Hey Griswold. Where do you think you're gonna put a tree that big?

No we didn't get a Christmas card sent out. If you are saying "Wait, I didn't get one last year either... Tough noogies...
Not really, we have yet to have ever sent any out.

We headed to California for the mandatory visit to my parental units. I kid, I kid Mom and Dad.

Luke was hamming it up while we packed
That thing in his mouth is a Giraffe. not a Melanosaurus. which is a dinosaur that lived during the Triassic Period. It was a large plant eating dinosaur, growing up to 40 feet long. Surprised you didn't know that.

While there we spent a day showing Annalyn and Diedre one of our favorite, non-touristy, local Californian get aways. Balboa Island. Where we rode around on a 12 passenger bicycle. Don't let the name fool you. 12 passenger bike is code for 10 guests pedaled around by Ryan and Lee. This place could get popular so see it before the tourists ruin it.

Christmas day came and Luke was very happy to be surrounded by Christmas gifts as you can see...

That was until he saw mommy kissing Santa, thats when we snapped this gem.

(enlarge for full effect)

And to top it off we got home only to find the weather of Southern California had been replaced by a weeks worth of Idaho snow. Which in itself isnt so horrible, but this is my second friggin winter my mailbox has been BURIED in snow. Can you find the mailbox in this mess?

Hope you all had a great Christmas and are planning to have a Happy New Years. Come visit, and help me shovel.

Holiday Madness

I don't know how the holidays get so crazy so fast. I pretty much had things under control and then Thanksgiving hit and there are now about a million things I need to get done and not enough time to get them done.... at least that is how it feels. One of the things on my list has been updating our blog. It has been so long that we had to get guest bloggers to fill the void! (Thanks Callie and Jessie!)

Let me back up and say we had a fun filled Thanksgiving. We went to the Bensons in Utah this year. We had 10 of the 11 siblings there and their spouses, kids, and some of the dogs. We all stayed with my parents which was a feat to fit that many people in one house. To the Benson kids it took us back to the days of growing up with two bedrooms, one bathroom and ten kids. I am sure it was a long weekend for the in-laws who never had to wait in such a long line to get a shower.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the Turkey Trot. Since all of us have competed in some sport or other through high school (some college) we tend to miss the glory days, which leads to us finding other competitive (I use that term very loosely) outlets. This year it was the Orem Turkey Trot. It was a 4 mile race on Thanksgiving morning. Here is the gang race ready.


I won't post what we looked like at the end... well I shouldn't say that for all of us. Some were more in shape than others... I was one of the others. Tamy, my youngest sister, even ran the mile race for kids. She did good, only stopping once to cry and tell Deb her stomach hurt. We convinced her to keep going and then she sprinted to the finish. Gotta love it! All in all it was fun until the next day when I couldn't walk because I was SO sore. Luke cheered us on from his little cocoon of warmth.


As for Black Friday shopping, we tried to avoid the crowds but got a couple of good deals. Ryan got the shopvac he has always dreamed of.

We are now moving into Christmas. We started a tradition of going to Island Park and cutting our own Christmas tree. Last year Jacob was there to help find the perfect tree. This year we had a different helper.


Ok, so he wasn't much help cutting or loading the tree but he did make things a lot more fun. We searched for the perfect tree which is a lot harder than it sounds. We wandered off the beaten path so Ryan decided to forge his own trail.


After we found a good tree; Luke, Biscuit and I cheered Ryan on as he cut down the tree and loaded it up. We quickly posed as if we had done all the hard work.


Pictures of the decorated tree to follow... some other day. Other than trying to keep up with the holidays, I have been busy trying to teach Luke to eat solids. It is an exhausting venture for all involved. Here is Luke resting after one attempt, and yes, those are carrots in his nose.


After doing the winter wonderland Christmas last year, this year we are heading to sunny southern California. I can't say that I am not looking forward to the warmth and sunshine! If I can just make it there and get everything done it will be my own Christmas miracle!

Insane in the Brain

Who doesn't watch VH1's 100 best hip hop songs? Yeah that's right i watched all 100 songs and LOVED IT!
I realized I had been to the concert of musical genius number 34: Cypress Hill Insane in the Brain (Yes I am that cool) Maybe the concert was a little scary, moshing was big back then and there were a lot of people there, good thing Callie was there to keep people from being up in my grill.
For a full list of the top 100's go to the link below, it really ages you
other Favorites include:83,80,66,47,38,37,29,26,20,17,4,2. Unfortunately Beyonces If you like it then you shoulda puta ring on it, didnt make the cut, I was rooting for that one
and my all time fav 72 : JJ Fad Supersonic, can I just say awesome?

