...and here's some time

VA

Here's Geof. at the airport a few days ago when we went to pick him up. I'm sure he was embarrassed at me taking pics but come on, we have to have some of him in a uniform! I'll post some more pics of our camping trip and our trip to Charlottesville when I have more time.

ColoradoBennett

Brooke, tell Sadie "Happy Birthday!" from us. Her card is sitting here in the kitchen, just waiting for you to give me your address (hint, hint). Our weekend in Utah was super fun. I think our adventures are best told in pictures. There are so many stories with each of these pictures, but it took me so long to get them on here that it is now way past my bedtime. Maybe tomorrow...

Bavaria

I don't know if I have the heart to publish after seeing all the tri-cities pics. We just couldn't make it while I lived at home. JERKS!!!!!!!!

Life here is busy. This weekend we were going to go somewhere fun and we didn't. We decided the responsible thing to do was stay home and get our house finished up. There were too many things I needed Mike's help on, things I can't lift at the moment. It was such beautiful weather for the first few days that it felt like a vacation right here at home. Monday, however, when we were supposed to go to Munich and go to Lego Land and we stayed home because it was raining I got a little cranky. We only have so many more weekends with Mike and the ability to go fun places as a family.

Sadie had a great birthday though. We had a family party Monday night and then yesterday I took an icecream cake into pre-school and yesterday afternoon we had her friends from the neighborhood over for a little glorified playdate party. Our original plan had been an outdoor, backyard, trampoline, sprinkler, etc...party but it was pouring rain. I was a little stressed coming up with what to do with 8 kids in the house but we had fun and it all went well. Sadie asked me yesterday afternoon if she was six now because she was having so many birthdays. Pretty funny.

Jane started her outdoor adventure week yesterday. Luckily the first day was caving and rock climing. Unfortunately they had to do their rock climbing at the gym. But she loved the caves and it cleared up enough to go for an outdoor hike after, so that was cool. Today it is not supposed to rain, which is good because they have a 20 km bike ride and then swimming (at an indoor pool).

Poor Mike was out in the pouring rain most of the day and until about 1 am last night. Then he was up and out the door by 6 this morning. He will come home Friday night and leave Saturday morning for 7-10 days. He is enjoying what he is doing though, so that's good. We miss him, but what can you do?

I have a meeting with Ellyn's teachers this morning to discuss her schooling for next year. In fact I had better go now or I'll be late. A Bennett late? No way. Actually, my husband has dang near trained it out of me. Not all the time, but more often than not.

I love you all. All of the pictures are awesome.

Love, Brooke

Baby Beck

Monica has been trying to post pictures on here for a while so I thought I'd sit down and play with her computer for a minute tonight. Here is a picture of Beck at about 5 months old, so about 2 months ago. We have plenty of new pictures which I'm sure Moni will post some.
Our driver is back from his honeymoon so give me a couple days to catch up at work and I'll get back on here!
CAM

sorry chelsea for missing your b'day. no excuse, but i'm bad at b'day's. except for ellynn's and that is because she reminds me--alot.

sorry moni, life has been really busy since i started teaching again.

mindi, your story about the melted and mashed cake decorations was a big reminder of why i quit doing cake decorating. i used to do it for everyone for their b'day's and that would be their gift from us. i quit when i had spent the day doing a cake that had about a billion stars all over it. not very demanding talent wise, just time consuming. i had just finished and was getting us all ready to go out the door for the party when i believe it was your husband that reached up on the table and pulled the whole thing off and flipped it onto the floor. all those carefully executed stars were obliveated (phoneticly spelled). what a mess. that was it i decided it was best to give it up rather than feel like i was going to beat someone and like it.
mind you this wasn't the only "incident" in my cake decorating career, just the proverbial straw. the camping trip sounded like so much fun and the drive in like heaven. there were some people this weekend that were showing movies on the side of their trailor. it looked like so much fun.

meags has filled you in on this weekend somewhat. it was so much fun. we slept under the stars every night. one night it sprinkled a little, but not much. the kids are great little campers. vim (another of wilohm's nicknames) especially loves to do dishes and will do them for hours while jack and ben play. the whole campground is grass and is right along the river so you can watch the big ol' barges go past. we used to go up to the dam and watch people go thru the locks. for a long time after 911 they wouldn't let anyone on the dam which was no fun. we didn't have time to check it out this trip to see if things have lightened up. the locks are huge. if i remember correctly the drop is 103 feet. pretty impressive.
i remember the boat trips we would take with john and hazel when we would go up the river and thru those locks. it had to be good weather and almost no wind because at the confluence of the snake and the columbia it would be rough all by itself without the wind kicking it up. there were always white caps. it was soo much fun. we would go thru ice harbor and mcnary dams--different trips. verl helped build both of those dams i believe. i know for sure he worked on one of them because he told me about it. he also helped build hanford. the big atomic plant. my first home was a trailor in a trailor park that is now part of the restricted area at hanford. jack and hank, george and barry lived there too. i can remember my 1st hair cut. hank gave it to me. mom took me over to their trailor in my stroller. i think we had moved to maxi's trailor park by the time aunt jack was born. we moved to the house on 49 south yelm right before paula was born. i can remember mom and dad (arlene and verl)painting it and dad complaining about having to patch all the nail holes from the pictures the previous owners had hung. maybe it was harder then than it is now. . . that's the house paula and joan came home to when they were 1st born. the one picture of arlene holding a new baby on the couch and she is in the black and white checked dress with the big white collar is the day paula came home from the hospital. we moved to the house on sharon when i was 10 and we changed elementry schools from westgate to fruitland. sue and debbie beecher went to fruitland also so that helped, but it was scarey. that was 5th grade for me 3rd for jack and paula must have been in kindergarten.

it was so good to see john and hazel. they are both so sharp it's amazing. they have so many fun memories of hanging out with mom and dad. did you know that hazel was mom's (arlene) sister-in-law from her 1st marriage. hazel was dell zesiger's sister. one correction with meag's blog--john will be 91 this july. he takes such good care of everything. like meags said there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere. aunt hazel is as funny as ever. they sure miss mom and dad (arlene and verl) uncle john worked as security at hanford for years after it opened. so yes the sisters are some of the "down winders" you hear about which explains a lot about us and our off spring. dad's back got so bad working construction he couldn't stand up by the time he got home. that is when he went with prudential insurance.

anyway enough for memory lane. the trip was great fun. the only other big event was last weekend when we burned one of the burn piles. did i already write about this. we had so much fun. the flames were shooting 25 ft in the air. it was so hot that the kids were laying on the ground watching the fire it was raining and we were warm. we burned all the old fitzers from cory and meagan's yard so there were these big tangles of branches that were all glowing. it was like an igloo of fire. absolutely beautiful and hot!!! that was friday night--sunday it was still smoking. i went down and put 6 potatoes wrapped in foil in the coals--mon night we had baked potatoes. well 1 burn pile down and one to go.

there is a virtual tour of our house on line somewhere i will find out where

tony and jess sorry about the hard night, but the pictures were great.

love to all le anne

Some pics from the Allens...

