Ben's Game

Ben collects all the couch pillows in the house and makes a big pile and then jumps onto it. . .then he had the bright idea to put them at the bottom of the stairs and leap into them. . .but he couldn't quite convince himself to go for it, so he just stands on the bottom stair and gently lowers himself down. . .he still thinks that makes him pretty cool :)
. . .We just think he's funny!

Happy Birthday Will!

It has been a really great six years with this kid!!!

February 22, 2004

2005


2006


2007





2008

2009

2010

. . .and killer good looks, to boot!
Happy Birthday Buddy!

Time Flies!

Will: Mom, how long will you live?

Me: Well. . . .most people don't live past ninety, not very many live all the way to 100.

Will: So. . . how old are our great-grandparents?

Me: They are all in their 80s right now.

Will: Well. . .you're almost 80!

Me (shocked): I am???

Will: Yeah, you have the rest of your 30s and then 6 years and you will be 80!

Me: ???

Will (counting on his fingers): 30s. . . .40, 50, 60, 70, 80! No!!! Your 30s and then five years!

He shakes his head sadly. . .

What kind of crazy "New Math" are they teaching kids these days?

Drive to Montana

This weekend we took to the open road for a long overdue visit with Joe's grandparents and some of his cousins and aunt and uncle. We covered over 1100 miles and mostly at around 80 mph! The views were breathtaking and although the kids mostly played with toys or watched DVDs, there was one point where Kayte popped her head up and said, "Ooo, look Will! It's so pretty here. . .let's just look out the window for a little while!" (Yep, she's mine! :)

I told Joe that if he ever got fired, we were moving to Montana. I love it! It's so wide open with huge mountains popping up around the fringes, skiing and fishing right out your front door, real-live cowboys tip their hats at you while holding open the door, and we saw one guy with two guns holstered tightly under his t-shirt lunching with his family. . .I mean, Montana is America and I love that!

So, anyway, we had a good time. . .the kids are getting to be such a fun age to travel with - I love their enthusiasm!

Naptime in the car. . .a personal favorite of mine!

The room was huge because it had a Murphy Bed attached to the wall, so while it was up, there was lots of room to run, which Ben truly appreciated!

I'm starting to travel a bit like my mom: I pack my own pillow and sleeping pills, the seatbelt could definitely use a clip to hold itself in place, after 3 days of eating only sodium I was dying for a water pill, and my personal favorite: wine in papercups! My mom knows how to travel in comfort!

The minute we arrived at the hotel, we changed into our suits and hit the pool, then it was dinner and finally a movie so Joe and I could unwind a bit. And I was thrilled the Olympics kicked off that night - I love watching the kids watch the Olympics!

We found a hotdog joint that served every kind of hot dog you could imagine and the kids had fun playing with the super-sized chalkboard. Will brought his cowboy boots and hat because we were in cowboy country - he said he wanted to dress-up like a cowboy and I told him he was a cowboy! It isn't dress-up!

On our way back to Cardwell - I couldn't get enough of the view! We visited his grandparents place with this very cool 'cowboy' shed:

The kids loved the horses! That is the one pet I can imagine having one day. . .

Ben wasn't a big fan. . .

Goofy kid shot, in the background you can see the sign his cousin makes. She is quite the artist actually!

Pool fun! Get a good look at Ben's face - he's in heaven!

The water was 5 1/2 feet deep at the bottom of the slide, and I am happy to say that Kayte and Will did great with their swimming and had no trouble doing everything all by themselves!

On Sunday morning, we packed up and went into Livingston to attend Livingston Bible Church where Joe's uncle has been the pastor for 25 years. They came to that church with five kids, had seven more, and 11 of the 12 came home to surprise them with a big party! (The twelfth is in Korea in the Air Force.) It was so fun to see them all together and they really make 12 kids look like far more fun than work. . .but then, they are mostly all grown up now :)

We said goodbye, hopped in the car, and 8 hours later were home by our own fire watching the Olympics! It was a good trip!

Sara's such a Nut! . . .but in a good way :)

All packed and ready to go. . .3 days early!

I love this age when the kids start getting all crazy with their vocabulary and such. . .
We are headed over to Montana, taking advantage of the three (four) day weekend, to visit some of Joe's family and we've booked a really fantastic hotel (that has a 90-foot slide - how cool is that?) The kids are really psyched about it and they don't even know about the slide yet (why get them giddy when they are already going crazy?) But Sara is always calling the hotel 'the whole wide world'. I don't know where she got it, but I definitely encourage it. We (her and I) were listening to the radio the other day and some girl is singing about giving some guy her whole world, and Sara pipes up, "LISTEN! She is at the whole wide world!!! That's just like us!!! We're going there too!"