My brother, the Poet...

Please follow the link. I am nothing if not humble.

Weekend Fun

We took a quick trip this weekend to Utah to see Grandma Rhonda, Grandma & Grandpa Benson and Callie. It was a last minute decision but a lot of fun to see everyone. While we were down we went to lunch at the new Harley-Davidson dealership. The food was good, the bikes were cool and the company was great.


We did a lot of shopping (Luke made out like a bandit) and visiting. It is always so good to see family. We took Grandma Rhonda to the airport early Saturday morning and headed home to catch the BYU football game.

When we got home the weather was so nice I got some bulbs planted and am totally excited for next spring to see them. I have decided that spring flowers are one of the best sights in spring. They make the winter melt away and also remind me of my mission where they planted tulips, daffodils, and crocuses in the park lawns. I didn't go quite that far but man was I tempted! I will post pictures in the spring. At half time Ryan decided to get a jump on the whole Christmas lights thing.


We recruited Levi to help us... actually he was the one here when we started. Last year Pete was the lucky one to risk his neck with Ryan trying to get all the lights straight and this year it was Levi. We give our volunteers the easy jobs! (Emily, I made sure he was safe!)


As you can see Luke and I stayed busy supervising the hard work, documenting everything, and making sure the lights were straight. Toughest jobs of all!


All in all it was a great weekend until Luke and Ryan came down with a cold they got from Callie's kids... thanks a lot Callie! We hope they both get better soon!

Peta didn't even ask the pigs opinion!

Georgia High School Pledges to End Kiss-a-Pig Contests

"When PETA received complaints about a "Kiss-a-Pig" contest at Flowery Branch High School's pep rally, we immediately contacted the principal and voiced concerns about how the pig was roughly handled. We informed him that these cruel events do not teach children compassion and kindness--they teach that animals are merely objects for our amusement. He promptly replied that he will not allow this type of event to happen at the school in the future."

Good thing Peta wasn't around as much when I was in High School or I would have never gotten any kisses. I didn't even mind being an object for their amusement.

You can see the original article Here. there is no link to show how sad I (and probably the pig) am that this is now no longer an event.

Fall Firsts

Seeing as this is Luke's first year of life, there are a lot of "Firsts". Here is a little pictoral review of the latest firsts:

Have I mentioned how much Ryan loves his motorcycle? Almost as much as he loves Luke. It is his happy place. I always know when he leaves for a ride that he will come back to me refreshed, happy, and relaxed. He also loves to share the joy with me. We often call Heidi over to babysit and take some time to ride the back roads of Lyman (ok, so all the roads out here could be considered "back"). Well sharing the joy of riding with just me was no longer enough. Ryan wanted to initiate Luke to the club. How can you say no to this?


We bundled him up and strapped him on for his first ride with Dad. I had serious misgivings but Ryan assured me he would stay right around the house. So Luke got his first, of what will surely be many, ride on the motorcycle with Dad.


The ride didn't last long... it was too stressful for me so I put a quick stop to the fun but Luke seemed to like it, almost as much as Ryan.

While shopping for Luke a month or so ago we ran across little halloween costumes. We bought the costume then and have been anxiously waiting for the big day to unveil our...

After visiting with friends, I am grateful that dressing up a baby is so easy and fun. They look cute dressed up as anything, not to mention they don't mind being dressed in a one piece costume all day.

We had a fun weekend. Callie and company came up to visit us and spend Halloween together. We had a couple of parties at the facilities that we needed to make an appearance at. Our residents loved seeing all the kids decked out in their costumes. After making the rounds at one party and charming all the ladies, Luke was out for the next one, Carter however was soaking it all up!

After those parties we had a Trunk-or-Treat at the church house. I am in the Primary Presidency and was in charge of the activity. It turned out good, especially for our first time. Luke slept through half of that activity too. When we got home he was awake and ready to party!

