ColoradoBennett

I actually had a conversation with Kaia yesterday where I tried to argue with her that boogers do not taste like frosting. I did not win that argument.




It was crazy hot today, but Kaia still wanted to wear dad's hat. I'm glad she's in a helpful mood lately. Here she is cleaning the sliding glass door. I wish I would have captured a video of a few moments later when Tristan was standing inside and she was doing everything she could to make him laugh. It was hilarious.


The kids were playing happily for a few moments today while I was mopping floors. Kaia ran out of her room so excited to show me that she'd made the number 4. Smart as a whip, this kid.

Sierra took a shower all by herself today. She insisted that she could do it and I had so much cleaning to do I was more than happy to let her. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up.

Tristan added another scar to his face today. Remember this post where Sierra scratched him with a pipe cleaner? Well now he has a bruise and scratch on the other cheek where Kaia ran him into a sharp corner while driving the kid car. I have a feeling I'm going to have to slather that boy in Neosporin on a daily basis.


We had a great YW activity last night, a car wash. Here I am with Melissa Vigil. I'm soaked, she's only slightly wet. This is the girl who threw me into the lake back at girl's camp. I thought last night I'd be able to get her back. Before I could even think about my revenge, I turned my back on her for a moment and before I knew it I was drenched. I wrested her down, but next to her super-human-determination I didn't stand a chance. She is amazing. If all goes as planned, last night will be my last YW activity and on Sunday I'll be released as YW President in the Denver 2nd Ward. I have learned so much and have grown to deeply love so many. My faith in my Savior has been strengthened and my desire to share my testimony has increased. I've felt lately that I need to remind the girls that we need to be in tune to the Spirit so that we know what we need to be praying for. There are blessings our Heavenly Father desires to give us, if we will but ask. The Spirit is here to tell us what to ask for, if we will but listen. I love D&C 109 because it is a prayer that the Prophet Joseph Smith says was given to him by revelation. I also love D&C 111:11 (and not just because there are five ones in a row). Blessings will be sent to us as fast as we can receive them! That is how I've felt while serving in the Denver 2nd Ward for the past 7 years. We truly found ourselves embraced into a Ward Family and we will always treasure those relationships. I remember being in the temple with a group of ward members a few years ago and thinking "This must be a taste of Heaven. Being in a room with so many people I love, doing the Lord's work, I couldn't be happier." My friend, Brenda Snyder, put it best when she said good by to me: "We'll have plenty of time to visit again when we get to the other side." But for now, I just want to say that I know we were guided by the Lord's hand to be in the D2 ward and I'm full of gratitude for that blessed experience.

bglife

cory's birthday weekend consisted of riding two days in a row. wandering around portland pretending that we didn't have any children, driving around all the neighborhoods that we use to think we would one day be able to live in. (now we know better), and eating out really late.

on thursday cor sent me a text that said.... "lets skip class tomorrow and ride in p-town. bring your bike to school" however skipping out on jobs and kids is a heck of a lot harder than skipping school. thankfully once we made it out the door it was super fab. just like the old days. oh and to start the weekend off right thursday night we went to the james taylor concert with cory's family. mom dropped brooke off at the ampatherater on their way home from california, so she and sawyer could come too. it was the best concert i have ever been to. he is even better live!

so these are some pictures of our carefree days. wish there was some way to get more of them. but if we did have more, we might not apperciate them as much, right?

Family, isn't it about time...

Sunday July 2oth 

Stevenson/Beecher reunion

This was our first time meeting little Sawyer and Indie loved him immediately.

Mindi taking a picture of me taking a picture of her.  We know a good picture when we see it, right girl.

I told Tony my only job was to bring the chips and the dessert and he said his only job was to make sure all the kids liked him...

Mission Accomplished

Hazel was entertaining Ind for me and doing a darn good job of it, but moments after this photo was taken they both took a nose dive.

Look at these cute little bugs...

Thanks for making the detour and coming to visit.  

Hopefully my plan will work out and we will see you very soon.

ColoradoBennett

It is nap time. Since the rooms that really need unpacked all have sleeping children in them I'm forced to spend some time blogging. Here's a few photos from the past couple of days.

