Benjamina

Should I be worried?

Beau's In The Raptor Zone

SO SIL-LEE!!

We have had such a good time with Cheryl and the kids this week! It has been such a joy seeing all the cousins play together.

They have loved the snow, even though most of it is now melted.
Ben and Beau have been inseparable this week. These poor kids with all sisters have that to bond them together. They are very cute!

We all went to see Enchanted. What a cute movie! Even Ben and Beau loved it.

The kids love it whenever Lee breaks out his guitar for a jam session. He always makes up such cute songs spontaneously. It's very cool. His latest here was "Beau's In The Raptor Zone".

For Family Night, we went skating/scootering. (I apologize for the blurry pictures. I haven't quite mastered how to take a picture while the objects are moving.) I thought it was so cute seeing Ella and Ben talking together as they were scootering. I only wish I could have heard what they were saying. Eva was strutting her stuff showing us what she is made of on that scooter of hers.

Ella was in her element. I think she went around the rink more than any of the other kids. Beau cruised on his scooter like he was a pro.

Livia really got the hang of it too. She had us all laughing with her tricks that she made up. Tess, Tayli, and Emma were as adorable as ever.

This weekend the gang is visiting family down south and they will be back on Monday. So for us, it is time to regroup a little and get ready for another fun week. I sense one sad day coming up when they leave for good. Until then, we will cherish the time we have with them!

What Was in the Bags?

I know you all have been DYING to know what was in the bags that the kids gave us for Valentines's Day. No, it was not canned food like some were speculating. We got lots of very pretty cards and notes, candy, puzzles, pictures, homemade coasters, and stickers. You kids are so thoughtful! Thank you for everything!

Even Monte scored with food, water and toys! You kids made Monte one happy kitty!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

The TOP TEN Reasons Why I Love Lee...

( in no particular order)

1. He is just SO CUTE and there is nothing else to say about that!

2. I love that he is not afraid to embarass himself for the amusement of others...ie His Napolean Dynamite impersonations. Without Lee, our house would be a lot more dull!

3. He is so talented! He writes amazing songs and poetry. He plays the guitar and the piano and sings very well. Every talent that I wish I had, he has!

4. He cooks! He cooks almost as much as me. And it is all good too. My favorite dish of his is his Black Beans and Rice with Homemade Salsa! It is sooo good.

5. I love his huge luscious lips!

6. He tells our kids the craziest, funniest, and most off the wall bedtime stories. He does this every night (that he is home). We all love it, especially the kids. I love him for taking the time to do this. Our favorite story right now is "Dusty, Musty and Dank". But "Stuttering Sylvester" is also fab!

7. I love that Lee has opinions. Some women might not like that in a man, but I love that he wants to have a say in most things like even how to decorate our home. And if I REALLY want to know the truth, like how I look in a certain outfit, he will tell me in a very respectable way.

8. Lee has a talent of spotting General Authorities. When he comes home from work he will tell me how he waited for a signal to change with Elder Ballard or that he saw Pres. Uchtdorf speeding. The funniest thing about this to me is that he even recognizes people from the Second Quorum of the Seventy. He will tell me how he saw Lowell M. Snow or someone like that and I will be like "Who?" How does he recognize these people? He once told me how he spotted Gary Coleman and I thought he was talking about the one from Different Strokes. Lee makes me laugh everytime he spots someone.

9. I love how Lee honors his priesthood like no other! It is such a comfort to have this in our home.

10. He spoils his family! We are so lucky to have him! Most everything he does in his life is for the betterment of our family. He works SO incredibly hard so that we can have it a little bit easier. We are so thankful for Lee and we feel like the luckiest family on the planet, in the universe even, to have him as a father and husband.

For all these reasons and many more..

Happy Valentine's Day, Lee! I love you!!

Who Knew?

My kids love to color and do art projects. And Ella loves to do everything her older siblings do. So when her siblings were coloring and writing their names on their papers, Ella said she was too. I replied with a "Good job, Gal!" not really thinking she actually could. Then I saw her paper! How cute! My little two year old can write her own name! Yea for Ella!!

What's Behind The Door?

The other day all four kids gathered together in the pantry, behind this door. Lee and I were forbidden to enter. They were in there for quite a long time. They would occasionally sneak to the basement to go through my gift wrap surplus, bring some stuff up, and then sneak right back to the pantry. This is what they were busy producing...
...Lots of Valentine's presents for everyone! I love how kids are always so eager to make everyone happy. They always want to do nice things for others. I think that if adults were a little more like children the world would be a much better place!

I cannot wait to see what's inside!!

This was on the way to the Miley Cirus slash Hannah Montana slash Jonas Brothers 3D movie. Lee took Emma and Eva on Friday for a daddy daughter date. They had a great time, even though the projector broke and they had to wait an hour and a half till it was fixed. When asked if it was worth the wait they said, with big smiles on their faces, "YEAH!" I feel for Lee. He had to wait that long too in a theater full of screaming girls. But he was a good sport. What a good daddy!

The Misadventures of D'Eva D

D'Eva D (pronounced Diva D) aka Eva is our accident proned child. She has had quite a few crazy things happen to her, from a soccer ball hitting her square in the nose at full speed to her jamming a straw down her throat causing a gaping hole in the back of her mouth and many more. Her most recent stunt was thinking she could cut her own apple into pieces, earning her five stitches in her hand. Lee whisked her away to the ER and I got the rest of the kids ready for church. The best part was that middle through Sacrament meeting, Lee and Eva come sauntering into church in their church clothes as if nothing happened. Just call us dedicated church goers. Actually, I blame the church time for this incident because if church started earlier for us instead of 2 o'clock we wouldn't have been around for that to happen (kidding but true). We love you D'Eva D! Hope your hand gets better real soon!

I Search Fair

The girls I Search Fair was last night. Both of their classes were supposed to pick an animal to research. So, of course, they both picked "Kittens"

Eva's class even made clay models of their animals! They were both so proud of their projects.

What I thought was so cool was that they never once asked me for help. They new exactly how thay wanted to do it. They picked the pictures, they picked the facts, they picked the layout, they did everything. Good job girls!