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A Day at the Aquatic Center

Note - this isn't a video, don't press play - it's just this one page of pictures.

On Friday, July 3rd Kevin had a day off. We ventured out to "The Beach" (Rigby Lake) but there was a BIG thunder and lightning storm. So off to the Aquatic Center we went instead - with a great view from the van of the beautiful lightning. We had a free summer pass the kids earned from the Summer Reading Program at the Library. Not bad, all we had to pay was $3 for 3 life jackets.

Audrey was swimming a lot on her own. She is getting good! She loves to do underwater tea parties and of course, like mother like daughter, lots of flips! I love her back float. And, she finally went down the slide for the first time.

Kyle was going crazy in the water as usual. He really loves it too. He was brave enough to go down the slide also and that shocked me. Audrey and he went down it 10 times. The last time he went down it, he twisted his body so he landed in the water facing the slide. He called it his "trick" and I was impressed!

Kaden was having fun on the stairs as usual. He wanted to take swimming lessons so bad last year (he was too young and was ticked when the other two got in and tried to jump in himself) but he wouldn't really let me do anything with him in the water. I am going to sign him up for lessons and see if he'll get a little more comfortable. He does blow some mad bubbles, though!

It turned out to be a good time for all!

Birthdays - Kaden, Sage and Melanie

Kaden's three - June 15th, 2009!

We woke Kaden up before Kev left for work so it was early for summer (and for how late we got to bed.) He was a trooper and was happy to be sung to and to see his present!

O.k he was more than happy, he was thrilled!



He got to ride it to breakfast. (That's the last time it was in the house.)




The other two kids like pancakes and french toast the best like dad. Not Kaden, his favorite breakfast is eggs, potatoes and cheese!



So his b-day breakfast was different than what the other kids usually get!

I love how he always has a different expression for every minute! He's so fun to watch!

Later that day we went outside to play and he showed us some interesting moves on the scooter!

He learned this one from Audrey!

That night Pops and Grandma Anderson took us all to Olive Garden to celebrate! (Kaden's such a ham!)

These guys are two of a kind! They are so alike in SO many ways!

Kaden's no shy guy, he loved being sung to!

He's thinking, "Don't stop anytime soon, ladies!"

Being the rebel my mom is (if you know her, you know I'm kidding) she brought homemade cupcakes into Olive Garden and broke them out after we finished dinner! They did not disappoint!

The Sunday after Kade's real b-day we had a party after church with Kev's fam in town!

The party hat was on his head for two minutes - TOPS!

Kade was showered with wonderful gifts!

Looking at this picture of cousin Michael - I'm thinking...Kaden in 2 years?! (Kade's always looked like Mike!)

Grandma and Grandpa Hansen goofin off!

Mike's had a growth spurt - he almost looks too big for the kiddie chair!

Kade getting "showered."

Kaden after Uncle Steve showered him! (Also, pictured, Aunt Melanie and Aunt Mindy.)

This kid has a smile so big you can't help smiling back!

Big breath for a little guy!

Almost!

"Da Boys!" (Kyle, Kaden and Michael.)

After the party he wore his new Handy Manny pjs from Grandma! Aw, he's just so cute!

Rewind three years and here he is the day he was born!

The day he came home was a fun one!

Kyle ready to be the big brother!

A couple weeks old and so tiny!

Kyle thought he looked like he needed a blessing!

So precious!

Best friends!

The 4th of July - getting ready to go see the fireworks!

You have always been Audrey's doll to hold and play with - still are to this day!

At the fireworks by the river with Daddy and Mommy!

Kaden I want you to know that you are such a special blessing in your family's life!

You are one of the happiest, cutest, funniest, joyful kid's we've ever known - and always have been this way, even when you were a baby! You are very talented at singing, dancing and acting like your siblings but you also have always been very strong in sports. One of you first words was "Ball" and you love playing any game with balls. You are very good at Basketball, Baseball and Soccer! Kaden you are so easy going and are pretty much happy and having fun unless you're really hungry or tired. You are so funny, here are just a few funny things you've said or done lately:

1.) For the last year since you've had a full vocabulary (oh ya, you're an advanced talker like your sister was and boy do you like to talk it up) when you're talking about something you think is serious or important for us to hear (almost everything) you squint your right eye and the top of the right side of your mouth goes up!

2.) When you play hide and seek, after you count to 10 you say "Here I go not, here I come!"

3.) When you see pictures of you as a baby you call yourself a "Born baby."

4.) Since mom, dad and Audrey have been doing the play "Joseph" and singing it a lot you've been singing the songs around the house. Your version of "You and your dreamcoat ahead of your time" is "You and your dream, gonna have a good time!"

5.) When you see pictures of mom with you in my tummy you say "That's me before you and dad fixed me with tape - you put my head on, then my arm, then my leg..."

