Belated Birthday Gift

Along time ago...before my birthday, Jeff asked me what I wanted. I gave him a couple ideas of things I'd enjoy, and one thing I requested was an apron. I haven't had one during our entire six years of marriage, and figured it was about time.
Of course it was more complicated than I expected. How hard can it be to pick out an apron? All I wanted was something cute & fun, a little more than just a basic brown canvas apron. There's just something about an apron that makes you want to spend the afternoon in the kitchen whipping out a big, yummy dinner complete with gourmet dessert. (No wonder Jeff was so eager to grant my request!;) I wanted a *fun* apron that I would be eager to wear.
So I was looking around at some different aprons and completely amazed at how much they cost! Maybe other people think differently, but as cute as the apron may be, $70 is WAY too much for me to pay for a piece of cloth that's going to be splattered by grease! As silly as it sounds, we actually had to look around for a while. Finally Jeff found one that I really liked and that was also affordable-under $15...which is still a little pricey for an apron, but not too bad for a birthday present. So with the click of a button, Jeff ordered the apron and it was on it's way. It was fun to finally get it in the mail, a late birthday present is still great to me. Feel free to send all worthwhile 'June Cleaver' and 'Martha Stewart' recipes my way!

Strasburg, PA

Completely out of order...this is what we did last Wednesday.

More to Come...

The Rest of the Week

It was sure fun to enjoy time with Jeff this week. It's been nice to just have a laid-back week to enjoy being together as a family. I think with his busy schedule over these past 6 years, I've become pretty independent and self reliant. (Anyone who's gone through med school, and especially residency, or just has a husband who works long hours can relate) I love Jeff, but because he is gone so much, and because I'm left on my own so often, I've also wanted to be a mother who can take care of the house and children confidently on my own. I guess in a way, I've wanted to become slightly hardened to the emotion of wanting my husband constantly with me. Only because if I don't, I'm setting myself up for loneliness and disappointment. I love him and love every minute he can spend with me and our family, but I can also be okay when I'm on my own with our boys.
It's funny though, all my experience, and all the time I've spent 'training' myself to be this way can be completely undone in a week long vacation with Jeff constantly at my side. So I find myself in mourning here on a Sunday night, knowing that my best friend has to go back to work again tomorrow morning, and wondering how I'll make it through the week without him. I wish every week could be a vacation week... I guess it's time to go back to being strong again.
On Thursday afternoon we went to the nearby playhouse and playground. The boys loved showing Jeff all the fun things and especially the giant slide. They loved going on it together, racing down to see who was the fastest. Jeff would take Matthew with him and they all loved it. My favorite part? Sitting in the shady grass next to Jeff, playing with Matthew, and watching Jacob and Caleb build piles of leaves in the grass.
Saturday morning I finished a 16 mile run and came home to the boys laughing and playing with Jeff on the floor, with breakfast all ready on the table. After a day of working around the house and on the car, and running errands, we took the boys fishing. They've been dying to go for so long. They each have their own little fishing pole and had been 'practicing' for quite a while. We found a nice quiet little place on the nearby river. Unfortunately the fish weren't too hungry that night. We didn't catch anything, but we sure had a fun time together. (pictures to come as soon as I upload them to the computer)

Matthew is 11 Months

• Loves to drop things over his shoulder/behind his head. I often find fun little “surprises” between the back of his high chair & the chair it sits on.
• He likes to ‘spin’ circles. (You’ve seen the movie) He’ll go from sitting on his bottom, sideways to his hands & knees, and sideways again back to his bottom. He repeats this to ‘spin’ circles around the room. So funny.
• Guess who’s walking!! Matthew will take up to 10 steps at a time now. He’s decided he’s ready and likes to try and walk all over. He’s still wobbly and falls pretty often, he whines a little, then crawls over to stand up to something and tries again. I have mixed feelings, it’s so fun to watch him progress but sad to see him become less and less of a baby.
• Loves to cruise along all the furniture. I love his little walk, he holds his arms straight out for balance and walks so cute.
• Has a little bit of a temper when he’s upset. I thought he would be our easy keeper, but he’s proving that he’s got a mind of his own too. He’ll throw a tantrum by crawling away fast then sprawling himself out on the ground.
• Along those lines, sometimes when he’s upset he tries to bite…typically Caleb is the one on the other side of the teeth. We’re working on this one, but he usually laughs when I tap his mouth & tell him “no no.”
• When he’s happy, he kneels up on his knees & ‘bounces’ up and down while waving his arms. Pretty funny. (Sometimes he also does this when he’s upset) He also will ‘walk’ while kneeling on his knees.
• Matthew likes to play with his hair. Sometimes he pulls on it, usually just runs his hands through it. He especially likes to do it when he’s eating which results in many post-meal baths because of sticky hair!
• Starting to really enjoy his sippy cup. He seems to prefer water over anything else. He likes to lay on his back and drink out of his cup while laying down.
• A typical boy, he loves to play with cars, trucks, and trains.
• He’s my little mess-maker and loves to pull things out of drawers, cupboards, baskets, etc. He likes to make his mess then crawl away to find the next adventure.
• Absolutely loves his baths. Anytime the water is running, he makes a beeline for the bathroom to try and play in it. He also likes the toilet…
• Matthew loves to play with Jacob and Caleb. He tries to do his best to keep up with them, and loves to play with anything they’re playing with, and do anything they’re doing.
• He has 6 teeth, but 4 more are just sitting right there. I can see the tops, but they haven’t fully come through yet.
• Loves his food and will sometimes put it in his mouth as fast as he can. He doesn’t seem to like cold, wet/slimy foods much.

