelly had a good time just running and playing down there. She went swimming for the first time and fed ducks for the first time as well! The ducks were obviously more than friendly! Kelly could have fed them all day.

My First Half-Marathon

2008-05-30T07:22:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who donated to my cause this year, the Huntsman Cancer Institute. My team raised $2,483!!! That put my team 10th place overall in fund raising. My team also placed 4th overall in fund raising per team member. So, thank you again!
The race was fantastic. The weather was beautiful...a little chilly at the start but sunny and breezy the rest of the morning. This was my first half marathon ever. Thanks to my training and experience, I now realize that I will never run a full marathon. I don't know how those people do it. Anyway, I ran it and finished in 2 hours 41 minutes. Not bad for a first timer. The first marathoner passed me at 2 hours 5 minutes or so with a few miles to go. Amazing! Rachel and Grandma came to the race as well as Uncle John, Steven, and others from the family. What an experience!

The pictures here are of me nearing the finish line and with my professor who joined my team this year. He did the full marathon (he's done 43 full marathons now!). All for a good cause, too. So, look out for me next year!!! I'll be doing it again & looking to double what we raised this year!

Dad, Kelly, & Uncle Zach

2008-05-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Kelly's Many Smiles

2008-05-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Park

2008-05-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Kelly is in her Easter dress that grandma gave her. We had a heck of a time getting her to smile...but when she did, it was precious.

Dr. Campbell, Brigham Young, and Me

2008-05-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

A Trip to the Cemetery

2008-05-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Being a TA (teaching assistant) for my program at school, I was invited to take a tour of grave-sites of the prophets. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and the opportunity to pay my respects to the late President Gordon B. Hinckley. While I was also there, I took advantage of the opportunity to visit Grandpa Van Tielen's burial site, which I had never been to before. It was truly an unique and spiritually humbling experience to stand "at the feet" of the prophets.

The Easter Egg Hunt

2008-05-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend

2008-05-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

For Easter this year, we decided it would be fun to dye eggs with Kelly. She had a blast doing it! She didn't want any help from mom or dad once she figured out what to do. She even dipped eggs in boiling hot water to put those "shrink wrap" decorations on the eggs by herself (of course we were right there with her when she did it). She could have done that all night that night. We then hid the easter eggs out in the lawn the next morning and had an easter egg hunt. Once Kelly got the idea of what to do, she was on the go to find more eggs! Of course, once she knew she had candy in her basket, all she did for the next few days was ask for a "bite" from her basket. She's got a sweet tooth already!

A Day up the Canyon

2008-05-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

It was a cold day up the canyon but we wanted to just get out and spend some time together. It really was quite beautiful (and much colder than expected, too). We spent our time playing on the playground and looking at the river from the bridge. Kelly had a good time. She loves being outside and playing outside!

Kelly's Potty Training

2008-05-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

So, we bought a kiddie toilet and stand, all-in-one type deal, and Kelly loves it! She wouldn't let the thing out of her sight for the first few days we had it. She is now on her way, by her own choice, to being potty trained!

Kelly being Kelly

2008-05-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

Lots has Happened

2008-05-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well, like writing in a journal, lots has happened over the past few months and I haven't kept up with our posts! So, the easiest, quickest way to update everyone on what's been going on, I'm going to post a bunch of pictures and short blurbs about each picture. For those of you who want more details, post a comment and I'll see what I can do to get you all the details about a story or picture! In the meantime, hope you enjoy!

Nice Weather Setting In

2008-03-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

So the nicer weather has started to set in (even though it actually snowed today and a little yesterday). With Rachel's work schedule, I get to spend more time with Kelly during the day. That means, we get to go to the park more! Of course, we never leave Rachel out if she can come. And, as you can tell by the pictures, we always have a fun time!

One Spoiled Child

2008-03-15T13:08:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd post another picture of Kelly having breakfast in bed...again!

Most Recent Adventure

2008-03-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

With me in school, working, and in the bishopric, we don't get out too often. So, when dad came into town we all went up to visit Kim and Nick over a weekend. We decided to go sledding with everyone, and Kelly loved it! She kept asking to go again and again. So, after carrying her up the hill over and over again, we decided to send her down herself. No, we didn't climb to the top and let her go by herself, but she did go down about half the hill multiple times alone. And of course, she loved it! She actually went pretty fast! She laughed every time she went down. This is Kelly below.

Starting Young

2008-03-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Uncle Zach, we thought we'd get Kelly snowboarding early in life. The sooner she learns, the better!

SKANSKA and ASHRAE

2008-03-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

For those of who you have no idea what the above names refer to, SKANSKA is on the world's largest construction companies. They're based out of Sweden and are currently the number 1 builder of health care facilities in the U.S. ASHRAE is a national association for HVAC engineers. I recently received scholarships from both. SKANSKA hosted a national research competition in which my team took top honors (that's the picture of the judges and the BYU teams that participated). ASHRAE's Utah chapter opened up a scholarship to students in the area, and I was fortunate enough to receive one of the 3 that were offered. SO, a little hard work has paid off this year for us! Rachel, of course, is the one sacrificing the most in all this since she gives up time with me to let me do these things. She's really the one who has earned the honors!

