The Andengaard Family

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2008-12-29T00:19:00.051-07:00

Christmas Eve at Papa's and Gramma's house is the night we look forward to all Season long. Its a cozy, memorable night filled with off-key caroling, fattening treats, story-telling, and lots of laughter. I can't imagine spending the evening any other way.

Just waiting for the festivities to begin.

Pajama time!

Garret was so excited about the new PJs and took it upon himself to make sure JT had his on!

JT loves Mickey Mouse and the rest of the Disney gang.

Once a princess, always a princess.

Attack of the Jedi Knight!

Dallin's favorite color is orange. He informed me he now owns eight orange shirts.

Our four little, um, ....sweeties!

Who needs mistletoe?

When Papa and Gramma started this tradition, I wonder if they ever dreamed they'd be doing it this many years later with their grandchildren, too!

JT and Hewson - the two babies of the family (not for long!)

Todd, Mere, Mike, Talakai, and of course, Josh Jones

Robert, Teri, Annika, Rilyn

Alessia, AJ, Robert

Sofie, Angela, Matt

Danny, Mia, Mallory

JT had a great time singing along to the parts of the songs he knows. "Frosty the Snowman" is his favorite.

Fa La La La La La La La La

Caijsa loved using her newly acquired reading skills to sing a long. She was so cute to watch!

Papa's traditional reading of "The Night Before Christmas"

Time for goodies! But wait, where's the chocolate??? Andy, we need you!!!

So this is the part of the night when the mood is supposed to shift. We dim the lights, sing the religous Christmas songs, and the kids settle down. Apparently Garret didn't get the memo.

Alessia and Dallin always take the cutest pictures together.

JT and Sofie were little buds the whole evening.

Its hard to believe these two are the Grandparents!

Caijsa, Annika and Garret

Now that's the Christmas Spirit!

Apparently Dallin and Rilyn didn't get the memo either.

"The children were nestled all snug in their beds..."

Christmas Morning - The Descent

There is nothing like watching the kids' eyes light up with excitement when they experience the magic of Christmas.

Hmmm... I think Santa may be trying to tell us something???

So I'm thinking JT wasn't ready to wake up.

He looked a little dazed and confused for most of the morning. He did get the Lightning McQueen car and a Mater truck he asked Santa for and was excited about them later in the day!

He wasn't too sure about his new baseball glove but I'm sure we'll be playing catch soon!

Now there's a smile... sort of!

Caijsa was full of smiles all morning!

A perfect gift for the little artist

The two things on Caijsa's wish list were a Kitchen and a Nintendo DS. Mom and Dad got her the kitchen and Santa brought her a DS.

Apparently Caijsa couldn't decide which new hair accessory to wear.

Look at the pure joy on Garret's face!

Garret loves Indiana Jones Lego sets. He was so excited to get this one.

This lil guy is lucky he's so dang cute! :)

With a little help from Daddy (ok maybe a lot of help), Garret's new Lego set was assembled and on the shelf with the rest of his collection on Christmas morning.

Dallin's only wish this year was a Star Wars Lego set (or sets!)

Looks like his wish came true!

And so did this one!

I don't think Dallin moved from this spot all morning.

Ta Da! Way to go, Dal, now go do something with that mane, um, I mean hair.

Todd was going crazy wondering what was in that big box with his name on it. When he openened it the first thing he said was, and I quote, "Shauna you are such a good liar!" Hmmm... not sure how to take that. :)

Todd has wanted a "Daddy chair" for a long time so I figured it was time he got one. This one is not as big and comfy- cozy as I wanted but it was a good deal!

Todd says he loves it and by the looks of it he ain't lyin'!

The kids are enjoying it too! Garret and Caijsa love their Nintendo DS game systems Santa brought them.

JT loves his new Geo Trax remote controlled train and plane he got... but I think Todd just may like them a little bit more. :)

This is how I spent my Christmas morning. Two year-olds are so helpful when trying to assemble kids' toys with stupid instructions! It only took me 3 hours to put that freaking kitchen together...