6.) I could go on and on but the last thing I want to put here is that you've always been very thankful. From the time you were one year old you would say "thank you" about anything and everything you were given or that was done for you. That's stuck with you. When your dad was building our new house, everytime you would come to see it you would say "Thank you for the kitchen or thank you for the living room, etc." When he painted your room blue and you saw if for the first time you were so excited and said "Oh, thank you daddy, thank you for my blue room" over and over again. To this day your room is "My Blue Room."

7.) I want to add one more thing - you are a "Love and Logic" kid. We started our classes and reading the books when you were a baby so you've grown up with L&L. Wow you really get it most of the time - it's so great! But, the reason I wanted to mention this is because whenever I go to get you out of alone time and I kneel down to get down to your level to have our talk about what you did wrong you always kneel down too! It's so funny, I always have to tell you to stand up so I can see your eyes!!!

My nephew, Sage is 6!!!

Where does the time go? Weren't you and Kyle babies (wearing homemade sweaters from your mom) yesterday?!

I remember when you came up for Easter the year you turned two. Audrey was so excited to see you!

And when you and Kyle got together I thought - it's a mini Greg and Eric! (You looking like your dad and Kyle looking like Uncle Greg.)

Then there was the time you and your family came up when Kaden was born. You and Kyle had fun in the hospital room playing hide and seek!

Sage you are turning out to be such a little man. I can't believe how smart, sweet, funny, handsome and talented you are (at singing and at the violin, etc.!) You are a fun guy and my kids love playing with you! It was so fun sharing your b-day with you when you were up here for the reunion! Love ya!

Melanie is 29!

You with Kaden the day he was born.

You looking tan at the fireworks on July 4th, 2006!

You feeding Kaden at the Hansen Family

Reunion Summer 2006.

Melanie you are such a beautiful person on the outside and of course on the inside too! You are such a fun Aunt to the kids and you are always willing to help out with your nieces and nephews! You are a kind person who loves to serve others! We love you and had fun at your b-day party at your mom's! (Thanks for the great pictures you took that day!)

(Thanks Ali for the help! I wouldn't have been able to post this without it!)

QUESTION!

Hi! I have a herniated disc (L5) in my lower back/lumbar area but am getting better. (That's what I get for trying to get all unpacked right away and lifting tons of boxed I shouldn't have!) The chiropracter I'm going to is doing stem/heat, adjustments and a decompression table (it's crazy - it actually stretches my spine with weight!) He has me due to be 50% better by the end of July and 100% by the end of August! (That's great considering when it happened I couldn't walk without help and it was more painful than any contraction I've ever felt from all 3 babies!)

SO, NOW FOR MY QUESTION...

Could someone tell me why all the pictures I'm uploading (I've been trying to do a b-day post for Kaden for a week) will not go to the center when I press on the center button. They upload on the right side (I've never had that happen before) and then I click on them, then the center button - and they still stay on the right! I've tried everything!!!Argggggggggg!!!!!

BTW, notice how I can get the text to center?!

Crazy-Busy is what we've been...

Besides finishing up our house so we could move, MOVING, trying to unpack and settle in, and getting ready for a Garage Sale, we have been doing tons of other things...

Audrey had her Dance Recital!

Here she is in her jazz costume for the dance Kung Fu. It was to a song of a mix from the movie Kung Fu Panda and the song Kung Fu Fighting!


It was one of the best choreographed dances I've ever seen. The judges at all of the competitions thought so too. They won almost every award they could at all of them!


I had another dance mom ask me if Audrey wore fake eyelashes! (Nope that's just Mary Kay mascara mixed with her long, thick and fairly dark eyelashes she has.)


Audge and some dance friends posing before the recital!


I love watching Audrey up on stage - and this is one of my favorite parts of the dance - when she holds her leg up!


This is her in the costume for the hip hop dance Jump Up!


Audrey and Savannah doing their hip hop faces!


This was most of the girl's favorite costume and the dance was so cute!

Again, they won pretty much every award they could for it at the competitions!


The ballet dance was so beautiful!

Audrey is so graceful!


Her fan club who came to watch - minus mom, dad and brothers!

Dinner at our new friend's in the ward the Rhineharts!

This is Heather, who I visit teach and her friend Devon who's visiting at the time!

Games after a scrumpcious dinner!

Ky and I had fun playing this home made game!

Audrey and Camilla have become fast friends!

My kids and the Rhinehart girls.

(Their girls and our kids are all the same age. They also have two older boys.)

2nd Grade Program!

Audrey's front and center out of 3 classes!

(I have to make note of this because this is my online journal and one day I want her to know that her music teacher and 2nd grade teacher both thought she had an amazing voice. Also, a handful of people after the program who were in the audience said she was their favorite to watch and listen to.)

