Brace Yourself. Airplanes AND Animals in this Post.

Meanwhile, at Team Anderson's in Salt Lake City......

(1) It's a Bird!  It's a Plane!  It's a...!  No, Wait, It's a Plane.  And It's Not Even Flying.  It's on the Ground.

We visited Hill Aerospace Museum over the Christmas holiday (yes, this is a wee bit delayed), because... guess why?!!  It's FREEEEEEE!!!  And there are lots of big, shiny airplanes there!!!

It was pretty brisk that day.  I was wishing that I had a Teletubby suit like Cole. 

Our visit started with a (frigid) exploration of the outdoor area: 

Nice. 

Check out that big fella!! 

(Having an artist husband means finding weird, random pictures like rusty metal siding every now and then on my camera.) 

Eventually we moved into the warmth for an exploration of the indoor displays! 

Naturally, we had to take a picture with the Sikorsky MH-53, a.k.a. Blackout (the Decepticon from the beginning of the first Transformers movie): 

And naturally we had to take a picture with the F-15 Eagle (even though it's not exactly the F-14 from Top Gun, but that's okay): 

Aaaaaaand finally we had to cuddle.  (He's cute and squishy now, but watch out!  He may enlist in the Air Force and become a hardcore fighter pilot a few years down the road.  Preferably, he'll exchange the Teletubby suit for a flight suit that's a little more bad-A.) 

(2)  The Terrain Seems a Bit Unstable...

Another fun thing we did recently was visit Bouncin' Off the Walls for their Wednesday morning Mom-n-Me playtime.  Okay, it's not free, but it's only $5, and Weston loves it SO. MUCH.  I cannot overemphasize his love of bouncy places.  I decided to see if Cole would be as thrilled as Weston by the giant slide:

Jean's reaction:  HAHAHAHA!  WHEEEE!  WE'RE HAVING FAMILY FUN!!!

Weston's reaction:  Okay, next?

Cole's reaction:  Binky clip.  Binky clip in mouth.  More binky clip.  In mouth.

(3)  What?  There's a Rare African Mammal Over There?  Check Out This Snowball!

This past week we visited the Hogle Zoo.  Guess why?!!  It was ALSO FREEEEEE!!!!  (And it will be again on the last Wednesday in February!  Woot woot!)

First of all, I would just like to say that I want to be this lady when I'm old: fluffy, snow-white hair and a large-taloned hawk perched upon my arm.

 

Anyways, we went with a few buddies (Dawson and Katelyn and my friend Kira) and had a grand old time. The kids seemed to really enjoy seeing the animals, but I'm pretty sure that they got slightly MORE enjoyment out of running around, throwing snow, and generally romping about like hyperactive puppies.  Kira and I managed to wrangle them for a picture with the giant elephant display: 

Oh fer cute's sake: 

And every time I took a bunch of pictures of Weston, I felt a little guilty and snapped a couple of Cole, too, just sitting like a mellow-marsh in his stroller: 

Look!  A BABY ELEPHANT!!!!!!!!!!! 

And look, a ginormous orangutan!!!  Oops, sorry, I mean orangutang:

And here are those wacky little hyperactive puppies! 

Despite the two-year age difference, these guys have SO much fun together: 

(4) Cole in the Bathtub.  Why?  Just Because.

Look at that little face.

Look at that little smile.

Look at that giant monster baby mauling C3PO.  Crush him!  CRUSH HIM!!!

Have a Holly, Bloggy Christmas!!

Okay, I know it's January 12th already, but.... heck, I'm gonna say it!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

(Imagine that it's blinking, and you hear bells in the background, and a distant "Ho Ho Ho!")

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  We usually head back to Pennsylvania for the holidays, so we weren't sure what to expect with our very first Family-Stay-Home Christmas.  Overall, it was really nice to skip the packing and flying, but not so nice to miss the families.  And I always thought it was the traveling that made me sick over the holidays, but... nope!  We all got strep anyway.  Haha!  I guess that's just how it goes.

Here are some of the highlights of Christmas 2011 at Team Anderson's:

-Baby Cole's FIRST Christmas!!!  You can't beat that.  Not that they care anything whatsoever about what's happening.  But they sure love wrapping paper.