I guess all the hard work wiped this lil guy out!

After the assembling and playing of the various toys was done, we headed over to Papa's and Gramma's for a yummy Christmas dinner. There is NOTHING like Gramma's mashed potatoes and gravy. Yum!!!!

The kid table

JT, Annika, Caijsa, Garret, Rilyn, Dallin, Hewson, Alessia

It was so good to talk to Andy, Becky, Isaac and Lexi via the web cam!

WE MISS YOU GUYS!!!!

Not sure what kind of face Caijsa is pulling here??? And not sure why those veins are protruding from my greasy forhead!!!

Sweet Kisses

Caijsa was NOT happy that I interrupted her coloring project to take a picture. Annika and Sofie, on the other hand, did not hesitate to stop and pose for the camera. Cute girls!

Mario Kart!!!!

The serious gamers. I was happy playing Boggle!

Papa reading one last story before we headed back home.

Todd got the day after Christmas off from work. I'm sure this is EXACTLY how he wanted to spend his vacation day.

We definitely had a White Christmas! Now GO AWAY snow!

The kids have been playing the Wii pretty much non-stop this Christmas break. The four of them make up one sweeeeeeeeeeet band!

Dallin Drew on the guitar

Garret Grant - lead vocalist

Caijsa Jean on the drums

And Joseph Todd the back up drummer!

Christmas Party with Jammy

2008-12-28T15:34:00.005-07:00

This year Todd's side of the family all gathered at Jammy's house the Sunday before Christmas. We had a delicious dinner, tasty treats, and a lot of fun just talking and laughing.

Jammy and her four granddaughters -

Devree, Caijsa, Quinci, and Daisy

Jammy with eight of her nine grandsons -

Garret, Colten, Eric, Gage, Joseph, Mason, Kade, and Dallin

(Jace was there but had to leave before we took the picture)

Jammy and Joseph have a special little bond. She babysits him twice a week while I work and he adores her! He definitely has her wrapped around his little finger!

Can't you just feel the love these two brothers have for eachother? Brett A. makes it a point to flip off the camera (with the wrong finger) every chance he gets. Thanks Brett! I wonder what is going through Brett W.'s head???

Cynthia...'nuff said.

Mason, Cymoni, and Caijsa

It just wouldn't be Christmas without the annual ward Christmas party...

2008-12-21T00:36:00.005-07:00

This was J.T.'s first visit with Santa. He looks a little nervous here but he actually loved him and and said "See ya, Santa" as he climbed off his lap.

Caijsa loved Santa, too, and wasn't the least bit shy to tell him she wants a Nintendo DS for Christmas. I sure hope Santa delivers!

J.T. enjoyed the candy canes more than anything.

Caijsa won some stylin' sunglasses at the "gift walk".

Garret and Dallin ran around the church with their friends the whole night. I snapped this shot as Garret ran through the room I was in.

Dallin on the move. Apparently its not cool to be with your parents at these things.

Caijsa was the Star for the live Nativity. She took her job very seriously.

Caijsa is still holding that star...and JT is probably looking for another candy cane.

"Lights, Camera, Action!"

2008-12-21T00:26:00.004-07:00

Caijsa came downstairs dressed like this and introduced herself as a movie star. I'm still trying to figure out which movie star wears yellow Minnie Mouse sunglasses and a purple feather boa ???

Lil' Diva

I'm thinking Caijsa really needs a sister...

2008-12-20T23:51:00.005-07:00

Last Sunday afternoon Caijsa came downstairs dressed as a beautiful princess. Every princess needs a prince, of course, and J.T. was the lucky fella this time.

Prince J.T. and Princess Caijsa dancing

The Royal Pose

Caijsa's way of transforming J.T into a handsome prince.

OK, so the glasses didn't cut it. Maybe this tie will do the trick.

Now that's one beautiful princess and one handsome prince!

Apparently our handsome prince is now a princess...

