Fun in the Sun

Last week we had a couple of 80+ degree days. We broke out the splash pad and popsicles!!

I love the blossoms on this tree. Mom, this is the one you were trying to get a picture of. Anyone have any idea what it is?

Last Week

Sleeping baby

A week ago Saturday there was an Earth Day Festival here in Chelan. We had fun looking at all of the booths, painting a can and planting a cucumber seed in it, exploring the cardboard maze, listening to our friend Darren drum for a couple of the bands, and we even got to hang out with an owl!

Last Sunday we were at the golden arches with our buddy Lael. Wade did a good job getting up into the fun tunnel system suspended over our heads, but had a little trouble finding his way down, so up went Jason to rescue him!

More Baby News!

Congratulations Aaron, Nichole, and Big Brother Zayden on your new baby girl. Sienna Rae was born at 10:36 pm last Tuesday, April 14. She was 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Check out their blog for pictures and more info!

New Pictures

Pam Grillo took pictures of the boys on Friday. They are so cute! Wade did especially well. Tristan was a little more difficult to get to smile. Check out the proofs and give me some suggestions on which ones to order! :) www.pamgrillophotography.com Click on the online proofs button. Enter Sanderson as the user name and 041709 as the password.

Trenton and Emma

Congratulations Bill and Sara on the birth of your twins!! Trenton William Nielson came first at 8:44 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 1 oz. Emma Dianne Nielson came next at 9:02 pm and weighed 6 lbs 15 oz.

This Week...so far

Eric just got a facebook account, so we were trying to get a picture of him to put up on it. This was one of the trials. It's a good one of Eric, anyway!

Mom and Dad came in Saturday morning. We left a couple of hours later to go up to Stehekin. You may remember from other posts that Stehekin is a town at the other end of Lake Chelan. It is about 55-60 miles uplake from us. It is a town that you can only get to by boat or float plane.

AAAhhhh! Our driver fell asleep at the wheel! He wouldn't let go of the steering wheel, though.


Before falling asleep

Grandma and Wade

Auntie Leah!

We checked out the house the guys are working on. Just a foundation in this picture.

We stopped and saw Uncle Eric in his cabin. He launched rotten eggs at us. They didn't hit the boat, but it was kind of cool seeing them break as they hit the water and the yolks flew back up in the air.

The waves were pretty rough, so you had to make a decision. If you sit more in the front of the boat there is less wind, but it is much more bumpy. The back of the boat is much smoother, but colder and windier. Mom chose the back of the boat, and buried herself in the blanket.

We spent a little time checking out Stehekin. There isn't much to do this time of year without a ride, so we ate at the restaurant and checked out the visitor center and post office.

Sunday we all dressed in red and black. I asked if Jason wanted to match us, and this is what he came up with. :) (He didn't really wear that to meeting.)

Handsome prince

Sunday was Auntie Cammy's birthday. She was in Kuwait so the boys wish her a happy birthday!! Happy Birthday Cammy!!! We love you!!! P.S. We just talked to Cammy on Skype. She moved from Kuwait to Iraq Monday night. She is getting settled in to her room and her new job there. She says the food is much worse than it was in Kuwait, and the scenery is not as pretty.

Ron and Sharon had a potluck for mom and dad down in Moses Lake. Dad had a chance to see all of the people he met when he first professed.

Tristan and his friend Gracie.

My little cowboy waiting to be admitted into the Easter egg hunt.


Found one!



Tristan and Grandpa shave.

Hard at work

Riding in the excavator

Driving the dump truck


Hi Wade!

We drove up into the hills around the lake and caught this awesome view.

Last Week

I am behind on my blogging again.... These are my pictures from last week. I've been working on it for several days, but we've had a lot going on, which means I have lots more to post, but haven't gotten to it. We have a trip to Stehekin, potluck in Moses Lake, birthday wishes for Cammy, mom and dad's visit, etc, so stay tuned!

The boys rode behind Ashlyn driving the 4-Wheeler.

Caleb and DeAnne's turn!

We went to the park.

Whee!!

We threw rocks in the lake.



You might notice the sand on his cheek and the back of his neck. Everytime he picked up a bunch of sand and pulled his arm back to throw the sand, he would drop a little bit on himself. :)


We planted our flowers.

