2016 Christmas Letter...Happy New Year

December 2016

Dear Friends and Family

Well it’s past time for the annual Anderson newsletter.  With Facebook, Snapchat, I don’t know how relevant an annual newsletter really is anymore.   It seems like everyone is up to date on all our activities.  So, just some highlights about the year. 

Marlene is still doing multiple jobs.  She works in the temple, is visiting teacher coordinator for the ward, and teaches relief society.  Oh, she’s also the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Company President for the local area.  She takes care of Brad & Katie’s kids once a week.  And she keeps track of me.  I don’t know which job is hardest!  In 2017 they will release her as a teacher in the relief society. 

She loves taking the grandkids when she can.  We try to schedule an “outing” each month with one group or another.  We usually go to the Discovery Science Center in Orange County.  But the kids are getting older and becoming involved in their own activities.  So, I don’t know how long that will last. 

This past year I started working at the Redlands Temple, the same shift as Marlene.  They weren’t sure they wanted me, but since I bring Marlene each week they made an exception.  It has been a very rewarding experience.  There are so many things that go on behind the scenes at the temple to keep it running.  I never knew it would be such strenuous work!  I mean how hard can it be, right?  Well we both come home after or shift and are exhausted!  We’ve made some good friends at the temple which always makes it fun. 

Chris and Emily encouraged Marlene and me to go to Japan for a week.  So they went with us!  We had a wonderful time.  Marlene posted most of the stories are already on our blog.  Emily and Chris are masters of the internet.  Emily booked our lodgings via the internet at Air B&B locations.  They also found a handy app that allowed us to figure out the train schedules and get around.  The first day I fell off a stool and hit my head.  They say I had a memory loss so they took me to the hospital.  But I think they are pulling my leg because I don’t remember any of it.  I think they just wanted to see how the Japanese medical system worked!  I was finally able to convince Marlene that Japanese rice tastes much better than American rice - even cold.  And the mikans are better than the cuties/tangerines we have here. 

I started back to school.  Over the years a friend has asked me to teach ad-hoc accounting classes at Cal Poly Pomona.  But I can’t because I don’t have a masters degree.  Well, about April she told me Cal Poly has a masters program that only takes a year and she would waive all the entrance tests and stuff.  If I applied I would be accepted.  It’s weird going back to school at my advanced age! My fellow students are working on becoming CPAs and I’ve been a licensed CPA longer than they’ve been alive!  It’s strange but fun.  It’s been more work than I thought.  Marlene say’s I’ve already studied more in the first quarter than I did to get my bachelor’s degree.  But only three quarters left!

I’d write about our kids, Holly and Sam, Brad and Katie, Emily and Chris and Wes and Dana.  But they are all grown and can write their own stories better than I can. 

Marlene and I hope this letter/posting/method of communication finds you all well and happy.  Since this is after Christmas, we wish you a very Happy New Year!  We are truly grateful to our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son!  Working weekly in the temple really solidifies the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Like Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 says, “…the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.”  Testimonies grow and strengthen from temple attendance.  I really enjoy the initiatory work.  Those ordinances really make me think how they apply to me, personally. 

Hopefully we’ll see each other during this coming year.  Then we will have new things to post on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram or wherever you get your local news. 

front row: Kyle  Anderson, Mia, Tracy, Gary, Sara and Theo Rosener

Second row: Joshua Anderson, Nora Rosener,Aunt  Emily  and Captain, Derek Anderson and Uncle Chris

Trip to Japan

These pictures didn't get loaded in the right order.  So the story is a bit disjointed.  Here is the first part of our adventure

.Our Son in Law works for American Airlines, we could fly standby on the family plan, Emily decided it was time for us to take the trip that Andy had been looking forward to  for 45 years.  So off we went.

Andy and I decided to go to LA the night before so we wouldn’t be late, or caught in the night before traffic. So we packed our bags……bag, and off we went to the Holiday Inn to Stay, Fly and Park. (One bag, because we could not check luggage, we were traveling standby.)  We would ride the shuttle into the Airport the next day, and leave my car at the Hotel.  Win win for everyone.

The initial quote was $200 for the night and we thought, it included  parking...   But it was worth it.   We ate dinner at the hotel, neither of us are very adventurous in a big city where we don’t know where we are going….so Japan will be an interesting experience for us. 

