ColoradoBennett

Good morning bloggers. We had an eventful weekend. We put our house back on the market, went to a 3.5 hour birthday party 45 min. from home, took the last trip to Six Flags for their "Fright Fest", and had BBQ at our friend's house where Kaia puked twice. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: "Indiscriminate vomitors are the scariest thing imaginable." Darla, I've been meaning to tell you how much we loved the pictures you emailed out a while ago. And the book I told you I would mail to you is still in Adam's truck (I got it all wrapped up and ready to go the day I emailed you and asked him to take it to the post office since I vowed to never go again after my last experience, but he forgot). Meagan and Cory, the house is uber-cool. Does it have a basement for us? Can we set up our Yurt in the back yard? Keep praying for us to sell our house before the housing market totally falls to pieces (sorry, I've been reading financial reports with quotes from Warren Buffet saying things like "In the next six months, one year, two years, the problems in the mortgage market can cause a lot of problems with consumers and hurt buying power in the United States." Plus, a Congressional report released today said that 2 million subprime mortgage foreclosures are likely to occur by 2009 if home prices continue to decline. The report also estimated that $71 billion in housing wealth will be lost. Scary.)
Our sweet little Kaia is off the charts lately in craziness. Here is a picture of her in a Costco box which she insisted was her new bed and that she would sleep in it every night (notice the room is very messy, that's not my fault). She also likes to insult others by saying "And then I'm going to kick you, like a little chicken."(that's not my fault, either). Yesterday she came into my room with a devious look on her face. I asked, "Kaia are you up to no good?" And she said, "Yes". Then Sierra comes running in and said that Kaia took the fish out of the fish tank. I didn't believe her so I went into their room and sure enough, empty fish tank. I yelled for Adam to get the fish away from Kaia who was now hiding in our closet. At first we thought the fish was a gonner because he just sunk lifeless to the bottom of the tank, but after a bit he began to revive. Sierra and I and were close to tears.
Yesterday was our Primary Sacrament program. Sierra did great with her lines, but she just couldn't help but be a goof-off when she was standing with the group singing. Several people came up to me afterwards and said, "boy, you sure are going to have your hands full with that one." Then Adam had to hold me back so I didn't deck 'em. Ha ha. But really ...why do people say things like that?

Some house pics...

Hey all. Meags snapped a few pictures of the house after church yesterday. Here's one of them, and you can click this link for more: http://www.flickr.com/photos/86186286@N00/sets/72157602780422940/show/with/1798197869/

Bye.

Provo

I'm done with my state boards! that is, assuming i passed. we'll find out in about 3 weeks. i'm so glad it's over though! Friday night jason, his brother justin and i stayed at aunt paula's house. this was their only night to go see michelle at lagoon so i didn't even get to see her but at least joel was there. i needed blankets for justin and joel pointed me towards the garage to get them. so i noted the really fast lookin yellow car out there but didn't see a name or recognize a symbol. i went back upstairs and told the boys. i even tryed to draw the symbol so they could figure out what it was. turns out my drawing wasn't recognizable. i gave up and asked joel. it's a pantera. who knew? anyway this was the night before my big test so i turned in early since i had to be up at 5. i still didn't get much sleep because i dreamt that the next day would be my first day as a new vampire and i was worried that i would be "thirsty" and want to kill the other girls. can you tell i just finished eclipse? i also dreamt that part of the test was outside and if i tried to cut the hippo's hair i would get more points. i don't know if it was the carl's jr. or what but.... my test was 5 1/2 hours long. the very first thing we were tested on was a women's haircut. about 1/3 of the way into the cut i barely knick my finger. i have to stop the haircut, do the blood spill procedure, put on a bandaid and a latex glove, which i had to wear for the rest of the text!!! besides the fact that it made everything about 30% more difficult, it was giving me heat stroke. most people lose 70% of their body heat out of their head, apparently i lose mine out of my left hand. so everything else that i had to wear gloves for i either double bagged the hand or had to throw that glove into the biohazard bag which i had to dig out of the garbage every time and then get a new glove. it was fantastic! we also had to anti-bacterialize our hands before each task and everytime we touched the garbage or our kit. i had a combination of latex and anti-bacterial building up on my hands and rolling off in balls. not to mention that my manikins hair was black which was turning the build up to this dark grey color. so gross. our last task in this fiasco was a men's haircut. try cutting the hair to finger length when you have a glove on. by the time i got done i was sweeping up hair and glove clippings and the pointer finger and the middle finger on my glove was gone. i'm so glad it's over! and while all this is going on jason and justin are having a great time with bill, paula and the whole gang (which they loved by the way).
Ellynn