I can't believe Matthew will be a year old in just one month. We love this little guy.

Adventure Aquarium & Battleship NewJersey

A while back we found out that Jeff's uncle & family would be coming to stay with us for a few days. We decided while we were doing some sight-seeing with them, we might as well make a week of it- so Jeff took off the entire week. Come to find out, Uncle Dean & Aunt Linda weren't able to make the trip. We were sad they couldn't come, but we still had the entire week off- so we decided to do a little vacation of our own around the somewhat nearby areas.
Today we went to the Adventure Aquarium & Battleship New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey. It was the first time any of us have been, and it was a blast. First of all, the timing couldn't have been better, there were only a few people there so we were able to peruse around at our own pace without having to worry about fighting crowds or loosing children in large groups. (Caleb has a serious record of getting lost in places like that...) The Aquarium was awesome! There were so many exhibits of different fish, birds, animals, amphibians, etc. We spent about 4 hours and we moved through things fairly quickly. One of our favorite stops was at the hippo exhibit. At first they were just laying there in the water, but eventually they started moving around and put on a pretty good show running and 'dancing' around in the water. We loved the huge glass window and all the neat fish inside the exhibit. Matthew was pretty enthralled and kept trying to grab the fish through the glass. I enjoyed watching Caleb, no matter how many times that silly hippo went around the cage he would always jump a little when it got close to him.
Another area we enjoyed were all the petting stations. The boys were able to pet sharks, sting rays, jelly fish, starfish, and a whole bunch of other fish and sea creatures. I touched a few, but I'm happy to just look. I especially liked all the hand sanitizer dispensers located around these stations.
One of mine & Jeff's favorites were the neat shark exhibits. They were located at various points throughout the aquarium. I loved the huge tanks with gigantic glass windows. I think I would have been happy to just sit and watch all the fish, sharks, and turtles swimming around. In one place there is a glass tunnel that you can walk through and it's pretty neat to see the sharks swimming all around you. At this point of the day Matthew was getting a little grumpy, and who can blame him? Poor kid hadn’t had a decent nap all day and it was almost 2. The shark tunnel took his attention off his tiredness for a while.
The last exhibit was the one for the penguins and seals. The seals were neat, the penguins were hilarious! They’re so funny to watch, they have these little attitudes and really put on a show for anyone watching. The boys loved them and it was fun to be outside for a little while.
After the aquarium, we headed over to tour the Battleship New Jersey. First of all, it’s amazing to see this huge beautiful ship sitting there on the river. I don’t think you realize just how big these boats are until you get right up next to them. For this tour, we opted for the “self-guided” version complete with headsets and little info boxes. It was actually really neat. You would follow the painted lines throughout the ship, entering the numbers at each stop and listen to the recording. Jacob especially got a kick out of this as he had his own personal little headset. He took it pretty seriously and would tell us, “Okay, now we need to head over to the steep stairs and be careful as we go up the port side!” (And yes, some of those staircases were steep!) It was really a lot of fun going all throughout that amazing ship. I would highly recommend the Battleship New Jersey as a stop for anyone who might ever be in the area. I learned a lot about the history of the ship, and men who served aboard it. I do have to add that I’m very impressed by anyone who could be proficient in finding their way around the ship without needing the “You-Are-Here” signs, and pained lines directing you where to go.
For us, the whole tour took just over an hour, you could spend more or less time depending on how much time you’d like to take looking around- or how many children under the age of 5 you have with you-especially when they *really* need to use the bathroom that is only located at the very end of the tour. Even with these things, we had a great time and our kids loved it. (I also think it helped that there were hardly any people there today.)
By the end of the day the kids were pretty tired, it was a fairly long day. I wasn’t sure Caleb was going to finish the tour, he was perfectly content to camp out on the stairs on the way down from the boat. Eventually he was coaxed down with the motivation of an ice cream cone. Matthew was content to sleep in his stroller on our way back to the car. I loved seeing his soft blonde hair flying in the wind. We definitely did our job as parents today; running around with the kids all day and playing hard enough that they slept most of the way home.

A Fall Favorite

Just one of the many aspects I love about the changing seasons is the change of *flavors* that go along with it. Different foods are made for different seasons. With fall in the air, I start craving “Fall” food. One of my absolute favorite treats for this time of year is pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I only make them a few times a year- usually when it’s cold outside. The smell of pumpkin & cinnamon in the house is the perfect addition for a sunny autumn afternoon. Last Saturday was a perfect ‘one of those days’, so we made cookies. It can be a dangerous situation with warm cookies around, but I felt justified because…

1. I ran 11 miles that morning
2. The following day was fast Sunday
3. There are four other people in the household that love these cookies ALMOST as much as I do.

