Boys Weekend!

I leave town tomorrow for a girls weekend in Aspen. I am excited to connect with friends and spend some quality time talking about shoes, handbags, chocolate, ovaries, muffin tops (the ones at the top of our jeans, not the ones we'll be eating) and our handsome husbands and sweet little children we left at home! Meanwhile, Rob and Sawyer will be having a little boys weekend of their own.

This will be my first weekend away from Sawyer - not because I haven't wanted to get away, but because the opportunity never presented itself until now. It will be good for both of us - and for Rob too!

The boys are going to have a blast while mommy is away, and they have already said goodbye to mommy's silly rules and annoying routines.

I asked Rob to bathe Sawyer last night since he doesn't get the chance to do so very often because of Young Life. I told him he could practice for the weekend. Rob's response had something to do with Sawyer not needing a bath over the weekend.

Right.

So, last night while Rob was bathing Sawyer, I hear him yell.

"Should I let him drink the bath water?" Probably not the best idea.

A few minutes later I hear him yell, "Where is his towel?" I respond that it is hanging on the back of his door.

Sawyer came running into the kitchen dripping wet, but not before he stopped to pee on the carpet.

Then Rob comes and wraps him up in MY towel that was indeed hanging on the back of a door, but the bathroom door. Sawyer's towel was hanging on the back of his bedroom door.

Not long after that I hear, "Where are his pajamas?"

Let me just say that Sawyer turns 18 months this week. For a year and a half, his pajamas have been in the same drawer of the same dresser that we purchased before he was born.

I don't know, where are his pajamas?

I went in the bedroom just as he was finishing with the pajamas. I asked, "Did you put lotion on him?"

Rob's response: "Naaa, he doesn't need lotion. It makes him weak. We're going to have a no lotion weekend."

Right. Let me know how that goes when the little spots of exczema pop up.

Now, I should probably be a little concerned about the boys this weekend, but after the pajamas were on the no-lotioned, peeing boy, he grabbed three books and parked himself on the couch next to his daddy. Daddy read all three books and even added his own spin to the stories as usual. Who knew Curious George wanted new clothes, was looking into refinancing his home and struggling with this year's choices for president.

Sawyer didn't even know mommy was in the same room. Or he did and he didn't care, because "dada" is his favorite thing and when he is alone with dada, nothing else matters.

I sat in awe and watched my sweet boys. I am constantly amazed at how incredible Rob is as a father. Who cares where the pajamas are if you make your child light up when you enter the room. Who cares if you remember the lotion or not when you are able to make your son giggle and laugh more than anything or anyone else. Who cares if there is pee on the carpet when your son delights in life because you make life more delightful.

Rob has a unique way of making the ordinary exciting, and all things, not just Curious George or Bob and Larry from the Veggie Tales, all things are more delightful when Daddy is around.

So, my boys are going to have an exciting, no bath, no lotion, maybe even no pajamas, DELIGHT FILLED weekend, and I know they will be just fine without mommy!




I just told Rob that I posted a blog about his Boy's Weekend. He responded with, "We're gonna have so much fun. We're not going to pick up a single toy the entire weekend - until right before you get home.

What a rebel!

A Quick Visit From Grammy

Life is good when Grammy comes to town! We always love it when grandparents come to see us, and Grammy (Rob's mom) was able to make a quick trip to Park City last weekend. Her main priority while she was here - spend time with the little man! We were able to spend some quality time at the Park, on a picnic, on a walk up and down Main Street, at a concert at Big Canyon Ranch, and with lots of play time at home! We love you Grammy!

Here are a few highlights from Grammy's visit!

FORE!!!

The annual Young Life Golf Tournament was held a little over a week ago. In the past I have been unable to help out or play in the tournament because of work, but this year I got to do both. I actually got to play in the tournament, and I got to play with my friends on the one and only women's team in the entire tournament. OK, "play" might not be the best way to describe what my team did on the course that day, but we did laugh a lot, some of us cussed a lot - Shelley, and we had a great time. Not only that, but we got last place! Usually last place means no prize and no bragging rights, but because of some generous donors this year, all teams received a prize - including our last place team. We all got new golf bags - not your typical prize for last place! Woo Hoo. The great thing is, all of us needed new golf bags. That 's not something you buy when you only play a few times a year, but now that we have new bags, we want to get out there and put them to good use.
We are looking forward to next year, and we are ok with the fact that we might receive last place once again. Who knows, maybe we'll be awarded new clubs!

On a sidenote - I ended the tournament with the same ball I started with. For those of you who don't play golf, this means nothing. For those of you who do, that's right, one ball for all 18 holes, and there is a lot of water, backyards, and crazy out of bounds areas on the course. I don't mean to brag - ok, I do.

I lost that ball two days later when Rob and I played nine holes on the same course. Bummer.

The only women's team. We look better than we play.

The last place winners and their new golf bags!

Rob sporting the pants I begged him not to wear.