Va

Here's some recent pics. It's been raining like crazy the last two days...yesterday I felt a little crazy (how do you washinton people do it?!). Anyway, the mailman shows up with a package for Cole and Dayne from my mom. It was two see through umbrellas. You know the mushroom shaped kind from when we were little? They (and I) were so excited. We went straight to the park and took pics in the rain. Today is our ward halloween party. I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (the only kind I ever make) and put some orange food coloring in 'em. The kids LOVE eating the dough off the beaters. I'm the same way. I'd much rather eat the dough than the cookies. We'll see how many people want them in our cookie walk...(: happy halloween! can't wait to see meags, cory and the kids! love, darla

long time no blog

i'm sorry i have not been on the blog for so long. i have posted some comments, does that count? cory took the computer out of the kitchen and now i have to go to the basement and sit down in the office and that never happens. the only time i spent in the office alone was to write the talk i gave two weeks ago. it was amazing! i'm not saying that i am awesome, i'm just saying that the talk was awesome, it changed my life. it wasn't me, the spirit did the whole thing. that week in institute patti said remember that thing from your talk, tell them that. i couldn't even really remember it was not me writing or giving the talk.

ok yes we have put some money on a house and i haven't talked about it for many reasons. one i thought that we were kind of betraying the dream we had with adam and mindi. two i am gun shy after the whole disaster we had with allennett. three i don't want to get my hopes up, but i have a great feeling about this. i would try to have a good attitude about the allennett but to be completely honest i never really thought it was going to go through. this has felt right all along. i guess that dream we had of our hippy commune will have to wait. our closing date for the house is nov. 2 and so far so good. there hasn't been one single hiccup. we will still be in our same ward which is where we think we are suppose to be. the kids will have to change schools for the third time in 2 1/2 months, but they are pretty excited. i love all of the pictures, i am going to try to find my camera so maybe i can add a few of my own.

geof. and darla are coming for halloween, we are so excited we could die!
i took the kids to library yesterday and you would think i had taken them to disney land. they were so thrilled. jackson read for four hours yesterday and about two today. hazel carries around her "bebe books" everywhere she goes. wilohm has been reading "the miracle of forgiveness". yes he carries it around and "reads it in his mind". how cute is that? cory says he knows he is going to be an apostle. maybe under Pres. Hatch, aye? benn is our little author. she writes stories about everything. she even sometimes tells jack how to spell things correctly. yes none of them seem to be my children, which in this way i am quite pleased! love to all.............me

Seattle Bennett Living in Colorado

So its been a while but life here is busy busy as it is I'm sure with everyone. I am currently trying to get an indoor soccer team started in the elders quorum and work is a nightmare right now.
Don (the boss) left town right as we found we had major design issues and soil problems Colorado is known for its expansive soil that cracks foundations and destroys houses and even little things like cracks in sheet rock and doors not closing end up being an issue, so far are issues are costing into the hundreds of thousands is it Karma or is it just life? I don't worry because although it has already screwed up my schedule, I am still getting paid. So Meagan and Cory I suggest you get your booty over to the new house and take some pictures and get them on the blog. Alicia how goes the home buying and selling business for you? Ours hits the market for a 2nd go around tonight. Is that karma or is it life?
Mindi believes our house wont sell till I get home teaching routes assigned and while I'm sure its important I think a Luau and a soccer team are right up there, plus our stake is doing a major revision of home teaching we will no longer visit active members and will focus on new converts, part member families, potential priesthood holders, and those that seem close to coming back. I wont know exact details till 10-30 so I get to put off a little while longer.
love yall and all yall
Adam

Bavaria

Well I wanted to finally get on here and write about the morning Sawyer was born but the little man is not cooperating. We'll see how far I can get.

Contractions started about 5 am when Ellyn decided she should wake up for an hour or two. So I only had one or two an hour and I thought I would go in later in the day. At 8:30 they started to get really strong but were still 10-15 minutes apart. I called upstairs to mom and told her that I thought we were probably going to have a baby at some point that day. I started to try to get ahold of the two girls (married no kids) that were going to watch my girls. Later I found out that they had gone on the youth temple trip. I finally called my neighbor and she very graciously accepted responsibility for my children (she felt guilty because we had been playing cards till after midnight the night before).

I got the girls up, fed them breakfast, started a potroast, got in the shower, and realized I had probably waited a bit too long. Even by the time we got to the hospital my contractions were still about 10 minutes apart but they were REALLY strong and when the Dr. checked me I was 5+. So he informed me that there would be no epidural and I spent the next hour in huge amounts of pain, hoping I would pass out and they would have to find some other way to get Sawyer out. But no, all 10 lbs. 2 oz. arrived while I was at least semi-conscious. Mom and my friend April were there and they were great. April made sure that Mike knew as soon as possible and mom already told you that very cool story.

