Good Things Grover

Happy Elle

2011-11-08T05:27:00.000-08:00

We captured this small clip of Elle and her happiness. Elle enjoys being involved with whatever the family is doing, and often has a smile to share. Happy six months to her this week.

Teaching

2011-11-05T19:35:00.001-07:00

I am grateful to be substitute sunday school teacher at church because it is so humbling. I enjoy preparing and searching the scriptures in a very focused way. And then I enjoy realizing how much I have to learn about the gospel and teaching.

Sisters

2011-11-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

Today I am sick so this is going to be short with no pictures. I am grateful today for the multitude of sisters in my life. I was lucky enough to be born in to a family with 6 sisters (5 by birth and 1 by marriage, my brother has really good taste). They have all turned out to be amazing women. I look up to them in their efforts to raise righteous families and develop their talents. They are my dear friends. I just wish I lived closer to at least 1 of them so I could see them more often!

I was also lucky enough to marry into 5 more sisters. I can't be close to my immediate family but I'm so grateful to live near these amazing women who have blessed my life in so many ways. They really have become my sisters and I have so much fun getting together with them. They bless the lives of my family soooo much on a daily basis.

You are Special

2011-11-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is what Thomas' shirt says in the picture but it's hard to see it on the duct tape. He is jumping out of the box for a friend's birthday party in our singles ward. I love this picture.

Today I'm grateful for Thomas. He is my best friend and most loyal companion. I love him more every year. Thomas is a wonderful husband and father and he's mine forever. I look back at our almost six years together and get excited for our future since we have had a pretty great ride so far. Everyday is sweet with this man.

Already Late

2011-11-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Day number 2 and I'm already posting late. That's a bad sign. Today I'm thankful for healthy kids. Elle started throwing up last night. Luckily it didn't last too long so hopefully it's a short illnesss. Generally our kids have been really healthy and I'm grateful for it!

And just because she's cute too

2011-11-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

Elle has decided to be an aerobics instructor when she grows up. She has even been waking me up several times a night for a workout. What a slave driver. Of course being the accommodating parents that we are, we hooked her up with the appropriate attire for Halloween.

A month of gratitude

2011-11-01T12:10:00.001-07:00

It's amazing, I know, but I'm planning on posting every day this month. It's penance for not posting for so long. It's going to be a month of gratitude so everyday I will share something for which I'm grateful.

Today I'm grateful for the forgiveness of little children. Have you ever had a day as a mother you wish you could rewind and start over? I handled an incident with Jacob poorly today and I have been feeling sad about it ever since. Does he even remember it? No, no he doesn't. But I do and I'm grateful he is so willing to forgive me when I make mistakes as a mother.

I love this little guy.

Out of Hibernation

2011-10-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

We thought we would let you know that we are still here. We hope you enjoy this video of Jacob in his Halloween costume with his aunt Amelia.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T21:57:00.000-08:00

JacobChristmasMorning from Thomas on Vimeo.

We hope you enjoy these images of our family during the holidays, and hope you have a wonderful Christmas season!

Surprise! It's a girl, and the due date is May 2, 2011!

Fall Means Football, Halloween and Snow

2010-11-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

Sorry it’s been a while since we have posted. This fall has been a lot of fun and really busy with Thomas being out of town to Georgia, San Diego and Detroit within a month. In between trips, he managed to take Jacob to his first BYU game.

Jacob had a great time watching the big screen, pointing out balloons as they floated by, or looking at all the fun people around him. He managed to clap a few times as well, although Thomas was pretty sure it was because he heard cheering and not because he actually noticed the game going on. He also thought it was pretty cool that he had his own seat.

We also took Jacob Trick or Treating for Halloween. He enjoyed pulling his candy out of his jack-o-lantern bucket and putting it back in.

We thought he looked pretty cute as a giraffe.

Jacob also experienced his first snowfall (not really, but it was the first time he was aware of snowflakes). It was fun to see him try and figure out what it was as it fell from the sky. He was literally amazed, and would try and grab it, pick it up as it landed, wade through it. It’s so refreshing to see him experience new things that we take for granted. Life is a series of new adventures for him right now, and he really enjoys exploring and learning and discovering.

How Do You Spell ...

2010-10-21T16:28:00.001-07:00

I was in Georgia last week and noticed this sign at a movie theater:

(Hint to Movie Theater: I think Expendles is missing an ‘A’ and a ‘B’.) I got a nice laugh out of that.

Here’s a fun picture of Jacob. Is it just me, or does it look like he is posing? He must have a relative somewhere that’s a model.