Saturday we all went for some ice cream. I have been trying to wait until 6 mo. to feed Luke solids because that is what my pediatrician recommended. But lately he is very interested in eating and is wanting to join in. While I was eating my ice cream he decided that it was time for him to get some. I gave in, to keep him quiet. It all started with a couple of small tastes which quickly accelerated to this:

Let's just say he is a quick learner! (We didn't really let him eat the rest of the cone.) I bought a high chair online today so that we can back up and start with some rice cereal. Hopefully his tastes aren't ruined already.

Last, but definitely not least, is Luke's first white shirt and tie outfit. Ryan was shopping for the facilities and ran across this little outfit. Being the doting father he is, there is no way he could pass it up. I couldn't pass up the chance to get a pictures of my two boys all polished up for church yesterday.

Don't they look good? I am so lucky to have them in my life. They take care of me and are the light of my life. Won't it be fun to take a picture like this throughout the years.

For those of you who haven't yet given into the Genius feature on Itunes I cannot say enough on how cool this is. Now they say my privacy was protected when I uploaded to "the Cloud", but really even if they used it to target my music taste and sell me music, how bad is it to get advertising for MORE weird Al? Is there such a thing as too much Al?

So what if there was a Genius feature to our daily lives? Could you have one thought in the morning about how to improve your day, push a genius button and have 15 more just pop into your head? When you are deciding where to go for lunch, hit the genius button and have 15 great food suggestions? Could Annalyn get me to do 1 thing around the house, hit the genius button and have me do 15 OTHER things?

( I am the over worked Jackass in this picture)

I shouldn't worry too much about this scenario because I would just "genius" 15 more of me to take care of Annalyns list.

Anyways. That is just my thought process as I listened to 15 great songs recommended to me today at work. Luke is getting bigger every day. Annalyn went out and got him a camping shirt and vest and I think he looks like a rugged outdoorsman. Good thing there arent 15 more of him to keep us up at night!

Niner Niner

So I have been tagged on one of those list things. I really enjoy reading them on other peoples blogs so here we go...

9 TV shows I watch:
1- Monk
2-The Office
3- Life
4- Eli Stone
5-Private Practice
6-Grey's Anatomy
7-House
8-America's Funniest Home Videos
9- One Tree Hill (Taren, you are not the only one ...)

9 Favorite Restaurants:
1-Olive Garden - love salad, breadsticks, and can always find something good
2-Carinos - love the bread and dip
3-Garcias- bean dip is the best
4-Original Thai -a recent favorite
5-Jimmy Johns -best sandwiches
6- T.G.I.Fridays -brownie obsession is to die for!
7-Wingers -warning: sticky fingers are addicting
8-Burger King -favorite burger joint
9- Del Taco -This one is for Ryan, and it is my favorite taco/ mexican fast food place

9 things I did yesterday:
1-Finished the final copy of our primary program
2-Went swimming at Heise Hot Springs
3-Cooked dinner
4-Laundry
5-Blog surfing - found out I was tagged
6-Visited with Grandma Benson, Marcia & Richard
7-Played with Luke
8-Visited with Aaron, Audra and kids - it was so fun to have them stay with us for the night
9-Watched part of the new Indiana Jones - I fell asleep during the middle

9 things I am looking forward to:
1-Halloween - I have never had a kid to dress up and show off!
2-Going to Europe to visit Liz and return to Germany
3-Getting back in shape and running my first road race in a long time
4-A full nights sleep- still working on the whole "sleep training" thing
5-A white Christmas
6-Seeing our quadruplets again - ...someday, not too soon
7-Our next family gathering
8-Summer
9-Knitting my first article of clothing - I am starting with dish rags

9 things on my wish list:
1-a piano and lessons
2-a chariot stroller w/ all the attachments - and the means and time to use them all
3-More kids
4-A dog that uses the toilet for things other than drinking - I have heard of potty trained cats , why not a dog?
5-A perfect wardrobe that I didn't have to shop for - o.k. maybe just something that fits my constantly changing body shape
6-A landscaped yard - not that dirt, rocks and weeds aren't nice...
7-Trackside ticket to a world championship track meet
8-Electrolysis - how great would it be not to have to shave your legs?
9-To find balance in my life

9 things I am scared of:
1-Losing Ryan and/or Luke
2-Raising a child in our world today
3-Snakes, spiders and rodents - pretty much anything creepy or crawly
4-That I will forget all my German - thinking about a Rosetta stone refresher course
5-Cancer, arthritis and ingrown toenails
6-Not ever getting all my photos organized - since Luke was born I take them way faster then I can organize them
7-Drowning
8-Not living up to my potential
9-That I will never learn to ski well

I am supposed to now tag 9 people. I tag Adriana, Elizabeth, Kellie, Alisha, Sarah Cook, Danielle, Deidre, Natalie, and Sandi.

