NO EXCUSES!! Happy late birthday our FUN Ellynn!

You're one hot mama in black AND white! Feel better, girl! It makes me so sad to know you can't eat a yummy treat on your birfday! ):

Our Ellynn

Even though it's your birthday, don't pick gum out of the trash. It's not free candy.

WE LOVE YOU! Brind-Julia-Violet-Brind :)

ColoradoBennetts in Carmel

Family vacation
Carmel is so enchanting
Vicissitudes found

kids and fire

Adam and Mindi are headed to Cali to hang out with Brooke and Mike for the next week, and they brilliantly decided to route their trip through PDX for a couple days, before driving south. We got some much appreciated sunny weather, and with the help of a couple gallons of diesel, had a nice little fire as well. This stuff makes the world go 'round.

Fun read

http://ldsbritain.blogspot.com/2010/02/discovering-lds-preston-satanic-attack.html

I posted this link because these men were pretty key in our lives. If you read to the end of the article I posted a comment which will explain why. I'm sure most have heard this story but this is the most complete account I've read. This is Geof. not Darla.

Geof.'s bday!!

happy day to the best leprechaun daddy/husband out there. You are a saint in too many ways to count, Geof.! We LOVE YOU!

Leprechauns

Sierra and Kaia thought they were so funny to draw mustaches on Tristan and Ruby's photo with a dry erase marker this morning. They said a Leprecaun did it.
Kaia worked and worked on her Leprechaun trap for school today. The green eggs I made were not very popular. This is probably the only bit Sierra took.

Happy Happy Birthday to our favorite Irish fairy, Uncle Geof.!!

Thank-you all!!

First thanks for all of your prayers!! They sentenced Lyd today to RSAT. That means she will be in classes 3 hours a day, 4 days a week, for 5 months and then one month in the work center. Then home and in the Drug Court Program for 6 more months. At that time she can ask to have her felony reduced to a misdemeanor. So that will be her life for the next 6 months. She said that she would welcome any letters and will write back. Lyd will have a lot of free time on her hands that she needs to fill somehow. Thanks for all your prayers. Here is her address. Love you all!!

To send mail to an inmate:
(1) include a complete return mailing address with a full name, and
(2) use the following mailing address:

Lydia Mae Rigby-#20110202
c/o Davis County Corrections
P.O. Box 130
Farmington, UT 84025

You can go onto www.daviscountyutah.gov and look any questions that you have. Thanks so much love you!

March 15th ~ Sarah "One" years old!

I can't believe a whole year has gone by. Little

Sarah is one today. Chelsea and Joey had

everyone over for her birthday party on

Sunday night. Joey kept telling the boys that

it was tradition to let the birthday girl "go"

for her cake. What would a birthday be

without going for the cake?! Out of all my

children, none of them did as well as

Sarah did. She is the cutest, sweetest thing

ever! She loves her bath. She loves a lot

of different food, including spinach, olives,

tomatoes, pretty much anything. She is a

good little eater, but yet, still pretty small.

It is a constant fight between all the sisters

to hold her. She is our little angel!

Cute little family. It is so fun to see the boys

with Sarah. They are so very protective of

her, especially Isaac. Sarah loves her Dad

and says da da da all the time, along with

a lot of other words. Chelsea is the most

patient, caring, unselfish Mom ever. I

know that's why Sarah is such a good baby.

Happy Birthday!

kid-ism

Kaia came home from school the other day with a spooky story to tell about 4 teenagers in a grave yard. Later, Tristan tried to retell the story but in his version the main characters were 14 ninjas. I can see how phonics would get messed up in his little mind from 4 teenagers to 14 ninjas. Haha.

Lydia

Dear Family,

For those of you that don't know, Lydia is back in jail. Not that it is an excuse, but she went off her antidepressant medication and when she does that she gets very depressed and hopeless. Lyd had 143 days clean and blew it! She violated her Drug Court Agreement by being positive for opiates, which means that she is in deep trouble this time!! Because she plead guilty they will decide next Tuesday whether or not she will remain in the Drug Court Program, which upon completion will reduce her felony to a misdemeanor or if she will just do her time and have a felony on her record for the rest of her life. We went to see her today and she asked me to ask the family if you would fast for her tomorrow, that they will sentence her to what is best for her. Worst case scenario is prison, 1 to 5 years, which is what the original plea that she plead guilty to a year ago. Secondly is 6 months in jail in their RSAT program that is only 3 hours a day, 4 days a week and the rest of the time just sitting in jail with criminals and not other drug addicts. Third and the one that we are praying for, is their IOP program, that is 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for three months. It is much more intensive program and she would be with people that are trying to get their lives back on track. They told her the last time that she messed up if they gave her one more chance and that if she screwed it up, that she would be going to prison. IF they do allow her to stay in the drug court program, it WILL be RSAT and they haven't even considered the IOP program. But I worry about her mental stability if that happens. We will be lucky if they don't send her to prison, but we are hoping for a miracle and that they will put her in their IOP program. Lyd has asked for your prayers and to please fast for her tomorrow. I know that when this all started a little over a year ago she asked you to fast for her and said what a difference it made. I keep telling myself that my Lydi is still in there somewhere and I ask you to please help her one more time. I just keep thinking MAYBE THIS TIME! I guess that is what I will always hopes for no matter how many times it happens! Thank you all for your support. I have the most wonderful family that I could ever ask for! I love you All!! Aunt Jack

