Sweet June

Juniper is an absolute dream. We all adore her. She has the chubbiest legs, I mean big squishy goodness. She started eating baby food last week. She loves it. I love her determination to grab the spoon and feed herself. She is scooting all over and loving toys and her jumper. Her big pure happiness smiles would melt any heart. It is so fun to dress her in all her darling clothes and I wish I had lots more pictures if all her cute outfits. You can see her wrapped in the new quilt her aunt Katie made for her. Besides her parents, her cousin Jake is her most doting admirer. Jake loves to hold her, carry her around help change and dress her and make her smile. Juni has lots of older brothers and cousins to protect and look out for her. Her hair is growing in and her eyelashes are getting longer and she just gets prettier every day. We love out Juni!

Rockets at the park

Vinegar and baking soda and coke and mentos experiments at the park with our new friends, Christy, Jeffrey, And Katie, and family; Jeanette and Jake.

The best mail prank

This week Joren discovered he could fit himself in the mailbox, contortionist that he is. We all schemed and planned how we could use this exciting knowledge to our benefit. When Paul got home from work today, Eirik subtly asked Paul if he wanted to go get the mail with him. I whispered to Joren to run and get in. As soon as Paul turned the key, Joren poked his head out!pauls reaction was priceless!

Lava flow cave in Bend

Temple FHE and a trip to Bend

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of Passage. His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a M A N. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man! Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, Sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him. Just because you can't see God,
Doesn't mean
He is not there. "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

I read this story about the cherokee to the kids tonight before scripture study. They loved it and Joren promptly put his coat on to go outside and become a man. I told him he had to wait till his father was willing to sit on a stump all night in silence for him. :)
The boys are doing great letting me teach them piano lessons every day. I have been practicing every day too.

Last night we went to Deseret book for family home evening and splurged on all the things I have always wanted for the family. We got a children's songbook so We can play primary songs. We got an FHE manual and two games about articles of faith and the armor of God. And we bought the boys those miniature Books of Mormon. One for each of them with pictures of Jesus for bookmarks. They each picked out little leather journals with pencils that look like sticks that they can use as gratitude journals. The kids were so excited about their new things and so was I! We went down the street to the gorgeous Portland temple and had a FHE lesson out of our new FHE book right on the lawn of the temple and we sang, "count your many blessings" and wrote in our gratitude journals. To top off a perfect night we drove to Grandma Pat and Grandpa Johns house where they graciously let us in for a short lesson and treat. It was really a special night and I could see on the kids faces that they were truly happy.
Paul got called to teach Seminary again!
It's the Book of Mormon curriculum this year so our family is going to get immersed. Patty gave us a special Book of Mormon with extra teachings and definitions and pictures in it to use for our family study. Joren and I have been doing reading lessons every day that we are home and today he read his first verse of scripture. He was really excited.
I just learned that the church released a new temple video? I guess it is 15 minutes longer and I hear it is wonderful. Patty worked at the temple this morning where it showed for the first time in Portland. I can't wait to call her tomorrow. Our stake conference had a special meeting that was part of stake conference that happened in the temple chapel tonight. I didn't learn about it until 3:00 and Paul had a special drug rep dinner where he got to meet the head of OHSU Derm society (the guy who wrote half of Paul's textbooks) at one of the fanciest restaurants in Portland tonight, so we unfortunately missed it. I'm sure it was pretty special and I'm sad we missed it.

