March 2014

 Neil traveled a lot this month. In fact, in one month's time he traveled from coast to coast to coast--Orlando, Chicago, and Portland. Between trips, he came home for the weekend and had a Priest outing to attend with the 16-17 year old boys he mentors in our ward. He almost didn't go because he had been away from us so much, but instead he decided to bring one of us with him. Kade was Neil's best pal at the Bishop's cabin. He played in the snow until 11:00 at night, and then came inside to play games until 1:00 AM! Neil says he had more fun playing with Kade than he ever has before, and he really enjoyed his time with him. That's a cute thing we love about Kade. He is always a good boy, but when he gets one-on-one time, he turns into this ANGEL boy who is SO FUN to be with! This will be a weekend neither of them will ever forget.

Here's Neil at the top of the Sears tower in Chicago. He had some great meetings with the administration of the hospital system in Peoria and came back with good feelings about their work there.

Ever wondered what Grace would look like with straight hair? She has been begging me to straighten it for a long time, so one Sunday morning when my flat iron was warming on the counter, I caved and finally did it. We were late for Church as a result because it took so much time, but she was one happy lady. I kept catching her looking in the mirror checking out her new long hair.

She looked so much older with long straight hair, that I have not done it this way since!

 Neil went to Portland for some short meetings there. He had enough time to visit his favorite spot by the Multnomah Falls. Realizing his meetings were shorter than he had planned, he and his co-worker changed their flights and surprised their families by coming home the same night. What a treat!

This little one just melts our hearts. She has her daddy wrapped around her little pinky, too. Kathryn runs to the door as soon as she hears the garage door open, and waits for him to come inside as she babbles, "Dadda, Dadda!" We should also take a minute here to note that she will soon be "evicted from her residence in the crib. Baby #4 is joining our family in September! We can't wait! The kids have been telling us for the last 6 months (before I was ever pregnant) that they will have another brother soon. We will see next month or so if they are right.

Almost every morning, Dad has been making smoothies for us. He is getting really good at it, and Kathryn is the biggest fan. You can tell by her blueberry mustache!

 The end of March always means that Grandma and Grandpa Andersen come to town for General Conference. We love every minute with them! Neil snapped this shot of Mom playing the piano while the kids sang a duet together.