So I told mom yesterday as I'm climbing over the backseat of my car because we have plywood for shelves she is going to create in my storage room going almost to the windshield that next time I will have Barb come for the baby and she can come the month after, when I am more recovered. She told me Barb would get bored and what would she do and I told her she would read and cross stitch like all good grandmas should. Mom is hilarious. I really felt like I didn't have too much for her to worry about when she got here. I wanted help on my bed, which we started the day before Sawyer was born, and I had a few optional projects on hand in case she got bored. However she has informed me that I really don't have my house set up for maximum efficiency and has gone about making it so (which has involved breaking a lamp-which she fixed, bending a metal shelf, and something else that escapes my memory). I have also made several trips to the hardware store for brighter light bulbs and new light fixtures because my house is too dim for her. I have to admit that I am pretty happy about almost all the changes. I think she moved where I keep my salt and that could really throw me off for awhile.

This month has flown by and I can't believe that she will be leaving next week. I'm trying to get her to slow down and just relax for a bit- as soon as we have my bed built :). Okay, I have to go wake up Ellyn now, I've already let her sleep too long.

I love you all. It's been really nice to hear from my siblings NOW THAT MOM IS HERE!!!! And...I want to thank all of you that are working on the stocking stuffers for Mike's guys. You are awesome and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, also mom for really pushing it when I didn't have the energy or the time to do so. Thank you so much.

Mindi- I was able to get the video up and it is hilarious. Our boy has rhythm baby!!! Chels-hope wedding plans are going smoothly. Wow, how I wish we could be there. Okay, Sawyer's waking up and I still have to shower. Love, me

i wrote a short blog but it worked out just about as well as the rest of the day's venture

ColoradoBennett

ColoradoBennett

Oh, Le Anne, just the mention of wander wegs puts me in tears. Cory should be building us wander wegs in Amboy right now. But instead they are buying a house in suburbia Battle Ground. Adam says, "Why don't you guys go buy a mini van while you are at it." Sorry, I know it hurs you guys as much as us. And if we would have sold this stinking house all this wouldn't be an issue. Please send pics so I can daydream about living next door.

it's raining so i guess i'll blog

everybody's pictures are wonderful with the exception of the three pictures darla posted of me. darla i'll give you a dollar if you take off at least the one of june and me at the lake. it is scary and hard on my ego i don't feel that old and am surprised when i see myself sometimes. ever since arriving in germany i haven't been able to wear any make-up. i have developed an allergy to either my eyeliner, eye shadow, or mascara. in desperation i put on some neosporin last night because they are so swollen, red, and my eyelids itch like crazy. i probably would have healed faster but my vanity kicks in and i put on some makeup when we are going somewhere. after sunday i decided i had better get serious and give it up completely for a while because the reaction has been so miserable to live with. the up side is it takes me half the time to get ready in the morning and half the time to get ready for bed. the other advantage is i am basically invisible so i can go anywhere without being seen. another blow to the ego since it's always been fairly easy to describe myself--i'm the redhead. i am virtually nondescript. it's funny. i have been mistaken for being german several times. it's not often i have been able to blend in when i have traveled to another country. i think it has something to do with the fact that germany is not exactly the fashion capital of the world and we are in the sticks of germany so that says it all. next on my list of getting back to basics is to just let my hair go to frizz. i don't look this bad on a back pack!
ok moving on. germany is more beautiful than i imagined. if i had a bike with a really comfortable seat (and wasn't here to help with a new baby) i would ride forever. the roads are narrow and windy, the cars speed down them, but they are generally very courteous to bikers. everyone bikes here. you will see more old people biking than young. it is green and they are plowing the fields to get them ready for some kind of winter planting. there are patches of woods and i swear hanzel and gretal are out there wandering somewhere. then there are the fields with deer hides along the edges. (picture the towers on the show "the village".) out there in the midst of the gently rolling countryside are all the little villages. it is amazingly picturesque. there is plenty of new construction, and the houses are different, but they all have an old world look to them.
i went on a volks march through the countryside with janie's school friday. it was so fun. the entire school went. the way was marked with orange tape like your crime scene tape only on it was printed in big black letters "wander weg" which is pronounced "vawnder veeg." there were 100's of elementry through middle school kids. the older kids did the 10 k route, the little kids did 5 k which is quite a ways. they are tough little kids. almost all their dads are in iraq. the mps followed along behind us. we started at janie's school which is about 25 min on another post. it is a training post for the men going to iraq as is vilseck where brooke is. going through the woods the sound of artillery was constant in the background. i could feel the percussion. i asked the kids about it. they said they don't even hear it any more. at night in vilseck it sounds like a giant beast snoring because the bursts of the machine gun fire seem to take on a rhythm. brooke informs me most fighting is done in the dark and so that is when they practice--duh. so it sounds like we have clifford the big red dog sleeping next door. we were near grafenwohr no it is not pronounced grafin wore, but grafin veer. i am so visual i have to really concentrate on saying it correctly.
brooke and baby are doing beautifully. brooke has already lost 30 lbs. nights are crazy between ellyn and sawyer and i can do nothing really to help, but take over as much as i can during the day. currently getting the baby registered is taking all the time. that and getting all 3 girls out the door for school at 3 different times and 2 hrs later starting the process in reverse with them all coming home. in between times mike kindly left me the garage to do because he knows i need something to do to stay happy and then there is the storage room and cookies to bake and washing--always washing--where is jack when i need her? and holding sweet babies and watching movies and playing games and reading and trying to get my run in each day and oh yeah a shower. such is life no matter where you are--making anywhere you live a home.
i've left out lots of things, but as i look at all those pictures read your blogs i think how happy my mom must be with all of you and your beautiful little kids.
love you all, aunt le anne

