John and Jenny?

I snapped this picture of Jace and Chloe tonight when Jen and Dave arrived in Arbon. Mom mentioned that it looked just like Jen and I when we were little. Although the roles are reversed as Chloe is the older of the two, there is quite a resemblance.

Snowed In

Amber, the kids, and I came up to Arbon for the New Years weekend. The weather was great coming up, but Dad warned us that a winter storm was blowing in that night (Saturday).

We stopped in Pocatello to see Grandma Dorma and then headed out to Arbon, clear skies all the way. When we got to the Valley, the scene changed immediately. Winds were coming from the south and the visibility was really limited. When we turned down the lane we were immediately thrust into large drifts of snow. Sliding and snow flying into the windsheild, we made a haphazard trail to the house.

When we made it our kids made a quick exit from the van to the house. Joe followed about forty minutes later. We were glad he made it in time because the weather only got worse.

On Sunday they cancelled church due to the west blizzard that had blown in. I took this picture of Joe standing by the kitchen window. All the windows had snow blown into their panes. It was cool to hear the wind whipping around all day Sunday. It is always fun to be snowed in - playing games, keeping warm, and hearing the wrath of the winter elements all around.

Jace Meets Grandma Call

On our way to Arbon on Saturday, we stopped into Pocatello to see Grandma Dorma. I didn't think of it being Jace's first time meeting Grandma Call. I didn't have the camera with me so I took this picture with my camera phone. It is not the highest quality picture, but at least we captured the moment.

We had a nice visit with Grandma, but we had to keep it kind of quick as Arbon was experiencing the beginnings of a west blizzard and we wanted to get out there before we were snowed out. We made it just it time too!

Hitting the Slopes

I had promised to take Johnathan and Aylee skiing this week. They have been really excited for the past two weeks for us to go skiing. Today was the promised day.

At about 12:30 we headed out to BYU to rent some skis. Once we were outfitted with skis for the kids, we headed up to the Sundance Ski Resort up Provo canyon.

Once we got to the resort we there was a huge line of cars. We waited for probably 20 minutes in the car until we got into the main entrance of the resort. There were people directing traffic. Once we got up to them, I rolled down my window to ask where we should park. They said that the parking lots were all full and that we should come back tomorrow. I tried to explain that we had just rented skis and that tomorrow would not be an option. The lady told me she was sorry that it happened that way, but that they could not fit us in the lot. I asked about the people leaving the resort. She said that I could circle around and enter the line of cars again and hope someone had left.

We left and re-entered the long line of cars. This time the stars were aligned properly because as we reached the lady, she got a call on her radio that someone had just left the parking lot. We were ushered up to the lot where we found the coveted parking space.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hitting the bunny hill which is free. Johnathan got a refresher course on skiing and Aylee just enjoyed herself as she skied all over the beginner slope.

By the time we were done, I would take a rest here and there and the kids would take the rope tow on their own, ride up to the top and ski down to the line for the rope tow again.

We had a great time. However, the next time I take them, I don't think the bunny hill is going to suffice. This is going to be an expensive tradition!

Fox and Geese

On Christmas we let each of the kids choose an activity that they wanted to do for Christmas. Since we received a nice new blanket of snow Christmas morning, snow games were definitely on the agenda.

Aylee chose to play Fox and Geese in the snow. She told us that both of her Grandmas have told her that they used to play that game. I vaguely remembered having played it as a grade schooler.

We put together the track and reviewed the rules the best that we could all remember. The rules were off a bit due to a foggy memory, but our rules worked out just fine. All the kids had a great time running the track and avoiding the fox.


Just for fun, I looked up the rules to Fox and Geese and thought I would share them with you all in case your youth catches back up to you and you become involved in a game.

Fox and Geese
Tramp down the snow to make a big wheel and a hub. (Looks like a wagon wheel with a big centre.)

One person is the fox, and the rest are geese.

The fox tries to catch the geese and the first one caught becomes the fox.

All participants must keep inside the paths.

If a goose steps off the path he/she then becomes the fox.

The only safety for the goose is in the hub, but no more than 2 geese in the hub at a time.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from John, Amber, Aylee, John Jr., Aliece, Alayna, and Jace Andersen!

Fun Filled Christmas Eve

Last night Amber and I let the kids all sleep out under the Christmas Tree in order to usher in Christmas Eve. Jace opted to sleep in his crib, however :). We had pretty much every inch of space occupied by a sleeping body. Amber slept on the sofa and I crashed next to Alayna. The night went fairly well despite the sleeping furnishings available in the living room.

I remember as a kid, Dad telling us how he liked to lay under the Christmas tree and look at all the lights. I used to do that too. I remember laying there closing my eyes slowly to watch the lights change into shining star-like orbs - what a fun, peaceful feeling it was, too! I think the kids were able to do the same thing last night as they lay by the tree slowly falling to sleep.

We had a great Christmas Eve. Amber and I spent the early afternoon taking snapshots of the kids and editing the prints to look half decent in a 10x13 frame. With a little creativity, we narrowed the 200 some odd shots into five awesome portraits. It is always a difficult thing to get these young-uns to hold still long enough and pose with a natural smile to capture their youth for eternity. After some sweat and tears, we finally can saw we accomplished the task.

We set the computer up to Google Earth and Norad Santa to track Mr. Kringle's progress around the globe. The kids would run the computer every few minutes to check up on the magical trip (I have to admit, I was right with them too).


The evening started with a very fancy and delicious meal prepared by Amber with place settings arranged by Aliece (of course!). We were living a bit on the edge tonight and gave the kids the fancy champagne style glasses for dinner. Not a single spill ocurred! Wow!

Music and scripture were the concluding portion of our evening as we sang songs around the piano (with accompanists: Amber, John Jr., and Aylee) and watched the "Joy to the World" DVD put on by the Church.

The kids then eagerly rushed to bed as the internet reported Santa's arrival into the Eastern part of North America. Aliece was very concerned that we all would not be asleep in time for Santa's arrival!

Amber and I have wrapped up our remaining presents - there are not too many as we have decided to cut down on gifts this year - all around the board. We're hoping to focus the season more on the Savior as our Christmas gift. Hopefully it turns out OK. We're going to cross our fingers that our two gifts per child limit will be well received.

Well, I am going to get to bed so that Santa doesn't see me up and skip over the house - that would not bide well with the children!

In the News...

On Saturday, Amber took the kids to downtown Provo to see the annual Christmas parade. The Andersen crew who were staying at a hotel nearby for Jace's blessing, joined Amber and the kids.

An unplanned highlight of the parade involved some observers (aka. Grandpa and Grandkids) getting caught up in a fun snowball fight. A reporter for the Deseret News saw the ruckus and snapped some pictures of the whole affair.

I think this photo they included in the paper includes Aylee and Alayna with Grandpa dodging snowballs in the center.