October: The Great Pumpkin

2010-10-17T19:24:00.001-07:00

Jacob picked out his first pumpkin yesterday:

We visited the great pumpkin patch, and let Jacob find his own pumpkin. He enjoyed the cart ride so much, he didn’t want to walk around the patch. We placed him in the patch, he found the biggest pumpkin he could lift, and wouldn’t let go. We also visited some nearby horses and walked through a kiddie maze. Jacob’s Grandma Charlotta also came along. It was a lot of fun!

Thomas was out of town in Georgia this week, so Erin took Jacob up to the Treehouse Children’s Museum in Ogden. They put on a Halloween activity each year where the kids dress up in costumes and go on a quest.

Speaking of October, I have recently reconnected with my favorite music group, U2. It’s been a long time since I have listened to only them for an extended period, but I found myself doing just that over the past couple of weeks. Lots of my memories are etched into their music. “One,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You,” “Bad,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “October,” “40,” “Pride,” … the list could go on and on. Have you ever “rediscovered” something you have loved: a meal, a book, a TV show, or something else?

Three Short Stories

2010-10-10T21:08:00.001-07:00

Story One (from Erin’s perspective): I have a hard time getting a shower in the morning while Jacob is awake and active. One morning this past week I had a brilliant idea. I blocked off the kitchen, blocked off the bathroom door (but left it open so I could hear what was going on), and made sure the barricaded area was safe. Then I jumped in the shower while Jacob played in the living room area. At first he whined by the bathroom door but after a short while I started hearing happy sounds from the living room and congratulated myself on such a great idea. When I got out of the shower I saw Jacob in the living room with an entire package of goldfish crackers scattered on the floor around him. I had accidentally left the package within his reach on the couch. He was having a great time pouring them out, eating some, and pretending to put them back in the container. I caught him red handed as you can tell by the following picture. The picture doesn’t show his delight at being surrounded by his favorite snack and he gave me a big grin when he saw me. It was a small price to pay for a few quiet minutes in the shower.

Story Two: Jacob loves wearing Dad’s hats.

Jacob loves wearing Dad’s hats while sitting in a big person chair reading the paper and pointing out all the things he wants for Halloween.

Story Three (from Thomas’ perspective): During the third hour of Church today, I took Jacob with me to visit the Teacher’s Quorum. Jacob was reverent and attentive the entire time (seriously). Then, during the closing prayer with everyone kneeling in a circle, Jacob passed gas so loud it rattled his diaper. Everyone in the room heard it and could barely contain themselves. On cue, Jacob let off another diaper rattler. That’s my boy!

Jump then Walk

2010-10-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

We know our posts have been incredibly focused on Jacob. He's growing and learning so much right now that we want to make sure we capture this time of our lives. We went outside this afternoon for the last warm day of the year and Jacob got his groove on, walking around the yard and "jumping," all while refusing to take Dad's hat off:

Jump Around from Thomas on Vimeo.

Mobility from Thomas on Vimeo.

Clean and Messy

2010-09-29T21:04:00.001-07:00

Jacob and the Water Hose from Thomas on Vimeo.

Eating Yogurt from Thomas on Vimeo.

Summer Leftovers

2010-09-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Thomas had the hiking bug this summer, so that meant Jacob did as well. Jacob really enjoyed meeting his uncle Jeremy as they hiked to Red Pine Lake up Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah.

Early in the summer, we found a babysitter and used a couple of free passes to catch a movie in Provo. We showed up early enough that we had to wait in line for the theater to open. When they let us in and we tried to find a seat, the people ahead of us had saved so many seats that the only two unclaimed seats next to each other were on the second row. Not cool. There were at least 10 people who were saving 3 or more seats. Thomas went to look for a theater employee or manager and couldn’t find one. So, the following day, Erin let the theater know we were disappointed that so many people were saving seats for people who weren’t present when we were! The next day, we received an email from the theater manager apologizing. He also sent us 4 passes for any movie. Kudos to Cinemark for providing excellent customer service.

Anyway, we went back in July to see Toy Story 3 with two of our free passes. (The passes are good for any movie, by the way, which is killer). When we showed up in the theater, this is what we found:

The picture quality is bad, but it shows Erin sitting in a COMPLETELY EMPTY theater. We were tempted to save the whole thing for some phantom friends, but decided a good laugh about the situation would suffice. Needless to say, our view of the film was excellent this time around.

This is one of Thomas’ favorite recent pictures of Jacob:

Everywhere we go people comment on how cute, or how fun, or how smiley, or how happy Jacob is. He’s a great kid and we love him!

Oktoberfest

2010-09-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Snowbird ski resort last weekend for its annual Oktoberfest. There is a small farmers market-type plaza where you can buy clothes, trinkets and authentic German memorabilia. There are also numerous beer stations, as well as a large hall where you can eat German food and listen to (or dance to, if you prefer) authentic German music (think Polka).