Bglife

Harris loves his brothers and sisters and gives them the best hugs and kisses. He wraps both his little arms around their necks and squeezes. The other day he was giving wil's cheek one of his awesome open mouth kisses but finished up with a big old bite. Harris' sharp little teeth hurt, let me tell you! But sweet little wil said- it's ok I think he just wanted a little cream cheese.


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Happy Birthday!

Sending lots of birthday love from Kansas! :) Brind, Julia, Violet & little Brind

Tough gma!

Happy birthday gma danna! We feel so blessed that you are such a HUGE part of our lives! Even being SOO FAR AWAY! Thank you for that.

See that pic at Lewisville park? Yes, I know it's tiny, but there's Le Anne out there heading up (right use of words?) a kick ball game. So tough! Love it.

We love you Gma!!

Happy Birthday Gma Danna

Three Reds

Happy Birthday, Le Anne!! We hope you have a wonderful birthday vacation. We love you so much!!
ColoradoBennetts & TheOneWhoWorksInUtah

Bglife happy b- day Wil

This is not the best picture, but because Wil is the "forgotten middle child" this is the ONLY picture from his baptism. I am so grateful for Wilohm and the choices he has made in his life. Yesterday being the most important thus far. I am also grateful for Adam the favorite "aunt" who came and brought two of his lovely daughters. I love my Wilohm he has always held a very special place in his mama's heart. Cory and I call him "our little apostle". His amazing grasp of the gospel and unwavering commitment to do what is right continues to astonish us. As each of my children advance in their education I am amazed at how smart they are. Wil is so smart! Really, fantastically smart. I am one lucky mother (ha ha that kind of sounds bad). I lOvE yOu WiLoHm!!!



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March?

I can not believe we are already to March and March 6th at that! I am so grateful that the girls had a midwinter break and that I was able to just sort of chill and recover a bit more from my surgery because ever since then I feel like I have been sprinting- in a marathon. So youngest to oldest-

Sawyer- Lives for Pre-school. He loves it so much. Every day he wakes up and asks if today is pre-school. He now gets himself dressed every morning because he can't wait till I have time to help. I am so glad we decided to do this, it has been so fun. Sadie told me that maybe she should homeschool so she can do our projects with us. She also asked if I had taught them homophones yet. Nope, that's for next week. Sawyer is as loving and sweet as ever. You should see his "sad face," those big brown eves would melt anyone's heart. Two cute stories- yesterday I was trying to fold laundry and Sawyer came over and curled up in my lap. I held him for a few minutes and then I told him I really needed to fold laundry. He took hold of both my arms and pulled them forward, around him on each side, and placed them in the laundry basket. Then twisted his head around and grinned at me. Next, Friday I was in the kitchen when I heard a tremendous banging from the living room. I heard Sawyer crying and I waited. The crying stopped and my boy walked around the corner rubbing his eyes furiously. I asked him if he was okay (I know I might sound heartless but you have no idea how often I have told Sawyer and Sadie to stop jumping on the furniture) and he looked up at me, still rubbing his eyes and says "Batman doesn't cry." I love having this little guy home with me every day.

Ellyn- Had a very hard week. She started being very grumpy last Friday. Saturday she seemed fine, but we drove up to Oakland and back for the Stake Temple day and she LOVES being in the van. Sunday she was so upset at church that Mike had to take her in the van for a little drive. Monday- bad, almost her entire tutoring session she was crying. At night her sleep was very sporadic. Monday night she woke up at 3:20 and stayed awake the rest of the night. Tuesday she didn't even want to do her OT and she normally loves it. I FINALLY figured it out. I was looking at her mouth and noticed her two front teeth were closer together, also she had been chewing on her sleeves. I thought it was just because she was ornery, which she will sometimes do, but then I realized she must be getting her 6 year molars. She won't let me in to check it out but I started giving her motrin and she was back to her happy self. She has been off the motrin for a couple of days now and she is our sweet girl again. I HATE not being able to help my girl and playing the guessing game. I know I have said that a MILLION times. With the exception of this communication break down, Ellie has been doing a lovely job using her "yes" sign and also saying Yes and No on a regular basis. You have no idea how much this new "yes" thing has made a difference in our lives. Hurray!