This last weekend we were in Bend, Or. It's a pretty magical place where there are gorgeous roundabouts instead of stop lights. Each one has a different beautiful giant sculpture of some kind. The landscape is high alpine with sage and aspen and lots of Juniper. It's breathtaking. We stayed with Paul's sister Jeanette for the weekend with three extra cousins; Jake, Luke and Grant. 6 boys under 10! Needless to say it was CRAZY, but fun too. While Paul was at derm meetings, Jeanette and I took all the boys to a cool cave that takes a whole hour to walk to the end. I was carrying Juniper in the front pack and holding a kerosene lantern with the other. Jeanette was holding Teigs hand and our second lantern. The boys were all trying to freak each other out and Teig was talking about bears the whole time. We had them
make monster shadows on the wall with sounds to go with their monster one at a time. Jorens was the funniest as he played a psychotic monkey. eek! At one point we descended a deep stairway with a metal handrail. I told the boys to imagine there was no light and asked them how they would get down. Then I told them they needed the iron rod just like they need the word of God to be safe in life. Then we sang "the iron rod". When Luke started talking about Goblins and I started thinking about if someone sprained their ankle and I had to try to carry Juni, a lantern and a kid out, I decided it was time to turn the party around and get the.... out of there! :).
We also went on hike to a slow river where the kids all got muddy and everyone gawked at our huge dog. And we visited a lava flow and climbed an ancient volcano. What a great weekend!
We have had such a charmed summer!

The last two days have been, what feels like our first slow days of our whole summer. We have been out of the house or with family or had company staying with us almost every single day since we moved here!! It had been amazing and I will admit.. Exhausting. The past two days I spent hours going through closets preparing for school clothes. The boys were really excited to go school supply shopping last night and to pack their backpacks. I love having them home with me and we have really all grown much closer over this summer, but I will admit, I am really looking forward to school beginning in two weeks!
Life is good. Life is great . We have lots to CELEBRATE!

Dermatology conference in Bend

Tonight I drowned my frustrations by eating my weight in steak at a dermatology conference in Sun River, OR. Bend and Sun River are stunningly gorgeous. I am totally in love with this area. We brought the kids to visit Jeanette, Paul's sister for the weekend. They've been hooligans. I've been distraught. They make me bonkers. It was only one piece of steak, but relished my two hours away and while I intensely focused on my roasted pear and chestnut salad, Paul schmoozed like a champ meeting all the local dermatologists. I kept my mouth shut most if the time so I didn't make a fool of myself and mostly just gawked at the gorgeous smart people and the beautiful scenery. This is one of those days when I wake up and say, "how did I get here to this crazy juncture in life with 4
Kids and a giant bear that lives IN our house.. In Oregon. Really.. Who am I and how did I get here???

Teigs potty training logic

I told you I need to go number 7. #7 is poop. I just have a pee pee bum.

Willowbrook!!

I just dropped off my boys at this wonderful arts camp. I wanted to stay and make art too. Pottery, dance, film, theater, puppetry, origami... Tons more ..and the kids get to pick where to spend time! Walking through the camp felt like I was going to my long lost home. I love artists. There were lots of bearded men with weird clothes and instruments and hats. There were people in their pajamas and wearing layers of funky clothes with born shoes or keens in bright colors. There were hand painted signs all over and bin rage sheets with flower prints as backdrops. There were thousands of origami birds and woven fairy art and tassels and castles and drippy paint. It was my kind of place. I must figure out how I can work there!

Eirik said:

"Don't touch my stomach. It's exotic and by that I mean active"

Day at Grandparents

The kids got to spend the afternoon at Pat and Johns house. I was so thrilled to have an afternoon to get some business done that I would not have cared if they watched tv the whole time so imagine my delight when I went to pick them up and the kids couldnt wait to show me that grandpa had made balloon animals, and parachute rope bracelets with them. Grandma had given them each an old cell
Phone and to Eirik a Bluetooth. She had also helped them transplant beans into pots they could take home. They got to eat popcorn, macaroni, root beer floats, and carrots and grapes. Now that is what we have been missing!! That's why we moved by family!