Jacob was more interested in Oktoberfest than posing for the camera

Jacob thoroughly enjoyed the polka music and enjoyed dancing to it. Thomas had a bratwurst, but ate it so fast we didn’t have time to take a picture.

Oktoberfest is the culmination of what Thomas is calling his "German Summer." It started while Thomas was on a business trip to Aberdeen, MD, and ate twice at the Prost German Restaurant. Thomas then found Cafe Berlin while on a business trip to Denver last month. The restaurant is owned and operated by Marlena, a wonderful woman from Mainz who served the best German food Thomas has had since living in Germany:

Rouladen with Spaetzle and Rotkohl (Red Cabbage)

We are also trying to enjoy the remaining warm days before fall fully sets in. We had a picnic outside Friday night, and happened to catch this picture of Jacob blowing bubbles:

Erin has also been spending a lot of time at the park, one of Jacob’s favorite places to go. Among his park hobbies: eating wood chips, crawling all over the playground, going down the (small) slides, and swinging:

Birthday Cake

2010-09-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Birthday Cake from Thomas Grover on Vimeo.

As promised, here is Jacob enjoying his birthday cake!

One Year Old

2010-09-12T20:55:00.001-07:00

Jacob the newest toddler models his birthday outfit

Enjoying his birthday cake before the plunge (video of this to come; it's much better than the pictures)

Cousin Ethan helps J with his new phone

Happy Birthday Jacob! We love you and are ridiculously happy that you are part of our family!

(P.S. - check back soon for some video of Jacob opening his presents and trying to lift his cake up to his mouth)

Discovery

2010-07-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

“An infant who has just learned to hold his head up has a frank and forthright way of gazing about him in bewilderment. He hasn’t the faintest clue where he is, and he aims to learn. … [His] intent … is to explore the neighborhood, view the landscape, to discover … where it is that [he] has been so startlingly set down.”

-- Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Check out our family web site for some pictures of a recent hike we took:

www.thomasanderinfamily.com

Hats

2010-07-01T23:29:00.000-07:00

I saw this picture on my sister-in-law's blog and had to post it:

I don't know what it is about Camille taking pictures of Jacob and her son Benson together with hats ... okay wait, yes I do: it's adorable. As for the spit-up/drool/stain on the front of Jacob's shirt? Not so much.

Get your Jacob fix

2010-06-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

Erin emailed me this picture while I was at work last week. Jacob has learned to stand up in his crib, but he doesn't know how to sit back down. So, he cries until we rescue him. His joy at our entrance is self-explanatory.

Jacob has many "firsts" to report: crawling, holding his own bottle while feeding, teething (two and counting), new noises, and a large expansion of the menu. He continues to express his happy personality with coughs, growls, grunts, hisses, squeals, and other consonant sounds.

Jacob and Erin spent a week in Texas visiting family. Jacob loved spending time with his cousins. They did everything together, including bath time ...

We went swimming as a family at the end of May. Jacob loved splashing around until he wore himself out and slept the rest of the time. Erin and Jacob have season passes to the water park and Jacob is using his newly discovered pointing finger to point at people, floats and especially birds whenever they go.

Tonight as we were eating dinner we were listening to music and Jacob started moving to "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. He apparently really liked the song.

Dust Storm

2010-05-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

Route 66 in Gallup, NM

Traveling on I-40 is always kind of fun (it would be more fun if we didn't usually travel through New Mexico. Why it's called the Land of Enchantment is beyond us, no offense to New Mexicans). I-40 follows the historic Route 66. This particular trip, however, provided something unexpected.

We were headed from Texas to Flagstaff, AZ, and then on to the Grand Canyon. One hour from Flagstaff, we were forced off of I-40 in Winslow, AZ due to weather. No clouds in the sky, just wind, gusting up to 60 mph, had created sand drifts on the interstate.

The freeway had been shut down since 9:30 that morning. We needed to get Jacob to bed, and since we didn't know how long the freeway would be shut down, we turned around and went 2 hours back to Gallup, NM. Here's a picture of Jacob at the hotel in Gallup after we were finally out of the car:

So, we ended up heading home the next day without seeing the Grand Canyon. Still, we had a fun time being on a little road trip. Jacob has now been to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. One final picture of Erin and Jacob in Moab on the way to Texas:

Happy Baby = Happy Life

2010-05-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

Don't be fooled by the preppy look: these boys are dangerous.

Jacob with Dad (Mom's behind the camera) at the aquarium. We still aren't sure why Goliath Bird Eating Spiders are an aquarium attraction.

We couldn't be more proud of a son who values oral hygiene, even if he doesn't have teeth.