me again...

We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight. We asked if they new Elder Hatch (Kev's little brother). They were both young missionaries and kind of laughed, "um, yeah, of course we know him. He's the best, most obedient missionary in the mission. He'll be AP soon." So, we thought you Hatch's (sp?) might appreciate that. How great huh?

Check out my Slide Show!

Here are a bunch more pictures from our Disneyland Trip a couple of weeks ago. We had a blast.

D.C. pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/lovescole/DCOnlinePics?authkey=-_Qevl68OlA For those of you who I don't have your email addresses, here's our most recent pics of life in Richmond, our trip to Wash. D.C., and of course the wonderful trip to Washington. Check out the cool "Beech Tree" street we got a picture of! love to all! The VA Bennetts

ColoradoBennett

Sierra's birthday was blissful. She woke up wearing the silky dress I wore when I was five to my aunt's wedding. Adam bought her a bunch of snowboarding gear, including long underwear and goggles. Then Saturday was a combo birthday/Halloween party with Sierra and Grace at my parent's house.

ColoradoBennett

We are now a happy family of three kids and three pets: Max, the dog, Sid, the cat, and Dorthy, the fish. Sierra got Dorthy from my sister for her birthday. It was close to one of the happiest moments of her life. Three days later Adam came home with Sid, a kitten he found in a parking lot. Sid puts up with an excessive amount of holding (i.e. abuse) from Kaia, which is a relief to Tristan because it means she is taking a break from trying to lug him around.

Crabb's

Sorry that we have been absent from the blog for so long. I like many others read the blogs everyday but have been too lazy to contribute.

Brooke, little Sawyer is not so little! He sure is a cute little boy though! Congratulations.

Jess and Tony.. Little Indie is getting so big and it sounds like she is progressing so well. Your wall is perfect to describe her.

We had a great time in Disneyland with the kids. We had a 3 day park hopper pass so we staggered our visits to every other day. Well it was supposed to be every other day but we ended up going Saturday instead of Friday. Bill and Paula flew out for what I thought was going to be just a day at Disneyland with the grandkids. Turns out they had been planning my Birthday present with Monica for a few months. So we met up with them Friday afternoon and they told me they were taking the kids so Moni and I could go out. I had no knowledge of what was going on when they gave me the keys to their rental and took the keys to our van. Monica had packed a nicer outfit and I changed in the parking lot. Then, Moni just gave me the address of where we were going so I still had no clue. When we pulled up I was surprised to see that she was taking me to Ruth's Chris for an amazing steak dinner! It was a lot of fun and they really treat you great at those restaraunts. When we got back in the car she gave me another address without telling me where we were going. As I rounded the corner of Hollywood and Vine I was even more amazed to see the Pantages Theatre and all of the signs for WICKED. What was one of my favorite musical sound tracks is now my favorite play. It was amazing and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an opportunity to see it! Monica is amazing and she always puts so much thought into her gifts. I do have to say that it really was for both of our Birthdays as she wouldn't allow me to buy her anything for hers because between the two it was an expensive night for the two of us.

Since we've been home it's back to yard work, school, church callings and life in general. We are getting ready to put our fence in. After a few weeks now of talking with different fence companies I've finally got a guy coming out to take the measurements and start building our fence. Hopefully in the next week and a half I will have a fence and my poor dog will be able to go out and run around the lawn somewhat free and not on a tie down.

