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And to top it off we got home only to find the weather of Southern California had been replaced by a weeks worth of Idaho snow.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.