Happy New Year:D

Happy New Year!! 2010 went by so fast!SO many great things happened this year. I do not know where the time goes. Looking forward to another great year:D Finishing off the night with making new year resolutions!

KS Bennett Christmas "Card"

2010 was a crazy year for us! 2 moves and a sooner-than-we-thought pregnancy, left us reeling and we are still working to get back into a routine. The move to Kansas was particularly difficult for me (Julia), being sick and lonely is NOT a good combination to say the least. But now that the nausea is gone and we are in a new clean place, my whole opinion of Kansas has changed! :) We are making lots of new friends and continue to be touched by the kindness and generosity of the people around us. We started going to a new ward that is awesome, and even I hope that we get to stay put for awhile.

Brind is a real star at the office, his hard work and clever thinking continue to be noticed. He loves his job and wants to go back to school so he can further his opportunities at US Bank. He is taking advantage of the sunny weather by biking and taking crazy long walks. I cannot sing his praises enough.

I just got back from a little trip back to Washington. I sure miss my family, so it was a real treat to see everyone! I am happily getting our new apartment in order and making it "homey". And other than taking care of Violet, I am gearing up for little Brind to come in April.

Violet is a little dream! We love her SO much... this girl has become quite the copy-cat and keeps us in stitches with what she says. She TOTALLY is a daddy's girl and will sometimes just chant "DAD!" around the house. I can't believe how big she is, she goes to nursery next month!

Baby Brind is due mid-April. His ultrasound proved that he is measuring taller than average and he is ahead of schedule for growth. Already taking after daddy.

I have to include this totally cool blurb from our stake Christmas letter, "We are grateful for the opportunity that Christmas gives us each year to reflect upon the miraculous birth and the exemplary life, and the atoning sacrifice of the Savior Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is to be a member of His restored Church in the latter days, and to live in this special area so rich in Church history past, present and future." Oh! It gives me the chills... how could I not be happy to live here?

This year has brought our little family closer to each other and to the Lord. We see His blessings in our lives constantly! We are so grateful for the love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the gift of another little spirit coming to us "on loan" from Them :) We love you all SOOOO much and we miss you everyday. Next time you're in Kansas please come stay with us! :)

Love, the KS Bennetts

Nightmare!

Last night I had a terrible dream... I dreamed that I was watching all the nieces and nephews (That's not the bad part! That part was wonderful! :)) and they were ready for lunch so what does aunt Julia make? Tater tots and chocolate milk, of course! The kids were happily eating their tots when Pa walked in and scolded me for giving them junk food. I was shocked! "We shouldn't be feeding children this garbage! Why don't you fix them something healthy. We should all be making better choices..." And so on and so on... "Pa?!"

I woke up with a horrible feeling. Pa! You're supposed to be my partner in junk-food crime! When everyone is gearing up for a 30 mile hike or a couple laps across Battle Ground Lake, I know I can count on you for a big bowl of ice cream and a snuggle on the couch. I love you, PLEASE don't ever change! :)

- Julia

Sawyer visits with Santa

Christmas Eve isn't too late! Soy Bean climbed right up onto Santa's lap and gave him a huge hug. It was the cutest thing ever!


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Christmas "Card"

Laziest Christmas Card ever:-)

Merry Christmas to all of you.

Updates:

Me: I have about 7 more months until I finish grad school here in Monterey, CA. It has been a great experience for us living in this beautiful area. Other than finishing my thesis, my other big personal goal for the year is the Big Sur Marathon in May. My next stop is Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for a year of military related studies. After that? Who knows.

Brooke: Remains the same amazing woman I met 18 years ago. She spends a lot of her time caring for Ellyn but somehow manages to take care of all of us as well. She has made tremendous progress in running recently and has the Newport marathon in her sights next year.

Jane: We are so impressed with her grades and performance with her flute. Despite no personal lessons, Jane was able to get second chair in the regional honor band...amazing persistence. She has also started her own exercise regimen and is making some amazing progress. We are very proud of her. Next year she starts High School, kind of (unfortunately it looks like a 7-8-9 Junior High in Kansas).

Sadie: An amazing child. She is such a good sister, especially as playmate to her little brother. Sadie has an unlimited imagination and it is rare to catch her without a big, thick book in her hand. Her 3rd grade teacher had to retire early this year because of family health issues, but she is excited for the second half of the year.