bglife

sorry the blog has been so dead, that has kind of been the pattern during weekends.  especially long weekends while people are away or playing.  that is my excuse.  we were in the tri-cities.  we left thursday morning and came home last night.  we had a great time.  the only problem was that it wasn't long enough.  i could have stayed through the week.  only through a crazy series of events did we get a camp site and it was by far the best site in the most beautiful camp ground.  i wasn't going to blog until i had pictures to go along with it, but to wait until cory and i have a night at home together it would be some time next century.  poor cory only got to come for a day and a half.  he and brind hitched a ride over with our friends the eppersons on saturday, then he took the train back at 5:30 monday morning to be back to help the young men, who really needed his help as of sunday night, with a service project, only to get a call as he was coming into vancouver that they really didn't need him.  so a lose of one day and $45 at least proves that he was willing to do what the Lord would have him do.  the lesson learned; our young men's organization in this ward really needs some work in communication and organization.  maybe that is why cory is in there.  he is gifted in both areas.  we took little hazel to see her name sake, (aunt hazel).  she and uncle john were so cute.  they loved our g'parents so much.  it's sad to see that they are still alive and kick'n (john will be 90 in a couple of months and has the nicest yard in 4 blocks and not a stitch of dust in the whole house and he does all the work himself) and we have been without our g'ma/pa for so long.  daddy came over on saturday as well and the kids were so excited!  we got to go see pirates on sat. night because rob wanted to watch the jazz game so he volunteered to watch their 8 month old twins, hazel, bennett and their 6 year old elli.  they don't really do the camping thing, so they got a hotel and came over one night to roast hot dogs and marshmallows.  they are great friends, but as they would rather hang out in their hotel then walk over to the mall, we were very happy to play at our camp ground, then meet to go swimming.  on sunday we drove up to moses lake to josh's parents house again.  i have mentioned them before they are the ones where we took pictures of the kids doing an easter egg hunt.  mom and dad were in heaven.  they sat and talked to josh's parents for hours and hours.  patti pointed out that they were probably so excited to have someone their own age to talk to.  rob is the oldest person that they hang out with and he is 34.   ok i think i have covered most of the weekend and i'm sure mom will hit anything i missed and repeat much of it as well.  hopefully i can get cor to post the pictures.  love you guys...........me

ps chels the whole dress buying thing sucks!!  that is why my mom made my dress and she had to use three different patterns to do it.  good luck!!  you will look beautiful no matter what! 

Where is everybody?

I know there are lulls in the blog. I know we are all busy ,but I just have to let everyone know. Cameron started two other blogs for each side of his family. Since I have started blogging, I have always been so proud of how this family blogs. Right now they are totally showing us up. We can't let this happen. It is hurting my sinful pride. So please don't let this blog make you angry. I am hoping that it motivates us. You know relying on our PRIDE. Ha,Ha.
I love you guys,
Love Moni
By the way Ellie I am so sorry we missed you on Sunday. Hopefully we will see you guys soon.

Addresses

Meags, Brooke and Geof. please email your current addresses to me at big_rig_14@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

Jess

Indie's 1st overnight camping trip

We went camping with Tony's family from Friday to Sunday. It was a lovely campsite called Millsite in Ferron, Utah. We were right on a lake and there was a golf course nearby so we did some wave running and golfing. Here is Indie in her cute little swim suit and glasses. Camping was great until the last night...I am not sure if I can really call it a night because we didn't actually sleep. It was probably the worst night of Indie's little life. She barely ate and barely slept. To top it all off I had a fever and was shivering like crazy and Tony said I was boiling hot. It was awful. One time I woke up and it was still dark out and I thought it had to be the longest night ever. As you can see in the last picture it was a long night. We woke up and I looked in the mirror and looked like that and told Ton we needed to document it. It was funny. Needless to say I was ready to be back in my own bed and get baby back on her schedule.

Love Jess

P.S.
Sorry I don't know how to flip that picture and I am too lazy to try and figure it out. Just tilt your head.

Dresses...

Hello everyone. Thanks for all the Birthday wishes. I went to work for about three hours in the morning and took a half day off. Joey was able to take work off as well. We would've liked to have gone golfing, or swimming...but the weather did not want to cooperate. It was raining all day. Oh well.

We went to lunch with Cortney, Rodger, and my Mom. It was delicious! We went to Roosters and I absolutely love that place.

Then my mom, Joey and I went to look for wedding dresses. So we go to this place that we have heard great reviews about. It was horrible from the start. The old lady was about 4 feet tall and so so ronchy. She insisted on dressing me and making me wear these weird protective gloves. I did have a "privacy slip" so I guess that helped. :) "The dress is going to go on over the head and come off over the head. That's the way we do it." Anyways....to sum it all up. Not a good experience. I'm over it. I have plenty of time to find one.

Later that night my Dad took us all out to dinner. Dad, Mom, Cort, Ash, Linds, Joey and I were all there. We went to my favorite place ever in downtown SLC called Al Forno's. It is italian and I love it. It's also the same place Joey took me the night he proposed. It was fun.

My parents gave me a bike. It's a mountain bike and I love it. So that same night we ended up buying Joey one as well. It wouldn't be fun unless I had him with me to enjoy it. We are excited to start riding on a regular basis. I would much rather prefer to ride a bike for exercise rather than jog. It seems more relaxing and fun.

Joey gave me a slew of gifts as usual. He's so so so good to me. My big gift is lower bowl Jazz tickets to their Semi-Final Game 3 on Saturday night. I am so excited! We have been following the Jazz all season and I literally get insanely upset when they loose. So does Joey. Last night's game didn't help much. He was threatening that he was going to sale the tickets because we shouldn't have to pay to see them play this horribly. :) Ha! Yeah right! I'm gonna get a jersey to wear and be one of those insane fans. It's gonna be awesome.

Well we did find a location for the wedding and the reception. It is in Bountiful on Main Street probably 5 minutes from our house. It is called the Wight House. It is really pretty and what's even better is it's getting re-modeled. After the renovations it will be even more spectacular. 15 foot ceilings, chandeliers, cherry wood flooring and a beautiful squared three tiered ceiling. It's hard to explain but I am trying.. It will be done November 1st so we will be one of the first weddings in the new place. The other great thing is he is giving it to us for the price it would be before the renovations. Getting that out of the way is helping me be able to relax more. We'll have all summer to play and have fun with the boys and worry about the rest of it after.

The boys will be here in two weeks. I should be able to get pictures of their adorable rooms by next week for you to see. Or I might wait and post the pics with them in their new rooms and their reactions to them. They are gonna love it!

Okay, I've gone on long enough. Hope you are all doing well!

~Chels

Happy Birthday Chels...

Sorry this is a day late and a dollar short. Hope you had a great day. Mom said you were going to do some wedding planning...anything fun? Let us know how your day was.

Love Jess Ton and Ind

VA

Oh my goodness...I just wrote out the longest blog and it erased on me. Dang it! I'll try to sum it up. I meant to just "comment" on Moni's post but I wasn't sure if you're aware of that yet Moni, so I'll just let everyone read it. Your comment about Beck (I really do LoVe that name) loving you made me think about mother/son relationships. My friend described it as "endearing" and I can't agree more. Once while at the library, I was skimming through a book on the stages of boyhood and it said from birth to about 3-4 boys just adore their mommies. So sweet. It's true. As much as Cole loved Geof., I was the most important in his eyes. Even as mean as I was...am. :{ After that they need their daddies, then their little friends, then a role model, then their dads again...and then their wives? I don't know, I didn't get that far. Anyway, how cute that he said da da though. Both my kids said da da first and ma ma only when they were whiny and needed something. We went down to the river this afternoon. Just the kids and me...or is it me and the kids? I can never get a straight answer on that one. Well, let me just tell you, as much as I love the river, I probably won't do that again solo. For some reason, rivers tend to attract some pretty scary people. Generally, I feel it's because rivers run through towns and therefore people don't have to drive far into the mountains to enjoy their beers and such, they can just go down the street, get incredibly drunk, and then throw all their cans and litter into the river. Grrr...it makes Geof. and me so mad. Today was scary because here I am hugely pregnant, trying to carry Dayne over the rocks since she refuses to walk, while Cole scampers all over the place scaring me half to death. And then there's a group of 6-8 Mexicans drunk and without shame staring at me...incessantly. Come on you guys!! Why do they always have to stare? I had the hardest time on my mission with particular Hispanic men (usually those that sat on the curb and didn't work), and refused to talk to them, until my companion insist that I stop being a snob and start opening my mouth. And I did. And I learned a lot about them and their culture. It just took some time. I hope I didn't offend anyone. I don't mean to. I just know that some of them really don't care if they continue to stare at you, even after you've turned your eyes away. Oh well. Moving on. Brooke, I read through your blog way too fast the first time because I didn't even realize the task ("task" probably not being the best word) Mike has taken on. You both are very courageous, good people. I think about all the men in the past who had to fight for our country, and what good men it made them. Sadly, our country and its people our changing rapidly and I think it's because not enough of us truly love the USA or understand what it takes for a country to be great. So thank you Mike...and Brooke and your girls for what you sacrifice on our behalf. Well, I need to get my kids to bed by 8 so that they're happy, I'm happy, and of course, I don't miss Amer. Idol. Tonight and tomorrow ARE the last nights right? love to you all. ~darla p.s. thanks for the suggesting that book Moni. I always need suggestions. I love Civil War time period to anyone who knows of any good ones.

