Holiday wrap-up.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr, day, everyone! This morning met us with several inches of snow. I got in a workout, Griff trapped a rabbit, and the kids are creating Lego sets in an attempt to win us a trip as a family to Denmark. All this before 10:00AM!

To me, MLK Jr Day signals the official end of the holiday season. You see, since I have a January baby, my holidays continue on a little past everyone else's. I'm lucky like that! We haven't had the 8th birthday party yet. It's next weekend. But, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite memories from the 2016 holiday season -

Class holiday parties and all the fun preparation work that comes with them including 15 Rudolph water bottles!

A collection of artwork featured in the school's entrance titled "Warmest wishes from 2nd grade."

This one was, by far, my favorite. Look at all that detail!

Holiday lights at Hudson Gardens with Madelyn's Brownies troop. It was a cold night but thanks to the preparedness of the troop leaders, the hot cocoa was flowing. When there's hot cocoa involved, these kids can do anything!

This one might be frame-worthy. Love that iPhone 7 camera!

And, the elusive tree that Griff wanted ever so badly to get our picture in front of but the flash was not cooperating.

We, of course got separated from the rest of the troop about halfway through. But, no worries. Team Anderson had fun, stayed warm, and enjoyed the evening.

A beautiful Christmas eve service at Honey and Poppie's church where Honey sang with the choir and Poppie ushered. We may not have gotten to sit with them but it was such a nice evening and a special way to celebrate Jesus' birth.

Our visit with Santa. A certain five year old, who will not be named, wanted nothing to do with this Santa and tried to keep as far away as possible. This picture cracks me up because it reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George photobombs his boss' family's beach photograph and several subsequent Photoshop mishaps ensue as well as Kramer's fake skin cancer screening in an attempt to fix it. The unnamed someone in our picture did get his Santa wish - a  new kitten - so Santa must not have been too offended.

Skippy shenanigans. Remember the time when Skippy replaced our stockings with underwear? I do! Now that he's been with us a few years, I think he's getting comfortable and becoming a little more mischievous.

Penny shenanigans. There are too many to name. But, who besides me doesn't love a kitten belly?

National Western Stock Show fun. We took the Sheriff with us...

...and a rodeo queen!

We also saw a rodeo which was a blast. Getting to our seats was quite an adventure and a wee bit frightening. But, we made it. When I asked Sawyer if his favorite part of the rodeo was the hot dog, chips, or rodeo, he answered, "All of them!" I agree!

And...the birthday. Happy #8, Madelyn!

The obligatory cake and cat picture. This year's picture features a kitten with no fur on her belly. Mental note: Get the cat a bikini top before Sawyer's birthday.

And, last but farthest from least, my sweet birthday girl. 

Happy new year to you! I hope 2017 brings everyone good health, good luck, and much happiness. Now back to the snow.

Lady Penelope of CloudCity aka Penny.

The start of a new (cat) generation began for us this past weekend. We adopted a kitten!

In late October, I reached out to a local Siamese breeder via her website and asked to be kept in the loop should she have any kittens come available. Honestly, I didn't think I would ever hear back from her and I figured we'd just adopt a garden variety cat from a shelter. So, on Thursday morning when I woke up to find an email from this woman stating she had two litters of Siamese kittens ready for homes, I was so excited!

Saturday morning, we drove to Lakewood to pick our kitten. The kids were invited to come with and I was happy for that. I vaguely remember picking up Dusty back in 1980 but I still remember it. I thought it would be an important experience for them to have.

There were 7 kittens remaining and they were all so cute and playful and funny. It was room full of Jilly Boo, JuJu Bee, Jezebel, and Skippyjon Jones! We narrowed it down to two kittens, Pinky and Greenie. The names were based on the color collar they were each wearing, of course. Pinky was a seal point and Greenie was a blue point. They were sisters from the same litter. In the end, we chose Greenie!

Meet our dear, sweet Penny.

We (I) decided she will be registered as Lady Penelope of CloudCity. CloudCity is the name of the breeder's cattery.

She is 15 weeks old. Her birthday is August 18. She is a funny kitten who talks non-stop...even when she's eating. She purrs with her whole body and loves lap time. Bringing home a kitten is never easy but after a day and a half, we're both getting more comfortable with each other. I might still need the noise canceling headphones though if this meowing doesn't let up.

We have truly missed our Sadie cat. Even though it was her time, and we knew it was her time, her absence was still hard and definitely felt. Dear Penny will never take Sadie's place and we wouldn't want her to. She is already making her own place in our home and hearts and will be a great member of our family.

Also, when she's 15 years old, Madelyn will be 22 and Sawyer 20. YOWZA!!!!!

Thanksgiving 2016 - San Diego.

Thanksgiving has come and gone. It truly feels like it came on faster this year than in previous years but I'm pretty sure they didn't take any days out of the calendar, I think. At any rate, we had such a  nice holiday and now all of a sudden I find myself in the midst of the Christmas season!