True Friends

2010-03-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Jacob knows how to roll with cousin B. They get together during the week, look cute, and drool.

We have had a great time recently. The weather is warmer, the sun is sunnier, and that means we are starting to head outdoors with Jacob. Yesterday we visited the park, where Jacob enjoyed swinging and also sliding down the slide with Erin. He is kind of quiet when we are outside, but we realized he is looking at all of the exciting, new things.

We took off to Phoenix a couple of weeks ago to visit one of Thomas' relatives. The weather was wonderful, and Debbie was a gracious host. One of Debbie's dogs, Tessa, LOVED Jacob. She would follow the person that was holding Jacob around the whole house, and when we went into our bedroom, she would wait outside the door and scratch at it. On a couple of occasions we had Jacob on the ground to change his diaper, and Tessa would sneak up and lick his hand or face. Jacob liked Tessa too, and was fascinated to watch her.

I had to sneak this one in. It's great that my wife will do outdoor things with me, like snowshoeing. Erin is cool like that. She wants to be where the action is, and she looks good doing it.

Food Fight!

2010-02-26T22:19:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure none of this actually made it into his stomach, but at least he had a good time.

News to me

2010-02-26T22:15:00.001-08:00

When I was working as an Academic Advisor, I had a student post this note on my door while I was gone for lunch (I edited out the name and number). I'm just glad my boss didn't see it and I still have no idea what the student meant (the student had learning challenges). At least we got a good laugh out of it.

Is it Spring yet?

2010-02-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

I am ready for Spring. Sometimes it seems like January and February take up more than their fair share of the calendar, don't you think?

Jacob has been enjoying his new Jumperoo toy. He gets really excited and squeals like a girl for much of his jumping time. And he's not even embarrassed about it. He's cool like that. I have been enjoying Jacob's budding personality. Some things just make me laugh like his anticipation when we're playing with him, his persistence at trying to reach what he wants (even if it lands him on his face), and how he delights in grabbing my hair and pulling his face right next to mine so he can give me a very wet kiss/slobber. He's just a great kid.

Jacob's New Trick

2010-02-12T22:09:00.001-08:00

Mmmm. Those toes must be tasty. I actually took this picture from the other direction but it looked weird so I flipped it around.

Another favorite picture from today.

He looks particularly self-satisfied in that picture. Jacob turned five months old this week. His favorite things are eating anything he can grab (especially paper), spitting with gusto, grabbing things, playing with his rattle toys and accidentally hitting himself in the head with them, doing sit ups while trying to sit up, mom and dad, and any other individual, friend or stranger, who will give him the time of day.

Mom and dad's favorite thing - he's sleeping through the night now! We finally broke down and did sleep training this weekend and we were amazed with the results. It know it's not for everyone but it was for this kid. We are all much happier around here and it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Tall and Average

2010-01-14T20:45:00.000-08:00

We couldn’t be happier. Jacob had his 4 month check-up on Monday and we learned that:

Jacob is 25 inches long, which is in the 75th percentile.
Jacob weights 14 lb 2 oz, which is in the 50th percentile.
Jacob’s head circumference is 42 cm, which is in the 50th percentile.

By all accounts, Jacob is healthy and thriving!

We are close to being fully healthy again, and we are looking forward to getting more sleep. Jacob went from having a cold (same one Thomas had) to pink eye to double ear infection to 4 month immunizations (and the accompanying fever). Poor guy was a champion through it all, and is back to his smiling, happy ways.

In case anyone is interested in a good read, Thomas recently finished "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It focuses on Lincoln's ability to manage and get the best out of not only his cabinet (assembled from Republican rivals) but also his Civil War generals, other politicians and the American people. Thomas' favorite quote from the book:

"Why was Lincoln so great that he overshadows all other national heroes? He really was not a great general like Napoleon or Washington; he was not such a skilful [sic] statesman as Gladstone or Frederick the Great; but his supremacy expresses itself altogether in his peculiar moral power and in the greatness of his character. ... His genius is still too strong and too powerful for the common understanding, just as the sun is too hot when its light beams directly on us." (quoted from Leo Tolstoy)

Link to Our Pictures

2010-01-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

We just added a link (at right) to our Flickr page, where you can view some additional Jacob pictures.

We also recently captured this small clip of Jacob's discovery of his hand. It's one of the increasingly rare times when he isn't smiling:

Surprises and Parties

2010-01-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

Jacob was the life of our new year's party! Jacob and Thomas have been sick this week with a cold, so we decided to celebrate new year's from home.

Jacob's aunt just returned from a quick trip to Germany and the Netherlands, and brought back a Kinder Surprise Egg. We gave it to Jacob, and as you can tell from the pictures, he was surprised and then happy to have it!

