The 12 Days of Andersons

Sort of like the 12 days of Christmas, only hotter...much hotter. Also known as The 2009 Anderson Family Reunion (robert anderson that is, not to be confused with the many other anderson family reunions probably going on about this time of year). We had a fun and busy time here in Texas, and here comes the play by play...
Friday, July 31st:
Spencer, Nikki, Kelan, Ansley, & TJ made the drive from St. Louis all crammed together in a 2 door civic (aka: the race car). Ansley was about 4 weeks away from her due date and dilated to a 2, but nothing was stopping her from coming to meet Elsie & Ava! Here are both pregnant ladies in better spirits than I would have been if I were preggers at this time of year...

Saturday, August 1st:
Stephen, Afton, & Brooks flew in from Jersey and Robert, Robyn, & Merilee arrived also. We all planned to hit the ball game but a bad weather forecast let the girls off easy. The guys were headed to the ballpark rain or shine, so it was girls (&babies) night in/guys night out.All smiles, and not a drop of rain! You would've never guessed that the Rangers lost until...Cousin Jared would gladly remind you, Mariners-7, Rangers-2!

Baby Brooks hangin' out with the ladies

Sunday, August 2nd:
The reason for the season...Ava & Elsie's blessings. Check out the Proud Papas...

Monday, August 3rd:
Fun in the sun at Denton Water Works!

Cousins

Carver couldn't get enough of this wheel for some reason

That night it was all about grillin' and chillin' thanks to my latest find on Craig's list!
Ryan loves his new grill...Tuesday, August 4th:
First things first, what kind of sister would I be if I didn't take all the girls to Sam Moon? After stocking up on bags and accessories, Ansley and TJ had to start their drive back to St. Louis for her doctor appointment (at which she discovered that she is now dilated to a 4! If my kids don't send you right into early labor, I don't know what will). But before they left, we had to get a couple of pictures of the whole gang... On to shopping, shopping, and more shopping at Grapevine Mills. In case you were wondering, cousins don't need double strollers, they smush just fine into a single...And Baby Brooksie is handsome even with a hairbow...In the midst of all the shopping, a certain persuasive little girl I know convinced Grandpa that Chuck E. Cheese would be a good idea. Luckily I don't think he minded...
After a long day of shopping, we headed to Cheddar's for dinner. (Note to self: long day of shopping+bedtime+cranky kids-naps+public restaurant=huge disaster.) Hey, it's not Carver's fault that he underestimated his super human strength and in a fit of rage crushed a styrofoam cup full of water all over himself and the table. Let's just say that our waiter definitely earned his tip...we're just glad no innocent bystanders were injured.

Wednesday, August 6th:
We decided to play it safe and just hit the pool...That night we did a little more shopping in Southlake to find the perfect matching outfits for the grandkid pictures.

Thursday, August 7th:
We had to make the LONG journey over to Uncle Jim and Aunt Sandy's place one last time before they move to Omaha. We'll sure miss you guys...

And you can't come to Justin without getting some Justin Boots (or at least trying some on).
Both Robert and Afton took the plunge and are now just a little more Texan than before.

Friday, August 8th:
Time for pictures of all the cousins. Can you believe the babies were the best behaved of the whole group? If it weren't for the magic of M&Ms, Carver and Kelan wouldn't even be in this picture! After making the kids sit still for pictures, we let them get their wiggles out at Jump for Fun in Southlake (one of those indoor bounce house places). It was super fun...I'm not gonna lie: Stephen, Ryan and I kept taking turns using the 1 pair of socks we brought so we could all have a chance to go down the slides...I mean, er, take the kids down the slides. Yeah, they totally needed our help...
On to Babe's for dinner. Who can resist greasy fried chicken and an unlimited amount of southern side dishes? Kaydree was a big hit doing the hokey pokey with the waitresses...Saturday, August 9th:
We said our goodbyes to Robert, Robyn, Spencer, Nikki, & Kelan. Then, Merilee, Afton, and I ditched the boys for a little girl time. Here we are at High School Musical at the Plaza, where my ever-talented sister Caitlin played Kelsey (the nerdy piano playing girl). After yet another stop at Sam Moon, we headed back to Ft. Worth to meet up with the guys for a night out on the town. Here we are doing a little karaoke at Risky's BBQ in Sundance Square. It was really all Afton, I just happened to be standing beside her...that girl is going places!
We trucked it down to the water gardens just as it got dark, it was perfect timing.

Finally, we ended the night off right with my personal fav - peanut butter cups from Uno's (I think I 've made a believer out of Merilee too, yum!).

Sunday, August 10th:
Church, enough said.

Monday, August 11th:
We said our goodbyes to Stevie, Aftie, and Brooksie. We sure had fun and hope you'll come back to stay (I saved your apartment finder just in case). Just look at how naturally you fit in here in Texas...
Tuesday, August 12th:
A final goodbye to Merilee, who has had some great taste in clothes lately...
We even bought another matching shirt and the same bag during this trip, what can I say great minds think alike!

Now, after all that visiting it's back to the grind. Poor Kaydree keeps talking about how lonely she is now that everyone is gone. Good thing families are forever and we'll be hanging out again before we know it! Oh yeah, and if you're still reading this you should get some sort of prize, because I'm pretty sure this was the longest post I've ever seen.