Sectional

I'm having nightmares that I chose the wrong sectional. I have been dreaming about buying a sectional for so many years and finally got to go and pick one and I am worried that in my anticipation I just blew the whole thing! I picked the style below in a tan color. I was sold because they have a 5 year warranty on the fabric. No matter what happens to the fabric they will come out and clean it for us or replace it. I thought that was a pretty amazing deal and so even though I was not in love with any of the fabrics I went with it because of the great warranty and because it was a six week lead time and I just wanted to get it orderded. I am supposed to be really good at choosing furniture right? Well my practical working knowledge is way behind my theory and a little experience in the furniture buying world is going to go a long way for me. I have tons of confidence buying second hand, but new and custom, well that's all new to me and my hours and hours and hours of shopping online did not prepare me for the anxiety of finally getting to choose the couch of my dreams.
Didn't I just write about not caring about the things of this world too much?? This is a great sectional right? Will it look great in tan with white and tweed pillows??? Why in the world do I second guess myself so much??

I like to make stuff.

Joren was having a hard time going to sleep tonight so i laid next to him and let him talk. This is what he said: "I like fossils. I like whale teeth. I like sculptures. I like to make stuff. Can I please sign up for willow brook? That's going to be my thing. I like to make stuff. Mom, how do you make liquid? Like water? Who made God? I like to know stuff. Knowledge. I want to know the future. "

Today we had Sunday dinner at Pat and Johns. They serve dinner on their lovely collected china sets and each child gets a tiny miniature tea set at their place. They absolutely love it and my kids had no interest in eating the roast and pototoes but loved the tea sets and cousin time. I enjoyed talking to grandpa Rallison. I can't help but wonder each time I see him if it will be my last. Last week when we saw him at Ben and Kim's house I said" grandpa, we want to come visit you at your house." he said: "we'll don't wait too long." with a twinkle in his eye. His stroke has made him forget names, nouns and numbers but he is still sharp as a whip and very funny. I watched him struggle to eat. It took him a long time and could not cut up his food without a lot of difficulty but he would never have let us help him. He refuses to stop driving even though he probably shouldn't be. He fell and hurt his hip this week. He was concerned about it but would not see the doctor because he said, "knowing what is wrong is not going to change anything." Paul told him he had a skin cancer on his ear and grandpa looked at Paul and said "well thanks a lot" with his sparkling eyes. He said something like "well when people get old these things happen, and now I'm one of them".

Today in Sunday School we learned that if someone is righteous they are on the right side of God or their will is in line with the Father. Someone who sins is simply someone who does not do what the Father says. The main reasons people are not righteous are because they are worried about the things of this world or the honor of men. I have spent the day considering how much I care about the things of this world or the honor of men. I a have always been a people pleaser. I lost my temper today. I will spend my week considering my motivations in more detail. I also plan to think about how I can be more decisive, spin my wheels less, and be more action oriented when it comes to making my dreams happen. I want to take some risks and I need some good plans.

I never stop thinking about making art. I have two large boxes full of art that I am not even going to hang on my walls in this house. Most of it is just not good enough but also I just have too much art, but I still want to make more. Why? I'm like Joren. I just want to make stuff! I'm not focused. I'm scatterbrained. I don't remember things. And I am completely obsessed with color. That's just who I am even when I try to run from it.

Hosting Kristen's 30th!

We hosted our first Aanderud family gathering at our house last night.
This is why we moved here and it was great. It was a fun birthday party for Kristen. Happy 30th!