By the way I love all of your pics they are sweet. Keep them going. I would put some on also. But so far it has not worked out for me is there something I am doing wrong? Some trick I am missing?

No Title, I can't think of one.

Happy Birthday Chels!!!
We definitely do not get out much. I cannot believe how many places you all are visiting. Brooke living in Germany. Mindi and Adam are camping in the most beautiful places. Geof and Darla are seeing so many neat areas. Virginia sounds like a dream, I have read some really good books that take place in the mountains you mentioned. Darla for your info, Wish You Well by David Baldacci is one of my favorites, and it is all about living in those mountains you would really enjoy the read. Swimming in the James River just for fun!!! What a cool experience. You are all well deserving of these experiences and I enjoy reading about your great times. Life is to short, so continue to live it up.
Brooke, I am so excited for you guys your house sounds like it is really nice. Also to have freinds so near for the kids. That is awesome. Mike, wow!!! I can't even comprehend how you must be feeling. What huge responsibility, but I can't think of a better man for the job. I hope life has now slowed a bit since the move. I can't wait to hear more.
Le Anne you will have to update us on the house selling. I hate to admit it but I am secretly hoping that if it sells quick you will have more than 30 days to move. I would hate to miss the chance to have Cameron see your amazing home.
Life is good here. The kids are just as crazy as ever. Beck said his first word the other day. "Da, Da." I thought he was just babbling until he woke up Sunday morning and said "Da, Da," and reached for Cameron. He has been shy to do it for the Grandparents of course, but he has continued to do it at home. I told some women in my ward on Sunday and they said I should be jealous. I immediately told them absolutely not. Beck loves his mother, none of my kids has looked at me the same way he does. Its really funny, its almost like an adoring little puppy dog. Cameron deserves this. Plus both of my girls said Ma, Ma first. Cameron is quite proud.
The fam is back from Japan. We went over there for FHE last night and they filled us in on all of their adventures complete with a picture slide show. We had a blast!
Love you all,
Moni
P.S. Not that they will see it, but Mom, and Jordan have birthdays coming up on the 23rd and 24th. Mom's is the 23rd. Jords is the 24th. Maybe if we mention it, we can get them on the blog. It is worth a try. Mindi my Mom's card was sweet she loved it.

bglife

chels i didn't know it was your birthday, you should have been on here a week ago preparing us like ellynn did.  happy birthday and i hope you have a super day and you get spoiled rotten!!

jackie thanks for the info about the pictures, i hope enough people will ask questions to keep you on the blog. 

brooke it is so good to hear from you!  i miss you so much it make my heart hurt.  this morning i was listening to saturday afternoon conference during my long run and i think it was president Packer who was speaking about the guidance of the Holy Ghost and i thought about what you said about mike.  here he has the resources of millions of dollars worth of equipment and you two know that he will be relying on the Holy Ghost.  if only we could have more men like mike in command!  i know that Heavenly Fathers spirit will always be with you both.  i am so proud of you in the grateful kind of way.  as i was thinking about all this i wa bawling as i ran down the road.  i'm sure anyone who passed me wondered why i didn't just stop running if it was that bad.  i only cried one other time, but i seriously run faster while i listen to conference so i will continue even through the tears. 

darla i totally agree if i could just live outside i would.  any time we get to go camping of backpacking i think why on earth don't we do this more often.  i am trying to talk cory into going to the tri cities (and see all the places from g'ma's pictures, oh sorry adam i mean arlene's) for memorial day weekend but he is suppose to help with a scouting fundraiser all weekend.  who's poor planning was that.  obliviously someone with a much nicer wife. 

mindi we are kind of in a holding pattern like you guys are with the whole house/land thing.  we think we will have to go with a more traditional home, because of financing.  lenders are too scared to try anything new, even though they build post frame houses all over the east and south.  oh well maybe some day.  if we were smart we would just stay here for a few more years to get more equity, but i would go crazy and i'm sure land prices would be even more out of control. 

alright i have been avoiding laundry and camp stuff long enough so i better get to it.  love you all............me 

Happy Birthday, Chelsea!

Oooops

I'm still new at this and hit the wrong key. Anyway Jess said that Adam had some questions about the pictures and so I thought I'd take a minute and answer them. That is your Mom with Bruce Bends (sp) in that dance picture. I think that he was just before Kent. Yes that is a swastika on the blanket and I'm will get to the bottom of that one and let you know. Yes most all the couple pictures with Mom and Dad are with John and Hazel Baker. And that is Dean Udall with Kev in Yost by the Scout in those pictures. You did know that the old Cowboy guy was Uncle Ken? Anyway if there are any other questions just let me know. Love Aunt Jack

Questions

VA

Adam and Mindi, I LOVED your pics. Can't we just live in the outdoors....and have a hot shower close by? (: Beautiful. We were supposed to go camping this weekend but it started raining and when it rains here, it really rains. So instead we went to Charlottesville, Va (about an hour away) on Sat. and walked around their cute little downtown market area. Charlottesville is right at the base of the blue ridge mountains and we love it there. Geof. kept noticing how fit everybody seemed to be. It's one of those adorable, trendy, college towns that we don't really fit into because most people have more dogs than kids. Later that day we drove back to Richmond and went swimming in the James River. It's become our favorite pastime and it's only about 2 minutes away! It'll be great when it's hot and humid...we'll be there all day. So things are good. Cole's getting to be such a good boy and says the funniest things. I sure hope he's ready for the "social" part of kindergarten in a year. Dayne is definately two and drives us nuts, but she's soo dang cute she gets away with everything. And this morning, she counted to ten while I was reading a book to her! I was so impressed. Maybe that's completely normal for most 2 yr. olds but seeing that my kids usually talk a little later than some, I was very pleased. Geof. goes back to work today at two until Thurs. and then we want to go camping for the weekend. That is, if we're not moving. I won't say anymore about it until it happens...if it does. Brooke, I'm very happy that you guys are in a good house. I hope things continue to work out for you. And send some pics along of your cute belly okay? Moni, I love your blogs and think you're doing a wonderful job as a mom. Well. Gotta run. love-darla p.s. the pics are of us at a Strawberry Farm last week. The kids loved it.

Seattle Bennett living in Colorado

So Brooke that is great Mike finally has command of his unit. It seems like that has taken a long time but for a unit of such size I guess it takes some time. So how much gear does his unit have, millions of dollars worth!!!? So Mike's unit is named H Co I guess that's good to know maybe a little more than I needed to know but if his unit makes the news I'll at least be able to identify it, I'm sure you don't even have to hear its name you can probably recognize it at first glance you know its characteristics or general location, you know every units generally the same but each one has its uniqueness. I can understand Mike being stressed having command of such a large unit and with what he has to go and do with it. You should be able to give him some great support, and I'm sure your special touch is always a great perk for the unit. Tell him congratulations.