I was looking at our past posts and saw that I had missed some comments. Thank you for the comments, they are so fun to read. One was from Alisha asking for an updated family picture of the Benson Clan. So all of you who knew my family back in the day here they are as of last February (Emily's wedding) .

Top L to R: Josh, Me, Peter, Liz, Matthew, Deborah, Michael, Aaron. Bottom L to R: Tamy, Mom, Emily, Dad, Angie (In case you don't recognize them all)

I will leave you a picture of Luke. We have been trying to practice sitting up and this was one of his attempts.


As you can probably guess it quickly turned into this:

Are you ready for the Digital REVOLUTION?!?

Abercrombie Vs. abercrombie

Can you tell me the Difference...

Me Either..

So I was putting away some some shirts and I came across my Abercrombie one and had a horrific flashback.

After my mission someone told me I needed some new clothes (braided belt and pegged pants had SOMEHOW gone out of style.) and I should go to the Riverwoods to Abercrombie and Fitch. So alone I went, looking for some clothes to make me hip and attractive to the ladyz. I walked in to the blazing sounds of music cranked to 11 and clothes that were wrinkled and laid on the table instead of hung up. I grabbed a couple shirts and headed for the dressing room. These shirts were TIGHT, and I don't mean that in the "dude those are TIGHT! " kinda way. So the girl working the store asked if she could help. I asked if this was a normal fit, to which she told me I might find a better fit at the ADULT store down the road. I guess I should have known Fitch would never sell clothes to children.

You look at those signs. Capitalized is Adult, lower case is children.

Mr. Abercrombie, You are dead to me, Mrs. Fitch, we're cool.


UPDATE!!!
Now I don't know if this makes the story better because I have someone to verify it, or worse because I have blocked this experience. My sister, Callie, says she was with me for this debacle. I personally think I have told this story to her so much that she has inserted this story into her own memories. Is this proof that an eye witness at a crime scene cannot be trusted? All I do know is whenever I come across these horrible store fronts I have a the same feeling I got when I got busted cheating on my times table drills in third grade by Mrs. Fuja. Just makes me want to vomit. The next update to this event will be Annalyn telling me she was the clerk working in the store that day.

Domestication

With the addition of Luke to our family all my feeble excuses for not being "domestic" have gone out the window. I have told myself for 4 years that once I stayed home and had kids I would nurture the homemaking side of myself. I am sure there has to be a homemaking side in there somewhere being the oldest of eleven and the daughter of a champion house wife. Luke hasn't been convinced yet...


My first goal was to do some canning. I had planned to have a garden and then can what I had grown. Well, being 9 month pregnant at garden planting time was the perfect excuse not to do the garden. I just didn't have the energy or drive to get it done. My back-up plan was to buy some fruit and go from there. I missed strawberry season with a newborn and then my mom convinced me that peaches were too expensive and it was more cost effective to buy them already canned. I had almost given up on my goal and then Lyndi offered to let me pick some of her uncle's corn and so I could can it. She doesn't know it but she saved me! I was able to pick some corn, call my mom for instructions and tips, and with the help of Pete and Heidi (couldn't have done it without them) I canned some corn!

We actually ate some this week and it was delicious! I have started on the road to being a canner!

My next goal has been one since I got married. I have had a goal to cook dinner regularly. It may sound funny to some of you but we have fallen into the habit of eating out more than eating at home. With just to two of us for so many years and also working together. I was tired when we got home from work and we were both hungry so more often than not we would run and get something to eat or pick something up on the way home from work. This week I have cooked every night! As Ryan pointed out, I think it is a record for us. To celebrate we are going out to dinner and a movie tonight. :)

My last goal is to be a good mom. I am sure that I won't reach this in one shot. Luke promises that he will make it easy on me.

I can't complain so far. He is getting to be more and more fun. He is now rolling all over the floor and loves to be able to do it. He is playing with toys, smiling, and laughing. We have tried to get the laughing on video but all we get is the two of us acting like crazies trying to get a somber kid to smile. As soon as the camera is off he will do what ever we want! We are starting to sleep train Luke and that has been going relatively well. The only worrisome thing is his last encounter with his cousin Carter...