Ellyn: She has made so much progress this year. She turns 7 on Valentine's Day. Her therapists and assistants have added so much to her abilities. Although she is still not talking (coherently), her interaction with others has increased 10-fold. She occasionally will get a phrase out like "C'mon Let's Go" or "Vamonos" ...your guess where she gets that from:-)

Sawyer: Our boy. 3 years old and obsessed with superheroes, trucks, and cars. He has had a run of bad luck with getting sick the last few months but is doing fine now. We love the kid. He is loving to everyone, always says thank you, complements others regularly "I like your shirt", and is just a joy to have around.

We hope you all have a great holiday. God bless you and your families. Thanks for your effect on our lives. Let us never forget those in the military and others who are away from their families this season looking only to do their duty and serve their fellow human beings.

Darling Darla

Darla, I bet you didn't know I had these pics of you! We (Meags, Cor, Mike and I) were all thinking of you and wanted you to know we loved you. In California it is still your birthday! We hope it was awesome. We love you and we are sooooo happy you are a part of our family!

Love,
all of us party people in Cali! Wish you were here!

The Quilt

Bglife

Santa Claus is coming to town!






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Carmelites

We haven't dropped off the face of the earth

We've been busy- and sick.


Sadie's class Christmas party. Her favorite teacher ever, Mr. Taylor.


Jane examining the results of her science project. Very gross- bacteria from swabs around the house. My laptop keys were surprisingly bacteria free.


Ellie warming up after swim therapy.


Sawyer modeling Fangs from my Eclipse party.

Still need to write about Thanksgiving. The flu has been a frequent, unwelcome visitor at our house for weeks now. That has not been cool. Poor Soy has taken the brunt of it. He's such a good kid, it breaks your heart to see him sick.

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Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Jason! Hope you had a great day! :D It was so fun getting to see you a few weeks ago!

Happy Birthday Jase Tase!

26! Jason you're the love of my life! Happy Birthday babe!


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Poop everywhere!

So this morning Finn is in the bath and I'm sorting laundry, straightening my room etc. while checking on him often and listening to his happy splashings. Great morning. Then as I'm putting up some Christmas lights in Finn's room I hear "Uh-oh". I walk in the bathroom and Finn has POOPED IN THE TUB!! Sick sick SICK! I was planning to scrub the bathroom today anyway so I guess I just got a little extra motivation.

Fast forward 2 hours. Finn is clean and napping, the bathroom is sparkling clean, I am sparkling clean and we all (Finn, the bathroom and I) all have a light scent of clorox about us. Ahhh!


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ColoradoBennetts

Remember Thanksgiving? Way back 19 days ago. I've been meaning to post since then. Time is rolling too quickly for me. Most of you have heard this story, but I want to preserve it for posterity's sake. Thanksgiving was the day that Facebook saved our lives. Er, I mean, Mike saved us from getting really sick that day by responding to my ignorant Facebook post. Normally, we would spend Thanksgiving Day at the Log House, where someone experienced and knowledgeable about food safety would prepare the blessed turkey. But Adam got pneumonia and we were uninvited (in the nicest way possible). So with his dangerously limited lung capacity, he found the strength to go buy us a frozen turkey the night before the big day. He suggested that I put it in the roaster oven overnight @ 200 to let it thaw. I didn't know any better, so I did. Lucky for us the next morning I decided to google how to cook a turkey and found warnings all over about how you never, never, never thaw a turkey in such a manner. So I blab about it on Facebook, still thinking that once you turn up the heat to 350 and cook the bird for 3 hours all problems go away. Fortunately for us we were spared the wrath of stapholococcus aureus because Mike told Brooke to call us and insist that we could not eat our turkey. Thanks again, Mike!

So after burning a braided loaf of bread and deciding to throw out the turkey, I was in emotional meltdown mode. Just as I was setting the table (everything was ready, I'd borrowed some turkey from Gram and Pop next door, the next batch of bread turned out perfectly) Adam comes in to say he is going to Wal-Mart to buy another turkey. Unbeknowns to me, he was on the phone with Le Anne and I started yelling at him. I just wanted him and the kids to sit down and eat what was surviving of this disaster of a meal. And, actually, it wasn't that bad. That was our Thanksgiving.