Love Adam

ColoradoBennett

This is our garden. And this is Adam shooting all the birds that try to eat the plants in our garden

ColoradoBennett

Brooke, congrats on the new house! We can't wait until our family is using your guest room. Please post your new address. At the dinner table the other night Adam was telling the girls how they could earn a $1 a day to spend when we go to Germany. I hadn't read Moni's blog yet and I was wondering where he got such a brilliant parenting tactic. We still haven't heard about the house we want. The parents of the students who were supposed to sign the lease on the house we are in now are acting all crazy saying they aren't going to let their kids sign a 12 month lease because they only need a 9 month lease. Things could fall apart pretty easily but I'm excited to see where we end up. We went camping this weekend with some friends from the ward. Four adults, 6 children 4 years and under, it was a little noisy and messy but so fun. We went for a hike and after hiking for about an hour it started to rain. Soon the lightening and thunder were so close we started running to safety (not easy to do when each parent is carrying at least one kid). But it was beautiful. Then we got together with two other families in the ward (all of us have three kids, I think I'll call us the "Tres ninos"club) to watch "Shrek the Third" at the drive in. Adam took the foo ton mattress and put it up on top of the Land Cruiser. It was a lot of fun.

On the Blog Again!!

Hi Family!!! I am so excited. We still don't have our internet hooked up, although it was supposed to be connected along with our phone on Wednesday and now they swear it will be Tuesday, but Mike discovered a signal in our bedroom. He had tried other rooms earlier in the week to no avail but tonight he got one in here and up in Jane and Sadie's room. So he is on his laptop upstairs and I am on mine down here. Two laptops you say? His and Hers. It is true and the reason is unfortunate. Mike now has official deployment orders for the end of the summer sometime. He will go spend 15 months "fighting bad guys" in a hot sandy place. We knew this was going to happen since the end of April but it all had to get signed and official before we could write anything on the blog. Really I don't want to dwell on that right now, I'll write more later. We have had so many things going on that we'll talk about all the good stuff first.

First of all, we are finally in our new house and it is a dream. It is a German built home and has so many neat characteristics. The girls absolutely love it. They have friends in both the houses on either side of us AND up and down the street. We have a nice size back yard that is fully fenced with a gate that locks, a basement, a garage, plenty of storage... You know all the things a normal house has except if you are living in military housing (it is still military by the way). Jane and Sadie agreed to share a room in this house (twin beds) because they always end up sleeping together anyway, one of them wants to snuggle or one of them has a bad dream etc... so now we actually have an unoccupied guest room (hint, hint). Ellyn loves this house, she loves the back yard, she'll play out there with her sisters for hours. Mike and I set up the tramp today and the girls were so excited. We finally finished all of the work at the other house- painting, lawn mowing, washing out garbage cans....and we should be completely checked out on Monday- YEAH!!!! I had been trying to tell myself that our other house really was comparable and guess what- it wasn't. It really was worth the five exhausting days it took to move ourselves. Mike and I just walk around with big grins on our faces. Mike just wishes he was here longer to enjoy it and I echo that sentiment.

Besides that, Mike took command on May 10 of H Co. He now has 175 or so soldiers under his command and millions and millions of dollars worth of equipment. He's been a bit stressed, especially with what they are about to go do. I'm just grateful that my husband and consequently all these men will have the Holy Ghost aiding them in what they need to accomplish. The change of command went well, as did the reception. Mike's worried about all the responsibility, inventorying all of the gear, learning about all of his soldiers, and all I could care about was how to feed them all for one lunch. The nacho bar was a huge hit though, I must say.

Okay, I still have more to write but it is just going to have to be in installments. I loved reading all of your blogs. Mom and Moni I am sooo happy you to are on the blog now, it makes it even so much better. I love you all so, so much. I can't wait to see the much talked about pictures. Mom, I am so sorry we completely missed Mother's Day, it was officially postponed at this house as well and I will make it up to you somehow. I love you dearly. Talk to you all soon. Love, Brooke

Seattle Bennett living in Colorado

so mom I hope you know that mom and G'ma aren't terms that are easily understood try Arleen and Ellynn because you are G'ma

is the Picture of Le Anne towards the end of the photos with a date where she's wearing a white blouse, is that Kent, is that a swastika on the horse blanket in the one picture again towards the end, are some of those pictures of John and Hazel in the Tri cities and are the pictures with the scout (Jeeps) is that uncle Bart I know the other is uncle Kev.

Jacky thanks for the photos they are great.

Love Adam

I agree

LeAnne it is so fun to read your blogs. You really get me thinking. I totally agree family is so important especially our older generation. Our time is so limited with them. We really do need to take advantage of their lives, and that they are actually here to do the telling. Thanks for the reminder. I definitely have not been using my time as wisely as I should.
Also now that your home will soon be officially on the market. I am crossing my fingers that we will make it in time to see it before you move. Because like I have told Cameron it is really worth seeing, and I would love to see all of the work you have done. It really has been to long.
Well life is good here. I have been able to slow down a little and catch up on the duties of being a Mom. Although my laundry room would still say other wise. Poor Harley has been asking for the same article of clothing for a week. Maybe it will materialize today. Cameron has been extremely busy at work. He has been working 10 to 12 hour days for the past week and will continue to until the end of next week. He already has a plate full there. But their truck driver (his best friend Bruce) is on a two week honeymoon in Scotland. The only others that work here and there at the office (because they are out selling) his Father and his fathers partner. Have taken turns going on vacation. So he has only himself and one other to rely on to keep up the office while he makes the deliveries. It will take him a full week after Bruce comes back just to slightly catch up on the office work. The up side to all of this is we will be making some good overtime.
My girls are in seventh heaven this week. I booked a trip to Disneyland at the end of September following Harley's play. Which by the way runs thru September 15th to the 22nd. The girls have been hard at work making money, so that they will be able to buy "a lot of things when they go there." We have exactly 127 days until we leave (yes they had me count) which means they have the possibility of making some good money. They can make 1 dollar a day if they make their beds when they wake up and keep their room and bathroom clean all day. Which means they are actually picking up after themselves. The hardest part of the deal is that they have to obey Mom and Dad. If we have to ask them more than once to do anything, they lose their dollar for the day. If they end up losing it then they are immediately at work for tomorrows dollar because if it happens again they can lose that too. It sounds a little harsh. But in all reality they have made a dollar a day for the last 5 days. I am hoping by the end of this they will have picked up some good habits. Harley did this last year and bought herself a bike last spring. If I remember right she was able to buy the bike after 2 months. I know it is a long time to wait for a little one, but she was so proud of herself. She registered the bike in her name the minute we came home. We were so proud of her. So, yeah!!! This will be our first trip alone with just our little family. We are so excited.
Well, I love you all.
Moni
P.S. I did my homework and if you are looking for a good deal on Disneyland go to getawaytoday.com. I booked a 2 bedroom suite. One room with bunkbeds and kids furniture, and the other with 2 queens, and 3 day park hoppers for the whole fam. All for a grand total of 1246.00. I tried to do it myself and failed miserably I would have paid about $300 more. So, YEAH!!!