Made this for Teacher Appreciation Day and helped with the luncheon and gifts. They deserve it - I know because I was at the school every week and they're great...especially the Principal!!!


Helped at Kyle's Preschool Circus Day!


They all got to do a trick and he jumped thru the Ring of Fire!


Love how they both need to open their mouths to help them cut!


Kyle and Payton were the best of friends! (Shannon, Pay's mom and I are friends so we had fun taking the boys to the Artic Circle with the slides this year!)


Here's some randomness - Kyle put on Kaden's size 2T jeans by accident and they FIT!


Audrey's school carnival was a hit - they loved the face painting!


Kyle wanted to be a Vampire!


Audrey and Maggie doing "The Hansen."


Kev won the bubble blowing contest!

Look who came to visit - cousin and Ivy and Sage with Audrey outside Cafe Rio!


The boys didn't feel like hopping in for the picture but I have to say these are

3 of the best kids on the earth!

I love my brothers to pieces - two of my favorite guys in the world!


Me and the sister-in-laws! I always wanted sisters and they are great!


All of the Anderson clan!

Liam has grown so much!

(Of course he's bigger than Kaden even though he's 4 months younger, who isn't bigger than Kaden?!)

It was so great to meet Davis - what a cutie!


My niece Ivy is all grown up!!!


Sage is quite the little man!


Kyle was so excited to be with Sage - they are only 11 months apart and had a blast together!


Liam and Kaden were two 2 year olds who love to stuff their mouths full - and they had fun playing basketball together too!


Our "MusicFest" started out with Greg and Liam dueting a piano song followed by Greg doing a few solos!


Greg and Audrey did a duet to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!


Ivy and Sage did an amazing violin duet!


Audrey sang and signed The World is a Rainbow acapella!


My mom's piano and vocal solo made my dad cry - so sweet!


Kaden did a solo on the recorder! Also, not pictured were my vocal solo and Liza' piano solo.

(Too bad Ky was too shy to sing the song he'd been practicing for weeks. He has an amazing voice and knows all the words to any song he's ever learned but he is shy and slow to warm up and hadn't seen my brother's and their fams for quite sometime.)

It was Sage's 6th birthday and he had an Indiana Jones cake!

Liam took to Audrey just fine!

Audrey and Kyle showed him the secret hideout!

It was so fun getting to know Davis - he's got a great personality!

Audrey fell in love with him!

I don't think he minded her either!

Kyle was warming up towards the end of the second day and was interested in Davis too!

Memorial Day Barbecue with the Myers (more new friends in the ward and neighborhood) at our new place!

Audrey singing and signing "The World is a Rainbow" at the School Talent Show -this time with the music.

She was awesome and a lot of parents told me she was very talented! She also told me a lot of her friends and teachers told her she did great. The best thing she told me was that her teacher and the sign language interpreter for the deaf child in her class both said that they almost cried during it. The interpreter said he was very touched when a lot of the audience started doing the signs along with her! That almost brought tears to my eyes when she mentioned it to me!

One mother told me "That girl can sing!" after she was done!

(It was team day at school that day - hence the hat.)

Oh and I have to mention I was very proud of her before they got the right spot on the tape (I had it cued but they rewound it by accident) and kept playing the wrong songs. She just kept laughing and was a trooper at not being embarrassed about it - in front of the whole school!

Kyle had his Preschool Graduation!

That was the only time he had his hat on - 1 second while I sneaked this shot before we left. (There was another kid that wouldn't put their hat on and one little girl that kept asking her mom if she could take hers off every 10 minutes during the program!)


He didn't want to get up with the kids in front for the program but I was patient and helped him up there and after a bit of coaxing (we were there a half hour early thank goodness) he actually stayed there and let me sit down!

I was so proud of him for just being there with the other kids the whole time in front of the 75 people watching!!! There was one other shy boy who never got up until the end just to get his diploma. I couldn't believe Ky did more than that - HE HAS COME SO FAR!

I think Ms. Krista is the best and can't imagine anyone else being able to help Ky this year with opening up and being able to overcome some anxieties!

He knew every song, practiced them every day and never missed a word or note. Although he hardly shared that during the program I was so stinking proud of him just for getting up and trying!

BTW, Ms. Krista told everyone what the kids had said they want to be when they grow up and Ky said: A Cake Baker, A Firefighter, A Dentist, and A Veterinarian.

Afterwards Kev's mom wanted to take us to Perkins for dinner - she takes us after every recital Audrey has and you should of seen Ky's face knowing we were celebrating someting HE did!

Then we went to Subzero icecream because I had told him earlier that day we could go there if he at least got up in front at all for the program! HE WAS STOKED!