Since June...

I haven't had a haircut (I know that isn't a big deal for most of you, but come on, I have bangs), washed my sheets (disgusting, I know, but read on before you judge me), been to Costco, ridden my mountain bike in the mountains, or blogged. It's not because I have fallen into a deep depression or am boycotting my motherly duties, it truly is because I have been busy. That, and our family was gone for the entire month of July and most of the month of August. The Andersons spent 47 days at Young Life camps this summer. We served an Assignment at Woodleaf in northern California and then we went to Family Camp at Frontier Ranch in Colorado. It was an amazing summer, and we are so blessed to see God move in the lives of so many, but we are TRULY grateful to be home!
As a girl who craves familiarity, schedules and routine, my head is still spinning from a summer of homes away from home. My kids, on the other hand, are lamenting the loss of so much attention, swimming pools, ice cream from the snack bar, and no schedule. Poor things. Bean has made it clear to us that he prefers camp life to life back at home. What 3 year old wouldn't. He'll get over it, and by then we will be back at camp. Hopefully I'll get my haircut by then.

                   Peanut turned one while we were at Woodleaf. I made a lame cake in our community kitchen. It's a far cry from the train cake I made for Bean's first birthday. Poor second child.

Bean actually got to play with girls! At home he is surrounded by boys! He LOVED the Dangler girls!

This is his buddy, Anna! They are both 3! Cute couple.

No idea what kind of animal this is, but we all had some fun with it. 

Somehow it ended up on stage quite a few times. Funny how much it looks like Bean.

Bean caught his first fish in the camp lake...and his 2nd...and 3rd...and so on. 

Fishing turned out to be his all time favorite thing. Like father, like son.

We swam - every day!

The whole family goofing off on the basketball courts.

Rob and I led music at Club each night! This is a picture I took from stage.

Thank you, Lord, for the Stryder bike! We could not have survived camp without it.

One of Rob's many characters. Look at Peanut - "Dada, is that you?"

Another one of his characters - Iron Man. His counterpart was Helium Guy. 

Together, they were HeFe ("The Boss"). That's his Iron Man smile. Nice.

And another... Dirty Tommy, a little boy who likes chocolate ice cream.

Love her!

so much!

This is Gus, one of the Capernaum campers. This was his attitude from the moment he got off the bus until the moment he left. He loves Jesus - He is a picture of Jesus!

Family Camp at Frontier Ranch! (We were home from Woodleaf for 3 days, and then we left for Frontier!

This is where Peanut spent most of her summer...seriously.

See what I mean. Why would he ever want to go home.

This girl LOVES her dada!

Although it is tough to be away for so long, I can't imagine spending our summer any other way. We are so blessed to be a part of this ministry, and I love that our kids get to see the Gospel in action. Thanks to all of you who support this mission through your gifts and prayers! We love you and are so thankful for you!

More posts to come - Bean starts preschool!

Camping!

The Anderson's FINALLY went camping! We have thought about it, talked about it, planned for it, but never done it - until now. This past weekend we went camping with several of our dear friends. It truly was a great weekend, and our sweet kids blew us away as they played hard, slept well, and LOVED camping! Camping with a 3 year old and an 11 month old might not be easy, but it is SO much fun! Our kids were troopers - seriously, they were amazing! The Sweeneys, Schillingers, and Rhodes camped as well, and all of the kids (and adults) had a blast! On our way home on Sunday, we detoured to the Timpanogos Cave and hiked to the top to tour the caves. It was fun to have such a great shared experience with such dear friends! We look forward to more weekends like this one!

Kickin' it by the fire. (Notice Cameron's feet. This is what their entire bodies looked like by the end of the weekend.)

That is one cute camper!

This one too! I could eat them up!

Bridal Veil Falls near Provo, Utah. We hiked around at the bottom.

Brothers from different mothers!

When you gotta' go, you gotta' go.

One of the many great views of the weekend.

Saturday morning breakfast: fried eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. YUM!

The hot breakfast cook!

Yep, they are all with us!

We (adults and kids) hiked 1100 feet to get to the entrance of the caves.

Inside the cave! Peanut, don't touch!

Careful honey!

Some Sweeney (boys) and Rhodes (girls) children! Pretty stinkin' cute!

Another amazing view from the weekend. The coolest  moth I have EVER seen.

The view from the hike to the cave entrance.

Summer is FINALLY here!

And I have a new camera! One day I will figure out how to use it properly, but until then I will have fun playing and experimenting! So fun!

Like fathers...like sons...

The Andersons are so blessed to have The Jones family in our lives. We say all the time how we can't imagine living life without Pete and Jenny (and Parker and Easton). Rob and Pete have been friends since childhood when they played together on the same baseball team. That led to an inseparable high school friendship, and despite the fact that Rob went to Tech and Pete went to A&M, a close college relationship as well. Who knew they would then end up in Park City, Utah together one day. We continue to hear stories (some better left untold) about their shared experiences and life lived together. The stories are endless involving football games, off campus lunches, late nights, road trips (including hitch hiking to Vegas), hunting and fishing trips, Sundance tales and the many stories from the Park City bachelor pads the two shared. (This was before they lucked out and married two amazing women. Seriously, who did the laundry and cleaning back in those days?!) 

So, it makes sense that Rob and Pete would have sons that love (and hate, at times, especially when one has a toy the other wants) each other. These two little boys have a very special relationship. It is sweet, and one I hope they will have forever. When apart, they talk about each other and wonder what the other is doing. When we pretend to talk on the phone, it's Parker we call. When we drive into town, it's Parker's house we see, when we do something fun, it's Parker who would like it as well. When we eat something good, it's Parker who likes it too. And when we say our prayers, it's Parker who is always mentioned. (He usually comes after the bouncy houses, but he's mentioned nonetheless.)

My prayer is that this bond is one that will last a lifetime - just like their dads. We can do without some of the near death, totaling trucks, hot tubs during Sundance experiences their dads shared, but celebrate the new experiences these two will share in the years to come! We love you Parker!