ColoradoBennett

Chelsea, please send me your address @ mindimbennett@hotmail.com
Aunt Jack, those pictures were so wonderful. Thanks for sending them out. I stayed up way past my bedtime with Adam looking at each picture.

thanks jack for the great mother's day!!!

jack, what can i say the pictures are so much fun!!! i know it took you forever, but everyone appreciates it so much. i'm thinking cortney looks like joani the most of any of her girls. meags thinks sadie looks like jack and janie looks like me. she's also a little worried how much geof. looks like dad. she's hoping he hasn't picked up any other of his less desirable traits. brind thinks jan and joel look just like paula. it's funny to see the family resemblances. i think the picture of g'ma in our pool on south sharon was taken when she was about 56 years old. i'm just guessing that i was about 11, making mom 35, and i think g'ma had mom when she was about 21. do the math, g'ma's about 56 years old in that picture--i'm 54 this year. man i'm old.

when i was in utah at the beginning of the year i wanted to go see aunt marcelle. she was the one in the black swimming suit with the sleeves in one of the pool pictures. it had been so many years since i had seen her. paula and i were talking about it and jan was there. he asked how close we were related. i told him she was my aunt just like i was his aunt--that close. i asked him if he would come see me when i was in my 80's. he promised he would. what a good kid. moni, i know this is a cop out, but tell him hi for us. we pray for him all the time.

just to give you an idea how the gene pool works. when paula and i were going down to visit aunt marcelle i called and asked her if she would like to join us for lunch. we were going to meet up with jordan. she thanked me, but said at her age she didn't think she would really have anything to add to the conversation. besides she added, she tended to get up late and so she usually would have a late breakfast. if she got hungry before dinner she would just eat chocolate for "lunch" and dark chocolate at that. see, we are closely related. some of us show the family resemblance more readily than others.

when we were down for geof.'s wedding was the last time i had seen her. i wanted brooke and meagan to go with me to visit her. they were somewhat willing to humor me, but told me in no uncertain terms that one hour was their absolute limit. it was no fun after that to try and watch kids and talk with someone they didn't even know. fine! it was so funny. we had an appt with the caterer for the wedding reception and i am dragging them out the door. it has been well over the 1 hour they had dained to give me. i was across the street unlocking the car, putting kids in their car seats, and calling to both girls, "we really have to go, your dad is going to kill me!" needless to say they really enjoyed the visit. then there was the time i drug ellynn to aunt iva lou's. i have to drag her in and then i have to drag her out she was having such a good time. we have great aunt's--sally, mardiene, aunt mary, marilynn. we are lucky to have such a great family.

they videoed the "virtual tour" of our home tues morning. as soon as the ceiling is patched in the basement the sign goes up. for mother's day brind gave me a full day in the yard. he is one smart boy. he knows what his momma loves--if you really love me show me. ellery came home and helped for 2 3 hrs. so everything was manicured and done except the orchard on the south 40. it looks like a park and i look like i've been in a fight with several cats. blackberries are what was planted just outside of eden when adam and eve were kicked out. they are soo mean, but i won. we had two burn piles, little ones. the two giant ones are yet to go. they are so big i'm a little concerned about keeping it under control. the woman that filmed the house was so impressed with views out every window and how beautiful the home was. problem is so am i. oh well.

seminary is going wonderfully. i can't tell you how much i love this class. i taught them last year for a while when they wore out their teacher. it's easy to come in at the end of the school year and look like the hero because you are a new face. all right i'm enjoying every minute of it even if i don't deserve it. i think they are great fun. bottom line is i tell them i have great material--the gospel and lots of stories about our family to back it up. i've tried a lot of things this year to keep me happy and entertained. it wasn't until i started to teach again that i felt myself getting happy again. i don't study the scriptures like i should when i'm not teaching. when you face 22 highschoolers every morning that have made the effort and given up their sleep to be there it is a lot of pressure to have something for them to make it all worth it. i spend a lot of time on my knees asking my Heavenly Father for help. i realize that is the formula--study and prayer, but i don't impliment it unless i have the "motivation" of a class that will tear me a part if i am not prepared.

and on that note i will echo moni's words--this blog is awesome. i love hearing about your lives and seeing all the cute little g'kids in the pictures. we are so blessed. love to all, le anne

Pictures

Hello everyone,

If you haven't recieved Grandma Arlene's pictures from Winkflash, send me your e-mail at jaclynne.rigby@gmail.com and I will send them to you. It is great to see all the funny pictures of your parents when we were kids! Love Aunt Jack

bglife

brooke i am so glad to see that you are still alive.  we figured you were probably moving and that is way we hadn't heard from you, but it is nice to know for sure.

darla those pictures are so awesome.  i was telling mom how you kind of make me ill, how dang cute you are when you are pregnant.  i don't think i have ever seen anyone look as good as you do.  (no offense to anyone else.)  hazel is doing great.  she has only had one half accident since we took the diaper off and she is even done wearing one at night.  she has had a dry diaper every morning so we just figured we would stop wasting them.   i had to go through all of her cloths from last summer that i had packed away because she is back in a size 12 month pant and she won't wear her onesies because the snaps hurt her.  before i went through her old cloths i went to target and bought her all this new stuff, but when i thought about how much i had just spent and how i could better spend that money on myself i took it back and came up with the old cloths idea. 

we signed fesability papers on two acres in woodland on saturday.  we have 20 days to decide if the property will work for our house and shop and make sure the neighbors aren't scary crazy!  it's not the ten acres we wanted, but it is heading in the right direction.

wow i just got done looking at all of the pictures that aunt jack emailed.  i love looking at them and seeing that jane does look like mom and sadie looks like jack and jesse looks so much like joanie.  but man they also make me so sad.  i think of what our family could have been.  i see how beautiful granny was and i know she was even more beautiful on the inside and it makes me sad for her and the sisters, but mostly for grandpa.  he really missed out on something special.  there are more emotions than i can even express.  i love that each generation just keeps getting stronger.  i pray that my children know what strong women they come from. 

  well this has taken all day and hazy has just woken with a raging fever so i must call it quits.  i love you all and wish we could find a way to come and play.  i can't wait for monie and cameron's visit!!

blog out.............meags

ps i forgot to metion how wonderful it was to have my big brother at jackson's baptism.  wil was telling me how much he loved his uncle as he was putting on his favorite t-shirt.  the pearl jam one ad and mindi made him.

ColoradoBennett

Woohoo, my Internet is working. I just spent the whole morning trying to work out April's budget. I discovered "PearBudget" and it works pretty well, but there just isn't enough room for all the categories I want. Anyway, it takes forever but it sure feels good to know where all the money is going (can anyone guess? my food & Adam's "hobbies"). Saturday was my brother's birthday party. He had a bouncy castle and Sierra demonstrated her ultimate fighting skills by pounding on Jay and all his 8 year-old friends. All the moms were looking at me like "what are you raising there"? Then I left Adam and the girls at the party while I went to help my half-sister, Nell, do her high school presentation. She asked Gram and I to help her with her project and she chose the topic of cake decorating. We spend weeks preparing, but when we got in there the room was super warm thus my frosting was too runny. The rose I made melted into a puddle before I even got it onto the cake. We had made some flowers before hand and I had kept them safe in my freezer on wax paper. To carry them into the school I just put them on Tristan who I thought was sleeping. But he woke up and grabbed the paper and crumbled them all to pieces before I even knew what was going on. If you are picturing this in your mind you might be thinking that was dumb thing to do, and I won't argue, but I had a lot to carry. The audience was small and forgiving, however, and it was fun.

We are staying home today in an effort to catch up on housecleaning, laundry, paperwork, etc. But staying home only leads to making more messes. Here are a few pictures. Tristan pulled himself up for the first time yesterday. We made pita bread with Hoosam. Sierra rode horses at Jay's party but her eyes got all itchy and watery. She was really bummed because she wanted to keep riding. We still don't know about the house we hope to get. The realtor was gone this weekend and the person who has the contract right now got another extension until Friday. this whole process is torture.

Happy Mother's Day

Mom, we are moving and do no thave internet or phone. Will write and call soon.

We love you.