Sadie- Is doing really well. She has lots of friends at school and loves her new teacher. On Monday we got to go on a field trip together to the Habitat at Jane's school and learn about birds. She was able to hold one and release it back into the air. She loved it. Sadie is Sawyer's favorite playmate and I am thrilled that she genuinely loves to play with her little brother. She occasionally gets a little put out when they play video games but besides that they are great. They play great imagination games and since Sadie gets to be the boss and Sawyer follows her lead their scenarios turn out great. Sadie sprained her ankle doing "standing Teeter Totter Wars" at school on Thursday so she had to stay home from school Friday. She could have probably made it but I figured no teacher deserved the drama that would have ensued. My clue was when Sadie, with a brave and solemn face, said to me "Don't worry mom, my friends can be my human crutches today." I could just see it all. Yesterday we did "makeovers" and Sadie loved looking glamorous the entire afternoon.

Jane- Is busy. She has some huge projects for yearbook, lots of babysitting jobs, music performances coming up, social engagements, etc... a true teenager. Jane got her patriarchal blessing February 13th. It was an amazing experience for Janie and we, as parents, felt blessed to listen to what the Lord has in store for our daughter. It was a beautiful blessing and I am very excited for our girl. Jane has some exciting events coming up- her first Youth Conference in two weeks and going to see Wicked in April (I get to go too) with our Bishop and the Young Women. Jane tried out for a solo in choir and is on the list for call backs. She is so much braver than I am when it comes to performing, which is funny for such a quiet girl. This weekend she has had to record the polls for the 8th graders for the year book. She has been amused to find her name listed under "QUIRKELY QUIET," "INCOMPARABLE INSTRUMENTALIST," and "MOST ORIGINAL STYLE," as she has been recording the results.

Brooke- Since I am younger than Mike:-). I have our housing 99% secure for Leavenworth, which is a big relief. Now I need to contact Jane's and Ellyn's schools. Get Jane the right electives and get Ellyn's IEP over to the special ed so they are ready for next year. Our house that we are currently in is going back to the bank, our owner fired our rental agency, and so things are nice and up in the air there. I am relieved that we are leaving at the end of May. I could have already said that. My nose is healing nicely. It's been pretty painful, as have my teeth. I was not expecting that, but at my last appt. on Friday I asked my Dr. about it (thinking it was from breathing tubes or something) and he said it sometimes happens because he's working around those nerves. So my top front teeth have been aching for awhile but feeling better. I am so grateful that my mom was able to come for the week of my surgery and keep my house, laundry, meals and kids caught up because this past week has been crazy and I don't know how I would have played "catch up" on top of all that as well. I have started training for my marathon and that has been exciting and a little painful (i.e. my 14 mile run yesterday and also, the 32 degree weather and my poor nose). I am happy though and breathing better each day.

Mike- Busy. That is the definition of this man's life. Between his calling, training for the marathon, his school work, his Thesis, and trying to spend time with the family, his life is insane. He took it a little easy the week I was recovering and the girls were out of school but he is making up for it now. Friday, he did get to go to a big gaming conference up in San Francisco as part of his school work. He and his buddies had a really great time. Yesterday Mike did a twenty mile run and finished strong (I know, I was watching from the comfort of the van after I finished at 14). To clarify, Mike is running the Big Sur Marathon the first weekend in May and I am running the Newport Marathon the first weekend in June. After we returned home Mike iced, took a shower, a quick nap, ate, and then spent the next twelve hours in his office working on his thesis project. He has been downstairs since 7:30 this morning as well. It is exciting though, to hear that they are making very real progress on this project.

So our move is now less than 3 months away. For family home evening we made a list of all the things we wanted to do again or for the first time before we leave. Between things we are already committed to and bad weather, we are going to have very limited time to fit everything in before we leave. Hopefully I won't be as exhausted every Saturday as I was yesterday.

So this is a little novella. But it has been awhile. A nice way to spend a rainy Sunday morning.

OK Go - Here It Goes Again

Booke & Joan--this is for you (What?! OK Go isn't already on your playlist? :))

Helper Harris

Harris wants to be like cousin Ruby....

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Colorado Bennetts Try Snowshoeing