Got up the next day, had a Mc Donald’s Egg Mac Muffin Breakfast and off we went to meet Emily at terminal 4.  The plane was late, it needed a fix, and the part wasn’t around. The plane was last minute filling up, and we were talking about where else to go if the worst happened.  Emily and Chris were called, Andy and I got the last 2 seats on the plane, Emily and Chris were in business class, and we were the last seats in the last row next to the galley and bathroom in coach.  We were 2 ½ hrs late leaving LAX, 10 more minutes late and they would have cancelled our flight, and we would never have been able to get on another flight as standby customers.

Business class is rather amazing, there was a video to help us learn how to use our seats that reclined into sleepers.  The Food was delicious and a lot of it. I loved the blanket, I was glad to have my turtle neck sweater, as it got cold. Once we got to the airport we had business to take care of.  Rental of the Wi-Fi thing (which I never understood how that worked, only that we had to have it.) We needed to get our JR rail passes and the tickets to Hiroshima and Kyoto.  That accomplished it was off to find the train to the Tokyo station get to the temple annex in the 2 hour window that they checked people in. The woman at the JR ticket window, after looking at us said.  Take a Taxi to the temple from the train station, that was great advice.

We went to Kyoto, and went to a Dye House and did a fun Japanese craft.  We painted a design with hot wax and the fabric was then dyed blue. Andy spoke Japanese to the older lady that helped us, and she giggled like a school girl, and Andy and I got lots of extra help. We rode the Shinkansen train, and purchased Bento Boxes to eat.  I didn’t think I would like cold rice, but it was delicious.

 We arrived at the Temple, found the Annex and a nice man that would translate for us, so we could get our room.  When we unlocked the door, it was six bunkbeds and a sink.  I knew that this would be the accommodations, but I guess I didn’t communicate that very well to the rest of our party. LThe women showers and toilets were in one direction, and then men’s in another.  This floor was also the primary chapel and class rooms.  There was a kitchen and some vending machines for food.  We didn’t run into many other people.  We got there to late to attend a temple session, we showered and made our beds and went to sleep.  Andy put one head in the corner, and his feet out the other corner, the bed was about 6 inches to short for him, we were afraid this would be a problem the entire trip.

We got up the next day early to get to the train station to start our trip to Hiroshima, we were starving by the time we got there.  We saw a McDonalds, thinking there would be food court that is the direction we headed.  No food court, so that is where we ate.  As we were finishing, Andy went and dropped off the trash and when he sat down on the stool he slipped off and hit his head and wrenched his neck hard on a wall.  He kept insisting that he was fine, until a few minutes later he didn’t know where he was, or where his Rail pass was, or what had happened in the last ½ hr.  Chris and Emily asked him a lot of questions, I went into a “mess”, and our medic son in law determined that we needed to get him checked out at a hospital.  We got a taxi, had a hard time communicating the word hospital. But the cab driver finally understood us, and took us to ST Lukes, an international hospital, where we found help, and people that spoke English, and discovered the rented Wi-Fi did not work. They gave him a thermometer and told him to take his own blood pressure behind the next curtain.  It was high for Andy, within 15 minutes we saw Dr.,  she wanted a CAT scan, so down the hall we went, we probably only waited another 15 minutes, and then one more 15 minute wait to see the Dr. again.  She said that there was no fracture, but he need to watch for signs of a concussion, and to stay near the hospital.  At first both Andy and I thought she wanted him to spend the day in the hospital, we panicked, but that wasn’t the case.  Andy charmed her with his Japanese and $560 later we were free. In the meantime, back in the Lobby, Emily was trying to get the WIFI to work, and finally went to the Starbucks in the Hospital, she needed to cancel the Air BnB that we had reserved for that night, and the one in Kyoto, and book something in Tokyo.  The place we were going to stay at the end of the week was not available, but she found a great place for us to spend the next 2 nights.  It was only a 5-minute walk from our next place.