The European kids

I love you guys

This blog thing has been wonderful. I know, I know, you are all sitting there thinking. "We told you so what took you so long." Well none the less I have loved reading about everyone and their lives. It really is nice to see how truly alike we all are. I love this family!
Well Darla I am so glad you made it. You are one brave girl, but if you have to do it, you do it. I don't think you are crazy in the least. I've found that the trips usually make up for the headache of flying with kids. Plus all of those people that you thought were thinking you were nut case, probably were only feeling sorry for your plight. Also I wish I could help with the fruit flies, but all I have ever done to get rid of them, is to get rid of the fruit. Actually now that I am thinking about it the fridge is a really great way of storing it without the bugs, and your fruit lasts much longer, so I guess you can try that. I have never had fruit flies in my fridge, but I always have fruit. By the way your pics were sweet.
Mindi your date sounds like a blast, and I really do like the idea of that set up with your friends. Alicia and I have done a few of those exchanges. They work out wonderfully. We just tend to forget that the option is there. I feel babysitters are really out of control. When one of my babysitters told me, for three kids she usually receives about 6 dollars an hour $2 per kid. I about died. Truly why don't we babysit for a living. These kids are making great money. Back to your date, I am glad you guys had fun.
My mothers day was awesome. Cameron and the girls went shopping Saturday for a gift. Once they came home I was banned from our office. Cameron was having such a hard time. He kept asking me if they could give it to me a day early. He is one, who truly needs to shop the day before because once the gift is home he can’t wait to give it. Well even though it was tough. Sunday morning finally came, and the minute I woke up I was told I couldn’t leave my bed until the girls came and got me. Now if anyone has seen my house they know that if it is not the month of December, the house looks pretty sparse. There are many bare walls. One wall in particular drives me nuts. The wall where the entertainment center is very large and very bare and has been in need of something. Well as I am taken out of my bed with my eyes covered. They face me in the direction of this wall and tell me to open my eyes. They covered my wall in a beautiful painting of the Salt Lake temple. It is a painting I have sinfully coveted for years. I am so excited. For anyone who is curious you can get on to Deseret books web site and look it up. The painting is called Eternal Reflections and the artist is Sandra B. Rast. It is pretty amazing and full of symbolism. I can’t stop staring at it. I guess the girls made quite a few decisions concerning the color of the matte, the frame etc. So they really did have quite a bit to do with it.
Cameron also spoke in church it was a great tribute to his mother and all of the mothers in his life he did an amazing job and I was so proud of him. After church we had the opportunity of speaking to Jan who just left to Italy in the last week. It was so fun. My parents and brothers left to Japan on Friday, so I had the privilege of coordinating the call at home. So Jord and Michelle and our family talked to him on speaker phone. We had a blast. Jan has been in Italy for a whopping 4 days and has already been called as the second counselor in the branch presidency there. He said so far so good he just doesn’t understand a thing that they are saying. He had to stand in the circle for a few blessings with the presidency yesterday and he said it was pretty neat. For some reason I cannot remember exactly what area he is in, but I do know his apartment is within blocks of the ocean. We looked it up on google earth while we were on the phone with him. Sadly he says the water is supposedly warm, but luckily he said the waves are not to high so it will be easier for him to stay away.:) He loves his comp which i think is a good sign. So all is well with him.
Well this short blog has become extremely long. I apologize. Love you all.
Moni

Va pics

Geof. with babies @ James River Cole and Dayne in a good moment


Cole interrupting Dayne's Baby Einstein
time.

Mom with happy kids @ James River. SOOOO pretty!

ColoradoBennett

Happy Mother's Day! I'm currently enjoying a wonderful Mother's Day breakfast. Everyone is sleeping and I'm eating a bowl of cereal in peace while listening to MoTab's Mother's Day special on KBYU. Last night Ad and I got to go on a date without any children tagging along. A family moved into the ward and they have three little girls (ages 2, 1 & 6 months; they are all less than 12 months apart). The mom called me Friday night to see if we wanted to do a babysitting exchange this weekend. It worked out really well. Slightly terrifying at times to have 6 children age 4 and under glavanting around, but the kids had a blast. I really wanted to do something with Adam that we just haven't been able to do with the kiddos with us, like mountain bike or racquetball. My goal was for a very healthful evening. I wanted to get a yummy salad at the health food store for dinner and then go workout. We ended up eating at a place called "Large Marge's Philly Cheesesteaks", quite the opposite from my intention. We went to the rec center so that we could play racquetball, maybe climb the climbing wall, then relax in the hot tub and/or steam room afterwards. Turns out the climbing wall is never open, but racquetball was a lot of fun. Adam takes it easy on me, I only have two racquetball size bruises. Then we got all ready for the hot tub and the life guard said, "Sorry all aquatics close at 7:30 p.m." That was a bummer, but we did get to spend time walking around the property we hope to buy.
I posted a blog the other day with my daydreams about moving up to Washington and playing with the Allens and Bennetts all the live long day. But then I woke up at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, paranoid that my parents have this blog saved on their computer and might read what I wrote, so I erased it. I checked my mom's computer yesterday and I think the coast is clear.

fruit flies..

Hey, does anyone know what to do to get rid of these nasty buggers? I don't remember having this problem in the dry climate of Utah. Maybe it's a Virginia thing but they're all over my bananas, apples and cantaloupe. HELP!! Darla

Va

Meags, i've been meaning to comment about Hazel and just haven't yet. How's the whole potty training thing going? That's so great if it's still going well. My sister Emily potty trained herself at 18 months. I can't imagine. Dayne seems to be more AWARE than Cole was of her "business", but I'm not even in that mode yet to start her with the whole training thing. We got back late last night (finally!) from California. The trip was very enjoyable...mostly because California just has the dreamiest weather. We were VERY anxious to get home to Geof. though. We left on Wed. thinking we'd have no problem getting straight home, but when we reached Phoenix, we couldn't get on any flights. Oh how I love stand by. I really did look ridiculous with my enormous pregnant belly and two wild children running wildly through the airport. No, I did not have a stroller. After missing two flights, I went to the USAirways cust. service desk and called Le Anne to get Mindy and Lowell's number (thanks Le Anne!). Mindy graciously accepted my desperate plea to stay with her for the night. What a blessing they're there! Their kids are sooo great and helpful. They adored Cole and Dayne. And of course Cole did not want to leave their doggies or Kale. Mindy drove us to the airport early the next morning and stayed with us the whole time until we got on a flight to Philadelphia at 10:45. I don't even know if we'd have gotten on that flight had it not been for the fact that the woman working the counter had seen me the day before in the same clothes, accompanied by the same tired children. Dayne slept the whole 4 1/2 hour flight over and Cole quietly played with his playdough (a gift from my mom) while I tried to sleep. I'm so done with this pregnancy. My dr. told me she'd induce at 36 weeks if I look like I'm gonna have another giant of a child. The only problem with induction is you pretty much have to do an epidural, which I don't want to do this time. I'm more frightened of that huge needle in my back, and whether or not it's going to work, than the actual pains of labor. So we'll see. When we arrived in Richmond I had to find my luggage and then get some help hauling it over to our car in the employee parking....another ridiculous sight. I'm sure most people think I'm a complete idiot for traveling alone...and without a way to restrain my children! I was so happy to finally be home. I rolled the windows down and let the muggy, not so cool air into the car and thought about Geof. the whole drive home. I tried to stay awake for his arrival but just couldn't make it. He got home around 12:45 and was so relieved that we'd made it (I didn't mention that I had no way of contacting Geof. this whole time. I washed my cell in the washer at my sister's). Well. That's the story. I hope all is well in your lives as summer is just about to begin. Jackson's pics are adorable. I wish we could of made it to the baptism. Cole talks about getting baptized all the time now. It's funny what that kid picks up on. I took him down to the river by my mom's the other day and when we were leaving, he said "mom, I want to get baptized in that river". So cute.

where are you blog?

mindi, where did your blog go.  i wanted to read it again and dream about our summer days at the river together.  i hope this doesn't mean you changed your mind, so you erased it.  ...........meags

Jack 'n Jake

Here are a couple of pics of Jack and Jake, just for kicks. For those of you that know Jake, you know he is probably one of the happiest, nicest kids on the planet. For those of you that don't know him, he is Jack's best friend (he is Rob & Patti Epperson's second oldest). As you can see, they have a bit in common... both baptized on the same day, both achieved green belts on the same day... this is pretty good stuff.
Have a good one.