The Robbins clan is doing good. Joel just got back from a roadtrip to Mexico.. sounds like he had a great time. Kel is still in football and getting ready to go to the play offs. First time OHS has gone in I don't know how many years. AJ is still working on a new composition "Bipolar" and hanging out with his friends. Jordan and Michelle are insanely busy by anyones standards. Michelle is doing Frightmares at Lagoon again, coaching the Ogden High Tigerettes and more that I don't know about. Jordan is working like crazy. I think things have slowed down a little now that he is done with Lagoon and the Annie play. Last week he got a 24 hour calling to put on a roadshow that he had to make up. We didn't get to see it but we've heard it went really well.

Well, I'd better get back to work but hopefully that catches us up just a little bit!

Cam

Congrats!

Brooke, Mike and girls,

What a cute little baby Sawyer is. I can't believe he has so much hair. Did any of your other babies have that much hair or that dark of hair? I also can't believe you had to do it without an epidural, you are amazing Brookie. I cried when I read the blog about Mike finding out...how neat to have it announced to everyone. We love you guys so much and you are in our prayers.

Love,
Jess, Ton and Ind

VA

Brookie,
My RS Pres. would like to set up a table at our ward Halloween Party on the 27th asking for donations for the troops. I thought it'd be good to have some pics of Mike and his troops. Is this getting too carried away? (: Is that going to be too late to mail money out? Let me know.
~Darla

A few more pictures...

This was my latest project, it is on my kitchen wall.
It reads: Where there is great love there are always miracles.

Pictures of Indie

New hat from this friend

"Sleep-feeding..." they were both asleep!

Indie's newest trick.

Indie's MRI

These were little heat packs used to bring out her veins for the I.V.

Right after the procedure, she finally got to eat after fasting for about 12 hours.

Her little I.V. hand.

The nicest thing ever...

So I told you about my pile of laundry...here it is in two different views so you get the idea.

The other day I went over to mom's after work to find her

doing
my
laundry

It was awesome. It was the greatest thing she could have done for me at the time. I had already done 5 loads the night before and then mom did 5 loads in her huge front loading washer which equal about two to three regular loads so needless to say I had a lot of laundry. It is all neatly folded, put away and checked off my to do list.
Thank you, thank you mom...I love you!
Jess

Sumo Sawyer

That is one big baby! i can't believe all that hair! brooke, he is beautiful. and janie you are so pretty. all of you girls are. i just spent some time on the sundry seven to find pictures of the stinchfield family. partly because i wanted to see them and partly because i asked miss ev and the girls at my school to contribute to stocking stuffers for mike's men. miss ev wants me to come in and talk about mike and what he and his family are going through to give the girls a little better picture of what life is like for them. so i found some pictures and read some of mike's blogs. brooke i really think that you need to copy them onto this blog. we really don't hear enough from him and his blogs are really touching. in everyone he asks his family to pray for his men and he talks about what amazing, loyal, and courageous men they are. it's so cool. so i know you have nothing else to do so if you could just put those on this blog too i think everyone would appreciate it.

kind of on the same note i sang at the chaplain's conference monday in salt lake. it was cool. the key note speaker was sister cook from the young womens general presidency. it was pretty cool. it was a very patriotic group to say the least and the spirit was strong. in fact i started to crack up during the song but i just couldn't help but let my mind wander to germany and iraq as i sang for these women.

enough of that! jason's brother came home from his mission to the philippines friday night. so i finally got to meet the whole family! he's a funny kid. very talkative and outgoing. basically the exact opposite of jason. it's fun to see them together though. it's also funny to watch his mannerisms, how he eats and the things he wears. it reminds me of when brinders came home. that was a good time in my life. to be honest, i can't think of a bad time. i'm so blessed! i love you guys and i hope you're all doing well.
ellynn

Sawyer

VA

Congrats to Mike and Brooke. So exciting. i can't believe you didn't utter a peep Brooke! I was hollering the whole last hour (or more). I can't wait for pics. Happy late bday to Sie bear. It was so cute to hear Cole and Sierra talking. Sierra was so hyper and Cole kept saying, "Sierra, hello Sierra?"..trying to get her to listen to him. And then he says, "hey Sierra, remember when we went to Gma's house? That was so fun huh?" That brought tears to my post-baby eyes. It's hard to be so far away. Don't you agree Brooke? One day we'll all live together in WA and homeschool our kids using the Waldorf program that I wrote about to Mindi. Wouldn't that be nice? I'm sure some of you are thinking how crazy homeschooling is, but school's are becoming so ridiculous. I just don't know what we're gonna do. Anyway, I'm rambling, and June's just started to cry. Love to all. darla

