Oliver's Fourth Birthday

 Oliver had a great day on his fourth birthday! He wanted a superhero theme and was very specific with certain things he wanted (and happy with them!). He is such a cutie pie and I can't believe how fast he's growing up. 

We have a 12 day countdown tradition to their birthdays and the first day, he got a cake mix to make. He was super excited to make it (he loves baking) and loved the finished product too. 

All ready for his birthday! The girls came down to help decorate. Oliver had a hard time settling down, so Ben went up there to read to him until he fell asleep while we decorated. I didn't realize until later that Oliver wanted to help too, so next time I will need to make sure before doing it as a "surprise". 

Oliver wanted to take a picture of me holding a balloon 😂

Our traditional homemade donuts for breakfast!

For his birthday date, Oliver wanted to go to Coldstone to get cotton candy ice cream. He chose gummy bears mixed in. 

And he wanted to take some home to put in the freezer. 

For his date, he wanted to play video games on Dad's steamdeck and computer (he loves to play video games, but he also is still young enough that he needs quite a bit of help). 

He had fun playing games with us! Melissa watched the other kids while we got ice cream and then we were able to put Leah down for a nap while we did the video games. 

After his date, it was time to make his "cake". He told me instead of cake and ice cream for his party, he wanted fruit platters (shaped like super hero logos) and rice krispie treats. I started working on getting the fruit trays ready while Parker watched Leah for me. 

Spiderman

Batman

Superman

(I think this one would have been better if I'd had another bigger tray)

Captain America 

(I accidentally had it upside down for the picture 😅)

Some of the fruit trays turned out better than others XD

Oliver loved them and was super happy with it.

He kept asking, "When do I get to eat my fruit?" 

 

"Point to your favorite superhero." 

This was a superhero that we made together for the table, Oliver loved it.

And some decorations that Lizzy and Ashtyn made together.

Superhero masks!

We got Oliver the newest Princess in Black book and Magic Treehouse Graphic Novel and he was really excited. He loves reading both series with Ben at night before bed.

Happy birthday to Oliver!

We sure love our Oliver boy! I'm so glad he had such a great birthday 🩷

Anderson Family Reunion 2025

The Anderson Family Reunion this year was very fun! We loved spending the weekend with Ben's parents and siblings and their families. 

 

We started the weekend off at his grandparent's house for our service project. His Grandma Leah passed away a few months ago and his Dad and aunts and uncles have been working on cleaning the house out. We all met there for pizza and to help with cleaning out some things. We were able to make good progress and even the kids were helping haul things to the trash piles. 

The next morning, we met at the pickleball courts (which have a park next to them). We had a lot of fun playing pickleball and the kids also spent time on the playground. 

Little Leah had a cold over the weekend, so she fell asleep much sooner than I thought she would. Melissa was holding for me and I was thankful I got to play some pickleball while family helped with the baby (we had brought Leah's stroller, but she did not want to be in it very long).

Happy after her nap!

Doing gymnastics together everywhere we go 🩷

After pickleball, we took Leah home and let her take a nap, and then we went over to Lindi's house in the afternoon to let the kids play outside and swim in the pool.

In the evening, we made a firepit and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. We also had sloppy joes for the adults and lots of sides that people brought.

The wind was pretty bad, so the kids came up with this idea of wearing their swimming goggles by the fire to avoid getting smoke in their eyes.

Yummy dinner!

Leah hanging out with me while I ate.

The wind was so bad that it was actually blowing hot ashes onto the patio, so I had to turn her carseat away from the fire to make sure she didn't get burned. 

While we were eating, there was a bunch of lightning and thunder. 

The kids were very excited about it.

We had thought about staying a little late (we haven't stayed late in the summer because Leah is so little and needs to go to bed), but Leah and Parker and Oliver weren't feeling great with colds, so we just went home at the normal time. It was a fun day!

Sunday evening, we met at Leah's house again, this time for family pictures. 

I love being a part of this family and am so grateful I married into it 🩷