so much news--so little time. the big news is jack's baptism and confirmation!!! cory did an awesome job. jackson was of course his sweet little self. as for adam's surprise visit--what can i say. mindi thanks for sharing, wish you could have been here too. i don't know whose reaction was the best--brind's or meagan's and jackson's??? ellery and adam had kept it a secret so when the two of them walked thru the door fri. night and i got my big bear hug from adam it made my day. the only thing that could have made it better was if all the aunts, uncles and cousins could have made it.
adam and i are standing by the stairs in the front room talking when brind walks in from paint balling up at allens for the last 3 hrs. he is immediately distracted by the pizza ellery has brought home and put on the counter so he doesn't notice adam. i tell adam to go around thru the dining room. if you dont remember the layout of our house its because you haven't been here enough and its not like you haven't been invited so you will just have to figure it out. anyway i call to brind from the family room to come see me. he starts to whine about wanting some pizza, but comes anyway. just as he passes the hallway from the dining room adam tackles him and brind yells just like a girl. keep in mind he has just been painting balling all afternoon and getting shot at. also because he's covered in forrest debris and paint he's stripped down to just his underwear in the garage. and then there is the fact that it was his mom who has called to him and he's thinking he can trust her--silly him. i think all this contributed to his feeling of vulnerability hence the slightly less than manly yell. it was so funny. good thing adam is still the stout little man he has always been despite his recent weight loss or we could have seen them both go down as brind after recognizing his big brother wrapped both his arms and legs around him and gave him several big kisses on the forehead before he would let adam go. serves adam right!!! wish i had a picture of that, but the mental image will be with me for years. all of brind's 6'4" 210lbs wrapped around adam's 5'almost 10" 200 or less lbs. it was great!!! from there we went down to meag's. it was so sweet. it made her day to have her big brother show up. lots of hugs and kisses and tears. we missed the rest of you!!! just keep in mind the warm reception you get when you come visit. geof. we know you were trying!

cory's blessing was beautiful. he blessed jackson that he would be a pillar and example of the gospel in his family and for his friends. when i bore my testimony i thought all jackson has to do is follow in his father's footsteps because ever since cory has said yes to being baptized he has been a pillar and an example to his family and friends. life is so good and we are so blessed.

chelsea you are such a sweetheart and i am so glad you are excited about joey's kids coming and having everything ready for them so they feel welcome. their rooms sound like so much fun. i love costco--so there's my vote.

leesha, i know it's not exactly kosher to write a thank-you note for a thank-you note, but your thank-you more than made up for all the work. don't put too much into this whole blanket thing. i just want you all to have something for your little babies from me and in a way from g'ma arlene, because she's the one that taught me to sew. moni, jess, mindi, and shelli they're coming soon hopefully sooner than madison's. you are all such good little kids i do love you!

speaking of which--lydia--where are you?

the scouts had a service project here wed. night. they finished cutting up all the trees and hauled them down to a michelle's house. she is a single girl in our ward with 2 little kids. she uses a lot of wood to heat her home in the winter. it was a bigger job than i originally thot. there was over 2 cords of wood. i counted the stumps and we had cut down 38 trees. some were little, but some were pretty good sized. the scouts hauled all the trimmed limbs into a giant pile so now we are looking forward to a big bonfire--baked potatoes, hotdogs, and s'mores. actually there are 2 big piles down there so we have enough for several bonfires. wahoo!

i was supposed to be team teaching for seminary till the end of the year but the other teacher has been really ill consequently ive had class every day which is great with me! i am a little sleep deprived. i ended up teaching 7 classes in 6 days last week. sunday we had the bishop's fireside here and i was the speaker and thurs. i taught institute in addition to seminary. i need all this study and teaching because by nature i'm not that nice and so need all the help i can get.
everyone take care. bee seeing you. has that been used? oh well, love to all,
aunt le anne

ColoradoBennett

We just picked up Adam from the airport. It sure was hard to share Adam for the weekend, but it sounds like he had a great time. Congrats on your baptism, Jackson. I can't complain, we spent nearly every moment at Gram and Pop's house getting spoiled. Sacrament meeting was a little challenging. It didn't help that testimonies went about 30 minutes over and the family that usually holds our kids the whole meeting were not there. But I survived. The phone strike didn't really work out for me. I lasted an hour or so. Then my young women councilor kept calling Adam to figure out how to reach me. When I told her about my plan she said, "You are kidding me! Just answer your dang cell phone!" Then I got a bunch of calls from people wanted to rent our house and Adam said he really wanted to be able to get ahold of me, so I'm back in the loop. Ha, ha Geof., you are right about that.

Provo House

i saw a bee today. it was flying nearby while i was walking.... honestly though i've never heard so much talk about bees in my life. i am happy however adam that you have your bees now and i hope you're bringing me honey when you come in a couple weeks. which i can't wait for by the way.

so it's been quite a while since i blogged so this is late but moni and cam i have to thank you guys again for letting us come and crash. it was so fun to see everyone but especially to be able to play cards and talk with you guys. jason loved it too.

every few months the owner of my school arranges this thing where a bunch of the girls go to salt lake and do haircuts for the homeless. today was one of those days. we went down under the 4th south viaduct in salt lake where the salvation army feeds them breakfast on sundays and did haircuts for about 2 1/2 hours. it was a very cool experience. i wouldn't say it was fun, it wasn't. but it was definately good. it's so sad to hear their stories and how they got where they are. but they are so humble and greatful... for the most part. there are a few that think we owe them something.

mindi, jason and i did watch "the mormons" but i didn't see you. now i'm upset. i thought it was very good although they focused way too much on polygamy and polygamists now (considering they're not part of the church) and too much on the mountain meadows massacre.

anyway we've gotta go talk to some guy about jason joining the air force so i'll blog at ya later.

ellynn

Geof, you are hilarious. I can totally see you as the Stride man. Maybe you should send in your new adventures in flying for some extra cash. It might not be such a bad idea. Love all.
Moni

richmond or wherevere

holy blog a lot. mucho blogs. i've read quite a few and think i missed some so i'll go back. lifes pretty good. the family is in california still and i'm spending 24 hrs. at home. i was supposed to be in cali. with the family but was sent on another trip. it was pretty fun though. i had an overnight in philadelphia. the capt. and flight attendant were cool so i hauled them to down town to visit some of the sights. we saw the liberty bell and where the declaration of independence was signed. if you've seen national treasure that's where we were. flying is fun and i'm getting pretty comfortable now but still do dumb things which has the capt. staring at me like "are you an idiot." yes i am. i really have loved it out here. the kids and darla will be out here by the time i get off my next trip which is great because i miss my crazy kids and wife. we bought a digital camera so i'm gonna take pictures of the different places i go and post them. you will have my chronicle. i'll pretend to dance like that guy on the gum commercials who goes to all the famous sites. won't that be great. alright come out and play whenever. kev all of nascar is right down the road from me as i speak. peace out team.
p.s. mindi you're ears burn after you talk because you were on the cell phone with adam. and of course we know the contents of the conversation.