...with bright red lipstick

and a big shiny crown.

I think he'd rather be a prince.

'Tis the Season for Parties!

2008-12-16T22:46:00.005-07:00

Every December Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Hilda leave their home in sunny California and venture out to snowy Utah for our annual Christmas Party. Grandpa always provides the ham and the rest of us provide the rest of the yummy food. This year the party was at our house.

A sure sign of a successful party...or a sure sign we're all a bunch of pigs!

Grandma and Grandpa

J.T. is the youngest grandkid and is the only one left that gets an actual present. He loves his firetruck they got him. And Mom and Dad love the noise it makes! ;) Grandpa and Grandma give the rest of the kids gift cards which they love. They have a lot of fun going to the store with daddy and picking out a present. And I love the fact that its daddy that takes them to the store. :)

Its not a party without a good lightsaber duel.

All the grandsons (except Jace who was at, um, I think they said ballet practice???) ;-)
Gage, Eric, Kade, Mason, Colten, Garret, Dallin, J.T.

The out-numbered granddaughters... you ladies need to stick together!
Quinci, Caijsa, Devree, Daisy

What a handsome lot!

J.T., Dallin, Todd, Garret, Jerry

Hilda made jewelry for all the ladies. She made the necklace and earrings I'm wearing in this picture. Thank you, Hilda!
Me, Caijsa, Hilda

We always know when the first big snowstorm will hit Utah...it will be the weekend of our Christmas party, guaranteed! This year Jerry and Hilda decided not to chance getting stuck in their condo in Park City and missing the party. They spent the night at our house the night before and the night of the party. We sure enjoyed their company!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

2008-12-16T21:55:00.005-07:00

...but the kids think its delightful!

This is J.T.'s first year to really get out and play in the snow. He absolutely loved it!

Look at those rosey cheeks!

Even with the snow being blown in their faces by the icy cold winds, the kids played outside with their friends for quite awhile!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Riding scooters in the snow. Garret is in the background. He wouldn't stop long enough for Todd to take his picture. Go figure!

Traditions

2008-12-15T23:44:00.004-07:00

Every year Santa's elves leave ornaments on our porch while we're decorating the Christmas Tree. This year they left Lightning McQueen, Indiana Jones, Jack Skellington, Tinker Bell, The Star Destroyer, and a Snow Girl dressed in pink. The kids start decorating the tree and anxiously await the knock on the door!

The night wouldn't be complete without a cup of hot cocoa...and yes, Dallin, I DO have to take a picture of you drinking your cocoa...so deal with it!

Deck the Halls

2008-12-15T22:46:00.004-07:00

I love decorating the house for Christmas. Caijsa shares the same love and was a BIG help this year. I came downstairs one day and she had almost everything set up. She was so proud of herself! With just a little rearranging, this is how it turned out...

O Christmas Tree(s)

2008-12-15T22:22:00.003-07:00

Last year I hit the post-Christmas sales. There were some deals I just couldn't pass up and ended up bringing home 3 new pre-lit Christmas trees. Todd was SO excited he could hardly contain himself. Neeless to say, our home is very Christmasy this year!

This is the Family Room Tree and is the only non-pre-lit Christmas tree we have. I spent hours and hours wrapping every branch. I was so pleased with how it was looking... but right before I added the last strand... POP, all the lights went out. I was, um, a bit frustrated so Todd was so nice to find the blown out fuse and replace it. And he didn't even get mad at me when I plugged another strand in, causing another POP, followed by darkness. I got smart after that and bought an extension chord. I think I'll just keep this tree up year-round.

The Living Room Tree

The Loft Tree. If you look closely, you will see the middle section is not lit. Yes, it came this way (maybe that is why it was so cheap) but I just don't have the umph to fix it after my other experience. I'm just burned out! ;)

The Landing Tree. Only two of the 4 trees have decorations. Maybe next year???

Silent Night

2008-12-15T22:07:00.003-07:00

The kids love to sleep in the family room with all the Christmas lights on.