2008-01-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Vacation

2008-01-11T12:58:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally took a break from the apartments and school. This year we traveled home to spend the holiday with Rachel's family. The night we left was extremely snowy, but for the most part the roads were good for our trip. We spent time visiting everyone in the family and got there a couple days before Christmas Eve. That night, Santa made a surprise visit and gave everyone an early Christmas present. All the kids were really excited! Kelly didn't really know what was going on, but when her name was called she knew that the guy in the big, red suit had something for her because she instantly put out her hands and starting asking for whatever it was she was going to get. It was really cute! Christmas day was a blast! Kelly woke up that morning and we took her out into the living room. She instantly focused on the tree and all the presents and started picking up presents in hopes of opening them. It really was a lot of fun this year with Kelly. The rest of our trip consisted of helping Mike and Gretchen with the house they are building and playing with all the cousins. We went out on the frozen lake one day with the 4-wheeler and I pulled Rachel and Kelly behind me on a sled. Kelly loved going over all the bumps out on the lake! She laughed the whole time! Kelly also went sledding by herself for the first time and loved that just as much! Of course, Rachel's parents really enjoyed having us there (actually, really enjoyed having baby Kelly there at home). The best part of the trip was that Rachel's sister, Kelly, came home with her new baby and we were able to bless him. That truly was a great experience together.
Well, we wish everyone a happy new year! We are looking forward to everything that's going to happen this year and can't wait to hear from everyone whenever you have a chance!!

"Uncle" Kevin

2007-12-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

Our most recent surprise visitor was Kevin. He was driving into town on his way to see his brother and dad nearby. Kevin used to live with us (last year from January to June) and was there during most of Rachel's pregnancy. He used to have quite the beard then. But anyway, he stopped in to say hello and to see Kelly. At first she didn't really "take" to him (probably because she hadn't seen him without some kind of facial hair). But Kelly quickly warmed up to him and had a blast playing with him!

Traveling with Kelly

2007-12-19T20:00:00.001-08:00

Now, Kelly fits quite well into your luggage. We found that out when Zach packed her up into his bag and she wasn't ready to get out very quickly!
Zach was getting ready to head home for the Christmas break. Little does he know what it's really like to travel with Kelly. This year, we are headed to spend the break with Rachel's family, and boy, oh boy, Kelly sure does require a lot of things to travel! I think this will be one of the last few vacations we travel for for a long time!

Kelly, Breakfast in Bed

2007-12-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

Kelly is only slightly spoiled. I mean, she gets breakfast in bed more than anyone else in our house! I guess we need to work on that a little. She is taking too quickly to this kind of treatment!

New Camera, therefore New Pictures

2007-12-19T19:44:00.000-08:00

So, we were given a new camera for Christmas and decided to post new pictures that we have taken with it. Hope you enjoy looking at them!

Kelly's First Snow! (this year)

2007-12-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

It snowed today for the first time this year, and Kelly LOVED it! I showed her how to eat snow and that's about about all she wanted to do. She also helped me snowplow the apartments for a few minutes. She liked the ride on the 4-wheeler but wanted to steer it and not just ride it. We'll have those pictures up later.

At the park

2007-11-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

We haven't posted a family picture yet...so I thought I should do that. We took this picture ourselves while at the park with Kelly. It isn't very flattering to me (JP) because I look like I have multiple chins, but oh well. It's us!

Kelly's love of swings

2007-11-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

I figured it out (with the help of a fellow Facilities Management student, Kirk). I originally posted this video sideways because that was the way I recorded it and couldn't figure out how to rotate it. Well, now I know how! So, here it is...the right way to view it!

Thanksgiving Turkey Selection

2007-11-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

This pre-Thanksgiving activity was quite eventful! Kelly found the "Tom" she wanted (17 pounds total...Kelly only weighs 21 pounds) and carried it all herself from the checkout line to the freezer!

Kelly's Birthday

2007-11-05T20:01:00.001-08:00

Kelly turned one year old this year. We can't believe she is already one!!! Time flies so fast! Well, the pictures speak for themselves...Kelly had sooo much fun on her birthday! She opened all her own presents once she got the hang of ripping the wrapping paper off. Then she had no hesitation diving right into her cupcake. She made quite the mess of it! She even made sure to share it with Rachel!

Halloween!

2007-11-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

Kelly was our little Indian for Halloween this year. She had a blast trick-or-treating! She carried her own basket and knocked on all the doors herself the whole night! And obviously, as you can see in this picture, she is quite the hunter!

2007-11-01T07:30:00.001-07:00

Our First Blog!

2007-11-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

This is our first blog! What a joy it is to be able to have one in our family now! We hope that all of you can enjoy it as much as we do!!