We caught a taxi, and I discovered as we barreled through residential areas that there are no stop signs just very big mirrors at each intersection.  If no one was coming you just kept going.  I was concerned because the last 10 minutes of the ride there were no shops, no stores, just lots of closely packed houses and apartments.  His GPS took us right to the front door. The place was cute.  2 bedrooms.  The bath room had a western style toilet, that had a sink on the back that came on when you flushed the toilet, so you could rinse your hands.  No soap could be used in that sink.  Just a short walk, maybe a block was a main street with shops restaurants and FOOD. The smells from a Raman Shop enticed us in.  The owner chatted with us for a few minutes and then brought us food.  I am not sure what we ordered, but we all got the same thing.  I managed with the chopsticks, thank goodness, we could “slurp” the rest!

 Between the trip, hospital and food, I was not feeling well so Emily, Chris and Andy went to Nikko without me. Andy love this place, it was one of his favorites while serving a mission.  He was disappointed when most of it was covered in scaffolding and the grandeur could not be experienced.  You could still see some of it as you walked through. This is the place that has the Monkeys, hear, see and speak no evil, every one took a picture of that. The spectacular gate was covered, but we will find a picture of it (45 years ago,) to put in the book. There were lots of steep steps, the 19-year-old Andy of 45 years ago, could take them a lot faster. The buildings were very beautiful and ornate, lots of carvings. The leaves were starting to turn, which added to the beauty.

 The famous carving of the 3 monkeys, hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil. Very famous and popular place to visit in Koyto.

 The train rides really worked out well. We were able to get to where we were going, and very seldom had to stand up.  Of course, the JRL was the best, those passes were a good investment.

 These were our amazing guides, they were able to navigate the internet, and the train system. Maybe because they had both lived in New York at one time.

 These are the Bento Boxes we bought to eat on the train.

This was the golden Pavilion in Koyto.  Wow is an understatement

 Andy was taller than the over hang, he had to walk bent over while we were in this house.

 We went to Kamakura and saw the “Big Buddha”.  We got off the train, and checked the map and directions and it was a mile walk.  NO problem…..up hill, and had to be at least 5 miles, or I am much more out of shape than I thought.  We ate at a fun little restaurant, we loved the food. We were surprised to find a picture of President Obama on the counter. We walked back to the main road and found a taxi back to the train.

We had an amazing adventure. We saw a lot of beautiful buildings, and ate a lot of interesting food. Andy got to relive a little bit of "45 years ago, when I was a missionary....."

Andys Christmas Letter I did it!!!

Christmas 2015

Dear Family & Friends

Well it’s that time of year where we send letters about our family gatherings, accomplishments and other activities.  Kind of like the “year in review” shows that will be on TV the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  The problem this year is with more people than ever on Facebook, we get a commentary throughout the year and writing these letters is becoming harder!  Marlene’s is asking when I’ll have this year’s letter done and I’m stumped what to write that you don’t already know about.  Maybe we need to make these letters forecasts of the next year.  Wouldn’t that be interesting?!

But instead let me tell you a few things we’ve learned over this past year.

Emily married Chris Blount this past year. Then a few months later, the same time Chris was celebrating the anniversary of his church membership, they were sealed for all time and eternity in the Los Angeles Temple.  We learned that, with the help of our kids, we can still throw a pretty good party!  The two days in a mountains at the first wedding and then the beach party after the sealing were a lot of fun!   

When we have our Sunday dinners there are somewhere between 15 and 21 people who eat at our house.  It’s quite a few to feed, and the noise level is tremendous.  A lot of fun, but noisy!  Old people need hearing aids not because of any health problems, but when the entire family gets together it’s loud and our ears wear out! 

We’ve learned that when we have that many people for dinner, there’s not much left over.  This year for Thanksgiving it was the in-law’s turn to have the kids.  So the Sunday before we celebrated Thanksgiving with the family and I BBQ’d one turkey.  We were invited to Wes and Dana’s but they didn’t have a bbq so we BBQ’d another turkey.  And the Friday after Thanksgiving we had everyone come over to help decorate the house and we BBQ’d another turkey to have something to eat.  It was fun.  We truly enjoy our family gatherings.  So with everyone “gone for Thanksgiving” we still BBQ’d three large turkeys and still only had enough leftovers to fix me two turkey sandwiches.  Not that I’m BITTER or anything.  J  But we will be BBQing another turkey around New Year’s Day.  This time it will be for sandwiches! 