White Christmas (in Texas?!)

2009-12-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

For the first time since 1898, Southlake received measurable snow on Christmas Eve (3 inches). That's not a lot by Utah standards, but combined with 30-40 mph winds, it created blizzard conditions and shut the roads down here. The whole family ended up stranded at the Bastian parent's home, so it was fun to have a massive sleepover on Christmas Eve.

All of the nieces and nephews got to call Santa on the phone and speak to him (our brother-in-law Mike can do a mean Ho-Ho-Ho). Jacob has also been able to spend some time with two of his cousins, Tanner (10 days younger) and Sydney (5 months older).

Jacob decided that sleep was more important than Christmas presents, so he took a quick nap right before we opened presents. Luckily, he woke up just in time to open his first Christmas present.

We have enjoyed being with family, and miss those with whom we can't spend time. Merry Christmas!

Danger!

2009-12-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

It appears that our son is rabid. He has been foaming at the mouth for weeks now. We have been trying to ignore the obvious signs but I think that is no longer possible. The crazed look in his eyes while he furiously kicks his legs, the incessant gnawing on his fingers and now this:

and this:

And finally, when I got out of the shower this morning, this is the gruesome scene I encountered:

Babies are dangerous creatures.

Did you know...

2009-11-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

November is National Adoption Month?

We love adoption here in the Grover household because that is how we became a family. The rest of this month we're going to tell Jacob's adoption story so stay tuned!

Cousins

2009-11-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

These four boy cousins were all born from 09/10 to 11/02:

Jacob

Tanner

Tyson

Benson

Aren't they cute? We hope Jacob will be good friends with these boys. That means Brooke and Michelle need to come to Utah to visit and Camille can't leave!

While I was at Camille's yesterday, we took a picture of Jacob and Benson. This is the difference 8 weeks make. Jacob seems so huge to me now that I've held Benson.

More J pictures

2009-10-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

Jacob's First Hike

2009-10-13T07:11:00.001-07:00

Some more pictures

2009-09-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Jacob at his placement in his placement outfit and blanket

A Sunday family picture

A beautiful woman and a handsome boy! (so says Thomas)

Welcome Jacob!

2009-09-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

We are so thrilled to welcome Jacob Thomas into our family. We were a couple and now we feel like a family. Our lives have been blessed by the miracle of adoption in ways we could have never imagined. When Brianna first picked us it felt so surreal. I never knew that we would grow to love her so much and have a wonderful relationship with her. Brianna called me to be in the hospital room for the delivery which turned out to be an amazing experience. I thought I would be a little grossed out with the process but instead I was amazed at the miracle of it. She even let me cut the cord! Afterward we were both able to hold him and we knew he was meant to be part of our family. We felt the Spirit so strongly during this week as we spent time with Brianna, after Jacob’s birth, and at his placement. We have much to be thankful for - a loving Father in Heaven who has a plan for each of His children, a birthmother with strength, courage, and an incredible depth of love, and the sweetest little boy I have ever seen. We are loving being parents!

We are already being initiated as parents. Jacob pooped through his outfit soon after we brought him home, and just as we were putting a new diaper on him, he pooped again. Many more adventures are in store, and we are looking forward to experiencing them!

Grovers are crazy!

2009-05-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite shot from this weekend. On Mother's Day we went in the backyard and played with balloons rockets. Who knew that so much fun could happen for only 88 cents?

That day we also met this cute little guy:

Family and Fun

2009-04-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Erin's parents recently visited and spent a couple of weeks with us. We had a great time with them, which included our annual spring trip up the canyon to have a cookout.

The above picture is of Erin (far left, sitting in the blue chair) with her mom and sister spending time by the fire. We roasted hot dogs, and Thomas made his famous baked beans with bacon. After dinner, we roasted marshmallows and had smores (with regular chocolate only; Thomas LOVES to have smores with a reese's peanut butter cup in place of normal chocolate). Then, Thomas told a scary story that had one of Erin's sisters particularly frightened. The canyon was beautiful, the weather was pleasant, and the family was entertaining.

During the parents' stay, we also visited a couple of other parks and played a fun game called bocce (Italian lawn game: think bowling and curling). It was girls against guys and the girls won! We also borrowed a friend's projector and watched a couple of movies projected onto one of our walls.

After Erin's parents left, things settled down and we got back into our normal routine. On Saturday, Thomas' sister gave us two tickets to the Real Salt Lake game in Salt Lake. Thomas really enjoys soccer, and follows both Real Salt Lake and Manchester United in England (he has a friend from England who is a lifelong United fan). This picture shows us at the stadium during halftime. The game was incredible: RSL scored 6 (!) goals in the second half, all in the goal behind which we were seated. We had a great time. Here is a 10 second clip of the best goal of the game.