sawyer michael stinchfield is here hale and hearty

just a brief note i'm tired. they had a bit of a hard time getting the word to mike. it turns out he was roaming the streets of bagdad in his striker (a high tech updated army tank). they broadcast the message over all their communication system, "hawk 6, this is wolf pack, you have 10 lb. 2oz. baby boy!" mike was informed along with every team out there. it was so funny. he said it took him a minute--or two--to recover. i haven't prayed as sincerely as i should have over the years for the men and women that are risking their lives for the safety of our country and the world and for their families. this is tougher duty than we recognize on a daily basis, but on to happier things. sawyer is here and is absolutely beautiful, healthy and strong. brooke is doing so well hard to believe it was over 1hr. and 10 min. after hitting the hospital. she is the toughest girl out there she only cried once when her friend april said she wished mike could be here. it wasn't an unfeeling remark as she knows too what it is like to have a husband gone. we will post pictures soon, as this was all well documented for mike's benefit. love to all, aunt le anne
ps chels did you get the addresses you needed? if you didn't call meags or mindi
PPS SIERRA, HAPPY BIRTHDAY I LOVE YOU!!! grandma just has a mind like a sieve.

ColoradoBennett

I just sent out a bunch of emails to have my friends and family join TeamMitt.com. I went with my dad yesterday to a "Ask Mitt Anything" event at Denver University. I was so impressed. I'm impressed with his back ground, his career, and his ideas for America. There was a gay DU student who asked what Mitt would do as president for the gay communities. Mitt responded that he would treat them like all other Americans, that all his plans for improving America would effect all, but that he absolutely believes that marriage is between a man and women. He said that he has a gay member on his cabinet in MA right now and said something to the effect of them being friends. The student must have grabbed the mic for a follow up question and Mitt agreed to take it. The student said, "You just played the 'gay friend card' but still didn't make it clear why it isn't discrimination to say that marriage is only between a man and a women." The crowd was tense, but Mitt handled it so well. The next question came from a law student who just returned from serving in Iraq. He asked what Romney would do for the soldiers coming home from this war. What Mitt said next brought tears to my eyes. I can't remember it word for word but essentially he said those serving in the war right now are true heroes and should be treated as such when they get home. That there needs to be increased funding to support them, both in the war and when they return. I could go on, but I'll spare you. Here are a few pics from the event. Here I am shaking Mitt's hand, all you can see is my head, but I have the hair bow to prove that it is me. Then a shot of my dad. I'm also thinking of joining the paparazzi because I'm so good with the camera under pressure...ha ha.

Lost in Translation

The other day Tony texts me asking where I was and due to how my phone predict-a-texts my response was....

I am at wal-nart, I will meet you at good

Last night I had to make sugar cookies for young women's and while I am there I get a text that reads...

Cookies taste home...get it

It was very funny. I think you had to be there.

Back to making sugar cookies...what a nightmare, it was the stickiest mess ever. The recipe called for 4 cups of flours but I probably added 7 and it was still sticky. They were sticking to the cabinet so I had to practically chisel them off with a spatula. They were so mis-shaped and ugly but they actually tasted okay and were really soft and fluffy.

Indie had her MRI on Saturday the 29th. She did better then I did, I cried the whole they were putting her to sleep in my arms, it was a very weird feeling. It was over in about 20 minutes and besides being a little cranky from the medicine everything went well. We have heard from her opthomologist and her pediatrician and they both said she is doing great, her brain and vision are developing fine. Her ped said that the results from the MRI along with how well she is developing physically is "great news" his words, I was so happy. It truly is a miracle and I want to thank all of you for being a part of it through fasting, prayers and positive thinking. We should get the results from her blood test fairly soon and I will update you then.

I love you guys,

Love Jess

Calling Germany, Battleground, Provo and Battleground. :)

Hello, real quick... I need the following addresses:

Mike and Brooke

Cory and Meagan (your Mom's?)

Elynn and Jason

Brind and Julia

Just email them to me or whatever is easiest.

Thanks a million!

Sorry to be so short, just been super busy at work and this isn't even our busiest time of year. I am loving it. Keeping busy at work is perfect for me. I'll blog soon!

~Chels

va

Seattle Bennett living in Colorado,
loved the blog. We had a good weekend as well. I do love conference. It usually means the leaves are changing, the weather is cool..and a nice drive up the Provo Canyon. Oh wait, we're in Virginia where it's still 90 degrees and as humid as ever. But at least there IS more opportunity for missionary experiences. Adam, I think it's great that your friends were confident enough with you guys to just invite some strangers over. I'm sure the two of you will be magnets to many non members and members alike....,and the source by which many will enter the waters of baptism. Speaking of baptism, we went to one on Sat. for the raddest lady ever! She's amazing! She's one of those golden investigators who questions everything, so consequently she already has a rock hard testimony and knows quite a bit. It's great. She and some friends of ours came over for the afternoon session on Sat. and dinner. It was wonderful except for the fact that we live in a 900 sq. ft. apt. and that's just not enough room for 5 adults and 3 crazy kids (okay, June's still pretty calm). I loved talking to her about her conversion and how miraculous it was that the Elders just showed up at her door right after she'd finished praying for answers. She had been a hm...I can't remember the name of them...but a witch really, for 20 yrs. and just felt empty about it. So here she is in our ward now...only a month and a half after meeting the missionaries. Well. I should go. Dayne just woke up from her nap. Real quick story before I go. Cole wanted to freeze bugs in icecubes yesterday so we woke up today, found a dead fly in our fridge, and froze it. He and Dayne were sooo fascinated with it. I should of froze the nasty centipede I found in our bathtub the other morning. It was so gross. ALright. gotta run. Good luck Brookie!! KEep us posted.
hot and happy...most of the time~darla

