Addresses Please!

Hey everyone! It's that time of year again and I need updated addresses! I have last year's saved so if you have moved since last Christmas please send me your new address. If you haven't moved you should be covered:) Thanks for you help and have a very Merry Christmas!!

April 24 2010 : I Predict

Baby Boy Benson will arrive promptly, if not early to join our family with no screaming and plenty of night time sleeping! How I hope I am right!!!!!! I suppose we are safe to say we are having a boy! (although the Dr. says he's only 90 percent sure... I don't totally understand that, but I will take my chances:))

On a smaller note... we need name help! Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have only one issue: I love names that end with the on/en sound BUT I'm not crazy about how it sounds with Benson. So if we could avoid that, I would be grateful. Thanks for your help!!

Fall Update

Apparently we are blogging by season now so expect the next update in oh... April or May. Here's the rundown for the last couple of months:)
Kenadee's 2nd Birthday!!
We took Kenadee and her two cousins Reese and Ally to the Treehouse Children's museum and they had a ball!! we will definitely be spending more time there this winter when we are couped up in the house:) Then we had a Dora bday party at kena's request. She was so excited and seriously planned the whole thing herself. All she wanted (and talked about for a solid month) were Party hats, balloons, and goody bags! oh and cupcakes so that's what we did and she is still talking about it! Doesn't take much to please her!






State Soccer
We had a blast watching Heidi play soccer her senior year and they made it all the way to the state championship! They ended up taking 2nd and Heidi did AWESOME!! that girl can play ball! We made goofy T-shirts for the 3 of us and had a great time cheering for Motown!




Halloween
Kenadee REALLY wanted to be a witch this year (despite my best efforts to persuade her to go as wonderwoman)so I gave in a got her a witch costume. However, when we got the costume home she REFUSED to put it on for DAYS. She kept saying "mom, my witch costume is too scary to try on" I had given up on her wearing the witch outfit when at the last minute I decided to give it one more try. We were on our way to a neighborhood kids halloween party (where costumes were going to be worn and we had none) So I told Kenadee that all the kids who wore costumes would get candy in their trick or treat bags but kids who didnt wear costumes would get nothing. If only I had known it would be that EASY! She immediately said "wears my witch hat and my dress?" and that was that she didn't take her witch outfit of for 3 days after that! She obviously has a sweet tooth (like her mom)
halloween pics to come:)

Summer Fun

Emma, Kena, and Ally "Snack Pack Finger Painting" (yes Kenadee still has a binkie and she is almost two. The kid just won't give it up. and don't even get me started on her "yellow blankie" Ugh!)

So far we have had a great summer! I'm a pretty big loser at snapping pictures of our family activities and this I regret... so I will have to try harder at that. For now here is a quick run down of our adventures!

- Kenadee has Loved and I mean LOVED the park this year! We have gone at least once a week and she can't get enough!! I think she would live on a swing if she could!

-Kenadee loves hanging out with Emma too and we have been so glad to have them around for a couple of months! She also Loves her cousin Ally and basically worships her) They have loved picnics, snack pack finger painting, slippin slide/sprinklers and playing with Thumper our kind of creepy cat.

-We went to Bear Lake this past weekend and played in the water and camped. Kenadee loved the water and pretended to "swim" for hours! When Grandpa Vern asked her if she was a fish she said " I'm not a fish. I'm a girl! and a Kena!" I think she was a little insulted!

-We went to see the Blanks aka Teds Band at the Layton Amphitheater. (We are big scrubs fans!) I'm pretty sure we were the only people under 50 there too but it was still fun to see Ted and his buddies perform live! Kenadee wasn't a huge fan though. After the first song she kept saying "I don't want them to sing anymore" so it was a long night for her!

- Skyler had his company party at classic skating which we thought would be pretty lame to say the least since neither of us had snow balled since the 3rd grade! But... it turned out to be Really Fun!! We had a karaoke room complete with disco ball and a stage, we had a geat time on the blow up slides and bounce houses. Kenadee would go down the little slide and run over to us and give us both a big high five and then go again! She was so proud of herself! The best part was definitely the water slides though! Much faster than you might think! And Kenadee went down all of them with us! Man she is getting brave!