SNOW?

2009-04-16T20:53:00.001-07:00

That's right, we woke up to ONE FOOT of new powder. Crazy. Blossoming trees all over the city were weighted down and broken because of the snow. And it was pretty localized, as Sandy had almost no snow. Anyway, we took a quick picture from our front door. The forecast for the weekend calls for sunny skies and 70 degrees. Utah spring is like no other ...

Singing the High Notes, Deep in the Heart of Texas

2009-04-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful niece Cora was watching the video in the previous post and asked her mom (Thomas' sister) why Thomas was singing so high. Some of you may not know, but Thomas had an early childhood goal of singing for with the Vienna Boys Choir. Unfortunately (fortunately to all of you), Thomas discovered that a high range is not the only requirement for choral singing. Holding a tune also helps ...

We have been in Texas the past week, Erin for longer than Thomas, for work and to visit with family and friends (hello MOM, DAD, Rob, Shauna, Ginny, Audrey, Lily, Sydney, Preston, Sarah, Abigail, and Samuel!). While in Texas, we noticed that spring was finally here because of the bluebonnets (Utah seems to think that winter lasts through April). Anyway, we are both back in Utah, and looking forward to some warmer weather.

Do You Remember When?

2009-03-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Way before we were married (or dating), Erin did not think that Thomas was the coolest kid in school. This video proves it. At the very end, when Thomas mercifully ends his U2 cover, the camera pans to Erin and the look is priceless. Check it out.

It's been fun to go through some old pictures and remember the good times that we have had. Do you have any fun memories you want to share? If so, leave us a comment.

Good eats.

2009-02-23T20:04:00.000-08:00

We're trying to eat more healthily but we're running out of ideas. Does anyone have good healthy snack ideas that we could try out?

More quick updates

2009-02-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

We got a new computer and we're still transitioning and moving files. So, here's a post that will only have 1 picture.

I am just going to give you a short update on our lives in the past month. I turned 30. After I finished crying about it (not really, there's no shame in growing older), we celebrated with friends and family. 30 is going to be a great year, I can just feel it. Thomas and I did some baptisms for some family file names and one of the temple workers asked me if I was a teenager. She knew I was there with my husband so I guess she thought he was robbing the cradle. But there you go, even after all this time I still look 16.

We also just celebrated Dan's birthday and Cami's birthday and Shauna's is in a week. In our family we have 4 birthdays exactly 1 week apart from each other. That's a lot of cake in 1 month!
We also had Camille and Mike over for Groundhog Day. I don't know what it is about holidays but I just love them. We had groundhog tacos and watched Groundhog Day. If any of you know that movie, Bill Murray wakes up to the song "I've Got You Babe" every morning of his eternal Groundhog Day. So we decided to test Camille and Mike and played "I've Got You Babe" on repeat the whole time they were in our house until they finally noticed. It took forever but finally Camille realized that she had been singing along to the same song for a half an hour. And as homage to all the groundhogs out there who predicted another six weeks of winter, here is our groundhog picture (not really loving the picture but it's the only one I've got):

Hibernation

2009-01-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

It probably seems as though we have been sleeping through the winter, so we thought it was time to get back in touch with the world. We are still alive and well. In fact, we have a little announcement to make:

WE ARE HOPING TO ADOPT!

We have been working for a while to go through the process of getting approved to be adoptive parents. It has been a lot of work, but our family and friends have been so supportive. Back in November, we participated in an Adoption walk and some of our family came along to support us (pictured in orange).

We are working on a new web site that will help birthparents get to know us a little better. Once it's populated with some additional information, we will post the link here. In the meantime, you can look at our adoptive profile sponsored through LDS Family Services:

https://beta.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/18573172/ourMessage.jsf

We have a favor to ask of you: if you know of any birthparents who may be looking to place their child with adoptive parents, and you like us enough, please consider recommending us to the birthparents. Feel free to give them the above link. From there, if they want, they can contact our caseworker, or we can be contacted via email at thomasanderinfamily@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for your support!

Now, on to some other things we've been up to over the past couple of months:

We traveled with Mike and Camille to Texas for Thanksgiving and ...

for Rachel and Dan's wedding!

The joy was so great, some of the women shed tears.

It was fun to be with the family.
Back in Utah, a White Christmas awaited us.

We had a lovely time with Thomas' family. The fun was a bit too much for the picture taker (Thomas) who somehow managed to produce only blurry pictures, which is why none are posted here. We wonder if the virgin Big Apples Nathan was mixing for the family had something to do with it.