Seattle Bennett Living in Colorado

here is an email I sent to Mike and just thought I'd through it on the blog along with a funny story I forgot to tell Mike.

So I have not yet heard from Germany so I take it Sayer has not yet arrived. Conference was great even with 3 crazy kids. Saturday was a total loss for me I'm glad I have Tevo so I can watch it later this week, but I caught quit a bit of the other sessions so that was good I really liked elder Oaks talk Sunday afternoon it fit well as I am growing more and more concerned about raising and how to raise my kids. Between the sessions of conference I watched the Seahawks get shut out after conference I started watching the Broncos but at 0-14 I had to go pick up some friends that live right next to the stadium and by the look of the people leaving the game and the fact that the game was not over I didn't even bother watching that game, and last but not least the Pack who I like just because Brett Farve lost so football sucked this week. You would think with the very little I get to see of the Seahawks because they never show them here they could at least beat the Stealers who robbed them of a Superbowl win.

After conference we had 23 people over for a bbq which was supposed to be outside but it got cold and raining and we all crammed into the house tossed the kids in the basement and had a good time there was a couple that showed up that some of our friends met in a park and invited, they are not members, they live 45 min away, but they were really cool and eager for new friends, since they just moved from Cali, and we planned another dinner with the hole crowd before everyone left, hopefully there will be a missionary moment or two there.

Last week we went to Mindi's family Elk Camp which I started they did go up most years for the day to watch the elk bugle and fight because they're in the rut but it was mine and Mindi's tradition to go up camping in the fall when its crisp and cool and the leaves are changing. Eventually Mindi's grandparent Gram and Pop would come up and after a couple of years as the 2 families, Mindi's aunts, uncles, and parents started showing for various periods of time and now it is a pretty big deal and a good time.

So this morning I was showering Tristan and I put his head under the water and he rolled his eyes into the back of his head so all I could see was just the very bottom of his baby blues. I thought it was funny and that he was just messing around or doing it out of protest. However when I put his head under again I noticed that he has trying to look up at the water that was coming down over his face, silly kid you can't see through the back of your head.

later Adam

Provo

Schools out for the summer! schools out for-ever! anybody remember that song? well i finished my hours on the 29th of september! i'm so excited. i thought i wouldn't know what to do with myself but you know i still haven't had time to even sleep in. i still wake up with jason because i feel guilty if i don't and i can't go back to sleep. it's crappy. i took my written test and got a 94%. i was pretty pleased considering one of my friends that usually gets about the same score as me
on tests in school got an 89%. it felt good to tell her my score. he he. so i've got a job at a tiny little salon right up the street from my school which will be perfect because they want me to go back to instruct in a few months! it will be so fun. it's a booth rent salon so i pay 300 a month and keep what i make. i set my own hours, charge my own prices and actually get paid to do hair! it's an exciting prospect.
mom and dad are putting the little provo house up on the market. i can't blame them but i will be sad to see the little thing go. if we knew what jason was doing for school and all of that, i would be tempted to buy it.... if i didn't have to live there in the summer. we'll most likely move into jason's parent's basement and save up some money while deciding where to live next. sorry meags, it will still be here in utah i hate to say.
so jason found the best motivation ever for me to go running. he bought me this really cute hoody i wanted and then told me i couldn't wear it till i worked out 5 times this week. he hung it in the bedroom in plain sight so i'd see it every morning. it worked like a charm! the one night i was feeling lazy and didn't want to run, be brought it out into the living room and asked if i was sure about that. i went running and i'm wearing the sweatshirt right now.
Just for the record, jason only does this because he knows I want to run more, not because he thinks i need to. (even if he did think so, he would never admit it. he's a smart boy)
well peace out kids
ellynn