We spent the week of Thanksgiving (Tuesday through Saturday) in San Diego with family. Unfortunately for us but fortunately for them, Gregg and Cathy were out of town for the holiday with her extended family. However, they were gracious enough to let us stay at their house on Coronado in their absence.

The first day we were in San Diego, we hit up several of our new favorite spots - Spreckels Park, the Coronado Library, and, of course, the beach. The water was too cold for swimming but that certainly didn't stop Madelyn and Sawyer from frolicking and getting wetter than they were supposed to get. We even found several live sand dollars. Pretty cool!

On Thursday, we had Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle Jerky and Aunt Sandi's house. Uncle Jerky was flying the whole weekend we were in town so he wasn't with us. Bummer. Even though we missed him, we still had a fantastic dinner and there was LOTS of cousins playing. Sandra's sister and her husband plus their two sons came over as well. They brought a fried turkey, which I had never had before, and it was SO GOOD.

The whole day was really nice. The only thing that could have made it better was if Uncle Jerky had been with us, too.

Friday: Legoland. Legoland was fun in 2012 when we visited. But, this time was definitely better. An almost 8-year old and a 5-1/2 year old can really enjoy themselves at Legoland. We drove boats, recreated pictures from 2012, found some Lego Friends, and even toured the Sea Life Aquarium.

I did lose Madelyn and Sawyer a few times inside coral aquariums but they seem to have survived. Maybe they were trying to find Nemo? Or, was it Dory?

Our travels were easy and uneventful. I feel so lucky that we can take these trips to visit family and create memories together. Here's to good times, making memories, and happy holidays to all.

Halloween 2016.

We came. We saw. We have a lot of candy to eat.

A proud lion(ess)

+

A rascally, trash eating raccoon

=

The cutest pair of trick-or-treaters I saw all night

From our house to yours, happy Halloween!

Isis Sadie Rula.

I posted these pictures earlier today on Instagram, along with the following -

"Rest in peace, sweet Sadie. May you now enjoy all the ice water, cheese, beer, and tuna you like and may there always be a lap for you in the sunshine."

We lost our sweet Sadie two Mondays ago.

She was diagnosed with chronic renal failure (kidney disease) in October 2014. While it's fairly common with cats, it's still an unpleasant diagnosis. By this past June, she had progressed to stage 4 renal failure which meant her kidneys had lost 85% of their normal function.

Bless her big heart, she did her best to keep trucking along. Mind you, she was no spring chicken. Our girl was just shy of her 16th birthday! At any rate, she was also developing arthritis in her knees and hips which was making life significantly more difficult.

After a long weekend of knowing, both on our part and hers, I called the vet on Monday, September 19, and took her in for one last appointment.

We had her cremated. Today, we buried her ashes under the pine tree in the corner of our yard. She's right below the bird feeder so there's excellent TV. Plus, that spot gets plenty of sunshine. She always did love to sunbathe. We gave her an ice cube, two different kinds of cheese, and some strips of paper to notarize.

I'm so thankful for the life that kitten experienced with me. She loved Griff from the first minute he began coming to our apartment. It's like she just knew! And, I'm thankful for the love and kindness she showed my children. She considered them her babies. She will never be forgotten.

There are so many other Sadie pictures I could share. But, I'll leave it at that.

Isis Sadie Rula

11/27/2000 - 9/19/2016

10th anniversary jam.

10 years of wedded bliss.

Griff and I celebrated by spending, almost a week, sans children in Boston and Maine. Madelyn and Sawyer (and Sadie) spent the week with grandparents. We certainly missed them but knew they were well cared for and we had a great time.

Day 1.

Flight to Boston. Dinner at Eastern Standard.

Our dinner at Eastern Standard was outstanding -- possibly one of the best I've ever had. The atmosphere was cool, the service was excellent, and our food was delicious. We had full tummies and passed on dessert. However, our server insisted we couldn't leave without dessert and she delivered  a dish of custard with raspberries and chocolate.

We stayed at the Sheraton Boston in the Back Bay. The hotel was within walking distance to Fenway, Commonwealth Avenue, Newbury Street, and T stations. Once we parked the car in the hotel garage on Sunday afternoon, we didn't get it back out until we'd checked out on Tuesday morning.

On a side note, it is so much easier traveling without children. Wink.

Day 2.

Fenway Park tour. Freedom Trail. Afternoon swimming at the hotel. Boston Red Sox game.

We had the 900A Fenway Park tour on Monday morning. It was the PERFECT way to start our day. Other than the grounds crew, we were almost the only people in the park. Fenway Park is such a neat stadium with so much history and so many preserved artifacts. Even if you're not a baseball aficionado, I would recommend the tour.

Standing on Yawkey Way.

Original grandstand seats.

View from atop the green monster.