I had Lasik on Friday. Adam was able to come home late Thursday night and be home for the weekend. The surgery was really bizarre, but also really fast. You can actually smell the laser burning the cells in your eye, and the suction they use to make the cuts leave "Lasik hickies" on the whites of your eyes. I've had to put so many drops in my eyes in the last few days (4 different kinds, most every one or two hours) that I constantly have a strange taste in the back of my mouth. But I can see!!! 20/15

I've probably hindered my recovery by immersing myself in the Hunger Games series. The day after surgery I asked the Dr. at the follow up appointment if it was ok to read. She says, "Sure, as long as you are not reading for 3 hours strait or anything." That night around 11 p.m. I realize I've been reading for well over 3 hours. Whoops. Oh, and thanks again to Mike for insisting (on Facebook) that I read these books :).

I did a craft fair with my friends the first weekend in Dec. I made this little "quilted purse pockets" and only sold one, to my sister, Grace. So they will now be Christmas and birthday gifts for the next several years.

I did sell a lot of Adam's honey, though. I thought I'd post of few pics of some of the cute stuff my friends made. The baby quilts are amazing.

And a few more pics from our morning routine, just for fun. I have from about 6:45 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. to turn this:
into this:
Then turn around and start the whole process over again with these little cuties:

Provo

This was my attempt at a "how to train your dragon" cake. Not too shabby. At least Meags thought it was amazing. Brooke probably thought it was a joke. Haha. At least Finn liked it :)


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Look who's going to scouts for the first time!!

Yes.., two hours early he got all dressed up, even tied his own hankerchief, and then styled his hair so stylish...

Bglife

Thanks for all my birthday posts. I feel super loved! And the birthday posts for our 3 cute little boys (yes that is you too mike;).
Aunt Joan I have to say I would probably stop posting if it wasn't for your comments. I love you! You are the greatest!!

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tonight..

We put up the tree tonight, blasted Christmas music, watched Disney's (or Mickey's), "A Christmas Carol", played with the Nativity scene (see pics below. I even caught June in mid -sentence "playing"), and started our FIRST fire in the fireplace, and most importantly (not), discovered the long shutter option on our camera. Look at the rad pics it created, though!! I mean, you can actually make your christmas lights look like hearts! Fun.

Oh, I love my camera..er, family. (;

There's also a few pics at the end that I just wanted to add in because who DOESN'T want to see Dayne as the cutest little pilgrim ever (side note: I lived in VA when I was in Kindergarten and came home wearing pretty much the exact same paper bag/pilgrim getup. Crazy!). And then there's perfectly happy, little Violet. Can't get enough pics of her on here.

2!!

I can't believe my baby is 2!! He's getting so big! Finn is the sweetest kid on the planet. He gives the best snuggles and kisses. He also keeps me very occupied. The kid is so dang BUSY! Always getting into stuff and running away and climbing. He loves anything to do with computers already. i'm in trouble. he knows how to work my iphone as well as i do. he starts his own movies on there, he plays music, he scrolls through pictures and tries to play the games. it's scary! He's so dang smart and yet refuses to speak. i think he says a total of about 10 words on a regular basis but has said many more that he won't use anymore. His favorite movie is How to Train your Dragon. He LOVES the big dragon at the end. He will rewind and watch the battle scene with that thing over and over again on my phone. it's weird. he also loves books. occasionally i will make an animal noise and he will turn to a picture of that animal in one of his books. it's pretty cute. he even pulls my books off the shelves sometimes and will set it on his lap and flip through the pages like he is reading them. Every time Finn wakes up in the morning, or from a nap, he holds up his favorite blanket (which used to be Jason's when he was a baby) and wants to be wrapped in it for some "sleepy snuggles" until he's fully awake. He truly a doll. He makes me crazy a lot but i just can't get enough of him!

What? Your birthday isn't the 3rd? Sorry Cole

He's 8!

We get told on a regular basis how sweet our Cole is; that he has a good, kind heart. We couldn't agree more! The right kid (at the right time!) came to our family and for that, we are grateful. He's been such a great big brother (albeit a little rough sometimes..) and his sisters ADORE him. He watches out for them and wants to keep them safe. Very cute. We love you, Cole and are so happy you want to be baptized!

Happy Birthday Coley!!!

I love you buddy!! Happy 8th Birthday!!!


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