New One

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!I just can't quit

ColoradoBennett

Here's a story I just read:
"Aunt Mary and Uncle Grant lived in Blanding, Utah. Every summer they invited us to come visit them. I wonder why. We added to their burdens--yet they seemed to genuinely enjoy us. And they tolerated our antics without visible chagrin. When I crashed his motor scooter with no injury to me but no benefit for the scooter, Uncle Grant merely laughed. When Alan and I narrowly avoided burning down all of southern Utah, Aunt Mary simply turned on the sprinklers to cool us off as we dragged back to her house.
There is something magical about a person who seems to genuinely enjoy you in spite of foibles and misdeeds. I'm grateful for Aunt Mary and Uncle Grant.
Maybe you know someone who has always seen the best in you. Maybe your life has been blessed by that person's generosity. Think back to the sweet blessing of that heavenly gift. Savor it. Re-live specific episodes.
Now, are we ready to be Aunt Marys for our children? Are we ready to look beyond their goofiness and see their spunk? Are we willing to be inconvenienced by the demands of parenting? Are we willing to being surprise and joy to our relationship?
when we fill our souls with remembered goodness, we are better prepared to offer grace to those we love." From "The Soft-Spoken Parent" by H. Wallace Goddard.

I can't help but look back at the times family members treated me in quite the opposite way from this Aunt Mary and Uncle Grant (and when I've treated children with anger and lectures). I don't think it was effective. I hope to be more like Aunt Mary.

i made it, sawyer can now make his appearance

germany is beautiful even tho it is overcast i'm used to that. haven't done much today. my stomach has been acting up again and because i wore my makeup over night i had an allergic reaction and my eyelids are all red and swollen. i'm really pretty, but should be back to normal tomorrow. i finished "eclipse" this afternoon. i was watching ellyn while brooke was at her meeting. i wouldn't let myself even start the book till i got on the plane and had written a letter to scott. it was so fun, now brooke is next to be "bitten." yes, it is definitely a teenage romance and i would have killed one of my girls if they had been hanging all over a boy like that etc. not a classic just a fun read. i really enjoyed it.

ok on to other more important things--brooke asked me if our ward r.s. would be interested in helping with stocking stuffers for mike's men. they have had some large Christmas stockings donated there are 165 men and they need fun stuff to fill them. i'm not going to be there to remind the sisters so i'm a little worried there won't be a great response. i was wondering if you would like to help? check with your y.m.'s, y.w.'s, r.s., elder's quorums, people at work etc. to see if they would like to donate.

here are some ideas: dry drink mix in small individual packets
used paper backs
good double edged disposable razors
jerky
candy--not chocolate or anything that will melt
toothbrushes, toothpaste
dental floss
chapstick with spf
gum
sudoku, crossword puzzles
small non-breakable bottles of aftershave
cards and letters i said nothing political in our ward just in case some-
one felt like this was a good time to let their views on
the war be known. i'm surprised how many people
start to tell me how they feel about the war when i
tell them i have my son-in-law in iraq right before i
change the subject.
small cans of pringles, snacks

basically anything you can come up with that would be fun in a Christmas stocking.
we need it here in germany by the lst of nov. so we can stuff the stockings and get them in the mail to iraq. i know that it doesn't give you a lot of time, but then it will concentrate the effort.
oh, no pork products or by products of pork and no pornography--warn the r.s. sisters not to mail out the calendar of the 12 hottest women in the ward.
i have to tell you today i went to the school with brooke and ellyn to have lunch with sadie. she was so cute. she introduced me to all her best friends. i looked over at sopie's lunch box and i could see a note from her mom. i know--none of my business, but i did read it anyway:
my sweet little sophie,
i talked to your daddy last night. he said to tell you how much he loves you
and misses you. he wishes he were home so he could hug you and tickle you. . .

i am such a boob. it was a good thing my eyes were already red. every prayer in this home they ask that mike and his men will be blessed and kept safe. we are so blessed to live in the country we do and enjoy the freedoms we have. there are a lot of people risking their lives for those blessings.
thanks for your help. let me know if you have any questions. love, aunt le anne

pumpkin muffins

i couldn't figure out how to post any thing after the recipe.  it just kept trying to number my sentences.  any way i always feel very sentimental this time of year and last year being all together at disney land just magnified the feeling.  so i think eating will help comfort and get me through.  these muffins are way yummy and low fat until you add the chocolate chips like i did in half the batch.  also i only used a scant 3 cups  sugar one of them being brown.  i love you all!!  enjoy oh just grease your pans instead of cups because they just stick to the muffin cups.  robbie even liked them and he "hates everything pumpkin" and healthy i might add.

ps mom made it to brooke safe and sound this morning yea!

yummy!!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups raisins
• 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 6 eggs
• 1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Grease three 12 cup muffin pans, or line with paper muffin liners. Soak raisins in hot water for ten minutes to plump, then drain.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce, until smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to make a smooth batter. Stir the raisins and walnuts into the batter. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

ColoradoBennett

ColoradoBennett