What a Fam

Wow I had not checked the blog for a couple of days and I can't believe what has happened. I definitely need to make a habit of checking it daily. For some reason though, I feel guilty not blogging when I read, so I think that is what kept me away. Knowing that if I read I would write, and like Meags there hasn't been a ton of time. Aside from all of the wonderful things that happen when I blog my typing skills are certainly improving. If anyone would like to know how terrible I am just ask my husband, it makes him crazy to watch me type.
Once again WOW. It really is crazy how much is going on with the fam. Jess your lovely bee colony is nuts. Chels you and Joey would be smart to stay away from Jess's for awhile, that shot is not something I would like to witness. Jess I do think it would be cool to become bee keepers though, so you know, if Tony's up for it, it may not be a bad way to go.
Mindi, from what it sounds like, I may be able to ween off of your wisdom and experience in matters of the YW. Meags, wow what a blessing on all sides with your home. The Lord really was watching out for all of you. It is too bad Jan is on the mission, you guys could really utilize his talents in architecture. He truly is amazing, he has done some amazing complete house plans. Last fall he was in a drafting course. He designed a home specific to my little family's needs for an assignment. It was amazing. I have already hired him for my dream home in the future. The only problem is I don't think I can afford him, or the houses he conceives. The details are astounding. Well let us know when the closing date is. Cameron's cousin is getting married July 13th in the Seattle Temple. We are finally going to get Cameron out there to see you guys. Although, between you and your mother's home dealings we may be a bit late. Regardless, knowing you guys, I am sure he will still see Battleground when we come. LeAnne I am so glad to hear you finally made it. Once again it sounds like the Lord knew had a purpose with that situation also. What a ride! My kids would envy your plane rides, they think it is the greatest thing in the world to fly. Even if it landed them right back home. Flying is truly the highlight of their trips. Although if we visit the ocean that is a great contender in their hearts.
Jack I think the reunion is a great idea. I would love to see Shelli and her new little one. Darla, no worries you will be great with #3. Just take it easy it will slow you down for a bit. Brookie there still is hope. I finally got my boy, and the odds were definitely working against us. I can't promise you will know before you have him or her they are little stinkers when it comes to their modesty. I will be hoping with you, but truly I think comes down to what you feel in your gut(ha, ha:). Despite all those who knew and felt for sure Beck was a girl, I knew in "my gut" who was coming. I was still convincing my in-laws months after a clear ultra sound of his boy parts. What do you do, people believe what they want. You just let me know which way you want me to go, and I support you. Well I love you all!!!
Moni
P.S. Congratulations Jackson we are so proud of you!
P.P.S. I agree with Brooke on mattresses, although The DI has some great mattresses also. NEW not used that the church manufactures we have bought a couple and they are great. They have I think three teirs of quality you can choose from. It probably wouldn't hurt to look into both Costco and the DI if your not afraid.

bglife

chels you are not even going to think about the wedding until september, i am very impressed.  i have already started planning benn's and she's not even allowed to day for another 16 years.  oh and i have to agree with the peanut butter and honey on a toasted bagle thing.  and definitely post pictures of the rooms, i love seeing new decorating ideas.

we, like chels, are going to be without a land line (for the most part, we will still have skype) as of the middle of the month.  now if i had my way i wouldn't have a phone at all.  as any of you who try to call me can verify i hate to answer my phone, or return calls, or check my messages. 

we have some more very exciting news, maybe even more exciting than the sale of our home.....hazel is potty trained at 22 months.  i tried last week to put her in underwear, because she always tells us as she is going that she is going, but she had three accidents and my mom and cory said to give up she is too young.  but then three nights ago she told cory she had to go and when he took her she went, then she did it again for me the next morning.  now she has been 2 1/2 days without an accident and dry diapers every morning and after naps.  even with diarrhea and being gone the majority of both days.  don't ask me.  i didn't do it.  she was just ready and basically did it herself.  the only problem now, and don't get me wrong i wouldn't trade it, but all of her pants now fall off.  she was walking through the parking lot of the gym this morning and i looked back and her skirt was down around her ankles.

brooke wil is totally going through "the sadie" as cory and i lovingly call it.  you know where everything is a huge drama from someone not playing the game he wants to putting his own pants on.  he even cries the way she did.  i am only letting him live in hopes that he will grow out of it and be as good as she is now.

well tomorrow is the big day and i know cory is way more nervous than jackson.  this will be his first baptism, plus all those people will be looking at him.  i hope he forgets to do up his fly.  just kidding that would take away from the moment.  remember geof. the little dance you and cory did in the font trying to figure out which way to stand.  that memory will always be with me.  along with when ellynn and i tried to sing a duet and i came in after her and sounded so bad that she had to sing my part with me.  don't deny it ellynn it is true, but i have to admit i have gotten better. 

cory sent our house plans to an engineer this morning so he can tell us if we are crazy or not.  we are crossing our fingers.  now we need to find some land!! 

well i'm off to put on some make up before i go to jack's assembly where he is reciting a poem.  i have found that i like myself 5000% more when i wear make up.  i look less like a man. 

i'm so happy that jesse's bees have started the blog buzzing again, ha ha!

  love...........meags      

Bavaria

Yes, I think the bees in Jess and Tony's yard are very freaky. Maybe the beehives aren't collapsing, the bees are just playing hide and seek in people's lawns. Maybe they're sick of always working and they just want to get together with all of their friends and laze around in the backyard for a bit.

I have developed a new respect and tolerance for bees because I don't have any desire to live on a bread and water diet and according to the alarmists that is what America will soon be facing if the bees continue to die off. Pollination is VERY important. I'm all for it.

Mindi, we only have one cell phone here and Mike has it most of the time and I really love it. The only thing I need it for is if something happens to one of the girls and their schools need to call and I'm out. We have a pre-paid calling card phone and all of our incoming minutes are free. Cell phone plans are so expensive here we figured we would just try to go without and after a while we have gotten used to it.

Chels, I think Costco has the best deals on mattresses and boxsprings. They are good quality-especially for kids- and they are reasonably priced.

I have to go wake up my vampire. She's back to having some sleeping issues and I'm praying we get the issue solved. Blog out, Brooke

ColoradoBennett

Ok, I just got to talk to Adam (on the land line) and he says he doesn't mind if I give up my cell phone, as long as it isn't for a bogus reason. And acording to him, bee death and brain tumors are bogus reasons. The former hasn't been proven and the later has been disproven. But I'm feeling earthy and giving up the phone is liberating (well, it's only been a few hours, we'll see how I feel in a few days). I better come up with a non-bogus reason.

Wow!

Who knew a little bee talk would liven up the blog?! I have to agree with Cory. The bees freak me out. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of peanut butter and honey on a toasted bagel...but these things can kill! I think I'm so anti-bee because Joey is deathly allergic to them. Anytime we go somewhere we have to pack a huge needle/shot thing. If he gets stung he then has to give himself the shot directly in the thigh. I hope to never see it.

We set a date....Saturday, December 1st. We are really excited, but not going crazy over it yet. I made a little rule the other day called, "You can't worry about the wedding until September." Ha! There's really no reason to, we have plenty of time.

Joey's adorable boys Keaton and Isaac will be here almost all summer. So we are going to relax and play with them. We have been setting up / decorating their rooms for the last few weeks. Keaton's is sports themed. We made a huge football goal post for the headboard out of plumbing pipe. We just need to paint it yellow. It's pretty sweet. Ike's room is Army. Camo bedding, little green soldiers guys, american flags, airplanes...the whole bit. I will definately post pictures when we are 100% done.

Quick question. Does anyone know of any secret deals for matresses/box springs? We need a twin or a full for Keat. We haven't been looking too much yet...but figured I'd ask.

Okay, that is all for now...

~Chels

ColoradoBennett

Speaking of bees...I talked to Darla this morning and she said her sister has stopped using her cell phone because she heard there was a connection between cell phone use and bee death. I think my cell phone is giving me brain tumors. Here is my logic: I have a giant cell phone, I have to hold it up to my head to talk because I ruined the bluetooth thing Adam bought me, and my ears feel hot and tingly inside after I'm done talking on the phone. So I'm done. I put a message on my phone that I'm no longer using my cell phone to leave me a message and once I get to a land line I'll call you back. Mostly it's because I'm scared of brain tumors, but to say I've stopped using my cell phone for the bees sounds pretty cool too. I tryed to call Adam to tell him all this but he was too busy to talk. Are you on the blog, babe? I think Kaia is done with naps and I'm not sure what to do. They are all awake downstairs doing who-knows-what while I get this little moment to myself. Better go. Buzz out...