It was a yummy afternoon!

GUESS...

Can you guess what the boys have in their bucket?

If you guessed 8 frogs...you're right!

Saturday afternoon while out on our porch, we realized that the grass was speckled with frogs behind our apartment. They like to come out after the rain or when it's really humid outside. Being the adventurers we are, the boys and I grabbed a bucket & went out to go frog hunting. Jacob & Caleb caught 8 frogs. Fat frogs, skinny frogs, frogs that climbed on rocks... My favorites are the tiny ones. I got a kick out of Caleb, he liked them, but got a little nervous when picking up the big ones. We put them in our bucket, then let them all go.

More Goodbyes

Friday afternoon we said goodbye to more wonderful friends, and recently discovered- family members! Brett & Angie Clayton moved with their three boys on Friday. We found out that Brett & my dad are second cousins through the Benson family line. No wonder our boys got along so well! Jacob & Caleb are sure going to miss Taft & Zea. And although they're much to young to even be aware...I'm sure Matthew & Nathan will miss each other too. We went to visit for a little while on Friday. After giving hugs and saying goodbye, Caleb was crying in the car that he didn't get to say goodbye, and Zea was crying on the sidewalk saying he wanted to come with us. It was one of those moments that just breaks your heart. We'll miss you guys!

First Day of Preschool

It’s that time again, the kids are headed back to school…preschool in our case. I love the feeling in the air, the school supplies in the store, the cooler weather, and all the fun things that go along with the change of the season. (My husband would insist that I add football along with that list :)

This year, Jacob is headed back for his 2^nd year; and Caleb is starting for the very first time. I was excited when they decided to do another class for the younger kids. Both boys have been excited for this for a long time. I’m excited for them too, and I’m especially glad that I only have to give them up for a couple hours, two times a week. Caleb goes in the morning from 9:30-11:45, and Jacob goes from 12-2:15. It does make it a bit of a juggling act to go back and forth, all the while trying to fit in errands, and schedule Matthew’s naps. But it’s worked out pretty well so far, it just requires planning.

It was fun to go with Caleb for the first 30 minutes of his class. He definitely seemed more interested in playing with all the fun toys than sitting and listening- but I think he’ll catch on to the hang of it. He’s been watching Jacob do this for a year, and he’s pretty excited that it’s finally his turn. He was lucky enough to get to celebrate his birthday on the first day of preschool. He got to bring in his birthday poster and birthday treats for all of his friends- we did the “dirt” cups with oreos, pudding, and of course gummy worms.

It was certainly a fun first day of preschool for both of the boys. (Matthew enjoyed it too:)

(Jacob's Class)

(Caleb's Class)

Circus Baby

With no television, our kids are forced to provide the entertainment at our house! (JK) This is Matthew's latest trick, spinning circles around the room. It's so funny, I'm sure other babies do it, I've just never seen it before. He'll keep doing it for a while and it keeps everyone pretty entertained. There's been a few times where he hasn't had enough room and has bonked right into a dresser/couch/etc, but he keeps going, so I guess he's having fun too! (This is my first time uploading a video. Our camera doesn't take the best videos- they're a little choppy, but Grandma wanted to see Matthew in action so this is the best I could do.)

Rainy Day People

I love a good rainy day every now & then. We haven't had much this summer, but with hurricane season in full force we're experiencing some of the aftermath. It POURED all day today. Sometimes lightly and other times in torrential downpours. I wish I would have taken my own picture. We have a couple buckets on our porch that were filled with about 7 inches of water this evening. We had plans to go out today, but instead decided to stay home and enjoy our cozy little apartment with its awesome views of the rain through our big porch window/door. The boys loved it. One of my favorite memories from today- I stood outside the door for a minute with Matthew- it was fun to watch him crinkling up his nose, looking all around, trying to figure out where in the world all the water was coming from.
We did chores in the morning, and watched a movie together after lunch. When Jeff went to the priesthood session of stake conference, the boys and I had fun playing with playdough, opening all our windows to hear & smell the rain, and having dinner together. I love warm, sunny weather, but there's nothing better than a good rainy day every once in a while...especially when you can spend it at home with your family. We're definitely, "Rainy Day People." (and Gordon Lightfoot fans too)

Friday Nights

We love Friday nights, especially when it's our night for a date! This Friday we headed up to Dave & Busters with some friends, the Farnsworths & Sperrys for a night of food & fun. The atmosphere is definitely suited more for the young singles crowd, but hey, we're still young and even though we're not single & have 5 children- we fit in pretty well- especially when it came to enthusiasm for the games. We had some pretty serious games of car racing (somehow I managed to come in 1st place!...it'll probably never happen again), horse racing, basketball, and of course...the jumping rope/light game. Thanks guys for a fun night, and Palmers for watching our kids- they had a blast.