The Tillemann-Dick family was kind enough to throw a "going away" party for me on Wednesday night. Here is Annette and I. If you look really close you can see their gorgeous home in the background.
Here are Marisol and Hama Wharemate (pronounced Far-a-ma-tey). Mari watched all my kids all day on Thursday so that I could pack up my house (with tons of help from the Tillemann-Dick's and the sister missionaries).
These are my wonderful friends whom I love, love, love: Marisa, Liesl, and Brittney.

Here's Kaia standing in front of nearly everything we own.

Tristan's 2nd birthday almost got lost in the hustle and bustle of moving day, but lucky for him Gram lives next door and is always prepared. The girls are holding back his hands while we sing. Sierra didn't even give him a chance to blow out his candles, maybe next year he'll be big enough to defend himself.
Here is the house we'll be renting for the next 6 months. I know, I know, the turquoise trim is the eyesore of the neighborhood. Nevertheless, it is right next door to Gram and Pop's, it backs up to a park and open space, it has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, and a dishwasher!

Our new address. If you want the whole thing you're going to have to email me :).

Covington's

Quick update. As most of you know Keaton and Isaac are back in Texas. We had such a good time with them! Our summer with them was full of everything! Fishing, fly tying, Lagoon, swimming, camp outs (in the backyard with Grandma Joan), golfing, batting cages and so much more! It was so hard to say goodbye. They are the best little guys anyone could ask for. Hopefully we can try and get them back here but it's definately gonna be tough. We do have them for both Thanksgiving and Christmas so that will be good.

Joe and I are planning on heading up camping this weekend. We are leaving after work and going high into the mountains to escape the heat. It is the same place Joe goes elk hunting in the fall. Pretty remote but absolutely beautiful. Should be lots of fun! I will try to do better with pictures.

We have all been busy, Cort and Rodg have been in St. George/Vegas since last Friday. The get home on Sunday. My Mom, Ash and Linds are headed to Mexico tomorrow morning until Thursday.

Little Cash is super cute!! And congrats to Ellynn and Jason! Boys are so much fun. It was fun to see everyone last weekend. Jackson Hole looked awesome, I love that place.

I am now going to attempt to post a few pictures. I hope they work...

Say hello to Kai

So we went to the ultrasound appointment today and got to see the little guy squirming around in ellynn's stomach. He played shy for a while but finally towards the end we were able to see that he indeed has boy parts. Here's a few pics that we were given. They turned out pretty well.

Too many pics...

So here are a few pics from our family reunion adventures. If you are in no mood to look at a plethora of pictures, you probably want to skip this post.

Our drive through Wyoming was beautiful, once we got to the beautiful part. This is near Teton National Park.
Happy travelers. "Don't bug us, we are watching a movie."
In Yellowstone this here buffalo was just walking up the road like he owned the place.
Tristan's face of terror. Ellynn gets this response from Tristan every time she tries to hold him. By the end of the trip I think he warmed up to her a bit, if she had candy.
Here is Tristan with one of Aunt Brooke's Yorkie puppies.

All of us watching Old Faithful and eating lunch. It was quite a feat to feed 30 people and even more difficult to separate the "kid cheese" eaters from the "adult cheese" eaters while making sandwiches.
Sierra, Sadie and Cole.
The "Hot Pots".

There was plenty for Sierra to keep herself entertained at the reunion. Here she is making beautiful art with whipping cream and shaving cream.
Sawyer, Aunt Meagan, and Jane.


Direct line of cousins on Adam's Dad's side (not all are pictured).

The whole Bennett gang.

Our little trip to the river. Much colder than it looks.

Tristan and Kennedy.

Kaia brought me these flowers, which I thought were just beautiful. The camera decided to focus on Darla's swim wrap and Chacos, which are also beautiful.

Aquatic scientists.

Beautiful sunset during the reunion.

Jackson Hole Park.

There are 30 of us here, we were quite a site.

Here is Jessica and I, snappin' shots for our blogs.

Kaia and her good buddy Tony.

Tristan and his could-be-twin-second-cousin, Beck.

Hazel and Kaia gathered these beautiful bouquets of flags from the soccer field.

Whew! We had too much fun and now we are frantically trying to get ready for the big move on Saturday. When you live in a house for 7 years, you kind of collect a lot of stuff (I'm discovering). Peace out, team. Oh, and Congrats to the Hatch family! Cash is very handsome, indeed. Our little Tristan loved his mother so much that he arrived two weeks early, and he is a complete delight. I'm sure Cash will be too!