-Having an actual exterior to decorate with Christmas lights.  We hung up some white lights along our carport and on a bush in the yard.  Sparkly + festive = awesome.

-Getting to enjoy a crackling fireplace on Christmas morning.  I LOVE that holiday season fireplace action.

-Santa was real this year.  Our sweet, believing child was SO excited for him to come.  We set out cookies and milk on Christmas Eve, and it took Weston until about midnight before he finally fell asleep.  And whaddya know... Santa DID come!  And ate the cookies!  And drank the milk!  And even left a NOTE to say thanks!  Weston sleeps upstairs, right above me and Tim, and it was so special to hear him thump out of bed, run towards the living room, and then bustle down the stairs to tell us, "Mommy!!  Santa came!!!!"

-Tim's office closed down for the entire week between Christmas and New Year's, which meant a WHOLE week of family fun.  It was awesome.  It reminded me of all the time we got with Daddy during our Disneyland trip.

-Christmas dinner upgrades this year: hot Lion House rolls, pecan pie from Kneaders, and homemade mashed potatoes.  (Sorry, boxed taters.  You're out from now on.)  Of course we had all the regulars -- turkey, stuffin', candied yams, green bean casserole, yada yada yada.

-And of course... getting to hang out with Tim's brother MARK (who sojourned with us before heading north to BYU-Idaho) and the ever-famous Chris and Adrienne!!!  We didn't get to see ALL of our family members, but we are grateful for the decent representation.

We loved Christmas SO much that we haven't even undecorated yet.  We refuse to let go.  Okay, okay, we just haven't gotten around to it yet.  But I think it can be attributed at least in part to a lingering feeling of Christmas spirit.

And now for the Team Anderson Christmas 2011 Photo Album!

Gotta do the Ward Christmas party!  See that hulking individual in the center?  I know he looks intimidating (haha), but don't worry.  That's our friend Tony, and he's probably the most humanoid-looking teddy bear that I've ever known.

Awww, look.  Two-thirds of my boys.

Santaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Candy from Santa?  SCORE.

And then, of course, there's the gingerbread house decorating.

Watch the magic happen...

I think my favorite thing about our gingerbread house was how the Christmas Spirit barfed all over it:

And then there's the cookie-baking.  Weston decided that Santa should have M&M cookies this year:

And finally, the Big Day arrived!

This gift from Gangy and Grandalf was the first one that Weston opened (squeeee!):

Tiny Chubbles got some fun stuff, too...

...but he was, by far, most excited about the wrapping paper and the fireplace:

"How about a nice... football??"

The apron says "World's Greatest Dad," and there's Luke and Leia sitting at the table.  Hahahaha!!  Nice one, G&G!

This year, we let Weston choose presents for Mommy and Daddy all by himself.  I took him to the dollar store for Tim, and then Tim took him for me.  And guess what he picked out for me??  Blue plastic jewelry, and a headband with fake hair.  (I forgot to include this  above as a Christmas highlight.  This MADE MY DAY.)

Weston was excited about the big fella: a toy tool set.  (Yes, Santa shops at Costco.)

Overall, Weston made out pretty well.  I'm not sure, but I'm assuming that this is his happy dance.

I like how Cole's gifts are all bright yellow, red, green, and blue.

And we can't forget Christmas dinner!  The perfect end to a day of playing in our pajamas.

Oh, those Lion House rolls.  They're seriously making me hungry as I type this.

Finally, if you're celebrating Christmas in Utah, you've got to visit Temple Square.  What lights!!!

Here's most of our family.  Tim, Jean, and Captain America.

And here are three of the six Ander-kids: Tim, Chris, and Mark!

Isn't it be-yoo-tiful?

There were a number of "nativities from around the world" on display, so we wandered and ogled.

And of course Ms. Adrienne was in attendance, too.  Here are the newlyweds!!!  (They've been married for 5 months now, but I'm pretty sure that they qualify as newlyweds for a full year.  Don't ya think?)

Anyway, I miss the holidays already.  Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good Lion House roll!!!!