- We also enjoyed GI JOE and Transformers at the drive in movie... sadly... I didn't even make it through the first movie! Skyler was a little bummed about that! I ended up just having wierd dreams about Optimus Prime! Kenadee thought it was cool to watch tv in the car though!

- The Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House was also a lot of fun and so neat to get to take Kena and Ally inside such a beautiful building! Kenadee loves "Jesus Temples" and can spot one a mile away! sometimes any big building is a Jesus Temple to her! It can be pretty funny sometimes! We were sitting in the sealing room when out of nowhere Ally lifter up her shirt to show us a tattoo of nemo she had stuck on her belly earlier that day! it was pretty hard not to laugh at that!!


-We have also had lots of weddings, reunions, birthday parties etc... and have enjoyed spending some quality time with family! My grandpa and skyler's grandma both celebrated their 90th birthdays this year! We are so lucky to have them in our lives and we love them so much!

That concludes our summer fun for this year! Now the fun really starts since Skyler will be starting school tomorrow! more to come on that:)

The Lovely and Talented Fab Five!!!!!!

I am just as proud as punch to have such a talented friend!! If you didn't watch it this week check out this video of my dear Veva and sisters on America's got talent!! And then make sure you vote for the Fab Five!!!!!!!!!!!! They are amazing!!!

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Utah's Hogle Zoo

We took Kenadee to the Zoo for the first time last weekend. She loved it for the most part...we forgot her stroller so that made the day extra special:) Her favorites were the monkeys,bunnies, giraffes, and elephants. She also especially enjoyed the carousel (she rode a kangaroo but called it a bunny the whole time!) and train, and of course the orange dream bar!

Thanks Voters!!!!

Thanks for supporting Jennie- she won the contest!!!

Vote for Jennie's Shoes!!!!!!!!

My dear friend Jennie is apart of a contest right now and needs your votes! If she recieves the most votes she will win a family photo package (worth $475) and a whole bunch of other fun stuff! All you have to do is vote for the picture of her shoes. She is #20 so go vote and help out a friend!!!! and remember... if you have 2 computers you can vote twice:)
Thanks for your help!!

vote here

Backyard Projects

Finally Complete! It's oh so nice to have a yard... and a husband who enjoys projects! As for the garden... I have very low expectations for its survival:) We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed!

Latest Photo Shoot

the latest of Kenadee... I'm still trying to learn the tricks of photography for my own family's sake. (my war against expensive photography wages on:)) You will probably be seeing alot of this stuff over the next couple of months because I am starting a photo class this week and I need practice! lots and lots of practice! Sorry to put you through endless pictures of my family:) feel free to ignore us for awhile if you wish!

Man In The Mirror

I LOVE Michael Jackson! Say what you will he was amazing and will always be the king...of pop:) Here's one of my favorites from MJ. WE MISS YOU MICHAEL!

1st haircut!!!

Kenadee was rocking a pretty sweet mullet that desperately needed to be dealt with! Oddly enough I had a pretty tough time finding someone who would chop my little one's mangy locks. Luckily I ran into Puff (who also has a little girl about Kenadee's age and felt my pain) With her expertise and empathy for rat tails, she took Kena from mullet to mod! Voila! what a difference! Thanks Puff!!!

BEFORE



AFTER

I thought milk was bad....

this week Kenadee put half a jar of vaseline in one side of her hair!!! awesome!!!!



when asked "what is in your hair Kenadee?" she matter of factly said... "its vassy mom" PERFECT!!

p.s. for those of you who may encounter this problem in the future: don't bother trying to wash it out with water. (vaseline is water resistant... its kind of its core purpose) but corn starch will get it out:) nothing like learning the hard way!

Joy List

A few years back I took a class that required each student to make a Joy List. A list of anything and everything you could think of that brings you joy. The point was to think of all the small, simple things that make us happy every day and to remember that life is full of positive and worthwhile things even if they are little. Since then, I sometimes wonder - what things do I enjoy right now that aren't on my original list?- Here are the latest top 5.... I hope to keeping adding to my Joy list!