Mommy's little helper

The finished product

Uncle Eric is home from 2 months working in Texas. We all met for a picnic in the park so we could see him. Tristan was very excited that his truck was back.

Uncle Eric bought each of the kids their own pair of cowboy boots. That was very exciting.

Here are all the kids with their new kicks.

It was a nice day on Tuesday, so we had lunch in the boat. (Parked in the driveway)

Lewis, Clark, and Sacajawea

Cute in boots

Last week my daffodils bloomed!

I'm Greener Than I Thought!!

I just got done reading an article about a family that "went green." It is funny how our society picks up on little phrases, like the recent "going green," and incorporates it into every part of our life. Every single article in the magazine I was reading brought up how you can make eco-friendly choices everyday. I am somewhat of a sceptic to the whole phenomenon. I have read articles (and of course you can't believe everything you read) that told me that "Free-range" chicken just means the chicken is outside for 1 hour a week. ummm...I'm not sure how much 1 hour a week is going to influence the flavor/quality/and overall health of the chicken. In a time when we are scraping the bottom of the barrel for food and necessities, I hesitate to spend more money on something just because it will have less of an environmental impact. (Sorry future generations!) But really, how much difference does it make? I think that we as humans like to think that we have this great impact on the earth and environment around us, but if you think of how this earth was created, and how we were created....do you really think we have that kind of power? Don't you think that maybe God is really in control and biodegradable dish soap doesn't really stand a chance against Him? Speaking of biodegradable dish soap....rumor has it that the state of Washington just passed a law that forbids any dish soap other than biodegradable dish soap to be sold. Rumor also has it that Jason is planning a bootlegging operation to bring in illegal dish soap from Idaho! :)

Anyway, back to my article... A family with 4 kids was sharing their plan on how they were going to "go green."
Here are some of their thoughts:
1. Rather than drive to the park 2 blocks away, they have started walking. (Are you serious? Who would load 4 kids 6 and under into a mini van, drive 2 blocks, then unload them all again?) So, to show you how green I am, I walk to the post office, bank, library, grocery store, etc. and they're like 5 blocks away!!! I am SO green!! ok..on to #2
2. They open the windows to let in a cool breeze! (Me too!!! Wow!! I'm getting greener by the minute!)
3. They make sure the lights are turned off when they leave the house. (Come on, these are not "green" ideas, they are "common sense" ideas, but yes, I too turn off the lights when I leave the house.)
4. They refill water bottles rather than using them once and throwing them away. (I do this because I'm cheap, tap water tastes just as good or better than bottled, and again...common sense! I'm now a beautiful shade of emerald!)
5. They bought a piece of furniture at the thrift store rather than buying new. (If this is all it takes to be green, I'm Sarah Shamrock!!)

So, now that I have officially gone green, I will close with one last energy-saving irk. I was buying light bulbs the other day (the electrical system in this rental house is haywire and I have replaced each light bulb at least twice since we moved in last September. I know, totally not green!) and I noticed that I can no longer buy my 4-pack of 75 Watt bulbs for $0.88. They don't carry 75 Watt bulbs anymore (or 100 Watt or 60 Watt). Instead of 75 Watts the new bulbs are 67 Watts. The package actually advertises that these bulbs use fewer lumens than the old 75 Watt bulbs did. Duh!! Of course they use fewer lumens (some measurement of light) they have fewer watts and are dimmer than the old bulbs! That would be like selling me a 1/2 pound package of hamburger and telling me that it has less fat than the old 1 pound packages did! Of course it has less fat, it also has half the meat! I peered at the bulbs through my green glasses, rolled my green eyes, picked up the new package with my green hands and gritted my green teeth as I paid $0.41 more for less! Argh!

Next year, I'm going red!

A Talk With Wade

Wade: Mama, Mama, Mama
Mommy: What, Wade?
Wade: Mama, Mama, Mama
Mommy: What, Wade?
Wade: Mama, Mama, Mama
Mommy: What, Wade?
Wade: Numaddtnud wdetseks
Mommy: Oh, really? Cool!
Wade: (Grin)
Wade: Mama, Mama, Mama
Mommy: What, Wade?
Wade: Mama, Mama, Mama
Mommy: What Wade?
Wade: Dees moptos
Mommy: Wow! That's great!
Wade: (Grin)
And on and on it goes......