Ruth Astrid Anderson 1907-2005

My dad called this morning to let me know that my grandma passed away in the middle of the night. She was 98 and had lived a long happy life. This picture was taken during one of our recent visits just before her last birthday. I think she looked great for her age. More details soon...

Rub-a-Dub

Rub-a-dub, three kids in a tub? Bailey and Natalie got a kick out of Joseph joining them in this little pool. It's been in the 90's here so I broke out this kiddie pool while we wait for the big pool to clear up.

In & Out

Natalie spent as much time outside the pool as she did inside it.

Bailey & "Spong Bob"?

Bailey played with a blue "Sponge Bob" in the little pool.

Joseph gets into the pool

Joseph finally decided to join his sisters in the pool. Wait, it looks like he fills up most of the pool. He can't wait for the big pool to be ready for swimming.

Cleaning the Pool FIlter

Joe is working hard to get the pool clean by this weekend. He has taken the filter apart, cleaned it and put it back together 5 days in a row. We finally got some new shock and some salt to make chlorine so hopefully the pool will be much clearer tomorrow.

Sound Asleep?

Bailey spent the night at a friend's house this weekend. The mom took her picture in the morning when she found her like this. She said that Bailey slept that way for at least a half an hour. I told her that Bailey sleeps like that all the time.

Matching Haircuts?

Natalie and Bailey sport their new shorter and much cooler haircuts.

Final Cut

Natalie's new haircut. She got to hold the lollipop while her hair was being cut, so she was a sticky, hairy mess by the time the lady was done. Mallory held her while I helped and took some pictures.

Hard at Work!

Joe has spent the last 5 days fixing the screen porch. First he stretched the screen, then put up all new trim and is now painting the trim and the inside of the porch. So much for a nice quiet retirement. But, redoing the porch was on his list of things to do, not mine.

Cleaning the pool

Taylor helped get leaves off the bottom of the pool. Isn't the pool a lovely shade of green?

Cleaning the Sidewalk

Rachel cleaned leaves up from around the pool.

Leaves and more leaves

Joseph was helping to clean leaves out of the pool.

Natalie on her swing

Natalie got to swing while the other kids helped with the pool. Beauty has it's privilidges.

First Cut

I started cutting Natalie's hair tonight. I will take her to get it finished up tomorrow. I just felt bad for her because the back of her neck was one huge heat rash.

A Poem about Natalie by Taylor (age 10)

Taylor wrote this story about Natalie for a school project about six months ago. She got to read it out loud to the Principal one day at school.

Have you ever had a little sister? I do and her name is Natalie. She is one year old and loves to talk. One bad thing is that she has Downs Syndrome. She is small, loving and always laughs. She loves to play "Peek-a-boo" and "How big is Natalie?" That is when we ask her a question and she raises her hands. She loves to cuddle up and go to sleep. Natalie is so cute!

Natalie eats baby food and bread. She ate stuffing, Italian bread and green beans for Thanksgiving. She eats eggs, pancakes and rolls for breakfast. She eats very funny. She likes to eat fruits and vegetables, but loves bread the most of all.

Her favorite toy would have to be her blocks. When she plays with them, she likes to knock them down. Then she laughs a lot. She loves her blocks. That is why I wrote about Natalie!

Graduation Day!!!

Bailey graduated from preschool today.

Marching In

Bailey marches in with her class.

The Class of 2005!

Bailey's entire preschool class. As you can see, she was the tallest.

Trying Not to Laugh

Bailey got to say a poem about Graduation Day. She was trying not to laugh because the teacher had told them not to.