Another perfect day

Another gorgeous day. Jorens last day of sports camp. Eirik bought me a frame at a garage sale. Paul and I met with 5 contractors at the office to get bids on all of the work we want to have done.
Pizza at round table with Grandma Pat and Grandpa John. We took the kids to Costco to get goodies for aunt Kristen's birthday party at our house tomorrow. Eirik wanted to buy us all ice cream with his allowance. On the way home we stopped to check out our third Marshall arts studio. It was perfect so we signed the boys up for a 3 week trial period. It's expensive but you should have seen our adorable boys working so hard to impress Master Lee. They showed their best manners, their hardest punches and their loudest giiups. (I don't know how I spell that). They were so elated when I told them I paid for a trial period. Eirik offered to do 8 extra jobs tomorrow and said we were the best parents in the world. I did feel pretty awesome, but it's not me, it's Paul that is amazing. I remember wanting so bad to go to gymnastics when I was a kid but classes were $40/ month and it was too much for our big family. I was the oldest of six and it was too hard for my mom to take me into town dragging along my 5 siblings. I was so disappointed. I remember having to quit right before our first tournament. I hope my parents don't feel bad when they read this. I understand perfectly what a huge sacrifice that would have been for my whole family. I would have loved to do more dance, art, martial arts, sports, everything and I am so excited that money won't hold my kids back from opportunities. I am also reeling with excitement when I look through the west linn parks and recreation booklet at all the classes, camps and workshops offered. My lucky kids!! The Tae Kwon do program we chose requires that the kids earn good attitude stripes from their parents at home before they can test for their next belts. That also have stripes they earn for good schoolwork which their teachers have to sign, and stripes for book reading! I love it!
Tonight while eating sundaes in front of Costco I played "would you rather" with Teig and he answered all of my questions with the most an animated face and loud intensity. He was spitting on me in excitement. I was dying with how cute he was. Tonight Joren told me a bedtime story about super owls that had 3rd senses which were super powers. The super owls made houses for all the other owls and shared their big homes with them so they were all big happy families. I spied on them after they were supposed to be going to sleep and they were being sneaky and looking out the window and making up spooky stories about what was out in the distance. Then they dared each other to go downstairs. It was fun to watch them scheming and even more fun to startle them when they tried to sneak out. Eirik read his first chapter books tha week. I gave him a dollar. Thank you West Linn library!

Teig says breakfast:bekast
I called the tv remote a camote.
He says "I have to show you funsing"

A Whole New Life

It's killing me that I have not been blogging this tremendous month of our journey. Every day has been an exciting new adventure so attempted below is an account of our move across the country, our stop in Utah to partake in pure happiness, a whirlwind of unpacking, then a week of 4th of July fun at the beach, followed by two weeks of getting settled into our new life. What a trip it has been!

Catching up will take quite an effort, so let me start today by writing about today.

Joren is in Shorty Sporty camp this week at this incredible park in our town. He is learning about softball and listening and following directions. While he has been in camp, Eirik, Teig, Juni and I have spent our time exploring. The park has a splash pad and a skate park and basketball court in the woods. And it also has a trail. In Oregon when there is a nature trail, it is nothing ordinary. Every step is tremendously beautiful. I could not stop taking pictures and exclaiming loudly how gorgeous every single view is.  We walked down a big gorge and up the other side. My boys loved discovering 6" lime green banana slugs. It has been sunny and a perfect upper 70s lower 80s range of temperatures since we moved in. It could really not be more perfect weather. After our picnic lunch we went to check out some Tae Kwon Do studios, and then went to get ourselves a library card. We were all impressed by the new, beautiful library with two stories and a giant children's section. Joren loved that there are big statues outside. I read to the kids and Teig fell asleep in my lap. A minute later he crawled into Juni's carseat and the rest of us read until he had slept for a good hour. I tried to carry Teig in the carseat with Juni in the other hand to the checkout counter. We are a bit of a sight everywhere we go with such a brood. I love it actually. If only everyone were so lucky to have 4 gorgeous kids tagging along with them.
Tonight after we all relaxed and had dinner we all walked to the skatepark by our house. This is not like any skatepark I have ever seen. It has deeper ramps, steaper pitches and tons of valleys.  Joren has been dying to try it out. He has asked almost every day. He had all his gear and lots of courage, but he did not have the right teachers. Paul and I couldn't begin to show him how to skate that park. So I texted my bros and told them they had their work cut out for them when they come. Tor was FREAKING out while Joren was trying to skate. I think he could tell it was dangerous. I was a bit worried too. He is only 5 after all.
On our way home we ran into a bunch of wild blackberry bushes. We all ate handfulls of giant sweet balckberries, from bushes in our neighborhood!! I NEveR!!
I can't begin to explain how absolutely amazing it is to live here. Every day is filled with new delights. I tell my kids all the time to pinch me because I can't believe we actually get to live in a place that feels like a resort every single day. Unbelievable! I am one lucky girl!