But speaking of leftovers, with the kids gone, cooking for two is a bit harder.  I’ve found I’m not a fan of leftovers.  It seems we fix more than we need for a meal and that means leftovers.  If we could stretch the left overs over, say once a week for three to four weeks, that may be ok.  And Marlene does a great job stretching them out but unfortunately they don’t last in the fridge that long.  So in her kindness, Marlene usually eats the majority leftovers for a lunch.  

Marlene works in the Redlands Temple every Tuesday that it’s open.  Several times I’ve been fortunate this year to be able to arrange my schedule and attend the last endowment session on her shift and then we ride home together.  Thru regular attendance I have learned so many things about the Plan of Salvation, Adam and Eve in the Garden, how nefarious Lucifer really is, and without faith in Jesus Christ how he has the upper hand in temptations he offers to us.  My appreciation for the Atonement has grown and my love for the Savior has deepened.  It has been a wonderful experience. 

We hope this letter finds you better than last year; maybe not in all ways but in significant ways!  We hope your testimony of Jesus Christ as the Son of our Heavenly Father and our Savior and Redeemer is much stronger this year than last year.  We enjoy following you on Facebook.  We hope you enjoy following us.  And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, check with your child or grandkid and get setup and send us an invite to be friends.  As info, while I have a Facebook account, Marlene’s is the most active.  So make friends with her.

Love to all, 

Andy and Marlene

The worst day of the year

This was the worst day of the year.  Andy was up and getting ready for work when I heard a very loud thump, and rush into the bathroom to find him passed out on the floor.  No amount of shouting or slapping his face was getting a response. I thought he was dead.  Lots of prayer and panic, and he came to. Got up went back to bed, and told me to "Leave me alone, I just want to sleep."  I called the on call nurse, said to get him to the emergency room now.  Because of his Afib, they were concerned about a stroke.  Lots of test later, they thought he was fine, that is when he mentioned that his foot really hurt.  So they x-rayed his foot.  The Doctor came in and said that he and the radiologist agreed.  He had some broken toes.  Probably 3 broken toes, but they couldn't agree on which 3. Since the only treatment is to buddy tape toes together, on good one to one bad one, they said you should see a podiatrist.  That Doctor agreed that he had broken toes, but all five were broken in multiple places.So for the next 8 weeks he had to wear a very fashionable boot. They have healed....sort of....they are all pretty crooked.  Just glad that he is ok.  Gave me a horrible scare.

The Tale of Two Weddings

This  is a tale of two Weddings.

Only Emily could pull something like this off.  

In June we rented a lovely cabin in the woods in the city of Running Springs. I can only call this a "planned elopement".  Immediate family only. You will remember that there were major wildfires that month, just one mountain range over.  The cabin slept 26, our family was 18 of them.  So Chris's family was a bit out numbered. There were so many fun thing to do.  There was a Zip line, climbing wall, paddle boat, hiking trails and lots of fun Stuff.  So....we came had fun, met each other and at the end of the day, Chris and Emily got Married!

 Andy's job was to hold the bouquet, until Emily was dressed and ready to walk down the path with him.  He all most forgot to give it to Emily.

 This is my favorite picture, Emily and Andy have always had a very special relationship with each other, and the smiles show it all.

 It was a very nice ceremony, they exchanged rings, Emily wears "bling" very well on those beautiful hands.

 This is the Blount Family.  Captain was the ring bearer, He has doggy "cuffs" and a bow tie that matched Chris.

 Here is Emily and my 4 beautiful granddaughters.

 Like I said, lots of fun activities at this cabin.

 We had dinner outside in a lovey wooded setting.

This is my blog, so there are more pictures of my beautiful grandchildren.


The next wedding happened in October.  Emily and Chris could be sealed in the LDS Temple in Los Angles, after Chris had been a member of the church for a year.  So on that day....all of my family gathered, and so many of Emilys friends from all over the USA came to party afterward at the Beach.

 You could fix your own Gourmet hot dog, how ever you wished.

 Family tradition at the beach is to cook the corn in sea water in a trash can.  The newest member of the family  had to go get the water.  Chris wanted Sam to help him.  They got special tuxedos for the job, needless to say, they attracted a lot of attention.  My brothers kept the corn cooking and the fire going.  It was delicious.