Luke was caught red-handed letting Carter know who was the older cousin! We will have to keep our eyes on this one.

I am sure I will share all my domestic milestones as I reach them, so stay tuned ...

5 Weddings and a Funeral

It has been a year of weddings for Ryan and I. Between the two of us we have had 5 siblings get married. Emily and Levi started things out in February by getting married in Salt Lake.

The day was unseasonably warm and turned out to be a beautiful day. We enjoy the addition of Levi to the family. He and Ryan are motorcycle buddies.

Next Jacob and Deidre sealed the deal in March. We love to take credit for this one because we set them up on a blind date. I feel lucky that I got to hand pick my only married-in-sister-in-law on that side of the family and we tied Jacob to Idaho via Deidre!

We loved having them up here both working with us. We miss them now that they are in St. George. We like to think they miss us too, although I am not sure they will miss the Idaho winter that is fast approaching.

Pete and Heidi chose June as their month of love. Like Jacob and Deidre they chose Idaho as the place to tie the knot. We had lots of family around us to celebrate with. It is nice to have everyone come our way rather then having to travel.

Pete and Heidi moved into our old place down the road and we love having them so close. They have become great baby/dog -sitters. We are grateful for our arrangement and look forward to their little one!

Deb and Mike decided to elope in July. Unfortunately we have no pictures of their big day but are equally as happy for them. We got to meet up with the happy couple soon after at a family reunion. I have never seen Deb look happier. We are excited that Mike joined the family. They now live in Colorado where Deb is finishing out her senior year playing soccer at Mesa State.

And last but definitely not least Chris and Jessie got hitched last weekend down in California. We are always looking for good excuses to go home to California and were excited to head down to the sun and sand. Their wedding was perfect with perfect weather to match.


As you can see they are a very happy couple. (Thanks for the picture Callie!) We have liked Chris from the beginning and know he will be a wonderful addition to the family. He passed the "Bear Lake Test" with flying colors so the rest should be smooth sailing!

The year is not over yet and we both have at least one more available sibling of marriageable age so if the stars align we could go for 7 weddings in a year!

Our Funeral:

The first thing we did when we got to California was go and visit Grandma Ernie in the hospital. She had not met Luke yet and we were anxious for him to meet his Great- Grandma Ernie. We had a wonderful visit. She was feeling good and loved to see Luke. He was on his best behavior, smiling and laughing for us all.


Grandma Ernie passed away the next day. We will miss her. She was always so good to us. I don't really feel qualified to eulogize her because she has only been my grandma for 4 years but I learned to love her quickly. She was witty, loved to laugh and was very generous. Callie blogged more about Grandma Ernie (check out her blog) and added the poem that Grandma wrote for her grandchildren.

We loved Grandma Ernie and are going to miss her!

The girl that gave me Cooties

Today is another one of those days that I really appreciate Annalyn. On top of taking care of Luke, teaching CPR/First Aid, and dealing with me, she still comes down on Wednesdays and helps me at work. It might not sound like much but it is harder than it sounds. So...

Reasons why Annalyn is the best.

10. When she told a story about someone leaving their child alone while out getting cigarettes she said " The lady left to get some smokes." Like it was something she does all the time. She is so down with smoking she uses the term "Getting some smokes." I find this very funny.

9. Sometimes she lets me pick her out clothes. Doesn't really question my taste. Next shopping trip I plan on getting her a tube top and a mini-skirt, or this outfit...


8. She gave me this, drooling problem and all.


7. Can't forget these...


6. In her last post she posted a picture of me on my "hog". She pretends to give me a hard time, but she has been awesome about letting me ride this guilt free.


5. She got up in the middle of the night last night and let Biscuit out at 3:00 am


4. She lets me laugh at my favorite movie, even though it is her least favorite movie.


3. She loves to learn, and is good at it. Really she is the smartest girl I know. She improved our gene pool quite a bit.

2. She worries about her friends and what they are going through. Adam and Lisa, we were both thinking about you these last few months. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Their baby Gabe was born, and passed away this month.

1. She tells me she loves me at least once a day. I need reminding, and she married me before I had to resort to this...


Annalyn, Thanks for being my wife. I love you and I want everyone to know it. Besides, my girlfriend Lupe only reads Spanish blogs, so we're cool.