These are the moments when I fall in love with my children again!

Ok, so the kids are faking being asleep in this and the following pictures but the silence was so nice while it lasted!

Look at J.T trying so hard not to giggle. :)

Ok, so this one is kinda creepy. No, they're not dead...

Good-bye Harold Johnson

2008-12-09T23:48:00.003-07:00

Today was a BIG day for Caijsa... (drum roll)... she lost her first tooth!!!

Dallin was more than willing to help the process along!

Caijsa was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but I was finally able to convince her to let me give it a try. Since the tooth was hanging by a single root, I was able to just twist a little and it fell right out.

Her brothers were so proud of her!
Now who is Harold Johnson, you ask? Well after the excitement was over, I noticed Caijsa seemed a little down. I asked her what was wrong and she sadly said, "I miss Harold Johnson". Confused, I asked, "Who is Harold Johnson?" And Caijsa replied, "My tooth I just lost, I will miss him". It never occurred to me that kids would miss their teeth! What a sweetheart!

The Festival of Lights

2008-12-09T23:32:00.004-07:00

The Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork is a great way to see a whole bunch of Christmas lights from the warmth of your car. That's my kind of sight-seeing!

2008-12-09T23:22:00.003-07:00

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Fun!

2008-12-09T12:55:00.003-07:00

The Brandons had a Christmas get-together on Sunday at their house in Rush Valley. We had sushi ,(not my favorite but I'm told Jerry makes a mean sushi roll!) steak, tempura veggies, and lots of yummy treats. It was SO good to see Rachel and Melanie and their families again!

Weston entertaining Drea, Caijsa, and JT

Caijsa and Gabe warming their hands after playing outside in the cold. What kid can resist a HUGE yard to play in, even if it is freezing?

Malachi, Garret, and Gabe

Too much partying for this lil guy!

2008-12-09T12:41:00.003-07:00

Gabe, Malachi, Zach, and Dallin

Rachel and Melanie trying to get me to eat raw fish - BLAH!

George, Jerry, Todd, and Gabe

Jerry the Super Sushi Chef!

Drea and JT - 2 lil cutie pies! (and Siera in the background)

Redondo Beach with the Garcias - What a BLAST!

2008-12-05T00:49:00.009-07:00

When we arrived in California for Thanksgiving, the kids decided they really, really, really wanted to go to the beach. We were planning on spending Saturday with the Garcias so they were nice enough to indulge us. Our "plan" (or at least the parents' plan) was to just take a nice stroll along the sandy shore, browse through the shops on the pier, and STAY DRY...but before we knew it Miranda, Makayla, Garret and Dallin were neck high in the ocean! The Garcia girls had come prepared with swimming suits and towels. We, on the otherhand, sincerely believed that if we told our boys to stay dry they would. HA, who were we kidding? They did at least remove their shirts before running into the waves in their JEANS.

2008-12-05T00:37:00.003-07:00

" What?! You didn't bring a towel??? What kind of parents are you?"

Needless to say, they were freezing when they got out of the water!

Eddie and Todd wringing out the wet jeans - this pic makes me laugh!

Jen and I just sit back and laugh at our, um, WEIRD husbands!

Caijsa and Jessica - don't they look like they could be sisters?

2008-12-05T00:17:00.010-07:00

Jessica is the sister Caijsa wishes she had. They adore each other!

Josh trying to get JT to smile at the camera

Sweethearts :)

And of course, the typical "kiss on the beach" pic!

We have so much with the Garcias. Whenever we're together the kids have a hard time saying goodbye...so this time they thought they'd solve the problem by hopping in our Durango and coming home with us! Sorry guys, maybe next time!

Swimming outdoors in November? Gotta love it!

2008-12-05T00:09:00.003-07:00

Thanksgiving Weekend in Sunny So. Cal!

2008-12-04T23:56:00.006-07:00

Daddy and Caijsa

Da Boys!

5 going on 15...