1. Fresh Strawberry Shakes
2. Michael Jackson's pre-white music
3. Alias (the tv show)
4. Sidewalk Chalk
5. eyes lips face cosmetics

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

a few pics of our Easter morn... Kenadee was still more excited about the grass and the basket than what was in it. She really wanted to wear both of them around her neck for some reason. Then she discovered there was chocolate quack quacks and that was the end of grass and basket wearing!



The Grass/necklace



The Basket/necklace


The chocolate quack quack


Easter Dress!

A typical day...

So just as we are headed out the door...already pushing it to be on time wherever it was we were going... I run to the bathroom to turn off my flat iron and run right back out... maybe 10 seconds... MAYBE... and this is what I find...





I knew I shouldn't have left Kenadee in the highchair unsupervised! she dumped out her milk, swished her hands all around in it, and rubbed them in her hair... repeatedly. By the time she had finished she looked like a tiny used car salesman! sorry folks... we're late again!!!

The Big Night!!!!

what's more exciting than Prom??!!! well let me tell you...Its been a pretty big deal in the Benson household this year since the only girl after 5 boys was finally able to go! Heidi was nice enough to let us take a few pics of her and her date before the dance.

no...vern was not her date

her real date

heidi!

Sunny St George!

The sun does exist!!! There for awhile we were starting to believe that this alleged sun was only a mythical magical creature that existed only in the land of fairy tales... turns out its just 5 hours south!! We headed down to St. George for our annual Rowser family "spring break". It wasn't quite girls gone wild but 2 uninterrupted hours of reading by the pool (for me) and a daily round of golf with the boys (for skyler) was SO much better than topless ladies!!! It was heaven!! The whole family was able to make it this year and despite losing the battle of real bedroom vs. air mattress in the living room, we had a blast!! Ally, Reese, and Kenadee had a ball playing together for 4 days straight! since we've been home Kenadee has been so bored by herself! All she talks about are her cousins! It was a much needed release from the everyday grind and we hope to find the sun in Morgan soon!!

Hello, my name is Ashley....

and I have a blogging problem. There, I said it. I realize its not an addiction(the complete opposite actually) but hopefully... somewhere... there's a 12 step program out there to save me. alot has happened in the last three months and to save you from all the blah blah blah nobody cares, I have compiled a concise, bullet pointed list of whats been taking up all of our time since BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!
- Moved (to Morgan)
- Moved again (still in Morgan)
- Birthday Palooza (that's what we call the 12 days from my birthday to Skyler's. other names include The 12 days of Celebration and Birthday Hanukkah) This year's events including Body Worlds, sledding, and me getting the flu. Sorry Skyler... your birthday sucked
- More family birthdays (Jenn's 30th congratulations and don't kill me for blogging it to everyone! Thanks to her mom we had a blast at her party making our own Italian sodas and scored some killer homemade spa swag!! We also celebrated the Debster's birthday with a little family shindig at her house- always a good time!)
-Updating/Redecorating our new place (my Grandpa's house) on a slim/non-existent budget. so far our coffee table has been transformed into a storage bench and we have found that cookie sheets make great magnet boards/wall decor...well.... sort of
- Had to speak in church (kill me)
- Had to teach 12 year olds in church (please poke my eyes out)
- Skyler coaches church ball
- Ashley has to give volleyball clinic to the young men (ba hahahahahah hahahaha ha)
- 3 year anniversary!!! I am reminded daily that I have the best husband ever!!
- Kenadee is 17 months old and talks...mostly about her "Debbies","Ah-yee", and her "ah ah ahs" which is her grandmas, Ally, and her many toy and stuffed monkeys. oh and "yoey" which is yogurt. she seriously lives on yogurt alone. its frightening.
- Cole and Jenn are having a girl!!!
- And last but not least, we spent a lovely evening in the ER last night with what turned out to be (to everyone's surprise) absolutely nothing- fun!!!!!!!

well that was a pretty feeble attempt at being concise but I think we are now caught up! now that everything is finally settling down, we have high hopes of staying on track in the blogging world (wish us luck). I also owe apologies to many of you who I promise I will call back!!! you know who you are. I should add being a bad friend to that list! but until you hear from know that despite recent gossip, I have not fallen off the planet!