Christmas at the Andersons

Christmas comes this time each year...

We had a wonderful Christmas. All kinds of indulgences with food and gifts and fun. Here are some photos from the big day, including some GREAT photos sent from David and Greta in Salt Lake. We missed you guys, but definitely felt like you were there with us!

The Clems' (out of focus) tree. Gimme a break, I hadn't had my Christmas coffee yet!

Our bluebird Christmas morning, and a shot of the mountains

Santa Bradley arriving at the Anderson's house

Proof of over-indulgence.

Mom modeling her fancy new purse.

Aaaand, the Salt Lake Crew's Christmas!

Greta and Ethan modeling their new Boston lids.

Greta, in cashmere deliciousness from SABSS (separated at birth shopping sister)

Adorable Ethan with new lid AND headlamp!

Christmas ornaments doubling as earrings.

My newest favorite photo of my brother. Background Story: David has a really crappy coffee maker. Which is a shame because he likes coffee. The coffee maker makes coffee with an odd taste due to an unfortunate incident involving the (inadvertent) boiling of a lady bug. Poor lady. Anyhow, Sister Aim and BIL-Brad thought it was about time to give David a maker that deserved a spot on the counter in their new home. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the face of a very happy Christmas Coffee Maker Recipient. Yay!

Holidays at the Mudds

Mike and Jenny hosted a lovely cocktail party for the crew - The Clems, the Andersons, the Wolfe's and Jenny's parents the Prutz's were all on hand to spread holiday cheer. What a fun evening! Thanks SO much Mudds! This is what the holidays are all about.

Here's a shot of Mom with oh-so festive baby Makena! Mom has actually been good at not dropping too many hints about wanting a wee grandbaby of her own... :)

Proud Papa Mike with Makena. Makena is getting so big! Someday soon she'll be able to fit into the tomato hat Aunt Amy knit.

She's either scared of me, or wishing she had teeth.

Strand Atkinson Williams & York Firm Party - Otherwise known as the funniest bunch of finance folks ever.

Brad and I made the trip up to Portland for the Strand firm Holiday party, and this bash topped even last year's event! Great food, excellent wine and dancing into the wee hours. What fun! Well, besides hitting the bowling ball sized rock on the pass on the way over. That came awfully close to ruining all kinds of holiday cheer.

But, the party was just fantastic, with all kinds of fun and embarrassing moments caught on film. Several Strand employees should be nice to Brad for the next few months, heh!

The requisite "table" shot, all of us so well behaved.

Uh oh, late night begins. Here is DARLING Heidi, otherwise known as my crazy ass dancing buddy. All photos of us up on the dance floor stage will not be posted as they pose a threat to Amy's professionalism.

The Clems being silly.

Holly is not so impressed with the dancing.

Heidi and Adrial cutting a rug

Things I've Done

Things I’ve done are in bold, with unsolicited commentary in italics :)

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins (Sigh, no, but spent many a Saturday morning in high school at paddling practice with them swimming along side)
03. Climbed a mountain (as often as possible!)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (More difficult and logistically challenging than it sounds…)
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris (oh la la! Want to go back now!)
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables (tomatoes. They were horrid)
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars (As often as possible.)
20. Changed a baby’s diaper (all of one whole time. Benny was very forgiving of my fumbling)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger (yeah, he said no. Another reason I really don’t need to relive high school)
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe (Ahh, tromping through the alps)
47. Taken a road-trip (including 5 truly cross-country jaunts)
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them (during the typhoon strength storm that hit the Italian coast on my recent solo weekend there. Met the nicest English couple!)
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days (Well, actually it was four, but I still think that’s pretty damn good)
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest (dressed as a giant chicken – see Halloween posting…)
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason (I am sure they had a reason, but they never shared it...)
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (oh yessirrebob. Can’t get enough)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language.
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts.
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair (Does a Phish concert count?)
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Winter Tromp in the Woods

With all intentions of snowshoeing on Saturday, Koa and I loaded up the car with gear and hit the mountain. Unfortunately, the three inches of snow really didn't require snowshoes. But, we stubbornly set out to get a wilderness fix. It was beautiful and quiet and just the perfect tromp in the woods.

Koa had a ball too. He ran...

and ran...

and ran...

and ran.

I got him slowed down for half a second to take a picture with his mom. He would rather still be running.

Hurry up, Mom!

David's Visit!

The Bend-based Ander-Clems got a visit from everyone's favorite David Anderson! I don't know where I was hiding the camera all weekend, duh, but here are the two shots that I managed to take. Someone else gets photo responsibilities from here on out.

The Anderson crew at the High Desert Museum, visiting with a Moose. Previously, Dad was doing his impersonation of what he does when a moose sneaks up on him.

The Anderson boys enjoying coffee whilst the Anderson girls, you guessed it, shop.

More Christmas Tree Shots

More photos from our day of fun out in the woods!

Amy's creative outlet in the form of a snow angel

Corey and Ben! Oh the cuteness!

Jess and the Laird tree.

Jason, Christine and the Valdez tree!

The sweetness that is Benny!! Benham did not partake in the post-tree cutting cocktails.

Ummm, late night post-tree cocktailing...

Christmas Tree Adventure!

Corey, Ben, Jess, Thad, Christine, Jason, Brad and I went a-huntin' on Saturday. And we all found lovely Christmas trees who were just begging to come home with us and get dressed up for Christmas.

The gang

The Clems' tree! It took a while, but we found a lovely one.

The Clems' almost-tree. Spencer (the tree) will live to see another Christmas.