We love spending the Thanksgiving break in Palm Springs with Grandpa Jerry and Grandma

Hilda. Its so relaxing...perfect weather, fun company, and lots of yummy food!

There's nothing like relaxing on the patio on a sunny morning in Palm Springs .

2008-12-04T23:26:00.007-07:00

Ahhh...this is the life!

Garret's Baptism Day

2008-11-16T22:52:00.003-07:00

Garret was Baptised on November 1st. It was a beautiful Fall day and we are so grateful for our family and friends who were able to come share this special day with us.

Not Just For Kids!

2008-11-16T22:48:00.004-07:00

We had an adult only Halloween party with some friends in the neighborhood. We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual tradition!

2008-11-16T22:36:00.006-07:00

Halloween!

2008-11-16T22:22:00.004-07:00

The kids had so much fun trick-or-treating! Dallin, Garret, and Caijsa ran from door to door with their friends while Tara and I took JT and Logan around in a double stroller. The boys had 3 friends sleep over that night. Needless to say, the combination of 5 pre-teen boys and LOTS of candy meant a VERY wild and late night! It was tons of fun though!

The Final Product

2008-11-16T22:17:00.002-07:00

J.T. loves Jack Skellington from the movie "A Nightmare Before Christmas" so I made my best attempt at a Jack Skellington face.

Carving Pumpkins...

2008-11-16T22:13:00.004-07:00

It's a messy job, but someone's gotta do it!

Finding the Perfect Pumpkin

2008-11-16T21:56:00.005-07:00

The kids loved going to a pumpkin patch this year to pick their perfect pumpkin. They even got to cut the pumpkins from the vines.

Its Great to be Eight!

2008-11-16T21:46:00.003-07:00

Garret turned 8 on October 25th. He had a fun birthday party with lots of wild kids, fun games, and a Sponge Bob birthday cake.

Birthday Boy!

2008-11-16T21:34:00.003-07:00

JT had a birthday on October 11th. Its hard to believe our baby is already 2! He loves Cars, thus the Lightning McQueen cake.

A subtle hint to all those who read

2008-09-22T21:20:00.004-06:00

I will begin to post my Christmas list now. So far only two items have caught my eye.

First, in size XL,
isn't she a beaut?

Next, in a 7 1/4,

Check back often for updates!
GO HALOS!!

Oh by the way, the man crush is alive and kicking!

2008-09-17T17:58:00.015-06:00

She loves me, she loves me not...

2008-09-17T17:58:00.013-06:00

I think she loves me! Well it has been 14 years of, what do you think, Shauna?, well anyway. It was our 14th anniversary Monday the 15th and Shauna planned a doozy. With the help of Mark, Shauna booked me a flight to LA to watch Baseball with my friends. I was very excited and hugged and kissed her. She told me that it was done selfishly because she was going to spend the 12th through the 14th alone at Matt's house in St. George laying out and enjoying herself. I was OK with that!

Well Friday the 12th finally came and we headed off to St. George. (Shauna's wonderful mother, Debbie, took the kids for the weekend.) There I caught a flight

to LAX from the St. George airport. Yeah me too, I was a little iffy when I saw the plane. Shauna said that she would not get on it if it were her flying in it. The plane landed in LA and Mark and I had tickets to the game that night. What a game! Angels hit a 2 run HR in the bottom of the 9th to win 5-3. I love Baseball!

The next day was my B day and I spent it in style. I woke up when I wanted to. I went to a Mexican restaurant with Mark and Eddie for breakfast and ordered french toast. Went home and watched BYU dismantle UCLA 59-0. After that We had more tickets to see the Angels play that night. (It was if I had died and gone to heaven) This time we went to the game with Eddie, Rob and Mike.

We were able to see Frankie Rodriquez set the MLB mark for saves in a season with 58. (pretty cool)

What a fun night. And the icing on the cake was that it was Hispanic Heritage night at the ballpark and we all got free Angel salsa bowls. Ahhhhh Haaa!!