Erin started work on a new project (Christmas advent calendar) with the help of her sister Brooke (Brooke's calendar is pictured below).

Finally, we spent some time with Erin's aunt, uncle and grandma. Erin's grandma, by the way, is a nonagenarian!

During our visit, Erin's grandma kept sneaking back to her room to watch the Utah BCS football game. I think one of the reasons she gets along so well with Thomas is because he is always willing to walk her to her room so she (and he) can catch up on football or basketball. It was great to visit with Marlene and Curtis as well, who are always so friendly and accomodating.

Protecting Marriage

2008-11-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

I found these articles to be insightful and/or well-reasoned, and thought they were worth sharing:

Protecting Marriage to Protect Children

When Gay Rights and Religious Liberties Clash

This video has a lighter side to it, but it still has some interesting information:

What You Ought to Know: Gay Marriage

It's not too late to make a difference in California or other states with similar measures on the ballot. If you want, visit www.protectmarriage.com to see how you can help today.

Spooooky!

2008-10-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

We had our annual family Halloween dinner last night. Our spooky foods this year included:

Wormy skeleton brains and zombie eyeballs to keep an eye on our hooligan guests.

Witch Fingers (delicious right down to the crispy fingernails).

Spider Soup eaten out of Pumpkin Soup Bowls (quite the delicacy among ghouls these days).

Iris of Troll. You can only get these specially extracted from the eyeballs of trolls in Northern Iceland. There is no expense too great for our spooky fun. Thanks Camille and Mike. And you are probably wondering what we did with these eyeball guts? We did this:

We drank those irises, of course. That is an iris stuck in the incredibly fat straw Camille and Mike brought for our eyeball drinking pleasure
.Dan got so choked up over those irises or maybe he was just choking.

Speaking of Dan, this picture makes me think of him. No, it's not because I think he's a stinking bowl of pumpkin guts. Really it's because of last night when I was carving out my pumpkin soup bowl and I had to walk away for a minute. When I returned I couldn't believe how many guts that little pumpkin had. I worked away until it was almost clean but I had to leave again. When I got back there where even more guts in my bowl. Every time I left the room Dan kept dumping hte pumpkin guts from his pumpkin into my bowl. It was pretty funny. He better watch out. I won't be on such good behavior when he's part of the family and retaliatory pumpkin guts will be the least of his worries.

A few more spooky shots:

Whose head was this? No one really knows but since we are no respecter of persons, we made our little grinning skeleton friend feel right at home.

I found a spider in my soup! Ahhhhh!

How does he do with his eyeballs?

There were lots of spooky things going on last night. But we were all terrified by this:
This apparition took us all by surprise and we fled in terror.

Whew. It's just Camille.

And Mike.

Brooke requested the ugly ones since she and Tyler had to miss the festivities this year. We put Brooke on speakerphone so she didn't feel left out. There are for you Brooke (well, some of these aren't ugly, just funny):
That's it for our super creepy fun.

Tricks of the Trade

2008-10-07T11:55:00.001-07:00

I thought this information may be helpful to some. I found myself not knowing all of these little tricks, so enjoy some tech tips:

Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User
by David Pogue, New York Times

Living the Wisconsin High Life

2008-09-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Standing in front of North Point Lighthouse, Milwaukee's first lighthouse.

This place is full of cool architecture. Look at this home!
Brooke, Katelyn and I in front of dirty Lake Michigan water. A little while later I chased crowds of seagulls to make Katelyn laugh. I'm pretty good at that.
Even the water pump house was gorgeous. This is Victorian architecture at its best.
On a stone bridge. I didn't have high expectations for Wisconsin. But it really has been a beautiful place to visit and enjoy. There are so many charming little houses and buildings. We have had a pretty lazy day today. We woke up and hung around this morning. Brooke and I made hairbows (her budding business) while Thomas worked. After lunch and Katelyn's nap we went out to some of these places. Then we picked up Tyler and ate at Kopp's. The hamburgers were three times the size of normal hamburgers but other than that were unexceptional. The custard though. We loved the custard and are going to go back about five more times before we leave on Wednesday. Katelyn loved it too. She was pushing Brooke out of the way to get more of it. We are having a great time here. Thanks Brooke and Tyler!

One More Really Fun Picture

2008-09-27T18:14:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist throwing this one up as well. Erin is just beautiful!

Science and Progress

2008-09-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

We took off for Chicago and Wisconsin last night. Erin has an advising conference next week in the Windy city, so we decided to come out a couple of days early and see the Hedins in Milwaukee and the Hollingshauses in Plainfield, Illinois. Thanks to Joy and Matt for letting us stay the night and for being so hospitable.
Joy took us up to Chicago and got us into the Science and Industry Museum.