 This is the wedding cake.....S'mores of course, what else would you have at the beach.

 Emily is in her 3rd Wedding dress of the day.  Below is the one she made, and it was beautiful, almost as beautiful as the bride.

 These are my amazing siblings and spouses.  They came from all over to join us for this very special day.

 This picture has a story.  We are holding out the pockets of Emily's wedding dress.  The fabric for those pockets came from my moms wedding dress.  My mom taught Emily to sew, and the plan was they were going to make Emily's dress together.  Mom passed away 6 years ago, but Emily did include her on this special day. On the left are my sisters, Lorraine, and Janice on the right is Holly.

 This is the entire crew.  Brad and Katie and their 3 boys. then Dana and Wes, Chris and Emily, Andy and I, Holly and Sam.  The other 6 children in the front are Holly and Sam's. Nora age 11, Sara age 8, Mia age 6, Theo age 6, Gary age 8, Tracy age 10, Joshua age 4, Kyle age 6 and Derek age 2.

 Aren't they the cutest grandchildren you have ever seen?? Love them so much.

Well, what can I say........

We were front page news

Merry Christmas from the Andersons

Joshua & Kyle with Grandpa Santa

Rosener Family Redlands Temple

Dear Friends

This year has been, well let’s say… interesting.  We’ve received many different kinds of cards this year.  We received a lot of envelopes with just cards.  We’ve received some cards with pictures of family members.  We’ve received cards with small half and quarter sheet bullet points for each family member.  And finally we have received cards with a full sheet of family catch up.  Honestly, I like them all but really enjoy catching up with friends and family with the annual reports. 

So for those who like just cards, get a match and use this to start your fire.  If this is distributed by email, well the delete key is usually around the top right of the keyboard.  For those who like bullet points, I’ll try to accommodate.  For the rest of you, hope you enjoy reading.

Holly & Sam – Big news is the three adopted kids are still adopted but are eternally ours.  They were all sealed in the temple early in the year.  I know they are really Holly and Sam’s but by extension they are now our grandkids so they are ours too.  They are growing up really fast.  Sarah is only in first grade but reading on a post doctorate, college level.  Ok maybe some exaggeration there, but only a little.  Nora is nine and following in her mother’s footsteps and asking for strange items from Santa.  This year it’s a sewing machine.  Gary & Theo are typical boys and hitting each other and in constant trouble.  Mia is the fashion queen, but we still have to work on getting her shoes on the right feet. Of course that’s when she is wearing shoes.  Tracy is the artist and does some amazing color combinations that are really very nice in her projects

Brad & Katie – Big news here is Derek was their latest addition.  Born the end of November.  We will bless him the end of January with family coming from all over to participate.  His two brothers, Kyle and Joshua are both into heavy machinery.  Both are fascinated by garbage trucks, earth movers and other large trucks.  Both are mechanically inclined.  Leave something on their level and it will be taken apart and in pieces before you can sit down.  Both are getting used to having a new brother. 

Emily – She moved further west this year.  If she goes any further she will be living on a boat in the ocean.  Unfortunately her long lost love, her car, gave up the ghost after 13 years and 200,000+ miles.  So she broke down and bought a new one.  No exotic trips this year.  So no pictures of playing with elephants or tigers.  But next year Morocco is on the list.  

Wes & Dana – They are still in their school years.  Wes is working still at FedEx.  Which this time of year his school is part time and FedEx is more than full time.  Hopefully next year we will have something different to report.  (

·         (for you who like bullet points – here’s your moment)  Marlene & Andy – We are front page news!  A sister in the ward has been fascinated with our hanging Christmas tree.  Over the years she has told us to call the local paper and see if they want to do a story.  We, being the shy people we are, have never called.  This year the sister asked if she could call the paper and we said “sure”.  Well the reporter came out, took a bunch of pictures and put us on the front page of all places.  It was a fun time and a cute article.

We hope this communication finds you healthy, happy and wise, or at least two out of three.  This is the time we celebrate the birth of our Savior, the Messiah, and the Son of God.  May your testimony of His greatness, mercy and love ever increase in your hearts.  May your next year be better than this year.  And we hope we get annual updates from you during the next Christmas season!