Later on, in this same conversation (we've been spending a lot of time shuffling the other kids around town so we have lots of time to chat. . .) she says to me, "Mom, are we having pizza for dinner?"
"Nope." says I.
"What kind of pizza?" says she.
"Sara, we are not having pizza for dinner!" says I.
"What kind?" says she (and I mean totally innocently!)
"Sara! NO pizza! We are not having pizza! None!" says I, a bit louder.
"What kind Mama?"
"NOO, No pizza!" says I, kinda a little bit irritated at this point.
"MOM! What kind of pizza are we having????" says she.
Um. . . .Pepperoni? . . .I give up already!!!

Sara has two babies, one named James (yes, she's a girl!) and the other is named Heaven.

And my all-time favorite:
She was clearing the table the other day, and she lifted her plate way up high over her head and flew into the kitchen yelling,
"INNN-coming!"

Ooo. . .one more tale on Ben!

Ben has somewhere figured out that food, after consumption, goes down into your belly. . .but he is all about efficiency and thinks that maybe one could just bypass all that other stuff and go right through the belly-button. I often see him trying to stick a cheeto in there, or maybe a piece of cheese. . .and the other day I found him stretched out in his crib, sucking his thumb, belly button exposed with a nice little pool of milk sitting in there waiting to be soaked on through. . .

He's so cute, I really could go on all day. . .

Puppy-Dog

The thing about Ben is, he is actually a very obedient little kid. He has learned a lot of good stuff from his older siblings. . .and I appreciate that. He doesn't talk a lot and is always reminding me of a little puppy, lounging around the place with his sock hanging out of his mouth. . .the other day the kids were watching something after school and I'd given everyone a cookie. Ben ate his up in a flash and turns to me and says, "Too-tee?. . .too-tee?"
He folds his hands together and gives me the most angelic little smile, and then he tilts his head a little and raises his little eyes at me. . .and I almost fall for it, but I say, "No. . .all done Ben."
And then. . .I swear he's learned this from a canine somewhere, but I can't imagine how. . .he growls and squawks at me, just like a pup!
So much for 'angelic'!

A common pose. . .Will joins in!

Ben's very first Obedience Game!

Our little Ben has both of us completely wrapped around his little finger. . .he really is the cutest thing on earth, I'm just sayin'.
The other night he was up late enough to get in a round of the Obedience Game. It is a bit like Simon Says, except that Simon always says, and your job is just to obey with a "Yes Sir!" He did a very good job keeping up with the other kids, and Joe and I had a lot of fun just watching him :)

"Hands Up!"

"Hands Down!"
And the best thing about this game is that the whole next day I get a lot more obedience, and a lot more "Yes Ma'am!"

Worn out!

Kayte called in sick Friday afternoon. . .she had a stomach bug the weekend before that lasted, oh, maybe 20 minutes total, so I didn't expect her to be sick again so quickly. But her grandma brought her home around 2 and I set her up with pillows on the couch where she promptly lost consciousness. I locked the other kids in the bedroom with a movie so as not to disturb her, and she slept for 2 hours before I finally got her up! It always surprises me how she can get worn down so completely, until I look at her schedule, which is cram-packed all of the time! She is a strong little 7 year old, that is for sure!

Cowboy Day!

We were born for this day! Cowboy blood runs deep in this family on both sides!

Well. . .he's the handsomest cowboy I have ever seen!
I remember last year we missed out on cowboy day cause we were at Disneyland (which was a bit of a hard-sell for Kayte, she was hoping we would still make it back in time :) And this year Will was gripped with some terrible stomach pain the night before the big day, but it turned out to be a result of all the excitement, in addition to the large bowl of spaghetti he literally inhaled. What a relief!

Today I'm Thankful for Snow. . . .in D.C.

Due to a very threatening snow warning in the DC area, Joe's business trip for the week was cancelled - hooray! I'd give up a lot of Idaho snow for this little gift :)

The latest schoolwork sample:

I love what I find in Kayte's piles of schoolwork: this is a gem!

Fowl Language

Today during lunch, Sara turns to me with her big grin and says, "Grandma has stupid chickens!"

Will, in horror, casts quick glances between Sara and I, and then whispers in a low tone, "Sara. . .you can't say that!"

In spite of myself, I let out a little snort. "Stupid" is absolutely a four-letter word around here. I don't know exactly how it gained that status because I don't really remember the first time it came up. But I know that my little nephew Jack nearly has a heart-attack any time he hears the word (which I think happens to be on Kelly's most-used-words list, by the way! :)

Will looks even more horrified that I dare laugh, and I explain, "She probably said it because she heard Grandma say it!" (When in trouble, blame Grandma :)

This seems to satisfy Will, and so I spend the next five minutes letting them roll that naughty phrase around in their mouths for a little till it loses it's funny, and we get on to new things.

I absolutely adore the innocence in these kids (what's left of it after that little exchange anyway :)!