A Fall Surprise!

Fall is here in Park City, and with it comes so much! Red and orange hues on the mountains, speckled Aspen leaves in our yard, cool mornings and warm Chai Tea, sweaters that have been packed away (for a short time - really, most of them remained within reach), fall scented candles, college football, beautiful afternoons and evenings, bike rides across golden leaf paved trails, home football games, Young Life clubs, and Halloween candy aisles at the grocery store. (I already bought Milky Ways and stuck them in the freezer. I love frozen Milky Ways!) With the good also comes a lonely hummingbird feeder on our back porch, the occassional downright cold morning where ice covers the grass and roof, empty trees, school (but I'm not teaching this year so who cares!!!), early sunsets, the end of summer, a farewell to flip-flops and shorts, and spiders making their way into our house for a warm place to sleep. We are used to and can handle the typical, smaller spiders that are easy to get rid of and are not very intimidating. However, as Sawyer and I were leaving the house a few days ago, this is what was resting on the door frame of our front door!






The pictures do no justice to the size of this HUGE spider. The good news is he was outside the house and not in! Rob and I did a little research and think it is called a Wolf Spider. The name sounds bad, but the spider is pretty harmless. They bite but they are not deadly. (For a while, we thought it was a Hobo Spider whose bite can take up to TWO years to heal.)

I caught our friend in a tupperware container and Rob took him to one of our Young Life kids who took him to his Biology teacher. He reported that he will probably kill and disect the spider at one point this year.

Spiders aren't the only creatures haunting me. Yesterday morning, I almost stepped on a snake while I was jogging on the trail near our house - I jumped over him in mid-stride. When I got home from my jog, Rob and Sawyer were in the garage and we discovered a dead bird under my car. My car stays parked in our garage and the garage door stays down. That means some critter carried it under there. Great.

OK grandparents. Who cares about a stupid spider. Here are a few photos of the boy.

Guitars, Cadillacs and Dwight Yoakum

Rob emceed a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser a few weeks ago (in between our assignment and leaving for Family Camp) and took part in the silent auction. He made a modest bid on some VIP Dwight Yoakum tickets and won! (Actually, his friend bid more than him, but Rob convinced him to scratch off his name!) So, Rob and I went to the Dwight Yoakum concert at Deer Valley on Saturday night. We had a reserved parking spot and reserved seats. Dressed in tight bluejeans, a jean jacket with rhinestone roses, and his signature cowboy hat, Dwight stomped those pointed cowboy boots, swung those pencil legs, and shook his skinny hips while singing all of his old tunes we love - and some I had never heard that he used to play in bars in his younger days. It truly was a great concert, and Dwight and his band are great performers. It was the perfect evening including great weather, awesome music, my sweet husband who packed a picnic basket with snacks and wine, a great parking spot and great seats, and best of all, we got to take in all the bad dancing taking place around us. The dancing got worse as the evening progressed and more and more people were courageous enough (or drunk enough) to stand up and dance. It was painful to watch a few of the ladies - I was embarrassed for them. But, you know what, they had fun. We did too!

Now that I'm Home...

I enjoy eating out with mom and dad, taking in the awesome Park City weather, riding Truman and rolling around in his dog bed even though mommy says not to, playing outside at the Farmer's Market and Concert in the Park, sleeping in my own bed, reading books repeatedly throughout the day, bike rides with mom and dad, and most of all, I enjoy playing in Truman's water bowl. It seems that in my time away from home, I forgot that was a "no no."
Life is good!!
I'm off to get into some trouble!
Sawyer

Our Last Summer Adventure!

As you probably know if you have been keeping up with the blog, it has been a Young Life filled summer for the Andersons. We have been gone more than we have been home. It has been a bit crazy at times, but truly rewarding in so many ways. However, it feels incredibly good to be back home, and Sawyer is SO happy to be sleeping in his own bed again and not the pack n play. Rob has been gone 8 and 1/2 weeks total this summer, and Sawyer and I have been gone 6 weeks. Our last trip took place right after Family Camp. Rob and Sawyer and I stayed in Colorado for the week for a little down time - it was a trip that had nothing to do with Young Life and Rob didn't have to work! Woo Hoo! We spent the week with the Hopkins family from Houston - Paul and Tracy are my dear friends from back home. Tracy was my Maid of Honor in our wedding, and since then she has had two sweet children, Harper (2) and Ahser (9mos). We LOVE the Hopkins family and are thankful that we were able to spend a week with them. We did a little sight seeing, watched some Olympics, we relaxed in the hot tub, the kids did a lot of napping and playing (we napped some as well), Rob was able to fly fish (he caught 6 fish!!), and we were able to catch up with our sweet friends. It was some much needed down time! The day after we returned home, Rob left for the weekend for our annual Leadership Retreat to kick off the new Young Life season. Let the whirlwind begin!!!!

Here are a few snapshots from the week!