Our ballpark tour wrapped up at 1000A. We walked back to the hotel, sunscreen-ed up, and headed north to the T station. We picked up the T near the convention center and rode up to North Station. Our plan was to follow the Freedom Trail from the north southward.

If you are the least bit interested in United States history, the Freedom Trail is such an incredible experience. The red brick path insures you don't get lost along the 2-1/2 mile walk. It wanders from point to point through the various neighborhoods. In the North End, I truly felt like I could envision it 250 years ago before our country gained its independence. And, the fact that the settlers built all these churches and homes and meeting houses without the use of modern construction tools constantly blew my mind.

Street's a little uneven.

We capped off day one by attending the Red Sox - Orioles baseball game. Talk about a fun place to watch a game. The fans are so devoted. We now consider ourselves Red Sox fans.

Oh, and I figured out we walked a half marathon, logging over 25K steps. Whoa!

Day 3.

Breakfast on Newbury Street. Drove to Camden, Maine. Lobster roll for lunch. Sunset schooner sail aboard the Appledore II.

We stayed at the Lord Camden Inn in Camden, Maine. It was right in the center of main street and across from the harbor. Our room was on the fourth floor and we had incredible views. Both mornings, I watched the sunrise over Penobscot Bay. And, I didn't even have to get out of bed for it!

View from our 4th floor balcony.

Our first evening in Camden, Griff really wanted to go on "an old people cruise". I was wanting to hold off until our second day but caved and we went that night. We booked a sunset cruise on Appledore II. While it's true we were the only people under 50, other than the crew, that didn't matter. It was a 2-hour sail from the harbor out to wherever the wind blows you and back. And, Griff got picked to help raise the main sail. Thank goodness for our youth!

Raising the main sail.

Returning to Camden Harbor.

Sunset over Penobscot Bay.

Day 4.

Run from Camden to Rockport (and back). Walked the Rockland Breakwater. Lobster roll for lunch, again. Low key pizza and salad dinner from Camden House of Pizza.

According to Fodor's Travel, the walk from Rockport to Camden is one of the prettiest in the world. We did it from Camden to Rockport, and back, and can agree that Fodor's Travel was not lying.

Rockport's harbor was much quieter than Camden's although it was still fairly early in the morning. We saw the remains of lime kilns that were used 200 years ago when Rockport lime was harvested, processed, and loaded into windjammers to be taken to Boston or wherever lime was needed in construction. What's cool is the trains would pull up above and behind these, dump in the lime, it would get processed in the kilns, and then loaded into windjammers docked directly in front of them to sail off to wherever. The railroad tracks are gone and the harbor has been changed. Now there's a gravel road instead of water right in front of these but still...so hard to imagine!

After our run, we cleaned up and went to Rockland to visit the Rockland Breakwater. It's a man-made granite pier, built in the 1800's, that is 7/8 of a mile long with the Rockland Harbor Light House at its far end. Due to tides, the breakwater is only "open" from 1100A-200P. The walk out is a little disorienting but nonetheless incredible.

The lighthouse is W A Y out there in the distance.

Day four's lobster roll came from a little roadside lobster shack called Claws. The line was long but the food was worth it. This was my favorite lobster roll of our trip.

My future's so bright, I've got to wear shades.

Lobster PILED high. Yum!

Day 5.

Drove to Portland, Maine. Visited Fort Williams and the Portland Harbor Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. This was awesome. Walked around the Old Port in Portland, Maine, and visited Harbor Fish Market. Almost got pooped on by seagulls but - HA HA! - they missed us. Dinner at Walter's.

I had heard about Portland Harbor Light but I wasn't familiar with Fort Williams. Holy cow. Fort Williams -- what's left of it, at least -- is so interesting. The remains of the batteries and bunkers for placing and sweeping mines during World War I are still present and accessible. And, the cliff walk was breathtaking. It's hard to imagine axis forces trying to get access to Portland during this time but I read on one of the plaques that a U-boat was intercepted in Casco Bay...which is just around the corner from Cape Elizabeth. It really brings the world wars so close to home.

Seriously. This state is so photogenic.

Beautiful day.

Day 6.

Drove back to Boston. Flight home...FIRST CLASS.

We had a very full trip, both with activities and fun. It was so nice to be alone together. I realize those two words are in opposition but whatever. I ain't no grammar expert.

It was nice returning home and getting back into our normal routine. Grammy and Grandad and Honey and Poppie obviously fed Madelyn and Sawyer because I swear they grew while we were gone. Thank you for making our trip possible...and for feeding the kids.

Griff, here's to 10 years and many more. Thank you for choo choo choosing me.

Big Cat

Guess who read this book to me the other night all by himself? That's right - Sawyer!

It's a sweet book about two kids and their big cat. But, it's even sweeter when it's being read to you by a sweet 5-year old who loves cats. He did a great job and melted my heart.

Sometimes, as the second child, the milestones don't get documented as thoroughly as they do with the first child. Well, consider this milestone documented.

Way to go, Sawyer!