Thank you Shauna. I love you.

Need to get back into shape

2008-09-03T23:10:00.005-06:00

Remember the old blue Guinness Book of World Records? I was riding my bike the other day and I felt like one of the McCrary brothers. Worlds Fattest Twins!

Beantown and the Big Apple

2008-09-01T13:48:00.011-06:00

At the beginning of May, my two friends, Mark Jarva and Eddie Garcia, and I took a trip back east to Boston and New York City. The purpose of the trip was for two celebrations. 1st, we are all turning 40 in 2009. 2nd we will also celebrate in 2009, 30 years of us being friends. Well as you can tell by the calender, it is 2008. We had to move the trip up a year because 2008 is the last season of the original Yankee Stadium. And as lovers of baseball, we had to make the pilgrimage to the House that Ruth built and while we were at it why not make the trip complete by going to Fenway park. So we did it.

First we make the trip to Boston. I absolutely loved the city of Boston and fell in love with Fenway Park. There was nothing like taking the Subway to the park and taking in all of the ambiance of it all.

The first thing that I noticed when entering Fenway was how small it was. Then The green Monster was there. We had a great time even though the weather was in the 30's.

Next was the Bronx and Yankee Stadium. This was a huge Stadium compared to Fenway Park. It was really cool to see all of the famous parts of the stadium.

Like the famous facade.

The retired Yankees at Monument Park.

All in all we had the time of our lives...next is Wrigley Field in 2010!

School at last, school at last, thank GOSH its school at last

2008-09-01T11:04:00.024-06:00

Finally! Summer is over and the new school year has begun. This is a special school year in our family. This year is Caijsa's first year of Kindergarten. We have been so worried that Caijsa was not going to go because she has developed some sort of separation anxiety. We had her enrolled in a preschool that she quit. She will not go to her primary class unless either Mom or Dad sit with her. So we were worried. The big day finally came and Shauna took Caijsa a little early to get her familiar with her room and teacher. Well when it was time for Shauna to leave Caijsa started to sob. Totally expected her to do that. The teacher had been made aware of the situation and allowed Caijsa to bring the famous pink blankie to class but she has to leave it in her cubbie. Well as she started to sob Shauna gave her the blanket and she instantly stuck her thumb in her mouth and calmed down. The next few days, Caijsa got a little teary-eyed but did fine. Now she is a pro!

Her teacher is named Bunny (born on Easter) Barnett. Caijsa loves her to death!

Man Crush

2008-09-01T11:04:00.023-06:00

It's known throughout our family that I, Todd Gerald Andengaard, have a Man Crush on Vladimir Guerrero.

2008-09-01T11:04:00.014-06:00

We love it when these two boys dress a little nicer and have backpacks on and are on their bikes with chains and locks. That always means from 9:00 AM to 3:15 PM the house will be quiet and Mom can concentrate. That means, 9 months of school for the boys! Dallin is in 6th grade this year. It is his last year of elementary school. Garret is in 2nd grade. They both love school and love being with their friends.

Meet the Andengaards

2008-07-29T23:27:00.002-06:00

Meet the Andengaards...Todd, Shauna, Dallin (11), Garret (7), Caijsa (5) and Joseph (or JT) (21 months). We have been a family for almost 14 years and live in Spanish Fork, Utah. We decided to give this blogging thing a try... so enjoy the show!

Dallin's Birthday

2008-07-25T22:17:00.000-06:00

Dad, Dallin and Garret to a quick trip to California for Dal's Birthday. We stayed at Eddie Garcia's house and spent the 4th of July at his parents house swimming. Later we went to the Moreno Valley City fireworks. Then on Saturday the 5th we headed to Angel Stadium to watch the Angels v Toronto Blue Jays. We had a blast! Too bad the Halos were beaten by the Jays. A few months before we left, I had the stadium post a Happy Birthday sign on the jumbotron during the game for Dallin. Mark Jarva, camera always ready, snapped this photo of the moment.