We looked at the U-505, a German submarine that the US Navy captured in 1944.Erin decided she wanted to be a little taller, even if it was mostly her torso and arms that grew.I enjoyed the planes and fast cars.
And our super cute niece Katelyn posed for a bunch of pictures, including this gem.
Now we are in Milwaukee (Wauwatosa, actually), and we have already downed a Sprecher (root) beer. This town has a German feel to it for some reason. It's nice. We are having a good time with Brooke and Tyler; more to come in the coming days as we plan to explore Wisconsin (cheese curds and Lake Michigan are on the docket).

"Hi, I'm Spokesmodel Barbie ..."

2008-09-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

As a marketer for my company, I often receive phone calls and email from people promoting conferences, tradeshows and services for such events. But today, I received the funniest offer ever:

" ... a professional ,and [sic] enthusiastic model with extensive Tradeshow experience. I would like to extend my spokesmodeling/presenting/hostessing services to your company ...
"If you are looking to increase foot traffic, increase contact and lead prospecting, and bring people to your boooth, [sic] this is absolutely the way to do it!"

She even attached some pictures of herself. Can't you see Barbie doing this in a Toy Story movie (think Tour Guide Barbie, only in our exhibit booth)? Hilarious.

Evening at Sundance

2008-09-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

We actually meant to post this a couple of weeks ago, but I dragged my feet on the program scan.
Utah Valley University (it's our university!) teamed with Sundance Resort to bring back a summer theatre program at Sundance's outdoor amphitheater. As you probably guessed from the image, this summer's performance was "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
We attended the closing night on a splendid, late summer evening. Sundance is the perfect setting for outdoor theater with the towering peaks that surround Mt. Timpanogos circling the resort. And of course, being outdoors creates an even more realistic setting for "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The acting was tremendous, with students from UVU and BYU, as well as other local and regional actors and actresses combining to deliver the perfect amount of humor and intrigue. We both highly recommend that anyone spending next summer in Utah attend the Sundance Summer Theatre.

Rain

2008-08-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

A summer thunderstorm rolled in this afternoon and has continued into the evening. The smells (water saturating dry air and dirt), the sounds (the steady patter of rain hitting the earth, thunder rolling across the sky), the colors (gray, dark gray and darker gray; deep greens): they have reminded me of time spent in the woods, when my only shelter was in a creaky log building, a leaky teepee, or a flimsy tent.
Near Yellowstone National Park, a favorite camp of mine is situated at the top of a valley between a lake of the woods to the east and a large drainage basin to the west (think wooded valley with a creek dissecting it that stretches for a couple of miles). Clouds would bunch up in the western sky, gradually darkening as they crept eastward. Rain would often precede the thunder with its steady, soft thumping. The thunder grew increasingly louder until it hovered over the top of you, at times pounding right as lightning hit, and if you were lucky enough to be in your teepee at night during one of these storms, the lightning was so bright it would silhouette the trees through the teepee canvas.
I would lie in bed listening to all the sounds of a thunderstorm: water dripping onto the teepee, rolling towards the ground; trees swaying in the wind; bushes and leaves and branches catching the water and then letting it fall when it became too heavy. Life coursed through the forest during these storms, and I often found myself sucking that life in.

Mein Schatz

2008-08-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Erin has been on my mind a lot over the past couple of days, more so than usual. I'm just so grateful to have her as my friend and wife. I can't explain how it happened, but Erin is exactly the type of person I always wanted to marry. I often worried that I would be unable to convince this ideal woman that I was the guy for whom she had always looked. I have never figured out how that worked with Erin, but here we are, and I am happy she took a chance with me. Erin, I love you!

Bait and Switch

2008-08-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

Our shampoo and conditioner bottles sit on opposite ends of the shower, and for some reason while our family was staying with us last week, the bottles were switched (shampoo where the conditioner was, and vice versa). The bottles look basically the same, so for the past couple of days, I have been getting a squirt of conditioner rather than shampoo.
During my shower this morning, I remembered that they had been switched, so I go to where the conditioner used to be thinking it's the shampoo, and conditioner comes out. I asked Erin if she had switched the bottles back, and being the smart person she is, she switched the bottle to their original locations so she didn't have to deal with it. She just didn't tell me about it. More proof that women are smarter than men.

Jump for My Love

2008-08-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

So, we look a little crazy in this picture, but hey, we are ridiculously happy with each other (cue the theme music "Jump for My Love" by the Pointer Sisters).
Anyway, the Texans are in town for Camille's wedding. Good times. Our nieces (4 here so far, one more to come, along with the two nephews) are crazy fun. Here's a shout out to our special little ladies.